AWW, AWE AND UH-OH

MOVIE
The Lion King
Chiwetel Ejiofor, James Earl Jones, Donald Glover
Director Jon Favreau
Review Ray Chan

Oh, if we could turn back time.
    If this photorealistic version of The Lion King had been the original, replete with all its beautiful songs, it would surely have been lauded as one of the most innovative movies ever made, a David Attenborough documentary set to music with a cluster of crooning critters.
    As it is though, it’s essentially an almost direct copy of the animated classic, retelling the film and making it look as lifelike as possible while keeping the story and soundtrack relatively the same.
    It’s director Jon Favreau’s second anthropomorphic attempt, having first supervised 2016’s The Jungle Book, bringing to life the animal antics of Rudyard Kipling’s story.
    But while there were points of difference in that adaptation, with much of the music missing, for the most part The Lion King is a faithful facsimile, with many of the scenes being recreated line for line, albeit with a couple of new melodies.
    In short, it seems as if Disney just wanted to create a visually realistic version … and that in itself isn’t a bad thing.
    The movie starts off magnificently. Little Simba is such an adorable cuddly cub that audiences will surely warm to him, and the visual spectacle of all the jungle inhabitants congregating in tribute is gloriously breathtaking, taking the viewers from “Aww” to awe in a matter of moments.
    From there though, there is a distinct dissonance that makes the film difficult to relate to.
    The problem is that the facial expressions of “real” animals don’t convey emotions as much as cartoons do. Can you really tell the difference between a pair of giraffes? Or wildebeest, elephants and lions?
    Yet you wouldn't want to have the animals smile, cry or yell out in anger, for that would only look creepy. On the other hand, the same stoic features are seen whether it's Mufasa lolling about lovingly with Simba, or the evil Scar plotting vengeance with a pack of hyenas.
    Certainly, the dialogue can easily convey a character’s emotions, but they all basically come out from an expressionless animal’s mouth.
    It’s definitely worth catching the movie to satisfy the curiosity of seeing the various characters like Timon, Pumbaa, Zazu, Rafiki and of course the pride of lions, brought to life, as it were.
    However, maybe some might feel that they’d be better off just watching the original.
    The “live action” Lion King demands that we suspend our disbelief at the same time that it tries to convince us that we don’t have to, with the resulting discord so hard to reconcile that one forgets how special this story once felt.

#lionking  #disney

SHROUDED IN MYSTERIO

MOVIE
Spider-Man: Far From Home
Tom Holland, Jake Gyllenhaal
Director Jon Watts
Review Ray Chan

After the cataclysmic repercussions of Avengers: Endgame, where does the Marvel Universe go to next?
    Fortunately for the studio, with a character such as the immature and somewhat naive teenage Spider-Man, it has the perfect vehicle to create a follow-up that offers much-needed relief, being lighter in tone and much less cosmos-shaking.
    Tom Holland dons his costume for another solo outing, and continues his story from Homecoming, albeit set five years later after the time-altering chaos from Endgame.
    As Peter Parker, he goes on a European class trip with his peers from Midtown High, and it could not have come at a better time for the affable adolescent, as he really needs to take a vacation from the duties of the spider-suit after his Avenging adventures.
    Peter just wants to enjoy being a kid in high school and pursue his crush on MJ (Zendaya) and maybe get to hang out with his best buddy Ned (Jacob Batalon).
    But inevitably, where Peter goes, danger beckons, and inexplicably, colossal elemental monsters (earth, wind, fire, air) begin appearing in Europe just as the kids arrive for their vacation.
    Even more curious is the emergence of a new super hero who claims he's from another world (Jake Gyllenhaal), who along with Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders), plan to attack this planetary threat head on, subsequently enlisting the help of the friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man, who finds that the late Tony Stark has entrusted him with a fancy gizmo that comes with its own sophisticated Suri voice tech.
    The fish-bowl-headed alien, alias Quentin Beck but dubbed Mysterio, is a slightly different take on the classic Spidey character, although there is a link to his modus operandi which comic fans are familiar with.
    Beck and Peter become strong allies and forge an on-screen relationship that is a delight to watch, but, quite literally, nothing is as it seems with the character, whose specialty is the use of illusions.
    Interestingly, there’s no appearance of characters such as the Shocker or the Scorpion, minor adversaries who were shown momentarily in Homecoming in scenes that appeared to foreshadow their imminent appearance in a sequel. But that works in the movie’s favour, as the spotlight focuses on the main antagonist without any unnecessary sidetracks.
    Jon Favreau also turns up and reprises his role as Tony Stark’s right hand man Happy Hogan, who has always had a fun, annoyed avuncular vibe with Peter.
    In a nice twist to the tale, that expands even further in this film towards unexpected yet enjoyable territory.
    MJ’s character, meanwhile, has developed further in this instalment, and Zendaya carries the role well. However, it’s Holland who shines brightest as he threads the needle between heartbreak and hilarity for the entire film.
    All in all, Spider-Man: Far From Home succeeds by avoiding a retread of the original, while also forging ahead with a fresh approach.
    It emulates the style of movies like DC’s Shazam!, packing itself with genuine laughs yet taking it seriously when it needs to, but also remaining faithful to the coming-of-age humour that made its predecessor so enjoyable.
    As the film winds down, audiences will be sitting back in their seats smiling from this less exacting, wonderfully entertaining ride.
    But then, in keeping with the smoke and mirrors theme, the clouds concealing the apparent happy ending dispel. Make sure you stay to the absolute end for two of the best and most exciting post-credit cliffhangers from the Marvel Cinematic Universe in quite some time.
    They provide the perfect cappers to a film that serves as a great bookend to the first era of the MCU, and a superb start of the next chapter.


#sonypicturesaus #spidermanfarfromhome

UNHOLY WAR

MOVIE

Child's Play
Aubrey Plaza, Gabriel Bateman
Director Danny Boyle
Annabelle Comes Home
Mckenna Grace, Madison Iseman
Director Gary Dauberman
Review Ray Chan

The doll wars are on. In one corner, we have the well-intentioned Chucky, who just wants to be loved and protect his keepers, while in the other, we have his female counterpart, Annabelle, incapable of animation but comprised of evil incarnate.
    And it is this referee’s judgment that good has triumphed over bad, even if a lot more blood was certainly shed by the plastic hands of the star of Child’s Play, a movie nicely updated to the present day.
    The 1988 cult classic has been reimagined, rather than remade, with a sharp sense of humour.
    This version uses artificial intelligence and inter-connected devices to create a different kind of horror, because, unlike the original, there's no supernatural zombie stuff going on this time.
    The action is staged with a combination of wit and gore, with the cast members all sharing enough backstories to make their roles interesting.
    Ensconced in a dead-end job at ZedMart, Karen (Plaza) repurposes a returned Buddi doll (voiced by the incomparable Mark Hamill) as a birthday present for her son Andy (Bateman).
    Designed as a digital assistant, this particular doll has a sinister history, built by a disenchanted factory worker who removed the failsafe limits on its behaviour.
    This enables Buddi to think for himself. Illogical as the premise sounds, accept it for what it is, if you want to enjoy the rest of the film.
    The little playmate renames himself Chucky, and quickly learns that Andy is annoyed by both the family cat and Karen's boyfriend Shane. To appease his master, the marauding mite exacts some grisly retribution.
    Along the way, fellow apartment dwellers detective Mike and his mother, along with friends Pugg, Falyn and Omar, get pulled in to the chaos. Woe betide anyone whom Andy has a grudge with, even momentarily, because Chucky doesn't have an off switch.
    The fact that Chucky is only trying to help brings a light-hearted irony to the red herrings and extreme nastiness that ensue, and helps pull the audience into the nightmare, because the characters are so easy to empathise with.
    But what really makes this movie work is the way it pokes fun at its own cliches, merrily turning the tables on characters and audience alike, while never forgetting the value of some proper on-screen gruesomeness.
    Using communicative technology as a gimmick, director Klevberg has plenty of scope to joke about everything from radios to robots, helping turn the film into an enjoyable mix of comedy and consternation.
    But now Annabelle, on the hand … is a different kettle of creepiness entirely.
    Annabelle Comes Home is the third film titled after a spooky-looking antique doll that was based on a possessed Raggedy Ann figure kept by real-life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren (who passed away mere weeks before this movie’s release).
    Part of the Conjuring franchise, Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson reprise their roles as the Warrens, who “contain the evil” of the doll by locking it in a glass casing within their room of haunted artefacts.
    As an aside, people might question why the doll was never destroyed, instead of being imprisoned in a cabinet with a sign proclaiming in no uncertain terms that the door should never be opened. In The Conjuring, Ed had explained that it was better to keep the “genie in the bottle” rather than obliterating the vessel altogether.
    But back to the movie, and the Warrens go out on a case, leaving their mopey daughter Judy (Grace) under the protection of perky babysitter Mary Ellen (Iseman).
    Mary Ellen’s bosom companion Daniela hears about the Warrens’ psychic exploits, and, keen to find some way of contacting her dead father, sneaks into the forbidden room and, of course, lets Annabelle loose.
    What follows is nothing we haven’t already seen in previous Conjuring, Annabelle or Nun offerings: standard trapped-in-the-house horror fare, filled with jump scares and ominous musical crescendos that make you think a shock is coming even when it isn’t. Gradually, various apparitions from the objects in the room terrorise the girls, with the eventual goal of murder and possession. Yawn.
    Annabelle’s limitation is its (her) static form, unlike Chucky, who menaces with his mobility.
    She can only move by teleportation and only when nobody’s looking. The scariness factor is constrained to her appearance in unexpected places, a contrivance that gets tiresome quickly.
    Ultimately, the movie is just a succession of supposedly frightening stuff happening, haunted-ride-style, and just as harmless, until someone manages to lock Annabelle up again.
    But praise is due for Judy, who carries the story with her bravery, intelligence and awareness of the paranormal, inherited from her mother.
    Indeed, she radiates an aura of resigned gloom that would do Wednesday Addams proud, and it’s not difficult to see her eventually take over the family’s ghostbusting business, a paranormal-military warrior armed with crucifixes and holy water as ammunition.
    Her personality is a direct contrast to the milksop persona of Andy in Child’s Play, as much as the Chucky rejuvenation is so much more satisfying than the Annabelle offering.

#childsplay #annabellecomeshome #buzzmarketing

NOT QUITE SO MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR

MOVIE
Yesterday
Himesh Patel, Lily James
Director Danny Boyle
Review Ray Chan

With Yesterday, director Danny Boyle collaborates for the first time with Richard Curtis, the master of the modern British romantic comedy, whose films include Notting Hill and Four Weddings and a Funeral.
    The movie, in case you didn’t already know, contemplates on what the world would be like without The Beatles, and in which someone who remembered their songs decides to make a living off them.
    It’s as strange a concept as the illogical force of nature that causes this cosmic imbalance.
    A global electrical power outage, lasting a matter of seconds, stealthily rewires the world, and for Jack Malik (Himesh Patel), a struggling singer-songwriter, it changes everything.
    Knocked unconscious by a collision with a truck in the ensuing blackout, Jack wakes up to find he’s somehow in a universe which lacks everyday items such as cigarettes and Coca Cola, and has never been exposed to cultural icons like Harry Potter and the fab four.
    But he remembers the tunes, ensconced as they are in the musical history of the world he used to know.
    When Jack plays the lilting Yesterday to his friends, who are suitably impressed by the words and music, the lightbulb flashes. With one of the world’s finest musical back catalogues at his fingertips, the temptation proves all too much.
    Jack begins the process of writing down the lyrics of the songs that have been oft-quoted, sung, and memorised over decades of existence.
    It’s no easy task, as evidenced by struggles to recall the verses of Eleanor Rigby and attempts to play Let It Be to his parents.
    But reproduce them he does, and before long Jack is in a recording studio with a little help from devoted friend Ellie (Lily James).
    Jack’s tracks soon fall into the hands of Ed Sheeran (the musician playing himself), whose spiky agent (Kate McKinnon) wastes no time in signing Jack to a contract for a global launch. With such an illustrious repertoire to fall back on, worldwide fame ensues.
   Patel doesn’t have classic movie star looks but exudes enough of a likeable charisma to keep the audience engaged.
    He sings the Lennon/McCartney songs adequately enough, with feeling, soul and a rockier twist to make them sound modernised.
    But his character is sullen and difficult to warm to, as Jack agonises over his musical plagiarism while still holding a torch for Ellie, who has committed herself to someone else.
    All the while, some viewers might be wondering about how the movie pans out across this universe, and whether Jack can get back to where he once belonged, now that his life has changed in oh so many ways. And is Ellie in fact merely a girl with kaleidoscope eyes in a land of tangerine trees and marmalade skies?
    For this reviewer, the conclusion of the movie slightly disappoints, but one thing the film surely does is bring new life to Beatles classics which everyone from the last century is familiar with, while also introducing the younger generation to this amazing songbook which has well and truly stood the test of time.
    Indeed, ultimately, that’s where this movie excels, succeeding more as a commercial for the songs of the band, rather than as the uplifting, humorous rom-com with a difference it set out to be.
    And while we're in that mood, it's hard not to close with more Beatles references. The movie does have charm and you might definitely end up believing in Yesterday, but it's a long and winding road to get there.

#yesterday #yesterdaymovie #universalpictures

NEURALYSER NEEDED

MOVIE
Men In Black: International
Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson
Director F Gary Gray
Review Ray Chan

If Chris Hemsworth is looking for a new franchise to get his teeth into after leaving The Avengers, then the Men In Black series would seem right up his alley.
    After all, it combines humour, action and sci fi elements in much the same way Thor:Ragnarok did, with director Taika Waititi's free-flowing God Of Thunder threequel allowing the Aussie to showcase a much-praised improvisation side to his screen persona.
    Yet curiously, where the three previous MIB instalments shone for their genuinely funny interplay between the heroes and bad guys, in Men In Black: International Hemsworth and fellow Thor co-star Tessa Thompson both appear to be locked into rigid characterisations and underwhelming banter that give them little leeway to emerge as a memorable pairing.
    Hemsworth’s emotional range has been hindered by the arrogant and irritating swagger of his Agent H character. Thompson, comically delightful as Valkyrie, portrays the scholarly, serious Agent M, who’s on probation and rarely comes out of her shell.
    While the duo undoubtedly have great chemistry, they're really stuck with what they're given, and can only elevate this film so far, as the organisation once again has to confront an alien threat.
    In fact, both are given backstories that appear to be more engaging than their main arcs in the movie.
    H once saved the world, granting him hero status in the agency, in the process becoming envied and despised by some of his peers.
    M, for her part,  survived an alien experience as a child with her memory of the event still intact. Yet despite spending years trying to track down the Men In Black, driven by determination, smarts and charisma, these winning attributes mostly disappear when she joins the MIB and the film's main plot gets started.
    The same malaise seems to have descended upon the action scenes, which while well-executed, amount to little else.
    A sequence in which H and M ride an MIB-designed bike through the streets of Marrakesh (seemingly the go-to site for spy and action chases in a thousand other movies) is shot well and ends spectacularly. But the computer-generated spectacle misses an emotional punch, and the villains that our heroes go up against lack any sort of menace about them.
    Along those lines, the supporting cast is also packed with talented people who don't get to shine: Emma Thompson is impressive as the veteran Agent O dishing out orders, but does little else; Kumail Nanjiani struggles to deliver the chortles as the tiny, wisecracking alien chesspiece creature Pawny; and Rebecca Ferguson just looks weird even for an alien, with a third arm and a hideous wig.
    To be fair, MIB: International is not inherently terrible. Many of the elements that made MIB popular are there: the slick, fancy gizmos, the exotic outworlders, the memory-erasing neuralysers … but it seems that the novelty has faded with time, and there's little that's particularly fun or exciting. 
    While it's a perfectly functional film with some competent special effects and tight action sequences, the heart and the humour of the originals seem to be lost.
    MIB: International does break new ground by involving more women this time around, and there’s an amusing scene where the two Thompsons debate the name of the organisation. It’d be interesting to see if the bravado is extended into the next episode, by renaming it Women in Black. 

#sonypicturesaus #mibinternational

MONSTER MASH

MOVIE
Godzilla: King of Monsters
Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga 
Director Michael Dougherty
Review Ray Chan

Michael Dougherty’s name may be unfamiliar, but he did help write the big-budget blockbusters Superman Returns and X-Men Apocalypse, so he appears well-suited for Godzilla: King of the Monsters, a creature feature on a massive scale, peppered with sprinklings of black humour.
    This is the third instalment in Legendary’s MonsterVerse, following Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla and Jordan Vogt-Roberts’ prequel Kong: Skull Island; a mega-franchise which models itself on the Marvel and DC ones, featuring super-beings and villains slugging it out in a world where humans are for the most part expendable, collateral damage.
    Dougherty’s movie opens with a flashback to the 2014 Godzilla film’s climactic mayhem, and then unfolds in the aftermath of this hidden monster’s first public appearance.
    Ever since, the cryptozoological research group Monarch has been tracking Godzilla and monitoring many other ‘Titans’ found dormant beneath the Earth’s surface.
    The theory, already proffered in the first two chapters, is that these behemoths have long existed to bring global balance, a premise more fully explored here as their epic battles are made to allegorise and embody the cataclysmic upheavals of nature that man-made climate change is bringing to Mother Earth.
    At the centre of Godzilla’s revival from its slumber is an acoustic device named Orca, which echoes the sounds of the monsters to summon, repel, anger or calm them.
    Godzilla’s big fight against two Mutos in 2014 tore apart not just San Francisco, but also researchers Mark (Kyle Chandler) and Emma Russell (Vera Farmiga), the husband-and-wife team who had developed Orca together, but whose young son was killed in the devastating onslaught.
    Now divorced, they are driven by divergent ideologies: Mark wishes to destroy all monsters, while Emma sees them as a necessary evil if mankind is to have a future.
    This same division can be seen between Monarch and the military, ever disputing whether to pulverise the Titans or preserve them.
    Ex-military eco-terrorist Alan Jonah (Charles Dance) steals the Orca device – along with Emma and her daughter Madison (Millie Bobby Brown) – and plans to introduce widespread chaos to restore world order.
    He succeeds in awakening all of the hibernating Titans scattered around the globe, including the lepidopteran Mothra, the three-headed King Ghidorah and the winged pteranodon Rodan – regulars of the Godzilla franchise who all, according to the closing credits, appear as themselves here.
    The chaos that ensues, with confrontations which seem to last interminably, will either bore the casual viewer or thrill those brought up on a fare of 60s Japanese action programs on TV, when rubber-suited creatures delighted in destroying papier mache skyscrapers.
    In the parallel rush by Jonah and the bloodthirsty Ghidorah to topple incumbent hierarchies, to kill the king and to set an unruly replacement on the throne, the fate of Godzilla proves intimately intertwined with that of the entire human race. There’s metaphor and symbolism aplenty if you can spot it through the devastation and carnage.
    Godzilla: King of the Monsters rattles and races along to an explosive finish, while leaving the gate open for a perpetual Pandora’s pandemonium of sequels.
    And of course, we can’t forget the titular character. 
    In championing him, Dougherty respects both the B-movie beats of Godzilla’s film history as well as the environmental subtext that he has always represented, maintaining the lizard's persona as equal part ‘rampant destroyer of cities’ and ‘snarling action hero’, but mostly ‘noble ally of the righteous’ .
    Ultimately, the climax is predictable, but don't let that mar your enjoyment of the movie. All that’s required is a mandatory suspension of critical judgment.


#godzillakingofthemonsters #buzzmarketing

LOOKING LIKE A TRUE SURVIVOR

MOVIE
Rocketman
Taron Egerton, Jamie Bell 
Director Dexter Fletcher
Review Ray Chan

Cast aside all comparisons to Bohemian Rhapsody.

    Rocketman may tell the story of a musical superstar whose musical legacy is as enduring as Freddie Mercury’s, but that’s where the similarities end.

    In this biopic about Elton Hercules John, director Dexter Fletcher and screenwriter Lee Hall employ the artist’s songs to actually tell the story, akin to a Broadway musical where the music creates and feeds the narrative, with each phase of Elton’s life converted into lavish numbers.

    For young Reginald Dwight, it began with an innate ear for sound. When he hears a piece of music on the radio, he is able to play it back on the piano immediately. At an audition, he easily repeats what the teacher was practising, all from memory.

    The story is told essentially in flashback, with an outlandishly-suited Elton bursting into a support group circle to talk about his various addictions (sex, drugs, rock'n'roll and anger management), which takes place in his much-publicised stint in rehab back in 1990.
    The rolling back of the years begins with his five-year old self (Matthew Illesley) singing The Bitch Is Back, backed up by his neighbours. His aloof mum, emotionally-removed dad and his loving gran help provide the vocals for what is essentially the theme coursing through the veins of the film, I Want Love.    
    Along the way he is connected with songwriter Bernie Taupin (Jamie Bell), who ends up becoming his lyricist for the next 50 years, authoring nearly all of the pianoman's hits.
    Elton’s search for love and acceptance results in an attempt to merge the platonic and the romantic with his new BFF, who respectfully declines, leading him down the path to John Reid (Richard Madden), who becomes his lover and manager, but with contemptible intentions as both.
    The journey conveys us through the glory years, when Elton was the hottest ticket on Earth and proved to be as much a Rock-It Man as a Rocketman, and the despondent times, when the sun went down on him and he attempted suicide. 
    Egerton himself is no stranger to the real Elton, who had a pivotal role in the former’s Kingsman sequel. The actor can carry a tune and does himself no disservice in his renditions from Elton’s songbook.
    Despite blacked-out teeth to simulate Elton’s gappy incisors, viewers may note that there really isn't that close a resemblance. But this works in Egerton's favour, as he is able to create an exalted version of the artist that’s all his own and less of a direct impersonation.

    There's an all-too short sequence featuring the ill-fated wedding to Renata (which took place in Australia, of course, though there's no indication in the movie) which begs the question of why it was included in the first place. But the film ends on a high, with a perfect re-creation of Elton’s old I’m Still Standing video, a comeback anthem if there ever was one.

    The knighted performer has been a survivor his entire life and Egerton provides a perfect proxy with which to tell the tale, which certainly whets the appetite for Elton's farewell concert in Australia later this year. 

#rocketman #nrccommunications

SLASH AND BURN

MOVIE
Brightburn
Elizabeth Banks, David Denman, Jackson A. Dunn 
Director David Yarovesky
Review Ray Chan

The concept has been toyed with in comic books before, but this is the first time it’s been brought to the screen: what if an alien boy who crash lands on Earth turns out to be evil instead of fighting for truth, justice and the American way?
    In Brightburn, the baby in a rocketship, first seen as a godsend to a couple who have been trying for years to conceive a child, begins to manifest a mission for death, destruction, and world domination as he nears puberty.
    And he doesn’t hold back. Indeed, the movie leans into blood and gore to accentuate just how powerful this being becomes. Make no mistake, this is more a horror offering than a stock super-hero feature.
    Tori Breyer (Elizabeth Banks) and her husband Kyle Breyer (David Denman) live in the small town of Brightburn, Kansas, where they find the baby and adopt him, naming him Brandon.
    When the boy (Jackson A. Dunn) reaches his teens, the ship he arrived in begins influencing his mind, mixing in a desire to take over the planet along with his hormonal urges, resulting in wanton destruction and in particularly gruesome murders of various individuals.
    Much of the film is spent on the carnage, and in pretty horrific detail, though Brandon’s powers are shown in a way that doesn’t suggest any kind of shoestring budget.
    In an era where horror movies can appear to be jaded, Brightburn literally burns bright as an homage to how the genre can still get the adrenaline flowing with a clever mix of jump scares and truly frightening effects.
    The deaths here aren’t simple murders. They’re the kinds of intricately designed, lovingly presented acts of sadistic brutality that characterised many slasher flicks, turning them into orgies of crimson viscera.
    If the very concept of an evil version of Superman excites you, and you get a boost from bloodshed and butchery, Brightburn will entertain in a big way. The stamp of super-hero filmmaker James Gunn (whose brothers wrote the script) is all over this one, even though the directorial duties are carried out by David Yarovesky.
    The darkly funny aspect to the film is never overplayed, and instead serves to keep this from being a morbid experience. Dunn is solid as a stereotypical child demon, bringing back memories of Damien in the Omen series, and the aura of nastiness he exudes will be sure to attract viewers to the inevitable sequels to watch him get his just desserts.
    While the movie only scratches the surface of its promise and potential, what it ends up with is definitely good enough to justify a recommendation.
    Remember the smaller scale that it’s playing on and don’t go in expecting a blockbuster. With that in mind, there’s a good chance you’ll find a substantial amount of fun here.

#brightburn #sonypictures

A POKé BOWL OF CHAOS AND CREATIVITY

MOVIE
Detective Pikachu
Ryan Reynolds, Justice Smith
Director Robert Letterman
Review Ray Chan

THE concept of Pokemon, the Japanese pocket monsters, became a favourite of my toddler daughter back when it was launched in the mid-90s.
    Ignoring the lure of bananas in pyjamas, purple-hued dinosaurs and a pachyderm named Johnson, she fell in love with the world of teenager Ash Ketchum, who aimed to catch and train as many of the Pokemon as he could and become the ultimate Pokemon master.
    As the suffering parent who had to endure the TV shows, video games and movies along with her, it wasn’t long before I too became more than familiar with the premise of human beings traipsing around and collecting the innocent creatures from their habitats in the wild.
    However, for those not as informed about the critters, the entire Poke-universe can seem befuddling, couched as it is in the abstract thinking of Japanese societal conventions: examples include “animals” which are basically eggs in a nest, others which permanently hold microphones and sing people to sleep, living sand castles and key-chains, and curious characters which only communicate in mime. To add to the oddity, they can evolve into bigger, stronger versions of themselves.
    So one wonders what such viewers will make of Detective Pikachu, the first live-action movie featuring a whole array of Pokemon skittering and swarming, crawling, jumping and flying about with vertiginous abandon, and based on a video game where the player works with the cuddly yellow rodent to solve various mysteries.
    The movie follows the formula set by more than 20 animated Pokemon movies: it’s busy and full of frantic activity, cluttered beyond the eye’s focus, and packed with overlong action scenes typified by chaos, plenty of running and screaming, and a whole lot of falling down.
    It’s exaggerated humour as some cultures love it, reminiscent of Japanese game shows with insane and embarrassing challenges, bright flashing lights, and supremely enthusiastic hosts. 
    How will it fare with Western audiences? Certainly, the first act is interesting enough to hold the viewer’s interest, as we see the Poke-plethora rendered into reality via CGI. The effects are impressive and many of the individuals, even the most absurd, exhibit enough of a lifelike resemblance to sustain intrigue and attention.
    There’s no Ash in this movie, the titular lad around whom all previous Pokemon adventures revolved. Instead, as director Rob Letterman goes for a quasi film-noir visual quality, it centres on Tim (Justice Smith), a young 20-something who’s summoned to the massive metropolis of Ryme City (set somewhere in an Asian country), where Pokemon and humans live in peace, to learn that his estranged detective father Harry has been killed in a fiery car crash. 
    Devastated, Tim vows to uncover what caused the accident, aided by Harry’s pet Pikachu (voiced by Ryan Reynolds), who has amnesia and can’t explain why no one can find Harry’s body. 
    Donning a Sherlock Holmes cap, “Detective” Pikachu is convinced Harry is alive, which gives Tim hope, although it only draws them into a deeper mystery concerning the nefarious forces behind Harry’s accident. Cue many adventures in which they encounter Pokemon of various shapes and sizes.
    Reynolds, of course, is best known of late as the wisecracking Deadpool, and here he essentially plays a family-friendly version of that cynical superhero. But although he delivers some choice quips (including singing the original Pokemon theme song), much of his dialogue feels improvised, indicating he may have needed to ad lib in order to freshen up a mediocre screenplay, which is credited to several writers.
    Unfortunately, the banter between the two main protagonists is also somewhat lucklustre, and typifies the mystery plot, which is confusing and only occasionally compelling.
    Still, on the whole, while Detective Pikachu misses more than it hits, many ideas are carried out to bold effect, even when they’re mishandled. 
    For the fans of the franchise, catching a glimpse of their cherished Pokemon come to life is reason enough to watch the movie with glee. And in fact, some diehards might even complain that not enough of the Pokemon were shown.
    For the others, it’s a matter of getting acquainted with a unique form of covenance that may seem unfamiliar to them. Like much of Japanese anime, Detective Pikachu displays disregard for logic or physics, sometimes making up its own rules with such confidence that the viewer has no choice but to relent. 
    Because the film zooms along on its own dissonant wavelength, it may leave these viewers feeling indifferent yet fascinated at the very least, if never entirely happy with the final destination.
    Neither a Poke-fanatic nor a stranger to the mythos, I found the journey there to be a suprisingly enjoyable one, with the film reconnecting me with characters and concepts from a happy time gone past when my daughter had not yet even started kindergarten. While she's definitely outgrown her childhood obsession, Pokemon creator Satoshi Tajiri's legacy continues in the household, with an over-sized Pikachu doll keeping her own toddler son secure in bed at night.

#detectivepikachu #pikapika #buzzmarketing

FUN AND FUNNIER

MOVIE
Shazam!
Zachary Levi, Asher Angel
Director David F Sandberg
Review Ray Chan

With Shazam!, it seems that Warner Bros has discovered its own secret word to making the DC Extended Universe as consistently enjoyable as its Marvel counterparts.
    Wonder Woman captured the lead character's essence better than any previous DC film, and Aquaman successfully celebrated the more outlandish nature of its hero in an expansive undersea adventure. Shazam! is entirely different sort of super-hero fare, with a unique premise and the DNA of the comic source material laced in every scene with an awareness of how to make it work for modern audiences.
    The key ingredient in this rollicking recipe may be the filmmakers' decision not to make drastic alterations from the original concept, and instead happily embrace it, albeit the rebooted interpretation and not the original Golden Age version. Director David F Sandberg simply focuses on making the movie both fun and funny.
    The move centres on teenager Billy Batson (Asher Angel), who – separated from his mother at a carnival when he was a toddler – has ended up living in a series of foster homes as a result. The latest clan to take him in consist of carers Victor and Rosa, and their other adoptees Mary, Eugene, Darla, Pedro and Freddy (Jack Dylan Grazer, late of It).
    One day, in a rare selfless act, Billy helps the mobility-impaired Freddy against a couple of school bullies, bringing him to the attention of the wizard Shazam (Djimon Hounsou), who needs a champion to combat the brewing evil of the insane Thaddeus Sivana (Mark Strong). But Shazam doesn’t offer Billy a training manual and now he’s got to learn these new powers and get used to instantly becoming a super-powered adult (played by Zachary Levi), which happens only after he utters the wizard's name. 
    Levi does a commendable job playing a child in an adult’s body, although for this reviewer, it's difficult to take the actor seriously because of his striking resemblance to late night host Jimmy Fallon. But that's not the only bit of cosmic circumstance: Hounsou also appeared in the recent Captain Marvel movie as a Kree, thus participating in two near-simultaneously released movies starring different characters who both share a history with the Captain Marvel moniker.
    (The events are too convoluted to relate here, but the Shazam character was originally named Captain Marvel back in the 1930s. For a proper history of events, Google will be your friend.) 
    The diverse family make-up helps add to the charm of the movie, which enjoys a dynamic reminiscent of Stranger Things or Goonies that really works. The transformation of Billy's foster siblings later on in the movie is also straight out of the comics, and will not disappoint ardent fans. 

    And while the presence of arch-nemesis Sivana was expected, equally as mouth-watering is the mid-credits promise of the appearance of Shazam's other great villain in the inevitable sequel. 
    Sandberg understands the thrill of a teen with powers who's not running around playing hero, but rather more interested in taking selfies, visiting adult clubs, trying beer and generally abusing his powers in a harmlessly self-absorbed way. The script, credited to Henry Gayden (with rewrites provided by a team of writers), beautifully captures the tone for a teenager who eventually realises he’s as powerful as Superman. 
    Shazam! is funny, fantastic and entertainingly fabulous. The appetite whets for a battle alongside the Justice League. This is exactly the kind of movie Warner Bros. needed to convince audiences Aquaman and Wonder Woman weren’t flukes, but the blueprint for success going forward. 

#shazam! #buzzmarketing

DOPPELGANGER DRAMA

MOVIE
Us
Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke
Director Jordan Peele
Review Ray Chan

After comedian-turned-filmmaker Jordan Peele earned an Oscar for debut feature film Get Out, the expectations were high for his follow-up.
    Early reviews of that movie, Us, have been overwhelmingly positive, and it’s a pleasure to report that it's easy to see why. There’s no sophomore slump to be found here, and Peele remains one of the most exciting American filmmakers to come around in a long time.
    Us is a 1970s-inspired horror flick that wears its references on its sleeve and crawls with terror and tension, a melodrama which throws up philosophical questions about existence and identity. 
    Our unsuspecting picture-perfect American family is the Wilsons: Gabe (Winston Duke), Adelaide (Lupita Nyong’o) and their children, Zora and Jason. They arrive in Santa Cruz, California, at their family summer home ready to enjoy the beach town — even though Adelaide is troubled by disturbing memories of her childhood there, when she eerily confronted a doppelganger of herself.
    But they go anyway to keep up appearances and impress their affluent friends. Adelaide's fears are realised when a strangely identical version of the Wilson family — clad in red jumpsuits and wielding sharp scissors — shows up in their driveway one night, causing her cold sweats to flow profusely. It proves to be not just a physical invasion, but one of the soul as well. 
    As both Adelaide and Red, the matriarch of the photocopied Wilson family and leader of the attack, Nyong’o anchors the film with a spellbinding and bone-rattling dual performance. Red is a horror hall-of-fame scary mommy as unnerving as any you’ve ever seen. Her presence becomes even more menacing when it's revealed she is the mastermind of a whole tribe of community copycats.
    Peele, meanwhile, demonstrates a mastery over film-making craft and tone much in the same way he did with Get Out. His elegant command of cinematic grammar build slow, lurking dread, and the surprisingly melancholy mood he captures in the film’s more reflective passages provokes a deeper response than just cursory shrieks of fear.
    But while the script for Get Out, with its clever allegories and visual prompts, felt like a tightly wound watch with gears all in place, Us feels messier because of its bigger and broader plane. 
    The director has widened his scope from one small hamlet’s terrible secret to the entire country, dabbling in ideas of governmental mind control and total societal collapse. It alludes to people being treated as test subjects, symbolised by the recurring use of rabbits in laboratory cages. 
    In doing so, it doesn't settle on a central focus, drifting between a home-invasion thriller, an apocalypse film, a zombie movie, to an identity crisis. It’s impressive that Us manages to be all those things with finesse and style, but it feels as if it hasn’t fully gelled yet. There's a twist ending which half satisfies because it opens up questions which don't have immediate answers. 
    The Wilsons' envy of a richer family emulates the hunger suffered by the duplicates. It is a story about whether all our fortunes or happiness requires the privation of others. It's about what it’s like to covet a tiny object from the universe — in the movie, items like a stuffed rabbit, or lipstick — and never get it. 
    It seems a clear message from Peele to the people of his homeland. Indeed, reflecting the dualism theme, there's a dichotomy to the name of the movie itself, with Us a clear reference to the United States. It invites Americans to not only look at the film Us, but to then “look at us” figuratively. This is a movie about divided selves in a divided nation with no clear resolution, forcing viewers to leave the theatre with their fears intact.

#Usmovie