The Case for Pooling the Dead

Its no surprise that I loved Deadpool as it has been the surprise hit of the Kiwi Summer and a surprise hit around the world.

Perhaps “surprise” is not quite the word: I was always keen to see a wise cracking, R-rated super hero flick so I always had every intention of going.  The studios were caught by surprise though, underestimating how much that would appeal to the general public.  And that the film itself is great.

Deadpool owes a lot of its appeal to Ryan Reynolds, reprising the role and remoulding it into a crude smart ar$e with super powers, and great abs underneath a scarred exterior.  He is ably supported by a small yet dedicated cast, including the gorgeous Morena Baccarin as his soul mate.  They all zing together and click in every way that matters, but it is Reynolds who drives things and keeps things on track.

The story weaves all over the place: forwards and backwards through time, through the fourth wall and back to confines of the fantasy movie genre.  Like a lot of comedies, some of the jokes miss, but a lot hit, especially for the fan boy audience who will know all the superhero movies that are referenced.  And there were plenty of things I didn’t get either, and had to be reminded of afterwards.

The cruder the humour, sometimes the funnier it is.  The violence can be pretty gory, sure, but I am used to that watching Tarantino films.  And other films such as the Revenant (how many times have a name checked that film?) feel more painful and vicious than the cartoon violence and improbable gun wielding that goes on in this film. 

To explore some of the jokes is to perhaps ruin some of the film, so I won’t go into that here. 

And I am not saying that the film is perfect: it dragged a little at times, and there are those comedic misses that had crickets chirping away in my head.

But overall, the film is brilliantly entertaining and well worth more than one watch.

Well done, Mr Reynolds.  Well done.

Verdict: Deadpool is everything the trailers promised and more.  Rude and violent and with a sense of humour to help get through all that, Ryan Reynolds shines and superhero movies may never be the same again.  9 chimichangas out of 10.

The Case for Larson-y

After some rave reviews and knowing how awesome Brie Larson is myself, I was braced for a fairly intense and intriguing move in Room.  And I was not disappointed.

If you have read the book, then there will be no spoilers when I say Room is about a boy who has been born in captivity, his mother having been captured a few years previously.  They attempt to escape.  And I will leave it at that.

The performances are all incredible.  Of course Larson had me hanging on her every resigned and shocked look, but the young boy playing her son, Jacob Tremblay, is an absolute revelation and keeps everything rolling along without being annoyingly cute.  Add in some unflashy but powerful performances from the supporting cast, including the awesome Joan Allen and William H Macy, and really the film is close to perfect.

But its not big.  It’s a small film, with only a few sets and no expansive views of gorgeously snowy mountains and scenery, like in the Revenant.  All it has are the performances and the story, and they are more than enough to make this a fantastic film.

Enough said.

Verdict: You may have guessed that I though Room was awesome.  Larson should win the Oscar, though I thought she should win one anyway.  10 Lego bricks out of 10.

The Case for Being Hateful

 

I had to time Hateful Eight carefully – at about three hours long, it is not a movie than really can be watched on the spur of the moment or on a normal school night, depending on the start time.  So a mid afternoon session was arranged, and after several superhero movie trailers (with Superman v Batman looking the dreariest), and we got stuck into it.

Though I have to admit, the first couple of hours got me dropping off a bit.  Not that the acting is low or boring, with Kurt Russell and Samuel L Jackson and Jennifer Jason Leigh and the rest of the cast giving their all and loving the n-word laden dialogue and the chance to just be their characters in one middling sized room, stuck together in the middle of an American blizzard.

No, it was more that there was just so much of it.  So much talking.  So many n-words.  Tales and recollections and racism and lies and truths and all the usual things you get in Tarantino-written dialogue, and while entertaining and witty and funny and all those things… there is just so much of it.  And not all of it is relevant to the plot.

Around the two hour mark, the narration (Tarantino himself) kicks in and I realised that I was not watching an “intermission” screening, as what we had seen was not 15 minutes earlier.  This is about the time the verbal sparring is totally overtaken by the actual violence.  Zoe Bell shows up for a brief but memorable cameo as a wildly enthusiastic cowgirl from New Zealand who seems completely out of time and place with the rest of the movie (though that may just be a little bit of cultural cringe coming in), and Channing Tatum also flashes his winning smile, though he doesn’t strip or bust a few magic moves.

The whole movie and the whole cast are brought together with loving care and everything looks so easy when in fact it must have been wildly difficult to manage.  However, it seems like a school play compared to the masterclass in beautiful cinematography that is The Revenant, and that dialogue, while amazing, is just so very, very long.

Verdict: Tarantino brings his usual talents to bear in Hateful Eight and it is an amazing movie and well worth seeing.  But it could have done with some serious editing, as did it really need to be that long?  7 jellybeans out of 10.