Rambles about the wonderful world of wrestling.
Living in a shed at the bottom of her mum’s garden 29-year-old Anna has given up on life. The relatively recent passing of her twin brother has sent her spiralling over her edge, and she splits her time between working at a local activities centre for kids and making funny videos reflecting on existence starring her thumbs. That is until eight-year-old Clint comes into the picture, a remarkable kid whose mum is dying from cancer.
Duncan Jones’ Warcraft: The Beginning has been saved from flop status by its success in Russia and China and because of that has been deemed the most successful video game adaptation of all time. However, if you are going by reviews and its performance in countries like America, it is hard to see it as anything but a failure. The consensus has at best been meh and at worst been downright hateful.
The Edinburgh International Film Festival is over for another year and while I didn’t get to go to quite as many films as I would have liked – I am but a poor person after all – I did get along to a handful. One of those I have already talked about (the rather poor Kids In Love) but rather than do individual reviews of the rest I have decided to go for the quick-fire approach. So here’s my thoughts on five films I had the pleasure of watching.
It’s hard to watch Kids in Love and not want to punch nearly every single character in it in the face.  Chris Foggin’s debut picture is teen wish fulfilment at its worst and has about as much depth as a puddle after a brief spring shower.
The way mentally challenged people are depicted on film is a mixed bag. For every great example, there are tens of horrible ones and entering any film that uses those issues as a central tenant is always a bit nerve wrecking. Thankfully, you can relax when sitting down to enjoy Chicken.
Have you ever read a book, watched a film or listened to a piece of music and wondered why you haven’t been doing this your whole life? That’s the feeling I got last year when I sat down and watched my first Studio Ghibli film. The second I turned on My Neighbour Totoro I fell in love, and I still can’t figure out what I had been doing for the previous twenty-three years. It’s a sadness that is compounded by them releasing what they say is their final film, When Marnie Was There.
Before we get into this, let’s make it clear that this post will include spoilers for The Nice Guys. Now that is out of the way, let’s go. The Nice Guys reads like a list of Shane Black’s greatest hits. Mismatched buddy cops (although in this case it is a buddy PI and a buddy tough for hire), fast-paced dialogue, jabs at corporate America, plucky young children and an underlying darkness beneath the jokes. There’s even some Christmas. It also has a plot that at some points is completely nonsensical.
One of the disadvantages of going to see a film a little bit after it comes it out is that you’ve already heard everyone else’s opinion. You go in with at least a small amount of your brain made up. If everyone you trust says it’s shit, you expect it to be shit. If everyone says it’s great, well you get the picture. This can go one of two ways. You either end up cementing that opinion or being pleasantly/horribly surprised. Heads up, this review will contain all the spoilers.
Around two-thirds of the way into Money Monster it is tough to see where it is going to go next. Until that point, it has been a tight thriller all set within the confines of one studio. However, it becomes apparent that that portion of the film has lost steam and that something new has to be added. When it does come to be it loses everything that has made the film work and drops the whole thing into the ridiculous.
Music and cinema are natural bedfellows. From the piano led accompaniment of silent films to the pop soundtracks of Quintin Tarantino. However, very few directors have merged the two as effectively as John Carney. His breakout film Once was the first hint at that talent before Begin Again cemented it. Somehow, though, he has topped both of those with the quite frankly incredible Sing Street.
Ramblings About Wrestling 