The Hunt

Posted on July 30, 2020 by C966939529

Good idea, poorly executed and marketed.

Well it has been a while but I am back and raring to go! I have found some comfort in the escape of watching films during lock down, but I missed the experience of going to the cinema. I have my own little ritual to my cinema trips. I arrive early, treat myself to a coffee, and start basing my ideas on the trailer and posters I’ve seen.

Normally you can get a pretty good idea about a movie based on the content before the release. So I first saw these posters:

So these were my assumptions and notes:

People are being hunted in the woods
Eerie images – thriller / horror film
Key words as violence and sick

Then I saw the trailer:

People wake up gagged in the woods
They are armed
They get hunted
Some get away and hunt the hunters
Explosions, blood and guts – thriller / horror genre

And then I watched it…..

First things first THIS IS NOT A HORROR FILM!!! This is a satirical political action film. This was my main problem with the film. I went in expecting one thing, and came out with something completely different. I’m going to be honest, I wanted to see some real horror and thriller moments and thats why I watched it but I was left unfulfilled.

Ok I admit there are blood and guts so i’m happy with that but the story was lacking. It is basically an US verses THEM mentality. Which is apparently what they were going for. Producer Jason Blum said “It was read as a satire, no different from The Joker or other movies that are violent. It was read as a movie that didn’t take sides…The audience is smart enough to know that what they’re seeing is a satire”.

So my issue is why not market it as a satire! I think it would have done better if it was marketed with the proper intention.

The one thing I did like was the wardrobe choices. Between the “Elite” and the “Deplorables”. You can see many stereotypes on both sides. Big shout out to David Tabbert, the costume designer. You saved this film for me.

Elite:

Fox hunting gear
Suits
Waistcoats
Professional

Deplorables:

Plaid shirts
Gun toting Redneck
Yoga pants
Ugg boots
Safari hunter
Caps

Overall I think it was an interesting idea, but its been marketed wrongly, and come out at the wrong time. As Crystal says in the film I think it “Depends on whether they’re smart pretending to be idiots or idiots pretending to be smart.” I think its a little of column A and a little from column B. There are always going to be conspiracies but having the link between ManorGate being very close to PizzaGate and the whole Epstein fiasco, I think it is very poorly timed.

2/5

Director: Craig Zobel

Cast: Betty Gilin, Hilary Swank, Ike Barinholtz, Emma Roberts

Crew: Jason Blum (Producer), Damon Lindelof (Writer)

Genre: Debatable

Rating: 15

References

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/universal-sets-release-hunt-controversy-1278642

X-Men: Dark Phoenix

Posted on June 14, 2019 by C966939529

They gave up. That’s it.

I have to admit I am a fan of the original X-men films, I’m talking with Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen. Since the reboot they haven’t lived up to expectations, and unfortunately, I think they lost their way with this film as well. Even before the film was released the marketing has been completely off.

I watched the trailer and it appears that Jean Grey has gone bad…that is it. Throughout the film it is a lot more emotional, which I liked, but it seems that they just seem this movie as a means to an end.

We only met Jean in X-Men Apocalypse and now we suddenly reach the crescendo of her journey? In Apocalypse I felt we didn’t get to see the full potential of the character and felt Sophie Turner’s performance was a bit flat. Now we can see the full potential realised as well as Turner’s portrayal.

I feel a bit bad for Simon Kinberg who has his directing debut on this film because taking a franchise as a first film is very difficult as you don’t want it to be so drastically different in style from the other films. I would like to see him director freely allowing him to discover his true style.

Right, so here we go SPOILER ALERT!

Time to stop reading if you don’t want to get it ruined.

If you have seen Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull, you will completely understand this betrayal.

Aliens, they used fucking Aliens!

This was a massive screw up. If you read the comics, you know that Phoenix is a cosmic force. But just because its cosmic doesn’t mean you have to bring aliens into it!!!!

This idea is sloppy writing and really grinds my gears! The story is lazy and the only saving grace was Turner really bringing in the emotion, but nothing could save this. Even the idea of killing off Raven / Mystique was well done but the emotional change of the other character was so sudden it really takes you out of the story.

It starts out that everyone wants to help and save Jean but as soon as she kills Raven, accidentally in a beautiful scene by the way, everyone changes to pure rage and hatred. You can understand it with Hank as he loves Raven, but Erik’s rage was too out of character. Jean goes to him for help and he tried to help but as soon as he learns of Raven’s death, she needs to die. Then as quick as he sees Charles, he changes he mind yet again! Magneto getting to the rage is absolutely on point but giving up so easily? No way!

Overall this film is below par. I found the story lacking and even though there were some good acting and big names, nothing was going to save it. It is almost like they gave up before they even released the film.

2/5

Director: Simon Kinberg

Cast: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Sophie Turner, Jessica Chastain

Crew: Hans Zimmer (Music), Mauro Fiore (Cinematography)

Genre: American Superhero

Rating: 12A

Avengers: Endgame – Part 1

Posted on April 30, 2019 by C966939529

I cried, I laughed, I lived and I died – Perfection

Over 10 years, and it all comes down to this…. I am so nerding out as I am sure every MCU fan is. But as promised this is a SPOILER FREE POST! #Part1

#Don’tSpoilTheEndgame

That of course is going to make it slightly difficult for me to contain my excitement. I will give some basic facts of the timeline (well some of it) and a couple of predictions.

So, lets get to it!

This is the climax, I mean they literally couldn’t have picked a better name for this film, and with every climax there is a worry. Is it going to work to match the imagination of the fan base? Is it going to answer our questions or is it going to be a let-down?

Never fear Marvel is here! As always, they have kept their crucial team of the Russo Brothers directing, the magic writing team of Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely and of course produced by Kevin Feige. This core team to me is how they have kept the franchaise so perfect. In interviews they have always said they knew where it was going to end, and they have almost worked backwards. They admit they re-watched all the previous films because they wanted to have no cliff-hanger and give the characters and fans a definitive ending.

In an interview with Buzzfeed News they have admitted they are taking a break and closing this chapter on their careers.

“[We’re] taking a break,” Markus said. “[The MCU] is obviously about to have a huge injection of new blood. Launching a lot of new things. So it’s going to get interesting.”“But, you know, it’s the best working experience of our lives,” McFeely added. “So, if they call, we’d answer.” (Vary, 2019)

So into the nitty gritty! The film is set 22 days after the infamous snap, and then takes a time jump 5 years into the future…and that’s all I am going to say about the story! See told you – SPOILER FREE!

What I want to focus on is the imagery which is apparent throughout. At the end of Infinity War, we know that the focus is on getting to Thanos’ gauntlet on his left hand. I noticed on the Infinity War posters, you can see hands of the characters, especially because most of their powers are channelled through them.

Now looking at the posters for Endgame, its all about the faces. No hands. But in the film there is a massive focus on the hands. There are lots of close up shots of hands and a lot of the characters are wearing some form of gloves, as in a nod to the gauntlet that holds the worlds fate in its hand. (Not sorry for the pun.)

Even the difference in the colour pallet can be seen, the light and dark. This follows through the film and even through the entire franchise.

So now I have a theory on what is happening after Endgame.

Guardians of the Galaxy 3 is already in development and I can link it into Endgame. At the end of Guardians of the Galaxy 2 – in the post credit scene we see the Sovereign leader showing off her new creation which she calls Adam. Already I am picking up the rebirth of the Universe vibes. So in Endgame we have Thanos in a place called “The Garden”….Marvel are literally setting up the freaking Garden of Eden! Even in Infinity War Thanos says he wants to create Paradise – “Going to bed hungry. Scrounging for scraps. Your planet was on the brink of collapse. I was the one who stopped that. You know what’s happened since then? The children born have known nothing but full bellies and clear skies. It’s a paradise.” (Russo, 2018)

Garden of Eden is literal Paradise! This cannot be a coincidence. But I guess we will have to wait till 2022 to find out.

So in closing to the end of this Phase of the MCU, as all the fans out there I want to say Thank you to the cast and crew for giving us the ending that we deserved. The story, character arcs, imagery was all perfect and I can’t wait to discuss it more once the Spoiler ban has passed. In a few weeks I will go into more detail of the story and what it means for the characters but for now #ThanosDemandsYourSilence.

#ThankYouAvengers

Director: Anthony and Joe Russo

Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Paul Rudd, Brie Larson, Karen Gillan, Danai Gurira, Bradley Cooper, and Josh Brolin

Crew: Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely (Writers)

Genre: Superhero

Rating: 12A

References

Russo, A. &. (Director). (2018). Avengers: Infinity War [Motion Picture].

Vary, A. B. (2019, April 19). How Captain Marvel, Valkyrie, Ant-Man, And Hawkeye Somehow Fit Into “Avengers: Endgame”. Retrieved from Buzzfeed News: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/adambvary/avengers-endgame-screenwriters-captain-marvel-valkyrie

Happy Death Day 2 U

Posted on February 17, 2019 by C966939529

If I was stuck in a time loop watching this film – I wouldn’t care!

We have yet another sequel, but I am not mad as I loved the original film. But I always get nervous as films will always be compared to their counterparts. Luckily this film works perfectly.

The original Happy Death Day was set on Tree’s Birthday 18^th September. Happy Death Day 2U is set the very next day, 19^th September. This could be troublesome, but the sequel has remained with the same crew, same director, same cinematographer and same music director.

This lends itself to the smooth transition from one film to the next. This is definitely a film that you need to see the original before seeing the sequel as there are so many Easter eggs! Especially relating to Back To The Future, which was a big influence in this film.

So, of course you know the drill

* SPOILER ALERT*

Some of my favourites are:

The woodchipper scene, which is called Biff’s Tree Cutting Service, a nod to Biff the bully from the Back To The Future trilogy.
There is also in the background of the skydiving scene “Like a Leaf” written on the plane, another homage to the joke Biff always messed up, “Make like a tree and leaf.”
88 mph in the car
Poster on the wall[1]
Red Hawaiian shirt in the background

I live for these sort of references in films!

An extra one the Greek Mythology buffs:

Ryan’s Proton Converting Device. He named it Sissy, which sounds suspiciously like Sisyphus, who escaped death and was forced to roll a boulder up a hill, which constantly rolled back down, for eternity. [2]

The story is as seamless as these references and of course with any slasher film, a higher death count. In the first film there are 14 deaths, 8 of these are Tree’s. In this film there are 20 deaths, but luckily for Tree she only dies 7 times, but of course they are hilarious.

My personal favourites, the skydive and the electrocution.

The comedy keeps rolling even with the costumes.

Speaking of costumes, some eagle eyed viewers may have spotted a huge clue to the multiverse theory. Look closely at these two photos:

Happy Death Day Happy Death Day 2 U

The Gigs are he same band, but different locations….Butterfly Effect is in full effect people!

Happy Death Day Happy Death Day 2 U

Speaking of which DO NOT LEAVE IN THE CREDITS!!! Trust me it makes everything make sense and leads us to thinking there is going to be another film! I am buzzing!

If you liked the original you will love this film, I guarantee it!

My blog so my views I give it 5/5!

Director: Christopher Landon

Cast: Jessica Rothe, Isreal Broussard, Ruby Modine

Crew: Toby Oliver (Cinematography), Jason Blum (Producer), Bear McCreary (Music)

Genre: Science Fiction Comedy Slasher

Rating: 15

[1] https://www.cinemablend.com/news/2467009/happy-death-day-2u-has-a-bunch-of-clever-back-to-the-future-tributes

[2] https://www.greekmyths-greekmythology.com/the-myth-of-sisyphus/

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald 3D

Posted on November 19, 2018 by C966939529

Magical as expected but longwinded and confusing.

I was raised in the height of Pottermania and I am a proud Slytherin 😊

I used to love the build up before a new book and later on with the movies, so I know the characters inside and out, just like a lot of my fellow Potterheads.

As soon as the film starts with the faint notes of Hedwig’s theme, the Goosebumps began.

You can tell the heads of production have remained the same, David Yates stayed as director and J K Rowling wrote the screenplay, so I expected the film to be true to its origins. But my advice is to not see it in 3D, there is no need. I think I actually enjoyed it more in 2D than 3D.

We have the usual group back in the driving seat and I am glad to see them return.

But we also have new (ish)characters such as Nagini, Dumbledore and of course Grindelwald.

So now comes the WARNING if you haven’t seen it yet.

SPOILER ALERT!

The film starts just a few months after the previous film ends. 1927 Grindelwald in jail, he escapes, you know the jist. But the main things we learn are that:

Credence isn’t dead – he survived the previous film
Grindelwald and Dumbledore used to be friends (lovers??) They have a blood pact so cannot fight each other.
Leta had a brother who she unintentionally killed
Credence Barebone was born as Aurelias Dumbledore

Of course, nobody really cares about anything of this expect. Who the hell the Aurelias Dumbledore?

Just like many fans I went straight to the books to construct the Dumbledore family tree…. Yes, I am that sad.

This looks perfectly fine until you add the dates.

1881 – Albus born

1883/1884 – Aberforth born

1885 – Ariana born

1891 – Ariana was attacked by muggles. Percival took revenge on the boys and ended up being imprisoned in Azkaban.

1899 – Ariana accidently killed her mother as she couldn’t control her powers. Albus looks after his siblings.

Aurelius is supposedly born in 1901. So, at best he could be a half brother if you believe that Percival was able to either escape or have relations in Azkaban.

Another issue in the timeline is Professor McGonagall being a teacher at Hogwarts in 1927, when she isn’t born until 1935?

I am a traditionalist and it annoys me that the story and timeline has been changed just so that they can make more money. It is a cinematic marvel as all the films are, but I find the story a bit lacking. It is all the build up to the next film and at 2h 15mins I am not surprised children couldn’t keep their attention throughout.

I did like the little Easter Eggs hinting back to other films such as:

The bucket being a portkey
The flash of green light – The Killing Curse (Avada Kedavra)
The Imperius Curse (Imperio)
Phoenix
Philosophers Stone
Polyjuice Potion – Twitching on the face

Over all the casting was fantastic and I am really looking forward to the next instalment of the franchise. But I can’t say I am sold on how this is going to work into the timelines.

4/5

Director: David Yates

Cast: Eddie Redmayne, Johnny Depp, Jude Law, Katherine Waterston, and Ezra Miller.

Crew: J K Rowling (Screenwriter)

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 12A

Assassination Nation

Posted on November 16, 2018 by C966939529

A clever feminist take down of society – love, love, love!

This film came out of the blue for me. I hadn’t heard a lot about it until it appeared on the cinema listings. I don’t know why! The premise I love the idea of because in 2018 this is something that could happen. People hacking photos, especially from prominent people, like presidents… oops I meant mayor 😉

The best way I can describe this film is Mean Girls meets the Purge in Salem, Massachusetts during the Witch Hunts. This is even suggested in the costume.

I love these little Easter eggs and think it is really clever. Something else I like in this film is the use of the colour red, and the hues. Red is used in some many ways, it is used to show sexiness, empowerment, danger, and hatred. It comes full circle.

I don’t want to give too much away as I saw this film before it is released on the 23^rd November.

This film gets your thinking about your own online footprint and these are so many fantastic quotes.

This may not be a perfect film, but it made me laugh, made me think and says a lot about society.

So, I don’t care it’s a 5/5 from me! I’m off to see it again!

Favourite Quotes

“You may kill me but you’ll never kill us all”

“I’m not a bitch, I’m a feminist”

“I’m not the monster you think I am”

“The whole world is watching”

“I love this kind of scandal”

“Men who don’t eat pussy in this day of age, is straight up a sociopath” – AMEN!

Director: Sam Levinson

Cast: Odessa Young, Suki Waterhouse, Hari Nefi, Abra, and Bella Thorn.

Genre: Comedy Horror

Rating: 18

Bohemian Rhapsody

Posted on November 12, 2018 by C966939529

Fitting for Freddie but not True to the story

I am a massive Queen and I grew up listening to them thanks to my Dad. So it only seemed fitting that I saw this with my parents. This gave me a nice chance to discuss it with them and get their opinion.

I had high hopes because to take such an iconic person such as Freddie Mercury makes it difficult to stand up to the hype. When I saw this was only a 12A film I was confused as his flamboyant lifestyle definitely wasn’t 12A material in my opinion.

One thing I really liked in the film was the use of light and colour pallets.

There is a stark contrast in the two sides of Freddie. The stage Freddie and the real Freddie. The bright flamboyant tones of Freddie on stage use cold bright lighting whereas the real Freddie is in warmer tones and muted colours. To me this symbolises Freddie really well and is aesthetically pleasing to the eye.

The biggest issue I have from this film is the liberties they have taken with the timeline. I understand that they want to use all the classic songs but some of the mistakes are massive.

Fat Bottomed Girls is played during Queens first US Tour in 1974 but was not released until 1978.
We Will Rock You is shown being recorded in 1980 but it was on News Of The World album that was recorded in 1977.
Another One Bites the Dust is seen as being a part of the disco experiment from 1982 but it was released in 1980.

I am sorry, but I am a traditionalist and these things really takes me out of the movie. My Dad had exactly the same feelings and was checking on Google to make sure he was right. (Not just Old age and all that!)

The cast though were fantastic and I couldn’t have hoped for anyone else to play Freddie like Rami Malek. The mannerisms were perfect and on point.

Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury Gwilym Lee as Brian May Ben Hardy as Roger Taylor Joe Mazzello as John Deacon

But I can’t give it full marks. As much as I enjoyed it and it gave been Goosebumps just like Queens music does, I cannot forgive the timeline mistakes.

4/5

Director: Bryan Singer

Cast: Rami Khan, Lucy Boynton, Gwilym Lee, Ben Hardy, Joseph Mazzello, Aidan Gillen, Tom Hollander and Mike Myers.

Crew: John Ottoman (Editor)

Genre: Biographic Drama

Rating: 12A

Slaughterhouse Rulez

Posted on November 4, 2018 by C966939529

More Parody than Horror/Comedy

The last British horror I saw was Ghost Stories and I loved it, I saw it as a great future for the British horror community, so I had high expectations for this film. Especially as it is a Simon Pegg and Nick Frost collaboration. Director Crispian Mills, who has worked with Pegg before in “A Fantastic Fear of Everything”, has described this film as a “distant cousin of the Cornettos”.

As you may recall the Cornetto Trilogy are a collection of comedy horror films consisting of “Shaun of the Dead”, “Hot Fuzz” and “The World’s End”.

Pegg and Frost are executive producers as well as cast and even use this film as their premier for their production company Stolen Picture.

Although this film is classed as a horror, I see it more of a parodist comedy.

Parody

This film is set in a private school which can be described as a mix between Hogwarts and St Trinians. These parallels can be seen through the uniform and the houses.

At Slaughterhouse you have: Andromeda – the all girls house, Olympus – the Jocks, Xenophon – the Nerds and Sparta – who are basically the Hufflepuffs.

You can also see a clear Draco Malfoy, Snape and Neville Longbottom chracters, but I will let you figure them out for yourselves!

The parodies even continue into the Cornetto Trilogy – see what I mean?

I also liked the subtle hints, for instance the schools motto is “Per Caedes Ad Astra” which means “Through Bloodshed to the Stars” In Latin.

The use of fracking is a parody on the environment and it is something that is happening in the world but this is taking silliness to the extreme with the amount of fart jokes which can get tiresome after a while.

Symbolism

The filming itself is quite interesting. They use a lot of drone shots to show the size of the school and as it was filmed at Stowe School near Buckingham, which is 300 years old, it was very effective to show the grandeur of the Private School. This was also mixed in with POV shots, some from the creatures, some from the students as they spy. The school itself symbolises the status of going to a private school against a public school. There has always been a lot of discussion about is it worth paying to go to Private school and mixing with the elite. But at the end of the day no matter what school faces the apocalypse we are all screwed!

Another symbol I liked the use of was the school tie. For many different characters it represents something different.

Don

Woody

Wootton

Clegg

Wolloughby

Don doesn’t want to be at the school and feels very alone so the tie makes him feel alone and abandoned.

Woody graduated many years ago but still wears his school tie on his wrist as a reminder of his brother Teddy who died in the woods. It is a symbol of his past and of his rebellion from the elite.

Wootton bless him has failed the house test on the history of the school numerous times and is punished every time he fails. For him the tie symbolise and is literally a constraint.

Clegg is the head prefect and takes his role very seriously and wears his tie with pride, showing unity in the school and making life hell for the other students.

Willoughby sees the tie as a symbol of death as his roommate hung himself using the tie and he tried to do the same after pulling pranks using the noose as a symbol.

Conclusion

A lot of people have panned this film but I really enjoyed it, but I think I enjoyed it more as a parody than a comedy horror. So I think in the end it all comes down to personal taste, which in the end is what happens with any film. I found it funny and enjoyed picking out the parody nuggets but I didn’t find it scary at all. So if you want to be scared look elsewhere but if you want a lighthearted film with lots of fart jokes. This film is for you.

I give it a 3/5.

Favourite Quotes:

“Super massive Frack Hole”

“Damn, why didn’t this happen under the maths block?”

“To the Skoda!”

“This Is Sparta”

“Tunnels my arse, this is a sewer!”

“I’m gonna die unfulfilled, I’m gonna die a virgin, I’m gonna die in Greek sandals”

Director: Crispian Mills

Cast: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Asa Butterfield, Michael Sheen and Finn Cole

Crew: John De Borma (Cinematographer)

Genre: Horror Comedy

Rating: 15

Director: Crispian Mills

Cast: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Asa Butterfield, Michael Sheen and Finn Cole

Crew: John De Borma (Cinematographer)

Genre: Horror Comedy

Rating: 15

The Meg

Posted on August 24, 2018 by C966939529

A Meg-nificant Movie Mistake

This film plays on one of the most well known fears throughout the world…How do you really know what is lurking beneath you in the ocean?

So far scientists have only explored around 20% of the world’s oceans which means we know so little about the environment, the climates, and the species that dwell below in the deep., and back in 1975 Jaws brought this fear to the forefront of peoples minds and although many years have passed, can you tell me when you go in the water you don’t still hear the chilling theme tune?

Besides have you seen Shark Week?!?! They are discovering the bigger sharks are dwelling at deeper depths and aren’t normally seen at the surface, so what else is hiding down there?

Since Jaws is one of my favourite films and got me looking at films from numerous aesthetic angles I can’t review a shark film without discussing them both!

Just like Jaws, The Meg is based on a book and is based around the deep sea research from an ocean based marine biology centre. Oh wait does this sound familiar? You bet! From 1975 lets time travel to 1999 and Deep Blue Sea. Marine Biologists are researching on a floating rig in the middle of the Ocean. I’m starting to get a bad feeling about this already aren’t you?

So lets cut to the chase and look at our big bad sharks:

Jaws:

Great White Shark

Carcharodon carcharias

25ft or 7.5ms

Man- eater

Attacks from below

The Meg:

Megalodon

Carcharocles megalodon

68-88ft or 21-27ms

Top predadtor of the oceans

Extinct 2 million years

We have learnt in recent years that giant Great White Sharks called mega-sharks do exist.

I would like to introduce you to Deep Blue, a 20 ft female Great White Shark found in the Guadalupe Islands off of Mexico. She is believed to be one of the biggest White Sharks discovered, but she is still growing. She is believed to be around 50 years old and she is still growing. She is only 5ft off the shark in Jaws, so who else is hiding down there?

“You’re Gonna Need a Bigger Boat”

But I digress!

The Meg has tried to learn a lot from its predecessor shark films such as:

Using music to build tension
Not showing the shark straight away and playing on the audiences’ own fears
Using Point of View shots from both the characters and the sharks

But it differs on the way it has been filmed.

To get the best shots of the actors in the water they wanted to be able to control the environment so instead of shooting in the ocean they shot in a tan. I can completely understand the reasoning behind it but it is soo obvious! You know it isn’t the ocean, purely because there isn’t anything disturbing the shots and to me it is going to scare me of the ocean because it clearly isn’t the ocean!

In Jaws they filmed in the ocean and tied ropes on to the actors and pulled them around giving the authentic feel, admittedly the shark is nothing by todays standards it gave a focal point for the actors. This is the problem with CGI because the actors are trying to act with a tennis ball on a stick for reference. I don’t care if you were the world’s greatest actor, you are not going to get believable reactions. I really believed that with clever angles and a smaller realistic model this would have been a much better film.

In my opinion, this film is style over substance and is weakened by bad aesthetic choices – CGI can only take you so far. I know it was never going to be a master piece, but I really had higher expectations, a few funny moments can’t save it.

2/5

Director: Jon Turtletaub

Cast: Jason Statham, Ruby Rose, Rainn Wilson, Li Bingbing,

Crew: Harry Gregson-Williams (Music), Tom Stern (Cinematographer)

Genre: Science Fiction Thriller (apparently???)

Rating: 12A

Adrift

Posted on July 9, 2018 by C966939529

Beautiful Scenes, Beautiful Acting, Beautiful Film

I admit I am a big fan of “Man v Nature” survival films such as The Perfect Storm, The Shallows and Castaway, so this film is right up my street.

The Director Baltasar Kormákur is no stranger to survival films, as in 2015 he directed Everest, based on the 1996 Everest Disaster, and his latest film, is no exception, it is based on the true story of Tami Oldham and Richard Sharp, who in 1983 were stranded after a storm at sea.

Adrift definitely has its own colour pallet, just as Everest did. Kormákur uses primary colours red and yellow to forecast danger signals, which is striking against the blue and grey background of the ocean. This is similar to Everest where the primary colours are reflected back from the white snow on the mountain.

Everest 2015

Adrift 2018

But it is even used as a warning sign right from the word go.

Another thing I like about this film is that it is not chronological. Even though they filmed it chronologically in editing they jump within the timeline. This gives the effect that the characters are daydreaming about the past, whilst on the boat.

Filming was not an easy, as 90% of the movie was filmed at sea. According to interviews from the cast and crew days began at 4am and people were throwing up. So, the reality was “you’re either sun burnt, sleep deprived, or seasick” as they say in the film!

The cast are fantastic and Shailene Woodley gives a career best performance. You get dragged into the story and really care about the characters, especially when you know this happened.

Like many films there is a twist which would be great if you didn’t know the true story behind it, otherwise it is a little bit lost on you.

Overall, I would definitely recommend it to anyone.

4/5

Director: ‎Baltasar Kormákur

Cast: ‎Shailene Woodley, Sam Claflin

Crew: Aaron and Jordan Kandell (Screenwriters)

Genre: Survival Drama

Rating: 12A

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