Adrift

 

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

Everest 2015

Boat sink

Adrift 2018

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

Pre WarningShaileen WoodleyYellow Binoculars

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

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Director:  ‎Baltasar Kormákur

Cast: ‎Shailene Woodley, Sam Claflin

Crew: Aaron and Jordan Kandell (Screenwriters)

Genre: Survival Drama

Rating: 12A

Solo: A Star Wars Story 3D

 

Better than I imagined. 

I was on tenterhooks when it was announced that they were doing a Solo film as I am a traditionalist and cannot see anyone accept Harrison Ford in the role. Obviously, I know you can’t have a 75-year-old playing someone in their 20s but considering he has been playing the role for the last 40 years, it is hard to imagine anyone else stepping into his shoes. I have to admit I was wrong. Alden Ehrenreich is amazing! Not only do they look similar it is the mannerisms Ehrenreich has nailed!

Solo Comparison

Another character that was nailed was Lando Calrissian. I am in love with Donald Glover, and his many capes.  The cast have clearly studied the previous films and really kept consistent with the mannerisms, making it a really believable.

Lando comparison

The storywriters, Jonathan Kasdan and Lawrence Kasdan, names should sound familiar to Star Wars nerds. Lawrence Kasdan was one of the writers of The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. This time he has teamed up with his son Jonathan to continue the Star Wars story, or rather revisit its past. I love a good continuation of crew as it makes the story flow right from A New Hope up to now.   Even in the story you can see these influences, such as the Sabacc dice.

The story has been set up ready for a sequel and Ehrenreich has been contracted for a further 2 movies, but Ron Howard the director has said nothing has been confirmed.

So watch this space!!

Sci-Fi pun intended 😊

Overall, I loved the film and it was OK in 3D, (still could have been used better in my opinion,) but I loved the story and how it impacts my view of Solo in previous films. Typical Star Wars film, lots of comedy, especially with the Droids, and you can see why characters are the way they are.

4/5

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Director: Ron Howard

Cast: Alden Ehrenreich, Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke, Donald Glover and Paul Bettany

Crew:  Kathleen Kennedy (producer), Jonathan Kasdan and Lawrence Kasdan (Writers)

Genre:  American Space Western

Rating: 12A

4/5

Deadpool

“Bloody good fun, and I really mean bloody.”

It’s finally here! The first Marvel movie of the year! I am not going to lie my inner (or not so inner) geek is so happy after such a long Marvel break. The last film was in August 2015 with Fantastic Four…which did not get the best reviews.

Before I start I want to define my writing about the character of Wade Wilson and Deadpool. Although they reside in the same body they are both different entities in their own right and that is why I have dipped between the two names depending on the scene I am describing.

Well I think the first thing we have to talk about it Ryan Reynolds. This is his second attempt at being a superhero as back in 2011 he famously played the Green Lantern, which failed to reach the audience as expected. According to Reynolds, there was not much guidance, something that was completely different to his experience in Deadpool.

“You really need a visionary behind a movie like that, but it was the classic studio story: “We have a poster, but we don’t have a script or know what we want; let’s start shooting!” (McGloin, 2016)

The clever thing about Deadpool is that it makes nuances about the genre of Superhero films and also just films in general. The opening sequence for one doesn’t include any names.  As bizarre as this seems instead they use derogatory terms.

The screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick are a well-known duo for tongue in cheek films such as Zombieland. In an interview they have said.

“We just figured that it was a fun nod to the heartache as we’ve had on this thing over the last six and a half years. Screenwriters aren’t at the top of the food chain in the feature world. They often should be, but sometimes they take second billing. It was a fun, fun way for us to poke fun at the hierarchy. We had heroic moments for sure on this movie.” (McKittrick, 2016)

“Overpaid Tool” (Director), “Asshats” (Producers) and “Gratuitous Cameo” (Infamous Stan Lee Cameo, that every Marvel lover looks forward to) are just some of the examples. Reese and Wernick make fun of themselves and even the problems they had during production. In order to cut the budget they had Deadpool forget his guns to the final battle and even Deadpool comments that they didn’t have the budget to include a third X-Men character, which was true “Wow, this is such a big house, but I only ever see the two of you here. It’s like the studio didn’t have enough money for any more X-Men..”.

They even make fun of the different franchises with mention to Professor Xavier Deadpool asks “McAvoy or Stewart? These timelines can get so confusing.” The thing that I love about this scene is the fact that it is exactly what the fans would be thinking.

Ryan Reynolds even gets taken the piss out of with making sly hits at Green Lantern, for instance when Wade is waiting to get his “cancer cure” he jokes about being a Superhero and not making his costume green. Wade even says “Think Ryan Reynolds got this far on his superior acting method?”

Another thing that separates Deadpool from other films in general, let alone Marvel films is the use of breaking the fourth wall, which is so vital to the character. At the beginning of the film he even says “I know right? You’re probably thinking “Whose balls did I have to fondle to get my very own movie”? I can’t tell you his name, but it rhymes with ‘pullverine.’and lemme tell you, he’s got a nice pair of smooth criminals down unda’. This is an obvious shout out the X-men Origins Wolverine where we see the character but not experience the character. The main thing that was missing was of course the breaking of the fourth wall. This is a crucial part of Deadpool’s character and without this mutes his real character. Luckily our prayers have been answered with this film.

Although Deadpool is a crude character I did not expect the film to be as graphic as it is, but the best part is how once again they make fun of it. The instrument of this is Colossus. How ironic that a huge metal guy is such a sensitive soul on the inside. He tries to make Deadpool a better person ,(“Language please, Deadpool”), and a hero (“Four or five moments – that’s all it takes to become a hero”), and he even vomits at violence which is a hilarious moment in the film, but his so endearing.

Well this weekend is the Oscars and Ryan Reynolds decided to share his views with this post on Twitter.  In the final week everyone has been making the final push for votes and of course how can you leave out Deadpool, the modest son of a bitch.

Deadpool Oscars

I must admit the Best Love Scene with Deadpool and his Baby Hand killed me and I sat there giggling to myself like an idiot.  But I think this kind of humour is why everyone has fallen in love with the character. I kind of liked the raunchier side of the superhero- although he would disagree (“I may be super, but I’m no hero”), and boy is it raunchy. I must admit I was surprised that it only got a 15 rating and do wonder if it was pushing it for some of the audience that is drawn to a Marvel movie.

I overly enjoyed Deadpool and I have heard that there is a sequel in the works keeping the same screenwriters and director so I think we can expect a lot more greatness from Deadpool and look forward to seeing him merge into other films in the Marvel Universe. Although I did sometimes forget I was actually watching a Marvel film, but maybe I am a traditionalist at heart. Considering this was Tim Miller’s first directorship, he did a great job and think he is an up and comer in the future.

4/5 from this fan!

Chicka-chickahhhh.

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Works Cited

McGloin, M. (2016, January 7). Ryan Reynolds Reflects On Green Lantern; Deadpool Makes Fun. Retrieved February 23rd, 2016, from Cosmic Book News: http://www.cosmicbooknews.com/content/ryan-reynolds-reflects-green-lantern-deadpool-makes-fun#axzz405fuvgB1

McKittrick, C. (2016, February 15th). The Real Heroes: Reese and Wernick on Deadpool. Retrieved February 23rd, 2016, from Creative Screenwriting: http://creativescreenwriting.com/the-real-heroes-reese-and-wernick-on-deadpool/

Director: Tim Miller

Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin

Crew: Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick (Screenwriters), Ryan Reynolds (Producer)

Genre: Superheroes, Action

Rating: 15