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Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)
Pretty great.
The script, direction, edit and performance all worked as far as I'm concerned. It had the same textural feel of the original trilogy, with just enough references to ground it and avoid the soft reboot feel of the sequels.
There's some great costumes, I especially liked the infantry uniforms when Han was on Mimban.
I liked the casting too, Bettany was great in every scene, Glover rocked Lando, Clarke owned the vulnerable spy role, Ehrenreich was much better as Han than I originally thought his vocal tone and timing when delivering his lines really did make his role.
The script avoids the turgid mess of some of the sequels, it's got a sense of star wars grandeur at times but keeps focused on the characters arc without lapsing into tedious introspection or feeling the need to lay seeds of future complications.
The effects feel solid, old school and lots of it looks to be in camera, which is always a buzz. In fact having looked up some of the effects, Waller-Bridge certainly deserves more recognition than just being the voice of L3-37.
The direction is deft and rarely misses. It almost feels like a road movie at times then expands into pretty glorious and vast scenes.
Editing wise, rapid scenes don't lose focus or coherence, scenes that in other movies on the franchise would drag are dealt with quickly, it reminded me of the original, lots done with short scenes.
Is it perfect? Well no. There's a few bits that clunk a little, but not so much it draws you from the story... well, all except how did Han know wookie? I suspect that explanation is on the cutting room floor.
Also while the score is generally good, it was a disappointment when Han first flies the Falcon, sure the rousing element might have been saved for his first "use in anger' as it were, but it still felt a little underwhelming.
It's fun, it's got some great scenes, it pulls it off. Go watch it.
Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond - Featuring a Very Special, Contractually Obligated Mention of Tony Clifton (2017)
A Mandelbrot vortex film.
On first glance this film seems a little self serving, an interesting but ultimately conceit of hindsight.
But as the film progresses it messes with your mind, what's real? What's not? Is Jim Carrey really that committed to his performance, is he really the delicate introspective on his way to being lost?
It's on the whole delightfully chaotic, continuously blurring reality with character and legend. The professional life of Kaufman seems to have been dripping with deliberate misdirection and the manic ability to say the wrong thing at the right time in order to create mischief and crafted mayhem. After all, anarchy is order...
Carrey is engaging in his interview, drops of real Jim and drips of insight blend into what feels like dead pan method acting, reflecting on the mirror of nearly 20 year old method acting that reflected the managed chaos of Kaufman.
Or is it all real? It's impossible to tell, the lie is in the truth. Several times art reflects life and Carrey uses lies and truth to very interesting effect. Every time you think you've got a grip of what's real there's a subtle, or not at all subtle, reminder that what you're watching could well be an extension of a very elaborate hoax... Joke... Homage... Dammit it's something.
Fifty Shades of Grey (2015)
Fifty Shades of Domestic Violence
The premise of the story appears to be, if you put up with the violence long enough, your man will eventually love you.
Holy hell.
If the location was a council estate in Bradford, it would be filmed by Mike Leigh.
This is honest to goodness Daddy Complex horrorshow.
The casting is astounding, astoundingly bad. Jamie Dornan stumbles through the film missing all scene stealing moments and just ends up looking like the kind of stalker that is all macho and sexy at twenty but ends up in Crown Court at the age of forty for going to far to obtain used underwear.
Dull, painful and downright daft.
Movie 43 (2013)
The Aristocrats on acid.
This film is basically an extended "The Aristocrats" joke, And let's face it, that's pretty awesome.
Of course if you don't like the idea of incest jokes, testicles on Hugh Jackmans' neck, coprophiliac newly weds, Batman describing super girls' vagina and a whole host of uncomfortable and essentially anti social gags, it's probably best avoided.
I'm unsure why the UK version was altered to include the sub plot, it hardly seemed worth it.
There's nothing that holds this film together, but that's okay because just when you think it can't get any worse it's on the next sketch, The sketches themselves do vary in quality but the acting is generally very good and the surreal scripts leave you in fear of what is coming next.
The critics panned it, which is unfair. The spirit of The Aristocrats is embedded so deeply in this, it could just about be seen by batman,,,
... Have I got an act for you!