Johnny English Reborn (2011)

Since I enjoyed Johnny English and I'm looking forward to seeing the new movie releasing later this year, I checked out Johnny English Reborn. Though I didn't have very high expectations, it still managed to disappoint me. 

Dismissed after an embarrassing mission in Mozambique, Johnny English (Rowan Atkinson) has spent the last five years in a monastery in Tibet, learning new skills and training the weakest parts of the body. But when MI-7 learns that the Vortex, an agency of skilled assassins, is planning to kill the Chinese premier, Johnny English is called back in action and, with the help of rookie Agent Tucker (Daniel Kaluuya), he must stop the Vortex before they succeed.

Just like in the previous film of the series, the plot is very simple and you can predict how it's going to develop and end right from the start. The plot to Johnny English Reborn though differs from its predecessor's for one small detail, it's not the least interesting nor engaging. It's just dull and tedious.

And there's little Rowan Atkinson can do to save the situation. Though he still steals the shows with his faces, grimaces and gestures, the writers just went too far with the character of Johnny English. Instead of being a parody of James Bond, English is now so exaggerated that he's almost become a parody of himself. Which is pretty annoying and takes the fun away from the movie.

Universal Pictures

The supporting characters/actors aren't that better. Though I really like Daniel Kaluuya, I don't think he has what he takes to do this kind of comedy. He just doesn't have the charms to be the funny sidekick and he is a barely decent replacement to Ben Miller's Bough. And the villain, Dominic West's Simon Ambrose, a colleague and old friend of Johnny English, isn't as memorable as John Malkovich's Pascal Sauvage in Johnny English.

The comedy doesn't work that well either. While there are some solid laughs, many of the jokes are laughable to say the least, they are quite predictable and some of the gags are so overused they become boring.

I really hope Johnny English Strikes Again is going to be better than is. It shouldn't be harder to do a better job, right?

DAILY CALL SHEET: MAY 4, 2018

Avalanche Sharks (2014) Snow bunny bikini contest is disrupted by thawed sharks swimming down the slopes. Only for those with an OCD to watch every single SyFy shark movie. TIL: Technically, natural evils like avalanche sharks actually are man's fault. Sin messed everything up.

Your daily dose of culture courtesy of Bluebeard's 10 Honeymoons (1960) - “It is not a lack of love, but a lack of friendship that makes unhappy marriages.” - Friedrich Nietzsche

And now, for today’s Facebook…

10 Day Album Challenge

In no particular order, post 10 of your all time favorite albums, one per day. Choose music that really made an impact on you and is still something you listen to, even if only occasionally. Post the cover; no need to explain why you chose it.

Day 8 of 10 days.

HORROR PACK UNBOXING - April 2018

Cory has returned for another Horror Pack unboxing - which couldn't have arrived at his door at a better time, 4/20. This time around it includes, The Horseman, a revenge thriller from the same writer/director of the 2017 Bloodlands, Hobo with a Shotgun starring Rutger Hauer, Zack Snyder's Dawn of the Dead remake, and 4/20 Massacre, the April exclusive through Horror Pack's Blu-Ray subscription.

CONTINUE READING

Sunset Boulevard (1950)

Because I loved Some Like It Hot and The Apartment (both Billy Wilder movies), and I have read nothing but great things about it, I had very high expectations for Sunset Boulevard. And the film was just as good as I was expecting it to be.

In Hollywood of the 1950s, Joe Gillis (William Holden), a young, down-on-his-luck screenwriter, is hired by Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson), an ageing and fading silent film queen, to write a screenplay starring her. Joe accepted the job as he believed he could manipulate the rich woman but he soon finds himself imprisoned in the lonely mansion of the starlet and develops a toxic relationship with her. 

The plot and its development are just a few of the many things I loved about the film. This is one of those times the story starts at the end and then it's all shown to the audience through one long flashback. Though you already know how it will end, the story grabs your attention and sucks you in right away and by the time you get to the end, you'll be so caught up in the story that the ending will still catch you by surprise. 

What helps making the story so interesting and absorbing is the characters. They are written and performed in a way that not only they are interesting to watch but you will care about them. Norma Desmond is an ageing and forgotten movie star, a narcissist, who is trying to recapture an era that is gone --that of silent film. She is delusional, stuck with the illusions she is still famous. Gloria Swanson gives a spectacular performance as Norma Desmond as she captures the desperation, melancholy, joy and mental breakdown to perfection. 

On the other hand, there's Joe Gillis. He is a cynic, greedy, opportunistic young man who plans on playing Norma right from the start to achieve success. He eventually finds himself more a prisoner than a guest as Norma falls in love with him. The performance by William Holden is flawless. He conveys the anger, the pity, the desperation and helplessness of Joe perfectly. 

Paramount Pictures

The supporting characters are also quite interesting, especially Max, Norma's butler. He too is trapped in Norma's web, but he is the one who created that web. Max is the one in control, the one and only with the real power, and Erich von Stroheim does an amazing job capturing all that. Nancy Olson too does a good job as Betty, a young Paramount script reader who eventually falls in love with Joe (if you read the comments and are wondering where I wrote Hoe instead of Joe, this is where), and her chemistry with Holden is good. However, that subplot, though it was needed by the plot, it feels rather forced. 

All of that being said, Sunset Boulevard isn't a movie about people, it is a love letter to movies, silent era and the audience as well. It does a wonderful job showing what a place like Hollywood does to people like Norma --they turn them into stars, promise them everything and then throw them away when they no longer need them. But it isn't only about Hollywood or movies. It is also about dreams and hopes and what is like to give up on them.

At last, Sunset Boulevard has a wonderful cinematography that adds an amazing atmosphere to the film. Not to mention some truly mesmerizing shots, like the opening sequences of the corpse floating in the pool. Easily one of the best openings ever. 

DAILY CALL SHEET: MAY 3, 2018

Disco Beaver From Outer Space (1978) Full of dated references and probably offensive to most modern sensibilities. Perfect time capsule of the late 70s. TIL: Just like some passages in the Bible, some things have to viewed through the lens of the time period they were created in.

Your daily dose of culture courtesy of The Hypnotic Eye (1960) - "A democratic civilization will save itself only if it makes the language of the image into a stimulus for critical reflection, not an invitation for hypnosis.” - Umberto Eco

It looks like we’re getting close to the end of the Facebook…

10 Day Album Challenge-

In no particular order, post 10 of your all time favorite albums, one per day. Choose music that really made an impact on you and is still something you listen to, even if only occasionally. Post the cover; no need to explain why you chose it.

Day 7 of 10 days.

No explanation, but I will provide a track list for this schizophrenic, oddly named compilation...

1. The Hustle - Van McCoy
2. Walking in Rhythm - The Blackbyrds
3. Rockin' Chair - Gwen McCrae
4. Don't Call Us, We'll Call You - Sugarloaf
5. Lady - Styx
6. I Wanna Dance Wit' Choo - Disco Tex and the Sex-O-Lettes
7. Disco Queen - Hot Chocolate
8. Hey You - Bachman-Turner Overdrive
9. Never Can Say Goodbye - Gloria Gaynor
10. Doctor's Orders - Carol Douglas
11. Shame, Shame, Shame - Shirley & Company
12. Kung Fu Fighting - Carl Douglas
13. Spirit of the Boogie - Kool & the Gang
14. Will It Go Round in Circles - Billy Preston
15. Rock Your Baby - George McCrae
16. Swing Your Daddy - Jim Gilstrap
17. Rockin' Soul - Hues Corporation
18. Rock and Roll All Nite - Kiss
19. Express - B.T. Express

Lootera (2013)

Lootera is one of the many Indian films Sid suggested me. I usually like the stuff --movies and TV series-- he suggests and therefore I had quite high expectations for this film. I guess there's always a first time for everything as this film turned out to be a disappointment. 

In 1953 India, Pakhi (Sonakshi Sinha), the feisty and only daughter of the local Zamindar (Barun Chanda), falls in love with Varun (Ranveer Singh), an archaeologist who went to her village to excavate her old family temple in search of a lost civilization. But Varun hides a secret that could drive them apart. 

Inspired by O. Henry's short story The Last Leaf, the plot of this film is simple and predictable --you can tell right from the start that the love story will not end well-- but most of all, uninteresting and didn't keep me that engaged. I didn't care about the romance at all nor about the twists and turns the story takes.

The main characters were another problem. They just aren't that interesting. Pakhi seems to be that kind of girl who falls in love with the first new person in town, and Varun, well, there's nothing great nor redeeming about him. They eventually get a little better but at the point, it was just too late to care. 

And the acting, it was disappointing too. I saw Ranveer Singh in Padmaavat not long ago and I really enjoyed his over-the-top performance. Here, he is not always convincing and his performance as Varun, a man with a dark secret, is barely decent. Sonakshi Sinha, who I have not seen before, gives a stronger performance as Pakhi but she's not enough to save the movie. 

Balaji Motion Pictures

Especially when said movie fails pretty much under every aspect. To the not so elaborate script and the average acting, add the slow pacing --that almost made me give up on this-- and the score which is beautiful and soulful at times, but doesn't fit at all at others. However, costumes and cinematography are very beautiful. 

Thursday Movie Picks: Characters Making a New Start

At some point in our life, we all wish to make a new, fresh start. Maybe it's something as silly as a new year resolution, or something more serious, but I do know for sure that it's never easy. In movies, however, is a whole different story. It is so much easier, right? They decide to do something and accomplish that. Well, not always. Anyway, that's the theme for this week's Thursday Movie Picks, the weekly series hosted by Wandering Through the Shelves, and without further ado, here are my picks

Bridget Jones's Diary (2001)

This is a bit more on the silly side and it follows a 32-year-old woman, Bridget Jones (Renée Zellweger), who is determined to improve herself aka stop drinking smoking, losing weight and find Mr. Right. And of course none of the three will be easy to achieve, especially the latter as Bridget is torn between her charming, womanizer boss Daniel (Hugh Grant), and the rude and arrogant Mark (Colin Firth). It's a corny and clichéd click flick but Renée Zellweger makes it so funny and enjoyable. And I'm team Mark, just in case you're wondering.

Ingrid Goes West (2017)

Ingrid (Aubrey Plaza) has a mental breakdown when she finds that an unrequited friend of hers didn't invite her to her wedding. Released from the hospital, she learns about Taylor Sloane (Elizabeth Olsen), an Instagram influencer whose life appears to be perfect, and, with the inheritance from her late mother, Ingrid moves to Los Angeles with one goal, befriend Taylor. It doesn't go exactly as Ingrid planned to but I guess that's what happens when you pretend to be someone else. Anyway, this was such a pleasant surprise. It's funny and kinda sad at some point, and it explores our obsession with social media pretty well. 

Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011)

After escaping from a cult, Martha (Elizabeth Olsen) calls her sister (Sarah Paulson) who picks her up and takes her to the lake house where she's staying with her husband (Hugh Dancy). She tries to start over but the cult fucked her up pretty bad and her past haunts her. It's pretty intense and quite disturbing, but it manages to show how hard it is to go back to normality after living in an entirely different world for some time. Olsen's performance is great.