Overlord Movie Review

Overlord (2018)

Rent Overlord on Amazon Video
Written by: Billy Ray and Mark L. Smith (screenplay by), Billy Ray (story by)
Directed by: Julius Avery
Starring: Jovan Adepo, Wyatt Russell, Mathilde Ollivier,  John Magaro, Gianny Taufer, Pilou Asbæk, Bokeem Woodbine
Rated: R
Watch the trailer

Plot
A small group of American soldiers find horror behind enemy lines on the eve of D-Day in 1944.

Verdict
This has a great premise, World War II and zombies, but it takes a bit too long to get into the action. The last third is what I wanted. It's over the top gore and violence with a healthy dose of nightmare fuel. The standard subplots slow this down, and while destroying monsters and evil soldiers is standard too, at least its' entertaining.
It depends.

Review
This has a great premise, merging World War II with German zombies/monsters. It feels like pulp and that's not a bad thing. That's what I want from this movie. The opening is action packed, dropping from an exploding plane and landing in water. We follow the reluctant soldier Boyce.

Boyce finds a few fellow soldiers and they hole up at the local village. We soon see the bad Germans and while this is setting up for future events and story arcs, in a movie like this it's taking a bit too long. I don't care if the the gruff soldier befriends the American culture loving kid. We're teased about a secret laboratory and experiments that is the epicenter of the soldier's mission.
Despite being outnumbered, they must complete their mission to ensure D-Day is a success.

We get plenty of characterization for the leads, but it's pretty typical. Boyce is likable enough but he has a standard arc. He's hesitant, not a real soldier, but by the end he gets the job done. It's nothing new.
Once Boyce get to the church turned laboratory this picks up. Boyce finds some disturbing subjects in the lab. This is where the movie gets wild with scary creatures and powerful villains. This is gross in a great way with straight nightmare fuel. There's a big fight and I like what the characters decide to do with the lab. That bolsters this as historical fiction and why we've never heard of these experiments.
This movie likes gore and this gets crazy. I just wish the first two thirds was as fun as the last third.

The Richest Girl in the World (1934)

Dorothy Hunter is The Richest Girl in the World (1934). Everyone knows her name but, in all her "23 or 24" years, no one knows what she looks like or even where she is in the world at any given moment. Even the trustees of her fortune have never seen her. At their latest meeting however, she does make an appearance, dressed attractively in a striped jacket with matching gloves, in order to tell them of her upcoming marriage. Once back at home though, it is revealed that she is actually Miss Hunter's secretary, Sylvia (Fay Wray) and is already married (to Reginald Denny).

That same day Dorothy's fiancé breaks off their engagement suddenly - "If only you were the SECOND richest girl in the world" and Dorothy (Miriam Hopkins) fears she may never find love. At a party the next day, Sylvia - hereafter referred to as Wray to avoid confusion - continues pretending to be Dorothy with Dorothy  - hereafter referred to as Hopkins - pretending to be Sylvia.

At the party, Hopkins meets Tony (Joel McCrea) and the two hit it off. He invites her for a canoe ride, saying he wants to avoid Miss Hunter, but while she fetches her sweater he goes out with Wray instead. Hopkins and Denny take out the motorboat and cause the canoe to capsize.

Hopkins then sets out on a campaign to see if McCrea will choose her over "Miss Hunter." She pushes the two of them together, lending him money so he can afford to take Wray out and telling him that he has a chance.

McCrea is also invited to the Adirondacks, but Hopkins plans it so that she and McCrea can be alone the first night. He seems to genuinely be in love with her but then he lets slip that he thinks Wray wouldn't have him. Hopkins tells him he's wrong and urges him to propose and see, confident that he won't actually ask Wray.

Unfortunately for Hopkins he does ask Wray, who accepts. Everyone urges Hopkins to reveal who she is but she would rather give McCrea up than be a "second choice."

After everyone has gone to bed however, McCrea sees Denny go into Wray's room and the following morning tells her what he saw. Hopkins quickly says that it was she who slept in that room. Despite that, McCrea discovers that it is Hopkins he loves and he forcibly carries her off to be married.

My favorite outfit of Wray's

The movie ends with the two of them on their honeymoon, McCrea still oblivious as to Hopkins true identity.

This is one of the first films I saw for both Hopkins and Wray. Both give wonderful performances and the film, though certainly not groundbreaking, is enjoyable. Both actresses also starred in other films with Joel McCrea. Remade in 1944 as Bride By Mistake.

As the rich girl's double, Fay Wray uncovers a talent for light comedy that few had suspected.

~ Andre Sennwald for the NY Times

Wray's costumes were featured in the November 1934 Photoplay.

Watch the full movie here! 

This post is part of The Fay Wray and Robert Riskin Blogathon hosted by Classic Movie Hub and Once Upon a Screen. Be sure to check out the other posts and enter to win a copy of Victoria Riskin's new book on her famous parents. (or purchase it here). Read CMH's exclusive interview with Victoria here.

Day 1 | Day 2

Free Solo (2018)

I really wanted to see all the documentary feature nominees before the ceremony but I miserably failed as it was the Oscars day and had seen none. So last Sunday afternoon —the ceremony is on Monday morning here— I decided to watch at least one and I went with Free Solo because I had read somewhere that it was going to win. And so did it. Did it deserve it though? I'm not sure as I'm yet to see the other nominees. 

Anyways, Free Solo is a biographical documentary about Alex Honnold, an American rock climber best known for his free solo ascents of big walls, and it focuses on his 2017 climb of Yosemite's 3000 foot El Captain without ropes or safety gear.

As we follow Honnold on his book tour, him giving speeches and his preparation to free soloing El Captain, we learn why he does what he does, how much work, both physical and mental, there is behind climbing, and the impact his relationship with his girlfriend has and whether a it can withstand the stress of such a high-risking life.

The documentary works as a character study a very interesting figure. Unlike the climbers I've seen so far —on film because I'm not into climbing at all— Alex is a shy, quiet, quirky —who eats with a spatula straight from the pan?—,socially-awkward guy with a charming smile. He is also selfish though —he doesn't give a damn about other people and, talking about his girlfriend he says that if he dies, she'll find someone else, forget about him like it's not that big a deal— and at times comes off as a spoiled, selfish kid. He is a simple guy who was lucky has what it takes to turn a passion into his future. His incredible climbings brought him success and money and, instead of showing off his wealth and fame, he started a non-profit organization that brings technology such as solar energy to impoverished communities.

It comes without saying that the cinematography in Free Solo is gorgeous, breathtaking as it captures both the beauty and dangerousness of Yosemite and nature in general.

National Geographic Documentary Films

Unfortunately, while Honnold is an interesting character, and the photography is stunning, Free Solo didn't quite work for me.  I had never heard of Honnold before so I didn't know whether he'd make it or not, but it felt as if I knew it already as the film lacks that palpable sense of tension and suspense a movie like this should have. I did freak out a little and wonder how Honnold and people like him even manage to do such things but only because I suffer from vertigo and therefore I would never do this myself. Also, it wasn't always as compelling as it should have been —I was bored at some points, to be honest.

Vox Lux (2018)

I remember seeing the trailer to Vox Lux on TV after it premiered at Venice last September and you know what stuck with me? Natalie Portman's Black Swan-alike makeup. Despite the film's forgettability and my lack of interest in seeing it, I still checked it out because of my love for Portman. 

The film follows 18 years in the life of Celeste Montgomery (Natalie Portman as an adult, and Raffrey Cassidy as a teen). After surviving a school shooting in 1999, she is catapulted into stardom thanks to the writing skills of her sister, Ellie (Stacy Martin), and her passionate manager (Jude Law).

Yet another movie that relies on narration and chapters to tell the story, Vox Lux is a bizarre mess that doesn't quite know what it wants to be. While the first part is very interesting to follow as it is a brutally honest portrayal of the modern pop culture where terrible circumstances and tragedies are exploited to achieve money, fame, success, as well as a compelling look at a teenage experiencing sudden fame and trying to deal with surviving a tragedy, the second part, following 31-year-old Celeste, is just very boring, and the theme of terrorism doesn't really fit in.

The characters aren't particularly good either. The main characters are unlikeable, they lack motivation and their personalities aren't always coherent. I didn't feel anything about them, I didn't care. As for the minor characters, they appear from nowhere and disappear without leaving a trace.

The acting is also quite confusing. I love Natalie Portman but I did not like her in here. Not only her characters looks a bit like Nina, her performance too is similar to that she gives in Black Swan. The problem? That kind of performance doesn't fit the film. To be honest, I'm not even sure what she was doing here —like, what's up with her accent? It's only distracting. As for the rest of the cast, Jude Law looks like trash and doesn't have a lot to do here; Raffrey Cassidy, on the other hand, who for some mysterious reason plays both teenage Celeste and Celeste's daughter, Albertine, gives a quite compelling performance. The whole casting is weird to be honest as neither Jude Law nor Stacy Martin age.

Neon

There's some good in Vox Lux too. Willem Dafoe's voiceover narration definitely makes the story more compelling, the cinematography is interesting and the songs, while they are dreadfully performed, really captures the "make you feel happy" nature of pop music thanks to the lyrics written by Sia.

Jabaria Jodi upcoming Indian romantic comedy film,List of bollywood movie 2019 cast & trailer

List of bollywood movie 2019 Jabaria Jodi, directed by R.Singh and Prashant Singh, is an upcoming Indian romantic comedy film. Which has been starring Siddharth Malhotra and Parineeti Chopra.It is based on the tradition of the bride's abduction, which is prevalent in Bihar where the groom is abducted to prevent dowry. The compulsory pair has been co-produced by Ekta Kapoor, Shobha Kapoor and Shailesh. The song "Aara Healey, Chhapra Heel" will be recreated in the song "Apara Healey, Chapra Heel", and the song "UP Bihar Lootna" will be rebuilt by Tanishq Bagchi. Music rights are with T-Series, along with Dream Girl and Balaji's Production Manal.Written by writer Sanjeev Jha, the idea and story of this film has been conceived, which is from Bihar and knew well about such forced marriage practice in his state. He was surprised at the official figures, which said that Bihar In the recent years, ransom has been abducted for more forced marriage. It was considered to be an eye opener for them, so he made a love story using this weird practice that has been shown in the forced pair.

Filming was started on August 20, 2018 in Lucknow, Barabanki and Rae Bareli. The first teaser was released by Ekta Kapoor on her Twitter account on August 11, 2018, in which it was said that what the verdict of the forced couple actually is. The second teaser of the film, shared by Siddharth Malhotra, announcing the release date-17 May 2019 on its official Instagram account on December 6, 2018.Ekta Kapoor's first look of the film was released on its Twitter account on August 20, 2018. It has shown Parineeta and Siddhartha lost in each other, but there is a bridegroom tied between them and that bride is unconscious. The second teaser of the film, Siddharth Malhotra, shared on his official Instagram account on December 6, 2018, on Dec. 17, 2019.

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Directed by:Prashant Singh

Produced by:Ekta Kapoor,Shobha Kapoor,Shailesh R Singh

Starring by:Sidharth Malhotra,Parineeti Chopra

Production company:Balaji Motion Pictures,Karma Media & Entertainment,ALT Entertainment

Release date:17 May 2019

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more Links

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> Thadam :The upcoming Indian Tamil drama thriller film,thadam cast,trailer,release date
> Total Dhamaal (2019) : List of bollywood movies 2019
>  arjun patiala movie ,arjun patiala release date,star casting Diljit Dosanjh 

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External Links: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jabariya_Jodi

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)

I'm not going to lie, I was not interested in seeing Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse at all after seeing the trailer, it just didn't click with me. Then the movie hit theatres everywhere but my country, people were loving it and I decided I'd give it a chance. Too bad my city had screenings only on Christmas and Boxing Day, I was busy with family and stuff, and I missed it. 

This umpteenth movie about your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man follows Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore), a teen from Brooklyn struggling with school and friends. One night he sneaks out of his dorm room to visit his uncle, Aron (Mahershala Ali), who brings him to paint graffiti in an abandoned subway station. Miles is bitten by a radioactive spider and Spider-Man. There's already a Spider-Man (voiced by Chris Pine) but he's killed by Kingpin (voiced by Liev Schreiber). Luckily, Kingpin's dimension-crossing super-collider brings in Spider-Man from other universes, and Miles must team up with them to stop Kingpin. 

After countless Spider-Man origin movies —okay, there's three of them, but I feel like there's two too much— Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse offers a fresh, compelling take on the Spider-Man origin story with a compelling, fun and engaging plot that takes some interesting and unexpected turns and doesn't waste time with useless subplots —i.e. romance.

That said, the best part about the film is the characters and the way they and their diversities are handled. Every version of Spider-Man, whether it's Miles or Spider-Woman or Spider-Man noir, is fun, likeable and interesting as they all have their own personality that makes each one of them stand out. Mixing the character from different universes is handled so well and the interaction between characters are fun and entertaining. The villain, on the other hand, has the typical Marvel issue, he lacks depth and characterization. All we learn about Kingpin is that he is an enormous evil man. We learn something, very little, about his family, and that's it. Kingpin is such a menacing man and deserves better than this.

The voice cast does a really good job the highlights being Shameik Moore who embodies very well the personality of Miles, Hailee Steinfeld who is simply delightful as Gwen/Spider-Woman, and Mahershala Ali who is perfect as Uncle Aron —and damn his voice is sexy.

Sony Pictures Releasing

 As for the animation, it's gorgeous —it feels like watching a comic book come to life, literally, and it's awesome. It's the styling animation every movie based on a comic book should have. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse also has plenty of humour; however, while it works wonderfully in the first part, as the story moves forward and become more serious, the humour doesn't work as well. Also, the emotional scenes didn't really work for me.

MONSTER MARCH MADNESS 2019: Round I

MONSTER MARCH MADNESS HAS BEGUN! 32 of the biggest and baddest monsters from movie history have squared off and are ready fro battle. There can be only 1 winner, and YOU DECIDE! Round I voting will be open; MARCH 1ST to MARCH 9TH.
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