Star Wars The Force Awakens, A Fan Commentary and Review

The Force Awakens is a masterpiece of technical filmmaking and that’s about all it has going for it under this new Disney management.

Star Wars Force Awakens Official PosterTo witness Star Wars: The Force Awakens in the same fervour as this franchise got exciting in the later parts of the original trilogy, Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, is exhilarating. The subtitle says more about the potential of where this latest instalment is going sounds like a return to form — in keeping the mystique that surrounds The Force — and from there I was sold! I wondered what can transpire in a property that is now managed by Disney. Are they doing it because the property is a cash cow or because Lucas is out of ideas? In what the new writing team developed brings a new hope to a franchise that’s now 38 years old.

As the narrative in the trailers have indicated, there’s something in those “eyes” of the old and new heroes who find themselves in this war. In traditional story-telling fashion, they are often regarded as a window to an individual’s soul. Quite often, writers use that angle to show how people can recognize family lines of individuals they have not met. Take, for example, the Harry Potter films where the hero is often told, “You have your mother’s eyes.”

Just who is Finn (John Boyega), Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), Rey (Daisy Ridley), Kylo Ren (Adam Driver)? They make up the cast in this latest film which is emphasizing the fact that a few of them may be related to one another, or to an individual from the past.
Continue reading “Star Wars The Force Awakens, A Fan Commentary and Review”

With Big Horns and a Wail, Krampus is Coming to Town! A Movie Review

You better watch out, You better not cry, Better not pout, I’m telling you why: Krampus is comin’ to town.

Krampus Movie PosterWhether you celebrate Christmas or not, Michael Dougherty’s Krampus is a cautionary tale which tries to leave a mark. This writer/director wants audiences to leave with an understanding of what the holiday is about and most viewers will get it. In what may not get recognized by everyone is this film’s historical and cultural identity.

This movie started playing at theatres the night before December 6th to coincide with the established Germanic folklore of when this supernatural beast appears to reward or torment children. On the morning of the next day, kids go to look at the shoe or boot they left outdoors contains a present (to reward good behaviour) or a rod (for bad). In this old country — which includes Austria, Hungary, Slovenia and the Czech Republic — celebrations take place to remind people of all ages to play nice year-round. Variations of this legend includes this entity leaving the good alone whilst Saint Nicholas would place sweets in the footwear.

Continue reading “With Big Horns and a Wail, Krampus is Coming to Town! A Movie Review”

It’s a Noel Fielding Twisted Christmas

By James Robert Shaw (The Wind up Geek)


 
From the minds that performed the music of the Noel Fielding’s Luxury Comedy television series comes a new pull at the twisted Christmas cracker. Loose Tapestries whose songs include Luxury Comedy Theme and Surrounded By Shape Shifting Werewolves offer pockets full of mistletoe, a disco brussels sprout and running naked covered in goose fat in Can’t Wait for Christmas.

When it comes to weird and demented holiday tunes, Can’t Wait for Christmas ranks among past songs like Ricky Tomlinson’s Christmas My Arse, The Goodies’ Father Christmas Do Not Touch, and The Goons’ I’m Walking Backwards for Christmas. Britain certainly has a lot to answer for.

Loose Tapestries was formed in 2012. Their members are Noel Fielding (of The Mighty Boosh fame), Sergio Pizzorno (of band Kasabian), Ben Kealey, and Tim Carter.

Their album Loose Tapestries Presents the Luxury Comedy Tapes is available on MP3, streaming services, and iTunes.

Source(s): Loose Tapestries official YouTube channel and Michael Roberds.

An American Tale? The Good Dinosaur Goes West, A Movie Review

The one detail that the trailer to PIXAR’s The Good Dinosaur forgets to reveal is that the story takes place a million years after the planet Earth has dodged the bullet.

The_Good_Dinosaur_poster

The one detail that the trailer to PIXAR’s The Good Dinosaur forgets to reveal is that the story takes place a million years after the planet Earth has dodged the bullet. The asteroid that’s supposed to wipe out the life of these giant creatures have caused evolution to take a different direction. Since evolution is allowed to take place “normally,” these mighty creatures developed an intellect to conceive language, domestication and agriculture. They are no longer roaming beasts wandering the land in search for their next meal.

Henry (Jeffrey Wright) and Ida (Frances McDormand) are anxiously awaiting the birth of their three children, Libbey (Maleah Padilla), Buck (Marcus Scribner) and Arlo (Raymond Ochoa). The latter is the runt and is fearful of everything. That includes attempting to tame some primitive looking chickens and Henry decides that he has to teach his son how to deal with confronting his fears. There’s a few Studio Ghibli like moments with Arlo and Henry as they find a field of fireflies, but in what makes this film a sweet watch is the music. This movie is very much a love-letter to the Western, and it shows in the visual narrative and the orchestration.

Continue reading “An American Tale? The Good Dinosaur Goes West, A Movie Review”

Reading Eadweard, A Movie Analysis & Review

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

eadweardCinecenta
University of Victoria
Nov 24 7:00 & 9:15pm
with Q&A afterwards with the filmmakers

The life and times of Eadweard Muybridge, the Godfather of Cinema is explored in this semi-biographical film. Highlights of this photographer’s experiments with studying motion at the turn of the century is the focus and through this lens, viewers see how committed he is to this art when it hasn’t been given the label by the community of critics from this era.

Muybridge (Michael Eklund) is best known for his 1868 work in capturing the beauty of Yosemite Valley. In contrast, the events that led to the court drama around his justifiable homicide of his wife’s lover perhaps made him world-famous. This case is still studied today. She’s 21 years younger than he, and at that time, not many people batted an eye at their age difference. The movie delicately balances between the events that leads to the fall of their romance. Eklund deserves major credit for conveying the gravitas that’s needed to make this character larger than life and appear emotionally burdened.

Continue reading “Reading Eadweard, A Movie Analysis & Review”

Can The Hunger Games in Mockingjay Part 2 Finally End?

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

mockingjay-poster-final

Die hard fans of the Hunger Games will most likely appreciate Mockingjay Part 2 more in this finale than the casual movie-goer who has not read the books. For this trilogy which got its last novel split into two films, the bigger question cinema enthusiasts will ask is the wait worth it? Each volume has enough content (380 pages on average) to fill one film. When looking at how much material that’s presented from each tome per film, most likely not. When considering the plot in the book to what’s adapted for the theatrical version, there’s plenty of expanded and changed material to look at.

In this latest movie, the screenplay credit goes to Peter Craig, Danny Strong and Suzanne Collins (original author). Although the product has Collins seal of approval, maybe she’s falling into the trap of how most expanded trilogy films must flow.

Continue reading “Can The Hunger Games in Mockingjay Part 2 Finally End?”