film reviews – Page 14 – shortfilmreviews

I think it’s easy to take against this film, it doesn’t really explore anything different and if like me you don’t know much about Judy Garland, it’s hard to judge whether it’s an accurate reflection of the end of Garlands life.

But that said, what this film has is a wonderful central performance by Renee Zellweger, she dominates the screen with a powerful and nuanced portrayal of Garland.

The film shows the sadness of Garlands life from young star through to troubled superstar where years of drink and drugs have taken a heavy toll, a life of broken marriages, hangers on and people keen to hang their hat from Garlands star.

There’s plenty of touching moments in her performance, sadness, loneliness and maybe most touching of all those little bits of happiness that come when she performs and moments she gets to live a normal life.

While the film is no earth shattering expose and treads a well warn path of movie of a tragic star (dying at just 47) it is definitely elevated by a captivating performance by Zellweger and well supported especially by the increasingly watchable Jessie Buckely. There’s also a lovely final moment, when she sings.. well you know what she sings…

Won’t rock everybody’s world, but if you’re like me and get drawn into the central performance you’ll go with it and find a touching and tragic story.

On my way to see this I was hoping for more of a First Blood, which I always felt was a decent film, looking at the isolation of someone who was mentally scarred by what he’d seen in the armed forces. The problem with the Rambo films was that they became increasingly ridiculous as the series progressed, taking on tanks with a crossbow by the time 3 rolled around.

The other hope was that Rambo would be treated to the kind of send off Rocky is getting, especially in the excellent Creed films, sadly what we got was Rambo jumping a Rambo sized shark!

I didn’t hate this film, I enjoy Stallone on screen and of course there is the pleasant feeling that comes with some 80’s nostalgia, but that said, Rambo deserved better than this. The plot has more holes than the bad guys when John finishes with them, the premise makes no sense even though the whole story is signposted in 25ft high letters from the start.

It’s a predictable, plodding story that exists only as the platform for the last 30 minutes of full on insanely graphic Rambo revenge action, which introduces a range of new and intriguing killing methods that makes Tarantino look like Walt Disney.

If this is to be the last outing of John Rambo it’s a disappointing one, a bit of a mess, with a ridiculous plot, but not without a splash of full on Rambo for good measure and it is only 89 minutes long!

Didn’t manage to see this at the cinema so only just caught up with it.

I don’t pretend to know the world this film is set in however, the fact that this story has any ring of truth to it at all is saddening (and it feels safe to say, it has more than a ring of truth to it).

Reading the background to the film, based on a young adult novel by Angie Thomas, perhaps explains some of its less balanced elements.

The story is a complex one and while the complexity is well realised, especially in the central performances of Amandla Stenberg as Starr and Russel Hornsby as her father, who is in a constant battle to find a way to teach his kids the delicate balance between embracing their heritage while realising it is also seen as a threat to some, it does occasionally slip into over simplification, making it feel a little tonally unbalanced.

But that said, while it’s not perfect, the central story is so powerful its easy to forgive those slips, Stenberg captures Starrs struggles brilliantly, drawing you in to her internal challenge to decide on what’s right for her, her friends, future and community.

It is also not afraid to ask questions about why Starrs community is seen as it is and how the community itself can perpetuate dangerous misconceptions.

A film that doesn’t always quite work, still presents a powerful and complex story, not a film made to “enjoy” but one to watch and appreciate that as difficult as it is to comprehend, the story does portray a very real problem and for that is well worth the watch.

I’m not exactly the target audience for this and my kids a little old for Dora now, but my daughter in particular, enjoyed the adventures of Dora, Backpack and Boots when she was growing up, so how would Dora the movie stack up?

Pretty well it would seem, a really enjoyable, warm hearted and fun big screen, live action transition for everyone’s favourite young explorer.

Dora played with a real charm by Isabela Moner, sees the film mixing smart nods to the original cartoon with a fun Indiana Jones, Tombraider adventure, making full use of and knowing nods to the Explorer adventure movie genre.

Moner is well supported by a good central cast, who all bring the necessary fun and energy to the film.

A really well done and lovingly handled film version of the cartoon, plenty of fun for kids and grown up kids alike.

Tag: film reviews

Judy

Rambo:Last Blood

The Hate U Give

Dora the Explorer and the Lost City of Gold