Tag Archives: Ben Whishaw

Paddington in Peru – Movie Review

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TL;DR – While it has not reached the heights of its predecessors, it was still a joy to be back in this world.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid and end-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film.

Paddington in Peru Review –

Few films series have hit such high expectations as the Paddington series, especially after just two films. Paddington 1 will always hold a special place in my heart because of getting to watch it with friends at a drive in one day and the joy that came with it. I don’t think I need to tell you about Paddington 2, given its impact on the film landscape. I mean, it was an entire plot point in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. But can they make it a hat trick? That is what we will find out today.

So, to set the scene, there have been a lot of changes to the Brown household. Henry (Hugh Bonneville) has a new boss, Madison (Hayley Atwell), who has told him he has to embrace risk. Judy (Madeleine Harris) has begun looking for a University, Jonathan (Samuel Joslin) has gone full-teenage and spends all his time in his room, and Mary (Emily Mortimer) is struggling with the coming empty next. But Paddington (Ben Whishaw) has just gotten his British citizenship and passport, which was just in time because The Reverend Mother (Olivia Colman) of The Home for Retired Bears in Peru writes to let everyone know that Aunt Lucy (Imelda Staunton) not well. The Brown family rush to Peru, but when they get there, they find out that Aunt Lucy is missing and only Paddington might know where she has gone.

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Black Doves: Season 1 Review – TV Review

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TL;DR – This was a series that was full of equal parts fun and suspense, and it shows that one of your best strengths is just letting your cast do what they do best.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix service that viewed this series.

Helen looks down at a church service.

Black Doves Review –

I love a good spy mystery with betrayals, twists and turns, and some good quality suspense. A lot of countries can make this work, but few do it as good as the Brits. So, when I heard there was a new series coming out and then that it was headlined by Keira Knightley & Ben Whishaw. Well, I had to check it out.

So, to set the scene, it is Christmas time at an English pub, and the vibe is cheerful, with people singing along to the carols and ignoring the death of the Chinese ambassador on the news. However, there is one person, Jason Davis (Andrew Koji), who is not having an enjoyable time. He is moving at speed because he thinks someone is following him. It turns out he was right, as all of his friends are murdered, and he is shot making one last call. That last call was to Helen Webb (Keira Knightley), the wife of the now Defence Secretary, Wallace Webb (Andrew Buchan). It is odd that someone would spend their last moments calling another person’s wife, but even odder when Reed (Sarah Lancashire) shows up to the Christmas party and we discover that Helen is not what she seems. We will be looking at the season as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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Women Talking – Movie Review

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TL;DR –  A stunningly devastating film, brimming with empathy and power in equal measures  

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film

Warning – This film contains scenes that may cause distress

A mother comforts her daughter.

Women Talking Review –

When I walked in to see Women Talking, I was unsure exactly what I would see. Oh, I expected it to be heavy in tone and subject matter. But I had no idea how they would address that subject, given the immense complexities baked into the scenario. A scenario that was inspired by actual events of the worst kind. However, as I walked out of the theatre, I knew I had witnessed something profound.   

So to set the scene, in an isolated Mennonite colony in rural USA, the women have been plagued by attacks where they wake up covered in bruises on their legs. The community leaders say it is demons or that the women are making it up until one of the attackers is captured trying to sneak into a teenager’s bedroom. The police round up many of the community’s men accused or fingered in the attacks, but instead of supporting their women, the men gather up everything they can sell to go into town and post bail for the attackers. They will return in two days, and the women must forgive the attackers or be excommunicated. They have three choices, do nothing, stay and fight, or leave, which have dramatic repercussions on their lives.

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Movie Review – Mary Poppins Returns

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TL;DR – This is a film with two halves, the beautiful story of a family coming together in the face of a crisis with the help of Mary Poppins, but also a story about how it is individuals and not big corporations that are bad … from Disney … umm  

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene

Mary Poppins Returns . Image Credit: Disney.

Review –

Mary Poppins is a movie that is quite dear to me. When I was a child it was one of those films that we would watch as a family on a Saturday night. I honestly I was not really all that on board with the remake/sequel hybrid film all the trailers seemed to imply that we were about to get. As well as this, I am starting to get a little tired of Disney’s ‘Weaponised Nostalgia Era’.  Well, that is what I thought walking in, but then a wave of joy enveloped my life leaving a smile on my face and tears rolling down my face.  

So to set the scene, it has been a number of years since the first film and the Banks’ children have grown up. Michael (Ben Whishaw) is, well was, a painter, who married and had three lovely children Annabel (Pixie Davies), John (Nathanael Saleh) and Georgie (Joel Dawson) before his wife tragically died. This has understandably sent ripples through the family, made all the worse when there is a knock on the door and we discover that the bank is foreclosing on the house because Michael has fallen behind paying back a loan, the same bank his father helped run, and the same bank he currently works for. Well, the whole family, including his sister Jane (Emily Mortimer) helps to look for their father’s shares in the bank in the last ditch effort in saving the house, when who should appear at the end of a kite, none other than Mary Poppins (Emily Blunt) herself.

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Movie Review – Paddington 2

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TL;DR – I don’t think I can say it as good as the first one, but what I can say is that it is full of joy, laughter and feels, and I would recommend it for everyone

Score – 5 out of 5 stars

P.S. – There is a mid-credit scene

Paddington 2. Image Credit: Studio Canal.

Review –

Ah, Paddington, I do love this film series, I saw the first film when I was a chaperone for a group of teenagers going to see it at the local drive-in theatre. I had no idea what to expect, but the first film was filled with such joy and was genially one of the funniest films I have ever seen. I found it so funny that at one point one of the teenage girls I was with yelled out “IT’S NOT THAT FUNNY BRIAN” … but it was, oh it was. So I was delighted to hear that there was a new movie coming out, but could it live up to the first film, well no, but that doesn’t mean it was not a delightful ton of fun.

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Movie Review – Spectre

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TL;DR – Not as good as Skyfall in any real respect, but much better than Quantum of Solace

Score – 2.5 out of 5 stars

Spectre. Image credit: MGM/Sony.

Review –

If I had been reviewing Spectre right after Quantum of Solace I think I would have been much more favourable to it, simply because any Bond film has to be better than that mess. However, between now and then we’ve had Skyfall, which ditched all the story baggage they had been building upon for a standalone Bond adventure and it was a much better film. Alas Spectre decides you know what’s good let’s go back to all that lore we were building up ‘cause you know what people loved that. Ok look it is not that bad, there are some really great moments, there is just a lot of faff you have to get through as well.

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