Tag Archives: Paul Bettany

A Knight’s Tale (2001) – Exploring the Past

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TL;DR – A delight, a joy, a battle, and a film for the ages. 

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid for the Paramount+ service that viewed this film

lying on a bed of furs.

A Knight’s Tale Review –

As I sit here at the time of writing, it is the night of Christmas Day, and I am not seeing any family today for the first time in a while. While I have never minded that isolation, it brings a certain melancholy on days like this. However, it also brings a particular reflective thought. It is in that mood that I thought I would take a moment and look back at an icon from my childhood, a film that still sits on my Top 10 films of All Time List.  

So to set the scene, and let’s just use the title card of the film itself, “In medieval times a sport arose. Embraced by noble and peasant fans alike, though only noble knights could compete. The sport was jousting.”. In this world, we meet three lowly squires of Sir Ector (Nick Brimble), who has unfortunately died before he can win the tournament. William Thatcher (Heath Ledger), Roland (Mark Addy), and Wat (Alan Tudyk) must move quickly because they have not eaten in three days, and they are about to forfeit the match. William decided to ride in his place, but you must be of noble birth to compete, so if they are discovered, it’s to the gallows they go. But if you can pull this off, maybe you don’t stop at just one tournament.    

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WandaVision: The Full Series (Season 1?) – TV Review

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TL;DR – A show that intrigued me from start to finish

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ subscription that viewed this series.

WandaVision: The Full Series (Season 1?). Image Credit: Disney+.
WandaVision: The Full Series (Season 1?). Image Credit: Disney+.

WandaVision Review –

While Marvel has dabbled in long-form storytelling tangentially connected to the MCU before with the Agents of Shield and the Netflix universe of Daredevil and others, these were always created in a sort of cauterised and closed off worlds all to themselves. This, of course, reflected the internal Marvel divisions of the time where Kevin Feige headed the film department, but Ike Perlmutter controlled the TV. Well back in 2019, all of that shifted as TV shifted under Feige’s control, and for the first time, all of it was under one house. Our first look at what that will be has come in the form of WandaVision, which we will look back on the full season today. 

So to set the scene, we open sitcom entrance style where we see Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) arriving at a new town of Westview. A newly married couple is settling into a small town where they are pretending that she is not a witch and he is not an android, but an average couple. Everything is going well until their neighbour Angus (Kathryn Hahn) comes over and helps Wanda plan her ‘anniversary’, which leads to a dinner party that hints more is going on in the sleepy town of Westview. Now from here, we will be looking at the season as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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WandaVision: The Series Finale – TV Review

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TL;DR – A beautiful conclusion to a fascinating series.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ subscription that viewed this episode.

WandaVision: The Series Finale. Image Credit: Disney+.

WandaVision Review –

When we started WandaVision all the way back with Filmed Before a Live Studio Audience, I’m not sure we knew where we were going to end up. However, after many twists and turns, we are here in the finale. With that in mind, let’s dive into the final episode of Marvel’s first real attempt at long-form storytelling in the MCU.

So to set the scene, in last week’s Previously On, we got a trip down memory lane as Agatha (Kathryn Hahn) tried to work out how Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) was able to build the world from scratch. We found out that Wanda is actually the fabled Scarlet Witch because she can create matter out of nothing as she did with Vision (Paul Bettany). Of course, she makes this reveal while threatening to kill Billy (Julian Hilliard) and Tommy (Jett Klyne), which bluntness the reveal’s overall reverence. Meanwhile, Vision is flying back after having his history told to him by Darcy (Kat Dennings), Fake Pietro (Evan Peters) captured Monica (Teyonah Parris) snooping around the house, Agent Woo (Randall Park) is the only good guy left outside The Hex, which is essential because SWORD has activated the cataract program which reinitialised Dead Vision’s body creating White Vision (Paul Bettany). Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some MAJOR [SPOILERS] ahead.

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WandaVision: All-New Halloween Spooktacular! – TV Review

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TL;DR – We get to see that there more going on than we first though as many questions are raised but answers as still coming.  

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ subscription that viewed this series.

WandaVision: All-New Halloween Spooktacular!. Image Credit: Disney+.

WandaVision Review –

Well, WandaVision is one of those shows that just when you think you have a handle on what is going on, it pulls the rug out for underneath you. We saw that first at the end of Now in Color and also at the end of last week’s On a Very Special Episode…. All of this means that when you start up the episode for the first time, you have no idea where this show will go.

So to set the scene, at the end of last week Vision (Paul Bettany) had started to take note that something is wrong in this world. He cannot remember what happened of his life before he arrived in Westview, which is not good news for Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) who is trying to keep the façade of this perfect sitcom world going. But as forces move from the outside, the question has to be asked – ‘Is Wanda in complete control of this universe?’ because while she can come and go, there are growing factors outside of her control. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some MAJOR [SPOILERS] ahead.    

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WandaVision: On a Very Special Episode… – TV Review

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TL;DR – This week, everything changes again as we take a right turn into “did that just happen!”

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ subscription that viewed this series.

WandaVision: Episode 5. Image Credit: Disney+.

WandaVision Review –

There are days when you sit down to watch a TV show where you kind of know what you will get before you click play. Well, WandaVision is not one of those shows. We have already seen in change on a dime, and this week we get another example as the show starts to dark fast.

So to set the scene, in last week’s  We Interrupt This Program, we left The Hex and found out what had been happening in the world around. We see the road that Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) took to being a player in the weird TV show that Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) is creating in Westview. This week we dive into the 1980s, but things are not the same as Vision (Paul Bettany) has started to see something is not right with this world. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some MAJOR [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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WandaVision: We Interrupt This Program – TV Review

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TL;DR – This week the veil is removed, and we start to see just what is going on  

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ subscription that viewed this series.

WandaVision: Episode 4. Image Credit: Disney+.

WandaVision Review –

One of the core conceits in this series is that while we are getting the sitcom joy of WandaVision, something else is going on, something unsettling. This has all been hinted at so far, well today we go from hinting to laying it all out for you.

So to set the scene, at the end of Now in Color, Geraldine (Teyonah Parris) mentions to Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) that Ultron killed her brother. This does not go well for Geraldine as Wanda turns on her and boots her out of the town. At the start of this week’s episode, we get to see all of the context leading up to this as Geraldine/ Monica Rambeau blips back into existence in a hospital in chaos. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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WandaVision: Now in Color – TV Review

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TL;DR – This is where we start to see what is under the hood in this show, and it might be menacing indeed.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ subscription that viewed this series.

WandaVision: Now in Color. Image Credit: Disney+.

WandaVision Review –

Well, we spent Filmed Before a Live Studio Audience & Don’t Touch That Dial living in the 1950s in all its black and white glory. However, last week made it clear that we would leap forward into this new-fangled thing known as colour.

So to set the scene, at the end of last week’s episode, Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) witnessed a man out of place in their neighbourhood. However, Wanda did not want that to happen, so she rewound the tape back to before they went outside. When she got back, Wanda discovered that she was pregnant and also the world was in colour. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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WandaVision: Don’t Touch That Dial – TV Review

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TL;DR – This is where we start to see what is under the hood in this show, and it might be menacing.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ subscription that viewed this series.

WandaVision: Episode 2. Image Credit: Disney+.

WandaVision Review –

We continue our dive into this odd show as we start to see the façade slip in places as things that should not be seen are seen. All of this starts asking some uncomfortable questions for our cast.  

So to set the scene, Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) have started to become permanent fixtures in their little town of Westview. Wanda and Angus (Kathryn Hahn) come along to the local planning committee meeting to help with the talent show led by Dotty (Emma Caulfield Ford) the queen of the town. Meanwhile, Vision, is off to the local neighbourhood watch, after a tree branch scared them in the night.  Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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WandaVision: Filmed Before a Live Studio Audience – TV Review

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TL;DR – This was fun, nostalgic, and also super odd all at once

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ subscription that viewed this series.

WandaVision: Episode 1. Image Credit: Disney+.

WandaVision Review –

Thanks to Covid it has been over a year since we have had anything set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (Spider-man: Far From Home for those playing at home). This makes it kind of odd that the first entry back into this world is on Disney+, but then this is a strange show, so it might fit.

So to set the scene, we open sitcom entrance where we see Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) arriving at a new town. A newly married couple is settling into a small town where they are pretending that she is not a witch and he is not an android, but an average couple. Everything is going well until their neighbour Angus (Kathryn Hahn) comes over and helps Wanda plan her ‘anniversary’. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.    

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Countdown – My Personal Top 10 Films of All Time List

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TL;DR – Today we countdown my Top 10 films of all time; from towns where there are a lot of ‘accidents’, to all forms of Sci-Fi, to do you know the man with six fingers on his right hand, and everything in between.

Countdown –

Recently I watched the CineFix crew countdown their Top 10 films, and it had me thinking what are mine? Now it was at this point where I of course naturally spiralled as how can you reduce thousands of films that you have seen into only a Top 10. Just before I threw my hands up in resignation and chucked in the towel I happened to catch an episode of Movies with Mikey on how he determined the best sequel. With this in mind I wondered if there was a set of criteria that I could use to categorise the films into a list that I would be happy with, and after some work, I came up with the following criteria that work for me.

  • Films that are beautifully constructed
  • Films that mean something to me
  • Films that are always re-watchable
  • Films that have added to my love of the craft of cinema

With this criterion in mind I went through all the likely candidates and with a bit of a struggle I think I have been able to come to a final list, well at least until I change my mind next week, which is always a chance.

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