Tag Archives: Sally Hawkins

Wonka – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A delightful romp through Wonka’s past, full of musical energy and more than a few full-belly laughs.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

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

An overhead shot of dancers making a W out of umbrellas.

Wonka Review –

I am going to be perfectly honest with you from the start, when I heard that there was going to be a prequel based on the back story of Willy Wonka, I could not help but roll my eyes. The constant francisation of the cinema landscape has led to many of these projects that just feel like they are going through the motions rather than having anything interesting to say. However, now that I have seen it, I am glad to say that I was wrong.

So to set the scene, we open as Willy Wonka (Timothée Chalamet) arrives in a mysteriously unnamed European City. He has spent the past few years sailing around the globe, finding the best combinations for chocolates, and he is now ready to share them with the work at the famous Galleries Gourmet. But Wonka has a kind view of the world and is not prepared to be crushed by the Chocolate Cartel run by Slugworth (Paterson Joseph), Prodnose (Matt Lucas), and Fickelgruber (Mathew Baynton). Nor does he read the small print before taking a room in Scrubbit’s (Olivia Colman) Laundry as recommended by Bleacher (Tom Davis), a less-than-savoury individual. However, just when things are at their lowest is when you can really shine, and his new friend Noodle (Calah Lane) helps him find that.

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Godzilla (2014) Review – Exploring the Past

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TL;DR – It’s a bit rough around the edges, but it hits hard when it hits. 

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid for the Stan service that viewed this film.

San Francisco in flames.

Godzilla Review –

With Monarch: Legacy of Monsters starting to air, my thoughts have been brought back to the MonsterVerse. It was a series of films that never got the easy ride that some others did but could still chart out their cinematic universe one monster battle at a time. There is one film in the series that I have never really engaged with: the film that started it all. Well, given how chiefly it fits into the happening in Monarch, I knew now was the time to fix that oversite finally.   
 
 So to set the scene, after exploring the history around nuclear weapons, we find ourselves in the Philippines in 1999. They were about to start a mine when the ground fell out from underneath, taking 40 miners with them. They didn’t find any uranium but a mammoth skeleton of a long-dead creature and an egg. Worse, it looks like there were meant to be two eggs, and one has been opened. Meanwhile, in Janjira, Japan. Joe Brody (Bryan Cranston) is concerned about seismic activity near the nuclear power plant when they have a breach as something crashes into the reactor.

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The Phantom of the Open – Movie Review

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TL;DR – It is an absolute delight. Mark Rylance completely encapsulates the character bringing warmth and nuisance to the role. Overall, I found the film to be an utter delight and filled with charm from start to finish.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

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

Maurice reveals his golf clothes under his work uniform like superman.

The Phantom of the Open Review –

One of the best parts of this recent biopic resurgence has been discovering stories about people I had never heard about before. I am not much of a golf person, so while I knew the British Open was a thing that existed, I had not heard about one of the quirks in its history. However, cast Mark Rylance in your film, and you already have me on board, and what a delight it was.  
                          
So to set the scene, Maurice Flitcroft (Mark Rylance) was born in Barrow-in-Furness on the coast of northern England and much like his father before him, he was destined to work in the local shipyards until he was carried out on a box. But when he met Jean (Sally Hawkins), he knew his life would be focused on her and, eventually, his three children, Michael (Jake Davies) and the twins Gene (Christian Lees) and James (Jonah Lees). However, as the shipyard looks to be nationalised and Maurice has a genuine chance of getting a redundancy, he has to look to what he wants to do for his future. Well, one night, while watching the TV, he sees a game of golf being played and thought he’d have a crack at that and give the British Open a try.

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Movie Review – The Shape of Water

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TL;DR – A compelling film that pulls you in with its content and visual style, and then used it to tell a story of a world not that dissimilar from today.

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

Post-Credit Scene – No

The Shape of the Water

Review –

So today we are looking at a Guillermo del Toro’s monster film, ok wait no that is too broad a category. Ok a Guillermo del Toro’s monster film featuring Doug Jones, ok no that is still too many, Ok a Guillermo del Toro’s monster film featuring Doug Jones as a water monster … seriously still. Now, of course, I kid because all of these films are visually stunning and some of the most fascinating stories in modern cinema, indeed I still think about the ending of Pan’s Labyrinth. So today we are going to unpack Guillermo del Toro’s latest film The Shape of Water which is up for a fantastic 13 Oscars at the moment.

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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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