The Boxing genre is one that I feel usually struggles to be high up on my films of the year lists.
I feel this because most of them need to have a certain structure to it, has little else to branch out and be a stand-out from other Boxing films.
That phrase "you've seen one, you've seen them all" perfectly fits this particular genre.
However, there are some exceptions like the first Rocky, Cinderella Man, Creed, Million Dollar Baby, Raging Bull and The Fighter. I could put Warrior into this category, even though it is more mixed martial arts than Boxing. It is still one-on-one fighting.
I was going in with low expectations as it was a Boxing movie. But as it had Miles Teller and Aaron Eckhart in it, and that it's based on a true story, I could see promise in this.
While it is certainly not bad, I can't see myself going back to it anytime soon. If you are a fan of Boxing movies, you will not be disappointed. For me, it was a perfectly fine couple of hours that was performed well enough to be give a pass rating.
I must admit that it is quite an impressive story. Thankfully, they sensationalise very little with the actual story. There are moments where they do actually use the archive footage. So I think if they done this as a documentary, this would have been a more successful film and interesting watch. But as a film, the true story element does help it.
Another thing that helps it is the performances. Miles Teller gave a good performance as the lead. His opening scene sets the tone really well and you see tell throughout that Teller is passionate about this and made sure his physical presence that the guy he is portraying.
While Teller is all about the physical performance, Aaron Eckhart was the stand-out the more conventional style of acting. His constant delivery made him an interesting character to watch and develop.
The only other performance that was worth mentioning was Ciaran Hinds. It is a fine performance that helped the film move along during its slower moments.
One part of a Boxing film that needs to work, is the Boxing itself. Those scenes were fine. I've seen better, more brutal and visceral. But I have certainly seen worse. With something like Creed still fresh in the mind, and the way they execute their fighting scenes, 'Bleed For This' massively undermines it.
However, I have to mention the films saving grace in the very final scene. Without giving away any spoilers, it is quite a powerful send off that came out of nowhere. That moment alone gave me a nod of approval towards the end.
While I am confident in saying that there is nothing for me that stood out or I will remember after reviewing this. It is still a solid feature that will be a welcomed addition to the Boxing film family. Everything is done to a solid standard and the true story is something to admire.
The film did remind me of Southpaw. The 2015 feature was another solid Boxing film that could not compete with the best films of that year.
It may be similar in terms of the quality and experience. But I would give Southpaw the edge, as the performances were stronger and the actual Boxing was slightly better. However, both are cliched enough to not stand-out from the pack.
For almost the last decade, Walt Disney Animation Studios continue to grow their current golden era.
It contains many great hits such as The Princess And The Frog, Tangled, Wreck-It Ralph, Frozen, Big Hero 6 and Zootropolis.
Now, Disney are off to the Pacific Islands in search of a new hit. With the studio being on such a hot streak at the moment, I wanted to avoid any sort of clips or trailers in the build-up. They already has released Zootropolis earlier in the year, and it would take quite an achievement to top it. So I made sure to not go in with high expectations.
I've now seen it, and I think we need to add this to the slate of this current crops of modern Disney classics. I think if any hardcore Disney fan wants another great film, they expect great animation, strong characters, memorable songs and a story with profound themes and messages. I think they will all get what they want.
The animation is fantastic. The Pacific Island setting is put to good use and we see some breath-taking imagery. We are almost at the point where animation is becoming more like photo-realism. There's plenty of songs to sing-a-long to, and most of them were pretty good to listen to. They never over stay their welcome and they're catchy. I didn't feel a new 'Let It Go' in there. But the soundtrack will be a great one to listen to nonetheless.
There lots of cool action sequences that I think everyone will be entertained. They manage to be exciting, thrilling and even funny.
Our leading characters are great together. Voiced brilliantly by Auli'i Cravalho and 'The Rock' himself Dwayne Johnson, the chemistry really carries the film and keeps us engrossed in the story. I hope to see Cravalho get more mainstream work after this, rather than just being a one-off. As for Johnson, he just oozes charisma and it shows throughout this movie. He is a real superstar in the film business now and I hope to see him in more entertaining films such as this.
There are some good supporting characters, where some have their moment on screen and it is very memorable. As for the villains in this, they were not that strong as a whole. They had their scene-stealing moments. But for me, it was quickly forgotten. A good villain seems to be a lost art in most franchises these days. I can't think of any villain that is anywhere near as memorable as some previous Disney villains such as Scar, Ursula, Cruella De Vil, Gaston or Jafar.
I don't know if it's a lack of character development or back-story. But I think it is time for a memorable villain to rise up from all of this heap of forgotten hasbins.
The only negative thing I should say, is that I might not rank it as high as some of the studios best work. That is mainly due to it lacking of depth compared to some others, and when you break it down, the story is pretty formulaic.
But will give this the slight edge is that Disney has never done a film from this part of the world. It tells a little bit about their culture and their mythology, which definitely made me interested.
That being said, this is a really fun and extremely entertaining Disney animation that has a lot of what you expect and want from a great film from this studio. Great lead characters, good songs, strong themes, morals and messages. It is probably the first Disney animation that actually felt some of the classics from the 90's. From the story structure to the style and execution of songs, it does like it is like one of the greats that I was brought up with. It does help when the story-writers for this film also did The Little Mermaid, Aladdin and Hercules.
I must mention that like with most Disney or Pixar animations, there is a short before the film. It's not one of its strongest shorts. But it is fairly entertaining to get into the mood for the main feature.
There is also a post-credits scene that definitely surprised me both in its execution and comedic value. It's very funny and they decide to make fun of their previous work, which I did not expect. A very smart little treat at the end to enjoy.
Disney has become etched in pretty much all of our childhoods. That would also include the many songs involved in most of the films from this studio. So I decided to create my own list.
I had to set myself a few ground rules for this particular list.
I looked through all 59 (yes all 59) films made by Walt Disney Animation Studios to find all the songs that would qualify into the list.
It was hard to decide on some if they were seen as songs or not. A good example in 'The Walrus And The Carpenter' in Alice In Wonderland. It was more of a story then a song. It did have singing in it. But it was fairly spread out over the story. So I had to be cruel and leave that one out.
There were also some songs that I had to discount as they were simply too short. Ones that I hated disqualifying from this list was 'Sailor's Hornpipe/Caucus Race' from Alice In Wonderland and 'Oh, Sing Sweet Nightingale' from Cinderella, and I really enjoy them.
However, I am including songs that were may not have been sung by the characters, but made for the film. A good example to make sense of it this is the Phil Collins used in Tarzan. While they were not sung by the characters. They were solely made for that particular film.
It was clear that I cannot do just a top 10 list as there are so many good ones. I was originally going for the classic music chart number of 40. But there so many good ones, that I decided to do a top 100 instead.
Films that had songs in them that missed out on this list, were Bolt, Home On The Range, Lilo & Stitch, Meet The Robinsons, Saludos Amigos, The Emperor's New Groove, The Rescuers, Treasure Planet and Winnie The Pooh.
Films that got all their songs in my top 100 are Beauty And The Beast, Robin Hood, Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs, Tarzan, The Hunchback Of Notre Dame, The Lion King and Zootropolis (even though there's only one song in it).
Only 8 villain songs made the cut. A few songs that sadly missed out that I stilled like were "I'll Make A Man Out Of You" from Mulan, "On My Way" from Brother Bear, "Gaston" from Beauty And The Beast - Gaston, "Two Silhouettes" from Make Mine Music, "With A Smile And A Song" and "Someday My Prince Will Come" from Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs, "Katrina" from The Adventures Of Ichabod & Mr. Toad, "The Three Caballeros" from The Three Caballeros and "The World's Greatest Criminal Mind" from The Great Mouse Detective.
So here is my top 100:
100) Moana - Where You Are
99) Alice In Wonderland - Alice In Wonderland
98) Robin Hood - Not In Nottingham
97) Dumbo - Song Of The Roustabouts
96) Fun And Fancy Free - My Favourite Dream
95) Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs - The Silly Song
94) Melody Time - Blue Shadows On The Trail
93) Robin Hood - Love
92) Mulan - Reflection
91) The Fox And The Hound - Best Of Friends
90) The AristoCats - Scales And Arpeggios
89) Cinderella - A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes
88) The Great Mouse Detective - Let Me Be Good To You
87) Hercules - The Gospel Truth
86) Alice In Wonderland - In A World Of My Own
85) Melody Time - Once Upon A Wintertime
84) Robin Hood - The Phony King Of England
83) The Jungle Book - Colonel Hathi's March
82) Moana - We Know The Way
81) The Princess And The Frog - Friends On The Other Side
80) The Adventures Of Ichabod & Mr. Toad - The Headless Horseman
79) Moana - I Am Moana
78) Mulan - I'll Make A Man Out Of You
77) Bambi - Little April Shower
76) Lilo & Stitch - He Mele No Lilo
75) Lilo & Stitch - Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride
74) Frozen - Love Is An Open Door
73) Moana - You're Welcome
72) Frozen - Do You Want To Build A Snowman?
71) Tangled - Mother Knows Best
70) One Hundred And One Dalmatians - Cruela De Vil
69) The Many Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh - Winnie The Pooh
68) Bambi - Love Is A Song
67) Moana - How Far I'll Go
66) Aladdin - Prince Ali
65) Tarzan - Trashin' The Camp
64) Make Mine Music - Johnny Fedora And Alice Bluebonnet
63) Pinocchio - I've Got No Strings
62) Pinocchio - When You Wish Upon A Star
61) Cinderella - The Work Song
60) Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs - I'm Wishing/One Song
59) Dumbo - When I See An Elephant Fly
58) The Jungle Book - The Bare Necessities
57) Lady And The Tramp - He's A Tramp
56) Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs - Heigh-Ho
55) Lady And The Tramp - La La Lu
54) The Hunchback Of Notre Dame - A Guy Like You
53) Dumbo - Look Out For Mister Stork
52) Pocahontas - Just Around The Riverbend
51) Tangled - When Will My Life Begin?
50) Frozen - For The First Time In Forever
49) The Hunchback Of Notre Dame - The Court Of Miracles
48) The Sword In The Stone - Higitus Figitus
47) The AristoCats - Thomas O'Malley Cat
46) Hercules - Go The Distance
45) Beauty And The Beast - Be Our Guest
44) Zootropolis - Try Everything
43) Cinderella - So This Is Love
42) Beauty And The Beast - Something There
41) Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs - Whistle While You Work
40) Hercules - One Last Hope
39) Robin Hood - Whistle Stop/Oo De Lally
38) Peter Pan - Following The Leader
37) The Hunchback Of Notre Dame - God Help The Outcasts
36) The Jungle Book - My Own Home
35) The Little Mermaid - Part Of Your World
34) Aladdin - Friend Like Me
33) The Hunchback Of Notre Dame - Topsy Turvy
32) The Hunchback Of Notre Dame - Heaven's Light/Hellfire
31) The Lion King - Be Prepared
30) The Hunchback Of Notre Dame - The Bells Of Notre Dame
29) Sleeping Beauty - Once Upon A Dream
28) Alice In Wonderland - All In The Golden Afternoon
Let's face it, coming-of-age is awkward for everyone. We have or will experience it once in our lives. But when it comes to films of that subject, when it's done right, it manages to be a really loved film that will be remembered for quite some time.
With 'The Edge Of Seventeen', I only really knew about this late on. It was never on my radar until I was hearing some of the early reviews of it. Then I saw the trailer, and I was completely hooked.
It seems the reviews were right and this could be the sleeper of 2016. The brilliant opening scene gets into the tone straight away. From there after, it keeps that level of comedy and maturity.
There were so many relatable moments that made me go back to when I was that age. Everything from the brilliantly executed social awkwardness of a lot of the situations, to the type of people you met felt so believable.
I think what gives this film the praise that it deserves, is the writing. It is really funny, it is like that for the entire movie, and not just in certain moments. Also the type of comedy it goes for was much more mature then I thought it was going to be. I liked the risk they took on that. Rather than watering it down and playing safe, it goes for it. Props to the entire team, as it would have just been another middle-of-the-road comedy that would have easily forgotten.
All the performances were on top form. Hailee Steinfeld was great in this. Her comedic timing was so strong and consistent. I was really happy to see her do so well as I struggled to remember her in any recent films. Her debut in True Grit was fantastic, she was solid in Ender's Game and good in Begin Again. Other than that, not much else comes to mind. So it is great to see her do well again and I hope she continues to thrive her talent.
With the director being female, it was refreshing to see the male characters be given depth and be very likable. Usually, they are seen to be monsters. But in this film, everyone is on equal terms. A very positive thing in this day an age, where everyone has suddenly become so sensitive.
The memorable performances from the guys are the always great Woody Harrelson and Hayden Szeto. It was also great to see Blake Jenner do another role as I enjoyed him in the really good 'Everybody Wants Some!!' from earlier this year.
No negatives to comment on as such. The only thing that I wanted to mention, was that of the main character. While performed brilliantly and giving the audience a lot of laughter, you can see her to be quite horrible at times in certain situations in the film. But as the character is at that age where their hormones are off the charts, I am happy to not fully criticize those moments in the film. It is a nit-picky criticism. But it is enough to slightly miss out on the slightly stronger films that I've seen this year.
With that negative being such a small one, it is safe to say that I really enjoyed this one. When a coming-of-age film works, it manages to blend comedy and drama really well and it usually ranks high up in many peoples lists.
One recent one that I can remember is 'The Way Way Back', which I loved and totally regret not seeing it on the big screen.
This is a surprisingly mature movie that will relate more with adults then its seemingly target market. That is a real plus in my eyes, and we now have a much stronger film that I think will get recommended by many for the next few years. Whether you are male or female, it doesn't matter. As long as you went through high school, you will relate to this.
Even when the ending in any of these types of films feels cliched and predictable. The strength of the writing, directing and character development made me fine with that, as it did all the hard work to get us to that moment.
Definitely check this one out. It deserves a big box office and it is a shame that it has not had that much of a wide release.
It is always a fairly exciting moment knowing that you are about to see Robert Zemeckis' latest film.
He is a director that not many people have heard of, and yet has made a lot of highly successful films.
Zemeckis is also a director that does like to go ambitious at times. The prime example is being a pioneer for performance-capture technology in films such as The Polar Express, Beowulf and A Christmas Carol.
As soon as I heard Zemeckis was directing this, that was enough for me. Having Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard as the leads was a real bonus. I am big fan of both and I was confident going into the screening, that these two would not fail.
It may not feel one of Zemeckis' best. I still felt entertained with a well told and executed story.
I noticed that the general look and even structure of it felt like it belonged in the 1940's where everything looks glamorous. Some may see this as looking a bit awkward, I thought it was refreshing enough to give it mild plaudits.
Even from the way the dialogue is said, to how the characters behave, it was a nice change to see something that is done simply and that can also be seen as an homage to that film-making era.
I avoided the trailers as I was already wanting to see the film. So after seeing them, I noticed that they seemed to have marketed in wrong. It seems to make the audience expect a spy thriller. While it does have that as a big element of the film. The main story I got from watching was a romance one.
Pitt and Cotillard were great together. Their characters chemistry was strong, felt real and the main reason why I had fun with this movie. Pitt individually was satisfactory. But Cotillard was great. I seem to like anything she is in, and she always seems to bring out her a-game in everything.
There were no supporting roles that were worth mentioning. But one actor that was a really nice surprise to see was August Diehl. He plays a terrifying Nazi officer in Inglorious Basterds, and it's almost more of the same in this one. That was a real highlight for me.
Other things I liked was the 1940's setting. If you have seen this and the classic Casablanca, then you'll know exactly what I mean.
If it had any chance of awards success, then I think its costume design would be its front-runner. Also, the visual effects is always an interesting part of any Zemeckis film as he has been very experimental and ground-breaking at times. I thought some of the visual effects were pretty good and consistent.
The only major negative is that, while it is good, it's just not memorable enough. Having an old-fashioned feel to it could be its downfall with many demographics. When it comes to people doing their top films of the year lists, I can see a lot of people "remind me what that film was about?".
While it is nothing spectacular, it is a nicely crafted and well executed film with a perfectly fine story and a lot of highly tense moments. Pitt and Cotillard's chemistry is integral to its strengths and as mentioned before, the old-fashioned structure worked for me, as it felt refreshing. I was certainly not bored. But I can see some not feeling they're being entertained.
I must say that I would recommend not going into this expecting another Back To The Future or Forrest Gump. If you go in with low expectations, then you will probably have a pleasant time at the pictures.
Sadly even though I did have a fairly good time with it. I honestly cannot see me watching this again. In a world where we can gain access to so many films. I cannot see me getting in a mood to spending my time on re-visiting this.
However, I am now hoping Zemeckis gives us another instant classic in the near future. It has been a while since he has created a box office success. The last one was probably Cast Away back in 2000. I think now is the time for another one.
This week has certainly been a memorable one for me, in terms of branching out my new discoveries.
Now I am expanding my knowledge within the anime world. The only ones I have seen so far is the entire collection of Studio Ghibli. I am aware of many different types of anime, and I cannot wait to discover them.
But I decided to try this particular film, due to the success it has been getting and that the director Makoto Shinkai is being billed by some people as the new Hayao Miyazaki, who has been the director for nearly all of Studio Ghibli's most successful films.
I am so glad I went to see this, as I now want to see more anime's outside of Studio Ghibli. I got to see something that not only was great, but was clever, sweet, outrageously funny at times and hugely profound.
While the first act has its most outrageous and possibly cheesy moments, it has some fascinating and really clever ideas that certainly had me enjoying the experience. Then the second act starts to see the real dilemma our two main characters are in, and this is where I think this film will win many people over.
Then the final act starts really well and ends in what I thought to be a generic rom-com finale.
What I loved about this the most, was the story. The amount of depth made me having to work everything out for pretty much all the film. I liked the little strands that eventually meshed into one main story. I have to give huge props to the director for that. While the development of the romance may seem cheesy at times, his clever use of sci-fi manages to make it look refreshing.
As for the characters, the two leads are really good and make you believe in the premise. They are developed brilliantly and you would root for both of them. The supporting cast have great moments that is mainly comedy based and they all felt integral to the story rather than eventually ignored.
Another positive, is the animation. It's imagery is extraordinary, beautiful, powerful and is easily as impressive as all Studio Ghibli's style of animation.
The only negative I have is minor, picky and possibly harsh. From a film-making point of view, the pacing does take a couple of strange turns that slowed it down dramatically. I don't know if that is the directors style or if it's how most anime films are like, but those small moments felt alien to me.
That being said, the strength of this film steamrolls those small negatives. This is a very clever, fun and engaging film that manages to be both outrageously funny and emotional at the same-time to a high standard. It is one of the those films that really makes you think and work out everything throughout. There are many spectacular moments both in its images and its writing and I can pretty much guarantee this will end up in my top 10 of the year.
Despite his strong story-telling with challenging ideas, I don't think Shinkai is the new Miyazaki just yet. His style I don't think will fit into Studio Ghibli's. But this film has made me want to see more different sorts of anime and the rest of Shinkai's previous works. I think will a little care, I can see Shinkai being a saviour of sorts to possibly be the changing of the guard for Miyazaki.
The last few years has seen my film taste change dramatically. I have been going to films that I would not have even considered going to. I am now discovering some wonderful independent and low budget features.
This latest one by director Jim Jarmusch is another one to fit into that category. I have seen only two of Jarmusch's eleven previous features, Ghost Dog: The Way Of Of The Samurai which was good, and Only Lovers Left Alive which I really enjoyed.
What I got from Paterson, was a very poignant, profound, contemplative and surprisingly charming flick. The more I was watching it, the bigger my revelation came that this looked a lot like a Richard Linklater film. If you are aware of what Linklater is like, then you know that I was enjoying this.
While nothing sudden or shocking happens, it is just shows a slice of life that managed to be intriguing viewing and managed to have me invested by the second act.
There were four very memorable performances. Adam Driver was a great lead in what was a subtle performance. He gave us an interesting character, and it is great to see him do something small after being heavily involved in the latest Star Wars film.
Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani was a real star in this. Her chemistry with Driver was crucial to the success of this film, and it worked a treat. It created a lot of comical and charming moments.
It was nice to see Barry Shabaka Henley lead the minor roles. He certainly had his moments that were as memorable as the leads. Despite all those strong performances, it was the character of Marvin that will last longer in the memories of most people. I must mention, that Marvin is a dog. I was sad to find out afterwards, that the dog (whose real name is Nellie) died before the film was released.
Not many negatives to mention. There were some moments that felt irrelevant to me. But as the film is showing 'a week in the life of'', then I should not criticize it too much.
But overall, I had a nice time watching this. It has plenty of laughs, which I was not expecting. If you like dead-pan humor, then you're in for a treat, as this film is full of it.
The performances are great, it is shot really well, and the film gives the town setting a lot of appeal, and it almost becomes a character in itself. 2016 is certainly a year for the independent films, and this is another welcomed addition.
