Ant-Man and The Wasp + Adieu 2018

31 Dec 2018 Leave a comment

by Debra Manskey in Biography, Movie Review, Writing Tags: , , , , ,

Well, watching this film was a nice way to finish up the year for a lot of different reasons.

I recently found out I’ve been given in principal support by my course convenor to do a critical analysis of the Marvel Cinematic Universe for my final year project – a lot of reasons for rejoicing! Essentially, I plan to concentrate on villains in the MCU (yes, I’m sure I’ll be devoting some time to Tom Hiddleston’s Loki!) and at this stage, I plan to approach it as a possible chapter to a much broader work.

2018 has been harder than I’d hoped, often in ways I didn’t see coming! But it’s also bought me greater rewards, opportunities, self-awareness and confidence that are beyond what I’d hoped for. Swings and roundabouts as usual!

And I’ve watched a LOT of films (about 80 on MUBI alone), making notes on nearly all but only reviewing a fraction of them. I could blithely promise to rectify that as a new year’s resolution but it would be disingenuous to do that. As my final year of undergraduate study, 2019 is going to be much too busy for that!

Nevertheless, here’s my last review of this year. Many thanks for reading, your kind comments and all the best to you and yours in 2019. ❤

Ant-Man and The Wasp 2018

Directed by Peyton Reed

I only bought the Blu-ray this morning, bringing me up to date with MCU releases but this review will all be first thoughts rather than considered opinions.

There’s something really endearing about Paul Rudd. I know he has a lengthy performance CV stretching back to the early 90s, but I never really took that much notice of him until Ant-Man (2015). In that film he showed off his talent for comic timing but proved himself able to lead a film – no mean feat, alongside the likes of screen heavyweight, Michael Douglas and Lost (2004-2010) star, Evangeline Lilly.

Here, Rudd reprises his leading role as Scott Lang, now in home detention after the events in Captain America: Civil War (2016). His daughter (once again played by Abby Ryder Forston) still thinks he’s the best dad in the world, plus Michael Douglas and Evangeline Lilly are back as Dr Hank Pym and Hope Van Dyne. Michele Pfeiffer comes in as Janet Van Dyne, lost in the quantum realm and Michael Pena is wonderful as Luis, stealing every scene he’s in.

I’m really pleased that Lilly has much more to do this time around as she dons the Wasp costume and Hannah John-Kamen from Killjoys (2015-2019) is convincing as Ava/Ghost. As good as the acting talent is though, my standout performers throughout are the incredible stunt team and the coordinator George Cottle. (Follow the link to IMDB, his CV is amazing!) Similarly, the visual effects are absolutely top notch, and testimony to how far we’ve come with CG and motion capture in recent years.

Coming so quickly after Avengers: Infinity War (2018), this could easily have fallen between the cracks, but director Peyton Reed has delivered a very entertaining film, much lighter in tone than Infinity War but more serious than either Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) GotG Vol. 2 (2017).

In conclusion, despite all its connections to the broader MCU, this film stands up well on its own merits (always my benchmark) and I thoroughly enjoyed it. A superior popcorn/superhero movie that with a PG-13 rating, is suitable for most of the family.

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

27 Dec 2018 Leave a comment

by Debra Manskey in Movie Review, Writing Tags: , , ,

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs 2018

Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen

I’ll start with a disclaimer – I love Westerns. There are particular old titles that bring back memories of Saturday matinees in my home town and late night television viewing with my father and older brother. One of my favourite (and most successful) papers written for my university degree was a comparative analysis of The Searchers (1956) and Serenity (2005). So, I came to The Ballad of Buster Scruggs with quite high expectations.

This latest production from the Coen brothers is an anthology of different stories of the American West, loosely linked to the theme of death. I’ve been a fan of their films all the way back to Blood Simple (1984), and in recent years have studied and analysed their movies and even written academic papers about them. Like all bodies of work that extensive, some of their movies speak to me more than others.  Similarly, anthologies always have stronger and weaker segments and I have to confess that some of these vignettes left me wanting more and a couple didn’t really speak to me at all.

Let’s start with the strengths. The cast is uniformly solid, which is vital with such a wide-ranging film but there are standouts. Tim Blake Nelson is excellent in the titular role and looks like he’s having a lot of fun. Similarly, Tom Waits as the Prospector in “All Gold Canyon” and Liam Neeson as the Impressario in “Meal Ticket” are great but Harry Melling in “Meal Ticket” and Zoe Kazan in “The Gal Who Got Rattled” are outstanding.

Melling is unrecognisable from the obnoxious Dudley Dursley of the Harry Potter films and delivers everything with his expressive face and eyes. Kazan brings something quite special to the girl who finds herself abandoned and trying to take control of her life on a wagon train. I was reminded of a previous Coen film True Grit (2010) with references here to the Midnight Caller story. Framing in this vignette especially is pure homage to John Ford and at times it also reminded me of one of my favourite revisionist westerns, Meek’s Cutoff (2010)

As much as I enjoyed these performances though, it’s the ensemble in the final story, “The Mortal Remains” that had the biggest impact on me. Jonjo O’Neill, Saul Rubinek, Chelcie Ross, the ever reliable Brendan Gleeson and the wonderful Tyne Daly worked perfectly in a dark dreamscape that seemed to me like John Ford’s Stagecoach meets Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal.

On the downside, I found the CG in some of the earlier pieces annoying and at times, downright clunky – to the point that it took me out of the stories. And I have to say, the first two stories, “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” and “Near Algodones” really didn’t work for me despite solid performances.

While I believe this did get a limited theatrical release in the UK, the rest of the world is only able to watch it on Netflix. We are living in a fascinating and exciting time for new platforms and methods of film distribution. I sincerely hope it will enable more people to view different movies (particularly independent and foreign language cinema). But once again, as much as I love being able to stream films at home (I’m truly grateful for Netflix and MUBI) I’d have liked the option to be able to see this in a cinema and I have to wonder if some of my issues with the computer graphics would have been assuaged.

Nevertheless, if you like westerns (traditional or revisionist) this is well worth watching!

They Shall Not Grow Old

27 Dec 2018 Leave a comment

by Debra Manskey in Movie Review, Writing Tags: , , ,

They Shall Not Grow Old 2018

Directed by Peter Jackson

One of the things about getting old is remembering when I was small.

I can recall old men who served in WWI, marching in ever dwindling numbers on Anzac Day and at services on Remembrance Day. Not one of them ever talked about the Great War and as I’ve grown older, and particularly after experiencing this film, I can certainly see why.

Directed and produced by Peter Jackson, this documentary opens with the usual WWI film footage – black and white, jerkily shot, uneven frame rates. About 10 minutes in, it changes to a smooth, full colour film, complete with audio and the effect is nothing short of jaw-dropping.

Jackson had access to the British War Museum’s archives, which included footage from various sources and audio interviews after the war with surviving servicemen. Rather than make the usual war documentary, Jackson and his brilliant team took the footage, shot with hand-cranked cameras and therefore of varying speeds, and smoothed it out with a precision that is simply staggering. The adjusted footage was colourised and then, perhaps most astonishing of all, a team of lip-readers translated what the men were saying to each other and the camera. Voice actors with appropriate regional accents to the regiments depicted gave their images life again. Interspersed with archive audio interviews with survivors, it lends even more gravitas to the camaraderie between the men and the sheer horror of what they experienced. The sound design too is magnificent and relentless, with nearly constant gunfire and shelling but probably only a taste of what these men must have experienced.

The results are an incredibly moving film that really should be mandatory viewing for all adults and a technical triumph for Peter Jackson and his team. It’s caused me to think that Jackson should perhaps make more documentaries than narrative films!

While I cannot recommend this work enough, it isn’t for the faint-hearted. Although I was well prepared, I still found some of the scenes difficult and was moved to tears more than once. However, this film in no way ever glorifies war. Rather, it humanises this brutal conflict in ways that I would not have thought possible. I saw this astonishing documentary on Remembrance Day (Armistice Day in other countries), the 100th anniversary of the end of WWI and I’m very grateful to have seen it in a decent sized cinema with a good sound system – kudos to my local, the State Cinema. To say I was moved is a complete understatement, it was a far more profound experience.

Undoubtedly one of the best films I’ve seen this year.

 

Widows

26 Dec 2018 Leave a comment

by Debra Manskey in Movie Review, Writing Tags: , , ,

 

Widows 2018

Directed by Steve McQueen

Based on Lynda La Plante’s 6-part Thames Television series from the 1980s, Steve McQueen and Gillian Flynn (author of Gone Girl) have transplanted the story of four women who lose their husbands in a botched robbery into contemporary Chicago. The women have little in common, save a substantial debt left behind by their husbands and these circumstances lead to their joining together to erase the debt and move on with their lives.

This core story is overlaid with a local political tug of war, in the form of the dynastic Irish-American Mulligan family (Robert Duvall and Colin Farrell) and challenger Jamal Manning (Brian Tyree Henry), with his brutal henchman Jatemme Manning (brilliantly portrayed by Daniel Kaluuya).

The ensemble cast is wonderful and (as an Australian) I loved seeing Jackie Weaver and increasingly impressive Elizabeth Debicki as the Russian mother and daughter, but Viola Davis is an absolute standout. Her beautiful, expressive portrayal of a wife at once mourning and angry at the situation she’s left in lights up the screen and is the emotional centre that holds all the threads together.

The balance between the personal and political stories are wonderfully handled, carefully exposed and interwoven, making this so much more than another heist movie. It leads to a climax that I saw coming but still thoroughly enjoyed.

Easily one of my movies of the year.

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

26 Dec 2018 Leave a comment

by Debra Manskey in Movie Review, Writing Tags: , , ,

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle 2017

Directed by Jake Kasdan.

I can’t believe I didn’t post this when I wrote the review back in at the start of this year! Admittedly, this was on my ever-growing movie pile of shame, and it was shunted out of the way by study and academic writing. Rest assured there’ll be nothing academic here!

Let’s start with an admission that I loved the original Jumanji (1995) and thought it was a great vehicle for Robin Williams. Jon Favreau’s Zathura: A Space Adventure (2005) was very cute but didn’t have quite the same verve that Williams brought to the original. I think the time was right to bring a new film into the stable and this was cleverly added by upgrading Jumanji from a board game to an old console title, hidden away in a school storeroom.

In this version, we have four teens who are magically drawn into Jumanji, while serving detention, cleaning out the aforementioned storeroom. Once they’re in the game there’s all kinds of shenanigans, finding individual strengths they didn’t realise they had, learning teamwork, and even discussions of gender and what constitutes appropriate attire for female game characters (often a point of contention for me).

In essence, we are presented with a series of teen stereotypes playing a series of computer game stereotypes. The cast are uniformly fine. Dwayne Johnson is superbly self-deprecating as the nerdy, shy and supremely unconfident Spencer, who finds himself in a leadership role. Jack Black is delightful as the shallow, self-absorbed Bethany who in the game is a middle aged, overweight professor. Karen Gillan is perfect as shy but dependable Martha, who asks why she’s the only one in a bikini in the game. Kevin Hart is well, Kevin Hart – not a favourite of mine but okay for a film like this. It was great to see New Zealand actor and Flight of the Concords manager, Rhys Darby as the completely deadpan Nigel, and watch out for Rohan Chand (Mowgli 2018) in the bazaar scene.

Computer graphics were suitably “game-like” and the lush colour palette added to the rich feel. Surprisingly, the fight choreography was really very good and narratively it didn’t end up down the rabbit hole of mawkish sentimentality as I thought it might.

I’m increasingly impressed with how Dwayne Johnson has handled his film career, opting for roles that often poke holes in traditional male stereotypes and movies that are decidedly family friendly. This is certainly one to watch with the kids on a rainy day that won’t drive parents away!

Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle

26 Dec 2018 1 Comment

by Debra Manskey in Movie Review, Writing Tags: , , , ,

Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle (2018)

Directed by Andy Serkis

I grew up with parents who read to me every night and some of my all-time favourites were Kipling stories, including The Jungle Books. I still have an old copy of both volumes on my shelves at home. When I was little I remember being incredibly disappointed with the Disney cartoon (yes, I’m that old) because the jungle seemed so clean and safe compared to the grit and peril of Kipling’s original.

There’s been quite a bit of chatter about the standard of computer graphics in this film. I saw it on my home system via Netflix and didn’t find myself being drawn out of the story at any time to consider the scene – a sure way for me to know if I’m distracted by poor CG. Rather, I think Serkis makes good use of the technology available to him. There’s one scene where Mowgli is hiding under water, looking up at Shere Khan lapping from the pool. The shot-reverse shot is gorgeous, delivering tension and realistic water refraction at the same time. Having said that, I don’t know how well some of the set piece action sequences would look on a big screen. As much as I love the new age of delivery models, I regret not being able to go to the cinema to see this.

The voice cast are a wonderful ensemble, featuring some of the best talent currently available. Standouts for me were Peter Mullan, Cate Blanchett, Naomie Harris and Tom Hollander, with Christian Bale, Benedict Cumberbatch and Andy Serkis being their usual reliable selves. But Rohan Chand in the title role is really quite remarkable, with the appropriate mix of fear and determination in his portrayal. I recall he popped up briefly in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and I look forward to seeing more work from this talented young man.

Finally, Andy Serkis has offered a retelling that is much darker than any previous film version and far more adventurous in almost every respect, capturing the feel of the original work. There are comedic moments but overall, the tone is darker and more in keeping with Kipling’s text.

Well worth watching – but not for small children!

Wins & Losses – An Early Summer Update

06 Dec 2018 Leave a comment

by Debra Manskey in Biography, Chickens, Movie Review, Music, Rabbits, Teaching, Urban Farming, Writing Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Birthday bounty!

Well, life got in the way of this blog again – it’s been four whole months since I’ve posted anything! Apologies to all you lovelies who follow my fractured, meandering posts. I had another birthday on the weekend and (besides attaining full membership of the Grumpy Old Ladies League) was given a generous stack of DVD & Blu-ray releases that I don’t have in my collection or I’ve worn out with over-use and I immediately watched Bridge on the River Kwai when I worked out I hadn’t watched it for well over 10 years

It’s true that you only miss something significant when it’s not there. I’ve come to realise in the last few months how much of a fabulous thing writing this blog has been, is and I’m sure, will continue to be in the future. I’ve realised what a significant stress release it is to randomly type a few hundred words about things that matter to me, not because I HAVE to but because I WANT to. So thank you to a few folks who reached out wondering where and how I was, encouraging me to continue – you are gold!

Most of my time in the last few months has been taken up with my big three passions; music education, urban farming and film criticism/university study. Music teaching is gradually winding back for the summer break but I’m constantly enriched and amazed at my marvelous, talented tribe.

With respect to film criticism, I’ve been keeping brief notes on films watched, and there’s quite a backlog to catch up with, many of which I’ll expand out to reviews here. Also, I’ve just completed a unit on Screen Celebrity and Stardom, which takes a cultural industries approach to the generation of celebrity and I’m proud to say I received outstanding marks. Unfortunately, this is also probably the last Screen Studies unit I’ll be doing for my degree course but the good news is I’ll be completing my studies and graduating next year! I also have to do a major project, which I’ll talk about at length here once it’s finalised with my course convenor.

And of course, being early summer here in Tasmania the garden has been going gangbusters despite unseasonably cold and wet conditions. I have a spectacular crop of weeds as a result but the cooler weather didn’t suit most of my heritage tomato seedlings and I’ve had to resort to buying some Burnley Bounty as my main crop. Similarly, my entire basil seed failed this year and I’ve had to buy in punnets and pot them on for the greenhouse. I suspect it was a dud packet and I’ll be contacting the seed merchants more out of courtesy than just to complain. Meanwhile, I’ve had a lovely (albeit small) first crop from the asparagus I grew from seed a couple of years ago, the salad veggies are leaping out of the ground and the fruit trees are laden.

Pricking Basil seedlings into paper pots in the rain last week

There have been some sad losses too. The elderly Ladies Who Lay have sadly been reduced to five, Hipster passed away peacefully in her sleep in early September at an estimated age of 10 years. This is pretty remarkable for a laying hen and I’m pleased her final years were stress free and comfortable, with lots of room to run around in, plenty of things to eat and good earth to scratch. Harder still was losing my beautiful Bella B. Bunny at the beginning of October. She was a truly awful mother, bordering on incompetent, completely disdainful of any other life form (including me most of the time) but I adored her and I’m still trying to adjust to life in the yard without her nosing her way in.

The beautiful Hipster, late of the Ladies Who Lay

Nevertheless, the seasons turn and life continues. The other rabbits Bernard Black and Boudica are well, though dear Boudica is getting noticeably older and slower. I’m inundated with eggs as usual for this time of year which is astonishing as my chickens are commercially, well past their use by date. It just goes to show what plenty of space, a more natural diet and low stress does for any creature’s well-being. Speaking of which, I’m going outside to enjoy the sunshine that’s finally arrived

Take care lovelies wherever you are in the world and I’ll post again soon ❤

My Bella