Baby Driver

04 Aug 2017 1 Comment

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

Baby Driver (2017) Working Title Films. Written and directed by Edgar Wright.

I really like Edgar Wright’s work. Going right back to the television cult classic Spaced (1999-2001) I’ve been a fan. But Wright was around before that, working with British comedy luminaries such as Bill Bailey and Alexei Sayle and making music videos.

Shaun of the Dead (2004), Hot Fuzz (2007) and The World’s End (2013) (collectively known as ‘The Cornetto Trilogy’) are all excellent movies, though I’m still not entirely sold on the second half of The World’s End. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010) is, in my opinion, an often overlooked minor masterpiece, using some interesting methods to bring Bryan Lee O’Malley’s graphic novel to the screen. (If you haven’t seen it, go do it – you can thank me later).

So, what about Baby Driver? First, and arguably foremost, it’s a heist film, in the classic tradition of The Italian Job (1969) and a car chase movie, paying homage to films such as The French Connection (1971). Into this frenetic mix, Wright has put an amazing soundtrack and a solid cast. Many of the characters are archetypes but I found by the final act, I was totally invested in Doc (gloriously played by Kevin Spacey), Baby (Ansel Elgort) and his love interest, Debora (Lily James), who has surprisingly few lines but makes the most of her screen time. John Hamm, Jaime Foxx, Eiza Gonzalez and C J Jones are excellent in support.

While Wright is on record as saying most of the car chase scenes were done without a lot of CG assistance, I think the real unsung heroes of this film are cinematographer, Bill Pope and editors, Jonathon Amos and Paul Machliss. Their work here is exemplary, with the end product being possibly the first Car Chase Heist Musical.

This is a project that Edgar Wright has been wanting to make for many years. There’s echoes of Baby Driver in much of his previous work, (have a look at the music video for ‘Blue Song’ by UK duo Mint Royale from 2003) and he finally started it properly when he famously (and some would say wisely) walked away from Ant-Man (2015).

Apart from possibly spawning a new sub genre, there’s nothing new or groundbreaking with Baby Driver – but it’s incredibly entertaining, and surely with the current state of our world, that’s not such a bad thing. On reflection, I’d rather have Baby Driver than a Wright-directed Ant-Man 😀

Rules of Conduct – A Rant

30 Jul 2017 5 Comments

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

It was a damp Sunday afternoon, so I decided to go and see Baby Driver today at the lovely State Cinema in North Hobart. I’ll write a review about it in the next few days when I’ve had a chance to think about the film a little more but suffice it to say, I loved the music, the performances and the incredible editing. I’m just not certain about the ending – but I’ll talk about that soon.

What I want to discuss today are that unspoken guidelines that I’ve lived by all my life, the core rules of conduct in movie-going – that is to say, one is always silent while the movie is playing! The only exception is laughter. I’ve been heartened to see that people like Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo actively encourage this through their podcast but sometimes I wonder if it’s just because they’re a similar vintage to me and we’re just showing our age.

For those of you who are interested, here’s The Moviegoers’ Code of Conduct  from the Wittertainment wiki. Alternatively, Kermode and Mayo made this short video version a few years ago, which is recommended and very entertaining.

I grew up in a movie-loving, very cine-literate household, where both my father and older brother had their projectionist’s licence so trips to the cinema were our regular special event, and even when watching movies at home, the rules of conduct would be enforced. Even whispered conversations with my sister were discouraged during movies and I remember us being given oranges and a hand towel to take to the Saturday matinee because it made less noise. I do recall seeing my mother and father snogging once on a trip to the pictures, something they used to do when they were “courting” but never to the disruption of anyone else’s viewing.

Well, this afternoon, my friend and I got a coffee (in a china mug – not a disposable cup ❤ ) along with our tickets, wandered downstairs 10 minutes before the session started and selected a seat in the half full cinema and drank our coffee in relative peace before the feature started. Just as the trailers started, an older couple (maybe 60s) came in and noisily eased past the couple behind me. For the purposes of this blog, I’m calling him Mr Ignorant.

First, what I can only imagine was a biscuit packet came out, and a loud crunching and crackling. Then he started. Mr Ignorant talked all the way through the trailers, oohing and ahing at Charlize Theron and James McAvoy in Atomic Blonde, as well as Dunkirk and I found myself gripping the seat, hoping he was just getting it out of his system before the main feature started.

Alas, this was not to be.

Unfortunately, he kept up a near constant stream of chatter through the opening scene and drove me almost to distraction before the movie had even really begun. In an effort to stem the tide before the film really got going, I turned, and in the darkness asked in a loud voice “will you please stop talking?” Now, any of you who know me in the real world will know I have no trouble making myself heard, something to do with all that vocal training I’m sure! He stopped mid-sentence, almost affronted there was anyone else in the cinema and seemed to contain himself for the next scene.

Then the biscuit packet came out again. And the chatter started again. And I leaned in closer to my movie companion, who fortunately knows me well enough to not be freaked out by such behaviour!

So, with my head as far away from Mr and Mrs Ignorant as possible, I tried to lose myself in Baby’s shenanigans, only to be brought back again and again by the sheer ignorance of particularly the man behind me and that damned biscuit packet. I feel I need to go back and see the film again, without interruptions.

As soon as the film finished, they got up very noisily and left, making no illusion about their disdain towards me. Then, as the lights went up, two other patrons came over and thanked me for speaking up. They said they wanted to but felt they couldn’t.

But they should – we all should.

In fact, I should’ve gone out and found an usher and complained about Mr Ignorant. The only reason I didn’t is I’ve been waiting to see this film for a few weeks and didn’t want to miss a frame – or cause any more disruption to my fellow cinema patrons.

What do you think?

In the meantime, here’s a lovely, calming photo of some lovely, calming clouds. Take care friends and remember the Rules of Conduct next time you go to the cinema ❤

 

 

Spider-Man: Homecoming

22 Jul 2017 1 Comment

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

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) Columbia Pictures/Marvel Studios. Directed by Jon Watts.

It’s Saturday night and I’ve just got home from the movies. I wanted to see Edgar Wright’s latest release, Baby Driver and probably should’ve seen Wonder Woman (yes I know, it’s shameful I haven’t seen it yet!) but I’m really pleased I saw Spider-Man: Homecoming!

From the opening credits that riffed the Avengers theme music around the old Spiderman TV series theme, this was fun! Tom Holland is really excellent as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, and at 21 can just about pass for a geeky, awkward 15 year old high school student who’s discovered he has superpowers. And I think that’s what I really found charming about this film, it was as much a coming of age story as a superhero film. The scenes that involved the young cast were really well done, and although not aimed at a middle aged audiences like me, I really found myself caring about those kids. My standouts were Ned, beautifully played by Jacob Batalon as Peter’s best friend and Zendaya (playing against type) as the mouthy and happily dysfunctional Michelle.

Among the grown ups present, Michael Keaton made a wonderful villain as Adrian Toomes/Vulture, Marisa Tomei was sympathetic and lovely as Aunt May and of course, Robert Downey Jr. ate up every scene he was in. I was really pleased to see Jon Favreau reprising his role as Happy Hogan too.

A lot has been said about the necessity for yet another reworking of this franchise for the big screen, but I think the Marvel makeover was warranted and definitely a success. I do think it owes a great deal to the Sam Rami 2002 Spider-Man – especially the school scenes. I still think Rami’s take on the material was excellent for two of his three films and today, somewhat underrated. But this is Marvel, so the set pieces are well choreographed, intense and the CG is for the most part very well done. Unlike some of their more recent efforts, the final battle didn’t overstay its welcome and like most of the MCU features, this film made great use of music. The scene with Spidey swinging around New York to The Ramones’ “Blitzkrieg Pop” was fabulous.

Perhaps above all, this movie made me laugh out loud more than once, and I left the cinema with a smile on my face – a fun popcorn movie 😀

 

Excalibur (1981) – Movie Review

11 Jun 2017 Leave a comment

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

As many of you know, I’m doing a Bachelor of Communication at the moment. I’ve recently read one of Mark Kermode’s books and that’s also inspired me. While I’m busy with study, work, gardening and music, from time to time, I want to exercise some of the things I’ve been learning at uni and indulge in two of my greatest pleasures in life – watching movies and writing. I hope you enjoy my musings 🙂

Excalibur (1981) Orion Films. Directed by John Boorman.

I remember seeing this on first cinematic release back in the day, and it’s become something of a guilty pleasure that I like to revisit every year or so. It’s cheesy, at times very theatrical but there’s something about it I really love.

English director John Boorman created (for its day) an incredibly violent yet a very tender retelling of the Arthurian legend. The late Nigel Terry stars as Arthur and brings both tremendous strength and an aching innocence to the role and is surrounded by a “who’s who” of the cream of UK’s up and coming thespians, including Liam Neeson, Ciaran Hinds, Gabriel Byrne, Cherie Lunghi and Patrick Stewart. But the reason I continue to re-watch this is the brilliant portrayal of Merlin by Nicol Williamson. He eats up the screen, and his scenes with a very young Helen Mirren as Morgana Le Fey are simply riveting. Legend has it that Mirren and Williamson absolutely loathed each other at the commencement of shooting but became “very good friends” by the time it was completed. Irrespective, their performances are outstanding.

The original music by Trevor Jones is for the most part excellent but there’s a few times where I feel it intrudes on the scenes. Much of the action is informed by the sumptuous cinematography of Alex Thompson and it’s no surprise to me that he was nominated for an Academy Award for this film. The Irish countryside stands in for Arthur’s England and all its grey, bucolic green and muddy glory is well on display here. Interestingly, I recently read that Boorman had chosen many of the sites for his Lord of the Rings project, which never got off the ground. The similarities as well as the appeal of Ireland isn’t lost on me, and I wonder if Peter Jackson ever watched this and had similar thoughts.

Yes, the practical effects and fight scenes are dated and at times it looks and feels more like stage play but to my eyes it’s the best cinematic retelling of this classic tale – far more entertaining and engaging than either Antoine Fuqua’s King Arthur (2004) or Guy Ritchie’s King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017). I can’t help but feel that Boorman has a real fondness for the Arthur myth, which shows throughout.

Have you seen Excalibur? Let me know what you think. Also, if you have particular films you’d like me to watch, let me know – I’ve always got time for a good movie!

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