Bad Times At The EL Royale/First Man (Double Review)
***Warning, contains spoilers***
So, today I was really looking forward to going to the cinema for the first time in over two weeks due to being abroad on holiday. I really had missed it and I was comforted in the knowledge that I was going to see two films that looked really great. I wasn't dissapointed.
The first film I saw was Bad Times At The EL Royale which starred an impressive cast list including names such as Jeff Bridges and Chris Hemsworth. Before I talk about Hemsworth though I want to give a special mention to Cynthia Erivo, who's singing voice is simply incredible.
Jeff Bridges we all know, a class actor who has been around a long time. He still hasn't lost it and excels in his role in this movie as does Hemsworth. The only issue I have with Hemsworth is he is best known for playing Thor in the Marvel movies and it is very hard to see him as the bad guy, you are watching him being the bad guy in this movie thinking, Thor is supposed to be good. Believe me, he is nothing like Thor in this movie!
The director simply has to be a Tarantino fan as this movie is made exactly in the sort of style of Tarantino movies. You even have titles in black and white before each new 'chapter' of the Movie, exactly like Tarantino does in his movies, plus there is a lot of bloodshed again like Tarantino and the Movie expertly explores almost every characters back story except for some reason the FBI agents.
The movie is brilliant though it really is, I love Tarantino films and if I didn't know this wasn't directed by the great man himself I would have thought this was a Tarantino movie.
Breathtaking, funny, twisted, disturbing and truly brilliant. One of the best movies of 2018. An absolute classic. Five stars easily awarded. Must see for anyone that likes Tarantino style movies!
Right, onto First Man. This movie is all about two men, the main character, Neil Armstrong played by the highly talented Ryan Gosling, and Ryan Gosling himself.
Firstly, as I'm sure you know, Neil Armstrong (RIP) isn't just a character, he was the first man on the moon. A true hero for all the world, never minding the fact that he was American. Him walking on the moon was for everyone.
The story in this movie is simply epic, I've going out via Google that the makers of this movie researched it for years which is why you have such a detailed account of the great man's life. My criticism is that maybe they should have put a note to that effect at the start of the movie, e.g the following movie is based on true accounts from Neil Armstrong's family and friends, or something like that, because I had to Google that to find out.
Anyway, the Movie deeply delves into his life and Ryan Gosling plays the part to perfection. You learn how he has to cope with the death of his daughter, how he becomes so consumed with his role, how he loses friends, it's emotional, moving and epic. It really is.
In fact, I can't believe I'm saying this, but the Movie although just over two hours is actually too short. I loved seeing Neil Armstrongs back story etc it was so interesting, moving and a great account of his life up to the moon landing but, there is a problem.
The biggest part of the movie, Neil landing on the moon, is desperately short. It only takes up the last 25 minutes of the movie. That's the whole thing, the taking off, the landing on the moon and the coming back. You don't even see the journey there and back. In reality it took about four days to get there and four days to get back, were there any issues along the way and the way back? we aren't told. How did the landing go back on earth? We aren't told. We don't even know what the journey was like, what was it like being in space. This part of the movie should have been an hour, so yes it should have been a three hour movie.
There's a friend of mine, Dominic, who will be surprised to hear me say that because he knows I normally find movies too long. This was the opposite though. The ending was also too abrupt. It just ends when he sees his wife. What happens when he gets out of quarantine and meets the media as a hero? What happens when he sees his kids again? We simply aren't told and I feel we should have been.
That said, these are small complaints on an otherwise epic movie that, just like Bad Times At The EL Royale will go down as one of the greatest movies so far this year. I still say A Quiet Place is so far the best movie of 2018 but this is awarded five stars as it is excellent. A must see simple as that.
So, there you go, two 5 star movies, you can't have a much better film watching afternoon than that. :-)
*This review is all my own work, please don't reproduce without my permission but please visit my advertisers pages as they help keep the blog going thankyou :-)
So, today I was really looking forward to going to the cinema for the first time in over two weeks due to being abroad on holiday. I really had missed it and I was comforted in the knowledge that I was going to see two films that looked really great. I wasn't dissapointed.
The first film I saw was Bad Times At The EL Royale which starred an impressive cast list including names such as Jeff Bridges and Chris Hemsworth. Before I talk about Hemsworth though I want to give a special mention to Cynthia Erivo, who's singing voice is simply incredible.
Jeff Bridges we all know, a class actor who has been around a long time. He still hasn't lost it and excels in his role in this movie as does Hemsworth. The only issue I have with Hemsworth is he is best known for playing Thor in the Marvel movies and it is very hard to see him as the bad guy, you are watching him being the bad guy in this movie thinking, Thor is supposed to be good. Believe me, he is nothing like Thor in this movie!
The director simply has to be a Tarantino fan as this movie is made exactly in the sort of style of Tarantino movies. You even have titles in black and white before each new 'chapter' of the Movie, exactly like Tarantino does in his movies, plus there is a lot of bloodshed again like Tarantino and the Movie expertly explores almost every characters back story except for some reason the FBI agents.
The movie is brilliant though it really is, I love Tarantino films and if I didn't know this wasn't directed by the great man himself I would have thought this was a Tarantino movie.
Breathtaking, funny, twisted, disturbing and truly brilliant. One of the best movies of 2018. An absolute classic. Five stars easily awarded. Must see for anyone that likes Tarantino style movies!
Right, onto First Man. This movie is all about two men, the main character, Neil Armstrong played by the highly talented Ryan Gosling, and Ryan Gosling himself.
Firstly, as I'm sure you know, Neil Armstrong (RIP) isn't just a character, he was the first man on the moon. A true hero for all the world, never minding the fact that he was American. Him walking on the moon was for everyone.
The story in this movie is simply epic, I've going out via Google that the makers of this movie researched it for years which is why you have such a detailed account of the great man's life. My criticism is that maybe they should have put a note to that effect at the start of the movie, e.g the following movie is based on true accounts from Neil Armstrong's family and friends, or something like that, because I had to Google that to find out.
Anyway, the Movie deeply delves into his life and Ryan Gosling plays the part to perfection. You learn how he has to cope with the death of his daughter, how he becomes so consumed with his role, how he loses friends, it's emotional, moving and epic. It really is.
In fact, I can't believe I'm saying this, but the Movie although just over two hours is actually too short. I loved seeing Neil Armstrongs back story etc it was so interesting, moving and a great account of his life up to the moon landing but, there is a problem.
The biggest part of the movie, Neil landing on the moon, is desperately short. It only takes up the last 25 minutes of the movie. That's the whole thing, the taking off, the landing on the moon and the coming back. You don't even see the journey there and back. In reality it took about four days to get there and four days to get back, were there any issues along the way and the way back? we aren't told. How did the landing go back on earth? We aren't told. We don't even know what the journey was like, what was it like being in space. This part of the movie should have been an hour, so yes it should have been a three hour movie.
There's a friend of mine, Dominic, who will be surprised to hear me say that because he knows I normally find movies too long. This was the opposite though. The ending was also too abrupt. It just ends when he sees his wife. What happens when he gets out of quarantine and meets the media as a hero? What happens when he sees his kids again? We simply aren't told and I feel we should have been.
That said, these are small complaints on an otherwise epic movie that, just like Bad Times At The EL Royale will go down as one of the greatest movies so far this year. I still say A Quiet Place is so far the best movie of 2018 but this is awarded five stars as it is excellent. A must see simple as that.
So, there you go, two 5 star movies, you can't have a much better film watching afternoon than that. :-)
*This review is all my own work, please don't reproduce without my permission but please visit my advertisers pages as they help keep the blog going thankyou :-)
Comments
Post a Comment