So when it comes to my recent movie watching habits, over the last month or so, I haven't really been able to watch that many (if any) films. I haven't had a chance to watch the latest movies that have been released on dvd.
Nevertheless, last week I had some free time for myself and finally got back to watching some of the stuff that I had postponed watching for so long. I managed to watch some of these new movies that mostly managed to be fairly entertaining.
In any case, this time I have seen three recently released films that I get to review. These films are Guy Ritchie's 'The Gentlemen', Harrison Ford's 'Call of The Wild and Will Ferrell's vehicle 'Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga'.
So when it comes to the first film, 'The Gentlemen' is a mobster drama/comedy starring Hugh Grant and Matthew McConaughey. The film revolves around a marijuana kingpin (McConaughey) in London who is trying to sell his cannabis business.
Not surprisingly, in the story it will not take long before things spiral out of control. Once McConaughey's character starts shopping his underground business, all kinds of entities appear to make offers and this leads to extortion, blackmail, violence and sabotage.
When it comes to the quality of the film, this is as expected a 'Guy Ritchie' movie. You have the usual weird characters, stylish dialogue, 'English' banter, violent action scenes and other things that you have learned to expect from him.
Acting-wise, pretty much every actor in the ensemble gives really good performances. McConaughey is solid, Colin Farrell is out there in a good way and Hugh Grant does a really memorable role as a slimy blackmailing reporter.
The only real problem with the film is that the story in 'The Gentlemen' is a bit all over the place. There doesn't seem to be clear purpose and point of view to the film, which leads to the story lacking a clear meaning, if we're being honest here.
Indeed, especially when it comes to the ending, I don't really understand why it happened that way (no spoilers). The arc of the story pointed to another direction and the 'winners' really didn't do anything to deserve it (deus ex machina).
Still, if you have enjoyed other 'Guy Ritchie' films, this is probably a movie that you're going to enjoy. You're probably going to be entertained by it, even though in my opinion the movie could have had a much stronger and much more 'relevant' story than it had.
Not surprisingly, in the story it will not take long before things spiral out of control. Once McConaughey's character starts shopping his underground business, all kinds of entities appear to make offers and this leads to extortion, blackmail, violence and sabotage.
When it comes to the quality of the film, this is as expected a 'Guy Ritchie' movie. You have the usual weird characters, stylish dialogue, 'English' banter, violent action scenes and other things that you have learned to expect from him.
Acting-wise, pretty much every actor in the ensemble gives really good performances. McConaughey is solid, Colin Farrell is out there in a good way and Hugh Grant does a really memorable role as a slimy blackmailing reporter.
The only real problem with the film is that the story in 'The Gentlemen' is a bit all over the place. There doesn't seem to be clear purpose and point of view to the film, which leads to the story lacking a clear meaning, if we're being honest here.
Indeed, especially when it comes to the ending, I don't really understand why it happened that way (no spoilers). The arc of the story pointed to another direction and the 'winners' really didn't do anything to deserve it (deus ex machina).
Still, if you have enjoyed other 'Guy Ritchie' films, this is probably a movie that you're going to enjoy. You're probably going to be entertained by it, even though in my opinion the movie could have had a much stronger and much more 'relevant' story than it had.
The second film that I watched is 'Call of The Wild', a movie based on classic Jack London novel. The film is about the adventures of a big St.Bernard/Scotch Collie dog called 'Buck' and the dog finding its way in the world & the nature.
When it comes to the film, the biggest reason that the movie got so much publicity (or let's say heat) is that the 'star' of the film, 'Buck' is completely computer-generated. The dog and some of the backgrounds are totally fake, which not surprisingly pissed off some people.
Nevertheless, since the film had gotten relatively decent reviews (61% fresh critics & 89% fresh audience at Rottentomatoes.com, it was an easy decision to give it a shot. Clearly the film had some redeeming qualities that would keep me entertained.
So having now finally seen 'Call of The Wild', I have to say that the movie as a whole was worth watching and worth my time. It was worth watching, even though there are some issues with the story that have to be addressed.
Indeed, one of the biggest challenges with the story is that the dog is the actual main 'character' in the movie. Since it can't talk and express its 'thoughts' in any meaningful way, it turned out to be tricky to make it the focus of the story.
In practice, over the course of the movie, this is the reason that the story feels episodic and jumps from one place to another. Even though all the actors that Buck is surrounded with do a good job (special mention to Omar Sy), there are problems that cannot be ignored.
At the same time, just because there are problems in the film and the 'evolution' of Buck from a food hungry dog to a leader of the pack in Alaska is a bit contrived, that's not reason not to watch it. The relaxed tone and the nature aspects are what make the movie.
After all, even though a lot of the landscape in 'Alaska' felt a bit manufactured, I absolutely loved the atmosphere. As someone who likes to walk, run or otherwise exercise in the nature every single day, those aspects meant a lot to me.
In that sense, if you haven't seen the film yet, you should probably watch it. You should watch it, because even though the movie has its flaws, it still has tons of redeeming qualities (like Harrison Ford in a role that he seemed to enjoy) that help to put you on a good mood.
The third movie that I saw is Will Ferrell's vehicle 'Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga'. This is a Netflix movie about an Icelandic couple Lars & Sigrit (Ferrell & Rachel McAdams) trying to fulfil their dream of taking part and winning the Eurovision Song Contest.
So when it comes to the expectations of the movie, a lot of people weren't initially excited about watching the film. Based on the trailer, it seemed that the movie simply wasn't going to be that good since the trailer just didn't have that many funny moments.
However, once the film premiered on Netflix and the general audience started posting reviews, it became obvious that there was something special going on in here. It looked like the movie was well made and that I should give it a shot.
Having now seen the film a couple of days ago, I have to say that the movie does work surprisingly well. 'Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga' manages to deliver the goods, even though there are some tiny issues with the film that need to be addressed.
So when it comes to those good qualities, one of the reasons that the movie works is that Lars & Sigrit's journey to the song contest is handled in a respectful way towards everyone. This respect includes Iceland, its culture, the rest of the characters and their problems.
Indeed, even though the movie is about Lars & Sigrit's underdog story, it's not just about them. A lot of attention is also paid to the supporting characters and making them relatable - especially the 'ja ja ding dong' guy and the Russian antagonist (Dan Stevens).
Another major reason that the film works - perhaps even surprisingly - well has to do with its music. Every single song that was composed for the film is absolutely fantastic and you can't help but to admire the quality of them (even better songs than in the 'real' contest).
Story-wise, it has to be said that there are some moments in the film that could have been better written. Especially when it comes to the inciting incident (bomb goes off) and the reaction of the duo, it was a bit over the top for my tastes.
Still, when it comes to the film as a whole, these problems aren't that big and serious. Despite these minor flaws the movie manages to be watchable, thanks to the overall good nature of the film and the fact that there aren't really that many 'bad' guys in it.
In that sense, if you haven't seen the film yet, I'd suggest that you give it a shot. You should give it a shot because even though the premise is silly, the movie nevertheless works and manages to put you on a good mood (81% fresh by the audience at Rottentomatoes.com).
When it comes to the film, the biggest reason that the movie got so much publicity (or let's say heat) is that the 'star' of the film, 'Buck' is completely computer-generated. The dog and some of the backgrounds are totally fake, which not surprisingly pissed off some people.
Nevertheless, since the film had gotten relatively decent reviews (61% fresh critics & 89% fresh audience at Rottentomatoes.com, it was an easy decision to give it a shot. Clearly the film had some redeeming qualities that would keep me entertained.
So having now finally seen 'Call of The Wild', I have to say that the movie as a whole was worth watching and worth my time. It was worth watching, even though there are some issues with the story that have to be addressed.
Indeed, one of the biggest challenges with the story is that the dog is the actual main 'character' in the movie. Since it can't talk and express its 'thoughts' in any meaningful way, it turned out to be tricky to make it the focus of the story.
In practice, over the course of the movie, this is the reason that the story feels episodic and jumps from one place to another. Even though all the actors that Buck is surrounded with do a good job (special mention to Omar Sy), there are problems that cannot be ignored.
At the same time, just because there are problems in the film and the 'evolution' of Buck from a food hungry dog to a leader of the pack in Alaska is a bit contrived, that's not reason not to watch it. The relaxed tone and the nature aspects are what make the movie.
After all, even though a lot of the landscape in 'Alaska' felt a bit manufactured, I absolutely loved the atmosphere. As someone who likes to walk, run or otherwise exercise in the nature every single day, those aspects meant a lot to me.
In that sense, if you haven't seen the film yet, you should probably watch it. You should watch it, because even though the movie has its flaws, it still has tons of redeeming qualities (like Harrison Ford in a role that he seemed to enjoy) that help to put you on a good mood.
The third movie that I saw is Will Ferrell's vehicle 'Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga'. This is a Netflix movie about an Icelandic couple Lars & Sigrit (Ferrell & Rachel McAdams) trying to fulfil their dream of taking part and winning the Eurovision Song Contest.
So when it comes to the expectations of the movie, a lot of people weren't initially excited about watching the film. Based on the trailer, it seemed that the movie simply wasn't going to be that good since the trailer just didn't have that many funny moments.
However, once the film premiered on Netflix and the general audience started posting reviews, it became obvious that there was something special going on in here. It looked like the movie was well made and that I should give it a shot.
Having now seen the film a couple of days ago, I have to say that the movie does work surprisingly well. 'Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga' manages to deliver the goods, even though there are some tiny issues with the film that need to be addressed.
So when it comes to those good qualities, one of the reasons that the movie works is that Lars & Sigrit's journey to the song contest is handled in a respectful way towards everyone. This respect includes Iceland, its culture, the rest of the characters and their problems.
Indeed, even though the movie is about Lars & Sigrit's underdog story, it's not just about them. A lot of attention is also paid to the supporting characters and making them relatable - especially the 'ja ja ding dong' guy and the Russian antagonist (Dan Stevens).
Another major reason that the film works - perhaps even surprisingly - well has to do with its music. Every single song that was composed for the film is absolutely fantastic and you can't help but to admire the quality of them (even better songs than in the 'real' contest).
Story-wise, it has to be said that there are some moments in the film that could have been better written. Especially when it comes to the inciting incident (bomb goes off) and the reaction of the duo, it was a bit over the top for my tastes.
Still, when it comes to the film as a whole, these problems aren't that big and serious. Despite these minor flaws the movie manages to be watchable, thanks to the overall good nature of the film and the fact that there aren't really that many 'bad' guys in it.
In that sense, if you haven't seen the film yet, I'd suggest that you give it a shot. You should give it a shot because even though the premise is silly, the movie nevertheless works and manages to put you on a good mood (81% fresh by the audience at Rottentomatoes.com).
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