Mr & Mrs Film Reviews

Mr and Mrs KNIGHT met each other for the first time working together at Greater Union Cinemas in Adelaide in 2008. Both in their twenties and passionate about all things cinema, and as it turns out, each other.
They built their friendship together watching movies such as Watchman, Bolt and the Curious Case of Benjamin Button and in 2009 they started their relationship whilst getting a caricature of themselves at the Royal Adelaide Show.
Mr KNIGHT worked at the Cinema for six years before moving on. Mrs KNIGHT stayed three, advanced her resume at both university and the workplace prior to moving with Mr KNIGHT to Canberra in 2012.
It was in Canberra that Mrs KNIGHT returned to the movie industry taking a publicity role at Dendy Cinemas and Icon Films. Mr and Mrs KNIGHT married in February 2015 and continued to share their love for movies.
Please look through our movie reviews and enjoy the perspective of both a young husband and wife as we watch a variety of movies and tell it how it is.
Treat Yourself.



Mr & Mrs Knight

Mr & Mrs Knight

Monday, 21 September 2015

Movie review: Sicario



Action/Crime/Drama

Rated – MA15+

Duration –121mins

Release – September 2015

Director –Denis Velleneuve

Cast –Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin, Benicio Del Toro


 
Mr Knight
With movies today I find the “Watch Test” is the best to use when settling your true feelings on whether a movie is great or terrible. The test is subtle. You may be doing it without knowing you’re doing it. The test is this. If the movie is terrible, you look at your watch wondering when it started and how much longer you have to endure this visual vomit for. If the movie is great, you check the ticket to see the end time and you check your watch to ask yourself “How will they end this with only so long to go!?” or “I’d be happy to sit another hour”… two hours in. Sicario was the latter.

Sicario, as the start of the film states, in Mexico, means hitman. Sicario follows FBI agent Kate Macer (Emily Blunt), an idealistic, play it by the book, human trafficking agent, hell bent on locating kidnapped victims by Mexican cartels in Arizona. Macer is the case officer for warrant after warrant, always seemingly one step behind the cartels and the bodies they leave behind start to build making her feel as though her efforts are fruitless.

After a high risk warrant Macer is brought in to what she believes is a mission de-brief, only to be put before an over confident, smiling Matt Graver (Josh Brolin). Graver, along with Macer’s FBI boss, offer her a chance to leave her people smuggling team and join his task force, to shake the tree, kick the hornets’ nest and all the other innuendos that would suggest they are going to piss off the cartels in Mexico.

Along with Graver (who she knows next to nothing about or where he’s from) Macer is met by mysterious Alejandro (Benicio del Toro), a specialist consultant, who says little, yet commands great respect and the three fly in a private jet to Juarez. What unfolds is gritty and brutal and Macer finds it tough to grasp that she has been taken out of a world with strict rules and circumstances and instead she finds in her present company, anything goes.

Macer soon realises Graver and his team answer to no one and the rules of engagement are this.. Don’t fuck with them. I found the cinematography and direction was of the highest quality. The use of music made the sunniest day in Mexico seem like the darkest, deepest, bottomless pit. But it wasn’t the music that did the most for the mood, but the actual lack of it. The silence at times was palpable and I found I couldn’t look away from the screen. I was intensely engaged and completely caught up in the possibilities of the film.

Del Toro was brilliant. I found the mystery of his character and his possibilities to be endless. The movie served up just enough of Del Toro’s background, military prowess, motivations, and capabilities to make you walk out of the cinema thinking, “Wow. What a badass!”

At times I found Emily Blunts agent Macer to be a bit tragic and preachy, but she played the part to a tee. Josh Brolins, maybe CIA, maybe some other secret agency, Matt Graver was just the right amount of obnoxious, gun-ho Texan and was actually quite alike to his mountain climbing enthusiast character in Everest. To round it all off was of course Benicio Del Toro who’s Alejandro, not to dissimilar to Denzel Washington’s Creasy from Man on Fire, made the film in the end.

Prepare yourself for a tense ride into a brutal part of Mexico for a shoot em’ first style of solving cartel violence with more violence. Enjoy. I did.




 



Mrs Knight
The film quickly sets the mood as we see FBI agent Kate Macer (Emily Blunt) and her team track a kidnapping case before discovering a horrific crime linked to a Mexican Cartel.

Due to her capable skills and calm demeanor as an agent, Kate Macer is recruited by Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) to join his task force to bring down one of the biggest Mexican cartels in Juarez at the border between the U.S and Mexico. However, Kate has no idea what she's in for and keeps being told to watch and learn. She quickly finds herself in the middle of Matt and Alejandro’s (Benicio Del Toro) chaos. They unlawfully stir the pot to obtain information, which ultimately gets them one step closer to their goal. Kate finds this hard to deal with and often goes against their orders and the mission to abide by the law.

Let me begin by saying the direction by Dennis Villeneuve is incredibly well done. It's full of tension, suspense and lingering silences. A lot of the film was told through the music, which was hauntingly brilliant. There were suspense filled long pauses, more so than actual conversations. The long pans against open desert really set the scene and made it all the more eerie. It had a Breaking Bad feel to it. Not surprisingly considering it involves a badass Mexican cartel in the deserts of Mexico. But even much of the cinematography reminded me of it.

The film wasn't nearly as action-packed as I thought it would be which made the violence that much more powerful. It also made me, that much more interested. I was glued the screen and pleased it wasn't all gun fire. All of the cast played their roles perfectly to the point where I couldn't imagine them in any other roles. Not surprisingly Emily Blunt nails it once again. Her performance is incredibly convincing and believable. In my opinion, she can do no wrong. Her character was a very confident, by the books agent who didn’t take direction well (or at all). While this annoyed me, I couldn't help but admire her and I enjoyed watching her. Don't even get me started on the brilliance of Benicio Del Toro. He plays a scary Cuban all too well. I definitely wouldn't mess with him, or even look twice at him!

The film was put together perfectly, from the camera work, music, direction, actors and everything else that goes unnoticed but wouldn't be the same without. I believed it and I wanted to see more. I now want to go and binge on Breaking Bad.






Friday, 18 September 2015

Movie Review: Everest



 

Adventure/Drama


Rated – M
 

Duration –121mins
 

Release – September 2015

Director – Baltasar Kormakur
 

Cast – Jason Clarke, Jake Gyllenhaal, Sam Worthington, Keira Knightley, Josh Brolin, Robin Wright

Mr Knight

 
The year is 1996. The location, Mount Everest, the largest peak on Earth. Everest draws adventure seekers from all around the world and for the right price and with the right guide, can get you to the top of the world. At 29,029 feet, approximately the height a 747 flies at cruising speed, getting to Everest's peak demands great respect from those who take it on.
 

The first thing to say after I saw this movie. It is visually epic. The second thing. The cast is enormous. It isn't necessarily filled with A listers, but most movie fans should recognize at least ten different characters in this one including a handful of Australians, which with all that talent results in an all around top quality movie with top quality acting. The third. It's a true story and that always sucks me in.

Australia's very own Jason Clarke (Zero Dark Thirty, Terminator Genisys, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) plays New Zealand's mountaineer expert, Rob Hall who prior to 96' had reached Everest's peak five times, the most any person other than a Sherpa has reached its peak. Hall runs a successful business taking climbing enthusiast's up the mountain.
Hall takes a handful of customers to the mountain including Texan Beck Weathers (Josh Brolin), Teacher Doug Hansen (John Hawkes), journalist John Krakauer (Michael Kelly) amongst others to an extremely busy climbing season as the popularity of the climb grows and grows each year.


Hall finds pressure building as the climb begins to bottle neck as other teams including Jake Gyllenhaal's American pro-climber Scott Fischer's team, slow the ascent and Hall has to battle with time and treacherous weather.


Some challenges present itself on the climb, but in this monster sized flick, it's the descent where the dramas start and life and death becomes separated by one wrong step and one gust of 150km/h wind.


I was blown away at one scene when a huge lightning cloud comes racing up from below to engulf Hall as he clings to the ice near the mountains peak. I also got a touch emotional when Hall is contacted by his pregnant wife back in New Zealand, Jan (Keira Knightley) on the two way radio when hope seems lost. A side note; Knightley actually does a reasonable Aussie/New Zealand accent as well which I found surprising.


Sam Worthington plays Guy Cotter, one of Hall's support team and in my opinion plays his best role in some time as he has a history of weak roles in prior films. Worthington is just one of many to mention. The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'s Elizabeth Debicki also sneaks in this one as the teams doctor Caroline Mackenzie.


My recommendation is this. Wear a jacket in the cinema because the immense crazy weather combined with the always freezing cold cinema air conditioning makes for an icy two hours. The second is don't see it in 3D. I did. For some reason it seems dull with a soft white effect on the screen. Go see it regular so the picture is more crisp. I also say this. Go see it on the big screen. This is a big screen epic, full of emotion, tense climbing over vast crevices, popcorn flick. The lesson to be learnt.. don't mess with Mother Nature. She'll kick your ass!




Mrs Knight

 
There is no denying how epic this movie looks from the trailer alone. Especially given the well known (and heavy Australian) cast including Jason Clarke, Josh Brolin, Sam Worthington, Keira Knightley, Emily Watson and Jake Gyllenhaal. 


Everest is inspired by true events following one of many tour groups of mountaineers attempting to reach the summit of the world's highest mountain, Everest. Set in 1996, we see them facing some of the most harsh and difficult weather conditions. As they climb higher and higher some of the characters health decline. There is also incredible acts of selflessness and heroism. It was refreshing to see a film where there was no 'villain' or a person being a dick and letting the team down. I was rooting for all the characters, especially the main guy Rob Hall (Jason Clarke). What a legend. In saying that, there were so many characters and we only saw small gimpses into who they are. I found it hard to keep track and relate to them all.
 

As the movie introduces the mixed bag of climbing lovers, one question remains unanswered... Why?! Is the glory of reaching the top really worth all the pain and struggle on the journey? I may be cynical as I'm not a climber... but I couldn't realate to any 'joy' from their experience. I found all the characters likeable and all of the actors delivered. Well done to Keira Knightley for pulling off a New Zealand accent and Sam Worthington held a stronger performance than we have seen from him lately. However, I didn't find the storyline especially gripping. Besides the spectaular view of the mountains! 

The scenery was beyond amazing, Nepal and the mountains looked absolutely beautiful. I wouldn't recommend 3D as it didnt have as much sharp contrast in the imagery as it would if it were 2D. However, I would definitely recommend the cinema for this one, so you can experience its full potential. The incredible cinematography left me feeling cold and I literally felt the wind in my hair at one point. It was embarrasing actually, I stroked my hair 'back into place'....


To quote Mr Knight "Nothing will get you like seeing photographs of real people the characters are based on". The ending should definitely make you stop and think about these incredible (and crazy) people who climbed to the summit of Everest.







Saturday, 12 September 2015

Movie review: Vacation









Adventure/Comedy

Rated – MA 15+

Duration –99mins

Release – August 2015

Director – John Francis Daley, Jonathan M. Goldstein

Cast –Ed Helms, Christina Applegate, Chris Hemsworth, Leslie Mann, Chevy Chase


Mr Knight


The key to success and enjoyment with a movie like this one is walk into the cinema with the lowest expectations possible so you can have one of two things when you leave. The first thing may be that the movie was terrible, which was on par with your expectations, so there is no disappointment. The second is, because your expectations are so low, you can be pleasantly surprised and in parts have a genuine laugh that you didn’t expect or see coming.

Vacation for me was actually the latter. I strolled in with Mrs Knight with super low expectations and found throughout I had a silly smile on my face and a few laughs to go with it.


Vacation is the story of Rusty Griswold (Ed Helms), son of Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase), who is now grown up with a family of his own. Just like the wacky adventures of his father in the 80s comedies National Lampoon’s Vacation, Rusty decides to take his wife and two boys on a massive, across America, road trip to Walley World.



Rusty is a budget airline pilot with two dysfunctional teenage boys and a bored in her marriage wife (Christina Applegate) who needs that spark again. Rusty discovers the annual trip to his family cabin isn’t doing it for the others anymore and gets a great idea to do the road trip to Walley World.


To kick-start this disaster waiting to happen, Rusty hires what he believes to be the perfect road trip car for the job. The 2015 Tartan Prancer, known in this flick as “the Honda of Albania”. Fitted with two petrol tanks, a power cord with international fittings, side mirrors on the front and rear and a key with a variety of buttons including a hare, muffin and Nazi swastika, the car alone provides enough fun.


I am not always a fan of disaster movies where every decision made by our family ends in chaos, however Vacation manages to bring that chaos without trying too hard. The jokes can be hit and miss but where some flopped others brought a good laugh including the “what is a rim job?” chat between Rusty and eldest son James (Skyler Gisondo).

Vacation brings a variety of familiar faces and cameos including a “big membered” Chris Hemsworth, an always fun Leslie Mann, a wacky raft instructor Charlie Day, Walking Dead’s Norman Reedus as the scary trucker, Michael Pena as the crazy New Mexico cop and of course Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo as Clark and Ellen Griswold along with many others.


Ed Helms’ Rusty is a character with a good heart who is just trying his best for his family but simply can’t get it right. I am not usually an Ed Helms fan and found his character in The Hangover to be super annoying, however in Vacation I found him quite likable and someone to get behind.


My best advice for movie goers with Vacation. Don’t expect to be blown away and be putting this in your top ten favourite movies of all time. In fact don’t expect to ever see it again. But for a light-hearted fun story, with not much to think about, grab your popcorn and coke, sit back and enjoy.

 



Mrs Knight

I was never a fan of the National Lampoon series. I would have seen them as a child but they weren’t very memorable for me. I’m therefore reviewing this as a stand-alone film, not as a sequel to the National Lampoons. From the ‘hilarious’ preview of Vacation, I went in with absolute rock bottom expectations.


Rusty Griswold, is played by Ed Helms aka the annoying dentist from The Hangover series, who was surprisingly less annoying in this one. The adventure shows Rusty taking his family on a road trip to Walley World, in hope of reconnecting with his two sons and his wife Debbie (Christina Applegate).


On the journey they stumble across all kinds of problems. While it relies on cringe-worthy, problematic humour, that I usually hate, I found myself cracking up equally to rolling my eyes. There were a few groan-worthy moments, but it was a hell of a lot better than I thought it would be. Mr Knight made a good point that in moments where they were trying hard to do a funny gag, no one in the cinema laughed. But smaller passing-by comments made us all crack up.


I enjoyed the relationship of the family, and Christina Applegate was a delight to watch in the mum role. I was rooting for Rusty and enjoyed the family dynamics. I especially liked the scenes inside the car when they were fooling around with the music, singing Seals classic “kiss from a rose” and the difficulties with the foreign languages on the GPS.


I found the oldest son adorable and while the youngest was a little shit, I enjoyed his banter. I felt myself goofily grinning in anticipation every time they were on the screen. My favourite part had to be Chris Hemsworth’s cameo. I felt his character was fantastic and the simple repetition of the word “faucet” by this cheesy weatherman made me crack up.


The style and humour of the film reminded me a bit of We Are the Millers, but I enjoyed this more. Don’t expect the next Bridesmaids, The Hangover (the first one) or Horrible Bosses (again, the first one) but go in with an open mind and enjoy the ride. 









Sunday, 6 September 2015

Movie Review: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl


 
Drama/Comedy

Rated – M

Duration – 105mins

Release – September 2015

Director – Alfonso Gomez-Rejon

Cast – Thomas Mann, RJ Cyler, Olivia Cooke, Jon Bernthal


Mr Knight


The thing you need to ask yourself when walking to the box office is “What sort of movie am I in the mood for?” If the title doesn’t say it all, then you have read it wrong. Personally I believe that is exactly what the makers of Me and Earl and the Dying Girl were looking to do. A movie that delivers a popular themed, but a little bit different

The story follows Greg (Thomas Mann), a senior high school student, who is a self-proclaimed loner, with no set school group category, who doesn’t connect with others well, who can’t stand the helplessness of his high school situation and believes he has a groundhog face.

Greg’s only two highlights for me were his unique humour and his passion to make short films with his long term friend Earl (RJ Cyler), who he refers to as his business partner, which they have made 42 of, all of which are not to be viewed by anyone else other than the two creators.

The story gets some momentum when Greg’s mum tells him that a girl from his school Rachel (Olivia Cooke), has just been diagnosed with Leukemia. Greg’s mum promptly pushes Greg to contact her for support. Greg, who has no connection with Rachel whatsoever makes awkward contact and requests she allow them to hang to keep his mother off his back. So begins a blossoming friendship.

Rachel, seemingly the only normality in Greg’s life, as his father is an oddball and his school friends consist of no one, becomes a positive influence for Greg despite the fact their friendship was solely started to give Rachel support.

Some clever jokes are spread throughout here and there and the realities and awkwardness of teenage life are re-told through Greg’s eyes and are enjoyable to watch. As Rachel gets sicker, the sense of hopelessness gets stronger and cinema goers get the opportunity to see how this teenage boy copes.

For any person who has experienced loss in their life, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl gives each viewer a moment to connect with the film and recollect their loss and what that person meant to them. The three young actors in Mann, Cyler and Cooke have promising talent and Olivia Cooke is brilliant to watch. Her delivery of a sick teenage girl really sucked me in and kept me invested in the film. The way the movie is directed was different but engaging and if you believe you’re too tough to shed a tear, then give this one a crack and find out for yourself.








Mrs Knight

Not surprisingly Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, was a sad one. I didn’t know anything about this film, other than the title, which is all you really need to know.

The story follows a 17 year old boy Greg who describes himself as fitting into every social group at school and flying under the radar. His life changes when his mum forces him to hang out with a girl named Rachel, who has just been diagnosed with leukemia.

We get a feel of the films style and pace from the very beginning. It consisted of very quirky cinematography and was broken up into chapters. It took me a while to warm to the film. While I thought the acting was incredibly convincing, I didn’t find the storyline very engaging. It was a familiar coming of age, high school story. Full of self-discovery, accidental drug taking, friendship and growing up.

I also feel I need to mention we had two beyond annoying girls seated behind us who decided to commentate throughout the whole movie. Despite me not so subtlety looking at them and sighing, they didn’t get the message. Or they did and just thought they were hilarious. I disagreed.

Anyway, back to the film. Greg and Rachel hang out more and more and their relationship develops into something real. I enjoyed watching them engage and can’t credit Olivia Cook (Rachel) enough for her performance.

For me, one of the most enjoyable parts was that Greg and his ‘business partner’ Earl make short films which were spoofs of popular titles. Their films are a part of Greg’s goofy nature, creativity and humour strung throughout the whole film. Thomas Mann who played the part of Greg was fantastic. He played the part beautifully and his character was very relatable as I’m sure we all felt a little awkward in our teenage years. I really enjoyed watching him on screen. The film also starred comedians Nick Offerman and Molly Shannon, who will make you smile.

The last third of the film had me absolutely glued. The use of music, colours and imagery combined with a phenomenal performance by the cast gave me no hope in not crying. I was practically gasping for air, as were most of the patrons in the cinema.

The heartfelt ending gave the film a strong finish. I would recommend this film, but just make sure to bring your tissues!


Movie Review : Straight Outta Compton



Biography/Drama/Music

Rated – MA15+

Duration – 147mins

Release – September 2015

Director – F. Gary Gray

Cast – O’Shea Jackson Jr, Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell, Paul Giamatti


Mr Knight


“Cruisin’ down the street in my 64”. Lyrics to kick start five young men and take them from the rough streets of Compton to infamy. For any person who was born in the 70s and 80s this is a movie that should peak your interest. For any rap fans, Straight Outta Compton is more of a history lesson than movie. However this is one history lesson you won’t want to miss.

Straight Outta Compton takes cinema goers back to 1986, Los Angeles, California to the dangerous streets of Compton. Five teenage friends experiencing the realities of their hazardous environment have a dream to become more than what society believe and expects them to be. Compton is the back drop of the start of this story opening up your eyes to the drugs, gang lifestyle and the response by the over the top and racially profiling LAPD in an attempt to keep the peace.

For five young black American men living in a gang neighbourhood, lyrical talent Ice Cube, up and coming DJ Dr. Dre, DJ Ren, MC Yella and drug running Eazy-E come together to bring a fresh, new sound to the scene. With Rap just emerging in the 80’s with artists like Public Enemy and L.L Cool J, the group create a new edge as N.W.A. (Niggas with Attitude).

With the influence of street life, drugs, girls and the harsh treatment by LA’s finest to Compton’s community, Ice Cube creates hard hitting lyrics not heard before, such as the well-known “Fuck the Police”. Dr. Dre creates the sound and Eazy-E becomes the front man, throwing the music scene into anarchy and creating fame and fortune not ever imagined by the group.

Jason Mitchell’s Eazy-E gives N.W.A. financial backing and finds the groups’ manager, Paul Giamatti’s Jerry Heller. Heller takes the groups raw talent and does what most expect business man with naïve artists would do. Takes advantage. As you would expect, drama ensues.

Despite the movies length, a myriad of unknown actors (with Giamatti being the movies only A-Lister), Straight Outta Compton kept an engrossing story flowing with just the right amount of violence, partying, music and drama. Despite N.W.A.’s raw inspiration, the movie didn’t rely on that gangster theme to carry the story. The inside look on the business of the individual artists rise and fall was what I found most intriguing.

Head in to your local cinema and enjoy some of the best movie soundtracks going around and the history that goes with it.






Mrs Knight

There was never any doubt that I was going to love this flick, if nothing else, for the music alone. Straight Outta Compton proved to be so much more than I hoped. Director F. Gary Gray led a convincing and engaging cast making for a compelling biopic. The film was produced by two of the central rappers Ice Cube and Dr Dre, along with Eazy-E’s widow, Tomica Woods-Wright. While the story is very much told in their favour, I can’t imagine the story being outrageously different in real life. But how am I to know.

The film shows the quick rise to fame for Eazy E and N.W.A with their hit song “Boyz-n-the-Hood”. Eazy-E quickly gets signed by Manager Jerry Heller (Paul Giamatti) who leads him and the group to success. We follow them on a sold out tour as they become the original gangsters of hip hop and their song “Fuck the Police” brings controversy. They used this song during the upsetting footage of Rodney King being brutally beaten by police and the riots that followed.

The brotherhood doesn’t last long as the groups leading music composer and producer, Dr.Dre, rapper MC Ren and DJ Yella all sign contracts with Jerry Heller and Eazy-E’s record label “Ruthless”. Ice Cube, who is the lead music writer goes his own way and we see a feud begin. Ice Cube is played by his real life son O’Shea Jackson Jr and it is frightening how similar they look! I started to forget what Ice Cube looks like.

We eventually see Dr Dre follow suit and join business savvy Suge Knight and everyone’s career booms, except for Eazy-E’s. This has to be my favourite part of the film as we see and hear Dr.Dre compose familiar lyrics and beats with Snoop Dog and Tupac.

While we saw small bits of drugs, sex and violence, I liked that they kept the storyline to the music and business of the music industry. A word of advice, make sure you read your contracts carefully! For the most part the story was long and detailed, covering a lot of ground. It ended up feeling a bit too rushed towards the end as we see a quick decline in Eazy’s health and left me wanting more. None the less, the film was heartfelt and told in a compelling and entertaining way.

I was impressed with the casting for both their conviction and appearance. It was good to see real footage emerge towards the end so we could see just how well it was cast. Plus, I got to see a tiny cameo by my boy…Eminem. Before seeing this film I didn’t realise just how revolutionary they were for hip hop. It was fascinating to see the incredible impact they made on the music industry. I walked out of the cinema wanting to listen to their music more than ever before.