Movie Review: The Lady in the Van

Biography/comedy/drama

Rated – M

Duration –1 hour 44 mins

Release – March 2016

Director –Nicholas Hytner

Writer - Alan Bennett

Cast –Maggie Smith, Alex Jennings, Jim broadbent
 
Mr Knight

I’ll start by proudly stating that I don’t mind a good Maggie Smith movie! Known to the younger crowd for her role in Harry Potter as Professor McGonagall, one of my personal favourites featuring her is a dark humoured murder mystery, Keeping Mum. So I had high hopes for this one coming into the cinema.

The Lady in the Van is the true story of a transient senior citizen, Miss Shepherd (Maggie Smith), who shifts her beat up van up and down Gloucester Street, Camden Town, in the UK choosing random spots sporadically to park and settle in to live. The whole street is accustomed to her antics and enjoy to gossip about which house she chooses to park in front of next.

She is bitter, hates music, snappy to the residents and as they soon learn by her yelling in their faces “I’M A BUSY WOMAN!” The newest resident to the street that quickly meets this mysterious hobo, is playwright Alan Bennett (Alex Jennings), who narrates the story and has a strange way of telling it through an imaginary version of himself. The imaginary form whom he considers the writer, whilst he considers himself as the living resident. He continues to debate with his imaginary self throughout the movie which after a while seems quite normal.

This true tale spans over twenty years with Miss Shephard sharing a strange bond with Mr Bennett resulting in her eventually parking and living in his driveway. The relationship they share is challenging and at times sweet, but I felt the movie could have been directed to be a little more fun.

The movie itself was full of little jokes here and there with Miss Shephard spitting out some hilarious lines, but I never got the fun music it needed to lift some moments and bring laughs instead of simple smiles. I wanted to be uplifted at times but instead many scenes fell flat, where I thought they would have had a lot of potential!

That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy it. It had its moments. The story had a good history bringing some closure to Miss Shephard’s character and how she got to where she was but I really wanted to enjoy it more and I simply couldn’t get there. A good one to take your mum, or gran to. Mrs Knight and I were the youngest in the cinema by 20 years! Enjoy. 



 

Mrs Knight

The only thing I knew about this film was that it’s a chalkie (old person) flick with Professor McGonagall, aka Maggie Smith. In hindsight, I suppose that is all you really need to know. It’s also worth noting that it’s based on true events, which usually gets me over the line with movies.

Set in London, the opening scene involves a car crash which introduces to the audience their first mystery. Followed by the second mystery, who is this quirky homeless lady set years later who lives in her van? The lady, is Maggie Smith’s character, Ms Shepherd who continuously parks herself outside various houses of the neighbourhood. She is a stubborn old lady, who is very rude to her neighbours despite their best effort to give her kindness.

Over time she ends up forming an unlikely friendship with playwright, Alan Bennet who is constantly battling his own issues and sorting the thoughts in his head. He is split between being a writer and being himself.

The movie had some LOL moments, with light-hearted comedy provided by Ms Shepherd. Such as her quirky characteristics of painting her van bright yellow and acting like it is perfectly reasonable to live out of a van outside someone else’s house. I found her character and little face that looks like she’s sucked on a lemon quite cute.

Despite being the youngest person in the cinema, I really wanted to enjoy the movie. As I do love a good chalkie flick with chalkie humour. I’m married to Mr Knight after all (dad jokes central). However, I found it quite boring and was far more interested in my popcorn. If you’re 30 years older than me you might enjoy it, or if you’re looking to take your parents to the movies. But for me, unfortunately this one will remain unmemorable and a bit of a nothing film for me. 

Movie Review: BATMAN V SUPERMAN: Dawn of Justice

Action/Adventure/Fantasy
 
Rated – M

Duration –2 hours 31 mins

Release – March 2016

Director –Zack Snyder

Cast –Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Gal Gadot, Jeremy Irons
 
Mr Knight

After a long wait, Mrs Knight and I finally walked into the cinema to see for ourselves whether this new DC instalment was up to standard. When I say that, it’s fair to say the latest Superhero flicks have been getting better and better. The first Avengers, X-Men: Days of Futures Past, and Deadpool come to mind. When it comes to Batman v Superman however, trying to up the standard of Chris Nolan and Christian Bale’s Dark Knight Trilogy is a hard task!

Now there will be haters out there, but since The Town, Argo and Gone Girl, I’ve become a Ben Affleck fan. It was actually Henry Cavill’s Man of Steel that I found the weakest aspect of the movie. Ben Affleck took the character and I think set the foundations for more Batman movies to come. His Batman was massive, where Bale was lean, he didn’t sport a lisp, and he had just the right amount of anger and ruthlessness, stating to Jeremy Irons’ Alfred, that he had accepted that he was considered a criminal when Alfred questions his deadly methods.

The story cleverly puts Gotham just over the harbour from Metropolis to explain the separation from each characters individual movies and the film starts from Bruce Wayne’s perspective, watching Superman and General Zod turn Metropolis into their plaything, leaving twisted metal, bricks and dead bodies along with one of Wayne’s massive offices and close friends. What follows is a deep loathing from Batman which I think made a lot of sense. I remember watching Man of Steel with Mrs Knight and commenting on how Superman, to kill Zod, trashes a whole city leaving probably thousands dead, without batting an eye… Strange. So I’m glad common sense prevailed and Zack Snyder used that issue!

Throughout their grudge (as Clarke Kent doesn’t like Batman’s brutal methods) this franchise introduces Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luther, the movies true villain, who I’ve never liked, but I think it’s because Eisenberg plays that annoying, nasal, a-hole so well. Luther uses his money and influence to obtain alien items in which he shouldn’t which no doubt brews some trouble.

Women’s rights and comic book fans can now rejoice with beautiful Gal Gadot’s mysterious Diana Prince (Wonder Woman) stepping into the scene, but I have to criticise the way Zack Snyder played this card. She is actually in the film quite a bit, and she speaks with Bruce Wayne, much like the Dark Knight’s Cat Woman (Anne Hathaway), but she never introduces herself and you never hear her name with the exception of a stewardess on a plane calling it out. I found that very weird! If you didn’t know from the hype that she was Wonder Woman, how would a new fan find out?

If you compare this epic to the Nolan Trilogy I don’t think it quite matches it, but it’s very, very close. The minute you put an animated monster in a movie it loses its realism like the Dark Knight movies. It had great moments of cinematography, music, direction and acting, creating truly enjoyable scenes to watch, however there were others that felt a touch cheesy bringing it down a level from what this movie could have been. I ended up walking out as a remaining Batman fan and found my time for Superman is less and less. Have a look for yourself and you decide who you prefer. A good hero flick with promise of an exciting Justice League to come… PS don’t wait for the end of the credits like a Marvel fan. DC don’t seem to share that bit of fun!

 

  

Mrs Knight

There’s no denying there’s a lot of hype around this ‘Man of Steel’ sequel. Especially when Ben Affleck was revealed to play the iconic Batman. A lot of people were disappointed with this choice, but I was immediately excited. I think he’s a good actor and I had faith he could pull it off. Luckily, I wasn’t disappointed with his portrayal.

If you’re anything like me then you weren’t too impressed with the trailer, I found it a bit weak. Especially the banter when Wonder Woman arrives and Superman and Batman look at each other and do the whole “Is she with you?” “I thought she was with you”. I cringed every time. Rest assured the movie is better than the trailer and this scene is far less awkward and lame than the trailer will have you believe.

The movie opens quickly bringing you up to speed with how Batman is a part of the Man of Steal story and why they are fighting against each other. It also gives you background on the familiar tale of how Bruce Wayne becomes Batman. I really liked how the bat sequences were shot. The whole film, was visually very beautiful. There are some great shots later in fight scenes with Superman’s red cape draped over dark grimy rubble as he is dragged along.

The costumes of Superman, Batman and Wonder Women were all great. They all managed to make sense in today’s world which is a bit of a challenge for superhero movies. Batman/Bruce Wayne was the stronger character of the movie and I found Superman/Clarke Kent a little weak. He didn’t really have any personality or do anything cool or interesting, he was just there to fly around and use his strength. Gal Gadot played the character of Wonder Woman. I found her believable. She’s so incredibly beautiful she didn’t have to do much other than just be there in all her glory and kick ass when required.

As a set up film it did what it was required to do. It introduced us to the relationship between Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman. It also gave us a glimpse of what’s to come in the Justice League movies. Since it was more of an introductory film it was a little slow in parts, I got a bit restless half way as it felt clunky the way it kept flipping back and forth between the characters with nothing much happening. But it drew me back in at the end.

A few side notes worth mentioning, when Alfred came on the screen. Who is this babe? He is way too young and good looking to be Alfred. IMDB later told me he is actually 67 years old. Another side note while we’re on the topic of babes, well done Ben Affleck, well done.

I can’t believe I have gone through my whole review without mentioning my favourite part. Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luther! This excited me more than Affleck playing Batman as I thought it was a perfect role for him. He was everything I hoped he would be, to the point where he was a little predictable. I think they need to dial down the crazy a little, but now that his part has been introduced I think his character will evolve and be better in the next one.

Don’t go in with too high hopes as it’s just a bit of a nothing, background movie. The story line isn’t super engaging and as a whole it feels a little long. I didn’t walk out of it on a high or raving about how great it is, but I’m still looking forward to the next one. Just enjoy it for what it is, a different way of telling a familiar story. 

 


 

Movie Review: Spotlight

Drama

Rated - M

Duration - 2 hours 8 mins

Release - Feb 2016

Director - Tom McCarthy

Cast - Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Michael Keaton, Live Schreiber

Mr KNIGHT

This is a movie that I heard was nominated for awards… but that was all I had heard. After a little bit of intrigue from the Oscar buzz I looked a little deeper. I was happy to find a stack of first class actors featuring in Spotlight. Ruffalo, McAdams, Keaton, Schreiber to name some biggies, along with some other familiar faces like John Slattery the silver fox from Mad Men, the Devil Wear’s Prada’s Stanley Tucci and Watchmen’s bright blue Doctor Manhattan, Billy Crudup.

Spotlight follows a small investigative team (named after the films title) of the Boston Globe, a popular newspaper, who write exposés on local scandals. The team is run by Michael Keaton’s Robby and it is business as usual until the globe hires new editor from Time Magazine, Marty Baron (Liev Schreiber). Baron tasks the Spotlight team to delve into a suspected scandal in the Catholic Church and the possible abuse of children by the priesthood.

Based on true events set in the early 2000’s, this film really raises the veil on the corruption and misdeeds of the Catholic Church back from the 70’s all the way through to when the movie was set in just the Boston area alone. The Spotlight teams’ investigators headed by Mark Ruffalo’s persistent, bulldog-like Mike Rezendes chases the story through a small time lawyer gutsy enough to take on the Church, Mitchell Garabedian (Stanley Tucci). Rachel McAdams Sasha Pfeiffer in the meantime finds the victims and discovers their stories.

I found the entire cast gave brilliant performances. Ruffalo was passionate and wore his heart on his sleeve. Schreiber was focused and driven. Keaton was contemplative and refused to make the same mistakes of the past. I enjoyed how each actor did their bit without trying to steal the show and that made the story flow and feel more genuine.

Besides the performances, the actual content of this movie gave me an uncomfortable feeling as the scandal and cover-ups grew and grew. My advice for viewers is prepare yourself for a great movie, with an upsetting theme. As one chalkie unknown to me said on the way out of the cinema, “That was a powerful movie.”

 

Mrs KNIGHT

For those of you who don’t know, Spotlight won Best Picture at the Oscars this year. I feel like I’m throwing around a lot of 4 Star ratings these days, however, I agree this Award is well deserved.

The film is based on the true story of how the Boston Globe uncovered the scandal of child molestation and cover-up within the local Catholic Archdiocese. This story comes into view upon the appointment of a new editor, Marty Baron (Liev Schreiber). Once he joins the team, he mentions to the team of Boston Globe’s ‘Spotlight’ investigative team that he thinks there is more to this case than what has previously been revealed.

Once the team, led by Michael Keaton’s character Walter ‘Robby’ Robinson, begin to investigate more and more secrets are revealed. The reporters working on the story are played by a strong cast including Rachel McAdams, Mark Ruffalo and Brian d’Arcy James.

The movie kept me engaged as it reveals different sides of the story, while profiling a couple of different victims and their experiences. I liked that the whole film focused on them uncovering the investigation and the feelings this evoked within the reporters rather than their personal lives. Each character equally contributed to the investigation. There was no one stand out performance from the actors, the entire ensemble performed strong as a whole.

How the scandal is uncovered is very well written. Overall, it was interesting, engaging and at times shocking. It made the audience feel uncomfortable with communal sighs and groans as more was revealed. There is not much lightness or anything uplifting about it, however this wouldn’t have been appropriate given the subject matter and content. This is a good one, I highly recommend it for all.

 

Movie Review: Deadpool

Comedy/Action

Rated - MA15+

Duration - 1hr 48 mins

Release - Feb 2016

Director - Tim Miller
 
Cast - Ryan Reynolds, T.J. Miller, Morena Baccarin, Ed Skrein

 
Mr KNIGHT
 
Comic book fans rejoice. Finally the big screen has delivered us a not so super hero movie that has the action, the laughs and the freedom to not be held back with the restrictions of an M rating for the kiddies, splattering the cinema with blood, limbs and flippant coarse language.

Ryan Reynolds stars as the merc with the mouth, Wade Wilson, a former special ops assassin, turned mercenary, who gets struck down without warning by natures true nasties, cancer. In comes a sneaky, untrustworthy suit, who proposes an offer to Wade to make the sickness go away and add to it some super mutant perks.
 
As often most problems start with this, Wade decides to take on this experimental treatment for one main reason… the love in his life, Vanessa, the pixie looking (and in my opinion never aging vampire) Morena Baccarin.
 
Wade soon discovers the treatment isn’t all it's cracked up to be and despite it making him take on a super healing factor (much like Wolverine), it leaves his entire body, head to toe heavily scarred, looking as he describes himself “like a testicle with teeth.”
 
With the promise that he can have the damage reversed Wade hunts down his maker, with some gory kills and clever remarks along the way. The humour was intelligent and refreshing and throughout the movie, Wade, self-named Deadpool, talks to the audience as the story unfolds, adding an extra sliver of humour and ensuring the audience stays engaged.
 
Having seen Reynolds play Deadpool in 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine with his role being somewhat different, Reynolds has stated to fans out there to pretty much erase that character from your memory and watch this movie with a untainted perspective. And that is exactly what I did.
 
The only flaw I really found with this movie is that I watched so many previews, clips and promotional material leading up to its release that a lot of the jokes weren’t new to me so the laughs didn’t come as strong and as often as it might have to someone who had never heard of this movie.
 
Despite that flaw in marketing and my over eagerness, I couldn’t find too much I didn’t like. The best friend Weasel, played by T.J. Miller also brought the laughs with some great descriptions of Wade’s post-experiment look.
 
Ed Skrein, seen in the latest and not very popular Transporter and as Daario Naharis in season 3 of Game of Thrones, plays Ajax our very nasty villain. I feel Skrein has potential but if he isn’t careful he may get typecast in this sort of role and might not get very far in Hollywood playing B-Grade roles. But I digress…
 
If you like the Marvel and DC franchise and you don’t mind a bit of dark humour and blood and guts get into the cinema and catch this one. This was the shake up the super hero movie world needed to get some real action, violence and laughs. No more deaths without blood and angry comments from heroes like “asshat!” 

Bravo Ryan Reynolds and bravo Deadpool. Stick around after the previews for two funny snippets at the end. Treat yourself.





 

Mrs KNIGHT
 
You don’t need me to tell you there has been A LOT of hype around the release of this film. The marketing started a year ago at least, possibly even longer. Deadpool is set in the Marvel Universe, specifically in the X-Men world. It tells the origin story of former Special Forces operative turned mercenary Wade Wilson, who is played by Ryan Reynolds. After being used for an experiment to combat his cancer he is left with the ability to heal himself, which is where his alter ego Deadpool is born.
 
I know what you’re thinking, it sounds like every other superhero movie, so why is everyone raving? It's because this is the anti-hero movie. He is violent, crude and hilarious. This one is definitely an adults only comic-book movie.
 
The mood of the film is quickly established in the opening credits. It's very much a comedy as much as it is an action movie. The writers also did Zombieland which will give you an example of the type of gruesome and quick witted humour to expect, just amplified!
It is very quick paced with Green Lantern and X-Men Origins: Wolverine jokes scattered through it. So make sure you’re paying attention. It is in no way a sequel so even if you haven’t seen these previous movies, you will still enjoy it. Especially the Hugh Jackman references. 

I’m sure you have heard people say Deadpool is the role Ryan Reynolds was born to play. I would have to agree. I have always been a big fan of his, but he played this part perfectly. He was likeable and funny, while still being believable in the action scenes. His girlfriend Vanessa is played by Morena Baccarin who apparently has found the fountain of youth or as Mr Knight says is a vampire as she hasn’t aged a day. All the nerds out there will remember her from Firefly/Serenity or more recently the rest of you may have seen her in Homeland, as Brody’s wife. Either way, she also played her part extremely well and is a major babe.

I know this is a movie review, but may I take a moment to appreciate how damn good the marketing and publicity was. For example Hugh Jackman did a press tour being interviewed by media and by Ryan Reynolds himself, with only vague reference to the film. Let me just point out, Hugh Jackman isn't actually in the movie!  There were also Australia specific video footage, e.g. on Australia day and clever Valentines Day references. 

Overall, two thumbs up for Deadpool. I highly recommend you go see it if you don't get offended easily and can handle some gore. Now let's begin the countdown for Deadpool 2 in 2017!