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Wild Mountain Thyme (2020)
From an Irish Perspective ...
... this is woeful.
When the trailer came out it was blatantly clear that this film wasn't set in Ireland. With it's fifties aesthetic and attitudes combined with with the presence of modern technologies like IVF, the stories true setting is that clichéd, romanticised caricature of Ireland that simply doesn't exist anymore. To someone who actually lives here, it's at best irritating and at worst downright offensive.
But! I'll always give a movie a chance to prove me wrong. I love a good romantic drama, I love a good rom-com, I always enjoy movies more than popular cynicism seems to think I should, and I've never checked out of a film before it's finished. I say all this to provide context because I barely got through half of this before turning it off. Not because I was offended by it, but because I was utterly bored.
And that's it. This film leans so heavily on false perceptions of what Ireland is that, unless you already buy into that myth, it's entirely insubstantial and hollow. Now, maybe it gets better in the back end, I don't know, I probably never will. I don't care enough to watch the rest of the film and up until now I didn't care enough to write a review.
I'm doing this now because I have learnt of the twist. The reason our main boy won't get with the main girl. He believes he's a honey bee.
He believes. He's a honeybee.
This is not even foreshadowed. There's no inkling of mental instability. This is all played straight. He believes he's a honeybee. This is so far out of left field that said field is being pollinated. He believes he's a honeybee. My partner and I nearly wet ourselves laughing for a solid twenty minutes after YouTubing this emotionally pivotal reveal. He believes he's a HONEYBEE!?
So, yeah. The film is kinda racist and incredibly dull until it becomes entirely baffling. For my money, only worth seeing if you want a case study in how not to make a film set in Ireland or an example of how not to execute a twist.
Cats (2019)
An Excellent Adaptation of an Awful Musical
The film is an excellent adaptation; the dancing is graceful and lithe, the performances vibrant, the visuals excellently rendered (at least after the post-release redo), and several of the songs are iconic for a reason. The problem is that the source material is as shallow as a saucer of milk.
The musical was composed to feature songs about several different kinds of cats while the story and lore is only there to facilitate them. Unfortunately, the story and lore have a nugget of fascination to them. There's potential for an interesting tale here but instead the show wastes it's runtime on showpiece songs that are entirely the focus of inconsequential characters.
There was an oportunity with this film to elaborate on the worldbuilding, develop the important characters and their motives and backstories with some new songs and, in short, adapt the source material rather than mimic it and ultimately it leaves you with a feeling of wasted oportunity and time.
It perfectly achieves what it sets out to do and so It's fine, enjoyable even, as long as you allow it to be what it is - a showcase of songs about the different kinds of cats with a gossamer-thin plot.
Enterprise: These Are the Voyages... (2005)
If you take it out of Enterprise.
The intent of this episode from the outset is to connect Enterprise back to the shows it spun off from. In this it succeeds, but the result is that it fails as a finale.
The entire episode follows Commander Riker of The Next Generation as he observes a holodeck recreation of the events leading the the signing of the Federation charter. The Enterprise crew are detached from the rest of their run as the events take place seven years after the rest of the show. But the episode itself isn't a bad product.
So, as a finale, it's a 3/10 but it is vastly improved if treated as a TNG episode, watched instead right after Pegasus. In this context, the relative quality elevates it to a respectably average 6/10, with potential nostalgia pushing that to a 7, depending on your attachment to Enterprise characters.
The Venture Bros. (2003)
That rare parody that grows past its source material.
The series follows the misadventures of the Venture family (a failed super scientist, his homeschooled and clueless twin sons, and their brutally overqualified body-guard) and their arch nemesis (The butterfly themed Monarch as well as his hapless henchmen and his ridiculously overcompetent girlfriend).
With a central theme of the show being failure, early episodes hilariously pulverise the tropes of golden age spy thrillers and super hero stories. However, as we go on, the cast of characters balloons, with each becoming far more complex than most comedies ever even attemp. The story also developes a deep respect for its own continuity, weaving addictive mysteries and twists that never fail in their payoffs while also tackling subjects you rarely see in the genre (what's it like to be a henchmen? How does a childhood spent adventuring screw you up as a parent? What do supervillains do in their free time?).
With razor-sharp dialogue, incredible characters, a truly masterful score, a metric butt-tonne of Easter eggs, and a story that rivals anything the superhero or superspy genres have ever attempted, The Venture Bros. Is worth every minute spent watching and rewatching.
Go Team Venture!
D'Artacán y los tres mosqueperros (2021)
Everything good about this is taken from its source materials.
The voice acting and dialogue are clumsy, the animation is cheap, and the overall production is cheap. Any other version of this story would be better.
The Karate Kid (2010)
The Kung Fu Wonder
Full disclosure, I have never seen any other Karate Kid media so my review is based solely on this film.
Called the Kung Fu Wonder in China, The Karate Kid is a well made reimagining of a classic. From what I understand of the original, both films follow the same basic story beats. It's nothing outstanding but it's a tale well told.
The acting from Jaden Smith in the lead is better than I expected. He carries off the arrogant swagger of a tween who is learning he knows nothing and his dialogue delivery is perfectly natural for his age range. Jackie Chan is fantastic as Mr Han, chanelling a world weary pain and guilt we don't often see in the usually comedic actor.
The martial arts are superb - with several of the actors involved already being highly trained combatants - and the location shooting and cinematography add a real feeling of place to the film.
This isn't anything revolutionary, but it achieves what it sets out to do and is very entertaining. Worth two hours in the afternoon with some popcorn to watch with your kids.
Ghost in the Shell (2017)
Strong on it's own merits, weaker as an adaptation
I am a Ghost in the Shell fan but I didn't let that bias me when watching the movie. I went in expecting to be a little disappointed, not because of reviews or casting controversy, but because it's an adaptation and they are rarely as good as the original. But, I have to admit to being pleasantly surprised.
This must be reviewed two ways: 1. As it's own entity - Firstly, it is visually stunning. You will be hard pressed to find better cinematography this year. The action is solid and interesting, the acting up to spec although there is nothing that particularly stands out. The main themes ask the questions of how we value consent and whether that would be diluted in a world where your memories and identity can be manipulated without you ever knowing. They also ask how we define humanity in a cyborg world but this is a little heavy handed at times. My biggest criticism is that sometimes the film seems to abandon logic in a few small circumstances. In Hollywood action movies this wouldn't matter but Ghost in the Shell is more intelligent than that so it was a little disappointing to see. Overall though it's a clever and exciting sci-fi thriller. Stand Alone Score: 8/10
2. As an adaptation - Of what though? This film takes material from the original manga, and also the TV series and movies which were separate adaptations as well. There is no such thing as a loyal adaptation of Ghost in the shell's story. To date, This is the fourth attempt. So how do we compare? Well we look at the themes again. The question of how we define humanity in a world of increasing cyberization is central to the franchise. The film addresses this but in a way that lacks the subtlety of previous incarnations. Having said that, it asks questions and adds emotional heft that previous installments have never attempted and it's stronger for it. This helps it contribute to the franchise - it's not just a pale copy. The other thing to judge is the story beats it takes from the other material. The villain is from the TV show, many visuals and fight scenes are taken from the movie, the opening scene is a blending of those from both the animated film and it's sequel. By taking these scenes and folding them into a new story it lets the movie feel familiar while also adding something new. Will fans be disappointed that it's not a beat for beat adaptation? Probably, we usually are, but in this case I think the film is better for it. Adaptation score: 7
I recommend this movie. It has been buried under negative reviews fueled by casting controversies that don't have any impact on the movie itself. A hugely underrated film and one that will be vindicated in the future as have so many other movies that opened with terrible reviews and went on to be revered.