Scared of Planes

This morning, we woke to the news that Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington had taken his own life at the age of 41.  Months prior, we lost Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell by the same method.  Death is not nice regardless how it has happened, but suicide just sadly leaves a more sombre overtone over it.

The overtone consists of struggle and pain, which anyone who suffers clinical depression experiences... which goes hand in hand with creatives.

Like all, I was shocked to hear the news of Chester this morning, and when I found out it was suicide, that extra wave of sadness hit even harder.  This is because I know how he felt.. the darkness, the pain and the forever path of battle with your brain.  Like Chester, Chris, and many millions more, I suffer from medically diagnosed clinical depression, and have had many moments of darkness.  One of them nearly lead to suicide, another time lead to the thoughts to reappear.

I am by no means writing this and trying to imply that I am special, or unique, or want attention towards this illness.. I just want to share my story, which will hopefully lead to helping someone else.

Let’s start with that suicide attempt, as it feels it’s where I should start.  I was a teenager living in Canberra, with a incredibly strained relationship with my father, as he bailed on my brother and I and shot through to Queensland.  I also had a volatile relationship with my only brother, as he was channelling his own way of our father leaving which clashed with how I dealt with it.  Dealing with this, while also my continuation of suffering from an eating disorder, I was low... So low that I stumbled into such a dark zone where I nearly never returned.  I was home alone, as my mother was probably at shift work and my brother was out doing god knows what, and I just felt numb.  I just couldn’t feel.  I went to the kitchen, pulled out a steak knife and had it pressing on my wrist, just waiting for the courage to hack away and to finish the job.

Then my conscious kicked in... after having an out of body experience starting at myself about to take my life.  I threw that knife straight back in the draw and stood in shock, thinking about what I nearly did.  I couldn’t believe that I would ever have a thought like that.  I use to cut myself on my arms and across my chest, so I was use to self mutilation, but taking a knife to my wrist.. that was way too much.  I’m glad I didn’t go through with it, for many reasons.

Creative people are prone to having depression, as we experience life on a different, more sensitive level.  When ever we write literature, music, paint a picture, direct a film, etc.. we tap into incredibly personal experiences to achieve what we are trying to portray.  This is a daily occurrence for all of us.. and it can grind on you.  Art is a form of expression, but that expression comes with a cost of depression, anxiety and other mental illnesses.  This is why most creatives turn to drugs and alcohol, to numb themselves from the pain on having to tap into that resource of hate, sadness and raw emotion to create a breathing piece of beauty to the world.  Sadly, some of us just can’t take it and decide to finish it before nature does.  It’s these events that weighs heavy on me.

When Robin Williams took his own life, I was in shock like the rest of the world.  He was always so on, and had a joy in every interview he did and comedic performance he gave.  So to take his own life in his 60′s was a shock, but then the reports came out about why he potentially did and it all made sense.  He was a manic depressant who abused alcohol and drugs to get through the day so he didn’t had to deal with the pain.  I was in such a slump when I found out, a slump that lasted for months.  I am a big fan of his work, but on a personally level, I know how he felt for the most part.  Even to this day, whenever I see him on TV, that wave of sadness washes over me knowing this insanely talented man is no longer with us sharing his skill to the world.

Fast forward a few years, the news of Chris Cornell broke out and the world just stopped for me when I found out, sitting on the couch watching the news break via Carrie Bickmore on The Project.  I wanted to cry then and there, and I nearly did every time I heard him sing for months on end, it got to a point where whenever his voice came on my iPod, I had to skip it as I knew I would shed many tears.  Soundgarden was on my bucket list of bands I have to see in my life, as when I first heard Spoonman, I was hooked and considered myself a fan.  Also, that damn voice of his, holy shit was it incredible.  The tone, the grit and the emotion he could convey in his music was insane, the man was talented in so many ways.  However, like Robin Williams, he had abused drugs and alcohol for most of his life and in the end, sadly darkness won.

Luckily, I could never bring myself to self medicate with alcohol and drugs, as I hated the feeling of it when I was on it.  Also, alcohol enhanced my depression severely, so if I did abuse alcohol, it would’ve ended quite ugly.  Even though I never reached that point, I know it would’ve, so because of this attitude, all I could do was try to work everyday at trying to control this beast that I have harbouring in my brain.  It’s going to be a lifelong battle, which I have accepted, and there will be more incredibly dark days that will come along, but it’s just how I need to deal with it is the key.  I have been incredibly dark since that day where I had the knife indenting the blade on my wrist, but luckily I never went beyond physically holding anything that could end it.  And I never ever want to get there again.  I use my music to help express these feelings, to help push away any sense of weight or sadness.

These three creatives all have family with wives and children, which makes the event even more sad.  I am conflicted with feelings when family is involved, as I feel taking your own life is selfish, due to the mental anguish that it would cause for their family.  On the other hand, I understand the mental state the person is in and sometimes, it’s so hard to break out of it.  It’s never clear cut when it comes to suicide, which adds to the pain of it.

Mental illness sadly still comes with a stigma attached to it, which is causing people to hold in all of their emotions, which can lead to suicide.  I am still not sure I should’ve shared my story, but leading by example by being open and honest with this illness, I can only hope it my inspire someone to get help themselves or want to help someone they care about in getting help.  I have been discriminated in one work place because of it, and experiences like that make you not want to open up in fear that people will treat you differently.. and sadly they will, but just because you have mental illness, it doesn’t make you worthless or lower than them.  You are as equal as they are, just with some extra spice to your sauce.  

Mental illness is debilitating, as it’s a daily struggle, but don’t ever feel less on yourself for feeling it, or having it, and definitely don’t feel ashamed for seeking professional help.  You are not damaged in any sense of the word, just look at it as taking a car to a mechanic to get it finely tuned so it runs well until it has to come back for another tune.  I did for nearly 5 years and it was the best the decision I made in my life... I nearly lost my girlfriend of four years before I went to get help... That same girlfriend later turned into my wife, which eventually lead to the birth of my daughter, who is my whole world and I can’t imagine ever being without her or her without me.  She is my inspiration now and she inspires me every day in so many ways.  I can’t express how much I love her.

Regardless if you like the artists I mentioned, the way that they died is incredibly sad and shouldn’t be taken lightly.  It’s been an ongoing fight here in Australia to get proper funding put into the treatment of mental health for sufferers.  They cut the free psychology treatment by half, and to pay out of pocket by yourself is incredibly expensive, which I was lucky enough to have help with paying for mine, but other’s don’t so they go without the required help they need.  Business’ still don’t take it seriously, and think it’s all in your head (I know it is, but more of the sense of just being a sad sack).  Government funding here is all about the short term help of mental illness... They aren’t across the board that it’s a life long illness that needs attention.

Luckily we do have free services that you can call if you are ever feeling down.  I am listing for Australia here, but please source your local free service if feeling down.  If any of you that I know and mean the world to me ever feel down, PLEASE call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636.

I am sorry if this seems like a total mess, as I am feeling many different types of emotion at the moment.  Please, for the love of any god, get help if you need it and share your stories with other people to give them hope that there is a way out.  It’s a hard struggle, but it’s so worth it.  When I see my daughter smile or hear her laugh, the struggle is SO worth it and I can’t wait to see her grow up and achieve so many different things.

Thank you for reading and if you ever feel low, please seek help.

Suicide Squad (2016)

2 Spoons

Length: 123 minutes Director: David Ayer Starring: Margot Robbie, Will Smith, Jared Leto, Jai Courtney, Viola Davis

Well… where do I start?? This movie was just bad, absolutely terrible.  Warner Bros. haven’t been knocking those DCEU (Detective Comics Extended Universe) movies out of the park.  With the critically slammed Man of Steel, followed by the equally critically slammed Batman V Superman, Warner Bros needed this film to get them out of that slump.  Well buddy, it hasn’t because it’s terrible.

I liked Man of Steel, and in my review for Batman V Superman, I came to the same census of liking it as well, but I haven’t always seen eye to eye with Suicide Squad since seeing the first trailer and by the end of the film, our eye level continued to never meet.  I did want this film to succeed, as I am a fan of the DC Universe, but boy did it miss the mark, and then some.

Story: A secret government agency recruits a group of imprisoned supervillains to execute dangerous black ops missions in exchange for clemency, which inevitably leads to chaos.

What I felt was good:

• Viola Davis – holy shit she was awesome and brutal.  With a team full of some of the baddest DC villains in one film together, she is the coldest and most evil out of the lot of them, and she does it so convincingly.  I was scared of her more so than The Joker, and that shouldn’t be.  However, Viola Davis was fantastic. • The tip of the hat to Harley-Quinn’s origin in both story and costume.  They have a cool sequence that copies Alex Ross’ incredibly detailed artwork of The Joker with Harley.  Another part is a tip to the hat to her original costume from The Batman Animated Series (1992), which is where the character originated. • When Margot Robbie hit the mark with the characteristics of Harley Quinn, it did feel she brought her to life on the screen.  Sadly this is very far and few between. • Each scene with Batman was awesome as well.  He’s not in it much but he makes an impact when he does, like he should.

What I felt wasn’t good:

Where do I begin…

• The story is pretty much non-existent throughout.  When there is something that resembles some sort of a story, it is so thin that it just falls flat as soon as both the scene and the movie progresses.  For a plot that has potential, it never gets anywhere close. • The pace of the film is incredibly slow and nothing really happens.  I mean, moments happen by as soon as they end, nothing happens once again and they just float through the film until either something happens again or the film ends. • The main villain of the film does absolutely nothing.  Nothing at all. She creates this master plan of destroying the city and taking it over but all she does is just make some fireworks for the whole film.  Just like Red Skull from Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), they just do nothing.  What is the point of having them there in the first place? • The film centres mainly on Harley-Quinn and Deadshot, but leaves the rest of the suicide squad as just muppets until they say a line just to make sure the audience remembers they are there again.  With great characters like Captain Boomerang, they once again waste potential. • The dialogue gives George Lucas’ Star Wars prequals a run for their money.  Every piece of dialogue was forced, stale and clichéd, giving the actors barely anything to work with, causing some cardboard performances.  I cringed through most of the movie just because of the dialogue.  I read in a recent review that the humor falls flat, well I agree… because of the piss poor dialogue. • Jared Leto’s portrayal of the Joker was a big fat meh.  I just couldn’t believe him if I could.  True, he didn’t have much to work with and had the shadow of both Jack Nicholson and the late Heath Ledger to contend with, but it was just a bunch of hyped over acting that came through.  There is no structure for becoming crazy in the scenes that he is in.  He just did nothing for me in this role, and I LOVE the Joker, he is tied as my favourite villain along side Darth Vader, but this performance was a let down. • This film just came across as an amateur film with a holywood budget.  Just poorly edited, poorly structured and very limited environments feeling boxed in and cheap.  It just also reeked of a fan film, just without the passion. • The trailer also ruined the secrecy of the film.  What you have seen in the trailers makes up for nearly all of Jokers appearances, as well as nearly all of the actual somewhat interesting action scenes.  Everything in between just sucks when you see it.   Why, why, why do you keep doing this Hollywood? WHY!!!!!!!!

Conclusion: As you can guess by now, I didn’t like this film at all.  No amount of viewings will make me like it.  It makes me sad as I like to collect all of the films on blu ray when they have a long story arc connecting them, but this might actually be out of my DCEU collection, and as a completest and suffer from slight OCD, this is going to bug me.  If you want to see an awesome film about Suicide Squad, watch the fantastic Batman: Assault on Arkham (2014) animated film.  If that was this film, I would rate it highly.

Pity Chris Nolan doesn’t want to come back to the DC Universe, as anything superhero film to come out of Warner since The Dark Knight Trilogy has fallen so short of those set of near perfect films.  I sure hope as shit that Wonder Woman and Justice League are good, as I want the DCEU to succeed badly.

Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)

3 Spoons

Length: 151 minutes Director: Zack Snyder Starring: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavil, Gal Gadot, Jessie Eisenberg, Amy Adams

I, like many DC and Batman fans, was somewhat excited by this film when they first announced it.  I knew that a main part of the film was based from the excellent graphic novel “The Dark Knight Returns” (1986), written by Frank Miller, which I absolutely love.  

Coming from this hype, I saw the first teaser, then followed by the trailer and promo shots and I started to lose a little bit of that hype.  It wasn’t until the final full trailer that my excitement built up again, seeing that great shot of Batman fighting the criminals in the warehouse, as to me, that IS an essence of Batman.

So when I finally saw the film, I can say that I got exactly what I was expecting, and that is good, but also somewhat a little sad.  By no means do I hate this film, but it definitely not a contender compared to Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008) and Tim Burton’s Batman (1989).

I apologise that this might be a longer than usual review, as I love Batman, and a big fan of comic book films, so I usually pick them apart more.  Plus this was a LONG film, so there is a lot to cover.

Story: Fearing the actions of Superman are left unchecked, Batman takes on the man of steel, while the world wrestles with what kind of a hero it really needs. With Batman and Superman fighting each other, a new threat, Doomsday, is created by Lex Luthor. It's up to Superman and Batman to set aside their differences along with Wonder Woman to stop Lex Luthor and Doomsday from destroying Metropolis. – from iMDB.com

What I felt was good: • I really like the tone of the film, with the subtle washed out colours that fit with the atmosphere and the emotion of the film.  I have always liked the look of Zack Snyder films and this is no different.  I like that it’s a contrast from Man Of Steel, which is a film about hope, where the tone fits this film, about despair and destruction. • Wonder Woman’s first big screen debut was not a disappointment.  They managed to make her fighting style look strong and convincing when she shows herself in the final act.  Very intrigued by the Wonder Woman film that is coming out in 2017. • Ben Affleck is a good, older Bruce Wayne, being able to portray a billionaire that has seen and done a lot and not phased by much anymore.  I thought he would be flat out horrible in this film, but he did half the job right.  Not as surprisingly impressive that Heath Ledger was as Joker in the Dark Knight (2008), but decent nonetheless. • The opening scene is a nice continuation from the big fight that closes Man of Steel (2013) but from the point of view of Bruce Wayne.  It was done well and gave you another emotional perspective from a civilian’s point of view, which then shapes part of the film’s story.  The final act in this is explosive, action packed and harboring a great flow until the finale.  The three of heroes together fighting the villain proved to be entertaining and kick ass. • The attention to detail on the Bat suit was a well done when Bruce Wayne views it in the batcave.  You can see years of abuse plastered all over it with gashes, scrapes and cuts all across the bat symbol, chest and arms.  I thought that was a nice touch.  I also love the look of batsuit and bat fighting suit, as it’s very close to Frank Miller’s design from The Dark Knight Returns graphic novel, which I am biased as I love Frank Miller’s design of Batman. • I still really like the look of Henry Cavill as Superman.  It reminds me of the old school Superman comics with a little hint of Christopher Reeves thrown in for a little homage, as he is the most famous portrayal of the Man of Steel.  I even dig the suit as well and glad they didn’t really change it for this film. • The Batman fight scene in the warehouse is the only time they got the right feel and atmosphere of Batman in defense mode.  This was the only time I saw Batman and think to myself “They definitely got his fighting style and presence down perfect”.  Sadly, that was the only time I would think it, but glad enough I got this scene.  It’s stealthy when it needs to be and pounces when the time is right. • The files that Bruce Wayne uncovers, which he gives to Wonder Woman to watch is a real nice way of linking the eventual Justice League (2017) film into Batman V Superman.

What I felt wasn’t good: • BATMAN KILLING AND USING GUNS… NO, NO, NO and NO.  This completely disregards a massive part of what makes Batman.  He is all about justice, not vengeance, which was a main staple of Bruce Wayne in becoming the Dark Knight.  They do have a reason for him doing it, which still doesn’t fit who Batman is.  This design of his character really, really pissed me off. • Henry Cavill’s acting.  He has no emotion… what so ever.  Even when he gets angry in this film, he just sounds like he has been clogged for in his bowels for a couple of days.  He has the looks, just not the acting chops. • The middle of this film is a mess.  It is completely disjointed, making the film confusing, which in return brings little to no flow until the final act.  Evidence of trying to fit too much into one film shows itself loud and proudly here.  This film feels it needed to be done over two movies, to properly tell the story they wanted to tell and set up a more solid foundation for the Justice League film • The editing in this film also cause a lot of confusion, as it just kept cutting to scene, after scene before you can settle in and get the feel and grasp of what is going on in the scene at the time.  I felt this hurts the film as well as the middle act issue with fitting in too much, which is really sad. • The near scene for scene rip off of Batman Begins at the start when a young Bruce Wayne falls down the well and sees the bats.  I understand it’s a dream sequence, but damn, I am sure they could’ve written another way of doing it. • The stupid voice-operating thing on both of Batman’s suits.  Why can’t Ben Affleck just create one?  If Christian Bale can, granted it was shit, then Ben Affleck can.  Was he too precious of his vocal chords or just couldn’t be bothered?  All in all though, it was better than Bale’s Batman voice. • Ben Affleck as Batman was nothing special.  Definitely not a worse casting as George Clooney but still didn’t sell being Batman to me.  Kind of acts like a dear in the headlights as soon as the suit goes on. • Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor was an odd and not a convincing casting for this film.  He was menacing as it was needed for the story, but was over the top, flamboyant and somewhat annoying at times. • The current trend of the trailer giving the story away is still strong with this one.  If you have watched the first full trailer, you pretty much know what is going to happen. Why, why, why do you keep doing this Hollywood?  It just makes that punch to the guts effect of not knowing the film pretty much non-existent and you only watch the film to fill in the blanks.  Stop doing this Hollywood!!!! • Lastly, the age between Alfred and Bruce Wayne is completely wrong and mismatched.  They look like they have at least 10 years apart from each other, where Alfred is much, much older than Bruce.  This is just silly.

Conclusion: Don’t complain about going to a Zack Snyder film and expecting something different, it’s the same as buying an AC/DC or Slayer album, and being disappointed that it doesn’t sound different. He does washed out tones and lots of fast, beautiful action shots, and I like that from him, no one else does it quite like him.

It’s great to see Bats and Supes together finally on the big screen, but it definitely could’ve been done a better way, taking more from the graphic novels that inspired this story, and less of trying to cram 6 years of Marvel type story telling into one 2 and a half hour film.  If you have read the graphic novels this film has based itself on, it’s more enjoyable.  

Deadpool (2016)

Reviewed by Colin Rodger (scared of planes)

Length:  108 minutes Director: Tim Miller Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, T.J. Miller

4 Spoons

The merc with the mouth is finally on the big screen after nearly a decade in production hell… Like Duke Nukem Forever.  The difference is this movie kicked ass, where Duke Nukem Forever is something that should’ve been put out of its misery before release.

I will admit, I am not massively involved in the Deadpool comic world (as people who know me well is I am deep, deep into the Batman world), but know enough to know some of the connections in the film with other marvel characters, so I was luckily able to enjoy this on a different level than someone who just wants to see a funny action flick.  I am glad they made this to make up for that awful appearance in that piece of shit X-men Origins: Wolverine (2009).  

Hugh Jackman, take note for Wolverine III.

Story: A former Special Forces operative turned mercenary is subjected to a rogue experiment that leaves him with accelerated healing powers, adopting the alter ego Deadpool. - from iMDB.com

What I thought was good: • The pace of the film is great and extremely quick, getting to the point as soon as it’s set up.  It doesn’t let up at all, and that fits the character perfectly.  Once one scene ends, it fits perfectly into the next, without slowing down the progress of the film to its ultimate climax at the end.  More action/comic films need to try it. • The humour in this film is crude, quick and on some accounts witty.  And it’s spot on.  Deadpool has the reputation of being a rude motherfucker, and they don’t censor him here.  I was concerned when there were rumours of making the film PG-13 in America, meaning they would’ve cut and censor a lot of the content.  The R rating in American (MA 15+ here in Australia) was the right choice and glad they stuck to their guns.  The humour is just as constant and quick as the flow of the film. • The action sequences are over the top and extremely fun, but also overly gory (for a comic/action film) that has been released to date.  True, there wouldn’t be much need for this type of action in other films, but it does feel right for Deadpool.  There is a lot of bloody smashing and head blasting to make the action lover quite content. • I really liked how they wrote Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead into this film.  Considering FOX own the rights to the X-Men universe, a little cameo from Wolverine would’ve been awesome, but they joke about the lack of X-men except the previously mentioned towards the end of the film.  I really liked both of the X-Men characters featured in the film and really compliment Deadpool when they are on the screen, especially in the final fight scene against Ajax.  Colossus is incredibly likeable and lights up the screen when on. • The after credit scene is great!! They tip the hat to a particular boy who had a day off in the 80’s, while also dropping a massively, awesome character appearing in Deadpool II.

• The easter eggs and funny references throughout the film are great.  There is meant to be over 100 of them, so keep a tab on them, as some of them are hard to get.  The Green Lantern reference is one of my favourite.

What I thought wasn’t good: • There were bouts of overacting by some of the actors, namely Ed Skrein (Ajax) and Morena Baccarin (Vanessa).  The acting seemed forced when on screen and when action hits, the over acting begins and I am sometimes reminded I feel like I am watching a college play. • Whoever did the trailer of this film, you are a dick my friend.  They put a lot of the action scenes into the trailer, so when it came to the film, I felt slightly disappointed when I was expecting more action, and realised that I saw most of it anyway.  I don’t like when Hollywood do that, and I’m looking at you Batman V Superman.  Disney did it right with the Star Wars EP VII trailer, suspenseful but enough mystery so the film still is fresh and new when watching.

Oscars 2016 Best Picture Review Part 1

Reviewed by Colin Rodger (scared of planes)

Well the Oscars has come and gone for another year, which Leonard DiCaprio finally won his Oscar (which was obvious he would and not because of his performance), and each of those years I wait until the Best Picture nominations are released, and I do my best to watch each of them between the nominations and the actual ceremony.  Some years I make it, others not quite.

This year was no different and I managed to watch half of the best picture nominations before the ceremony.  Having a teething 10 month old doesn’t help with stamina at the moment, so a couple of times I just fell a sleep, so I failed to get the eight this year.

However, I will review the eight that I did watch, and plan on watching the other eight and doing a review for them as well.  With these reviews, I am going to do a cut down version to fit all of the films I managed to watch this year, with a couple of points for each film with a conclusion at the end as well.  So let’s get on with the show.

The Big Short (2015)

Length: 130 minutes Director: Adam McKay Starring: Christain Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Brad Pitt

3 ½ Spoons

Story: Four denizens in the world of high-finance predict the credit and housing bubble collapse of the mid-2000s, and decide to take on the big banks for their greed and lack of foresight. – from iMDB.com

What I thought was good: The humour in this film is perfectly balanced.  Dark and dry, it’s a very American film with glimpses of not so American humour.  When they put their mind to it, yanks can be quite funny.

The pace of this film is smooth and moves at a very consistent speed, which is great for the fact that if they stuck on any one point longer then they needed to, especially with a film about maths and stocks, it would be difficult to watch.  They give you enough time to take in what’s happening, then moves on.

What I thought wasn’t good: Steve Carell, I’m still not convinced of his serious acting chops.   The only film that I felt he was good in that was somewhat serious was Little Miss Sunshine (2006) as the suicidal gay brother of Toni Collette’s character.  Unlike Robin Williams and Jim Carrey, Steve Carell hasn’t made that transition as easily as the previously mention. I would like to see him do it though.

Ryan Gosling… I don’t know what it is. He just irks me.  I don’t know if it’s the way he delivers his lines, or the way he talks, I just don’t know.  I don’t see the big deal acting wise.  If you can show me a film where his acting chops are top notch, please let me know.

Conclusion:

For a movie that sounded boring and not interesting at all on paper was a nice and much welcomed surprised.  I am glad I sat through it and think you should to.

The Martain (2015)

Length: 144 minutes Director: Ridley Scott Starring: Matt Damon, Jeff Daniels, Kirsten Wiig

3 Spoons

Story: During a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive. – from iMDB.com

What I thought was good: The look and tone of the film was pretty well done.  It looked slick, but still dark and gritty enough to fit the dire situation that Matt Damon’s character was in while stuck on Mars.  Ridley Scott is very good at gritty tones, so that’s no surprise there.

Jeff Daniels.  I just love him as an actor, both serious and comedic; he does both so very well with great conviction.  I do have a soft spot as him as Harry from Dumb and Dumber (1994) but I was convinced by his portrayal of his character in this film.

What I thought wasn’t good: It was just too Hollywood for my liking.  From the start, I knew what the ending would be and it bothered me a little here and there.  Not enough to ruin the film, but enough to irk me.

Sometimes the film does drag in parts both on Mars and in the NASA base trying to rescue him.  A lot of the times where they are figuring the maths out to save him… yeah, a little shorter would’ve been nice.

Conclusion: Ridley Scott is a good film maker, there is no denying that, but I didn’t feel this film pushed many boundaries and felt how I thought Moon (2009) did a better take on being secluded on a planet.  However, this is still a good film to watch with some pretty scenes.

Room (2015)

Length: 118 minutes Director: Lenny Abrahamson Starring: Brie Larson, Jacob Tremblay, William H. Macy

3 Spoons

Story: After five-year-old Jack and his mother escape from the enclosed surroundings that Jack has known his entire life, the boy makes a thrilling discovery. - from iMDB.com

What I thought was good: The first half of the film contained a lot of discomfort and isolation, and it came across on screen perfectly.  You felt the despair and isolation coming from Ma (Brie Larson – winner of best actress for this film) and you do feel for her.  With the way she is treated, you just want to help her break free

The tone of the first half was portrayed on the screen in top form, helping with the emotion as mentioned in the above point.  It is a depressing place where Ma and Jack live and if it had been a little darker or lighter on any scale, it wouldn’t have been as believable as it was on the screen.

What I didn’t think was good: The second half of the film was trying to find its groove after a powerful start, but just never seems to get it.  There were parts of the story that aren’t explained, leaving a lot of loose ends before the movie finishes, one in particular is William H. Macy’s character.  He just leaves in one part and that’s it, no real mention or explanation why.  It felt to me that majority of the time writing this script was spent on the first half being near perfect and uncomfortable, that when they got to the second half, they had to come up with something quick to finish it.

Conclusion: While this film makes you feel uncomfortable and compassion towards Ma and Jack, once the second act kicks in, you start to lose it as the movies draws to an end, and not because the movie has meant to make you feel that way.  I was excited for this film after hearing the good reviews, and for the most part it was a good film, but I left slightly disappointed.

Bridge of Spies (2015)

Length: 142 minutes Director: Steven Spielberg Starring: Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance, Alan Alda

2 spoons

Story: During the Cold War, an American lawyer is recruited to defend an arrested Soviet spy in court, and then help the CIA facilitate an exchange of the spy for the Soviet captured American U2 spy plane pilot, Francis Gary Powers. - from iMDB.com

What I thought was good: Mark Rylance was fantastic in this film.  He definitely deserved the Oscar win for best supporting actor in this role.  I never once felt he was over or under acting at all throughout the film and I loved his calm and collected emotion that he maintains throughout.  Congratulations on a much deserved win.

What I thought wasn’t good: This film was boring.  Flat out boring and just never was able to contain my attention at all.  I never found the story in the film interesting, even though the story it’s based from is.  I also felt the script was very disjointed throughout, going from one story to another with the feeling of chopping and changing.  It just never felt smooth at all.

Tom Hanks… I never thought I would put him in this part but sadly he did nothing for me in this film, and I love Tom Hanks as an actor.  I felt he was just going through the motions.  Unlike his incredible performance in Captain Phillips (2013), which he should’ve been at least nominated for best actor, he never wowed me at all in this film.  For such a good actor, I guess you have some films that you just go with the flow and not excel like they are known to do.

The Danish Girl (2015)

Reviewed by Colin Rodger (scared of planes)

Length: 119 Minutes Director: Tom Hooper Starring: Eddie Redmayne, Alicia Vikander, Amber Heard

2 ½ spoons

I must admit, I wasn’t overly drawn in to watching this film when I saw the trailer, but I rarely say no to watching a film.  With being impressed by Eddie Redmayne’s Oscar winning performance in The Theory of Everything (2014), this would be one film I wouldn’t say no to.  Sadly, I was not impressed all that much with The Danish Girl.

Story: This is a fictitious story is loosely based on a true story about artists Einar Wegener (Eddie Redmayne) and Gerda Wegener (Alicia Vikander) marriage starting to strain with Einar’s transition into Lilli and starting her groundbreaking journey as a transgender pioneer.

What I felt was good: Alicia Vikander!! I think I am in love.  She was incredibly captivating as Gerda Wegener.  She was believable in her role as she implodes with Einar’s life choice; easily making you feel incredibly sympathetic towards her and just want to help.  I still haven’t seen her in Ex-Machina (2015) but if she is going to pull more performances like this one, then I will be there watching.  She deserved her Oscar nomination for this film and would not be disappointed if she won it.

Another thing I loved was the locations and the sceneries.  Breathtakingly beautiful buildings fill this movie to the brim.  It was evident that the location scouting was incredibly successful, which isn’t hard in Europe.

Another thing I thought was very good was the costumes for the period this movie was set in.  The attention to detail with their dresses, hair, hats, and suits is something to be applauded.  The mix of locations and costumes, I believed this was shot in the 1920’s.

What I felt wasn’t good: Sadly, Eddie Redmayne wasn’t all that convincing in this film.  Unlike Alicia Vikander, I just didn’t feel convinced by the characters emotions and whatever turmoil that existed while transitioning into Lilli.  I felt he went from one extreme to another with emotion, with no middle ground.  So he was either really happy or really sad with no progression into one or the other.  As mentioned previously with his performance with Theory of Everything, the guy can act.  Just sadly not awesomely in this film.

The script was really average, with no solid flow from start to finish.  They seemed to rush all the strong moments in the film, which doesn’t give you enough time to acknowledge the feeling they want you to feel before they move onto the next one.  I found this extremely annoying.  I also found the writing for Einar’s character was confused, meaning not being able to figure out what they wanted to say or do with the character.  This definitely didn’t help the overall script.

This film just felt SO slow and incredibly boring.  There is a good slow and a bad slow, with a good slow being perfected by Stanley Kubrick with 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), combining beautifully presented shots with an ever growing film.  Then there is bad slow where not even the scenery or the acting can save it.  There are parts of the film that just seem to drag longer then necessary, which they could’ve used to perfected Einar’s emotion properly.

Conclusion:

Review by Colin Rodger (Scared of Planes)

Star Wars Episode VII – The Force Awakens (2015)

Length: 134 minutes Director: JJ Abrams Starring: Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Max Von Sydow

3 ½ spoons

What can I say about Star Wars EP VII that all the fans in the world already know about?  This movie IS a big deal, both for Hollywood and us fans, considering how Star Wars changed the face of science fiction in a film medium and pop culture forever.  The big deal about this film is it’s the first release under the new overlords Disney, and the first release since Empire Strikes Back (1980) that George Lucas didn’t write or direct the film.  Since the abomination of Episodes I – III, this is a good thing.

I am a massive Star Wars fan, and have been since I was about 4 with Return of the Jedi (1983), so I, like millions others, was overly ecstatic with the release of this film.  As I am reviewing this film, I will try my best to be as non-biased as possible, and try my best to not reveal any spoilers of the film.

Now… onwards with the review.

Story:

It has been 30 years since the Rebel Alliance has taken down the second Death Star and stopping the Imperial Empire from taking over the galaxy.  Since that time, the First Order has been setting up base and picking up from where the Imperial Empire left off.  Finn (John Boyega), a first order stormtrooper, escapes the first order, and lands on the desert planet of Jakku, where he runs into Rey (Daisy Ridley) and the loveable droid BB-8.  However, the BB-8 droid holds something incredible important, which has caught the attention of Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), to which him and an army of stormtroopers fly across the galaxy trying to track him, Rey and Finn down.  Along the way, Rey and Finn also inlist the help of Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and General Leia (Carrie Fisher) and the Resistance to stop The First Order from taking over the galaxy and saving BB-8 from getting into the wrong hands.

What I felt was good:

The main thing that I loved about Episode VII is the tone and feel of the film.  I think it was absolutely spot on, fitting in seamlessly with the original trilogy (EP IV – VI).  It was important and imperative that JJ Abrams and his crew got this correct to help with the continuity of the flow from Episode VI, while also cleaning up the mess of the tone and look of Episode I – III (which is a completely different rant all together).  I felt that the technology has advanced to fit the new Star Wars trilogy perfectly and definitely wasn’t over the top.  I couldn’t find a fault in this at all.

The cinematography should also get a nod, as I feel that JJ Abrams is a great director with beautiful shots within all of his films.  The opening sequence with the Stormtroopers was fast and intense, while staying stylish and clean.  It was incredible.

Kylo Ren surprised me more than I thought he was going to.  Going into the film, I didn’t feel a strong need or connection in wanting to know more about his character, but when I saw him on screen, he stole the scenes.  He is menacing, angry and intimidating.  However, as he is still young and figuring out his powers, he has layers of love and hate that are all over the place, causing him to question his place in The First Order and on the dark side of the force.  Now, I don’t like Adam Driver, as for some reason he just annoys me with the roles he has done so far, but he was great in this and can’t wait to see how they expand on Kylo Ren’s story in the rest of the trilogy.

Rey (Daisy Ridley) is a fantastic character, and a nice needed change for female lead roles in Hollywood and action films.  I haven’t seen anyone this bad ass and strong since Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) in Alien.  Daisy Ridley did a great job portraying this young girl who was left on the lonely planet of Jakku, who had learnt to fend for her self and not let her emotions get the better of her, which helped her to survive the harsh climate she lives in.   It is sad that it has taken this long to see another bad ass female to the level of Ripley, but I sure hope we see another one soon outside of Star Wars.  Like Kylo Ren, I am looking forward to seeing how her character develops in the trilogy.

Other great parts of the film I liked were Han Solo’s (Harrison Ford) place in the film.  He was a minor character, but had a major part of the story.  Harrison Ford has definitely aged a lot since Return of the Jedi, but it didn’t seem silly or out of place with all the moments Han Solo is on screen.  The other great thing I love is BB-8.  I want one.  I want one RIGHT NOW!!  Not as awesome as R2-D2, but nearly close.  You will fall in love with this robot and if you don’t, you’re dead inside.

Lastly, the balance between action and humour was top notch and equal, never causing the film to feel cheap with the laughs and not too silly with the action sequences.  My favourite comedic scene comes with the two stormtroopers about to walk past a room with an angry Kylo Ren.  You’ll know it when you see it.

What I felt wasn’t good:

The main thing that irked me was the story of the film.  It was very familiar to me.  It’s hard in going into a lot of detail about this, as it might give away a lot of the film, but the best ways I can explain it is if you are familiar with the original trilogy, than there will be a bit of repeating viewing.  The other thing is  when they start to embark on an interesting story, which seems to go in the direction of a fresh look to the Star Wars story, they real it way back in to nostalgia territory to keep the fans happy.  I wish they explored the interesting parts of the new story a bit more.

Two items that irked me with characters is Finn and Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie).  With Finn, he started off a great character, being funny and tormented at the same time.  However I felt the more Rey’s character developed, the less they focused on Finn and his character stopped growing in this film.  With the back-story like his, it had the room and potential to make him more interesting as the film went on. Alas, I felt it didn’t and here we are.  I hope they do more with him later on.  Captain Phasma was a character they promoted the crap out of, showing her in a lot of the posters and the trailers, and even the toys, yet she is in it for three scenes in the film.  For a strong presence in the trailers, it was disappointing to barely see her at all in the film, and the times we do she doesn’t make much of an impact at all.  Sad, I was interested in her.

The pace of the film was a jaggered at parts, causing the overall film to not have a constant and smooth flow.  Also, certain scenes had a feeling of dragging when you could see they needed to make time on the overall movie length.  They could’ve cut some of the time on these particular scenes, making the film shorter but you would’ve had a great flowing film.  The main scene I can think of is when Finn, Rey, Han and Chewie are in the forest, with Kylo Ren chasing after Rey through the forest itself.  Great sequence just went for too long.

My last biff is hard to explain without giving a spoiler away about Rey.  Lest just say something makes her special, and that special part of her is able to be handled a bit quickly and conveniently for my liking.  They made it convenient when a scene needed a way out and onto another scene.

Conclusion:

The best conclusion I have read about this film came from the Variety review, which I completely agree with.  It said that this is a great film, and an excellent Star Wars film, but it’s definitely not a perfect film.  I loved this film, but it definitely did fall short in areas.

It’s been a while since I have been on here.  Working hard on personal demons, as well as getting ready to be a father for the first time and working on lots and lots of music.

Which comes to this post, as I have released my first solo EP.  I usually play in the band Pyrene (facebook.com/pyrene) with my wife on vocals, but as we have had a long hiatus, I decided to write and record my own music, as I got incredibly restless with the waiting.  After I got back from my honeymoon, I got the passion back for music, and this is the result.

You can read the press release below about the recording and where to list to it:

“Colin has stepped away from Pyrene for the moment and finally released his first solo EP under the guise of Storyboard Concept. The first EP is three tracks of ambient acoustic tracks, that are rounded out by clean and dirty electric guitars and piano, also layered with raw and emotional singing. It feels good to finally have these songs completed and released for you all to hear.

The acoustic EP ‘Acoustic I’, which includes the single ‘Untitled’ and a cover of the Weezer song ‘Don’t Let Go’, is completely FREE to download from the following sites:

https://storyboardconcept.bandcamp.com

https://soundcloud.com/sbconcept/sets/acoustic-i

Recorded over a year both in Melbourne and Canberra in Colin’s own studio The Pool Room, it was finished within moments of free time between performing with Pyrene and moving back home to Canberra. Plans for live shows in support of ‘Acoustic I’ are in motion, but in the mean time, please download and listen to this labour of love and expression.

Peace”