SEPTEMBER 2019 - FILMS (CINEMA)

I think my wife and I should have seats with our names on; seven trips in the month - a bit of horror, crime, action and foreign language comedy.......

It Chapter Two (2019)

I've read the book, seen the film (the original), seen the re-make and now the sequel. I was momentarily tempted to re-visit the book, but nah it's too long. I did love it back in the day though.

Not too many scares here in all honesty, but a decent couple of hour's viewing. I think the only actor I was really familiar with was James McAvoy. Stephen King has a fairly long cameo (for him at least, I always seem to remember him as someone floating around in the background of films of his books, a visible extra). He has one scene as an antiques/vintage/retro dealer. Friendship, re-connection, love, grief, loss, loyalty....all get a run-out.

It runs at nearly three hours and usually I'm kind of fidgety after about two, but I don't recall getting antsy in the cinema, so it held my attention throughout. There's worse ways of spending an evening.

From Wikipedia......

It Chapter Two is a 2019 American supernatural horror film and the sequel to the 2017 film It, both based on the 1986 novel by Stephen King. The film is directed by Andy Muschietti from a screenplay by Gary Dauberman. It is the second film in the It film series. It is produced by New Line Cinema, Double Dream, Vertigo Entertainment, and Rideback, and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. The film features an ensemble cast, including Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Bill Hader, Isaiah Mustafa, Jay Ryan, James Ransone, Andy Bean, and Bill Skarsgård, who returns as Pennywise the Dancing Clown. Set in 2016, 27 years after the first film, the story follows the remaining members of the Losers Club reuniting in order to defeat the eponymous being who has returned to terrorize the town of Derry, Maine.

Ready or Not (2019)

Horror-drama-comedy with a few laughs and a few moments of hands over the eyes, sharp intakes of breath. I could have sworn the lead actor was Margot Robbie, but apparently not. Samara Weaving is the lady in question. None of the rest of the cast were overly familiar to me. Another film that was enjoyed without being especially memorable in all honesty. Gets me out of the house though.

From Google....

Grace couldn't be happier after she marries the man of her dreams at his family's luxurious estate. There's just one catch -- she must now hide from midnight until dawn while her new in-laws hunt her down with guns, crossbows and other weapons. As Grace desperately tries to survive the night, she soon finds a way to turn the tables on her not-so-lovable relatives.

Ad Astra (2019)

My daughter said avoid after watching the trailer, her boyfriend agreed. Me, I'm as thick as mince. Brad Pitt.... gotta be good, init..... err no. The only good thing about it was that it allowed me to doze off several times catching up on obviously much needed sleep with a series of micro naps, before several short sharp jabs to the ribs from my better half brought me back to the land of the living.

A bit slow, a bit ponderous. No doubt there's a message in the film somewhere, but not for me.

From Google.....

Thirty years ago, Clifford McBride led a voyage into deep space, but the ship and crew were never heard from again. Now his son -- a fearless astronaut -- must embark on a daring mission to Neptune to uncover the truth about his missing father and a mysterious power surge that threatens the stability of the universe.

Gang Leader (2019)

A bit of a punt on a one showing only foreign language film and I'm glad I did. Great performances, maybe a bit cheesy with the music and soundtrack, but I really liked it. Funny and sad in equal measures, with a bit of enjoyable action and some drama thrown in for good measure. Great acting as well and I loved the story.

Robbery, death, grief, revenge, greed, a crime writer, a new family forged from the ashes of loss and bereavement. 

From Wikipedia....

Gang Leader, promoted as Nani's Gang Leader, is a 2019 Indian Telugu-language comedy thriller film produced by Naveen Yerneni, Y. Ravi Sankar and Mohan Cherukuri under banner of Mythri Movie Makers and written & directed by Vikram Kumar. The film stars Nani with Lakshmi, Saranya Ponvannan, Priyanka Arul Mohan, Karthikeya, Anish Kuruvilla, Priyadarshi Pulikonda,Vennela Kishore and Sathya in pivotal roles. The music is composed by Anirudh Ravichander. In the film, a group of bereaved women seek the help of a crime novelist to avenge the death of their loved ones.

Angel has Fallen (2019)

I'm not a massive Gerard Butler fan, I kind of think he's a bit wooden to be honest. I don't mind Morgan Freeman and I love Nick Nolte. Nolte features as Butler's dad and I love seeing him play a grumpy old man. Butler might just be growing on me a bit, as I quite liked this one and didn't spend all the time viewing hoping against hope that he gets killed.

Someone's out to kill the President and discredit Butler, one of his top security people.

This is the third in the series, but I haven't seen the earlier ones - Olympus has Fallen, London has Fallen. There might be worse ways of filling in a couple of hours in an evening.

From Google.....

Authorities take Secret Service agent Mike Banning into custody for the failed assassination attempt of U.S. President Allan Trumbull. After escaping from his captors, Banning must evade the FBI and his own agency to find the real threat to the president. Desperate to uncover the truth, he soon turns to unlikely allies to help clear his name and save the country from imminent danger.

Rambo Last Blood (2019)

I've seen a bit of chat about how this film buys into the Trump MAGA narrative and I kind of understand that to a degree, with it's villains here being solely Mexican. I kind of think that's a bit harsh in all honesty.

I was quite happy to enjoy it for what it was..... a rescue turned revenge thriller, where Rambo kills an insane number of people as payback for the death of his niece (I think).

I do like a bit of Sylvester Stallone if I'm honest. He's not too bad an actor in my opinion. I've enjoyed more of the films I've seen him in than not.


From Google....

Vietnam War veteran John Rambo tries to find some semblance of peace by raising horses on a ranch in Arizona. He's also developed a special familial bond with a woman named Maria and her teenage granddaughter Gabriela. But when a vicious Mexican cartel kidnaps Gabriela, Rambo crosses the border on a bloody and personal quest to rescue her and punish those responsible.

The Kitchen (2019)

Probably my favourite film in the month (Gang Leader - a close second)... 70s, maybe 80s New York setting, men wearing the trousers, women seen but not heard. Mob wives seeing their husbands incarcerated for a few years and struggling to survive with the crumbs thrown them by the Irish mob, decide to take over and work for themselves. Loved it. I do like Melissa McCarthy. I enjoyed seeing Elizabeth Moss again (Handmaid's Tale) and Tiffany Haddish was pretty convincing as a tough as nails wife turned mobster.

All the elements I like in a film were present...... crime, action, grit, striking characters, a decent story, violence, tension and lots more. When does the DVD come out? 

From Google.....

Between 8th Ave. and the Hudson River, the Irish mafia runs 20 blocks of a tough New York City neighborhood known as Hell's Kitchen. But for mob wives Kathy, Ruby and Claire, things are about to take a dramatic and radical turn. When the FBI sends their husbands to prison, the three women take business into their own hands by running the rackets and taking out the competition.