The Watchers Film Show: No Time To Die

 

We're baaaaaaaaaaack!

We've been away for a while, but if there's one thing that's going to get the three of us back together it's going to be to chat about one of the most hotly anticipated movies of 2021: No Time To Die

So, we've recorded a special podcast where we break down our thoughts about the film and the wider Daniel Craig era, and discuss where it might (and should) go from there.

Take a listen below and let us know what you think!

 

Bond 25

This afternoon, from a sunkissed Jamaica and thanks to an incredibly awkward live broadcast, some more details about Bond 25 have been released.

One of the things that HASN'T been released, sadly, is the title. Rumours abound that it could be Eclipse, whilst another rumour has stated it's being filmed under the title Shatterhand (an alias used by Blofeld in one of the novels). It'll be some time before the official title is released. 

As previously announced, Cary Joji Fukunaga (True Detective, Beasts Of No Nation, Maniac) is directing, having replaced Danny Boyle at the helm. The script is by Scott Z. Burns and Phoebe Waller-Bridge, based on a story treatment by Neal Purvis and Robert Wade.

One plot tidbit that producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson did drop is that, at the start of the film, Bond is not on active service and is enjoying himself in Jamaica (presumably with Dr. Madeleine Swann, who he swanned off with at the end of Spectre). Obviously that doesn't last long... Filming has taken place in Norway, and they'll also film in Jamaica, in Pinewood Studios and around London, and in Italy. 

It seemed that the main reason for this broadcast was to confirm the cast.

Daniel Craig is obviously back (for the fifth time), and joining him in returning to the Bond franchise will be Ralph Fiennes (M), Léa Seydoux (Dr. Madeleine Swann), Naomie Harris (Moneypenny), Ben Whishaw (Q), Rory Kinnear (Bill Tanner), and Jeffrey Wright (Felix Leiter).


The new cast members for Bond 25 are:

Clockwise from left: Malek, Benssalah, de Armas, Magnussen, Dencik, Lynch

• Dali Benssalah (Nox, A Faithful Man, Interrail)
• Billy Magnussen (Into The Woods, Bridge Of Spies)
• Ana de Armas (Blade Runner 2049, War Dogs)
• David Dencik (The Snowman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo)
• Lashana Lynch (Captain Marvel, Brotherhood, Fast Girls)
• and Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody, Night At The Museum)

Malek's casting has been rumoured for a while and, in a pre-recorded video (as he's currently filming in New York), it's confirmed that he'll be playing the villain. Inspired casting, I have to admit. No character names have been announced. 

So, there we are. Bond 25 is underway, with an expected release date of April 2020.

We'll keep you updated on any news as it becomes available. 

Review: The LEGO Batman Movie (UK Cert U)

There's always a danger when a popular character in an animated movie gets their own spin-off. What can be amusing in small doses may not be so much when extended to a full film. The joke can sometime wear a little thin. Films like The Penguins Of Madagascar and Minions showcase this to greater or lesser degrees. Arguably, Batman was one of the best things about The Lego Movie. So how does he fare having his own movie?

Actually, really well. I loved every minute of The Lego Batman Movie.

From the opening voiceover to the end credits roll, the film is stuffed to the ginnels with humour, charm and energy. The film mercilessly sends up previous incarnations of move Batman (from the 1960s Adam West movie right up to 2016's Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice) but it's done so well and without malice, it's utterly enjoyable.

Will Arnett's voice performance as Batman/Bruce Wayne is just superb. He channels everything you associate with the Dark Knight; the brooding and alone-ness, keeping people at arm's length. The rest of the voice cast are similarly superb, with Michael Cera (an actor I've never been particularly fussed on) giving a lovely turn as Robin/Dick Grayson, the young orphan inadvertently adopted by Bruce at a charity gala who becomes Batman's right-hand man. Rosario Dawson is strong and no-nonsense as new commissioner Barbara Gordon who seeks to clean up Gotham without resorting to brooding vigilantes.

Frankly, if Jeremy Irons wasn't doing such a bang-up job of playing Alfred onscreen, I'd say get Ralph Fiennes in. Based on this performance, he'd be fantastic in the role. Zach Galifianakis (another actor I'm not massively fussed on) is great as The Joker. There's a clever subversion of romantic comedy tropes with the relationship between Batman and The Joker (with Joker particularly crushed that Batman doesn't consider him his 'greatest enemy'). There's also appearances from the vast majority of Batman's classic Rogues' Gallery which will please fans of The Dark Knight.

Just as with The Lego Movie, this film contains appearances from a lot of other franchises and series (including, but not limited to, Harry Potter, The Lord Of The Rings and Doctor Who, which I particularly enjoyed). I would imagine because Lego has the rights to a lot of things because of the Dimensions license, the screenwriters pretty much decided to throw everything and the kitchen sink in. But it works.

I'm not going to overanalyse it. I came out of the cinema absolutely buoyant after seeing The Lego Batman Movie. It made me laugh. A lot. I enjoyed all the references and the Easter Eggs. Definitely one for the DVD shelf.   

Rating: 5 out of 5

Tez

Review: Hail, Caesar! (UK Cert 12A)

Twenty-five years after Barton Fink, the Coen Brothers return to the world of the movies for their latest film Hail, Caesar!

Hollywood in the 1950s. Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin) is a fixer for Capitol Pictures studios, keeping any scandalous stories about the stars out of the press. However, when Baird Whitlock (George Clooney)- star of Capitol's latest prestige picture Hail, Caesar! A Tale Of The Christ- is kidnapped, Mannix must try and get the actor back before the press find out. 

There are a lot of competing storylines throughout the film- as well as trying to find a kidnapped star, Mannix has to deal with an unmarried pregnant ingenue (Scarlett Johannson), an actor best known for Western pictures suddenly placed in a period drama (Alden Ehrenreich) as well as fielding off twin gossip columnists Thora and Thessaly Thacker (Tilda Swinton) whilst on the hunt for Whitlock. He also has to deal with a job offer from aerospace company Lockheed which would give stability but take him away from the movie business. 

Because there's so much going on, several of the roles amount to little more than glorified cameos, with Jonah Hill and frequent Coen collaborator Frances McDormand particularly shortchanged. That said, performances are generally solid across the board, with a strong and stoic performance by Brolin in the lead. Mannix is a tough guy, determined to keep his stars in line and not afraid to let them know their place and their responsibilities, but there's more to him than that and Brolin gives an affable and very real performance. Interestingly, Mannix was a real-life person, who worked as a fixer for MGM. This is a heavily fictionalised version of his life and career.

Clooney is great as Whitlock, a bit of a lunkheaded star who starts to come round to his kidnappers' way of thinking. Ehrenreich is incredibly likeable as young Western star Hobie, struggling with his new role in a period drama and who becomes involved in the kidnapping plot. Johannson is wonderfully spiky as the pregnant ingenue, whilst Swinton gives brilliantly broad performances as the rival gossip columnists. I particularly liked Ralph Fiennes as the effete director of the period drama and Michael Gambon who adds an air of arch knowingness as an omniscient narrator. 

There are some real standout sequences - the aquatic ballet sequence where Johansson channels Esther Williams is particularly well done, as is a Gene Kelly style dance routine featuring Channing Tatum in a sailor outfit. One of the funniest sections comes when Mannix chairs a meeting with a rabbi, a Catholic priest, a Protestant priest and an Eastern Orthodox patrician over the representation of Christ in the Hail, Caesar! script. 

Hail, Caesar! is certainly more coherent than some other Coen Brothers movies, and whilst it is a lot of fun, it ultimately feels quite insubstantial.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Tez

Review: SPECTRE (UK Cert 12A)

Bond is back. Everything present and correct; the guns, the girls, the gadgets. This time, a cryptic message from Bond's path puts him on the hunt for a shadowy cabal. As Bond travels in search of the elusive SPECTRE, M faces a challenge to close the 00 unit down by political forces who see the secret service as a prehistoric relic.

Performance-wise, everyone is really strong. This is Daniel Craig's fourth outing as Bond and he's as assured and suave as ever. There's less of the cerebral psychodrama that made Skyfall so good, which puts Craig more into the traditional ass-kicking mode- which is no bad thing. Ralph Fiennes' M is a nice blend of stern boss and compassionate friend whilst Ben Whishaw's delightfully geeky Q provides some of the nicest moments in the film, particularly involving unveiling the truly sublime Aston Martin DB10.

Christoph Waltz was the perfect choice for the role of Oberhauser, equal parts charm and menace. His confrontations with Bond really crackle and he's an imposing presence throughout. You may not be entirely surprised by where they go with his character, but it works in the context of the story. Monica Bellucci is barely on screen for five minutes and her role is largely as a stepping stone (by sleeping with her, Bond gets the location of the initial SPECTRE meeting) but Lea Seydoux fares better as Dr Madeleine Swann. Madeleine isn't a damsel in distress, although by dramatic necessity ends up being one, and can certainly handle herself. There's some good interplay between Seydoux and Craig which sells that relationship.

The film's opening sequence- which includes a wonderful unbroken tracking shot through the Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico City- is impressive and sets the tenor for the rest of the film. The car chase in Rome is another particular highlight, whilst the film has taken a Guinness World Record for the largest on-screen explosion. You'll definitely know it when you see it. There's also a brilliantly choreographed and visceral fight scene between Dave Bautista and Craig aboard a train (channelling From Russia With Love). In fact, there's quite a lot of callbacks and inspirations taken from the Bond 'canon' which will please long-standing fans.

Strangely, it feels very much like a swansong for the Craig era. Several hanging threads have been tied up and brought together. Whether Craig will do another film, I don't know, but if this is his last one, it's a hell of a way to go.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Tez

Bond 24: Spectre

There was a big announcement at Pinewood Studios today as the title and principal cast of the 24th Bond film was announced.

The title is... Spectre

The synopsis of the film is as follows: 'A cryptic message from Bond’s past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organization. While M battles political forces to keep the secret service alive, Bond peels back the layers of deceit to reveal the terrible truth behind SPECTRE.'

Hearking back to the classic Bond era, the Special Executive for Counterintelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion was a thorn in Bond's side throughout the films of the 1960s and early 1970s, led by Ernst Stavro Blofeld (played variously by Donald Pleasance, Telly Savalas and Charles Gray).

Directed by Sam Mendes (returning after his brilliant direction of Skyfall), produced by Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, and written by John Logan, Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, Daniel Craig returns to the role of Bond for the fourth time.

Also returning are Ralph Fiennes as M, Ben Whishaw as Q, Rory Kinnear as Bill Tanner and Naomie Harris as Moneypenny, all reprising their roles from Skyfall.

But who's new?

Double Oscar-winning actor Christoph Waltz has joined the cast, playing a character called Oberhauser. There have been rumours circulating that he was to be cast as iconic Bond villain Blofeld and- with a title like Spectre- that could still be possible.

Other cast members include Andrew Scott (Pride, Moriarty in Sherlock) as Denbigh, Monica Bellucci (Irreversible, The Matrix Reloaded) as Lucia Sciarra, Dave Bautista (Guardians Of The Galaxy) as Mr Hinx and Lea Seydoux (Blue Is The Warmest Color) as Madeleine Swann. 

Filming will take place in London, Rome, Mexico City, Tangiers and the Austrian Alps. 

Hitting cinemas on November 6th 2015, we only have just under a year to wait. We at The Watchers are, it's fair to say, rather excited by this!

As you may or may not know, we undertook a Bondathon in 2012 to celebrate the release of Skyfall, to celebrate 50 years of a British cinematic icon, and to raise some money for Cancer Research Wales. Head over to the Bondathon blog to find out more!

Review: The Grand Budapest Hotel (UK Cert: 15)

Having seven feature films to his name, director Wes Anderson is seen by some as a filmmaking God, a modern day auteur. You watch one of his films and you instantly know it’s Anderson behind the camera. There are others who would say that his films are a load of hot air, that there is very little substance underneath the inventive visuals and offbeat humour. Me, I’m somewhere in the middle. If you had asked me after seeing The Darjeeling Limited, I would have said that, while the film was a brilliantly eccentric watch, everything about it, the humour, the visuals, the shifts in tone, were nowhere near in the same league as Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums or The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. Then Fantastic Mr. Fox came along; not just, for me, Anderson’s best film, but the best family film and easily one of the best films of this century (that’s in no way an exaggeration). Since then, Anderson has been on top form, with 2012’s Moonrise Kingdom raising the bar both in production design, performances (Bruce Willis and Frances McDormand, especially) and script writing (the film swerves wildly between zany comedy and drama, and really shouldn’t work, but somehow does).

If you thought Anderson’s previous films were crammed with never before seen cinematography and gags, then his latest, The Grand Budapest Hotel, sees the director firing on all cylinders. So many frames feel straight out of a Stanley Kubrick film, but if Kubrick concentrated on meticulous, striking images, less concerned about the beating hearts of his characters, then Anderson gets the balance just right.

When we first see the hotel of the title, during the sixties, it has been forgotten, falling apart. Set in the fictional Zubrowska, both fascism and communism have literally changed the country’s landscape, shown in how the hotel is almost empty, the decor pale and dull. This all changes when Mr Moustafa (F. Murray Abraham) narrates how the hotel wound up this way. Going back to the thirties, the camera deliberately takes its time as it glides across production designer Adam Stockhausen’s extravagant interiors, filled with eye-catching colours (the colour pink almost everywhere); everything from the doors, the windows, the staff uniforms, even the lifts, are lavishly made.

There is no consistent visual style to The Grand Budapest Hotel, Anderson picking and choosing from various genres. Rooftops and landscapes that resemble the Georges Méliès 1902 short, A Trip to the Moon; Willem Dafoe chasing Jeff Goldblum through the dark corridors of an art gallery is a scene straight out of a film noir; a prison escape, tunneling underground and tip-toeing around the guards as they sleep, is a nod and a wink to every jailbreak film ever made.

The Grand Budapest Hotel’s gorgeous-looking cinematography is one reason to see the film, the performances throughout are just as attention grabbing. Ralph Fiennes has been consistently good in everything he has appeared in, yet he has not had a part that has given him much to do since Martin McDonagh’s In Bruges. Here, as the equally debonair and foul-mouthed Monsieur Gustave, Fiennes steals the show. You forget how gifted Fiennes is, his comic timing up there with the best comedy actors. One minute he is charming, a gentleman, the next he delivers a deadpan jibe, turning the air blue with every other word.

Fiennes and newcomer Tony Revolori make a fantastic double-act, Revolori playing the hotel’s newest lobby boy, Zero, who Gustave takes under his wing. While Fiennes clowns around, Revolori is straight-faced, unblinking, his words slow and monotone. Revolori is the Ernie Wise to Fiennes’s Eric Morecambe.

Just as in Anderson’s previous films, half the fun of The Grand Budapest Hotel is spotting another cameo from one of the director’s regulars. Tilda Swinton, as Gustave’s aging lover, Madame D., constantly makes you laugh in her brief scenes, hidden under a heap of make-up. Willem Dafoe, who can play villains on autopilot, is clearly having a hell of a lot of fun as Adrien Brody’s henchman.

The one thing that stops The Grand Budapest Hotel being Anderson’s best film is the last ten-to-fifteen minutes. We know things are going to end badly; we still don’t know how the hotel ended up being a ruin. Yet Anderson decides to rush his finale, wrap things up far too quickly. The whole film whizzes by at a hurtling pace, but the closing minutes oddly go up a gear. This could have been the director’s most thoughtful film: Europe’s twentieth century history done Wes Anderson-style. While the ending doesn’t exactly bring the train off the tracks, you get the sense that there should have been more of an impact here. Sadly it is far too heavy handed, nothing like the subtlety of Moonrise Kingdom.

This isn’t to say that The Grand Budapest Hotel is a disappointment, it’s anything but. It could have been Anderson’s very best, instead of being one of his best. Those who have never understood Anderson, who would rather see the latest mainstream Hollywood comedy, won’t be convinced by his newest offering. Yet for those who the mention of Rushmore or Fantastic Mr. Fox brings a smile to their face, then The Grand Budapest Hotel is Anderson at the height of his filmmaking powers.

4 out of 5

Matt

Programme 11: The Hunger Games, Wrath Of The Titans and Guilty Pleasures

Programme 11 is now available to view (click here to view it on VideoMajic.tv)!

We review The Hunger Games and Wrath Of The Titans whilst also discussing films which we class as 'guilty pleasures'- films we shouldn't like or enjoy as much as we do, but we do!

Do you have any cinematic guilty pleasures? If so, and you're willing to admit to them, please let us know in the comments below.

A YouTube link will follow shortly - and podcast versions are available here and here.

Enjoy!

The Avengers (1998)

This is nothing to do with the Marvel superheroes movie which is imminent, but rather a look back at a truly terrible film I haven't seen in years (in fact, probably not since 1998- when it first came out).

The plot, such as it is, is relatively straightforward: Ministry man John Steed (Ralph Fiennes) is paired up with Dr Emma Peel (Uma Thurman) to find out who is sabotaging the nation's weather. All signs point to Sir August de Wynter (Sean Connery), eccentric weather enthusiast and thoroughly bad egg. Steed and Peel must stop de Wynter before his maniacal meterological machinations come to fruition.

Do not get me wrong; there is a lot wrong with this film (the script and some of the performances for starters). But, on rewatching it, I found myself getting into the spirit of things and ended up actually quiet enjoying myself.

Fiennes is a perfectly servicable Steed, slightly suave although lacking a real sense of charm. Thurman is admittedly pretty bad although her pairing with Fiennes works quite well. You almost believe their relationship until it takes a turn for the romantic (something the original TV show never did). Connery slices the ham incredily thick as the nominal villain but any film that has the chutzpah to put James Bond in a teddy-bear costume deserves some recognition. Which this one did; nominated for 9 Golden Raspberry Awards, it won Worst Remake or Sequel (tied with Godzilla and Psycho). It just beggars belief that there were actually worse films out in 1998 (mostly Burn Hollywood Burn!) than this godawful mess.

I'd forgotten a lot of the supporting cast so it was a surprise to see Jim Broadbent and Fiona Shaw pop up as Mother and Father respectively (heads of the Ministry); usually both of them have much more class than to appear in dreck like this, so I can only assume it was either the money or the opportunity to play against type that got them to sign on the dotted line. Similarly with Eileen Atkins who plays Ministry agent Alice (a role offered to Diana Rigg, who passed) who seems to be enjoying herself. All three turn in decent performances but are not well served by the script; more of which later. 

The biggest surprise however was that Patrick Macnee (the original Steed) pops up in a voice-only cameo as Colonel Invisible Jones. This turned out to be Macnee's final film role but it's a little bit of fun. Keeley Hawes, Shaun Ryder of the Happy Mondays and Eddie Izzard also pop up in minor roles, with Izzard delivering the only strong language in the film (a fact that, again, I didn't remember but was surprised at).

I've been dancing round the subject a bit, so time to stop. The script. My God, it's awful. There's no other word for it. Don MacPherson (the named screenwriter) should never again be allowed to put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard to even write a shopping list. The pun-tastic and innuendo-laden script could inspire its own drinking game, but all participants would be absolutely slaughtered by the second reel.  It even stops being fun or ironic after about twenty minutes. When the foundation of a film is built on sinking sand, there's not much anyone else can do to save it. It's a telling fact that MacPherson's IMDB entry records nothing else written after The Avengers.

The director, Jeremiah Chechik, has fared better, directing for TV (Chuck, Burn Notice and Warehouse 13 amongst his credits). To be fair, Chechik does well with what he has. There are several sequences which stand out- Peel's frantic chase around an Escher-inspired house is one and the opening training sequence another- whilst some of the CGI (given its age) still stands up quite well. However, the film didn't fare well at test screenings and the film was edited down from 115 minutes to 87- perhaps those missing 28 minutes actually makes sense of the whole thing? The editing looks like its been done with a blunt and rusty hacksaw which really doesn't help matters.

In conclusion; it's still an awful film. But it's not quite as awful as I remember it.

Tez

Review: Coriolanus (UK cert 15)

If you asked most Shakespeare fans to name the Bard’s plays, it would be a rare occurrence for someone to name Coriolanus first. It’s arguably one of his lesser-known plays, written around 1608. It’s quite a tricky play and this is the first big-screen adaptation of it, directed by Ralph Fiennes (who not only makes his directorial debut but also plays the eponymous character).

The setting of the play has been changed from Ancient Rome to a modern Balkanised warzone, which ‘calls itself Rome’. Caius Martius (Fiennes) is a soldier for Rome, whose mortal enemy is the Volscian general Aufidius (Gerard Butler). After a particularly crushing defeat of the Volsces at the town of Corioles, Martius is lauded and given the name ‘Coriolanus’. When Coriolanus is asked to run for the Senate, his contempt for the hoi-polloi leads the public tribunes to denounce him as a traitor and have him banished. Coriolanus then tracks down Aufidius and offers himself as a soldier to the Volsces to bring Rome down…

It’s a powerful portrayal of the downfall of a great soldier, directed with some real visual flair by Fiennes (especially with the very visceral battle scenes especially, played without music so you hear every grunt, groan, stab and shot). The quieter scenes are no less powerful, as Fiennes allows the characterisation to grow surrounded by an eclectic but powerful cast.

I was as surprised to learn that Gerard Butler was doing Shakespeare as I was when he was cast as the Phantom of the Opera. Luckily, Butler can speak Shakespearean verse better than he can sing and provides a decent foil for Fiennes in their scenes together. Jessica Chastain rounds off a year of amazing supporting roles by playing the slightly thankless role of Virgilia, Coriolanus’ wife. She only has a few scenes but plays them well- starting as an anxious figure awaiting his return but growing in confidence throughout, to the point where she attacks the public tribunes who banished her husband.

John Kani and Brian Cox appear as Coriolanus’ comrades and friends, both of whom deal with Shakespearean verse as if it were second nature to them. There are two lovely performances by James Nesbitt and Paul Jesson as the public tribunes whose sly, wheedling, snake-in-the-grass politicking gets Coriolanus banished. To round the cast off, giving one of the strongest supporting performances I’ve seen this year to date, is the utterly brilliant Vanessa Redgrave. Every scene she’s in is so riveting and she speaks the verse so fluently that it’s a joy to behold. Volumnia is one of those great but oft-overlooked roles in the Shakespearean canon and Redgrave grabs it by both hands, never more so in the final scene where Volumnia goes to Coriolanus, now allied with the Volsces, to plead for Rome.

Updating Shakespeare to modern times is nothing new (you can thank/blame Baz Luhrmann for that) but there is something interesting at play to see what would have been messengers and soothsayers represented by scrolling 24-hour news. Channel 4 newsreader Jon Snow pops up in a few places to deliver the dread news of banishment or victory. When Coriolanus meets the public, many of them have mobile phones recording the encounter; similarly, the public meeting where Coriolanus is denounced is done in a television studio. Bizarrely, none of this seems out of place, given the setting and isn’t overly intrusive.

This isn’t going to be for everyone. Coriolanus is an intense play and the transition to film hasn’t softened it. If you’re a fan of Shakespeare and haven’t seen or read this play, it’s an accessible and well-made film full of stand-out performances. Personally, I enjoyed it very much but I can appreciate it may have a rather niche audience.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Tez