Putting the Ass BACK into Christmass!!!!

My theme for this period is The Zero of Advent.  I've been meaning to blog again, and I popped into my blog list to find a mess, half written drafts, a few blogs that I should probably never have started....

And then there's this one.  I was going to blog about my Moviegoing - listing every movie that we'd seen, but I didn't, and then the list that Cineworld provide you with so you can see past bookings only goes back 3 months... so any chance of playing catch-up quickly faded away and soon the whole idea became obsolete.  That, and the fact that I got busy doing a billion other things.  Time flew.

So in keeping with the theme of Christmas events happening well before it's actually Christmas, I decided to blog about our November visit to the cinema to go and see A Bad Mom's Christmas - the sequel to Bad Moms that came out in August last year.  Now we loved Bad Moms - it was irreverant and we've been aware of Mila Kunis and Kathryn Hahn for some time now, Mila since Family Guy and Kathryn from Parks and Recreation (our boy Zack got us hooked onto this), so we had no qualms about watching them play together in a movie about single mothers struggling to fight against entrenched conventional norms neatly packaged as a romping comedy.  Kristen Bell neatly counters these bad girls with her performance of a mother following all the rules but lacking the courage to allow her secret desire to burst out of the good girl persona and to embrace the darker delights on offer.

Bad Moms, written and directed by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore (both famous for writing the The Hangover back in 2009) really worked - but would a festive sequal be able to come up with a new twist now that the main antagonist (so beautifully played by Christina Applegate in the first film) is now no longer a foe to fight against? Bring in the big guns - the Bad Mom's Moms.

Christine Baranski plays Amy's (Mila) super pretentious glamMom, Cheryl Hines the over bearing sMother that created Kiki's (Kristen) mousey charm, and for Kathryn's Carla we have the fabulous Susan Sarandon playing Rock Chick Mom Isis.  This line up alone should be enough to ensure that the sequel will work alongside the original, and it truly does.

From the beginning we are introduced to the stress and burdens that this holiday brings for so many parents, let alone single mothers who are struggling at the best of times without the extra pressure to make this holiday experience a wonder and delight for her children.  Early on the Mom's realise that they are once again allowing social norms and conventions to dictate the traditions and customs that have become meaningless to these ladies, and yet they still try to emulate them.  After an aborted attempt at shopping the ladies find themselves getting drunk in the food court and all sorts of hilarity ensues as a result.

Just as the girls are ready to ditch all traditional elements and create their own celebration, at their own pace, for their own families, we are introduced to the mothers, who of course have their own ideas about what is right for their girls - the mom's moms soon are forced to band together and create their own trio (lead of course by Baranski, who really is quite masterful in her ability to garner sympathy from us, even though we've been rooting for Amy to stand up to her passive agressive judgements right from the moment we meet her.  Hines is kooky cringeworthy without becoming a total cliche and Sarandon can play bad girl like no other and delivers with a professional panache.

Of course it all works out, just like in the original, but the sweetness of the outcome is never quite as saccharine as is traditional in Christmas movies and we even have a cameo performance of Applegate in this sequel, just to remind us that life does goes on and you will one day likely be put in a humiliating situation towards somebody that you may have been a little over zealous when you were attempting to correct their lofty and somewhat shitty behaviour, because karma sure can be a bitch sometimes.

Watch it.  Bad Mom's got a 6.2 on IMDB - I'd easily give it a 7 myself.  A Bad Mom's Christmas gets a predictably lower score of 5.8 (6.5 for me), but it's funny, it's disdainful, it's seasonal frivolity with a rebellious streak all the way to a happy ending.  I doubt it will become as traditional favourite in our life (not like Elf, we can watch that movie every year and still love it everytime) but I reckon given enough mulled wine we could watch these six ladies strut their stuff again without getting bored for the 1 hour 44 minute duration.

And that little dance at the end while the credits are rolling?  I'm not sure I'll ever be able to look at Santa in quite the same way again.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

If it wasn't for Wonder Woman, I probably wouldn't have found much time for the DC Universe.  I never really got Superman until I saw the Christopher Reeve movie, and that experience was ruined fairly quickly when I later saw the ridiculous and buffoon-like slapstick sequels.

Similarly Batman never did it for me, I found the original Adam West television show more than a little silly (that buffoon-like slapstick that I wouldn't come to appreciate until I was well into my 30s) and although I loved the re-imagining of the Dark Knight series, I still had not real love for the character.

Should anyone play the Wonder Woman theme song, however, and you will find me dancing joyously along with her in her satin tights, fighting for our rights, and the old red, white and blue!

I have always been fascinated with that character and spent endless hours of playtime with her.  I once found an old comic book in a milk bar (corner store for you US readers) whilst on holiday in Tawonga that had a WONDERMAN character in it, and I was super excited that I could go back to school and not get teased about wanting so desperately to play this iconic female role.  Still got teased though.  Still didn't stop me from playing with the girls.

Now to accuse me of only seeing the new DC Film Dawn of Justice because it had the outstanding Gal Gadot play my all time favourite superhero character in it would be a little churlish however I can't help but wonder (no pun intended) if I'd have liked it as much if it did not have this glorious Amazonian cameo.

Now first off the bat (yeah, total pun intended here), I have to counter all those critics and fans who have slammed this movie.  First off - it's not ridiculous because it is a comic book (seriously, wtf is wrong with people who view outlandish fantasy genre films and then complain that they are not "realistic" enough????).

Secondly, Zac Snyder has not destroyed the DC Universe and does not require sacking prior to the making of the Justice League movies.  He has attempted (and I think succeeded) created a super hero world that is distinctly different from the Marvel Universe(s) - I've mentioned the Dark Knight re-imagining earlier.  DC have deliberately chosen their world to be darker, grittier, grimier and ergo this will always end up pissing off people who want that buffoon like slapstick experience.  I applaud Zac and the producers of the DC films for their attempt (and success) at differentiation.

As for Ben Affleck, yes, the Sad Affleck video was amusing but I have always been a fan and am happy to admit that I actually enjoyed his performance in Daredevil and always found the man to be super sexy - so getting him to play a handsome billionaire with a bad-boy attitude and a bat fetish was never going to be a problem for me.  Henry Cavill reprising his role from the 2013 movie The Man of Steel (which I haven't actually seen yet), gets no complaints from me.

Script wise I think the producers tried to cram far too much into this 2.5 hour film.  This could easily have been 2-3 films if they would have taken the risk.  It's almost like popping in Wonder Woman just wasn't enough for them - they had to introduce us to the whole DC cast of characters, and the way they chose to do was a little cringeworthy, a tad bit pretentious thought I, but David pointed out that I may be overusing that word a little as of late, and possibly not always correctly.  They really should have popped this in as end of credit bonus material - or perhaps as webinar specials.  Somebody in the publicity department needs to rethink the strategy here.

I cannot finish without mentioning Jesse Eisenberg, a young man who first caught my attention over a decade ago when he played Walt Berkman in (the seriously fabulous) The Squid and The Whale. What I love about Jesse is that he is the kind of actor who turns up, does his job, and then walks away and never bothers to pay attention to any of the media blitz that follows.  What I'm trying to say is that he is a most wonderful professional actor who will continue to do great things, not only with this role.

So to finish?  IMDB gives it a 7.1.  I'm happy with that.  Go see it in the cinema if it's still showing - it's worthy of a big screen.

The Huntsman: Winter's War

The Huntsman: Winter's War

First film to watch was Cedric Nicolas-Troyan's debut feature film The Huntsman: Winter's War.  

What first struck me about the title of this movie was that it really looked like it was a sequel or at least the start of a new series.  Turns out I was correct - somehow, somehwere along the way I'd missed Rupert Sander's (also debut feature film) prequel back in 2012 - Snow White and the Huntsman.  So as I haven't seen that film so I've no idea if it was any good but clearly it was successful enough to have a sequel made, and a sequel that easily stands on its own as I enjoyed it immensely.

I can also declare to you now that I'll be watching out for future films from Cedric - he's a visual effects man and he worked on Maleficent and Sander's prequel as a Second Unit Director as well as Visual Effects Supervisor on Snow White and the Huntsman. Listed first and foremost on his CV are Cedric's visual effects work so you get the idea that this is what people come to him for and boy can you really see that a man such as this directing own debut movie has really been able to communicate his vision so wonderfully to the team.

Witches fighting - oh! so flamboyantly splashing their magic across the screen is certainly something to behold, as are the goblins who are truly terrifying in all their apish goat-like glory! Everywhere you look the visuals never fail to deliver themselves with pure fantastic joy. This is a great fantasy adventure.

As for the story - this is a fairy tale so don't expect the most intricate of plot details. I was impressed at how Cedric managed to get his sequel to be a prequel to Sander's film (with hindsight I can see where his movie slots into the timeline). The first half is the Huntsman's genesis story and along the way we're introduced to Sara (played by Jessica Chastain) who is actually the Huntsman's long lost love.  Jessica does a fantastic job at this, but this is not really her movie at all.  Nor is it the Huntsman's, the title is quite misleading - sure it pretends to be about Helmsworth's and Chastain's characters but this is a story about the witches and it is their actions and desires that drive and motivate every other character in the story.  

Ian at work asked me if it was "Frozen" for grown ups.  I have to admit that it very much is but the effects are just ding dong divine and there's no Idina Menzel overplayed karaoke classics to accompany you through it.  Charlize Theron plays Evil Queen 101 and adds an almost salacious seductive touch to it all that she easily steals every scene she oozes into.

Emily Blunt plays the younger sister's fragility so delicately you can feel the eggshell foundations crumbling every time Theron's dominating older sister so effortlessly smashes her flat. When Freya becomes the Ice Queen and begins to show that wonderful quiet confidence through the raging barely contained madness she becomes quite demonic but all the time, like Vader's little spark of goodness that saves the day at the end of it all, Emily never fails to show us Freya's mother love within. She may steal children and turn them into ruthless killers to conquer all the realms surrounding her kingdom but by golly does she love those children once they become her own!

The last time I checked, IMDB gave it a score of 6.2.  I rarely disagree with an IMDB rating, I'd easily give it a 6.5 (add a couple of more points if you love the Fantasy genre).  This one is definitely worth taking the time to watch on a bigger screen.

This is not a children's movie, you shouldn't (as one woman did) take in a child under 12. Not unless you want them to see people get impaled and some damn scary monsters to give them nightmares for quite a while afterwards, that is.