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Pitch Perfect 3 (Blu-ray Review)

30th April 2018 By Tim Isaac

Starring: Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Anna Camp, Brittany Snow, Hailee Steinfeld
Directed By: Trish Sie
Running Time: 93 mins
BBFC Certificate: 12
UK Release Date: April 23rd 2018

Our Score

When the plot of a sequel is that the characters are being sent off on a holiday, it’s usually a good time to start to worry. It’s typically the point in a franchise when the makers have run out of ideas and so they put the characters in a new environment in the hope that people won’t notice that they couldn’t really decide what the movie should be about.

That’s pretty much true of Pitch Perfect 3, where the former Barden Bellas get the opportunity to participate in a USO military tour, performing with other bands in different countries. To add a little random competition to the mix, the best of those bands will be chosen by DJ Khaled to open for him on his tour. That’s the cue for the Bellas to go into crisis of confidence of mode as they realise that being the best at acapella-ing doesn’t necessarily mean they can go toe-to-toe with an all-female pop-rock group, a country artist and a couple of rappers.

In case people realise that’s not really much of a story, the movie also chucks in a couple of romantic subplots (the guys from the previous two films have been conveniently removed and ignored) and Rebel Wilson’s Fat Amy turns into an action hero after her criminal father (John Lithgow) emerges from the shadows and decides a bit of kidnapping is in order.

When it was released at cinemas reviewers generally eviscerated the movie, saying that the franchise had jumped the shark and descended into tedium. However, they ignored the fact that the movie pretty much does what Pitch Perfect has always done – present a very standard plot which offers very few surprises, but then peps it up massively with some good tunes, lots of energy, some girl-power confidence building and plenty of genuinely funny moments. Admittedly Pitch Perfect 3 doesn’t offer as much of that as the first two movies, and its lack of ideas does mean that it can’t paint over the cracks quite as well as the earlier movies did, but it’s still a lot of fun.

It doesn’t add up to much – but then neither did the other two beyond being a lot of fun. By the end, when the movie tries to assure us that this is the end of the story of these particular Bellas, you’re likely to be feeling that perhaps that’s not such a bad thing. It’s been a fun ride, but this third outing does suggest a franchise that at the very least needs a refresh. That’s particularly true with Anna Kendrick’s ???, with the actress trying to breathe life into her characters’ journey while seeming very aware that it’s not really all that interesting and nobody cares all that much whether she gets a solo music career.

Pitch Perfect 3 is enjoyable fluff, and it certainly has a few great musical moments. The tunes may not reach the heights of some of the mixes from the first two films, but they’re still nicely put together set-piece fusions of a raft of popular songs given a fresh sound and brought together in unexpected ways. The film attempts to up the ante with the addition of a bit of rock, country and rap – and, shockingly for the Bella, instrument – but ultimately it’s the ladies of acapella that once again steal the show.

The movie looks and sounds good on Blu-ray, and there are a few decent special features, including some additional and extended musical sequences. The film itself may not be as good as the earlier Pitch Perfect movies, but it’s still plenty of fun. It should also be remembered that both of the earlier films benefited massively from surpassing the low expectations most people had for them. With this one those expectations were raised, and so the fact it’s okay rather than great means its perhaps come in for more criticism than it deserves.

Overall Verdict: It may not be as strong as the earlier Pitch Perfect films – a lot more thought about the plot would have helped – but it’s still an entertaining musical adventure with some decent laughs.

Reviewer: Tim Isaac

Special Features:
Deleted Scene
Gag Reel
New Musical Performances
Extended Musical Performances
Feature Commentary With Director Trish Sie and Producer Paul Brooks
‘A Cappella Action’ Featurette
‘The Women of Pitch Perfect 3’ Featurette
‘Hollywood of the South’ Featurette
‘Competition Crescendo’ Featurette
‘Don’t Mess with Rebel’ Featurette
‘The Headliner: DJ Khaled’ Featurette
‘The Final Note: John and Gail’ Featurette
‘Just Because He’s a Bad Guy’ Featurette
“Freedom! ’90 x Cups” Official Music Video

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Stronger (Blu-ray Review)

8th April 2018 By Tim Isaac

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Tatiana Maslany, Miranda Richardson, Richard Lane Jr., Nate Richman
Directed By: David Gordon Green
Running Time: 119 mins
BBFC Certificate: 15
UK Release Date: April 9th 2018 (UK)

Our Score

Jeff Bauman (Jake Gyllenhaal) decides to surprise his ex-girlfriend, Erin (Tatiana Maslany), by heading to the finish line of the Boston marathon to see her cross the line. When a terrorist bomb explodes Jeff loses both his legs. Due to horrific photos of him at the bombing which quickly become iconic, he is held up by a hero by some and a prime example of ‘Boston Strong’. However, Jeff initially riles against the idea of himself as a hero, struggling with the fact that a city in need of catharsis desperately wants him to be an inspirational figure.

As the film follows him through his recovery, it’s keen to show that heroism isn’t the simple thing we’d like it to be. Stronger isn’t afraid to say that Bauman is a bit of an ass, and when he’s being self-destructive and filled with guilt and loathing, it would be too easy and pitying just to say it’s all because of his injuries. The movie also shows the complications of his relationships with other people, including his alcoholic mother (Miranda Richardson) and most particularly his ex, Erin. She sticks around following the bombing, but the film smartly questions whether she’s there because she wants to be or because of guilt, and whether it’s a good thing for either of them.

Gyllenhaal and Maslany are great in the central roles, ensuring that a film that wants to be harsh and anguished never loses sight of the humanity at its centre. It allows it to explore different ideas about heroism and bravery rather than going for the easy answers. That said, it does make a few mawkish missteps towards the end, which may be understandable but doesn’t quite fit with much of the rest of the film.

Stronger isn’t an easy watch, and it doesn’t want to flinch at some of the ugliness and complex reality of what many would like to reduce to platitudes like ‘inspirational’ and ‘heroic’. It’s not a unique film – indeed it seems to take particular inspiration from Born On The Fourth Of July – but it is a well-made and worthwhile one.

Overall Verdict: Jake Gyllenhaal and Tatiana Maslany anchor a biopic that doesn’t shy away from pain and wants to show that being a ‘hero’ isn’t always what we think it is.

Reviewer: Tim Isaac

Special Features:
‘Faith, Hope and Love: Becoming Stronger’ Featurette

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Wonder (Blu-ray Review)

24th March 2018 By Tim Isaac

Starring: Jacob Tremblay, Julia Roberts, Owen Wilson, Izabela Vidovic, Mandy Patinkin
Directed By: Stephen Chbosky
Running Time: 113 mins
BBFC Certificate: PG
UK Release Date: March 16th 2018 (UK)

Our Score

God bless young Jacob Tremblay. The Room and Book Of Henry star is impossibly cute, something that comes through even under the large amounts of makeup he has to wear for Wonder. Although it might seem a little creepy to be talking about a young boy’s cuteness, in this case it’s vital to the film, as Tremblay’s talents are so central to the movie. The makeup is potentially a real barrier for an actor though, and a tough one for somebody so young to overcome. Jacob does it though with aplomb.

Tremblay plays August ‘Auggie’ Pullman, who was born with Treacher Collins Syndrome, which has left him with significant facial deformities. He’s been home-schooled by his mother (Julia Roberts), but will be going to mainstream school for the first time when he joins the fifth grade. Auggie is a shy and sensitive child, very aware of how others treat him because he looks different. [Read more…]

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ACTORS: Jacob Tremblay, Julia Roberts, Owen Wilson, Izabela Vidovic, Mandy Patinkin  DIRECTORS: Stephen Chbosky  

Justice League (Blu-ray Review)

24th March 2018 By Tim Isaac

Starring: Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa, Ezra Miller, Ray Fisher
Directed By: Zack Snyder
Running Time: 120 mins
BBFC Certificate: 12
UK Release Date: March 26th 2018 (UK)

Our Score

Poor old Justice League. It’s a superhero team-up that fans have been waiting for decades for. When it was announced a couple of years ago it immediately sounded like it would be the biggest movie of 2018. However, following the lacklustre reception to the Warner/DC movies that led up to it (Wonder Woman excepted) and production problems including director Zack Snyder leaving due to personal problems and replacement Joss Whedon extensively retooling the movie only months before release, it certainly didn’t bode well. It also felt like Warner Bros. had slightly given up on it, or at least they failed to generate the sort of hype the movie needed, with a weak marketing campaign and little sense that this is what we’d all been waiting for.

As a result, it’s ended up as the lowest grossing of all the DCEU movies, behind even Suicide Squad. [Read more…]

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ACTORS: Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa, Ezra Miller, Ray Fisher  DIRECTORS: Zack Snyder  FILMS: Justice League  

Film Stars Don’t Die In Liverpool (Blu-ray Review)

23rd March 2018 By Tim Isaac

Starring: Jamie Bell, Annette Bening, Stephen Graham, Julie Walters, Kenneth Cranham
Directed By: Paul McGuigan
Running Time: 105 mins
BBFC Certificate: 15
UK Release Date: March 19th 2018 (UK)

Our Score

In the late 1940s and 1950s Gloria Grahame was a big name Hollywood actress, known for the likes of The Big Heat (1953) and Oklahoma! (1955), as well as winning an Oscar for The Bad and the Beautiful (1952). However, her star power soon faltered.

Film Stars Don’t Die In Liverpool picks up her story in the 1970s, by which time Grahame (Annette Bening) is appearing in theatre in Britain. The older star meets the much younger Peter Turner (Jamie Bell), with a May-December romance developing. Grahame is flattered by the attentions of the younger man, while Turner is impressed by his beau’s celebrity – something that’s beguiling and exotic for a working-class Liverpudlian lad. [Read more…]

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ACTORS: Jamie Bell, Annette Bening, Stephen Graham, Julie Walters, Kenneth Cranham  DIRECTORS: Paul McGuigan  

The Florida Project (DVD Review)

11th March 2018 By Tim Isaac

Starring: Brooklynn Prince, Bria Vinaite, Willem Dafoe, Christopher Rivera, Valeria Cotto
Directed By: Sean Baker
Running Time: 107 mins
BBFC Certificate: 15
UK Release Date: March 12th 2018 (UK)

Our Score

Director Sean Baker had a significant success with Tangerine, which followed two transgender sex workers as one of them looks for the man who broke her heart. With The Florida Project he stays with people living a precarious existence, this time in the shadow of Disney World in Orlando.

The movie is largely set at a budget hotel managed by Bobby (Willem Dafoe), where six-year-old Moonee (Brooklynn Prince) lives with her young mother Halley (Bria Vinaite). It’s an insecure, day-to-day existence where there’s no security and where they must move out for a while once a month, as they’re not permitted to officially become residents. [Read more…]

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