Film Review Archives - ShaneMcDonald.ie

Christopher Robin & Pooh Bear Movie Review

by Shane McDonald | Sep 8, 2018 | Reviews

I think everyone grew up with the cuddly character of Pooh Bear. This Pudgy looking bear loved honey, hated Heffalumps and had spelling as good as lolcats. Over the past few years, there have been a few movies about Pooh Bear, the most recent being Goodbye Christopher Robin. This new movie is the only one which I have actually gone to see at the cinema. I can tell you that at the 8 pm showing at the Odeon, Christopher Robin had 100% of the audience over the age of 18.

Christopher Robin the Movie

The basic storyline is that Christopher Robin has grown up, been to the war and is now working in a briefcase company. He has forgotten all about his time in the Hundred Acre Wood with Pooh Bear and his friends. The start of the film brings you on a whistle-stop tour of the memories he and Pooh Bear have. This shows everything from his tea parties in the woods to him leaving for school and later the war, finally ending up in a high profile yet soul-crushing job.

He promises his family that he would go to the countryside this weekend but Christopher’s manager insists he works. His family are not pleased and go alone, Christopher Robin is left to contemplate the conflict between family and work. During a moment of stress in the local park, he utters the words ‘what to do, what to do’ and then hears ‘what to do indeed’ from Pooh Bear, voiced by the excellent Jim Cummings. Christopher cannot believe this is real and from here he has to accept that Pooh has come back, ultimately to save him.

Christopher Robin, played by Ewan McGregor and his wife Evelyn (Hayley Atwell) are not seeing eye to eye over his time spent at work. His daughter Madeline (Bronte Carmichael) is not seeing her father much these days and both of these relationships are in the balance. His wife has said she cannot remember the last time he smiled and his dealings with his daughter are very matter-a-fact.

Pooh Bear causes a bit of havoc in Christopher house as he tries climbing shelves and steps in lots of honey. The comedic values in the film are very well balanced with the sombre and serious discussions of work-life balance, a topic valid in today’s society.

There are some fantastic scenes in this movie, I’m not going to spoil them, but they are very nicely done indeed. It really is a feel-good movie, probably one of the best I have seen. The Movie Reviewer Mark Kermode says, if you laugh 6 times during a movie, it is a comedy. I can tell you I laughed 6 times in the first 15 minutes of this movie and a lot more after that.

If you have not seen Christopher Robin then please do – you will feel great when leaving the cinema. The trailer is below if you have not seen it.

Christopher Robin is Feel Good Movie Excellence at its Best!

Beauty and the Beast – Movie Review

by Shane McDonald | Apr 18, 2017 | Film and TV, Reviews

Beauty and the Beast, the 2017 live action remake of the 1991 animated classic of the same name. Directed by Bill Condon and starring Emma Watson as Belle, Dan Stevens as the Beast, Luke Evans as the egotistical and quite funny Gaston, and Josh Gad as LeFou this is a very entertaining movie for all the family.

Set in 18th century France, the movie starts with Belle in the local village as we are introduced to the key characters in the village. The setting and production would remind you somewhat of other classic Disney movies from the 50s/60s while being modern and stunning to watch. This production of a live Beauty and the Beast rendering really wraps the film and music we know from the 90s and brings the whole thing to life.

Emma Watson is perfectly cast as Belle, the beauty of the village and the one girl who has the intellect to go far in life, much to the annoyance of the local learned and scholars (a bit like the know-it-all Hermoine from Happy Potter). Emma Watson also sings 3 songs in the movie, but I thought in the first number there was a slight amount of auto-tune going on (either that or the production on the audio was a bit off)

Beauty and the Beast would be nothing without the beast. We are indeed introduced to the Prince who is turned into the beast after dismissing and insulting an enchantress. He has until the last petal from a rose falls to find true love. We also see Belles father, played by Kevin Kline, and we find out how he ended up at the beasts castle. There are some changes to the original storyline in the film, one being that Belles father was a bit slow but in the live action version the father, Maurice, is quite skilled at making clocks and automated devices.

Gaston is forever after Belle, thinking of her as his future wife. He is accompanied by Le Fou who some people say is Disneys first openly gay character. Gaston hears that Belle is in trouble and goes to find her, thus encountering the Beast which is vows to kill.

I’m not going to spoil anything, there is a lot of story to go from here, but the films CGI is very entertaining and combined with the musical numbers its something to behold. Beauty and the Beast may not be everyones cup of tea (excuse the pun chip) but overall it is worth the admission fee – if you have kids, it’s a no brainer, they will love it.

If you enjoyed the original Beauty and the Beast, you will love this one too. If you have not seen it, then you will be enthralled by the story, the characters and a few twists in the story.

La La Land – Movie Review of La La Land (2017)

by Shane McDonald | Jan 24, 2017 | Film and TV, Reviews

La La Land is getting a lot of attention and is hotly tipped to win big at this year’s Oscars. It has been nominated in a number of categories at today’s Oscars announcement. I wasn’t sure what to expect from La La Land as I am not a fan of musicals as a Movie Genre. La La Land is not the blockbuster you can compare to last years Revenant but it sure packs a punch on a few different levels.

La La Land starts with a musical number, quite predictably, setting up what will be a romantic relationship. The film seems to have a very familiar feel about it, shot in a style which is quite different to other movies out this year. It is bright and I get the feeling that the saturation and vibrance of colours was increased during filming/post-production. This gives an almost 1950’s or Technicolour feel about the film.

La La Land is set in modern day Los Angeles yet we can see nods to the glory days of Hollywood. The movie opens with an amazing highway scene with thousands of cars and dancers…. Worth a good portion of your admission fee to see that! (If you saw the opening sequence to the Golden Globes you will get an idea). Sebastian played by Ryan Gosling is a budding jazz musician and wants to open his own club o this terms. He meets Mia played by the wonderful Emma Stone which is an actress who just can’t catch a break. They initially meet on the highway for a brief moment. They also almost meet in a piano bar but Sebastian brushes past her. When Sebastian and Mia meet properly, we see song and dance numbers reflecting on movies such as ‘Singing in the Rain’.

The rest of the story (in order to avoid spoilers) is set with them trying to help each other achieve their dreams. There is much song and dance in between with some great scenes including one in a Planetarium which is impressive visually and also as a musical number. This scene is actually one further nod to the golden days of Hollywood. The scene is set at the Griffith Observatory, and it is visited by Sebastian and Mia after watching the classic movie “Rebel Without a Cause.”

Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling really do work well and certainly have an on screen bond which makes their performance so believable and captivating. Eventually both get a shot at their dreams and with guest performances from John Legend and J.K Simmons the movie really has a good cast. I’m not going to spoil anything, but you should enjoy the movie as it is a treat for the eyes and the ears.

The only negative thing is that the movie takes a bit of time to get going. However, I felt but once it is moving you are pulled along with it … Not screaming, rather singing and dancing with it.

You will like La La Land and it is certainly a ‘feel good’ pick-me-up. If you had a bad day, go see this movie. Enjoy!

Official Trailer of La La Land

Hunt for the Wilderpeople – DVD/Download Review

by Shane McDonald | Jan 12, 2017 | Film and TV, Reviews

Hunt for the Wilderpeople was out in the cinemas earlier in 2016 but I never made it. I was delighted to see that it was on Netflix and recently Watched it. The title of the film, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, is quite unusual and comes from a section of the film where the boy is reading about Wildebeest.

From the outset, it is very easy to watch this film about a boy, played by Julian Dennison, moved from foster-home to foster-home. He has a history of “kicking things, spitting, setting fire to things, loitering….” etc (trust me it’s a good line in the film.) He ends up on a farm and although he rebels once again he quickly feels that this is home.

Due to circumstances, he hears that the authorities are coming back to remove him. He knows that he will go to Juvenile prison so he decides to venture into the bush and go on the run. His trek takes a turn after he gets lost and his uncle, played by Sam Neil, finds him. From this point, the trek takes a further turn for the worse, and they become outlaws of a kind.

The film is done as chapters, e.g Chapter 9, WAR etc, so you get a feeling of what is to come. The characters are all really good, especially the sassy and sharp (sometimes not as sharp) boy in the movie.

Shot in New Zealand, I had an extra reason to see this movie. The scenery, dialogue and story are all really strong and this would be suitable for all the family (with the exception of a scene with a large wild boar and the 2 dogs). It is a very warm and enjoyable film with lots of great lines and well-played roles. This is a real sit back and enjoy the popcorn move – Enjoy!

Hunt for the Wilderpeople – Official Trailer

Passengers – Movie Review / Film Review

by Shane McDonald | Jan 9, 2017 | Film and TV, Reviews

Jim Preston is one of 5,000 passengers on board the spaceship, Starship Avalon. The ship is on a 120-year voyage to a distant colony planet “Homestead 2”. After a malfunction in Jim Preston’s hibernation pod, Jim (played by Chris Pratt) is the only one awake. Now he is stranded on the spaceship, still 90 years from his destination.

Passengers – Movie Review

If you watch the trailer of Passengers you may get a sense of what is happening. My initial interpretation of the Passengers trailer was different. I thought both were all awoken by mistake. I also thought perhaps there was a conspiracy to sabotage the journey of the starship. I even thought that perhaps these were all AI lifeforms which were being banished from the earth. All of my personal assumptions about the movie were incorrect.

The movie starts with Jim being prematurely woken from his hypersleep. He doesn’t know what is happening and tries everything to gain control of the situation. Jim tried everything from trying to gain access to the bridge, to try to get back into the hypersleep chamber. You get to see how one man lives for over a year without anyone else to talk to. He has an android barman, named Arthur, but he longs for human companionship. Jim tries all the amenities on the ship but nothing makes him feel any better about his predicament. You see him disintegrate into a man who feels that all is lost.

It is at this point he meets Aurora (no spoilers here, so apologies for a key section skipped). Although Aurora is alarmed to have been woken but Jim does his best to reassure her. Aurora and himself get on very well and eventually for a romantic relationship. However, after Arthur, the barman (played by Michael Sheen), tells Aurora some background information she breaks down. All seems lost, but a bigger problem is looming. The ship systems are failing and the ship is on the brink of destruction. The ship will have to be repaired, but how can it be done in time? Can they go back to hypersleep? Are they doomed to live out their lives on a sleeping starship? ….

Overview

Overall Passengers is a really enjoyable movie and is certainly worth seeing on the big screen. There are points in the movie where I felt a small bit bored, as it was a bit like Groundhog Day. However, it is obvious that these scenes are required to convey the monotony of life on your own in such a confined space. I saw this in 2D but I feel you might get more from this in 3D. There are stunning sweeping scenes of nebulae, space walks and transit through space. There are a few small-plot twists in this which add to the drama. The conclusion of the film was very well done and I feel the ending was well written. There are often films which have poor endings but this is not one of them.

Passengers – Official Trailer

Passengers – Overall Review Score

Overall Score 87% 87%

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