Brad Pitt rarely letting his audience down with his movie choices is a major reason I watched director David Leitch’s latest, Bullet Train.
Also starring Joey King, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry and Sandra Bullock, the story of five assassins aboard a fast-moving bullet train proved too intriguing to resist. You can therefore imagine my disappointment when I realised that Leitch’s movie was not going to deliver.
Despite some funny scenes, a handful of visually beautiful shots and camera angles, the story edit left me desperately wanting. I found the pace slow, tedious and inadequately engaging.
The dialogue between Taylor-Johnson and Bryan Tyree Henry’s characters is the thing that made me realise the inspiration that seems to have come from Guy Ritchie and Quentin Tarantino’s best work. Unfortunately, however, the film does not work as well as those classic examples of filmmaking excellence. And finding myself not liking much of the music featured only made matters worse.
Despite my obvious disappointment, I do have a couple of highlights to point out. Firstly, every scene with Hiroyuki Sanada as The Elder. Joey King’s character, even though she isn’t particularly likeable. Channing Tatum; what a welcome addition he proved to be.
Lastly, Brad Pitt. He is always good, right? It’s the script and overall execution that let everyone down.
Even after all the above, if you still find yourself super curious about Bullet Train, watch it. There’s always a chance you’ll have more fun than I could.
Christopher Nolan’s new sci-fi/action/drama Tenethas a brand new trailer, and of course it’s good!
Starring Robert Pattinson, John David Washington, Himesh Patel and Aaron Taylor-Johnson, the subject is international espionage, time travel/ inversion, and evolution.
As I’ve come to expect with Christopher Nolan trailers, this too is well edited and builds up in a great way.
There’s almost no watching this trailer without 2010’s Inception coming to mind. I just hope that I can keep up with all the ‘time travel science’ because, let’s just say that it took me several listens before I understood what Hulk was saying in Avengers – Endgame (2019) when he explained how time travel actually works:
‘Changing the past doesn’t change the future. If you travel to the past, that past becomes your future and your former present becomes your past, which can’t now be changed by your new future.‘
In all honesty, I may have misspoken about actually finally understanding the above explanation. But I do plan to make sense of it soon, with regular attempts.
Kenneth Branagh, Elizabeth Debicki, Michael Caine, Clémence Poésy, Yuri Kolokolnikov, Himesh Patel, Martin Donovan, Carina Velva, Dimple Kapadia and Andrew Howard also star.
Starring John David Washington, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Robert Pattinson; the trailer just landed for Christopher Nolan’s latest, Tenet, a tale international espionage, time travel, and evolution…
Additional key cast includes Kenneth Branagh, Elizabeth Debicki, Michael Caine, Clémence Poésy…
It’s Christopher Nolan. That’s all the reason I need, but the great cast cast and also has my attention.
Himesh Patel, Andrew Howard, Yuri Kolokolnikov, Martin Donovan, Carina Velva and Dimple Kapadia also star.
King’s Man (2020), Gemma Aterton, 20th Century Fox
The next trailer for Matthew Vaughn’s The King’s Man , a movie starring Gemma Arterton, Matthew Goode Ralph Fiennes, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and about the first independent Intelligence agency is here…
I’m already quite certain that Sofia Boutella’s Gazelle in Kingsman – The Secret Service (2014)will forever be my favourite Kingsman character. Nevertheless, I look forward to what Aterton’s Polly will bring to the franchise.
Also the character played by Tayolor-Johnson, I’m guessing he may be a villain, since we’re two trailers in and we still haven’t met him .
Djimon Hounsou, Alison Steadman, Stanley Tom Hollander, Harris Dickinson, Alexandra Maria Lara, Tucci, Rhys Ifans and Daniel Brühl also star.
The King’s Man (2019), Djimon Hounsou, Ralph Feinnes, 20th Century Fox
Starring Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arterton, Matthew Goode and Aaron Taylor-Johnson, The King’s Man is the story of one man’s race to stop a collection of history’s worst tyrants and criminal masterminds from killing millions.
Directed by Matthew Vaughn, The King’s Man is the third instalment of the Kingsman franchise…
I’ll be watching to see how it compares to the original and best,Kingsman – The Secret Service (2014). Also looking forward tto finding out who Taylor-Johnson is playing.
Harris Dickinson, Alexandra Maria Lara, Tom Hollander, Djimon Hounsou, Alison Steadman, Stanley Tucci, Rhys Ifans and Daniel Brühl also star.
Nocturnal Animals which stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Amy Adams, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Michael Shannon and Isla Fisher is the second movie from fashion designer / movie director, Tom Ford. As an appreciator of Ford’s clearly wide-ranging creative abilities and a fan of the film’s highly talented cast, I was excited even before seeing the teaser trailer.
Without any doubt, Nocturnal Animals is a film well done, especially in terms of the actors and all that they were able to convey ever so convincingly. The story is engaging and it certainly left me incredibly grateful for my circumstances and experiences to date. However, even though the synopsis for Nocturnal Animals explains that ‘a wealthy gallery owner is haunted by her ex-husband’s novel, a violent thriller she interprets as a symbolic revenge tale’, I still didn’t expect the nature of the very dark turn everything took quite early on in this movie.
Approximately fifteen minutes into Nocturnal Animals, I started to wonder if I was going to be able to continue watching further. Reason being, what was happening on screen was so intense, uncomfortable and scary, for anyone, butespecially from the point of view of a young female.
Nocturnal Animals (2016), Jake Gyllenhaal
I enjoyed the cinematography and all the performances. I even found myself feeling particularly happy for Gyllenhaal because he got to play a character more vulnerable than any he’d ever played before. And since I’d become so used to seeing his characters mostly in control in his movies, seeing him with very little control made me want to stop watching and switch over to a movie where the people he played had more power. I.e. Nightcrawler (2014). I think this means 1) that I don’t enjoying watching suffering and 2) I may be too attached to my favourite actors and I mostly prefer to see them in roles where they get to win.
As a fan of his great work in Nowhere Boy (2009)especially, I’d also become comfortable with liking the characters played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Thanks to the Nocturnal Animals trailer, I knew that liking Taylor-Johnson’s character in Ford’s movie wasn’t going to happen, but my oh my did he play his role well.
In terms of the things I liked less about this movie, a part of me found the music and what looked like stills of the clouds / landscape a tad annoying. Also, some of the editing towards the end had me wishing that the story was told in a more traditional style, if only so I could follow things better. But my reaction to these seemingly little annoyances is nothing compared to how I felt immediately after the ending. ‘No! Mr Ford, No!’ I screamed as I slapped the wall to my right with frustration. ‘Are you really ending it there? I’m so mad at you for ending it there! Aaaaaaarrrrggg!!!’ Damn it, Tom! Nooooooooooooooo…! I continued for a good four minutes.
Maybe you won’t have reactions as strong as mine from beginning to end. But the best reasons for watching Nocturnal Animals include the brilliant performances and another presentation of Tom Ford’s enviable and inspiring creative gifts.
The Movie My Life 