I just got back from my honeymoon and being super-engrossed in Casino Royale (the book), I read it on my trip instead of it's intended place, the plane. I watched... 6 films on the flights from Toronto to Italy and back:
1. Die Hard:
This is probably the 15th time I've watched this film, all since 2015 (I had never seen a SECOND of it, prior to that, as I always disliked Bruce Willis, though I've warmed up to him in recent years) and the 14th time on a plane (its kind of a ritual for me lol); I'm sure I don't need to tell you all what its about lol.
I understood the hype for this film after my first viewing; what a fantastic piece of cinema, with every major (or middling) character doing a wonderful job acting; the pacing and just everything, is brilliant from beginning to end. Rickman, Willis, Bedelia and Vel Johnson are all amazing, while Gleason, Davi, Bush and the terrorists as a whole, support everyone super-well.
I place it in the top 3 action films of all-time, with Terminator 2 and Jurassic Park.
Will always give it a 10/10. Really want to read the novel too, especially since its a bit different from the film.
2. Chasing the Dragon:
A newer (September, 2017) film starring Donnie Yen and Andy Lau (terrific pairing). I wouldn't rate it among the Hong Kong greats (that I've seen) like A Better Tomorrow, Infernal Affairs or (my favourite) Hard-Boiled, but its just a shade below those wonderful titles.
Its a "based-on," retelling of Crippled Ho (Donnie Yen and yes, that's his name lol) and his rise to drug lord prominence in 70s Hong Kong, as well as his relationship with Lee Rock (Andy Lau's character from the films of the same name), while he corrupted the HK police force on the drug side of things (as the Brits were already corrupting things on their own end).
Lau and Yen are just brilliant actors, IMO and the film really rests of their shoulders. Bryan Larkin does a great job too as the corrupt British officer and he truly makes you hate him (the makings of correctly-written and characterised character, IMO). The writing has a lot of great dialogue and nothing really plods around, plot-wise. It is a long film at 2 hours, 10 minutes or so, but the pacing is good.
Would probably give it an 8/10.
3. Mad Max:
An absolutely dazzling film that has a ton of heart and love put into it (at that budget, a film like this needs it). Its too bad the Miller/Kennedy relationship ended so quickly, otherwise we probably could've had many more great installments in the series and more heart put into the films, like this one.
I've seen quite a bit of it in the past 7-9 years, but this was the first viewing from start to finish, since 2007. Mad Max can be very hokey at times, but it WORKS and the film is a joy to view, from beginning to end. You can't help but love the cops (specifically Max, Fifi and Goose) and their actors, while hammy at times, do a great job as well. The visuals are what made the film popular and is the reason why it is still popular today; wonderful stunts, great camerawork (though I never understood {or liked} the sped-up camera shots) and vivid imagery is abundant in this film.
And the last of the V8 Interceptors; just awesome.
9/10, all day every day.
4. Mad Max: Fury Road:
Hard to say if its my second favourite of the series (between it and the first), but its definitely the second best in the series, IMO (nothing will ever top the Road Warrior).
Of course, being massively-budgeted, the hokiness is basically gone and the film is obviously much slicker than it's prequels, but this also is what makes the film work, as the action sequences are phenomenal and there is a well-done amount of CGI as well.
Tom Hardy is brilliant, like he always is and Charlize actually made me like her, in this film (not a fan of hers at all). The wives all make good use of their screen time (Zoe Kravitz is incredibly sexy, I find) and Nicholas Hoult does a great job as the emotionally-diverse, Nux. Hugh Keays-Byrne does an excellent job in his return to the series and I adore how over the top and ridiculous Nathan Jones is (still the best choice to play Abigail if there was a Final Fight film). There's humour, there's drama, pacing is on point, its shot (and edited) brilliantly and its still Australian, which makes it fit perfectly with the series.
Miller was robbed of best director. 10/10.
5. Ferrari: Race to Immortality:
Being a Formula 1 fan, this was a must-view. I wasn't disappointed, but with most documentary-type things, it has to be perfect in order for it to really work (like the masterpiece that was Senna). This wasn't perfect and at times, had me uninterested.
A bit of a rant here.
The trailer and description had it talk about the 5 prominent Ferrari F1 drivers of the 1950s: thus, I was expecting:
- Alberto Ascari
- Juan Manuel Fangio
- Jose Froilan Gonzalez
- Peter Collins (with maybe Giuseppe Farina in place)
- Mike Hawthorne
All of these drivers won races (or titles) with the marque in the 50s and all were super-prominent figures in Formula One, in the inaugural decade: Fangio won 5 titles and Ascari 2, back to back, plus Hawthorne and Farina, 1 each: these guys were amongst the biggest names of the sport, let alone Ferrari and Froilan was the 1A to Ascari's 1, for Ferrari's first 5 seasons in the decade and missed out on 2 titles to Fangio, in '51 and '54.
Instead, we get:
- Mike Hawthorne
- Peter Collins
- Luigi Musso (the fuq? Really?)
- Eugenio Castellotti (indeed, was an up and comer, who died too young)
- Alfonso de Portago (um, who? I know his name, but not much else)
Hawthorne was the first British F1 Driver's Champion and he truly brought Ferrari back from their disastrous end to 1957 (where, IMO, the greatest performance ever in an F1 car, happened), when it seemed that it was anyone's game, with the rule changes beginning in '58. He makes sense. Collins was an awesome human being that allowed Fangio to take his 4th title (literally giving his car up and LOSING the title himself, something that is unheard of nowadays) and he was an up-and-coming driver that had a ton of talent, always leading or near the lead in every race.
These guys, make sense.
Musso was a no-name that had a bit of prominence in Italy, but did little to nothing in the grand scheme of things; not worth the time.
Castellotti was being groomed to be the next great guy and definitely had the makings of it, but unused potential due to death made his career a blip; not worth the time.
The most egregious waste of space though, was de Portago; he was the typical, pre-80s paydriver: come from nobility, spend money on cars and buy your way onto the team. He did nothing, wasn't even a minor player in a league full of big names and he was clearly; not worth the time.
Rant done.
Anyways, not the greatest piece of work, but the old footage was wonderful to watch. Just wished they spent less time on Brits and nobodies and more time on the guys who actually made a major contribution to the sport.
6/10
6. Toy Story:
My 6th favourite, animated Disney title and IMO, one of their 3 best. A wonderful tale from the Toys' POV, again, I'm sure I don't need to explain this film to anyone
.
10/10
