Goodbye Christopher Robin: DVD Review

Goodbye Christopher Robin: DVD Review

Very much a warts and all portrayal of one of the world's most famous children's icons, Goodbye Christopher Robin is a cautionary tale about the damage done to others by fame and neglect.

With a strong anti-war message, Goodbye Christopher Robin is the story of the playwright A A Milne (Gleeson, sombre and at times, drawn) whose London arty life is irrevocably changed when he returns from the first Great War.

Shell-shocked and sleep-walking through life, Milne, along with his flapper wife Daphne (Robbie in chocks away mode) relocate to the English countryside after their first child is born.

Milne believes the countryside will inspire his anti-war writing, but Daphne, disappointed at birthing a boy rather than a girl and fearing he will be conscripted, stays in London to party and forget the perils.

Left alone with Christopher Robin and forced to take on the kid when nanny Olive (Macdonald, the film's heart and vocal conscience) has to look after her ill mother, the pair bond as young Christopher helps him through post-war life and yearns for a father.

As the duo spend more time together, the whimsical world of Winnie The Pooh is born - and despite AA Milne saying the story would be for his son, it soon becomes a worldwide phenomenon, leading to an even stronger sense of estrangement in the Milne family.

Served with a large degree of as much sugariness as Pooh's beloved honey, Goodbye Christopher Robin comes dangerously close to over-egging the pudding at times, with the mawkish manipulation being piled on to occasionally over-bearing moments.

With the saccharine overdose being largely confined to the dimple-faced moppet playing young Christopher Robin and his fatherly interactions, there's little insight into what fully led to the bear's creation other than some downpat broad brush strokes applied to the stiffly-starched English accents and rather withdrawn adult acting.

And yet, bizarrely and equally so, the sense of detachment and the underlying sadness of lives wrecked within (Milne's PTSD haunts him at every turn, wife Daphne's denial pushes her to seek solace in London away from the boy she could lose and son Christopher's growing resentment over the fame he's handed and the lack of familial attachment) really hint at the dark story underneath it all.

This is perhaps Goodbye Christopher Robin's strength - it's not a film that celebrates an icon in many ways.

If anything, it shows a deeply tragic personal correlation between fame and its cost.

Pre-reality shows and post war with England aching for a return to more optimistic times, this is a harrowing introspective look at the trappings and perils of the creative world.

It puts a uniquely human spin (albeit occasionally laden with a spoon rather than a dollop) on proceedings and deserves to be saluted so.

Perhaps if some of the sentiment hadn't been ladelled on with such heft, this immensely thoughtful biopic could have been intensely more emotionally satisfying. 

Game Night: Film Review

Game Night: Film Review

Cast: Jason Bateman, Rachel McAdams, Kyle Chandler, Jesse Plemons, Sharon Horgan, Billy Magnussen, Kylie Bunbury, Lamorne Morris
Director: John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein

Mixing irreverence with edges of drama and wrapping it up in a kookiness grants Game Night a feel of crackling edginess for a comedy.

Tapping into the ennui that affects the middle class and using Bateman's usual laconic deadpan ways, it's the story of Max and Annie (Bateman, McAdams) a normal suburban couple who like to gather their friends together for a regular weekly game night.

But Max's competitive and always wants to win (as shown in a charming montage early on) - however, he finds against a backdrop of fertility struggles, that his competitive edge is further enraged and engaged when his brother Brooks (Friday Night Lights' Kyle Chandler) comes to town.
Brooks sets a game night down for them, but decides it'll be a murder mystery with one of their number being kidnapped.

However, it soon turns out that the planned Game Night wasn't what was on the cards - and a fight for survival begins...

Game Night is fresh, spiky and genuinely funny in parts.

Even if its denouement packs too many twists for general consumption and tries to be a bit cleverer than it actually is, its general desire to subvert expectations is a welcome one.

Sure, the usual messages are there - about being open with partners, honest with friends etc, but the hugging and learning portion feels earned in the final furlong - and amuses rather than overtly preaches.

It's nice to see McAdams cut loose a little and have some fun, and Catastrophe's Horganmakes an impressive big film debut , but this is, without a doubt, Plemons' film.

As the sadsack former member of the group and creepy divorced neighbour, this security guard is a delight as the cameras hang on his words and actions perhaps a little too long so as to make things uncomfortable and uncertain.

Daley and Goldstein's eyes behind the camera proffer up some interesting shots too - from high-in-the-sky shots which make the sets look like board games to fixed cameras in chases, the film's freshness leaps from the screen too.

Ultimately, the crackling Game Night may have edges of Funny Game and some genuinely laugh-out-loud moments, but its quirky irreverence towards the buddy dynamic and mixing up of various genres means it proves to be a winner for a refreshing night out and proves to be a game winner.

David Duchovny live - Photos

David Duchovny live - Photos

Here are some shots from David Duchovny live at Auckland's PowerStation on February 20th, 2018 as he toured New Zealand for the first time.

Final Portrait: DVD Review

Final Portrait: DVD Review

A sort of Waiting for Godot piece about a man getting a portrait painted by a master, Final Portrait requires a bit of patience and a lot of goodwill to see it through.

Hammer plays James Lord, who's been asked by Geoffrey Rush's Swiss painter and sculptor Alberto Giacometti if he can paint his portrait in 1964 Paris. Flattered by the offer and on holiday in France, Lord agrees expecting it to be a few days at most.

However, Giacometti's eccentric style and the fact he's distracted by muse and prostitute Caroline (Poesy) means nothing goes according to plan.

Final Portrait may appeal to those who appreciate the artist and what they go through, but with an occasionally stultifying pace, it's punishing at times for those expecting anything other than sedate.

Thankfully, both Hammer and Rush inhabit their characters well and while Hammer's Lord is a little prim and proper, he eventually gives way to some cracks later on in the film and you see his patience crumble.

More impressive is Rush who makes his eccentric maestro frustratingly approachable and a character worth watching. Gradual tics and dismissive doubts plague Giacometti and it's intriguing to watch it unspool, even if it is punishing to bear at times.

Ultimately, while Tucci's eye for the arts leads to some bizarre directorial choices (jerky cam movements seem at odds with the subject matter), his desire to present the artist and their method of work is actually canny in places.

Final Portrait isn't one for everyone, and while it's a frustrating experience at times thanks to its real depth of character study, those who appreciate the arts may appreciate some of the insights on show here. 

Fifty Shades Freed: Film Review

Fifty Shades Freed: Film Review

Cast: Jamie Dornan, Dakota Johnson
Director: James Foley

Let's be honest, nobody expects Oscar-calibre material from this mommy-porn book series.

And nobody really expects a critic's view of the film to quash the series that's galvanised female audiences and raked millions in here and abroad.

It is fair to say that the series' capper Fifty Shades Freed is perhaps not the film for fans of the franchise or for drama given how lacklustre and terrifically dull it plays out on screen.

At the end of Fifty Shades Darker, sub Ana Steele (played by Johnson, who finds the humour and humanity in some of her delivery) was betrothed to marry dom Christian Grey (Dornan, whose sole direction appears to be to act wooden throughout).

Fifty Shades Freed picks up the story, and rather than delivering a spanking capper to the franchise, it follows Christian and Ana's push-and-pull relationship as Ana tests the boundaries of marriage and Grey's expectations - while throwing in a laughable stalker plot and mountains of product placement.

Whereas the earlier films had a commitment to the central relationship, the problem with Fifty Shades Freed is its attempts to wrangle out conflict where there's little, drama that's underwhelming and has potential squandered and someone trying to jam all the narrative elements together with the skill of a 3-year-old trying to smash a jigsaw complete.

Things happen, then mesh into a highly choreographed music-driven sex scene, before morphing out into the wider story without any signs of cinematic finesse.

It doesn't help that in many ways, Fifty Shades Freed becomes a different tale of white privilege in the MeToo world. Most of the squabbles and in particular Christian's reaction to them seem petty and selfish. These are the personifications of first world problems in many ways.

Granted, this is supposed to be some kind of character arc for Mr Grey, but unfortunately, through Foley's lack of direction, Dornan's acting is wooden in extremis. What emerges is a problem that's dogged Christian's portrayal throughout the series.

By contrast, Johnson's Ana finds the humanity in her character, and as with previous films, brings it to the fore. She's been the star of this series and has risen above some of the more risible dialogue thrust upon her.

Ultimately, Fifty Shades Freed is a fizzer.

Complete with some unsexy sex scenes that perpetuate the male gaze (there's a constant surprise there's little equality here), sub-lots that drift and resolve without any tension, copious product placement and a lack of any real drama, Fifty Shades Freed is a limp flaccid end to the series.

Thankfully though, audiences have finally been freed of the shackles of this series.

Win a double pass to see Winchester

Win a double pass to see Winchester

Ensconced in her sprawling California mansion, eccentric firearm heiress Sarah Winchester believes she is haunted by the souls of people killed by the Winchester repeating rifle.

Starring Helen Mirren, Winchester is in cinemas March 1st.

Doctor Who: Complete Series 10: Blu Ray Review

Doctor Who: Complete Series 10: Blu Ray Review

Released by Roadshow Home Entertainment
Rating: G

Pulling together Peter Capaldi's final season as the Doctor and Pearl Mackie's debut as his plucky companion, Bill, the complete series 10 of the BBC show is a mixed bag that gets some things right and others not so much.

As usual, it's elements of the story-telling which hold Who back, but then given such an equal footing of actors in the first half of the episodes, including the return of Matt Lucas as Nardole, there's a great reason to engage with the show.

Mackie impresses as Bill, a naturally curious companion, but no slouch in the emotional and intellectual fronts either. Mackie certainly owns the screen within moments and Steven Moffat's writing helps solidify it all very early on.

But it's Capaldi's work which also helps the latest run - a genuine vein of sadness persists in the Doctor's being grounded on Earth and charging with looking after a vault with a mysterious entity housed within.

It's in the final episodes that this season finds its feet, wrapping back to the menace of the past and also cleverly segueing into the very first regeneration. Delivering one hell of a personal cliffhanger in episode 11 ups the ante and while writer Moffat falls back on his usual retcon lazy ways, there's a real feeling of danger that's been lacking through the season.

It helps that both Capaldi and Pearl Mackie as companion Bill have brought their A game to this series - the acting's been sensational even when the scripts have been as wobbly as the sets from back in the 1970s of the show.