Swimming With Men: Film Review

Swimming With Men: Film Review

Cast: Rob Brydon, Jane Horrocks, Daniel Mays, Jim Carter, Thomas Turgoose, Rupert Graves, Adeel Aktar, Charlotte Riley
Director: Oliver Parker

There's a kernel of a decent movie trying to rise to the surface in this tale about a male synchronised swimming team.

Easily dismissed as The Full Monty under water, Parker's take on the male midlife crisis movie is fairly middle of the road.

Brydon plays Eric, an accountant who's been in the job since forever. Tired and jaded of it all, and insecure after his wife (Horrocks, wasted in a minor role) finds her second wind as a local councillor.
His only reprieve from the tedium of spreadsheets and nondescript lift journeys is in the pool, where one day he finds a group of men practising their moves.

Asked to join by the members ('It's not just a club, it's an idea, a protest against who we've become" one says), Eric finds his second wind also.

Swimming With Men is the kind of film that works best on TV, rather than the big screen, offering as it does little that's not been seen before.

But it's also not above using a poo in a pool at a kids' event to promote some laughs.

Based on a true story it may be (about a Swedish male swim team), and while there's something about the indefatigable Brydon doing his everyman thing again, the film doesn't offer much of life outside the pool to really grab you.

Each of the fellow swimmers is fairly loosely sketched, with a little more afforded to Rupert Graves' character as he bonds with Eric (despite the warnings that lives outside stay private). It's not that that's a bad thing, but the speed bumps when they come, can be seen miles off as the relatively pedestrian comedy tries to hit its stride.

It's all about the feelgood factor, and midlife crisis of friendships - and while Swimming With Men doesn't exactly do anything sensational with those ideas, it does present them pleasantly, albeit occasionally in a pedestrian fashion.

It's almost as if Parker was afraid to do anything radical with this tale, and lumped for the basic approach rather than something memorable.

As it is, Swimming With Men doesn't exactly swim to the top, but it doesn't also sink to the bottom without a trace - it's probably safer in the shallow part of the pool, than the emotionally deeper quarters.

A Dog's Way Home: Film Review

A Dog's Way Home: Film Review

Cast: Joanh Hauer-King, Bryce Dallas Howard, Ashley Judd, Alexandra Shipp, Barry Watson
Director: Charles Martin Smith

It's not exactly rocket science - a film about a dog's bond with their master that transcends the obstacles put in their place.

Throw into that mix a 400 mile journey, and you've got some idea of what A Dog's Way Home is about - it's like a Nicholas Sparks version of an animal love tale - dog meets boy, dog and boy separated and will they be reunited?

Bella (voiced by Bryce Dallas Howard) is a young pup, living under a house with a group of stray cats. When Bella meets Lucas (Hauer-King), it's puppy love on both sides, and the pair forms a bond that can't be broken.

But when a nasty animal control officer condemns Bella under city law, Bella's forced to leave the city for her own safety - and leave behind her new family. However, she decides that it's important that she gets home to Lucas, and so she sets out on an incredible journey to get home.

A Dog's Way Home is aimed young, and it hits every level that the book from W Bruce Cameron would want to.

From simplistic voiceover to narrative simplicity, this is a film that knows what it wants to do and how to avoid a majority of mawkishness to get there. But it's also not above throwing in montages with middle-of-the-road soppy songs and cover versions along with some ropey CGI animal work to pad it out. Its short episodic feel does hurt it in places, and while there are elements of The Littlest Hobo for when Bella comes into people's lives, it's harmless family fluff.

Interestingly, there's also a few threads of tolerance seeded for an audience that are younger - from the inter-racial relationships to the message of tolerance towards army veterans and acceptance of their plight, A Dog's Way Home has its heart in the right place, even if its execution is questionable at times.

It's a very familiar journey for the tried-but-true animal friendship film, and while the cougar and dog relationship is unusual at best, A Dog's Way Home is really about the bond between man and dog - and is what is likely to resonate with the audience.

Widows: Blu Ray Review

Widows: Blu Ray Review

Ripped from a Lynda LaPlante UK TV series from the mid-80s, the contemporary US update of Widows is startling in its recreation of the power of money, the corruption of wealth, and the power of women to rise above what's been dealt to them.

A searing Viola Davis plays Veronica, the wife of known career criminal Harry Rawlins (Neeson, mixing tenderness and harshness in flashbacks) who finds herself widowed after a heist goes wrong.

Visited by the local crime boss and informed that Harry had stolen $2 million from him, Veronica's given a month to return the cash - or pay the consequences.

So, in order to escape the hand she's been unwillingly and unwittingly dealt, Veronica goes to the also-widowed women of Harry's associates Linda and Alice (Rodriguez and Debicki respectively) to enlist them into the job.

Widows is the antithesis to Ocean's 8 - and so much the better for it, trading darkness and depth for Oceans' sleight of hand and smoke-and-mirrors routine.

Director Steve McQueen, who brought such pain and pathos to the likes of Hunger and 12 Years A Slave, gives himself more of a contemporary pat setting with Chicago's seedy underbelly, politicking and dirty money and deceit forming the backbone of a sickeningly compelling movie.

It begins with a heist gone wrong, before weaving complex threads of destroyed relationships, power, and of desperate lives trying to reset and survive.

Set against the politicking of Colin Farrell's incumbent alderman wanting to stay in power, along with the exposure of all that entails, and how deep the corruption goes, Widows could collapse under the weight of its darker themes.

But along with McQueen's flashy director touches, and anchored by a gripping central turn from Davis, the pieces of this at-times slow-moving chess board trundle inexorably and inevitably to their tragic ends.

Yet, it's also empowering (and a breakthrough role) for Debicki's Alice, a beaten wife whose life has seen her repeatedly slapped around by different generations; and for Davis, whose commanding presence on screen brings nuance and uncertainty to the woman who was happy to enjoy the benefits of her husband's ill-gotten gains but negotiates murky waters when it comes to availing herself of any guilt.

It helps that McQueen's underpinned his film (from Gone Girl's Gillian Flynn's script) with none of the usual tropes of a heist and grounded it in a humanity that gives it an emotional core to cling to - certainly, in its actual heist sequence, it's nothing short of electrifying, urgent and riveting, a set piece par excellence that's swift, brutal and suspenseful.

Essentially Davis and Debicki's time to shine, Widows is a powerfully pared back film and engrossing drama that hides layers behind its themes of societal corruption, political heft, and anger at a system.

It's being touted for awards, and quite frankly, much like some of the power of Denzel Washington's Fences, Widows is a film that you can't fire enough superlatives at.

Win a double pass to see A DOG'S WAY HOME

Win a double pass to see A DOG'S WAY HOME

To celebrate the release of A DOG'S WAY HOME, you can win a double pass!

About A DOG'S WAY HOME

As a puppy, Bella finds her way into the arms of Lucas, a young man who gives her a good home. 

When Bella becomes separated from Lucas, she soon finds herself on an epic 400-mile journey to reunite with her beloved owner. 

Along the way, the lost but spirited dog touches the lives of an orphaned mountain lion, a down-on-his-luck veteran and some friendly strangers who happen to cross her path.

A DOG'S WAY HOME is in cinemas from February 28th

Play The Division 2 Open Beta this weekend

Play The Division 2 Open Beta this weekend

Starting on March 1st, you will be able to freely experience The Division 2 on PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Here is what awaits you, in solo and in coop:  - Explore the eastern part of Washington D.C. - Play 3 main missions and 5 side missions - Discover and upgrade the "Theatre" settlement - Battle to extract precious loot in Dark Zone East - Try out The Division 2 Endgame Enjoy!

Full list of the 91st Academy Award Winners

Full list of the 91st Academy Award Winners

Here is the full list of the 91st Academy Award Winners.

Best picture: "Green Book''

Best actress: Olivia Colman, "The Favourite''

Best actor: Rami Malek, "Bohemian Rhapsody''

Best director: Alfonso Cuaron, "Roma''

Best supporting actress: Regina King, ``If Beale Street Could Talk''

Best supporting actor: Mahershala Ali, ``Green Book''

Foreign language film: Mexico's ``Roma''

Original screenplay: ``Green Book,'' Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie and Peter Farrelly

Adapted screenplay: ``BlacKkKlansman,'' Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott and Spike Lee

Original Song: ``Shallow'' from ``A Star Is Born,'' music and lyrics by Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando and Andrew Wyatt.

Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper absolutely KILLED this #Oscars pic.twitter.com/epH1TeAxgs

— Complex (@Complex) February 25, 2019

Cinematography: Alfonso Cuaron, ``Roma''

Best animated film: ``Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse''

Original Score: ``Black Panther,'' Ludwig Goransson

Costume design: Ruth Carter, ``Black Panther''

Production design: ``Black Panther''

Sound Editing: `'Bohemian Rhapsody''

Sound Mixing: `'Bohemian Rhapsody''

Film Editing: John Ottman, ``Bohemian Rhapsody''

Animated short film: ``Bao''

Documentary short subject: ``Period. End of Sentence''

Visual effects: ``First Man''

Live action short film: ``Skin''

Documentary feature: ``Free Solo''

Makeup and hairstyling: ``Vice''

Red Dead Online Beta: New Modes, Enhancements and More Arrive Next Week

Red Dead Online Beta: New Modes, Enhancements and More Arrive Next Week

Red Dead Online Beta Update Arrives Next WeekAll New World Enhancements, Modes and More from February 26

Next week the Red Dead Online Beta frontier expands with all new Free Roam Events, a host of new Showdown Modes, and new Races coming as part of its first title update on Tuesday, February 26. This update also brings the first batch of new Weapons, Clothing, and Emotes for your character, as well as a series of improvements and balances detailed last week.  Also starting on Tuesday, February 26 look out for new content and special promotions weekly.

New Gameplay

New additions will include the Fool’s Gold Free Roam Event, where players will compete to control an equal parts gaudy and protective suit of Golden Armor. Fight to take down the armor wearer to earn points and claim it as your own, then turn the tables and earn points for kills while wearing the armor.

Competitive Challenges gets a fresh catch with Fishing Challenges. Fishing Challenges are broken out by type, opt in to the challenge and you’ll receive all the equipment necessary to compete including the rod as well lures and bait specific to the challenge type, whether it’s crickets for a river challenge, crayfish for the swamp or worms for lakes. Then head to an appropriate body of water to take part – also, you’ll be made safe from the nuisance of trigger-happy outlaws while you are taking the challenge. Catch the highest weight total of fish to win.

Also on the way are three new Showdown Modes where players and teams compete to capture and deliver bags, steal loot from each other and survive. Stay tuned for more details around Up in Smoke, Spoils of War and Plunder. Races will also see a new variation with Target Races where players shoot targets from horseback to pass checkpoints as they race along a track to the finish line.

New Weapons

B.D. and Co. is turning out the high grade, high capacity Evans Repeater rifle. The Rare Shotgun is D.D. Packenbush’s latest variation of the powerful double-barreled longarm. Sporting an antique style faded brass finish and an artfully adorned stock. Both weapons will be available via the Wheeler & Rawson Catalogue and local Gunsmiths.

New Clothing and Emotes

A wide range of new clothing to further customize your character – from the snake adorned Diamondback Hat to the fur trimmed Rutledge Vest – is also on the way with new Outfits, Jackets, Boots, Coats, Gloves, Hats, Vests and more. In addition to all the clothing that will be available for purchase at your leisure, keep an eye on the shops and the Catalogue for unique special items that will come and go. A variety of new Emotes is also on the way – featuring everything from greets to reactions and taunts.

PS4 Early Access Content
In addition to new Target Races, PlayStation 4 players will have early access to Open Target Races where you compete in an open space to take out the most targets on horseback. PS4 players will also get early access to the Jawbone Knife, a unique melee weapon with a handle artfully carved from the remains of a slain animal’s jaw, as well as a range of new clothing options and 3 new Emotes.

Bonus XP This Week
Play the Red Dead Online Beta all this week to earn 20% more XP on all activities ahead of the launch of these new updates on February 26. And be sure to look out for new bonuses, giveaways, promotions and content updates weekly, as we continue to build, balance and evolve the world of Red Dead Online.