The newest Mummy movie has been released recently to less that favourable reviews which turned me off seeing the film and made me curious to revisit a childhood classic of mine The Mummy from 1999. So why did I go back and watch The Mummy 1999 over seeing the new one and reviewing that, the simple answer is that The Mummy 1999 still holds up and is a solid action adventure film.
The Mummy is not a flawless movie but it achieves what it set out to do which is to have an Indiana Jones style adventure based around the Universal Monster classic The Mummy. The striking thing about re-watching this is how much time is given to the characters and not in a Suicide Squad way where there is too much time wasted on characters but enough time is spent on each character so the audience can get a feel for what they are about. The other surprising aspect of this film is how the film lets itself breathe because after the prologue setting up the backstory of Imhotep the film goes full on adventure with sprinkles of supernatural here and there. It is only until the second half of the film are we reintroduced to Imhotep and the film switches its focus to stopping him. Watching this in 2017 is so refreshing because we have a clear set-up, characters who we can get invested in and a plot that does not flip flop every 20 minutes.
Alongside the structure is the action which is great the set pieces are shot and choreographed perfectly and you feel as if you are in the action, nothing in the action scenes takes you out of the film which again is this massive problem we are facing in today's film industry but this film handles with finesse. Of course this film is not of the calibre of Indiana Jones but it does provide the audience with a fun action romp with The Mummy as a foundation. The opening shot is still impressive today and its amazing that some films today cannot match the scale of it. The battle at Hamunaptra again has scale and feels epic in its scope and then you compare that to the footage that I have seen of this new film where everything feels close quarters and small.
Performance and characters are important in the 99 film, as previously stated the characters are all believable and they are set up very well. The actors do a wonderful job with their roles especially Brenden Fraser and Rachel Weisz who both are charismatic and fun. Fun is the key word when discussing this film and the popcorn elements clashing with the more horror type elements just create this fun romp that is not too scary but is not too light either. The film struck a perfect balance.
The score for The Mummy is incredible and helps extend the scale of the film beyond just the visuals and gives the film an identity that has been lost in recent years where the score has just been another part of a machine. The score is sweeping and has a classical feel to it but then flips to convey the more sinister elements of the film. It is a wonderful score.
Overall I would recommend people to watch The Mummy 1999 because you will get far more enjoyment out of it than you would if you saw the Tom Cruise film and if you have already seen The Mummy go back and re-watch it because it is just that much fun and certainly worthy of multiple viewings. Fun premise and story with likeable characters.
8/10
Written By
Ashley Harvey
Tuesday 20 June 2017
Wednesday 7 June 2017
Wonder Woman - Review
This is the best DC Universe film I will admit that its unfortunate that its not as great as everybody is saying it is. This is not the worst film I have seen this year but Wonder Woman leaves a lot to be desired and is bogged down with niggling problems.
Before I get into the negatives I would like to talk about the aspects of the film I did like. Chris Pine was the best part of this film, other than some awkward comedy moments but his character was believable and him being a spy felt refreshing. His character had a clear motive and goals, the same could be said for the character of Wonder Woman but again its the "comedy" written for the characters that just bog the film down. I enjoyed the film when it was moving along and the scenes make sense within story. Other than that the rest of the film just did not work for me.
Lets start with the structure of the story because the first ten minutes of this film are poor and the film repeats the problem of having scenes that don't add anything to the story, sure you can call it "character development" but its not, it just slows the movie down where you could have the same development done with actions rather than stopping the film to directly tell the audience how the characters feel or their motivations. When Chris Pine is introduced that is when the film starts to get going because we have plot but as soon as we are introduced to this character the film feels it necessary to have an overblown action scene which is filled with the most annoying slow motion since 300. This scene does not really add anything to the story other than Wonder Woman's mentor is killed by a German which could have been done in a far more effective and less headache inducing manor. For example lets say that Chris Pine crashes off the coast of Themyscira, Wonder Woman goes to save him, as she is dragging him back to shore have a German plane come through and land on the beach. The Amazonian General played by Robin Wright comes down to the beach to investigate what is going on she attempts to get close to the plane but is shot by the German pilot, Diana sees this and kills the pilot checks on Robin Wright as Chris Pine is laying on the beach. There I just saved an overly complicated action scene for something that is more powerful, and does not overstimulate the audience within the first 20 minutes of the film, save the bad-ass Amazonian fighting for when Wonder Woman is on the front-line in WWI.
I think another problem with Wonder Woman is a problem all major motion pictures are facing today is too many characters. If the entire film revolved around Chris Pine and Gal Gadot this film would have felt less cumbersome which would have given more time to have Diana and Steve to grow in turn making his death even more tragic. Lets talk about the supporting characters because they don't really add anything to the story, maybe they are other DC characters but this is a prequel Wonder Woman film I don't think this is the appropriate place to sprinkle other DC characters. Steve's secretary is the worst part of this film, the Jar Jar Binks character that is only there to say "funny" lines and it is the most poorly written dialogue in the entire film and the actress is awful at delivering it. Then we have Steve's friends that include, budget Oscar Issac, Ewen Bremner and Chief. These characters add nothing to the overall story and don't do anything of importance except when Chief lights a smoke signal for Diana, that is it. Finally we have the villains and this is where the film falls apart because throughout the film Diana thinks that Aries the God of War is behind WWI and she wants to fight him and kill him, so we are introduced to two bad guys General Ludendorff and Dr. Maru the audience is lead to believe that Ludendorff is Aries. It turns out he is not and I thought that Dr. Maru, the female scientist, was going to be revealed as Aries which would make sense instead it just turns out that David Thewlis is Aries. This just comes out of nowhere and makes zero sense, why not have Dr. Maru be Aries.
The overall direction and look of the film is flat and rather uninteresting, with action scenes over-stylised and dialogue being flat and wide. This film has some of the worst effects I have seen this year, something about it was really off especially the end when it became a PS2 cut-scene. The action is where I have the biggest problem, there was no impact to anything because it was just overdone, again a case where if they had dialled back the style and just shot a solid action scene the film would have benefited but from a visual standpoint and a thematic one. WWI is not the setting for a quirky action comedy, because there are scenes where they try to display the "horrors" of WWI but then your mind is cast back to when she couldn't use a revolving door. The tone is all over the place. This is the DC film which would have benefited from having no humour.
Overall Wonder Woman is not the worst film you will see this year but certainly not the best, its flawed but I can see how you can enjoy some of it and to the average audience member it could come across as a decent action film but for me there are too many problems on a technical and thematic level for me to be invested. This film will make its money and be paraded as this massive progression in equality when in fact its just a superhero film that is a little bit better than Man of Steel.
6.5/10
Written By
Ashley Harvey
Before I get into the negatives I would like to talk about the aspects of the film I did like. Chris Pine was the best part of this film, other than some awkward comedy moments but his character was believable and him being a spy felt refreshing. His character had a clear motive and goals, the same could be said for the character of Wonder Woman but again its the "comedy" written for the characters that just bog the film down. I enjoyed the film when it was moving along and the scenes make sense within story. Other than that the rest of the film just did not work for me.
Lets start with the structure of the story because the first ten minutes of this film are poor and the film repeats the problem of having scenes that don't add anything to the story, sure you can call it "character development" but its not, it just slows the movie down where you could have the same development done with actions rather than stopping the film to directly tell the audience how the characters feel or their motivations. When Chris Pine is introduced that is when the film starts to get going because we have plot but as soon as we are introduced to this character the film feels it necessary to have an overblown action scene which is filled with the most annoying slow motion since 300. This scene does not really add anything to the story other than Wonder Woman's mentor is killed by a German which could have been done in a far more effective and less headache inducing manor. For example lets say that Chris Pine crashes off the coast of Themyscira, Wonder Woman goes to save him, as she is dragging him back to shore have a German plane come through and land on the beach. The Amazonian General played by Robin Wright comes down to the beach to investigate what is going on she attempts to get close to the plane but is shot by the German pilot, Diana sees this and kills the pilot checks on Robin Wright as Chris Pine is laying on the beach. There I just saved an overly complicated action scene for something that is more powerful, and does not overstimulate the audience within the first 20 minutes of the film, save the bad-ass Amazonian fighting for when Wonder Woman is on the front-line in WWI.
I think another problem with Wonder Woman is a problem all major motion pictures are facing today is too many characters. If the entire film revolved around Chris Pine and Gal Gadot this film would have felt less cumbersome which would have given more time to have Diana and Steve to grow in turn making his death even more tragic. Lets talk about the supporting characters because they don't really add anything to the story, maybe they are other DC characters but this is a prequel Wonder Woman film I don't think this is the appropriate place to sprinkle other DC characters. Steve's secretary is the worst part of this film, the Jar Jar Binks character that is only there to say "funny" lines and it is the most poorly written dialogue in the entire film and the actress is awful at delivering it. Then we have Steve's friends that include, budget Oscar Issac, Ewen Bremner and Chief. These characters add nothing to the overall story and don't do anything of importance except when Chief lights a smoke signal for Diana, that is it. Finally we have the villains and this is where the film falls apart because throughout the film Diana thinks that Aries the God of War is behind WWI and she wants to fight him and kill him, so we are introduced to two bad guys General Ludendorff and Dr. Maru the audience is lead to believe that Ludendorff is Aries. It turns out he is not and I thought that Dr. Maru, the female scientist, was going to be revealed as Aries which would make sense instead it just turns out that David Thewlis is Aries. This just comes out of nowhere and makes zero sense, why not have Dr. Maru be Aries.
The overall direction and look of the film is flat and rather uninteresting, with action scenes over-stylised and dialogue being flat and wide. This film has some of the worst effects I have seen this year, something about it was really off especially the end when it became a PS2 cut-scene. The action is where I have the biggest problem, there was no impact to anything because it was just overdone, again a case where if they had dialled back the style and just shot a solid action scene the film would have benefited but from a visual standpoint and a thematic one. WWI is not the setting for a quirky action comedy, because there are scenes where they try to display the "horrors" of WWI but then your mind is cast back to when she couldn't use a revolving door. The tone is all over the place. This is the DC film which would have benefited from having no humour.
Overall Wonder Woman is not the worst film you will see this year but certainly not the best, its flawed but I can see how you can enjoy some of it and to the average audience member it could come across as a decent action film but for me there are too many problems on a technical and thematic level for me to be invested. This film will make its money and be paraded as this massive progression in equality when in fact its just a superhero film that is a little bit better than Man of Steel.
6.5/10
Written By
Ashley Harvey
Sunday 4 June 2017
Why Unfunny Comedies are the Worst
Comedy is one of the hardest genres to get right in entertainment. If a comedy works it can be one of the best experiences an audience can have but if the jokes fall flat and it fails to gain a laugh it becomes painful and worse than watching a bad film of any other genre. So why are unfunny comedies worse that other films that fail?
For me its all about story an unfunny comedy can still work if the story and the film making make up for the lack of humour. A common factor in most successful comedies is a good story and characters for example Ghostbusters is one of the best comedies ever made, it has the right balance of humour and story this is beneficial for the film overall because if it were to have bad jokes or was unfunny to someone it is still possible to enjoy the film for the story. This is why Deadpool was one of the worst cinema experiences of my life, I understand that the reason I did not enjoy the film was the fact that I did not find it funny and I accept that but there still should have been something to hold my interest something for me to latch onto but there was nothing other than a wafer thin "plot".
Of course there are examples of great comedies without a strong plot such as CaddyShack which I personally love and could watch it at any moment. It has no real plot its just scenes of comedians stitched together but it just works and I feel as if its down to the comedians themselves. Unfunny comedy is nothing new for instance I hate the Carry On films because I just don't find them funny, I can see that they are decently made and have talented people involved but I would find it easier to watch something a lot worse.
I think the reason why watching a terrible film is easier than watching a bad comedy is because a bad film can become humorous from how poorly made it is, or how bad a performance is. Watching The Happening is far more enjoyable than watching A Million Ways to Die in the West because its easier for us as an audience, we become overwhelmed by how much nonsense is in The Happening that it becomes intriguing and we wonder how someone could have made this. Whereas AMWTDITW just makes the audience cringe at the poor jokes and it makes for a much more miserable time because we know that someone found this funny.
I just wanted to share my brief thoughts on why I find it easier to watch bad films over bad comedies but I must admit that there are a few cases where a bad comedy can come full circle and transcend into one of the best experiences for example Encino Man.
Written By
Ashley Harvey
For me its all about story an unfunny comedy can still work if the story and the film making make up for the lack of humour. A common factor in most successful comedies is a good story and characters for example Ghostbusters is one of the best comedies ever made, it has the right balance of humour and story this is beneficial for the film overall because if it were to have bad jokes or was unfunny to someone it is still possible to enjoy the film for the story. This is why Deadpool was one of the worst cinema experiences of my life, I understand that the reason I did not enjoy the film was the fact that I did not find it funny and I accept that but there still should have been something to hold my interest something for me to latch onto but there was nothing other than a wafer thin "plot".
Of course there are examples of great comedies without a strong plot such as CaddyShack which I personally love and could watch it at any moment. It has no real plot its just scenes of comedians stitched together but it just works and I feel as if its down to the comedians themselves. Unfunny comedy is nothing new for instance I hate the Carry On films because I just don't find them funny, I can see that they are decently made and have talented people involved but I would find it easier to watch something a lot worse.
I think the reason why watching a terrible film is easier than watching a bad comedy is because a bad film can become humorous from how poorly made it is, or how bad a performance is. Watching The Happening is far more enjoyable than watching A Million Ways to Die in the West because its easier for us as an audience, we become overwhelmed by how much nonsense is in The Happening that it becomes intriguing and we wonder how someone could have made this. Whereas AMWTDITW just makes the audience cringe at the poor jokes and it makes for a much more miserable time because we know that someone found this funny.
I just wanted to share my brief thoughts on why I find it easier to watch bad films over bad comedies but I must admit that there are a few cases where a bad comedy can come full circle and transcend into one of the best experiences for example Encino Man.
Written By
Ashley Harvey
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