Matrix Resurrected

Seems like all the takes are already on the internet, so I don't need to do anything!

Thomas Anderson is once again in the Matrix, this time as a famous video game developer. But he's still kept to heel and struggles with his dreams that this is not everything that it seems. Eventually, others drag him out, but it's not that simple. There's something else calling him back to the Matrix, and he will do anything for her.

Yes, this is a retread of the previous Matrix movies. First they have the "get Neo out of the Matrix" scene, then the fight related to the Merovingian and a big battle with the big bad and... which isn't to say this is all retread, but a lot of it is. And no amount of lampshading is going to entirely erase that. But hey, we have fights... with quick cuts and lots of different characters. Remember when it was a lot of slowmo of just Neo taking on a bunch of people? Nope, back to just everyone piling in. At least Neo will save us all...

Except, one small point. Neo is kinda pointless to the entire thing. There's nothing for him to really do once he's out, and even the great final battle is more personal that meaning anything in a wider sense (although the movie does spend the final few minutes trying to pretend).

All of which isn't to say that this movie didn't need to be, but that if you set your expectations properly, it's fine.

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Doing the French Dispatch

This movie is so Wes Anderson it's painful!

Journalists write for the French Dispatch, and this is three stories from those journalists. One about a painter, one about a chef and one about a revolutionary. But there's more to each story and you get wrapped up and carried away in each story.

This is, I have to say, EXCEPTIONALLY shot. Every frame a picture indeed. Wes Anderson knows what he is doing, and the screen is his canvas. Every shot perfectly framed, exquisitely composed and finely crafted.

And the story is all right. Certainly I can't say I brought into everything doing on, but I didn't mind as I was swept along at every moment. And an amazing cast of actors. Although hey, if I was asked "do you want to be in a Wes Anderson movie," I would say yes no matter how small the part. (And some actors are only on screen for moments.)

Certainly a feast for the eyes. I missed it during the festival, and definitely glad I caught up with it.

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Second PROBEing

There are only four episodes that I have, so this isn't going to be a long series.

The second on is The Devil of Winterborne. Mark Gatiss returns to write this episode, and even returns to play a character (no, not the same character, that would be hard). We are at Winterborne, a school for male children. At least there are three of them, all just turning eighteen, and there is one teacher and a headmaster. Yeah, we aren't dealing with a huge cast here. But we are dealing with devils, homosexuals and people who stutter. A sensitive portrayal? Well, it could be worse, but definitely wouldn't be done that way these days.

This story works so much better than the previous one. There's one clear storyline, deaths with weird overtones, and we get a simple thread to follow. Some minor sideplots, but basically one story. However, the audio doesn't continue to make friends here. Music overwhelms a lot of scenes, and when there is dialogue there is also a lot of natural sounds (eg footsteps) that can easily wipe out what people are saying. Still, far better.

And hey, Peter Davison is in this, as you would tell if you saw the cover (which is just his face over swirly lines). We also get Geoffrey Beevers (he's a doctor, and he wants his sausages!), Terry Molloy and a group of young actors playing the young men and doing a great job at it.

However... I'm still not sure what the point of the P.R.O.B.E. taskforce is. It's kinda UNIT-lite, but this is supposed to be in the Doctor Who universe because this is Liz Shaw, so why not just have UNIT? Or, given the rather prosaic nature of events, just the normal police even. Let's get some really weird things happening and actually make Dr Shaw use her scientific abilities!

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First PROBEing

One of the many Doctor Who spinoffs was P.R.O.B.E. starring one Carolyn John as Dr. Elizabeth Shaw (as produced by BBV - Bill Baggs Video). I got my hands on them episodes and let's watch 'em.

The first one is The Zero Imperative, and features a clinic for patients with mental problems. Although the only one that matters in the patient in room Zero (clearly a natural numbering scheme here). Dr Dove is in charge of the clinic and is about to be closed down when Peter Russell steps in. However, there have been several murders in the area, attracting the attention of Liz Shaw, who much uncover the connection between all the characters involved.

The plot summary might seem a little confused, but there's several plot strands in this story (written by Mark Gatiss) and very little of them many any sense and even less are connected with the actual plot. Indeed, Liz is largely irrelevant to what is going on, and easily could be written out of her own story. She certainly isn't putting any amazing scientific prowess of display and I do wonder if this story might have once featured Sarah Jane Smith investigating.

But at least we have a heck of a cast. Sylvester McCoy, Colin Baker, Jon Pertwee to name three. There are very sly references to them being the Doctor, and at one point Liz thanks Jon's character with "Thank you, doctor." Although it's kind of odd that she doesn't say "hey, you look just like this chap I used to know..." We also get Sophie Aldred and Louise Jameson and Mark Gatiss steps from behind the writer's desk to have a role.

At the end of the day... this isn't a great start. Cast isn't everything, and the story is a lot of a mess. Let's hope this picks up.

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Spider-m'n no home

Yeah, I've seen it. That is to say, I saw it.

Story-wise, go watch the trailer. You get the basic idea: Peter goes to Dr Strange to do a spell to undo the revelation at the end of the previous movie, and Bad Things(tm) happen.

First off, there was a lot of cheering in the theatre, so expect that. Whenever someone big turned up, so did the cheering. So this gets a big combination of the new Tom Holland movies and the Spider-Man franchises so far (although not Into the Spider-Verse... yet). Peter Parker is gonna be Peter Parker, and his villains are gonna be his villains.

It was great to see various actors back, and see them give great performances again. More than just "big scene eating" (although there was that as well), we got to see quieter moments that make you go "yeah, they can act!" And hey, the CGI effects are just like they used to be (with some particular ones standing in for actors that weren't there). [And the mask taking off/putting on looks just as fake as it always has.]

I have no doubt this will be rewatched often with the other movies, but in the mean time check it out at a theatre near you. And yes, there are post-credit sequences to watch.

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GhostLife: AfterBusters

Take the first movie... and completely ignore the others... and remake it... I mean make this sequel.

This movie is recovering the past. The characters find out that the first movie happened, and then they get to do the same thing. Hooray!

Everyone has pointed out how steeped in nostalgia this is, and they are right. Like you spend a lot of time going "hey, that's that thing!" So from that point of view this is a lot of a remake. However... the original was a lot of comedy, and this movie, again as people point out, isn't so much. Indeed, with the focus now on the kids (and how they step up when the adults are completely incompetent), and with that, the movie can't really splash in horror due to ghosts either.

Which is a shame, as if you can't do comedy, horror would have been a good way to take this. Instead, this is a love letter, and there is certainly love all over the place. Especially when the first three come back, because of course they do. And there is easily set up for more movies. (Although there is barely a nod to Ghostbusters 2, and absolutely no mention of the female Ghostbusters movie.)

So... it's fine. There are some nice moments. But it doesn't really go anywhere new, just retreads old ground. If there's more, we'll see if something more can be done with this franchise (because coming back to this well will now be a thing.)

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Madame X

It's her latest concert, mainly filmed in Lisbon, but you can spot shots from other shows.

Madonna performs songs from her most recent album, Madame X, but scatters in previous songs too, usually with a twist on them. However, rather than huge shows, Madonna chose to go to smaller, more intimate venues so people could get up close to her (and she to them). Certainly the stages are smaller and so everyone gets up in there. And the cameras really do.

I didn't talk about the album when it came out, but I had a big problem with it: namely Madonna sounds extremely robotised on her songs. There are moments of pure auto-tune, but it feels like something like that had been applied to everything. Especially during Batuka, you compare Madonna with the all-women group, and she comes off really badly. And they are here in this concert too! And this concert also shows Madonna singing more naturally for her other songs, so I just don't know why she felt this album needed this treatment.

But, hey, concert with her performing live, that's got to be good right? One small issue... the editor decided that we must have a different shot every two seconds. It's extremely aggravating! Calm down! Madonna knows how to put on a show, you don't need to smash cut to something every other moment, just put the camera on her and leave it alone! Some close up, fine, but put down the cocaine!

I damn hope Madonna does other international concerts, certainly I'd like to go to another one, but this is not the best representation of what she can do.

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I Can't Die!

Tim/TJ is known for rather "distinctive" characters. That, plus an inciting incident of "let's go in without a plan" lead to a rather different adventure for us.

The title rather suggested itself.

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