Saturday, September 17, 2016

Movie Review … The Beatles: Eight Days A Week – The Touring Years

British music group The Beatles need no introduction.  Almost everyone would know at least one of their tunes which have lasted decades. From their inception in the late 1950’s to their end in 1970, the group’s influence on music has been assured. Whether you’re fans or not one should admire their ability to churn out popular music as well as knowing how to sell them.  One way of getting their music to the masses was touring, which this film details.  Directed by Ron Howard, ‘The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years’ chronicles their touring concerts between 1962 and ’66.

John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr became mega-stars as they circled the globe with their songs.  How their travelling affected their song-writing as well as their relationships as at the heart of this movie.  In between touring, they also made two ‘fictional’ movies – ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ and ‘Help!’. Both became huge hits on the back of ‘Beatlemania’ but have outlasted the band itself to become cult classics.  Moving from country to country would challenge the mettle of any band, let alone one trapped in the constant ‘goldfish bowl’ existence of the emerging mass media.  Using interviews with the surviving Beatles, celebrities and archival footage, the film delves into their public performances at The Cavern Club to their last live concert in San Francisco in 1966.

The film questions whether it was genuine talent or expert publicity which made them famous.  The answer would be a bit of both as the Fab Four knew how to trade quips and barbs with the media scrum and using it for their songs.  Their patience answering endless questions amidst the often scornful gaze of their interviewers elicits sympathy.  As the film points out, their carefully crafted image was one the media always seemed eager to deconstruct.  How the group stood firm against this cynicism is a testament to their skills in dealing with the press.  This in turn would help them deal with their millions of fans whose enduring worshipping would also push the group’s resolve to enter new personal and musical directions.

Howard handles the footage well and mostly avoids just showing endless concert footage.  Adelaide even receives a brief mention, giving a glimpse of a time free of instant communication and authentic emotions.  The fans certainly became emotional with the constant screaming at concerts becoming hard to endure.  It’s no wonder The Beatles stopped touring with their feelings of being in a zoo watched by spectators all too real.  It’s easy feeling sorry for the group with the successful monster they created.  This ultimately is the film’s biggest success as it shows them as very ordinary guys living the dream in spectacular fashion.

Beatles enthusiasts will probably go into orbit with this movie.  There are plenty of toe-tapping tunes to indulge in whilst viewing a time capsule of an era that no longer exists.  One could only imagine how the Beatles would have survived today’s instant media age with its ability to pass swift judgement. Perhaps something they may not have handled.  Their touring years may have ended at the halfway point of the band’s life, but their most exciting phase was ahead which would cement their place in music history.



Movie Review Rating out of 10:  7

Movie Review by Patrick Moore

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Patrick Moore's Movie Review is an alternative look at movie releases in Australia.


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Movie Review … Blair Witch

Found footage films are amongst the cheapest to make.  Take unknown actors, shoot the story in documentary style with minimal effects and a movie is born.  Since the horror film ‘The Blair Witch Project’ blazed the trail in 1999, dozens of similar movies have sprung.  Some have been hits while many have been misses.  Going back to where it all began, ‘Blair Witch’ is the third film in the series.  As cheaply made but having an abundance of genuine tension, this sequel should scare up more box office dollars on a meagre budget.

James (James Allen McCune), Lisa (Callie Hernandez) and Peter (Brandon Scott) are college students on a mission.  Joined by local residents Talia (Valorie Curry) and Lane (Wesley Robinson), they search the Black Hills in search of James’ sister Heather.  Missing for years, they believe her disappearance is connected to the Blair Witch legend.  Travelling further into the deep, dark woods, they discover sinister secrets buried within as evil stalks its prey with deadly precision.

Closely following the first movie in look and tone, ‘Blair Witch’ is an acceptable spooky time-waster.  Whilst only offering a modicum of new twists, it makes much of its concept and lack of musical soundtrack.  Relying on Adam Wingard’s steady direction and foreboding atmosphere, ‘Blair Witch’ succeeds in being scary.  Although the thrills aren’t non-stop with too many ‘jump scares’ it maintains a brisk pace to a predictable but still engrossing finale.

The actors won’t win any Oscars for their performances but they do an adequate job.  They aren’t expected to do much except scream in front of the shaky camera and run around the dark forest. They do that well with some very effective sequences drawing on the eerie Blair Witch mythology.  It does re-hash what made the first film so popular but ‘Blair Witch’ offers some fresh wrinkles for today’s jaded horror audience.

Despite being professionally edited and shot which goes against the spirit of amateur found footage films, ‘Blair Witch’ is generally enthralling.  It hits the spot in terms of horrific tingles and will undoubtedly spawn more films as long as there is money to be made for scary movie executives.

 
Movie Review Rating out of 10:  6

Movie Review by Patrick Moore

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Patrick Moore's Movie Review is an alternative look at movie releases in Australia.


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Sunday, September 11, 2016

Movie Review … Sully


Often the most incredible stories are based on fact.  The ‘I can’t believe that actually happened?’ motif goes into overdrive when hearing something spectacular.  ‘Sully’ benefits from an amazing tale right out of a fictional story.  How and why it happened and its aftermath has become stuff of recent legend.  Under the usual steady hand of director Clint Eastwood, ‘Sully’ uncoils the true drama of a flight to danger no one could have foreseen.

In 2009, commercial airline pilot Captain Chesley ‘Sully’ Sullenberger (Tom Hanks) is doing his usual plane take-off.  Three minutes into the flight, trouble arises when a pack of geese fly into the plane destroying its engines.  With the plane in free-fall and nowhere to land, Sully pilots the plane into the Hudson River.  Managing to avert disaster and saving the passengers, he is hailed a hero. That is only the beginning of his journey with the media ready to pounce on his reputation and all he holds dear.

Under Eastwood unobtrusive direction, ‘Sully’ becomes almost an intimate affair.  That may sound ridiculous given its story but it effectively manages to delve into what drove Sully’s actions.  He isn’t presented as a Christ-like saint, but an ordinary guy thrust into a bizarre situation.  How he handles the ensuing fame and accusations of those in power tests his steely resolve.  Tom Hanks turns in his usually reliable performance as an every-man doing his best to come to grips with what occurred.

Although the narrative occasionally meanders, Eastwood ensures the facts are easily presented.  There are no true heroes or villains here, just people attempting to make sense of a strange event.  The CGI works wonder in recreating what happened, making the story more impactful.  It is never less than gripping with moments of wry humour and pathos blending well with the dramatic tension. 

Wisely keeping the story within a brisk run-time, ‘Sully’ is another fine production from Eastwood.  It’s nice seeing a more realistic take on heroism and all it entails.  Recent history has offered many amazing stories with ‘Sully’ deftly examining one of them.

 
Movie Review Rating out of 10:  7

Movie Review by Patrick Moore

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Patrick Moore's Movie Review is an alternative look at movie releases in Australia.


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