Russian version of "It's Always Sunny"

So I'm not really sure who this news is going to affect and I know it's not really movie related, but there's going to be a Russian version of my favourite TV show, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. I'm not sure how the jokes are going to translate, but I'll definitely show this to a couple of my Russian friends. Also if you're a Russian reader of this blog (I know you exist), let me know if the show is funny.

Check out a trailer below.

New Henry Cavill Still from Batman v Superman

Warner Bros. have released a new still of Henry Cavill as Superman from Zack Snyder's upcoming film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016). What do you think of the shot? Also below is the previously released still of Ben Affleck as Batman.

Henry Cavill as Superman - Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)

 

Ben Affleck as Batman - Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)

Source: IMDb

Frank

As Domhnall Gleeson's character Jon asks in the film, how to describe Frank? Well, one way would be to say it's a laugh-riot. Another, that it looks at the concept of originality in a rather original way. And then the perils of forcing originality.

Jon is a young wannabe musician who gets roped into playing in a band because he can play a few notes on a keyboard. The band, "Soronprfbs", is led by Frank (Michael Fassbender), a strange man who wears a Frank Sidebottom head. After being whisked away to an Irish cabin resort to record an album with the band and soon they get a gig playing at the SXSW (South by Southwest) festival in Austin, Texas.

Director Lenny Abrahamson crafts a really original and clever, not to mention hilarious. The movie's main focus is that the character of Jon wants to attain a certain level of fame, as is evident with his obsession with social media (done in a very creative way, with every blog post and tweet projected onto the screen), and he believes he can attain this through Frank. All the while, he struggles with his own lack of creativity.

But I am almost leaving out one of the best parts of this movie; the performances. Domhnall Gleeson has been proving himself lately with excellent turns in films like About Time. Here he clings to the ideas of fame and originality like his life depends on it. Maggie Gyllenhaal also gives an outstanding performance as Clara, the band's theramin player. Clara is super aggressive and is reluctant to follow along with Jon's plans.

But the star attraction (for me, at least) was Michael Fassbender's performance. He spends ninety percent of the movie with the fibreglass head on, but is still able to give an emotive and evocative performance and unless you know it was him under the head you would be surprised to find it is him. Scoot McNairy (The Rover) is great in a supporting role.

At first I wasn't really a fan of the music that the band was producing (it is pretty avant-garde) but it kind of grew on my and now I'm a fan of Soronprfbs.

Verdict: A super funny and charming comedy about the ideas of originality. Great performances from Gleeson and Fassbender.

Calvary

Making a film that deals with the child abuse scandals surrounding the Catholic church is a great challenge due to the delicate nature of the subject matter. John Michael McDonagh’s film Calvary does just that, by taking an individual’s case and exploring the effect of these events on a small town, shaping the impressions of the town folk and impacting on the honest and compassionate priest.

Calvary begins with Father James Lavelle (Brendan Gleeson) receiving a death threat whilst taking confession. As an innocent, caring priest, he is being punished for the involvement of other priests in child abuse and the church’s failure to respond to these allegations, given until “sunday-week” to tie-up his affairs. The victim hopes that by killing the innocent Lavelle, he will draw attention to the atrocities that have brought him great suffering.

The film follows Lavelle over the week building up to the Sunday, which he mostly spends tending to the parishioners and his troubled daughter (Kelly Reilly), all the while dealing with the insensitive citizens and the threat looming over head. The anticipation he feels is conveyed through many short scenes that are cut early, so that we are left slightly bewildered, and troubled, just as Lavelle is troubled by the towns actions towards him. This proved quite effective throughout but I found that a few of them could have done with a bit more time to flesh out the story and provide the audience with a chance for a better emotional response.

The acting is generally fantastic all round. Brendan Gleeson brings such believability to his character, true to his performances in many of his previous roles, especially as Ken in In Bruges - directed by McDonagh’s brother, Martin McDonagh. Chris O'Dowd too, holds a powerful presence on the screen, drawing on his previous comedic roles to dish out the black humour whilst proving that he can act just as brilliantly in dramatic roles. Other notable performances come from Dylan Moran and Kelly Reilly, but Aidan Gillen wasn't quite as believable I found.

Whilst many of the exterior shots present a bleak look, with muted colours, the interiors are generally warmer which I found was a nice balance. Overall, the camera wasn't too active but I found that this works perfectly for this very dialogue-driven script. The film score is sometimes dormant but slowly creeps in at the right times, with religious choral pieces perfectly setting the tone, especially towards the end.

Overall, I found Calvary to be a very powerful film that deals with the contemporary issues that surround the Catholic church delicately, but without subduing their significance and severity and hence struck a perfect balance in confronting these themes.

New trailer for 'Foxcatcher'

Just released is the haunting new trailer for Foxcatcher, which is due out at the end of the year.It is the story of Olympic wrestling champion Mark Schultz and how his paranoid schizophrenic sponsor, John Du Pont, killed his brother. A very intense Channing Tatum plays Mark Schultz and looks like he'll give a career topping performance. Steve Carrell also appears in heavy make up as the chilling Du Pont. This trailer sent shivers down my spine and I can't wait till it's release.

John Hughes Movie: Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." - That is Ferris Bueller's final message as he talks down the camera to the audience (apart from that the movie is over go home of course) and boy, does John Hughes stress that point in this fantastic cultural classic from the 1980s.

From sneaking off with Ferraris, to singing "Twist and Shout" at the Von Steuben Day parade, Ferris and his friends have a day off that they are unlikely to forget and that we the audience are certain to remember.

The legacy of this film comes down to several elements that combine to make this epic pop-piece. The main characters, Ferris, his sister Jeanie, his girlfriend Sloane and his socially awkward friend Cameron are all perfectly relatable to teenagers as well as to adults looking back on their teen years. Hughes has such a talent for these entertaining yet subtly touching teen movies, that it's no wonder that they are the films that people remember him for.

Apart from the believable main cast, the majority of other characters are overblown caricatures that prove endlessly amusing. Ed Rooney, his incompetent secretary Grace, the monotonous economics teacher and most of the other high-school students, are all likely to remind us of tiresome people that we have encountered in the past, that we currently work with, or that we're likely to meet in the future, which makes their satiric portrayals all the funnier.

The look of the film is one of it's defining features, with lots of active camera movement, close-ups and the odd use of stylised slow-motion, the film has a sense of liveliness that can only be achieved through the sequences that build up Ferris's packed day. Though it's the script which not only lays the foundations for this tale, but ultimately brings it all together. Even without the memorable characters and engaging events, the film would still stand strong thanks to it's plethora of memorable phrases. I don't know about you but for every tedious early-morning role call in High School, I couldn't help but mime: Bueller?... Bueller?... Bueller?  

The soundtrack is unforgettable too. If it's not Love Missile F1-11, then it's Oh Yeah playing. It's full of classic 80s music that is utilised so well by Hughes in the musical sequences that it's impossible to sperate the film from the soudtrack, or indeed imagining one existing without the other. Even the most severe critics of catchy synthesised songs and rocking power ballads could learn to love them through this film.

At the end of the day, Ferris is every bit the righteous dude that he's made out to be. But the film is not just about Ferris, in many ways it's a reflection of life. Whether you're young or old, it's not just a film about the hijinks that teenagers can get up to, it's a reminder that we all have so much life left to live. If we just put in a little effort, every day could be as unforgettable as this.

John Hughes Movie: Sixteen Candles (1984)

This movie is the perfect introduction to the movies of John Hughes because it is probably his most relatable film. I think so anyway. It's also really funny and heartwarming.

The plot is quite simple and doesn't get too convoluted despite the fact that there are a lot of characters to keep up with. Sam (Molly Ringwald) wakes up on her sixteenth birthday to find that not one member of her large family has remembered. At school she pines for senior Jake Ryan (Michael Schoeffling) and is followed around by the The Geek (Anthony Michael Hall), a freshman who has the hots for her.

This is another one of those movies where the action takes place all in a short amount of time; it happens over two days. This normalises the movie and makes it more relatable yet again.

Sam sees a school dance as her opportunity to woo Jake, but little does she know, he too feels for her. This really taps into the feeling we all had (or still have) as teenagers, not knowing who liked us or not. This movie really shows that everyone is in the same boat, regardless if you're a nerd or a dork or one of the cool kids.

This movie has some pretty memorable characters, but none more than Long Duk Dong (Gedde Watanabe), a super racist Asian stereotype that was even criticised at the time of the film's release. But this character, nicknamed Donger, becomes sort of endearing and he is a teenage archetype: that nerdy loser who is popular for some reason.

Verdict: A great teen movie that everyone can watch. It doesn't matter if you're single or in a relationship, young or old, this movie has something for everyone. A great one to start our John Hughes month with.