A ROYAL NIGHT OUT - review

A ROYAL NIGHT OUT

Director: Julian Jarrold

Cast: Sarah Gadon, Bel Powley, Rupert Everett, Emily Watson, Jack Raynor

A ROYAL NIGHT OUT comedy laden with mishap and adventure for the Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret as they enjoy a night out on the town (ingognito of course) to celebrate VE Day with the rest of the country.

After some convincing the King (Rupert Everett) allows the girls to go out in London, much to the dismay of the Queen (Emily Watson) who promptly organises charperones and a ballroom full of dull old people for them to celebrate with. Young, up-for-anything Margaret (Bel Powley) sneaks out, closely followed by her sister Elizabeth (Sarah Gadon) and then all kinds of sheanigans happen, including splashing in the fountain, hanging out in a 'knocking shop' and Elizabeth meeting a young, very handsome AWOL air force pilot.

The King grants the girls a night on the town

This film (like many other royal based films) shows a very fantasized version of the royal life and posits these girls in a ivory tower with a deep desire to know what it's like out there in the world. Rebellious and fun loving Margaret, and Elizabeth caught between a desire for a normal life and the duty she knows she must fulfil at a time in their lives when they should be having fun and learning what life is all about. Things that us commoners might take for granted like knowing how to catch a bus and push our way through a rowdy crowd.

The film is quite amusing at times, but has plenty of eye rolling moments like when Elizabeth declares that her family isn't in the habit of carrying money. The true star of this film in my opinion is Bel Powley who technically has a supporting role, but steals just about every scene with comedic prowess. She knows she's to play second fiddle to her older sister and she makes light of it, declaring herself as 'P2' (princess 2) and using wonderfully old fashioned terms like "I'm so cheesed" and "wizard!" She's enough to make even the die hard republican feel a little something something towards the royals!

Princess Margaret having a splash

The predicatable nature of the script - I mean as if the girls are going to be back before their 1 am curfew - didn't dampen my enjoyment of this lighthearted comedy and you must always remember to take films like this with a grain of salt (preferably served in a margharita). There are probably a few strings of truth in the script, it does claim to be inspired by true events, but remember it is a work of fiction and the screen writers have done a pretty decent job.

The banter between Elizabeth and Jack, the young AWOL soldier she gathers up as her makeswhift body guard-come- tour guide does get a little tiresome, particularly because it takes precious screen time away from Margaret who they are chasing down through the streets of London and her highjinks are much more entertaining! I mean the poor dear ends up in a seedy brothel and seeks help from the owner to get back to the Chelsea Barracks - comedy gold right there people! Don't get me wrong though, I did cop it in the feels a little bit knowing that the blossoming feelings between Jack and Elizabeth would never amount to anything, because Elizabeth knows her place in the world and so does young Jack, but for a brief moment there is a little glimmer of hope and what if. Could you imagine?! What a different world it would have been had Elizabeth run off into the night with a young AWOL soldier?! Good Lord the scandal!

The film wraps up in a very predictable, inoffensive way and everyone goes off to live their lives as if nothing ever happened. I wonder how the real Queen Elizabeth feels about this portrayal of her night out on the town with her sister? I mean they did go out that night, although my understanding is that they never made it past the Ritz and they had over a dozen chaperones, not just two bumbling soldiers. I like the liberties the script writes have taken, particularly with young Margaret (I may have mentioned that I thought she was the start of the show).

The bumbling chaperones that manage to lose and find the Princesses

If you're looking for something lighthearted and fun then give A ROYAL NIGHT OUT a go, but maybe use some movie money or cinema vouchers. I don't necessarily think it's worth the twenty-something dollars.

2.8 out of 5

xoxo
The Blonde Bombshell

PITCH PERFECT 2 - review

PITCH PERFECT 2
Director: Elizabeth Banks
Cast: Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Hailee Steinfeld, Brittany Snow, Skylar Astin, Adam DeVine, Elizabeth Banks, John Michel Higgins

It probably comes as no surprise to you all that I am a massive fan of the first film in this franchise and that I can pretty much sing every tune note for note and quote the film line for line. I have seen it about 50 squillion times, own the soundtrack and use it for my warm up music at the dance studio. So it also probably comes as no surprise that I saw the new film on the opening weekend and have since seen it twice more since then. What might surprise you is that I was a little disappointed in the second  installment of this franchise. Now I'm calling it a franchise here because they have left it open for follow up films with the introduction of a shiny new character who has the the potential to be used for more aca-movies feauting the Barden Bellas.

I know, I know I'm breaking some kind of aca-law or something by saying that, but I truly did feel a little let down by this sequel. Thankfully not all the funny bits were in the trailer, but this second film fell a little short of the aca-awesomeness of the first film. I liked it well enough, but it's certainly not going to feature as a go-to movie for me on a rainy day.

The Bellas receive some bad news...no performing for them!

PITCH PERFECT 2 finds the Bellas on a victory tour after winning three more championships and opesn with what should be a monumental performance at the Kennedy Centre for Predient Barrack Obama himself. A very unfortunate wardrobe malfunctions turns the Bellas into a national discrace, sees them stripped of their rights to perform and to audition new members. Their national victory tour is taken over by the European champions Das Sound Machine led by some very large, overbearing and beautiful Germans. Which in turn leads to some excellent banter and a lovely riff-off that also features The Tone Hangers, the Treblemakers and the Green Bay Packers.

Das Sound Machine in the throws of performance

Things aren't looking great for the Bellas as the only way to get reinstated as an acapella group is to win the world championships, where they will be competing against Das Sound Machine. Heads of the American acapella institution laugh in their faces as they make their case and bargain that should they win they are to be reinstated and with good reason - no American team has ever won at the worlds.

John and Gail the comedic duo who are the bearers of the Bellas bad news

Elizabeth Banks has taken on the directorial role of this film, and has done an alright job with the less than inspired script for our returning cast. The character arcs are flimsy and underdeveloped, and see a lot of re-hashing of the plot lines from the first film.

There are some fantastic one liners throughout, but the script itself is more like a filler between aca-performances - which are pretty great btw. Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson) and Bumper (Adam DeVine) feature pretty heavily in this new film, as does legacy Bella Emily Junk (Hailee Steinfeld). Emily id accepted into the Bellas even though they are not permitted to audition as she is a Bella legacy, her mother was a Bella and is played by the formidible Katey Sagal. The focus on Emily throughout made me instantly think about their options for a third film in the franchise and made me a little angry just watching it becuase I hate thinking about the future of films when I should be focussing on the film itself.

Fat Amy and Bumper

The song choices weren't as great, but the staging of the performances was much more elaborate than the first film. That being said I will probably still purchase the soundtack and sing along to most of the tunes.

As a nice little side line, Beca gets an internship at a record label and her interactions with her boss there provide some of the best comic one liners of the film, and I will say I was excited to see old Snoop perforing some Christmas tunes!

Other critics are saying that the film tries to hard, that it is a disaster, that it doesn't hit the mark and that regular film goers are probably going to wonder what all the fuss was about. I don't often agree with most critics, but in this case I don't necessarily think they're wrong. Fans of the first film will enjoy it, even though they will be slightly diappointed, but newcomers are certainly going to be confused by the whole thing. It doesn't quite have the magic of the first and the script and character development don't carry it as well as in the first.

The Barden Bellas in the final performance of the film

I know it sounds like I'm trashing the film a bit and I guess I kind of am, but it's because I was a little sad about it. All that being said though, I laughed out loud, I cringed at the slightly wrong-town humour, I sang and I danced in my seat so it can't have been all bad! Also I've seen it more than once, so you know...Die hard fans will appreciate it, newcomers probably not so much. If you're a die hard fan, go on, spend the 20-something dollars, you know you want to. Newcomers, I wouldn't bother. Just wait til it's out on DVD if you're curious.

3 out of 5

xoxo
The Blonde Bombshell

CLOUDS OF SILS MARIA - review

CLOUDS OF SILS MARIA
Director - Olivier Assayas
Cast - Juliette Binoche, Kristen Stewart, Chloë Grace Moretz

How do you solve a problem like Maria? How do you catch a cloud and pin it down? Questions we have been asking ourselves since we first saw The Sound of Music and questions that remain unanswered after watching CLOUDS OF SILS MARIA.

It's taken me about a week to process this film and to be able to write a review, I felt a bit off-kilter after watching it. I wasnt' quite sure that I knew what had happened, in fact, I'm still not quite sure what happened, but I'll try and put together a review anyway!

CLOUDS OF SILS MARIA takes a look at celebrated actress Maria Enders (Juliette Binoche) who is  on her way to Zurich to accept an award on behalf of the playwright who kickstarted her career (Wilhelm Melchior). She is heading there with her personal assistant Valentine (Kristen Stewart). The shit hits the fan however when said playwright just up and dies while they are in transit No matter though, as they say in the classics 'the show must go on'. Maria still fulfills all her publicity requirements including a Chanel photo shoot. The tribute goes ahead, and during the after party Maria meets with a hot new director who wants her to work with him on his new play. This new play is however not new to Maria, it is the same play that kickstarted her career all those years ago.

Juliette Binoche as Maria Enders

In the play the first time round, Maria played a young woman who seduces a female coporate boss, has an affair with her and then leaves her. This time she has been asked to play the role of the older female who is seduced by the young assistant who will be played by Hollywood's latest IT girl. This is confronting for Maria who has to let go of a role she holds so close to her heart at such a traumatic time as well as coming to terms with the fact that she is no longer a young IT girl, that page in her life has turned.

Maria and her assistant are invited to stay at Melchior's house by his widow while she is away dealing with her grief. And so, high in the Alps, Maria rehearses her new line with Valentine reading the part of the seductive assistant in Melchior's home and on long-ass hikes through the mountains.

Kristen Stweart as Valentine

All sounds a bit odd right? Well it is. The whole thing is just a bit odd. I'm not sure if it was just odd, or if Assayas intended the viewer to feel like that. Valentine drives the windiest mountain road ever and hops out for a bit of a vom on the side of the road and I felt so giddy myself that I probably could have had a vom! There is a real uncertainty throughout the whole film as to whether the dialogue belongs to Maria and Valentine, or whether it is just them rehearsing the script. Where does their relationship end and their fictional play rehearsal one begin? To this day I still don't know. I spent a lot of time processing this week and talking it thorugh and I am still a bit unsure about the whole thing.

The majority of this film is in English, there are a few moments where you will need to read the subtitles, but the whole film has the feel of a really poorly translated foreign novel; over written, clunky and not quite natural English. Again, not sure if that was just me or if that's what Assayas was going for.

Maria and Valentine - real dinner or are they the characters? 

I think this film is going to be seriously devisive. People will love it, people will hate it, and then there are those who like me will be not wuite sure what to make of it. I think the unreality has a poiint, althought it's taken me a week to work it out! The film is about actors, and the world of the famous, which has it's own set of rules and regulations that separate it from the life of the normal people. It's unreal to us and doesn't make any sense and makes us feel confused and unsettled. At least I think that's what the point is.

Next comes Jo-Ann Ellis (Chloë Grace Moretz) the new IT girl who is slated to play opposite Maria in her old role. This whole section of the film is fragmented and confusing and I struggled to follow along...we jump from Maria looking at internet gossip on Jo-Ann to a clip from Jo-Ann's latest Hollywood blockbuster, to her being on a date with a married man, to her meeting Maria for the first time. It's all very tumultous and confusing, and perhaps it represents Jo-Ann's life which is tumotuous and confusing and intense.

Chloë Grace Moretz as Jo-Ann 

There are a few twists and turns at the end of this film that will leave you reeling and make the film even more confusing than it already was and then  it just ends. 

So, after a more analytical review than usual, I summarise by saying I still don't know if I liked it or not. I probably wouldn't recommend spending the 20-something dollars on it unless you really like this existential type of film or you have seen Assayas' other films and have loved them. 

2 or maybe 2.5 out of 5 I think

xoxo

The Blonde Bombshell