EDGAR WRIGHT & SIMON PEGG'S CREATION 'SHAUN OF THE DEAD'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgljmaqT1JsZzu0ccHdQsnJegSVTgYtLujvvneJUl322Yb70EjFfohcvQ5yNLX-kHa7n44T5tOTA0J_XyHcpDsoXxEHqDvbax7E-ciqbJtZYfMgFe-Fiue-zQkQMyKtnumm30uDX8RjfZI2Ame7rWMjGWWXvL7kLZtJQjtCim7XqEnzR77nZ-OGB1FtkA/s1937/1-1%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="928" data-original-width="1937" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgljmaqT1JsZzu0ccHdQsnJegSVTgYtLujvvneJUl322Yb70EjFfohcvQ5yNLX-kHa7n44T5tOTA0J_XyHcpDsoXxEHqDvbax7E-ciqbJtZYfMgFe-Fiue-zQkQMyKtnumm30uDX8RjfZI2Ame7rWMjGWWXvL7kLZtJQjtCim7XqEnzR77nZ-OGB1FtkA/s16000/1-1%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Nicola Cunningham as Bloody Mary ignites SHAUN OF THE DEAD Year: 2004 Rates: *****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>In the first five minutes of SHAUN OF THE DEAD, director Edgar Wright establishes himself as a great filmmaker, and for economical reasons, showcasing a group of five British twenty-somethings... consisting of a couple-in-trouble, the guy's friend that caused the trouble and her own two influential chums... as if they <i>weren't</i> crowded within the same small section of the local hangout pub...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>This snappy prologue also works not only for the sake of introductory laughs but establishes the characters in what's a character-driven zombie flick that basically reignited a whole new British New Wave...</p><p><span></span></p>

action, bill nighy, british, cornetto trilogy, dark comedy, dylan moran, edgar wright, kate ashfield, lucy davis, nick frost, nicola cunningham, penelope wilton, peter serafinowicz, simon pegg, zeroes, zombie

EDGAR WRIGHT & SIMON PEGG'S CREATION 'SHAUN OF THE DEAD'

Nicola Cunningham as Bloody Mary ignites SHAUN OF THE DEAD Year: 2004 Rates: ***** In the first five minutes of SHAUN OF THE DEAD, director ...

EDGAR WRIGHT & SIMON PEGG'S BUDDY COP HOMAGE 'HOT FUZZ'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjInrVZYBgF3BsIazIaIM8lMo5_PEAE_qyA7tlQxYczAKPJnSKUi4_9FyB6FehAQVbWdjJgjYi75T4gfRhljNu4Wy6BnQsb9LdI5cTGe0S_MEt9LB7MYviGEZYldGqOA8ammYtkMSm3WJofUIqhbPyRJv27CiTG_Zq4Yp8atTKIMlAlE_qp0hSUfcksyA/s1713/0.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="737" data-original-width="1713" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjInrVZYBgF3BsIazIaIM8lMo5_PEAE_qyA7tlQxYczAKPJnSKUi4_9FyB6FehAQVbWdjJgjYi75T4gfRhljNu4Wy6BnQsb9LdI5cTGe0S_MEt9LB7MYviGEZYldGqOA8ammYtkMSm3WJofUIqhbPyRJv27CiTG_Zq4Yp8atTKIMlAlE_qp0hSUfcksyA/s16000/0.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Simon Pegg and Nick Frost in Edgar Wright's HOT FUZZ Year: 2007 Rating: *****</u><br></td></tr></tbody></table><p>After British director Edgar Wright and his leading man and writing partner Simon Pegg scored with the zombie comedy SHAUN OF THE DEAD, it was time for straight-out action that, while also loaded with hijinks, takes the cop genre more seriously, especially Pegg's against-type performance as a tough guy instead of the usual shrugging slacker from DEAD and before that he and Wright's pop-culture-referencing sit-com, SPACED...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>And there are even more nostalgic homages here as HOT FUZZ is a mega-satire on mainstream American buddy-cop flicks ranging from LETHAL WEAPON to POINT BREAK... and for the British it's loaded with iconic cult actors of that country's more cerebral crime genre past...</p><p><span></span></p>

action, bill nighy, billie whitelaw, buddy, cop, cornetto trilogy, edgar wright, edward woodward, nick frost, rural, satire, simon pegg, stuart wilson, timothy dalton, zeroes

EDGAR WRIGHT & SIMON PEGG'S BUDDY COP HOMAGE 'HOT FUZZ'

Simon Pegg and Nick Frost in Edgar Wright's HOT FUZZ Year: 2007 Rating: ***** After British director Edgar Wright and his leading man an...

I, FRANKENSTEIN WITH AARON ECKHART

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj91y2fMkHCqZyAYL50lBdZyESH7AqW8pzuQVG0IuVViyqfnmvfOJrCBYzJUn7LqeGFur7bUYARlfXD-yO3GqsQAgg5oGAZVx4KRC9_EbTjC-rU6Rkv_pnz6rRLUAv7LxliOimd2NhBp10/s1600/i-frankenstein-poster-1.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj91y2fMkHCqZyAYL50lBdZyESH7AqW8pzuQVG0IuVViyqfnmvfOJrCBYzJUn7LqeGFur7bUYARlfXD-yO3GqsQAgg5oGAZVx4KRC9_EbTjC-rU6Rkv_pnz6rRLUAv7LxliOimd2NhBp10/s320/i-frankenstein-poster-1.jpg" width="234" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2014 rating: **</td></tr> </tbody></table> Well if Abraham Lincoln can become a Vampire Hunter, why can’t Frankenstein's monster hunt demons? After all, they’re after him, so why the bloody hell not?<br /> <br /> Following a brief prologue/introduction by the man, or rather, the thing itself, narrating that familiar Mary Shelley tale, we join in with the slouching, wandering nomad…<br /> <br /> Not a bulky Boris Karloff from James Whale’s Universal classics or Robert De Niro’s melancholy grouch in the faithful yet ponderous Kenneth Branagh adaptation…<br /> <br /> But with a gaunt face, a cleft chin and disheveled long hair, Aaron Eckhart’s creature wouldn’t seem that familiar except the patchwork of facial scars resembling whip marks or the result of a bad morning shave.<br /> <br /> The brooding man-beast winds up in a dark forest, fighting a group of angry demons – are there any other kind? Well these horned harpies have something personal against the legendary result of a mad doctor’s experimentation. But before getting in too deep, he’s abducted by a fleet of intrepid Gargoyles that, when not in flying form, resemble male models led by their castle-ruling queen, who names the Creature “Adam.”<br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOB8gPqHz-yfJS46jluA9782VnxqtYhcCHrmQ7dkQpq-76MmQHKdzuv6qT84esAl176GWrctUmY-CpbIJCQOhUDodD4buH4A6bxJLBC2lBs6VWRcTrDYPDv2j7E8R2C8D68IXpm96Hfyw/s1600/Karloff,+Boris+(Bride+of+Frankenstein,+The)_06.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOB8gPqHz-yfJS46jluA9782VnxqtYhcCHrmQ7dkQpq-76MmQHKdzuv6qT84esAl176GWrctUmY-CpbIJCQOhUDodD4buH4A6bxJLBC2lBs6VWRcTrDYPDv2j7E8R2C8D68IXpm96Hfyw/s320/Karloff,+Boris+(Bride+of+Frankenstein,+The)_06.jpg" width="244" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Karloff for good measure</td></tr> </tbody></table> Much of the film involves frantic battles pitting two aggressors, fervently running at each other in a joust-like cadence combined with MATRIX style slo-mo. Between these violent brawls are loads of expository dialogue about why the demons want Adam for their own nefarious plans. The reason is probably the cleverest aspect of a glossy film reminiscent of PRIEST, VAN HELSING, the UNDERWORLD series and, after a shorthaired Adam ventures into modern times to face the same demons (now wearing business suits), a weak version of HIGHLANDER.<br /> <br /> Here’s where the plot becomes more complicated and clearer at the same time: We still have a lot to learn but only the banal fighting matters. Then, throughout the havoc, a pseudo love interest enters in the form of a gorgeous blond scientist seeking knowledge from Adam’s only possession: that being Dr. Frankenstein’s journal providing insight on how he was created in the first place. The book becomes a whirlwind wishbone for all included, and there’s even an ultimate plan by the head demon to eventually… you got it… take over the world!<br /> <br /> The best thing about this already-maligned revision is it’s not very long. The worst thing is very little happens and in surprisingly few locations… Meanwhile the literary (and/or cinematic) icon, thrown in with so many screaming gargoyles and writhing demons, is hardly distinguished from friends or foes other than <i>not</i> morphing into a powerful, monstrous being…<br /> <br /> Making one yearn for that grunting, bolt-necked green guy who was at least memorable and endearing. A few minutes after I, FRANKENSTEIN you’re bound to forget all about… what’s his name? 

2014, aaron eckhart, action, bill nighy, monster

I, FRANKENSTEIN WITH AARON ECKHART

year: 2014 rating: ** Well if Abraham Lincoln can become a Vampire Hunter, why can’t Frankenstein's monster hunt demons? After all, ...

ABOUT TIME

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWqYv3KZxvNNNkicpGRgZSD9JRyI5_cx13BPeNQprbGM0CDmal5bm4n5XKJUEByqdg_NnazYQeI6LCDtkr7uuKJm0cfbak7g8vREpPUSnHKaXfiMW9wEnvy3C1JuVo5TCb1KQr09XSkaM/s1600/about-time.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWqYv3KZxvNNNkicpGRgZSD9JRyI5_cx13BPeNQprbGM0CDmal5bm4n5XKJUEByqdg_NnazYQeI6LCDtkr7uuKJm0cfbak7g8vREpPUSnHKaXfiMW9wEnvy3C1JuVo5TCb1KQr09XSkaM/s640/about-time.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2013 cast: Domhnall Gleeson, Rachel McAdams, Bill Nighy, Margot Robbie rating: ***1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> “Wouldn't this be a great world,” says Albert Brooks as the somewhat average and completely smitten Aaron Altman in BROADCAST NEWS, “if insecurity and desperation made us more attractive? If <i>needy</i> were a turn-on?” If that kind of world sounds interesting, then ABOUT TIME is your cup of English Tea… And despite the casting of popular American actress Rachel McAdams, this is as quirky-British-indie as you’re gonna get… This year, anyhow.<br /> <br /> The quirk king himself, Bill Nighy, plays an important supporting role – especially when he tells his son, the film’s regular guy/underdog hero... a lanky, clumsy, neurotic, passive/aggressive 21-year old redhead, Tim… that they have the ability to go back (not forward) in time to change the course of personal events… So if something goes awry you can quickly make it better. Sounds a lot like THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE combined with GROUNDHOG DAY but it’s more SLIDING DOORS meets any Rom-Com where the main character does all they can to keep true love alive.<br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJk689FC0xnRP1PAfarM_pZKCqgD7mbnXHf8YmgFc0ArjAko7OfwH3iwVAxQOzmQ-qC-RVK7gDRuK9UHZNR01I10zag18QJY1Ec1VGUk-FMP-Usd8Vd3VMLAeUWhXZc345IlZs8J8yYHg/s1600/Picture+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJk689FC0xnRP1PAfarM_pZKCqgD7mbnXHf8YmgFc0ArjAko7OfwH3iwVAxQOzmQ-qC-RVK7gDRuK9UHZNR01I10zag18QJY1Ec1VGUk-FMP-Usd8Vd3VMLAeUWhXZc345IlZs8J8yYHg/s640/Picture+2.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">More than eye-candy... Margot Robbie does a fine job as the girl of the underdog's dreams...</td></tr> </tbody></table> Tim’s interests with this new power has nothing to do with making money or changing the world: he simply wants a girlfriend. Some of the best scenes occur before McAdams, as American import Mary, enters the picture… Tim tries to politely bed-down his sister's gorgeous best friend. And, after learning a thing or two about fate and getting lucky (and how the two don’t always mix), the primary romance begins: He meets Mary during a match-up date and... without giving too many clever twists away, things don’t always go as planned… He uses time travel (no machine needed, you just stand inside an enclosed room, clench your fists and close your eyes tight) to alter sporadic events, ranging from his new relationship to helping a friend’s stage play to choosing the right best man.<br /> <br /> Some of the characters, including Tim and his artistic family, are a tad over-contented and unrealistically cozy… Sometimes writer/director Richard Curtis tugs too tightly on the heartstrings… And eventually, by the somewhat overlong conclusion, there’s a feeling the time travel aspect was a mere plot device to serve up a clichéd existential theme... But for a worthy alternative to big budget comic book movies and any sort of mainstream Hollywood romance, this is a “date flick” that should benefit either party…<br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div>

2013, bill nighy, domhnall gleeson, lydia wilson, margot robbie, rachel mcadams

ABOUT TIME

year: 2013 cast: Domhnall Gleeson, Rachel McAdams, Bill Nighy, Margot Robbie rating: ***1/2 “Wouldn't this be a great world,” says A...

THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF9fTDwf4Yxx2nVSXFOQRXUg6OJnmmeSirR4ytV6nhEAzPN3sNzoCizVlU95TGecC1D_cqoHB8a0FOEzneolv91xYqSIog6wTTHu_mCV8uLIFkfCaxn5J6s2Bxn-THHFuItYAf8odhNI48/s1600/6a00e009804e13883301630472aa66970d-500wi-1.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF9fTDwf4Yxx2nVSXFOQRXUg6OJnmmeSirR4ytV6nhEAzPN3sNzoCizVlU95TGecC1D_cqoHB8a0FOEzneolv91xYqSIog6wTTHu_mCV8uLIFkfCaxn5J6s2Bxn-THHFuItYAf8odhNI48/w400-h297/6a00e009804e13883301630472aa66970d-500wi-1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2011 rating: *** </td></tr> </tbody></table> Despite timeworn age, there’s beauty within everything. This doesn’t only refer to the veteran cast of THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL, but the building itself – that’s the idea, anyway.<br /> <br /> A determined young man has a vision: his dilapidated India hotel, misleadingly touched-up in the advertisement, is the ideal place for the elderly. Enter a handful of Brits including a judge, a widow, a married couple, two sexually active optimists and a really old lady in a wheelchair.<br /> <br /> You’ll see the result of certain stories right away – mellow Bill Nighy is so mismatched with bickering wife Penelope Wilton, and has such cozy chemistry with widowed Judi Dench (who provides the narration: a daily journal on her online blog) while Maggie Smith, not trusting any race but white, slowly warms up to the Indian culture... a character in itself.<br /> <br /> The busy streets of India are balanced with lovely countrysides, yet the natives seem a bit too helpful and cheery, providing little edge for the storyline. But not all the characters are as predictable: Tom Wilkerson, a classy judge searching for his lost love from years past, holds a secret. And with the relaxing chemistry of the old-timers, Dev Patel’s Sonny, the young dreaming Hotel owner, and his relationship with a beautiful local is distracting.<br /> <br /> Most of the humor relies on two elderly young-at-hearts seeking the perfect sexual encounter (though not with each other) and yet the person who really stands out is Nighy’s narrow-minded wife – while the other actors play variations of themselves and/or old folks created to be liked, Penelope Wilton turns in a memorable performance as the sole antagonist.<br /> <br /> There’s little magic involved within the Hotel, yet it's so uncomfortable the residents are forced outdoors where the matchmaking occurs, but what kind of title would BEST EXOTIC PATIO be?<br /> <br /> As a feel-good movie this works fine. But like the Hotel itself, the presentation often exceeds the outcome.

2012, bill nighy, celia imrie, comedy, ensemble, judi dench, maggie smith, quirky

THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL

year: 2011 rating: *** Despite timeworn age, there’s beauty within everything. This doesn’t only refer to the veteran cast of THE BEST E...