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Deadpool 2 – Film Review

Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Josh Brolin, Morena Baccarin, Zazie Beetz, Brianna Hildebrand, Julian Dennison, TJ Miller

Director: David Leitch

Synopsis: When the menacing mutant Cable travels back in time and threatens the life of a troubled young mutant, Deadpool must bring together a team of heroes and to stop him.

Review: The journey for Wade Wilson AKA Deadpool to get to the big screen for his first outing a couple of years ago was a troubled one. Yet when he finally arrived in all of his red spandex glory, it smashed all sorts of records and changed the game as far as comic book and superhero films go. Though in Deadpool’s case, the hero “tag” is perhaps not one he is best suited to. Nevertheless, the fans responded and, with his katana in hand, the Merc with a mouth cut box office records cut in half, and it was inevitable that a sequel would be given the thumbs up.

While the first film was your classic origins story about how the man became the Merc. This time around, we meet Wade trying to balance his Deadpool duties with his personal life with Vanessa. This is until his path crosses with Russell, a mutant with some fire abilities, and the villainous Cable, who travels back from the future with the sole goal to kill this boy. Part of what made the first film the juggernaut of the success it was its routine fourth wall breaking, pop culture references, quite excessive uses of profanity and upping the violence factor considerably. If the first film was not your thing, chances are this film will not bring you over. The story does go in interesting and ballsy directions that keeps things moving swiftly along in a gleefully bloody direction.

**Just casually jumping out of a plane, as you do…**

Every once in a while, when an actor takes on a superhero role, they are just such a perfect fit that you just cannot see anyone else stepping into their shoes, and Reynolds fits into this description with his performances, gone be the memories of the first time he stepped into the role of this character. Likewise to that other time he took on the mantle of a different hero. Aside from the returning Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead, there are a plethora of new characters this time around. Though many are just filler, the main ones to focus on are the lucky superhero Domino (Beetz) and Josh Brolin’s Cable, clearly having not filled his villainous boots after going after those Infinity Stones as Thanos.

The film boasts considerably more action than its predecessor, and having suited up John Wick for the first time (in addition to having killed his dog), former stuntman David Leitch takes over from Tim Miller as director. Like he demonstrated with John Wick, the action scenes are slickly produced and just extremely entertaining to watch. Though the film is for the most part extremely entertaining with some excellent gags to some classic Hollywood cinema (one will stick out in your mind in particular) the plot while undoubtedly entertaining, does run out of steam in a few places, and is a little bit thin on the ground. Furthermore, you will find it difficult to look at certain plot points and think back to certain films of the past.

In any case, with the memories of the ill-fated first time he stepped into the role, it is great to see Reynolds seemingly have such an absolute blast with the role that he has completely made his own. In this era of superhero and comic book genre dominance, it is refreshing to see this type of superhero film that just honestly doesn’t give a shit and just wants to serve the audience up with a quality sized slice of hilarious, fourth-wall breaking and crude entertainment. If that is what you’re after, then Mr Deadpool is the man to provide that, in hilarious and extremely bloody fashion too.

As crude as its predecessor, all while delivering much bigger action set pieces and some very amusing gags, all while building depth to the Merc with a Mouth’s character. Maximum effort, maximum enjoyment.

The Disaster Artist – Film Review

Cast: James Franco, Dave Franco, Seth Rogen

Director: James Franco

Synopsis: When aspiring actors Greg Sistero and Tommy Wiseau meet in an acting class, they both have dreams of making it in Hollywood. When no one gives them a chance, they decide to make their own movie, with hilarious results…

Review: There is a lot that is subjective when it comes to discussions about best and worst films of all time. There are a few usual suspects at both ends of the spectrum, but it is next to impossible to lock down one film as the absolute best, and worst respectively. Yet in the case of the latter, one film that many would argue deserves its place as the worst of the worst, is of course The Room. Yet for all that film’s many faults, no one can deny it has garnered an enormous cult following, which has helped it become perhaps the greatest worst film ever made. But how did such a monstrosity come into existence?

The answer can be found courtesy of Greg Sistero and Tom Bissell’s book of the same name, charting his journey that led him to be a part of the project that was the brainchild of Tommy Wiseau. A man of several unexplained mysteries, and a seemingly bottomless pit of money, made it all happen. The film explores Greg and Tommy’s friendship and how that led them to the adventure (or should that be misadventure?) of the making of The Room and the ensuing chaos that surrounded the production of the film. Most people will have big dreams for what they would like to do in life, and though this isn’t exactly anything new in Hollywood, The Disaster Artist is nonetheless a thoroughly amusing and at times very heartfelt story about two guys trying to make their dreams happen, even if the end result is not the type of film that would be even remotely worthy of any Oscars.

Watching in bewilderment /amusement /amazement…

As the two leading performances, the Franco brothers are both on excellent form with James taking the role of Tommy and Dave as Greg. There is a genuine almost brotherly like connection between the two of them, which is probably due to the fact that they are real life brothers! However you buy into their friendship and it makes you want both of them to succeed, which to a certain extent they do. The only thing is, it doesn’t quite go as they would have hoped. James is particularly excellent as he has the look and the mysterious accent of Wiseau almost down to a T. Dave also does an excellent job as he is the one who strives to complete the goal when things start to go spectacularly wrong for their project. There is humour to be found in the screenplay, which is no small part due to Tommy’s peculiar mannerisms, but it gets to a point where even though you hope they make their dreams come to fruition, that Tommy’s behaviour starts to become REALLY annoying. One can only begin to imagine how annoying it would have been for the crew.

It is clear that through his eccentric performance, and his direction, that Franco has a real passion for The Room, as they capture scenes from the film right down to the tiniest details. It might naht have enjoyed the success that Wiseau probably would have wanted it to upon its release. However, though it has perhaps become famous for all the wrong reasons, it has nevertheless endured the test of time. With an enormous cult following and screenings aplenty to this day, the film has even made a profit on its 6 million dollar budget. Everyone has dreams, and though the pursuit of one’s dreams might not always lead to success, it is important to never lose sight of those aspirations, as you just never know what kind of legacy you might leave behind.

A humourous look at what is ultimately a disaster of a film, but one that is told with genuine sincerity, and an important message about going after your dreams no matter how high the odds might be stacked against you.