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MAD MAX: FURY ROAD (Dir: George Miller, 2015).
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD (Dir: George Miller, 2015).
Visit my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME to read a longer version of this review! Link below.
Tom Hardy takes the lead in this reboot of the popular post-apocalyptic Mad Max franchise.
Although a modestly budgeted Australian production, the original Mad Max (George Miller, 1979) was an enormous box office success and shot star Mel Gibson to international stardom. Mad Max: Fury Road is once again directed by the original series' co-writer and co-creator George Miller.
The movie opens in a futuristic post-apocalyptic wasteland ruled by masked bad dude Immortan Joe (Hugh Keayes-Byrne). Captured by Joe's army and used as a 'bloodbag' by sickly soldier Nux (Brendan McCarthy), our hero Max soon finds himself adorning the hood of Nux's gasoline guzzling vehicle. Nux is in pursuit of Imperator Furiosa who is fleeing Joe with five of his wives in tow, one of whom is heavily pregnant. After some initial misunderstandings(!) Max and Furiosa soon team up to whoop Joe's ass. Which they do in spectacular fashion!
Mad is right; this movie is a bit bonkers! It is also nonstop adrenaline, with breathtaking action set pieces. The pace barely lets up for a second, and while occasionally confusing, it is never dull!
It is also visually stunning; from special effect sets to costumes to John Seale's exquisite cinematography Mad Max: Fury Road has to be one of the best looking blockbusters out there.
It is quite violent and occasionally grizzly. But the movie's overtly stylised and somewhat surreal atmosphere made the violent scenes much more palatable, even to a sensitive soul like me.
Tom Hardy is great in the lead, and makes for a surprisingly sympathetic Max. As the kick-butt Imperator Furiosa, Charlize Theron is Hardy's equal in the action stakes and, refreshingly, of equal importance to the narrative. This lends the movie a welcome feminist angle relatively rare in mainstream action films.
While I found the narrative in Fury Road a little confusing I was ultimately won over by its bonkers charm! Action movies as artistic as this are rare beasts; Mad Max: Fury Road is therefore recommended viewing, even for those who are not especially fond of the genre.
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imsossick liked this · 5 years ago
More Posts from Jingle-bones
SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON (Dir: Edward Ludwig, 1940).
A little seen RKO adaptation of the classic Johann Wyss novel. When Walt Disney produced his own feature film of Swiss Family Robinson (Ken Annakin, 1960) he also purchased the rights to this earlier version. Since then it has remained largely unseen but has recently surfaced on the Disney+ streaming service.
It tells the well known tale of a family fleeing the Napoleonic Wars who end up shipwrecked on a tropical isle. Learning to cope with island life, they build an elaborate treehouse and have various run-ins with the local wildlife.
Read the full review on my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME! Link below.
THE SWORD IN THE STONE (Dir: Wolfgang Reitherman, 1963).
Released to cinemas on Christmas Day 1963, The Sword in the Stone was the last animated feature film released by the Disney Studios during founder Walt Disney's lifetime.
Based on T H White's classic modern retelling of Arthurian legend, we follow the adventures of the future King Arthur (nicknamed the Wart), culminating in his encounter with the legendary sword.
Read the full review on my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME! Link below.
ZOMBIES 2 (Dir: Paul Hoen, 2020).
The Zombies of Seabrook High return in the imaginatively titled Zombies 2. Now with extra added werewolves.
When werewolves pose a threat to the newly integrated communities of Seabrook and Zombie Town, monster lockdown is back on. Much to the chagrin of Zombie Zed (Milo Manheim) and his human gal pal Addison (Meg Donnelly). In an attempt to force change Zed runs for school president. Meanwhile Addison is courted by a band of werewolves banished from Seabrook since olden times!
Read the full review on my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME! Link below.
THE ALPHABET MURDERS (Dir: Frank Tashlin, 1965).
A comedy thriller based upon Agatha Christie’s 1936 novel The ABC Murders in which Belgian's finest, Detective Hercule Poirot (Tony Randall), investigates a series of murders, each victim being bumped off in alphabetical order. Chief suspect is the dubiously initialed Amanda Beatrice Cross (Anita Ekberg).
The Alphabet Murders was an attempt by MGM to repeat the success of their series of comic mysteries adapted from Christie’s Miss Marple stories. Returning are Marple scriptwriters David Pursall and Jack Seddon, while directing duties are handled by former Warner Brothers animator Frank Tashlin. Tashlin brings his Termite Terrace cartoon sensibilities to the movie, setting out its kooky objectives from the opening, when Tony Randall addresses the camera first as himself and then in makeup as Poirot. With Tashlin's knack for visual humour, and some striking black and white photography courtesy of cinematographer Desmond Dickinson, the film is a visual treat.
Unfortunately, the quality doesn't extend to story treatment. As an Agatha Christie adaptation The Alphabet Murders is pretty unsatisfying. What it is, however, is a showcase for the considerable talents of Tony Randall. Randall’s is a fantastic performance, over the top and pantomimic to be sure, but his Poirot is a great comic creation. An excellent support cast including Anita Ekberg and Robert Morley (as Captain Hastings) also register strong performances.
Yet, despite the efforts of much of the Miss Marple team, and a cameo appearance by those movies stars Margaret Rutherford and Stringer Davis, The Alphabet Murders was not a success. Somehow the elements that worked so well for Marple just don’t gel for Poirot. Possibly the character was not as well suited to comedic interpretation or maybe the overtly American sensibilities of director Tashlin was not suited to something moored so much in Britishness.
While The Alphabet Murders must be considered a disappointment, it is certainly not a disaster. In truth there is much in the movie to enjoy, all depending on how one approaches it.
150+ movie reviews now available on my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME! Link below.
LILO & STITCH (Dir: Dean DeBlois & Chris Sanders, 2002).
A heartwarming family drama/sci-fi hybrid from Walt Disney Animation Studios.
On the Hawaiian island of Kauai, misfit Lilo adopts an unwanted stray dog. Unfortunately, said dog, named Stitch by Lilo, is actually escaped extra-terrestrial genetic experiment #626, an invention of would be evil scientist Jumba. With Stitch causing havoc on the island, Jumba is dispatched to Earth with Terra-expert Pleakley to recapture the alien, but Lilo is not so eager to relinquish her pal.
Read the full review of LILO & STITCH on my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME! Link below.
