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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
SATURDAY NIGHT OUT (Dir: Robert Hartford-Davis, 1964).
Saturday Night Out is a portmanteau movie made up of five loosely connected vignettes following the exploits of four merchant seaman and a ships passenger on a night out in the capital. An uneasy mix of the comedic and the dramatic, the movie's best sequences are those laced with humour and which are less concerned with courting controversy.
Visit my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME to read the full review! 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.
THE MIRACLE OF THE BELLS (Dir: Irving Pichel, 1948).
The Miracle of the Bells is a sentimental RKO drama with an A list cast.
Via a series of flashbacks, the story of aspiring actress Olga Treskovna (Alida Valli - billed here as simply Valli) is told through voice-over narration by Hollywood press agent Bill Dunnigan (Fred MacMurray). Following her early death, Dunning fulfulls her final wish by returning with the body to the small coal-mining town of her childhood. Here she is to receive a modest burial at the struggling St Michael's church, conducted by Father Paul (Frank Sinatra). We learn of Dunnigan's unrequited love of Olga as he concocts a publicity stunt to secure the release of her only film, a starring role as Joan of Ark, which producer Marcus Harris (Lee J Cobb) has held back, due to her death.
The decision to tell the story in flashback was probably a mistake and does little to help an already weak narrative. Its 120 minutes feels epically long and structuring the movie in this way only serves to delay the inevitable conclusion. When it finally arrives, the treatment of the so called 'miracle' is mawkish in the extreme. Despite its themes of faith and belief, The Miracle of the Bells feels patently fake. Nothing about the movie rings true, from its skewed ideas about the workings of Hollywood to the reaction of the world to the death of the previously unheard of 'star'. Even the miracle of the title is called into question by the St Michael's priest.
Faith can be a tricky subject to pull off on film, but it can be done; festive favourites such as It's a Wonderful Life (Frank Capra, 1946) and The Bishop's Wife (Henry Koster, 1947) are testament to this. Yet where those movies were successful in presenting spiritual themes in engaging, credible manner to a secular audience, The Miracle of the Bells is not. It feels outdated, corny and preachy. But its biggest sin of all is that it is so dull.
With its star-studded cast, The Miracle of the Bells is not entirely unwatchable, but I cannot honestly recommend it. Give it go if you must; it will be a miracle if you make it until the end.
For a longer, more in-depth review of THE MIRACLE OF THE BELLS visit my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME! Link below.
NEWSIES aka THE NEWS BOYS (Dir: Kenny Ortega, 1992).
Disney’s fact-based musical based upon the New York newsboy's strike of 1899, with tunes courtesy of Oscar winner Alan Menkin and co-composer Jack Feldman. A youthful Christian Bale stars.
This old style Hollywood movie, with its big production numbers and lovingly recreated soundstage sets, is a quaintly quirky treat! Newsies should appeal to those with an appreciation for old fashioned musicals, fans of Disney Channel movies and anyone in between!
Read the full review on my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME! Link below.
THE BOSS BABY (Dir: Tom McGrath, 2017).
From DreamWorks Animation, The Boss Baby is loosely based on the picture book by Marla Frazee. Theodore Templeton (Alec Baldwin) is the Boss Baby, a suit and tie wearing, briefcase carrying infant. With his brother Tim, they must infiltrate their parents employer Puppy Co., the CEO of which has an evil plan to replace the babies of the world with puppies.
Read the full review on my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME! Link below.
