Posts Tagged ‘Morena Baccarin’

Masters of Universe

Director: Travis Knight

Cast: Nicholas Galitzine, Camilla Mendes, Idris Elba, Jared Leto, Alison Brie, Charlotte Riley, James Purefoy, Morena Baccarin, Kristen Wiig, Artie Wilkinson-Hunt, Dolph Lundgren

Running Time: 2 hours and 20 minutes

Film Rating: 7.5 out of 10

If audiences feel like some retro fantasy then catch director Travis Knight’s extraordinary new version of Masters of the Universe, with the buff and blonde 32 year old actor Nicholas Galitzine as He-Man.

If Mattel could approve the Barbie movie then why not He-Man? He was also an action figure and a supreme member of the Master of the Universe which created a range of toys in the 1980’s and 1990s.

The original 1987 film starred Swedish actor Dolph Lundgren who makes a rare appearance in this version in a weird scene in the gym in which he officially gives his approval to the younger actor. But who is Nicholas Galitzine?

He played the seductive lover of King James I in the fabulous historical TV series Mary and George opposite Oscar winner Julianne Moore (Still Alice) as his controlling and determined mother. In that series, I recognized talent and the charisma that an actor would need to play a leading role.

So Galitzine is perfect as He-Man in the meta-sexual world of Masters of the Universe in which as Adam his alter ego, he is propelled as a ten year old boy to earth when his planet of Eternia is attacked by the evil and villainous Skeletor wonderfully played with camp delight by Oscar winner Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club) and Alison Brie (Promising Young Woman) as his wicked sidekick Evil-Lyn.

Adam’s parents King Randor played by James Purefoy (Vanity Fair, John Carter) and Queen Marlena played by Charlotte Riley (London has Fallen) are captured by Skeletor and while the hapless Adam works in HR in a mid-western American city hopelessly looking for a sword that belonged to his father which will give him his masculine strength and power back.

With the help of Teela played by Camilla Mendes, she rips Adam out of the American mid-west and back to Eternia to face Skeletor and his band of evil creatures.

While the narrative is crazy at times with three screenwriters including Chris Butler, Aaron Nee and Adam Nee they do delve into the origin story of He-Man as he figures out his strength, his masculinity and what it means to become a man.

Brilliantly played by Nicolas Galitzine, Adam or He-Man becomes the leader of Masters of the Universe in a strange, cheesy fantasy world complete with robots and green tigers.

The world building is clever and slightly self-reflexive capturing the appeal of the franchise and the related merchandise. Regarding the marketable toys, while Barbie was aimed at young girls, He-Man was an action figure aimed at young boys.

Despite the convoluted script, there is a clear message that in order to be brave, you don’t necessarily require a weapon. He-Man discovers this as his character transforms into a glistening warrior complete with sword and attitude. He-Man is not a superhero, he is more mythical than that.

In terms of entertainment, director Travis Knight (Bumblebee, Kubo and the Two Strings) does a brilliant job of recreating Masters of the Universe for a new generation with sufficient costumes and creatures to inspire cosplay and Comicon outfits until 2030.

Masters of the Universe is cheesy and funny, very garish and filled with fantasy and adventure. This action packed film gets a film rating of 7.5 out of 10 and is worth seeing. Audiences can discover a new hero filled with a heart of gold.

Deadpool & Wolverine

Director: Shawn Levy

Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin, Matthew Macfadyen, Channing Tatum, Wesley Snipes, Jennifer Garner, Chris Evans, Henry Cavill, Morena Baccarin, Rob Delaney, Aaron Stanford

Running Time: 2 hours and 8 minutes

Film Rating: 7 out of 10

You can picture the writers and studio executives at a pitching session for new film ideas for a North American summer blockbuster. Let’s put Deadpool and Wolverine in a film together. Let’s take a reprobate like Deadpool and a washed up X-man and see if they gel.

In director Shawn Levy’s Deadpool & Wolverine, superstars Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman team up for that bitchy bromance film that gives audiences that warm fuzzy feeling needed in a time of global chaos and strife.

Note the title of this film is not Deadpool vs Wolverine, it is Deadpool & Wolverine. It’s a buddy superhero movie in which the crazy duo enter a different space time paradigm thrusted upon them by the immaculately dressed Mr Paradox brilliantly played with a brittle British hysteria by Golden Globe and Emmy winner (Succession) Matthew Macfadyen, who appears to be the villain. Soon the fast talking and annoying Deadpool and the grumpy hard drinking Wolverine confront the real villain Xavier’s sister Cassandra Nova expertly played with sociopathic coolness by Emmy winner (The Crown) Emma Corrin.

Both Emma Corrin and Matthew Macfadyen balance the crazy antics of Deadpool & Wolverine which at times goes completely off the reservation with foul language and bone cracking brutality, not to mention sexual innuendo and inappropriate comments.

With a host of screenwriters including Ryan Reynolds, the script pokes lots of self-reflexive media fun at the studios including 20^th Century Fox, Fox news and of course the parent company of Marvel, Disney. Deadpool & Wolverine looks like a nightmarish pastiche of all past superhero films which will satisfy the geek squad.

While Deadpool is aspiring to become an Avenger, Wolverine wants to go back and save the rest of the Xmen, the dynamic duo come across a weird group of superheroes stranded in a Mad Max inspired wasteland, a significant nod to Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.

See cameos by big stars including Wesley Snipes (Blade, New Jack City, One Night Stand) as Blade, Jennifer Garner (Daredevil, Juno) as Elektra and Channing Tatum (The Lost City, Magic Mike) as the card throwing Gambit.

Deadpool & Wolverine contains some very weird and downright silly scenes while constantly pushing the envelope which is a bridge too far for Disney. Maybe this is auto correct for all of Disney’s political correct remakes of the last 5 years.

If you like your action bloody and your superheroes foulmouthed and disgruntled then catch Deadpool & Wolverine in cinemas now. Unfortunately the craziness weighed down any narrative relevance making the plot indistinguishable despite the humorous banter and high production values.

Better than Deadpool 2 but not as good as one expects, yet still entertaining, Deadpool & Wolverine gets a film rating of 7 out of 10. Recommended viewing strictly for fans of Marvel films.

Greenland

Director: Ric Roman Waugh

Cast: Gerard Butler, Morena Baccarin, Roger Dale Floyd, Scott Glenn, Hope Davis, David Denham

Film Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Angel has Fallen director Ric Roman Waugh reunites with his star Gerard Butler for the latest doomsday disaster film Greenland. The hunky Scottish actor Gerard Butler who become a household name after the smash hit 300 and then went onto star in the Fallen trilogy plays American structural engineer John Garrity who is trying to reconcile with his wife Allison Garrity played by Homeland star Morena Baccarin (Deadpool, Spy) who both live a comfortable life in suburban Atlanta.

That comfortable life is shattered into a million pieces when John and Allison have been selected to survive an extinction event after a Comet called Clarke’s Comet hits Earth and breaks up into a million asteroids which demolish cities and towns across the planet. The Garrity’s only chance of survival is to head towards a secret government facility to house survivors located in Greenland. The only problem is how to get there.

To add to John and Allison’s woes their young son Nathan played by Roger Dale Floyd is diabetic and cannot be without his insulin injections which proves difficult when the entire family get separated and Nathan gets kidnapped by some desperate hillbilly’s Ralph and Judy Vento played by Hope Davis (Proof) and David Denham (Logan Lucky, 13 Hours).

In the meantime the world is literally going to hell in a handbasket as fiery asteroids start striking the earth and the Garrity’s need to reunite at Allison’s father’s ranch in Knoxville. Allison’s father Dale is played by Scott Glenn (The Bourne Legacy, The Paperboy). Fortunately once the family gather there John confesses to his father-in-law that he hasn’t been the best husband.

Whilst Greenland’s doomsday scenario could be the metaphor for a broken marriage, the rather lacklustre script by Chris Sparling is fortunately punctuated with some dramatic action sequences including the airport chaos sequence and the asteroid crushing car sequence on an American interstate.

Greenland is great entertainment and doesn’t pretend to be anything superb. It’s a good old fashion disaster movie in the tradition of director Mimi Leder’s Deep Impact and Michael Bay’s 1998 smash hit film Armageddon. Greenland is worth seeing on a big screen and is a reasonably enjoyable action disaster film which certainly needs cinematic support in these uncertain times when audiences are not rushing back to cinemas in a hurry.

It did help that the star Gerard Butler did broadcast a preview message thanking South African audiences for supporting Greenland in cinemas. With that being said, audiences should watch Greenland – it’s an exciting two hour family adventure film which gets a rating of 7.5 out of 10.

Deadpool 2

Director: David Leitch

Cast: Ryan Reynolds, T. J. Miller, Josh Brolin, Morena Baccarin, Eddie Marsan, Kodi Smit-McPhee

Ryan Reynolds reprises his role as kickass superhero Deadpool in the sequel which quite frankly disappointed on all levels. Perhaps, my mood wasn’t quite into hyper-vulgarity or sleazy violence or spoof making.

Deadpool 2 makes fun out of everything from Barbra Streisand in Yentl to the X-Men franchise as well as creating a messy comic book pastiche which doesn’t take itself or the audience to seriously. My view is that as sequels go, this was terrible.

The only redeeming feature of Deadpool 2, is Oscar nominee Josh Brolin (Milk) superb turn as the tortured villain Cable an intergalactic strongman who comes back to the contemporary world to try and stop a mutant teenager Firefist played by Julian Dennison from running rampage in a creepy orphanage run by a sinister headmaster played by the ubiquitous Eddie Marsan (7 Days in Entebbe, Mark Felt, The Exception).

Morena Baccarin reprises her role as Wade Wilson’s girlfriend Vanessa whose romantic life gets tragically cut short.

Audiences definitely have to be in the right frame of mind to watch Deadpool 2 and perhaps I wasn’t. That said, some will find it hilarious while others find it stupid.

Ryan Reynolds obviously doesn’t take his career that seriously and let’s hope there is not going to be a third Deadpool, but knowing the ever expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe there is always room for more.

Deadpool 2 gets a Film Rating 6 out of 10 and is strictly recommended for audiences that enjoyed the original film.

Ultimately, every film finds a unique audience.

Deadpool

Director: T. J. Miller

Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, Ed Skrein, T. J. Miller, Brianna Hildebrand, Kyle Cassie

When the film’s director also appears as the barman Weasel and the superhero’s closest friend, audiences should really suspend their disbelief. In the case of the cinematic telling of Marvel’s most risqué superhero, the foul-mouthed, wacky Deadpool aka Wade Wilson, audiences should completely just take the entire story with a massive dose of salt or Xanax. After all who can take Deadpool seriously?

Director T. J. Miller, also seen as Deadpool’s confidant Weasel, version of a superhero movie is so off the wall, so hilarious and so unconventional that even the traditional X-Men franchise would shy away from this mutant’s malevolent antics. Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds (Blade Trinity, Green Lantern) certainly keeps the character of Deadpool alive and suitably quirky, with a fast paced wit and attitude too match. Essentially an anti-hero to boot, Wade Wilson falls in love with the gorgeous Vanessa played by Brazilian actress Morena Baccarin (Spy) last seen on the small screen in Gotham and Homeland.

Their romance goes swimmingly with loads of sexual innuendo thrown in until Wade Wilson collapses and is soon diagnosed with a rare cancer which will effectively devastate his vital organs.

Wade Wilson desperate to find an alternative seeks the help of a shady recruiter and is soon at the mercy of the evil Ajax played by Ed Skrein who relentlessly subjects Wade to days of torture, eventually forcing him to become a mutant, and with that Deadpool is born.

Deadpool as a film does not have much of a plot but relies heavily on the inappropriate and quirky script with Reynolds firing off brilliant one-liners throughout while embarking on a quest to seek vengeance for the torturous transformation he received at the hands of Ajax.

Deadpool enlists the help of some distant X-Men characters, namely Negasonic Teenage Warhead, to fight the villain and soon the battle against good and evil is as murky and bloody as it is funny and to be honest quite ridiculous. But hey who cares?

Audiences should go and see Deadpool for the script right? Which is the best part of a film that even from the opening credits continually subverts the superhero genre.

Sure to find a cult following amongst the hardcore comic book fans, Deadpool certainly is original, hilarious and kinky in an ex-rated fashion, but maybe that’s because the superhero’s outfit resembles a Sado-Masochism suit. Audiences can judge for themselves but Deadpool is definitely recommended only for serious Superhero fans and Comicon devotees, who will be relieved to know that there is a sequel on the cards…

Spy

Director: Paul Feig

Cast: Melissa McCarthy, Jude Law, Jason Statham, Rose Byrne, Bobby Cannavale, Alison Janney, Miranda Hart, Morena Baccarin

There is a confession to be made. I am not a huge Melissa McCarthy fan having missed most of her films which have made her famous including Bridesmaids, The Heat and Tammy. So it was with a mixture of trepidation and curiosity that I went to see director Paul Feig’s comedy thriller Spy mainly because I am a huge Jude Law fan. So I thought it would be interesting to see whether such a diverse cast such as Melissa McCarthy, Oscar Nominee Jude Law (The Talented Mr Ripley, Sherlock Holmes), action star Jason Statham (The Expendibles 3, Transporter Trilogy), Bobby Cannavale (Blue Jasmine, Danny Collins) and Rose Byrne (Annie, Marie Antoinette) could elevate such a film as Spy.

Despite its exotic locations from Varna in Bulgaria, to Paris, Rome and Budapest, Spy is a second rate thriller which attempts with some hilarious if not crude consequences attempts to feminize the espionage genre, and more specifically rip off the ultimate Spy films, The James Bond Franchise.

The 007 franchise have nothing to worry about as Spy is so second rate and middle of the road, even the predictable narrative could not have threatened the Bond films as a serious competitor.

Let’s face it. Spy is really a comedy especially with the likes of Melissa McCarthy, British comedian Miranda Hart and Bridesmaids co-star Rose Byrne thrown in. But Jude Law? Seriously after making appearances in such exceptional films as The Talented Mr Ripley, Hugo, Sherlock Holmes and Anna Karenina, I wondered what he was doing in such a ridiculous film.

Spy is a fun filled and crass comedy which should appeal to all Melissa McCarthy fans however I would have thought that writer and director Paul Feig could have been more inventive when ripping off the James Bond franchise. The storyline is predictable, vaguely funny and even the villains Sergio de Luca and Rayna Boyanov played by Cannavale and Byrne are not seriously menacing but come off as clichés of the more heinous megalomaniacs

Even Alison Janney (The Way Way Back, The Hours) as CIA director Elaine Crocker does not save this film. Although Jason Statham is suitably funny as the rogue spy Rick Ford who is constantly threatened by females in his line of duty. Audiences should watch Spy on a Saturday afternoon as it’s certainly not the most taxing film to watch but enjoyable in its own lazy and crude style. Look out for a cameo by Curtis Jackson also known as 50c