REVIEW: CRUELLA

 

3.5/5

Cruella Intentions.

134 Mins. Starring: Emma Stone, Emma Thompson, Joel Fry, Paul Walter Hauser, Emily Beecham, Kirby Howell-Baptiste & Mark Strong. Director: Craig Gillespie. 

1970's London calling. Punk rock revolution rolling like a stone Jagger with edge. This is "the future". Where her dogs at? Off the leash like the late, great DMX before his 'Exodus', posthumous final album this week. 'Maleficent' meets Meryl in Disney's latest live action adaptation for their palace that shines like a glass slipper finding the other foot. 'Cinderella', Emma Watson in 'Beauty and the Beast' (whose scheduling conflict actually led to Best Actress Oscar winner Emma Stone being in 'La La Land') with a 'Legion' of Dan Stevens. 'Mary Poppins Returns' (which actually no shame had me crying tears of joy) starring a perfect cast Emily Blunt (whose 'Jungle Cruise' with The Rock based on a Disney World ride like the 'Pirates Of The Caribbean' will join her horror matrimony with husband John Krasinski in cinemas this Summer). The big-three of 'The Jungle Book', 'Aladdin' and 'The Lion King'. All to see that bear and snake, Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson 'Lost In Translation' reunion, Will Smith's Genie and Childish Gambino as Simba, growlin' and crushin' on Beyonce ("HOVA!"), not to mention being told by Seth Rogen and Billy on the safari Eichner 'Hakuna Matata'. And let's not forget the sensational scale of the 'Mulan' remake hit by COVID and controversy and reduced to a Disney + to play the background like 'Dumbo' under a big-top, or 'The Lady and the Tramp' sharing spaghetti down the back alley of a restaurant. Mickey Mouse is 'Fantasia' remixing everything live from Winnie the Pooh (the beautiful and brooding, haunted 'Dear Christopher Robin' with a hallmark, 'Halston' star Ewan McGregor), to what we can only hope is art imitating Saturday Night Live skit reality in The Rock's fast and furious live action Bambi remake, that would be a sure thing like Hobbs and Statham. Disney even remade the NBA last year in a quarantined Florida Bubble all so a Warner Bros King could be the star of the show (Bugs Bunny's new bestie in 'Space Jam-A New Legacy' star LeBron James who "what's up Doc" said "that's all folks" to the rest of the league). But when it comes to 'Cruella' and its new perfect cast this has done its flashbulb turn on the catwalk before. After the 1961 timeless animation based on Dodie Smith's book 'The Hundred and One Dalmations' was starlight barking remade so well by Glenn Close's devil (think as born to play as Hugh Jackman's Wolverine. Claws out no one's coming close) they even added another for '102'. But remake 101 this is the Estella prequel that really delves deep into origin story, source material. It's this new, redefining dalmatian that shows this dog in fur can change its spots. 

Cruella explains it all in nuanced narration about how her darling mothers bone was taken by snarling, spotty, dalmatian dogs. It's enough to send anyone over the ledge in brutal backstory. Hear this woman ROAR back in theatres like 'A Quiet Place II'. Masked up, but no masquerade. Catching fire like a 'Hunger Games' dress, reducing everyone else in the room to embers. This girl is on fire. 'The Favourite' and 'Battle Of The Sexes' star Emma Stone SHALL go to the ball. Check the envelope to see whose won, Stone isn't in 'La La Land' anymore. This city of stars is London baby like Joey wearing all the clothes at the 'Friends Reunion'. God save the queen. This majesty has the crown now. Her royal highness the fashionista throne. She is woman. Now hear her iconic laugh like a Joker, with no need for a king of hearts in this pack were she is the gambit in an 'Oceans 8' like Vegas heist with a Hathaway transformation for the jewels in foggy London town that places two hands under her chin with the conviction of a chess move that could topple any castle. Union Jack move, West End provocateur on a Bansky level of art-ism versus vandalism guerilla tactics, with more stardust outfits than Bowie's Ziggy as she changes clothes. Taking the bobbies for a ride down the cobbled side streets with a moustache and beret French connection, all by design as she leaves them for Big Smoke dust. Black and white with Ruby red lips that could have inspired a 'Sin City' cinematography, this dog is having its day. Brilliant, bad and more than a little bit mad. 

London's Liberty, like the black and white Victorian shop rooftop housing. The devil (pronounce her name right) wears more than Prada in this grand design from Disney. 'Five To One' making a grand entrance through The Doors, this is the takeover. More than a Streep streak, the Oscar, BAFTA, Emmy and Golden Globe acclaimed national treasure and woman of my dreams, who wold never have to suffer me getting an office tart a necklace for Christmas (that's real love...actually), Emma Thompson is her own woman like Glenn Close by far (the Oscar darling serving as an executive producer like the new Cruella). The 'Remains Of The Day' and Disney double 'Saving Mr. Banks' and 'Beauty and The Beast' (and you thought most Marvel heroes crossed over) stars haute couture Baroness a gala fitting to delightful and playful villainy. Emma vs Emma. Like a Gwyneth Paltrow or Anya Taylor-Joy Jane Austen adaptation. Thompson and Stone (alresdy interested in seconds like a sequel/prequel, 'Godfather Part II' style...now how does that sound?). This sounds as thrilling as the music to my ears jukebox of countless, compelling Great British hits a character in themselves that were more than top of the pops from then until now. They were also cultural icons like the Florence Welch and the Machine reworked Cruella de Vil theme that rides out in a drop-top Deville. As atmospheric and awe-inspiring as the dark designs of Lana Del Rey's 'Once Upon A Dream'. London has never looked or sounded so good back on the big screen guv'. Revenge has never been in such fashion either as 'I, Tonya' director Craig Gillespie knows how to put the hammer down with these harlequins. Even reuniting with one of his Tonya Harding crooks for a pair of sidekicks that are as thick as thieves loyal. A cockney accented like rhyming slang American in Paul Walter Hauser will have you and your China plate believing he's British when his standout turn in last years 1996 Olympic, Atlanta bombing controversy 'Richard Jewell' had you not knowing what to believe, except the conviction of his performance. This scene steal alongside an always reliable "Game of Thrones' 'Pleb' in Joel Fry of Beatles 'Yesterday' fame (the pure heart and conflicted conscience of this movie) gives us another career turn as the 'BlackKklansman' and 'Da 5 Bloods' star can add Disney to his resume, alongside character references from Clint Eastwood, Quentin Tarantino and Spike Lee. Add 'Hail Caesar!' and 'Daphne' herself Emily Beecham's moving mothering as the crux catalyst, the 'Tattletale' gossip columnist of 'Killing Eve' and 'Barry' star Kirby Howell-Baptiste spinning more than yarn and the always dependable Mark Strong strengthening the treasure of his own Great British filmography war chest (albeit a tad underused here, he always knows how to play the background beautifully like the 'Kingsman' gentleman that manners make that he is) and we really have the stitching to this weaved tapestry of a story. And let's not forget our four legged friends for this bow wow bark that has bite. Throw more than a bone. This one's the dogs bollocks. TIM DAVID HARVEY. 

Further Filming: 'One Hundred and One Dalmatians', '101 Dalmations', 'The Devil Wears Prada'. 

TV REVIEW: FRIENDS - THE REUNION

4/5

The One With The Reunion.

104 Mins. Starring: Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry, Matt LeBlanc & David Schwimmer. Director: Ben Winston.

So no one told you 2020 was going to be that way like your jobs a joke, broke, love life DOA. It just wasn't our day, week, month...or yep, even our year. But now your favourite twentysomethings a little grey here and there, most the same shape ("speak for yourself", one cast member hilariously counters) are here to take us out of second gear for the 'Friends' reunion. And like the official Twitter account meta joked with its first tweet, "we were on a break, what happened?" Well, the rain started to pour. But these friends are still there for you like a Rembrandt. Remember? Just like they've been there before. 90's nostalgia. There's nothing like it. In the same week the late, great DMX's last album barks in 'Exodus', it's time to party up...like it really is 1999. These Kings and Queens of New York were Manhattan like manhole covers. Before 'Sex and the City' and after 'Seinfeld'. This was New York like the Knicks, Sinatra on Broadway, or the late, great Larry King live for your Saturday night. The names Aniston, Cox, Kudrow, Perry, LeBlanc and Schwimmer, or should we say Rachel, Monica, Phoebe, Chandler, Joey and Ross in bright Times Square lights. Part of the reason you wanted to take a bite out of the Big Apple...or a pretzel, or hot dog on a side street. Carrying the torch like Lady Liberty. As important to this town as the Subway and as iconic as a yellow Metro card that gets you there. A monument to this city like Bloomingdales or the yellow cab you couldn't fit all those bags in. All as you asked the driver how to get you to Central Perk. Although like County General hospital in Chicago (look for the Gloria Reuben led 'ER' reunion to benefit Earth Day starring George Clooney, Noah Wyle, Anthony Edwards and more coming soon), it doesn't exist. Despite popping up in faux tribute locations around the world (I miss the two that used to be in Liverpool). Something akin to Beatlemania this is the one that has been watched around the world more than 70 million times. Tuning in to open those colourful umbrellas every night like the piano establishing skyline of 'Frasier', tossing even that competition like salad until it was scrambled egg (still my favourite show though, don't bump two fists as me 'Friends'). And then almost 20 years ago it all ended. That's two decades ago...feel even older yet? Is this still CNN. Like Jerry Seinfeld turning down millions each episode for his hallway comedy about nothing, or Will Smith's Prince standing in his empty kingdom of a Bel-Air mansion stripped, all the way down to the sofa. 'Friends' no more. 

WE ARE NO LONGER ON A BREAK! Because back like regular scheduled programming this is 'The One Were They Get Back Together' and take an actual couch in front of that fountain poll to whether Ross and Rachel were actually on one or not. Not to mention what Ross really thinks about his first love...Marcel. All before dropping the biggest bombshell that's been hiding in plain sight for years that we could not even begin to spoil (but where's my favourite Eddie like a 'Frasier' dog?) like the many cast cameos here amongst the catwalk of celebrity memories. Reminiscent resonates from everyone from football legend David Beckham to the biggest boy band in the world BTS (who both know a thing or two about giggawatt superstardom) and a special duet for 'Smelly Cat'. What are they feeding you here? This trifle has more layers than one of Rachel's. Meat? GOOOOD! Pure don't touch that DIAL (or eat MY SANDWICH) gold hosted by hallmark Late Night party starter James Corden. Back when the Brit abroad was doing 'Gavin and Stacey' no one would of told HIM it was going to be this way. Da-da-da-da, da. But in this Zoomed age of a 'Community' of reunions that took us through the planets pandemic, safe at home with the comfort of our couch and the fictional friends we used to know across a stream of shows that turned into live action ones like 'The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air Reunion' of catharsis (hey Auntie!) and the inspired, inventive 'A West Wing Special To Benefit 'When We All Vote'' for Michelle Obama, the Biden administration and now these United again States theatrical episode staged with the new mayor of weekly TV ('This Is Us' icon Sterling K. Brown stepping in for the late, great John Spencer's Leo McGarry), what happened to our friends? 

Never having to serve a coffee ever again, Jennifer Aniston became a bonafide movie star (please tell me you've seen her Oscar worthy slice in 'Cake'?). Switching Ross for Adam Sandler like Russ, having the most beautiful and brutal 'Break-Up' of truth said in jest with Vince Vaughn and explicitly stealing the show from the likes of Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, Charlie Day, Colin Farrell, Chris Pratt AND Jamie Foxx in 'Horrible Bosses'. Courtney Cox took a stab at the 'Scream' franchise and made a killing like scary movies. Lisa Kudrow of 'The Comeback' fame was spotted in my seaside hometown of Southport (WTF?!). Matthew Perry overcame personal problems (those making derogatory comments about how a recovering addict looks and sounds after dental surgey on social media need to learn from what the Internet said about a thin Chadwick Boseman when they didn't know the half of it regarding the late, great actor) to star in 'The West Wing' creator Aaron Sorkin's 'Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip' with Bradley Whitford and art imitating life in an inspired performance of outlasting an onslaught of struggle that should have seen a second season. Matt LeBlanc had his own spin-off show (funny no one mentions the actual delightful 'Joey') and then went on to have success on these shores, meta playing an exaggerated version of himself in 'Episodes' before changing lanes and being a competent, compelling host of 'Top Gear'. Now how you doing? And David Schwimmer leading us back on to set in an emotional embrace (I'm not crying...we're all crying. Especially when Matthew Perry says "ahhh it's good to see you Matty" too his old roommate with resignation to the fact its been so long as they recline in their iconic leather seats) has done it all from playing a Kardashian ('The People Vs OJ Simpson') to a gangster that looks like David Seaman ('The Iceman'). Not to forget his classic response, can and clothes perfect to viral security footage of a thief in the UK that caught on camera looked a lot like him (it was Russ). But now back where they belong like getting off the plane the gangs all here and LIKE many a Ross margarita meme in this social media age "I'm fine". These underrated Buster Keaton's of physical comedy on equal star-billing with no new series or movie in sight thanks to their happy endings tied with a beautiful bow, perfectly fitting. This is the one you should all get ready for unlike my favourite episode I watched by chance with a binging friend a couple weeks back for my first 'Friends' reunion in over a decade. But don't take my word for it as you take the essence of your chair before Chandler does. Wear all of your clothes and lunge into this one as fans around the world tell you just how much these 'Friends' mean to us. In table reads, reenactments and quiz tributes, as well as beautiful blooper and behind the scenes footage (not to mention a before they were famous look at some shows the stars had on deck before (like Perry's peculiar space comedy set in an alien LAX of the future) and the Ursula origins of Phoebe in another series) to classic creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane, Kevin S. Bright. Directed by the 'Carpool Karaoke' of 'The Late, Late Show With James Corden's' Ben Winston, this is everything to those who grew up with these Friends next door. All this and we still don't know what Chandler's job is. Clap your hands together five times for this. Couch potatoes, back on the sofa and on this set. From Central Perk to a Central Park fountain, this is one friends zone you want to be put in. Could this BE any better? TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Further Filming: 'Friends', 'A West Wing Special To Benefit 'When We All Vote'', 'The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air Reunion'. 

BOOK REVIEW: ETHAN HAWKE-A BRIGHT RAY OF DARKNESS

 

4/5

Darkness On The Edge Of Broadway.

Hark! Who goes there? Times Square. All of the lights. Here's what we know about this name written in them. Ethan Hawke first got our attention like "O Captain! O Captain!" as he got on the desk of 'Dead Poets Society' and got that of the late, great Robin Williams. But the 'Training Day' star and Denzel Washington's man (how nice is 'The Magnificent Seven' reunion for Antoine Fuqua?) is more than that, or even that rookie cop, ride along movie. The American actor, writer and director has been nominated for four Academy Awards (half of those for screenwriting) and a Tony. Getting behind the camera for three feature-films ('Chelsea Walls', 'The Hottest State' and 'Blaze'), three off-Broadway plays and a Toronto film festival favourite debuting documentary ('Seymour: An Introduction'). The 'Reality Bites' star is cult best known for his 'Before' trilogy of Sunrises, Sunsets and Midnight's with French megastar Julie Delpy and revolutionary director Richard Linklater ('Dazed and Confused', 'Everybody Wants Some') who also literally directed Hawke over time for the decade plus spanning 'Boyhood' experimental and epic family drama. Or he may be better known for once being married to 'Gattaca' co-star and 'Kill Bill' and 'Pulp Fiction' icon Uma Thurman. Now 'Once Upon A Time...In Hollywood' their daughter Maya Hawke is making her own name as the scene stealing Robin in 'Stranger Things' season 3, amongst forging herself a beautiful music career with her pops barn music video direction. AHOY! Not bad for a 50 year old from Austin, Texas who right now is filming the latest Marvel super-series alongside Oscar Isaac's (what a cast already), 'Moon Knight' were he plays the villain. Like he does here. 

Blazing like saddles of late this man has been on even more of a trail. Critical acclaim came like it should have done with an award for his church chaplin character in Paul Schrader's 'First Reformed' in 2018, but before that he was already mounting up and riding. Donning a stetson twice in a year for something 'Magnificent' and the underrated 'In A Valley Of Violence' (think 'John Wick' in the Wild West...they even kill his dog), face offing opposite John Travolta. After some classic sci-fi cameos in Luc Besson's 'Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets' and a directors cut one in the 'Total Recall' remake opposite Colin Farrell, the renaissance man has been hitting his stride of American legends. Like country and Western singer 'Blaze', or the coil of Serbian-American inventor and engineer 'Tesla'. Playing Pat Garrett alongside 'Valerian' himself Dane DeHaan's Billy in Vincent D'Onofrio's underrated 'The Kid', you'd be forgiven for thinking the man who earned his spurs wanted to keep them. And why not? Who could blame him? His Showtime special on the "instrument of God" John Brown ('The Good Lord Bird') does nothing to abolish that...which you best believe is a good, no great thing. Ethan's first love, however was in theatre and the stage hawker who made his debut in '92 with' The Seagull' most recently retook to the Broadway stage with Paul Dano in 2019 for Sam Shepard's (rest peacefully) 'True West'...oh, another Western. So much in his saloon you'd be forgiven for thinking the man who has just released his fourth novel (his first three include 'Ash Wednesday', 'The Hottest State' and 2015's 'The Hottest State'. Not to mention the 'Indeh: A Story Of The Apache Wars' graphic novel) was releasing a prohibition era one with its burnt orange dust jacket by a struck match looking to set everything ablaze like moonshine. 'A Bright Ray Of Darkness' however sets alight the spotlights of theatre. Stage set, were Hawke's narrator is a movie actor on the ropes of life, dealing with divorce from a much more famous celebrity partner (a rock goddess) and being present with his kids whilst trying to maintain a Broadway run of 'Henry IV' under a media glare like Times Square. Wait a minute! Is he writing about himself? Is this semi-autobiographical? Meta? Surely not. This character is cloaked in so much narcissism, if it is him then this really would be dripping with a gratuitous greed of self-indulgence. We think instead this Hawkeye is just having his fun with us, all whilst taking some shots with the bow at his younger life. Playing Cupid to a Devils advocate. It's awfully stage left close though for a man that even once played Hotspur on Broadway with an off-contemporary twist. The New Yorker magazine calling it, "a compelling, ardent creation." How much more on the nose can you get? Well, the name of this character reciting Shakespeare? No, not Ethan (thank God), but William.

To preen, or not to preen. That is the new social media age old question. Now the legacy 'half' hour of time before an actor takes to the stage they are looking at their reflection not between illuminating flashbulbs, but the distortion of a black mirror. Compelling like his interview cadence or bar room keeping the first act of Aussie sci-fi 'Predestination' in perfect time. Well-written and heartbreaking honest and defiantly devote though in a time were we can curate our own online narratives with little thought spared for anyone else in this merciless purge, Hawke delivers us a nuanced one worthy of the bestsellers. Sure talking about a struggling male, white actor on Broadway in 2020 is seriously selfish. But without wearing a mask even on stage it is so much more self aware than critics will give credit for. Here's a man who in character takes ownership for his side of the street, but won't play into a "wrong side of the tracks" cliche when there's more reasons than the catalyst of cheating to why a marriage breaks down and rings are tore off fingers with no more death do us part. Sure the sex here (espeically in another made bed) is dirty but like Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals (how fitting) once said, "I remember when sex was dirty and the air was clean. And everything worth knowing was in a magazine". I don't know if that means much to this, but it's a hell of a line. Besides the bed side manner here is still written with a blue beauty Haruki Murakami signature with all the passion that comes with it. Playing out in the tabloid scripts, the real expose is the exploration of a man's mind when everything leaves him behind. Friends, family, the industry. The dream he had in his soul. Not the heart of one lost in the bight lights like the big city. It doesn't matter if he's in the Big Apple entertainment core of the world. He's lent up on a dumpster on a Times Square side-street in chain-mail and pigs blood, eating an ice cream sandwich so his voice doesn't pack its bags and leave a ring on the table too. He had the world. He gave it up for night. He thought the people loved him. He's about to hear what they really say behind his back cheered into the masses of a crowd at a safe distance like six social feet. This book is as blisteringly brutal as the bloodthirsty displays that used to play in The Globe. And even if this is theatrical Hawke doesn't escape all that is shed here in the name of his own life, he comes out swinging from the canvas of playwrights. Seconds out. Some may think showing that side isn't really bright (whiskey business). But when all our life is a stage, that's real darkness. And in lifting the curtain and showing us behind the scenes backstage, Ethan Green Hawke deserves his standing ovation. Take a bow. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

TV REVIEW: HALSTON

4/5

Hats Off.

5 Episodes. Starring: Ewan McGregor, Rebecca Dayan, David Pittu, Krysta Rodriguez, Gian Franco Rodríguez, Rory Culkin, Vera Farmiga & Bill Pullman. Creator: Sharr White. 

Panavision cameras. 1970's New York decadence. Hepburn elegance. Warhol sunglasses. Black turtleneck. Studio 54 shining style for the flashbulbs. Ewan McGregor is a chameleon. Even in the first episode his lover, after putting a bee in his bonnet, looking at his best cigarette holding Sharon Stone in 'Basic Instinct' impression asks, "what's with the voice"? And we barely even notice the change in register. He's just that good. As nuanced as stitch and weaving. Like Daniel Day-Lewis and Paul Thomas Anderson, he's a phantom with the thread. McGregor's Halston went from providing headwear for Jackie Kennedy, to giving Liza Minnelli the pronunciation that would punctuate her power like 'Liza With A Z' (and how about that perfect performance in concert with all this?). Taking inspiration from everyone from Ralph Lifshitz (who really saw a shift when he changed course to Polo Sports) to Macaulay Culkin's kid brother Rory (a revelation) playing late, great film director Joel Schumacher ('The Lost Boys', 'The Client', 'Batman Forever') who started his career as a costume designer. From counting how many people are wearing his wares in Central Park like he had a clicker at a club, looking as iconic as the Bow Bridge they cross (take a bow), to the palace of fashion he tries to build in Versailles battling with the goliaths of garments, Halston is in. It and everyone wants a piece like when Sam Cooke sang about touching the hem. Even 'The Sinner' of Netflix's Bill Pullman, trying to fashion him to his team with speeches stirred from his 'Independence Day' pot. Forget about not going quietly into the night, Halston, entourage armed, won't walk quietly into a room. Treating even airport terminals like fashion runways. Click. Pose. Flash. Doing his turn on the catwalk that's anything but little. Right, Fred?

An always alluring Vera Farmiga ('Up In The Air', 'Godzilla: King Of Monsters' and every gothic horror for the genre queen) is accented perfection as a perfumist whose subtle hints make sense of Halston's past with the nostalgic scents of the most moving moments of this series of events. Getting to Ewan's shows us more from a man who is doing more than taking the high ground with Hayden Christensen and Star Wars for a new 'Obi-Wan Kenobi' series for Disney +. Because this may just be the 'Trainspotting' stars show and moment this year. This man can do the impossible. Party like it's 'Moulin Rogue' and then get to the soul of music and what matters like he did with a definitive Don Cheadle's Miles Davis as a journalist in 'Miles Ahead'. The man who in one turn can play a super slick villain for 'The Fantabulous Emancipation Of One Harley Quinn' and the 'Birds Of Prey' movie and in the next as a judge, soberly have the bottle to talk about how many days he has been off the sauce on a coin he's holding revealing the real human horrors that lie under the bed and between the sheets of Stephen King's shining 'Doctor Sleep' sequel. The grand design of his velvet versatility on full display in the Disney double of a bruised 'Christopher Robin' and 'Beauty and the Beast' were he even gives a damn candlestick holder soul. And then there he is, the man in black. This years shade that will never go out of style. This may be his defining role and his careers redefinition. Walking into Studio at 50, draped in a white scarf, holding a smoke in the same light. All culminating in a conclusion that's a cliffhanger to this man's life. So it will leave you gripped too. Like fingertips on the seams of satin sheets. Wrapped around a model or a muse. A few pins away from being dressed down. McGregor, this suits you sir. The 623. Smoking and staring out over on New York's famous Fifth Avenue of a boudoir of boutiques. The neo-gothic spires of the iconic landmark that is St. Patrick's Cathedral across the road surround him in a nighttime reflection. The city and this street of New York is his. In style. 

Orchids. Snow falling in the club. Even when everything is wilting in the tragic designer's demise this Ryan Murphy Television production ('Pose') is hallmark like 'Hollywood'. Showing the empty substance behind style is actually dressed up in a hurt no one deserves and not a single boot walking this concrete earth can avoid like manhole smoke from an NYC crossing. This is the type of compelling contemporary classic that will get dismissed by critics who don't understand how this cat walks just like 'The Assassination Of Gianni Versace' that made a new golden era of TV killing like 'The People Vs OJ Simpson'. This Studio 54 in Gotham City underrated like 'The West Wing' creator Aaron Sorkin's 'Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip' starring Brad Whitford and Matthew Perry. But this show that goes on doesn't halt at Halston or the big name cameos like Culkin, Farmiga and Pullman. Broadway director Sharr White's wonderful creation and collection going off script knows how to bring everyone to the stage. And lifting from Beatles and Beach Boys writer Steven Gaines' beautiful biography this is 'Simply Halston' and New York City from its perfect points of interest, to its dark storytelling corners. Tres bien French artist and activist Rebecca Dayan ('From Paris With Love', 'Limitless', 'Tesla') is a model of electric elegance as Italian Elsa Peretti, one of the most influential jewellery designers...ever. Whilst 'Pan Am', 'Cafe Society', 'Men In Black 3' and 'King Kong' actor David Pittu feels like an unsung icon in himself, behind the scenes and seams, but never in 'Halston's' shadow. A knockout Gian Franco Rodríguez as his own Victor Hugo, forget Les Miserables is so Mercury hot you'd be forgiven for thinking this moustachio could have played Freddie as well as Rami in a 'Bohemian Rhapsody'. But he's more than the handlebar. But New York, New York its the Cabaret of Rodriguez, Krysta that's the real scene stealing star of the show as Liza Minnelli. A to Z and that outstanding opening deceleration in song to the body of life behind the Oscar's and the dresses that roll out like a red carpet. Murphy, Netflix, can we order a spin-off darling? That would be just the right size. As for the man in the full length mirror, 'Halston' is a grand design. Just don't mention Calvin Klein. But who cares why critics say? Halston has his name back now anyway. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Further Filming: 'The Young Pope', 'The Assassination Of Gianni Versace', 'Hollywood'. 

REVIEW: ARMY OF THE DEAD

3.5/5

World War Z: The Snyder Cut. 

148 Mins. Starring: Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, Omari Hardwick, Ana de la Reguera, Theo Rossi, Matthias Schweighöfer, Nora Arnezeder, Tig Notaro, Raúl Castillo, Samantha Win, Huma Qureshi, Garret Dillahunt & Hiroyuki Sanada. Director: Zack Snyder. 

RING. DING. DING. Slot machines roulette spin cash and flesh in the city of original sin, as blood spills like coins in the Palms. Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas...the Snyder Cut. For his crack suicide squad (James Gunn has got to love this) like team taking on an 'Army Of The Dead' for Netflix and the undead zombie genre that's had more than its pound of flesh, but still seems so fresh. All thanks to 'Immortals' Zack Snyder coming off taking HIS 'Justice League' assemble to the max with HBO, moving more than '300' men for the dynamic directors rise of a streaming service empire. Watch 'Watchmen' from the DC 'Man Of Steel' and 'Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice' director and from Dylan telling us 'The Times Are a-Changin', to Lucille's own wielding Jeffrey Dean Morgan's Comedian being behind the grassy knoll on the day they took Kennedy, Snyder knows how to make a montage of a title sequence into something as compelling as it is creative. Stirring, not shoehorning. And this outstanding opening from the 'Dawn Of The Dead' remake director with shades of 'Watchmen' and 'Zombieland' is alive with those aesthetics and accents as Zack redefines his direction again with this dumb fun movie that still has a beating heart behind all that bruised muscle and bravado. In the verse of a new extended world of rogue one's that may even see a sequel after an 'Italian Job' like prequel and anime spin-off for Netflix like 'Pacific Rim's' 'The Black' for this entertaining cash and pound grab of a zombie slash heist monster movie mash. And they thought it would bite. Really at this point if you can't enjoy some epic entertainment were you leave your brain at the door like the zekes that freak this picture, you really are just chomping at the bit. To stream, or not to stream, this was never ever a question of being Shakespeare. 

The Invisible Man, Dave Bautista wrestles with a crack squad ready to open a booby trap safe of 20 mill, surrounded by the same amount of hordes who are watching this desert struggle and scuffle in the middle of Nevada on Netflix this weekend. Set to blow like an atomic bomb testing that could even break the dam. Hoovering everything up in sight with canyons of sensational set-pieces of bloodthirsty bullets, bayonets and brimstone. This is a Killer like Brandon Flowers and his boys from 'Sam's Town'. And who better than 'Guardians Of The Galaxy's' own Drax the destroyer to lead this protein packed, power bar, casino heist amidst a zombie apocalypse? The Bond henchman on this odd job, trading tattooed muscle bound hands like a 'Fast and Furious' Vin Diesel and The Rock. The soulful cameoing 'Blade Runner 2049' beast of a second-career actor like Dwayne Johnson also gives this big picture for your smartphone screens a huge heart in reading glasses. It needs those beats in a gunning movie that clocks in at over two an a half hours in the chamber before 'Suspicious Minds' by 'The Searcher' Elvis plays for a scoring soundtrack with the best use of The Cranberries' 'Zombie'.  But come on! What did you expect? This is a guy that just gave you four 60's of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Aquaman and the Cyborg with not even a hint of a Green Lantern. But just wait until they snap the green glow sticks here on a kitchen scene more terrifying than Tim and Lex trying to run away from some Raptors in 'Jurassic Park'. Watch out for all that clanging metal. This one plays it like the spoons. The only thing tenser than this moment that has helpings of humour and heart-as well as all that pigs blood-is the pre-credits army convoy roadside compromise with one hell of a payload from Area 51 that bioengineered hits the jackpot when it comes to world, hype, story and tension building. The momentum carrying all the way to the shipping container like Jenga quarantined Sin City that features alpha Z's straight out of a graphic novel like Snyder look and vision of legend. These 'Immortals' could be in that very film. Or even scream "SPARTA" amongst all those Medusa like siren, spine-tingling screams. Growling next to one Valentine from Siegfried and Roy that you might not want to open. Guten tag! 

'Oceans Eleven' this Zombie land double-tap is not. Neither is it a '6 Underground' Ryan Reynolds Netflix dud missile. Zack Snyder shares Michael Bay's explosive love of action, but he doesn't let the sun set on the heart of a movie. And no slo-mo, he keeps things going at a gun-ho pace. Zombie movies have infected the big screens years before our own apocalypse talked about quarantine. And amongst the 'Walking Dead' of 'World War Z', 'I Am Legend', '28 Days (and 'Weeks') Later', Schwarzenegger's heartfelt 'Maggie' with 'Zombielands' own Abigail Breslin and of course the South Korean 'Train To Busan', 'Seoul Station' animation and 'Peninsula' trilogy this one checks and has a temperature. Nuclear and vault strong. Helping this horror sub-genre be as grand as its father franchise maker coming at night, carrying a disease were we would all mask up like we should right now in a heartbeat before our last. The only thing that moves in more hordes is this epic ensemble cast. The heart of 'Churchill' actor Ella Purnell in the right place, making this movie right on time. The "BOOM" 'Power' of Omari Hardwick and the 'Goliath' heart of Ana de la Reguera, the soul of this story. Netflix and 'Luke Cage's' own Theo Rossi, even shadier than usual. A safe cracking and scene stealing, 'Valkyrie' in Matthias Schweighöfer. 'Safe House's' crack French merc Nora Arnezeder's howling Coyote amongst all this ugly. 'Star Trek's' engineer and piloting fan favourite Tig Notaro brought in to get them to the chopper and take them home, leaving predators in her dust. The sharpshooting enthusiasm of 'El Chicano's' Raúl Castillo, more contagious than those here who love brains. The hand-to-hand combat and close quarters of Chambers, winningly played with a great hand by martial artist Samantha Win. And model actress Huma Qureshi, the catalyst to all of this. Lets not forget the shady 'Fear Of The Walking Dead' and 'Looper' creep Gilla Dillahunt either. The right hand man to Hiroyuki Sanada's orchestrating billionaire who says this is all, "easy peasy, (lemon squeezy)". The Japanese legend clearly having a Swayze, suited up in shades and sin next to his 'Mortal Kombat' Scorpion for his year, forget month. All for an army stronger than K-Pop Goliath BTS' one. This is the butter and Snyder cuts us another film that pouring petrol on everything, shows us the zombie genre is far from dead. Spreading like something going viral as we all stay safe at home with our smartphone from the real virus. Take a bite at these arms with teeth. TIM DAVID HARVEY. 

Further Filming: 'Zack Snyder's Justice League', 'Suicide Squad', 'World War Z'. 

TV REVIEW: LOVE, DEATH + ROBOTS - Volume 2

4/5

Heart, Skull + Metal.

8 Episodes. Starring: Michael B. Jordan, Nancy Linari, Emily O’Brien, Joe Dempsie, Ike Amadi, Nolan North, Fred Tatasciore, Peter Franzén, Jennifer Hale, Sebastian Croft, Brian Keene, Steven Pacey, Scott Whyte & Zita Hanrot. Creator: Tim Miller. 

Pure hearts, life after death, plus violent metal. In the first anthology of Netflix's 'Love, Death + Robots' created by 'Deadpool' and 'Terminator: Dark Fate' director Tim Miller and executive produced by him and 'Fight Club', 'Se7en' and 'Mank' director David Fincher of 'Gone Girl' and 'The Social Network' fame amongst others (Miller designed the title sequence for Fincher's 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo' as well as Marvel's 'Thor-The Dark World'), we saw more sci-fi worlds for the cult binge than we did pockets of neon and loneliness in the cyberpunk districts that blade run like a 'Ghost In The Shell'. It all started with 'Three Robots' and went from there. 'Beyond The Aquila Rift' travelling light years in space showed you just how devastating the effects are when you sleep in. And you thought Jennifer Lawrence being a 'Passenger(s)' with Chris Pratt was bad (it was). The 'Ice Age' ice pack of Topher Grace and Mary Elizabeth Winstead's fridge freezer showed us strange new worlds (look closely and you could probably see Scrat trying to get that nut (steady)). Whilst 'Sonnie's Edge' gave us a new platform on boss battles like video games that are a beast. 'When The Yogurt Took Over' warned us of the real bacteria we should be weary of. And the Red Army, Siberian cold front of forest monsters showed us 'The Secret War' for these dogs. 'The Sucker Of Souls' was no match for cats like James Corden to Ricky Gervais' "fat pussy" joke. 'The Witness' gave us a woman in the rear window look of spying a murder that was truly original (sorry Amy Adams). Whilst 'Suits' (nothing to do with the modern 'Mad Men' wannabe show) had farmers dusting their crops with more than pesticide. The foxy 'Good Hunting' was in traditonal machinations one of the standouts of the series. And the old man of 'The Dump' was just happy to have a place he could call home. Resting in refuge. 'Shape-Shifters' gave us a deeper look at the core of Marines and the desert of illusions of 'Fish Night' gave us a fish bowl look at the most beautiful and heartbreaking of all the animations in its effervescent epic, enthralling sandbox. Life and limb came into conflict outer space in the gravity of a 'Helping Hand', before 'Alternate Histories' gave you some comic relief at Hitlet's expense and also some squirrel and a nut food for thought (oh hai, Scrat). 'Lucky 13' struck new heights with a drop-ship for your halo and we really saw more with the cyborg thieves in the 'Blindspot'. But it was the compelling conclusion of the artist of technology of 'Zima Blue' that was the real portrait to ponder in this galaxy gallery.

Anything between five and just under a shade of 20 minutes these serious shorts giving all sorts of animators and writers of short stories a chance to shine amongst the stars of the ever expanding universe of science fiction offers us solar systems of dreamscapes. Some classically cartoonist. Other so video game close to reality we finally get to see the theory of most first-person cut sequences being good enough to K.O. some movie moments for real, fully-fleshed out digitally. There's the Wall-E like retirement nightmare of 'Automated Customer Services' that puts you on hold with the application of most accidents (and murders) happen at home...by your trusty household appliances. The 'Ice' capades escape of a graphic novel like animation that will WOW you like another night swimming in the sky with the fishes. The 'Pop Squad' and a Jim Caviezel meets Jon Bernthal (it's neither of 'em) looking detective with a Dick Tracy stetson takes serious shots at our narcissm at the price of life in the baby killing dark noir. And the 'Snow In The Desert' look of a thirsty desperate apocalypse offers more CG stories realer and more raw than most realities with earned emotion, not devoid of devotion. That's before a man hops off an Orient Express looking traditional train for a smoke break that's real murder. Did he not see 'The Lost World'? Don't go into 'The Tall Grass'! These sharp blades are more ravishing than any raptor. The most scary thing to me as a cult movie loving kid. Until I saw these stranger things. Netflix have a lot of 'Christmas Chronicles' in their sack. Like the Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn, Santa and Mrs. Claus franchise, 'Dolly Parton's Christmas On The Square' and even 'A Very Murray Christmas' and more snowed in under the tree. But in 'All Through The House' something naughty is stirring...and it really isn't a mouse. We hope you've been good this year for goodness sake. Here's your new annual festive tradition like the crown of the Queens speech to unwrap. Slot machine roulette Christmas tree, present and snow emoji.

Michael B. Jordan is the man. The 'Creed' of Rocky franchise redefinition killed it as Killmonger in 'Black Panther' so much that his dead character could even be in the sequel (but as much as we would love and kind of need to see that his scripted passing held poetic, last words of protest poignancy). But it's not like he's running out of franchises to face. This Mike Jordan may even be in 23's sequel to 'Space Jam', 'A New Legacy', starring another 2-3 in LeBron James, who Jordan this week witnessed destroying Steph Curry and the Warriors from the clutch downtown in Los Angeles for the Lakers playoff play-in. In a spin-off to the Amazon Prime time viewing of 'A Quiet Place' director and actor, John Krasinski's 'Jack Ryan', you can catch the Jordan that's making his own MJ legend, no B-team, in Tom Clancy's 'Without Remorse', as Ryan's right hand man John Clark in one of this years biggest and best blockbusters on the small, smartphone screen. Here, though he crash lands on a planet and finds a 'Safe Hutch'. Kind of like a safe house, but a little bit more tin can dented for his damaged goods, planetary pilot. In this run-down outpost he meets a malfunctioned robot that is a halfway house between Netflix's (stealing off itself in this time of "nothing's new under the sun") 'Black Mirror' 'Metalhead' (truly terrifying) and those demodogs from 'Stranger Things' (don't pet 'em). This is not this man's best friend in one of the tensest robot episodes in love and death history, let alone this great genre of galaxy quests. And things get so illuminated in this CGI dark you'll be forgiven again and again if you keep forgetting that this is a computer generated animation and not the real Jordan ruling the screen. This isn't just like, Mike. It's him. All the way down to the beads of sweat that pour from every pore of his petrified body. Beware, this hutch doesn't play it safe...and we're all the better for it. During lockdown last year when I wasn't on a steady diet of Netflix whilst binging carbs, I found another addiction. EVE Online. The massive multiplayer, outer space online game of combat and community. I may not have really talked to anyone, but I got lost in the calm, no one can hear you scream about corona, space between our closed off world and the one we open up from our laptops. Medicating my loneliness and keeping me sane in a planet gone crazy, this artifical reality solar system really took me out of this world...in a way I maybe needed for a day or too. 'Hutch', 'Pop Squad' and the 'Snow In The Desert' play like spin-off from this multi-dimensonal, interstellar worlds. Truly taking us somewhere else in a time were reality bites and we search for more bandwidth to expand our gigs and entertainment gifts whilst we can't be truly present in this world that comes with WARNING tape. Sorry to get black hole dark, but there's still light at the end of the tunnel. A rectangular reflection of hope in these black mirrors. And then there is the compelling, colossal conclusion of 'The Drowned Giant' looking like one from anime 'Attack On Titan' came in with the tide that will really bring you back down to earth in all its human nature of spectacle to sceptical, before this epic anthology washes away from our streaming shores. Philip K. Dick would be proud of these 'Electric Dreams'. Sure this volume only has 8 editions, instead of last seasons' libraries worth of 18, but we can't complain with this malfunction of the heart. Especially when there's another eight wonders coming next year. We love these robots to death. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Further Filming: 'Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams', 'Altered Carbon', 'Black Mirror'. 

REVIEW: THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW

3/5

Girl On A Ledge. 

100 Mins. Starring: Amy Adams, Gary Oldman, Fred Hechinger, Anthony Mackie, Wyatt Russell, Brian Tyree Henry, Tracy Letts, Jennifer Jason Leigh & Julianne Moore. Director: Joe Wright. 

20th Century Fox. Hearing the trumpets blare and seeing the iconic monument of the movie logo come into overhead play for their latest movie in conjunction with streaming service Netflix is such a refreshing relief. Corona has crippled cinema and locked down has left us with more laptop home movie subscriptions than there are companies fighting for film rights and our coin. It's been so long since we've heard those horns (last year '20th Century' released just three films ('The Call Of The Wild', 'The Empty Man' and the X-Men horror, 'The New Mutants'), next up is Ryan Reynolds' 'Free Guy' whenever that comes out), as we have stayed so safe at home we almost feel like Amy Adams' agoraphobic character in the novel adaptation of 'The Woman In The Window'. 'Gone Girl', 'The Girl On The Train', Hitchcock's 'Rear Window'. This one cribs them all and in meta moments doesn't hide that in any shape or form. Shamelessly. Even binge watching them on TV. But what else are you going to do when your stuck home alone for longer than Macaulay Culkin? He even called it a day after two. You see, things have started to feel like they have been repeating themselves for awhile now. So much so it feels like a century since we last saw that Fox sign. And it may as well have been. Because through the focus of a James Stewart camera the rear end of this adaptation has seen more development hell than trying to clean windows in the rain. And refelecting the tap dripping like bullets, this stylized film abusing substance as a result sometimes feels like Chinese water torture. Drip. Drip. Drip. Although apartment to apartment this is the perfect way to film movies now at a social distance. Even if said movies stray close to rip-offs. The late, great legend Christopher Reeve's 1998 'Rear Window' TV movie remake did it better. That was super man. This could use a phone booth. Even if on the surface Amy Adams' psychologist turned paranoid nosy neighbour's life looks perfect. Calling her everyday on the phone and sweetly calling her slugger she's married to Captain America (Anthony Mackie) and another one lives in her basement (US Agent, Wyatt Russell). But if you think this cat lady is losing the plot, you should (or maybe even shouldn't) watch this movie. 

'Arrival', 'American Hustle', 'The Fighter'. Even 'Big Eyes', 'Vice' and 'Her'. Amy Adams has had quite the run on her way to chasing Sandra status (that's Bullock. Still not, "the lady off 'Bird Box'). Lately she hasn't gone off the boil, but maybe her choices need to be reheated. Tom Ford's 'Nocturnal Animals' needed her hallmark hard work. It was fashionable, but deeply unsettling. And we couldn't think of a more perfect Lois Lane for the new DC generation. Yet we all know all the problems the Snyder Verse of 'Man Of Steel', 'Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice' and 'Justice League' had with critics. But thanks to the Snyder Cut released a few months back on HBO Max, I now love this dark big-three of the superhero world and Adams' maverick reporter has always been the crutch, catalyst and ace in the hole. She's the big gun they bring out who can really floor the man who is faster than a speeding bullet. It's Adams' Netflix deal that is a little concerning. Or the streamers new range of motion pictures in general (aside from the perfect curtain call last fall of 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom' as Denzel Washington and Viola Davis playing for August Wilson again rally should have left the late, great Chadwick Boseman with an Academy Award in the ignoring Oscar's last chance to give it to him...with all due respect to Anthony Hopkins). I haven't seen Ron Howard's 'Hillbilly Elegy' that have both Glenn Close an Oscar and Razzie nomination, but I hear it wasn't happy days like Jonie and Chachi. This window too can be a pain. It's Adams through the looking glass who spies us a reason to stay engaged. Compelling nuances and every emotion in acclaimed aggravation. But the film itself just doesn't wash like soap and water. Especially the finally rain soaked slow-motion rooftop act that John Woo would be proud of. Playing somewhere between 'John Wick' and 'Saw' (imagine being trapped in a scenario were both movies meet...with a pencil), when it should of acted like something like 'The Fugitive' on that third act run. These type of movies were built off suspense, not sensationalised set-pieces. I still feel a shudder down my spine when I think of the lights-out, match-struck, game is up reveal from the 1998 'Rear Window', were Reeve was found to be a peeping Tom by a blonde bombshell with a look of daggers. Here, sadly everything is kind of phoned in. I'm not trying to bring the knives out like a cable knit. Watch Amy in the Gillian Flynn ('Gone Girl') adapted 'Sharp Objects' instead. 

Wasted opportunities and world class casts deserve better. Churchill in his 'Darkest Hour' Oscar winner and everybody's favourite commissioner until Jeffrey Wright gets his turn at Gordon, Gary Oldman's hair seems to have turned white overnight with trying to shout his way through doing his best with pulp dialogue that makes his abusive father look like a stock 'Leon' or 'Air Force One' villain. Whilst his son played by Netflix 'News Of The World' scene-stealer Fred Hechinger is versatile. The twenty something going between a Billy the Kid type in Hanks' western with Greengrass to an anxiety riddled teen with a conditon here. Although his role left me making those hand gestures Ross did in 'Friends' when he became Chandler and Joey's roommate. Don't swear at me with two fists. Your new cap, Anthony Mackie appears mostly on the phone like Bradley Cooper's uncredited, pop out for popcorn and you'll miss it cameo in '10 Cloverfield Lane' (whose trilogy conclusion also turned into a galaxy colossal cluster f-bomb on Netflix), but what a voice (both of them). And his shield substitute and 'The Falcon and The Winter Soldier' star Wyatt Russell can go from zero to anger level 60 in a tenth of a second. You've seen him with a frisbee when he throws his toys out the pram. But what a talent. 'Still Alice' Oscar winner and general great Julianne Moore moves us to feel more, but she's barely in this movie it feels like she isn't even there. A wasted 'Hateful Eight' in cahoots Jennifer Jason Leigh doesn't get to fare much better either. So it's up to 'Atlanta', 'Godzilla vs Kong', 'Joker', 'Eternals' and soul of the animated 'Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse', Brian Tyree Henry's sensitive, scene-stealing cop to clean everything up. Paper Boi doing paper work, hot on Adams' case like his classic kingpin was putting the clamps on Viola Davis' 'Widows' for Steve McQueen, the last, great action-thriller you saw at the movies. 'August: Osage County' Pulitzer playwright and screenwriter Tracy Letts ('Last Bird', 'The Post', 'Ford vs Ferrari') moonlights as a shrink in this movie as well as adapting the screenplay from pseudonymous author A.J. Finn's bestseller from drug store to bookshop. But he nor 'Atonement' and Oldman reuniting 'Darkest Hour' director Joe Wright can atone for this poor performance. Its no one's fault here. It's just the sum of all the mismatched parts adds to something that feels more like a fabrication that has actually caused controversy in the real named author, Dan Mallory's real life than the mystery we hoped to see unfold on-screen. Next time you want to play detective maybe it's time you strapped on a moustache and boarded Agatha Christie's 'Orient Express'. For when it comes to this 'Woman In The Window', you may want to close the curtain. TIM DAVID HARVEY. 

Further Filming: 'Gone Girl', 'The Girl On The Train', 'Rear Window'.

REVIEW: MONSTER

4/5

When They See Him.

98 Mins. Starring: Kelvin Harrison Jr., Jennifer Ehle, Tim Blake Nelson, Rakim 'A$AP Rocky' Mayers, Nasir Jones, Jharrel Jerome, John David Washington, Jennifer Hudson & Jeffrey Wright. Director: Anthony Mandler. 

What do you see when you look at the picture above? If you think anything less than a man then it's time you read 'Between The World And Me' by Ta-Nehisi Coates, or watched Ava DuVernay's documentary '13th' on Netflix like 'When They See Us'. Or look to last year...or better yet at yourself in the mirror. Black Lives STILL Matter more than a trend or what some thought was the end of this movement last year. People are still marching and no one should stand in their way. That's the real monster here. Hovering menacingly over progress like a dark cloud. But it's not black...it's white. And it looks a lot like privilege. To those who even look remotely like this, it's time to change your viewpoint. For us to learn to see each other as a brother. Instead of what poet Tupac Shakur and an Oscar winning Netflix short told us about as, 'Two Distant Strangers'. It's been a length of time since this former Sundance hit has seen the light of the day. But now in 2021 following a year rife with police brutality and social justice protests Netflix have acquired the rights for this film for the world to see. Call this 'Monster' (a critical courtroom drama like no other also found in other countries as an 'All Rise' declaration) a beast of a movie. Call it a monster hit. Even call it the same name as 'The Old Guard' Charlize Theron's 2003 classic. Just don't call this man a monster. He's a human being. And a good one at that. He's just a kid. When will they see that? 

Based on the book of the same name by 'Fallen Angels' and five-time Coretta Scott King award for African-American authors Walter Dean Myers and produced by actor Jeffrey Wright, rapper Nasir Jones (who both appear in the movie significantly with powerful poignancy) and the Oscar winning 'Glory' of singer/songwriter John Legend who provides another thought-provoking classic for the closing credits reflection, 'Fall From Grace'. This 'Monster' adapted from Radha Blank's ('The 40 Year Old Version') screenplay with Cole Wiley and Janece Shaffer, directed by Anthony Mandler (in his directing debut about to be 'Surrounded' by more) of Rihanna music video ('Unfaithful' and 'Diamonds') and Entertainment Weekly, ESPN, Esquire and GQ photographic frame and fame focuses on a young photographer who narrates his own story as if he scripting it. But flip this, despite the prosecuting attorney's abhorrent accusations that he likes to make stories up for a living, this budding filmmaker is the real deal like the art imitating life and vice versa director of this life under a lens of stereotype that plays against type. Giving us a profile of a person that shows this could have been anyone profiled at the wrong stop and search or moment stuck in the crosshairs of the blue and white. Stopped and searched because they fit the description of discrimination. And to those who have out their hands down and unclenched their fists of power in solidarity now the likes have stopped coming across their social media platforms, if you're tired of seeing these types of stories, then how do you think the people who have the police who know nothing about them making up their ones like planted evidence or bullshit "justifiable cause" feel? Stories like this need to be told because they matter more. Just like the lives of those taken too soon and far too illegally and unjustly. The lives that should go on like these narratives will until our collective hope really brings change. 

Let's hear it for 'It Comes At Night' star Kelvin Harrison Jr. Because after small but significant roles in the likes of 'Enders Game' and the monumental '12 Years A Slave' this is his movie...in more ways than one. Making 'Waves' like he did in said movie as the 'Luce' star shows he is no longer one hit away. This is the movie and moment that will make him a mainstream name, but what's more important is the names of those just like the character that he is playing. Say them. It's a deeply felt and earned performance that shouldn't have missed the Academy, just because it wasn't the "trend" for them to tick these sort of boxes back then and honor performers and performances of power like this for their own back-patting. There's also an incredible and inspired performance from Broadway star, Tony and BAFTA award winner and 'Pride and Prejudice', 'The Kings Speech', 'Zero Dark Thirty' and the most scariest film of all-time (even before last year...and I used to haaate horror movies), 'Contagion' star, Jennifer Ehle that will sit next to both Netflix's 'The Fundamentals Or Caring' and 'The Miseducation Of Cameron Post' as one of her most affecting roles. 'The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs', 'Just Mercy' and new 'Watchmen' series platinum character actor Tim Blake Nelson also scores as a terrific teacher educating his students on owning their own story, no matter what people say or think. But it's rapper/actor Rakim Mayes (I had no idea his real name was Rakim, no wonder he changed it going in. That was already taken by the God MC) AKA A$AP Rocky who really earns rave reviews here. Leaving a mark like his own legal nightmares in Sweden would a year later. Get this man in another movie...ASAP. Nasir Jones or the 'Illmatic' Nas as you better know him coming off his 'Kings Disease' last year shows he 'Stillmatic' still has it as a wise and weary friend in prison. We'd love to see the 'Belly' co-star of DMX (rest peacefully) at the table of more script-reads. Even 'Tenet' and 'BlackKklansman' megastar John David Washington (who most recently appeared in the critically underrated and wrongfully nomination ignored 'Malcolm and Marie' with Zendaya on Netflix) and 'When They See Us' breakout talent Jharrel Jerome (who most recently rode with 'Stranger Things' coming of age star Caleb McLaughlin in Netflix's 'Concrete Cowboy' with Idris Elba) take the stand in against type, but scarily good performances. But it's the trademark restrained passion (even more punctuated with powerless hurt and undeniable conviction of confliction) of 'Westworld' and forthcoming new Commissioner Gordon of 'The Batman', Jeffrey Wright (so good and so different in Netflix's exploration of the other side of the prison walls for a young black man in 'All Day and a Night') and 'Dreamgirls' Oscar winner and forthcoming Aretha Franklin 'Respect' biopic star Jennifer Hudson as proud, but profoundly hurt parents that really sings. As we listen and learn that so much matters in this movie like the real lives in reflection that it portrays through the shutters. Timely, but still so pressingly urgent, 'Monster' first roared it's message in 2018. That's two years before everything that happened last year. Go figure. Why? Because this type of thing has been happening for centuries and will continue if we let it. Don't let it. Let's keep protesting and protecting. Reaching to the heavens with a fist that doesn't hit, but fights for peace. Until we are no longer scared of the real monsters who lie and hide under more than our beds. TIM DAVID HARVEY. 

Further Filming: 'When They See Us', 'All Day And A Night', 'Two Distant Strangers'. 

TV REVIEW: YASUKE - Season 1

 

3.5/5

The First Samurai.

6 Episodes. Starring LaKeith Stanfield, Jun Soejima, Takehiro Hira, Maya Tanida, Kiko Tamura, Gwendoline Yeo, Rie Tanaka, Paul Nakauchi, Yu Kamio, Dia Frampton, Eri Kitamura, Darren Criss, Shunsuke Kubozuka, Fusako Urabe & Ming-Na Wen. Creator: LeSean Thomas. 

Time for a black history lesson. 'Yasuke' is real. Late, great 'Black Panther' icon and biopic artist Chadwick Boseman ('42', 'Get On Up', 'Marshall') was meant to portray him in a feature length movie (now wouldn't that have been something). But now 'Atlanta', 'Get Out' and fellow Oscar nominated actor of 'Judas and the Black Messiah', LaKeith Stanfield voices the first black Samurai in Netflix's new six part anime series, streaming as we speak. Executive producing this passion project that takes him from the ATL to the Far East of Japan, this awesome animation is lovingly rendered in traditional texture like a Hokusai woodblock print. Whilst Grammy nominated musician Flying Lotus provides the self-titled soundtrack that scores with a 'Black Gold' royalty terrific theme from the titan Thundercat. 1579, Yasuke entered Japan in the service of Alessandro Valignano, an Italian Jesuit missionary. But that wasn't to be this man's fate. Yasuke after serving as a retainer under one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period in Japan (the daimyo and "great unifier" Oda Nobunaga) became one of the first noted samurais of African origin. And the rest really is history. Nobunaga took an interest in Yasuke after he thought he used ink to dye his skin black. He forced him to strip and scrub himself until he realised Yasuke was in fact black. After the indignity of this humiliating injustice the daimyo became a friend to this samurai to be, praising his strength and loyalty as the two made their way to Kyoto. 'The True Story of a Legendary Black Warrior in Feudal Japan' has been told by many like Geoffrey Girard and Thomas Lockley's 'African Samurai' book. Or Yoshio Kurusu's 1968 children's book, 'Kurosuke'. As well as scores of manga and period dramas. Well now animation meets TV series' in season with this acclaimed to be anime. Like the classic 'Afro Samurai' anime that was said to have been based on this legendary figure. But with the iconic 'Yasuke' on Netflix, this is as real as it gets for the original black superhero before Wakanda, before Shaft. 

Well as real as it can get when this anime fantasy meets period piece features a talking android...although with quotes like "teamwork makes the dream a slightly greater statistical probability" this Haruto prototype is even more hilarious than TARS off 'Interstellar'. But the all too real racism is all too raw and an unnecessary, but still somewhat needed for some reminder to how similar its shades and reflections are in today's world watching this traditional one. Throughout the first episode Yasuke is referred to as "black boatsman" like alliteration can cover up all their ignorance (it could never). Yasuke was once called Eusebio Ibrahimo Baloi, but that was when he was a slave. He's a free man now. Given a voice by LaKeith Stanfield (Jun Soejima in the Japanese translation), who deserves more than a thoughtless, "thinking man's stoner" tag for his much more nuanced role hiding in plain sight in Donald Glover's 'Atlanta'. Just like the landmark show and best thing on television is much more than a comedy. All you have to do is see the 'Sorry To Bother You' icon who also starred in Netflix's live-action 'Death Note' anime adaptation in a 'Get Out' camera flash to see how he can change in a shutters instant and develop a depth of excruciating emotion that would take red room reels to see from others. LaKeith is a landmark talent that stands ahead of the field and here as he takes us down the river he offers us just a glimpse of his heartbreak and pain, before that restrained reflection heads downstream. Upriver, mercs with mouths, torture only just worse than hearing them talk and a malady of memories await. It sounds like this man and his new ward need to make an appointment with the doctor. And it's this penultimate prescription that is worth checking in for as a second season of this show is just what Netflix should order.  

Harnessing all its fantastical, collective power, 'Yasuke' is more than just one man. Even if bucking the dictations of tradition he changed the world, or at least this land of the rising son. Theatrical, television and film actor Takehiro Hira is perfect in this as the figure of history and pivotol one here, Oda Nobunaga. Playing this warlord feels like Providence for the man who attended that high-school in Rhode Island like a Friar. Bridging the gap between the Japanese and original English language of this subtitled series. Whilst Maya Tanida and Kiki Tamura offer an inspired innocence and then coming of age held stage as Saki, the adopted daughter and catalyst of this combusting plot. Gwendoline Yeo and and Rie Tanaka give more than a voice to a beautiful singer that provides the bridge. Whilst Paul Nakauchi and Yu Kamio fill out the role of the good doctor with a clean bill of casting credits. It's Dia Frampton and Rie Kitamura though who really are a cut above the rest as a schyte wielding assassin, who knives out wants Yasuke to meet his maker with death waiting in the wings. Want me to lighten up? Even 'Glee'...and erm 'The Assassination Of Gianni Versace', Netflix miniseries 'Hollywood' star Darren Criss is on hand on this spectacle (with Japan's very own, Shunsuke Kubozuka) as that scene stealing scrap of metal. This quite possibly, may just be the BEST thing Criss has done and he was EVERYTHING (aside from Ricky Martin) about the Versace 'American Crime Story'. But it's 'Mulan', 'ER', 'Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D', 'The Mandalorian' and soon to be 'The Book Of Boba Fett' cult icon Ming-Na Wen and Fusako Urabe who are the soul of this story in forlorn flashback as Natsumaru. Tell me she isn't a legend...any of them. Just wait until we get deeper into the heart of this 16th century samurai story and the warriors way as you come out to play. Director, producer, animator and comic-book artist LaSean Thomas ('Black Dynamite' setting the fuse) based in Meguro, Tokyo (come say hello) has given us something to behold. Now we can't wait for the manga. Black power like this matters and means so much more than history. It's legacy. TIM DAVID HARVEY. 

Further Filming: 'Afro Samurai', 'The Last Samurai', '47 Ronin'.