REVIEW: MONKEY MAN

4/5

Monkey Business.

121 Mins. Starring: Dev Patel, Sikander Kher, Sharlto Copley, Pitobash, Sobhita Dhulipala & Vipin Sharma. Screenplay: Dev Patel, Paul Angunawela & John Collee. Director: Dev Patel. In: Theatres.

King Kong ain't got s### on this training day, even if the Baba Yaga has. This being 'Monkey Man', the directorial debut from 'Slumdog Millionaire', 'Hotel Mumbai' and 'The Green Knight' star Dev Patel. There really is nothing the star of HBO's 'The Newsroom' and the man who gave us 'The Personal History Of David Copperfield' can't do. The 34-year-old, great and BAFTA award-winning actor, who also has a few Academy Award and Golden Globe nom nods to his name, is doing it all here as all action actor and dynamic new director crossing over like Zoë Kravitz in 'Blink Twice', on a screenplay he penned with Paul Angunawela and John Collee (of 'Master and Commander' and 'Happy Feet' fame).

Produced and presented by 'Get Out', 'Us', and 'Nope' director Jordan Peele (who had similar success producing the timeless, throwback horrors of 'Candyman' and 'The Twlight Zone'), 'Monkey Man' goes well and truly apes###. The planet is Dev's world now, as a perfect Patel does damn near everything, blood, sweat and tears of rage. Even though this bloody, brutal,  'Lion' like love letter to motherhood (which is thankfully not also a true story) owes a nod to the hand-to-hand, gun-fu action of Keanu Reeves' 'John Wick' (it knows this, even referencing the man with the pencil) like 'Nobody's' business. All the way down to the all black suit and the cute canine companion, we can only hope doesn't meet a thorny, 'Thrones-y' end (otherwise, I'll be the one chopping off d###s). Even the way he opens up a cabinet, hammers home the 'Wick' burning themes. Have these guys heard about keeping their keys under a rock on the porch?

This 'Monkey Man' wears his own mask, though. And that's what makes this ringside entrance to this fighter that likes to take a hit, with good reason, so cruelly compelling in all this bloodlust and political points with the finger that jabs. This Monkey fist for Monkeypaw Productions also hits at a 'Chappie' reunion with the voice of 'District 9' and 'Elysium', Sharlto Copley himself, playing it up perfectly, like his sleazy and slick suits, as always. Although the most iconic Indian movie since the billionaire making, 'Slumdog' features a whole host of talent from Patel's motherland. His best film since 'The Green Knight' also features Sikander Kher as a brutal b######, Bollywood icon Pitobash ('Million Dollar Arm') as a friendly face, Sobhita Dhulipala as an unspoken love interest trying to escape that life and Vipin Sharma as an amazing Alpha in hallucinogenic scenes of spirit.

Yet it's a devastatingly good Dev Patel, whose performance in this labour of love, passion project, that really affects us the most. How long he trained and honed his already lean and mean machine of a body we don't know. But adding this 'Atomic Blonde' like, no punches pulled fist fight of furious revenge is a real brave one like Jodie Foster, getting vigilante justice for Naveen Andrews, as Terrence Howard looked on trying to put one and two together. Just wait until he throws everything at a kitchen more explicit than 'The Bear' as he roars...and doesn't even need the sink. Not only does 'The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel' owner shows that he's capable of arming up in all sorts of ways, he always brings a darkness and depth to this searing story and brutal back one that even the likes of dear John couldn't write. 

Here in Japan, between the confusing kanji, katakana and hiragana, you would be forgiven for thinking (I admit it), that this movie was a left turn direction for modern horror maestro and 'BlacKkKlansman' producer, Jordan Peele. How pleasantly surprised you will be on learning who the real director is as the Batman blood credits roll like heads here in this tale. Add this Universal, South By Southwest premiered picture, that has made a $35 million dollar return on its 10 mill investment, being a hit that also takes shots at those in power ignoring the problems in India (societal ills, including corruption, discrimination, caste system, poverty and the experiences of the Hijra community are explored), and you really have a mainstream movie that means more. A bruising blockbuster ready to give the summer a black eye, we can't wait to see what Patel makes next now he's entered the director's chair on the back of an auto rickhsaw. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Further Filming: 'Slumdog Millionaire', 'Lion', 'John Wick'.

TV REVIEW: THE BEAR - Season 3

4/5

The Bear Necessities

10 Episodes. Starring: Jeremy Allen White, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Ayo Edebiri, Lionel Boyce, Liza Colón-Zayas, Abby Elliott, Matty Matheson, Oliver Platt, Jamie Lee Curtis & Jon Bernthal. On: Disney +.

R.E.M., Radiohead...just everything on your damn radio. The soundtrack of each season of the Emmy winning FX series 'The Bear' (Season 3, now streaming on Disney +) is so damn good and sought after, that it may as well come with its own sponsorship from the app Shazam (just like the fact that my favourite app needs to come with a direct Spotify curating and creating playlist link). But 'The Bear' growls louder than all that, even the once Gotham, gargoyle, classic Chicago skylines and cityscapes that aesthetically match the scoring soundtrack of this series. 

Yes, Chef, 'The Bear' is even much more than the legendary company of its Emmy winning guest stars like a punishing Jon Bernthal (that look between Jeremy Allen White and Jon in the closing moments of Season One, as 'OK Computer's' 'Let Down' plays, is everything), Oscar winning Jamie Lee Curtis and many more you could shake the menu of an award's season envelope at, that we simply shouldn't spoil like the soup.

Jeremy Allen White is a Springsteen star of the future, but his glory days are right now. And not just because this Calvin Klein ad man looks good in a pair of tighty-whities with the NYC skyline in the distracted background. Biting into his own Big Apple in the home of the deep dish, 'The Bear' is serving up an even bigger and better slice in the Windy City. Capturing the anxiety (and explicitly) of anyone whose ever worked in a kitchen (*dishwasher raw hands up*) perfectly. Especially the head chef. 

You should keep the receipts from the check machine of this nuanced and niggling performance, all the way down to the iconic, not so plain white tee under the apron his hands wipe on. Hiding, yellowing stains like the cigarette packet under his shirtsleeve like a convict. Imprisoned in his own world, a slave to the system of customers and perfection, under his fingernails, that won't shift like garlic, keeping his demons at the door. Or the chest freezer. Now that's service.

The thing is, 'The Bear' is more than the cousin of JAW too. Take Eban Moss-Bachrach, almost unrecognizable (it's those eyes) from his time playing Keanu Reeves' brother in 'The Lake House'. He's hit pay dirt with Marvel, all to play a pile of rocks for the 'Fantastic Four', but you just know this fantastic actor could get blood, sweat AND tears out of a stone. His first reminiscent, throwback moment with an also amazing Liza Colón-Zayas (for her own epic episode of origin story) truly gets some. Meanwhile, the acclaimed Ayo Edebiri steals the show with every course she takes. Motivated by Coach K and the Duke of this kitchen amongst all the black and bruised blue devils of s### shift work. 

Add the 'Sugar' of Abby Elliott running all of this and holding onto the breaking branches of the thorny family tree, and 'The Godfather' like presence (and best, Orwellian line of the series) of Oliver Platt, and this is the perfect recipe. Like the delightful, but heartbreaking, more than just desserts of Odd Future member Lionel Boyce (with an even brighter one on-screen). This show is as ever likeable as Matty Matheson, and after the appetizer, mains and dessert, we can't wait for a fourth course like a fresh cup of coffee. Nothing on television tastes like this. Grab a bite of what everybody's been recommending. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Further Filming: 'Beef', 'Succession', 'Burnt'.

ANIME REVIEW: KAIJU NO. 8 - Season 1

4/5

Monster Man.

12 Episodes. Starring: Masaya Fukunishi, Asami Seto, Wataru Kato, Fairouz Ai, Kengo Kawanishi & Yuuki Shin. Screenplay: Ichirō Ōkouchi. Directors: Shigeyuki Miya & Tomomi Kamiya. On: Netflix.

Godzilla rears his iconic head above the famous Shinjuku TOHO Cinemas in Tokyo, Japan. So much so, the street he roams over is named after him. Yet, I've been here in the Land of the Rising Sun, five years, next month, and I still was in for a surprise the last time I walked down Godzilla Road on just another neon night. On the hour, like Paris Eiffel Tower shining in glittering flashbulbs and gold in the City Of Light, Godzilla roars like clockwork, along with his iconic theme tune. 

And not just that, he spits hot fire like Dave Chappelle's Dylan with an electric blue that crackles and cackles from his mouth. Now I no longer wonder why everyone stands at attention there, on the hour, and where that music is coming from. It's not from the legendary Don Quijote that even Bruno Mars, no stranger to Tokyo having sold out more domes than the Giants, has made a music video for. His latest collaborator, the legendary Lady Gaga also spending thousands (and we aren't talking about Yen) in the Osaka outlet.

King Kong ain't got s### on all this. Kaiju's are kind of a big deal. You only have to watch Hollywood's recent face off with the planet of the ape, or look at Japan's own Oscar winning, 'Godzilla Minus One' and the film noir that's about now on our shore, 'Minus Colour' to see the glow like his minty fresh breath. Nothing is bigger than the God, who recently celebrated his 70th birthday. But in this movie multiverse, his strand of storytelling stomps all sorts of new ground. 

From movies thinking about what to do with his colossus corpse, to Netflix anime about other famous monster lizards. And this is where 'Kaiju No. 8', available on the streaming service, meets these same minds in the middle. Based on Naoya Matsumoto's massive manga series, this Production I.G. and Studio Khara production is directed by Shigeyuki Miya and Tomomi Kamiya and scripted by Ichirō Ōkouchi, knocking this adaptation out the park like his baseball namesake. 

Chief animator Tetsuya Nishio really steals the show, too, with his character designs. Whilst Shinji Kimura's art direction and the monster designs of Mahiro Maeda (a concept artist for 'Mad Max: Fury Road') really bring even more vivid detail to this mix of classic and "kawaii" anime, with its digital opening and terrific themes from Youngblud and OneRepublic, two acts no stranger to hits, like they are a spacebar...I'm sorry, a space-bar. Streaming on TV Tokyo and an X simulcast, this show, starring the vocal talents of Masaya Fukunishi, Asami Seto, Wataru Kato, Fairouz Ai, Kengo Kawanishi and Yuuki Shin has just been green lit for a second season, and you can see why. 

Beyond a terrific knife-wielding and big-gun team, reminiscent of those trying to take on an 'Attack On Titan', there's a rogue gallery of kaiju (armed with voices akin to the opening of Prince's '1999'), even more diverse than Godzilla through the ages. The best being the man who became one in humanoid form. Straight from the clean-up team that takes care of the destruction left in the wake of these big beasts (The Avengers would never). This is what makes the regular Joe anime fantasy of 'Kaiju No. 8' the wonder that it is. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Further Filming: 'Gamera-Rebirth', 'Attack On Titan', 'Godzilla: Singular Point'.

TV REVIEW: THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY - Season 4

3.5/5

Under My Umbrella.

6 Episodes. Starring: Elliot Page, Tom Hopper, David Castañeda, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Robert Sheehan, Aidan Gallagher, Justin H. Min, Ritu Arya, David Cross, Megan Mullally, Nick Offerman & Colm Feore. Created By: Steve Blackman. On: Netflix.

If you think it's bad that the fourth season of 'The Umbrella Academy' on Netflix is also the final one, just wait until you find out how many episodes there are, reduced by four. Thank God for a grown-up Five, and the six other members of his X-Men like Academy of a family. These six episodes are stellar, like starlight, and the perfect swan song, as the streaming service Netflix's first family wave goodbye for the final time with the planet in peril, but not an ape in sight. Despite another multiverse of madness strand of storytelling, coming at the same time as the mega Marvel and Disney crossover blockbuster of 'Deadpool and Wolverine', 'The Umbrella Academy' can find themselves under the same parasol of the school of 'The Boys', 'Deadly Class', 'Doom Patrol' and 'Legion'. Creating that last word of fans, more than just those who follow the chemical romance of comic-book writer Gerard Way. This Steve Blackman creation even rivals those Fox mutants that say 'LFG' with its Green Day rivalling closing credits of a glorious gallery of memories for the time of your life.

Dysfunction in the apocalypse. They're all here. The Hargreeves family. 'Inception' and 'X-Men: The Last Stand/Days Of Future Past' actor Elliot Page, supercharged as 'The White Violin' Viktor. 'Game Of Thrones' and 'Black Sails' star Tom Hopper as the muscle-bound Spaceboy of Luther. The Kraken arms of a knife throwing (and bullets in perfect time) David Castañeda's Diego. The Rumour you've all heard about in 'Jekyll and Hyde's' Emmy Raver-Lampan as Allison. The Séance of 'Misfit' Robert Sheehan as Klaus, doing more than just talking to the dead, and being in a worse predicament than the other Ryan Reynolds movie where he had to do more than break the fourth wall to keep the people entertained in that one-man show. Aidan Gallagher as The Boy you know as Five, coming of age and across a twisted New York like Subway that will take him to greater places than 'The Matrix'. Then there are the Superman eyes of Rita Arya welcomed to the family. Former Sparrow member Justin H. Min. A beast that roars louder than a T. rex. And an even bigger monster in the form of 'Thor' and 'The Amazing Spider-Man 2' actor Colm Feore. What else could you ask to be brought to the fore?

Well, how about an academy of the greatest guest stars this side of the Queen of R&B and a 'Mindhunter' star that kills it? Not only do we have the 'Arrested Development' of David Cross, but also the new tag team of Gene and Jean. Sounding as much like a seventies double act as their winter coat, middle-American attire looks. They're also played by no other than 'Will & Grace' star Megan Mullany, showing just how left field she can take it, and who else, but Ron 'F#####g' Swanson himself, 'Parks & Recreation' cult favourite Nick Offerman. And if you thought Offerman was outstanding in that one episode of 'The Last Of Us' that riled up the red caps, then wait until you see the voice's ponytail and bifocals here. You already know, he steals the show. He always does like that big horn always wins a staring competition with the other Ron, Will Ferrell's Robert Goulet. Season Four of 'The Umbrella' may feel more like an EP than an LP, but for the record, it's one of the best superhero shows ever. We've marvelled at enough to know that superhero fatigue is real, but at least this one doesn't needlessly put up an umbrella like it was just a light shower. Avoiding bad luck like opening one indoors, 'The Academy' join the likes of 'Ozark', 'The Crown' and soon to be 'Stranger Things' and 'Squid Game' in Netflix retirement, but at least before the glow of the multiple Emmy winner was taken away. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Further Filming: 'The Boys', 'Legion', 'Deadly Class'.

REVIEW: THE FALL GUY

3.5/5

Legends Of The Fall

126 Mins. Starring: Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Hannah Waddingham, Teresa Palmer, Stephanie Hsu & Winston Duke. Screenplay: Drew Pearce. Director: David Leitch. In: Theatres.

There was a typhoon warning in Tokyo this Friday gone. Still, that didn't stop Tokyoite's from making it to the Japanese release of 'The Fall Guy' (hey girl, you'll do anything for Ryan Gosling), like it doesn't stop these cinemagoers from sitting until the end credits of every movie is completed, even if it isn't a Marvel. Now, THAT'S respect...and besides, what better place to spend during a rainstorm, than inside? Although I should have learnt from the 2019 typhoon when I went to see 'Gemini Man' and both my jean legs represented wet dish cloths after the storm came at me like a 'Jaws' ride at Universal Studios. 

Yet, that's nothing compared to what stunt men and women go through to give you the latest Hollywood picture. The stars shadow (thank you, Luna) that break bones and plate glass windows all so you can say, "WOW! Ryan Gosling is a really good actor!" He really is though, and now, he along with former stuntman turned director David Leitch ('John Wick', 'Deadpool 2') finally give the unsung heroes their day on screen like the amazing pyrotechnics of when this movie pulled its own red carpet up from under us.

Loosely (unlike the harnesses, thank God) based on the Glen A. Larson TV show of the same name starring Lee Majors and Heather Thomas, and scripted by Drew Pearce ('Iron Man 3', 'Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation'), 'The Fall Guy' features found footage from Leitch movies like the 'Fast and Furious' spin-off 'Hobbs & Shaw' (co-wrote by Pearce) and 'Atomic Blonde'...where a tooth breaking Charlize Theron actually did some of her own stunts. Just like the billion dollar blockbuster 'Barbie' actor does in another scorching Summer, proving that he's not just an Oscar nominated Ken. He's a ten, shadowing the 'Kraven The Hunter' actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson (reuniting with Leitch after his 'Bullet Train' time with Brad Pitt), with his own hilarious understudy. 

Not to mention, the cracking, combustible chemistry with Emily Blunt, who holds her own in this show like the 'Quiet Place' lead did in the Oscar winning 'Oppenheimer' that went against Gosling's silver screen beau last year. The fantastic actress we wish was more than just a marvellous hint, with all due respect to 'Mission: Impossible' and 'Hobbs & Shaw' star Vanessa Kirby, who will still be a storm as Sue, plays a director, bold with the bullhorn, who is making a movie that feels like 'Mad Max' meets 'Dune'. Seeing this Ryan for who he really is, even if he thinks he can dodge bullets like Wick in 'The Matrix'.

"I never forget a fist" (HA, HA!) Gosling says, as he is given what for by a hired goon. This 'Guy' features standout performances from 'Ted Lasso' star Hannah Waddingham, scream queen Teresa Palmer (in this Aussie set movie), 'Everything Everywhere All At Once' breakout performer Stephanie Hsu, and 'Black Panther' favourite Winston Duke as a stunt coordinator. Yet nobody is stealing the show from the stunt performers themselves. Not even the 80s loaded soundtrack, the 'Miami Vice' stunt team baseball jacket, or the fluorescent, comic, nightclub hazy beat down with the obnoxious outfits to match. The action is amazing, all thanks to the blood, sweat and tears put down by those actors who literally put their lives on the line to make all this behind the scenes magic happen. 

They deserve their own bandaged, but not dinted Academy Award and Oscar category, much like the motion captured acting likes of Andy Serkis as Gollum and Caesar in this generation's 'Planet Of The Apes'  have earned their own Oscar statue covered in white dots. Hopefully the watchable, but not breathable 'Fall Guy' will help that legend happen with its relentless pace which shows just how much these unheralded icons give to the industry. Don't be a Jackass! These safety first, men and women, and the coordinators behind them, would give their left arm a sling for this. The least we could do is extend a hand to shake, or salute all that they do. Breaking a Guinness World Record for most canon rolls in a car, it's like the 'Unknown Stuntman' song says, there would be no 'Ben-Hur' or 'Titanic' without them. Let's go again! TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Further Filming: 'The Nice Guys', 'Bullet Train', 'Atomic Blonde'.

REVIEW: TWISTERS

4/5

Twistin' The Night Away.

122 Mins: Starring: Daisy Edgar-Jones, Glen Powell, Anthony Ramos, Brandon Perea, David Corenswet, Maura Tierney & Sasha Lane. Screenplay: Mark L. Smith. Director: Lee Isaac Chung.

Bill Paxton would be proud of these storm chasers. The late, great actor and his 'Twister' movie with Helen Hunt and Cary Elwes set the tornado tone. All in the 'Daylight' of disaster movie's golden era, the 90s, when you even had two volcano movies in the same year ('Dante's Peak', and...erm...'Volcano') trying to out-erupt each other. Now the great genre of Hollywood is back in Tinseltown fashion. You only have to see the epic end of a fitting 'Frankenstein' finale, where a screen is ripped out to reveal mother nature at her most blockbuster building beauty, to realize that monster movies like this are here to stay, like the red seats of cinema. Much like the clever promotional billboards of 'Twisters', literally flung across towns across America. 'Armageddon' and 'Deep Impact' (which also came out in the same calendar, like an 'Olympus Has Fallen' and 'White House Down', a year after those volcano films). Expect epics like this to be brought back to the multiplex for the masses in Oklahoma City thunder and lightning. Very, very frightening.

'Twisters' does for all of these aforementioned real horrors what a 'Maverick' Tom Cruise did for 'Top Gun' and a corona crippled cinema a few years back (all from a story from director Joseph Kosinski too). And it's in part thanks to the pilot who stole the show in that movie, Glen Powell, honouring his late, great friend and 'Twister' forefather Bill Paxton (a lovely video of Paxton playing around in a house that looks and feels like 'Inception' hit it, recently went viral), after earning his spurs and Stetson with him on 'Red Wing'. Now flying on his own, and by the seat of his pants, the 'Top Gun: Maverick' Hangman is cheating death as a "Tornado Wrangler" in jeans and shirt the same. Setting off fireworks as a true maverick and cowboy storm chaser who will literally drill his pick-up truck into the hallowed earth before giving up the ghost on this wind that whirls like a phantom. This isn't his first, you know what. A charismatic, yet compelling YouTube sensation with even more smarts than hits, Powell powers this picture, even though it isn't the 'Hit Man' of the Summer and 'Anyone But You' and 'Devotion' star's own. Yee haw!

That honour goes to Daisy Edgar-Jones. The Sally Rooney 'Normal People' adaptation, H.G. Wells' 'War of the Worlds' and 'Where the Crawdaws Sing' star on the great actors blockbuster moment. Raging against tragedy with her machine work, she looks to use technology to take down (or more "tame") tornados. Don't believe she can stop them? Just watch. Especially when she's teamed up with the tracking of 'In The Heights', 'Hamilton' and 'A Star Is Born' star Anthony Ramos (completing this big-three that could give this franchise a trilogy ('Twister Twins' anyone?), a year after he built transforming franchises with 'Rise Of The Beasts'). Complete with the best glass of water trick you've seen since 'Jurassic Park' and his own Dorothy for this OZ. But we ain't in Kansas any more. Even a new Superman riding shotgun (David Corenswet, sweating it out though his cornstarched shirt, as a Bizaroo version of the Man Of Steel), can't huff and puff and blow this tornado down.

We don't have cows to cloud cover monitor this weather any more. But even in this digital age of modern movies, 'Twisters' still captures the practical effects and huge sets for the set pieces of 'Twister' (cue the streaming search confusion), which was not a movie about a fast-talking, Guinness World Record rapper. But this 'kamikaze' mission from 'Minari' director Lee Isaac Chung (scripted by 'The Revenants' revered Mark L. Smith) will tie you in knots like one of the Windy City rapper's rhymes. Co-starring the "twins...we got twins" line of 'Nope's' Brandon Perea, 'The Mandalorian' scene-stealer Katy O'Brian, 'ER' and 'The Iron Claw' great Maura Tierney and 'American Honey' and Loki' star Sasha Lane, this surprise summer smash can even claw away at 'Deadpool and Wolverine'. Hanging on, much like me after suffering sunstroke and needing to throw up right as this movie was in its third and final act (just blow away, already). My stomach doing twists and turns as it felt like a 4D experience. But more than that TMI, 'Twisters' shows real respect and heart for the actual victims of real natural disasters in America and around the watching world. So much so, something fell down my left cheek, and it wasn't rain. Keep an eye on this storm. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Further Filming: 'Twister', 'Armageddon', 'Top Gun: Maverick'.