DARKMATTERS - The Mind of Matt

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Saturday, December 24, 2016

Darkmatters Top 10 Films of 2016



Matt Adcock’s Top Ten Films of the Year

Another year of cinematic offerings - so which were the good (as opposed to the bad and the ugly)... Amidst the chaos of the political and planetary events - the cinema has at least served up some great opportunities to escape from reality!

You can disagree or debate via twitter: @Cleric20  but here are the ten which made the wall of Darkmatters fame...

Top 10 films of 2016



10 The Girl With All The Gifts (Darkmatters Review HERE)

Melanie, she’s a special girl. Bright, polite and caring, full of wide-eyed wonder at the world around her – oh – and she’s not actually human, even thought you couldn’t tell by looking at her… Director Colm ‘Sherlock’ McCarthy takes the excellent, heartbreaking novel by M.R. Carey and brings it to brutal life on the big screen. Bonus points because I got to be one of the ‘zombie-alike’ extras!?




9 The Edge of Seventeen (Darkmatters Review HERE)

Meet Nadine (Hailee ‘Enders Game’ Steinfeld) a super awkward teenager whose life is a cringe-em-up writ large on the big screen.  The best big screen teenage angst for years. The Edge of Seventeen is just a great film which will make you laugh, cry and feel all the pain of being young and unsure of yourself again.




8 Captain America: Civil War (Darkmatters Review HERE)

The super smack-down of the year which tore The Avengers apart in fine style as team Iron Man take on Team Captain America in a battle royale. Exciting and funny, this is a super treat for the senses which gives great fan service without upping the ante too far. Normally war is hell but this one is a blast!



7 Arrival (Darkmatters Review HERE)

 A cool new take on humanity’s first contact with extra-terrestrial life, as witnessed through the experiences of language expert Louise Banks (Amy ‘Nocturnal Animals’ Adams). Not a ‘shooty’ sci-fi, but a meticulous, deeper, thought-provoking communicate-em-up tinged with a haunting melancholy and packing an emotional punch.



6 Hell or High Water (Darkmatters Review HERE)

Hell or High Water is a film that has family at the heart. Exciting bank heists, shootouts, chases and a body count follow but relationships form the core and it is the family dynamic that makes Director David 'Starred Up' Mackenzie's film so engaging. Just how far will a good man go when desperation closes in around him from every angle?




5 Suburra  (Darkmatters Review HERE)

Prepare yourself for an Italian apocalypse of criminal chaos, corruption, sleaze and heavy duty violence. Suburra is a powerhouse of a film that beguiles and thrills in equal measure. Suburra is a gutsy, beautiful and haunting neo-noir crime-em-up that grips from the start and doesn’t let go. The violent set pieces are just incredible, burning themselves into your mind’s eye




4 Deadpool (Darkmatters Review HERE)

Another superhero origin story? I know right. But this one is a little different, a bit of a spicier cocktail of seriously non-PC jaw-dropping violence, laugh-out-loud profane funnies and ironic pop-culture zeitgeist that bleeds cool from every frame. Expect to have your boundaries expanded – it’s a ballsy ride.




3 Love & Friendship  (Darkmatters Review HERE)

Lady Susan - who shares her name with the unfinished novella on which this movie is based - is on a mission to find both her and her daughter Frederica (Morfydd 'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies' Clark), eligible husbands, packing fortunes preferably. An absolutely perfect date movie, a master class in romantic shenanigans and jolly good time all rolled into one. As Lady Susan might say: “it would be offensive to us both” if you were to miss it!




2 Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (Darkmatters Review HERE) 

Prepare to jump to light speed once again as we find ourselves caught up in the big screen sci-fi events of a rebellion built on hope… Not ‘A New Hope’ which was the blueprint for the last year’s The Force Awakens but rather a desperate gambit by some plucky rebels who must risk everything if they are to help stop the Empire’s new ‘Death Star’. Let The Force flow through you (again).




1 Hunt for the Wilderpeople  (Darkmatters Review HERE) 

The most heart-warming action comedy of the year delivers on every possible level. Hunt For The Wilderpeople, based on Barry Crump’s 1986 novel is directed by Taika ‘What We Do In The Shadows’ Waititi – who brings both an exciting comic manhunt movie and a powerful essay on family life, meaning and the courage required to trust. Simply essential viewing!

Read the Darkmatters Top Ten Films of 2015: HERE

Thursday, December 22, 2016

Darkmatters Review: Passengers


Passengers (12a)

Dir. Morten Tyldum

Reviewed by Matt Adcock (@Cleric20)

Read the newspaper version of this review: The Chronicle

“We boarded the Avalon with the destination a hundred and twenty years hibernation means you wake up in a new century, on a new planet, but a year ago everything changed.”

Space – the final frontier for big budget romance films apparently. Now though we have the strapping Jim Preston (Chris 'Guardians of the Galaxy' Pratt) and gorgeous Aurora Lane (Jennifer 'Joy'  Lawrence) daring to go where no epic sci-fi has gone as literally star-crossed lovers on an intergalactic voyage of luuurve.

"Nice spaceship - shame about the action"

It’s not quite what you think though as Preston finds himself awoken from his planned 120 year hyper-sleep after just 30 years – and with no capacity to go back under, is staring at living out his remaining years alone in space (all the crew and other passengers are still blissfully asleep). All Preston has for company are serving / cleaning robots, and an android named Arthur (Michael 'Nocturnal Animals' Sheen) who tends a Shining-esque bar.

"Table manners don't happen in space"

But even a cursory glance at the trailer or poster will alert you to the fact that Lane – the woman of his dreams – is on board and despite that in doing so he’s condemning her grow old and die with him – he reads all about her, noting everything that she likes in an advance pre-stalking move and then wakes her up…

The two of them then fall for each other despite his dark secret of having basically hand picked her and manipulated her fate to be his mate. Lawrence and Pratt however do make an extremely handsome couple though and each gets to spend obligatory time in their skimpys in case we were in any doubt of their loveliness.

"Let's go outside!?"

To break up the creepy ‘arranged’ space cohabitation there are at least some intergalactic peril scenes – pick of the bunch being a jaw dropping loss of gravity whilst Lawrence is swimming. It seems that the spaceship might be going wrong – hhhmmm, I wonder if Preston being an Engineer is going to come in handy? Alas though the plot doesn’t do anything very surprising despite the android holding the possible power to let Lane know about her non accidental awakening and Laurence Fishburne popping up for a short plot device mechanic.

"Extreme swimming"

In the end director Morten ‘The Intimidation Game’ Tyldum makes Passengers a good looking, slick piece of romantic drama beyond the stars which is only really worth checking due to the star power of the two leads. If you can get over the uncomfortable plotline, an enjoyable ‘lust in space’ riff on a high-tech desert island awaits.

"Ah Mr Torrance... We've been expecting you"

Out of a potential 5 you have to go with a Darkmatters:

ööö

(3 - In Space no-one can hear you Stalk)...

Awesomeness ööö – Occasional bursts of good stuff

Laughs Ã¶Ã¶ – Some but could have done with more

Horror Ã¶Ã¶ – Peril scenes and creepy plot!?

Spiritual Enlightenment Ã¶Ã¶ - Don't play God just cos you fancy someone



Thursday, December 15, 2016

Darkmatters Review: Rogue One A Star Wars Story



Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (12a)

Dir. Gareth Edwards

Reviewed by Matt Adcock (@Cleric20)

Read my newspaper version of this review: The Bedford Times

“I fear nothing. All is as the Force wills it.”

Prepare to jump to light speed once again as we find ourselves caught up in the big screen sci-fi events of a rebellion built on hope… Not ‘A New Hope’ which was the blueprint for the last year’s The Force Awakens but rather a desperate gambit by some plucky rebels who must risk everything if they are to help stop the Empire’s new ‘Death Star’.

Rogue One is both the prequel to Star Wars IV (A New Hope) and a kind of sequel to Star Wars III (Revenge of the Sith). It’s certainly a new kind of Star Wars prequel, namely one that doesn’t’ suck.

Miss Erso... Don't call her Rey

Meet gutsy young Jyn Erso (Brit actress Felicity ‘A Monster Calls’ Jones), whose dad happens to be the architect of the Empire’s planet destroying super weapon. Aided by a rag-tag fugitive crew that includes Force samurai Chirrut ÃŽmwe (Donnie ‘xXx: Return of Xander Cage’ Yen), freelance assassin Baze Malbus (Jiang Wen) and a reformed Imperial pilot Bodhi Rook (Riz ‘Nightcrawler’ Ahmed) they attempt an audacious mission.


Also in on this potentially suicidal effort to steal the plans of the Death Star are Rebel Alliance Captain Cassian Andor (Diego ‘Elysium’ Luna), Clone wars veteran Saw Gerrera (Forest ‘Arrival’ Whitaker) and comedy kick-ass enforcer droid K-2S0 (Alan ‘Big Hero 6’ Tudyk) who steals every scene he's in. And if you don’t recognize any of those names from the sequels – you just know that all bets are off as to who will survive, which gives Rogue One a fantastic sense of unpredictability and peril.

I'm not programmed to respond to men with moustaches

The Dark Side sees the glorious return of the iconic Darth Vader (voiced by James Earl-Jones) and suitably nasty Director Orson Krennic (Ben ‘Slow West’ Mendelsohn) doing the Empire’s nefarious bidding. Also back is a surprise - aided by CGI - character that helps this link to the next film.

if you only knew the power of the Dark Side

When the battle to steal the plans kicks off it’s all wonderful Star Wars battle business, there is pure nostalgic joy in seeing AT-ATs attacking the rebels whilst X-Wings and a variety of other spaceships duke it out in some of the best space combat ever committed to film!

these ARE the troopers you're looking for

Although it drags initially, if you’re not on the edge of your seat by the finale you’re probably in a Force coma – Rogue One is a cracking space odyssey that does great fan service to those who love the original Star Wars films whilst simultaneously expanding the universe in new and cool ways.

Packed with crowd winning references and cameos from other Star Wars movies - this is how you make a truly epic prequel Mr Lucas.

The Force will still be with you...

Out of a potential 5 you have to go with a Darkmatters:

öööö1/2

(4.5 - A Franchise rebuilt on hope!)...

Awesomeness ööööö – The Force is still strong

Laughs Ã¶Ã¶Ã¶ – Some metal head fun quips

Horror Ã¶Ã¶ – Slightly violent in your standard Star Wars way

Spiritual Enlightenment Ã¶Ã¶Ã¶Ã¶ - Sacrifice and honour for the greater good

Watch the Rogue One Trailer HERE

Sunday, December 11, 2016

Darkmatters Review: Hunt For The Wilderpeople


Hunt For The Wilderpeople (12a)

Dir. Taika David Waititi

Reviewed by Matt Adcock (@Cleric20)

“I'll never stop running!”

“Yeah, and I'll never stop chasing you - I'm relentless, I'm like the Terminator.”

“I'm more like the Terminator than you!”

“I said it first, you're more like Sarah Connor, in the first movie too, before she could do chin-ups.”

Buckle up for what might just be the best film of 2016. A touching, heart-warming action family comedy that delivers on every possible level. Hunt For The Wilderpeople, based on Barry Crump’s 1986 novel is directed by Taika ‘What We Do In The Shadows’ Waititi – who brings both an exciting comic manhunt movie and a powerful essay on family life, meaning and the courage required to trust.


"I didn't choose the skux life, the skux life chose me. #Wilderpeople"

Meet young orphan Ricky (Julian Dennison) a troubled soul who has been rejected by every foster family he’s been placed with. This is a boy with accumulated issues who deals with his repeated rejection through a mixture of bad attitude, hip-hop music and petty crime minor gangsta ambitions. But maybe, just maybe his new foster aunt Bella (Rima Te Wiata) and her gruff husband Hec (The awesome Sam ‘In The Mouth Of Madness’ Neill) could be his ‘happy ever after’…

In the real world though, things never quite turn out to plan and before you can say ‘too good to be true’ Ricky finds himself on the run from terminator-alike Child Services Nazi Paula (Rachel “Wolf Creek’ House), lost in the Bush. With the reluctant Uncle Hec (Sam Neill) and a dog called Tupac the two rejects must battle through mishap, injury, wild bore attack and manic bounty hunters.
New Zealand looks great, especially when shot from cool drone POV and native director Waititi shows off the country as if it was one of the characters. Dennison is superbly likeable as the unfortunate orphan – who comes out with class sweary haikus and a true emotional core which will leave you shaken and stirred.

Nature's gangsta

Juvenile delinquency has never played so well on the big screen and this bizarre outback adventure wrings both heart-breaking pathos and astonishing honesty from the comic plot. Blessed with a soundtrack boasting cool Leonard Cohen and Nina Simone, Hunt for the WIlderpeople keeps the good times rolling even when young Rickly and his reluctant Uncle face gun toting enemies or sheer survival challenges.

I’m a huge believer in experiencing films with pals and a lot of the joy I had watching this was seeing witnessing the similar reactions being registered to the cool pop culture references and genuinely beguiling action by the big hairy old man next to me (props Mr Wilmshurst!).

fast and furious eat your heart out

Hunt for the Wilderpeople is a film everyone should witness – this is cinema at it’s best, in a word “Majestical”.

Out of a potential 5 you have to go with a Darkmatters:

ööööö

(5 - Life can be an adventure - whatever cards you're dealt)...

Awesomeness ööööö – Grin inducing fun and action

Laughs Ã¶Ã¶Ã¶Ã¶ – A wicked cool sense of humour throughout

Horror Ã¶Ã¶ – Slightly violent but not too nasty

Spiritual Enlightenment Ã¶Ã¶Ã¶Ã¶ - Nature just got gangster


Friday, December 09, 2016

Darkmatters Review: Office Christmas Party




Office Christmas Party (15)

Dir. Josh Gordon & Will Speck

Reviewed by Matt Adcock (@Cleric20)

“It’s Christmas, we should celebrate they say, just a little get together for the employees. Have a few drinks, blow off a little steam, nothing crazy.”

Tis the Season for work-based Christmassy corporate hair being let down and that’s exactly what Office Christmas Party (OCP) delivers – with the Hollywood spin of things getting extremely out of hand. Sure we’ve seen big screen parties going off the deep end before with varying levels of success with the classic Animal House, the riotous Project X etc, but this attempts the mix the formula with some Yuletide Ho Ho Ho’s.

the OCP test viewing wasn't hitting the spot

The flimsy plot sees the sour faced Carol Vanstone (Jennifer Aniston) CEO of tech firm Zenotek planning to close her branch run by her drop out brother Clay (T.J. Miller). His only shot to save his branch and keep the jobs of his workers lies with straight laced Chief Technical Officer Josh Parker (Jason Bateman) who must help arrange an epic office Christmas party to impress a potential millionaire client Walter Davis (Courtney B. Vance).

bring  your own snacks?

So with a kick-ass Christmas party the only hope of salvation, festive chaos breaks lose despite the best efforts of super uptight Human Resource Manager Mary Winetoss (Kate McKinnon). Cue all sorts of drunken raunchy antics, debauched co-worker naughtiness and utter Christmassy mayhem. It’s quite a spectacle to behold and the likeable cast look like they’re having a ball shooting it all.

Alas the comedy is very hit and miss and the trite plot which shoehorns in unnecessary gun packing pimps and a weak feel good conclusion detracts from the glimpses of occasional comic genius. I laughed most at the end credit out-takes which doesn’t bode well for those looking for a full on comedy.

dance floor action

Director team Gordon and Speck who made the fun Blades of Glory do pay fun homage to other movies – climaxing with a full on Fast & Furious “(They just get faster and more furious” as Clay tells Josh) recreation using a Kia which is worth seeing.

The best way to enjoy Office Christmas Party is to lower your expectations, imbibe the Christmas spirit and let the mildly offensive and sometimes amusing party fun wash over you without thinking about it too much.

Better festive mayhem than Bad Santa 2, this Office Christmas Party is certainly not mandatory attendance but I’ve absolutely been to worse ones in the real world!?



Out of a potential 5 you have to go with a Darkmatters:

öö1/2

2.5 – The party you never got invited to (until now)

Awesomeness Ã¶Ã¶Ã¶ – occasionally does get awesome but never enough

Laughs Ã¶Ã¶Ã¶ – be sure to stay for the outtakes

Horror Ã¶Ã¶ – gross out in places

Spiritual Enlightenment Ã¶Ã¶ – Jesus makes a brief appearance!?


Sunday, December 04, 2016

Darkmatters Review: The Edge of Seventeen



The Edge of Seventeen (15)

Dir. Kelly Fremon Craig

Reviewed by Matt Adcock (@Cleric20)

“When I get mad I get really quiet and really still and I say to myself: ‘Everyone in the world is as miserable as you are. They’re just better at pretending'”.

Meet Nadine (Hailee ‘Enders Game’ Steinfeld) a super awkward teenager whose life is a cringe-em-up writ large on the big screen. Everything is wrong for this young lady – her specialist subject is making bad life choices unlike her much cooler brother Darian (Blake Jenner) who gets all the attention and love. So much love in fact that even Nadine’s best / only pal Krista (Haley Lu ‘Mortal Kombat X: Generations’ Richardson) falls for him which leaves our heroine all alone in the world.

BFFs?

Mocked by her favourite teacher, the sarcastic Mr. Bruner (Woody ‘Triple 9’ Harrelson) – who delivers most of the best lines and some awesome laughs, Nadine’s only chance of salvation is shy fellow student Erwin (Hayden Szeto) who gives her a glimmer of hope that things just might not be quite so terrible after all.

Director Kelly Fremon Craig makes her debut with Edge of Seventeen and scores a direct hit with this coming of age heartbreaking comedy which is like a super-charged modern day John Hughes film. The character of Nadine is an iconic champion for awkward teens everywhere (and the inner teens of us all). There’s so much heart and just as much brains packed into this pure joy of a movie.

See me after class...

Steinfeld is superb as nerdy Nadine who deals with having a crush on Nick (Alexander Calvert) – an older chap who she bumped into in the local pet store by stalking his social media. But the heart of the film is her relationship with Mr. Bruner who despite his off handed way of dealing with her dramas is actually there for her if she needs it. Nobody is perfect though it transpires – and when Nadine gets her heart mangled it falls to the outsider Erwin to offer a possible way to re-engagee with everyone around her.

If you enjoyed films like Juno or Mean Girls, this is necessary viewing, it’s the best big screen teenage angst for years. The Edge of Seventeen is just a great film which will make you laugh, cry and feel all the pain of being young and unsure of yourself again.

Argh the horror!

Out of a potential 5 you have to go with a Darkmatters:

ööööö

(5 - You're only young once... is it over yet?)...

Awesomeness öööö – You'll feel the feels

Laughs Ã¶Ã¶Ã¶Ã¶ – Some cracking sarcastic funnies

Horror Ã¶ – Slightly tense moments

Spiritual Enlightenment Ã¶Ã¶Ã¶Ã¶ - Be true to yourself

Miss Steinfeld in her more glam 'pop singer' guise

Darkmatters Review: Arcadia


Arcadia (15)

Dir. Tom Large

Reviewed by Matt Adcock (@Cleric20)

“Education is the key to preventing further outbreaks…”

Timely release for a Brit Sci-fi vision of possible near future pastoralism and populace harmony, shot through with a Black Mirror-esque bite – yes Arcadia (from the Greek term province / idyllic vision of unspoiled wilderness) is a hard hitting wake up call.

fashion: the first victim of the future

So with us pesky humans multiplying and making the world over-populated to dangerous levels, it seems like mother nature has devised a cull in the form of a deadly disease has been lowering life expectancy somewhat. But not for those in 'Arcadia' – oh no, this is a man made safe and disease-free haven for the privileged few delivering the ultimate stage of the ‘Free Care’ programme.

this isn't going to end well...

Charlie (Marc ‘Coronation Street’ Baylis) is working to get him and his daughter into Arcadia. Given the assignment to kidnap suspected government stooge Adam Black but Charlie doesn’t know the truth about Black’s role and the 'Free Care' programme itself.

Large delivers some nice sci-fi lite visuals and makes the most of his obviously limited budget – bringing a mean, moody and paranoid near future panic-em-up that is worth checking out and bodes well for future output too.



Out of a potential 5 you have to go with a Darkmatters:

ööö

(3 - Strong near future paranoia Brit style )...

Awesomeness ööö – Some panic inducing scenes

Laughs Ã¶Ã¶ – Not really much funny business

Horror Ã¶Ã¶ – Bit nasty in places

Spiritual Enlightenment Ã¶Ã¶ - Don't trust the authorities