Tony Gohagan

There's an Essay on Choreographed Violence, a utilisation of Music so subtly innovative it can disorientate! There's subversion of the Context and Utilisation of Set-pieces in Musicals, but it's subdued. The 3rd Act closes serving the Audience lonesome sudden destruction, a malicious violence weaponised by those in Authority: It's tragic, it's the everyday. The real. These things are what makes this film rare. (But 'No one really dies in Comic Books' - Right?) It is contrasted, up to that point, with what Audiences are desensitised to: gratuitous, glamorised, choreographed violence/carnage. (I asked 7 Audience Members their opinion: 3 said "It's too deep" - None said it was 'Bad') There's Questions, re; Lengths people go to for Attention and Notoriety; Heroes: Do People/Orgs/Nations use them to justify wrongdoing? Do said Heroes get abandoned if they can't be used to hide behind? What's the difference between a repressed Sufferer who 'actualises' via Make-Up/Mask, and an Authority Figure in A Uniform, or Someone Malevolent, and which are you more likely to learn of IRL? See it - go armed with an open mind, you may find, as I did, that it is not a bad Movie at all.

TLDNR: Stagnant! Formulaic! Rancid! Thinks Audience are Idiots! READ: Mae = bad writing: initially a vulnerable stray-waif-foundling, who, by stalking then joining the main character, arrives at the very location she needs and wants to be at all along, but by sheer bad luck - also a sacrificial death. At Villain's Lair Central, Mae is given Privacy, a Bath, a Change of Clothes, becomes callous, aloof, turns out to be an Explosives Expert; kills someone easily by Unarmed Combat; knows the way to The McGuffin; gets piggy-backed up a rock-face she'd otherwise be unable to scale, to reach it, they escape falling to their death while doing so, of course; she turns out to be a Dead-Shot; suddenly becomes a Genocidal Maniac, then disappears! - main character and clan narrowly escape being her victims and go home! Mae reappears there, later, to say 'Bye', she's ready to kill him tho'! Then she goes to a Last Bastion of Civilisation, not one dark-skinned person was Cast to be there, and hands over said McGuffin. Very, very badly written movie.

Captain Marvel - The Good, The Bad, The Ugly, The Beautiful! MCU Rating: 6.5/10 - General Rating: 6/10 The Good: The Storyline - Everything is good, there's nothing lacking.There's fun, action, emotion, suspense, a light smattering of cultural critique, plot twists, inspiration. The Bad: The Editing is a disservice at some points. Nevertheless; its subtle use as a storytelling tool, re: Cap's memories, is an innovation. The way Nick loses his eye is disappointing. The Ugly: Direction of Photography, especially - Sometimes (but too often), scenes are veiled in a weird murkiness, as if the contrast/brightness is on the blink! It really detracts from the whole experience, doesn't spoil the film outright but it may 'take you out' of the movie. Screenplay - The Plot is a bit thin. The Beautiful: The Tribute to Stan Lee which opens the movie and The Ensemble Cast, they really give the film 'heart' - gently. "You Gotta Be" by Des'ree is the précis of this movie. NB:Re: Fans/Fan-Service. HATERS GONNA HATE, CREATORS GONNA CREATE. Fan-service: I came out of the Cinema thinking how arrogant, self-absorbed and self-important the "Online" Critics are; they who have channels on YouTube and are active Tweeters, especially, some online magazines also: they're really nit-picking, demanding, entitled; lost in a mindset that suggests to me that they truly believe that Movies were made to please them and them alone! Many such "critics" are gossipy, even vindictive people who apparently have been overindulged in their formative years, as well as in their online presence. Fans: Brie Larson said something challenging, unapologetically, and the online uproar really stoked resentment, leading to anger and persecution. Here, for me, is the great irony in all this: Comic Books/Sci-Fi /Fantasy are the very Genres that extol the highest values in all of us, calling us to strive to emulate The Heroes we find there. Yet, instead of acting like Comicbook heroes, we see Fans getting caught up in their conceits, vitriolic, vindictive, malicious, detrimental, unforgiving: acting like Comic Book Villains! Thus, the message of these stories are not being heeded by those claiming to be hardcore, fans/insiders. Human Nature, eh? Just what would Stan Lee say! Edited 8/4/19 scores docked One Point; In respect to the art of filmmaking as a whole: 6 & 6.5 = average & above average

Atrocious. The problem is they haven't progressed their Puppets. At all. They can't emote to any useful degree. In any way. So the 'Acting' from the puppeteers is limited and below par. It was almost a case of 'so bad it's good' - but sadly, no! There are a lot of pulleys and levers and wheels being operated, like in a Sci-Fi B-Movie.They have Actors in Costume doing scenes and Puppeteers doing scenes; the puppets are unable to: pick things up, rub their arms to warm themselves up, turn a page in a book, rub their hands together, or interact with anything without patently highlighting the fact that they are puppets. Instead, the actors hands are used: a tried and tested method. In this case though, it serves only to exaggerate the puppets' woeful lack of finesse. As evidenced by the Voice-Cast, (a roll call of our real world Class Structure) they've taken the existing social demographics of the West and imposed them on to the 'Good' guys whilst rendering the 'Baddies' with grotesque pantomime voices. It's anachronistic, ridiculous, shows a deep lack of creativity. There is a Gelfling with dredlocks who's accent is 'common' in relation to the two characters he's interacting with and The Chamberlain, literally, sounds like Jar-Jar Binks! Again, the puppetry, throughout, is dire. With a focus on sweeping epic fantasy it's easy for any new Property to pale in comparison to the fayre viewers are used to, of late. The lack of creativity, though, is the main problem this whole project suffers from. However: by honing a real leap of technical advancement in the art of Puppetry, and a thoroughly intense investigative innovation on the art of Acting for Puppeteers, Jim Henson's legacy will be established. Even if the story is about the making of a cup of tea on a building site.

26/05/19: It's available on YouTube, free. It seems worth watching. Still; i wanted to find out a little about it, first. Looking into it, i found reviews and the Wiki and thought to myself that perhaps the film is 'Redundant' in that; ~ the information is hardly new ~ millions of the system's victims can testify versus and have borne it's brunt for centuries ~ the solutions offered may be preferable (though it is brave, mayhap, to posit them), yet how can they be implemented? ~ a doc' won't actually make any difference to the fundamental structures of Ruling Class machinations - that always requires a person/movement. Morehap: a film like this can often and ultimately be roundly demoralising, adding only to one's feelings of anger, helplessness, rancour, despondency, resentment and self-interest. And that is hardly new, either. Perhaps why it hasn't received a review by a single Member of the Public these 7 years! Of course, upon watching this doc' Someone may dedicate their whole life to dismantling the devastating, corrupt, ravenous, unjust, heartless, literally Diabolical System entirely and win some gains against it in the process. Now, literally: that'd be a turn up for the books! from wiki - Four Horsemen is a 2012 British documentary film directed by Ross Ashcroft. The film criticises the system of fractional reserve banking, debt-based economy and political lobbying by banks, which it regards as a serious threat to Western civilisation. It criticises the War on Terror, which it maintains is not fought to eliminate al-Qaeda and other militant organisations, but to create larger debt to the banks. As an alternative, the film promotes a return to classical economics and the gold standard.

Masterpiece. If you are a film fan, watch this film.

This is a great movie, Aquaman is a real feel good Character: friendly, warm and strong. The must see, visually-stunning super innovative special effects take you deep into an action packed, heartwarming, fast paced, funny, scary, uplifting, "reluctant superhero" story. 7.5/10

Very Good Movie. Great opening. Coherent Narrative. All round Peak Superhero Fayre. Also: makes the 'Josstice League' look trite.

It's excellent, every aspect of this show. I think this show is an Artwork that will Inspire people to continue to succeed against the failings of Human Nature. It doesn't shy away from past or present realities and presents a clear depiction of Power, Corruption, Ruthlessness, Exploitation and Compelled Conformity. Still: it's not "preachy". The 'Stakes' are really high, Characters relatable, it's complex and emotional. It was great to see the high proportions of Female Writers and Directors, it's full of exceptional acting too. Perhaps Season 2 may still happen, I hope so !