My 5 Favourite Tom Hardy Roles

I love making lists so much that I have a list of lists in my blogging notebook! Sadly I haven’t got around to actually turning any into posts for a while, so I started a to-do list, and the top item was ‘make a list’. Heard the word list enough yet? 

In honour of Tom Hardy’s birthday today, I thought I’d share with you a list of my 5 favourite performances of his. I’d love to make it a Top 10, but my Letterboxd is telling me that I’ve embarrassingly only seen 9 movies that he’s been in. Yikes! He’s an outstanding actor, so I need to raise that number as soon as possible. Can anyone recommend somewhere for me to start? 

Before I start I want to throw in an honourable mention for his character Tuck in This Means War (2012), because that movie is such a guilty pleasure of mine, no matter how absurd it is. Petition for another rom com starring Mr Hardy?

#5 John Fitzgerald, The Revenant (2015)

The Revenant is a movie that I never want to see every again, and I honestly mean that in the best way possible. It was brutal from start to finish, and as much as Leo was great and deserved his Oscar, there wasn’t nearly enough love for Tom Hardy.

#4 Max, Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

Mel Gibson himself gave Tom Hardy his blessing to play Max, and if that isn’t enough of a reason for being in my list, I don’t know what is. I think I could have counted the number of lines Max spoke during the entire movie on my fingers, but of course that’s all part of the persona.

#3 Stuart Shorter, Stuart: A Life Backwards (2007)

This might be one of Tom Hardy’s lesser known roles, but Stuart: A Life Backwards is a fascinating little made-for-TV movie. Hardy plays Stuart, a homeless alcoholic with some terrible issues. It’s certainly not a light hearted movie, but it’s certainly worth a watch!

#2 Ivan Locke, Locke (2013)

I swear, I’ll still be talking about Locke when I’m on my death bed. It’s such an underrated movie. It’s essentially a 90 minute movie in which Ivan Locke drives home from his workplace in Birmingham, having several conversations through his hands-free kit in his phone. That’s literally the entire movie, but it’s gripping.

#1 Reggie & Ron Kray, Legend (2015)

Boy, 2015 was Tom Hardy’s year for sure! It feels odd putting Legend at the top spot, because I didn’t really love the movie. That said, I’m ranking Tom Hardy’s roles rather than the movies themselves, and really, there wasn’t anything else that could take this spot. Hardy manages to play a set of twins with very different personalities and mannerisms, and he does it so well that it’s easy to forget that these twins are in fact the same person. Legend is worth the watch for those performances alone!

So please, let me know what other movies I need to see. Are there any I’ve missed that you would have put in your own Top 5?

Review: The Revenant (2016)

Managed to get an advanced screening for this so I was dead excited thinking I was going to see a big Oscar movie way before everyone else, until I realised my big preview was the day before the general release date.  I gained a whole day.....

Whereas I convinced myself that an Odeon Secret Screening was something else, and missed a chance to see it 2 whole weeks before release date! Doh!

The Revenant is based on the true events of Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) who, while out with a group of hunters, is mauled by a bear and left for dead by his own team.  Amazingly, Glass manages to fight for survival to find the men who deserted him and take is revenge.

I have no idea how to explain my thoughts on this film, I really did enjoy it and the first 40 minutes I was so engrossed I let my ice cream melt while sat with my jaw dropped.  It was all pretty graphic and there were a few moments where I actually covered my eyes to avoid my ice cream going in reverse.  Before I even saw the film I was willing for DiCaprio to get his Oscar because I felt like he deserved it for all his amazing roles but no I've seen this he needs to win in solely for this movie.  He barely says a word in the whole movie but he completely owns it.

Seeing this at the cinema reminded me just how much fun the cinema experience is. During the opening scene when the main group is attacked by the natives, there were gasps and cries left right and centre as the slaughter happened on screen. I heard one woman utter a pained 'I felt that one' and even grown men cringe! The bear attack got an even bigger reaction. That was a really tough scene to watch, actually, and major kudos to the technical teams for all their work on that.

Tom Hardy is at his best as Hugh's main target for revenge, John Fitzgerald and his scenes with Will Poulter were amazing.  Although, as good as Poulter was, I couldn't get his character from We're the Millers out of my head which kind of ruined some of the scenes for me. You're so mean! I loved him in this, I thought it showed how he can do so much more than comedy, but I have got Chasing Waterfalls stuck in my head, so thanks for that. This just highlights for me how good DiCaprio, Hardy and Domhnall Gleeson are because I've seen them in countless films over the years but I never relate one to the next.  I even forgot both brothers were Hardy in Legend. 

How do you even pronounce Domhnall Gleeson's name?! He was on Radio 1 with Will Poulter the other day promoting this movie and I swear they were pronouncing it 'Dome-hull'. I thought it was more 'Dom-nall' with a silent 'h'? This is what I tend to think about late at night while I try to sleep. Can we just call him General Hux? Anyway! Hasn't he had an amazing year in 2015?! Seriously, it's like Ex-Machina all over again....

Edit: I've done more resarch into this than one would consider healthy, but it hasn't helped, it's just added a third pronounciation to the ring, 'Doh-nall'! Argh!

I don't think anyone can argue with how beautiful The Revenant is. In fact, last year during the Oscars season I tried to learn what Cinematography actually meant with very little luck, but whilst watching this, I realised. This is Cinematography! At it's finest, too. It's something I don't normally notice, but there were so many seemingly small technical bits (sorry for the lame terminology here) that really stood out. Things like character's breath fogging up the screen during close ups, I noticed and appreciated it all.  I need to watch it again to see these bits, I spent a lot of the film with my hands over my eyes for fear something was going to jump out!

Which brings me on to my only real complaint about The Revenant. It has a decent runtime anyway, but the middle section moves by so slowly, it felt at least an hour longer than it was. Also, whilst watching Glass' struggle for survival was a harrowing affair, there's only so much despair I can take until it all becomes too much, and turns sadistically funny instead. The moment Glass and his horse ride straight off the cliff face? Hilarious! I felt awful for laughing, but my heart had frozen about half an hour prior to that scene.  Oh dear god, in the cinema I was in, that made everyone gasp, I think I even let out a little yelp and you laughed?! That poor horse...

There were a few moments in the middle where I got a little bit bored but I was still interested to see where the film went so it didn't ruin anything for me.

This is firmly in the list of amazing movies I never want to see again. I wish it was shorter, but there are a good few categories in the Oscars I'll be wanting to see The Revenant win in. Technically, it's a 10/10, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I wanted to.

Review: Legend (2015)

I was so desperate to see this when it came out at the cinema but I took an assumption that it would be NSFD (in hindsight it would have been ok as the 18 rating was for the violence rather than anything else) so I never got the chance.  Luckily, booked in a movie night with Allie and she still hadn’t seen it – win!  Tom Hardy, twice on the big screen!

* just a bit of trivia about this, The Guardian actually gave the film 2 stars and rather than ignore it they put it on the poster between Reggie and Ronnie's head so at a glance you assume they have given more but they are hidden!!

Legend, is based on the true story of 1960’s gangsters, the Kray twins.  Ronnie and Reggie Kray (both played by Tom Hardy) controlled the streets of London in the sixties through violence, celebrity status and fear, this adaptation of their lives focuses on their rise to fame from owning one billiard club to ruling London as well as Reggie’s relationship with Frances Shay (Emily Browning).

I can’t explain how much I loved this film, it had a great mix of drama, violence, romance (ish) and humour (even though much of it probably wasn’t meant to be funny).  Hardy had the perfect confidence and suave of Reggie Kray and also mastered his unnerving, mentally ill, loose cannon brother, Ronnie.  How he played both roles at the same time, and made them so different astounded me.  I actually kept forgetting that Ronnie was actually Hardy he was so different to Reggie.  As I mentioned, I don’t think it was necessarily supposed to be, but Reggie was hilarious and his one liners cut through the tense scenes perfectly.

Tom Hardy really has outdone himself with Legend, but so did the masterminds behind the camera. One actor playing two characters on screen isn't anything new, but this time it was done so well it was really quite astounding to watch!

I have never been a huge fan of Emily Browning but I thought she was great in this, if not slight underutilised.  I wanted to learn more about her mental health and how this was effected by her relationship with Reggie but it was only briefly touched upon (if only to explain the ending) and not really considered in depth.  However, at over 2 hours long they may have struggled to fit it in and not have it drag out, I can’t pick a scene that I think could be cut to account for a more in depth look at Frances and her role in the downfall of the Kray brothers.

I've waited a couple of days before jotting down my thoughts, but I'm feeling really conflicted. Firstly, I really enjoyed Legend. Like, really enjoyed it. I can't wait till the DVD release so I can watch it again and convince others to do the same. But at the same time, I have niggles. The run time was too long for my short attention span (not the movie's fault of course) but it felt like there was either a heck of a lot cut out of the final edit, or there were scenes included for the sake of it with no deeper meaning.

My knowledge of the Kray Twins is virtually non-existent so maybe it's assumed the audience knows more, but what happened with the work in Africa? I wanted to know more. Also, like Jenna said, I wanted to know more about what happened to Frances and the events that led to her diminished mental state.

As with Everest a few weeks back, I now want to read every book I can find on the Kray Twins and find out more about them.  I did scout through Wikipedia when I got home from the cinema and found out that Ronnie’s cell mate in prison eventually reported that Ronnie confessed to murdering Frances and making it look like suicide to get his brother back.  If it’s on Wikipedia it must be true, right?

Can’t wait for it to be released on DVD so I can watch it again!

I realise that I'm being a big pain by complaining that it was too long but also too rushed, ha!

Review: Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

My main friends group who I still see after we all finished college is full of guys. To begin with, there was only 1 other girl in our group but we do have a couple more now the lads have found them! What it means is I get a lot of invites to ‘lads’ film nights that I tend to turn down. There were some last minute plans to see Mad Max on the opening night, and so I said yes and just went with it!

Now, I haven’t seen any of the other Mad Max films, but from what I gather, Max used to be in the police force until his family were murdered. I should probably go back now and watch the others for some backstory, but I was told I wouldn’t need to see the others before watching Fury Road to appreciate it.

Mad Max: Fury Road is set in a post-apocalyptic world in the desert where humanity barely exists. Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne) rules a small town known as The Citadel with his  ‘War Boys’, farming women for their breast milk, and keep several wives to provide him with heirs. Joe’s most trusted Lieutenant, Furiosa (Charlize Theron) betrays him and makes a run for freedom with his wives, and whilst on the road, Max (Tom Hardy) joins them.

I’d heard beforehand that this would be one of the year’s biggest action films, but I wasn’t expecting what I saw. The film opens on what must have been a 10 minute-long action scene, and it never slowed down for a minute. You know when you’re watching an action film and you get an actual action scene every now and again? In Fury Road, you get a scene every now and again without it. Even when there isn’t any action, it doesn’t last for long!

Multiple viewings are definitely needed just to fully appreciate the visuals in this, from the colourful desert setting to the fine details in each of the vehicles. It’s just crazy, that’s my main way of summing this film up. I mean, there’s a huge vehicle in Joe’s army with 3 great big drums, a drummer at each, and at the front, a guy on an electric guitar hanging in suspense with elastic. How is that not crazy?!

I don’t mean this to sound like a criticism, but although this is Max’s film, I thought Furiosa was the leading character. She was everything a female character needed to be, and she rocked it! Even the wives weren’t silly, pathetic girls who needed looking after every two minutes. One thing that only really sprung to mind when I was trying to sleep that night was that this film didn't include any bad language or sex scenes. It's just pure action, and how could that not be awesome?

This has ruined any other action film for me right now, because I don’t think anything could live up to it. If you get the chance to see it in the cinema I urge you to do it, because the experience alone makes this a 10 for me. At home, it might be a 9, but ask me again when the DVD is out.

My Hometown Blogathon

The lovely Caz at Let's Go To The Movies is hosting her first Blogathon right now, and she's come up with a brilliant idea. Everyone who takes part is going to put a film/TV/theatre orientated post about their hometown. It's going to be so interesting to read everyone's posts! I had very little knowledge about my own hometown on this subject before drafting this post, so it'll be insightful to read the others.

Jenna lives in Birmingham, and I live in a little town just outside it, although I've worked in the city centre for the last 5 years so I would say it counts! We may not have the likes of Brad Pitt roaming our streets on the weekend or the film crew for the next Transformers film closing our roads off for shooting, but we do have a few cool links.

Does the name Julie Walters ring any bells? She played Molly Weasley in the Harry Potter series. Julie was born in Birmingham in 1950, and got kicked out of grammar school for bad behavior! She went on to train as a nurse at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital before leaving to study English and Drama at what is now known as Manchester Metropolitan University. In 2009, Julie received a star in Birmingham's walk of stars on its famous 'Golden Mile', Broad Street.

I'm not sure how many of our BBC programmes are popular across the pond (apart from Sherlock and Dr Who!) so you may not have even heard of this before, but BBC's Peaky Blinders is set and filmed in Birmingham. It's a historical drama based on a criminal gang in the late 19th century. Apparently, they got their name, Peaky Blinders, from the disturbing fact that they sewed razor blades into their flat caps to use as a weapon.

If you haven't heard of the TV Show itself, you've probably heard of its main actor, Cillian Murphy. Tom Hardy has also recently joined the cast for Season 2. Since writing this I learnt that Season 1 aired on the US version of Netflix on 30th September 2014, and Season 2 will launch later in November.

I'd just like to give a mention to the Cineworld Broad Street cinema too. It's not my local but Jenna & I have seen a few films there together. It's also been home to a few premieres, namely Tom Hardy's fairly recent film, Locke, Peaky Blinders Season 2 and if I remember correctly, Dr Seuss' The Lorax.

This looked really interesting so I thought I would do a little research myself. 

The man who played R2D2, Kenny Baker was actually born in Birmingham in 1934.  Kenny is one of only 2 actors who have starred in ALL six Star Wars movies (so far!).

I personally live about 10 minutes walk from Sarehole Mill which after moving to Birmingham in 1896 was a haunt for JRR Tolkien and his brother.  Many of these areas including Moseley Bog were inspiration for The Shire and Hobbiton in Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit - New Zealand pfft, they should have filmed in Hall Green, Birmingham!!

Lastly (but might be pushing it a little bit) Birmingham is in the Midlands and I found out that Superman IV, that was supposed to be set in New York was actually filmed in Milton Keynes which is also in the Midlands.  Apparently, due to budget constraints after the first 3 films they didn't have the spend to film in New York.  Supposedly, if you watch the film you never see the top of the buildings because Milton Keynes doesn't have skyscrapers.  The UN building that is used in the film is actually Milton Keynes train station.

I hope this is somewhat interesting to read, but it's certainly been interesting to research my own local area in terms of the film and TV business! Thanks again for hosting this blogathon Caz, we've loved taking part. 

Thursday Movie Picks #8: Movies Set Locally

The creative Wanderer at Wandering through the Shelves has been running a blogging series for a while now called Thursday Movie Picks which, funnily enough, takes place every Thursday. I've been meaning for weeks now to take part but this week is finally my time. Today's theme is Movies Set Locally.

Now, I live in a little town a few miles away from Birmingham in the UK, so as you can imagine, there aren't many blockbuster movies set down the road from my house. Not that I've watched at least! However, I'm going to stay as local as I can for my 3 choices.

Nativity! (2009) starring the wonderful Martin Freeman rapidly became one of my favourite Christmas movies. Even the sequel, starring David Tennant was great. Even better, Nativity! was filmed and set in Coventry, which genuinely is in my local area, just the other side of Birmingham.

Much more recently, Locke (2013) was released, starring Tom Hardy. It's a brilliant film which entails Ivan Locke driving home from his construction job in Birmingham, and I've actually reviewed it here. Funnily enough, the première took place a 5 minute walk from my place of work, and I'm still kicking myself now for not just turning up.

I realise I'm pushing it now, but the Harry Potter movies were set in the UK, and some of the sets in particular aren't that far from where I live. About 9 years ago I visited Oxford (just over an hour on the train) to see the great hall at Christ Church College, and the library and infirmary at Bodleian Library.

Hopefully this won't be my first and last contribution to this fantastic series, and I look forward to taking part in the upcoming themes. Thanks to Wanderer for hosting!

Review: Locke (2014)

Two years ago I would have laughed at you if you asked me to watch a Drama. I rarely watched films, and when I did, it would belong in one of about three genres, Comedy, Sci-Fi or Action. That's it. Fast forward to the present day and I hear about a Tom Hardy film, a Drama. Everyone is raving about it, but all anyone will tell you is it's all shot in a car as a man drives from Birmingham to London, taking calls through his car's Bluetooth system.

 

It's probably silly to get so excited over a film you barely know anything about. It's a small production film too so it's not even showing at all cinemas in the UK. Thankfully, we have a huge Showcase cinema not far away so me and the other half went to see it there.

 

It pains me now to know that the premiere for this took place at the Cineworld at Birmingham's Five Ways, which I can literally see from my window at work. I should have gone!

 

This film was fantastic by the way, for me at least, but it's like marmite I think. It's not the kind of film you would just play on a Saturday afternoon for the sake of it, you have to be in the mood to watch this kind of Drama. There was a couple sat behind us in the cinema, I think the girl had agreed to go because of Tom Hardy, because 10 minutes into the film she announced the film was terrible (not her choice word) and she wanted to go. Another group in front of us however, laughed out loud at the subtle, dark humour and raved about the film as they left.

 

I really can't tell you any more than any other source. It's about a man named Ivan Locke, a construction manager who leaves work at the end of the day, and instead of driving home, drives to London instead. He takes numerous calls in his car from his colleagues and family, and questions whether the moral decision he makes is the right one.



If that alone is enough to grab your curiosity, then I can tell you that you'll really enjoy this. Don't expect the Hollywood effect because it's just not that kind of film.