Review: Swiss Army Man (2016)

Oh boy, I’ve been looking forward to Swiss Army Man for so long now, it feels like forever since the trailer was released. I’m surprised I managed to find myself a cinema buddy for this one. When I first saw the trailer I felt a mixture of shock and disgust, but a second viewing really opened my mind to the possibilities.

The easiest way to describe Swiss Army Man is: Paul Dano is lost on an island, ready to end his life out of desperation and loneliness, until he spots Daniel Radcliffe’s flatulent corpse washed up on the beach, and uses him to try and find his way back home. No exaggerations, there. You thought The Lobster was the weirdest movie you’ve ever seen? Think again!

Paul Dano and Daniel Radcliffe are an absolute delight. I’m not sure just how much acting Radcliffe had to do here, but nonetheless, he really pulled off the dead-guy demeanor. I don’t know enough about movie awards to know Swiss Army Man’s Oscar chances, but Paul Dano would be in my nominations list for sure. This can’t have been an easy role to take on.

If you’ve seen the trailer, you’ll know what to expect, but a few things did shock me whilst I was watching. First and foremost is just how gross this movie was. Flatulence is one thing, we all have it, let’s be honest. I’ve never had it quite so badly that I could propel myself and another person across the ocean, but still, that’s not the worst part. Hank (Dano) uses Manny (Radcliffe) as a water source by quite literally squeezing the liquid out of him. Hurck. The most useful thing Manny can be used for is a compass. How? His boner leads the way. Yep. That’s about it for grossness, but Manny can also shoot things from his mouth and chop wood. Swiss Army Man for sure!

The best part of the movie is the mystery of it all. I started to wonder whether Manny was even real, especially when Hank seemed to talk through his issues with him. Was Hank ever even lost, or had he just ran away? Hank has a fascination with a girl he saw on the bus, and re-enacts scenes with Manny by dressing up and even recreating the bus out of whatever he can find in the woods. It’s really quite incredible. I also thought Manny got more and more lifelike the more Hank started to find the root of his issues. He’s clearly a very troubled man.

Of course, there are also several laugh out loud moments. The boner scene was pretty funny until it got a little too much, and the first moment Manny spoke just to be punched in the face had me crying. Hands down, the best line in the movie is spoken by Hank: “If you don’t know Jurassic Park, you don’t know sh*t.” That line, coupled with the use of the Jurassic Park soundtrack, is nothing but pure genius, and is the real stand out moment of the entire movie.

I just don’t know how to feel about the ending. I mean, I don’t know how I wanted it to end myself, I guess I just couldn’t picture it. The movie itself is like nothing I’ve ever seen before, but the ending reminded me of Safety Not Guaranteed, and I never fully knew how to feel about that ending, either.

Swiss Army Man will be ‘too weird’ for many, but in a world full of superhero movies, sequels and remakes, this is a breath of fresh air for me.

Review: Doctor Strange (2016) Spoiler Free

I spend so much time complaining about how long the UK has to wait for a lot of theatrical releases, so when it was announced that we were getting Doctor Strange early I made sure to take full advantage and see it in the first week! That said, I wasn’t sure how to feel about the movie before I went. There’s no escape from superhero movies lately, and I knew quite literally nothing about Doctor Strange. Turns out I just need to accept the fact that Marvel doesn’t make bad movies! I promise to keep this spoiler free.

Dr. Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) is a fantastically skilled neurosurgeon, albeit fairly arrogant and cocky. A horrific car accident leads to Stephen damaging the nerves in his hands, leaving his career and mind in tatters. He learns of a miracle case where a man paralysed from the waist down learned to walk again, which brings Stephen to leaving his love interest Christine (Rachel McAdams) behind and travelling to Kathmandu. Here he meets Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and the The Ancient One (Tilda Swinton), who teaches him the ways of mystic arts.

First of all I have to say, if you get the chance to see this in IMAX, go for it. It’s rare that I even bother with 3D but I heard on the grapevine that Doctor Strange had some intense visuals, and I was so glad I listened. It’s mind bendy as hell, guys. I want to use the words ‘visually stunning’ but that’s normally my get out clause for a bad movie. You know, ‘the plot wasn’t great, but it was at least visually stunning’. Whatever the next level up from stunning is, this is it. I honestly feel like it’s a game changer in that department. I spent the whole of the opening sequence with my jaw on the floor.

Doctor Strange himself is a difficult character to warm to, he’s often rude and disrespectful, like a cross between Tony Stark and Benedict’s own Sherlock Holmes. That’s his nature though, and you really do see his character develop throughout the movie. Tilda Swinton is another stand out star here, there’s a lot of depth to her character and she surprisingly has quite a few funny moments. I haven’t seen much of Chiwetel Ejiofor but he shines on screen too, and you feel the moral struggle that he goes through. Mads Mikkelsen is a fantastic bad guy, but really, what did you expect?

Another reason I was wary of Doctor Strange was that it didn’t seem to have the potential for the amount of humour that Marvel packs into it’s movies so well (take note, Suicide Squad). However, although it isn’t the funniest movie in the Marvel universe, there were plenty of laugh out loud moments that were unexpected. The ever stone faced Wong (Benedict Wong) brings a lot of laughs, but oddly enough it’s Doctor Strange’s Cloak of Levitation that steals the limelight here!

I found the plot quite complex (I have a simple mind, though) and it had a few twists that I didn’t see coming. I’m certainly looking forward to seeing it again to fully get my head around the spiritual-ness of it.

My only real criticism would be the speed that the movie moves through the section of Strange training in Kamar-Taj. It can be forgiven, as this is an origin story with a lot of content to go through, but it looked so much fun. You still felt the passage of time through the changing outfits (which were all stunning), but I’d have loved more time during that part.

As always, stay till the very end of the credits when you see this. It pains me to see so many people getting up and leaving as soon as the credits roll, and then another wave leave after the mid credits scene. You’ve sat there for 2 hours guys, 5 more minutes won’t kill you! 

I am VERY excited about the mid credits scene, my mind wanted to explode at the possibilities of where Doctor Strange fits in with the other Marvel characters. Very excited indeed!

Looking Forward to Seeing at the Cinema: November 2016

As always, I'm writing this post a little earlier than 1st November, so it's absolutely terrifying for me to be thinking about movies coming out in November when I haven't even started my Christmas shopping yet! For the record, by the time you're reading this, I'll have already had the annual 'Christmas Planning Meeting' with the Husband, probably over breakfast at one of our favourite American Diners. Spoiler alert for any friends and family reading this: you're all getting movies!

Enough of that though. This post is a little different this month, because there are a ridiculous amount of movies coming out that I want to see. It saddens me knowing that I won't make it to the cinema for them all, but hey, at least I'll look forward to seeing them on DVD next year. No, this month, there is a movie out every single week that I want to see!

I don't know much about Nocturnal Animals, I've tried to shy away as much as possible, because honestly, with Amy Adams and Jake Gyllenhaal as leads in a Thriller/Drama, that's all I need to get me excited. It looks dark, gritty, and I think there are going to be a few twists and turns as the story unfolds.

Nocturnal Animals will be released in UK cinemas on 4th November 2016.

Amy Adams is killing it this year! Just 1 week later she's starring in a Drama/Mystery/Sci-Fi alongside Jeremy Renner called Arrival. Again, I've tried not to dig to much into the plot of this one, but it's the Director that's really selling it to me. Dennis Villeneuve has directed some of my favourite movies, Sicario, Enemy, Prisoners and Incendies to name a few. This guy is hella talented, and I can't wait to see Arrival.

Arrival will be released in UK cinemas on 10th November 2016.

If you know me at all, you'll know how much I love Harry Potter. I started reading the books when I was just a kid, I attended midnight openings for the last 3 in the series, and if I really don't know what to watch, I'll stick on a Harry Potter movie. It's obvious that I'm looking forward to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Is the news about it being a 5 movie series true? I actually hope not, I'd rather have movies that explore other areas of the wizarding world, but I'll see them nonetheless.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them will be released in UK cinemas on 18th November 2016.

Shameless choice alert! It's been nearly a whole year since my Adam Driver obsession started (blame Benedict Cumberbatch for going quiet for so long) and so I'm desperate to see him in something new. He's been the only shining star in too many terrible movies, so I'm not sure where to set my expectations for Paterson. I also don't know how to convince the husband to see this with me. Perhaps Jenna will be free...she saw Midnight Special with me...

Paterson will be released in UK cinemas on 25th November 2016.

Monthly Round-Up & Blogger Links: October 2016

Happy Halloween folks! You’ve probably noticed it’s been looking a little...purple here lately at Flick Chicks. Jenna’s taking a break from blogging as she’s struggling to find the time. I hope she’ll be back, but for now, I hope you don’t mind sticking around with just me for a while. 

Moving swiftly on, October has been Halloweenie Month, and although I didn’t watch as many horrors as I’d hoped, I’m still pretty darn proud of myself! If you’ve missed any of my Halloweenie Posts, here they are for you:

It Follows (2014)

The Human Centipede, First Sequence (2009)

The Babadook (2014)

My Favourite Halloween Special TV Episodes

Krampus (2015)

Orphan (2009)

Psycho (1960)

It’s been a quiet month for cinema trips, there haven’t been many ‘must watch’ releases, but I did catch The Girl on the Train, and Doctor Strange in IMAX, which was well worth the extra money, I have to say. I’ll post my review of the latter as soon as possible for you guys. In between all the scary movies I did watch some more of my usual kind of movies, and if you missed any of those reviews you can find those here:

Florence Foster Jenkins (2016)

Bridget Jones’s Baby (2016)

Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016)

The Nice Guys (2016)

As far as TV goes, I was super excited to see that a release date for Sherlock Season 4 has finally been announced, New Year’s Day! I’ll be going to my parent’s house to watch that with them. Boy, it’s been so long I’m going to have to have a catch up over Christmas, because I honestly don’t remember how it all ended. Speaking of ending...last week brought the final of The Great British Bake Off, which basically crushed our whole country. The show moves to another channel next year, which led to judge Mary Berry and presenters Mel and Sue dropping out. It’s the end of Bake Off as we know it! Fingers crossed the BBC creates a new show.

I’ve started watching Westworld too, and managed to fall behind on it already. This show is so good so far, you guys. I’ve never seen/read the original (Movie? Show? Book?) so I have no idea where any of it is going, but it’s just so well made. I’m loving all the crazy theories flying around.

Finally, I wanted to share a few posts that I’ve loved reading this month from my fellow bloggers. Check these guys out if you don’t follow them already!

Dell at Dell on Movies has been celebrating all things horror this month, and introduced me to Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse. 

Brittani (I triple-checked this month!) at Rambling Film reviewed a movie I'm not sure I'll ever have the guts to watch, Hush.

Keith at Keith and the Movies reminded why I still really need to see Cafe Society.

Sati at Cinematic Corner has been recapping Westworld for us. I'm behind on her posts because I'm behind on the show - but I'll catch up!

Rebecca at ThePunkTheory shared with us all her Top 4 Scary TV Shows, of which I've only been brave enough to watch 1.

m.brown at Two Dollar Cinema always writes fantastically amusing reviews, but my favourite of his this month was The Jungle Book.

Last but certainly not least, check out Ruth's blog FlixChatter for all the latest coverage of Twin Cities Film Fest.

Halloweenie Review: Psycho (1960)

October is coming to an end, but I felt like I still had enough nerves in me to go out with a bang. I started a modern classic, It Follows, and thought, why not end with a classic classic? That sparked me to check the IMDB Top 250 list which I’ve largely ignored for a few months, and on there spotted a movie I knew I needed to see. Psycho! I don’t know the time limit on spoiler alerts, but I’m going to discuss the entire plot in this post, so beware.

I’m fairly certain I’m not the only person out there who has never watched Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960), but everyone in the world knows about that famous shower scene. I’ve seen it parodied countless times, most notably in National Lampoon’s Vacation when Clark scares Ellen with a banana whilst she’s showering. In fact, if you check out the references section on IMDB, it has over 1,000! That’s pretty impressive.

So the funny thing is, despite this movie being 56 years old, I actually didn’t have a clue what it was about! All I really knew was that it ended with our heroine being tragically murdered whilst having a shower. Turns out, I was even wrong about that.

Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) is fed up with her life. She has to meet her partner in secret, and they aren’t able to get married because he’s had to give up his money in alimony. When tasked at work to deliver $40,000 in cash to the bank, Marion uses the opportunity to run away and start a new life. When the weather takes a turn for the worse, she is forced to spend the night at Bates Motel, a deserted little place ran by an oddball by the name Norman (Anthony Perkins) who is dominated by his mother.

I can count the number of black and white movies I’ve seen on one hand, they’ve never really had much appeal to me. That said, I’ve enjoyed every one I have seen! I think what makes them great is that there’s no glitz and glamour to distract me, the focus is on storytelling, and the storytelling in Psycho is spot on. The first half an hour or so is dedicated to building up Marion’s character, showing us why she’s taking such drastic measures. It also builds up suspense in a very successful way, when Marion is stopped by the police and the whole ordeal at the car garage, I was on the edge of my seat.

Shock number 1 for me was when that pivotal scene happened only half way through the movie. Shock number 2 was that it was Norman’s mother that did the deed, rather than Norman himself. I’d always thought it was him! The scene was still difficult to watch, despite knowing what was coming. I can’t imagine the reaction when it was first released. If only time travel were real!

The second half of the movie turns into a crime solving story, as more clues are thrown out, and more questions raised about Norman and his mother. The moment when it’s revealed that Norman’s mother had been dead for 10 years gave me goosebumps. But who was it in the window upstairs?! The final scenes got too suspenseful for me, I hid behind my blanket, poking my head out every now and again, but what an ending! 

This movie is a huge two finger salute to the trailers of these days that give the entire story away. Almost the whole of Psycho was a complete surprise to me, despite it being one of the most famous movies of all time. Not my genre at all, but a bloody fantastic watch. Is the Bates Motel show worth a watch? I’m tempted.