Reviews

I really wanted to like this movie, as I loved "300" even if it was ridiculous and comic book honed. The original, was well...original - not since Richard Egan and his merry band of eloquent doomed heroes donned their sandals back in 1962 The 300 Spartans has the story of Thermopylae been retold, and almost seemed lost, until Gerald Butler and Zack Snyder resurrected it in blood soaked glory.

This movie is a sort of "While the 300 were at the hot gates, this was going on elsewhere" kind of narrative, obviously no Butler this time, or though he does appear in a few scenes from the original, spliced into this one. Enter this time Sullivan Stapleton as Themistocles, a fine (in a seemingly endless line)of Aussie actors, who up until now has done most of his work in TV series and movies, most recently as Sgt. Damien Scott in Strike Back Episode 1 The other main character is former Bond girl and now embittered ex Greek Persian naval commander Eva Green as Artemis or Artemesia whichever way you want to say it, leading Xerxes navy to finish the Greeks, after Xerxes troops finally kill the 300 and march inland.

As you would expect it's testosterone ramped, highly stylized gory action pretty much from the get go, but ultimately falls pretty flat in my humble opinion. We have Lena Headey as Butlers widow, now Queen of Sparta with a sour face most of the movie, and the inclusion of a few of the original cast, but that can't save it either.

The Athenians under Themistocles are no Spartans, a loose affiliation of farmers, poets and architects, but they do all however seemed to have had time to spent weeks in the gym honing amazing physiques, and admirable fighting skills. Outnumbered heavily, the virtually bulletproof Themistocles gives more than a few awesome speeches to rally his troops in the face of insurmountable odds, there's plenty of "Better to die on your feet, than live on your knees" inspiration, but he's not the only one getting in on the action. I lost count (and interest) after a while as it seemed everyone got on a soap box and gave a do or die address during the movie. The special effects I felt were poor, the blood splatter and gore is even more ridiculous than last time, and the Persians are of course treated like canon fodder most of the time.

I could go on, about historical inaccuracy, a ludicrous portrayal of Xerxes and the Persian army in general, or just little things like Artemis being able to back lip Xerxes without being strung up like a prize turkey, the list would be pretty long!

If you want something to try and make more sense of the original movie, or give you a flavor of what else was happening at the time, the voice over narrative does a pretty good job. Unfortunately, one really has to put their brain in neutral to sit through this without laughing too much.

I would fully expect a lot of Jason Statham fans to be disappointed with this movie, and those expecting the usual fast paced wall to wall action may feel a little let down. Credit to the star who seems to be churning out a lot of pictures to a standard formula these days, it doesn't seem to matter which side of the law the character he portrays is on, the audience seems to be rooting for him. Again, he's usually highly principled, honorable and of course hard as nails. Redemption takes a different approach, although some key elements remain. After a brief but brutal opening we find Statham as an ex military soldier with a checkered past, living the life of a bum on the street. After he suffers a beating at the hands of some street thugs, he fortuitously ends up hiding in an empty upscale apartment, the owner of which is away for 6 months. This was the only real part of the film that stretched credulity for me, in this day and age, the ability to live out the life he does albeit briefly, would I suspect be highly unlikely. Anyway, enough about that. After the young girl he shared a cardboard box goes missing, and he's able to turn his life around he gains some employment. While searching for the girl, he then becomes an enforcer for the Chinese underworld in London, a job that brings rich rewards, but troubles his conscience. Frequently revisiting the soup kitchen and Nun who runs it (an absorbing and interesting sub plot) he sets about trying to atone for his past life, save the girl, and make amends with his ex, and daughter who doesn't know him - hence the title of the movie. The acting is excellent, and Statham shows some real depth instead of the usual ass kicking dead pan delivery. I won't spoil the movie, but if you go in knowing that it's a slow burner, with layers of story, and believable if infrequent action you will probably enjoy it. I gave it 4 stars, a little generous maybe, but for a change of direction I liked it.

Queen 40 years, that was 2011, the reissues, the box sets, books and documentaries, all flooding the market. Among them this little documentary gem, released in the UK (mid January 2012 release date set for here in the US) on region free Blu ray disc. There has been some consternation about the fact that the BD runs longer than the trimmed DVD release, and I can offer no insight. The BD has nice picture and sound, but is by no means stunning, most of the footage shown in the documentary is old and not restored, or upgraded to HD, so it's a good picture, not a stunning one. The main feature is a two part documentary charting the beginnings of the band, through to their last live performance in 1986, and then what came next. Most of the footage is narrated in interview style with Brian May, and Roger Taylor mostly. John Deacon (the bass player) seeming to have disappeared intentionally from the public eye, is not seen much, and the footage of Freddie is obviously old.

There is quite a bit of new footage, some unseen screen tests for videos, and the unseen live aid practice, all padded out with a chronology of hits, shows, ups and downs. It was interesting to learn about some of the inner turmoil, the quiet solo attempts, not only from Freddie, but Brian and Roger also. There are many interesting interviews with the likes of Paul Gambucinni, long time roadie Peter Hince, and their former manager, as well as news reports, clips covering the highs and the lows. The immense crowds of South America, the mistake of Sun City, the long time break through to the USA, and so on.

The second part of the documentary deals with the high points, virtual split and then masterful reunion for Live Aid, and the massive '86 tour. It also deals with Freddie's health, decline and ultimate end, and though delicately handled, it is sad and very bittersweet.

So 40 years? Well yes and no, 25 years since their last live concert as a complete band, and 20 years since the death of Freddie, yet here we are - still absorbed, still watching. Arguably one of the greatest rock bands of the 20th century, certainly one, if not THE founders of "stadium" rock, who left an endearing legacy of great music.

Much of the the footage can be seen in other documentaries like Queen - Under Review - 1980-1991 and Queen - Under Review 1973-1980 but these are mostly the ramblings of other people. This BD has probably the most real input from the band, mostly Roger and Brian as already mentioned, but for any fan, or anyone who simply wants to know more about the band, it's certainly worth the money.

As you read reviews on this production, you have to remember that most (if not all) of us writing never actually "knew" the man, but I have to begin this review by saying, that which I do know, and have learned, watched and read, tells me that this is a very unbalanced program. Having listened to their music from the very beginning, been fortunate enough to see them in concert in 1980, and as a fan seen, heard and read too many articles to list here, I think the documentary gives a very poor representation - those with little knowledge of the man, or the band may come away from this thinking he was self absorbed, spoiled, arrogant and a bit of a jerk, and that's a real shame. I also don't know how you can breeze through Queen's early library in a 5 minute montage and then spend 15 minutes talking about Freddies sexual proclivities, and the gay scenes in New York, and around the World. The program focuses, for the most part on Freddie's solo career attempts, the disastrous (in terms of sales) Bad Guy album, later The Great Pretender, and lastly his collaboration with Montserrat Caballe on the Barcelona album. I'll make a personal observation here, that way too much time is spent on the Barcelona project, as some have already said, perhaps to coincide with the re-release of the album, this documentary almost is an advert for that release. There are some great on camera interviews, a lot of previously unseen footage, a piece on Freddie performing with the Royal Ballet, and even the unreleased collaboration with Michael Jackson is discussed - imagine how much that would sell for today if it was dug up and released??

What this documentary showed me was what a complex man Freddie was, almost a tortured artist, opera singer, ballet dancer, writer, poet and lover all rolled into a rock star, who at times fell victim to his own success. What it didn't show was the full picture. For me Freddie was a great showman, probably one of THE greatest frontmen, and in my mind, no band ever performed better to big stadium audiences. I personally could care less about his personal life, the hedonism of the 70's and 80's may seem shocking to people watching now in 2013, but I was always more interested in his music.

Brian May said of Freddie that he was " A Lover of Life, a Singer of Songs" and these words are carved on his statue on the shore of Lake Geneva. Whatever you take away from this documentary, take it with a pinch of salt, and remember you have only seen about 20% of the full picture.

As a lifelong fan of the band, I am bound to be biased in my review, but I was very excited to see a concert from the last tour in '86 (as a complete band) on Blu-Ray. Whereas I liked Montreal, my favorite has always been the Wembley set - which is almost identical here. The picture is as clear as I have ever seen footage of the band, and the sound was crisp.

I wasn't particularly fond of the inter cutting scenes on each band member wondering around Budapest, having a "moment". I would have rather this had been an optional feature on the disc, not played in the middle of a song, but that's just me. With regard to the Wembley concert Queen: Live at Wembley Stadium I live in hope that this will be given the restoration treatment and put onto Blu Ray - I'm sure it would certainly sell well. Comparing that concert to this is not difficult, but for me the audience are flatter here, whether it's the camera work (which is great of the band) focusing on the band members more, and the crowd participation and reactions less I can't tell, but Wembley feels more immersive.

Another minor gripe, I don't know why Another One Bites the dust was left off the Blu Ray, or why Crazy little thing called love was heavily trimmed in the edit?? The impromptu bits, Brian's solo, and the very touching Hungarian song Freddie sings, are going to change depending on the location, obviously - but as for the song set, can't we have it all and complete?

Shelling out for this set will also give you two CD's of the gig, the less said about the crappy cardboard gate-fold sleeve the better.

Obviously a must for fans, for people new to Queen's music, I would recommend Wembley over this.

Even if you go into this movie with your eyes wide open, and little expectation of depth or even resemblance to the Mary Shelley novel, it's difficult to switch off completely and enjoy as a ridiculous romp. About as far from Boris Karloff or even Robert De Niro for that matter, as you could could possibly imagine, enter Aaron Eckhart as the brooding eponymous here/antihero In a world built on the comic strip and with more than a large resemblance to the successful Underworld movies, we find (yet again) that a war has been raging between Gargolyes and Demons for centuries that could threaten the survival of the human race. At that point you could have substituted Lycans and Vampires, without having to change the script much. Adam nee Frankenstein (or his monster however you want to view it) is the missing link between soulless reanimation and demon re-population of Earth. Standing in the way of chief demon prince (Bill Nighy chewing scenery as he goes) are the Gargoyles, a religious order of shape shifting flying super warriors who "ascend" when killed, as their nemesis demons "descend" in a fiery ball during all the fight scenes. It's OK, but ridiculous really, filmed in Europe (like the Underworld movies) where everyone speaks English, and where a technologically advanced human race is somehow oblivious to flying gargoyles, demon destruction and immense buildings and cathedrals seemingly always vacant, it's a lot to accept, even suspending disbelief to the maximum. Eckhart swaggers around with a ripped physique and crooked hard stare most of the time, delivering monotone sound bytes, usually followed by slow mo swaggering with fire balls behind him. Predictable? Yes, Paving the way for a sequel? Of Course. Definitely aimed at the popcorn flick fan, it's harmless enough nonsense, fortunately trimmed to a reasonable running time, and fun to watch in places, but I really found it a struggle to like in any real way.