The French revolution is underway.

The year is 1798, Queen Marie Antionette faces the guillotine, which is witnessed by a young army officer called Napoleon Bonaparte.

When you see Ridley Scott’s name attached to a film, you know it’s going to be one not to miss.

Napoleon is a biographical drama focused on the man himself. His loves, his conquers and his difficulties.

The film focuses on the human side of Napoleon, somewhat based on his diary entries and accounts from those that were around at that time of history.

As Napoleon rises from the Revolution and sets forth to conquer lands and liberate France he is met with troubles both within his personal life, on the battle field and politically.

Truces are made, alliances won, then betrayed. Victory and defeat which eventually leads to Napoleon being exiled. Twice.

Joaquin Phoenix is flawless in his acting and assuming the role of the French warlord.

A man with a colourful and diverse history, and one blood soaked stamp on humanities timeline makes for one epic sized film.

You must watch Napoleon.

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Seven years after Tupac’s death, the movie Tupac: Resurrection was released.

I knew Tupac’s music, but I had never heard of Tupac: Resurrection so figured it was worth a watch.  It was more than worth a watch, it’s an incredibly delivered ode to a flawed but great artist.

Tupac: Resurrection is presented in the most incredible way, it is narrated by Tupac himself.

The filmmakers achieved this by collecting things he has said and creating a surprisingly coherent narration over the movie. If it was made today I would assume that it was some AI trick, but it is pretty incredible what was achieved 20 years ago in this movie. This really does mean Tupac is telling his own story here which is pretty special.

The movie itself is slices of his life from his childhood to his death.

One thing that surprised me, having only listened to his music and not his interviews before, was how softly and well spoken he was. Tupac wasn’t a kid born to the streets, he went to a decent school, and got a great education, in no small part due to his mother doing everything she could for him. This makes video footage of him at high school a really fascinating contrast to what I pictured listening to the music.

Throughout the movie we get to see Tupac make great and bad decisions.

Listening to him reflecting on some of the mist steps adds a layer of depth to each of these moments. You see the influences that helped and hindered Tupac. The film is loaded with old school footage, from interviews on TV to behind the scenes stuff. All of this really paints an interesting picture of a deeply intricate man.  It still throws me off how soft spoken and eloquent he can be when he wasn’t playing up his persona.

The DVD is loaded with some special features including an early video of him giving a speech, music videos, and a fascinating deposition where he was being sued because of an incident after someone allegedly listened to his music.

The last one was really interesting because hearing Tupac explaining his music reminds me of when metal bands had to explain their music in the same era as people were looking for anything to blame for gun violence.

Oh how times have changed.  Every time you get an unfiltered look at Tupac, I found him more fascinating.

Tupac: Resurrection is a pretty incredible film.

It’s really built around Tupac telling his own story so isn’t overly critical, but it is a really interesting look at a truly fascinating man. Even if you aren’t a fan of his music I still highly recommend watching it and this DVD with the extras is a great way to enjoy it.

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Evil through the ages.

Father Gabriele Amorth (Russell Crowe) has performed thousands of exorcists, ordained by the highest power, the Pope.

His peers and seniors view his role as dubious at best and while the majority of said ‘possessions’ were related to mental health, a small percentage were of demonic origin.

Based on Father Gabriele Amorth’s recounts via his books this film is based on true events and centres around an American family who has recently had a tragedy.

Julia (Alex Essoe) lost her husband due to a vehicle accident and has two kids, a teenage girl and young pre-teen son who has not spoken a word since the crash.

The year is 1987 and the family travel to Spain to renovate an old Abbey that was left to Julia by her husband upon his death.

As the construction crew are refitting the decrepit Abbey they find a hidden section behind a crumbling wall.

After one of their workers is hurt badly the crew become superstitious and cancel the contract.

At the same time Julia’s young son, seemingly becomes ill and medical doctors cannot find the cause.

As his illness deepens strange things also begin happening around the Abbey.

Eventually a Catholic Priest is called in and instantly he recognises the possibility of a possession.

Father Gabriele Amorth is commissioned to visit the family and what plays out is a deep story in to the dark past of the Catholic Church.

Russell Crowe as Father Gabriele Amorth is on point and I’ll admit, I raised an eyebrow or two when I’d heard he had taken this role. But no, he is brilliant.

The film was not as slow as I thought it would be either. The horror escalates quickly and is the dominant flavour throughout the film.

I couldn’t help but notice some similarities between The Pope’s Exorcist and 1973’s The Exorcist. Fans of the earlier film will notice this too.

In all The Pope’s Exorcist was enjoyable, failed to offer anything wholly new to the genre but has the right amount of jump scares, overall creepiness and dark story for any horror fan.

The post The Pope’s Exorcist (Sony Pictures – 2023) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

The year was 1984.

Ronald Reagan was President of the U.S., Apple was on top of the merging computer world and a shoe company based in Oregon, U.S. called Nike was forging their way in to the Basketball courts with a 17% market share.

Up against the two dominating brands Adidas and Converse, who had the top players, Nike was settling for third or fourth best players to promote their brand.

Pop culture at the time had Run DMC fitted out in Adidas on MTV and Converse All Stars on the pro Basketball circuits.

Talent scout Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon) had a hunch about an upcoming player, a young Michael Jordan and wanted him to be the new sports star for Nike,

But Adidas and Converse were already tempting Michael Jordan with sizeable contracts with whatever Nike could offer being matched or over stepped.

Also, Jordan didn’t like Nike all that much.

Sonny Vaccaro with his $250K budget which was meant to be spread across a couple of lower rate players decides to put all of his bets and budget on one player much to the contrary advice of Phil Knight (Ben Affleck), CEO of Nike and colleagues Rob Strasser (Jason Bateman), Howard White (Chris Tucker).

After a spontaneous in person meeting with Michael Jordan’s family and a new show unlike anything ever seen on the courts before, Air Jordan was born and became one of the most successful sports shoe lines in history, also setting a precedent for how and what players that promote products are reimbursed.

Air tells the chaotic and at times drama infused story of how Nike went from third best to top of the rank all by placing everything they had one Basketball player.

A fantastic and at times humorous film, Air has the stars both on screen and depicted on the court and is a must see.

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Who really was George Michael? The new documentary GEORGE MICHAEL: PORTRAIT OF AN ARTIST (Amazon Prime Video, Apple iTunes, Google Play), details just that.

Told candidly from the people who really knew him best – his music manager Simon Napier-Bell, his longtime lover and partner Kenny Goss, fellow luminaries Stevie Wonder, Rufus Wainwright, Stephen Fry, and many more.

By far the most definitive feature documentary on George’s amazing life, the film explores the many ups and downs of the illustrious Grammy Award winner, considered one of the best-selling musicians of all time with sales of over 120 million records worldwide. We would love to set up an interview with you and the film’s director, Simon Napier-Bell and/or Kenny Goss to discuss the importance of the documentary and George’s legacy, as well as share anecdotes about who he really was.

Born in North London, George Michael rose to fame as member of the pop duo Wham! with their first two albums reaching #1 on the UK Albums Chart and the US Billboard 200, with hit singles including “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” and “Last Christmas”. Simon Napier-Bell managed their career, helping establish them as a global act and the driving force behind their groundbreaking Beijing concert, the first visit to China by a Western popular music act, which generated worldwide media coverage.

George’s first solo single, “Careless Whisper”, reached number one in over 20 countries including the UK and the US, with his debut album Faith topping the UK charts and staying at number one for 12 straight weeks on the Billboard 200. Globally it sold 25 million copies, and four singles from the album—”Faith”, “Father Figure”, “One More Try”, and “Monkey”—reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Michael became the best-selling music artist of 1988, and Faith was awarded Album of the Year at the 1989 Grammy Awards.

But with all of his success, George fought a continuous internal battle with his identity and public persona. Outside music, he was an active LGBT rights campaigner and HIV/AIDS charity fundraiser.

His personal life, drug use, and legal troubles made headlines during the late 1990s and 2000s, as he was arrested for public lewdness in 1998 and was arrested for multiple drug-related offences after that time. In 1996 George began a decade long romantic relationship with artist Kenny Goss, and in 1998 he came out as gay publicly for the first time. George suffered from substance abuse for many years, but in 2008 had a major comeback tour with the release of Twenty Five in celebration of his 25 years in music.

George died at the age of 53 on Christmas in 2016 due to natural causes related to heart and liver disease.

Following his death, many charities and individuals posted on social media about George’s generous philanthropic acts and how he often donated his time and much of his wealth anonymously. The pop star avoided making headlines for his many acts of kindness, which included volunteering at a homeless shelter, paying for a woman’s fertility treatments and tipping a waitress thousands of dollars to help her pay for her nursing school debts.

The documentary GEORGE MICHAEL: PORTRAIT OF AN ARTIST dives deeper into who George really was – a kind and generous person who ultimately fought many demons while being front and center as one of the most famous musicians of his time – through never before heard anecdotal stories of his closest friends and allies.

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Elvis, the musical legend, the King, the rebel.

Baz Luhrman’s biographical film Elvis takes us through the whirlwind chapter of the singers life as he rises from an unknown to controversial super stardom under the management of Colonel Tom Parker.

The film, in parts is narrated by Parker (Tom Hanks) who had previously been known in Side Show and Carnival circles.

He saw the potential in a young Elvis and molded him in to not just a singer but also Hollywood actor.

But there was many mysteries surrounding Parker and some say, as the film depicts, that the Colonel held Elvis’ career back and ripped him off.

Austin Butler as Elvis gives us a flawless performance of the late country and blues singer.

The film is a ride through Elvis’ younger years, his peak fame through to his eventual demise in Las Vegas. His marriage to Priscilla and the separation.

Flashbacks to Elvis’ childhood give relevance to the man he became and his extreme loneliness and addictions.

While we all know the story of Elvis, who he was and his death – we have never seen the King portrayed like this. Full of glamour, excitement, darkness and despair.

Elvis the film, like the singer himself is exceptional.

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Today, Disney+ announced FX’s “Pistol,” the limited series about the legendary Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones, directed by Academy Award winner Danny Boyle, will premiere Tuesday, May 31st, 2022 exclusively on Disney+.

Based on Jones’ 2017 memoir Lonely Boy: Tales from a Sex Pistol, “Pistol” was created and written by Craig Pearce and will be executive produced by Boyle, Pearce, Tracey Seaward, Gail Lyon, Anita Camarata, Steve Jones, Paul Lee, Hope Hartman and wiip. The series is produced by FX Productions.

“Pistol” is a six-episode limited series about a rock and roll revolution.

The furious, raging storm at the centre of this revolution are the Sex Pistols – and at the centre of this series is Sex Pistols’ founding member and guitarist, Steve Jones. Jones’ hilarious, emotional and at times heart-breaking journey guides us through a kaleidoscopic telling of three of the most epic, chaotic and mucus-spattered years in the history of music. Based on Jones’ memoir Lonely Boy: Tales from a Sex Pistol, this is the story of a band of spotty, noisy, working-class kids with “no future,” who shook the boring, corrupt Establishment to its core, threatened to bring down the government and changed music and culture forever.

“Pistol” stars Australian actor Toby Wallace as Steve Jones, Jacob Slater as Paul Cook, Anson Boon as John Lydon, Christian Lees as Glen Matlock, Louis Partridge as Sid Vicious, Sydney Chandler as Chrissie Hynde, Talulah Riley as Vivienne Westwood, Maisie Williams as punk icon Jordan, Emma Appleton as Nancy Spungen and Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Malcolm McLaren.

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Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia’s Seven Bucks Productions has partnered with 101 Studios, A Really Good Home Pictures, Coonskin Cap Productions and Gary Lewis to produce Unstoppable, the inspiring true-life story of sports hero Anthony Robles. 

The one-of-a-kind drama follows Robles who, despite being born with only one leg to a single-parent family on the wrong side of the tracks, overcame every obstacle to become an undefeated collegiate wrestling star, three-time All-American, 2011 NCAA National Champion, two-time ESPY Award winner and a National Wrestling Hall of Fame inductee.

“Words cannot express how honored I am to have my story made into a film,” Anthony Robles said. “Because I was born missing my leg, my entire life I’ve had to deal with people having low expectations of me. When I got into wrestling, most people thought it was impossible for me to become even an average wrestler. I’m hopeful that people who see Unstoppable will walk away believing that you should never let your challenges define you. If you have a goal, go after it with everything you’ve got. Nothing is impossible.”

 “Our entire Seven Bucks team is passionate about sharing stories that inspire and resonate on a global scale. We’ve had an eye on Anthony’s story for a long time and have been deeply moved by his perseverance that proves nothing is impossible. The powerful themes of redemption and tackling life’s obstacles are very familiar to us, we are excited to bring this triumphant underdog story to life,” said Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia, co-founders of Seven Bucks Productions.

“Anthony’s story is really special and reveals the passion, determination and fearlessness needed to overcome challenges,” said Hiram Garcia, President of Production at Seven Bucks Productions. “Investing in the right stories with universal appeal is a huge priority for us at Seven Bucks, but more importantly, we want to share stories like Anthony’s that motivate the world.”

“Unstoppable is a film that 101 Studios is so proud to be a part of,” said 101 Studios CEO David Glasser. “We were moved and inspired by Anthony’s triumphs on the mat, but—even more so—his triumphs of spirit and determination in his personal life. Unstoppable embodies the types of films that we want to bring to the screen: films that resonate universally because of their power to connect with audiences.”Unstoppable will be produced by Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia and Hiram Garcia for Seven Bucks Productions, Andy Fraser for A Really Good Home Pictures, David Crockett for Coonskin Cap Productions, and Gary Lewis. The film will be executive produced by Bob Yari.

Written by John Hindman, the script for the new film is based on Robles’ moving memoir (written with Austin Murphy), Unstoppable: From Underdog to Undefeated: How I Became a Champion, published in 2012 by Penguin imprint Gotham Books.

“We’re thrilled to have 101 Studios and Seven Bucks as partners in bringing Anthony’s remarkable story to the big screen,” Fraser said. “Working with such a great team, we couldn’t be more excited to realize the promise of John Hindman’s script and to hopefully inspire audiences for many years to come.”

Crockett, Fraser and UTA’s Rena Ronson sold the project to 101 Studios with help from Nicole Compas with Ramo Law. Brokering the deal were David Glasser and James Allen, represented by Leif Cervantes de Reinstein of Sheppard Mullin.

The cast for Unstoppable has yet to be announced.

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Everyone in one way or another has heard of the name Charlie Manson and the notorious murders associated with him and his ‘family’. Charlie Says is your typical straight to DVD drama but certainly has its own gripping take on the infamous family.

Without going too much into details as I want to respect the true story and the results of it as much as possible, I’ll just focus on the story elements the film Charlie Says presented to me.

The juxtaposed film cut between the past and the present, allowing viewers insight into why these people were so heavily influenced by Manson. By the end though, we still didn’t truly understand why they did what they did. On a movie scale, this lack of clear motivation made it hard for me to understand the overall arc and linear path. Things almost felt quite sudden when things started to change and suddenly Manson had his ‘family’ committing murders for the sake of their own personal religion.

Matt Smith as the role of Manson was a tad odd in the beginning based on his previous roles and status as an actor, meaning it was almost as if he was too big of a star to play the role or too good-looking in some people’s eyes. Saying this, perhaps that made him perfect for the role and helped the audience understand the attraction to this evil man.

From a storytelling point of view, I did enjoy seeing the perspective of the three ‘sisters’ and seeing the aftermath of living a life lead by Manson, even if it was for a short amount of time. As time went on, some of the women start to realize what they have done and help the audience understand how strong Manson’s influence was. It was also fascinating to try and piece together the big question of why they left their previous lives to be with Charlie, something Merritt Weaver’s character at the Women’s Correction Facility tried to discover.

Charlie Says is very much your straight to DVD or C grade film. Despite this, many will enjoy a brief exploration into the lives of the Manson family and maybe want to look further into the real-life crime stories behind the infamous family.

The post Charlie Says (IFC Films – 2019) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

From the yellow brick road to performing small variety shows with her two young children.

JUDY sees Renee Zellweger channel the late and legendary Judy Garland during her adult years as she struggles with her falling stardom in the U.S., addictions and the inability to be able to find any sustainable work.

From the moment the young Judy played Dorothy on the classic 1939 Wizard of Oz, she was told what to do and when to do it, what to eat and what not too.

Unable to be like girls of her own age and held captive in a strict regime by minders and movie studios, every movement, every choice was dictated by others.

Both as a child and then as an adult and mother, Judy Garland was never able to find happiness, to gain freedom. To feel loved. Being on stage, in front of lights and adoring audiences was her only familiarity.

With a singing voice that was out of this world, Judy both hated and rejoiced in the limelight. But as that light fades her life becomes darker.

JUDY shows us a slice of her troubled life approximately six months before her death at age 47. The film reflects back during narrative based moments to those young years and takes viewers through the latter part of her life as she tries to regain control of her career with a series of musical shows in London and her marriage to her fifth husband Mickey Dean.

Strapped for cash, homeless, having a custody dispute with one of her ex-husbands, unwell and fighting internal demons that were seeded from her childhood, Judy pushes herself through the London Shows.

What could have been a glamorous comeback for her turns in to a train wreck and we the viewers of the film become sympathetic spectators.

An outstanding performance by Renee who disciplined herself to the point of extreme weight loss and adopting Judy Garland’s personality quirks and her quick wit takes us on an emotional journey of a chapter in one Globally recognised entertainers life.

There will never be another Judy Garland and not another film about her quite like this one.

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