old king clancy

Review – Kong: Skull Island

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by Old King Clancy

2014’s Godzilla reboot was a film that proved America can make a great Godzilla movie by giving us probably the most bad-ass Godzilla of the modern age… it was just a shame that they had to surround him by bland characters and missed Bryan Cranston sized opportunities. With the release of Kong: Skull Island the new shared Monsterverse – because of course everything is copying Marvel now – is underway and while it does suffer from some of the same problems as Godzilla, it also kicks ass in much the same way. If this is the direction the franchise is taking then I’m happy to see where they go.

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Review – T2 Trainspotting

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trainspotting

by Old King Clancy

Being Scottish I subscribe to the unwritten rule that my favourite film either has to be Trainspotting or Braveheart, personally I chose Trainspotting. Now, 20 years after the original, the long talked about sequel has come around, I had high hopes for it and while it was never going to live up to the freshness of the original, it never set out to. Instead we got a solid follow-up that took us back into this world and showed us what happened when you choose life, but life doesn’t want anything to do with you.

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Review – Logan (2017)

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by Old King Clancy

In the summer of 2000, a comic-book movie based on Marvel’s X-Men series was released featuring a then unknown actor called Hugh Jackman who had been brought in last minute to play the role of Wolverine. 17 years, 9 cinematic outings and a lifetime of being regarded as one of the most perfectly casted comic-book characters ever put to film, and Jackman takes his iconic role to its final swan song with Logan. Whether this is Jackman’s last turn as the character or not remains to be seen, but if it is, then finally being able to see a no-holds-barred, R-Rated Wolverine movie would’ve been enough but this last ride gives enough poignancy to stand out from the brutality, giving us one of, if not the absolute finest chapter in the X-Film History.

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Review – Hacksaw Ridge

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by Old King Clancy

Mel Gibson has slowly been putting himself back into Hollywood’s good books after he ostracized himself with his drunken, racist rants. He’s primarily worked in lower budget actions movies which have been mostly decent but he hasn’t stepped behind the camera since Apocalypto in 2006. Now ten years later he takes up directing duties again for a war movie about a pacifist and the true story of Desmond Doss on Hacksaw Ridge, it’s an incredible story and unbelievable if it wasn’t true but Gibson has a story to tell about a man of god going into Hell and the result is pretty good, though falls just short of greatness.

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Review – Moonlight (2016)

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Image result for moonlight movie poster

by Old King Clancy

There’s a strange dichotomy in today’s society, while we’re a lot more open towards gender, race and sexuality and allowing people of all types to come forward and be who they are without judgement, there’s another side of us that hates this to the point of murdering anyone who is openly different. With the Black Lives Matter movement in America and the Orlando shooting last year the decision to be yourself as a black or gay individual comes with the threat that people out there want to hurt you for something you have no control over, so do you make that choice, do you be who you want to be, or do you hide away and hope nobody sees through your armour.

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Review – Silence (2016)

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by Old King Clancy

When Scorsese came out with Wolf of Wall Street a few years ago he showed everyone that even at 70 he had the energy and the madness to fuel a 3 hour mess of excess and still have it be one of his best works. Now in 2016 Scorsese slows things down in order to return to a passion project of his, Silence based on the 1966 novel of the same name, a story about Jesuit Priests who travel to 17th Century Japan to spread the word of Christianity only to be met with suffering and persecution. Scorsese’s past in the priesthood is well-documented and the fact that he’s been trying for this project off the ground for 25 years means that this was always going to be an experience worth having.

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Review – Westworld

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westworldbar-1

by Old King Clancy

“These violent delights have violent ends.”

HBO has generally been a solid channel for quality programming, so when the news came that they were remaking Michael Crichton’s original theme park disaster movie Westworld into a TV series, the news was welcome. The original Westworld had strong concepts but lacked the maturity and technical advancement to pull it off correctly, it was exactly the type of film that was meant to be remade and with A.I. becoming closer and closer to reality, the timing of the series – as well as some help from an unbelievable cast and backing from J.J. Abrams and Jonathan Nolan – ensured it to be a sure-fire hit. And you know what, it damn well was.

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Review – Dr. Strange

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by Old King Clancy

The Marvel Comic Universe has widely considered to be made of three distinct sections, Earth, Comic and Mythical. Earth and Cosmic have already been touched upon in the MCU but Mythical hasn’t until now and with good reason, because of the rule-bending nature a central universe needed to be established first before Marvel brought in its Sorcerer Supreme. As it stands, what Doctor Strange lacks in narrative it makes up for in being arguably the most imaginative MCU movie to date.

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Review – Westworld, Episode 3

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by Old King Clancy

“Dear, dear. How queer everything is today, and yesterday things went on just as usual. I wonder if I’ve been changed in the night?”

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Westworld’s third episode, titled The Stray, is the weakest so far but only in terms of being the most exposition heavy so far. With all we’ve come to learn about the Park and its inhabitants, allowing a slower episode to focus our attentions seems the most logical choice to make now that we’ve all become fully invested in the story to come.

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