Polar (2019) Trailer - Review/Reaction

Just as the Liam Neeson movie Taken inspired a slew of movies (The Equalizer, Edge of Darkness and John Wick being notable examples), now it is the turn of John Wick to return the favor.

John Wick was the world's # 1 assassin-for-hire before he retired. Trouble follows when his dog is killed and John is out for revenge. By the end of the (inevitable) sequel, John had a price on his head and it was open season.

As the saying goes: “Success begets success”.

The IMDB description for Polar reads: “The world's top assassin, Duncan Vizla, is settling into retirement when his former employer marks him as a liability to the firm. Against his will, he finds himself back in the game going head to head with an army of younger killers.” 

John Wick's dog has been replaced with Duncan's cute neighbor, Camille (Vanessa Hudgens).

In addition to the obvious similarities to the John Wick movies, astute readers will notice how the description could also apply to the Jason Bourne movies, in which the titular character faced off against younger and faster opponents.

I have enjoyed Mads' performances in Casino Royale and Doctor Strange. In both these movies, Mikkelsen displayed a blend of dry wit and bad guy antics. This movie seems to be a particularly good match for Mads' track record.

The action sequences look decent and the humor is ok. But there is a “been there done that”  feeling  that is unavoidable, given how well received the John Wick movies were.

I still prefer John Wick to this one. Keanu Reeves' world weariness and his acting style made him a natural casting choice for the a world weary assassin.

Let us see if Mads can do one better.

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Image Sources: Netflix, Constantin Film, Dark Horse Entertainment

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Sherlock Holmes Birthday and New Sherlock Holmes Coin

Today marks the 165th birthday of Arthur Conan Doyle's fictional detective.

From dispatching hounds on Dartmoor to helping red headed clients with their vexing conundrums, Holmes has seen it all. He has had more than his share of cases involving saving step daughters from their money grubbing step fathers.

Holmes has survived a number of murder attempts - some at the behest of Professor Moriarty. In addition to physical attacks, Holmes has also been the target of being infected with rare tropical diseases. Plus, it does not help that Holmes himself took several life threatening risks himself, the most famous being when he exposed himself and Dr Watson to the experiment involving Devil's Foot.

All said and done, Holmes is immortal. People will continue to read ACD's original stories and perpetuate the myth of the greatest detective who never lived.



In addition, there are numerous pastiches and adaptations, many of which are enjoyable. Fans of the author have paid tribute by letting their imagination run wild - Holmes has battled the Loch Ness monster, has been reincarnated in the 22nd century, and not only has he been partnered with a female Watson and a female Moriarty, but even has had Irene Adler and Moriarty combined into the same person.

To commemorate ACD's 160th birth anniversary, the Royal Mint has designed 50 pence Sherlock Holmes coins listing some of the most popular stories and novels from the Canon.

Here's wishing the very best of fame and popularity to the world's most renowned fictional sleuth.

Click here to read all of my Sherlock Holmes related posts.

Image Source: The Royal Mint

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Cast and Crew - Russian adaptation of Sherlock Holmes

This is my second post about the Russian adaptation of Sherlock Holmes, directed by Igor Maslennikov and starring Vasily Livanov and Vitaly Solomin as “Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson”.

Please click here to read my earlier post.

Rina Zelyonaya brings out the motherly and patient nature of the long-suffering landlady of the Bohemian detective. A nice touch is that Mrs Hudson is much smarter than the canonical one and is able to make a few deductions of her own.

Boris Klyuev makes a truly classy Mycroft, whose skills of observation and deduction exceed those of even Sherlock. He is bit on the leaner side, but nonetheless cuts a very commanding figure.

Boris Klyuev as Mycroft Holmes

 

Borislav Brondukov brings down the house with his portrayal of Inspector Lestrade. He is probably the best Lestrade ever in terms of physical appearance: small, rat-faced and sly. Where Borislav excels is the spirit and cheer that he imbues in his depiction of the famous Scotland Yard detective.

Click on the link below to buy the DVD:

Igor Maslennikov, the director of this TV series, has done a stupendous job. He completed his education in Journalism from Leningrad University in 1954. He has worked as editor, script writer, cameraman and director in a career spanning more than 30 years.

Igor Maselnnikov, the director

Maslennikov's work on this adaptation of Sherlock Holmes brought him well-deserved recognition and success. Maslennikov's passion and reverence for Sir Doyle's works are evident in the aesthetically done opening credits as well as the costumes, sets and the casting choices. It would have taken considerable efforts from the director and his crew to recreate Victorian England in Russia. Hats off to the entire team and especially Maslennikov for helming such a wonderful and elegant adaptation of Sherlock Holmes.

He is ably assisted by Vladimir Dashkevich, whose music takes the series to a whole new level. His music is an instant classic, in every sense of the word.

Vladimir Dashkevich, the music composer

The Russian adaptation of Sherlock Holmes is a perfect marriage of great ensemble acting, a classic soundtrack and impeccable direction.

Click here to read all my posts about the Russian adaptation of Sherlock Holmes.

Image Source: Lenfilm Film Studio

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Hellboy (2019) Trailer - Review/Reaction

The long awaited trailer for the Neil Marshall directed Hellboy movie was released recently. This is a reboot with David Harbour taking over the mantle of the titular superhero from Ron Perlman.

Joining David Harbour are Ian Shane (replacing John Hurt) as Professor Broom, Sasha Lane, Milla Jovovich and Daniel Dae Kim.

Check out the trailer:

This trailer proved to be underwhelming. The movie tries to ape the MCU movie style of humor that so many recent movies have tried desperately and failed.

This is an important point as Mike Mignola (creator of Hellboy) himself gave his stamp of approval for the reboot and claimed that is much closer to his vision for the character.

It is possible that Mignola and Marshall tried to bring the superhero back to his horror roots and stay away from the particular sense of humor that del Toro and Ron Perlman brought so successfully to the movies. Guillermo's sense of humor was enjoyable and meshed well with the flow of movie.

But here it is a different situation. Perhaps the studio forced the director to include the comedic tone to the movie. The trailer itself starts with a scene that is intended to showcase the comedic nature of the movie, but then the trailer switches gears and becomes a “save-the-world” movie with our hero being the only guy capable of stopping the apocalypse.

The humor looks forced and either comes off as childish or falls flat most of the time. One of the lines (“Hey, I am on your side”) is directly lifted from the first Guillermo del Toro movie:

Similarly, Hellboy's fight against a bigger opponent reminds one of the encounter between Hellboy and Wink in the fantastic Troll Market sequence of Hellboy II: The Golden Army.

Considering that Mike Mignola clearly wanted this movie not to take the del Toro route, the trailer is just surprising to say the least.

Not only the CGI but even the production values look below average. There is a generic blockbuster feel to the whole movie that clearly misses the unique horror/comic book roots of the character that Mike Mignola repeatedly claimed that this movie would have.

The actors appear uninterested with Ian Shane looking positively bored as Professor Broom. Ditto for Sasha Lane and Daniel Dae Kim. Milla Jovovich seems to be in just for the paycheck.

David Harbour's take on the character might be lost in the obvious (but failed) attempts at humor. Fingers crossed on this.

I was looking forward to this movie primarily for two reasons: the director and for featuring one of my favorite superheroes.

Neil Marshall has directed one of my favorite werewolf movies: Dog Soldiers. That movie was made on a much lower budget than this one and had a great screenplay, acting and action sequences. I also liked Centurion starring Michael Fassbender and Olga Kurylenko.

I can only assume that studio interference has played a significant factor in the dumbing down of his latest effort.

This trailer confirms that it would have been a better idea for Universal Pictures and Mignola to have let Guillermo del Toro make the series finale. He clearly had great ideas for the third chapter that would have completed the story arc for Anung Un Rama and Liz Sherman.

Well, Ron Perlman looks set to be the definitive version of Hellboy and the del Toro movies would remain classics - a recognition very well deserved.

Click on the link below to buy Guillermo del Toro's Hellboy:

Click here to read all my posts about movies.

Image Sources: Nu Boyana FX, Campbell Grobman Films, Dark Horse Entertainment, Lawrence Gordon Productions, Millennium Films 

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