In this episode Mark does a review of the 2022 American action drama film “Top Gun: Maverick” directed by Joseph Kosinski and starring Tom Cruise, Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly, Val Kilmer, which is the sequel to the 1986 film “Top Gun”. Mark discusses why some sequels to successful films work and why some do not, and why some sequels deserve to be made while others are made for all the wrong reasons.
In this episode Mark does a review of the 2022 American computer-animated science fiction film “Lightyear” and he explains why he believes it is worth watching.
In this episode Mark talks about one of his favourite films: the 1991 American fantasy swashbuckler adventure film “Hook” directed by Steven Spielberg. The story of the film, which is a sequel to the story from J.M. Barrie’s 1911 novel “Peter and Wendy”, focuses on an adult Peter Pan who has forgotten about his childhood and who is now known as Peter Banning, a successful and unimaginative workaholic lawyer, who is married with two children; however when his old nemesis, Captain James Hook, finds a way to leave Neverland and kidnap his children, Peter, with the help of Tinkerbell, must return to Neverland to save them and remember who he really is. The film stars Robin Williams as Peter Banning/Peter Pan, Dustin Hoffman as Captain Hook, Julia Roberts as Tinker Bell, Bob Hoskins as Mr. Smee, and Maggie Smith as Granny Wendy.
In this episode Mark talks about the 2004 American romantic science fiction film “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” written by Charlie Kaufman and directed by Michel Gondry. The story of the film follows an estranged couple, John Barrish (Jim Carrey) and Clementine Kruczynski (Kate Winslet), who choose to have their memories of each other erased – but who unknowingly find themselves drawn back to one another, and who rediscover who they were and how they were as a couple, and why they ultimately chose to erase one another from each others’ lives. The film also stars Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood, and Tom Wilkinson.
In this episode Mark talks about one of his favourite films: the 2018 American superhero film “Avengers: Infinity War” directed by Anthony and Joe Russo. The 19th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe features an ensemble cast including Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Zoe Saldaña, Josh Brolin, and sees the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy attempt to prevent Thanos from collecting the six all-powerful Infinity Stones as part of his quest to eliminate half the life in the universe.
In this episode Mark does a spoiler review of the latest movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the 2021 American superhero film “Eternals” directed by Chloe Zhao, based on the Marvel Comics race of the same name. The Eternals are an immortal alien race who spent thousands of years protecting Earth from their evil counterparts, the Deviants – who decide to emerge after spending centuries in hiding after the threat of the Deviants returns. The film stars Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Liam McHugh, Brian Tyree Henry, Lauren Ridloff, Barry Keoghan, Don Lee, Harish Patel, Kit Harrington, Salma Hayek, and Angelina Jolie.
In this episode Mark talks about one of his favourite films: the 2002 British post-apocalyptic horror drama film “28 Days Later’ directed by Danny Boyle and written by Alex Garland. The film stars Cillian Murphy as Jim, who wakes up in hospital after being in a coma for a month following an accident – who discovers that society has broken down following the accidental release of a highly contagious virus. The plot of the film revolves around Jim struggling to survive along with other uninfected survivors and evade those infected with the “Rage” virus – which instantly turns people into violent, mindless, zombie-like killing-machines. The film also stars Naomie Harris, Christopher Eccleston, Megan Burns and Brendan Gleeson.
In this episode Mark talks about one of his favourite films: the 2006 dark fantasy film “Pan’s Labyrinth” written, directed, and co-produced by Guillermo del Toro. Set during the summer of 1944, five years after the Spanish Civil War, the story of the film centres upon a 10 year-old girl called Ofelia (played by Ivana Baquero) who encounters a faun (played by Doug Jones) within an abandoned stone labyrinth and discovers that she is the reincarnated princess of a mythical world. However, to prove that she really is who she believed to be, the faun sets Ofelia three tests for her to complete – but Ofelia also has to contend with her psychopathic stepfather Captain Vidal (played by Sergi López) and she also has to attend to her pregnant mother Carmen (played by Ariadna Gil). The film also stars Maribel Verdú ad Mercedes, Vidal’s housekeeper and a secret member of the Spanish Marquis.
In this episode Mark talks about one of his favourite films: the 1988 American fantasy comedy film “Beetlejuice”, directed by Tim Burton. The film stars Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis as Adam and Barbara Maitland, a recently deceased couple who become ghosts that haunt their former home, who attempt to scare away the new residents of their house, the Deetz family – consisting of Charles, Delia, and Lydia (played by Jeffrey Jones, Catherine O’Hara, and Winona Ryder). But when the Maitland’s seek some assistance in scaring away the Deetzes they ask for help from an obnoxious and devious poltergeist named Betelgeuse/Beetlejuice (played by Michael Keaton), but unfortunately turns out to be more than both families can cope with.
In this episode Mark talks about one of his favourite films: the 2013 American adventure comedy-drama film “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” directed, co-produced by, and starring Ben Stiller. The second film adaptation of James Thurber’s 1939 short story of “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”, the story revolves around Walter Mitty, a negative assets manager at Life magazine who regularly daydreams adventures and who has a crush on a coworker named Cheryl Melhoff (played by Kristen Wiig), who gets sets off on a real life adventure around the world, walking in the footsteps of legendary photojournalist Sean O’Connell (played by Sean Penn) and in search his negative #25 which he describes as being the “quintessence of Life” and the most perfect photograph for the final issue of the print version of Life magazine.
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