‘Phil’s Quick Capsule Review’ (a nod to legendary comedian Bill Hicks who coined the phrase when he reviewed ‘Piece Of Shit’ movie Basic Instinct)… where a perfect 10 is rarer than a rain free British summer!
Written by Phil Hobden – UK based podcaster, writer and former filmmaker. Part of the All Things Film network…
Phil’s Quick Capsule Review: Damien Chazelle’s third feature film tackles the story of Neil Armstrong – the First Man on the moon. It’s fair to say that Chazelle directs with an experience and confidence of a filmmaker with many years more experience and had already set himself up as one of the best working directors in Hollywood with his first two films. And First Man is no different. It’s not his best film (Whiplash for me) but the direction & style on display here is simply breathtaking and whilst the film does take a while to get to where it’s going it’s never less than a stunning journey. Chazelle is up there with Nolan and one of the few directors whose works are must see.
Best Bit: The Moon Landing
Cinema, Stream, Avoid: Cinema
If You Liked this Try: Whiplash, La La Land, 10 Cloverfield Lane
Phil Hobden is the former Film Editor & Writer for renowned martial arts focused COMBAT MAGAZINE in the UK. He is also a filmmaker in his own right, having produced two cult Independent action films in LEFT FOR DEAD and TEN DEAD MEN. He was the host for the award nominated Filmsploitation podcast for 4 years, currently co-hosts Ross And Phil Talk Movies and is a writer/editor for his own blog Phil’s Quick Capsule Review…
On this episode of the podcast we talk about our favourite Christmas movies and come ups with a final 12 recommended festive films. You could say it’s the 12 Films of Christmas! Oh and for the record Die Hard is very much a Christmas movie…
Hosted by Award winning filmmaker Ross Boyask and blogger/writer/failed filmmaker Phil Hobden.
Films Discussed: Die Hard, Gremlins, Trading Places, National Lampoons Christmas Vacation, Batman Returns, The Muppet Christmas Carol, Scrooged, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Lethal Weapon In Bruges, The Long Kiss Goodnight, Elf, Love Actually, Home Alone, The Ref, Love Actually, It’s A Wonderful Life, Edward Scissorhands, Bad Santa, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Spectre, The Shape Of Water, Moonlight, la La Land
For more on Phil Hobden check out www.philhobden.co.uk , Twitter (@PhilQuickReview) and Instagram (RossAndPhilTalkMovies) For more on Ross Boyask search @RossBoyask on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook
Phil’s Quick Capsule Review: The Greatest Showman ended up being one of my favourite films of 2017, and 6 months into 2018 it’s still up there for one of the best films I’ve rewatched this year. It’s just bloody great. From it’s expert staging to it’s epic songs, The Greatest Showman is just pure entertainment from start to finish. And yes we know it’s not the true story of PT Barnham but who cares when whats on display is this damn good. Essential.
Best Bit: The Otherside
Buy, Stream, Avoid: Buy AND but the soundtrack
If You Liked this Try: Moulin Rouge, Mamma Mia, La La Land
Each week Phil, from Phil’s Quick Capsule Review, takes a look at a different movie or TV related Top Five. This time out: Musicals!
Close but no cigar:Mary Poppins, Everyone Says I love You, Grease 2, La La Land, Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory, Oliver! , Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street
5 – Little Shop of Horrors Suddenly Seymour! The remake of a little seen Roger Corman film, Little Shop of Horrors is full of great songs and even better cameos. You’ll never go to the dentist again!
4 – The Blues Brothers The Blues Brothers delivers iconic moments in bucket loads – from the cats to the car chases, to the songs to the cameos… it’s one of the best soundtracks ever. Films damn fine as well.
3 – Rocky Horror Picture Show Rocky Horror Picture Show lives on over 40 years from it’s release and is probably better recognised now thanks to it’s ensuring sing alongs and packed out stage shows.
2 – The Nightmare Before Christmas The newsiest entry on my list, The Nightmare Before Christmas is charming, heart warming, clever and beautiful. It’s also a work of art with some of the most stunning stop motion that holds up even today.
1 – Grease It’s Grease – one of the most successful and singable musicals ever. It’s launched careers, sold a gazillions of sound tracks and still packs out sing alongs.
Phil’s Quick Capsule Review: I’m always undecided with Hugh Jackman. For every Logan, there’s been a Wolverine or Les Mis. This in mind (and many other factors) it’s fair to say that The Greatest Showman wasn’t top of my list but dragged on a Sunday afternoon I thought I’d give it a chance. I hated it. For the first ten minutes at least. Then something happened. It’s positive message, uplifting songs, striking photography and committed performance by Jackman (and an roundly excellent cast) bowled me over. Much like he did for the crowds that came to his shows, the film got me. It has issues (the start is pretty dire and teh CGI lacking) but damn I was surprised just how much I enjoyed it.
Best Bit: This Is Me
Cinema, Stream, Avoid: Cinema
If You Liked this Try: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Little Shop of Horrors, LA LA Land
Phil’s Quick Capsule Review: The Disaster Artist is better than the film that spawned it for sure. But does it live up to it’s considerable hype? Actually for the most part yes. What an odd year in Hollywood which ends up being bookend by La La Land at one end and The Disaster Artist at the other – two very different yet thematically similar looks at the film industry. Made with love and affection rather than bile and mocking, The Disaster Artist ends up feeling oddly sympathetic to a film and a man that never shows why they deserves it. This said the Franco’s are spot on and support by Seth Rogan and Zak Efron just help to give the film an air of class that The Room could never have had. And nope you don’t need to see The Room first.
Best Bit: Oh, Hi Mark!
Buy, Stream, Avoid: Stream
If You Liked this Try: La La Land, The Room, Ed Wood
So 2017 is almost over and it’s that time a year again where everyone reflects back on their best and worst films of the year. So we’ve covered our best and our worst films of 2016, so before we look at the films coming up in 2017 here’s my ‘Alternative’ End of Year Awards for 2017…
The Most Entertainingly Bad Film Of The Year Award… Geostorm
The Gerard Butler Award For Consistently Making Entertainingly Terrible Films Gerard Butler (Geostorm)
Surprise of The Year Award… That Any one’s left standing in Hollywood after the year of deaths and scandals…
Performance Of The Year Award… Mark Kermode AGAIN… for his still oddly favourable reviews for his friends movies (see Murder On The Orient Express)
Just Fuck Off and Die Award… Michael Bay & Transformers. Just stop. Now.
Least Deserving Commercial Bomb of The Year (Maybe EVER) Award… Blade Runner 2049
Shit so I still can enjoy these films right, even though their lead/producer/co-star was a pervert/bully/ sex offender/Insert Crime Here Award Baby Driver, Swimming With Sharks, Pulp Fiction, X-Men 2, Toy Story… agh almost ALL my favourite films. God damn you Hollywood.
Come In Your time is Up Award… Zack Snider. You made two good films. EVERYTHING else has been deeply average. TIED with Harvey Weinstein – your a cunt Harvey pure and simple.
Trailer Of The Year Award… Logan Redband Trailer
Let Down of The Year Award… Hollywood. A seething industry of low lives and scum.
Yes it’s Good. But come on people its also a bit Emperors new clothes… Get Out
Low Budget Straight To DVD Surprise of the Year! Shot Caller
The ‘YES! See We don’t Always Fuck Up Award’ DC/Warner Brothers. They Made a Good Film! (Wonder Woman)
Fuck! We Spoke Too Soon Award DC/Warner Brothers for Justice League
Let Down of The Year Award Part 2…. George Romero NOT coming back as a Zombie when he died.
Cameo of The Year Award… Tim Curry’s original Pennywise The Clown in the 2017 version of IT.
The Prove That ‘You Can Come Back from Horrible Shit’ Award (Aka The Future Kevin Spacey Award) Mel Gibson (Hacksaw Ridge, Daddy’s Home 2)
The Oscars only like REALLY famous dead people award for missing out other stars who died Award… Garry Shandling, Florence Henderson, Alexis Arquette, Doris Roberts and Robert Vaughn
The Proof That Award Shows Suck Award… Snubs (Didn’t wins or Not Nominated) for I Daniel Blake, Hunt for The Wilder People, Sing Street, Hell Or High Water, Jake Gyllenhaal, Kubo And The Two Strings, Silence, Amy Adams and many more
The Poof That Award Shows DONT Suck Award… It’s La La Land… No Moonlight… No Titanic… No it’s me. The awards themselves offered few surprises, The Oscars even less, but the best picture cock up at the Academy Awards was pure gold!
The Audience Wins! Award. 2017 Sees LESS remakes/Reboots than ever before. Some still sucked. Flatliners, The Mummy
Not ALL remakes & reboots suck Award… IT 2017. Just awesome.
Yup we just made it for the money award (aka The Sequels Suck) Award… Transformers Age Of Extinction
Films That SHOULD have been on my 2016 List’s but I Hadn’t Seen… The Edge Of Seventeen, The Girl With All The Gifts, Train To Busan, Deepwater Horizon, Kubo & The Two Strings, Sing Street, Hunt For The Wilderpeople, 13th, I Daniel Blake
Next time: Phil’s Look at 2018 and a look back at my 2017 predictions…
And that’s it. Another year in the rear view mirror and another reason to take a look back at the BEST, WORST and, well, others of 2017.
So here it is: my pick of the BEST films of 2017.
Film of The Year: Baby Driver
In Brief: Yup the Spacey factor makes this awkward for sure BUT the fact that it still remains as many favourite film of the year DESPITE of that should tell you just how good Baby Driver is. Edgar Wright delivers a fanatic, charming, 90’s style film that mixes True Romance, Bullet and many other great films to make what will probably be a modern classic. Oh and THAT soundtrack. Superb.
2. T2 Trainspotting In Brief:: Silly title yes. Silly film? No. Few films are ever made about what it’s like to be middle aged, by T2 Trainspotting nails it. It’s not perfect but it hit where it counted.
3. Paddington 2 In Brief: Who saw this coming? Well anyone who actually watched Paddington 2 obviously. Charming, fun and silly Paddington has more heart than it can share. It’s just brilliant.
4. Raw In Brief: This French horror film is a tough watch and will turn some people off for sure. But I found it captivating, brutal and, er, raw.
5. Star Wars The Last Jedi In Brief: It’s a really good Star Wars film and an excellent blockbuster, up there with the year best. Full of massive highs and a few lows, The Last Jedi mostly lives up to expectation.
6. OJ: Made In America – Fascinating documentary
7. Blade Runner 2049 – One of the best SCi-Fi films in many years
8. La La Land – Charming, funny and heart breaking all at once.
9. IT (2017) – One of the best horror films for many a year.
10. Thor: Ragnarok – Marvel go three for three and Thor whilst not the obvious choice was the one, on reflection, I enjoyed most.
So this is it… Phil’s Quick Capsule Review & Guests (including podcasters Mike Parkin & Josh Morris, Filmmaker Ross Boyask and Phil’s Quick Capsule Review writers Will Strong & Matt Duddy) LONG list of the xx must see films of 2017
This list will also form the basis of our vote for the Essential Films of 2017.
So how many have YOU seen?
Wind River Paddington 2 Beauty and the Beast Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 La-La Land T2 Trainspotting Baby Driver Raw Happy Death Day Elle The Triangle Spiderman: Homecoming Operation: Mekong Let Her Out Despicable Me 3 Dunkirk A Monster Calls Star Wars The Last Jedi Thor Ragnorok Get Out Lady Macbeth Brawl in Cell Block 99 The Fate of the Furious Hacksaw Ridge Shot Caller
Check back in the next few days for our final list or take the QUIZ HERE To see how many you have seen!
So this is my semi-regularly updated of the BEST and WORST of 2017’s movies, as well as the best films I missed from last year and the Phil’s Quick Capsule Review Sharknado Award.
This will be the LAST Edition until our final end of year Wrap up.
All in my very humble opinion…
BEST Films Of 2017… So Far:
Baby Driver (9/10)
T2 Trainspotting (9/10)
Paddington 2 (9/10)
Raw (9/10)
OJ: Made In America (9/10)
Honourable Mentions:
Blade Runner 2049 (8/10), La La Land (8/10), IT 2017 (8/10); Thor: Ragnarok (8/10), Shot Caller (8/10); Dunkirk (8/10), Spider-Man Homecoming (8/10), Logan (8/10), Prevenge (8/10), Logan Lucky (8/10), Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 (8/10), Counterpunch (8/10), Jawbone (8/10), Silence (8/10), Hidden Figures (8/10), War For The Plant of The Apes (7/10), Wheelman (7/10), Happy Death Day (7/10)
WORST Films Of 2017… So Far:
Fifty Shades Darker (2/10)
Transformers The Last Knight (2/10)
Sleepless (3/10)
Assassins Creed (3/10)
Underworld Blood War (4/10)
Dis-Honourable Mentions:
The Mummy (4/10), The Circle (4/10), Power Rangers (4/10), A Cure For Wellness (4/10), Gaga: Five Foot Two (4/10), Leatherface (4/10), Hacksaw Ridge (5/10), King Arthur Legend Of The Sword (5/10), Live By Night (5/10), Sing! (5/10), The Boss Baby (5/10), The Dark Tower (5/10), The Limehouse Golem (5/10), Justice League (5/10)
The 2017 Sharknado Award for Films So Good (!) They Cant Be Rated:
2 Lava 2 Lantula & Sharknado 5: Global Swarming
The 2017 Films I just couldn’t Finish…
The Ghoul, The Lost City of Z
Great Films Of 2016 That I saw In 2017:
The Edge Of Seventeen, The Girl With All The Gifts, Train To Busan, Deepwater Horizon, Kubo & The Two Strings, Sing Street, Hunt For The Wilderpeople, 13th, I Daniel Blake
