Poll

Your favorite work:

haven't seen any
5 (71.4%)
don't like any
0 (0%)
other
0 (0%)
Wild Bill
0 (0%)
Sunshine on Leith
1 (14.3%)
Eddie the Eagle
0 (0%)
Rocketman
1 (14.3%)
Ghosted
0 (0%)

Total Members Voted: 7

Author Topic: Fletcher, Dexter  (Read 1515 times)

1SO

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Fletcher, Dexter
« on: May 25, 2019, 03:03:26 PM »
Seen none, interested in all.
Planning a Marathon leading up to watching Rocketman.

MartinTeller

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Re: Fletcher, Dexter
« Reply #1 on: May 25, 2019, 11:06:55 PM »

Sam the Cinema Snob

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Re: Fletcher, Dexter
« Reply #2 on: May 26, 2019, 11:51:50 AM »
 ;D

1SO

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Re: Fletcher, Dexter
« Reply #3 on: June 02, 2019, 10:07:58 AM »

Sunshine on Leith (2013)

The movie starts in wartime, with soldiers scared inside a transport vehicle. After establishing a somber mood, one soldier begins to sing..
It could be tomorrow, or it could be today
When the sky takes the soul
The earth takes the clay

This was my first bit of magic. Dexter Fletcher doesn't set his film in some fantastical alternate reality like The Greatest Showman or Across the Universe - remember the grotesque military scene in that film? - and he doesn't keep it grounded in grit like Once. Fletcher makes both work for him, like Hair where the horses carrying Central Park policeman start to dance to the hippies music. The transitions between reality and musical theater are far more seamless than you usually see. Two soldiers holding a conversation suddenly break into dance. Even a pub gathering doesn't become a simple drunken singalong. It goes from a tray of shots at an intimate table to the whole pub engaged so smoothly you don't even notice the transition.

That pub song ("Over and Done With") gets the most reprisals and forms the spine of the score, but you will probably recognize another tune. The songs are by the Scottish duo The Proclaimers, largely known as one-hit wonders for "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)". The film doesn't make that tune the centerpiece, but instead it's the one you wait for, unleashing it at just the right moment when there's emotion to build it up.

When I wake up, well I know I'm gonna be,
I'm gonna be the man who wakes up next you
When I go out, yeah I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the man who goes along with you.


It's a simplistic tune, as are most of the numbers here. Likable but lacking. This is the movie's problem too. It's a crowd pleaser, no doubt about it. I watched with smiles and happiness, but I haven't seen a story this thin since Gene Kelly retired. It's the story of two young couples and one set of parents (Jane Horrocks and Peter Mullan... and yes, he does sing.) There's love and conflict(?), and for how little happens it's a credit to the actors that my thoughts never went elsewhere. Besides, it's a Scottish musical, which made it culturally unique. A Discovery for all it does right, downplaying what it doesn't do enough of.
RATING: ★ ★ ★ - Good
« Last Edit: June 02, 2019, 10:11:49 AM by 1SO »

Sandy

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Re: Fletcher, Dexter
« Reply #4 on: June 02, 2019, 04:11:54 PM »
Look at that! You keep finding musicals I've never hear about. :) I think I would enjoy this one.

1SO

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Re: Fletcher, Dexter
« Reply #5 on: June 03, 2019, 12:40:29 AM »
Wild Bill (2011)
★ ★ ★ – Good
On paper, this sounds like an unexceptional gangster drama about an ex-con learning to take care of his two abandoned sons when he gets out. However, Fletcher largely pushes aside the gangster trimmings for the sincerity of a father who wants to put his past behind him. Casting is superb, including often under-appreciated Will Poulter as the oldest son. Like with Sunshine on Leith, Fletcher makes smart decisions that elevate the script, proven by the ending, which is like a hug with clenched fists.


Eddie the Eagle (2015)
★ ★ ½
The one time Fletcher's heart doesn't seem to be in the material as he delivers the expected beats by-the-numbers. It's an unusual story (though very similar to the Jamaican bobsled team from Cool Runnings, which gets a mention here. Double Feature.) Hugh Jackman coasts through on his cool, but I was mainly interested in Fletcher directing Taron Egerton, who stars in Rocketman. I'm resistant of Egerton because of the Frat Boy attitude he displays in the Kingsmen films. (How much is the fault of that character or the director? Hard to say.) Fletcher takes the actor's looks down quite a bit, to where he already resembles Sir Elton, but the awkward mannerisms, glasses and jutting chin still strike me as affectations of a cool kid playing nerd, and not an actor showing his range.

1SO

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Re: Fletcher, Dexter
« Reply #6 on: June 05, 2019, 12:32:58 AM »
1. Sunshine on Leith
2. Wild Bill

3. Rocketman
4. Eddie the Eagle

Dave the Necrobumper

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Re: Fletcher, Dexter
« Reply #7 on: June 06, 2019, 04:49:49 AM »
Rocketman, a most enjoyable film and the only film of Fletcher's I have seen.