Movie Man Darian Watching All Night Long

Fly Me To The Moon

This film is one of the most surprising hits of the year! Now I heard very little about this film leading up to the release of it and its a shame as this film made basically no money at the box office due to the very little promotion made for this film. Now I think it is a truly solid film with good performances and had me with a big smile on my face by the time the film was over due to the perfect mic of romance, witty comedy and deep emotional depth all surrounding the love of space. The film has fun at giving audiences a crash course in 1960’s Nasa but at the same time also shows the amount of work that was done by the space team to put the man on the moon along with all the political marketing tactics that was behind it all. I had a great time with this film I think it is able to be both such an entertaining film but also educate people on a moment in time they may not of known otherwise. 

Firstly, The film takes on the topic of the moon landing but what I love about its approach to the topic of the film is how it also veers into conspiracy theory as well. The Moon landing being faked has been a hot topic of conversation for many years and to have a film take that theory and blow it up and use as part of its main narrative is such a interesting approch. Now its never trying to disrespect Nasa and their contribution to the moon landing at all if anything this film is a love letter to science and the people who did the hard work to make that historical day happen. It explores the. Complicated nature of how the moon landing came to be and the many people that were unsung heroes finally getting their moment in this film which I think is such beautiful way to honour the ones that many may not know. It has great elements of humour and wit that worked so well with the material as the best part of the comedic elements were brought to the screen by the electric chemistry between Channing Tatum and Scarlett Johansson. Then you have the way it is able to explore the emotional depths of how so many scientist and astronauts want to see this moment fully realized due to their love and passion for the stars but Channing Tatum’s character goes on quite the emotional journey himself still grieving a mishap that happened under his control that left him rattled. The film never goes in one direction with the style of this film it is able to present comedy, sincere emotion, and then really going into the details of how they pulled off one of the most historic moments in history all the while being able to transport viewers back to this era with the costumes, sets, and the sheer production of this film matches the period perfectly making you feel like you are back in that moment of time. The themes of the film is about having faith in science and the people behind it to do their jobs to pull off something many thought may not of happened, it also shows the power of marketing and overcoming grief. The film also sprinkles bits of romance into the film without it feeling forced or like an overused trope. Fly Me To The Moon juggles so many themes and styles and never goes in a singular direction but branches off into many and doing it in such a fun and well thought out way. The writing and sheer production design on this film is terrific. 

Secondly, The performances by Scarlett and Channing are tremendous! Scarlett Johansson Gives a performance that is full of such wit and charm along with this sharp salesman like mentality in order to be the best at what she does. She is able to turn anything she can imagine into the most successful marketing tactic for any company the challenge though for her is to make people engaged into NASA and feel intrigued by science exploration and make them as popular as ever. Scarlett brings a fun nature to her performance that is full of so much heart and also a touch of heartfelt emotion that comes across her eyes in a truly wonderful performance. Then you have Channing Tatum who delivers a fantastic turn as the launch director Cole who is focused on making sure they are able to be the first country to walk on the moon but also being their boys back safely. You can see the sheer frustration he has when classing with the person in charge of marketing NASA as he thinks it’s a cheap gimmick they don’t need that would just turn them into a media circus. That focus and sheer untreated trauma that haunts his heart Channing brings to Cole in what is one of his finest performances in years! Everyone else all give great performances specially a stand out performance from Ray Romano but the two highlights being the Leeds of the film giving truly entertaining performances full of charm wit and well crafted emotional depth. 

Lastly, Fly Me To The Moon is one of the most enjoyable films I’ve seen this year that’s anchored by two lead performances by Channing Tatum & Scarlett Johansson who have amazing chemistry and both individually give solid performances that are entertaining and emotionally impactful. The film delves into everything Nasa and educates people on a time where Nasa was trying to reach for the stars and really be ahead of other countries yes for political reasons but also just to show the American people how cool it would be if their country was the first to have a man walk on the moon. It inspires the audience to never give up on their dreams no matter what hurdles come in your way and the film also is able to explore  elements of humour and drama as well and it never feels out of balance but they both compliment each other very well resulting in what I think is one of the most enjoyable films of the year. Now it is a shame this film didn’t get a ton of media attention as if it did I think it would of been able to have grossed a ton of money but due to the lack of marketing it just got buried in the ton of big budget films that were coming out around the same time this film was released that not many people saw it. Fly Me To The Moon is a great film that is a love letter to Nasa and space exploration but also a great commentary on the genius of marketing strategy its a truly fun time to be had that I think everyone will enjoy and I recommend everyone see this film. 

This film centres around Nasa with their plan on trying to get a leg up politically ahead of other countries to see who would walk on the moon first and the entire situation surrounding the moon landing and when a woman is tasked to make the science program as popular as a rock group the  launch director of the program and her run into issues they have to work out

Rated PG - 13 : Some Strong Language|Smoking)

Scarlett Johansson : Scarlett gives a fun performance full of charm and witty genius thinking that shows everyone around her why she belongs to work with everyone else at the science program! Now she is a person that built her entire career off persuading people to invest into things they don’t need due to her great ability at being able to sell a product to someone. When she is tasked by someone who works closely with the president to make people as into science exploration as a famous music group she takes that upon herself to do the best she can to really market them to the best of her ability. She not only shows her ability to be a great leader at marketing but she works heavily in keeping big investors financially involved into the science project at Nasa so none of their funding falls through either. Scarlett brings that adorable sparkle in her eye and smooth talking approach when walking into a room to command the screen with her playful and bubbly personality she wants to audience to pick up on. As that bubbly overly nice nature she presents to people is half who she really is as that salesperson aspect of her never really ends as she wants people to think she is this big confident person that can soak up all the energy in the room and get even the most doubtful person to change their mind on her pitch. As when we see her in the quieter moments we see how unsure she is about herself and the direction she wants her life to go in and it isn’t until she is told to make a fake version of the moon landing in case the real one dose not go the way they want she starts really feeling like a fake. As she has built relationships and bonds with the people she was tasked to con and win over but she is working so closely with them that she has gotten so personally involved in their lives that she dose not know if she has the heart to hurt them like that by lying to them. The sheer weight of those lies start weighting on her mind and heart and you can see it eating at her Scarlett is able to show that sadness wash over her face of how the con aspect of the job is starting to really have a toll on her and she is able to show how she feels wrong for doing it as she used to feel so confident when doing something like this but this certain task and what she is told to do at a point makes her feel very disgusted with herself and she can’t let the others know the heavy emotional sadness she is carrying around so we see that in her moments of her when she is alone with her thoughts. That being said we do see the genius aspect of how she can come up with any idea as a product to sell to the public from watches, cereal and many more she keeps coming up with constant ideas and very smart marketing concepts to really make Nasa stand out even though it results in her constantly making the Launch director incredibly upset at the sheer amount of media attention she is bringing to this. They go back and forth arguing of what is best for Nasa in terms of marketing but their comes a moment where he has to trust her and let her do her job and Scarlett is able to win him over with that cute smile and warm personality which is so good it eventually sparks a potential romantic relationship between them both. Scarlett does a great job at brining this fast talking a mile a minute idea woman to the screen that sees anything as a marketing tactic but we also see the emotional exhaustion that wears on her when she gets to personally invested into her work as well so were able to see both of those sides of the character in a great way that makes us really know who she is. Which is a great way for Scarlett to access so many emotional sides of this role at the same time and it results in a fun and truly entertaining performance from Scarlett that is one that will have you smiling and maybe heading a tear or two from how she moves you with her performance onscreen overall Scarlett delivers once again another truly terrific performance.

Channing Tatum : Tatum Delivers one of his finest performances of his career with his work on Fly Me To The Moon! Now the last time Channing Tatum gave a performance that blew me away was in Logan Lucky back in 2017 that underrated crime comedy drama now don’t get me wrong I think Channing is incredibly talented actor. He can dance in films like Step Up and Magic Mike he can do comedy with films like the jump street movies and then he can also be a action star in White House Down so he can do it all in many ways. the best version of him I like him exploring is the dramatic side as roles like Foxcatcher I think is among some of the best work of his career and I said after I watched that film many years ago seeing him go deeper into that landscape of acting I think would be a great showcase of his talent as it is a fantastic area of strength for him. Now I am not saying this even slightly sarcastically his work in this film is among some of the best acting he has ever put to screen. He plays Cole the Launch Director in charge of putting a man on the moon and he already has so much on his mind the last thing he needs is someone coming in and disrupting his focus and when Scarlett’s character tests his patience time and time again we see how quickly he has to learn to open himself up to the idea of letting her market this team to the public in a way that will gain huge interest into Nasa more then ever before. As his thought process is that it is not needed and if anything it comes off as  a gimmick and they don’t have time for a media circus that she is trying to spin as he wants to just focus on the work and not try to make Nasa be this big theatrical selling point. Seeing Channing channel that tough aspect was really interesting as so many could of taken a light hearted comedic approach to this role due to the co star and him having a light hearted flirty work relationship going on he could of just let that be the primary focus and have the film veer into more a rom com with space as the background topic. Instead he explores the mind of this guy who is very no nonsense when it comes to his work and how he handles his responsibilities and as the film progresses we learn why he is like that. He had a tragic moment happen to his career that cost lives under his watch and he feels directly responsible for that tragedy so that crushing burden is always on his shoulders and he does not like to talk about it because it means having to revisit that painful memory all over again and he already is trying his best to deal with it in a way that has him not loose his cool as it still is a very touchy topic for him so anyone bringing it up will directly set him off as he’s been haunted by the incident for a while he does not want that reminder. Seeing that pain his his eyes and the sharpness in his voice the reason for him being so tough is a way for him to protect his heart as he can’t take any more pain or tragedy so by keeping his personal feelings at a distance and consuming himself in his work is his way of dealing with the sadness he has. Now Channing can show the parts of him that are hurt in a way that feels so genuine and at times so heartbreaking and then we see Scarlett’s character work on trying to get him to open up and try to heal from that pain he has compressed for so long and eventually feel happy again. He takes a very dramatic approach to the role which I think is perfect as it is the only way you could of done this right and Channing understood what was the best way to access this character and it was through the heavy hard hitting stuff that has haunted this man’s heart but he also can give that charm and bit of dry humour but it never overthrows the emotional beats going in with his performance at hand. Channing delves into the mind of this person that is so tortured emotionally lashing at himself in his mind and show how rattled he has been since the accident and why he is this closed off person and Tatum delivers a performance of emotional devastation that you can see through his eyes and in his voice as it hides behind the sharp tone and short temper is a man that has been hurt and just wants to make sure the next mission he does the men come back safely. Channing gives a truly sensational performance that is among some of the best work he has done a truly amazing performance by Tatum! 

Greg Bellanti : Greg did a sensational job brining this love letter of science to the big screen! Now I loved his work on his big screen adaptation of Love Simon I think that Is one of the most underrated coming of age films more people should see. Now knowing how well he can craft a film after Love Simon I was intrigued to see how he would tackle a story like this. He didn’t just go in the direction of straightforward romance but he also didn’t just make the film a drama about science instead he melded the two genres into one and on paper it shouldn’t work but it works fantastically actually. He brings the viewers back to the time of when the moon landing was all everyone was talking about and instead of just doing a biopic about the landing that could of come across generic and a paint by numbers biopic he throws a romantic theme and marketing spin on it as well and shows how this woman was tasked with making Nasa incredibly popular by coming up with things for the public to have their full attention on this huge undertaking that Nasa was doing. Now having that just be on layer was amazing as he then explores the depths of this man’s heart who has been rattled with tragedy and loss and have him come to terms with his own personal demons and go on a road to find himself in a better place mentally and then to finish it off he has the two leads have this underlying amount of romance that never felt cheesy but fit right into the plot where it made sense. So having this three themes marketing, tragedy and romance put right in the middle of Nasa 1960’s setting is a great way into a plot that not only made for a entertaining story people could get behind but it also kept a even balance. As when we see the hard hitting material of Cole’s character the bubbly persona of Scarlett comes in to show him the light he needs and having that great mix of charm and drama really made the film pop and stand out instead of being some generic rom com. It had something to say for audiences to pick up on and also educate people on a topic during a time they may not have known the full story of while giving audiences a fun time with this film without it being just on singular thing. Greg is able to show the full scope it also is a massive appreciation to the unsung heroes of the science project many may not of known Greg brings a great film to audiences that is both a drama romance and comedy all in one and it is brilliantly executed by Greg who knew exactly how to explore all those themes and knock it out of the park he accomplishes at giving once again another truly entertaining film everyone can enjoy.