The Bees They Sting

“If You’re Nothing Without the suit, then you Shouldn’t have it” – Spider-Man: Homecoming (Film Review)

Posted on July 14, 2017 by Halsall

Here we are again. Another Spider-Man. Tom Holland is the man/boy in the suit this time as a co-operative partnership between Sony and Marvel means this Spider-Man is part of the MCU. As someone who felt the Amazing Spider-Man series was a little bit mediocre at best I approached this fresh entry with optimism that rookie director John Watt could integrate everyone’s favourite wall crawler into the MCU successfully.

So the gist this time is that Peter Parker is still just a kid, fifteen to be exact, and this is more a coming of age high school comedy than a straight superhero film. Tom Holland makes a wonderful Parker/Spider-Man carrying on the great work from his debut in Civil War. His energy and enthusiasm as the eager to prove himself teenager is an endearing portrayal, and Holland is adept for both the dramatic and comedic requirements of the part. Speaking of comedic, this is the most joke heavy entry of any Spider-Man movie, with lots of great one-liners, physical humour and an ensemble who seem to revel in the films funnier scenes. Newcomer Jacob Batalan is the scene stealer as Ned Leeds (Peter’s best friend), the self-described “Man in the Chair”, who assists Peter in both fighting criminals and building Death Stars out of Lego. When the movie balances it’s John Hughes-esque high school drama with Peter’s struggle to maintain his dual identity it excels, his desperation to prove himself to Tony Stark impacting his judgement severely. Robert Downey Jnr is used sparingly in his role as Peter’s mentor and their developing father/son bond is a highlight of the feature. Peter’s foil in this film is the Vulture, a low-level thug underneath the Avengers radar, who wants to provide for his family. Casting Michael Keaton is rarely a bad idea, and he takes a rather run of the mill part and imbues it with a ruthlessness and callous menace the makes him far more interesting than the script alone would suggest. Whilst the character work of the film is superb (I didn’t have time to gush about the fine work of actors Zendaya, Marisa Tomei, Donald Glover and Tony Revelori) and the films comedy is pretty damn exceptional it’s the action scenes that are the let-down. Spider-Man has a larger variety of firepower thanks to a Stark designed Spider-suit but the clashes between Spider-Man and Vulture lack intensity and inventiveness, especially at the movies climax. This could possibly owe to director John Watt’s inexperience, this being his first big budget film. Homecoming is also a bit too long (For some reason Marvel like the majority of their movies to come in at the 2hr 20min mark regardless of content) and could do with shaving off fifteen minutes.

Spider-Man: Homecoming ranks around the same as Wonder Woman, a solid if unspectacular entry that nevertheless leaves the franchise in a promising position for the future. Holland is certainly right for the part, and the so-called world building means that in a sequel we can leap straight into Peter’s world without introductions. Not quite up to the standard set by the best films of the Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy but it’s certainly an upgrade on The Amazing Spider-Man series.

3/5

“Your name’s Baby? B-A-B-Y Baby?” – Baby Driver (Film Review)

Posted on July 12, 2017 by Halsall

Edgar Wright is basically a nerd God of filmmaking. Not much debate about that, right? Taking traditional genre movies and orchestrating them with the kind of skill worthy of the so-called academy elite but without the acclaim of awards following it up. Whether deconstructing genres with his cornetto trilogy, or bringing a comic book to life in Scott Pilgrim vs The World, Wright has shown his talents time and time again with the kind of devastating consistency few other filmmakers have managed. Having spent a decade developing Ant-Man, with Joe Cornish, Wright left the project as he couldn’t compromise with Marvel’s producer driven approach to the filmmaking process. Baby Driver, being Wright’s first released feature in four years, feels like an explosion of creativity from a director who has been restrained from doing what he loves most.

Following such a stifling period it’s great to see Wright back on the proverbial pedestal with an action/comedy/heist/sort of musical about a young getaway driver named Baby who is trying to leave his criminal life behind, with some difficulty. Cue a magnitude of wonderfully eclectic action set pieces shot with the virtuoso skill that Wright has made a trademark of his movies. Whether it be a high-octane car chase, two young lovers listening to music in a laundromat or Baby walking down the street to get coffee everything feels eventful and wonderfully vibrant. Seriously, Ansel Elgort ordering four coffees and retrieving them for his fellow cronies is far more engaging and inventive than some other films I’ve witnessed this summer. Ansel Elgort is our young protagonist, the charming music obsessed getaway driver, with a smile so irritatingly cutesy that makes you just want to punch him in his perfect face (Perhaps more a reflection on me than Elgort). Elgort’s chemistry with Lily James is instantaneously obvious. Their conversations swift, sensitive and filled with humour and heart. The ensemble is a mix of great talents. Spacey provides the gravitas and authority as the man who won’t let Baby escape his driving exploits, Jon Hamm and Eisa Gonzalez as a pair of Spacey’s favourite go to bank robbers and an explosive Jamie Foxx as the hot-headed Bats. For all the acting greats on display it is Wright who stands front and centre, keeping the action fast and fluent. Choreographed like a musical, all the action is phenomenally intricate and plays out with a rhythmic glee that keeps the heart pumping thoroughly throughout. In the final act the tightly woven narrative begins to unravel slightly with a few questionable character choices that seem out of….erm… character? And it’s definitely not as funny a movie as any of the cornetto trilogy but it speaks to Wright’s talent that this movie, which is basically just Wright blowing off some steam following a difficult spell with Ant-Man, is easily one of the best films of the year.

In a summer filled with sequels, reboots and spin-offs it’s important to champion the original content, especially when it’s this good. Inspired by seminal car based action classics, such as Walter Hill’s The Driver, Edgar Wright has made the car chase movie of the year (Soz Vin Diesel), with a moderately cheap budget. So get down to your local cinema and check it out.

4/5

The Mummy – “Welcome to a new World of Gods and Monsters” (Film Review)

Posted on June 24, 2017 by Halsall

(Sigh)…… You know, I don’t like being negative about movies? It doesn’t always come across but I would rather rave about the great films I’ve been checking out recently than meander on about how two hours of my life has been snatched away by another soulless money-sucking blockbuster. Sadly I find it pertinent to write about the biggest releases of any given week, as others are more likely to be invested in an opinion, and as we are in the middle of the summer release schedule when every film release is a sequel, spin off or looking to start a franchise there is a general air of cynicism to the movies being made, which in turn creates a cynicism in my brain, which in turn makes my fingers type words like “The Mummy is a boring turd” or “Russell Crowe’s English accent sounds like Ray Winstone performing panto”. It’s not healthy for anyone really.

Anyway, the movie. Universal is looking to relaunch the O.G of film universes (The Universal Monster series). They tried this a few years ago with Dracula Untold which made some money, but not enough money, so they’ve waited a few years, assumed everyone forgot, and are now trying again with The Mummy. I’m not against a new Universal Monsters Universe (Or Dark Universe as they have branded it). I like the classic movies from the 30’s and 40’s and enjoy the Brendon Fraser and Rachel Weisz starring mummy movies from the late 90’s and early 2000s. But what I didn’t want was a two-hour step-by-step guide in how to build a film universe occasionally featuring a mummy. That’s what we got though.

The original Mummy film from 1933 is one of the weaker of the Universal series. It’s hasn’t aged as kindly as Frankenstein or The Invisible Man have. In fact, the definitive Mummy film remains the 1999 version which melded solid action, a few scares, a great comic sensibility and, at the time, state of the art visual effects to become one of the most memorable blockbusters of the late 90s. This newest incarnation is closer to the 1999 version, looking to balance horror, action and comedy. The balance, however, is not right. It’s basically the equivalent of eating three singular cornflakes with a gallon of milk, but without the sustenance. Tom Cruise’s character (Whose name I can’t be bothered googling due to my apathy) is similar to the charming rogue Rick O’Connell (played by Brendan Fraser in 1999) however they’ve taken the charming part out and left him as simply a rogue (A rogue Antiques Dealer no less), who isn’t funny, or interesting and spends the entire movie standing in rooms with a derpy face having the plot explained to him by other people. It’s an interesting plot twist to have a lead character who is as captivating as a particularly mellow shade of beige. I like Tom Cruise, he’s a really good actor, with lots of experience at injecting charisma and energy into pretty much every film he’s in. It takes quite a shit storm to drag him down, but drag him down it does. Everyone else is in the same boat, the boat in this case being a really heavy rock that sinks to the depths so quickly it’s kind of impressive in a moronically inept kind of way. There are a couple of decent laughs to be had, whilst the CG is also very capably integrated with the action. There is even a nice little riff stolen from American Werewolf in London that is kind of chuckle worthy, but it’s not enough to hold a film together. This is Alex Kurtzman’s first directorial feature, having worked predominantly as a writer for the last couple of decades. I’ve never been a fan but his direction isn’t an issue, he appears quite capable, perhaps serviceable is the right word. With a better script he could possibly have made this work, and perhaps in the future he will move into direction full time.

The Mummy is an intro to a new film universe that forgot that the key feature of getting people to come and see the next instalment is actually making a good movie. Instead this is compromised by adding so much set up to future films that the mummy itself becomes something of a background character in its own feature. Boutella seems game for the role but isn’t given enough screen time to make more of an impact and frankly the idea of listening to Russell Crowe speaking in a cockney accent again makes me want to pour glue in my ears. It’s a mediocre action movie, only check it out if you’re a big Tom Cruise fan, or you have a limitless card.

2/5

“I can save Today. You can save the World” – Wonder Woman (Film Review)

Posted on June 7, 2017 by Halsall

After a few divisive releases the DCEU has finally produced a film that has met the widespread acclaim that had previously alluded them. With audiences and critics both heaping praise upon the movie and Justice League just months away has the DCEU found its mojo?

Diana Prince AKA Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) is a demigoddess from the isle of Themyscira, a mythical land populated entirely by women. When US air service Captain Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) crashes off the shoreline Diana learns of the massive conflict encompassing the globe and chooses to leave the isle believing she can bring the war to an end by finding Ares, the God of War, and defeating him.

Off the bat, Wonder Woman is my favourite of the DCEU movies. I liked parts of Man of Steel and Batman Vs Superman, but felt both were weighed down by disappointing third acts. While it would be fair to say Suicide Squad was about as engrossing as a slice of wholemeal bread. Wonder Woman doesn’t have the structural issues that have dogged the other DCEU films, some editing issues aside. Gadot is a convincing action lead, showing a range of ability in both conversational and physical sequences though the screenplay she is reading from doesn’t always equip her with the dialogue to match the expression of her performance. The supporting cast do solid work, with Chris Pine now an experienced performer who has developed into a formidable screen presence in the last couple of years (Into the Woods, Star Trek, Hell or High Water) managing to imbue Trevor with a hopeful optimism underneath his jaded exterior. There is plenty of experience in the rest of the cast with Robin Wright, Danny Huston, David Thewlis, Connie Nielson and numerous other recognisable faces filling out the ensemble. Despite being an improvement Wonder Woman is not a great film and falls into the same trap in its third act with a twist that you can see coming a mile away preceding an uninspired CG filled fight sequence reminiscent of the Doomsday battle from BvS. It’s very much a functional film, a couple of good action sequences (Specifically the one with Wonder Woman “going over the top” in the trenches), some decent jokes scattered throughout and, at its core, a strong relationship between its two leads that is emotionally sincere with a fitting resolution. What it does do is lay a solid foundation for the future. I’m still not sure Justice League will be able balance all the different features of the DCEU, but with Affleck’s Batman and Gadot’s Wonder Woman they have a core that is beginning to develop into something of promise.

This isn’t the amazing blockbuster that some of the reviews have made it out to be but it is in its own way revolutionary. To see a superhero blockbuster with a female protagonist shouldn’t be something newsworthy, but it is. If we want to live in a world where a big budget film about a female superhero, directed by a woman, isn’t a rarity then go to your local cinema and check it out.

3/5

“Is that a Monkey?” – Kong: Skull Island (Film Review)

Posted on March 13, 2017 by Halsall

In 2014 Godzilla made his reappearance to a western cinematic audience in Gareth Edwards eponymous film. It was a commercial success and prompted Legendary Pictures to greenlight a reboot of one of cinemas oldest and most beloved characters, who debuted over eighty years ago, King Kong. Godzilla and Kong previously clashed in 1962’s King Kong vs. Godzilla, but with the surge in technology over the last fifty years it is not surprising that there are plans to bring the gargantuan duo together once again meaning Kong himself needs to be reintroduced with Kong: Skull Island.

Set in 1973, just after the U.S announces it will be leaving Vietnam, Bill Randa (John Goodman), a senior official at MONARCH, convinces the US government to fund his expedition to the uncharted Skull Island. He is given a military escort led by Colonel Packard (Samuel L. Jackson) and hires former SAS Captain and renowned tracker James Conrad (Tom Hiddleston) to assist them, also along for the ride is Mason Weaver (Brie Larson) a renowned photo-journalist and peace activist. Upon reaching the Island the group drop seismic charges to, allegedly, map the terrain, but by doing so they provoke the wrath of Kong (Terry Notary) who brings down their helicopters leaving them stranded on Skull Island.

Kong: Skull Island opens with a strong first act, introducing a parade of characters who are swatted down by the almighty Kong. The opening brawl between Kong and the military is enthralling, and showcases the presence of the gigantic beast. It’s easy to make something look large on screen but it’s a challenge to communicate such scale to the audience and to make Kong feel like a living, breathing animal. The motion capture work is fantastic and Kong is beautifully transposed into the world of the movie, in part due to the performance of Notary as the creature. Less compelling are the people surrounding Kong, despite being well introduced few of the characters develop beyond the periphery of two dimensions. Hiddleston is supposedly the male lead, but you could remove him from the film and it would make little difference. Hiddleston’s performance isn’t the problem, his natural charisma stops him from becoming unwatchable, but his lack of personality or insight makes him an issue, especially as the lead character. Larson suffers the same issue, Mason Weaver is never fully realised beyond having the obligatory sequence in which Kong shares a semi-intimate moment with a woman because, well, he does in all Kong movies. The ensemble flare between promising and underutilised. Jackson and Goodman bring the heft of their experience to the movie and manage to make even the most expositional dialogue scenes interesting through their fine work. Jackson is the most fully realised of any of the characters, a man whose lost so much that to surrender would be an insult to those who sacrificed their lives. The scene stealer though is John C Reilly as Hank Marlow, a WWII pilot who has been stranded on the Island for twenty-eight years leaving him a peculiarly eccentric figure.

This film feels like a battleground. Between the director’s vision of making Apocalypse Now but with a massive ape, and the studios hopes of starting a franchise. The actors battle for screen time, with each other and Kong. It has some astonishing effects and clever visual motifs, director Jordan Vogt-Roberts clearly has an eye for spectacle, but the screenplay can’t match his ambitions leaving most of the characters adrift of interest. Solid, but not quite worthy of the King.

3/5

Dir: Jordan Vogt-Roberts

Scr: Dan Gilroy, Max Borenstein, Derek Connolly

Cast: Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, John Goodman, Toby Kebbell, Terry Notary, Jing Tian, Corey Hawkins, John Ortiz, Shea Whigham, Thomas Mann, John C. Reilly

Prd: Thomas Tull, John Jashni, Mary Parent, Alex Garcia

DOP: Larry Fong

Music: Henry Jackman

Country: USA

Year: 2017

Runtime: 118 Minutes

Kong: Skull Island is out now in UK cinemas.

“We get to the peak Together, or we don’t get There at all” – Hidden Figures (Film Review)

Posted on March 10, 2017 by Halsall

Stories of the unsung hero are a popular movie trope. They bring the deeds of the obscure to the forefront and celebrate their legacy. Two films nominated for Best Picture at last month’s Oscars were based on real historical figures who performed extraordinary deeds. Mel Gibson’s Hacksaw Ridge and Theodore Melfi’s Hidden Figures. The latter explores the phenomenal work of the African American women who worked on the NASA space program and their struggle against ignorance and bigotry as they played a major role in the Space Race.

Katherine Johnson (Taraji P. Henson) works as a computer at NASA, alongside her friends Mary Jackson (Janelle Monae), an aspiring engineer, and Dorothy Vaughn (Octavia Spencer), who performs the role of supervisor but without the title and pay the job should come with. They are but three of many African American women working on the site. Johnson’s skills eventually lead to her being assigned to the Space Task Group under Al Harrison (Kevin Costner) to check the math of the engineers working on the shuttle. The first African American to be part of the team she is continually dismissed by her colleagues, as are Mary and Dorothy. The three combat the bigotry they face in their attempts to realise their goals and help achieve the ultimate feat of sending a man into space.

Hidden Figures strength is in the incredible deeds of the characters and understated, but powerful, writing. A morally righteous tale of people working through adversity in order to play a major part in something bigger than themselves. Octavia Spencer was nominated for an Oscar for her role in the film, but each of the three leading ladies are superb giving spectacular performances. Janelle Monae is wonderfully charming as the feisty Mary Jackson, whilst Taraji P. Henson leads the cast with a fantastically dogmatic display capturing both the vulnerability, and the submerged inner strength, of her character. Costner is effortless in this supporting role, sweeping through scenes with a comfort that derives from his decades of acting experience. Tremendously watchable without ever seeming to demand the screen, he delivers an exceptional supporting performance. Director Melfi also co-wrote the screenplay with Alison Schroeder and their work was deservedly recognised with an Academy Award nomination. The clever writing turns what could be an overly conventional or sentimental tale into an enriching narrative.

Hidden Figures is well made. It relies not on the superlative but simply lets the incredible deeds of its subjects speak for themselves. Not exorbitant or risqué enough to garner the top prizes yet in it’s quiet formation it acquires an almost silent strength that underpins the film’s messages of tolerance and reminds us of the quiet heroes doing the silent deeds throughout the infinitive tapestry of history.

4/5

Dir: Theodore Melfi

Scr: Theodore Melfi, Allison Schroeder

Cast: Taraji P. Henson, Janelle Monae, Octavia Spencer, Mahershala Ali, Kirsten Dunst, Kevin Costner, Jim Parsons

Prd: Peter Chernin, Donna Gigliotti, Theodore Melfi, Jenno Topping, Pharrell Williams

DOP: Mandy Walker

Music: Hans Zimmer

Country: USA

Year: 2017

Runtime: 127 Minutes

Hidden Figures is out now in UK cinemas.

“Nature made me a Freak. Man made me a Weapon. And God made it last too long” – Logan (Film Review)

Posted on March 6, 2017 by Halsall

Nine. That’s how old I was when Hugh Jackman first portrayed Wolverine on screen in X-Men, alongside Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier. X-Men was a gamechanger, proving that comic book adaptations could be successful at the box office. We now live in the Golden age of the Superhero movie, where roles can often be recast without a second glance. Spiderman had not yet been adapted for the big screen when X-Men first came out. Now, upon Logan’s release, we have seen three different actors take that role. As well as two actors playing Batman and Superman since the turn of the millennia. But there is only one Wolverine.

The year is 2029. Mutants have vanished from the world and only a few remain hiding in secluded areas. Logan, no longer going by the moniker of Wolverine, works as a driver for hire. His healing ability is failing and he self-medicates with drugs and alcohol to make it through the day. Charles Xavier is succumbing to mental degeneration and has spasms and seizures causing tremors and paralysis to those nearby. Logan hopes to save enough money to get himself and Charles a boat, so they can live on the ocean and escape their bleak existence. One day a woman, Gabriella, approaches Logan begging for him to help her and her daughter, Laura. They are being chased and wish to reach the Canadian border. Logan wants no part in helping them but is forced into assisting. However, is there anything of the old Wolverine left?

Wolverine has been somewhat domesticated by the X-Men series. Sure, he’s always been the most morally conflicted of the group, being the quickest to violence and dropping the occasional F bomb, but his darker morality had never been explored until now. In Logan we get to see the true repercussions of his violent acts. In the opening scene we watch Logan tear a group of would be thieves to shreds in a fit of rage. Limbs are separated from bodies and blood spurts without restraint from wounds. Logan himself is badly injured, his signature claws causing him agony. In the past Wolverines claws slashed without real consequence. He’d wave his arm and his opponents would fall but there would be no weight to the action. In Logan not only is the violence unabashedly graphic, but it feels gritty and dirty. Mortality plays a major theme throughout, from the main character himself and into that of Patrick Stewart’s Xavier. A man of immense power, grace and intellect reduced to a shell of his former self. Broken down by illness he is a more bitter and confused man than we once remembered. Perhaps the most galling change of all is the utter lack of sentimentality within Logan. It’s one thing to aim for a more realistic tone but the movie feels almost devoid of hope and optimism. Disappointment, regret and destitution haunt the landscape throughout. We are a far cry away from the time travelling exploits of Days of Future Past. Logan sometimes teases us with the concepts of absolution and hope only to pull the rug from under us. Jackman delivers entirely in a role that he will forever be linked with, for better or worse. His physicality completely manifest of the old animal teetering on the brink. More fragile than before, but perhaps deadlier than ever for it. Stewart is revelatory as Xavier, a man grappling with the weight of almost infinite power beginning to lose control of his gifts. Tied to Logan as both burden and mentor, the two men’s bickering disguising a peculiar familiar bond. The ensemble as a whole is remarkably solid. Stephen Merchant as the troubled Caliban, Boyd Holdbrook as southern mercenary Donald Pierce and Dafne Keen as Laura, a very talented young performer who delivers an admirably astute performance.

The curtain has now fallen on Jackman’s time as Wolverine and frankly Logan is a jarring experience. Logan is unrecognisable from the earlier X-Men films, a different animal entirely, but is all the better for it. There is no Stan Lee cameo, no post credits sequence and no scenes setting up future movies for a franchise. Just a story about family, death and pain. One well worthy to go out on for the Wolverine.

5/5

Dir: James Mangold

Scr: James Mangold, Scott Frank, Michael Green

Cast: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Dafne Keen, Boyd Holbrook, Richard E. Grant, Stephen Merchant, Eriq La Salle, Elise Neal

Prd: Hutch Parker, Simon Kinberg, Lauren Shuler Donner

DOP: John Mathieson

Music: Marco Beltrami

Country: USA

Year: 2017

Runtime: 137 Minutes

Logan is out now in UK cinemas.

“We got Multiple Explosions. We need help down here!” – Patriots Day (Film Review)

Posted on March 6, 2017 by Halsall

In April 2013 two brothers, Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, detonated a pair of bombs during the Boston Marathon, injuring an estimated two hundred and eighty people and killing three. A manhunt followed as the city grieved and overcame the crisis by rallying together, which is the focus of the film Patriots Day. Peter Berg directs and Mark Wahlberg stars, the two collaborated previously on Deepwater Horizon and Lone Survivor which were two films that also dealt with real life tragedies.

Police Sergeant Tommy Saunders (Wahlberg) is overseeing the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon when two explosions are triggered nearby. Many are injured and multiple law enforcement agencies are forced to react swiftly to organise a manhunt for the perpetrators and bring them to justice. The film examines multiple different viewpoints on the tragedy, from that of the victims, the agencies investigating and the bombers themselves.

Peter Berg, having previously directed features focusing on real life tragic events, is able to manage the subject matter deftly. Wahlberg plays a composite character, the fictional Tommy Saunders, who is present throughout a lot of the key scenes. The inclusion of such a character alongside real life officers could have been a contentious issue, but Wahlberg’s character is just another face in a crowd of many. Patriots Day pays tribute to the multiple heroes who rose to the occasion during the wake of the attacks. The city’s numerous emergency services, and the women and men who staff them, performed amazing deeds and the film interprets this through a compelling and realistic drama. Dramatising events such as this can run the risk of trivialising the disaster but the message Patriots Day transmits is one of hope against those who would commit unthinkable evils. The performances throughout are excellent, Berg really does pull the best out of Wahlberg, and the decision to cast veterans like J.K Simmons, John Goodman, Kevin Bacon and Michelle Monaghan ensures that the drama is capably performed. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross have composed a highly versatile score that captures and enhances the feelings of tragedy, tension, relief and eventually jubilation within the city of Boston. The pair won an Oscar in the past for their work on The Social Network and Patriot’s Day ranks amongst their most emotive and resonant scores.

Patriots Day is a conundrum of a movie, much like Deepwater Horizon. It’s a hard sell to ask someone to watch a dramatisation displaying the worst aspects of humanity. Who wants to peer into the soul of someone who believes mass murder is an act ever worth committing, irrelevant of faith and belief? However, Patriots Day focuses on the reactive side of these atrocities as well. That when hate attacked, love responded in earnest. An act meant to divide and scatter the people of Boston backfired as the city united. Patriots Day ends with a series of interviews with the real-life subjects of the film, including some of the grievously wounded. Their resilience and strength brought me to tears and is worth seeing for yourself.

4/5

Dir: Peter Berg

Scr: Peter Berg, Matt Cook, Joshua Zetumer

Cast: Mark Wahlberg, J.K Simmons, Michelle Monaghan, John Goodman, Kevin Bacon, Alex Wolff, Themo Melikidze, Michael Beach, Jimmy O. Yung, Vincent Curatola

Prd: Mark Wahlberg, Scott Stuber, Dylan Clark, Stephen Levinson, Hutch Parker, Dorothy Aufiero, Stephen Stapinski, Michael Radutzky

DOP: Tobias Schliessler

Music: Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross

Country: USA

Year: 2017

Runtime: 133 Minutes

Patriots Day is out now in UK cinemas.

“Kill the Queen, or we all die” – The Great Wall (Film Review)

Posted on March 6, 2017 by Halsall

The latest action blockbuster starring Matt Damon, Pedro Pascal, Andy Lau, Jing Tian and Willem Defoe has a slightly different background than your regular popcorn movie. The most expensive Chinese film ever produced The Great Wall could be the first of numerous attempts from China to assert their dominance on the global film industry. Many US produced mainstream movies now live or die on their international gross revenue and China is the most important market for films of the highest budget. This rise now sees China attempting to beat Hollywood at their own game by producing their own content. They’ve enlisted a top dollar American star in Matt Damon, numerous talented Chinese actors such as Jing Tian and the highly bankable Andy Lau whilst Zhang Yimou (Hero, House of Flying Daggers) is in the director’s chair. If the producers see a reasonable return on their investment then the peculiar image of Matt Damon in the midst of an Asian ensemble may seem less strange in the future as others attempt to imitate its success.

If only The Great Wall was as fascinating on screen as the series of circumstances that have willed it into being. A thoughtless blaze of CGI descends upon the great wall of China and only Matt Damon and his strange array of accents can stop them. A lot of the actors in The Great Wall speak English as a second language so it’s a wonder that Damon talks like it’s also his second tongue. At one point his voice affects an Irish lilt that makes it even harder to take his scenes seriously. The whole concept is silly so it’s not like his accent breaks the believability of the film, this isn’t exactly Oscar Wilde, but it does highlight the ridiculousness that this movie, boasting some of the finest talent China has to offer, includes Damon as a co-lead to make the movie more marketable to a Western audience. The ensemble are all game at least, committed to playing their parts with a straight face. Pascal is fun as a Spanish rogue, Lau demonstrates the kind of effortless charisma that has made him a staple of Asian cinema for the past few decades and up and comer Jing Tian has a natural screen presence that makes it likely we will see plenty of her in the future. The Great Wall is at its best when given over to the exuberant excess of Zhang Yimou, his lush colourful eye and bombastic approach give the set pieces an eye-catching glimmer. However, any sequence that requires more than three lines of dialogue quickly falls to shreds specifically in the opening act with an overuse of close-ups decimating any rhythm to the scenes.

The Great Wall is an overblown cascade that never manages to meet the expectations set upon it by its luscious production design. More of an ardent curiosity than an actual success, The Great Wall has spectacle but little soul.

2/5

Dir: Zhang Yimou
Scr: Carlo Bernard, Tony Gilroy, Doug Miro
Cast: Matt Damon, Jing Tian, Andy Lau, Pedro Pascal, Willem Dafoe, Zhang Hanyu, Eddie Peng
Prd: Thomas Tull, Charles Roven, Jon Jashni, Peter Loehr
Music: Ramin Djawadi
Country: USA, China
Year: 2017
Run time: 104 minutes

The Great Wall is out now in UK cinemas.

“In Moonlight, Black boys look blue” – Moonlight (Film Review)

Posted on March 6, 2017 by Halsall

Moonlight offers a look at the upbringing of a young man looking at three specific time periods in his life. As a boy, a teenager and a man. Moonlight has just won the Academy Award for Best Picture, following a mix up when La La Land was announced as the winner by mistake. It’s a powerful film, but is it worthy of Best Picture?

Chiron is a young, black child growing up in Liberty City, Miami. Withdrawn and bullied by other kids he seeks solace in the form of the drug dealer Juan (Mahershala Ali) and his girlfriend Teresa (Janelle Monae), in an attempt to get away from his abusive crack smoking mother Paula (Naomie Harris). As Chiron grows older we see him struggling with his identity and the relationships with those around him.

The decision to divide the narrative is both a strength and a curse, allowing for a highly organised structural narrative underneath which is an ambitious and experimental method of storytelling. The specific focus of the acts means that we miss out on events in between that is at times highly effective, and sometimes disadvantageous. For example, a character dies in between one of the gaps and the unexpectedness of the realisation is shocking and effective. However because a different actor plays the role of Chiron in each act it causes an alienating effect that can distance you from the emotion of the film. In the first transition of Chiron from boy to teenager the metamorphosis was believable, in part to an outstanding performance by Ashton Sanders as the teen Chiron. Whilst the transition from teenager to adult results in us seeing a very different side of Chiron. This jarring change in the character is not a criticism in itself, it is understandable that after such an intensely difficult childhood the adult Chiron would be a very different character. But this alienated me from the connection to Chiron’s emotional state as it was difficult to buy into Trevante Rhodes as if he was portraying the same character. In part this is down to the writing, the final act being much more contemplative, and therefore slower, than the intense passion of the opening two acts. It was disappointing for me to feel like this as the movie is phenomenally beautiful and up until that point it had me hooked within the action. Ali is wonderful as Juan, the soulful drug dealer who serves as a kind of ward for Chiron, whilst Harris is demented as the crack addicted mother who overpowers Chiron with never ending emotional abuse. The scene stealer though is truly Ashton Sanders who anchors the second act with an extraordinarily vulnerable display, somehow not receiving the same recognition as the admittedly wonderful Ali and Harris. A highlight of the film includes a much heralded sequence at a beach in the night. It’s rightly noted as a wonderful cinematic moment, gorgeously shot by Director of Photography James Lawton who captures a pure form of teenage intimacy in a way that is truly unique. It is emblematic of the beauty of the movie as a whole, thanks in part to Lawton, and Barry Jenkins must deservedly take credit for tackling such an incredibly difficult project with the kind of virtuoso direction you would expect of a far more experienced hand.

Moonlight is an exquisitely shot journey through the life Chiron. Capturing his frailty, rage and desires. It can’t quite the sustain the weight of its aspirations. Not my Best Picture of the year, but also not a bad Best Picture by any means. If a film is measured by its ambitions then Moonlight stands as tall as any.

3/5

Dir: Barry Jenkins
Scr: Barry Jenkins
Cast: Trevante Rhodes, Ashton Sanders, Alex Hibbert, Mahershala Ali, Naomie Harris, Janelle Monae, Andre Holland
Prd: Adele Romanski, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner
Music: Nicholas Britell
Country: USA
Year: 2017
Run time: 111 minutes

Moonlight is out now in UK cinemas.