Tag: film

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Film Review

Fences (dir. Denzel Washington) 2016

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Fences is a moving tale of a flawed character, beautifully told. The language and the acting are wonderful. It is no surprise to read that the play won a Pulitzer prize when it was first performed in 1987.

It is set in a poor part of 1950s Pittsburgh and it captures the generational tension of the time perfectly. The world that Troy Maxson grew up in is not the world his kids see and both sets of characters have difficulty realising this. Rose, his wife, spends her time making sure the two cultures don’t clash too badly; I almost felt that this play was mostly about her.

Denzel Washington both directs and plays the lead. His direction is good, he wrings the meaning and nuance out of every word. His acting is great, although, I think if there had been a different director to lead actor, we would not have liked Troy Maxson quite as much. I’m not sure we saw the nastiness, that the kids in the street ran away from, when he went out his front door.

All the actors in this film are great and really own the characters they play. Viola Davis is amazing as Rose Maxson, I can’t believe that this is not counted as a lead role, but I really hope she wins the best supporting actress Oscar.

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Film Review

George Best: All by Himself (dir. Daniel Gordon) 2016

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If you are enough of a George Best fan to come and see this film, the chances are that it is not going to tell you anything that you didn’t already know about him.

However, it puts all the information into one neat package and it tells his story in a balanced manner.

It relates his biography through interviews with people who were close to him at the significant points in his life.

There is archive footage of his best and his most important goals. There are newspaper headlines and film from the time showing the huge media pressure he was subjected to. There are extracts from many interviews he gave throughout his life.

The narrative is not judgemental and neither does it gloss over the less august moments of his career.

I like the way it just presents the facts and makes no comment either way, so if you want to know about George Best the footballer and George Best the man, this is the film to see.

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Film Review

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (dir. Gareth Edwards) 2016

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I quite like the Star Wars franchise. I see all of them, but there are so many now and they are released in such a weird order that I don’t know whether this was a prequel to the first or the sequel to the third. Whatever it is, it is a very enjoyable stand alone movie.

I watched it in 3D in the I-Max in Waterloo. This is the largest screen in the UK, as they kept telling us, and although that may have enhanced the experience, the special effects are excellent.

Disney have taken over the series, so the aliens have become one level cuter, but this is a war film, so expect battle scenes. It’s not quite The Muppets remake Apocalypse Now, but a few more episodes down the line…. who knows.

I loved the strong female lead, Felicity Jones is great as Jyn. The storyline is simple yet strong, and the whole cast are very engaging. There are some funny moments in the film and the battle scenes had an interesting 1980s retro feel.

It has even been nominated for two Academy Awards, I hope it wins the one for best visual effects, they are very well done.

A very good addition to Star Wars canon.

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Film Review

Sing Street (dir. John Carney) 2016

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This film is written and directed by John Carney. He has a huge talent for writing likeable and recognisable characters. All of his films have some fantastic original songs in them  and this one mixes together a great 1980s soundtrack with some excellent original material.

The story is lovely, a boy forming a post-punk rock band to impress a girl who is out of his league, and to impress his stoner older brother, who he idolises. The older brother is played by Jack Reynor, who is outstanding and all but steals the show.

My one difficulty with the film was suspending my disbelief, the band became too good at playing their instruments too quickly and the happy ending was almost sad, because, as a walk off into the sunset, it was so doomed to end in disaster. This mattered because I liked everyone involved so much that I at least wanted them to have some realistic chance of success.

Having said that, this film is very enjoyable and it is rare that a writer can make you like almost everyone in a film, even the school bully.

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Film Review

La La Land – Damien Chazelle (2016)

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I am almost loathe to review this because so much has been written about it over the past few weeks, nevertheless here is my two cents worth.

I understand why this movie has had such mixed reviews. The plot has holes, the storyline is unlikely, the dialogue is stilted on occasion, the music is not quite jazz…..

However, I enjoyed its inventiveness, the cinematography is amazing, the soundtrack is pretty and the ending is perfect and touching. Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling are likeable and fully committed to their roles. Their singing and dancing is good too.

The opening sequence sets the scene well, if you don’t like that, you can leave early, because you won’t like the rest of the film – it has the best dance routine and it lets you know that you are going to touch reality only intermittently.

I particularly loved the complexity of the final scene, a definite homage to “An American in Paris”. This finale was never going to be universally acclaimed and Damien Chazelle must have realised this and decided to go for it anyway. It was a brave decision and this final song gives the film a  new depth and intensity.

The good parts of this film are so good that you want to overlook the less good bits. All in all it is one the best films that I have seen in years.

I hope it wins some Academy Awards; definitely best cinematography, probably best original score, possibly even best director and best film.

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Film Review

Locke (dir. Steven Knight) 2013

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This is basically a single-room, dialogue only film. Except that the room is a car being driven from the Birmingham to London, and there is only one person in the car.

Tom Hardy plays Ivan Locke, a man organising change on his phone after making a life altering decision.

The concept does not sound promising but Steven Knight shows off his immense skill as a scriptwriter here and Tom Hardy turns in a monumental and understated performance, making this a movie that will stay with you long after the titles roll.

This is not a film to get you in the mood to go out or even to see with a group of friends and pizza, because it is not a light easy watch.

If you are in an introspective mood and want to see a thought provoking film, this will repay your time many times over.

Great writing and a great performance. I really enjoyed this.

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Film Review

Golden Years (dir. John Miller) 2016

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This is a British comedy, with a great cast full of familiar faces. The concept is good and it has some nice funny touches. It has a wonderful British sensibility, in that it is a little bit subversive and sticks up for the underdog – it also has the British tendency to be slightly politically preachy and has a love of the double entendre.

The writing and plotting is dreadful and takes the shine off the whole movie. There are huge holes in the plot and some of the storyline is so implausible that it takes a lot of effort to suspend your disbelief. This is a shame because so many other elements of the film are enjoyable. The film felt lazy, or rushed, because some of the plot holes could have been easily rectified with a little more thought.

However, there are some lovely and lively performances, the characters are all likeable, there is a few good one-liners and funny slapstick moments. So watch with a forgiving frame of mind and you should enjoy it.

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Film Review

Red (dir. Robert Schwentke) 2010

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Red is available on Netflix. It is an action, comedy, thriller mash-up that does not take itself too seriously.

It has a very famous cast headed by Bruce Willis, Mary Louise Parker and Morgan Freeman. For me John Malkovich and Helen Mirren steal the show though with great off the wall characters, brilliantly portrayed.  Right through the cast are big names and they all look like they are enjoying themselves immensely.

The movie is an over-the-top version of the  over-the-top 1990s action films, where it more about the guns, the explosions, the car chases and the banter than the story. The story is particularly ridiculous here and it really does not matter because it has the all of the other elements in spades.

Reds is very knowing, in that it pokes fun at all the clichés of the time, while blatantly using them to its advantage. It has likeable, if a bit two dimensional, characters and the  direction is clever and camp.

Watch this if you want a lot of bullets, a lot of bangs and some good laughs but avoid it you want any great philosophical insights.

Personally, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

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Film Review

Fantastic Beasts and where to find them

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Fantastic Beasts and where to find them is a good addition to the line of Harry Potter films.

It has a very strong cast and great special effects. The characters are well written and likeable. It has the added bonus of being a magical historical costume drama – set in 1920s New York City.

I particularly liked the supporting cast of characters. Kowalski and Queenie have a lovely interaction, Colin Farrell is smoothly unpleasant as Graves.

It had lots of wonderfully inventive ideas and many of the fantastic beast are really fantastic. If I were to pick a fault, it would be that some of the set pieces were too big and too monumental because they reminded you of what they were, tableaus to show off their, admittedly very good, special effects. The storyline is quite slight but, because everything else about the film is so satisfying, it hardly matters.

The 3D was the best I have seen, it was clever without being intrusive. It is worth going to see this film in a big movie theatre because of this and in order to get the full impact of those  special effects.

I have to say that I will be looking forward to the next one in this franchise.

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Film Review

Wiener-Dog (dir. Todd Solondz) 2016

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This is a comedy written and directed by Todd Solondz. If you know his name and like his movies you will know not to expect uplifting and light hearted comedy, and this one is bleak even by his standards.

It consists of four short stories about people whose lives are affected by coming into contact with a Dachshund. It is well written, beautifully observed and has some great performances. I thought Ellen Burstyn and Julie Delpy were particularly good.

However, I really did not enjoy the film. Almost every character is cruel, self-serving or damaged and the humour comes from the dysfunctional way they deal with their lives. This is certainly a movie where we are laughing at them – not with them. Most of the laughs fall into the “so horrible it’s funny” category. The fact that that the film is so well made and the characters and situations are so realistically handled, make the comedy darker. I laughed rarely, and when I did, I disliked myself for doing so.  I left the cinema feeling depressed and dispirited.

It is said that “Great Art” is any which makes you feel strong emotions, either good or bad. In that case, this is “Great Art” but, if I were given the hour and a half back, I would choose not to spend it in that cinema.