12 Strong

At its core 12 Strong is a standard war film with ideas of grandeur. It needs to be remembered when we talk about 12 Strong that it is produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, the same man who produced Black Hawk Down, so there is a degree of pedigree to this film. Furthermore, this film is beautifully shot; with some stunning vista and establishing shots that really paint a picture.  Also, there is a number of interesting decisions by the director Nicolai Fuglsig, such as his use of shadow in certain shots from the base camp scenes that add an artistic flair to proceedings. The character work is strong, but only in one character, Abdul Rashid Dostum; the leader of the Alliance, Played by Navid Negahban. Negahban brings a heart to this film, being the only truly memorable character after the credits roll, his bond with Hemsworth’s Mitch Nelson is very believable and remains good throughout. Michael Pena’s character of Sam Diller is completely one note, and until writing this review I couldn’t even remember his name. Diller is mainly a comic relief character, only the problem with that is that most of his jokes aren’t very funny, just being bad. Secondly, Michael Shannon’s character of Carl Spencer is given more to do and does have some genuinely touching emotional beats, but somehow manages to feel wasted, especially when you compare his performance to that of Hemsworth. Following on from that Chris Hemsworth in this is bland, that’s putting it mildly, really anyone could play his role as he brings so little to it. Hemsworth’s shortcomings are really apparent when compared to Shannon’s performance which managed to be memorable if only brief, and one is left to ask why they didn’t give Shannon the lead role. The biggest issue with this film is the plot, for a start, they have a subplot which revolves around the 12 man team splitting in half, one half goes off to fight, the other stay at the base camp. The issue comes from all the scenes that cut away from the 6 out fighting and goes back to the base camp, these scenes drag on and feel wholly uninteresting when compared to the other scenes away from the base camp. Thankfully this subplot is wrapped up halfway through the runtime, and everyone is reunited.  What’s more is there are leaps in logic akin to that of a Michael Bay movie, (the movie also manages to match his level of explosions), which really bring you out of the film. An example is early on in the film, it is revealed that Hemsworth’s Mitch hasn’t killed anyone and that he doesn’t have “Killer Eyes”. However later in the film, he can just kill people indiscriminately, with only one short scene explaining the shift and the toll that change brings to him psychologically. The film in many ways tried to have similar elements to Kathryn Bigelow’s Hurt Locker, even to the point that one of the soldiers in 12 Strong befriends a young boy, just like Jeremy Renner’s character in the Hurt Locker. Furthermore, the film seemed to think that it had something to say, a commentary on war or something of the sort, in a similar vein to Zero Dark Thirty, but it really just comes off as standard and generic fair when compared. To end on a positive the sound design is solid throughout, with the non-diegetic sound during some of the action scenes making it very tense, this does help to elevate the action.

Overall, I learned something from this movie that I didn’t already know it was an interesting perspective. Shannon and Negahban give wonderful performances, and it is stunning to look at in some scenes, however, that aside there is little to elevate it beyond standard genre fare, and the whole thing is rather generic.

2.5/5

Reviewed by Luke.

Maze Runner the Death Cure

Spoilers ahead.

The question I had going into this was, can this film cure the death of the Young Adult film genre. Everybody knows that the YA genre, has not had a good past few years with the end of The Hunger Games,  and  Divergent, the Mortal Instruments and The 5th wave crashing and burning; it looked like the genre was at an end or at least slowing down. However, one high profile YA series remained and that was Maze Runner. First off I think the delay in release date was a genuinely good thing for this film, as it allowed it to stand a good distance apart from the other YA films of years past, and command more attention. This film is a bit of a mixed bag because a lot of its strengths are also its weakness and vice versa. The first such example of this is the runtime, 142 minutes seems extortionately long for this kind of movie, and yes it does bring with it quite a few pacing issues; with some parts feeling needlessly long and other not flushed out enough. However, with this long running time, it avoids what has pretty much become a trope of the genre and that is splitting the last film into 2, I would say that the film benefits overall from this long running time, and it allows it to tie up all the loose ends and go out on a high note. Furthermore, the performances here are also a mixture of highs and lows. On one hand there are tremendous actors such as, Aiden Gillen and Walton Goggins, who play Janson and Lawrence respectively; however, both characters are barely used with Goggins in particular only being in the movie for a few short scenes. Gillen’s Janson does manage to be a memorable villain, being both aggressive and slimy at the same time, and whilst his character was previously built up in the series unlike Goggins, he still is given very little to do. Where the performances shine through are in the younger actors, specifically in Dylan O’Brien (Thomas), Thomas Brodie- Sangster (Newt) and Rosa Salazar (Brenda). The friendship between O’Brien’s Thomas and Brodie- Sangster’s Newt, is the emotional core of the movie, with Thomas trying to find a cure for Newt whilst also searching for their friend, both actors give amazing performances making this friendship both believable and relatable in all the best ways. The untimely death of Newt towards the end of the third act hit me with much more emotional impact than the death of Theresa, (Kaya Scodelario), whose character is the one of the weakest and most boring of the whole movie. This is a shock as the relationship between Thomas and Theresa has been built up for 3 movies, and the end of that build up felt rather anti-climatic and just poorly done.  In addition, there is the usual YA problem of the plot being laughably dumb, and this movie does suffer from that, I don’t think someone who hasn’t seen at least one of the previous two movies would be able to jump into this and understand what is going on; which is a large issue. Finally, I just wanted to briefly mention, Rosa Salazar’s performance as Brenda, I found her to be a wholly enjoyable character, and very easy to root for; being able to pull off both comedy and drama with ease. Her performance in this makes me a lot more confident, for Alita Battle Angel that she is staring in later this year. Her scenes were my favourite part of this movie.

Anyway, though the film suffers from some issues, (many of which are commonly found in the genre), and does waste some of its actors, it is still enjoyable. This film feels like a good mix of Mad Max and The Hunger Games and is most certainly a very good final entry in the series.

3.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Commuter

This Liam Neeson lead action film is the latest collaboration between, Neeson and director Jaume Collet- Serra. This is, in fact, the fourth movie that the duo has worked on, with the others being Unknown, Non-Stop and Run All Night, and this film is much of the same fair as the rest. It is nice to see Liam Neeson a man of 60, still being given action hero lead billing, and more importantly still being believable. Neeson is as charismatic as ever in the role of Michael MacCauley, a man recently without a job and put in a dangerous game, on his train ride home from work. Enter Vera Farmiga’s enigmatic Joanna, who gives MacCauley the chance to win big money if he does, “one little thing”. Whilst she isn’t present much Farmiga shines in every scene, easily being the best thing about this movie; being able to present a genuine threat. The opening sequence that cuts together multiple mornings to make it appear all as one, is quite a nice directional choice and gives an impression of the monotonous effect of not trying anything new in a while. This contrasts nicely with the unexpected nature of the later events, which highlights both situations well. However, that is where the praise ends, there are a plethora of issues that plague this film. Firstly is the plot, which is at best wholly unbelievable, at worst ridiculous, with as many plot holes as there are passengers on a busy train. These, however, aren’t critical issues, as these leaps in logic are typical of most action movies, and really should be expected. The movies most dire issues are twofold, firstly is the wasted side characters, whilst a little light is shined on these characters back stories, (really just enough to make them interesting), it never feels enough. These characters feel almost entirely one-note and ultimately bland, you will not remember them when you leave the cinema. Furthermore, to add to this problem the little that is shown of these side characters back stories set up subplots, and these are never satisfactorily resolved, leaving you feeling less than satisfied. The second key issue is that the twists and turns the plot take feel played out and obvious, with everyone in the audience working out who MacCauley is looking for a good half the film before he does. Furthermore, the twists regarding, Patrick Wilson’s character are signposted a mile away, and a bit off topic but why Wilson took this role is a good question because his character is entirely forgettable. Ultimately, this isn’t a bad movie, it’s well shot, well acted by its two leads, but at the same time, it’s entirely forgettable. The film itself is a waste of potential really all round, with it just being kind of a generic action movie, which maybe check it out one day when it’s on Netflix, but for now, unless you’re a hardcore for the action genre give it a miss.

2/5

reviewed by Luke

Pitch Perfect 3

So, for the sake of honesty, I’ve not seen the first 2 movies and this was where I was jumping in, and like I’ve said before musicals aren’t really my thing. That being said, I was incredibly pleasantly surprised by this movie, I went into it with very low expectations, and over the course of the run time, it made me smile and laugh a good few times. Now whilst Trish Sie’s movie isn’t going to win any awards, it does manage to be effortless charming throughout. The plot whilst being unbelievable, is no more so than a Fast and the Furious movie, and I believe that if you can get past that there is a lot to love about this film. None of the characters are particularly grating, which is a surprise because usually in these larger ensemble movies, where characters are more caricatures than anything else that is usually the case. The songs are mostly quite good, with only one or two feeling a little too long. However, even in the case of the bad songs the choreography of the dance sequences are all very well done and quite impressive. Ruby Rose’s character of Calamity, is probably my favorite character of the whole film. Whilst she isn’t given much to do, with the general focus staying with the main characters; she is an entertaining antagonist and has one of the best musical set pieces in the whole film.  The plot centers around Beca Mitchell, (Anna Kendrick), and the rest of the Bella’s reuniting to play a show for the US troops.  From there it devolves into a strange plot of singing, kidnapping, and c4 in cereal. Whilst many people criticise the film for its unbelievable plot, I liked it because every moment I was entertained and engaged. I even thought that the subplot about Fat Amy, (Rebel Wilson), and her estranged father was quite touching in parts if a little ridiculous. Furthermore, this sweetness carried over into the romance between Chicago, ( Matt Lanter), and Chloe, (Brittany Snow), which I thought was very believable and didn’t slow down the film at all. Most the jokes land quite well, with the exception of a few, but on the whole a very funny film. To compare it to a recent musical the Greatest Showman, I felt that whilst the song was good, they weren’t quite as memorable or whimsical. Really the main issue with this film is that its characters feel a little one-note and generic; with none of them outside of Wilson’s Fat Amy having much of an arc. That being said this film made me want to go back and watch the other two movies, and that is it’s the strongest praise. Whilst not for everyone, there is a lot to love about this movie, it’s sweet, charming and most of all entertaining; and most certainly an excellent not to go out on.

3.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Insidious: The Last Key

This supernatural horror film is the sequel to Insidious 3, and a prequel to Insidious 1 and 2. This instalment works as somewhat of a close loop for the series, bringing  everything together.  The Last Key, serves to add context to the childhood of  series regular Elise, (played by Lin Shaye in the only truly well acted performance in the whole film), and it is in this backstory that the film shines. Without giving too much away these flashbacks serve to highlight Elise’s gifts, as well as her past history with the Further and demons. The new entity for this instalment is Key Face, who is  quite an interestingly designed creature, a far cry from the woeful, Man who can’t breath, in part 3 who wasn’t scary in any way. Furthermore, during scenes involving Key Face something quite interesting is done with the films sound design, as the victims are screaming Key Face will insert one of his key shaped fingers into their throat, immediately making their screams silent no matter how long they carry on for. Sadly that’s where the positives end for this film, and it is with a heavy heart I write this, because I really liked and enjoyed the first two Insidious Movies, but I feel like each entry since then has got worse and worse; with this entry being the testament to that decline. First off other than Elise and I guess her father ,(played by Josh Stewart), no one is really given any development, or a noticeable arc. Tucker and Spec’s ,(Angus Sampson and Leigh Whannell), are used wholly for comic relief, and its the humour in this film that is it’s greatest detriment. The humour never and I mean not once lands, the humour ranges from cringe bad to straight up unfunny. The only time people in my screening were laughing was during the jump scares and moments that were suppose to be scary. That’s another failing of this instalment, there just aren’t that many jump scares, which isn’t always a bad thing in terms of horror as tension and atmosphere are just as important, but overall this film isn’t scary in anyway. The only true scares come from the domestic violence in much the same way as Sinister 2, rather than the supernatural threat. Insidious The Last Key, is the truest definition of the bad movies that plague January, with its whole existence feeling like just a way to extend the franchise. What’s more is the introduction of Elise niece,(played by Caitlin Gerard), who has the same gift as her, also she  doesn’t have a huge role except being Spec’s love interested, but to make matters worse here introduction is a clear way for them to make Insidious 5 now that Elise’s story has run it’s course.  In many ways this film was a waste of resources and peoples time, providing at best one good performance, some interesting design choices and perhaps one solitary jump scare; that actually works. To sum up whilst it isn’t terrible it’s a clear example of a franchise that needs to end.

2/5

Reviewed by Luke

All the Money in the World

This film is a testament to Ridley Scott as a director, with him replacing an actor and reshooting all his scenes only months before release. Whats more these scenes are hard to tell apart from the rest of the feature, blending in well; in contrast to other recent releases such as Justice League. Christopher Plummer portrays the role with equal parts ruthlessness, and a sheer sense of greed that perfectly encapsulates the character of  J. Paul Getty. The film itself centers around the kidnapping of Getty’s grandson Paul, (played here by Charlie Plummer), and Getty’s refusal to pay any money in random. At its core, this film is defined by 3 key performances, Christopher Plummer’s Getty, who is tremendous throughout. With the performances of Michelle Williams, (Gail Harris), and Mark Wahlberg, (Fletcher Chase) also being critical. This is where the film fumbles, Michelle Willimas is perfect with her performance of a mother in crisis, trying to get her son back being both believable and the emotional backbone of the film. For anyone who has read any of my other reviews, they will know that so far this year I ‘ve been a big Michelle Willimas fan, with her role in the greatest showman being one of the best and most believable parts of that movie. However, it is the third key role that falls flat and that is Mark Wahlberg’s Chase Fletcher, who feels bland and uninteresting, really his role could be played by anyone. The strange standout social relationship of this film is between Charlie Plummers Paul and Romain Duris as Cinquanta, who are both excellent characters in their own right, but together they’re somewhat of an endearing pair. Duris’s Cinquanta is a sort of father figure to Paul and provides an interesting contrast to the usual stereotype of the despicable criminal. Through the character of Cinquanta, Scott explores the idea of a family with this man who is a criminal, who is one of the men who abducts Paul ultimately caring about him just as much as his mum. Furthermore, Cinquanta, when juxtaposed with Mr. Getty, is shown to be far more caring towards Paul than his own grandfather. This portrays one of the victims of the film as ultimately one of the antagonists.  The negatives for this film really come from pacing, the film is paced badly, with the second act feeling dull and ultimately unnecessary, with too much time spent looking at the Chase, Getty relationship which ultimately goes nowhere. There were points in this film where it lost my interest to such a point, I debated the merits of going to the toilet for a prolonged break. Also, there were subplots with characters such as Pauls father which again feel like they go nowhere, with his character going through big changes in the first act without much explanation.  The film could have benefited greatly from focusing more on Michelle Willimas’s character, and ditching Wahlberg outright. This is a gripping story sadly it’s just too long and not interesting enough, though I did appreciate the unusual captive captor relationship.

2/5

Reviewed by Luke

Darkest Hour

This film chronicles the early period of World War 2, through a time span covering roughly about a month. The period that the movie covers was before the Americans and Russians joined the war effort, a time when the British Empire was at its most vulnerable; and in many ways, this is reflected in the character of Winston Churchill himself. Gary Oldman portrays Churchill, a man synonymous with the British war effort. The director Joe Wright shows us a Churchill who is a far cry from the fearless war-time leader that we have come to know, we see a man who is loathed by his own party and has known many failures. The film acts as both a character study and also a new perspective on the previously trodden WW2 film. There are elements of a cat and mouse struggle throughout the film, with the hierarchy of the Conservative party made up of Lord Halifax, (in an excellent turn by Stephen Dillane), and the previous Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, (Ronald Pickup) trying to force Churchill to enter into peace talks, when the man himself wants to fight to the bitter end. This film is incredibly accurate in its presentation of figure from the time period, such as Ben Mendelsohn’s King George the 4th, before I went to see this film I had been watching Netflix’s the crown which featured both King Geroge the 4th and Winston Churchill, and I had loved the job Jared Harris had done playing the late king but Ben Mendelsohn’s performance here made me completely forget about Harris’s iteration.  The film despite it’s PG age rating doesn’t stray away from the horrors of war with a Calais scene showing the sacrifice made and provoking an emotional response from anyone who sees it. It is in creating that emotional significants and capturing ideals and patriotism, that make this film as great as it is. Whether it is through Lilly James’s Elizabeth Layton, who experinces the horrors of war and carries on, or whether it is shown through the British public who have a bitter resolve to never surrender to Hitler no matter what. This film  has an air of hopelessness with the British position often looking bleak and that brings with it many sad moments, but it is with that the film also brings with it a sense of optimism, a sense that through the bad we can endure and come out stronger. Also Joe Wright dedicates quite a bit of screen time to exploring Churchill relationship with his wife Clementine, (played here by Kristin Scott Thomas), is shown to be the rock that held Churchill together when he most needed it, this emotional softer element of the film helps to keep it varied, and develops the characters in quite a satisfying way.  Overall this film is a well paced, well acted, well directed film and it deserves all the awards recognition it’s getting. This film inspired a strong sense of patriotism in me, what more can I say; except this film would make an excellent double feature with last years Dunkrik.

5/5

Reviewed by Luke

 

Molly’s Game

Molly’s Game tells the true story of “Poker Princess” Molly Bloom, for those of you who don’t know Molly Bloom was running million dollar poker games in both New York and LA. Now I’ve been looking forward to this film for quite a while, because it marks Aaron Sorkin’s directional debut. Sorkin has previously won an Oscar for his adapted screen play for the Social Network, fans of Sorkin’s previous work would expect his usual quick and snappy dialogue and that is here in abundance. The script and dialogue of Molly’s Game feels like a tour de force for Sorkin, serving as a highlights reel of everything that makes him one of the best currently working screen writers. Furthermore, the plot of the film itself has enough twists and turns to genuinely keep you on the edge of your seat, with all the characters being three dimensional and well formed.  This excellent formation is shown in Jessica Chastain’s Molly, who is shown as both powerful and savvy whilst also having moments of weakness. Jessica Chastain is on top form here and makes Molly a very easy to root for character, even when she does things that you don’t agree with. The best pairing in this film is easily Chastain’s Molly and Idris Elba’s Charlie Jaffey, the scenes that feature the pairs back and forth are  easily some of the most enjoyable moments in the film, and the two have an easy chemistry through the entire proceeding. Elba’s Charlie is somewhat of an audience surrogate as he goes through the same journey as the audience, believing in the beginning that Molly is guilty and he has no interest in her case, but as the film continues he starts to see her more and more for her she actually is and see’s past his first impressions. The friendship Jaffey and Bloom have at the end is testament to Sorkin’s writing ability as you can see the friendship blossom throughout the film, and doesn’t feel rushed but rather earned. Even Molly’s father played by Kevin Costner, who at first seems to be plying the disappointed father stereotype,  is later shown to be more than he seems, really it is foolish to assume anyone in a Sorkin film is as simple as they first appear. My only complaint about the film is that it is slightly too long at 140 minutes, with me personally thinking it could still be an excellent film at the 120 minute mark, but other than that this may be one of the best crime dramas I’ve watched in a long time.

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Greatest Showman

Let me start off by saying that musicals aren’t really my type of films, and at its heart, that is what this is. However, this is the first musical I have managed to relate to and enjoy. There truly is something for all ages with this film, making it hard not to like. This film is actually quite informative about the life of P.T Barnum, showing him progress from being a child well into his establishing of his Circus. The ability to capture the wonder, awe, and imagination of the Circus and of P.T Barnum himself, would be quite a tall order for any actor, but Hugh Jackman manages to pull it off with ease never breaking the immersion once. The rest of the cast also do a great job with especially great turns from Zac Efron and Zendaya, with quite a believable romance; that doesn’t fall prey to the usual stereotypes of musical romances. Furthermore, the most rememberable song was the bar scene when Barnum tries to recruit play write Phillip to the circus, with the most creative use of shots I’ve ever seen in a film. The overall problem with the film is that some of the songs sound quite similar to each other, and some quite poor lip-synching especially with Rebecca Ferguson’s Jenny Lind during her big number it’s quite apparent it isn’t her who is singing. Furthermore, the mid point character transformation of Barnum also feels quite unbelievable, with him going from a nice family man who cares about his friends and workers to a man only concerned with chasing fame and status.  With this shift being an interesting one but ultimately one that feels rushed. The side shows performers all being quite interesting flushed out characters, although they all share a similar arc, the character progression with these characters feels just that bit more earned.

Ultimately the film is a joyful Christmas film, that fills you with optimism and can brighten even the blackest day

4/5

reviewed by Luke