'71 / Unbroken

Lumping a couple of films in together here as they both star one of the UK’s up and coming talents, Jack O’Connell. No doubt O’Connell has some acting chops to him, but both '71 and Unbroken are films where he has so few lines to speak it’s actually quite hard to appraise his performances. Granted its due to script and character, but you can’t say these are eye catching turns like his cracking performances in Starred Up or Tower Block. Word was that ’71 was hotter than Death Valley and Yann Demange’s portrayal of a young British soldier (O’Connell) getting lost in the mean streets of Belfast during the Troubles has plenty going for it. In respect of its visual portrayal of the Northern Irish capital at that time it’s a triumph and Demange’s use of handhelds adds a feeling of real claustrophobia to the proceedings. This is Demange’s debut feature (though he has a solid track record in Shorts and TV) and he’s certainly going to be one to keep on eye out for on the aesthetic side of things. Less successful is Gregory Burke’s script. The premise of the person trapped in an unfamiliar and hostile environment is one of cinema’s oldest staples, but any thrills or twists are lost amongst some truly terrible character stereotypes. Plus, despite Demange’s statements to the contrary, its fairly obvious which side his sympathies lie meaning the films examination of both sides of the conflict is unbalanced throughout. Hats off though to Demange for having an attempt at addressing a situation that is still such a hot political potato (and good luck to anyone outside of the UK understanding the history of the whole business). Definitely worth a watch but, despite the technical improvements in the last seventy plus years since Odd Man Out, Carol Reeds similarly themed thriller is by far the superior film. Moving on to another production about conflict we have Unbroken, Angelina Jolie’s second film as a director, which tells the real life story of Louie Zamperini (O’Connell), a US Olympic athlete who survived the second World War despite being shot down, lost at sea and interned in a number of brutal Japanese prisoner of war camps. The film is basically split into three parts. The first follows Zamperini growing up and his development as a runner that leads to him competing at the 1936 Olympics. The second is his role as a bombardier in the US Air Force and subsequent crash into the ocean. Finally it’s his time spent as a prisoner, up until his liberation at the conclusion of the war. Jolie’s no fool and she’s employed a number of heavy hitters (the Coen’s helping on script, Deakins as cinematographer, Desplat on scoring duties) to lend her a hand and there are a number of impressive moments (the airplane fight scenes being a particular highlight). The problem the film has is that, despite appearances, its too lightweight for its subject matter. The final third of the film being a case in point where Zamperini constantly falls foul of camp commandant Mutsuhiro Watanabe, played, in somewhat bizarre casting, by Japanese pop star Takamasa Ishihara (no, me neither). Though it’s harsh at times, it’s a long way from the detailed history of what actually occurred (in reality Watanabe was a vicious sadist) meaning that the film doesn’t hit home as it should. Somewhat unforgivably as well, Jolie doesn’t even begin to explore the cultural reasons why the Japanese treated their POW’s so appallingly. A more confident editor would have helped as well, particularly for the middle section of the film which seems to go on for ever. On the acting front O’Connell is fine, but does little to show that his being cast over any of the other young actors out there has made a huge difference. Talking of up and comers – keep an eye out for Domhnall Gleeson as his campaign to steal the title of Being In Every Film Ever Made from Mark Strong continues to gather pace. Overall, not a bad film, but for someone as bloody minded as Jolie this really shouldn’t have pulled the punches it does. Rating (both films): 6/10.

Round Up of 2014, Part One: The Rover / What If / Lets Be Cops / Sin City: A Dame To Kill For / The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1

David Michod’s full length debut feature was 2010's superb (though little seen) Animal Kingdom. Surprising then that it’s taken over four years for Michod to grace us with his presence again, this time in the form of, yep, another gritty drama. The Rover has Guy Peace (unnamed in the film, but “Eric” in the credits) travelling around the Australian outback on the trail of the thieves who have stolen his car. Though a loner, he captures one of the thieves’ brothers (Robert Pattinson) to help him track down the culprits. Set ten years after a global economic collapse, the dystopian setting obviously brings to mind Mad Max though Michod’s approach is more low key than George Miller’s visceral slant. Michod himself has claimed his film is more menacing due to it’s near contemporary nature, but that’s a hollow victory really as Miller’s Max is on the more pulp-ish side of things. That aside, the narrative is a bit of a struggle and the film moves at a languid pace with little revelations (apart from the final reveal, which is a real doozy) as we stumble though the running time. This is still memorable though for it’s beautiful cinematography, strong lead performances and Antony Partos’ discordant and agitated score. It’s a bleak watch no doubt, but you can always lighten the mood by downing an alcoholic drink every time Pearce utters in his Aussie twang, “Where’s my care?”. Talking of Pattinson lets move on to one of his peers, that of a certain individual who is also trying desperately to rid himself of a film franchise that made their name, if not their acting credentials. What If has Daniel Radcliffe as Wallace, a recluse who meets Chantry (Zoe Kazan) at a house party. They hit it off, but there’s the problem of Chantry’s boyfriend Ben (Rafe Spall) to deal with. It’s a film of clichés and a framework that will familiar to anyone who has watched a rom-com in the last five years, but some decent comic moments (Ben succumbing to a spectacular accident the first time he meets Wallace) and a believable struggle of feelings make this a solid watch. It’s unnecessarily coarse at times though and for people with a low tolerance to kook an advance warning: Chantry and her friends all meet at a knitting club. Still, Michael Dowse’s film will tick all the right boxes for fans of this kind of thing, but who ever heard of an Englishman with the given name Wallace? Lets Be Cops has taken a critical pounding, but it’s actually not all that bad. Perhaps the horror of seeing the surname Wayans (this time it’s Damon, Jr.) on the credits is enough for people to run for cover, but catch this on a Friday night and you should be OK. The plot is a bit thin (Jake Johnson and Wayans Jr. are pals who accidentally get mistaken for policeman following a costume party, but then decide to run and run with the subterfuge) though as director Luke Greenfield also produces and co-scripts I doubt he had much time to listen to outside opinions. The laughs are hit and miss, but there’s chemistry between the two leads and Greenfield moves the whole thing along at such a pace you don’t have time to think about how ludicrous the whole set-up is. Finally, lets lump together Sin City: A Dame To Kill For and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1. These films may look like strange bedfellows, but they’re both sequels which don't add anything new to what we have seen previously and, somewhat scandalously in Hunger Games' sake, don't leave you wanting to see any more. On the Sin City front, Robert Rodriquez and Frank Miller share directorial duties, but their combined canniness couldn’t stop Dame dying at the box office, which is somewhat ironic as not many minutes pass without someone croaking it in one way or another. Much like the first film its visually spectacular, but that first outing is almost ten long years ago now and does anybody really even remember (or care) about the back story to Nancy? (played by the bland Jessica Alba). As an exercise in style it still works, but despite there being an eclectic mix of characters and story lines there’s little variety from scene to scene (though the films title is apt for Eva Green who smoulders throughout). Alan Partridge fans might want to dip in mind due to Mickey Rourke’s Marv now bearing a bizarre resemblance to Norfolk’s finest after he had been on the Toblerone’s. A place which certainly could do with some Swiss chocolate to cheer up its inhabitants is Panem, the grim world which The Hunger Games franchise reverberates around. This time out we follow Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) as she becomes a symbol of the rebellion against boo-hiss President Coin (Donald Sutherland). This is double Lawrence jeopardy as aside from Jennifer’s dull performance, we also have Francis in the directors chair. Arguably not his fault this is so lacklustre, but he’s hardly a director to get excited about. The problem the film has is that it doesn’t tell us anything we don’t already know. This is basically two hours of virtually nothing happening in respect of plot development and the twist at the end is telegraphed miles in advance. I can’t quite work Lawrence (Jennifer) out, but here she just seems gormless for most of the, ahem, “action”. Much like the split of the last Harry Potter book into two films, we can only hope that this follows the pattern of one snooze-fest – one decent send off. Gains an extra point for a ginger cat cameo, though. Rover Rating: 7/10. What If Rating: 7/10. Cops Rating: 7/10. Sin Rating: 5/10. Games Rating: 5/10.