American Sniper

A number of Clint Eastwood’s last few films as a director have been blighted by endless continuity errors and his over-resistance on terrible CGI. Things take a turn for the better here though, with his (very loose) adaptation of the memoir American Sniper, which tells the story of, reportedly, the US military’s most lethal sniper in its history, Chris Kyle. Before we even get anywhere, if you want a debate on modern warfare, Iraq, Kyle’s legacy etc, then look elsewhere. This is a film review, not Radio Five Live. The film itself isn’t all that original in the story its telling, in the fact that what we have is the classic war two-hander – First the depiction of battle(s). Then the struggle to assimilate back into modern life. Eastwood has his hand on the tiller here in a much firmer way than what we’ve seen for a while and the film is confidently structured throughout. Though Kyle’s (portrayed by a bulked up Bradley Cooper) decent into post-traumatic stress disorder isn’t really fully explored at great length, when it’s touched on its done in a effective manner, especially in one great moment when the use of the noises of warfare are invoked to wrong foot the viewer (on that note, the sound editing is superb throughout). Cooper is good in the lead role, but the film is so focused on him that other characters barely register. Criticism by some (Americans, it should be noted) that the film is propaganda and akin to Inglorious Basterds Nation’s Pride are well wide of the mark. However, it’s got to be said that no other nation on Earth would make such a flag waving picture as this. So a solid, though not overly spectacular return to form for Eastwood. Having said that, this is an Eastwood directed film so it would be remiss to not highlight a few of the more ridiculous moments. Putting the “model baby” business aside (they had to use one in the film as the two babies slated for that days shooting couldn’t be filmed), I was tempted to go for the final shot taken by Kyle in the film which tips us into eye-rolling fantasy / video game land, but the stand out moment of stupidity has to be when Kyle is under heavy gun fire, deep into a claustrophobic battle with a number of his battalion, and he takes a personal phone call from his missus. At least they didn’t discuss what was for dinner, but still dumb, dumb and thrice dumb. Rating: 7/10.

Pitch Perfect 2

Elizabeth Banks is one of Hollywood’s more savvy operators and her choice of Pitch Perfect 2 for her directorial debut is understandably a smart move. To wit, even if the film is awful, it’ll still make a load at the box office due to the popularity of the first film. So has this turn of events transpired then? Well, it’s made the money (of course), but the film isn’t awful. It’s bloody awful. Banks’ direction isn’t great, but not even Akira Kurosawa would have been able to rescue this due to Kay Cannon’s painfully unfunny script. This is all a bit of a surprise as the original outing of the Barden Bellas was such a blast, aided by a story line that had been properly thought out meaning there was the perfect blend of heart and laughs. This follow up feels like it was thrown together in a one minute lunch break. There’s a few strands of different storylines going on (amongst them the girl group trying to win the World A Cappella title and Beca (Anna Kendrick) looking to move on with her life), but none of them engage the viewer and many scenes don’t progress the story in any way, shape or form. There is the occasional chucklesome moment, with the highlights being the return of Banks and John Michael Higgins with their absurd statements as they commentate on proceedings, and a rival German A Cappella group fronted by the game Flula Borg and Birgitte Hjort Sørensen has it’s moments. Though, viewers of BBC4 may be surprised to see the as-Danish-as-they-come Sørensen portraying a teuton. Overall though, the needle on the laugh-o-meter barely moves as joke after joke falls flat, not least with the introduction of a character from Guatemala who makes borderline racist remarks when talking about her homeland. Overall this has to be considered as one of the biggest disappointments of the year, neatly summed up by the bored look on Kendrick’s face throughout the film. You can almost see her brain chuntering over the decision about signing contracts that include a clause re returning for any possible sequels. To borrow the parlance: acca-crap. Rating: 3/10.

A Walk Among The Tombstones / Run All Night / Taken 3

It's Liam Neeson triple bill time! Let's start with the best of these three, that being Scott Frank's A Walk Among The Tombstones, which, in these times of his cv getting clogged up with by the numbers action roles, is worth catching as it gives Neeson his most compelling role for quite a while. Though there isn't anything too original in his character (a private investigator who, wait for it, is an alcoholic ex-cop!), Neeson gives a nice turn as he attempts to find out who kidnapped a drug kingpins wife. To say anything more would be spoilerific for the smart story line, but Frank's film has a tough edge to it which makes for pleasantly adult viewing, though some people may be disturbed by the scenes of women being tortured (even if it is mainly just implied). The fact that many years ago this was mooted to be Joe Carnahan's follow up to Narc should give you some idea of the tone. Frank's direction is solid (without being spectacular) and you know you're on safe ground when it comes to the screenplay as that has been Frank's main breadwinner for a long time now. The whole film is almost kiboshed though (and loses a point in my review) by "cool urban kid" sidekick character played with zero acting talent by Brian Bradley. His smartass smugness is face slappingly annoying. The next Neeson cab off the rank is Jaume Collet-Serra's Run All Night which, get this, is virtually a re-make of Sam Mendes's Road to Perdition. A serious doff of the cap to who first spotted that. Anyway, we have Neeson as an ex-mob enforcer who, when a drug deal goes south, gets involved in protecting his innocent son from all sorts of heavies (inc. big bad Ed Harris - chewing scenery at some points, acting brilliantly at others). This is the third time Neeson has teamed with Collet-Serra and it's the weakest effort so far. Though there's plenty of gun play and fisticuffs going on, the plot is too convoluted meaning Collet-Serra can't settle on whether this is a drama, thriller or action film and the whole thing gets a bit messy. Worth catching on a Friday night, perhaps. Certainly not worth catching at any point (unless you're a budding director and are keen to learn how not to direct a film) is Neeson's return (surely by reasons of contractual demands only) to the role of former covert operative Bryan Mills in the latest film in the Taken series. If you were one of the seven people on the planet who liked the last film you'll like this one. If you not, forget the plot and actually challenge yourself to see if you can work out what the bloody hell is going on during the toothless action sequences that returning director Olivier Megaton (and, presumably his editor) have cut in such an incoherent manner it suggests that Megaton’s cat tore up the negative the night before the films release with Megaton then reassembling the pieces whilst wearing a blindfold. Also loses marks for Forest Whitaker as a detective with "quirks" (something to do with chess pieces and elastic bands) and the bad guy at the end fighting in a pair of white Y-Fronts. Seriously? Tombstones Rating: 7/10. Night Rating: 6/10. Taken Rating: 4/10.