Exodus: Gods and Kings

Director of photography Tom Townend stated a few years ago that a natural consequence of today's trailers increasingly mimicking the three act structure of main stream films meant that every moment of the finished product played as rote. Ridley Scott's latest is an interesting case in point as, not taking the actual trailer into account, how can a film that is based on such well known source material (in this case the biblical tale of Moses) not come across as routine? In Scott's case his approach is to make the film as loose an interpretation as possible. Now based on Darron Aronofsky taking the same approach with the awful Noah, coupled with the fact the last film Sir Ridley directed was the dire The Counsellor, this doesn't bode well at all. However, Exodus is passable entertainment. It does have a problem when it comes to reviewing it though. Scott is an agnostic and has stated that means he was the perfect choice to direct such a tale. Really? Whatever your religious beliefs, surely if you're presenting one of the Old Testament's most iconic episodes you would want to make it as accurate to it's source material as possible? In addition, doesn't this also make Scott a massive hypocrite? He's not sure he believes (which is fair enough), but that doesn't seem to stop him trousering plenty of dosh for helming this production. Anyway, I digress and this argument is for another time and place. The best thing to do when watching Exodus is to put aside thoughts of historical accuracy and just enjoy this for what it is and no more. If you're not au fait with the story of the exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt, we have Moses (Christian Bale) taking a stance against the Pharaoh Ramesses (Joel Edgerton) - death and destruction does follow. Scott's love (read - ridiculous overuse) of CGI has been a joke for years now and there's many scenes here that you could pretty much just cut and paste into some of his other "epics". That's not to say there isn't some great visual moments here (the ten deadly plagues are impressively realised), but any characterisation (despite Bale's best efforts) gets lost amongst the stop / start mayhem. Things aren't helped by some odd casting choices and costumes, with Ben Mendelsohn drawing the short straw here by being applied with so much make-up he looks like a camp oversized Oompa-Loompa. If you've got a spare two and half hours (gulp) there's just enough here to grab the attention, but it's been a long time since Scott made a really great film and it's clear his powers have been on the wane for quite a while now. Rating: 6/10.

The Theory Of Everything

James Marsh is best known for his documentaries Man on Wire and Project Nim, but his subject matter here is somewhat more hefty than a spiky Frenchman and, er, a chimpanzee, as TTOE is a biopic of Stephen Hawking, one of the most famous and well known people on the planet. Marsh is a skilled film maker though and, coupled with Anthony McCarten's sharp screenplay, this is a highly enjoyable film. To be blunt, Hawking is pretty much known for three things; his theoretical analyses, his disability and marrying his nurse. Marsh's picture covers all three, but the majority of the picture is spent analysing Hawking's relationship with his first wife Jane. The film itself is actually based on Jane's memoir of her life with Hawking, but it's balanced throughout neither painting Hawking as saint or sinner and gives an adult examination of how disability can affect a relationship. Both lead performances are superb, with Eddie Redmayne impressively nailing the hefty challenge of portraying Hawking's physical deterioration. Felicity Jones is, arguably, even better in her role as Jane, stoically coping with the complexities of the hand that has been dealt to both her husband and herself. Marsh's direction is fairly static throughout (though it doesn't really need to be anything more), but one of his main skills is getting tasteful laughs from difficult issues and Theory continues this trend, especially is capturing Hawking's well known wit and dry humour. There are a few problems though towards the end of the film with Marsh throwing in a mawkish dream sequence where Hawking rises from his wheelchair and picks up a pencil during a presentation. It feels both patronising to Hawking and us, the paying audience, and it's a bit of a mystery as to why it's included as it goes completely against the grain of not laying it on thick as throughout the rest of the film. Also, any need for a flashback sequence as well? I'm pretty certain most of the audience don't need reminding of what they've just say through during the previous 120 minutes. Overall though this is a entertaining picture being in terms romantic, funny, poignant and thought provoking and, yes, that is Frank Leboeuf cameoing as a Swiss doctor. Some things even Hawking wouldn't be able to explain.....Rating: 8/10.

Best and Worst Films of 2014

Ah, it's the middle of June 2015 so obviously it's time for my lists of the Best and Worst Films of 2014. Ahem. Getting on with it then and to quote Filth: “same rules apply”, i.e. a film is classified as “2014” if it had its mainstream UK release in that year and that the ten best films are an heterogeneous collective that should have something in there for most peeps to enjoy (plus honourable mentions to Dallas Buyers Club, The Babadook and Paddington that didn’t quite make the cut). Though the eagle-eyed amongst you may spot that Whiplash didn’t get a full UK release until January 2015, but as it was the first film I’ve ever given full marks to out of over five hundred different reviews it deserves it’s place as 2014’s brightest shining light. Looking over the top ten list its good to see the majority of films are (relatively speaking, of course) low budget productions meaning that perhaps the battle against Marvel, Michael Bay etc. isn't lost yet. Finally, The Golden Bug was the worst film I saw all year, but in sticking to the rules, as I actually walked out well before the end I can’t honestly say I can give it a full review.........

Best Films of 2014
1) Whiplash
2) Edge Of Tomorrow
3) Blue Ruin
4) Begin Again
5) Starred Up
6) Nightcrawler
7) Guardians Of The Galaxy
8) Birdman
9) The Imitation Game
10) 12 Years A Slave

Worst Films of 2014
1) A Million Ways To Die In The West
2) Transformers: Age Of Extinction
3) Lucy
4) Noah
5) The Inbetweeners 2
6) The Expendables 3
7) Robocop
8) The Book Thief
9) The Monuments Men
10) Fury

Round Up of 2014, Part Three: The Judge / The Drop / The Maze Runner / St Vincent / Gone Girl

Right let’s shoot through this final round up and if David Dobkin's new film (The Judge) is anything like his last film (the atrocious The Change-Up), then this first review shouldn’t take much time at all. Dobkin’s drama has Hank (Robert Downey Jr), a successfully smarmy attorney, return from the big city to his small home town on hearing that his mother has passed away. Whilst there he knocks heads with his father Joseph (Robert Duvall), a respected local Judge, and eventually ends up defending him in court when Joseph is accused for killing someone in a hit and run. There’s some good moments here (at one point Downey Jr and Duvall have a great verbal set to), but they’re few and far between and you’ll spend the whole film wondering how Dobkin and the casting agent thought it was credible to have people believe that Downey Jr, Vincent D'Onofrio and Jeremy Strong are all brothers (no, seriously). You just know this isn’t going to grip you when the courtroom scenes are ruined by a soppy soundtrack and Dobkin not even giving Billy Bob Thornton (as “Dwight Dickham” – seriously, who comes up with these names?) free reign to ham it up as a rival solicitor. The father / son part aside, this is basically Gross Pointe Blank, but with lawyers, less guns and a lot less fun. Talking of not much fun (for the characters in this case), Michaël R. Roskam’s The Drop is based in New York, concerns family and secrets, and is written by Dennis Lehane. I think you can conjure up the rest for yourself. For added info though, Tom Hardy plays Bob (though clearly not at the age yet where anyone would call a Robert, “Bob”), a bartender in a Brooklyn bar through which dirty money passes. A robbery gone wrong later and Bob finds himself involved in an investigation he’d rather not be, whilst at the same time trying to woo local girl Nadia (Noomi Rapace) and not falling foul of her intimidating ex Eric (Matthias Schoenaerts). In reality there isn’t anything here you haven’t seen before, but there’s a few nice twists and good turns from all the main leads. Though I still can’t tell, following Schoenaerts’ performances of few words in Rust and Bone and Bullhead, whether he’s actually a good actor or not (see “Mark Whalberg” for further details). Talking of things you’ve seen before here comes Theodore Melfi’s directorial debut St Vincent. Bill Murray stars as the eponymous character, a rude hedonistic Vietnam vet who by some plot machinations finds himself baby sitting the timid son of his new next door neighbour (Melissa McCarthy). Now can you guess what happens next? If you think its “Does Vincent teach the son how to be a man and the son teach Vincent not to be such a horrible git”? you don’t even win a prize – it’s just too obvious. That isn’t to say this is a bad film mind. It’s good to see McCarthy expanding her range into more dramatic territory and Naomi Watts is great fun as Vincent’s bonkers Russian “friend”. Melfi’s script and direction is economic enough that you don’t really notice any low or high points, but people who don’t worship the cult of Murray will probably best be advised to steer clear. Plus, any fans of singer-songwriter Annie Clark will be bitterly disappointed (a gag for the yoof there). Moving on we have another directorial debut with Wes Ball’s The Maze Runner (and if that isn’t a title for I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue’s sound charades round I don’t know what is), which is, wait for it, a science fiction dystopian action thriller drama – for kids! Well, young adults. Yep, we’re into the latest release for teenagers along the lines of The Hunger Games, Divergent et al. This time we have a group of teenage boys living in “The Glade”, an enclosed exterior environment, in which they have been deposited for reasons unknown and from which they can only escape by trying their luck in a huge and deadly every changing maze that surrounds them. You want a mash-up? Lets say the TV Series Lost v Vincenzo Natali’s Cube. Though the premise is old hat now (subjugated teenagers v shadowy governments / unseen forces) the target audience will lap this up. It doesn’t really crossover into full attention grabbing entertainment for adults, but if you do see the film (young or not so young) Ball does pull off the nifty tricky of having a payoff that leaves you wanting to see the next instalment. Finally we have David Fincher’s latest, Gone Girl, based on the best-selling novel by Gillian Flynn (who provides scripting duties here). GG is one of those films where the entertainment value correlates with how much you know beforehand as the film pivots on a twist half-way through. The high-end overview is that one day Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) comes home from work and discovers his wife Amy (Rosamund Pike) is AWOL. The police and media get involved and before long the finger of suspicion is pointing in Nick’s direction. I’ll leave it there story wise. Overall this has plenty going for it. On the acting front Affleck is solid, but it’s the usually (relatively) bland Pike who pulls out all the stops here. Clearly relishing her chance to show off her chops as one of the leads in a major production she gives a cracking turn showing hitherto versatility. In fact the whole film is nicely cast with, get this, even Tyler Perry providing great fun as Nick’s laid back wise-cracking solicitor. As this is Fincher the direction is visually spot on and the whole film has a stylish sheen to it. Where it starts to fall apart is the actual story which doesn’t grip as it should (not helped by a poor ending) and there are plot holes galore. In addition the tone is all over the place. Fincher is hardly known for his sense of humour (though his films do have a number of genuinely funny (usually black) moments), but here it's hard to tell if we should be taking the whole shebang seriously or not (the films only real scene of shocking violence is as bonkers as it is bloody). Usually a director of such stock as Fincher would mean his film would have it’s own separate review, but, including this, three of his last four films suggest he isn’t operating at full throttle at the moment. Let’s hope his rediscovers some of his old mojo next time round. The Judge Rating: 5/10. The Drop Rating: 7/10. Runner Rating: 6/10. Vincent Rating: 7/10. Girl Rating: 7/10.

Round Up of 2014, Part Two: Pride / Mr Turner / Black Sea

A few local (relatively) low budget films here which I've lumped in together as they're all noble efforts, enjoyable in parts, but unlikely to lead to you shelling out for the Blu-ray. At first glance you might hesitate at using your hard earned free time to watch Matthew Warchus’ Pride – I mean, do we really need yet another British production (regardless of the decent quality of previous efforts) concerning lefties and the miners? Warchus’ film has a USP though, as its based on the true story of a group of lesbian and gay activists who, back in 1984, raised money for miner’s families affected by their battles with the man (well, wo-man in this case – you know who). The crux of the film concerns the local community coming to terms with differing sexualities and accepting financial and moral help from the activists. Warchus hasn’t directed a film since 1999’s Simpatico (though since then he’s become a fairly large cheese in theatre land) and his direction is one-note all the way through. However, the film is elevated by some great performances (an understated Bill Nighy gives one of his best performances ever as he doesn’t play Bill Nighy for once) and Stephen Beresford’s sharp script provides many a laugh. This is an old fashioned crowd pleaser which, despite it’s flaws (it doesn’t have a tough edge to it like Billy Elliot, Brassed Off et al.) we should still be rejoicing in its appearance – I mean, could you see such a film ever being green lit in the States? You’ll be unsurprised to hear that a musical adaptation for the stage is being planned. Lets move on to Mr Turner - an effort that is as British as a Mike Leigh film starring Timothy Spall. Which this is. The film charts the last quarter of the life of celebrated artist JMW Turner (Spall), but its probably best you come prepared for this with a bit of background knowledge as Leigh does little to help out the average viewer. The film itself is hit and miss. Though Spall gives his usual solid performance, do we really know that Turner spent his whole time mumbling or grunting? On that front, Leigh doesn’t really get under the skin of Turner, though as all we have is written accounts of the man that’s hardly surprising. Spall’s Turner is basically a curmudgeon and at times its hard to really care what he gets up to. The film is actually stolen by the actresses who play two of the main women in the latter stages of Turner’s life. Marion Bailey brings quiet dignity to the role of Sophia Booth (Turner’s landlady and lover), but it’s Dorothy Atkinson as Hannah Danby (Turner’s housekeeper) who really tugs at the heartstrings with her lifelong unrequited love for Turner only being acknowledge by him via sexual exploitation. Though why Leigh continues to cast the dull as ditch water Ruth Sheen (a lacklustre cameo here) remains a mystery. The film has some great moments (look for the scene at the Royal Academy of Arts where Spall smugly improves one of his paintings) and Dick Pope’s cinematography is beautiful. Overall though it’s not as entertaining or informative as you’d hope and its way too long. Finally, lets finish off with some silly goings on in Kevin Macdonald’s submarine based thriller Black Sea. Jude Law puts on a (hit and miss) Scottish accent as Robinson, a recently laid off captain of under-sea salvages who, backed by a mandatory shadowy figure in the background, rounds up a crew of men in order to help locate a sunken German U-boat that is allegedly laden with gold. Each man will get a cut of anything they find, but it doesn’t take them long to realise that the less crew there is, the more there is to go round. Dennis Kelly’s script is no great shakes (amongst the crew we have people playing to type - Scott McNairy as a snivelling suit; Ben Mendelsohn, wait for it, twitchy and unhinged), but instead of making it the standard free for all, Kelly nicely pitches the men at loggerheads via cultural divides (Brits v Russians). This is mainly Friday night dumb fun (there’s a ludicrous bit on the submarine involving a lottery ticket), but there’s a frustrating hint that this could have been a lot more in a stupendous scene where the men attempt to transfer the gold from the U-boat. It’s unbelievably tense and a masterpiece in direction by Macdonald. It’s a shame the rest of the film doesn’t hit similar heights, though Black Sea will go down in history for having one of the greatest ever entries on the films Trivia page on IMDB – “Jude Law is not actually Scottish”. In summation re all three films, they’re all enjoyable in their own different ways, but unlikely to elicit further viewings. Rating (all three films): 7/10.

'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.