After the success of The Imitation Game, director Morten Tyldum has become a name people want at the helm of their next blockbuster.
Now he is embarking the world of sci-fi with two huge A-list actors. With this film also being a Christmas release, high expectations were certainly being planted into this project.
I'm afraid to say that there is a part of me that consider this to be a disappointment. However, it is certainly not a bad film.
It opens up to an interesting concept, and it was moving along nicely. As for the second act, it is not as engaging as the first one was. The writers seem to not think of anymore ideas on where the concept in the first act could go. So they added something to move it along. It's fine what they do. But I was more interested in what was happening before that. Then in the final act, while thrilling, it is pretty formulaic and predictable.
The performances were solid on the whole. Chris Pratt was good. His charisma keeps you engaged, he was given good depth, and his general execution was very satisfying. Jennifer Lawrence was definitely inferior. But she still did good with what she had. Michael Sheen was pretty good in his minor role. It is a shame that he recently announced that he is quitting from acting to be involved in activism, as his performance reminded how good of an actor he still is.
Its strongest positives are most definitely the visual effects and score. The CGI mixed really well with the set designs. It was great to look at, and the technology shown in this film was clever and very believable.
The score by Thomas Newman felt really dreamy throughout. It felt the right type of score to have for the setting that this film had. I always love a good score, and I wouldn't be embarrassed to go back and listen to this.
Sadly, there are some fairly strong negatives to speak about. The script was pretty basic and weak. There was no depth to it and little or no comedic moments that made me laugh.
The story as a whole is nothing spectacular and has a fair amount of flaws when you break it down. In terms of action and set-pieces, there is very little you have not seen before. There were a lot of moments that reminded of films like Prometheus, Cast Away, 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Shining and Gravity.
First and foremost, it is a disappointment. There is great opportunity in the concept, and it was sadly wasted. But if you go into it with low expectations and switch your mind off, then you can get a good time out of it. It's great to look at, I certainly wasn't bored watching it, Pratt and Lawrence are good together, and they both move the film along well. Sadly, it did not feel memorable or give anything new to the sci-fi genre. It did not make me want to watch it again or own a copy of it.
It would be interesting to see this film without Pratt and Lawrence as the leads. It may have been a much less enjoyable or terrible ride.
Well, it's been a year since Star Wars returned with The Force Awakens. The hype for it was ridiculous and it broke various box office records. I felt it was a good installment. But I think the similarities with A New Hope prevented me from giving it a high rating.
Now that The Force Awakens is past us, the Star Wars franchise is now just beginning a new era. It seems like we are going to have a Star Wars film each year, for the next few years. Whether it be films being added to the main saga, or stand alone films, the Star Wars universe is certainly aiming to expand in a way that fans could only have experienced in the TV series and books in the past.
With this particular new release, it sees this popular space opera go into new territory, and that is the first film to be released that is outside of the main story. I consider myself a hardcore fan of the films, nothing more. When I first heard about their plans for this film, I found it simple to work out when this was being set. I still find it amazing that there are some general film fans out there that still don't know when this is set. Those people have to be either that stupid, or they just don't care.
Whether they are or not, I am certainly super hyped for another Star Wars film. My excitement levels for The Force Awakens was off the scale. For Rogue One, they were not as high, but they were still up there. I think it's because we are now in a regular swing of Star Wars films, that it will eventually become the norm of every film calendar. Oh and as usual, I have avoided all trailers of any kind.
I have to admit the lack of the opening crawling text at the start was strange. But as soon as the film starts, you are already too busy being engrossed by whats happening on screen.
Even though the outcome had massive implications, the story itself felt really small and contained. That was a really smart move, and it gave us time to concentrate on the characters and rather than trying and find anything that might link to the main saga.
By the time the third act comes around, this films really puts the 'War' into Star Wars. It has such a strong finish that will make you punch in the air delight. It plays out like a war film really well throughout, and I think that was the perfect approach.
Also, it expands the Star Wars universe massively. We are transported to so many new places and meet countless new characters. That was really great to see, and that showed confidence in them not being afraid of being different from the main saga story.
Gareth Edwards is at the helm for this one, and I must say he has done a great job. I really enjoyed his previous works 'Monsters' and 'Godzilla'. The gritty tone and general production design of it was spot on. Where the Force Awakens seem to lack in imagination, this has it in abundance.
His use of practical effects was really impressive, and managed to look really similar to the original trilogy. Edwards and his team also managed to merge in the visual effects will no flaws whatsoever. I can certainly see that getting an Oscar nomination. The camera positioning of heavy visual effects moments gave us real scale of the objects. That is something Edwards did really well in Godzilla, and it really shows here as well.
The performances are all great, Felicity Jones is a strong lead and is another memorable hero being added to the franchise. Her relationship with Diego Luna's character was solid and made their outcome really powerful.
There were so many fantastic minor roles to speak of. Alan Tudyk pulled his role off well with some good comedic relief. Donnie Yen was terrifically bad-ass and quite possibly stole the show for me. Ben Mendelsohn was developed really well and became such a fascinating character to watch. Riz Ahmed continues to show how great of an actor he is becoming, and this film shows it. Forest Whitaker was really good for the short time he was on screen. Also Wen Jiang and Mads Mikkelsen did a solid job.
Lots of things to like from the technical side. The action is phenomenal, both on planets and in space. It is just like the action we have seen from the original trilogy. From the way it is paced, to the structure and execution of it. This film certainly feels more like it belongs with episodes IV, V and VI than anywhere else.
The writing was really good. There was really meaningful dialogue moments that was vital in developing the characters......but only up to a point. There were some characters that we hardly knew about, and yet they were on screen for some time. Thankfully, it is a very minor problem as the script on the whole is very well constructed.
The score by Michael Giacchino was pretty good. It is nowhere near as strong as John Williams' scores, as they seem to become a character in themselves. But Giacchino's is good enough to move the film along nicely.
While I have given it a lot of praise. I would like to be nit-picky for just a moment. While I am giving it a high rating, it won't get to the heights of any of the original trilogy films. The main reason for that is that first and second acts did have dips in its momentum. It wasn't strong throughout. It was only until the final act when I was fully engrossed with the film.
That being said, I think this film is a lot of fun and one of the most enjoyable films of the year. I can see some people going into this film thinking that it just going to be all nostalgia and the story won't have any impact as we all know how it ends. I feel confident that you will come out completely disagreeing with your past self. It is clear that the film-makers don't come into this with a safe approach. They really go for it and they make story engaging, well developed and it made the execution of it all really satisfying. The action is amazing, the characters were entertaining and it is one of the few blockbusters I have seen this year that I would rank as high as the awards contenders.
One huge positive is that it ties into A New Hope so so well. It teases stuff from the originals in such a way that was really clever in its execution. The references are there, but they never over-power the film or feel shoe-horned in. That for me shows trust in this story and that it engrosses the audience.
I must give a word of warning. While Star Wars has always appealed to peoples of all ages. I'm not so sure if young kids will get into this one as they did with The Force Awakens. There is a lot of war-esque action, and it is most certainly not light-hearted. It is clear that the general feel of it is more for adults. But I think older kids will be able to cope with it and truly appreciate it more than younger ones.
So many generations have been brought up with this franchise. I will always remember my parents giving me the first Star Wars on video for my 7th birthday. This was just before the 20th anniversary special editions came out. It has been a huge part of mine and many others peoples lives. This is a brilliant addition to the franchise, and I am now not afraid of any future films that will be set outside of the main saga. If Episode VIII or the next Anthology film is as good or better than Rogue One, then we are set for some amazing next few years.
This decade has certainly seen many new breed of actors, and Jennifer Lawrence has probably the biggest impact. Since her breakthrough in 2010, she is has won a BAFTA, three Golden Globes and an Oscar, as well as a handful of nominations.
While her main interest is indies, most of her profit and popularity have come from being involved in two major franchises.
Out of her 27 films, I have seen 19 of them. I will rank all of the films I have seen, and then give a short review for each of my top 10:
19) Serena
18) House At The End Of The Street
17) X-Men: Dark Phoenix
16) Red Sparrow
15) No Hard Feelings
14) Passengers
13) The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2
12) The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1
11) X-Men: Apocalypse
10) Don't Look Up - Lawrence's latest work. I'm rarely going nuts for satire's, but I thought this was good enough.
There was enough ridiculousness that made me laugh. But it also felt scarily real that it was more tragedy than comedy and in the end became rather depressing.
Not quite the complete package. But enjoyable enough.
9) Winter's Bone - The film that got people interested in Lawrence's talent. It sees her play a daughter of a troubled family. While searching for her drug-dealing Dad, she is trying to keep the rest of her family intact.
Nominated for 4 Oscars, including Best Actress, this is definitely a strong showing by Lawrence.
8) X-Men: Days Of Future Past - The film that got the franchise back on track. It sees director Bryan Singer back at the helm and a lot of the original cast.
It is a great return to form as the new breed of characters mixed really with the original.
Lawrence's character is set out to kill the President and believing it will prevent a war with mutants.
7) Joy - Lawrence plays the title character, and this film tells the story of the beginnings of a powerful business dynasty.
I had no idea what the film was about, and was amazed that it was a true story.
Director David O. Russell gives us a really interesting and well-told story. Lawrence and the rest of the cast is great.
6) The Hunger Games: Catching Fire - A really enjoyable sequel to the four film franchise. It sees Katniss and Peeta return to compete in the games, one year after becoming the first ever co-champions.
With this games only involving previous winners, it sparks a rebellion within Panem.
5) The Hunger Games - The film that most audiences would have been introduced to Lawrence.
Based on a popular series of young adult novels, it sees the daughter of a struggling family take her sisters place in an annual televised competition, which is a fight to the death.
I always like this type of a concept and the execution of it works really well.
4) American Hustle - Nominated for an astonishing 10 Oscars, this complex crime drama sees a con-man being forced to work with an FBI agent and enter into the world of the mafia.
I think the complexity might put people off. But the rest, it is a heavily detailed story with some powerful performances.
All the stellar cast are on top form, including Lawrence. She plays the wife of the con-man, played by Christian Bale.
3) Mother! - A dark and creepy horror-thriller which sees a couples relationship tested when unexpected guest start to arrive.
Director Darren Aronofsky does his best to unsettle you with this film that feels more like a nightmare. Yet I still couldn't take my eyes off of it.
2) Silver Linings Playbook - David O. Russell's Oscar-winning comedy drama, sees a teacher aiming to get back with his ex-wife.
Meanwhile, he meets a mysterious girl (played by Lawrence) with problems of her own.
The amazing performances and strange charm to it makes it a highly engaging piece to watch.
1) X-Men: First Class - We see the X-Men franchise go back to before the team even existed. We are in the 1960's and the U.S government enlists humans with special abilities to stop a dangerous man that could start World War III.
Everything about it screams blockbuster. It is fun, exciting, thrilling, action-packed and everything you want from a superhero film.
Lawrence plays Raven, a mutant who can turn into anyone.
I think I can speak for a lot of people that it has been a long time since director Oliver Stone has made a great film.
For me, his last one was Any Given Sunday from 1999. For a lot of others, they would probably go for Nixon from 1995 or Natural Born Killers from 1994.
From the turn of the century, all of Stone's features have either been disappointing or fine at best. Now, any of his new releases does not seem that big of an event anymore.
However, I do remain hopeful. His latest project sees something we know very well with this director, and that is portray a controversial person or subject from America's recent history. This time, he is concentrating on former CIA employee Edward Snowden.
His unprecedented activity in recent years has divided everyone. Some people call him either a hero, some a traitor. For Stone, he has probably called him a great opportunity for another film.
This film will certainly divide people. But only on how you approach it. If you have seen the brilliant 2014 film documentary Citizenfour, then you will know what to expect.
If you have not seen it, and are not aware of it, then I can see you being quite gripped and intrigued by this film.
The amount of knowledge you get from Citizenfour is astonishing and it manages to be incredibly thrilling. As for the film, the majority of the story will not be as fascinating.
The performances were fairly good overall. Joseph Gordon-Levitt does a fantastic job when playing Snowden. It's actually quite a transformation. He was definitely the perfect cast for that role.
I also really liked Shailene Woodley's performance. She continues to have a really likable vibe about her, and her character's vulnerable sense was great to watch. The relationship with Gordon-Levitt's character gave the film great depth. In fact, she has become an very accomplished actor. Outside of the Divergent films she has starred in, her performances have been pretty good to watch. The Spectacular Now is definitely worth checking out, if you want to see how good she is.
Rhys Ifans was pretty good in his minor role. He almost looks unrecognisable, and his American accent definitely helps in you not thinking of the Welsh actor.
Nicholas Cage plays a small role in this, and it is amazingly rather good. His performance was a really nice surprise. Especially, when his career of late has been quite bad.
It is great seeing Zachary Quinto in something that is not Star Trek or Heroes. He did well with what he had. If you are stuck for other Quinto features, then I would recommend Margin Call.
Sadly, while a lot of it is done really well, as a whole, it is not strong enough to be highly memorable and I cannot see myself watching it again.
I think Stone has done a good job. It is shot really well, the computer jargon is simplified enough for us to understand it and work out the rest logically. The writing was fine. But I think for something about Edward Snowden, I think maybe someone like Aaron Sorkin would have been best suited for this subject.
I could be cruel and say that the pacing is kind of slow. But I only noticed that until after seeing the movie. It might be because the character of Edward Snowden is not that much of an engaging character.
I think compared to the documentary, this feature is inferior. But I don't think that's the point. I think this is aimed for the mainstream audience, who have likely not seen or are aware of the documentary. If you base it on that, then the film I felt worked really well.
There is some interesting content in there for even people who have already seen the documentary, and it certainly kept me interested enough to give this a solid rating.
But whether you watch Snowden or not, I think Citizenfour is well worth discovering. When you think films based on a true story is gripping. Seeing the real thing play out in front of your eyes is even more fixating.
I don't think it is the great return to form that I think many were hoping from Stone. But it is most definitely not one of his worst. He's done a solid job with this and it tells the story well for the mainstream audience, especially when this story is still relevant.
From the start of 2016, this film has been talked about non-stop. It's debut at the Sundance Film Festival in January saw sold-out screenings and standing ovations BEFORE the film. The reviews from the film sounded fairly positive, but nothing that mirrored the anticipation for Oscar success.
For me, this sounded like a film that was going to be an incredibly one-sided story with no subtlety in it whatsoever. With all the discussions from last years Oscars being labelled as 'white-washing', this film to me felt like a response to that, and they are expecting to get some recognition in the awards season, whether they deserve it or not. That therefore made me apprehensive to go and see it.
After seeing the trailer, I saw some promise in terms of its film-making. That being said, the in-your-face content was noticeable.
After weighing up everything else, I felt it was right to see it and make my own assumption of it and that I should never separate art from the artists involved.
In the end, I am sort of glad I did. It is always to criticize a film portraying a topic that you pretty much have to tread carefully. But I feel I am confident in giving the review it deserves.
I must mention that it is the directorial debut for Nate Parker, who also stars as the main character. Also, while it is billing itself as a true story, it is using that term loosely. There is little information on the events or characters the film is portraying. So there is a lot of gaps to fill, and Parker does not hold up on what is left for the imagination.
The imagery is most certainly strong, powerful, graphic, and at times gory. There were times where I could see some violent moments feeling gratuitous. But most of it seemed to mean something to the story, as the tone was pretty strong anyway.
There is some really nice cinematography throughout, with many well constructed haunting images. But there were some oddly timed metaphorical imagery, that while it being shot well, did not seem to make as much sense as I felt it was trying to.
As for the story, the first two acts are developed well, I enjoyed the performances and where it was going. However the third act seems to take a major shift in tone with the story and the motives of the characters. That putt me off as I felt the final third was an unrated-version of the story I was just watching.
The performances on the whole very good and realistic. I have to give my due to Nate Parker. You can totally see the passion in this project within the performance. It is consistently strong and carries the film well to make the overall experience worthwhile.
I was really surprised to Armie Hammer in this. Despite all the coverage I have been reading and hearing, his name never seemed to crop up anywhere. His performance was pretty good. I felt I connected well with his on-screen partnership with Parker's character.
It was great to see Jackie Earle Hayley play a disgusting character as he has done that really well in the past. Other performances that were worth mentioning were the ones from Penelope Ann-Miller and Aja Naomi King.
What I think is the main fault with this, is the lack of depth to the story, characters and the story structure being quite conventional and cliched. In some way, it felt like a TV movie. What I mean by that, is that TV movies usually go for spiritually uplifting or emotional stories and execute in a way that feels that they are forcing us to feel like this. The Birth Of A Nation does that, but not as extreme as most TV movies do.
It is still a good film with a lot of ambition, especially in the imagery. But I think it lacks of depth compared with something like '12 Years A Slave' will not make this as memorable. A directorial debut is never an easy one, and I think that was the main thing lacking in Parker's film.
Nevertheless, I think you should see it for the ambition, if you are interested in this particular subject, and if you want to know what all the fuss is about.
I think if it was done with a bit more experience behind the camera, then I think we would have been the seeing an Oscar worthy film that I think Parker and his team were aiming for.
It will probably do better then it would normally have done. It has been made at the right time, and all of its excitement with the studios going a bit nuts on wanting to fund this has given this the coverage that it needs. Fair to play to Parker and his crew, for a solid job.
We are now at the time of year when Oscar contenders are starting to show their cards.
One film that is getting a surprising amount of notice in the awards race is 'A Monster Calls'. This was originally going to be released in the summer. But after the reviews it was getting in the film festivals, they pushed it back to the winter.
It is not often to see a fantasy film be involved in getting major award nominations. But director J.A Bayona seems to have created something that is winning the critics over.
Bayona has only just begun building his catalogue of directed feature films. However, he has done pretty well so far. I have yet to see 'The Orphanage', but I have heard good things, and I liked 'The Impossible' a lot more then I thought I would. With his next project being the sequel to Jurassic World, the film industry certainly has high hopes for him.
First and foremost, I liked it. However, while it aims to be emotionally powerful, I think it was trying to be bigger and more profound then it actually is. I liked the story that it was going for and the general development of it all.
The mix of CGI and live-action was really well done I thought. The construction and design of the monster character was great to see. It was like watching the Ent creatures from 'The Lord Of The Rings' all over again or Groot from Guardians Of The Galaxy. There were also some gorgeous segments of watercoloured animation imagery. They certainly reminded me of the story of the 'Deathly Hallows' segment in Harry Potter.
There is one big tear-jerker that gives the film a big emotional punch. It almost got me bawling my eyes out.
But I think the main reason not liking it as much, was that I could see where the movie was going and so I did not invest enough into the film to give a high rating. Also, there were moments that I felt the film was spoon-feeding us the emotions that we should be feeling at that point. Slight moments like that put me off.
As for the performances, Lewis MacDougall was clearly the start that carries this film. The youngster was really good as the lead character, and he certainly had a powerful screen presence that showcased his talents.
Felicity Jones did well what she had. However, I would have liked to see more moments on screen with MacDougall. Liam Neeson did some really good voice-work as the monster.
Toby Kebbell was fine. But I also felt him to be a slightly odd choice of casting for a film like this.
I was not sure what to make of Sigourney Weaver's character. I'm not sure if she was supposed to be British as they accent felt muddled to me.
Don't forget, that I did like this. I wouldn't let my sniffy comments put you off seeing this. I would still highly recommend seeing this on the big screen. It is worth your money and I can definitely see it winning a lot of fans and become a big tear-jerker with many demographics. It is always nice to see a fantasy film work really well. If you liked films like Pan's Labyrinth, Bridge To Terabithia or either version of The BFG, then I think you will enjoy this as well.
One thing I am torn on, is whether this should be suitable for kids. The story is coming from a child's point of view and has a lot of fantasy elements that would usually draw them in. But a lot of the content is heavy and emotional, and I think that might put off or scare the younger ones. I think mature kids would be more ideal on not only coping with this movie, but enjoying it.
The Boxing genre is one that I feel usually struggles to be high up on my films of the year lists.
I feel this because most of them need to have a certain structure to it, has little else to branch out and be a stand-out from other Boxing films.
That phrase "you've seen one, you've seen them all" perfectly fits this particular genre.
However, there are some exceptions like the first Rocky, Cinderella Man, Creed, Million Dollar Baby, Raging Bull and The Fighter. I could put Warrior into this category, even though it is more mixed martial arts than Boxing. It is still one-on-one fighting.
I was going in with low expectations as it was a Boxing movie. But as it had Miles Teller and Aaron Eckhart in it, and that it's based on a true story, I could see promise in this.
While it is certainly not bad, I can't see myself going back to it anytime soon. If you are a fan of Boxing movies, you will not be disappointed. For me, it was a perfectly fine couple of hours that was performed well enough to be give a pass rating.
I must admit that it is quite an impressive story. Thankfully, they sensationalise very little with the actual story. There are moments where they do actually use the archive footage. So I think if they done this as a documentary, this would have been a more successful film and interesting watch. But as a film, the true story element does help it.
Another thing that helps it is the performances. Miles Teller gave a good performance as the lead. His opening scene sets the tone really well and you see tell throughout that Teller is passionate about this and made sure his physical presence that the guy he is portraying.
While Teller is all about the physical performance, Aaron Eckhart was the stand-out the more conventional style of acting. His constant delivery made him an interesting character to watch and develop.
The only other performance that was worth mentioning was Ciaran Hinds. It is a fine performance that helped the film move along during its slower moments.
One part of a Boxing film that needs to work, is the Boxing itself. Those scenes were fine. I've seen better, more brutal and visceral. But I have certainly seen worse. With something like Creed still fresh in the mind, and the way they execute their fighting scenes, 'Bleed For This' massively undermines it.
However, I have to mention the films saving grace in the very final scene. Without giving away any spoilers, it is quite a powerful send off that came out of nowhere. That moment alone gave me a nod of approval towards the end.
While I am confident in saying that there is nothing for me that stood out or I will remember after reviewing this. It is still a solid feature that will be a welcomed addition to the Boxing film family. Everything is done to a solid standard and the true story is something to admire.
The film did remind me of Southpaw. The 2015 feature was another solid Boxing film that could not compete with the best films of that year.
It may be similar in terms of the quality and experience. But I would give Southpaw the edge, as the performances were stronger and the actual Boxing was slightly better. However, both are cliched enough to not stand-out from the pack.
For almost the last decade, Walt Disney Animation Studios continue to grow their current golden era.
It contains many great hits such as The Princess And The Frog, Tangled, Wreck-It Ralph, Frozen, Big Hero 6 and Zootropolis.
Now, Disney are off to the Pacific Islands in search of a new hit. With the studio being on such a hot streak at the moment, I wanted to avoid any sort of clips or trailers in the build-up. They already has released Zootropolis earlier in the year, and it would take quite an achievement to top it. So I made sure to not go in with high expectations.
I've now seen it, and I think we need to add this to the slate of this current crops of modern Disney classics. I think if any hardcore Disney fan wants another great film, they expect great animation, strong characters, memorable songs and a story with profound themes and messages. I think they will all get what they want.
The animation is fantastic. The Pacific Island setting is put to good use and we see some breath-taking imagery. We are almost at the point where animation is becoming more like photo-realism. There's plenty of songs to sing-a-long to, and most of them were pretty good to listen to. They never over stay their welcome and they're catchy. I didn't feel a new 'Let It Go' in there. But the soundtrack will be a great one to listen to nonetheless.
There lots of cool action sequences that I think everyone will be entertained. They manage to be exciting, thrilling and even funny.
Our leading characters are great together. Voiced brilliantly by Auli'i Cravalho and 'The Rock' himself Dwayne Johnson, the chemistry really carries the film and keeps us engrossed in the story. I hope to see Cravalho get more mainstream work after this, rather than just being a one-off. As for Johnson, he just oozes charisma and it shows throughout this movie. He is a real superstar in the film business now and I hope to see him in more entertaining films such as this.
There are some good supporting characters, where some have their moment on screen and it is very memorable. As for the villains in this, they were not that strong as a whole. They had their scene-stealing moments. But for me, it was quickly forgotten. A good villain seems to be a lost art in most franchises these days. I can't think of any villain that is anywhere near as memorable as some previous Disney villains such as Scar, Ursula, Cruella De Vil, Gaston or Jafar.
I don't know if it's a lack of character development or back-story. But I think it is time for a memorable villain to rise up from all of this heap of forgotten hasbins.
The only negative thing I should say, is that I might not rank it as high as some of the studios best work. That is mainly due to it lacking of depth compared to some others, and when you break it down, the story is pretty formulaic.
But will give this the slight edge is that Disney has never done a film from this part of the world. It tells a little bit about their culture and their mythology, which definitely made me interested.
That being said, this is a really fun and extremely entertaining Disney animation that has a lot of what you expect and want from a great film from this studio. Great lead characters, good songs, strong themes, morals and messages. It is probably the first Disney animation that actually felt some of the classics from the 90's. From the story structure to the style and execution of songs, it does like it is like one of the greats that I was brought up with. It does help when the story-writers for this film also did The Little Mermaid, Aladdin and Hercules.
I must mention that like with most Disney or Pixar animations, there is a short before the film. It's not one of its strongest shorts. But it is fairly entertaining to get into the mood for the main feature.
There is also a post-credits scene that definitely surprised me both in its execution and comedic value. It's very funny and they decide to make fun of their previous work, which I did not expect. A very smart little treat at the end to enjoy.
Disney has become etched in pretty much all of our childhoods. That would also include the many songs involved in most of the films from this studio. So I decided to create my own list.
I had to set myself a few ground rules for this particular list.
I looked through all 59 (yes all 59) films made by Walt Disney Animation Studios to find all the songs that would qualify into the list.
It was hard to decide on some if they were seen as songs or not. A good example in 'The Walrus And The Carpenter' in Alice In Wonderland. It was more of a story then a song. It did have singing in it. But it was fairly spread out over the story. So I had to be cruel and leave that one out.
There were also some songs that I had to discount as they were simply too short. Ones that I hated disqualifying from this list was 'Sailor's Hornpipe/Caucus Race' from Alice In Wonderland and 'Oh, Sing Sweet Nightingale' from Cinderella, and I really enjoy them.
However, I am including songs that were may not have been sung by the characters, but made for the film. A good example to make sense of it this is the Phil Collins used in Tarzan. While they were not sung by the characters. They were solely made for that particular film.
It was clear that I cannot do just a top 10 list as there are so many good ones. I was originally going for the classic music chart number of 40. But there so many good ones, that I decided to do a top 100 instead.
Films that had songs in them that missed out on this list, were Bolt, Home On The Range, Lilo & Stitch, Meet The Robinsons, Saludos Amigos, The Emperor's New Groove, The Rescuers, Treasure Planet and Winnie The Pooh.
Films that got all their songs in my top 100 are Beauty And The Beast, Robin Hood, Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs, Tarzan, The Hunchback Of Notre Dame, The Lion King and Zootropolis (even though there's only one song in it).
Only 8 villain songs made the cut. A few songs that sadly missed out that I stilled like were "I'll Make A Man Out Of You" from Mulan, "On My Way" from Brother Bear, "Gaston" from Beauty And The Beast - Gaston, "Two Silhouettes" from Make Mine Music, "With A Smile And A Song" and "Someday My Prince Will Come" from Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs, "Katrina" from The Adventures Of Ichabod & Mr. Toad, "The Three Caballeros" from The Three Caballeros and "The World's Greatest Criminal Mind" from The Great Mouse Detective.
So here is my top 100:
100) Moana - Where You Are
99) Alice In Wonderland - Alice In Wonderland
98) Robin Hood - Not In Nottingham
97) Dumbo - Song Of The Roustabouts
96) Fun And Fancy Free - My Favourite Dream
95) Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs - The Silly Song
94) Melody Time - Blue Shadows On The Trail
93) Robin Hood - Love
92) Mulan - Reflection
91) The Fox And The Hound - Best Of Friends
90) The AristoCats - Scales And Arpeggios
89) Cinderella - A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes
88) The Great Mouse Detective - Let Me Be Good To You
87) Hercules - The Gospel Truth
86) Alice In Wonderland - In A World Of My Own
85) Melody Time - Once Upon A Wintertime
84) Robin Hood - The Phony King Of England
83) The Jungle Book - Colonel Hathi's March
82) Moana - We Know The Way
81) The Princess And The Frog - Friends On The Other Side
80) The Adventures Of Ichabod & Mr. Toad - The Headless Horseman
79) Moana - I Am Moana
78) Mulan - I'll Make A Man Out Of You
77) Bambi - Little April Shower
76) Lilo & Stitch - He Mele No Lilo
75) Lilo & Stitch - Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride
74) Frozen - Love Is An Open Door
73) Moana - You're Welcome
72) Frozen - Do You Want To Build A Snowman?
71) Tangled - Mother Knows Best
70) One Hundred And One Dalmatians - Cruela De Vil
69) The Many Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh - Winnie The Pooh
68) Bambi - Love Is A Song
67) Moana - How Far I'll Go
66) Aladdin - Prince Ali
65) Tarzan - Trashin' The Camp
64) Make Mine Music - Johnny Fedora And Alice Bluebonnet
63) Pinocchio - I've Got No Strings
62) Pinocchio - When You Wish Upon A Star
61) Cinderella - The Work Song
60) Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs - I'm Wishing/One Song
59) Dumbo - When I See An Elephant Fly
58) The Jungle Book - The Bare Necessities
57) Lady And The Tramp - He's A Tramp
56) Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs - Heigh-Ho
55) Lady And The Tramp - La La Lu
54) The Hunchback Of Notre Dame - A Guy Like You
53) Dumbo - Look Out For Mister Stork
52) Pocahontas - Just Around The Riverbend
51) Tangled - When Will My Life Begin?
50) Frozen - For The First Time In Forever
49) The Hunchback Of Notre Dame - The Court Of Miracles
48) The Sword In The Stone - Higitus Figitus
47) The AristoCats - Thomas O'Malley Cat
46) Hercules - Go The Distance
45) Beauty And The Beast - Be Our Guest
44) Zootropolis - Try Everything
43) Cinderella - So This Is Love
42) Beauty And The Beast - Something There
41) Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs - Whistle While You Work
40) Hercules - One Last Hope
39) Robin Hood - Whistle Stop/Oo De Lally
38) Peter Pan - Following The Leader
37) The Hunchback Of Notre Dame - God Help The Outcasts
36) The Jungle Book - My Own Home
35) The Little Mermaid - Part Of Your World
34) Aladdin - Friend Like Me
33) The Hunchback Of Notre Dame - Topsy Turvy
32) The Hunchback Of Notre Dame - Heaven's Light/Hellfire
31) The Lion King - Be Prepared
30) The Hunchback Of Notre Dame - The Bells Of Notre Dame
29) Sleeping Beauty - Once Upon A Dream
28) Alice In Wonderland - All In The Golden Afternoon
Let's face it, coming-of-age is awkward for everyone. We have or will experience it once in our lives. But when it comes to films of that subject, when it's done right, it manages to be a really loved film that will be remembered for quite some time.
With 'The Edge Of Seventeen', I only really knew about this late on. It was never on my radar until I was hearing some of the early reviews of it. Then I saw the trailer, and I was completely hooked.
It seems the reviews were right and this could be the sleeper of 2016. The brilliant opening scene gets into the tone straight away. From there after, it keeps that level of comedy and maturity.
There were so many relatable moments that made me go back to when I was that age. Everything from the brilliantly executed social awkwardness of a lot of the situations, to the type of people you met felt so believable.
I think what gives this film the praise that it deserves, is the writing. It is really funny, it is like that for the entire movie, and not just in certain moments. Also the type of comedy it goes for was much more mature then I thought it was going to be. I liked the risk they took on that. Rather than watering it down and playing safe, it goes for it. Props to the entire team, as it would have just been another middle-of-the-road comedy that would have easily forgotten.
All the performances were on top form. Hailee Steinfeld was great in this. Her comedic timing was so strong and consistent. I was really happy to see her do so well as I struggled to remember her in any recent films. Her debut in True Grit was fantastic, she was solid in Ender's Game and good in Begin Again. Other than that, not much else comes to mind. So it is great to see her do well again and I hope she continues to thrive her talent.
With the director being female, it was refreshing to see the male characters be given depth and be very likable. Usually, they are seen to be monsters. But in this film, everyone is on equal terms. A very positive thing in this day an age, where everyone has suddenly become so sensitive.
The memorable performances from the guys are the always great Woody Harrelson and Hayden Szeto. It was also great to see Blake Jenner do another role as I enjoyed him in the really good 'Everybody Wants Some!!' from earlier this year.
No negatives to comment on as such. The only thing that I wanted to mention, was that of the main character. While performed brilliantly and giving the audience a lot of laughter, you can see her to be quite horrible at times in certain situations in the film. But as the character is at that age where their hormones are off the charts, I am happy to not fully criticize those moments in the film. It is a nit-picky criticism. But it is enough to slightly miss out on the slightly stronger films that I've seen this year.
With that negative being such a small one, it is safe to say that I really enjoyed this one. When a coming-of-age film works, it manages to blend comedy and drama really well and it usually ranks high up in many peoples lists.
One recent one that I can remember is 'The Way Way Back', which I loved and totally regret not seeing it on the big screen.
This is a surprisingly mature movie that will relate more with adults then its seemingly target market. That is a real plus in my eyes, and we now have a much stronger film that I think will get recommended by many for the next few years. Whether you are male or female, it doesn't matter. As long as you went through high school, you will relate to this.
Even when the ending in any of these types of films feels cliched and predictable. The strength of the writing, directing and character development made me fine with that, as it did all the hard work to get us to that moment.
Definitely check this one out. It deserves a big box office and it is a shame that it has not had that much of a wide release.
It is always a fairly exciting moment knowing that you are about to see Robert Zemeckis' latest film.
He is a director that not many people have heard of, and yet has made a lot of highly successful films.
Zemeckis is also a director that does like to go ambitious at times. The prime example is being a pioneer for performance-capture technology in films such as The Polar Express, Beowulf and A Christmas Carol.
As soon as I heard Zemeckis was directing this, that was enough for me. Having Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard as the leads was a real bonus. I am big fan of both and I was confident going into the screening, that these two would not fail.
It may not feel one of Zemeckis' best. I still felt entertained with a well told and executed story.
I noticed that the general look and even structure of it felt like it belonged in the 1940's where everything looks glamorous. Some may see this as looking a bit awkward, I thought it was refreshing enough to give it mild plaudits.
Even from the way the dialogue is said, to how the characters behave, it was a nice change to see something that is done simply and that can also be seen as an homage to that film-making era.
I avoided the trailers as I was already wanting to see the film. So after seeing them, I noticed that they seemed to have marketed in wrong. It seems to make the audience expect a spy thriller. While it does have that as a big element of the film. The main story I got from watching was a romance one.
Pitt and Cotillard were great together. Their characters chemistry was strong, felt real and the main reason why I had fun with this movie. Pitt individually was satisfactory. But Cotillard was great. I seem to like anything she is in, and she always seems to bring out her a-game in everything.
There were no supporting roles that were worth mentioning. But one actor that was a really nice surprise to see was August Diehl. He plays a terrifying Nazi officer in Inglorious Basterds, and it's almost more of the same in this one. That was a real highlight for me.
Other things I liked was the 1940's setting. If you have seen this and the classic Casablanca, then you'll know exactly what I mean.
If it had any chance of awards success, then I think its costume design would be its front-runner. Also, the visual effects is always an interesting part of any Zemeckis film as he has been very experimental and ground-breaking at times. I thought some of the visual effects were pretty good and consistent.
The only major negative is that, while it is good, it's just not memorable enough. Having an old-fashioned feel to it could be its downfall with many demographics. When it comes to people doing their top films of the year lists, I can see a lot of people "remind me what that film was about?".
While it is nothing spectacular, it is a nicely crafted and well executed film with a perfectly fine story and a lot of highly tense moments. Pitt and Cotillard's chemistry is integral to its strengths and as mentioned before, the old-fashioned structure worked for me, as it felt refreshing. I was certainly not bored. But I can see some not feeling they're being entertained.
I must say that I would recommend not going into this expecting another Back To The Future or Forrest Gump. If you go in with low expectations, then you will probably have a pleasant time at the pictures.
Sadly even though I did have a fairly good time with it. I honestly cannot see me watching this again. In a world where we can gain access to so many films. I cannot see me getting in a mood to spending my time on re-visiting this.
However, I am now hoping Zemeckis gives us another instant classic in the near future. It has been a while since he has created a box office success. The last one was probably Cast Away back in 2000. I think now is the time for another one.
This week has certainly been a memorable one for me, in terms of branching out my new discoveries.
Now I am expanding my knowledge within the anime world. The only ones I have seen so far is the entire collection of Studio Ghibli. I am aware of many different types of anime, and I cannot wait to discover them.
But I decided to try this particular film, due to the success it has been getting and that the director Makoto Shinkai is being billed by some people as the new Hayao Miyazaki, who has been the director for nearly all of Studio Ghibli's most successful films.
I am so glad I went to see this, as I now want to see more anime's outside of Studio Ghibli. I got to see something that not only was great, but was clever, sweet, outrageously funny at times and hugely profound.
While the first act has its most outrageous and possibly cheesy moments, it has some fascinating and really clever ideas that certainly had me enjoying the experience. Then the second act starts to see the real dilemma our two main characters are in, and this is where I think this film will win many people over.
Then the final act starts really well and ends in what I thought to be a generic rom-com finale.
What I loved about this the most, was the story. The amount of depth made me having to work everything out for pretty much all the film. I liked the little strands that eventually meshed into one main story. I have to give huge props to the director for that. While the development of the romance may seem cheesy at times, his clever use of sci-fi manages to make it look refreshing.
As for the characters, the two leads are really good and make you believe in the premise. They are developed brilliantly and you would root for both of them. The supporting cast have great moments that is mainly comedy based and they all felt integral to the story rather than eventually ignored.
Another positive, is the animation. It's imagery is extraordinary, beautiful, powerful and is easily as impressive as all Studio Ghibli's style of animation.
The only negative I have is minor, picky and possibly harsh. From a film-making point of view, the pacing does take a couple of strange turns that slowed it down dramatically. I don't know if that is the directors style or if it's how most anime films are like, but those small moments felt alien to me.
That being said, the strength of this film steamrolls those small negatives. This is a very clever, fun and engaging film that manages to be both outrageously funny and emotional at the same-time to a high standard. It is one of the those films that really makes you think and work out everything throughout. There are many spectacular moments both in its images and its writing and I can pretty much guarantee this will end up in my top 10 of the year.
Despite his strong story-telling with challenging ideas, I don't think Shinkai is the new Miyazaki just yet. His style I don't think will fit into Studio Ghibli's. But this film has made me want to see more different sorts of anime and the rest of Shinkai's previous works. I think will a little care, I can see Shinkai being a saviour of sorts to possibly be the changing of the guard for Miyazaki.
The last few years has seen my film taste change dramatically. I have been going to films that I would not have even considered going to. I am now discovering some wonderful independent and low budget features.
This latest one by director Jim Jarmusch is another one to fit into that category. I have seen only two of Jarmusch's eleven previous features, Ghost Dog: The Way Of Of The Samurai which was good, and Only Lovers Left Alive which I really enjoyed.
What I got from Paterson, was a very poignant, profound, contemplative and surprisingly charming flick. The more I was watching it, the bigger my revelation came that this looked a lot like a Richard Linklater film. If you are aware of what Linklater is like, then you know that I was enjoying this.
While nothing sudden or shocking happens, it is just shows a slice of life that managed to be intriguing viewing and managed to have me invested by the second act.
There were four very memorable performances. Adam Driver was a great lead in what was a subtle performance. He gave us an interesting character, and it is great to see him do something small after being heavily involved in the latest Star Wars film.
Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani was a real star in this. Her chemistry with Driver was crucial to the success of this film, and it worked a treat. It created a lot of comical and charming moments.
It was nice to see Barry Shabaka Henley lead the minor roles. He certainly had his moments that were as memorable as the leads. Despite all those strong performances, it was the character of Marvin that will last longer in the memories of most people. I must mention, that Marvin is a dog. I was sad to find out afterwards, that the dog (whose real name is Nellie) died before the film was released.
Not many negatives to mention. There were some moments that felt irrelevant to me. But as the film is showing 'a week in the life of'', then I should not criticize it too much.
But overall, I had a nice time watching this. It has plenty of laughs, which I was not expecting. If you like dead-pan humor, then you're in for a treat, as this film is full of it.
The performances are great, it is shot really well, and the film gives the town setting a lot of appeal, and it almost becomes a character in itself. 2016 is certainly a year for the independent films, and this is another welcomed addition.
It is hard to believe that it has been 5 years since the release of the eighth and final Harry Potter film. People from my generation has had this Wizarding franchise as an integral part of their childhood, right the way through to the beginning of adult life.
Now, we have the beginning of another possible franchise within this world. My initial emotions was of high excitement as I really enjoyed all the Harry Potter films. But when I heard about them stretching it out to five films, I was not sure if it would be anywhere near as consistently good as Potter. It is clear to see that they are only doing this as this is the only successful franchise Warner Bros has at the moment, and they need to make more as it still sells.
Now that I have seen it, I have to admit I was disappointed for the most part. But don't worry, I still thought it was good, but only just.
I liked it that you don't need to have seen the previous Harry Potter films to understand what's going on. Yes, there are some small hints and nods for the fans to look out for. But overall, it is most definitely a stand alone feature. I appreciated that they did not rely on fan service for us to like it. I think all of that is due to J.K Rowling being the head writer for this film, and her power will have shunned any interference from various studio executives away.
But as much as I am glad to see Rowling involved in the writing. You can see her lack of experience when it comes to writing for movies. It did feel like a book writer was writing a film for the first time.
Eddie Redmayne was solid overall. He kept my interest and carried the movie well. By the end of it, a part of me thought of him as more of Doctor Who, particularly Matt Smith's version.
Katherine Waterstone's character was strange. While her backstory got me interested, her performance was a mixed bag. I liked her intentions throughout the film, but her execution in the performance felt jumpy. At times it moved the story a long nicely, but there were also long gaps of silence in the scenes she was in. It felt quite awkward and out of place.
I liked Colin Farrell's performance. I am a fan of his, and he was certainly the character I wanted to know more about. I also found enjoyment from Alison Sudol's role in this film. She was a nice addition to the team and I would like to see her in future films.
As for Dan Fogler, he was solid and joyful at times in his role as the comedic relief. His comedy moments were a mixed bag for me. Some worked (including one very funny moment), the rest was weak. But thankfully he was not annoying at all. I would be happy if we saw him again in future films.
Ezra Miller was creepy and intense. But I was struggling to be interested by him and see what he was supposed to be in this film. There was a nice surprise in the form of Ron Perlman, who made a short appearance.
Sadly, there are more negatives or frustrations than positives. The pacing was really off-putting and was my biggest problem with the film. It was certainly not a smooth and flowing ride and more of a constant stalling instead. If it was tighter, then I think we would be talking about a more enjoyable feature that could praise more than criticize. I think maybe that there were two different films in this, and neither could go hand-in-hand to make it an enjoyable or highly memorable feature.
With the pacing feeling mainly slow, it made the duration feel long. I reckon I could have taken off about 20 minutes.
I feel like I'm giving this film some stick. So I will mention the good stuff and there is a fair amount of it. I like the setting of it. It certainly felt like I was transported to 1920's New York. I really liked the ideas and I could see real potential in the characters for future films.
I loved the designs of the creatures, and some of them managed to steal the show many times during the film. However after seeing it, there are some scary similarities to Pokemon. It's not completely identical, just some parts of it are similar. It will be interesting to see how many other people see that as well.
The visual effects was good overall. There is certainly much more CGI then in the Harry Potter films. Whether that is seen as a negative, that is open for debate.
In the end, the movie ended up being kind of flat. But with that in mind, I still enjoyed enough of it to give it a pass. It is certainly not a bad film. But the lack of emotional weight and coherence won't make this one of the more memorable films of this year. I was struggling to see what the priority story-line was. But I still came out of the film mildly pleased.
For anyone going with young kids, I don't think it's one for them (unless they could handle ALL the Harry Potter films). I honestly think their attention span won't last.
I will say though for a ninth film in a franchise, I am impressed that they are all good at worst. If I had to rank it with the Harry Potter films it would be near the bottom, or possibly at the very bottom.
I am not sure if they could carry this on for four more films as initially planned by the studio. Nevertheless, I remain excited for where they could potentially go. But I think I will set my standards a little lower for the next installment.
When a new Clint Eastwood directed film comes out, you know you are expecting a solid film at worst.
His style of film-making is very simple, straight forward and can usually satisfy many demographics.
With this latest release, it looked like it was going to be something similar to American Sniper, i.e. a heroic American story where the director goes a bit too 'flag-wavey' with the content. However, I did have hope that it may be something more than that, as I remember when the story initially broke and like many, I found it to be a great story about your every-day worker becoming a national hero over-night.
As for the film, it was a pretty satisfying watch. The beginning was certainly not what I expected. It was not structured the way I thought it would be, and that certainly got me intrigued from the very beginning. I'm glad they did this, as I felt doing the events in chronological order might have been less compelling, as it would have been too safe, even by Eastwood's standards.
As I said before, it is a really interesting story. But I can't believe some of the things that happened after the event that the film shows. Also, the way the incident that we know about is executed onto film is really well. I was fairly tense throughout that segment.
Tom Hanks was in the lead, and you know what to expect with him. His performance is no different. It is another strong and solid performance. It's not going to win him any Oscars. But it will be one that won't be ignored when we look back at his previous work.
It was great to see Aaron Eckhart again in the main supporting role, and in a good film which he is not known for. Yes he was in The Dark Knight, but that was one of the few exceptions.
One performance I have to mention is Mike O'Malley. While it is just a minor role, his character is such a douche, and he plays it so well. His smarmy look instantly gives you that feeling of, "you are not going to like this guy".
There are only minor negatives to speak of. There moments of cheesiness from a few minor characters and in the dialogue as well. Also, there are some overly-patriotic moments that reminded me of American Sniper. But thankfully, there was not as many that would have changed my overall view.
Also if I was being harsh, I could probably say that it felt too safe. I think if the tone was edgier, then this might have been great instead of good.
One part of the film that is both a positive and a negative, is the duration. While I am glad that this was the duration (96 mins) that it probably needed to be. The story still felt stretched at times. But I am glad Eastwood and his team did not extend it to a stupid amount as I know Eastwood films can usually go over 2 hours.
While a lot was not exceptional, everything is done well. Eastwood's direction I felt gave us story that he wanted to tell. Hanks continues to show he is one of the best actors of all-time and his chemistry with Eckhart is one of the films strongest components.
I managed to see this in IMAX, and it is pretty good in that format. It is worth your money, especially when it was filmed entirely in IMAX, rather retro-fitted after initial filming.
This is certainly the week for Amy Adams, as two of her three 2016 releases is coming out in the space of six days here in the UK.
Director Tom Ford has done very little within the film industry. He is more known for his work within fashion. But his work in his only other film as director 'A Single Man' showed us his potential.
In this one, Ford has the amazing talents of Amy Adams and Jake Gyllenhaal to use. I am a big fan of Gyllenhaal. His choice of projects hardly ever ends up being a stinker. He is consistently strong and anything that I see him advertised in, that is enough for me to go and check it out.
As for Adams, apart from Catch Me If You Can, her career has effectively kicked off in the mainstream world, in 2007 with Enchanted. Now, she has become a huge A-lister that you can almost guarantee any film she is in to be in the running for possible awards success.
Not expecting will certainly be the theme of this review. I went into this with very little knowledge of what to expect, except that it was being billed as a thriller. A thriller I got, but not one that ended up being so hard-hitting. Even the story structure was made in a way I have not seen in many films. I had no idea where it was going, it had lots of nice twists and turns, it was tense pretty much all the way through and I found it to be a very powerful and engrossing story.
Jake Gyllenhaal continues to show the vastness of his talent with another strong performance. Maybe not as worthy of an award nomination like his performances in Nightcrawler, Demolition or Brokeback Mountain. But still another memorable role to be added to his consistently strong back catalogue. It was a more subdued outing for Amy Adams. Nevertheless, she was the right person for the role and did it well.
A couple of shining stars in the supporting roles. Michael Shannon is great as always. He makes any performance feel natural and effortless. He continues to be one of the best actors to be in a supporting role. Who knew Aaron Taylor-Johnson would be really good in his almost unrecognisable role as an incredible vile character.
Also, there are a surprising amount of cameos that would even challenge the amount in Anchorman 2.
A lot of technical aspects to the film that I must praise. It's shot really well. Once you see it, you will be impressed more then your usual cinematographer, as there are different types of cinematography needed for this film, and they all work.
Some other aspects that I don't usually mention is the use of sound and the editing. I don't usually know what is great use of sound or editing. But in certain films, you can tell when something clever has been done in those departments to give more depth to the story, and I noticed it in this one. Props to those respective crew members.
A big thumbs up for this. Tom Ford has great job. It is a very well crafted film that deals with some interesting and disturbing content. This film shows where he can go and how wide his variety can be. His attention to detail is as top notch as ever. The performances as a whole are strong and the story is one of the most unique ones this year. It is tense, a real tough watch and executes the upsetting scenes rather well. I can see this being in the running for possible awards nominations.
Additional, I must mention that the opening credits are certainly one of the strangest ones I have seen. You will instantly go "What On Earth Is This?!" But trust me, it does mean something once the film gets going. Also, the score in those credits sounds great.
I remember first hearing about it this last year when it looked like it would be released in the heart of the Oscar contenders.
However, due to post production taking a year to develop, they pushed the release date to about 8 months.
I was honestly not interested in finding out what the story was. As soon as I saw Derek Cianfrance was directing, and Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander and Rachel Weisz leading the cast, that was enough for me.
On face value, I can certainly see some people seeing this as 'Oscar bait'. But I truly felt afterwards that this deserves high praise and any awards nominations that it may get.
While elements of the film may fall under the category of a schmaltzy Nicholas Sparks feature. Director Derek Cianfrance had other sub-plots to work from the novel that I felt made this a much more believable story.
People who have seen Cianfrance's previous work such as Blue Valentine and The Place Beyond The Pines, know that he can get the best of his cast. This is most definitely no different.
Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander are wonderful together, and you can see why this film brought them together in real life. I am a huge fan of both of them, and I am glad to see these big stars continue to show everyone their talent on-screen. Their chemistry is so strong and it sells the film superbly. Becoming a couple in real life has given this film more life then any other romance drama would normally have.
Rachel Weisz was a good support also, and did well with what she had as this film is eclipsed by Fassbender and Vikander.
But amazingly, not even Fassbender and Vikander could topple the real star of the film. The choice of landscape is stunning and the cinematography by Adam Arkapaw certainly makes the most of it, with many gorgeous images from start to finish that I would happily frame on my wall at home.
If nothing I said before indicated to you that this is a possible Oscar contender, then the choice of composer may confirm it for you. Alexander Desplat has created another hit with this particular score. He is certainly becoming the composer if you want your film to feature in the major awards season.
The only negative is the cliched moments. Those moments did down-grade fractions of the films overall strength.
A part of me was expecting a possible awards contender. But the other part was certainly thinking that this was made just to make Oscars and it would be a disappointment. Thankfully, it was the former. This really tugs at the heart strings. Yes, there may be some cliche moments. But the performances by Fassbender and Vikander, and the heart-breaking story made me totally invested in the story. They are a big draw and just made this viewing experience a pleasure to witness.
Sci-Fi films contending for the major awards is slowly becoming the norm now as highly acclaimed directors seem to be trying their hands on a genre that has never won Best Picture.
This particular Sci-Fi is being directed by Dennis Villeneuve, who is becoming one of the most exciting directors of recent years. With the releases of brilliant films such as Prisoners, Sicario and currently filming the sequel to Blade Runner, the Canadian director seems to know how to get bums on seats.
Like with many films lately, I have avoided the trailers, as the stellar cast and Villeneuve running things was enough for me to go and see it. Well goodness me, I was not expecting it to be that good.
It is hard to know where to start. If you know what Villeneuve's films are like, then you know that they are slow burners. But while it may seem slow, it somehow never manages to lost steam at the same time. It was only until towards the end of the second act that I was beginning to notice that I was watching something special. Then when the pay-off came, it had me leaving on the biggest high that I have not had from a new release in quite some time.
This is certainly his most complex work. I was still trying to piece everything together when leaving the screening, and I can tell many others were. The story felt like a living puzzle, and I feel I have a pretty fixed idea on how it all ended.
Despite all of this praise, I will say that while the performances were good, none of them were worthy of winning any awards. That being said, Amy Adams was by far the strongest and memorable performance out of anyone. It was great to see her take the lead and prove to us that she can hold a film. Whilst subtle, I really believed in her character.
Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker were solid throughout. But I don't think they were that strong, and I feel those performance could have been done by anyone. It was nice to see Michael Stuhlbarg make an appearance in this also.
But I think clearly what makes this movie the success that it deserves to be is the complex and profound non-linear style of story-telling that you would normally see in a Christopher Nolan film.
Also, the editing plays a huge part in making the pacing and story-telling so perfect. A combination of those two has given us a really clever story that is making us trying to piece everything together. In fact, the style of the editing I felt was mirroring the dilemma our main characters are trying to work out as well. It that was done on purpose, then that is some seriously smart work by Villeneuve and his team.
As for the technical side, the cinematography by Bradford Young was really good at times. Some moments managed to feel similar to '2001: A Space Odyseey' which I was not expecting.
Also, the score by Johann Johannsson was both haunting and tense. There is also a great use of a piece of classical music that was used really well in the highly emotional moments.
If you like your sci-fi, then there are lots of references and influences that I spotted in this film from other classics from this genre. From Interstellar, to Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Contact, District 9, Flight Of The Navigator and even small doses of Independence Day. There are even moments that reminded me of a typical Terence Malick film, which I was not expecting.
Now that I have seen it, I went to see how much the trailers have given away. Amazingly, they haven't. In fact, it looks as if they are making it look like something similar to Independence Day or District 9. Not sure if that's a good thing or not. While I like the deceptive approach to the marketing, it might bring in the wrong type of audience. It will be interesting to see how that fairs in the box office.
I am happy to say that this is Villeneuve's best work that I have seen. It was going to take a lot to beat something like Prisoners. But I feel he has done it. You could say this is Villeneuve's 'Interstellar', this is his '2001: A Space Odyssey'. But unlike Interstellar, I felt the ending was much more satisfying and not divisive in the slightest. I am now confident in saying that Villeneuve is the perfect man to direct the sequel to Blade Runner. Seeing Arrival shows where that film can go and how good it can be. That project is most definitely in safe hands.
It is rare these days that I rate a film this highly, and this is surely going to be a big awards contender. However, I can see some people losing patience with this. So if you're not into slow burners, then I can see you not being as into it as others might. But I still feel everyone should at least experience this on the big screen. Don't worry if you are having trouble figuring everything out. Stick with it, be patient with it and just listen carefully and keep an eye on everything on screen.
It is hard for sci-fi films these days to give the audience a real sense of wonder and amazement. This film managed to do that. It also can make you have great discussions afterwards with others that have seen it to get their take on it. Those things alone should be enough for everyone to go and see this. The best films are the ones you think about weeks after seeing it, and then is certainly one of them.
2016 has been a mixed bag on the whole for the superhero genre.
Despite the noticeable potential, both DC blockbusters 'Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice' and 'Suicide Squad' did not seem to live up to the hype with the majority.
As for Marvel, it's been pretty good. It started back in February where Deadpool became more of a success then anyone could ever have imagined. It is now high up in many peoples films of the year lists. Then we had 'Captain America: Civil War', which was another very good installment from not just the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but the Captain America franchise. Then in the summer we had 'X-Men: Apocalypse'. It had mixed reviews, with the majority being satisfied with it.
Now we go into new territory for Marvel Studios with Doctor Strange. The last time they went for source material that sounded pretty odd on paper was Guardians Of The Galaxy, and director James Gunn and his team gave us one of the best reviewed and most loved films within the genre.
The stellar cast and marketing certainly had many people thinking this had potential to be up there with the best. It certainly is one of the most entertaining and is a welcomed addition to the MCU.
The one element that people were most nervous about is that would the mythology work on screen to fit into other Marvel movies. Yes there is a lot of mythology, and I certainly got swept away with it. I understood it by the end of it, it got me excited when certain things were happening and it made me think how the other Marvel superheroes would cope with the mystical power of Doctor Strange.
With the film going into magic effectively, it will be hard for some people to take it seriously. I can confidently say that the cast and crew certainly knew when to take it seriously and inject some fun into it. That will be a big reason for this to be a big success in the box office and with the critics.
The cast is probably the most high-calibre Marvel have ever conjured up, and they did a good job. Benedict Cumberbatch was the perfect choice for Dr. Stephen Strange. You believed his origin story and transformation. He IS Dr. Strange.
Tilda Swinton was terrific was The Ancient One. I am big fan of her work and she definitely brought it in this one. Sadly, there were moments where I was confused as to why her character was not there. But that is the fault in the departments.
Chiwitel Ejiofor and Rachel McAdams were serviceable as the main supporting roles. Benedict Wong also had great comedic relief when needed. The big question in any Marvel movie recently, is if the villain will be a memorable one. While Mads Mikkelsen's character was certainly not the worst, it still was not a strong one.
The strongest parts of the film for me were the action and the visual effects. The action is certainly some of the best in the MCU and in all of Marvel's films. They make great use of the abilities are characters had, and it had moments that even Christopher Nolan would have liked to have used in Inception. I loved those moments as I consider that film to be perfect.
The imagery that the visual effects used was mind-blowing and really messed with your mind at times. The fantastic opening scene and use of visual effects will certainly give you a taste of what is to come.
The only stopping me from giving a very good rating is the writing and story development. While it is perfectly fine and serviceable, it is nothing exceptional. The writing was nothing to shout about, and the story development felt the standard Marvel structure that I have seen with many of their features.
That being said, there is lots to enjoy and I had a lot of fun with this. The action and visual effects is some of the best from this studio. A lot of the acting was great and helped the source material make sense to the mainstream audience. Another thing that worked like all Marvel films do, is the comedy. There are some good laugh-out-loud moments that are all well executed, and never felt forced or out of place.
Another usual thing with Marvel films is the credits scenes. In this particular one, there is both a mid and post credits scene. The mid-credits scene is a cool idea, but I felt the execution of it pretty much felt like an spoon-feeding moment to tell everyone what is coming up next. The post-credits scene was better executed and was a nice tease to see which path the next Doctor Strange installment might go down.
