My Top 10: British Films

It is amazing what films are officially British. A lot more seem to associate a country with a film on its tone and story. However, the official way to assign a nation with a film is which production company has contributed the most to the making of the film. So just because some of the particular scenes might have been filmed in one country, doesn't mean that it is a film represented by that same country. One example, is that I know a lot of the Star Wars films have been filmed in London studios. But sadly, the production company making them have always been American.
Another bit of bad news is that while The Great Escape has a British vibe about it, the production company was American.

So with all that information now discovered, here are my top 10 British films:

10) In Bruges - Martin McDonagh's masterful black comedy sees two hit-men going into hiding after a botched up. They are ordered to go to Bruges and wait for further instructions.

Instead, our two main characters get involved with many unexpected activities. The writing sharp, hilarious and mixes the dark content so well.

9) Casino Royale - You can't not have a Bond in your top 10 British films list. This is mine and many peoples favourite of the franchise, and it is the one that ignited the current era of the British secret agent.

The action is thrilling, the story is exciting and the characters are entertaining. This one will never get old.

8) Alien - Yes, this a British film. It may have been funded by an American studio. But it was made by their subsidiary production crew, who were British.

This broke the ground for sci-fi films, by adding in a horror angle and giving the cinematography a claustrophobic vibe.

7) Great Expectations - Produced by Cineguild, who made some of the most iconic British films of the 1940's, and this is one of their most successful.

Based on the Charles Dickens, it sees an orphan embark of a journey to eventually become a gentleman. It is also directed by the master that is David Lean.

6) This Is England - Director Shane Meadows' dark and haunting portrayal of England in the early 1980's.

Based on Meadows own up-bringing, this is one of the most powerful indie films to have come from these shores.

Its content is strong, its characters are strong and it will never leave your memory.

5) The Boy In The Striped Pyajamas - A highly emotional war drama that sees a young Germany boy experience form a relationship with a Jewish boy who lives in a concentration camp.

The way director Mark Herman shows war from a child's eyes is unforgettable. It also started the career of the highly talented Asa Butterfield.

4) Gravity - Thanks to Heyday Films and visual effects company Framestore, this classifies as a British film.

It sees two astronauts working together after an accident leaves them stranded in space.

It is a wonderful thrill-ride with some of the best visual effects I have ever seen. It is also wonderfully enhanced in 3D.

3) Slumdog Millionaire - Danny Boyle's story of destiny. It sees a teen from Mumbai take part in 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?', and see that the questions reflect many integral moments of his life.

While it may be about Indian culture, the majority of this Best Picture winner is made by a British production.

2) Shaun Of The Dead - This cult hit from 2003 became one of the most influential films of the 21st century.

It saw a breakthrough for many people that are now Hollywood a-listers such as director Edgar Wright and actor Simon Pegg.

Whilst dealing with the living dead, a London resident is looking to turn his mundane life around. This is pure comedy gold.

1) 2001: A Space Odyssey - This epic adventure tale of exploration and evolution is seen by many as Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece.

It broke ground in its visuals and its symbolic style of story-telling has been discussed for decades since its released in 1968.

Review: 12 Strong

War films based on true stories are usually the best ones, especially if done in the right way.

From the trailers it certainly looked promising, and the star power definitely pushed my expectations up a bit more.

What I got in the end could well be one of the surprises of 2018.

When a film has a mission/expedition, and the build-up to the actual story can get me excited, then that's a great early sign that it's winning me over. It managed to do exactly that. But it wasn't getting me totally invested.
However the more well executed set-pieces that came, the more it was having me thoroughly entertained. There was also a pinch of comedy in some of the side-plots that run throughout. I think that just nicely eased the constant tension of the main story and gave you something different to react to. Though what was really impressing me, was the strength in the characters and their development. By the time the finale came round, I was just loving it more and more and it ended with a fitting emotional and uplifting vibe.
On a weird side-note, the way this story was structured, I think this would be a great video-game.

There were a lot of committed performances. I know a lot of people don't see Chris Hemsworth, they just see Thor. But for me, Hemsworth became his actual character in this one and carried the film really well. He had a fully-fledged arch and and had a solid development.
As for the supports, not only was there one stand-out, but I think it stole the entire film by the end. Navid Negahban's character was a revelation. At the very start, I just thought his character would just be there for exposition. But the more dialogue he was given and solo screen-time to develop his characters motives, I was seeing a much more integral part of the story emerge.
The rest of the cast did a good job when needed. Michael Shannon is always a safe pair of hands, and did well when required. If you liked Michael Pena in Fury, then expect more of that in this. It was nice seeing Rob Riggle be given a serious role and use his military background to great effect. Even William Fichtner is in this, which is never a bad thing. My final mention goes to Trevante Rhodes. It was great to seeing him involved, as I remember him well from his performance in Moonlight.

There a lot of powerful scenes, both from a visual and dialogue standpoint. A lot it reminded me of The Last Samurai, particularly Hemsworth's relationship on-screen with Negahban's character, as it was similar to Tom Cruise and Ken Watanabe's chemistry.
I also really appreciated the sets being out on location as that gave the set-pieces a lot of weight and gravitas.

The only thing I would have liked more if I was being picky, was more development on the political side. I noticed that they did not seem to bother covering that part of this war. But that didn't seem to be the directors intentions. Concentrating on the human side of this story worked well, kept me invested and made it a thoroughly entertaining experience. So I therefore ignored that minuscule gripe.
I must mention that I can see some people maybe finding the ending a bit too feel-good and predictable. Thankfully, I didn't mind that and I actually thought it worked rather well.

This a really nice surprise and is a wonderful addition to the 9/11 related films. I would probably rank it 3rd, behind Fahrenheit 9/11 and the brilliant United 93.
Maybe it was due to my middling expectations, but I think it having good re-watchability will shun those thoughts aside.
There is a strong sense of realism in its set-pieces and in the production in general that certainly influenced my score. I left the film feeling proud that people like them exist in the real world, and what they did was pretty brave and heroic.
What made it work the most, was how that they depicted the risks and dangers really well, and you felt for them in that situation.

The comradery and sense of brotherhood between the soldiers I felt was fairly strong and what you would expect with a troop. I have to again mention Hemsworth's efforts. If you feel he is just a one-trick pony at playing Thor. Watch him in this, you will be surprised.

Rating: 8/10

Review: Early Man

Who isn't a Nick Park or Aardman Animation fan?! This British studio has been loved by many generations. It is a rare spot to find someone who just does care for these wonderfully made animations.

They may have started in the 1970's. But it wasn't until the late 1980's that we saw them breakthrough into becoming the national treasures they are today.

It saw the first of four Wallace & Gromit shorts, in where all of them at least got an Oscar nomination.
Then in 2000, we saw Aardman's first feature film with the brilliant Chicken Run. Five years later, we saw Wallace & Gromit's first and only feature with The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit. Since then, we have now had a regular in-take of feature film releases from this highly successful British studio.

With all that quality, you're expectations are naturally high as they've created many timeless classics.

Despite all that, the trailers and marketing for this had pretty confident we were in for another treat. Now I would love to say this was true. But sadly, I can't.
But don't panic, there is nothing bad about it. It's just there is very little strong content.

The intro is pretty cool as it pays a mini homage to Ray Harryhausen's stop-motion creatures. That certainly settled me down. Sadly, that for me was the high point of the film.
It moves along at a decent pace and the story had me interested, despite having worries that it might not win everyone over, especially American audiences. Te rest of the film just plods along with ok comedic moments and ends as you would expect it to with this extremely standard plot.
A lot of the set-pieces showed big similarities from Shaolin Soccer, Mean Machine, The Longest Yard whilst mixing in obvious bits of One Million Years B.C.

I just could not believe by the end of it that I would be so disappointed in what I saw. For such a reliable studio to make something that is satisfactory at best really surprised me.

What I did like, and will forever like is the claymation technique. It takes years of care to complete one film, and it is shown in this, as it is with all of their projects.
Another thing you can rely on with an Aardman film, is the comedy. Aardman Animation live off slapstick gags and witty British humor and most of the gags worked rather well. That included some running ones that always hit the mark. The rest were fine. But sadly overall, they never got me chuckling as much as I have done in previous films.

So while the film is perfectly fine, you expect so much more. Everything just felt rather ordinary. From the story structure, to the gags and the character archs. There was just very little that I will remember from this. Therefore we are in the territory of Flushed Away, which I see as the very bottom of the best films from Aardman Animations.

If I was being like a stereotype critic, I would say "much like it's characters, it felt very primitive."

Rating: 7/10

Review: Last Flag Flying

I am big fan of Richard Linklater films, and many others are as well. What I love about his films the most, is that he just lets the story do its thing.
He lets the camera pull back, lets the characters talk and usually gives us a profound story.

Occasionally he gives a feel-good flick such as Dazed And Confused, School Of Rock and Everybody Wants Some. But he is more known for his slow-paced dramas such as the Before trilogy and the Oscar-winning Boyhood.

This latest project is certainly more of the latter. It has a gentle pace to it and tells a story that touches on a lot of interesting stuff in relation to the aftermath of being in the armed forces and how we grieve, whilst also being a pretty cool road movie in the process.

The three big stars in this all had solid development, strong-archs and were entertaining to watch. Bryan Cranston for me was the stand-out. I loved his characters laid-back approach to life and the energy and charm Cranston gives throughout was a joy to watch.
I think the timing of Laurence Fishburne coming into the film was on-point and I felt his serious tone to the matter at hand worked really well and had solid comradery with this fellow leads that just enhanced the story really well.
While Steve Carell is known for his more loud comedic roles, he does every now and then go for a subtle approach, and this is one of them. I think his soft touch to his character was the necessary mix to this trio. Even though he might not have been as memorable as Cranston or Fishburne, his contribution was essential to the overall product.

Despite giving this some solid praise, I don't think it is anywhere near as strong as most of his previous works. The story is lacking strength. There is nothing wrong with it. It's just that I don't think if will live long in the memory. I think the purposeful low-key feel to it was the main reason.
There were also moments that almost fell into those tropes you see in those films featuring elderly men trying to find their youth again. But thankfully, they managed to avoid going all-out in that department.

Even with saying all that, there is something about it that felt rather poignant, which is a regular strength of Linklater's feature.
It is competent and there are solid performances. But I think on the whole, it could be quickly forgotten despite it being a pleasant watch.

Rating: 7/10

Review: Downsizing

There has been a surprising amount of coverage for Alexander Payne's newest release. His films I would not call mainstream. But a fair amount of his work has been in the mix during awards season.

My particular favourites of his previous works are high-school comedy Election and comedy-drama Sideways. Despite being a big Oscar contender, I never really got into The Descendants. But I have been surprised with really liking Nebraska, as it felt like something I would not normally go for.

If you have seen the trailer, then you would instantly think of films like Fantastic Voyage or Honey I Shrunk The Kids.
The history of shrunken characters have been around for a lot longer than you would think. The earliest I can remember a film doing this was in the late 1950's in films like The Incredible Shrinking Man or The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad.

With all this mind, I was certainly intrigued to see how this would go. The first act is pretty solid. It shows the process and reasoning for this technology fairly well and it moves along nicely. But once that is covered, it's as if they forgot that they had to make a story out of this. A moment happens that I was not expecting between the two initial main characters. It left me confused, as we seemed to be going into a much different film then I was expecting.
So in the end, they seemed to go for a generic or sub-standard 'journey of discovery' story. It also felt like to me it was trying to portray some sort of social satire. If it was, then it was not working for me.

While there was nothing wrong with the performances, almost none of them were exceptional. It was kind of hard to root for the central character played by Matt Damon. I was surprised by this, as Damon usually has a likable presence about him. Sadly, he was a bit bland for me.
The only performance that felt memorable was Hong Chau's, which only came in the second half. Her wild over-the-top presence was somehow surprisingly enjoyable. But I can see some people feeling her character to be out of tone, and that could lose your investment of the film completely.
Another outlandish character was played by Christoph Waltz. It did work for me, but only in moments.

While I think the film as a whole is alright, it is nowhere near as profound as it's trying to be. My initial reaction once coming out of my screening, was that I felt like that they liked the concept that they were going for. But after that, not much else.
It almost more like a Charlie Kaufman film in terms of the surreal moments. So that might intrigue you if you are a fan of Kaufman's works.

I admired its ambition, and I felt the visual effects were executed pretty well for a director who is not known for any CGI. Pretty much everything was fine or admirable, which is why I'm giving it a respectable rating. I just don't think it all came together into a full-fledged story with a strong message.

Rating: 7/10

Review: The Post

If you are aware of my top 100 films of all-time list, then you will notice Steven Spielberg is the most common director in that list with eight.

However if I was being brutally honest, it has been quite a while since I have been wowed with a Spielberg feature.
In the last 10 years, Spielberg has directed six films and only one is highly exceptional. For me that is War Horse. Lincoln and Bridge Of Spies were very good, but not quite on that instant classic level. The fourth installment in the Indiana Jones and The Adventures Of Tintin were decent, and The BFG was disappointing.

I'm not sure if it's age or he is just not being ambitious or passionate enough in his projects? Whatever it is, I have been missing that Spielberg magic that made him the king of film-makers in the 80's, 90's and the early 2000's.

Now while I think his upcoming sci-fi action/adventure Ready Player One could be the Spielberg film I have been waiting, this latest release I felt had potential to do that.
I felt this because not only does it cover a lot of topical subject matters that are quite important right now, despite this being a true story set in the early 1970's. But we are also seeing acting titans Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep being together in a film for the first time. I find that quite amazing two of the most successful and popular actors that are still working in the industry have never been in the same film.

After seeing it, while I did feel pretty entertained, I could not ignore my slight disappointment for it. For a project that contains such strong and successful people in this industry, you can't help but expect a lot from this.
The first half while informative did not feel clear as to what their approach to this story is. But as the film went on, I could the important of this historic event a lot more and I think the strengths of Spielberg start to be a lot more noticeable. That also included some great sequences involving printing presses that can really amaze you on how they actually work.

The acting was pretty solid, with a few very good moments. Hanks and Streep were pretty solid at best, had good enough chemistry to keep the film moving along. I would Hanks was the more engaging of the two, but I think this was due to Streep doing a more subtle performance.
A stand-out was Bob Odernkirk. He was a nice surprise, and could well have given the best performance out of everyone.
There were not many other performances to mention. But it was great seeing Bruce Greenwood who is always a safe pair of hands, and Jesse Plemons who is now becoming a regular is ensemble casts.

As expected with a Spielberg film, the technical side of the film is impressive. The cinematogrpahy is particularly strong. There were many great tracking shots, and the general look of it made you remember that gritty, almost nicotine stained look of the 1970's.
Also, it wouldn't be a Spielberg film without a score from the film music icon himself, John Williams. I felt his latest score worked really well, especially in the second half. It did feel integral in many important and well executed scenes.

Sadly, I have a fair few negatives about it. But thankfully, none of them I feel are major ones.

With the story being what it is, you do expect a sense of tension, people rushing round, lots of rapid editing. But what you get is something that lacks all of that for the most part. We do get some sense of 'the clock is ticking'. But only towards the end. Everything else felt very pedestrianised and you never felt the stakes or the possible consequences.
There were also many scenes, especially towards the end that were on the verge of being super cheesy. Thankfully, I think Spielberg managed to refrain himself enough to make those scene worthy of being executed in that way.

But while a lot of moments felt like it dragged or seemed to focus on minor topics, the film remains to be a pretty entertaining watch. There is enough of Spielberg's strength in this to keep the film moving along, as well as the solid performances.
But with the people involved behind the camera and having quite a stellar cast, you do naturally expect more from them. That is why I felt somewhat disappointed by it.

It seemed to be more interesting from a learning point of view, rather than a piece of entertainment. Therefore, this could be a perfect film to show in a history or even media studies class. There was a very little impactful set-pieces that made me feel the gravity of the situation.

I think the main reason for this getting awards buzz is the timing of this film. It is really on point, and I think Spielberg knew that this historical story needed to be put on the big screen right now. This would make a great double feature with All The President's Men.

Rating: 7/10

Review: Coco

People from my generation were at the perfect age when Pixar began creating feature films. I still remember seeing their first feature, Toy Story.

I saw it on my 7th birthday, and it was the first film I saw at the cinema. So that film and this studio are important to me.

Since then, they have given some of the greatest animated films of all-time, such as Wall.e, The Incredibles, Monsters Inc, Finding Nemo and many many more. I could be cruel and say that they are not quite on their A-game in recent years. But it's like saying that a Star Wars film just about getting over $1billion dollars in the box office is seen as under-performing. We should remain grateful for what they have done for this genre and as they always give us high-quality entertainment.

In its latest feature, we see them embracing Mexican culture, particuarly Dia De Muertos a.k.a The Day Of The Dead. As expected with many Pixar films, it was very moving and touching.
What makes it work is that it takes its time in telling the story and you can get heavily invested with these highly memorable characters. We get introduced to this Mexican culture and it is wonderfully portrayed, explained and in such an educational way that I can appreciate their ethics a lot more than before.
Whilst all of that is happening, the story is moving along at a strong pace and I got invested in the development and the twists it makes. The final act is wonderfully sentimental, but never over does it. There is a scene towards the end that will definitely get the tears flowing. It certainly watered mine.

Outside of the story, a lot of Pixar's films from a technical stand-point are second to none.

I have noticed that Pixar's animation quality is getting particuarly strong lately. I noticed it in the landscape of The Good Dinosaur, and Coco is no different. It is almost getting a bit too real. I wonder when animation will get so real, that we can't tell whether it is digital, photo realistic or live action?
The Mexican inspired score by Michael Giacchino is just wonderful. The native music just instantly transported you to this vibrant and colourful land, and it has many catchy and vibrant songs with lots of energy, especially the big Oscar contender 'Remember Me'.

The voice work might not be up there with other Pixar classics, but they work well in this particular environment. Anthony Gonzalez was great as the leading character and gave us a perfect introduction into his potential. It was great knowing that legendary Mexican actor Gael Garcia Bernal was part of this project, and gave us a highly memorable and entertaing actor to get heavily invested with.
On the whole, it was fantastic to see virtually the entire voice actors be Mexican or have Mexican roots.

The only gripes I had was the familiarities with the story structure and themes. It has many things that you have seen in other Pixar films. But it was only a minor one as the story-telling and memorable characters were pretty strong and made my viewing experience a very enjoyable one. Plus, I liked how personal it was.
Also, if you are aware of a 2014 animation call The Book Of Life, you will see similarities to it. As I have seen both, I can safely that Coco is not a rip-off. It might use a Mexican annual celebration as its backdrop, but the story is totally different.

Despite that small problem, I feel this is another welcomed addition to the studios highly-impressive catalogue. Like many of its other films, it works well for both the old and young generations. It's great for kids for so many things. But for me, the most important part was understanding Mexican culture. It was a lot like what Moana did for the cultures from the Pacific Islands. There are dark moments in this, but not enough that I feel will upset younger kids.
This is essential family viewing and make it special as the animation genre continues to get stronger and stronger.

Rating: 8/10

Review: Darkest Hour

It's not often that we have more than one film that focuses on the same subject that are released so close to each other. June 2017 saw the release of 'Churchill', where the lead character was played very well by Brian Cox. Sadly, there wasn't much else exceptional after that. I think the choice of story was a bad one as it was during the end of World War II, where Churchill was not at his strong point.

However, this particular release that I'm concentrating on is concentrating on the moment that saw Churchill at his strongest and the time in his life that made him many people's greatest Brit of all-time.

This one is directed by Joe Wright, who many people will know for doing Atonement and Pride & Prejudice. But despite half of his previous works having Keira Knightley as the leading lady, she is not involved with this one.

Leading the way in this one, is Gary Oldman and he is nothing short of great. The makeup and prosthetics are phenomenal and deserve an Oscar. But the whole thing does feel like a full transformation, even though you can see part of Oldman in the face as well as the performance.
Lily James was strong and solid in her supporting role. Ever since her great portrayal in Cinderella as the title character, she has been involved in many big British projects.
Kristin Scott Thomas as usual was really good, despite not being as integral of a character as I expected. As for Ben Mendelsohn, I think he did a great job, and he continues his strong streak from his contribution to Rogue One.

The performances was definitely the strongest part of the film. Their engaging style really helped the story move along throughout. The first act showed a lot of content that I knew very little about beforehand. That got me invested in the right way to keep me gripped to the end.
The final act could the make or break moment for many people. It does get a bit too patriotic, flag-wavey and crowd-pleasing at times. It also includes one scene that could leave a bitter taste as it can come off as very showy and sugar-coated. But to me, it still felt moving and engaging.

I think what I got from it the most was the humanisation of Winston Churchill. His personality, struggles and the risk he took to become the man he is known for today was great to watch. It almost had a similar tone to Steven Spielberg's Lincoln, but with that essential British humor.

I won't be surprised, if some people claim it to be Oscar-bait as it is the type of film that ticks the boxes into 'how to win an Oscar'. But I felt pretty much all of the theatrical moments to be fairly strong, natural and entertaining.

Even though I feel there are a healthy amount of better WWII films, both old and new. This still is a really entertaining watch that many people can have a good time watching. It is always a struggle to make a film entertaining even though you obviously what is going to happen. I think they made the story move along at the right pace to make it engaging enough.
But what makes me give this film an exceptional rating is mainly due to Oldman's performance. It carries the film so well. However, there is still plenty of strong aspects to look out for. I think director Joe Wright's style works well with this film. We see a lot of similarities to this from Atonement. From the way its cut, to the long camera tracking, the tone, its overall look and even the use of a typewriter.

You can almost track the timeline of WWII from just four films that have come out in the last year. You begin with Darkest Hour, then Dunkirk, then Their Finest and finish it with Churchill where Brian Cox plays the the title character.
Also, with Ridley Scott looking to re-make Battle Of Britain soon, we could have ourselves a modern World War II franchise.

Rating: 8/10

Review: Hostiles

When you hear of the people involved and for there to be no awards buzz for this, you do wonder what could possibly the problem with this film?

I am always keeping on eye on any project Christian Bale is part of. I think he is a top talent and is definitely one of the most committed actors working today. His method approach to his work can get a bit too serious at time for my liking. But on the whole, he has done some brilliant work in the past.

Also, the director Scott Cooper has made some good pieces of work such as Crazy Heart. However, his bleak tone to his films can sometimes be a bit tough to be an entertaining watch. That relates to his other films Out Of The Furnace and Black Mass. While they are pretty solid, the re-watchability is very low.

I must say that there is plenty of content to be praised. It starts off with a pretty threatening set-piece and the beautiful wide landscape certainly transports to that part of the world and in that period of the late 19th century straight away. When you understand what story we're getting ourselves into, I got fairly interested to see how this would turn out. However, the 2hrs 13mins duration does wear the plot quite thin fairly soon as it is a simple story with not much else to it.
It just about moves along to make it fairly entertaining and you can see trying to cover topical discussions. But they are ones that you have seen already been covered, and with a much stronger execution.

There weren't any exceptional performances. But they were certainly all pretty solid. Bale was fine. But I don't feel that his characters backstory matched his look and execution of the character.
I think Rosamund Pike was pretty solid throughout and I liked her character arch in this. However, I think since her jaw-dropping performance in Gone Girl, I think I'll be disappointed in the rest of her work.
It was great seeing Wes Studi in this. But I would have liked his character to have more development as I remember Studi's work in the 90's really well and I think his character could have played a much more integral role.
There were some nice surprise minor roles for big stars such as Peter Mullan, Jesse Plemons and Timothee Chalamet. Sadly Mullan felt out of place as you could tell he can't work the American accent and can't completely remove his Scottish one. As for Plemons and Chalamet, they did well with what they had, which wasn't much.
There was one surprise appearance. But all I'll say is, that there was a '3:10 To Yuma' reunion that takes place halfway through. But I will just tease that moment to not fully spoil the scene entirely.

The films biggest positive is most certainly the cinematography. There are lots of amazing open-air landscape shots. But what makes it work the most is that this aspect of the film alone transports into this world pretty quickly and not at one point did I feel like I was out of the illusion.

I also liked it paying homage to many great westerns, particularly The Searchers. It is not often that we see a western, or something close to it. So we must take these films for granted when they get released.

The stuff I had problems was the dialogue at times, and the duration. I will not be surprised to hear any potential criticism on the dialogue, as a lot it was mumbled in its delivery. You do seem to get that with a lot of films, and I do sympathize with those that has a real pet-peeve about this.
As for the length of the film, it did not warrant its 2hrs 13mins duration as the simple plot wore thin early on.

While I was fine with the serious and slow-brooding tone, I just think the execution of the characters and themes just did not become fully-fledged for me to get heavily invested. It's perfectly fine with some entertaining set-pieces. But if I was being cruel, I would not remember that much after leaving the cinema as the duration felt more of a slog to watch.
I admired the P.C. message that it was trying to give. But I think the execution just did not fully work in my opinion. But I was glad that they were attempting to address that.
In a nutshell, a lot of it reminded me of some of the directors previous work such as Black Mass and Out Of The Furnace. The depressing and dour tone to it worked at times. But the pacing of it just made it tough to be entertaining and memorable.

I can see why this is hardly getting any awards buzz, despite the people involved.

Rating: 7/10

Review: All The Money In The World

Ridley Scott as a director is obviously one of the most successful that is still working today.
However, almost all of his films in recent years have not been been heavily praised by critics and audiences.
The only exception would be The Martian, as that became a big success.

With this new release, there has been quite a lot of news surround this.
As some of you are probably aware, the story involves famous rich-man John Paul Getty. The role of Getty was originally Kevin Spacey’s. But after the sexual assault allegations, a dramatic recasting was underway, and it saw Christopher Plummer take the reigns. With the forced change coming so close to its release date, they actually managed to film the required scenes in time.

Now that I've seen the film, when you actually see the scenes that Plummer needed to do, it's amazing that Scott and his team managed to pull it off in time. It does genuinely looked like they had Plummer cast the whole time. Also, if you were unaware of these events, the film would feel totally seamless to you. What makes it even more astonishing, is that Plummer was actually Scott's original choice.

You might remember a similar incident happened in Gladiator, when the great Oliver Reed sadly died during filming and they had to super impose him in some of his final scenes. It managed to work really well.
But thankfully, it is just not this aspect of the film that makes it worth watching.

It's a tense and exciting thrill-ride that gives you a real insight into the character of Getty. He does seem like a real life Citizen Kane with his own Xanadu. I don't often get totally gripped by characters who are stinkingly rich, like in some of Martin Scorsese's movies. But there are times like this where it manages to work for me.

I think Christopher Plummer is the biggest draw, and has a great job with this role. His characters way of thinking really sold me and became the part of the film that I got invested with the most.
My initial thoughts on hearing Plummer already getting nominated for awards was to just spite Spacey. But after seeing the film, I think they're genuine recognition for its efforts.

Michelle Williams as usual is really good and almost steals the show from Plummer. I was a bit unsure of her performance at first. But once her character takes a tremendous turn of attitude with the situation at hand, it is quite a powerful switch.
Another performance that was a bit of scene-stealer was Romain Duris, who plays one of the kidnappers. It gave a lot of humanity to the antagonists and that was a big contribution for my overall enjoyment.
As for Mark Wahlberg, he does a more played-down performance which worked really well with his character. You don't often see this side of him. But it was great to remind us of his range.

I don't have many major negatives to speak of. But if I was being nit-picky, I would say that it was hard to feel empathy for the capture. I was more interested in the story in general rather than the protagonists. So now, it was just all about how much I enjoyed it.

I felt it to be pretty riveting from start to finish. I liked the way it told the story, it was thorough, it kept me interested and on the edge. It was helped by the heavy dialogue that explored how rich men think and understand society. I also felt the operatic style of the score really enhanced many scenes and should definitely be mentioned as one of the films strongest positives.
I must mention that the trailer does suggest a more frenetic pace. It is closer to a slow-burner. But it is still as exciting as you might expect.

I am happy that Plummer managed to get this role as this seemed made for him. I'm not obviously not pleased in how he got. But to see the performance happen just made it a satisfying end result to the whole situation.
I am also in a way glad that this film is getting attention. It might not be for good intentions. But they will want to see this film, and they will be able to see a highly entertaining film.

This is definitely one of Ridley Scott's best. I would not put it up with his masterpieces of Gladiator, Alien and Blade Runner. But I would put in the next level down with The Martin, American Gangster and Kingdom Of Heaven.

Rating: 8/10

My Top 10: Most Anticipated Films Of 2018

2017 on the whole was a pretty good year for films. While we still did not get many amazing summer blockbusters, most of them were fun and pretty satisfying. However, it was another memorable year for the indies.
As for 2018, there are plenty of goodies to look out for and their release dates look to be pretty wide spread. So I think is it safe to say that the seasonal blockbuster market looks to be pretty much over.

There are plenty that I would normally be excited for. But the buzz for them is sadly not promising. Many examples could fit into this category such as, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Alita: Battle Angel, Black Panther, Ant-Man And The Wasp, The Predator, Robin Hood, Venom, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindlewald, Aquaman

Just missing out on my top 10 are the first film from the follow-up to Studio Ghibli, Studio Ponoc. They begin with 'Mary And The Witch's Flower'. Other films I am looking forward to are Red Sparrow, Mary Magdalene, A Wrinkle In Time, A Quiet Place, The New Mutants, M:I 6 - Mission Impossible, The Equalizer 2, Mary Queen Of Scots, The Jungle Book, X-Men: Dark Phoenix, Mortal Engines and Bohemian Rhapsody.

Like with all years, when I do this list, there are films being released at the end of the year that I know very little about as I type this that are likely to be involved at the Oscars. For example, there is a new Martin Scorsese crime drama coming out called The Irishman. No release date has been set. But I assume it will be out towards the end of the year and be a potential awards contender. I do have some excitement for it. But not enough to make it into my top 10.

Here are my top 10:

10) Early Man - You've seen 'Wallace & Gromit', 'Shaun The Sheep', 'Chicken Run' and 'Pirates!: In An Advneutre With Scientists'. Now, Aardman Animations is going back to the days of the cavemen.

Expect some top British style comedy with gorgeous stop-motion clay animation.

Release Date: January 26th

9) Mary Poppins Returns - This has the potential to be totally terrible, but also be as brilliant as the 1964 original.
Like many others, I will be going into this with huge caution. But I trust the people involved and this could be quite the magical experience.

A stellar cast with award winning crew. Will it remain to be practically perfect in every way?

Release Date: 21st December

8) Cloverfield Movie/God Particle - It may be out in just over a month. But like with all Cloverfield movies, there is very little being shown.

I have loved everything about the Cloverfield movies. From the films themselves, to the almost non-existent marketing. What could they conjure up this time?

Release Date: February 8th

7) Annihilation - After the huge success with 'Ex Machina', director and writer Alex Garland is back with an intriguing fantasy adventure.

With Natalie Portman, Oscar Isaac and Jennifer Jason Leigh leading the cast, we could have another hit on our hands.

Release Date: February 23rd

6) Solo: A Star Wars Story - Any Star Wars movie is bound to be in my most anticipated list. Even it is a origins story of Han Solo.

Despite it problems they have had in production, I am always super excited to another installment from a galaxy far, far away.

Release Date: May 25th

5) Ralph Breaks The Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2 -
The 2012 Disney animation was highly enjoyable and is one of the best that studio has created.

Now we could see the sequel go down routes that could see its follow-up be an instant classic.

Release Date: November 30th

4) Deadpool 2 - The 'merc with the mouth' is back after the box-office and critical success the original got back in 2016.

Expect to see more clever marketing, many pop-culture references and of course, clever usage of insults and swearing.

Release Date: June 1st

3) Incredibles 2 - We have waited 14 years for a sequel, and Pixar seemed to finally found the right story to follow on from the film that many people consider to be the best superhero film of all-time.

The original looks to be firmly set in my top 100 forever. So the next chapter has a lot to live up to.

Release Date: July 13th

2) Avengers: Infinity War - This is likely to be many people's most anticipated, and for good reason. 2008 saw the start of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and now all that we know looks to be coming to ahead.

Who will survive the powerful villain Thanos?

Release Date: April 27th

1) Ready Player One - A new Spielberg film should always have heads turning. But with it being a sci-fi and based on a best selling novel, we look to have a Spielberg blockbuster on our hands.

With the director going more for moving true story dramas, we should take this particular movie for granted. We might not see this type of Spielberg movie for some time, if ever.

Release Date: March 30th