Review: 21 Bridges

After directing the highest grossing film of all-time back in April, how do you react with your next project?

I guess in the case of Anthony & Joe Russo, you just carry on. However, this particular project sees them as producers.

At the helm for this is a man called Brian Kirk, who is more known for his TV work.

What I was liking about this one the most, was the refreshing hard-boiled vibe it was giving off. It's not often that I see a new release crime mystery thriller with a hard edge to it.

It was strange and highly satisfying hearing Chadwick Boseman talk in a much clearer voice compared to his Black Panther character, which I remember having a initially tune my ears to. I liked his story arch, the way it was developed and his chemistry with the supporting cast.
Everyone else did a pretty solid job and it was nice seeing Sienna Miller, Taylor Kitsch, Stephen James and J.K. Simmons add to the star power.

I'm going to make this short and sweet and there is still to say about this film. But that's not a bad thing.
Everything

The concept is simple yet one that bring in a strong of general cinema-goers and everything is done to a satisfying level.
I felt this was a solid crime thriller that while it may not bring anything new to the genre, it's efficient execution of its set-up still makes it an exciting watch with solid action and some nice twists and turns that keep the story moving.

Rating: 7/10

Review: Le Mans' 66

I'm always up for a new James Mangold film. It doesn't always work out well. But most of the time it does.

He's made big hits such as Identity, Walk The Line, 3:10 To Yuma and Logan.
Now, he's gone back to doing another biographical drama. I think after how well Ron Howard did with Rush, it was a good time to tell another motorsport true story.

With the casting of Matt Damon and Christian Bale, I knew this had the makings of a possible awards contender as someone like Bale always fully commits to his role.

Well the 2hrs 30mins duration certainly flew by. What I noticed was how many aspects to the story there were, which is probably why the film ended up being this long.
There's certainly more to cover then I anticipated and the end result was something that was pretty memorable.

Christian Bale knocked it out of the park again. Despite being seen more like the support rather then the lead, he steals the show. Right from the first scene, you can tell his method approach worked again as he has transformed into this passionate character that the general audience can behind with.
Matt Damon does a solid job as the lead, bounces off well with Bale and gives you a believable character that was perfect for someone like Damon to play.
Catriona Balfe could be an understated success here as her chemistry with Bale created a number of memorable scenes.
Josh Lucas has to get a mention, as he was wonderfully hated as the pantomime villain. His slimy presence just fits into the stereotypical corporate character that you just want to punch square in the face.

As well as the performance, the whole film has a great sense of fun and adventure to it and it's definitely executed in a way to play to the widest possible audience.
What I like about Mangold, is that he is a character driven director and this film is another one of those. This film is not about racing. It's more personal then that and it will have many relatable aspects anyone can relate to whether they like or not like motor racing.

The race sequences are terrifically tense and adrenaline fueled. The sweeping cinematography mixed in with the sound design that makes you feel that your in the car with them just adds to the viewing experience.

An underdog story is easy formula to win over any audience. But executed to a high-quality gives it strong re-watchability and it's popularity will grow and grow.
Despite it being a true story, it went places that I was not expecting and it made the pay-off much stronger.
As mentioned previously, this is a film that any type of audience can get into and you can definitely find something in here that works for you.

Rating: 8/10

Review: The Aeronauts

From the same director as the brilliant yet relatively unknown War Book and very successful Wild Rose, I was certainly expecting a fair amount from Tom Harper's latest venture.

Plus with Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones back together again after their unforgettable chemistry in The Theory Of Everything, it had all the right ingredients.

While I don't think of it as strong as the previously mentioned films, there is a lot of fun to be had. I was surprised at how little story there actually was. It is essentially all about the mission and the adventure into the unknown.
To try and make a film out of it, there are scenes that cut away from the main plot to expand our characters backstory. I honestly did not feel it helped my enjoyment as I just wanted to go back to the main story.
I preferred the crux of the story as that was where all the action was. That aspect was very well executed and is clearly the films strongest aspect. The way it is shot really makes you feel you're there and it gives some eye-catching imagery. That mixed in with the visual effects really made it worth my time.

Redmayne and Jones continue to be great together, they carried this film well and kept me engaged. Seeing how they bounce off each other should see them be the next power movie duo to even rival the likes of Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy.
While I felt Redmayne was as solid as you would expect, I didn't quite believe Felicity Jones' character at the beginning. The 'over the top' opening her character had just did not feel right. Thankfully Jones felt more at home after that with Redmayne and her introduction became more forgivable.

It was a shame that there wasn't much story to get your teeth into as i mentioned there were some very memorable moments that are worth seeing on the big screen.
It's simple to follow, there is fun and tension to experience and solid acting all round. The execution of the action mixed with the cinematography really gives the sense of spectacle, awe and wonder.
Outside of that, everything moves along a perfectly fine pace. It's nothing challenging. Just a fun time with two likable actors and sometimes, that's all you need.

Rating: 7/10

Review: Midway

A new Roland Emmerich film these days largely ends up being an unremarkable missed opportunity despite the hype beforehand being rather big.

However, if this was a new release during the late 90's or even the early 2000's, it would be one of the most fun and action-packed films of the year.

Emmerich's sweet spot was certainly from Stargate in 1994 to The Day After Tomorrow in 2004, with the disappointing Godzilla being the only exception in that period. I think we can all agree that Independence Day is Emmerich's crowning glory.

With his latest project, I went in with a fair amount of hope given the subject matter. The Battle Of Midway has been portrayed fairly well over the decades and with today's technology, I knew this had great potential if it was done in the right way.

In the end, I felt it was nothing more than alright. It started with a lot of positivity. The action was thrilling, I could feel the stakes and was enjoying the characters and the vibe the film was giving off. But I think as the film went on, while it still maintained the same quality, it just felt tiresome and ordinary by the end.
While the script was like it jumped out of a 1940's comic book, it felt acceptable with the tone. But sometimes, I just couldn't forgive the corniness of it.

The performances were perfectly fine but never exceptional. I feel Ed Skrein did well in the leading role and I was pleased to see be the main character as he deserves it for previous work. But I think like with most War epics, the large cast list all do a satisfactory job and just let the story do the talking.

But clearly, the action sequences are the films biggest selling point. It does work on the whole. But it does end up being its own worst enemy. Its 2hrs 18mins duration began to show as there was probably one too many battle sequences and the thrilling action became somewhat tiresome. Yes, it was great to watch. But could we just have a bit of story development as well?

Despite the criticism I have given it, there was enough entertainment and engagement for it to be passable viewing. You can feel the passion Emmerich and his team are putting into this given it's a real story with a lot of tragedy. But it just never felt like a spectacle compared to War films of the past that covered similar important war battles.

I did appreciate that they wanted to show this event told from both sides and not just the allies, which reminds of what Clint Eastwood did in Flags Of Our Feathers and Letters From Iwo Jima. So I have to give some credit where its due.

But in the end, I can't see people remembering this film anytime soon.

Rating: 7/10

Review: The Peanut Butter Falcon

A film with a title like this certainly can't be ignored. But it was the buzz coming from the festivals that was gaining my interest in checking this out.

The feeling I got after seeing this, is the type reminds me why I love films. This film totally caught me off guard. It's is a wonderful American road indie flick that had me having a cheesy grin for pretty much the entire duration.
It manages to create that feel-good vibe from very early on and you just enjoy the ride till the very end.

The performances are very good on the whole. But there are two exceptions to this that go beyond that. Making his feature film debut, Zack Gottsagen gives a great performance. He was instantly likable, honest, very charming, got a lot of laughs out of me and he made his character very easy to root for. I don't think I've seen an actor with downs syndrome be given such a big role in any film. So for that reason, this needs to be seen as Gottsagen should be a pioneer for actors everywhere.
As for Shia Labeouf, I don't think I've seen him give a better performance. He gives wonderful support for Gottsagen's character and the strength of their chemistry and development makes this film a total joy to watch.
Dakota Johnson continues to excel in her performances post-Fify Shades with another memorable outing and completed the perfect trio to carry this film.

What I loved about this story is that it treated the topic of downs syndrome with respect. Everything about it felt believable and Gottsagen's character development as well as the script overall is the reason why.
Also, the camerawork is great and showcases the North Carolina swampy landscape so much that you actually can feel the environment the characters are living in.

A lot of the films style and tone reminded me of another indie flick back in 2012 called 'Mud'. If you've seen that and liked it, then this is a wonderful companion piece.

This was a real nice surprise in so many ways. I was not expecting this to be so joyful, inspiring and cover particular topics that were executed in the best way possible. It's a great film to watch that helps inspire you to really go for dreams, even when you just feel they're a fantasy. Definitely one of the big surprises of 2019.

Rating: 8/10

Review: Frozen II

It's amazing that it has been six years since the first Frozen came out and Disney's biggest success of the decade caught fire around the world.

Thankfully, I was never around people that constantly had the songs on all of the time. Therefore, I never became sick of hearing 'Let It Go' and it's many other instant classics.

A couple of shorts later, we now have a sequel. Trying to even match the most successful Disney animation in a generation must be quite a task to accomplish.

But with their record of live-action re-makes being a mixed bag in my opinion, I was going into this with some caution.
The one bit of faith that kept me going was that it certainly was not a forced sequel. Much like the Toy Story sequels, they wanted to make sure that they found the right story to prevent tarnishing the franchise.

I felt quite relieved more than anything else after seeing this, as I felt this to be a worthy sequel. However, I would not be surprised if some people didn't like it purely that it's not as good as its predecessor, which if that's case would be rather unfair in my opinion.
What I liked about it the most was how much they expanded the world outside of Arendelle and of its mythology and magical elements.

Also, the visuals continue to be very eye-catching, especially when the magical elements of the story are contributing.
In terms of the characters, it's playing to most of its strengths. The films most important cog from the first film is the sequels most important part of its machine, and that is the dynamic between our main characters Anna and Elsa. Their sisterhood chemistry is what makes the Frozen films great and without that, it would end up being rather hollow.
Olaf continues to get the biggest laughs be one of the films strongest aspects. Sadly, it felt it was lacking Kristoff. I didn't feel his story arch was interesting and he seems to be absent for a fair amount of the film that made no sense for him to be off-screen.

Another main ingredient to not just a Frozen film, but a Disney animation, is the songs. While new ones might not quite be on that instantly catching level, there are still pretty strong ones that I would happily listen too again. There was a song that looked to be intentionally identical to the style of a Michael Bolton video which was very funny. There is a big song that they are trying to push as hard as they did with 'Let It Go'. It's worth it of being the films biggest song and I would happily champion it to win Best Original Song at the Oscars.

The only negative that I feel was worth mentioning was that there is actually no villain. There is something we feel is a threat. But when you actually think about it, there is not real antagonist. As many people know for the art of story-telling, that for every strong hero you need a strong villain.

So while it might have the same level of emotional involvement or pure Disney magic, I was still really enjoying the story and it had me constantly engaged and invested throughout.
I will be interested in how I feel about this film on multiple viewings. Maybe I'm kidding myself, or I'm being soft on it and clouded by its flaws? Guess we'll have to see.

There is a post credits scene and it certainly is one that made me happy and continued my favourite gag from the film.

Rating: 8/10

Review: La Belle Epoque

This film really catches you off guard from the very beginning. It's frenetic pace and extensive plot and structure really forces you to pay 100% attention from the very beginning.

But once you understand what's happening, you get settled in for quite a quirky and emotional ride with plenty of laughs along the way.

It ends up being a really satisfying watch. It manages to hit the right notes of emotion and sentimentality without ever over-doing it. That's quite a skill to pull off. So huge props to director and writer Nicolas Bedos and their team for making this work.

One big reason that this film became so satisfying, was the growth and development of all the characters. From understanding themselves in a logical way, to perfectly executing the gags they were given in their dialogues.

The most notable performances were from Daniel Auteuil, Guillaume Canet and Doria Tillier. Auteuil had a very likable presence and with his character effectively being the audience, his level of authenticity was very believable and very engaging.
Canet gave great amounts of energy and an expected French touch to this film. His chemistry with Tillier was always a joy to watch and got a good amount of laughs. As for Tillier herself, I felt she stole the show and gave such a strong screen presence that her character's story arch managed to overshadow everything else.

Even from the technical side, there were many positive aspects that were easy to notice. The cinematography was adventurous and fitted the tone perfectly and the overall production design also never felt out of place with the type of story it was telling.

It all felt like seeing The Truman Show. But everyone knowing it's all fake, the themes being more layered and of course being very French.
It brings so much joy and due to its complexity, it gives it strong re-watchability. The performances are very strong, the story is so wild and crazy that if you give the attention it deserves, you will fall in love with it.

Rating: 8/10