Review: The Wild Goose Lake

Chinese cinema is definitely something I don't see often. Mainly due to the distribution to the UK not being that great. So I was certainly open to check this out and see what China has to offer.

It has quite an impactful opening act and sets everything up nicely. After that, it was a mixed bag of emotions. While the story was still moving along nicely and kept me interested. There were times where it went off into strange tangents which effected my enjoyment as well as the films momentum in my opinion.

I'm not sure if it was style of storytelling as it felt alien to me in those moments. Either that, or the director has a particular tone and vibe that just doesn't sit well with me or I'm not used to.

What did work was some very well executed action set-pieces and great camerawork and use of shadows that reminded me a lot The Third Man. Plus the performances were pretty good and the chemistry between the two leads played by Ge Hu and Lun-Mei Kwei was engaging and had a development that was effectively unpredictable to see how it would end.

So despite the problems I had with it, there was still effective portions of the film to just slightly outweigh the drawbacks.

I can't see myself watching this again. But it does entice me to watch more Chinese films and more from this particular director. It's certainly a style km not used to. But I'm willing to keep looking into films with a similar style to see if it's not just me.

It wouldn't surprise me if this gets made into an American remake. The foundations are definitely there for an entertaining action thriller that can be enjoyed by the masses.

Rating: 7/10

Review: The Report

Everyone loves a good political scandal/cover-up film. With the release of Vice last year and now The Report, the Bush administration is definitely becoming the hot topic for film-makers to cover. Especially for any potential Oscar success.

Having Scott Z. burns as director and writer excited me as he did the writing for films such as The Bourne Ultimatum, Contagion, Side Effects and the upcoming James Bond film.

For any fans of those films, this one is another strong addition to his résumé.
What made this political drama highly engaging, wickedly smart and witty and frenetic in its pacing, is the writing. It was almost Aaron Sorkin-esque.

Adam Driver is solid and very believable as the lead. While his character may be career driven, there were some nice moments of dry humor that contained clever put-downs on a couple of pop culture references to give him that rootable quality.
Everyone else was playing their parts well. They weren't exceptional. But they helped enhance the story and kept it moving along at a flowing pace. Annette Benning was as good as ever, Jon Hamm was perfectly fine despite not a lot of screen time and it was nice to see Michael C. Hall and Ted Levine be part of this project.

One aspect that was a brave choice was the multiple moments of jumping around the timeline of this story. Amazingly, they managed to make it work. I never felt lost in where we were, which was unusual as it usually ruins the pacing if the film.

I was glad to find myself really enjoying this in the end. The story is quite extraordinary and the way it's executed on screen made it easy to understand, whilst still making it entertaining.

I felt it was thorough in its detail in the story, I never felt confused by the politics around it and I feel it's pretty accessible if people give time for it.

Rating: 8/10

Review: Judy & Punch

I had heard some solid buzz about this. Plus, with this having an intriguing plot synopsis and solid firepower in the casting department, I had a curious approach to this feature.

From the opening credits featuring a score giving off early vibes of a fairytale, I was an open book ready to absorb what was about to come my way.

Throughout I had no clue where it was going and kept me engaged throughout. I really liked the concept and how it was not afraid to play around with its own tone and ideas.

I detected a surprising but welcoming style of humour that had mixes of Monty Python and Taika Waititi. It wasn't afraid to mix the heavy violence and still make it comedic. There was even one moment of self-aware humour that used a pop culture reference which was cleverly executed and got the biggest laugh out of me.

The performances were pretty good on the whole. Leading the way was a strong performance by Darrion Hermann. I had never heard of him a few days ago. Now I've seen him in two films and he has already shown a good amount of range and the capability to lead a film.

Mia Wasikowska had solid and believable chemistry with Hermann and reminded us how talented she is. It's a shame that most people still just associate her with Alice In Wonderland.

There were some nice memorable performances in the minor roles. Especially by Benedict Hardie and Terry Norris who seemed to perfectly fit the tone throughout with some nice comedic moments.

As mentioned before, I enjoyed the score. It felt complete, adventurous and yet consistent at the same time. It's one that I would happily listen back to.

The production design and accompanying costumes were all on point and blended well with the woodland location.

The writing was a nice showstopper and it was very clever in its black comedy style that I feel will be the big hook in making it accessible to a mainstream audience.

Despite there not being any noticeable drawbacks, I still can't quite give it an exceptional rating. It's hard to explain why. But I think everythingwas just done to a good level with occasional moments of great. I think in the end it just ended up being all about how strong the positives were.

This was a lot of fun, unpredictable and consistently funny. It's not going to win any awards. But for the sheer fun factor, I can see this being enjoyed by many.

Seeing films like this still amazes me that despite people moaning of unoriginality, there are films like this with an original approach. It's just a matter of putting the work in to discover them yourself.

Rating: 7/10

Review: The Cave

I think virtually everyone is aware of the story of the Thai boys football team that was trapped in a cave after heavy rainfall last year. 

Seeing that it was going to be made into a film had me interested as true story events usually fair well in this medium.

Sadly, this had the feeling of a straight-to-TV film. Thankfully, it felt like one of the better ones. But it still played out like one. The poor acting, the awkward under-edited scenes, the constant over-use of certain tropes that became almost annoying.

It does pain me to say it as I saw this at the Leeds Film Festival and the director did his film studies degree in Leeds. Plus, he was actually at the screening doing a Q&A. For me this homecoming wouldn't have this review as a welcoming site.

I will say however, you can feel the passion in this project throughout. That does count for a lot, and to some people that's more important.

Plus, there were some effective underwater scenes and some nice drone tracking shots of the Thailand landscape. The way they explained the tricky situation our characters were in was easy to follow and you could feel the risks being taken.

But sadly, the negatives outweigh the positives.

I mentioned before about the poor acting. It didn't help that the director cast some of the roles to the actual people from the true event playing themselves.

While I appreciate the sentiment, the lack of acting was too noticeable to ignore. It didn't work for Clint Eastwood in 'The 15:17 To Paris', it won't work here.

There are some scenes during the credits of interviews with the real people who were also starring in the film. Their reactions during those segments were much more endearing then theirs in the film.

That for me confirmed it that I honestly believe that this would have been much more effective as a documentary.

I had feelings about during the film. But that final moment sealed it.

I think if the director had maybe used the bits they filmed and use them as reconstructions. Alonh with having interviews with the real people taking the majority of the runtime. Then we would have a successful and impactful film on our hands.

Unfortunately we dont. But at least the passion for telling story is there, and it's easily the films biggest strength.

Rating: 6/10

Review: The Wolf's Call

It's not often we get a submarine film. When done right, it can be a very entertaining experience.
So good in fact, it could be seen as one of the greatest films of all-time. I am of course referring to the gold standard of submarine films, Das Boot.

This latest addition to this subgenre comes from France, and they have given us quite a thrill ride.

The choice of time period is near future and the world the  director and their team have envisioned is definitely one that we can all relate to and some truly feel this is where this world is going.

The story may be one we have seen before. But the execution of this made it for a tense and exciting watch.
Also, the subplots between certain characters was developed nicely to intertwine with the main plot for everything to come to a satisfying collision. The choices made for the ending felt appropriate. Especially when completed our central characters story arch.

The performances all round were good and several characters had solid story arch's to keep us engaged and prevented the film from ever slowing down in momentum.

Francois Civil did a good job as the lead. There was also some nice from his ensemble cast. Particularly. Omar Sy, Mathieu Kassowitz and Read Karen who showed good commitment to their respective roles.

Only one negative to mention. There is a romance angle and it seemed more like a throwaway side order as it was given little development. By the end, a romance subplot was important to the plot. So I feel with better writing/development, this could have felt as integral as the main plot.

For purely the thriller aspect, this is a very exciting watch. The way they construct the tense moments is really well developed and you truly feel the stakes and the risk our characters are taking. Plus, the writing felt authentic with plenty of sub-lingo being blurted out.
Some bits were 'Hollywoodised' and almost go over the top. But it never detracted my enjoyment levels.

It was really nice to only see a submarine film, but one I would watch again. It might not be as iconic as Das Boot. But I would go out and say this is the next best.

Rating: 8/10

Review: The Nightingale

I've been wanting to see this film for quite some time. I'm not sure if it's had production or distribution problems. But I've been aware of it for over 2 years.

The big question is, was it worth the wait? Yes. But not in the way I expected.

I had heard that this film was violent and the 18 certificate had me feeling I was prepared. But one scene in particular had me and I think everyone else in the screening in total shock. It was probably the most brutal bits of imagery I've ever seen in a film. With the amount of violent films I've seen, I thought I was immune from all of this. But I guess this film took it to another level.

Now you're probably thinking, is the violence necessary? Considering the time period and situation the story is at, it fits in with what was going in at the time.

As for the story to accompany the violence, it's a pretty solid revenge thriller. The opening act certainly sets the scene for some completely despicable characters and introduces us to a central character that is easy to root for.
With the revenge set-up done, the path to retribution begins. With the jungle as the landscape, the possible dangers for our characters in that environment raised the stakes well and certainly had me on the edge of my seat.
As for the final act, while it does have its satisfying moments, the pacing did seem noticeably jittery. Some of the choices made seemed to somewhat slow the momentum down.

The performances were very good on the whole. Aisling Francois was a very strong and believable lead. She showed great strength in her character, was easy to root for and had some nice physical moments to give a well-rounded performance.
After seeing this, I don't think I'll look at Sam Claflin in the same way again. The things his character does will Joffrey Baratheon from Game Of Thrones seem timid. But all those despicable acts that caused the hate to run through my veins clearly meant it worked. So props to San for his commitment to the role.
There was a wonderful support by unknown Aboriginal actor Baykali Ganambarr, who was a delight to watch. His execution of his comedic relief managed to give this violent film a surprisingly of laughs which was a big welcome to somewhat soften the blow. Big props to director Jennifer Kent and her casting team on finding this guy. Gabambarr can easily compete with the best Hollywood has to offer.
Another good bit of supporting was Damon Herriman, who enhanced the nasty side of the film really well even when you don't realise it.

Only a few negatives to speak of. Obviously the violence can somewhat affect your enjoyment of this. While it did feel necessary, it does lose that re-watchability factor. But thankfully, I only see that as a minor drawback.
But as mentioned, the execution of lay-off I felt slightly derailed the film. While it may have ended in the right way, the journey felt a bit stuttery. It felt it needed draw it out a bit longer for some reason.

Despite that, I think it's easy to see that I was entertained by it. I always admire a film that doesn't hold back on its violence. Even though that is will probably scar me for quite sometime.
But as it was necessary to reflect the horrific side of this time period, the director andd their crew certainly got their message across.
The performances were of high-quality, the camera work was effective and the use of the jungle landscape was well utilised.
I came close to giving this an exceptional rating. But the lack of a strongly executed pay-off prevented that.
I would still highly recommend this. But prepare myself, this will shock you.

Rating: 7/10

Review: Ordinary Love

I had heard a lot of initial buzz and anticipation when this film was being made aware. Mainly due to the fact of the accomplished people behind the camera and the high-calibre casting.

It certainly had the feeling of being one of the top British films for this year, and now that I've seen it, it wouldn't surprise me if it ended up being that.

On paper, it sounds like a tear-jerking Oscar bait type film. But it ended up being more than that. What the screenplay and performances managed to us find charm and humor through a subject that is very hard to have viewing experience that makes you happy. Don't get me wrong, there are obvious moments that will be a tough watch, especially for people who can relate to it. But that optimistic vibe the film gives off certainly made me appreciate the other aspects to the story.

The one thing I liked about this the most was the chemistry between the leading characters brilliantly played by Liam Neeson and Lesley Manville. From the comical sly digs to each other, to the arguments, you can tell that they were a believable married couple who were deeply in love and would care for each other no matter at what cost. They were wonderful to watch together and easily the films biggest strength.

No real negatives to speak of. Everything was done to pretty good quality. So it's just a matter of personal taste, how impactful it was and the strength of my enjoyment on how this fairs in my top films if the year list.

I surprised by how much I enjoyed this. It was surreal that despite the subject of the film covering is a depressing one, I smiled for the majority of the runtime and laughed fairly regularly. The film somehow managed to make me assured and see the lighter side of what our main characters were experiencing. The strength in the writing and the performances made me have a thoroughly enjoyable experience despite on paper you would expect the complete opposite.

The wonderful chemistry from Neeson and Manville is worth the admission alone.

Rating: 8/10