Review: Gold

For the past five years, Matthew McConaughey has been on a rise that pretty much everyone has been wanting to see.

After showing initial promise in Dazed And Confused, Lone Star, Contact, Amistad and even Reign Of Fire, McConaughey went on a little wonder into the rom-com genre.
For me and many others, it seemed to fall apart for him.

Then in 2011, it all started to slowly turn around. We saw a possible return to form with Bernie and Killer Joe. Then it was Mud and Magic Mike where we knew he was back. Dallas Buyers Club got him a well deserved Oscar. Then the big roles were rolling in with The Wolf Of Wall Street, Interstellar and 2016 features Free State Of Jones, Kubo And The Two Strings and Sing.

Now he is in a fourth 2016 feature.

There was initial promise of Oscar buzz when you saw the premise of this film on paper. But eventually, the limited December release and nationwide release later in 2017 saw that it was not going to be as good as expected.

Now that I've seen it, I can see why that happened. However, it is still a pretty good feature. It opens up nicely and we get to see our main characters intention early on and we are definitely rooting for him. The development of the story and our characters moves along nicely, there are some nice twists and turns and it ends up being loosely based on a true story that you want to know more about.

The cast is pretty good on the whole, both in its choices and performance execution. Matthew McConaughey is really good in this film. He continues to show how great he is at pulling a story along and have many memorable scenes which includes a pretty powerful speech.
Edgar Ramirez was solid on the whole. I like him in most of his roles, which are usually supporting. It was his chemistry with McConaughey that saw him at his strongest here. But I think with a little more screen time and development, his character could have easily competed well with McConaughey's.
Bryce Dallas Howard was a real surprise for me. Not just for being there, but for being a pretty good supporting role. Her moments with McConaughey was very endearing and charming and you can really feel for her every time she is on screen.

I think the reason why this film never delivered its Oscar success potential, is the simple story structure. It never does quite kick into gear to be truly memorable, and yet it did not lose pace to be forgettable and disappointing.

In the end, it was pretty good. Nothing was bad, and yet not much of it felt it was not fully capitalised. McConaughey definitely made this film much more engaging and memorable up to a point.
Sadly if I knew if it was going to be like this, then I would just wait until it is being shown on TV.

Rating: 7/10

My Top 10: Performances As President Of The United States

The role of the American president has become one of the most popular characters in the industry. Whether it be a biopic, or a blockbuster, the American president is a great device that can work in many genres.

There's been a solid amount of good portrayals of actual presidents, as well as performances of fictional ones.
One thing's for sure, is that I'm looking forward to the first person that portrays President Trump.

While I wait on that phenomenal event to happen, here is my top 10 list. I must mention that this is based on the performance alone, and not the quality of the film.

10) Benjamin Walker (Abraham Lincoln) (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter) - Abraham Lincoln discovers that vampires are planning on taking over the United States, and he plans to eliminate them.

I know, I'm as shocked as you are. But I thought the film was surprisingly good fun for the most part.

Also, Benjamin Walker's performance was pretty good, and well developed throughout.

9) Jack Nicholson (fictional James Dale) (Mars Attacks!) - While this Tim Burton sci-fi comedy is really silly, it manages to work.

Jack Nicholson plays a fictional president, and it is clear to see that he is having fun.
So much fun in fact that he play a second role as a land developer.

8) Gene Hackman (fictional Alan Richmond) (Absolute Power) - A solid and fun action crime drama that sees Clint Eastwood direct and star as a thief who witnesses a crime involving the U.S President.

Gene Hackman plays the president, and is as good as you would expect from Hackman.

I am surprised that this is his only role as the President Of America.

7) Tom Selleck (Dwight D. Eisenhower) (Ike: Countdown To D-Day) - For a TV movie, this is certainly one of the best ones around.

A tashless Tom Selleck plays President Eisenhower during the build-up the Normandy landings at the end of World War II.

It is a very well told story and gives us a great character study of Eisenhower.

6) Harrison Ford (ficitional James Marshall) (Air Force One) - When hijackers seize Air Force One during a flight, the President uses his experience in the army to try and defeat them.

It may be silly, but it manages fun viewing. Harrison Ford plays the President, and he does a bad-ass job of it, as well as giving one of the best lines in 90's action films.

5) Tom Wilkinson (Lyndon B. Johnson) (Selma) - A powerful history drama that shows the time of Martin Luther King's to secure the rights of equal voting.

With David Oyelowo leading as King, we see a very solid supporting performance by the always great Tom Wilkinson as President Johnson.

4) Morgan Freeman (ficitional Tom Beck) (Deep Impact) - One of the most popular performances and by many peoples ideal choice of playing the President, Morgan Freeman.

While a comet is hurtling towards Earth, a group of astronauts are trying to destroy it and citizens are finding there best chance of survival.

A very entertaining 90's action drama.

3) Bill Pullman (ficitional Thomas J. Whitmore) (Independence Day) - I can probably say this on behalf of everyone, this is the best performance of a fictional President of all-time.

One of the most popular films of the 90's sees Bill Pullman play the President during a time where aliens are invading earth.
His inspirational speech alone trumps everyone else.

2) Daniel Day-Lewis (Abraham Lincoln) (Lincoln) - The only performance as an American President that won an Oscar.

The incredible Daniel Day-Lewis leads this Steven Spielberg biographical drama about the events that occurred during the Civil War while the decision to abolish slavery was also happening.

1) Frank Langella (Richard Nixon) (Frost/Nixon) - A gripping and highly entertaining drama about the build-up and interview itself between then former President Richard Nixon and talk-show host David Frost.

Frank Langella completely transforms into Nixon and his chemistry with Michael Sheen as Frost was the key to the success of this Best Picture Oscar nominee.

Review: T2 Trainspotting

Sequels long after its original is always risky business. Especially one that I did not think needed it.
But director Danny Boyle is back with a follow-up to one of the most influential British films of all-time.

I had only seen Trainspotting for the first time several years ago. I remember being quite impressed by it, despite me never going nuts for drug-related films. I was more interested by the style of film-making and well developed characters. It also contain one of the most distressing scenes I have seen in any film.

21 years later, and now we see where the lads are now. I saw the trailer to see if it's going to be worth it, and I was surprised how good it looked. Some of the dialogue I was hearing sounded like we were instantly back in this mad environment. With the trailer doing plenty to get me intrigued, I had pretty solid hopes for a worth sequel.

Amazingly, I felt it managed to all come together. For something that I'm sure Boyle holds very dearly to his heart, you would expect him to never go near this work again. Especially when he has never done a sequel before. But we are now here, and I think everyone did a grand job.
I did not get the sense that the makers made this for an easy box office return. I felt it was there to be an actual follow-up to the events from 1996, which is fantastic to see.
The tone is definitely being aimed at the people who grew up with the original. With that in mind, it will be interesting to see how it works to the generation that are of the age the cast were in the original, and see if it can relate to a broad age range.

The gang are back, getting up to all sorts of crazy shenanigans, and all four of them were great in their performances. Honestly, it was like they had never left.

Ewan McGregor holds the film well as Renton, has many strong moments and you can tell he is enjoying getting back in the saddle. Roberty Carlyle continues to be as hilarious as Begbie was back in the day. Ewen Bremner as Spud shines the most for me, was given great development and became such a pivotal part of this sequel. I was really surprised to see Johnny Lee Miller give a great performance, as it is only recently that he has got back into movie acting after being busy with a TV series.

Another thing some sections of the audience like to see with sequels, is the level of nostalgia. The use of that and memory was cleverly done. It felt like it meant something, instead of just making us think "I'd rather be watching the original".

I have only very minor negatives. There were moments that felt a bit scattered at times and did not feel that well connected to the main story.

But in the end, I was not expecting this to be so enjoyable. Boyle and his done have done a great job by keeping this a down-to-earth story and making feel like it deserves a second installment.

I think what the films big strengths are, is what made the original so successful. The characters are still as memorable as ever, the writing is sharp and funny when needed, the visuals are engrossing and impactful, and the soundtrack is strong. They also managed to make the film worth seeing for people who haven't even seen the original, which was impressive to see.

When you think about it, a lot of Danny Boyle's work is about friendship, and this one is no different. I will continue to be excited for his next project, after making what will probably one of the big surprises of 2017. What a start to the year!

Rating: 8/10

Review: Hacksaw Ridge

With the amount of war films that have been made, you would think all the true stories that are filmworthy have been made?

Well, director Mel Gibson is back to tell another one, and it's quite an astonishing one when you see it on paper.
I was instantly excited to see this, as I like Gibson's work and war films, when they're done right. While I think his most successful film Braveheart is not as good as the Academy thought so back in 1995. I still think it is a pretty good film. I actually prefer a later project of his called Apocalypto. It does not get enough credit, and I hope people can discover that in build-up to see his latest feature.

It is safe to say that I was pretty impressed by it, and deserves all the awards recognition it is getting. The first act while solid, does get cheesy at times. But as soon as the action starts, boy does the film get very good and highly captivating. It is non-stop exciting and thrilling and the general feel of the film is extremely uplifting and inspiring.
It is an amazing true story in the some of the harshest environments known to man.

I loved the old school style of structuring and story-telling. It always puts me at ease. Also, it just goes to show that you don't have to be current to tell a story to modern audiences. It felt like I was watching a war film from the 1960's, but obviously with better budget and technology.

Andrew Garfield is terrific in this. He has been in two big films this year, and I think his performance in this was comfortably better then in 'Silence'. In terms of his best of all-time, I still think 'The Social Network' is just a fraction better.
Teresa Palmer was great in it, and her chemistry with Garfield really worked well.
There were a lot of surprising performances from Vince Vaughan, Sam Worthington and Luke Bracey. They were all great. With Vaughan not known for his serious roles except for in 'The Lost World: Jurassic Park', it was great to see him back in this zone. As for Worthington, he gets a lot of undeserved hate for his past work. Yes he's no Laurence Olivier, but I think he's perfectly fine. This was definitely one that took a few by surprise. I can definitely agree with Bracey not being that memorable. But the character he was playing definitely seemed to work for him. I hope this is the start of something big for that man.
Another performance that is worth mentioning is Hugo Weaving. This actor rarely gets mentioned anymore. It is easy to forget how great he has been in films like The Matrix trilogy, The Lord Of The Rings trilogy, Captain America: The First Avenger and two of my favourite films of all-time, Cloud Atlas and V For Vendetta.

The films strongest aspect is easily the action sequences. They are so on point. I have not seen such brutal battle scenes since Saving Private Ryan, and I am not exaggerating.
Mel Gibson has done another great job with this story. With Gibson directing, you should always expect him to never let up on the violence. I am fine with that, as it shows that are not concerned on appealing to the widest possible audience. As for the violence in the film, it felt true to the environment, and there are moments that are hard to look at.
Another thing you usually see in his films, is religion. I felt there was enough to not de-tract from the main story.

But sadly Gibson can over-the-top, and the violence does that at times for me. It is only a minor criticism, as the heavy majority of the violence is so well executed. Also, the ending felt a bit abrupt. I would have liked a more satisfying scene to end the movie.

It is great to see Gibson back directing again, and he is made another treasure for all of us to enjoy. There are plenty of great moments in this film that I will always look back on, including some incredibly tense moments towards the end. The performances are great, the action is some of the best I have seen from 2016 and the score works well with the visuals.
I know there are some people that are always curious as to how "true" these 'true story' films are. There is a bit at the very end that certainly cements the content you see on screen to not be 'Hollywoodized' at all.

Rating: 8/10

My Top 10: Most Anticipated Films Of 2017

It's been a bizarre year for movie in 2016. Most of the year was disappointing, especially for the blockbusters. Then it was only until towards of the end of the year where a hefty amount of really good films were being released.

So we are now in 2017, and hopes of some highly memorable blockbusters are extremely high. Especially when there are plenty of potential excellent ones scheduled for release within the next 12 months.

Before I mention some of my most anticipated films, I must mention some of the 2016 films that have yet to be released on my very own British shores. The remeaining 2016 films that I am still excited to see is Matthew McConaughey's latest film 'Gold', Jeff Nichol's newest feature 'Loving', the new Ang Lee film 'Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk', Oscar front-runner 'Fences', Ben Wheatley's newest project 'Free Fire', another Oscar contender 'Hidden Figures', 'The Founder' which shows the origins of McDonalds, powerful drama 'Christine', Paul Verhoeven's 'Elle', the new Gael Garcia Bernal drama 'Neruda', Chan-Wook Park's beautiful looking 'The Handmaiden', Jessica Chastain's 'Miss Sloane' and animation 'The Red Turtle', which is being co-produced by Studio Ghibli.
One other 2016 film I am unsure to see that is yet to be release is 'The Great Wall'. While it may look nice and contains Matt Damon. A part of me thinks this won't be that good at all.

Now I'm going into 2017. So far I have put pins in over 100 films. Whether those pins will stay there is another question. But for now, I will give a recap of films that have missed out in my top ten, but still deserve a mention.

I will begin with the first official 2017 film, and that is Danny Boyle's long awaited sequel to Trainspotting, 'T2: Trainspotting'. My most anticipated film that did not make my top 10 is Gore Verbinski strange and creepy looking 'A Cure For Wellness'. I'm not expecting much for the new 'Power Rangers' film. But as it was a big part of my childhood, I have to see what's what. I'm intrigued to see how the live-action re-make of 'Ghost In The Shell' goes. I really hope it gives the animated original justice. I would certainly consider looking at this potentially good looking thriller 'Unforgettable'. Despite the over emphasized news item on this particular film, I'm still going to see 'A Dog's Purpose'. 'The Circle' with Tom Hanks and Emma Watson looks interesting. As much as I am looking forward to another Pirates film, I'm not sure if 'Pirates Of The Caribbean: Salazar's Revenge' will be any good. But I will still go and see it, as I love the franchise.
These days, superhero films are becoming part of our everyday life. Some are not in my top 10 that I am still excited for is the good looking 'Wonder Woman', 'Spiderman: Homecoming' which hopefully begins a franchise worthy of the source material, Taika Waititi's 'Thor: Ragnarok' and 'Justice League' which could make or break many peoples belief in the DC Extended Universe worth paying money to see unfold.

Cars is back with a third installment, the cool sounding 'The Dark Tower' which is based on a Stephen King novel, Luc Besson's 'Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets' could be this generations The Fifth Element, Edgar Wright's new film 'Baby Driver', Doug Liman and Tom Curise are back together in 'American Made', a much deserved Kingsman sequel is coming out called 'Kingsman: The Golden Circle', we have a 'The Lego Ninjago Movie' being planned for a release which I am excited about and there is a new Tomas Alfredson film 'The Snowman' starring Michael Fassbender.
One film that I was thinking of gambling and putting in my top 10 despite no trailer being out yet, is an 'Untitled Cloverfield Antholoy Movie' in the work. I love both Cloverfield films, and another one makes me super-psyched. But I think a lack of info prevented to not quite get it in my top 10.
Films planned to be release towards the end of the year that I am likely to see are Paddington 2, Red Sparrow, Murder On The Orient Express, Coco, Darkest Hour, Jumanji, The Greatest Showman and an Untitled Disney Live-Action Fairy Tale,

Films are provisional set for 2017, but have yet to have a specific release date that sound interesting are Annihilation, Battle Of The Sexes, Mary And The Witch's Flower, Mary Magdalene, Patti Cake$, The Kidnapping Of Edgardo Mortara, Three Billboards Outside Of Ebbing Missouri, Untitled Darren Aronofsky Project, Untitled Detroit Project, Wind River, World War Z 2.

As you can see, there is plenty to enjoy in 2017. But here are the 10 that I am excited for the most at the start of 2017:

10) War For The Planet Of The Apes - After really enjoying 'Rise' and 'Dawn', the current Planet Of The Apes has exceeded many expectations.
With this one looking to flow into the original Planet Of The Apes, I am intrigued to see if this installment could make one of the best trilogies of recent times.

Release Date: July 14th

9) The Lego Batman Movie - I really enjoyed 'The Lego Movie', and it became one of the best and most popular films of 2014.

Now the most memorable character, is getting his own film. Will Arnett is back as the voice of Batman, and from what I've seen in the trailers, the style of comedy is similar to 'The Lego Movie'. Just take my money now!

Release Date: February 4th

8) Kong: Skull Island - I am always excited for any King Kong film, and this one is no exception.
With a stellar cast including the amazing Tom Hiddleston and Brie Larson and this being in the same universe as the latest Godzilla film. This could be a highly memorable blockbuster.

Release Date: March 10th

7) Logan - This film has been getting a lot of buzz. Mainly because of the extremely mature tone, and it could be the Wolverine film we have been longing to see.

Hugh Jackman's character has become special to him, and I am confident he will give it a huge send-off.

Release Date: March 1st

6) Beauty And The Beast - The next Disney live-action re-make. I have always been weary for re-makes. But after really enjoying Cinderella and The Jungle Book, I just can't resist going nuts for one of the most beloved Disney animations of all-time.

I loved it as a kid, and I am partly confident this will be another critical hit.

Release Date: March 17th

5) Alien: Covenant - After the mixed reviews of Prometheus, some momentum was lost within the Alien franchise.
Despite avoiding the trailers, I have heard many great things that has made me put it up this high. Especially with Ridley Scott aiming to make it more of a horror, like with the original Alien.

Release Date: May 19th

4) Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 - It became one of the highest grossing films of 2014, now director James Gunn returns the biggest band of misfits.
I will never get tired with the first GOTG, and the thought of a sequel makes me have a crisis downstairs. Yes, I am that excited.

Release Date: April 28th

3) Blade Runner 2049 - I had huge doubts with this one, as the original Blade Runner was so unique, that I knew the tone would be hard to be replicated (see what I did there) by anyone else.
But after seeing Arrival, I knew director Dennis Villeneuve was a safe pair of hands.
I haven't seen the trailer, but the images have me thinking we could have something special on our hands.

Release Date: October 6th

2) Dunkirk - I don't care what type of films it is, it is a new Christopher Nolan film.

His films have become events to me and many others. With this one being based on true events, especially with something so epic, I am excited to see what Nolan and his team can create.

Release Date: July 21st

1) Star Wars: The Last Jedi - You knew it was going to happen. After The Force Awakens, we are now in full swing of one Star Wars each year for the next few years.
Will this be similar to Empire Strikes Back as The Force Awakens was to A New Hope? We'll just have to see.
This might become a regular thing having a Star Wars film as my number one.

Release Date: December 15th

Review: Moonlight

During awards season, there are always a few films that end up having a long stint being shown at various film festivals, before it gets shown around the world.

This year, the main one seems to be Moonlight. A relatively unknown director in the form of Barry Jenkins, and bar Naomie Harris and Mahershala Ali, an unknown cast.

With all that in mind, the film must have made an impact to be considered as one of the front-runners in the major awards.

Now that I've seen it, the film is most certainly impactful in both its story and execution. With the story being a difficult one to tell, Jenkins and his team manages to tell it in such a way that makes it raw and visceral.
What I liked about it the most was a lot of the film feeling so real, that it was almost like watching a Richard Linklater film. Speaking of Linklater, seeing Moonlight reminds of Boyhood. This could be a nice companion piece to Linklater's ground-breaking coming-of-age drama.

All the performances were very good. In terms of awards recognition, it is hard to see who deserves to get a nomination in my opinion. Due to the structure of the film, I felt there was not enough screen time for most of the cast. The only one that I felt I could give a nomination to is Naomie Harris, who was very strong and haunting throughout this film.
But I have to give huge props to Alex R. Hibbert, Mahershala Ali, Ashton Sanders, Trevante Rhodes, Jharrel Jerome and Andre Holland.

Everything done from the technical side is so so good. It is beautifully shot, the general colour scheme fits the tone really well and the soundtrack is moving and dramatic at the right times.

The only gripes I had with the film, was the pacing. It was a bit too slow for me most of the time, and that was testing my interest. While some slow moments felt necessary, other parts did not feel right.

Despite all it's praise I have given it, I would call this film an 'important film' more than anything else. It is very well made, from the structure to its executions, the performances are great, the emotion is well played, I love how atmospheric the score is and the story is intriguing and topical.
But sadly, I was only appreciating it instead of loving it. While I can't ignore its terrific craftmanship, I cannot see myself watching this again. It's re-watchability I think will be poor, and it could slowly be forgotten over time.
Also, I think the general mainstream audience will struggle to get into this film and truly appreciate it. The pacing is slow, and the topic its covering appeals very little to the casual film-goer.

That being said, important films should always be highly recommended and you should definitely go and see it. It just maybe the only time you watch it.

Rating: 8/10

Review: Jackie

When done right, movies about historical figures or moments usually gone down well with both critics and audiences. They also fair well within the awards season. Recent examples would be Lincoln, The King's Speech and Selma.

With Jackie, I have been eager to see this for some time as I have always been fascinated by the JFK incident, and the aftermath from it.
With the Cold War still going on, the whole country were so tense of any speculation, and it was interesting to see who would make the next move.

I was also excited to see this because of Pablo Larrain directing this, and Natalie Portman playing Jackie Kennedy. Sadly, the only film I have seen from Larrain is 'No' and I thought it was very good. As for Portman, she is one of my favourite female actors around today. Even without being in my number one film of all-time V For Vendetta, she has also done some great work in Black Swan, Leon and the hugely under-rated Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium.

Well, I certainly got a really good film. But I did not think it would be that impactful. From the opening scene, I could already feel the atmosphere the film was going for, and I was liking it a lot.

I have to go straight to the performances, because Portman is just absolutely stunning in this. Is it clearly her best performance since Black Swan. She really transforms herself into the First Lady, and it really surprised how influential she was during and after her husband's presidency. She definitely deserves another Oscar. It is always with these types of roles. It could have been a half arsed attempt at an impression. But I truly believe that she completely turn into Jackie Kennedy right in front of us.
Peter Sarsgaard was a really nice surprise in his role as Bobby Kennedy. He didn't steal the show. But it was certainly a memorable performance and seemed to play a pivotal part in making this film so gripping. There were also some solid supporting roles by Greta Gerwig, John Hurt, Billy Crudup and an almost unrecognisable Richard E. Grant.

I was really impressed with the cinematography by Stephane Fontaine. I would like to find out what type of camera they used, as it had a genuine 1960's look to it. I also loved the constant close-ups, which reminded me of The King's Speech. It felt really intimate, and as if you should not be that close to something so personal and distressing.
It also looks phenomenal. Even without the camera making it look like that time period, the sets and costumes did enough justice. Honestly, it was like watching a documentary.
The score by Mica Levi is incredibly haunting and is used heavily throughout. I will never forget her work for the score of Under The Skin, and this is as memorable.
Also, the writing was pretty solid, whilst also being really strong in certain moments.

Next to no negatives to mention. But if I was being picky, there were moments in the second half that felt like a lull. But like I said, it is a very minor thing.

I think it is safe to say that I really enjoyed it. This is a very good character study, that goes into quite some depth of one of the most famous women of 20th century America.
So if you're going into the film expecting an investigation of the famous assassination, don't. However, the execution of the assassination that we all know about, is done so well. Even though you know what is going to happen, just being so close to the action was really captivating.

When I like certain bits of history, I am always interested to learn more, and this was one of them. There was plenty in this film that became news to me as I was seeing it. I liked many of the aspects that they show and how America was at that time, and how big of a chance was this particular era in American presidency.

Definitely go and see it for Portman's performance and if you have always been interested in this story.

Rating: 8/10