Review: Ready Player One

I have been waiting a long time for this film. No, I've not read the book. I'm talking about the first Steven Spielberg film with a blockbuster sensibility for several years.

Lately, he seems to be concentrating more on serious biopic dramas. One exception being The BFG, which to date is only Spielberg that I did not like.
I have had my suspicion that maybe Spielberg is losing is high-quality touch. While a lot of his recent films are really good, none have ever had the same magic that most of his films had from the mid 70's to the early 2000's.

As for the book, I've never read it. But I had an idea on what to expect as it contains a lot of pop cultural references. Nostalgia particularly from the 80's is a huge thing right now in many popular films and shows. So the timing of this film release could not have been better.
My Dad really enjoyed the book, and so all of this excitement had got me labelling this film as my most anticipated for 2018. So I think you can tell that from my perspective, a lot was riding on this. That is if it's great, then we're onto a winner with it being a Spielberg film.

Firstly, I adore the ideas within this story. It's like a mix of Avatar and The Matrix with the concept of Charlie And The Chocolate Factory. It's a film and video game nerds dream of.
The visuals are so striking, and I was in awe every time we get transported into this virtual world. As you get to understand the world we have been transported to, I loved how integral pop culture is to making the story move along.
It took a while for me to get invested with the characters. There was a particular high point that had me at my peak investment with the story and characters combined.
Sadly, it never went past that when going into second half. However, there was still plenty of rich visual content that kept me entertained right through to the very end.

The performances were pretty good on the whole. But the lack of depth in their backstory and development prevented this from being an all-out classic that can compete with Spielberg's best work. Films like Jaws, E.T. or Jurassic Park were never about the monsters or creatures. It was about the characters.
None of them were bad. It's just when I think back to this film, I think about the visual spectacle first, and then maybe the characters after that.

Tye Sheridan was a solid lead and the carried the film well. His chemistry with Olivia Cooke's character was strong and very believable. I have been a big fan of Cooke after seeing her in films like Me And Earl And The Dying Girl, as well as The Limehouse Golem. She is an amazing talent, and this is just another kick-start into opening many more doors.
I thought Ben Mendehlson really embraced his role as the main villain and had enough threat to be creditable in the main story. I really liked him in Rogue One, and I can see him doing similar roles like in these two films.
To be honest, there were not many other exceptional performances. But thankfully, none of them were bad whatsoever. However, it was great seeing Mark Rylance and Simon Pegg feature to give them some star power.

I could tell that there was a lot in this story to cram into this film from its source material. But from what I could see, it seemed to work for the most part. There was one segment however just before the final act that seemed to just leap forward and explain a lot of development really quickly so we can get back on track.
The third act is noticeably bloated. Some people will feel that it drags. However, whilst I could tell it was dragging, I was still gripped and intrigued by what was happening on screen.

The technical side is really on point and is masterfully made. I can certainly see this being in contention for many of the major technical awards next year. There are so many amazing action sequences filled with dazzling visuals.

Also, it goes without saying that this will be an incredible gave of 'spot the cultural reference'. There seemed to be an unlimited amount of references to keep your eyes out for. I saw more than plenty to keep me smiling. But I am sure there were many small ones that you can find on multiple viewings.

I think I can safely say that my high expectations were met. I had a blast watching this, I was never bored and it was just great watching a Spielberg film that made me see the magical side of him that people associate him with the most. This is probably his most enjoyable blockbuster film since probably War Of The Worlds or Minority Report.
It is a wonderful crowd-pleasing experience that is certainly worth paying good money for to see on the big screen. I would not quite rank it amongst Spielberg's very best due my problems with the lack of character development. But it's pretty damn close.

I was concerned about this story being over-blown with pop culture references. But I felt almost all of the ones mentioned felt integral to the development of the story, and thankfully the 80's inspired soundtrack was never over-used.
I do fear a lot of people won't get certain references, and that will just lose their investment in the story. But I guess if you remove that, then you're kind of losing the source material. So this could be seen as a niche movie, or certainly one of the nerdiest. However, with a lot of the most popular shows revolving around nostalgia, this could very well be a financial success worldwide.

I was somewhat disappointed however with the lack of a post credits scene, as a film that contains Easter eggs, you would naturally expect one.

Rating: 8/10

Review: Isle Of Dogs

A new Wes Anderson film certainly brings out a certain type of fanbase.

I always appreciate the craft of so many of his films. I just rarely get moved by them due to the story being too strange and quirky for me. However, there are some exceptions where I can embrace it and get a lot from it. Most notably The Grand Budapest Hotel, which I think could be one of his most accessible films.

If you have seen a Wes Anderson film and did not like it at all, then you might as well not try any of his other works, as his unique style is consistent in his entire back catalogue.

From the dramatic opening prologue, you are already mesmerized by the creations of the characters and the sets, what with it being a stop-motion animation. This technology is always impressive to look at, and with the level of detail Anderson puts into films, this one was particularly well presented.
As for the story, it's as outrageous and quirky as you expect with Anderson's films. It goes down some strange tangents. But eventually, you can't help but embrace this films particular cute, and sweet vibes about it for the most part.

While the voice-work is star-studded, none of it felt exceptional. But a few of them enhanced the characters really well. Ones that were worth mentioning were the characters voiced by Jeff Goldblum, Bryan Cranston, Ed Norton and at times F. Murray Abraham.

As mentioned before, the technical side is very strong. Don't be surprised if you see this get Oscar nominations next year in categories such as Production Design and maybe Cinematography.
Another could be the score by Alexandre Desplat, who continues to create pieces that I would happily listen to again and again. This particular score is very dramatic when it needs to be and really enhanced the story and the environment we have been transported to.

If I was being nit-picky, I would be most confident in picking apart how Anderson did the subtitles. I think the choice of a limited amount of subtitles for certain characters made me lose investment at times and made us not get into the motivations of certain characters.

But I feel on the whole that while I don't think the story was strong enough to keep my complete investment, the impressive technical achievement kept this moving along and made it a very good watch.
I felt connected with a lot of the characters, particularly the many dogs involved. The stop-motion is stunning and incredible to look at on the big screen. The level of detail and presentation in the creations of the characters and sets are wonderful to look at. I think this will be one of the few Anderson films I would happily watch again.

A final note that I thought was worth mentioning, is that this film seems to be appealing to kids at certain screenings. Wes Anderson is certainly not the type of director that I would call family friendly. But I guess kids who liked his only other stop-motion animation, Fantastic Mr. Fox, would naturally be hooked in seeing this.

Rating: 8/10

Review: Unsane

The second film directed by Steven Soderbergh since his supposed retirement. I guess he has found a new lease of life in film-making.

I think on the whole, Soderbergh is a solid film-making with a few high-quality projects to make him a highly regarded him within the industry. My particular favourites of his are Erin Brockovich, Traffic, Ocean's Eleven, Che, Contagion, Side Effects and Logan Lucky. So I was fairly intrigued to see what is making have a second life of sorts.

While the first half was intriguing and exploring interesting topics, I felt getting there was a bit quick. I felt like I wanted to know more about the main characters backstory to get more invested into the situation at hand.
But gladly, the second half rectified that and I felt we were back on course for an entertaining thrill-ride. It also shifted its tone at almost 180 degrees, which surprised me in a way.

Leading the way was Claire Foy, who continues to show her strong range into playing anything, and in many different genres. You could feel her emotions and experiences throughout, especially one great at the start of the final act. She is thoroughly captivating.
Foy is mainly known for her TV work, and doing particularly well in The Crown at the moment. But she is certainly spreading her wings into films. Most recently in the very good Breathe.
I liked watching Jay Pharoah. It is great to see an actor known for his comedy work be involved in a serious role, and Pharoah's presence felt really comforting. It was nice to see some sanity be brought to the table.
I have to mention Juno Temple, who was criminally under-used in this. She is a top talent that always brings her a-game into any project, no matter how small. Her character seems to almost channel Brad Pitt from Twelve Monkeys. But I think her lack of screen-time prevented us from seeing an interesting fully-fledged character that could have stole the show.

I have to mention the cinematography. It had a style which I don't often see. I would usually see it in low-budget projects. But apparently, it was all filmed on an iPhone. I never would have thought that. It was mainly because I was too gripped in the story to even consider or notice it. A few films have attempted this with strong results in the last couple of years. I think it was a bold and refreshing move from such an established director, and it will be interesting to see if this has a future and that could compete with the blockbusters.
A brief mention of the score by Thomas Newman. While I don't think I will be listening to it after seeing this, I felt it was well utilized at the right times.

No real major negatives. However, the shift in tone was partly problematic. So I guess the deciding factor on my rating, is how strong its positives are.

In the end, I did enjoy it. It's a respectable piece of work that explores and partly covers some interesting topics that are similar to One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest and Shutter Island such as, who are the actual sane people in this story, turning a sane person into a insane person, who are the doctors and who are the patients etc. But the second half seems to quash those ideas, and instead go for a stalker/slasher thriller by the end of it. While the execution of both of those halves were perfectly fine, I would have liked some consistency.

I wouldn't quite put it up there with the best films involving a mental institution, as there weren't many great mysteries to be solved. It felt naturally progressive, and there were few surprises. But despite not much of it being challenging, it is certainly engaging and entertaining enough to be solid viewing.

Rating: 7/10

Review: A Wrinkle In Time

While it has been getting A LOT of promotion in America, I don't think many people here in the UK are as excited or aware of this latest Disney product based on the successful book.

I'm not much of a book reader. But I have heard this story has been labelled as unfilmable. Whenever I hear that, I always hark back to Cloud Atlas. That film in my opinion ended up being one of the greatest films of all-time. So with Ava DuVernay being director, I do have some expectations of this being a highly memorable watch.

This is a really strange one to review. There is so much to admire, and yet very little to get invested in. It starts off with some promise. But when the fantasy element enters the arena, the execution of it just felt wrong. One big reason was the characters reaction to certain things. It just did not make sense. You would naturally be shocked or mesmerized. But instead they just reacted as if they had seen that sort of thing before, and just carried on.
The rest of the film continues that streak on impressive things happening on screen, but lacking that impact for the audience to experience themselves. There's a lot of minor similarities I noticed to films like The Wizard Of Oz, The Spiderwick Chronicles, Tomorrowland: A World Beyond, Labyrinth, The Neverending Story and even The Lady In The Water.
I think if you can stick with it and commit to it as much as you can, I think you can enjoy the strong finish it has. Many of the films shining moments were in the final act. But I don't think it was enough to ignore its problems in the build-up.

There's a nice mix of experienced and brand new in this cast. Storm Reid was a pretty solid lead for the most part. She seemed to handle the emotional parts of the story well, but not with the surprise fantasy moments. I don't know if that was bad directing as the stuff she was reacting strangley to was CGI based, and therefore she is seeing nothing. That being said, I saw great potential in her and I hope she gets more opportunities.
Deric McCabe was a real star in this for me, especially in the final act. He showed surprisingly great range and was an interesting character to watch. With all of this coming from someone who is aged nine, I think he could be a strong child actor for the next few years.
There was some nice performances from minor roles played by Reese Witherspoon and Chris Pine. Witherspoon has still got it for me. She felt very committed to her role and was almost channeling Elle Woods from Legally Blonde. As for Pine, I feel he is a super under-rated actor. People will know him from Star Trek, and not much else. It is a shame he is not used for a lot of projects, as I think he is terrific actor, particularly for blockbusters and in this one.
I thought Zach Galifiankis and Michael Pena had some nice moments in their short time on screen. Sadly I felt Oprah Winfrey, Mindy Kaling and Levi Miller were either underwhelming or under-used.

There are quite a lot of striking visuals throughout, which was helped with with the cinematography. But there were times you could tell they were in front of a green screen, which kind of made it look hokey at times. The gorgeous location choices of New Zealand was a top choice also.

There is certainly a lot to be intrigued about this one. You can see a great film in here. I was impressed with what was happening on screen and there are many touching moments. But something was missing from making me caring or getting wrapped up in the story. It seemed to lack that punch to make this impactful viewing. I felt like I was watching this from afar, rather than feeling like I was getting involved. There were also many jumbled portions of the film, particularly in the middle.
I think it was a combination of story-telling and writing that prevented this from being a strong piece of entertainment and making sense of everything that was happening.

Also I'm not sure if kids will fully appreciate this. I think certain kids that will get the most from this are fans of the book, and kids that are high in their creativity and imagination.

They really aimed high with this. But it just didn't quite work. So to call it an honorable failure would be a fair conclusion. But respect goes to Ava DuVernay and her team for this project.

I wouldn't be surprised if this becomes a cult hit though, as I can see kids from this generation praise this as they get older. A bit like Return To Oz from the 80's or Hook or A Goofy Movie from the 90's.

Rating: 6/10

Review: Pacific Rim: Uprising

While the first Pacific Rim film had over-the-top characters and was very silly in tone, it had great action, stunning visual effects and was really fun. That was mainly thanks to Guillermo Del Toro being director.
But with a new director at the helm, and the trailers suggesting more of a Transformers film, I was second guessing myself whether to give this a chance or not.

From the start, you can tell that Del Toro's touches and style is more than gone from this sequel. However, the opening action sequence is pretty cool and slightly put me at ease thinking we are least going to have a fun time no matter how ridiculous, which is what the first film essentially was.
It gave us a decent introduction to a couple of sub-plots. But in the end, it just seemed to not care about developing it into something interesting.
Even the with the story becoming more flawed and ridiculous, the fun continued. I was enjoying the fight scenes, which still remind me of every finale of a Power Rangers episode. I even managed to notice comparisons to Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem.
It did sadly end on a sour note, as the very final scene reminded me too much of 'Independence Day: Resurgence, which is never ever a good thing.

Instead of Idris Elba, it is John Boyega being front and centre of this story. I think this was a good performance by him. It is certainly up there with his efforts in Detroit and Attack The Block. You can really feel his charisma throughout this. Sadly, his comedic moments did not work at all, and almost felt awkward at times.
It was a respectable performance by youngster Cailee Spaeny. She felt more than capable of playing this strong female character and showed great potential in being used in many future projects. I would be on the look-out for more of Spaeny's upcoming roles. However, I was surprised as to how under-used she was in the second half, especially when the first half suggests that she is going to be the main character.
Charlie Day was ridiculous and unintentionally funny in his role. I don't think it was entirely his fault as the stuff he was given to do just did not feel right for someone of Day's style.
As a fan of the TV series Torchwood, it was nice to see Burn Gorman reprise his role from the first one.

As you may expect, the visual effects is its biggest strength. What I liked the most is that a lot of the fights take place in the day-time, which is such a nice refreshing change. So many big action scenes take place at night, and can be tough to tell what is actually going on as the filtering for some reason wants to make it even darker.
I was very happy to see everything happening clearly, and I'm sure many people will echo that statement.

So like I said, it may be stupid and it may be silly, but it is a lot of fun. So much of it is over-the-top. But there is an air of charisma coming from each department that makes it into solid entertainment.
It did have the action, but none of the style and creativity that Del Toro did to make this more than just robots fighting monsters. But I think if you go into this knowing that it will not surpass Guillermo Del Toro's original, then I think you can have a good time.
Outside of the action, there's not much else to write home about sadly. The characters have small or basic development and it does not have any interesting topics to cover or explore. It is purely action based, and thankfully they make it perfectly watchable. But none of it was jaw-dropping enough to compete with its predecessor.

Rating: 7/10

Review: Mary Magdalene

Even though I'm not a religious person, I am always intrigued with films about it.
I love the biblical epics of the golden era such as Ben-Hur and The Ten Commandments. Major studios heavily invested in those stories back in the day, and they certainly did not spare any expense in every department.

These days, they are rarely seen and not many work well with audiences and critics. I feel The Passion Of The Christ is probably the last great success within this sub-genre in terms of box-office. As for the quality of the film, I admired its risky and bloody approach to it and thought it admirable enough to be solid viewing.

This latest release is directed by Garth Davis, whose previous film was his debut with the terrific and Oscar-nominated Lion. As soon as I saw Lion, I was up for anything this director would make and I had pretty decent expectations for this, with the high-quality cast also being an influence.

While I did feel somewhat disappointed by it, there are many things like in various departments. From the start, you can tell that it's beautifully shot with some striking and very believable choices of locations. The pacing is slow, but quite rewarding in chunks.
I gradually got swept away in the world you are transported to, and got invested in a few strong scenes that are both intense and heartfelt.

I thought the performances were fairly good all-round. Rooney Mara for me is still bringing out the best of her abilities as the title character. Since her breakthrough role in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo in 2011, Mara has gone from strength to strength. However for me, I only really got captivated in her talent in 2015's Carol where herself and Cate Blanchett both had powerful performances. Then I felt her beautiful screen presence in the weirdly wonderful A Ghost Story last year. Now, I feel I can love anything she does now, and I felt this one to be another solid addition. I felt she tackled the role and gave us a strong female character.
Joaquin Phoenix gave us an interesting portrayal of Jesus. I have always been intrigued in Phoenix's methods in various stages of his career and I felt he did a good job in this one. He certainly gave us that air of mystery around his character and certainly made me invested during any time he was on screen.
Chiwetel Ejiofor was a bit disappointing, in sense of me expecting more from someone of his stature. His performance his fine. But giving what he has done recently, you naturally have fairly high expectations for him.
It was to see Tahar Rahim do well in this one. I only remember him being the leading role in the really good 'A Prophet' from 2009. I felt he was the best and only memorable performance from the supporting roles.

As mentioned before, the cinematography and choice of locations were very good. It is entirely filmed in the mountains in southern Italy, and it is wonderful to look at and really added to the time period. So from a technical perspective, it's quite strong.
The score by Hildur Gudnadottir and Johan Johansson really enhances its more memorable scenes really well. I must mention that this Johansson's last piece of work as he suddenly passed away just over a month ago. It is a sad loss as he was only 48. He should be remembered fondly for his works on films such as The Theory Of Everything and Arrival.

I think the only notable weaknesses was maybe the story-telling, as it did seem to lack the impact you might expect from it. The pacing is slow, and the flow just prevents it from being a great piece of work.

But on the whole, I thought this was a solid attempt of showing a famous story told from a different perspective. There are moments of high profoundness, even though it does not quite have the impact that it is trying to have.
It's shot beautifully, it makes great use of the landscape and the performances all work to a satisfactory level. I can't see myself remember this for too long after seeing it. But I still think it is worthy addition to the religion film genre and is probably one of the best in recent years.

Rating: 7/10

Review: Tomb Raider

For just over 20 years, the Tomb Raider video game franchise has become one of the most iconic and well known within the industry.
So much so, that we are now having a third film released that based off the video game series.

Whilst I was completely aware of the pop culture towards Lara Croft, I had never played the game as it was exclusively on Playstation and Sega, and I was a Nintendo guy.

As for the films, the hype surrounding the first one in 2001 was insane. The casting of Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft was a master stroke. She had the perfect likeness of Croft, and Jolie was certainly at the peak of her powers. There was also a sequel in 2003. The films themselves were not that great, but they had a lot of campy fun to its tone which made it a guilty pleasure for some people.

Will this modern re-imagining of the this franchise work, or will it fall under the curse of video games that continues to expand. Just for the record, I don't think there is a curse anymore as I really like Warcraft: The Beginning and it's a shame that never got the box office it deserved. Apart from China where it did amazingly well.

Like I said before, I have never played the game. So I did research a little bit of research once seeing it. It seems they are using the story from the 2013 game as a foundation. With that in mind, onto the film.
I found the set-up part of the film fairly intriguing and there is one set-piece that is shot really well and gives you hope for the rest of the film. There are some action moments that reminded me of Peter Jackson's King Kong.
As for the rest of the film, it was nice seeing an adventure/expedition film as it is certainly a sub-genre that we rarely see these days. Outside, there was not that much else that really struck my eye. Don't worry, there was nothing wrong with film. Just very little that inspired me to talk about afterwards.

From an casting point of view, I was cautious having Alicia Vikander as Lara Croft, as they seem to be taking the character from a different angle compared to Angelina Jolie. That being said, I thought she did pretty well. The physical side of her performance was pretty strong. Vikander coped well with hand-to-hand combat moments and they gave her plenty of screen-time to show us her strength and determination. It also gave us a lot of vulnerability to her character that I could get on board with.
Sadly, there wasn't that much else to comment on. It was great seeing Walton Goggins as I remember him well from The Hateful Eight. As for this, he felt like a generic villain with little or no threat and barely a backstory for us to care for him. I'm not sure if they knew what to do with him.
Dominic West I think did what we expect of him. He's a pretty solid actor. But I have rarely see him do anything exceptional.
I felt Daniel Wu's character had the potential of stealing the show in his supporting role. But in the end, it just felt another character to do satisfactory support for Vikander.
A final mention goes to Derek Jacobi and Kristin Scott Thomas. It was great seeing some genuine class in this screen. It's just a shame that are in for about a handful of scenes.

It's biggest strengths are definitely from its technical team. The romping and heavy beat score by Junkie XL maintains his recent reputation and is a welcomed addition with some of the best such as Mad Max: Fury Road.
The production design looked pretty cool. There are some nice practical sets mixing in with its segment that take place on natural landscape. Also I felt the CGI merged in well with the practical parts.

However, its weaknesses are lead by its writing and character development. The script is as factory standard and cliched as they come. Compared to many films based off a video game, it's pretty solid and functional. But if I put it up with every other film, it takes no risks, it just did everything to a passable level and it did not amount to much.

As a video game adaptation, it seems that the film-makers have been pretty accurate from what I've heard. As a film, it's not great and nothing ground-breaking. However. it is pretty solid from start to finish and serves its purposes at the very minimum. Vikander is great and there was just enough sense of adventure to keep my interest.
But with a lacking script, everything being predictable and every character outside of Vikander being pretty unmemorable, it was no more than functional.

The mythology of this world never really hooked me. However, I would not object to a sequel just yet, as this certainly has the potential to be up there with Indiana Jones. It's just a matter of having the right high-quality film-maker and screen-writers on board.

Speaking of a sequel, with this film using the plot from the 2013 game, don't be surprised if the potential sequel is called 'Rise Of The Tomb Raider'. This is due to it being the next game in that particular era within the franchise.

Rating: 7/10