You Don’t Need A Past To Have A Future

Director
David S F Wilson

Starring
Vin Diesel
Eiza Gonzalez
Guy Pearce
Toby Kebbell

Based on the Valiant comic of the same name, Bloodshot is the story of US Marine Ray Garrison [Diesel] whose last mission ended successfully but resulted in a backlash from mercenaries led by Martin Axe (played by Toby Kebbell) that culminated in the capture and execution of his wife Gina. Swearing revenge on Axe and all involved, Ray explains that they might as well kill him now. Uncharacteristically for cinema, Axe agrees and puts a bullet in Ray’s head. Ray then wakes up at the Rising Spirit Tech (RST) facility and is introduced to Dr Emil Harting [Pearce] and fellow military official KT [Gonzalez]. Ray quickly learns that he is the first solider successfully revived by Harting’s revolutionary nanotechnology and in the process has become a much more efficient killing machine. Slowly coming to terms with what he’s being told, Ray starts to have flashbacks to his murder and sets out to get revenge. I’d like to leave it there but the plot hinges on the reveal (which is outlined in the trailer) that Ray’s memory is being tampered with and the identity of Axe is reassigned to whomever RST wants killed. I decided to mention it here as it will come up repeatedly throughout this review.

For a directorial debut, David S.F. Wilson has crafted a completely middle-of-the-road functional film. It has all the trappings of a generic blockbuster, which is actually a strangely impressive thing as so many other directors have had to work up to this level of mediocrity. The most frustrating thing about this feature is what can only be described as music video filmmaking: absolutely stunning visual sequences sewn together with flat expository scenes. Admittedly, I think Wilson’s background is visual effects rather than music videos but the sentiment still stands. Before we get on to the visuals, we need to talk about the sound which ranges wildly from perfectly serviceable to painfully inept. On the one hand, the sound design and score works pleasantly enough but it is certainly one of Jablonsky’s weaker efforts. On the other hand, some of the vocal sound mixing is truly atrocious. Whether off-screen deliveries that sound like they were recorded in a booth or ADR for what I can only assume is a European actor being dubbed by an American, there were some truly poor choices made.

As for the visuals, they largely hold up and feel pretty inventive at times – as one would expect from someone who has worked in that field. The action is actually quite unique, often utilising smoke elements from gas grenades to a haze of flour to interesting effect but a lot of it is lost by erratic over-cut editing (but more on that in my highlighted scene). It also doesn’t help that notable global locations are substituted for wherever they happened to be filming and it’s painfully apparent. One scene in particular takes place in the heart of London but within a few moments, the fight/chase rips through a fairly small city that blatantly isn’t even Britain from things like licence plates. Again, for someone who comes from a visual effects background, you feel like these little oddities would have been addressed. Unfortunately, while failing to pick up on the little things, the film also fails with the big stuff. The climactic finale is a three-way fight down the side of a skyscraper and while a great deal of the movie integrates its effects pleasingly, a significant portion of this brawl is entirely populated with rubbery CGI body doubles that stick out like a sore thumb.

Which brings us to the performances. Knowing the comics, Vin Diesel is, to put it politely, an unfortunate choice to play this role. To give him full credit, he is undeniably invested and this character feels a little broader than his usual Fast/Furious fare but if you walked into the middle of this movie, you would have a hard time identifying whether this was a separate property or not. The second Ray arrives back on US soil he removes his camo to reveal a Dominic Torreto cosplay vest underneath. And considering Hobbs & Shaw introduced genetically modified super soldiers, you’d be forgiven for thinking this was a Dom spin-off feature. In truth, this overall lack of unique identifiers that make Ray stand out as a new or distinct character to anything Diesel has done outside of Groot or Riddick leaves the entire feature feeling strangely forgettable. It doesn’t help that the supports shift wildly between exceptional actors in uninspired roles to mediocre actors in painfully unfunny roles. On the one hand we have Guy Pearce selling the whole “good guy bad guy” bit well, as does Toby Kebbell, while on the other there are the underdeveloped fellow mercs who are either noble allies or twisted unhinged killers; which could arguably work if it wasn’t for the fact that nobody has much of a fleshed-out backstory to justify their actions. Finally we have the comic relief and my God are they insufferably one dimensional but I’ll expand on my thoughts about this in my highlighted character section below.

In closing, this film isn’t as much of a misfire as The Mummy – Universal’s attempt to kick of the “Dark Universe” – but it’s not far off. Taking an established, successful property and bringing it to the cinema as a relatively flat story with an ill suiting lead in an attempt to create an Iron Man world building effect seems to be a bit of a growing trend but as Valiant have a decent run of genuinely fascinating stories, this is a crushing defeat at the first hurdle. Without a unique look or feel, all that we’re left with is generic action and forgettable characters in a film that goes nowhere and upon closer inspection is littered with plot holes; the biggest of which are Ray’s memories. We learn that Ray is subjected to a constantly altered version of his execution but it transpires that none of it is real. But rather than asking the big questions, (i.e. “was he even in the military?”) the plot doesn’t even think to address anything complicated, favouring run of the mill developments. In that way, there is an air of Gemini Man to it and like that movie, I doubt anyone will be talking about this in six months’ time.

Release Date:
13 March 2020

The Scene To Look Out For:
To emphasise a point made earlier, there are some undeniably pretty shots in this film. One key example is Katie’s underwater dance (yes, that is a stupid sentence and I have no idea what that has to do with being a Navy seal) which is shot commendably but is utterly butchered and lost in crappy editing. As much as this movie had the potential to be interesting, part of the reason it isn’t is the erratic, disorientating cuts present throughout.

Notable Characters:
To lighten the mood of this dour release, the story decides to introduce a comic relief character roughly an hour into the film. That relief is in the form of programmer Wilfred Wigans played by Lamorne Morris. It is entirely possible that this character could have been given significantly better dialogue and the character itself would have work but as it stands, he’s just painfully annoying. This isn’t helped when it’s made apparent that his counterpart/adversary is Harting’s programmer Eric (played by Siddharth Dhananjay) whose immaturity feels straight out of Silicon Valley. Both end up being severely irritating which culminates in a dull coding hacking type-off, wherein neither actor is given any chance to shine outside of typing fast.

Highlighted Quote:
“No one wants to make real decisions anymore, they just want to think they have”

In A Few Words:
“Dull, bland and ultimately lifeless”

Total Score:

2/5

What You Can’t See Can Hurt You

Director
Leigh Whannell

Starring
Elizabeth Moss
Oliver Jackson-Cohen

Opening with Cecilia [Moss] escaping the clutches of her abusive boyfriend Adrian [Jackson-Cohen], we watch her rehabilitate while in hiding. This is until she learns that Adrian has committed suicide and left his money to her. Finally free, Cecilia tries to move on with her life but is tormented by a series of circumstances that lead her to believe that Adrian has somehow faked his own death to torment her. This fear escalates and Cecilia’s few allies are slowly pushed away, leaving her isolated and without anyone to trust.

After what feels like two decades trying to jump-start a resurrection of the iconic Universal monsters – the most recent failure being the commercially and critically lambasted The Mummy – Universal went back to the drawing board and created a contained, modern adaptation of H.G. Wells’ novel. To my mind, the last big invisible man release was 2000’s Hollow Man which ended up being little more than a male fantasy piece portrayed as scandalous indulgence. The unique aspect to this version is the emphasis on the monstrousness of Griffin and shifting the perspective from the killer to his primary target, while ultimately presenting an allegory for domestic abuse. And as such the final result feels fresh, poignant and remarkably tense.

The first thing that stands out about this film is how fantastically it has been constructed. From the extremely unnerving but simply opening scene, the location is beautifully shot but this escalates following Griffin’s death and the camera takes on a terrifying quality by framing certain shots to include empty spaces as if someone else was stood in the scene, going so far as to include a few tracking pans and focus pulls. This is heightened by pivoting from the uneasy opening to disarming family bonding before finally giving way to voyeuristic camera angles and a creeping sense of disquiet and growing apprehension. Catching the audience off-guard with banal relatability (situations that lull you with their familiarity before disrupting them with a horrific act) is far from a new technique, but here it is a keenly utilised weapon from the horror/psychological thriller arsenal.

Owing to the nature of not being able to see the danger, a lot of this tension comes down to aural manipulation; much like A Quiet Place, this film has come seemingly out of nowhere and is heavily reliant on what you can hear more than what you can see. Benjamin Wallfisch has proven himself multiple times over with a range of diverse and varied orchestral scores and while horror can be very formulaic in its musical output, the accompanying score has a fantastic presence, building masterfully from painfully ominous to thunderous and terrifying. The real unsung hero of this film is the sound design and mixing which go beyond the standard foley work, creating a whole character from nothing. After absorbing a medium like film for so long, we begin to accept the established rules, the pact that when a character moves across a room, you will hear a combination of audio recorded on the day and manufactured ambience to enhance the immersive experience. But to put these markers in place without a visual counterpart leaves the audience unnerved. I will, of course, admit that this isn’t some revolutionary new practice, it’s how every single feature with an unseen villain has operated for the best part of ninety years but it’s done extremely well and that’s what stands out.

**light spoilers concerning the nature of invisibility**
No matter the cause for the titular character, whether it’s technology, science or the supernatural, eventually CGI will need to play a role. And for the most part, it’s fairly absent and pleasingly subtle. For a large portion of the runtime we aren’t given definitive evidence that Cecilia is experiencing an actual attack and as such when her fears are confirmed, the audience begins to question how this is possible. Rather than the tried-and-tested method of a chemical compound – as used in previous iterations of the adaptation – this version opts for a technological morph-suit covered in cameras. It’s one of those novel changes that feels close enough to be a possibility while still firmly in the realm of science fiction. A wonderful by-product of this is the gentle whirring of the lenses as they shift focus, creating an eerie signature to torment the audience with later.

One of the reasons I genuinely love this movie is the character shift. From the opening scenes, the movie makes the smart choice of keeping Adrian largely in the shadows, never giving us a clear look at anything more than a very masculine form. This is magnificently used later to not only make the threat more foreboding but also to crushingly illustrate the nature and effect of abuse; just the idea of the silhouette is enough to terrify both Cecilia and the audience. Without getting too far into spoiler territory, the film progresses decently with its premise (arguably with a few conveniences for the sake of prolonging the suspense) but due to the perfect execution of a terrifying twist that invalidates Cecilia and the control dynamic shifting repeatedly over the three acts, The Invisible Man proves itself an absolutely worthy successor and/or companion piece to the 1933 original.

Release Date:
28 February 2020

The Scene To Look Out For:
**spoilers**
With absolutely no pun-work intended, you don’t see a lot of the invisible man. The encounters are fairly limited to avoid weakening the impact but when he is finally on-screen, the experience never disappoints. One could argue the most memorable section, when Adrian finally drops the veneer of manipulator and marches confidently into unhinged serial killer, takes place in the asylum corridor. Cecilia has managed to get out of her cell by wounding Adrian, causing his suit to glitch but using this to his advantage he proceeds to brutally attack the facility guards. While there are several examples of gripping filmmaking, this scene demonstrates the flow of action and brilliantly executed choreography that we saw in Whannell’s last film, the stupidly underrated Upgrade.

Notable Characters:
Elizabeth Moss has proved herself time and again as a go to for extremely relatable performances, from more comedic turns in something like The Square to dark dystopian pieces like The Handmaid’s Tale, she is always captivating. Keeping the narrative focus on Cecilia creates a very different feature with a unique dynamic and there is so much pressure on that individual to keep the audience both hooked and convinced by the absurdity of what is taking place.

Highlighted Quote:
“Adrian will haunt you if you let him. Don’t let him”

In A Few Words:
“An absolutely fantastic and unsettling release that morphs and evolves from beginning to end”

Total Score:

5/5

Gotta Go Fast

Director
Jeff Fowler

Starring
Ben Schwartz
James Marsden
Jim Carrey
Tika Sumpter

The opening prologue details Sonic’s [Schwartz] younger years and how he was given a pouch containing rings that could transport him to any destination and forced to leave his homeworld after an attempted kidnapping. More exposition highlights that the blue anthropomorphic hedgehog has been hiding in a small American town, observing from a distance but keeping out of sight for fear of being captured to harness is unique power: super-speed. One evening, the young creature feels particularly isolated and alone so runs in a circle repeatedly to vent. Doing so creates a powerful discharge of energy that attracts the attention of the US military who send one of their foremost experts, the highly eccentric technophile Dr Robotnik [Carrey], to ascertain the cause. Fearing for his life, Sonic accidentally encounters the local Sheriff, Tom Wachowski [Marsden], who tranquilises the hedgehog, causing him to drop a teleportation ring linked to the Transamerica Pyramid tower. Feeling responsible, Tom begrudgingly agrees to help him get to San Francisco and recover his rings, allowing him to escape.

At the time of release, Sonic is primarily known for one thing (other than the mountain of video games and merchandise), the widely rejected design for the film which was then scrapped and the release date moved to allow time to rework the visual effects. But as this doesn’t have a direct bearing on what we have ended up with, I’ll largely ignore that. What we have got, after the protracted wait, is a story with a surprisingly fun atmosphere and energy and several actual laughs. The cinematography is pleasing, the Easter eggs for the fans are decent without feeling intrusive and the score is suitably epic – which is hardly surprising considering it was composed by Tom Holkenborg. To say this release was a surprise is an understatement.

Almost all of the film is carried by two very strong performances. In the role of the antagonist we have Jim Carrey giving a very nostalgic and familiar performance. One could argue that he did something similar in Dumb And Dumber To but due to the puerile humour, it felt more desperate and depressing to watch. The key difference here is that Carrey seems to be genuinely having fun with the performance and really hamming up the villain for the primary audience (more on that later). Admittedly, this is nowhere near Count Olaf level of compelling villain but thoroughly enjoyable nonetheless. What I found truly interesting is that this potentially flat role had some depth to it that added to the character. Throughout the movie we glean information about his past and the journey he has taken to become this misanthropic, vindictive individual, while still spouting moustache-twirling villainous lines such as, “Confidence, a fool’s substitute for intelligence.” In truth, there is a very fine line between an opponent who is too sympathetic, to the point they become a relatable figure, and someone who is so cartoonishly antagonistic that they come off as unbelievable and silly. Utilising Robotnik’s disdain for others, his earnest love of machinery and arrogance confirmed by circumstance, makes for an interesting adversary.

The other, arguably more important, member of the cast is the eponymous hedgehog himself. Whenever something is adapted from an early 90s console game, it is often necessary to inject a lot of lore and presence, on account of the simplicity of a side-scrolling platformer. As such, this version of Sonic comes off as a nice hybrid of contemporary sensibilities and the cocksure personality beats from the cartoon and comics. There’s also a plentiful injection of heart, exploring themes of belonging which a younger audience can easily relate to. What’s more, Sonic is aged to that of the target demographic which adds to the comedic impact and dictates how Marsden has portrayed Tom; specifically that of a nice but responsible father-figure with a heart of gold, even when the two butt heads or seem at odds. This also presents plenty of opportunity for great comic delivery; an example being Tom saying if Sonic were to use a ring to escape to the mushroom planet he “wouldn’t be the only fungi” which is immediately countered with “No, don’t ever do that again.” It may not sound like much but the back-and-forth is very reminiscent of a child reacting quintessential “Dad jokes.” This is a double-edged sword, however, as mature audiences who grew up with the character may find him a little irksome but he’s a blue hedgehog who runs fast, spins into a charged ball and jumps on bad guys to defeat them – on paper, it’s the very definition of what you would want from Sonic.

But despite the praises I’ve been singing, this movie is a pretty average release. The fact it wasn’t a total trainwreck is an accomplishment of late (as was the case with Detective Pikachu) but over time people will wonder what the fuss was about. Owing to the direction they took both the character and the story, the majority of this film comes off as excessively simplistic and innocent but also largely unadventurous. So often events are dismissed, overlooked or resolved with the assumption that kids won’t care. Stuff like the power going out all over town but the phones still working, Sonic is tranquilised and can’t run but when he recovers almost immediately, he takes literal directions (i.e. run that way until you hit the sea) and sometimes people are terrified of his strange alien form, other times he’s seen as just a regular kid. It shouldn’t matter but the other elements don’t compensate enough to account for these glaring issues.

In summary, Sonic The Hedgehog is an above average kids film and with that in mind, it is perfectly acceptable. It could have easily been more layered and complex but I think it was pitching to a significantly younger audience than initially expected. Keeping the action on Earth also limits the possibilities but it’s almost a given that this will spark a sequel, so hopefully these points can be addressed then. Either way, having a handful of impressive video game adaptations is quite the triumph and could be the start of a new, previously presumed impossible, bubble like the rise of superhero features. Who knows?

Release Date:
14 February 2020

The Scene To Look Out For:
There are plenty of extremely funny moments throughout this film that brought a smile to my face without being unnecessarily crass or dumbed-down. Having said that, the most brow-furrowing moment is probably the opening sequence. We are introduced to a lot of fantasy elements very quickly and they are just as quickly dismissed. Sonic lives on an island with an owl named Longclaw before a group of echidnas try to abduct him – that sentence alone needs a lot of unpacking but the movie doesn’t seem to have time to and it largely gets overlooked, creating a bit of whiplash right from the get-go.

Notable Characters:
Marsden is very basic in his execution but serviceable. Most of his motivation is wrestling with the idea of moving to San Francisco to help people there or to stay in his home town. If I was being cynical, I would say this is one of those developments that kicked off in the early 2000s: the idea that metropolises are dangerous places devoid of personality whereas the real heart of America is in the small towns, which have the same, if not more to offer. Regardless, it only factors in a handful of times and frankly primarily exists to remove Tom’s wife Maddie (played by Tika Sumpter) from the equation. Speaking of Maddie, she is completely side-lined to allow the boys road trip to exist but when Sumpter and Marsden are together, the chemistry is solid and we get a glimpse of something that could have been more entertaining. Still, the fact Maddie is played by a person of colour is a step forward, albeit a very small one.

Highlighted Quote:
“I’ve not been spying on you, we’ve been hanging out but from a distance and no one knew I was there”

In A Few Words:
“A painfully safe, considered release but one that achieves what it sets out to and will delight its target audience: kids”

Total Score:

3/5

Keeping Secrets Are Ye?

Director
Robert Eggers

Starring
Robert Pattinson
Willem Dafoe
Valeriia Karaman

Set in the late 1800s, we are introduced to Ephraim Winslow [Pattinson] – a young man running from his past, trying to find a place he can belong and be productive – who takes on a four week position as a wickie for a lighthouse on a remote island off the coast of New England. Winslow’s only company is his supervisor, a cantankerous and superstitious ex-naval man named Thomas Wake [Dafoe]. The two say little to one another and go about their duties but Winslow quickly comes to resent Wake’s orders and dismissal of policy. As his time on the rock continues, Winslow grows restless and longs for the day his tenure is up and he can return to the mainland.

Despite being only his second feature film, Eggers has already proved himself an exceptional talent and become massively endeared to me for creating the kind of fiction that I could only dream of crafting. This is an important statement to bear in mind throughout the course of this review as my bias is more than evident. Having said that, even a layman could identify The Lighthouse as an extremely singular feature that has been powerfully constructed. More than that, it feels as if some old print of an experimental 30s film has been discovered and brought to light. The cinematography is bold and incredibly beautiful, the sound design is tremendous and the score is deeply haunting. But what stands out to me the most is the fact that this is an artist with the talent and (more importantly) the support to create whatever he pleases, regardless of what is trendy or expected; which is something that A24 has been championing since its inception less than ten years ago.

On a structural level, The Lighthouse is gloriously rhythmic. Visually you have the hypnotic draw of the ever turning light at the top of the tower paired with the audio of the continuous, maddeningly damning noise of the fog horn. It’s both comforting in its repetitive constant-presence and agonising in its intrusive indifference to the plight of those around it. In a way, there’s an almost Lovecraftian descent into mania, playing with themes of superstition, otherworldly influences and daring to know an uncaring natural phenomena. But the similarities with the works of HP Lovecraft are merely the surface of the inspiration and comparisons that can be drawn. In truth there are nods to Promethean legend and many parallels with The Shining and something like A Field In England but rather than directly homaging or plagiarising these works, The Lighthouse feels like a companion piece, analysing related concepts while still feeling fresh and original.

Speaking of sister works, so many of the underlying ideas at play were present in Egger’s previous release, The Witch. Both feel like time capsule pieces free from contemporary trappings, rife with superstition and projecting a world that feels at the same time both alien and eerily familiar to us. While this could be said for most period fiction, the way in which Jarin Blaschke shoots these films bucks modern expectations and preconceptions, giving us a truly uncommon aesthetic. Then we have the subject of man in isolation and all of the paranoid, horror that comes with it. For this story, religious fervour has been substituted with frantic, obsessive superstition but the effect is the same and an analysis is presented which posits that when left to our devices free from the watchful eye and judgments of civilisation, we sink to our baser urges, through sexual obsession aided by the consolation and comfort engendered by alcoholic stupor.

Something I sincerely adore is the script’s use of language, with little regard for the audience. Striving for authenticity and atmospheric immersion, it seems to almost purposefully ostracise the viewer in an attempt to bring to life this antiquated era. But while the words alone are fantastic, it’s the performances that sell us on this world. So much is put upon Pattinson and Dafoe but they rise to the challenge masterfully and command and captivate throughout; whether it’s Pattinson’s physical endurance and fatigue or Dafoe’s wide-eyed monologues, everything feels meticulously calculated and entirely organic. There is also an amusing nod to the possessive gatekeeper mentality that perfectly fits these keepers of the light. But this does bring us to the only real problems with this almost flawless release. Less a flaw, more a stumble, is that the pacing loses a bit of steam due to a lack of variety and the somewhat formulaic nature of the narrative. Earlier I praised the rhythmic quality to the film’s construction but this also leads to a somewhat monotonous slog of routine and repetition that can grind viewer’s patience and ultimately, when stripped of all its eerie majesty and pageantry, The Lighthouse is remarkably silly with a surprising amount of fart jokes that partly weakens its more superior qualities.

In conclusion, The Lighthouse is another audacious, impactful and unsettling study from Eggers that will polarise audiences and either be immediately rejected or held aloft. In my earnest opinion, it is an undeniable achievement and riveting throughout.

Release Date:
07 February 2020

The Scene To Look Out For:
One of the only additional members of the cast is a mermaid whose shrill cry and ghastly presence haunts Winslow’s (presumably) dreams. The mermaid sequences are truly terrifying and serve as one of the main sources of horror in this chilling dark supernatural thriller. In terms of performance, the visual effects and the sound design, her appearance serves a reminder of the sinister and monstrous origin of a mythology modern cinema has all but sterilised.

Notable Characters:
The gull. A combination of trained birds, puppetry and prop work is a true personality unto itself and a deeply oppressive and disturbing one.

Highlighted Quote:
“To ye, you beauty”

In A Few Words:
“Eggers once again proves he is one of the most unique and captivating talents working today”

Total Score:

5/5

Prey For Gotham

Director
Cathy Yan

Starring
Margot Robbie
Ella Jay Basco
Ewan McGregor
Jurnee Smollett-Bell
Rosie Perez
Mary Elizabeth Winstead

Set after the events of Suicide Squad, Harley Quinn [Robbie] and the Joker separate and by openly distancing herself from him, becomes a target for every crook in Gotham. Simultaneously a rare diamond with clues to the Bertinelli family fortune is on its way to crime boss Roman Sionis [McGregor] but is accidentally pickpocketed by wayward teen Cassandra Cain [Basco]. This two-pronged bounty hunt gets the attention of both sides of the law with Detective Renee Montoya [Perez] and lounge singer Dinah Lance [Smollett-Bell] trying to locate and protect Cain. All the while a mysterious vigilante is taking out several high-ranking mafia officials, whose method of execution has earned her the nickname the crossbow killer.

Given the fourth-wall breaking, narrative-hopping, gleefully violent nature of this movie, it’s almost impossible not to talk about Deadpool. In terms of pushing the envelope on irreverent antihero stories and 15/R-rated action comedies, Deadpool kicked the door open but every success that follows through does so on its own merit. Case in point, as a counterpoint to Suicide Squad with a madcap energy, feminist tonality and an exceptional rock n roll visual aesthetic, Birds Of Prey is incredibly fun and, for better or worse, the embodiment of the zeitgeist. Essentially the story of a pariah looking for friends in a world operated largely by and for men, it’s a welcome treat to follow a story of the women who have been wronged by them at every turn. From the costumes to the comedy, to how characters are framed, the entire film benefits infinitely from a shift in director in terms of gender and ethnicity. And while the score takes a bit of a backseat to the music cues, it blends seamlessly with the song choices and the decision to include entirely female-led tracks was such a simple but smart move that adds to this movie’s unique flavour.

As the title suggests, this is very much an ensemble piece but Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn stands out as the clear lead. As one of the undeniably best elements of Suicide Squad, her return is fantastic and separating her from the Joker highlights to the audience the layered complexity this individual has to offer. There are also quite a few new characters introduced in this film and the movie mostly does a good job giving them equal screen time.. mostly (but I’ll come back to that in my highlighted character section). Admittedly, comic fans may be upset by the use of the Birds Of Prey moniker or characters bearing little resemblance to their source material counterparts (Cassandra Cain comes to mind) but in truth, cinematic adaptations have always harvested things from comics while working them into a new identity; sometimes this then influences how the comic presents said character going forward. But for the purposes of forging something new, I genuinely understood and appreciated the alterations. As stated, the eponymous team takes a bit of a backseat to Harley but their arcs all weave together pleasingly and the performances from Smollett-Bell, Basco and, most surprisingly, Perez were extremely impressive, managing to find a balance between the film’s overall zany manner and the seriousness of their individual agendas. On the other end of the spectrum, Ewan McGregor as Roman Sionis is very interesting. On the one hand you could take the entire performance as an overblown, scenery chewing, laughable mess but his general instability and childlike tantrums feel almost satirical and painfully identifiable as a heightened recreation of a lot of toxic men. Again, is this Black Mask from the comics? No but it’s the kind of sadistic erratic villain this movie required.

Yan’s kinetic yet coherent direction captivates from start to finish and the brutal fight choreography is a joy to watch. This momentum successfully pushes the film forward, culminating in a conclusion of unity in the group but while this chemistry is spectacular once they are all assembled, it’s only a shame we didn’t see more of it. Again, it could be said that the film is shallow or superficial, lacking any real depth outside of the primary McGuffin/manhunt plot-thread but I think that would be an unfair assessment and, again, if we were to rate something like Deadpool highly despite having an incredibly similar straightforward motivational drive interspersed with character building through flashbacks, it would be a gross exercise in hypocrisy.

Without knowing what the hell is going on with the DCEU in general, it’s hard to predict where this film will go or where it stands in the shared universe flow but in actuality, it is a fantastic and well-timed standalone that in all seriousness, shouldn’t have worked; this movie should have been a fiery mess rather than the enjoyable romp it turned out to be but I’m all the more grateful for it.

Release Date:
07 February 2020

The Scene To Look Out For:
Sionis being such a larger-than-life cartoonish individual, the film ensures we are reminded that the fun aspect of his manic, unhinged personality is short-lived. Flying into paranoid rages over seemingly nothing, screaming “these are my things!” he is the personification of every violently abusive partner. A great example of this takes place in Roman’s club when he learns that Cain has eluded them again. Banging on the table and repeatedly shouting “fuck,” Roman catches sight of a patron laughing across the bar and approaches her. In an incredibly demeaning manner he challenges her before demanding she dance on the table and instructs her friend to cut her dress off. The whole thing is remarkably uncomfortable and accented perfectly by the sobriety of the pulsing score.

Notable Characters:
Despite the fact that the Bertinelli family fortune is one of the main central focuses of this film, Huntress is quite heavily left out of this movie. Considering how much is being juggled I can almost understand it but given how amusing the character is and how well she mixes with the team, it just feels like a missed opportunity. Classically, we have no way of knowing whether this will be rectified in a future outing, should there be one, but I would love to see more from the entire team, especially if the creatives behind the camera are returning.

Highlighted Quote:
“Call me dumb.. I have a PhD, motherfucker!”

In A Few Words:
“Frankly, Birds Of Prey is a fuck-tonne of fun”

Total Score:

4/5

Let The Sun Shine

Director
Makoto Shinkai

Starring
Kotaro Daigo
Nana Mori
Shun Oguri

The film opens with a prologue introducing us to Hina Amano [Mori], a young student whose mother is at death’s door. On a rainy day she notices a single crepuscular ray shining down on a shrine atop a rundown Tokyo building. Making her way to the shrine, she prays and steps through the gate, finding herself in a land of the clouds, surrounded by rain droplets in the shape of fish and clouds that resemble dragons. We are then introduced to sixteen year old Hodaka Morishima [Daigo] who has run away from his home to start a new life in Tokyo. On the ferry over, he encounters a freak storm and almost goes overboard but is saved by a suave quasi-antihero named Suga [Oguri]. Being a minor, Hodaka encounters a lot of difficulty getting his Tokyo life started but eventually seeks out Suga, who he learns runs a trashy conspiracy theory magazine. Suga hires the teen and sends him out to research a young woman who can supposedly control the weather dubbed the sunshine girl.

Despite the aforementioned synopsis, the folktale fantasy element is largely subdued, aside from a few bookended developments. The majority of the story presents some fairly adult themes, almost akin to something Isao Takahata would produce.. at least on the surface. Rather than just a kid’s story, this film covers all manner of things from opportunistic adults praying on young women, the bureaucratic nature of social services that are unsympathetic to the human element of each case, the responsibilities thrust upon young adults and indeed adults themselves and, of all things, the rise in Japanese gun crime. Subsequently, it feels like two films are desperately at odds with one another and both suffer slightly for it.

One thing that is absolutely flawless, however, is the technical achievements on display. As with Shinkai’s previous film, Your Name, Weathering With You is visually stunning with an incredible level of animation detail that is truly evocative of contemporary Tokyo. This is partly aided by the real-world product placement and accurate shop fronts/landmarks, to the degree that they may have created the best Big Mac ever constructed. The sound design is also fantastic, from the hum of the city to the ethereal wails of the cloud-based creatures. As far as the score goes, it can be broken down into three simple forms; it takes on a digitised (sometimes reversed) quality during moments of peak stress, soaring strings when joyous and light melancholy solo piano work when sombre or sincere. This is of course very reminiscent of radwimps’ work on Your Name and in truth, is very much in keeping with anime scores of the last decade but still very pleasing throughout.

**spoilers at the culmination of this paragraph**
The entire focus on weather is a curious one. Being British, I’m obviously able to relate to frustrations with the weather but one would assume a film about endless uncharacteristic rain would have quite a strong message about climate change but the biggest surprise Weathering With You has to offer is that it almost doesn’t. For the most part, the film looks back at old-held traditions and the inexorable ebb and flow of nature. More specifically it states that human sacrifice has kept nature in check but in the face of human happiness, why should we suffer – which is kind of a climate change denier’s fantasy narrative. Yet the film delves deeper than mere implication, it takes confident strides into baffling territory with its conclusion. Hodaka manages to save Hina from the ethereal cumulonimbus world that all sacrificed weather maidens go to and faces the consequences of his actions (for the most part and entirely off-screen). We then learn that Tokyo has become completely submerged due to the constant year-round rain, which is an incredibly bold move, but rather than challenging the audience with this flooded dystopia, the movie settles for an upbeat romantic close with a sort of “fuck it, we can’t change the inevitable” tone that didn’t really gel. This, for me, was the weakest element. No strong moral conviction, no satisfactory resolution and no emotional gut-punch; what should have been a tremendous storm of change and defiance in the teenage heart and soul peters out to little more than a light drizzle.

Ultimately, apart from the animation, everything seems just out of reach. The danger is never truly felt, the fantasy world-building often comes off as Ghibli-lite and I didn’t feel the – for lack of a better word – painful longing for our leads to come together. It’s not that Weathering With You is a bad story, it’s just not a particularly strong one considering how easily a few slight alternations could have transformed it into another animated classic of the 2010s, as Shinkai’s last feature is. But as much as this movie stumbles, it is still performing well above the average animated release, as well as a great many live-action narratives aimed at teens, and that should always be commended.

Release Date:
31 January 2020

The Scene To Look Out For:
Given his first assignment, Hodaka has to meet several potential sunshine girls. This montage segment is where the film starts to pick-up speed and we get more of a playful side than the fairly despondent, dour tone of a down-on-his-luck adolescent runaway.

Notable Characters:
Hodaka is a bit of an oddity. Daigo does a marvellous job with the role but we know so little about this man. We never learn what the home life he was so desperate to escape was like, other than it was apparently a bit dull. He is reckless and impetuous, as most teenagers are, but everything seemingly works out in his favour to the degree that even discharging a weapon at a (presumably) yakuza club owner is met with little lasting consequence. I understand the notion of the blank slate shonen that audiences can project themselves onto but this is a prime example of an element that could have benefited from just a little more nurturing and development.

Highlighted Quote:
“The weather changes on a whim, regardless of human needs”

In A Few Words:
“Technically marvellous but narratively lacking”

Total Score:

3/5

From Rags To Riches.. And Back Again

Director
Armando Iannucci

Starring
Dev Patel
Tilda Swinton
Peter Capaldi
Hugh Laurie

The film opens with David’s [Patel] birth and is told with the aid of voiceover as Copperfield recalls the events and distinct individuals he has encountered over his unpredictable often turbulent life, battered by the whim of fate. Following the death of his father, David’s mother remarries a haunting figure who crushes the young boy’s dreams and aspirations. This is made worse when David is sent away to work at his step-father’s bottle factory in London, residing with the wily Mr Micawber [Capaldi]. Following the death of his mother, David runs away from London to live with his neurotic aunt, Betsey Trotwood [Swinton] and her equally neurotic cousin Mr Dick [Laurie] and for a time Copperfield is happy. But it isn’t long before struggle and ruin return to his life.

In the same vein as Little Women, David Copperfield is a modern interpretation in terms of pacing and attitudes rather than setting and production. From a technical standpoint it bears all the common, recognisable markers of your standard Victorian literature adaptation. However by gently updating the source material, there is a sense that the content is more relatable and accessible but in doing so it loses some of the story’s general flow and feels like a series of rushed, albeit extremely well-constructed, vignettes. Told with a dose of whimsy, despite the often dour subject matter, The Personal History Of David Copperfield may be an effectively a straight adaptation in terms of aesthetic and score but the performances, cinematography and delightful scene transitions have almost dreamlike fantasy qualities, as if something recalled from memory – which is what the author ultimately intended and fits well despite the fairly chaptered, often rushed, consequence of trying to cram a 624 page novel into a 119 minute runtime.

The film’s finest achievement, other than the script distilling all the key qualities of the novel (a feat which hasn’t been attempted since the late 60s), is the skilled ensemble cast. At the front of it all is Dev Patel, an individual I have sung the praises of for years. With acute charm and range, he manages to embody Copperfield’s noblest and weakest qualities; from his analytical view of the world, constantly impersonating the memorable characters he meets throughout his life to his often cruel dismissiveness and self-absorbed quest to climb the social ranks. Of course, Patel’s casting was met with the usual cries from (let’s not beat about the bush) racists who cannot fathom anyone playing a Dickensian lead other than a blonde white boy but as I explained in my Mary Queen Of Scots review, if the actor fits the role, cast them. On top of that, the diversity to the cast is a welcome treat and the rotating door of supporting cast members all perform admirably. Admittedly, Dickens didn’t seem to have a great deal to say about his female supporting players but Iannucci has managed to thankfully elevate and improve them for modern sensibilities.

The greatest disappointment with this film is more a frustration of expectations and how this movie was marketed; put another way, the humour was not what I ultimately thought it would be. This is, undoubtedly, one of Iannucci’s most unambiguously approachable projects for mainstream audiences, a sort of half-way house between his foul mouthed satire and run-of-the-mill period drama. But with this level of restraint, rather than simply shredding and warping the source material into a cynical reworking catering to today’s audiences, the amount of sincerity and earnestness takes you aback. It’s not necessarily that the film is lacking in any way or to say that Iannucci cannot step outside of his usual comfort zone but it almost feels like a missed opportunity to sample what a Dickensian drama populated with characters like Malcolm Tucker and Alan Partridge could have looked like. But again, this is less to the film’s detriment and more to the type of audience, in the same way that certain cinemagoers weren’t happy with The Favourite or Possum because they stepped away from the images conjured in one’s mind when told that Olivia Colman plays a British monarch in a period piece or Matt Holness has created a film about a puppeteer. So why bring it up if this is but a question of personal perspective and preconceived notions? Ultimately to highlight that the film could suffer because of this shared preconception.

Despite this minor but impactful issue, I feel the film is a perfectly timed triumph. Dickens works best when the reader’s world is less than desirable, as if to draw a motivational comparison for support and inspiration. And with a significant amount of heart, optimism and bounce throughout this version, it serves as a reminder to the viewer that the sum of where we are is not the sum of who we are and things can always get better so be the best person you can; which I’m sure we can all agree is a fine message to put out in 2020.

Release Date:
24 January 2020

The Scene To Look Out For:
Of all the varied moments this film offers, one that stuck with me was David bringing his school friend to the whimsical summer home of his youth. Sent away to Great Yarmouth to live in a house made from an upturned boat on the shore, David is surprised when the saturated colours and palatial interiors of his memory are significantly faded and shrunken on closer inspection with a grown body and adult eyes.

Notable Characters:
As stated earlier, the cast are magnificent in their entirety yet one individual still stands out from the outset. Tilda Swinton is one of those actors who has been quietly appearing in the background of so many films over the last twenty years and never gets the true recognition she deserves. In spite of the wealth of mirth and soul on display from all, the film feels just a little weaker when she is absent and wholly elevated upon her return.

Highlighted Quote:
“Don’t worry, you’ll make it through. And you’ll have quite the ride on the way”

In A Few Words:
“A fabulous adaptation brimming with warmth that only occasionally wobbles under the weight of the undertaking at hand”

Total Score:

4/5

Ride Together. Die Together

Director
Adil El Arbi
Bilall Fallah

Starring
Will Smith
Martin Lawrence
Kate del Castillo
Jacob Scipio
Paulo Nunez

Set nearly two decades after Bad Boys 2, Detectives Marcus Burnett [Lawrence] and Mike Lowrey [Smith] have their lives turned upside down when Isa bel Arteas [del Castillo] of the Arteas cartel is broken out of prison and sets her son, Armando [Scipio], on all those who were involved in her imprisonment. Because of this, Mike is subsequently gunned down in a drive-by and Marcus swears to God that if Mike pulls through he will put violence behind him. Thankfully, Mike recovers but while he is hungry for revenge he is unable to work his own case. Subsequently, he is brought on in a consultancy capacity to assist a modern investigatory team headed up by his ex, Rita [Nunez].

From the very outset, the absence of previous director, Michael Bay, is distinctly felt but by no means in a bad way. The whole thing has clearer direction and doesn’t feel nearly as grimy or grubby as Bay’s signature frenzied, erratic style but still retains the general aesthetic we have come to expect from these movies. Another noticeable change is that the general premise is more focused with a surprisingly straightforward narrative that doesn’t get distracted with digression and excessive music video style indulgence. Furthermore, in a moderately self-aware move, the film openly lampoons itself for its telenovela, soap opera plot points and reveals.

On the whole, this instalment feels like a departure from its sophomoric roots and a decent reflection of a maturing of the central characters.. for the most part. The movie opens with Marcus vying for retirement and wanting to slowdown, not only that, he wants the same for his partner but acknowledges that Mike is too wild and will resist mellowing, seeing it as a defeat, until the life catches up with him and he eventually dies on the job. Shifting a large portion of the emotional weight onto Lawrence is a solid choice and reminds us that the man is a decent actor who can give us more than fart jokes and stupid faces – which is all Bay’s previous films seemed to hand him. That isn’t to say that Smith in any way drops the ball or is side-lined but Lawrence’s mission from God thread and Smith’s quest for both vengeance and redemption are primarily sold to the audience because there is a noticeable level of energy and sincerity from the leads. Of course, this spotlight on character development means that the movie sort of veers away from action comedy mayhem and further into older couple buddy comedy but it’s a welcome shift. This is also nicely juxtaposed by the introduction of the new younger team dynamic, who fit in the established universe perfectly because they look like models that can execute impeccable quips but quickly endear themselves to the audience.

As much as the inclusion of new directors has helped shape this film, the fact that each instalment has had notably different writers speaks volumes. A lot (but disappointingly not all) of the homophobia is curbed and the level of humour has thankfully moved away from base-level dregs. Even simple physical comedy feels elevated – when meeting an informant, Mike and Marcus argue about the amount of superfluous tasks they have to undertake en route and upon finally arriving at the scene, the timing of the snitch being dropped onto Mike’s wife’s car is fantastic. The action sequences, while admittedly not nearly as hyper-intense as Bay’s usual fare, are decent and thankfully far easier to follow. The addition of Lorne Balfe’s score work is also very positive, bringing the requisite intensity with a very nostalgic 90s Bruckheimer throwback feel.

**the following paragraph contains huge spoilers**
One of the main plot developments involves a significant twist regarding Mike’s past. The lack of any real backstory development to date has meant that dropping a huge “I used to be an undercover agent in Mexico” reveal doesn’t seem too unreasonable. The added twist moment comes when it is hypothesised that Armando is in fact Lowrey’s son and in doing so, we get to address the idea of a man who cannot move past his job, a man getting on in his years with little in the way of legacy and a man who is confronted with the physical embodiment of all the mistakes of his past. Put differently, Bad Boys For Life achieves what Gemini Man could not and perfectly pits Will Smith against a younger adversary with all the emotional weight behind such a revelation.

My biggest frustration was that the story attempts to address slowing down and acting your age but as the film closes, Lawrence and Smith turn to each other with a cheeky grin and essentially say “fuck it, bad boys for life.” The solidarity and self-denial is arguably fine but feels more like two fifty year old men realising they should make way for the next generation only to dismiss that fear by continuing to pretend they’re in their mid-twenties forever. On top of that – and partly due to this immaturity – Bad Boys still suffers from the signature toxic masculinity that afflicted the previous two movies but at least it feels like some sort of progress is made and the general racist, sexist, misogynistic and generally intolerant overtones have also been muted. Not eradicated, just muted.

It’s quite surreal to conclude that the best of a franchise is its third instalment but Bad Boys For Life feels like it finally hits the right rhythm and comes together to form a solid heartfelt action comedy. The mid-credits sequence heavily implies another film in the future and if this was to pass on to the younger team, that could work but I feel everything that needs to be said for Mike and Marcus has been covered. But depending on how this one performs at the box office, who knows?

Release Date:
17 January 2020

The Scene To Look Out For:
I genuinely felt the humour in this feature was the best it has been over the entire franchise. Largely inoffensive, it plays to simple amusements without regurgitating the same abhorrent jabs. A prime example would be Mike and Marcus forced to use non-lethal weapons to apprehend a perp. Whilst in pursuit, Mike lands a perfect hit on the criminal’s forehead. Walking over to the unconscious individual, it is revealed that an enormous welt has developed on his head. Both are repulsed but Marcus is compelled to touch it. Again, same stupid puerile but ultimately innocuous.

Notable Characters:
Martin Lawrence gets a lot of schtick for the roles he finds himself in but he’s undeniably talented and does a great job reminding everyone why he is such a solid supporting role. In a way, I was reminded of his performance in 1998’s Life where he bounces off Eddie Murphy perfectly with a considerable balanced degree of humour and heart.

Highlighted Quote:
“Sometimes you’ve gotta suffer for what is right”

In A Few Words:
“For what could have been a very lazy retread, the third instalment stands as the best of the series thus far”

Total Score:

3/5

Time Is The Enemy

Director
Sam Mendes

Starring
George MacKay
Dean-Charles Chapman

Set in the titular year on the western front of the first world war, an isolated group of nearly two thousand men are walking into a trap, as highlighted by new aerial photos, and two English lance corporals, Blake [Chapman] and Schofield [MacKay] are given priority orders to call off the attack. With less than a day to cross over into no man’s land and span ground that the Germans have supposedly retreated from, the two young men cautiously proceed with the added pressure that one of the men they’re trying to reach is Blake’s older brother.

It is impossible to talk about this movie without first addressing the method in which it was executed. To boil the sprawling madness of WWI to a simple personal story isn’t necessarily a difficult task but through a series of vignettes intercutting a straightforward objective, it does make for a unique guided tour of the conflict. Creating such a spectacularly devised microcosm must have required so much forethought and deliberation; more than that, I would wager that more planning and consideration went into this film than the entirety of WWI. But to reduce the achievement for a moment, it is ultimately a gimmick and one that can initially be quite distracting as audiences start to look for the potential cutting points and camera hand-offs. Yet as the story unfolds, the technical wonder is superseded by the emotional tale of survival.

Furthermore as much as the camera work is a marvel, there are so many technical aspects performing truly above and beyond, cementing this release as one that ideally needs to be seen in a cinema. The sound is delightfully immersive and the accompanying tense, building score by long time Mendes collaborator Thomas Newman, while devoid of a lot of his signature sounds, is magnificent. Case in point, the rat tripwire scene is easily more engrossing and tense than most recent horror films that are overly reliant on jump-scares and aggressively staccato sound work. And the final icing on the cake is the lavish production design which, while jaw-droppingly bleak, evokes such a morbid beauty owing to the recreation of the twisted, buckled landscape, period accurate costumes and props and the maddeningly precise set arrangement necessary to achieve the ambitious shots.

No amount of technical aptitude can entirely carry a movie and if this film had subpar performances, it would die on its feet. As such, so much is put upon the two relatively unknown leads but I believe they succeed marvellously. One could argue that some of the more nuanced camaraderie and interminable waiting of trench warfare is lost, so in essence portrays a fairly unique view of the great war but the general back-and-forth between Blake and Schofield, flitting between abject dumbstruck terror and light-hearted anecdotal joking to cope with the reality of the situation, is a solid compromise. I also genuinely appreciated the acknowledgement of diversity within the various passing regiments, too often global conflicts of the twentieth century were branded as a white man’s war but the whole essence of a world war is that every nation is involved. And while it is an entirely different animal from an entirely different war, it’s worth brining up something like Dunkirk which could also be considered a high budget claustrophobic drama with a novel central contrivance. As stated, these are two different projects with two different agendas but I found 1917 significantly more humanising and impactful in its delivery; if only for the narrow and intimate focus.

**spoilers**
If I was forced to identify a fault or frustration, it would be something said by Mark Strong’s character Captain Smith. Entering the narrative at a particularly sensitive time (for both the lead and the audience), Smith is a figure of kindness and convenience and as such whatever he says is somewhat elevated in importance. Most notably, he warns Schofield that when he delivers his orders to Colonel Mackenzie [Benedict Cumberbatch], ensure there are witnesses. Regardless of the orders’ origins, Smith subtly explains that “Some men just want the fight.” This sets up such an interesting additional level of fear and concern because we had simply assumed the story would end if and when the orders were delivered but then we learn there may be an additional fight for the instruction to be read and followed. Regrettably this transpires to be foreshadowing that never delivers and is the only real anti-climax or flaw of the movie. It turns out Mackenzie is just a commander who is fed up of the war and thinks he is seizing the opportunity to end it.

As an example of continuous creeping paranoia and fear, the pacing is such that you don’t realise how much time has passed and once the film reaches its conclusion, you are left a little depleted in the wake of the experience. Subsequently, 1917 joins All Quiet On The Western Front, Gallipoli, A Very Long Engagement and Paths Of Glory as one of the best films set during the first world war and will likely be remembered in deservedly high regard.

Release Date:
10 January 2020

The Scene To Look Out For:
After the only clear and intentional cut of the movie, the narrative shifts from day to night and the reveal is absolutely fantastic cinema. With the general low light, fires burning in the distance, passing flares and so many moving elements, it is an absolute testament to the mastery of Roger Deakins. Paired with this to enhance the whole experience is the phenomenal sound design and Newman’s soaring score. It’s just a surreally beautiful heart-pounding moment.

Notable Characters:
The officer cameos punctuate the various vignettes and serve to highlight the different attitudes found in the army, from Andrew Scott’s jaded ambivalence to Mark Strong’s stoicism and Benedict Cumberbatch’s frustration. It’s a marvellous tapestry that helps reinforce the idea that despite the urgency of their mission, the two leads are treated with a general insignificance because life is being squandered on such a scale that the individual is irrelevant.

Highlighted Quote:
“It’s just a bit of tin, it doesn’t make you special”

In A Few Words:
“A genuine triumph of plain emotional storytelling and filmmaking technique”

Total Score:

5/5