Film Review - Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2018)

Three Billboards is written and directed by Martin McDonague and stars Francis McDormand as Mildred the mother of a young girl who was raped and murdered and is frustrated by the lack of action from the local police chief (Woody Harrelson) so she rents some advertising space on three abandoned billboards coming into town billboards that don’t make people think of English Muffins or Clown College but of a serious case.

Three Billboards is well written and performed but it left me a little cold especially given its recent streak in the awards race but before I delve into my negatives I will delve more into those performances as they are the best thing about this movie McDormand is great as someone who has been through hell and back and doesn’t give a rats ass about anyone or anything anymore she just wants justice to be served and a painful chapter of her family’s life to be closed, Woody Harrelson is very good as the local police chief under a lot of pressure but Sam Rockwell didn’t do much for me as the racist cop his arc felt too familiar to me.

But the biggest problem I have with this movie is its tone on the one hand it is a very serious drama about a mother having to suffer the insufferable and bury their child long before they wanted to and their search for justice and answers goes nowhere so she takes matters into her own hands much to the dismay of the local townspeople but on the other hand it has all of this black humour in it and copious amount of harsh language now I am far from a prude from some fucking language but this movie gives Wolf of Wall Street a run for its money and that film had a lot of both but here the two styles just didn’t mesh for me.

And so that was 3 Billboards and it was okay but its tonal style left me cold, 2 out of 5.

Film Review - The Post (2018)

The Post is directed by Steven Spielberg and is based off of the Washington Post’s decision to publish the Pentagon Papers in 1971 despite the Nixon administration’s specific wishes against such a plan having already barred the New York Times from publishing state secrets but the chief editor of the paper (Tom Hanks) and its owner (Meryl Streep) have to contend with lest they also feel the White House’s wrath.

I really enjoyed the Post and I can be very Hot and Cold on Spielberg as a filmmaker he’s made films like Jaws and Raiders of the Lost Ark that I really love but at the same time he can be very sweet and sentimental no doubt coming after his huge success with ET in 1982 which was a very sweet and sentimental film despite its darker moments but here I thought he directed the film well bringing a feel that actually made me think this was cinematic unlike Spotlight in 2016 which I enjoyed but felt it didn’t look cinematic and could have easily enjoyed it as much on Video.

As for the performances well when Streep is good in a movie it feels like the world is a slightly better place as it feels like a cinematic crime when she is either wasted or bad in a movie role as for Hanks well he’s Tom Hanks he’s his usual solid self plus I did enjoy Bruce Greenwood as Robert McNamara the Defense Secretary and the inspiration (well the name anywau) for Dr. McNamara who administered the ED-209 in Robocop.

But while watching this movie I thought to myself that this felt like a really nice tribute to all of my wonderful friends at ABC South East SA where I just finished up after 3 and a half years doing film reviews there for them and having seen that newsroom environment up close and seeing how hard everyone there works to deliver and create the content both in news stories and on Radio watching the newsroom scenes in this movie reminded me of them in some way so much so that when Hanks has his back to camera and walks away in one scene he literally reminded me of Stuart who runs that office.

And so that was the Post a really enjoyable drama that serves as one of Spielberg’s better movies of recent years, 3 and a half out of 5.

Film Review - All the Money in the World (2018)

All the Money in the World is directed by Ridley Scott and is based off of the 1973 kidnapping of John Paul Getty III by Italian hitmen hoping to get a large ransom fee from his grandfather John Paul Getty (Christopher Plummer infamously replacing Kevin Spacey in the role) but he refuses to pay despite caring for his wellbeing so he hires Mr. Chase (Mark Wahlberg) to help the young boy’s mother (Michelle Williams) go to Italy and find him.

All the Money in the World I had hoped would be a rousing return to form for Mr Scott after his very very underwhelming Alien Covenant last year and while it is better than that film it sadly continues his bad streak from this decade save for the Martian from 2015 though this one does have some nice visuals with plumes of Italian grassland and nice big house interiors and cold and windy England days not to mention nice and bright desert landscapes where you can almost feel the heat of those locations.

But I found this to be a very emotionless thriller and to be honest it felt a little bit like a return of the bad old days of Ridley Scott where he would make these visually beautiful films but they would have no emotional pull to them at all and his best work combines the two very well like Blade Runner for example and the scene with the older Japanese mob boss in Black Rain where he talks about being only 10 when the B-29 came and how it led to people like Sato being created in that film but here there is little to that and I found it hard to care after a while if the boy was ever found.

As for the performances Wahlberg and Williams are fine but Plummer was the glue of the story showing a business like ruthlessness as well as being believably grandfatherly but sadly his scenes feel so last minute that what emotional tension there might have been isn’t as fleshed out as it could have been and this is where I would be interested in seeing Kevin’s scenes even if he looked silly with all the old age makeup as I can’t help but feel that that emotional tension might have been there in those scenes given they were done during the main production so Ridley would have had the time to really finesse the filming of those scenes.

Then again if the studio had actually trusted Ridley Scott and let him cast Christopher Plummer as he originally wanted they wouldn’t have had this mess to begin with and the film would’ve been better all around so that should tell you to trust your directors shouldn’t it.

And so that was All the Money in the World and there is no hurry you see for you have all the Time in the World to see this movie its visually nice but a forgettable thriller with no emotional pull Ridley desperately desperately needs a great screenwriter to make great films, 2 out of 5.

Film Review - Coco (2017)

Coco is the newest Pixar production and concerns the Day of the Dead festival in Mexico (Anthony Gonzalez) where the spirits of the dead can come across for a day to the world of the living provided their photo is remembered and their family doesn’t forget about them and Miguel is a young boy who wants to be a musician like his hero Ernesto de la Cruz (Benjamin Bratt) but music is forbidden in his family so he ends up in the land of the dead and only hours to receive their blessing and head back home.

Coco was highly awaited by me as I like Pixar as a studio but their recent run has left a lot to be desired as save for Inside Out their run since Cars 2 in 2011 has done very little for me but this was another original project from them so hopes were high.

And they were mediumly met as while I think this is one of their better movies I don’t think it comes up to the level of their greats like the Toy Story trilogy, Monsters Inc and Finding Nemo among others now the visual look of the film is great with the way the land of the dead and the land of the living and the way the two worlds interact so seamlessly was very nice plus there was some nice storytelling here in terms of who I thought who was going to end up being.

The movie also has some really nice music in it and the main song Remember Me is really nice and will have even the iciest of hearts like mine be tugged on but this movie I really wish I saw before I saw Paddington 2 as that film I’m sorry to say is far superior in terms of storytelling, music and characters now this is not in any way a knock on Coco it’s a good film but Paddington 2 was better.

And so that was Coco and Pixar fans will get something out of it as I did but I preferred Paddington 2, 3 out of 5.

Film Review - The Darkest Hour (2018)

The Darkest Hour is directed by Joe Wright and stars Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill who is anointed by his majesty King George (Ben Mendelsohn) to become Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the time of the Second World War but before the Americans would enter the conflict but although there are those in his government that favour seeking peace terms Mr Churchill feels otherwise.

Darkest Hour is first off well staged by Mr Wright he uses many camera flourishes and long editorial takes to guide people from office to office as well as stage several scenes of bombers on the front and secondly the film is very well performed.

Firstly on that front Oldman is terrific and though there are times he can become hard to hear when he gets going in the role he holds your attention but there are others that are also quite good as well Mendelsohn is one of them and it’s a real shame he isn’t getting more attention for his performance as he is very good as well and Lily James and Kristen Scott Thomas are also good here as well though they don’t get an awful lot to do apart from sit around, look concerned and type speeches.

But seeing this movie after Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk came out last year made this film for me at least a little stuffy and a little traditional in its storytelling approach for you see what I loved about Dunkirk was that it stripped itself of the generals in rooms and political discussions in bunkers scenes and put you the audience viewer solely on that beach and in that situation and Nolan crafted it in such a way that it was like silent running suspense thriller where every moment counted and the clock was ticking.

As a result of that approach it felt like a very unique way to tell a war story and to go back to a more traditional way after that it makes this movie as well directed and performed as it is feel second rate and at one point during this movie I wished I was watching Dunkirk instead.

And so that was the Darkest Hour a fine enough film that is well directed and performed but after Dunkirk it feels very stuffy and second rate, 2 out of 5.

Film Review - Quigley (1991)

Quigley is an Australian western directed by Simon Wincer who also made the Lighthorsemen from 1987 and concerns Matthew Quigley (Tom Selleck) who comes to Australia from Wyoming at the behest of Mr Marston (Alan Rickman) who wants him to get rid of the indigenous peoples encroaching on his ranch lands but things are never so simple when dealing with the Indigenous people.

Quigley is good fun and a nice little Australian Western that first off has some very nice widescreen cinematography by David Eggby who also did the first Mad Max film there are lots of nice landscape shots that really show off the Australian outback very well as a potentially inhospitable terrain that will make mice out of men (no wonder we gave the world Mad Max) plus there are some nice town shots that were partially filmed at Flagstaff Hill here in the South West of Victoria (Warrnambool to be precise.)

Also the film is very nicely anchored firstly by Tom Selleck who never got to be Indiana Jones (though that is no big loss in all honesty) but here he is a likeable and charismatic western hero who is good with a rifle and also the late great Rickman is every inch his equal if not more so than Selleck much like he was with Bruce Willis and Kevin Costner in those films and he has a scene or two that made me think of his infamous “And Call off Christmas” scene in Robin Hood Prince of Thieves.

He is greatly missed.

And also keep an eye out for Jerome Ehlers, Roger Ward and a young Ben Mendelsohn in small roles.

And also I really liked that this movie subverted some Western tropes which are so often American for an Australian audience and the Indigenous very much play the part that the Native Americans would play in an American western and their side plot in this film was one I found very interesting and it had some resonance for the here and now I thought.

However the film is not without faults and a big one is Laura San Giacomo and don’t get me wrong she is okay but she also just can’t compete with Selleck and Rickman and a lot of her scenes as a result they kind of bothered me I could see what they were going for that kind of Princess Leia type of character but Carrie Fisher brought so much to that role herself and San Giacomo comes across as very weak at times.

And lastly the film is a little long it runs about 2 hours and it could’ve lost 5 or 10 minutes here and there without hurting the overall movie too much.

And so that was Quigley an enjoyable Australian western anchored by nice landscapes and a great duo of performances, 3 out of 5.

Film Review - Reckless Kelly (1993)

Reckless Kelly is written and directed by and starring Yahoo Serious and this tells the tale of the Kelly Gang in a very different way who rob banks in Sydney to give the money to people who can’t afford their loans but when Sir John (Hugo Weaving) buys his island home he has to find a million dollars to buy it back so he heads to America to get the job done.

I had fun watching Reckless Kelly and the first of those reasons is due to the fun light hearted tone that Serious brings to the material he doesn’t let the film run on longer than it needs to be nor does he let the gags get too far out of hand or go on for long enough that they outstay their welcome which happens quite a bit with most modern day comedies now plus there was a lot of great Australian tracks and scenery on show here.

Secondly Hugo Weaving is a great villain and he looks like he is relishing playing a fun slimy character so soon after his breakout role in Proof 2 years before and his manner of dress reminded me a little of Kingsman so much so that part of me was saying Manners Maketh Man at one point plus his stiff upper lip voice was great fun as well and one gag about the British flag made me laugh.

And lastly part of the pub that Ned lives in also acts as a Video Rental Library and seeing all of those lovely Roadshow Home Video cassettes on the shelves (Graham Burke serves as executive producer here so of no doubt he helped get clearance for the titles) made me geek out big time and want to freeze frame those scenes to spot the covers and I spotted Wanted Dead or Alive, Rambo II, Navy Seals, Target Eagle and a Show of Force among others that looked familiar but I couldn’t identify without getting a closer look.

But I want to end this review on a more serious note and that is when the film was over and I thought about the fun I had when watching it I also thought to myself that it was great to see our own stories as Australians up there on the screen in a way that could be accessible to a mainstream and wide audience and that if we are to have a vibrant and sustainable industry then the old prejudice towards genre films is something that has to go I feel.

And so that was Reckless Kelly a fun breezy light hearted Aussie comedy that I had some fun with, 3 out of 5.