Patriots Day is directed by Peter Berg and tells the true story of the 2013 Boston Bombings which killed 4 people and injured many others along with the manhunt that followed for the 2 men responsible.
Patriots Day has some very strong moments in it but overall I just thought it was okay nothing bad at all but one that just didn't do all that much for me, I liked Berg's direction I thought it had some really nice flourishes to it in terms of the use of CCTV footage, handheld camerawork and good action scenes especially in the climax of the film and the cast equip themselves well with Mark Whalberg, Kevin Bacon and John Goodman being the real highlights.
But again I just thought it was okay a film that I saw and I thought was pretty good but one that I feel didn't really grab me in that special way that I feel that Split and Live by Night in particular have done at the beginning of this movie year (Edge of 17 is really good as well) in a way it feels like a lot of the meh movies I saw last year which weren't terrible at all but really nothing special.
And so that was Patriots Day a film I feel overall was just okay, 2 out of 5.
Friday, February 3, 2017
Film Review - Live by Night (2017)
Live by Night is adapted, directed and stars Ben Affleck as Joe Coughlin a former WW1 soldier who comes home and becomes an outlaw only to cross the wrong gangster after serving a prison sentence he then heads to Florida to head up a Rum operation the very type that could make him powerful.
I have been ridiculously excited to see this movie mainly because of Ben as I've been a big fan of him as a director (I think he's one of the best of his generation) and also his most recent film the Accountant was my favourite film of last year so could Ben continue his good run or do the unthinkable and let me down.
Happily he does the former as I really enjoyed this movie, I thought Ben once again did a great job as a director and he shows in this movie that he has a deep understanding of his craft, there is also some really nice cinematography by Robert Richardson, a great score by Harry Gregson-Williams, costumes by Jacqueline West and a slew of great performances especially by Elle Fanning, Zoe Saldana, Chris Cooper, Brendan Gleeson and Chris Messina.
I do have to say however that the films editing does at times feel a little choppy in terms of scenes feeling very undercut in terms of their impact and key plot points at times feel skipped over and pasted with a voiceover I wonder if this movie would have really benefited from a 2.5 to 3 hour running time like a lot of great Gangster films which like this movie were very ambitious but had the long runtime to really develop its storytelling hopefully this movie gets an Extended Edition for the DVD release as I feel it would really benefit from one.
So that was Live by Night which was well worth the wait and like Split and Edge of 17 kicks the year in films off very nicely, 4 out of 5.
I have been ridiculously excited to see this movie mainly because of Ben as I've been a big fan of him as a director (I think he's one of the best of his generation) and also his most recent film the Accountant was my favourite film of last year so could Ben continue his good run or do the unthinkable and let me down.
Happily he does the former as I really enjoyed this movie, I thought Ben once again did a great job as a director and he shows in this movie that he has a deep understanding of his craft, there is also some really nice cinematography by Robert Richardson, a great score by Harry Gregson-Williams, costumes by Jacqueline West and a slew of great performances especially by Elle Fanning, Zoe Saldana, Chris Cooper, Brendan Gleeson and Chris Messina.
I do have to say however that the films editing does at times feel a little choppy in terms of scenes feeling very undercut in terms of their impact and key plot points at times feel skipped over and pasted with a voiceover I wonder if this movie would have really benefited from a 2.5 to 3 hour running time like a lot of great Gangster films which like this movie were very ambitious but had the long runtime to really develop its storytelling hopefully this movie gets an Extended Edition for the DVD release as I feel it would really benefit from one.
So that was Live by Night which was well worth the wait and like Split and Edge of 17 kicks the year in films off very nicely, 4 out of 5.
Thursday, January 26, 2017
Film Review - La La Land (2016)
La La Land is written and directed by Damien Chazelle and stars Emma Stone as Mia a young actress working on a studio lot in LA and trying to get her big break into the business one night at a bar she meets Seb (Ryan Gosling) a jazz enthusiast hoping to find his big break as well and the two fall in love though both may come to realise their dreams could come at a price.
La La Land for me feels very much like Arrival for me in that I am of 2 minds on it I think that Chazelle is a very talented man having also written the script for 10 Cloverfield Lane this year as well and he directs this film very well in terms of the production, the performances and the musical sequences even though his script does feel a little patchy at times.
But apart from that the film as a whole didn't really do that much for me though I can totally understand why it has woven such a spell over so many that have seen it it is a very romantic film, a very sweet film, a very nice film and it is very loving about Hollywood and the history it has in terms of its eras as well as the city of Los Angeles itself and Stone and Gosling are two very loveable leads but I don't really like nice and sweet films all that much I like the darker films the "blood in the water" you could say.
And one film that did that as well as look at that city was 1992's The Player directed by Robert Altman which was a much more cynical look at the industry and a film I consider a big favourite of mine and this movie as well made as it is (and it is a very handsome production) I just don't think is as good as that film is in the sense that it was much more in my tastes film wise than La La Land is.
And so that was La La Land, a film I have mixed feelings about even though I can see why it has won over so many, 2 and a half out of 5.
La La Land for me feels very much like Arrival for me in that I am of 2 minds on it I think that Chazelle is a very talented man having also written the script for 10 Cloverfield Lane this year as well and he directs this film very well in terms of the production, the performances and the musical sequences even though his script does feel a little patchy at times.
But apart from that the film as a whole didn't really do that much for me though I can totally understand why it has woven such a spell over so many that have seen it it is a very romantic film, a very sweet film, a very nice film and it is very loving about Hollywood and the history it has in terms of its eras as well as the city of Los Angeles itself and Stone and Gosling are two very loveable leads but I don't really like nice and sweet films all that much I like the darker films the "blood in the water" you could say.
And one film that did that as well as look at that city was 1992's The Player directed by Robert Altman which was a much more cynical look at the industry and a film I consider a big favourite of mine and this movie as well made as it is (and it is a very handsome production) I just don't think is as good as that film is in the sense that it was much more in my tastes film wise than La La Land is.
And so that was La La Land, a film I have mixed feelings about even though I can see why it has won over so many, 2 and a half out of 5.
Film Review - Split (2017)
Split is written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan and stars James McAvoy as Kevin a man with Multiple Personality Disorder who kidnaps 3 young girls (Anya Taylor-Joy, Hayley Lu Richardson and Jessica Sula) but the man who is holding them prisoner has multiple personalities some more dangerous than others.
Split is a hell of a lot of fun, dark and twisted yes but I like those kind of films and I had a big grin on my face throughout most of it, Taylor-Joy, Richardson and Sula all equip themselves very well as the young girls being held captive and while some of their scenes especially towards the end were a little uncomfortable for me to watch I never found myself bored when they were on screen.
But this is truly McAvoy's movie and I loved him as Professor Xavier in the recent X-Men trilogy but his performance here is nothing short of remarkable the way he changes his voice, his body posture, his body language, his physical presence it is amazing to see all of these different personalities come to life and whenever he was on screen I was just sitting there with this huge smile on my face and eating up every scene he has.
But this isn't also his movie it was also great to see M. Night Shyamalan enjoy making movies again like he did when he made the Sixth Sense and Unbreakable and Signs in the late 90s and early 2000s and while this film has the best and worst of him as a writer and director this feels like the most energetic and passionate work from him in what seems like a very long time.
And so that was Spilt and like Edge of 17 it really kicks off 2017 as a film year in a very nice fashion, hopefully this continues as the year goes on, 4 out of 5.
Split is a hell of a lot of fun, dark and twisted yes but I like those kind of films and I had a big grin on my face throughout most of it, Taylor-Joy, Richardson and Sula all equip themselves very well as the young girls being held captive and while some of their scenes especially towards the end were a little uncomfortable for me to watch I never found myself bored when they were on screen.
But this is truly McAvoy's movie and I loved him as Professor Xavier in the recent X-Men trilogy but his performance here is nothing short of remarkable the way he changes his voice, his body posture, his body language, his physical presence it is amazing to see all of these different personalities come to life and whenever he was on screen I was just sitting there with this huge smile on my face and eating up every scene he has.
But this isn't also his movie it was also great to see M. Night Shyamalan enjoy making movies again like he did when he made the Sixth Sense and Unbreakable and Signs in the late 90s and early 2000s and while this film has the best and worst of him as a writer and director this feels like the most energetic and passionate work from him in what seems like a very long time.
And so that was Spilt and like Edge of 17 it really kicks off 2017 as a film year in a very nice fashion, hopefully this continues as the year goes on, 4 out of 5.
Film Review - Lion (2017)
Lion is based off of the true story of Saroo played as a child by Sunny Pawar and as an adult by Dev Patel who lives in India and through sleeping on a train finds himself in Calcutta where he is later adopted by an Australian couple Sue and John (Nicole Kidman and David Wenham) but he begins to have nightmares of the night he got lost in India and vows to find his true home.
Lion is a film of two halves for me and overall was not one that did much for me personally the first half of the film is actually pretty good showing Saroo's life in India and Pawar is very very good and for someone so young to just hold your attention in the way that he does is quite astounding.
Which is a lot more than I can say for the 2nd half of the film where once again like in the Light Between Oceans your forced to see world class actors sitting around crying, staring at monitor screens, looking out windows, treating loved ones like shit and drinking wine and this part of the film got so bloody boring and tedious I just kept wanting to look at my watch and wait for the damn thing to end.
Patel does do a good job with the Australian accent but I actually found it to hinder his performance it's one thing to get it right it's another to convincingly act with it as well something Kate Winslet did very well in the Dressmaker and can we PLEASE stop wasting Rooney Mara in movies she's a wonderful actress so so good in the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Carol but here she just plays the concerned girlfriend and "Oh my darling man please don't leave me now" UGH GIVE ME A FUCKING BREAK and to quote Marvin the Martian "OOOOO this makes me very angry."
And so that was Lion a good first half and an awful second half, 1.5 out of 5.
Lion is a film of two halves for me and overall was not one that did much for me personally the first half of the film is actually pretty good showing Saroo's life in India and Pawar is very very good and for someone so young to just hold your attention in the way that he does is quite astounding.
Which is a lot more than I can say for the 2nd half of the film where once again like in the Light Between Oceans your forced to see world class actors sitting around crying, staring at monitor screens, looking out windows, treating loved ones like shit and drinking wine and this part of the film got so bloody boring and tedious I just kept wanting to look at my watch and wait for the damn thing to end.
Patel does do a good job with the Australian accent but I actually found it to hinder his performance it's one thing to get it right it's another to convincingly act with it as well something Kate Winslet did very well in the Dressmaker and can we PLEASE stop wasting Rooney Mara in movies she's a wonderful actress so so good in the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Carol but here she just plays the concerned girlfriend and "Oh my darling man please don't leave me now" UGH GIVE ME A FUCKING BREAK and to quote Marvin the Martian "OOOOO this makes me very angry."
And so that was Lion a good first half and an awful second half, 1.5 out of 5.
Film Review - The Edge of 17 (2017)
The Edge of 17 is written and directed by Kelly Craig and stars Hallee Steinfeld as Nadine a high school student who is going through the pains of turning 17 and the adolescent changes that come with that but they only get worse when her best friend Krista (Hayley Lu Richardson) starts dating her older brother Darian (Blake Jenner.)
Edge of 17 is a terrific high school film as good as any that have been made in the last 30 years and the ones from the 80s are tough to top but this deserves to sit on that same shelf with them first off Steinfeld is wonderful in this movie and she has really began to emerge as a fine young actress to watch, Woody Harrelson is also good as the high school history teacher while Jenner looks a lot like a young James Spader.
But this is Kelly's movie through and through and she does such a good job here that I really REALLY want her to make a Spider-Man movie because what she does so well is really capture what it's like to be at that age where your body is going through puberty and your emotions can very quickly go into overdrive and some handle that very well like Darian does but others don't handle it very well at all and watching this film I did think of when I was 17 and well I didn't like it at all.
But coming back to the Spider-Man feeling one thing that drives Peter Parker is guilt, guilt that he did not do the right thing and stop the killer of his uncle when he had the chance to do so but he does remember his line to him before he dies "With Great Power comes Great Responsibility" and in Nadine's character there is a certain level of guilt about some events in her life and that attention to character is what a great Spider-Man film could do with and Kelly would make a great one.
And so that was Edge of 17 a really great Teen flick that I really wish had done better at the box office as it's a little gem that deserves a big audience, 4 and a half out of 5.
Edge of 17 is a terrific high school film as good as any that have been made in the last 30 years and the ones from the 80s are tough to top but this deserves to sit on that same shelf with them first off Steinfeld is wonderful in this movie and she has really began to emerge as a fine young actress to watch, Woody Harrelson is also good as the high school history teacher while Jenner looks a lot like a young James Spader.
But this is Kelly's movie through and through and she does such a good job here that I really REALLY want her to make a Spider-Man movie because what she does so well is really capture what it's like to be at that age where your body is going through puberty and your emotions can very quickly go into overdrive and some handle that very well like Darian does but others don't handle it very well at all and watching this film I did think of when I was 17 and well I didn't like it at all.
But coming back to the Spider-Man feeling one thing that drives Peter Parker is guilt, guilt that he did not do the right thing and stop the killer of his uncle when he had the chance to do so but he does remember his line to him before he dies "With Great Power comes Great Responsibility" and in Nadine's character there is a certain level of guilt about some events in her life and that attention to character is what a great Spider-Man film could do with and Kelly would make a great one.
And so that was Edge of 17 a really great Teen flick that I really wish had done better at the box office as it's a little gem that deserves a big audience, 4 and a half out of 5.
Thursday, January 19, 2017
Radio Days are Here Again
Well folks here they are my last 2 Radio episodes (there were problems with uploading shows late last year that have only now been resolved) covering:
- The Best and Worst of 2016
As well as:
- Star Wars: Rogue One
- Passengers
- Moana
- Red Dog True Blue
As always you can listen here:
https://soundcloud.com/abclocalradio_sa/final-friday-flicks-part-1-final
https://soundcloud.com/abclocalradio_sa/final-friday-flicks-part-2-final
https://soundcloud.com/abclocalradio_sa/friday-flicks-jan-20-final
- The Best and Worst of 2016
As well as:
- Star Wars: Rogue One
- Passengers
- Moana
- Red Dog True Blue
As always you can listen here:
https://soundcloud.com/abclocalradio_sa/final-friday-flicks-part-1-final
https://soundcloud.com/abclocalradio_sa/final-friday-flicks-part-2-final
https://soundcloud.com/abclocalradio_sa/friday-flicks-jan-20-final
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