Tag: Comedy

Posted in 2010-2019, Film Review

Lady Bird (2018)

Posted on by Martin: Through the Silver Screen
Image is property of A24, Universal Pictures and Scott Rudin Productions

Lady Bird – Film Review

Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, Tracy Letts, Lucas Hedges, Timothée Chalamet, Beanie Feldstein

Director: Greta Gerwig

Synopsis: Lady Bird  (Ronan) is a 17 year old woman in the final year of high school, while having a tricky relationship with her mother, must negotiate friendships, romance and the prospect of college…

Review: For some, those teenage years  are the best times of your life, on the brink of adulthood but not quite at that point where you have to start looking after your own affairs. It’s something that we all go through and is as much a part of life as death and taxes. As such, to make such a film about going through that particular period of life, and to give it such a refreshing and unique spin is a very impressive feat, even more so considering that this is the film that marks the directorial debut of Greta Gerwig.

Focusing on Christine or Lady Bird as she prefers to be known, as she navigates her final year of school before heading off to college. Before that can happen though, she experiences everything people go through in their final year of school, establishing friendships, making new relationships, and bickering with your parents. It is such a simple, almost by the numbers premise that has been done so many times before. Yet through her remarkable and screenplay that has some razor sharp wit and humour, Gerwig fashions a story that will be relatable to almost all who watch it, as everyone will have remembered that point in their lives when they were in the exact same position as Lady Bird finds herself here, particularly when it comes to moving away from home and settling down at college/university.

A key reason why this film feels so fresh and so impactful is the performance of Saoirse Ronan. You know that when you just see the character and not the actor is when you know you’re witnessing a good performance, and that is applicable to almost everyone in the film. Everything about her just feels so real and genuine, and though she has a bit of a temper (let’s be fair who didn’t when they were a teenager?) she is effortlessly watchable.  To have already garnered three Oscar nominations at the age of 23 is a staggeringly impressive achievement and it is a testament to her wonderful ability as an actor. With everyone everyone else on screen giving perfect performances, it does feel like you’re watching real people with real lives, rather than watching a film.

Special mention must go to Laurie Metcalf as Lady Bird’s mother. This Mother-Daughter relationship makes up the most significant portion of the film. It is a relationship that is far from perfect, indeed it’s a pretty fraught one at times. Yet there is a clear respect for one another, even if they don’t always show it. In everything, the film says about a teenager’s typical struggles, especially for teenage girls. It manages to tell them in a manner that almost no coming-of-age film has done before. What’s more, the film is utterly hilarious, it finds its humour in all of those little moments that life throws at us when we’re on the brink of adulthood. The road of life is full of ups and downs and this film captures those moments of joy and heartbreak and tells them with such affection, that you will want a pal like Lady Bird around in your life. She’s just that lovable.

A familiar tale, but told in such a refreshingly original manner, this is a coming-of-age drama done almost to perfection, with a stunning turn from Ronan at its centre. 

Posted in 2010-2019, Film Review

I, Tonya (2018)

Posted on by Martin: Through the Silver Screen
Image is property of AI Film and Neon

I, Tonya – Film Review

Cast: Margot Robbie, Sebastian Stan, Allison Janney, Julianne Nicholson, Bobby Cannavale

Directors: Craig Gillespie

Synopsis: Telling the story of controversial ice skater Tonya Harding who, whilst competing for her country in the Winter Olympics, becomes embroiled in a scandal following on attack on a fellow competitor Nancy Kerrigan.

Review: The lives of sports stars and professional athletes, are so often very glamorous, particularly when they enjoy success in their field and acquire incredible wealth and fame on a global scale. However, every once in a while, an athlete finds themselves in the public eye for all the wrong reasons. Take for instance, ice skater Tonya Harding. In the build up to the 1994 Winter Olympics, after an attack on her rival Nancy Kerrigan was carried out, a massive public scandal ensued, and the fallout was quite extensive.

This infamous incident is not the focus of the whole movie though. Indeed director Craig Gillespie chooses to focus on Tonya’s entire life, from her early upbringing and being forced into ice-skating by her pushy/over-bearing mother LaVona Golden (Janney) to her marriage to Jeff Gillooly (Stan) to of course the infamous attack on Nancy Kerrigan. He chooses to tell this story in a very unique way, by having the characters as if they were being interviewed by us the audience, and then flashing back to the key moments in Tonya’s life. Constantly jumping back and forth in this manner can be problematic but the film is edited together tremendously well, ensuring it flows coherently.

In a performance that has landed her her first Oscar nomination, Robbie really shines as Tonya Harding. Despite some of her less than pleasant mannerisms and behaviour, she is in many ways a very tragic character. Clearly very talented, she never quite fully realised that potential, this is perhaps more down to factors beyond her control. Of course she isn’t perfect but, her extremely difficult mother and her topsy-turvy home life certainly didn’t help matters. Janney as Tonya’s mother is also getting some well deserved recognition. Almost every word out of her mouth is profanity or a derogatory utterance directed if not at her daughter, at someone else. Though she strives to do what’s best for her daughter, it certainly doesn’t yield the right results, and she certainly wouldn’t win any Best Mother of the Year Awards.

For a person who had more than a few dark and bleak moments in her lifetime, the screenplay does manage to inject some humour into this picture, which is in no small part down to LaVona’s outbursts, and the bumbling incompetence of some of the characters who played a key role role in the attack on Kerrigan. The aforementioned use of editing in the interviews to tell the story, intertwined with some frequent fourth wall breaking keeps the plot moving for the most part along as briskly as an ice skater who’s right in the middle of their routine would.

The film does suffer from a few pacing issues though, as it seems unsure as to which element it really wants to focus on at least in the first act.  There’s also the not-so-small matter of the ice skating scenes themselves. While the camerawork to make them happen is impressive, there are a few scenes in which it is very apparent that we are looking at a stunt double, and not Robbie herself, which can be just a little bit jarring. Yet once we reach the third act and the now infamous attack on Kerrigan becomes the main focus, it becomes wildly entertaining, and serves a reminder of how even the smallest action can have devastating consequences on people’s lives and careers.

Unconventional in how it chooses to tell its ultimately tragic story, but with excellent performances from Robbie and Janney in particular fused with some very dark comedy ensures this biopic has some legs (or should that be skates?)

Posted in 2010-2019, Film Review

Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017)

Posted on by Martin: Through the Silver Screen
Image is property of 20th Century Fox and Marv

Kingsman: The Golden Circle – Film Review

Cast: Taron Egerton, Mark Strong, Colin Firth, Jeff Bridges, Channing Tatum, Halle Berry, Sophie Cookson, Pedro Pascal

Director: Matthew Vaughn

Synopsis:  After their organisation comes under attack, The Kingsman seek the help of their US Counterparts, the Statesman, to help them save the world…

Review: It is always nice when a film knows exactly what the audience wants and doesn’t take itself too seriously. In addition, when said film knew that it was a ridiculously over the top, almost parody of the the spy films that it obviously drew inspiration from, and plays that to its advantage to deliver an absurd amount of entertainment, and laughs, that’s always a most welcome outcome, and this is precisely what Kingsman: The Secret Service was. Therefore, a sequel to this surprise hit was almost inevitable, and Vaughn despite perhaps some initial hesitation, eventually came back to the director’s chair.

The first film was, for the most part British-centric, and more specifically on the Kingsman and the recruitment of young Eggsy into this elite spy organisation. The plot now goes a bit more global, well across the Pond to be exact. With the Kingsman on their knees following a vicious attack, a clue leads them to their US based allies, the Statesman. Their research leads them to something that is known as the “Golden Circle” and with the Kingsman and Statesman now side by side, they must band together to help save the world because as you would expect, as there’s always some dastardly villain looking to wreak world havoc.

Eggsy’s development from deadbeat chav, to a sophisticated gentleman spy was a central theme of what The Secret Service was all about. All the while saving the world with mentor Harry Hart (Firth) by his side. Though Harry initially seems to have suffered a grim demise, but with a presence that is hard to miss if you have seen any promotional material, it indicates that Harry did not meet said demise. Their character development was a key arc of the first movie, but there is much less focus on that arc, and indeed character development as a whole, which can be frustrating to say the least.

“We are the three amigos…”

Instead Vaughn and Goldman zone in on the action stakes, turning up the volume to maximum. If his past work is anything to go by, Vaughn is certainly a director who knows how to helm jaw dropping action scenes,  the church scene from the first film certainly stands out. They’re very fast paced and exhilarating, although sometimes they way they are cut together, with very fast, quick cut editing can make them a bit jarring to watch. The plot is again a bit far fetched to say the least, even more so than the last film, but the movie knows that this is part of its charm, and it uses that to its advantage.

Taron Egerton remains on great form as Eggsy and he is ably supported by the familiar faces of Merlin and Roxy, whilst continuing a relationship with his royal girlfriend. The main bunch of new recruits comes in the shape of the Statesman cast, with Bridges giving Rooster Cogburn a 21st century makeover in the form of Statesman top dog Champ. Tequila and Ginger Ale (Tatum and Berry) are welcome additions but both feel somewhat underutilised. Meanwhile Pedro Pascal as Whiskey is perhaps the most interesting of the new bunch, honing his Oberyn Martell-esque fighting skills to great effect, and while she does have some time to shine, Julianne Moore as the antagonist would have benefited from a bit more screen time.

Though it doesn’t get too bloated, the film does feel perhaps a tad too long, perhaps because Vaughn does cram so much into this new adventure. but there’s more than enough good material here for audiences to enjoy. Like last time, the movie remains very self-aware, it knows it is a bat shit crazy experience with spies, espionage, gadgets, action and VERY adult humour. And that’s just what you signed up for, suited and booted and all.

There’s not a great deal of character development to be found, but like its predecessor, The Golden Circle delivers those insane and thrilling action set pieces and adult humour that make it such a blast to watch.

Posted in 2010-2019, Film Review

Free Fire (2017)

Posted on by Martin: Through the Silver Screen
Image is property of Film4 Productions, BFI, Rook Films Protagonist Pictures and StudioCanal UK

Free Fire– Film Review

Cast: Sharlto Copley, Brie Larson, Cillian Murphy, Armie Hammer, Jack Reynor, Enzo Cilenti

Director: Ben Wheatley

Synopsis: Two parties meet in an old abandoned warehouse to complete a deal to buy some guns. However when the deal goes awry, the bullets begin to fly…

Review: Whenever you have a set up in a film that consists of several groups of people meeting up in a disused warehouse/factory to negotiate the sale of some weapons, appropriately enough in the case, some guns, chances are that something will go amiss. Tensions will flare for one reason or another, some folks will get angry and before you know it we have one absolutely mental shootout that has every single character fighting to stay alive.

Before those bullets fly however, we’re introduced rather quickly to our core group of characters. On one side you have Cillian Murphy as an Irishman who’s looking to buy the guns from and Sharlto Copley’s very thick accented Vernon, in a deal that has been facilitated by Justine (Brie Larson) and Ord (Armie Hammer) . The script, co-written by director Ben Wheatley and Amy Jump does its best to flesh out the characters, which it does well for some, but less so for others. Copley’s arms dealer is perhaps the shining light of this unpleasant mob. He’s a man who’s clearly got the eye for Justine, despite his less than pleasant attempts to flirt with her, amusing to the audience perhaps but less so for Justine. However, the pleasantries do not last for long, and soon enough everyone is armed and ready to kill,  and a fight to be the last man (or woman?) standing ensues.

Immediate, the film has the feel as if it was a film that was made in the era that it’s set, it has a real 1970s vibe to it. Wheatley and Jump’s script is filled with some very funny moments, with some superb lines of dialogue that feel almost as if Mr Tarantino himself wrote them. Speaking of, there will no doubt be comparisons to Reservoir Dogs given the premise and the similarity that everyone is soon turning on one another to create multiple Mexican stand off-ish situations. Except there’s no squad of men in your standard suits, as the clothes this time are a little bit more garish.

When the shooting is taking place it is gripping for the most part, however there are moments where the films lapses in terms of pace as the various crews lick their wounds in-between firing off a round of bullets, many of which do not find their targets. The nature of the shootouts are very stop-start with a lot of angry talking and yelling from the characters in between the exchanges of bullets and angry curse words being hurled, and lots of hobbling around desperately seeking cover from the bullets raining down upon them.

Wheatley helms the action by and large pretty well, the scenes are well cut together and the editing in scenes where there bullets are raining down is really well done. At the start, the tension is built really well as you know that someone is going to get trigger happy at a moment’s notice. Yet this tension is not maintained throughout the firestorm that ensues. The great humour and angry insults that the characters hurl at each other keeps the story going but for a 90 minute feature, it does drag at times, which given the premise of bullets here, bullets there and bullets everywhere is perplexing, but when the film does finally reach its conclusion, it’s a satisfying one that ensures it hits in target and in style too.

A stylish fusion of comedy and action, with some very quotable dialogue and mostly pulsating action sequences ensures that for the most part hits its target with precision.

Posted in 2010-2019, Film Review

The Lego Batman Movie (2017)

Posted on by Martin: Through the Silver Screen
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Image is property of Warner Bros, Warner Animation Group and RatPac Entertainment

The Lego Batman Movie – Film Review

Cast:  Will Arnett, Rosario Dawson, Michael Cera, Ralph Fiennes, Zach Galifianakis

Directors: Chris McKay

Synopsis: With The City of Gotham under attack from the schemes of the Joker, Batman must fight to defeat him, but must also deal with the young boy he has inadvertently adopted.

Review: “Always be yourself, unless you can be Batman, ALWAYS be Batman.” A saying that has been around for a few years now it would seem, and one that definitely rings true today. Given the phenomenal success of 2014’s The Lego Movie, of which Batman incidentally played a crucial role, a sequel was absolutely inevitable, but that is not this film. Yet the decision to make a spin off focusing on Batman absolutely made sense, given that Batman has enjoyed enormous popularity, hence the very sound advice, “Always be Batman.”

Batman of course has been an ever present in popular culture, from those ridiculously camp early Adam West years, to the Tim Burton/Michael Keaton era, and back to the ridiculous and frankly awful Joel Schumacher years, before thankfully being revived by one Christopher Nolan, who opted for the more dark and gritty take on the character, which Zack Snyder has since followed. History has shown that the comedy take on the character usually fails in miserable fashion, but thanks to a franchise that has also remained very dominant down the years, this of course being Lego, it demonstrates perfectly that this bit more light hearted approach can work if done in the right manner.

Right off the bat (pun absolutely intended!) even if you weren’t aware of this, you would get the impression that the team that worked on the Lego Movie has had some influence on the script. Though Lego Movie writers and directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller were not involved, the films share a similar sense of humour. The jokes are more often than not great, you will find yourself laughing a lot in more than a few scenes. Gleeful pops are aimed at Marvel and some of DC’s own properties too, there are certainly no prisoners with this Batman. There are some great life lessons for the kids too, whilst the adults can enjoy all the cool little Easter eggs that can be found, old and new Batman alike, there is something for everyone.

lego-batman-2

A lot of this is down to Will Arnett’s utterly tremendous voice work as the titular character. He emits this rather gruff growl whether he’s in Batman mode or just Bruce Wayne mode, although it’s not quite a ridiculous as the one Christian Bale occasionally used when he was in the cape and cowl. He’s ably assisted by Rosario Dawson as the spirited Barbara Gordon and Ralph Fiennes in a brilliant turn as the trusted butler Alfred. Michael Cera as the young kid that Bruce adopts can come across as a bit annoying at first but he earns his stripes as Batman’s trusty sidekick, and Zach Galifianakis gives a very interesting take on the Clown Prince of Crime.

The plot for the most part keeps moving along forward pretty neatly, but there are a couple of places where the plot does lose a bit of steam. However these are usually only momentary lapses. Villains are an essential ingredient of comic book movies and a great deal of them are unleashed, not just from DC Comics, but from, oh, SO MANY areas of popular culture, and while villain overload has been the kiss of death of certain superhero movies of the past, it only adds to joy and entertainment of the movie in this instance. If this were live action, it could and probably would borderline ridiculous, but here it’s just ridiculously entertaining.

No matter how many times he’s represented on screen, be it in animated, live action or Lego form, one thing remains pretty clear, Batman’s popularity among audiences will likely never diminish or waiver, and even if certain pieces of work do tarnish the legacy of the character. Batman is a staple of superhero culture that has stood for decades now, and with this film now under his belt too, it will only boost his popularity. The Dark Knight truly does rise to epic proportions.

Relentlessly funny, with some great jokes combined with terrific animation and voice work, all matches made in Lego Heaven for the Caped Crusader.

a

Posted in 2010-2019, Film Review

Swiss Army Man (2016)

Posted on by Martin: Through the Silver Screen
swiss-army-man
Image is property of A24, Tadmor, Astrakan Films AB, Cold Iron Pictures, Blackbird Films and Prettybird

Swiss Army Man Film Review

Cast:  Paul Dano, Daniel Radcliffe

Director: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert

Synopsis: A suicidal man (Dano) is all alone on a beach and is about to commit suicide when he sees a deceased man (Radcliffe) on the beach, who happens to have some gassy problems.

Review: Every so often, a film comes along that has a premise that after reading or hearing about it, it just stops you in you tracks in sheer bemusement. You look at it and just think, “Huh???” This is certainly applicable to this film from a pair of directors who call themselves “The Daniels” in what is their first foray into major motion picture film-making. If nothing else this film is certainly a very original concept given the domination of sequels and reboots in Hollywood these days, but sometimes that is not always a good thing.

The story focuses on Hank, a man who has all but given up on life and is about to end it all when he spots the motionless man lying on the beach. This gives Hank a reason to keep going and together the duo go on an adventure in order to get home. Originality in Hollywood, certainly in big blockbusters has become something of a rare thing, so in this respect Swiss Army Man is to be praised, for offering something different to the big screen, like no film has before. Yet there is a difference between originality and just completely fucking weird. This isn’t to say all weird films are bad, but this is not the good kind of weird at all.

You have to wonder at times if a 12 year old boy wrote the script because the humour is very low-brow. Fart jokes were common place when you were in primary school and as adults it can be funny too, but to use it a device in a Hollywood movie is a risky move, and for the most part it doesn’t work. There are some humorous moments and jokes for sure, but it gets to a point where those sorts of jokes stop being funny after the tenth time, and these two very talented actors are ultimately wasted on what is a very weak script. It is trying to have a deeper meaning on life but these messages are negated by the excessive use of the toilet humour, it just simply does not work. The chemistry between the two of them is barely existent, which isn’t a surprise that one of them is meant to be dead!  There are attempts at teaching some life lessons in there but it’s negated by the fact that one of the characters is meant to be a dead man, who through no particular explanation comes to life somehow and starts talking!

Dano doesn’t really break any ground with his performance, but Radcliffe does try to give him credit. It is certainly a very different role when compared to The Boy Who Lived, but as The Man Who Farts, not quite as enthralling to watch. The film visually is impressive, there are some nice wide shots on the island and the Daniels helm it well. The soundtrack too is also of a decent quality,  but that is of little importance when you’re script is weighed down a very silly way of telling the story, which at just over an hour and a half shouldn’t feel long, but this felt like like it was a lot longer, which is never a good sign. Movies that take risks deserve attention and when done well, deserve merit, but that is not applicable here.

Points for originality and a creative premise, but these are negated by a very weak and messy script that is full of holes and bogged down by an over reliance on childish toilet humour.

Rating: D

Posted in 2010-2019, Film Review

Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016)

Posted on by Martin: Through the Silver Screen
hunt-for-wilderpeople
Image is property of Defender Films, Piki Films, Madman Entertainment, The Orchard, Vertigo and Sony

Hunt for the Wilderpeople – Film Review

Cast:  Sam Neill, Julian Dennison

Director: Taika Waititi

Synopsis: In the heart of the majestic New Zealand landscape, a national manhunt is launched after a mischievous teenager and his grumpy foster uncle, run away into the forest.

Review: The incredible and quite breath taking New Zealand countryside has certainly featured on the big screen before, most notably in Peter Jackson’s tremendous Lord of the Rings trilogy, as well as his not-quite-as-tremendous-but-still-great Hobbit trilogy. It’s quite fitting then, that New Zealand born director Taika Waititi, in his latest film, a character makes a quite brilliant reference to the former trilogy, as the main characters find themselves in a very similar situation to one in the Lord of the Rings, but this is by no means a similar movie to the aforementioned trilogy.

There are no rings or orcs to be found here, instead we have Ricky Baker (Dennison) a troublesome teenager who has been given a chance for a new life with new foster parents. All appears to be going well, yet due to various circumstances, Ricky and his “uncle” Hec (Sam Neill) begin an adventure in the New Zealand shrubbery. All the while, the duo become the centre of a massive manhunt in order launched by the authorities in order to bring these two home, and a hilarious and very heartfelt adventure begins.

Adapting the screenplay from the novel Wild Pork and Watercress by Barry Crump, Waititi blends the humour of the story (of which there is plenty) and this is combined with some brilliant acting from the two main leads. It is clear that upon their first meeting Uncle Hec is not exactly keen on Ricky, but through time, they begin to develop a connection and an understanding of one another and the path that lead them to meet. Neill is tremendous but more often than not it is Dennison who steals the show with his obsession with everything “gangster” related, even going so far as to name a dog after a very famous rapper! The chemistry between the actors is tremendous, and the dialogue between them is equally so, and Waititi himself makes a cameo that is a contender for cameo of the year.

As well as the quite brilliant LOTR reference, there are plenty of other superb either visual nods to classic movies, or some rather amusing references to other Hollywood classics packed throughout this quirky picture. The cinematography is also spectacular, with Waititi taking full advantage of the New Zealand landscape in a similar vein to Jackson with both of his Middle Earth trilogies, with plenty of awe-inspiring wide shots that will make the viewer feel like they are in the deep dark wood with the characters. With a great soundtrack to boot, Waititi has crafted a quite brilliant piece of film-making that combines memorable characters with a very genuine, heartfelt story that is hilarious to boot. Given that his next project is a massive Marvel Cinematic Universe movie, namely Thor: Ragnarok, a universe that is known for its excellent use of humour, the director is certainly going from strength to strength. MCU fans can rest assured that this Marvel picture is in very safe and capable hands, hands that might be able to lift Mjolnir!

With a very witty and sharp script from Waititi, excellent performances from the lead duo, fasten your seat belts for a very entertaining romp through the New Zealand wilderness! 

a

Posted in 2000-2009, Film Review

Finding Nemo (2003)

Posted on by Martin: Through the Silver Screen
Image rights belong to Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation studios
Image rights belong to Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation studios

Finding Nemo – Film Review

Cast: Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres, Alexander Gould, Willem Dafoe, Brad Garrett, Geoffrey Rush

Director: Andrew Stanton

Synopsis: When a young clownfish is abducted by deep sea divers, his timid father must brave the terrifying ocean in order to rescue his son.

Review: The big blue ocean, something that covers around 70 per cent of the surface of this planet. It’s something that is so deep and terrifying, yet there is certainly for some, a deep fascination with the big blue beyond, and the life within it. It would certainly seem that a few folks over at the animation juggernauts of Pixar have this fascination.

Fish are not exactly many people’s first choice to have as pets, and therefore to make a full length feature about them, might have seemed like a mad idea for Pixar. Yet as they often do, they pulled it off in spectacular fashion. Right at the very start, everything appears all happy and joyous, and then instantaneously it changes. Disney movies of the past certainly weren’t afraid to go dark where necessary, and the opening scene here is certainly not on a Bambi level of terrifying, it is rather melancholic. But it sets the tone for the movie and really builds the character of our main protagonist, Marlin and why he’s so overprotective of his son Nemo. As such when Nemo is whisked away by divers, Marlin has little choice to go out of his comfort zone, go after him and brave the terrifying ocean, and the ensuing adventure that Marlin ends up has its mix of delightful humour and some more darkish moments.

finding nemo

Though it’s probable not many of us have been there ourselves, certainly not as deep, director Andrew Stanton does a terrific job of immersing the audience in this ocean world. The other wildlife and the plant life are all beautifully recreated along with the animation being absolutely perfect. In addition to this, we have a very interesting collection of characters. Marlin is a clownfish, but he struggles to tell a good joke. However he doesn’t need to as he’s aided on his quest to rescue his son by the lovable but forgetful Dory, voiced by the brilliant Ellen DeGeneres. There’s a fair bit of dramatic moments mixed in with some truly hilarious ones too, such as the shark equivalent of Alcoholics Anonymous.

In Nemo’s unfamiliar surroundings, we have the likes of the serious but friendly Gill (Willem Dafoe) Bloat (Brad Garrett) a porcupine pufferfish of whom does his bit to ensure that the laughs keep on coming. The screenplay is so well written that you care about every one of the characters on screen, particularly Marlin, Nemo and certainly Dory too. The latter of whom proved to be such a popular character, that she is getting her own film, due out this summer. It’s easy to see why as a lot of the comedy comes from her forgetfulness and funny one liners. The characters are extremely well developed and the fact that the voices involved are provided by some top Hollywood talent ensures that the there’s that emotional connection between them and the audience.

There are plenty of humorous moments littered throughout this really entertaining story. Even some of the side characters provide some of the most ridiculously entertaining moments. The sharks, the turtles and in particular the seagulls especially in particular do their best to keep the laughs coming. The latter of whom although they don’t have the largest amount of screen time, they certainly make a significant impression, and you might just find yourself saying “mine” just a little bit. Whoever knew that a story about the life of aquatic based animals could be so entertaining and so heartfelt?

Beautiful animation with some great humour, along with well written, developed and lovable characters, Pixar just kept swimming onto success with this wonderful story. One of their finest without a doubt.

a

Posted in 2010-2019, Film Review

Hail, Caesar! (2016)

Posted on by Martin: Through the Silver Screen
Hail Caesar
Image rights belong to: Working Title Films, Mike Zoss Productions and Universal Pictures

Hail, Caesar – Film Review

Cast: George Clooney, Josh Brolin, Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum, Ralph Fiennes, Alden Ehrenreich, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Jonah Hill

Directors: Joel and Ethan Coen

Synopsis: 1950s Hollywood, and a film studio is in the middle of its big budget production of Hail, Caesar! Yet when things begin to go awry, the studio must battle to keep things afloat.

Review: The Oscar winning Coen Brothers on writing and directing duties? Check. An all star cast including Oscar winners and nominees? Check. A film set in a time that many would consider to be in the Golden Age of Hollywood? Check. With all these combined, you would think that the visionaries behind The Big Lebowski, the superb 2010 remake of True Grit and No Country for Old Men, would strike gold with this unique and original story, as they have done in the past? The answer, is unfortunately, no.

The centre piece of this whole wacky movie is that of Josh Brolin’s Eddie Mannix, the head of Physical Productions and also the man who is there to ensure that the studio’s dirty linen is not aired in public. Yet problems begin to arise here, there and everywhere, most notably the fact that the lead actor on the studio’s massive movie, Baird Whitlock (Clooney) suddenly disappears, after being kidnapped. Yet despite all this, the burden falls onto Mannix to keep everything afloat. The Coens certainly know how to do humour, and do it very well as The Big Lebowski demonstrates, and that humour is on display here and to the maximum with plenty of humorous moments.

Furthermore with a top cast of A list Hollywood talent assembled, all excel in their roles. However some are given more opportunities to shine than others, which is a shame as there are some very entertaining characters who you would like to have been given a bit more screen time. Ralph Fiennes in particular has one absolutely golden moment, but this is not followed up. Many of the talents are vastly underutilised and it is just a bit frustrating to watch as you would like to see them have more scenes.

In terms of plot, it is a bit of a mess to be honest. Mannix is the main man and its his story that is the centrepiece. Yet there are so many different stories running along at the same time, that it is a little confusing to keep up. What’s more, there are several plot points that are just left hanging. It feels like the Coens just thought of a bunch of random sketches, and concocted them together into one film. As such when the big reveal of what is arguably the film’s primary plot occurs, you just don’t care as much as you could, or maybe should as the script is just too messy and all over the place.

What is not out of place though is the detail, 1950s Hollywood has been captured tremendously well and with the one and only Roger Deakins as the cinematographer, you know the film will look absolutely immaculate, and it does. However, despite this incredible attention to detail, this was a real missed opportunity for the Coens to add another top drawer film to their incredible filmography. The film is seen as the Coens love letter to 1950s Hollywood, but it’s a shame that said letter is written in poor handwriting, to the point where it’s almost incomprehensible to read.

1950s Hollywood has been impressively recreated and the Coens pull good performances from their A list cast, particularly from Fiennes and Ehrenreich, it’s just such a shame that it’s all wasted on a weak script.

 C+

Posted in 2010-2019, Film Review

Silver Linings Playbook (2012)

Posted on by Martin: Through the Silver Screen
Silver-Linings-Playbook-Poster
Image rights belong to The Weinstein Company

Silver Linings Playbook – Film Review

Cast: Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert DeNiro, Jackie Weaver, Chris Tucker

Director: David O Russell

Synopsis: As a former mental institution patient moves back in with his parents and seeks to make amends and rebuild his life, he comes into contact with a woman who has also been battling her own problems.

Review: You would think that if you were about to sit down and watch a film about someone having emerged from a mental institution seeking to turn his fortunes around in life, then said film would struggle to find its feet and its voice as a comedy, with very few laughs. Well you couldn’t have been more wrong, because in the capable hands of screenwriter and director David O Russell, adapting from the novel of the same name by Matthew Quick, this romantic comedy packs plenty of heart, drama and unsurprisingly comedy into its 2 hour run time, and it does all this extremely effectively.

Pat Solitano (Cooper) is a man who has just come out of a mental institution after seeing his marriage hit the rocks and fall apart. But after his release, he is looking up, and feeling confident of making amends and moving forward. This is until he meets Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence) a woman who is going through her own set of problems. When she comes onto the scene, things begin to take an interesting turn as these two begin to realise that they have a lot more in common than they care to think.

After the success that was his 2010 film, The Fighter, a film with a tremendously strong cast, Russell again manages to put together  another very strong cast all of whom excel in their roles. You have Robert DeNiro and Jacki Weaver as Pat’s wacky parents who are doing their best to help Pat rebuild his life, with a surprisingly funny and effective performance from Chris Tucker too. Yet, it is the performances of our two leaders in Cooper and Lawrence that truly steal the show. Their chemistry together is electric to watch and they have more than a few very memorable scenes together, with one scene in a diner standing out by far among many terrific scenes.

The film became the first film since 1981 to secure nominations in all four acting categories, and was the first since 2004’s Million Dollar Baby to be nominated for the Big Five Oscars. Lawrence was the only one to secure a trophy, and to be fair, she is the true star of the show. She manages to blend crazy antics and real heart and emotion into her performance. All of the performances are of such a very high standard, you could almost think that you weren’t actually watching a film, but real life instead. In the same year that she shot to stardom with The Hunger Games, Lawrence proved to the world that she is a force to be reckoned with, something that she is still demonstrating today. While Cooper didn’t take home the statue, his work was equally electrifying, and arguably to this day ranks as a career best performance. If it had not been for a sublime performance from Daniel Day Lewis in Lincoln, he might have won a statue himself.

The screenplay by Russell is equally terrific. Of course there are some dark moments that goes without saying, but there are plenty of funny and dramatic moments as well, and they all work. He manages to fuse all of these elements into the story very successfully and the story is very compelling to watch. There are highs but there are plenty of very low lows and you feel for all of the characters, as they are extremely well developed. But as the film makes a lot of effort to point out, every cloud has a silver lining, and in the case of this film, that silver lining is despite the somewhat dark subject matter, it produced one hell of a good movie that’s extremely entertaining to watch, and definitely ranks as one of Russell’s best movies.

Acted to perfection, with star performances from Cooper and especially Lawrence, with a terrific screenplay that packs heart and comedy aplenty.

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