Creed ****

by

Posted: 16/01/2016

Creed_Stallone_Jordan

Like the fighter it is, the Rocky franchise still keeps getting up after taking numerous punches, especially after the 2006 Rocky Balboa failed to live up to the glory days. With its hero, Rocky (Sylvester Stallone) not getting any younger, the only way the saga could live on was injecting fresh blood. And that’s what Creed (2015) does, complete with vital plot ties to the past.

With Rocky’s son – referenced in this new film – not into the ‘family fighting business’, a hungry new kid on the block finds former World Heavyweight Champion Rocky Balboa (Stallone) at his restaurant in Philly one night, asking him questions about THAT fight against the legendary Apollo Creed. The kid turns out to be Adonis Johnson (Michael B. Jordan) who wants Rocky to train him to fight professionally.

Rocky soon learns Johnson is the son of his late friend and former rival Creed – but the young fighter wants to make a name of his own. However, as the news of the new boxing talent and his mentor spreads around the gyms, and with Rocky coming out of retirement, it’s soon revealed who the new fighter is related to. An offer of a big, transatlantic fight comes in, but will Johnson live up to the name of Creed?

It’s clear screenwriter/director Ryan Coogler – who has only done one main feature film in the past, Fruitvale Station (2013) – is an avid fan and has really studied the franchise. He takes just the right elements to stir nostalgia (without overkill), but adds the key ingredient (Jordan) to reinvigorate matters. The pair worked together on the 2013 film, so there’s a successful precedent there too. Jordan delivers the determination and physical dedication to pull this off and make Creed Jr. a very believable character, worthy of his namesake. Fantastic Four’s Jordan is ‘Storm’ by nature, making this role his first with any great impact.

Naturally, the plot doesn’t take a genius to figure out and breeds some nice, friendly taunts between old timer Rocky and his protégée, in turn, fuelling the comedic aspect that folks now come to expect from an ‘Italian Stallion’ film. There is also the serious, health-related side that brings up the past and shamelessly plays on our nostalgia.

The training scenes deliver that tantalising and satisfying chest-thumping thrill of the end result – with accompanying score. Jordan is certainly nice on the eye too. The actual fight sequences don’t shy away from full-frontal poundings. Those who have never experienced a fight could be squeamish. Blood is on the agenda as the filmmakers want you to feel every jag, cross, hook and uppercut, without actually being in the ‘first-person’ video-gaming position. It’s nevertheless effective.

As for Stallone, he holds his own like the boxing institution that he is, with every mumble and slur barely audible but having such gravitas. Fans will still get their fill – and more. Even the infamous 72 stone ‘Rocky Steps’ leading up to Philly’s Museum of Art get another dusting off.

Creed is what every Rocky fan has been waiting for – a chance to bring the franchise back to life, as well as relive the glory days. It never misses a beat and makes you feel like you’ve done several rounds along with the characters by the time the final bell rings.

4/5 stars

By @FilmGazer

Follow on Twitter

Daddy’s Home ***

by

Posted: 03/01/2016

maxresdefault

It’s been five years since hapless detectives Gamble and Hoitz stumbled onto our screens in The Other Guys, and Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg produced some great comedic timing in a rather average cop comedy offering.

The only question worth asking about their latest comedy, Daddy’s Home, is whether the pair still has that onscreen magic. They do, and it’s a thrill to see them reunited. The trouble is, as a film, it’s even more void of original comical scenarios than the 2010 outing. It stays far too superficially silly that it misses many chances to really tackle the minefield that is stepdad-dad territory. Still, it’s light-entertainment stuffing for the holiday season.

Radio host Brad Whitaker (Ferrell) is desperate for his stepchildren’s acceptance as their ‘Daddy’. He finally achieves his goal, only to be upstaged by the arrival of their ‘cool’ but previously unreliable biological dad, Dusty Mayron (Wahlberg), who shows up on the scene on his motorbike and stirs things up. Dusty has designs on his ex-wife Sara (Linda Cardellini) and reuniting his family. Both men come to loggerheads in a battle to be ‘Dad’.

Ferrell and Walhberg have another session of a witty war of words, hilariously summed up in the bedtime story battle, where their true feelings come out in an ‘innocent’ fairy-tale for the kids. Ferrell plays his trademark petulant man-child as things get heated, while Wahlberg wouldn’t be out of place in a frat house initiation ceremony. As predictable as this is, the film does tick along nicely on their infantile exchanges, sadly never getting any grittier though with its intriguing subject matter.

With frivolity comes crudity too, hence cheapening the opportunity to be anything more. It’s hardly surprising what with its ‘awkward’ 12A rating, meaning the filmmakers are stuck in limbo trying to keep it 12-friendly while toeing the adult-humour line. It ends up feeling like screenwriters Brian Burns, Sean Anders and John Morris have wound down for the festive season.

In addition, the set pieces can be seen coming from the other side of the neighbourhood, but it’s just the fact that Ferrell and Walhberg are involved in acting them out that the film gets away with it. There is an end ‘payback’ too, that will have most missing the celebrity gag, aside from ‘history repeating itself’.

Daddy’s Home is heart-warmingly funny because Ferrell and Walhberg deliver what’s expected of them. It’s a shame it doesn’t get riskier or more poignant with the spectrum of emotion such a situation richly offers up to make it hit home more.

3/5 stars

By @FilmGazer

Follow on Twitter

LFF 2015: The Lady In The Van ***

by

Posted: 26/11/2015

The-Lady-In-The-Van

It was playwright Alan Bennett who said, “Life is generally something that happens elsewhere”, which is certainly how he must have felt saddled with an old lady who camped outside his Camden home for 15 years. This is the feature film written by Bennett of his play of the same name, a semi-autobiographical tale of his relationship with homeless Mary Shepherd – a role reprised again by Maggie Smith after 16 years.

Bennett (played by Alex Jennings) moves to leafy Gloucester Cresent in Camden in the late 1960s and encounters Miss Shepherd (Smith), an easily irritated and rude homeless lady who lives in a van on his street. Having been moved on by other neighbours for various reasons, and with parking restrictions coming into force, Bennett takes pity on her and offers her his driveway as a temporary measure that sees her stay until her death.

This is the ultimate vanity project for Bennett and director Nicholas Hytner – who directed the play and radio versions. With Smith onboard again, the big-screen version is clinched, as is an Oscar nod perhaps. All three have had time to revisit and tweak the material to make it the witty and undoubtedly charming tale it is. However, this would have been a gamble was it not for the strong casting of Jennings opposite Smith.

Jennings triumphantly plays both Bennett characters – the man and the writer, like a bickering married couple, evoking the true Bennett spirit in both: He is the hen-pecked worrier with an (unhealthy) obsession with the lives of old ladies (his mother and Miss Shepherd) and one of life’s self-depreciating cynics. Real-life Bennett takes an honest introspective look at things, but has Jennings to thank for lifting that off the page.

Smith is known for her cantankerous role-playing on both the big and small screens. Here, she encapsulates all that we love about her stubborn, independent screen spirit in one juicy role. However, her Shepherd is far from two-dimensional, rather a chameleon of emotion, a contradiction of ideas, highlighting the fragility of London’s social community cohesion too. She is also defiant to the outside world she distrusts, making her a fascinating lead agitator.

Connecting with Shepherd is key to Bennett’s film, or it becomes a chore as a purely character-driven piece with little else by way of plot. Hytner’s direction tries to keep some momentum going to counter this. There is the mystery of ‘Mary’ – or is it ‘Margaret’ – but again, this all plays out within the confines of the street, albeit, the odd trip to Broadstairs, Kent. The treat is how her character flexes with Bennett’s in the highs and lows, while they have a constant battle of minds.

It’s also how they unwittingly unite to react to others – queue the comical moments the social worker feels ‘some hostility’ from Bennett. There are also some deliciously colourful cameos from Roger Allam, Deborah Findlay, Frances de la Tour and the like as an assortment of snobby neighbours who all disapprove of Shepherd while equally find her predicament quite ‘quaint’ and their local star attraction.

It is a case of North vs South (or rather London) superiority again, as Bennett’s Northern roots (and mother) are the butt of all cheap jokes rolled out when the script feels wanting, becoming a little passé as a result. The true wit is had from what Bennett the writer thinks of his ‘mummy’s boy’ alter ego, as well as how Shepherd picks up on this.

The Lady In The Van is both intimate in its core relationship and formal in its social commentary arising from the situation – highly apt in today’s austerity climate but executed in a pleasingly comical light. Bennett fans are likely to be sold (there’s even a cameo), but it’s perhaps those who admire Smith that will try this in support of her veteran talent while, just maybe, stumbling upon that of Bennett’s in the process.

3/5 Stars

By @FilmGazer

Follow on Twitter

LFF 2015: Steve Jobs ***

by

Posted: 26/11/2015

steve-jobs

Love or hate the man, no one can deny the mark Steve Jobs made on the personal computer landscape. Would Apple be where it is today without his bullish vision? The initial fascination with this film, entitled Steve Jobs, is how Apple’s late ambassador became such a presence. Also, with news that whoever ended up portraying the man on screen had his very own acting mountain to climb by being in every scene, it’s Michael Fassbender’s performance as Jobs in the Danny Boyle/Aaron Sorkin film that’s equally intriguing.

We follow behind the scenes and watch how Steve Jobs ticks and grows a global brand – divided up into the run-ups to three iconic product launches, ending with the 1998 unveiling of the iMac. We see how the people who worked with him – Joanna Hoffman (Kate Winslet) and Steve Wozniak (Seth Rogen) to name a few – weathered the turbulent Jobs ride, as well as his relationship with a daughter, Lisa Brennan (played by Perla Haney-Jardine, Ripley Sobo and Makenzie Moss), who he initially denies is his.

Looking nothing like Jobs to begin with, Fassbender does a remarkable ‘Job’ (pardon the pun) of getting the essence of the man that by the time he dons that ionic black polar-neck sweater, jeans and round-rimmed glasses, the differences become acute. Without investing in the actor’s hard graft, we would have a hard time continuing watching.

Fassbender does have both Winslet and Rogen to thank, both of which are playing real, living people. Their characters’ interactions with Jobs are delightful to witness – though Winslet’s Polish-American accent as Hoffman is non-existent at the start but gets stronger as the pressure builds. This film is all about character building and acting. An extra treat as an Apple aficionado is the many nods to the brand’s history in the making to be thrilled by.

That said the rest feels like a rehearsal for something grander to be unveiled – it never reaches a heady, dramatic climax, unless you know a little about the Jobs-Wozniak history. Even the expected father-daughter schmaltz does little to elevate proceedings. It is understandably predictable, as we know the history, a major restrictive factor for any real-life biopic. Still, it’s a brave project for all involved and lifts the lid partially on the mystique of Jobs.

3/5 stars

By @FilmGazer

Follow on Twitter

The Hallow **

by

Posted: 26/11/2015

The-Hallow

Things go bump in the night – and all that horror jazz. However, filmmaker Corin Hardy’s new Irish chiller, The Hallow is more stylised than scary, and pretty much of a muchness as a haunting goes.

‘Outsiders’, husband and wife, Adam (Joseph Mawle) and Clare (Bojana Novakovic) Hitchens have moved from the big smoke to forest-strewn Ireland because scientist Adam studies trees. They have also brought along their baby boy to these idyllic, green surroundings. But things are far from ‘idyllic’ in their rustic home when they ignore local folklore and advice, and their old digs comes under threat from a supernatural force.

The actual horror story follows all the usual tropes, right down to the Hitchens checking out the attic space. The addition of the baby only ramps up the chill factor – he’s in virtually every scene, implying he’s vulnerable and prey to the ‘dark force’ trying to break in.

The Hallow bucks the trend a little by having the attack on the couple coming from the outside, rather than from within – to begin with. The trouble is, it’s like Hardy and his creative team are so proud of their animatronics ghouls that they show them off a little too soon. Something needs to be left to the imagination here, or proceedings become mundane.

In fact, the film’s only real positive is its organic production design. It’s rich in earthy substance that’s literally oozing menace. Even the subsequent ‘The Fly’ transformation is pretty impressive for a film on a limited budget. It is highly imaginative in this sense.

Aside from that, there is nothing very remarkable about The Hallow – it makes no real mark, even though it leaves matters open to a possible sequel. Still, you could argue Hardy is merely flexing his creative muscles before working on the reboot of The Crow. The Hallow is certainly a place to start.

2/5 stars

By @FilmGazer

Follow on Twitter

LFF 2015: He Named Me Malala ***

by

Posted: 26/11/2015

he-named-me-malala

Malala Yousafzai is one of the most influential female figures in the world right now, an ordinary Pakistani teenager who stood up to the Taliban about girls’ right to an education and was shot on a school bus as a result, along with a couple of close friends.

This is meant to be Malala’s film – and it is to an extent, directed by Davis Guggenheim who brought us the terrifying and affecting documentary, An Inconvenient Truth (2006), following Al Gore’s campaign trail to raise public awareness about global warming. Hence, her tale ought to be in good filmmaking hands.

While Malala’s strength and remarkable story are undeniably compelling, Guggenheim ‘s film lacks a more enriching ‘personal account’. It feels more like a polished piece of campaign material with lots of news clippings than an intimate portrayal, which you are expecting. You don’t feel any more informed about Malala herself than you did. The film trailer feels like a tease with hindsight.

At the very beginning, we discover through narration and one of the many animations in the film that young Yousafzai was named after a famous Afghan poetess and warrior called ‘Malala’. This opening sequence is a nice touch. Subsequent illustrations begin to feel too twee and borderline pretentious, even though the parts of the story need to be told and a talking head on camera may not be the best solution either.

The majority who will view this film know Malala’s story already, as it was headline news in October 2012. Even more will know about her going on to win the Nobel Peace Price at 17 last year, after ‘missing out’ the previous year, and her campaigning. The film’s strongest parts are the family moments – including on-camera interviews with her comic little brother, proving kids say the funniest things in all sincerity.

Although Malala has a grace and inner poise to greatly admire, coupled with a natural warmth and wicked sense of humour (as we discover), the film-makers could have got further under her skin to reveal more about her desires, what drives her, her family relationships, and what makes that network and support so valuable and nurturing. There is a far more interesting subplot about Malala’s mother and her education that is touched on but not fully explored that would have given a greater insight into Malala’s development, rather than coming at it from the father angle.

And yet, in spite of the fact the above criticisms suggest an overall disappointment with the film’s execution, it still should be show to every school-age child as a source of education and inspiration. Ironically, it feels like a PR package ready for just that purpose rather than a personal account like A Syrian Love Story, say, especially as Malala has had to flee her home, a small town in the Swat Valley in north-west Pakistan.

We certainly now know why she was named Malala, but do we know anything more about the girl who is a beacon of hope, short of a few giggly girlie crushes? Malala is an awesome character in a film that feels mediocre and unsurprising, and much like a party political broadcast at times. A great shame, really.

3/5 stars

By @FilmGazer

Follow on Twitter

Spectre ****

by

Posted: 27/10/2015

spectre

The year’s most hotly anticipated film is finally out. Spectre pays homage to many Bond outings before it, with fans recognising elements from previous films that made them so memorable. While Spectre has something for everyone, it does not have that dark, rich emotional pull of Skyfall (2012), which saw the demise of female M (Judi Dench). It does have a couple of surprises though, sure to give those fond of Skyfall a thrill.

A cryptic message from the past sends James Bond, 007 (Daniel Craig) on a rogue mission to Mexico City and then Rome, where he meets Lucia Sciarra (Monica Bellucci), the beautiful widow of an infamous criminal Bond was after in Mexico. In turn, Bond infiltrates a secret meeting and uncovers the existence of the sinister organisation known as SPECTRE led by shadowy figure Franz Oberhauser (Christoph Waltz).

Meanwhile, in London, the value (and cost) of the ‘00’ spy operation is being called into question in favour of surveillance tech in a new Centre of National Security (CNS) housed across the river from the now derelict MI6 HQ. This puts M (Ralph Fiennes) at loggerheads with the CNS’s head Max Denbigh (Andrew Scott). 007 must covertly enlist Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) and Q (Ben Whishaw) to help him find Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux), the daughter of his old nemesis, who may hold the clue to untangling the web of SPECTRE.

From Bond’s breathtaking rooftop sprint while Mexico City’s ‘Day of the Dead’ festival is in full Gothic swing below, to octopus-tentacle-tickling opening titles sung by Sam Smith, Spectre sets out to thrill from the start. It’s slicker, sexier and better (and more impacting) than any glossy car ad before it – complete with a new pair of stunning wheels and another exhilarating car chase. This is how we expect our Bond to be served the last decade plus, from Casino Royale (2006) to now, like a Bourne action flick – the case of the chicken or the egg? The uncovering of the SPECTRE organisation is pure latter-day Bond in style and fight choreography too, with a touch of retro 007 in production design.

For those who crave yonder years Bonds, 007’s first encounter with Ms Swann harks back to On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, for example, in a snowy location – Seydoux herself, a Sixties-styled leading lady, not to mention the traditionally curvaceous lady in Bellucci as the widow with a price on her head. Even hefty henchman Mr Hinx (Dave Bautista) has all the subtly of The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker’s Jaws.

The big reveal will have Bond baddie aficionados either cheering from the seats or groaning in unison too, as director Sam Mendes and writing team John Logan, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and Jez Butterworth make a (tenuous) link between Ian Fleming’s characters, all leading to one infamous puppet master. Tying in nicely with this back home in London is the all too sad, real-life fact that spying is going the way of police profiling and CCTV – prevention first – as budgets get slashed. This is a very nice touch that gives Spectre an air of credibility, as times of austerity have finally caught up with the Bond franchise in plot only.

The cast of Spectre does a grand job of their respective roles, with Waltz being the only one who disappoints a little as he doesn’t have the opportunity to really channelling enough of that sinister Inglourious Basterds’ Landa malice that we come to expect. His character is rendered more comical and caricature-like than is possibly intended, even when his serious link to Bond is fully spelt out. In this respect, there is a vague ‘familiar’ similarity to Mendes’ Skyfall final scenes.

Spectre has its niggles and perhaps, as with every new Bond, high expectations to meet. However, Mendes does try to please everyone here – and does so on the whole, so it’s a definite hit as the chickens come home to roost and Craig hangs up his tight-fitting suit.

4/5 stars

By @FilmGazer

Follow on Twitter

Maya The Bee ***

by

Posted: 27/10/2015

maya-the-bee

You could be forgiven for thinking you’ve seen Maya the Bee before. She is 103 years old, after all, the Apidaen heroine of German writer Waldemar Bonsels’ 1922 children’s book, The Adventures of Maya the Bee. She’s also the star of a late 1970s’ German TV series based on the book, and more recently, a 2012 German/Austrian/Japanese one.

Nevertheless, it’s the fact that you may be more familiar with Disney-Pixar’s A Bug’s Life (1998) and DreamWorks’ Bee Movie (2007), so Maya seems like just another colourful animated insect trying to make something of her existence, even though she’s the great-grandma of the bunch. That said there is still a little innocent pleasure to be had from Maya the Bee (2014) though.

As soon as she is born, Maya the Bee (voiced by Mad Max: Fury Road’s Coco Jack Gillies) discovers she is one of an army of worker bees who are not allowed to dream or have fun but must work for the Queen (Miriam Margolyes). Maya decides she’s not just ‘a number’ and wants to dream and have fun, putting her in the direct line of fire with the Queen’s scheming personal adviser Buzzlina Von Beena (Jacki Weaver).

Buzzlina expels Maya from the hive – for despotic reasons other than the young bee’s continual disobedience, forcing Maya to find her own path in the meadow filled with danger. Maya persuades new Apidae chum Willy (voiced by Kodi Smit-McPhee) to come along for the ride, where they encounter chirpy Cockney grasshopper Flip (Richard Roxburgh), who is a well of local knowledge.

Unbeknown to them, they also befriend Sting (Joel Franco), who turns out to be the son of hornet leader Hank (Andy McPhee), the bees’ sworn enemy. When the Queen’s special honey goes missing, a potential war between bees and hornets is on the cards, threatening the whole meadow. It’s down to Maya to save the day.

Anyone familiar with the storybook knows the ending. Those who don’t can guess it straightaway. However, the Studio 100-Flying Bark Productions 3D film has a slight spin on the original 1922 tale’s battle, perhaps bringing it up to date with more peace-seeking times. The rest is a fairly average but charming affair and less of an assault on the adult senses than the hyperactive big-studio offerings.

As Maya aims squarely for the younger, pre-teen market, it is quite innocuous in nature, even in its gag-telling, so there are no real double entendres for the grown-ups to snigger at. It’s a cuddly old-fashioned family flick with all the harm of Mary Poppins – and comes complete with musical numbers, thanks to its very own Cockney character.

Like all family films, it is stuffed with morals, from being yourself and striving to be the very best, to being tolerant of others. In an animation with far less detail in frame to marvel at (except some of the vivid sky palettes), it’s more obvious too. This is almost to the detriment of more thrills, which younger kids do come to expect nowadays with such a feature. With the studios’ ending tweak of the original tale, the prior build-up seems short-lived and flat in favour of being on message yet again.

Still, Maya is button-nosed cute and a positive female lead. Gillies does well to bring her alive and buzzing with confidence and youthful curiosity, while the irony is not lost having Weaver, Animal Kingdom’s malevolent mother, voicing an equally villainous character in Buzzlina.

Maya the Bee is a nice, safe, simplistic cinematic homage to Bonsels’ character. While Maya might be remembered for her sunny-yellow, can-do attitude, the rest can’t necessarily be said about the particulars of the film. There have been too many other insects making their mark on screen for this one to really take flight – even though the Maya doll merchandise handed out on the day was a massive hit.

3/5 stars

By @FilmGazer

Follow on Twitter

LFF 2015: The Lobster ****

by

Posted: 27/10/2015

the-lobster

Damned if you are. Damned if you’re not. Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos’s first English-language feature The Lobster puts its characters in an impossible situation. The decision is all theirs in this bizarre but highly comical dark tale set in a dystopian future with completely different ideas on relationships.

David’s (a superb Colin Farrell) wife has just left him for another man, so he decides to book into The Hotel with his dog (actually his brother) to find a new life partner, in order to return and live in The City. He has 45 days or will be transformed into an animal of his choice. In David’s case, that’s a lobster as it lives for over 100 years, is blue-blooded (like an aristocrat), and he likes the sea too.

In the surrounding ‘The Woods’ live singletons or ‘loners’ that are not allowed to couple up, according to draconian rules followed by their leader (played by Bond’s Léa Seydoux). David can earn extra time (in days) at The Hotel for every loner he kills in establishment’s nightly organised hunts. However, after a tragic event at The Hotel, David is forced to become a loner. Ironically, he meets and falls for a ‘Short Sighted Woman’ (Rachel Weisz, who also narrates), someone he would love to have a relationship with.

The first half of the film in The Hotel is the best part by far. The latter half still has its nuggets and intriguing concepts as the overall way of life bemuses the hell out of you. There is a totally warped sense of coupling in both respects, played out in ritualistic dances, sports and breakfast meetings and set uniforms in The Hotel, and hilarious signing between David and his ‘Short Sighted Woman’ in The Woods.

Perhaps the funniest scene is the total lack of control when the ‘couple’ visits the loners’ leader’s parents in The City. Farrell and Weisz are an absolute scream here, openly doing what you only dreamt of doing in full view of the folks when the boyfriend was visiting, in the pretence of being a genuine couple. Weisz is also very funny as the sarcastic narrator, first telling the story of David at The Hotel then becoming part it.

Other delightful performances from an array of international talent include Olivia Colman as the obtuse Hotel Manager, along with her partner (played by Garry Mountaine) – almost certainly a product of their own creation. John C. Reilly is the ‘Lisping Man’ and Ben Whishaw the ‘Limping Man’ who gleefully squabble for our pleasure. Ashley Jensen is ‘Biscuit Woman’ with a penchant for custard creams – and David. The Greek director’s Dogtooth star Angeliki Papoulia is quite chilling as the ‘Heartless Woman’ who susses out David’s game and pursues him like a Terminator.

The Lobster has wonderful extremes too, from wildly absurd, laugh-out-loud moments to totally shocking brutality, often throwing you off course. The ending does let it down a bit as the effect of the brilliant set-up of this crazy dual existence seems to wane, which is a shame. Still, The Lobster is devilishly entertaining with some of the most original and deadpan crackpot wit on offer in a long time.

4/5 stars

By @FilmGazer

Follow on Twitter