Justice League **

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Posted: 26/11/2017

Fans aside, for the rest of us, there is no competition: both DC Comics and Marvel have some iconic characters that are perfect of big-screen adaptation. Sometimes they fair better in their own film, like Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman and Iron Man and Captain America. Other times getting them all in one flick just means too many superhero egos to deal with/ or not enough development to care. DC Comic’s latest ensemble, Justice League, is the latter.

In this story, Batman (Ben Affleck) and Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) must quickly recruit a superhero team – including The Flash (Ezra Miller), Aquaman (Jason Momoa) and Cyborg (Ray Fisher) – to combat a newly awoken enemy after three powerful boxes to gain ultimate apocalyptic power. Part of this feat means Batman must face an old ‘nemesis’, Superman (Henry Cavill).

The thought of Batman facing Superman again, after the super dark and abysmal concept of Batman vs Superman last year, is enough to stimulate excitement for Justice League. Director Zack Snyder has a ‘second chance’ to get their power play right. The moment they meet again, however, is a damp squib, as Affleck’s Batman just feels tired. Admittedly, part of the attraction of The Dark Knight’s appeal is he has no super powers so there must come a point when the weariness sets in and it’s time to retire Alfred too (here, played by Jeremy Irons once more).

The only superhero acts as the vital glue in this is Wonder Woman, with Gadot a one-woman force but ‘missing’ a lot more costume than in her solo film this year. Are things that desperate that we have to resort to low-level, up-skirt shots of the only female character?

The only characters that are mildly interesting in addition to the female lead are The Flash and Aquaman. That said the former becomes the film’s token joker character, when his eccentricities are interesting enough to explore further, and the latter is the resident Scandi eye candy that also keeps the status quo light and entertaining but has little substance apart from that.

The other dominant force that shrouds any development in the central superhero characters is the relentless CGI – some of it not so impressive too. This is a Snyder film after all – albeit it the director had to make a swift departure at the end due to personal circumstances. Those who find the overuse of CGI in a film nauseating will cringe watching this, to the point that the effects are actually the lead character in the frame in the action moments, possibly masking the flimsy narrative and many plot holes.

Overall, Justice League is a bit of a lackluster stew. DC Comics had to get them all together, but unlike the Marvel Avengers, they just seem awkward and unconvincing together – teamwork definitely does not make the dream work here. Keep watching the credits for a big reveal… Maybe the Justice League has had a bumpy start. Now they have worked together, they need another screen outing to prove themselves…

2/5 stars

By @FilmGazer

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LFF 2017: Good Time ****

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Posted: 26/11/2017

Robert Pattinson has come a long way from his Edward Cullen years in Twilight, having to carefully pick his roles as to throw off the vampire mantel. He has had some successes and some duds. However, with the Safdie Brothers’ Good Time, an urban thriller on speed, he may just have done it. Its edgy pace and sense of ‘in the moment’ fixes makes the actor’s underdog character Constantine ‘Connie’ Nikas not just an exhilarating one to try and keep up with, but a complete change from the normally laid-back Pattinson.

After a botched bank robbery by brothers Connie and Nick (Benny Safdie), the latter gets caught and jailed. So begins the desperate 24-hour countdown by Connie to collect together bail money and stop his mentally-ill brother from being sent to Riker’s Island prison, where he knows Nick will not survive.

With its film noir nods, punctuated by psychedelic colour and energizing pop tracks, the Safdie Brothers take us on a journey through the underbelly of Queens – their home turf, with Connie as our unwilling guide. The gritty, hand-held production was often shot without filming permits – as is the Safdies’ ‘urban opera’ style, further complimenting the whole affair.

With elements of Taxi Driver to it – the Safdies are working with Scorsese on a new film, there is a pressure-cooker environment waiting to come to boil. Unlike the 1976’s cult classic, Good Time has moments of release, only for a split second, to show the idiocy/absurdity of certain events throughout.

At the heart is a criminal with a heart – thieves may not stick together, but brothers do. Pattinson’s casting is a clever choice by the Safdies, who have pluck unknowns from the street to act. Pattinson embodies Connie completely, including clinching the accent. That said there is a softer edge to his hardened exterior, allowing empathy with his plight to filter through at times.

This is in stark contrast with Queens native Buddy Duress, a real-life, reformed felon who the Safdie Brothers cast in their earlier film, Heaven Knows What (2014). Duress plays Ray this time, a pathetic small-time crook who knows how to get cash quick for Connie. The fact Pattinson is so convincing opposite Duress in their scenes is credit to the Brit’s complete transformation in this.

Good Time is a ride of the night, a pulsing, high-octane race against the main enemy – time. It may surprise some Pattinson’s fans, but it will certainly hold him in greater acting regard by everyone who sees this.

4/ 5 stars

By @FilmGazer

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Paddington 2 *****

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Posted: 19/11/2017

Most people know who Paddington Bear is; a classic childhood character that loves marmalade sandwiches and travels from Peru to London, where he comes to live with the Browns. The first film three years ago did an enchanting job of introducing the bear to the Big Smoke, complete with some fun and memorable moments (like the bathroom flooding scene) and a villain in taxidermist Nicole Kidman.

Having established the bear, the sequel ups the ante, delivering a wonderful storyline fans can really get on board with. Now settled with the Browns, Paddington decides to buy his Aunt Lucy a 100th birthday present. However, the present he wants costs too much, so he reserves it until he can collect together enough money. Sadly, the gift catches the eye of vain local actor, Phoenix Buchanan (Hugh Grant). Then it goes missing from the shop in an apparent burglary. Paddington gets into trouble hunting the culprit, resulting in him having to clear his own name.

The excellent returning cast of Ben Whishaw (voices Paddington), Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Julie Walters etc is always a positive. The location also plays on nostalgic London – the kind tourists seek out, where affluent Brits can be as eccentric as they please in their own local community, rendering a bear living in their midst as ‘normal’. There is also the introduction of an old-fashioned fun fair to enchant further in other scenes and hark back to childhood memories.

This film is better than the original because there is an actual adventure to follow and two brilliant new characters; camp Buchanan (Grant) and menacing prison chef Knuckles McGinty, played by Brendan Gleeson. Adventure-wise, the story leads us (and the bear) to all kinds of places, some you wouldn’t expect Paddington to be in. But through his impeccable manners and innocence, he wins over hearts and minds – just another part of the whole film’s charm.

Grant steals the show though – this will be sweet music to the musical-theatre-loving thespian he plays. Grant is having a ball hamming it up – so do we watching him. This climaxes in a colourful finale that will have you in hysterics, especially as the actor has proclaimed not to be too fond of dancing. In contrast to the showy Buchanan, Gleeson’s no-nonsense Knuckles goes on a personal journey, thanks to Paddington. There is even a scene straight out of a Bond/Bourne film that bonds the unlikely pair further.

Paddington 2 is good-value family entertainment, with all kinds of characters in the mix, but still enjoying the full support of the Browns – not relegated to the sidelines as the bear goes on his hunt/adventure, but still very much in action. Do catch this if you can!

5/5 stars

By @Filmgazer

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LFF 2017: The Killing of a Sacred Deer *****

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Posted: 19/11/2017

It is becoming increasingly difficult to describe a Yorgos Lanthimos film to the uninitiated. The Greek writer-director first came to international attention with his odd but endearing dystopian drama, The Lobster, about people having a limited time to pair off in a hotel, before being turned into an animal of their choice. Two years on, The Killing of a Sacred Deer is equally perverse, though chillingly more sinister in nature. It also reunites Lanthimos with actor Colin Farrell who is enjoying a career-defining change with such misfit characters – and lots more facial hair.

Farrell is Steven Murphy, a successful heart surgeon married to medic Anna (Nicole Kidman). They have two children. Steven is forced to make an unthinkable sacrifice in his family, after taking a strange young man called Martin (Barry Keoghan) under his wing.

The story plays heavily on the supernatural, the fear of the unknown. It is quite clinical in its approach, from the wide vistas of the hospital to the equally lofty rooms at Murphy’s home. What makes the status quo even more absurd and detached from reality is Lanthimos’ curious script, co-written with Efthymis Filippou. Through the terse (sometimes shocking), banal chitchat – think the unfiltered subconscious having a voice – comes a wealth of emotion from the characters. They seem cold and aloof at the start, but actually, as disaster comes ever closer, there is more urgency and feeling in their rapport.

Farrell and Kidman are compelling as a screen couple – subsequently going on to film The Beguiled after this. However, credit goes to Keoghan whose ‘immortal’ Martin is the most fascinating character overall. Keoghan begins by making him vulnerable and inquisitive, until something unknown penetrates Steven’s closeted and privileged lifestyle. Then it is too late. This is a superior supernatural thriller, utterly unique in execution – even the roaming camera has a mind of its own.

5/5 stars

By @Filmgazer

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LFF 2017: Breathe ****

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Posted: 19/11/2017

The ‘based on a true story’ mantra either triggers interest or groans – the latter from cynics crying “Oscar baiting”. However, some tales deserve a little more credit and attention, and Breathe is one such story. The sentimentality is kept firmly in check by debut director Andy Serkis (The Lord of the Rings’ Gollum) who works here with long-time friend and producer Jonathan Cavendish to deliver a truly inspirational and surprisingly upbeat drama about Cavendish’s parents.

Beginning in the 1950s, dashing, active, fun-loving Robin Cavendish (Andrew Garfield) is struck down by polio while living in Africa with his pregnant wife, Diana (Claire Foy), and is paralysed from the neck down for the rest of his life. Struggling to accept being bed-bound in hospital, Robin becomes depressed, and begs Diana to get him out. So begins an extraordinary life journey that defies the medical profession. When the couple’s friend, Teddy Hall (Hugh Bonneville) invents a wheelchair with built-in breathing apparatus this allows Robin to live – and even travel.

Breathe avoids failing into cliché on the whole. It has some very funny and uplifting moments, once Robin leaves the confines of the hospital. There is a wonder at what the character will achieve next that prevents the narrative from being bogged down by mawkishness. The central performances from Garfield and Foy are illuminating. The pair has a natural screen rapport that extenuates the bubbly moments of joy and wonderment at the Cavendish’s achievements, while focuses our attention on the more serious aspects. Serkis’ care with the source material is such that by the time the inevitable arrives, the viewer is not emotionally drained and actually celebrates the good that has come out of Robin’s situation.

4/5 stars

By @Filmgazer

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LFF 2017: Mutafukaz ****

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Posted: 19/11/2017

Japanese anime has always been pop culture’s anarchic social commentary on current affairs, but equally troubling for its sexualizing imagery of young girls. Its fantastical themes, vibrant characters and whirl of colour are still compelling for most.

Mutafukaz, the new Franco-Japanese collaboration by directors Shoujirou Nishimi and Guillaume ‘Run’ Renard shown at this year’s London Film Festival suddenly makes anime more relevant and accessible to a wider audience. With its nods to the likes of Ren and Stimpy, Grand Theft Auto, Leon and even Men in Black, Mutafukaz uses such references cleverly to address modern-day social issues, ranging from austerity and multiculturalism to state intervention in a highly energetic and entertaining way.

The story’s lead character is pizza-delivery boy called Angelino, one of many deadbeats living in Dark Meat City (D.M.C.), along with flat mate, best buddy Vinz who has a skull head that’s always flaming. In life in D.M.C. will always be “Desperate, Miserable and Crap” – the boys just need to break away from all the ugliness and the cockroaches.

On his rounds one day absent-minded Angelino is transfixed by a stunning, mysterious girl walking past, causing in him crashing his scooter. First putting it down to concussion, he begins noticing menacing monster-like shapes, while mean-looking men in black are after him, resulting in him and Vinz going on the run.

Creator Renard has come a long way from the Sundance short of the same name. With the help of veteran animator Nishimi they have given birth to genuine animated characters, each with curious personalities. The feature-length run-time of 90 minutes has helped with this, giving an actual sense of Angelino and Vinz’s daily troubles, but amplified by strong, purposeful voiceovers from actors Tay Lee and Mark Ryan Haltom respectively.

While having an ever-present sense of urgency and paranoia, the pace slows at times, so we can take a breath and marvel at the creativity, illustrating the mood of the moment. Take Angelino’s Pied Piper-esque skill with their resident cockroaches, rendering something revolting rather alluring to watch.

Die-hard anime fans still get their dose of gravity-defying moves, graphic gore, juvenile reactions and blatant sexism. However, scenes such as the shoot-outs in the ghetto are injected with Shakespearean prose (and graffiti) and stage choreography, all in splendid 2D render. With such hard-hitting issues at play, grinding down our protagonists, empathy for each multiplies, reaffirming our commitment to seeing them succeed.

This addictive sense of survival and rebirth, coupled with the bigger mystery – who are the alien beings and why do they want Angelino – adds many intriguing layers to a 2D production, while the characters bombard us with thoughts and opinions in their wake.

Mutafukaz becomes not just a coming-of-age journey for our animated heroes, but one for the anime newcomer, quite possibly igniting a newfound love of the art and bringing the fantasy down with a thud to a palpable street-level understanding.

4/5 stars

By @FilmGazer

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LFF 2017: Sicilian Ghost Story ****

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Posted: 19/11/2017

If Salvo wasn’t enough of a powerhouse debut to shine a light on the murky world of the mafia, award-winning film-makers and co-directors Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza have a new offering, Sicilian Ghost Story. This is more of a coming-of-age love story and more expertly layered. It still retains that mystical, almost supernatural quality that the pair alludes to. It also has one of the most shockingly brutally but captivating scenes witnessed in a long time.

Based on the real-life Italian crime story of the abduction and subsequent murder of 12-year-old Giuseppe Di Matteo, son of a Mafioso turned police informant, the story follows classmate Luna’s (exciting newcomer Julia Jedlikowska) lovelorn quest to get to the bottom of what happened to Giuseppe (newcomer Gaetano Fernandez). Her determination absorbs her adolescent years. Her obsession is of great concern to her parents, particularly her strict mother who wants to keep off the authorities – and mafia’s – radar.

Set in the idyllic Sicilian countryside the film has a mesmerizing, innocent, dream-like quality to it from the start – much like a ‘Sicilian Twilight’, where young love can flourish away from harsh realities. It is this false sense of security that flows into a greater estuary of foreboding caused by an evil entity that is very much part of the local culture and fabric of the landscape. There is even a scene where with question the true existence of a building. However, when the menace proves too great for our young leads, the film-makers allow their characters a supernatural ‘retreat’, where youth can achieve anything and solve all problems adults seemingly can’t or won’t.

What keeps the whole beautifully crafted affair grounded is the stone-cold reality of Giuseppe’s demise, played out as imprisonment scenes of varying brutality and psychological abuse. This finally climaxes in the powerful ‘cleansing’ scene, truly repulsive (and stomach churning) as it is beguiling to watch nature taking its course. This scene runs for quite some time to ensure the full impact hits home.

At the same time, the film-makers are not caught up portraying the morose, allowing moments of reflection and ‘escapism’ to blend all the emotions felt whilst watching. Indeed, out of despair a young adult life is born, so the film has a surprising upbeat quality to it, even after the ugliness of the crime grip-hold in this region lingers on.

It is this clever blending of truth and fiction that allows Grassadonia and Piazza to tackle the narrative’s horrors while keeping us entranced and guessing. This leaves us with some sense of optimism that good can prevail over something ongoing and sinister. Sicilian Ghost Story just triumphs in this, both technically and artistically.

4/5 stars

By @FilmGazer

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Victoria and Abdul ****

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Posted: 02/10/2017

Stephen Frears’ period drama Victoria and Abdul about an unlikely friendship at the heart of the British monarchy, set at the end of the 1800s, is as topical now as it was controversial back then, with prejudices threatening unity between races. Frears tackles this by ramping up the pomp and circumstance to the point of absurdity that the story has plenty of highly hilarious moments and reactions to those events.

These circus scenarios buffer the real tragedy of a desperate need for human connection. Queen Victoria to many commoners appeared to have the world at her feet. Her Indian attendant Abdul Karim acts as the ‘whistleblower’ showing there was more life outside of the confines of the royal household. This is the story’s aching heart that beats through the delightful frivolity.

Returning as Victoria – after Mrs Brown (1997), Judi Dench knows her queen very well, stepping into an older version of her character with ease and empathy for Victoria’s ‘caged bird’ existence. Although not ‘funny’ in herself, Dench’s po-faced performance as Victoria, especially at yet another formal meal is the stuff of great British cinema. Dench forever commands authority on screen and captives her audience, like many of her characters, including M from the Bond movies. As with the former, Dench is a master at breaking down her character’s stony façade to let the real human being inside shine through, piece by piece, as she does here.

This witty and energetic romp – that plays with historic facts somewhat – is even funnier, thanks to the supporting cast of scheming, bigoted ‘fools’, played by Eddie Izzard as Victoria’s son Bertie, Paul Higgins as Dr Reid, Tim Pigott-Smith as Sir Henry Ponsonby and Olivia Williams as Lady Churchill. These big screen and stage players are utterly brilliant as they try to cling onto the formalities of the crown that have seen them pampered, all the while reflecting the prejudice against other races and religions that speaks volumes today.

Adeel Akhtar of Four Lions fame expertly delivers his own brand of po-faced scorn at the whole fiasco that faces him on privileged British soil, contrasting delightfully with Ali Fazal’s Abdul’s child-like wonder at the new opportunities his ‘servant’ position brings and in turn ‘wakes’ the queen from her royal sleepwalk. Frears initially paints these two as ‘fish out of water’ in the opulence of 19th century England, like an Indian Laurel and Hardy. However, as the story unfolds, they adapt and become the sanity (and breath of fresh air) that Victoria craves; in fact the voices of reason. It is another dig at the royal establishment by Frears who admits he is a Republican, but he obviously is still sentimental towards the queen – as per his 2006 film The Queen that won Helen Mirren an Oscar.

Victoria and Abdul is enchanting British drama, blending laughter and sadness that once again, cements Dench’s mastery in such roles, even if it bends the historic truth.

4/5 stars

By @Filmgazer

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47 Metres Down ***

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Posted: 29/07/2017

Ever since Jaws, there’s been the desire to thrill audiences with crazed, human-hunting sharks singling out victims in the water. We know sharks can bite in reality (and even kill), but sadly, since the 1975 Spielberg classic, none of the shark films have been as effective, including the Jaws sequels. These all become more and more laughable, to the point of absurdity like Sharknado.

The only film that began capturing the ‘reality’ of being in the water with one of the deep’s greatest hunters, and came close to Jaws for sheer terror, was Open Water (2003). There was believability to it that events portrayed ‘could’ happen – in fact it was based on a true story. The beauty of this film was you never got to see the crazed shark attacking. It was all below the waterline.

Last year’s Blake Lively adrenaline fest, The Shallows, got average reviews and revived our fear of Great Whites targeting us. 47 Metres Down, like Open Water and The Shallows, plays on a realistic situation you ‘could’ possibly find yourself in, especially in the middle of the Summer season. The latest film is surprisingly effective too, and cleverly throws enough curve balls to keep you entertained for the 89 mins, but doesn’t go quite far enough with the shark menacing.

Two sisters, Lisa and Kate (played by Mandy Moore and Claire Holt respectively) are on holiday in Mexico, with Lisa trying to get over a breakup back home. Befriending two lads, they decide to go on a cage-diving expedition to get up close to sharks. The problem is the equipment and cage supplied by the operator (hippie Taylor, played by Matthew Modine) is less than safe. After the boys’ turn, and the cage the sisters are now in plunges 47 metres to the ocean floor. As their oxygen begins to run out, the sisters must find a way of communicating with the surface and get rescued, while Great Whites circle them.

The setup and process in which the girls become shark bait is highly believable – this reviewer experienced faulty diving gear while in St Lucia. Writer-director Johannes Roberts plays on this possible scenario – being exposed to dubious practices as a tourist, challenging you to think what you would do in the sisters’ unfortunate situation? The filmmaker also shoots within murky surroundings, not the crystal-clear blue expanse other productions favour. This heightens the fear of ‘what’s out there’ even more.

While you will be covering your face in anticipation of an attack, squinting with one eye through your hands, the problem lies with some far-fetched parts. There are also not enough shark frights in the run-up to the next attack – ironic, considering the subject matter. As far as stretching reality, one of the sisters goes off to find a much-needed bit of kit sent down by the boat, over the edge of a ocean-floor ledge with a significant drop, and still manages to find her way back to the damaged cage, without consequence, for example.

Indeed, the premise is, after a certain time when the oxygen is near gone, so how many of situations the sisters are in are actually happening, and how many are delusions? This is where Roberts’s film gets very intriguing. It’s a shame it didn’t played on this more to heighten the disorientation at 47 metres below the surface, and elevate it out of the vanilla-acted, B-movie outcome it lapses into. It could have been a memorable psychological thriller and upped the game in this genre. The ending does have you questioning, is this really happening? Hence the plot’s main problem lies with whether 47 Metres Down is meant to be just a shark-menacing film (like Jaws), or a psychological nail-biter about disorientation (much like Open Water), with the big fish just another peril to contend with? This is where things feel a little inconsistent.

That said, 47 Metres Down will have you cowering in your seat, muttering “no, no, no, don’t do it” to either one of the women’s actions. With its twists and turns, the film does what it intends to do; make you think twice about cage diving with sharks on your holiday, or at least, demanding to see the operator’s certificates, licences and equipment before stepping onto the boat, let along the into the shark feeding cage!

3/5 stars

By @FilmGazer

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