Selma Review

Hello :-)

Another awards season, another few months of people saying that the Oscars don’t know what the hell they’re talking about. At best the Academy are accused of being a bit elitist, at worse downright racist and at the centre of this year’s argument is the exclusion of David Oyelowo from the Best Actor category for his performance in Selma.

Selma is a dramatic retelling of the 1965 Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches as part of the civil rights movement. Following a meeting with President Lyndon B. Johnson (Tom Wilkinson ) in which he is denied his request for federal legislation around the voting rights of black citizens, Martin Luther King Jr (David Oyelowo) heads to Selma with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to stage a number of peaceful protests and marches to help bring about change.

To add my 10 pence worth to the ongoing Oscars argument, I think it’s a crying shame that David Oyelowo and Ava DuVernay aren’t getting recognition from the Academy. Selma is a great piece of work in which they are the lynchpins.

What I found most surprising is the focus on the tactics behind the cause and the ever-present politics. In one scene movement’s organisers try to drill down into the core of the problem of voting for black residents of Selma. It’s rare to find something that dissects big problems in that way rather than just pointing at it and telling you how horrible it is. Those scenes also underline exactly how many levels of bullshit these people had to deal with which I hope younger audiences find as illuminating as I did.

So much of Selma is tied up in David Oyelowo’s remarkable performance it’s almost impossible to try and imagine the film without him. Instead of presenting us with a flawless image of an icon, Oyelowo shows us the man behind the mythos. In Selma King is flawed, plagued by doubt and fatigue but still understands the gravity of the cause and his pivitol role within it. He inhabits the character rather than giving an  impersonation; in particular the tone and cadence of his voice is hypnotic.

King may be front and centre of the action but Selma is an ensemble story and the cast of characters around Oyelowo acquit themselves very well. Carmen Ejogo shines as Coretta Scott King. She imbues her character with such grace and strength but also the duality of her relationship with her husband, both understanding the importance of his work and resentful of his unfaithfulness and time away from his family. Trai Byers and Stephan James play the SNCC members James Forman and John Lewis who raise some interesting questions on the merits of grassroots activism versus wider media attention. There are many more excellent supporting performances but it’d be impossible to put it into a coherent review without it turning into an IMDB cast list.

Other cast members, I’m not so sold on. Tom Wilkinson’s LBJ never really convinces, neither do Tim Roth as Governor George Wallace or Dylan Baker as J. Edgar Hoover. Roth plays Wallace like a 1920’s moustache twirling villain rather than a convincing bigot and the conversation between LBJ and Hoover about plans to set surveillance on King and his family comes off as cringey rather than ominous. 

Ava DuVernay shows some real talent here, the scene with the initial march to the Edmund Pettus Bridge is nothing short of masterful and she injects some real fire into the speech scenes which, in lesser hands, could have come off as a bit po-faced. Her obvious confidence underpins the whole picture which is something you really need if you’re taking on a subject as emotionally loaded as the civil rights movement.

As uplifting as this story is there is an overarching feeling of melancholy when you put it in a present day context. I defy anyone not to watch this and think of the recent unrest in Ferguson (something that’s referenced in Selma’s Oscar nominated song Glory) and that’s one of the film’s biggest strengths. It doesn’t shy away from reminding us “of the fierce urgency of Now”.

It would take a cold soul to watch Selma and not be moved. It takes us into the nitty gritty of affecting change and the brutal treatment of those who tried. Despite some forgivable flaws the film is gracefully aided by the strength of it’s central performance and sterling direction throughout.  Timely and timeless, Selma is essential viewing.

Selma is out in the UK this Friday.

Right, let’s have some…

Reasons to be Cheerful :-)

Superbowl Trailer Special! (FYI there were LOADS of trailers from the recent Superbowl, there are just my favourite)

1. Tomorrowland, got a new trailer, a whole 32 seconds of it… It looks fantastically crackers and interestingly, we still don’t know that much about the actual story. Eevn so, I’m willing to give anything a chance if it’s come from the creator of The Iron Giant.  Tomorrowland comes out on 22^nd May :-)

2. There was a new trailer for Jurassic World! I’m so looking forward to this, I know it has it’s detractors and they have perfectly valid reasons for their skeptisism but the sight of Chris Pratt training Velociraptors (something we all suspected but this trailer seems to confirm) is just ridiculously exciting to me.  The park will open on 12^th June :-)

3. And finally there was a trailer for Pitch Perfect 2! I went through a phase of watching Pitch Perfect once a week so you’d be correct in assuming I was excited about it’s sequel. Pitch Perfect 2 is out on 15^th May.

That’s all for today!

Goodbye till next time :-)

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Boyhood Review

Hello :-)

I missed Boyhood in cinemas last July but with it’s raft of award nominations it’s back in cinemas riding a wave of publicity. I decided to see what all the fuss was about.

Boyhood documents the life of Mason Evans Jr between the ages of six and eighteen. That’s it, that’s literally it.

Obviously summing this film up in one sentence does it a massive disservice because whilst the premise is painfully simple the execution is superb. It’s a beautiful exploration of youth in America during the ‘noughties’ and a broader look at the ebb and flow of time.

It’s well documented that the fact this film exists is remarkable. The idea that something would be filmed over 12 years with the same cast opens this enterprise up to so much uncertainty. With a studio system that favours safe bets and calculated risks it’s nothing short of a miracle that Boyhood got made at all.

So much of traditional modern cinema relies on narrative and characters arcs it’s easy to see why some might find it hard to connect with Boyhood. There’s no huge conflict in the film, no overarching villain and no great epiphany, just a maturity and warmth that unfolds across the 2 hour 45 minute run time. Linklater abandons the traditional methods of story telling, even more so than in his Before trilogy, instead favouring an approach of realism and truth.

The approach to scripting is something else that helps give Boyhood this air of honesty. Still written in his breezy conversational style, Linklater outlined the story at the beginning of production but during the process of filming, gave the cast and crew the opportunity to contribute their experiences. This helps create a series of events that feels believable but still engaging. A particular favourite is the conversation Mason and his Dad have about elves. It’s adorable and rings totally true with the way children question the world around them.

The focus of each year could so easily have been social milestones (Birthdays, Christmases, etc) but instead Linklater opts for more subtle and ultimately truthful ways to show the passage of time. Think back on your childhood and you don’t remember great swathes of detail, events tend to morph together but odd moments you can recall with great clarity. Specific gigs, days at your first job, evenings mucking about with your friends, each moment blending with the ones either side of it. There’s a reference to Kurt Vonnegut in the film which is has got to be intentional because it fits so perfectly with the tone of the film. When you look back at Boyhood once it’s finished there is a sense of everything happening all at once, like the way the Tralfamadorians see the world in the novel Slaughterhouse 5.

Patricia Arquette does a sterling job as Olivia, Mason’s Mother (simply credited as ‘Mom’). This film could have been called ‘Parenthood’ because for a large part of it, it’s about how Mason interacts with her and reacts to her string of ill-chosen relationships. Arquette is utterly heart-breaking throughout; you’ll come out of Boyhood wanting to give her a hug.

Frequent Linklater collaborator Ethan Hawke plays Mason Sr. Initially a less steady influence than Olivia, Mason Sr could so easily have been a source of ‘Daddy Issues’ for Mason Jr but Linklater goes for a more nuanced approach to paternity. Mason Sr matures as much as his junior counterpart delivering an interesting insight into our parents and how they change as a result of parenthood.

Ellar Coltrane is a great anchor for the film. From his introduction as a cherubic 6 year old he proves eminently watchable. Mason does become more complicated and potentially unlikable as the film goes on but I’d argue that his likability doesn’t matter and that what the film is really about is how he becomes that version of himself. Incidentally I did like him. By the time he’s 16 he’s the kind of introspective, pseudointellectual, borderline conspiracy theorist that I used to fall madly in love with at that age and seeing that just added to the huge hit of nostalgia this film provides.

I don’t think Boyhood is perfect. It’s about 10 minutes too long and one minor plot point comes back at the end of the film in a rather clunky, albeit effective, way. But as ever, I’m willing to forgive these kinds of minor indiscretions for something like Boyhood that aspires to be more than the usual Hollywood fare.

Ultimately the beauty of Boyhood is that you can read it in so many different ways. You can see it as a young adult looking back on their childhood or as a time capsule documenting those 12 years through the filter of a childhood in the American South or you could even view it as a parent, reflecting on how quickly your children grow up.

I’m sorry if this review comes off as pretentious waffle, the film definitely isn’t high falutin it’s just highly unconventional. If you didn’t like the free flow of the Before trilogy you might get equally annoyed with Boyhood, but if you’re able to go with it, this film will reward you with an experience that you’ve never had before and are unlikely to have again

Boyhood is the event of youth the way that youth remembers it. With a lightness of touch and an acute sense of humanity Linklater invites us to witness, recall and reflect on the process of growing up in all its sublime subtlety.

Boyhood is back in cinemas for awards season and is also available to buy on DVD, Blu Ray and download.

Also, if you fancy reading my review of another awards contender, Whiplash, it’s over at the awesome Den of Geek where I’ll occasionally be cropping up in the future :-)

That’s all for today!

Goodbye till next time :-)

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Big Hero 6 Review

Hello :-)

Few would deny that Superhero films are the hottest properties at the minute. With the unprecedented success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and seemingly constant casting announcements and release schedules coming from their rivals at DC, it’s a great time to be a fan of the Superhero. Disney Animation Studios are the most recent outfit to jump on this trend with Big Hero 6 an animation very loosely based on a comic of the same name.

Big Hero 6 follows 14-year-old child prodigy Hiro Hamada who lives in the futuristic city of San Fransokyo. Despite his genius Hiro decides that illegal robot fighting is where his future lies until his older brother Tadashi introduces him to his college friends and shows him their robotics lab. Hiro sets his heart on joining them and creates a swarm of mini robots called ‘microbots’ to impress the college. After a tragic accident Hiro discovers his microbots have been stolen by a villainous figure in a kabuki mask so he sets about finding the truth with the help of Baymax, a heath care robot invented by his brother.

Big Hero 6 is a totally immersive delight of a film. Everything looks gorgeous, the characters are great and it’s a lovely, fun place to spend your time.

The story is a tad predictable but it’s nicely realised. There’s an obvious comparison with The Avengers and also a touch of old school Scooby Do but it’s done with such enthusiasm it’s easy to look past some of the slightly hackneyed ideas.

Disney has become synonymous over the years with familial loss but it’s never delved into it as much as in Big Hero 6. It’s very delicately done, it might not trump the likes of Bambi or The Lion King in terms of emotionally scarring a generation but the revenge story fits well with this genuine look into death and grief.

The strength of the characters is the film’s best hand and it plays it perfectly. The additional characters GoGo, Wasabi, Honey Lemon, and Fred could have easily been side-lined but they’re more involved with the story than that and each of them is a total delight. Fred in particular is a source of a lot of laughs and a love note to comic book geeks everywhere.

Hiro is really likable despite having the potential to be an annoying brat. He’s got just the right amount of adolescent embarrassment and rebellion but also, can you remember the last children’s film you saw where one of the protagonist’s main goals was to go to college and study science? It’s not at the forefront of the drama but it’s still a lovely message to put in there.

However it’s the marshmallow-ey Baymax that will steal your heart and potentially some money from your wallet. His general cuteness and all round hug-ability goes hand in hand with some great physical comedy and full on toyetic-ness. Expect future Birthday and Christmas lists to be full of requests for Baymax goodies (mine definitely will be).

Please don’t compare Big Hero 6 to Frozen; nothing is going to come out well when you hold it up against that behemoth. Still, Big Hero 6 is a charmingly shiny romp around a rainbow coloured future that will have you hooked from the off. You’ll happily overlook a few clichéd plot points in return for some beautiful animation and a Baymax fist-bump (you will ALL be doing it on the way out the theatre). And that’s the joy of Big Hero 6, Superhero movies have never been so fun :-)

Big Hero 6 is in UK cinemas from Friday 30^th January.

Now it’s definitely time for…

Reasons to be Cheerful :-)

1. Speaking of Superheroes the new trailer for Avengers: Age of Ultron is out and it looks excellent. In the wake of the (slightly unfair) less than enthusiastic reception of the Ant-man teaser trailer, Age of Ultron looks like a much surer bet for the MCU.

2. The Oscar nominees list is out. It’s the same as ever; some deserved nominations, some less so, some egregious oversights but more importantly the lovely Shiznit have made some more honest Oscar posters and they’re as brilliant as ever :-)

That’s it for today!

Goodbye till next time :-)

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Birdman Review

Hello :-)

Alejandro González Iñárritu’s is a little hit and miss for me. I like Amores Perros and 21 Grams but Babel and Biutiful are a bit too high on their own sense of self-importance. However, based on the evidence in Birdman (or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) it’s very possible Iñárritu has created his magnum opus.

Riggan Thompson (Michael Keaton) a former Superhero franchise star is staging and starring in a Broadway play based on Raymond Carver’s short stories. Riggan is juggling his actors, his troubled daughter (Emma Stone) and his failing finances whilst being haunted by the memory of his feathered alter ego.

Much is being made of the performances in Birdman and rightly so because everyone involved is firing on all cylinders. Edward Norton (apparently playing a caricature of his own off-screen persona) is brilliant as the method actor who derides Riggan for his Superhero past life and Emma Stone also impresses as Riggan’s recovering drug addict daughter. There are a whole host of other supporting turns; Zach Galifianakis, Andrea Riseborough, Amy Ryan, Naomi Watts and Lindsay Duncan are all great in their parts.

At the centre of it all is a tour-de-force turn from Michael Keaton. It’s a great piece of casting on account of his history with the Superhero genre and his lack of exposure in recent years. The range he shows and the warts and all portrayal of a ‘has been’ and tragic hero is more than enough to secure him a Best Actor nod at the Oscars this year, if not the award itself. 

The cinematography is absolutely stunning. Most of the action takes place in the Theatre where the play is showing but Emmanuel Lubezki makes a cramped Broadway theatre seem infinite with the much discussed filming which appears to have been done in one shot (it’s actually several  ginormous tracking shots invisibly stitched together with some computer jiggery pokery). It’s a great gimmick but in practical terms it lends the film a sense of drama and vitality that a cinematic rumination on fame and art wouldn’t naturally have. You never stand still in Birdman, nor do you want to.

The music also helps give Birdman a shot of energy. A gorgeous mix of orchestral tunes and jazz drums (which may or may not also be heard by the characters) the score seems to be deliberately off kilter as if to underline the fact that this film marches to the beat of it’s own drummer.

At it’s worst (well… not worst, but least good) moments Birdman feels a little too arch for it’s own good. “Oooooh aren’t critics awful!” it seems to say whilst taking potshots at the vanity of actors. But Birdman becomes more reflective  as it goes on and gradually the film’s tone shifts to a discussion about the cult of celebrity, the growing importance of social media, the pursuit of art, the aging process and a whole load of other things besides. 

Those moments are balanced out but a great injection of humour. Some great dialogue and brilliant flights of fancy (on one occasion a literal flight) help puncture the poignancy and make this Iñárritu’s funniest film to date. It’s full of little oddball moments and peppered with delicious irony.

I can’t help but roll my eyes when people say that a film has "redefined cinema" but in relation to Birdman it’s sort of true; at least if it hasn’t redefined it it’s made us think about what films are for and the scope they have as vehicles for storytelling. There are so many elements in play, the fantastical against stark reality, ideas of artistic truth and the price of fame, it's a potent mix that may not be for everyone but I found it utterly captivating.

Dream-like, off beat and thoroughly unlike anything I’ve ever seen with every element working together like the keys of a perfectly tuned piano. Birdman is bold, magical film making and a wonderful way to start the year.

Now I fancy some…

Reasons to be Cheerful :-)

1. It’s a new year and 2015 is bringing with it a veritable smorgasbord of films to get excited about.

We’ve got Birdman and The Theory of Everything out now, Foxcatcher and Into the Woods are out next week with American Sniper and Whiplash out the week after and Ex Machina, Kingsman and Big Hero 6 out at the end of the month.

Looking further ahead we’ve got Neill Blomkamp’s Chappie in March, Avengers: Age of Ultron in April, Mad Max: Fury Road,  Pitch Perfct 2 and Tomorrowland in May, Jurassic World and Paper Towns in June, Inside Out in July and in the latter half of 2015 we’ve got big hitters like Spectre, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2 and obviously Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

And that’s just the stuff we know about, there’ll be a tonne of tiny budgeted British films and indie flicks on offer this year which will be so much fun to discover.

There’s so much wrong with the film industry but it can produce some bloody wonderful things and hopefully this year will be full of them.

That’s all for today!

Goodbye till next time :-)

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Paddington Review

Hello :-)

I don’t know if it’s the same for you, but nothing from my childhood is good anymore. Fireman Sam is all CGI weirdness, Pokémon have got a whole load of new Pokémons I don’t recognise and don’t even get me started on the recent Postman Pat movie… Childhood nostalgia is the most potent kind and when a classic like Paddington is brought up to date it’s always going to be met with trepidation.

Thankfully Paddington is absolutely lovely.  It’s a gorgeous mix of old and new, perfectly charming and really, really funny.

A young bear from Peru with a penchant for marmalade travels to London in search of a home. Finding himself at Paddington station, he begins to realise that life in the big smoke is not all he had imagined. This is until he meets the Brown family, who see the tag around his neck that reads ‘Please look after this bear’ offer him a place to stay.

The set up is so marvellous Paddington will have even the biggest curmudgeon on side within minutes. The brilliant newsreel footage, the sweet relationship between Uncle Pastuzo, Aunt Lucy and Paddington and all the little details that round the world out. It’s such a well realised vision, you can’t help but care about these characters and they’re only on screen for a few minutes.

The comedy is top notch. There are some lovely visual gags, some good old fashioned slapstick and the vast majority of the material works on a level for children and parents alike. The script is great and bounces the narrative along at a perfect pace to keep even the most distractible children engaged.

Paddington is anchored by sterling performances from the central cast. The Browns are wonderful; Sally Hawkins is a delight as ever, Hugh Bonneville looks like he’s having a whale of a time as the uptight patriarch and Madeleine Harris and Samuel Joslin are great as the Brown juniors. They make for a convincing family unit with whom you want to spend time.

There are loads of lovely supporting turns delivered by the cream of British comedy. Julie Walters, Peter Capaldi, Matt Lucas, Alice Lowe, Simon Farnaby and a whole host of other faces you’ll recognise.

Nicole Kidman is brilliant as the film’s villain. With her sights so firmly set on our young bear she is a genuinely scary baddie, like a taxidermy obsessed T1000. She properly throws herself into Millicent’s snake skin, stiletto heeled boots and it’s marvellous.

Ben Whishaw was an eleventh hour replacement for Colin Firth as the voice of the eponymous bear and I can’t begin to tell you how good of a decision that was. Whishaw has a voice as soothing as tea and buttered crumpets but still possesses the youthful exuberance you need in a children’s character like Paddington. The character’s CGI work is really good, you soon forget you’re watching a cartoon bear and fall a little bit in love with him.

Paddington isn’t a Christmas film (well… there’s some snow and a bit of a Christmas tree right at the very end) but it does have the warm glow of something like Miracle on 34^th Street (the nice bits, obviously not the bits where they’re trying to section him). When the biggest Christmas film we have this year is the hideous Nativity 3: Dude, Where's My Donkey something as delightful as Paddington is a thing to be cherished.

I hate the misconception that films for children are low hanging fruit, that patently isn’t true. It’s hard to keep kids engaged for an hour and a half, let alone entertain their parents at the same time but Paddington does both. It’s a lovely surprise that stays faithful to Michael Bond’s much-loved books but gives us laughs for a modern audience.

It’s gorgeous, if you’re looking for something to take the kids to while they’re off this Christmas, it’s perfect. Just don’t blame me if you have a hankering for marmalade on toast afterwards…

That’s all lovely, now let’s have some

Reasons to be Cheerful…

1. Colin Trevorrow has sent us all a Christmas present! A badass picture of Chris Pratt and a Raptor anyone?

2. The trailer for the new Pixar flick Inside Out has been released :-) Cars 2 was a bit all over the place but I still have love for Pixar and this looks like it could be a lot of fun.

3. In more trailer news the red band trailer for Kingsman is out. It’s usually a cause for concern when a film’s release gets pushed back (this was originally intended for release in October 2014) but this looks good. It’s going to be a nice bit of counter programming for Valentine’s day.

Well that’s all for today.

Goodbye till next time :-)

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