In
the sixth film column, I look at Birdman,
Drive, It Follows, Jurassic World and Spy.
Well
as you probably know I’ve been watching a lot of films lately, so I thought it
might be a good idea to offer another update on the highlights of what I’ve
been watching lately as well as the reviews from these movies. Whilst they’re
listed in alphabetical order they’re not the order that I watched them in, for
example, I talk about Jurassic World before
I talk about Spy, which I watched
first, and I mention The Last Airbender in
my Birdman review. There’s a nice
blend of movies here – horror, comedy, summer blockbusters and crime all
covered, so it makes for an interesting mix of movies. As usual, you can find
my recaps of the previous film columns below:
Film
Column #2: Avengers:
Age of Ultron, Children of Men, The Hobbit: Battle of Five Armies, Miller’s
Crossing & Mud.
Film
Column #5: Death Proof, Fargo,Frank, Kill Bill Vol. 1 & Tomorrowland
Film Column #6: Birdman, Drive, It Follows, Jurassic World & Spy
BIRDMAN (2014)
Director:
Alejandro González Iñárritu | Genre(s): Comedy, Drama | Cast: Michael Keaton,
Zach Galafinakis, Edward Norton, Emma Stone, Naomi Watts | Length: 119mins
After
watching The Last Airbender (which was dreadful) I needed a good
movie to watch and Birdman seemed like an excellent choice,
especially as it won four academy awards, not just best Picture, but also Best
Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best Cinematography. That's pretty damn
impressive and whilst it may not be worthy of all four of those awards, it's
still one of the best movies that I've seen from 2014 (and I've seen a lot of
movies from 2014), and really impressed.
The
film itself follows an actor Riggan Thomson (Keaton), who is a faded Hollywood
actor famous for his role as Birdman, a fictional superhero (Keaton also used
to play Batman), and is now struggling to mount a Broadway adaption of a short
story by Raymond Carver. The play itself is produced by Thomson's best friend
and lawyer, Jake (Zack Galifanakis), and also stars Riggan's girlfriend,
actress Laura (Andrea Risenberg), a first time broadway actress, whilst his
daughter, a recovering addict, Samantha (Emma Stone), serves as
his assistant.
The
cast put in pretty incredible performances. Michael Keaton aces it as Riggan
Thomson and Emma Stone is impressive as his daughter. Edward Norton also shines
as Mike, a last minute replacement when one of the actors gets injured on set,
and coupled with the excellent directing from Alejandro González Iñárritu, this
film really shines. The camerawork (from cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki) is just
outstanding, made to look as though it was all a single shot. It's an
incredible achievement that really works, propelling Birdman to greatness.
This
black comedy has a perfect tone and never disappoints. The score is brilliant
and the ensemble cast really helps make this movie work. In a year of excellent
movies then, it's no small achievement that Birdman emerges as
one of the best of the bunch.
VERDICT: 9/10
DRIVE (2011)
Director:
Nicholas Winding Refn | Genre(s): Thriller, Crime, Drama, Action | Cast: Ryan
Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Christiana Hendricks, Albert Brooks, Bryan Cranston,
Ron Perlman | Length: 100mins
Oh
wow, wow, wow. What an amazing film. I've been wanting to watch Drive for
a while due to all the praise and I was kind of worried that I'd be
disappointed given all the hype concerning this film, especially as the day
before I started watching this, I watched the first fifteen minutes before I
got called out to go and see some friends and one of my friends said that he
wasn't a big fan. However, I liked what I saw and I checked it out the
following day and Nicolas Winding Refn's movie just blew me away, it was
that good.
Drive follows the story of an unnamed driver (Ryan Gosling)
who works both as a stuntman and a getaway driver, and is caught up in a wider
conflict when he falls for his neighbour (Carey Mulligan), whose husband (Oscar
Isaac) is on the verge of returning from prison. It's a compelling drama that has stunning
cinematography, full of beautifully shot scenes of Los Angeles, and with its
nighttime atmosphere and flawed central character can be comparable with one of
my favourite films of 2014, Nightcrawler. Both are excellent, and both
are two of my favourite movies.
The
cast is great. Ryan Gosling plays a very cool lead character, and his chemistry
with Carey Mulligan is fantastic. Oscar Isaac, who is one of my favourite
actors at the moment puts in a good performance as Standard Gabriel, the
husband, and there's some awesome appearances from Breaking Bad's
Bryan Cranston andSons of Anarchy's Ron Perlman too, with the latter
serving as a formidably imposing antagonist. There isn't really a weak link
there, with Drive knocking it out of the park in pretty much
every corner, not just casting.
The
soundtrack is great and it really adds an extra layer of depth to the movie. A
Real Hero works really well here. Just about everything does, and it's hard to
pick flaws in this film and no doubt I'll be returning to rewatch it before
long. It's an incredible masterpiece that is pretty much
essential viewing.
IT FOLLOWS (2014)
Director:
David Robert Mitchell | Genre(s): Horror, Thriller, Mystery | Cast: Maika
Monroe, Keir Gilchrist, Olivia Luccaradi, Lili Sepe | Length: 100mins
I've
never really been a big fan of the horror genre, and the last few films that
I've watched as I've attempted to broaden my knowledge of it have largely come
from We Are What We Are, The Silence of the Lambs and As
Above, So Below. It Follows is the latest film to join
that list, another film watched as part of the Scavenger Hunt Challenge, and
it's probably one of the creepiest. Not relying on blatant jump scares, or
found footage gimmicks, It Follows is able to tell a well
paced, well handled, unnerving psychological horror with an excellent score
that instantly makes it a movie that I'd recommend to others looking for more
horror stuff.
19
year old Jay (Maika Monroe) is chased by something that only she can see. It
doesn't think. It doesn't feel. It doesn't give up, until she's dead, and the
only way it can be stopped is by having a sexual encounter with someone, the
same way that it was passed down to her. The monster is creepy, unnerving and
never really developed to the point where it feels like too much is known about
it. There's enough unknown there.
Maika
Monroe puts in an impressive performance as Jay, the lead character, and there
isn't a reliance on overly stupid decisions that the characters make to fast
forward the plot. Whilst there are a few standard horror clichés, there are
horror clichés in every movie. Given the low budget of this film it's great to
see what David Robert Mitchell can bring to the table, and he doesn't
disappoint, living up to the high expectations that I had going into this film
given the praise.
VERDICT: 8.5/10
JURASSIC WORLD (2015)
Director:
Colin Trevorrow | Genre(s): Action, Family, Science Fiction, Thriller | Cast: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Vincent D'Onofrio
| Length: 124mins
Well,
I was planning on seeing this movie yesterday, but the Cinema was fully booked
so I went and saw Spy instead which was pretty fun. Jurassic
World however, when I went and saw it today at a Cinema that was a bit
further away than the usual one that I go to, was awesome. Whilst not
everything about it was perfect and the characters were weak, I enjoyed it and
it had lots of awesome moments that really shined. The CGI was decent as well,
and it's a worthy reboot/remake/whatever they're calling it of the original,
and although of course not quite as good, does leave an impact and it's likely
to be one of the best Summer movies of 2015. Not the best, of course, because
NOTHING is going to top Mad Max: Fury Road, but it was still pretty
impressive.
Twenty
two years after the events of the first Jurassic Park, Isla Nubar
is the home of a fully functional theme park that's bigger, better and
theoretically, a lot more safer than the original, but naturally, investors
want more, and the kids aren't satisfied by the average Dinosaur anymore. The
wonder is lost on them, so naturally, the solution is to create a new kind of
creature. Granted, not the smartest idea, but you can see their thinking.
Bigger and better sells. However, the cost is pretty dire when the genetically
modified Indominus Rex breaks loose and runs rampant on the Island.
There
are plenty of scenes that do work. The action is fun and there are some kickass
moments that really make this film worth seeing (if you've seen the trailers,
Chris Pratt's bike raptor gang is awesome), and the pace is handled pretty well
as the tension gets bigger and bigger over the course of the film. It serves
well as a nice standalone movie as well, so you don't have to be familiar with
the original (let's be honest, at this point, who isn't? Of course, if you
haven't seen the original already, then you should remedy that ASAP), and has
plenty of homages to Spielberg's masterpiece.
However,
what doesn't work quite so good is the characters. Of course Chris Pratt is
awesome as the dinosaur trainer, Owen Grady, but his character virtually stays
the same at the beginning as he does at the end. Whilst Bryce Dallas Howard's
Claire gets a bit better development, her character is still pretty clichéd and
you know exactly what's going to happen to Owen and Claire by the end of the
movie when they first meet on screen. The rest of the cast is a mixed bag as
well, with unfortunately Netflix Daredevil's Vincent D'Onofrio not
hitting the high notes that he did as Wilson Fisk here, as the human
antagonist. The two kids, brothers Zach and Gray Mitchell, are typical
Spielberg characters - an eager kid who wants to see everything about the park
and an older one who's a bit less enthusiastic, aren't bad, but you'll have
seen their story several times before and if you've seen enough movies with
kids whose parents are alive, chances are you'll know what their parents are
experiencing and how it will no doubt change at the end of the film.
However,
that said, Jurassic World still manages to be fun. There are a
couple of jokes, some work better than others, but it's mostly well handled and
the action is pretty awesome. It may not be a perfect film, but Colin
Trevorrow's blockbuster hit (the highest grossing movie ever?) is awesome and
well worth the admission price to see in the Cinema. Yes it may be cheesy and
predictable, but let's be honest, you're probably here for the dinosaurs
anyway.
VERDICT: 8/10
SPY (2015)
Director:
Paul Fieg | Genre(s): Comedy, Action | Cast: Melissa McCarthy, Jude Law, Jason
Statham, Rose Bryne, Miranda Hart | Length: 120mins
So, I
planned on watching Jurassic World instead of Spy,
but Jurassic World was fully booked at my local cinema so I ended
up going to watch this instead (my cinema sometimes gets films a fair bit later
than others, it can be hit and miss sometimes) and was pleasantly surprised
having gone in with low expectations, it's a pretty funny movie that had me
chuckling a couple of times, even if at 120 minutes, it's a bit too long.
A
deskbound CIA Analyst volunteers to go undercover to infiltrate the world of a
deadly arms dealer to prevent a catastrophic disaster, and the results are
hilarious. I don't think I've seen Melissa McCarthy in anything before (apart
fromHangover 3, but I really can't remember anything about that dreadful
movie at all) but she was great here, but the best role goes to Jason Statham
who absolutely kills it playing essentially, a parody of himself. Whilst
Miranda Hart may be the only weak link, both Jude Law and Rose Byrne are good
as well, amounting to an impressive cast and a fun plot with some
great interactions.
There's
a lot more action than I was initially expecting and it certainly delivers.
Whilst some of the jokes didn't always work, plenty of them did and the other
people in the screening that I was in laughed quite a lot. Whilst not exactly
anything memorable and nowhere near the best film of 2015, Spy is
a fun movie that's worth giving a look if you get the chance.
VERDICT: 7.9/10
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