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Us (2019)
2019 horror to beat
This second outing for director Jordan Peele has taught me many important thing about this sophomore filmmaker. This man did not get lucky with 'Get Out', he is no one hit wonder. Peele could have easily signed his name onto the list of directors who make one acclaimed film and never recreated that success and followed with several weak films. This is in no means the case. Equally as importantly he is no one trick pony. This is no 'Get Out' repeat. These are two wonderfully different films. Both at polar opposite sides of the genre. I was almost hoping to narrow down Peele's style of filmmaking from this horror, but both outings are gloriously different and completely unique, I am still as clueless as I was before. Peele is swiftly forming himself into a true master of horror and he is here to stay, so if I was you, I would sit back and watch this master at work.
There is a thin line on identifying whether 'Us' is a horror or a thriller, it heavily play into both genres and is a very strategical blend of the both. On one end, the thriller aspects of the film are executed perfectly. The story itself is ingenious, somewhat predictable and unsurprising, but so well written it doesn't matter. The horror aspects are strong, and this is one of the main features that makes this so different to Peele's 2017 hit. Tension is built on superbly, throughout the second and third act it is never dropped. It has the true edge of your seat, nerve shredding tension I so harshly craved from this. One aspect to the horror side of this story I truly adored was the hard slasher vibes littered throughout the second act, it almost felt like a more tense version of 'Scream'. I was in my element.
Having such a reliance of slasher themes did mean the second act did rely on gore factor. The story did take a back seat for a large proportion of these scenes. This benefits the story wildly, by fitting so much in to the story within the first half and hour and the last half and hour, it allowed for a large section for Peele to go full horror on the story, and he goes wild but remains admirably sophisticated.
Relentlessly the cinematography is breath-taking along with wonderful production values. A match made in heaven and undoubtably benefits this watch even further than its exemplary story. The visuals aided the sustained tension, by getting up close and personal with characters really forced the heart pounding pressure on the audience, each and every time you can feel exactly what the characters feel. Each scene is shot beyond perfection and without a question the least critique worthy element to this film. Some shots are highly inventive and the personal feeling that's conveyed due to this is gnarly and really gets under the skin.
Peele provided such richly writer characters and each and every actor in this movie does a faultless job at executed their role. Surprisingly both the younger cast members (Shahadi Wright Joseph and Evan Alex) excel and give two of the best child performances in a horror in the last decade. Duke is wonderful and Moss is wonderful. The latter is unfortunately underused, but her character is perfectly utilised within the story. No matter how much praise is worthy for the other cast members, no one compared to Lupita Nyong'o. A powerhouse of a performance, she shines and glimmers with perfection, one of her two roles transcends despair and the other is nail bitingly intimidating, both roles are played so different, the talents of Nyong'o go undoubted and leaves you with endless desire to see her take on more roles like this. This is easily comparable to Toni Colette's performance in 'Hereditary', but much like that, unfortunately will most likely go unnoticed by all major award ceremonies.
Comparisons to Peele's previous endeavour can't be helped, and on the most part could be the one thing that harms the reception, however, I can firmly state and in full awareness I will be in the minority, 'Us' has the edge over 'Get Out'. With nerve shredding tension, perfectly executed character and a doubtless conformation of the formidable talents of one Jordan Peele, this is the horror film to beat in 2019.
Pet Sematary (2019)
A lukewarm remake.
'Pet Sematary' is dead on arrival with a strikingly weak first act, but snaps back to life with a dramatic resurrection in quality for an improved second act and a unsatisfying but well executed finale. The latest in a long line of highly anticipated Stephen King adaptions proves that they all can't reach the level of 2017's 'IT' or 'Gerald's Game' from the same year, and they can turn out as ferociously disappointing films that fuels huge potential as one of its greatest weakness.
There is something about leading actor Jason Clarke that never sits well with me, more often than not he is the weakest part to any film he stars in. His way of acting often does not work. It feel as if he can never find consistency between natural acting and forced acting. His efforts frequently fall into the latter. He was near unpalatable here, where I brought a lot of his emotion, he did not sell scares and broke tension repeatedly. For a horror film this was not ideal. This being said, young Jeté Laurence does a spectacular job, within a first act which mis-sells the rest of the film completely, she stands out and shines, her talents do not go unnoticed. She is the perfectly charming, which aids the reminder of the film to blossom off an emotional core.
Easily, the emotional backing this story so strongly grounds easily progresses to be this adaptions greatest strength. Some ideas are toyed with which I truly admired. The way the film approached PTSD in the Mother was executed well and was refreshing to see it addresses in such a mature manor within the storyline. Subsequently this helps gives this character a strong setup, which was not a common occurrence in characters here. A lot of backstories were skimmed over or completely left out.
The impact of grief is another element which the story does a great job at developing and also approached in a strong manor. Addressing how different people deal with the loss of a family member, helped form an emotional connection to the family members, and even though the characters are proceeded relentlessly dumb you do begin to sympathise with them.
More importantly, as a horror this remake, is frequently very poor and follows many typical genre clichés. Almost the entire story was spoiled during promotional material but of the surprises that remain, they are predictable and underwhelming. Tension is sometimes sustained well, but in no means is this a scary film. Attempts are jump scares are on the whole cheap, and some repeated many times with little success. When tension is created well it is inserted well. Near the end, where still unscary, there a certain edge of your seat tension that keeps you engrossed. When the story falls into slasher territory it does become an extraordinary amount of fun.
Frustratingly a lack of scares in this supposed horror is damaging, but accompanied by a less than mediocre first act, damage was uncontrollably serve. Script wise, it is dumb and follows genre tropes. Several times dialog can be predicted word for word, and this is sustained as a constant issue. It was just uninteresting and flat scripting. The tone is an uneven. Often the tone comes over as a drama opposed to horror. Pacing was a huge issue which through the film is a mess, but eventually becomes less noticeable. Nevertheless, some scenes are executed to perfection, but most occur in the second act which is what forces it out, of this murky film.
An unfortunate disappointment needless to say.
Mary Queen of Scots (2018)
Mary Queen of Scots (2019)
At ground level this lavish retelling of the Queen of Scots, is a leverage for a set of excellent performances, but within its surprisingly violent theme and 'Game of Thrones' style approach, 'Mary Queen of Scots' excels into being an ultra stylish drama which strays from genre tropes and provides for a bloody good watch.
At the heart of this period piece, Saoirse Ronan perfects her art of being unnoticeable excellent in practically everything. She is a wonderful actress, but it has become a given to expect a knock out performance from the Irish lead. Here proves to be no different, though she maybe unnoticeable excellent, but that's excellence all the same.
Despite having a significantly less screen time to her co-star, Margot Robbie further proves she is a force to be reckoned with. After 2018's 'I, Tonya' it may have seemed as if she has peaked too soon, but fresh off that, Robbie delivers a standout performance which arguable steals the film from under Ronan's feet. However, impeccable casting on both parts.
A contiguous issue that keep arising was the passing of time. Many months would pass from one scene to the next and the film would fail to acknowledge it. Very rarely were time stamps added to scenes meaning many jump forwards in time went unnoticed (until a piece of dialog would confirm plot points in the previous scene occurred several months ago).
This does not mean the film does not deliver stand out scenes, there are many. With the climax being built up to the inevitable scene where the titular character finally meets her cousin Elizabeth. An exception scene which deserves to go down in cinematic history. A overwhelming sense of both pure joy with anxiety accumulated from that scene alone.
What does stand out significantly more than other period pieces similar to this, is despite being the perfect character study it does not shy away from the darker side of the story. Potentially a crime 'Working Title Film's' previous film 'The Darkest Hour' is guilty of. This darker and grittier approach aids the enjoyment factor forcing this out from being just a run of the mill period piece.
This did leave to a few scenes feeling daringly uneven. The split between the 'Game of Thrones' like violence and character development sometimes did not compliment each other as well as they could've leading to a slight clunky feeling on occasions.
Regardless my endless gratitude is gained by the make-up and costume department. Along with gorgeous cinematography many scenes where picture perfect, and at times breathtakingly beautiful.
Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018)
A wake up call for McCarthy?
'Can You Ever Forgive Me?' trades the comedy genre where the leading actress found her home, for a highly sophisticated and thrilling drama which can only hope gives McCarthy the validation there is much more to her career than comedies directed by her husband. Her performance is forged from brilliance perfectly justifying the mass awards buzz surrounding it. Even though she is never truly bad (even if the films she stars in are) it has been many years since seeing a performance by her of this greatness.
The generous mix of comedic elements woven into the story line perfectly compliments the tense and engrossing drama elements of the narrative. Without the essential comedy aspects, many segments potentially would have fell felt. With a comedic actress in the leading light it was expected some comedy would have been injected into the screen, however, one liners and scenes that garner strong laughs was certainly unexpected.
Staring along side McCarthy, Richard E. Grant gives what can only be his best performance to date, never has the actor embodied a role so well to date. Much of the supporting cast do a lot of heavy lifting also. Dolly Wells, gives an especially charming performance, which left me wishing she had more screen time.
What is certainly admirable about this drama is some incredible thought provoking idea presented throughout. Repetitively bringing up the idea of being a certain age and looking a certain way almost makes you invisible being top of the list, a notion Lee Israel could potentially owe all her success too. However, her supreme talents of forging certainly did a lot of the work there.
McCarthy has many sections of outstanding pieces of dialog. No more so than the final speech delivered, the raw emotion that the actress displays in this scene alone is enough to make this worth the watch, but with many scenes like this, it is fair to say 'Can You Ever Forgive Me?' is the most unexpected surprise and greatly justifies all of the hype and buzz surrounding it.
Glass (2019)
The divide between critics and audience widens.
Coming off his shock hit 'Split', M. Night Shyamalan set big boots to fill, considering this as the bring together of two of his most popular films, it would be easy to say it is underwhelming, but taking Glass as its own individual film, provides it to be a much stronger film all round. Shyamalan remains to be his own worst enemy, after many years of a downwards spiral, he jumped back into his mojo, considering both his recent hits (The Visit and Spilt) were strong, it shows he does his best work when it goes unnoticed. Almost suggesting as if being in the spotlight put too much pressure on him.
James McAvoy gives yet another award worthy performance, the way he switches in and out of the multiple personality is chilling. Bruce Willis is fine, he does nothing outstanding, but does nothing bad. Samuel L Jackson, well, for half the film did not do anything, and all he did in the second was be irritating. Besides McAvoy, the film's supporting cast do a lot of the heavy lifting. Sarah Paulson, excels on all fronts, being significantly more captivating than both Willis and Jackson. Anya Taylor Joy gives another credible performance but remained completely underused.
A lot of the film was extremely enjoyable, an entertainment factor was sustained throughout, but did fall apart near the end, the twists instead of being smart were silly and predictable, none packed any punch nor calibre and did not give the intended response subsequently making the ending excruciatingly poor. But that was only 10 minutes or so. Continuous superhero connotations started off as smart but soon lost its effect, leading to a couple of sighs, the idea behind playing on the notion of superheros can be appreciated but did become irritating when over done.
A mention has to be given to the gorgeous colour pallet and brilliant cinematography throughout. Probably the most stand out feature from the entire movie.
The Upside (2017)
Better than critics say but not by much!
The true story is undeniable a beautiful one, The Upside certainly aims to recreate that, but suffocates itself under poorly timed comedy and a miscast lead.
As full of warmth as this movie is, any successful convey of emotions repetitively become undermined by comedic moments that feel unnecessary and out of place. Even though many laughs are worthy, tragically misplaced gags and at times close to offensive gags do not sit well with the tone of the film.
Of the two leads, Cranston continuously outshines, steals scenes and leaves his co-star behind. That co-star is of course, Kevin Hart, at times he felt well suited to the role, especially in the first scenes, but as the movie proceeds the feeling he was miscast continuously creeps up and imposes on the film greatly.
No chemistry between the leads was established and was abundantly clear Hart and Cranston were staring in two different movies. All supporting roles are well executed with Kidman leaving the lasting impression and outstars the entire cast.
The story was however, well paced but structural wise felt out of order. The first 10 minutes were abundantly out of place and ruined any impact of future scenes which contradicts what happened in the opening (this ruined severity of many scenes which defied it).
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)
Overwhelmingly underwhelming...
It has to be said, this is the only Star Wars film that can be branded as bad. Because it is, it is such trash, not even just comparing the film to the remainder of the franchise, but as a stand alone film, it is still bad.
With the low standard set out by the first entry in this trilogy you'd be forgiven to assume the franchise would get better, but as this displays it can always get worse. The Phantom Menace may not be bad, but it is poor. This however, is bad.
The plot is inconsistent, and for the most part does not make any sense. Any nonsensical scenes involving this romance forming being Anakin and Padme, are truly ridiculous. It is cheesy and does not belong within a million miles of a Star Wars film. Whoever thought it was a good idea, could not have been more wrong. It is a franchise low. The dialog is cringe and continuously gains laughs for being so bad. Far too much detail is paid on Anakin not liking sand. I would argue that it where the film completely lost it.
Much like the first, the special effect are poor and have not aged well. The character design remained poor. The effects did improve slightly with the addition of both the clone arm and battle droids however, scenes films in a studio and on a green screen were painfully obvious.
Even the action sequences are dull. The final climax battle was uninteresting and led my mind to wonder constantly. No effort was made to gain my interest which subsequently led to this being the worst Star Wars film.
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)
Best of three...
It is unquestionable that this is the best entry in this trilogy. An accomplishment which most likely was not hard to achieve considering the first two were really, not great!
Unlike the last two, this entry to the franchise does not have a laughably bad script, it is nothing spectacular and it does improve as the film progresses, but it is still significantly better than the first two. An emotional factor is aimed to be gained and it is obvious, subsequently failing, but it works much better than in the first two.
A huge sigh of relief is made when it becomes clear it is not dull. It has boring sections, but without a doubt utilises action sequences and keeps a fast pace throughout. At times the action sequences felt like filler to make the film more enjoyable, but it works well.
No section is more improved on than the disastrous visual effects, in the few year gap between this and episode 2, Fox managed to employ some decent animators, it was much needed and frankly could've used this level of animation through the trilogy or maybe the practical effects method used in the originals would've been the smarter move?
There are tonal shifts through this movie and they are painfully obvious. Towards the end it does become extremely dark including mass genocide, but it is a vast improvement over the light hearted approach of episodes 1 and 2.
Which generally sums out this film as a whole. It is significantly better than Fox's previous efforts, but still falls flat when compared to the originals.
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)
Not aged well...
This is the perfect example of a film that has not aged well. The effects are now tragically bad. Even saying they have aged, I cannot be confident they were even particularly good when this was released. They are unsubtle and just painful. A lot of the character designs are also dreadful. Many exotic alien faces, looked almost as if they had been designed by a child, then animated by one.
It was inevitable this trilogy had a high bar to even come close to the level of the originals, but I fail to believe it was undoable nor that this is the best they could have achieved. As a young child I can see how I found this thrilling. Lots of flashing lights. Several action sequences. And a big loud mess. I do not share the same opinion now.
It is inexcusable quite how dull this entry to the franchise is. It tactically hides how boring this is, behind a many location swaps and several side plots. Many flashy action sequences are filtered in throughout to try maintain some level of interest, they work, but that's only due to the focus being reverted towards the out dated visual effects.
After many rewatches, a certain gungan has finally drawn my patients thin, and I can finally join the Jar Jar Binks repulsion bandwagon. However, no characters can be as infuriating as every character encountered on Tattooine - especially Anakin's friends!
The dialog is continuously stupid, cheesy and well, laughable. It is awful, and even with the dull plot and being completely underwhelming, the laughably poor script. So much of the dialog is actually completely frustrating, it is so sloppy and appears as if a 10 year old wrote it.
The Favourite (2018)
Another notch on Lanthimos' bed post...
The Favourite (2019), starting the year as I mean to go on.
It's awkward when one of the first films released this year, turns out being on my top 20, last year 'Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri' and this year apparently will be no different.
Yorgos Lanthimos had created himself a hefty job to top either 'The Lobster' or 'The Killing Of A Sacred Deer', but he succeeds on all fronts making a deliciously hilarious and wildly unique experience (which will most likely go missed outside of the film community).
As 'The Favourite' unfolds it reveals more than meets the eye. It is simply more than two people battling it out to win the affection of the Queen. Many subplots cause ripples in this story making a thoroughly enjoyable rollercoaster.
I would be kidding myself if I said the strongest aspect to Lanthimos' newest feature wasn't himself. He continuously proves himself to be an outstanding director and a more than capable film maker. His films are always aggressively unique and feature admirable storytelling methods.
The performances however cannot go unnoticed. I can finally release a huge sigh of relief as I can comfortably say Olivia Colman has finally managed to break onto the big screen with a leading role, which subsequently is one of her best. Her charm and wit does all the work and carries the film leaps and bounds. It goes without saying both Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone, are nothing short than exceptional also. The two share remarkable chemistry. All three leads are entrancing and deserve all the praise they seem to be getting.
The structure of this, is told in almost as set of chapters, to a book, which marvellously breaks up the film and allows the scenes to have tonal and pacing variations without making it seem messy.
'The Favourite' may be the first film of the year, but it may also be one of the best. Good luck to 2019 on topping this.
I Kill Giants (2017)
Madison Wolfe is a powerhouse...
I Kill Giants is another one of those films that goes compeletely unacknowledged, probably not aided by a ridiculous and childish title.
Considering the filmmakers fully embraced the fact this would not be a huge hit and consined a small budget remarkable CGI has to be the greatest standout of the movie, even on close up shots on the giants the effects are intricate and extremely well crafted, proving millions of dollars are not nessersary to produce good results.
The tone of the film is also pretty solid however, the story does not fully embrace itself, the whole mystical and mythical elements of the story seriously lack at times subsequently weakening the scenes which do include these elements as they feel inadequately set up and utilised.
Considering this produced by one of the producers/directors of Harry Potter you'd certainly expect more on this front.
What this film does utilise is the brilliant cast. The film is led a remarkable amount by Madison Wolfe. A powerhouse performance on her part. Zoe Saldana can go unnoticed, different to many of her most recent roles, but proves herself a more than capable outside of blockbusters. Maybe she should focus on doing smaller roles like this more than big, flashy sci-fi films, she really is great here.
Colette (2018)
Absolutely ravishing...
Kiera Knightley gives what is her strongest performance in years. The character of Colette is nailed down by the leading actress but at times it becomes worrying her performance is too strong when compared to several other less established actors. Hopefully this will give Knightley the much needed confidence to show her talents are more suited in other areas not just dismal blockbusters. Her captivating, fierce performance almost allows me to excuse her disastrous role in 'The Nutcracker and the Four Realms'.
This fascinating story is well written and the script work is strong, however, the structure of the film is very messy, on several occasions it is highlighted significant time has past, but the story continuous as if no time has past at all, it became frustrating but not acknowledging the time jumps work perfectly well.
The tail of Colette is scandalous which translats into film well providing a wildly entertaining experience. It may at first seem dull and uninteresting but many unexpected turns in the story make the story relentlessly ravishing.
One does have to question whether Knightley out performs the remainder of the cast too much, but it's a role that gleefully proves her ability after a few uncertain performances.
Hidden Figures (2016)
Inspiring...
I'm disgusted its taken me over 2 years too see this.
Hidden Figures is quite simply heart warming and full of joy. It isn't one of those feel good films which is bitter sweet with its message - it is pure happiness and relief in the point it is trying to convey.
The inspiration women portrayed in this historical drama are played perfection by the leading ladies. Taraji P Henson's best performance, without a doubt
Out of the main three, her story is executed brilliantly and fully carried by Henson. Certainly Oscar winning deserving!
It feels almost unnecessary to make any comments on either Octavia Spencer or Janelle Moane as they as both always captivating, of course, neither are any different here. A special mention must go to Kirsten Dunst, her screen time is limited, but her role is pivatol, Dunst manages to make an outstanding impression in the time she had, making an impression against the remarkable leads is certainly a win for her.
Unlike many films similar to this, the story focuses on the central woman and their achievements, instead of focussing on the people who knocked them back. Solid script work allows some focus on those people but does not allow it to outshine the true meaning behind it. This is what gives it such an incredibly heart warming feel.
As this is a film centering around NASA, it was inevitable space scenes would be featured, however, this high of quality effects was not expected. Firmly impressed on this front.
It isn't perfect though, it is unfornante but on many occasions I found Jim Parson's to be utterly infuriating. I cannot conclude whether this was intentional or whether the matter of the fact is, Parson's is suited to the smaller screen, but it just did not work.
Welcome to Marwen (2018)
Unfortunate disappointment.
This sad, unfortunate disappointment came victim to a director who clearly took his own film for granted. Littered with hints of a great film, 'Welcome to Marwen' ends up feeling underwhelming and a truly sad let down.
Robert Zemeckis is by far the films weakest quality. Throughout it became clear the director became so focused on recreating the success of 'Forest Gump' it lacked in any area bare aiming to make the audience feel sympathy and soul appeared as if this film had no other intention than achieving that.
The pacing is blocky and ranges painfully, this is the typical feel for any "real life" scene, they simply left me begging for another animated scene. It is inescapable how poor the script is, it was evident the dialog aimed to be child friendly which damaged the end product and incredible amount.
An inconsistent target audience furthet
Something constantly made me feel almost uncomfortable throughout the entire movie. Whether it can be blamed on the disjointed pacing or the poor script it damaged any enjoyment to be had.
Steve Carrel successfully gives a strong performance which hints towards potential success outside the comedy genre where he found home. He is captivating and well acting, especially when considering how poor the script was.
Leslie Mann continues her string of solid performances, her glee and charm certainly improves the watch when she finally gets time to shine. Janelle Monae is astonishing limited, it is hard not to think if she had a larger role the film would've hugely improved. Simply due to her outstanding talent as an actress.
Gwenodline Christie is unfortunately tragically miscast. It is perplexing trying to conclude why it was nessersary to hire a British actress as a Russian. Christie does her best to pull of the role but it's painfully obvious this usual brilliant actress was miscast.
With flopping on almost all fronts, 'Welcome to Marwen' trades potential excellence and glimmers of improvement throughout into an overwhelming mess suggesting the notion of animated dolls should be left to the 'Barbie' movies. At least the animation was strong.
It can't exactly be branded a bad film but falls privvy to it's extraordinary potential but unlimately weak execution.