All The Money In The World

Director:

Ridley Scott

Starring:
Michelle Williams (My Week With Marilyn, Brokeback Mountain, Shutter Island)
Mark Wahlberg (The Departed, Transformers: The Last Knight, The Happening)
Christopher Plummer (Beginners, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2011), The Sound of Music)

Plot:
J.P. Getty (Plummer) is the richest man in the history of the world.  His vast fortunes come from investment in oil and real estate, but he has never truly invested in his family.  When his grandson is kidnapped whilst living in Italy, the kidnappers deliver a ransom of $17 million, but Getty refuses to pay.  Getty's daughter-in-law (Williams) tries to persuade him to change his mind, but instead he hires an ex-CIA agent (Wahlberg) to get his grandson back without having to spend a penny of his money.


Verdict
It's not often that a film's reputation precedes it.

In recent memory, I remember waiting for The Dark Knight to start, unfortunately knowing the untimely demise of Heath Ledger, which only amplified his performance and made the film feel special.

Similarly with Justice League last year, I had heard about the film's troubled production and how much money went into digitally removing Henry Cavill's moustache during re-shoots, which again added to my experience when first watching the film.

Unfortunately ATMITW's notoriety didn't come from re-shoots and dodgy moustaches, but the actions of one of my former favourite actors, Kevin Spacey.  There's no doubt that you know of the reason why Spacey has been in the news over the past few months, but understandably he was removed from this production and replaced within a month of the film's release by beloved character actor, Christopher Plummer (who had actually met Getty during the 1960s!).

Unfortunately, nothing in the film comes closer to the controversy surrounding it.  Whilst Michelle Williams gives a decent performance as the distraught mother looking for a way to bring her child back and Mark Wahlberg shows up and effectively smolders, the two stand-out performances are from Plummer (shocker) and Romain Duris as one of the kidnappers who starts empathising with the grandson, and almost starts wishing for the kid to escape.

*NB: I wrote this review before the Williams/Wahlberg salary news was made public, but comparing the two performances, Williams outperforms Wahlberg in every scene and this should have been represented in their pay, but unfortunately this was not the case*

Thankfully, it is in the performances of Plummer and Duris that the film asks its main question: "What does family mean to me?"

Whilst Getty sees family as some sort of leech on his own personal fortune, the kidnapper Cinquata is bound by his family to see this grisly duty through to the end, despite his moral objections. 

This dilemma manages to flip the perception of who truly is the villain, as Getty's constant refusal to pay for the release of his grandson, even whilst the ransom lowers to $10 million and then $4 million paints Getty as a heartless and selfish monster, yet Plummer stays resolute and stoic in his performance. 

Apparently Spacey played up this monstrous side of Getty, almost becoming a caricature, which is another reason I'm grateful for the recasting.

Plummer added a warmth to the character, with certain earlier scenes between the younger grandson and his kindly grandfather contrasting even more so when Getty reveals himself to be so cold-hearted towards his own blood relative.

Moving onto the direction, this is a welcome change for Ridley Scott to focus on a tense thriller mixed with a family drama, rather than an action-filled set-piece set in space, or some boring and pretentious swords-and-sandals film. 

However, the pace of the film slows to a dull plod after the initial kidnapping and doesn't really kick off again until the last third of the film when escapes attempts are made and the grandson gets closer to freedom.  Unfortunately by that point, most of the interest has died away and you're just wanting the film to be over.

Overall, an interesting and subverted premise is wasted by a lack of pace and some sub-par direction, and ultimately a large feeling that just something isn't right. 

Removing Spacey was obviously the correct decision and Plummer is an inspired replacement, however in keeping with current times, the removal of a powerful and rich white man had a resounding impact.

Rating

5/10

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My Top 50 of 2015: 50 - 41

It's getting to the end of the year, and that means it's time to reflect on the year that was 2015. Usually I do a Top Ten list but because I've seen more films this year than most others, I thought I'd try and challenge myself to rank my Top Fifty Films instead!

Now as a warning, I won't be able to put films such as Star Wars Episode VII into my Top Fifty, as I have calculated this from the films I have seen prior to December.  But I'm going to review those as soon as January arrives!  

Also whilst I have seen an amount of films that stands as a personal record, I still haven't managed to see every film, so if a personal favourite is not in the list, feel free to let me know in the comments below and I'll definitely make an effort to see it!

But anyway, let's cut the bull and get to the list!  Starting at No. 50...

50. The Overnight

Plot

A couple meet some new neighbours and attend a dinner party at their house, but then things start getting weird...

Starring

Adam Scott (Parks and Recreation), Taylor Schilling (Orange is the New Black), Jason Schwartzman (The Darjeeling Limited)

Verdict

A subtle comedy where the less you know about the plot, the better. 

An interesting take on how diverse and complicated relationships can be. Full of awkward cringe moments but a surprising amount of heart, featuring a great cast as well.

49. Monsters: Dark Continent

Plot

Set ten years after Monsters, the alien life-forms have begun to wreak havoc in the Middle East. American soldiers have to battle an insurgency from locals as well as the extraterrestrials.

Starring

Johnny Harris (Snow White And The Huntsman), Sam Keeley (Burnt), Joe Dempsie (Game of Thrones)

Verdict

Nowhere near as good as Monsters but better than I had feared it would be. 

A heart-breaking tale of soldiers fighting a war they don't want to be in, having to fight battles on the outside and inside. 

A handful of tense scenes plus some of the poignancy that made me love the first Monsters so much.

48. Absolutely Anything

Plot

A British high school teacher gets granted the ability to make anything happen with a flick of his wrist. But should he use it for good or for evil? The fate of the world depends on it.

Starring

Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead), Kate Beckinsale (Underworld), the late Robin Williams (all my favourite childhood films)

Verdict

Essentially a British version of Bruce Almighty, and written by the Monty Python team, I did expect this to be the funniest film of the year. 

Whilst it isn't that (just wait a few weeks to find out what is!) the film is still packed full of irreverent British wit and humour, definitely enough to pass The Six Laughs Test. 

I just wish Robin Williams' final film would have been a bonafide classic.

47. Spy

Plot

A glorified secretary for the CIA goes undercover after the Secret Agent she's helping disappears. Hijinx ensue.

Starring

Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids), Jason Statham (The Transporter), Rose Byrne (Bad Neighbours)

Verdict

McCarthy is back to doing what she does best; be large and fall over a lot. 

But in between the pratfalls, there are some half-decent jokes and a fantastic performance by Jason Statham. His character truly pokes fun at the genre as well as his history with it, and you can tell he's loving every second of it. 

The film is pretty standard fare, but worth it for Statham and McCarthy.

46. Spooks: The Greater Good

Plot

Based on the BBC drama, disgraced MI5 Intelligence Chief Harry Pearce must track down an escaped terrorist leader before he can launch an attack on London.

Starring

Peter Firth ([spooks]), Kit Harington (Game of Thrones), Tuppence Middleton (Sense8)

Verdict

My first interaction with [spooks], which had been described to me as 'a British 24' and I can see where they are coming from. 

An exciting plot full of twists and turns, but very televisual as it didn't seem to embrace the new medium well. 

One for fans of the show.

45. Chappie

Plot

A South-African software developer manages to create a self-aware robot, Chappie. Initially childlike and innocent, the world begins to corrupt Chappie into using his robotic abilities for evil. 

You seen Short Circuit? Yeah, that.

Starring

Sharlto Copley (District 9), Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire), Hugh Jackman (Wolverine)

Verdict

Neill Blomkamp seems stuck in this repetitive cycle of trying to capture the magic of District 9; the brilliant mix of emotion as well as spectacle. With loads of guns and explosions thrown in. 

Similar to Elysium, it is a fair attempt but one that falls down in it's structure and character development.

An entertaining watch, but not a mind-blower.

44. Legend

Plot

Recounting London under the rule of the notorious gangsters the Kray twins, Reggie and Ronnie. American mobsters want to muscle in on London, making it the Las Vegas of Europe. Reggie has to make sure that doesn't happen, all whilst keeping Ronnie, his psychotic brother, in check.

Starring

Tom Hardy (Mad Max: Fury Road), Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises), Emily Browning (SuckerPunch)

Verdict

The only reason this film is so high on my list is Mr Thomas Hardy. 

His dual performance is mesmerising throughout the running time, managing to make both twins similar and yet complete opposites. It's a shame that the rest of the film doesn't match in quality. 

The direction is quite mundane, the rest of the cast are pretty standard and ordinary, and the less said about Emily Browning's corny and irritating voice-over, the better.

43. The Moomins on the Riviera

Plot

The film adaptation of the Finnish cartoon centred around a family of talking hippopotami, as they go on holiday to the Riviera.

Starring Featuring the voices of...

Russell Tovey (Him & Her), Nathaniel Parker (Inspector Lynley Mysteries), Tracy Ann Oberman (Eastenders)

Verdict

A charming little animation that I watched mainly due to nostalgia of watching the television series as a child. And I can see why I liked it as a child. 

Very lovely artistic design, the animation is beautiful and the writers don't try to bombard many complicated ideas onto the audience. As an adult though, whilst it was still charming, I nearly nodded off! 

It's a nice change to watch a film that doesn't require such an in-depth story, but it kinda suffered because of it.

42. The Voices

Plot

A lonely but cheerful factory worker speaks to his pets, who constantly try to convince him to kill his co-workers.

Starring

Ryan Reynolds (Green Lantern), Anna Kendrick (Pitch Perfect), Gemma Arterton (Clash of the Titans)

Verdict

I can't usually stand Ryan Reynolds. I personally like only one film he's been in so far; Just Friends (which is hilarious). However, here he plays against type, as well as providing the voices for the murderous cat and comforting dog. 

The film toys with the idea of seeing things from inside a damaged mind and it surprisingly works well.  However it falls down towards the conclusion of the film, but it isn't as bad as a lot of people are saying. 

Plus Anna Kendrick and Gemma Arterton are brilliantly cast, and beautiful to boot!

41. Kill Your Friends

Plot

The music industry is a cut-throat business, more-so than you might think. An up-and-coming A&R man won't let his colleagues stand in his way of reaching the top.

Starring

Nicholas Hoult (Mad Max: Fury Road), James Corden (Gavin and Stacey), Edward Hogg (The Bunny and the Bull)

Verdict

Everyone has been comparing this to the magnificent American Psycho, and whilst this British version (English Nutter?) is quite similar in it's approach (narcissistic narrator, giving behind-the-scenes look at a lucrative industry, and killing co-workers due to petty squabbles) it doesn't come close to it. 

An entertaining watch, with some witty one-liners and a decent performance from Nicholas Hoult, providing more weight to his future as a possible leading man in bigger films.

And that's the first ten down!  Come back this time next week for the next instalment in my 

Top Fifty Films of 2015

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Child 44

NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND

Never has the phrase "The whole is less than the sum of its parts" been more apt.

Child 44 is set in Stalin-era Soviet Russia where Leo Demidov, a World War Two hero played by Tom Hardy, now works as an agent within the Soviet secret police.  After an investigation into a criminal spy ring, his wife (played by Noomi Rapace) is named as a potential conspirator.  Instead of renouncing his wife, the Demidovs are banished to a freezing, horrible part of the country, where Leo stumbles upon a serial killer preying upon young boys, having killed 44 in the recent past.  But in the supposed-paradise of Stalin's Soviet Russia, there is no such thing as murder, so Leo must do his own secret investigation into who the serial killer is without the help of his former comrades.

Despite my best efforts to jazz up the main storyline, the true selling point of Child 44 is undoubtedly the cast.  It's plastered over every poster, billboard and standee that you see, and for good reason:

Tom Hardy,
      Gary Oldman, 
              Noomi Rapace,
                       Paddy Considine,
                                   Jason Clarke,
                                            Vincent Cassel,
                                                        Charles Dance.

That is a cast list that any film would be lucky to feature.  And any ordinary film would probably use these actors to the best of their ability; but Child 44 is no ordinary film.  Due to the grim subject matter, as well as the harsh time and setting, the film has an overwhelming bleak narrative that never really eases up.  It's running time of 137 minutes is way too long as I was finding myself wishing for the film to be over before it was. Whole sections of the film could have been easily taken out and the overall narrative would not have been affected.

Whilst the adapted book may handle the several other plots well and balance them evenly, the film seems to jumble them up into a bit of a confusing mess; a romance sub-plot gets touched upon and then is never resolved, leaving the viewer unfulfilled and whilst Tom Hardy and Noomi Rapace get most of the screen time, I was praying for more Oldman, Considine, Clarke and Dance.  Their presence would have easily brightened up the dull, brown, murky boredom that is Child 44.

Whilst watching Child 44, I was reminded of The Lives of Others (Das Leben der Anderen), a German film most famous for shocking most of the world and beating Pan's Labyrinth to the Best Foreign Film Oscar in 2006.  The Lives of Others told a similarly paranoid and depressing story of an agent of the East German Secret Police in the 1980s.  It mainly takes place in an apartment building as the agent overhears the lives of a couple he suspects are spies.  Yet despite the restricted locations and budget of the film, it painted a much larger and entertaining world than Child 44.  It allowed you to connect with the protagonist and feel his internal struggle dealing with an oppressive and tyrannical leadership.  I felt no sympathy towards Leo Demidov.  I felt no connection to his plight or no understanding of why he loved his wife.  I was just simply told he does.  It left me annoyed and unsatisfied, wanting to go home and watch The Lives Of Others instead.

Whilst Child 44 does attempt to take potshots at Stalin's Soviet Russia and the hypocritical dystopia it became, they are such safe shots; there is no attempt to be memorable or particularly vocal.  "Yeah, we know that the communist society broke down into a paranoid, depressing time! Thanks for reminding us!"  After a while, especially towards the end, Child 44 just becomes one big disappointment and one that is currently tanking at the box-office and I fully understand why.

I wouldn't waste your time with Child 44, especially if you want to just for the cast.  Ocean's Eleven has a great cast, go watch that instead!  You'll have a much better time, I promise!

Rating - 4/10

Until next time folks, thanks for reading!

If you enjoyed what you read and you'd like to be kept more up to date with my posts, I can be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mike-Dunn-Reviews and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/MikeDunnReviews - if you want to help the site grow, give them a 'Like' or a 'Share'!

Chinese Whispers - Premium Rush

Again, this review has been hiding away since I saw it in the cinema two years ago. So since this film features one adrenaline-filled chase after another, you gotta enjoy the irony of how slow I have been with this.

On Yer Bike

Now my love for Joseph Gordon-Levitt is well-known in my circle of friends.  Despite starring in the much-loved Shakespeare adaptation 10 Things I Hate About You, my attention was first caught by JGL after watching Brick, a film that rests comfortably within my Top Ten Films.  From having his heart broken in (500) Days of Summer, to being recognised by Christopher Nolan and starring in both The Dark Knight Rises and Inception, I am so proud that I have seen him grow into the leading man I knew he would become.

Like most revered leading men in today's acting industry, like Leo DiCaprio and (out of nowhere) Matthew McConaughney, JGL picks his roles very carefully, holding the script's integrity as paramount, as well as the chance to test his range and skill.

In Premium Rush, JGL takes a step away from thought-provoking dramas and romantic comedies to star as Wilee (like the Coyote) a bike messenger from Manhattan.  One particular delivery requires Wiley to deliver an envelope across the city that controls the fate of a large sum of money.  However he is pursued by corrupt police officer, maniacally played by Michael Shannon, who wants the envelope's money for his own crippling gambling debts.  Pretty much 16 Blocks with bicycles.

Now whilst the film begins strongly, introducing the characters and the premise well, it's not long before things start to fall apart.  This is mainly due to the protagonist and his friends being bike messengers and cyclists.  Any person who has ever driven a car will know how annoying cyclists can be, and Premium Rush surely proves this.  All the cyclists come across as cocky arseholes who think they run the streets, probably to make them appear cool and streetwise but they just across as arrogant know-it-alls. Wilee appears earnest enough in the beginning, headstrong and determined; but by the end, he is just one of the dumb gearheads.  I mean his name rhymes with 'Wheelie', for God's sake.

The film moves along with a quick pace and there are two pretty exciting chase sequences early on starts giving hope to the rest, but then the film begins to think it's Pulp Fiction and we are transported to earlier that day, shown a 10 minute long scene which could have been significantly shorter, and then transported back, completely breaking the film's momentum.

The film is ambitious, which is good to see but it ultimately fails in creating an interesting flowing narrative.  Michael Shannon comes across as such a larger-than-life character, he starts becoming a villainous caricature. However, he plays 'the imposing bad guy' so well and he is one of my favourite screen presences so I'm just glad he's starring in more mainstream films.

Despite it's flaws, I'll give Premium Rush credit; this was the first time I had been excited by a bike chase.  And there are a lot of them.  Good hint for future directors; not as expensive as car chases, but still just as exhilarating.  It has encouraging moments but is let down all too often.  

But not by JGL.  

'Cause he's awesome.  

There, I said it.

Rating - 5/10

Until next time folks, thanks for reading!

If you enjoyed what you read and you'd like to be kept more up to date with my posts, I can be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mike-Dunn-Reviews and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/MikeDunnReviews - if you want to help the site grow, give them a 'Like' or a 'Share'!

Succinct Sunday - Side Effects

Half Dose Recommended

In Side Effects, Emily (Rooney Mara) weds a rich businessman Martin (Channing Tatum), only for him to be convicted a few weeks into their marriage.  During and after Martin's time in prison, Emily experiences severe depression and attempts her own suicide. Prescribed experimental antidepressants by her therapist (Jude Law), Emily begins to experience strange side effects such as sleepwalking which start ruining the lives of everyone involved.

Before it's release, I was geared up for Side Effects to be a typical Soderbergh tour-de-force, taking me on an emotionally draining experience, such as those found in his previous films Contagion and Traffic.  But instead I was shown a film in two halves.  The first is an edgy and intriguing drama about one woman's descent into drug dependence.  However there is a drastic change halfway through and the film never really recovers, declining into a cheesy and schlocky melodrama.  An admirable attempt but an ultimate failure.

There are some noteworthy performances, such as Tatum and Mara, but their earnest roles are overshadowed by hammy Jude Law and the overblown and unbelievable rival therapist Catherine Zeta-Jones, highlighting the differences in the film's two tones.

Side Effects on a whole still has it's moments; Soderbergh's kinetic style of direction, Thomas Newman's haunting score and the film's cinematography are beautiful, gradually draining the colour of out of the scenes as the plot unravels and begins it's slow decline. I'd gladly recommend the first half of the film to anyone, and I'm sure that most viewers will still be invested in both halves of the film.  However I was just not one of them.

Rating - 6/10

Two For Tuesday - This Is The End / The World's End

The End is Nighy

In a recent review, I commented on how Hollywood sometimes replicates certain film premises, and sometimes even whole plots. Earlier this year we had the post-apocalyptic films After Earth and Oblivion, and in the past few weeks, two films dealing with the actual apocalypse have been released; This Is The End and The World's End.  See the similar names?  That's the give-away. Whilst one comes from America and the other Britain, they are both filled with famous comedy actors, laugh-out-loud moments and the end of civilisation as we know it.  However, their methods of telling these apocalyptic tales differ greatly.

The Rapture of Los Angeles...
not just these three people...

This Is The End was released back in June and centred on how a group of A-list comedy actors such as Seth Rogen, James Franco, Emma Watson and Michael Cera cope with the end of the world. Since the word 'apocalypse' has been thrown around in such a blasé fashion these days, I feel I must differentiate between the types of apocalypse that these two films depict.  This Is The End features a Biblical Rapture-style apocalypse, where the morally-righteous people ascend up to Heaven and the morally-bankrupt are left to suffer demons and hellfire.  The group of Hollywood actors, all attending a party at James Franco's house, are pretty much the only people remaining after the Rapture and that in itself is quite a humorous idea. As Seth Rogen and co-star Jay Baruchel run down the chaotic, yet desolate streets of post-Rapture Los Angeles, they arrive at James Franco's house, where not a single Hollywood A-lister has been deemed worthy to enter Heaven. I don't know what hell-worthy things Emma Watson has done, but Hermione is stuck on Earth with the rest of them.

English girls don't do well in LA...

The trailer for This Is The End seemed to focus purely on how unprepared these actors were for such an event, shirking responsibility when having to venture for supplies, improperly barricading the house and childishly fighting over a solitary Milky Bar chocolate, and that's the film I wanted to see. With the actors playing twisted versions of themselves, Michael Cera especially, I wanted a biting, satirical look into Hollywood actors are incredibly pampered and ultimately clueless. To it's credit, it does start poking fun at the idea of self-centred celebrities, Jonah Hill in particular referring to himself as “Jonah Hill... from Moneyball” when praying, and thinking that celebrities such as himself and George Clooney will be the first to be rescued in an emergency such as theirs, but it never delves too far. It slowly stops being an acerbic look into fame and starts becoming the stoner-comedies for which the main stars are known.

Don't get me wrong, there are quite a lot of funny gags in the film, mainly during the promising opening act, with Michael Cera's hideous caricature getting the main laughs, but the film failed to live up to the beginning set-up, becoming more and more silly and disappointing as the film went on, culminating in such a ludicrous and audience-pleasing finale, I cringed all the way through it.

That disappointment only increased my expectations for the finale to Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Edgar Wright's Blood and Ice Cream trilogy, The World's End, released this week.

One of my favourite trilogies of all time,
even though it's a technically 'unofficial' trilogy

Simon Pegg plays Gary King, the once-leader of a lovable and aspirational gang of five lads growing up in a sleepy Southern town. He yearns to relive the night from his past that topped all others; when the five lads left high school and failed to conquer the Golden Mile, a pub crawl consisting of all twelve village pubs. Gary reunites the old friends to try and complete the Mile, despite how successful and distant the four friends have become. Along their crawl, they discover not all is what it was in Newton Haven. People seem cold and robotic, as if they've been replaced...

Always dressed for the occasion...

The World's End carries on the tradition set out in Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, by balancing very ordinary people and very extraordinary circumstances; this time, an alien invasion apocalypse. Pegg and Wright stated that since Shaun had been their horror film and Fuzz was their action film, they wanted to complete the trilogy with TWE being their science-fiction adventure. They delivered. 

As usual, the film is completely filled with visual references to the genre it belongs to, whilst adding a fresh and innovative flair to the standards set by classic science-fiction before it. Wright's direction has impressively matured from the experimental style of Spaced, the TV series where he first worked with Pegg and Frost, and he has now been able to combine subtlety and excitement into incredible fluid camera movements, especially in madcap fight scenes that reminded me of his previous film, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.

They had to do countless re-takes
for some reason...

The main double-act of Pegg and Frost are fantastic throughout the film, as well as the other three reunited group members (Martin Freeman, Eddie Marsan, Paddy Considine) and the cameo from ever-present Bill Nighy.  But seeing the dynamic shift between the two main leads was very interesting to see from a fan's perspective.  In Shaun and Fuzz, Pegg played the straight-man who coped with his partner Frost, epitomising the loafish idiot.  However Pegg's character Gary King defines wasted youth.  Obviously having drunk and smoked most of his life away, his obsession with reliving his past and capturing the glory days is initially endearing, but ultimately devastating to see how such promise has deteriorated to King's current state. Pegg's ability to make King so annoying and yet so lovable is wonderful to experience. He has the innocence of the Andrex puppy, mainly due to having the same IQ.  Yet the frustration felt by the four returning men can be so easily understood.  The film is all about the friendship between the five of them, not the apocalypse that happens in the background.

That's what defines The World's End and the ultimate difference between the two films; The World's End contains a heartfelt and touching storyline, rather than This Is The End; an interesting premise that is stretched out until it becomes boring. The dynamic between the two leads is an essential element to the film that helps keep you interested throughout, and was much more believable than Seth and Jay's relationship from This Is The End. The A-listers grow apart due to fame becoming a divider, rather than Gary King's self-destruction, a much more relatable problem.

I could go on for a while about how The World's End is intricately designed and obviously filled with care and love by a true auteur director, but it'd be much easier to watch it yourselves. It's a film that can be watched on multiple occasions and you can take away different aspects every single time. This Is The End is a fun laugh for a night where you just want to switch off and have a silly time, but The World's End is, by far, the better option. They manage to combine the topics of alienation, misspent youth, “Starbucking”, freedom, indoctrination, loss of identity and school discos all into one pub crawl.   I'll drink to that.

This Is The End – 5

The World's End – 9

Two For Tuesday: After Earth / Oblivion

Sci-Fi Supermarkets and The Pursuit of Apathy

In true Hollywood fashion, a duo of films have been recently released that share an overall theme.  Where before there was Armageddon and Deep Impact, Dante's Peak and Volcano, Antz and A Bug's Life, we now have After Earth and Oblivion.  Unfortunately for us Earth-dwelling humans, the theme is the collapse of human civilisation and the Earth becoming inhospitable.  Even more unfortunate, Hollywood has chosen Tom Cruise and Jaden (son of Will) Smith to star in these post-apocalyptic futures.

We get it;
Ruined Earth = Big,  One Man = Small

So since they share a common theme, they are bound to share other features and they ultimately do.  Both of these films feature an annoying lead character travel on an annoyingly boring quest, whilst an underutilised and more competent secondary character sits in a control room for most of the film's duration, culminating in a disappointing conclusion stolen from another film entirely.  Let's analyse, shall we?

Oblivion takes place years after an alien invasion of Earth, which humans 'won' by deploying nuclear weapons that leave the planet inhospitable.  One of the only people left is Tom Cruise, a security drone repairman who lives with fellow technician Andrea Riseborough.  The drones they repair keep huge Earth-restoring machines safe from pesky sabotaging aliens that keep Tom on his toes. But he keeps getting distracted of visions of a woman he feels like he once knew. Until he conveniently finds a mysterious pod with the woman inside! Plots slowly unravel and Morgan Freeman appears out of nowhere to tell Tom that not everything is as it seems.

And so the Giant Tom Cruise watched
over his sea vacuums patiently...

Sounds promising, yeah? The film truly begins to slide downhill after the discovery of the mystery woman and the conspiracy surrounding Earth's true history. Despite the film trying to pay homage to the science-fiction films of the 1960s and 70s, such as Logan's Run, it never reaches those dystopian goals, falling down on the weak plot, foreseeable narrative twists and sloppy character development.

I wanted to like Cruise in this, as he seemed to fit the character well, but ultimately the story becomes boring and predictable. There is a sleek, intriguing opening act, but the rest of the film fails to deliver on a promising premise, stealing so many references from other science-fiction films. It's almost like the director Joseph Kinsinski simply sat down, watched classic sci-fi films and went “That. I want all of that.” A proverbial sci-fi supermarket for him to pick and choose without having to come up with anything original.

You can plagarise Moon all you like,

but no-one rips off Wall-E 

Speaking of unoriginal directors, shall we move on to M. Night Shyamalan's newest venture? After Earth also holds a rather intriguing plot, with a half-hearted, disappointing payoff. It's a long explanation so bear with me.

This is the face
of a fearless monster killer

In the future, Earth, again, becomes inhospitable due to our extended interference with the atmosphere.  This is twinned with all of the Earth's animal kingdom beginning to evolve into human killers.  So we humans all scarper off to another habitable planet, only to find it populated by other human-killing monsters. Humans can not catch a break in the future. These monsters are also perfect at hunting us... except that they don't have eyes.  Don't know why but instead they sense our fear.  And excitement.  And happiness.  Like any feeling, they can sense it.  Again in true Shyamalan fashion, it's never explained how they do this; they just do.  So, in order to avoid and kill them, a human must not feel fear, and Will Smith is the most cold-hearted SOB in the fleet.

Will and his son, Jaden, go off on a space flight with one of these monsters, for some silly reason, and the ship crashes onto the dreaded inhospitable Earth! Will breaks both of his legs in the crash but healthy Jaden has to retrieve the emergency beacon from another part of the jungle in which they find themselves. He has to evade evil baboons, oversized condors and a dreaded pack of ligers (that's the offspring of a lion and a tiger) and learn to tame his fear to overcome the escaped alien beasty that inexplicably escapes.

Evil, evil monkey...

Let's start off with the obvious stuff. Will Smith should not do a role that is this serious and boring. Neither should his son. They both are so badly-cast, I felt angry at their obvious vanity in casting themselves when other actors would have been better suited for the roles. Actors such as Josh Brolin, Kiefer Sutherland and Idris Elba have made careers playing serious and stoic roles such as this, and could have provided more gravity and intensity that the character needed. I couldn't help look at the poe-faced father and son, and just see a very moody Fresh Prince of Bel Air and Karate Kid.

Also the film came across as simply a Smith-production, and I had an instant dislike to Jaden Smith and the character he portrays, merely due to the fact I know both he and the character got their jobs because of who his father is. It really put me off his character, failing from the start to create an emotional bond with him.  It seemed that the Smiths hadn't gotten enough audience attention from The Pursuit of Happyness, and so felt like making The Pursuit of Apathy instead.

This is what the Smiths should stick to

Technically-speaking, for a movie with this much budget and filmed on so much green screen, the effects looked pretty poor from today's standards.  The threatening Earth animals and interstellar nasties equally looked fake and unrealistic, leaving you with little concern for little Jaden's well-being. The main peril in the film comes from these animal encounters and since I had little care for Jaden's character from the start, the tense chase sequences and animal attacks didn't react with me at all. I wouldn't have cared if he bit the bullet, giving someone more deserving a chance to go to space. Selfish Jaden Smith.

Whilst I had no high hopes for either film, I was still left with a sense of disappointment after watching them both. Oblivion's opening act lifted my expectations, only to dash them in the end, as did the appointment of M. Night Shyamalan's position as After Earth's director. I always go into a film of Night's, hoping he can rekindle the respect I held for him before the débâcle that was The Happening. But he continues plunging ever further away from ever gaining the respect that was awarded him after the release of The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable.

But should I keep holding on hope for that one next film that Mr M. Night or Mr Cruise could potentially make next?  They could become another Eddie Murphy or Mike Myers, slowly slinking away, occasionally bringing the public some pale imitation of what they once were. Or they could possibly follow in the footsteps of Matthew McConaughey; slowly rebuilding credibility, film by film, until they find themselves working on a Christopher Nolan science-fiction film.  Surely the sky (and beyond) is the limit.

Oblivion : 5/10
After Earth : 3/10

The Green Hornet

No Sting In The Tail

This is as 3D as the film gets...

The only things I knew about The Green Hornet film, radio serial and other incarnations before I watched the 2011 film were:

1. Seth Rogen had slimmed down a tremendous amount to star in this film, so I knew that his performance would have some passion and enthusiasm behind it.
2. Bruce Lee had starred as the original Kato, so Jay Chau had some big shoes to fill as far as fans of the originals went.
3. Michel Gondry was directing. Although an odd director/film combination, I expected the personal touches he had brought to films such as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Science of Sleep; such as handmade props, innovative and alternative camera angles and with 3D technology at his disposal, utilising that to the best of it's capabilities.

I, and many of the general public, didn't really know the storyline apart from what was told to us through the trailer and advertising for the film: Rogen plays Britt Reid, a rich playboy son of a newspaper tycoon (Tom Wilkinson). When his father is murdered, Britt inherits the newspaper and tries to take on the crime in the city with his sidekick/butler Kato (Jay Chau) by posing as criminals to get closer to the criminal kingpin Chudnovsky (Christoph Waltz). Along the way, he is assisted by his secretary Lenore Case (the terribly-miscast Cameron Diaz).

Bit convoluted, but as far as origin stories go, it's pretty simple. As Reid wastes his life partying, his father's death brings him to realise his and Kato's full potential. However, with both Britt and Kato's relationship with Reid Snr. being the main reasons behind their catalyst, we don't learn much first-hand, as Reid Snr. is killed in the first ten minutes, and the relationships between the two anti-heroes and Mr Reid are simply told to us through anecdotes. Maybe Mr Wilkinson could only work for one day?

Rogen obviously has the passion for the project as he seems to be enjoying himself throughout the film, and Chau effectively shows off his extensive knowledge of martial arts and his athleticism but, the partnership between the two never feels even, which is actually addressed during the film. Whilst Kato is rightfully labelled a “human Swiss-Army knife', Britt doesn't really bring anything to the team, requiring him to use weapons, and not always to the best outcomes. Britt often calls Kato his 'sidekick' but Kato seems to be the only member of the team that realistically could be a crime-fighter. Britt can't even fight hand-to-hand against a ordinary gang member without requiring Kato to step in and help him. Despite the origin of their friendship being slightly rushed and unexplored, as well as the uneven feeling to it, the two have a realistic chemistry and win over the audience quite quickly.

Although, a hero is just as good as his villain, and The Green Hornet's villain is crime kingpin Chudnovsky, played by the brilliant Christoph Waltz, made famous by his Oscar-winning performance in Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds. In Inglorious, Waltz steals every scene he is in through his impeccable delivery and charming persona.

However in Hornet, he seems relegated to a storyline about how he can make himself more villainous to keep up-to-date with today's society. Whilst this identity crisis might be a new approach to handling a villain, his first scene sees him told a laundry list of reasons why he's not imposing or threatening, thanks to an impressive cameo from James Franco. Not the great start to a “Hero vs. Villain” narrative. His character barely interacts with The Green Hornet and so the hero/villain dynamic is never established. The Hornet seems to be fighting the concept of local crime, with Chudnovsky merely an example of it.

Also I was quite disappointed by Gondry's lack of personal input in the film. It is by far his most main-stream film, which I suppose it needed to be with The Green Hornet being quite a low-key franchise. But if the studios wanted a pretty “safe” film with few surreal moments or innovative camera angles etc, then why employ a director known for such trademarks? The 3D is hardly utilised as well, with more of the impressive visuals appearing in the credits than the actual film.

Despite my nitpicks about the storyline being a bit thin and Gondry playing it safe, the film is entertaining and the banter between Rogen and Chau constantly makes you smile and enjoy the ride. Honestly, I don't see a franchise coming out of this release, but it is nice to see quite obscure material being brought to the Silver Screen rather than the already-famous comic-books or television shows being remade.

Rating - 5/10