The Incredibles

(Brad Bird/2004/USA)

I saw this in the cinema when it was first released and remember not being overly taken with it. As a result I’ve never re-watched it until this week when my kids asked to see it having caught a snippet somewhere on TV. 14 years later I understand the fuss about it. It’s a great take on superheroes and identity but more so there’s a lesson about personal strengths (super powers) and the importance of family. Working as a team, the family becomes a stronger unit capable of taking on any situation. Maybe it took my situation changing to having a family of my own to get it!

(3.5/5)

Geostorm

(Dean Devlin/2017/USA)

The name anticipates epic, global disaster and would have you think this will be a great afternoon’s popcorn munching, effects laden spectacle of destruction, but it’s not. It makes the mistake of over investing in the soap opera of the lives of the main players and pushes the natural disasters to second fiddle. If I’m signing up for potential global destruction as entertainment I want to see a lot more of the disaster upfront and less of the emotional, angsty family drama between two brothers. Geostorm was disappointing, although some of the set piece disaster scenes are hilarious.

(2/5)

The Post

(Steven Spielberg/2017/USA)

Recounting the Pentagon Papers exposé on the Vietnam War in the early 70’s The Post never really goes beyond a historically interesting retelling of events. It’s all about the Washington Post obviously but the New York Times gets short shrift for its part in the revelations. That’s because the focus is on the personalities and relationship between Katherine Graham and Ben Bradlee the owner and editor respectively of the Post. Hanks and Streep are in fine fettle but there are a lot of chummy, luvvey type scenes. Maybe I’m misreading things and these were the characters of the people at play but I detected an underlying self satisfaction in the performances. Also the blunted reshaping of Katherine Graham as a sort of feminist hero is a kind of revisionism that works against an honest recounting of history. It’s a bit cack handed to be fair and the plot is not in any way dynamic. The story is spoon fed to you and lacks any real intrigue or political paranoia like All the Presidents Men which is the obvious film to compare it to. Other comparisons with the current administration in America are obvious too but the plot of this film seems to have been moulded to allow these comparisons along with the feminist reading of Graham rather than them being natural by products of the original story. This is the core reason it falls a bit flat for me.

(2.5/5)

Thor: Ragnarok

(Taika Waititi/2017/USA)

I don’t really follow the whole Marvel/DC comics to film universe thing but I used to read comics like X-Men from time to time as a kid so I have a general awareness of most of the superheroes involved. However when I saw Taika Waititi’s name against the latest Thor instalment I didn’t need any further encouragement to give it a watch. Luckily this is a standalone story with enough of a recap that you can dive in without having seen the previous film. The first thing that hits home is the action; it’s full on, high octane and fun. Full of laughs and not afraid to be irreverent this has got Waititi all over it. Style and look wise it nods towards the Guardians of the Galaxy a little bit which is grand. It’s great to see this director get his hands on a big budget franchise and put his stamp on it but without taking away from the source material. Bending it to his slant just enough to create something unique within an established brand. It’s a couple of hours of kick ass fun.

(3/5)

Moana

(Ron Clements & John Musker/2016/USA)

The sorcerers at Disney towers look out from the wastelands of Pixar and train their eye on the Polynesian cultures of the Pacific Ocean, cherry picking bits and pieces from a number of individually distinct tribes and mash them together for a big CGI shit show of fun. This is the problem with Disney, it makes great movies, they really are fun and hugely enjoyable for the family but the level of cultural misappropriation and deliberate, conscious vandalising of indigenous cultures in its movies makes them an extremely guilty pleasure. It can’t be that hard to put in a little more effort and get the films accurate and educationally beneficial as well as entertaining. So capitalist piggery aside this is one of the sinfully good Disney outings. Effortlessly funny, great characterisation and another strong female lead too with brilliant animation. The fact that the legions of Polynesian cultures are presented as a distinct single entity that results in a perfect postcard picture of the Pacific islands is more than just a by the way. Disney was in conversation with Hawaii airlines about deals for routes to the area apparently. So as a parent I’m happy my kids are getting an afternoons entertainment but unhappy they are being subjected to a generalised paintbrush stroke of ancient cultures in some half arsed tourism effort.

(3/5)

Season of the Witch

(Dominic Sena/2011/USA, UK & Australia)

One of the abiding mysteries of the world is how Nicholas Cage could squander the potential and talent he showed early on in his career in a series of big budget ham hocked dribble inducing action flicks. But then again maybe it’s not that mysterious if one looks at the paychecks involved. Anyway this is a big budget ham hocked dribble inducing action flick about a girl accused of being a witch in the plague ridden times of the crusades. Cue Cage and Ron Perlman as retired knights who undertake to escort her across Europe to a remote monastery and a series of escapades on the way ensue. The mood and look of the scenes are the best thing in it, everything and everyone else seems to be a by the numbers on autopilot affair.

(1/5)

Exodus: Gods and Kings

(Ridley Scott/2014/USA, UK & Spain)

Having breathed life back into Roman and Greek classical history genre with 2001’s Gladiator, Ridley Scott tackles the biblical epic here but falls way short of the mark. I’m not sure what the attraction was for an outspoken atheist to make a film about a religious myth but the obvious pitfall of that situation is the lack of connection with the source material. As a result the film is an exercise in big budget action dressed up in historical drama but missing any proper spiritual core which, ultimately, is the point of the story of Moses. The focus is all on effects and battle action and even when the story rolls around to Moses’ spiritual crisis it is without any real religious zeal. The voice of god is embodied in the form of a child, Malak (The Hebrew name for angel), this immediately removes direct contact with the divine being and you have Christian Bale seeking the advice of an invisible child for the remainder of the film. 

 

Exodus is really centred on the rivalry of Moses and Ramesses, his adoptive cousin who becomes King of Egypt and with whom Moses struggles to free the Hebrews from their enslavement. Scott can’t help tinkering with the story instead of playing it straight and as a result it begins to ring hollow. The plagues almost seem as a by the way, over and done within a few minutes so the story can progress to the chase to the Red Sea. And that scene itself has a pompous standoff between Moses and Ramesses in the shadow of the waves of the sea crashing back after the Hebrews have passed through. This is the bible dude, you can’t just start making up shit. The pacing is off kilter at times too and at two and a half hours it’s just not worth the effort. A big budget misfire from Scott and along with Aronofsky’s Noah it looks like 2014 wasn’t a great year for resurrecting the biblical epic in cinema.

(1.5/5)

Noah

(Darren Aronofsky/2014/USA) 

Like a cross between Lord of the Rings and The 10 Commandments this is a religious epic in fantasyland. It is the Old Testament after all and the source material for the Noah story is scarce enough as it is but with angelic “watchers” in the form of stone golems cast from heaven traipsing around Aronofsky goes full scale biblical myth here. He focuses on Noah and the internal struggle of the man who has to carry out the word of God. It’s utterly silly at points and to be honest I struggled to stay with it to the end but there is an arc that Noah’s character traverses. Not that you’d guess from Russell Crowes performance who reduces his range from a bit gruff to very gruff throughout. In the end you have to ask what the point of it is, shrug the shoulders and move on...

(1/5)

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

(Rian Johnson/2017/USA) 

Right from the get go Last Jedi lays down a marker that things in the Star Wars universe are changing. Luke Skywalker nonchalantly tosses his old light sabre over his shoulder and storms off past Rey. We aren’t going to be taking things as seriously as before and we are going to have a bit of fun. For the most part it stays true to this throughout the rest of the movie without over egging it on the comedy side of things and also maintaining a decent amount of respect for what’s gone before. But there is a clear message that Star Wars, under Disney, is going to change and break away from the past and it will be done with good humour. There are constant references in dialogue to doing just that, letting go of the past, facing a brave a new future etc but then the entire closing section of the film is a rehash of the Empire Strikes Back scenes on Hoth. This jars a little, especially after two hours of meandering between the light and dark sides of the force. Don’t get me wrong, the story as a whole holds up and engages but it is overlong for a kids movie. I’m all for throwing bones to the kidult nerd fans but Star Wars is a franchise aimed squarely at kids and my nine and seven year olds both agreed it was a long haul. My wife thought it was fine however, just for balance, you know, in the force and all that... It’s not the best Star Wars movie but neither is it the worst. There were a few questions running through my head with it but to be honest, at this point, I’m happy just to watch and enjoy new Star Wars flicks with my family and not trouble over them too much. For what it’s worth my ranking of the episodes goes thus: 5, 4, 6, 7, 3, 8, 1, 2.

(2.5/5)

Passengers

(Morten Tydlum/2016/USA)

A Trojan horse of a film; rubbish rom-com dressed up as sci-fi. It’s visually lavish but soulless and at best a pathetic Hollywood justification for creepy, stalker like behaviour by men.

(1/5)

Silent House

(Chris Kentis/2011/USA)

Wrong from the opening shot - the camera should stay overhead and the only reason it changes angle is because it’s an Olsen gal and we need to see her. Wrong. This carries through the entire dreary movie.

(0.5/5)

John Carter

(Andrew Stanton/2012/USA)

Brilliantly ludicrous sci-fi where an American Civil War veteran is transposed from the 19th century to an alternate dimension Mars where he suddenly finds himself adept at jumping, sword fighting and astronomy. Turn off your brain and soak up the thrills.

(2.5/5)