The Danish Girl

Tom Hooper has had a great run in recent years with The Kings Speech and Les Misérables. Ridley Scott jokingly described his films as ‘high brow’ in a recent director’s roundtable, and Hooper’s latest film The Danish Girl certainly touches on subject-matter that requires finesse. 

Set in 1920’s Copenhagen, an artistic couple Gerda Wegener (Alicia Vikander) and Einar Wegener (Eddie Redmayne) are achieving different levels of success. Einar’s landscapes are well-appreciated but the same can’t be said for Gerda’s portraits. Gerda tries to change that with a portrait of a ballet dancer (one of their friends), but when the model is late to show, Gerda asks Einar to stand in. Posing in tights and ballet shoes, the couple uncover Einar’s female alter-ego, Lili but the situation becomes challenging when Einar finds that Lili is closer to his real self than he first imagined. 

The Danish Girl definitely has its issues. For one, if you know the basic story of Lili Elbe then you basically know the movie, although reading up on her afterwards, it’s clear there are some details that have been changed. It would also be unfair of me to pick on its lack of dramatic intrigue, as that’s more of an issue that keeps cropping up in the format of these straightforward biopics, nonetheless even for somebody going in blind, it’s very clear where the story is taking you. Although it strides its two hour run-time with ease, The Danish Girl also has some jarring pacing problems, particularly when Lili undergoes her various sex-reassignment surgeries and time skips around with a lack of clarity. It’s unlikely that you’ll get bored at any point but the timing issues do stand out like a sore-thumb. 

Where The Danish Girl does succeed is in building its characters. Hooper manages to pack in a lot whilst also covering a huge array of content, thanks to actors that make the most of their performances. Alicia Vikander is mostly great as Gerda, although doesn’t trump her performance in Ex Machina - not that that’s a fair comparison of characters - and at points she seems to only be drawing on binary emotional states of jealous anger and guilt-ridden sadness. Eddie Redmayne once again provides a chameleonic performance - perhaps even equal to his bout as Hawking - and through his transformation, justifies the use of a non-trans actor. Although I guess we’ll never really know how well a transgender actor could have handled the character. 

The construction of the film, from score, to cinematography, to editing is very similar to a lot of the ‘straightforward biopics’ we’ve seen in recent years such as The Theory of Everything and Imitation Game, which makes it difficult to set each one’s aesthetics apart from others. However The Danish Girl does construct interesting and varied examples of mise en-scène, particularly the Copenhagen exteriors. Like Carol, The Danish Girl forms its 1920s era with subtlety - not shoving objects, people and events into the story as a glorified timestamp - however certain elements like the at times drab colour palette and their empty apartments creates a gloomy atmosphere which doesn’t necessarily match the overall tone of the film.

The Danish Girl is well acted - especially by Redmayne once again - and packs a lot of story-telling into two hours, albeit with a sometimes staggered pace. The narrative is always interesting, but it’s never unanticipated, and you can’t shake the feeling that the film is big-noting itself as much more influential than it ultimately is.

The Hateful Eight

               
  "You're gonna die on this mountain and I'm gonna laugh when you do!"

Quentin Tarantino is on a mission to save film and in his eye true cinematic experiences in concert with his stead-fast dedication to the superiority of analogue film are the purifying force destined to save proper analogue film from the ravenous, convenient beast of digital. The Hateful Eight is filmed on Ultra Panavision 70, a stock not used supposedly since the mid-60's and even then only on the most epic event cinematic experiences. and that is the intent of the Hateful Eight in general, and the Roadshow production in particular. The Roadshow production not only presents the film in the crisp and super-wide 70mm, but allows extra time before the film starts to set the tone with a near operatic overture and divide the film's epic run-time with a brief intermission. In many more ways The Hateful Eight is established as an event, intended to be a one-off stage-reading, filmed in 65mm and presented on 70mm, featuring an ensemble cast of characters actors all over forty years old in a single-location cross-genre-film led by a prolific writer-director, in no way can this construed as your average cinematic experience.

While John"The Hangman" Ruth (Kurt Russell) attempts to transport his bounty, Daisy Domergue (Jennifer Jason Leigh) to Red Rock, Wyoming with a blizzard on in his coach's tail he happens upon a stranded Major Marquis Warren with several corpses of his own bounty. Warren, a veteran of the Civil War, is a colleague of sorts with Ruth and is able to hitch a ride to Red Rock so much as they respect each others bounties. Along the way they pick up another stranded man, former Confederate and new Red Rock Sheriff Chris Mannix (Walton Goggins) before seeking shelter from the blizzard in Minnie's Haberdashery, a small stable and all-purpose by-way on the road to Red Rock. Inside they find the bitter Confederate General Sandy Smithers (Bruce Dern), cow puncher Joe Gage (Michael Madsen), the Mexican Bob (Demian Bichir, and the British Little Man Oswaldo Mobray (Tim Roth). In keeping with Tarantino's style, this meeting runs amok with violence, sweaing and simming tensions coming to a boil.

Quentin Tarantino may have started his career with gangster/crime films, but its the Western that truly allows his style to flourish and settle at the same time. The opportunities to stylise and homage come frequently, while the genre conventions and reputation allow for Tarantino's signature scenes to feel so welcome, almost at home. The Western gives Tarantino the space to build tension, narrative and character at whichever pace he chooses and though the violence may be played to cartoonishly gory and humourous affect, it's expected, even warranted. As is the notion that this entire batch of characters is in some way or another loathsome or antagonistic. They beat, swear, belittle and mock each other, most are in no way trustworthy, and the subsequent violence that erupts never once attempts to make one character noble nor another tragic, but their death and killer both funny. Heads and testicles explodes, squips explodes and blood flies, and the deadpan approach to violence and death is in keeping with the setting.

A lot has been and will continue to be discussed about the racial and gendered attitudes within Tarantino's films as a whole and his westerns in particular, and perhaps Tarantino's making a larger point about films at large. I both cannot and will not discuss these issues in depth as its not really my place to but I will note how The Hateful Eight engenders the audience into supporting Ruth and Warren, specifically antagonising them towards Domergue. Sometimes the audience is left to question the actual guilt of Domergue but it's certainly worth remarking on how the film isolates the only two non-White Male characters and pits them against each other involving the attacks upon what they are and not just who they are. She spits verbal racial abuse at Warren and he beats her bloody, it's by no means tit-for-tat but it is a remarkable dynamic that serves his characters and Jackson and Jason Leigh perform their roles to an enviable degree.

The film itself, for better or worse, plays as a three hour rendition of the bar scene from Inglorious Basterds. It's a restrained location with a lot of build-up that ends in bloodshed, the camera-work and performances are excellent and inventive, very rarely leaving the audience wanting. In the The Hateful Eight there is some fantastic use of smoke and shadow to create new prolific images of Western iconography (most specifically involved in the barn and in a moment that involves rather outdated male-to-male sexual-violence-panic), most involving Jackson's Warren. The score by The Maestro himself, Ennio Morricone, is downright amazing and the lighting, while unnatural to the point of reminding us of the theatrical roots of the script, is particularly good. The biggest gripe of the film is born out of the second half, where the film takes a swift change in approach, giving the audience extended flashbacks and narration by Tarantino himself. It feels as though the director was replaced in the making of this film in a manner that it clashes with the first half but the brief intermission beforehand minimises the damage. The same cannot be said for one extended flashback involving a cameo that while tense, feels a bit too self-indulgent and unnecessary, even for this director.

The Hateful Eight may not save film but it is an event worth shelling out top dollar for, provided you can stomach the length and self-indulgence of it all.

Trailers Week 81: 24/01/2016

Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising

Because College girls have as much a right to be drunken idiots as College guys do. #Equality 

Well, not if Seth Rogen and Zac Efron can help it.

The Boy:
Oooooooooh a PG-13 horror movie with a surprisingly well-dressed little mannequin, scary! Starring Lauren Cohan.

Backtrack:

Michael Petroni (Writer for The Book Thief and a great little TV-series Miracles) brings us an Aussie thriller movie with Sam Neill, Bruce Spence and...Adrien Body? Should be a hoot.

Term Life:

This seems to be about a dad trying to rescue/train his daughter after a failed heist, or something...I dunno I was too distracted by Vince Vaughn's hair. 

Southbound:
More horror...

Keanu (Red Band):

From Key & Peele, Keanu might just be the most action-packed movie about rescuing a kitten yet. As stupid as it may turn out to be, you've gotta admit it looks like fun.

Suicide Squad:

Everybody's talkin' bout Suicide Squad

Carol

“Just when you think you can’t get any worse, you run out of cigarettes” 

Todd Haynes has previously demonstrated his expertise with character dramas in Far from Heaven and his miniseries Mildred Pierce. Now he reunites with his I’m Not There star, Cate Blanchett in Carol, an adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s novel of the same name. 

Christmas in the early 1950s. Therese Belivet (Rooney Mara), an amateur photographer, is working in Frankenberg’s department store, calm amongst the chaos of the seasonal period. Across the room, an elegant older woman, Carol (Cate Blanchett) admires a model train set. The two get chatting and she orders the trainset. After Carol ‘accidentally’ leaves her gloves behind in the store, Therese mails them off. So begins a series of rendezvous between these two women, stuck in their individual unsatisfying relationships and each looking for something more intimate. 

This really is a slow-burn character drama, which might not be to everybody’s tastes. It takes its time to build nuanced characters, although the interactions between Carol and Therese escalate into a relationship a little too quickly to be entirely believable. Phyllis Nagy’s screenplay does an excellent job of exploring sexuality beyond the confines of the labels. It’s difficult to tell exactly where the two leads each sit on the broad spectrum of sexual identity - given their unfulfilled yet notable liaisons with men - but the definitions get swept aside to focus on a multi-layered relationship between two women that aren’t sure where they’re going with their lives. 

Set in the 1950s, Carol manages to be subtle in its portrayal of the era, by which I mean it doesn’t overdo it to the point of caricature as some recent period pieces have. The film was shot on 16mm film by cinematographer Edward Lachman, and the soft, warm image with unexpectedly dull colours mirrors the tone of the film. At times Carol even takes on aspects of film noir, an effective style for both the setting and the duplicitous aspects of the story. 

Blanchett is, as usual fantastic. Carol’s dry-wit and cynicism act as a shield to the fragility that we as

an audience see in her. Her difficult husband and divorce proceedings are only part of the problem as she seems to be hiding more about herself than at first glance, which turns out to be her lack of satisfaction in life. All of this comes across with subtlety and ease thanks to Blanchett’s devoted understanding of the art. 

Rooney Mara is just as good; Therese in a similar yet different way to Carol, has a vulnerable streak to her and has an innocence that comes out through things like her photography. Although it’s more of an aside, Therese’s photographic hobby, in the way that it’s developed (pun not intended) felt like a nod to the naval-gazing characters of French new wave films. Carol could have so easily become a melodrama, but - aside from one scene - it manages to stay grounded thanks largely to the two lead performances. 

Todd Haynes has developed another detailed character drama with Carol, thanks to a great screenplay and brilliant performances. However as I said it is very much a slow-burn film and for quite a while I lost focus. I feel that I’ll need to see this again to really pick up on the details.

The Big Short

It seems like a low-blow to make a devastatingly satirical look at events so closely linked to the Global Financial Crisis when it’s effects are still being felt around the world, but Adam McKay (creator of Anchorman, Step Brothers and The Other Guys) strikes an empathetic balance with The Big Short. 

The year is 2005 and Michael Burry (Christian Bale), a mathematical genius and hedge-fund manager realises that the stability of the U.S housing market is being undermined by high-risk subprime loans. Burry predicts the market has approximately two years before a crash and decides to bet against the housing market with credit default swaps. Jared Vennett (Ryan Gosling) hears of this and decides to get in on the game and, thanks to a misdialed phone call, alerts another hedge-fund manager, Mark Baum (Steve Carell) to the scheme. A pair of young investors find a booklet of Vennetts and also hope to make some money out of default swaps, enlisting their friend and retired banker Ben Rickert (Brad Pitt) to help complete the transaction. 

The most crucial part of The Big Short is its focus on two shades of immorality. It pits those that recognise and take advantage of the housing market’s impending doom against the bankers that arrogantly continue to saturate the housing bubble. It doesn’t make it difficult to take sides - the four leads do at least have some empathy for those that will be hit worst by it - but that’s not really the point. It serves as a darkly enjoyable indictment of the financial industry’s greedy tunnel-vision. McKay creates an interesting focus on detail where he breaks the fourth wall with celebrities such as Anthony Bourdain, Selena Gomez and Margot Robbie explaining - or more precisely, dumbing-down - the financial terms operating within the scenes. Personally, these snippets didn’t particularly help me understand everything at play, but rather served to relax me enough into the story that I was happy to let the jargon go over my head. Of course the experience will be different for different viewers but I feel this was at least partly McKay’s intention. Otherwise he would have used Margot Robbie with a play-school diorama, not Margot Robbie in a bathtub. 

The four leads divide the film into different stories that really only slightly interweave as news of the scheme spreads, and most of the performances are great. The only issue with the way they emerge are the short backstories. They feel tacked-on, at times unnecessary and more crucially, jarringly break the satirical tone. Steve Carell is more-believable in this role than he was in Foxcatcher, and that’s not just because he’s constantly angry or that the comedic material is more to his style but because in that film he was so out of his own skin that I found it impossible not to just see a heavily disguised Steve Carell, whereas here he really makes Mark Baum his own. The same can’t be said about Gosling’s Jared Vennett, whose charismatic veneer can’t outweigh his belligerent lack of empathy. 

Christian Bale’s mildly-autistic performance is book-ended by a drumming heavy-metal admiration and a mathematical temperament. Like most of the leads, he has a refreshing honesty about him - particularly when he discusses with his investors via emails - and thankfully Bale doesn’t lean as heavily on the ‘rain man’ act as I had expected. Brad Pitt’s character is probably the most interesting in the movie, with his unusually subdued performance he portrays a man that has conflicting moral predicaments which become much more evident when the crash occurs. The Big Short undoubtedly takes influence from The Wolf of Wall Street, particularly in its willingness to break the fourth wall, but also in its editing style. McKay is not as heavy on the montages as Scorsese but its sense of hyperactivity is the same. Which is not to say that this is on par with Wolf but it is able to keep an audience’s attention through similar techniques. 

The Big Short proves that McKay can commit to satire with a strong sense of purpose. It catches the apathy of high-finance whilst still hinting at the human-suffering the crash causes, bolstered by some great performances from the leads.You’ll be laughing all the way through and feeling guilty about doing it.   

Trailers Week 80: 17/01/2016

Hey peeps, Ed here! Ja...uh I mean our official trailer guy is away, so I'll be covering the next few weeks of trailers, and we've got a real mixture this week.

Free State of Jones:

It's everybody's favourite southern actor, Matthew McConaughey in a civil war drama. The film is based on the true story of Newton Knight, who led an army of impoverished farmers against the confederates.

Triple 9:

Everybody's favourite southern actor, Kate Winslet, and the loveable English actress who shot to fame in the epic-romance Titanic, Woody Harrelson, stars in this thriller with all the hallmarks of a classic heist film: helicopters, masks, C4, the Russian mafia and of course, Casey Affleck. Also starring Chiwetel Ejiofor and Aaron Paul.

Money Monster

It's everybody's favourite Southern actor, Julias Roberts in yet another political thriller that tries to add action to the stock-market. Also starring George Clooney and Jack O'Connell.

Meet the Blacks:

It's everybody's favourite...ok I'll stop now...Meet the Blacks parodies an already mediocre film The Purge, where on one night of the year all crime is legal. The movie pits the KKK against a black family in a comedic Beverley Hill's mansion stand-off. Yes, it looks terrible.

Ip Man 3:
I can't speak for Ip Man 1 & 2, all I know is that Donnie Yen is a bad-ass, and that I have no context for why Mike Tyson is here, but whatever.

Sing Street:

John Carney (Once, Begin Again) is once again doing a music-centric film, and this time it's about putting a teenage band together to impress a girl, of course. Promises to be chock-a-block full of 80s hits.

10 Cloverfield Lane:

The J.J Abrams produced film gets a spiritual successor with less found-footage shaky-cam, and more John Goodman. That together with the fact that it's co-writen by Whiplash's Damien Chazelle, makes this secret project certainly something fans should keep an eye on. 

Green Room:

A horror film about a punk band getting trapped in a venue? With everybody's favourite southern actor, Patrick Stewart? Sounds like something to keep an eye on.

Jack's Top 5 of 2015

Another year done and a whole bunch of movies watched. Here are my Top 5 of 2015.

A Most Violent Year

Yes J.C. Chandor's slow burn crime(?) thriller was released on New Year's Eve 2014, but most of us would have seen it in the following month. The reason I love this movie so much was because it defied expectations of what it was supposed to be. Going in I thought this film was about the mafia because of it's 80's New York setting. Instead we got a subtle, nuanced film about the heating oil industry. And doing what is most right.

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

This indie film was an instant classic for me. It took me back to my own teen years and spoke to me in a language I know best, FILM! Its heartfelt story and performances from a young fresh cast that reaffirmed what I love about cinema and also really showed what can be done with a smaller budget, especially if there's a great script behind it.

Dope

Sometimes what makes a film great is its soundtrack and luckily Dope has a pretty fantastic soundtrack, full of hip-hop tracks that I grew up with. However, that's not what made Dope a fantastic film. The reason it's on my list is due to its amazingly tense script that is a real emotional roller coaster.

The Lobster

Yorgos Lanthimos' bizarre offbeat comedy was definitely not for everybody. The strange film deals with social norms around marriage and being in a relationship, but the reason it's on my list is just because it's just straight up absurdist comedy at its finest. Colin Farrell's constant confused looks are just enough to make me tear up with laughter.

Ex Machina

Alex Garland's tense sci-fi thriller brings up a lot of issues about what it is to be human. Alicia Vikander's amazing performance as Ava is subtle and enthralling and is backed up perfectly by Domhnall Gleeson. Oscar Isaac once again makes an appearance on this list because I think he is fantastic.

Honourable Mentions

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation - I'm such a huge fan of the Mission: Impossible movies that it would be wrong of me not to to include this exciting instalment at all.

Black Sea - This submarine thriller seriously came out of nowhere and blew me away at how nuanced it was. I thought I was going to watch some harmless action on a submarine, but was treated with some nice slow-burning tension.

Testament of Youth - This World War I biopic about a woman's experiences with having all the men close to her die during the war and struggling with perceptions of her place in society was pretty moving stuff.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Come on, it's the Wars! There's no way I couldn't mention it...

Trailers Week 79: 10/01/2016

Ratter

Lately horror movies have all taken a technological turn because that's the only way too scare teens these days. This one has a creepy stalker watching your every moment through your laptop and phone. Starring Ashley Benson and McGorry.

Elvis & Nixon

This hilarious looking comedy is the story behind when Elvis Presley met Richard Nixon because he wanted to be made a federal agent to fight communism. Starring Michael Shannon and Kevin Spacey.

High-Rise
This is an intense looking sci-fi thriller. High-Rise is set in a retro-future where the inhabitants of an apartment building are kept away from the outside world and Tom Hiddleston goes slowly insane. Also starring Jeremy Irons.

Terminus
Is this indie sci-fi flick about a nuclear end of the world or is it just aliens? No one can tell.

Tumbledown
The wife of a musician lets a writer come along and write a biography about him. It looks like a pretty standard movie really. Starring Rebecca Hall, Jason Sudeikis, Joe Manganiello and Blythe Danner.

The Conjuring 2
Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga return to investigate spooky goings-on but this time in England.

The Other Side of the Door
Why does she open the door? What did she think would happen? Anyway bringing your son back from the dead is never a good idea. Good one Sarah Wayne Callies.

All Roads Lead To Rome
Oh wow, a middle aged woman travels to Italy to find herself and rekindle her relationship with her daughter. I swear I've seen this movie before.

Sisters

On the surface, Sisters may seem like a basic and sometimes crass comedy and you know what? It is. But it has something that most generic gross-out comedies don't have, two of the funniest women ever in it. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler reunite on screen for the first time since 2008's Baby Mama and it is well worth the wait.

Maura (Amy Poehler) has been told by her parents Bucky and Deana (James Brolin and Dianne Wiest) that they are selling their house that she grew up in and that she and her sister Kate (Tina Fey) need to come and clear out the bedrooms they haven't lived in since they were teenagers. They want Maura to tell her sister because they are scared of how she would react. Kate meanwhile is struggling to keep a job and keep in contact with her daughter Haley (Madison Davenport) when she is lured down to Orlando by Maura. When Kate finds out the house is being sold she convinces Maura to have a big party there like they used to have when they were teenagers. Kate also convinces her to invite James (Ike Barinholtz), their cute neighbour from down the street.

This movie is really dominated by the comedy chops of both Fey and Poehler, leaving little room for the overall message of the film, something about how family is a feeling rather than a physical thing. The much bigger theme that I got out of this movie was have fun while you're young because there's a point where you get to when adult parties just become sitting around talking to each other. Unless that is your party is attending by a whole bunch of Korean partygirls and one big buff drug dealer. All of the jokes in the movie revolve around this or the fact that Maura and Kate are still living in their teen years of the 80s.

As I said, both Fey and Poehler are understandably fantastic, but what I was surprised at was the role reversal that they went through. For years I have seen Tina Fey as the voice of reason between the two because of roles like Liz Lemon in 30 Rock, but now Poehler is the responsible? It's a change I loved. Ike Barinholtz is lovably goofy as James and gets into a very uncomfortable situation and Maya Rudolph as super bitchy Brinda is hilarious. The stars of the supporting cast that stuck out for me were John Cena who was a lot funnier than his role in Trainwreck and Bobby Moynihan and Greta Lee make a great unlikely couple.

If you're a fan of both Fey and Poehler and want to see them reunite like I do then this movie is for you. If you're not then the take home message might not be enough to get you through it.

Ed’s Top 5 of 2015

2015 had a lot of great movies, with Sci-Fi and Fandom-driven films in particular making an impact. As usual it was difficult to choose, but here are my top 5 films of the newly-departed 2015, in ascending order and based on Australian release date so I can cheat again. 

2015 was a fantastic year for sci-fi, and The Martian is Ridley Scott’s beautiful return to cinematic-form. Andy Weir’s book of the same name may appear dry to some, but was exactly the nerdy-inoculation I needed to get through the year, and the film itself was one of the best adaptations I’ve seen in a long time. For something that could have turned into a contrived emotional journey, Scott kept The Martian true to itself with Mark Watney’s pessimistic humour that made the book so equally enjoyable, a reserved use of technology that keeps the film grounded, and a drive to rescue the most isolated man in the universe. 

Having seen first-hand the effects of dementia, Still Alice was a difficult-to-watch but completely on point representation of the horrifically sudden downfall experienced by dementia sufferers. It’s not a perfect film, it has some character issues and at times it resorts to heavy-handed film-making tactics, but any problems are completely outweighed by Julianne Moore’s brutally honest depiction of a person literally losing themselves. 

Okay, so it’s kind of unfair for me to clump two documentaries together on a so-called Top 5 list, but not only were these two the best documentaries offered up during the year, they also would work surprisingly well as a double-feature. Citizenfour follows Edward Snowden - a network-administrator now wanted for acts of espionage - as he unveils the shocking revelations that the NSA had been collecting personal data from all U.S citizens. What makes Citizenfour so unique is that Snowden is revealing the information directly to filmmaker Laura Poitras and journalist Glenn Greenwald, with the film itself acting as a pseudo-journal of the events. The film had a controversial release and all involved are supposedly still under the close watch of the U.S government, but it remains a thoroughly-well executed, harrowing glimpse at the ‘connected’ world we now inhabit. Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief could almost be considered a propaganda piece against the Church of Scientology, however with the help of ex-scientologists and Alex Gibney’s unflinching attention to detail, the film reveals a horrifically-bleak, sadistic side of The Church that had not been completely pieced together in similar pervious attempts. Individually, these films are astoundingly informative, together they open our eyes on some pretty disturbing truths. 

It takes a huge amount to get an animated film, or a kids film, or a Disney film to gain my respect but with predictable success, Pixar has done it again. Inside Out offers a unique view of the roles emotions play at different stages of life, and subtly encourages some cranial-gazing into our own mental health states. Pixar manages to deliver something for all ages here, perhaps more successfully than ever. What we get is a hugely entertaining, beautiful, funny and touching film that is at heart about the swift, uncompromising nature of a descent into depression, and how there’s always hope in fighting your way out of it. Inside Out is the emotional roller-coaster ride of the year and a must see film. 

Mad Max: Fury Road was the revelation of the year for me. Since Fury Road’s release way back in May, I’ve found myself repeatedly diving eagerly into its cacophonous world of orange hues, travelling desert symphonies and operatic allegories. Five times I’ve found myself staring down the supercharger of the war-rig and basking in the vindictiveness of Furiosa. The quirks, the choreography, the total devotion to post-apocalyptica. It’s all there and it gets more enjoyable every single time. After a thirty year hiatus, Fury Road is probably the most successful ‘revisiting’ to a classic/cult series, both in terms of approach and post-release acclaim. Miller continues the path set by The Road Warrior and elevates Max (and the world he inhabits) into mythology. Have no doubt about it, Fury Road is not only my top film of the year, it’s also the best action film of the decade thus far; probably since at least The Dark Knight. 

Honourable Mentions: 

The Force Awakens: The latest Star Wars felt like an emotional tribute to the original trilogy that didn’t just rely on obvious fan-service.

Ex Machina: This was a surprisingly uncomfortable film to watch, a cinematic uncanny-valley. With unique CGI and a sadistic performance from Oscar Isaac, Ex Machina will keep you thinking long afterwards.

Bridge of Spies: The latest Spielberg/Hanks collaboration marks a strong return to the classic espionage genre and brings unashamed humanity to a story that could have otherwise been extremely dry.

Last Cab to Darwin: A fantastic little Australian film, Last Cab is not only Michael Caton’s best performance, it also has a good crack at reinvigorating the euthanasia debate.

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl: Whilst a lot of this extremely self-conscious film plays out a little too much like another teenage melodrama, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl has a lot of heart. Plus, gotta love a few dodgy film parodies!

Point Break

Kathryn Bigelow’s 1991 film Point Break is considered a classic by many, and is one of several films that mark the transition in style between 80’s and 90’s action flicks. Now the latest in a string of Hollywood remakes, 2015/16’s Point Break, directed by Ericson Core, promises breathtaking action and a new take on the story. 

Johnny Utah (Luke Bracey) is an extreme-athlete that knows the ins-and-outs of just about every ultimate sport imaginable. After a tragic accident that claimed the life of his friend, Utah retires and trains as an FBI candidate. Utah is brought in to investigate a heist which ended with a parachute escape and soon draws a connection between several of these heists and a man known as Bodhi (Édgar Ramírez). Utah goes undercover and learns that the crime syndicate is composed of thrill-seekers that are attempting the ‘Osaki 8’, a series of ordeals that pit man against nature through extreme situations. 

The very first article I wrote for TOMB was essentially a rant about the ridiculousness of Hollywood remakes, and my opinions are still the same with the new Point Break. Point Break didn’t need a remake, just as much as Memento definitely doesn’t need a remake. This film is undeniably worse than the original – no matter what you may think of it – and this only got made because the various production companies involved understand how to exploit audiences with 3D thrillers and have a thirst for quick cash. Having said that, I have to give them credit for at least bringing in new elements to the story. I actually thought the idea of the Osaki 8 ordeals was quite cool, and visually the film is stunning, with beautiful locations and superbly choreographed stunts. 

The problem with Point Break is that basically every character in the film is an obnoxious wanker; from the FBI chief who always has his “ass on the line” for the mission, to Bodhi who lets the spiritual enlightenment of nature lead him through life, to Johnny Utah who somehow goes from an “extreme athlete” performing motocross stunts – a great opportunity for subliminal advertising from GoPro and Monster Energy drink – to an up and coming FBI agent who is conveniently assigned to a case on a syndicate of extreme athletes. Ray Winstone is totally wasted as Pappas, an agent in the cockney-branch of the FBI who stands around shouting, pumping his shotgun and growing a moustache. Luke Bracey brings little inspiration to Utah – his job is basically to show off his rock-hard abs looking sad – and Teresa Palmer’s Samsara is amazingly bland as Utah’s love interest. Characters died, and I honestly didn’t care. Johnny Utah in particular has severe character development issues. He starts off the film essentially as an extreme sports master and when he unsurprisingly finds himself in the middle of the Osaki trials – feats against nature that would make even Bear Grylls cower in a puddle of his own urine – he is not at all fazed. I mean he literally goes though the trials with a blank, disinterested face. The result is no tension and no risk to the payoff, which defeats the whole purpose of the trials. 

That just leaves Bodhi, who becomes the anti-hero (whatever that really means) of the film. He’s a bit of a Robin Hood type figure, following his own interpretation of Osaki’s teachings, “giving back” by taking from big corporations and distributing to the needy/the Earth, which is where the crime element comes in. Ultimately the real story is whether or not Bodhi will finish the Osaki 8 – which you genuinely hope he does – and whether the spiritual enlightenment gained from this achievement outweighs the crimes he’s committed to get there. I wouldn’t call the character fleshed out exactly, but Bodhi is the best that Point Break offers, and often that’s far from enough. 

Ericson Core also acted as cinematographer on Point Break, and perhaps he focused too much of his attention on camera settings and not enough on direction. The whole purpose of the remake seems like an opportunity to pander to those that live their lives strapping GoPro’s to things and performing sporty selfie-stick moves, a far-cry from the original action piece. However as I said before, they clearly didn’t use GoPro’s here because the film is absolutely stunning. I can’t speak for the 3D and honestly I don’t really care about it, but the 2D experience features jaw-dropping landscapes which once again more than prove the worth of Arri Alexa cameras. Comparisons could be made to last year’s Everest, however where that balanced cinematography with decent character and story, Core has decided that the buck stops with the visuals. 

Point Break is testament to the unimaginative recycle-for-cash nature of the current Studio system. Whilst the new story elements manage to bring something fresh to a fifteen year old film and the visuals are undeniably gorgeous, the shallow, ridiculous and annoying characters more than destroy any hope this film had for success. 

Trailers Week 78: 03/01/16

Lazer Team

Okay, so this movie comes from Youtube channel Rooster Teeth and if anyone was doubting how successful Youtube stars could be, then look no further than an actual feature film that gets released. Like seriously? Or maybe it's just a slow trailer week...

Only Yesterday

I should really class this as a classic trailer since the movie was released in Japan in 1991, but this Studio Ghibli classic is finally getting a release in the good ol' US of A.

Zootopia

What I'm looking forward to with Disney's latest is the accurate scale that the animals have to one another.

Gravy

When there's no big release trailers happening, you really have to scrape deep into indie film territory and when you it's surprisingly refreshing. Gravy looks to be quite a gem. Starring Sutton Foster, Lily Cole, Jimmi Simpson and Sarah Silverman.

Mountain Men

Two brothers get stuck in the frozen wastes of nowhere after they burn down their hut. Now they must trek to safety. Starring Chace Crawford and Tyler Labine.