Eye in the Sky

“You tell us when to go to war, we conduct the war, and then you deal with the consequences”

In 2014, Andrew Niccol’s Good Kill opened up a contemporary subgenre for war films, which is now being build upon with Gavin Hood’s drone thriller Eye in the Sky, starring Helen Mirren, Aaron Paul, Alan Rickman and Barkhad Abdi.

Colonel Katherine Powell (Helen Mirren) is leading a secret drone reconnaissance mission against a known terrorist group and in particular, a rogue British citizen turned terrorist. On the ground, she’s in communication with local Kenyan undercover agent Jama Farah (Barkhad Abdi) and with her superior in Whitehall Lieutenant General Frank Benson (Alan Rickman). Over in the U.S, drone pilot 2nd Lieutenant Steve Watts (Aaron Paul) has just taken control of the aircraft and is in communication with the Colonel. The situation quickly disintegrates as the terrorists move location and the orders change to kill. But when a local Kenyan girl suddenly enters the equation, the question of collateral damage comes into play.

Gavin Hood’s last two films; X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Ender’s Game were monsters, with budgets well over $100 million. Eye in the Sky is a much smaller, taughter and more intelligent thriller that could have so easily fallen into tedious territory. Instead, it embraces its subject matter and - thanks to writer Guy Hibbert - presents a much more morally ambiguous take on drone warfare than you would at first think. Where Good Kill hid the ethical dilemma of drone warfare behind a pilot’s souring relationship with his family, this film puts it right at the forefront, with the military legalities and political disputes all focusing on the potential collateral damage of the situation when a young girl selling bread enters the kill zone. But Hood makes a concerted effort to justify, or at the very least explain the reasoning for both firing the deadly missile or for not. What we get is a denouement similar to Gus Van Sant’s Elephant, unsure what to make of the final outcome it forces us to consider the impact long after the credits roll.

Eye in the Sky is a masterclass in taking a simple story with simple production values and using those elements to build tension from the get go. You will never be more stressed out watching a girl selling bread than you are here. Certainly its ability to hold your attention through what is essentially an hour and a half of phone conversations is down to the abilities of its four key leads. Helen Mirren brings a fiery rage to the film, with her Colonel acting in a front-lines mindset despite being in a small English bunker. Her much more reserved superior brings poise to the situation thanks to a balanced, memorable performance from the late great Alan Rickman. Aaron Paul’s all-too brief scenes mark certainly his best dramatic appearance since hanging up the gas-mask, and Barkhad Abdi is slowly making clear that he won’t be typecast from his Captain Phillips role.

There are certain elements of the film that are less believable, the Kenyan intel use insect and wildlife drones to capture information discreetly and whilst I understand this technology is in development, I doubt even the U.S military have it engineered to the level that is portrayed. Iain Glen makes an appearance, dealing with various foreign ministers whilst tackling a bout of food poisoning, which feels like it’s supposed to be some kind of weird, unnecessary comic relief. Some of the political figures also seem to be blown out of proportion, getting hysterical at every opportunity. I can understand the emotional contour they’re trying to create with this but it can come off as overly-dramatic. However none of these small issues were really enough to harm what is ultimately a very strong piece of filmmaking.

Eye in the Sky is the sort of film you wish for as a reviewer, one that pops up with little anticipation and takes you by surprise. It’s a well-developed, well-acted, insightful and utterly tense example of how small-budget films can be extremely effective, and a great contemporary addition to the war genre. Do yourself a favour, go see this over Batman v Superman.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

I figured out while watching this movie that the story I really want to see is the love story between Thomas and Martha Wayne (Batman's parents) because maybe I'll actually feel some emotion after seeing them get shot for the thousandth time. But alas this isn't that movie. It's a movie about Superman, so let's get to it.

Set two years after the events of Man of Steel and America is still reeling after Superman (Henry Cavill) destroyed Metropolis City while trying to defeat General Zod. Several people are upset about this and none more so than billionaire Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck). As his crime fighting alter ego Batman, he is dedicated to find a way to show people that Supes is not the hero that everyone wants him to be. Meanwhile, Clark Kent is also trying to write a story showing that Batman is a reckless danger on Gotham City. Between the two dynamos is Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg), who is plotting for each hero to bring down the other, all the while doing research in both metahumans (AKA future movie heroes) like Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) and finding a way to turn the people of the world against Superman.

As you can probably tell from that description, there's a lot going on in this movie. And that's a huge problem that is endemic to a lot of these superhero movies. The studios feel as though audiences are stupid and have to cram as much as possible in a single movie to sell movies that have not yet even been written. Batman v Superman has this in spades, introducing every future superhero in the DC Universe, even if it's only for two seconds at a time. These other hero cameos also just serve as a distraction that the film that you're currently watching isn't any good. This is because it is too full. The convoluted plot tries to fit in two introductions of new characters, although Batman really doesn't need any introduction, and Wonder Woman is really only introduced by maybe five lines of dialogue that doesn't give any insight at all to who she is or where she comes from. And in the middle of all this happening, we are treated to a lengthy and jarring dream sequences that diehard comic fans will be able to link to the Flashpoint storyline, but regular moviegoers might get lost with (if you're part of the latter group, maybe just take a squiz at that link). This really could have been chopped out to make a more streamline story.

The aesthetics of this movie are nothing we haven't seen before either. A lot of CGI smash on smashfest that is just moved to an abandoned part of Gotham because people got so up in arms about that happening in Man of Steel. Newsflash Zack Snyder, taking the people out of the equation won't change people's opinions on the wonton destruction of cities. Side note: while we're on Gotham City, did anyone else notice that it seemed really close to Metropolis, almost as if it were in the Greater Metropolis Area? Because you can definitely see the Bat-signal from Metropolis. Back to visuals now. Why was everything slowed down? I can get the need for some stylising of the fight sequences, but there's a whole slo-mo montage of Superman doing his super thing all around the world. I get that it's building dramatic tension, but this movie is way too dramatic for it's own good.

None of this movie's performances warrant anything to write about, but I will anyway because you know I'm that kind of guy. But because there's so many, I'll be brief about each. Henry Cavill could really instil some of his own real-life charm because Superman is too dark and brooding. On the flip side, Ben Affleck barely brooded at all, which is the only thing Batman is really good at. Up until the last five to ten minutes Gal Gadot was really only eye candy for male teenagers and then she became a badass with the only good musical theme in the whole movie. Jesse Eisenberg was over the top as a character who is supposed to be a restrained genius, not the Joker. Jeremy Irons was a very believable Alfred and the total opposite to Michael Caine, so I'm torn there. Laurence Fishburne was too wacky as Perry White this time round. Tao Okamoto, Callan Mulvey and Scoot McNairy weren't in it enough for my liking.

Five minutes into this movie, I found myself thinking, "This movie needs more Wes Bentley." If you're as confused by that sentence as I am, then allow me to explain. If a movie doesn't impress me in the first five minutes, I often think that only the appearance of Wes Bentley will make it better for me. Granted, it's not a thought I find myself with often, but this was definitely one of them. The lack of Wes and the frustrating slowness of Batman v Superman left me sadder than Ben Affleck. Nawww, poor Ben, won't you let us know what's going through that head?

Trailers Week 90: 27/03/2016

Bridget Jones's Baby:

What's next in the long line of forgotten movies getting sequels? Bridget Jones apparently.

Deepwater Horizon:

With a Michael-Bayesque title and the promise of at least one fireball, the BP oilspill is the latest tragedy to hit the silver screen, although this does have a pretty epic cast.

 War Dogs:

This trailer really shows the power of suits, money, war and flashy montages because I have no idea what it's about but already want to see it. The fact that it's directed by Todd Phillips does set-off alarm bells though.

Love and Friendship:
Something, something, period piece.

Last Days in the Desert:

An allegorical chapter in the story of Jesus Christ. Let the Obi-Wan conspiracies commence.

Hush:

It wouldn't be a trailer's roundup without at least one horror film. Urgh.

The Lego Batman Movie:

Of course Batman from The Lego Movie is getting a spin-off, duh. We get a first tease of what's going to be in this admittedly fun-looking movie.

Zootopia

Disney knows it’s the king of anthropomorphic animation, and the company sticks to its strengths with the Byron Howard/Rich Moore helmed Zootopia. It might not be a Pixar feature, but Zootopia promises plenty of fun scenes and more than just one mystery beneath its surface.

In a world of talking mammals (not to be confused with the world of talking reptiles in Disney’s upcoming Reptilia) a small rabbit from the countryside, Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) goes against the expectations of her carrot farming parents to become the first rabbit police officer. Judy travels to the massive city of Zootopia, where - much like when other young people first go out into the world - she inhabits a small apartment with noisy neighbours and realises her job isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Parking Officer Judy meets con-artist Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) on one of her shifts, and immediately takes a dislike to him, given her previous experiences with foxes. After abandoning her post to pursue a thief, her unimpressed supervisor, Chief Bogo (Idris Elba) gives her one last chance; to solve a missing mammals case in 48 hours. With her job on the line, Judy discovers that Nick was one of the last known mammals to see the victim. Tracking Nick down, Judy convinces him to help her, teaching kids watching the movie a valuable lesson in blackmail.

Zootopia started off tooting the same ‘follow your dreams’ mantra that Disney has heralded for many years, which plagued the awful Tomorrowland, and to a much lesser extent Big Hero 6. Not that it’s a bad concept to be communicating the power of ambition to kids, but it does wear-out very quickly. Thankfully however, after the first act and when the story takes an investigative arc, Zootopia gets into gear. As always there are a smattering of jokes tailored just for adults - such as a well-handled series of references to The Godfather - but despite its PG rating, there’s not a lot that would go over kids heads.

There’s a decent amount of tension as the mystery unfolds - especially in some of the darker scenes - and elements of the plot are surprisingly relevant, touching on social and racial issues that are all the buzz right now thanks to the U.S presidential election, among other events. However, it does seem to push these themes a little too blatantly for my liking, and for a standout Disney film it still doesn’t reach the same level of emotional complexity of even an average Pixar film.

Animation wise though, you can see the influence of Pixar on the team at their sister studio, because Zootopia screams forth with vibrant, fluid imagery that perfectly captures the tone of Zootopia and its many districts. Whilst not revolutionary in style, the animation will have sucked you into the world even before Judy reaches the big city. Matching the visuals, we get well-rounded voice work from the entire cast, thanks to the talents of Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Idris Elba, J.K Simmons and many others, as well as witty dialogue from Howard and co-writer Jared Bush. The characters themselves are as diverse as their animal pedigree, pitting the overly-excited Judy against the grumbling Chief Bogo, the sly Nick against the weasley Duke Weaselton, and who couldn’t love Simmon’s Mayor Lionheart, easily *unimpressive Zorg accent* my favourite.

Zootopia may be pushing its values further than its story can take them, but it’s still a beautiful, well-acted, enjoyable family movie with just enough edge and mystery to keep it interesting.

Trailers Week 89: 20/03/15

Sausage Party (NSFW)

Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg's new movie looks quite creative; an animated movie about food that finds out what humans actually use it for. It does look quite funny. Starring the regular crew.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Tim Burton returns with another adaptation of a kid's book. It sort of looks like X-Men junior and without so many things trying to kill you. Oh no, I was wrong, it's a Tim Burton movie. Starring Eva Green.

Now You See Me 2

The bank robbing magicians are back, but with a few more members. I really want to see Daniel Radcliffe do some actual magic. Also starring Lizzy Caplan.

Central Intelligence

I can just imagine Kevin Hart and Dwayne Johnson being friends in real life.

Ben-Hur

Who had the great idea to remake an award-winning film? It doesn't even need remaking because the story isn't relevant anymore. Starring Jack Huston, Toby Kebbell and Morgan Freeman.

X-Men: Apocalypse

Each time the X-Men come together the threat just gets bigger and bigger, this time it's a god. If you ask me, Oscar Isaac is a god. I just want to see more of Evan Peters as Quicksilver.

The Legend of Tarzan

This story just seems so boring and worn out to me. We get it, he grew up in the jungle raised by gorillas. Hopefully they use the part when Tarzan is back in England more.

The Shallows

Welcome to Australia, Blake Lively, we have sharks here.

Back in the Day

This looks like an updated Rocky for a new generation. But also like, you know, serious and maybe even good. Starring Alec Baldwin, Michael Madsen and Danny Glover.

Genius

A writer and his editor work hard to cut down his five thousand page masterpiece. Starring Jude Law, Colin Firth, Nicole Kidman, Laura Linney and Guy Pearce.

London Has Fallen

Remember how great it was when everyone made fun of Hollywood for bring out the same movie twice in 2013 (although it's far from the first time they've done it). The White House fell down twice in one summer and everyone had a chuckle. Now think about this, the one that gets a sequel was the one where the president isn't black. That's something we should all think about. But don't worry people, the Vice President is Morgan Freeman in this one, we can all breathe a collective sigh of relief.

The set up for this movie is either one big joke or whoever wrote this movie must be highly uneducated. The Prime Minister of England dies of a heart attack and all the major leaders of the western world attend the state funeral. Ok let's start, yes, if the sitting Prime Minister of England died, there would be state funeral. Would all the world leaders attend? Probably not, they have countries to run. If leaders did come, they wouldn't be from Italy, Germany and Japan, but New Zealand, Australia and Canada (don't worry Canada, you get repped in this movie). President Benjamin Asher (Aaron Eckhart) does attend, but can't help but feel like something will go wrong (because when all the world leaders get together something is bound to go wrong, just like in real life). The head of his Secret Service detail Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) feels the same. And just like the end of Ghostbusters or people who still believe in The Secret, they will the bad stuff to happen. Terrorists, led by weapons dealer Amir Barkawi (Alon Moni Aboutboul), end up hijacking London and killing all the leaders apart from the faithful President, who survives thanks to his one man army.

This may be an unpopular opinion, but I found myself siding with the terrorists on this one. I mean the Americans did approve a drone strike on a wedding where they knew more civilians were than terrorists were present. We live in a world where there's a movie about the decision to commit to a drone strike because there's a single child in the neighbourhood (see Eye in the Sky), so a mass murder like this seems very extreme. I'm surprised they waited two years to retaliate. An even more bizarre thing about this movie is that director Babak Najafi is Iranian and although the bad guys in this movie are Pakastani, it is still a very anti-Muslim, pro-Western democracy movie. The bad guys are treated like characters in a video game and the movie does have the sensibilities of one. The action sequences toward the end even feel like you're playing a level of Call of Duty, complete with a hard to beat villain at the end.

The casting seems very off for this movie. I understand bringing back the three main leads, Butler, Eckhart and Freeman, and tossing in a new villain, but did they really have to use Melissa Leo and Robert Forster again. They play bigwigs in the US Defence Force and you barely see them at all. Both are veteran actors whose talents could be put to better use elsewhere. Same could be said of Jackie Earle Haley who is introduced only to say a couple of lines in the background. Gerard Butler really needs to stick to roles where he can use his natural Scottish accent because he has a horrible American one. British actress Charlotte Riley could have used more screen time because she was fantastic as MI6 agent Jax. The same could be said of Patrick Kennedy who was a minor villain. Both Waleed Zuaiter and Alon Moni Aboutboul were fantastically underused.

Despite the video game aesthetics there really isn't anything remotely enjoyable about London Has Fallen except maybe the caricatures of current world leaders.

Grimsby

Sacha Baron Cohen has taken a more restrained direction with his latest movie, Grimsby. Although it's not his first fully integrated fiction film, that was in 2012 with The Dictator, it is one where he hasn't gone over the top with his main character. That's not to say, however, that this film is filled with all the gross jokes you'd come to expect from his comedy. Combine these with an experienced action director like Louis Leterrier and you get a pretty enjoyable action-comedy.

Nobby (Baron Cohen) is living a happy life in the north of England. The only thing missing is his younger brother Sebastian (Mark Strong) who was adopted without him when they were younger. Sebastian is now a spy working for MI6 and Nobby finally gets a chance to reunite with him when he hears that Sebastian will be attending a charity event. Sebastian is actually at the event to prevent an assassination attempt on Rhonda George (Penélope Cruz), the head of a global health charity. Nobby manages to mess it up for him (and give Daniel Radcliffe AIDS in the process) and soon they are both on the run with MI6 believing Sebastian to be a rogue agent. The only way to clear his name is to find who was behind the attempt in the first place.

Grimsby is a pretty funny movie, I should say that right of the bat. But then again the jokes are the typical Sacha Baron Cohen "I'm going to shock you into laughing" jokes. They usually involve an extreme sexual gag, like Nobby having to suck a toxin from Sebastian's testicles. Some of these jokes come back in various forms throughout the film in more extreme instances than the last. Not all of them are as low-brow as these. There is a joke later about how guns remove guilt from the act of killing. That's a pretty complex joke once you think about it.

I do think Grimsby might be in need of some structural reshuffling. There was a missed opportunity in giving the audience some serious misdirection in the type of film they are watching. I think if they had have started on one of Sebastian's action missions and then reveal that it's actually a comedy. That's what I would have done anyway. The direction all up is fantastic. Louis Leterrier, who has previously worked on The Transporter series of films, brings his experience in action movies and melds it perfectly with Cohen's comedic sensibilities. The action sequences don't take up too much of the film, but they are snappy and well done when they do show.

Sacha Baron Cohen's Nobby is quite a fun character to watch. He really does mean well and he just wants to help his brother but he can't help from screwing up. A fun detail I realised was that his sideburns are mismatched in length, which is one of those small things Cohen does with his characters. Mark Strong has probably missed his chance to play James Bond (a shame if you ask me), but he does a great job playing him here. He has some rather subtle emotional moments after his flashbacks to when he and Nobby were younger that he carries quite nicely. Cohen's wife Isla Fisher is quite good as Sebastian's ally in MI6 and Rebel Wilson plays the same old character, this time just from the north of England. Although she's the main villain, Penélope Cruz hardly gets enough time to show off any of her acting skills.

While it may not be as punchy as Borat and Brüno, Grimsby is a pretty funny comedy of two worlds clashing together. Sometimes it can be a bit culturally homogenous and not all the references will be gotten, but watching Sacha Baron Cohen come up against a proper actor like Mark Strong makes it a pretty fun watch.

Trailers Week 88: 13/03/16

Friend Request
Some people are really scary about this whole social media thing.

The Trust

Elijah Woods and Nicolas Cage play two inept cops who intend to rob a drug dealer. Everything about that sentence makes me laugh.

The Adderall Diaries

A true crime author is researching a new novel when his abusive father wants to reconnect with him, making him relive the past. Starring James Franco, Amber Heard, Jim Parrack, Ed Harris and Christian Slater.

Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (NSFW)

Justin Bieber gets parodied by Andy Samberg and The Lonely Island in this mockumentary about the life of a modern pop star. If I had that much money I'd probably hire Will Forte to play bagpipes for me too.

Captain America: Civil War

It's Spiderman, guys!

Florence Foster Jenkins

For once Meryl Streep gives it her all and then not quite perform. Also starring Hugh Grant and Simon Helberg.

A Hologram for the King

Tom Hanks plays a man who needs a new start in life. Where better to start again than Saudi Arabia.

One More Time
Watch as Christopher Walken mispronounces things because of his cadence. Is Oliver Platt playing his son? Also starring Amber Heard.

The Finest Hours

I’ve talked before about my love-hate relationship with disaster movies. Why just last year I thoroughly enjoyed Everest, (and seemed to be the only one) whilst other more bombastic films like San Andreas prove to be the steaming-turds they make themselves out to be. It’s rather fitting that most disaster movies by their very nature seem to teeter on the edge of failure, with many falling deep into the abyss of characterless, CGI-driven ludicrousy. For this very reason it’s all the more rewarding to sift through the crap and find those movies that actually bring something to the genre. Disney’s The Finest Hours is not one of those movies 

In 1952 off the New England coastline, a north-easterly shears the oil tanker SS Pendleton in half. The coast guard are dealing with another tanker in a similar position and can’t afford to send all their men to it. Bernard Webber (Chris Pine) is selected to pilot a lifeboat to the Pendleton, a lifeboat which is only designed to hold 12 people, but with 32 crewmen to save. 

It’s clear that the best disaster films hold a close relation to adventure films, whether it be Everest, Twister or All is Lost, there’s something about pioneers/explorers and their tragic destinies that appeal, and like a lot of films it helps if the story is grounded with realism and not Mayan prophecies. The Finest Hours bases itself off the true story of the SS Pendleton, and right off the bat it would be wise to read up before you enter the cinema, because the impenetrable New England accents combined with the gale-force sound effects make it almost impossible to understand what is going on most of the time. Directed by Craig Gillespie of Disney’s Million Dollar Arm, an equally unambitious movie, The Finest Hours seems content with letting melodrama and routine plot drive the movie, and as such it became increasingly difficult to invest in the characters or the events. 

Chris Pine gives a flat uninteresting performance equaled by many of the supporting cast, and honestly the only noteworthy performance was Casey Affleck. There’s an air of the old-fashioned both in the setting and style of this film and thankfully the CGI manages to restrain itself in the big set pieces, although by the time we get to these, any sense of tension is well and truly gone. I do respect the decision to take the time to try and build some of the characters, but as it focuses on two parties - those on the wrecked ship and the coastguard - it still never really gives enough time to any of them whilst still managing to slow the film down and move away from the action. There’s also a love story which feels very much tacked on. 

There’s not a lot more to say about The Finest Hours. Despite, or perhaps due to a surprisingly reserved style of filmmaking it fails to deliver on a story that had potential. Maybe that’s why it’s ended up in the early ‘dumping ground’ period of the year.

13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi

 

"What can I do?" "Get some F-16's to put the fear of God and the United States of America into them."

A major part of Michael Bay's signature style and quite possibly a part of his successful formula is his fervent desire to lionise the doers in his films. The cops of Bad Boys refusing to give up, the blue-collar spirit of Armageddon's drillers, the motive of Ed Harris' villain from The Rock, the never-give-up spirit of the Transformers, or the gung-ho can-do attitude of military and police officers in all his films, who are often portrayed or advised by real military officers. 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi puts the spirit of action-over-diplomacy as a mission statement wherein covert military contractors are assigned to protect a CIA outpost and a nearby American embassy when angry militia groups in the politically turbulent city of Benghazi, Libya attack in the wake of Muammar Gaddafi's death. In 2012, Benghazi is overrun by militia gangs battling for control on the post-Gaddafi powstarcuum, ex-Navy Seal Jack Da Silva (Kransinski) lands in Bengazhi and as he is being eyed up by the local populace he meets up with his friend and team leader Tyrone "Rone" Woods (Badge Dale) who, after a tense stand-off in a militia road-checkpoint, introduces him to the small team of military contractors and CIA personnel all under the authority of "The Chief" (David Constabile of TV's Breaking Bad). The Chief and Rone are at constant odds with Rone demanding actions and escalations of security with the Chief demanding the Americans maintain a low profile. This all comes to a head when the nearby residence of US Ambassador Stevens is attacked and Rone demands his team be dispatched to protect their countrymen.

It's painfully clear how earnest and personal this film is for Bay, and it shows as one of his more mature and restrained movies. While visually and thematically the film borrows heavily from (and even explicitly mentions) Ridley Scott's Black Hawk Down, there is enough of the positive and negative sides of Bayhem on show. The film wastes little time throwing Silva and Rone into a tense stand-off minutes in with the first lines of dialogue being no-nonsense military banter regarding weaponry and tactics. Much of the dialogue is fast-paced and jargon-filled, and little time is is spent on the political dynamics on moral motivations behind the American presence there, or even on the mind-set of the Benghazi people. Instead the majority of characters are one-dimensional and exist as little beyond their jobs and the people of Benghazi are either by-standers, hidden foes or questionable friends. Often the concept of the hidden threat and shady allegiances is used to surprisingly effective degree, but this only comes into question about an hour into the film. Up until this point 13 Hours is a slog of poorly mixed dialogue, doers-versus-thinkers headbutting and action-espionage, but when the action kicks off Bay hits his stride.

By this point it's worth mentioning that 13 Hours is not a film for the mainstream, it's a passion-project with no real lead star about a politically complex and unpopular incident. This is a film made for the US military, it's fans and fans of war-action in general and this is the bread-and-butter of Bay's film-making. While he's most often derided for his unrestrained, high-octane,cluttered, and at times incomprehensible action-style with heavy effects in 13 Hours it works wonders. The action scenes are chaotic, but the protagonists move through it with order and purpose, with bystanders and potential foes and friends leaping out of the dark, bushes and through fire. With little CGI Bay and cinematographer Dion Beebe (Edge of Tomorrow, Memoirs of a Geisha, Collatoral) use a vast array of visual styles to create an exceptional warzone. And the usually indulgent and intrusive aspects of Bay's visual style really pay off here such as perspective shots from guns, documentary-style night-vision filters, Bay's beloved helicopter shots, plenty of hand-held and steadi-cam, unmotivated lights, low angles, fast-paced tracking shots, telephoto lenses, the time of the day constantly changing, smoke, dust, blood, sweat and dirt just look and feel great. It's visceral, engaging and at times immersive. It works, the fights don't feel epic they feel efficient, brutal, enhanced but certainly the grit and uncertainty of reality is present. Bay and Beebe also have a strong eye for some beautiful colour and composition, it's not rife with meaning but it's technically beautiful.

13 Hours is a strange beast. It's Michael Bay's most restrained film by a certain degree, but at the same time it's exactly as trashy (in terms of narrative and character) with unintelligible dialogue (see J. J. Abrams Star Wars and Star Trek to see a good version of this kind of dialogue) and it's made to directly appease a niche audience but teach nothing new or give any depth they didn't already feel. But at the same time it's one of the best depictions of war-combat in recent times, the action is engrossing and tense all the way through the film's almost egregious running time. If you like good gunfights and want to see more John Kransinski, maybe this is the film for you.

Triple 9

Aussie director John Hillcoat is no stranger to making brutally violent films. Triple 9 is no exception to this rule, showing the brutal lengths that people will go to when their backs are against the wall. While it is an enjoyable heist movie, it can at times seem a bit predictable and some of the character motivations aren't even evident.

In Atlanta, a small crew of criminals led by Michael Atwood (Chiwetel Ejiofor) are made to pull a heist on a bank by Russian mobster Irina Vlaslov (Kate Winslet). Among the crew are two corrupt cops, Marcus Belmont (Anthony Mackie) and Franco Rodriguez (Clifton Collins Jr), as well as brothers Russell (Norman Reedus) and Gabe (Aaron Paul). Despite the fact that they pulled off the heist without a hitch, the crew are forced to pull another with even higher stakes. To help avoid police attention, they come up with a scheme to murder a police officer, which they know the cops will have a higher priority to get to. They decide upon Chris (Casey Affleck), Marcus' new partner. Meanwhile, Chris' uncle Jeffrey (Woody Harrelson) is investigating the crew.

Triple 9 ends up being a very generic heist movie. It does have some surprises, but it turns out to be very predictable. As you watch it, you can pick out who will turn on who and which characters will end up dying. I suppose that that is one thing where John Hillcoat makes a tiny bit of a difference. Life in this movie is cheap, people die when you think for sure that they are the main character. Maybe that stems from packing the movie with so many big name actors. I felt as though they were all important because of the star power that they brought to the movie. Turns out, they aren't.

Another problem that arises from stacking a movie like this with stars is that no one stands out in any way. Actors like Teresa Palmer, Gal Gadot, Norman Reedus and Michael K. Williams were only cast so that their names could be put on the poster so that people would go see the film. Casey Affleck, who ends up becoming the main character only appears after twenty minutes into the action. Clifton Collins Jr. is the only actor to give a truly good performance as the surprising second villain only due to the fact that he has no star power and has to work to be noticed. Kate Winslet is also good, but only when you compare how different her role here compared to Rose in Titanic is.

All in all Triple 9 is a movie that you're going to watch for the action over the story. It has surprisingly little heart. If anything you're not going to ever want to go to Atlanta.

Trailers Week 87: 06/03/16

Louder Than Bombs

Finally a much awaited biopic about influential rap group Public Enemy....wait, sorry what's that? It's a movie about a family struggling with the truth about the death of their mother? Oh, that's no reason to get excited. Starring Jesse Eisenberg and Amy Ryan.

Ice Age: Collision Course

Sorry to spoil this one for you kids, but in the end, they all die. It's called a mass extinction event. See, we also teach science here.

Rio, I Love You

The same format as previous films Paris, Je'Taime and New York, I Love You, famous directors and actors team up to make short films about love, this time in Rio De Janeiro. Starring Emily Mortimer, Rodrigo Santoro, Harvey Keitel, Vincent Cassel and Jason Isaacs.

The Angry Birds Movie

Some birds get angry about some bad pigs stealing their eggs. Starring Jason Sudeikis, Peter Dinklage, Josh Gad and Kate McKinnon.

Finding Dory

Dory gets lost trying to get home to her parents. Starring Ellen DeGeneres, Kaitlin Olson, Idris Elba and Michael Sheen.

Ghostbusters

Our first look at the Ghostbusters reboot. I hope that they end up fighting one big ghost instead of lots of small ones because that's what made the original movies so good. Also Kate McKinnon's craziness seems to be a good enough reason to watch.

The Meddler

Susan Sarandon's husband dies and she ends up having way too much time on her hands. So she ends up seeing if her daughter needs help with everything. Also starring Rose Byrne and J.K. Simmons.

Nina

In this week's edition of celebrity biopic, we get to look at the complicated life and comeback of musician Nina Simone. Starrin Zoe Saldana and David Oyelowo.

Kill Command

This robots are the kind who can learn. To kill.

Hail, Caesar!

The Coen brothers have been making movies for over thirty years, making classics like Fargo, The Big Lebowski and No Country For Old Men. These movies leave you with one feeling above all; satisfied. Their latest movie, Hail, Caesar!, feels more like the fast food version of one their films, it feels good while you're watching it, but later you wonder if you really needed it after all.

Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin) is the head of production for Capitol Pictures. He is also a 'fixer' and helps get movie stars out of sticky situations. One of these situations arises when the studio's biggest stars Baird Whitlock (George Clooney) goes missing when he is shooting a biblical epic about Jesus. Meanwhile he has to deal with an array of problems on the studio lot, including Western star Hobie Doyle (Alden Ehrenreich) moving to a more dramatic role where he clashes with director Laurence Laurentz (Ralph Fiennes) over directing choices and the pregnant actress DeeAnna Moran (Scarlett Johansson) has to search for a father for her unborn child. Floating in the background are the Thacker sisters (both played by Tilda Swinton), rival gossip columnists who are on the prowl for the latest Hollywood scoop.

Hail, Caesar! is a glowing tribute to the Golden Era of Hollywood. The Coen's parody an array of movies and stars from this period, including Kirk Douglas and Charlton Heston, costume dramas, westerns and musicals. In fact there is a fantastic extended song and dance number by Channing Tatum which is a joy to watch. The subject of communism in Hollywood is broached upon, but it is in a rather lighthearted way. The blacklisted writers are shown as diehard followers of the cause and will even help people defect to Russia. This movie is also a defence for anyone who loves cinema. The Throughout the the film, Mannix is repeatedly targeted by the jet company Lockheed, whose representative implores him to leave the movie industry behind, calling it silly and frivolous. Ultimately Mannix sticks with the industry because he loves.

Josh Brolin's Eddie Mannix is a strong central character. He embodies the no-nonsense studio exec who relies on things to run on clockwork perfectly. Brolin has enough range to do serious and character roles like this one. He isn't taking himself too seriously, which suits the role amazingly. All the characters apart from Mannix don't get too much screen time, but the actors who play them leave a mark. George Clooney who I think of as quite a strong figure in Hollywood, plays the stereotypically cowardly and bumbling movie star. Alden Ehrenreich gives a funny performance as Hobie Doyle, as he struggles to give the articulation needed for more dramatic roles. Ralph Fiennes also gives a hilarious performance as his over-the-top English director. Channing Tatum and Scarlett Johansson both have extended musical numbers in which they are great.

I did leave Hail, Caesar! feeling slightly empty, like I hadn't really taken anything away from it. But as I look back on the film, it is filled with enjoyable tidbits and cameos that will keep you enjoying it for days after.