Doctor Strange

I know that this review is a little late, but get excited kids, its finally here. The film that caused so much controversy in its decision to cast Bananapops Cucumberpatch (we all know who I’m talking about) as the title character that many fans revolted against it before even seeing a trailer. Before we pull at that thread and this review unravels completely into a lesson about whitewashing, let’s talk about the film as a whole. To be honest, I was actually really excited for this film after seeing the trailer. The special effects, the magic, the…oh who am I kidding, I’m really only seeing this because I’ve been harbouring an all consuming love for Mads Mikkelson ever since that first season of Hannibal. Anyway, let’s move on.

Doctor Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), a young neurosurgeon with a penchant for pushing the boundaries within his work, has been living a life of constant success: he’s recognised as one of the best in his field, is well respected, and although he has a reputation for being a bit of an ass, he is skilled enough to save lives at the drop of a hat. He has just one small problem: his people skills. Steven Strange’s world revolves around himself and his work, and nothing more. However, his entire life is shattered (literally) when he is gravely injured during a car accident, leaving his hands with severe nerve damage and being faced with the possibility that he may never practice medicine again. Unable to cope with merely accepting his fate, Steven searches the world for a cure. But what he discovers in a remote corner of Kathmandu is the world of the Ancient One and her teachings, a practice that reaches far beyond his imagination could ever fathom. Facing a challenge that threatens the earth and beyond, he will have to overcome more than his cocky personality to reach his true potential and prove his worth.

The positives: I know that I’ve said this about a few films this year, but Doctor Strange is a really good time. Tilda Swinton’s wise and surprisingly funny Ancient One balances Strange’s harsher personality well, with the supporting cast of Chiwetel Ejiofor, Mads Mikkelson, Benedict Wong and Rachel McAdams providing the perfect foils for Strange’s in a variety of ways. These actors are talented and clearly had a great rapport off screen that was evident in the film. The comedy was timed well and the jokes landed (easily noted by the audience in the screening I went to) but above all the visuals were stunning. Think Inception meets Iron Man meets Harry Potter, the different universes and settings this film gives its audience is an eyeful that really helps to immerse us into the realm of the Masters. I felt that my money was well spent on that alone. This film shows how you can balance darker themes of loss and loneliness with humour and dignity (take note DC), and reminds us that even at our lowest there is always something that makes life worthwhile.

The negatives: I’ll be honest here, if you’re not a fan of Tony Stark or his character arc or progression, you’re not going to like Stephen Strange as this story is surprisingly similar. I also felt that Mads Mikkelson’s character, the villain Kaecilius (Kai-sill-ee-us), wasn’t used enough and could’ve had more screentime (I’m not being biased I swear) in order to help explain his backstory which is mostly done through other characters. Also, I felt that the pacing was a little off in this film: not nearly as bad as the pacing in Suicide Squad, but this film tended to have the same vibe in that it was trying to pack a lot of information into one relatively short film, meaning that we were shunted through a vast amount of story and locations very quickly without enough time to properly understand what we were seeing. But now for the cherry:

Remember how I mentioned we were setting aside the whole whitewashing thing at the beginning of this review? Well its time to bring that chestnut back. Yes, the film as a whole was good and enjoyable. Yes, the acting was also great and the characters were entertaining and fit the film well. But fans of the character had a right to be angry, and just because the film was good, that doesn’t negate the importance of ‘why’ they were and still are angry. To be completely honest, as a South American person, I can’t blame them. Whitewashing is still a problem today and is seen time and time again in Hollywood, from The Last Airbender (2010) to the shock that was the live action Mulan’s first leaked scriptnotes just a few weeks ago. To act like its not insulting to the characters and their creators would be doing those characters a disservice. I’m not saying we all have to openly hate this film. I understand that for some people, seeing their favourite character/s of Stephen Strange and The Ancient One brought to life on the big screen is a huge deal. But what I am saying is that it would be wrong to just ignore the facts. In today’s society where voices speaking out against oppression and racial prejudice are louder than ever? Come on Marvel. If you can make the entire cast of the upcoming Black Panther movie completely African American as per the comics, you could’ve taken the time to put the same thought and planning into Doctor Strange and maybe saved a lot of fans’ disappointment.

In the end, Doctor Strange is a fun and entertaining movie that people of all ages are gonna love. Its got comedy, action and great characters to boot, and it’ll be fun to watch this character saddle up alongside our other favourite superheroes in the upcoming Infinity War with Thanos (which gets closer by the movie). Also, the end credits scene will be a hit with Loki fans everywhere (is that too much of a spoiler? Oops). All in all, whether you’re seeing it in the movies or illegally downloading a copy, you’re in for a good time.

Zoolander 2

Like Anchorman 2, Dumb & Dumber To, and Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles; Zoolander is getting the sequel that fans of the comedy have long-awaited. Directed once again by Ben Stiller, Zoolander 2 promises outdated supermodels grasping the complexities of modern fashion, full-lipped divas, hipster designers and evil super-villain schemes, but much like that CSI thing, most of us are only here to see Justin Bieber getting shot. 

15 years after the events of the first movie, Derek Zoolander (Ben Stiller) is in hiding after his ‘Centre for Kids Who Can't Read Good and Who Wanna Learn to Do Other Stuff Good Too’ collapses, crushing his wife (Christine Taylor) to death and scarring his friend Hansel’s (Owen Wilson) face. Derek and Hansel are convinced by Billy Zane to return to the fashion industry after “the world’s most beautiful people” are being assassinated, all with Derek’s trademark looks on their faces. Interpol - Fashion Division agent and ex-swimsuit model Melanie Valentina (Penélope Cruz) is investigating the mysterious deaths, with some uncertain link to Rome. Unfortunately, the only man who can help is no longer so hot right now. 

Stiller deals with the Canadian elephant in the room swiftly, killing off Bieber in the opening scene in a gratuitously long, extremely pleasing death that also serves to set up the mysterious plot that drags Zoolander out of hiding, encouraged to leave his snow covered retreat in the Alpine region of New Jersey by his good friend Billy Zane, one of many, many, many, many cameos in the second Zoolander. Much like the original, this film is stupid. It knows it’s stupid and the fans know it’s stupid. However it’s certainly not the first stupid American comedy to come out, so instead it tries to set itself apart from the others. Sadly though it seems to be living in the shadow of the first film - however small that shadow may be, and indeed one of the issues with 2oolander - as it's also know - is its constant references to the original film. Now I actually like Zoolander (the first one - I know this is confusing), however these references don’t serve to explain the first film to those who haven’t seen it. Instead they seem to be there purely as fan-service. Strike one. 

One of the other major issues with the film is Penelope Cruz. Her character is bland, annoying, appallingly acted and seems to only be there as a sexual object for teenage boys to ogle over. Yes, this is a film that mocks superficiality and there’s a reason her character is in this but she could at least get some decent jokes like her vain male counterparts Derek and Hansel. Otherwise the acting overall is fine. This is a close-knit circle of comedic actors that are always able to deliver, but none of them really stand out. Will Ferrell reprises his role as Jacobim Mugatu, who is decidedly Will-Ferrellish and Kristen Wiig is unrecognisable as the floating pile of cologne Alexanya Atoz, one of the more memorable performances. 

That isn’t to say that Zoolander No. 2 doesn’t have its good points. There are certainly plenty of chuckle-worthy moments throughout. It pays homage to a tonne of different movie tropes and farcically exaggerates them with several Bond-esque moments that could easily have been lifted straight from Austin Powers. The story in the original was certainly stronger, and you really can’t beat the petrol fight, but for a light comedy there’s certainly plenty of entertainment. However you can’t escape the somewhat formulaic similarities and rehashed jokes that make you question the creative incentive for a sequel here. 

Zoolander 2 is a decently funny sequel to what could probably be considered a cult movie by now, and there’s reason enough for die-hard fans to fork out for this one. However the endless parade of cameos, idiotic jokes and reused story beats indicate that in time it will probably join the likes of Airplane II, Hangover Part II and Blues Brothers 2000 in the forgotten sequels club, destined to forever live in it’s older brother’s shadow.

Black Mass

South Boston, or 'Southie', has been the subject of many a crime film over the past decade and a half. Movies like The Town, Southie, The Departed and even Good Will Hunting have striven to accurately portray one of the roughest neighbourhoods in the United States. But one notorious figure has yet to be portrayed on film; that of James 'Whitey' Bulger (Okay so not necessarily true, Martin Scorsese's The Departed was based on his crimes).

Bulger (Johnny Depp) is the leader of the Winter Hill Gang in South Boston during the mid-1970s. He is well known in the community as both a gangster and a pillar of the community. His brother Billy (Benedict Cumberbatch), a state senator, is contacted by their childhood friend John Connelly (Joel Edgerton), who is now a FBI agent who has been tasked with reducing Mafia activity in Boston. He sees Bulger as the key to bringing down this stranglehold they have. So Bulger becomes an informant, all the while continuing his own criminal activity.

This success of this film hinges entirely on whether or not you find Depp's performance as Bulger convincing. Unfortunately for me, I wasn't convinced. Yes, he is unnerving, but I wasn't scared by him, which is the whole point. I think that they were relying on his makeup and new look to add to the performance but it did nothing for me. Outside of this, there isn't too much going on. At a stretch you could say that the intrigue surrounding Bulger's manipulation of the FBI is interesting, but not enough to be exciting.

In fact the film seems like it purposefully goes out of its way to be obtuse. There is a whole subplot involving who owns World Jai-Alai, a sport the movie even admits no one knows what it is (unless you're like me and you do know what it is (I lie, I have no idea what they're doing)). I also feel like this film is needlessly violent. I know Whitey Bulger was an incredibly psychotic film, but you don't need to show every single murder he committed. Sometimes implied violence is just as effective. I also feel like the movie dropped the ball with the ending. It is a well known fact that Bulger was apprehended in 2011, yet the film ends in 1995 with an epilogue about his capture.

Because Depp's performance is so dominant here that the others don't really get a look in. Joel Edgerton's is the only one that is on par with Depp, but it isn't very good. Everyone else is really in the background which is disappointing considering the cast. Benedict Cumberbatch, Kevin Bacon, Adam Scott and Rory Cochrane are all fantastic actors, and while they are in a lot of scenes, they aren't the focus of any of them. Corey Stoll is the only minor performance given any notice, which is good because he carries those scenes. Women are hugely under represented with Dakota Johnson and Julianne Nicholson given barely any screen time.

A hugely disappointing and largely unnecessary biopic. It is not at all engaging, so if you want to see a better film about Whitey Bulger, go rewatch The Departed.

Penguins of Madagascar

Animated children's movies have to walk a fine line between entertaining the kid's that they are aimed at and not boring the parents who have to take them. But what happens when one of these movies tip ever so slightly in the favour of the parents? Whilst I'm not saying that Penguins of Madagascar will bore kids, the adult to child joke ratio has just a few more adult jokes in there.

The elite unit of penguins, Skipper (Tom McGrath), Kowalski (Chris Miller), Rico (Conrad Vernon) and Private (Christopher Knights), break into Fort Knox to steal the last remaining packets of Cheese Dibbles, their favourite snack. Here they are kidnapped by Dave (John Malkovich), an evil penguin who has it in for the penguins. They are rescued by the North Wind, another elite team (who are just better funded) led by grey wolf Agent Classified (Benedict Cumberbatch).

This movie has plenty of silly escapades that will keep the kids happy; a gondola chase through Venice, the penguins falling out of a plane looking for a soft landing and many more jokes along this line, but there are some just hilarious ones for adults too. The first five minutes of the film is a nature documentary narrated by Werner Herzog (who breaks the fourth wall and appears as part of a documentary crew), the break into Fort Knox is lifted perfectly from Goldfinger and Dave gives his squid minions orders by naming celebrities ("Hugh, Jack, man the cannons" and "Drew, Barry, more power" are especially good examples).

The voice talents of some big names also make the film enjoyable and its fun to try and guess who they are. John Malkovich is an obvious one (as I have said in the past). Benedict Cumberbatch makes his third appearance in a big end of the year movie and plays his part superbly, as do Ken Jeong, Annet Mahendru and Peter Stormare who voice the remainder of the North Wind.

Verdict: A great movie to watch with or without kids, if only to hear Benedict Cumberbatch repeatedly say pengwings, as he can't pronounce it properly.

The Imitation Game

"Sometimes it is the people no one imagines anything of who do the things that no one can imagine."

Alan Turing was a remarkable man that made a huge difference to the world, but was persecuted nevertheless. His work in breaking the German Enigma code had a profound impact on the outcome of World War II, yet he encountered extreme prejudice for being a homosexual. Now his story has been transformed into a film in Morten Tyldum's The Imitation Game.

At the height of World War II, Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch), a mathematician and avid crossword enthusiast joins a team of cryptanalysts at Bletchley Park to decipher the German Enigma code, a encoding system that is used on every German message, but which changes daily. Turing immediately gets off on the wrong foot with both his superior, Commander Denniston (Charles Dance) and his colleagues, particularly Hugh Alexander (Matthew Goode).

Whilst they begin originally by attempting to decipher each day's settings by hand, Turing soon designs a machine to calculate the settings quickly and automatically, taking inspiration from a similar Polish machine. Turing fails to get support from either Denniston or his co-workers, but after he sends a letter to Churchill, the project is soon moved forward, with Turing in charge. He develops a crossword designed to find potential candidates for the project, and it is through this that Joan Clarke (Keira Knightley) joins the project. The team continue to develop the machine, with the time pressures of a devastating war looming over them, all the while, Turing is hiding the fact that he is a homosexual, which was illegal at the time.

Mixing together three different periods of Turing's life; his childhood, his work with Enigma, and the period after the war, Morten Tyldum's English debut attempts to summarise the importance of Turing's work in a two hour film. A feat which it manages exceptionally well, albeit whilst following the rules of a typical biopic. Although its attempts to draw importance out of linkages between the different eras of his life can sometimes feel a bit forced, The Imitation Game is strong in structure and incredibly thought-provoking in content. Alan Turing's life has been depicted before, including documentaries, television movies and even a musical, but this film will hopefully draw more attention to the man. The only complaint I have about it, is that his persecution and death are somewhat downplayed and simply presented in what I like to call 'wrap-up text' towards the end of the film. For the sake of an additional twenty minutes, the film could have been more successful in acknowledging the prejudiced state of the world at that time.

In by far his best performance yet, Benedict Cumberbatch is phenomenal as Turing. His ability to transform himself into this unusual man, likely to have been autistic, is quite astounding. He even brings a hint of charm to the role as he delivers insulting but hilarious remarks. He's the one that makes this a fantastic film. Starring next to him, Knightly is also very good as Joan and rarely can anyone fault the stern acting ability of Charles Dance. Goode rounds off the cast as the typically dashing Hugh, and whilst he seems to spent most of his screen time in the corner, shrugging at Turing's unusual decisions, Mark Strong is fine as MI6 Major General Menzies.

The Imitation Game follows the likes of The Kings Speech and Lincoln as one of the great biographical films of recent years. It's skillfully constructed by Tyldum and fantastically acted by Benedict Cumberbatch, who'll likely receive an Oscar nomination for his performance.

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Opening where the second film left off, Smaug’s attack on Laketown, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies is the last (as far as we know) of Peter Jackson’s Middle Earth fantasy films. The Second in the series of incredibly long names (with running times to match), The Desolation of Smaug, was infinitely better than the first (despite the unnecessarily-long barrel sequence) but stretching an epic trilogy out of a book shorter than any of the Lord of the Rings novels has always been a concern. Now, with the blockbuster release of the third Hobbit, it’s up to Jackson to tie it all together. 

Jumping straight into the action, the dragon, Smaug (Benedict Cumberbatch) inflicts brutal destruction on Laketown as the residents flee, with only Bard (Luke Evans) left to fight the beast. Up at the Lonely Mountain, the leader of the dwarves, Thorin (Richard Armitage) is inflicted with Smaug's "dragon sickness", a powerful urge to find the Arkenstone, which is affecting his sanity. Bilbo (Martin Freeman), who is aware of Thorin’s state, continues to hide the Arkenstone from him. Gandalf (Ian McKellen) remains imprisoned by the Necromancer (Also Benedict Cumberbatch) in Dol Guldur, until Galadriel (Cate Blanchett), with help from Elrond (Hugo Weaving) and Saruman (Christopher Lee), frees Gandalf. Whilst others are gathering their forces to raid the Lonely Mountain, Gandalf rushes back to warn of the approaching Orc army. The battle for Smaug's lair of gold is about to begin.

Epic in visual scope, The Battle of the Five Armies is, as the name would suggest, brimming with action. The battle sequences which dominate the second half of the film are impeccably choreographed and are exceedingly stunning, with effects-heavy visuals that justify the $250 million budget. However, whilst these sequences do try to draw some points about the lives lost in the useless battle for gold, they are basically just excessive battles. This is where the flaws of the trilogy format slide through the cracks. What could have been two very solid movies, have been extended to three, and whilst the running time of this third instalment is blissfully shorter at a not-unreasonable 144-minutes, there doesn't seem to be enough plot left to justify a full movie. This sees much of the second-half of The Battle of the Five Armies stretched out into an unnecessary display of mindless battling, only marginally justified by the strong first half of the film.

Whilst the already well-established characters don't exactly require much more development, the strained story would certainly benefit from it. Thorin is the only one that really evolves in any way, inhibited by his changing states of sanity. However it must be said that the performances certainly stand up to the calibre of the first films (as well as the Lord of the Rings trilogy for the characters that appear in both). Freeman is very good as Bilbo, although he doesn't get as much screen-time as I would have liked. Richard Armitage shines as Thorin, and it's always fun to see the 75-year old Ian McKellen and 92-year old Christopher Lee involved in some battles. The only real issue with the characters is in the various death scenes (which you ought to expect in the final instalment), which are heavily clichéd, with slow motion and somber music that somewhat undermines the emotions that are being put forth. 

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies finally wraps up a trilogy that should really have been concluded in two films, and hence there are certainly some issues with stretching it out into a third. But it does seem, in many ways, a fitting conclusion for the series, with big-budget action and strong performances. I'm sure that long time fans will enjoy this film.

Benedict Cumberbatch cast as Shere Khan in Jungle Book: Origins

Fan favourite Benedict Cumberbatch has been cast as the voice of the villainous tiger Shere Khan in the live action Warner Bros. flick Jungle Book: Origins. The movie will mark the directorial debut of long time motion capture actor AndyHobbit films.

Serkis. This isn't Cumberbatch's first voice acting role, he has played the dragon Smaug in the

It will come a year and a week after Disney's own remake of the original film, starring Idris Elba as the tiger, with a release date of October 21, 2016.

Stay tuned for more updates. Story comes from Variety.

12 Years a Slave

Steve McQueen makes confronting films. His previous two, Hunger and Shame, were especially confronting for their portrayals of both the struggles of the 1981 Irish hunger strike and a New York sex addict, respectively. 12 Years a Slave is no less confronting than those two films.

The film follows the true story of Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a freed slave, who is sold back into slavery in a set of nefarious circumstances. Solomon eventually ends up as the property of Edwin Epps (Michael Fassbender), a psychotic cotton plantation owner, after attacking a carpenter at his previous plantation. Epps is an especially cruel master and regularly punishes his slaves. Solomon tries many times to get word back to his family, but is unable to, due to the resistance of people around him who are too afraid.

McQueen superbly conveys the pain of his characters in the film. Likewise, he is unflinching in the depiction of violence toward the slaves. At many times the whippings and lynchings are extremely hard to watch. What's even more hard to comprehend is the fact that this actually occurred, not only in the case of Solomon Northup, but to slaves throughout the South in the pre-Civil War period.

Chiwetel Ejiofor (Love Actually) plays Solomon with such pain that I could see through his performance to the reality of both the character and the actual man within who feels for the injustices that happened in the past. Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock) is amazing as Solomon's previous master.

The most amazing performance for me comes from McQueen's muse Michael Fassbender (Shame). His ugly and honest portrayal of a southern plantation owner is painful to watch, but that's a good thing. If you like his character there's something wrong with you.

Verdict: An extremely confronting film about a dark time in not just the history of the United States, but the history of man in general.

August: Osage County

Over the years, I have always wanted to see a classic film when it first arrived at cinemas, be it Pulp Fiction, Taxi Driver or Casablanca. With the release of August: Osage County, I feel as though I have had that opportunity. With a fantastic cast, extremely well written script and superb direction, I find it hard to fault this film.

It follows a family from Oklahoma who have come together for the first time in years because their father Beverly (Sam Shepard) has gone missing. Their mother, Violet (Meryl Streep), is an abrasive woman who is addicted to prescription medication. The three daughters, Barbara, Ivy and Karen (Julia Roberts, Julianne Nicholson and Juliette Lewis, respectively), each with their own problems, come together to try and comfort their mother.

For a film with a lot going on in terms of story and sub-plots, everything is presented quite clearly and this comes down to Tracy Letts' brilliant script (he also wrote the award-winning play on which the film is based). It's never hard to keep track of everyone's story and every plot element is resolved without being dismissed too quickly.

John Wells direction is also very evocative. He brings out stellar performances from his entire cast and shoots each scene in an extremely planned way. One of the major scenes in the film revolves around a family dinner and it is shot in such a way that the audience is gripped for the entire duration.

The two standout performances come from both Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts. Streep is amazingly witty, yet at the same time sharp-tounged, as the matriarch of the family. It is definitely a standout role for her in her recent career (even though her recent career has been full of those). Julia Roberts has come a long way from the roles that she played early on (both Runaway Bride and Pretty Woman were terrible in my book). She is excellent as a long suffering daughter who just wants to be done with her family.

Verdict: A fantastic family drama that is surprisingly funny. Stellar performances from both Streep and Roberts.

Star Trek Into Darkness

One of my best friends brought up a good point during the last Star Trek movie, why are they always setting their phasers to stun. He argued that they must be set to kill just in case and only set them to stun when the threat level isn't that big. Well in Star Trek Into Darkness, the crew of the Enterprise rarely set them to stun.

When we pick up the story, James Kirk (Chris Pine) has been Captain of the Enterprise for some time. After a botched expedition, Kirk is demoted to Commander and Mr. Spock (Zachary Quinto) is reassigned.

Meanwhile, there has been a terrorist attack on a London Starfleet post, masterminded by the mysterious John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch). The leaders of Starfleet decide to declare a manhunt to track him down. After an attack on Starfleet Headquarters in San Francisco, Kirk and the Enterprise are charged with taking him down.

I found that although this movie was action packed, I found it to predictable at parts and too much of a carbon copy of the last movie. There are also elements from The Wrath of Khan, but only Trek fans will pick up on them. There are action cues, emotional cues and comedic cues which are hit at the right times. It's almost as if J. J. Abrams was making this movie with a formula that he has perfected.

The only really good acting of note came from two of the British cast members. Benedict Cumberbatch is cold and calculating as Harrison and I really felt like he was capable of killing without remorse. Simon Pegg is hilarious as Scotty, but that is a given as he is one of the comedic relief characters and considering his relationship with Star Trek (he did a whole comedy series called Spaced), he definitely has the chops to pull it off. I felt as though the third British cast member didn't really have anything to offer. Alice Eve plays Dr. Carol Marcus, a Starfleet doctor who sneaks aboard the Enterprise. I felt as though she was just a damsel for Kirk to save.

The other comedic element comes in the form of Leonard McCoy (Karl Urban), or more properly, Kirk's interaction with him. McCoy is always there giving Kirk advice in the form of elaborate metaphors or pointing that he is a doctor, not a bricklayer, rocket scientist, gym teacher, etc. There are also some humourous lines when Kirk makes reference to the fact that Spock is, in fact, a Vulcan.

Verdict: It was chock full of action sequences and lens flare, but ultimately this is just another voyage of the starship Enterprise.