Money Monster

Jodie Foster has once again taken to directing with her fourth feature film Money Monster. A part-comedy, part-drama starring George Clooney and Julia Roberts, this financial thriller promises a lot, but doesn’t necessarily deliver.

Lee Gates (George Clooney) stars as the financial guru of cable television, on his show ‘Money Monster’. During a live filming, his show is ambushed by Kyle Budwell (Jack O’Connell), who holds the studio at gunpoint, demanding that they don’t cut the live feed. Lee is strapped into an explosive vest as Kyle demands to know why IBIS Clear Capital, a company that Lee had personally recommended as “safer than your savings account”, had just lost $800 million in stock value due to a “glitch” in its trading algorithm. In what will surely be the worst day of show director Patty Fenn’s (Julia Roberts) professional career, those inside the studio struggle to take control of the situation and meet Kyle’s demands before he sets off the vest.

The film opens with a sequence that brings together the intense critiques of journalism and media from films like The China Syndrome and Network, with the cha-ching of recent financial satire films The Wolf of Wall Street and The Big Short. As such it’s difficult from the get-go to see how Money Monster is going to find its own path. The film effectively has two interweaved acts; one following the events that take place in the studio, and one on the reactive events that occur outside. The former scenes work really well, there’s a palpable tension as Patty tries to use her directorial skills to control the situation, where Lee prefers to cut through it with his blunt sarcasm and asides. However as soon as we cut away to the exterior focus, the manipulative side of the film rears its ugly head and starts to throw all sorts of moral messages at us.

The film pleads with us to pick an antagonist; is it the guy with the gun, Kyle? Is it the arrogant opportunist, Lee? Is it Wall Street? It’s trying to find a black and white answer to a very murky question. As the film rolls on, we’re placed in a tense race to either see the rapidly escalating situation put under control, or find out who’s responsible for the system ‘glitch' - the answer to which reveals itself too soon thanks to some blatantly-foreshadowing dialogue: ’I got you some chocolate….from Switzerland’ *dun dun duuuuun*.

A more interesting premise, which thankfully doesn’t get put under the moral magnifying glass like so much of Money Monster, is the battle to humanise Lee Gates in the ninety-minute running time, a man so initially out of touch with the world that he has a gold-embroidered dancing troupe to help him announce the stocks to keep an eye on...that’s showbiz folks. It’s very easy to place all the blame for Kyle’s situation on Lee, and it’s certainly partly the fault of his over-the-top spruiking, but as more is revealed and we get a better idea of the bigger picture, Lee starts to look less devious, and more like a charming village idiot, who actually takes some responsibility for his actions. Although to be fair that could be more to do with George Clooney’s performance, I hear he’s irresistible.

We also get a well-developed performance from Julia Roberts, who I must admit I’ve struggled to watch in many previous roles. Here however, she has just the right amount of sass to shoot down Lee’s remarks, a nuanced understanding of how to approach the situation and the occasional hint that, like everybody else in the studio, she’s quaking in her boots. Jack O’Connell also steps up his game from his performance in Angelina Jolie’s Unwatchable Unbroken and we get the invaluable pleasure to see Giancarlo Esposito on screen again, in what sadly becomes a rather banal cop role. What’s more, for the roles outside of the studio, the underwhelmment (which should definitely be a word) is par for the course. As soon as we leave the tense studio environment, be it for a quick cutaway or for the path that the story takes, the film becomes too focused on delivering a message, and loses the satirical-thriller element that sets it apart from whatever else is playing this weekend.

Money Monster does well to recognise its strengths, namely Clooney, Roberts and the satire/thriller blend. However, all too often it oversteps its bounds and starts to preach its message without the finesse required, or the content to back it up.

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.

Tomorrowland

"Every day is the opportunity for a better tomorrow."

Brad Bird is a Disney favourite, having written and directed both The Incredibles and Ratatouille. Bird's first live-action foray for Disney is Tomorrowland, set in a futuristic world  where innovation is a treasured skill. The story has been inspired by Disney's concept 'worlds'/amusement rides 

In 1964, Frank Walker (Thomas Robinson) is a young inventor with somewhat working jetpack. However Frank's work fails to inspire David Nix (Hugh Laurie), who fails to see it as anything more than a toy. Frank's invention draws the eye of Athena (Raffey Cassidy) who sees his potential and provides him with a "T" pin. When Frank boards the "It's a Small World" ride, he's sent through a vortex into a futuristic world known as Tomorrowland. Blast forward several years and Casey Newton (Britt Robertson) is similarly enthusiastic about science and innovation. Athena repeats the same process with her and she travels to Tomorrowland to meet the older Frank Walker (George Clooney).

The fact that the pathway for Frank to get to the world of Tomorrowland happens to be a Disneyland ride says it all. This overtly optimistic, ambiguous mess of a film is full of fancy gadgets that I'm sure will make for great pieces of merchandise, but it fails to engage with any sort of quality storytelling. The core message that Bird is trying to get across to the younger audience is that imagination and innovation can make the world a better place, undoubtedly two of Disney's own strong points - They've played a key role in filmmaking technology over the years - and a worthy message it is, however it gets lost in the diluted plot lines, weird Disneyfied scenes of teenager 'rebellion' and a utopia that's ultimately as soulless as the characters that inhabit it.

With a massive budget and CGI focused imagery, Tomorrowland certainly looks gorgeous, which is one of its only strong points. The world itself pops from the screen and some of the elements feel a little steam-punk. However this is all ultimately rather superficial when the weak plot can't support the depth of the visuals. Character development is minimal at best, however the performances were decent enough. George Clooney is his usual self so his fans should be happy. I absolutely love Hugh Laurie and he makes the best of the material at his disposal. Also noteworthy is Thomas Robinson who plays the young Frank very well.

Tomorrowland is a bit of a mess, but hopefully it will inspire some kids to embrace imagination and innovation, because it's certainly not got much else going for it.

War Movie Month: The Thin Red Line (1998)

"Malick's Guadalcanal would be a Paradise Lost, an Eden, raped by the green poison, as Terry would call it, of war. Much of the violence was to be portrayed indirectly. A soldier is shot, but rather than show a Spielbergian bloody face we see a tree explode, the shredded vegetation, and a beautiful bird with a broken wing flying out of a tree"

-Producer Robert Geisler on Malick's vision for the film

This movie marks the return of Terrence Malick, whose last film Days of Heaven, was released twenty years earlier. This movie is a great example of filmmaking. It has a gripping storyline, stunning visuals and stellar performances from a cast with more stars that has ever been seen.

The movie recounts a fictionalised version of one of the battles in the Guadalcanal Campaign during the Pacific War in WWII. Private Witt (Jim Caviezel) has been found after going AWOL and is reassigned to Charlie Company under the leadership of First Sergeant Welsh (Sean Penn). Led by Lieutenant Colonel Tall (Nick Nolte), the men in the battalion are charged with capturing and controlling an island currently held by the Japanese.

The story is accompanied by narration from various soldiers who all ponder the point of war. This narration is usually voiced over stunning landscapes of Queensland (where the film was shot). The narration does not extend as far as the battle scenes, which have Hans Zimmer's beautiful score drowning out the sounds of war. One scene where this is especially prevalent is when the battalion finally takes the Japanese camp. The soldiers run through the camp and kill all who aren't surrendering, but if you were to close your eyes and listen, this is not the image that you get.

There are four main characters that most of the action focuses on. Caviezel, Nolte, Penn and Elias Koteas all carry most of the plot. But it's the cameos that take you off guard. Stars like Adrien Brody, George Clooney, Jared Leto, John Travolta and Woody Harrelson all have tiny parts in the film. I can only imagine that this was due to their excitement at hearing that Terrence Malick was making a film after twenty years and jumped at the opportunity to work with the acclaimed director.

Verdict: This movie searches for the emotional core of war and does a pretty good job and finding it through a sea of heavy themes. Much better than Saving Private Ryan, the other big WWII film that came out in 1998.