Café Society

Café Society is fun, romantic, and surprisingly smart, with a lot more going for it than it might seem. As we get a glimpse into contrasting scenes of New York and Hollywood during a rich and vibrant time in America's history, we begin to see the mentalities of the esteemed and the successful, and begin to realise there is perhaps this side to all of us. Employing a colourful and exciting aesthetic and a rich and genuine cast, Woody Allen achieves an interesting and engaging movie with a lot to think about.

Set in the mid 1930s, Café Society follows Bobby Dorfman (Jesse Eisenberg) as he decides to leave his quaint life in the Bronx behind and move to Hollywood to make a name for himself. Bobby hooks up with his uncle Phil (Steve Carrell), a highly successful film agent, who helps him get a start in the industry. Bobby quickly falls for the charming Vonnie (Kristen Stewart), Phil's surprisingly grounded secretary, however complications force the two apart. Bobby returns to New York to run a night club with his gangster brother Ben (Corey Stoll), before his life gets shaken up once again as Vonnie re-enters the picture.

The writing is surprisingly clever, with an easily missed message smartly woven into the changes experienced by the characters. While the end of the movie may ultimately leave audiences wondering if it was nothing more than a comfortable romance flick, the changes experienced by the characters throughout the film suggest otherwise. As Bobby remarks to Vonnie how she has fallen into the glitz and glamour lifestyle she had once loathed, we can't help but realise the same of Bobby himself, who perhaps only became this way through the bitter lessons learnt during his time in Hollywood. Needless to say, there is much to think about in the film's true meaning, and Woody Allen crafts these complicated pictures of society masterfully.

Performances are impressive across the board. Jesse Eisenberg employs a mix of his trademark awkwardness (The Social Network, Zombieland) as well as his surprisingly enjoyable and just as recognisable charismatic character (Now You See Me) to create an enjoyable dynamic to the character of Bobby. Likewise, Kristen Stewart proves she has matured much from her Twilight days to deliver a charming and enjoyably complex performance as Vonnie. Cafe Society features an impressive supporting cast, with particular mentions to Parker Posey who continues to raise the question of why she isn't in more A-List movies.

When it boils down to it, however, this movie isn't perfect. While Woody Allen's narration is ultimately enjoyable, it is perhaps unnecessary in telling a story which easily tells itself, and the constant jumps between the two different sides of America can be a bit jarring at times. This being said, the upbeat jazz soundtrack helps draw the viewer into the rich context of the film, easily supported by the constant name-dropping to 1930s Hollywood celebrities such as Fred Astaire and Joan Crawford. While it is often easy for intended immersion such as this to feel forced, Café Society does it with ease.

If you like complicated romance, you will enjoy this movie. If you like jazz and the 30s, you will enjoy this movie. If you like impressive portrayals of socially unsure and evolving characters, you will definitely enjoy this movie. And if you've ever seen a Woody Allen film and liked it, you will enjoy this movie. 

Now You See Me 2

Coming into this movie with very low expectations, I left pleasantly surprised and actually felt the $17.50 movie ticket was worth it in comparison to some other films I’ve seen this month. Also, being a big fan of the first film, I’ll try to keep my opinions as unbiased as possible. Try.

Now You See Me 2 (a.k.a Now You See Me: The Second Act) is the sequel to the 2013 film, you guessed it, Now You See Me. The film once again reunites us with the Four Horsemen, J. Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg), Jack Wilder (Dave Franco) and Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson), with replacement 4^th member Lula (Lizzie Caplan) stepping in in the wake of Isla Fisher’s exit. In their latest adventure, the Horseman find themselves thrown into a new game and a new city, in which lies Walter Mabry (Daniel Radcliffe) who forcibly recruits them to help steal a profitable piece of technology from a rival company. After a year in hiding and doubting their overlords The Eye’s plans for them, the group are itching to have a chance at the limelight once more, however as always with magic tricks, things are not always as they appear to be.

The positives: Above everything, this film was fun to watch as the franchise has learned not to take itself too seriously. The storyline is full of twists and turns that helps to keep the audience engaged and entertained, as well as helping to stop it becoming a carbon copy of the last film, and definitely has its humorous moments that help break the tension. The film also addresses Fisher’s character Henley’s exit, rather than simply taking the easy route and sweeping it under the rug. There are also lots of nail biting scenes involving many new and improved tricks, including one inside a vault that really impressed me and that audiences will have fun with. All acting is essentially as it was in the first film, with Caplans’ ‘Lula’ adding a fun, flirtatious element that helps to contrast her with the rest of the mostly male cast and is the source of most of the humour. I also enjoyed seeing more of Mark Ruffalo’s character, FBI Agent Dylan Rhodes, acting like the son of a magician, i.e. doing magic tricks and understanding magic history.

The negatives: The bottom line is, if you didn’t enjoy the first film, you won’t enjoy this one. Although there are a lot of improvements between this and the 2013 release, the general atmosphere is the same. Some minor plot holes leave you with a bit of confusion once the credits roll. The ‘magic’ does lead to some unrealistic scenarios, just as in the first film, that the audiences are expected to gloss over because, well, magic. As well as this, I felt the ending was a little overdone and I would’ve been happier if the film ended 10 minutes before it did. Most annoyingly, the film attempts to address some issues surrounding sexism in a few scenes using Lula, only to completely negate their progress in the next by adhering to some pretty standard female tropes which was a bit of a let down and may be a little jarring for people who grew fond of the snarkier Henley compared to the fun-loving Lula.

Overall the film was a fun time that fans of the franchise will enjoy. The dazzling magic effects, entertaining characters and engaging plot do draw you in and make you remember why you enjoyed magic as a kid. If you’re looking for something in-depth and gritty, you won’t enjoy this film. But for a fun adventure movie, it has a lot to offer.

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?

Let's take a look at the Suicide Squad cast

I know that the casting of Suicide Squad isn't exactly news, DC Entertainment has been slowly releasing the news of who is going to be in the movie steadily over the past few weeks, but I thought that now we have a fair few names attached to the movie, it would be a good opportunity to talk about the movie as a whole.

I can imagine a fair few of you are probably thinking who or what is the Suicide Squad. This group is made up of super-villains from the DC universe who are made to do missions by the government that the regular superheroes won't do, mainly because they involve killing dictators, terrorists, drug barons or any similar bad guy. I also say they are made to do this because if they don't achieve their directives, they are killed by an explosive bracelet on their wrists.

This team is made up of some members who may seem familiar and others that sound like I'm just making them up. But let's have a look. First is someone who everyone should know due to her popularity. Harley Quinn (AKA the Joker's girlfriend) is going to be played by Aussie actress Margot Robbie, known for her lead role in The Wolf of Wall Street. Harley Quinn is a beloved character and it will be interesting to see Robbie's interpretation.

Next on the list is the assassin Deadshot, a frequent enemy of Batman and is known to never miss one of his targets. He will be played by Will Smith, a choice that is strange for his famous face as Deadshot's face remains covered in bandages.

Aussie actor Jai Courtney will play Captain Boomerang which is good because we wouldn't want to see an American playing an Australian character. Captain Boomerang is known for using a vast array of deadly boomerangs, much in the same way Hawkeye from The Avengers uses different arrows. I am really excited about the roles that Courtney has been doing of late and I know this will be a good one for him.

Tom Hardy will play the operational leader of the Suicide Squad, Rick Flag. As far as I can tell Flag is just a mentally unstable soldier, but watching Tom Hardy in a role like this should be fun. Model turned actress Cara Delevingne will play the witch of the group, Enchantress.

Jared Leto has been cast to play the Joker, which could be a good or bad thing, I'm not sure. I'm also not sure of how this will play into the plot. The Joker isn't a member of the team and could possibly be a target of the Squad.

Now we get into rumour territory. Apparently Oprah Winfrey's name has been put out there to play the leader of the group, Amanda Waller. I think it would be a lot of fun to see Oprah in a movie like this, rather than the ultra-serious roles that she normally plays. Another name that has been thrown into the mix is Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, but I'm not sure what to think of that.