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.

Spotlight

There have been several features - mainly documentaries - focused on child abuse in the Catholic church, Deliver Us From Evil & Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God being two notable ones. Spotlight is the first excellent docudrama to take on the subject matter. With a strong ensemble and in the hands of Director Tom McCarthy (The Station Agent, The Visitor) there’s no wonder it’s been a talking point in the film community. 

The year is 2001 and the effects of digital media are starting to hit The Boston Globe. They hire a new editor, Marty Baron (Liev Schreiber) who wants to distinguish the newspaper from others by providing stories that the readers need to hear. He turns his attention to the “Spotlight” team, a group of reporters headed by Walter Robinson (Michael Keaton) that complete rigorous investigations, taking up to a year to get published. Baron reads a short report on John Geoghan, a paedophile priest who claims the Archbishop Cardinal Law (Len Cariou) knew about the abuse and covered it up. Baron asks the Spotlight team to consider the story, but as they begin investigations, it becomes clear that they’re not just dealing with one priest. 

It’s the time of the year where we get all the Oscar-tailored films come out, and boy is Spotlight a breath of fresh air. It’s an ensemble piece with big-name actors, yet none of them are trying to out-do each other, none of them feel like celebrities with a thin-veneer of humanity for a disguise, and apart from perhaps one scene - which certainly serves a purpose - McCarthy doesn’t sugar-coat the film with dramatic Oscar-winning moments. Spotlight is about a team of exceptional yet humble reporters attempting to uncover shocking revelations, and the investigation takes centre stage. 

McCarthy has acted in Law & Order and The Wire where he must have picked up some tips because Spotlight is one of the most rigorous investigative dramas we’ve seen in recent years. Details are crucial and much like the Spotlight team themselves, we’re thrown into the dark as information comes at us from all angles. People talk fast in this film and often mumble (I’m looking at you Ruffalo) but after the first twenty-or-so minutes you get used to it. This is such a wide and complex investigation to fit into two-hours that it almost thrives on exposition, but because of the nature of the content and the astoundingly well-written dialogue, it just works. 

I’ve seen people compare this to the documentary form and in a surreal way this kind of does feel like the real events unfolding before your eyes. The understated acting, straightforward cinematography and brutally honest depictions remove the fourth wall and place you in the film as if you’re another member of the team. At parts, the investigation slows to a grind and it makes you frustrated. The 9/11 attacks occur during the period and all the reporters have to switch their focus, further delaying the release of the report. For a film that’s structured for detail and information, there’s a remarkable amount of suspense throughout. 

There's really not a lot more to say about Spotlight. It isn’t the sort of film you go to for entertainment, but it definitely holds your attention. It’s not designed to win acting awards, but it has fantastic performances. It’s procedural drama at its best and absolutely required viewing. 

Southpaw

After the first photos emerged from Southpaw, all everybody could talk about was Gyllenhaal's physical transformation for the role. But since the metamorphosis of actors seems to be the current zeitgeist of Hollywood, I was more interested in what director Antoine Fuqua could do with his dark cinematic style and a sports drama. The answer is: everything that's been done before, with Eminem slapped over the top.

Billy Hope (Jake Gyllenhaal) is an undefeated light heavyweight boxer with a wife Maureen (Rachel McAdams) and daughter Leila (Oona Laurence). Billy lives the high life, with his large mansion and blinged-up posse, but after sustaining an eye-injury during a match, Maureen convinces him that it's time to retire. After another boxer, Miguel Escobar (Miguel Gomez) taunts him, leading to a very public brawl, Maureen is accidentally hurt and dies at the scene. Heartbroken and depressed, Billy also loses his daughter to social services. The only way he can get his daughter back is to get his life back on track, which he starts doing by getting a job at a gym owned by ex-boxer Titus "Tick" Wills (Forest Whitaker). After Tick starts to train Billy, he strives once more to seek the redemption he needs.

This is basically an hour of watching Billy Hope's life fall apart, then an hour of him picking up the pieces, in the most unoriginal of ways. I have no doubt that Gyllenhaal gave this role his all, but his character is constantly reduced to polarising extremes of emotions - either depression or extreme anger - but never anything in-between. The blame very much lies with the plot, which, cliche after cliche, tells the same story of redemption that we've seen in boxing films more times than anybody would like to admit. The first act of Southpaw establishes the obnoxious characters, entrenched in a shallow, tedious world. The early development is so shockingly bad that I honestly couldn't care less about Hope's wife dying. From the banal script-writing to the emotion-milking dialogue, the film opens a wreck.

It's not until the second act, when Whitaker's character comes into the mix that Southpaw manages to conjure up some dignity. Whitaker similarly pours everything into Tick, and at times the potential of the character shines through, but he's eventually reduced to the typical enigmatic black motivational trainer movie trope. If it wasn't him, it was Morgan Freeman in Million Dollar Baby before him and so on. As for the other characters, McAdams's portrayal of a sidelined boxer's wife is as dreary as it is two-dimensional, and 50 Cent's character is just an outright arsehole. The biggest insult is the suggestion that we could empathise with almost any of these characters.

Boxing films are well known for their cinematic exuberance, and at times Mauro Fiore manages to capture the raw emotions of the moment, but Southpaw visually lacks the ingenuity that others like it have been brave enough to attempt, and ultimately the film is degraded to the archetypal training montages - complete with Eminem soundtrack - that we could all see coming from a mile off.  In the end, Fiore can't manage to stretch the style of Southpaw beyond what we've seen before. 

Of all the great boxing films - Million Dollar Baby, Raging Bull etc. - the triumphant ones create an atmosphere and tell an original story. Whilst the two leads manage to conjure up surprisingly decent performances given the material, Southpaw is ultimately the antithesis of original, and risks fading into mediocrity.

A Most Wanted Man

Most of John le Carré's novels are fodder for excellent spy movies, this was proven with 2011's Tinker Sailor Soldier Spy. A Most Wanted Man is probably up there with some of the best spy movies and is helped along by a performance from Philip Seymour Hoffman that I will not soon forget.

This film takes a more mechanical approach to the spy game than Tinker Tailor did. There's no guessing or twists about who is a double, but rather focuses on a more straightforward look at modern espionage and the back-room politics that influence it. Günther Bachmann (Philip Seymour Hoffman) leads a covert team of anti-terrorism agents in Hamburg. Their main objective is to develop sources within the Islamic community to bring down more dangerous targets. They aim to make a young Chechan, Issa Karpov (Grigory Dobrygin), one of these sources by using his lawyer Annabel Richter (Rachel McAdams).

The plot isn't too complex and is rather easy to follow along with. Writer Andrew Bovell conveys the tensity of the spy game quite well and has written some of the more minor characters, such as Robin Wright's American Martha Sullivan, with just enough intrigue that they are not forgotten within the overall plot.

Director Anton Corbijn is mainly a music video director and that comes through in a lot of the tight, claustrophobic shots that is used throughout the film. There are also some really beautiful long takes that add to the characters emotions.

It feels weird writing about an actor's final performance. This is the first time I've done this and it's extremely hard given that that actor has always been one of my favourites. Philip Seymour Hoffman's intense portrayal of the beleaguered Bachmann is probably one of the finer performances his given although not his best. At times his German accent slipped, but not so much you'd notice. At times you really feel for his character, who is under intense pressure from his superiors.

 Rachel McAdams really surprised me with this dramatic turn. She seemed believable in this intense film and could keep up quite well with other more experienced actors in this genre. Robin Wright was fantastic as well and was a far cry from her character on House of Cards.

Willem Dafoe is an old hand when it comes to a German accent and plays brilliantly through some of the most intense scenes in the film. I was a little disappointed with the underuse of Daniel Brühl who is a great actor, but relegated to the background of most scenes.

Verdict: A great send off for an amazing actor. Hoffman dominates almost all scenes of the movie, even the ones he's not in. The story is gripping and enjoyable.