A Bigger Splash

Luca Guadagnino's latest film A Bigger Splash is somewhat ambitious in what it is trying to achieve. Guadagnino is known for his sweeping dramas and this film does follow his usual style, but on a much smaller scale. However, he attempts to surprise audiences with a sharp right turn, which is something that I don't think works to the film's benefit.

Marianne Lane (Tilda Swinton) is a rock star taking some time off after undergoing throat surgery. She is relaxing on the Italian island of Pantelleria with her documentary filmmaker boyfriend Paul (Matthias Schoenaerts) when she is intruded upon by old friend Harry (Ralph Fiennes). Harry has also dragged along his daughter Penelope (Dakota Johnson). Soon Harry has imposed himself upon the couple and is causing tension as he wishes to start up an old relationship with Marianne, which angers Paul to no end.

Up until two-thirds through the way of this film I was entirely on board with what was going on. I really enjoyed the dramatic tension that was happening throughout. But then at the end of the second act, one of the main characters is killed off. I am totally okay with this too, but what I found was that I wasn't entirely convinced by the reason for why it happened and I felt as though there could have been other stronger ways that it could have been presented. This totally changed the whole dynamic of the film to a thriller, but one where the stakes weren't that high. As a result I wasn't really concerned for any of the characters and if they would get out of it unscathed. It did lead to a great revelation however, one that has some pretty nasty implications.

Guadagnino has written some fantastic characters that are portrayed superbly. Top of this list is Ralph Fiennes. While he has played some truly reprehensible characters (a crime boss, a sadistic Nazi, the Dark Lord), I found his character of Harry to be the worst he's ever played. He is the kind of person who you just want to punch if he ever turned up in your life. But the reason he is so good is because he is so incredibly charming and intoxicating to watch. Tilda Swinton has been a long time collaborator with Guadagnino and their working chemistry really shows. She is also stunning to watch because as she barely speaks in the film, all of her performance is done through her physicality. Matthias Schoenaerts' performance straddles a fine line between main and supporting because he doesn't have the screen presence of Fiennes, but at the same time he's very good and important to the story. I want to say Dakota Johnson is good, but she doesn't do very much. However, she gives a better performance than all her previous work combined.

Despite the strange turn in the film, A Bigger Splash is a fantastic drama that is heightened by its small, vibrant cast.

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.

Jack's Thoughts - Spectre

I am not going to lie about how much of a shameless James Bond fan I am. Well at least I used to be, until this latest installment Spectre absolutely killed any enjoyment I once had of the classic series of films. Now while not every film has been great, this Daniel Craig film has hit a new low, with more attention paid to fan service than actually trying to make a good movie.

Bond starts out in Mexico, investigating an Italian crime boss who he was directed to by the former M (Judi Dench) in a video message she recorded before her death. This leads him on a journey to uncover a secretive criminal executive named SPECTRE, led by his older foster brother Franz Oberhauser (Cristoph Waltz). Meanwhile, the current M (Ralph Fiennes) is facing pressure from a committee set up by C (Andrew Scott) which is proposing a new surveillance program that would make the 00 Section redundant.

I think what has hurt the last couple of Bond movies the most is this need to make them a continuation of the films that came before. The end of Skyfall seemed so clear cut as though EON Productions were saying that we're going to start afresh and give you a new standalone adventure. But that isn't the case at all. So much assumed knowledge is needed from the previous films it's laughable. Gone are the days of simply enjoying a wacky adventure with a man in a tuxedo. Now you actually have to work when you watch this movie. Top that off with a shitty plot that had me squirming with discomfort and a final revelation that was so obvious that I was actually saying the dialogue in synchronisation with the characters.

I was shocked to learn that this film cost $350 million dollars, but then again I can see where it all went. Maybe spending millions on 10 exclusive Aston Martin cars that will never be available to the public, one of which you destroy completely is not such a great idea. Or maybe spending a lot more on an explosion that will get you into the Guiness Book of Records and not at all add to the enjoyment of your film is an equally bad idea. There is way too much action in this movie. I understand that it's trying to say something about mass surveillance, but I feel as though it's coming a little late to the party.

The film is lacking lots of things, but one I noticed above all else was the lack of sauveness. Bond is a partygoer and the definition of cool, but none of his actions in the movie indicate that. I mean you can still wear a suit and not do cool things, just look at Dave Bautista's Mr Hinx (full disclosure, his fight with Bond on a train was probably the only thing I liked about this film.

I was confused with the choice of cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema to make the colour palatte of this film a dull brown. His previous work on films like Her and Interstellar had been so vibrant, but here it matched Daniel Craig's enthusiasm to play Bond. And speaking of that, he just brought the whole movie down. Toward the end I was hoping that they'd just kill him and put us all out of our misery.

Look how much he hates your enjoyment

Look I'm going to go so far as to say I hated this movie and it's the worse Bond film since Die Another Day. In fact it's much worse. I can at least sit through that film.

Spectre

In the beautiful secrecy of Rome at night James Bond arrives at a secret meeting. Uninvited he smirks his way past the guards in Craig's now signature brutish fashion. As he arrives in the upper gallery viewing deck of this clandestine conglomerate, he makes his way through the witnesses looking down at a vast hall wherein an international assortment of organised crime discusses business. The lighting is low and reflective of the power and secrecy of this event, the sound echoes in the cavernous gloom as Bond stalks silently between faces cloaked in darkness. Suddenly the arrival of a shadowy man in the meeting creates a palpable atmosphere of fear within the cavernous hall. Within minutes a man is killed and no one moves a muscles. The recent arrival. surely the head of this cabal speaks into the microphone. Bond is enamoured, captivated by this man and his power. The man makes a public address to everyone in the room but it seems he has one particular person as his intended audience. "Welcome, James. What took you so long?" The man turns and looks up into the gallery, make direct and immediate eye contact with Bond. The light captures his face, Bond knows this man.

With 2012's Skyfall director Sam Mendes furthered the modern Bond revival with it's stylish action and settings, breath-taking cinematography, retro-appeal and personal storyline. But with Spectre, all the goodwill of Skyfall seems to be slowly bleeding out of a film that too doggedly holds onto contemporary blockbuster ideas on stakes and motivation, and classic Bond nostalgia. The effect being a mixed bag of the good, the bad and the ugly of Bond. Spectre begins with a lovely but needlessly showy (seemingly) single-take shot in Mexico City during Day of the Dead with Bond on the trail of a bad guy. After the event naturally ends in a helicopter fist-fight metres above the streets of Mexico City and Bond killing his target he's left with naught but a strange silver ring whose only distinction is a black octopus engraving. It turns out Bond has gone somewhat rouge after receiving a tape from the now deceased Judy Dence M and without approval from the new M (Ralph Fiennes) goes in search of the men who sent Skyfall's villain Raoul Silva, which turns out to be the eponymous committee. Along the way Bond is surreptitiously joined by Moneypenny (Naomie Harris), Q (Ben Whishaw) and Madeline Swann (Lea Seydoux), a woman with an mysterious link to the organisation and a prime target for them.

Spectre is a lovely film for the most part, fulfilling in all the necessary requirements for a Bond film, beautiful women, beautiful cars, seduction, varied scenery, vodka martini's. secret bases, ridiculous fun action and villains, villains, villains galore. But the whole way through the film just feels off. Motivations are lacking, plot-holes are apparent and a general sense of dualism is present, the film is never sure if it should be a throwback or re-invent the wheel and is seemingly stuck between the two points. In spite of the brilliant and armour-cracking portrayal of the aging, bitter Bond during Skyfall and the surely tragic death of M, Craig has perfected the formula for his Bond in this film. He's strong, silent, smarmy, apparently suave and frankly brutish, and in possibly the most satirical take on Bond's persona after killing an Italian bad guy in Mexico, he goes to the man's funeral, meets his wife, saves her from assassination, fucks her on the night of her husbands funeral and she is gotten by the next scene. It's enough to make even the most casual Bond fan ache for the bravery to return to a campy Bond with torturous puns.

Though the film is surely competent and interesting enough it's the bad that draws the attention after the objectively enjoyed Casino Royale and Skyfall, and (perhaps over-criticised Quantum of Solace). The reveal of Bond's connections to arch-villain Oberhauser are lazy as they are stupid (SPOILER ALERT), Oberhauser's plan is needless, and the whole thing smacks of prequel-level writing in the need to bring things to a certain point. Madeline Swann is one of the most disappointing Bond women in a good while and the romance between her an Bond is nothing short of tacky, there is absolutely no reason these people should be together whatsoever. Finally, the finale is derivative, lazy, blockbuster trash, with a few genuinely interesting moments, but hampered by senselessness and carelessness. Overall, Spectre is a hot mess, when it does well, it can be lovely, but overall it's just an unpleasant odour that lasts for two-and-a-half hours. While not bad, it's certainly a film that will become less appealing the more one applies thought and time to it.

War Movie Month: Schindler's List (1993)

"Whoever saves one life, saves the world entire"

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past 75 years, you're probably quite aware of the Holocaust and the horrific events surrounding it. However, you may not be aware of the story of Oskar Schindler, a rich industrialist that used his production empire to save the lives of some 1,200 Jews from certain death. His astounding work is the focus of Steven Spielberg's film, Schindler's List.

At the beginning of World War II, in the Kraków Ghetto, Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson), a businessman and member of the Nazi Party, opens an enamelware factory, hiring Jewish workers because they are cheaper labour. He appoints a local Jewish man Itzhak Stern (Ben Kingsley) as his managerial assistant, all the while, Oskar maintains his links with local officials and members of the SS, bribing them to allow his workers to stay. A notorious womaniser and drinker, Oskar maintains a high profile and lavish image whilst many of his workers struggle to survive.

With a new concentration camp to be constructed in Kraków, SS member Amon Goeth (Ralph Fiennes) is put in charge of the project. Goeth is relentless in his anti-Semitic actions, often referring to the inhabitants of the Ghetto as "rats" and executing people randomly for his own amusement. When Schindler meets Goeth, he forms a pseudo-friendship with the man, in the hope that he will prove useful down the line. Indeed, towards the end of the war, when Goeth is ordered to send the remaining Jews for extermination, Schindler is able to bribe him into letting him keep his workers. The names of these workers and their families, compiled by Schindler and Stern to send to Goeth, would become known as "Schindler's List".

The film was finally made, largely thanks to Holocaust survivor and 'Schindler Jew' Poldek Pfefferberg, who had been attempting to get the Schindler story made into a film for years with no success. That is, until he met Australian author Thomas Keneally. Keneally wrote the Booker Prize-winning novel Schindler's Ark, which inspired Spielberg to make Schindler's List. Keneally said that what drew him to the story was Schindler's flawed nature,"the fact that you couldn't see where opportunism ended and altruism began". Schindler is portrayed by Neeson as complex and difficult to read, but undeniably charitable. Whether his plan was always altruistic, or simply due to the transformative experience of a country deep in war, his actions permeate a sense of hope from a dark period in history and are presented through Spielberg's poignant biopic.

Presented almost entirely in black and white, the colourless imagery of Schindler's List depicts a low point in recent human history. Spielberg and his regular cinematographer, Janusz Kamiński felt that the black and white gave the film a documentary style, which they tied together with plenty of handheld shots, making it less subjective. However that doesn't make it any less of an emotional viewing experience. Certain elements of shots, including the flame from candles and the red coat worn by a little girl, were left in colour. This involved a painstaking process where the colour shots had to be greyed out, frame by frame, leaving just the desired colour. The result, given the symbolic nature of these moments, is really very moving. The musical score by, you guessed it, John Williams (Spielberg's go-to composer) seems very fitting for the sombre tone of the film and won Williams an Academy Award, one of seven awarded to the film. Schindler's List sends you through a barrel ride of emotion, and much of this is down to its superb presentation.

Spielberg couldn't have chosen a better cast with the then relatively unknown (now major action star) Liam Neeson leading the way as Schindler. Neeson's performance is crucial in creating a character that isn't simply a messiah, but rather has uncertain goals and personal demons to grapple with. Kingsley is astoundingly good as the intellectually brilliant Itzhak Stern, his performance is honest and often touching. Fiennes is very fierce as Goeth, which must have been an emotionally exhausting character to play given his horrific and heartless actions. Supporting them are Caroline Goodall as Schindler's wife Emilie, Jonathan Sagall as Poldek Pfefferberg and Embeth Davidz as Helen Hirsch, the Jewish girl that gained Goeth's admiration's whilst working as his maid.  

Schindler's List is an honest look at the Holocaust, and the man that combated it with his power. Through all the haunting imagery rests a positive message of hope that leaves you both ready to mourn history's victims and celebrate those that try to make a difference. A movie for humans.

The New James Bond Movie has been announced!

Some very exciting news has just been announced. Director of Skyfall Sam Mendes made the announcement on Thursday from Pinewood Studios (the home of James Bond) that the new Bond movie will be called Spectre.

Fans of the Bond series will instantly recognise what this title alludes to. SPECTRE (standing for Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion) was the organisation that Bond was a constant foil to in the early movies, especially the Connery years. This organisation was headed by the ever-changing and mysterious Ernst Stavro Blofeld.

Before you get excited thinking that we are seeing the return of Blofeld, it has been announced also that Christoph Waltz will play the villain Oberhauser, the son of the late Hans Oberhauser, a man who acted as a father figure for Bond. This sounds like a whole bunch of misdirection to me. Remember when they said that Benedict Cumberbatch WASN'T playing Khan Noonien Singh in Star Trek Into Darkness.

In addition to Waltz, the new cast members will include Lea Seydoux, Dave Bautista, Monica Bellucci and Andrew Scott. Returning from Skyfall are Ralph Fiennes as M, Ben Whishaw as Q, Naomie Harris as Miss Moneypenny and Rory Kinnear as Tanner. All more I can say is that we here at the blog are more excited than we have ever been.

The Grand Budapest Hotel

If there has ever been a more esoteric film, The Grand Budapest Hotel is it. All the fans of Wes Anderson's films will immediately pick up on the formalities of his work and enjoy the film immensely. But don't think that if you haven't seen any of his films previously that you won't see it because you'll be missing out on some larger picture. Rather, it is a great introduction to his world. I think that may have to do with Ralph Fiennes, who comes fresh to the films of Wes Anderson.

Indeed, the majority of the film falls on the more than competent shoulders of Fiennes. This film, however, is a huge departure for him as he usually plays insidious characters (Harry Waters in In Bruges, Amon Göth in Schindler's List, Voldermort in the Harry Potter films). He plays Gustave H., the bubbly concierge at the titular hotel, where he wines and dines many of the older female clientele. One such guest, Madame D. (the wonderfully enigmatic Tilda Swinton), ends up being murdered and Gustave is the prime suspect. This is after he becomes the most profitable recipient of Madame D.'s will.

To help Gustave clear his name is the young lobby boy Zero Moustafa. He is played by the talented young Tony Revolori, for whom this is his first major role. He and Fiennes make an excellent comedic duo playing off each other perfectly and you can feel as though the role of mentor that Fiennes takes up must have spilled over to reality.

A lot of the humour in the film comes in very punctuated moments that are both absolutely absurd and shocking. But there are a lot of jokes that are very quick and funny, mainly quips spouted by Gustave, a lot of them to do with poetry or advice for young Zero.

Of course there are a huge number of other people in this film. F. Murray Abraham plays an older Zero and gives the film some of it's more emotionally insightful moments. Adrien Brody's foul-mouthed Dmitri also gives the film some more comedy as his swearing at times seems completely unwarranted (I should know).

From a technical standpoint this is a fun film to watch. Anderson's trademarks of models and fixed camera angles are all here, but the the most enjoyable thing about the film is that it's aspect ratio changes throughout the film. This has largely to do with the fact that the film is a series of flashbacks piled on top of each other.

Verdict: A hugely enjoyable film for everyone to watch. It is fantastically funny and at the same time has some beautifully reflective scenes. Watch out for the Schindler's List reference toward the end.