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The Batman (2022)
Impressive version of a great DC character
Finally managed to see the latest interpretation of the Batman. And yes this is a good one, but not without its flaws.
First, the cast is great. I was surprised by how much I liked seeing Robert Pattinson as the Batman though I don't feel as if he's done enough as Bruce Wayne. The always dependable Paul Dano is a standout as the Riddler. He is a terrific actor and will forever be typecast as the unstable loony bin, but he can be forgiven as he does it so effortlessly.
Colin Farrell as the penguin, John Turtorro as Falcone, Jeffrey Wright as Lt Gordon and Andy Serkis as Alfred are all excellent and bring something a little different to their roles. Less impressive though was Zoe Kravitz as cat woman. She looked fantastic in her costume but walks quite awkwardly especially in the long shots.
Talking about shots, the director's visual rendition of Gotham is one depicting social illness. It is wonderfully done. Everything about it looks dirty, decaying, grimy, cold and essentially diseased. The look works well and also extends to the bat cave where everything looks untidy. This is the Batman without the technology fitouts from Lucius Fox, so he's more of a DIY, man cave dwelling and clearly not well-polished Batman. Again, this works so well and I love the sound used when the Batman moves. This is not a silent, ninja type character. Patterson's version is that of young(ish), moody, literally clunky, slightly brutish dark knight who hasn't quite developed the psychotic streak of the comics that I tend to gravitate to. There are some hints of that extreme violence in this film (which at times got my heart thumping) and I do hope that Matt Reeves returns as director to flesh this out a bit more in the future films.
Christopher Nolan's trilogy is amazing and will be hard to beat but Reeves' version stands on its own as a perfectly good film. I would find it hard to compare this film with Nolan's epic trilogy and Tim Burton's gothic and stylised version (note: I refuse to mention the awful films by Joel Schumacher), but more to the point why would I want to make the comparison? What was missing from Nolan's and Burton's is a strong detective story which Reeves does very well.
A warning, this is a long film and covers a lot of ground. This is to me a flaw in that the film is very well directed with a great story and a good script, but I'm not sure that the final editing was quite right. Also if you are not familiar with Batman lore, you may be asking questions about characters mentioned in the film after the end credits roll. I sense that you would appreciate this more if you have read some of the seminal works by the likes of Frank Miller (Year One), and Jeph Loeb (the Long Hallowe'en).
One final thing, Nirvana's song 'something in the way' was used to great effect. Seriously enjoyed this latest depiction of a great DC character.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
Disappointment of epic proportions
I really wanted to enjoy it, I sincerely did, but the truth is that Batman v Superman was a monumental disappointment. Admittedly I was expecting something along the lines of Frank Miller's seminal graphic novel "The Dark Knight Returns" and boy was I wrong.
The film was literally a series of pointless explosions, maudlin navel gazing, bizarre dream sequences and the single most annoying super villain in the form of a manic and runty Lex Luthor, embarrassingly overacted by Jesse Eisenberg. I'm surprised that the two lead superheroes didn't just put aside their so-called differences and simply joined forces to beat the crap out of that whiny little turd.
However, on the plus side, Ben Affleck did a good job of portraying the Bat. Built like a brick out-house and sporting a really menacing voice, Affleck's Batman was a dark and menacing figure. Well played. Henry Cavill is a beautiful man. Enough said, he does look quite perfect as the Kryptonian. Gal Gadot as Diana Prince/Wonderwoman is also a stunning and enigmatic character, which left me wanting to see more of her.
A measly 5 stars. This film is barely passable which keeps me wondering why DC simply can't get their superhero films right (other than Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy). Damn shame.
Hail, Caesar! (2016)
A complete and utter mess
As much as I love the Coen brothers, they've truly messed up what could have been a promising film in Hail, Caesar. I think the Coens are trying to be too clever for their own good and in this instance, it has well and truly backfired. One of the missing ingredients is the Coen brothers' trademark absurd sense of humour e.g. The Big Lebowski, O brother where art thou, Raising Arizona just to name some of their most hysterically foot stomping funny films.
There were simply too many elements and sub stories in Hail, Caesar that ultimately led nowhere. How would one draw the threads linking a studio executive (Josh Brolin) looking for a missing leading man (George Clooney) who was kidnapped by a group of communist writers, whose mysterious leader also happens to be a campy, tap dancing sailor and a premadonna-ish Hollywood actress (Scarlet Johanssen) trying to offload her child so she can re-adopt it? And that's just the main story line. There are other sub plots that are much too confusing or pointless to introduce in this review. Suffice it to say that this turned out to be a complete mess of a film.
For filmmakers as talented as the Coen brothers this is a real disappointment.
Spectre (2015)
The series has run out of steam
Maybe I am getting crankier by the minute but I've got to say that I am disappointed with this latest Bond film. But first I have to own up and state that I am not a fan of James Bond films, I do however enjoy the current 'series' with Daniel Craig as the incarnation of Ian Fleming's 007. Out of the four films, I'd rank Casino Royale as my favourite followed by Skyfall, then Quantum of Solace and finally Spectre which I found to be ultimately rather silly.
The first act of Spectre was admittedly stunning. The first 5 or so minutes was a single, continuous tracking shot - absolutely spot on. But the truth is that this is really all that I can vividly remember about this film. A lot happens but the script was so clumsily cobbled together and so left what could have been a brilliant story line as a pointless set of great action scenes interspersed with lame and painfully slow moments. In short the pace wasn't right which gave me the feeling that this 'series' may have run out of steam.
Also from a point of aesthetics, Daniel Craig really hasn't aged that well. There was a particularly awkward shot of Bond from behind and you know, he has a pudgy bum. You read correctly. James Bond with a pudgy bum.
Silly film but with great action scenes, Not impressed overall.
The VVitch: A New-England Folktale (2015)
This is how you make a horror film
What a film. I generally don't like horror movies because I get annoyed by the standard Hollywood formula. It's refreshing to see something that is disturbingly all kinds of wrong.
The Witch is not a jump-out-of-your-seat-in-terror-brown-your-pants horror film but what makes this film especially unnerving is that it feels real and plausible. Indeed, this story is inspired by a series of historical accounts.
The story begins with a family in the new frontier of the US in the 1630s getting banished from their township and their attempts to create a new life by the edge of a forest. Nothing else need be said. Just watch and squirm and be prepared to look away. There are some truly unsettling moments.
I can tolerate all sorts of weird and freaky stuff with my movie watching habits, but the Witch had me rattled and I've not quite figured out why or how. The entire cast was amazing - the guy from the Office who plays Chris the sleazeball, that creepy Lysa Arryn from Game of Thrones, all four children, led by striking newcomer Anya Taylor-Joy who was impressive as Thomasin, the eldest sibling. The eerie soundtrack and the use of shadows in the cinematography were also very effective. The manner in which this was filmed places the viewers in the midst of the family's struggles making us helpless voyeurs and at times maybe complicit... I'll stop right here.
This is exactly how horror films should be done. It is one of the best horror films I've seen in a loooooong time. Very promising feature debut by director Robert Eggers. Here's looking forward to see how he translates Nosferatu as his new project. Really impressive. Go see it.
Spotlight (2015)
Brilliant but imperfect drama
I am genuinely pleased that Spotlight took this year's Oscar for best picture. It is an important film and given the Royal Commission currently underway to address abuse cases originating from Australia, a topical one that really should be seen.
Without spoilers, I can safely state that this film is actually quite accessible and not as difficult to watch as I had previously anticipated. Whilst Spotlight addresses horrific crimes against children, I did not consider it to be in any way gratuitous or exploitative. It has a docu-drama feel about it which makes it somewhat cold and impersonal.
It must be noted that Spotlight is a true story about the investigative process led by three committed journalists, their editor (brilliantly played by Michael Keaton), the socially awkward editor in chief also wonderfully downplayed by the always dependable Liev Schrieber, and their relationship with members of the legal fraternity.
It is however less concerned about the abuse victims' stories and is largely focused on the team's interest in exposing the magnitude of the systemic abuse by the Catholic Church. Which as we are now all witnessing from watching the news, reverberates all the way to the Vatican. Make no mistake, in certain scenes, this film will make your blood boil. And this is to me Spotlight's fundamental weakness in that it really only manages to scratch the surface of the horrors for which the church is squarely responsible. And only just manages to do so.
Deadpool (2016)
Must see film of the season
Finally a superhero film that urinates all over decorum, and well, on just about everything else really, especially other marvel characters. Talking about which, I must say I am seriously impressed that marvel has once again been able to make something out of very little.
This is for all intents and purposes just another revenge film. There's nothing particularly original about Deadpool but with snappy, foul mouth and clever dialogue, a frenetic pace, fantastic visual effects and an opening sequence that will blow your socks off, this rates as one of the best examples of what Hollywood can achieve if you allow certain individuals to run free with their passion.
In Deadpool, Ryan Reynolds played the titular role for laugh out loud entertainment. Morena Baccarin is gorgeous and delivers her sometimes equally foul mouth rants with glee. I think it's fair to say that everyone in the film appeared to have had an absolute ball. Tipping my hat to the director Tim Miller for his directorial debut. The opening scene alone almost had me in spasms, it's exciting to see such talent coming out of mainstream Hollywood.
Loved the soundtrack, loved the visuals, loved the sick humour, loved the lead actors, but I didn't really get the role of those x-men characters. It's OK, that was a minor quibble. Overall, fantastically entertaining film and must be seen on the big screen.
Mr. Holmes (2015)
Gentle, lyrical and thoughtful
I genuinely had no idea what to expect from this film as I knew so little about it. OK, so it has Sherlock Holmes as the lead character and I naturally assumed that it would be some crime solving caper. Boy was I wrong, but pleasantly so. The premise of the film is simple - what happens to the famous Sherlock Holmes in his twilight years, if he were to suffer from senility... and no it's not a comedy nor is it a depressing film. It's an evenly-paced, gentle, well-written character study of a fiercely intelligent man trying to hold on to the use of his brilliant mind to recount the details of his final case. If I could use one word to describe this film - contemplative. It's a series of vignettes, each with its own little mystery, all seemingly unconnected at first, until it gradually all comes together. Ian McKellen is, as always, fantastic and perfectly cast in the titular role but the most intriguing character is the subject of Holmes' final case, wonderfully portrayed by Hattie Morahan as Ann Kelmot. Also love the moody soundtrack by Carter Burwell. Very good film, thoughtful with striking images of the British countryside.
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (2015)
Unexpected charmer
When people realise how passionate I am about films, the first question I'm invariably asked is "so what's your favourite movie?" The truth is that I've never been able to respond to this in a coherent manner. I can certainly fire off a number of films that I consider to be 'important' but that would just be me talking about those films in a wanky, critical context. But the real question itself is a deeply personal one and it's fair to say that my response can alter according to the mood I'm in and the person I'm conversing with.
However, there are some films that I can watch from a critical lens and still be affected in a most personal manner. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is such a film. Which is precisely why I absolutely love it.
Consider this, a socially awkward teenager is asked by his interfering mother to make friends with a fellow student who is diagnosed with leukaemia. The teenagers eventually find a way to make this work through the amateurish and ridiculously funny short films that the lead character Greg and his associate Earl produce, direct and star in. These films are more like crazy tributes to classic and arty foreign films. There's really not much more to the story, but as always, to me a story is of no real consequence. What's important is what and how I feel when the end credits roll.
At times, when I was watching the film (during my flight home), the cabin crew were laughing at me laughing out loud at some of the many hysterically funny scenes, but at the end I was moved to tears. And no, I will not spoil it for you and I assure you, the end is not what you think it is going to be. But if you are not affected by the last 15 minutes of the film, you're probably missing an important piece of your heart. I was caught completely off guard. The final images, with visual clues scattered during the course of the film satisfied my intellectual need to analyse the moving pictures and the music by Brian Eno seriously took me to a strange and different place. This is a wonderful, intelligent, warm spirited but most of all a beautifully sensitive film. The three very likable lead actors were perfectly cast and Olivia Cooke is Rose Byrne's doppelgänger. Just gorgeous. I can't tell you just how much I love this film, it certainly ranks as one of my favourites of the year. An absolute must see, especially for classic film buffs.