Film Review: Isle of Dogs

"I Used To Sleep On A Lamb's Wool Beanbag Next To An Electric Space Heater. That's My Territory, I'm An "Indoor" Dog..."

Whether you feel the back catalogue of Wes Anderson falls too heavily on the kooky spectrum at times, there is no doubting that the stylish cinematic sensibility which springs to mind whenever you think of the likes of The Grand Budapest Hotel or Moonrise Kingdom is undoubtedly one stamped with a seal which paints the American as a contemporary, modern example of someone willing to expand and explore the vast array of horizons possible on film. Following on from his use of stop-motion animation on 2009's Fantastic Mr. Fox, Anderson once again utilises the format on Isle of Dogs, a surreal, comedy caper set in a dystopian near-future city in Japan, one ruled by the tyrannical Mayor Kobayashi who resorts to signing an executive order which immediately orders the evacuation of the ever-expanding populous of dogs onto "Trash Island" due to an outbreak of "dog fever". With an extensive and highly impressive voice cast, Isle of Dogs is on the one hand an incredibly successful animated exercise, with the flawless and detailed approach to the creation of the movie plain to see from the outset, but with a one-card trick holding up its' central narrative, Anderson's latest is entertaining, but far from utterly captivating. 

Whilst accents and language utilised within the confines of successful comedic features isn't wholly original and has been used many times before, most predominantly in last year's The Death of Stalin which of course featured Jason Isaacs donning a Yorkshire accent for his depiction of Georgy Zhukov, Anderson's celebrity shopping list of a voice cast resorts to an entertaining game of "guess who" as the film progresses, with Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad), Edward Norton (Birdman) and Bill Murray (The Jungle Book) the immediate trio of recognisable dulcet tones as the leading pack of the movie who come across Koyu Rankin's Atari Kobayashi, the young Mayor's aid, who travels to Trash Island in order to locate his lost dog, "Spots". With most of the film laying focus on the superb animation, the movie does unfortunately suffer from a sense of being a joke strung out too long, and whilst the pace of the movie is nicely balanced, with the narrative moving back and forth in both time periods and locations in a Scorsese-esque edited fashion, Isle of Dogs does come the end of it, feel quite flat and all too focused on surface rather than depth, but with a cute, barking-mad feel to it and the fact that nobody can turn down a fluffy haired canine, Anderson's movie works to a solid, not spectacular, degree. 

Overall Score: 6/10

Film Review: Sausage Party

"I'm So Happy The Gods Put Our Packages Together..."

Judging from the trailers alone, everyone knew what to expect with Sausage Party, the latest comedy venture from the Seth Rogen rubble, directed by Conrad Vermon and Greg Tiernan, with crude and vulgar humour set to being seeped throughout an animation which attempts to poke holes in the family-friendly works of Disney and Pixar by following in the footsteps of a supermarket-based sausage named Frank (Seth Rogen) who like every other food item in the store, believes being "chosen" by the "gods" results in a swift and joyous journey into heaven. Of course the reality of the situation is a closely-hidden secret, a secret in which Frank and his merry band of faithful food friends including Frank's girlfriend, Brenda (Kristen Wiig) attempt to bring to light.

Although strangely hypnotic for the first ten minutes or so, Sausage Party does swiftly descend into plights of sheer boredom, with the one-note shine of relying on vulgarity and ridiculous levels of swearing not exactly managing to survive the full 90 minutes in which subplots aplenty attempt to hold up the animation into earning its' reason to be on the big screen. Although the final act is one in which all involved must have been patting themselves firmly on the back after creating, its' ludicrousness as a whole confirms that if made as a 30 minute sketch, perhaps the idea of Sausage Party may have been a successful one. Instead, the film is just another excuse for Seth Rogen to make penis jokes, and although occasional laughter can be created by such, Sausage Party isn't the comedy I was hoping for. The animation is good though, so you know, not all bad. Peace. 

Overall Score: 4/10

87th Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actor

Oscars 2015: Best Supporting Actor

We are now on to the penultimate blog regarding this years Oscars ceremony, the focus of which is  on the "Best Supporting Actor" category, featuring Hulk, Hamlet, J. Jonah Jameson, Tom Hagen and, oddly, Hulk again. In terms of bookies favourite, J. K. Simmons is the best bet to win the gong, and for the second time running, I completely agree with them. His performance as the ferocious Terrence Fletcher in Whiplash, transformed a film with a rather simple and, dare I say it, boring plot, into the most gripping cinematic experience I have witnessed in a long while. Hats off to him. As an added extra, I wouldn't be surprised to see either Edward Norton or Ethan Hawke, pick up the award instead, for their roles in Birdman and Boyhood respectively, highlighting the strength of the nominations in this particular category this year. In terms of overlooked, James Gandolfini for The Drop, and, i'm calling it, Dave Bautista for Guardians of the Galaxy. That's right. Drax the Destroyer. Instead, we have:


Robert Duvall - The Judge
Ethan Hawke - Boyhood
Edward Norton - Birdman
Mark Ruffalo - Foxcatcher
J. K. Simmons - Whiplash

Next... Best Supporting Actress

Film Review: Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

The Phoenix Rises

When it comes to films, I try and stay hidden from advance reviews in order to always go into the cinema with an open mind and thus, be unaware of what anyone has said about the film before I have seen it. Unfortunately for the case of Birdman, this was unavoidable. After seeing a range of films in the cinema over Christmas, a Birdman trailer was always guaranteed along with the many 5 star reviews that are presented to you during its' run-time. Because of this, I went into the screening of Birdman with my expectation level moderately high yet, once the film had finished, it is fair to say I wasn't disappointed. 

In terms of plot, Micheal Keaton plays Riggan Thompson, a washed-up Hollywood star famous for playing the role of superhero 'Birdman' who, at an attempt to get his career back on track, takes a shot at Broadway by means of writing, directing, and starring in an adaptation of the short story What We Talk About When We Talk About Love  by Raymond Carver, an idol of Thompson's. Unbeknownst to anyone else, Thompson is plagued by the subconscious voice of Birdman, who, along with a faltering family and disruptive cast, place Thompson's life and career firmly in the balance. 

Firstly, it is fair to say that Birdman is something unlike anything else I think I have ever seen before within cinematic history, with its' mix of genres, (Is it a drama? Black comedy? Satire? Superhero movie?) fantastic cinematography, (by Oscar-winning Emmanuel Lubezki who won the award for Gravity) and a brilliantly barmy plot performed perfectly by an equally superb ensemble cast. Secondly, Keaton is excellent (I am running out of superlatives) as Thompson and should easily be recognised within the upcoming awards season, even if I couldn't help but draw parallels between his character's life and his own (Keaton played Batman in the Tim Burton films). Lastly, the satirical notions regarding cinema in today's society were greatly emphhasised and executed throughout the film, particularly the scene with a fancy dress Iron Man fighting Spider-Man which, in my opinion, was rather splendid. The films' two hour running time, in general, went quickly, although I

 felt there seemed to be too many scenes where the film was set to end and then quickly carried on, yet this didn't deter the utter joy I felt whilst watching it.  

Overall, Birdman is a brilliant, barmy, and bonkers piece of cinema which no doubt will end up somewhere in my Top Ten films of 2015. Keaton is superb. The visuals are stunning. The plot is splendid.  RIP Batman, long live Birdman. 

Overall Score: 9/10