Film Review: Vice

"It Has Been My Honor To Be Your Servant. You Chose Me. And I Did What You Asked..."

Reuniting the rather excellent filmmaking team behind 2016's The Big Short, Vice, brings to the big screen a rather scathing, politically one-sided depiction of the rise and fall of one of America's most infamous contemporary political figureheads, Dick Cheney, the Nebraskan born figure of ruthlessness who during the course of almost three decades rose to great prominence within the White House, eventually earning the title of the most powerful vice president in history in his time within the rather controversial Bush presidency at the turn of the twentieth century. Directed by Adam McKay, whose success with The Big Short seems to have thankfully pushed him away from the laddish cringiness of the likes of Step Brothers forevermore, Vice follows a very familial cinematic layout to the Oscar winning drama by essentially portraying a contemporary and highly controversial issue with a balance of both black comedy and seriousness, one led by the seemingly interchangeable figure of Christian Bale (The Dark Knight) who once again goes full-on The Machinist, albeit in reverse, by utilising the skills of prosthetics and his local takeaway in order to pull off a rather outstanding central performance in what is a considerably flashy ensemble acting piece. Slapped with a guarantee to inflame and provoke immediate discussion on both sides of the political fence, Vice is an explicit, highly intriguing, and at times, genuinely terrifying, depiction of modern politics in action which continues the notion that when handed the right material, McKay can truly be a standout figure of importance within the world of issue-based cinema. 

Beginning with the successful rise of Christian Bale's Cheney as he quickly progresses from drunken college dropout to falling under the wing of Steve Carell's (Beautiful Boy) charismatic and wickedly devious, Donald Rumsfeld, McKay's movie utilises the opening chapters in order to establish the unbreakable relationship within the Cheney household, with Amy Adams' (Arrival) Lynne equally as power hungry as her aspiring husband, albeit burdened by her understanding of the limitations of her gender in the world of American politics. With it absolutely impossible to fit in every single point of interest within Cheney's alarmingly elongated career, the central narrative of the movie begins and ends with the events of 9/11, a time in which Cheney's tunnel vision for power is most clearly represented, and whilst at times the movie seems to disregard levels of depth for characters who seem to come and go, it comes at no surprise that those already slightly invested in such a crucial time in American politics may feel the ride much easier than those with absolutely zero interest or awareness of the events which occurred at the start of the twenty first century. Being part of the latter, the chance to witness Sam Rockwell portray (Three Billboards) George W. Bush as a drunken, easily led simpleton is almost too delicious to turn down, even when the film refuses to hold back in reminding the audience of the terrifying devastation at the heart of his particular tenure as President.

   

Whilst comparisons to The Big Short are obviously rather inevitable in terms of the storytelling, the most obvious and in-your-face connection between the two movies is of course the flashy, quickfire editing technique which McKay utilises so heavy in order to convey the many ideas floating around his head onto the big screen. With almost an uncanny sense of being handed subliminal messaging at times, the storytelling is constantly intercut with random segments of imagery and seemingly relevant newsreel footage which are used to reinforce the overarching political standing at the heart of the movie. With Jesse Plemons (Game Night) this time handed the reigns as narrator, Vice surprisingly never seems gimmicky or too confusing, with the constant editing shifts actually balancing the rather heavy and hectic central plot involving political jargon and offers a somewhat release and breakaway from characters who at the end of the day, are all downright slimey and evil to their core. With Bale supplying the archetypal, Marlon Brando-esque sense of commitment to the lead role of Cheney, Vice supplies the platform for yet another awards touted performance full of grandiose presence, even when the real life Cheney himself was renowned for being something of a introverted, slightly muted charisma vacuum. Whilst I was always destined to admire a piece of work with a political standpoint which pretty much aligns with my own when it comes to the downright illegal doings of one of the most infamous presidencies in history, Vice crucially did not disappoint and managed to handle the difficult subject matter with relative ease, supplying an excellent follow up to The Big Short and getting me excited for whatever Team McKay decide to do next. 

Overall Score: 8/10

Film Review: Hostiles

"Sometimes I Envy The Finality Of Death. The Certainty. And I Have To Drive Those Thoughts Away When I Wake..."

Reuniting with Christian Bale after their work together on 2013's Out of the Furnace, Black Mass director Scott Cooper returns this week, screenplay in hand, with Hostiles, a taut, uncompromising and viciously gritty Western set in the final years of the 19th century which follows Bale's Captain Joe Blocker as he is tasked with escorting Wes Studi's aged and dying war chief back to his sacred homeland in time for his oncoming passing. Developed from a manuscript left by the Oscar winning screenwriter, Donald E. Stewart, before his death in 1999, Cooper's latest combines the nihilistic harshness and visceral violence of his previous works with an elegant, thematic fuelled character study which utilises the treacherous backdrop of the rocky plains of Native America to discuss notions of death, forgiveness and the mirror image qualities of right and wrong, and whilst many will head into the movie ready in wait for an abundance of action, Hostiles is brilliantly akin more to the likes of Unforgiven and Bone Tomahawk in its' fascination with the complexity of the human spirit over the generic and cliched Westernised shoot em up style action, and with some standout performances from its' leading stars, Cooper's latest is his most mature and richly rewarding release to date.

With Bale giving an outstanding full body performance, moustache and all, as the grizzly war torn Army Captain, who against his fundamental beliefs is forced to work alongside Studi's equally murderous and contemplative Native chief, the narrative weaves and twists through themes which touch onto the strangeness of human nature and the idea that man's true belonging is one of a fundamental survivalist nature which cannot ever be deceived. Setting the drama within a stark and desperate period of time of American history, the environment of the piece is beautifully presented by cinematographer Masanobu Takayanagi, a regular counterpart of Cooper, who captures the soaring, rocky vistas in eye-widening fashion, whilst the handling of the film's darkest elements are too expertly managed, with Cooper's presentation of the on-screen violence unnervingly realistic, with the opening act involving Rosamund Pike's family a blueprint intended to both set a baseline for the tone of the movie and reassure its' audience that Hostiles is a movie not at all for the faint of hearted. A few missteps aside, including the unnecessary inclusion of Ben Foster's character which somewhat sidetracks the pacing of the piece, Cooper's latest is an emotionally engaging and overwhelmingly powerful drama which follows in the footsteps of Bone Tomahawk, Slow West and Hell or High Water by being a contemporary Western which manages to be both fresh on its' own terms and respectful to its' inspirations, and on that basis alone, Hostiles is a wholly rewarding cinematic experience. 

Overall Score: 8/10

Film Review: The Promise

"Our Revenge Will Be To Survive..."

Whilst I can admit to not always being a fan of outside arguments and discussions regarding the arrival of a new cinematic release, due simply to the fact that after all is said and done, a film is only a film, the controversy revolving around Terry George's The Promise is one which has been an undeniable eye-catcher ever since its' first release way back last year when the ever-popular IMDB rating system was apparently being hacked and improperly used by those accused of awarding the film a measly one star out of ten in a subversive tactic which was regarded as a orchestrated campaign to derail the release of the movie by Armenian genocide deniers. Tough stuff I know, and whilst this may or may not be the case, it did seem strange that a film in which had only been watched by a minuscule amount of audiences at pre-release screenings within festivals seemed to have such a negative reception with over 50,000 one-star ratings being awarded to the film before its' intended wide-spread release date. As for the film itself, The Promise is unfortunately nowhere near as interesting as the events preceding its' release, tackling a harrowing and shocking subject matter and lacing it with sub-par levels of drama and a leading love triangle which verges on the edge of cringe, resulting in a picture which potentially could have had the same impact of a movie such as Son of Saul but with trying narrative twists and awful set design, ends up being a complete and utter bore.

Of the many problems with the movie, the film's choice to focus primarily on the leading trio of the dodgy accented Isaac, the walking contradiction of Le Bon and the always awesome, Christian Bale, is a fundamental movie killer with neither of the characters really having enough development or admirable traits to which an average movie audience can relate with in order to find them interesting. Putting all of their chips on the figure of Oscar Isaac's Mikael, a character who not only decides against marrying his future betrothed in favour of a love affair with the wife of a respected journalist but essentially destroys the life of both said wife and said journalist respectively with his ignorant involvement in getting between them, the audiences involvement never really gets going and the sickening sights of forced drama when the saccharin sweetness of the romance pauses in favour of seemingly out-of-place violence is really quite aggravating to behold. From my point of view, you simply cannot comprehend a 12A rated movie based upon genocide and then fill it with a soppy love story and expect the audience to get on-board with it, and whilst this is exactly the decision those behind the creation of The Promise have got behind, I cannot shy away from the fact that it was not the film I was after regarding such a underdeveloped strand of history and with a narrative as corny as the one holding together Terry George's latest, I take no pleasure in stating that I am probably right. 

Overall Score: 4/10

88th Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actor

Best Supporting Actor

Here we are once again... The 88th Academy Awards is upon us, swiftly bringing with it a rafter of talent, talent that has simmered and shone throughout a cinematic year in which bears have been fought, evil deeds exposed and Mexican drug-lords being dispatched quicker than you can whisper Sicario. Beginning Black Ribbon's venture and exploration into the realms of Oscar Nomination goodness is the category of Best Supporting Actor, an award currently clutched onto by the majestic J.K Simmons for his electric portrayal of Terrence Fletcher in last years Whiplash, Black Ribbon's favourite film of 2016. Aiming to steal the limelight from under Mr. Simmons' shoes is a string of actors well accustomed to critical acclaim in the past with theatre legend Mark Rylance being nominated for his role in Steven Spielberg's Cold War thriller Bridge of Spies, Christian Bale for Wall Street comedy-drama The Big Short, Tom Hardy for his role in the sublime The Revenant, and of course, Mark Ruffalo for the equally brilliant Spotlight. Oh yeah, and there's Sylvester Stallone for Creed. 

Looking at the bookies and by word of mouth on the movie grapevine, favourite this year for winning the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor lies on the shoulders of both Mr. Stallone for Creed and Mr. Rylance for Bridge of Spies, with both being successful at previous movie ceremonies; Stallone at the Golden Globes and Rylance at the BAFTA's. As for those who may have been overlooked, both Benicio Del Toro for Sicario and Idris Elba for Beasts of No Nation would have been potential winners for their roles in two superb films, whilst the fear of Oscar white-washing isn't helped by the fact that the cast from Straight Outta Compton was completely ignored, particularly Jason Mitchell for his role as Eazy-E. It maybe just me, but the inclusion of any of these overlooked talents may have made this years' ceremony a bit more thrilling. Anyway, here are the nominations:

Mark Rylance - Bridge of Spies

Christian Bale - The Big Short

Tom Hardy - The Revenant

Sylvester Stallone - Creed

Mark Ruffalo - Spotlight

Next Time: Best Supporting Actress!

Film Review: The Big Short

"We're Going To Wait Until They Feel The Pain, Until They Start To Bleed..."

To say Adam McKay was the last person on my mind to be at the helm of a film regarding the events leading up to and beyond the financial crisis of 2007 and into 2008 is quite a monumental understatement. Although previous movies of McKay, including Step Brothers, The Other Guys, and of course, Anchorman, have left with me with a fundamental sense of believing American comedy is well and truly heading down the toilet, The Big Short is a movie that tackles a ridiculously complicated subject matter for a member of the lay public without a background in hard economics, and throws in a surprisingly effective comedic element, one in which proves, when diverting from teeny-angst rubbish which has encompassed his previous selection of movies, that in fact, Adam McKay can in fact be a successful director in the hard-nut genre of comedy. With a strong band of actors such as Christian Bale, Steve Carell and Brad Pitt, The Big Short is a movie of a highly enjoyable pedigree, if one that ever so slightly goes over your head in a "I'm so much smarter than you fashion," but hey, who the heck knows what a credit default swap is anyhow?

Based on the book of the same name by author Michael Lewis, The Big Short details three intertwining stories of events proceeding the financial crisis of 2007/8, beginning with Christian Bales' slightly exuberant and wholly unsociable Dr. Michael Burry who predicts the impeding collapse and leading on to Steve Carell's Mark Baum and Ryan Gosling's Jared Vennett, all of whom are attempting to benefit from the ticking time-bomb of the US's fraudulent housing market system. Like 99% of cinema goers who will go and see The Big Short, most of the film, I can freely admit, I was completely baffled, with the film being jam-packed with speech and set-pieces that make absolutely no sense whatsoever, with talks of hedge funds, CDO's and subprime lending meaning absolutely zilch, and to be fair, it shouldn't, I'm not exactly a top end economist. Thankfully, and critically, The Big Short knows this. Although its' attempts to try and explain goings on with weird impulsed celebrity cameos just feel plain wrong, the film's baffling nature is ultimately put to one side due to the sheer power of its' actors and the swift nature of its' comedic quips.

Star of the show is no doubt Steve Carell, whose character not only feels like the most three-dimensional out of the key components of the film, but it is a character that most people will find it easiest to associate with, especially in a stand out scene in which Baum is told straight-faced about the sheer unbelievable nature of the housing market by the creator of synthetic CDO's, one of the core instruments in the downfall of the economy, a scene in which we witness Carell change from a state of interest to one of sheer shock and disgust. It's a great scene and one in which embodies the hatred behind the capitalist, greedy nature of the US economy. If The Big Short makes you feel anything by the time the credits roll, it's one that mirrors the state of Baum in such a scene. Hatred. Shock. Disgust. Feelings not aimed at the film in any sense, but feelings that are aimed towards the top one percent, those who watched millions fall to pieces around them whilst they sat and watched, earning profits in the process of doing so. The Big Short is not perfect by any means, but it is a film that encourages you to feel, and that, it sure did. Comedic in places, but straight-faced come the end, The Big Short is The Wolf of Wall Street reversed, attempting to show the sheer horrendous effects of greed and selfishness in a way that is enjoyable and entertaining whilst satirising the corporate nature of the US in the 21st century. Hollywood 1, Wall Street 0.

Overall Score: 8/10