Film Review: Toy Story 4

"You’re Bonnie’s Toy. You Are Going To Help Create Happy Memories That Will Last For The Rest Of Her Life..."

Come the end of Toy Story 3 back in 2010, it's fair to say that a huge majority of both film critics and fans alike seemed to all be in universal agreement that the story of Woody and Buzz had been wrapped up rather beautifully, concluding a trilogy of award-winning animation movies which would forever be regarded as Disney Pixar's very own pièce de résistance and a particular franchise that would never be topped. When the first whispers of a further sequel arose therefore, a wave of pandemonium and panic justifiably surfaced across social media, with the same critics and fans jaw-dropped at the idea that such a beloved trilogy could potentially be tarnished for what seemed to exist for no other reason than that of a quick cash-grab, and whilst many may head into Toy Story 4 carrying a suitcase worth of trepidation, what a huge relief it is to report that Disney Pixar's latest is a heartwarming, hilarious and sometimes beautiful animated delight, a third sequel which mixes the return of all of the franchise favourite characters with interesting new inclusions alongside a central narrative which although does feel overly familiar for a series spanning twenty years plus, will undoubtedly work for both children and adults alike. 

With a different director at the helm once again, Pixar Animation Studios stalwart, Josh Cooley, is gleefully offered the top job, taking the directing mantle away from the likes of John Lasseter and Lee Unkrich, after his work on recent animated works including Inside Out and Up, and with a script from a whole army of screenwriters, including Lasseter himself, Toy Story 4 primarily picks off where its' predecessor ended, with Woody (Tom Hanks) and co. now being cared for by young Bonnie, the playful daughter of the parents living next door to Woody's previous owner, Andy, and with Woody now being resigned to a limited amount of playtime, Bonnie soon finds herself a new best friend in the figure of Forky (Tony Hale) a makeshift, DIY hybrid of trash and toy whose lust for freedom results in Woody and the gang attempting to rescue him and bring him back to the loving arms of his creator. With more comedic punches than so-called contemporary comedies, an array of interesting new characters including Keanu Reeves' (John Wick) Duke Caboom, and simply stunning animation, Toy Story 4 is indeed Disney Pixar at their most charming, and whilst the overall plot does seem slightly run-of-the-mill and franchise built, Cooley's movie benefits from a tonal sensibility that only the best Disney movies can do, with it the type of movie which within the space of just over ninety minutes makes you smile, laugh and cry all at the same time. Oh, and I loved the massive nod to The Shining. 

Overall Score: 7/10

Film Review: The Strangers: Prey at Night

"Is Someone Else Staying Here? I Thought We Were Alone..?"

With it being an entire decade since the release of Bryan Bertino's mildly successful 2008 American horror, The Strangers, the follow up sequel, subtitled Prey at Night, finally hits the big screen under the direction of English filmmaker Johannes Roberts, whose previous credits include 47 Metres Down and The Other Side of the Door, with Bertino still attached to the project by supplying the screenplay for the movie alongside American pen pusher Ben Ketai. With the original film based on a culmination of the infamous Manson Family murders and a personal experience of break-ins in and around an area to which Bertino lived within, the 2008 release was nihilistic oddity with a genuine nasty streak which paid tribute to the likes of famous video nasties including Straw Dogs, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Last House on the Left, and what Prey at Night offers is a very familiar, ultra violent slasher flick which overcomes a wide array of weaknesses thanks to a stylish, retro tone and various interesting and well orchestrated set pieces which offers the case for Roberts' movie being a case of a sequel which improves upon the basis set by its' predecessor. 

With an opening act which introduces the quartet of leading familial victims including Christina Hendricks' (Drive) mother figure, Cindy, Martin Henderson's (Everest) Mike, and the two teenage children played by Bailee Madison and Lewis Pullman, the attempt to flesh out any reasonable characterisation within the first twenty minutes fails pretty spectacularly, with the reasoning behind the families sudden venture to the most vacant of caravan parks not really expanded upon, resulting in a complete absence of empathy for when the inevitable violence eventually occurs. Thankfully however, once the action begins, Prey at Night continues the overly hyper-violent tone of the original to impressive means, utilising a surprising early character death to set the pace for remaining hour or so of the piece, and with the aid of the creepy masked killers, the iconic image of the series so far, the murderous rampage which the film embarks upon is surprisingly entertaining. Central to the film's success however is a strangely ironic and satirical undertone, one which is beefed up by a wholly comedic and off-kilter 1980's jukebox soundtrack, and one which allows individual set pieces to blossom with a heavy sense of style, particularly a latter act scene involving a superbly manoeuvred confrontation at a swimming pool which for me, took the film to a higher level than it possibly should have ever been, and although Prey at Night does indeed fall into a realm of cliche and predictability when looking back as a whole body of work, its' the film's style and nasty streak which makes the sequel work to an entertaining degree. 

Overall Score: 6/10

Film Review: Fist Fight

"We're Gonna Handle Our Differences Like Real Men..."

When reviewing a film such as Fist Fight, the first thing you have to realise is that the Ice Cube which is top-billed on such a movie is indeed the same Ice Cube famous for being the great wordsmith which invigorated the gangsta rap scene in the late 1980's with N.W.A and indeed the same Ice Cube whose latter-day career choices include seemingly blundering into a continuous array of comedy-based cinematic projects, with only a few actually being of some notable success such as 21 Jump Street and erm, 22 Jump Street. It comes as no real shock therefore that Fist Fight is nothing more than a lazy, thoughtless and cringe-worthy attempt of a comedy, with awful dialogue, a dwindling, lacklustre narrative, and one of the most pain-inducing performances I have ever seen from Charlie Day in a leading role which consists of a character who is slated for being friendly and kind and instead finds redemption and a sense of purpose by resorting to drug dealing, swearing at minors and unreasonable levels of violence. You know, all those things which make you "cool" nowadays. 

Although running for a reasonable length of 90 minutes, Fist Fight is one of those movies in which you absolutely feel every single second drag past until you reach a conclusion and final act which not only is generically mediocre, but smiles at you whilst it crackles at the thought of the money the audience has paid to watch such a dire attempt of a comedy. Although the blame doesn't entirely lie at the feet of Ice Cube, it just baffles me why this is the kind of film in which he has settled for after a strong start to an acting career which started with the likes of Boyz in the Hood and the culty favourite Friday, yet the real loser of the show is indeed Charlie Day who screams his way into a leading role which laughs at the state of modern-day education, resulting in the first case of a fictional character this year who has actively driven me to a straightforward high level of hatred. Saddled with jokes about underage sex, statutory rape, drug use, casual racism and a clanger of a mis-step in the form of a incredibly young child relaying lyrics from Big Sean to an audience of similarly aged children, Fist Fight is just poop from beginning to end. That's right, poop. I can be a child sometimes too. 

Overall Score: 3/10

Film Review: The Neon Demon

"Beauty Isn't Everything. It's The Only Thing..."

Much like marmite, the conservative party and battenburg cake, Nicolas Winding Refn has established himself as the leading figure of being someone you either love or someone you really, really hate, where although films such as Bronson and Drive have put Refn on the Hollywood map in recent years, his last venture in the form of Only God Forgives was something that myself and many others believed to be his most divisive work yet. What side was I on I hear you ask? The one which thought that Refn had really lost the plot, with Only God Forgives being an ultra-violent mess from start to finish. Now, Refn is back with The Neon Demon, a neo-noir horror based upon the dark side of the fashion industry starring Elle Fanning as the 16 year old Jesse, the blue eyed deer in the headlights, desperate for her time in the spotlight after recently moving to Los Angeles, who realises the only way to make money is to make the most of her stunning, natural beauty. Que necrophilia, cannibalism, stunning visuals and a Oscar worthy score by Refn regular Cliff Martinez and The Neon Demon is indeed a complete work of art, a work of art like Only God Forgives, is bound to split audiences right down the middle. What side am I on this time? The positive one. And some. 

Pulling in riffs from a wide range of famous movies from the past, The Neon Demon prides itself on featuring echoes of Black Swan, Irreversible, Carrie, and even more deliciously, the movies of David Lynch, particularly that of Inland Empire and Mulholland Drive, with both featuring the notion that sometimes imagery and visuals can be so overpowering and hypnotic that the sense of ambiguity such films create can be put to one side with a strange sense of rational compromise. The same can be said of The Neon Demon, a film so hell bent on blasting you with out of this world colours, visuals, and imagery that you have to think twice to comprehend that Refn is indeed colour blind. That's right, the director of the best looking film of 2016 can't see the beauty he has created. Ironic really, in a sad sense, yet there is no denying The Neon Demon is indeed a spectrum of artful amazingness, something you wouldn't really think of in regards to a horror movie in the traditional sense, yet the inclusion of obvious shock-inducing exploitation goodness such as THAT scene and things going a bit stabby stabby come the final act means Refn has created a film which stays with you for days on end. The Neon Demon will indeed divide audiences yet for my money, it's up there with Drive, making it one of the best, and most surprising, films of the year so far. 

Overall Score: 9/10

Film Review: Lost River

A Directional Debut Delving Into Darkness

After being the talk of the town when it comes to acting over the past couple of years, cereal hater Ryan Gosling has chosen to take the directors seat this time, with Lost River being based around a story of his own creation, and featuring a cast consisting of Mad Men's Christina Hendricks, Agents of Shield's Ian De Caestecker, the Eleventh Doctor, Matt Smith, and Ms. Gosling, Eva Mendes. With past directorial experience with directors such as Derek Cianfrance for The Place Beyond the Pines and Nicolas Winding Refn for Drive and Only God Forgives, the odds were stacked high in Gosling's favour for his directorial debut. Unfortunately for Gosling and Lost River, the director's career has got off to a bit of a bad start.

In terms of the story, Hendricks plays single mother Billy, who after being threatened by her bank manager Dave, played by Ben Mendelsohn, agrees to take a job offering in the darker side of her hometown in an attempt to make financial ends meet, whilst her son Bones is hunted down by Matt Smith's character, Bully, forcing him to also seek out the dark and dangerous side of the town along with Saoirse Ronan's character, Rat. Firstly, the tone of the film is so obviously based around the teachings of Winding Refn that it made me cringe in places, with the neo-noir tone that was so effective in Drive, being put to use here, but in a much pointless and boring way. I mean poor old Ben Mendelsohn, not only does he have to portray one of the most boring characters ever, he also has to do a bit of karaoke, a scene lifted straight from Only God Forgives, and dance like Richard Curtis in another scene for no particular reason whatsoever. Why Gosling, why?

Not only is Refn the main inspiration here, but David Lynch too, who unlucky enough for Gosling, happens to be one of my favourite directors. Lost River does attempt to be seen as  its' own Lynchian masterpiece, using all the dreamy, mystical tropes of Blue Velvet and Inland Empire, but ultimately fails. Not only is the plot actually really dull and uninteresting, but the sense of fantasy that tries to be implemented makes it comical at times. I think I counted three scenes at least where all Smith's character does is scream really loud. I mean, why? So Lost River is not the worst film of the year, it just seems like it (Lynch reference here, I'm clever too Gosling) with a cast as good as this being wasted in trying to fulfill Gosling's dream of being as good a director as Lynch or Refn. I'd give it a miss. 

Overall Score: 4/10