Film Review: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story - BLACK RIBBON'S 400th POST!!!

"We Have Hope. Rebellions Are Built On Hope..."

In a year in which summer blockbusters have been somewhat below par, and that's putting it nicely, we close 2016 with another venture into the galaxy far, far away, with Rogue One attempting to bridge the gap between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope with a merry mix of old and new characters and a storyline which delves into the theft of the infamous death star plans, the red herring-esque of a plot device which paved way for the entire Star Wars universe. With Gareth Edwards on directorial duty, the man behind Monsters and the rather awesome recent reinterpretation of Godzilla, Rogue One is a much darker and melancholic tale than perhaps we have seen previously in the Star Wars canon but one which also contains the adventurous thrill ride we have come to expect, culminating in a final act which ranks up there with the best visual experiences not only in the Star Wars universe but in the variety of blockbusters within the modern era of cinema. 

Although narratively Rogue One begins in a striking sense of anti-climax in comparison to other Star Wars movies, we are swiftly introduced to Jyn Erso, a disconnected wanderer who is captured by the rebellion in order to help seek out her father Galen (Mads Mikkelsen) who is at the heart of a mysterious weapon development for the pre-A New Hope Galactic Empire, ruled over by the key figures of Ben Mendelsohn's Director Krennic, a digital reincarnation of Peter Cushing's Tarkin and of course, the menacing Sith Lord, Darth Vader, whose appearances are brief but terrifyingly effective. When Rogue One eventually kicks into gear around the half hour mark, the sense of joy many fans get from re-watching the classic original adventures fuels the journey into a truly classic tale of outlandish planets, wildly inventive alien beings and enough canon nods to leave fans beaming with joy. With Felicity Jones embracing the lead role of Jyn as a mix of Lara Croft and Princess Leia herself, she inevitably has the meatiest role of the movie alongside undeveloped performances from the likes of Mikkelsen, Whitaker and Diego Luna but the real magic of the movie is in its' fan appreciation, answering questions the canon has had for decades and proving the Star Wars universe is an endless pit of cinematic possibilities, particularly when they are as successful as Rogue One. 

Overall Score: 8/10  

Film Review: Arrival

"What Do They Want? Where Are They From...?

As a self-expressed movie geek, now and then you often come across a film which makes you optimistic regarding the future of cinema, a film which takes away all the pain of sitting through hours upon hours of absolute tosh during a fair portion of the year and most importantly, a film which makes you grateful for having access to the medium of cinema and the minds of those behind an achievement such as Arrival, the latest from Denis Villeneuve, of whom I am a massive, massive fan of; a director who has not put a foot wrong so far in his career, with films such as Incendies, Prisoners, Enemy and last years' white-knuckle thriller Sicario, all being part of an already impressive body of work. Based upon Ted Chiang's short story, "Story of Your Life", Arrival is undoubtedly one of the best films of the year, if not recent cinematic history, with a mix of intelligent and captivating science fiction alongside a melancholic drama at its' core, Villeneuve's latest only further cements his skill as one of today's most impressive cinematic minds.

After the arrival of twelve mysterious objects, each taking their place in separate areas of the world, linguistics professor Louise Banks (Amy Adams) is tasked with scientist Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner) to effectively communicate with the alien beings in order to understand the logic behind their arrival on Earth. With each of the twelve countries in which these mysterious objects have landed attempting to do the same, Arrival is a captivating take on the age-old story of first contact, one which has no problem in taking its' time to tell a story and one which relies on effective characterisation and a storming performance from Amy Adams to achieve a feat of pure cinematic wonder. With an effective and powerful screenplay from Eric Heisserer alongside Adams's performance the real big selling points of the movie, it would be easy to disregard the many other positives associated with the film including Johann Johannsson's score, one that encompasses both the subtle use of dream-like whispers with epic howls of thunder and one that continues the successful pairing of Johannsson and Villeneuve after their collaboration on Sicario. 

Although the cinematography by Bradford Young is more than satisfying, you do feel a sense of regret that Roger Deakins isn't behind the shoot, particularly after thinking back to Deakins's work on both Prisoners and Sicario, yet even without the distinct style of the Devonian legend, Arrival is still a stunning picture to admire, with the opening discovery of the cloud-smothered UFO rivalling the shot captured in Sicario in which we watch FBI agents disappear into the descending sunset. Venturing into the realms of sci-fi before his work on the upcoming Blade Runner sequel, Denis Villeneuve has once again created an astonishing piece of work, one which continues the successes of Sicario and takes it one step further. Heartbreaking come the end, Arrival will no doubt require repeat viewings like any true work of effective science fiction, science fiction which is not only intelligent, but is handled in such a way that is knows not to spoil the audience and simply blast the plot at you like many blockbusters tend to do in this day and age. Quite simply, Arrival is the best science fiction film of the year and one which needs to be witnessed in the biggest screen you can find without resorting to spoiler-filled reviews first. Instead, let the film's magic come to you organically and hopefully you will enjoy it as much as I did. Villeneuve, you are in the Nolan-esque realms of legendary status already. 

Overall Score: 10/10

Film Review: Southpaw

Get In The Ring

Sitting side-by-side with the release of Inside Out this week is the release of Southpaw, a boxing drama which focuses on the rise and fall of Jake Gyllenhaal's (Donnie Darko, Zodiac) Billy Hope after witnessing the death of his beloved wife (Rachel McAdams, True Detective) whilst being directed by Antoine Fuqua, the American mastermind behind the Oscar Winning Training Day and the not-so-Oscar-winning The Equalizer from last year. What brought the most anticipation from the film for me personally however, aside from the brilliant Gyllenhaal, was its' scriptwriter, Kurt Sutter, the architect behind one of the most addictive shows of recent years, Sons of Anarchy, who takes full control of the story for the very first time in a cinematic format after years of making waves on the small screen. The question that needs to be answered therefore is does Sutter's first taste of Hollywood pull out all the punches or does it find itself seriously on the ropes? I'd say somewhere in between. 

Throughout the course of the movies two-hour runtime, there are examples of Sutter in his prime, particularly in regards to scenes in which we witness out hero Hope break down under the influence of his wife's loss, showing how in moments of desperation and despair, Sutter's writing can flourish. One obvious difference for me between Southpaw and Sons of Anarchy for example was the way in which I never felt guilty or treacherous in my support for the films' lead, something of which I felt whilst watching Sons of Anarchy where the bulk of the time, our supposed "heroes" are off committing murder or some other form of major crime. Of course, one of the reasons Sutter's writing works so well is mainly due in part to the performance of Gyllenhaal, who once again astutely showcases his talent as an actor and gives the best sporting performance I've seen since Christian Bale in The Fighter, a performance that subsequently won him an Oscar, whilst solidly being supported by the veteran of cinema that is Forest Whitaker as coach Titus Wills.

In terms of the overall quality of the film however, Southpaw's connection with The Fighter ultimately stops there however with the latter being a much better piece of cinema as a whole, whilst the former having flashes of brilliance, particularly in the nail-biting fight sequences, but overall feeling rather cliched and even cringe-worthy in some places, particularly the "guest" additions of both the pimp-looking Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson and the rather worse-for-wear Rita Ora, who although improves from her rather pants cameo in Fifty Shades of Grey, doesn't exactly inspire hope for any chance of a future career away from BBC One and into Hollywood. So for a first shot at the gates of Hollywood, Sutter gives it his all in producing a script worthy of a one-time viewing, but definitely nothing more, whilst director Fuqua definitely improves on the rather arduous watch that was last years' The Equalizer and succeeds in producing a film that lasts as many rounds as it needs to, but ultimately fails to launch that final, winning blow.

Overall Score: 6/10