Film Review: Tomb Raider

"You Messed With The Wrong Family..."

With Angelina Jolie and co. all the way back in 2001 showing how not to make a half decent video game adaptation with Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, a movie perhaps best remembered for featuring a pre-martini'd Daniel Craig in his youthful glory and the most annoying supporting character ever in the form of Noah Taylor's I.T addicted Brit, here we are seventeen years later bearing witness to yet another cinematic franchise reboot with Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina) taking over the reigns as the titular wall climbing heroine. Based upon the similarly titled 2013 video game from developers Square Enix, a game of which I can confess to playing from beginning to end and thoroughly enjoying, Tomb Raider, directed by Roar Uthaug (The Wave) follows the more robust and hunter-gatherer motif of the rebooted game series, utilising a much younger and innocent Croft as she develops her skills and understanding of the mystical forces of nature in a Casino Royale styled coming-of-age fashion, and whilst the movie does remain loyal to its' foundations with some interesting ideas and a dedicated leading lady, Uthaug's movie is still slightly under par of something which should have been much more entertaining. 

With Vikander adding a staggering amount of muscle in preparation for the role, her physical demeanour and willingness to at least look the part lands kudos points on her as an individual, and whilst the Swede is an undeniably likeable leading star, her approach to the role of Lara Croft is somewhat undermined by a screenplay which tends to verge on the edge of slumbering dullness, particularly in its' first half when we move from the urban wasteland of contemporary London through to the mysterious island of Yamatai via a stop-off in a thieve-ridden Hong Kong. Where the movie does eventually pick up the pace is in Croft's discovery of the island she so dearly seeks in order to answer questions regarding her father's disappearance, an area which formed the basis of the 2013 video game, and a location which introduces both Walton Goggins (The Hateful Eight) as the underwritten primary antagonist and Dominic West's (The Wire) hermit-esque and poorly wigged father figure whose narrative arc does seem relatively cliched. Concluding with a poorly managed "twist" which comes across as the definition of shark jumping, Tomb Raider is a somewhat mediocre blockbuster adventure and one which suffers primarily from a tendency for action over substance, but with Vikander an enjoyable leading presence with a kick-ass sensibility, the latest video game adaptation just about crosses the line. 

Overall Score: 5/10

Film Review: Darkest Hour

"You Cannot Reason With A Tiger When Your Head Is In Its' Mouth..."

Proclaimed by many as history's greatest Briton, the enigmatic presence of Winston Churchill has been the focus of much filmic and televisual escapades ever since the conclusion of the Second World War, and whilst there has been a continued succession of recent releases over the past few years or so detailing similar events, Joe Wright's (Atonement) latest, Darkest Hour, is a much welcome, audience pleasing history lesson which details the rise of Churchill's ascent into the role of Prime Minister during the early years of the Second World War. Propelled by a staggeringly dramatic and joyously brilliant career defining performance by Gary Oldman (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), Wright's movie covers similar ground obtainable in the likes of Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk in it's detailing of Operation Dynamo, Lone Scherfig's Their Finest in regards to the period detail of war-torn Britain, and of course, Jonathan Teplitzky's own depiction of the great man in last year's Churchill in which Brian Cox's (Manhunter) own portrayal was similarly well received, and whilst the overall picture doesn't succeed in attempting to offer something new to the already overcrowded war drama genre, Wright's direction and management of Oldman's performance results in undoubtedly the definitive portrayal of Britain's most iconic and favoured wartime leader. 

Filled with wit, solid dramatic timing and an uncanny usage of famous characteristics and mannerisms, Oldman's performance is one of immense proportions, an awards touting tour de force which of course utilises to full extent a generous helping of makeup and costume design, but crucially one which doesn't come across as something of a caricature in its' depiction of the more obvious Churchill behavioural patterns. Managing to fit in everything from the mumbling, slobber fuelled and sometimes completely incomprehensible dialogue to the constant yet important prop of the infamous cigar, to which Oldman's own admission caused a touch of nicotine poisoning, the performance is the reason many will flock to the cinema to see the movie, and whilst Oldman's transformation is remarkable, the change isn't so dramatic that the actor inside is weighed down too much for his original talents to be indistinguishable. Concluding in a similar manner to Dunkirk with the show stopping "We shall fight on the beaches" speech, this time presented within the grandiose halls of the House of Commons, Darkest Hour is the sort of Oscar bait drama which although seems primarily to be a showcase for the brilliance of its' leading actor, still manages to be a well played and thoroughly enjoyable piece of cinema, and with Bruno Delbonnel's (Inside Llewyn Davis) smokey cinematography and a well measured orchestral soundtrack to move it along, Wright's latest is the kind of awards pushover that's not trying too hard to make you enjoy your stay and for that alone, Darkest Hour is a solid thumbs up. 

Overall Score: 7/10

Only God Forgives - Review - SPOILERS

After the notorious booing at the Cannes festival earlier this year by the snooty French critics, I feel they were expediently wrong. Alongside the ratings on both Rotten Tomato and IMDB, I feel they are very inaccurate. Compared to Drive, I feel the directors and writers have done far better in achieving a plausible story with a distinctive style that illustrates a new avenue of cinematic trends and personally feel that this is far better than it's predecessor.

" Bangkok. Ten years ago Julian killed a man and went on the run. Now he manages a Thai boxing club as a front for a drugs operation. Respected in the criminal underworld, deep inside, he feels empty. When Julian's brother murders an under age prostitute, the police call on retired cop Chang - the Angel of Vengeance. Chang allows the father to kill his daughter's murderer, then 'restores order' by chopping off the man's right hand. Julian's mother Crystal - the head of a powerful criminal organization - arrives in Bangkok to collect her son's body. She dispatches Julian to find his killers and 'raise hell'. Written by www.joblo.com, sourced from IMDB "

Just looking at the story summary above helps to convey the potential for a dark and gritty portrayal of Bangkok's criminal underbelly. Yet this is only a simple breakdown compared to the actual complexity of it's fleshed out components. Coupled with the filming style and small sub-stories, the film can start off a little confusing and hard to grasp but looking over the whole focus plot, it eventually pieces itself together, yet the sub-story of Julian's (Ryan Gosling) and Mai's (Yayaying Rhatha Phongam) relationship is an eerily poetic but morally indifferent. Mai - a prostitute, is the women that Julian is fixated upon. The sexual relations between them could be considered professional, yet Julian's fixation portrays it as something far more complex. Even in one scene, Julian wants her to play the role of his partner for when he goes to meet his mother. He buys her a new dress and at the end of the night, have an argument that could be considered as a marital dispute. The story doesn't just follow Julian. It jumps to the retired cop Chang (Vithaya Pansringarm) and follows his pursuit to deal with the drug enterprise and it's destructive ways.

In terms of acting, it doesn't demand much spoken intensity from the cast. Ryan Gosling only has a few lines across the 90 minute spectacle and I wouldn't be surprised to see his part of the script only being 2 pages long. This plays well into Ryan's hands, simply because I feel he is the David Beckham of the acting world. He has the looks, he can portray himself as cool and collected and then emotionally scarred by love, he has the acting ability until he speaks. His voice - much like Beckham's, can be high and squeaky making it hard to take him seriously. However, in this, it felt natural. His silence added mystery to his character which makes him such a threat.

Silently walking to a pair of men and smashing a glass into his face with one foul swoop and dragging him out by his teeth solidifies this. It's much the same for Chang, yet he performs karaoke in front of his police force and rules with his violent capabilities. Crystal (Kristin Scott Thomas) on the other hand is a loose cannon who chooses her favourite child and makes it quite clear. Vocally, she is aggressive, manipulative and psychotic. She treats Julian in ways that are inappropriate and almost sexual, making it really damn weird at points. Then suddenly, she snaps, lying and blaming others. There was one performance that I had a problem with, all of the rest were executed perfectly to fit the lines they were given and managed to keep very collected all the way through rather than losing it when it was needed the most.

Drive is notorious for it's violence, but it was a bit over zealous at points. This however is extremely plausible. Chang is obviously the most dangerous out of the group, armed with a razor sharp blade, he's cutting limbs off and slicing open a guys rib cage in one quick swipe. Slumping to the floor, we are given a shot right above his corpse, looking into his chest cavity as blood spills onto the ground. You can even see the actual ribs which made the whole cinema cringe. Minutes later, he is torturing a man with the use of various pin shaped utensils, pinning him to the chair as he screams, Chang digs a fruit blade into his eyes causing more blood curdling screens and many gasps by the viewers as we watch every minute cut with an extreme close-up of the guys faces. Finally ending him by plunging another utensil into this guys ear. Nervous chatter would erupt in the cinema with a few "Holy Shit, man!"'s coming from around the room. The vivid violence was stunning, increasingly fucked up and deeply disturbing. It easily outmatched many horror movies for its use of violence and the effect it had on the audience.

Finally we have the cinematography and the music. The music is fairly oriental with a twist from some synths and bass drops that create tension in just the right spots. The score is well composed and doesn't over power the visuals and had a brilliant collection of sounds and tempos. The framing of the scenes was always thought about when creating this. Using the natural surrounding to crop the screen is a funky idea. This is much the same with lighting. Ryan's position on screen is normally dictated by the light, especially when he is behind the carved wood wall and the light shines through illuminating small features on his face further connoting the dark and deluded mind of Julian. Colours were vivid and punchy. Neon in type, they fill the area with a seedy glow that extenuates the surrounding area and pops the wallpaper in the brothel scenes. The neon also helps to set certain scenes up with a sense of danger and so much more. When daylight comes, the light catches you out and it looks stunning when balanced with the rusty exterior of the market district.

As I stated before, this movie is brilliant but there a few little things that dragged on me. One was Chang's sword, it would appear from nowhere on his back and you could never see the sheath. Secondly was the amount of script, very little does make it feel a little empty at points but the positioning on screen and the lighting to help to maximise what happens. Thirdly, we have the story. At points it can be hard to grasp and I feel the love interest was fairly useless in the overall aspect and what the hell is with the karaoke and the ending. Why does Julian practically hand himself over to Chang. It leaves questions unanswered that should have been finished. So my overall ranking shall be an 8/10. It's a work of art and is one of Gosling's best roles to date. Catch it before it goes!