Film Review: King of Thieves

"It's So Disappointing When People Stoop To Backstabbing..."

Based upon the extraordinary Hatton Garden safe deposit burglary which occurred over the Easter Bank Holiday of 2015, a contemporary infamous act of criminality which has been labelled as the "largest burglary in English legal history", King of Thieves, the latest feature by The Theory of Everything and The Mercy director, James Marsh, is the third adaptation of the events onto film after a couple of low-budget attempts including The Hatton Garden Job featuring the likes of Larry Lamb and Matthew Goode, but the first to hit the big screen, aided undoubtedly by a joyously star-studded cast which features the likes of Michael Caine (The Dark Knight), Ray Winstone (The Departed) and Jim Broadbent (Paddington 2) as the aged crooks who are determined to seal off their careers with one last job. With cocky attitudes, an abundance of cockney accents and enough chemistry between the cast to keep the enjoyment levels flowing, King of Thieves is a flawed but enjoyable, overly cliched heist movie which primarily suffers due to a inability to harness the film's wildly inconsistent tones as it sways between comedy, drama and an overbearing sense that maybe at times, we're having too much fun with what are essentially murderers and thieves. 

With Caine's Brian Reader acting as the central focus of the opening act of the movie in which we see an early loss act as a catalyst for his return to crime, the film's opening forty five minutes is wildly entertaining as we are introduced to an eclectic herd of aged bad boys as they banter themselves to death whilst the central heist is planned, perfected and then carried out with eye-watering rewards. With the cast clearly enjoying themselves with seemingly ad-libbed sweary dialogue and particular members not exactly trying hard to be anything other than themselves, Mr. Winstone, I'm looking at you, it's a particular shame that the second half of the movie completely bombs as Marsh attempts to juggle the seriousness of the effect the central crime has on those around it with a crow-barred notion of how our leading characters are actually violent murderers who are happy to off Police officers without an echo of remorse, and whilst the movie ultimately overstays its' welcome by at least twenty minutes, King of Thieves is an odd little movie, but enjoyable nonetheless. 

Overall Score: 6/10

Film Review: Going In Style

"Worst Comes To The Worst, We Get Caught, We Get A Bed, Three Meals A Day, And Better Health Care Than We Got Now..."

From the trailers of Going In Style alone, the narrative for such a film could be concluded as a crime-centred comedy featuring classic and well-respected actors, all of whom have won numerous awards for their respective art, most notable of which is of course the esteemed Academy Award, which focuses upon a narrative of elderly trials and tribulations with the ultimate endgame being a resort to criminal activities. Sound familiar? Oh yeah, particularly with the inclusion of Alan Arkin in a leading role which of course links oh so heavily to the 2012 movie Stand Up Guys that it seems so redundant that a film so obviously similar in terms of narrative could be released only five years later, even worse so when considering Going In Style is a remake in itself of the 1979 movie of the same name. Alongside films such as Last Vegas and the widely panned release of Dirty Grandpa last year, the genre of esteemed acting money grabbing releases is once again rife within your local cinema chain, a chance to rejoice if ever there was one. With the release of Going In Style therefore, a movie written by Hidden Figures director Theodore Melfi and directed by Scrubs star Zach Braff, it comes as no surprise that Braff's movie is one which pulls no punches in terms of originality but as a whole is a surprisingly enjoyable piece of fluff which does no harm whatsoever and actually accomplishes something many contemporary comedy films fail to do; make me laugh!

With a leading trio in the form of Arkin, Caine and Freeman, the notion that Going In Style is the type of movie for each of the three to simply come in and pick up the cheque was indeed at the forefront of my mind throughout the course of the film's meaningful 90 minute runtime, yet unlike it's sibling this week in the form of Table 19, a similarly timed so-called comedy, Braff's movie is Annie Hall in comparison, with Going In Style not attempting to be anything more than a cheesy, throwaway geriatric-based comedy which lavishes in the charm and fundamental reliability of its' leading stars. Whilst the film's concluding act mirages into the sort of narrative that watchers of Hustle would be extremely snobbish at in terms of its' utter, utter silliness, Going In Style is a solid enough comedy to be worthy of entering your local cinema screen just long enough to appreciate how good Ann-Margaret looks for someone aged 75. Not exactly going in style come the end, Braff's movie is passable cheese and sometimes passable cheese is just good enough. 

Overall Score: 6/10

Film Review: Now You See Me 2

"We Are Going Out With A Show People Will Never Forget..."

Remember when the BBC had Hustle? Yeah, that's right, that show about a gang of street-wise tricksters who would con rich bad guys out of a lot of dollar in order to give credence to their own illegal activities starring Marc Warren and that other guy who I haven't seen since. Picture Hustle but made by Channel 5 and mixed in with a large percentage of post-2000 Scooby Doo and that is pretty much a solid summary of events that take place in Now You See Me 2, the sequel to the 2013 magic-come-crime drama which not one person wanted aside from the Hollywood machine who saw it as yet another chance to make a quick buck starring an unbelievable rafter of A-List stars such as Mark Ruffalo, Morgan Freeman, Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson and a whole lot more who are more than willing to pick up the cheque and walk out of the door, leaving behind a script in which I can guarantee not one person thought would be the next Citizen Kane and instead is the pinnacle of CGI-fuelled vileness in which Hollywood decides to keeps on churning out year after year. Seem harsh? I haven't even started yet. 

Carrying straight on from the first film, Now You See Me 2 gives us another chance to witness our beloved thieves get up to no good whilst accomplishing feats of magic which look so out of this world and over the top you wouldn't be surprised to find out that after all this time The Horseman are actually a band of Avenger-like vigilantes, each with their own special ability to enhance the ridiculousness of their acts. I mean come on, if the film wanted to embrace a sense of authenticity, then surely the unbelievable acts of so called magic in which CGI plays a major part of, should have been replaced for magic tricks that were kept in the realms of plausibility? Not only are the magic stunts ridiculous but so is the plot, with it one, not making any sense whatsoever (Just look at Morgan Freeman's bipolar character swings), two, having the cheesiest of cheesy acting (Daniel Radcliffe, I'm looking at you) and three, taking home the award for most annoying screen character of the year in the form of Woody Harrelson's twin baddie who is simply awful, awful, awful. Did I mention he was awful?

Adding to the elite awfulness of the movie is a sense of sanctimonious film-making, with the scriptwriters seemingly believing they are in fact the 21st century incarnations of Hitchcock himself, but when deciphering the movie's twists and turns throughout the painfully long two hour plus running time, Now You See Me 2 really doesn't make one bit of sense whatsoever. For example, if the world believes Daniel Radcliffe's character is dead, how has no-one not seen him in his enormous, luxury ridden flat-pad in the middle of a thriving city? How does a key card that supposedly rips into the heart of every single computer system look so flimsy and easily mistaken for a fake? Why does Morgan Freeman's character seemingly take a 180 degree turn towards the end of the movie? I surely can't be alone in my criticism's towards Now You See Me 2, a vacuous slum of a movie which will indeed test your patience from the first minute and leave you with a sense of injustice when you leave. The only magic trick accomplished in going to see Now You See Me 2 was when I paid money to see it but hey, at least it isn't Gods of Egypt. 

Overall Score: 3/10

Now You See Me - Quicky Review UK Release -SPOILERS-

Now You See Me is the story of 4 street magicians who are brought together by an unknown source of power to rob banks like Robin Hood. With a large cast of well known actors, it was safe to say that a lot of money had been spent on the project. Yet it is safe to say that I was disappointed. The US received this movie just over a month before us here in the UK. A movie which I had to avoid all sort of news about it for a month and its safe to say that I was a little peeved on the exit.

The actual story is incredibly simple, with a few plot twists which aim too catch you out but are very easy to see through. I have to admit that there was one incident which I felt too be a good twist, but it doesn't wow you. This is what I felt for the majority of the story, nothing got my blood pumping, nothing engaged me with the plot and the predictability of it made it tedious to watch.

As you may already know from my "This Is The End Review", I do not like James Franco and I harbour much of the same dislikes for him as Dave making his character a spare wheel. As the story rolls on, he disappears for a portion of it and can be easily ignored with his predictable exit. I do have to give him credit for his fight scene between him and Mark Ruffalo (Bruce Banner/The Hulk). His acting was fluid and fight scenes were done with precision and an element of style involved.
Speaking of The Hulk, it turns out that he is our main character. We follow the action from his point and the process he goes through to investigate the bank robberies and the workings of the 4 Horseman's magic. When looking back at Mark's performance, its obvious that it isn't his best work. For someone who played the Hulk, you would assume that he could show true anger or despair, yet his face can appear somewhat still throughout.

The actors I did get along with were, Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg and of course Mr Freeman! Harrelson was the most interesting of the characters. A man with the ability to hypnotise the public and get them to do as he chooses. His talent is quite interesting but its his humour that sets him apart from the rest, while Eisenberg is the brains of the group, he is the focal point in the group and seems like the leader of the four. So, with a huge cast, a few good scenes and general entertainment, I feel the movie deserves a 7/10. It's lack of grip and the generic story can bore some and the way the story was wrapped up was very cheesy. I would have liked a lot more darkness to it with a bit more aggression to build the excitement.