90th Academy Awards: Best Actor

Oscars 2018: Best Actor

With the Academy managing to get the winner of the Best Actor category absolutely spot on last year, with Casey Affleck's performance in Manchester By The Sea one of the best on-screen character depictions I have seen in recent history, the spoils this year all seem to be heading in the direction of Britain's own Gary Oldman, whose portrayal of Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour is one of uncanny excellence, a performance with much more credence and power than simply stating it's Oldman's "turn" to win an Oscar after being seemingly snubbed for previous nominations in a similar vein to Leonardo DiCaprio's seemingly odds on win for 2016's The Revenant. With Daniel Day Lewis shining as always in his so-called final role as Reynolds Woodcock in Paul Thomas Anderson's Phantom Thread and Daniel Kaluuya creating his own personal waves in Jordan Peele's Get Out, either performers would be worthy of awards success, whilst Timothée Chalamet and Denzel Washington fill up the remainder of the ballot paper for Call Me By Your Name and Roman J. Israel, Esq. respectively. In regards to missed nominations, Christian Bale's outstanding performance as Captain Joseph Blocker in Hostiles has been shockingly snubbed in every major awards ceremony worldwide, whilst the more out-of-there mind could argue Vince Vaughn's career changing role in Brawl In Cell Block 99 could easily have seen recognition too. Anyhow, here are the main points: 

Winner - Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour)

Personal Favourite - Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out)

Nomination Snub - Christian Bale (Hostiles)

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

Film Review: The Hitman's Bodyguard

"I Can Assure You, We Are More Than Prepared For Any Assault..."

Samuel L. Jackson is unfortunately the type of actor who nowadays more often than not falls into the category of "picking up the cheque" when it comes to movie role choices, and whilst I'm game for most things with Jackson in some form of leading role, with recent releases including The Hateful Eight proving that Jackson still has the capacity to show off his acting chops, there comes a time when there can only be so many films in the ilk of xXx: The Return of Xander Cage that you begin to question your fundamental allegiances. With The Hitman's Bodyguard however, the latest from Australian director Patrick Hughes, a filmmaker who came to big budget fame with The Expendables 3 back in 2014, Jackson teams up with Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds, Daredevil's Élodie Yung and Gary Oldman in order to create arguably the most retrograde action comedy of the past few years. Whilst B-Movie nonsense is a genre of movies which sometimes can be overly charming and irresistible even with the fundamental flaws at the heart of it, The Hitman's Bodyguard manages to fail at every hurdle it attempts to maneuver, utilising nonsensical elements to a somewhat cynical effect and testing the patience of its' audience from pretty much the outset.   

After being demoted from his role as a triple A rated security agent due to the extraordinary death of a client, Bryce (Reynolds) is brought back to the spotlight by ex-partner and Interpol agent Roussel (Yung) in order to protect the life of contract killer Darius Kincaid (Jackson) who is set to give evidence against the evil dictatorship of Belarusian leader, Vladislav Dukhovich (Oldman). Cue retrograde treatment of all female characters, unnecessary levels of violence and jarring usage of profanity, The Hitman's Bodyguard is the type of movie which features phoned-in performances from the entirety of its' leading cast, who in their attempt to swivel around the cliched and idiotic plot, scream, shout and swear their way through two hours of absolute nonsense. Reynolds is unbearable, Oldman is worse, and Jackson seems to mixing his performance as Jules from Pulp Fiction with his character from Snakes on a Plane, just without the cool and sophisticated characterisation of the former. The Hitman's Bodyguard is the type of movie which makes Bad Boys II look like a masterpiece. Avoid.

Overall Score: 3/10

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes - Quicky Review - SPOILERS

Planet of the Apes has been a formula that almost every child in the last 40-50 years has experienced through its multiple variations and TV appearances. The most recent version (Rise of the Planet of the Apes) was such a success, it warranted a sequel to detail the aftermath of the uprising and virus. With the release of the trailer, it was obvious that Dawn of the Planet of the Apes was going to be a fantastic movie. Removing James Franco from the picture just made it that much better.

If you missed out on the Rise of the Planet of the Apes, please educate yourself on the wonderful movie. Since the events of Rise, humanity has all but dwindled. Cities have become overgrown, shells of cars litter the road all because of the deadly disease created by those who tested on the very apes that rebelled and escaped. In this time, we begin by following the apes on a hunting expedition for food. Witnessing the brutal efficiency of the group as they leap from tree to tree and lead an assault on a herd of deer with wooden weaponry and pure strength and agility was amazing to see. Following their conversations, it appears that humans haven't been seen by the colony of apes in almost 5 years. Only days later do they find out this is not true with the arrival of a small team on their way to a dam to help power their encampment within the city. Without ruining much, the colonies must learn to stay away from each others territory but the humans need for power leads to an uneasy alliance which brews hatred from both sides that eventually boils over.

The story is strong, no doubt about it. What makes it better is the character development. With it not being reserved for just the main characters, other members get some great character development. The best is for the apes. You can find yourself connecting with them a lot more. Maurice is an amazing character that really is only an extra in many shots but he becomes a very loveable creature. With the reduced emotional display (compared to humans), the apes convey the emotions a lot better thus making them more appealing. The only problem I did have with this was that a fair few scenes were cut from the movie. Interactions that would have only strengthened the bonds and give a little more context to certain moments. For instance, the lead Malcolm (Jason Clarke) somehow finds out Caeser's name yet we missed quite a vital point of trust between these two characters.

I praised Transformers 4 on its excellent CGI work. However, it did feel like it was stuck onto the screen. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes was stunning. At parts you couldn't even tell if the horses were real or not. Caeser can only be described as real. With Andy Serkis acting as him, the movement was fluid and lifelike. The acting in general was very good. Although my opinion of Gary Oldman has swayed in recent months, his acting was solid and with the rest of the main cast interacting with baby apes that are probably not there but with actors decked out in Lycra, with little bobbles is probably one hell of a funny sight to see.

Wrapping up, the movie is a masterpiece. Stepping away from the Sci-fi aspect, Dawn becomes more of a thriller and can be really tense, exhilarating and touching in a matter of minutes. Removing scenes was a shame but I hope the DVD will include a directors cut that will feature it and really prolong the life of this movie and give me more from a movie that I really love. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes deserves a 9/10. I would be back at the cinema watching it again if I could!

Robocop - Quicky Review - SPOILERS

A remake of a hugely popular trilogy that plummeted harder that a rock from the top of the Empire State Building as time went on has just been released. The re-envisioned Robocop pays homage to a much loved franchise that many of my generation remember from childhood but in a new light. Seeing that I probably watched them 15+ years ago, I've lost a lot of memory of the films so I can't credit the films that far.

So jumping straight in, consider that the movie is built upon a sci-fi action classic and desires to follow the trend, however, the movie doesn't feel to much like a sci-fi. Understandably, the idea of a robotic human seems very sci-fi but set 20 odd years from now, the world hasn't really changed. People are still driving Fiat 500's and Volkswagen station wagons. With the advancement in human biotics and robotics, none of the potential has moved into any other industry and actually aid the entire world. It's hard to get a real feeling that the world has developed and I'm in a futuristic setting when cars have replaced stylish alloy wheels for bin lids. In all honesty, I wouldn't class this as science fiction, simply an action movie. But once again, an action movie is trying to create sub plots and stories to create emotions and it is well out of it's depth. To convey emotion, it takes a good script, good acting and a good narrative. Action movies can't provide these. It began with the partnership with his cop buddy who was just shot and then trying to create a family bond between Alex Murphey (Joel Kinnaman) and his son but then completely abandoning them later down the line. The son only appears 3 times and nothing concrete is done to show a connection.

Looking at the action, it is alright. Nothing truely wowing. At points questionable, such as the explosion that in reality would have killed Murphey but immediately after, left him with all of his limbs with minor burning to then have them all removed! His condition was that of a minor burn victim and after a giant explosion, no one battered an eyelid. The wife walked down and then ran back in a few minutes later, the son never appeared in the first vision and neighbours just thought their partners had ripped a rather large one in bed. The rest of the action was simply mediocre.

I'm lacking much enthusiasm for the movie. Pumped to be reintroduced to a childhood hero, I felt rather let down. The incessant need to create connections, is truly useless. Paying Samuel L. Jackson to play a role that isn't even necessary and use Kinnaman for the major role when his acting leaves you wondering if he's always that boring, not to mention that they needed to use Jackson and his iconic "motherfucker" to grab a laugh from the audience. Then casting Jay Baruchel, who I don't like very much and just want to poke him with a stick while repeating "Hey, awkward". Probably the only sufficient actor was Gary Oldman but he looked rushed and looked to have only been given his lines 2 minutes before. All together it tried too hard on so many levels that shouldn't have been the primary focus, thus neglecting the others that truly needed the work.

Although a shoddy movie with a poor character development and acting, the visual aspect of the movie was gorgeous and action had moments in which it was enjoyable to watch. Sticking with the lower end of reviews, I feel the 6/10 is a good representation.