Film Review: Molly's Game

"You Managed To Build A Multi Million Dollar Business Using Not Much More Than Your Wits..."

The first film of 2018 has swiftly arrived and brings with it the talented presence of writer/director Aaron Sorkin whose screenplays for the likes of The Social Network, Moneyball and Steve Jobs have placed him at the top of many's list for the most in-demand screenwriter in America. Turning to the director's chair for the very first time, Sorkin utilises the prestigious talents of Jessica Chastain in a dramatic representation of Molly Bloom's autobiographical memoir about the rise and fall of her independently managed luxurious poker empire and the subsequent legal battles following the fallout of a statewide led criminal investigation. With Sorkin's recognisable literary craft sweeping throughout, Molly's Game is a rigorous exercise of the American's unmistakable style audiences have grown to respect and love, and whilst a lengthy and bloated narrative timeline does weaken the finished product and prevent the movie being held in the same esteem as previous Sorkin penned releases, Molly's Game is a flashy full house of a movie with a Chastain on unmissable form. 

Beginning with a quickfire introductory voiceover outlining a young Molly Bloom's disastrous Olympic skiing experience, Sorkin's narrative weaves its way sharply and smoothly throughout a first act which follows Chastain's Bloom as she develops from wandering idealist to opportunist successor, one who uses her real estate agent contact (Jeremy Strong) to flex her intellectual muscles and take over control of an infamous and highly prestigious unlicensed poker ring. With the money flowing, the famous faces increasing and a drug addiction mounting, Sorkin's script attempts to mix in a wide range of elements of both a personal and dramatic nature of which the source material may have successfully delved into on paper, but even with a two and a half hour runtime to play with, these multiple plot threads do end up feeling convoluted come the final act where even the addition of a ever reliable Idris Elba does strangely seem somewhat added on, with his character never really having the depth to solidify his existence. However, with Chastain owning a leading role which carries all the charisma and charm you would expect from an actress renowned for playing similar characters in Miss Sloane and Zero Dark Thirty, Molly's Game is a zippy and smart character drama which excels thanks to the involvement of a writer whose move to directing has began more than rewarding. 

Overall Score: 8/10

Film Review: Hidden Figures

"Just 'Cause It's The Way, Doesn't Make It Right, Understand?"

As per expected this time of year, the ramble of releases which preempt the final preparations regarding Oscar season can become somewhat overpowering at times, with cinephiles across the globe attempting to squeeze in all the real hitters before the madness all begins. From the easily accessible Best Picture nods to the not-so easily found Foreign Language picks and across to endless repeat viewings of the work of the selected cinematographers, Oscar season is definitely one of a kind, and with the confirmed nominations for the ceremony now being released to the world, three remain to be seen by us here at Black Ribbon in their vow for supremacy in regards to the best the year has had to offer, beginning ever so swiftly with this week's release Hidden Figures and concluding with Fences and Moonlight in the coming weeks. Following in the critical success of St. Vincent, director Theodore Melfi brings the true tale of NASA's 1960's space program to life, highlighting extensively the importance of the groundbreaking trio of engineer Mary Jackson and mathematicians Katherine Johnson and Dorothy Vaughn, all of whom were integral to the success of the space race in a time in which racial prejudice was inherently rife, an element of which plays an key part of Melfi's latest, an uplifting drama which effortlessly tells an important tale without ever seeping from its' addictive sugar-coated sweetness. 

If it wasn't for the absence of the prestigious gates of Disneyland preceding the beginning of the movie, Hidden Figures could be excused for being just another Disney-fuelled historical drama, with the film being a solid example of a movie which seeps so strongly and unashamedly from the cesspool of classic film-making, you wouldn't necessarily be smirked at for suspecting the world had travelled back to the 1960's itself. Whilst Hidden Figures gets the job well and truly done without any sense of real adventure or expansion into organic territory, Melfi takes the classical approach to the material by giving us a interesting non-fiction tale and ramping up the elements of racial tension to the extreme in order to successfully add another level of drama to a proceeding of just over two hours. Whilst the Oscar nod in terms of acting has ultimately been handed to Octavia Spencer for her supporting role in the movie, the real winner of the picture is obviously Taraji P. Henson for her portrayal of the mathematical genius Katherine Johnson. yet any recognition at all is undeniably deserved for a movie which although is indeed a dramatic success, ultimately isn't as dynamic or memorable as those figures of history it attempts to portray. 

Overall Score: 7/10

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit - Quicky Review!

Tom Clancy has had his faced and name slapped across everything in a substantial amount of years. With his recent death, the possibility of more Clancy movies and games creeping out is inevitably going to increase. Having never read one of his books, I cannot comment of his ability as an author. However, his involvement with other forms of the media is were I can play about. Actively avoiding his collection of games because they were simply the same game, wrapped in a different package and sent to the studio to change the threat from the Taliban to Russia. Call of Duty has that market cornered and there is only so much of the same crap we can endure.

Jack Ryan is solely based on the character created by Clancy. Fortunately it doesn't involve his stories revolving around Jack Ryan and it does allow for a great possibility to move away from the abusive draining of a dead man's creations. However, Jack Ryan was also played by Harrison Ford, Alec Baldwin and Ben Affleck in several other movies simply aimed at bleeding a rock. When this will end is a mystery that only Da vinci could solve. It would be refreshing to see them come up with something that isn't solely used for money rather than a good story. The question here is is Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit worth it?

Answer - No.

I'm going to keep this short. The story is genuinely pants. Lets crash another countries economy because they didn't want to do one thing. Mother Russia is the best, America bad. No America is the land of the free and Russia are just grumpy and we need to send a secret agent to hack into their mainframe. I'm no computer genius but if you wanted to find something out, you can do that. It's as loose as an extra large condom on a small calibre man and feels ignorantly patriotic that it is painful to watch. It's a plot that takes itself

From story to acting, I have to attack the most prominent piece for me. Keira Knightley. First of all, what jackass cast her to play an American even though she cannot do an American accent without looking like a horse. Alongside the fact that the rest of her acting could be considered poor, at best, it really puts a lot of pressure onto the others to bring the level back up. However, stuck with Kevin Costner, the acting isn't going to be great. Yet Chris Pine should have filled his role of testosterone filled secret agent pretty easily but his voice squeaks in comparison to Kenneth Branagh's thick Russian accent. None of it fits. Much like a school play, people have been cast simply because they asked for it and were available. The extent of their talent has disappeared as Christmas draws closer and they are excited to get home rather than put all of their effort into a play that means very little to children who have no concept of what the story is trying to portray. Each character has little or no background whatsoever and are thrust onto screen while Kenneth Branagh (also the director) shoots at their feet to make them dance. It's a hash of people with no character, poorly directed positioning, script and casting and should not have passed go.

Finally, the only thing that should be good in this movie but is incredibly mediocre and excessively over-produced is the action. The action is big, there's a lot of noise (all be it deafening) but all common sense just vaporises. We do everything in extensive action scenes through the streets of cities will no interference from traffic. I went to Paris last year, it was fucking difficult to drive around. I've also seen New York traffic and the aspect of reality and common sense piles on me with every poor punch.

The movie had my hopes high. A cast of actors that are typically deemed good, only to find out they are astonish bad. A script written by a room of monkeys that still have the deadline for that Shakespeare piece and an attitude to it that is so pretentious and up it's own ass makes it a poor watch. I haven't even delved into the cinematography because it wound me up so much. A constant blur covers the screen, with nothing clear or crisp, I don't feel I'm in a modern movie that's been recorded on a million dollar camera but rather an Iphone. So my overall score rounds in at 6/10. The only redeeming factors are that it's an action movie and keeps you remotely interested and it's only 105 minutes long which is enough to pass the time you need to waste before you go to the dentist for that check-up they keep insisting on.