Film Review: Sully: Miracle on the Hudson

"No One Warned Us. No One Said "You're Going To Lose Both Engines At A Lower Altitude Than Any Jet In History"..."

No guys, Clint Eastwood's latest isn't a continuation of the Monsters Inc. character but instead a biographical drama based upon the extraordinary events that took place on 15th January 2009 when US Airways Flight 1549 was miraculously landed upon the Hudson River by pilots Chelsey Sullenberger and Jeffrey Skiles after a bird strike had completely destroyed both the left and right engines, leaving them in the air with no thrust and little chance to return to ground safely. Such a remarkable and historical achievement was inevitably set to hit the big screens sooner rather than later and what Eastwood has accomplished with Sully is creating a gripping and intelligently played drama which tackles not only the experience of Captain Sully's landing but the repercussions of it too. With Tom Hanks performing effortlessly in the lead role as the titular Sully, Eastwood's latest is indeed a hit, albeit suffering from some minor issues which prevent it from being up there with his best work as a director. 

Inevitably, the fundamental narrative that fluctuates throughout Sully is a gripping enough plot in itself to catch the eye of even the least cinematically viable audience with a good, uplifting heroic story being the mark of a bankable picture, particularly when you have the reliable hands of Hanks as your movies' star, and whilst the movie skips between the past and the present of our titular hero, the most effective parts of the movie take place during the films' big set pieces, primarily the landing itself as well as the discussions that take place afterwards where although the narrative is hyped up completely to function as the drama, still manages to work, even if Eastwood manages to make every single journalist and white collar worker look like the villains of the piece. What the film didn't need however was the cringey CGI crash scenes which took place inside the traumatised mind of our hero which completely reverses the effect of the movie and removes it from the subtle and understated nature of a film like Spotlight and instead becomes more of a popcorn movie as a result. Of course, popcorn movie goodness is not entirely a bad thing and whilst Sully does manage to come away as an effective telling of an incredible achievement within recent history, it isn't really anything more than that, but, as with anything with Tom Hanks in, Sully is still an enjoyable and well made drama. 

Overall Score: 7/10  

Film Review: Bleed For This

"I Know Exactly How To Give Up. You Know What Scares Me Kev? Is That It's Easy..."

As soon as you walk into the cosmos of a boxing movie, there is always the risk of cliche from the get-go. Ever since Rocky became the Oscar-winning blueprint for sporting films, many have trembled in its' wake and fallen ever so heavily under the weight of its' importance in cinematic history. Although earlier this year Creed began a successful new branch of Rocky lore, we now have Bleed For This, a cinematic adaptation of the remarkable true story of world champion boxer Vinny Pazienza, directed by Ben Younger and featuring a strong cast including Mile Teller, Aaron Eckhart, Ciaran Hinds and Katey Sagal, and a film which although does suffer inherently from the issues of similarities from previous and better films which adapt a similar theme, succeeds in being an enjoyable foray into the extravagant life of one of boxing's most infamous figures and the extraordinary tale of one of sports' most fantastical comebacks. 

In terms of dissecting the film of which Bleed For This seems to be of similar ilk, you can't sway away David O. Russel's The Fighter, a film which not only examined the life of a similarly ambitious boxer but a film which also took into account the awkward angle of the dysfunctional family, with mother, brother and the love interest all having their own opinions regarding the best thing for Mark Wahlberg's titular fighter. In the case of Bleed For This, not only is the dysfunctional family an angle the movie looks at, but the added notion of Pazienza's horrific injury adds another level for which the film takes in its' stride. Think Million Dollar Baby, yet less effective in terms of a work of drama and there you have Bleed For This, a solid sporting movie which although is slightly too long and drags out the amount of time our on-screen hero wades in his self-pity, is bolstered by a sublime performance from Miles Teller, who goes full on in his attempt to look the part, and features more comedic quips than the majority of mainstream so-called comedies, making Bleed For This not exactly on the level of Creed, but enjoyable nonetheless. 

Overall Score: 6/10

TV Review: Westworld - Series One Episode Nine "The Well-Tempered Clavier" SPOILERS

"Never Place Your Trust In Us. We're Only Human. Inevitably, We'll Only Disappoint..." 

And that's what you get for asking questions. Sorry Elsie, my constant need to know every loose end has obviously resulted in your demise, a demise orchestrated by the megalomaniacal Dr. Ford yet carried out by the unknowing Bernard, who this week was confirmed as a reincarnation of the infamous unknown entity that is Arnold, a theory which was coined by many early into the series. Although this didn't come as much of a surprise, what this revelation did ensure was a mind-bending segment in which we witness parallel time structures in which Delores was ever present in her attempt to access the ambiguous maze. Although the Delores scenes this week seemed rather flashy and important, her particular plot line is unashamedly baffling, and  in a world where baffling plot lines are more than ripe, it's hardly surprising. The revelation of the Bernard=Arnold equation ultimately led to the self-inflicted murder of such, a resolution which was either there to save Bernard's mind from the info dump he had just experienced or to save Dr. Ford's behind, yet with the murderous rampage our beloved creator is on, it's hard to sway away from the latter.

As for the real Arnold, the realisation that Delores was responsible for his untimely demise only adds to the series' confusion. Why and what does this mean? What is the show's endgame? These are questions that are constantly asked when I sit down and watch the newest entry of Westworld and with only one episode to go, I'm not really any closer to finding out. Like the maze our heroes and villains are attempting to seek out, Westworld is a endless, baffling mystery. But boy is it addictive. Add into the mix some more background regarding The Man in Black, with it being highlighted his influence in the running of the park, as well as Teddy's storyline slowly falling into its' inevitable place and next week's episode has a barrel load to squeeze in. Where Game of Thrones threw spanners in the works primarily in its' penultimate episode, Westworld is leaving it to the very end to show its' hand, and whilst the latter is nowhere near the heights of the former, it still is tasty entertainment. 

Overall Score: 8/10

Film Review: A United Kingdom

"No Man Is Free Who Is Not Master of Themselves..."

Carrying on in the footsteps of Allied, A United Kingdom, the third feature film from Amma Asante after A Way of Life and the heavily costumed drama, Belle, is another example of a film endangered by the severity of its' plot leakage within its' trailer, a trailer which not only has circulated the cinematic spectrum for months now, but is indeed another case study in how revealing too much just isn't worthwhile to the overall enjoyment of the film as a whole. Within the two-plus minutes of the trailer for A United Kingdom, the film's narrative is not only explained two-fold, albeit a formality of any teaser for an upcoming movie nowadays, but shows all of the film's highlights, highlights which when seen in the extended and fulsome picture just begs the question whether it was worth extending that 120 seconds into just under 120 minutes. Thankfully for A United Kingdom, the film ultimately does manage to pull through this fundamental issue and becomes a sweetly smart romantic drama, led primarily by the enormous acting talent of David Oyelowo who attempts to swerve the film away from near over-sentimentality and sort of succeeds amongst a string of two-dimensional portraits of characters that surround him.

Amongst the positives within Assante's latest, Oyelowo is undoubtedly the stand out performer, taking one tear-inducing scene in particular in his stride and giving the sort of performance similar to the much lauded and critically praised one in Selma. With Oyelowo in the driving seat, Pike is strangely underused in some way, resorting to the archetypal stranded mother character without having much chance to stand up and take control aside from a short scene in which we are meant to believe a quick detour to help out the locals completely wins over the puzzled masses. Although the film does begin in a rather hokey fashion, as soon as it departs into Botswana, the narrative does pick up and takes a satisfying dramatic turn, mixing in social issues, politics and romance, accumulating in a film which is strongest when it explores the overarching issues rather than the romance entwined within it, resulting in a somewhat messy outcome, but one which was enjoyable for the most part with Oyelowo's performance one of the main reasons to seek it out. 

Overall Score: 7/10

Film Review: Allied

"Being Good At This Job Isn't Very Beautiful..."

Brad Pitt. Marion Cotillard. Robert Zemeckis. Add into the mix screenwriter Steven Knight, best known for Eastern Promises and Peaky Blinders alongside a range of lesser work such as Burnt and last years' unbelievably dire Seventh Son, and Allied could be regarded as a much anticipated meeting of the majestic, with all factors of the film's main quartet being able to hit full stride when needed. Unfortunately for Zemeckis and co,. Allied isn't exactly a work of cinematic art, in fact, it is far from it, with the film's impressively strong beginning being offset by a shabby middle and end, alongside some strange plot decisions and an ending so fluffy it wouldn't be amiss in a Disney movie. As for the film's narrative, Allied follows the relationship of Max (Pitt) and Marianne (Cotillard) who fall in love after their success during a mission within German-occupied Morocco in the height of the second world war. After returning to London, Max is told some grave news regarding his recently wed wife, grave news which shakes his life to the core. 

As is the perils of modern day cinema, if you've seen the trailer for Allied, which wouldn't be much of a surprise seeing how it seems to be absolutely everywhere at the moment, you've basically seen the majority of the film, albeit the movie's climax, a climax which isn't entirely much of a shocker in itself, and this is a fundamental issue regarding the film's overall quality. IF the big reveal wasn't blasted at the audience before they'd even set foot into the cinema, maybe the attraction of Allied would have been less so but this may have been made up for in terms of shock factor when the reveal was made in the actual film. Who knows, and more importantly, who cares. Allied isn't the best work to come from the likes of Robert Zemeckis, the man behind fantastic work such as Back to the Future and Forest Gump, and instead is rooted somewhere between the likes of What Lies Beneath and The Walk. A solid, if rather hokey, thriller sums up Allied but hey, hokey is good sometimes. 

Overall Score: 6/10

TV Review: Westworld - Series One Episode Eight "Trace Decay" SPOILERS

"You Speak Like You Own This World..."

So we finally have some sort of answers regarding The Main in Black this week with Ed Harris deciding to blast us with an unexpected exposition dump regarding his rather unfortunate past which included a dead wife, a hateful daughter and the willingness to vent his anger upon the hosts of Westworld. Does this add up to the now anticipated reveal of the Man in Black=William equation? Who freakin' knows and like many have stated, Westworld is in danger of having more plot lines than Lost and although last week's twist had repercussions seeping into this week, with Bernard distraught with his violent actions, "Trace Decay" resorted to leading the big reveals until its' final two episodes. Smart move? Yes and no, with Westworld's continual baffling nature indeed not for everyone and for those who have stuck by it like some love-struck stalker of an ex-partner, we can only hope the mysteries do eventually pay off. 

Scene of the week was handed to Maeve who with her newly found powers in the land of Westworld pretty much reenacted that scene from Bruce Almighty when Jim Carey walks around and flashes his newly acquired god-like abilities. Instead of blowing up water mains and putting the wind up skirts however, Maeve completely changed the design of her commune by that of language alone, altering the programming of the hosts around her to do whatever she desired. Uprising? You said it and with hosts going seemingly against protocol across the park (Teddy's capture of TMIB, Delores's extreme visions and of course, Maeve herself) the beginning of the end is nigh for those unfortunate to be at the wrong end of the hosts' anger. After two episodes of no info whatsoever also, what on earth has happened to Elsie? At the end of episode six we saw her being attacked by an unknown assailant which in the time of Westworld must be a week or so at least which enhances the notion of a hole in the overarching plot. Will she reappear? One would hope so. Solid this week once again with more questions that answers; that's right guys, it's Westworld. 

Overall Score: 8/10

Film Review: Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them

"This Is Mr. Scamander, He's Lost Something, I'm Going To Help Him..."

Being of an age in which the two main film franchises entwined with my youth was Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings, the knowledge of an extended glance into the land of the former was an interesting premise, albeit a premise which included zero of the franchises' earlier cast members and a premise which undoubtedly was a huge risk after the success of the earlier movies. Stealing David Yates as director, the man responsible for the last few HP movies, and having J. K. Rowling herself as screenwriter, Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, inspired by the book of the same name by Rowling back in 2001, is a completely new view of the Potterverse, one which takes place in 1920's New York and follows the menacing tribulations of Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) who, much like the title says, loses a substantial amount of his fantastical beasts en route to Arizona and is then tasked with locating such creatures alongside the "no-maj" baker-to-be Jacob (Dan Fogler) and former Aura, Tina (Katherine Waterston). 

Being a solid fan of anything remotely Harry Potter, it comes as a deep disappointment that Fantastic Beasts for me was a resounding mess of a movie, a film which had very little engagement in terms of its characters alongside a strange sense of nonexistence in terms of any sort of narrative which made the film rather tedious at times, particularly during its' sloggish first hour and the movie's cop-out conclusion which seemed to have more endings than Return of the King. With the wasting of prestigious talent such as Jon Voight, Ezra Miller and Colin Farrell, the movie focuses most of its' attention on Redmayne in the movies' lead role, a performance which takes the fundamental kooky nature of Redmayne and ranks it up to eleven, resulting in a character which was actually rather boring to be with. Whilst the film does boast some creative digital effects and a cute loot-obsessed niffler, Fantastic Beasts can only be described as a mildly inconsequential addition to the lore of Harry Potter, a film which begins the cycle of FOUR more movies with a whimper rather than a bang, and a film which really nosedives with the most obvious twist since Inferno, in the addition of Johnny Depp as the real protagonist of the series. Shame really, as Colin Farrell was one of the film's positives. For every cloud I suppose...

Overall Score: 5/10