Peter Jackson’s Hobbit Trilogy has been one of the most perplexing cinema going experiences i have ever had. I adored the whimsy of the first film (and continue too), the second film was a delightfully energetic bridging film but the final act left so much unresolved and unclear that it forced me to readjust my opinion of the first two films. My main problems with The Battle of the Five Armies were tenfold, the dwarf/elf romance had no substantial conclusion, Thorin went in and out of madness too quickly, the majority of the dwarves (most importantly Fili) were underused, Beorn was reduced to a cameo, Thranduil’s purpose wasn’t fully revealed, Radagast was cast aside, the Dol Guldur sub plot fizzled out, Dain and Bard weren’t given resolutions, the return journey home was stifled and the Alfrid story line was excruciating out of place. Given all these complaints I assumed that the extended edition could only disappoint me but to my surprise I came away from the film feeling like the extra twenty minutes helped the film feel more complete. There are brief additions to the Dol Guldur, Smaug and Ravenhill sequences that are of little note, however there are entirely new scenes that exemplify why why Jackson and his writing team are perfect for adapting Tolkien. A new exchange between Bilbo and Bofur hearkens back to their conversation towards the end of An Unexpected Journey and is wonderfully played by Martin Freeman and James Nesbitt. A recut scene of Billy Connelly’s sweary dwarf King Dain and his army clashing with the elves is heartbreaking a makes pre-exisitng scenes have a greater emotional impact. An epic chariot chase to Ravenhill allows the dwarves to show off their fighting skills in a fun sequence similar to the barrels scene, but is more grounded in reality. A tonally out of the place sequence of Bifur loosing the axe in his head and Bombur finally getting a line of dialogue is welcome but should have been placed earlier within the battle as the tone of the film has already shifted once Thorin reaches Ravenhill. Alfrid also gets his comeuppance but this brief sequences doesn’t justify the characters presence in these films even if it allows Gandalf to have a light hearted scene with his staff not working. The most important scene is of Thorin’s funeral, an emotional, grand send off, devoid of dialogue it allows the audience to say goodbye and reveals the coronation of Dain Ironfoot. While this final film might not be emotional send off to Middle Earth it could have been, the extended cut successfully fleshes certain elements of the story out even if it still leaves much to be desired.
Beasts of No Nation Review
For a film with a relatively modest budget of $6 million, Cary Joji Fukanaga’s Beasts of No Nation has a lot weight and expectations to carry with it. The film will always be known as Netflix’s first foray into feature length film making, despite the acquisition of the film happening after its production, and will be studied for being the company’s first simultaneous release on Netflix and in the cinema. The good news is that Fukanaga’s film is a triumph for the most part and is a solid effort from the filmmaker after True Detective projected his name into the cinematic stratosphere.
Set in an unnamed African country during a civil war between the military and rebel factions, a young boy named Agu (Abraham Attah) is separated from his everyday life and forced to be on the run whilst the warring factions obliterate anything in their path. Agu soon comes into contact with Commandant, (Idris Elba) the leader of a rebel faction and is forced into a series of trials in order to earn his place in Commandant’s army. The film follows Agu as he faces disturbing and morally incomprehensible situations with the glimmer of hope that one day he may be reunited with his mother motivating him through his pain. The film comes alive whenever Attah is on the screen and for such a young actor he stands toe to toe with Elba, who is equally gripping as the tyrannical Commandant but it is this character which drags down the overall impact of the film. The opening and closing sequences of the film are masterful and Agu’s gradual descent into moral degradation in order to please and satisfy the Commandant is necessarily harrowing whilst managing to not be exploitative, but once the first scene of bloodshed is out of the way, it doesn’t feel that Fukanaga has anything else to say about Agu’s predicament nor his character and the film segues into an extended montage of bloody vignettes that show the horror’s of war. Fukanaga continues to repeat these escalating atrocities rather than reinforce or comment further on Agu’ss character nor the world he occupies. It is commendable that Fukanaga refuses to shy away from the horrors of war without it feeling overdone, but the excessive amount of violent skirmishes within are a few too many and quickly become repetitive.
As for Fukanaga he has solidified himself as a formidable talent, especially when considering that he is the writer and director of photography on the film. The contrast of the dark material with vast, lush landscapes of bountiful foliage harken back to Coppola’s Apocalypse Now and several handheld tracking shots, indicate that Fukanaga has found his directorial identity through variety, although his style occasional borders on distracting. A hallucinogenic sequence of Agu on the battlefield drains the colour from the orange dirt to a pale grey and soaks the emerald grass in a muted pink colour which makes for a spectacularly surreal sequence. The acting on all fronts is immaculate and while this isn’t the role that will win Idris Elba an Oscar he is perfect for the role.
Beasts of No Nation is a harrowing look at lost innocence and youth in war, while the representations of these themes are hammered home a bit too much, and the film partially lost me during the mid-point it won me back over in its last hour an hour where the film refocuses on the stronger facets of the narrative, which is its central character and the mental impact war has over the easily corrupted youth.
7/10
The Martian Review
After a 30 years absence from the genre,director Ridley Scott finally returned to science fiction with a resounding shrug in 
the form of Prometheus, and his following films The Counsellor and Exodus:Gods and Kings led to headlines surrounding Scott’s name indicating the he has lost touch as a director. While The Martian might not reach the soaring heights of Alien or Blade Runner, his adaptation of Andy Weir’s novel, based on a screenplay by Drew Goddard, brings Scott back down to earth with a focused, simple and character driven story.
The film hurriedly opens with a crew of astronauts on the red planet seconds before they are battered about by a scientifically inaccurate but visually stimulating storm. During their escape mission one of the crew, Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is struck by a piece of debris and assumed dead by his fellow crew, but since this a film its unsurprising that he has managed to survive and thus begins the main narrative of the film. The core plot follows Damon’s Watney as he comes to terms with his predicament, and in the face of certain death has to “science the shit out of this!” in order to stay alive. Damon is the anchor for the film and the audio logs he uses to document his survival work in a similar fashion to Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours, they tell us the mental state of the lead character in a similar fashion to a book written in the first person, and the sequences of him alone on mars are the best moments in the film. Where The Martian becomes slightly bogged down is in the sub plot featuring the Nasa scientists on earth who discover that Watney is still alive, and while these segments feel slightly too long for their own good, a star studded cast including Jeff Daniels, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kristen Wigg and Sean Bean keep the scientific jargon from becoming too monotonous and condescending. One of the biggest problems with The Martian is that Watney himself and his crew are omitted from the main story in order for the earth based scientists to conduct their experiments and hypotheses for far too long. Jessica Chastain, Mate Mara and Michael Pena are among the names of actors who play Watney’s fellow crew, but their presence within the story is limited to the conclusion and Scott lingers far too long on their potential demise without creating any characters of substance.
The Martian, takes a lot of ideas from other science fiction films and blends them together with an unexpected amount of humour, pathos and optimistic gusto which is unequivocally infectious and though it isn’t the return to form that some are calling it, the film is undoubtedly Scott’s best since Kingdom of Heaven. It hints at a more humanistic side to the director that has been absent as of late, whilst retaining his skilled knowledge of pacing and visual effects. It’s a shame that the weaker elements of the story are given a lot of screen time, almost as if Scott didn’t know just how good the space set narrative threads were. Despite these minor flaws, The Martian is a fun ride and hopefully this sense of joy will carry over to Scott’s next project, Alien: Paradise Lost.
7/10
Lost River Review
One of the biggest news stories to come out of the 
Cannes premiere of Ryan Gosling’s directorial debut was that it was received by a chorus of boos from the audience.While those reports were debunked to be hearsay, or at least hyperbole, the resounding negative press meant that the film was shut away from the world for almost an entire year. After a brief turn around from theatrical to home video release, the film is finally available and not only is it a lot more interesting than most film critics have claimed it to be, but it is one of my favorite viewing experiences of the past few years.
The film revolves around Bones (Iain De Caestecker), a young man who spends his days stripping derelict buildings of anything worth salvaging and selling it on. His mother Billy (Christina Hendricks) is also tasked with performing at a local club in order to make ends meet, while Bully (Matt Smith) a roaming thug, and Dave (Ben Mendelsohn) a tyrannical bank manager provide obstacles for our protagonists. The rest of the film is wrapped around an ethereal sub plot about a secret flooded town which Bones’ neighbor Rat (Saoirse Ronan) believes has cursed the town and holds the key to her grandmother inexplicably becoming mute. If this sounds strange and scattershot, its because it is. Gosling has embraced the fabulism that has made other filmmakers so famous. Among the names that have had some impact on Gosling’s directorial decisions are David Lynch, whose magical realism and mind warping mysticism appears to have rubbed off on the actor turned director, while the bold use of colour and emphasis on visual storytelling invokes Nicolas Winding Refn. The film also mixes a simultaneously romanticized and ugly representation of contemporary America which is heavily reminiscent of the work of Derek Cianfrance. All of these influences congeal to make a nightmarish adult fairy tale with a unique, dark tone. The film trips up a few times by featuring several improvised sequences with local civilians from Detroit, which is where the film was shot, the cinematic and acting styles in these scenes are glaringly at odds with the rest of the film, hearkening back to the spontaneity of Terrence Malick through a Dogme 95 lens.
One of the main negatives that I have against Lost River is that the destination is no way near as satisfying as its slow paced journey might entail. However, unlike some critics I believe there are a lot more successful elements at work here, and the it indicates that Gosling is still finding his groove behind the camera. The performances from the entire cast are stellar, the cinematography brooding but vibrant and Johnny Jewels soundtrack is impenetrable from criticism, mixing Cliff Martinez’s synthetic sound with ethereal, classical overtones. Lost River isn’t perfect but its got a lot going for it, and i hope the harshness from some critics doesn’t deter Gosling from more experiments behind the camera.
7/10
Could The Battle of the Five Armies be the best Middle Earth film?
While The Hobbit films haven’t captured general audience’s imagination as much as the Lord of the Rings did, I have found myself enjoying my return trip to Middle Earth a lot more than I did over a decade ago. As someone who went into the first two films without reading Tolkien’s novel I felt that the characters, returning and new, had a lot more character than the cast of The Lord of the Rings. from Thorin’s mental illness, Tauriel’s racial discrimination within the Elven realm and Bilbo’s transformation from frightened Hobbit to courageous hero I’ve found The Hobbit films have better developed films than The Lord of the Rings. With the recent trailer for the final instalment in the trilogy The Hobbit; The Battle of the Five Armies proclaiming it was the defining chapter of the middle Earth saga, I wondered if this could be the best Middle earth film that Peter Jackson has made. Here are a few reasons about why it could be:
Smaug attacks Laketown
While killing off Smaug at the end of the second film in favour of the dwarves battling him in Erebor would have made for a more satisfying climax, opening the third film with his attack on Laketown is bound to be one of the greatest action scenes that Peter Jackson has ever staged. While this was my least favourite chapter in the book, as it introduced the character of Bard out of nowhere, the development of the character in the previous film will make this sequence more emotionally engaging, especially when you include his family, Tauriel and four of the dwarves are also in Laketown. We also have barely seen Smaug flying and while it’s difficult to predict how much dialogue he will have in the film, he’s already become one of the most memorable villains of all time.
Dol Goldur
I don’t have any knowledge about what will happen to Gandalf in Dol Goldur except that we will hopefully get to see Saruman, Galadriel, Elrond and Radagast in action. This scene also has the most potential to influence The Lord of the Rings films as we will get to see Galadriel’s care for Gandalf, Radagast’s possible demise (because he isn’t mentioned in any of The Lord of the Rings films) and we will get to see members of the White council in action,
The Battle of the Five Armies
We come to it at last, while Smaug may detract a little from people’s anticipation for this battle, Jackson has proved himself over the years as the master of battle scenes and in interviews he has frequently described the battle as being emotional, something which has really enticed me. The main reason why this battle could be the most memorable is that death count for our main characters could be shockingly high, especially in relation to the Battle of Pelennor Fields which only had King Theodin as its main causality. While we know that several characters in the book die, the fate of a lot of characters who don’t appear in future films could also be in the balance. Tauriel, a character conjured up by Jackson and co could perish in the battle, which would give Legolas needed depth going into The Lord of the Rings trilogy. More shocking and controversial would be the death of his father Thranduil, who survives in the book but, while I’m not completely sure isn’t confirmed as being alive in the LOTR films. Beorn, who is expected to get more screen time in the extended edition of The Desolation of Smaug, and possibly one of Bard’s children, could fall. We already know that the actor who played Bard’s son Bain trained for fighting and it would be a gutsy move by Jackson to kill off such a young character, but a very commendable one.
While these are only a few of the scenes that are expected to make The Battle of the Five Armies a memorable film, I’m interested in the sub plots between these many characters the most. Tauriel and Kili’s romance could turn out as one of the most heart breaking moments in the saga, as well as Thorin’s descent into madness and Bilbo’s return to his peaceful life in The Shire are expected to be very memorable.
Ranking Sofia Coppola’s filmography
5. The Bling Ring (2013)
My least favourite of Coppola’s work is also her most recent, a depiction of real life events of a group of teens who infamously stole from the rich and famous is weakened by its neutral stance towards its characters. By neither providing a decent reason for the burglars to rob or to sympathise with their victims, instead Coppola situates the audience as mere spectators to a repetitive series of burglaries. Regardless of whether the choice to make these teenagers devoid of any character or purpose was a conscious decision by Coppola, it still makes for a cold experience.
4. Marie Antoinette (2006)
For her 3rd feature film, Coppola took the cool laid back nature of her previous films and mixed her modern sensibilities with a period piece. Conjuring up a fantastical world of comedic oddities and historical inaccuracies which chronicle the life of the French Queen Marie Antoinette up till the French Revolution. Its an odd but sweet film which focuses on the simplicities on the lives of the extraordinary that takes a refreshingly liberated viewpoint on historical cinema. Her choice of modern rock music and modern aesthetic makes for a unique film that’s more interested in entertainment than accuracy.
3. The Virgin Suicides (1999)
The films that started it all, Coppola’s extraordinary debut follows a group of sisters who are confined their house in the wake of their estranged siblings suicide. While the girls, led by the fantastic Kirsten Dunst are the main narrative thrust, its the local boys and their fascination in the family that is the most interesting development. The Virgin Suicides distils everything that makes Coppola great, dark, quirky and pervasive glimmer of hope among bleak devastation.
2. Somewhere (2010)
Arguably more than The Bling Ring did, Somewhere split audiences down the middle. Speculated to be inspired by her relationship with her father, Coppola’s most technically polished films follows Cleo, and her relationship with her selfish father. Its a very laid back film with a slow pace and noticeable lack of dialogue but washed over me due to its cool charm, and features my favourite scene in any Coppola film of the lead characters basking in the sunlight as I’ll Try Anything Once by The Strokes plays in the background.
1. Lost In Translation (2003)
Predictable but there’s a reason behind Lost In Translation’s popularity. Set in Tokyo, a playground for Coppola to work her idiosyncratic sensibilities. She follows two strangers that are unhappy with how their life is playing out and the bond that forms between them. Like in all her films Coppola elevates a simple and what could have been a very formulaic premise with her knack for deadpan comedy and heart-breaking realism. I didn’t want it to end.
The Amazing Spiderman 2 Review
Its very rare with a film that I feel like I have to have a period of time afterwards to really think about the characters and multiple plots before I 
feel like I can truly didcuss them, The Amazing Spiderman 2, surprisingly, is one of those films. It is in many ways, another summer superhero blockbuster featuring several of Marvel’s most colourful characters, something which is hardly scarce nowadays, but its one of the few superhero films where I am completely at odds with some of the critics complaints with.
After surviving the hurdle of having to tell Peter Parker’s origin story on the big screen again, director Marc Webb gets to flex his muscles by establishing a bright and engaging universe where our web slinging hero is allowed to have fun with his new found powers, played once again by Andrew Garfield, who at this point for me is the definitive Spiderman on the big screen. Peter’s personal life however isn’t so great, his relationship with Aunt May (Sally Field) while strengthened in the first film by Uncle Ben’s demise is being challeneged by her insistence on him forgetting his mysterious parents past. In addition to this, Peter finds himself hesitantly pushing his girlfriend, Gwen Stacey (Emma Stone) away as he becomes haunted by his promise to her late father, which he is struggling to keep. In addition to this he has a new villain Electro (Jamie Foxx) to face up against, and his old friend Harry Osborne (Dane Dehaan) is back in town after he inherits his fathers business Oscorp. As you can see here there are a ton of sub plots and characters that The Amazing Spiderman 2 is juggling and for the most part, although this doesn’t appear to be the general consensus, it succeeds.
Despite the film being called Spiderman, the hero himself isn’t the most memorable part of the film, that honour lies with Dane Dehaan’s Harry Osborne, who, despite the advertising and the films sub heading, Rise of Electro in some territories is the main villain and focus of the film. When we first see Harry we are exposed to a damaged individual, who’s backstory echo’s that of Peter’s as his parents were never around, the central relationship of the film and some of the best scenes are of Peter and Harry reminiscing about the old days, being friends and trying to uncover the mystery that their parents left behind. Harry also desperately needs the help of Spiderman, and Peter has to struggle with trying to keep his personal life separate from his heroic responsibilities. Dehaan is excellent in the role, at times he is likeable and charming, then in an instant evil and creepy character, a formidable foe and whereas his well paced build-up makes him more threatening once he dons his villainous disguise, the film lets him down, funnelling him into an overly foreshadowed sub plot which lessens the intimidating threat that the rest of the film proposes. There’s also Max Dillon AKA Electro, a character who brings out a more youthful tone in the film. Whereas Harry gets a deserved build up, Jamie Foxx’s Electro is painted in very broad strokes and the time we spend with him before becoming Electro feels stifled amongst the other sub plots. This is extremely frustrating as his sympathetic persona as Max is unsubtle but interesting, his transformation formulaic but visual exciting, however after one visually stunning showdown with Spidey in Times Square he is forced to sit on the bench, and appears so that there can be set pieces along the way before Peter faces the true villain of the story, the Green Goblin.
As for our heroes, Peter is a little overshadowed by the cluttered cast in the film, although once he puts on the mask Garfield steals the show using his voice and body movements to convey a character who relishes his newly harnessed powers, and despite the occasional cheesy one liner, is the most likeable Marvel superhero on the big screen. His relationship to Gwen is also a key part of the film, as she wants to move to England after being offered a scholarship, these scenes aren’t particularly well written or develop the relationship as much as the writers would like you to believe, but Garfield and Stone’s off screen relationship clearly strengthens these scenes making the short space of time they spend together convincing. Aunt May, a character who was really annoying in Sam Raimi’s original trilogy is given a lot more to do here, apart from the occasional gag with Peter, Aunt May takes matters into her own hands, as she starts to work extra shifts at the hospital for money and becomes a part of the climactic battle in an organic manner. Although she doesn’t get as much screen time as necessary, a recurring complaint I’ve had with all these characters throughout this review, the always magnificent Sally Field adds gravitas to the role, enough to leave a lasting impression.
The Amazing Spiderman 2 is an enjoyable superhero film, its a breath of fresh air after its very safe predecessor, and it might even surpass Raimi’s second film, which, like most people I regard as the best Spiderman film. While the the film tries to juggle too many characters and plots, it manages to tie them together by the skin of its teeth, despite some obvious flaws. Its worth mentioning there’s a story thread following Peter’s parents which is resolved in the most mundane manner, as well as a brief cameo from Paul Giamatti’s Rhino, which is more of a set u for a future role than an integral part of the film. As a franchise Webb has some solid enough foundations for the third and fourth films, he sadly forgets to give the characters in this film there time to shine, however its still a lot of fun and even if I’m more interested in the deleted scenes over some of the stuff that was kept in the film.
Written by Daniel Mason
The Borderlands Review
Like many, The Borderlands was brought to my attention by critic Mark Kermode who, on his radio 5 live show praised the film for shaking and terrifying him more than your average horror film, and as a fan of horror films and often having a similar taste to th
e film critic I decided to check out this low budget British flick. The Borderlands is a very simple story of two oppositional characters Gray and Deacon, they are Vatican investigators who find themselves led to a small British village in order research possible paranormal goings on at a local church.
One of the most obvious detractors of The Borderlands for some is that it is a found footage film where almost every shot is specifically meant to look like a documentary, for those familiar with The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Acitvity you’ll know what your getting into. However, The Borderlands features characters who are investigating the ghostly occurences rather than thrusted upon them, and have a CCTV set up as well as head mounted cameras which dramatically reduce the shakiness that a lot of people find off putting in these types of films. This set up gets rid of a lot of the annoyances that are a part of found footage films, there isn’t that moment where you would expect the characters to drop the camera and run, in addition, although it does happen, the static shots that were used in the night-time sequences of the Paranormal Activity films are kept to a short period of time and are edited between the raw footage to reduce nausea.
The Borderlands finds its true identity in its two leads, unlikely heroes Gray and Deacon who both have very different views on the matter of the paranormal. One is religious, but is very sceptical of the events that are happening around him, and another is devoid of religious beliefs but is very open and concerned by the duo’s escalating discoveries. They aren’t the most likeable of characters but they are more rounded and less stupid than your average character in a horror film, and writer/director Elliot Goldner knows that they need to be given enough depth for the scares to have an impact. Which leads us to the most important quality in The Borderlands which is the scares, rather than the loud, noisy jump scares, although there are a few of them, the moments of terror stem from the less obvious moments of horror, switching between the mundane and the obvious. The most talked about element of the film is its ending, after a relatively slow paced first hour the final act of the film, similarly to the Paranormal Activity films, goes utterly ballistic and the ending builds and builds up a terrifyingly manic and claustrophobic atmosphere. The ending is so off the rails that it becomes adequately perplexing and satisfying and shows us something unique enough to make it feel less formulaic than its competition.
The Borderlands is for all intents and purposes, a typical found footage horror film which starts off slow and crescendos with a typically mental final act. Despite its adherence to conventional techniques, The Borderlands delivers on compelling characters, solid pacing, terrifying scares and manages to take the handheld camera format and use it to strengthen the quality of the film rather than being detrimental.
Written by Daniel Mason
Oldboy (2013) Review
American remakes of foreign language films often have extremely negative preconceptions, most of the time they’re pretty justified, however there are 
rare examples, such as David Fincher’s The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo or Scorsese’s The Departed where they improve on aspects of the original. In the case of Spike Lee’s Oldboy, an adaptation of a graphic novel and South Korean film of the same name, it isn’t entirely devoid of merit however its main problems have been well documented to production company Universal, who tinkered with Lee’s cut of the film, which rumours say lasted up to 3 hours, rather than this 1 hour and 40 minutes cut
Oldboy follow Joe Doucett (Josh Brolin), a complete and utter arsehole who at the beginning of film is introduced as being completely irredeemable and disgusting to his friends, family and colleauges. It appears that someone else shares the same hatred towards him as I did as he is mysteriously locked up in a room with no knowledge as to why he has been imprisoned. The opening of the film chronicles his metamorphisis into a slightly less annoying man as he realises and begins to atone for the sins that he was originally blinded to. A transformation by Brolin, which he fully commits to both emotionally and physically, and if there is one thing above all that makes this film worth watching its Brolin’s heartbreaking performance. After 20 years of captivity he is inexpleciably released and bumps into Marie (Elizabeth Olsen) a woman with a mysterious past of substance abuse, who’s damaged life makes her instinctively protective of Doucett, Olsen is undoubtedly the weakest link in the film,even more than Sharlto Copley’s laughable, mustache twirling villain Adrian, as we will later explore. Her performance is fine but her central relationship with Joe is something that needs a gradual processes as her reasons to trust him are too threadbare, but instead the pressure of the studio, which appeared to have chopped up the scenes that she was in makes the central friendship unconvincing and rushed. Speaking of weak points, we finally reach Copley’s villainous character Adrian, who is the least menacing villain that ive seen on screen for some time, the South African actor uses a posh (British?) accent for a reason that is completely beyond me, which makes every scene he is in almost comical and cartoonish, a sad misstep since Copley’s talents since District 9 haven’t been fully tapped into yet. What follows is a mystery thriller where our detectives spend way too much of their time using their iphones and Google to crack the case, (I wish I was kidding) putting the shameless advertising of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo to shame. The evidence and mystery feels rushed due to the brevity of the running time and by the time the audience feels invested in the case, its simply presented to you on a silver platter like the ending of the recent Sherlock Holmes films.
For those, like me who have seen the original the big question is, does this shake up the story enough to make it worth watching? This can frankly be answered with a resounding no, although I preferred the epilogue scene here than I did in the original. Every aspect of the original feels extremely diluted here, there’s no squid eating, no cringe inducing violent climax and for the love of all that is holy why did director Spike Lee choose CGI blood for the fight scenes?
With all this hate it would appear that I disliked the film, actually I believe I enjoyed it a lot more than most, however when reviewing a remake of an amazing film, anything short of greatness feels like a waste of time and sadly Spike Lee’s Oldboy, atleast this theatrical cut does zilch to improve on the film before it. The only saving grace is Lee’s direction which at times was remarkable, especially for someone who’s only aware of his more commercial work, using long take steadicam shots such, like a harrowing flashback to build tension or in the famous hallways fight scene, which sadly was cut by the studio.
If there is anything to take away from Spike Lee’s version of Oldboy, is that it’s clearly made with the passion and the commitment to the dark subject material that it needed, showing that money wasn’t the primary aspect driving the production. Almost every aspect of the film is on the verge of greatness, apart from Copley, but Universals decision to cut a huge chunk out of the film has a huge impact and the breathing room that it appears Lee had intended to give the characters and the story, is destroyed by an interfering studio who clearly weren’t capable of making any sensible decisions. My advice is that you watch the original and pray that an extended cut may surface in the not too distant future.
Writtenn by Daniel Mason
Captain America: The Winter Soldier Review
Post The Avengers, we knew that the Marvel cinematic universe was never going to be the same, however for me personally this wasn’t for the good as it meant that the standalone efforts suffered from a lack of urgency. Both Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World told self contained stories that in their own rights were interesting, but the first two films of Marvel’s phase 2 were bogged down by being tied to the overall cinematic universe. They had to acknowledge everything that had come before but failed to address neither of them could call each other up and help each other out, leading to two uneven but still enjoyable films. Luckily this isn’t the case with The Winter Soldier, which tells a wonderful, standalone story whilst managing to have an overall impact that means the Marvel cinematic universe will never be the same, as it also manages work as a perfect set up for where a lot of characters will be in The Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier begins with Cap (Chris Evans) struggling to assimilate to modern day life, which we saw a glimpse of in The Avengers. As well as learning to work as team with SHIELD, which is set up in an opening stealth sequence which perfectly sets the slick, darker tone for the rest of the film. More than the other post Avengers films, The Winter Soldier lets the supporting characters of Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), Black Widow (Scarlet Johansson)and Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) not only be acknowledged but have time to shine, especially Black Widow who has been stifled up to now. One of the films greatest strengths is its focus on a more gritty tone than any of the other films from the Marvel cinematic universe have done before, as not long into the film we see the ground beneath Cap’s feet crumble and every element of stability in his life that SHIELD created destroyed and in disarray. With Black Widow, and new character Falcon (Anthony Mackie), who sadly isn’t given much of an arc, at his side he must uncover a secret that is heavily tied to his characters past and as it always is with these films, defeat the bad guys and save the day!
What distinguishes this film tonally, is 70’s era spy thriller vibe which sets the stage for some surprisingly serious and overtly adult references to the harsh rules of a totalitarian society and ideas about how our governments control us with illusions of safety that is created through fear. One of the key strengths of the film is this unique tone, which is given added gravitase by Robert Redford’s character Alexander Pierce, a slimy looking man whose motives are shrouded in mystery. However, the key ingredient as to why The Winter Soldier is successful as a self contained story is due to The Winter Soldier himself. While his story is well known I won’t spoil his origins here, but the character not only makes an impact because of well developed background but he is exactly what these Marvel movies have truly lacked, a terrifying villain. The Winter Soldier is brutal, relentless and poses a physical and psychological effect to our and is up there with Loki as one of the best villains weve seen any of the Avengers face so far, even if his character isn’t given a conclusion that was to my taste.
The biggest problem with The Winter Soldier, is that its first half is so good and so unconventional in its first half, at least for a film of this type, that the only way it could resolve its interesting ideas is by pissing off a lot of its fan base. Therefore the film sadly doesn’t stick to its guns and shy’s away from pulling the rug out from under you like it does so well for a long period of its running time. And this is where my biggest problem with The Winter Soldier lies, its ending is extremely formulaic and slightly feels like a betrayal to some of the interesting concepts that are created, that it feels a kittle bit too comfortable. However, what the Russo brothers do get right over other big budget blockbusters, is that they allow the characters breathing room amongst some brilliantly choreographed action scenes, which allows our heroes to flex their muscles and more notably, especially in the scenes with the Winter Soldier, feel like there is a chance that they might not make it out alive and are worth caring about.
Taking everything into consideration, The Winter Soldier is up there with the Avengers in terms of quality, it has huge implications for the rest of the films to follow whilst managing to tell a story that actually develops its lead characters and is in my opinion the best solo outing from one of the members of the Avengers so far. Darker, rougher and more intelligent than its predecessors, The Winter Soldier is an evolution in the superhero film genre and manages to perfectly balance spectacle with a very personal story that truly packs a punch.
Written by Daniel Mason
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