M. Night Shyamalan made a decent movie, what a twist!
Catch Up Reviews: ‘Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation’ + ‘Straight Outta Compton’
Two summer movies that I saw! Hooray!
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Review: American Ultra
Improbable as it may seem, it’s not Jessie Eisenbergs’ transformation from anxiety-stricken stoner to peerless fighting machine that causes American Ultra to stumble. In fact, the choreography of the fight scenes make his activation as covert CIA agent all the more brutal and believable. Where the film falls down is that it succeeds where so many other have failed: it creates a stoner couple who are not only bearable, but actually extremely likeable. Unfortunately, past the midway mark the movie squanders that gift and limps to a total damp squib of a finale.
Quick Reviews: ‘Shaun the Sheep’ and ‘The Man from U.N.C.L.E.’
I saw two movies this weekend! And I’m actually writing about them! Huzzah!
#### Shaun the Sheep
Would you like to have a delightful time at the movies? Then you should totally see _Shaun the Sheep_. In 90 minutes of beautifully stop-motion animation by Aardman –the folks behind _Wallace and Gromit_ (among other things)– Shaun the clever sheep leads a flock of sheep on an adventure to the big city. It’s funny, sweet, and emotional and despite having no dialogue manages to have a pretty menacing villain, a pretty great central story, and a delightful musical number in the middle.
Sure, it’s a kids movie, but it’s a great kids movie and you should totally see it.
#### The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
Would you like to be bored at the movies? Really? Why would you want that? To each their own I suppose. In that case you should totally check out _The Man From U.N.C.L.E._, Guy Ritchie’s update of the 1960s TV show. It’s not outright bad but it’s all style and no substance. Shallow is the word and since the main characters never feel like they’re in any real danger it’s hard to get excited during otherwise fairly well executed action sequences.
Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer don’t really have that much in the way of chemistry which is a problem too. Cavill in particular didn’t really work for me. Hos character is supposed to be cool as ice and aloof but many of his one-liners fell flat for me since he came off so detached. Hugh Grant is in it too but he’s famous enough that when he shows up in a seemingly innocuous role it’s easy to predict what’s going to happen next. His best one liner is spoiled in the damn trailer, and then at the end when they finally form U.N.C.L.E. he just says it and the screen goes black. It’s annoying because this movie really felt like it could have been a lot better but as is it’s just a sloppily handled bore.
Review: Absolute Drift (PC, Mac)
I can’t stop playing *Absolute Drift*, and in order to properly explain why, I have to tell you a little story.
Review: Galak-Z (PS4)
*Spelunky* has a lot to answer for. Ever since it single-handedly championed procedurally-generated levels back in its enhanced 2012 version, many other games have been lining up to try and emulate its perfect blend of slow progression and brutal punishments. 17-Bit’s *Galak-Z* is the latest to follow this trend, openly shifting from its initial open-world design in favour of a chaotic and frustration-filled set of tough challenges. And it so nearly gets it right.
Catchup Reviews: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, Big Hero 6, Dear White People, The F Word, and Horns
It’s December which means I have pretty much exactly no time to do anything lately but that hasn’t stopped me from seeing a couple of movies, just from writing them up in a timely manner.
But since I’ve seen so many you’re gonna get the shortest version of each of these reviews that I can muster.
Review: The Theory of Everything
_The Theory of Everything_ has all the right ingredients to be a major award contender. It’s a period set drama that has happened within our lifetimes, it has some great talent in the main roles, and it’s about a world-famous scientist who everyone loves. Sometimes a film comes together to be more than the sum of its ingredients. Other times, like this time, it doesn’t.
_The Theory of Everything_ isn’t bad though, it’s just that it suffers from all the problems that biopics tend to suffer from and the two great central performances aren’t quite enough to elevate the film above that.
Quick Review: Interstellar
_Interstellar_ is probably the most ambitious film I’ve seen all year. It aims high in terms of scientific accuracy, storytelling, and cinematic scope, and it very nearly succeeds. But not quite. That’s not to say it’s a bad movie, but I was hoping for a great movie and this is just a good one.
Catch Up Reviews: Dracula Untold, Kill The Messenger, John Wick, and Nightcrawler
I’ve been on hiatus so here’s me catching up on the movies I’ve seen.
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VIFF Review: The Face of an Angel
A few years ago, a young British woman was murdered in Sienna, Italy. The case gained worldwide attention as the girls’ American roommate and friend were accused, tried, and convicted of the crime and then later acquitted on appeal.
The Face of an Angel is a fictionalization of this case. Sort of. Rather than going for the true crime angle, director Michael Winterbottom and writer Paul Viragh instead tell the story of a washed-up film director in Sienna trying to find a story among the city, the massive media presence, and local characters during the appeal trial.
Yes, we’re talking about a director making a film about a director trying to make a film about a real-life story. And also using _Dante’s Inferno_ as a frame for the story. Yeah. It’s a bit weird. It’s not what I’d call bad, but it’s definitely weird.
Continue reading “VIFF Review: The Face of an Angel”VIFF Review: Foxcatcher
Bennett Miller has a pretty good track record. His last two films, Capote and Moneyball, were both nominated for Best Picture; for each, he was nominated for Best Director, and for both, his main actors were nominated for acting awards. It looks like he will keep the streak alive with _Foxcatcher_, a superbly directed, superbly performed, and compelling film.
Continue reading “VIFF Review: Foxcatcher”VIFF Review: Mr. Turner
I’ve said before that one of the things I love about movies is those few occasions when I get to witness one of the great performances of our time, when an actor disappears into a role completely, and I can forget even the most familiar of faces as belonging to an actor I’ve seen before and instead see the character that they are playing.
This doesn’t happen quite as often as you might think, but it happened today when I saw Mr. Turner, in which Timothy Spall played famed British painter J.M.W. Turner.
Continue reading “VIFF Review: Mr. Turner”VIFF Review: Black Fly
When writer-director Jason Bourque was a boy, his family moved to St. John, New Brunswick. The move to a rural area was meant to be a peaceful one, but as it turns out, their new neighbour was a serial killer.
The Bourques didn’t suffer any losses at his hands, but Jason, now based in Vancouver, has turned that experience into a taut thriller called Black Fly.
Continue reading “VIFF Review: Black Fly”VIFF Review: Pulp: a Film About Life, Death & Supermarkets
Pulp: a Film About Life, Death & Supermarkets is an easy film to recommend. If you’re a fan of the band, then you should definitely want to check out the story of the band’s final concert –played in their hometown of Sheffield– and if you’re not a fan of the band, then you should check out the story of a band winding down, getting ready to stop playing, and wanting on last great night of rock and roll before they go.
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