Films round-up
John Wick - Some Russian mobsters steal Keanu Reeves's car and kill his dog. He gets very angry. He shoots lots of people. He does this some more. Along the way, we learn something of his backstory, such as why the mob are so terrified of him. If I was being unkind, I'd say the film plays to Keanu Reeves' strengths by giving him not much dialogue. It's a brutal killing spree that's tense, straighforward and (at just over 90 minutes) doesn't outstay its welcome. Not bad, but hardly a must-see.
Avengers: Age of Ultron - Entertaining popcorn sequel, somewhat lacking in substance. Full review here.
Woman in Gold - Helen Mirren plays Maria Altmann in this true story of the Jewish refugee trying to recover the titular Klimt portrait of her aunt from the Austrian government, after it was stolen from her family by the Nazis during the war. Ryan Reynolds is the young lawyer trying to help her. The film cuts between slightly dull modern day legal drama and far more interesting WW2 flashbacks. Being set in Vienna, I did a lot of playing spot-the-landmark and mentally going, "I've been there!" The cast are engaging but, while the story of the painting is quite interesting, it isn't really enough to sustain a whole film.
Big Game - Samuel L Jackson IS the President. That's the tag line, and also the main selling point of this cheese-tastic affair. He's not very Samuel L. Jackson-y though for the most part, playing a president who's bewildered and out of his depth as Air Force One is shot down by terrorists over Finland. Luckily there's a kid with a bow and arrows to help him through the wilderness. Back home, the US military try to locate him, with the help of Jim Broadbent for some reason. It's as full of quirky Finnish humour as you'd expect from the director of Rare Exports (which if you haven't seen, you must), crossed with the cheesiness of a Roland Emmerich blockbuster. Unfortunately the 12A rating means that when the President finally does go the full Samuel L. Jackson, he doesn't quite get to say his defining line. Good for a silly movie marathon night.
Mad Max: Fury Road - As lots of others have said, this is a fantastic film. Pure comic book and very George Miller, it's basically a two-hour chase scene. This makes it all the more impressive that it manages to cram in so much plot, pathos and character. It does so effortlessly, without any clunky exposition. You learn everything you need to know without the filmmakers finding it necessary to explain every last detail. You don't need to have seen any of the other Mad Max films to follow what's going on but, if you have, Tom Hardy as a Mel Gibson replacement doesn't jar at all. Charlize Theron's Imperator Furiosa is the real protagonist though, and it's great to see an action film which (a) has a female character with a disability as the lead; and (b) doesn't do so in an exploitative way or indeed feel the need to make a big deal out of it in any way at all. I can't oversell this film. Everything is brilliantly done - the stunts, the character-development-through-action, the mash-up car designs, the insane bad guys with their skull masks and flamethrowing guitar. If heavy metal was a movie, it would be this. See it. Right now, and on the biggest screen you can find.
A Royal Night Out - It's VE Day, and Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret go out for a night on the town "incognito". Margaret acts entirely as you might expect, things go haywire and soon she, the future queen, their chaperones, an RAF pilot named Jack, and a host of unsavoury characters are chasing each other all across London. It's a very British comedy of errors, and completely made up of course. But it nevertheless captures the feel of the time well, and there are darker and deeper moments in-between the farce. Anyone who's ever felt lost or alone at a party will sympathise with "Lizzie", and Jack's troubled backstory makes him more than just her comic foil. Most of all, it's an entertaining period romp. And hurrah (as always) for Roger Allam!
Avengers: Age of Ultron - Entertaining popcorn sequel, somewhat lacking in substance. Full review here.
Woman in Gold - Helen Mirren plays Maria Altmann in this true story of the Jewish refugee trying to recover the titular Klimt portrait of her aunt from the Austrian government, after it was stolen from her family by the Nazis during the war. Ryan Reynolds is the young lawyer trying to help her. The film cuts between slightly dull modern day legal drama and far more interesting WW2 flashbacks. Being set in Vienna, I did a lot of playing spot-the-landmark and mentally going, "I've been there!" The cast are engaging but, while the story of the painting is quite interesting, it isn't really enough to sustain a whole film.
Big Game - Samuel L Jackson IS the President. That's the tag line, and also the main selling point of this cheese-tastic affair. He's not very Samuel L. Jackson-y though for the most part, playing a president who's bewildered and out of his depth as Air Force One is shot down by terrorists over Finland. Luckily there's a kid with a bow and arrows to help him through the wilderness. Back home, the US military try to locate him, with the help of Jim Broadbent for some reason. It's as full of quirky Finnish humour as you'd expect from the director of Rare Exports (which if you haven't seen, you must), crossed with the cheesiness of a Roland Emmerich blockbuster. Unfortunately the 12A rating means that when the President finally does go the full Samuel L. Jackson, he doesn't quite get to say his defining line. Good for a silly movie marathon night.
Mad Max: Fury Road - As lots of others have said, this is a fantastic film. Pure comic book and very George Miller, it's basically a two-hour chase scene. This makes it all the more impressive that it manages to cram in so much plot, pathos and character. It does so effortlessly, without any clunky exposition. You learn everything you need to know without the filmmakers finding it necessary to explain every last detail. You don't need to have seen any of the other Mad Max films to follow what's going on but, if you have, Tom Hardy as a Mel Gibson replacement doesn't jar at all. Charlize Theron's Imperator Furiosa is the real protagonist though, and it's great to see an action film which (a) has a female character with a disability as the lead; and (b) doesn't do so in an exploitative way or indeed feel the need to make a big deal out of it in any way at all. I can't oversell this film. Everything is brilliantly done - the stunts, the character-development-through-action, the mash-up car designs, the insane bad guys with their skull masks and flamethrowing guitar. If heavy metal was a movie, it would be this. See it. Right now, and on the biggest screen you can find.
A Royal Night Out - It's VE Day, and Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret go out for a night on the town "incognito". Margaret acts entirely as you might expect, things go haywire and soon she, the future queen, their chaperones, an RAF pilot named Jack, and a host of unsavoury characters are chasing each other all across London. It's a very British comedy of errors, and completely made up of course. But it nevertheless captures the feel of the time well, and there are darker and deeper moments in-between the farce. Anyone who's ever felt lost or alone at a party will sympathise with "Lizzie", and Jack's troubled backstory makes him more than just her comic foil. Most of all, it's an entertaining period romp. And hurrah (as always) for Roger Allam!