Film Review: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1

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The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1. Rated M (mature themes and violence). 123 minutes. Directed by Francis Lawrence. Screenplay by Peter Craig and Danny Strong. Based on the novel by Suzanne Collins.

Verdict: A bloated outing for the first of the two-part cinematic climax to The Hunger Games.

Beginning where The Hunger Games: Catching Fire left us, Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) has been relocated to District 13, a rebel-held underground fortress, to recover from the Games. It is in District 13 that the rebellion against The Capitol is overseen by President Coin (Julianne Moore) and Plutarch Heavensbee (the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, to whom the film is dedicated).

Knowing Katniss is capable of inspiring people to rise up against The Capitol’s President Snow (Donald Sutherland), Coin invites her to assume the title of ‘Mockingjay’, a symbol of the rebellion. Once she witnesses the extent of the destruction inflicted on the Districts, Katniss agrees to take on the responsibility, but only if the brain-washed Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), who Snow is using a weapon to destroy Katniss' influence over the rebels, is rescued from The Capitol and reunited with her.

Whether it is because the final book in the trilogy is being turned into two films (a trend that began with The Hobbit, then the Harry Potter and Twilight films), or that there are not actually any sequences involving the infamous Games, Mockingjay – Part 1 is a mostly forgettable affair. While it ramps up the tension and the action in the second half, much of the first half ambles along in a bloated, self-satisfied manner that is completely at odds with its cinematic pedigree.

Francis Lawrence (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Water for Elephants, I Am Legend, Constantine) and the always excellent Jennifer Lawrence work wonders with the material’s limited range. And while it might be long time to have waited, the final sequences between Peeta and Katniss are extraordinarily powerful, with Hutcherson bringing real acting clout to the screen for the first, and possibly only, time in the entire movie.

This review was commissioned by the West Australian Newspaper Group.

Film Review: Pride

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Pride. Rated M (mature themes, coarse language, sexual reference and brief nudity). 120 minutes. Directed by Matthew Warchus. Screenplay by Stephen Beresford.

Verdict: A life-changing tale, brilliantly told.

If a film were to exist that is so entirely of its time, then this perfect example of a big-hearted and important story, brilliantly told, is it. Beresford’s superb screenplay crashes through and dismantles preconceptions, hate, suspicion, bigotry and prejudice one scene at a time, before reaching an overwhelming zenith in its final sequence that is guaranteed to melt even the hardest of hearts.

Based on actual events, Pride tells the story of an unlikely alliance between a group of gay and lesbian activists in London and the small mining community of Onllwyn in Wales, who are struggling to survive the crippling effects of the 1984 UK miners’ strike. Realising the media, the police, and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher are their common enemies, the mining families and the activists attempt to find common ground in the hope that together, they might triumph in the face of soul-destroying adversity.

While it certainly owes a debt to Billy Elliott and The Full Monty, Pride stands alone in the way it unites seemingly disparate threads and contradictory agendas to fulfil its grand storytelling ambitions.

One example of Beresford’s many illuminating juxtapositions is the personal toll the effects of both the strike and the HIV/AIDS pandemic are having on two very different communities. Why, in the face of such a deadly virus, one character asks, should members of the gay community care about the extent to which the miners and their families are suffering?

The result, under Warchus’ inspired direction of his exceptional cast, is that we are constantly challenged to hold on to what we believe is important. That you just might leave the cinema with your belief system tipped on its head is only one of the many surprising gifts this extraordinary film provides.

This review was commissioned by the West Australian Newspaper Group.

Film Review: Interstellar

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Interstellar. Rated M (science fiction themes and infrequent coarse language). 169 minutes. Directed by Christopher Nolan. Screenplay by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan

Verdict: In space nothing is as it seems.

There are a number of massive holes in the Nolan brothers’ extraordinary labour of love, and they are (not in any particular order) wormholes, black holes and plot holes. But none of Interstellar’s flaws (of which its long running time is one) come close to ruining the effectiveness of this magnificent, entirely immersive cinematic experience.

Earth is almost uninhabitable, and NASA’s scientists believe the only way to ensure the human race doesn’t become extinct is to resettle on another planet. Previous astronauts have failed to return from searching for likely candidates, so the job of travelling through the wormhole to distant galaxies falls to Cooper (Matthew McConaughey), Amelia (Anne Hathaway), Doyle (Wes Bentley) and Romilly (David Gyasi). What they discover will forever change the way time, space and the possibilities for our future are comprehended.

Nolan (The DarkKnight Rises, Inception, The Dark Knight) cements his reputation as one of the most imaginative directors at work in film today. Together with cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema and frequent collaborator, Production Designer Nathan Crowley, Nolan creates sequences of often jaw-dropping wonder.

The performances from Nolan’s deeply committed ensemble are excellent, with McConaughey in particular delivering yet another superb performance of immense emotional and psychological range.

Kip Thorne’s theories about astrophysics play out here as a multitude of theories about the time/space continuum on the edges of, and within, our solar system, but Interstellar’s genuine emotional clout involves the value of family. And as the dazzling visuals begin to fade from memory, it is the scenes between Cooper and his daughter Murph (Mackenzie Foy, Jessica Chastain and Ellen Burstyn share the role) that make the important and lasting impressions.

This review was commissioned by the West Australian Newspaper Group.

Film Review: Fury

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Fury. Rated MA15+ (strong war themes, violence, blood and gore and coarse language). 134 minutes. Written and Directed by David Ayer.

Verdict: A gruelling saga about the horrors of tank warfare.

Fury begins as World War 2 enters its increasingly urgent final stages, the Allies are now deep inside Germany on the march to Berlin, and its stark opening sequence gives absolutely nothing away about what is to come.

A battle has obviously been fought, but it’s impossible to know who might have won. A fatigued Sherman tank commander ‘Wardaddy’ (Brad Pitt) appears from within a smouldering tank, Fury’, and kills a dazed survivor who is riding past on his white horse by plunging a knife into his eye. It is a brutally efficient moment, full of intense hate, with which Ayer signals that his film is not going to be an easy ride. Ever.

Returning to a makeshift command centre, Wardaddy and his crew Boyd (Shia LaBeouf), Grady (Jon Bernthal) and Trini (Michael Peña), report that Fury’s gunner has been killed. Replacing him is a recently enlisted, young administration assistant Norman (a superb Logan Lerman), who will soon find himself trapped in an unrecognisable world that will change him forever.

In precisely the same manner in which Steven Spielberg took us deep within the Normandy Landings in Saving Private Ryan (1998), Ayer’s forensic examination of the horrors of tank warfare refuses to do us any favours whatsoever. The relentless battle set pieces are astonishingly realistic, and the exceptional performances from a cast who are obviously deeply engaged with the uncompromising material, are almost obsessively captured from every possible angle.

Fury is a deeply unsettling, chaotic film to watch. Just how difficult it becomes to experience will simply be a question of whether or not you have the stamina.

This review was commissioned by the West Australian Newspaper Group.

Film Review: Dracula Untold

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Dracula Untold. Rated M (horror themes and violence). 92 minutes. Directed by Gary Shore. Screenplay by Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless.

Verdict: This dark and brooding drama about how Dracula came into existence falls short of the mark.

Since Irish author Bram Stoker created Count Dracula in his 1897 novel Dracula, the character has inspired the imaginations of film and television makers around the world. He has been enjoying something of a renaissance, thanks largely to Charlaine Harris’ The Southern Vampire Mysteries novels (adapted for television as True Blood) and Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series.

In Dracula Untold, we have a bold reimagining of how the character came to be, and a confident debut from fellow Irishman Shore. Sazama and Sharpless’ also debut with their screenplay, and the film’s grand ambition and its many flaws, in equal measure, can be attributed to this fact.

Basing their screenplay on the legendary Vlad the Impaler, the writers have created an interesting story about how Vlad (Luke Evans) encounters Master Vampire (Charles Dance) in a cave, high up in the mountains. Vlad, who is desperate to save his people from the marauding Turkish army, makes a deal with the Master that if he can have the powers of a vampire for three days, he will be able to single-handedly defeat his enemies, and ensure that his young son, his wife and his loyal followers are safe from harm. What Vlad must not do during his time as a vampire is consume human blood. If he does, he will remain one forever.

Cinematographer John Schwartzman (Saving Mr. Banks, The Amazing Spider-Man, Pearl Harbor, Armageddon), ensures that the film looks great, while the visual effects department over-use the ‘Vlad turning into bats’ sequence to the point of tedium. While it falls well short of being the unforgettable entry into the cinematic world of Dracula it might have been, there is certainly much to admire about its gothic horror pretensions.

This review was commissioned by the West Australian Newspaper Group.

Film Review: Gone Girl

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Gone Girl. Rated MA15+ (strong sexualised violence, blood, sex scenes and coarse language). 149 minutes. Directed by David Fincher. Screenplay by Gillian Flynn, based on her novel. 

Verdict: With not a Marvel superhero in sight, it’s time for a hyper-sexualised, meltdown thriller. 

When Nick Dunne’s (Ben Affleck) wife Amy (Rosamund Pike) vanishes on the morning of their fifth wedding anniversary, the brooding Nick finds himself becoming the prime suspect in her disappearance. Detective Rhonda Boney (Kim Dickens) does her best to remain objective, while his sister Margo (Carrie Coon) steadfastly remains his strongest ally. 

As the media (who camp outside Nick and Amy’s home), feed on the story and fuel the public’s hatred and suspicion of Nick and his motives, the circumstances surrounding Amy’s disappearance take a spectacular turn for the worse.

Flynn’s screenplay is the perfect antithesis to the lovelorn, teen angst genre that, along with characters from the Marvel Universe, have been taking up more than their fair share of time on our cinema screens lately. Gone Girl is a sharp, cynical story about the collapse of a marriage, and how seething contempt and misery can destroy what was once a perfectly contented union of soul mates.

Fincher’s (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Zodiac, Fight Club, Se7en) vision for the film matches the story’s spare, clinical brutality, and his frequent collaborator cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth, realises that grim vision faultlessly.

If Affleck’s performance as Nick is unconvincing, it is because he has done much better work than this (Argo specifically), and Pike’s Amy suffers from having to escort the story into the realm of the ridiculous.

Even though there are certainly movies that cover similar terrain in a superior manner, lovers of thrilling, and somehow occasionally hilarious, human meltdown drama will more than likely savour every horrible minute.

This review was commissioned by the West Australian Newspaper Group.

Film Review: Planes: Fire and Rescue

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Planes: Fire and Rescue. Rated G (some scary scenes). 84 minutes. Directed by Bobs Gannaway. Written by Bobs Gannaway and Jeffrey M Howard. 

Verdict: An excellent, but much darker, follow-up to Disney’s wonderful world of Planes. 

In this sequel to Planes (2013), Dusty Crophopper (Dane Cook) is spending his post-race glory in relative peace and quiet amongst his friends in Propwash Junction. But when his gearbox fails at high altitude and cannot be repaired or replaced, Dusty’s days as a world champion racer are suddenly numbered. 

Realising that he might never be able to race again, Dusty flies to Piston Peak National Park to learn how to become a certified fire-fighting plane. And when lightning creates a monster firestorm in the national park, Dusty learns that his daredevil racing heroics also have a place in his newfound career.

Like Planes, Mark Mancina’s fantastic score and the cavalcade of planes, cars, trucks and trains are superbly realised, with the 3D camerawork simply exceptional during the many aerial sequences. Gannaway captures not only the vast aerial sweep of the story, but also the sequences of powerful drama that some of the younger audience members might find a little overwhelming.

Gannaway and Howard’s action-packed screenplay certainly doesn't shy away from reaching for dramatic highpoints, and once the firestorm well and truly takes hold of Piston Peak National Park, there are very few places where either we, or the characters, can hide.

Setting the better part of the story in a National Park’s fire and rescue facility provides the animators with countless opportunities for wonderful environments and characterisations, with the Native American firefighting helicopter Windlifter (Wes Studi) an inspired piece of character design.

Planes: Fire and Rescue is often a breath-taking film to experience, and the young ones will more than likely love it for its vivid colour palette and its determination not to be patronising or condescending on any level.

This review was commissioned by the West Australian Newspaper Group.