John Wick

In three words; Bloody - Fast - Furious


Review;
It seems like a long time since we've seen Keanu Reeves kick butt and looking like the coolest bloke who has ever lived. Thankfully that is what he delivers in the role as John Wick. He is an ex-hitman who, after the death of his wife, returns to the murky world he had left behind to seek out revenge on people who don't fully appreciate how dangerous he is.

The Matrix was released in 1999 (is it really that long ago?!) and not since then have we seen Reeves' action and acting capabilities work so well. Of course there were the Matrix sequels but the less said about them the better. There have been a couple of martial arts films along the way but these have come and gone without notice. 47 Ronin being one to certainly forget.

It looks like Reeves has finally hit the right mark with John Wick. This is a film which is packed full of highly technical and high concept fighting sequences which seem to last forever. The violence is gruesome and unexpected at times yet the balance between these scenes and the dialogue works really well. There is an obvious influence from Anime and classic Kung Fu films here but for me what has been achieved is a live action graphic novel. Frankly, this is the first time it has been executed so well on film.

I'm no fan of the Sin City films at all. I just can't bring myself to watch them all the way through. They feel contrived, at times desperate and visually they are challenging to watch. John Wick is a film which plays on the lunacy, serialism and fun which we see in graphic novels. You can't help but feel that there is a massive back story on all of the strange characters we meet throughout the film. This is how you make a graphic novel film. This should be used as the blueprint for such films from this day forward. Robert Rodriguez take note!

John Wick is directed by Chad Stahelski and David Leitch who had worked with Reeves on the Matrix films. They choreographed the fight scenes in the Matrix series and it was Reeves who approached them the helm this film. Although neither of them had directed a film prior to Wick they have produced a thrilling and engaging film. The action is ridiculously impressive at times and the story develops as fast as a Reeves roundhouse kick to the head. If you are looking for a fun, exciting and bloodbath of a film then this ticks all the boxes.

Verdict;
4 out of 5

87th Academy Awards: The Wolfman's Predictions

It's that time of year again. It is time for me to drink a lot of coffee and stay up until 4am. Yep it's Oscar time. The Academy Awards will be under way in a few hours and we will find out who the winners and losers are. It has been a brilliant year for film, just look at the Best Picture category and you will see that there isn't a bad film in there.

Overall I think for its uniqueness Boyhood will take away the award for Best Picture. It is a fantastic film the likes of which we have never seen before. That doesn't mean that Richard Linklater, the director of Boyhood, will bag the Oscar for Best Director. For me that has to go to Alejandro G Inarritu who has delivered one of the best films I've ever seen in Birdman. I would be more than happy if Birdman won in every category it is nominated in. Which moves me swiftly onto Best Actor. I want Michael Keaton to win it but I think the Academy will go for Eddie Redmayne's performance in The Theory of Everything. Redmayne is brilliant but the film doesn't reflect the work he has put in. Whereas Birdman feels very collaborative which peaks with Keaton's fantastic performance. #teamkeaton

Julianne Moore looks certain to win for her acclaimed performance in Still Alice but an outside bet could be Marion Cotillard. In relation to Best Supporting Actor J.K Simmons will be picking up yet another award for his phenomenal performance in the brilliant Whiplash. Moving on to Best Supporting Actress I think this will go to Patricia Arquette. She was superb in Boyhood and this award will be well deserved.

Below is a full list of my predictions (highlighted in red) for all the categories so please check back after the show is over to see how wrong I was. Now it's time to sit back, with a strong cup of coffee, and enjoy the 87th Academy Awards.     

Best Picture
 

American Sniper
Birdman
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Selma
The Theory of Everything
Whiplash

 
Best Director

 

Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel

Alejandro G Inarritu, Birdman

Richard Linklater, Boyhood

Bennett Miller, Foxcatcher

Morten Tyldum, The Imitation Game

 

 

Best Actor

Steve Carell, Foxcatcher
Bradley Cooper, American Sniper
Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game
Michael Keaton, Birdman
Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything

Best Actress
 

Marion Cotillard, Two Days, One Night
Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything
Julianne Moore, Still Alice
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon, Wild







Best Supporting Actor

Robert Duvall, The Judge
Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
Edward Norton, Birdman
Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher
JK Simmons, Whiplash

Best Supporting Actress
 

Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
Laura Dern, Wild
Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game
Emma Stone, Birdman
Meryl Streep, Into the Woods

Best Adapted Screenplay

American Sniper
The Imitation Game
Inherent Vice
The Theory of Everything
Whiplash

Best Original Screenplay

Birdman
Boyhood
Foxcatcher
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Nightcrawler

Best Animated Feature

Big Hero 6
The Boxtrolls
How to Train Your Dragon 2
Song of the Sea
The Tale of Princess Kaguya

Best Animated Short

The Bigger Picture
The Dam Keeper
Feast
Me and My Moulton
A Single Life

Best Cinematography

Birdman
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Ida
Mr Turner
Unbroken

Best Costume Design

The Grand Budapest Hotel
Inherent Vice
Into the Woods
Maleficent
Mr Turner

Best Documentary Feature

CitizenFour
Finding Vivian Maier
Last Days in Vietnam
The Salt of the Earth
Virunga

Best Documentary Short

Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1
Joanna
Our Curse
The Reaper
White Earth

Best Film Editing

American Sniper
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Whiplash

Best Foreign Language Film

Ida (Poland)
Leviathan (Russia)
Tangerines (Estonia)
Timbuktu (Mauritania)
Wild Tales (Argentina)

Best Live Action Short

Aya
Boogaloo and Graham
Butter Lamp (La Lampe Au Beurre De Yak)
Parvaneh
The Phone Call

Best Make-up & Hairstyling

Foxcatcher
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Guardians of the Galaxy

Best Music

The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Interstellar
Mr Turner
The Theory of Everything

Best Production Design

The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Interstellar
Into the Woods
Mr Turner

Best Song

'Everything is Awesome', The Lego Movie
'Glory', Selma
'Grateful', Beyond the Lights
'I'm Not Gonna Miss You', Glen Campbell… I'll Be Me
'Lost Stars', Begin Again

Best Sound Editing

American Sniper
Birdman
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Interstellar
Unbroken

Best Sound Mixing

American Sniper
Birdman
Interstellar
Unbroken
Whiplash

Best Visual Effects

Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Guardians of the Galaxy
Interstellar
X-Men: Days of Future Past

American Sniper

In three words; Emotional -  Unbalanced - Strong

Review;

Based on true events American Sniper tells the story of Chris Kyle, a decorated army soldier. The screenplay has been adapted from Kyle's book American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History. Much like my previous review (Foxcatcher) I knew nothing about Kyle and the background for this interesting and emotional story. My lack of knowledge made the film even more entertaining. But should a true life film, which shows such brutality, be entertaining?

Kyle was deployed to Iraq on a number of tours where he was responsible for protecting his colleagues by killing potential threats which come from all manner of different people. The film does not hold back from the extremes of war and it's important that such themes are explored in cinema. What I believe the mistake is in American Sniper is the balance between the scenes of war and that of Kyle when he is State side.

Clint Eastwood is certainly a fine director and the tone of the film is captured with grace and quality by cinematographer Tom Stern, a mainstay of Eastwood's work. Throughout the film we see the affect of war and all the killings he has made on Kyle's character. For me the war scenes were too heavy in contrast to that of his home life. Bradly Cooper plays the part very well and is certainly worthy of his third consecutive Oscar nomination. Yet in order to get to the depths of the character the screenplay should have focused on Kyle and his family.

I did enjoy the film yet the actions scenes were overtly used. It would be a far more challenging film to make without the use of filming the war scenes. I would have liked to have seen the story told from Kyle's wife's point of view. Played by Sienna Mille I think she was underused, her performance is excellent yet her screen time is limited. Overall this is a strong and powerful film yet it is off balance which is somewhat of a let down.

Verdict;
3 out of 5

Foxcatcher

In three words; Chilling - Smart - Memorable

Review;

Foxcatcher is based on events which unfolded when eccentric millionaire John du Pont (Steve Carell) enlisted Mark and Dave Schultz (Channing Tatum & Mark Ruffalo respectively) to join his wrestling team. Their objective was to participate in National, World and Olympic competitions with winning being the only accepted outcome.

I was not familiar with this story and knew nothing about what had happened on du Pont's sprawling estate. If you are also unaware of what occurred you will no doubt enjoy this film even more then you would have if you were privy to it.  I like nothing more than watching a film knowing little about it, it can be all the more surprising once the end credits roll. There are no spoilers in this review so keep reading.

Carell is transformed for this movie. We are very use to seeing him in excellent form in his many comedic roles. Here he steps away from the safety of net comedy and delivers a truly chilling performance. du Pont was eccentric in the extreme, unpredictable and unnerving. Each time Carell appeared on screen he was able to deliver an excellent performance which is worthy of his Oscar nomination.

Also nominated at this years Academy Awards is Mark Ruffalo. I can honestly say that I have never seen Ruffalo give a poor performance. Foxcatcher is no exception, he gives a solid and memorable performance. One person overlooked by the Academy is Channing Tatum. This is without doubt the best performance of his career. His subtle and educated portrayal of an innocent and naïve man works in perfect balance to that of Ruffalo's more mature and assured character.

Directed by Bennett Miller the film builds in suspense and teeters on the edge of a being an out and out thriller yet it lacks that final punch. There are strong performances all round with an intelligent screenplay but it fails to keep pace. A shorter running time would have been helpful for Miller to have achieved this. Having said this Foxcatcher is one of the best films of the year so far.

Verdict;
3 out of 5

The Theory of Everything

In three words; Twee - English - Substandard

Review;

The life of Stephen Hawking is without doubt the subject of astonishing achievement in the face of unimaginable adversity. And it is one which belongs on the big screen. Based on the book Travelling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen, written by Hawking's first wife Jane Wilde Hawking, The Theory of Everything charts the rise of an incredible human being.

Eddie Redmayne plays the genius scientist in this interesting adaptation. Redmayne had the challenge task of portraying Hawking from his early years at Cambridge University as he battles against the debilitating motor neurone disease, through to him becoming a house hold name. Redmayne has clearly studied his character in great detail and has produced a fantastic performance which merits his many plaudits, particularly his Oscar nomination for Best Actor at this years Academy Awards.

Redmayne's performance will be talked about for a long time to come I have no doubt about that. And while he is truly an excellent actor his performance is encased within a substandard film. Perhaps Redmayne will win the Oscar but the film won't walk away with the Best Picture award. Or at least it shouldn't in my humble opinion.

The Academy can sometimes look at a performance and then kid itself in to thinking that the film is wonderful. The Theory of Everything is let down by a somewhat overtly English tone which grated on me. It is rather twee, a little perfect. At times director James Marsh, in tandem with the Poor screenplay, teeter on the line of a Richard Curtis film. Which is something this film should not be. Yes there is romance and an element of realistic comedy within this drama but a drama it should remain.

There is a fine supporting cast with notable performances from David Thewlis and Maxine Peake. Felicity Jones has also received an Oscar nomination yet I feel this is another example of the Academy looking at the film rather then the performance. Jones does a fine job but is it Oscar worthy? No.

This is an enjoyable film there's no doubt about that yet for me it lacks dramatic effect at times, partly this is due to a rather poor screenplay and sloppy direction. Watch it, you'll no doubt enjoy it but it won't last the test of time.

Verdict;
3 out of 5

The Imitation Game

 

In three words; Intelligent - Enigmatic - Vacant
Review;

The Imitation Game chronicles the life of Alan Turing. A man of intelligence, dignity and ambition. As part of a code breaking team during World Ward Two Turning and a team of colleagues helped to crack the devilishly brilliant Enigma machine in order for allied forces to obtain intelligence from the German's. It is said their work shortened the war by several years. Yet their importance in the war effort couldn't be reported or discussed for many years to come in accordance to national security.

Turing's life is the main focus of the film, there are many other worthy candidates in which to make a film about from the team at Bletchley Park, the code breaking centre of British Intelligence, yet Alan Turing's story is one which sticks out from the rest.

Turing was a homosexual at a time when (ridiculously) it was a crime. This therefore adds another dynamic to the story. Benedict Cumberbatch plays the computer scientist with vigour if not sometimes over doing Turing's idiosyncrasies at times. Nevertheless Cumberbatch seems an obvious fit for this role and appears comfortable and honest in his delivery of a well put together script.

He is accompanied by a cracking supporting cast of Rory Kinnear, Charles Dance, Mark Strong and most notably Keira Knightly. She plays Joan Clarke who was Turing's colleague and confidante. There is some excellent dialogue between the two characters which adds personal importance to the film. It's fantastic to see that Cumberbatch and Knightly have received Oscar nominations for their roles. Particular Knightly who I feel is all too often overlooked and over criticised. Unfairly on many occasions.

The film is directed by Norwegian Morten Tyldum who in 2011 brought to the screen Jo Nesbo's brilliant Headhunters. This is Tyldum's first English speaking film and he has certainly done a fine job. What the film lacks is difficult to describe, the acting is brilliant, the screenplay spot on and the direction and cinematography works perfectly. Yet this isn't a film that will stay with you, it's been ticked off the list of films to watch, added to the memory banks in the grey matter but it's not a film I'm going to rush out to watch again.


Verdict;
3 out of 5

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

Starring;
Michael Keaton
Emma Stone
Naomi Watts
Edward Norton
Andrea Riseborough
Zach Galifianakis
Amy Ryan

Director;
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu

In three words; Special - Unique - Brilliant

Review;
Riggan Thomson (Keaton) is an actor struggling to cope with his dwindling career, his family life and his ego. He has had a successful screen career which has seen his superhero films make millions yet he has found this completely unfulfilling. He has therefore decided to take a step in a different direction by writing, directing and starring in a stage adaptation of Raymond Carver's short story What we talk about when we talk about love.

A theatre has been secured, the cast and crew are in place yet Riggan has little faith in the abilities of one of his actors and is desperate for a last minute cast change, much to the annoyance of Jake (Galifianakis) who is desperately trying to keep the show running before the curtain has even been raised. After an avoidable accident the actor has to be replaced, in steps method actor Mike Shiner (Norton) he is in a relationship with Lesley (Watts) who recommended him to Riggan and Jake. While Lesley has her reservations about bringing Mike on board she is also trying to keep the show going as this will be her debut on Broadway, which is something she is desperate to accomplish.

Meanwhile, Riggan has to deal with his recently out of rehab daughter Sam (Stone), his young girlfriend Laura (Riseborough) who is also acting in the play and his ex-wife Sylvia (Ryan). On top of this Riggan's ego, his alter ego and life are all spinning out of control as he attempts to put his life and soul into a play which he needs to be a success.

That is the basic premises of the film and I don't want to go into anymore detail than that. What I can and will go into detail about are the fantastic performances by the cast and the frankly brilliant filming making which brought Birdman to the screen.

Michael Keaton has been a little absent from the silver screen in recent years but he has remained one of my all time favourite actors. It does not surprise me at all that he has been landing so much praise for his Oscar worthy performance in this film. If we look back at his career there are a number of films which stand out and which are pivotal for Keaton to deliver such an honest and satisfying performance in Birdman.

The obvious place to start perhaps would be the Batman films but the only comparison is the Superhero factor. In Birdman we see the satirical view of the aftermath of an actor being part of a successful film franchise, this isn't Keaton's view of reality but undoubtedly many people will join the parallels together far too easily. The main performances from Keaton's career, which lead to unleashing the layers of Riggan Thomson, can be found in the following four films; Beetlejuice, The Dream Team, The Paper and Multiplicity.

The reason I point out these particular films is because they all multi-layered characters played by Keaton and they give him the background to work with when developing Riggan Thomson. Birdman is a complicated film in that Keaton has to very quickly change his performance to match the persona he is playing. Given the way in which the film was made, mostly using a seemingly continuous shot with one camera, it is made all the more difficult.

The technical brilliance is one of the things I love about this film. Director Alejandro Inarritu brings simplicity and complicated together. At first it seems that he is shooting with one steadicam but then the shot will develop into something more, something grander. Yet it seems to happen effortlessly. Absolutely brilliant film making along with spot on lighting and flawless editing. Inarruitu, particularly in Act 1, makes a film look like a theatre production. Fascinating work.

The film is full of brilliant performances from Emma Stone, Ed Norton, Naomi Watts, Andrea Riseborough and Zach Gallifanakis but for me Keaton is the standout performer here and as I said previously people will compare Birdman to Batman, they will mirror Riggan to Keaton but Michael Keaton isn't Riggan Thomson, Michael Keaton is Michael Keaton. Well, actually he's Michael Douglas but you know what I'm getting at.

Verdict;
5 out of 5.