The Case for Writer's Block

Trumbo stars the awesome Bryan Cranston as the man himself and the ever stunning Diane Lane (sigh!) as his long-suffering wife and chronicles their adventures during the Black List era of Hollywood, when Reds weren’t just under the bed but controlling Hollywood, and all those in the land of the free who were members of the Communist Party were out to destroy the American way of life.

It’s a fascinating insight into an incredibly intolerant age, with the arguments about free speech not really meeting much response from the “other” side (though getting a whole lot of hate), with “Kikes” being threatened with exposure to bring the studio bosses into line, with movie war heroes lecturing to people who actually were involved in WWII about patriotism, and bubbling in the background, the Civil Rights movement for African Americans. 

Helen Mirren leads the opposition, as Hatty, the powerful Hollywood Reporter who, with John Wayne “the Duke” and (in newsreel images) Ronald Reagan at her side, sought to oust all Communists, until ultimately, through people like Trumbo who worked around the restrictions put in place to continue with his Hollywood career, the system of marginalisation fell apart.

With such an incredible cast (including Elle Fanning and Louis CK), all giving wonderful performances (don’t cry Diane!!  I love you!!!), it’s a surprise that the film itself has a rather cheap feel to it.  The period costumes and sets and the like all feel authentic, but after the jaw-dropping cinematography of The Revenant, the movie feels like it was shot perhaps on video tape, with colours quite bland and the camera holding steady and unimaginatively (though there is nothing wrong with avoiding shaky vision, far from it!).

In the end, the film does feel a bit long, but it is a fascinating insight into the Hollywood lifestyle, and where some of the biggest stars sat when it came to the great Communist divide.  Considering the means taken and the scrutiny many in Hollywood suffered, it seems more understandable for me now when I hear about the divisions that still exist from people who remember or lived through that era.

It has to be said though that seeing Dean O’Gorman as Kirk Douglas… well, it was really a bit bizarre.

Verdict: Trumbo is a great movie full of amazing performances and with an intriguing story to tell.  Its just a shame that everything around that is fairly average.  7 Roman Holidays out of 10.

The Case for Revenations

My first film for 2016 was the Oscar nominated The Revenant.

A full cinema sat for two and a half hours, grimacing and cringing as Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) was beaten, mauled, exposed, horsed, and beaten again, the more gruelling scenes eliciting sympathetic groans of discomfort.  And barely a word was heard, even though the movie has long tracts of just one man against the bitter frozen North American wilderness.

It’s a simply stunning movie visually, and story-wise as well.  The narrative is compelling, though it plays second fiddle to the beautifully harsh landscape as Glass and his company have to make their way to a safe haven. 

Tom Hardy and Domhall Gleason (again!) are both excellent in their support (or otherwise) of DiCaprio, and in fact all the supporting characters give their all and fill the Revenant’s world with believable characters and motivations.

I won’t say too much again, for fear of spoilers, but the word “visceral” comes up often when people talk about this film, and with good reason.  You feel the pain and suffering Glass is going through.  It’s a bit like the story of survival told by The Martian, except in the Revenant’s case, there is no super technology on call nor a team of people back home doing everything they can to try and help Glass survive.  Instead, it’s a man alone, with nature at its harshest and least merciful, and with other men about actively plotting and planning to kill him.

However, the bleakness of the story and the landscape does not make this a depressing film whatsoever.  It’s filled with beauty and hope and shows the size and majesty of the world of the 18^th Century explorer crossing the barely charted United States (or what, through annexation of Native American lands, became the continental USA). 

So, gripping from beginning to end, savage and primitive, The Revenant is an amazing film to behold, made more so by an immersive surround sound system.  Will this net Leo his Oscar?  Who can say – but for his effort and endurance alone in filming this harsh and uncompromising film, he probably deserves it.

Verdict: The Revenant is an incredible visual and emotional feast.  There’s not a huge amount of soul searching or scintillating dialogue, but the power of this tale of revenge and of man (or woman) against the elements delivers a lot of emotional punches, and makes for exhausting yet satisfying viewing.  9 bear hugs out of 10.

The Case for Restarting Wars

It was a while coming, with great expectations and without the brain melting hand of George Lucas on the tiller.  So many metaphors, but such a big movie.

Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens blasted into cinemas, setting box office records alight and burning all the competition.  The sense of expectation and anticipation was extraordinary, and while this is my review of it, I have to admit, the film lived up to the hype.

The fact the story is a copy of the “original” (or “holy”) trilogy was not really a problem for me.  Sure there were no “fantastic” new worlds with staggering architecture and sprawling societies – they were left behind in the remarkably tedious “prequel” trilogy.  Instead, we got small snippets of alien worlds, the story taking place with the actors in front of the camera rather than in the special effects and cinematography behind the actors.

The story is simple.  The baddies are bad; the goodies are… well, good, but not seeming to do a whole lot.  Rei, heroine and merchandise poison (or so it seems; how else to explain the lack of Rei-related merchandise?), meets up with BB8 (a toy seller’s wet dream) and ex Storm Trooper Finn (no spoilers there, I hope) to set off on an adventure around the galaxy, with the remnants of the evil Empire never far behind.

The acting is all around fantastic, though Domhall Gleason as the Ginger Commander of the First Order Forces seems to be channelling the high camp General Zod from Superman II more any Grand Moff from earlier movies.  Harrison Ford appears to be enjoying himself, and the amount of emotion Carrie Fisher manages to convey despite her mostly immobile face is impressive to behold. 

There are some glitches in the logic of the movie, but these seem to be J J Abrahms plot contrivances rather than anything more sinister.  Remember the trans warp beaming from the revamped Star Trek movies that, logically, eliminated the need for the Enterprise and Starships of its ilk all together?  There are similar issues here (hopefully it’s not too much of a spoiler to point out the limited number of “refuelling stars”), but it really doesn’t matter too much – these films are fun and mad, and while those issues do kind of take me out of the universe and make it seem just a touch too fanciful, I enjoyed myself nonetheless.

I saw the film twice, both in 3D and 2D, and while there was nothing lost in the 2D version (the missing Fox fanfare I only picked up on at my second screening), the sight of the Star Destroyers and ships flying around space in 3D was definitely impressive.

Verdict: I surprise no one and go against no other review when I say The Force Awakens was great.  9 stars out of 10.  Now I wait anxiously for the next one…