Tag Archives: 70

Mandela : Long Walk to Freedom  (2013)    70/100

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Rating :   70/100                                                                     141 Min        12A

This is a very, very powerful and commanding turn from Idris Elba as Nelson Mandela, replete with a convincing accent, as we watch his life story unfold before us from lawyer to civil rights activist, then rebel, to the long imprisoned leader who would eventually become one of the most influential men of the 20th century and lead South Africa away from racial violence toward forgiveness and a way forward. There is a lot to fit in, and the film does a good job with both the pace and what to put emphasis on, and as well as Nelson in the limelight we also see the changes over time that his wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela goes through, played onscreen by Naomie Harris. Overall quite an emotive and important film, if perhaps a little straight forward – it doesn’t invite the audience to explore the issues at hand in quite the same way that ’12 Years a Slave’ does, for example.

This seems to be a very faithful adaptation of Mandela’s autobiography and sadly shortly after its release the man himself passed away, aged 95. Indeed, the news broke as the film was having its London premier, and a special announcement was made at the end of the film. Elba could very well have earned himself an Academy Award nomination for this, and probably the only reason he hasn’t is simply the large abundance of really great performances in the male lead category for 2013, but this role, and being able to say “Today, we are cancelling the apocalypse!” in ‘Pacific Rim’, as well as reprising his enigmatic part of Heimdall in ‘Thor : The Dark World’ marked an especially awesome year for him.

Compliance  (2012)    70/100

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Rating :   70/100                                                                       90 Min        15

This is a notably disturbing film, in no small measure due to the fact that it is based on a true story and pretty much follows events as they occurred in a Kentucky McDonald’s restaurant in 2004 (click here for some of the details). Indeed, if it hadn’t been based on real events then it would be very tempting to cry ‘as if that would happen in real life’, and although the film focuses on the people within this store, the full impact of the story doesn’t hit home until some way toward the end. It’s well acted to the point that we feel like we’re watching a documentary, and it aptly demonstrates just how pervasive the concept of authority is as we see one employee accused of robbing a customer, and how the chain of command deals with the accusation – purportedly coming from a trusted source and yet with a distinct lack of any real evidence. With Ann Dowd and Dreama Walker as store manager Sandra and the accused Becky respectively.

The Best Man Holiday  (2013)    70/100

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Rating :   70/100                                                                     123 Min        15

Malcolm D. Lee’s comedy sequel to his 1999 film ‘The Best Man’ sees the return of the entire talented cast as we catch up with their lives more than a decade on. This is a situational comedy, with the majority of the film taking place at the rather lavish house of Lance (Morris Chestnut), which looks pretty great onscreen, and although there is little of any striking originality, the story is nevertheless heart warming and at times genuinely funny.

Thankfully, it does a good job of engaging the audience before the really cheesy elements are put on display, but if you don’t mind a touch of melodrama then this is a worthy little Christmas film. As well as Chestnut, the returning cast include Monica Calhoun, Terrence Howard, Sanaa Lathan, Taye Diggs, Melissa De Sousa, Regina Hall, Harold Perrineau, and Nia Long.

The Counsellor  (2013)    70/100

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Rating :   70/100                                                                     117 Min        18

A slow burn film that takes a while to really settle and get into, but ultimately has enough of a punch to deliver. It’s an ensemble piece from director Ridley Scott, one that sees the rich cast of Michael Fassbender, the titular legal counsellor who decides to embark on a risky drug dealing enterprise for some extra money, Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Brad Pitt, Bruno Ganz, Toby Kebbell and Rosie Perez in a tale of dangerous consequences that uniquely feels real, rather than what we might expect from a big budget movie. Some of the cast give very good performances, Pitt in particular who’s character (if I heard him correctly) manages to fit in a reference to Scots law even though this is based in Mexico and the south of the US (which was nice actually – perhaps this means he was made to feel welcome here when he was shooting ‘World War Z’, or perhaps ‘No Country for Old Men’ novelist Cormac McCarthy, for whom this is his first screenplay, has an interest in Scotland), in fact, and I may be wrong, I think there were a couple of other Scottish references dotted throughout the film …

In any case, it is a dark but worthy film despite a number of flaws – such as the difficulty to engage with it for quite some time, a slightly muffled quality to the dialogue with too much of the delivery focused on having ‘gravely’ voices for dramatic effect/to look ‘cool’, and a creeping verbosity to some of the scenes. There is a strong philosophical element to the film as well, which The Red Dragon feels works very well – just don’t go in expecting to see sunshine and rainbows.

Escape Plan  (2013)    70/100

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Rating :   70/100                                                                     115 Min        15

Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger once again put their decades old rivalry behind them and team up for their first non Expendables film together – and their powers combined have produced, for each, one of their better films. Stallone plays Ray Breslin, a security specialist who inters himself in maximum security prisons in order to then try and break out, thus testing their security. It all goes wrong, however, when the CIA ask him to test their not so legal prison for those the government would like to disappear, wherein he meets fellow inmate and soon to be buddy Emil Rottmayer, played by Arnold.

There are elements of both a really good prison break film and the sort of slightly cheesy action we would expect from the two powerhouses, combining to produce a really enjoyable film. The actual escape techniques run the gamut in terms of plausibility, and although some of them may not hold up so well under scrutiny they are at least sold to us in a believable fashion, and at times they are indeed quite clever. It’s always good to see these guys onscreen, and their camaraderie now compared to their rivalry before, which they admit helped drive both of them forward in their careers, is worthy of a film in itself. Jim Caviezel (‘The Thin Red Line’ 98) also appears in support, doing a very good job as the villainous head warden.

Not Another Happy Ending  (2013)    70/100

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Rating :   70/100                                                                     102 Min        12A

A Scottish romantic comedy completely sold by the natural charisma of its two leads – the lovely Karen Gillan and brooding Frenchman Stanley Weber. Gillan plays Jane Lockhart, a first time novelist enjoying the fruits of her labour despite the liberties taken by her publisher, Weber’s Tom Duval. When writers block strikes for the finale of her second novel, Tom decides the reason must be that she has become too happy and resorts to making her miserable as the only logical course of action.

Set in Glasgow, the film feels alive and accessible throughout and even features the good old British tradition of pub quizzing as a central plot device (the ultimate prize of a trip to Disneyland is not quite so traditional), though other plot devices such as a fictitious character coming to life in the mind of Jane feel a little bit superfluous. At times, there is a loose quality to the way scenes play out – rather like if you were to film something with your mates without rehearsing it much before hand, but this quality invites the audience in and gives the film a real and original feel to it. With Gary Lewis and rising stars Freya Mavor (‘Sunshine on Leith’), Amy Manson (‘Outcasts’) and Iain De Caestecker (‘Marvel – Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’) in support.

The Fifth Estate  (2013)    70/100

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Rating :   70/100                                                                     128 Min        15

Telling the story of Wikileaks and its founder Julian Assange, with the title referring to the traditional four estates of the clergy, the commoners, the nobility and the press and the posited operation of individuals freely publishing online (riotous revolutionaries that they are …) as a fifth pillar of modern civilisation, this film attempts the impossible – to give us a historical account of the rise and machinations of both the online whistle blowing mouthpiece, and Assange himself.

Directed by Bill Condon (‘Gods and Monsters’ 98, the last two Twilight films) an attempt has been made to bring some of the technical side of things to life graphically, which doesn’t work as well as intended, but the essence of the story and its relevance for intelligence agencies, governments and the general public across the world, not to mention Assange himself who is still currently for all intents and purposes a political prisoner in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, couldn’t be more fascinating or relevant.

The screenplay is based on two different published books on the topic, but there is always going to be that irritation of not knowing just what to believe, especially since here we see a very traditional almost pantomime character portrayal of Assange, which may or may not be accurate, but is doubtless one of the reasons he has disowned the film (see the clip below). With Daniel Brühl, David Thewlis, Peter Capaldi, Laura Linney, Anthony Mackie, Stanley Tucci and Alicia Vikander in support, Benedict Cumberbatch gives one of the best performances of his already very impressive career as Assange, replete with a convincing accent and mannerisms, ones which those who worked with the Australian have described as impressively accurate.

Justin and the Knights of Valour  (2013)    70/100

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Rating :   70/100                                                                       90 Min        PG

A fairytale adventure story aimed at a young audience, but one that should still be fun and likeable for adults too. Justin lives in a medieval village where valorous knights have been banished from the realm thanks to a draconian series of bureaucratic laws, largely instigated by his lawmaker father and aimed at creating a more civilised kingdom, but in reality ruining everyone’s lives. Rather like living in modern day Britain. As it turns out, heroism runs in Justin’s veins as his grandfather was one of the bravest knights of all, and despite his father’s wishes that he enter into the law profession himself, he instead sets out to fulfill his childhood dream of becoming a knight and to perhaps win the affections of the local rich hottie in the process. On the way he will encounter villains and feisty barmaids, dour Scottish sword masters and war game playing monks and ultimately his faith in fighting for what is right will be put to the test. It’s a Spanish film (in English), indeed it opens with ‘Antonio Banderas presents’, with a pretty sterling voice cast including Banderas himself, Freddie Highmore, Saoirse Ronan, Mark Strong, James Cosmo, Alfred Molina and Julie Walters to name but a few. The animation is warm and has a unique feel to it, although the human faces look somewhat blood drained at times, and notwithstanding a few slightly irritating character moments, it’s a nice film. Should be fine for young children due to the lack of any real blood letting despite all the sword play. There’s also a nod to mechanical owl friend/pest Bubo in ‘Clash of the Titans’ (81) – but why just a nod? They should have recreated the entire character – who doesn’t want to go adventuring with a fully functioning owl automaton?

Primal  (2010)    70/100

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Rating :   70/100                                                                       80 Min        18

Aussie horror flick that sees a group of young teenagers head into to the outback to look at some ancient rock paintings. Alas, they unwittingly awaken a primal force in the adjacent caves which attempts to use them for its own purpose, seeping a genetic toxin into the nearby water, but who will be the first one of them to go for a nice dip and suffer its effects?

The group of characters consists of a few stereotypes, but ones that operate convincingly within the story, and the evolution of that story, and indeed the force they are confronted with, proves to be engaging throughout, although it is very much a contained, classic encounter of ‘who’s going to get wasted next’? That, combined with an allusion to a certain section of Japanese animation – one which I can’t help but think, since they decided to go down that route, they could have at least taken it a bit further than they did ….

Mad Money  (2008)    70/100

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Rating :   70/100                                                                     104 Min        12

This film has been critically annihilated by just about every journalistic source I’ve seen it mentioned in, but I really don’t think the poor reviews are merited, it’s just a nice, easy to watch film. Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah and Katie Holmes star in a crime caper about three women working in menial jobs at the federal reserve, who decide (largely at the instigation of debt ridden Keaton, whose husband Ted Danson has been forced out of work) they could really do with some of the money they see being moved around every day, surely no one would miss it …It’s based on an earlier British film, ‘Hot Money’ (01), which in turn loosely depicted real life events (no details here in the interests of avoiding spoilers). The film is directed by Callie Khouri, winner of the best original screenplay Oscar for ‘Thelma and Louise’ (91), and this was her second feature film behind the camera.

It opens with the three women frantically trying to dispose of their ill gotten gains with the feds waiting outside their homes, so we know it goes pear shaped eventually, but it still manages to be interesting, and the three leads are fun to watch. The Red Dragon had a splitting headache after eating something that disagreed with him (a couple of Tory campaigners) and this, together with a cup of tea, was a perfect remedy, requiring little brain power and yet I didn’t want to leave the room for too long during the break for fear of missing some of the dialogue (always the sign of a good film). It’s the sort of light hearted film your mother would enjoy, but to be honest, I quite liked it too.