Lé Results

Released 23rd August 2000, Snatch follows a variety of individuals across the criminal underbelly of London. Much akin to a Tarintino film, Guy Ritchie’s script tells the story in an anthology form where there are numerous narratives for an assortment of characters; narratives which overlap and intertwine with one another. However, in navigating this world of crime, deals and gambling, the film manages to have a laid back sense of humour that is hysterical. A key aspect of the comedy comes in how the film is edited with many reoccurring shooting methods used. While written well, Mike Reid, Benicio del Toro and Adam Fogerty are the weakest parts of the cast as Doug the Head, Franky Four-Fingers and Gorgeous George, respectively. These actors certainly do a good job but are simply overshadowed by everyone else. As the protagonist of the narrative, Jason Statham’s Turkish is essentially the narrator and marks the beginning and end of the narrative. Statham is very much the straight man of the film and has a perceptive understanding of the world he is absorbed in; however, his cautions of this world are breached by constant failures by his friend Tommy (acted by Stephen Graham). Tommy is very much the ‘thinks he’s hard’ character who keeps jumping from the frying pan to the fryer. Another posse of low-level criminals are Vinny, Sol and Tyrone (performed by Robbie Gee, Lennie James and Ade, respectively); a group that steal a diamond from Franky Four-Fingers and end up drawing heat from the authoritative figures in the world. These figures are Dennis Farina’s American Cousin Avi, Rade Šerbedžija’s Russian Boris ‘The Blade’ and Alan Ford’s London gangster ‘Brick-Top’. These actors dominate their space very successfully and they have you in hysterics at every second. While I previously praised the editing for its comedic capabilities, that said, it can be a little messy during particular scenes and you are made disorientated which, while appropriate for the scenes in question, are still incomprehensible in what you are trying to see. The visual atmosphere of the film is very grimy and you are made to acknowledge that criminal London is not somewhere you would like to step into (as emphasised by Cousin Avi’s comments throughout the film). John Murphy also manages to deliver a unique soundtrack which is able to convey a rising action or general energy of it’s appropriate scenes. Overall, Snatch is a profoundly comedic film with a diverse yet memorable cast and a unique application of technical elements.

Released 30th July 1961, Mothra follows a journey to Infant Island… and the subsequent consequences of the expedition. Continuing from the success of 1954’s Godzilla, this film identifies as a kaiju film; this is the specific sub-genre applied to giant monster movies and already felt formulaic back in the 1960s. One strong weakness that this film has is that it lacks any actual Kaiju until the final half where the monster action fails to feel particularly weighted (with the exception one action sequence). Due to the lack of monsters, there is a strong emphasis on the human characters and the result of this is a human narrative which tackles corporate greed, slaving and elements of corruption. At the forefront of these themes is Jerry Ito’s Nelson; a narcissistic businessman who wishes to use the mystical Shobijin for profit despite taking them away from infant island. It is from this action that we see the wrath of Mothra with Nelson being too corrupt to surrender the twins. Ito’s character is fine; Nelson is just extremely one-dimensional and Ito does the bare minimum to bring him to life. Hiroshi Koizumi operates as the protagonist, Dr Shin'ichi Chūjō, with what is probably the best performance of the film. He reacts appropriately to other characters and has enough of a presence in the story, albeit that his character is just a generic scientist archetype. Everyone else is either completely irrelevant to the wider story or have abhorrent acting. Michi Hanamura is a reporter who already fails to justify his presence across most scenes; Frankie Sakai manages to make him more obsolete with a performance of melodrama thus sucking you out of any scene he appears in. Meanwhile Kyōko Kagawa gives a decent enough performance which is overshadowed by her being entirely unnecessary to the plot of the film. The highlights of the cast would be Yumi Itō and Emi Itō as the Shobijin, otherwise known as the ‘small beauties’. What is interesting about the Shobijin is that they mostly communicate through song; this feature subsequently utilises the Itō twins’ singing background to deliver beautiful melodies and, for its time, decent performances. Yūji Koseki’s soundtrack is also really entrancing and underscores the film really well. While I do rag on the action scenes themselves, the effects used across the film are great for their time with certain blue screen moments being especially well implemented. However, much like the rest of Mothra, Mothra herself is rather corny in her ‘moth’ design and the overall lack of Mothra across the film hinders its quality.

Released 22nd May 2009, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian follows Larry Daley as he travels to the Smithsonian to retrieve his friends who were shipped there. As a continuation of the original Night at the Museum, this film manages to pick up its characters from where they were and develop them naturally. That said, you can easily watch this without knowledge from the first film as the actors all do a brilliant job at conveying their traits through enthusiasm and comedic moments. However, I want to state in advance that the Jonas Brothers’ Cupids do not fall into the comedic category; they are obnoxious harbingers of cliché and they ruin every scene they are in with pop-remixes of licensed music. Besides those characters, everyone else are enjoyable enough; Ben Stiller returns with his traditional mannerisms and carries the film well enough as protagonist Larry Daley. Robin Williams, Mizuo Peck, Rami Malek and the rest of the original museum cast return and give a strong energy to their characters in the little runtime they receive. Outside of Larry, Jedidiah and Octavian (performed by Owen Wilson and Steve Coogan) are the only original cast members to sustain their larger roles in a fun subplot which owes to the comradery they have forged in the wake of the original. This film instead opts to make the most of the Smithsonian setting by introducing an array of new historical figures; one of which being Kah Mun Rah, Ahkmenrah’s older brother. Hank Azaria brings this antagonist to life with (perhaps too much) silliness which lets him slip into this world well. With the new cast, Amy Adams does a great job as Amelia Earhart but, despite good chemistry with Stiller, some moments are conceptually questionable and raise a level of discomfort when you think about them. The visual effects are noticeably better this time with no obvious green screen and the computer-generated effects looking more authentic too. Alan Silvestri delivers another great soundtrack which utilises pre-established tracks from the original; that is a perfect summary of the film. Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian is a good enough sequel which delivers more of the original’s humour through enjoyable characters and a new story.

Released 20th July 2001, Spirited Away follows Chinhiro as she journeys into the world of Kami (the spirit world of Shinto beliefs). From a thematic standpoint, this film is a pure masterpiece; it divulges in adjusting to a new setting, romantic awakening, courage, friendship, life experiences and so many more. The narrative itself, while possibly jarring to western audiences, is easy enough to follow and does not shy away from it’s culture and subsequent aspects. This film also decides on a serious tone in telling its story; despite the youth of Chinhiro (she is 10 years old), every experience is shown to have an emotional impact on her and the film takes time to show her taking in the world around her. Chinhiro herself is a brilliant character with Rumi Hiragi giving a brilliant vocal performance that appropriately evolves across the narrative and her journeys; she starts off extremely whiny and erratic in pitch to then develop into a more controlled and less pitchy voice in the denouement of the film. Miyu Irino also does a good job as Haku; a boy who is himself a river spirit and also Chinhiro’s only consistent aid through her journey. Yubaba and Zeniba are also fascinating characters (voiced by Mari Natsuki) who play off of each other like a Yin Yang; whereas Zeniba acts as a reasonable individual with a spark of anger within her, Yubaba is very antagonistic while retaining humanity. Other than these two the only other major characters are Akio Nakamura and Yoomi Tamai’s No-Face and Lin; their vocal performances are good enough with Lin serving a narrative purpose, however, No-Face is a truly brilliant character. What makes No-face special is that he is helpful towards Chinhiro and tries to repay her for a good deed despite doing wrong in the process; he simply wants company and desperately grasps for any chance to be with Chinhiro. As usual for Studio Ghibli, the animation is breath-taking with every shot being something you would want to frame and put on a wall. Each spirit is also given a unique yet clearly Japanese design which fits its world beautifully. As for the soundtrack, Joe Hisaishi provides a gentle yet emotive soundtrack which is perfectly applied to every single scene and being a strong crutch to carry the aforementioned moments of silence. Spirited Away is a transcendent film which everyone is guaranteed to gain something from, if not also alienated by something either.

Released 22nd June 2018, Calibre follows two friends who go up to remote Scotland for what proves to be a fateful hunting trip. The events of the narrative strike the themes of responsibility, friendship, grief and honesty; these themes are all conveyed really well through the quantities cast who all have defining traits and natural interactions. There is also a sublime growth of tension through the narrative which never ceases and subsequently sustains the audience engagement through the second and third act. Jack Lowden is truly fantastic as the protagonist Vaughn with the numerous layers he is able to instil into his character. He is able to be lofty early in the narrative, discomforted and mourning at other points and is able to illustrate a dynamic psych shift near the end of the film. That said, the actions of the penultimate scenes seem to trail off in the final scene which makes the impact a bit softened. Everyone else are also exceptional in the cast; Martin McCann does a great job as Vaughn’s best friend Marcus. He performs the role with a suitable edge to his mannerisms and the ways he chooses the speak to the locals in the rural area. Kate Bracken’s Iona served as a pleasant friend who conveys how friendly Vaughn is and how he is able to have casual friendships; she greatly contrasts Kitty Lovett’s Kara who highlights the negative interactions Marcus has. Tony Curran also gives a superb performance as Logan, the most respected and authoritative of the locals. Logan is able to keep himself collected throughout the narrative in spite of various misfortunes and confrontations presented in front of him; he also tries to look out for Vaughn and Marcus by acting as a middle-man between the insiders and outsiders. While no notable visual effects were used, the cinematography is done in a manner that emphasises how expansive the remote area really is and subsequently consolidates how distant it is from any form of urban life. While not overtly memorable, the soundtrack was sufficient in sustaining the tone of the scenes and did nothing particularly wrong. Overall, Calibre has a strong narrative with intriguing characters that keep the audience engaged through a palpable tension from the second act onwards.

Released 23rd November 1988, Buster follows the story of 1963’s Royal Mail train robbery from the perspective of Buster Edwards, one of the criminals involved. As a British made film, the production value, notably lighting and camera, is lower but actually better-fit for the story and setting of poorer London. By following Buster Edwards, the film delves into the themes of wealth, family and crime. One thing that I like about the narrative is that it makes a greater emphasis of the crime’s aftermath as oppose to the lead up and actual crime itself. This is interesting as it is able to make use of the specific crime and how it provoked the legal system in unique ways while also emphasising its themes in relation to Buster’s life after the crime. Buster is portrayed by musician Phil Collins who actually does a great job in the role. He is not oscar-worthy but he reacts to every scenario naturally while also providing a lovable charisma which kept you engaged through Buster’s positive and negative beats. Julie Walters delivers a sympathetic performance as Buster’s submissive wife June. While Buster does not intentionally suppress June’s life, you understand how June feels she has to act as her wife; she wants to be a part of Buster’s dream but also interjects for the benefit of their daughter Nicky (who is represented by the weak child actor Ellie Beaven). Besides Collins and Walters, the remainder of the cast are unimportant and fail to enhance the drama of the narrative; that said, Larry Lamb’s Bruce Reynolds is an interesting comparison to how Buster desired his post-heist lifestyle to turn out. With Phil Collins as the lead actor, all of the licensed music is provided by him; the music used is gratuitous and fails to enhance scenes through lyrics or general tone and Anne Dudley’s soundtrack is serviceable but ultimately forgettable. As stated earlier, the visual atmosphere feels very grounded with its barebones lighting and shooting. This is also aided by the use of practical effects at every point. Overall, Buster is your typical British crime film with a lead who is charismatic enough to make it feel unique amidst its oversaturated sub-genre.

Released 18th July 2008, Wall-E follows a small robot as he endeavours to form a romantic relationship with Eve in the midst of a post-apocalyptic Earth. By proxy of its post-apocalyptic setting, the film opts to establish the reasoning as pollution through human action and then continues by exploring humanity through their hyper-consumerist lifestyle seen on the spaceship called the Axium. Through this we also see that humanity in its living form is able to liberate people from their consumerist lifestyle and make you appreciate the small things in life. That said, the human arrogance is embodied by AUTO; AUTO is the s=autopilot software of the Axium spaceship and operates in humanity’s best interest… but not their best health. The film uses 1984’s Apple Macintosh ‘MacInTalk’ software as AUTO’s voice. Besides this however, the only other notable voice actors are Jeff Garlin as Captain McCrea, John Ratzenberger as John and Kathy Najimy as Mary. Ratzenberger and Najimy have fun chemistry with their characters and their blossoming romance: romance made possible by Wall-E dragging them back into the world around them. McCrea also experiences real-life thanks to Wall-E while also going through an arc of regaining power as a captain. Wall-E and Eve also give very basic utterances throughout the film with their voice actors Ben Burtt and Elissa Knight. Despite the utterances however, the film is able to perfect character without dialogue in how Wall-E and Eve indulge in ‘facial’ expressions, movement and the background score. Thomas Newman’s score is truly great in how it is predominantly gentle throughout the film while also being scaled where needed. The score is also accompanied by Put on your Sunday Clothes from Hello Dolly!; a song that holds great personal weight to Wall-E and appropriately impacts his peers too. Being a Pixar film, the animation is also staggeringly beautiful with the cinematography here being above average for the studio. Overall, Wall-E is a very human film which succeeded in telling a unique love story with a fascinating commentary of human nature in general.

Released 16th December 1959, Ben-Hur details the journey of Judah Ben-Hur as his life runs parallel to that of Jesus Christ. Despite including such a culturally important figure, this film manages to balance its religious undertones with the more varied narrative of Ben-Hur’s life. Regardless of taking into account the era of cinema that this was released, the film is a technical marvel in nearly every aspect and feels very epic in its scale. It is also a really well directed film in how it is shot and the subsequent imagery it conveys in line with its themes of religion, vengeance and fate. One particularly well done aspect is that you never actually see Jesus’ face therefore enhancing the aura is mysticism and the impersonal closeness of god. While Charlton Heston’s performance would be fine by modern standards, his performance manages to stand out amongst the standards of his time as Judah Ben Hur. He has great chemistry with Stephen Boyd when necessary as well as a smouldering intensity in his eye’s gaze throughout. Stephen Boyd is able to convey the merciless nature Roman tribune Messala through tense facial performances as well as a calm demeanour across many of his interactions. Hugh Griffith has perhaps the best performance of the film as Sheik Ilderim. He stelas every moment he appears on screen with his subtle yet well timed mannerisms and facial quirks. However, as it is with many features of this era of cinema, his performance is sufficiently dated due to his blackface to portray the Arabian character. Haya Harareet’s Esther is definitely the weakest performance, and character, of the film. Even taking her weak script into account, her performance lacks any subtleties or poignant moments; she is blatantly reading the words as they are written in the script. As previously stated, the whole film has a very epic atmosphere. This is aided greatly by the well-constructed sets and suitably choreographed sequences. A particularly impressive aspect is the use of green screening; considering the obvious uses of it in films like Star Wars: A New Hope 20 years later, it is somewhat seamless at times throughout. Particular praise is deserved from Miklós Rózsa for his bombastic yet appropriate soundtrack. Ben-Hur is arguably one of the most sophisticated films created when taking into account the limitations of its time and the pressures to deliver a nuanced, yet respectful, religious tale.

Released 5th March 2021, Raya and the Last Dragon follows a girl called Raya, a girl journeying across the region of Kumandra to save the world from the Druun. One aspect of this film that is really admirable is the world it establishes; very area of Kumandra has a consolidated culture with overlapping features across the five tribes. This enables greater believability in the region’s conflict and the subsequent themes of trust; themes which are a bit too explicit in the writing. For how well realised most of the cinematic elements are, the writing is the only discernible weakness, whether it be thematic resonance or making the humour land. The main source of humour in this film is Awkwafina’s Sisu, the last dragon the title refers. Whilst she is crucial as a catalyst for the themes of trust to manifest in her dialogue scenes, having the dragons being able to speak feels like the easy way to have her interact with the rest of the cast and kind of sucks some dramatic weight out of the film. Kelly Marie Tran provides the voice of Raya particularly well; whilst very much the hardened warrioress at a glance, she is given enough personality and emotional weight to be able to carry the film well and therefore enhance the drama she is absorbed in. Raya meets many characters along her journey; these being Benedict Wong’s Tong, Izaac Wang’s Boun and Thalia Tran’s Little Noi. Despite their minimal screen time, they are given vast depth, and each have fantastic chemistry with one another and Raya. Gemma Chan also gives a pleasant vocal performance of Namaari; the antagonist of the film. She has a layered character arc which makes her really compelling and enjoyable. Being Disney, the CG animation is great, however, the film also opts to use a variety of 2d art styles to tell the story at certain points; styles which suit the scenes well whilst also flowing the narrative better. Finally, James Newton Howard’s soundtrack is so greatly engrossed in Eastern symphonics that you are able to feel the environments and the emotions present on screen. Overall, Raya and the Last Dragon is a thoroughly enjoyable film which is just a couple of script discrepancies away from being a masterpiece.

Released 11th August 1962, King Kong vs Godzilla pits the Eighth Wonder of the World against the King of the Monsters when Godzilla reawakens in the Arctic. This film is devoid of any impactful themes, such as atomic power in 1954’s Godzilla or beauty and discovery in 1933’s King Kong, due to the film not taking itself seriously. Alternatively, it tackles monopolistic gain through the presence of Kong and his home island, Faro Island, through the lens of satire. Whilst it does mention the ideas and caution of reanimation, the film does it in such an overtly blatant yet narratively incoherent way, I refuse to address it as one. Godzilla is no longer the intimidating, powerhouse that he was in 1954’s harrowing tale; rather a goofy rubber suit which fascinates the children for his time onscreen, just like Kong. Whereas I can at least say Godzilla’s costume looks good when regarding his goof levels, Kong somehow looks even more dated than his 1933 appearance with an abominable, cheap costume which epitomises his character in the film. This cheap factor is so strong, the film actually re-enacts the plot of the 1933 outing in a less serious, unbelievable manner. All of the action scenes these monsters have is also little more than flying fists or simple nudging thus making their battles underwhelming. I’d also like to take a moment to say that, even for the 1960s, the use of green screen, and blue screen, is comical and consequentially obvious; the only decent component of the effects department is the use of miniatures. The already bizarre script is made all the more comical by the melodramatic actors refusing to remotely try and give any nuance to their dialogue; not to mention most of the characters could be cut and literally nothing changes. To the film’s credit, the soundtrack is memorable and quite good at times, if not a bit overplayed. Overall King Kong vs Godzilla is little more than a cash grab of the time which leaves a lot to be desired for their rematch in Godzilla VS Kong.

Released 27th March 2011, Hop follows EB, the next in line to be the Easter Bunny, as he attempts to pursue his passion for drumming. In case the name ‘EB’ [Easter Bunny] didn’t make it obvious enough, this film is obnoxiously explicit in its revolving around Easter. Whilst this isn’t always bad (look no further than Arthur Christmas), the explicit nature of conveying the film seeps its way into the writing and characters. The script comes off as completely wooden in how its delivered. James Marsden is the standout as Fred O’Hare. by having the most likeable and sympathetic personality whilst having somewhat compelling drama; drama which is abysmal through the mediocre performance from Marsden. The protagonist of the film is EB, voiced by Russel Brand, and you are made to believe early on that he is likeable and has redeeming qualities in his struggles to follow his passion. Once he meets Fred however, we see that he is entirely self-centred and does nothing but further Fred’s struggles until his sudden epiphany when he leaves Fred behind. Whilst this sounds like a good realisation, the execution of this plot-point is bizarre and non-sensical. Everyone else is fine; Kaley Cuoco is fine, Hugh Laurie’s voice acting is fine, etc. One particularly odd choice of the film is the Spanish stereotype chicken Carlos, voiced by Hank Azaria. The voice acting is fine but it’s kind of odd since the film tries to incorporate some form of worker’s rights message, without laying the groundwork to make it compelling. Despite every other aspect being horrendous, the visual effects are actually really well done throughout; the Easter creatures are believable (visually) and there is no noticeable green screen. As for the soundtrack… bleh. There is a soundtrack which serves as nothing more than basic-level atmosphere; could be worse. However, the film also blares pop-song after pop-song after celebrity cameo; it sucks you out of the film and gets annoying really quickly. Overall Hop is nothing more than one and a half hours of kiddy filler; a warning for the future of Illumination’s future movies.

Released 2nd May 2008, Iron Man follows Tony Stark’s journey from an obnoxious weapons developer to being the ‘superhero’ Iron Man. Perhaps the greatest part of this film is that it’s narrative does not shy away from the flawed character traits of Tony and takes them in stride; traits which enable the audience to better connect to him and his unique journey. In many ways, Robert Downey Jr’s Tony Stark feels more like a typical villain at the start of the film until he is kidnapped by terrorists and forced to confront the woes he causes. Even after his journey however, he comes across as an antihero in the way that he continues to be misogynistic and narcissistic but also wishing to fight against the system he aided in cycling; the film carries profound messages of power, corporate corruption and retrospection. Of course, the rest of the cast are fantastic too; while his character begins to dip in quality later in the narrative, Jeff Bridges is able to instil great charisma into Obadiah Stane and maintains a strong chemistry with Downey Jr. This chemistry is also held up by Terrence Howard and Gwyneth Paltrow as James ‘Rhodey’ Rhodes and Pepper Potts, respectively. Howard does a good enough job as Tony’s straight-man who tires to keep him in check while also being someone to confide in whereas Paltrow is able to bring a quirky energy to the loyal Pepper Potts. Her chemistry with Downey Jr also makes for a truly unique love-plot which manages to teeter away from cliché. The best part of the cast however is perhaps their comedic delivery across every scene. While most superhero films of the time were either cartoonish, campy or stone-dead serious, Iron Man succeeds in establishing a laid back sense of humour which many other films in the franchise adopt for the now ‘Marvel formula’. Ramin Djawadi’s is surprisingly great with its aesthetic choices of metal rock in its soundtrack; these choices work to enhance the rockstar caricature of Tony Stark and even creates some brilliant motifs. Praise is also fully deserved in the visual effects which are very akin to 2007’s Transformers and the subsequent breakthroughs it made. Every single suit in the film is imagined and executed to look like a machine with gears and pulleys operating simultaneously; aspects which make the suits 100% believable. That is the best way to describe the film; in spite of the subgenre it belongs to, Iron Man manages to strike a harmonious balance between the world of superheroes and the world we live in.