Lé Results

Released 19th February 1999, Office Space displays the mundane lives of the employees at Initech as they go about their day-to-day life. Similarly, to Fight Club, the film satirises the mundanity of life through everyday activities such as driving to work, eating out or being lectured by office managers. Whilst this does grind the pace to a drawl in act one, it begins to flow a lot better after Peter Gibbins’ epiphany of life. Ron Livingston gives a fine performance as protagonist Peter Gibbins; you can feel how beleaguered he feels in his monotonous routine and you agree with his flawed mentality going forward. Stephen Root gave a particularly comical performance as Milton Waddams. More so than any other character he is tossed aside and shown absolutely minimal respect which, while you sympathise with him, makes for entertaining rising action as he is pushed further and further towards the climax. Jennifer Aniston is fine as her now typecast perky love interest (probably one of her better variations of the archetype). David Herman and Ajay Naidu are rather funny as Michael and Samir with their recurring gags and chemistry with Livingston. Whilst the characters their selves aren’t too deep, they are predominantly present to highlight the different stresses one may face in a professional environment and how they are degraded by their superiors. There are several instances where the editing could have removed some unnecessary repeats of previous jokes and to give Peter’s nightmare sequences less of a goof factor. The soundtrack was actually quite resonant and helped to convey the monotonous atmosphere and liberation in the film well. This is achieved with the use of some leitmotifs and some licensed music from the hip-hop genre. Overall, Office Space isn’t the funniest dark comedy but maybe one of the most provocative if you can look past the weaker jokes.

Released 2nd July 2010, Shrek Forever After illustrates Shrek’s hard-time adjusting to a mundane lifestyle as a father, husband and friend while taking him on a retro-shrek-tive adventure. One thing this film does immediately is distance itself from Shrek the Third; whilst John Cleese’s King Harold isn’t present, whereas his children are, the story doesn’t hinge on the direct events of that film. As a result, Shrek Forever After is free to deliver its own story of appreciation and compassion; themes which differ from that of the previous instalments. In this regard, while still funny, the film approaches its narrative with a more emotional angle in almost every aspect. Mike Myers continues to deliver an honest vocal performance as Shrek and fulfilling his subsequent journey to appreciate the life he has made and the value it truly has. I am also glad to report that Donkey, Puss in Boots and Fiona feel important to the narrative again; most notably Cameron Diaz’s Fiona. This film decides to take Fiona’s time locked in a tower and flips the original narrative on its head to convey a much more stoic Fiona. This stoicism that Diaz brings is able to elicit tender moments which initiate the audience to realise that there is some deep trauma that Fiona buries under her exogenous personality; trauma which forms a greater respect for Fiona in retrospective. A particular standout in this film however is Walt Dohrm’s villainous Rumpelstiltskin. Whilst all of the Shrek villains have had fantastic voice actors, even Prince Charming in Shrek 2 and Shrek the Third, Dohrm articulates with such slimy menace that he is entrancing whenever he speaks. On top of that, Rumpelstiltskin is a greatly intelligent villain who poses a true threat to Shrek and all he holds dear. Whilst the animation is arguably the best out of the series, it loses the grimier style that the originals managed to encapsulate without looking cheap. With this in mind, I can’t help but throw credit to the exceptional lighting throughout; it was stunning and really entrancing. Harry Gregson-Williams’ soundtrack was also delightful and poignant where necessary. In conclusion, Shrek Forever After is a satisfying epilogue for the Shrek franchise by wrapping it up with fresh themes, reverence for its foundations and better humour than Shrek the Third.

Released 6th May 2007, Shrek the Third follows Shrek on his quest to find a royal heir for Far Far Away. One of the (many) frustrating things about this film is that the concepts are great and would have fallen into place with Shrek’s world, however, the execution of every single narrative beat is laughable and a complete failure. One of the fundamental flaws of this instalment is that the humour takes an absolute nosedive in its wit and timing; it simply doesn’t exist here unlike the previous two which managed to balance its humour with its depth and themes. As far as themes go, this film ‘attempts’ to confront fatherhood and the ongoing manifestation of insecurities people face. Whereas Mike Myers’ Shrek grappled with being deserving of Fiona in the past two films, he is now grasping how worthy he is to be a father; a natural progression for the character, however, this idea is so haphazardly applied to his interactions with characters that it is mind-numbing and dissatisfying with the end result. Fiona and Donkey also complete their devolution from Shrek to have little to no reason for being in the film, accompanied by Puss in Boots also. Rupert Everett returns as Prince Charming to pose as the main villain of the film which is, again, an understandable concept in the wake of Shrek 2. That said, he is rendered less believable when is presented as the leader of every other fairy-tale villain in the film, especially in the climax. Finally, we have Justin Timberlake as Arthur Pendragon; an inconsistent character who fails to really make his presence that known in the film. That said, his attempt to resolve the climax is actually a refreshing concept, albeit a little unbelievable in how it transpires. DreamWorks manages to continue evolving its animation to a point of great detail and craft. As for the soundtrack, a key part in the prior two films’ success, drops the ball completely. With the exception of Royal Pain at the beginning, none of the licensed music fits with its scenes as well as they had previously and even Harry Gregson-Williams’ soundtrack isn’t as memorable as previous instalments. Overall, Shrek the Third managed to take the most influential franchise of the decade thus far and push it down to a level it was never able to rise out of.

Released 2nd July 2004, Shrek 2 continues the story of Shrek and what happens after his happily ever after. Right away this concept is brilliant as we are presented with a particularly poignant view of Shrek & Fiona’s marriage as it battles their life’s obstacles. Much like this story concept, Shrek 2 also continues the themes of insecurity and love while developing on them through new lenses with the help of the film’s new location; Far Far Away. The setting of Far Far Away is designed in the ilk of Los Angeles which not only makes a refreshing setting compared to Shrek’s more rural settings but also enhances the superficiality of the kingdom’s views (whilst also providing plenty of comical gags). Mike Myers returns to, once again, embody Shrek and smash every single character trait he possesses. Eddie Murphy, whilst not as integral to the story, also remains fantastic with his comedic timing and vocalisation of everyone’s favourite steed. Similar to Donkey, Cameron Diaz’s Fiona, whilst still memorable and well performed, isn’t as integral as she was previously. With this in mind, the film introduces many new characters; as well as giving some previous minor roles a chance to shine. Cody Cameron returns as Pinocchio and the Three Little Pigs alongside Conrad Vernon and Aron Warner as Gingy and the Big Bad Wolf, respectively. These characters return to aid Shrek in the third act with unique uses of each character’s traits and impeccable voice acting from everyone. Antonio Banderas and John Cleese perform Puss in Boots and Fiona’s father King Harold; characters who each leave an undeniable impact on the franchise through their memorable moments and brilliant comedy. Jennifer Saunders manages to one-up Shrek’s Lord Farquaad by having great vocalisation as well as being ever-present in the narrative thus enhancing the threat she poses as Fairy Godmother. Once again the animation is great and doesn’t look bad at all now; an improvement shared by the music too. Whereas Shrek managed to have a great soundtrack and use of licensed music, this film often uses both at once with massive success; look no farther than I Need A Hero for proof of this. Overall, Shrek 2 takes the themes of the original and uses them to expand the world in new directions whilst remembering what it brought with it.

Released 29th June 2001, Shrek follows an ogre as he goes on a quest to rescue the Princess Fiona to regain control of his swamp. Much like the Bee Movie, Shrek is often remembered as one of the most culturally significant films to ever release; there are many reasons for this. The film parodies fairy tales highlights superficial values of society and it deals with these concepts to astounding success which is still relatable 20 years on. Another major success of the film is its very laid back, raunchy sense of humour. Whereas later instalments are still funny, they actively have lots of jokes whereas this film is able to be comical through its delivery from the actors. Mike Myers is very much Shrek in every conceivable way. None of his lines feel phoned in and the unique Scottish accent does wonders to enhance Shrek’s personality. He is also able to deliver his sincere dialogue about his insecurities and hopes in a naturalistic way which shouldn’t have been possible. Eddie Murphy also manages to raise Donkey from a comic relief role to a wholesome friend who looks out for everyone he interacts with. He is truly used as the heart of the story through his likeable innocence that is highlighted by his interactions between Shrek and Fiona. As for Fiona, she is voice acted by Cameron Diaz with solid chemistry with her co-stars while also giving the princess subversive nuances that enhances her own character arc. If anything, John Lithgow’s Lord Farquaad could maybe have used more development, however, Lithgow elevates Farquaad’s character exponentially with his rolling, snobbish tone of voice; he is perfect. Despite its early 2000 sensibilities in CG animation, the animation still holds up well; even parts which aren’t entirely great further enhance the dirtier, inappropriate tone of the film in its parody of the clean and prestigious Disney fairy tales we are all too familiar with. One of the film’s greatest achievements however is its soundtrack; whereas the few films which succeed in using licensed music often lack a good unique soundtrack, Shrek strikes the perfect balance between perfectly matching music and a brilliantly memorable soundtrack. That is the perfect summary for Shrek; it is a subversive film which strikes a perfect balance between its technicalities, story, character and humour.

Released 17th August 2018, Christopher Robin shows us a grown up version of Christopher Robin from A. A. Milne and E. H. Shepard’s Winnie-the-Pooh book series. Being one in the series of live-action remakes of classic Disney properties, Christopher Robin manages to be one of the few which takes the magic of the original and retools it into the different yet suitable setting of Christopher’s adulthood. With the original novels being set in the late 20s/early 30s, Christopher’s life took him through the second world war and subsequently placed the narrative in a post-war society; an idea that could have been expanded more thoroughly but was utilised enough to justify its setting. Ewan McGregor is able to embody Christopher’s beleaguered mindset; you can still read his childlike sympathy in his eyes whilst perceiving his institutionalised mindset through his physicalisation. While he does have a character arc in regaining his childlike approach to life, many narrative beats are rather explicit in their approach which means that it isn’t quite as provocative as it could be and subsequently befalls a cliched story. Hayley Atwell and Bronte Carmichael are perfectly passable as Christopher’s wife and daughter, just lacking any sufficient depth. Jim Cummings eases right back into the wholesome character of Winnie-the-Pooh by bringing his clueless yet somewhat wise voice to Christopher’s fuzzy-friend. He also gives Tigger the zealous energy we come to expect; an energy which almost redeems his rather rugged design. Besides Cummings, Brad Garrett as Eeyore is the only other vocal standout of the cast in his entertainingly melancholy vocalisation for the donkey. The film’s visual effects are absolutely phenomenal throughout (even for Disney standards); it helps to make the characters all the more lifelike and cuddlier. However, this lifelike quality is detrimental towards Tigger as he bears a more rugged look which is juxtaposed by his ever-expressive eyes; a look which makes you somewhat uncomfortable at times. Geoff Zanelli and Jon Brion’s soundtrack is fine in underscoring its scenes; if not a little unmemorable. Overall, Christopher Robin manages to be as different as it is familiar with its source material in forging a pleasant enough viewing experience.

Released 2nd November 2006, Borat: Cultural Learnings Of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan follows Kazakhstani reporter Borat as he travels across the USA to learn about its culture and glory. While this film is an absolute riot as a comedy, for an acquired taste, the film is able to elicit topical ideas of the USA in a way that no other film has been able to since. The actions of the cast are so grotesque and abhorrent you think that it cannot be real yet, after thorough reading, most interactions that are displayed on screen were enacted with 100% authenticity by Sacha Baron Cohen; lets talk about him for a moment. Sacha Baron Cohen is nothing short of an erudition in the way he presents Borat onto screen. As well as heavily producing it, he performs Borat without falter with his sliding accent and his ranging mannerisms. Sacha manages to make this appalling individual so likeable and somewhat innocent at every turn; an impressive feat given how crude man of the narrative beats are through the film. Throughout his journey he encounters pride groups, the deep south, feminists and so many groups which border taboo in how to handle their subject matter. The genius of interacting with these unknowing individuals is that every single point they make isn’t scripted; they are showing their true colours and, by proxy, the USA’s true colours. Borat is a character who either brings out the best or the worst in American culture thus painting the most concrete picture you can get of what Borat calls the “world’s greatest nation”. Being filmed like a documentary, the film has a completely naturalistic visual palette; from cinematography to lighting, everything you see is most certainly real. The soundtrack is memorable enough in its stereotypical replication of Russian music (due to Kazakhstan’s culture hosting similarities to Russia’s) to enhance the absurdity on screen. On that note, Borat: Cultural Learnings Of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan is a film which uses stereotyping and (sometimes too much) shock value to shuttle the fundamental ideologies of the USA’s inhabitants onto a global stage for all of us to learn from.

Released 18th September 2019, The Coldest Game portrays a fictional grandmaster chess tournament which took place parallel to the Cuban missile crisis. Despite there being no tournament in real life, the film takes several occurrences from the crisis and uses them to enhance the themes of loyalty, responsibility, trust and strategy. There some broadened themes which branch off of the aforementioned, however, these are the most prevalent throughout. You sometimes wish that chess is better applied to the narrative, given the events of the film, however it can be accepted as the game is displayed as being a proxy event for the espionage occurring. Bill Pullman gives an astounding performance as the dishevelled Joshua Mansky as he insinuates his overbearing intelligence and the effect it has on his cognitive ability. Through this, you get a sometimes unexplored aspect into alcoholism and how, on rare occasions, it isn’t detrimental to individual people. James Bloor is also rather good with his performance of Agent White; he really sells the humanity that many Cold War agents would have had and how it affects their mental state. Everyone else is very archetypical of a Cold War narrative i.e., Aleksey Serebryakov is the hard-faced Russian General, Corey Johnson is the hard-headed American operative and Lotte Verbeek is the female-aide to Mansky. In grounding the film parallel to the Cuban missile crisis, each ‘day’ in the film uses TV clips from the corresponding day of the crisis; a choice which makes the narrative so much more engaging and cohesive. The soundtrack is unfortunately unmemorable, that and it also utilises modern music at a pint where, not only does it make sense to contrast the time period, but it acts as a detriment to what should be a moment of emotion thus hindering its impact. In short, The Coldest Game is a film with vast ideas to convey, and subsequent subversions, which are bogged down by a lack of consistent flair.

Released 5th November 2013, Run Boy Run follows eight year old Hebrew, Srulik Frydman, as he lives on the run during the Nazi occupation of Poland. Despite the horrid atmosphere of the Hebrew persecution under the gauze of Hitler’s Nazi regime, the film often depicts positive experiences and interactions. Whilst this can be jarring early on in the film, you come to realise that this child protagonist is likely to highlight these details through an innocent scope; remember that he is eight. Srulik Frydman, or as he starts to call himself, Jurek Staniak is portrayed by Andrzej Tkacz and he does a tremendous job in conveying Srulik’s innocent enthusiasm and harrowing pain when required of him. He carries the narrative from start to finish with no moments of weakness; a very impressive performance for his age. Besides Srulik, there are many other characters; Magda Janczyk being one of them. Elisabeth Duda gives Magda a maternal aura which the script directs towards Srulik; she does this with ease while also inserting the prominent theme of religion and subsequent allegiances to the several Srulik is exposed to. Everyone else do a great job with their unique reactions to a Hebrew within the social atmosphere present. Even Rainer Bock’s SS officer is conveyed with a seeming laissez-faire attitude towards Nazi protocols and ideals; that it is simply a job for him. Whilst not obvious, there are extremely well implemented visual effects from the second act onwards which are onerous to notice. Stéphane Moucha’s soundtrack is not overtly memorable, however, it does a splendid job in underscoring the scenes it is assigned to. Whether it be channelling Srulik’s innocence, or the Nazis’ barbarity, it is flawless throughout; simply lacking any iconicity. Overall, Run Boy Run is a superb war drama which highlights a generally unexplored aspect of Hebrew adaptation to Nazi oppression.

Released 2nd September 1943, The Sky’s the Limit follows WW2 Flying Tiger Fred Atwell as he tries to woo Joan Manion before his redeployment. This film opts to confront the ideas of escapism and even some level of patriarchal challenging in its mid-war setting; utilising ideals of the time in spectacular fashion. A key aspect of the film is also the presence of WW2 in New York’s 1940s society; both through several charity balls and most of the characters who range from fully supportive to resentful in their opinions. Fred Astaire is exceptional as Fred Atwell; he has a beautiful childlike charm about him which makes every encounter pleasant and enjoyable; this includes the now dated exchanges with Joan Leslie’s Joan Manion. Leslie manages to assert herself with foremost engagement with her peers, who are solely males, and confront her worth in a way that feels natural to the narrative and not just political messaging. Whilst good, everyone else are rather one dimensional; Robert Benchley is awkward enough as Fred’s romantic rival with Robert Ryan’s Reginald antagonising Fred’s actions in a strong enough way to diminish Fred’s confidence. The sets are all immaculate in their design to establish New York as a very lively, dreamy area which simulates the desire for the audience, shared by Fred, to stay there. Most of the musical numbers were also engaging with varying levels of energy; whereas Fred and Joan were able to share great intimacy through ‘My Shining Hour’, the energy could then kick itself into high gear through ‘One For My Baby’. Overall, The Sky’s the Limit is an enjoyable experience with fascinating themes tackled for its time.

Released 28th December 1970, The Aristocats follows Duchess and her kittens as they try to return to their Madame. With the obvious wordplay in the title being a hint, The Aristocats bases itself in ideas of status and the lavish lifestyle of the rich, and the subsequent alienation to the lower classes. The film manages to adapt these themes into a format which illustrates the necessary points yet remains accessible to younger audiences. Ironically however, there are some outdated stereotypes used for many characters in the film which modern audiences would likely find offensive although, in my opinion, the English ones are completely accurate and comical. Everyone does a good enough job with their voice roles; Liz English, Dean Clark and Gary Dubin are innocent enough as the kittens Marie, Beriloz and Toulouse. Roddy Maude-Roxby is remarkable as the beleaguered butler Edgar; his vocal quality elicits the aura of his downcast, energised mannerisms on screen; much like Pat Buttram and George Lindsey as Napoleon and Lafyette, the comic-relief dogs. Phil Harris brings a great suaveness to Thomas O’Malley which makes him extremely likeable to the audience from his singing to anecdotes. Eva Gabor is also worth noting for her imperious manner of voice to emulate her status and lifestyle. Regardless, my main qualm with the cast, minus the stereotypes, is that everyone sounds very American despite the film being set in Paris. It feels like nit-picking but, for how well realised Paris is in it’s animation, the voices really suck the audience out of the film. On the note of the animation, Disney delivered on their revolutionary animation which remained unparalleled until Studio Ghibli later arose in the late 70s. There is a very cartoonish sense to everything, but the energy is matched by the voice actors and soundtrack, so it doesn’t detract from the experience. Every piece of music enhances the film; from leitmotifs to musical numbers, there is a strong sense of atmosphere at every point of the narrative. Overall, The Aristocats is an accessible film with easy to digest narrative beats and energy.

Released 25th May 2018, Solo: A Star Wars Story follows Han Solo as he orientates the galaxy’s criminal underworld. Being set in the Star Wars universe, it is able to both draw on pre-existing characters to give life to while also expanding the universe through the film’s more nuanced, grimy atmosphere. Whilst this atmosphere is able to establish a unique identity amidst the Star Wars canon, the grimy atmosphere sometimes works as a detriment with its dark lighting which obscures several scenes here and there. The film decides to tackle the ideas of morality and loyalty through its array of morally-grey gangsters and street-urchins. Alden Ehrenreich delivers on a cocky, somewhat-naïve Han Solo; he encapsulates the poise and gestures of Harrison Ford’s original template with ease while also giving his own take on this younger version of the cinematic icon. Donald Glover also brings a natural, and much needed, suave to Lando Calrissian which makes him a joy to watch at all times. Emilia Clarke is also quite good as Qur’an; she has solid chemistry with Ehrenreich and provides a pleasant demeanour. However, her writing is rather hit and miss with simply referring to her tragic past without much insight; that and the fact that she is treated like a damsel in distress for most of the runtime. Woody Harrelson and Paul Bettany do well as Beckett and Drydon Vos, respectively, with their misleading personalities which make you unsure of their true intent through the narrative. Whilst Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s L3-37 droid is enjoyable enough, she often feels like ‘political messaging: the character’; something which sucks the audience out of the film. Naturally, being Star Wars (with a Disney budget), the visual effects are astonishing and practically flawless all around; costumes and makeup too! It is key to note though that the soundtrack is mediocre. It reuses tracks from the wider franchise really well but anything else is either melodramatic or forgettable. Overall, Solo: A Star Wars Story is surprisingly good with a decent cast and fun narrative.