Lé Results

Released 17th December 2006, Night at the Museum follows Larry Daley as he takes on a new job, the night guard of New York’s Natural History Museum, where the museum (literally) comes to life at night. Being a museum, the cast is extremely varied which enables various entertaining exchanges and interactions. This is good as the film doesn’t try to take itself too seriously; just some mindless entertainment with enough jokes to satiate an audience. Ben Stiller portrays Larry Daley with his regular comedic quarks and… not much else. He is certainly passable and hits his narrative beats of persevering through the chaos he is engulfed in, however, that’s about it. This performance standard applies to the whole cast; Dick Van Dyke is cunning enough as Cecil, Carla Gugino is perky enough as Rebecca and Ricky Gervais is sternly comical enough as Dr McPhee. As far as child actors go, Jake Cherry does a good job as Nick Daley, Larry’s somewhat estranged son. As for standouts, Robin Williams gives a pleasantly diversified performance of Theodore Roosevelt; he is wise but also maintaining Williams’ renowned comedic chops. Then there is Owen Wilson and Steve Coogan as miniatures Jedediah and Octavius, respectively. These two give so much energy to their performances, and subsequent punchlines, with their scenes entirely stealing the show and allowing clever jokes of varying sizes. Despite the film’s frank lack of effort in its performances and script, the visual effects are surprisingly good, with the only drawbacks being some noticeable green screening. This standard carries over into the soundtrack which, whilst generally memorable and awe striking, is overtly bombastic at certain points. Overall Night at the Museum is an enjoyable viewing for the family with its comedy, historical elements and simple story.

Released 25th December 2020, Soul was the first Pixar film which wasn’t released theatrically (due to Covid-19). This film is about a jazz teacher pursuing his dreams and confronting the inner workings of the human soul; so, the inner workings of the human soul – sounds kind of similar to 2015’s Inside Out doesn’t it (the two films even share the same director and studio: Pete Doctor & Pixar)? Well mark my words; this film is a masterpiece. Entering the 2000s, animated films began to garner a dishonourable reputation with child pandering and colour-fuelled films. This is obviously lazy and declines the artistic merit of animation as a medium of art, this proven time and time again to be profitable thus leading animation down a dark path. Every animation studio jumped this lazy bandwagon in some capacity or another and even the better animated films this decade have felt like they were made for younger audiences with adults being able to watch (albeit a couple of exceptions). With this in mind Soul is the anti-animated film. Pixar took the animation medium which they arguably ‘reanimated’ at the turn of the century with their ever-impressive computer-generated animation and made a film for adults which children can follow and enjoy. The animators manage to make New York City feel like its own character alongside Jamie Fox and Tina Fey as Joe Gardener and 22, respectively. Both of these actors encapsulate their characters and their subsequent quirks with such nuance - and these characters have such strong and relatable conflict; internal and external thus taking us to the central idea of the film – what is your soul? What is your soul? Does it determine your life’s journey? How does one influence another. These concepts are handled so thoroughly and with great finesse – it is essentially challenging your perception of life and what it truly is to be alive and what you do with your life. The ways it goes about this are most definitely for mature audiences to interpret and I highly doubt children would take as much away from this film as adults / young adults. Regardless, the story is told in a way that children won’t get lost or bored with the heavier themes present. With that being said this film is also particularly funny without harming the tone of the film and subsequent tension building at points in the narrative. With the story being centred around an aspiring jazz musician, the soundtrack is a crucial component to the films success. One particular scene is carried purely by the soundtrack and it frankly encompasses everything that makes this film work as well as it does; insightful, song-like, beautiful, heart-breaking – masterful. Overall, Soul is a true whirlwind of emotion, technical prowess and artistry which manages to re-encapsulate Pixar's early 2000s-magic.

Released digitally 16th December 2020, Wonder Woman 1984 follows Diana Prince (Wonder Woman) as she investigates the mysterious ‘dream stone’. Being the sequel to 2017’s greatly successful Wonder Woman, everyone’s expectations, including my own, were sufficiently high for the sequel and the announcement that it would take place in the 80s was promising. Whilst the setting was utilised in many of the films jokes, the atmosphere did little more for the film than displaying outfits of the time and your usual dosage of Cold War tensions. I feel like that is where the film falls rather flat compared to its predecessor. Whereas every character in Wonder Woman had depth and character, lots of the characters in this film felt more like plot points. Even the main characters are a lot less grounded and clunky with their involvement in the film. Maxwell Lord doesn’t ever have much of an end goal and neither does Barbara Minerva and even the stuff that ‘works’ merely scrapes by with clunky dialogue and setups. The only thing that really saves the characters is the acting. Gal Gadot does well as Diana (better than the first film I think) with Chris Pine & Kristen Bell doing great jobs with Steve Trevor and Barbara Minerva, respectively. My top praise however goes to Pedro Pascal. Whereas the other actors clearly stumble with their shaky dialogue at times, Pascal owns it and it really makes his character stand out, albeit still with flaws. The VFX are ok overall. With the exception of one character in the 3rd act, nothing looks horrendous but there also isn’t anything particularly great either. And it truly pains me to say this; Hans Zimmer’s score was pretty forgettable. He only used Wonder Woman’s theme once in the whole film too and you wished it were used more. The film’s desire to stick to the 80s whilst trying to introduce two villains of serviceable depth and also justifying the return of a character from the first film result in a dissatisfying, ultimately forgettable, sequel.

Released onto Netflix 23rd September 2020, Enola Holmes is inspired from the Nancy Springer series of the same name in which we follow the younger sister of Arthur Conan Doyle’s now famous character – Sherlock Holmes. The plot is taken specifically from the novel The Case of the Missing Marquess in which Enola’s mother goes missing and whilst trying to find her; she meets Tewkesbury, a young lord, and investigates who is attempting to kill him. So, we pretty much have a younger, female Sherlock Holmes – greeaat. Despite the concept being rather unoriginal, this film just works. To start with, Enola is great! Millie Bobby Brown gives yet another fantastic performance here as the strong-minded, rebellious breaker of Victorian archetypes we expect. And yet with niche 4th wall breaks, charisma and great chemistry with everyone – Enola makes for a surprisingly strong protagonist. And lets get him out of the way – Sherlock. Henry Cavil remains both greatly similar yet similar to the interpretations we have been getting since Basil Rathbone. Cavil delivers the unravelled details with the typical Holmisms, but we also see a quieter, focussed Holmes here – only ever speaking when necessary yet remaining cocky whilst doing so. Everyone else does a fantastic job also; Louis Partridge is charming as Tewkesbury, Sam Claflin is the snob we all know Mycroft to be and Adeel Akhtar is great as the slow yet well-meaning Lestrade. To be frank the weakest performance here is Helen Bonham-Carter. Whilst not having many scenes, it felt at times that she was phoning it in. I believe one of the best parts of the film is that it understands this is Enola’s film – not Sherlocks. Sherlock does his usual detecting but not ever imposing on Enola’s plotline – something I assumed would happen, yet it didn’t. The film also has funny moments although not every joke landed making some moments a little awkward. The costumes and visuals were pleasant to look at and nothing looked out of place, albeit there likely weren’t many VFX here. To be frank, the soundtrack was completely forgettable, but I don’t remember it frustrating me, so it served its purpose(ish). Overall, despite being an unoriginal concept, the film pleasantly surprised me with its witty charm, lively characters and delectable mysteries.

Releasing 25th July 2016, Shin Godzilla is yet another reboot of the 1954 classic Godzilla with the plot revolving around a titanic lizard coming ashore to Tokyo. Despite being the 31st Godzilla film released, Shin Godzilla uses its modernised setting to tell a refreshing, nuanced story amidst the monster madness. The first major component that sets this film apart from the rest of its franchise is that this is the first Japanese Godzilla film to primarily use VFX to bring Godzilla to life: compare this to Godzilla (1954) where Godzilla was created using a suit with miniatures. Whilst the visual effects aren’t always perfect, they work well and enable sometimes poignant imagery. Whereas Godzilla (1954) focused on the ideas of unchecked nuclear power, Shin Godzilla decides to tackle much more modern issues such as overcomplicated politics and sometimes waste disposal. However, Godzilla remains a force of nature with the imagery of him coming ashore mimicking that of the 2011 Tōhoku Tsunami and, being a Godzilla film, Godzilla releases his atomic breath in Tokyo. This film decides to evoke the imagery of the Fukushima plant’s failure as a result of the tsunami and the scene will take your breath away; this is furthered by the soundtrack. Whilst heavily utilising pre-existing tracks from this franchise, they are used appropriately in the narrative alongside some original tracks which serve their purpose spectacularly. As usual the performances don’t really stand out as overtly memorable. This, and a lack of character depth, would often render said characters forgettable however, each character serves a purpose in the narrative and the fight against Godzilla. He is an unstoppable force of nature, much akin to the original creature. Overall Shin Godzilla has a handful of faults in the performance department, what it lacks here, however, it obliterates with a refreshing story and structure whilst displaying extraordinary reverence to the franchise’s history.

Released 25th October 1978, Halloween (1978) follows murder Michael Myers as he escapes prison and returns to his hometown on Halloween night. Being made in the 1970s, this film predominantly relies of jump scares for its horror which, whilst effective for some people, I personally find as an easy cop out which cheapens the film; and that’s saying something. This film is the most trope-ridden, lazy and disjoined film I have ever watched. There is a basic enough outline of a plot in the first act with Myers and his psychiatrist but beyond that, nada. Nick Castle does ok as Michael Myers. Whilst he wears the iconic mask for the entirety of the runtime, his physicalisation is decent, albeit some jagged gestures at times, and his raspy breathing actually had the potential for being a creepy nuance to the character. Jamie Lee Curtis’ Laurie Strode acts as the film’s protagonist as she grows more and more uneasy with the ominous figure she spots around the neighbourhood. Her performance is fine, and she hits enough beats; the same can be said for Donald Pleasence’s Samuel Loomis (Michael’s psychiatrist). The indisputable flaw with the film is that it has no endgame. To refer to Blackhat, another film I have bashed on this blog, at least you knew the protagonist had to secure the codes so he could go free from prison. From that we have a narrative endgame and a character’s motivation; in Halloween you get neither for any character. That said, most of the other characters are either the typical children (innocents) and the hypersexualised teenagers (the 70s/80s ladies and gentlemen). The children are fine but the teenager’s ‘activities’ are gratuitous and serve absolutely no purpose to the narrative or their characters. One final point I wish to address is the fundamentally great soundtrack from John Carpenter which is repeated so much through the film it loses all effect and even renders early dialogue inaudible. Overall Halloween is a train wreck of a film which achieved nothing but kickstarting one of horror’s worst subgenres; Slasher-Flicks.

Released March 2016, Wild Faith follows Civil War veteran Emmett as he struggles to care for the black wife and daughter of his fallen war comrade. With the varied cast of the film, there is a plethora of ideas to explore in the post-war nation; so how does it do? Unfortunately, there is great tonal problems throughout the narrative with little cohesion between them. On the jarring comedic side we have the antagonist frontier-folks who are all good in their performances, albeit lacking individuality amongst the group. Greg Mason’s Uncle McKinney is of a similar comedic tone with his interactions and mannerisms towards his dialogue. Whilst far more comedic than most other characters, including the aforementioned, DJ Perry gives civil war veteran turned hunter Ben Lily such strong charisma and charm that not only are his comedic moments more natural but also less jarring when it suddenly gets serious. Shane Hagedorn gives protagonist Emmett the necessary groundwork to make his character believable with little more than that; similar can be said for half-native hunter Hester. As is common with child actors, Xylia Jenkins and Joey Cipriano as Grace and Henry, respectively, are generally quite weak; notably Cipriano in his delivery by overplaying a higher pitch. On the note of over-acting, Lauren LaStrada is definitely one of the stronger cast members, however, she does act astronomically melodramatic in moments of hysteria. For the five shots that visual effects are used, it is particularly noticeable that the effects aren’t in their setting and it really sucks the tension that should have been built by what the effects were trying to make. Unfortunately, the soundtrack is also not only unmemorable but also unsuitable in many scenes which make use of it. This clashing tone from the soundtrack ultimately summarises Wild Faith; a film with different tones and ideas clashing to little avail therefore making it generally unmemorable.

Released 6th September 1979, Alien follows the crew of the Nostromo as they investigate an extra-terrestrial planet with hopes of finding life. What makes Alien so unique is that it was the very first mainstream horror movie set in outer space; a sub-genre which has had varying levels of success over the years. One thing to note upfront is that most of the film operates off of jump scares, something which I begrudge as lazy, despite a strong build-up of tension with extensive shots of the Nostromo to make the setting feel expansive yet claustrophobic by its endogenous nature. Despite its strong intention, the editing does sometimes make the film feel unnecessarily slow which subsequently reduces the building of tension. The obvious stand out of the cast is Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley; Weaver gives Ripley nuanced subtleties which enable the audience to remain invested in her as a strong minded protagonist. Ian Holm is also rather intriguing as scientist Ash with his messaging of science and its disregard for human life. Besides these two, everyone do a good enough job as little more than stereotypes. Yaphet Kotto is fine as the hot-headed black man Parker, Veronica Cartwright is fine as the emotionally driven female Lambert. These general summaries apply to every other human character in the film; but there is one more character. The Xenomorph is one of the most unique creatures ever put to film with so many adaptations which are interesting and… alien. Part of the success with the Xenomorph is its blend of VFX and costuming to bring it to life. You don’t notice the effects as an audience at all; Xenomorph or not. To quibble, however, the soundtrack is rather unmemorable despite serving scenes well when used. Overall, whilst a touch overrated in my opinion, Alien is a film worth remembering for defining a new sub-genre and instilling fresh ideas into the horror genre as a whole.

Released 19th May 2005, Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith concludes the Star Wars prequel trilogy through the fall of the Jedi and the rise of the Empire. This film manages to tie a satisfying bow on the themes of political corruption and giving into one’s desires. One of the greatest successes of this film above the rest of the trilogy is its shifting focus from appallingly blocky dialogue (mostly) to much more visual, symbolic messaging to its audience. It really helps the narrative to flow whilst heavily emphasising the drama occurring on screen. Ewan McGregor is still great as Obi-Wan Kenobi; he feels far more matured in this film yet far more emotive when needed. Ian McDearmid also rises to the far more influential role of Palpatine by providing stellar articulation of his dialogue; his delivery makes even the weaker lines iconic and meaningful. In a surprising turn of events, Hayden Christensen also delivers a performance of Anakin Skywalker far superior to that of Star Wars: Attack of the Clones. Whilst not Oscar-worthy, Christensen’s gestures and facial expressions are far more controlled and enable the audience to feel sympathy for Anakin and how he is being manipulated on all fronts. Everyone else do a good enough job; Samuel L. Jackson is good as Mace Windu, Natalie Portman is good as Padme, etc. Once again, the visual effects are phenomenal with very few blemishes this time, especially considering its mid-2000s sensibilities. John Williams manages to rise to the occasion and produce, in my opinion, one of his best soundtracks from his career. Not only does he succeed in utilising appropriate pre-existing tracks, but he also produces many new tracks which serve the narrative whilst remaining memorable after the fact. Whilst some of the character work could have been better, Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith succeeds in bringing its trilogy to a close in a way which maintains continuity with the original films; all while standing strongly as an independent viewing.

Released 16th May 2002, Star Wars: Attack of the Clones follows Anakin Skywalker’s blossoming romance amidst rising tensions or war brewing in the galaxy. As a sequel to Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, the film does a superb job of building upon the themes of war through bureaucracy and how the politics corrupt all branches of the society it connects to. However, we also receive an insight into making sacrifices for our occupations; this idea is most frequently highlighted by the relationship between Anakin and Padme (the emotional crux of the story). Despite how essential Anakin’s relationship is to the narrative, Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman’s performances as Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala are completely abysmal. Whilst the writing for the younger characters was minimised in the previous film, these younger characters are at the forefront this time which makes Lucas’ clunky script collapse very early on. As a result of this, Christensen and Portman clearly had no idea how to make the dialogue flow naturally and therefore succumb to either monotonous or melodramatic performances with not in between. No-one is exceptional through the film; however, Ewan McGregor has enough charisma as Obi-Wan Kenobi to carry his subplot and Christopher Lee rises to the occasion as the aristocratic villain; Count Dooku. One thing that the film succeeds with s that it balances its wide cast a lot better this time around with every single character enhancing the plot in some way or another (even Jar Jar serves a greater purpose this time). The visual effects have an improved quality overall with the only real qualms being the clone trooper amour throughout. John Williams manages to deliver one of his best soundtracks in the franchise with Across the Stars being particularly ensnaring in its beauty. For as great as the technical elements are, however, they only manage to polish Star Wars: Attack of the Clones’ mess to make it somewhat enjoyable.

Released 4th November 1994, “Mary Shelley’s” Frankenstein follows “Mary Shelley’s” Victor Frankenstein as he recounts his woeful life of science with Captain Robert Walton. Having read the original (fantastic) novel, I have my own thoughts entirely on how the film adapts the book, however, I have to write an entirely different review for that… This film confronts the development of science and where to draw the line and the subsequent desolation from humanity’s ego. At the centre of these conflicts is Victor Frankenstein, played by Kenneth Branagh. We see Victor’s motivations very early on after the loss of a loved one as he works to create life. As seen in the book, the concept of Victor’s journey can translate itself to be extremely compelling; it is not at all in this film. The greatest problem with this film is its decision to be melodramatic in its direction of the performances and the lacking subtly of its themes. Everything the film tries to say is blatantly spewed to the audience in the most awkward, dramatic way conceivable. However, Helen Bonham Carter’s provides a subversive exception with something of a nuanced performance combined with dialogue that feels less wooden than the rest of the cast’s. Continuing this hyperbolised quality, Patrick Doyle’s soundtrack completely sucks the dramatic tension from the scenes and results in laugh-out-loud melodrama. One consistent positive aspect which I can refer to is the production design and costuming; The Creature looks truly abominable throughout and with each setting maintaining strong atmosphere. Overall, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein would probably work better as a theatre performance with its melodrama and atmosphere. As it is this is a stain on Branagh’s attempts through the 1990s to bring British classics to the big screen.

Released 16th July 1999, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace follows Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn as he observes a trade blockade which has gone awry. What is interesting about this film, and the rest of the prequel trilogy, is that it is not afraid to interpret political systems and apply them to the fantastical world of Star Wars. This particular instalment highlights how bureaucracy often hinders responses to disasters and how every aspect of society is tainted by red tape (or the lack of it). One thing to note early on is that, whilst not his best, John Williams delivers a magical soundtrack which delivers on the grandeur the franchise is renowned for. Another thing this franchise is renowned for is its diverse cast of characters with this specific film arguably harbouring the largest in the series. Liam Neeson and Ewan McGregor are great as Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi, respectively. The two have fabulous chemistry with Neeson providing a mentoring / parental performance towards Obi-Wan’s perky yet trusting demeanour. Natalie Portman and Jake Lloyd also do good jobs as Padme and Anakin Skywalker; as good as the writing enables anyway. Whilst certainly doing good, the writing is extremely wooden for these two (possibly George Lucas being unable to write for children) which subsequently sucks some of the drama out of their exchanges through the film. This wooden writing style also resulted in one of the most infamous characters in the entire franchise; Jar Jar Binks. Ahmed Best’s performance is taken directly out of a Saturday morning kid’s show with Jar Jar’s overbearing ‘comedic’ beats. Even with this character however, the visual effects, for 1999, are truly phenomenal; as is the rest of the film. Lucas truly dived into the deep end with pioneering modern VFX using CGI through the film; generally succeeding greatly. That is the best way to describe the film; whilst faulting in many points, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace pushes itself into uncharted territories at many turns which garners a level of respect at the very least.