Lé Results

Released 26th November 2008, Changeling follows the true story of Christine Collins following the disappearance of her son. This film handles truly abominable scenarios for any human to face and, without spoiling the film, putting it like that is a complete understatement. Christine Collins’ story challenges the 1920s’ status quo of political corruption and mentality through trauma. Jeffery Donovan brings a phenomenal performance to Captain Jones; one of the two antagonists of the film. He is thoroughly manipulative, and you had better have a stress ball whenever his scenes occur; he heartless and you 100% believe it. As for Gordon Northcott, the second protagonist of the film, he is brought to life by Jason Butler Harner. Whilst aided by how he’s written, Butler sells Gordon as nothing less than a demon sent straight from hell. Butler provides several facades towards Gordon’s character and the best summary I can think of is that he makes Sam Rockwell’s Bill Wharton from The Green Mile look particularly friendly. Angelina Jolie easily gives a career best performance here as Christine Collins; every single mannerism conveyed to the audience is believable and ensnares an emotional connection. She perfectly illustrates a woman who is confronted by pushback every step of the way through what is already an insufferable upheaval of events. John Malkovich and Michael Kelly as Reverend Gustav Briegleb and Detective Lester Ybarra are fine; albeit generally one-note for large supporting characters. The same can be said for the soundtrack; it maintains a light-motif for Christine but outside of that it is, admittedly jazz (1920s originating music) based, standard ambience music. Overall, Changeling illustrates the mentality of those who are shafted by the bureaucracy in such an unapologetically uncensored way; yet maintaining a form of human beauty which may only fester in such ordeals.

Released 10th May 1968, 2001: A Space Odyssey follows an anthology structure of different cosmic occurrences; occurrences which all centre around a mysterious monolith. Whilst an anthology structure can often work well, I.e., any Tarantino film, the narrative often feels disjointed from itself as it tells these intriguing stories which are generally self-contained. The most cohesion the audience receives with the monolith is that it marks moments of human advancement. However, this then wastes a solid half an hour portion of the film which is then recapped in another segment. Similarly, the soundtrack sometimes overplays certain tracks from time to time; it is also key to note that the soundtrack is not original either. With that said, the score used is a quintessential part of the film’s identity; it always captures the grandeur and whimsy of what is occurring on screen. One of the greatest examples is the application of Thus Spake Zarathustra in the ‘Dawn of Man’ segment. Another astounding success, definitely its most renowned, is the entrancing visuals. For a film made in 1968, the visual effects and set design are astronomically fantastic and believable; let me emphasise that this film was over a decade before Star Wars: A New Hope. The visual effects and (the best of) the soundtrack are what raise this film above and beyond as a piece of art; but what about everything else? Besides human advancement, the only other notable theme is that of artificial sentience through HAL-9000; easily the best character of the film, Douglass Rain manages to instil emotion and cunning to HAL’s monotone voice; a voice as iconic as it is luring. HAL’s unique character acts as the framework for what many AIs in film would become and he is one of the truly spectacular elements of the film. Besides that most other characters are unimportant or have little to no personality whatsoever. This lack of character throughout a large sum of the runtime causes great issue for the pacing and audience investment. Overall 2001: A Space Odyssey has the makings of what truly could have been one of the greatest works of human art. However, a crippled pace and strewn links between narratives leave the audience wishing for something more concise in what it’s trying to say.

Released 10th February 2021, News to the World follows Civil War veteran, now news-reader, Captain Jefferson as he delivers a young girl to her family. The film remains entirely immersed in its Frontier Texas setting; from Southern disdain to the North to in-state isolationism, the audience are able to align their selves to the ideologies of the time. One thing which is frequently illustrated to bring people together is stories; being a news-teller, Jefferson is frequently shown to be communicating the news stories to the masses of people he meets along the way. We are enabled to realise the power of a community united by the art of storytelling; not dissimilar to visiting the theatre. Captain Jefferson is brought to life by Hollywood’s favourite wiseman; Tom Hanks. Hanks emanates a calming, respectful atmosphere to both Johanna, the little girl, and the audience. Helena Zengel is also really enthralling with her performance of Johanna; she is particularly emotive when she needs to be yet blunted when required. One of the most compelling parts of the narrative between these two is that Johanna only speaks German. This enables natural complications when the two pair with one another whilst also granting an opportunity for wholesome scenes of the two understanding each other more and more. Everyone else in the supporting cast are also superb; albeit that no-one remains in the narrative for extended periods of time. Each character is able to convey different ways of living on the Old Frontier; they vary from entirely lawless to authoritarian as you meet them all. If anything, some scenes (notably in the third act) could have been cut to maintain the natural flow of the narrative. James Newton Howard’s soundtrack makes good use of the Western aesthetic in his sound scaping; with that said, the soundtrack is not overtly memorable. Overall News to the World is a solid film with a strong variety of Frontier perspective; albeit too much so at times.

Released 30th August 2002, Insomnia follows LA detective Will Dormer as he investigates the murder of a young girl in Alaska and battles his inner demons with the help of an unlikely ally. As with many Christopher Nolan films, Insomnia opts to combat our humanity and how humanity fights back against our own nature; in this case through the means of the title. Dormer struggles with insomnia throughout the film’s runtime in an escalating fashion; a concept which, due to its execution in direction, is reflected onto the audience in the form of constant anxiety which is effective in keeping the audience engaged. This atmosphere is further enhanced by the Alaskan setting; a narrative choice which further conveys the claustrophobic nature of Dormer’s anxieties and his demons as a result of how close the communities are. Al Pacino provides a decent performance as Will Dormer. He particularly peaks during fits of rage against other characters (as Pacino always does) and hooks you in a discussion in the last twenty minutes of the film. Besides that, however, he gives just enough to engage the audience with little more. Most of the cast are of a similar state; with the exception of Robin Williams and Hilary Swank. Williams as Walter Finch brings the charisma that he was so renowned for as well as a more stoic tone when necessary. Whilst probably not his best performance, it is still a highlight and enables him to convey the strong and provocative ideas that Finch is embodied with in the script. Finally, Hilary Swank illustrates Ellie Burr’s character with a superb consistency whilst also adjusting her demeanour as she becomes more enthralled into Dormer’s work-style. She starts off perky and eager early on, idolising Dormer as the perfect cop, only to become more disgruntled as she pulls more threads of the case; a mirror of Dormer himself. This film soars in forming dyads between the characters; with Dormer being reflected perfectly into every main character in some capacity or another. The narrative interweaves the effects of our actions and how they become interpreted by others into the core of everyone with stellar results each time. Whilst not as memorable as many of Nolan’s other works, the soundtrack had resonant motifs throughout the film; albeit unmemorable after the fact. Overall Insomnia is a fantastic crime thriller with strong characters, consistent actions and great direction to keep you engaged.

Released 5th February 2021, Malcom & Marie centres around filmmaker Malcolm and his partner Marie as they confront each other’s faults and past. Whilst partially a forced decision of creating a film during Covid-19 restrictions, the film is extraordinarily intimate. The only characters we see in the film are Malcolm and Marie. The only setting we receive is their house. The only colour palette we view is that of monochrome. Sam Levinson, the director / writer, definitely did this intentionally as well as some visually enthralling camerawork throughout. Whilst I have ideas on what the imagery insinuates, lets talk about the themes of the film. Levinson illustrates a powerful encompassment of relationships and love, positive and negative, but also a thickened outlook on criticism. Levinson’s screenplay is extremely dialogue driven which enables a layered commentary through Malcolm’s reception to his film; this explicitly challenges criticism in the modern age and how it grasps at straws that could signify artistic merit. On the other side of the spectrum, Malcolm and Marie frequently criticise each other through their outbursts with varying levels of authenticity. This theme then interweaves itself with the highlighted expression of love and the conflicts you resolve through open and constructive criticism. Zendaya gives an Oscar-worthy performance as Marie with consistent yet altering mannerisms through her vocal and physical characterisation. You are truly sold on Marie’s vulnerability and the quirks Malcolm frequently points out. Malcolm himself is portrayed by John David Washington who is fantastic and impressively ranged in this performance. He indicates such suave, rage and humour in a natural rotation; only conveying authentic reactions. Also, whilst I have touched on it moderately, the screenplay is phenomenal and believable at every point. Levinson understands that relationships have complicated conflicts over mundane, simplistic actions; actions that act as a catalyst for how people interact with one another. The film opts to use licensed music, mostly from Labyrinth, instead of an original soundtrack. I would often begrudge a film for using explicitly emotive music to saturate a mood, however, the music used is diegetic which means it also acts as a means of building up the characters playing it. Malcolm & Marie is transcendent as a human story of love and companionship which also satirises criticism in a very natural, agreeable, way.

Released 18th December 1982, The King of Comedy is a film about an obsessive fan who goes further and further to not only meet his ‘idol’ but also to assert his own agenda upon them. The film is essentially a commentary about stalker fans and how society treats them (good and bad). The protagonist of this story is Rupert Pupkin – played by Robert De Niro and he is one of the obsessive fans the narrative focuses on; the other is the simply named Masha played by Sandra Bernhard. What is interesting about these two characters is that they present two very different archetypes of stalker fans (otherwise known as stans) with Rupert ‘stanning’ over in-film comedian Jerry Langford (played by real-life comedian Jerry Lewis) in order to boost his own attempted career as a comedian whilst Masha ‘stans’ Jerry lustfully. These two portrayals of stalker fans remain poignant to this day in examples we read every so often in the news; we are frequently presented with the ‘fans’ acting uncomfortably chummy with Jerry only to suddenly have an inflection where they shout at him or physically threaten him. The nature of these characters creates many comedic opportunities which feel natural in their timing and occurrence. The soundtrack is quite forgettable to be frank, although the narrative often opts not to use soundtrack very often and instead relies on somewhat diegetic sound i.e., ‘audience’ cheers. Another interesting part of the film is that it is written as an expressionistic piece where events often take place as imagined by the protagonist Rupert; this makes for interesting occurrences where you will question what is real and what is not. Overall, minus some occasional slow pacing and flat jokes, The King of Comedy stands the test of time as an enduring social message about the actions and dangers of stalker-fans.

Released 15th January 2021, Outside the Wire follows shamed soldier Thomas Harp as he follows a bionic Captain Leo into enemy territories. Whilst not based on a true story, this film feels like a faithful interpretation of what warfare is heading towards and even manages to confront current warfare standards to a powerful extent. Lt Thomas Harp is a drone pilot and the film decides to express how impersonal warfare becomes with soldiers acting behind a computer screen; the editing directly conveys this with cuts from relaxing behind a drone screen to shouting and gunfire in the battlefront. As well as this, the film also challenges how wars are often led by agenda and also a more in depth look into the threat of AI. Anthony Mackie is great as Captain Leo; his natural sense of humour translates well to his character and he is also really emotive when he has to be. Damson Idris gives a solid performance of alt Thomas Harp; there are poignant scenes where his reactions really enhance the atmosphere and make you feel for his character. However, as much as he presents the incompetence of a soldier, he doesn’t really do much practically until the third act; a choice which defeats the engagement with the character and the themes quite frequently. Emily Beecham and Pilot Asbæk are fine as neutral informant Sofiya and terrorist Victor Koval. They mostly act as anyone else does with the archetypes; same goes for all of the military personnel. Loren Balfe also provides a serviceable but unmemorable soundtrack which serves its purpose but little else. The visual effects are generally well done with nothing sticking out as jarring. More than anything else, the film simply feels that it sacrificed points of logic in the film at the expense of its intriguing themes and messages. Overall the film has a solid foundation but begins to wobble as it tries to build off of them.

Released 14th January 2020, The Bird Catcher follows a Norwegian Jewish girl as she goes on the run and hides in a Nazi occupied farm. If I were to nit-pick anything out of the film, I would argue the title holds little meaning and doesn’t represent the film in any capacity. As a war film, it successfully conveys the breeding of hatred in the occupied territories as well as the greed and superiority some felt above their peers. There are dialogue exchanges that operate with dramatic irony to establish a subtle aura of tension as well as visualised examples that shock you. The cinematography of this film is fantastic and truly works wonders in telling the story that the characters live within. Sarah-Sofie Boussnina is truly exceptional as the protagonist; Esther. She is shown to have goals and desires in life which she intends to follow, and Sarah brings a great enthusiasm to her performance. She also conveys her growing caution and fear with fantastic physicalisation and vocal hinderance. Jacob Cedergren is also brilliant as Johann; the owner of the farm Esther hides in. He starts off exactly how you’d expect a Nazi sympathiser to be (cruel and arrogant) but Jacob tailors a performance so enthralling that you can’t help but respect his character and the bond he forms with Esther. Laura Bim and Arthur Hakalahti give life to Anna and Aksel; the wife and son of Johann who know and support Esther’s secret. Both insinuate the submissive nature needed to co-exist with Johann through their performances with Laura being far more emotionally interactive. Meanwhile, Arthur acts as Esther’s love interest / best friend; their characters have a pleasant relationship and can both relate through being looked down upon by the Nazis. The film seems to somewhat disregard August Diehl and Johannes Kuhnke’s Herman and Fred; both characters seem like they could provide interesting angles of the Nazi livelihood but fail to be fully realised to do so. The soundtrack also isn’t overly memorable; albeit that the film opts not to use it that often. In conclusion, The Bird Catcher is a good war film in portraying the home front of Nazi Germany although it missed the little aspects that would have elevated it to the peak level of the genre.

Released 26th April 2011, Bernie follows the true story of Bernie Tiede; Carthage’s (Texas) favourite community helper and his deteriorating relationship with Marjorie Nugent. Whilst it is certainly a two way stream, this film already bears a niche concept of tackling a circumstance of coercive control where the victim is a male. For what has been a progressive decade in combatting abusive relationships, males have been disregarded despite making up 32.9% of domestic abuse victims. With that said, this film focuses more on the financial and psychological side of abuse and how it subtly influences people; good or bad. Jack Black brings his regular comedic chops and personality to Bernie Tiede whilst also managing to convey his change through extremely subtle facial actions and poise. I’m not sure if anyone else could have provided Bernie with so much charisma and radiating joy yet such gentleness too. If anything, it would have been more engaging if we saw more of Bernie’s personal post-abuse affects as he mostly reverts back to his old self once he gets out. Shirley MacLaine and Matthew McConaughey are absolutely stellar as the film’s antagonists; performing Marjorie Nugent and Danny Buck Davidson, respectively. Marjorie illustrates the abuser of the relationship and as stated, she uses vocalisation and flinching physicalisation to separate herself from Bernie; performance choices which really help to convey her insincerity to him. Meanwhile Danny is used to highlight society’s oversight of abuse and also oppressive ideas of what a man should be in the eyes of society. There are many other cast members, but they are used in a documentary style where they are interviewed about Bernie and Marjorie’s relationship. That said, everyone (and Carthage) display a spectrum of personality through their responses to the questions as well as enhancing the narrative. The soundtrack wasn’t noticeably bad but not too memorable either. Overall Bernie manages to effectively convey an ill-represented subject topic in a way that caters to its tragic source material.

Released 3rd February 2012, Journey 2 The Mysterious Island follows Sean Anderson, with step-father Hank Parsons, as he travels to the Mysterious Island cited in Jules Verne’s tale. Following Journey to the Centre of the Earth, my expectations were significantly low; an expectation which was pleasantly subverted. Everything is improved in this film; the writing, VFX and the acting. This film follows its predecessor quite naturally whilst also working as a great standalone story; we are reminded of Sean’s father and his absence as well as throwaway details linking back to his previous adventure. Whereas the previous film failed to elicit genuine emotion from the audience to Sean’s familial rifts, this film decides to centre its emotion onto Sean’s relationship with Hank. Josh Hutcherson does well in his return to Sean Anderson; he gives the character believable alterations corresponding with his age in comparison to Journey to the Centre of the Earth. Dwayne Johnson plays off of Hutcherson well with his brand of charm and humour with what is also a pleasant performance. Michael Caine is fantastic as ever in the role of Alexander Anderson, Sean’s grandfather. He is able to provide another layer to Sean’s familial links and aspirations whilst also being, himself, a sympathetic character. Vanessa Hudgens is good as Kailani; albeit little more than love-interest bait for Sean. We also get Luiz Guzmán as Gabato who portrays Kailani’s bumbling father / comic relief. Whilst his character is more reminiscent of the first film’s characterisation, he has a great synergy with all of the cast and also a really wholesome aura of sincerity which makes the audience attach to him nicely. Coming off the back of its predecessor, I was really nervous about any use of VFX and, whilst there was some noticeable green screen, it really kicked up a notch from the animal animations to the environments and even the green screening didn’t suck you out of the experience. Props also go to Andrew Lockington for taking his soundtrack from Journey to the Centre of the Earth and making it soar in every scene here; the main motif is especially better this time, continuing the sense of adventure and joy. Overall, this film manages to take a failed cinematic IP and craft it into an enjoyable film with heart and light themes.

Released 11th July 2008, Journey to the Centre of the Earth follows Professor Trevor Anderson as he investigates a mystery from his volcanic data with his nephew Sean. This film does not strive to have any particular themes or ideas; instead, opting to be an easy-watch action film. Whilst this is not always a bad thing, it means that your film should be consistent and engaging which this film… isn’t. Considering the $60 million, you would think that at least one element of the film would be particularly polished; nope. The cast are goofy and enjoyable enough with the three leads having great chemistry with one another. Brendon Fraser as Professor Trevor Anderson easily radiates the film most with his hyperbolised actions and reactions to everything occurring. Josh Hutcherson and Anita Briem are also entertaining enough as Sean Anderson and Hannah Asgeirsson. These performances wouldn’t normally be a detriment to the film if it were a pure comedy, however, the film attempts to establish an emotional centre with Sean’s father, and Trevor’s brother, who has been missing for ten years. As a result of this, the script sometimes tries to lead towards heavy scenes; something which never works due to the established tone and the pacing of the rest of the script. If anything, the soundtrack is probably the best part of this film; hardly great but I remember it felt adventurous yet lofty and it stuck to me as the one component which operated completely successfully. The greatest flaw of the film however are the astronomically dated VFX; these are some of the most dated effects I have seen in a long time. With the exception of some compositing in one scene, every effect was noticeable throughout the film; from obvious green screen to clunky CG models, the effects really drag you out of the film. Overall Journey to the Centre of the Earth is an enjoyable adventure flick with moderate charm which plummets under the failure of nearly every technical aspect.

Released 8th January 2015, Blackhat follows hacker Nick as he is let out of prison to aid the FBI against a growing terrorist threat. In the traditional sense, this is a spy film; characters are out to defeat the bad guy, there are gratuitous action scenes and a romantic subplot. To start, with the exception of the final two, none of the action scenes are necessary to the plot and come out of no-where. The direction is a mixed bag; on one hand there is some really interesting imagery used to detail the technical presence in the film. On the other hand, the cinematography is often without purpose and often uses a shaky camera which does nothing but make the audience feel dizzy. The characters are horribly written with the ‘strongest’ being mediocre at best. In that regard, Viola Davis gives a decent performance and is the only character with a natural ‘arc’. However, several obnoxious dialogue choices really break the naturalism which subsequently renders her character as mediocre. Everyone else is clearly trying with what they are given but Chris Hemsworth is fine, Tang Wei is fine, Wang Leehom is fine, etc. The film attempts to make a love plot between Hemsworth’s Nick and Wei’s Chen the emotional crux of the narrative. However, the writing makes it come out of left field with minimal build-up; the main problem is that the characters have no personality which subsequently leaves the audience un-invested and bored through the two hour + runtime. Therefore any ‘emotion’ tied up with this narrative feels lifeless and bland. The soundtrack is possibly one of the worst I have ever heard too. It feels very royalty free and basic which would normally make it passable, assuming the score was used to elicit appropriate emotions. Combined with the lack of personality in the script, the soundtrack often gives different messages to, what little, the film is already communicating. The visual effects, for the two sequences they are used, are passable and actually contribute to one of the only good scenes in the film. Overall this film lacks personality in almost every sector and leaves you bored by the fifteen minute mark.