'Juno' review by Captain Raptor

'Juno' review by Captain Raptor

Last week's review went unwritten due to reasons of sickness and scheduling, for which I humbly beg for the forgiveness of my readership. This also means that I haven't had much time to set aside for viewing any films myself, and for this reason I've decided to review one of my all-time favourite films, Juno. Doing this allows you to gain perspective on exactly what it is that I value in a film, so you can actually get more out of future reviews. Plus, y'know, it's this or nothing.

The first and foremost reason that Juno is such an enthralling experience is Ellen Page. She is an absolute phenomenon, one of the greatest performances I've ever seen, breezing her way through comic and dramatic scenes alike. Olivia Thirlby and herself deliver Diablo Cody's masterfully written dialogue (packed to bursting with teenage idioms and sarcasm) with high levels of both hilarity and conviction, and whenever there is the slightest modicum of drama to be found, Page dominates the screen. She's expertly supported not just by a cast who all brought their A-game (in particular Allison Janney's uptight stepmother and Michael Cera in the most stereotypical Michael Cera role imaginable) but by a script that's a revelation in quality. The dialogue might be my favourite of any film ever written, crafted with an underlying sense of wit throughout, and the characterization is superb - all the main characters are fully fleshed out, believable, and everybody's sympathetic to at least some degree. 

Although it's not a hugely plot-driven film, Juno is incredibly rapid-fire. It's 9 months in 90 minutes, the snowballing turmoil of Juno's life set to a sleepy Minnesota backdrop where the weather changes but the people don't. Juno's pregnancy is treated by the film more with the main character's cool detachment that with a great deal of sentimentality, but it is an undeniably sweet and heartwarming film, without being overly childish or twee. Every element works together to enhance what would already be an astounding film - the cinematography is smartly and intuitively done, the soundtrack is excellently chosen and fits the film to a tee, and it perfectly illustrates that all the experience and budget in the world can't outshine talent. 

Juno is hilarious, possessing both an unparalleled script with unbelievably good dialogue and a lead performer with insurpassable energy, delivery and range. It's an outstanding achievement in comedy drama, with neither element ever restricting the other, gifting the audience with an experience that's as affecting and moving as it is irreverent and hysterical. The entire cast and crew deserves the utmost praise for a finished product that's miles ahead of the competition in practically every category imaginable. 

'The Grand Budapest Hotel' review by Captain Raptor

'The Grand Budapest Hotel' review by Captain Raptor

I'm a little on the fence about Wes Anderson. I've seen two of his films, one an absolute delight (The Royal Tenenbaums), the other awkward tedium (The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou). His latest offering provides me with an opportunity to form a more definitive opinion of him, especially as The Grand Budapest Hotel is the most Wes Anderson-y film imaginable: wacky characters, deadpan comedy, everything is in the middle of the screen and it's got the Holy Andersonian Trilogy of Bill Murray, Owen Wilson and Jason Schwartzman.

In a nutshell, The Grand Budapest Hotel is good, but it's got far too many frills. It's got a unique set of characters and an interesting story, admirably held up by Ralph Fiennes' amazing leading performance. He is as energetic as humanly possible, delivers every line perfectly and slips in some emotional undertones into a preposterous character - Gustave H is the film's cornerstone, a poetry-quoting, well-mannered, ostentatious concierge, and when the film does lag, he keeps the wheels in motion. This lagging comes from a rather style-over-substance approach to film making. The cinematography is genuinely beautiful, but he puts too much focus onto this and not enough into his writing or directing. As such, a lot of the dialogue is under-developed, and some of the intended humour isn't presented in a particularly funny way. Maybe the biggest flaw is that every actor delivers their deliberately ridiculous lines in a deadpan style, which loses any impact when everybody's doing it at all moments.

Other distractions include a needlessly complex storytelling method (Four time periods, three different narrators and a story within a story), jokes that simply run on for too long, and a multitude of cameos that add nothing. However, some of the cast members are quite entertaining, especially Adrien Brody's vitriolic inheritor and newcomer Tony Revolori's quiet but dedicared lobby boy. The relationship dynamic between him and Gustave is excellent, both funny and poignant, although mostly the first. There are the occasional moments of stark emotion among the farce and whimsy of the rest of the film, and their isolation makes them hit home even harder.

The Grand Budapest is clever, stylish and original. These are all excellent qualities to possess, but the film does feel somewhat hollow and lacking in substance. It is funny, but it's not hilarious, and it is entertaining, but it's not captivating. The early parts are kind of dull, and some parts are just weak, but there's so much charming fun to be had that it's difficult not to enjoy the experience. An incredibly energetic and on-form Ralph Fiennes really elevates the film, and the silliness of the film is endearing. All in all it is a success and it is a film that I would recommend, but there's substantial flaws and clear room for improvement.

'300: Rise Of An Empire' review by Captain Raptor

'300: Rise Of An Empire' review by Captain Raptor

Zack Snyder's original 300 film deserves to be remembered as a classic. It's basically the perfect action movie, with slick visuals, superlative and delirious fight scenes, and some of the most badass one-liners outside of a Winston Churchill speech. The blood-red icing on the cake is that it actually did a decent enough job of the secondary elements, pesky distractions such as 'acting', 'plot' and 'characterization'. Rise Of An Empire poses an interesting idea - it's sort of a prequel, sort of a sequel, and some if it happens alongside the events of the first film. Anyway, even if it didn't, we're not here for interesting ideas, unless they're ideas about separating one part of someone's body from another. 

The circumstances of Rise Of An Empire's plot pretty much dooms it to failure. The Spartans can't be involved because they're fighting elsewhere, so this film revolves around the Greeks, who don't have any of the bloodlust or bravado that made Leonidas and his cohorts so entertaining. The majority of the film takes place on boats, which you may recognize as difficult to stage large-scale melee combat on. Whatever grievances one might have with Snyder as a filmmaker, it's undeniable that he knows his way around action setpieces, something that the new helmsman Noam Murro (who's only previous experience is directing a Sarah Jessica Parker comedy) simply doesn't. The raucous frenzy of its predecessor's fight scenes are almost nowhere to be found, and this is made all the more evident by a reversal of the 'ramping' technique that was made famous in the first film; instead of slowing down the fight and then speeding up the really brutal bits (allowing you to take in all the gory glory of the fight, and then increasing the shock factor of the deathly blows by making their impact seem impossibly strong) as was previously done, the fights are full-flowing, but the climactic hits are in slow motion, which means that a good proportion of the time you can't really see what's happening. This does heighten some of the sadistic pleasure, because blood is spilled continuously in slow motion for your viewing pleasure, but if we're discussing visuals, this film also lacks the comic-book sheen of 300, shot in a variety of murky browns and blues rather than the crisp and lighter colours of the first.

It would be nearly impossible for the action to be totally uninspiring though, and there is one outstanding scene where new protagonist Themistokles charges around a fiery battlefield on a horse. The actor playing him, Sullivan Stapleton, can't conjure up an ounce of charisma, and he plays his role so straight-faced that you wonder if he knew what film he was in. He's definitely incomparable to Gerard Butler's screaming maniac of a protagonist, and the same goes for the hordes of bland supporting characters, who resolutely failed to make any impact. There are death scenes that are practically laughable because the acting is so weak and my attachment to the characters was nonexistent. The film has its saving grace in Eva Green as villainous warrior Artemisia, who throws herself into every scene with energy and manages to hide the weakness of the dialogue in her pantomime sneer. Returning characters Xerxes and Queen Gorgo are also good for the scenes they're in, but they and all the other numerous callbacks serve as a reminder that the first film was so much better than what currently lies before your eyes.

300: Rise Of An Empire barely qualifies as entertainment. Strip away all the charisma, technical expertise, inventiveness, joie de vivre and lunacy of the original and you would still be left with a better film than this mess. It would be bad enough as a stand alone film, but as a follow up to one of the greatest action movies ever made, it's earth-shatteringly disappointing. Eva Green and Leda Headey manage to stave off total boredom, and the action does still evoke something of the nature of 300, but ultimately Rise Of An Empire fundamentally misunderstands what was enjoyable about the first film and makes every wrong choice imaginable.

'Dallas Buyers Club' review by Captain Raptor

'Dallas Buyers Club' review by Captain Raptor

Well, Oscar night is upon us, and Dallas Buyers Club is hoarding more nominations that its protagonists hoards pills. It's interesting to see careers turn around to the extent that two of the most promising nominees for best acting awards are the stars of Chapter 27 and Ghosts Of Girlfriends Past. But let past transgressions be forgiven and grudges forgotten in a similar tale of redemption. Besides, both of them are practically unrecognizable in these roles, it feels like you're looking at different actors.

Matthew McConaughey is a genuine phenomenon in this film. He has moments of finely tuned subtlety and moments of totally unrestrained emotion. The latter are astounding yet all together far too brief, but he really commits to the performance and the result is astonishing, both in how believable it is and how emotive he is. He's almost matched by Jared Leto, immensely likable in a heart-breakingly tender turn. They both play AIDS sufferers, McConaughey an agonizingly gaunt redneck homophobe and Leto an overtly gay cross-dresser. Watching the relationship dynamic evolve between the two is mesmerizing, and they play off of each other excellently. They're well-rounded characters too, particularly McConaughey's lecherous, laid-back, cool and ignorant hustler, who's charming and sympathetic enough to be likable, but far from what you'd call a good person. It's a character that lends McConaughey plenty of opportunity to be both funny and moving, but while the character arc is engrossing, it does leave the film feeling somewhat incomplete - the first half is murky, dark, and morally ambiguous, while the film's second half is intense, emotional and more uplifting. All the desired elements are present and in working order, but they're not blended, meaning that at every given moment, something feels like it's missing.

The only major issue is this tonal imbalance, but there are a couple of small things that limited my enjoyment. Leto and Jennifer Garner didn't get as much screen time as I would have liked, there was a short sequence with moths that was both confusing and uncomfortable, and the film seems to purposefully vilify the entirety of the medical establishment. The story is nothing special, but nor is it in any way flawed or boring, and the same could be said of the majority of the film's secondary elements - soundtrack, cinematography, side characters (although Steve Zahn's police officer is well written and he even has his own miniature character arc). This sounds like it makes for mediocre viewing, but the whole film is geared around the main  performances; every scene really just exists to showcase the talent of Leto and McConaughey, and occasionally the under-utilized Jennifer Garner.

Dallas Buyers Club could easily be the career defining film for its main cast. Between McConaughey's weighted outbursts and Leto's spot-on delivery, every minute of screen time is filled with somebody being brilliant. Beyond outstanding acting, there's not really much else of great value, but that alone is far more than enough to make Dallas Buyers Club an entertaining, subtle and affecting film.

'The Monuments Men' review by Captain Raptor

'The Monuments Men' review by Captain Raptor

Focused and dedicated readers (as I'm sure you all are) will recall earlier this month I declared that I'd be willing to give any film with Bill Murray in it a chance. As a man of my word, I went to see George Clooney's latest attempt to craft himself a career as a writer/director as well as an actor, mainly drawn in by the film's casting of Mr Murray and The Big Lebowski's John Goodman, and I'm always eager for an opportunity to see people sticking it to the Nazis. 

I think I'm going to have to revise my policy of 'watch anything with Bill Murray in it'; it hasn't been working out for me. Maybe the biggest problem with The Monuments Men is that it isn't sure which direction to go in. The bickering group dynamic and heist-movie antics are leaning towards the comedic, but the setting and repeated references to casualties and concentration camps are pulling the film in the opposite direction. A more assured director might have been able to successfully blend the two elements, but Clooney's directing is poor and at times even embarrassing. There's so many needless stretches of silence, often in the middle of casual conversations - it doesn't build tension or serve any sort of dramatic purpose, and any background music is both occasional and abrupt, so the film is filled with awkward gaps of nothingness. If the actors were emoting in the intermittent periods between dialogue, that might alleviate the uncomfortable silence, but the cast lacks both nuance and energy, and sometimes I got the impression that they weren't even trying. Cate Blanchett in particular gives an awful, robotic performance; you can practically see her going over the stage directions in her head. It might not entirely be the fault of the actors though, because the script (packed full of every cliche in the book) is uninspired, and while there are numerous witty lines, the majority of the dialogue lack subtlety, making it feel clunky and forced. 

The film does have some redeeming characteristics. John Goodman and Jean Dujardin make a good double act, with some enjoyable repartee flowing back and forth between the two, particularly in one entertaining scene where they're pinned down by a sniper. The cast does have some dwindling elements of chemistry, most notable in the funniest scene of the film where Matt Damon accidentally activates a landmine. The comedy and the other lighthearted elements of the film are inexpertly handled and somewhat poorly delivered but ultimately they do work to a degree and there are laughs to be had. The major flaw is that Clooney doesn't seem to know how to create and maintain drama as a director. Scenes about family tragedies, Holocaust victims and even the death scenes of vital characters are skimmed over, but there's several lengthy (and almost entirely silent and motionless) intervals of Clooney and others staring breathlessly at sculptures and paintings, practically an acknowledgement that other people's art is far more interesting and entertaining than this film.

The Monuments Men could best be described as 'awkward'. It's an old-fashioned film out of place in the modern day, with an inexpertly blended mixture of failed drama and semi-failed comedy, a cast that never really seems to know which emotion to go for, and a script that's more functional than fun. There are parts of it that are genuinely quite good, but they're in the vast minority, hidden beneath boredom, nationalism, tiresome cliches and uncomfortable emptiness. It's watchable, but it's mishandled and meandering, highlighting why Clooney's career predominantly takes place in front of the camera rather than behind it.

'The Lego Movie' review by Captain Raptor

'The Lego Movie' review by Captain Raptor

A lot of people object to the idea of subjecting children's entertainment to any serious or in-depth criticism. I completely understand that products made specifically for children might not be made with artistic merit in mind, but there's still huge range within the medium; Toy Story is not exactly on equal footing with Mike Myers' Cat in the Hat. If anything, it's more important that we scrutinize children's movies than ones that are labelled as 'proper' films - children are more impressionable and the message of a film might have some lasting impact (I still routinely ask myself 'What Would Rafiki Do?').

Conveniently, The Lego Movie is pretty damn good regardless of which standards you judge it by. Despite the concept sounding like a feature-length corporate advertisement that you paid to see, it's got more warmth and imagination than almost anything else on the market. It uses a semi-parodic, semi-heartfelt version of the Hero's Journey story archetype, and with this familiar territory as anchorage, what follows is some beautiful form of delirium. The visuals are charming, and having everything made of Lego gives the film unique opportunities for humour, which is just as well because the visuals are basically the film's sole reason for existence. 21 Jump Street scribes Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (See! Grown-up movie people!) are on both writing and directing duty, and fittingly treat the movie like their own personal sandbox. They did an excellent job, with a well-chosen cast voicing a host of preposterous characters, giving the audience such treats as Charlie Day's astronaut, Morgan Freeman's blinded prophet and Alison Brie's unicorn-cat hybrid. If those concepts don't excite you, I feel embarrassed for you. They're all good for a chuckle or two, as are all the visual jokes, but the only truly hilarious part of the film is, surprisingly, Liam Neeson as a two-faced cop, showing senses of comic timing and voice artistry that I never would of thought he possessed. 

The film's mildly funny throughout, so while there's never a dull moment, there aren't many outstanding moments either. The sheer madness and inventiveness of the film makes up for this though; from the soundtrack (Tegan and Sara featuring The Lonely Island? That deserves an Oscar nomination more than bloody U2), to the setpieces - the infinite possibilities of Lego are taken full advantage of, so at some point a robot pirate will punch a monolithic squid-droid, and it doesn't seem in the least bit weird. This makes it all the more disappointing that the majority of the film's conclusion takes place in the real world; the entire film is revealed to be the imaginative playtime of a child. As well as sucking all the whimsy out of the film, it's also just a drab and boring conclusion - I can't imagine anyone in the audience as being as captivated by this sickly father-son bonding as by, y'know, cowboys and dragons and explosions. It's an awkward and dull scene that was inelegantly handled, and it felt crowbarred in so that some sort of sane conclusion could be drawn, but it was the lunacy that was the appealing part of the film.

The Lego movie is pure entertainment. It's hyperactive nonsense of the highest order, and fun from start to finish. A lot of talented people worked on this, and it's wholly evident. Yes it's dumb, and incoherent, and childish, but so are Evil Dead II, Airplane! and Life of Brian, and we're allowed to take them seriously as films. The last 15 minutes misfire on every cylinder, and some of the jokes don't stick, but it's got heart and originality, something that a lot of people complain mainstream films today are lacking. Regardless of age, I urge you to go and see this. It's fun. It's really, really fun. Who cares if you're "too old?".

'Tootsie' review by Captain Raptor

'Tootsie' review by Captain Raptor

Of all the themes in all the films in all the world, none has been handled as generally awfully as cross-dressing. When two of the most prominent films based around a subject are Big Momma's House and Mrs Doubtfire, something has clearly gone terribly, terribly wrong. Tootsie, whilst still following the apparently timeless formula of 'man being treated like a woman = instant hilarity', is a multi-award winner starring one of the most acclaimed actors that's still alive today. More pertinent to why I decided to watch it is that it also has Bill Murray in it, and I think I'd give any film featuring him a chance.

The purpose of having Dustin Hoffman cross-dress is twofold, the first purpose being the erroneous idea that this is inherently funny. None of the jokes evolve much beyond ' people think he's a woman but he isn't ', and Hoffman's wispy affectation is just grating. His disaffected, misanthropic actor is a far more amusing persona, but he is mostly sidelined so that he can spend more time in a wig and skirts. Bill Murray isn't the godsend I hoped he would be, and his deadpan, laid-back delivery simply makes a dull script worse.The final half an hour is significantly better than the rest of the film, when people start to find out about the protagonist's dual lives, because then there are other elements: judgement, surprise, guilt - and Murray redeems himself with the funniest segment of the film, simply by attempting to stall someone at the door, and that old relaxed charm just slides back into place. Arguably the funniest performance is actually by Sydney Pollack, the director, giving a brief but at least entertaining appearance as the exasperated agent, and Teri Garr also adds some energy to the proceedings. On the other side, Jessica Lange's love interest is both lazily written and drably performed, which also goes for the majority of the other characters too.

The second reason for putting Dustin Hoffman in women's shoes (both literally and metaphorically) is to draw comparisons about how life is different for men and women. The film portends to be a drama as well as comedy, although there's absolutely nothing within the film that remotely supports that. However, the aim is noble, and the audience is shown clear and realistic examples of everyday sexism as well as highlighting the ridiculous standards that women are often held to. To the film's credit, this is done smartly and effectively, but it does raise numerous other issues. As wonderful as he is, there's an obvious problem in using Dustin Hoffman as a symbol of female empowerment, and for a film that is in clear possession of a social conscience, it's woefully insulting towards cross-dressers. The dramatic aspect of the film is a total wash, and it's troubling in its crass attitude towards cross-dressing, but I don't fault it for trying.

Tootsie is endearing to an extent but ultimately still a poor film. The attempts at drama or social commentary are washed over by dozens of simplistic jokes, and for much of its runtime the film is a stale and meandering mess. Most of the performances aren't up to scratch and the jokes are threadbare. The central and surface message is presented clearly and proudly (albeit kind of dumbly), and there are genuinely funny moments clustered together towards the end, but ultimately, Tootsie failed to engage or entertain me. An admirable failure of sorts, but a failure nonetheless.