Thursday 27 November 2014

Mockingjay (Part 1)

Part 1 of a two-part store from a trilogy of films. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay: Part 1.

Often depicted as the weakest book in Suzanne Collins' trilogy; Mockingjay is very much different from the previous two, it is a more political film with the antagonistic element of the games being replaced with propaganda and uprising.

The central theme of the film is the aspect of propaganda with the film's heroin, Katniss Everdeeen  being the poster girl for the rebellion. If the two previous films were considered 'too similar' to some, then this film is a complete turn in direction. Although it is not as entertaining, mainly because the film does not focus of the Hunger Games, instead upon the politics, the imprisonment of the other Hunger Game survivors and the weak love triangle.

Jennifer Lawerence is amazing as ever, and in this film we again see her amazing acting range.

Overall, the film is good and enjoyable, but it does miss the action from the previous two.

Sunday 16 November 2014

Mr Turner

Timothy Spall stars as the eccentric artist, J. M. W. Turner, in his later life in the 19th Century. 

For those unfamilar with the artist's work, the painting James Bond and Q are looking at in Skyfall is The Fighting Temeraire. A painting about a bloody big ship; in the words of the secret agent himself.

Spall grunts, and snarls his way through this film, portraying the great painter as both a well educated and intriguing character.

The supporting cast are formidable and in times in offer comic relieve and comfort to the estranged soul of Turner. 

The main issue of this film is that there is no clear narrative, and I had no idea of where this film could end, except for his death. 

The cinematography was stunning, but after all this is arty film, about an artist. I would not be surpirsed if Dick Pope were to be nominated for another Oscar, his first and previous was from the 2006 film, The Illusionist.

Overall, an interesting and some-what humerus film for which I admired, but ultimately I was left confused bewildered at what and why things were happening. 


Wednesday 12 November 2014

Interstellar

In the current age of cinema of over the -top computer generated commercial cinema, Christopher Nolan offers an alternative mix of action, emotion with an added hint of art-house cinema.

Previously Nolan has taken us back to the 19th Century, a fictional city (Gotham) and a trip into the mind of ones conscious. in 2014, space is the new venture and within this journey he has employed Matthew McConaughey (Cooper) and Anne Hathaway (Amelia), David Gyasi and West Bentley (Doyle), and not forgetting TARS, the intellectual AI machine, to search for a new habitat in an interstellar adventure.

The film is set in dystopia future where the crops are being plagued with blight and dust. Earth has also succumbed to propaganda in order to set a false sense of security and economical distribution by suggesting that NASA are no longer in existence and that all ventures into space were nothing more staged performances. 

Michael Caine is of course back (his sixth film with Nolan), and his role in the film as Professor Brand is to persuade Cooper onto his ship to help prove his theory, and to save the Earth. 

The film is epic! Interstellar adventure involving complex quantum theory with help from the theoretical physicist, Kip Thorne. The science is sound, and the adventure is huge, but there is definitely something missing; the story. It starts well, but there are some many errors and the plot holes are larger than any supernova. 

The film starts well, but ultimately falls flat near the end with many, 'what', 'how', moments. 

I'm still a big fan of Nolan's work, but I would not rank this epic within his top 5 films, although it is better than his previous effort, 'The Dark Knight Rises'.