Film 46: Deadpool (2016)

Directed by: Tim Miller

Written by: Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, T.J. Miller

Violence, foul language, sex and puerile humour, Deadpool has everything someone fatigued of Marvel's soft and candy-coloured films could want. At the same time, it falls into a lot of the same storytelling traps that those very same movies fall in to.

*Warning: Spoilers Ahead*

The film follows Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds), a mercenary who falls in love, gets afflicted with cancer, and undergoes experimental treatment in a secret facility in order to try and get cured. It turns out that the people performing the experiments are evil and are just trying to bring out Wade's latent mutant super powers so that they can to turn him into a super-powered slave. Wade manages to break out, burn the place down, and unlock his super powers in the process, which allow him to essentially regenerate from any injury, but also leave him extremely scarred all over his face and body. Unable to present himself in this state to his love Vanessa (Morena Baccarin), Wade sets out to find Francis (Ed Skrein), the man responsible for Wade's current state, so that Wade can reverse what has happened to him.

While the movie tries to comment on super hero tropes and dish out meta humour mixed with dick jokes, the story itself is unfortunately cliche and easily the weakest aspect of the film. The film's central conflict is only a conflict because Wade believes he is worthless to Vanessa without his good looks, when the first third of the movie is spent building up the idea that their relationship is much deeper than that. In addition to this, Francis is never a compelling villain; he's simply bad for the sake of being bad, and his powers are never fully explained so there's little reason to fear for Wade or even Vanessa.

That said, there's plenty of good to talk about here. Ryan Reynolds is absolutely perfect as Wade, always giving his absolute  best to every scene; the humour didn't always hit for me, but it never seemed forced when coming from Reynolds because it suited the character. Baccarin is also great as Vanessa; her chemistry with Reynolds is undeniable, and whenever the two are on the screen the film is a joy to watch, blending romance, drama and immature laughs seamlessly.  

The violence is also exceedingly well done. With an R-rating, the film gets away with a lot more than most, with plenty of head slicing, high-impact splatters, dismembering, that sort of thing. The action sequences have far fewer cuts than your average modern action movie, and take the time to actually show the audience what is happening. It seems a little unnecessarily gratuitous at times, only there to hammer home that this movie is for adults only, but it's well done enough to be forgiven.  

The Verdict: Deadpool is a movie that came out at the best possible time. The movie contains a lot of the same familiar beats as Marvel's films, but adds just enough of a dark and humorous twist that it stops the film from being stale . While some may be bored or offended by the film's more immature and tasteless moments (humour is subjective, after all), I believe that most adults who have been exposed to Marvel's constant cavalcade will be able to appreciate what Deadpool is trying to do.

Rating: 7/10

Published August 27th, 2016

Film 45: Spotlight (2015)

Directed by:  Tom McCarthy
Written by: Josh Singer, Tom McCarthy
Starring: Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams

So the quest to see every Best Picture nominee before the announcement continued. Like I said in my review of Room (2015), I watched these two movies back to back. Still reeling from my experience with Room, I personally found that the impact of this film fell a little flat on my first watch. Hopefully the experience won't be so diluted this time around.

*Warning: Spoilers Ahead*

Spotlight is a film that portrays the true story of a group of journalists on a team called Spotlight at the Boston Globe who investigate and reveal a massive scandal involving priests in the Catholic Church molesting children.

The subject matter is shocking and grim, and the film goes to great lengths to handle both the controversial topic and its investigation with care. There is a realism at work here; almost every important detail, whether its mundane, horrifying, or somewhere in between, is expressed as an example of what had to be done in order to expose the conspiracy.

The film is a little clinical in this regard, but it allows the audience to absorb the information of the investigation and comprehend the heinous acts that were committed by the Catholic Church as they are, without viewing the journalists as heroes. As we learn of the priests' actions, the film doesn't use excessive musical cues or camera and storytelling techniques to elicit emotion; sure there's a little piano and a slow zoom out on the film's more poignant moments, but we don't get confronted with flashback imagery or spend a great deal of time focusing on the Spotlight team's reactions, the revelation itself is disgusting enough on its own.

The film also takes the time to go through the journalistic methods used in the film, every pertinent event and action are expressed so that as little as possible is left out, seemingly so that neither the effort this investigation was nor the full impact of its discovery are diminished. It also hammers home that these events were taking place in our world as the investigation is stalled by the events of 9/11.

This sombre yet sober attitude extends to the acting as well. The ensemble cast all bring their best to their roles; no-one overacts or behaves too dramatically, they all behave simply as you would expect people to.

The movie still leaves me wishing for a little more, though. There's one scene in the film that intrigued me: McAdams' Sacha visits a priest Ronald H. Paquin (Richard O'Rourke) and asks him about the accusations against him. Paquin freely admits to his actions, stating that he 'fooled around, but I never felt gratified myself... never raped anyone', and then goes on to confessing that he himself was raped. Unfortunately, Paquin's sister Jane interrupts and takes him back inside before he can elaborate. It's one of the most interesting moments of the movie, giving a quick look at the crazy rationalisations made by at least this priest in order to feel justified in his actions, while also suggesting deeper possibilities into the psyche of some priests, but it buries the lead almost immediately.

The Verdict: Spotlighti is a fantastic film that presents a terrible tragedy as realistically as it can. While the extra time spent on the journalistic details may seem dry to some, it adds to the film's credibility as a tribute to the events that happened. I highly recommend the film; the subject matter is important and contemporary, and the acting is top-notch throughout, all in a similar vein to The Big Short.

Rating: 9/10

Published August 15th, 2016

Film 224: Sausage Party (2016)

Directed by: Greg Tiernan, Conrad Vernon
Written by: Kyle Hunter, Ariel Shaffir, Evan Goldberg, Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill
Starring: Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig, Jonah Hill

This is definitely one of the more memorable films I've seen lately. This movie is pure shock value most of the time, so much so that regardless of what you think of it, the film will definitely leave an impression. It also, however, sports a very well done visual aesthetic and a fair share of clever jokes alongside the offensive ones.

*Warning: Spoilers Ahead*

We're presented with a world where the food at the supermarket is sentient, and believes that the people that shop there are 'gods' that will take them away to 'the great beyond'. The story follows one lively sausage named Frank (Rogen) who begins to investigate the truth after a jar of honey mustard is returned and kills himself so that he doesn't get chosen again. Frank quickly discovers that this idea of 'the great beyond' was created by the non-perishable foods in order to stop everyone from freaking out about the truth, that they're really taken to be mutilated and eaten in order to sate the hunger of the gods. It's a dark revelation and it feels like an adult take on Disney and Pixar films like Toy Story.

The film is extremely violent, sexual and vulgar; it's all played for laughs and ends up being hilariously disgusting.

The violence is particularly hilarious because of its creative references. One scene is essentially the same as part of the opening of Saving Private Ryan, only with food; a banana's face peels off, an Oreo picks up its back half and carries it with him, a jar of peanut butter tries to put a jar of jam back together; it's all terrible violence shown through a cute, candy-coloured lense. Another scene involves the cooking of a meal, which is pretty funny because it shows the perspective of the human in between all of the screaming and death; what is innocuous to us is horrifying to food.

The vulgarity is less charming. Sure, it's pretty funny the first time you hear an animated sausage or hot dog bun swear or make a racist comment, but as you come to expect that sort of thing, it becomes less funny.

 This is actually a slight problem that I had with the movie overall: the shock humour was often not that funny. Part of this is likely due to the trailers for the film; since the trailers often used some of the shock jokes, the ones that I saw in the film that were from the trailers weren't as funny the second time around. Another part of this is simply that the film harps on a few of the same set of jokes again and again. I've already mentioned the incessant swearing, but there's also a pile of Muslim and Jewish jokes, and some stereotype jokes based on the nationalities of food. It's funny at first because you don't expect the film to go as far as it does, but much of the film' lustre is lost when you can see the jokes coming because you've already heard them.

I won't comment much on the film's sexual content, but I will say that the film goes way further than I could've possibly expected. While the film felt like it had run out of surprises by its end, it still managed to disgust and horrify me in a way I doubt most people unfamiliar with the movie will see coming.

Aside from the film's shocks, there are some pretty hilarious and stupid puns based on product names. A douche named Douche (Nick Kroll) is literally the douche character in the film. It's obvious, and silly, and it still got a laugh out of me when I first heard it. A lot of jokes surrounding Douche are simple puns. He says 'how do you like them apples'? and some apples pipe up and say 'who, us?'. He shows up and says 'Okay, so-' before being interrupted by some Queso. It's simple jokes like this that keep the film entertaining when the shocks stop working.

I should also comment on the animation before I finish. There's a delightfully Disney-like look to the film, and seems absolutely intentional given the film's efforts to subvert what we've come to expect from children's films. Most of the characters have black, stick-figure legs and white gloves with black outline, very similar to Mickey Mouse. This is especially noticeable when characters make flurried movements, as their hands become a blur in a similar way to classic Disney cartoons as well.

The Verdict: Sausage Party tries to be exceedingly offensive to as many people, constantly earning a laugh through shock value. Beyond that, the film shows off good animation and art style, a plot like a twisted take on animated tales like Toy Story, and at least a few jokes more clever than having an animated food say 'f*ck' for the tenth time over. I'd recommend this to anyone who doesn't mind being offended or having their eyes assaulted, and I'd ask that people please keep this away from children.

Rating: 6.5/10

Published August 11th, 2016

Film 44: Room (2015)

Directed by: Lenny Abrahamson
Written by: Emma Donoghue
Starring: Brie Larson, Jacob Tremblay, Sean Bridgers

One more film in my quest to see every Best Picture nominee before the announcement, I actually watched this back-to-back with Spotlight (2015).

Room managed to break my heart every ten minutes. I had no expectations going into this film, I never saw any of the promotional material, I didn't even know what the movie was about, and I managed to leave the film bawling like a baby.

*Warning: Potential Spoilers Ahead*

Five-year old boy Jack (Tremblay) has spent his entire life trapped in a small shed, and his mother (Larson) trapped with him.

The film's plot is simple and small in scale, which allows for it to focus almost entirely on the development of these two characters. The majority of the film is told through the worldview of Jack, and I instantly felt the impact that the film was trying to convey as I realised the reason for the film's title. The shed is not a room, it's Room because it is literally Jack's entire world; he has no concept of the idea that there could ever be another room besides the one he exists in. Bed is not a bed because there's no other bed, sink is not a sink because there is no other sink, you get the idea.

A lot of the film goes to that length to keep the perspective within this world view. Early in the film we're introduced to Old Nick (Bridgers), a man who comes into Room whom Ma tells Jack to hide from in Wardrobe. Rather than being told explicitly who Old Nick is and what he's doing, the film shows us Jack's perspective from within Wardrobe and trusts the audience to come to understand who Old Nick is and why you'll hate him with all your being within minutes of knowing him.

While this idea is tragic, the story goes in the right direction by having Ma and Jack come up with an escape plan. Ma dispels the magic of Room and helps him to understand that there is such a thing as outside; it's a brutal couple of scenes as we see Jack fight back against this idea before coming to accept it, and we empathise with Ma as she struggle maintain hope that this idea could work.

 The scenes in which Jack escapes never lets up on the tension, you don't know if he's going to be able to get away, you don't know if Old Nick will spot the ruse and catch Jaack, you're left unsure and on the edge of your seat the entire time. What's really effective about this scene, however, is that it juxtaposes this tension with the true wonder and awe that Jack feels when he sees the world for the first time. It's an indescribable feeling; you're simultaneously sharing in Jack's moment as he realises that the world is real, and practically jumping up and down because you know he needs to get away from Old Nick as quickly as possible.

From here, I won't spoil anything else plot-related; I've already had to abridge what I've wanted to say about this film, and I haven't even finished the first act. Just go watch the movie already.

I know I've been talking a lot about the film's use of Jack's perspective, but I really need to emphasise how impressive the performances from the actors are. Obviously Jack is a great lens to view the world through, but Tremblay's performance makes Jack a human being, a real, living child with emotions. Jack gets angry, he cries, he laughs joyfully, and it's all because Tremblay manages to give a performance that I didn't think was possible from child. Brie Larson is also incredible as Ma. She's always been one of my favourite actresses working today, especially after such great work in Short Term 12 (2013), but this is truly her best performance yet and she absolutely deserves every award she won for it.

The most important part of their performance, however, is how they act together. There's a tangible connection between the two on-screen as mother and son as they fight and play and talk. This film shows the relationship between Jack and Ma, bad teeth and all, and Tremblay and Larson share each sublime and awful moment without hesitation. The film is about the two of them, and they give it their all to appear as believable as humanly possible the whole way.  

The Verdict: Room is immaculate. I was truly in awe on my first viewing, and on my second and even third viewing I'm still entirely impressed by the performances of Larson and Tremblay and the direction that conveys Jack's perspective so innocently. The character arcs, the tension and drama, they're all still emotionally compelling because they are centred around the relationship between mother and son. I know this is moot at this point, but before the Academy Awards, this was my pick for Best Picture. I highly recommend it to anyone who doesn't mind that they me need a tissue box or two going in to it.

Rating: 10/10

Published August 6th, 2016

Film 220: Suicide Squad (2016)

Directed by: David Ayer
Written by: David Ayer
Starring: Will Smith, Jared Leto, Margot Robbie

I know this one's a little early. I'm not skipping ahead, I'll do the other 177 reviews, but I finally went out and saw a movie opening night, so I'd like to take an opportunity to try and write something while the movie is truly fresh in my head.

In the simplest terms, Suicide Squad is a bad movie that had the potential to be a good one. There are a lot of things this movie does that come off as awkward or included at the last minute, and the tone of the film shifts wildly.

*Warning: Spoilers Ahead*

Just to get it out of the way, I first want to talk about Jared Leto's Joker. The design of the character is shallow; he offers a few menacing lines and a creepy laugh, but literally nothing else. His character has absolutely no bearing on the outcome of the plot, and he seems jammed into the film awkwardly, solely for the purpose of selling more tickets. It seems clear that his character was included in the marketing purely by studio decree as a desperate move to try and recover from the negative attitudes people had towards Batman vs. Superman, which is doubly disappointing when you realise that he was given second-billing ahead of Margot Robbie's much more integral Harley Quinn. If you go to watch the movie purely for the sake of the Joker, you are going to be disappointed.

Now to the plot.

In the wake of Superman's death, covert government agent Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) uses her influence to assemble a team of criminals called Task Force X, to be used to retaliate against any potential metahuman or extraterrestrial threats in the future.

We start the film with a 20-minute exposition dump about the Squad. These backstories don't add much, and are really just there to give you the gist of these characters' abilities. Deadshot (Smith) is an elite assassin with a daughter that he cares for, Harley Quinn is the lunatic girlfriend of the Joker, Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney) is a thief who throws boomerangs, El Diablo (Jay Hernandez) is a pyrokinetic, Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) is part-crocodile, and Dr. June Moon (Cara Delevingne) is a woman possessed by a millennia-old witch known as Enchantress. There's also Slipknot (Adam Beach), a character so insignificant that he isn't even included in the starting exposition and exists only to be killed off as a warning to the other Squad members.

The Squad is called upon when Enchantress releases a previously unmentioned brother that helps her break free of Waller's control and start building a machine designed to destroy humanity. It's a total cliche, and never ends up feeling threatening as the rest of the Squad makes her and her brother out to be completely incompetent. I was reminded of Fantastic Four (2015); Doom was annihilating everyone and only lost to the Fantastic Four because the plot demanded it, and the same goes here with Enchantress and her loss to the Squad. It doesn't help that the Squad are seemingly impervious to injury; there are three helicopter crashes in the film and none of the crashes leave any of the characters with even a scratch.

This is really the crux of my problem with the film: the constant tonal shifts. Harley's insanity is a joke in one scene and a serious and sad aspect of her background in the next. The movie would have us chuckling at one-liners as the Squad takes a break to have a drink but breaks that up with Diablo's solemn history. There's never a fear for the Squad's safety even though the movie touts that they could all die at any minute. The film can't quite figure out if it wants to be a serious movie or a cartoon.

That said, there are some truly good aspects of the film. Will Smith is definitely worthwhile as Deadshot; his charisma elevates the film thanks to his chemistry with every character he interacts with. I can't believe I'm saying this, but Jai Courtney is actually one of the better aspects of the movie: his character is consistent in his absurdity and complete lack of seriousness, you're never to empathise with him and he exists to get a laugh out of the audience. Then there's Davis' Waller; easily the best character in the movie, she is intimidating and cold, with absolutely zero empathy as she looks for every way she can possibly maintain leverage over every other character. The film is elevated by her presence; in every one of her scenes she manages to find a way to shock with her sheer lack of care for anyone else.

The Verdict: Suicide Squad is more of a mess than Harley Quinn's mind. Constant backstory weighs the story down unnecessarily while explaining little, and conflicts with the rest of the film tonally. The Joker's inclusion adds nothing but minutes to the film. The main characters have their moments, but never any real depth; they are so invincible and the villains so ineffective in the final showdown that there are never any real stakes. Ultimately, I believe fans of the comic books or those who don't mind watching what is essentially a 2-hour live-action cartoon will enjoy it, but there are so many issues with the film's pacing and tone that I can't bring myself to call this a good movie, or even a mediocre one.

Rating: 3/10

Published August 5th, 2016

Film 43: Bone Tomahawk (2015)

Director: S. Craig Zahler
Writer: S. Craig Zahler
Starring: Kurt Russell, Patrick Wilson, Matthew Fox

For some reason, it took me what felt like forever to get around to writing a review for this movie. Sometimes writing a review for a movie feels like a chore more than an opportunity.

That said, Bone Tomahawk is a very ominous movie; the tension builds whenever there's a monster on screen and the gore elements are effective. The dialogue and pacing are slow, but they're held up by the authentic acting and characterisation.

*Warning: Spoilers Ahead*

Cannibals known as Troglodytes kidnap a group of people from a local town out in the Wild West. Four men then set out on a rescue mission; Arthur O'Dwyer (Wilson), a foreman with a broken leg whose wife Samantha (Lili Simmons) is among the kidnapped; John Brooder (Fox), an educated man who feels responsible for Mrs O'Dwyer's kidnapping as he was the last person to see her; and Sherrif Hunt (Russell) and backup Deputy Chicory (Richard Jenkins), the local law enforcement.

It's a simple premise that focuses primarily on its characters, which is where the film finds most of its strength. The principal cast all offer strong performances; Wilson is especially impressive as Arthur. His arc is built around the love he has for his wife and the regret for his negligent attitude that came out of feeling useless after breaking his leg. Arthur goes far beyond his limitations when he knows his wife needs him, and his sheer determination to make amends for his weakness is believable and develops across the entire film. It's impressive to witness fleshed out character progression in a horror movie.

The horror elements of the film are also effective. The film's cold open sets the savage tone of the film and showcases the slow build-up of tension in any scene involving the Troglodytes. The cannibals are horrifying to watch, as they mercilessly slaughter and dismember people, hunting and communicating using whistles embedded in their throats. Every time they appear the film changes from a slow, dialogue and character-driven western into a tense horror filled with gore. I won't spoil the most shocking scene, but there's plenty of knives in throats and spears through heads to go around.

The film has an unfortunate over-indulgence of its own dialogue; the topics aren't uninteresting or useless, but the presentation leaves something to be desired. Most dialogue-oriented scenes drag the film out because lines are often filled with unnecessary detail, and the pauses between lines hang noticeably in the air. It's like a Tarantino movie running at about half the speed. The slow dialogue isn't helped by the pacing; with so much focus on building genuinely interesting characters, many scenes are devoted literally to the characters alone, drawing the plot to a halt for some more dialogue. It's easy to feel a little bored by the combination of these two factors.

The Verdict: Bone Tomahawk is a well-made movie with excellent acting and well-rounded character arcs, but its pacing is slow and its dialogue digressive, which weighs the movie down over its two hour and twelve minute running time. I recommend it to people who enjoy the horror or western genres, and anyone curious about a competent combination of the two.

Rating: 7/10

Published August 1st, 2016