Review: Black Panther (UK Cert 12A)

After the events of Captain America: Civil War, T'Challa now takes up the mantle of Black Panther and assumes the throne of Wakanda after his father's death. Wakanda is a technologically advanced place, thanks to its reserves of vibranium (the strongest metal in the world). Traditionally, Wakanda stays out of world affairs, doesn't offer aid or refuge, and keeps itself to itself. However, that may be about to change as a powerful adversary- with an unexpected link to Wakanda's past- comes to challenge T'Challa for the throne. 

Performances are really strong across the board. Chadwick Boseman gives a performance of great integrity and power as new king T'Challa, struggling with what it means to be a good ruler as Wakanda is threatened.Danai Gurira steals the spotlight several times as General Okoye, head of the Dora Milaje (the Wakandan royal guard) with a performance of wit and warmth, and Letitia Wright is great as T'Challa's sister, Shuri. A cheeky tech wizard, Shuri is essentially T'Challa's Q, creating some spectacular gadgets. Forest Whitaker provides decent support as wise old counselor Zuri, and there's a nicely dignified performance by Angela Bassett as Queen Mother Ramonda. 

As T'Challa's love interest Nakia, Lupita Nyong'o is superb and there's a real chemistry between her and Boseman. Nakia isn't just a swooning wallflower though- she's a spy for Wakanda, and a kickass heroine in her own right. Martin Freeman is given more to do this time as CIA Agent Everett Ross and acquits himself well. Daniel Kaluuya is strong as tribesman W'Kabi who clashes with T'Challa over the course Wakanda will take, whilst Winston Duke adds menace as rogue tribe leader M'Baku- and gets a couple of the funniest lines of the film. 

As for the villains, whilst Andy Serkis gets a bit broad with his portrayal of villainous arms dealer Ulysses Klaue (complete with wandering South African accent, which sometimes wanders off completely), he's clearly having a lot of fun. On the other hand, Michael B. Jordan brings a brooding intensity to main antagonist Erik Killmonger, a man full of anger and rage. Unusually for a Marvel movie, the main bad guy has a plausible- some may say, legitimate- motivation for his actions. 

Ryan Coogler showed his prowess with action sequences with the kinetic matches in Creed, and the big action set-pieces- a high-octane chase through Busan, the casino shoot-out, the ceremonial battles- don't disappoint. The entire production design of the film is superb- everything from the sets to the costumes, the make-up to the visual effects. Rachel Morrison's cinematography is sublime- from the gritty streets of South Korea to the sweeping plains of Wakanda, the film looks amazing. But it has substance too.

Critics tend to get very sniffy about comic book movies. They're low culture, popcorn fodder, sit-back-amd-turn-your-brain-off-and-watch-the-pretty-colours. Not only is this snobbery of the highest order, it's also wrong. The best comic book movies use the fantastical to examine the human condition. Black Panther touches on colonialism, empire, globalisation versus isolationism, what it means to be a good ruler as well as a good person, and the sins of the father being visited upon the son. These are weighty subjects, but they're dealt with in a sensitive manner- there doesn't feel like there's any preaching or speechifying, nor are they treated lightly or as a joke. It's powerful stuff and it sparked a conversation between my friends and I after the film finished about museums and 'civilisation'. 

In summary, Black Panther is just superb. Another triumph for Marvel Studios. 

Rating: 5 out of 5

Tez

Review: Arrival (UK Cert 12A)

Twelve spacecraft appear across the globe, speaking an unintelligible language. In the US, the army draft linguist Dr. Louise Banks (Amy Adams) to help interpret and communicate with the alien visitors and- on her insistence- take her to Montana so she can communicate with them directly. Alongside theoretical physicist Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner), Louise begins to speak to the aliens to discover the purpose behind their arrival.

Directed with flair by Denis Villeneuve (Sicario, Prisoners, Incendies), with a screenplay by Eric Heisserer (adapted from a Ted Chiang short story entitled 'Story Of Your Life'), Arrival is a thoughtful, mature slice of sci-fi.

Let's address this right now. Amy Adams' performance was utterly superb and I can see exactly why there were cries of 'snub' when the Oscar nominations were announced. She can most certainly count herself unlucky to have missed out for one of the strongest performances she's ever given. She carries the emotional weight of the film- she is the heart and soul of it- and is just heartbreaking in certain scenes. Louise is fragile, but not weak; compassionate, but not a bleeding-heart; assured, but not arrogant. Another brilliant performance from one of the best actresses of her generation. 

Renner is also strong as the geeky, easy-going Ian. There's a really strong chemistry between Renner and Adams which helps to sell the interactions between Ian and Louise which is always good. Whilst the story is very much focused on Louise as the main character, Renner shines when he's on screen. There's strong support by Forest Whitaker as Colonel Weber, who helps recruit Louise in the first place; what could have been a fairly generic, by-the-numbers Army role is lifted by Whitaker's warm and sympathetic performance. There are also nice turns by Michael Stuhlbarg and Tzi Ma as an unsympathetic FBI agent and a bellicose Chinese general respectively. 

Technically, the film is very accomplished. The visual effects, from the design of the spacecraft to the design of the aliens and their linguistic symbols, are all superb. The score, by Johann Johannsson, is also sublime. 

The reveal of what the aliens' purpose is will probably make or break the film for you. I personally liked it, and found it interesting, but I can understand why some people might not agree with it. I found it raised some interesting psychological and philosophical questions which have stayed with me long after the film. 

If you like your sci-fi a little more cerebral, a little deeper than standard, then definitely give this a go. Also, don't be put off by the awards hype- it is truly deserving of the accolades it has received.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Tez

Review: The Butler (UK Cert 12A)

On paper The Butler- or Lee Daniels' The Butler, as we're supposed to call it, thanks to some petty wrangling by Warner Bros because they own the rights to a 1916 silent film of the same name- should have 'Oscar-bait' written through it like a stick of Blackpool rock. Based on a true story, it's historical, it's got a veritable host of amazing actors, it's a very worthy drama... it should tick all the boxes. Yet it didn't pick up a single Oscar nomination back in January and has only had scant major awards recognition in general (SAG and BAFTA notwithstanding) 

The Butler tells the story of Cecil Gaines (Forest Whitaker), who went from sharecropper's son in Georgia to the maitre d' of the White House. Serving all American presidents from Dwight D. Eisenhower to Ronald Reagan, Gaines is placed at the heart of American politics while events such as the civil rights movement, Vietnam and anti-apartheid are discussed. It's very loosely based on the life of Eugene Allen, who served as a White House butler for thirty years, but I can't help but feel that a straight-up documentary about Allen's extraordinary life would have been better than this muddled, sprawling mess. 

A lot- and I do mean, a lot- of dramatic license has been used to create the storyline for this film. Screenwriter Danny Strong has thrown so much into the pot that, at times, it loses focus. At times, it feels like two films that have been inexpertly edited together- the Gaines' family drama and the upstairs-downstairs drama of the White House. Of the two, the latter is more successful and more engaging, seeing Gaines (albeit on the periphery) as American history is being made and changed. I can understand the desire to reflect the societal changes on a more personal level but it's not always successful. When the spotlight is on Gaines' family life, it feels like kitchen-sink melodrama- especially as it contrives for one of Gaines' sons to be involved in the Black Panther movement and the other to go to Vietnam, as well as giving him a wife with an alcohol addiction. The tension between Gaines- as part of the Establishment- and his firebrand son Louis is an interesting one and one played well by Whitaker and David Oyelowo but it does tend to overbalance into polemic on occasion. Oprah Winfrey is on good form as Gaines' wife Gloria but the mounting issues she has to deal with- drinking problems, the temptation of an affair- come straight from a soap-opera which really undercuts things. I also felt the opening scenes- set on a cotton plantation in the 1920s and featuring implied sexual assault and then very definitely unimplied murder- felt out of place, almost as if they'd been tacked on from a different movie.

Performances are solid throughout, with some being quite exceptional. Whitaker's stoic, dignified and humble central turn is one such performance- without such an empathetic central character, the film would suffer more than it does. There are good performances (albeit glorified cameos) from Robin Williams, Richard Nixon and Alan Rickman as Presidents Eisenhower, Nixon, and Reagan respectively. Other presidents served by Gaines- Ford and Carter- appear only in archive footage in what feels like a quick rush towards the finish line. 

The Butler has an intriguing and interesting story at its heart but the end result is muddy, unbalanced and scattered. It had the potential to be a great film; it's just a merely good one. 

However, I would suggest to anyone interested in the story of The Butler to read The Washington Post article it's based on - A Butler Well Served By This Election by Wil Haygood- and the Independent's obituary of Eugene Allen, who passed away in 2010.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Tez

Out of the Furnace (Cert: 15)

Every year, around the awards season, a film gets released with the kind of A-list actors normally reeled off if you were at the pub and were asked the question, “What cast would you have in your film?” With the exception of Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel, it’s unlikely you will see a film in 2014 with as much acting clout as Out of the Furnace. Writer/director Scott Cooper’s follow-up to his Oscar winning debut, Crazy Heart, is another character study set in the back-roads of America, Cooper once again focusing on people who are out-of-place in the country that is supposed to be their home.

Out of the Furnace has a top-rate cast that struggles to fit all of the names on the film’s poster: Christian Bale, Casey Affleck, Woody Harrelson, Willem Dafoe, Forest Whitaker and Zoe Saldana – all on fine form. Most critics have been praising Bale and Affleck, and deservedly so, as brothers both struggling to make ends meet, frustrated with the lives they are forced to live, but taking out their anger in different ways. Bale, famous for pushing the envelope in films such as The Machinist and The Fighter gives a toned-down, understated performance as Russell Baze, speaking softly and permanently exhausted. Affleck, on the other hand, as Rodney, is the other extreme, his rage constantly threatening to rise to the surface; he is uptight and always anxious.

Special mention has to go to Woody Harrelson, who has built a career on playing villains and anti-heroes with all-sorts going on inside their heads, but with Out of the Furnace he gives one of his very best performances as small-time drug dealer Harlan DeGroat. The film opens by introducing our antagonist, and for almost a minute Harrelson is silent, just sitting there, staring. This is an uncomfortable scene to watch, DeGroat bringing to mind a spring trap getting tighter and tighter. We know he is going to do something to the poor woman sat in his car; you’re just waiting for it to happen. DeGroat thinks he is untouchable, king of his own little empire, but he is more white trash than Don Corleone.

Saldana, while not getting much in the way of screen time, stands head-and-shoulders with the rest of the cast, being given the film’s most moving scene as she tells former boyfriend Bale that she is pregnant with Forest Whitaker’s child, the two of them reflecting on what they could have had if life had turned out differently. It is an honest, gentle scene, admirably played down by both actors.

The problem with Out of the Furnace is Cooper’s script. It’s hard to say what the film is about as the narrative goes in one direction before wildly swerving off somewhere else. Bale is sent to prison for drink driving, his girlfriend Saldana leaving him. Affleck has been chewed up and spit out by the U.S. army, living in limbo and wondering what to do with the rest of his life, descending into the dingy world of bare knuckle fighting. This is followed by the second half, where Bale takes the law into his own hands and wages a one man war against Harrelson. The film feels like a series of sub-plots rather than one narrative that sees its protagonists change in some way. It’s a respectable two hours, but very rarely do you feel engaged with the two lead actors. This should be a weighty, emotionally draining watch, but because Out of the Furnace takes so long to become a vigilante film, trying its hand at different narratives and not spending enough time on any of them, it is nowhere near as sharp or elaborate as Cooper intended.

Out of the Furnace is an angry film, focusing on those living below the poverty line, left behind by the rest of America. Everything that Cooper highlights, small industrial towns lined with boarded up streets, where the only hope is to leave for somewhere else, is all valid, but Out of the Furnace’s message feels more like a murmur than a blood spitting rant. Cooper’s latest is worth seeing for the performances alone but, due to a muddled script, is nowhere near as gristly or heartfelt as it deserves to be.

3 out of 5

Matt