T2: Trainspotting

This review may contain spoilers!

I was skeptical if Trainspotting even needed a sequel but Danny Boyle and the cast deliver a beautiful film about living retrospectively and becoming a prisoner of the past. I would give T2: Trainspotting an 8.5/10.

This film carries on almost perfectly from where the last Trainspotting left off, we're given great insight into the lives of Spud, Mark, Sick Boy and Begbie twenty years on from their drug deal turned betrayal. What I found so fascinating about this film is that while it's a story about the addiction of crime and drugs it's also about four men who are trapped in their past. I really appreciated how no one had ever really moved on from the events of Mark's betrayal and that even Mark himself hadn't exactly changed as a person. This film is a really fun ride where friendships are tested, reforged and destroyed forever, the impending conflict between Mark and Begbie being the climax of a film that delights in small pleasures but implodes over the sins of the past. The cinematography is not merely stunning it is probably some of the most inspired work that I'll see all year, Danny Boyle has a great vision and he uses all his years of experience in crafting the style of this feature. The editing for the movie is so smooth and aids the pacing a lot, I loved the freeze frame motif that had been used in the original making it's way in as well. The score for the film is a very powerful piece but it is the soundtrack that makes the feature, being a character unto itself; the somewhat controversial song "No More Catholics Left" sung by Ewan McGregor is a fine memorable piece of satire.

Ewan McGregor, who played Mark Renton, is a really great protagonist for this film; he's quite compassionate and reserved when first we see him but after a short while you can see that manic energy and addictive quality that made his role so memorable all those years ago. Ewen Bremner, who played Spud, is a really quirky role that you can't help but like; I think Bremner made the figure of Spud a lot more tragic in this film especially through how he retold old stories. Jonny Lee Miller, who played Simon, has matured the character into a wannabe criminal mastermind who is constantly scheming up pipe dream after pipe dream; Miller is such an angry character at first but it shows a lot that he bonds with McGregor's role so quickly in such a short span of time. Anjela Nedyalkova, who played Veronika, was a great addition to the leading cast; Nedyalkova presented a role who was as desperate for success and validation as the other leads but who also had a kinder nature underneath. Kelly Macdonald, who played Diane, was great to see back in her role as McGregor's former love interest; Macdonald really matured her role in a way that was believable while still maintaining that charming air about her.

However the best performance came from Robert Carlyle, who played Begbie. This is such an aggressive scheming role who has very little left in him but intense rage after the events of the first Trainspotting. Carlyle really does a good job of bringing all the resentment and loathing Begbie has towards Renton and the rest of the world to the forefront of his performance. He's a high energy character who can go from 0 to 100 in the blink of an eye. Yet the real triumph of Carlyle's performance was making a role like this so redeemable in the eyes of the audience; you see how he reconnects with his family at the end of the film in a bid to escape being like his own father, likewise in his final confrontation with Renton you can hear just how much he regrets what he feels he has no choice to do. A tragic figure and a performance by Carlyle that will stay with me for a long time.

The film does take a little while to get under way at first the film just feels like a 'where are they now?' piece, which was quite a simple formula and not very exciting to watch. Furthermore throughout the film subplots tend to be forgotten about or very suddenly put on hold, it felt like while the main story was strong there wasn't always clear direction on how to edit in all the other plotlines throughout.

Shirley Henderson, who played Gail, is a character with no substance in this film bar that which other roles give her; it would have been nice to see Henderson actually engage with Bremner so I feel the film let that role down a bit. James Cosmo, who played Renton's Father, had very little to contribute to this film; Cosmo merely gave some pointed exposition about the history of the town in McGregor's absence and that's about all he provided. Pauline Turner and Scot Greenan, who played June and Frank Junior respectively, were very quiet aspects of the Begbie subplot; often they felt overshadowed by Carlyle and didn't have a great deal of screen presence themselves.

A Review Of The Oscars 2017

This review will announce news surrounding the Oscars so be warned, also the following is very much my opinion versus my normal reviews so be aware of that. 

I have to say this year's awards season has been quite disappointing; with films like Fences, Lion, Nocturnal Animals, Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them and even Suicide Squad of all films courting nominations. The big coup of this year's Academy Awards was how many awards La La Land was up for and quite frankly it deserved practically every category it was in. Anyone who knows the controversy around this year's ceremony knows that it went home with far fewer awards than it deserved and was pretty much robbed of a deserved Best Picture award. 

So before I go any further I will be providing a list of categories that I won't be discussing which are: Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Foreign Language Film, Best Documentary -Feature and Short Subject, Best Live Action Short Film. This is because I have not seen the films Moonlight, The Salesman, O.J.: Made In America, The White Helmets and Sing.

I will rank the Award's that have been given as:

• Agree
• Neutral
• Disagree

 So without further ado a critique of 89th Academy Awards...

Best Visual Effects: The Jungle Book (Neutral)

This is a very hard call for me to make as there were a lot of good films within the visual effects category and the film industry has only been getting better and better throughout the years. The Jungle Book was a film built solely around visual effects and convincing CGI creatures and environments. I was blown away by how realistic everything looks and can't wait to see where Jon Favreau goes from here. However I also would argue that Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is just as deserving of an Academy Award; once again developing such an incredible sci-fi universe with beautifully unique and original designs and effects.

Best Film Editing: Hacksaw Ridge (Neutral)

Hacksaw Ridge was an immaculate war film that flowed beautifully, switching between slow pace and fast pace almost effortlessly. The final half of this film is what probably earned this film it's Academy Award win. However I also felt that La La Land deserved this category as it had a style that flowed beautifully; catapulting you through a visual musical the likes of which hasn't been achieved in cinema in a long time.

Best Costume Design: Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them (Disagree)

I was quite surprised to see fantastic Beasts nominated for anything, let alone win an Academy Award. While this is a great sign of potentially shifting away from treating blockbuster movies as being inferior to the art haus or biopic cinema that usually gathers awards I do have to wonder what this film really accomplished with it's costuming. The outfits were all very bland and styled quite similarly to one another, the only outfits that really stood out were Newt and Queenie's respective costume pieces. A contender that really deserved this win would have been La La Land as the costumes within that had such colour and range that they only served to heighten the energy and elegance within the film.

Best Makeup And Hairstyling: Suicide Squad (Disagree)

Probably the biggest joke within the whole ceremony was Suicide Squad getting an Academy Award. This was a film that had some cool prosthetic make-up with Croc's character but the rest was just intensive paints. When you compare this to fellow contender Star Trek Beyond and the sheer scale of prosthetic work that went into that you start to question what the Academy was thinking.

Best Cinematography: La La Land (Agree)

There was something truly graceful in how La La Land was presented and it was in large part down to the visual style of the film. I found that while I sat watching this film in the theatre that I saw the camera as another ensemble dancer, moving with the scene and making art come to life. I loved the homage shots scattered throughout that drew upon classic musical film. It took a talented eye to capture these shots and was the only real option in my eyes.

Best Production Design: La La Land (Agree)

A musical, be it theatre or film, lives and dies on the production design or the set pieces and to a lesser extent the props. What's done in La La Land is really powerful, seemingly simple sets have so much detail placed in them that you feel transported to a timeless pocket of Los Angeles. This film draws a lot upon other classic films and that can be seen a lot in the design. This is a love letter to Hollywood and it shows in the world that has been designed.

Best Sound Mixing: Hacksaw Ridge (Neutral)

This is a really tricky category because you have to judge the film upon how well it captures natural sound and there's three contenders that all equally deserved that award this year. One of these was the winner, Kacksaw Ridge, which managed to really craft a battlefield that you believed and fell into. The screams of agony, the weight of falling bodies and the sheer mania was a big aspect of what I loved about this film. However La La Land also deserves a mention, capturing a lot of great raw music and blending it in with the studio recorded pieces. I would also argue that Rogue One: A Star Wars Story succeeded in creating the magnitude of battle through sound mixing in the same manner that Hacksaw Ridge did.

Best Sound Editing: Arrival (Disagree)

Arrival was a film that had a really unique range of generated noises added to it, sound that actually served to enhance and drive the story so it's clear to see why it got the award. However I feel that this award really belonged to La La Land which composed the sounds within the film to a masterful level, working generated sounds in alongside the great score and original songs. This is a hard award to judge but in my view Arrival was the wrong pick.

Best Original Song: "City Of Stars" From La La Land (Agree)

I was supremely worried that "Audition" was going to win on behalf of La La Land instead of this and I'm glad it didn't. "Audition" is a beautiful song but comes at a weird moment in the film and feels very surrealist. What I envision when I think of La La Land is "City Of Stars" because it captures all the abundance of hope and ambition in LA that often goes unrewarded. It's my big take away from La La Land and probably my favourite song upon the soundtrack.

Best Original Score: La La Land (Agree)

The score category really didn't hold much competition this year so it's no great shock to me that La La Land won. It is truly a musical unlike any I have ever seen, balancing a wild enrapturous joy with a deep melancholy. It isn't often that a score takes you upon a journey but that's the only way for me to describe how I felt watching and listening to La La Land.

Best Animated Short Film: Piper (Agree)

I won't dwell on this category for long as Piper was the only film I had seen in it however it's worth commending. The animation within this short film is one of the best Disney shorts to come out of the studio in recent years. It paints a really visually stunning setting and the birds in the film have such detail added to them.

Best Animated Feature Film: Zootopia (Disagree)

Zootopia is a great film don't get me wrong but it's hardly worthy of the Academy Award; I feel that the current political climate is very relevant to Zootopia which makes it the clear choice even if it isn't the right choice. Quite frankly as much as I'm tired of seeing Disney hog the animated Oscar I felt that Moana just deserved the Award. The difference between Zootopia and Moana is that Moana transports you to an incredible setting, cast of characters and culture the like of which make for a classic Disney tale. This is the film you'll be showing your kids or your grandkids one day while Zootopia is only relevant right now.

Best Original Screenplay: Manchester By The Sea (Disagree)

While I loved Manchester By The Sea as an honest exploration around grief and the inner conflict of two very real characters I did not think it was the best script I had watched throughout the year. Yes just to sound like a broken wheel I have to say that La La Land was the clear deserving winner with such a powerful narrative about ambition, love and the nostalgia of LA. It's a movie with two of the most compelling protagonists of the year and the ending of the film alone is worth giving the film an Academy Award for the script.

Best Supporting Actress: Viola Davis in Fences (Disagree)

Viola Davis is a very powerful performer in what is an otherwise horrendous film, Davis' portrays a role that doesn't really go through a lot of development but who despite that is very well portrayed. I think that giving anyone from Fences an Academy Award was a huge mistake and a major let down. The actress who really deserved this award was Octavia Spencer for her part in Hidden Figures. Spencer is a powerful woman onscreen who can play up compassion and fierce determination in spades. What's more I felt that with Spencer's role you actually learnt something about race relations whereas Davis' role you learnt precious little.

Best Actress: Emma Stone in La La Land (Agree)

In all honesty the Best Actress category didn't have much in terms of fierce competition this year, it was only right that Emma Stone won when her performance was leagues ahead of any other actress in that category. Stone is a very fun performer who has been hailed as an up and comer for years now, this is an award that really showcases her progress as an artist. In La La Land Stone presents a role with such unbridled optimism and wonder, as her character becomes more tragic and distant from her dreams you see how damaged LA and Gosling's role have both left her. This was a character my heart went out to and a fine win for Emma Stone.

Best Actor: Casey Affleck in Manchester By The Sea (Disagree)

Affleck's soft temperament and deep inner conflict in Manchester By The Sea really sold me on the film. Yet despite Affleck really standing out as one of his film's best qualities I don't think that he was the obvious pick for Best Actor. In fact Andrew Garfield had much more range in Hacksaw Ridge, where he had to show such raw grief and determination to save lives. Hacksaw Ridge has probably completely changed Garfield's career and I expect we'll see him now more than ever. Yet the actor who really deserved this award was Ryan Gosling for La La Land. Gosling's role was cynical and cold towards others yet as you came to know him you saw a passionate soul connected to the history of jazz right down to his soul.

Best Director: Damien Chazelle for La La Land (Agree)

A production to the scale of La La Land is only as good as it's director and I'm glad that the Academy saw that too. La La Land is one of the few film musicals I've found really accessible and with a great story to tell. It's all beautifully captured and choreographed, I felt that every part of the film was important and had something to contribute. Chazelle crafts a Hollywood fable right before your eyes and I don't think I could have looked away for a second of it.  

Fist Fight

This review may contain spoilers!

A teacher tells another teacher he's going to fight them and they...fight; not sure who the biggest idiot is, the writer or the sap who bought the screenplay and produced it. I would give Fist Fight a 2.5/10.

This is a film that's best when it's at it's most manic, when things are completely out of control; wild moments of aggression draw some good laughs as well as Andy Campbell's high-pitched rants and quick quips. I enjoyed that despite the content of most of the movie there was a good statement about the status of the current education system, it's nice to see a really relevant theme even if the spotlight is only on it briefly. The soundtrack for the film has a lot of variety but manages to serve the film quite well comedically, in particular I enjoyed "I Don't Fuck With You" the Big Sean song performed by Alexa Nisenson in what is one of the funniest scenes of the film. Even the fight choreography looked alright, it was wild and messy but it managed to look very brutal which comedies struggle with.

Charlie Day, who played Andy Campbell, does the awkward fast paced humour in this film really well; Day really goes all out in the final act of the film and steals the spotlight there. Dean Norris, who played Principal Tyler, was the gruff no-nonsense figurehead of the school completely; I loved Norris' angry tirades in the face of all the destructive antics going on around him. Alexa Nisenson, who played Ally, does a very good job of playing this sweet young girl and then flipping that around when you least expect it; Nisenson's scene where she performs Big Sean is one of the best of the film.

However the best performance came from Ice Cube, who played Strickland. Over the past few years Ice Cube has really been making his mark on the comedy scene, the Jump Street and Ride Along films are both done incredibly well and he stands out in them. Fist Fight is the film that Cube really makes his own, having enormous presence in a greater majority of the scenes he is in. This character has such intensity and aggression, you feel he can snap at any given moment and he's prone to doing it. However I enjoyed that Cube took the time to really deliver the importance of education and the teacher's role in schooling; it was something he delivered with a lot of passion and brought a bit more depth to the film.

I guess where the film goes wrong is that it's as simple as it sounds, the plot has very little depth and can be taken very easily at face value. The way it's all structured you feel like you're watching a bad sitcom or sketch show, where various comedians are scrambling to fill the awkward silence with some half-assed joke. You lose interest because the characters have no personality and there's nothing driving the story of the film; you're waiting ten to twenty minutes for the next crucial moment of plot. The cinematography is dull and very simple, the framing lacks creativity and this all looks like it was probably the simplest comedy ever filmed. The editing is a half-hearted beat behind that, the pacing for this film is very slow and drawn out partly due to the way shots are edited together.

Tracy Morgan, who played Coach Crawford, is one of the most annoying characters in this film; Morgan keeps bantering out clearly adlibbed jokes that really aren't all that funny. Jillian Bell, who played Holly, gets the grand job of presenting the crass role with lowbrow humour; Bell makes these jokes as unappealing as they sound in her delivery. Christina Hendricks, who played Ms. Monet, is a completely unnecessary role in this film; Hendricks presents an over the top savage role with a hatred for Day's character that is never really explored. Kumail Nanjiani, who played Mehar, drones out his lines in a very dull manner; this rather passive character just didn't suit Nanjiani's comedic range. JoAnna Garcia Swisher, who played Maggie, had a very vanilla personality throughout the film; Swisher seemed content with being pushed to the background of the scenes she was in. Austin Zajur, who played Neil, gave a very seedy performance that never really felt too genuine; it would be nice if Zajur hadn't half sold it and had really committed to his delinquent role.

Rings

This review may contain spoilers!

While the Rings franchise have never been particularly good horror films at least they're consistent. I would give Rings a 4/10.

I guess if there's one thing that works for this film it's the murder mystery story that's going on. In the original The Ring films there was always an investigation into some element of Samara and Evelyn's past and this film really cranks that up a notch and also makes it's storytelling much more clear and linear. A lot of what makes this series great has been preserved and it's nice that the writer chose to once again have the protagonist focus upon helping Samara in some way or form. The editing for Rings was really fluid and smooth, in particular I liked how scenes were often wrapped up and transitioned between.

Matilda Anna Ingrid Lutz, who played Julia, is actually quite good as a compassionate protagonist in this film; her drive to not only uncover the truth but also to help the supposed antagonist makes her a fine replacement for Naomi Watts. Alex Roe, who played Holt, does one of the more convincing jobs of playing a role who is absolutely in love with his partner; Roe and Lutz really brought a lot of great chemistry to this film which made you care for them as characters. Aimee Teegarden, who played Skye, was quite a frantic and manic role that we don;t engage with much but who does quite well in this film; you really get such a raw and genuine performance of a woman who knows that her life is about to end.

However the best performance came from Vincent D'Onofrio, who played Burke. What a nice switch up to have the Kingpin playing the blind man for a change! D'Onofrio is a masterful performer who knows how to bring a lot of gravitas and wisdom to his role, when this character speaks you feel the ancient history he contains in regards to Samara. I loved the rising sense of dread you get as well when it's finally revealed that he was the priest all along. Once this revelation takes place D'Onofrio turns wild, becoming a terrifying element of this film equal to that of the monster, Samara herself.

This film sadly does what most horror films are doing these days, it provides some basic moments of continuity from the original source material but focuses upon a group of young people being plagued by a horrific threat who they learn the history of as the film progresses. This film plays to cliches a lot of the time particularly when it comes to the young couple at the centre of the film, while they're onscreen chemistry is great there's just no getting past how in your face and over the top these exchanges become. Beyond that this film is just plain predictable; it's hardly a shock when Julia watches the video to save Holt, nor that Gabriel dies, Burke is the priest or even Julia becoming Samara at the end of the feature. The cinematography for the film doesn't really create a notable style, most shots feel too tight and claustrophobic even in scenes with a large-scale setting. The score for the past two Rings films is something I've really enjoyed so it's a shame that the music wasn't very impressionable in this film; often providing a discordant tone in the background without adding to the film itself.

Johnny Galecki, who played Gabriel, feels really out of touch with his role; Galecki felt like he was at odds with this role and certainly didn't fit the character type. Zach Roerig, Laura Wiggins and Lizzie Brochere, who played Carter, Faith and Kelly respectively, completely ruined the start of the film; not only did none of these characters connect with the main story but they just felt like a cheap way to introduce the basic premise of the entire Rings franchise. Jill Jane Clements, who played Karen Styx, was quite a stiff performance to watch; she struggled to portray any mood other than annoyance and dealt exposition out in a very heavy-handed way.

Silence

This review may contain spoilers!

What a waste that 'The Sound Of Silence' by Simon & Garfunkel wasn't even used once! I would give Silence a 3/10.

What I found really interesting about this film was the historical element around this inquisition within Japan against Christianity; as much as the plot has some pitfalls where it triumphs is exposing the dark time of a war against a religion.

Adam Driver, who played Garupe, really captures the accent of his role and the impassioned personality really well; one of the most heartbreaking scenes is watching Driver dive into the sea to save some farmers who are being executed for their faith. Tadanobu Asano, who played the Interpreter, is a really vile and compelling antagonist; the way he constantly tries to manipulate Garfield into breaking and denouncing his faith makes for some very tense scenes. Ciaran Hinds, who played Father Valignano, isn't in the film long but portrays a fine bold leading figure of the church; Hinds is a decisive and solemn man and a good introduction to the church's role within the film. Issei Ogata, who played Inoue, is quite an intimidating character despite appearing so calm and diplomatic for most of the feature; Ogata's exchanges with Garfield are really insightful debates into two opposing worldviews.

However the best performance came from Liam Neeson, who played Ferreira. Whether it be the sorrowful voice-over at the start of the film, coupled alongside Neeson's anguish at the sight of a group of Jesuit priests being tortured makes for a compelling into to the film. It's a shame we don't get to see Neeson for another two hours into the film but when he does reappear he makes one hell of an impact. He seems hollowed out at first, unable to comprehend that he's talking with Garfield. However the further along their conversation gets you feel his unintended cruelty towards Garfield, the complete skepticism around Garfield's faith is another hard blow in a film filled with them. The way Neeson persistently badgers and even mocks Garfield's faith makes him just as antagonistic as Asano and Ogata. I did like the small bit of light still within Neeson shown at the end of the film where we see that he still has faith within God.

This is a film that is constantly at war itself from very early on; struggling to decide how it wants to convey itself and what the message of this feature ultimately is. At times the film feels like it wants to discuss the futility of religion and at other times it's a movie about the strength of faith in the face of adversity. Beyond this the story doesn't seem to know if it's driven by the setting and themes or if it's focusing solely upon a single character as metaphor for the power of faith. Because the script is so sloppy you really disconnect with the action at hand and really only pay attention when a shocking element comes up. One such shocking element is tough to bear: the sudden voice-over from God near the end of the film. The decision to give God a voice in the silence is a poor move, it really takes you out of the film and just feels like a cheap move to advance the plot to some semblance of a conclusion. This is a film that nearly runs for three hours yet over the course of the runtime we're subjected to scenes that run for too long or moments that resemble one another; the pacing has some very real issues and frankly there's potentially an hour's worth of content that could have been completely cut. The style of the film makes Japan look washed out and dull, shots often feel manufactured to the point that pans and zooms draw you out of the moment entirely. The editing is non-existent, the director clearly felt too connected to his darlings to kill them much to the detriment of the film. There is no real score for the film, the ambient noise and silent atmosphere may have been an interesting choice but it only served to drag out the film more.

Andrew Garfield, who played Rodrigues, is just not suited to the protagonist role within this film; not only is his accent work awful but his personality is all over the place resulting in a role who neither feels developed but seems tailor made purely for a few select scenes. Shin'ya Tsukamoto and Yoshi Oida, who played Mokichi and Ichizo respectively, were very much background performers and weren't the right performers to introduce the audience to the underground Christian movement in Japan; their frenzied and life-consuming need for faith felt over the top to say the least. Yosuke Kubozuka, who played Kichijiro, was such a repetitive role with nothing at all to offer this film; Kubozuka only seemed to know how to play his role to extremes and never reached a point where he felt grounded in any way. Bela Baptiste, who played Dieter Albrecht, was a really jarring addition to the film; his conclusionary voice-over came out of nowhere and basically spoiled the tone of the film's ending completely.

The Great Wall

This review may contain spoilers!

Thank God that white man went to China and saved us from all those lizards years ago, y'know that really famous Chinese/Lizard Great Wall war? You know the one. I would give The Great Wall a 3.5/10.

There's a really interesting grapple between intriguing world-building and exposition in this film; what's good about this is that you can see the potential that the concept had. I think the idea of a unique fantasy battle film that paid particular tribute to Chinese culture, myth and acting is a very valid ambition, it's just a shame that the greater movie was in perpetual conflict with this. The score for the film really heightened the action sequences; there was a classic 'drums of war' vibe to the sound of the film.

Jing Tian, who played Commander Lin Mae, was such a strong commanding presence in this film; Tian brought a headstrong and sure-footed warrior woman to life. Andy Lau, who played Strategist Wang, had a very steady and wise role; this is a role who had to deal with a lot of exposition heavy lines but Lau managed to turn these into brilliant moments of story-telling.

However the best performance came from Pedro Pascal, who played Tovar. Pascal's character is a disgruntled mercenary who doesn't quit complaining or wise-cracking; so it's no shock that he was one of the key sources of entertainment in the film. I appreciated the chemistry Pascal set up between Damon and his' roles, there was some real camaraderie there which lead to some touching scenes and also some tense ones. This role worked deeply within a morally grey space and he openly acknowledges this, I like that he didn't turn out to be a hero but stayed true to being a thief and a friend by the end of the film; it felt like he was one of the more genuine characters this film presented.

There's a point in this film very early on when you understand how ridiculous this film is going to be, it's when you're exposed to all the multi-coloured fighters, outrageous weapons and impending lizard army due to attack the Great Wall. It's a bit of a B-grade blockbuster spin that the film acts revolve around the lizard armies attacking wave after wave. Any time that the film tries to add more detail to itself you're swiftly dealt some heavy-handed exposition. For instance, William's backstory is hastily delivered in one big lump during a dialogue exchange; we never come to understand why he's labelled a thief when really he's just fought to feed himself for all his life. This makes him feel like less of a person and more of a constructed figure for the plot, so you stop caring in his development as a 'hero'. I really couldn't stand how the lizard antagonists of the film had to be some hive mind entity as well, it's such an easy cop out these days for the good guys to 'kill the queen' and save the day from the entire impending bad guy invasion. The cinematography had it's good moments but often moved in a jarring way, particularly doing a bad job at capturing varying perspectives. The special effects were garbage, rather than putting attention to detail the film accepted lower quality CGI so that they could include more; the lizards looked like they had been ripped straight out of a video game animation.

Matt Damon, who played William, is such a bland protagonist that really has no depth to him; Damon's role is labelled a thief throughout this film but it's like the minute he steps onto the Great Wall he has this epiphany he has to be the hero and save everyone - honestly quite a poorly written character. Willem Dafoe, who played Ballard, is up to nothing in this film; he deals a lot of exposition and a side-plot that goes absolutely nowhere. Hanyu Zhang, who played General Shao, is quite a rigid role with no great impact on the plot; his death scene was far too grandiose for his actual contribution to the feature. Lu Han, who played Peng Yong, is the dumb goofy sidekick every B-list blockbuster needs; I honestly have no idea why the film tried to cram the friendly relationship between Damon and him down our throats. Kenny Lin, Eddie Peng and Xuan Huang, who played Commander Chen, Commander Wu and Commander Deng respectively, felt like very basic supporting roles; often playing up the tough guy military persona that has been done a hundred times in the past. Ryan Zheng, who played Shen, came into the film out of nowhere and added very little; his stuck up bureaucrat didn't really sit well amongst the tone of the film. Karry Wang, who played the Emperor, just did not have the persona to match up to his role; there was no feeling of gravitas or importance placed upon him, acted by him or acted towards him at all.

Gold

This review may contain spoilers!

When will these rags to riches hustler biopic films end?! I would give Gold a 6/10.

What I enjoy about the tone of this film is how desperate and hungry the characters are, there's a message here about the difference between money and gold. Gold represents something, it's this idea that discovering more mineral wealth is the force that will propel you not only into wealth but into the history books. I really enjoyed the final act of the film and how it was presented; it drew upon the ground work of the relationship laid between Wells and Acosta by throwing you for a curveball in revealing Acosta's betrayal of Wells. The revelation of Acosta's betrayal creates a collapse in Wells' world; he loses everything and you can only watch in fascination at the greater impact this has on American society and the economy. The editing has a really interesting style, the fades are used well but the cuts are structured in a way that has you interested in what will be set before you next. The score for the film has a very retro theme that grounds you in this 80s setting, while the soundtrack is a medley of celebratory hits and grim ballads about greed and regret.

Corey Stoll, who played Brian Woolf, has that hard-hitting keen edge that you associate with a businessman working in Wall Street; I enjoyed scenes where Stoll gets manipulative in quite a subtle way. Toby Kebbell, who played Paul Jennings, is a very reserved and calm role that still has a lot of authority behind him; I thought it was fantastic how Kebbell guided and directed McConaughey in their scenes together. Bruce Greenwood, who played Mark Hancock, has a very stiff and formal demeanour with a lot of gravitas in regards to his presence; there's something about Greenwood's performance that makes you feel intimidated by this tycoon character.

However the best performance came from Matthew McConaughey, who played Kenny Wells. As far as protagonists go for these type of films I'd felt like I'd seen them all and that this wouldn't be any different. However what McConaughey provides is a figure who has compassion, love and determination quite clearly within him; nor is this a guy who is ambitious for the sake of it but rather he is ambitious to live up to his father's legacy and to support his wife. Yet this doesn't mean McConaughey doesn't take his role to some dark places, scenes of splendour and infidelity abound and most threatening of all is a horrible drunken rant about success delivered to Howard. I think McConaughey has great presence, and it's often upon his shoulders to create an interesting dynamic in the relationship between Ramirez and himself.

The issue with a film like this is that it makes no difference to be an original biopic, it's the same formula we always get. A man who you would class as a hustler or salesman makes a big break and gets rich, the success leads him down a lavish and corrupt road and then he or his competitors take a fall by the end of the feature. This is the exact tangent of Kenny Wells in this feature and the fact you know exactly how this is going to go makes it quite a tired model of storytelling. The interplay between narrative and FBI interrogation to guide the story comes into conflict with one another, you don't really know exactly where the film is placing you and it becomes disorienting. The biggest disappointment is that this film creates a figure who is fairly redemptive in Kenny Wells yet they ruin him by creating his love interest, Kay. Throughout the film Kay is quite a simple and kind role who Wells promptly abuses the minute he gets money, the mistreatment he deals her throughout the feature is inconsistent with his role's personality and makes the role hard to like. The cinematography in the film is often quite wide, you have a nice enough focus on set pieces but generally characters and onscreen action are poorly captured.

Edgar Ramirez, who played Michael Acosta, doesn't really engage with the narrative of this film much; he really drones in his delivery and ultimately gives quite a stiff performance. Bryce Dallas Howard, who played Kay, is really just there to play McConaughey's conscience; Howard is barely given the screen time to make her own mark in the film and is sparingly used. Craig T. Nelson, who played Kenny Wells Sr., has absolutely no chemistry as a father figure for McConaughey; the way he is promptly killed off after barely being introduced is jarring and a poor narrative move. Rachael Taylor, who played Rachel Hill, isn't in this film to play a character per se; Taylor sadly presents a sex appeal figure and is only here to create a marital spat between McConaughey and Howard's roles. Stacy Keach, who played Clive Coleman, is a figure that rumbles and dithers on without really providing any substance to a scene; Keach performs quite the throwaway role and is completely eclipsed by McConaughey. Jirayu Tantrakul, who played Darmadi 'Danny' Suharto, gives some geuinely poor line delivery in this film; Tantrakul's party boy role is quite artificial and hard to really connect with the tone of Gold.

Fifty Shades Darker

This review may contain spoilers!

Let's be frank, this is a horror movie and not at all a romance film. I would give Fifty Shades Darker a 2.5/10.

Well I do have to give this film some props for acknowledging the really awful moments of the relationship between the two main characters, there's even an attempt to identify healthy behaviour and abusive behaviour but that's about as far as it gets. The cinematography is great, the way set pieces and lighting is captured looks enchanting and makes the cityscape really appealling. The soundtrack is really good; if there's one thing I've always been impressed by in this series it's how absolutely stunning their musical picks are.

Marcia Gay Harden, who played Grace Trevelyan Grey, makes for a compelling maternal figure in this film; her fierce loyalty to her children really comes to the forefront and is one of the more compassionate qualities of the film.

However the best performance came from Dakota Johnson, who played Anastasia Steele. Moving past the very forced fake giggles and sexy moans Johnson once again proves herself to be the most capable cast member of the film. I love how Johnson doesn't give an inch with her role, she refuses to be put in a corner with her character. Rather this is a role who demands her own rights and freedoms in her relationship, which is exciting in the few scenes where this comes through. I also enjoy seeing Johnson display anger and outrage towards some of the more over the top moments of the film yet I can appreciate how well she plays deep sadness when dealing with the Christian Grey backstory content.

So let's get right to the real problem of the film: the tone. In a film that is supposedly about love there is an awful feeling of horror. It does not help that Anastasia seems afraid of Christian for most of the film or that they talk about sex and touching one another as if it were torture. The main male character openly admits he engages in sex to hurt women for fun, what a wildly romantic dude that guy is! And just when you think it can't get any worse it's revealed he spies on the women he dates, he has DOSSIERS on all the women he dates and sleeps with and the main female protagonist MARRIES him at the end?! How did this get made? Okay back to neutral and unbiased reviewing. There are so many weird subplots in this film that come out of nowhere to push the couple closer together or to provide unnecessary tension; in particular Anastasia's boss becoming some weird rapist out of nowhere and one of Christian's crazy ex-girlfriend's stalking Anastasia. The film rushes it's final act, taking wild jumps from casual romance to the couple suddenly living together and marrying one another. Yet there's been no real lesson learnt from the last film, the characters have barely developed at all. The editing really didn't help that horror tone I mentioned either, with some cuts being quite sudden and messing with the tone of a scene.

Jamie Dornan, who played Christian Grey, is so unbelievably fake as the film's lead; Dornan neither knows how to portray emotion and it's clear he doesn't want to be playing this role at all. Eric Johnson, who played Jack Hyde, is such a flippant role; he's hastily established in this film and then out of nowhere becomes this creepy rapist character for very little reason at all. Eloise Mumford and Luke Grimes, who played Kate Kavanagh and Elliot Grey respectively, are pretty forgettable in this film; they're barely given screen time and are pretty poorly served with the amount of attention they get. Bella Heathcote, who played Leila, is even more of a fake performance than Dornan's; what makes it worse is that Heathcote is clearly trying (perhaps a little too hard). Rita Ora, who played Mia Grey, has no chemistry at all with the rest of her family; her upbeat socialite role feels off tone with the rest of the film. Victor Rasuk, who played Jose, is BACK! as Captain Friendzone again; it's just a tired subplot seeing Rasuk make doe eyes at Johnson all film long. Kim Basinger, who played Elena Lincoln, has to be the most artificial antagonist you'll ever see in a romance film; her motives were all over the place and there was just not a great attempt at establishing her character's place in the film. Amy Price-Francis and Ashleigh LaThrop, who played Liz and Hannah respectively, were very plain and forgettable performances in this film; it was a weak attempt at giving Johnson's role some new friend characters at her workplace setting.

Fences

This review may contain spoilers!

This film has such an incredible African-American ensemble cast, it's just a shame the script and visual style is so shoddy. I would give Fences a 4/10.

The aspect of the narrative that really stood out for me is how African-American people and communities were treated post-World War II; it made for one of the more interesting discussions that took place over the duration of the film, in particular how permanently disabled veterans were affected.

Viola Davis, who played Rose Maxson, is a powerful leading women in this film; her timid nature around the presence of Washington is very well portrayed but the best scene is where she screams her pain and outrage right at him after his role confesses that he's in an affair. Jovan Adepo, who played Cory, is a real up and comer to watch out for; his tough persona in the face of Washington's role as an abuser is a powerful dynamic to watch. Russell Hornsby, who played Lyons, is one smooth talking character in this film; Hornsby creates a figure who has a real sense of self and his place in the world. Mykelti Williamson, who played Gabriel, portrays a mentally disabled character very well for this feature; he's an erratic character who can be filled with delight and happiness in one moment but be startled into bouts of terror and despair the next. Saniyya Sidney, who played Raynell, is making her mark as quite the stand out child performer this year; she's the bright spark this film needed to have for it's final scenes of the film.

However the best performance came from Denzel Washington, who played Troy Maxson. This was a deeply flawed character and Washington absolutely knew that, knew exactly the qualities he needed to portray him just right. At the high moments of the film we see a very charismatic figure, who has great chemistry with the other roles onscreen and tells great jokes or stories. Yet there's a deep bitterness to this role, a growing resentment and anger at his son's for not falling into line. Washington brings forth a man whose morals are at best questionable and at worst outright deplorable, yet the way he selfishly feels he can defend his actions is probably his worst quality. It's no wonder that everyone he is close to at the start of the film has been driven away by the end, but in Washington's hands you get one hell of a compelling performance.

This is a very slow paced narrative and all the monologue styled delivery does not help, clearly the transition between stage and screen wasn't worked enough and what we're left with is the main protagonist speaking continuously for most of the film. If the non-stop barrage of one man talking wasn't enough you also have to deal with how much of a scumbag the guy is, the film doesn't focus enough on the side characters and you certainly don't empathise with the lead. He's so detached from reality and makes decisions that are far too hard to respect that you grow distant from the content of the film. When the film finally ends you get the ultimate slap in the face; the story glorifies this horrible protagonist, even informing characters who he abused to honour him which really just felt like the writer had no understanding of how to write characters and character development. The cinematography was dull, the set pieces were simple and the camera work clearly followed suit and didn't want to take risks. The editing looked out of date, the constant ude of fades or cutting to black only served to drag out an already dull film. The score was sparingly used to say the least, it also had a tone that just didn't connect with what the film was about or trying to convey.

Stephen Henderson, who played Jim Bono, was constantly being dwarfed by the other great talents of this film; Henderson really didn't push his role or run with any of his moments in the spotlight which only made him feel like a background performer.

Split

This review may contain spoilers!

I think we're still a long way off from stating that M. Night Shyamalan movies are back to being good. I would give Split a 6/10.

What I have to give this film credit for is creating a very complex and tragic antagonist figure, this is not necessarily a film that horrifies disassociative identity disorder but rather shows how a person who suffers DID is a victim of a society set against him. The psychological ideas behind how DID works in the film is an interesting analysis of multiple psyches and their impacts upon Kevin physiology. The tone of the film is very tense, you don't always know which of Kevin's identities is going to emerge next, furthermore the threat of what is going to the leading women in this film is constantly at play and leaves you on the edge of your seat in a few places. The score for the film is very haunting, it does a good job of showing discord and setting you on edge.

Anya Taylor-Joy, who played Casey Cooke, does a fairly good job as protagonist of this film; the depth to her role that we're exposed to slowly shows that Taylor-Joy is a master at bringing dimensions to her role. Betty Buckley, who played Dr. Karen Fletcher, was a very measured and intellectual role; it was incredible to see the rapport she had with McAvoy and how convincing she was as a psychiatrist trained to deal with multiple identities.

However the best performance came from James McAvoy, who played Kevin Wendell Crumb, Dennis, Patricia, Hedwig, The Beast etc. This film was really McAvoy giving a masterclass in how to act, the amount of work a film like this would have taken for an actor in his position is immense. There are many details to each character, how they handle themselves or little quirks that they have which McAvoy develops flawlessly over the course of the feature. What I think really stands to his credit is how unique and well developed each persona feels, not a one feels like a stereotype. McAvoy treats this role with great deference and I think it's a testament to his range and ability as an actor.

This film really could have worked harder to develop the kidnapped victims in this film, the two-dimensional quality to their characters is a big reason why it was so hard to remain engaged with the narrative of the film. This extends to the character of Casey, her backstory was fairly predictable and you knew that if The Beast emerged that she too would be bound to have superhuman abilities; unfortunately this will go down as a fairly predictable and lazy twist. The ending was also a bit of an anti-climax, The Beast's confrontation with Casey didn't end in a satisfying way and really just felt like sequel bait. The cinematography attempted to be artistic but really the lack of focus and incessant movement just made everything appear sloppily filmed. The editing moved at a rather slow rate for a horror film, often taking it's time and refusing to advance the action at a satisfying rate.

Haley Lu Richardson, who played Claire Benoit, gives one of the most cardboard teen girl horror film performances that I've seen in a while; the narrative forgot about her early on and so did I. Jessica Sula, who played Marcia, had very little screen presence in this feature; Sula never really created a role that felt real and instead played very closely to what little lines she had. Izzie Coffey, Brad William Henke and Sebastian Arcelus, who played Five Year Old Casey, Uncle John and Casey's Father respectively, were all rather dull performers; this trio rather stiffly dealt out Casey's backstory which meant you cared for the character a little less. Bruce Willis, who played David Dunn, just didn't need to be teased at the end of this film; his little cameo to push a sequel felt like a forced and out of place move.

Pork Pie

This review may contain spoilers!

Tim Shadbolt being arrested while wearing a Tim Shadbolt mask is probably one of the best comedic moments to come out of New Zealand cinema. I would give Pork Pie a 7/10.

This film about a trio's illegal escapade from the top of the North Island to the bottom of the South is a hilarious Kiwi epic that'll have you hysterics throughout most of the film, it's really refreshing for a film to use a wide variety of humour to appeal to it's audiences and not just the usual Kiwi witticisms that pepper most Kiwi comedies. The tone of the film instills a great sense of camaraderie, it's nice seeing how the main trio form bonds and friendships with one another. The cinematography looks great and captures the visual landscape of New Zealand really well; yet I'm most impressed with how well chase sequences are filmed as it's the sharpest an action oriented New Zealand film has been (excluding Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit films of course). The score for the film only adds to the intensive forward motion of this narrative, really propelling an action movie vibe; the soundtrack is also a great blend of popular and classical music with many Kiwi hits thrown in.

James Rolleston, who played Luke, is quite a passive yet honest figure throughout the course of this film; I loved how Rolleston made for quite a witty performer and really refused to be put into the stereotypical box of what a Maori person should be like onscreen. Ashleigh Cummings, who played Keira, is very entertaining as a vegan activist character; Cummings arguably plays the toughest character of the film and as such does a good job at showing a sincere young woman who drops her walls as the film moves along.

However the best performance came from Dean O'Gorman, who played Jon. O'Gorman was an absolutely brilliant protagonist for this film and tended to steal the show when he was onscreen. I liked his witty exchanges with Rolleston and Cummings, I especially loved the chemistry that existed between these three. O'Gorman is a very open performer and exposes the emotional range of his chracter throughout the feature, in this way we can see a very vulnerable and hurt young man who really wants to make amends. I loved how passionate he was towards apologising for leaving his girlfriend standing at the altar, it was great that his quest for righting a wrong was at the heart of this film.

This film really threw you into things quite quickly, characters were hastily established and the basic framework at the plot was cobbled together in the first ten minutes; the idea seemed to be to move onto the action and comedy aspects of the narrative without committing so heavily to the baggage of the story. This approach made things feel not so developed as the story moved onwards, characters and motives lacked substance and you really had to look hard to find something that was more than just your ordinary comedy film. It didn't help that there were these really awkward romance storylines playing throughout, one between Luke and Keira while the other was between Jon and Susie; as much as the storylines could have worked the dialogue felt very artificial and cringeworthy at times. The editing also had it's issues, making cuts at questionable times and not always moving to the best shot for the style of the scene.

Antonia Prebble, who played Susie, wasn't really given enough to do in the film; her relationship and chemistry with O'Gorman was poorly developed for the importance placed upon it in the film. Matt Whelan and Siobhan Marshall, who played Noah and Becca respectively, were really pushed to the background of this film; they were very much only there to push the plot onwards with their exposition heavy lines. Geraldine Brophy, who played Andy, was a nothing role given more to do in this plot than was warranted; Brophy's sudden ability to call in a squad of minis at the end of the film was a very hard to believe gimmick. Thomas Sainsbury, who played Bongo, was way too over the top and kooky even by this film's standards; I hated how there was a barrage of characters introduced in the back half of the film who were only really there to further the plot. Rima Te Wiata, who played Mrs D, had very little screen presence in this film; the few times a scene would give her some air time it felt like she was trying to hard to play up her role.

Patriots' Day

This review may contain spoilers!

On one hand this film manages to capture the horror of the Boston Marathon bombings in a poignant way, but on the other hand this is a film that really incites a harmful and naive view of an entire religion and culture. I would give Patriots' Day a 6/10.

The moment the bomb goes off in this film is the real pivotal factor, suddenly complete chaos is brought before us onscreen and the raw grief and horror is very well presented. The film also does a great shoot out to conclude the second act, we see a really bloody and explosive engagement between the police and the terrorists behind the bombings. The choice to conclude the film upon interviews of those who were integral to the film's narrative was a very moving touch and brought out some very real emotion that the film hadn't quite managed to impart in the same way.

Mark Wahlberg, who played Tommy Saunders, makes for a fairly good protagonist in this film especially when he's demanding the system act in a just way; I found Wahlberg did his best when he was unleashing his grief over what he had just witnessed and when he was expressing his views that love will always trump hate. John Goodman, who played Commissioner Ed Davis, is a very steady and stern bureaucratic figure throughout the feature; I think Goodman's best scene was when he really violently demanded that the FBI release the photos they were sitting on. James Colby, who played Superintendent Billy Evans, was a tough figure who locked horns with Wahlberg from time to time; I liked that Colby presented a character who could joke in the face of tough situations but also grow stern in the face of duty.

However the best performance came from J.K. Simmons, who played Sergeant Jeffrey Pugliese. Simmons was a pretty witty character, he good-naturedly traded some fun lines with his co-stars. I liked how kind hearted this role was, here was a character who actually seemed to have a good and grounded relationship with his onscreen wife. When the film drew near to the end of the second act and we see Simmons charge into action you see the courage behind this character as well, this was a heavily charged moment where younger officers had sustained serious injuries and this older officer was right in there amongst it.

There were so many storylines or perspectives going on in this film that it was hard to keep track of them all, it also meant you struggled to form much of a bond with any of the roles and defused a lot of the tension. There was also a lot of points in this film where we dealt with meaningless time filler, people chatting or a random scene that wasn't explicitly serving the narrative and just made the whole thing feel dull. Furthermore a really big issue of this film was that it never knew how to talk about the Muslim faith versus radical Islam, it's a big issue with American cinema and is very prevalent throughout this feature. The film beats around the bush about how to treat Muslim characters (which these characters aren't) and then proceeds to seriously villainise the Muslim faith for the rest of the feature; culminating in a horrible couple of scenes where an FBI agent refuses to let doctors work on one of the terrorists and in which a 'Muslim' woman is interrogated without her rights and in a completely illegal context. Films like this tend to preach the purity of American justice, but it's an injustice every time a film is delivered that fails to study the facts it's presenting or the other perspective. The cinematography used is very jarring and hard to focus upon, the ugly use of shaky-cam in scenes that just don't need it is unwarranted. I also thought the editing harmed the pacing, the use of security cam footage and actual footage from the evnt looked awful in contrast with the movie. The score for this film is pretty much non-existent, edgy sound effects and bass are good and all but it would have been nice to see a little effort put towards giving this film a sound.

Christopher O'Shea and Rachel Brosnahan, who played Patrick Downes and Jessica Kensky respectively, may have been a touching story in real life but were corny as hell in this film; I think the serious lack of chemistry and weak dialogue failed this storyline. Jake Picking and Lana Condor, who played Officer Sean Collier and Li respectively, were once again another romance subplot you didn't really care much for due to their lack of chemistry and screen time; Picking was just such a bland and cardboard cut-out type performer that it really had little impact when his character was killed off. Michelle Monaghan, who played Carol Saunders, was really just there for Wahlberg to bounce lines off of; it was clear from the start that the two of them had absolutely no chemistry as a romantic couple. Jimmy O. Yang and Cara O'Connell, who played Dun Meng and Kara respectively, showcased to me that really this film thought if they slotted as much of the cast in boring romantic relationships as possible we'd care more if they were in danger (big shock when that didn't work); Yang's performance is all over the place in this film and means the personality of his role never really seems concrete. Melissa Benoist, who played Katherine Russell, seemed entirely out of place in this role; Benoist did not fit her character one bit and it showed in that alarmingly bad interrogation scene. Alex Wolff and Themo Melikidze, who played Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and Tamerlan Tsarnaev respectively, were quite weak as the film's antagonists; they both seemed to be trying really hard to portray these over the top caricatures of terrorists. Michael Beach, who played Governor Deval Patrick, was such a bland background role in this film; I struggled to see what the point of having Beach involved in the main discussion of characters was. Dustin Tucker, who played Steve Woolfenden, was that generic subplot you knew the entire direction of as soon as it began; Tucker did a good job at portraying a stereotype which doesn't credit him much. Kevin Bacon, who played Special Agent Richard DesLauriers, just didn't seem to be putting any effort into this film; Bacon never rose to the action or emotional tone around him and there were moments where I had to wonder if he had a pulse cause his presence just wasn't there. Khandi Alexander, who played the Interrogator, basically embodied all I ahted about this film; Alexander isn't to blame but the horrid presentation of her character in this script is a black mark against American cinema.  

Resident Evil: The Final Chapter

This review may contain spoilers!

Well thank God that film series is over! I would give Resident Evil: The Final Chapter a 2/10.

The special effects in this film looked fairly decent, you got some very horrific creations and also some interesting new ones such as the flying creature Alice fights at the start of the film.

The best performance came from William Levy, who played Christian. I liked how abrasive this character was from the start, his open hostility to newcomers inevitably made him the most grounded and realistic role of the film. Levy brought a hardened edge to this character, you felt as if he'd gone through a lot before you met him and it showed in the way he carried himself. Levy had some good minor interactions with other cast members, which allowed you to see the history of this survivor camp and the relations established there in ways the script never revealed at all. Levy did a great job in standing out with a script that can't have been the easiest to work with.

Where do you even begin when talking about a plot like this? This is going to take a bit to unpack but let me highlight some of the serious issues. A big issue that has always plagued the Resident Evil series is continuity. If you've created a sequel then it should follow on from the events of the previous film. Last Resident Evil film saw our heroes gearing up for a battle in Washington, this is rather poorly scrapped and explained away in this film leaving you dissatisfied from the start. But it doesn't stop there! No longer is the Red Queen the antagonist of the film she has been retconned back to her anti-hero days (and given a whole new backstory), Dr Isaacs has been brought back from the dead thanks to that miraculous plot device called cloning and no longer is Wesker in charge as the film bizarrely retcons things so that Isaacs is the big boss baddie (presumably to make the role more enticing for Glen). It's all a weird disconnected mess as Alice fights through hordes of villains to miraculously wipe out all the zombies and find out that she isn't even a real person! That's right, the series undercuts itself by revealing that Alice is little more than some clone of a board member of the Umbrella Corporation; a lazy and confusing plot twist to say the least. The cinematography is about as horrendous as it's ever been, with focus shifting in really unnatural and disjointed way right in the middle of a shot. The score for this Final Chapter is bland, presenting an action fanfare that has no hint of originality whatsoever.

Milla Jovovich, who played Alice and Alicia Marcus, has no emotional range at all as the series protagonist; furthermore that plot twist in which we see her as Alicia was shockingly bad and Jovovich certainly didn't rise to the occasion of playing a new identity. Iain Glen, who played Dr. Isaacs, was a real disappointment as the film's antagonist; I wish he hadn't had to play multiple versions of himself through the clones it really dropped the quality of his performance. Ali Larter, who played Claire Redfield, was a character from past films that I don't think anyone was particularly eager to see return; she was just bland and seemed to have no real importance on the events going on with the narrative. Shawn Roberts, who played Wesker, really got delegated down in this film; for the past few films he's been set up as some sort of main antagonist only to become the token henchman of this film. Eoin Macken, who played Doc, had very little connection with Larter his supposed 'love interest'; I found the plot twist that he was a traitor unnecessary and a major waste of screen time. Fraser James, who played Razor, was up to nothing in this film; James was only there to be killed off. Ruby Rose, who played Abigail, was a supreme waste of great acting talent; her screen time felt surpressed and she was never really given an opportunity to stand out before she was killed off. Ever Anderson, who played the Red Queen, is probably the least intimidating of the Red Queen performers to date; the intense almost horrific edge this character originally possessed is replaced with a bland exposition delivering nightmare.