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.