Not Okay

This review may contain spoilers!

 

Not Okay follows Danni Sanders, a lonely photo editor for a high profile magazine, who finds herself caught in an intricate lie when she fakes a trip to Paris the same time the city is struck by a terrorist attack. This concept alone is quite a clever and unique way of throwing up a mirror to society as it is now. There have been a lot of films that try to capture modern social media and influencer culture and this has to be one of my favourites so far. Watching Danni really flounder in mediocrity while hounding after even a glimmer of the spotlight makes you feel sad for this protagonist; yet she also talks in a way that shows she is deeply flawed. She doesn't listen at work, is openly rude to others, seeks validation selfishly and is mildly rude to minorities. Danni is unremarkable and constantly shows qualities of a young woman who needs to grow. But then she stumbles into Instagram/internet stardom and we really see her strength of character tested. She feeds into this sense that she's a victim to increase her stardom, going so far as to commit to a support group and trick a young activist into helping her gain a wider audience. I like that Danni gets to see what a vapid world influencer culture is; wealth and image are really pushed and the figures within this sphere painted as being shallow and impotent. While the real connections Danni makes within the support group are genuine; these characters are people trying to heal and make change after surviving what they've experienced. Seeing the truth, watching Danni being forced to admit the truth and be exposed as a liar and losing access to both worlds is really powerful. There's a sort of harsh lesson around privilege that is captured well in the poem featured in the final scene: Danni is not a victim and she doesn't deserve sympathy. Danni is a young white woman who created a platform and tried to profit off others for fame, she profited off an event that hurt others and only came clean when she had no other choice. I loved the way Danni's character just crumples away under the strength of Rowan's, the contrast between this pair is right at the heart of what makes this film so brilliant.

 

The cinematography throughout is very dynamic, I love how the camera could kick into motion for effect while also capturing dialogue intensive scenes in a very understated way. The editing set such a consistent pace and tone, I also really enjoyed the self-aware title cards that really blocked out the narrative nicely. Pierre-Philippe Côté does the music for this and I enjoyed the light chorus work that really upped the feeling Danni was about to be swallowed whole by her own lies; furthermore the soundtrack was a treat and had a standout use of Avril Lavigne's 'Complicated'.

 

Zoey Deutch, who played Danni, is an absolutely phenomenal protagonist for this; Deutch manages to craft this exceptionally selfish and unlikeable role who on some level you could imagine quite easily stumbling upon on Instagram or Tiktok. Dylan O'Brien, who played Colin, really gets to stretch his legs with a more comedic performance here; having O'Brien strut around with this giant ego and little intellect on display is a hilarious if not eerily accurate portrayal of influencer culture. Tia Dionne Hodge, who played Linda, is a small role that is played brilliantly; watching Hodge calmly and lightly play the mother who supports Isaac's role is wonderfully done. Embeth Davidtz and Brennan Brown, who played Judith and Harold respectively, are really great as Deutch's emotionally strung out parents; Davidtz in particular does well with her over the top doting and then her deep shame directed at her on-screen daughter near the end of the film.

 

However, the best performance came from Mia Isaac, who played Rowan. This young actress really stuns in this film, just stealing the show the more and more we get to see of her character. When first we meet Rowan she's quite a guarded individual, steadily talking about trauma she has survived and being active in her support group. You get to see Isaac open as this caring figure and that leaves you with a great first impression as we move into seeing her as this activist for positive change. Throughout the film I was really taken with how sincerely Isaac played Rowan, she's such a genuine and compassionate individual who hasn't let her platform corrupt her in the way Deutch's Danni has. I found the way Isaac presented trauma to be deeply respectful, she made some very key choices with body language to portray triggers for her role that seemed well informed. I also thought the chemistry between Isaac and Deuth was something very special, this pair had a genuine friendship that made you really enjoy seeing them together. So the pain when their characters fell out with one another was all the more powerful for it. Honestly that final poem recited by Isaac is going to be one of the most moving performances I'll see this year, it packed a punch. Mia Isaac is just starting out, she keeps going like this and she'll be running it.

 

This film set itself a tough bar going out the gate; it wants to be a black comedy but the back half is certainly more of a dramatic cautionary tale. While both approaches here work, and often work well, there are moments where the way the story is being told doesn't feel balanced. This is especially prevalent in the second act of the film where the switch is most notably at work. The film struggles with treating Danni like a character, or like a symbol of influencer culture it wants to ridicule. I also think the comedy reached a few points where it pushed past the point of satire and got a bit obvious, which cheapened the role of a few side characters. 

Negin Farsad, who played Susan, never really feels like the head editor of a big trendy magazine; I think the big personality shift we see from Farsad's first scene to her later scenes comes off as a little much too. Nadia Alexander, who played Harper, just isn't utilised enough to be a good antagonist for this film; I really found Alexander's performance to be a bit too severe and serious for the nature of the film. Karan Soni, who played Kevin, just pops up in films that are vaguely comedic and tends to play the weakest part at this point; his role adds nothing and it feels like he was improving bad material a lot. Dash Perry, who played Larson, is another main member of the magazine cast who is given a little more focus than he needs, Perry is a source of comedy that seems to be there to put some levity around Alexander's performance. Kirk White, who played Charles, gives two performances in this and they're at real odds with one another; on one hand we get a very serious trauma survivor while on the other White gives quite an obvious pitch at the awkwardly placed comedic outsider which cheapens the former.

What starts out as a really biting and relevant black comedy pivots into a feature that really highlights current social media culture, activism and privilege. I would give Not Okay an 8.5/10.

 

Where The Crawdads Sing

 This review may contain spoilers!

 

Where The Crawdads Sing is the film adaptations of Delia Owens' bestselling novel of the same name. In this story we follow Kya, a young woman who has grown up predominantly alone in the marshes of North Carolina. The story is one of Kya's survival while also penning a gentle courtroom murder mystery. This is a film that really takes us through learning the story of Kya exceptionally well. Right from the start she is presented as an outsider, someone who is different in her own hometown and you pretty quickly come to view her as 'the marsh girl' in the same way her twon does. But then the film shifts its narrative, we go right back to when Kya first lived in the marshes with her family as a child. We come to know this young girl as a survivor of domestic violence at the hands of her father; the way her mother, siblings and eventually father came to abandon her to live alone. Kya was forced to scrounge for scraps in order to survive and got better at living this way as life went on. She was emotionally devastated when the man who taught her to read and write, the man she fell in love with, abandoned her without a word. From here she falls into a relationship with a man, Chase, who lies and tries to manipulate her. As she grows to recognise Chase's behaviour as abusive and akin to her father's, Kya begins to hide and lash out against him. At the same time Chase's character is revealed to be darker than first feared, he destroys her property, physically assaults her and then attempts to sexually assault her too. The film tries to sway you into deciding who actually committed Chase's murder the entire time, while also condemning the way in which most of kya's town abandoned her to a poorly state of living. ultimately, I found the answer to the murder mystery to be quite satisfying and very in theme with the rest of the film's plot.

The way this film captures the New Orleans marshes where they filmed is really beautiful; a major aspect of this film is how Kya emotionally connects to the marsh and the camerawork tells that story wonderfully. I also think it's worth noting Taylor Swift's contribution to the film with 'Carolina', it closes the film into the credits but it's a very raw ballad that I think fits the tone of the feature well.

 

Taylor John Smith, who played Tate Walker, is a very charismatic and likeable figure in this; the romantic chemistry cultivated by him and Edgar-Jones is stunning. Harris Dickinson, who played Chase Andrews, is intensely unnerving and makes for the perfect antagonist; Dickinson's portrayal of such an entitled man who takes what he wants through force is a hard watch in the best way possible. David Strathairn, who played Tom Milton, is genuinely having his Atticus finch moment right before us here; Strathairn's calm and genuine approach to a man of justice makes him quite a goodly role. Michael Hyatt and Sterling Macer Jr., who played Mabel and Jumpin' respectively, are these consistent pillars of care and support throughout the feature; I loved the paternal energy from this pair towards both Edgar-Jones and Regina. Garret Dillahunt, who played Pa, is almost horrifying in his portrayal of this openly wild and abusive man; I was impressed with the depth Dillahunt brought to the role and the small vulnerabilities we were able to see within Pa. Jojo Regina, who played Little Kya, lends herself to the same style of performance Edgar-Jones does marvelously; watching Regina bring such stubborn yet heartbreakingly optimistic energy tot he role is a real strength in such a young performer. Luke David Blumm, who played Little Tate, is immediately as charismatic as his older counterpart; I loved the scene in which Blumm stood up to Dillahunt's role.

However, the best performance came from Daisy Edgar-Jones, who played Kya Clark. This role was a very bold performance, Kya is by nature quite a guarded person and not especially talkative. She exists on the outside and Edgar-Jones worked hard on her body language to show her lack of comfort in social situations. I loved seeing this character steadily open up to characters; the found family dynamic she has with Macer Jr. and Hyatt's roles, and the beautiful romantic chemistry shared with Smith. Watching the immeasurable grief and pain at being abandoned again Edgar-Jones expresses when Smith's role abandons her character is utterly devastating. But what I like about this character was that at no point did she seem prepared to break; Edgar-Jones played her vulnerable moments but she played to the character's strength even better. The really painful on-screen relationship between her role and Dickinson's was important, she was a fighter throughout it but she also had to portray a lot of suffering too. Daisy Edgar-Jones really has a bit of a 'star beginning to rise' thing going for her right now and I'm quite excited to see where her career takes her after this project.

Where The Crawdads Sing stumbles majorly when it comes to how it tells its story. The content is brilliant but the way the narrative is structured and told doesn't always grip the audience. The murder mystery component of the film should be really thrilling but it's quite light fair in delivery. Worse than that it never feels like this big urgent problem, more like a boiling pot that we're steadily waiting to get to temperature. The film is structured by taking us back on long flashbacks before shunting back very quickly to the legal drama around the murder msystery, the timing on this is quite infrequent and could have been spread out better. I also thought the earlier period of Kya's life was told well but really meandered along, especially when we got the romantic storyline between her and Tate. The sort of fairytale romance between that pair was nice but we didn't need as much of it as we got. The editing had a hand in this ambling pace, often letting sequences drag out for too long and I found there were some very poorly placed cuts within certain scenes. Mychael Danna's score isn't especially impressive, it crests very lightly and has a little edge in the more frantic scenes but I found it quite a flat thing overall.

Logan Macrae, who played Jodie Clark, wanders into this film quite late in the narrative and never makes a lasting impact; Macrae more functions to place a bit of exposition and really doesn't strike up a brotherly bond with Edgar-Jones. Bill Kelly and Jayson Warner Smith, who played Sheriff Jackson and Deputy Perdue respectively, really start the film out on quite a generic couple of scenes; Kelly in particularly gives a very stereotypical portrayal of a smalltown stoic law officer. Will Bundon, who played Little Jodie, doesn't really do much to impress upon the viewer much of a sibling connection to Regina; I found Bundon's line delivery to be a bit too straightforward and obvious.

What's on offer here is quite a powerful story of a woman surviving trauma and abuse with an understated ensemble cast. I would give Where The Crawdads Sing a 7.5/10.

The Gray Man

 This review may contain spoilers!

 

The Gray Man follows Six, an elite off the books agent for the CIA who specialises in wet work (assassinations) in exchange for a reduced prison sentence. However, things go bad for Six when a job goes awry and he discovers his handlers in this CIA are far more crooked than he expected. This film really excels when the conflict becomes real, when our protagonist finds himself in a situation truly desperate and hard to get out of. This is most true of the initial hostage recovery scenes in the climactic final act, in which we have Six doing his best to escort the hostages out while under fire and Dani darts below laying siege to Lloyd's HQ.

 

Jessica Henwick, who played Suzanne Brewer, really is interesting as the voice of reason within the CIA top brass; the way Henwick has to play combative and horrified as Evans goes further off the books is really well done. Regé-Jean Page, who played Carmichael, is a great contrast to Henwick; Page is explosive as a CIA leader with a serious malicious streak.

However, the best performance came from Ryan Gosling, who played Six. As a protagonist Gosling is more than adept at carrying a role through a film in way that is interesting and dynamic. When we first confront Six he seems detached, professional but very emotionally distant from what he does. But that impression is shattered when Gosling shows the moral boundaries his role won't cross, in this example attempting an assassination with a child at risk. He takes on this very doggedly determined streak from here, becoming an unrelenting force forward to escape the world and situation he finds himself in. I like how world weary Six feels, Gosling portrays this guy as having no pleasure in the role he takes at all. Time and again Six swings into action on the sheer motivation of his moral compass. So seeing him blindly pursue Butters' Claire in the hope of saving her life is a simple but excellent guiding point. Plus Gosling really delivers dry, sarcastic humour exceedingly well in his action heroes.

The Gray Man is an action movie that likes to rush and constantly signal what it's about to do before it does it. The very first scene of the film is a lot of tell not show; we learn Six is in prison (a bad place) but he's only in there because he did 'the right thing'; because of this a man from the CIA recruits him to be part of his super secret elite ops team: Sierra. It's a move that gives you everything without actually making it seem interesting, more than this it summarises how Six's motives and personality are going to work for the entire film. This sort of thing happens a lot; Six finds incriminating evidence of the CIA director but chooses to go AWOL before he even knows it's incriminating, the niece of Six's mentor gets kidnapped and the film tacks on a flashback to reveal that Six and Claire had a personal connection, we get a very generic child abuse backstory for Six that justifies his earlier prison setting. The film wants to push Six and Lloyd into fights together, that's the whole thing but any time the story needs to be told it takes no time being subtle. There's a moment where mercenaries, either working for or against the CIA have a broad daylight shoot out in Prague; a scene that I struggle with because instead of shooting at a handcuffed Six (their collective target) they literally shoot at one another, the police or random civilians instead. It's entirely about forgin ahead, while also making Six the ultra-elite agent who cannot be touched. Eventually we finally get a bare knuckle brawl between Six and Lloyd right at the end of the final fight, but even this becomes a bit of an anti-climax. Rather than Six gaining a decisive victory over Lloyd, one of the CIA directors shoots our antagonist during the struggle which ends the big final confrontation. Just presenting an unconventional government agent gone rogue against some colourful antagonists isn't enough, the plot has to be there to support those ideas.

The visual style of this thing is such a confusing affair. The first two acts are shot with a lot of the same blocky wides, and the number of repetitive tracking shots show a lack of creative vision. Yet somehow things get worse when the film really decides to experiment with new drone shooting technology; earlier in the year I suffered with this while watching Ambulance and seeing it peppered throughout The Gray Man felt equally ugly. The special effects seen throughout never really come to life, in fact the scene where Six falls out of place looks horrendous and they used a lot of blurred cutting and cutting to black to work around this. The score for the film is very generic, fast-paced in the action and without presence most other times. I also found the soundtrack to be a little dull, playing 'Silver Bird' by Mark Lindsay on the record player for two action scenes must've looked better on paper than it played in the film.

Chris Evans, who played Lloyd Hansen, is what I imagine we would've gotten if he'd really gone over the top in Knives Out; Evans playing glib and aloof baddie with no moral compass should be fun but he went very over the top with it. Ana de Armas, who played Dani Miranda, is quite a bland character who doesn't always fit into the main narrative well; connecting her story with Gosling's in the back half of the film didn't really work as well as it could've. Billy Bob Thornton, who played Fitzroy, otherwise doesn't really care/want to be in this film or gives no range to his performance; there is never a moment the film made me believe he actually cared for any of the characters he had a relationship with. Dhanush, who played Avik San, is this very expressionless mercenary than feels little more than a stunt-focused henchman role; Dhanush's portrayal of a mercenary with a moral code right in his final scenes is quite corny. Alfre Woodard, who played Margaret Cahill, is another CIA leader introduced really suddenly through flashbacks to enhance Six's story with Claire; seeing Woodard play this retired figure spouting exposition felt like a waste of fine talent. Wagner Moura, who played Laszlo Sosa, is a wild performance that never finds a grounding point; Moura is all over the place in his scene and probably rattles off more than his character really needs as far as screen time goes. Julia Butters, who played Claire, certainly gives her all but it does come across a bit stilted; Butters' delivery often feels like she's learned the lines as opposed to portraying a role.

Imagine going from making the second highest grossing film of all time to making this. I would give The Gray Man a 2.5/10.

Persuasion

 This review may contain spoilers!

 

Persuasion is an adaptation of the Jane Austen novel of the same name, in which a young woman despairs and regrets after rejecting a suitor she loved due to his station. I am a sincere fan of Jane Austen screen adaptations, there is something about them that holds a very traditional yet captivating style. However, what I love even more than that is a creative writer/director who can take a Jane Austen adaptation and present it in a manner that we've never really experienced before. In 2020 I was absolutely blown away by the work done to bring Emma  to the screen in a fresh way; and while Persuasion isn't quite in the same league it comes darn close. This film really excels at finding the charming wit that originates from Jane Austen and shining a bright spotlight on how amusing these characters and stories can really be. What really enhances this is the way in which the audience interacts with Anne Elliot, our protagonist. The whole narrative Anne talks to the camera in asides that give insight into her own observations or state of emotion; this is really fun and the film plays with this to make you feel very empathetic towards Anne. The film also steadily crafts this nice, intricate web of relationships that exist between characters, watching how these relationships change and develop subtly is an impressive art that notes a great adaptation screenplay. The cinematography throughout really maximises the blend of colour and lighting, painting these scenes in an almost picturesque manner. Stuart Earl's work on the score for this film is phenomenal, he captures some of the melancholy with the lighter more mischievous moments.

 

Dakota Johnson, who played Anne Elliot, hasn't presented a character performance I've enjoyed this much since A Bigger Splash; watching Johnson awkwardly express her emotions to her co-stars one moment while bearing all to the camera the next was excellent. Richard E. Grant, who played Sir Walter Elliot, is exquisite as this self-indulgent fop; the overbearing manner grant lends to his role's ego is extremely funny. Yolanda Kettle, who played Elizabeth Elliot, matches Grant's performance beat for beat in terms of portrayal; I loved how Kettle instilled this sense of vanity and superiority within each of her scenes. Mia McKenna-Bruce, who played Mary Musgrove, is one of the funniest performances in the feature; listening to McKenna-Bruce's depiction of a woman who always worries after herself and cannot bear to ever miss out is classic Austen wit. Nia Towle and Izuka Hoyle, who played Louisa Musgrove and Henrietta Musgrove respectively, this pair enter the film with such energy and make for fast on-screen friends to Johnson's character; I particularly enjoyed the kind and compassionate portrayal we got from Towle. Hardy Yusuf and Jake Siame, who played Little Charles Musgrove and James Musgrove respectively, are entirely charming and excellent young performers in this; the scenes with this duo and johnson are some of the most heartwarming in the film. Edward Bluemel, who played Captain Harville, is a very likeable role who entertains and guides moments in the back half of the film well; Bluemel portrays a charismatic man with a distant sort of grief with remarkable talent. Henry Golding, who played Mr. Elliot, comes into this film oozing charm by the bucketload; Golding is a very winning performer but he does great work to make you feel uneasy and distrusting of his character.

 

However, the best performance came from Cosmo Jarvis, who played Wentworth. Jarvis comes into this feature like he had been chiselled out of the pages of Austen. This is a man with a cool exterior, often hard to read and finds difficulty in expressing his emotions. Yet in saying all of that, Jarvis shows Wentworth to be kind, a good listener and one who is aware of the needs of others. The hurt this character carries around from having his heart broken mirrors Johnson's own performance in a very subtle manner. I think watching Wentworth try to fill the void where love was with other connections or his own work is a trying conflict for him. In fact those scenes with Jarvis and Johnson steadily rekindling the romance between their characters is a massive part of why this movie works so well.

 

Persuasion loses its sense of era at times, both through performance and dialogue choice. These moments make some scenes feel disjointed in their portrayal to one another, as if the writers couldn't map the narrative entirely to their own creative expression. Most of the final act really stretches out Anne being courted by Mr Elliot and Wentworth, a love triangle of sorts that dragged out the time before the conclusion very severely. The narrative leading up to this had felt like an extremely witty ensemble piece with break away moments featuring Anne. But this final act lost some of the punch and engaged in a more trivial point of character conflict. The editing lent a slower pace to the film that never matched the fast-paced witty dialogue and delivery, often lingering too long on scenes that didn't need to be as long as they were. 

 

Simon Paisley Day and Nikki Amuka-Bird, who played Mr. Shepherd and Lady Russell respectively, are rather inconsequential as the main advisors to the Elliot family; I found Amuka Bird's performance in particular to be too stoic in nature. Lydia Rose Bewley, who played Penelope Clay, really rattles through her dialogue at a frantic and often garbled pace; you lose a lot of what this character could be in Bewley's portrayal. Ben Bailey Smith, who played Charles Musgrove, is very content with portraying a background player and little more; his voice is often dwarfed by Johnson or McKenna-Bruce when he is on-screen. Afolabi Alli, who played Captain Benwick, is a rather morose figure who doesn't show a broad scope of emotion in his performance; even his biggest motivating factor of grief is barely present at all.

This is a Jane Austen adaptation with an abundance of wit; a feature that takes really imaginative creative risks. I would give Persuasion a 7.5/10.

Thor: Love And Thunder

 This review may contain spoilers!

 

Thor: Love And Thunder is the fourth film in the Thor series and the 29th Marvel Cinematic Universe feature. In this adventure Thor gathers a ragtag team of heroes to combat Gorr, a corrupted individual who seeks to eradicate all gods in the universe. However, one of Thor's new teammates is his ex-girlfriend, Jane Foster, who also happens to now wield the power of Thor. The pair will have to work through their past feelings and new ones in order to prevent Gorr from bringing about a massacre. I like that this film really took a step back on the character of Thor and asked, 'what's next?' Thor's entire existence after Ragnarok was dedicated to stopping Thanos, and after this he is still the warrior god who helps those in need. But he has very little more than that in his life, he has left New Asgard in Valkyrie's hands and is failing to fit in alongside the Guardians of the Galaxy. This is where the film brings back one of the strongest elements of the original two Thor films: the relationship between Thor and Jane Foster. Watching this feature and seeing the pair try to reconcile after their breakup and Jane's new powers is brilliant to watch; and even more so when we see this pair fall in love all over again. I loved how Jane Foster's cancer story was told, her fear of dying to the disease after the death of her mother and the fight she gives against the disease by becoming Mighty Thor. Ultimately the sacrifice Jane makes in service of Thor and the Asgardian children is a very powerful moment, made all the more moving because this act causes a Gorr free of the Necrosword to choose a wish motivated by love instead of revenge. I couldn't stand the tonal departure Ragnarok was from what other Thor films had laid down but this film really marries the visions of all three prior entries into what may be my favourite one yet. On that note, Thor making the choice to continue to dedicate himself to being motivated by love by raising Gorr's child is such a wholesome choice and great character development.

The cinematography used throughout is fast-paced and often showing an incredible colour palette; the comedic and well-timed opening fight sequence is hilarious and inspired. The special effects hold fairly constant throughout, often crafting stunning settings or adding amazing flair to fight sequences. The way colour, CGI and lighting is balanced for the shadow realm scene was very admirable. Thor: Love and Thunder boasts some of my favourite blends of score and soundtrack in a Thor feature, with an exceptional use of some of Guns N' Rose's best tracks. Also an honourable mention to Mary J. Blige's 'Family Affairs' for one of the funniest scenes in the whole thing.

 

Chris Hemsworth, who played Thor, continues to lead these films with a tremendous amount of fun and energy; Hemsworth has found a way to balance his masculine space warrior role with his dry Aussie comedic delivery. Natalie Portman, who played Jane Foster, is welcomed back to the Thor features with open arms; only an actress of Portman's ability could portray such an emotional cancer storyline while also depicting the joys of becoming a new superhero. Tessa Thompson, who played King Valkyrie, has such stunning chemistry with both Hemsworth and Portman; Valkyrie is a fiercely loyal role who often steals the show here. Taika Waititi, who played Korg, slots into this film in his most convincing take as Thor's sidekick; watching Korg blunder his way through the adventure makes him the comedic backbone of the film. Russell Crowe, who played Zeus, had me in absolute fits; I don't know what I expected of Crowe as Zeus but this was above and beyond those expectations. Jaimie Alexander, who played Sif, is a great returning role to the Thor films; Alexander's more stoic manner is a nice contrast to Thor's more comedic turn. Stephen Curry, who played King Yakan, is such a funny minor role in the film that actually made the opening fight scene all the better; his complete reverence of Thor was brilliant and even funnier on the other side of the battle. Kieron L. Dyer, who played Axl, actually felt like a calm young leader of the Asgardian kid's group; I liked the way he spoke on behalf of his people and even had traits that hearkened back to Elba's portrayal of Heimdall. Matt Damon, Luke Hemsworth, Melissa McCarthy and Sam Neill, who played Actor Loki, Actor Thor, Actor Hela and Actor Odin respectively, continue the greatest gag to have come from Ragnarok in the melodramatic reenactment of past films; McCarthy coming in fresh as Hela was a really great addition to this ensemble. Kat Dennings and Stellan Skarsgård, who played Darcy and Erik respectively, are nice cameos to include as supporting friends to Jane Foster; watching the immediate chemistry with Portman and Dennings after all these years was wonderful to watch. India Rose Hemsworth, who played Love, is truly one of the more exciting new additions to come to the MCU out of this film; watching Hemsworth manage to bring mannerisms of Bale to her portrayal while also being entirely charming and a bit of a hellion in battle is exceptional talent. 

However, the best performance came from Christian Bale, who played Gorr. This is an actor who always puts in a crazy amount of effort for whatever role he is in and that is no different even in a Thor feature. Bale opens the feature with an intense portrayal of grief over the loss of his daughter, as well as a much deeper betrayal over the loss of his faith in his god. Watching Gorr become twisted by the Necrosword into a vengeance driven madman is quite fascinating to watch. Bale is playing to something akin to horror throughout, wandering the set like a spectre and petrifying the children extras with horrific tales and displays. Seeing this role verbally twist at and try to break apart Thor, Valkyrie and Jane in the shadow realm scene is definitely one of my favourite scenes of the film. Bale really rounds out his performance in Gorr's last scene by reuniting with his on-screen daughter beautifully and turning his role back into the man motivated by love that we met at the start of the feature.

The thing that I'll always struggle with in a Taika Waititi led production is that the sense of humour is great but the joke doesn't always know when enough is enough. I watched scenes in this film like Thor treating his weapons like people or the screaming goats and I found they lost their charm with repetition. There was a lot of fresh comedy here and I'm extremely pleased with just how great a lot of that landed but not every scene called for a punchline and some squarely felt flat. I really didn't like the film opening with Thor riding Stormbreaker like a witch's broom and the way Thor and Jane's earlier relationship was depicted felt strongly out of character. I also think the film relied quite strongly on child performers which was a questionable choice, the scenes in which Thor relayed messages to the kids really felt like the moments in which Hemsworth struggled.

Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Sean Gunn, Vin Diesel and Bradley Cooper, who played Peter Quill, Drax, Nebula, Mantis, Kraglin, Groot and Rocket respectively, weren't really in this film for any reason but because Thor was in their ship at the end of Endgame; the guardians as a team felt like a wasted opportunity in this story.

Without a doubt my new favourite Thor film. I would give Thor: Love And Thunder an 8/10.

Minions: The Rise Of Gru

 This review may contain spoilers!

 

Minions: The Rise Of Gru is the second Minions film and the fifth film in the Despicable Me series. In this prequel, we come to see how Gru worked with the minions to become one of the more noteworthy supervillains, even facing down his heroes: the Vicious Six. At long last I'm watching a Despicable Me film again and it feels like there is genuine thought put into the story and that it actually pays genuine homage to the stories that have come before it. What will strike you from the go is how interested this film is in inviting you back to the story in a unique manner. We get a brilliant introduction into the 70s era setting, followed by a thrilling look at the Vicious Six conducting a heist that will grant them insurmountable power. The whole sequence concludes with the main villain we've been following, Wil Knuckles, being betrayed by his teammates and left for dead; cutting to a James Bond opening number parody conducted by the Minions. It's a really funny but also compelling start to the feature for an audience member of any age and it sets the standard the film pretty consistently tries to meet throughout. This film actually found the goldmine for a prequel that the first Minions missed entirely, and that is the inclusion of a very young Gru. Seeing how Gru came to accept the Minions and actually take care of them is excellent foreshadowing to the three girls he adopts later in life. More than this we get to see him as an ambitious villain that does bad things in a way that makes you root for him, even befriending his idol: Wild Knuckles. The father/son relationship between Wild Knuckles and Gru is really important in setting up our young protagonist to be the villain with a code of honour that he grows up to become. The number of careful little links and nods back to fan favourite moments from throughout the franchise is very endearing and shows a lot of care was put into this script.

The animation for this film shows that Illumination has advanced at long last, you get good detail in the character models and how lighting is applied to an animated scene. I also found the score of the film to provide an upbeat adventurous tone that really suited the antics at hand. The soundtrack is a massive win that highlights a number of 70s era songs to set the scene and enhance the comedic effect. This is the first time in a long time that I've found the Minions performing well known songs to actually be funny.

 

Pierre Coffin, who voiced the Minions, found a way to make these things fun characters again; not only does Coffin display great comedic delivery but he really goes to an effort to pitch each key Minion he voices in a distinct way. Taraji P. Henson, who voiced Belle Bottom, is immediately as iconic as Jason Segel's Vector or Trey Parker's Balthazar Bratt; Henson has a commanding presence that makes her a villainous leader worth fearing. Michelle Yeoh, who voiced Master Chow, is the shining light in what is one of the weaker plotlines of the film; Yeoh hams up the wise martial arts master routine to nice comedic effect. Russell Brand, who voiced Dr. Nefario, is a very welcome return to the series; hearing the endearing way with which he takes Gru under his wing makes for a fantastic origin of how the pair first met. Alan Arkin, who voiced Wild Knuckles, is this gruff old supervillain who is fighting everyone who wants to betray him and phase him out; I loved seeing this character and Gru genuinely bond with one another and teach the other to do good for those they care about.

However, the best performance came from Steve Carell, who voiced Gru. The best part of a lot of these movies is hearing Carell's nasally supervillain voice warble out of the cinema speakers. But there's something even more fun at hearing him pitch that voice softer to give the impression of Gru as a kid. In this film we see Gru as more of an outcast figure who is immensely lonely and doing his level best to recognise his dream of being a villain. But either because there is no one there to help him or no one believes in him, he keeps coming up against barriers. But seeing this young protagonist show care for those who need it in spite of his villainous goals marks this depiction of Gru as one of the most likeable yet. It was great hearing the chemistry Carell and Arkin crafted together in painting a sort of father/son duo. I especially loved hearing Carell's eulogy for Wild Knuckles at the end of the feature, both a very heartfelt yet surprisingly funny scene.

The first act and a lot of the second act of this film really shine as a great animated feature, but somewhere along the way the same pitfalls the first Minions film and Despicable Me 3 had rear their head. These films can have a great plot but if they're running short or need to fill space? They chuck in an often aimless Minions sub-plot that never feels aligned to the main story. In this feature we have a Minion called Otto who always seems off on bumbling adventures that really take us away from the more interesting parts of the film. Yet worse than that, we have Kevin, Stuart and Bob trying to rescue Gru by undergoing kung fu training extremely late in the feature. This entire story seems like a whole separate thing to what we had otherwise been watching thus far, and watching three Minions learn kung fu for twenty minutes never really justified itself. In fact the way their training was incorporated into the final fight made the third act come off as being a little rushed.

Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dolph Lungren, Lucy Lawless and Danny Trejo, who voiced Jean Clawed, Svengeance, Nunchuk and Stronghold respectively, are collectively such extreme wastes of phenomenal talent; none of these characters get more screen time than a goon would despite their prominent role in the film.

I haven't enjoyed a film in the Despicable Me franchise this much since the first one. I would give Minions: The Rise Of Gru a 7/10.

Elvis

This review may contain spoilers!

 

Elvis is a biopic following the rise to stardom of Elvis Presley, chiefly narrated through the lens of Elvis' corrupt manager: Colonel Tom Parker. It takes a very long time for the narrative to find its feet but once the film confidently hands the story off to Elvis so we can see and understand his character it becomes a fascinating watch. You understand that in his time period the man was quite a radical type of entertainer, he pushed a perception of what was appropriate and revolutionized white America through the introduction of rock and roll. The struggles we see of Elvis resisting attempts to stifle his style of performance is fascinating, it's very bold and the repercussions quite unique. Ultimately the most compelling part of this whole feature is the relationship between Elvis and his manager, Colonel Parker. Parker is the money-hungry antagonist of the film, he follows Elvis around like the man is a money magnet. Watching the ways Parker manipulates Elvis and his image, the nature of the performer's very career for the sake of profit, is deeply disturbing. There are great punchy moments in the script where Elvis revels against his manager but ultimately Elvis is steadily beaten down and treated like a cash cow, the nature of his performance surviving even if the man doesn't. While I have few kind words to say about the soundtrack arrangement for Elvis none of that is really directed at the vocal performance of Austin Butler; the way he captures the sound of Elvis is worth the price of admission if nothing else. Baz Luhrmann is an experienced master when it comes to capturing a visual piece, he crafts a visual that moves with the story of Elvis while also highlighting Elvis and how Elvis affected others with a sort of reverence.

 

Austin Butler, who played Elvis, immerses himself into this role completely; Butler is at his best when he shows Elvis feeling caged and wanting to break out - truly impactful scene work. Olivia DeJonge, who played Priscilla, is a real powerhouse despite her small screen time; DeJonge presents a woman who is fighting for the sake of her life and those she loves. Richard Roxburgh, who played Vernon, crafts this father figure who feels utterly impotent and it's great; seeing Roxburgh become more and more crestfallen as he feels less able to aid his son is such a subtle yet brilliant performance. Kelvin Harrison Jr., who played B.B. King, is a real scene stealer in this and is far and away the best part of the first act; watching this man make cool and steady observations of the music scene and the world around him and Butler's Elvis marks him as a very wise figure.

 

However, the best performance came from Tom Hanks, who played Colonel Tom Parker. There is no one in this cast who has the same incredible range and years of experience that Hanks has, so it should come as no surprise that he steals the show. What may surprise some readers however, is that Hanks' character is the lens through which Elvis' story is told to us. From the top of the film Hanks introduces himself as this sly unreliable narrator. He is a distrustful voice dangling a good story before us, which cuts a great introduction for his role but also lends some intrigue to the start of the feature. As we go along we come to see the Colonel as a man possessed of immeasurable avarice, who preys upon people of talent to line his own pockets. The ways Hanks spins possibility for people sounds too good to be true, and it often is. The glee with which he saddles Elvis with merchandise and sponsors makes the main protagonist seem more object than person in the Colonel's eyes. Indeed, the last act of the film is a potent struggle between Hanks and Butler in which the Colonel pulls some extremely devious tactics to retain extreme amounts of control over Elvis Presley. A real reprobate of a character that it becomes extremely hard to even believe that it's Tom Hanks playing him.

 

This film is one I really grappled with, I didn't know a lot about Elvis going in so I leaned on what the film had to tell me. However, in saying that the first act of the film struggled to say much at all. Often Elvis was seen from a distance and it took a very long time to get dialogue from the man, let alone his first performance. In fact there were times throughout the piece where I felt this wasn't really an Elvis story so much as it was a film about Colonel Tom Parker and his exploitation of Elvis. The film kept showing big events in American history, such as the deaths of JFK or Martin Luther King Jr., and dangled them out as if Elvis was tied to those moments. But the film never really fully realises these moments it teases, in fact there's a lot the film teases but then neglects going into the more complicated issues. The most glaring one is Elvis and his relationship with the African-American community. Elvis performed a lot of Black music, took a lot of his moves and fashion from the Black community too. The film acknowledges that Elvis took his sound from "Black American Rhythm and blues" as Baz Luhrmann puts it, but the question becomes is that enough? The film identifies Elvis has these connections but it never shapes a perspective on whether Elvis was right to uses Black culture the way he did. It makes for a very murky start to the film, giving a real lacking sense of direction and sullies the protagonist somewhat. The film also quickly pushes Elvis into his relationship with Priscilla, but very quickly skirts past the fact she's 14 and therefore underage. This is a film that has identified one struggle with the Colonel that is easy to tell, and it's very clear by the final act that that plotline is all Luhrmann really has an interest in exploring. This is Elvis, but it's the shiny biopic that spotlights all the meaty bits and shies away from the tougher storytelling opportunities. I often found the editing style chopped and changed an appalling amount, nothing in these unique moments of transition or cutting felt consistent. The score had these big barrages of sound that could well have been from a blockbuster film and felt very out of place; the soundtrack having modern hip hop and Elvis covers spliced throughout was abominable. The film Elvis is curtailed by an Eminem rap song which might be the most appalling thing I've ever seen done in a musician biopic. 

Helen Thomson, who played Gladys, made Elvis' relationship with his mother feel almost creepy; Thomson rarely played her character in a way that spoke of affection so much as it did obsession. David Wenham, who played Hank Snow, is quite a muted character in the first act; his role doesn't really generate interesting conflict with Hanks at all. Luke Bracey, who played Jerry Schilling, gets pushed out as a main character quite abruptly and never finds his footing; Bracey is a tough sell as one of Elvis' friends because he has extremely little chemistry with Butler in their scenes together. Dacre Montgomery, who played Steve Binder, doesn't feel as worldly and as experienced as a musical producer of his calibre should; Montgomery really doesn't grapple with Hanks well and it feels like he should be pushing the role a little further.

Much like its depiction of Elvis Presley, this is a very wild and fevered biopic. I would give Elvis a 6.5/10.