Review: Jupiter Ascending (2015)

The Wachowski's have pulled off a feast for the eyes. This film has to be one of the most visually splendid movies I have ever seen. The attention to detail is astonishing, and the ideas behind it are fantastic.

So how does it fair story wise - I think it is pretty good. As you get further along, you will have some questions for sure. I think there could have been another 20 or 30 mins in there to really do the story and character's a bit more service (and the audience), but overall I really enjoyed what they did.

Kunis is Jupiter Jones. She is the heir to the world of Earth. Part of a long line of rulers in the universe, her DNA holds the key to our future. Tatum is her protector. Sent to Earth to bring her back to the 'aliens' home planet, he will stop at nothing to do his duty. That is a really simple breakdown of the story, as there is a few layers to it.

Some say it gets a bit muddled. It kind of does, but, as I said above, I think it just needed a bit more runtime to flesh it out a tad more or give some closure to some threads - considering they're touching on quite a bit of story in the first place. The flipside to that is it could have been cut down and more streamlined. But, that wouldn't be the Wachowski's. I think it went pretty well for the first 2/3 to 3/4, then it started to drop in coherence.

The film is being bagged out a fair bit - I think it is unwarranted. Is this the best Wachowski film? No. Is it anywhere near their best? Not quite. Is it occasionally cheesy space lunacy? Yes. Is it the kind of film you should go with the flow and have some fun with? Fucken aye.

The Wachowski's have constructed a balls-out space opera with a story I would like to see continued. Unfortunately, it looks like we won't. I will be happy to relive it in glorious Full HD Bluray though. I wonder if there will be a longer cut? I hope so.

Rating:

3.5 out of 5.

Review: The Imitation Game (2014)

Admittedly, I knew nothing about Alan Turing before going into this film. I knew a bit about what Enigma was, but that is it.

Cumberbatch at the start gave me a sort of Sherlock vibe with his portrayal, but this went shortly after. He is in top form as the socially awkward, mathematical genius. He is supported very well by Keira Knightly as his colleague and "love interest".

The film tells the story of Turing during his time in the war with a team of specialists as they try to crack the German's Enigma code, but also interchanges time periods to Turing's late schooling days and then post war life.

Although the story is overall engaging, I did feel it just dragged in parts, and the flashbacks to his late school life didn't really serve much purpose for me. There was questions in my head over what his post war life was depicted as, but these didn't seemed to be answered. For me, this made it a bit confusing to watch, as I wasn't sure why some story elements were touched on but not really explained later on. Perhaps I like a neat bow with some films.

I'm bad with my history knowledge, so I didn't even know that homosexuals had been "punished" to this level in the timeframe depicted. Again, another story that shows how fucking horrible we are to each other as humans on this planet, and how recent this horrible history really is. Hell, even in the 21 st century, are we still much better.

Anyways, I digress - the movie is very good. It should definitely be something that everyone watches - but it ain't no best picture.

Rating:

3.5 out of 5.

Review: American Sniper (2014)

Well, this film is certainly doing some bumper business at the U.S. box office. In some ways, I can see why, but really, I don't think it is because of the film being great - because it is not.

I like Eastwood as a director - he's made some pretty damn good movies. This one, although it is good, seems to be lacking a bit. The action is fine, with some scenes being quite intense, but the emotional hit I was expecting wasn't there. It is certainly a film that is trying to convey the PTSD that Chris Kyle was working his way through, but I feel as though it did it at a surface level. Whenever the opportunity to explore it came up, we're going back to war. It wasn't until the end where I felt the emotional side really start to resonate.

The film itself is well acted by Cooper. I don't know if it is Oscar worthy good, but, he's definitely doing some of his best work here. Sienna Miller as his wife probably didn't have much to work with. I didn't feel anything special from her - solid, but nothing outstanding. The rest of the cast are all merely support roles, with no one in particular being a standout - this is Cooper's show.

In the end, it felt similar to The Hurt Locker in some ways, although I think that movie is better overall. This one is a solid film, with a mostly quality production (you may spot the reason for me saying mostly). The story is occasionally very gung-ho, but does try to balance that out with the horror of war for the soldiers involved (even if mostly for the American soldier aspect). Chris Kyle's story is a very interesting one, but the film was perhaps a bit too cold for me to really get engaged with.

Rating:

3 out of 5.