Spotlight Movie Review

Spotlight is directed by Tom McCarthy and stars Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams and Mark Ruffalo and tells the true story of the Boston Globe's "Spotlight" team and their investigation into a large child molestation scandal within the Catholic Church. Spotlight is considered by many to be this year's front runner for Best Picture at the Oscars, and with good reason. It's an authentic film which emotionally creeps up on you from scene to scene and one thoroughly enjoyable theatre going experience, even if the subject matter can be quite disturbing at times.

This year many quality films have been released, during which the real star of the film is the director. For example, despite Leo's excellent physical performance, the true star of The Revenant is director Innaritu, who imposes his style of long tracking takes and fluid camera motions to bring that story to life. The Hateful Eight was a movie where director Tarantino stole the show with his typical rapid-fire dialogue and balls-to-the-wall violence. Spotlight is quite the opposite of the aforementioned films.

 Director Tom McCarthy's style of direction for this project is purposefully subdued so the dramatic beats of the plot and the emotional weight of the script come to centre stage. McCarthy intentionally holds back with this film and as a result, all the remaining components of filmmaking such as the narrative, the screenplay and the acting performances all take centre stage. It's not a character driven film as such, but what rises to the top in this tale is the imperative need for justice for the victims of the degenerate Catholic priests. I really appreciated how McCarthy helmed this project, and I was absorbed into this story from scene one.

 This film has such an authentic overall feel to it and because this script does such a good job at immersing you in from very early on, at times it feels like you're watching real events unfold before you. It doesn't feel like actors performing in front of a camera, it feels like real people having real conversations. That is again testament to what is a phenomenally written screenplay and a collection of excellently subdued performances from an ensemble of truly talented actors.

 Michael Keaton comes off of his excellent turn in Birdman, this time delivering a more meditative and calm performance as the leader of the Spotlight team. I think we all knew after Birdman that Keaton still had some proper acting chops, and Spotlight solidifies this claim showcasing he still possesses the entire spectrum of emotional range. Also, Rachel McAdams continues to choose good projects and does some very good work here in what has been a very successful couple of months for her. However, the one who takes the spotlight in Spotlight (pun intended) is Mark Ruffalo.

 Fresh off of another Oscar nomination (and justifiably so) Ruffalo, like his co-stars, delivers a subdued and nuanced performance. However, there is one scene in particular which took me completely off guard because it felt uncomfortably real. Usually in a film like this where an actor is subdued throughout and then starts to scream and shout in one scene alone it sticks out like a sore thumb. But because you can feel the emotion radiating off of him, you do not get that with Ruffalo. He is terrific in this film. He may not beat Stallone to the statue, but if he continues the way he is he has one coming his way I'll tell you now.

 With the exception of a few instances during which the script purposefully stops the narrative to directly explain things to the audience, Spotlight is such an immersive movie due to its well realised script that fleshes out its main characters and sets up emotional intrigue at every turn it can. But what I loved the most about Spotlight was its portrayal of the media in a positive light. It's very easy to criticise mass media for its rampant commercialism and questionable representation of migrants and other ethnic minorities in today's society (believe me, it's what I'm studying at university).

 But Spotlight focuses on the journalists, the actual people behind the news. It does an excellent job at showcasing how difficult and time consuming yet how rewarding investigative journalism can be. It does a fine job at showcasing both the practical and ethical constraints under which these people operate, including the pressure to meet deadlines and how careful they have to be when interviewing victims. It shows how sudden tragedies like 9/11 can happen which ultimately put long-running stories like this on hold. As a student of the media, I was fascinated by all this movie had to say about modern media through a positive lens.

 But you don't have to be a media student to fully appreciate this film. If you like an engaging and emotionally impactful story with fleshed out characters, well-written dialogue and thoughts which will provoke you long after you leave the movie theatre, then Spotlight is definitely a film to seek out. Some may find the pacing to be slow and others may find the source material difficult to digest due to religious reasons, but just judging it as a film Spotlight is pretty darn good. If it goes on to win Best Picture, you will hear no complaints from me:



Rating - A-

Thanks for reading,
Matt

The Big Short Movie Review

The Big Short is directed by Adam Mckay and stars Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling and Brad Pitt and is the true story of a group of various Wall Street analysts who predict the crash of the US housing market and the collapse of the world economy. Having received universally positive reviews from critics and loved by the Academy, I was looking forward to viewing The Big Short. However, every single year there is that one "Oscar" movie that everyone else seems to love bar myself. Last year, it was Foxcatcher. This year, it's The Big Short.

Don't get me wrong I by no means hate this movie as there's definitely a lot of good things within it which I enjoyed very much. For one, Christian Bale's performance is utterly terrific, playing the one guy who predicts the financial fallout before anybody else. I thought his performance was grounded and believable, plus I enjoyed the socially awkward aspect of his character. He's definitely a strange person but the movie takes time to explain to you why he is the way he is, and it bought for some funny moments with the supporting cast. He deserves his Oscar nom in my opinion.

Also, Steve Carell once again proved the point that comedic actors can in fact be very capable dramatic actors through his rage-filled performance as a man who is just fed up with and baffled by the sheer amount of both fraud and stupidity which made up the housing market. Like Christian Bale's character, he still felt like a human being and you understood exactly why he was the way he was as the movie's screenplay again attempts to ground this man in humanity.

Brad Pitt was not in the movie for very long but I thought he did a sound job in every scene he was in. He also really delivers in what might be my favourite scene of the entire movie when he rips into the 2 young characters for celebrating betting against the world's economy to collapse. That was when The Big Short intrigued me on an emotional level, because it's all well and good going "I told you so", but the consequences of this collapse affected real people in the world. People lost their jobs, they lost their homes, and I enjoyed when the movie focused on that aspect of the story.

Along with helming this project, Adam McKay had a hand in writing the screenplay and what I will say is it does have enough humour and basic emotional intrigue to keep it at a watchable level, but I don't think I'd ever want to watch The Big Short again simply because of its irritating and imposing style of direction. Odd musical choices, weird crash zooms, purposefully off-focus and unsteady camerawork and dim lighting all were meant to come together to make The Big Short present itself like a documentary. However, my view on this is don't go out of your way to make your movie look as unprofessional as possible! Why not transfer that creative energy and just do the opposite?

McKay's writing and direction for this film was stylistically bold and I will give him credit for trying something different, however I just couldn't get behind the way this movie was directed. On top of that, there are numerous attempts at a fourth wall break which just come across as awkward and incredibly out of left field. And don't even get me started on the shoved-down-your-throat celebrity cameos this movie uses to try and get you to understand all the complicated banking jargon.

The screenplay definitely goes out of its way to dumb-down some of it and for some this will be enough. For me, while the way normal conversational dialogue is written in this film is done very well, the attempt to simplify various elements of banking jargon wasn't handled very well in my opinion; it just came across to me as clunky.

And my final issue with this movie is the character played by Ryan Gosling. He's a talented actor which he has shown in movies such as Drive and The Place Beyond the Pines, but his character in this movie is an annoying asshole I just couldn't get behind. Don't get me wrong, I got the point, it's just compared to the rest of the cast he felt aloof. As the narrator of this story, he didn't feel organic or anything like a real person. More interesting characters in the movie such as those of Bale or Carell are more enjoyable to watch as they feel like real people grounded in reality. It almost felt like Gosling didn't really need to be in the film at all.

Again I'll emphasise I don't hate this movie and I feel there is a lot of enjoyment to be had from it. I enjoyed the acting performances, the attempt to flesh out our main characters and thought it was extremely well edited. However, while I understood the artistic choices made with McKay's directorial style and the screenplay, they just didn't work for me and detracted from my enjoyment of the film. It's not terrible by any means, just personally disappointing:


Rating - C+

Thanks for reading,
Matt

2016 will see The Dawn of the Justice League!!!

We're finally in the year 2016, the year where Warner Brother's and DC attempt to launch a shared cinematic universe for their comic book characters. We will finally see a film universe in which iconic characters such as Batman, Superman, Lex Luthor and The Joker all share the same plane of existence. I'm incredibly excited to see what WB have up their sleeve, and after viewing various clips from the CW special "DC Films presents: The Dawn of the Justice League", my excitement levels have just gone through the roof.


Wonder Woman

 

With director Patty Jenkins kindly agreeing to showcase some brand new footage from the Wonder Woman movie, set for a June 23rd 2017 release, we get our first proper look at the Amazon Princess in her own solo outing. What this footage confirms to me is that after we meet her character in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, we will get to find out more about her and learn exactly who she is and what motivates her. It seems that her arc in this film surrounds the idea of whether or not humanity is worth protecting, causing her to go on a quest into the human world to find out the answer to that question. I believe the time frame for this film is during World War 1, so around the year 1915.

I was pleasantly surprised not just by the look of Wonder Woman herself, but the general aesthetic of the action sequences showcased. My only concern for this film is Gal Gadot herself, whether she has the acting chops to bring this iconic female superhero to life. Hopefully after Batman v Superman, I'll be itching to see more of her.


Flash

Along with an extended look at Wonder Woman, the CW special gave us some early glimpses at the other 3 characters who will make up the Justice League roster, one of them being The Flash. This incarnation of the character is separate from the Grant Gustin one currently on TV, but the actor portraying him in the movies (Ezra Miller) is confirmed to be Barry Allen and not Wally West.

It seems that The Flash's character arc is constructed in a similar way to the TV show; his mother is killed, his father falsely blamed for it, Barry becomes obsessed with forensic science to find out the truth before being struck by lightning and gifted incredible speed powers. But what intrigues me most is the possibility surrounding this character. In fact, I think at one point Geoff Johns and Ezra Miller suggested his speed powers allow him to break free from the space-time continuum and enter alternative dimensions. How cool is that? We will see Ezra Miller's Flash a tiny bit in Batman v Superman before expanding his role in both Justice League movies and his 2018 solo outing.


Aquaman

It's been known for a while that Jason Momoa's Aquaman will make a small appearance in Batman v Superman, but this TV special offered us a greater look at his costume as well as a compelling character arc to expect from him. Arthur Curry is a son of a lighthouse keeper and the Queen of Atlantis, and as a result feels as if he doesn't belong in either world.

Despite the fact he may not belong ideally in either world, he has a great sense of morality and feels a responsibility to protect both the world under the waters and above it. Another fascinating aspect of his character I really hope to see them explore is the fact he is incredibly inexperienced dealing with powers he doesn't entirely understand. That makes for both a compelling protagonist and a vulnerable hero you want to route for. Bring on Aquaman, who I think is going to blow audiences away and stop all of the petty popular culture jokes once and for all!


Cyborg

Skip to the last third of the above clip to her Geoff Johns and Kevin Smith discuss the character of Cyborg, who might be the most relatable, compelling character introduced to us so far. Cyborg is constantly connected to the Internet, awake 24 hours a day constantly absorbing data, and for that reason could prove to be a valuable asset to the Justice League in such a digital age. I feel audiences will liken to him as a result.

But what makes me so excited is the potential character arc I think they're going to run with in the movies. Victor Stone, after his accident, is left fatally wounded and can only survive if transformed into a machine. What I think the movies will revolve around is Stone trying to hold on to his humanity whilst his body becomes more and more artificial. It's a great idea from DC here, and proves that what they're doing is creating movies which take care with their title characters. We'll meet a load of these heroes in The Justice League part 1 or maybe even Batman v Superman, but their solo outings will delve deeper into the characters and let us as audiences know exactly who they are.

My major question concerning Cyborg is when will we see his transformation? Is there enough room in Batman v Superman to add in this side plot? I'm not sure, but again only time will give us the answers.


Green Lantern(s)

I can't find the actual clip, but during the CW special Geoff Johns confirmed that Green Lantern would be joining our heroes in The Justice League part 1. However, it won't just be Hal Jordan. In fact, the Green Lantern Corps is suggested to play a big role in the upcoming 2 part Justice League film. So we will have our Justice League comprising of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Aquaman, Cyborg and the entire Green Lantern Corps fighting beside them.

The Corps are a group of intergalactic police, and the fact they will appear in these movies as well as a planned solo outing in 2020 suggests DC are listening to what the fans want to see.... people like John Stewart and Kyle Rayner alongside the most famous GL Hal Jordan. But if in the Justice League movies the JL have to fight huge intergalactic threats such as Brainiac or Darkseid, it could easily tie the GL Corps into the story.


The Suicide Squad and the DC villains

At the end of the special, we were treated to a brand new Suicide Squad trailer during which the worst of the worst of DC villainy jump from shenanigan to shenanigan, edited perfectly to the beat of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody.  From this new trailer, I took out the following:

- Harley Quinn still looks like the scene stealer with some gut busting lines of dialogue.

- Her origin and how that ties into The Joker will probably be the main focus point of the movie even if it isn't marketed as such. I feel her current predicament and The Joker's are tied to Ben Affleck's Batman's past. Maybe after the 2 were incarcerated and the death of a certain Robin occurred, that's when Bruce hung up the cape and cowl. Now the 2 are roaming "free" again, Bruce has another reason to come out of retirement besides kicking Superman's ass!

- The film may link into a future trilogy of solo Batman films, with the "Under the Red Hood" storyline being almost a certainty to occur. We'll have to wait and see.

- The movie is going to be knowingly light hearted and willingly funny, something other DC films have been criticised for lacking.

- Joel Kinnamen's Rick Flagg doesn't actually look too bad. "What is wrong with you people?!" is delivered so well by him that it's actually my favourite line of the trailer.

- They're holding back on Jared Leto's Joker, whose hopefully great interpretation of the character is kept under wraps until we go and see the movie in August of this year.

- This movie, if it is both commercially and critically successful, will spawn off a whole entire sub section of the DC Extended Universe during which the villains, not the heroes, take centre stage. The possibilities are endless!



Add on top of all of these projects a new saga of solo Batman films, a possible Superman standalone and a Shazam movie starring The Rock as Black Adam, we have a lot to look forward to in the DC Extended Universe. And it's coming sooner rather than later!


Thanks for reading,
Matt

Creed Movie Review

Creed is directed by Ryan Coogler and is the seventh instalment in the Rocky franchise, starring Michael B Jordan and Sylvester Stallone. Jordan plays "Donnie" Creed, a young man who wishes to follow in his father Apollo's footsteps of becoming a successful boxer whilst trying to carve out his own legacy on the sport. His pursuit of his goal brings him to an aged Rocky Balboa, played by Stallone, who comes out of retirement to train the young protégé and teach him how to be successful in the ring.

Despite not being well immersed into the Rocky franchise or boxing movies in general, Creed utterly blew me away. Like Rush did a few years ago, Creed purposefully makes the sport come second to our main characters, their motivations and the relationships which spawn between them. I say this all the time but for a movie to be great you have to give us great characters, and in Creed that is exactly what the filmmakers managed to accomplish, helped by some truly real and emotionally powerful performances.

I think its fair to say that Michael B Jordan can well and truly wipe away the sh*t stain that is Fant4stic off of his filmography as his turn in Creed as young Donnie is incredible. His performance encapsulates everything a main character should be in a film. He is a vulnerable hero, he loses, he gets beaten down, he makes mistakes, he has personality faults which sometimes enter the ring with him. He's a well-rounded, likeable character who you want to see succeed simply because he's not this perfect person who wins all of the time.

I often find that romances in movies tend to detract from the important plot points of the movie. Thankfully, I didn't feel like that in Creed. I loved the character of Bianca and bought into the relationship that blossoms between her and Donnie. One particular aspect of the way her character was written which I really appreciated was the parallels made between her and Donnie. Both characters feel like they would naturally gravitate towards each other as they're both in a similar situation in their lives. Both are trying to find their passion and their place in the world. Like Donnie, Bianca has faults as well and their relationship was believable and I actually cared about it.

But I have to be honest when I say that Sylvester Stallone's performance as Rocky is not only worthy of an Oscar nomination (which he did in fact receive), it's worthy of the golden statue itself. He is the only actor this year who brought me to genuine man tears with his performance, I'm not exaggerating. The way Rocky is in Creed is very similar to how Han Solo is portrayed in The Force Awakens. It's not just an older Stallone coming back to play young Rocky again, you feel as if the character has grown and matured off screen. He's a different character at this point and Stallone proves this is the one role he was born to play.

Creed is also one of the best written films of the year with one of my favourite screenplays. The script takes time to flesh out its characters to the point where they're so compelling they feel as if they're actual people living in this world. It develops characters organically and understands character motivation very well. You understand why people like Donnie or Rocky would gravitate towards each other at this point in their lives. Not only that, it understands motivation for characters with less screen time i.e. people like Bianca or even Ricky Conlan, the Scouser Donnie fights at the end of the film. The screenplay also has a great sense of humour.

However, none of this would have been possible if it weren't for the vision of director Ryan Coogler, who brought this story which he came up with himself onto the big screen in all of its glory. There is one boxing sequence in particular which was done in one tracking shot, during which the camera movements, the stunt choreography and the stunt work itself (done by the actors I should add) was astounding. This particular fight blew any fight seen in Southpaw from earlier on in the year out of the water as it is helmed less stylistically. Here, the hits land harder and the punches are more impactful, immersing you into the intensity of the moment.

The final boxing match of the movie is intense and the way the build up to the fight is written engages you as a viewer and gets you understand how high the stakes have become. Its definitely not as well helmed as the first fight in this film but I still enjoyed watching it and enjoyed the pay off which we ultimately receive. I feel as if the final fight isn't as intense as the fight towards the half way mark of the film as it switches between a first hand view of the fight to a more stylistic, TV coverage type way of shooting it. I'd have preferred if it were shot the way the first fight was, but understand the choice the filmmakers made.

Creed is an excellent film with great acting performances and compelling characters you want to watch. It's a fascinating, engaging tale of the master boxer returning to fill a hole in his life and the young protégé who wants to make his mark on the world on his own back doing the thing he loves the most. As a drama it does everything brilliantly, and I can't recommend it enough:


Rating - A

Thanks for reading,
Matt

The Revenant Movie Review

The Revenant is directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu and stars Leonardo Di Caprio and Tom Hardy. Leo plays explorer Hugh Glass, who after an incredibly violent exchange with a bear and witnessing a traumatic event involving his son is left for dead in the wilderness by his men. Heavily beaten down to the point of near death, Leo undertakes a path of revenge, battling all nature has to throw at him along the way. What follows is a unique and immersive movie experience unlike anything I have ever seen before.

The Revenant is perhaps the most visually stunning film I have ever seen. Straight off of Academy Award triumphs for Gravity and Birdman, Emmanuel Lubezki's cinematography is absolutely wonderful and perfectly immerses you into a world of danger, brutality, but at the same time, a world of visceral beauty. Despite being a white knuckle thrill ride concerning one man's sheer force of will to survive, The Revenant is also a beautiful film as it captures the human spirit in a way I thought movies no longer could. The purposeful contrast between the chaos and anarchy of the battle sequences compared with the way Lubezki's camera so peacefully glides across the environment was an excellent choice made by some very talented filmmakers.

After reading all that I have concerning this film's production, I have to credit the filmmakers for the quality of the final product. The fact that this film was 95% of the time shot out in cold, remote locations where they could only use sun to light their scenes is quite astounding when you think about it. Innaritu's meticulous direction of this film deserves a lot of praise. Considering most scenes in this film are portrayed using long, tracking shots and he had very limited times of day (due to the sunlight) to shoot a scene, The Revenant is a technical phenomenon. Innaritu imaginatively directs this flick in a way that no other director could, despite the quite ludicrous time constraints he had on him making this film.

His trait of shooting scenes with seemingly never-ending tracking shots really brings out the raw emotion from his actors, which it should do in a film as intense and as profound as this one. Leonardo Di Caprio is unsurprisingly brilliant and once again proves no matter what role he has to play, he will always give consistently great acting performances. It's one of the most accomplished of his career as his character Hugh Glass is realised in the perfect way, encapsulating all the emotions you'd expect. But this is a role of few words for Di Caprio who has to spend most of the time using his body to physically convey what his character is thinking.

It's definitely Leo's most physically committed role to date and he knocks it out of the park. I can't honestly fathom how Leo did some of the stuff he did in this film, but it all paid off and contributed to the stark realism of his character's emotional and physical situation. This film would completely fall apart if you weren't routing for Glass to succeed but thankfully you are, which is credit to Leo and the screenwriter's vision for the character. You're routing for this guy right from the get go, and continue to do so throughout due to his sheer determination, force of will and desire for revenge against Fitzgerald, the man who wronged him, played by Tom Hardy.

The relationship they set up between Glass and Fitzgerald is done impressively quickly. Tom Hardy, while sometimes guilty of mumbling things whilst adopting a southern accent, is also excellent in the film and expertly sells the grudge his character has against Leo's. You feel the hatred emanating off of his character's body, and at the same time you hate his guts as well. Watching The Revenant, you want nothing more than to see Glass come back and beat him to death for what he did.

But he's not a 1 dimensional villain with a simple grudge against Leo, you can actually understand the motivation of his character for wanting to leave Leo behind. This is what makes a villain compelling at the same time one who you can't stand to be alive. But the acting performances don't stop being good from there as both Domnhall Gleeson (who's had a tremendous 12 months with Ex Machina and The Force Awakens) and Will Poulter performed well in their respective roles. Both did great jobs at fleshing out their characters within the constraints of a narrative focused on other characters. The humanity and innocence brought to the table by Poulter particularly impressed me. Both characters integrated themselves well within a emotionally charged narrative.

The Revenant is a truly intense film with meticulously shot action sequences which utterly blew my mind as to how action can be filmed. The hand to hand combat sequences are truly white knuckle and brutal. The famous "bear scene" is honestly one of the most intense and disturbing scenes I have seen in a very long time just because the film feels so authentically real.

My major flaw with The Revenant rests with the film's screenplay and the way it utilises metaphorical imagery in a handful of scenes. I felt they slowed the movie down too much as I wanted more thrills and more action on top of what I had already been given. While I totally understand their place in the film (hell, I'd be hallucinating just as much if I were in Glass' physical condition!) I don't feel they added much depth to his character arc.

But overall The Revenant is an excellently made, brilliantly shot survival/revenge tale. It's a beautiful, visceral and unique experience like nothing else in the theatre today. And I have to once again commend the committed actors and expert filmmakers who did such an excellent job considering the time and financial constraints placed on them. This movie will sweep at the Oscars I have absolutely no doubt:


Rating - A-

Thanks for reading,
Matt

The Hateful Eight Movie Review

The Hateful Eight is the 8th film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It sees Tarantino return to the Western genre and tells the story of 8 despicable people snowed-in in an isolated lodge in post civil war Wyoming. While a lot of the response towards this film highlights how it does not match up to the quality of previous Tarantino flicks, I'd respectfully disagree and argue its one of the best films of the year. I went into it expecting foul/racist language, excessive violence and Tarantino's staple, rapid-fire dialogue in abundance, and that's exactly what I got.

Tarantino's clear love for this genre emanates through his direction of this flick. It feels as if it is a film that should have been released in the 1960s (complete with an overture and a genuine intermission that occurs bang-on halfway through) with all of the restrictions lifted from it. Not only is it one of the best Western's we've been treated to in the 21st Century, but it's also an effective suspense, whodunit type film in the vein of Clue which keeps you speculating throughout. Until the actual reveal occurs, your wondering mind can never properly lock down exactly what is going on. That is good writing.

Similar yet not quite exactly the same as Tarantino's classic Pulp Fiction, The Hateful Eight also boasts another Tarantino staple; non linear storytelling. While it may not be executed in the same way as it is in Pulp Fiction, when it cuts back in time it does so at the perfect moment within the story. When it does so, it gives you a completely new perspective on events that previously occurred within the film and reveal more about certain characters previously shrouded in mystery. On top of this, Tarantino's phenomenal direction outwardly shines by capturing the sense of location quite brilliantly. This combined with the chilling cinematography and Ennio Morricone's breathtakingly eerie score create an atmosphere of dread and isolation. But seriously, that score from Morricone is quite brilliant, one theme in particular will be stuck in your head for days as its so memorable.

But The Hateful Eight is such a great film not solely due to the stylistic way it is presented, but because the dialogue here is so interesting to the point where you can sit and watch 2 people at odds with each other talk for 10 straight minutes and you simply would not get bored. Its probably my favourite screenplay of the entire year as Tarantino's dialogue captivates you from early on and keeps you hooked for the entire runtime.

The acting performances are all terrific as well from such an impressive ensemble cast, but I'd be lying to you if I said that Samuel L Jackson didn't steal the film and shine in every frame that he is in. There is a lot of talent in this film, for example there's Kurt Russell, Tim Roth, Bruce Dern and Jennifer Jason Leigh to name a few, but Sam Jackson is simply the standout. In a movie where there are a lot of very interesting characters with intriguing back stories and reasons to be conflicted with other characters, Sam Jackson's takes the cake for me. There is one monologue in particular (which if you've seen the film you know exactly what I'm talking about) which completely floored me due to his believable performance and the bluntly dark comedy injected into the scene.

The entire film is filled with a cavalcade of compelling characters with varying back stories and allegiances who are fleshed out excellently by Tarantino's writing. Because this film relies on mystery to be dramatically impactful, you have to have characters in it which will propel the mystery along. As the runtime goes on, you as a viewer can't help but speculate as to who is responsible for what is really going on. So not only is it a beautifully directed, acted and written movie, its a film which encourages audience participation and concentration.

My only flaw with this film rests in the length of time spent on working out just "whodunit". In my opinion, they should have spent longer on drawing out this mystery in order to increase the levels of suspense and intensity up even further. It wasn't dragged out long enough for my personal taste.

That is literally it for a film which is one of my absolute favourites of the year and for a film which may have the best screenplay of the year as well. Tarantino once again proves he is the master of dialogue by crafting an engrossing, violent and pulsating Western which will go down as one of the genre's very best, even alongside previous Tarantino effort Django Unchained:


Rating - A



Enjoy Ennio Morricone's mesmerising soundtrack here:

Thanks for reading,
Matt

My Top 5 WORST Movies of 2015 - List by Matt Harrison

Ah, the time of year where I get to look back at the most disappointing, frustrating and infuriating movies of the year. This year I decided not to go out of my way to watch awful movies like I did last year. Every movie I went into this year I did with a fresh sense of optimism, wanting to enjoy it. So you won't be finding movies like Fifty Shades of Grey on this list. However, there were times where I left the theatre bitterly disappointed at the experience I received coming out of films I had reasonably high hopes for.

Unlike last year, there are only enough spaces on this list for 5 movies. So congratulations The Last Witch Hunter and Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse, you miss out this time. You're both still terrible though.

Without further delay, let's start the list with number 5:



#5 Pixels

What is probably one of the greatest premises in cinematic history clearly fell into the wrong hands and was one of the most annoyingly frustrating films of the year. The idea that aliens in the form of video games attack the earth is a truly genius idea, but turning it into a clichéd Adam Sandler comedy was a huge mistake. Pixels is a film which doesn't know what its audience is; the entire gimmick of the film is supposed to attract 1980s retro gamers (so people in their late 30s/early 40s) yet has humour plaguing it which only juvenile 11 year olds will appreciate. The film lost me when Adam Sandler and Michelle Monaghan became a couple, but having Kevin James as the President of the United States was just a stretch to far for me.



#4 Jupiter Ascending

What a shame that an attempt at creating an original science fiction story is on this list... well not really if the attempt was as atrocious as this. Science fiction and fantasy movies are supposed to immerse you into the universe quickly via an easy, accessible way for audiences to understand. From then on in, you begin to expand the universe you're creating. This is what The Lord of the Rings did, it's what Star Wars did as well. So why is it when you start Jupiter Ascending are you already incredibly confused at the messy lore the movie is trying to create? Because the screenplay sucks! And what makes this film even worse is the lead character played by Mila Kunis. In a year of strong female leads, Jupiter Jones has to be one of the saddest attempts at crafting a female character. All she does is stand around and wait for elf-eared, rocket-booted Channing Tatum to fly in and rescue her. She's unable to do anything for herself. And Eddie Redmayne's acting for the main villain... I don't even know what to say to that. Just see it for yourself. Actually, don't. You'd have to sit through this monstrosity.



#3 Terminator Genisys

While the third and fourth Terminator films were ultimately pieces of shit, at least they acknowledged the events of previous and higher quality films. Terminator Genisys doesn't even have the decency to do that, instead deciding to defecate all over the events of Terminator 1 and T2 Judgement Day. The plot is an over complicated mess and is a prime example of what can happen when an incompetent screenwriter attempts to explain time travel. The original Terminator films did it well, Terminator Genisys did not. T2 Judgement Day is one of my favourite action movies of all time. Why? Because the action sequences within it are epic, well-shot and ultimately memorable. Name me one action sequence in Genisys which compares to one in T2 Judgement Day. You can't, can you? That's why this movie failed and why I hate it.



#2 Jurassic World

Admittedly a lot of people really like this movie. Some people like it but acknowledge that it was not as good as it could have been. Me? I hate this abomination against theatre screens. Holding this film up to expectations I set for every film I walk into, Jurassic World didn't even come close to meeting them. For me, it's a film which is tonally all over the place, littered with awkward acting performances and a mix of drama and comedy which blended together like water and oil. Jurassic World was a soulless, adventureless, CGI splopfest which borrowed way too much from the original movie to the point where it was blatantly ripping it off. The original Jurassic Park film is so great because we get to experience these larger-than-life events through the eyes of interesting characters we love to watch on screen. In this movie, I wanted nearly every character to die. That's not good. And just when you think it can't get any worse, they shoe in Vincent D'Onofrio's character who wants to utilise velociraptors for military purposes. My brain.



#1 Fant4stic

I won't be able to say anything that hasn't already been said at Fox's fourth attempt at a live action Fantastic Four film. All I can say is this film is an abomination against super hero movies and is an actual disaster of a film. It is an unwelcome example of what can happen when the relationship between a director and the studio breaks down, and we all suffer as a consequence. I can't even begin to describe everything that's wrong with this film. But Fant4stic is, for me, a cinematic enigma. I think a more interesting movie to release would have been a documentary telling the story of this film's production and how badly things went wrong. We'll be looking back in 10 years time still contemplating just how atrocious this film turned out to be. Well done Fant4stic, you are my least favourite film of 2015. Now fuck off and die.



Thank goodness I never have to talk about these movies again. Agree with my choices? Awesome! Disagree? Even better! Let me know your least favourite movie of 2015 and we'll all have a nice discussion like mature film nerds.


Thanks for reading, and happy new year!
Matt

My Top 10 BEST Movies of 2015 - List by Matt Harrison

This is my favourite time of the year. Its the time where I look back at the films of 2015 and organise them into my top 10 favourites. While 2015 may not have lived up to the cinematic goldmine that was 2014, it still gave us a selection of great summer blockbusters as well as independent films looking good going into award's season.

First disclaimer should be that I haven't seen every single movie to come out in 2015, so if your favourite film isn't on the list it may be because I didn't see it... or I hated it... or I liked it but just preferred other movies more.

Second, this is my list based purely on my own biased opinions, personal preferences and my overall enjoyment of the film. If a movie on this list places higher than another its probably because I enjoyed it more.

Without further delay, let's begin the list by naming off some honourable mentions. These 3 are really great movies I had a hard time not putting on the list. However, because there are only 10 slots available they had to miss out. These are:


Ex Machina

The Gift

Spotlight


These 3 movies were all terrifically enjoyable films to watch this year and if I could give a 4 way tie to number 10 to those movies and my choice for number 10, I would. Nonetheless, those are great movies you should seek out if you haven't seen them already. Finally, let's begin the list with number 10!



#10 The Revenant

The Revenant just makes my list at number 10 and is a truly engrossing theatrical experience like no other. It's one of the most visually astounding films I have ever experienced thanks to Emmanuel Lubezki's wonderful cinematography and Innaritu's direction. Leo gives one of the finest performances of his entire career as explorer Hugh Glass in a role which requires so much commitment both physically and psychologically. I have no idea how they accomplished some of the shots they did with this film, and The Revenant remains the most unique cinematic experience I enjoyed all year.



#9 Avengers: Age of Ultron

The sequel to 2012's The Avengers was never going to live up to the quality of the first one but this film was still one of the most enjoyable theatre experiences I enjoyed all year. I give a lot of credit to Joss Whedon for his work on this film as he managed to create a solid, cohesive film despite having to resolve multiple plot lines from previous MCU films whilst laying the foundations for the plot lines of Phase 3 to play out. It was a funny movie, it was action packed and had a great villain in James Spader's Ultron. Oh, and Vision stole the entire film.



#8 Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation

Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation has everything you'd want in a summer blockbuster film as well as any action film for that matter. It gives us a vulnerable hero to route and care for, it has a great sense of humour, a very strong female lead in Rebecca Ferguson's Ilsa Faust, a good villain and captivating, blood-pumping action sequences helmed beautifully by director Christopher McQuarrie. The bike chase sequence alone is worth the price of admission, boasting some incredible stunt work by a group of committed actors and a film crew who knew exactly what they were doing crafting enthralling action sequences.



#7 Mad Max: Fury Road

This is honestly one of the craziest movies I've ever seen in my entire life. Revisiting it the other day, I realised just how quickly it immerses you into this post apocalyptic environment in which everyone has gone utterly insane, or is at least close to. The action sequences in this film are phenomenal and are up there with some of the best I've ever seen. Mad Max once again proves that convincing stunt work, practical effects and long, wide takes beat a CGI slop fest any day of the week. I thought Tom Hardy was good as Max, but often played second (sometimes third) fiddle to more compelling characters Nux and Furiosa, played excellently by Nicholas Hoult and Charlize Theron.



#6 The Martian

Back in my Top 10 WORST of 2014 list I said that Ridley Scott needed a project with a great script to once again return directing a quality film. The Martian truly is a great film with an incredibly well written screenplay which seemed to balance drama and comedy so naturally. What I loved most about The Martian was the way it brought to the forefront our main character's sheer optimism. This could have been a brooding, depressing film had it been taken up by other people, however it's best quality was how humorous it was despite the fact our main character is in a desperate situation for almost the entirety of it's runtime.


#5 Creed

In terms of realising its characters and giving us a compelling story about the relationship between 2 people, Creed is one of the year's best written films. It does such an excellent job at probing deeper into the reasoning and motivations behind why our 2 leads do the things they do. It's a compelling tale about a younger man's need to find his place in the world due to his own actions and not the legacy of his father's, but also a tale of an older man who needs to fill a hole in his life. The acting in this film is breath-taking; Michael B Jordan proves he is a proper movie star despite his mini wobble in Fant4stic and Sylvester Stallone is Oscar worthy returning to the role he was born to play.



#4 The Hateful Eight

Classic Tarantino. The Hateful Eight had everything I wanted going into a Tarantino-directed film; mesmerising dialogue, intriguing characters, obscene language and brutal, over-the-top violence. Samuel L Jackson is hilarious and pretty much steals the entire film, but the real star has to be Quentin Tarantino whose style of direction blasts its way off the screen giving us one of the most engaging and entertaining movies of the year. It might be my favourite screenplay of the entire year. And the musical score is beyond epic.



#3 Sicario

It's no secret that I love a good thriller and Sicario is the best thriller of 2015. Despite the fact its almost depressing to watch at times handling an edgy subject matter, that aspect of the film didn't bother me as I was so happy to see a group of filmmakers who really understood what they were doing behind the camera. My heart was pumping, my palms sweating and I was gripping my seat during a film which never stopped or failed to be intense. I must give a shout out to Benicio del Toro who stole the film in his supporting role. Roger Deakin's cinematography is also gorgeous. I think its 2015's most underrated film.



#2 Inside Out

An animation is the runner up to my favourite film of 2015 and it deserves to be this high on the list. I think it might just be in my Top 5 Pixar films, which is saying a lot considering the high quality animations they've produced in the past. Seriously though Inside Out is a gorgeous looking animated film with an incredible heart. If you have ever felt an emotion at all in your life, you will relate to Inside Out. Its one of the smartest films I've seen all year and the film which successfully made me cry on 2 occasions... both times I saw it. Inside Out is genius and anyone can enjoy it.



#1 Star Wars: The Force Awakens

I'm not saying this is categorically the best movie of 2015... but its the one I enjoyed the most and considering this list is based biasedly on my own personal taste, Star Wars has got to be number 1. JJ Abrams deserves huge credit for giving us a movie which aesthetically feels as if it belongs in the Star Wars universe. But his biggest achievement was paying homage to the old whilst making you incredibly excited for the new and what is to come. Kylo Ren is the best villain of the year, Rey the standout in a year of strong female leads, and Finn and Poe are two characters I would aspire to be like. It was also great to see Harrison Ford back as Han Solo in a role integral to the plot. It's an awesome space adventure and an incredible ride. I can't wait to see where these characters are going to go in Episode 8 and 9.



And thus concludes my picks for the top 10 best movies on 2015. Agree with my choices? Awesome! Don't agree with them? Even better! Let me know your favourite movie of 2015 and we can all discuss this like mature film nerds.

Coming soon are my picks for the 5 WORST movies of the year, which is going to be fun!


Thanks for reading, and happy new year!
Matt