movie review

Trainspotting 2

Director: Danny Boyle (2017) BBFC cert: 18
There’s a tremendous trepidation in returning to the Edinburgh underworld of Trainspotting twenty one years after the intoxicating original.
How could this long fermenting sequel compete with its predecessor, the defining film of the Britpop era? Trainspotting offered a startlingly stark vision of modern Scotland, a famously ferocious soundtrack and career highs from the actors.
Most sequels offer at best more of the same but bigger, or at worst, cheaper. But I shouldn’t have worried. Danny Boyle has far more ambition. Having allowed the material to seethe and stew, the director cooks up another tremendous prescription of prostitution, pharmaceutical abuse, and violence.

For all the chemistry consumed on screen, the most potent is the one created by the actors. Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller and Robert Carlyle are older, heavier, sadder but not much wiser, as Renton, Spud, Sick Boy and Begbie.

All the actors bring a maturity to their work, giving their characters a beaten, weary melancholy beneath their desperate bravado. Noticeably missing from the advertising posters is Renton’s old squeeze, Diane. And her appearance in the film played by the gorgeous Kelly Macdonald, is sadly all too brief.
The most notable addition to the cast is Anjela Nedyalkova, playing a Bulgarian prostitute. The last thing this film needs is another extreme character, and the character of Veronika is continually underplayed. She is the calm centre of the dramatic storm.
After a long absence in Amsterdam, Renton returns home to Edinburgh to find his old friends. He has been living off the cash he robbed from his friends at the end of the first movie. Sick Boy has a grand scheme, Spud is still on smack and the psychopathic Begbie is out of prison and out for revenge on Renton.
Boyle uses Irving Welsh’s novel Porno as a starting point. Then filming in his typically high energy, visually dynamic and musically inspired style, Boyle creates an unapologetically abrasive tale of longevity, loyalty and friendship.
Despite topical references to social media and zero hours contracts,Trainspotting 2 understands it won’t capture the youthful zeitgeist the way Trainspotting did.
Instead it drowns in large shots of regret and guilt at their wasted lives. There is a a great deal of nostalgia also, though thankfully not for their twenties, but for their innocent childhoods and unfulfilled promise.
The sharp and funny script mixes bodily fluids with bile filled dialogue. And it chooses to honour the characters by offering sympathy as they disgrace themselves.
This richer and bleaker film speaks as clearly of the desperate disappointment of middle age as loudly as the first film did of youthful hedonism.
Take a deep breath. Choose cinema. Choose first class. Choose Trainspotting 2.

★★★★☆

@ChrisHunneysett

Sing

Director: Garth Jennings (2017) BBFC cert: PG

This giddy animated musical comedy is stuffed with silly sparkling fun and will make you grin until the top of your head falls off.

Produced by the inspired creators of the Minions Movie and The Secret Life of Pets, it’s a gloriously mad musical mashup of TV’s The X Factor and Gene Wilder comedy The Producers.

Buster is a cuddly Koala whose theatre is going to be closed by the bank unless he has a hit show. He advertises a singing competition but a typo means the winnings are far more than he can afford.

As creatures of every stripe and hue perform a dizzying number of pop, rock and soul tunes, the story squeezes in bank robberies and car chases among the first night nerves and pushy showbiz parents.

The animals are stuffed with Judy Garland’s ‘lets do the show right here’ spirit and just about keep Buster’s show on the road. Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Hudson are among those providing the pipes.

★★★★☆

@ChrisHunneysett

Split

Director: M. Night Shyamalan (2017) BBFC cert: 15

The master of the twist ending returns with this psychological horror. Director and writer M. Night Shyamalan made his name with The Sixth Sense but after a string of disappointing films, he is slowly rebuilding his career at the Blumhouse studio.

Better known as the makers of The Paranormal Activity franchise, the low budget horror specialists don’t care how much new age waffle about mind over matter Shyamalan squeezes into his script, as long as he includes a lunatic  terrorising semi-dressed teenage girls.

So its a win win for both parties then.

James McAvoy delivers an outstanding, showboating performance which includes menace, pathos, comedy and damaged innocence. The Scots actor  stars as Kevin, a multiple personality maniac who imprisons three girls in his basement.

Child abuse and cannibalism feature in the story which draws on Beauty and the Beast and Dr Jekyl And Mr Hyde.

The surprise at the end ties the film in with Shyamalan’s early, better work and hints at a sequel. Despite my better judgement, I’m intrigued to see what happens next.

★★★☆☆

@ChrisHunneysett

Lion

Director: Garth Davis (2017) BBFC cert: PG

This real life long distance drama covers a lot of hard miles on its struggle around the globe.

Searingly sincere and with few surprises, we follow the footsteps of Saroo, an illiterate Indian boy adopted by a wealthy white Australian couple.

Played by the endearing Sunny Pawar, the six year old inadvertently goes on an epic train journey before ending up in the claustrophobic chaos of Calcutta. There’s a touch of Charlie Chaplin’s Tramp in the sad soulfulness of the streetwise urchin.

Saroo is eventually adopted along with another boy by Nicole Kidman in a bad haircut. Suddenly it’s twenty five years later and he’s a strapping surfer dude, played by the charming presence Dev Patel.

Suffering an identity crisis at university, Saroo begins the struggle to find his birth family. Rooney Mara plays the most generic of girlfriends, forced to parachute in and out to give Saroo someone to explain himself to.

It’s a seemingly impossible task given Saroo doesn’t know his surname, the name of his home town and he has search area with a radius over twelve hundred kilometres long.

Fortunately in the intervening years some clever bod has invented google maps, which helps his quest no end. I’ve had less effective sat navs when trying to find an open garage. Too little time is spent on the detective work and the solution feels woefully under-earned.

There’s a spiritual core to the film which helps us cope with the poverty porn, the frequent suggestions of abuse and extended bouts of moping. Identity, culture and language are all touched upon but sadly not explored.

And after a sure footed sprightly start,it becomes a long slog under the weight of some heavy emotional baggage. Plus the presence of Patel reminds us another, finer film. At times it feels like we’re watching Slumdog Millionaire 2: The Backpacker Years.

Ultimately, what the film says is just because you’ve gone to Oz, there’s still no place like home.

★★★☆☆

@ChrisHunneysett

Jackie

Director: Pablo Larrain (2017) BBFC cert: 15

The grave of US president Kennedy is raked over once again in this well observed portrait of his widow, Jackie.

Natalie Portman brilliantly fleshes out the  First Lady’s steely and shrewd ambition, presenting her as a chain smoking, perfectly poised and prickly coquette.

In the fear and chaos in the aftermath of JFK’s assassination in November 1963, everyone around her is jockeying for power.

Having lost her husband, house, status and income, Jackie must act quickly to secure her husbands – and her own – legacy.

She conducts an one to one interview with a journalist, played with an out of his depth curiosity by Billy Crudup.

Jackie claims the meeting is her attempt to put the record straight, but it’s really to ensure her version of the truth is the one which will last.

The script is scathing about the importance of stage craft, celebrity and media control in sustaining public power. The shooting is astutely and sensitively  handled, we feel Jackie’s horror even as she becomes the most famous bystander in history.

A mournful, unsettling study, it’s as cold, calculating, complex and compelling as its subject.

★★★★☆

@ChrisHunneysett

Underworld: Blood Wars

Director: Anna Foerster (2017) BBFC cert: 15

Not quite alive but still stalking us, the fifth film in this vampire franchise fails to offer much bite.

Kate Beckinsale slips back into her latex and leather catsuit as the renegade warrior vampire, Selene.

She’s being hunted by vampires and werewolves who want to exploit the powers of young daughter in their eternal war.

The plot drips with blood, birthright and betrayals. Sacred swords are taken up against poison bullets in a landscape of castles and frozen waterfalls. There’s plenty of blood splatting video game action and the stunt team do sterling work.

The venerable Charles Dance aside, the men are deathly dull. Fortunately Lara Pulver is there it raise the spirits as Semira, a lusty, busty, bad ass who amps up the camp in her vamp.

Filming in Prague adds a suitably gothic feel and presumably helped keep costs down. This episode cost half as much as the previous one, and it shows in the consistently shoddy CGI.

★★☆☆☆

@ChrisHunneysett

 

Manchester By The Sea

Director: Kenneth Lonergan (2017) BBFC cert: 15

A torrent of emotion sweeps through a sleepy harbour town in this powerful family drama.

Beautifully written, performed and photographed, this is a grown up film destined to sail straight to the Oscars.

Casey Affleck is favourite to bag the best actor award and is heart achingly good as hardworking handyman, Lee.

When his older brother Joe, passes away, Lee is called back to his home town of Manchester by the Sea. It’s a rough edged port, full of sad charm.

The ever dependable Kyle Chandler creates a lasting impression in fleeting flashback as Joe, bequeathing his most valuable possession to his brothers care.

Lee is far from prepared to be named as the legal guardian of his sixteen year old teenage nephew, Patrick.

Lucas Hedges is superbly sarcastic as the wannabee musician, struggling to persuade Lee to let him stay in the family home.

These two damaged souls rub up against each other, stuck together and seemingly indifferent to repairing a once tender relationship.

Plus Lee can’t avoid her running into his sharp-mouthed ex-wife.

Bringing plenty of bite to her role, Michelle Williams has less screen time than we’d like but she shares the most effecting scenes.

The story has sympathy for its characters. A less humane film may have condemned the for their failings but its clear they’re suffering enough.

Director and writer Kenneth Lonergan’s day job is as a playwright, and it’s easy to imagine this being adapted from or to the stage.

Relentless squalls of black humour and sharp dialogue flow from a beautifully crafted script, keeping our spirits up as the script plunges into some emotionally testing waters.

A haunting soundtrack achieves a miraculous harmony alongside merry pop tunes. Guaranteed to make you cry, it’s also surprisingly and consistently funny, so you’ll be laughing through your tears.

Everyone should find time to visit.

★★★★★

@ChrisHunneysett

La La Land

Director: Damien Chazelle (2017) BBFC cert: 12A

Be swept off your feet by this swooning romantic musical.

Unashamedly nostalgic for the music, movies, stars and Los Angeles of yesteryear, this fabulous fantasy is a sumptuous love letter to Hollywood’s golden age classics such as Singin’ In The Rain (1952) and An American In Paris (1951).

The ridiculously attractive Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling star in their third film together, and their irresistible chemistry continues to burn through the screen. While neither are great singers or dancers, the film doesn’t pretend they are, adding to the honesty and charm of their performances.

Their characters meet in a gridlocked highway, a metaphor for their lives going nowhere. As the traffic jam becomes a joyful dance number, it’s tempered with the sting of frustration, and the tone scene is set for the story to come.

Gosling plays Sebastian, a struggling jazz pianist with dreams of opening a jazz club. His life takes a left turn when he meets the aspiring actress, Mia. Between auditions she works as a coffee shop waitress at the Warner Brothers studio.

Matching her dance partner step for step but having the more difficult part of doing it backwards and in high heels, Stone offers astonishing levels of heartbreaking vulnerability.

Though Gosling’s talent means he’s far from just window dressing, Stone owns the film. As the pair follow their dreams, they discover compromises must be made when balancing art and commerce.

La La Land‘s deserved record breaking sweep of seven Golden Globe awards has seen bookies make it the favourite for this years top Oscars and its easy to see why.

This is a dreamy, delirious and delightful concoction of high stepping choreography and toe tapping compositions. It’s bursting with sexy energy, eye popping colour and soaring ambition.

Go ga ga for La La Land and shower yourself with tinsel town stardust.

★★★★★

@ChrisHunneysett

 

Ballerina

Director: Eric Summer, Eric Warin (2016) BBFC cert: U

This dancing twist on the Cinderella story tangos with the Strictly format, but fails to impress the judge, me.

Felicie is an eleven-year-old girl who dreams of becoming a ballerina. Escaping the orphanage for a prestigious dance school in Paris, she must survive several elimination rounds in order to audition for a role in The Nutcracker ballet.

Her main competition is a spoiled, rich girl with a murderously pushy showbiz mother. Among the other, crudely drawn characters, are a snaggletoothed hunchback and a limping cleaning lady.

It’s a French/Canadian production with Elle Fanning dropped in to voice the lead and add a light sprinkle of Hollywood sparkle.

The animation is mediocre, the humour is broad slapstick, and it has a relaxed attitude to its young heroine being at the sharp end of a love triangle.

Lagging in the wake of Moana, Disney’s forward looking and far superior recent offering, this seems strangely old fashioned.  And not just because it’s set in 1879.

Offering limited fun for dance-mad tweens, everyone else may find themselves wishing Ballerina would foxtrot off.

★★☆☆☆

@ChrisHunneysett

 

 

Passengers

Director:Morten Tyldum (2017) BBFC cert: 12A

Hollywoods hottest stars make cosmic love in this glossy sci-fi mystery romance.

On paper this looks like a winner: Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt are talented, attractive and likeable, with a strong record of blockbuster success. Director Morten Tyldum comes straight from the Oscar nominated hit, The Imitation Game (2014.)

The huge budget allows for top draw special effects. And in a change from cinemas littered with adaptations, reboots, sequels and remakes, Passengers has an original story.

A shame then, the film is such a morally dubious and often dull mess.

Pratt plays a mechanic called Jim, in suspended animation alongside 5000 others on an automated spaceship heading to colonise a new world. An asteroid storm causes his sleep pod to malfunction, and he awakes to find his journey still has about 90 years to go.

This opening is the strongest part of the film, and it’s no hardship spending time with Pratt as he explores the ship. There are some decent jokes here about corporate identity and status.

Jim spends a year slowly going stir crazy with only an android barman for company. It’s played by the brilliant, movie stealing talent of Michael Sheen. Wandering through the ship, Jim falls in love with Jennifer Lawrence’s sleeping beauty, called Aurora.

Cyberstalking Aurora by accessing the ships files, Jim also holds vigils next to her glass pod before deciding to wake her up, knowing she will not survive the voyage.

He blames the ship and the film refuses to condemn him for this selfish evil act, portraying it as an act of love. Then the script rewards Jim with some hot space nookie as she finds his goofy yet capable man-child irresistible. This is Stockholm syndrome in space.

Not that it excuses Jim’s behaviour, but Aurora turns out to be an irritating investigative journalist with daddy issues. She only really comes to life when she’s angry.

For the second week in a row following Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), the robot is the most sympathetic character.

The design and CGI are fabulous and there are interesting nods to Stanley Kubrick classics 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and The Shining (1980).

But the film abandons its early attempts at psychological horror to play the romcom card before becoming an action movie with some dull peril and explosions to bring the story to a close.

Being lost in space for ninety years together is the least this pair deserve. You have to feel sorry for the android though.

★★☆☆☆

@ChrisHunneysett