Wednesday 27 August 2014

Review: Lucy

(2014) Scarlett Johansson, Morgan Freeman, Min-Sik Choi

I went into Lucy hoping for a short and sweet action movie with slight helping of food for thought, I am pleased to say this film had a lot more to offer than high kicks and gun fights.
The premise was super simple, Chinese baddies kidnap her and place a cache of drugs inside her tummy, Lucy is then savagely beaten by some of the thugs on her way to the drop off point and the cache bursts releasing the chemical drug into her system. The drug has irreversible effects and the sheer amount of the substance allows our heroine to unlock 100% of her brain capacity.
Lucy then sets off on a mission for revenge using her new 'symptoms' to aid her, she also aims to share her knowledge with a Professor who has been researching the secrets of higher brain capacity.
The main strength of this film was its small but extremely well selected cast, Min-Sik Choi as the villain was as chilling as ever. If you have seen Old Boy or the gruesome I Saw The Devil you will know how good he is at being menacing. Morgan Freeman did what Morgan Freeman does and made even the most mundane sentence feel heartfelt and commanded your attention every time he appeared on screen. Last but not least Scarlett Johansson (I refuse to use the name Scar Jo) gave a a much more realistic and emotional performance than anything she has done in her previous Marvel films. There was one particular scene in which after increasing her brain capacity to 20% and abandoning her sense of pain, she chats to her mother on the telephone reciting her earliest memories. All this while Doctors remove the damaged drugs cache under no anaesthetic what so ever, it made for a very intense scene and was the standout moment of the film for me.
These moments sadly became less frequent as her brain capacity increased Lucy became less human and acted more like a self-preservation focused machine. This was disappointing as the early scenes really showcased Johansson's talent. The action scenes were above average mixing blends of clever martial arts sequences, gunfights and Matrix style effects. It was a real treat to see Lucy use these abilities to gain the upperhand in situations but much like the acting, these scenes quickly became tiresome as she became almost invincible. The sense the she was in any danger what so ever went completely out the window, I knew full well she could cope with anything that was thrown at her. And believe me they threw everything at her, rocket launchers included!
In the films final act the action surrounded Lucy slowed down and was placed in the hands of secondary chararcters, this gave the chance for the philosophical elements to shine. These parts of the film were interesting and provided some real food for thought but were put to rest as the credits rolled. These idea like most of the movie started off with a bang but sadly ended with a fizzle.


Verdict

Lucy had the foundations of a solid action film with interesting sci-fi premise behind it, i just wish all these elements were fleshed out slightly more. This is by no means a bad film, you can come to this and witness some great acting, high octane action and maybe even leave with some food for thought. Unfortunately a few cut corners prevented Lucy from reaching full capacity.

3/5


Wednesday 20 August 2014

Review: Life After Beth

(2014) Aubrey Plaza, Dane DeHaan, John C. Reilly

Being a big horror fan and an avid follower of Aubrey Plaza and John C. Reilly's work I went into Life After Beth expecting big things and to come away with a smile on my face, unfortunately this film did nothing but leave me feeling a tad 'zombiefied'.
The premise is was simple enough, a grieving boyfriend Zach played by Dane DeHaan  attends the wake of his recently deceased girlfriend (Beth), killed by an apparent snakebite. Things are quickly turned on their head when he spots her the walking around the very next day with nothing to show for it but a strange bite on her leg and some memory loss. After having a chat with Beth's parents played by the ever witty John C. Reilly and quirky Molly Shannon the 3 agree its best not to tell Beth about her recent 'resurrection' but to carry on as normal. The Parents see this as an act of god, but Zach believes there is a much more sinister explanation for the return of his girlfriend.
The couple try their very best to continue their relationship and a even manage to conjure up some memories they shared together, but things become difficult when Beth suddenly begins to break into fits of violent rages and becomes victim to terrible mood swings. As more people rise from the grave, Zach's fears are confirmed as he looks upon the brink of a zombie apocalypse. I liked the fact that the zombie aspect of the film was never geared towards just simply eating brains, the rages added a fresh and exciting element to a familiar trope. Unfortunately for me this is where the enjoyment peaked as it felt like the director had to explore these new possibilities at every opportunity, sadly often resulting in the most bland outcome possible. There were countless times when I anticipated  the build-up to a comical scene or scary moment only to be greeted with sarcastic one liners or a lacklustre slapstick element. The plot left huge holes in the middle of the script as it raced towards its final act. There were 2 or 3 scenes where zombies were attracted to people's attics and I was intrigued by this and eager to find out why, however the film completely abandoned this premise leaving me none the wiser. I think its important to mention at this point that this was penned primarily as an 'indie comedy' I did not laugh once from start to finish and overall the film is simply not funny enough. There were quirky characters and 1 or 2 memorable scenes but this was pretty much dead on arrival. Anna Kendrick also stars in this film although because of only been given around 10 lines of dialogue I wish the director had poured his money into something that could have benefitted the plot as this part could have been played by anybody. As the credits rolled after a horribly rushed and negligent end scene I couldn't help feeling like this movie really missed the chance to be something truly unique.

The Verdict

Life After Beth could have been something fresh and unique, sadly this is a classic example of a great idea executed poorly. Even with 1 or 2 stand out scenes and the main cast's talented nothing can prevent this from being the dullest zombie apocalypse you'll watch in a long time.

2/5

Wednesday 6 August 2014

Review: Guardians of The Galaxy

(2014) Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Vin Diesel, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper

Guardians of The Galaxy may have come across to some as a 'gap film', a product made to fill the time until Avengers 2 arrives. It may also be looked at as less-than-serious addition to the Marvel franchise because it features a talking raccoon. Both of these opinions are incorrect as Guardians of The Galaxy is THE greatest Marvel film ever made, sit back and I shall explain.
The film opens with Starlord (Chris Pratt) being abducted from earth shortly after his Mother's death, then jumping to many years in the future where he has become a treasure-hunting outlaw. He tracks down a mysterious orb which is said to have great value where he is unfortunately ambushed by alien mercenaries that work for the villain of the story, Ronan The Accuser. Using his wit, silver tongue and a bit of luck Starlord manages to escape and flies to a trading planet in order to collect his cash reward. It is on this planet where he encounters 3 more 'Guardians'; the green skinned assassin Gamora played extremely well by Zoe Saldana and the hilarious odd-ball duo of Rocket and Groot voiced by Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel. A scuffle over the orb and Starlord's capture ensues and all 4 end up shipped off to a maximum security space prison. Once incarcerated our heroes meet the fifth member of their team, the revenge seeking Drax The Destroyer played and voiced excellently by ex-wrestler (Dave Bautista).
The 5 Guardians agree to work together in order to pull off a jail break and set about collecting the tools they need, its here we get to see our first glimpse at just how varied each of them is and who they all utilize their skills differently. After an explosive first act the crew learns of Ronan's plot to end the universe and realise they must keep the orb as far away from the villain as possible.
The film had excellent pacing throughout and really kept me entertained, never was there a dull moment in the company of these characters and 2 hours seemed to fly by. What I adored most about GOTG is how varied but yet still extremely useful each character was, there were absolutely no weak links like in The Avengers such Hawkeye or the utterly dull Black Widow. Drax and Groot could both be looked at as power house characters, but the ways in which they utilized their strength was fresh and interesting. Drax's hilarious trait of taking everything everyone said literally worked really well for his warrior type character. Groot constantly surprised me with the sheer amount of living tree themed powers and tools he had at his disposal, there was one particular scene towards the end that nearly brought a tear to my eye it was so well done. Rocket Raccoon provided the most comic relief for most people during the screening, his quick to flare temper and sadistic sense of humour coupled with Bradley Cooper's incredible voice acting made his big screen debut nothing short of iconic. There was a brief scene in the prison that hinted at a dark and tragic pa t related to Rocket which hinted at more depth to his macho persona. Zoe Saldana played Gamora to a tee and was easily the best role i've seen her play in any movie, the efficient assassin with a hidden soft side dying to get out was both gripping and heart breaking to watch. Last but not least we have Chris Pratt as Starlord, easily my favourite Guardian, he just kept me laughing with his constant quick wit and need to be recognised and respected as a 'legendary outlaw'. He stole the show whether he was playing the fool or giving a serious speech about guarding the galaxy, I believed in him and wanted his character to succeed with every word he said.
The supporting cast was also pretty solid, John C Rielly played Corpsman Dey an officer on the planet the 4 guardians were arrested on. Karen Gillan played the evil Nebula, the no mercy half sister of Gamora. Visuals in the film were bang up to date, lots of detail and things to look at in the background which really command a second watch. can't end the review without mentioning the incredible 80's soundtrack which was based around an old cassette that Star Lord's mother gave him as a child. David Bowie, The Runaways and Micheal Jackson all accompany the exhilarating action perfectly.
This is not a film to be missed by anyone this summer and I really feel James Gunn has a big future directing Marvel films and I cannot wait to see what he has in store.

The Verdict

Guardians of The Galaxy blew me away, its characters were charming, interesting and above all inspirational. This was a film that celebrated individuality, took it, embraced it and made it into a super power. For that I truly commend it. Guardians of The  Galaxy IS the greatest marvel movie ever made and I can see it becoming the Star Wars of this generation. James Gunn take a bow. 

5/5