Other People Review

The Plot

Fresh off a breakup and in the midst of the worst year of his life, struggling comedy writer, David (Jesse Plemons) returns to Sacramento to care for his dying mother (Molly Shannon)

The Good

Jesse Plemons stars in this heartfelt comedy-drama which sets its tone up perfectly in the opening minute. By showing us where the story will eventually take us and revealing the death of Molly Shannon’s Joanne before we’ve even been introduced to her properly, it alleviates any guessing of her fate and leaves us instead to enjoy the rest of the film which follows the year leading up to it.

Writer/director Chris Kelly manages to create a well balanced script which tackles the pain and heartache that comes with terminal cancer while also injecting some light humour along the way. Plemons’ David, a struggling screenwriter who is attempting to pick himself back up after his pilot is dropped from producers, is an interesting character to follow as he tries to stay strong for his mother and attempts to get on well with his father (played by the wonderful Bradley Whitford) who refuses to accept or even talk about David’s homosexuality.

We also have the delightful June Squibb in a glorified cameo as David’s grandmother, Ruth-Anne alongside Paul Dooley as grandfather, Ronnie. Squibb and Dooley bring one of the films best scenes as they try to come to terms with the impending death of their daughter thanks to some beautifully natural dialogue.

The Bad

While Plemons is an interesting character and holds the film up well (with the help of his co-stars) Kelly’s script feels somewhat unfinished. There is shockingly little for Maude Apatow and Madisen Beaty to do as Plemons onscreen sisters, Alexandra and Rebecca respectively. While their lack of interaction with David feels like it is perhaps leading to the script delving deeper into David’s selfish ways as he seems to only worry about himself and how he is dealing with Joanne’s predicament, it feels ultimately empty in the end. This is a bigger shame when there is one scene in particular in which Alexandra and Rebecca do in fact call him out on it albeit all to briefly before we go back to focussing on poor David.

The Ugly Truth

Opening perfectly with a scene that sets the tone instantly and leads us to settle into the story without trying to guess its ending, Other People unfortunately falls short of the potential it has. It’s by no means unwatchable but instead just a little less full than it could have been.

Review by Johnny Ellis

Batman V Superman Ultimate Edition Trailer Released

Warner Bros has given us our first glimpse of the much anticipated Ultimate Edition of Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice. The trailer for the extended edition of the film promises to replace scenes of Jena Malone in an as-yet-unknown character as well as a host of new scenes which were cut from the cinematic release. At 181 minutes, the Ultimate Edition is 31 minutes longer than the original cut.

Expect it in stores from July 19 but for now here’s a taste:

Mary Poppins Sequel Confirmed

Disney studios have officially confirmed that Emily Blunt will be taking on the role of Mary Poppins in an upcoming sequel to the 1964 classic. Helmed by director Rob Marshall (Chicago, Into The Woods), Mary Poppins Returns is scheduled for a Christmas 2018 release in the US and will also star Lin-Manuel Miranda as Jack., with David Magee on scriptwriting duties, adapting author P L Travers’ novels. Meanwhile, new songs and music will be from Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman. More news as we get it.

Daisy Ridley In Studio Ghibli’s Only Yesterday

StudioCanal are thrilled to announce the release of an English re-dub of Studio Ghibli‘s 1991 classic ONLY YESTERDAY, and a brand new clip which features the voices of Daisy Ridley (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) and Dev Patel (The Man Who Knew Infinity,Slumdog Millionaire). ONLY YESTERDAY will be in cinemas this Friday 3rd June as part of the STUDIO GHIBLI FOREVER retrospective season, and will be available to own for the first time ever on Blu-Ray from August 15th.

ONLY YESTERDAY follows Taeko (Ridley), unmarried at 27 (much to the chagrin of her friends and family) on her annual visit to see relatives in the countryside, as she reflects on her childhood and memories and forges a relationship with Toshio (Patel), wondering if she has been true to the dreams of her childhood self. Re-dubbed in English and showing in UK cinemas for the first time to celebrate the film’s 25th anniversary, ONLY YESTERDAY is an animated masterpiece of reflection, as relevant today as it ever was.

Warcraft: The Beginning Review

The Plot

The peaceful realm of Azeroth stands on the brink of war as its civilization faces a fearsome race of invading orc warriors.

The Good

Director Duncan Jones’ third feature film is his most daring yet. The video game adaptation has never really been done quite right, and while Warcraft has some issues, it’s still a beauty to behold. Jones and co-writer Charles Leavitt’s script does a solid job of introducing newcomers to the rich world, with both sides of the opposing forces of this fantastical war getting just about equal time to be explored.

And then there’s the effects. With Robert Kazinsky as the main orc whom we follow throughout the story, we never get to see his handsome face but instead are treated with an impressive display of visual effects which look and feel as realistic as they can be.

The Bad

While the story is simple enough in the end, at times it can trail off into territories that, if you don’t pay full attention, could make you feel lost quite easily. It doesn’t help either that the character names are all so unmemorable. Whether it’s Kazinsky’s Orgrim, Dominic Cooper’s Llane Wryn or Toby Kebbell’s Durotan, if they’re being discussed while not on screen it can get confusing. It doesn’t help either that the orcs look so alike that you forget which one’s which at times.

Of course with the fantasy element there will always be the comparison with The Lord Of The Rings to which Warcraft cant quite match just yet. This being The Beginning however, it could very well become a worthy opponent to Peter Jackson’s saga. But what is clear from the beginning, is that this is a film for the fans. As someone who has never approached the game from which the film is adapted, it’s not sure whether Warcraft succeeds in pleasing the fans, but perhaps it can be argued that the attempt ultimately affects the general audience at times. It’s a tough thing to balance but oftentimes Warcraft manages to sway easily from one audience to the other.

The pacing too feels much more bloated than it’s 2 hour runtime. The disappointing thing about this is that, while it feels longer, it just feels like the story has been spread out too thin. Perhaps had Jones expanded the world and added another twenty or thirty minutes, we could have had a masterpiece.

The Ugly Truth

At it’s heart, Warcraft is a simple enough storyline but occasionally it can get confusing. The unmemorable character names don’t help when this happens. One thing’s for sure though, the visual effects are pretty faultless and whether the story or indeed the world it presents is for you or not, there’ll undoubtedly be something in here to entertain.

Review by Johnny Ellis