The Longest Ride Review

The Plot

When a young couple save an old widower from a fatal car crash, their relationship becomes intertwined with flashbacks of his own past as he reflects on his past love.

The Good

Fresh from riding bathtubs with George Clooney in Tomorrowland, Britt Robertson switches Clooney for Scott Eastwood  in the latest big screen adaptation based on the seemingly endless supply of Nicholas Sparks novels.

The Longest Ride has everything Nicholas Sparks fans know and love. From the intertwining storylines that juxtapose relationships from two different time periods, to the generic poster of the two leads looking longingly into each others eyes while casually advertising an idyllic American country life.

As Robertson’s Sophia, an art student, reads countless love letters back to Ira (Alan Alda) while he recuperates from his car crash, it will come as no great surprise that Ira’s relationship with his recently deceased artist wife Ruth, bears some striking similarities to her own relationship with her bull rider boyfriend, Luke (Eastwood).

Of the two interconnecting stories Ira and Ruth’s is slightly more interesting than Sophia and Luke’s. The chemistry between young Ira and young Ruth – played respectively by Jack Huston and Oona Chaplin – feels a bit more fleshed out, with the fact that their story follows them through to old age probably being the main reason for this.

The Bad

Sophia and Luke’s story is much less believable and at times, annoying. After their very first date, Sophia decides to almost preemptively end the chance of a relationship as she prepares to move to New York for an internship, a move that would undoubtedly cause some strains in a new relationship. But this being a Nick Sparks film, the spark is there from the very beginning (if you’ll pardon the pun) and of course we couldn’t have the relationship end so early and sensibly.

Then there’s the ‘opposites attract’ side to the relationship, which can be found in both Ira and Ruth and Sophia and Luke’s storyline, with the girl being the artsy type but the guy not being able to understand art at all. However in Sophia and Luke’s story, the difference between the two is amped up slightly by Luke’s career as a professional bull rider. In a Rocky Balboa move, Luke carelessly continues a career which is slowly but surely increasing the chance of his death. While he certainly has a motive to continue the career his father had, for most of the film it’s not motive enough.

The Ugly Truth

The Longest Ride is instantly recognizable as a Nick Sparks romance and has everything fans of his expect and enjoy from surely one of the most prolific names in the romance genre today. Though it has some issues with half of it’s main storyline, there’s still enough in there to keep you entertained.

Mr. Holmes Review

The Plot

In 1947, Sherlock Holmes (Ian McKellan) is retired and nearing the end of his life. With his memory fading, he tries to write the story of his final case with help from his housekeeper’s young son.

The Good

Sherlock Holmes is a character who has lived a cinematic life that spans the length of cinema itself with countless iterations of quite simply the most influential literary detective ever created. While the most recent examples come from Robert Downey Jr and of course Benedict Cumberbatch, Mr. Holmes brings a incredibly interesting take on the famous detective with McKellen’s Holmes slowly deteriorating from the genius he once was.

Adapting Mitch Cullin’s A Slight Trick of the Mind, writer Jeffrey Hatcher, splices moments from Holmes’ final case  among his final days spent reflecting back on his extraordinary life. Director Bill Condon’s beautiful visuals of the english countryside provides a worthy backdrop to this much more personal take on the iconic Holmes’ character.

It’s McKellen who is of course the driving force in this story though. He manages to perfectly portray Holmes as both the strong confident detective from thirty years prior, and the frail time ravaged figure he becomes in 1947. Praise must also be given to Milo Parker who has the honour of playing almost the new Watson in young Roger, Holmes’ housekeepers son who helps him in his quest to recall how exactly the final case ended and more importantly, what made it his final case.

The Bad

While the performances and cinematography throughout Mr. Holmes are indeed stellar, the film does seem to lack the scope it needs to distinguish it as a worthy cinematic film. Perhaps it is the case that Holmes’ is revisiting, which revolves around a man who seeks his talents in solving the  mystery surrounding his wife, that makes Mr. Holmes feel ever so slightly better put to use on BBC1 as a festive drama special. It is produced, after all by BBC Film.

The timing of this release also feels a little misjudged. Mr. Holmes doesn’t feel right competing alongside summer blockbusters like Jurassic Park. Had it been released around October/November time, when the Oscar contenders start to poke their heads into the public view, Mr. Holmes could very well have earned an awards nod for McKellen. A June release means that ironically it will likely be long forgotten by the time of next years awards season.

The Ugly Truth

Mr. Holmes is an interesting look at a character whom audiences around the world are all too familiar with today, that gives a much more personal and poignant view of the detective in his final years. McKellen gives an awards worthy performance that unfortunately even if perhaps the production would overall have been better suited to the small screen.

Review by Johnny Ellis

Ava DuVerney Directing Black Panther

Selma director Ava DuVerney has been hired by Marvel Studios to direct Black Panther. The film isn’t due to be released till July 2018, but the studio want her to be on set for Captain America Civil War, as that film will be the first to introduce both Black Panther and his home country Wakanda. Chadwick Boseman is already confirmed to play the lead role.

There’s no recent news of screenwriting for the Black Panther solo adventure but  now that the project has both a leading man and director attached it seems likely production will start to progress.

Mission Impossible Rogue Nation Extended Trailer

Check out the latest extended trailer for Mission Impossible Rogue Nation. In his fifth and possibly final adventure Ethan Hunt and his team take on their most impossible mission yet, eradicating the Syndicate, an International rogue organization, as highly skilled as they are, committed to destroying the IMF.

Also check out what Simon Pegg had to tell us about watching Tom Cruise actually hang off the side of a plane for real in one of the film’s most impossibly ambitious stunts.

Terminator Genisys European Premiere

Check out a gallery of pictures from the Terminator Genisys European Premiere in Berlin. Stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Emilia Clarke, Jai Courtney, J.K. Simmons and Jason Clarke walked the red carpet with Director Alan Taylor. The film reboots the time apocalytic time travelling franchise.