Unfinished Business Review

The Plot

After being fired from his job Dan Trunkman (Vince Vaughn) teams up with two businessmen, one recently retired (Tom Wilkinson) the other, a young inexperienced man in every sense of the word (Dave Franco). But the trio’s first big deal is put in jeopardy when Dan’s old boss (Sienna Miller) turns up to steal his wealthy client.

The Good

Vince Vaughn still has at least some appeal for fans who prefer their comedy tall and nervously sarcastic. Likewise Dave Franco’s cult following & viral video fans will  perhaps be more inclined to enjoy watching him fully indulge his inner moron. The film might also help those looking to entirely disengage their brain for 90 minutes as it never demands any thought from audiences either.

Sadly there’s not much to save Unfinished Business from the mess it ends up being, but the faint glimmers of silver lining behind the thunderous clouds come mainly thanks to Tom Wilkinson.He doesn’t come close to rescuing the film, but he’s more successful at amusing audiences than his overly eager co-stars. Wilkinson’s character at least has the most potential, playing a businessman fighting against reluctant retirement while suffering the woes of a loveless marriage. The mere presence of an actor of his caliber elevates proceedings, even if you suspect he’s only on board to add to his actual retirement fund in lieu of a second visit to the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. 

The Bad

Unfortunately for Wilkinson, his character and subsequent storyline is largely pushed aside to make way for the headline act of the consistently disappointing Vince Vaughn. We can only hope Unfinished Business proves to be the last time Vaughn tries to squeeze laughs out of characters failing at their jobs. Vaughn’s affable blend of borderline obnoxious charms and underachievement may have worked in hits like Swingers or Dodgeball, but it’s also seen him relegated to a series of unimpressive comedy flops. Sadly this time cinemas are likely to yet again echo with deafening silences as the majority of the jokes fall flat.

Finishing off this terrible trio is Dave Franco, an actor who, like Vaughn, has indeed got good comedies in his back catalogue and knows how to make us laugh (21 Jump Street comes instantly to mind). Unfortunately Franco is brought down by a character so inherently dumb that he comes extremely close to doing precisely what Robert Downey Jr warns against in Tropic Thunder. When a comedy character’s biggest and arguably only comedic moment is the fact that his surname resembles that of a breakfast meal, you know you’ve got problems!

Even the attempt at giving the film a heart and soul with the inclusion of Vaughn’s children who are both dealing with bullying at school, albeit in completely opposite ways, does more harm than good. It simply gives us more reason to hate Vaughn’s character as he constantly feigns a frozen connection on his iPhone. Add shameless product placement to the growing list of  movie sins.

We haven’t even mentioned the actresses in the film, but there is a very simple explanation for this. They are another thing recklessly discarded in favour of more underwhelming screen time for the film’s misfiring leads.

The Ugly Truth

Unfinished Business is a messy disappointment which sacrifices far too much real potential to make way for Vince Vaughan and Dave Franco in showboating performances that miss the mark badly. So badly in fact that it’s actually a relief when the business is finally finished. We can only hope Vince Vaughn manages to dramaticaly redeem himself in the second series of the superb True Detective.

Chappie Review

The Plot

In the near future, police droids are patrolling the streets of South Africa, bringing the crime rate down drastically. But when their creator (Dev Patel) steals a decommissioned droid and programmes it to think and feel for itself, trouble begins…

The Good

While Chappie is certainly not quite welcome  up to the high standards of  Blomkamp’s brilliant debut District 9, it’s certainly a step up from his rather disappointing follow-up, Elysium. Chappie shows that he still has what it takes to explore interesting themes in challenging new sci-fi. As the third piece of an unofficial trilogy of stylish dark science fiction, it’s also proof that the Alien franchise is now definitely back in safe hands with Blomkamp’s planned sequel.

Chappie opens with the same documentary style showcased in District 9, before swiftly moving onto the main action and exploring some great ideas. Though it occasionally loses its footing, the film stumbles along proudly.

Blomkamp’s past success and distinctive style has helped him assemble a talented cast of familiar faces. Dev Patel delivers a great performance as the kind hearted robot inventor determined to educate and protect Chappie, keeping his existence secret from his more sinister colleagues. Hugh Jackman has fun playing against type as a mullet sporting bad guy and sci-fi legend Sigourney Weaver is a welcome addition as his ruthless boss.

It’s an undoubtedly strong supporting cast, but praise must go first and foremost to Sharlto Copley in the titular role. As the voice of heroic robot Chappie, Copley breathes so much life into the character that audiences completely forget they’re watching a carefully crafted CGI creation. It’s a compelling combination of performance and visual effects which equals the widely celebrated achievements of Andy Serkis in the recent Planet of the Apes franchise.

As Chappie comes to life, so does the film. Chappie starts out with an endearingly infantile and navie personality. Slowly learning about the world and himself, just like a human child would. A task made more complex by the dramatic contrast between his creator and his adoptive gangster parents played by members of real life South African rap group Die Antwodd.

The juxtaposition and conflict between these three characters injects some interesting and thought provoking themes into the film amongst its actions sequences. It helps Chappie almost reach the impressively high standards set by Blomkamp’s auspicious debut Dirstrict 9.

The Bad

As mentioned before, Chappie does come a little loose in terms of its style and the message it wants to bring to audiences.

In one corner we have a genuinely interesting plot which raises questions about artificial intelligence that, although not particularly groundbreaking, are still exciting to explore in this near future world of robocop type police droids. In the other, we have a genuinely exciting action movie with some great set pieces and Hugh Jackman playing a villainous cliché who spends most of his time talking to himself in an almost pantomime way.

The film struggles to reconcile these different elements and combine them into a cohesive story. It’s hard to find a middle ground between the film’s somewhat schizophrenic intention to be a both a scientific think piece and a crowd-pleasing action blockbuster. The film’s contradicting ambitions risks leaving it a confused mess.

An even bigger risk is the film’s occasionally lazy plot holes that are a little too silly to be comfortably ignored.  You’d expect evil high-tech weapons manufacturers to have a state of the art security system. Yet somehow Dev Patel manages to walk expensive and dangerous materials for his homemade artificial intelligence out the back door without anyone noticing until the third act.

The Ugly Truth

Chappie is an accomplished third effort from one of the most distinctive and innovative directors in the sci-fi genre. It’s mostly a return to the impressive form of Distrcit 9 after the relative disappointment of Elysium. While the film occasionally gets confused as to where it should be tonally, Chappie is still a good bit of fun that’s worth your time. Bring on Blomkamp’s Alien sequel.

Star Trek Icon Leonard Nimoy Dies At 83

Leonard Nimoy the beloved Star Trek actor who portrayed iconic pointy eared hero Mr Spock has died at the age of 83 in Los Angeles. The legendary film and television star passed away after battling chronic lung disease COPD for some time.

Leonard Nimoy was the only actor to survive from the 1965 Star Trek pilot when the series launched in 1966. He went on to play Mr Spock the fiercely logical half Vulcan science officer of the USS Enterprise for nearly 50 years, through the original series and long running film franchise. Indeed he was the only member of the original cast to feature in J.J. Abrams successful movie reboots including the most recent 2013  film Star Trek Into Darkness.

Of all the amazing characters and creations of Gene Roddenberry’s  Star Trek Universe, Nimoy’s Spock remains one of the most memorable and beloved.Distinguished by his arched eyebrows, bowl haircut and pointed ears; Spock was the monotone voice of reason and logic that held Captain Kirk’s reckless bravado in check. Spock’s struggles to reconcile his own emotional half-human side, embracing humour and imperfections, was perhaps the most sincerely human journey in the long running space adventures.

Nimoy had other notable roles in cult favorite series like Mission Impossible and Fringe. He also had considerable success as a director, directing several of the Trek films, including one of the most popular installments The Voyage Home.

The news of his sad passing was met with shock and sadness by fans and former colleagues alike. William Shatner described his co-star as a ‘brother’ while others have been quick to priase his generosity, kindness and talent.

In a fitting gesture Nimoy’s final Twitter message was poignant and signed off with Mr Spock’s famous epitaph

A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. Live Long And Prosper.

Harrison Ford Back For Bladerunner Sequel

After years of hesitant uncertainty, Harrison Ford is officially confirmed as reprising his role of replicant hunting police officer Rick Deckard in the forthcoming Bladerunner sequel.

The original 1982 film loosely based on Philip K Dick’s short novel Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep has become widely accepted as an enigmatic cult classic and one of the most significant and influential films  in the sci-fi genre.

The original film directed by Ridley Scott has existed in various versions and prompted intense debate about an enigmatic ending which seemingly left audiences to decide whether Deckard was in fact himself an andorid replicant just like those he had been assigned to ‘retire’.

The new film based on a original idea by Ridley Scott will be written by Hampton Fancher, who co-wrote the original screenplay. Presumably the return of Ford as an aged Deckard will finally put rest of the idea he may have been a replicant. Prisoners director  Denis Villeneuve is also reportedly in talks to direct.

In a join statement the sequel’s producers said:

“We are honoured that Harrison is joining us on this journey. Hampton and Michael, with Sir Ridley Scott, have crafted a uniquely potent and faithful sequel to one of the most universally celebrated films of all time, and we couldn’t be more thrilled with this amazing, creative team.”

Stephen Merchant To Make West End Debut

The Office and Hello Ladies star Stephen Merchant continues to expand his horizon beyond being Ricky Gervais partner in crime, as he’s now set to make his West End debut this summer in The Mentalists at London’s Wyndham’s Theatre.

The play is written by Richard Bean, best known for his recent award winning success with One Man, Two Guvnors. Merchant will star alongside Gavin and Stacey star Steffan Rhodri, with the pair playing two friends dealing with the frustrations of working men battling against the world.

Stephen Merchant has long been the somewhat under-appreciated  partner of Ricky Gervais, co-writing The Office, Extras and Life’s Too Short. Having most recently starred in the Hello Ladies TV Movie it’s encouraging to see the towering British comic continue to spread his wings.