Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit Review

The Plot:

Rebooting Tom Clancy’s iconic espionage hero, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit shows how a young former marine is brought into the ranks of the American CIA, becoming a gifted analyst. But when his work uncovers an international terrorist conspiracy he’s thrown into the middle of life or death action in a race to thwart a devastating attack.

The Good:

Leading man Chris Pine becomes the 4^th actor to play Jack Ryan on screen; following in the footsteps of Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford and Ben Affleck. Whilst lacking the gruff screen presence of Ford, Pine does at least match the clean cut good looks of the actors who have played a younger Ryan. Advantageously the film is the first to truly give the character a detailed back-story on screen.

Kevin Costner has been enjoying a welcomed career resurgence in recent years and continues to re-establish himself as a credible character actor with a solid performance here as Ryan’s CIA boss/recruiter. Costner’s leading man days may be over thanks to passing time and some box office blunders, but his soft spoken intensity and quiet charisma still lends a lot of presence to the screen.

Likewise, Director Kenneth Branagh does a decent job of also playing lead villain Viktor Cherevin. He at least manages to keep his thick accent from becoming an embarrassing cliché, even though in most other respects he is a rather stereotypical Russian bad guy. Namely a womanizing alcoholic determined to avenge mother Russia thanks to cold war bitterness. At least Branagh manages a few moments of menace and resists the urge to ham things up too badly.

The Bad:

In Clancy’s original books and the previous big screen adventures Jack Ryan has never truly been a super-spy in the mold of James Bond, Ethan Hunt or Jason Bourne. Although this new film clearly aims to push the character towards being a more credible action hero, it falls short of giving him that kind of screen presence. Without gadgets, martial arts moves and one liners he lacks that invincible aura. In truth Ryan remains just a smart guy who occasionally has to run towards or away from trouble.

Keira Knightly has as many fierce critics as she does fans. She’s certainly not helped by the fact that her role as Jack’s earnest doctor fiancé only gives her two dimensions and occasionally awkward dialogue to work with.  She’s an obligatory love interest who seems to exist solely as an occasional plot device. Predictably she goes from implausibly helping CIA missions to being a damsel in distress in a matter of minutes.  In truth the film may have been a stronger origin story without her presence.

The film’s biggest problem is that while it’s terrorist attacks and financial crisis themed plot might be timely; it’s not quite as clever as it could or should be. Having Chris Pine briefly explain how stock markets work can’t disguise how transparent it is very early on that the ‘Crazy Russians’ are up to something. Even for a lazy audience most major plot points feel easily foreseeable, almost as if the film lacks the confidence to be overly complex.

The Ugly Truth:

Jack Ryan Shadow Recruit is a watchable action thriller that does a competent job of slightly revamping the character for a new generation. It succeeds far more in this respect than Ben Affleck’s failed attempt to do so in The Sum Of All Fears. However it’s unlikely to spawn a successful new franchise without a more sophisticated plot for any potential sequel.

The Wolf Of Wall Street Review

The Plot

The shocking and explicit true story of Jordan Belfort based on the bestselling autobiography of the infamous Wall Street figure. Following the rise and fall of his financial empire, fuelled by drugs, ambition and unashamed greed.

The Good

Leonardo DiCaprio is the perfect personification of Jordan Belfort as a slick talking, slick haired ruthless conman. DiCaprio does a magnificent job at playing the notorious Wall Street Tycoon from his sneering impassioned best to the worst moments of drug addled despair and idiocy. It’s a character which serves as a comfortable combination of DiCaprio’s past roles in Catch Me If You Can and The Great Gatsby; making the most of his smart suited charm and flare for simmering frantic intensity.

Jonah Hill goes a long way towards achieving his self-professed goal of establishing himself as a credible acting talent with an Oscar nominated supporting turn as Belfort’s buck toothed sidekick Donnie. Without Leo’s handsome charms he’s a laughable foul mouthed ball of blubber and bad ideas. He’s responsible for many of the films most depraved and memorably comedic moments.

The Wolf of Wall Street is another visceral masterpiece from Martin Scorsese, taking its place proudly alongside past efforts like Goodfellas and The Deprated. Like many Scorsese films The Wolf of Wall Street is a sprawling tale of the corrupting effect of drugs, sex, money and power. It’s a guilty pleasure of monstrous proportions. Allowing audiences to vicariously enjoy the lurid thrills of unlimited wealth, namely every form of sexual perversion and substance abuse known to the depraved and the powerful.

In the hands of a less competent director it would have been easy for these flashy superficial elements to have overtaken any attempt at genuine storytelling. However Scorsese largely ensures that beneath each degenerate moment there’s an actual story worth paying attention to.  

The Bad

Less enthusiastic critics have been quick to point out the lengthy 3hr run time for Scorsese’s sprawling biopic. Whilst it may have been possible to prune away certain moments of debauchery overall the film does a good job of justifying 180 minutes of visceral storytelling. The film rarely sags or fails to hold an audiences interest with its slick and sordid tale.

Another criticism predictably aimed at the film is that it irresponsibly glamourizes the amoral and often criminal actions of a shameless self-promoting con artist. However amongst all the casual nudity, dizzying drug use and obscene financial excess there’s a constant reminder that this is at heart a cautionary tale not a blueprint for successful living. Exploiting the inherent entertainment of watching flamboyant characters self-destruct isn’t the same thing as endorsing or condoning their painfully ill-advised misadventures.

Don’t let a glossy leading man and trailers which downplay the consequences of the ‘endless party’, mislead you about the film’s true intentions.

The Ugly Truth

Predictably attracting both acclaim and controversy The Wolf of Wall Street is a wild sneering portrait of one man’s joyous self-destruction and the deeply broken financial system that let him get away with so much for so long. Star turns from Dicaprio and Hill inject some degenerate glamour and guilty laughs into a tragically inevitable tale of disaster and ruined lives.

2014 Oscar Nominations

The 86th Academy Awards nominations were today announced, with Gravity and American Hustle leading across all categories with ten nominations each, followed closely by 12 Years a Slave, which earned nine. In a fiercely competitive and varied year Dame Judi Dench notably received her 7th nomination for her star turn in Philomena.

Full Official List of 2014 Nominees below:

BEST PICTURE
12 Years a Slave
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club
Gravity
Her
Nebraska
Philomena
The Wolf of Wall Street

BEST DIRECTOR
David O. Russell, American Hustle
Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity
Alexander Payne, Nebraska
Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave
Martin Scorsese, The Wolf of Wall Street

BEST ACTOR
Christian Bale, American Hustle
Bruce Dern, Nebraska
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Wolf of Wall Street
Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave
Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club

BEST ACTRESS
Amy Adams, American Hustle
Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock, Gravity
Judi Dench, Philomena
Meryl Streep, August: Osage County

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
American Hustle
Blue Jasmine
Her
Nebraska
Dallas Buyers Club

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Before Midnight
Captain Phillips
Philomena
12 Years a Slave
The Wolf of Wall Street

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Lupita Nyong’o, 12 Years a Slave
Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
June Squibb, Nebraska
Julia Roberts, August: Osage County
Sally Hawkins, Blue Jasmine

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips
Bradley Cooper, American Hustle
Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave
Jonah Hill, The Wolf of Wall Street
Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club

BEST ANIMATED FILM
The Croods
Despicable Me 2
Ernest & Celestine
Frozen
The Wind Rises

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Grandmaster
Gravity
Inside Llewyn Davis
Nebraska
Prisoners

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Michael Wilkinson, American Hustle
William Chang Suk Ping, The Grandmaster
Catherine Martin, The Great Gatsby
Michael O’Connor, The Invisible Woman
Patricia Norris, 12 Years a Slave

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
The Act of Killing Joshua Oppenheimer and Signe Byrge Sørensen
Cutie and the Boxer Zachary Heinzerling and Lydia Dean Pilcher
Dirty Wars Richard Rowley and Jeremy Scahill
The Square Jehane Noujaim and Karim Amer
20 Feet from Stardom Nominees to be determined

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
CaveDigger Jeffrey Karoff
Facing Fear Jason Cohen
Karama Has No Walls Sara Ishaq
The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life Malcolm Clarke and Nicholas Reed
Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall Edgar Barens

BEST FILM EDITING
American Hustle Jay Cassidy, Crispin Struthers and Alan Baumgarten
Captain Phillips Christopher Rouse
Dallas Buyers Club John Mac McMurphy and Martin Pensa
Gravity Alfonso Cuarón and Mark Sanger
12 Years a Slave Joe Walker

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
The Broken Circle Breakdown Belgium
The Great Beauty Italy
The Hunt Denmark
The Missing Picture Cambodia
Omar Palestine

BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
Dallas Buyers Club Adruitha Lee and Robin Mathews
Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa Stephen Prouty
The Lone Ranger Joel Harlow and Gloria Pasqua-Casny

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES (ORIGINAL SCORE)
The Book Thief John Williams
Gravity Steven Price
Her William Butler and Owen Pallett
Philomena Alexandre Desplat
Saving Mr. Banks Thomas Newman

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES (ORIGINAL SONG)
“Alone Yet Not Alone” from “Alone Yet Not Alone”
Music by Bruce Broughton; Lyric by Dennis Spiegel
“Happy” from Despicable Me 2
Music and Lyric by Pharrell Williams
“Let It Go” from Frozen
Music and Lyric by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez
“The Moon Song” from Her
Music by Karen O; Lyric by Karen O and Spike Jonze
“Ordinary Love” from Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
Music by Paul Hewson, Dave Evans, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen; Lyric by Paul Hewson

ACHIEVEMENT IN PRODUCTION DESIGN
American Hustle Production Design: Judy Becker; Set Decoration: Heather Loeffler
Gravity Production Design: Andy Nicholson; Set Decoration: Rosie Goodwin and Joanne Woollard
The Great Gatsby Production Design: Catherine Martin; Set Decoration: Beverley Dunn
Her Production Design: K.K. Barrett; Set Decoration: Gene Serdena
12 Years a Slave Production Design: Adam Stockhausen; Set Decoration: Alice Baker

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
Feral Daniel Sousa and Dan Golden
Get a Horse! Lauren MacMullan and Dorothy McKim
Mr. Hublot Laurent Witz and Alexandre Espigares
Possessions Shuhei Morita
Room on the Broom Max Lang and Jan Lachauer

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
Aquel No Era Yo (That Wasn’t Me) Esteban Crespo
Avant Que De Tout Perdre (Just before Losing Everything) Xavier Legrand and Alexandre Gavras
Helium Anders Walter and Kim Magnusson
Pitääkö Mun Kaikki Hoitaa? (Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?) Selma Vilhunen and Kirsikka Saari
The Voorman Problem Mark Gill and Baldwin Li

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING
All Is Lost Steve Boeddeker and Richard Hymns
Captain Phillips Oliver Tarney
Gravity Glenn Freemantle
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Brent Burge
Lone Survivor Wylie Stateman

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND MIXING
Captain Phillips Chris Burdon, Mark Taylor, Mike Prestwood Smith and Chris Munro
Gravity Skip Lievsay, Niv Adiri, Christopher Benstead and Chris Munro
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Christopher Boyes, Michael Hedges, Michael Semanick and Tony Johnson
Inside Llewyn Davis Skip Lievsay, Greg Orloff and Peter F. Kurland
Lone Survivor Andy Koyama, Beau Borders and David Brownlow

ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTS
Gravity Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, Dave Shirk and Neil Corbould
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton and Eric Reynolds
Iron Man 3 Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Erik Nash and Dan Sudick
The Lone Ranger Tim Alexander, Gary Brozenich, Edson Williams and John Frazier
Star Trek Into Darkness Roger Guyett, Patrick Tubach, Ben Grossmann and Burt Dalton

A New York Winter’s Tale Official Trailer

Set in a mythic New York City and spanning more than a century, “A New York Winter’s Tale” is a story of miracles, crossed destinies, and the age-old battle between good and evil.

The film stars Colin Farrell and Downton Abbey star Jessica Brown Findlay, alongside Oscar winners Jennifer Connelly and Russell Crowe .  The film marks the directorial debut of Academy Award winning screenwriter Akiva Goldsman (“A Beautiful Mind”), who also wrote the screenplay, based on the acclaimed novel by Mark Helprin.

Check out the first official trailer below:

Golden Globes 2014 Winners List

Here’s the full list of winners at this years Golden Globe Award 2014. David O’Russell’s American Hustle picked up a trio of awards including best comedy, whilst 12 Years A Slave won best drama.

Top Acting honors for film went to Matthew McConaughey and Cate Blanchett. Whilst for television Bryan Cranston and Robin Wright took the dramatic awards. Andy Samberg and Amy Poehler took best actor and actress respectively in the TV comedy categories.

FILM AWARDS
Best motion picture – drama : 12 Years A Slave
Best motion picture – musical or comedy: American Hustle
Best director: Alfonso Cuaron – Gravity
Best actor – drama: Matthew McConaughey – Dallas Buyers Club
Best actor – musical or comedy: Leonardo DiCaprio – The Wolf Of Wall Street
Best actress – drama: Cate Blanchett – Blue Jasmine
Best actress – musical or comedy: Amy Adams – American Hustle
Best supporting actor: Jared Leto – Dallas Buyers Club
Best supporting actress: Jennifer Lawrence – American Hustle
Best screenplay: Her – Spike Jonze
Best original score: Alex Ebert – All Is Lost
Best original song: Ordinary Love – Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom 
Best foreign language film: The Great Beauty – Italy
Best animated feature: Frozen

TELEVISION AWARDS
Best TV series – drama: Breaking Bad
Best TV series – comedy: Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Best mini-series or motion picture made for TV: Behind The Candelabra
Best actor – drama: Bryan Cranston – Breaking Bad
Best actress – drama: Robin Wright – House Of Cards
Best actor – comedy: Andy Samberg – Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Best actress – comedy: Amy Poehler – Parks and Recreation
Best Actor mini-series/motion picture made for TV: Michael Douglas – Behind the Candelabra
Best Actress mini-series/motion picture made for TV: Elisabeth Moss – Top of the Lake
Best supporting actor : Jon Voight – Ray Donovan
Best supporting actress  : Jacqueline Bisset – Dancing on the Edge