A Private War Review
The Plot
The work of celebrated war correspondent Marie Colvin is dramatically brought to life, following her triumphs and troubles as she relentlessly brought the world stories from some of the most dangerous war torn conflict zones on the planet. Her determination to give a voice to voiceless victims matched only by her own pain and the ultimately tragic consequences of her wanton fearlessness
The Good
Rosamund Pike physically and vocally captures Marie Colvin to perfection. Her distinctive voice, mannerisms and scars are all authentically on show for audiences to either admire or pity. Pike has always been well regarded as dramatic actress with considerable screen presence, but this surely represents some of her very finest work. She delivers a fearless performance as an equally bold and broken woman, haunted by the physical and psychological damage her chosen profession incrementally inflicts upon her.
The film’s main success is in accurately recreating the war zone environments in which Marie Colvin spent most of her professional life. Embedding audiences in the most hostile human environments in precisely the same way war correspondents choose to in real life. It’s sobering and serious material that can’t help but have an emotional impact on those watching. This is most certainly not a film that glamourizes war and its cataclysmic human cost in the way Hollywood is most typically accused of doing.
Around Pike’s determined leading performance, a strong supporting cast boasting the likes of Stanley Tucci, Jamie Dornan and Tom Hollander also deliver accomplished performances. The always compelling Tom Hollander in particular is required to give voice most often to the film’s explicit assessment of what Marie Colvin did and why it matters so much. Thanks to their capable hands, the potentially heavy handed dialogue and moralising, feel at least a little more sincere and earnestly delivered.
In terms of sincerity, having the film open and close with the real Marie Colvin expressing her relentless passion for journalism in her own words is an especially poignant and impactful gesture.
The Bad
There will no doubt be many who find it hard to identify or sympathise with those who choose to insert themselves knowingly into life or death situations merely to report a story. Some people will surely find Marie Colvin hard to relate too, feeling baffled by why she persisted in pursing stories from war zones, with ever greater personal peril.
As with people who climb mountains or throw themselves out of planes for fun, there is a uniquely brave and reckless mind-set required for such activities which few people possess. While that might be inspiring or admirable to some people, for others it will just always appear to be selfishly self-destructive. Those people will of course find Marie Colvin’s own story less compelling or comprehensible.
The film is also difficult to watch because it essentially showcases the gradual mental and physical disintegration of an award winning journalist in pursuit of her career. Witnessing her inevitable collapse is slow and painful on screen making the film feel at times more an exercise in endurance than entertainment. Some audiences will consider that part of the message of the film and find that damaged insight compelling, others may struggle more with that grim reminder of reality.
The Ugly Truth
A Private War is a bitingly honest and evocative portrait of a woman sacrificing everything for the cause of journalism. Whether audiences value or understand that decision making, it’s still interesting to see someone making that ultimate sacrifice.
Review by Russell Nelson
The Kid Who Would Be King Review
The Plot
A bullied schoolboy finds a magical sword, throwing him unexpectedly into a century’s long magical battle between good and evil. Forcing him and his fellow students to become the most unlikely heroes the world needs during its darkest hour.
The Good
Writer director Joe Cornish has had notable success before in fusing the fantastic with regular British teens. His big screen directorial debut Attack the Block showed considerable promise in combining clever ideas and a well-planned use of a modest budget, to make a truly original slice of sci-fi action comedy. This new film ambitiously attempts to do the same with the fantasy genre and at times show flashes of genuine genius.
Cornish combines irreverent self-aware laughs with some surprisingly original reimagining’s of the well-known legend of King Arthur. Having the lady of the lake dispensing Excalibur from a hastily filled bathtub and a youthful Merlin scrounging magical ingredients from fast food is just a small sample of some of the unexpected moments the film generates. The film’s creature design, visual effects and unique interpretation of magical conjuring are all equally well polished and satisfying. Despite an initially quaint setting, the film clearly has both a big budget and big aspirations.
The film also boast at least a few familiar faces, with Sir Patrick Stewart lending his considerable gravitas to proceedings, essentially guiding the film on track at key moment through narration and frequent cameos. His extremely welcome presence elevates the tone and the quality of his young co-stars performances.
Mission Impossible and The Greatest Showman star Rebecca Ferguson also does her very best to provide the film with a memorably menacing magical villain. She clearly spent countless hours working with makeup and special effects specialists undergoing a convincingly creepy physical transformation. Even through all those layers of prosthetics and CGI her arresting talent still shines through.
Special mention must go to relative newcomer Angus Imrie. His wide eyed and consistently hilarious performance as a teenage wizard is authentically brilliant. He plays Merlin like a magical adolescent cross between Doctor Who and Jack Sparrow. Every time he’s on screen the film get far more fun and he’s clearly a star to watch out for in the future.
The Bad
Despite plenty of clever ideas, convincing effects and some truly great performance, unfortunately The Kid Who Would Be King doesn’t quite seem to always hit the mark, for reasons that are frustratingly hard to immediately identify.
One issue might be that the Arthurian legend of the Knights of the Round Table no longer holds quite the same mystery and fun it once did. Having been plundered far too often by lazy storytellers it’s simply impossible to avoid those underwhelming feelings of overfamiliarity. At this point even the Transformers have clumsily borrowed Arthur’s legend. It’s hard to imagine people having much appetite for yet another reinvention of this oldest of myths. Likewise, heroic knights in clunky medieval armour must also now compete with the amazing array of comic book superheroes capturing kids’ imaginations these days.
On that point, another issue the film has is just how juvenile its main cast are. It’s difficult to truly take baby-faced 12 year old boys seriously as action heroes. If anything the sight of a crowd of prepubescent children in knight outfits feels more like a fancy dress birthday party than a brave army. This may be why the film sometimes feels slightly silly, despite being packed with inventive ideas and otherwise accomplished storytelling. In truth having older might have helped the film have a wider and more consistent appeal beyond a very young audience.
The Ugly Truth
The Kid Who Would be King has flashes of brilliance that make it a generally enjoyable fantasy adventure. Younger British audiences in particular will welcome seeing themselves as heroes for a change.
Review by Russell Nelson
Serenity Review
The Plot
A fishing boat captain living on a remote island paradise struggles with his own mysterious past as the world around him seems to slowly unravel.
The Good
This tropical thriller has assembled a truly all-star cast that represents a genuine bounty of acting talents. Leading man Matthew McConaughey has frequently proven himself charismatically capable of carrying entire films almost single handily. He does his very best to try and inject some genuine mystery and thoughtfulness into proceedings. Jason Clarke, Djimon Hounsou, Diane Lane and Anne Hathaway provide some much needed support. The presence of so many familiar faces and a steamy island setting does at least keep the film mostly watchable.
The Bad
Serenity sadly squanders any early signs of promise as a conventional thriller by failing miserably in attempts to be something more complex and original. Without spoiling things with specifics, the film’s unexpected narrative twists are regrettably dumb and bizarrely incoherent. In fact it’s actually quite difficult to see how this script was able to attract such an impressive cast. The film’s central premise gradually proves to be very poorly conceived and no amount of acting talent can distract from those failings.
Perhaps the most frustrating thing is that the film clearly considers itself to be far cleverer and intellectually provocative than it ever manages to be. It’s easy to imagine what writer/director Steven Knight thought he was crafting, but the result is far too messy and silly. It’s a shame because with better writing and a slightly more subtle approach the film could have successfully harnessed the tension and mystery of tropical isolation to produce something far more subtle and thought provoking.
It’s a shame to see such a talented cast squandering their combined gifts on such a disappointing drama. This cast could easily have made a much better conventional noir thriller had the film avoid taking too many implausible leaps. By about halfway through the film it’s hard to avoid the urge to abandon what is clearly a sinking ship. Audiences sadly will have guessed exactly where the film is heading far sooner than intended, further adding to a growing sense of disappointed frustration.
It’s especially sad to see Matthew McCounaughey make another misstep having so successfully won back his dramatic credibility with Oscar worthy performances. He seems here to have retreated to bad habits of propping up poorly written scripts with his handsome face and frequently removing his shirt. Anne Hathaway also slums it shamelessly with a performance that is uncharacteristically awful, displaying soap opera levels of silliness.
The Ugly Truth
An impressive all-star cast sadly isn’t enough to hold this poorly constructed and ultimately nonsensical thriller together. Ultimately it’s likely to appeal only to the most loyally ardent McConaughey admirers.
Green Book Review
The Plot
A streetwise but rough edged Italian-American bouncer becomes the driver for a sophisticated African American classical pianist, resulting in an unlikely bond forming during a concert tour of America’s Deep South in the 1960s.
The Good
Viggo Mortensen delivers a charismatic career best performance as Tony ‘Lip’, lending considerable subtlety and heart to what could easily have become merely a lazy Italian American working class stereotype. With slicked back jet black hair and a slight pot belly, Mortensen transforms himself physically for the role, perfectly embodying the character. More important than this however is the way in which Mortensen consistently succeeds in capturing the complex balance of hardened brashness and jovial nativity that defines Tony.
Mortensen delivers a performance which simply cannot be faulted. He’s able to fully reveal Tony’s flaws, his mild racism or a propensity to solve problems with his fists, while simultaneously celebrating his appetite for life, devotion to his family and his essentially kind hearted nature. It’s impossible not to be ultimately fully won over by Mortensen’s magnetic charms. He makes Tony a deeply sympathetic and surprisingly layered character, leaving audiences utterly endeared to him in spite of first appearances.
Linda Cardellini also helps considerably in this regard playing Tony’s wife. The pair have a genuine tenderness that goes a long way to softening some of Tony’s harder edges. Any educational ignorance or rudeness he might display feel immediately irrelevant in the light of this sincere love.
Mahershala Ali is once again on award worthy form as the erudite but awkward Dr. Don Shirley. His well-spoken highly strung demeanour is a perfect contrast to Tony’s gregarious uncouth enthusiasm. This pleasingly mismatched pair are both fascinating characters in their own right and the evolving dynamic between them is a pleasure to behold.
At a time when our racial and cultural differences are increasingly cynically considered to be an insurmountable divide, it’s refreshing to see such an emphatic example of how misguided that defeatist attitude is. Those that would seek to dismiss this story as mere Hollywood fantasy also have to contend with the fact that the film is based upon a real life events and an actual enduring friendship. Making it all the more uplifting and satisfying to see it celebrated in this way on screen.
That optimistic mood is perfectly accompanied by lush cinematography and a great period soundtrack. The film takes audiences on a welcome wander through America during a specific period in modern history. It is thoughtful, fun and faithful to the best spirit of that era.
The Bad
It’s rare to have nothing bad to say about a film, but this is one of those glorious occasions. Even the harshest critics would be hard pressed to find any obvious cause for complaint.
The Ugly Truth
Green Book is a near flawless piece of well-crafted movie magic propelled by two outstanding performances. This real life tale of unlikely and inspiring friendship is a crowd pleasing delight guaranteed to help restore audiences’ faith in humanity.
Review by Russell Nelson
Can You Ever Forgive Me? Review
The Plot
Based on a true story, a struggling author called Lee Israel turns in desperation to a shady criminal career using her genuine writing talents to forge fake letters from literary greats, aided by her equally troubled friend and accomplice. The hopeless pair plunging ever deeper into inevitable trouble.
The Good
Melissa McCarthy’s splendid and subtle lead performance has already earned her considerable well deserved awards recognition. She offers up a sincere portrait of a person struggling with bitter personal failures and the crushing weight of cruelly self-imposed isolation. McCarthy displays a fragile vulnerability and emotional depth far beyond the lazy clichés and silly slapstick that have increasingly defined the diminishing returns of her oversaturated comedic work. Flexing her dramatic muscles she shows a considerable gift for crafting a character who is equally obnoxious and sympathetic.
With a less thoughtful and authentic performance this character could so easily have been just a tragic ‘old cat lady’ stereotype. Instead McCarthy breaths humanity and sincere aguish into a layered performance of a woman longing so clearly for companionship and recognition in a world that seems to offer little of both. McCarthy’s flashes of wit and anger makes things more enjoyable than merely watching someone wallow in unrelenting self-pity.
Alongside McCarthy’s star turn, Richard E. Grant provides a perfect embodiment of her flamboyant and flawed partner in crime, Jack Hock. Grant channels all his well-practised flare for playing hedonistic grifters into a career defining performance. Grant’s character is a cheerily shambolic mess and a wonderful accompaniment for McCarthy’s more maudlin moments. Between them the pair strikes a compelling balance between true despondency and endearingly uninhibited desperation.
A pleasant soundtrack and equally pleasing cinematography soothes some of the film’s sadder themes and injects just a hint of whimsy and romantic optimism to proceedings. Overall combined with terrific performances the film is both compelling and unconventionally charming. It’s a nuanced New York drama that most notably echoes some of Woody Allen’s acclaimed early work.
The Bad
Those expecting to see yet another heavy handed slapstick comedy built around McCarthy’s loud mouthed foolishness will undoubtedly be a little disappointed by a film far more meditative and melancholy than that. It would be a mistake to watch this film expecting to see the kind of comedy that made McCarthy a household name in films like Bridesmaids, The Heat or the atrocious Ghostbusters reboot.
It’s only fair to acknowledge that while this film is arguably a major improvement on some of McCarthy’s less credible comedic efforts, it’s not necessarily going to satisfy those who have come to reliably rely on her merely for low brow laughter. For those fans at least, this film may prove a little too slow paced and miserable for their tastes.
The Ugly Truth
Can You Ever Forgive Me? treads a fine line between comedy and tragedy, guided by two sensational performances from Richard E. Grant and Melissa McCarthy. It will redefine audience’s expectations of McCarthy and provides an enjoyably sordid ride.
Review by Russell Nelson