Pixels Review
The Plot
When an alien race misinterprets old video games as a declaration of intergalactic war, they decide to obligingly attack in the form of Pac-Man, Donkey Kong and other retro arcade classics. It’s up to the President (Kevin James), and his old gaming buddy (Adam Sandler) to save the world…
The Good
Inspired by Patrick Jean’s incredibly inventive short film of the same name, Pixels adds a story to the novel idea along with some upgraded visual effects. While it’s inspiration was a mere two and a half minutes, the feature length version of course provides much more room to play. While there are problems aplenty with Pixels, the joy of seeing old arcade games brought to life is still there. At least at first.
The Bad
The joy of the film’s novel premise is sadly cut short by an utterly ridiculous storyline and characters. Any film which has Kevin James as its on screen President has obviously already abandoned any hope of ever being taken seriously. Though unashamedly set up as fun goofy comedy, Pixels plot strays from goofy to ghastly far too easily.There are far too many examples, but the most frustrating is how little the peril of planetary destruction seems to trouble the films hapless heroes. It’s a fairly obnoxious choice to prepare for the next wave of pixelated attacks merely by organizing a elaborate parties. Particularly when they’re merely being used as a heavy handed excuse to force Frozen star Josh Gad to sing.
As with every Sandler comedy Pixel showcases a random assortment of cameos from people who really are talented and recognizable enough that they should know better. An opening out of place scene with Dan Aykroyd makes more sense once his vodka company starts getting prominent product placement. Likewise Sean Bean make an appearance, though always a welcome sight the film squanders such an obvious opportunity to poke fun at his infamous back catalog of on screen deaths.
Meanwhile the film treats it’s female characters simply atrociously. Jane Krakowski is given just a few brief scenes as First Lady to James’ President, with her role clearly having been pruned down to the very bare minimum. Leading lady Michelle Monaghan gets more screen time, but sadly it’s not always welcomed attention. The film literally takes a break from the action at one point to remind audiences that now she’s in a pretty green dress it’s officially time to ogle her. It’s not the first or last time an action comedy takes advantage of this kind of cliched gag at it’s heroine’s expense, but it’s hardly helping Sandler’s cause given his recent criticism for sexist casting calls and poor taste material.
Coherent logic is also a huge issue for a film, especially as it’s already struggling with an outlandish concept. In one scene a pixelated character becomes flesh and blood with no explanation as to exactly why this happens with only one of the thousands of pixelated invaders. When you’re already asking audiences to suspend disbelief a lot, it’s unwise to throw even more unanswered questions at them.
If you want a film that celebrates 80s video game nostalgia, Pixels serves as the anti-Wreck-It Ralph. Hearing Q Bert speaking english in Pixels is a big clue that of the two films in which the adorable orange character stars, this is the bad one.
The Ugly Truth
While it’s certainly an interesting concept, considerable issues with the character and story make Pixels extremely hard to completely enjoy. Pixar’s playful Wreck-It Ralph offered a more faithful and enjoyable tribute to arcade classics. If you watch the original Pixels short you’ll have more fun and waste less time.
Review by Johnny Ellis
Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation Review
The Plot
Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is back in his most impossible mission yet. When the IMF is disbanded, Ethan goes rogue to take down the Syndicate – a secret organisation that is dedicated to creating a new world order through a series of terrorist attacks.
The Good
Now in its fifth instalment, the Mission Impossible franchise seems intent on becoming America’s answer to the Bond series. With a thrilling opening sequence which begs to be seen on the biggest screen possible, Rogue Nation moves swiftly onto a storyline which has so many twists and turns in it that it’s impossible to even try to figure it out early.
Sean Harris is exceptionally terrifying as the main villain this time, approaching the high standards of menacing villainy set by Philip Seymour Hoffman in M:I III. Also joining the franchise is Alec Baldwin as CIA head Alan Hunley, the man responsible for the downfall of the IMF and a villain in his own right.
While Tom Cruise is perpetually the main star of the franchise, Simon Pegg is slowly moving up the ranks and is almost equal billing with Cruise this time around. Benji is becoming more and more the Robin to Ethan Hunts Batman. It wouldn’t be surprising if he ends up taking over the headline act in the near future.
The Bad
While Sean Harris definitely has an aura of evil about him as the mysterious Soloman Lane, his voice somewhat diminishes this. The first glimpses of his character work well, but when his nasal British accent finally creeps in, his terrifying presence begins to wane.
Pegg meanwhile still struggles to completely move past his comic relief persona, making it hard at times to forget that implausibly the Shaun of the Dead actor is now a legitimate action star. After three Mission: Impossible films and two Star Trek adventures, his bemused face still feels an unlikely fit for an actual action hero.
Pegg isn’t the only comedy distraction this time. Though undoubtedly unintentional, Cruise and Harris have one particularly silly exchange which feels plucked from a spy movie spoof. Each continues to try and outwit the other with a ‘I knew you’d do that so I did THIS!’ back and forth. And back again. And forth again.
Perhaps it was also a bad idea to kick the film off with the much trailed set piece in which Cruise hangs off the outside of a plane. Starting off so strongly inevitably means that the set pieces that follow all feel somewhat underwhelming by comparison.
The Ugly Truth
The Mission: Impossible franchise isn’t going away any time soon, with plans already in place for a 6th film. A well-honed formula of show stopping stunts and spy games is gradually turning IMF Agent Ethan Hunt into an American James Bond, in spite of Cruise’s generally waning star power.
Rogue Nation is a worthy addition to the ever growing franchise, offering spectacular moments in spite of some general flaws. Room to improve next time…
Review by Johnny Ellis
Inside Out Review
The Plot
Riley is an 11 year old girl dealing with her family relocating to San Francisco. Meanwhile the various emotions that populate the inside of Riley’s head including Joy, Sadness and Anger face their own challenges in preserving her personality and happy state of mind.
The Good
Pixar always deliver the flawless quality in digital animation you would expect from the company that pioneered the technology. However, what makes Pixar films truly special is their ability to consistently tell original stories with subtle emotional complexity that appeal to young and older audiences equally.
Inside Out represents a brave and ambitious effort to explore the inner emotional workings of the human mind in a colourful cartoon way. Though easily Pixar’s most conceptually challenging adventure, Inside Out remains at its core an easily identifiable story about coming of age and the precise moment when the uncomplicated joy of early childhood comes to a reluctant end.
It’s incredibly easy to instantly relate to Riley’s painful experience of moving home and losing friends, both real and imaginary. Much like the Toy Story franchise was really a long metaphor for the painful realities of mortality, Inside Out is actually a beautiful ode to lost childhood innocence.
Director Pete Docter has a proven knack for highly emotional storytelling. After all he’s the man responsible for the heart-breaking and poignant opening 10 minutes of Up. Inside Out is once again packed with characters and sincere moments guaranteed to tug on audiences heartstrings till they break.
Visually, Inside Out has a soft edged dream like quality that playfully offsets the films more serious substance. Pixar does a great job of personifying the most common human emotions as endearingly fuzzy faced cartoon caricatures. The amusing antics of Fear, Anger & Disgust serve as a happy distraction to the main adventure which sees Joy and Sadness fighting to preserve Riley’s identity and treasured memories.
A superb voice cast lead by Amy Poehler add an extra dimension of personality to their emotional characters. Phyllis Smith’s permanently gloomy Sadness and Lewis Black’s perpetually furious Anger often steal the show.
The Bad
Inside Out does a mostly brilliant job of taking its highbrow psychological concepts and turning them into fluffy cartoon fun, however younger children may still find that some of the film’s subtext and Riley’s adolescent anxieties harder to understand. The film treads a fine line between oversimplification and the risk of losing its target audience in the intricacies of the human mind.
The Ugly Truth
Given a recent trend towards easy crowd pleasing sequels and prequels it’s refreshing to see Pixar explore genuinely original territory again with a clever and poignant emotional story. Inside Out has enough colourful fun to keep young children happy and enough sophisticated subtext to capture the hearts of older audiences too.
Review by Russell Nelson
Southpaw Review
The Plot
When a bitter feud with a fellow boxer threatens to destroy his family and career, fighter Billy Hope (Jake Gyllenhaal) seeks the help of trainer Tick Willis (Forest Whitaker) to turn his life around and bring him back on top.
The Good
Director Antoine Fuqua’s follow up to last years The Equalizer packs a much more emotional punch this time around with some incredible performances that are sure to bring a tear to your eyes. Adopting an occasional first person point of view in the boxing match final act is a nice touch that brings the fight right to the audience, almost making us feel every punch.
Considering his noticeably gaunt figure in last year’s Nightcrawler, leading man Gyllenhaal has shown an undeniable commitment to the role with his astonishingly quick bulking up. He certainly physically convinces as a viciously toned fighter fueled by barely restrained rage.
Meanwhile Forest Whitaker’s Tick Willis is a wonderful addition to the cast as Hope’s strong and silent trainer who helps bring him back to his glory days. Praise must also go to Oona Laurence and the amazingly truthful chemistry with her on screen father Gyllenhaal. For such a young actress, Laurence has proven that she has what it takes to go up against Gyllenhaal and even come out on top in certain scenes.
While for the most part it is very formulaic and hits all the expected notes, Southpaw does bring some genuine shocks and raw emotion which comes with themes of family, suffering and anger. Director Antoine Fuqua demonstrates yet again his usual flair for gritty realism. Rocky fans and boxing movie fans in general will certainly leave entertained and moved.
The Bad
Unfortunately if you’ve seen the trailer, nothing is surprising. While the story itself is formulaic enough, the promotional advertising has sadly given everything away and strips a lot of the emotion out of it. With a few smart tweaks the trailer could have easily avoided giving away certain crucial plot points to allow for more shocks. Ironically most of the films best emotional punches are robbed of any impact.
Compared to his Oscar worthy turn in Nightcrawler, Gyllenhaal’s performance, while undoubtedly incredible, feels almost a little too easy for him. This performance has already been surrounded by whispers of awards season glory, but should he finally take home that best actor statue next year, it’ll be for the wrong role.
The Ugly Truth
If you’ve not seen the incredibly spoiler filled trailer, Southpaw will work much better for you. If you have, it’ll still bring tears to your eyes and works perfectly fine. Brutal, emotional and uplifting, Southpaw is everything a boxing movie should be. It’s not quite Rocky but certainly do.
Ant-Man Review
The Plot
Armed with a super-suit with the astonishing ability to shrink in size but increase in strength, a well-meaning cat burglar Scott Lang must embrace his inner hero and help reclusive genius Dr. Hank Pym, plan and pull off a heist that will save the world.
The Good
Guardians Of The Galaxy already proved that Marvel is more than capable of making superb big screen adaptations of some of their lesser known heroes. The perfectly honed Marvel formula of balancing self-aware humour with clever writing and impressive visual effects never fails.
Despite making his comicbook debut over 50 years ago and being a key part of the original line-up for the Avengers, Ant-Man clearly doesn’t have the same instant fan recognition that Iron Man, the Hulk or Captain America do.
Paul Rudd is universally acknowledged as one of the most indisputably charming Hollywood leading men. Rudd’s endearing hangdog qualities are a perfect fit for Scott Lang, as a kind hearted and reluctant criminal turned hero. His knack for wry humour is certainly put to good use alongside his newly athletic physique. Marvel choose very wisely in selecting someone as naturally charismatic to make Lang instantly likeable and entertaining.
Michael Douglas also becomes the latest elder Hollywood icon to make his debut in the Marvel universe. Douglas is a near perfect fit for Hank Pym, giving the genius inventor some gravel voiced gravitas. He also lends some much needed credibility to potentially absurd super powers like talking to Ants and making yourself very tiny. It’s great to see Douglas finally taking his rightful place in a big fun effects driven film.
Evangeline Lilly is another valuable addition to the cast, playing Pym’s semi-estranged daughter Hope. Given the somewhat unfair recent criticism of how Marvel has handled its female heroes it’s certainly welcome to see a strong female character given equal prominence this time. Lilly is more than a match for Rudd in screen presence and her character may prove to be an even more significant addition to the Marvel universe…
Ant-Man is consistently funny and can thank Michael Pena for many of its most memorably hilarious moments. In a rare treat his presence as a comedic sidekick is scene stealing brilliance as opposed to the usual annoying distraction such characters tend to provide.
Ant-Man does an admirable job of making the power of shrinking seems more fantastic than farcical. Accomplished special effects combined with just the right amount of knowing humour manages to keep things both fun and spectacular. Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish were largely responsible for the script and it shows. Particular highlights include a dramatic action sequence taking place almost entirely in a young child’s bedroom. It’s entirely the spirit of playful whimsy that this hero needs.
The Bad
Ant-Man might not quite have the instant cool factor that heroes like Iron Man or the Mighty Thor have but Marvel does the very best it can to introduce the character in a way that makes him feel like a worthwhile addition to its ever expanding cinematic universe of superheroes. There’s little negative to say other than acknowledging that standing alongside the Avengers increasingly grand scale adventures, Ant-Man’s simple heist format might feel just a little small scale at times.
The Ugly Truth
Ant-Man proudly takes his places among Marvel’s amazing cinema universe in a light hearted big screen debut that proves that little heroes are capable of packing a big punch and big laughs. It’s another fun origin story that’s surprisingly well integrated into the wider Marvel world. It’s definitely the start of big things for a famously tiny hero.
Review by Russell Nelson