Review: Toni Erdmann

Runtime: 2hr 42min
Director: Maren Ade
Release Date: 3rd February 2017
Rating: 15 (UK), R (US)

This Oscar-nominated German comedy may have gained favour amongst others, but failed to leave me captivated through its' depiction of politics, pranks and dysfunctional families.

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The film views a snapshot of the life of Winfried Conradi - a music teacher and life-long prankster who, upon the death of his beloved canine companion, decides to visit his estranged daughter (Ines Conradi, played by Sandra Hüller) in Bucharest for her birthday.. leading to her horror as an alter-ego - 'Toni Erdmann' - begins causing a nuisance at various events as he follows her around (in an attempt to both embarrass and connect with her).

The premise of the film - though not riveting - sounds decent enough; a moving father/daughter tale with some jokes lodged in there. The screenplay, though well-written and humorous at times, came across (perhaps purposefully-) awkward and dull - somewhat lacking in that natural fluidity that many alternative comedies manage to achieve. This could be, in part, due to its' long-winded (almost 3 hour) screen-time (not many pictures can pull that off!).

Sandra Hüller was actually rather good in her role - though I struggled to want to reach her entry to the film as it started so slowly I could happily have nodded off. Once in full swing, Toni Erdmann was actually quite nicely paced, showing well how irritating, over-bearing and infuriating Winfried makes his daughter (bad-dad dancing doesn't cut it!) who, though softens to him toward the closing credits, really doesn't want her father to be a part of her world.

My main compliment here is that it is unashamedly silly whilst contributing some underlining moving, melancholic elements - something popular this season at cinemas (think Manchester by the Sea). Dutch director, Maren Ade, may well have been caught up in the ridiculousness and satire of her whole creation though - which sometimes worked but at other times were left stale.

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Some fairly good characters and fairly good dialogue, this tragedy/comedy caught me off guard with its' seemingly-uncharacteristically serious elements - as Ines begins to let down her defences, I felt that so did I.

Though perhaps a controversial opinion, I can't really say I would give Toni Erdmann the time of day again; not a tragic effort but one best left at one time only viewing. Although I appreciate a foreign language film generating a bit of buzz, and liked their attempt at bringing things back to basics, I couldn't vouch for it past 'it's not bad'.

6/10

Review: Fences

Runtime: 2hr 19min
Director: Denzel Washington
Release Date: 10th February 2017
Rating: 12A (UK), PG-13 (USA)

Style really does take priority over substance for Denzels' one-man-band; a whole lot of fuss for a film quite ordinary.

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Fences in many ways mimics a 1989 film, Do the Right Thing, which essentially tells a tale of life, with no intentions to over-dramatise or show a Hollywood filter over events. The idea of Fences is paved with good intentions - it is not a cash-grab like past Denzel Washington movies have been, and the plot does flow at a consistent rate. That consistent rate in question happens to be, however, a sluggishly slow rate.

The movie seems to make a big fuss out of every little event that occurs; the opening of the film is a twenty minute conversation between Troy (Washington), his wife Rose (Viola Davis) and his best friend, Jim Bono (Stephen Henderson), with little context or connection to the rest of the film, with no other purpose than to make the characters appear more relatable - but this scene was far too drawn out to be a Tarantino-esque dialogue masterpiece.

Despite these attempts, Troy is not a relatable character at all either, in fact most of the decisions he makes throughout the movie are completely unreasonable and yet as the main character he is painted out to be the moral authority. The idea of excusing him for his actions simply because he is from a troubled background with many difficult situations to deal with at once, is not how the movie should deal with his character. A character can only be excused for their unrelatable actions if their reasons for their actions are relatable, which in this case, they are not. 

Troy was played well  by Washington, and most actors did a great job as a whole. Viola Davis was excellent in her role, and was essentially perfectly cast; Cory (Jovan Adepo) was good as Troy and Rose's son, attempting to impress his father constantly, and the emotions he conveyed whenever Troy would do something he disagreed with were authentic and natural as a performance.

The problem Fences has is that it doesn't really go anywhere. The film has great actors, and environment for those characters to be in, but no opportunity to make a fantastic film out of a worthy script, which has some lines which even repeat during the movie.

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Fences does not really have a premise, there isn't a moral of the story and it appears like the film was put together as an idea before the script was even written to be able to simulate 'real life' action and conversation, but there was no need for all of this self-celebratory pretentious style which made the movie irritating to watch.

I never found myself engrossed in the plot at all, and I couldn't recommend this since I barely found myself caring about how events would unfold or what would happen to the characters.

5.5/10

89th Annual Academy Awards

With some incredibly well-deserved wins, the Oscars certainly didn't leave the drama behind - a shock misread led to La La Land having to hand their Oscar over to Moonlight. Alongside all the glitzy dresses and political speeches, there were some triumphant wins; Mahershala Ali became the first Muslim to win an Oscar - his performance in Moonlight was indeed extraordinary, so a round of applause to him. La La Land still came out on top - but not by as much as anticipated.

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Best Picture

Nominees;

Arrival

Fences

Hacksaw Ridge

Hell or High Water

Hidden Figures
La La Land
Lion
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight

Best Actress

Nominees;

Emma Stone (La La Land)
Isabelle Huppert (Elle)

Meryl Streep (Florence Foster Jenkins)

Natalie Portman (Jackie)
Ruth Negga (Loving)

Best Director

Nominees;

Barry Jenkins (Moonlight)
Denis Villeneuve (Arrival)

Damien Chazelle (La La Land)

Kenneth Lonergan (Manchester by the Sea)

Mel Gibson (Hacksaw Ridge)

Best Actor

Nominees;

Andrew Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge)

Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea)
Denzel Washington (Fences)

Ryan Gosling (La La Land)
Viggo Mortensen (Captain Fantastic)

Best Original Screenplay

Nominees;

Hell or High Water

La La Land
The Lobster

Manchester by the Sea

20th Century Women

Best Supporting Actor

Nominees;

Dev Patel (Lion)

Jeff Bridges (Hell or High Water)
Lucas Hedges (Manchester by the Sea)

Mahershala Ali (Moonlight)
Michael Shannon (Nocturnal Animals)

Best Visual Effects

Nominees;

Deepwater Horizon

Doctor Strange

The Jungle Book

Kubo and the Two Strings
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Best Animated Feature

Nominees;

Kubo and the Two Strings

Moana
My Life as a Zucchini
The Red Turtle

Zootopia

Best Supporting Actress

Nominees;

Michelle Williams (Manchester by the Sea)

Naomie Harris (Moonlight)

Nicole Kidman (Lion)
Octavia Spencer (Hidden Figures)

Viola Davis (Fences)

Best Adapted Screenplay

Nominees;

Arrival
Fences

Hidden Figures

Lion

Moonlight

Best Animated Short

Nominees;

Blind Vaysha
Borrowed Time
Pear Cider and Cigarettes
Pearl
Piper

Best Documentary Short

Nominees;

4.1 Miles
Extremis
Joe's Violin
Watani: My Homeland
The White Helmets

Best Cinematography

Nominees;

Arrival

La La Land

Lion
Moonlight
Silence

Best Costume Design

Nominees;

Allied

Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them

Florence Foster Jenkins

Jackie

La La Land

Best Documentary
Nominees;
13th
Fire at Sea
I Am Not Your Negro
Life, Animated
OJ: Made in America

Best Film Editing
Nominees;
Arrival
Hacksaw Ridge
Hell or High Water
La La Land
Moonlight

Best Foreign Language Film
Nominees;
Land of Mine
A Man Called Ove
The Salesman
Tanna
Toni Erdmann

Best Make Up & Hairstyling
Nominees;
A Man Called Ove
Star Trek Beyond
Suicide Squad

Best Song
Nominees;
Audition (La La Land)
Can't Stop the Feeling (Trolls)
City of Stars (La La Land)
The Empty Chair (Jim: The James Foley Story)
How Far I'll Go (Moana)

Best Production Design
Nominees;
Arrival
Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them
Hail, Caesar!
La La Land
Passengers

Best Sound Editing
Nominees;
Arrival
Deepwater Horizon
Hacksaw Ridge
La La Land
Sully

Best Score
Nominees;
Jackie
La La Land
Lion
Moonlight
Passengers

Best Sound Mixing
Nominees;
Arrival
Hacksaw Ridge
La La Land
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
13 Hours

Best Live-Action Short
Nominees;
Ennemis Intérieurs
La Femme et le TGV
Silent Nights
Sing
Timecode

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Review: Hidden Figures

Runtime: 2hr 7min
Director: Theodore Melfi
Release Date: 17th February 2017
Rating: PG (UK), PG (USA)

The inspiring tale of three extraordinary women who, despite all the odds stacked against them, made a dent in history by heavily contributing to NASA's space programme when it mattered most.

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The never-before told stories of Katherine G. Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson; three coloured women living and working in Virginia, USA during the 60's who stopped at nothing to show a world full of generalisations that they were highly underestimated.

The movie follows Katherine G. Johnson, an exceptional mathematician who is given the opportunity to work as 'computer' at NASA for the 1961-62 missions in the all-important 'space-race'. Alongside her were friends Dorothy Vaughn (computer-turned-supervisor with a knack for programming) and Mary Jackson (a wannabe aeronautics-engineer).

The standard of acting throughout was fantastic; not only did Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monae provide us with wonderfully powerful, and terribly funny, depictions of the leads, but a surprise role from Mahershala Ali and an unrecognisable Kevin Costner made for a praise-worthy ensemble (all bar Jim Parsons and Kirsten Dunst, who I felt could have added more to their respective roles).

From cinematography to costume, the entire movie was fairly good - I wouldn't say flawless, but certainly to a decent standard. The plot itself was interesting, and the overtly 'Hollywood' glamorisation was combated with live-footage of the real-life events - which added a nice touch. 

A Pharrell-Williams-saturated soundtrack (and, of course, a musical number for Janelle Monae), the music was fun and fit in well with Hidden Figures as a whole, though I can't help thinking more of a variation (instead of one all-too-often-repeated song) of songs could have been sampled. Either way, Pharrell was probably just happy to be involved.

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Slightly (though slightly-understandably) agenda-pushing, I can't help but refer to similarities to Apollo 13 (the Friendship 7 landing scene reeked of Tom Hanks' blackout) and Octavia Spencer's earlier character in The Help - slightly unoriginal is the point here too.

Nostalgia-inducing - even for those not of the time - and portrayed almost expertly - but arguably too reminiscent of already-done pictures.

7/10

Monthly Movie Merch

Here is my round-up of this months best movie merchandise..

..tipped to be a big Oscar-winner, La La Land has received much praise for its' original soundtrack. Download the album or individual songs on iTunes and give it a listen :)

..alongside the Hacksaw Ridge hype, Redbubble are offering the beautifully-done, official movie graphic on a tee from £14.93. Get yours here.

..ahead of next months' Disney release, this Beauty & the Beast Cogsworth Pop is actually kind of cool - available from EMP for £12.99.

..with yet another upcoming Pokemon movie release (I Choose You out July 2017), I just had to include this cute Jigglypuff beanie hat (£14) from Soft Kitty Clothing. I noticed a few around after the Pokemon Go! surge (alongside Comicon) last year, but with the film just months away it's no wonder the merch has been kept around!

..an awesome Lego Joker key-ring light (£9.99) from Truffle Shuffle to accompany an equally awesome movie (Batman and Superman characters also available).

..last but not least is the John Wick 2 official US movie poster from Amazon (£6.99). Compared to the UK versions, this minimalistic, artsy-type poster looks fab on any wall!

Throwback Thursday: Platoon Review

Runtime: 2hr 0min

Director: Oliver Stone

Release Date: 24th April 1987

Rating: 15 (UK), R (US)

With Oscars weekend underway, I thought it would be appropriate to review a movie which won best picture exactly thirty years ago at the 59th Academy Awards. Platoon totalled four Oscar wins, and eight nominations - the leading picture of the year, so it begs the question - has Platoon stood the test of time?

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Platoon follows Chris (Charlie Sheen) and his stint in the Vietnamese War, alongside fellow protagonist Sgt. Elias (Willem Dafoe) and cruel manipulator Sgt. Barnes (Tom Berenger). The plot simply tells the story of the platoon both during and outside of battle, to give a 'big picture' take on the conflict to show multiple sides of the soldiers.

If you have ever heard this song before, (likely you have, many times), it's interesting to note that Platoon made Adagio for Strings as famous as it is today. Despite this, its' severe overuse happens to be my biggest criticism of the entire film. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure its' 1987 viewers will have watched in awe in deep melancholy, but presently its' use in essentially every death scene (of which there are more than a few, I kid you not!), comes across as horrifically cliche.

The film was clearly low budget, so there are times where action sequences with explosions do not look true-to-life, and the Platoon involved sometimes appear too small due to the cinematography and an absence of more actors/unavailability of CGI.

However, other than a few mere complaints, the movie is dramatic, compelling and by definition: Oscar-worthy. While issues can be drawn from the low-budget action, this, and I guess I'm contradicting myself here, completely misses the point of the film. Platoon shows the true horrors of war, the relationship comrades have with one another during their down-time between conflict, and the issues that allies can have with one another: even if they're meant to be brothers in arms.

In my review of Hacksaw Ridge, I explained that there are too many war films which make staring death in the face look incredibly fun; count Platoon among the films that do not do this. With magnificent acting from Tom Berenger and Willem Dafoe, the film is a saddening story, as interesting as it is brutal; deliberately not providing a polished version of events.


Platoon received the praise it deserved, and it will be exciting to see which movie will join it among the list of best picture movies at the Oscars this year; it is well worth a watch and I thoroughly enjoyed the movie overall.

8.5/10

Review: Loving

Runtime: 2hr 3min
Director: Jeff Nichols
Release Date: 3rd February 2017
Rating: 12A (UK), PG-13 (USA)

An almost-excellent historical drama based on the US court case Loving vs. Virginia. An interesting tale portrayed well - a break from the usual glossy, Hollywood image.

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Set in 1950's Caroline County, Virginia, Loving expands on the true lives of Donald and Mildred Loving; a working-class, interracial couple whose lives (and families') get torn apart when they elope to Washington D.C to marry. Not accepting the legislations against them, in an era in uproar over civil liberties, the Lovings' begin what seems to be a losing battle (legally and emotionally) for the right to keep their family together.

Ruth Negga - the shining star of this flick - was wonderful to watch as Mildred Loving (nee Jeter); her flawlessly understated, emotional performance held strong throughout. Joel Edgerton  (Donald) alongside her, the pairs' chemistry bode well on-screen, though his solo performance slightly dull. The entirety of the cast worked well together for both an accurate yet captivating result.

Though enjoyable, Loving lacked in intensity and came across rather 'vanilla' at times - a lacklustre screenplay, a predictable nature and a mostly uninspiring setting. I expected a bit more oomph; something more empowering, inspiring or admirable to be displayed from this groundbreaking, real-life story - instead, the legal battle is its' weakest asset.

I will, however, praise Loving for its lack of in-your-face, politically-correct agendas; the rights and wrongs need not be explained, the movie purely left to go its' own way in its' individual story.

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Heartfelt, gentle and quietly powerful, this was a moderately enjoyable movie that I struggled to find specific criticism in - but I still felt as though something was missing.

Loving was a nice alternative to the glamourised Hollywood 'masterpieces' that so regularly get churned out. Worth a watch, for sure - just don't expect it to become your favourite movie of all time.

7/10