Review: Fifty Shades Darker

Runtime: 1hr 58min

Director: James Foley

Release Date: 10th February 2017

Rating: 18 (UK), R (US)

The next instalment of E.L James' Fifty Shades trilogy features more lip-biting, leg-grabbing, cash-flashing drivel than ever before; which doesn't amount to anything more than a lack of ingenuity.

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The saucy sequel to the novel-turned-movie epidemic that is Fifty Shades of Grey, this adaptation was a concise continuation of the first - glossy, well-polished, and truly tedious. Though funny at points, and extraordinarily easy to keep up with, the persistent lack of chemistry between the mediocre leads made the film about as raunchy as your grans' knickers.

While the franchise has established a rather successful position within the market (having made almost $150m on its' opening weekend alone), the sex-fuelled romance between the very plain Ana (Dakota Johnson) and billionaire bachelor Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan) sees demons confronted and emotional deviations from the start. 

Dornan, while definitely more polished than his previous performance, still lacked energy and relate-ability, while Johnson was an irritatingly deficient component in her reprisal. The remainder of the cast (including an over-hyped Rita Ora) were about as unmemorable as you would expect. The introduction of various faces (Mrs Robinson, unfortunately not portrayed by Kim Cattrall) added nothing exceptional either.

The cinematography which, although well-suited to the style of the story, didn't strike me as anything special whatsoever. This time around however, the music was also particularly bland in comparison to Fifty Shades of Grey - which at least complimented the picture.

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There isn't much to be said for the writing or direction - sex is Darkers' only narrative, which, by the end, borders on ridiculous. It still can't work out if it wants to be a classic love story or a steamy depiction that verges on pornographic - either way their brief has been ineffective.

Overall, a middle-of-the-road love story; well-adapted though poorly executed, with occasional steamy moments but hardly tugging at the heart-strings. Boring and bland - I can't wait to be Freed from this trilogy.

4.5/10

Review: Gold

Runtime: 2hr 1min

Director: Stephen Gaghan

Release Date: 3rd February 2017

Rating: 15 (UK), R (USA)

Matthew McConaughey reprises his role from The Wolf of Wall Street to present us with a repetitive storyline which doesn't make the most of its source material.

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I kid, of course; Kenny Wells (McConaughey) is not actually the same character as Mark Hanna from The Wolf Of Wall Street. However, if you were to put the film side by side with Gold, then there would be many moments I would be unable to tell the difference; bar McConaughey's receding hairline in the more recent movie.

Gold has a plot loosely following a true story; two men who find a gold mine in Indonesia which was predicted to be the largest gold find of the decade. The sequential events involve big-time stockbroker involvement and multi-billion dollar investments into Kenny Wells' company following his discovery along with Michael Acosta (Edgar Ramirez). The plot doesn't offer much else, and has tendancies of being repetitive throughout the storyline.

The trouble with the adaptation of a true story into a movie is that films are not often representative of real life in many ways; directors are often tasked with a perplexing decision: stay as true as possible to the story or dramatise and exaggerate for the sake of the audience's enjoyment? Gold does not achieve an effective balance at all, in an attempt to remain as true as possible to the real life story of the Bre-X mining scandal (all bar a couple of scenes added in to create tension).

As a result, the movie shows an up-down-up-down relationship with the plot, unable to decide where the storyline is actually going to go, and while this is much like how reality operates, no one has a sublime story arc in real life - it does not make for a great film. The amount of times in the film that Kenny Wells is celebrating how rich he has become, then losing all of his money, then getting it back again only to lose it once more... you get my point.

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It is a shame that this was the case because it seems like this role was practically written for McConaughey, he clearly relished his opportunity to perform as Wells, but his character does still lack originality. To mention it again, moments of the film where the company are celebrating the fact they've made a lot of money on the stock market floor and when

the main cast are calling up potential investors and essentially lying to them to obtain a greater investment, look basically ripped from The Wolf of Wall Street. 

Gold is not a bad movie - it is merely mediocre. When I find myself not caring about the characters during their times of need or desperation, they must not be written very well. In fact, most are completely forgettable other than the main two cast members. I can't particularly justify a reason to go and watch the film other than to kill time, it didn't have a great deal to offer. 
 

6/10

69th Annual British Academy Film Awards

Here are the 69th Annual British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) nominees listed, with the winners highlighted. While La La Land and Manchester by the Sea went home with the most awards, Dev Patel and Viola Davis shone brightly for their supporting roles; incredibly well-deserved wins.

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BAFTA Fellowship
Mel Brooks

Best Film

Nominees;

Arrival

I, Daniel Blake

La La Land

Manchester by the Sea

Moonlight

Best Actress

Nominees;

Amy Adams (Arrival)

Emily Blunt (The Girl on the Train)

Emma Stone (La La Land)

Meryl Streep (Florence Foster Jenkins)

Natalie Portman (Jackie)

Best Director

Nominees;

Denis Villeneuve (Arrival)

Ken Loach (I, Daniel Blake)

Damien Chazelle (La La Land)

Kenneth Lonergan (Manchester by the Sea)

Tom Ford (Nocturnal Animals)

Best Actor

Nominees;

Andrew Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge)

Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea)

Jake Gyllenhaal (Nocturnal Animals)

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

Best Original Screenplay

Nominees;

Hell or High Water

I, Daniel Blake

La La Land

Manchester by the Sea

Moonlight

Best Supporting Actor

Nominees;

Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Nocturnal Animals)

Dev Patel (Lion)

Hugh Grant (Florence Foster Jenkins)

Jeff Bridges (Hell or High Water)

Mahershala Ali (Moonlight)

Best Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer

Nominees;

The Girl With All the Gifts - Mike Carey (writer), Camille Gatin (producer)

The Hard Shop - George Amponsah (writer/director/producer), Dionne Walker (writer/producer)

Notes on Blindness - Peter Middleton (writer/director/producer), James Spinney (writer/director), Jo-Jo Ellison (producer)

The Pass - John Donnelly (writer), Ben A Williams (director)

Under the Shadow - Babak Anvari (writer/director), Emily Leo, Oliver Roskill, Lucan Too (producers)

Best Special Visual Effects

Nominees;

Arrival

Doctor Strange

Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them

The Jungle Book

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Best Animated Film

Nominees;

Finding Dory

Kubo and the Two Strings

Moana

Zootropolis

Best Supporting Actress

Nominees;

Hayley Squires (I, Daniel Blake)

Michelle Williams (Manchester by the Sea)

Naomie Harris (Moonlight)

Nicole Kidman (Lion)

Viola Davis (Fences)

Best Adapted Screenplay

Nominees;

Arrival

Hacksaw Ridge

Hidden Figures

Lion

Nocturnal Animals

EE Rising Star Award

Nominees;

Anya Taylor-Joy

Laia Costa

Lucas Hedges

Ruth Negga

Tom Holland

Best British Film

Nominees;

American Honey
Denial

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

I, Daniel Blake

Notes on Blindness
Under the Shadow

Best British Short Animation

Nominees;

The Alan Dimension

A Love Story

Tough

Best British Short Film

Nominees;

Confused

Home

Mouth of Hell

The Party

Standby

Best Cinematography

Nominees;

Arrival

Hell or High Water

La La Land

Lion

Nocturnal Animals

Best Costume Design

Nominees;

Allied

Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them

Florence Foster Jenkins

Jackie

La La Land

Best Documentary
Nominees;
13th
The Beatles: Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years
The Eagle Huntress
Notes on Blindness
Weiner

Best Editing
Nominees;
Arrival
Hacksaw Ridge
La La Land
Manchester by the Sea
Nocturnal Animals

Best Film Not in the English Language
Nominees;
Dheepan
Julieta
Mustang
Son of Saul
Toni Erdmann

Best Make Up & Hair
Nominees;
Doctor Strange
Florence Foster Jenkins
Hacksaw Ridge
Nocturnal Animals
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Best Original Music
Nominees;
Arrival
Jackie
La La Land
Lion
Nocturnal Animals

Best Production Design
Nominees;
Doctor Strange
Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them
Hail, Caesar!
La La Land
Nocturnal Animals

Best Sound
Nominees;
Arrival
Deepwater Horizon
Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them
Hacksaw Ridge
La La Land

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Review: Live by Night

Runtime: 2hr 9min
Director: Ben Affleck
Release Date: 13th January 2017
Rating: 15 (UK), R (USA)

Written, directed and produced by the lead himself, a run-of-the-mill, roaring '20's gangster flick lacking in imagination; a quickly-forgotten, unremarkable tale.

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Our story begins in a glamourised 1920's Boston; Joe Coughlin (Affleck) is a WWI-veteran and small-time hoodlum with a nepotistic bail-out and a forbidden love-affair. After being recruited by Mafia boss Maso Pescatore, Joe heads down a road of money and privilege from his new-found criminal activities in Tampa. The film leads on to the atypical gangster gun fights, dodgy deals and 'business meetings' fuelled by whisky and cigars. Amidst this, somehow (and unsubtly) thrown in are storylines of Klansmen, heroin addiction and Christianity.

In all honesty, I don't really know what this film was attempting to achieve - a little bit of everything and a whole lot of nothing encased the 130 minute viewing, leaving me unsure to an extent what even happened. The (overly-) quick pacing in certain parts were unbalanced alongside the dull, awkward rest of the movie. I found myself almost wanting to take a well-deserved nap during the screening, for I felt that I wouldn't miss much and if I had would have woken up more than capable of still keeping up with the films' 'plot'.

Ben Affleck seemed a weak link in an already weak chain - his dry performance only made worse by his failure to direct the rest of the notably irritating cast (namely, Elle Fanning and Sienna Miller, although Zoe Saldana was disappointingly bland). Robert Glenister and Chris Cooper the only saviours among the acting standards here.

The costume was superbly cliche 1920's get-up, which whilst suited the tone of the film, made Affleck appear to be wearing his dads' suit and every female seemingly permanently overdressed for the occasion. The cinematography was not diabolical, however action shots alone allowed it to shine through. Notably, the action (when it happened) was pulled off fairly well, but for a gangster movie you would think there would be a lot more - particularly boring for a 'fast-paced action flick'.

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I wasn't expecting a cinematic masterpiece from Live by Night, but I did expect a hell of a lot more from a man who has over two decades of industry experience. My advice to anyone looking for an action-packed badass gangster film is to check out The Godfather or Pulp Fiction and leave this be. A shoddy performance all-round.

3/10

Review: The LEGO Batman Movie

Runtime: 1hr, 44min
Director: Chris McKay
Release Date: 10th February 2017
Rating: U (UK), PG (USA)

What at first glance appeared to me a money-grabbing spin-off of 2014's The LEGO Movie, riding the waves of last years' Batman vs Superman and Suicide Squad adult flicks, I do not joke when I say this movie gave me faith in kids movies again.

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When I say that The LEGO Batman Movie is incredible, I am not being ironic; I wholeheartedly believe this movie is near-perfect. This movie should set an example as to how kids' movies should be made, unlike the recently-released Sing, which is the perfect example of how animated films for children can be churned out and swallowed up by an unsuspecting audience. 

Of course, partial enjoyment of this movie comes down to callbacks and references of the series of Batman films that have come before this, and while these throwbacks are not subtle, they also don't impose on the storyline that The LEGO Batman Movie provides; equating to an excellent balance. 

I was laughing throughout the majority of this film - the humour is designed for both adults and children; the perfect family movie, rather than restricting to just one generation. The performance of Batman by Will Arnett is the best thing he's ever done; Robin (Michael Cera) is spot on, and the Joker (Zach Galifiankis) is wonderful to watch on-screen.

Animation of the LEGO characters is top notch; I often didn't notice I was watching a LEGO-themed film and only saw the actual characters being portrayed in front of me. The film was, at times, a pleasure to watch in all its' animated action glory, and there was no ambiguity as to who the characters were meant to represent, despite being in their 'LEGO forms'.

My only criticisms are that the Phantom Zone included in the film is completely inaccurate to its previous portrayals, and that Harley Quinn's (Jenny Slate) voice doesn't sound very Harley-esque at all. I literally can't think of anything else worth complaining about.

Most amazing of all, the references to past Batman movies and comics add to the plot in such a wonderful way - inclusion of the Condiment King (rarely-heard-of, useless DC comic book villain), Batman poking fun at Suicide Squad, and even Bane (Doug Benson) having his accurate voice from The Dark Knight Rises! The film is not afraid to laugh at itself, and this makes the viewer laugh with it more.

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Because LEGO have so many different franchises at their disposal, it means that they also manage to include characters from multiple different sources, such as Lord Voldemort, The Daleks and even Godzilla. Including these characters made for an oddly-amusing twist.

This movie is wonderful - it's the highest rating I've given to a movie so far and with good reason. For those of you doubting giving up your movie-watching time to a kids movie, I urge you to give The LEGO Batman Movie a chance and go and see it - you won't be disappointed.

9.5/10