Year-old film reviews #1: Arrival

Ok so I figured that doing a new film review or an old one wouldn't really be suitable for a film that had only just been released a year before.  So, for the types of films and movies that were release around a year or so before I saw them, I've decided to set up this little side-series on this blog to accommodate for such a niche issue.

Anyway, without any further ado, lets get into arguably the most boring sci-fi film of this decade so far!  And yes, I think that Arrival is worse and definitely more boring than Interstellar.

Once again, thanks to the good people at the University of Sussex Sci-fi and Horror society for providing me with the opportunity to see this film.

Image source: https://truereviewsnow.wordpress.com/2017/01/19/arrival-sci-fi-redefined/

As an initial warning, I should mention that the article I sampled the above picture from described this grey mush of a film as redefining sci-fi as a genre.  Considering how that seems to be a phrase surrounding any somewhat artsy sci-fi epic these days I am not entirely convinced or enticed to believe such a statement about Arrival.  At least with Interstellar, while it was mostly boring, there were some aspects and parts of that film that I felt were interesting to study in how bad they were.  There isn't even anything close to that in Arrival sadly.

The concept of the story is great but its tragically let down by dull execution.  With such a potentially juicy concept as humanity trying to peacefully establish communication with extra-terrestrials after their first contact, you'd at least expect the narrative to be interesting.  But alas, not even the story, even with such a promising basis, is anything noteworthy.  Well...unless you count endless shades of boring grey as promising but I would respectfully disagree with you in that case.

Image source: http://mymoviewallpapers.com/arrival-2016-movie-wallpaper-03.html

I'd expect from the concept of the narrative and the talent cast at hand that we'd at least be watching a film with engaging dialogue scenes one at a time.  But in all honesty, it seems more like each scene develops the same point over and over again, bit by bit until the point comes for the story's point to burst out like a depressingly grey phoenix of mediocrity.  Considering that these scenes are mostly the same as the next, by the time that the point of the film was revealed right at the end I was bored rigid.  It might sound harsh to summarise the plot of this film in such a short paragraph, but, considering how much time I spent reading twitter or the label of my empty Lucozade bottle I think that this was a fair description.

In all fairness to the plot, its downfall isn't helped by uninspired direction and dreadfully droll acting from what is an otherwise talented cast.  Director Denis Villeneuve has definitely got some solid creative chops but I feel that creativity is something he may have overemphasised in the visual direction of most scenes.  Where some moments in the film should really grab me visually, they instead feel empty because so much effort has gone into making certain set-piece moments and shots look impressive that the meat and bone of the film, by that I mean the narrative and writing, is glaringly ignored.  This translates significantly into a cast of well-regarded and seasoned actors who provide some of the most forgettable performances of their careers.  When I can say that this is Forest Whitaker's most boring appearance in a film, that should be pretty telling.  Granted, that may just be me, but when I also see other talented actors such as Jeremy Renner and Amy Adams just stroll through their lines without much emotion, I'd think its not just a single actor's issue but something that affects the majority of the film.

Image source: https://www.cinemaclock.com/bri/vancouver/movies/arrival-2016/photos

At this point in the review, I would usually mention something about the more technical aspects of the film such as camerawork, sound design, the soundtrack or different sets.  But these aspects are just so grey and uninspired that I'd basically be repeating my points about the direction, acting, writing and plot albeit in a different context.  This brings up a good point actually.  If I have not talked in full about the appropriate aspects of a film for an interview, does that make the interview incomplete?  You'd reasonably argue 'yes' in most cases.  However, considering that I'd just be repeating points that I'd already made about other aspects of Arrival, I feel that this has to be the exception to the rule.  Sorry if that seems like a cop-out but I would genuinely be more entertained reading a phone book than watching this film again.

In conclusion, do not watch this film unless you like untoasted, ASDA basics white, dry bread for breakfast and if you think white chocolate is too bitter. I might repeat certain phrases sometimes, but even I'm not as bad as Arrival.

Camerawork/cinematography: 5/10

Directing: 5/10

Acting: 5/10

Writing/plot: 5/10

Personal enjoyment: 5/10

Overall rating: 25/50

New film review #21: Deadpool (10th Feb 2016 for UK, 12th Feb 2016 for USA)

Image source: http://www.themarysue.com/deadpool-film-set-photos/

When I heard way back in early 2015 that Marvel were actually going ahead with a proper Deadpool film unlike the awful portrayal of the character in X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009, Marvel & Dune Entertainment).  It probably helps for my hype and hope for this film that Deadpool happens to be one of my favourite comic book heroes constantly flitting between morally relatable downtrodden hero and perpetually bloodthirsty 4th wall breaking pop-culture quoting machine.  In regards to that point, Deadpool marks himself out from other pop-culture-quoting characters in comic books and movies by having somewhat more niche and obscure pop-culture references.  To some this might seem a bit exhausting at times but for me personally it adds that little edge of character to Deadpool on top of the self-awareness and bloodlust like a big lump of vanilla ice cream on top of a self-saucing triple-chocolate fudge brownie.

So the plot...uh...there really isn't much of one if I'm honest.  This doesn't mean that the plot of the film Deadpool is bad to any real extent and is quite frankly a decent plot with good pacing to help along the simplicity of the film's storytelling.  Wade Wilson is a former special ops operative who turns himself into a mercenary/dirty deeds fella-for-hire after he returns to the streets of the USA and begins a heart-warming relationship with the stripper-bar server with a heart of gold Vanessa (Morena Baccarin).  After beginning his burgeoning relationship with Vanessa, Wade is tragically diagnosed with prostate cancer in one of the most tasteful and emotional scenes showing the effects of cancer in film or TV I can remember in most films.  He goes through several means to cure himself before settling on a secretly-funded bio-weapons programme run by the sinister Ajax (Ed Skrein) who saves Wade from his cancer while giving him superhuman strength, reflexes and regenerative capabilities while unfortunately turning him into a full-body map of scars and burns in the process.  Naturally this leads Deadpool into a rut of emotion who then goes into hiding for several years before hunting down Ajax in order to seek revenge.

Image source: http://movieplayer.it/news/deadpool-ed-skrein-nel-film-sara-ajax_34976/

This might seem like its more complex than I initially made it out to be but the plot is really quite simple.  In an age where superhero films usually tie themselves down with backstories up the arse and dump themselves down with extensive and complex explanations for character motives, its surprisingly refreshing to have a story with an unconventional main character for the genre and have said backstory and narrative be as simple as possible to accentuate the character's emotions and motivation.  In this sense I can understand what people are saying when they say that the story and narrative of Deadpool is somewhat simple and straightforward but the film as a whole is self-aware and confident in itself enough so that this doesn't really become a major problem.  Sure it does seem like the narrative is a bit streamlined even compared to straightforward films like Ant-Man (2015, Marvel Studios) but with enough self-confidence and well-made storytelling, Deadpool hurdles over this roadblock with all the acrobatics that Deadpool flips over cars with dual 9mm hand cannons in this film.

I've also heard people saying that the film ruins the character of Deadpool with the sexualisation of so many of the characters in Deadpool's life as well as himself and that the film straight up ruins Deadpool's character with the supposed psychotic self-awareness of the character.  Considering the psychopathy and sexualisation in the original comics I highly doubt that these people have actually read those comics not to mention totally misunderstanding the point of Deadpool not only as a film character but also as a focal point within the universe of Marvel comics itself.  Deadpool has always been the go-to-guy for sex jokes, 4th-wall breaks and self-deprecation and so I feel that this film, while somewhat gratuitous with the 4th-wall breaks and sheer wackiness, is more than able to understand and properly portray Deadpool as shown originally in the comics.

Image source: http://mynerfherder.com/2012/11/23/five-superheroes-that-need-their-own-film/

Deadpool for one is probably the best character in this film with Ryan Reynolds more than making up for his lacklustre show as the character in the aforementioned 2009 release X-Men Origins: Wolverine not to mention showing that he can actually play a good part of a superhero despite the tragedy that was Green Lantern (2011, DC Comics & Warner Bros Studios).  Reynolds easily puts in the most comedic role of his career so far and is more than charming and paired up with Baccarin's heartfelt and romantic performance not to mention a stirling voice-acting performance from Stefan Kapicic as the X-man Collossus (who like Deadpool I'd put in my top 5 favourite comic book characters).  With a number of other stirling performances I'd say that Deadpool has a superb supporting cast.  The only performance I really could criticise to any real extent would be Ed Skrein as Ajax and even then, his somewhat generically tough 'I'll smack u in the face mate' British villain persona is surprisingly well performed by Mr Skrein who despite the somewhat generic performance and dialogue is capable at times of really brining the common and stereotypical British villain of Hollywood to life in a plainly charming way.

As for the action, well I won't spoil it too much as its kind of the other crux for the central story aside from the bizarre flashbacks and 4th-wall breaks but it really is excellent with the action being neither too violent for a younger audience (although that isn't really a big problem for me considering my favourite film is Robocop (1987, Paul Verhoeven)) while also being bloody enough that psychos and fans of the Deadpool comics like myself can still revel in the savagery on show.  The 4th-wall breaks might get a bit tiresome after a while but they're in such plentiful array and variation and considering the breakneck pace of the tone and story of the film, I never tired too much at all of these really.  In fact, I don't even think that the film had a 4th wall put in there in the first place, its really just a gaping hole filled by Reynold's and by extension Deadpool's innumerable wit and charm.

So considering that any further explanation of the film would delve dangerously into spoiler territory I think I'll conclude here.  So...is the film worth seeing?  To quote my best friend "

Sex, violence, nudity, profanity. All in all I'm gonna say FUCKING BRILLIANT!" (Brendan Mugadzaweta, 14th Feb).  I really can't say much more than that, the film fires on all cylinders in terms of jokes, sex, violence and storytelling but also has one of the most nuanced, real and relatable love stories I've possibly ever seen in a superhero film and possibly in any comic book film of all time.  Deadpool himself is a joy as portrayed by Reynolds and despite my criticisms of the good Mr Skrein earlier, he also makes a good counter and foil in this regard as Ajax.  With the only solid critique of him being that like most Marvel Cinematic Universe villains, he seems to be thrown away at the end and used just as a crux for this one film.  Even then however, the film is more than capable of standing on its own two feet without reverence to the rest of Marvel's huge film project as either a romance, comedy or action flick.  Go see this as a Deadpool, comics, violence or romance fan or hell, even as a late-valentines day treat and I guarantee you will not go hungry for entertainment.

Cinematography/Camerawork: 7.5/10

Acting: 8.25/10

Story/Plot/Writing: 8/10

Action/Set-pieces/Key moments: 7/10

Direction, lighting and music: 8.5/10

OVERALL RATING: Like a half a kilo of pork ribs on a bed of chips covered in gravy and topped with a showering of grated cheddar after half a dozen pints and just before a vodka shots challenge, you might feel like this is bad for you but this doesn't matter because its just too fucking glorious.