Black Mass review

Black Mass tells the story of infamous Boston crime lord James ‘Whitey’ Bulger. During his rise to the top of Boston's underworld, Bulger became an FBI informant before appearing on the Most Wanted List for 12 years after going on the run.

The title Black Mass refers to the ‘unholy alliance’ formed between Bulger and the FBI: this alliance meant that for years Bulger was allowed to commit crimes such as murder, extortion, and racketeering with relative impunity as long as he provided useful information on his mafia rivals.

With its sombre tone and lack of stylisation, Black Mass is less Martin Scorsese flick and more true crime documentary. The film's grittiness is reflected in Johnny Depp's performance as the main character. With his pale skin and eyes, Depp’s Bulger looks positively vampiric as he stalks the streets of Boston’s south side brutally overseeing the deaths of anyone he suspects of crossing him.

His character’s viciousness extends not just to his enemies but also to those he supposedly loves. This is illustrated in a scene where he and his girlfriend discuss their son as he lies in a coma nearby. Although the boy is brain dead and his mother in favour of pulling the plug, Bulger is not content with this. He cruelly questions his girlfriend’s character and snarls the words ‘my boy, my boy’ as if speaking about a possession rather than a person. 

The other cast members, however, including Kevin Bacon and Benedict Cumberbatch, feel somewhat wasted as they’re given little to do but stand around and provide ‘ahhh look it’s him’ moments for the audience.

Flashforwards to police interviews with Bulger’s gang, after they’ve turned informant, also rob the film of momentum and could easily be dispensed with.

Despite the by the numbers approach to storytelling and a tone that might be too colourless for some, Black Mass is elevated by Depp’s strong central performance and an unremitting adherence to its story’s grim details.

Star Rating: 3/5

Netflix Gems: Circle

Year: 2015

Director(s): Aaron Haan

                   Mario Miscione

Fifty people wake up in a room to find themselves arranged in two concentric circles around a strange black dome. Their reasons for being there are unclear, but as the dome begins to kill people using what appears to be electrocution, it becomes clear that only a few of them will survive.

Eventually, those in the circle realise each of them is capable of casting a ‘vote’ through means of an arrow only visible to them. With this vote, they get to decide who will die next.

Circle bears similarities to other sci-fi films like Coherence and Primer in that it is relatively low on special effects but high on ideas. There are ethical dilemmas aplenty as the group breaks down into different factions with different priorities: some want to protect the most ‘innocent’ in the group, a child and a pregnant woman, while others are concerned with their own self-preservation.

As the stakes are heightened, people’s prejudices also boil to the surface and increasingly arbitrary reasons are suggested for killing people off; racism, homophobia, and classism all get a look in here.

Indeed, it is this unravelling of the darker aspects of human nature that makes Circle such a compelling watch. Although the acting is sometimes a little iffy and the ending perhaps a little too clear cut, the film is definitely recommended for those who like their sci-fi dark and thought-provoking.

Netflix Gems: Creep

In this new series of posts, I take a look at some of the lesser-known but otherwise quite wonderful films to be found on Netflix. First up, Creep:

Year: 2014

Director(s): Patrick Brice

If you thought the found footage sub-genre was on its last legs, you’d be right. That doesn’t mean it can’t still generate some surprisingly good films, though. Horror comedy Creep is one such example.

Patrick Brice’s directorial debut sees cash-strapped videographer Aaron (also played by Brice) hired to do some filming via Craigslist. His employer is an eccentric and apparently wealthy individual called Josef who invites him up to his mountainside cabin. When Aaron gets there, Josef explains that he has cancer and has only a few months to live. He asks Aaron to help him make a video for his unborn son who he won’t be able to see grow up. As Aaron follows and films Josef around the cabin and the surrounding woods, though, it becomes clear that Josef has been less than truthful about his reasons for hiring him.

Unlike many of its contemporaries, Creep has a reason to be a found-footage film: the conceit that Aaron is a videographer hired to do a job provides an excuse for the camera to stay rolling even through some of the film’s more bizarre and suspenseful moments. The decision to shoot Creep in this style also seems to be the result of an aesthetic rather than a financial consideration. Throughout the film, Brice exploits the subgenre's potential for raw creepiness with a number of chill-inducing moments: one in particular will have you reluctant to keep a camera by your bed long after the film is over.

As already mentioned, Creep is a horror comedy, a combination that is difficult to pull off. Within the film, however, neither element overwhelms the other: both the funny moments and the unnerving ones accentuate each other and mingle with disturbing effect.

The two central characters are also wonderfully played by Brice and Duplass. Brice is convincing as the guy unwittingly drawn into a very bad situation and Duplass brings his comedy credentials to bear to create a role where he alternates between the eccentric and the menacing.

The film may not be a masterpiece by any stretch. It does show, however, how an effective horror film can be created on a very minimalistic basis. If you’re looking for something suspenseful and interesting to watch this evening but are otherwise stuck for ideas, then Creep is well worth your time.

Spectre review

The twenty-fourth Bond film, and Sam Mendes’ second as director, sees James Bond (Daniel Craig) on a mission to uncover the secrets behind a powerful and mysterious organisation called Spectre. As this is happening, he and his colleagues must also deal with governmental figures intent on shutting down the OO section for good.

Spectre is a worthy follow-up to Skyfall.  Once again Sam Mendes’ direction is superb with highlights including a wonderfully gripping opening sequence in Mexico city. The story arc begun in Casino Royale is also once more brought into play and resolved in a way that is immensely satisfying.

Christoph Waltz is excellent as the villainous Franz Oberhauser. In his portrayal of a psychopath with a very personal grudge against Bond, he takes something from his role as Colonel Landa in Inglourious Basterds.

The Bond franchise has gone from strength to strength in recent years. With the bar now set so high, though, the question is where can Britain’s favourite secret agent go next?

Star Rating: 4/5

The Lobster review

In his English language debut, Greek director Yorgos Lathimos (Dogtooth) shows us a world where being single is taboo. ‘Loners,’ as they are called, are forced to stay in a hotel where they are given forty five days to find a partner. If they fail they will be turned into an animal of their choice.

One of the unlucky singletons starting his forty five days is David (Colin Farrell), a middle-aged Irishman who has recently separated from his wife. His choice of animal, should he fail to meet someone, is a lobster, reasoning that lobsters have long lifespans and are blue blooded, ‘like aristocrats.’

Farrell is refreshingly cast against type as the man trying to conform to society’s expectations. All of the cast, in fact, do an excellent job of capturing an awkwardness that doesn’t seem so much as brought about by the situation their characters are in as conditioned and bred into them.

Lathimos approaches the idea at the film’s centre with the right mixture of humour and horror

as he shows us human interactions stripped down to their most superficial aspects. In one scene, a man tries to form a bond with a woman by pretending to be a frequent victim of nosebleeds – she also has nosebleeds. While in another, David becomes obsessed with the short-sightedness he shares with another character. In the world of The Lobster it is these small similarities that are considered to be the basis of a successful relationship.

For those willing to suspend their disbelief for two hours, The Lobster is a witty and intriguing allegory on millennial attitudes to love and dating.

Star Rating: 4/5

Sicario review

The opening text of Sicario reveals that the word refers to ancient Jewish zealots and is also the Spanish for ‘assassin.’ Why this is relevant is only made painfully clear towards the film’s end.

The plot of director Denis Villeneuve’s fifth feature sees FBI agent Kate Macer (Emily Blunt) drafted into a special task force to help take down a Mexican drug cartel. This task force is headed up by the shady pairing of defence adviser Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) and Alejandro Gillick (Benicio del Toro). As the campaign against the cartel intensifies, Macer finds her ideals challenged by the brutal and unorthodox methods of those around her.

Sicario works as both a thriller and a commentary on the drug war consuming Mexico. In its depiction of the actions of the cartels and of the law enforcement agencies trying to combat them, the film pulls no punches. In one scene, Kate is driven past a bridge from which the dismembered bodies of the cartel’s victims hang. Although she is shocked, the agent with her can only speak admiringly of the cartel’s terror tactics and call them ‘brilliant.’

The idea that Kate is entering a different world with a very different set of rules to those she is used to is continually emphasised with Alejandro telling her: ‘This is the land of wolves now.’

Villeneuve also makes use of an interesting device by presenting us with a separate storyline running in parallel to the main one. In this, we see a Mexican police officer called Silvio as he recovers from his night shifts and interacts with his family. The true significance of this storyline is not clear until the film’s end yet it adds a different and very human perspective to the central narrative.

Another thing that makes Sicario effective is the strength of its performances: Emily Blunt is convincing and likeable as the protagonist, Josh Brolin is appropriately aloof and obnoxious, and Benicio Del Toro weaves a portrait of a restrained but rage-filled man whose true motivations remain a mystery until the film’s dénouement. Indeed, it is Del Toro who stands out the most and in his performance as Alejandro we certainly have a worthy contender for Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars.

Thought provoking, unrelenting, and brutal: Sicario may just be one of the most interesting films released this year.

Star Rating: 5/5

The Martian review

When a mission to Mars is disrupted by a large storm, one of its crew members Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is left stranded. With the next manned mission not expected for another four years, Watney is forced to use all his skills and ingenuity as a botanist and engineer in order to survive.

Great, you probably think, a film where a human being is pushed to their physiological and psychological limits while stranded on another planet. This could be a brilliant exploration of the strength of the human spirit. Indeed, The Martian could be this, but it isn’t.

The problems with the film are multifarious. For starters, its constant planet-hopping from Mars to Earth to Mars to Earth again kills any suspense or sense of peril. Is Watney ever going to return to Earth? Is he going to survive long enough to be rescued? Yes we know he is because we keep seeing all the head honchos at NASA plus their huge team of technicians working out how they’re going to bring him back. The conclusion of the film is never in doubt.

Then there is also the character of Watney. For a man who has death staring him in the face, he never seems to be short of a smile or something to joke about. This, of course, is supposed to make him endearing and likeable yet it also makes him seem more like a cardboard cut-out than a real human being. Among all the good humour he displays, shouldn’t there be at least a few moments of despair? A few moments when it looks like the dreadful realities of his situation might actually ‘break him?

That Watney doesn’t have any of these moments means for the majority of the film he looks about as inconvenienced as a man who’s broken down on the M25.

It’s not just Watney, though, but also the whole film that seems to be off in terms of tone. Even the film’s soundtrack is questionable, with ABBA's 'Waterloo' seeming an overly flippant song choice for one critical sequence. If Ridley Scott was directing a feature film version of the Great British Bake Off, the inclusion of such a song during the climax might be appropriate, but just before a man might lose his life? I’m not so sure.

If you’re looking for some light-hearted thrills, you might find The Martian to your liking. If you’re looking for something deeper and more interesting in the vein of Scott’s Blade Runner, however, expect to be disappointed.

Star Rating: 2/5