Eye in the Sky review

Gavin Hood’s (X-Men Origins:Wolverine) new film is a tense thriller that explores the ethics and consequences of drone warfare.

The plot of the film follows several individuals who, although separated by vast distances, are closely connected in their efforts to bring down a deadly terrorist cell in Kenya. These include a British army colonel (Helen Mirren), a high-ranking general (Alan Rickman), an American drone pilot (Aaron Paul), and a Somali intelligence agent (Barkhad Abdi). As the film progresses, these people find their consciences challenged as a rapidly changing situation on the ground forces them to make some difficult decisions.

Eye in the Sky opts for a slow build but once it reels its audience in it doesn’t let them go. As well as being an effective thriller, the film also offers an interesting, and very relevant, examination of issues of accountability and collateral damage in modern warfare.

Backing this up is a solid script from British screenwriter Guy Hibbert and some strong performances from its cast, including the late Alan Rickman (to whom the film is dedicated.)

If you want to watch a thriller of the more thought provoking variety this weekend, Eye in the Sky is well worth the price of admission at your nearest multiplex.

Star Rating: 4/5

Midnight Special review

Midnight Special is the latest film from American writer-director Jeff Nichols (Mud, Take Shelter). Like his earlier films, Midnight Special explores themes of parenthood; in this case, the parental relationship that provides the film’s emotional centre is between father Roy (Michael Shannon) and his son, the supernaturally gifted Alton (Jaeden Lieberher).

Together with Roy’s friend Lucas (Joel Edgerton), they are forced to go on the run in order to protect Alton from the governmental and religious forces which wish to exploit his amazing abilities.

Midnight Special is in many ways a throwback to the character driven sci-fi films of the 70’s. Its focus is on mood and character more than flashy special effects and this makes for an emotionally involved viewing experience.

Anchoring the film are some solid performances from Michael Shannon and Joel Edgerton. It is Adam Driver, however, who is the real stand out as a deep thinking government agent.

Stylishly done and enjoyable on multiple levels, Midnight Special is a film well suited to those who like their sci-fi to be a little more grounded.

Star Rating: 4/5

The Witch review

Robert Egger’s directorial debut follows a 17^th century Puritan family after they are forced to leave their small New England community for an unspecified crime. 

‘We will conquer this wilderness; it will not consume us,’ says the family’s patriarch (Ralph Ineson) as he surveys the ancient woodland he and his family choose to make their new home near.

A few months pass and then a terrible event occurs when youngest child Samuel is abducted whilst under the care of his sister Thomasin (Anya-Taylor Joy). The uncertainty of his fate tests the faith of the family and begins to push them towards greater behavioural extremes.

Although The Witch can be classed as a horror, it is more interested in atmosphere and the psychology of its characters than it is jumpscares or overt blood and gore. This means the film takes its time to gets under your skin. 

Some excellent cinematography from Jarin Blaschke also lends the forest surrounding the family’s home real immensity and menace, to the extent where it almost becomes a character itself.

Also worth noting are the cast with Ralph Ineson effectively, and disturbingly, portraying a man whose convictions and control of his family are broken down by forces he doesn’t understand. Anya-Taylor Joy also gives a promising and multifaceted turn as the family’s eldest daughter Thomasine.

If there’s one thing that plays against the film, it's its lack of ambiguity. Any mystery as to whether there is or isn’t a real supernatural force in the woods is quickly dispelled in the first twenty minutes. Such explicitness only serves to weaken the film's more psychological aspects.

The ending, whilst interesting on a number of levels, is also not completely unexpected and fails to deliver the knockout punch essential to a masterful horror film.

Star Rating: 3/5

Hail, Caesar! review

The Coen Brothers latest film takes place in Hollywood during the 50’s at a time when big studios strictly controlled the lives of their actors. It follows Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin), head of production at Capitol Pictures, as he tries to keep the scandalous behaviour of his stars out of the press whilst also trying to fend off job offers from the Lockheed Corporation.

When big star Baird Whitlock (George Clooney) is kidnapped during the production of the studio’s new prestige piece Hail, Caesar! A Tale of the Christ, Mannix enlists the help of Western actor Hobie Doyle (Alden Ehrenreich) to find him.

Hail, Caesar! contains everything you’d expect from a Coen Brothers film: colourful characters, references to classic films of yore, and dollops of tongue in cheek humour.

A sharp script is buoyed by perfectly judged performances from Brolin, Clooney, Eherenreich and a brassy but all too brief turn from Scarlet Johansson as an actress/synchronised swimmer.

If there’s one thing wrong with Hail, Caesar! it’s the persistent feeling that one is watching a sample from a bigger, more ambitious movie. The film’s amusingly outlandish plot seems stifled 

by the gilded trappings of the Hollywood movies it both lampoons and pays tribute to. Indeed, some of the daring shifts in tone seen in other films by the brothers, such as Fargo and Inside Llewyn Davis, would not have gone amiss.

Hail, Caesar! is a worthy addition to the Coen Brothers canon but it is far from their best.

Star Rating: 3/5

Brooklyn review

Based on a novel by Colm Toibin, Brooklyn charts the journey of a young Irish woman called Eilis (Saoirse Ronan) from her native Enniscorthy to the big streets of Brooklyn, New York. Once there, Eilis suffers from homesickness and struggles to adjust to the fast-paced Brooklynite lifestyle. Her happiness changes for the better, however, when she meets a charming Italian-American man called Tony (Emory Cohen) at a local dance. As their relationship blooms, though, Eilis receives tragic news from Ireland. This forces her to travel back to Enniscorthy and once there she finds her feelings tested by the advances of eligible bachelor Jim (Domhnall Gleeson).

Brooklyn works well on multiple levels. On one end it explores some interesting areas such as the nature of home and the experiences of young migrants coming to America. On the other it contains a touching and unforced love story.

All of this is anchored by some strong performances from its cast with Saoirse Ronan and Emory Cohen giving endearing turns as Eilis and Tony. Also worth mentioning is Julie Walters who appears in a scene-stealing role as Eilis’s landlady Madge Kehoe, a woman whose opinions cover everything from the sinful nature of giddiness to the complexions of her tenants. 

A solid script from Nick Hornby also keeps things ticking along and is complemented by some good directorial work from John Crowley.

Although it doesn't quite reach the heights of other period dramas such as Atonement, Brooklyn still manages to be both beautiful and moving. 

Star Rating: 4/5

Triple 9 review

Triple 9 is the latest film by Australian director John Hillcoat (Lawless, The Road). Set in America’s Deep South, it follows a group of corrupt cops who are employed by the Russian mafia to carry out a dangerous heist operation on a Homeland Security building.

On the other side of the coin are the ‘good’ cops trying to bring them down: these include Casey Affleck’s hard-nosed detective Chris Allen and his uncle, the frequently drug-addled Jeffrey Allen (Woody Harrelson).

Apart from the actors already mentioned, Triple 9 stars an impressive ensemble of Chiwetel Ejiofor, Aaron Paul, Norman Reedus and Kate Winslet (who plays the wife of a Russian mobster and who adopts exactly the same accent she affected in Steve Jobs.)

With its story of corrupt cops living a double life, Triple 9 brings to mind Martin Scorsese’s The Departed. Like that film, Triple 9 has a wonderfully gritty tone and a story that takes some nicely unexpected turns. It doesn’t, however, have the same narrative smarts as The Departed; nor does it – with the exception of Harrelson’s detective – have any well defined and interesting characters to match the ones in Scorsese’s thriller.

Triple 9 is a competently made film that doesn’t quite live up to its aspirations.

Star Rating: 3/5

Deadpool review

Since his first appearance in 1991, Deadpool has evolved into one of Marvel Comic’s most popular characters. The ‘merc with the mouth’ has become known for his sense of humour and his fourth wall breaking asides to the audience. 

In 2009, these traits were only hinted at when the character made an appearance – as his alter ego Wade Wilson – in the film X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

Now what has been promoted as a more faithful interpretation of the character has been brought to the big screen in Deadpool. In the film, Ryan Reynolds plays Wade Wilson, a man diagnosed with late stage cancer. During a meeting with a mysterious man in a bar, Wilson is offered both a cure for his cancer and an opportunity to gain superhuman abilities. He takes up this offer and while the resulting procedures – which are closer to torture than therapy - do grant him amazing healing abilities they also leave him horribly disfigured.

Wanting revenge, Wilson then takes on the alias of ‘deadpool’ and begins to track down Francis (Ed Skrein), the man responsible for his transformation. At the same time, he also tries to find a way to re-connect with his girlfriend Vanessa (Morena Baccarin), who is unaware of the changes Wilson has undergone.

As a film, Deadpool offers a welcome change from the grimly serious tone of many recent superhero movies. Its irreverence is backed up by some good writing from Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese and some precisely targeted jokes, many of which naturally come at the expense of the X-Men and their most famous member Wolverine.

Solid performances from Ryan Reynolds and Morena Baccarin also hit the mark as do the action sequences which are thrilling but not overdone.

Big bad Francis does seem like an inadequate foe for Reynold's wisecracking antihero, however. While a bigger role for the amusingly sullen X-Men trainee Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hilderbrand) wouldn’t have gone amiss. These are minor criticisms, though, for what is ultimately a hilarious, smart, and immensely re-watchable contribution to the superhero genre.

Star Rating: 4/5