Nocturnal Animals (2016)

Nocturnal Animals is a psychological thriller centred around Susan Morrow, played by Amy Adams.

Nocturnal Animals follows art director Susan Morrow as she reads a manuscript sent to her by her ex-husband Edward Sheffield (Jake Gyllenhaal).

It says something about a movie when an entire audience is able to sit in silence for two hours. Nocturnal Animals is a film that manages to achieve this feat.

The story for this movie is written very well. The writing makes me feel as if I am reading a novel. At times I was thinking of the words that were accompanying each action that occurs on screen. Each one of the three stories manages to feel unique, yet as if it fit perfectly into the whole film. It is a credit to Tom Ford that he is able to achieve such a feat as a writer.

My only issue regarding the writing is that there is a lot of exposition. However, the exposition does aid in the feeling that the audience is reading a book and therefore suits the style of the movie.

Visually, the film is a very stylish affair. Tom Ford takes each story and gives it an individual presence. The common theme visually is shown through the large, almost empty, sets. This achieves two things, in my opinion, the first is to put the focus solely on the characters on screen. The second is to allow the audience's minds to create what is going on around the story, as in a novel.

The direction, also by Tom Ford, manages to show three completely unique views of the world, presenting each of them as different types of a nightmare. He deftly manages to visually weave the story for the audience to indulge upon.

The surprising part for me though is that he manages to dig into the depths of the story through his direction. He allows the audience to see into the mind of the characters without only resorting to exposition.

The cast in this movie is superb. Both leads show their emotions through the subtlety of their actions and the pitch perfect delivery of their lines. Personally, I think that this performance could get Amy Adams an Oscar nomination.

The supporting cast is also good. Michael Shannon and Aaron Taylor-Johnson are more than capable in their roles as Bobby Andes and Ray Marcus respectively. Unfortunately, the remainder of the talented cast is used so fleetingly. Armie Hammer, in particular, could have been utilised more in the movie. I wouldn't have minded if an extra ten minutes was added to the movie to make more space for his character.

Nocturnal Animals is a visually stylish movie that has a surprising amount of depth to it. The interweaving narratives show respect to the audience's ability to follow the narrative without having to slow down the steady pace of the film. The film's ability to keep an entire audience enthralled for two hours speaks both to the quality of the direction as well as the hunger for these types of films.

Number of times I looked at my watch: Zero

Recommendation: Watch this movie.

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Arrival (2016)

Arrival is a Science Fiction film about first contact with an alien species.

Arrival tells the tale of Dr. Louise Banks (Amy Adams), a linguistic professor who is called upon to help the US military when an unidentified flying object lands in Montana.

Arrival successfully manages to stray away from the tried and true formula of first contact movies by telling a personal tale that raises this movie to become one of the best movies of the year.

Denis Villeneuve successfully takes what could have been a run of the mill and uninteresting sci-fi movie and turns it into deeply personal tale. His direction causes the film to ebb and flow alongside the mental state of the films protagonist, therefore taking the audience on a psychological journey as opposed to a physical one.

Story wise, this is a subtle movie with a well crafted narrative. Eric Heisserer has done a wonderful job of adapting Ted Chiang's novel "Story of Your Life" to a screenplay format. Heisserer has managed to craft a story that allows the viewer to change their perspective while they watch the movie, which is a refreshing experience in the cinema.

The use of sound in this movie expands upon the personalisation of the music. This is a boon to sound designers Michelle Child, Olivier Calvert and the rest of the sound department. Music and sound effects are a fantastic tool that helps the audience enter the mind of our protagonist.

The sounds that are created for the alien language, as well as the written alien language, help create a believable alien presence. What helps even more is the visual presence for the alien creatures. The design is incredible, although reminiscent of the alien design in Torchwood: Children of Earth.

The mythology for the creatures is developed enough for the audience to believe that they could exist somewhere in the universe, but there is not enough explained for the audience to know everything about the creatures. This therefore allows the creatures to maintain their ethereal presence.

Of course, none of this could be possible without Amy Adams stunning performance as the films protagonist. Her grounded portrayal of Dr. Banks manages to make this film appear as it if could possibly be the world outside our window.

Amy Adams is supported by a wonderful supporting cast, including Jeremy Renner as Ian Donnelly and Forest Whittaker as Colonel Weber. Both actors use their time on screen to not only boost the performance of Amy Adams, but to demonstrate their own acting chops.

The casts portrayals of their characters managed to hit the correct notes, with all character relationships feeling natural as opposed to forced. This allowed the world to feel lived in and as if the audience was watching the world that we were shown change, as well as the characters positions in this world.

This movie has managed to make the audience think by telling a personal story. It forces to audience to go beyond their usual limit with sci-fi and think about the story that is being told. Arrival is a film that audiences need to see in order to understand how genre defying films can be made.

Number of times I looked at my watch: Once

Recommendation: See this film.

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Doctor Strange (2016)

Doctor Strange is a fantastical Marvel movie focusing on the origin story for Doctor Stephen Strange.

Doctor Strange tells the story of Doctor Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), a prominent surgeon, who is searching to restore his formerly glorious livelihood after it was taken from him.

Doctor Strange attempts to stray away from the Marvel factory formula, but ultimately it's trapped by what has come before in the franchise, therefore preventing the film from reaching the epic heights that were possible.

The characters in this movie are one note characters, bar the titular Doctor Strange. This is not helped by the fact that Tilda Swinton's Ancient One appears to have been a relatively phoned in performance. Chiwetel Edjiofor and Benedict Wong serve their purposes as Karl Mordo and Wong respectively (although I feel that both actors are greater than the roles they were given).

Unfortunately, yet again, the villain was forgettable. Kaecilius (Mads Mikkelsen) is a character that could have been far more imposing than he ended up being. The unfortunate truth is that this film did not require an actor like Mads Mikkelsen to portray the villain, as the villain wasn't essential to the story that the film was trying to tell.

The highlights of the movie were the visual effects. They allowed the viewer to escape into the fantastical universe that director Scott Derrickson was trying to create. Unfortunately, at times the movie is taken over by a deluge of CGI, in order to show off the vastness of the budget.

This, and the cinematography are where the film strains to escape the confines of its franchise. Visually, the world that is created is almost inception like. As eye popping sequences occur and the world the characters changes, one can't help but be in awe of the details thrown into the visual aspect of this movie. However, there are still elements where CGI human models look unrealistic which takes you out of the spectacular visual world that's created.

The story is pretty straight forward, with many elements that are predictable to anyone who has seen a Marvel origin story before. While this serves as an easy entry for the character, the feeling that so much more could be done lingers.

What's annoys me is that the story is told through dialogue as opposed to visually. Visual moments occur to further story, but almost immediately a character explains the events that the audience has just seen, slowing the pace to a crawl. I don't mind this happening every so often, but it feels as if the entire movie is littered with this kind of storytelling.

There is a far better movie hidden in the depths of this very shallow story. One about self reflection and learning to change how you view the world. Unfortunately the story refuses to delve deeper into this thread and chooses to opt for the lighter and breezier tone that Marvel is known for. Personally, I feel that this is a missed opportunity for the brand to evolve beyond what it is.

Number of times I looked at my watch: Four

Recommendation: Watch it in Netflix, among a marathon of movies, when you don't want to concentrate.

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Legend (2015)

Legend is a gangster biopic set in the 1960's.

It tells the story of Ronnie Kray (Tom Hardy) and Reggie Kray (Tom Hardy), the notorious gangster twins who ruled London at their peak.

This film is difficult to write about without spoiling anything. But I'm going to try. The follows Reggie Kray as he attempt to balance his brother and his relationship with Frances Shea (Emily Browning).

The three primary parts, Ronnie, Reggie and Frances, were all wonderfully portrayed. Each and every character movement and tick help build up a nice trio of individuals. In many regards, this is a testament to Tom Hardy's acting skill as he manages to play two characters and make them feel like individuals.

There were many secondary characters who appeared in this, most notably Leslie Payne (David Thewlis) and Edward Smith (Taron Egerton). These characters managed to fill their roles well. My complaint is that there was far less focus on Leonard "Nipper" Read than I was hoping for.

Regarding the story, it felt like a slice of life. The gangster activity, while still present, was pushed into the background in favour of the relationship story at times. While this may not be everyones cup of tea, I enjoyed it as it allowed the characters to have room to breathe.

The three characters play off well against each other, with the triangle fitting very well.

For those people who are worried about the lack of violence, it exists, and at times is brutal. Tom Hardy manages to make both characters acts of violence appear unique, adding to the illusion of the pair of twins.

Technically, I was astounded. The ability to get twins to fit so naturally in the world is a testament to modern day cgi, especially in one scene. It is also a testament to Brian Helgelands direction. The film style was very modern, with a soundtrack from the sixties.

The soundtrack reflected the movie quite well, enabling the audience to empathise with the characters at times. It also cleverly repeated songs, which helped the audience remember previous events which add depth to the moment on screen.

This is an enjoyable film and one for international audiences to watch for the technical film making. It is a well done biopic that may have limited appeal, solely due to the locality of the original story.

Number of times I looked at my watch: Three

Recommendation: See this film, if you live in the UK or enjoy the technical aspects of film making.

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Trainwreck (2015)

Trainwreck is a gender reversed rom-com.

This movie tells the tale of Amy Townsend (Amy Schumer), a thirty something journalist. This is until she meets Aaron Connors (Bill Hader). The film follows their time as a couple.

Amy is an interesting character as she embodies the man in the relationship. The aspects of her personality are enforced by the people that surround her. There is her sister Kim (Brie Larson), her best friend Nikki (Vanessa Bayer) and her father Gordon (Colin Quinn). On the other hand, Dr. Aaron Conners, who represents the female in the relationship is supported by LeBron James (himself).

Regarding characterisation, only Amy, Aaron and LeBron were presented as fully fledged characters. The remainder of the characters are one dimensional, which is disappointing considering how well developed the two leads, and LeBron.

There are many notable celebrity cameos and short parts, most of which did not adda anything to the movie. The most notable is John Cena as Steven, who plays a person that Amy dates. Unfortunately, this dilutes from time that could be spent on developing side characters.

There are a lot of laughs in this movie, most of which are deserved. These laughs come from the majority of the cast and their interactions with both Amy and Aaron.

The strength of this film is that character interactions seem natural, with all actors fully embracing their roles. The strongest interaction by far was between our lead couple, with their obvious chemistry being the highlight of the film.

While this movie runs on rom-com tropes, they feel refreshing due to the gender reversal that this film adopts. It adds another level of understanding with both leads feeling fully developed as opposed to solely one of them.

To further this point, it feels like there is a coming of age story hidden within the movie. This is a nice touch as both character go through their coming of age stories later on in life. It is a great way of showing that people grow up at different times in their life.

For me, the major negative was the ending sequence. For a movie that focused on small moments and character interaction, the ending sequence was too big. It felt completely unnatural, and only there to tick a box. It drops the films potential to be considered a great.

Trainwreck is a rom-com that had the potential to be great, if not for the final sequence.

Number of times I looked at my watch: Three

Recommendation: This film is an enjoyable watch, on Netflix. Unless it is rereleased on Valentines Day.

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The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015)

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is a lighthearted spy movie set in the 1960's.

In a way, this is an origin of our team. The team consists of Napoleon Solo (Henry Cavill), an opportunistic kleptomaniac, Illya Kuryakin (Armie Hammer), an russian spy with anger management issues, and Gaby Teller (Alicia Vikander), an expert German mechanic.

As a general warning, this film contains no major plot twists, which makes discussing the content of the movie difficult. From what I can say about the film, it doesn't need plot twists, in fact the lack seems to fit the movie better.

For all intensive purposes, this film is a throwback to simpler times, where the clothes were brighter, the allegiances were simpler, and computers didn't take up the entirety of peoples lives.

All actors play their parts well, with the only flaw being that at times Henry Cavill sounded like a sixties radio presenter. The villain for this piece, Victoria Vinciguerra, is well portrayed, but under developed.

This films banter is brilliant, with each character feeling individual solely based on dialogue. The jokes were witty and the relationships felt right, especially as natural is the last thing anyone could say about this film. In all fairness, I feel that character relationships are Guy Ritchies forte as a director.

This film provides moments of laughter, which made is a far more amusing romp in the sixties. Although, a couple of the jokes were repeated too many times.

Some of the shots could be mistaken for those from the sixties. The long zooms help set the scene well for the movie, as well as show how impressive some of the choreography is regarding certain stunts. What also impresses me is the lack of shake-cam action scenes. In fact, a lot of modern tropes seem to have been abandoned for older styled shots. This film is a great example of how something as simple as lighting can affect the entire way a scene appears.

Now to move onto the action. The lack of shaky cam helped a lot, as well as the sixties based shots. The most impressive parts for me were when the violence was implied, as it lead to far more creative scenes. When it wasn't implied, the action was serviceable, with each character playing to their own strengths.

All in all, I found this film to be enjoyable, the throwback elements make it a worthwhile view. It was sassy and witty.

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is a fun film that harkens back to the days when summer movies were simpler affairs. I wish more summer films were like this.

Number of times I looked at my watch: Three

Recommendation: Watch if you want to have an enjoyable time at the cinema.

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Fantastic Four (2015)

Fantastic Four is a superhero film with some horror elements.

Fantastic Four is an origin story for the titular team of heroes: Reed Richards (Miles Teller), Sue Storm (Kate Mara), Johnny Storm (Michael B. Jordan) and Ben Grimm (Jamie Bell).

For the opening act, this casts works alongside Franklin Storm (Reg E. Cathey) and Victor Von Doom (Toby Kebbell).

In all actuality, this was not a bad movie. The characters were well realised, and the psychological impact on the characters just discovering who they are was interesting.

This film shines when it focuses on the character relationships and darker aspects. Seeing as this is an origin movie, it is nice to see hints at how all of the relationships will develop over time. These relationships help provide genuine feelings of family, with hints of friendship.

At times, Fantastic Four felt uneven. In an essence, there was a good film here, but it was buried amongst moments of pure cheese.

The cinematography in this movie managed to demonstrate competency, especially with the darker parts. However, the majority of the film didn't pop. I know the word "pop" is not a useful or usual word, but it's the only way to describe a film where the visuals didn't stand out at all times.

The funny thing is that there are two moments in this movie which stand out, unfortunately those two moments are surrounded by blah. This detracts from what is a good film on the inside.

Fantastic Four is a good movie to see, producing a different take on the ever more saturated superhero genre. The only thing that is disappointing is that there was so much more potential that is missed out on.

Number of times I looked at my watch: Three

Recommendation: It's worth a watch on Netflix.

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