"St. Vincent"

Vincent is far from being a Saint, in fact anything but.
A little down on his luck, he drinks, gambles, is usually in a permanant sombre mood. His disposition does not improve when new neighbours arrive, a Mom and her young boy Oliver.

He drinks to forget his problems, most of which are a combination of his mounting gambling debts, and that his beloved Wife is in a care home that he cannot maintain the payments on.
In order to try and get some more stake money for the dog track, he finds himself the most unlikely babysitter. So Oliver finds himself being taken to all of Vincent's regular haunts, the Bar, the Race track, and frequenting with his Stripper friend too.
Oliver finds himself getting bullied at school, so as an unlikely father figure Vincent steps in with guidance on how Oliver can defend himself. But alas time is running out for Vincent what with his money worries, and a loan shark breathing down his back. Also unbeknownst to Oliver, his Father has filed for full custody, something which terrifies his loving mother.

Oliver and Vincent do strike up the most unlikely of friendships, but it does work, for two reasons, the great writing from Theodore Melfi, who also directed the movie, and from the great performances courtesy fo Bill Murray and newcomer Jaeden Lieberher.
It also especially nice to see a dramatic turn from comedy queen Melissa McCarthy, who proves she is not just for laughs, and I for one would like to see her doing more drama.

If Vincent is not bitter enough, things are not helped when he suffers a stroke. And whilst recovering from this condition, he receives the most devastating news. And it is in these scenes that Bill Murray reminds us all what a great actor he is.

All in all it is a highly enjoyable film, whilst not in the same league as my all time favourite Murray film - "Lost In Translation" - it is still a great movie and a delight to watch, and this despite a slightly over sentimental ending..................7 out of 10

"Black Sea"

After 11 years of service to his Company, Submarine Pilot Captain Robinson finds his services dispensed with. Needless to say he is more than a little annoyed by this news. He seeks solace with his former colleagues in the the local Pub.
Whilst conversing, one of the sea-goers mentions of a potential gold mine sitting at the bottom of the ocean. It consists of a sunken U-Boat full of Nazi gold, just ready for the taking.

Having secured finance for the venture from a shady businessman, for upto 40% of what they get, and having assembled a crew of both British and Russian crewman, their well travelled Submarine hits the water. 

Everything seems to be going swimmingly, forgive the pun. They are on course for their golden rondezvous. But a little tension has started to build, mainly to do with the fact that all the men on board get a even split of what they get. Some of the British object to the Russians getting the same, and soon enough tempers start to flare. Eventually the inevitable happens, knifes are involved are the number of men on board starts to lessen. Now distrust starts to really set in, as some of the crew have realised that their share becomes bigger with less men on board, howver the flip side is that it takes a certain number of men, minimum to operate the Sub.

But soon a fight for a share of the gold, becomes a fight to survive, and the very U-Boat that they have come to plunder, is set to be their very source of salvation. Their Sub is without power and need the Drive shaft from the U-Boat to make their getaway.
Unfortunately for the Crew, things start to reach breaking point, with a revelation from one of the Crew regarding the distribution of the gold. Soon the urge to survive becomes the primary goal, no matter what the cost.

The Hunt for Red October and Crimson Tide. These are great Submarine movies, and though "Black Sea" does not hit the same high standards, it is still worth the watch. The great thing about these movies is the way the tension is built, especially as the men are all confined in such a small space, with no way of getting out.
Robinson is estranged from his wife and child, and clearly bonds with the youngest member of the Crew, Tobin. Soon to be a Father himself, maybe Tobin reminds Robinson of the bonds he had with his own child, and goes someway to explaining why he is so keen to protect Tobin.
To create great tension can need a skillful Director, and given his previous track record, the film is in good hands with Kevin Macdonald.

A decent effort, well worth the watch............7 out of 10

"The Drop"

Whenever we lose an actor far too soon, especially someone with the screen presence of James Gandolfini, it is hoped that their final film will be one to remember. And I think that it is fair to say, that "The Drop" is a film that he could be proud of.

A New York Bar, 'Cousin Marv', formerly owned by Marv (Gandolfini), but muscled out by Chechen mobsters, who leave him as manager, but take all the profits. By Marv's side is Bob (Hardy). The Bar is part of a network, where money is constantly hands, for any variety of deeds. Best not to ask too many questions. But one Bar will be assigned 'the drop', amd this is where all the money will be left behind the  car to be collected and handed over to the powers that be. And sometimes it can be a tidy sum.
One night two small hoods decide to rob the takings from the Bar, despite knowing who owns the bar, and risking deadly retribution, they go ahead, and profit by a few thousand dollars. But soon the Police are investigating, and also the Chechens are keen to reclaim their money.

In a seemingly seperate strand, when walking from the Bar one night, Bob hears a cry, and finds an abandoned dog in someones trash can. Nadia is the owner of the trashcan, and both she and Bob take a shine to the dog, and possibly to each other.
The downside is that the owner of the Dog turns up, a rather nasty piece of work - Eric, who is wanted in connection with a recent murder, and it seems he has a past connection with Nadia, and is keen to get both his Dog and Nadia back, and extort both money and information from Bob.
As you can see all the strands start to merge together, as not only is Eric keen to line his pockets with Chechen money but someone else is looking to do the same.

It is very much a dialogue and characeter driven piece, there are no larger than life characters, no big over the top gestures, just everyday people, surviving, and it makes for great viewing. There is the odd surprise along the way.
The three main leads are all excellent, as one would expect. Hardy is especially good as the quiet and soft spoken Bob.

A great film, which reminds us all what a great actor James Gandolfini was, and why he will continue to be missed........8 out of 10

"The Imitation Game"

Like so many, I have been fascinated by the story of Alan Turing. It started with the drama "Breaking The Code" which starred the amazing Derek Jacobi as the code breaker, a role he had previously played on stage.

The story of Turing's life is as complex as the man himself, with many layers. The film looks at three keys areas. His work at Bletchley Park, his arrest for indecency and his schoolboy days. All of which are based on the biography from Andrew Hodge. For me the section that provides the greatest insight into Turing are the school days, where we find he is bullied and attacked for being different, and a loner. He strikes up a friendship with Christopher Morcom, and it is when that friendship starts to blossom, that Turing finds his world shattered, and his loss is tremendous.

We see Turing apply for work at Bletchley, treating his superiors at times as far lesser men, even high ranking officials. We see the team struggle in their battle to crack the Enigma machine codes, the desperation as War raged on, and more lives were lost.  The majority of the team firmly believe that Turing is wasting valuable time and resources with his work on the machine to crack the machine. But in his mind, it is a simple matter of logic, that a mind cannot beat a machine, only another machine can. It is a remarkable journey we see them on. The elation we see them feel as they realise that they have done the near impossible is soon shattered with the stark truth that they cannot reveal what they know. Despite parts of the British military being attacked they cannot warn them else it would give the game away, the machine coding would be changed and all their years of hard work would be for nothing.
His relationship with fellow worker Joan Clarke is examined, as we see his friendship with her take a more marital status, as he asks her to marry him, trying to cover up his homosexuality.
But it is his treatment as a result of his arrest that provokes the most anger. One really has to ask that was being gay back in the 1950's so abhorent that this could not have been swept under the carpet? Given what Turing and the others did in Bletchley, surely given the countless lives he saved by ending the war early must have counted for something. But ultimately not. Being gay was the lowest of the low, to love or feel affection for another man was so bad. The British nation treated Turing in a truly terrible way, to give him the choice of medical castration or prison, it was not much of a choice.

The poster for the film is very truthful in that Benedict Cumberbatch really is outstanding as Turing. A complex man brought to life with a complex but engaging performance from one of our top actors. If nothing else, it would be nice to think that a new young audience will see the film just because he is in it, and if it gets across to them how great a man Turing was, then  it will be a job well done.
Keira Knightley is good as Joan Clarke, as is Charles Dance as Turing's military top ranking officer at Bletchley. All the cast are really good, but I have to give a special mention to Alex Lawther who plays Alan during his schoolboy days. It is a wonderful performance, with so many emotions to go through, but the most heartbreaking scenes are the ones where Turing finds out what has happened to Christopher Morcom. Very moving indeed. And also the same can be said of Cumberbatch as we near the films conclusion, and we see how close he is to his beloved machine, and the reason why, though this may be a touch of Hollywood rewriting.

As with all great films like this it just makes you want to find out more about the subject matter. But the downside is that if one were to read Hodges biography, I am sure that there would be a number of inaccuracies, and this could lead to one reassessing the film, which given how much one loved it, would not be best for the movie. I know that the film has been attacked by some, for its referencing that Turing was being investigated for possibly being a Russian Spy, and this was never the case. So it is a double edged sword, whether finding out more could depreciate ones enjoyment of the film.

But one thing is clear, as a stand alone film, it quite remarkable. An utterly compelling story of a man, who brought his life to an early end, despite all that he did for so many, and someone we owe so much to.

No imitation here, just a first class movie..........9 out of 10

"Mr. Turner"

A two and a half hour biopic of a British Painter. I have to say that it cannot have been the easiest pitch to a studio in order to get a film financed. But if anyone was capable then it would be Mike Leigh.
Where with some biopics they may take just a section of someones life to provide the cinematic material, given the broad canvas that Leigh has given himself, we really do get to know J.M.W. Turner, and the world that he inhabited.
We see him at home, enjoying family time with his Father, and yet estranged from his past love and the children he fathered. We see him trek across the country, viewing landscapes, looking at nature, seeing first hand the inspiration for his work. He has a housekeeper who clearly is in love with him, but he just uses her for his own sexual gratification.
He is a fascinating man, not common, but rough around the edges. Sometimes a conversation with consist of the odd grunt here, a hurrumph there.
There are some wonderful scenes where the artists of the day have their works displayed and are given licence to amend them. Here he takes great pleasure in winding up fellow artist John Constable. It is a scene full of humour, but also great skill as we see how Turner takes what seems to be an attack on his competition and turn it into a mastery of art.

We see Turner experience loss, both of his Father and also one of his Daughters. And in these scenes especially Spall does truly amaze. But his performance throughout the film as a whole is dazzling, and that is bearing in mind he is on screen for the majority of those 150 minutes.

As the years progress, instead of continuing his fumblings with his housekeeper Hannah, he begins a relationship with Mrs. Booth who runs a Boarding House in Margate where he has visited many times, on his inspirational treks. Once her husband has passed, their relationship moves to a more intimate one. He clearly had an eye for the ladies, and it is the ladies who are at the heart of the film. His love for Mrs. Booth comes at the expense of his relationship with his house-keeper Hannah. The latter sets out to find out why he is spending less time at his London home, and upon discovering the truth is clearly devastated.
And it is Dorothy Atkinson, who plays Hannah, who gives the best work of her career. Watching this skin diseased woman shovel about the house, doing her masters bidding, she conveys the character with both humour and drama, Hannah is clearly longing for so much more from Turner, but is never going to get it.

Seeing some of the landscapes and scenery is like sitting back and looking at a beautiful work of art, and the film is wonderfully photographed, it does at times take ones breath away. Director Mike Leigh has one again created another wonderful character driven film, with performances from an outstanding cast, and stunning visuals.

Painting by numbers......more like watching a great Master at work...........8 out of 10

"Nightcrawler"

Lou Bloom scrapes by on his day to day existence. Or more so his night existence, as this is when he goes round the city, stealing drain covers from here and chain link fencing from there, this he sells on to make a fast buck.
When driving through the City one night, he comes across a road accident being attended to by Paramedics, as whilst there a video crew arrive and atart shooting the aftermath. He soon discovers that this could be a quick and easy way to make more money.
So by his ill gotten gains he manages to obtain a video camera, and sets about finding that piece of footage that he will be able to sell to the news network teams.
He learns his craft quickly, and also that it is a cutthroat business. There is stiff competition from small outfits all trying to get to accidents or crime scenes ahead of their rivals, so they can be first to offer the footage for sale. Initially he is laughed at, and derided for his amateurish effort, but soon he is the one laughing. His inital sale goes well, and from there he is soon on the Streets, getting more footage, earning more money, and thus able to buy better equipment, and Police scanners etc.
Soon the competition is coming to him, making him an offer to merge their units, but he declines, instead hiring an extra pair of hands to aid with his growing business.
He forms a relationship with Nina, who is a more mature News director, she sees potential in Lou, and pushes him to get more juicy footage that she can use. As desperate as Lou is to make a name for himself, she is equally desperate as her contract is almost up for renewal, and without improving ratings, it is doubtful she would be returning. The film is ultimately about desperate people, and the lengths they go to. Can we go too far to get what we want?  For some the answer is clearly no. For some it is kill or be killed, there is no place for morals. And clearly Lou and Nina are similar to each other. He is depserate to please her, make a name for himself, as well as earning money, and she wants to get the better ratings and please her Boss, so she gets her contract renewed. Both pushing the boundaries on ethics, with Lou entering crime scenes before the Police arrive to film a massacred family killed in their home, and Nina justifying to her creative team why they can show the footage.

Lou sees Nina as his ticket to a far better life. She sees him as a way to keep the life she has. They constantly bicker over the price of footage.She tries to buy it for as low a price as possible. He knows he is being used, and Lou uses that method when hiring his extra hand Rick, who he hires on an apprenticeship, thus meaning he does not have to pay him a wage, whilst Lou starts driving round in a very expensive looking sports car. Rick tolerates this for only so long, and eventually Lou does pay him, bare minimum wage. But soon through circumstance, Rick gets the upper hand on Lou, and tries to use this to his advantage. Will Lou tolerate this position he is in?

It is a fascinating and absorbing look at the media, ethics, the intrusion of those being filmed, and I guess also gets us to question our morals, as we are the ones watching. The lines in the sand really do start to get blurred, as everyone tries to get more for themselves.

Riz Ahmed is great as lackie Rick. And it is wonderful to see a great actress like Rene Russo shine as Nina, a determined and focused woman, driven to any lengths to maintain her career. It is hard to believe that is Dan Gilroy's first time in the Directors chair. He has an assured hand that really brings this fascinating story to life.
And Jake Gyllenhaal really gives a career best performance as Lou, from his appearance, looking gaunt, seedy & desperate to  his delivery of great dialogue. In a year when there will be a dozen names vying for an Oscar nomination in lead actor category, it would be nice to see Gyllenhaal's name up there, but I suspect because of the high volume of  great performances this year, I think he may lose out, and that would be a great shame.

As a good as film as you will see this year....................9 out of 10

"Horns" "Fury" "Interstellar"

Due to time, I am offering a brief outline of my thoughts on three recent cinematic visits.

"Horns" - Ig, short for Ignatious is in deeply in love with girlfriend Merrin, but soon finds himself the most loathed man in town when she is found brutally murdered. Naturally he is main suspect #1. Feeling no love from his fellow town folk he gets drunk and pisses on a great height upon the religion that Merrin enjoyed. Someone high above takes exception to this, and the next morning Ig finds himself starting to sport some rather fetching horns. Along with the horns, which no-one finds unusual, comes the ability for people to tell him quite openly their deepest desires and secrets. A lot of these desires are soon being acted upon. He hopes to use this new honesty that people throw at him to find the real culprit behind Merrin's death.

It is a bizarre concept, and a bizarre film. At times interesting, at times amusing, especially involving two Cops who fancy the pants off each other, and at times just odd. For the most part it fails to entertain, it is quirky and different but just does not deliver.

Merely ok, and only scores what it does for sheer audacity and the humour.....5 out of 10

"Fury"  - A bleak and honest look at the futility of War, and all that it brings with it. We join a group of Soldiers who serve together as a unit in their Tank home, they call Fury. When one of their number dies, the replacement is less than promising. A young Soldier who barely knows one end of the rifle from the other. And it mostly through his eyes that we see the story unfold.
As the War is drawing to a close, and defeat is inevitable for Hitler, the German leader seems determined to throw every last Man, woman and child into the conflict, they will not go down without a fight.
Even despite the day to day horrors of War that they see, Don (Pitt) and Norman (Lerman) still try to enjoy some civility, and this is beautifully illustrated when they dine with two German ladies. But the peace and calm is soon shattered as normality comes crashing around them when fellow soldiers barge in and become unwelcome dinner guests.
When their tank team and two other groups are assigned a mission, they head off but come under heavy fire, and soon Fury is the only left to carry out its duty. After going over a mine the Fury is out of commission and a large contingent of German and SS Soldiers is heading in their direction. Woefully outmanned and outgunned, it is the ultimate choice. Stay and fight, and almost certainly die, or make their escape and hopefully live to fight another day.
Strong performances in a great movie, which is wonderfully photographed. It pulls no punches, but if I do have a very minor quibble, it is that the ending is just a little too Hollywood.

That aside a truly great movie.........8 out of 10

"Interstellar" - This was always going to be a must see movie, especially on the IMAX. The latest from visionary Director Christopher Nolan.
The Earth is in trouble and it would seem that our planets days are numbered.A huge dust cloud regularly causes havoc,this has led to starvation on a huge scale, and many more problems besides. But Scientists believe that they may have a solution. A wormhole has been discovered and they have been secretly sending probes and manned ships into to find if their is an alternate World that we can inhabit. The solution comes in two possible scenarios. The pereferred is that we find a new alternate planet, and then send the Population of Earth to it to live happily ever after. The other option is if this is not possible then with this new voyage will go the DNA of so many of Earths inhabitants for possible cloning to populate a new Earth.
So in act one we discover the plight of the Earth.
In act two we get the possible solution, and see it being implimented, mainly thanks to the help of Professor Brand (Caine)and his astronaut daughter (Hathaway). Given the amount of time needed to reach the wormhole, which is near Saturn, they will sleep for the duration of the journey, thus time will passby differently for them as for those on Earth. They do find new worlds, and there are surprises in store, not least of which is a revelation from Earth.

Will the Earth recover from the ravages we have inflicted upon our Planet?  Will the crew make it to and find a new home for us?

As one would expect, the visuals are literally out of this worlsd, and have to rank as some of the most stunning sights I have ever seen on film. And it is this fact that stops the film from being a total letdown. This is an event film. And it was a disappointment. Not a complete loss, as I say the visuals are worth the price of admission. But the film is all over the place, trying to decide what it wants to be, but clearly is an homage to "2001: A Space Odyssey". Kubrick would be very happy. I am reliably informed that the science is very quesitonable, and the end.....well it defies belief.

The cast are all good, but none really shine, and for me Michael Caine is woefully underused, but then again I am a huge fan.
A lot has been said about the overuse of sound, and it drowning out dialogue, and this is the case in quite a few scenes.

It is worth seeing on the big screen, and will not be for everyone. It is good, but a sci-fi classic it will not be.......7 out of 10