2016 - "This Year in Film"

It has been a great shame that time prevents me from doing regular full length reviews, like I used to do. But I will always continue with my yearly review, and also my Oscar Predictions, which will be coming along very soon.

So, given that the last couple of years have been lacklustre cinematically, has 2016 done anything to alter that at all?

Unfortunately not, for it has been yet another very poor year for Cinema. There has been a low number of films that have hit the mark.

Here is a selection of the films that I have labelled "Worst of the Year"

The Big Short

Batman Vs Superman

Independence Day Resurgence

X-Men Apocalypse

Suicide Squad
Star Trek Beyond






And clearly confirming my opinion that the Comic Strip movies have had their day.........

Having said that......

And the Award for "Best Hope for the Future of Comic Strip Movies" goes to.....

What with this outstanding blast of a movie and "Guardians of the Galaxy"....there is hope.

There is a tie for "Worst Return of a Popular Character"......

Sadly neither the return of Professor Robert Langdon or Jason Bourne did much to improve the quality of Cinema this year. And given the return of both Matt Damon and Director Paul Greengrass, the latter proved to be especially dissappointing. 

The Award for "Best Film to Honour a Much Loved Actor" goes to....

In a year a so many losses in so many areas of entertainment, sport and music, I can think of no better film to honour the late great Alan Rickman than this first class thought provoking thriller.


Despite so many dire films, there have also been some incredibly worthy movies released during 2016, and here is a selection of the very best.....

Creed

Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful Eight

Hell or High Water

Sully

 

Room
I, Daniel Blake
 

Trolls

 The Nice Guys

For Best Peformance by an Actress in a Leading Role, the award goes to...........

 Academy Award winner Brie Larson for "Room"

For Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role, the award goes to...........

Both Dave Johns and Leonardo DiCaprio for their amazing work on the films "I, Daniel Blake" and "The Revenant". 

And in a remarkable repeat of last year, we have to go all the way back to January for the best film of the year. Like last years "Whiplash", this film just stayed with this viewer long after leaving the Cinema. It is a true example of what makes Cinema great, an epic on every scale, and I can think of no better movie to illustrate the argument for watching movies on the Big Screen

The Best Movie of 2016 is..................

 

"The 88th Annual Academy Awards" - My Predictions

 

Another year has passed, as we join Hollywood's finest for the 88th Annual Academy Awards. With a good mix of nominations this year, I am sure that everything will be all white, I mean alright.
As always there will be the nominee who I think will Win, and the one I would like to see Win, as sometimes they are not always the same.

Best Screenplay Written Directly For The Screen.

Alas I have only seen two of the nominees in this Category so I have to plump for a Win for "Spotlight". It would be nice to see "Bridge of Spies" also triumph.

Best Sreenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published. 

It pains me to say but I think that Charles Randolph and Adam McKay will triumph for "The Big Short". I would love to see Nick Hornby win for "Brooklyn" or Emma Donoghue for "Room". In fact any of the nominees other than "The Big Short"

Best Actor In A Supporting Role.

If there is to be any upset, then for me this could be the category to do it. There are a host of reasons why any of the five nominees could bag The Oscar. But when it comes down to it, for me it has to be Sylvester Stallone who I hope gets it, and I think he will. Though he better keep an eye out for Tom Hardy in "The Revenant", as I think he could be his biggest competition on the night, but Stallone does give an excellent performance, and also his career as a whole will stand him in good favour. 

Best Actress In A Supporting Role

Likewise there could be a surprise with Best Actress in a Supporting Role, but I believe and want to see Alicia Vikander win for her brilliant work on "The Danish Girl". But again, any of the other nominees could be successful

Best Actor In A Leading Role

Surely this has to be one Academy Awards that is pretty much set in stone. Mr. DiCaprio has been acting in movies for some 25 years, in a variety of roles. I still believe that he should have won for his first nomination for his remarkable work on "What's Eating Gilbert Grape".
But having moved on from "Titanic", he has become of the most respected Actors in the industry, and like so many others, I think he iis long overdue to get the Oscar he so richly deserves.






Best Actress In A Leading Role

And despite a lot of hoo haa about will it be another win for Cate Blanchett, for me it has to be Brie Larson. She is quite amazing in "Room", and I feel she will get a well deserved Academy Award






Best Director

Despite having won last year for "Birdman", it looks likely that a Mexican will for the third year in a row take home the Oscar for Directing, with Alfonso Cuaron winning said Award in 2014 for "Gravity",

You may think that it is rare for a Director to take home back to back Oscars but it has happened on two previous occasions, with Joseph Mankiewicz winning in 1949 & 1950, and with John Ford winning in 1940 & 1941.

It will be a huge triumph for his film making skills and the brilliance that is "The Revenant"


Best Picture

Now, this could be the real upset of the night. So, if you are going to rock the boat, then why not save it for Best Picture.
It happened last year with many championing "Boyhood" but thankfully common sense prevailed and "Birdman" took home the top prize.

I am hoping for some similar upset this year. It seems that there are many saying that "The Revenant" will rightly sweep the board. However..........

The Producers Guild of America award the Best Picture Award each year, and for the last nine years whom ever they have voted as Top Picture, the said movie has also gone on to win the same award at The Oscars. This includes last year when they gave "Birdman" Best Picture. So seeing as the PGA gave Best Picture to "The Big Short", does this not bode well for "The Revenant"????

For me there is no competition, I have already gone on record to say that I don't even think that "The Big Short" should be even in contention for Best Picture, along with "The Martian" and most especially "Mad Max: Fury Road". You often see lists years down the line, of films that should not have won Best Picture, and rest assured should "The Big Short" triumph tonight, then it certainly be added to any such list.
"The Revenant" has all the qualities of a great and worthy Best Picture winner. And I am going to put my money, literally on "The Revanant" winning the final Award of the night.

So there you have it, hopefully three main prizes going to "The Revenant", and best of luck to host Chris Rock, who I am sure will have tongues wagging in the media tomorrow morning.

PS - Best of luck to Brit Sam Smith who will hopefully triumph for 'Writings On The Wall' for Best Song from "Spectre"

2015 - "This Year In Film"

Hard to believe folks, but another year has gone by. It does not seem five minutes since I was doing the Annual Review for 2014, and near here I am doing the same for 2015.

So, what kind of year has it been?

Well, what never ceases to amaze me is that I have two Cinemas virtually on the doorstep, I have an Unlimited Cineworld Card, which saves me an absolute fortune, and yet I go to the Cinema now less than I did say ten years ago. Could standards really have dropped? It does make you think....

Anyways, back to the job at hand. It has to be said it has been another poor year on the whole, with just the odd movie here and there to get excited about.
Biopics were the big in-thing at the start of the year with great films like "The Theory of Everything", "Unbroken", "Foxcatcher" and "American Sniper".
2015 proved to be the year of the return, seeing Ethan Hunt back in a new "Mission Impossible", 007 returned with "Spectre",  he said he would be back, and sure enough Arnold Schwarzenegger came back as the Terminator, though not with any where near as much greatness as the first two films in the series, Dinosaurs roamed once more in "Jurassic World",  and we also saw some friends return from a galaxy far, far away....

Here is a selection of films which I have classed under the banner of - "Worst Film of The Year"

I know that this will be a controversial choice, given one of my included films, but there you go.

The 'Yes I can Really Act Award' goes to.....         

Channing Tatum for his great performance
at the start of the year in "Foxcatcher"

 As we welcomed back a lot of old friends, the award for "Film Best Welcomed with Open Arms' goes to...

The 'Most Promising Talent Award' goes to...

Miles Teller for his amazing performance in 

"Whiplash"

For Best Performance by an Actor, the Award is

Shared by.............................

Eddie Redmayne for his beautiful performance as
Stephen Hawking in "The Theory of Everything"    

And for J. K. Simmons for his amazing work

as the music tutor from hell, in "Whiplash"                                                  

And in yet another dire year for great roles for

actresses, the 'Best Performance by an Actress'

goes to..............

Kate Winslet for "The Dressmaker"

 Last but not least, we come to Best Picture, and that is an easy choice, and one which we go back to the beginning of the year, the award for 'Best Picture' goes to..................

 

"Star Wars: The Force Awakens"

A long time ago, in a galaxy far,far away..............

Those immortal words have come to symbolise more than just another film franchise. For so many movie fans around the World, they have to come to mean something so very special, and if we are being honest we are really talking about episodes 4 - 6. There is a real bond between the three leads from the original "Star Wars" film. And whilst episodes 1 - 3 had their successes, the one thing they could never recapture was the magical chemistry between Ford, Hamill & Fisher. We followed these wonderful characters across the stars, and have loved being alongside them on the journey that they have gone.

Like "Star Trek", this film series has some very die hard fans, and whilst I would not call myself one of them, I have to say that I was squealing with delight when this latest film was announced, and even more so when it was confirmed that the original leads would be returning to reprise their roles, something they had not done for over 30 years.

I wanted to go into this film knowing as little as possible, so I only watched the trailers at the Cinema, and read no reviews, blogs,  nothing that could give away any clues as to what the film is about.
So what is the story?
Time has passed since we last saw our intrepid star travellers and the events of "Return of the Jedi". Luke Skywalker has vanished, but given his immense Jedi powers, the Galaxy and his wife are all trying to find him. We begin on the planet Jakku, where a map of Luke's possible location is hidden within a droid, and that droid must be put into the right hands. Also seeking the droid are members of the First Order, the new force of darkness, one of their elite being Kylo Ren, who is keen to follow in the footsteps of his great mentor, Darth Vader. But he certainly has a secret or two.
The droid ends up in the hands of Scavenger Rey, she searches the wastelands of Jakku, finding space wreckage and cashing in for food. Rey reluctantly teams up with Finn, a former Storm Trooper who became averse to the methods that the First Order were adopting. Toegther they manage to escape those looking for the droid, in an all too familiar space ship.
During the next chapter of the film we are reunited with our old friends Han and Leia, and it provides us with some wonderful moments in the film. Han and Chewie bickering like an old married couple, Han providing some great quips, and tenderness when Han and Leia reminisce about the past.
But this reunion could be short-lived due to the First Order having constructed the Star Killer, a huge space station which makes the Death Star look tiny in comparison. They need to get the map and find Luke, and find a way to put the Star Killer out of action..............

Some of the key things that were wrong with the episodes 1 -3 have clearly been addressed. It is a good case of back to basics. One could quite easily say that this is a carbon copy of "Star Wars: A New Hope", and why not? Why change a winning formula?
Having the original characters back is a huge boost to the movie, I think, like many others, I never expected Harrison Ford to be climbing on board the Millennium Falcon ever again. It is like seeing old family friends whom you have not seen in a long time. Yes it heart warming to see them back together again.
But what is pleasing to report is that Daisy Ridley as Rey and John Boyega as Finn are truly excellent in their respective roles. Effectively they are the new guard, taking over  the mantle of the Star Wars legend, and it is a tough act to follow, but they do so brilliantly. The future is in very good hands.
There is great support too, from Adam Driver, who frankly I was not familiar with, who is outstanding as Kylo Ren, to great actors like Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleason to acting royalty like Max Von Sydow. And a special mention to BB-8, who will surely become a huge favourite with younger audience members, and probably even some older ones.

So we have great characters, brilliantly acted, and a compelling story....but how is the film visually?
It is breath-taking. The photography, visual and special effects all combine on a huge canvas to make this, I think its fair to say, the most visually beautiful film in the whole series to date. It does not fall into the trap of putting the action right in your face, it paints wide strokes allowing the viewer to savour all the beauty and the action.

Director J.J. Abrams has taken a franchise, and brought back the magic that so many remember from the 1970's. We can now forget about Jar Jar bloody Binks, and the lacklustre receiving of "The Phantom Menace". I can possibly forgive him now for "Star Trek Into Darkness", then again, maybe not. But he has certainly done a first class job in the Directors Chair.

Disney had a lot riding on the success of this film. It is safe to say that they have more than just ticked all the boxes. It continues to keep breaking box office records, and I am sure that there will be many more being broken very soon, and it deserves every bit of the success that it is enjoying.
My only remaining question is how soon can I see it again?  And I am sure that will not be the only repeat viewing.

The Force has most certainly been awakened........9 out of 10

"Spectre"

Was it really that much of a surprise that "Skyfall" became the Box office smash that it did?
The film showed that in a 50 year old franchise, there can still be surprises. The movie did far more than just tick all the boxes. It gave us a compelling, action packed, character driven drama, which went on to be a big Award Winner, and also being the first Bond film to go past the $1 billion mark, and is still the highest grossing film at the UK box office.

So it with little surprise that Producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli (the latter I have had the great fortune to meet)  were keen to reunite the team that made "Skyfall" the huge success it has become.

I have now seen the film a second time, as I felt that after just one viewing, I was unable to do a full and comprehensive review. But now the jury has returned its verdict.....

The film opens in stunning style on the streets of Mexico, during the Day of the Dead festival. Bond complete with skull mask goes after his prey, a mysterious hoodlum called Sciarra. However this mission has not been sanctioned by MI6, so why is Bond going it alone to get Sciarra? He calmly walks the rooftops, as he settles in for the kill. His first attempt fails, and this leads to a dramatic chase which ends inside a helicopter. The cramped conditions give way to a tense fight to the death. Naturally Bond prevails and he has accomplished his mission and has the ring worn by Sciarra, which features an octopus as its design......

Back in London, Bond is in trouble for his one man mission, he finds himself suspended from duty. But it would seem that M is feeling the pressure as there is a new boy on the block, Max Denbigh, whose aim is to combine many of the Worlds Security networks, which would all go through London's new Security home, the Centre for National Security. Denbigh also sees the '00' programme as passed its prime, and is keen to retire it.
Despite being grounded, Bond manages to evade his Superiors and making his way across Europe, through Italy and Rome, and then heading to warmer Countries like Morocco. He is putting together the pieces of a puzzle, which start from his childhood, and the man who looked after him following the death of his parents.
Could it be that his past is beginning to haunt him?  What is this mysterious organisation known as SPECTRE?

Firstly, for any Bond fans, there is a lot that one can relate to from past films. In fact you could be forgiven for thinking that this was the film that was released during the franchises 50th anniversary. The carnival scenes in the opening - "Moonraker". A tense and rough fight on board a train - "From Russia With Love". A clinic above a mountain range - "On Her Majesty's Secret Service", and many more.
"Spectre" has sewn together all the strands that were spun from the first three Daniel Craig Bond films, all coming together under the Spectre organisation. As to who is behind, I could not say.

I had such high hopes for this new Bond film, especially given how much I love "Skyfall" and maybe that is part of the problem. Could any film ever be as good as Bond 23?
Although the premise for "Skyfall" was only revenge, it was so tense and brilliantly acted out, and the pace never slowed, even though it was not wall to wall action.
The same cannot be said for "Spectre" which does wander around quite a bit, seeming to take ages to get to the point. And then when we get there....what is it all for? It is all fine and dandy having a long film, there is just 5 minutes difference in running time between these last two Bond movies, but it felt at times that "Spectre" was dragging its heels.

A few quick moans. Composer Thomas Newman, who did such great work on "Skyfall", returns for "Spectre", and so does a fair amount of his previous score. I can only assume that he was having an off day when scoring this new movie, and so reused his previous tracks. I will say however that one piece that is reused was done so beautifully.
New henchman Hinx is just about two dimensional. A lot was mentioned about Monica Bellucci being the oldest Bond woman, and yet she is barely in the film. And as for Lea Seydoux, I am afraid she just looked pretty and that was about it.
If you are going to get a two time Oscar winner to play your Bond villain, then you give him a part worthy of his immense talent. This was brilliantly illustrated with Javier Bardem. So when you see that Christoph Waltz is playing Frans Oberhauser, you get really excited.....that is until you see the film. Like Dave Bautista as Hinx, I felt that Waltz did not reach his full potential. Anyone who has seen his work, especially his amazing performance in "Inglorious Basterds" will know what I mean.
There is an excellent finale, and I must mention how well Ralph Fiennes has settled into the role of 'M'. Dame Judi Dench would be a tough act to follow, but he is really excellent.

Overall it is a good Bond film, but not got the edge that both "Casino Royale" and especially "Skyfall" had......8 out of 10

"Tomorrowland: A World Beyond"

I have wasted 130 minutes of my life watching this pile of trash, so I am not going to prolong the agony by spending more time than necessary reviewing it.

Dull, boring, at 2 hours 10 minutes, it could have easily, and I do mean easily have had 40 minutes shaved of it, to at least try and minimize the risk of falling asleep, which I did several times, and this was during an IMAX screening !!

Almost certainly guaranteed a place in my list of worst films of the year.....3 out of 10