Finding Dory Review

Finding Dory is directed by Andrew Stanton and stars Ellen DeGeneres, Albert Brooks, Hayden Rolence, Ed O'Neill and Kaitlin Olson. In it, Dory (DeGeneres) remembers she has parents and sets out with Marlin (Brooks) and Nemo (Rolence) to find them, but along the way she also finds herself.

2003's Finding Nemo is a childhood classic and easily ranks in the top end of the Pixar spectrum because of its touching story and superb animation. Finding Dory takes on board these two aspects and creates another brilliant addition to the Pixar collection. This film could've gone horribly wrong- it could've ended up as a complete rehash of the first but with Dory in Nemo's place, and whilst that is partly true for this film, it's not the main drive. Finding Dory acknowledges Finding Nemo's existence and doesn't milk it at all: the turtles have a brief but important cameo, the Tank Gang aren't in it and whilst the lack of Bruce, Chum and Anchor is felt, it is more than made up for with Hank (O'Neill) a serious, clever, funny octopus (or heptacus) who's relationship with Dory is half of the film. Other good additions to the story include Destiny (Olsen), a near sighted whale, and Bailey, another whale with echolocation. 

What's more is that Finding Dory feels completely necessary- any questions or plot points raised in that film are touched upon here nicely, like Dory learning whale speech. When seen back-to-back the two films complete one another, and yes, Nemo is marginally the superior film, but Dory is equally impressive from its spellbindingly beautiful animation (hundreds of swimming manta rays is breathtaking to behold) to its host of gags.

But the film is of course ultimately about Dory. Ellen DeGeneres was born to voice this character and stands well above the rest of the cast- not that they aren't talented, they are all very talented. The opening shot is very cute baby Dory learning and this prologue sequence is touching. If you know parents who have a child with disabilities you can relate a lot to what Dory's parents are going through and whilst Dory's short term memory loss is occasionally played for laughs, it is also used for some serious drama that again states the fact that just because it's Pixar doesn't mean it is necessarily for children. 

In a year packed with disappointing blockbusters and franchise instalments, Finding Dory sits proudly above them all as a sequel that delivers and explores more of the thought provoking themes that Finding Nemo started, all the while never forgetting to have some fun.

The Nice Guys Review

The Nice Guys is directed and written by Shane Black and stars Russell Crowe, Ryan Gosling and Angourie Rice. Black's third feature film in the directors chair, The Nice Guys follows Jackson Healy (Crowe), a hired enforcer, and Holland March (Gosling) a private investigator, as they work together to look into the apparent death of a fading porn star.

Shane Black is easily one of Hollywood's most underrated talents when it comes to writing and directing. The Nice Guys is rich in sharp, witty dialogue and fans of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang will find much to love hear. Gosling and Crowe have sizzling chemistry on screen, their constant bickering and goofing is uproariously entertaining whilst Gosling's physical acting is simply superb (watch his cheekbones during one elevator ride). Rice, who plays Holland's daughter, is another well utilised character and is played with rebellious flair.

The 1970s backdrop is beautifully constructed: the cars, houses and technology are adequately designed whilst the gentle, jazzy musical score perfectly undermines the film. The narrative is also intriguing enough as their case takes numerous twists whilst the action beats are far more exhilarating then blockbuster movies; shootouts and stand offs are either done amusingly or riddled with suspense, sometimes even simultaneously. 

The Nice Guys is a clear sign that Hollywood is not done with buddy cop films and shows Black is the king of the genre with another gem under his belt. Easily one of 2016's best in a year that has hurled disappointment after disappointment in our faces. 

X-Men Apocalypse Review

X-Men Apocalypse is directed by Bryan Singer and stars James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Oscar Isaac, Sophie Turner, Evan Peters, Nicholas Hoult and Tye Sheridan. The ninth film (well, it depends on which timeline we're following here) in the often overlooked X-Men franchise, 'Apocalypse' is set in 1983 (several mutants emerge from a showing of Return of the Jedi, which also includes a savage jape at X-Men The Last Stand) and follows the prequel cast of characters introduced in First Class as they attempt to stop newly awakened mutant Apocalypse (Isaac) from destroying the world.

2016 has been a rollercoaster for superhero films: Deadpool was met with overwhelming commercial success, Batman v Superman was massively disappointing whilst Civil War was the complete opposite. 'Apocalypse' now sits in the middle section. Days of Future Past is a very hard act to upstage, especially without Wolverine playing a large role (although is spoiled scene in this and exhilarating action), but Bryan Singer gives it his best shot. 

What is noticeable about the three prior superhero films is that none of them contain the bog standard "end the world" villian, and 2015's Ultron was the most recent example of this. Oscar Isaac is menacing as the titular antagonist and his motivation is fairly fleshed out, yet his appearance and size do not give him credit, especially whilst his Four Horsemen are occasionally taller than him. These Four Horsemen include Psylocke, Angel, Storm and a down on his luck Magneto (Fassbender). One of the best things of the film, Fassbender's performance is heartfelt and as the metal bending mutant falls back into his old ways, you can empathise with his decision. The other three Horsemen are massively under used; Psylocke is given very little to do except that cool shot of her cutting a car open, but that's been in every trailer so lacks any surprise in the film. 

If the villains aren't entirely impressive, than at least the heroes are. McAvoy is again brilliant as Professor X, whilst Evan Peters is a scene stealer as Quicksilver, getting a second super speed scene as he evacuates a building and throws people out of windows and onto a homemade suspended sheet. Sophie Turner is ideal as Jean Grey and her relationship with Scott Summers (Tye Sheridan) and Nightcrawler (Kodi Smitt McPhee) is written well. 

However, there are problems in this movie. The first hour is substantially lacklustre for a superhero film, whilst the second hour is composed of CGI destruction that also appears in the trailer. 'Apocalypse' does have a lot in common with Age of Ultron, just a lot more serious. They are loveable characters, but the script doesn't do them justice, whether it's because there are simply too many mutants or because the writer's don't know what to do the characters that hasn't been done before.

If DC is too dark and Marvel too light, than the X-Men franchise is the perfect middle ground, just don't expect another Days of Future Past from this film. Entertaining enough, but it lacks depth and freshness.

Captain America Civil War Review

Captain America Civil War is directed by Joe and Anthony Russo and stars Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Sebastien Stan, Anthony Mackie and a host of other Hollywood A-listers. The thirteen film in the $9 billion franchise behemoth, Civil War changes the MCU forever with a clash between two divided factions of the Avengers, one led by Captain America, the other by Iron Man after a dispute about the Avenger's missions. Also thrown into the mix is Cap's old best friend, Bucky Barnes who Cap tries to protect from the government. 

Civil War is undoubtedly the best Marvel movie in its sprawling universe. Its huge ensemble makes it more of a Avengers 2.5 but at its centre is the relationship between Steve Rogers and Bucky, a delicate reminder of the patriot hero's old life. Chris Evans, in his fifth performance of the character, continues to find new levels to this surprisingly complex war veteran and he and Downey Jr. give some of the best performances in the superhero series. The addition of all the other Avengers but Hulk and Thor, plus first time appearances from Black Panther and Spider-Man, is justification for its 147 minute runtime as each character is given their own arc and their own 'moment' as it were, a time for them to show off. Tom Holland is the definitive Peter Parker, a wise cracking teenager with some massively entertaining action scenes whilst Chadwick Boseman is a cool, determined Black Panther who gets a worthy amount of screen time. 

Civil War also embraces a slightly different formula for Marvel movies, instead of having the CGI heavy smack down at the end, the much talked about 'airport' scene is one of two climaxes in the last hour of the film and is quite simply, the most satisfying, nerd-tastic superhero smack down EVER. What makes the set piece so astonishing is the characters change their opponents frequently, Ant Man fights Black Widow, Spider-Man and Iron Man whilst Captain America squares off against Black Panther, Iron Man and Spider-Man. It is a Marvel fan's wet dream. The climatic face off between Rogers, Stark and Barnes is a thousand times better than the other superhero square off of 2016 not just from a choreography perspective but for emotional impact and utter devotion to these characters. One final shot is of Stark on the ground; his helmet, Bucky's metal arm and Cap's shield on the floor around him. There is a lot of symbolism there; the defining feature of each person abandoned as the civil war has changed them and pushed them beyond boundaries superheroes are not meant to be cross. Civil War also succeeds in causing an inner war in your head: who's team am I on? Team Iron Man may be the cooler and most correct of the two, but you understand Cap's motivations as much as Stark's and the lines are thinly drawn. 

Captain America is a huge payoff for the MCU, a culmination of story arcs not just from its blistering opening but from Iron Man back in 2008, a film which was bettered by Avengers Assemble which was bettered by Winter Soldier which has now been bettered by Civil War. What can top this?

The Jungle Book Review

The Jungle Book is directed by Jon Favreau and stars Neel Sethi with the voices of Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Idris Elba, Christopher Walken, Lupita Nyong'o and Scarlett Johansson. After Cinderella and Maleficent, Disney's next live action remake is of their beloved, 1967 classic The Jungle Book. Closely following the story of the original, Mowgli (Sethi) is hunted in the jungle by the fierce tiger Shere Khan (Elba) whilst the panther Bagheera (Kingsley) and the bear Baloo (Murray) try and take him to safety. 

When it comes to films that have groundbreaking CGI and are made to be seen on the biggest screen available, three films spring to mind: Avatar, Life of Pi and Gravity. The Jungle Book is now the fourth film to that list. Entirely shot in a studio in LA, Neel Sethi is the only real thing in the film; the backdrops and setting are green screen whilst the animals didn't even exist at the time of filming, leaving the newcomer to have very little to interact with. Fortunately, Jon Favreau's solid direction manages to draw a compelling performance from the movie's lead and Sethi grounds the 111 minute runtime with some humanity. 

Yet whilst the pacing, voice work and direction are very good, it's the effects that are the best thing. Right from the opening shot the screen bursts into colour and the jungle is fully realised, animals and all. Amongst the terrific shots is a long shot of Mowgli and Bagheera walking in front of a cascading waterfall- the imagery is truly tantalising and photorealistic. 

When it comes to CGI characters, Gollum, Ceasar, the T-1000 and Smaug are immediate connotations of well done, visualised creatures. This film has three astonishing CGI characters- the sleek and wise Bagheera, the comic relief Baloo and Shere Khan. Baloo isn't like the bear from The Revenant in terms of species and personality, but Shere Khan can be compared to another deadly tiger: Richard Parker. Khan is easily the better of the two; his scarred face, impressive voice and is eerily poetic monologue about cuckoo birds make him the year's best onscreen villain (so far) whilst his backstory and ideals do make you relate to his objective, even if the protagonist is at stake. 

Christopher Walken is also superb as King Louie, the singing Gigantopithicus gangster monkey king who delivers one of the two revived songs in the film (Bare Necessities is a massive nostalgic trip) and the entire temple set piece is brilliantly handled, if slightly ridiculous (could a bear climb a near-vertical cliff face if he couldn't climb that honey soaked cliff earlier? I guess as a juxtaposition it works). The films fiery climax is somewhat epic, seeing a panther, a pack of wolves and a bear fight Shere Khan is refreshing as an action sequence and is this year's Indominus v T-Rex and Blue battle. 

There are some negatives but this is only nitpicking- the film could have reached a 120 minute runtime if more of Scarlett Johansson's underused Kaa was added and just a little more of Shere Khan because he is do damn watchable, speaking of which, Disney really need to come up with some more imaginative ways of killing the villian.

Sticking close to the original and honouring the source material, The Jungle Book is a visually jaw dropping experience outfitted with a fierce antagonist and delicate performances amongst the humour and thrills. And the Oscar for Best Visual Effects goes too...

Zootropolis Review

Zootropolis is directed by Rich Moore and Bryon Howard and features the voices of Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Idris Elba, J.K Simmons, Tommy Chong and Octavia Spencer. The 55th Walt Disney animation, Zootropolis revolves around Judy Hopps, a rabbit (obviously) who joins the police force of the great city Zootropolis where all species of animal live in a sprawling, multi-regional utopia. Judy ends up teaming up with fox con artist Nick Wilde to solve a missing animal case which leads to something bigger. 

This beautifully animated movie is another tremendous addition to the Disney Classics collection; it is fresh and original and also brings a lot of topical themes with it. Goodwin and Bateman give terrific vocal performances, the former being contagiously excited and occasionally cocky whilst Bateman oozes charm and sleekness as the fox; a character who could probably talk you into doing just about anything. Idris Elba also gives a booming turn as Chief Bogo, the buffalo police chief. 

The narrative starts with Judy living her dream as she becomes a police officer, but only to be reduced as a ticket warden. However an encounter with Nick kick starts the plot as Judy is assigned to find a missing otter. Using Nick's knowledge of the city, the two uncover a plot to turn the predators of Zootropolis back into ferocious, savage beasts with killer instincts. This leads to a strong relationship between the two leads and their double act is the driving part of the film; they start by constantly trying to get under the other's skin and annoy them but end up having spectacular chemistry, overcoming the prejudice of foxes being the same. 

Prejudice is but one theme this film explores, others include stereotyping (here depicted by Judy and Nick as one goes against the stereotype whilst the other is largely stereotypical for the duration of the film), police bias and the fragility of peace which begins to fracture. Not many animated films can boast such timely metaphors as this and not many can say they combine these metaphors with a clever and witty script (the sloth scene is an absolute highlight) and endlessly watchable characters. 

Zootropolis is this year's Inside Out, an entertaining kids flick but with a deeper message for the adults to grasp and a trove of Easter eggs awaiting to be discovered during your next re watch. Forget Frozen, this is surely the best Disney feature since The Lion King. 

Huntsman: Winter's War Review

Huntsman Winter's War is directed by Cedric Nicolas-Troyan and is the sequel to 2012's Snow White and the Huntsman. It stars Chris Hemsworth, Jessica Chastain, Emily Blunt, Nick Frost, Rob Brydon, Sheridan Smith and Charlize Theron. The film is similar to 300 Rise of an Empire in which fairly large parts are set before and after the film's predecessor. Before the events of the first film, Eric (Hemsworth) and Sara (Chastain) are Huntsmen who fight for Ice Queen Freya (Blunt), the sister of Queen Ravenna (Theron), who seeks to obtain the  Magic Mirror. However, Eric and Sara are exiled and search for the Mirror to get to it before Freya.

Another way in which this film is similar to Rise of an Empire is that it is unnecessary and perhaps a year or two overdue. Whilst it certainly wasn't needed, there are some aspects in this that make it a little better than Snow White and the Huntsmen, namely the sharper comedy and crisper effects. Rob Brydon and Nick Frost are two side kick dwarves to Eric and serve as the film's main reserve of comic relief with Sheridan Smith's never-before-seen-in-film female dwarf adding some quick witted retorts to their numerous arguments as well. The comedy is also balanced out appropriately and the film is relatively well paced with a distinct visual style (the director worked as the visual effects supervisor on Snow White and the Huntsman) that is brought to life by some half decent 3D.

Yet the film comes off as more of a spoof than any sort of continuation. There are dozens of moments which feel like they've been taken from a variety of fantasy films; the Ice Queen with family troubles echoes Frozen; the large polar bear as a mount and frozen characters bring to mind The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe; Sara is a cross between Katniss, Tauriel and Merida from Brave (but with a much more questionable Scottish accent); the influence of Lord of the Rings is also noticed (even if the film does massively change the appearance of what we think as goblins) and Chris Hemsworth just seems to be playing Thor more often than not, even if it is a charming performance. The story is predictable whilst the script seems relatively unpolished for the rather stunning cast to really get their teeth into, though Charlize Theron manages to make some of it seem more natural than forced.

Huntsman: Winter's War is an overdue, forgettable fantasy film that feels too reliant on previous franchises to really take off and become something more, but there are a few moments that entertain amongst all the ice.