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CINEMA REVIEW: FURIOSA – A MAD MAX SAGA (2024)

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CINEMA REVIEW: FURIOSA – A MAD MAX SAGA (2024)

Directed by George Miller

Written by George Miller & Nico Lathouris

Based on characters by George Miller & Byron Kennedy

Produced by: Doug Mitchell & George Miller

Main Cast: Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth, Tom Burke, Alyla Browne, Lachy Hulme, Angus Sampson, etc.

Cinematography by Simon Duggan

*** CONTAINS SPOILERS ***

George Miller’s fifth entry of the Mad Max series is Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024). Given the meaning of the word ‘saga’ is defined as, “a long story of heroic achievement, especially a medieval prose narrative in Old Norse,” it’s an attempt by Miller to connect the Mad Max films to mythical storytelling and folk lore, yet paradoxically set such ye olde yarns in the future. Conversely, while being part of the post-apocalyptic sci-fi sub-genre, there is certainly more than a suggestion of marauding and pillaging Vikings within the freakish characters of the radioactive Aussie wasteland.

Of course, the hi-tech and vehicular monsters smashing up and down the ‘Fury Road’ render the action far from the medieval, replacing long boats for super-charged two, three and four-and-more-wheel souped-up demons driven by mutated future humans. The gigantic rock, bullet, fuel, and scrap metal designed bases of ‘The Citadel,’ ‘Bullet Farm’ and ‘Gas Town’ inhabited by these tattooed ravagers, while rough in exterior represent humanity’s industrial survival and base-building instincts par excellence. So much for the imperious nature of Miller’s world-building, what of the narrative?

If one is honest, the screenplays for all four of the previous Mad Max films are the exercises in economy, with hard-cut structures, granite-boiled dialogue often spat out via twisted one-liners, and poetically yelled slang-speak. Introduced as a maverick cop, but loving family man in Mad Max (1979), Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson) is essentially a cops-versus-gangs-meets-revenge exploitation thriller. By the time gangs have killed his family and nuclear war has destroyed the world, Max has become the Road Warrior (1981), in what is one of the greatest action films and sequels of all time. However well regarded the mayhem of Fury Road (2015), and it is incredible, The Road Warrior remains one of my favourite films ever.

Beyond Thunderdome (1985) was the slicker third film, and while the action was terrific, there was too much money and sheen in there, reminiscent of what they did with the glamoured cast in the last season of Game of Thrones. Plus, the script was broken in half, with an amazing first section set in Bartertown with Tina and crew, before giving way to a more philosophical, but less exciting kids-in-a-commune driven story. In comparison Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024) is certainly the most ambitious of all the narratives. It is set over several years, from the moment Furiosa (Alya Browne) witnesses her mother killed by Dementus (Chris Hemsworth) and his nasty marauders, to her rites of passage ascent toward gaining a vicious revenge.

Keeping the literary theme, the film is set over five chapters replete with headings to let the audience know what is about to occur. Easily the most impressive is – Chapter III – The Stowaway – where Furiosa comes of age in action during a brutal and mind-blowing action set-piece as the Octoboss, goes rogue and launches an air assault on the “War Rig” as it races along the ‘Fury Road.’ Here Furiosa also bonds with Praetorian Jack (Tom Burke) and the two become partners, with George Miller throwing in an under-cooked romance amidst the petrol, dust, blood and fire.

It is great that Miller and his co-writer Nico Lathouris have strived for more emotional depth and epic storytelling within Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024). However, I felt that at times the rapid pacing and ramped-up action crushed any feelings I may have had about the characters of Furiosa and Jack. Plus, the film suffers a serious case of “prequelitis” where one is joining the dots of Furiosa’s backstory to connect with Charlize Theron’s characterisation in Fury Road. Yes, of course, we find out how she had her arm torn from her body, her drives and motivations, plus how she became a kick-ass future road warrior.  

Taylor-Joy is striking in the all-action role of Furiosa, but a little anorexic on screen to really dominate. Gibson and Hardy are a hard act to follow! Tom Burke stands out amidst the support ensemble, while Chris Hemsworth treats us to another revved-up messianic lunatic. With the character of Mad Max on hiatus, the true stars of this show are Miller and his impressive production, camera, editing, driving, effects and stunt teams. They have once again produced cinematic carnage of the highest order.

Mark: 8.5 out of 11

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CINEMA REVIEW: THE MENU (2022)

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CINEMA REVIEW: THE MENU (2022)

Directed by Mark Mylod

Written by: Seth Reiss, Will Tracy

Produced by: Adam McKay, Betsy Koch, Will Ferrell

Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Anya Taylor-Joy, Nicholas Hoult, Hong Chau, Janet McTeer, Reed Birney, Judith Light, John Leguizamo, etc.

Cinematography Peter Deming

*** MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS ***

I love cinema and films like The Menu (2022), as much as I love food and drink. Wow, some of the food shown on screen looked absolutely delicious, while some of it was that weird cuisine so gorged on by the pompous moneyed folk of this world. I must admit that I have had an unhealthy relationship with food. I have been an overeater and also overweight. I am a food addict, notably sugar and alcohol. I have attempted to control it with various dietary ventures. Low calorie, low carbohydrate, low sugar, running, gym, fasting, temperance and other (un)successful attempts at moderation have ensued. Presently, I am pretty fit from a cardio perspective, and twenty kilos lighter than I was ten years ago. But I could do much better.

I’ve always strived to eat healthily, but fine dining was never really for me. It was only when I met my wife eight years ago that I was introduced to gourmet dining and the dreaded tasting menu. Aside from the over-priced food, I just find those posh restaurants too pretentious for a working-class boy from Battersea. Yet, I would go out with my wife for a treat and eat at some wonderful restaurants in Edinburgh, Copenhagen, Cornwall, London and many more. Some were amazing and some I found were not really value for money. The personality cult of the celebrity chef continues to thrive also. Aside from enjoying Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares they’ve never really interested me. Yet, I was onboard while imbibing the skewered satire of The Menu (2022). Because it’s a sharply scripted horror film which comes to the boil slowly before delivering a killer set of courses throughout.

It’s best to experience The Menu (2022) without knowing too much. The surprises in the inventive script are a constant joy. The setting is an exclusive and expensive restaurant on a remote island called Hawthorne. The host, menu architect and epicurean is celebrity chef, Julian Slowik. Chef is portrayed with intense control and focus by Ralph Fiennes. Slowik finds himself worshipped by his kitchen acolytes, who adhere to his every demand. He is brilliant and to be feared, like many a charismatic cult leader before him. Eat your heart out, Gordon Ramsay.

Arriving by boat to the blighted isle are twelve restaurant-goers such as a team of rich finance guys, a once famous Hollywood actor (John Leguizamo) and his PA, a wealthy middle-aged couple, a food critic (Janet McTeer) and her yes-man assistant, plus the mis-matched couple, Margot (Anya Taylor-Joy) and Tyler (Nicholas Hoult). Tyler is a sycophantic fanboy of Slowik’s food and career, something that later comes to horrifying catharsis. Indeed, as well as the mysterious menu, many of the guests are harbouring a secret that this hell’s kitchen is more than prepared to burn.

Structured, unsurprisingly, around the courses of a tasting menu with titles separating each dish, the food delivered is both imaginative and beautifully presented. Margot’s character pushes back on what she considers to be both ostentatious and insubstantial food, much to Tyler’s annoyance. Their conflict intersperses the rising suspense that derives from Julian’s menu, which raises the stakes gradually, before events truly reach boiling point. In Slowik’s restaurant the customer is definitely NEVER right. Similar to Ready or Not (2019), The Menu (2022) is a fantastically twisted and funny genre film. Fiennes, Taylor-Joy, Hoult and Hong Chau are on terrific acting form. Further, the production design and cinematography make the visuals succulent and palatable. Ultimately, for those who love food, fear and vengeance, this film is certainly best served hot!

Mark: 8.5 out of 11

Cinema, New Releases, Reviews

CINEMA REVIEW: THE NORTHMAN (2022)

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CINEMA REVIEW: THE NORTHMAN (2022)

Directed by  Robert Eggers

Written by: Sjón Eggers & Robert Eggers

Based on: The Legend of Amleth by Saxo Grammaticus

Produced by: Mark Huffam, Lars Knudsen, Robert Eggers, Alexander Skarsgård, Arnon Milchan

Cast: Alexander Skarsgård, Nicole Kidman, Claes Bang, Anya Taylor-Joy, Ethan Hawke, Björk, Willem Dafoe, etc.

Cinematography    Jarin Blaschke

*** MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS ***

Robert Eggers is a formidable cinematic talent. His dark visions of folklore and historical fable are steeped in impressive research and a striking attention to detail within his work. Artistically and thematically speaking, Eggers is a major talent, however, one could argue his narratives deny clarity preferring hazy ambiguity. His debut film The Witch (2015) is an arthouse classic, but I just did not connect with the characters, despite the filthy realistic strangeness. His follow-up, The Lighthouse (2019), is a claustrophobic, black-hearted and dirty descent into a watery hell. Both are bravura low-budget films which created two distinct periods. In both films you can almost feel the plague and scurvy in your mouth, presented as they are with such earthy authenticity.

Thus, unsurprisingly, Robert Eggers latest film is NOT a romantic comedy. The Northman (2022) is another obsessively researched and realised historical drama. But because of the reported $70 million budget, his vision of Vikings and blood and revenge and muscle and familial treason and murder screams epic, more epic and even more EPIC! Eggers script and story is inspired by the historical myth, The Legend of Amleth, a narrative which in turn is said to have influenced none other than the quite well known play, Hamlet. Here Eggers has a solid structure for the thunderous battles and mystical manifestations on show. Our hero, Amleth (Alexander Skarsgård), finds his father, the King (Ethan Hawke) murdered by his uncle (Claes Bang), while he is a boy. Fleeing his village he grows into a scary, ripped and roaring Viking warrior who has never even seen a carbohydrate. A hunger for bread and a desire for revenge on his uncle propels the story powerfully. Intense Amleth must locate his kidnapped mother (Nicole Kidman) and smash the man who did his family wrong.

Eggers is a brilliant film director. In Alexander Skarsgård he also has a battering ram of a physical specimen leading the charge from deathly pillage to bloody battle to fiery hand-to-combat with impressive purpose and power. Amidst the vengeance-fuelled fight sequences and Amleth’s confrontations with the seers and magicians of the land, his journey also encompasses love and marriage to Olga of the Birch Forest, a Slavic sorceress (Anya Taylor-Joy). While Skarsgård’s character is more muscle than charisma, Taylor-Joy breathes ethereal and sensual life into the middle act. Their collaboration battling against enforced slavery gives us something to root for above the familiar revenge plot. Having said that, Amleth is not the easiest of characters to warm to. Despite Eggers genius and Skarsgård’s brutalism I wondered if I really cared about his quest.

I would argue that this story was done far more successfully from an emotional perspective by Ridley Scott’s awesome Roman epic, Gladiator (2000). Russell Crowe was just phenomenal as Maximus and his performance was one of magnetic emotion and charismatic depth. That film had amazing action married to integral character development. However, there is a violent momentum to The Northman (2022), with Amleth’s quest charging like a juggernaut toward the jugular of his foes. Eggers’ image and colour system of Viking costumes, iconography, weaponry, plus human, godly and ungodly beings provide the depth when the characterisation feels thin. And wow, does he know how to stage a battle. Bones crunch, teeth crack, blood bursts and weapons sever, scorch and devastate. As the fire burns in Amleth’s heart and across the landscape, The Northman (2022) rages from the cinema screen with dominant visual ascendancy.

Mark: 8 out of 11

Cinema, horror, New Releases, Reviews

CINEMA REVIEW: LAST NIGHT IN SOHO (2021)

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CINEMA REVIEW: LAST NIGHT IN SOHO (2021)

Directed by Edgar Wright

Screenplay by: Edgar Wright and Krysty Wilson-Cairns

Produced by: Nira Park, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner and Edgar Wright

Cast: Thomasin McKenzie, Anya Taylor-Joy, Matt Smith, Michael Ajao, Terence Stamp, Diana Rigg, Rita Tushingham, etc.

Cinematography: Chung-hoon Chung

*** MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS ***

Edgar Wright is one of my favourite directors working today. His films possess an endless series of cinematic techniques such: long takes, quick cuts, swooping camera moves, canted frames, Steadicam, camera holds, frame switches, pans, scans, tilts, low-angles, metronomic editing, blurred dissolves, point-of-view and god’s-eye view shots. Moreover, Wright’s use of humour, music, colour, casting choices, and cross-genre collisions are spectacularly imaginative and entertaining. His latest film Last Night in Soho (2021) is no different. I was enthralled and excited throughout this ripping big-budget exploitation film, which juxtaposes influences such as Stephen King, Brian DePalma and Doctor Who, with a suggestion of Dario Argento and giallo cinema.

Last Night in Soho (2021) is both a love and hate letter to the Soho area of central London in the 1960’s and the now. If hate is too strong a word then at the very least the myriad of storylines collide to create a cautionary tale of one young person’s move from Cornwall to London to study fashion at the University of Arts. Major acting talent Thomasin Mackenzie is Ellie Turner, a passionate young woman who loves the sixties music and style, but also mourns the loss of her mother at an early age. Leaving her comfortable home she shares with her Grandmother (Rita Tushingham), Ellie experiences London and student life with initially mixed results. Finding it difficult to connect with her obnoxious room-mate, Jocasta, she moves into an antiquated bedsit, with imperious Diana Rigg as her landlady no less. All of a sudden her incredible journey into the glamorous and seedy past of Soho begins.

As with many of his films Wright establishes several storylines simultaneously. He brilliantly crosses rites-of-passage with period drama, romance, musical, detective and finally the horror genre. Ellie finds her feet at University, gets a job in a bar, receives praise for her initial designs and starts a budding romance with fellow student, John (Michael Ajao). At the same time her life becomes entwined in a surreal twist with that of Sandie (Anya Taylor-Joy), an engaging character desiring showbiz stardom who happens to live in Soho, but in the 1960’s. Ellie’s psychic link with Sandie brings her vivid dreams, but a striking empathic connection.

While Ellie is nervous and insecure within her London experiences, Sandie is the opposite. The theme of duality in their polar characters is both emotionally and visually breathtaking as their twin journey brings positive change and developing confidence in Ellie’s character. Yet, when Sandie’s career desires are exploited for nefarious gain by a local face called Jack (Matt Smith), both woman head for darker spaces in the shadows and smoke of the capital. Here the issue of mental health is intriguingly explored too. As Ellie is drawn further into Sandie’s nightmarish existence, she struggles to hold on to reality and the present.

Despite some minor wrinkles in the narrative and geographical London liberties taken, Edgar Wright has delivered one of the most thrilling and spectacularly energetic films of the year. The nostalgic and heavenly soundtrack is to die for, with so many songs I recall growing up listening to. Likewise, the cinematography and lighting design sparkle in hues of black, fluorescence, shadow and neon. Sure, Edgar Wright has his cake and eats it with mild virtue signalling relating to the “Me Too” movement. The male gaze eats up Anya Taylor Joy’s stunning charisma on screen, making us complicit in her downfall. Nonetheless, with issues relating to grief, mental health, sexual exploitation, identity, doppelgängers, urban breakdown and many more all enveloped into a craftily structured plot, you won’t find a more breathless cinematic experience all year.

Mark: 9 out of 11

Cinema, New Releases, Reviews

“CINEMA” REVIEW: EMMA (2020)

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“CINEMA” REVIEW: EMMA (2020)

Directed by: Autumn de Wilde

Produced by: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin

Screenplay by: Eleanor Catton

Based on: Emma by Jane Austen

Cast: Anya Taylor-Joy, Johnny Flynn, Josh O’Connor, Callum Turner, Mia Goth, Miranda Hart, Bill Nighy, etc.

Music by: Isobel Waller-Bridge, David Schweitzer

Cinematography: Christopher Blauvelt

**** MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS ****

With society and humanity constantly battered by recessions, pandemics, stock market crashes, famine, war, greed, prejudice, hatred, social media conflict, computer hacking, crime, exploitation, depression, addiction and any other number of apocalyptic threats, you can always rely on a good old-fashioned Jane Austen adaptation to create an escape from such woes. While I’m not a huge fan of Ms. Austen’s literary works, due mainly to ignorance on my part, I certainly recognise her genius as a storyteller. Indeed, she virtually single-handedly created, way back in the early 19th century, her own genre of romantic comedy in the Georgian-Regency period.

Emma was her fourth completed novel and released in 1815. It concerns the titular heroine, Emma Woodhouse. She is well-off, clever and someone who enjoys matchmaking and manipulating affairs of the heart. There have been many adaptations of the book on TV and film and aside from the loose Hollywood remake, Clueless (1995), I had not seen any of them. I only got roped into watching the latest version of, Emma (2020), directed by Autumn De Wilde, with Anya Taylor-Joy and Johnny Flynn in the leads, because my wife insisted on it. In marriage one must make sacrifices and compromises, so as it was our anniversary, I agreed to watch the film at home under “Cinema Rules.” I’m most glad I did too as I found it an extremely light but frothy work of entertainment.

As I had little knowledge of the book I went into the narrative of Emma (2020) unburdened by scanning the differences between novel and film. At two hours in length one expects there to be some omissions, however, I would not have noticed. What I did gather was that this was a bright and very attractive looking production. The costumes, props, landscapes and interior locations were all deftly presented with vibrant colour design. Likewise, the cinematography, camera movement and editing are also delivered very sharply. This lends the literary adaptation a cinematic pace, splendour and verve which I wholly enjoyed. Furthermore, the appealing cast are wrangled impressively too. Anya Taylor-Joy, as the energetic schemer Emma, is technically very gifted. She brings a metronomic pulse to the screen and her chemistry with Johnny Flynn really resonates. Flynn, who I really rate as an actor, imbued his character, Knightly, with both warmth and likeable fortitude. In supporting roles Bill Nighy brings his usual class to proceedings, while Josh O’Connor steals the early scenes with his hilarious turn as an eccentric young vicar.

Let’s be honest though, the story and characters are a bit of a lightweight soufflé that could collapse under close scrutiny. I mean we are really in first world problems throughout as Emma attempts to pair her young ward, portrayed by the lovely Mia Goth, with the vicar, only to find such attempts backfire, ultimately spiralling out of her control. As such one could find Emma quite annoying, immature and emotionally stunted. That, though, is where Austen’s strength of writing memorable characters really shines through. Because Emma is someone who, while potentially unlikeable, eventually learns her lesson and changes her controlling ways. Lastly, with a tremendously attractive cast and production, some mild complexity of character and finally Jane Austen’s singing wit and dialogue, Emma (2020), overall, offers a delectable frisson of escapist cinema.

Mark: 8 out of 11

Cinema, New Releases, Reviews

GLASS (2019) – MOVIE REVIEW

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GLASS (2019) – MOVIE REVIEW

Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan

Produced by: M. Night Shyamalan, Jason Blum, Marc Bienstock, Ashwin Rajan

Written by: M. Night Shyamalan

Starring: James McAvoy, Bruce Willis, Anya Taylor-Joy, Sarah Paulson, Samuel L. Jackson

Music by: West Dylan Thordson

**CONTAINS SPOILERS FROM SHYAMALAN’S PRIOR FILMS**

M. Night Shyamalan is arguably one of the most critically divisive directors working today. Not because his films are particularly controversial, but mainly because he is a risk-taker that tests the boundaries of genre expectations. He has so many different ideas and concepts that quite often his movies have back-fired spectacularly, however, when he gets it right his genre films are highly entertaining and compelling. Films such as: The Sixth Sense (1999), Unbreakable (2000), Signs (2002), and The Village (2004), were for me, brilliant genre films full of invention, suspense and wicked twists. Many people felt The Village stretched the limits of suspending disbelief, but it was a masterpiece compared to his filmic failures like: The Lady in the Water (2006), The Happening (2008) and The Last Airbender (2010).

I missed seeing the apparent disaster that was After Earth (2013), yet it was opined that Shyamalan returned to some essence of form with the horror film The Visit (2015). However, I still felt there were some dodgy creative decisions in that, such as the story-filler-white-middle-class-rapping kid in amidst a creepy thriller. Yet, with Split (2016), Shyamalan was back to his best, weaving an exploitational B-movie kidnap-plot with a searing psycho-performance from James McAvoy. The ending, which found Anya Taylor-Joy’s ultra resilient Casey fighting back against McAvoy’s twenty-plus split-personality maniac, then brilliantly linked the film to Shyamalan’s Unbreakable (2000). Therefore Glass (2019), becomes the third part of an unlikely trilogy; three films where Shyamalan strives to create his own universe and mythology within a more realistic superhero and super-villain world.

Glass starts three weeks after the end of Split  and opens with a terrific and bruising encounter between McEvoy’s dominant “Beast” personality and David Dunn’s (Bruce Willis) vigilante, daubed “The Overseer” by the media. Captured by authorities, the two are locked up and analyzed by Sarah Paulson’s seemingly sympathetic psychiatrist, Dr Ellie Staple. Enter Samuel L. Jackon’s Elijah Price, who is ALSO being held at the same mental health facility. I mean what could go wrong? Does the catatonic Price have villainous plans for The Horde and The Overseer? What do you think?

What I love about Shyamalan’s screenwriting, and this is something which he could equally be criticized for, is you can hear the cogs of contrivance creaking with every plot turn. Yet his ideas really capture your imagination and you genuinely want to know what happens next. Personally, as a fan of say Agatha Christie, I love theatrical exposition and clear “rules-of-the-world” mechanics. Shyamalan gets his three big-hitters in the same place and cinematic fireworks, however unlikely and full of plot-holes it may be, ensue. Woven within the fights, monologues and narrative misdirections are very clever meta-textual references to comic-book structures. This adds a welcome context to the denouement, which contains at least two incredible revealing twists.

Ultimately, I feel, unlike certain critics, that Glass is a fun and entertaining end to the trilogy. Yes, it tests the believability grid but Shyamalan must be applauded for striving, once again, toward some form of originality within his chosen genre.  It arguably goes down a deep rabbit hole at the end which is hard to get out of; but the impressive cast keep you in the light for the most part. James McAvoy is simply, once again, outstanding. Why hasn’t he been nominated for an Oscar? Who knows! Jackson and Willis are always solid performers, although I felt that Dunn’s character was slightly thrown away at the end. Anya Taylor-Joy also stood out and she is going to be a big star if she carries on delivering wide-eyed and steely performances such as these. Thus, Shyamalan gives us another big hit and something very different from the Marvel and DC superhero universes; something altogether more human.

Mark: 8.5 out of 11