Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

II’ll start by explaining that I’m a huge Star Wars fan and sitting in the cinema and seeing the opening title sequence gives me goose bumps. I would never describe myself as easily excited but going to watch a new Star Wars film gives me hope….a new hope. Ok, bad puns aside, I enjoyed The Force Awakens and whilst there was a lot of criticism that it was very similar to Star Wars IV- A New Hope, I was happy to see something closer to IV, V and VI rather than I, II and III that were simply awful. I enjoyed seeing the old cast members return, less CGI and characters that I already knew. This history plays a part in how I feel about Rogue One.

Rogue One does make a lot of effort to tie up the stories together. I loved seeing familiar faces, games, industry etc that gave consistency to the series. I always wondered why the Death Star had such a huge design flaw that an x-wing could destroy it and that too is explained brilliantly in this film. There was also an interesting explanation that Kyber crystals power Jedi’s light sabers and you see the Empire mining as many of them as possible to fuel the Death Star which again was a clever plot point.

However, with the attention on consistency, the characters were forgotten about. The old characters were out and the torch was passed to new generation.

There was a wonderful balance to IV, V and VI which moved effortlessly from sentimental moments between the cast members and the exciting action sequences. In comparison, Rogue One it moves from one action sequence to another which gave no opportunity to empathise with the characters. There are two exceptions to this, Galen Erso (Mads Mikkelson) and Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn) who both stole the show and both stared in the rare quiet moments between shoot outs. There was very little conversation throughout the film but especially between the rebel alliance group. There were no problems which they worked together to overcome and so when certain cast members sacrificed themselves I felt absolutely nothing. Why would I? At least some comic relief was provided through the droid, K-2So who seemed to almost exclusively have the rights to humour.

I enjoyed the lasers, story and jokes but I’d hoped for something more substantial. A new director is called for to give more shape to the characters and I’ve heard that George Lucas might be in line. 5/10

 

Morris From America

A thirteen year old boy from America is struggling to adjust to life in Germany. He’s slowly learning the language, started to keep things from his dad and he has a crush on an older girl at the youth club. Life just doesn’t seem fair and whilst Morris wrestles with his frustrations, he’s trying to find his own way to manage his life.

I doubt this will ever make anyone’s top 10 films but it has buckets of charm. The dialogue between Morris and his dad felt a little too cool at times but it was funny and moving. I really empathised with how his crush was portrayed and the relationship that builds between them. Again, it sometimes felt a little staged and unrealistic but the sentiment was accurate. There was enough truth in every relationship for me to smile throughout. 7/10

 

Nina

After watching films depicting Miles Davis, Johnny Cash and Hank Williams all suffering from substance abuse or alcoholism, it was time to watch a female star with the same problem. On a serious note, it wasn’t a bad film. The acting, script and production were all solid. It managed to convey the friendship they emerged between Nina and her assistant. There were moments that involved me emotionally but it never gripped me and I never wanted anything from the characters or for them. 6/10

 

 

The Get Down (TV series)

Set in the Bronx in the 1970’s, this series tells the story of a group of friends during the last days of disco and the start of hip hop. The story is told through a group of friends and in particular, a boy named Ezekiel. He’s an intelligent kid from a tough poor neighbourhood and trying to find his direction in life. There are job opportunities, a girl he’s in love with and his friends with who he’s discovering the party scene. There’s rapping, breakdancing, scratching and there’s even characters like Grandmaster Flash and Kool Herc who just so happen to be advisers on the series and portrayed in a super cool light.

Considering it’s set in a poor neighbourhood, features several gangsters and fights between them, it doesn’t feel gritty enough to be great. Still, this is really fun to watch. It has slick production, an interesting story and dance routines that you’d expect from a series that Baz Luhrmann wrote. It will have you tapping your foot and humming the chorus lines long after you’ve finished any episode. 8/10

 

 

 

Bridget Jones’s Baby

I’m still surprised. Surprised that I saw it and even more surprised that I didn’t hate it- incredible I know.

Renee Zellweger is Bridget Jones. She’s now in her 40’s and the film begins with her reminiscing, saying goodbye to Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant) and thinking about her history with Mark Darcy (Colin Firth). She is single and has two flings in quick succession. One with a stranger and one with Mark Darcy and the result of which is that she becomes pregnant. Of course she doesn’t know who the father is and decides to keep it.

I skipped Bridget Jones the edge of reason which from what I heard was probably a good thing. I expected the very worst from this film but even with her nauseating parents and friends, this film made me laugh and smile throughout. 6/10

 

Star Trek- Beyond

I actually don’t have much to say about this film because it didn’t offer anything new. I’m a fan of the Star Trek genre and I loved the new feature directed by J.J.Abrams in 2009. I really enjoyed Into Darkness in 2013 but this sequel fell flat. There’s the usual type of plot, some race trying to destroy the humans, good action, acting, jokes and special effects but nothing that made this film stand out or remember it by. Enjoyable enough to pass the time but rather like fast food- seems like a good idea at the time but leaves you feeling like you should have opted for something more substantial. 6/10

 

Warcraft

I grew up with a little a lot of fantasy games and books and was really looking forward to seeing a feature film from this genre. The first thing you’ll notice about this film is that it’s pretty much all CGI. Whilst CGI improves every year and the effects are visually stunning, it still doesn’t have the same impact as watching real actors and props. Of course you cannot create some of the special effects without it but I always hope to see it used sparingly and only for those moments. Watching a film that uses it for almost everything feels like I’m watching a cartoon.

The voiceover work, acting, plot and action sequences have nothing remarkable about them. In fact, I’d challenge anyone to recall much a month after watching this….so don’t. Instead, wait for a remake of Willow or a prequel to The Hobbit. 2/10

 

Narcos Series 2

The story of Pablo Escobar and his cartel continues and whilst it’s entertaining, it didn’t have the same impact as the first series for me. I think the facts used in the first series were so amazing whereas this felt like more dramatisation. Wagner Moura is excellent as Escobar and as the story progresses, it does manage to evoke sympathy for his character and for his family and sicarios. There was some beautiful cinematography, sharp editing and it produced some great moments but it fell a little short of the first series. 6/10

 

 

Neon Demon

I struggled to get through this. A great cinematographer, some models and shooting with UV and infra red lights doesn’t make a film. At times the dialogue and acting was so bad that I thought it might be trying to be a parody on the modelling industry but instead I think it was a collection of cliches and stereotypical characters. It certainly looked like there was money behind the production but someone with no imagination wrote the screenplay.

In terms of the story, it’s about a young model trying to establish a career but she meets jealous and predatory people and as she gets wrapped up in this new world it becomes more and more sinister. One cameo role was even played by Keanu Reeves. It’s full of beautiful people playing exaggerated charcters but the audience who that will satisfy will be put off by the surreal, slow, artistic sequences. Then the script is so bad at times that it actually shocked me. The director made Drive which I think is a great film and so this surprised me. In terms of the pace and feel it reminded me a little of Under The Skin and so if you liked that, this might be worth a try. There are truly some beautiful shots but aside some them and a good soundtrack, this just doesn’t have a lot to offer. 3/10

 

Blood Father

This is a contender for having one of the worst scripts I’ve ever had the misfortune to listen to. I don’t think I can accurately describe how dreadful it was but I winced repeatedly at how predictable, dull, sexist, patronising and stupid it sounded whenever they opened their mouths. Believe me, that list could have been a lot longer. It really needed a good plot, solid acting and innovative direction but it was lacking in those areas too.

To provide you with a brief overview of the plot, John Link (Mel Gibson) is out of prison and sober and both of these are new to him. He’s had a very chequered past, lives in a caravan in the middle of nowhere and misses his daughter, Lydia, who ran away from home years ago. She now hangs out with the nastiest scumbags you can imagine, takes some sort of addictive drug and ends up in situation that’s now life and death and where she thinks her only option is to reconnect with her father. They are then chased by lots of very nasty gangsters which leads to a predictable and boring climax.

Considering he used to be an alcoholic, they seem to pick up where they left off with no mention of the years in between or her mother and his ex-wife. To say they were two-dimensional is probably too higher praise and every other character is worse. There are massive plot holes such as how they are ever tracked down and the jokes will make your dads worthy of being used for stand up material. Even the action has no surprises. It’s on a par with Speed 2 and Die Hard with a vengeance.  If you’re still thinking this is worth a go, nothing is going to put you off and I’m sorry I failed to save you the time I wasted. However, please waste a little more and share your thoughts as comments to this review. 1/10