knight_ca Reviews

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

A great addition to the Star Wars universe

[9/10 · 24 December 2016]

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story marks the first spin-off movie in the ever-popular franchise and tells the story of how the Rebel Alliance obtained the plans to the first Death Star. For those that wondered if Disney ramping up the production of Star Wars movies would lead to saturation, Rogue One may go some way to allaying those fears because it's a fantastic addition to the Star Wars universe.

A Force Awakens, whatever you may think of it, was criticised by some for its lack of originality. Could Star Wars under Disney really deliver anything new? With Rogue One, that's a resounding yes. Unless you haven't seen A New Hope (those poor few), the ending of the movie is already determined, but this isn't about whether they did it or not but rather how they did it.

Rogue One marks its departure from the canon movies by removing the traditional rolling yellow introduction text and instead just goes straight into the story. This fanboy was momentarily shocked by that but it befits the tone of a spin-off story. We are given a whole new cast of characters (okay, there are a few cameos to watch out for, some minor, some not) and they manage to bear the mantle of a Star Wars story well. There are a couple of famous faces such as Forest Whitaker and Mads Mikkelsen but it's really Felicity Jones as Jyn and Diego Luna as Cassian that carry the movie. All the performances are worthy of praise even if Jyn is a little similar in character to Rey from The Force Awakens.

The inner workings of the Rebel Alliance are shown in more detail than ever before and we get to show how fractious an alliance it really is. There is a palpable feeling of despair as the creation of the Death Star is concluded and how this small band can possibly hope to stand against the might of the Empire. Seeing the immense Death Star appearing over the horizon is a genuinely chilling sight and the impending doom it will bring.

Rogue One succeeds in broadening the Star Wars universe and shows that George Lucas' universe is a rich place indeed and it's fascinating to see the events between episodes III and IV on the big screen. Rogue One manages to dish out its fair dose of suspense but seems perfectly timed at just over 2 hours long. There are no lulls and being a Star Wars movie, there is the usual dose of space battles. There are some innovative tactics by the rebels that will elicit genuine smiles but no spoilers here of course.

Rogue One puts the new Star Wars movies back on track and shows that maybe the franchise is safe in Disney's hands after all. Here's hoping that Episode VIII (scheduled for 2017) will take a few lessons from Rogue One. Keep this up and we Star Wars fans will be a happy bunch.

Doctor Strange (2016)

A new and exciting aspect to the Marvel Universe

[8/10 · 30 October 2016]

A brilliant but arrogant neurosurgeon is left struggling for purpose after his hands are shattered in a car accident. His journey to heal himself takes him to seek out the mysterious Ancient One who throws him into a mystical world of wonder and terror.

Marvel has decided to raise another of its heroes to the big screen but this time, there are no mutants or men in iron suits. Instead, it's magic and sorcery and this injects a much needed twist on the Marvel Universe. We are treated to some seriously trippy moments with the true nature of the cosmos revealed and some Inception- inspired reality bending.

Benedict Cumberbatch takes on the mantle of the eponymous Doctor Steven Strange which is a superb piece of casting. He fits into this role as though it was made for him, giving Strange the annoying arrogance as he begins what is essentially his origin story. His journey into the mystical world and all the threats it contains is his hero's journey, emerging as a more rounded and selfless character. As great as Cumberbatch is in this role, it's Tilda Swinton as The Ancient One who steals the show. Her performance is amazing and delivered with such gravitas that all eyes are drawn to her whenever she's on-screen. Her effortless authority shows why The Ancient One is the defender of the cosmos and Supreme Sorcerer.

The villain of the movie is played by Mads Mikkelsen who always seems to look like a bad guy without even trying. He's the usual fallen hero who quests for power but in an attempt to make him more rounded, he is shown to be doing what he thinks is best for the world. The fact that this is having the Earth sucked into a dark dimension is beside the point.

No Marvel movie would be complete without a plethora of fight scenes and Strange delivers on this. Magic and battles in mirror worlds allow a different style of combat that takes us away from the usual Avengers-style smack-down. The sorcerers are a level above the other Marvel heroes and you could imagine Loki being swept aside with a wave of The Ancient One's hand. It's interesting to see how Marvel have shown this new aspect to their universe and immediately try to head off the 'if they're so powerful, why does the world even need the likes of Captain America?' questions. The sorcerers have their hands full protecting the world from mystical threats and leave the physical threats to the Avengers. Fair enough.

Doctor Strange is arguably the most original Marvel movie since Guardians of the Galaxy and show that it is possible to break away from what was becoming a formulaic and prosaic universe. If you like superhero movies, you can't go wrong with this one. If you don't like superhero movies, give this one a go, you might be pleasantly surprised.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016)

Fun and fast-paced

[8/10 · 13 October 2016]

A young man discovers that there is far more to his grandfather's fantastic stories than he ever thought possible. Following clues to a mystery he remembers from his childhood, Jacob stumbles across Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children and begins an adventure that spans time itself.

This is a peculiar movie but peculiar in a good way in that it's quite original; something we see very little of in movies these days. Eva Green, most recently seen in Penny Dreadful, is the eponymous Miss Peregrine and brings her usual solid portrayal to the movie. The headmistress of a school with children each gifted with an unusual (sorry, peculiar) ability brings a heavy responsibility but you really wouldn't want to mess with her. The young actors also perform well, especially Asa Butterfield taking the lead role of Jacob. We are even treated to Judi Dench in a small role as head of another house. Samuel Jackson heads up the dark side as a group of outcast peculiars out to get the children in all the Houses around the world. He is obviously enjoying himself in this role and gets the majority of the witty one-liners. Sadly, Chris O'Dowd as Jacob's father comes across as a little wooden in places but it's a minor quibble as his screen-time is minor.

Humans with unusual powers is a fairly common theme with the Marvel superhero machine still in full swing but this is not the X-Men at all. The children's powers are quite unique and used well. The story is fun and fast-paced and you'll need to pay attention as it twists and flows through time. Time travel is always a tricky one to get right as it invariably ends up with a paradox here and there but the writers do well and the plot is generally solid.

This is essentially a movie intended for young adults but there's plenty to enjoy for all ages. It's fun and in some places, even pretty dark. It may be setting up the scene for a prequel or two, but if they're all of this standard, then they'll be ones to watch out for.

Blair Witch (2016)

Blair Witch Project remake

[5/10 · 17 September 2016]

Blair Witch is the latest movie in the saga that began in 1999 with The Blair Witch Project. When additional footage is discovered revealing more of the original group's experiences in the woods, James believes his sister (Heather from the first movie) may still be alive and persuades a group of friends to help him find her.

Blair Witch brings back the ailing shaky-cam genre as it once again sets off to face the witch. The movie is billed as a continuation of the saga but it really comes across as a remake of the first movie. The same bag of tricks is used with mad dashes into the woods at night (when will people learn not to collect wood alone, at night, in a haunted forest?), ominous noises and freaky wooden hang-men in the trees. If you've seen the first movie, this is more of the same. A few new touches have been added such as the mini-drone for aerial footage (although this is woefully underused) and wireless cameras so we can now see each team member's experiences. There are also a few temporal anomalies included but this too is underplayed and not really explained.

What it does, Blair Witch does well. The fear is palpable as most of the movie is filmed in the dark and the forces terrorising the group are genuinely creepy. It's claustrophobic at times and the cast do well to instil a feeling of panic although the amount of screaming and shrieking can get a little much at times. What it doesn't do is bring anything new to the table and that's a shame but perhaps the concept has been stretched too thin to really warrant another instalment.

Blair Witch also makes the witch more of a real threat compared to the first movie as we actually get to see her. Okay, so it's only for a split second and only a few times but she's real here and very threatening.

If you enjoy the Blair Witch movies, there are worst things you could do for ninety minutes but there's nothing original here. Sit back and enjoy what you can but keep your expectations fairly low.

Morgan (2016)

Decent but nothing new

[6/10 · 3 September 2016]

A corporate risk assessor is called in to determine whether to terminate an artificial being after an incident. This tag-line may make you think of an intelligent movie that perhaps delves into the nature of emotion and whether they can be simulated by an AI. And, this is what Morgan delivers…in its first half anyway.

Kate Mara takes the lead in Morgan as the aforementioned assessor through whose eyes we see the experiment into artificial life gone wrong. A remote estate in the middle of nowhere provides the setting with a team of scientists shut off from the outside world as they attempt to develop synthetic life. Mara's Lee Weathers probes into the pseudo-family who seem a little overprotective of their creation and it isn't long before the cracks begin to show.

The first half of the movie presents an intriguing analysis of emotion and whether they can be truly emulated by an AI. Paul Giamatti enters as a psychoanalyst who is tasked to determine Morgan's viability. In this interview scene, Morgan asks if artificial life can only perceive emotions as a preconditioned response to a given event and cannot truly simulate the complexity experienced by humans. There is talk of the 'correct' emotional response from the AI that hints at programming rather than feeling and this is a fascinating exploration. However, Morgan quickly runs out of steam with this and shifts tack rather abruptly to a formulaic action movie. That isn't all bad as the action is quite suspenseful but it's disappointing if you wanted something deeper.

The second half of the movie is consumed with the scientists' protection of their prodigy and it all seems so familiar that it's like watching Ex Machina again. The parallels with this earlier movie are stark but perhaps improved upon somewhat. The woodland setting makes for some good location shots and the cast as a whole do a good job. Boyd Holbrook, the team's chef, stands out as the human element of the movie but is underused and doesn't quite add the contrast to the artificial that he could have.

Returning to the comparison with Ex Machina, Morgan takes the formula and improves upon it by twisting the ending so we're given a more satisfying conclusion. Although the final revelation may dawn on you a short time before it happens, it's interesting nonetheless, and much better than Ex Machina's limp finale.

Morgan isn't quite a thinking movie and it isn't quite a fully- fledged action movie. It's a little of both and doesn't quite make the successful merger that it could. It's a good 90-minutes' entertainment but it's all been done before so there is little new here. Take it for what it is and you'll enjoy it but will probably forget about it by tomorrow.

Lights Out (II) (2016)

Novel idea but needs more

[6/10 · 20 August 2016]

Lights Out is an interesting stab at a horror movie based on a 2013 short film of the same name. The movie's novel concept is a creature that can only be seen and manifest in the dark. Turn a torch on, and it disappears. Naturally, this means that a lot of the movie is spent in the dark but this works well.The use of lighting is one of the movie's strong points and allows for some creative, and occasionally funny, uses of torches, candles and even car headlights. This technique generates a lot of the scares and atmosphere and given the movie's title, this is a must. Definitely top marks for the director on this part.

Teresa Palmer and Gabriel Bateman do well in the lead roles as the unfortunate kids with a crazy mother, played by Maria Bello. The problem with the movie is that apart from its main concept, it doesn't add much else. Clichés abound and yes, there is the mandatory dark basement (groan). Most of the scares are jump-out-at- you shocks and it's all been done before. Hollywood seems to have forgotten how to use psychological horror and churns out movies that are just twists on the same theme. This is probably a bit harsh as the movie is enjoyable enough and it's well-written, but I long for something new that isn't so long in the tooth.

The supernatural horror is effective and does elicit a genuine threat to the characters. Maria Bello, in particular, does well to ramp up the threat levels and makes you wonder who is going to make it out alive. As already mentioned, this was based on a short film and it really still is, coming in at around 80 minutes. Perhaps there wasn't enough material to make a longer movie but there's a feeling that it ends just as it gets going.

Lights Out is a decent film if you feel the need for a dash of supernatural horror but don't expect anything stand-out; it just doesn't deliver enough of a impact to make it memorable. It's good for what it does but don't buy too much popcorn as you may not have time to finish it.

X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)

Apocalypse rises

[7/10 · 23 July 2016]

Marvel continues its relentless production of superhero movies with Apocalypse, the latest episode in the X-Men saga. The eponymous villain, Apocalypse, the world's first mutant, rises from centuries of slumber and to say he's unhappy with the state of the world is an understatement. As you would with a name of Apocalypse, he decides the only way forward is to wipe out humanity and start again.

This is the third in the X-Men prequel series and reunites the excellent McAvoy, Fassbender and clan. There are a number of additions to the roster this time, most noticeably Game of Thrones' Sophie Turner cast as a young Jean Grey. This is a great piece of casting with her resemblance to Famke Janssen (she's tall and has red hair) and she manages to deliver a decent performance as the mighty telekinetic.

The story is about what you'd expect from a superhero movie: it has a lot of fighting. This isn't on a par with Avengers but it is consistent. There is some character development, particularly with Jean Grey and Magneto, but Apocalypse could have benefited from taking a lesson from First Class and show us a bit more of their personalities and conflicts.

If you're suffering from superhero movie fatigue, there isn't a great deal here to change that except that X-Men has always been an ensemble performance and isn't focused on one character. Yes, Magento and Xavier dominate but most of the other characters have a decent amount of screen-time to add some variety and mix things up. The Horseman of the Apocalypse aren't particularly well-used though, and with Apocalypse as powerful as he is, you'd have to wonder why he even needs them. Perhaps all self-respecting megalomaniacs need flunkies to do their bidding and fetch coffee.

X-Men: Apocalypse is a fun ride. There's a lot to enjoy and the action doesn't let up but it does follow the formulaic superhero movie format. If you like X-Men, this is a must see but don't expect anything too deep and meaningful. Oh, and yes, there is a post- credit scene too if you can face sitting through the credits (or buy it on DVD and forward past them).

Ghostbusters: Answer the Call (2016)

Not that bad

[6/10 · 23 July 2016]

I remember waiting in line for hours to watch the original Ghostbusters movie in 1984. The queue snaked down the streets, that music by Ray Parker Jnr played endlessly and the famous logo was plastered all over the cinema. It was almost a phenomenon back then. It comes as no surprise then that it has been targeted by the Hollywood remake machine.

This time we have some gender reversals with the Ghostbusters crew all played by women. Melissa McCarthy steals the show but is well supported by her co-stars including Kristen Wiig, both of whom worked together on Bridesmaids in 2011. There's a bit too much of Bridesmaids' Annie in Wiig's performance but that's just a minor niggle. I spent the first 15 minutes trying to work out who was the Venkman, Spengler and Stantz equivalent, which of course they are, but it really doesn't matter. The gender reversal continues with Chris Hemsworth being cast as the hapless receptionist. The mighty Thor as a receptionist? No longer Annie Potts' aggressive and overworked Janine but instead Hemsworth as a moronic character who barely knows how to answer a telephone.

The story is similar to the original with a few twists and changes. Gone are ancient destroyer gods and demonic dogs in fridges and instead we have a human bad guy. This makes little difference to the story but perhaps doesn't make the ending quite as satisfying. The story doesn't have the originality of the 1984 version and that is where it suffers, you know what to expect. If you haven't seen the original, this probably isn't an issue. The special effects are updated (obviously) and we have some new gadgets for ghost-busting that are largely pointless but do raise a laugh.

This is a movie that really doesn't take itself seriously. It goes straight for comedy from the onset with quirky one-liners and a fun, straight-forward story. Hemsworth pokes fun at his own macho image and there are laughs aplenty. The movie has been panned by critics and it certainly isn't Oscar material but it really isn't that bad. It's a total homage to the original and there are so many cameos, it's like a reunion. If you want a couple of hours of fun with an easy-to-watch movie, or you're a fan of the original, then this is worth a try, it's a fun ride. You could do a lot worse.

Star Trek Beyond (2016)

Good addition to the franchise but nothing new

[7/10 · 23 July 2016]

The cast of the Star Trek reboot franchise return to the big screen halfway through their five-year-mission to explore strange new worlds. Strange is the theme of the day as the Enterprise and her crew find themselves powerless against an enemy with a radically different form of technology.

Star Trek: Beyond takes its place midway between two Star Wars releases, providing us with some much needed summer sci-fi. The movie is lighter in tone than its predecessor, the gritty Into Darkness, and provides a very different pace. Co-written by Simon 'Scotty' Pegg, we see the Enterprise pushing at the boundaries of known space only for that boundary to push back as Idris Elba's Krall says.

Beyond opens with a crazy, action-packed first half an hour as the Enterprise is assaulted by a strange new enemy. The trailers have already given away the main story point of this scene but I will leave it unsaid for those who haven't seen the spoilers. The embattled crew must fight for survival while they realise the scale of the forces against them.

Chris Pine leads the cast with his usual charismatic portrayal of Kirk and is well supported by Zachary Quinto and Karl Urban as Spock and McCoy respectively. This triad forms the cornerstone of the movie and well it should as it carries on the stories of this era's crew. The rest of the cast aren't particularly well-used with Sulu (John Cho) and Chekov (Anton Yelchin) taking a secondary role in this movie. Sofia Boutella as the feisty Jaylah is better used and provides a lot of momentum to the story.

Beyond moves along at a rapid pace, barely taking time to rest and for the whole, is an enjoyable addition to the Trek legacy. That's not to say that it's without its flaws and some elements could be dispensed with to tighten up the story. A nebulous superweapon that is completely unnecessary and fails to generate even a modicum of threat could easily have been ditched, for instance.

The main themes of Beyond are unity, friendship and family; the core themes that have served Trek well over the years and they shine through the largely unoriginal story. There are some sad undertones to the movie too with the deaths of Leonard Nimoy and Anton Yelchin. Spock Prime is given a touching send-off and a small but well- executed tribute to the original cast will bring a nostalgic smile to many a fan. It's sad to know that Yelchin won't return as Chekov and Quinto has hinted that he may not return as Spock. It remains to be seen if these parts will be recast in future movies.

Star Trek: Beyond doesn't offer anything particularly new but it's still a fun and enjoyable story. There're some great action scenes and most importantly, some great character scenes. The themes of self- doubt and burdens of duty add a sombre undertone to the movie but it keeps the Trek franchise in good shape for the future. Definitely one to see.