Top Ten 2017

Posted on December 31, 2017 by Craig M

It’s that time of year again and once again I’ve compiled what I feel are the ten best movies I managed to see this year. Note: some may be older than 2017.

10.

Your Name

‘A beautifully animated, heart-warming, emotional and funny body-swap drama’

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

‘Pure escapist entertainment at it’s finest. Luc Besson is back’

Wonder Woman

‘DC gets it right and one of the most purely enjoyable comic-book movies in years’

War for the Planet of the Apes

‘Full of heart and emotion and spectacle. The most satisfying rebooted franchise ever’

Annabelle Creation

‘Atmosphere, well-judged scares and solid performances make for a surprising sequel’

Nocturnal Animals

‘Cleverly structured and powerful relationship drama with excellent performances’

Gerald’s Game

‘A Stephen King adaptation that does a great deal with a very simple premise’

Train to Busan

‘Korean genre cinema at it’s finest. Action, thrills and a surprising amount of heart’

Hacksaw Ridge

‘A powerful true story with expert direction and great performances’

Logan

‘An incredibly effective take on a familiar character turned into a road movie with powerful performances and genuine grit … and Hugh Jackman deserves an Oscar’

Honourable mentions: A Street Cat Named Bob, Hell or Highwater, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Posted on December 21, 2017 by Craig M

Viewed – 19 December 2017 online-rental

I suppose we’re beginning to take for granted that pretty much anything is possible in the world of visual effects, only limited to a director or screenwriter’s imagination, and seeing such incredible worlds displayed on the biggest screens we can find, is becoming the norm. So that is perhaps one reason why this incredible spectacle of boundless imagination and wonder didn’t fair all that well both with critics and the box office. Oh, and the lack of a big name star probably didn’t help.

In the far flung future, two special agents Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne) maintain order throughout the galaxy. When the minister of defence (Clive Owen) sends them on a mission to floating, over-crowded metropolis … the discovery of a dark force lurking at the city’s core sets into motion a race against time to solve a mystery.

This is a visually spectacular and stylish experience from beginning to end, part Avatar and part director Luc Besson’s own earlier foray into sci-fi, The Fifth Element. It retains that movies’ bonkers tone that’s decidedly French-European with a little far-east for good measure and well it gives everything a quirky infectiously-entertaining vibe that’s hard to ignore. However it’s also a great deal to hang on the shoulders of two young leads who aren’t exactly Hollywood A-List or all that charismatic despite best intentions and well, a Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence type-combination would have worked wonders. That being said, Besson can certainly direct action, understands his source material (a series of graphic novels) and is clearly having a blast introducing us to a rich, diverse and fascinating world, packed with endless possibilities. The story although engaging fails to deliver on such potential, and like I said performances are serviceable, but as an example of true escapist entertainment … this did it’s job.

Verdict: 4 /5

3 Days To Kill

Posted on April 12, 2015 by Craig M

Viewed – 12 April 2015 Netflix

So it seems to be another acclaimed actor’s turn to do the whole Taken thing with this Paris set thriller written by Luc Besson and directed by McG. Costner plays a CIA agent, who returns to Paris after a job goes wrong. Sound familiar yet? Oh but wait, Costner’s character has brain cancer and only an experimental drug and one last contract can save his life. Does he trust the sexy femme fatale CIA agent offering him a miracle cure, or does he settle for the quite life with his estranged wife & daughter? What do you think?

Costner handles the action well but also has to deal with a script that awkwardly juggles comedy and family bonding (let’s teach the daughter how to ride a bike, and yes there’s an African family squatting in Costner’s apartment…). It’s a strange tone for sure considering that some of the action is pretty full-on, fairly violent and intense. Amber Heard’s CIA agent is cool, mean and sexy but looks like she’s wondered off the set of an anime movie, lending little other than eye-candy and a lot of pouting. Oscar winner Hailee Steinfeld from True Grit is also quite wasted here, but tries her best. Thankfully then Costner who is probably mostly known as a supporting actor these days plods his way through very silly material fairly unscathed. But where’s the danger? Why doesn’t the daughter or ex-wife ever get kidnapped? And what’s the point other than for Costner to take a drug he accepts purely on good-will from a very dodgy woman with a gun?

With a couple of exceptions, these kind of European action movies are getting very tired, how the once talented Luc Besson pimps out script after script to once major actors clearly just after a pay cheque, is bordering on insulting. We as movie goers deserve better, and all the talent involved can certainly do better.

Verdict: 2 /5

Lucy

Posted on August 27, 2014 by Craig M

Viewed – 26 August 2014 Cinema

I went into this a little bit apprehensive. For a long time now it seems I have waited for director Luc Besson to wow me again, at least on a par with his sci-fi opus The Fifth Element, even if I wasn’t quite expecting something as genre defining as Leon. This director who in recent memory has stuck to producing and writing credits, has failed to really get his mojo back. The trailer to this latest offering however held promise. It had current hot property Scarlett Johansson in it, and had all the high concept cool I had grown to love about Besson’s work.

Johansson plays Lucy, a seemingly ordinary girl with a few suspect friends, staying in Taiwan who gets unwittingly involved with a group of gangsters, headed by Old Boy star Choi Min-sik. Before she realises what’s going on, she’s drugged and wakes up in a hotel room, quickly discovering a bandage around her mid section, and is informed she will be a human courier for an experimental drug that has been concealed inside of her(!). However shit goes down as it normally does and soon Lucy is feeling the affects of this drug that begins to open her brain to greater than normal ability, gifting her with various super-human powers like telekinesis and the ability to transform her hair colour … to start with.

This is flashy, stylish and very much a fun ride for Johansson and it’s clear Besson loves the concept. Johansson captures vulnerability, bad-ass toughness and out of control mania with ease, whilst delivering some very cool action ‘beats’ along the way. Morgan Freeman is also on hand as a scientist, but doesn’t really do much out of type for him. Stand-out moments involve a great car ride (I won’t say ‘chase’) and some trippy special effects (Lucy seeking out a telephone call by weaving her hand through the various phone signals), and that bit in the airplane toilet … wow. However this was also a concept begging for restraint, needing the breaks applied now and then (I really wanted more of Lucy kicking ass) but Besson instead applied the accelerator and in the closing moments – it got pretty insane. Choi Min-sik in his first American movie may lack any English dialogue but still had presence to spare … with a great entrance suitable to his legacy.

This was very enjoyable despite shortcomings (why was Lucy chained up in that cell?), so for Scarlett Johansson fans and anyone after something a bit different – I say check this out.

Verdict: 3.5 /5

Is Luc Besson back?

Posted on August 3, 2014 by Craig M

Once he was one of my favourite directors, but after the double hits of Leon and The Fifth Element, his hyped Joan of Ark movie failed to strike gold at the box office. Ever since he been best known as a producer and writer, being responsible for such hits as Taken and The Transporter, but apart from an underwhelming directing turn on French Indiana-Jones-like movie The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc Sec, and the poorly received comedy gangster movie The Family … he’s not really got his mojo back in years.

I’m hoping the imminent release of his Scarlett Johansson high-concept thriller ‘Lucy’ changes this. By the looks of the trailer, it would appear so.