Rev Stan's film blog

Review: Alex Garland examines AI in thriller Ex Machina

Synopsis: A computer programmer wins a competition to spend a week participating in a breakthrough AI experiment at a remote research facility.

Stan's thoughts: Just the subject matter, artificial intelligence, generates an environment of suspicion, add in a lone scientist in a remote location and you have all the ingredients for a good thriller. What makes this a great psychological thriller is that Garland constantly wrong foots you and at its heart it is about very basic human emotions.

Domhnall Gleeson who plays Caleb the computer programmer said in an interview that when he was reading the script for the first time he was convinced several times that he knew where the story was going. And that really is why this works so well.

When Caleb steps off the helicopter that has transported him to the research facility he is stepping into an alien environment in so many different ways. His task is to interact with Ava (Alicia Vikander), an AI robot who is the invention of Nathan (Oscar Isaac). It is not just a case of what is real and what is AI but what is experiment and what isn't and Garland and his characters keep you guessing right to the very end.

All three leads give performances that beautifully add to the mystery but to say any more might spoil it.

Ex Machina, like many AI films before it, raises questions about God and creation and the morals and responsibilities surrounding that. What the film has to say about that is something that film school students will no doubt discuss at length. I've also seen online discussions about whether it is misogynistic or feminist in its outlook. I do have my own thoughts and theories but that would involve a lot of spoilers.

Ratings

• Stan’s 80%
• IMDB 81%
• Metascore 80%
• Rotten Tomatoes 93%
• RT Audience Rating* 86%

* Number of people rating 3.5/5 or higher

Review: Teacher vs talent in the thrilling Whiplash

Synopsis: Andrew (Miles Teller) enrolls as a prestigious music school where he comes under the tutelage of Fletcher (JK Simmons) who will stop at nothing to get the performance he wants out of his pupils.

Stan's thoughts: Fame this isn't. There is no dancing in the corridor and friendly pep talks just a teacher who walks into a room and everyone immediately stands up and is silent, a teacher who is a perfectionist and will use whatever means necessary - psychological or physical - to get what he wants.

As a result Whiplash is a tense, nerve jangling psychological study and not what I was expecting. It is gripping battle of minds, personality and talent that keeps you on the wrong foot until the very end at which point you just want to stand up and applaud.

A worthy best film Oscar nomination and likewise best supporting actor for JK Simmons but a shame Miles Teller isn't getting recognised. This is an unexpected gem of a film, powerful, disturbing and thrilling to watch. And that's all I'm going to say because anything else would spoil it.

Ratings

• Stan’s 86%
• IMDB 87%
• Metascore 88%
• Rotten Tomatoes 95%
• RT Audience Rating* 96%

* Number of people rating 3.5/5 or higher

Review: American Sniper

Synopsis: Based on the story of real life US Navy SEAL Chris Kyle who became a legend for his pinpoint sniper accuracy during the Iraq war.

Stan's thoughts: Clint Eastwood makes very American films doesn't he? That probably seems like an odd statement but there is a particular type of patriotism in America that we just don't have in Britain, a patriotism that can be difficult to fully comprehend. It's a cultural thing and can be slightly alienating especially as Clint Eastwood's films tend to portray it in a full suited and booted form.

Where American Sniper wins for me - and I had no idea who Chris Kyle was or that he was in fact an actual person when I sat down to watch - is in its dealing with the psychological effects of his work. This is most acute when he returns home after tours.

The war time environment is so ingrained in him that he can't fully relax. Bradley Cooper who plays Kyle doesn't need to say anything as, out of the corner of his eye, he watches a car overtaking him on the freeway, you just know he is assessing it for potential threat, in the same way he would in Iraq. Having spent so much time with him 'on tour' in the film, I found myself sharing his suspicion: 'would someone pull a gun?'.

It makes for a nerve jangling film and you can understand how his military life becomes all encompassing. It's a wall of physical self preservation and a psychological muscle that can't flex to civilian life when he's back home. Not knowing his story made the ending all the more powerful.

This isn't the sort of film that is going to linger too much on the impact his dangerous job has on his wife and family; Sienna Miller* plays his wife Taya and does a great job with what she is given. I think there is a whole separate story as to how she coped; at one point she is on the phone to Chris in Iraq and he comes under attack. The phone is dropped and Taya hears the whole battle not knowing what is going on at the other end of the line or whether her husband is alive or dead.

American Sniper is a testament to Clint Eastwood's directing skills in that it has more depth than your average war movie but, for my personal taste, it was just a little too reverential at times.

* Sienna Miller is in two Oscar nominated Best Films but hasn't herself been nominated.

Ratings

• Stan’s 70%
• IMDB 77%
• Metascore 45%
• Rotten Tomatoes 73%
• RT Audience Rating* 88%

* Number of people rating 3.5/5 or higher

 

Review: An elegy to a lost generation in Testament of Youth

Synopsis: Based on Vera Brittain's memoir of the same name, Testament of Youth recounts the experiences of a young woman during the First World War as she slowly loses those she loves and how that influenced her life as an anti-war campaigner.

Stan's thoughts: This is a film that is about the tragedy and cost of war but it is also about a feminist fighting for equal treatment for women and the birth of a pacifist at time when it was seen as unpatriotic.

Vera's is quite an incredible story, it is one of great tragedy but equally one that inspires. In the beginning we see her fighting to be allowed to go to Oxford University with her brother and friend. Her father (Dominic West) thinks it is a waste of time and money when she should be thinking about marriage.

Then war breaks out and her brother Edward (Taron Egerton), her friend Victor (Colin Morgan) and boyfriend Roland (Kit Harrington) all sign up. Unable to bear sitting around studying while they are fighting she becomes a nurse.

This film doesn't glamourise the war instead it shows it in its dirty, bloody and deadly glory. And Vera is a fascinating heroine; she doesn't always say the right thing and is stubborn and sometimes has fiery outbursts. Despite her independence and confidence of spirit she is ill-prepared for what she ultimately faces.

It is refreshing to see a war film from a woman's perspective and it is of course great to see a film that has such a good, meaty part for a young woman, a part that doesn't involve a man running in to rescue her or vampires.

Take tissues only the hardest of heart will be unmoved by Vera's story.

Ratings

• Stan’s 85%
• IMDB 72%
• Metascore 75%
• Rotten Tomatoes 85%
• RT Audience Rating* 89%

* Number of people rating 3.5/5 or higher

 

Review: Steve Carrell is scary in track suit bottoms - Foxcatcher

Synopsis: Based on true events, multi-millionaire John du Pont (Steve Carrell) sets up a training camp for wrestlers looking to compete in the Seoul Olympics. Among those training are the Schultz brothers Mark (Channing Tatum) and David (Mark Ruffalo) who are already Olympic champions.

Stan's thoughts: The synopsis and trailer don't really give you a proper insight into what this film is about. It's a psychological thriller that makes for an uncomfortable two and bit hours in the cinema - but that certainlyisn't a criticism.

Carrell's performance is quite incredible and key to why this film works. John du Pont is a complex character whose motives and intentions are never fully clear. He has a difficult relationship with his mother (a brilliant Vanessa Redgrave), has had a very privileged but potentially lonely upbringing, comes across as interested and passionate about his hobbies but likes to get his own way.

He makes those around him just a little uncomfortable. The way he holds his head slightly back looking over the bridge of his nose and meets peoples gaze for just a bit too long after the conversation has finished is part of it.

Then there are the track suit bottoms. There is something just a little bit odd and creepy about someone who wears tracksuit bottoms most of the time or maybe that is just me.

This is a film about the relationship between three people who happen to share a passion for wrestling. It's not a sport I know anything about or have any real interest and while it is peripheral to the story, I walked away with a better appreciation for the skill involved.

A lot of people are talking about Channing Tatum's performance in this and it is certainly his best by a long shot even if his 80s haircut is a little bit scary.

I know some have found this a little too uncomfortable to watch and some might find it a little plodding but for me it's careful and considered pace is what helps give it its taut atmosphere.

This is a film of great quality, a film of great subtlety that makes you want to go and spend time watching something fluffy and colourful afterwards.  Steve Carrell's John du Pont still haunts me a week on.

Ratings

• Stan’s 83%
• IMDB 74%
• Metascore 81%
• Rotten Tomatoes 87%
• RT Audience Rating* 74%

* Number of people rating 3.5/5 or higher

 

Review: Jake Gyllenhaal in the rather odd Enemy

Synopsis: A history lecturer sees his doppelganger in a film and sets about trying to meet him.

Stan's thoughts: Love Jake Gyllenhaal and he plays a weirdo well (look at Nightcrawler which was one of my favourite films last year) but this? Well, this just feels like weirdness for arts sake. All the characters behave extremely oddly, so oddly that it is perplexing rather than atmospheric.

It is described as a psychological thriller but any tension I felt was boredom mixed with frustration. There are lots of lingering, arty shots and a random spider which felt pretentious.

Ultimately I didn't know why the characters were behaving the way they were and quite frankly after a point I didn't really care. Weirdness, a scant script and long lingering shots don't equal an art house movie, Enemy feels like and hour and half of my life I will never get back.

Other opinions are available of course, some people at least seem to like it.

Ratings

• Stan’s 30%
• IMDB 68%
• Metascore 61%
• Rotten Tomatoes 74%
• RT Audience Rating* 60%

* Number of people rating 3.5/5 or higher

Film 2014: a best of and not so best of list

Vowed to keep on top of my reviews last year and I did...to a point. There are  handful I didn't get around to writing but all of those I missed would be mid-table films so wouldn't be jostling for a position in the following lists. And, I did see more than 80 films and even more plays which I also review so I've not been lazy.

As I cover films released in the UK from Jan 1 to Dec 31, it messes up the 2014 Oscar nominees as their release dates are split between 2013 and 2014. And, putting Oscar films in the list now just seems a bit old news so of the five shortlisted films I saw in 2014, Nebraska was my absolute favourite and would have been the only one to make it into my top 10.

So here is my 'best of' plus a handful of highly 'recommendeds' - what can I say, it was a good year, my average score was just under 70%*.

1. Pride

2. Mockingjay Part 1 (I loved it, what can I say?)

3. Imitation Game

4. Under The Skin

5. X-Men: Days of Future Past

Review: The brilliance of Birdman

Synopsis: A former super hero movie actor Riggan (Michael Keaton) is trying to revive his career and credibility by adapting, directing and starring in a Broadway play while his ex-druggy daughter and managing his love life.

Stan's thoughts: I'm not party to what goes on back stage before, during and after a performance but having watched Birdman I don't think I'll sit through a play with quite the same impression.

Birdman is so many things. It is a satire on actors, critics, Hollywood and theatre; it is an existential comedy drama and it is a farce. It is a film that you want to enjoy over again so you can better take in everything in the background.

There are some brilliantly funny lines that had me cackling with laughter and I wasn't the only one:

"Popularity is the slutty little cousin of prestige"

It is also a brilliant, brilliant showcase for the talent of the actors. Being a film about theatre, the actors who are in Riggan's play - Andrea Riseborough, Naomi Watts and Ed Norton - get to perform as their film characters, their play characters and sometimes somewhere half way in between. I'm still giggling when I think about Edward Norton - we don't see anywhere near enough of him on screen these days.

Keaton also gets to play his alter ego Birdman, a corrupting voice in his head, a metaphor for...well you could write reams on it.

And I can't not mention the excellent performances of Emma Stone as Riggan's daughter Zach Galifianakis as his lawyer/manager and Lindsay Duncan as the critic who can make or break a show.

Birdman is really clever, intelligent and very funny and I can't wait to see it again.

Ratings

• Stan’s 90%
• IMDB 87%
• Metascore 89%
• Rotten Tomatoes 93%
• RT Audience Rating* 85%

* Number of people rating 3.5/5 or higher

Review: The moving and award worthy performances in The Theory of Everything

Synopsis: Biopic about Professor Stephen Hawking (Eddie Redmayne) and his relationship with his first wife Jane (Felicity Jones).

Stan's thoughts: While the Imitation Game is about a genius and his work, The Theory of Everything is about a genius and love. Jane and Stephen meet and fall in love at university just before he is diagnosed with the debilitating and life threatening motor neurone disease.

The story centres on the relationship between the two but to say it looks at how his illness affects that relationship is to over simplify. Yes is does play its part but then so does Stephen's increasing success, their growing family and the relationships around them - as it would with any normal couple.

This film has some deeply moving moments which had me in bits, it also has two stunning performances at its heart. Eddie Redmayne deserves to have accolades heaped on him for his physical performance alone but I really hope that doesn't leave Felicity Jones in the shadow because hers is the equal in emotion.

Stephen's illness is barely referenced in dialogue something I found perplexing at the time but apparently the actual professor rarely talks about it. Instead you get a man who is exceptionally intelligent but is the far more sociable genius, if you were going to compare him say, to Alan Turing. He is romantic, witty and likes having fun, something he doesn't seem to lose as he grows up.

He and Jane are a fascinating couple to spend time with on screen although if I was going to have one slight quibble it would be that I'm not sure the story quite sustains the running time when you know what the outcome will be.

Otherwise this is an impressive acting achievement and I think we can safely sit back and watch the awards pile up. A great start to 2015's film watching and Oscar season.

Ratings

• Stan’s 79%
• IMDB 77%
• Metascore 72%
• Rotten Tomatoes 80%
• RT Audience Rating* 84%

* Number of people rating 3.5/5 or higher

Catch up review: The Imitation Game

Synopsis: Biopic of Alan Turing, secret hero of the second world war who built the machine the broke the Nazi's Enigma Code but suffered tragically at the hands of homophobic legislation.

Stan's thoughts: Lots of hype about this one but it lived up to it as I was in bits by the end at the bitter tragedy of it all.

It is a film that makes spods doing maths and building a machine nail-biting but it is the human story of Alan that elevates this. A man caught up in secrecy through his work and private life because of societies prejudices. He is a man for whom nature has made so brilliantly intelligent it's left little room for social skills but again this is another thread to his story, another battle he faces.

Superb performances all around. Loved the enigmatic and charismatic Matthew Goode and of course Benedict Cumberbatch is superb. Alex Lawther plays the young Alan and in his few scenes delivers a performance that will haunt me for a long time. He's been on my radar since I saw him on stage in South Downs.

My only slight quibble with this otherwise perfect drama is I'd have like to have seen a little more reference to Alan's homosexuality, a glance or something. It isn't hidden but it is referred to rather than seen. It is only a slight quibble though, I've been back to see it again and it was just as affecting. Will be making it into my Sunday night weepie DVD collection when it is released.

Ratings

• Stan’s 90%
• IMDB 84%
• Metascore 72%
• Rotten Tomatoes 89%
• RT Audience Rating* 95%

* Number of people rating 3.5/5 or higher