Review #1,204: 'T2 Trainspotting' (2017)

As we are frequently reminded during the course of T2, it's been 20 years since Danny Boyle's iconic and culturally eye-opening Trainspotting. Mark Renton (Ewan McGregor) and his cronies, in a monologue no doubt quotable to anybody who was a teenager in 1996, famously decided not to choose life, and instead were on course for a wasted existence of heroin addiction and crime. The main question asked by this sequel is: Was it worth it? The group fans were so eager to see back together may have less hair and more body fat, but they have finally put aside personal squabbles (McGregor and Boyle made up after the former was overlooked in favour of Leonard Di Caprio for The Beach) and worked around ongoing contracts to reunite. While T2 struggles to find a consistent tone and somewhat falls apart during its final act, it will no doubt put a smile on any fan's face.

The fragility of male machismo and the sudden emergence of middle-age are key themes running throughout the film, constantly harking back and reminding the audience with sly nods of how much fun these guys were 20 years ago. Trainspotting began with a skinny, pale-faced Renton running from store security, but here he runs dead-eyed on a treadmill. Although it would seem that Renton successfully put himself on the straight-and-narrow in Amsterdam after robbing his friends blind at the climax of the first film, he finds himself compelled to visit his past after suffering a medical scare. Returning to Edinburgh, not much has changed. Simon, aka Sick Boy (Jonny Lee Miller), is still running scams, now with his Bulgarian 'girlfriend' Veronica (Anjela Nedyalkova); Spud (Ewen Bremner) lives alone and is hated by his embarrassed son, successfully getting himself off heroin before making his way back to it; and the psychopathic Begbie (Robert Carlyle) is behind bars serving a 25 year jail term.

Irvine Welsh's sequel to the hit novel, Porno, has been talked about as a film adaptation ever since the first film struck so many chords with its audience. T2 is not this adaptation, but instead takes inspiration from Porno, as well as unused material from its predecessor, to create an original story. A straight-forward follow-up would not have done the fans justice. The cultural impact was so significant that Trainspotting played a big part in many young people's lives, to the point where just to hear the opening few seconds of Lou Reed's Perfect Day or Underworld's Born Slippy could transport any 30-40 year old back to their youth. Boyle knows this, and teases us in a scene where Renton re-visits his childhood home and fiddles with a record player. The stomping drums of Iggy Pop's Lust for Life pumps out before he suddenly takes the needle off the record. In that split second, the excitement comes flooding back. Yet T2 isn't just a trip down nostalgia lane, it confronts you with the difficult question of whether or not you are where you thought you'd be when life seemed more care-free.

Cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle infuses the sequel with a modern energy, opting for a more colourful palette made dirtier with digital grain. It contrasts the films' two different styles by slotting in actual scenes from the original, often juxtaposing events happening now with the characters' memories. The main conflict revolves around Begbie's escape from prison and his learning of Renton's reemergence in Edinburgh, as well as Sick Boy's resentment of his former best friend robbing him of his share in the drug deal gone right. Begbie uneasily shifts between comic relief and genuine antagonist, and Boyle seems unsure what to do with the character. The biggest revelation is Bremner's Spud, who is still the most sympathetic reprobate ever to emerge from Welsh's text. Boyle and screenwriter John Hodge ingeniously find a way to make him front and centre, turning this into his story, and Bremner's performance is truly heartbreaking. A mishandled climax and a lack of development for Veronica means that T2 falls way short of its predecessor, and this will perhaps not have the same impact on any audience members who saw Trainspotting outside of the '90s. But for those of us who did, this is a welcome send-off.


Directed by: Danny Boyle
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller, Robert Carlyle, Anjela Nedyalkova
Country: UK

Rating: ***

Tom Gillespie

Review #1,203: 'The LEGO Batman Movie' (2017)

Nobody quite saw 2014's The Lego Movie coming. An animated family film based on a hugely popular range of toys sounds like the stuff of nightmares, and something that could tumble a big studio if it didn't find an audience. However, it was a resounding success, both critically and commercially, managing to deliver an exciting, colourful and hilariously funny adventure movie with a poignant message about corporate takeover and the loss of imagination. One of the most memorable supporting players to emerge from the ensemble of wacky characters was Will Arnett's Batman, who proved so popular that we get his spin-off before we get a sequel to The Lego Movie. But this is no bad thing, as while it may not contain the same element of surprise as its predecessor, The LEGO Batman Movie is a more straight-forward blast.

As the song goes, Batman is darkness and has no parents. After saving the city from an attack by the Joker (Zach Galifianakis) and his many cronies, the Dark Knight high-fives his adoring fans but returns to Wayne Island to microwave a lobster thermidor for one. While he may be awesome, he broods over pictures of his dead parents and isolates himself, although his trusted butler Alfred (Ralph Fiennes) is always on hand for advice. Newly-appointed police commissioner Barbara Gordon (Rosario Dawson) announces that she hopes to restructure the force to handle crime without the assistance of Batman, much to the caped crusader's amusement. Meanwhile, the Joker, locked up in Arkham Asylum, plans to manipulate Batman into sending him into the Phantom Zone, where he will be free to gather an army of mega-villains to launch an attack of Gotham and prove once and for all that he is Batman's greatest nemesis.

Lego Batman is arguably a one-joke movie. It takes the character's persona from The Lego Movie - dark, broody and arrogant - and runs with it, building the entire plot around Batman's need to open up and allow other people to enter his life. Yet the film's kinetic energy and gorgeous animation mean that you won't care too much about the lack of a truly engaging story. Director Chris McKay was clearly enjoying himself having Batman's entire rogue gallery at his disposal, as well as members of other Warner Brothers franchises. Familiar villains such as Poison Ivy, Catwoman and Bane (riffing on Tom Hardy's take in The Dark Knight Rises) grace the screen, but we also get appearances from the more obscure Clock King, Kite Man and, most bizarrely, the Condiment King. Batman fans will lap it up, with references to his history in both comic-books and on the big screen, referring to the camp Adam West series from the 60s as "that weird one".

Although this is Batman's first solo movie in Lego form, this is the opposite of an origin story. We meet him already in a set routine. When he isn't effortlessly kicking the butt of crime, he spends his time jamming on the electric guitar, beat-boxing, pumping iron, chowing down on lobster, and laughing at Jerry Maguire. If anything, Batman is a bit too obnoxious, and Arnett does slightly grate at times, but this is eventually balanced out by the introduction of Dick Grayson (Michael Cera), a highly capable and doe-eyed orphan who will become the scantily-clad Robin. The two gradually form a bond that provides the movie's emotional core, which, after an hour or so of Batman's jock shtick, is most welcome. The frequent references to pop culture, which are both clever and tiresome, often make it feel like an extended episode of Robot Chicken, and I believe this is what will divide most of the audience. It's not perfect, and it certainly isn't at the level of The Lego Movie, but if anything, this is a very good Batman movie. And Lord knows it's been a while since there was one of those.


Directed by: Chris McKay
Voices: Will Arnett, Michael Cera, Rosario Dawson, Ralph Fiennes, Zach Galifianakis, Jenny Slate, Jason Mantzoukas, Conan O'Brien
Country: USA/Denmark

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie

Review #1,202: 'Logan' (2017)

For the past 17 years, Hugh Jackman has played X-Man Wolverine nine times. It was the role that made him a star, and he's thanked Fox for having faith in him by sticking by the character regardless of how bad the franchise became. But at the age of 49, Jackman has decided to hang up his claws and trim the sideburns, taking a pay-cut in order to give the character the final send-off he truly deserves. He and director James Mangold, who joined forces to make stand-alone entry The Wolverine in 2013 only to see the studio step in and butcher the final edit, have persuaded Fox to go with an R rating. Whether this is down to the huge success of the wonderfully foul-mouthed Deadpool in 2016 or Fox feeling they owe the actor for his loyalty down the years, the results are pretty astonishing. With Logan, the camera no longer cuts away when Wolverine slices and dices, but captures his animalistic ferocity in all its bloody, decapitating glory.

Logan is a brutal, angry movie, and more than warrants its 'hard' R rating. It's no gimmick, nor is it a cash-in on Deadpool's success. Superhero movies don't need to follow the Marvel formula of good, clean, family-friendly fun, nor DC's preference for muted colours and CGI-overkill, world-threatening set-pieces. In fact, Logan doesn't feel much like a superhero movie at all. Here, the former cage-fighting, time-travelling X-Man (although it isn't entirely clear where the story fits into Fox's ever-confusing timeline) is an old man, dying of some mysterious illness and battling alcoholism and depression. He is bearded, grey, and wrinkling, and his torso covered in grisly scars from some unspoken former battles. When he uses his claws, his knuckles seep with puss. We're in 2029, and all but three mutants are dead. We don't know why, but Logan is intent on living out his remaining days looking after a senile Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) with clairvoyant mutant Caliban (Stephen Merchant), working as an Uber limo driver to fund the medicine required to keep Charles' dangerous telepathic seizures in check.

People start to look for Logan. Gabriela Lopez (Elizabeth Rodriguez), a nurse working for corporation Alkali-Transigen, wants him to transport both her and an eleven year girl named Laura (Dafne Keen) to a place in North Dakota called 'Eden'. Logan is also questioned by Transigen's chief of security Donald Pierce (Boyd Holbrook), a cybernetically-enhanced thug who seems to be searching for the little girl. When Gabriela turns up dead and Laura ends up in his care, Logan is forced to take Charles on a road trip to escape Pierce and his Reavers, and to seek out the mysterious Eden. Caliban is abducted by Transigen head Dr. Zander Rice (Richard E. Grant), who forces the albino to use his powers to track down the fleeing mutants and take back Laura. It is revealed that the young girl is one of many mutants experimented on by Rice in the hope of turning them into weapons, and that she possesses the same adamantium claws as Logan.

For a character who has seen and done pretty much everything over the past 17 years, it feels a fitting time to draw the curtains. Knowing that another run-of-the-mill superhero adventure wouldn't do the mutant justice, Mangold has done what no other studio movie has done before and portrays the superhero at the ends of his days, trying to bury the past while haunted by his deeds. While Logan does throw in a couple of exciting - and utterly brutal - set-pieces, this is an incredibly sombre experience. It's about getting old, loneliness, and rediscovering a reason to live. Jackman has never been better, and Keen is a real find. Their shared scenes are touching and often hilarious, and with the presence of the ever-reliable Stewart, the trio form an amusingly dysfunctional family unit. While there is an issue with a bland villain who brings back memories of that horrific climax in X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), this is a damn near-perfect last hurrah for a character who comic book fans have been hoping would fully unleash his berserker rage for years. Farewell then, Logan aka Wolverine, until the inevitable reboot.


Directed by: James Mangold
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Dafne Keen, Boyd Holbrook, Stephen Merchant, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Richard E. Grant, Eriq La Salle
Country: USA/Canada/Australia

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie

Review #1,201: 'From Beyond' (1986)

In 1986, some of the gang behind Re-Animator (1985) reassembled to adapt another of H.P. Lovecraft's stories, From Beyond. While not on the same level of exquisite trashiness as Re-Animator, From Beyond has developed a similarly loyal cult fanbase, especially since previously cut scenes of gore and debauchery have been reinserted seamlessly back into the film. Director Stuart Gordon was back to helm the film, and does a very good job of once again extending Lovecraft's slender text into a feature length picture. Stars Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton will also be familiar, as will the presence of Brian Yuzna as producer.

Dr. Edward Pretorius (Ted Soreal) and his assistant Crawford Tillinghast (Combs) have created the 'Resonator': A machine with the ability to significantly extend the pineal gland of anyone within range. The down side is that it also allows you to see into other dimensions inhabited by strange and deadly worm and jellyfish creatures. When turning it on for the first time, Pretorius gets his head bitten off and Tillinghast gets himself locked away in an asylum. Enter the sexy and shrewd psychiatrist Dr. Katherine McMichaels (Crampton), who is intrigued by Tillinghast's wild claims and persuades the head nurse to release him into her care. Returning to the Resonator, backed by detective Bubba Brownlee (Ken Foree), the three reactivate the device and are confronted by a mangled, sinister Dr. Pretorius.

In uniting a group of horror icons, both in front of and behind the camera, this is a film that demands to be seen by any fan of the genre. It's also deliriously entertaining. I find that even some of my favourite trash movies send my attention wandering occasionally, but From Beyond had my full immersion for the duration. Both repulsive and hilarious in equal measure, it's a hoot from the off. The physical effects, all disgusting goo and blood, are wonderful, and even when some of monster effects prove laughably bad, it is fitting to the film's preposterous tone. The script is also witty and clever, and some of the best scenes are when the central trio simply bicker amongst themselves. The science is utter gibberish of course, but the film makes the wise choice of going with the momentum of its own nonsense. If that hasn't convinced you, then there's also a scene of a woman dressed in bondage gear fighting a giant worm.


Directed by: Stuart Gordon
Starring: Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton, Ted Sorel, Ken Foree
Country: USA

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie

Review #1,200: 'The Unholy Three' (1925)

Before he gifted the world of horror with two stone-cold classics (1931's Dracula and 1932's Freaks), director Tod Browning was an incredibly prolific film-maker, churning out melodramas, thrillers and horror pictures by the dozen. One of his best during the silent period was The Unholy Three, a rather twisted crime drama set around a group of ex-circus freaks who come up with a plan to steal their fortune. It's a premise that would have any cinephile salivating, especially with genre legend and 'Man of a Thousand Faces' Lon Chaney playing the lead and the film's relative obscurity. While it's no masterpiece like Freaks, it explores a different side to the circus performer: one that is dissatisfied, restless, and capable of going to extreme lengths to earn their riches.

After getting kicked out of the side-show following a mass brawl, three disgruntled performers hatch a cunning plan to rob some rick folk blind. Ventriloquist Echo (Chaney) will assume the disguise of Granny O'Grady, a nice old lady who runs a pet store specialising in parrots. The animals do not talk, but Echo uses his ventriloquist skills to convince the moustache-twirling customers otherwise. When the unhappy purchaser later calls the store to complain, Granny O'Grady will snoop out the place, paving the way for horseshoe-bending strongman Hercules (Victor McLaglen) and short-tempered midget Tweedledee (Harry Earles) to sneak in and steal any spied valuables. There's also an escape plan in mild-mannered store manager Hector (Matt Moore), who the three will lay the blame on should the heat turn up. But when Echo's girlfriend Rosie (Mae Busch) falls for Hector, the plan quickly starts to fall apart.

There are a lot of things about The Unholy Three that are utterly ridiculous, such as Echo's needlessly convoluted plan, and the idea that anyone would buy the cigar-chomping Earles as a baby in a cart. Yet the flaws are really the reason to love the film that much more. There is a morbid fascination to be had with watching these idiots repeatedly shoot themselves in the foot and quickly resort to cold-blood murder. Chaney really was the man of a thousand faces; effortlessly convincing as both a harmless old lady and a sympathetic anti-hero, and Earles - who would later appear in Freaks - is great fun, delivering what is undoubtedly the film's greatest line ("If you tip that boob off to who we are, I'll lay some lilies under your chin!"). The strange premise and macabre characters proved a hit with the audience, and catapulted Browning into the big leagues. It may lack the edge of his later movies, but The Unholy Three retains a ghoulish quality a whole 92 years after its release.


Directed by: Tod Browning
Starring: Lon Chaney, Mae Busch, Matt Moore, Victor McLaglen, Harry Earles
Country: USA

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie

Review #1,199: 'In the Mood for Love' (2000)

The second of an unofficial trilogy by Chinese director Wong-Kar Wai which started with Days of Being Wild (1990) and concluded with 2046 (2004), it would be difficult to describe and appreciate In the Mood for Love without using the words beautiful, sumptuous and erotic. For a film trying to capture the pure eroticism and sweeping romance of the meeting between lost souls, there is precious little dialogue or conventional narrative, with Wong instead choosing to tell this story through gorgeous visuals and, to steal a word from the film's English-language title, an overbearing sense of mood. Continuing with the semi-improvised, free-flowing approach that brought him international success with the likes of Chungking Express (1994) and Happy Together (1997), In the Mood for Love is an achingly romantic experience, and may just be his finest work.

Set mostly around a cramped apartment block in 1962 Hong Kong, the central 'love' story is between Mr. Chow (Tony Chiu-Wai Leung) and Mrs. Chan (Maggie Cheung), who, along with their spouses, rent a room in neighbouring flats. They regularly eat alone at night as their other halves call to say they are working overtime, and they both suspect infidelity. eventually coming to the conclusion that Mrs. Chow and Mr. Chan are indeed having an affair. Despite the ever-presence of the pleasant Mrs. Suen (Rebecca Pan) and her mahjong-playing friends, the couple feel isolated and alone, often venturing out to the nearby noodle stand to purchase a meal for one. The two start to bond through imagining and even re-enacting how their spouses met and courted each other, while insisting their own blossoming relationship remains platonic. But feelings are developed and suppressed, with things intensifying when they begin work on a martial arts serial, renting a hotel room to escape the gossiping of neighbours.

The era in which the film is set not only gives the opportunity for some exquisite costume design (Mrs. Chan's colourful dresses radiate sensuality), but also offers the chance to reflect on a more conservative, socially-conforming time. While the couple refuse to allow their friendship to boil over into romance, there are still whispers and raised eyebrows. With this kind of secrecy and restraint forced upon them, they are made to pass each other on the street with barely an acknowledgement, and this is where Wong's style becomes the substance. Sexual tension is captured by the brush of a hand, a sideways glance, and even the dipping of meat in hot sauce. In the film's most effective scene, they pass each other on a stairwell, barely daring to offer the other a glance, just as the rain starts to lash down to bring them together under shelter. Where most films will have their characters lay their romantic cards on the table, Wong says so much more with repressing as much as possible, climaxing in a haunting final scene set amongst the ruined temples Angkor Wat in Cambodia.


Directed by: Kar-Wai Wong
Starring: Maggie Cheung, Tony Chiu-Wai Leung, Ping Lam Siu, Rebecca Pan
Country: Hong Kong/China

Rating: *****

Tom Gillespie

Review #1,198: 'A Monster Calls' (2016)

The idea of a protagonist delving head-first into a realm of fantasy to escape the traumas of the real world is one that is employed by film-makers frequently, enabling them to inject an independent spirit into what could appear to some as a big-budget crowd-pleaser. Although these kinds of movies seem to pop up every year, the fantasy angle remains an incredibly effective tool, and occasionally a bona fide masterpiece will emerge such as Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth (2006). While del Toro's film saw its central character enter the titular labyrinth to escape a fascistic stepfather and the horrors of the Spanish Civil War, J.A. Bayona's A Monster Calls, based on the novel of the same name by Patrick Ness, sets its focus on a more personal and relatable tragedy. Young Conor O'Malley (Lewis MacDougall) is struggling to deal with bullies, a strict grandmother and his mother's terminal cancer.

His young mother, played with incredible warmth by Felicity Jones, spends most of her time in bed as her body becomes exhausted from multiple hospital treatments. Conor watches her become weaker and weaker as his grandmother (Sigourney Weaver) tends to her, and spends his hours in school terrified of bully Harry (James Melville). Struggling to sleep, he spends most of his nights drawing, finding refuge in his art. One night, he watches as the yew tree on the hill in the distance grows limbs and pulls itself from the ground, bounding towards Conor's bedroom window with fiery eyes. Voiced by a gravelly Liam Neeson, the Monster promises to tell Conor three stories, and insists that the boy tell him the fourth in return. The stories, which tell of good people doing bad things and bad people doing good things, seem nonsensical to Conor, but he gradually learns of the complexity of being human and dealing with grief and trauma.

With a reported budget of only $43 million, the special effects are incredibly effective in bringing the monster to life. He is not your usual kid's cuddly best friend, but an intimidating mass of branches and roots with a fondness for demolition who takes out most of Conor's bedroom when we first meet him. Yet spectacle is the last thing on Bayona's mind. The film's title and trailer may suggest a film to take your kids too, but A Monster Calls is a grounded and subdued drama similar to Bayona's breakthrough, the elegant and genuinely scary horror film The Orphanage (2007). While the emotional moments tread familiar ground and with this comes a sense of manipulation, there is a honesty to the performances, especially by the sad-eyed MacDougall, that help make this a lip-quivering experience. It didn't receive much attention during awards season and will no doubt pass most people by, but A Monster Calls is compelling study of a young boy struggling to understand his feelings and the events going on in the grown-up world around him.


Directed by: J.A. Bayona
Starring: Lewis MacDougall, Sigourney Weaver, Felicity Jones, Liam Neeson, Toby Kebbell
Country: UK/Spain/USA

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie

Review #1,197: 'The Tales of Hoffmann' (1951)

Michael Powell, the great underappreciated British film director mainly recognised for his work alongside Hungarian Emeric Pressburger, spent most of his early career working towards the perfect marriage of the power of operatic music and the visual splendour of cinema. This can be glimpsed in the masterpieces Black Narcissus (1947), The Red Shoes (1948), and to a certain degree, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1949), but it wasn't until 1951 that he completed his ultimate goal. With The Tales of Hoffmann, an adaptation of Jacques Offenbach's flamboyant opera, Powell and Pressburger achieved what no other film has succeeded in doing since: bringing the opera to life on screen and infusing it with all the colour and vibrancy of cinema. Martin Scorsese, an lifelong admirer of P & P, recently oversaw a 4K remastering of the movie; the perfect medium to take in this lavish picture.

Staying true to the structure of Offenbach's vision, The Tales of Hoffmann comes with a prologue, epilogue, and three central acts all centred around the past loves of man-of-the-world Hoffmann (Robert Rounseville). As a stage performance featuring his current love plays out in the background, Hoffmann tells an eager group of friends of three women he has loved and lost. The first act, which is the brightest and most farcical, sees him duped into loving an automaton called Olympia (played by the beautiful Moira Shearer) by a pair of magical glasses that seemingly bring inanimate objects to life. The second act takes place in a hellish Venice, where an evil magician promises his courtesan Giulietta (Ludmilla Tcherina) expensive jewellery in exchange for her seduction of Hoffmann and the theft of his shadow. In the third and final act, Hoffmann falls for Antonia (Ann Ayars), a soprano suffering from a mysterious illness that forbids her to sing.

The disregard for traditional cinematic narrative structure means that The Tales of Hoffmann is certainly an acquired taste, but there is also nothing else quite like it. Backed by a thumping score from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Sir Thomas Beecham and brought to life with ravishing set and costume design by Hein Heckroth (who was Oscar nominated twice for the film), Hoffmann is a treat for all the senses. It's particularly adored by filmmakers, with Cecil DeMille voicing his admiration for the film, and George A. Romero stating it to be his favourite movie of all time and the reason he wanted to become a director. There are also fine performances throughout, in particular Moira Shearer, who I fell head over heels for in The Red Shoes, and Robert Helpmann, the Child Catcher himself, who plays Hoffmann's nemesis in all the stories. Only Rounseville and Ayars perform their own vocals, but the film is graceful enough to reward the vocalists by a credits sequence that sees both singers and performers take a bow.


Directed by: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Starring: Robert Rounseville, Robert Helpmann, Moira Shearer, Ludmilla Tchérina, Ann Ayars
Country: UK

Rating: *****

Tom Gillespie

Review #1,196: 'The Prestige' (2006)

Easily taking the crown of best magician-based movie of 2006 - swamping the distinctly wonder-less and barely remembered The Illusionist - Christopher Nolan's The Prestige is a cinematic sleight-of-hand; an enigma of a movie that is both a puzzle-box of misdirection and an engrossing tale of two warring magicians. When I first saw Nolan's fifth feature (and his second working with his brother and occasional writing partner Jonathan), its 'big reveal' seemed obvious to me early on in the third act, so when the grand revelations came at the climax, I was left feeling somewhat underwhelmed. In the years since, The Prestige has emerged as a firm favourite amongst Nolanites, so I was eager to re-visit it without the added pressure of trying to navigate through the film's many smokes and mirrors. Without this on my back, I could only sit back and admire a true craftsman at work, even though the narrative pushes the boundaries of credibility.

In 1890s London, two apprentice magicians from two vastly different backgrounds work for Milton (real-life magician Ricky Jay), assisting in a nightly trick involving a glamorous assistant and a tank of water. Hugh Jackman is Robert Angier, a handsome, charismatic American from a privileged background. Christian Bale plays Alfred Borden, a rough Cockney and magic purist. While Angier knows how to get an audience excited and keep them entertained, Borden is a sullen stage presence, choosing to challenge his audience rather than dazzle them. The real brains behind it all is Cutter (Michael Caine), the craftsman and adviser who builds all the apparatus and devices required for the increasingly elaborate tricks. After a Milton performance goes fatally wrong, Angier and Borden begin a personal and professional rivalry that will play out over the years. They sabotage each other's shows, steal secrets, and try to perfect the ultimate magic trick: The Transported Man.

Cutter explains the three-step theory on what makes a great illusion. There's the pledge (the set-up), the turn (the moment that grabs the audience's attention), and the prestige (the pay-off, when whatever has been disappeared is brought back again). It's what separates a jaw-dropping, head-scratching moment from a cheap card trick, and is precisely what separates the The Prestige from The Illusionist. Nolan truly understands the mechanics behind the prestige, after all, he toyed with our expectations and our perception of time with Memento. He wraps The Prestige up in a cloak of mystery, employing time-jumps and subtle camera tricks to keep the audience constantly engaged in trying to piece everything together. Nearly everything is key to unlocking the film's secrets, even the seemingly routine sub-plots involving Borden's wife (played by Rebecca Hall) and glamorous new assistant Olivia (Scarlett Johansson struggling with an English accent).

The inclusion of David Bowie's Nikola Tesla and Angier's quest to convince the engineer and physicist to build him a machine required to pull off the ultimate trick may be a step too far for some viewers. Tesla's involvement stretches science into the supernatural, and clashes with the grounded world built up until this point. But Bowie is terrific, and the frequent presence of Thomas Edison's goons offers some historical context, as well as an allegory for the obsessive rivalry between the two central characters. Jackman is very good at switching between hero and anti-hero, his hands increasingly dirtied trying to outmanoeuvre his rival, and while Bale can add Borden to his list of grating accents, he wins our sympathies despite the coldest of demeanours. Caine, Nolan's go-to exposition tool, also provides reliable support as the fatherly voice of reason, However, the real stars are the brothers Nolan, who arguably lay all their cards on the table in the opening scenes, for anybody paying close attention. But pay attention or not, you'll be swept up either way.


Directed by: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson, Rebecca Hall, David Bowie, Andy Serkis, Piper Perabo
Country: USA/UK

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie

Review #1,195: 'A Royal Affair' (2012)

A Royal Affair opens with a melancholy Princess Caroline Matilda of Great Britain narrating as she pens a letter to her unseen children. Flashing back in time, she is a young and beautiful teenager about to be shipped off to Denmark to marry her cousin, King Christian VII of Denmark, giggling and dreaming about what her new life will be like with a man who sounds like the ideal husband. It would seem that we are in very familiar costume-drama territory, and director Nikolaj Arcel's film makes sure to include all the factors that make the genre so appealing to some: the beautiful young bride; an unknown kingdom; handsome period costumes; a bastard child; and a love affair that is passionate but ultimately doomed. Yet a careful, character-driven approach ensures that A Royal Affair doesn't boil over into overwrought hysterics. What emerges is a tense tale of political intrigue and terrific performances, and a fascinating history lesson to boot.

As the Princess, played by Alicia Vikander, arrives in Denmark, she immediately encounters her husband not as the gallant artist she expected, but as a nervous man-child, giggling to himself while hiding behind a tree. The King (Mikkel Boe Folsgaard) is a puppet on a throne, and quite clearly mentally deranged. He doesn't take much of a liking to his new Queen, and prefers to spend his free time getting drunk in the company of big-breasted prostitutes. Her optimism is quickly turned into bitterness, and is pleased when her husband decides to take a year off his duties to tour Europe. Shortly after his return, German Johann Struensee (Mads Mikkelsen), a skilled yet humble doctor, is recruited as the King's personal physician. He instantly forges a strong bond with the mad King, who is pleased to have a man of stature and intelligence by his side amidst his stern, old-fashioned council. Struensee's influence in court grows, but he finds himself caught up in a dangerous love affair with the Queen that could mean both of their heads should they be discovered.

This being 18th century Denmark, the King is surrounded by a council of religious old men looking to keep the country firmly in the Dark Ages. Struensee is a believer in the Age of Enlightenment, a progressive philosophical movement spearheaded by the likes of Voltaire and Rousseau. The Queen also shares his liberal views, and their love story isn't so much about their own sexual impulses but a driven and united desire to illuminate their country. Realising just how great an influence he is on the King, the doctor quickly sets about abolishing oppressive laws such as capital punishment, the torturing of suspects, and censorship. This immediately puts him at odds with the ruling aristocracy, who view him as a foreigner destroying their fatherland, and they waste no time looking for a way to expel him from court. It's alarming just how familiar it all sounds with the general one-step forward, two-steps back nature of politics. The three leads are all strong, with Mikkelsen in particular convincing as the reserved man of Enlightenment. By avoiding dramatic melodrama, A Royal Affair succeeds as a simmering portrayal of social disintegration and an intimate, intellectual love story.


Directed by: Nikolaj Arcel
Starring: Alicia Vikander, Mads Mikkelsen, Mikkel Boe Følsgaard, Trine Dyrholm, David Dencik
Country: Denmark/Sweden/Czech Republic/Germany

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie

Review #1,194: 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2' (2017)

After Marvel had struck gold with The Avengers in 2012, raking in over a billion dollars at the box-office, it seemed that the studio could do no wrong with their roster of superheroes, with Iron Man 3 going on to also break the billion mark in 2013, despite being one of the weakest in the franchise. When it was announced that they would be bringing the Guardians of the Galaxy, a relatively obscure, space-dwelling gang of misfits to the big screen, to some this seemed like their biggest risk yet, and one that could stop the Marvel Cinematic Universe in its tracks. James Gunn's spunky, colourful and idiosyncratic blend of B-movie quirkiness and big-budget thrills struck a chord with the audience, and this group of minor league superheroes only really known to comic book fans suddenly became a household name.

For fans of the first movie, there is plenty to enjoy in the sequel, which takes its 'Vol. 2' from the new playlist of '70s and '80s favourites on the soundtrack, usually pumping out of the retro walkman belonging to the group's leader, Peter Quill, AKA Star-Lord (Chris Pratt). Taking place almost immediately after the climax of the previous instalment, the gang are all present and ready to take on an intergalactic monster hoping to steal some valuable batteries from a golden, near-perfect race called the Sovereign. Gamora (Zoe Saldana) is stern-faced and struggling with her feelings for Quill; Drax (Dave Bautista) once again gets all the funniest lines and is the best thing in the movie; snarky weapons engineer Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper) seems eager to push everybody away as he tests his newly-forged bond with the other Guardians; and Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel) is a big-eyed baby, clumsily fumbling from one scene to the next and inspiring the most "aaahs" from the audience in the process.

When they inadvertently piss off the Sovereign's leader Ayesha (Elizabeth Debicki), the Guardians find themselves marooned on an island. They have their arses saved by a mysterious figure who introduces himself as Ego (Kurt Russell), a character glimpsed in the opening flashback scene via some immaculate de-ageing CGI enjoying a courtship with Quill's mother. Ego is a Celestial, an ancient being who has manage to build an entire planet around him. To give him his full name, he is Ego the Living Planet, and he is also Quill's father. Themes of family run throughout the film, with Gamora constantly fighting with her returning sister Nebula (Karen Gillan), Drax forming a sibling-like bond with Ego's assistant Mantis (Pom Klementieff), Groot playing the role of the baby everybody is responsible for, and of course Quill's daddy issues. Also returning is blue-skinned Ravager Yondu (Michael Rooker), the guy who kidnapped Quill from Earth and raised him like a son.

Marvel directors have been vocal in their support for the hands-off approach taken by Kevin Feige, the man overlooking the entire Cinematic Universe, which goes some way to explain how they can attract such enormous talents as Taika Waititi and Ryan Coogler. Gunn has been given the key to the kingdom here, and he throws all of his Troma-taught wackiness at the screen. Space battles and gun-fights fill the screen, and while there's a bright, almost psychedelic visual pizzazz to it all, there's a real lack of dramatic weight. Somebody at Marvel should have reeled Gunn in. With the constant quipping and '80s references going on, including an appearance from Pac-Man, it never really feels like the characters are in any danger, and even less so the galaxy. There's also an insistence on trying to squeeze humour out of every single scene. I don't remember one joke failing to land back in 2014, but there are plenty of moments in Vol. 2 that had me frustratingly straight-faced. In particular, one running joke involving a character named Taserface (Chris Sullivan) long outstays its welcome.

The film is as its most effective when exploring the quieter interactions between the wide roster of characters, and the Freudian issues brought along with Ego and his uncertain intentions. While the Fast & Furious franchise insists its mythos is built around 'family' by having Vin Diesel inform us so every 10 minutes, the Guardians genuinely feel like a tight unit brought together by their own troubled pasts. Rooker brings a lot of heart into his role of surrogate father facing a major turning point in his life, after he is exiled from the Ravagers by higher-up Stakar (Sylvester Stallone) and faces a mutiny led by Taserface. Gunn ultimately tries to bring too much to the table, piling on the jokes and special effects-laden set-pieces, as well attempting to introduce new characters who will surely play a larger role in future instalments. I left the cinema back in 2014 overjoyed and eager to see it again. Three years later, I left with a headache and a sore backside, but still with a fondness for the characters.


Directed by: James Gunn
Starring: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Kurt Russell, Elizabeth Debicki
Country: USA

Rating: ***

Tom Gillespie

Review #1,193: 'Troll 2' (1990)

If you are the type of sadomasochistic movie-goer who seeks out films so notoriously awful just to have a laugh or two, then chances are you are familiar with Troll 2, Claudio Fragasso's cult non-sequel classic. However, if you were to label Troll 2 as the worst movie ever made, then I would question whether or not you have actually seen it (although it was the subject of Best Worst Movie, a documentary made by the lead actor). Don't get me wrong, this is one of the most inept, poorly-constructed, and laughably performed films you could ever hope to see, but what separates it from the likes of The Beast of Yucca Flats, Santa Claus Conquers the Martians and Battlefield Earth is that it is enormous fun. I usually go into these types of films hoping for a few laughs but end up being subjected to 90 minutes of sheer tedium, but Troll 2 really is in a class of its own.

We open with kindly old man Seth (Robert Ormsby) reading his grandson Joshua (Michael Paul Stephenson) a fairytale involving goblins. The stunted creatures chase a man through the woods and force him to eat a green goo, which turns him into a plant. You see, goblins are vegetarians, so they can eat the man once he has completed the transformation. Goblins are everywhere, warns Grandpa Seth. The bedtime story is abruptly ended by the arrival of Joshua's mother Diana (Margo Prey), who causes Seth to suddenly vanish. The lovable old man has been dead for 6 months, but still appears to Joshua as a ghost. Fearing the boy is losing his marbles, the Waits family head off to the town of Nilbog as part of some kind of weird exchange program, which will see them tend crops and live off the land for a week while the Nilbogian family head into the big city in the opposite direction. On arrival, they are met with a feast covered in a strange weird goo similar to the one from the story. It seems Nilbog is the home of evil goblins posing as humans hoping to gobble them up at the earliest opportunity.

Before you think I've had a stroke, I can assure you that this is the plot of the movie. You will also see no mention of trolls, because there aren't any. Director Fragasso (under the pseudonym of Drake Floyd), who could speak little English, waltzed into town with a script written in Italian and seemingly cast the first people to audition who could string a sentence together. The dialogue was badly translated, nevertheless Fragasso insisted that the lines were spoken exactly as written on the page. Somewhat endearingly, the entire cast really give it their all, despite being lumbered with the lines such as "It's goblin spelled backwards!". Every single frame of Troll 2 lacks logic, and this is what makes the movie so charmingly hilarious and helps separate it from the horror lurking in the IMDb's Bottom 100 list, which may raise a smirk once or twice throughout their running time. Simply marvel at the complete disregard for common sense (Grandpa's Seth plan to escape the goblins is to Molotov cocktail the house while the whole family is still inside it) and stare open-mouthed at the moment when a young horndog is seduced by a corn-on-the-cob. There really is no way to describe Troll 2.


Directed by: Claudio Fragasso
Starring: Michael Paul Stephenson, George Hardy, Margo Prey, Robert Ormsby, Connie Young
Country: Italy

Rating: *

Tom Gillespie

Review #1,192: 'Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace' (1999)

There is no day more suitable to re-visit George Lucas' beloved Star Wars franchise than Star Wars Day itself: May 4th. One of the most difficult (and entirely trivial) questions asked by the fans about to settle down for a marathon is where to start? Do you marvel at the glory of the original trilogy -despite the Ewok-inspired hiccup of Episode VI - before moving onto the prequels, or is it best to get the much-criticised second trilogy out of the way first? I chose the second option, and not only because Episodes 1-3 are certainly bad, but because I had yet to bring myself to watch any of them for a second time since sitting uncomfortably in the cinema back in 1999, 2002 and 2005. I remember leaving the theatre after seeing The Phantom Menace massively disappointed but convincing myself it had enough merit to qualify as a 'good' movie. Over the years I have grown to hate it as a soulless special effects extravaganza, so is it quite the spirit-crushing experience I remember it to be? Not quite.

It's quite hard to ascertain just who George Lucas was aiming The Phantom Menace at. It's certainly a childish film stuffed to the gills with physical comedy and silly voices, and dialogue so expository and simplistic that it would fail to convince anyone with a mental age north of 12. But then the action plays out over a confusing and plain boring plot revolving around a trade dispute. The opening crawl attempts to explain matters before introducing a wide-range of planets, characters and species, and throwing its two heroes, Jedi Knights Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), into the thick of the action. I was quickly lost and left scratching my head, but everything was certainly pretty to look at. It was at this point I realised that Lucas had designed a film to be admired solely from a visual standpoint, and dialogue, characterisation and storytelling had been thrown out of the window. The planet and character designs are beautiful, and I had forgotten just how splendid they are to gaze upon when backed by John Williams' iconic score.

Away from the lightsaber duels and vast landscapes, The Phantom Menace is excruciatingly dull, failing to make conversations about blockades and the Senate remotely interesting, while shoe-horning in references to the originals with little regard for coherency. Neeson and McGregor are both perfectly charming in their roles, even when faced with some truly cringe-inducing dialogue and being forced to converse with a special effect that the actor's eyes fail to meet. The same cannot be said, however, for Natalie Portman and Jake Lloyd. As Queen Amidala, the ruler of Naboo the Jedis are sent to rescue, Portman delivers her lines with a dead-eyed indifference akin to Hayden Christensen's performance in the next two films, something she was criticised for in the Thor movies. Lloyd is incredibly wooden as the young Anakin Skywalker, an annoying pug-faced all-American boy with a fondness for yelling "Yipee!" (what were you thinking George?).

And of course, worst of all, there is the character now cemented as the most loathed in cinema history, Jar Jar Binks (played by Ahmed Best). He has far more screen-time than I remembered, and is always on hand to suck any credibility out of a potentially cool moment. The only scene he doesn't completely ruin is the pod race, during which Anakin races to win a bet that will see him freed from slavery and placed into the safe hands of the Jedis. Even Jar Jar's fart joke doesn't get in the way of what is an exciting and visually spectacular set-piece, which still holds up 18 years later. Lucas also delivers during the one lightsaber duel of the prequel trilogy that doesn't descend into CGI overkill, which pits the two heroes against Darth Maul (Ray Park), arguably one of Lucas' coolest creations. It's beautifully choreographed and backed by an operatic score, and serves as a frustrating reminder of how good this could have been had Lucas not been so pre-occupied with daft humour and a convoluted plot.


Directed by: George Lucas
Starring: Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd, Ian McDiarmid, Ahmed Best, Hugh Quarshie, Terence Stamp
Country: USA

Rating: **

Tom Gillespie

Review #1,191: 'Split' (2016)

To say that the output of writer/director M. Night Shyamalan has been on a steady decline since his hit debut The Sixth Sense in 1999 would be a little bit of an understatement. While The Sixth Sense and his next feature Unbreakable (2000) had people announcing him as the next Steven Spielberg, the likes of Lady in the Water (2006) and, especially, The Happening (2008) left audiences scratching their heads at how this once-wunderkind could become such an absolute laughing stock. Each of his subsequent movies were inevitably built-up as the one in which Shyamalan would re-discover his form, only for them to receive a panning commercially and critically. However, it would seem that Shyamalan has finally located a smidgen of the talent teased in his early works with Split, a routine kidnapped-girls-in-peril horror elevated by an outstanding central performance.

Friends Claire (Haley Lu Richardson) and Marcia (Jessica Sula), along with 'weird' outsider Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy), are kidnapped in brought daylight by a stern-looking bespectacled man. They are locked in a windowless room by their captor, seemingly without any hope of escape. The girls soon to become puzzled by their abductor, who is a buttoned-up OCD-sufferer one minute, and speaking warmly while dressed in women's clothes the next. He also appears to them as a lisping, goofy 9 year old boy, and through the man's psychiatrist Dr. Karen Fletcher (Betty Buckley), we learn that the man, whose real name is Kevin, suffers from dissociative identity disorder (DID), and is harbouring 23 different personalities. He appears to Fletcher as Barry, but the doctor suspects that new personalities have emerged as dominant and that they putting the pieces in place for the arrival of a mysterious 24th personality, known as The Beast.

There is a fundamental issue with the characters of Split, and it's that the only one who truly matters is James McAvoy's Kevin, and the many personalities associated with him. Everyone else is reduced to either skimpily-clad horror-bait or exposition tool. The one exception is Casey, whose troubled background could mean that she shares more in common with her captor than we initially realise, but the film relies too heavily on lingering close-ups and clunky flashbacks to make any real impact. The other girls are only there to frustrate the audience with their terrible escape plans and inexplicably lose their clothing. Split is far more interesting when away from the kidnap plot and delving into the film's speculation on the potential of DID sufferers. Fletcher believes that different personalities can have different physical ailments, for example one could be paraplegic and the other able to run great distances, and theorises that they could even possess untapped powers. It's just a shame that her character is designed to do little more than explain this to us.

Yet while all the Shyamalan tics we've come to know and hate are present and annoying - such as his obligatory cameo and nails-down-a-blackboard dialogue spoken in the real world by nobody ever - Split really comes alive when McAvoy is on screen. He is scary, charming and funny, often all at once. In one scene, he dances around a character to pumping techno music, and this could be viewed as a suitable metaphor for how McAvoy puts his supporting cast to shame. This being Shyamalan, there is the inevitable twist ending, although it is not one that you could possibly guess. Just when I was at the point of thinking that he had gone and taken a story of potential and ran way too far with it, the final scene made me completely re-evaluate the entire movie. Don't get me wrong, it's nothing particularly clever, but it is a nice little bit of fan-service that helps put the movie into perspective and, I admit, left me giddy. Shyamalan is not "back to his best", and I think it's quite clear he never will be, but Split has at least got me somewhat excited for his next film. He'll never be forgiven for The Happening though.


Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan
Starring: James McAvoy, Anya Taylor-Joy, Betty Buckley, Haley Lu Richardson, Jessica Sula
Country: USA

Rating: ***

Tom Gillespie

Review #1,190: 'Killing Zoe' (1993)

I remember hearing whispers of the low-budget heist thriller Killing Zoe back in 1993, mainly because of its link to Quentin Tarantino, the then up-and-coming indie writer/director who was quickly becoming the poster boy for '90s cool following the controversial success of his debut Reservoir Dogs. Killing Zoe was directed by Roger Avary, the film enthusiast who worked in a video store with Tarantino. When the writing duo won an Academy Award for Pulp Fiction in 1994, Tarantino was the best thing since sliced bread, and Killing Zoe enjoyed a brief cult success due to the motor-mouth's name being plastered above the title, although only serving as executive producer. Almost a quarter-century later, Avary's film has faded into obscurity, and deservedly so.

American Zed (Eric Stoltz) arrives in Paris and quickly befriends a talkative cab driver, who offers to set him up for the night with a girl. Back at his hotel room, he is soon joined by the young and beautiful Zoe (Julie Delpy), who insists that she is not a prostitute but an art student looking to make some quick cash to get by. She inexplicably falls for the overwhelmingly passive Zed, until Parisian Eric (Jean-Hugues Anglade) barges in and throws her out. It turns out that Zed is in Paris to assist his old friend with a bank job, where he will use his expertise to crack open the tricky vault. Eric insists that the heist happens the very next day, and rather than take the time to mull over the plan in detail, Eric, Zed and the rest of the gang indulge in a night of excess, involving drink, women, and lots and lots of heroin.

It's no surprise that the eventual robbery goes spectacularly wrong, with the gang (including Gary Kemp) still tripping from the night before and feeling particularly trigger-happy. What occurs in the final third is a hateful and tedious orgy of blood and shouting. The crew aren't endearing in their ineptitude, but completely annoying and charmless. It certainly has a deliberate manic energy to it, but is done so with a lack of real substance. The movie is at its best during the moments building up to the heist, which use a mixture of out-of-focus photography and garbled dialogue to create a truly whacked-out atmosphere. It's almost like that moment when you realise you've had too much but your friends won't allow you to leave, only with a bunch of junkie psychopaths in your face spouting their own nonsensical philosophy. Overall, it's an unpleasantly nihilistic experience that offers only a glimpse into Avary's talents and obvious fondness for cinema. Keep your eyes peeled for a bizarre cameo by Ron Jeremy.


Directed by: Roger Avary
Starring: Eric Stoltz, Jean-Hugues Anglade, Julie Delpy, Gary Kemp
Country: France/USA

Rating: **

Tom Gillespie

Review #1,189: 'The Guyver' (1991)

Very loosely based on the Japanese manga of the same name by Yoshiki Takaya, The Guyver, also known as Mutronics in Europe, is one of those little oddities you may have caught on late-night TV when you were younger and loved, only to realise it's rather terrible when viewed again through more mature goggles. Directed by special effects maestros Screaming Mad George (Bride of Re-Animator) and Steve Wang (Hell Comes to Frogtown), produced by B-movie favourite Brian Yuzna, and co-starring Re-Animator alumni David Gale and Jeffrey Combs, The Guyver is custom-made to be an exploitation enthusiast's wet-dream. Yet, despite the wealth of rubber-suited monsters on show, it's really rather rubbish, but as rubbish goes, it certainly passes the time.

An opening scroll, which goes on for far too long, informs us that humans were created by ancient aliens who implanted a special gene into a select few which enables the host to transform into a hideous monster at will, known as 'Zoanoids'. These evil creatures now run a powerful organisation called Chronos, and are studying an artefact called the Guyver; a special device which can empower the possessor with organic armour and superpowers. Concerned about the power it will grant the monsters should they learn how to use it, a scientist within the corporation, Dr. Segawa (Greg Joung Paik), steals the device with the aim of passing it on to gruff cop Max (Mark Hamill). The doctor is murdered, but not before hiding the Guyver away. When Segawa's daughter Mizky (Vivian Wu) is informed, her goofball boyfriend Sean (Jack Armstrong) follows her to the crime scene, only to become the unwilling wielder of the Guyver's magic.

I almost wished I like The Guyver more, as it's clearly made by artists who understand why people love these kinds of films. Mad George and Wang make sure that we see the costumes and make-up in their full glory, rather than just glimpsed in shadows, but the fight scenes seem to go on forever. They are so clumsily choreographed - lots of punches and kicks that seem to inflict no damage - that it often feels like a slightly more violent episode of the original Power Rangers show. There is also the issue of the horrible humour, featuring one racial stereotype prone to outbursts of rap, played earnestly by '70s TV star Jimmie Walker. If you are looking for an adaptation that does justice to the mythology of the manga on which it is based, then you'll be completely underwhelmed. If you're a fan of low-budget trash, then there are plenty of familiar faces (including Michael Berryman in a prominent role) and fan-service to tide you over.

Directed by: Screaming Mad George, Steve Wang

Starring: Jack Armstrong, Mark Hamill, Vivian Wu, David Gale, Michael Berryman, Jimmie Walker, Jeffrey Combs

Country: USA/Japan

Rating: ***

Tom Gillespie