Review #1,236: 'The Mummy' (2017)

Alex Kurtzman's The Mummy marks the arrival of Universal's 'Dark Universe', the studio's attempt at re-branding its flagpole monsters from the archives as a kind of flawed superhero team who will no doubt be brought together to face off a big bad sometime in the future. With a plan to introduce the likes of Dracula, Frankenstein, The Invisible Man and The Phantom of the Opera, The Mummy seems an odd choice to start, given the recent not-so-well received trilogy starring Brendan Fraser that kicked off as recently as 1999. It's a humongous task, but one need only look at the success of Marvel to learn that billions of dollars can be raked in if enough care is taken when building the expansive world from the ground up, teasing the characters and events to come while telling a satisfying self-contained story at the same time.

But one can also looks at DC's venture into universe-building to see how it can fall flat on its face, although it now thankfully seems back on track after the success of Wonder Woman. The Mummy makes the grave mistake of laying all of its card on the table, trying to be everything from a horror to an old-school adventure to a Tom Cruise blockbuster, while never convincing as any. Tying this new world of gods and monsters together is Russell Crowe's Dr. Jekyll, the Nick Fury who will eventually unite the team under a secret society called Prodigium, the Dark Universe's version of S.H.I.E.L.D. Shortly after he introduced, he fails to get to his drugs on time and turns into Mr. Hyde, a type of evil Ray Winstone only with super strength, in a scene that verges on the downright embarrassing. Is it not enough to simply mention the name and let the audience generate their own excitement? No, as The Mummy aims to be nothing more than a show-all, CGI-reliant Michael Bay movie that throws so much shit at the screen that it becomes impossible to care about anything you're seeing.

Tom Cruise plays Nick Morton, an unconvincing cheeky-chappy antique hunter-cum-thief who also works for the U.S. Army in some capacity. He's in Iraq with his assistant Chris (comic relief Jake Johnson), and it isn't long before the town around them is torn apart in a hail of bullets. In a stroke of luck, they uncover a massive Egyptian tomb for Princess Ahmanet (Sofia Boutella). Nick just wants the loot, but as eye-candy archaeologist and exposition-machine Jenny Halsey (Annabelle Wallis) informs us, the discovery is big news. Nick's impatience gets the better of him and he accidentally releases the tomb in a splash of mercury and CGI spiders. It's love at first sight for Ahmanet, who takes an instant liking to Nick's botoxed face and wants him as a vessel for the return of Egyptian God Set. And so begins her vague plan to destroy London with an army of CGI monstrosities and fart clouds, as she sets out to recover a ruby found in a recent excavation.

The Mummy is made all the more frustrating by offering tiny glimpses of the film it should have been. A stand-out plane crash set-piece and an impressive performance from Boutella (who was a badass in Kingsman: The Secret Service and stole the show in Stat Trek Beyond) hint at an exciting and modern adventure-horror movie, but the script by David Koepp, Christopher McQuarrie and Dylan Kussman seems more concerned with pandering to a mainstream crowd and bending the story to the strengths of its lead actor, despite this being one of his worst performances. It switches between horror, comedy and action, often within the same scene, cramming in baffling exposition and universe-building on top. 1999's The Mummy had many of the same problems, but the first film at least had a goofy charm. What this means for the franchise going forward is anyone's guess, although things to seem to be moving forward despite this film's critical and commercial failures. But will anyone seriously want to see a stand alone film about this interpretation of Dr. Jekyll?


Directed by: Alex Kurtzman
Starring: Tom Cruise, Annabelle Wallis, Sofia Boutella, Russell Crowe, Jake Johnson
Country: USA

Rating: **

Tom Gillespie

Review #1,235: 'Sleepless' (2001)

Sleepless, or to give the film its original Italian title, Non ho sonno, was a commercial success in its native country and marked the return of legendary director Dario Argento to the giallo sub-genre after a long hiatus. Essentially a slasher at heart, Sleepless does see the return of the director's popular trademarks, making this a formulaic and unsurprising serial killer movie elevated by some stylish camerawork and a thumping, energetic score. Taking place decades after Turin was left shaking following a series of killings known as 'The Dwarf Murders', it was assumed that the killer was dead after its main suspect disappeared and the crimes came to an abrupt halt. Yet when people (women) start to turn up dead in the same style as those committed back in 1983, it would seem that the one responsible is back and thirsty for more bloodshed.

A young boy, Giacomo (Stefano Dionisi), witnesses the horrific murder of his mother. The lead investigator, Moretti (Max von Sydow), promises the shell-shocked youth that he will catch the killer if it takes him the rest of his life. Fast-forward seventeen years later, and the case of The Dwarf Murders remains officially unsolved. Paying the bills by working as a waiter in restaurant, Giacomo, now living in Rome, is pulled back to Turin when his friend offers him a place to stay as the murders start to pile up. With the police clueless and familiar with the notorious murders years before, they turn to the now-retired Moretti for assistance, but his memory has deteriorated so much that he remembers little about the case. Reminded of his promise, Moretti hooks up with Giacomo in an attempt to solve the murders themselves. Is giallo novelist Vincenzo de Fabritiis, the dwarf who emerged as the prime suspect before seemingly passing away, actually alive and eager to finish the job?

With sightings of a little person made at almost every murder scene, it appears that the answer is yes. But like most of the greatest gialli, Argento's script (co-written by Franco Ferrini and Carlo Lucarelli) throws in more red-herrings than you can count and will leave you guessing until the very end. With a running time of just shy of 2 hours, Sleepless is overlong, and doesn't offer enough in the way of originality to justify the slog. It may just catch you off guard though, as Argento throws in a set-piece on an empty train with only a potential victim, a conductor and the unseen killer on board, which ranks as some of the greatest work he's ever done. With the return of Goblin on the soundtrack, the movie often feels like a return to form for the Italian filmmaker, but slasher tropes dominate while the giallo nods often feel like a side-note. This means that there is perhaps more than just a hint of misogyny, and the narrative is repetitive in nature. Still, it was the best work he had done since 1987's Opera, until he regressed again into a series of movies that varied between the mediocre to the downright terrible.


Directed by: Dario Argento
Starring: Max von Sydow, Stefano Dionisi, Chiara Caselli, Gabriele Lavia
Country: Italy

Rating: ***

Tom Gillespie

Review #1,234: 'Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence' (2004)

Despite the critical and commercial success of Mamoru Oshii's Ghost in the Shell, an adaptation of the equally-popular manga by Masamune Shirow, it took a whole nine years for a sequel to arrive. Without Oshii's involvement, a spin-off series entitled Stand Alone Complex was launched, which satisfied fans despite having very little connection to the movie, but shared many of its themes of cyber-punk futurism, perilous technological advancements, and philosophical pondering. Oshii's sequel, Innocence, which picks up the story of the original some years later, was what the fans really wanted. But does it live up to the legacy left by Ghost in the Shell, a film now considered a classic of the sci-fi genre, animated or not? It's focus is slight, but the ambition remains lofty, however Innocence certainly cowers in the presence of its towering predecessor.

Huge advancements in cybernetics now mean that the line between human and technology is more difficult to decipher than ever. Humans utilise robotics to increase their physical and mental potential, and your soul (or 'ghost') and memories can be downloaded, stored and transferred. Batou (voiced by Akio Otsuka), more cyborg than human, works for Section 9. One of his few memories is that of his former partner Major Motoko Kusanagi (Atsuko Tanaka), whose ghost disappeared into cyberspace at the end of the previous film. Now partnered with the mostly-human rookie Togusa (Koichi Yamadera), the bickering cops start to investigate a series of murders committed by malfunctioning gynoids, or sex bots. The trail leads them from the yakuza to a popular robot manufacturer, who provide a certain service for those with the money to pay for it.

The plot is be relatively straight-forward and carries the tone of a buddy-cop noir for the most part, although there's an occasional detour into mind-fucking 'ghost-hack' territory. But Oshii is less interested in the narrative driving Batou to get where he needs to be than the philosophical questions raised by this beautiful, terrifying future. The dialogue, which pulls quotes from various obscure philosophical texts, becomes increasingly difficult to keep up with, especially when the majority of the characters spend more time debating their place in the world than doing their actual job. And if you're watching with subtitles, like I did, then good luck to you. To compare it to The Matrix Reloaded may be somewhat harsh, as Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence boasts some stunning animation (a blend of hand-drawn and computer animation), and a collection of well-staged, bone-crunching action scenes. Some of the imagery is genuinely haunting, and it's in these moments that this sequel feels like it may live up to its predecessor.


Directed by: Mamoru Oshii
Voices: Akio Ôtsuka, Atsuko Tanaka, Kôichi Yamadera, Tamio Ôki
Country: Japan

Rating: ***

Tom Gillespie

Review #1,233: 'Icarus' (2017)

Say what you will about Netflix, the multi-million dollar streaming service used the world over that has come under intense scrutiny in the past year for its debatable participation in the Cannes Film Festival, but its ability to fuel water-cooler chit-chat has done wonders for the documentary genre. The 10-part true crime series Making a Murderer became a phenomenon, proving so popular that it managed to cast doubts over the guilt of its subject and on the American justice system as a whole. The service's most recent conversation-starter is Icarus, directed by amateur cyclist Bryan Fogel, which started out like a Super Size Me expose on the world of doping but evolved into something else entirely. While it certainly has its flaws, it's an astonishing tale that would have been missed by most on a limited cinema run, but in the wide-reaching hands of Netflix, it has a chance to cause a stir.

Director Fogel's only previous directorial credit is 2012's little-seen Jewtopia, a gross-out comedy which does little to suggest he is a natural fit for a crusading documentary filmmaker. But, in the early stages of Icarus, he proves himself adept chronicling his journey from amateur cyclist to doped-up competition-winner. Hoping to replicate the process adopted by the likes of exposed drug cheat Lance Armstrong, Fogel spends much of the films first half-hour injecting testosterone and God-knows-what-else into his thighs and buttocks, and hitting the gym to prepare to win a gruelling seven-day cycle across France. He seeks guidance from Grigory Rodchenkov, the head of anti-doping in Russia, who seems to know every trick in the book on how to cheat the drug tests and avoid detection by WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency). Yet while his tests show a huge improvement on his physical prowess, he struggles to make any impact on the race, with a huge margin remaining between him and the top 10 racers. It seems his entire documentary is crumbling around him.

Then the news breaks of Russia's participation in a doping operation that dates back decades, and Rodchenkov starts to worry for his life. When his friend and colleague dies under mysterious circumstances, Rodchenkov flees to America to turn whistle-blower, and Fogel, having formed a close friendship with the charismatic, larger-than-life filmmaker's dream, gets the scoop. The director wisely relegates himself into the background as Rodchenkov's story and personality take over, and the film takes on the tone of a thriller. It's a story you have no doubt read about in the media, but Icarus boasts the opportunity to hear it directly from the horse's mouth, and Fogel is happy to let his subject talk. Having stumbled upon a goldmine, it's a wonder why Fogel chose to keep so much of his original narrative in the movie. While his lack of vanity in accepting his failure is admirable, it would have worked better with 15 minutes or so shaved off, and the film feels baggy and overlong as a result. Still, Icarus has the ability to shock, revealing that the scandal goes all the way to the very top, and may have been employed as a politic tactic by Putin to justify his invasion of Ukraine.


Directed by: Bryan Fogel
Starring: Bryan Fogel, Grigory Rodchenkov
Country: USA

Rating: ***

Tom Gillespie

Review #1,232: 'Kill the Messenger' (2014)

Kill the Messenger, director Michael Cuesta's re-telling of journalist Gary Webb's expose of the CIA's illegal funding of Nicaraguan Contra rebels and its links to the crack epidemic sweeping across the country, has all the ingredients for a gripping, fact-based drama centred around a story everybody should know more about (at the time, people were distracted by Bill Clinton's White House antics involving Monica Lewinsky). Seminal movies such as All the President's Men and Zodiac portrayed the dangers that come with investigative journalism and managed keep a real-life story suspenseful despite many knowing the outcome already. Kill the Messenger sadly doesn't achieve much of this, and although the movie is competently made and solidly acted, it struggles to hold the attention it should demand by playing things frustratingly formal.

Jeremy Renner stars as Webb, the goateed, informally-dressed San Jose Mercury News reporter who carries more than a whiff of anti-establishment about him. While investigating the government seizure of drug dealer's property, even when they've been found innocent, he is handed court papers which seem to reveal that a major drug runner is actually a CIA operative. It's a revelation that will change Webb's life, and he is soon on the government's radar when he follows leads to kingpin Rick Ross (Michael Kenneth Williams) and eventually to Managua to meet with cartel boss Norwin Meneses (Andy Garcia). Everything he uncovers seems to suggest that the CIA, committing high treason in the process, is indirectly funding the wave of crack decimating entire neighbourhoods throughout the U.S. Webb reports his findings in a three-part series entitled Dark Alliance, which quickly becomes one of the internet's first viral hits, before the CIA decide to turn his world upside down.

In many ways, the story of a little guy being cruelly picked apart by higher powers is comparable to the one told in The Insider. Yet Michael Mann's masterpiece also demonstrated that a film can be grounded in fact and procedural while keeping the audience engrossed in the story it's telling. Kill the Messenger wisely reserves a large chunk of the running time for what Webb went through after breaking the story, but much of this is bogged down in cliched domestic squabbles, with Rosemarie DeWitt finding herself criminally underwritten as the nagging wife whose feelings drastically change from one scene to the next. However, it has its moments, especially when showing how Webb was surgically discredited while his bosses (played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Oliver Platt) slowly distanced themselves from the negative attention. Renner manages to carry the film despite not being given a whole lot to do apart from exchanging a few "I'm right, you're wrong," arguments with his colleagues. The real-life story alone is shocking enough to make the film worth a watch, but there's a emptiness at its core.


Directed by: Michael Cuesta
Starring: Jeremy Renner, Rosemarie DeWitt, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Oliver Platt, Tim Blake Nelson, Michael Sheen, Barry Pepper, Andy Garcia
Country: USA

Rating: ***

Tom Gillespie

Review #1,231: 'Miracle Mile' (1988)

Back in 1980's and early 90's, the threat of nuclear war still played on many people's minds. With the umpteenth Cold War kicked off by the rise to power of Mikhail Gorbachev in the USSR, an arms race commenced between the Soviets and the US under president Ronald Reagan, until the Soviet Union eventually collapsed in 1991. Miracle Mile takes these fears and ponders what the knowledge of an incoming nuclear strike and imminent death would do to a person while everybody goes about their business none the wiser. By leaving it until the very end to confirm whether or not World War III has officially commenced, or if it's all in the mind of its increasingly paranoid and desperate protagonist, Miracle Mile is a tense and often funny end-of-the-world (or not) thriller.

The film begins with a meeting between two singletons, trombone player Harry (Anthony Edwards) and coffee shop waitress Julie (Mare Winningham). It's love at first sight and they agree to meet up again later after Julie finishes her shift to grab a bite to eat. Harry oversleeps however, and by the time he makes it to the coffee shop, Julie is nowhere to be found. As he nervously waits outside, the phone rings in the nearby telephone booth. The man on the other line, who believes he is calling his father, informs Harry that an irreversible nuclear strike has been set in motion, and the U.S. has approximately one hour before complete annihilation. The man is cut short by machine gun fire, before another voice tells Harry to forget everything he has heard. After a bit of further investigation, the outlandish claim start to ring true. Deciding he would rather spend his last moments with the woman he loves, Harry begins his search, always clinging to the belief that they can somehow escape with their lives.

With much of the action dedicated to Harry's panicked dash across a sleeping Los Angeles, where he encounters many offbeat characters played by the likes of Mykelti Williamson, Denise Crosby, Eddie Bunker and Brian Thompson, Miracle Mile brought to mind the enthralling aimlessness of Martin Scorsese's After Hours, and the eerie emptiness of a nighttime city of Paul Thomas Anderson's Magnolia. There's real tension in the events leading up to the possible apocalypse, and even more so when word begins to spread and downtown turns into sheer chaos and lawlessness. At the film's centre is the romance between Harry and Julie, and there's a sweetness to the irony of meeting your true love on the day the world will be reduced to rubble. It's played nicely by the two leads, with Edwards reminding us that he is a solid character actor deserving of more movie roles. A true forgotten gem that leaves you wondering if you would rather be given the chance to make the most of your last moments on Earth, or remain blissfully ignorant.


Directed by: Steve De Jarnatt
Starring: Anthony Edwards, Mare Winningham, Mykelti Williamson, John Agar, Lou Hancock
Country: USA

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie

Review #1,230: 'Train to Busan' (2016)

Train to Busan, Sang-ho Yeon's hugely successful South Korean zombie movie, may just be the most effortlessly enjoyable action movie to feature the brain-hungry undead in years. Taking inspiration from the maestro who created the 'zombie' we know and love today, the late, great George A. Romero, as well as Danny Boyle's faster and scarier flesh-eaters, it's a wonderfully constructed and nail-bitingly tense piece, which manages to mix action, horror and a bit of family drama into two hours of pure entertainment. It also finds time to deliver a message amidst the carnage, and one that is perhaps more relevant than ever in these unpredictable times. In the most hopeless of situations, we must ultimately look out for one another if we are to stand a chance of surviving. Train to Busan condemns those who are willing to sacrifice others to save their own necks.

Workaholic fund manager Seok-woo (Yoo Gong) is the kind of father who always seems to be on his phone at important family events. Divorced and single, he occasionally looks after his young daughter Soo-an (Su-an Kim) in the apartment he shares his mother, but pays such little attention to the girl that he buys her a Nintendo Wii for her birthday, forgetting that he got her the same present the previous year. What she really wants for her birthday is to see her mother in Busan, but Seok-woo is so busy at work that he is unable for find the time to accompany her on the 2 hour round-trip. After taking some advice from his mother, he eventually agrees. They arrive at the train station safe and sound, but it's clear that something isn't quite right. Police and ambulance sirens whizz by, people are running in the street, and the news reports show mass unrest and rioting across the country.

Before the train doors shut however, a sickly woman gets on board. She soon collapses and starts to convulse, only for a poor train attendant to tend to her and wound up bitten. It's a big train however, and Train to Busan starts to clearly establish the collection of characters on board. There's a tough husband and his pregnant wife, two elderly sisters, a young cheerleader, a rich and selfish corporate type, and an entire baseball team, who are handily packing many bats in their luggage. Panic soon sets in as the realisation of a zombie apocalypse dawns on the passengers, and with much of the country either in quarantine or overrun by the military trying to fight off the unstoppable hoard, its unclear just where and when they can stop. Seok-woo's intentions are to look out only himself and his daughter, and teaches the seemingly wiser Soon-an the same. But as the situation becomes increasingly dyer, it becomes clear that they are stronger together.

The atmosphere and tension are turned up to the max during some incredibly inventive set-pieces, which often make the most of the most mundane of locations. These are the running, screeching zombies of Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later, so cramped train carriages are quickly turned into narrow isles of death. As the passengers learn the zombies' weaknesses, such as their inability to work out a door handle or how they quickly forget about you once you're out of site, the darkness of long tunnels become their ally as they journey from A to B. Sang-ho Yeon is careful to keep the social commentary at the fore, highlighting how fear can turn the nicest of people into selfish, despicable monsters, and how important it is to fight out primal instincts in moments of terror. After a fast-paced first hour, the events become somewhat repetitive and the running time could do with some trimming, but it all pays off with a gripping climax. In a time of zombie overkill, Train to Busan still manages to feel fresh.


Directed by: Sang-ho Yeon
Starring: Yoo Gong, Su-an Kim, Yu-mi Jung, Dong-seok Ma, Woo-sik Choi, Sohee
Country: South Korea

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie

Review #1,229: 'Lady Snowblood: Love Song of Vengeance' (1974)

Based on the manga comic by Kazuo Koike, 1973's Lady Snowblood is a simplistic rape-revenge thriller, pitting one woman with a mastery of swordsmanship against a hoard of faceless and disposable foes standing in her way. Opening with snow falling on darkness, Toshiya Fujita's film is also incredibly beautiful, offering a variety of strikingly colourful images, more often than not spattered with blood red. Stills from the movie could be framed and hung on your wall, but the main joy to be had is with its narrative simplicity and thrilling swordplay. The sight of Meiko Kaji slicing down one baddie after the next combined with her thirst for revenge propelled Lady Snowblood to exploitation royalty.

The sequel came the very next year, and like most successes in which the hero achieves their goal and nicely wraps up the story, the only option going forward is to broaden the scope and give the protagonist a new mission. This approach is rarely successful, and Lady Snowblood: Love Song of Vengeance struggles to recapture the magic of its predecessor. With Snowblood a wanted woman, she is mercilessly pursued by the police until she eventually throws down her sword to prevent further bloodshed. Sentence to death, she is saved from the noose by Seishiro Kikui (Shin Kishida), the head of the Secret Police, and given the task of infiltrating anarchist Ransui (Juzo Itami) to locate a document that will convince the people to rise up against the government. When her allegiances change, the deadly assassin finds herself on the run again, and soon out for further revenge.

The fight choreography is once again startling, with buckets of blood spurting from the unlikeliest of places. If anything, it improves on the first and certainly delivers more of it, with an early beach massacre and a climactic battle on a row of steps being the standout set-pieces. It moves at a fast pace, and offers historical context in snippets of black-and-white news footage (although some, if not all, were made for the film) and narration. Yet this also means that we're hit with a rather convoluted plot involving many characters, each with their own personal turmoil and ambitions. This takes away the sense of personal fury of the first film, with Kaji given few lines and little to do other than fight when called upon. She does shine when given the chance however, and hardcore fans of the genre will no doubt lap the balletic carnage.


Directed by: Toshiya Fujita
Starring: Meiko Kaji, Jûzô Itami, Kazuko Yoshiyuki, Yoshio Harada, Shin Kishida
Country: Japan

Rating: ***

Tom Gillespie

Review #1,228: 'Kill, Baby... Kill!' (1966)

Horror maestro Mario Bava always had a unique talent for producing the most extraordinary films on the slimmest of budgets. He made Danger: Diabolik, one of his greatest works, for way less than the budget handed to him by super-producer Dino de Laurentis. Kill, Baby... Kill!, also known under the less enticing title of Curse of the Dead, is no different. With the budget provided by small-time Italian production company F.U.L. Films already microscopic, the movie was almost scrapped all together when the budget dried up just days into filming. However, Bava prevailed, and somehow managed to convince the cast and crew to work for next to nothing, and in some cases, for nothing at all. Using his skill for improvisation with camera and lighting, Kill, Baby... Kill! is rich in atmosphere, even offering the odd fright, and is now considered a masterpiece by some and one of Bava's finest achievements.

After a woman mysteriously flings herself onto a set of spikes in an abandoned church, Dr. Paul Eswai (Giacomo Rossi Stuart) is called to a remote Carpathian village to perform the autopsy. He is immediately met with hostility, as the highly superstitious villagers are used to the more primitive practice of burying the body without medical examination. Already investigating the case is grizzled detective Kruger (Piero Lulli), who warns Eswai of the villagers belief in a ghostly presence around the time that places a curse on a person who always turns up dead shortly after. When Kruger goes missing while paying a visit to the secretive Baroness Graps (Giovanna Galletti), the young daughter of an innkeeper sees the ghostly apparition of a young blonde girl and believes she will be next to take her own life. Questioning everything he sees and hears, Eswai turns to village sorceress Ruth (Fabienne Dali) to try and understand these medieval practices.

While I disagree that Kill, Baby... Kill! even comes close to being Bava's best film, this is without a doubt his greatest achievement. Working with very little, Bava somehow manages to conjure up an incredibly spooky, Gothic atmosphere, with beautifully decorated interiors and stunningly framed exteriors, complement with elegant camera movements. When the action moves away from the lushness of the sets and the story starts to emerge, long periods are spent with Eswai simply wandering from one place to the next. Rossi Stuart is hardly the most charismatic actor, although he certainly isn't helped by the questionable dubbing, and his romance with Monica (Erika Blanc), a native who returns to the village to claim her inheritance, proves to be as equally plodding. Still, while this is relatively routine, formulaic stuff in terms of narrative, Bava more than makes up for it with a sumptuous colour palette, and some of the most striking imagery to be found in horror.


Directed by: Mario Bava
Starring: Giacomo Rossi Stuart, Erika Blanc, Fabienne Dali, Piero Lulli, Luciano Catenacci
Country: Italy

Rating: ***

Tom Gillespie

Review #1,227: 'Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back' (1980)

As argued by Dante and Randal in Kevin Smith's slacker classic Clerks, the question of whether A New Hope or The Empire Strikes Back is the better movie is one of cinema's most popular debates. Episode IV's introduction to George Lucas' world of aliens, droids and intergalactic war struck a chord with audiences back in 1977, and continues to do so today. It is a fun good vs. evil story that only touches upon the spiritual elements of the 'Force' that we now know so well, and on the vastness of the universe it is set within. Personally, I have to agree with Dante's argument that Empire offers a darker and richer experience, which not only develops the series' mythology even further, but paints its characters with far more layers than seen before.

We no doubt have George Lucas' lack of involvement in the film's development for that, as the witty script by Leigh Bracket and Raiders of the Lost Ark scribe Lawrence Kasdan keeps the action both exciting and with consequence, as well as maintaining a firm grasp on the characters' complicated relationships and personal roles in the expanding story. Director Irvin Kershner, who took over after Lucas bailed following a troubled pre-production, also brings the best out of the actors. Empire really transformed what was an interesting idea drawing inspiration from classic sci-fi serials and the samurai films of Akira Kurosawa into the billion-dollar beast it is today. These films are now so deeply rooted in our culture that it's almost difficult to classify the original trilogy as mere movies, they have now become something else entirely.

After succeeding in blowing up the Empire's planet-destroying Death Star, the Rebels, led by Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), are hiding out on ice planet Hoth while the evil Darth Vader sends out trackers throughout the galaxy in the hope of tracking them down. Smuggler Han Solo (Harrison Ford) wants to repair his ship and get back to his old ways with trusted Wookiee friend Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew), but that doesn't prevent him from flirting with Leia (Carrie Fisher). When they are eventually spotted and the planet is attacked, the film does what most sequels do nowadays and splits everybody up. Han and Leia must escape through an asteroid field with the Empire in pursuit to seek refuge in Cloud City with old friend Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams), while Luke seeks out Dagobah to learn the ways of the Force from Jedi master Yoda (Frank Oz).

Even though I have seen this movie countless times, the arm hairs still stand up when John Williams' fantastic score kicks in during the opening crawl. From the on, Empire delivers a relentless assault of riveting set-pieces and iconic moments, from the attack on Hoth which still stands up to most modern blockbusters, to the gob-smacking twist at the climax now so routinely, and lovingly, spoofed. It also takes Darth Vader to a new level of villainy, as the helmeted Sith lord relentlessly pursues the young man he feels is strong in the ways of the Force, and brutally takes out any of his own underlings who make the mistake of failing him. It's certainly dark, but it's easy to forget just how exciting and engrossing it is also. Ending at an incredibly low point for most of the good guys involved with only a sliver of hope on the horizon, I can't imagine how much fans were left wanting more back in 1980 as the credits rolled. It will always be superior to A New Hope in my book, but you can't have one without the other, and both are damn near perfect.


Directed by: Irvin Kershner
Starring: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, David Prowse, Peter Mayhew, Kenny Baker, Frank Oz
Country: USA

Rating: *****

Tom Gillespie

Review #1,226: 'War for the Planet of the Apes' (2017)

Matt Reeves' War for the Planet of the Apes, the reboot of the classic series that also work as prequels of sorts, isn't the first ape-led movie this summer to draw inspiration from Francis Ford Coppola's Vietnam classic Apocalypse Now. While Kong: Skull Island attempted to re-create some of the visuals from Coppola's masterpiece, especially the helicopters whizzing past the sunset moment that adorned the posters, it shared little of its psychological tone and gravitas. In War for the Planet of the Apes, the only obvious references are the words 'Ape-pocalypse Now' scrawled by humans in a dingy sewer, and Woody Harrelson's bald, painted and psychotic antagonist The Colonel. Yet War also shares much of its weary, exhausted tone, and the psychological effects of battle are a key theme running throughout, as is the desire for revenge driven by an unquenchable hatred.

For anyone hoping to enjoy an action-packed blockbuster full of explosions and thrills will likely be disappointed, or at least take aback by how serious Reeves and co-writer Matt Bomback approach the subject matter. After the blistering finale of the previous film, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, which offered the delightful sight of an ape riding a horse wielding two machine-guns, it would seem more fitting to switch the two titles around, and there is little war in this trilogy-closer, but there is certainly a dawn of something big. Beginning 2 years later, Caesar (Andy Serkis), who can now speak as eloquently as any human, is still haunted by his former ally Koba (Toby Kebbell), whose feelings of pure hatred towards his human abusers could not be quelled by Caesar's teachings of tolerance. Leading a huge tribe hiding out in the woods, they are attacked by the military but manage to defeat the small band of soldiers. After this pulse-racing opener, Reeves takes his foot off the pedal to focus on Caesar's inward struggle and personal journey.

Caesar's hand in forced when some of his immediate family are murdered by a renegade militant group headed by the genocidal Colonel, who isn't given a name, or much personality until his motivation is eventually explained. Although he sets out on his quest for revenge across the snowy mountains alone, he is soon joined by his loyal companions Maurice (Karin Konoval), Luca (Michael Adamthwaite) and Rocket (Terry Notary, who also did the motion-capture for Kong), who continue to trust the judgement of the leader they have followed from the very beginning. They soon pick up a couple of new faces, the mute young human Nova (Amiah Miller), and former zoo resident and chimpanzee Bad Ape (Steve Zahn). The latter offers the series a levity so badly lacking in the previous instalments, and Zahn wonderfully captures the character's adorable mixture of naivety and weariness, as well as delivering the film's few funny moments. It soon transpires that the clan Caesar had left behind and believed to be on their way to safety have been rounded up by the Colonel and locked away in a concentration camp of sorts, so it becomes a race against time to prevent the extermination of his species.

Dawn represented the very pinnacle of special effects, with the CGI rendered characters interacting seamlessly with their human counterparts, as well as the drizzly forest surrounding them. War somehow eclipses this, taking such care with its special effects that you can truly see the humanity in Caesar's eyes. Even the Colonel acknowledges this by marvelling at how almost human Caesar appears, yet this does not sway his disdain. But this shouldn't take anything away from Serkis' performance. As well as nailing the physicality of the primate's movements, he also delivers a performance of remarkable intensity, yet also one of warmth. Caesar's pacifist attitude has constantly been met with aggression, and his tolerance has taken a battering over the course of Rise and Dawn. He is an ape at the end of his tether, willing to risk certain death to see one man burn, but he also recognises the good side of humanity in the form of the harmless Nova, who has witnessed the barbarity of her species first hand. It's incredibly heavy stuff for a big-budget picture, but although some of the symbolism may be clumsily-handled in parts, this is refreshingly mature stuff. It left me with both the sensation of satisfaction after a fitting closure to the story, and the desire to see the franchise push on even further.


Directed by: Matt Reeves
Starring: Andy Serkis, Woody Harrelson, Steve Zahn, Karin Konoval, Amiah Miller, Terry Notary
Country: USA/Canada/New Zealand

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie

Review #1,225: 'Spider-Man: Homecoming' (2017)

Marvel fans rejoiced when the announcement was made that Cinematic Universe overseer Kevin Feige had managed to reclaim the movie rights to one of their most beloved and iconic characters, Spider-Man. Along with Bryan Singer's X-Men, Sam Raimi's Tobey Maguire-starring Spider-Man trilogy laid the foundations for the modern superhero movie and proved that comic-books aren't just for nerds. After constant meddling by Sony, Spider-Man 3 was a convoluted mess, and although it raked in the cash at the box-office, plans for a fourth instalment were put on ice. The plan was later scrapped entirely in favour of a reboot with Andrew Garfield, which was also cancelled after its sequel made the same mistakes that saw Raimi's Spider-Man 3 receive a critical mauling.

Marvel cast British actor Tom Holland in the role, and he was quickly heralded as the best Peter Parker yet when he debuted in last year's Captain America: Civil War, and Feige revealed that a standalone reboot was coming soon. The thought of a second reboot just 5 years after the last one naturally had people sceptical, but Holland's exciting cameo also raised hopes. While it certainly doesn't reach the lofty humanist heights of Raimi's Spider-Man 2 (still one of the best comic-book movies ever made), Homecoming - a title that works on two levels - is bloody good fun. Taking Parker all the way back to high school as an overeager 15 year old, with detention, hormones and the homecoming dance as much of a concern to our hero as the villain flying around with alien technology, the film shares just as much in common with the classic John Hughes movies of the 1980s than it does with anything starring Iron Man, Thor or the Hulk.

Having proved himself to Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) by stealing Captain America's shield and helping topple Paul Rudd's Giant-Man during the events of Civil War, Peter Parker now waits eagerly by the phone for a call from Jon Favreau's Happy Hogan to announce his next mission. Only Stark would prefer that he remains a friendly, neighbourhood Spider-Man for the time being, but Parker's eagerness to prove himself and struggle to truly control his powers see him taking on hardened thugs and barely making it out alive. On top of juggling his new responsibilities (thankfully we are spared the Uncle Ben speech this time around), he awkwardly courts the pretty Liz (Laura Harrier), receives abuse from rich douchebag Flash Thompson (Tony Revolori), and must prevent chubby best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon) from revealing his superhero alter-ego to the rest of the school. Ned quite rightly believes that the revelation is their ticket to climb the high school cool hierarchy, and Liz naturally has a crush on her local masked vigilante.

A world away from Marvel's previous supervillain Ego the Living Planet (no pun intended), whose masterplan spanned the entire universe, Homecoming's big bad is in the form of working man Adrian Toomes (Michael Keaton). Talking in a thick New York accent and favouring a baseball cap and a hoodie, Toomes is introduced cleaning up the mess left by Loki and his Chitauri army during the climax of 2012's The Avengers, only to watch as his contract is snatched away by Stark and his billions. He doesn't leave empty-handed though, as he manages to smuggle some alien technology away and form a lucrative, and highly illegal, arms business. He also has a formidable suit made for him, allowing him to soar through the sky on razor-sharp wings, dubbing him the Vulture. After a number of forgettable Marvel villains, Toomes brings to mind Alfred Molina's three-dimensional and incredibly sympathetic Doc Ock, and Keaton has fun with the role, proving a menacing presence during a particularly tense car journey on the way to the homecoming dance, in what is undoubtedly the film's standout moment.

The likes of Thor would be able to take out Toomes with the blink of an eye, but his family-first motivation and distrust of the rich and powerful ground the movie, and helps make Homecoming Marvel's smallest and most intimate entry since Ant-Man. While the climax does deliver a routine smash-em-up CGI fest that director Jon Watts doesn't seem experienced enough to handle, the film mainly avoids the usual superhero tropes and rarely shifts its focus away from Parker, who is played with irresistible charm and athleticism by Holland. There's an endearing playfulness in the smaller moments, particularly in the dynamic between Holland and scene-stealer Batalon. Having watched Watts's previous film Cop Car recently, it now seems obvious why Marvel placed so much trust in a director so clearly adept in handling young relationships. Homecoming continues the recent trend of proving that superhero movies don't necessarily need to be superhero movies: They can also be a high school comedy, or a violent western. Was a second reboot for a character only introduced to the big screen 15 years ago justified? Somehow, yes.


Directed by: Jon Watts
Starring: Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Robert Downey Jr., Marisa Tomei, Jon Favreau, Jacob Batalon, Laura Harrier, Zendaya, Tony Revolori
Country: USA

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie

Review #1,224: 'Kundun' (1997)

Kundun, Martin Scorsese's beautifully realised story of the Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, is possibly his most divisive amongst fans. Directed by the guy whose specialities are wiseguys in sharp suits and dazzling camerawork, Kundun is a remarkably subdued tale. Scorsese had tackled religion before with the controversial The Last Temptation of Christ, but his version of the story of Jesus also came with a recognisable edge. Yet even his roughest and toughest movies come with a sense of spirituality - Mean Streets in particular - and Kundun has this in abundance, so Scorsese isn't exactly far from safe ground. Spirituality is woven into the movie's very fabric, as is the idea of watching a ready-made saint in action.

A saint is precisely how Scorsese views the Dalai Lama, and Melissa Mathison's script paints him like a key religious figure whose teachings can now only be read in scripture. As of 2017, Gyatso is still alive and reigning, although the film begins in 1937. This almost mythical presence does work in the context of Buddhism however, as if their beliefs in reincarnation are true, then Gyatso is just another body containing a soul hundreds of years old. As a young boy (played by Tenzin Yeshi Paichang at 2 years old), he is shown various objects, some of which belonged to the previous Dalai Lama, by some Tibetan monks. He chooses correctly, and is taken away to lead, but as to whether this was the expression on the monks face as he fondled the items or genuine reincarnation, Scorsese lets you ponder. He grows old and wiser, and faces difficult decisions as Imperial China invade to claim Tibet as their own.

This is undoubtedly Scorsese's most beautiful picture, and he takes his time to admire the lavish golds and reds of the ceremonial robes, as well as the intricate creation of Bhavachakra and its inevitable destruction, all backed by Philip Glass' haunting score. The decadence comes at a price however, as although we spend near enough the entire screen time with the Dalai Lama, we learn little about Gyatso. He must suffer his decisions in relative silence, or in hushed utterances to his trusted council. The refusal to follow a traditional narrative makes for a slow-moving if never boring movie, with the drama punctured by a powerful sequence depicting Gyatso standing in a sea of slaughtered monks. While it may leaving us questioning who this man truly was, I can only admire Scorsese's insistence on making the movie he wanted to make. Movies like Kundun are the reason why the director will always be remembered as a true master of his craft.


Directed by: Martin Scorsese
Starring: Tenzin Thuthob Tsarong , Gyurme Tethong, Tulku Jamyang Kunga Tenzin, Tenzin Yeshi Paichang
Country: USA/Monaco

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie

Review #1,223: 'Cop Car' (2015)

For anyone with children of their own, Jon Watts' Cop Car may just be one of the most uncomfortable cinematic experiences you'll ever sit through, as it revels in putting its two young protagonists through hell as part of their unique coming-of-age. The two baby-faced runaways at the story's centre are played with incredible naturalism by James Freedson-Jackson and Hays Wellford, which will no doubt make the movie all the more distressing for any doting parents. The rest of us can marvel at an incredibly well-constructed and tightly-wound thriller, which also ventures into neo-noir territory akin to early work of the Coen Brothers and, more recently and albeit with less blood, Jeremy Saulnier's Blue Ruin. It's a small piece of work that didn't escape the eyes of Marvel Studios, who quickly snapped Watts up for their delicate reboot of Spider-Man.

Opening in a vast field in the middle of nowhere, pre-teens Travis (Freedson-Jackson) and Harrison (Wellford) wander aimlessly practising swearing and sharing a Slim Jim. It's soon becomes clear that they have run away from home, but less clear is why and just how far they've come. Their boredom is soon relieved by the sight of an empty police car, parked suspiciously with keys still in the ignition and an empty beer bottle on the hood. Curiosity naturally gets the better of them and they are soon revving up the engine and teaching themselves how to drive. If anyone pulls them over, they'll just claim to be the police. We are then treated to a flashback, in which we learn that the car's owner, Sheriff Kretzer (Kevin Bacon), is not a very nice man at all. He strips to his vest, dons gloves, and proceeds to pull a body out of the trunk and buries it. When he returns to his parking spot and realises his grave error, he quickly starts to cover his tracks and hunt down the thieves.

The plot of Cop Car relies heavily on sheer stupidity. Kretzer, an experienced officer, should not have left the keys behind, or his gun, or the soon-to-be-discovered roughed-up criminal in the trunk (played by Shea Whigham). But many great thrillers are built upon the clumsy actions of the buffoons driving the action, and Cop Car is no exception. In keeping the characters backgrounds a mystery, they come unpredictable, and the film becomes increasingly intense because of this. Watts and Christopher Ford's screenplay carefully moves its small band of characters into place (including a nosy bystander played by Camryn Manheim whose good intentions seem to be destined for tragedy) for a thrilling finale that manages to keep you on the edge of your seat right up to the very last scene. Passed on for a cinema release, Cop Car is a fine example of the kind of surprises to be found with straight-to-DVD titles, elegantly combining action, dark humour, and a believable coming-of-age tale.


Directed by: Jon Watts
Starring: Kevin Bacon, James Freedson-Jackson, Hays Wellford, Camryn Manheim, Shea Whigham
Country: USA

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie

Review #1,222: 'The Creature Walks Among Us' (1956)

Directed by John Sherwood, The Creature Walks Among Us is the third and final movie in one of Universal's most beloved monster franchises, that of the Gill-Man of the Black Lagoon. The original is a genre classic, a surprisingly creepy picture given its B-movie shackles that makes powerful use of its man-in-a-rubber-suit special effects. With audiences losing interest in creature features and denying Universal its bread and butter in the process, Creature from the Black Lagoon inspired a quickly-made sequel the following year, Revenge of the Creature, a routine monster movie that proved to be as uninspiring and unimaginative as its title, drawing from what made its predecessor so memorable without any of its skill of execution.

This final bow wraps the trilogy up nicely, while facing the wrath of its fans by being rather hesitant to go underwater and taking the evolutionary curiosity in a different direction all together. After the events of Revenge, the creature is at large in Florida, believed to be hiding out in the wetlands of the Everglades. A new crack team of square-jawed scientists and one of their pretty wives head out on a boat in the hope of snaring the beast, although it quickly comes to light that each man may have their own intentions. The handsome Thomas Morgan (Rex Reason) hopes to gain medical insight through experimentation, but the unhinged William Barton (Jeff Morrow) plans to mess with its DNA and creature a whole new species. The presence of Barton's wife Marcia (Leigh Snowden) has testosterone running high, sending Barton slowly mad in the process, while sleazy jungle guide Jed Grant (Gregg Palmer) tries to catch her eye.

After an incident leaves the Gill-Man badly burned, the crew tend to him and head for home. The burns peel back to reveal a smoother skin beneath, and the group are shocked to learn that the gill-breather also has lungs. The creature starts to, as the title suggests, walk among us, and is here more human than ever. With this idea, the film harks back to the original and turns its focus on man as the beast. He doesn't even need shackles to walk into his enclosure once he is brought ashore, and is eventually only thrown into a rage by evil acts committed by man. There's no claiming and kidnapping women to be his mate, and at one point he even prevents a rape. There is a startling amount of characterisation for a genre normally so reliant of archetypes, thanks to the script by Arthur A. Ross and strong performances from Morrow and Reason (who appeared together in sci-fi turkey and 'classic' This Island Earth. Given its obvious appeal, the Creature has remained surprisingly untouched by Hollywood's fondness for remakes, and judging from the reaction to Universal's introduction to their planned 'Dark Universe', The Mummy, let's keep it that way.


Directed by: John Sherwood
Starring: Jeff Morrow, Rex Reason, Leigh Snowden, Gregg Palmer
Country: USA

Rating: ***

Tom Gillespie