Dramatic Oscar contenders often show up late to the party on our big screens, and it’s simply luck that we get most of them at all. It’s simply down to the market and marketing… and the perception our distributors have of the movie going audience in our country. Action and horror movies make money, general dramas don’t, and apparently, neither do solid science fiction movies unless there’s some major movie star attached (because that’s who the audience wants to see, to heck with the story). Of course, the actual machenics of how-and-why certain movies make it to our cinemas is sometimes a mystery. In any case, we have two very solid dramatic movies to savour for now. Hacksaw Ridge opened first, and that’s the based on the true life account of one Desmond Doss (Andrew Garfield), a conscientious objector during the second World War who simply wanted to do his duty to his country and serve in the war, but without betraying his own principles and his faith. The narrative and Mel Gibson’s directing makes this a movie of two halves; the first focussed on Doss’ upbringing, his faith, his principles and how all that pushes him through base training where the other soldiers and training commander can’t believe they have a soldier who refuses to handle a rifle. With the heavy focus on character drama in the first half, it might get a little dull at time, but the acting and performances, particularly Garfield in the lead and aided by Gibson’s direction, keep things intriguing that when the brutality of the second half hits, you have to wonder if our hero would cave and pick up a weapon to defend himself after all. Throughout it all, Gibson is in his element having balanced the two halves of the movie before (see Apocalypto, or even Braveheart, to an extent). The direction and editing is superb keeping the pace from lagging in the first half while keeping the tension of Doss’ actions firmly entrenched. The real-life interviews that close the movie give some perspective on how much was true and how much was dramatised for the sake of the movie, but it doesn’t take away anything from the potency of the movie itself Then there’s Hidden Figures, a dramatic look at the not quite hidden but not widely publicised (or known) aspect of NASA’s history. Even before the movie, I was aware that people had to do the massive work of mathematical calculation involved for the early days of space flight, and that John Glenn relied on a woman’s calculations over that of a machine for his space flight… did not know those people were actually called ‘computers’ (even though it makes perfect sense as that was their job), or that a huge majority of them were black women. I knew some were, just not like a whole department as depicted in the movie. The history and future of Space flight and the endeavours involved is something of an interest. So Hidden Figures follow three of these women in particular. Mary Jackson (Janelle Monae) would become the first woman engineer, Dorothy Vaughn (Octavia Spencer) saw the future of computing coming and took steps to prepare herself in learning about the machines and their coding, but the movie mainly follows Katherine Johnson (Taraji P Henson), a math prodigy, and her journey through the departments of NASA during the time leading to John Glenn’s (Glenn Powell) first orbit, and the social issues she faced. The three ladies do remarkably well, particularly Henson, and she is ably backed by Kevin Costner and Jim Parsons in the majority of her scenes. Each of the women face different aspects of the discrimination in their pursuit for acceptance and equality, fighting for some while others are aided by circumstance (or is it dramatic effect?). The Glenn spaceflight is the major event the movie builds to and while history is on the side of success, (or spoilers), it doesn’t diminish the dramatic aspect of the movie nor its themes and subject matters. Directed Theodore Melfi does well enough in handling the cast and tackling some sensitive moments with delicacy as to not completely brush over the matters, nor make them a point of focus. The story drives forward based on the performances of the three women and their supporting cast members, delivering an insight into several historic events, melding them all into a truly satisfying movie. Hacksaw Ridge (2016) Stars Andrew Garfield, Vince Vaughn, Teresa Palmer, Sam Worthington, Matt Nable, Richard Roxburgh, with Rachel Griffiths and Hugo Weaving Directed by Mel Gibson Rating ****/5 Hidden Figures (2016) Stars Taraji P Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monae, Kevin Costner, Kirsten Dunst, Jim Parsons, Mahershala Ali, Aldis Hodge and Glen Powell Directed by Theodore Melfi Rating: ****/5 Find the best online deals here. | Barnes and Noble | Google Play Store | Book Depository Discover more about the books here.
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There’s this joke that goes around. Why do the cars in The Fast and The Furious franchise never stop for petrol? Because they’re Diesel-powered. Vin Diesel brings his star/producer power to another (potential) franchise of his, xXx (2002) after not appearing in the 2005 sequel. As with his other franchise, he pulls together a cast of supporting stars to add a sense of diversity and worldliness to this particular universe where fearless adrenaline junkies who pull off crazy stunts can become super-spies. After being out of the game for over a decade and a half, Xander Cage (Diesel) is tracked down and re-recruited to chase after a MacGuffin - here called Pandora’s Box which can bring satellites down - that has been supposedly stolen by a team of rouge xXx agents led by Xiang (Donnie Yen). So Cage has to put together his own team including driver Tennyson (Rory McCann), sniper Adele (Ruby Rose) and a DJ(?)/distraction Nicks (Kris Wu) while getting tech support from a geeky-nerdy fan-girl, Becky (Nina Dobrev). While things are not what they seem, the plot and story is surprisingly straight-forward with action ruling the roost for more than half the movie. Then again, actions and adventure of a slightly brainless manner is what you’d want from a movie like this (so don’t complain about plot) with some truly spectacular and outlandish set-pieces like using skis in a tropical jungle, using motorbikes over rivers and seas, foot racing and fighting through heavy traffic, or that gun-ballet with Adele and Serena (Deepika Padukone) which might attest to the gun-skill of those girls, but is also utterly ridiculous to pull off in real-life. At least they take choreography really well. It’s all in the name of ‘cool’ (or whatever word passes for that feeling…) Even then, director DJ Caruso manages to wrangle the numerous stars giving each their moment to shine be it in action or performance, properly utilising the skills of such stars like Donnie Yen and Tony Jaa to full use, even if the editing leaves a little to be desired. Alternatively, for equally exciting and slightly dumb fun, you could try Jackie Chan’s Kung Fu Yoga. My review is here. Stars Vin Diesel, Donnie Yen, Deepika Padukone, Kris Wu, Ruby Rose, Tony Jaa, Nina Dobrev, Rory McCann, Tony Gonzalez, with Toni Collette and Samuel L Jackson Directed by DJ Caruso Rating: ***/5 Find the best online deals here. | Barnes and Noble | Google Play Store | Book Depository Discover more about the books here. One of the lines in the movie has Jack (Jackie Chan) talking about the passion and dedication to a craft when the archeologists observes a golden structure of intricate work and detail. “They don’t make it like this anymore,” he says, and the same could be applied to how movies are made these days… even this one. For one, there are at least three major animal scenes, and despite Chan’s reputation for attention to detail, there was no way in this day and age he would be able to pull off those scenes with real animals even if said animals are trained for such roles. Social media and self-righteous animal lovers would be all over him. So CGI it is, and of some questionable quality, so much so the opening sequence looks like it came off some PS3/PS4 game. But then, we still have some beautiful locations and well-built sets to wonder at, and to keep some things feeling real enough. A follow up to the 2005 adventure, The Myth (also from director Stanley Tong), Kung-Fu Yoga lays the groundwork of a myth/legend that leads Jack on a treasure hunt. As with his other adventure series of late (see CZ12 a.k.a Chinese Zodiac), the main idea is that such historical treasures are of cultural value and should be returned to their country of origin, preserved for all time. So the bad guys are the ones who want the treasure to sell and make money. Also, the Indiana Jones references fly very fast and loose with even Jack admitting he loves Indiana Jones. Even with that, it takes almost a half hour before the main villain makes his move and the movie kicks into the typical action adventure you’d expect, and the fun kicks in. The action set-pieces are generally what the movie fans will be looking for, and even with the questionable CGI effects, the fight scenes hold up well enough while a car-chase set-piece may have you wondering if you’re watching another Fast and Furious movie just for some of the stunts pulled off here. Of course, Chan himself makes way for the youngsters sharing the screen with him while showcasing the versatility of his stunt team and their work. Also, this being Chan’s Chinese New Year film, the ending leaves a little to be desired because, while it is a fun thing to pull off given the season (and almost typical of shows of the season), there’s practically no resolution to the adventure especially given the serious nature of the first part of the story. Still, there’s fun to be had and it is enjoyable enough for a holiday distraction. Alternatively, and equally fun and enjoyable, you might want to check out xXx: The Return of Xander Cage. My review is here. Stars Jackie Chan, Disha Patani, Amyra Dastur, Aarif Rahman, Sonu Sood, Zhang Yixing, Miya Muqi, and Eric Tsang Directed by Stanley Tong Rating: ***/5 Find the best online deals here. | Barnes and Noble | Google Play Store | Book Depository Discover more about the books here. |
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