FILM: Men in Black: International (2019, F. Gary Gray)

Men in Black: International is the fourth and (sort of reboot) of Sony Picture Releasing’s science-fiction franchise. Probationer Agent M (Tessa Thompson) is sent to the London branch for her first assignment, where she is paired up with the legendary Agent H (Chris Hemsworth). Their mission takes them across the globe, and it becomes clear that there is not just an intergalactic threat to Earth that these must deal with, but also that the London branch has been infiltrated.

CONS

• An appalling screenplay which is very convoluted with no real sense of stakes, a lot of poorly realised new characters and no funny jokes. Speaking of the jokes, there is an entire scene which makes jokes at the expense of suicide and, later, there is a very subtle joke about sexual assault. These are never topics to joke about in a film, let alone in one which children can (and will) watch in cinemas.
• The narrative is a real bore to watch, not just because it is unfunny, but because there is no energy to it. The film feels so dragged out and the cast (bar one exception) have no energy or enthusiasm, made even more obvious by the lack of chemistry between Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson.
• While the poor pacing could easily be attributed to F. Gary Gray’s direction, it feels so disjointed that you cannot help but wonder if this film was a victim of studio interference, a la Fantastic Four.
• An altogether appalling cast, with Tessa Thompson coming across as quite bored, while Rafe Spall, Rebecca Ferguson and Laurent and Larry Bourgeois being just four of the cast members to give wooden turns (the former two also being quite cringy to watch as well).

PROS

• Chris Hemsworth is actually rather charismatic as H, despite the appalling dialogue and narrative.

VERDICT: 1/10

Top 10 Father and Child Moments in the MCU

Father-child relationships are among the more grounded motifs in the Marvel Cinematic Universe so, in honour of Father’s Day tomorrow, I wrote this piece on the 10 best father and child moments in the franchise for Cultured Vultures.

FILM: Late Night (2019, Nisha Ganatra)

Comedy-drama Late Night is distributed by Amazon Studios, following its premiere at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. Looking for a career change, chemical plant efficiency expert Molly (Mindy Kaling) cannot believe her luck when she gets her dream job as a writer for legendary talk show host Katherine Newbury (Emma Thompson). However, this new role has a lot of pressure as the writing department need to make material popular enough to save Katherine from firing/cancellation, while Molly must also prove that she has value as a writer and is more than just a “diversity hire”.

PROS

• A sharply written screenplay, with the dialogue (both dramatic and witty) being fast-paced, snappy and really requiring the viewer to maintain their full attention.
• There are some moments of genuine warmth as various characters come to appreciate each other and undergo a learning process over the narrative’s run.
• An excellent cast who bring real energy and panache to the dialogue-heavy narrative, with Emma Thompson and Mindy Kaling giving two excellent leading performances.

CONS

• The film would ultimately work better as a miniseries as there are several plots and subplots going on, with the final product lacking focus as a result.
• Misjudged attempts at social commentary, with the feminist aspects of the film feeling quite generic and shoehorned in, and jokes about racism and sexism going down like a lead balloon.

VERDICT: 6/10

Top 10 Fathers in Disney and Pixar Films

Family is a key theme in countless Disney and Pixar films, with the father-child relationship being one of the most prominent. As such, in honour of Father’s Day this weekend, I wrote this piece on the Top 10 fathers in Disney and Pixar films.

FILM: X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019, Simon Kinberg)

Note: Yes, I know that the word ‘X-Men’ is not part of the title in most countries, but it is in the UK, ergo that is how I know it.

X-Men: Dark Phoenix is the seventh and final film in the main series, and the twelfth and penultimate in the wider superhero franchise (assuming that The New Mutants does actually get released next year). It is 1992, and the X-Men are doing missions for the US Government. During a rescue mission in space, Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) absorbs the energy from a solar flare but miraculously survives. However, back on Earth she begins to lose control of her newfound powers, while also having an emotional breakdown after learning that Charles (James McAvoy) has been lying to her for 17 years. Now it is up to Charles, Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender) and Hank McCoy (Nicholas Hoult) to lead the X-Men in stopping her to save both her life and numerous others’.

PROS

• Good performances from Sophie Turner, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Nicholas Hoult in particular.
• Very good visual effects, particularly the scenes set in space which boast good detail, a crisp visual quality and a beautiful colour palette.

CONS

• A rushed narrative, the stakes of which are never fully realised, with an overwhelming sense that director/screenwriter Simon Kinberg wanted to pen a 15/R-Rated film and enter darker, grittier territory (a la Logan) but was unwilling to take a ‘risk’, opting for 12A/PG-13-Rated content instead.
• Some very convoluted fight scenes, particularly in the climax, which are frankly a mess where editing is concerned.
• An incredibly underwhelming antagonist in Vuk (Jessica Chastain in a restrained role that prevents her from being able to show her acting chops), while multiple cast members are very underused, despite being key characters in the franchise.

VERDICT: 3/10

FILM: X-Men: Apocalypse (2016, Bryan Singer)

X-Men: Apocalypse is the sixth film in the franchise’s main series and ninth overall. In 1983, the original mutant – Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac) – awakens after over 5000 years. Apocalypse brings Magneto (Michael Fassbender), Psylocke (Olivia Munn), Storm (Alexandra Shipp) and Angel (Ben Hardy) onto his side, before kidnapping Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) to use in his plan to destroy the world. To stop Apocalypse, save the world and get through to their old friend, Magneto, Beast (Nicholas Hoult) and Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) assemble a team of young mutants from Charles’s school, a new generation of X-Men.

PROS

• An intense opening prologue which establishes Apocalypse’s backstory, followed by some fun moments of adventure and some exciting battle sequences scattered here and there throughout the rest of the narrative.
• A technically excellent superhero film with detailed production design, outstanding visual effects, cinematography and editing, which stands out the most in a brilliant scene in which Quicksilver (Evan Peters) saves the lives of the school’s staff and students.
• A solid ensemble cast, with good reprisal turns from James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence and Nicholas Hoult, and welcome and enjoyable new additions in Tye Sheridan and Sophie Turner. Michael Fassbender, however, is the stand-out, giving a powerful performance that is rich in raw and intense emotion.

CONS

• Patchy pacing, with a poor balance between slow-burn, character-driven drama and spectacular and exciting superpower moments, while the narrative as a whole feels somewhat rushed, with too many ideas for even a 2 hour and 20 minute film.
• The film tries to establish multiple characters, some of whom are clearly being set up for significant roles in future films, but does not give us much reason to invest in them, while some returning characters such as Colonel Stryker (Josh Helman) and (a cameoing) Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) feel somewhat shoehorned in.

VERDICT: 6/10

FILM: The Birth of a Nation (1915, D.W. Griffith)

Silent epic The Birth of a Nation was originally distributed by Epoch Producing Co. In the 104 years since its release, this film has become one of, if not the, most discussed film of all time. In an enormously convoluted 190 minutes, the lives of two families – abolitionist Northerners the Stonemans and Southern landowners the Camerons – intertwine over the course of many years. A Confederate Colonel during the Civil War, Ben Cameron (Henry B. Walthall) founds the Ku Klux Klan in the years following the conflict, to stop African-Americans from gaining power.

This has to be the hardest film which I have ever come to review (and likely will ever review) so, for the second time on this blog after my review of Jean-Luc Godard’s The Image Book, I am going to break away from the usual bullet point formula. Instead I am going to summarise my thoughts on this film in a couple of paragraphs, as this film cannot simply be divided into lists of Pros and Cons.

The fact that this film is over three hours long would not be an issue in itself, were it not for the fact that it is the most uncomfortable viewing experience that I have ever had. D.W. Griffith took an incredibly liberal approach to history, rewriting a lot of historical fact in order to villainize African-Americans and depict the KKK as the heroes which America needed. African-Americans are portrayed by white actors in black face, in the most racially insensitive and cruel depictions of African-Americans in cinema history that plays up the negative stereotypes of bucks, coons and mammies. Furthermore, in depicting the KKK as the heroes which America needed, Griffith ultimately inspired the rebirth of the Klan only a few months later.

However, despite the horrifying racism and political comments made here, one has to give credit where it is due to Griffith for the bravery with which he pushed the boundaries of filmmaking and inspired the grand scope of filmmakers for generations to come. The scale of this film is indeed epic, with enormous sets, sweeping battle sequences and a lot of energy, as well as thousands of extras and countless horses. It is a technical masterpiece in terms of the detailed production design, magnificent cinematography and crisp editing. There are also some excellent performances from Lillian Gish, Mae Marsh and Henry B. Walthall. However, the film is ultimately an exercise in spectacle over substance, as its narrative is quite a convoluted mess and many of the key characters are poorly realised and therefore not people whom we can emotionally invest in. It is impossible to deny the significance of The Birth of a Nation in film history, but it is equally impossible to watch it today and not feel sickened by it.

VERDICT: 5/10

TELEVISION: Breaking Bad (2008-2013)

American crime-drama Breaking Bad originally aired on AMC for 62 episodes. Walter White (Bryan Cranston), a mild-mannered 50-year-old Chemistry teacher, is diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. Desperate to ensure that his family are financially taken care off after his inevitable death, he teams up with former student Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) in cooking crystal meth. The pair become rich beyond their wildest dreams after Walt creates a product of 99% purity, but as they do so they descend ever deeper into the underground world of organised crime, in which Walt becomes known as ‘Heisenberg’. To make matters even more complicated, Walt’s brother-in-law Hank (Dean Norris) is the DEA Agent leading the investigation into Heisenberg.

PROS

• Some of the finest screenwriting in television history, which holds a generally coherent standard from start to finish, presenting slow-burn, character-driven drama which is truly intense and highly engaging to watch. Aside from the obvious themes of morality, addiction and cancer, the screenwriters approach a number of tough topics over the course of the series, including grief, depression, PTSD, the class divide, disability, abuse of power, corruption and racism.
• Excellent use of either flashbacks or flash-forwards in the opening minutes of multiple episodes, which immediately gets the viewer invested and intrigued, and kicks off a puzzle which the viewer pieces together over the course of an episode, or even an entire Season (I am looking at you, Pink Teddy Bear in Season 2).
• An outstanding ensemble of characters, who are very well realised, receive excellent character development and detailed backstories, and each bring something different to the table, making for easily some of the most engaging character-driven television of all time, and some of the most iconic television characters of the 21st Century.
• An outstanding ensemble cast, with multiple memorable performances, including those of Dean Norris, RJ Mitte, Anna Gunn, Bob Odenkirk, Jonathan Banks and Giancarlo Esposito. The real stars, however, are Bryan Cranston, who gives a truly gripping leading turn that is rich in raw emotion and gritty energy as Walt, and Aaron Paul in his breakthrough performance as Jesse, which is passionate yet nuanced. There is good reason why they both won multiple Emmys for their roles.
• On a technical level, this series is impossible to fault (bar the very, very minor continuity errors which happen in literally every film and television series). The cinematography, the editing, the sound mixing and editing, the production design and lighting, the make-up and injury detail…need I say more?

NITPICKS

• While Tuco’s (Raymond Cruz) death in Season 2 does serve as a catalyst for the events in several future episodes, he was a great antagonist who had great potential to have been in the series for longer.
• The Season 3 episode Fly comes closer than any other episode to being filler.

VERDICT: 10/10

TELEVISION: Pokémon the Series: XY (2013-2016)

Pokémon the Series: XY is an anime series, the sequel series to Pokémon the Series: Black & White, and originally aired on TV Tokyo in Japan with 140 episodes, before being dubbed into English. Following his journey in Unova, Ash (Sarah Natochenny) heads to the Kalos region, once again followed by the Team Rocket trio. There Ash is joined on his journey by inventor Clemont (Michael Liscio Jr.) and his little sister Bonnie (Alyson Leigh Rosenfeld), and rookie Pokémon Performer Serena (Haven Paschall). Together they catch new Pokémon, take on Gym battles and Pokémon Showcases, find new (friendly) rivals and learn about Mega Evolution. However, they face further threat from the evil Team Flare, who have a mysterious plot involving the legendary Zygarde.

PROS

• The animation is the best that it has ever been in the history of the Pokémon franchise, with crisp character design, lots of background detail and far more effort put into it all. Bar Ash’s signature badge pose and the Team Rocket motto, there are no longer stock effect backgrounds and the animation is so much more fascinating to look at than in previous series.
• There is a very fun sense of adventure and very exciting battles throughout the series but, more than any other series in the franchise, this one values character development more than anything else, as each main character grows significantly over the course of their journey.
• Two excellent main rival characters in the forms of Alain (Jonathan Silver) and Sawyer (Robby Duncan Sharpe), both of whom help Ash to grow and learn, while also growing and learning themselves as a result of knowing Ash.
• As well as superior animation and excellent focus on character development, this series feels particularly mature and level-headed thanks to the beautiful score, which homages French cinema (perfect choice, given that Kalo is based on France).

CONS

• After Ash and Clemont have their Gym battle, Clemont serves very little purpose to the series’ narrative until the five-part climax of the Team Flare arc towards the end of the series. Meanwhile, Bonnie serves little purpose to the middle-third of the series.
• While Ash’s Goodra (Jason Griffith) and Noivern (Marc Thompson) get very good character development, they are not that well handled by the screenwriters, notably in the lack of screen time and role they serve in the final third of the series, as the writers favour Ash’s Greninja (Billy Bob Thompson).

VERDICT: 8/10

FILM: Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019, Joe Berlinger)

Following its premiere at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, biopic Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile was distributed in the UK by Sky Cinema. The film tells the true story of Ted Bundy (Zac Efron), a Law student who was arrested on multiple charges of kidnap and murder in 1974. With even his partner, Liz (Lily Collins), doubting his innocence, Ted becomes determined to win his court battles and avoid the electric chair, even if that means he be his own defence attorney.

PROS

• Zac Efron gives his best performance to date as Ted Bundy, proving himself to be an actor with real dramatic chops, giving a passionate, multilayered turn which is rich in raw emotion.
• Director Joe Berlinger and screenwriter Michael Werwie wisely show sensitivity to those who were affected by Bundy’s crimes, by showing scarcely any gruesome detail, instead leaving us with the facts, leaving the vivid horror of it all to our imaginations.

CONS

• By focusing so much on Zac Efron’s Ted Bundy, the supporting cast simply end up playing unmemorable stock characters, meaning that the talents of actors such as Lily Collins, John Malkovich and Jim Parsons are wasted here.
• Ted’s final trial is recreated in painstaking, word-perfect, shot-perfect detail, to the point where it becomes bland, with a sense of being staged and the feeling of a misjudged documentary. This is one of a number of parts of the film which is frankly dull to sit through.
• It becomes even harder to suspend disbelief when you reflect on the fact that the narrative covers a 20 year period, yet the make-up department make scarcely any effort to age Zac Efron or Lily Collins.

VERDICT: 4/10