Sunday, February 25, 2018

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Year: 2017
Director: Martin McDonagh
Cast: Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, Abbie Cornish, John Hawkes, Peter Dinklage, Caleb Landry Jones, Lucas Hedges, Zeljko Ivanek


Plot: Still grieving over the rape and murder of her daughter seven months ago, and unhappy with the case still being unsolved, Mildred Hayes rents three billboards and puts up a message that paints the town sheriff in a bad light, and causes most of the townsfolk to turn against her.


Review: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is a strong contender at this year's Oscars, and it's easy to see why. It's a solid drama filled with plenty of comedic moments and foul language, and while the subject matter is rather depressing, director and writer Martin McDonagh makes it very entertaining overall.

Frances McDormand plays Mildred Hayes, whose daughter Angela was raped and killed seven months ago, and the case remains open. She rents three billboards with the message "Raped while dying, and still no arrests? How come, Chief Willoughby?" in the hope that she can get the police to take her daughter's case more seriously. But the billboards' presence does not go down well with Chief Willoughby (who's dying of cancer), his deputies (especially the racist and impulsive Jason Dixon) and the rest of the townsfolk. 

Ultimately, the film is about guilt and grief, and how the people in Ebbing deal with it, from Mildred to Willoughby, to her son, his family, and even Dixon, who seems like an awful man, but as it turns out, not totally irredeemable. McDonagh's script is filled with sharp dialogue and sudden bursts of violence that are guaranteed to put a smile on your face even when the situation should feel grim. There is rarely a moment in the film that feels dull, thanks to McDonagh's steady direction.

McDormand is a sure frontrunner for Best Actress at the Oscars this year. She portrays Mildred as a tough woman who isn't above insulting the town priest or attacking teenagers who mess with her, among other things. She's clearly a mother who is suffering a great loss, so she's easy to empathize with, but McDormand makes her quite likable despite all the impulsive things she does. Woody Harrelson contrasts her nicely as the dying sheriff, who easily earns the audience's sympathy as a fair man who's facing an unavoidable death. Sam Rockwell is superb as Dixon, who will no doubt get on your bad side from the get go, but earns your respect by the film's end. 

I only have two complaints; the first being the last ten minutes or so, which felt a bit extraneous, the second being Peter Dinklage as someone who cares about Mildred, who didn't get enough screen time.

All in all, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is a phenomenal dramedy that hits most of the right notes without venturing into melodramatic territory. (8/10)

Sunday, February 18, 2018

Black Panther

Year: 2018
Director: Ryan Coogler
Cast: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, Letitia Wright, Martin Freeman, Forest Whitaker, Andy Serkis, Daniel Kaluuya, Angela Bassett, Winston Duke, Sterling K. Brown


Plot: After the events of Civil War, T'Challa returns to Wakanda to assume his late father's place as King, but the emergence of the ruthless Erik Killmonger, a violent man with a score to settle, threatens his rule.


Review: The best new character to come out of Civil War was Black Panther. Most MCU fans will say it's Spider-Man, but for me, T'Challa, the crown prince of Wakanda who sought justice for his slain father, was the real show stealer then.

Now Ryan Coogler, the acclaimed director of Creed, puts his stamp on the MCU with his take on Black Panther. While the film does begin with a brief history of Wakanda and the origin of the Black Panther, the story really is about Wakanda's changing role in world affairs, and how a personal vendetta threatens to upend T'Challa's rule before it even begins. In this sense, Coogler deserves credit for developing the film's villain, Erik Killmonger as extensively as he does for the hero. Unlike the throwaway villains of previous MCU entries (a fact most critics love bringing up) such as Kaecilius, Yellowjacket or Zemo, Killmonger is an equal to T'Challa in nearly every way, and proves to be a genuine threat to him. He's probably the best MCU villain since Loki.

Some have said that this film is Marvel's version of James Bond, and they're not wrong, with T'Challa using high tech gadgets designed by his Q-like sister Shuri, while being assisted by strong female fighters such as his lady love Nakia and his chief bodyguard Okoye. In fact, in certain parts of the movie, these women damn near outshine our illustrious hero.

Speaking of our hero, Chadwick Boseman plays T'Challa as a fair man, brave and steadfast, and sympathetic even to his arch nemesis. Boseman is a natural for this role undoubtedly. Michael B. Jordan is equally superb as Killmonger, a man with an axe to grind and something to prove. You can almost understand where the man's rage is coming from, which makes him more than just a standard baddie. Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong'o and The Walking Dead's Danai Gurira all score as Shuri, Nakia and Okoye respectively. Wright is perfect as the occasional comedic relief, Nyong'o makes a sultry love interest and Gurira is superb as a lady not to be messed with.

Despite the lack of Avengers here (which in hindsight is more of a blessing really), we still have Martin Freeman and Andy Serkis showing up as Everett Ross and Ulysses Klaue respectively. Serkis' unorthodox portrayal as Klaue is very interesting, he ought to do more live action performances in the future.

Most of the action sequences were well shot, especially the waterfall duels between T'Challa and Winston Duke's M'Baku, and Killmonger later, and the car chase sequence you've seen in the trailers. But some of the CGI, especially when it comes to the flying spaceships, look a bit poor, and the final fight between T'Challa and Killmonger was too brief. But Coogler makes up for this by giving every character their time to shine and make an impact, including the supporting ones played by Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker, Winston Duke, Sterling K. Brown and Get Out's Daniel Kaluuya.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Black Panther, and barely felt the 134 minute running time pass by. If you've been following the MCU movies till now, there's zero reason to not go see this. Recommended.

P.S.: As usual, stay for the post credit sequences. (8.5/10)


Sunday, February 04, 2018

Darkest Hour

Year: 2017
Director: Joe Wright
Cast: Gary Oldman, Kristin Scott Thomas, Lily James, Stephen Dillane, Ben Mendelsohn, Ronald Pickup


Plot: Based on the true story of Winston Churchill, who was elected Prime Minister of Great Britain in May 1940, and tasked to deal with the German invasion of Western Europe during World War II.


Review: Darkest Hour is not to be mistaken with that poor sci-fi movie in 2011. This is a story of Winston Churchill and his days as Prime Minister of Great Britain during the height of WW2.

In this film which takes place in May 1940, Europe faces the Nazi threat as German forces invade Norway, Denmark, Holland, Belgium and France, among others. With current Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain being unable to win the confidence of the House, the Conservatives elect Churchill to take over. Churchill is already deemed unpopular among his peers and King George as well due to his questionable past, and his move to continue the fight against the Germans does not go down well with his fellow ministers, who prefer to negotiate peace instead.

Director Joe Wright presents not just the darkest hour of Great Britain and Europe at the time, but Churchill's as well. Wright shows us that the man is proud, stubborn and unrelenting, and even difficult at times. But even when he was unpopular and his choices were dubious among his war room members, he stayed true to his guns and made a decision that we all know now was the right one. For those of you who have seen The King's Speech and Dunkirk, some of the things you will witness in this film will be most familiar to you.

Gary Oldman, a fine actor in any genre he finds himself in, is superb as Churchill. Sure, the makeup effects help a great deal in making him look like the man, but Oldman's talent in bringing forth his mannerisms and disappearing into the role must be applauded. He pretty much owns every scene he's in, whether he's at his most confident or at his lowest point. Kristin Scott Thomas and Lily James lend some solid support as Churchill's wife and secretary respectively, while Rogue One's Ben Mendelsohn also impresses in his minor role as King George VI.

While the film captures Churchill's darkest and subsequently finest hour, it does take a couple of historic liberties here, which I will not mention. This was obviously to create more drama for the audience to consume, and overall I sort of appreciated it. It does make me wonder if a more honest approach would achieve the same result.

Overall, Darkest Hour is a solid film about one of the most well known historic figures of all time. Much like Lincoln, it isn't a biography, but an in depth look at one man's efforts during a critical period in history. It's well worth checking out. (7.5/10)

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