A Star is Born

This review was first published by The Student Pocket Guide

Certain stories hold a special resonance which allows them to work, no matter the time or place in which they are told. Their universal themes combine with a satisfying narrative arch to create something which adopts new meanings and reinforces original ones for diverse audiences. A Star is Born is one such story, a fourth version of a 1937 original, this time directed by Bradley Cooper and co-starring Lady Gaga. Some will be familiar with the previous remakes (especially the 1976 Barbara Streisand version); for others, this will be their first time witnessing the making, and destruction, of stars. Either way, this version is a compelling love story with near-perfect performances from Cooper and Gaga.

On first hearing that Bradley Cooper was set to produce, co-write, direct and star in A Star is Born, I was a little unconvinced, to say the least. Cooper had much to make up for, in my opinion, after his turn in The Hangover franchise: a supremely unfunny and often offensive series which enjoyed (undeserved) box office success. A Star is Born more than atones for these cinematic sins, and Cooper has masterminded a deeply-felt and powerful retelling of the trappings of fame and the strains of intense personal relationships.

Cooper is very convincing as Jackson Maine, a grizzled rock superstar, rarely seen without a drink in his hand and a bottle of pills in his pocket: his self-destructive rider before he heads out on to the bright lights of a stage in front of his adoring fans. Yet it is behind the camera that Cooper really excels, using short scenes and punchy dialogue to drive the narrative forward and to create a persuasive portrait of the difficult negotiations of fame. It would be tempting to rely on montage with such a story and, whilst there is an element of this (particularly as we see Ally – Gaga’s character – rise in profile as she joins Jackson on the various legs of his world tour), Cooper constantly brings back the drama to the central relationship between Jackson and Ally on which the film’s success rests.

As the title suggests, Jackson catapults Ally to stardom, first encountering her in a drag bar into which he has stumbled in search of a post-gig drink. Ally is making an appearance, straight after finishing her dead-end and under-valued job, and strides onto the small stage to give a rendition of Edith Piaf’s “La Vie en Rose”. Jackson is instantly captivated by her voice and the pair quickly develop an adoring relationship. As Ally’s profile grows, so too does Jackson’s reliance on drink and drugs, and the familiar trajectory of the story – as one star rises another falls – is predictable but no less effective because of it. This interweaving of personal and public personas, the interplay between support and bitterness, and the sacrifices which have to be made in the name of fame, are handled with sensitivity and skill by Cooper behind and in front of the camera and, in particular, by Lady Gaga.

One forgets that Gaga is already an incomprehensibly-famous pop superstar, especially in the early scenes when Ally is unsure of her ability to offer her talents to the world. “All you gotta do is trust me”, Jackson tells a reluctant and nervous Ally as he invites her on-stage at his gig for the first time. It is this implicit sense of trust which anchors their relationship: a romance which tethers the film and which, amongst all the drama and conflict, remains the most affecting element of the narrative.

Lady Gaga’s performance is nuanced, impassioned, and entirely believable. Although not her first film, it was something of a risk to cast her in a role which demanded such subtlety and emotion as Ally moves from her obscure life to one of public scrutiny and immense pressure. Taking this in her stride, Gaga is captivating from an acting perspective, and (perhaps predictably) is also note-perfect in her vocal performance. Gaga has a song-writing credit alongside Lukas Nelson (son of American country singer Willie Nelson) and several of the tracks in the film are genuinely good songs. The final track – which Gaga performs to astounding effect – is especially powerful, and will surely win Best Original Song at next year’s Oscars. In fact, if A Star is Born won Best Picture, I wouldn’t be surprised.

The cinematography and sound mixing is also great, and the scenes of Jackson performing to his thousands of fans look entirely authentic. The cocooned world of the rock stage, bounded by the bright lights and rooted by the riffing of guitars and the screaming of fans, helps to make the reality of Ally and Jackson’s home life all the more affecting. Early in the film, Jackson stumbles off stage and into his limousine, and is looked after by his driver (Greg Grunberg) and later by his older brother (played by Sam Elliott) with whom there is a troubled family history. Ally takes up some of this strain but, ultimately, struggles to control the (self-inflicted) demons which plague Jackson. His hearing – so fundamental to a musician – is also damaged and his tinnitus is conveyed to the audience very effectively by the sound design.

Despite all of this, the film isn’t faultless. Some of its characters are painted with the briefest of cliched brushstrokes (Rafi Gavron’s unrelenting manager is one) and one or two of the songs don’t feel as though they would actually be big hits in the real world (Ally’s rather uninspiring appearance on Saturday Night Live is a good example). And yet, the emotional punch, swung by Lady Gaga in the film’s final 5 minutes, seems to smooth over these flaws and it brings together the previous 2 hours of melodrama with stunning clarity. Sometimes, you leave a cinema after seeing a film feeling differently about the problems and relationships in your own life. And so it is for A Star is Born, retold over and over for different generations but with characters who, even in their celebrity, are intensely – and unforgettably – relatable.

Clapperboard Rating: * * * *

The Meg

This review was first published by The Student Pocket Guide

Never one to be typecast, Jason Statham is back on our screens as tough guy Jonas Taylor – expert diver and the man to whom everyone goes when they manage to lose people at the bottom of the ocean. It’s a role for which Statham has had plenty of preparation: recent years have seen him wield a pistol and beat-up everyone who looks at him strangely in films such as the Transporter series, The Expendables, The Mechanic and Fast & Furious 6, 7 and 8. His is a career made on being the antihero with plenty of emotional baggage and the bulging biceps to match, and this latest adventure sees him take on a prehistoric shark in the rubbishly-titled, mediocre, but not entirely without merit, The Meg.

The Meg in question is, of course, a Megalodon, last seen in the Earth’s oceans some 2.6 million years ago. And it’s a good thing, too: reaching some 18 metres in length and with a mouth to match, this monster of the sea is accidentally allowed to escape the darkest depths when Jonas is called in to save the submarine crew of Mana One, a scientific research mission led by Dr Minway Zhang (Winston Chao) and his daughter Suyin (Li Bingbing). The proceeding 90 minutes of action runs along the lines of what only can be described as Jaws-on-steroids, with a few shots of a shirtless Statham and some high-tech submarines thrown in for good measure.

If you’re after something innovative and surprising, you’ll be disappointed as The Meg (based upon the 1997 book by Steve Alten) does little more than tread water as it navigates its way through familiar action movie tropes, regularly punctuating the developing emotional bonds between Jonas and Suyin with predictable scares and with jokes which are almost funny. The special effects are competent enough, and the narrative motors along at a decent pace, but the elusive spark which helps B-movies such as this to truly excel is unfortunately lost at sea.

There’s no one single aspect to the film which is responsible for this: the performances are fine (indeed, the subtle glances of affection between Statham and Bingbing are actually fairly convincing); the scares, whilst relying totally on jump-tactics, are effective in getting the job done; there’s plenty of gore and severed limbs to please a teenage audience; the monster itself is perfectly acceptable as it looms out of the murky darkness; and the characters are pleasingly diverse. But the sum of all of these parts never adds up to anything. The film indeterminately floats in the middle of the cinematic ocean, never managing to be bad enough to be good fun, nor good enough to be enjoyable.

As summer blockbuster pictures go, Statham is a good bet to pull in the crowds and, again, his performance – with all its shark-stabbing and wetsuit-wrangling – is fun to watch. Nevertheless, we’ve seen it all before and this familiarity threatens to breed uninterest on the part of the audience: the threat posed by the shark to Statham’s character is never compelling as we know he’ll get out of the water alive. This is, of course, part of the enjoyment of B-movies, and the familiar territory does allow Statham some mischief in the role. The only thing is, the results are nothing if not forgettable.

Director Jon Turteltaub (whose previous work includes the cult classic Cool Runnings) does handle the script with confidence and, together with cinematographer Tom Stern, throws the camera around in the underwater sequences in a dynamic manner. This is especially the case in one scene when Jonah swims out to the shark in order to place a tracker on it, and the point-of-view shot as he bobs in and out of the water trying to catch sight of the shark is one of the best in the film. In fact, my favourite moment comes in the very final shot – a pun on the French credit for “The End”. You can probably guess.

Perhaps The Meg should be retitled as The Meh. Despite the humongous and aggressive eponymous creature, and notwithstanding its perfectly fine performances, the film has no real zing to captivate its audience. The whole thing ends up floundering in its own mediocrity and, in the cut-throat world of cinema, the box office sharks have started circling, ready to pick at its unexceptional carcass…

Clapperboard Rating: * * *

Ocean's Eight

This review was first published by The Student Pocket Guide

In public life, men get noticed. Women don’t. And, for once, Sandra Bullock’s Debbie Ocean is fine with that. Debbie is the sister of Danny Ocean, George Clooney’s ultimate heist-puller who delighted audiences in Ocean’s Eleven which was released back in 2001. Two other films followed (although none matched the ingenuity of the first) and now we have Ocean’s Eight, a spin-off in which Bullock leads a female gang of crooks to conduct a heist of which her brother would have been proud. This all-female crime caper certainly has its fun moments and is carried by its brilliant ensemble cast, but those looking for the twists and turns of the original film will be left feeling short-changed.

Opening in the same way as Eleven, Ocean’s Eight introduces us to a member of the Ocean family as they lie their way through a prison parole hearing, promising that they are a reformed and honest character. Of course, this is all nonsense, and this time it’s Debbie Ocean who has had plenty of time in prison to plan the perfect large-scale robbery. Instead of casinos, Debbie has her sights set on New York’s Met Gala and, in particular, the theft of a $150 million Cartier diamond necklace. Unable to pull-off such an audacious theft on her own, Debbie needs to assemble a crack team to help her, and first reunites with her former partner Lou (played by Cate Blanchett) who wants bigger criminal rewards than she can get from selling watered-down vodka.

The successes of Ocean’s Eight are largely down to this ensemble cast. Bullock is a brilliant lead (equalling, if not surpassing, Clooney’s criminal charisma), her felonious credentials introduced to us as she manages to make a department store assistant give her a shopping bag in which to put her stolen perfumes. Blanchett, too, puts in a magnetic performance and looks super-cool as she swaggers across the screen in an array of biker outfits. Indeed, the costume design for the film is brilliant (as you’d expect from a film centred on one of the biggest fashion events in America). Debbie and Lou need a way into the Gala, and get a money-strapped fashion designer (comedically played by Helena Bonham Carter with a questionable Irish accent) onboard to convince the arrogant actress and co-host of the Gala Daphne Kluger (Anne Hathaway) to wear the Cartier necklace on the night.

Anne Hathaway shines in a self-deprecating performance as the superficial Kluger and puts in one of the best performances of the film. The other cast members also have fun with their roles: Rihanna stars as a joint-smoking hacker; Mindy Kaling plays a jewellery expert with a quick hand to break down the necklace into individual stones; rapper and actress Awkwafina plays a pickpocket and street hustler; Sarah Paulson gives a good performance as the fence and only mother in the gang, juggling the responsibilities of family life with her criminal activities as she explains away her garage-full of stolen goods to her husband as “eBay”; and supporting roles from Richard Armitage as Debbie’s ex-lover and from James Corden as a fraud investigator do a good enough job.

Part of the enjoyment to be derived from these type of films is the audience’s familiarity with the tropes of the genre: the planning sequences, the burger/surveillance vans, the introduction of the technology and the security systems which must be beaten are familiar but no less enjoyable. And the first half of the film does this well, even if the script (written by director Gary Ross and Olivia Milch) feels a little under-developed at times. This is a shame, given the star cast who could have done so much more had they been given more character depth and more tightly-honed dialogue. As things stand, Bullock and Blanchett do enough, but never get a chance to push their characters beyond their respective roles within the gang.

The actual crime itself is ingenious enough but things never fizz with pure excitement or provide any genuine thrills as the problems which the gang encounter are quickly resolved without sustaining any tension. The whole film ticks along at an economic pace but it relies too heavily on the good will of its cast, some pretty frocks and celebrity cameos to provide the narrative engagement. Perhaps this is down to the creative team behind the film who fail to match Steven Soderbergh’s original (Soderbergh is, however, a producer this time round) and simply tick genre boxes with little flair.

As summer escapism, Ocean’s Eight works perfectly well but it does feel like a missed opportunity. With such a great assemblage of actresses, the heist could have been a breath-taking and comedic gem. Despite diamonds being the target of Ocean’s efforts, the film never truly sparkles.

Clapperboard Rating: * *

Mission: Impossible - Fallout

This review was first published by The Student Pocket Guide 

There’s an undeniable fact about Tom Cruise: he makes a brilliant Hollywood leading man. Ignore all the Scientology stuff and references to his height, and when it comes down to it, his is a magnetic and confident screen presence. Central to this appeal is his willingness (some would say foolishness) to do the majority of his own stunts, sometimes resulting in a broken bone or two. Indeed, Cruise fractured his ankle during the filming of Mission Impossible – Fallout and delayed production by 7 weeks (the film was, nevertheless, still released on-time). This commitment shows, however, in the finished product, and M: I 6 is a thrilling ride from start to finish, proving to be a franchise which refuses to show its age…

Speaking of age, the original Mission Impossible film was released all the way back in 1996, and Tom Cruise has just celebrated his 56^th birthday. Impressive stuff, considering that the latest spy thriller is as taut and exhilarating as any new action blockbuster. This time, Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and his IMF team must hunt down three plutonium cores which the mysterious terrorists-for-hire The Apostles have stolen to make nuclear bombs. A threat against the entire world is, of course, nothing that Ethan can’t handle, except this time he is forced to work with the rather aloof CIA assassin August Walker (played by Henry Cavill). Things are made more bearable, however, as his old IMF team members Benji (Simon Pegg) and Luther (Ving Rhames) are along for the ride, even as things get rather messy when former MI6 agent Isla Faust (played by Rebecca Ferguson) arrives on the scene.

The first thing to say about Mission Impossible – Fallout is that it’s really fun. In fact, I sat there watching it with a big grin on my face and thinking “I’m really enjoying this” – a rare thing for a blockbuster, a genre which, let’s face it, most of us have seen a million times and which has become rather trite in its predictability. The key to this enjoyment was the action which, in pretty much every set-piece, was well-plotted, nicely shot, and which careered on at a white-knuckle pace. The cinematography (by Rob Hardy) sparkled with energy and some beautiful frame composition which worked brilliantly even amongst frenetic motorbike chase sequences and helicopter dogfights. A sequence when Hunt HALO parachute jumps over Paris (HALO stands for High Altitude Low Opening, in case you were wondering) was shot for real life, with Cruise actually chucking himself out of an aeroplane over multiple shoots. It certainly pays off, as audiences these days are much wiser to green-screen fakery. Seeing such scenes in IMAX would definitely be worth the inflated ticket price.

Even for a M: I film, there’s a surprising amount of violence for a 12A, especially in a visceral fight sequence early in the film which sees Hunt and Walker (sounds oddly like an estate agent, doesn’t it?) trying to steal the identity of the leader of the Apostles, John Lark, using the famous Mission: Impossible face scanner. Mirrors are smashed, water pipes brandished as weapons, and the whole thing is unscored, leaving the sounds of punches to create the painful drama. A helicopter chase at the film’s denouement is also a thrillingly-shot affair, as is an ambush sequence in Paris which reintroduces Solomon Lane (creepily played by Sean Harris), the leader of the Syndicate from Rogue Nation. It really is a brilliant 15 minutes of cinema.

Fallout does a nice job of interweaving its narrative with the previous films. Vanessa Kirby is great as the White Widow, a black-market arms dealer and the daughter of Max, the arms dealer from the first film; the film also revisits Hunt’s relationship with his wife Julia (Michelle Monaghan); and the whole thing definitely has all the hallmarks of a Mission: Impossible adventure, from the twists and turns to the famous line “you’re mission, should you choose to accept it”. This familiarity works in its favour and leaves the audience in eager anticipation of Hunt’s next move. A special note, too, for Rebecca Ferguson’s performance which sparks with tenacity and intrigue as she fights and bikes her way through the web of CIA and MI6 lies and double-crossings.

A few minor points, however: a little more humour could have been injected into the script, especially with the likes of Pegg and Rhames to riff off one another, and Cavill’s American accent, whilst far from terrible, presents a barrier which makes it tricky to engage fully with his character. Nevertheless, he makes for an impressive physical screen presence.

Mission Impossible – Fallout is a tight, action-driven romp, anchored by Cruise’s compelling star power. The action sequences dominate the film – as they should do – and keep the narrative zipping along at a hugely enjoyable speed. The cast are universally great and help to craft a blockbuster which carries the weight of its heritage with poise and ingenuity. Great stuff.

Clapperboard Rating: * * * *

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

This review was first published by The Student Pocket Guide

The old adage “those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it” seems remarkably apt when it comes to the plot for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Either that, or the characters are just a load of idiots. Having narrowly avoided the deaths of thousands in the previous film when the dinosaurs escaped from their enclosures at the Jurassic World theme park, velociraptor trainer Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) and dinosaur activist Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) decide it would be a great idea to return to the island. This time, it’s a rescue mission: the island is about to be destroyed by a cataclysmic volcanic eruption and the race is on to save the dinosaurs from a second extinction. Obviously, lessons haven’t been learnt.

2015’s Jurassic World was a fun return to the dino-chaos of Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park (which, amazingly, was released way back in 1993) and, along with some brilliant special effects, offered some surprisingly cutting comments on the nature of consumerism and animal exploitation. Oh, and there was heel-gate. The latest film continues the impressive visuals (the opening sequence is a gripping re-introduction to the huge Mosasaurus aquatic lizard which captivated audiences in Jurassic World). It also raises more ethical and moral dilemmas but, unfortunately, fails to engage with them on any satisfactory level, and the initial marvel of cinematic dinosaurs has long worn off. The result is a watchable film which ticks along nicely without soaring to the exciting heights of the original.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is directed by Spanish director J. A. Bayona (an admirer and mentee of Guillermo Del Toro), who introduces a palpable sense of gloom to proceedings. Indeed, there are several nods to his previous work: a lighthouse motif references his 2007 horror film The Orphanage and the large-scale destruction sequences are reminiscent of his Boxing Day tsunami drama The Impossible. Fallen Kingdom, however never quite manages to fuse an auteur sensibility with blockbuster action, hovering indeterminably somewhere in between.

Claire and Owen believe they are helping to rescue the dinosaurs from the imploding island and transfer them to a new sanctuary funded by Sir Benjamin Lockwood (James Cromwell), the partner of John Hammond (who was, of course, played by the inimitable Richard Attenborough) who created the original dinosaur cloning technology. Sir Benjamin’s money-driven assistant (Rafe Spall) is masterminding proceedings, however, and is intent on exploiting the rescue mission for financial gain. The dinosaurs are not the only threat, it would seem, and alongside the usual mercenaries employed to capture the velociraptors and stegosaurus, Toby Jones plays a sinister auctioneer who delights in selling creatures for million-dollar sums.

Bryce Dallas Howard and Chris Pratt make for a very watchable pair of protagonists, even if hers is a character who could do with a little more development and agency. That said, she is a strong presence, and Pratt undertakes his role in good humour. A cameo from Jeff Goldblum at the beginning and end of the film will please fans, and he acts as the film’s moral compass – even if the needle skirts around the weightier ethical issues it references. In terms of performances, however, a special mention should go to newcomer Isabella Sermon who plays Maisie, the granddaughter of Sir Benjamin. She gives a fantastic performance, especially in the emotional moments of the film which centre on familial loss and the genuine terror of being chased by a dinosaur. The scene when she meets Claire and Owen for the first time is particularly great.

The first half of the film’s action takes place on the doomed island and, as dinosaurs flee alongside their human counterparts from flying ash and searing lava flows, the cinematography is impressive. Later in the film, as a fearsome and newly-created dinosaur called the Indoraptor chases Maisie as she takes refuge in her bedroom, a swirling and rotating camera makes for brilliant viewing as it tracks the creature scaling the side of Lockwood’s mansion. Although this sequence, along with a few others, is visually-arresting and compelling, the overall feel of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is a little weary. The previous 4 films have essentially worked through every possible dino-encounter scenario and, therefore, the action in this film feels too familiar to have any deep impact on audiences.

That’s not to say that there’s anything wrong with the drama, performances, or special effects: there isn’t. But without a solid engagement with the moral issues which come with resurrecting a distinct species, there is little sense of wonder to add to the Jurassic canon. At one point, Claire asks Owen “can you remember the first time you saw a dinosaur?”. Audiences will be able to and, unfortunately, they will be left feeling that the whole thing has become a little trite. Now there’s something I never thought I’d say about dinosaurs.

Clapperboard Rating: * * *