American Sniper

 

I was always going to see American Sniper but it was its Oscar nominations that caught my attention more than the trailer.  I enjoy seeing a noisy war film on the big screen so it was never going to be a chore to sit in a darkened room for 2hours.

It wasn’t until the closing credits that I realised that Chris Kyle was a real person and the film was based on true events.  Those of you who know me will come to expect the following disclaimer but for all you random spammers out there this is for you:  I am too lazy to do any research into the origins of a film.  A film is a film and is judged as such.  End of.

PLOT:  Texan born Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper) joins the Seals and is deployed to Iraq where becomes a famous/infamous sniper depending on which side of the conflict you are routing for.  Kyle then struggles to switch off from the war when he is at home with his wife (Sienna Miller) and young children before it is time for his next tour.  END PLOT

The plot of American Sniper doesn’t flow particularly well and plays out like a series of set pieces which alternate between America and Iraq.  The film just about gets away with it but Kyle’s struggles to adapt to home life aren’t given much depth so there were times I was hoping the film would move back to Iraq just so that something would happen.  A bit more personal conflict from Kyle was needed to give the film the emotional punches it was sorely lacking.  I will freely admit that the closing montage did get to me but, with all due respect to the Kyle family, American Sniper was so lacking in emotion it felt like a manipulative ploy for tears.

Bradley Cooper is fine as Chris Kyle and gives a solid performance but nothing more.  I would like to give Cooper the benefit of the doubt and say that he was hampered by a script that was perhaps too understated for its own good but as a general rule Cooper was born with greater amounts of enthusiasm than talent so this is probably all he had to give.

Sienna Miller is having a great run at playing someone's wife and is the only other character in American Sniper who is given any screen time or development.  I could name the entire crew that set out to save Private Ryan however I have no recollection of any other soldier other than Kyle in a film I watched less than 24hours ago.  I appreciate that American Sniper is a biopic but a bit more fleshing out of Kyle’s army brothers would have helped give the film the heart it was sorely lacking.

The on the ground action was well executed and there was plenty of drama in the final shoot out.  The sniping scenes had plenty of tension and who doesn’t love a good old fashioned “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves” style follow the bullet shot?  The action was solid but it wasn't anything I hadn't seen before. 

The script, acting and action in American Sniper are all fine but the heart and emotion needed to make the film memorable are nowhere to be seen.  American Sniper gets 6/10.  A definite cinema watch but it is by no means a classic.

Is it worthy of the awards hype? No.

Guardians of the Galaxy

 

After spending a few months perfecting my vocal performance of Hooked on a Feeling Guardians of the Galaxy finally arrived in the cinema.  A convincing trailer, general Marvel excitement and internet hype meant that Guardians was always going to be one of the most anticipated films of the summer.

Would it deliver?

PLOT:  Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) is taken from earth as a young boy and grows up to be a thief working for Yondu Udonta (Michael Rooker).  Quill steals a mysterious orb and is hunted by half the galaxy.  After a street brawl Peter, Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Rocket (Bradley Cooper) and Groot (Vin Diesel) are all sent to prison where they meet the already incarcerated Drax (Dave Bautista).  The inmates work together to escape and are chased across the galaxy by Ronin the Excuser (Lee Pace) and Yondu who has placed a bounty on Han’s Peter’s head.  Quill and the others must learn to trust each other and work together to save the galaxy.  END PLOT

Guardians of the Galaxy marks the first time that I have gone into a Marvel film completely blind.  I had no prior knowledge of the characters or the events which unfolded and I spent the vast majority of the film thinking that Nova Prime was a planet and not Glenn Close. 

Not a planet since 1947.

 

As the film was introducing the unknown it was essential to have a strong script as there were a lot of new characters and relationships which needed to be set up in a relevantly short space of time.  The plot was fine but there were segments which were very clunky and towards the end of the film a throwaway line involving Peter’s father made the entire cinema exclaim “huh?” in unison.  The story felt familiar and on occasions there were feelings of déjà vu but any issues were forgotten whenever the five Guardians were on screen as their chemistry sizzled and the film became a pleasure to watch.

The tone throughout was fun although some of the humour did miss the mark.  There were some very decent dramatic scenes and I was surprised that the big emotional moments came from Rocket and the loud laughs from Drax and his literal understanding of the English language.  It was nice to see that the team offered more than the two minute trailer suggested.

The Guardians of the Galaxy introduced a brand new cast of actors to the Marvel Cinema Club and they did a fine job of it.  Chris Pratt was very likeable as Peter Quill and grew into his role as group leader with ease.  Zoe Saldana has been typecast in this role for years but when she does it so well is there really any reason to complain?  Former WWE star Dave Bautista was much more entertaining than expected however it was Bradley Cooper’s Rocket and Groot who stole the show.  Overall the main players were very well cast but with all ensemble pieces there is always a weak link and with Guardians it is Lee Pace who claims that award.  Pace got the balance between a grandiose performance and over acting like hell very wrong.

Bromance of the year: 2014

Guardians of the Galaxy gave us some more Thanos (Josh Brolin) who was teased at the end of The Avengers.  I hope I am forgiven when I say that I really don’t know where the Thanos storyline is going or what the significance of the character is.  I am not asking either; I am happy enough to let Marvel play it out on screen.  We also got more time with Benicio Del Toro’s character, the Collector, but this added absolutely nothing to the film other than a room filled with head nods to fans of various comics.

My biggest complaint about the film was the proclamation during the closing credits that the “Guardians of the Galaxy will return”.  Everyone knew before the film was released that there would be a sequel and I have no problem with this at all.  I just don’t want Marvel to cross the line from confident into cocky filmmaking.  A little bit of humility goes a long way.

The Guardians of the Galaxy successfully expanded the Marvel Universe and gave the audience exactly what it wanted – a great time.  It gets 8/10.  Now the Guardians have been established the next instalment can motor on without as many introductions.  I have already saved the date in my diary.

Mundane Rambling will return to review Guardians of the Galaxy two.

The Place Beyond The Pines

 

The Place Beyond The Pines appeared with absolutely no fanfare and frankly I would have missed it if it weren’t for a keen eyed friend spotting it in listings outside of our usual cinematic jurisdiction.

It is obvious that Ryan Gosling and Bradley Cooper were the only reason that I went out of my way to see this film and I see no sense in trying to convince you otherwise.  I am not that good a writer.

PLOT: Luke Glanton (Ryan Gosling) discovers that he has a young son following a fling with Romina (Eva Mendes).  As he descends into a life of crime in order to provide for the child Luke crosses paths with police officer Avery Cross (Bradley Cooper).  The next fifteen years are played out in real time as father/son bullshit is inherited by a new generation.  END PLOT.

When my friends and I leave the cinema there is usually a few moments of silence before one of us tentatively offers an opinion on the film we have just viewed.  After exiting The Place Beyond The Pines the silence lasted much longer than usual until a friend said, with all sincerity, “the rat symbolises obviousness”.  In four words she had essentially, and rather annoyingly, provided the most accurate review in cinematic history. 

The Place Beyond The Pines doesn’t shy away from the main father/son theme and why should it?  It is a film about fathers and sons.  Unfortunately the theme is not handled with any subtlety and the drama plays out with an almost tedious inevitability.  It isn’t helped by the script which is split into three distinct acts.  The jump from section to section was so jarring that a bikini clad model walking across the screen with a flashing neon sign would have been less obvious.

The pace is so slow that by the time the final section, which focused on the Luke and Avery’s unlikeable children, arrived I had already lost the will to live.  A 140min (IMDB) felt like a lifetime. 

The script isn’t half as clever as it thinks it is and is saved by the performances of the cast.  Ryan Gosling is excellent and as per usual Gosling is at his best when he doesn’t have many lines – with his quiet intensity you cannot take your eyes of him. 

Bradley Cooper gives the best performance of his career but if you compare the scenes in which both Avery and Luke cry there is no question that Gosling is the better actor.

Dane DeHann is doing a solid job of quietly building up a reputation as being a very promising young actor and Ray Liotta and Bruce Greenwood show up in small but effective supporting roles.

The Place Beyond The Pines doesn’t bother to give Eva Mendes and Rose Byrne anything to do.  They are simply the vessels used to produce angst/attitude ridden teenagers and their characters are not developed any deeper than this.  It is a pity as Mendes showed some promise with her limited screen time.

Derek Cianfrance’s film, although gorgeous to look at, is an overlong melodrama which boasts an A-List cast but misses the mark by quite some margin.  Gosling and Cooper fans can take comfort that their performances can't be faulted but The Place Beyond The Pines is the biggest disappointment of the year so far.  It gets 4/10.

The Hangover 2

I find myself in the cinema at the very least once per week so the amount of cinema visits each year is reasonably high however the percentage of these visits which are to see comedies is very low.

The first Hangover was fun - I like farcical comedy and The Hangover pulled it off quite well. The sequel was as much as a surprise as it was inevitable so on opening weekend The Nerdy Trio found themselves seeing what must be only our second comedy of the year (the other being Easy A).

PLOT: If you have seen The Hangover you have seen The Hangover 2 - kindly swap Vegas for Bangkok and monkey for tiger and Robert‘s your fathers brother (so to speak). END PLOT

It is quite an achievement for Todd Phillips to brazen out the fact that The Hangover essentially remade itself with The Hangover 2 and be completely unapologetic. The plot follows exactly the same beats as its predecessor only this time the quest to find their missing friend becomes more elaborate and extreme.

The Hangover 2 is one of the most laziest concepts for a film in recent history but it does have one very important thing going for it - the cast.

Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis are all likeable enough to almost make you succeed in blocking out the overwhelming sense of déjà vu. They are all very fine in their roles and are fun to watch on screen. If it wasn’t for the cast The Hangover would have slipped by unnoticed and again they save the day.

This time around we see a lot more of Mr Chow (on several levels) however the sub-plot with Paul Giamatti, Interpol and Chow’s subsequent arrest bogged down what was already a slightly over long running time and was the driest part of the film.

As with all comedies some of the set pieces worked and were genuinely amusing and some fell completely flat - monkey’s smoking is not funny and to be honest I don't even find it particularly controversial. Chow and the monkey should be given to Bangkok never to be seen again.

The Hangover 2 is amusing and I did find myself chuckling away on several occasions at its sheer stupidity but it is in no way a great film. It doesn’t have that little sliver of originality to separate it from The Hangover . The Hangover 2 gets a 5/10 - the cast can reunite in ten years time for the inevitable reunion drink but until then sober they should stay.

It didn’t make me any less in love with Bradley Cooper and for that I am somewhat grateful and quite frankly a little relieved.