Author: Alex Cole

Sometimes holidays aren’t the vacation you imagine. Never Let Go takes this to its pinnacle as a single mother has to take the law into her own hands when her child is abducted on the beach.

Pretty much a re-imagining of Taken, this brainchild of director and writer Howard J Ford is clearly built around a crime statistic on child abductions and is TV movie MAGIC.

It’s over-dramatised, with weak to average acting and emotional onslaughts that neither fit in with the pace of the film or with the story. Whilst asking for water from a few boys playing football our protagonist Lisa Brennan partakes in a slow motion drinking session, inspiring such love and care in the hearts of these boys who barely speak the same language that they lie to the police about her whereabouts. Whilst inspiring for a mother who has lost her child, it just doesn’t add up. They barely speak, why do they care, it’s never explained; it’s just assumed they understand her plight. This sort of forced emotion and drama is what ruins what should be dramatic tale, but also makes it so magical and cheesy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-RGn-Fvnqk

Angela Dixon (Lisa Brennan) is unbelievable as a former agent who has a ‘set of skills that could help’ (wonder where they got that from) and is not helped by a nonsense script. Cheesy line after cheesy line followed by the continues proclamation ‘I’m a mother’ for an hour an half are so wonderfully bad you might end up liking it by mistake.

Despite the fact that Never Let Go has very little going for it except for a genuinely fun and exciting opening credits, it’s a decent TV movie. It’s the sort of thing to switch your brain off to on a rainy Bank Holiday Monday, or to make fun of whilst drinking but it’s real selling point is that it has a fake baby that would rival American Sniper.

The result of collaboration between French director Clément Oberto and French music producer Mr. Flash, Cream is more art than film. Designed to portray the loneliness and anonymity of life in Los Angeles; Cream has a Melancholic feel. Focusing on a woman eating an ice cream at Santa Monica Beach, Cream builds up to a reveal that nothing happens. As we see more and more of her body interspaced with aesthetic yet lonely wide angle views of the pier, we’re left feeling empty as nothing happens and nothing concludes.

In typical artistic fashion, director Oberto perhaps adds more meaning to the piece than I can see. Long descriptive lines in the press-pack reveal the meanings Oberto hopes can be seen from the piece, but for me some are difficult to perceive so I would very much suggest feeling free to make your own conclusions as you watch this piece. This really is another beautiful film in the vein of his last piece One Step, delicately paced with a natural feel and absolutely stunning colouring. I’m inclined to say I preferred One Step and found it more interesting, but I can’t deny that this is visually appealing and you can see Oberto’s heritage in music videos shining through this work.

Oberto’s work is ultimately beautiful and meaningful, and is definitely worth a look. Everyone will get something different form his films, and after all, that’s what art is about, but just don’t go looking for a story…it’s not that kind of film.

As an undercover MI6 agent is sent to Berlin, Atomic Blonde is an investigation into the death of an agent, but also an investigation into loyalty.

Shifting loyalties, a double agent in the mix, and East-Berlin excess are the sort of contents that make my mouth water. Couple that with fantastic and inventive action sequences including a ‘single-shot’ fight scene I should have been leaving the cinema ready and willing to buy another ticket. Unfortunately, Atomic Blonde doesn’t live up to its potential. Ultimately dull and shallow, Atomic Blonde has no personality.

With so much distrust and uncertainty, the inter-personal relationships between the characters are so devoid character that you’re left not caring who the double agent is and who’s not. You’re so aware of the distrust and the ‘life of spy’ that you can’t become invested in anyone. Charlize Theron does her best to rescue what is a wooden script but fails. Not even James MacAvoy’s usual brilliance can relieve Atomic Blonde from an obsession of style over substance.

The sequences are truly beautiful, the stylisation incredible and the fight scenes refreshingly realistic. To see two fighters so exhausted and hurt during a fight that they can barely move was refreshingly interesting and probably the most exciting part of the film. Unfortunately, it just doesn’t make up for films failings. Theron’s character Lorraine Broughton who began as an intriguing enigma became so complex there’s almost no way to understand her motivation, and for me, that’s where Atomic Blonde lost it.

The transition from graphic novel to film is always difficult. From a format where style is everything to one where stories need to develop quickly has been difficult for Atomic Blonde. It’s not terrible, and fans of fight scenes alone would love it, but it wasn’t great either.

After waiting what felt like forever (it was only a year) for Shin Gojira to be released in the UK and being personally taunted by being in Japan for its original release, but unable to watch it, the UK and I were treated to the cinematic release of Shin Gojira last week.

If you’re a fan of Toho’s Godzilla then I think you will absolutely love Shin Gojira. Introducing a new arc and therefore a new origin story, Shin Gojira updates Godzilla into a new world and a new style, excellently combined with all the original elements. As usual, it’s dealing with Godzilla that takes centre stage and not the monster itself, and although we’re introduced to his destructive force (albeit in a different form) much earlier than usual, the intrigue and mystery of  a good Godzilla film remains.

Shin Gojira is more West Wing than Battle Los Angeles and therefore may not quite hit the mark with Hollywood fans. It’s a frighteningly accurate depiction of politics, where decisions take both time and very large committees, contrasting heavily with Hollywood presidents who make instant life changing decisions without the need for changes in law or any consultation whatsoever. This produces a very unique and interesting disaster movie.

The acting in Shin Gojira is steady and honest, with a typical Japanese style. The effects struggle when compared to Godzilla’s big budget Hollywood cousin, but it doesn’t steal away from the impact or horror of the beast. Interestingly Godzilla is far less human than in previous Godzilla depictions and appears completely instinctual which adds more verve to the nuclear metaphor that emanates once again through this film. It’s sometimes easy to forget Godzilla (1954)’s political heritage, but Shin Gojira brings this up to date with almost propaganda proportions.

I will be recommending Shin Gojira to everyone because I love Godzilla, but putting my reviewer hat on instead of my fanboy vest, Shin Gojira is a solid film, and a good example of Toho’s strength and the more serious side of Godzilla. I would firmly recommend this film to Sci-Fi and political drama fans, but for those looking for non-stop violence, it may not be for you.

Forced to defuse a beach full of mines in post war Denmark, Land of Mine introduces us to a group of young German POWs facing terror, violence and constant peril as they and their Danish commander come to terms with the situation, and each other.

Land of Mind is shocking, violent and thought provoking, and is undoubtedly one of the best war films I’ve seen in years. Introducing us to a part of war (post-war to be precise) rarely seen, Land of Mine covers hatred, prejudice, emotional and physical loss as well as friendship and comradery in a unique and real world setting. Land of Mine brings intense pain in a sedated and realistic way with no embellishment or added drama. It’s very real and very impactful. Roland Moller who plays the Danish Commander portrays a man who views are conflicted with beauty and grace. He hates the Germans for what they’ve done, but as his young POWs face peril with stoicism and heroism he begins to see them as what they are, boys, learning to separate them from the things their commanders and they themselves may have done in the name of war.

This young cast give commanding performances as director Martin Zandvliet pulls no punches. They are convincingly increasingly ill and weak throughout the film, the colour stolen from their faces as director and crew try to hide none of the shameful treatment of these prisoners with none of the usual Hollywood restrictions.  Joel Basman and Emil Belton stand out in particular despite being more minor characters, and I hope to see them in more mainstream films in the future, and I’ll be following their work as they grow.

Land of Mine could easily challenge Hurt Locker if they were to fight for best picture. Land of Mine won’t get the plaudits it deserves because it’s both a foreign language film and covering as aspect of war less interesting and less marketable. Land of Mine is gritty and at times hard to watch, but ultimately, brilliant. I will be talking about Land of Mine for the rest of the year and I thoroughly recommend you watch it.