Category: REVIEWS

The Keeper: The BRWC Review.

Forgiveness is innately human. We are all capable of it, and we have all sought it out at some point in our lives. It is not always straightforward though; some actions are so dark and twisted that forgiving them takes a monumental effort. One of the most significant examples of the power of forgiveness is the story of Bert Trautmann (David Kross). When Trautmann first arrived in Britain, he was a prisoner of war caught in the dying months of the Second World War. He had joined the Nazi army of his own ignorant volition and went on to earn the Iron Cross. If someone were only to know this about Bert and nothing else, then his Order of The British Empire, awarded to him in 2004, would sound like complete insanity. The gap between is where director Marcus H. Rosenmüller’s newest film comes in. 

Appropriately named “The Keeper” this sports biopic is light on football and high in drama. This decision was the right one as although the script is lacking in certain vital aspects of Bert’s life, it is entirely brilliant and evocative. The discourse on just how hard it is to forgive someone for being apart of the cruellest regime in human history works incredibly well. Bert’s eventual wife Margate (Freya Mavor) is the perfect example of this. She starts out hating Bert; he was on the side of the men that took away countless British lives and committed many other atrocities. She says it best when she berates him, telling him that he stole the youth of the young men and women of Britain and that being good at football will not change that. Margate’s forgiveness is as much the heart of this story as Bert himself, and that strengthens the film to no end. She is the perfect representation of how the world came to embrace him. 

The uniting power of sport is the most moving part of any sports film. There is something about the struggle and triumph of athletes that will always be endearing. The biggest strength of “The Keeper” is that it combines athletic heroics with the aforementioned complicated forgiveness. It elevates the sporting sequences to a whole new level of emotion. This is not a run of the mill underdog story; this is the most hated person in Manchester becoming a hero for Manchester City despite 20,000 people, many of whom were Jewish, protesting when he signed for the club. If I did not know it was true, I would struggle to believe it. 

The performances are what drive this more so than anything else. Kross and Mavor have instant chemistry that flows at the perfect level throughout. Once married, they shine all the brighter and carry the hefty weight of the drama to the end without missing a beat. Marvor, in particular, tugs at the heartstrings. She has numerous moments to command the screen, and she pulls it off every time and in captivating fashion. Her speech to the people of Manchester pleading and debating with them as to why they should forgive her husband is spectacularly moving. Another noteworthy performance is that of Harry Melling as “Sergeant Smythe” who is both detestable and engaging in his role. He rules his concentration camp without compassion, and when all is said and done, it is almost impossible to say if we should condemn him for that or not. 

The score is beautiful and successfully encompasses the trauma to triumph tale that “The Keeper” is. Musical scores endeavour to elevate every aspect of the screen, and composer Gerd Baumann has achieved that here. 

The direction is the films only notable hiccup. The overall approach of the movie is rather straight forward and respectful. Unfortunately, some small periods slide past without much impact as a result of this. The presentation of such a complex script in such a straightforward manner is also unfortunate. More could have been said with the movie had the right risks been taken at the right moments. However, Rosenmüller treads lightly with his subjects, as so many directors of biopics do. It is worth noting testing the waters by utilising a faster pace and more engaging direction very quickly could have stifled a story very much worth telling well. If the leisurely pace is the price that must be paid to avoid disaster than in this case, I am more than happy to pay it. 

“The Keeper” finds the perfect way to articulate the substantial power of forgiveness. This sports biopic may go easy on the sport, but the emotion still manages to soar as high as the Bert himself did between the posts. Rosenmüller’s approach to the film may have been safe, but that is not enough to overly damage this moving cinema experience.

You’ll struggle to find a feature debut that pucks a punch quite as hard as Lila Avilés’ The Chambermaid this year. The film is a beautifully shot, intimate drama that humanises the underbelly of hospitality. 

The film centres on chambermaid Eve (Gabriela Cartol, who is a graceful and understated presence) as she goes from room to room in a Mexico hotel, interacting with the people of so-called opulence.

Her character is alienated and determined, her goals being that of a promotion to the 42nd floor (where the VIP sweets are situated) and waiting to hear if the red dress she yearns for in lost property can finally be hers. 

The juxtaposition between the crisp sheets, sparkling bathrooms and neatly stacked books with the raucous, messy hubbub of the staff quarters highlights Eve’s frustration with her social status.

She is constantly on the phone to her childminder, promising she will try and be home early. But, more often than not, she has to stay in the hotel or get up too early to see her son for breakfast (we see the inside of the hotel for most of the film, with glimpses of the city through hotel windows).

She is also balancing adult education classes, where she starts to read her first book and learn percentages. For a film set in South America, there is no heat to the cinematography, highlighting the monotony of the hotel workers lives. The only warm tones can found in the classroom. 

There are no thrills or plot twists in this film, yet this character driven piece will keep you hooked from beginning to end. You may even learn some cleaning tips along the way, like using a broom handle to flatten down your sheets – I’d never thought of that! 

You may even learn some cleaning tips along the way, like using a broom handle to flatten down your sheets – I’d never thought of that! 

Once Upon A Time In Hollywood: The BRWC Review.

Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood visits 1969 Los Angeles, where everything is changing, as television star Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his longtime stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) make their way around an industry they hardly recognize anymore. The ninth film from the writer-director features a large ensemble cast and multiple storylines in a tribute to the final moments of Hollywood’s golden age.

Whenever a new film by Tarantino is released or is even just in the works, my interest is immediately peaked. While I do not love every single one of his pictures, I have always admired the fact that he is a filmmaker that takes so many risks with every film that he makes. His movies are so unconvential and it is surprising to even see movies like his being made today.

Out of all of his works, my favorite of his has to be either Django Unchained or Pulp Fiction – two masterpieces in cinema with extraordinarily exciting storylines and crazy fun action sequences mixed in throughout. His latest, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, immediately struck me as a different film under his belt the instant the trailer was released. It seemed significantly slower paced and a more character focused narrative, which is something to appreciate as well.

Gratefully, Hollywood is one of Tarantino’s greatest efforts he has put forth to date. While this is not as long as his other pictures such as The Hateful Eight, it is most certainly a long ride, with its running time clocking in at one hundred and sixty one minutes. A running time this long would put quite a bit of general audience members to sleep, but if you appreciate the art of filmmaking, this will not bother you, as it did not bother me. In fact, I felt like the film could have been even longer and I would not have cared because at the end of the day, every single frame present is unique and exciting.

For some, this movie will seem absolutely pointless and many will claim that nothing really happened until the third act. For me, the opposite is the case. Although at first, it may seem like not a whole lot is really going on storywise for a while, after a bit, you will begin to notice that the film is at heart a story about two men making films together that are finally realizing that their careers are going downhill and spend the last few years of their careers trying to make their keep.

One of the reasons why everything works so well here is because of the performances all across the board, but namely from Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt. The two are well known for being terrific actors, and they truly get their chance to prove this here and they most certainly show it. DiCaprio is absolutely hilarious in the film when he needs to be and he is also sympathetic whenever his character needs to be. The same can be said about Pitt’s Cliff Booth. Their chemistry onscreen is some of the best of the entire year, and it genuinely felt like these two characters have been friends their whole lives.

It is additionally an emmaculately shot picture, with the director of photography being Robert Richardson, who previously worked with Tarantino on Kill Bill Vol. 1, Vol. 2, Inglorious Basterds, Django Unchained, and the aforementioned Hateful Eight. Every single still frame of Richardson’s work here looks truly mesmerizing.

Hollywood is set in the year 1969 and so naturally, you would hope that the city of Los Angeles would look historically accurate and it gratefully does. Billboards/advertisements, vehicles, architecture, and even food and drinks are historically accurate and the crew that ensured that everything looked right deserves immense praise. There was one sequence here in which it actually felt like I was watching a film that was released in the 1960s.

When it comes down to it all, there is only one major issue with Tarantino’s latest cinematic outing – Margot Robbie as Sharon Tate. Her performance here is miraculous, but what is unfortunate however, is the fact that the film barely utilizes her at all. Robbie was at one point in time my favorite actress of all time, and so I was naturally excited to see how she would portray this character.

Unfortunately, there is approximately five or so scenes with her in the film as a whole, and even the scenes that she is involved in, barely include dialogue, with some being completely silent. In the long run, it was completely pointless to include Tate in this film and to get Robbie to portray her. What is just as confusing is the fact that she is credited third on the official poster, right next to DiCaprio and Pitt, when there where other actors that were used significantly more than Tate.

Overall though, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is yet another home run for Quentin Tarantino due to its incredible performances, gorgeous cinematography, and its exciting story.

The Lion King (2019) Spoiler Review 

By Megan Williams 

It may seem weird that ‘spoilers’ and ‘The Lion King’ are in the same sentence, especially since the original Disney classic is celebrating its 25^th anniversary this year, but there’s a good reason for this. While the 2019 live-action/CGI adaptation is a shot-for-shot remake, ‘The Lion King’ has added in a new scene, as well as some new dialogue to make it fresh for fans of the 1994 original. 

Therefore, I will be talking about the changes to ‘The Lion King’, as well as reviewing it.

Overall, ‘The Lion King’ is watchable, but definitely has its issues. Interestingly, its biggest problem comes from its breath-taking visuals. The visuals are incredible, and look like it has come out of a nature documentary. It’s mind-boggling to think how long the animation team worked on this film. However, Disney have exchanged charm and expressive characters for the amazing visuals.

Most of the characters’ faces never show any emotion when it calls for it, making them lifeless. An example of this is during the stampede scene, when Simba sees the Wildebeest stampede run towards him. He should look terrified but, instead, he looks blank because the visual effects don’t allow him to react appropriately. This is an ongoing issue that applies to all but two characters, and even the settings. A location like Africa should be colourful and vibrant, but this looks as dead as the Elephant Graveyard. A glaring example is the ‘I Just Can’t Wait To Be King’ sequence.

What was the most colourful part of the film is now a 3-minute scene filled with beige colours, saturated landscapes and nothing visually interesting happening. Yes, this new adaptation is photorealistic, but the film is fictional so exaggerated colours and locations are allowed to be included. The pacing is also extremely rushed, and events that should take its time are gone as quickly as they appeared, and leave no impact at all. Every shot in the original ‘Lion King’ had a reason to exist and were important, and the film took its time to tell a powerful story. This remake does not follow this at all; most of the shots, mainly wide shots, served no purpose meaning that a lot of the film’s shots left no emotional impact whatsoever.

The only character who remembers how to emote is Scar, who is the most expressive and animated character in the entirety of the film’s 118 minute running time. I’m almost convinced Scar was the first character to be animated, and then the crew forgot to give the rest of the characters the same treatment. He was the stand-out and I loved how he was portrayed. Instead of copying Jeremy Irons’ fantastic and creepy performance, Chiwetel Ejiofor (Love Actually, The Martian) gives Scar a, what seems like, caring and kind-hearted manner that would easily fool anyone (unless they knew what he was really like!).

The other stand-out is Shenzi the hyena. Originally voiced by Whoopi Goldberg, Shenzi was meant to be the leader of the hyena pack. While that wasn’t made clear in the original film, it’s definitely clear here and she plays a bigger role in this adaptation. Florence Kasumba voices Shenzi and does a fantastic job at making her a strong leader, and a threatening enemy. ‘The Lion King’ also gives the hyenas a backstory, telling us that a war has raged on between the Lions and Hyenas. This new backstory not only tells us why they are living in the Elephant Graveyard, but it also makes Scar’s reign with the Lions and Hyenas even more terrifying and dangerous than before.

Unfortunately, the voice acting goes downhill from here and effort goes out the window, all for a paycheque. Even James. L. Jones, who reprises his role as King Mufasa, sounds bored and uninterested, as if he didn’t want to revisit the film but was contracted to. Its extremely upsetting to hear.

The rest, sadly, aren’t any better: John Oliver, who voices Zazu, and Beyoncè, who voices the adult Nala, should’ve been perfect for the roles, but they are just as lifeless as their CGI counterparts. Even Timon and Pumbaa (voiced by Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen), one of the highlights of the original film, are dull and embarrassing to watch. Although Timon’s attempt at covering ‘Be Our Guest’ from ‘Beauty and the Beast’ got the biggest laugh from me. Even Scar’s song ‘Be Prepared’ was flimsy, and its evident that Disney never wanted to include it in the film, but caved due to fan outcry.

1994’s ‘The Lion King’ is Disney’s 4^th biggest grossing film (excluding the Star Wars and Marvel properties), so it’s no surprise that Disney wanted to try and replicate that success. However, this should’ve been left alone. The phrase ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ applies here, and Disney clearly ignored that advice in creating this emotionless and colourless adaptation.

To fans of ‘The Lion King’, I say this: stick to the (superior) 1994 original. This remake has breath-taking visuals and an incredible soundtrack, provided by Hans Zimmer once again. However, this isn’t enough to save it, as the film’s biggest downfall comes from its visuals and the music score doesn’t differentiate from its source material. 

Disney is in the midst of remaking a lot of their classics, but this is one that should’ve been left alone.

40 Minutes Over Maui – Review. By Megan Williams.

When you go on holiday to a warm destination, what do you expect to find? Nice villa or hotel? Maybe a white, sandy beach with a bright blue sea? Or what about a false alarm revolving around a ballistic missile strike?….No? Well, that’s exactly what two vacationers encounter in the short film ‘40 Minutes Over Maui’. 

Directed and written by Josh Covitt and Michael Feld, the 14-minute comedy revolves around couple, Penny and Larry, who are on holiday in Hawaii. What should’ve been a relaxing morning at the pool turns into a morning of mixed emotions, as they receive a text alert informing them that a ballistic missile is due to hit the continent in 40 minutes.

The short is based on true events that occurred in 2018, where Hawaiian residents and vacationers received a government text alert informing them of an impending missile strike. The message was a false alarm, but this wasn’t made public until 45 minutes after the first message went out. 

Past disaster films have asked the question ‘What would you do when faced with an apocalyptic situation?’, but a film has rarely asked what you would do in such a short space of time. It’s a daunting question to think about, and one that this short handles with hilarity and humanity.

40 Minutes Over Maui Trailer from Michael Feld on Vimeo.

It gives us a glimpse into what we’d realistically do if potentially given a short amount of time left on this planet. And these characters do exactly that, from eating the free chocolate and crisps they’d been given, to trying to gain a threesome, to calling their children. The latter of which turns into an awkward and slightly speechless voicemail from Penny. 

Julie Brister (Night of the Living Deb) and Johnny Ray Meeks (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) were perfect as Penny and Larry, the couple who are plunged into a sudden life-threatening situation (or so they think).

They bring a sense of realism to the surreal environment, but also give us a peek into who they are as people: Penny starts off as a nervous individual, but later appears confident. Larry, however, is nervous and possibly lacks self-confidence, which stays consistent throughout the whole film. He is supposedly a writer, but ends up admitting to Penny that he’s just been playing video games instead. 

‘40 Minutes Over Maui’ gives us a glimpse into a scenario that someone actually experienced during this horrific blunder. It also holds a mirror to what some of us would do if we were in the same scenario: would we run to find shelter and, in doing so, a way to survive; or we would stay where we currently were at that time and accept a horrific end?

It’s dark humour allows for an easy watch, and the two lead actors are enjoyable to watch. ‘40 Minutes Over Maui’ is an enjoyable and funny short about one of recent history’s biggest blunders.