Tully is slightly laboured, and after a long and intense one only gives birth to a conversation starter rather than a game changer. In Tully motherhood meets postnatal depression (‘PND’) and whilst the dialogue and acting is consistently good, it feels hard to engage until the final twenty minutes.
Marlo (Charlize Theron) is pregnant with her third child, currently on maternity leave with two children one of whom has special needs. Actually, you could say she’s mother to three children as her man child husband works and then comes home and plays video games. Things are compounded when she visits his brother and his perfect size 10 wife with her dog called prosecco who works out and has three children and a night nanny. Her brother, as a baby gift, pays for the service of a night nanny to help through this period. That’s when we meet Tully. However, as Marlo’s nights get easier and she starts feeling more like her old self, things then take an unexpected turn
Now, Tully is ambitious in tackling this taboo subject of PND on screen. This is the third film from director Jason Reitman and writer Diablo Cody. However, with Juno, there was a magic that didn’t feel laboured. In this film it had too many cliches – depression means you eat not it doesn’t necessarily. The father character is shown as the typical not interested, self centred oblivious creature, and maybe that is true in many cases,but this was supposed to be a different take. Also, there is a massive twist in this film but to get there you have to labour through the cliches, of which there are many. The dialogue is pitch perfect and one would expect nothing less from Diablo Cody. On a lighter note, there was one point in the film when I thought I need me a night nanny like Tully – bakes cakes and cleans the house while I sleep- yes, please. A star is born in the form of MacKenzie Davis as Tully she is mesmerising on screen and brings much needed blast of fresh air to the film.
Tully is a valiant attempt to discuss this taboo subject. There are some scenes especially the nappy changing scene that is interspersed with claps that many mothers will innately understand- the banality and monotony of motherhood.
However, it just feels a little too Hollywood especially at the end that cheats the viewer of a film that could have been altogether darker and grittier had it held its nerve.
Tully is released in cinemas across the UK on Friday 4 May.
I feel pretty sounds appealing but in this fickle world, looks do count. Unfortunately for I Feel Pretty it’s all a bit deja vu, same jokes with a more muted style trying to appeal to the everywoman. The central message of the film is that who you are is all in your head – forget the shoes, with the right mindset you can rule the world.Alas, the film isn’t sure what it is and so that leads to a confusing message.
I Feel Pretty tells the story of Renee Bennett (Amy Schumer) who works in the back office with Mason (the perennially funny Adrian Martinez) of Avery LeClair cosmetics. She lacks confidence and is riddled with insecurity about her body and looks. The opening scene is of her going to a soul cycle class and feeling out of place. She gets to deliver an important document and sees her boss and idol in the flesh Avery LeClair (Michelle Williams) and then gets told her ideal job – that of the receptionist at Avery LeClair headquarters – is going to be advertised. She is elated and applies and whilst watching the film Big, she runs out into the rain and tosses a coin in the fountain in the hope that her wish, to be confident, will come true. Her wish does come true and everything is perfect until she hits her head and her world goes into a tailspin.
This film has good intentions and a positive message about self image. It is definitely right on trend trying to promote self worth and beauty from in. The issue is that it takes a rather simplistic view of a rather complex issue. What we want and need are films with more complexity that are also feel good. I Feel Pretty feels like one big mouthful of candy floss.
The feel good message feels like a long, hard slog to finally appear It is co-written and directed by Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein. A lot of the jokes in the film have been done before – the big girl going to work out in a sea of supermodel sized women and the list goes on.
Another issue is Amy Schumer playing it seriously in this role. It is not supposed to be slapstick comedy and the problem is she is just not very convincing and she looks ill at ease most of the time on screen.The moment where she becomes body confident and loses all her insecurity falls flat. The whole point of the transformation is that it takes place solely in her head so that everyone around her is confused by her sudden surge of confidence. The simple truth is that in order for this to have worked, another actress should have been cast in the central role. The only saving grace of this film is Michelle Williams. As her character, Avery LeClair, she steals every scene as the slightly nutty, socially awkward, baby voiced CEO.
More and more these days we are seeing really strong and confident debuts from young filmmakers and Michael Pearce’s BEAST is now another that can proudly sit on that list. The film’s synopsis sounds objectively generic at first glance however through some very interesting character work, two truly brilliant central performances and a clever and layered tone this feature really manages to stand out amongst the crowd.
Moll (Jessie Buckley), a young woman living in Jersey with her oppressive family, is dealing with a troubled past and a conflicted present when she meets the dangerous and alluring Pascal Renouf (Johnny Flynn) and the pair spark off a passionate and destructive relationship during the backdrop of a series of brutal kidnappings and murders which Pascal is under suspicion of.
Whilst the setup may sound vaguely like a more mature episode of Midsummer Murders it is actually far from it. There is a very carefully crafted drama here that slowly builds and develops into a tense and menacing psychological thriller interspersed with brutal elements of horror but all the while wrapped up in a kind of mythical ‘fairy tale’ like whimsy. It is not an easy film to watch but it was an extremely rewarding one for myself.
Whilst Michael Pearce really does deserve a lot of praise for how this feature turned out it simply would not have been possible without the incredible work of the two leads. Jessie Buckley in particular is a force of nature in what will inevitably be a star-making performance! Moll is such a complex character to portray but Buckley does it with vulnerability, intelligence, fear, shyness, confidence and strength. The character of Moll is in every single scene of the film and she is our portal into this world. We get to see a woman so filled with guilt and shame and worry and isolation being transformed into someone so much more powerful but at what cost?
Johnny Flynn is not somebody I had come across before but his ability here to quite effortlessly flit between ominous menace to boyish playfulness to ‘leading man’ charm and charisma to exponential rage is quite astonishing. The filmmakers make his involvement with the police investigation ambiguous every step of the way and that gives Flynn free reign to take us any way with this character at any time. It’s a brilliant role and it is handled perfectly.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFJWtg057U8
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention how effective the Jersey setting is in helping to create such an eerie and memorable look and feel to the film too. The beaches, the cliffs, the woods, the surf and the trenches all play very pivotal parts in framing this twisted story and it seems quite remarkable that this setting hasn’t been used that much in cinema so far. Much like Francis Lee’s brilliant love story “God’s Own Country” from last year used Yorkshire to stunning effect to accentuate the central themes of the film, so does the biggest of the Channel Islands here. It is beautiful one minute and menacing the next and although the natural beauty really does frame itself it definitely plays a part in portraying the conflicted emotions that Moll goes through over the course of the narrative.
I will finish by briefly bringing it back to the ‘fairy tale’ feel I mentioned earlier. The film’s title simply being BEAST is almost certainly purposefully reminiscent of Disney’s own “Beauty and the Beast” and it is within this comparison that I find the film most interesting. Who is the Beast in this tale? Is it Pascal with his dirty appearance and demeanour and ‘devil may care’ attitude juxtaposed with the suspicion against his character? Is it Moll who has been told her whole life she is a “wild one” that needs to be tamed and who never feels accepted in any situation she finds herself in? Is it the oppression and abuse Moll gets from seemingly every person of authority or influence around her, slowly but agonisingly beating her down and preventing her from blossoming? Or is it love itself? Something so strong yet potentially so destructive that it can build people up or tear them apart in equal measure. The film leaves these answers up to you and it’s within that ambiguity that I find my real passion for this film lies. A dark, tense and surprising psychological thriller that is far more than just another ‘serial killer’ story. A thorough recommend from me!
It’s been the accumulation of ten years and eighteen (yes eighteen) films, but now it’s finally here. Avengers Infinity War, the most anticipated film since the last film you were told to anticipate. I will just say that if I’m being a bit vague with this review it’s because I’m working to avoid spoilers. Like I said, for some it has been a ten year wait, so I will respect those who have not seen it yet. Besides, this is a surprisingly easy film to spoil. It feels like a big even happens every single scene. But maybe that shouldn’t be surprising with a film this big.
Thanos, that villain who we’ve apparently been waiting for even though he’s only sat in a chair up to this point, has arrived. He wants the infinity stones, six gems with the combined ability to change reality as we know it. The Avengers are out matched. Having splintered apart they must now re-join forces again – as well as joining forces with Doctor Strange, the people of Wakanda and the Guardians of the Galaxy. But still, will that be enough to stop Thanos from wiping out half of all life in the universe?
The MCU is a colossal mixed bag for me. I do like some, even love a couple of them – but, while there are a couple that I really don’t like, most of them are just aggressively average to me. After a while they start to blend into one. It’s because of this I wasn’t really looking forward to this one. The trailer didn’t help matters. I feel like I’m part of a minority here, but I was not impressed by how this film looked. It looked like another film where the Avengers fight another big bad, call out some quips, make an obscure comic book reference and fight another disposable army with ease. But while the film does end up becoming that, I can’t deny that I got more than I bargained for here.
This could have easily been a colossal mess. Have you seen the cast alone? It looks like every actor working today has a role. But the Russo brothers, who gave us Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Civil War, somehow pull it off very well. I can’t even begin to imagine what this must have been like. The stress of getting it right must have been unbearable. I feel like if this was written and directed by other Avengers films director Joss Whedon then this would have completely fallen flat. The Russo’s seem to know exactly what they are doing. For the most part at least.
Not only do we have a huge cast to accommodate, all members giving their usual good performances, but we’ve got characters who other film makers have made – all with different styles and tones. We have a film that features the gritty, serious and occasionally thought-provoking Captain America and also the silly, fun-loving and surreal Guardians of the Galaxy. To avoid this they take a little bit from Thor Ragnarok – in that the tones change depending on which character you are following. This means that everyone is split up for most of the film, with us all following little teams with their own little story-lines which all lead up to the same huge event. This was clearly the best choice for the film to make.
But one thing that is constant throughout the whole film is how hopeless and depressing it can be. We get our typical heroes getting over powered by the henchman scenes that we’ve come to expect. But then we get these full on dark and upsetting moments. I walked out of the cinema thinking that there are going to be a lot of crying children these next few weeks. I do admire the film for having the gall to do what it does. There are many moments that pleasantly subverted my expectations. An early example is that I wondered how long it would be before Hulk and Thanos fought – turns out it’s at the very beginning and it doesn’t go well. That’s a minor point, but there are more, greater ones.
But we are still watching a Marvel film. Which means that it’s still a fun little action film at heart. The action is great. The Russo’s, who usually use shaky-cam for their action really tone it down and just let the choreography speak for itself. It also means that the effects are pretty good. They’re great on the Avengers, Thanos and the planets and ships – although the effects on Thanos’ henchmen and some of the explosions did make me wince. It does also mean that the film feels longer than it should be. At over two-and-a-half hours long, it drags at points. There’s one storyline I feel the film could have managed without. There’s also a minor role from a famous television actor, and he is just dreadful in his little amount of screen time.
But really Infinity War rests, and always has rested on one thing. Is Thanos a good villain? The answer to that would determine how well the film would be taken. I am pleasantly surprised to say that Thanos is certainly one of the best villains of the MCU, and possibly even one of the best villains in a superhero film in general. He’s a great villain. It’s been said that to have a great villain you have to make them sympathetic – while you do oddly sympathise with him at times, I don’t agree with that statement. I think that all you need to do is make them interesting. That’s where Thanos, and other more recent Marvel villains like Killmonger, Vulture, Hela and Ego succeed. Thanos really believes that he’s the good guy. That he’s saving the universe by causing this mass genocide. That’s really interesting and gets you both scared of and fascinated with him. Physically, while he does weirdly look like a purple Homer Simpson, he’s an imposing force that devours the screen whenever he’s on it. Adding to that an amazing performance from the incredible Josh Brolin, selling this character body and soul, and you have a clear winner.
I have my issues with Infinity War. I didn’t expect much – in some ways it surpassed that, but in others it was exactly what I expected. I will say that I did prefer Black Panther this year. A great villain and a lot of fun riding with the Guardians and Thor again were enough to let me enjoy it. I’m still thinking about the darker moments as well, so there’s a positive too. Other than that, it’s just a darker version of the Marvel films that have come before. The only thing I will say that might lead into spoilers is that this is not a full story – part two is coming next year. That was disappointing for me. If you haven’t already go and see it. I can see this being as divisive as Star Wars: The Last Jedi, particularly come the midway point. Don’t expect the final chapter to Marvels great saga, but do expect another valiant effort from the studio.
Tracing the rise of the internet Troll, Troll Inc. is the story of a hidden battle between an army of trolls as they battle corporate America, the media and political correctness. Wrongfully convicted of stealing private information, Andrew Auernheimer has become the leader of a background movement. Through his own words and the words of his fellow cultural-saboteurs, Troll Inc. is an eye opening documentary into a hidden world but has a very real influence in our lives.
To hold a viewer for 80 minutes a documentary needs to have an interesting subject, be well paced and have a fantastic array of interviews to provide context and story. Troll Inc. and George Russell seem to have found both in perfect to proportion to produce a thoroughly enthralling piece of film. Andrew Auernheimer is such a clever yet enigmatic character and although it’s difficult to really understand his motivation, the delivery of his story is full of charisma and he manages to discuss difficult topics with ease and humour.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0a2Jn2rmltM
The scope of the story is fascinating and where many documentaries may focus on the potential crimes of the trolls or even the government, Troll Inc. delves deeper into the motivation of the Trolls and tries to understand why people cause chaos with seemingly no reason, but also just how impactful their actions can be, even if done as a joke or a social experiment.
I very much enjoy a good documentary, but I very rarely wish the story went on longer. Even more so I rarely lose myself as I would in a feature film, but Troll Inc. has that power. Troll Inc. is a fantastic documentary for anyone interested in technology, the power of the media but also the abuse and role of the government. There’s something in there for everyone and I would pay this the ultimate compliment that I would definitely watch it again.
