Dir. Morten Tyldum

A voyage to…somewhere.

Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence struggle to breathe this far out in space. The two actors were a good choice for many reasons – bums on seats, star factor and genuine talent – however the script and the story did not match their normal level of excellence. Jim Preston (Chris Pratt) wakes up 89 years too early on the voyage to Homestead II, part of the Colonised World (humans have clearly been working hard to secure their future in the aftermath of the Trump Wars of the previous century) and spends a year in painful isolation aboard the ship. As good as Pratt is, he didn’t quite secure the deep emotional turbulence required for this performance – his choice to wake up Aurora Lane (Lawrence), a journalist from NYC, seemed more creepy than desperate, more written than organic. Lawrence was the star of the film – her arc was deeply troubled and moving to watch, however the choices her character makes in the script, particularly towards the end, were contrived and frustrating compared to how strong Lawrence portrayed this intelligent, capable woman.

The visual effects were the best part of the film – the swimming pool jutting out of the ship in to open space was an amazing design and lovely to watch in a beautiful scenic wide shot. The anti-gravity sequence was also visually remarkable – however unfortunately it didn’t serve to improve the film and was clearly only there because the budget allowed it to be. If the director’s vision was a little more artistically precise, the visual conveyance of isolation and betrayal would have served well on a lonely, deep space trip such as this. Sadly, the shots were all elementary and personality-free. If you’re a passenger on this trip you might want to return your ticket.

By Matt Allen.

It’s fair to say that M. Night Shyamalan hasn’t been on his best form for quite some time. After exploding onto the scene in 1999 with his iconic, mind-bending horror The Sixth Sense, the master of gut-punching twists steered into a colossal creative nosedive. After churning out middling films such as Unbreakable and Signs, he spectacularly shot to rock-bottom with the likes of The Happening and After Earth. The upsetting thing is that we all know he has it in him to do so much better, and yet he has never seemed to be able to capture that same lightening in a bottle that came so effortlessly in his early career. It’s therefore pleasing to see that with Split, Shyamalan appears to finally be pulling up out of one of the most astounding slumps in the history of cinema.

Split focuses on the story of Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy), an introverted teen who has trouble connecting with her classmates and deliberately gets detention just to be by herself. But solitude stops being an option when she is forced into close quarters with two of her peers after they are kidnapped by a severely disturbed James McAvoy, suffering from dissociative identity disorder (or multiple personality disorder). Gradually, Casey tries to turn her captor’s competing personalities against one another, hoping to make her escape in the confusion, before his most monstrous alter-ego emerges from the depths of his psyche.

It’s an intriguing premise and Shyamalan uses it to great effect to slowly drip feed revelation after revelation, keeping us captivated throughout. But, whereas past efforts have spent the majority of their runtime teasing a satisfying conclusion and falling at the final hurdle, Split manages to deliver on its promises. Even as the story descends into surprising territory, including a brutal left-hook of a sub-plot, the integrity of the plot remains intact, holding up where others have buckled before it.

This is due in no small part to the strength of the central performances. Anya Taylor-Joy continues to prove she is one to watch, having already garnered well-deserved critical acclaim for her performance in The Witch (easily one of the best films of last year) and shows she is just as at home in a more mainstream setting. But credit really should go to McAvoy who puts in not just one excellent performance but 23. While we only spend any significant time with a few of the many personalities that reside within the mind of Kevin Wendell Crumb, McAvoy makes sure that each of them have their own mannerisms, their own expressions and twitches. It’s this attention to detail that means each alter-ego can be accepted as a character in their own right.

This being a Shyamalan film, it will probably come as no surprise to learn that there is indeed one of his signature twists lurking at the end. For some, this will likely be a jaw-dropping revelation that serves as a welcome cherry on top of an already serviceable thriller. For others, it will undoubtedly be completely meaningless. For me, it seemed to be an unnecessary crowd pleaser, unceremoniously crow-barred in to film that didn’t need it. Regardless of your feelings, it certainly poses some very interesting questions about the path ahead. Hopefully that’s vague enough.

While Split still doesn’t quite hold up to what we know Shyamalan is capable of, it certainly suggests he is back on even footing. Hopefully, this marks the beginning of an upward trajectory that mirrors the strength of his fall from grace.

Dir. Victor Fleming, George Cukor, Sam Wood

As far as epically sweeping movies go, spanning decades and intertwining many lives, GWTW is a true gem and genuinely worthy of the hype. Yes, sometimes it is dramatically lacking, however the scenery, the story and the span of it all makes it very enjoyable and satisfying to watch. Not to mention one of the greatest lines ever in the history of movies. Sorry for spoiling. The movie has been out for 78 years.

The scope is astonishing. The achievements of the cinematographer are amazing (for 1939 no less) – live fires on set, huge sweeping crane shots, a hundred extras filling every square inch of frame with bustling action – the frenzy of a Confederacy at the end of its tether. The depiction of slavery is also quite modern for its time – the slaves are a member of the family and object to and criticise Scarlett O’Hara (Vivien Leigh is absolutely choice) often. Family heirlooms are even passed down to them – surely all to show the glory of the chivalrous South, taken from this world too young! It’s so interesting to see how America views itself, from Scarlett to the Confederate soldiers, it’s as prideful as ever. Gone with the Wind is a historical artefact as much as it is a great movie.

The character of Scarlett is a whirlwind of shrewd resourcefulness, spoilt cruelty and enough genuine playfulness to make her likeable (just). She wins battles, ploughs fields and takes names (literally three of them from three different guys), however her wins are hard fought and leave her a little emptier each time. She marries her younger sister’s fiancée, ruining their happiness and her own for the security of her family, something that would have been unimaginable to her in Part 1 of the film (the movie is separated in to three acts as well as an intermission), however as the years pass and the acts continue, Scarlett learns about life the hard way, and about sacrifice even harder.

The story is sweeping and epic, with romance, guns, horse chases and fights to boot. The impossibly kind character of Melanie redeems Scarlett in a way the latter could never comprehend – how someone so pure could love a wretch such as Scarlett shows either Melanie’s slight delusion or Scarlett’s hidden treasures – or both. Watch this movie if you want an all-American tale, a love story, a flawed woman and some epic sunsets.

Dir. Aaron Faulls, Nate Gowtham

Colin Hay is one of the coolest things to come out of Scotland, apart from the bagpipes (being serious, bagpipes are amazing).

In this “bleakly beautiful” documentary, we explore the life of Hay from his emigration Down Under, his huge success as the frontman of Men at Work, his fall from that height and his drive and happiness which makes him a better person every day. The intense candour in this film shows the true colours behind the frontman of one of the most popular bands of the 80s, and how he deals with pain, isolation, connection and ego.

Music is Hay’s compass – it’s how he made friends when he arrived in Australia as a teenager and it’s how he gained his worldwide fame. His family members comment how he was obsessively driven to succeed – Hay says he felt that made people latch on to him for the ride, which he didn’t mind.

The film deftly switches from colour to black and white to mark hard or heart-breaking moments – the hard slog of performing seven nights a week in a pub is in grayscale, and then we’re greeted with an eye-popping Men at Work single cover in full colour, coupled with their most popular single to date – Down Under. The song that introduced the vegemite sandwich to the world; how can we ever repay them for this? Another grayscale moment documents the court case when Men at Work were sued for copyright, an issue so troubling to band member Greg Ham it truly haunted him, and Colin as he recalls with tears in his eyes. The inside look in to the bands inner workings is interesting and provokes much conversation on what it means to be a team, and how to handle bubbling tensions and rising egos between friends.

The bookends of the film are marked with family members and well regarded actors and stars remarking on the influence and persona of Colin Hay (as well as a welcome surprise of Sia’s actual face!).

They talk of his commanding presence on stage, his kindness, his honesty and struggles – all with such admiration and respect. Tellingly though, these interviews only appear to introduce and close off the film, the rest is all Colin in his splendid frankness.

An amazingly talented musician who has produced some of the most wonderful songs of our time, and has the passion to talk about his pride and struggles honestly and openly. It’s Hay’s purity and love for music that makes this documentary so engrossing – very worth it for any music lover, music creator, Australian and/or fan of Scrubs!