Miss You Already (7/10): Girl Power!

“You kind of look like a superhero.”

Catherine Hardwicke may not be a director who has consistently delivered strong work, but I tend to enjoy her more personal and female centered films. Many probably know her for her direction in the first Twilight film, which I actually enjoyed quite a bit despite the critical hate. Red Riding Hood I can agree with everyone was a huge failure, but her debut film, Thirteen, still remains one of her best films to date. I found some similarities between that film and Miss You Already, Hardwicke's latest movie. Although Thirteen centered on two young teenagers, it was basically a movie about female characters. In Miss  You Already the characters are in their late 30’s but the film also centers on a strong female friendship. It is not every day you get to see a film where the two protagonists are females and both the director and the screenplay writer are also women. The film has a voice of its own and despite being melodramatic at times it does feel authentic. It deserves to be seen. 

I know that there will be many comparisons between this film and The Fault in Our Stars because it centers on a character battling with cancer, but this film deals with the subject matter in a much more authentic tone. It is not aimed towards teens by introducing a charismatic character, but it tries to deal with the subject matter in an honest way by showing how cancer affects not only the individual but the family and friends around them. The friendship between Drew Barrymore’s Jess and Toni Collette’s Milly is at center and we get to see how this new struggle alters the course of their own personal family lives. The men playing their husbands (Dominic Cooper and Paddy Considine) are relegated because this is a film centering on female characters, but they each add emotional value to the film. I enjoyed the family dynamics here and was touched by the more emotional moments. I never felt them manipulative because the film has a voice of its own. Hardwicke seems to be in a much more comfortable position when she centers on dramatic stories and stays away from science fiction.

The performances from both Collette and Barrymore are solid and I believe they are the reason why the film works as well as it does. Collette especially gets to shine since she has some of the most difficult and emotional scenes in the movie, but Barrymore knows how to stand her ground and the chemistry between both actresses was solid. Cooper and Considine also get to have their moments although they don’t get much screen time. The cast is great and the film benefits from their charismatic performances. Miss You Already might not be an original or groundbreaking film, but it is a sincere family drama that manages to deliver authentic emotions. 

Child 44 (5/10): Anti-Soviet Propaganda in case a new Cold War breaks out.

"There is no murder in paradise.”

Another of my most anticipated films of the year that failed to live up to my expectations. I usually tend to look forward to films based solely on the director, but this time I was excited about the cast: Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Jason Clarke, and Noomi Rapace. Child 44 is an adaptation of Tom Rob Smith’s best selling novel directed by Daniel Espinosa (Safe House) set in Stalin-era Soviet Union. Of course it is easily going to be labelled as anti-Soviet propaganda considering it is based on a novel written by a British author and directed by a Swedish director. The screenwriter, Richard Price (The Color of Money), is American and despite being set in Russia no one in the cast is Russian. Child 44 feels like one of those movies that came out during the Cold War trying to prove to the Western world how awful the Soviet communist regime was. You have British and Swedish actors playing Russian characters, but speaking in English with Russian accents because it wouldn’t be as accessible to us if they had them speaking Russian. I’m not a fan of this style of film making and would much rather them stick with the original language, but we probably would miss out on seeing such a talented cast like this if that were so. The accent issue isn’t the greatest problem with this film however, the tone of the movie is inconsistent and there are several tonal shifts that simply make the story drag at times. Child 44 is 135 minutes long and you feel every minute of it. 

Tom Hardy is Leo Demidov, a Soviet military police officer who was adopted at an early age after the death of his parents. By chance he became a war hero thanks to a picture taken of him waving the Soviet flag over Berlin after their victory. Now in the early 50’s he has an important rank working in Moscow as a military officer married to Raisa (Noomi Rapace) and he enjoys sharing the story of how they met with his fellow officers. He’s idealistic and pursues anyone who is against the Stalin regime labelled as traitors. When a young boy is found dead near a train station the officials dismiss the cause of death as simply an accident, but it is evident that the kid was brutally murdered. But of course under the Soviet regime there can’t be any murders because they’re supposedly living in a perfect society. The kid happened to be the son of one of Leo’s friends, Alexei (Fares Fares), and so he begins having his doubts about the cause of death. However that doesn’t go well with Major Kuzmin (Vincent Cassel) who warns him to leave it at that. After successfully capturing a traitor named Anatoly (Jason Clarke), the officers get a list of names of other suspects from him. Raisa happens to be on that list and Leo is asked to testify against his wife and bring her in, which seemed to be a way of testing his commitment to the regime. He refuses to turn her in and is disgraced, demoted, and exiled to a small town near Moscow to serve under General Mikhail Nesterov (Gary Oldman). When another child victim is found there in similar conditions, Leo convinces Mikhail to look into it and they secretly begin investigating the case.

The premise of the story is very interesting, but unfortunately this period piece takes its time to introduce each character. I’ve read that the first cut of the film was over 5 hours long and you can tell here that it hasn’t been edited in the best way because there are several tonal shifts throughout the film. Price was given the almost impossible task of adapting the screenplay of this novel without trying to leave any of the subplots out. There are several elements of the story that could’ve been ignored and which would’ve allowed for a much better pacing, but unfortunately every time the thrills began to draw me back to the story they introduced another narrative arc that drowned the pacing once again. If the film focused exclusively on the search for this mysterious serial killer it could’ve been a strong thriller because the performances in this film were all solid. Tom Hardy is great in his role and he alone almost makes the film worth recommending. Gary Oldman, Joel Kinnaman, Noomi Rapace, Fares Fares, Paddy Considine, Vincent Cassel are all convincing as well, but they don’t get as much screen time and some of their narrative arcs aren’t as interesting.        

Pride (8/10): It's a musical without being a musical

“When you're in a battle against an enemy so much bigger, so much stronger than you, well, to find out you had a friend you never knew existed, well, that's the best feeling in the world.”

Pride is Matthew Warchus’s third feature film and the first one since his 2004 musical, Our House. Pride isn’t a musical, but it surely feels like one with all the colorful characters and the lovable 80’s soundtrack. It was a surprisingly fun film with an upbeat message about solidarity. It is one of those rare crowd-pleasers that stands out from other films thanks to its strong cast and uplifting message. I never imagined a film focusing on the historic events that took place in the UK in 1984 when the miners were at strike and found an uncommon ally in the gay and lesbian activists could be so fun. We’ve had similar plots in the past where two groups come together in the aid of each other despite their differences, but I don’t think it has been done in such a contagiously joyful manner. Take last year’s Dallas Buyers Club for example where we get a contrasting alliance between a redneck cowboy and a group of gays suffering from AIDS. That was a much more serious film where we got some comedic moments due to the contrasting lifestyles, but Pride takes this similar premise of contrasting groups coming together and delivers a much more hilarious and uplifting film. It still delivers the message and despite being formulaic it manages to stand out thanks to its colorful characters that never lose their humanity. I can’t think of another film where a group of gay and lesbian activists aren’t just fighting for their own cause, but are actually invested in helping others who are going through a difficult moment. So it stands out in that it isn’t one of those films that is focused entirely on delivering a message in favor of gay rights, but rather focusing on the solidarity between these two groups. That is what makes this a much more humane  story and one everyone an identify with. The way the film is portrayed feels like a musical at times and you actually want to dance along with some of the characters when the music plays. Pride is a film with a lot of heart that reminds us that despite our personal issues there are always others out there in need of our solidarity. Pride might feel a bit too sentimental at times, but it is a feel-good film nonetheless with some of the funniest scenes of any comedy released in 2014. There are also some dramatic moments where I literally got goose bumps because I was moved. It is well balanced and uplifting despite its flaws.

Some of my favorite moments in the film involved the clashing of these two contrasting groups. Despite their differences they learn to understand each other because they both have suffered from oppression. The cast couldn’t have been better. Ben Schnetzer gives an impressive performance as the gay activist who comes up with the idea of supporting this group and winning a new ally in the process, but the fun really kicks in when they interact with these miners from a small Welch community. This is where we are introduced to some great characters played by Paddy Considine, Jessica Gunning, Imelda Staunton, and Bill Nighy who are outstanding. Nighy really delivers by underplaying his character and proves that sometimes less is more. I enjoyed Gunning’s strong female performance and I look forward to seeing her in more films in the future. George MacKay also delivers as this young kid who hasn’t told his parents he’s come out (which is probably the most formulaic part of this film) so he lies to them about his activities. Andrew Scott and Dominic West also have some endearing moments on screen together. The best thing about Pride is without a doubt the strong cast which thanks to the rich screenplay by Stephen Beresford are given such colorful and interesting characters. It is a film that reminds us about our humanity and the importance of being solidary towards one another. It is both cheerful and earnest about its subject matter.

My Review: The World's End (7/10)

"And here we go! Just like the Five Musketeers!"

Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and director Edgar Wright's final installment of the Cornetto trilogy is a very entertaining and funny film. Just like its predecessors The World's End works as a comedy although this time the focus is on the sci-fi genre. Shaun of the Dead was based on horror, Hot Fuzz on buddy action films, and now The World's End makes fun of the apocalyptic science fiction films we've all seen. However the films all work best as a comedy considering Wright carefully constructs them and builds momentum at the right moments. The fans who pay close attention to the script will catch several of those small elements he includes in the comedy. Pegg and Frost also deliver great characters and have a solid supporting cast. If you enjoyed the humor in their previous films then you will be very satisfied with this film because it follows the same premise and has several of the same actors involved once again. The script is witty and the direction with the fast edits, slick camera angles, and well timed action sequences works really well. It might be a slightly more mature film than its predecessors, but it still includes all the key elements that made the first two such likable films. My personal favorite of the three will still be Hot Fuzz, probably because it was the first film I watched since I had never seen Shaun of the Dead, but I still enjoyed all three films. The humor in The World's End isn't the cheap kind, the jokes are well constructed but I understand that its humor isn't for everyone. The characters are all very well developed and each one has his or her own personal traits defined. It has a nostalgic vibe to it as well considering the characters all seem to lament over their lost youth, and are trying to live out those memories for one last time. It's a very satisfactory conclusion to the trilogy.

The film centers on five friends from a small English town that decide to get together 20 years later and finish what they never could during their teenage days: complete an epic pub crawl known as the Golden Mile. It consists of drinking one pint of beer in all 12 Newton Haven pubs in the course of one day. Gary (Simon Pegg), who was the leader of the group, decides to round up the crew and accomplish this goal. He is very self centered and doesn't treat his friends really well, but somehow (probably from a sense of nostalgia and trying to relive the best year of their lives) they all still decide to tag along. The group consists of Pete (Eddie Marsan) who was bullied upon during his youth, Steven (Paddy Considine) who is currently dating a young fitness instructor, Oliver (Martin Freeman) nicknamed O-Man because of a birthmark he had on his forehead that resembled a 6, and Andy (Nick Frost) who used to be Gary's best friend before they had a fallout and became estranged. As they begin their quest for the Golden mile they run into Sam (Rosamund Pike), Oliver's sister, with whom Gary had a one night fling when they were young, but Steven is the one who has been in love with her all his life. They are surprised to discover that the people in the town have changed and are behaving strangely. What begins as an apparently innocent and fun night might end up being a nightmare as they begin uncovering a conspiracy that threatens all of humanity. 

Simon Pegg and Nick Frost sort of switch roles from the ones they played in Shaun of the Dead. This time Nick plays the much more mature character, while Simon is the childish one. Pegg is really unlikable at the beginning of the film, as he manipulates and completely ignores his friends, but his character soon grows on us as we identify with his sense of nostalgia of the past. I think that the scenes between these group of friends hanging out in the pub was probably the strongest part of the film considering that the sci-fi scenes were a little too over the top (although some action sequences were really entertaining). The way these characters interact with one another is what makes this film worth seeing. The satire and slapsticknalso mixes really well with this smart comedy. I still think that Scott Pilgrim is Edgar Wright's best film to date, but he always delivers fun and entertaining movies.