The Lost City of Z ###-1/2
Despite the first few minutes giving us a slew of politically and geographically incorrect film choices, it soon became evident that the historical aspect of a story never before told on celluloid was unfolding. Englishman Charlie Hunnam (US TV’s Sons of Anarchy) plays explorer and military man Col. Percy Fawcett. Territories of South America unexplored by white men became a thing of great importance just before this film takes place, around the time of the First World War. The fact that it finds its fate the way it does is at once harrowing and riveting. And I personally don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed watching Sienna Miller like I did in this film. The rather simple driving force behind the tale is the marksmanship of indie film fave James Gray. The fact that he waited nearly a quarter of a century to step up to the big box office plate heavily affects the tone of this somewhat long but taut drama.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 ###-1/2
There was such fervour that ran through critics and audiences alike when the first GG film was released over a year and a half ago, that even I had to join the fray. This somewhat thrown-together sequel doesn’t reach such great heights. The plot revolves around an ambush on our stalwart faves while secretly stowing some intergalactic batteries in exchange for Gamora’s (Zoe Saldana’s) sister Nebula (Karen Gillan). Meanwhile, Rocket gets held back with little Groot to fix the ship. But what really brings the series to a bang, is the presence of Kurt Russell as Ego, Quill’s (Chris Pratt’s) father…shout out to Sly Stallone who has a cameo. But let me just stop there, before revealing tidbits that might tick the good people off. How in the name of Marty Goodman and Stan Lee did they take such a great opener from the first film and dumb it down with lame one-liners and an overabundance of Seventies classic rock (though I did enjoy the inclusion of Fleetwood Mac) in the second one? It’s fun to be sure, but frankly a one-time watch at the cine, or better yet, wait for the Director’s Cut on Blu-ray.
A United Kingdom ####
FILM OF THE WEEK. A United Kingdom tells the story of Botswana’s first democratic leader who fell in love and married a white woman, causing controversy for all parties involved. That is a simple synopsis because the governmental and social constructs that this film depicts are astounding. The nuanced performances by stars David Oyelowo as Sir Seretse Khama and Rosamund Pike as Lady Ruth Williams Khama are Oscar-worthy, though both actors were skipped over last Oscar season. I personally was entranced by the way the two leads perfectly wove together the story of a mostly forbidden romance between an African king and an English rose, and the way writer Guy Hibbert and director Amma Asante expertly told the tale of divisions caused by racism on all sides of the globe. There is an undying sense of liberty, which I kept feeling as I watched the scenes of the film that revolve around the Botswana region. In a rather nicely-sized country, only two million people and the most enviable range of animal species inhabit this resource-rich and comparatively prosperous and peaceful parliamentary republic. The fact that this couple succeeded as rulers for many years, and that their youngest son recently became ruler so many years later, speaks volumes of love’s labour won. Fantastic film!
Sleepless ##-1/2
Oh Jamie Foxx, how far you have come since your days on In Living Color, where I first learned to love and to laugh my bum off with (and at) you. This latest shoot ‘em up with Foxx as star as well as wannabe action hero comes to us straight from Swiss director Baran bo Odar, who, after a couple of German hits, crossed over to the States and gave us this not-so-slick remake of a French indie hit. When two Las Vegas cops running a corrupt scheme on the side get embroiled in a high-octane mafia drug bust gone awry, things get pretty whacky. That last line should be read in an Elmer Fudd voice because the ludicrous nature of this film, which might have worked in the French original, is given too much formulaic nonsense to contend with. Feigned acting by skilled actors. Shoddy editing. Weak script. What makes it palatable? Damn good action sequences. Enough said.
Rules Don’t Apply ###-1/2
When Warren Beatty’s name gets mentioned in the press for new work he’s doing, it used to be met with aplomb and questionable fanfare, save perhaps Ishtar (1987) and another flick or two. This one divided critics and audiences across the States and now the film has finally received wide distribution here in Spain. There’s an undoubted feel of ‘Old Hollywood’ running through it, which centres on Howard Hughes’s aviation ambitions alongside the attention he dotes on actresses in Hollywood, all against the backdrop of his associative disorders simultaneously acting up. Naturally, being the sensual, sly dog he is, Beatty weaves a romantic story about an up-and-coming actress named Marla Mabrey (Lily Collins), whose driver and one of Hughes’s assistants named Frank (Alden Ehrenreich) falls for. Sigh. The real attraction and delight is Beatty’s batshit cray cray character…I found Warren annoying and brilliant! Kudos to making a most mediocre film pleasurable!
