WADRICK’S THIRTY SECOND FILM REVIEWS (the 1980s)

The Fly (1986)
Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis, John Getz.
Written by Charles Edward Pogue & David Cronenberg.
Directed by David Cronenberg.

Teleportation. It’s what scientist Seth Brundle (Goldblum) believes will change the course of mankind. And he’s probably right. But before he can unleash the technology onto the world - being unsatisfied with teleporting inanimate objects - he decides to zap himself through his teleportation “pods” in his funky downtown warehouse and inadvertently traps a common house fly inside during the process. Having recombined his molecular structure with that of the fly, he begins a slow metamorphosis into a hideous hybrid – all to the horror of a young writer (Davis) who has been detailing the experiments. At times a black comedy, it is doubtful that an actor other than Jeff Goldblum could have inhabited the character of “Brundlefly” so completely and elevated The Fly to the heights at which it resides (though he is given excellent support from the memorably sleazy John Getz). Director David Cronenberg’s claustrophobic updating of the 1958 film of the same name features the kind of raw, tactile gore that 80s horror was all about, creating an unnerving experience. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

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Robocop (1987)
Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Kurtwood Smith, Ronny Cox, Miguel Ferrer & Dan O’Herlihy.
Written by Edward Neumeier & Michael Miner.
Directed by Paul Verhoeven.

In Detroit in the not too distant future (which, in 1987, would mean about now), things suck. The city is overflowing with crime and corruption, but Omni Consumer Products believe they have the answer to cleaning up the streets. His name is Robocop, a former police officer named Murphy who was viciously gunned down by some nasty thugs, pronounced dead and then reassembled as a robotic crime-fighting force. But there’s a bit of Murphy left inside the organic and metallic frame of this lumbering protector, and that remnant of his former life wants to deal out some bloody justice to the bastards who slew him. In the beginning, the studios apparently (and understandably) baulked at giving the green light to a project called Robocop. But to their surprise, the film was a hit. Combining a sardonic wit with some bad-ass 80s violence, Robocop managed to overcome its seemingly inane title and produce the kind of adolescent fun that many teenage boys and young men crave. Full of colourful performances and a genuine self-assessing humour, Robocop epitomises all that is worthy about escapist entertainment. And I’d buy that for a dollar!

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The Shining (1980)
Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd & Scatman Crothers.
Written & Stanley Kubrick & Diane Johnson.
Directed by Stanley Kubrick.

The Overlook Hotel is no place to spend a winter. Jack Torrance (Nicholson) is unfortunately not aware of the imposing doom of the isolated resort, and accepts a job as winter caretaker believing the solitude will help him finish that novel he’s been meaning to write. Accompanying Jack is his wife Wendy (Duvall) and their young son Danny (Lloyd) who exhibits a psychic ability known as “shining”. As the ghostly inhabitants of the hotel begin to reveal themselves to Danny and his father, it becomes clear that Jack is required as a permanent resident of the hotel - the entry pass being the murder of his wife and son. Stanley Kubrick’s film cannot hold a candle to the Stephen King novel on which it is based yet it exists as a separate entity in its own right. Ignoring entire tracts of the novel, Kubrick instead focussed on imagery and his typical theme of dehumanisation. Garnering a fanatical cult status and featuring one of the most incredible locations ever put to film, The Shining is often ambiguous and confusing, but at the same time, a visual treat whose imagery has never been equalled.

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If you want to watch any trailers/scenes from films reviewed by Wadrick, visit the GritHouse – the GritFX YouTube Channel – and check out Wadrick's Playlist.

WADRICK’S THIRTY SECOND FILM REVIEWS

Milk (2008)
Sean Penn, James Franco, Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsch, Diego Luna, Alison Pill & Victor Garber.
Written by Dustin Lance Black.
Directed by Gus Van Sant.

As a disillusioned forty year-old, Harvey Milk (Penn) meets the love of his life Scott (Franco) in a New York subway and the two head for San Francisco. Settling on Castro Street in Eureka Valley and somewhat transforming his working-class neighbourhood, Milk soon decides to run for a position on the city council, hoping to bring to light the discrimination at the time of homosexuals across the country. Following the turbulent years of Harvey Milk’s life in San Francisco until his assassination by resentful conservative councilman Dan White (Brolin) in 1984, Milk is a wonderful film full of pathos and humour. Penn is truly extraordinary as the flamboyant yet gracious title character (“Penn-sational!” to quote my buddy Faystar from the ISeeFilms blog), given excellent support from the entire cast blessed with an Oscar-winning script by Dustin Lance Black. With compassion and flair, director Gus Van Sant has fashioned the best film of his career since his breakthrough masterpiece Drugstore Cowboy, utilising his singular style to full effect.

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Right At Your Door (2006)
Mary McCormack, Rory Cochrane, Scott Noyd Jr, Max Kasch.
Written & Directed by Chris Gorak.

A dirty bomb explodes one morning in downtown Los Angeles. Listening to the unfolding events on the radio is a frantic Brad (Cochrane), whose wife Lexi (McCormack) set off to work sometime earlier headed for the now blast area. With martial law imposed and electricity and communications down, Brad begins to seal his house with the help of a stranger seeking refuge, as the toxic cloud of ash begins to move into the suburbs. When Lexi appears hours later, sick and screaming to be let inside her own home, Brad is faced with the unconscionable decision to quarantine his wife outside, and wait for help from the authorities which eventually does not seem forthcoming. Lauded at the Sundance Film Festival a few years back, this well-made and acted low-budget film is still lacking the qualities that could have made it great. It never achieves the tension that it would obviously like from a story laden with such possibilities, and retires into a rhythm that borders on stiff. Even with a taut and unexpected final act, Right At Your Door ultimately remains a disappointingly lacklustre experience.

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1408 (2007)
John Cusack, Samuel L Jackson, Mary McCormack, Tony Shalhoub.
Written by Matt Greenburg, Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski.
Directed by Mikael Hafstrom.

Mike Enslin (Cusack) is a jaded writer of haunted house guides who receives a mysterious postcard warning him not to stay in the infamous room 1408 in the Dolphin Hotel, New York. After being told that the room is perpetually “unavailable”, he enlists the help of his publisher and their attorney and arrangements are made for his stay. Upon arrival, Mike is taken aside by the hotel manager (Jackson) who warns him of the supernatural history of the room (no guest comes out alive!) and implores him to reverse his decision. Thinking the entire scenario is an elaborate ruse Mike soon learns a whole new meaning for the term “late checkout”. Based on a Stephen King short story (always the best choices for the author’s screen adaptations), this well-mounted film benefits from a reliably strong performance from Cusack and some genuine scares. Production design and direction are solid, however, the film loses momentum once it has established its modus operandi and somewhat limps along to its conclusion. Like a hotel room with a great bed but a weak shower, the flaws of 1408 still cannot diminish its enjoyment. Worthwhile.

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If you want to watch any trailers/scenes from films reviewed by Wadrick, visit the GritHouse – the GritFX YouTube Channel – and check out Wadrick's Playlist.

WADRICK’S THIRTY SECOND FILM REVIEWS

Body Of Lies (2008)
Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe, Mark Strong, Vince Colosimo, Golshifteh Farahani.
Written by William Monahan.
Directed by Ridley Scott.

In the Middle East, CIA operative Roger Ferris (DiCaprio) chases an Islamic extremist responsible for a spate of bombings. In the United States, an agency analyst named Ed Hoffman (Crowe) tracks Ferris’ movements on the ground through a network of communications systems, feeding information and distorting it on his own terms. When Ferris ingratiates himself into the Jordanian intelligence community by eliciting the help of the smarmy head honcho (the brooding Mark Strong), the lines of trust begin to blur. This exceptional film, based on a novel of the same name by David Ignatius, avoids any propagandist stance and features two excellent performances from its lead actors – possibly cementing Leonardo’s position as (arguably) the greatest actor of his generation. His career since the eternally overrated Titanic has been perpetually strong, choosing the kind of roles that have not only showcased his dramatic chops but have allowed the man to grow as an actor. Director Ridley Scott rarely takes a wrong step and again delivers with an intelligent, dramatic and suspenseful film. Highly recommended.

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Valkyrie (2008)
Tom Cruise, Tom Wilkinson, Bill Nighy, Kenneth Branagh, Eddie Izzard, Carice van Houten, Thomas Kretschmann & Terrence Stamp.
Written by Christopher McQuarrie & Nathan Alexander.
Directed by Bryan Singer.

As dissent towards the Fuhrer grows, a disillusioned Nazi colonel named Claus von Stauffenberg (Cruise) is enlisted by a group of like-minded individuals to assassinate the German leader and bring an end to World War 2. Whilst plots are organised and foiled, von Stauffenberg realises that loyalties within the Third Reich are not what they seem. This often laughable film is based on true events, but despite some excellent production values, never succeeds to fully engage. Cruise has never been stiffer, and a talented cast are given roles that equate to not much more than clichés (particularly van Houten, who was excellent in the recent Black Book, but whose character here is nothing more than an afterthought). It’s all a little limp really, with a potentially dramatic and serious subject being reduced to the stuff of a poor comic book. Director Singer has again established himself (in my ever humble opinion) as one of the dullest filmmakers in the biz, rendering Valkyrie as unsuccessful as the assassination of Hitler himself.

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Gran Torino (2008)
Clint Eastwood, Bee Vang, Christopher Carley, Ahney Her.
Written by Nick Schenk.
Directed by Clint Eastwood.

Walt Kowalski is a bitter veteran of the Korean War who, when his wife passes, is left to his own devices in the house they shared – all against the wishes and concerns of his family. Initially deriding the advent of Asian immigrants in his once idyllic American street, Walt is eventually won over by their culture and accepted into their community when he saves a young boy named Thao from the will of an Asian gang. Soon, a friendship begins to blossom between Thao and Walt, as the older man attempts to provide direction for the aimless youth – all the while staving off the advances of the boys’ hoodlum cousin. Gran Torino comes close to being singlehandedly sabotaged by its untalented Hmong supporting cast who, fortunately for us, are saved by Eastwood himself. Apparently the goal was to have those of authentic Hmong descent featured in the film, but by insisting on this realism, the filmmakers sacrificed the necessity of acting skill. Yet, despite this distraction, Gran Torino is still a solid film with a wholly satisfying ending and one of the most emotive end credit songs that I have heard in the last few years (co-written, incidentally, by Clint and Kyle Eastwood).

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If you want to watch any trailers/scenes from films reviewed by Wadrick, visit the GritHouse – the GritFX YouTube Channel – and check out Wadrick's Playlist.

WADRICK’S THIRTY SECOND FILM REVIEWS

Quarantine (2008)
Jennifer Carpenter, Jay Hernandez, Steve Harris, Johnathon Schaech, Greg Germann & Rade Serbedzija.
Written by John Erick Dowdle & Drew Dowdle.
Directed by John Erick Dowdle.

Here we go again with yet another Hollywood remake of a foreign horror film, this time the superior Spanish production [REC]. On one seemingly uneventful evening, a young reporter and her cameraman are shooting a piece on a brigade of firefighters. When they receive a call to attend a disturbance at an apartment building, they discover some crazy shenanigans inside from one rabid tenant. Soon, the building is quarantined and it becomes clear that there is a virus loose, turning the tenants into ravenous, bloodthirsty zombie-like creatures. Because, you know, gone are the days when a movie virus meant certain death – it’s now a one-way ticket to flesh-eating town. Anyway, filmed entirely from the point of view of the cameraman, Quarantine follows the chaos and disintegration of the inhabitants of the apartment building as the virus claims victim after victim, and any attempt at escape is met with deadly force from the authorities staged outside. Not without its genuinely freaky moments, Quarantine is nonetheless just another addition to this faux-reality sub-genre that has reached its zenith and now, unfortunately, fails to convince.

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Babylon A.D (2008)
Vin Diesel, Michelle Yeoh, Melanie Thierry, Mark Strong, Charlotte Rampling & Gerard Depardieu.
Written by Mathieu Kassovitz & Eric Besnard.
Directed by Mathieu Kassovitz.

The worst decision a director can make is to cast Vin Diesel in his or her film. And director Mathieu Kassovitz said as much after completing Babylon A.D – the film based on the novel Babylon Babies by Maurice Georges Dantec. When a director speaks so openly of such matters, it does not bode well for the actual film – and this is the case with Babylon A.D. In an apocalyptic future, a mercenary is hired by a Russian gangster to transport a young woman named Aurora across Europe to America. Pregnant, Aurora is part of an elaborate plan to bring forth a spiritual awakening by a religious sect known as The Noelites. Babylon A.D is an example of a bad film that could have been great. Not only is it let down by a dull, emotionless performance from Diesel, it suffers at the hands of some poor writing. But at times, it displays the kind of production design and direction that suggests a classic of the genre. Unfortunately, as a complete entity, the film never really works, feeling akin to the hobo cousin of Alfonso Cuaron’s modern classic Children Of Men.

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Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans (2008)
Bill Nighy, Michael Sheen, Rhona Mitra, Kevin Grevioux, Steve Mackintosh.
Written by Len Wiseman & Danny McBride.
Directed by Patrick Tatopoulos.

The third film in the Underworld franchise is a prequel, tracing the events that lead to the ages-long feud between werewolf and vampire. Lucien, the first werewolf to ever take human form (known as Lycans), is in love with the vampire Sonja, a forbidden liaison that eventually incurs the wrath of Sonja’s father Viktor (Nighy). Locked away and marked for death, Lucien escapes, setting loose his Lycan buddies and gathering an army for a violent assault on the vampire lair. The story told here was explained briefly in the first Underworld film, and it was a tale that deserved to be told in it’s own right. Unfortunately for its audience, Rise Of The Lycans barely delivers, revealing little depth and feeling drastically half-baked. The film is a definite improvement on the horrendous Underworld 2, and benefits from actor Sheen reprising his role as Lucien from the original film. But what had potential to be a great series of films has become as disappointingly dreary as the vampire way of life.

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If you want to watch any trailers/scenes from films reviewed by Wadrick, visit the GritHouse – the GritFX YouTube Channel – and check out Wadrick's Playlist.

WADRICK’S THIRTY SECOND FILM REVIEWS (the 1990s)

The Fifth Element (1997)
Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, Milla Jovovich, Ian Holm, Chris Tucker, Luke Perry.
Written by Luc Besson & Robert Mark Kamen.
Directed by Luc Besson.

Korben Dallas, a jaded NYC cab driver (Willis) in the distant future, unwillingly becomes the guardian of a strange young woman who just may hold the key to the fate of mankind. Aided by two bumbling monks and pursued by the alien henchmen of the ruthless Zorg (a crazed Oldman), Dallas must retrieve four ancient stones (representing the four elements) before an evil planet collides with Earth. This cartoon-ish film is one big barrel of fun, sporting a set of colourfully unique visuals (along with some amazing costumes designed by Jean-Paul Gaultier), and a cast privy to the films’ adolescent nature. And it is this ‘element’ that provides the joy of this sci-fi comedy, for it never takes itself seriously and never meanders. Even Jovovich (one of the worst actresses in the biz) seems totally in her ‘element’ here (can I use the word ‘element’ again in this review?!), primarily because she has little dialogue and the dialogue she does have is mostly alien gibberish. Apparently conceived by writer/director Besson when he was a teen, this infectious film may drag on a little too long but is still one of the most entertaining and best-loved films of the 1990s.

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Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)
Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Ed Harris, Alec Baldwin, Alan Arkin, Jonathan Pryce and Kevin Spacey.
Written by David Mamet.
Directed by James Foley.

You need brass balls to sell real estate, an uptown motivator tells the disparate bunch of loser salesmen at the beginning of Glengarry Glen Ross, initiating a night of desperation in an attempt to keep themselves employed. Mamet’s adaptation of his own play is a brilliant examination of desperate men and con artists, and the actions wrought by a need for survival and the pursuits of greed. Profane and incisive, Glengarry Glen Ross is the kind of drama that actors salivate for. The cast is simply superb – from Spacey’s ice-cold office manager to Pacino’s slick and smarmy hotshot – but ultimately, this is Lemmon’s film and he lends one of the best performances of his legendary career as the veteran salesman Shelley “Machine” Levene. The film uses rainfall as an aesthetic the way David Fincher’s Se7en did a few years later, and even though many critics have voiced the opinion that this film is nothing more than a photographed play, the material is too strong for that to really be a consideration.

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In The Name Of The Father (1993)
Daniel Day-Lewis, Pete Postlethwaite, Emma Thompson, John Lynch & Corin Redgrave.
Written by Jim Sheridan & Terry George.
Directed by Jim Sheridan.

Powerful film based on the true story of Gerry Conlon who, along with friends and family, was falsely accused of the Guildford Pub bombing in London and sentenced to life in prison. Forced to share a cell with his father, the pair must examine their own relationship. When the identities of the real perpetrators of the bombing are revealed to police, the information is withheld and it’s then up to a feisty young female barrister to help clear their names. In The Name Of The Father is one of those rare films that truly stir the raw human emotions of its’ audience, persuading anger, sadness, compassion and victorious joy in equal amounts. Postlethwaite and Day-Lewis are incredible in difficult roles as father and son, and Emma Thompson is tremendous, especially during the final reel in the powerhouse courtroom scenes. Co-writer/Director Sheridan (My Left Foot) delivers a perfect example of how to tell a great story on film, avoiding the clichés that are all too obvious in the majority of films based on true events. One of the best of the decade.

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If you want to watch any trailers/scenes from films reviewed by Wadrick, visit the GritHouse – the GritFX YouTube Channel – and check out Wadrick's Playlist.

WADRICK’S THIRTY SECOND FILM REVIEWS

Smokin’ Aces (2007)
Ryan Reynolds, Jeremy Piven, Ray Liotta, Ben Affleck, Alicia Keys, Andy Garcia, Jason Bateman, Peter Berg, Nestor Carbonell, Taraji P. Henson, Matthew Fox.
Written & Directed by Joe Carnahan.

Buddy “Aces” Israel (Piven) is a Las Vegas performer, now holed up in a Lake Tahoe hotel penthouse surrounded by hookers and cocaine. Having split a Vegas crime family in two when he decided to begin his own capers, Israel has acquired a sizable bounty on his head due to his knowledge of the Mob’s inner-workings. As his lawyer negotiates terms with the FBI, a gaggle of low-life’s descend on Israel’s hotel to blow his brains out and collect the reward. Caught in the middle are two agents (Reynolds and Liotta) who have no idea of the tumult to which they are about to become a part. Smokin’ Aces is another one of those Pulp Fiction-esque multiple character and plenty of guns and ammo kinds of thing – enjoyable to a point, yet ultimately derivative and forgettable. It suffers from overlength, a ridiculous ending and some annoyingly overblown characterisations, yet having said that, some of the performances are genuinely great (Bateman is hilarious) and the script, for the most part, is rather taut and amusing. So there is much to admire in Smokin’ Aces, but I dare say it wouldn’t win a hand against its influences.

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Die Hard 4.0 (2008)
Bruce Willis, Justin Long, Timothy Olyphant, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Maggie Q and Kevin Smith.
Written by Mark Bomback.
Directed by Len Wiseman.

Ahh, John McClane. If there are terrorists about, he’s the guy you call. Even if you don’t call him, you can bet you’ll find him in the thick of the action by default. So when an older, but no less ass-kickin’ McClane is assigned one night to transport a young computer hacker named Matthew Farrell (Long) across town, bad guys are naturally waiting in the darkness to take them down. Before long, it is revealed that a disgruntled former employee of the NSA is using his knowledge to stage a ‘fire sale’, whereby all industry connected by computer is seized and under his control. Farrell is marked for he knows the score, and it’s now up to this young sidekick and the grizzled McClane to put a stop to the dastardly plan. OK, so we didn’t need another Die Hard film, and the Australian distributors needn’t have changed the name either from the superior US title Live Free Or Die Hard (what were they thinking?). But who cares? This is the kind of escapism that Hollywood does so well. A decent supporting cast lends plentiful villainy and humour, the action scenes are wonderfully handled by director Wiseman (Underworld) and whilst credibility slips on occasion, it’s tough not to enjoy watching Willis in the character he has, since 1988, totally owned.

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Shoot ‘Em Up (2008)
Clive Owen, Paul Giamatti, Monica Bellucci, Stephen McHattie.
Written & Directed by Michael Davis.

The enigmatic Mr Smith (Owen) saves an infant after her mother is gunned down. Mr Smith (not to be confused with the Brad Pitt character of the same name) obviously has some experience with guns, and when he takes it on the lam from a ruthless thug named Hertz (Giamatti) with the baby and a lactating hooker named Donna (Bellucci) in tow, he has plenty of opportunity to showcase his talent. With these two lead actors and Monica’s breasts, you’d think that this would be a winning combination. And you’d be right…and wrong. For this silly movie is not only aware of its audaciously indulgent nature, it revels in it with crazy gunfight after crazy gunfight. But too much rollercoaster and not enough ferris wheel can make one giddy. Giamatti serves up his most outrageous performance to date, chewing the scenery and stealing the show. Owen gives us his brooding Sin City thing and Bellucci has nothing to do except look sexy (which would, frankly, usually be enough).

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(Wadrick Jones is a freelance writer for GritFX and posts weekly film reviews on this blog.)

WADRICK’S THIRTY SECOND FILM REVIEWS (the 1980s)

Salvador (1986)
James Woods, Jim Belushi, Michael Murphy, Elpedia Carrillo & John Savage.
Written by Oliver Stone & Richard Boyle.
Directed by Oliver Stone.

Richard Boyle (Woods) is a sleazy, unemployed photojournalist who, with nothing to lose, heads to El Salvador in Central America with his best friend Dr Rock (Belushi) in tow. It is 1980, and El Salvador is in the grip of a vicious civil war that has claimed the lives of many thousands of civilians through US-aligned death squads. This is the perfect setting for the indulgent Boyle – a chance to redeem his career and in the process, save his own soul. Followed in the same year by Platoon, Stone’s Salvador packs a wallop, hurtling the viewer into the chaos of a country torn apart by bloodshed. It is also a deeply affecting personal drama, anchored by an astounding performance from Woods and afforded equally impressive support from Belushi. Based on the true story of co-writer Boyle’s experiences in Central America, this intelligent and gripping film is as pertinent today as it was in its year of release. One of Stone’s best films that sits proudly alongside the director’s masterpiece JFK.

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Midnight Run (1988)
Robert DeNiro, Charles Grodin, Yaphet Kotto, Dennis Farina, John Aston & Joe Pantoliano.
Written by George Gallo.
Directed by Martin Brest.

When an embezzling Mob accountant (Grodin) skips bail, it’s up to a foul-mouthed, chain-smoking bounty hunter (DeNiro) to find him and transport him from New York to LA. But that ain’t as easy as it sounds. With two idiotic Mob cronies, the FBI and a fellow bounty hunter hot on their trail, the mismatched pair must essentially join forces to make it to California alive. This crackerjack action comedy was one of the funniest films of the decade, combining hilarious dialogue with rough and tumble action scenes. Following on from the success of 1984’s Beverly Hills Cop, director Martin Brest delivers one of his best films with the superlative casting of the two leads providing much of the films’ joy. Featuring a talented supporting cast including the brilliant character actor Kotto and Beverly’s own Ashton, Midnight Run is two hours of pure escapist fun.

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Koyaanisqatsi (1983)
Directed by Godfrey Reggio.

If you have never seen Koyaanisqatsi, you have missed one of the most unique film experiences in cinema history. Once you see Koyaanisqatsi, you will never view the world the same again. It is nigh on impossible to describe this film - there is no plot and no characters. It spans the United States providing astounding images of nature juxtaposed with the industrial world. Shot almost thirty years ago, its imagery oftentimes belongs to a disappeared era, yet the raw powers of the visuals are overwhelmingly relevant no matter how you slice it. From the sheer beauty of the sky and ocean, to the dilapidated shells of inner city slums, Koyaanisqatsi sweeps across vistas in a ninety-minute ode to a ‘life out of balance’, all set to a magical score by composer Philip Glass. Imitated by the inferior Baraka (1993), Koyaanisqatsi is an almost psychedelic trip through nature and a powerful treatise on humanity’s inability to successfully co-exist with its surroundings.

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(Wadrick Jones is a freelance writer for GritFX and posts weekly film reviews on this blog.)

WADRICK’S THIRTY SECOND FILM REVIEWS

Aliens Vs Predator: Requiem (2007)
Steven Pasquale, Reiko Aylesworth, John Ortiz, Robert Joy, Kristen Hager.
Written by Shane Salerno.
Directed by The Brothers Strause.

Oh, what could have been. The first film in this potentially never-ending series, Alien Vs Predator (2004), was brimming with great concepts, but was unfortunately undone by poor writing and an unqualified cast attempting to vitalise their underdeveloped roles. This sequel is simply a by-the-numbers cash-in, offering nothing more than yet another chance to lay eyes on two of the greatest screen monsters of modern cinema. But why bother? Why don’t we just watch James Cameron’s Aliens (1986) or John McTiernan’s Predator (1987) instead? Requiem follows on from the first film, where an Alien had gestated inside a Predator on board their spacecraft, forming a new species – the ludicrously titled Predalien. Crashing on Earth, the Predalien and its kin begin to devour the inhabitants of a small Colorado town, until a Predator warrior arrives to clean up the mess. Not much better in the writing department, this sequel limps along with the standard clichés and contempt for its audience. Eye candy is one thing, but if you can’t couple the visuals with a decent story then you are just wasting everyone’s time.

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Transformers (2007)
Shia LeBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, John Turturro, & Jon Voight.
Written by Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman.
Directed by Michael Bay.

Anyone going into a Michael Bay film knows what to expect – overblown trash. Crappy dialogue, caricatures instead of characters, explosions, gunfire, soaring Hollywood strings and as many helicopter and crane shots as you can squeeze into two hours. Transformers were toys I never possessed as a child. It all seemed a tad ridiculous, these organic robots that could morph into trucks and cars and who knows what else. The film itself is equally ridiculous with a convoluted story involving these robots and their dying planet, some energy cube called the “All Spark” and the usual fate of the world scenario. Throw in some human characters for the robots to converse with and you’ve got the most inane film experience since Armageddon. The film would be appealing to the sensibilities of small children yet seems too mature in its execution to be suitable for a child. It’s impossible to take this film seriously, and even though the actors all seem to understand this factor, the filmmakers themselves cannot help but demonstrate the opposite at times. Those who had Transformer toys alongside their Star Wars action figures back in the 1980s might find some worth here. Others beware.

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Quantum of Solace (2008)
Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko, Mathieu Amalric, Jeffrey Wright, Giancarlo Gianni & Judi Dench.
Written by Paul Haggis, Neal Purvis & Robert Wade.
Directed by Marc Forster.

Even though I have seen my fair share of James Bond films, I was never really a fan of 007. That all changed with the 2006 release of Casino Royale. The new Bond, played with vigour by Daniel Craig, was still his suave self, but he no longer seemed invincible and was even fallible. The new vision of Bond continues with Quantum of Solace, however the film is a royal mess. Feeling like a ‘bridging’ film to another sequel, Quantum is one action scene after another, held together by a tenuous plot. Beginning almost immediately after Casino finished, Bond is hell-bent on exposing the tentacles of a shadowy organization that has managed to elude the attention of MI6. He then joins forces with a mysterious woman who has her own agenda. This film is as slick as you would expect, but suffers from a supporting cast that have next to nothing to do. Kurylenko is a dull Bond girl and her predecessor Eva Green is sorely missed here. There are many questions that will no doubt be answered by a third film, but Quantum of Solace fails to shake or stir.

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(Wadrick Jones is a freelance writer for GritFX and posts weekly film reviews on this blog.)

WADRICK’S THIRTY SECOND FILM REVIEWS (the 1980’s)

The Bear (1988)
Tcheky Karyo, Jack Wallace, Andre Lacombe, Bart the Kodiac Bear, Youk the Bear Cub.
Written by Gerard Brach.
Directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud.

A bear cub is made an orphan after its mother is killed. Setting off into the wilderness, the young bear befriends a huge, wounded male that is being tracked by hunters. And that’s basically the story extent of this riveting, wonderfully shot film set in British Columbia at the end of the 19th century. It was once a popular phrase in Hollywood to “never work with children or animals”, yet any complications that may have arisen on The Bear are never evident. The film is seamlessly executed, combining the most astounding animal ‘acting’ ever seen on screen with absolutely first class cinematography from Philippe Rousselot. The human characters have little dialogue, and necessarily take a backseat to the animals – they could even be considered underwritten and at times suffer from some poor dubbing. But this is never a consideration once the viewer is captured by the spell of this truly timeless film that should not be thought of as a ‘childrens movie’. And I guarantee it’s the only film in which you’ll ever see a bear tripped out on mushrooms. A personal favourite.

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Fat Man and Little Boy (1989)
Paul Newman, Dwight Schultz, John Cusack, John C. McGinley, Laura Dern and Bonnie Bedelia.
Written by Roland Joffe & Bruce Robinson.
Directed by Roland Joffe.

Roland Joffe is not a filmmaker I particularly admire. Whilst his career has been peppered with excellent films such as The Killing Fields and The Mission, his style often creates a dull visual experience, only lifted by the work of his cast. Fat Man and Little Boy is no exception, at times lacking the motion that elevates a drama and saves it from being (for want of a better word) “stagey”. Fat Man tells the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer (Schultz) and the team assembled by General Groves (Newman) to devise and construct the atomic bomb. Dealing with the inherent crisis of conscience, the brilliant team overcome obstacles aplenty in their road to creating a heinous device that would hopefully (and naively) bring an end to the idea of war. It is an interesting and compelling story, brought to life by an excellent cast, led by the great Paul Newman and ably supported by Schultz and Cusack. The film fails in many respects, but those unfamiliar with the Manhattan Project will find much worth in Fat Man and Little Boy – others may be discouraged by its distinctly Hollywood telling.

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Scarface (1983)
Al Pacino, Steven Bauer, Michelle Pfeiffer, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Robert Loggia, Harris Yulin and F. Murray Abraham.
Written by Oliver Stone.
Directed by Brian De Palma.

Tony Montana (Pacino) arrives in Miami as part of the Mariel Boatlift, when Castro opened the gates of Mariel Harbor and let over 100,000 Cubans immigrate to the USA. Like many, he is a criminal, and soon ingratiates himself into the underworld of Florida, eventually flourishing through bloodshed to be the king of cocaine. Despite a grandiose performance from Pacino, this turgid mess is unrelentingly oppressive from the get-go. Sleazy and brutal, Scarface is one of the overrated director De Palma’s lowest moments. The absolutely seedy underbelly of Miami is brought to the screen in vivid detail by the production department, but it seems that screenwriter Stone couldn’t edit his own material or even know when the hell to quit. The film itself has been glorified into a cult phenomenon on no solid basis aside from its graphic violence and nihilism – transforming the character of Tony Montana into an iconic figure. I don’t think that was the point…

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(Wadrick Jones is a freelance writer for GritFX and will post weekly thirty second film reviews on this blog.)