Film Reviews by Alphaville

Eastern western set in rural China in 1914, complete with lone hero and Morricone-style score. The amateurish acting may put some viewers off, but you don’t watch a Benny Chan actioner, with fight choreography by Sammo Hung, for social realism. It’s not Chan’s best, but it’s more brutal than you might expect, with some spirited confrontations and a climax that pulls out all the stops.

The first half is a warm wallow in small-town Americana with some of the snappiest dialogue you’ve ever heard on film. The best lines are given to Mckenna Grace and her pal Logan Kim – kids who are not the usual Hollywood brats but intelligent and funny. The adults have some witty lines too. It’s fun until, this being part of the Ghostbusters franchise, it develops into a silly cgi-fest. There’s also a mawkish ending that pays homage to the original film and completely skews the essence of the first half.

In the present day 18yo Ellie goes to London full of longing for the 60s vibe, but she’s a troubled soul. This is a film that lures you in with its 60s enthusiasm then straps you in for a wild journey in and out of the 60s, complete with 60s soundtrack. The less you know about the plot the better, so (as usual) try to avoid the trailer and spoiler reviews such as the CP one. Directed by Edgar Wright with some terrific visual effects and choreography and with the same verve he brought to films such as Hot Fuzz.

Do check out the trailer first. This is staid dramatic Sundance fare for those who like watching actors delve deeply into their characters while the ‘acclaimed’ director has little idea about what to do with a camera except point it at them. Touted as a ‘taut thriller’, this bickering family so-called-drama may instead help you drift off to sleep.

If you’re in the mood for a good old-fashioned shoot-em-up, this is one of the best of recent years. Turncoat fixer Frank Grillo gets himself locked up in a desert jail for safety and hitman Gerard Butler gets himself locked up in the same jail in order to kill him. Despite over-ripe initial dialogue and a preposterous denouement, the bulk of the movie has twists and action too spare, with standout turns from resilient cop Alexis Louder and psychopathic hitman Chad Coleman.

Most of the action takes place in the restricted space of the jail but never seems claustrophobic. Director Joe Carnahan, making his best film since The Grey, fills his characters with so much punch and shoots scenes with so much energy that it fairly rattles along.

How to make an action movie with no dull moments. Following a mine cave-in in northern Canada, driver Liam Neeson and a trio of heavy trucks launch a rescue mission on a dangerous ice road across thawing lakes and high passes. It begins as a by-the-numbers adventure in which you can guess some of the scrapes they’ll get into, but this only adds to the fun and the action ramps up and keeps going all the way to the end. There’s a resourceful baddie and the Arctic landscape adds another compelling dimension. Sure, it won’t suit an art-house crowd looking for social realism but, if it’s big screen entertainment you want, this delivers in spades.

The same review as for Part 1. The ‘conceptual art’ approach to small-scale film-making. Social realism, improvisation, static camera etc. Ironically, it’s a semi-autobiographical piece based on the director’s life as a film student. What are they teaching at film school these days? It’s certainly the antithesis of good cinema. If you’ve seen Part 1 you’ll know what you’re in for. Do check out the trailer first to avoid disappointment.

The ‘conceptual art’ approach to small-scale film-making. Social realism, improvisation, static camera etc. Ironically, it’s a semi-autobiographical piece based on the director’s life as a film student. What are they teaching at film school these days? It’s certainly the antithesis of good cinema and naturally won an award at Sundance. Do check out the trailer first to avoid disappointment.

The pre-titles sequence in Matero has the kind of exotic location stuntwork you expect from a good Bond film, but when the dismal theme song kicks in over the opening credits it’s downhill from then on. The only set-pieces after that are shoot-outs in which none of the baddies can shoot straight. The plot is dialogue-heavy and over-complicated in order to fit in all the characters, eg a pointless cameo with Blofeld. It’s just all so dull and stolid, with subdued performances and none of the humour and glamour the franchise used to entertain us with. Thank goodness this is the last of Daniel Craig’s gritty woke Bond persona. The franchise needs to get back to basics. Not so much a reboot as a retro-boot.

There’s no doubt a place for actorly dramatised history lessons to pass a Sunday evening on the TV, and this film’s heart is in the right place even if biased, but its main problem is that it’s oh-so-predictable and pedestrian with not an ounce of cinematic imagination.

Originally conceived as an album by pop group Sparks, this has been turned into an experimental 140-minute musical/opera in which every line is sung. It’s pretentious self-indulgent claptrap. Take the opening, which has the main characters wandering along a street singing ‘And now we start’ endlessly. Elsewhere bystanders form a Greek chorus.

It’s about a love affair between a bad comedian and an opera singer. You’ll laugh when Simon Heilberg sits at a piano singing ‘I’m an accompanist’. You’ll laugh even more when stars Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard regale us with ‘We love each other so much’. Even more so when their child turns out to be a puppet. Enough already!

Director Leos Carax seems to have been responsible for getting the project off the ground. Someone should have had a word in his ear. Don’t be fooled by a well-edited trailer full of dramatic music. In the film itself scenes go on forever and music and lyrics are pure doggerel. For 140 minutes.

It’s the in-yer-face approach to war movies, using hand-held shaky-cam to put you in the heart of the action as interchangeable American soldiers swap sweary banter while fighting off the Taliban in Afghanistan. All this, together with a lack of plot, is alienating. If it stopped after one hour it would be a one-star film, but the second hour of battle ramps up viewer engagement. Director Rod Lurie, with the aid of drones, comes up with some stunning five-star single-shot camera work and we become more involved in the plight of the outnumbered soldiers.

It’s based on a true story of the Americans’ most decorated battle of the war and the real soldiers involved testify to the film’s authenticity. This makes it hard to find fault but, judged purely as a film, its whole is less then some of its parts and it won’t be for everyone. To prove you don’t need shaky-cam to capture visceral action, see the similar but superior 12 Strong.

Involving war film in which Chris Hemsworth leads a team of Special Forces on horseback against Al Qaeda in the mountains of Afghanistan. You could call it a War Western, but it’s no gung-ho actioner full of stereotypes bandying ropey dialogue. Based on a true story, with engaging characters and realistic dialogue, it’s one of the most intelligent war films of recent years. It feels authentic yet plays like an old-fashioned crowd-pleasing adventure movie. The making-of feature, which includes interviews with the equally charismatic real soldiers, shows how authentic it is.

Poorly directed, drama-free story with a downbeat score about two brothers on opposite sides of the law. With only a few brief sub-Sweeney action scenes, this is a drag from start to finish.

Fascinating Groundhog Day set-up loses traction as it progresses, getting lost in talky corporate and political satire, but you’ll want to stay with it to see how it pans out.