Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) film review

Year: 2016
Running Time: 133 minutes
Director: Gareth Edwards
Writers: John Knoll and Gary Whitta (story), Chris Weitz and Tony Gilroy (screenplay)
Cast: Felicity Jones, Mads Mikkelsen, Diego Luna, Alan Tudyk, Riz Ahmed, Ben Mendelsohn, Forest Whitaker, Donnie Yen, Wen Jiang

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is now showing everywhere and is distributed by Walt Disney Pictures.

While Star Wars: The Force Awakens was an undeniable success, Rogue One brings forth the Star Wars film that people truly wanted to see with a brand new and original story that answers long held questions in the most spectacular and glorious of ways.

Rogue One is what Star Wars fans were eagerly anticipating when Disney announced their plans to expand the Star Wars universe. The Force Awakens was a great starting point for kicking off the new series of films, but many complained of it's lack of originality because of how much it resembled A New Hope. Gareth Edward's film really does expand the Star Wars universe by opening it up to include more than just the Skywalkers and their family tales, and the screenplay by Chris Weitz and Tony Gilroy makes the most of this freedom while also staying true and respectful to the George Lucas films.

Rogue One takes place right before 1977's Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope and focuses on the rebels who obtained the plans to the Death Star. Orphaned at a young age when her father, Galen (Mads Mikkelsen) is called upon to work for the Empire, Jyn (Felicity Jones) finds herself years later being recruited by the Rebellion. She discovers that her father has hidden the secret to bringing down the Empire's weapon, the Death Star in it's plans and she must lead a group of rebels into enemy territory to give them hope that the Empire and Darth Vader can be defeated.

Rogue One is a film for Star Wars lovers. It fills a great hole that was left gaping when George Lucas completed his six episodes and answers the questions you never knew you had until you watched Rogue One. Fans of the Star Wars franchise will be delighted with several Easter Eggs throughout the film and also the inclusion of unused footage from A New Hope. However, as a result, this film will mean far more and be enjoyed more by actual Star Wars fans rather than those who are indifferent. The aim of the screenplay is to primarily explain a missing piece of the Star Wars universe and to link up with A New Hope, not to tell a brand new story to appeal to an un-bias audience.

Yet, Rogue One is undeniably entertaining with it's impressive action sequences and outstanding use of CGI. The final act is particularly spectacular as well as visually stunning with a wonderful use of colour combined with high intensity action. While the large majority of the audience will know what the ending to the film will be, the journey is unpredictable and therefore, anything goes. All areas of production are, as one would expect from a Star Wars film in 2016, superb.

There has been much spoken about how the newer Star Wars films are both led by female characters and how strong the characters of Rey (portrayed by Daisy Ridley in The Force Awakens ) and Jyn Erso are. However, what is truly great about the way Star Wars has approached these characters is that they have made gender irrelevant in the creation of them. The fact that they are female in the film is not brought up at all and the respect they receive in these films are equal to that of any male counterpart. Felicity Jones is wonderful as Jyn. She brings to the character her strength as an actor and gives a heartfelt, yet stoic performance.

Ben Mendelsohn also impresses as Director Orson Krennic, but it is once again a droid who steals the show. Voiced by Alan Tudyk, K-2SO is equipped with the wittiest of lines that give the film it's comedy relief, much in the same fashion that R2-D2 and C-3PO have done in the past.

Rogue One successfully expands the Star Wars universe and is an utter treat for long time fans. It may not have the same power for those who are no overly familiar with the past films, but is still entertaining thanks to it's incredible visuals and original screenplay.

8/10

The Butler (2013)

 

 

Year: 2013
Running Time: 132 minutes
Director: Lee Daniels
Writer: Danny Strong (screenplay), Wil Haygood (article)
Cast: Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, David Oyelowo, Cuba Gooding Jr., Lenny Kravitz, Robin Williams, John Cusack, Terrence Howard, Elijah Kelley, Yaya Alafia, James Marsden, Minka Kelly, Live Schreiber, Alan Rickman, Jane Fonda

The Butler opens in Australian cinemas on the 31st October 2013 and is distributed by Hopscotch Films.

Whilst The Butler may not be the flawless masterpiece that many were hoping it would be, there is still no denying that it is an enjoyable and entertaining slice of modern American history on the big screen.

Lee Daniels latest is a fine feature which offers the viewer a great deal of information regarding the changing face of America's racial relations and the role of presidency in the White House. Although The Butler is extremely thorough in it's examination of the major events in the USA of the past 60 years, this attempt to cover so much results in the depth and emotion of the film suffering. Yet, the representation of the times and the acting being so impressive means that there is still so much to marvel at in The Butler.

The butler is Cecil Gaines (Forest Whitaker), a man who's journey takes him from slavery in the cotton fields of Georgia to the White House in Washington, DC. He is directly effected by the changes that are slowly taking place for the coloured of America as his son, Louis (David Oyelowo) becomes active in trying to orchestrate these changes. As the years progress, Cecil serves and has his own special encounters with each of the American presidents. While he is told to make sure the presidents feel as though there is no one in the room when he is present, all the presidents are aware of Cecil's presence and value his contribution to the White House and their presidency.

There is so much covered in The Butler which is both a blessing and a curse at the same time. It is a blessing because, as previously said, it is a thorough study into recent American history in regards to racial relations and the office of President. Lovers of American history will find this film to be an absolute treat for how much they will see being recreated. The period of the 1960-70's in the southern states is very well done, but still quite disturbing. There is also the perfect musical score to accompany each period in time represented. It is the portrayals of the different presidents that many Americans will be interested to see in The Butler and these portrayals are definitely intriguing. Unlike many other historical films which past US presidents have been featured in, these presidents are not the focal point of the film, but are the supporting players in Cecil's story. Dwight Eisenhower (Robin Williams), John F. Kennedy (James Marsden), Lyndon Johnson (Liev Schreiber), Richard Nixon (John Cusack) and Ronald Reagan (Alan Rickman) are the presidents featured in the film, and there is also a small scene with Martin Luther King (Nelsan Ellis).

As well as these historical representations, there is also Cecil's personal family life which is featured greatly throughout the film. While all these events are taking place, Cecil also fights to keep his marriage to Gloria (Oprah Winfrey) alive and well and to be a present and effective father to Louis and Charlie (Elijah Kelley). As one may expect, this is a lot to fit into one film. At 132 minutes, The Butler is not a short film to begin with, but it is still not long enough to pack all of this in without it feeling rushed. So much is covered yet isn't covered in great detail. It feels like many details are just skimmed over and not gone into too much detail as there is just not enough time to. As a result, it does feel as though there is a lack of depth and emotion in the film. This isn't to say that it doesn't evoke emotion at all, because the film absolutely does. However, this emotion could have been pushed further and just as you begin to feel something, it is lost as you have to move onto the next thing. Even though the film is enjoyable, it does feel considerably rushed (particularly the last decade of Cecil's term), which is a strange thing to feel in a film which is over two hours long.

Forest Whitaker is wonderful as Cecil Gaines. Towards the beginning of the film he takes seizes the chance to make his character as likable as possible so that the audience can go on this journey with him and feel connected. Again, there are times which he could have taken his performance much further emotionally, but this isn't to say that his performance flat-lines in the emotional department.

Oprah Winfrey makes an incredible return to the big screen as Gloria. Her character is a very real woman with a great deal of character. She has her flaws, but also her undying love for her family, She is superb, and you stop seeing the talk show host in her as soon as she opens her mouth for the first time.

David Oyelowo is also very good and displays wonderful character development throughout the film as his character grows from a boy into a man. Yaya Alafia also does very well as Louis' love interest, Carol. Cuba Gooding Jr and Lenny Kravitz are great to watch on screen, especially Gooding who provides much of the comedy relief. Although each of the actors who play the presidents do well, none of them are really given enough of a part to be outstanding. However, Minka Kelly and Jane Fonda, who play Jacqueline Kennedy and Nancy Reagan, do particularly well as the first ladies.

You can tell that The Butler intended to be far more than it actually is. Yet, it is still entertaining and a bit of fun to watch.

7/10

Where The Wild Things Are

Where The Wild Things Are

Year: 2009
Director: Spike Jonze
Cast: Max Records, Catherine Keener, James Gandolfini, Paul Dano, Forest Whitaker

In My Own Words
This is one of the movies that I was really looking forward to, but I came out of it feeling confused. I’m completely confused whether I should be liking it or not. However, one reason for liking it outweighs all the reasons I have for not liking it. I loved the feeling of seeing things through the eyes of a child again. It made me recall how I had been as a child. I was continuously making the most of my imagination by writing stories and, even though I looked extremely freaking doing so, acting them out in my lounge room by myself. I also would like to play in the garden outside and make little cardboard cut outs of people and pretend they lived in the garden. Very few adults still have an imagination like that. I doubt any grown ups really use their imagination like this anymore, and if they did, they would be considered crazy. That’s what makes the child’s imagination and their way of using it so special. You can only take advantage of it in that way for a certain amount of time. From that time on, the only way to use your imagination the way a child does is in story-telling and writing.

I never really thought about this that much until I saw this movie. I saw “Where The Wild Things Are” as being a metaphor for this. The tagline “There’s one in all of us” I believe is a representation of how the imagination of a child still exists in all of us, but we can’t express it the way a child can anymore. “Where The Wild Things Are” reminded me so much of my childhood imagination, and for that I am thankful. It brought back some memories of a time when I was oblivious to the real world and lived in my own world where everything was made by me, and therefore perfect. In this movie, all is not perfect for very long, which I interpreted as being the point where he grows up and accepts that things may not always be perfect in the real world, but there are always people who will love you no matter how imperfect you or your world may be. This was my interpretation anyway. Maybe I am reading too much into it.

There are my own words and here is my review.

Review
Who would have ever thought that the 338 page book, “Where The Wild Things Are” could be made into a 101 minute film? Spike Jonze is the man to do it. Obviously, quite a bit is added into the film that is not in the book in order to make it appropriate for a feature length film. The long awaited film will be appreciated by adults as long as they go into the film ready to see the world through the imagination of a child. In saying this, children will see this film and enjoy it as it is imaginative and a story with big friendly (and other times not so friendly) and fluffy monsters.

Max (Max Records) is a young boy who is full of imagination. He spends his days creating new worlds for himself to escape the troubles he experiences with his older sister and her friends, and his single mother (Catherine Keener). One day after getting himself into trouble, he runs away from home and sails to a new land, which is inhabited by large and unusual creatures. Max tells the creatures that he is a king, and he immediately becomes the flavour of the month, especially with Carol (voiced by James Gandolfini). Max tries to make life happier for all the creatures, but ends up finding out that it is impossible to make everyone happy all the time.

“Where The Wild Things Are” is the story of a child’s imagination. The visuals of the land where the wild things live are perfect for this theme, as they are both imaginative, as they are abstract, unreal, large and full of detail. The visuals are unlike any other seen in a recent film and the recreation of Carol and his friends is fantastic. The cast that lends their voices to these wild things does a great job in bringing to life these characters from the book. The soundtrack is also commendable, as it reflects the childlike behaviour and emotions presented in the film.

However, the film can be dull at times. There are some scenes that seem slow and quite tedious, as it seems as though the film is not going anywhere. The conflict in the film is not strong, which is where the film loses its strength. The moral of the film and visuals are there, however at times they just do not seem to work. It is first and foremost a children’s book and ultimately is seen as a children’s movie, but this is no excuse for lack of strength in a movie. Records gives a good performance as Max, but he can come across as forced. His best performance is as happy Max, but sad Max is not convincing. Yet, he is a very young actor so he can be forgiven. Still, the film almost feels too basic, even for a children’s film.

The moral of the film is fantastic, that there is a world like the one in the movie inside all of us. Most people are not aware of this world or have forgotten it, as it is evident mainly in children but not in adults. Therefore, children will love this movie as it will tap into their imagination. For adults, it will only do this if they are aware of the morals and themes of the film and are willing to go into viewing it with the mind of a child. A child’s imagination is far greater than the average adult as it knows no limits, yet there does come a time in everyone’s life when reality becomes greater than the imagination and this is what “Where The Wild Things Are” presents.
7/10