Spotlight (2015) film review

Year: 2015
Running Time: 128 minutes
Director: Tom McCarthy
Writers: Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy
Cast: Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, John Slattery, Liev Schreiber, Brian d'arcy James, Stanley Tucci, Billy Crudup, Gene Amoroso, Jamey Sheridan, Neal Huff

Spotlight is now showing in Australian cinemas and is distributed by eOne.

Absolutely engrossing and the stunning example of story driven tension, Spotlight is a superb film with an incredible screenplay that brings to light terrible issues while not actually telling a story about them.

In 2001, members of The Boston Globe's Spotlight team were given the assignment of looking into allegations of child molestation by Catholic priests within the city and determining whether there was any evidence of a pattern among them. What they discovered over the year that they spent investigating and speaking to the victims was sufficient evidence of a cover up within the church on a much greater scale than they or anybody else could have ever imagined.

Spotlight is ultimately not a film about the actions of the Catholic Church and it's priests, although it will no doubt stimulate thought and conversation about the subject. It is a film about the journalists who were part of the Spotlight team and how they came to expose the cover up. So at it's core, Spotlight is essentially about investigative journalism and how it has the power to increase knowledge and awareness and bring about change.

Tom McCarthy's film is in the same class as All The Presidents Men, the 1976 film about the reporters who uncovered the Watergate scandal. Like All The Presidents Men, Spotlight will become a film for all journalists and journalism students to watch as it is not only an example of extremely good investigative reporting, but it is also what all journalists strive for, which is to put the pieces together and uncover something that nobody else has. Of course All The Presidents Men and Spotlight are extreme and very rare examples of what journalists can achieve, yet they remain inspiring for those who are in the profession.

The power of investigative journalism is at the heart of Spotlight, but again the actions of the Catholic Church are brought to light in the process. It is impossible not to be moved by the revelations that the Spotlight team make over the course of their investigation, but the wonderful thing is that it is not the witnessing of these atrocious acts that bring about emotion. It is all in the dialogue spoken by those who uncover the shocking information and by the victims telling their stories. There are no confronting visuals of the actual acts of molestation in the film. This may be comforting to some, but the truth is that the imagination can conjure up mental images that are just as frightening.

This is what makes Spotlight such a brilliant piece of work. It is not a film with a great deal of action, but it is it's story and dialogue that are so powerful that they create emotion, tension and suspense by themselves. The outcome of the investigation is inevitable, yet there is still a build up with a sense of heightened tension leading towards the conclusion.

While the film's strength lies in it's screenplay, it's visuals help support the story and say the things which aren't being verbalised. The investigation by the Spotlight team takes place over the course of a year and this time period is shown with the cinematography involving the changing of seasons. Visually, the film is very neat and refined. One particularly special moment of the film is at Christmas time, when all the main characters are shown in a montage that expresses how they are feeling accompanied by the sounds of children singing a Christmas carol. It is a rather haunting moment.

Spotlight is essentially about the team of journalists who uncovered something truly incredible and were awarded the Pulitzer Prize for their work. However, the film does not glorify the individuals or make them out to be heroes. They were just people going to work each day and doing their jobs. Despite this, the cast of Spotlight all give strong and memorable performances. Mark Ruffalo gives the most passionate performance as Mike Rezendes. His character's commitment demonstrates how the deeper into the investigation he got, the harder it was to not get emotionally involved. Michael Keaton stars as the head of Spotlight, Walter Robinson and gives a strong performance, but it is not one that requires much emotion or variation.

As Sacha Pfeiffer, Rachel McAdams gives the best performance of her career thus far. Her character develops the most throughout the film as she is the one who had the greatest connection to the church beforehand and her internal struggle while she sympathizes with the victims is rather moving. Stanley Tucci gives a very interesting performance as Mitchell Garabedian and although he is rather hostile, is intriguing to watch and has a great deal of character.

Spotlight demonstrates not only the power of investigative reporting when all the pieces come together, but how suspense and emotion can be achieved by superb storytelling and direction.

9/10

Now You See Me (2013)



Year: 2013
Running Time: 115 minutes
Director: Louis Leterrier
Writers: Ed Solomon, Boaz Yakin and Edward Ricourt
Cast: Jess Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Isla Fisher, Woody Harrelson, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Dave Franco, Melanie Laurent

Now You See Me opens in Australian cinemas on the 8th of August 2013 and is distributed by Hopscotch Films.

Now You See Me is one incredibly creative, unpredictable and entertaining film with an amazing cast, but don't expect it to be particularly subtle or realistic at it's core.

Louis Leterrier's film promises an entertaining and fun time and is never for one moment slow or dull. It provides people with a completely unpredictable ending and constant guessing. However, it is a little over-extravagant at times and very farfetched, but the aim of the film is to entertain and it certainly does that. Now You See Me gives us an original film unlike any other we have seen this year or any other year and that is something to be appreciated.

The Four Horsemen magic/illusion group, featuring J. Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg), Henley Reeves (Isla Fisher), Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson) and Jack Wilder (Dave Franco) become an overnight sensation when during one of their magic tricks, they pick an audience member to rob a bank and distribute the money to all their audience members. FBI Agent Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo) is called in to find out how this group managed to rob a French bank during their show and with Agent Alma Gray (Melanie Laurent) must decide whether it really was magic that enabled The Four Horsemen to commit this crime or is there a Fifth Horseman?

Now You See Me will draw you in and start you guessing straight away. It is the type of rare film that has you fooled, just like everyone in the film. You think you know all the answers, but there is one answer you will be a very, very clever moviegoer to guess. It is a very clever film with a very unique concept. Magic and illusion are mysterious and mystical and as a subject matter to a film it promises the same. `

Now You See Me, like it's subject matter, has no problems entertaining, but it does seem like it tries a little too hard to astonish. The whole film seems like a Las Vegas show (again, like in the film), it is just a bit too over the top and elaborate. At times it tries a little too hard to be an amazing film and gets a bit lost in itself. The majority of the time it isn't too much of a problem as it is just great fun, but it does get to a point where you can almost scoff at how far removed from reality it can get. However, as a whole the film is just a really great piece of entertainment, but it shouldn't be looked at as anything more than that.

Therefore, as one could expect, the film is really quite a visual treat with plenty of confetti and spotlighting. It has it's stars well placed in every scene and many movements resemble a dance routine. Although it is not an action film, the car chase scene is pretty impressive.

Before one even see's Now You See Me, it is extremely hard not to be drawn in by the astonishing cast which has been assembled. The majority of the cast have somewhat easy roles to play (as opposed to other characters they have played in past films), but they all play their roles to the very best of their ability. Mark Ruffalo is the stand out of the film as he is so convincing and natural in his role and a great lead for the film. He has great on screen chemistry with Melanie Laurent, who is also very convincing in her role even though the side story and ending of the film for the two doesn't really add anything to the film. Woody Harrelson is also a lot of fun and quite comical in his role and Dave Franco shows his versatility as an actor by adding Now You See Me to his resume. Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman also work well together and by themselves.

As a whole, you may as well be watching a magic show when you are watching Now You See Me. It is overdone in many ways, but you enjoy the spectacle and the players and enjoy the thrill of the unknown.

7/10


You may have also seen Jesse Eisenberg in....
The Social Network as Mark Zuckerberg

You may have also seen Mark Ruffalo in.....
The Avengers as Bruce Banner/ The Hulk

You may have also seen Isla Fisher in......
The Great Gatsby as Mabel

You may have also seen Dave Franco in....
Warm Bodies as Perry

You may have also seen Michael Caine in....
The Dark Knight Rises as Alfred

You may have also seen Morgan Freeman in....
The Dark Knight Rises as Fox

The Avengers (2012)

The Avengers

Year: 2012

Director: Joss Whedon

Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston

Before I begin my review….

                How cool is the idea behind The Avengers?

                It’s absolutely no wonder that the movie created so much interest and had so many fans even before it premiered. How often is it these days that you throw all these movie characters into one film? OK…yes I know. There is the horror film trend of such films as Freddy vs Jason and Alien vs Predator which has its fans and haters.  I remember when I was about 8 there was a cartoon special where all these cartoon characters were put into one show to help the fight against kids taking drugs, but these are the only instances I can think of with the throwing of characters usually not related into one show.

                But The Avengers? It is an action film fans dream! Even if you are not huge on the superhero genre, you can’t help but be interested by this prospect of placing Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and The Hulk in one film.

                And you know what one of the coolest things is? The Avengers is actually better than some of the films which are solely about its characters.  So if you didn’t like the film originally about one of these characters, it’s definitely not a sure thing that you are going to feel the same way about The Avengers. Of course having a different director is a good start for that.

                Here’s an idea. Why doesn’t someone make a film with super bitches from films all in one? I’d love to see Meryl Streep’s Miranda Priestly from The Devil Wears Prada take on Faye Dunaway’s Joan Crawford from Mommie Dearest and we would just chuck in there Bette Davis’s Baby Jane Hudson from What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?

                That will never happen…..because Davis is no longer with us, but I am sure we can think of some other movie bitches we can throw in there to watch a massive war of words cat fight on the big screen!

Review

                It’s the film superhero fans have been hanging out for and it does not disappoint.

                The Avengers is a whole lot of fun for anyone whether you are a superhero fan or not. It is a concept that could have been just a big cheese ball, but it surprisingly is not.

                For those of you who saw the 2011 Thor, you will be familiar with Loki (Tom Hiddleston), Thor’s (Chris Hemsworth) brother who has an evil streak. Loki has made his way to Earth with plans to take over the world. The ever present Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) assembles a group of superheros consisting of Tony Stark/ Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Steve Rogers/ Captain America (Chris Evans), Natasha Romanoff/ The Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Bruce Banner/ The Hulk ( Mark Ruffalo). It isn’t long before Thor also joins the quest on Earth to ensure his brother doesn’t destroy mankind on this planet.

                Superhero movies have a reputation of being extremely cheesy, so you could expect a film with four well known superheroes in it to be so. However, although predictable, there really isn’t much to roll your eyes at in The Avengers. This is a result of a cleverly written script by director, Joss Whedon. The script just makes the whole concept come together and achieves the optimum result. It is still a superhero action film which isn’t realistic at all, but doesn’t seem completely over the top and the way it is presented to you actually does make you believe that what you are seeing could maybe happen (even though common sense tells you it won’t).

                Another good thing about this film is that you would also expect that with so many big characters thrown into one movie it could become messy and have too much going on. Again, this is not the case. Each character holds their own and you know a bit about every character, but Whedon hasn’t written the script so that one superhero gets more screen time than another or that there are too many stories going on at once. The film sticks to its path and each character adds to outcome in their own way. It is easy to understand and not messy at all.

                The only problem one may have is that if you haven’t seen the other films which these characters are in, you may feel a bit lost. It does help to have prior knowledge of who Loki and Thor are (as not everyone studied Norse mythology at school), why Captain America is the way he is and who is Tony Stark. Otherwise the characters may be slightly lost on you.

                The script also has some very funny moments. Of course, being a superhero action film, its main focus is the special effects and action sequences. These are very impressive as one may expect and spending the extra to see The Avengers in 3D wouldn’t be a waste of money.

                The acting isn’t the main focus of the film, but there isn’t really a bad performance in the film. Robert Downey Jr. is at his witty and comedic best as Tony Stark/ Iron Man and is always great fun to watch. Mark Ruffalo is also very good as Bruce Banner/ The Hulk, giving a performance as the man who battles his inner demons, or inner big green monster.

                However, it is Tom Hiddleston who is the stand out in this film. Hiddleston is one of those actors who has been in the business for a long time, but seems like he has just come out of nowhere with how many films he has been in as of late. He does evil well and is a pleasure to watch.

                The Avengers, although having much hype, is not a let down. It is one of the best action blockbusters you will see this season and just a whole load of fun.

7.5/10

Shutter Island

Shutter Island
Year: 2010
Director: Martin Scorsese
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Michelle Williams

In My Own Words
“Shutter Island” is definitely one of my most anticipated films of the year. It was supposed to be released back in October 2009, and I was not impressed to hear that Scorsese’s new film had been pushed back 4 months. The reason I was so excited for it was that “Shutter Island” looked unlike anything Scorsese had ever done before. The genius director is no stranger to thrillers, but this was his first attempt at one that bordered on horror the way “Shutter Island” looked like it would be according to the trailer. I really wish that the film was released back in October, rather than been released now with the huge build up and very high expectations. Although the expectations would’ve been high regardless of the timing because of Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio’s past record.

The expectations may have ruined it for me, but when I take away the expectations from my judgement, I still come to a similar conclusion about this film. I can’t help but think that original endings in Hollywood are completely going out the window. All I can really hope is that I can start seeing suspenseful thriller movies soon where I can’t guess the ending. Or is there really such thing as originality anymore? It’s a sad thought. I’m a big fan of receiving the unexpected in movies, whether I be disappointed by who dies and who doesn’t or what not, at least I feel like I haven’t seen the film 5 times before.

These are my own words and here is my review.

Review
The much anticipated latest Martin Scorsese film “Shutter Island” is to put it simply, a disappointment. The biggest disappointment about it being that it is one of those films, that there seems to be quite a few of these days, where the ending can easily be guessed at the beginning. “Shutter Island” by Dennis Lehane may be clever and surprising on paper, but as a screenplay, it is highly predictable. Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a US Marshall who has been assigned to a case on Shutter Island at Ashcliffe, a hospital for the clinically and criminally insane. He and his partner, Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo) are sent to investigate a mysterious disappearance of a woman from Ashcliffe. Even though Daniels did his research before he arrived on the island, he discovers more about the island than he thought he would and feels himself becoming part of the island.

During the film, “Shutter Island” can be absolutely intriguing. It is hard to explain how this film can be intriguing, yet unoriginal without giving too much of the story away. It is like many other films and their endings, just in a hospital for the mentally disturbed, which makes it interesting. The atmosphere of the locations does indeed make the film creepy and the patients and their stories are certainly disturbing. It can be put into the same category as films such as “Girl, Interrupted” and “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest”, where it is so unsettling that you do not want to look away. The visuals of the film are gorgeous, especially that of the island itself, and the recreation of the asylum in the 1940’s is well done. However, it does seem at times that Scorsese tries a little too hard to create suspense and eeriness in his use of cinematography and sound.

DiCaprio gives a solid performance and does well as Teddy, as he always seems to do under the direction of Scorsese. Ruffalo also gives a good performance as Eddy’s partner. The two are definitely the stars of the film. Michelle Williams, who plays Teddy’s deceased wife, can only be described as flat and boring. She falls short of the expectations of the character she plays should have. Emily Mortimer and Jackie Earle Haley both deserve credit for their creepy roles as patients in the hospital.

Unfortunately, this all comes down to the realization that “Shutter Island” is unfortunately Scorsese’s worst film to date. Not because there was anything wrong with the way he made the film, but because it is highly predictable and very much like many other films that are out there. Scorsese is not normally known for fitting into film trends, but that is just what he has done here. Even if the director of “Shutter Island” was not Martin Scorsese, it would just be another film with the same ending, just better made than most.
6/10