Ad Astra (2019)

The infinite reaches of our universe have never been so grounded in this storytelling of a parent and child; a narrative which launches light-years away from our marbled home but never loses sight on the emotional journey.

Accomplished astronaut Roy McBride (Brad Pitt) is sent on a mission to try and halt a series of solar flares seriously impacting life on Earth. McBride comes to realise he’s being utilised, because command think his father Clifford (Tommy Lee Jones) might still be alive in the expanse of space and their obvious connection could help save humanity.

‘Ad Astra’ is not a film to rush in and discuss with fervour, it’s such a mellow and meticulous feature needing time spent upon digestion and reflection of what it’s about. The human bond of father and son is the glue holding this spaceship together, the heart of the piece is in witnessing the untangling emotional state of Roy, who starts like a stubbly android, devoid of major inflection in speech or personality but as he travels closer to a long-absent dad, the complex nature of this affection leaks out.

Layered spectacularly over the heart of the plot are gorgeous visuals, which do an unreal job of immersing you into the inky magic of our solar system. James Gray has exceptional control on constructing a beautifully eerie orchestra of sights, to depict the endless possibilities and dangers of space.

This science-fiction spectacle is no doubt going to draw comparisons to past space-set movies, but unlike the fantastical fanfare of Sandra Bullock’s tricky trip to solid ground in ‘Gravity’, this film goes above and beyond in terms of space-travel but the missions that McBride takes don’t seem an imaginative leap too far, there’s something incredibly moving and also satisfying about his rise from our planet, to the moon and further.

Max Richter’s score with additional help from Lorne Balfe, is both entrancing and somehow cold, like attaching a suited cord to you to embroil your attention but also keeping you distant enough, as if floating from a safe point to appreciate the wonder of the galaxy and the journey of son to father.

It is very easy to comment that Brad Pitt’s performance is monotone and nothing, but in fact the actor delivers such an impressively understated role which works in demonstrating the controlled efficiency of his astronaut training and is one of his best cinematic turns. The narration over the top adds to his growing changes and as he moves nearer to a possible reunion with Clifford, the strain and emotional well-being of his psyche flicker with tragedy.

‘Ad Astra’‘s assignment does have a couple of flaws, namely a beastly attack on-board a Norwegian craft but aside from distractingly silly moment this film is stunningly made. The melancholy, family drama, humanity tainting more than our own planet, and a haunting, twinkling exploration of space makes for a depressing but wondrous sci-fi which looks majestic on the big screen.

8/10

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 (2015)

The young adult movie phenomenon is now at its end, the closing chapters of Katniss and her (not so) merry followers hits the big screen and after a year wait is it worth it? My rapid answer is to say no. After what I now deem a well paced and interesting political agenda theme from Part 1, this promise of excitement and action never flies straight or aims true.

We pick up from 2014 with just strangled Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) coming to terms with the fact that Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) may never be the same thanks to President Snow (Donald Sutherland), which leads to her want of killing the Capitol head and bringing Panem to unity. Now with President Coin (Julianne Moore) in the mix, Katniss must work out who there is to trust as she makes her way through the districts to end this war.

With three of the four Hunger Games movies under his belt, Francis Lawrence should know what he’s doing right? Wrong, it seems to all come to a dreary finale as this last film does nearly everything to make you wonder why you liked the franchise in the first place. I mean, granted I haven’t read the books yet but with this direction, there’s no intrigue or suspense and Lawrence brings the movie no pacing quality, it’s almost as if he just sat back and let the dialogue be shot not even thinking of how slow and laborious it makes the film feel.

Danny Strong and Peter Craig double up to take on Suzanne Collins’ well received novels, but whatever may happen on the page doesn’t all need to be seen on screen. The most tedious element is this almost Deal or no Deal game of real or no real between Katniss and Peeta that bores to the core. I won’t even go into the closing moments of the movie that had me cringing and laughing in equal measure of horror. It loses the political, conspiracy edge and is quickly replaced by predictable teen romance that taints what could have been a cool run of films that thrust society and its problems in the spotlight.

I always feel a film is best when it leaves the audience asking questions and making it their own by having their own interpretations of what could happen down the timeline but this Part 2 is nonsense and closes everything, spoon-feeding the audience so they have nothing to ponder about. It’s a real shame because after the grit of the first and the set up of the third, this just goes and makes me hate the whole HG story.

Not even the rare moments of darkness or grim action can save this film but I will go into the points that I enjoyed. ‘The Descent’-esque sequence of mutts in the underground escape is shot fast and cut like a madman editing for the first time but in this crazed scene of hell breaking loose it works well. The oil slick beginning was interesting before becoming stupid and Jennifer Lawrence gives Katniss that strong yet emotional female lead the power it deserves as everything possible gets in her way.

A lot of things ultimately feel lost in this movie, the editing truly doesn’t help us immerse into the story, it cuts so damn often that we never see who’s died and we don’t know much about them in the first place which severely lessens the impact of their deaths. The idea of uprising is so pushed yet lost to the wayside for effects and ‘Peeniss’ love struggles that when it does come back to the fore it’s presented so clearly that we can tell what’s going to happen a mile off, once again I haven’t read the books but I guessed most of what was going to happen throughout this film which lands like a massive weakness in my eyes.

Jennifer Lawrence leads us through this savage landscape with clear motivation yet troubled emotion as she flickers between determined symbol of hope to saddened lover and sister. She has become the perfect actress for Katniss and especially as she acts opposite, hopefully Best Supporting cat she demonstrates the raw talent she has in her arsenal. Josh Hutcherson does good with the evil brainwashed moments but then is nothing more than a loyal and romantic character for Katniss, so too with Liam Hemsworth’s Gale that is still one of the most dull characters. Woody Harrelson brings much needed laughter in the little things he does or says, Elizabeth Banks is apparently not in the last book and nor was she really needed in this movie, only giving the costuming department more work to do. Donald Sutherland and Julianne Moore battle it out as opposing leaders and do in fact give interesting moments about right and wrong in their equal flawed beliefs but for me the bittersweet aspect was seeing Philip Seymour Hoffman in his last ever film still showing that with even a small role he possessed the acting magic many can but dream of.

I can’t say I hated this film but I most defintley didn’t like it either. It suffers under a heavy amount of dragging, laughable writing and how it’s shown and as everything watched over three years boils down to this, we lift the lid to a Capitol whimper.

5.5/10

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1

There’s no unnecessary action filler or forced suspense, this film stands quite nicely alone as a separate movie with a humongous political undercurrent coarsing through it. Of course it is mostly pre amble material to set the stage for what will hopefully be the big climax of it all, but it never feels boring. I went in knowing it would be a first parter, that would likely present the beginning of the major revolution and I hoped it would succeed in strong character development in the absence of spectacle and I can confirm it does.

Picking up not that far after the events of ‘Catching Fire’, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) finds herself in the underground District 13. Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and District president Alma Coin (Julianne Moore) want to advertise the fight within Katniss to keep the riots across the districts going and ultimately take down President Snow (Donald Sutherland) and the Capitol. Katniss meets new rebels on the path to raise hope and save Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson).

It’s a very different Katniss in some regards. The character progression and focus is pretty effective for all figures involved to tell the truth. Miss Everdeen is a more somber broken girl than she’s ever been, her appearance in the Quarter Quell has effected her deeply and her bond with Peeta is clearly the big character push of the movie. I think this film does a good job with highlighting the reluctant hero status of Katniss and through rubbled district visits and propaganda shoots, we firmly see the way this mockingjay is born and fuelled. Peeta’s character may take sidelines in physical presence, but the film is never subtle on making it clear his presence is felt elsewhere and later on he gets a great whack of powerful character change thanks to his time in the Capitol. Thankfully Plutarch gets more to do and under his now much clearer good guy status, he thrives as a propaganda master, his job has changed dramatically but he makes this one his own as much as head gamemaker.

The new characters are a welcome fresh addition and Alma Coin is a cool opposite in presidential terms, her leadership shown as feisty rebel leader and unifier compared to the sneaky tyrant Snow. Coin also serves as a nice flip side to Katniss, both are leaders with followers, both have ideas but Coin is a more assured role with fight, politics and a huge vision. Then there’s the propaganda crew who film and record sound for Katniss’ drops in other districts. They’re a pretty blank set of characters sadly, they try to give some personalities but in this part at least, they don’t come alive, even led by the media manipulating Cressida, there’s not much substance under her tattooed skin.

Once again James Newton Howard puts together a score that never overpowers the image on screen. It’s even more of a bubbling lurking sense of dread, the rebellion and political themes influencing the music and aiding the build up tension in quite a few moments. The stairwell scene is brilliantly tense, the shocks of sound that burst in on something quite unpleasant Peeta does make it sound like a troubling horror for a few seconds. It’s a film with an obvious thread of uprising drama, smoking rubble, injured civilians and grey uniformed district 13-ers come together in a clear picture of purpose and creation of power.

Francis Lawrence captures most of the film with a generous blend of handicam and then smoother moments, though this time there is more shaky camerawork that works to desired effect of making it feel more real, more uneasy and less stylised and that needs to happen considering the more raw plot this time around. It’s a very watchable film, even if it’s quite a basic set up for next year’s finale, thanks to some much needed light relief in Haymitch and Effie, suspense of Capitol breakdowns and character study in the case of Katniss fluctuating in her role as mockingjay.

Jennifer Lawrence is fantastic. I could easily stop there but I guess I should expand. She’s a powerful and dominating actress with a talent of slipping into raspy anger, streams of tears or quirky awkward humour whenever needed. Lawrence acting an acting moment in front of what is that district’s own green screen is a great pause in the drama and gives time for comedy to shine as Plutarch, Effie and Haymitch despair at Katniss’ shocking delivery in a propaganda video shoot. Philip Seymour Hoffman has gladly more to do and makes Plutarch more interesting than his character might otherwise be. The last film he completed work on and that does paint a level of vulnerable sadness over his performance which works actually. Woody Harrelson and Elizabeth Banks are on form as per usual and deliver the right dose of funny to serious to keep their characters two of the best in the series. Josh Hutcherson has little to do, more than Jena Malone but still not a lot, yet he really breaks out the mould of pretty dull whiny sidekick at one significant moment. A growing cast but all play their part even if some are obvious uninteresting parts compared to the likes of others.

There is quite a lot of time when lulls slightly, Katniss and her repeated viewings to districts is like the tiresome whistle-stop victory tour in the previous film, a key character detail of Snow’s is lost in the exploration of the COD-like recon mission and on the whole this film does feel nothing more than a set up, no spectacle or dazzle isn’t a bad thing but it leaves you wanting more and Part 1 is a stop that needs to be made even if you know not much will happen during it.

Effective in character and subtext and even more successful in building the anticipation of what will go down in Part 2, the same time next year. A smoky shadowy teen rebellion drama that becomes a rather cool political thriller.

7/10

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)

A much better exploration of the dark political themes lurking amongst this Young Adult story. This sequel with a new director at the helm breathes new life into the warring district world with new cast members, twisty turny government threats and the running theme of character development.

After some time away from being joint winner of the 74th Annual Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) is back in her home of District 12, she learns from President Snow (Donald Sutherland) that her actions have inspired rebellion across districts and he tells her to use this to try and make them think it was genuine, not an attack on the Capitol. Not long after a Victory tour, Snow announces a Quarter Quell where all past winners must come back and fight again. Katniss is keen to make sure Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) is kept safe as they all enter the new arena with new allies, enemies and time orientated deadly challenges.

I have to admit, I wasn’t a fan of the first film. I may not have read the books that are apparently well written, but on seeing ‘Hunger Games’ I felt it quite slow, cleansed of any worrying drama and a tween-esque ‘Battle Royale’. I can happily say that upon viewing the second installment, this movie is so much better in my opinion. The dystopian future is as prominent but it feels more filled with dread, the shots of the Victory train shuttling through bleak landscapes alone does more than enough to conjure up a blend of futuristic and oppressing images. What with the over saturated market of YA movies, Hunger Games was pretty lucky to be the first out of the blocks, giving it the lead mould to follow for things like ‘Divergent’ and ‘The Maze Runner’. To be fair, it isn’t all luck, the story idea of numbered home dwellings, uprising and created battle arenas is a neat one and this sequel shines a greater light on all these qualities.

Francis Lawrence, the new director manages to blend elements of love, drama, tension and fun in this 2013 sequel and it feels like a more watchable movie as you see Katniss evolve in her fight to protect her home, Peeta and try to rebel against the constraints of Snow and the Capitol. The direction of the actual Quarter Quell is smart and well paced, with a cool dark touch throwing in baboons, poison mists and lightning to keep the excitement levels up. Through all this, Lawrence makes it clearer of the underlying themes, especially control as we see Plutarch manipulating the arena and Snow exerting as much control as he can to set up Katniss as a symbol in his power.

The character development is greatly appreciated and amongst more spectacular visuals of the clock inspired arena, Katniss’ dresses and Effie Trinket in general, we get to see Katniss struggle with Snow, her love for Gale and her possible rising attraction to Peeta. The interactions are perfectly handled in demonstrating the initial awkwardness between Katniss and Peeta at the start to the frightening hold of power seen through Capitol guards beating anyone who stands in their way or with Katniss. This power play switches a lot and gets moments of drama in not knowing who to trust as Katniss tries to pick alliances. The government itself is another holding ground for possible twists as a certain member may not be as Snow aligned as thought.

Everything from music through to costumes builds up this world, it may be over the top at times with gowns burning to shreds before being reborn as a Mockingjay but in amongst this heightened world of fashion and power, there is a genuine sense of believable ideas. Most aspects come together to rattle up tensions and story in a glorious and sometimes colorful tale of Katniss’ plight as an unexpected beacon of hope. James Newton Howard with his impressive back catalogue of scores masters a good soundtrack that compliments the moodier tones of this film, it goes hand in hand with the more assured feeling this film carries.

Jennifer Lawrence is as great as ever, using training and archery lessons to make you buy into Katniss, she possesses the physical strength to make her seem like a viable winner and she has the acting talent to spark the dialogue alive and her face alone as Jena Malone strips in the lift is priceless. Josh Hutcherson gets to be a little more interesting as he rubs against Katniss for a while and in his moments of speaking to districts or announcing a fake rumour he shows he has the chops to act opposite Lawrence. Elizabeth Banks is as zany and brilliant as ever, Woody Harrelson seems more beleaguered then before but is just as great in creating that bond between Haymitch and Katniss. Philip Seymour Hoffman is a superb addition to the cast in his sly looks and game controlling manner you never know where to stand with him. Also big thumbs up to Stanley Tucci who may not appear much but is always gold as the excitable and flamboyant Caesar Flickerman.

A sort of anti-climax weakens the dramatic rumble in the jungle arena sequences and some slow melodrama places are some stand out moments of negativity but on the whole it’s a more confident film with acting prowess, witty flashes of humour and spectacle in abundance.

7/10