Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

Well cor blimey, this film looks delicious up on the big screen. The visuals aren’t the only delights though; storytelling, acting, music and cinematography are all excellent features of this sci-fi sequel that in my tiny insignificant opinion may be just as good if not better than the original.

Possibly a first here as I won’t go into a usual plot summary paragraph because I feel that any info on what the story serves could be, if not a spoiler at least something that ruins the element of intrigue that you should enter this movie with. Suffice to say it’s 30 years after the setting of the first one and we follow K (Ryan Gosling) in dystopian LA following a case after discovering something potentially world changing at a farm.

Even though I hadn’t seen the 1982 movie at the time, once this film was announced with details of Denis Villeneuve attached I did squeal a little. This incredible visual and smart director gave me cause for excitement and he does indeed pull off an incredibly visual and smart film again. It’s a very intelligent movie with cause for thought and the whole dystopian set up like in the first one gives amazing room for creative space and design. Villeneuve keeps the tone similar but that doesn’t stop him from expanding on ideas and updating them to fit in the mould of what 2049 could bring.

A strong theme within both movies is the notion of identity. In a way I feel this thread is felt even more within this release thanks to the character of K and the freedom movement he is tracking. What makes us human and what does that mean are two powerful questions and they course throughout the film with constant but not overbearing presence. The whole hero idea is another one played with and K is an interesting character because he’s not exactly all out nice guy but that moral code sits within him. A film is always good or great I say when it leaves you thinking about what you’ve seen and immersing yourself into that world to think on possible answers.

Hans Zimmer and Benjamin Wallfisch have conducted a wonderful score that trickles along in the background adding suitable futuristic sounds and as Zimmer does best the rises and boom of music at times creates the tension within certain scenes. Better than the music though is the sublime work from director of photography Roger Deakins who deserves to finally win an Academy Award with the sheer beauty he gifted this movie. The lines and forms are stunning all the way through, for example the yellow shifting light and frames captured within Wallace’s headquarters are mesmerising.

I have to comment on the newer technological ideas implanted in the movie too; such as the memory maker aspect which was visually pleasing and a very neat idea. The ‘Her’ like sexual encounter with K and his girlfriend with help from someone else was another case of something visually different. A fight with the background holographic accompaniment of Elvis and some showgirls further boosts the creative visual flair.

This film may be a little long and at times the pacing, like in the original, feels at odds and can be a tad slow but the detective story-line and the stunning future world presented on a big screen makes this a science fiction movie to stand up on its own and not just as a follow up to the Ridley Scott outing. In fact because I got to see this in the cinema unlike the first one, that is possibly the reason I like this more, the atmosphere and scale of seeing it on the big screen is necessary for this movie.

7.5/10

Everest (2015)

Mother nature is undeniably a force to be reckoned with and this film goes part of the way to mirroring that strength, but an ensemble cast, a flurry of snow strained predictability and general un-provoking storytelling stop this movie from being the exhilarating experience it should have been.

Taken from the true events in 1996, this movie sees two expeditions attempting to summit Mount Everest. Rob Hall (Jason Clarke) and Scott Fischer (Jake Gyllenhaal) have contrasting methods but unite to try and deal with the increasing size of hopeful climbers. As they climb they face a dangerous oncoming storm threatening their chances of safe descent.

I have to say that the look of the film stands true as the best feature for this outing. Directed with sheer grandeur from Baltasar Kormakur this film does a heroic job in demonstrating the uncaring brutality of Mt. Everest. The cinematography of course does more than the fair share of creative duties and credit goes to Salvatore Totino who makes this IMAX movie come alive with depth and added frostiness. The scope is huge and as the shots sweep alongside the less than forgiving nature of this world breaking mountain, we as the audience can’t help but feel like a speck compared to it. The calmer moments seeing the walkways, ladders and peaks are scary but stunning.

It’s in the latter stages of this film where things avalanche. The stormy shots that surround the frightening weather change are admittedly bold and edited ferociously but a lot is lost in this scenes. What with all the hefty coats, masks and hats, it’s hard to keep track of who’s who, the dialogue becomes overly muffled and things after being built up so well, feel rushed to be over with before you know it. It feels more like a cinematic experience at times which is wrong considering it’s true subject matter, a fact I only remembered again once the real life credits came on screen.

The writing is another part of the trouble I feel also. Taken on by both Simon Beaufoy and William Nicholson, two great writers I may add, this movie suffers a couple of really cheesy lines that for me at least took me slightly out of the grit of the film. The build up is dealt with in a great manner though, it’s a grand shame that the sequence of pounding stormy disasters aren’t delved into further than the spectacle. The major fault is the ensemble scenario, I know clearly they have to follow this because of the amount of climbers that took part but in this, we suffer characters with not enough connection and by the end don’t get that deserved emotional hit. Also by no fault of the writers, casting such a well known rosta of faces doesn’t help the films impressively detracts from the true story.

Jason Clarke is fantastically grizzled but assured as the safer mountain leader. Obviously the writers spent a lot of time on his narrative so Clarke helps Hall feel more rounded and you invest in his plight. Jake Gyllenhaal is electric as he’s proving to be with more and more, he doesn’t gain much screen time but in the scenes he appears he makes you root for the more adrenaline seeking persona. Emily Watson brings the emotional punch as base camp manager Helen. Keira Knightley joins that emotional fanfare as the home stuck pregnant wife to Rob Hall. The film makes no light that she had actually beat Everest also, an interesting back story that could have helped her become less of the weak female cliche added in for star weight and phone call scenes. Josh Brolin is the 100% Texan Beck Weathers and comes in for a severe beating thanks to Everest. He doesn’t get a great much to stand out but does well as the suffering victim. I still haven’t even mentioned Sam Worthington, Robin Wright and John Hawkes who also appear in roles that add to the dragging out of the movie.

This is in no way a bad film, it’s good, just not as powerful as it hoped to be concerning the beast of Everest. It undoubtedly makes you not ever want to attempt climbing the tallest mountain in the world and along with a beautifully fine score and crisp imagery this movie does enough to show off enough altitude spectacle.

6/10