Trainspotting 2
What’s it about?
Twenty years after Mark Renton stole the stash of cash from his friends, he returns home but exactly what awaits him?
What did we think?
Anthony Sherratt says: It’s easy to argue this cult classic didn’t need a sequel but it’s a surprising relief that this follow up stays true to the characters and story. Not as dark as the original, Trainspotting 2 goes for a bit more humour and focuses more on the quirky relationships between the dysfunctional group. Good characterisation, entertaining and faithful stories and quality homage references will leave any fan of the original content though it’s probably unlikely to be a classic itself. Director Danny Boyle uses an impressive soundtrack featuring Iggy Pop, Blondie, Queen, Run DMC and jarring, almost experimental, camera angles to highlight the emotion and anguish particularly of Ewan Bremner’s Spud who almost steals the show during his withdrawal periods. Wonderful to see Ewan McGregor, Johnny Lee Miller and Robert Carlyle on the big screen together again as Boyle slyly and ironically explores nostalgia in a light that is anything but flattering.
The Great Wall
What’s it about?
European mercenaries make their way to the Orient in search of the super weapon ‘black powder’. They discover a powerful army with just one purpose: defending the world against monsters. But are the true monsters… us?
No. It’s quite obviously the giant green lizard things.
What did we think?
Dan says: This is a film about ideas. The story is pretty average and the character motivations are thin on the ground. The film jumps from design idea to illustration idea and every time it’s dazzling. It’s a bit like flipping through the sketch book of that art geek from high school who would shyly tell you what she’d do if she had access to funding. Well someone got access to funding. They don’t know how to write dialogue but their visual story-telling is epic.
Hidden Figures
What’s it about?
1960’s America was a vortex of social upheaval: apartheid (segregation) was rampant; women’s equality was unimaginable; the space race was nuclear hot; and national pride, if not survival, was at stake. Against all odds, three genii stepped out from the shadows to help NASA realise an impossible dream. Three genii who happened to be black women.
What did we think?
Stephen Scott says: This movie should be compulsory viewing for every man, woman and child. Equality is something many pay lip service to (even today), and while other Oscar-nominated movies show the ugly face of racism via a negative tirade, Hidden Figures lifts you up with a heart-warming, truly accessible story of the little person overcoming insurmountable odds. Inspiring and hopeful.
Incidentally, I never thought I’d see the day where I’d cry watching a man smash a toilet sign off a wall with a crowbar.
Fences
What’s it about?
Life as a black man in 50’s America was hard – you had to fight for every ounce of respect. You are constantly reminded of this by Troy, garbage man and would’ve-been baseball legend (if he had’ve been white).
What did we think?
Stephen Scott says: Adapted from an award winning play, Fences reminds us that before TV enslaved us, people talked to each other for entertainment. They talked & they talked & they talked & they talked. And they talked really fast. They talked about mundane things. About important things. About daily grind. About judgement. About being a black man in a white world. Really fast. A lot.
Talking fast makes Shakespeare natural sounding (a basic rule for theatre productions), and Fences feels like they filmed a theatre show then CGI’ed realistic backgrounds in to make it a movie. It’s blocky. It’s talky. It’s a play made into a film. It’s a beautifully made play made into a film with exceptional acting. But it focuses on style rather than the story. Almost as if it was made to get people nominated for award shows.
A Street Cat Named Bob
What’s it about?
A recovering heroin addict uses up five of his nine lives when he survives an overdose, gets a leg-up from a case-worker/guardian angel, meets a girl who might help him straighten out his life, tries to reconnect with his father, and is adopted by a street cat.
What did we think?
Stephen Scott says: Homelessness and drug addiction go hand in hand; and this story opens your eyes to what happens on the other side of the tracks, and just how incredibly hard it is to get a second chance. Whilst a little clunky in its telling, the emotional connection of this harrowing, yet heartwarming story will leave you with a tear in your eye, and the knowledge that cats are indeed the best people.
Fifty Shades Darker
What’s it about?
The sequel to Fifty Shades of Grey sees sexually dominant Christian Grey beg his lady love, Anastasia Steel to come (snigger) back into his life, but not without women from his past shaking things up.
What did we think?
Andrew Danyals says: I have to admit that while watching this, I had the urge to be tied up and licked. Or spanked. Pretty much anything to get my mind off this dreadful movie. While it has slightly better eroticism than the first one (not necessarily saying much), the sequel suffers from a discordant narrative that drove me nuts. It’s all over the place. I like seeing the exploration of erotic themes and empowering situations on the big screen but this barely qualifies as the former and still confuses as the latter. I still can’t get over how a film about this sort of sex is somehow so very vanilla.
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Skyscraper
What’s it about?
The Rock reimagines Die Hard by saving his family from terrorists in a locked-down skyscraper.
What did we think?
It’s time to put aside the Chuck Norris jokes and declare that gravity doesn’t affect The Rock; The Rock affects gravity. Skyscraper walks a fine line between homage and plagiarism but if you just want to see Dwayne Johnson saving the day amidst explosions and eye-rolling stunts then you will love this mindless action film. There are actually a few good scientific tidbits and accuracies in here as well as an interesting motive. It’s a shame that there are also flaws that render any credits from them immediately worthless. It’s highly predictable but to be honest, Liz and I had a blast predicting lines and cliched incidents (it even had a Rocky shout out) so would be fun slightly intoxicated. At the end of the day there’s one sentence that will decide whether you’ll see it or not: it’s The Rock.
Ant Man and the Wasp
What’s it about?
Scott/Ant Man (Paul Rudd) is struggling with the fallout of answering the Civil War call. He’s not legally allowed to have contact with Hank (Michael Douglas) or Hope (Evangeline Lilly), but they need him for a mission so…
What did we think?
Elizabeth Best says: It’s the characters who make this movie enjoyable, which is lucky because a strong story line is nowhere to be found. It’s a sequel that doesn’t really know what it wants to be, and that leaves the audience clinging to the quips of our heroes and waiting for something to really invest in. Interestingly, this movie was meant to be released BEFORE Avengers: Infinity War. I won’t say whether they do or don’t address that but it’s worthwhile noting.
Show Dogs
What’s it about?
A loner police dog gets partnered with a goofy and impatient FBI officer to go undercover at a dog show in search of a stolen panda.
What we thought
Dan says: Show Dogs biggest claim to fame is a misguided subplot about the hero learning to be relaxed when his dog junk is physically checked for quality. This scene was removed in the international version for accidentally sending the wrong message to children about molestation.
Interfering with the auteur’s vision can have negative effects on the resulting product.
Thankfully, in this instance, the auteur appears to have spent so much of the film’s budget on coke that nothing makes any sense before the edited scene. The story is both simplistic and yet baffling at the same time. The effects are laughably nineties. There are more jokes about breeding than I’d expect in a kid’s film including one with Ru Paul that I can’t figure out whether it’s racist or transphobic.
I did chuckle twice at the pug.
Sicario: Day of the Soldado
What’s it about?
Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro team up to try and incite a war between drug cartels, but don’t really do a very good job.
What did we think?
Nick says: Day of the Soldado opens and closes beautifully, but the big issue lies in the fact that there’s not a lot to rave about in the middle. Still, Del Toro and Brolin are terrific and there are some really satisfying bits and pieces amongst the retreading and boring politics.
Editor's Choice
Skyscraper
What’s it about?
The Rock reimagines Die Hard by saving his family from terrorists in a locked-down skyscraper.
What did we think?
It’s time to put aside the Chuck Norris jokes and declare that gravity doesn’t affect The Rock; The Rock affects gravity. Skyscraper walks a fine line between homage and plagiarism but if you just want to see Dwayne Johnson saving the day amidst explosions and eye-rolling stunts then you will love this mindless action film. There are actually a few good scientific tidbits and accuracies in here as well as an interesting motive. It’s a shame that there are also flaws that render any credits from them immediately worthless. It’s highly predictable but to be honest, Liz and I had a blast predicting lines and cliched incidents (it even had a Rocky shout out) so would be fun slightly intoxicated. At the end of the day there’s one sentence that will decide whether you’ll see it or not: it’s The Rock.
Ant Man and the Wasp
What’s it about?
Scott/Ant Man (Paul Rudd) is struggling with the fallout of answering the Civil War call. He’s not legally allowed to have contact with Hank (Michael Douglas) or Hope (Evangeline Lilly), but they need him for a mission so…
What did we think?
Elizabeth Best says: It’s the characters who make this movie enjoyable, which is lucky because a strong story line is nowhere to be found. It’s a sequel that doesn’t really know what it wants to be, and that leaves the audience clinging to the quips of our heroes and waiting for something to really invest in. Interestingly, this movie was meant to be released BEFORE Avengers: Infinity War. I won’t say whether they do or don’t address that but it’s worthwhile noting.
Show Dogs
What’s it about?
A loner police dog gets partnered with a goofy and impatient FBI officer to go undercover at a dog show in search of a stolen panda.
What we thought
Dan says: Show Dogs biggest claim to fame is a misguided subplot about the hero learning to be relaxed when his dog junk is physically checked for quality. This scene was removed in the international version for accidentally sending the wrong message to children about molestation.
Interfering with the auteur’s vision can have negative effects on the resulting product.
Thankfully, in this instance, the auteur appears to have spent so much of the film’s budget on coke that nothing makes any sense before the edited scene. The story is both simplistic and yet baffling at the same time. The effects are laughably nineties. There are more jokes about breeding than I’d expect in a kid’s film including one with Ru Paul that I can’t figure out whether it’s racist or transphobic.
I did chuckle twice at the pug.
Sicario: Day of the Soldado
What’s it about?
Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro team up to try and incite a war between drug cartels, but don’t really do a very good job.
What did we think?
Nick says: Day of the Soldado opens and closes beautifully, but the big issue lies in the fact that there’s not a lot to rave about in the middle. Still, Del Toro and Brolin are terrific and there are some really satisfying bits and pieces amongst the retreading and boring politics.