Nightcrawler

Nightcrawler was pretty much unknown to me until about a couple months ago when the excellent trailer came out. I knew straight away it was something I really wanted to see. Unlike last week's Fury, Nightcrawler did not disappoint at all.

The film follows Lou Bloom, a man who is in desperate need to make it in the world. He finds himself in the world of crime journalism and becomes a freelance nightcrawler, filming urban street crime for news channels. 

Lou Bloom is a very weird guy. He's intense, creepy and has a dark side which comes into play when he starts to blur the line between observer and participant in the crimes he is filming. Bloom is played by Jake Gyllenhaal, who is at the best he has ever been in this film. Gyllenhaal is pretty much unrecognisable in Nightcrawler and lost a bunch of weight to play the character. Bloom may not be a character you particularly like but he is so interesting and unpredictable that you will be on the edge of your seat for the whole duration wondering what crazy stuff he will be doing next. He isn't a character you sympathise with, but you will see a man who has been shaped by the economic climate and has also been overloaded with a bunch of information from the Internet on how to make it in the world. Jake Gyllenhaal should definitely being seeing some Oscar nods for his incredible performance. Other great performances come from Rene Russo who is excellent as news director Nina. And Riz Ahmed who plays Lou's partner Rick, also really good in his role.

The film is really dark and is very good critique of media culture, especially news corporations and the lengths they will go to get their ratings. It may not be as subtle as the message was brought across in Gone Girl but it still is a lot of fun and very thrilling film to watch unfold. The relationship between Lou and Nina is played out really well and although it goes to some really messed up places it is never unbelievable. I found it similar in theme to Breaking Bad, with idea that bad guys make it in the world whilst the good ones get left behind.

The cinematography is great, the film is very good looking and portrays the streets of downtown L.A as dark, gritty and a scary place to be. This is the directorial debut of Dan Gilroy, previously a writer of films such as The Bourne Legacy, and he has gotten off to one hell of a start. As an aspiring filmmaker myself, one could only dream of writing and directing a film as good as this to begin with, I can't wait to see what he does next.

As you can tell, I really, really loved Nightcrawler. It is definitely one of the best films this year and I hope it generates a lot of awards buzz. I am giving this excellent film a rating of 5/5.

What did you think of Nightcrawler? Let me know in the comments below.

Thanks for reading!

Quick Reviews #5

I have been very busy as of late, and haven't found time until now to review the latest instalment of The Hunger Games franchise; Catching Fire. But during the time since seeing the film I also watched Prisoners so instead of doing one big review of each, I thought I would do another post of quick reviews for the two films. So please read on and enjoy.

Catching Fire

I have been quite negative in the year heading up to Catching Fire. I loved the first film but thought they might be rushing the second one, even previous director Gary Ross left the franchise for he did not think he could make the film he wanted in the time before the release date! The first couple trailers came out and looked pretty cool but quite CGI heavy and didn't have the 'shaky cam' style of the first film, which I loved. The 'shaky cam' may have been toned down a lot but I was pleasantly surprised at how good the second film was, especially as it was based on what I consider to be the weakest book of the trilogy. In fact I would go as far as saying that this may be the first film I have seen that I believe to be better than its book as it expands upon it and I was more emotionally attached to the characters. Catching Fire picks up where the first film left off with Katniss and Peeta returned champions of the Hunger Games. But their actions in the arena have sparked riots in many of the districts that the Capitol is worried could turn into a full blown rebellion. As with the first film Jennifer Lawrence is outstanding as Katniss Everdeen, a role model for a generation, not just within the story of the films. We have some other great new additions to the cast such as Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Sam Clafin and Jeffrey Wright who really stand out in their roles. The characterisation is great and has been improved upon from the first film, as has the dodgy CGI which no longer looks out of place. The story feels as if it has been made for the big screen, with many twists and turns that lead to what some are calling an abrupt ending, but one I knew was coming and had been looking forward to seeing how the filmmakers handled it. Director Francis Lawrence has fitted in perfectly and really added to the expansion of the world. I cannot wait to see how the next book turns out which is being split into two films. Only time will tell for me whether this film was better then first but it sure was great. It's main flaw is a average first act but I am still giving Catching Fire a solid 4/5.

Prisoners

What seems to be a classic, 'who done it' turns out to be much more of an emotional rollercoaster ride that delves deep into our own humanity in Prisoners. Following Hugh Jackman's father character as he and another family both have a child abducted, we get to see what lengths this man will go to, to bring his daughter back. He is not without help as Jake Gyllenhaal's Detective Loki also tries to find the girls and the person who took them. This film is pretty crazy from the get go, with lots of twist and turns that will never let you fully guess the mystery behind everything. You will be on edge for most of the film but your patience will be rewarded. Jackman and Gyllenhaal give off what could be their best performances yet as both their characters get a hefty amount of characterisation that sees them as changed men for better or worse by the end of the film. I really loved this film, the camera stays still for most scenes, letting you take everything in from the great backdrop to this heart racing story. The two leads are incredible but the supporting cast get thrown to the side a bit, especially Terrence Howard's character who I believe was severely underused. The film feels a lot like Zodiac, and like that film it brings a lot to a genre which could be very by the books, creating a generic crime thriller, but Prisoners is a lot more than that. I am rating the film a 4/5.

Do you agree with my reviews? Let me know in the comments below.

Thanks for reading! 

Quick Reviews #2

So here is another round of quick reviews for you. This week we have a couple of Oscar contenders, a bromance and a Kevin Smith classic. Two of the films have Ben Affleck in them and two also have John Goodman. So please read and enjoy:

Flight

Oscar contender number 1 and the first of the films to star John Goodman (who is comedy gold in it). Flight's plot goes like this; 'An airline pilot saves a flight from crashing, but an investigation into the malfunctions reveals something troubling.' When I first saw the trailer for this film I expected a pretty fun 12A certificate film starring Denzel Washington as the hero who saves a plane full of people. Instead this is a 15 certificate film that deals with anti-hero who suffers with alcohol and drug addiction. This is not a warm an fluffy film, it's pretty hard hitting stuff at times. This is not the Denzel Washington we are used to, here I didn't know whether I wanted the guy to go to jail or not. For the most part I ended up liking the performance but disliking the character. My praise for this film goes to the first and last 30 minutes. The start of the film is thrilling and terrifying, director Robert Zemeckis creates yet another incredible plane crash that had me scared to the bone. After the start it slows and turns into what can only be described a boring old 'oscar bait' it has it's moments and pays off in the end but I was disinterested throughout the middle of the film. I realised that the rest of the film was not going to be as thrilling as the start but I didn't realise just how slow it was going to be. There is no doubt that this is a strong film and a good return to live action for Zemeckis but I just wish I had a been a little bit more involved and had a character I could invest in and want good things to happen to him/her. A great load of performances but it probably won't win a lot at the Oscars. This film varied between a rating of 3 and 4 for me so therefore I am going to give it a 3.5/5. 

End of Watch

This film was the biggest surprise to me. End of Watch’s plot goes like this; 'this film follows the daily grind of two young police officers in LA who are partners and friends, and what happens when they meet criminal forces greater than themselves.’. I was first surprised at the camera work, the trailer led me to believe that this going to be yet another hand held found footage films but in fact only parts of the movie are like that. However a lot of the camera work it is still hand held and the shots last no longer than 3 second before cutting to another angle throughout most of the film. This technique might not be to everyone’s taste but it did add that extra tension and made for a very fast paced film, where you are on edge throughout the film, feeling a lot like the characters do. The story to this film is good but it would be nothing without the chemistry between Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena's Characters. Their friendship/bromance makes this film! I have never seen chemistry like it, their connections seems so real and it really makes you fall in love with the two of them. It is definitely the best bromance I have seen and there have been some good ones in the recent years. I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed this film, no matter how exaggerated some of the situations may be or how many ‘f’ words a stereotypical Mexican can say in one sentence, there is something about this film that draws you in and engages you to the very end and even after that you are left craving more. It’s thrilling, exciting, scary, emotional, powerful and full of kick ass action, I am rating this film a 4/5.

Mallrats

The first film in this post starring Ben Affleck. These last couple months I have been going crazy and watching loads of Kevin Smith films. Why have I not seen these before? The guy basically writes characters who are nerdy teenagers and chucks them into hilarious scenarios. Not everyone may want to hear about what would happen if Superman got Lois Lane pregnant but this is just the kind of rubbish I will talk about with my friends! Anyway Mallrats’s plot goes like this; 'Both dumped by their girlfriends, two friends take refuge in the local mall'. This film isn't going to blow your mind, it's just going to make you laugh and have a good time. The characters are lovable idiots and you enjoy watching them. Like in mist of Kevin Smith's films, Jay and Silent Bob are up to no good yet again, causing mischief and attemting to use 'the force' and other hilarious stuff, I will never grow bored of the two of them. It is unfortunate that we get no dance scenes from them however. The film is just stupid, but a good stupid. A familiar face turns up also (not that he was familiar at the time) and I'm not just talking about Stan Lee, you can also see Michael Rooker at his worse. Yeah the guy who plays Merle in The Walking Dead and my oh my have the years done his acting talent well! All in all this film is not amazing and not many people will remember it but people like myself will love it and that is enough to call it a 'cult' film. I love Kevin Smith but to me this isn't his best film, therefore I am giving Mallrats a rating of 3/5.

Argo

The second Oscar contender and the second film starring Ben Affleck and John Goodman. This film has a lot of hype and I can see why. It’s not your typical ‘Oscar bait’ but it sure is damn good. Argo’s plot goes like this; ‘A dramatization of the 1980 joint CIA-Canadian secret operation to extract six fugitive American diplomatic personnel out of revolutionary Iran.’ This film is tense, really tense. And that is just how a thriller should be. It’s hard and scary to believe that the events that take place in this film really happened. Ben Affleck and his team’s attention to detail to make this film historically accurate is astonishing, not one piece of set or prop looked out of place. It's not until the end credits do you realise how similar all the actors look to the real people they were portraying, a true achievement in attention to detail in the make-up department. The story is the strong point though, I love a bit of espionage and spy work! And the story is then held by an amazing cast of actors including my favourite at the moment, Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston, who is making his transition from TV to film, he stands his ground among a crowd of very talented actors. This film just is pure great and another great film from Affleck, a director/actor who is now at the top of his game and shrugging off previous projects such as Daredevil. I am hoping Argo will sweep the board at the Oscars soon as it deserves it! Finally a film I can get behind that has a good chance of winning. Personally I would prefer Django Unchained to win best film but we can all guess that it is unlikely. Either way Argo is brilliant and I am giving it a rating of 4/5.

Thank you for reading! Do you agree with my reviews? Please comment below.