A Wrinkle In Time

I’m a big Ava DuVernay fan; as well as being a very talented director, she also comes across as an awesome human being, one that is always giving back to her fans. So when I heard that Disney had given her the reigns to one of their big blockbuster projects – making her the first black female director to helm a $100 million film - I knew I would be there to watch it. I urge everyone to support this film even if my own opinion on it, like the film, is a little muddled.

A Wrinkle in Time follows Meg; after the disappearance of her scientist father, three peculiar beings send her, her brother and her friend through space to find him. The film boasts a cast made up of Storm Reid, Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling, Chris Pine, Zach Galifinakis, Levi Miller and Deric McCabe. Disney have allowed DuVernay to create something very different here - it comes across as quite a surrealist, experimental kids film, one that I am very intrigued by how the intended audience are reacting to. There are splashes of Nolan in this, it even reminded me of Annihilation, the mind bending sci-fi released on Netflix a week prior from Alex Garland. However, DuVernay has put her own stamp on this, creating something unlike any other kids film I have seen before.

You are dropped straight into this world and given very little explanation for anything going on. I am usually fine with films not having to hold your hand but I really could have used a bit more explanation in some scenes because at times it felt like someone had spiked my Pick & Mix. That being said, the film is very open about the fact that it’s more interested in emotion rather than plot. It’s emotion that pushes things forward: there is a literal battle of emotion to conclude it and every aspect of the film is made to reflect this.

The visuals and the audio work hand in hand with each other, DuVernay has a very clear vision as to what she wanted this film to look and feel like. The imagery we see on screen is some of the most interesting I’ve seen from a big budget film, especially one that very heavily leans on visual effects. I have seen some critics criticise the use of CGI but I personally had no problem with it and enjoyed watching the glossy effects play out on screen. Music wise the score is great and I even loved the use of pop songs being used in some of the montages, this is something I usually hate in films made for younger audiences but because this whole film had the vibe of music video it worked. It was very dreamlike in the way it was edited and everything flowed into each other very nicely. It was easy to be swept over by this film even if I did have to fill in the gaps at times.

Overall the film didn’t work fully for me, I however am not the intended audience. I love how out there it was. It was super weird with some great visuals and a unique sense of style, I just wish I had been able to make more sense of it. It was clearly a very ambitious effort from Ava DuVernay and one that should be praised, even if overall the film felt a little too loose at times. I far from hated it, but I didn’t love it either. I’m rating A Wrinkle in Time a 3/5. It’s definitely worth a watch still, just to see a surrealist kids film come to life in front of you.

What did you think of the film? Masterpiece or messy? Let me know in the comments below.

Thanks for reading!        

Black Panther

It's been a while... I've recently moved house and been without internet for some time (thanks BT for your terrible service!). Anyway, there's been a pretty big release from Marvel...

Black Panther is the breath of fresh air I needed in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Although I still very much enjoy most of the films that are produced by the studio, I have started to waver a little with some of the basic premise recycling. Now don’t get me wrong this film has some Marvel ‘similarities’ but ultimately is its own new fresh thing. Read on to find out my SPOILER FREE thoughts.

For the most part Marvel has suffered a little when it comes to diversity, people of colour usually take a backseat to main characters and there isn’t a really any excuse for it to have taken this long for a black superhero to have their own standalone film within the universe. Marvel aren’t the only problem though, Hollywood in general has been slow to this game for a while and although we have had black superheroes, we’ve never really had anything like Black Panther before; a film with a predominantly black cast representing Africa in a way that’s never been seen in a big mainstream blockbuster and that means something. I’m a white dude, I’ve seen a lot of them on the big screen, I’ve been represented, it’s time to get our films as diverse as the world around us. The cast in speaking is one of the best Marvel has assembled, the main players being: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, Letitia Wright, Angela Basset, Daniel Kaluuya, Forest Whitaker Andy Serkis and Martin Freeman. The story follows T’Challa, the newly appointed King of Wakanda, after the events of Civil War he struggles with his new mantle as the country decides if/how it will change under new leadership.

 

The first thing that Black Panther does excellently is give you a real sense of Wakanda, the secretive and extremely modern city of Africa, powered by a massive source of vibranium. Throughout the whole film you get to see a lot of the country and the people that live there. |The film is never afraid to embrace the weirder side of the mythology and it made me realise that Thor really missed an opportunity to establish Asgard in the same way.  Wakanda feels lived in, it feels like it has a history and it’s definitely a place I would like to see more of in the future. If it wasn’t connected to the MCU, Wakanda could have a whole franchise to itself, that’s the kind of scope director Ryan Coogler has been able to create around the character’s first solo outing.

One of the reasons this feels like a fresh film in the MCU is the fact that superhero business is secondary to the main story; a story of monarchy, politics and change. The action set pieces are cool but they don’t stand up to the spectacle we’ve had so far in the franchise, not that this is bad thing - it feels right within the context. The jokes are not as full on and if I was to criticise the film for anything it would be that the small amount of humour mainly lands flat. But this is a more serious affair; bringing in themes that are very relevant in the world right now. This may not be the first time Marvel has woven mature themes into its narrative but it does feel like the first time that they have felt this important.

On top of great characters and an interesting and satisfying story, the film is also one of the best looking and most colourful of Marvel’s so far. There’s the odd bit of dodgy CGI every now and then but it doesn’t take away from breath-taking scenery as you swoop into Wakanda for the first time. Accompanied by a unique music that excellently blends a traditional score with African instruments and hip-hop.

As you can probably tell from the amount of praise of already heaped on the film - I very much enjoyed it. It’s personally one of my favourite MCU films and has calmed some of my fears that the studio isn’t afraid to take so-called “risks”, mix it up and embrace the fun mythology of the comic book source material. The only way stop superhero fatigue is to tell great stories that just so happen to have a superhero in the them and Black Panther is an excellent example of this. Onward and upwards. I’m giving Black Panther a rating of 5/5.

What did you think of Black Panther? Where does it rank in the MCU? Let me know in the comments below!

Thanks for reading!

While I'm Away...

So over the next week I won't be able to blog as I am going to be off skiing! But whilst I am doing that I will be able to film the shots for my short film 'Snow Dream'. You can read about my project here http://alexmovieblog.blogspot.com/2011/12/some-of-my-film-work.html

But if you are now thinking 'what am I going to do without a new blog post for a week!' which you probably are not, why don't you check out this blog that is made by my good friend Jamie Pullan http://jpullanreviewsandrants.blogspot.com/ if you want to read some great post and settle the fight over Vampires Vs Wizards I definitely recommend it!

Or if your more into gaming I recommend another blog from my other good friend Ryan Mills http://ryanmillsvideogameblog.blogspot.com/ if you want to read greatly written blogs on all the latest gaming news I again recommend it!

I have also been lucky enough to have my '3D Or Not To Be' blog post be featured on the site Opinion Panel, Opinion Panel is the independent market research agency dedicated to understanding students before, during and after their time at university. If you want to see the post click this link; http://www.opinionpanel.co.uk/panellists/2012/02/08/3d-cinema-a-cheap-gimmick/ I would like to say thanks to the people behind putting the post online, you should check it out if you think you have something worth blogging!

But here is where I leave you but don't worry I will blog as soon as I'm back! I am taking several films with me to watch so I expect I will review them in a later post! One film being The Ides Of March which stars a man you have probably heard me raving about, Ryan Gosling and George Clooney, looking forward to that one!

See you soon!