The Martian

It's been a while since Ridley Scott has made a truly great film, but has his recent direction on The Martian changed all that? Read my full review below to find out!

The Martian follows Mark Watney, an astronaut who has to survive on Mars after being accidentally stranded there by his crew, who believed him to be dead. Let me start by saying, this film has an amazing cast! Ridley Scott has managed to bring some of the best talent around to take part in this film and it really pays off, I mean just read this, the film stars Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Jeff Daniels, Michael Pena, Sean Bean, Kate Mara, Sebastian Stan, Aksel Hennie, Chiwitel Ejiofor, Mackenzie Davis and Donald Glover! The cast is incredible and they all do incredibly in their roles, some of which are relatively small, but they all get their chance to shine. There's a scene which features Jeff Daniels, Sean Bean and Mackenzie Davis together which had me thinking this is the best crossover of The Newsroom/ Game of Thrones/ Halt and Catch Fire that I never knew I wanted. A film is not its cast though, they have to do well and like I said before they all do however, this film mainly falls on one guys shoulders and that's Matt Damon, who has to convince us that he is a scientist/astronaut that is stuck on a different planet. Considering he mainly talks to himself through various video logs, he does this very, very well.

The plot itself is great, yes its a long film, but it's part survival film and part film about the philosophy of the human race coming together to save one man, you can't usually do that in 90 minutes. It's truly emotional at times considering the events themselves aren't based on any truth, I mean the accuracy of the science seems believable, but we have never left someone stranded on Mars. In fact the film is based of the self published novel of the same name by author Andy Weir, now I haven't read the book but from what I have heard, the film is extremely faithful to the source material. The film itself doesn't have one dull moment, you are constantly on the edge of your seat wanting to know what happens next and particularly in the final act of the film, things get very tense, it's brilliant and like with most space films it's exhilarating.

One of the reasons it's so exhilarating is the fact that it all looks so real. We saw a couple years ago with Gravity that effects these days can make outer space look very realistic. Now The Martian is not a special effects orientated film, the effects are there to enhance our experience, but hell, they might as well have filmed in space or on Mars for all I cared because the film looked stunning. Add a great soundtrack to the mix and The Martian has got it all.

This film is set slightly in the future, everything you see isn't out of the realms of possibility, unlike last years Interstellar (which yes I still love), this film presents itself as being very believable. The science, to my ears, sounded plausible enough and even though very geeky at times it was also accessible to a wide audience without ever needing to 'dumb' itself down.

I didn't really have any problems with the film, there was one moment that I felt could have been trimmed or left out but it didn't effect my enjoyment or love for this film. So yes this is a return to form for Ridley Scott, a form I hope continues when he comes around to making the next Prometheus or Alien: Paradise Lost as its being called now...

At the end of the day I am a sucker for these kinds of films, I love a good sci-fi, so much so that the first feature script I wrote was one. Space is something that has always been able to capture my imagination, I love stories that revolve around it and this one is definitely one of the better ones out there! As you can probably tell, I absolutely loved The Martian and therefore am giving it a rating of 5/5.

Have you seen The Martian yet? If so what did you think? If not then stop being a fool and go watch it on the big screen and then after let me know what you thought in the comments below!

Thanks for reading! 

Quick Reviews #12

I have seen a bunch of cool films (and one bad) recently, all of which I really wanted to review, so here is another round of quick reviews! This time I will give my brief thoughts on six films; The Overnight, Legend, Unexpected, Tomorrowland, Magic Mike XXL and Me and Earl and the Dying Girl. Read on and enjoy!

The Overnight

The Overnight is one the surprise films of the year, I didn't even realise the film existed until recently and as soon as I saw it I fell in love. It's strange, thrilling, honest and absolutely hilarious. It's hard to talk about because it's one of those films that you have to figure out what's going on as you watch it and constantly keeps you guessing as to the intentions of the different characters. Easily the best comedy I have seen this year if not just one of the best overall! Go and check it out! I'm giving it a rating of 5/5.

Legend

Legend is one of those classic gangster films, it's violent and brutal but also really quite funny. I am a sucker for these kinds of gangster films and I absolutely loved this one as well. Tom Hardy proves yet again he is one of the best actors around by playing both of the notorious Kray twins, his performances are so good that you forget that it is just one man performing both. My only problem with the film is the character of Reggie's wife who's troubled history is always hinted at but never actually explained, leaving us wanting more in order to care about her. Apart from that it is a quality film. I'm giving it a rating of 4.5/5.

Unexpected

Unexpected is one of those nice personal stories that can easily connect with audiences. It's about a pregnant teacher and the friendship she has with her also pregnant student. Both are from different backgrounds but they both share the joy and fear that is motherhood. Cobie Smulders is the main character here and she is really good in this film, she goes through the motions of an unexpected pregnancy convincingly. The production is great as well as there is not one fake looking baby bump, (not that I saw anyway), a problem a lot of films dealing with pregnancy have! Like I said at the start, a really nice film, it's not grounbreaking but it's still a good watch that I'm rating 4/5.

Tomorrowland

I think I liked Tomorrowland more than a lot of other people. This film received a lot of negativity when it came out but it ain't half bad! It's a great family film about dreaming, imagination and inventing, you don't get more family friendly then that. It's a bit long and could be streamlined a bit but the production value and special effects are amazing and enough to keep you glued to the screen throughout. Most of the performances are good but there are few dodgy acting moments from some of the younger cast. It doesn't ruin it though, to me it was a really fun and inspiring adventure film. I'm giving it a rating of 4/5.

Magic Mike XXL

I would like to state that I actually liked the first Magic Mike film, it surprised me, for a film about male stripping it had a lot of heart and dealt with a lot of serious issues in a great way. Now we have Magic Mike XXL, a film that promised to be more fun and less serious but ultimately is just not very good. It's constant build up to the final strip leads to a pretty dissapointing finale and whilst we wait to get there the crew of strippers drive from location to location being all bro-y and cool whilst completely contradicting some of the messages of the first film. The conversation barely changes from them constantly making excuses as to why some of the actors from the first film aren't in this one or Channing Tatum awkwardly flirting. This film was made purely on the success of the first but doesn't do anything to recreate the magic, I just didn't care. I'm giving it a rating of 1/5.

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

I absolutely adored this film. It's smart, funny and quirky. It features some great characters and truly dives deep into the mind of a teenager whose having to grow up. It's sad, but not in a way like many films dealing with cancer are, it's never glum but almost bitter sweet and deals with the subject more realistically than others. It's uplifting and inspiring, it's a film about film making which obviously resonates with me and it's full of references that any cinema lover will get giddy over. The story is great and the cinematography beautiful, so many weird and wonderful shots that at times it reminded me of a more contemporary Wes Anderson movie. This film has a lot going for it and it's no wonder it won big at the Sundance film festival this year. Easily one of the best films of the year, a solid 5/5.

Well I hope you enjoyed my reviews. Have you seen any of the films above? Let me know what you thought in the comments below!

Thanks for reading!