Colin Firth as Kingsman agent Harry Hart is flawlessly cast as our introduction to this world of perfect gentlemanly conduct and deadly killing precision. And in stark contrast to the recent proclivity of the Bond franchise to do away with all those cool spy gadgets, this film is littered with deadly hardware that would have made the old Q more than happy.

Underlining the cool technology on display is a story based on character development, honour and paying back impossible depts. Harry becomes a mentor to Gary ‘Eggsy’ Unwin (played with emerging star power by Taron Egerton) who is the offspring of a fellow agent and friend to Hart that had made the ultimate sacrifice. His mentorship is put to the test as they clash with billionaire baddie Valentine (played by Samuel L. Jackson) who taps into mind control and has the world on the edge of chaos.

The film misses few chances to shock the audience and often times goes into directions that have you shaking your head, Big budget action films don’t usually play with the rules this fast and loose. The end result is a defiance of the norm that will leave you with a smile on your dial and give you the opportunity to recommend this to friends without any hesitations. Few films this year will provide more entertaining escapism.

Rob Hudson

Kingsman: The Secret Service – another view

“Manners maketh man.”
 Harry Hart AKA Galahad

Kingsman kicks off guns blazing with Dire Straits’ Money For Nothing rocking on the soundtrack and a flash back to 1997. Wait. What? Money For Nothing in 1997? That’s not right! And superimposed over this driving soundtrack is a flashy opening credits sequence that would usually flag a forthcoming crap movie. But what I didn’t realise at the time was that Kingsman is directed by Matthew Vaughn. I’d seen the one-sheet for the film in the foyer and figured this was yet another entrant in the seemingly never-ending queue of comic book adaptations. If I’d known prior that Vaughn was the director, my initial doubts would have been unfounded as I would soon find out.

In 2010, Vaughn produced Kick Ass, a brilliantly violent super hero movie about social degradation, indifference and spiralling crime. Its themes were as hard edged as it’s violence and in this regard Kingsman is a worthy successor.

The story has Harry Hart AKA Galahad (Colin Firth) recruiting juvenile delinquent Gary ‘Eggsy’ Unwin (Taron Egerton) into the Kingsmen – a group of aristocratic crime fighters posing as tailors. Naturally there’s some internal resistance from the posh stodgies to recruiting a young chap from the other side of the tracks and this sets up the primary theme of class strictures and the boundaries they impose.

Vaughn is finding himself a master of action violence, a worthy successor perhaps to Quentin Tarantino. And Like Tarantino, Kingsman references many other films. Some explicitly so like Trading Places, La Femme Nikita and (rather comically) Pretty Woman. But others are more subtle like lisp-encumbered master villain ,Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson), is reminiscent of Mr Glass from Shyamalan’s Unbreakable and his lethal double amputee sidekick, Gazelle (Sofia Boutella), plainly channels Gogo Yubari from Tarantino’s Kill Bill. And the film as a whole has Vaughn clearly referencing the James Bond franchise (and giving it in the ass). As it turns out, James Bond through the “Kick-Ass” sphere looks mighty good!

Colin Firth is absolutely brilliant playing against type as the stiif upper lip killer. He’s the opposite number to Hit Girl in every respect and just as cool. Egerton also plays well as the chav who finds himself above his station and discovers there’s power in tweed. Mark Strong is as strong as ever as Merlin and it’s nice to see him at the opposite end of the crime scale to Kick-Ass. Jackson is a hoot as always as is Michael Cain as leader of the aristocrats, Arthur (yes, all the good guys have Camelot namesakes). And Boutella is a magnificent villain in both character and design.

The only downside is that the means by which Eggsy is recruited is a bit naff and unlikely but I suppose it is, after all, just a McGuffin.

Kingsman is ultra violent, ultra cool, funny and has a poignant social message to boot. It kicks out the jams from the get go and it’s the most fun you’ll have without watching Kick-Ass.

Stuart Jamieson
www.kingsmanmovie.com

It had a high profile cast (for its time) in Dougray Scott, Kate Winslet, Saffron Burrows, Jeremy Northam and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau who would, later on become much more famous as a pivotal character in an obscenely popular medieval TV show. There’s a problem with Enigma, however and it’s the fact the filmmakers substituted the real-life homosexual mathematician, Alan Turing, for a fictional heterosexual mathematician named Thomas Jericho and indeed the story centres around his very heterosexual love affair. This incredible sleight against a significant historical figure is, in retrospect, offensive to say the least let alone the disappointment in reducing a highly intriguing historical event to a spy-chasing romance.

The Imitation Game seeks to correct this ‘reimagining’ and essentially succeeds in this goal. Sure, there is much licence taking for the purposes of spicing up the script (which is a little frustrating given the intrigue of the truth) but it hits the important notes and we emerge at the other end with the commensurate admiration and sympathy that Turing deserves.

Turing’s homosexuality is dealt with deftly. Critically, Turing kept his illicit sexuality secret and so does the film for a good deal of the proceedings, appropriately revealing it as it becomes critical to the story. It is never permitted to overshadow the significance of Turing’s mathematical genius yet it doesn’t resile from the personal cost of the injustice that his sexuality invites even if this chapter of the story is a little prone to melodrama.

The film remains compelling throughout, touching upon the important issues such as the official withholding of intelligence at the expense of innocent lives. Though these events are at times presented non-factually, the gravity of the issues are rightly felt nonetheless.

Ever since his turn in the Sherlock television programme, Benedict Cumberbatch has become a viewers’ darling and his excellent performance here will not endanger that status. Likewise, Keira Knightley is excellent as is Charles Dance and Mark Strong. Matthew Goode does what he can in a rather thankless role as fellow mathematician, Hugh Alexander.

The Imitation Game is not entirely authentic but it hits the right tone and canvases the appropriate issues and historical landmarks admirably in a compelling presentation.
Stuart Jamieson
www.theimitationgamemovie.com

Mexican writer and director Alejandro González Iñárritu has delivered a story inside a story about a past his use by date movie star, Keaton, who previously reaped the riches and empty adulation that went with his role of playing the big screen superhero Birdman.  He is seeking redemption (artistically and humanly) by writing, directing and starring in his own Broadway play.

Alejandro uses music masterfully as the first three quarters of the film is set to a drum solo and not the usual film score music. This drum solo, with its odd punctuations and time signatures has the effect of putting you on edge and never letting you get comfortable. This also applies to the great work of the actors. Keaton is brilliant with all of his ticks and nervous affectations (including the voice in his head that comes from his alter ego Birdman). Emma Stone is also great as the hot mess bottle blonde daughter and Edward Norton sizzles as well as a Broadway actor that take method acting to new heights.

The line between reality and fantasy has never been more lusciously disregarded as Birdman takes on a staggering number of acting clichés as it tells its story. The acting and directing is consistently superb and surprises wait at almost every turn. This is the kind of film that gets the year off to a great start.
Rob Hudson
www.birdmanthemovie.com

As a screen superstar, Mills (played so far by Liam Neeson) ticks a lot of the requisite boxes: former secret operative (CIA, SAS, you pick the acronym), possessor of superlative hand to hand combat skills and an intellect that is always one step ahead of the baddies. All of this is cinema gold.

What lets the side down with Mills though is the lack of strong story lines and a rather thin overall concept. The first Taken film featured a far from unique storyline but the overall product was appealing with it bold action scenes and a flow of screen deaths that comically strained credibility.

Part two of the franchise was even thinner in regards to storyline and now with edition number three, it’s almost nonexistent. This doesn’t mean the film is without its share of thrills, it’s just so dumbed down as to live in that overcrowded realm where a film’s action is its only real selling point.

Action films based on much loved books have always had an advantage in the market place with an already existing audience and sometimes a wealth of potential storylines (the Bond and Bourne books are a great illustration of this). If the Taken series hopes to have any real future, the screenplay writers are going to have to step up their game. Until then the Taken series will just be empty fun.

Rob Hudson
www.foxmovies.com

Big Hero 6 is all just a bit ‘kiddie’ and twee compared to its contemporaries. Yes, this is a kid’s movie but after all the intergenerational ‘kids’ movies we’ve had from Pixar and others, a plain ol’ kids movie barely cuts it anymore. The beauty of intergenerational children’s films is not just that they entertain the kid’s parents but that children will find them enriching as they get older and the adult themes open up to them. Pixar’s Up being the prime example thus far. So there are few reasons not to do it.

The other issue with Big Hero 6 is that it follows what are probably the story’s least interesting characters. Baymax is a benign creature with a benign personality, not a great start for creating a character of interest. Sure, he’s kind of cute, but that wears thin quickly. And Hiro (our hero) is an off-the-rails orphaned youth with authority issues who, after the death of his brother, finds direction in his life. It’s an oft-used narrative that adds little to a well-traipsed formula beside said benign robot.

The female characters in it, however, GoGo and Honey Lemon, are both more interesting characters and perhaps the film would have benefited from revealing more of their back-stories. Given that Big Hero 6 is clearly the origins of a new franchise, there is scope to explore these characters further and so maybe future films can build positively on this foundation.

The short film, Feast, which precedes the feature, however, is a masterpiece, following the ups and downs of a human relationship from the perspective of the family pet. It’s full of heart, truth and will quite possibly make you cry. Just brilliant. Perhaps the strength of the short undermines the weakness of the feature.

Stuart Jamieson
www.movietimes.com.au/Movie/Big-Hero-6

Unperturbed by this, Peter Jackson has attempted to do the exact same thing with his Hobbit films bar the good sense to realise prior to publishing that destroying the tone of the original book is, in fact, a bad idea. Is it arrogance or egoism on Jackson’s part to presume that he can improve upon Tolkien or is it economic studio interference to produce a cash cow? I suspect a fair portion of both but the result is the same: a three hour movie extravaganza of a children’s novel which numbers but a few hundred pages that is more bloated than Bombur’s belly.

The film begins with a pre-credit sequence showing the destruction of Lake Town by the dragon, Smaug. That this sequence ought to have been the grim finale of the previous film speaks again to the dishonourable, money-grabbing intentions of Jackson and the studio alike. It is the literary equivalent of finishing a book mid chapter, which is precisely what Jackson did with the previous instalment, The Desolation of Smaug.

Time and time again throughout this trilogy Jackson has departed from Tolkien’s script in ways that substitute the economy and elegance of the source material for Hollywood tropes favouring slapstick comedy, bombastic action, invented villains and fabricated romances. In his attempt to reinvent the wheel, Jackson and co have delivered a fully pimped out 16 wheel limousine replete with bar service, 8 TVs and a swimming pool. In case there’s any doubt, I’m saying this is a bad thing. An exquisitely crafted horse drawn sulky would have been more appropriate.

As was the case in the previous two films, CG is on full tilt here. There’s a CG sheen to just about everything in the film, from the rocks to the Orcs to the faces of the stars. There’s something very unnatural about it all; it all looks very ‘shot in a studio’, which, of course, much of it would have been. But since The Wizard of Oz major advancements have been made in cinema to make films look like they were not shot in a studio but Jackson has disregarded this almost completely. Like a dwarf in gold, he seems to revel in all this shiny new (unrealistic looking) technology. The result is a film that doesn’t even look like it’s trying to look real. Add in the HFR (high frame rate) component and it all looks astoundingly fake, sticking out like the voice of Billy Connolly in a crowd – wait, that happens too!

Martin Freeman is miscast as Bilbo. There, I said it! The problem with Freeman is his inability to overcome his natural comedic nervous shtick. As a result, you never know whether he is being serious or playing a scene for laughs. His performance is devoid of the childish fuddiduddiness that typifies the character of Bilbo, a characteristic that Ian Holm nailed with aplomb. Freeman would have done well to impersonate Holm.

Performances from the ex-Rings cast of McKellen, Blanchett, Lee and Weaving are naturally splendid though these guys must be sleepwalking these roles by now. Other performers seem cast for their personality rather than their acting chops – Stephen Fry, Billy Connolly – and this is distracting, extricating you from the on-screen fantasy.

The film ends hopelessly unresolved. The movie is called ‘The Battle of the Five Armies’ and the battle is fought for the riches left behind from the slain dragon but what happens to the treasure in the end? What happens to the all-important Arkenstone? Do the Elves get their share of the loot? How do the broken men of Dale and Lake Town fare. What happens to the Dwarven Kingdom? Will Billy Connolly become king? It seems that the most important thing to happen after these three lengthy films is that Bilbo gets to go home.

Jackson has done to The Hobbit what he inflicted on King Kong: he’s taken a much-loved classic and ruined it with self-indulgence. After his excellent Lord of the Rings adaptation, Jackson ought to have been the man to author the definitive Hobbit film. Sadly, that film remains unmade.

Stuart Jamieson
www.thehobbit.com

25 years ago the Hoodoo Gurus released , a song about the ever increasing prevalence of violence in the mass media. Of course, even then it was by no means a new concept. Indeed the song references the ancient Romans as ‘taking out all the guesswork’ in the formula.

With the advent of motion pictures it was inevitable that violence would become a fundamental element of the medium; unsurprising, of course, given violence is a primal staple of human drama. Fewer, though, are the films about media violence; consider Cronenberg’s seminal Videodrome and Kathryn Bigelow’s Strange Days and now Nightcrawler from first time director (and writer of Freejack, Real Steel and The Bourne Legacy), Tony Gilroy. Gilroy also wrote Nightcrawler and it would be reasonable to suggest this is the best film he’s written thus far.

The film follows Louis Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal), a sociopathic ambulance chaser determined to make his mark on the world. He doesn’t seem to care how he makes this mark but when he stumbles upon his talent for capturing the aftermath of violent events on his video camera, his path is set. Teaming up with the serpentine TV Director, Nina Romina (Rene Russo), the limits of TV decency are stretched towards breaking point as Bloom satiates his boundless ambition to the personal expense of those around him.

Gyllenhaal brilliantly imbues his creepy psychopath with an insectoid energy. Like a train wreck, his performance is painful to watch but you can’t take your eyes off it. Other supposed authoritative characters in the film attempt to manipulate him prior to realising that it is they who are being manipulated, eventually falling foul to his stratagems.

Russo is also in fine form as the hard line TV director who thinks she’s harder than Bloom. Bill Paxton also features in a placeholder role.

The film admirably pulls no punches in its delivery of its thesis. Sidestepping the normal Hollywood tropes along the way, it maintains its nihilistic tone through to its uncompromising yet satisfying final moments.

Sure it’s a freakshow but, honey, ain’t that showbiz?

Stuart Jamieson
www.nightcrawlermovie.com.au

Pretty as a picture in his cardigan, trackie daks and red Crocs, Gen’s severe bipolar disorder sees him frequently institutionalised as he struggles with the norms of society. Released into the care of his brother, Gen is thrust back into the violent gang environment into which he was born but his iron determination to overcome his disability and help others sees him use his substantial chess playing ability to help disadvantaged youth avoid an inevitable path of violence and crime.

The Dark Horse has inevitably been compared to the great Maori film, Once Were Warriors, but in reality it is much closer to its sequel, What Becomes of the Broken Hearted, in terms of its tone and its theme of breaking the cycle of social violence. And it is a better film than What Becomes of the Broken Hearted as well. Of course The Dark Horse benefits from not being a direct sequel to a wonderful (and violent) predecessor and also a feel-good happy ending.

After being a Hollywood ethnic everyman in his early career (Vis-a-vis Three Kings and The Insider), it’s always nice to see Cliff Curtis return to a native Maori role and this one is a cracker! Piling on the kilos Raging Bull-style is testament to Curtis’ conviction to the project but it is his quiet, confident internal performance which shines through. It’s an explicitly non-violent performance which (somewhat paradoxically) exudes strength and courage. James Rolleston who played the title role in Taika Waititi’s Boy also stars.

The Dark Horse is an inspiring true story with a wonderful central performance. It is a film not to be missed.

Stuart Jamieson
www.thedarkhorsefilm.com