Tag: Michael Shannon

The Flash

GoMovieReview Rating: ★★★1/2The Flash

Rated: M

Directed by: Andy Muschietti

Screenplay by: Christina Hodson

Story by: John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein, Joby Harold

Based on Characters from: DC

Produced by: Barbara Muschietti, Michael Disco

Starring: Ezra Miller, Ben Affleck, Sasha Calle, Michael Shannon, Ron Livingston, Maribel Verdú, Kiersey Clemons, Antje Traue and Michael Keaton.

The Flash (Ezra Miller) naming himself, ‘The janitor of the Justice League’ feels like he’s always cleaning up after Batman.

But Batman’s his besty.

So when the latest disaster hits Gotham City and the Justice League are busy elsewhere, it’s up to The Flash AKA Barry Allen, who’s in the middle of trying to buy a sandwich from a server who isn’t his usual server and he’s going to be late AND he’s hungry and trying to feed himself because if he doesn’t his body will literally run out of fuel…  Well, Barry steps up, or rather, steps forward with arms bent at the ready.

It’s a silly beginning – think falling babies from a collapsing skyscraper while The Flash breaks into a falling vending machine to eat.

The film takes a moment to get traction (ha, ha).

Then the film shifts gear, cue the strings of the soundtrack, pan to dad in jail for the murder of his wife and mother of Barry:

‘I loved you first’.

It’s an unsubtle shift but leads to a poignant moment with Batman (Ben Affleck) – he’s a character who can relate.

Then flash again (ha, ha, sorry, can’t seem to help myself with this one), the film flashes back to a time when Barry’s mother was alive.  Back to a time when he can save her, because if he can run faster than the speed of light, the theory runs, he can turn back time.

Enter, The Chrono Ball.

This is where most of the effects come into play: the surrounding faces of the past nightmarish as The Flash runs in the Ball’s centre, making time warp backwards.

But of course, changing the course of the past will always lead to changes to the future and added to the risk of changing the world forever, General Zod (Michael Shannon) returns to the past.  To a past that no longer has metahumans.

Until Supergirl (Sasha Calle) is rescued.

They need all the hero’s they can muster to beat the Kryptonian general from destroying the Earth completely this time.  In the past.

The film gets entertaining once Barry meets his past self so that verging on the silly overacting tones down to an overly enthusiastic Barry who meets older and wiser future Barry.

The effects also help off-set some of the silliness – The Flash quoting himself as a Barbie Girl in a Barbie world, well, that was one of the OK funny bits, but you get where I’m going.  The humour just did not hit until The Flash meets his younger self – the chemistry better and more balanced.

And then there’s the return of Michael Keaton as the hermit Batman of the past (who is somehow older and yet explained so well with a bowl of spaghetti by said hermit Batman).

Really, I can’t believe how good it was to see Michael Keaton as Batman again.

Once the balance got going with the characters, there were some genuinely funny moments – seeing The Flash run around without being able to flash around did tickle.

And there’s some themes running (ha, ha) through the storyline so it’s not all superficial flashy trash – ‘not every problem has a solution,’ etc.

The future self, teaching the past self, worked better than expected.

And the film felt full, with every second of every frame brimming with as much dialogue and effects as possible.

Didn’t always hit the mark, but there’s enough of a foundation here to enjoy the entertainment.

 

Knives Out

Rated: MKnives Out

Written and Directed by: Rian Johnson

Produced by: Ram Bergman, p.g.a., Rian Johnson, p.g.a.

Starring: Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Don Johnson, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Toni Collette, LaKeith Stanfield, Katherine Langford, Jaeden Martell, Noah Segan, Edi Patterson, Riki Lindhome, and Christopher Plummer.

Knives Out is a classic who-done-it that begins with the drama of violins playing as chasing dogs run from the rising gothic structure that houses the Thrombey family.

I love a movie that begins with dogs, this one with a wry hint of humour that continues as private investigator Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) investigates the mysterious suicide of famous multi-millionaire author, Harlan Thrombey after celebrating his 85th birthday.

Made like a familiar murder mystery, think, Murder She Wrote (a nod given as the mother of nurse Marta (Ana de Armas) watches transfixed in Spanish) or an adaptation of one of Agatha Christie’s novels, there’re the usual suspects, here a family, eldest daughter and self-made, Linda Drysdale, married to Richard Drysdale bearing trust-fund brat who refuses to grow up, Ransom (Chris Evans), along with Walt (Michael Shannon), the son who looks after the publishing business with no real work of his own…  Then there’s widower and daughter-in-law, Joni (Toni Collette) and college-kid, Meg (Katherine Langford), living off hand-outs while hiding their dirty deeds. And let’s not forget grandson Jacob, the politically ambitious kid who spends too much time in the bathroom, probably masturbating to Nazi propaganda.

Then there’s nurse Martha.  She’s the one who always beats Harlan at playing Go.

It’s a different genre from director and writer, Rian Johnson, his previous work, Looper (2012) (if you haven’t watched this action / sci-fi yet, you’re in for a treat) and more recently, Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) (one of the best to date, in my opinion) epic journeys that start in one place and finish somewhere completely different.

Instead of a journey, Knives Out is one of those stop situations where the characters are held in one place.  So it’s all about the details of the setting, the entrance of house-keeper, Fran (Edi Patterson – also fantastic in the series, Righteous Gemstones) captured in the angle of a mirror, the trick window, the books and figurines and paintings that catch the eye while looking for clues.  And the dialogue takes the mind in different directions, away from the central investigation as the family discusses racism or not being racist while handing nurse Martha a dirty dish to be put away.

So yes, it’s a murder mystery with clues dropped for the sharp observer as private investigator, Blanc pieces together the real story of the patriarch’s death, but it’s the wry humour and the distraction I enjoyed:

Martha answers her mobile, ‘Hi Walt.’

‘Hi Martha.  It’s Walt.’

‘Hm.’

There’s a stellar cast here, although, I’ve got to say Daniel Craig’s southern drawl as Blanc dragged for me – brat Ransom even highlighting the annoying accent.

I wonder if it’s because I’m so used to Craig as Bond these days, with that British accent?

Evans was the highlight for me.  And Jamie Lee Curtis as the dry eldest, self-important daughter.  And Toni Collette perfected the quiet desperation of the self-help guru relying on hand-outs, hence the quiet desperation.

So, there’s quality here and attention to detail.

Some of the humour missed the mark, see above: the southern drawl.

But overall, Knives Out is good fun.

12 Strong

Rated: MA15+12 Strong

Directed by: Nicolai Fuglsig

Screenwriters: Ted Tally, Peter Craig

Produced by: Jerry Bruckheimer, Molly Smith, Trent Luckinbill, Thad Luckinbill.

Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Michael Shannon, Michael Peña, Navid Negahban, Trevante Rhodes, Geoff Stults, Thad Luckinbill, Rob Riggle, William Fichtner, Elsa Pataky.

12 Strong is a hero movie based on the true story of twelve soldiers, Green Berets known as ODA (Operational Detachment Alphas), volunteering to fight in Afghanistan after the twin towers attack on 9/11 (2001): the first soldiers to set foot on Afghani soil after the attack, a fact unknown at the time being an Army Special Forces team on a covert mission.

There’s some good action here, based on the 2009 bestseller written by Doug Stanton, Horse Soldiers: The Extraordinary Story of a Band of U.S. Soldiers Who Rode to Victory in Afghanistan. 

Unlike the majority of the patriotic, sickening over-dramatisation of Americans’ fighting in wars, 12 Strong focusses on the action in Afghanistan and the clash of cultures as Mark Nutsch, ODA-595 Special Forces Captain (re-named in the film as Captain Mitch Nelson (Chris Hemsworth)) leads a mission, Codenamed Task Force Dagger, to fight alongside the Northern Alliance: separate Afghani groups led by warlords who hate each other almost as much as they hate the Taliban. 

For any hope of gaining ground against the Taliban and Al Qaeda and to stop more attacks on American soil, team leader Captain Mitch Nelson must convince General Abdul Rashid Dostum (Navid Negahban), a fierce warrior and warlord, to join forces; the only motivation to fight together being a common enemy.

Willing to assist the Americans from the ground, the Americans support from the sky with bombs dropped on targets from coordinates given by Captain Nelson. 

Set in the extremes of the Afghanistan landscape, with dust and snow and steep rocky mountains, movement is restricted to horseback. 

There’s something poetic about horses in battle; whether it reminds of wars in the past or the majesty of the animal, I could only wonder at the skill required to ride while under enemy fire from missile launchers and T-72 tanks and to shoot a machine gun with bullets whizzing by the horses ear; to control an animal usually frightened by loud noise and to stay the course without bolting.

But unbelievably, as General Abdul Rashid Dostum (Navid Negahban) states, Afghani’ horses won’t scare: they know the bombs are American.

12 Strong is a fascinating story shot beautifully with Nicolai Fuglsig making his feature film debut as director, his past as a photojournalist showing his experience in capturing war on film.  Up close and showing the ‘killer eyes’ of his cast, the action is taken higher with views from horse back galloping through explosions and fire. 

It’s a film full of heroism with careful casting – Chris Hemsworth showing the humility and bravery of Captain Nelson.  And yes, there’s always a bit of drama in these war-hero films, with Captain Nelson stating he refuses to write a death letter to his wife, left at home, ‘I made her a promise I was coming home.  I’m not writing a letter to say I broke it.’

And I thought, Oh no, another cheesy, self-congratulatory, family-plucking-the-heart-strings, indulgence – however when the men got to Afghanistan, the film ramped up into an action-packed, suspenseful, yet thoughtful story.  And Michael Peña as the Green Beret, Sam Diller, added some needed humour, keeping it real for those who don’t like too much drama.

The real interest of the film was the insight of this previously unknown story, by entering the Belly of the Beast to see the complicated history and terrible crimes already inflicted on the innocent of Afghanistan making 12 Strong not only an action film, but also an engaging story.

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