Concussion
Controversially overlooked for the awards season and
definitely produced to appeal to those in the Academy, Concussion stars Will
Smith as Nigerian pathologist Dr. Bennett Omalu who challenged the National
Football Association over the role American football played in causing
concussion and subsequent mental breakdowns and suicides of their players. Despite
the rather powerful subject matter and the dogged attitude that Smith’s Omalu
undertakes in this film, what we get with Concussion is a film that never truly
shocks or outrages but does produce a film that leaves an impression largely
through the performances of its strong cast.
Will Smith, after starting as a wacky comedic lead and then
moving into moody sci-fi hero adds another string to his bow as a likable
idealist but also willing to show fiery conviction and righteous indignation thanks
to Smith’s confident turn. Al Brooks is charmingly wonderful as always, playing
Smith’s supporting superior and whilst there is a definitely underused elements
of personal conflict in the role, Alec Baldwin is noteworthy a former NFL physician
also championing Omalu as is Gugu Mbatha Raw as Smith’s endearing wife. True,
Concussion is the sort of thing you might see on any given weekday as a
made-for-TV movie, but it is definitely a step (or two) above the usual quality
of that fare. Daring? Perhaps not but definitely interesting and very
watchable.
Deadpool
One of the most anticipated films of recent months, Deadpool
stars Ryan Reynolds as the titular X-Men-associated antihero who came to be
following a secretive cancer treatment left him an agonised victim of torture at
the hands of villain Francis Freeman (Ed Skrien) and now looking for revenge.
Marvel haven’t been shy about selling their comedic wares to
adult audiences, but Deadpool is easily the most mature (and, accordingly,
immature) that the studio has gotten to date. Fans have been clamouring over
this movie and undoubtedly those who love Deadpool will find little to take
fault with here. A wise-cracking, possibly psychotic and definitely dangerous
anti-hero that Reynolds is clearly enjoying. On a personal level, the sadistic
side of Deadpool does cross the line from darkly-humorous to genuinely
disturbing a few too many times and more laughs were had at the slightly less
audacious Guardians Of The Galaxy (2014) and Ant-Man (2015) but the cast are a
hoot, in particular Leslie Uggams as ‘pool’s blind but feisty roommate and
Brianna Hildebrand as Deadpool’s stroppy teenage sidekick. As is usually the
case, the fans demanded and Marvel, to their credit, have listened. Also
features Moneca Baccarain, Gina Carano, TJ Miller, Stefan Kapičić and the
near-obligatory Stan Lee cameo.
Jem And The Holograms
Having opened to a poor critical reception and bombing in
American cinemas, it’s now the turn for the UK to get this live-action film
adaptation of the cult 80’s cartoon show about a group of young female pop
stars, Jem. Aubrey Peeples stars as Jerrica Benton who becomes an overnight pop
sensation with the stagename, Jem. Along with her bandmate sisters, Jerrica
becomes a phenomenon but is also on a quest to find a secret message left by
her late father (Barnaby Carter).
Jem may seem like an odd thing to revive but picking the
film apart, there is a certain logic. Adapted from a Hasbro property (Hasbro
not being shy when it comes to movie cash-ins), Jem And The Holograms does
attempt to modernise its image with a definite influence from TV shows such as
Hannah Montana (both franchises deal with a pop star alter-ego) and iCarly (the
gimmick of incorporating internet video content) but has trouble reconciling
the new “web sensation” angle with the desire to make the film a tribute piece
to the original material. The film definitely wants to evoke 80’s nostalgia,
right down to casting Molly Ringwald (yes, Molly Ringwald) as well as the very
outlandish elements from the TV series, but putting up clearly real videos of
people talking about their appreciation for (the original) Jem next to a
beatboxing robot and a completely nonsensical treasure hunt leaves the film a
disheveled mess.
It’s not the complete disaster some have touted it as but
there is some sense of the filmmakers knowing that this is never going to be a
classic which does make the film for all of its flaws oddly endearing even if
the whole thing hangs together rather badly. Not a film to rush out and see
except for Juliette Lewis completely chewing up the scenery as the band’s
primadonna manager.
Pride And Prejudice And Zombies
The latest addition to the zom-rom-com film craze is this
adaptation of Seth Graeme-Smith’s zombified reworking of Jane Austen’s classic,
Pride & Prejudice. Lily James stars as Elizabeth Bennett,a young debutante who
has been trained to fight against the zombie hordes that ravage England in the
early-nineteenth century whilst also having a will they won’t they entanglement
with the dour Colonel Darcy played by Sam Riley. Despite, or perhaps because,
of the incongruity of the zombies against Austen’s prose, PPZ is a novel and
interesting approach to a subgenre now so prolific it teeters towards
saturation. The comedy is most definitely the film’s finest asset with a game
cast who get the tone perfectly, especially Sally Phillips as the Bennett family
matriarch.
The romantic angle, whilst interesting, does drag the film
down a little. He isn’t terrible in the role of Darcy, but Sam Riley’s morose
and po-faced portrayal does mean that the film’s lively energy is sapped a
little by his more sobering presence that is also hampered by the romance that
especially wears the film down in its final stretch, making what could’ve been
a brilliant little piece of flesh-munching entertainment is slightly laboured
but not without some definite charm and verve. Other notables amongst the
supporting cast include Bella Heathcote, Douglas Booth, Suki Waterhouse and
Matt Smith alongside Game Of Thrones actors Charles Dance and Lena Heady.
Zoolander 2
Ben Stiller directs, produces, writes and of course, stars
in this sequel to 2001’s cult comedy Zoolander as empty-headed supermodel Derek
Zoolander re-emerging from seclusion (self-imposed after the disastrous fate of
his Center for Kids Who Can't Read Good and Who Wanna Learn to Do Other Stuff
Good Too) alongside rival-turned-ally Hansel (Owen Wilson) and finding
themselves investigating a conspiracy behind the killing of world-famous pop
stars.
The original Zoolander was a zany, fast-paced and all-around
entertaining romp but in the fifteen years since that film, it’s clear that Ben
Stiller seems to have forgotten what exactly made his film work. Instead, for
more than one-hundred minutes we are given a rambling plot with little concern
for fleshing out the cast of supporting characters who are short-changed for a
parade of overly-indulgent (yes, overly-indulgent for a Zoolander film)
celebrity appearances (of which, weirdly the best is from astrophysicist Neil
DeGrasse Tyson). Given we now live in the world of selfies and a culture of
vanity and even narcissism, there would seem to be a rich mine of comedy to
explore but Zoolander 2 just potters around complacently and lacking the energy
that made the first film so special.
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