Prime Time: Wrath Of The Titans (2012)

I can understand why people got upset when the news broke that we were getting a remake of the beloved Clash Of The Titans. I still ended up watching it, and I didn’t mind it. In fact, I eventually bought the double-pack that included both that film and this film in fun 3D. I have had that set sitting on my shelf for at least five years, and this week I decided that I should finally watch the second movie. There was probably some subconscious reason for that, considering the fact that the film is . . . well, we will get to the full critique shortly.

Perseus (Sam Worthington) is trying to live a peaceful life with his son. That peace is ruined, sadly, when his father, Zeus (Liam Neeson), gets himself in big trouble. Hades (Ralph Fiennes) has seen the writing on the wall - gods losing power, the titans almost set to break back through to their realm - and wants to end up on the winning side. He also has help from Ares (Edgar Ramírez), the son of Poseidon. It is up to Perseus to ensure that humanity survives, and he is soon joined by another demi-god, Agenor (Toby Kebbell), and the fierce warrior queen, Andromeda (Rosamund Pike). They will have to fierce a variety of huge and deadly enemies, including a cyclops or two, a minotaur, and at least one of the intimidating titans.

Written by Dan Mazeau and David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick (billed here as David Leslie Johnson), this should have been a much better, and much easier, film to craft. Moving a step or two away from the beloved original, all it had to do was take a handful of familiar characters and throw them into something spectacular and fun. I guess that is the aim here, but it just doesn’t work, mainly due to the weakness of the villains and the feeling that the structure is just a pale retread of the previous film. 

It doesn’t help that director Jonathan Liebesman is now at the helm. While far from the worst person to take on the role of director, he seems to bring nothing unique to any of his projects. He can sometimes emulate better films informing his own, at best, but he usually just delivers something that lacks any hint of style or proper authorship. If you are asked next week to name the director of this movie then I would put good money on you not being able to remember his name. And the same goes for every other film he has directed.

The cast is quite a mixed bag, but the good far outnumbers the bad. Unfortunately, the bad includes our leading man, Sam Worthington. I don’t mind Worthington, and he’s certainly not awful, but almost every other actor that he shares screentime with does a better job. Except Ramírez, sadly, which makes him a sorely unentertaining villain. Neeson and Fiennes have fun in their godly roles, Danny Huston is welcome for the minute he is onscreen, and both Kebbell and Pike are excellent additions to the ensemble. There’s also a very small role for Bill Nighy, who almost steals the entire movie with his wonderful turn.

There is an over-reliance on CGI once again, as expected, and the cinematography focuses on dirt and flames to the detriment of anything more visually interesting, but the runtime isn’t bloated, the pacing is brisk enough, and it’s always fun to see the creatures featured here that were previously so well-realised in a pre-CGI world by the legendary Ray Harryhausen.

I was still tempted to rate this as ever-so-slightly above average, because I didn’t hate it while it was on, but it’s just too forgettable, too bland, and disappointing for being a waste of such a good opportunity. So I will consider myself generous enough already by rating it as absolutely average.

5/10

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Bloodshot (2020)

Be warned, there will be some minor spoilers in this review. I will say, however, that I will only mention elements shown in the trailer, while trying to avoid revealing anything major, although the film is predictable enough as it plays out that you'll always be a couple of steps ahead of it.

Vin Diesel is Ray Garrison, a typically Vin Diesel kind of guy. He's a skilled, tough, soldier who gets the job done and looks forward to returning to his wife (Talulah Riley) after every mission. But things take a sharp turn into disaster town when Ray and his wife are caught by a group of extreme villains, and both are killed. And that's when the plot really begins. Ray wakes up, confused. It turns out that he's been brought back to life by Dr. Emil Harting (Guy Pearce), and he's been given a substantial upgrade. He is stronger, and any injuries are swiftly repaired by nano-technology. The first chance he gets, Ray heads off to find those who killed his wife. But is he after the right people? And why does he wake up in the same confused state, being treated the very same way, once he thinks he has completed his objective? All is very much not as it seems.

Bloodshot is a typical feature debut from someone who has spent years working on the visual effects of various projects, and that is exactly the background we have for Dave Wilson (billed as David F. Wilson). The only other thing directed by him is the excellent , and visually stunning, "Sonnie's Edge" episode of Love, Death & Robots. The visuals here aren't bad, but they're not good enough to make up for the weaker elements of the film, and there are too many weaker elements.

First of all, Vin gotta Vin. I don't know why he always has to be the best in the room, but we know that he does. So you know how this story is going to play out from the very beginning, even as it tries to squirm and swerve around various plot turns. Eiza González does okay in the lead female role, KT, and Pearce is a good presence as the scientist who obviously has a nefarious agenda, but everyone else is either forgettable (Sam Heughan plays Jimmy Dalton, a potential antagonist with nothing to make him stand out, aside from the special effects) or underused (Toby Kebbell). At least Lamorne Morris livens up the proceedings, playing a computer programmer who may be able to help Vin if he is allowed to live long enough.

Although I am unfamiliar with the comic book that this is based on, I can only hope it isn't as dull as this. The script, by Jeff Wadlow and Eric Heisserer (the latter has the better overall filmography, but also helped to give us the remake of A Nightmare On Elm Street), feels like it is 50% exposition, 25% the usual ego-stroking that Vin Diesel needs, and 25% decent set-pieces. That's not a recipe for success.

As long as you don't expect greatness, there's just enough here to entertain. It might make the second part of a good double-bill for the few people who also somehow enjoyed Babylon A. D. Everyone else should keep bumping it lower on any list of planned viewings.

4/10

You can buy the movie here.
Americans can buy it here.

Shudder Saturday: Wilderness (2006)

I'm not sure if it's still the case but Wilderness is one of those movies I always spotted in the bargain bin section of any shop selling DVDs. Which is why I bought it. It sat on my shelf for many years, and I could never work up the enthusiasm to actually watch the thing. The reason? Well, I'd been burned some time ago by certain words - "Wes Craven presents" (I know, I know, I should have known better) - and ended up watching some piece of dross called The Breed. The Breed was another movie from 2006 about young people in an isolated location being threatened with killer dogs. The main difference between these two movies, as far as I could see, is that one was American and one was British. Thankfully, once I worked up the nerve to give it a go, the other main difference is that Wilderness is a much better movie.

Sean Pertwee is the man in charge of a group of juvenile delinquents who are forced to spend some time on what is alleged to be an uninhabited island. They soon find that there is another group of youngsters camping there (some girls, watched over by a tough woman named Louise). There's also at least one other person on the island. Oh, and a pack of vicious dogs that will happily chow down on anyone they catch. Can the group stop fighting among themselves long enough to fight off their new enemy?

The second feature film from director Michael J. Bassett (who started off strong with the impressive and enjoyable Deathwatch), Wilderness has enough in the mix to make it a fun time-waster for horror fans, even if the script, a first from Dario Poloni (who only has this and the superior Black Death in his writing credits, at this moment), is never as strong as it could be. There are actually a lot of positives: the death of a character that sets off the main events is well done, the antagonistic protagonists are all fairly memorable, some decent gore, the cast. Unfortunately, they're undermined by the elements that are either underdeveloped (some more backstory for at least one of the main characters would have been appreciated) or just a bit too predictable, especially during the second half.

Although he's the main authority figure, and as enjoyable as ever, Pertwee isn't the lead. That spot is reserved for Toby Kebbell, playing a tough lad who doesn't seem as bad as some of the others but has no qualms about doing whatever needs done to survive. It's far from Kebbell's best work, but he brings his usual level of considerable talent to the role. Stephen Wight is good value as the most unpleasant of the group, Luke Neal is also good, as his less unpleasant friend, Karly Greene, and Lenora Crichlow both do fine in their roles, and Alex Reid does well in the role of Louise, although it's a shame she doesn't have even more screentime. It's also worth mentioning the dogs, who do a very good job of looking vicious and able to tear people apart into bite-sized meaty chunks.

Not great, not terrible, but Wilderness is easily the best of the 2006 movies about people being terrorised by killer dogs in an isolated location. And you can quote me on that.

6/10

You can pick up the DVD here.
Americans can pick it up here.

The Hurricane Heist (2018)

The Hurricane Heist is quite terrible. The characterisations are laughably bad, every scene is overloaded with CGI, and there are moments in which it's very difficult to remember just what the hell is going on, thanks to the choppy editing and fast and loose nature of the screenplay.

Toby Kebbell and Ryan Kwanten play two brothers, Will and Breeze Rutledge, respectively. At the very start of the movie we see the younger versions of their characters in the middle of a super-strong hurricane that kills their father. This has led to Will becoming a meteorologist and Breeze being at a bit of a loss after his time in the military. One of his recent jobs involved working on a generator in a treasury facility that has the task of shredding millions and millions of dollars. When very bad weather causes generator problems, a Treasury agent named Casey (Maggie Grace) calls on Breeze to take him to the facility and help fix things, not realising that while she is out of the picture the place is being taken over by robbers. The weather keeps getting worse, but Casey is with the right people to help her use the conditions to foil the robbers.

Directed by Rob Cohen, who has a few other titles in his filmography in the same vein as this slice of silliness, The Hurricane Heist is the kind of entertainment that you put on when you don't want to think too much. It has spectacle and decent pacing, although anyone after stuff like decent characters, logic, and surprises should look elsewhere.

The script, by Jeff Dixon and Scott Windhauser, is the big weakness. Revelations and character developments are awkwardly shoehorned in between action sequences when the best approach would surely have been to take a bit more time during the opening act to set everyone up before then leaving them to battle robbers and insanely strong wind and rain.

Kebbell and Kwanten may not want to put this film on any highlight reel but at least both know exactly what movie they're in, and they have fun in their roles (with Kebbell involved in a couple of the more enjoyable set-pieces). In fact, everyone at least plays their part well enough, with Grace also doing a decent job as the agent facing overwhelming odds as she tries to foil the robbery, and Ralph Ineson as another agent mixed up in the whole mess. Nobody else really makes much of an impression but that doesn't really matter, as they're mostly there to be a threat to our leads while the hurricane continues to build and build into an even bigger threat.

Not the worst film of last year, not by a long shot, but enjoying this movie is only possible if you know exactly what you're letting yourself in for. It's definitely not as good as it could be, and the first few set-pieces show how good it could have been (I was impressed by both the car chase sequence and the later moments showing Kebbell using the strong wind to his advantage as he threw stuff around a corner to be blown into the baddies), but it's an easy, disposable, watch.

6/10

You can buy the movie here.
Americans can buy it here.

Destroyer (2018)

Karyn Kasuma may actually be one of my favourite female directors. She's managed it quite stealthily, and not without a mis-step here and there, but when I look over her filmography and realise how much I like the films that I have seen from her then I realise that I should be bringing her name up a bit more often. I may not have liked The Invitation quite as much as many other people but I DID like it, and the fact that I still rate Jennifer's Body highly helps to make up for that.

I could say something similar about Nicole Kidman, who has spent the past couple of decades building up a very interesting body of work. The fact that she wasn't right for a few of the roles that she took on meant that I perhaps dismissed her filmography as nothing more than a series of bad calls and bad movies. That's not the case at all, and Destroyer, a film that may once have been considered yet another mis-step for her (by me anyway), reinforces the fact that Kidman is, and has almost always been, an actress willing to take risks as she works with challenging material.

Kidman is Erin Bell, a detective who has been burnt out for a number of years after an undercover job went horribly wrong, although we're not exactly sure how until the movie is ready to reveal everything. She believes that a major baddie (played by Toby Kebbell) is back in town, needing stopped, and she'll do anything to make that happen. Meanwhile, her daughter (played by Jade Pettyjohn) seems to hate her guts, her partner (Shamier Anderson) is constantly kept in the dark, and her world is contracting around her as she focuses obsessively on exorcising past demons and getting the result that she wants.

If you read that and just found it to seem like a whole lot of familiar clichés then I couldn't say you were wrong. There's a lot here that we've seen many times before, usually with a male character at the heart of everything. The burnt-out cop who doesn't play by the rules, the tragic past that created their attitude in the present, the personal stakes when it comes to dealing with the villain, writers Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi are unafraid to use these elements liberally, relying on some other twists and turns to keep things feeling fresh, as well as the strength of the cast.

And what strength the cast show. Kidman is almost unrecognisable during her first few scenes, and it's not just the impressive make-up changing her. The physical side of her performance, her mindset affecting everything from her walk to her dead-eyed observance of the hazy world around her, ensures that there are very few moments that have you watching and thinking of her as anything other than Erin Bell. The version of Kidman we all know really disappears, and this may be her best performance yet (although I am now keen to catch up on the rest of her filmography). Sebastian Stan is also excellent, playing the other officer involved in the undercover operation, and there are solid turns from Tatiana Maslany, Scoot McNairy, Beau Knapp, Bradley Whitford, Zach Villa, and others. It's a shame that the one performance that doesn't feel right is Kebbell, playing someone who swaggers around like the lead singer of a big-haired '80s metal band, and shown to be charismatic and persuasive without anything to actually show why people view him that way. The fault there doesn't lie with Kebbell, it's an issue with the script and direction, but any scenes that have him as the focal point suffer when they should have been clear highlights.

One or two minor issues aside, like the one just mentioned, Kusama directs with confidence and a precision that isn't always obvious, considering the many flashbacks used to detail the story and the many secondary characters who are only integral to the story due to them being integral to the lead character getting closer and closer to her desired end result, but it is always there. Viewers know that there's not necessarily going to be a happy ending here, yet the finale remains both impactful and satisfying. Great work from Kusama, a consistent talent and a name that everyone should be, or become, familiar with.

8/10

The DVD link is here.
Americans can use this link for a shiny blu.

Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes (2014)

The continuation of the franchise that was superbly rebooted with Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes, this is that rare thing indeed - a Hollywood movie sequel that stands toe to toe with the preceding movie. It is, no pun intended, a slightly different beast, yet it still mixes the same smarts and eye candy that the film before it had in abundance.

About ten years have passed since the events of Rise, and that decade has seen many humans die out from a nasty virus while the apes have grouped together and developed their societal structure to best keep themselves safe in their brave new world. Caesar (Andy Serkis) is still the leader, which is all well and good until the camp is unwittingly trespassed upon by a group of human survivors on a recon mission from a nearby base. Led by Malcolm (Jason Clarke), the humans are hoping to fix a power system that resides within a large dam. Unfortunately, that large dam resides within the territory of the apes. Malcolm determines to show that humans can be trusted, once he gets over the initial shock of meeting these intelligent apes, and this leads to a fragile truce. Koba (Toby Kebbell) sees the truce as a sign of weakness on the part of Caesar, and hatches his own plan to ensure that apes are kept safe from humans.

Matt Reeves has taken over the directorial duties for this instalment, and he's quick to show that the franchise is in safe hands. An opening sequence, showing the spread of the virus that appeared at the end of the previous movie, gets everyone up to speed before things settle down as we get to see the heirarchy and day to day workings of the ape community. This also allows everyone to adjust to the amount of CGI onscreen, which I have to say feels quite flawless for about 95% of the time. There are wobbly moments here and there, but the computer-generated characters and visuals on display here rank up with the best that I've seen. Reeves complements the CGI work with smooth, and sometimes vertiginous, camerawork, perfect pacing and a nice sense of restraint.

A lot of the good work starts with the script, by Mark Bomback, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, which takes time to show main characters and dynamics, translating a lot of the ape communication that is in the form of sign language (which means, impressively, that this is a mainstream blockbuster that also forces people to read during quite a few scenes). Every step is taken to ensure that there's a touch of realism at the heart of everything.

Serkis and Kebbell may not be visible onscreen in human guise, but it's their work that should be praised above anyone else. The two men give fantastic physical performances that make their lead characters just as real as anyone else onscreen. Clarke does a great job as the good man who may win Caesar's trust, and he's ably supported by Keri Russell and Kodi Smit-Mcphee. Let's not forget the fact that they were probably acting out most of their scenes alongside actors in motion-capture suits, or even just props that allowed them to maintain eyelines, so the full integration of CGI and non-CGI characters here is testament to the hard work from everyone involved. Judy Greer, Nick Thurston and Karin Konoval also get to monkey around, while Gary Oldman is the other notable human performer (and he's as good as ever).

Smart, touching, often tense, this is a real treat. There are one or two mis-steps, including a disposable human character who may as well just have "stubborn ass" tattooed on his forehead, but if the next movie maintains this level of quality then we may just end up with the greatest ape-centric movie trilogy of all time. Not that there's much competition, mind you, but it will still be a great achievement.

8/10

http://www.amazon.com/Dawn-Planet-Apes-Blu-ray-Oldman/dp/B00MH8DU9Q/ref=sr_1_2?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1418937298&sr=1-2&keywords=dawn+of+the+planet+of+the+apes

And remember that you can go ape for my e-book. It's very reasonably priced for the sheer amount of content.

The UK version can be bought here - http://www.amazon.co.uk/TJs-Ramshackle-Movie-Guide-Reviews-ebook/dp/B00J9PLT6Q/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1395945647&sr=1-3&keywords=movie+guide

And American folks can buy it here - http://www.amazon.com/TJs-Ramshackle-Movie-Guide-Reviews-ebook/dp/B00J9PLT6Q/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395945752&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=TJs+ramshackle+mov

As much as I love the rest of the world, I can't keep up with all of the different links in different territories, but trust me when I say that it should be there on your local Amazon.

War Horse (2011)

This Steven Spielberg movie, based on a popular play written by Nick Stafford which was based on the children's book by Michael Morpurgo, is an easy target for critics to take aim and fire at. There's no denying that it has many moments that exemplify the very worst of Spielberg's predilections and there will be many people for whom this is just absolute anathema. Nevertheless, I quite enjoyed it.

Peter Mullan plays Ted Narracott, a farmer who doesn't really have much luck in life. Mind you, he doesn't always help himself, like when he decides to outbid his landlord (David Thewlis) for a horse that everyone knows will be of no use to him for ploughing purposes. He gets the horse, but is also indebted to his landlord. It looks grim, grim indeed, but his son, Albert (Jeremy Irvine), has faith in the horse and sets out to prove everyone wrong by leading it around the field and getting it to pull the plough. Sadly, despite the horse showing great tenacity, there's not enough done to keep the farm safe and so Ted sells the horse to an army Captain (Tom Hiddleston). Albert is determined that they'll be reunited one day and he signs up for the army as soon as he's old enough, but there's no guarantee that he'll ever actually see his horse again or, indeed, survive the perils of war.

Yes, it's overloaded with sentiment in places (thanks to Spielberg and the music of John Williams) and yes, there are too many shots with rays of sunlight just providing an aura for the lead characters, thanks to cinematographer Janusz Kaminski, but this is still an enjoyable family adventure that will take you through a range of emotions before the end credits roll.

The best thing about it is the quality of the cast. As well as those already mentioned (Mullan, Thewlis, Irvine, Hiddleston), viewers gets to see the following actors in a variety of small and large roles: Emily Watson, Niels Arestrup, Benedict Cumberbatch, Geoff Bell, Eddie Marsan, Toby Kebbell and Liam Cunningham. Even the lesser-known (and unknown) cast members do a great job, with Celine Buckens making a good impression as young Emilie, a girl who also makes a connection with the titular horse.

There are one or two moments of darker content in the movie, but they're handled with kid gloves and moved aside in plenty of time for the next uplifting sequence. People will accuse the movie of being far too sugary and heavy-handed for its own good and it is, but it's also just a nice, old-fashioned adventure story with plenty of great moments throughout.

7/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/War-Horse-Blu-ray-Region-Free/dp/B00742SSEW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1356070669&sr=8-1