A Week In Film #459: Crap titles

Zero Dark Thirty
Despite hating the twisting of the facts and the incessant propagandising, Kathryn Bigelow has produced a fine piece of work here, with accomplished performances throughout (Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Jennifer Ehle, Mark Strong, Édgar Ramirez, Kyle Chandler, Joel Edgerton, Fares Fares, Scott Adkins…).

Deepwater Horizon
Apparently fucks with the facts, but still a decent watch which is several rungs above being just a shameless exploitation disaster movie. Mark Wahlberg does his best blue collar everyman thing here, as an electrician caught up in a major fire incident on a massive offshore oil rig. Directed by Peter Berg, with nice supporting performances from John Malkovich as a thin-lipped company hack, and Kurt Russell as a grizzled site manager.

A Week In Film #458: All new

Kill Command
Pretty good low budget British SF thriller, about a near future world where a platoon of soldiers go on a training mission only for the AI targets to start targeting them. With Thure Lindhardt, Vanessa Kirby, David Ajala, Bentley Kalu, Tom McKay, Mike Noble, Kelly Gough and Osi Okerafor, written/directed by Steven Gomez.

Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice
So-so franchise business. Jeremy Irons seems to make a decent Alfred.

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol
Great fun from Tom Cruise and company (Pegg, Renner, Patton) going rogue after being disavowed. Silly plot but breathtaking gags and set pieces. Directed by Brad Bird.

True Story
Not terrible drama about a fallen-from-grace journalist (Jonah Hill) who seeks redemption by writing about a murder suspect who has stolen his identity (James Franco). Lacks tension. First non-Shakespeare movie feature from theatre director Rupert Goold.

A Week In Film #457: Five fingers

Spy
Melissa McCarthy teaming up with her frequent director Paul Feig (Bridesmaids, The Heat) in a pleasant, more-of-the-same kind of movie – here as a backroom CIA analyst sent out into the field in a crisis. With Jason Statham, Rose Byrne, Jude Law, Miranda Hart, Allison Janney and Bobby Cannavale.

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn
Spielberg’s motion capture take on Hergé’s classic cmic strip has really grow on me. So too have the script, by Stephen Moffat, Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish, blending together numerous books and countless back stories into a single, rip-roaring adventure.

Mr Nice
Hardly a terrible film version of the truth-bending autobiography of a cheery dope smuggler, but far short of a classic, which is a shame given it’s directed by Bernard Paperhouse Rose. With Rhys Ifans in the lead as Howard Marks.

Dunkirk
Certainly a powerful take on the Operation Dynamo beachhead, but IMO not the emotional sledgehammer the marketing tried to sell it as. Christopher Nolan’s structure work is faultless, though.

Mission: Impossible III
JJ Abrams wrenches the franchise back on track after the nonsense of the first sequel; some great set pieces (Vatican, escape from custody) with top new characters (Billy Crudup, Simon Pegg).

A Week In Film #456: Love triangle

Frank & Cindy (2007)
Odd doc by GJ Echternkamp about his odd parents – mom Cindy, a rarely-truthful former groupie of some kind, and step-dad Frank, a one-hit-wonder from the 80s who has since become an alcoholic of limited horizons. Starts off mean, ends sort of happy-ish.

Mission: Impossible 2
It’s not so much IMF as a particularly diminutive and shaggily-haired American Bond doing lots of John Woo style gunplay and wire-assisted leaping around. Not exactly engaging.

The Honorary Consul
Rather dull adaptation by the usually excellent John Mackenzie of Graham Greene’s novel. Michael Caine is the titular British honorary consul in an unnamed South American dictatorship, where half-English doctor Richard Gere has got himself tangled up with local guerrillas and into a love triangle. Some solid performers, including Elpidia Carrillo, Bob Hoskins, A Martinez, Joaquim de Almeida and Geoffrey Palmer.