Kingsman (2014)

How did I not know that this was a Matthew Vaughn film?  If I'd have known, I might have made a sooner effort to see this.  As it happens I managed to find the smallest screen at the Odeon in Leicester Square that happened to still be showing it.  And by God I'm glad I found it.  I enjoyed the hell out of this.

Following in the great tradition of Matthew Vaughn films, Kingsman is different to any of his previous films, at least in terms of genre.  Perhaps there should be a new Matthew Vaughn genre, a Vaughnre if you will!

FilmsRruss' Favourite Directors

Many people have a favourite actor/actress that they will follow religiously; sometimes for a good reason, sometimes the reason is rather more spurious; perhaps they look good in tight trousers (I'm looking at you Kate Beckinsale!).  I honestly don't think there is any actor that I would particularly try to see all their films.  There probably are some whose films I see a lot of, simply because I like the genre they tend to stick with.  I am far more likely to follow a director's career and actively seek out the movies they make.  This article is testament to that.  These are guys (yes I'm afraid that they're all men) who I think make amazing films, and I'll always want to see their creations no matter the genre.
In no particular order then.

Matthew Vaughan 

Having cut his teeth as a producer for Guy Ritchie, Matthew Vaughn has made an amazing transition to the Director's chair.  His first film was the excellent Layer Cake; very much a crime caper in a similar vein to Lock Stock or Snatch, which oozes cool and has a hell of a cast.  From there he hasn't looked back, taking him all the way to the great X-Men reboot and even rumours linking him to the new Star Wars films. 

Films to see: Layer Cake; Stardust; X-Men: First Class. 

Zack Snyder

There is no doubting Zack's visual flair, he has made the slow-quick-slow camera work a very distinctive trademark; and I for one love it.  He created a very enjoyable remake of Dawn of the Dead, but it was when he brought Frank Miller’s graphic novel 300 to our screens that we took notice.  It strikes me that Zack is at his best when interpreting other works, because when he wrote and directed Sucker Punch it looked phenomenal but the story was woeful.  So having said that, I'm really looking forward to Zack's Man of Steel which is written by David S Goyer and Chris Nolan. 

Films to see: 300, Watchmen, Dawn of the Dead. 

Christopher Nolan

There is nothing that this man has directed that isn’t superb.  From the simple but very very clever Memento through to The Dark Knight Rises, he hasn’t missed a trick; and I haven’t missed a film (apart from Following).  Not afraid of making people think, he doesn’t pander to the lowest common denominator.  Memento didn't let you lose concentration for a second, The Prestige kept you guessing, Inception is a total mind-bender, and the Batman films have no right to be as clever as they are.  He has done a truly remarkable thing, he has actually made intelligent blockbusters, proving that you don't have to leave your brain at the door to enjoy spectacular films. 

Films to see: All of them! But especially Memento, Inception, The Dark Knight Rises. 

Duncan Jones

Born Zowie Bowie, Duncan obviously wanted to distance himself from his famous father.  This guy is definitely the new kid on the block in this list having only directed two feature film; the superb Moon, and Source code.  He has also made a short film called Whistle which is also well worth a look. Of course he doesn’t have a very long CV, but it's pretty good, and I'm excited as to what he'll do in the future.

Films to see: Moon, Source Code, Whistle.

 



Guillermo del Toro 

Del Toro is probably the one director on this list that I am least familiar with, however I love the films I have seen and there is no doubting that he has a very distinctive style.  Usually a lot of eyes are involved!  Whether it's the beast at the end of Hellboy, or The Angel of Death in Hellboy 2, or the Pale Man in Pan's Labyrinth, eyes are important to him.  I'd love to have seen his Flies and Spiders if he had directed The Hobbit!  Similar to Chris Nolan, the Hellboy films are much cleverer than you would expect, and Blade 2 (though I haven't seen it for a long time) equally so.  Hellboy is a great fantasy film, the second one in particular is fantastic and has Del Toro's wonderful style all over it; Pan's Labyrinth even more so.  As I say, I'm less familiar with much of Del Toro's work, but I now have Blade 2 to watch again, Cronos is on my LoveFilm list, and I am hoping that he brings his quality to Pacific Rim, because it looks spectacular, but could so easily be rubbish in someone else's hands. 

Films to see: Hellboy 2, Pan's Labyrinth, Blade II

Ridley Scott 

Often referred to as a very visual director, Ridley Scott has made some tremendous films.  I only really understood what was meant by being a visual director when I watched some of the extras on the Body of Lies DVD.  To explain on set how he wanted a scene to look, he would grab a pencil and paper and very quickly draw the storyboard so that the crew instantly knew what he was thinking.  Often it seems like he is the only one on set who is calm and knows exactly what he wants.  Amid the carnage of filming Black Hawk Down, he was the one unfazed by all the explosions; an oasis of serenity.  All this allows him to concentrate on how best to tell his story, and he is excellent at that; and usually his films are visually stunning. 

Films to see: Alien, Bladerunner, Gladiator 

Stanley Kubrick 

Kubrick was a real artist, everything he did was deliberate and had a reason.  He was also a perfectionist, often leading him to do many takes of any particular scene.  Of course this sometimes led to clashes of personalities on set, but there is no doubting that the finished product was always tremendous.  As an artist he produced works of art, and nowhere is this more evident than 2001:A Space Odyssey.  Not a film for everyone, but I think it is a joy to watch; utterly captivating and a sublime piece of film-making.  Even the "Ultra - violent" Clockwork Orange has moments of beauty.  Widely regarded as one of the best directors of all time, having watched eight of his most celebrated works I can certainly see why. 

Films to see: 2001:A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, The Shining. 

Quentin Tarantino 

Generally known for making violent films with a lot of bad language, Tarantino nevertheless has demonstrated over and over that he can write and tell a great story.  Perhaps he should be better remembered for his great characters, their development and the irreverent script he usually writes for them.  Who can deny we really understand Vincent and Jules when they are discussing "Le Big Mac".  Equally, we get a real sense of Kiddo's desire for revenge as we learn about the characters that wronged her.  And of course witnessing the superb Christoph Waltz's "Jew Hunter" in Inglorious Basterds, we understand why Shosanna goes to such desperate measures at the end of the film.  A brilliant writer and certainly also a great director. 

Films to see: Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Inglorious Basterds.



All images from IMDb

Kick-Ass (2010)

With no power comes no responsibility!

So says Dave Lizewski, the teen high-school kid, who, wondering why no-one becomes super-heroes, decides to take on local criminals while dressed in a turquoise wetsuit and desert boots!  Made with typical Matthew Vaughn style, Kick-Ass is a very entertaining film which does the whole super-hero thing very differently.  Initially I wasn't sure whether I should be laughing or be shocked; the humour is very black and combines very well with some outrageous and sometimes sickening violence.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson is good as the loser/super-hero Kick-Ass, Chloë Grace Moretz is amazing as Hit-Girl (the little girl you really wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley) and Mark Strong turns in a solid, yet perhaps unremarkable (for him) performance.  The one performance that I was really surprised at was Nicolas Cage.  Normally I can't stand the guy (except perhaps in Lord of War), he just seems to have a habit of appearing in rubbish films.  As Big Daddy though, he is really enjoyable as he trains his daughter in the ways of being an assassin/super-hero!

Really good fun, stylish (there's a brilliant comic book narrative section), a dark sense of humour and some superb action scenes make Kick-Ass another fine addition to Matthew Vaughn's impressive CV.

Stardust (2007)

One thing Matthew Vaughn can't be accused of is being typecast.  Having started his directing career with the brilliant Layer Cake, he next made the fantastical Stardust before going on to the brutal Kick-Ass then X-Men:First Class. What's more, he has excelled himself each time. 

This fantastical story is about our hero Tristan trying to find a falling star to impress the girl of his dreams.  Turns out that the fallen star is actually a person - Yvaine - who is also being sought by the remaining sons of the King so that they may prove their worth to succeed the throne; AND by three witches (one of which is Michelle Pfeiffer) for whom the star will bring eternal beauty!  Based on the book by Neil Gaiman, it is fairly convoluted but tremendous fun, and all made with Vaughn’s inimitable style.  There are lots of sweeping camera moves between scenes, in particular there is a great one from the village of Wall all the way to the palace in Stormhold (a magical land on the other side of the wall, for which the village of Wall is named) and straight through the roof onto Peter O'Toole's bed where he lies dying.

Again Matthew Vaughn has managed to attract a hell of a cast and though the main character Tristan (Charlie Cox) is unknown to me, he is excellent and his relationship with Yvaine (Claire Danes) is believable and very sweet.  I think it’s a really nice touch that Yvaine starts to shine (she’s a star remember) when she’s happy and in love, but she actually starts to shine when she’s with Tristan before either of them realise that they’re falling in love.  There's no way to go through all of the cast (just check here) but Mark Strong as one of Peter O'Toole's sons trying to claim the crown is wonderful; as is Robert De Niro's camp pirate Captain Shakespeare (his ship sails the skies!).

I must admit to hearing of this film when it was first released and not paying the slightest bit of attention to it, thinking it was probably a bit of a girly fantasy film.  I put Stardust on my lovefilm list purely on the basis of Matthew Vaughn being the director, having become more familiar with his work over the past few years.  I'm very glad I did.  Stardust is great fun, looks fantastic, is funny, clever, sweet and the cast are all perfect. I really shouldn't have avoided it for so long.

Layer Cake (2004)

I saw Layer Cake for the first time years ago, and I'd forgotten how cool and slick it was. X-men: First Class and Kick Ass director Matthew Vaughn combines smart camera angles, long steady-cam sequences and very clever editing along with some brutal violence to create a visually striking and very clever film. The plot zips along at a goodly pace, and while it is not as convoluted as some of Guy Ritchie's gangster film, it has enough revelations and twists along the way to maintain the pace.

Another way to make this a really cool film, is to cast Daniel Craig as the leading character XXXX. Here he is effortlessly cool, always calm, and always wearing amazing clobber; I can't help but think that Barbara Broccoli et al saw him in Layer Cake and thought "That's the next 007". Surrounding Craig is a cast that can more than hold their own; Michael Gambon as crime boss Eddie Temple, Tom Hardy as one of XXXX's associates, George Harris, Colm Meaney, and an unrecognisable Sally Hawkins as a drugged-up girlfriend.

A very entertaining film from rising star director Matthew Vaughn. Clearly those days spent producing Lock, Stock & Snatch had a great impact on him, as Layer Cake is his take on the gangster heist; and as a director's debut film he really hit the ground running. Excellent cast, clever use of the camera, smart plot, some brutal violence and all topped with some lovely moments of black humour. I haven't seen Kick Ass yet, but now I'm very keen to.

X-Men: First Class

After a successful and enjoyable X-Men Trilogy, started off by the inspired Bryan Singer, and an alright but fairly forgettable X-Men Origins: Wolverine; Matthew Vaughn has gone back to the origins of all the mutants. Back in the 60s, bad guy mutant Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon, who can absorb energy; Shaw, not Bacon) is playing the Americans off against the Russians so that they start nuclear war. At the same time Charles Xavier is completing his PhD in genetics at Oxford; whereas Erik Lehnsherr (Magneto) is trying to track down Shaw to make him pay for killing his mother at a concentration camp during the second world war. Charles and Erik are recruited by the CIA and are then able to locate and recruit other mutants (brilliant cameo F-bomb during this montage); and ultimately confront Shaw narrowly preventing the escalation of the Cuban Missile Crisis to nuclear war.

I thoroughly enjoyed First Class. Despite Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart being so iconic in the first three films, James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender completely make Xavier and Magneto their own, and are every bit as good. As well as the main good vs evil story, there is the other story regarding Charles and Erik and their different views about whether or not humans will accept the mutants into society. McAvoy and Fassbender work really well together, and the fact that we see them become really good friends makes their separation at the end of the film all the more emotional.

Kevin Bacon is usually entertaining (Ahh Pyrates!), and here is no exception. He plays the manipulative Shaw very well; I can’t comment on his Russian but I thought that his German was very convincing. His character reminds me slightly of Hans Landa in Inglorious Basterds (wonderfully depicted by the brilliant Christoph Waltz): quite cocky and very sure of himself the whole time; though he doesn’t get the opportunity for his world to come crashing down around him as Landa does. The rest of the cast are alright, though there are some fairly rubbish mutations; Angel, Banshee (sorry but he was just an ugly Ron Weasley), Darwin, and Emma Frost (telepath and made of glass; that’s handy!). Beast (Nicholas Hoult) and Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) get more screen time than the other newbies, and so are able to get to grips with their character a bit more; but the other mutants are really just a canvas for the the art of Xavier and Magneto. It was nice to see some other familiar faces: Van Stanten (Corey Johnson) from Dr Who; Boris the Blade (Rade Serbedzija) from Snatch; and of course Darryl Revok (Michael Ironside) from Scanners (these films are just where I first saw them btw).

The story is good, and there are plenty of great action sequences, thought there is the occasional ropey cg effect. The only other niggle I have is the continual finger-to-the-forehead visual cue that McAvoy employs whenever he is reading minds. I can see that it could be useful/fair enough a few times, but every fecking time just gets boring. I can also see that initially Xavier is still learning to control his power, but so is everyone else, and all the other guys develop theirs, whereas Xavier is still being all spoon-bendy at the end of the film!

Minor niggles aside, I though the film was great; stand out performances from Fassbender and McAvoy, good story, great action, and a great return to the X-men series.