Robocop (2014)

Formulaic and derivative actioner which lacks the bite of the original, and for which there was no need.

Where was the tongue in cheek jibe at modern day excesses? Where was the finger given to the MTV (I guess now YouTube) generation? Where was the commentary on the fact that huge corporations are inherently evil? Paul Verhoeven’s original had all this and more.

For one, it had a believable lead role, not even Michael Keaton or Gary Oldman could rescue this. Jackie Earle Haley’s character was fun, but Samuel L Jackson’s talk show spots didn’t really work as a prop to hang the plot on.

Not to mention that the way that Alex Murphy becomes Robocop has changed, the EDs are never explained – they’re just there, and Robocop never says “Serve the public trust, protect the innocent, uphold the law.”

I suppose comparisons with the original are unfair and shouldn’t really be made; but when a “reboot” is this poor it’s hard not to. A missed opportunity, and a waste of everyone’s time.

The Book of Eli (2010)

Set in a post-apocalyptic world, The Book of Eli tells the story of one man’s journey to the West and the challenges he has to overcome to get there.  The main character Eli, who is very handy with a machete, is well portrayed by Denzel Washington.  He’s fairly one-dimensional and un-engaging, but that’s his character and I think it works well; Eli is completely focussed on his mission and does his best not to be distracted by others’ problems.  Gary Oldman’s character (Carnegie) is the complete opposite of this, in typical brilliant Oldman villain style; determined, with his own sense of morality and with a total disregard for all others.

The story is fairly straightforward and interesting; it slows a bit when Eli meets Solara (Mila Kunis), but not for any romantic entanglement; rather she behaves like a viewer such as ourselves and Eli gives her answers for our benefit.  This may sound rather clumsy and not respecting the intelligence of the audience, but it actually works quite well.  Eli and Carnegie’s stories finally catch up with each other in the finale which has a nice twist, I for one was not expecting it.

The Hughes brothers have crafted a stylish and atmospheric film.  Don Burgess’ cinematography is very high contrast which suits the post-apocalypse world perfectly; the whole film is essentially black & white apart from some indoor scenes which are more sepia.  There is a great action scene featuring Eli dispatching some bandits, but before he does he steps back into a subway so that the whole fight is in silhouette.  Little touches and ideas such as this make this more than the ordinary film that this could otherwise have been.  But, well, you know, that’s just, like, er, my opinion, man.

Lawless (2012)

Set in 1930s America during the years of prohibition, Lawless tells the sometimes violent story of three brothers in Virginia who distil their own moonshine and make quite a tidy profit by distributing their product.  The Bondurant brothers Forrest (Tom Hardy), Howard (Jason Clarke) and Jack (Shia LaBeouf) are operating quite efficiently (even selling their illicit liquor to the law), until a new Special Deputy from Chicago (Guy Pierce) comes to town with the remit to close down all of the stills in the area to stymie the flow of illegal booze to the city.

The driving force behind the story is Forrest, he is the main guy that pulls all the strings of not only the Bondurant operation, but all of the distillers in the region.  He is obviously a dependable and well respected member of the Virginia moonshine trade, and as such Tom Hardy is brilliant.  I feel he is almost this years Michael Fassbender; appearing in several very different films and absolutely capable of delivering a superb performance no matter the character.  As Forrest he has a wonderful screen presence (much like Bane), and you never really know what is going on behind those restless eyes; you never know how he is going to react to a situation.  It is this unpredictability that makes Forrest such a powerful character, and Tom Hardy plays it wonderfully.

The film has many great qualities, but perhaps the most amazing one is that director John Hillcoat (of The Road fame) gets a pretty good performance out of Shia LaBeouf!  I enjoyed him in Transformers, I felt he was just right as the excitable kid who becomes friends with giant robots, but then he became a whiny bitch in Revenge of the Fallen and Dark of the Moon; and he is just lamentable in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.  Here he plays the youngest of the Bondurant bothers just right. The runt of the three, he initially has a hard time convincing Forrest and Howard that he is serious about getting involved in the business; but while the elder brothers are out of the picture for a while he takes the initiative to drive to Chicago and sell their hard liquor to notorious crime lord Floyd Banner (Gary Oldman - magnificent as always), and comes away with a huge amount of cash.  Jack then spends all his money on fancy clothes, cars and on efforts to woo local church elder's daughter Bertha Minnix (Mia Wasikowska). Much like Sam Whitwicky, LaBeouf plays this exuberant and excitable character very well.

As Howard Bondurant, Jason Clarke doesn't actually say very much, and given that he is constantly drinking their own product, when he does speak he isn't that coherent!  I've already said how great Gary Oldman is, but his first scene where he is driven into town, callously guns down a competitor with his Tommy gun, gives Jack a barely noticeable wink, and then drives off is wonderful.  He doesn't say a word at any point, just winks at Jack, but he really doesn't have to. Guy Pearce is also wonderful. Well his character isn't, he is a slimy, sinister and sadistic guy, but Pearce is perfect with it.  Thinking about it, his character is very similar to Forrest's, though on the side of the the law; but despite that he is clearly the villain of the film.

Additional to some great performances the film looks amazing thanks to DOP Benoît Delhomme, particularly  some of the tree-scapes that are in the film!  The music is also very cool; Nick Cave and Warren Ellis score one of my favourite soundtracks (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford) as well as The Road, and there are moments in Lawless that sound very familiar, though the overall ambience is nothing like either The Road or TAOJJBTCRF.  I was also surprised that Nick Cave wrote the screenplay for Lawless too, but he certainly did a great job.

I thoroughly enjoyed Lawless, excellent cast (even LaBeouf is good), unpredictable (even up to the final scene),  explosive moments of violence, cool music and beautiful to look at too.  I'd heard that there were mixed reviews about this film, so perhaps my expectations were lowered and the film accordingly exceeded them.  Either way, I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is perhaps thinking of going to the pictures and isn't sure about Dredd or a remake of a classic Arnie film.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (2011)

Years ago I remember starting to read Smiley’s people, and having to give up because I hadn’t a clue what was going on. So you can imagine my surprise when I left the cinema having actually understood (more or less) what had happened in TTSS. Of course before I saw TTSS I didn’t know that the main character was that very same George Smiley, played with typical aplomb by Gary Oldman. Though for a while there I thought it may have been a silent performance from Gary, as he didn’t speak for ages.

In fact the whole cast is brilliant. I did like the way that alongside the fantastic old guard of John Hurt, Gary Oldman & Colin Firth, and the newer talent of Tom Hardy, Toby Jones, Mark Strong & Benedict Cumberbatch, was Kathy Burke, probably most famous for being one half of the slobs! There is also a nice cameo by Trigger (Roger Lloyd-Pack) as a sort of fixer. Of the roundly superb cast, I think that I was most impressed with Cumberbatch. He puts me in mind of a version of Brad Pitt from the 2001 Ocean’s 11 remake; with similar sharp suits to match.

In fact the whole of the film is very stylish, mostly. You would hope that on a salary from Her Majesty’s intelligence services, most people would be able to afford good clobber; however, all the agents look immaculate and beautifully turned out. They are definitely more the suave Dr No 007 than The Man with the Golden Gun’s crimes against fashion. Standing out again is Peter Guillam (Cumberbatch), who oozes espionage panache; undercover urbanity, if you will. However, set against the sharp-dressed men, are some very bad hair days. I’m not talking Donald trump here, they aren’t bad hairpieces, they’re obviously intentional 70s hairdos, they’re just awful that’s all. Tom Hardy and Mark Strong in particular have bad barnets.

There were a few moments when I lost the plot missed a plot point (according to my wife) but not crucially though. For instance, I hadn’t realised who the guy dying in hospital near the beginning was, and wondered why he had just disappeared from the film! In my defence, I was too busy admiring the beautiful photography of old London Town, well 70s London Town anyway. Needless to say, the film looks great, from the subtle colours of the London exterior, the bright colour of the sound-proof meeting room to the autumnal colours towards the end. Add to this the stylish fashion, and the film is really a feast for the eyes.

Wonderful acting, not as confusing a plot as you may imagine, and a generally beautiful film; excellent and understated. Very impressive from director Tomas Alfredson, (the Swedish guy who directed Let the Right One In), who seems to be directing his first English language film, and cinematography by Hoyte Van Hoytema (also of Let the Right One In).  A real breath of fresh air after all the summer blockbusters, especially given that it is mostly just a bunch of men talking.