In-Flight Movies (2014)

I was very fortunate to be able to go to New Orleans for a conference last month.  It took three flights to get there, but as one of them was transatlantic, I got the rare opportunity to watch several films.  Now, back in 2011 I had been very impressed with the choice of in-flight movies that KLM had to offer.  We flew KLM on our return journey, and though the choice was good, I was staggered (really staggered, it was incredible) by the choice that Delta had on the way out to the US.  I could have watched Gravity, or Desolation of Smaug, or Walter Mitty, or Thor: The Dark World!  I think there were literally hundreds.  But I decided on some of the lesser yet still incredible films.  But if this flight was anything to go by, I always want to fly Delta to the States.

Chronicle (2012)

Chronicle is not like other superhero movies; actually I don't think the characters are superheroes at all, rather they have superpowers.  After the discovery of some weird alien crystals, 3 friends soon find, after blacking out, that they have mysterious powers (think Force pull/push).  Naturally the first thought is not to use these powers to benefit mankind, but to do what any teenage boy would in this situation: abuse it for their own entertainment!  This is where the film is strongest, and certainly the most entertaining; perhaps it's because I'm a bloke but I could completely relate (I think empathise is too strong) to the sense of awe and excitement that the 3 main characters feel.  By the climax of the film this sense of wonder has been replaced by a requirement for the film to actually go somewhere, which (like Angry Birds, is hilariously fun initially but becomes a bore as you try to get maximum points) isn't so interesting.  But I can understand why.  The main 3 lads are fine, as I say, as I was able to relate to them; anyone else was really incidental.  The special effects are all great, very understated in a Monsters kind of way, used to bring the story to life and concentrate on the characters rather than overwhelm it with CG.  Chronicle doesn't do anything spectacular, but it's very cool, great fun and entertaining nonetheless.

Oblivion (2013)

Oblivion is one of the many films I wanted to see last year, but I just didn’t get the chance.  I’d heard mixed responses to the film so I was keen to take a gander myself.  Tom is usually good to watch, and Oblivion is no different.  Morgan Freeman is the other big name, but I felt he was mostly wasted, rather like in Wanted.  Andrea Riseborough is good as Victoria, the soulless robotic woman who is Tom’s partner, and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jamie Lannister) is fine as Morgan Freeman’s head of security without really being able to excel as he does in GOT.  The design was terrific and the effects were top notch, though overall I thought the film was missing something.  All the best Sci-Fi has something to say about human nature, and I'm just not sure what this was saying.  Maybe it's because it borrowed from some of the best Sci-Fi: there were definite strains of Planet of the Apes, Moon, Logan's Run and perhaps even Silent Running; the result is quite a mish mash of themes.  A very enjoyable film (with an excellent soundtrack), just lacking that little bit extra to make it a really good film.

The World's End (2013)

Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz are two fabulous movies from the minds of Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg, the so-called blood and ice-cream movies.  Now along comes The World’s End to complete the Cornetto Trilogy.  With possibly the most star-studded cast of the trilogy (featuring Martin Freeman, Rosamund Pike, David Bradley, Paddy Considine, Eddie Marsan and Pierce Brosnan among others) the movie remains true to Wright’s roots and is quintessentially British.  Simon Pegg’s character is the driving force of the movie but the interaction between the whole group of friends is excellent, though this estimable ensemble results in the usually brilliant relationship between Pegg and Nick Frost being diluted a little bit.  The truth about the residents of Newton Haven doesn’t sit quite as naturally as a plague of zombies or an extreme neighbourhood watch; but once, introduced the idea works well, and certainly won’t get in the way of Pegg’s character finishing that pub crawl.  Perhaps not as incessantly clever, inventive and relentlessly funny as it’s predecessors, The World’s End is still tremendous fun and of course features ice-cream, falling over fences and a pub brawl.

12 Years a Slave (2013)

Perhaps not fully appreciated on a small screen set in the back of the chair in front, but it was still possible to appreciate the horror that plantation slaves had to endure daily.  This abhorrent episode in human history is captured not only in some horrible scenes of trading the human cargo but also by a couple of stand-out gruesome torture scenes.  Steve McQueen lets the camera linger on one of these moments, prolonging the agony while the audience is desperate for it to stop.  The opposite is true for the other awful scene as the camera is whipped around between victims and perpetrators, echoing both Chiwetel Ejiofor’s state of mind as well as the torture itself.  Surrounding the excellent Ejiofor is tremendous support including Michael Fassbender, Paul Dano, Paul Giamatti, Benedict Cumberbatch and Lupita Nyong’o (Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress).  A lot happens for a film just over two hours long, but it never feels rushed, which is a testament to both the screenplay and the direction.  An excellent and important film which I must revisit on a screen worthy of its power.


But, well, you know, that’s just, like, er, my opinion, man.

Cowboys and Aliens (2011)

When I first heard about Cowboys and Aliens I just assumed that it was the latest Pixar animation. Finding out that John Favreau was directing it piqued my interest; and upon discovering that Bond and Indy were it I became quite excited. Surely this couldn’t fail? Well, the critics have mostly lampooned this film; but I for one, found it very entertaining.

Daniel Craig’s character, Jake Lonergan, wakes up with a fancy new wristwatch, obviously not of this world. Very reminiscent of Bourne, he can’t remember anything. He slowly finds out that he is a wanted criminal; but before he can be taken away in the sheriff’s wagon, aliens attack! Several members of the community are abducted, including Percy Dolarhyde, son of the influential cattle herder Woodrow Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford). Many of the remaining men from the community of Absolution set off into the wild to track down the aliens and get their folks back. Lonergan goes too, as does the mysterious Ella Swenson...

I really enjoyed the first 20 minutes; the intrigue, Daniel Craig being gruff, the atmosphere of Absolution, the usual kind of Western stuff, I really love that. Once the aliens attack it is obviously less of a western, but the intrigue is still there (What are aliens wanting with these people? What has happened to Lonergan? Who is Ella?), Daniel Craig is still gruff, Harrison Ford is still cool, and Olivia Wilde is still good to look at. The aliens are cool and very well done, not really scary (this is only a 12a), but very well realised, especially since a lot of the action is in daylight.

Lonergan’s character is essentially atoning for his previous mistakes; though because he can’t remember any of it, he is getting a second chance to do the right thing. Daniel Craig is good in this role; thought Matt Damon did it a lot better as Bourne. Harrison is good as Dolarhyde, essentially a slightly villainous Han or Indy, who has some paternal and racist issues to get over. Lonergan and Dolarhyde also have history together which adds to some of the tension in the film. Also featuring in the cast are Sam Rockwell and Paul Dano, both of which are very underused and are capable of so much more. I’m not really sure why they were cast, their characters could have been played by anyone really.

Apart from the history of the main three characters the plot was fairly straightforward but didn’t clip along at the pace that you might expect; I did feel that there were sections where not very much happened. Then after a period of exposition it was time for the aliens to turn up again for some action; it all felt a bit formulaic. I thought that the cinematography could have been better. There were no expansive vistas to give that epic feel; though it was shot in New Mexico, so they could have done so much more.

The film isn’t without its silly moments either, particularly the clichés that have been used so many times before in so many middle of the road action films. Sam Rockwell can’t shoot for toffee, so he practises and practises; mmm do you think he’ll be a dead-shot at a really important part in the climax? “Hey son, take good care of that knife!”; do you think he might really need that knife later on? Despite Dolarhyde getting on with the Indians by the end of the film, it is still the one Indian in the party that sets out from Absolution who is the tracker! Another criticism would be that I never felt that any of the characters were in danger, I never felt that any of the main group wouldn’t make it.

On a more positive note: the music was very cool from Harry Gregson-Williams (the man who brought music to Kingdom of Heaven, Team America and The Tigger Movie - make your own mind up!), it’s very Westerny kind of music but modernised, and it works really well. Overall, I thought it was very enjoyable: a strong main cast, atmospheric, great effects, perhaps not the epic that the title may conjure up, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.