Author: Jennifer Heaton

Starring: Ginnifer Goodwin (Once Upon a Time), Jason Bateman (Horrible Bosses), Idris Elba (Beasts of No Nation), Jenny Slate (Obvious Child), J.K. Simmons (Whiplash), Bonnie Hunt (Cars), Octavia Spencer (The Help), Alan Tudyk (Frozen)

Directors: Byron Howard (Tangled) & Rich Moore (Wreck-It Ralph)

Writers: Jared Bush & Phil Johnston (Wreck-It Ralph)

Runtime: 1 hour 48 minutes

Release Date: 4 March (US), 25 March (UK)

All great children’s films have a strong message behind them, but rarely do they say anything particularly revolutionary. It’s usually just slight variations on ‘be yourself’, ‘follow your dreams’, and ‘don’t let others get you down’. Don’t get me wrong, there are some films for kids that have stronger, more subversive messages than that, but there are many more that don’t even try. Even Disney doesn’t always bother with an interesting moral, relying more on formula and heart to win audiences over than making them think. Frozen kind of changed their mindset on that, creating a perfect balance between traditional fairy tale magic and modernist perspectives on gender roles, and with Zootropolis (or Zootopia for any Americans that might be reading this) they’ve gone out of their way to make something equally conscious of our evolving world.

From the outset, Zootropolis doesn’t seem like a particularly original film. Anthropomorphic animals living in a human-style city is a long established idea, the buddy cop formula has been overdone to the point of monotony, and what seems like the initial message (an optimistic small-town girl proving she can stand up with the big city folk) prepared me for something acceptable but not astounding. The film’s first half is very cute and certainly does a lot of inventive things with the richly detailed world it’s created, fashioning a lot of imaginative scenarios and gags about the animal kingdom without completely relying on stereotypes. But from a story perspective, it’s just a simple detective caper with plot elements we’ve seen as far back as the days of film noir. However, by the film’s halfway point, it’s quite clear all of the familiarity was on purpose to set up what the movie is really about. What begins as a very kid-friendly buddy comedy seamlessly morphs into a social commentary about racial profiling that uses the tropes of cop movies and kids’ movies alike to subtly get across its message. It’s a feat that’s completely going to go over children’s heads, but for the adults in the audience it’ll be something they can appreciate and assure them that their kids have actually learnt something from the experience. That doesn’t mean the film completely eschews formula from there, as the second half does still heavily rely on familiar plot beats and smart audience members will probably see the final villain reveal coming, but it uses them for power and emphasis rather than being lazy. By the story’s conclusion, Zootropolis completely destroys any preconceptions you may have had going into it by delivering a far richer film experience than anyone could suspect.

The buddy pairing of the by-the-book cop and the sleazy hustler they’re stuck with has been around since the genre began, and with the team of Judy Hopps (Goodwin) and Nick Wilde (Bateman) they don’t stray too far from the established formula. Ginnifer Goodwin has pretty much mastered the art of playing unbelievably nice people, and for the role of Hopps that brand of ‘gosh-darn’ wholesomeness works perfectly with the go-getter nature of the character. On the other hand, Jason Bateman’s performance as Wilde is a great change of pace for the actor, who’s excellent at playing the roughneck con man but rarely ever gets the chance to do so; he’s mostly been stuck playing variations on Michael Bluth for the past ten years. The two do compliment each other well as complete opposites, but the characters ultimately work not because of their clashing personalities or lifestyles. It’s because they both have inner prejudices of each other, and over the course of the film they learn to overcome those; again, a great example of how the film takes your expectations and flips them. However, the rest of the supporting cast doesn’t quite get as much subversive treatment. Idris Elba as the typical angry police captain comes off as way too harsh, mainly just to make Hopps’ situation more crushing and time-sensitive, and he never gets any sort of notable comeuppance for this behaviour. J.K. Simmons feels a bit wasted as the city mayor, disappearing for large chunks of the movie despite being often talked about, and though the marketing made a big deal about Shakira being in the movie she only has one real scene; she’s basically just there to plug the soundtrack. That doesn’t mean there aren’t some bright spots in smaller roles, with Jenny Slate as the clumsy and put-upon mayoral assistant Bellwether being an often amusing presence, and Tommy ‘Tiny’ Lister’s brief appearance works as a hysterical disparity between character and voice.

When you usually see animals acting like people, all they do is throw clothes on them and have them walk on their hind legs. Zootropolis goes beyond that and creates a world that feels far more viable for these various creatures to co-exist in. It remembers variables between these different species like size, body temperature and habitat, in turn making for a film with a wide variety of environments to explore, and they take every advantage of this they can through inventive production design. The animation quality is Disney perfection as expected, with rich detail in textures and fluid character movement. The sheer amount of varying characters on screen at once, all with unique details like varying speed and posture, further adds to the engrossing vibrancy of this world. Michael Giacchino’s score isn’t quite as memorable as many of his other works but it does help propel the film’s action, and Shakira’s theme song for the movie “Try Anything” is an enjoyable if clichéd pop song that fits the story’s message.

Of all the phrases I thought I’d use to describe Zootropolis, I never thought “socially relevant” would be one of them. Far more than just a fun family film with cute animals, this is a movie that feels important in the climate we live in where prejudice pervades almost every aspect of our daily existence. It teaches kids that generalising a group based on a small number of radical exceptions is unacceptable, that people from certain backgrounds are capable of making their way in untraditional fields for them, and that we all sometimes make unintentional mistakes that could be seen as disrespectful to others. Those are some pretty deep themes for an animated Disney film, but for a company that lords over so much of our popular culture it’s momentous of them to make a statement like this. I haven’t seen a film that cuts so deep like this since The LEGO Movie, and I’m sure that certain media groups are going to have a field day of claiming Disney is trying to indoctrinate kids with some sort of “agenda”, but they’re exactly the kind of idiots this film is against. If you’re a parent, take your kids to see Zootropolis not just because they’ll have a good time. Take them because it might make them better people.

FINAL VERDICT: 9/10

Starring: Ryan Reynolds (Buried), Morena Baccarin (Firefly), Ed Skrein (The Transporter Refueled), T.J. Miller (How to Train Your Dragon), Gina Carano (Haywire), Brianna Hildebrand

Director: Tim Miller

Writers: Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick (Zombieland)

Runtime: 1 hour 48 minutes

Release Date: 10 February (UK), 12 February (US)

Deadpool has merely been a dream film for comic book fans for a long time; that movie that’s always been on the cusp of reality but always pulled away by fearful studio executives. After the treatment of the character in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, demand for a standalone Deadpool movie was practically demanded as penance. And now, thanks to fan insistence plus a few strategic leaks of an early screenplay and test footage, that dream film is now playing in a theatre near you. After so much anticipation, partnered with possibly the best marketing campaign in Hollywood history, you’d think the final product wouldn’t be able to live up to the hype. Anyone who still says that after watching it is a jaded contrarian, because this movie delivers everything it promises and more.

Yes, Deadpool is another superhero origin story, but I doubt you’ve ever seen one quite like this. Told through a fragmented structure a la Batman Begins, the story of how Wade Wilson became the Merc with a Mouth follows many tropes of the genre, but also breaks just about as many and makes fun of the others. It’s very self-aware of what it is doing, with direct call-outs to certain movies and the character of Colossus essentially serving as a metaphor for the traditional superhero movie. In terms of humour, the movie completely nails the fourth-wall breaking witticism of the comic books laced with copious amounts of innuendo. Is it a sense of humour that’s particularly biting or ingenious? No, but it’s not aspiring to be. The plot is mainly there as a platform for a series of ridiculous action sequences and some potty humour, but there is some substance underneath the style. If the movie were nothing but violence and sex gags, as much as that alone would have satiated fans, the film would have quickly become one-note. In a surprising twist, Deadpool is at its core a surprisingly touching romance story about staying with the one you love in spite of dire circumstances. It’s nothing that’s going to make you cry, but that ultimately invests you in the story far more than ironic quips about not being able to afford more X-Men cameos. This is a movie that delivers pure, adulterated entertainment (yes, I know that’s an oxymoron, but it’s intentional), tightly packing in a sh*tload of action and gags into a brisk run time that is never boring for a single frame. Oh, and like I even have to tell you, but STAY THROUGH THE CREDITS!

Ryan Reynolds was born to play Deadpool. In his first five minutes of screen time in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, he proved that before the movie got totally lazy and ruined him (don’t worry, it’s an issue firmly addressed here). Now getting to play the role unfiltered, Reynolds shines in what is his genuinely best performance to date. He belts out the one-liners like a champ and revels in every piece of awesomeness, but he’s also wonderful in the more serious moments (well, “serious for a Deadpool movie” moments). There’s an authentic horror when he sees what has become of him, a real fear when he can’t bear to show the woman he loves, and certified anger at the one who did it to him. They even make sure to give him his limits through a simple moral code; it’s one that only makes sense to him, but at least he has one. Again, this level of commitment is what sells the movie beyond its bizarre personality. Reynolds certainly ain’t getting Oscar consideration for this, but for a comic book fan this is the most accurate translation of a character since…well, actually, ever now that I think about it. Morena Baccarin makes for a perfect romantic foil for Wilson as the vivacious Vanessa, matching his quirks with her own for a very messed up but equally heartfelt romance. Her chemistry with Reynolds shoots off the screen and, though she does serve a damsel role in the climax, she’s no defenceless Mary Jane. Ed Skrein finally gets a decent role here as the villain Ajax who, though not an adversary for the ages, is an effective counterpoint to Deadpool’s personality and even quite funny in a deadpan way. T.J. Miller steals every scene he is in as the sardonic Weasel, blurting out kooky and nonsensical punch lines that will have you laughing every time, Gina Carano doesn’t get much dialogue but makes up for it through exemplary glowering, and Brianna Hildebrand is a revelation as the ever-apathetic X-Man-in-training Negasonic Teenage Warhead (yeah, if you couldn’t tell already, it’s that kind of movie).

When they promised that Deadpool would be R rated, fans were overjoyed and I think they’ll be more than satisfied by the carnage on display. Whilst not diabolical on a Takashi Miike level, there is certainly a good abundance of blood, dismemberment and colourful four-letter words. The action sequences are wonderfully photographed and creatively composed, completely avoiding lazy action movie choreography to create a vivid and totally awe-inspiring experience. The humour is even flavoured into the look of the film, with as many jokes in the background as there are in the dialogue (here’s a free hint: look closely at the pizza box). It’s hard to believe Tim Miller has never directed a feature film before, and he certainly deserves to do more considering the natural talent he’s displayed here. In a similar sense to Guardians of the Galaxy, Deadpool is also a movie defined by its eclectic soundtrack featuring a mix of rock, hip-hop and 80s cheese. Some are used for comedic effect, others for the sake of badassery, but they’re all fitting choices that are sure to making it to your iTunes playlist very soon. Combined with Junkie XL’s fantastic retro-inspired score, it’s a movie that’s as aurally pleasing as it is visually.

Is Deadpool a transcendent piece of filmmaking that epitomizes not only comic book movies but also the art form in general? F*ck no! But does it accomplish everything it sets out to do with exemplary form? Abso-f*cking-lutely, and that’s why it gets a perfect score. My cheeks are in literal pain right now because I was laughing so much in this movie, and whenever I wasn’t doing that I was grinning in awe. Deadpool is certainly a movie that doesn’t have mass-market appeal, but it perfectly appeals to the market it’s targeted at and that’s all you can ask for. This movie would have been perfectly satisfying if it has just been 90 minutes of jokes about giving Wolverine a blowjob, but it goes that extra mile by actually putting genuine heart and effort into the proceedings. Now it’s up to you, fanboys. Get out to your local cinema and support this movie with your cash. Don’t make this another Scott Pilgrim vs the World. If you simply go see this movie, we are going to get more of what we want and I think Hollywood would be a far more interesting place with more edgy, eccentric, batsh*t insane comic book movies.

FINAL VERDICT: 10/10!

Starring: Lily James (Cinderella), Sam Riley (Maleficent), Bella Heathcote (Dark Shadows), Douglas Booth (Noah), Jack Huston (Kill Your Darlings), Matt Smith (Terminator Genisys), Charles Dance (Last Action Hero), Lena Headey (Dredd)

Writer/Director: Burr Steers (17 Again)

Runtime: 1 hour 48 minutes

Release Date: 5 February (US), 11 February (UK)

Let me get this off my chest: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is an underrated modern classic! OK, maybe that’s a bit much, but damn I do love it in all its crazy glory. I certainly understand why a lot of people don’t appreciate it, and I think the problem is that the main joke is a hard sell. The humour in the premise comes from adding ridiculous elements to an otherwise straight story and playing it completely sincerely. For most people, it ends up feeling either too silly or too serious, but for me it worked and I found it to be a ridiculously fun plundering of American history. And now Seth Grahame-Smith’s other most well known work, a reworking of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice into the world of the undead, has finally arrived on the big screen too. Does the joke work upon retelling, or will this one be lost on the general audience too?

First up, I must admit I have never read the original Austen novel. However, I have seen the 2005 film version with Keira Knightley, so I am at least somewhat familiar with the original story. From that standpoint, this retelling does follow all the same basic plot beats of the story for at least the first two thirds, though the context of many events have now been changed in the zombie apocalypse. Despite the imminent threat of the undead horde, the story’s main themes of class, love, and the role of a woman remain completely intact. The film’s main joke is still playing the story sincerely despite the absurdity, and again for me it’s a gag worthy of a few laughs. Adding kung fu battles to simple scenes of characters exchanging banter about betrothals and betrayals is a humorous sight, and by changing Elizabeth (James) from just a woman wanting some independence to one who wants to prove herself as a warrior first surprisingly adds a more modernist subtext. If you took out the zombies, the film would be a perfectly acceptable adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, but the third act is where the film does diverge considerably into a big action climax. It’s an understandable change, as a zombie film with the straight-up original ending would be a little anti-climactic, and for what it is it’s an enjoyable sequence that does fit well with the film’s own arc and tone. However, setting up this new climax not only means restructuring the original sequence of events, it means adding in some new story material at the cost of developing the original plot better. The film is well paced and I wouldn’t want to see it much longer, but to add so much to the story and yet make the film shorter than your average regular version of Pride and Prejudice does make it feel a little like cliff notes.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies has a very strong cast that would have been excellent even in a regular adaptation, and their presence here in such a bizarre reinterpretation only gives the film more credence. Lily James makes for a wonderful Elizabeth Bennet, her previous experience with period pieces like Downton Abbey and Cinderella certainly helping her look the part, and she manages to make the character her own. Then again, considering she’s the only Elizabeth Bennet who knows Chinese martial arts and can decapitate zombies with a battle-axe, it’s easy for her to stand apart. Equally, Sam Riley’s Mr Darcy captures the original essence of the character whilst also adding a more tragic back-story and a gruffer demeanour; he’s basically a Georgian Batman. He and James share good chemistry as both adversaries and lovers, but unfortunately their story feels a little truncated. Most importantly, not as much time is given to Darcy’s important character arc, and by doing so it makes it a little harder to understand why Elizabeth eventually accepts him. The film does reinterpret their relationship by making their eventual love more mutual, through them saving each other rather than Darcy simply righting his wrongs, but even that feels a little too brief for it to be fully satisfying. This simplification also afflicts the story between Jane (Heathcote) and Bingley (Booth), but given both actors are amongst the weaker cast members the loss isn’t so disappointing. Mr Collins is the character most unaffected by the scenery change, still the awkward doofus he was in the original, but Matt Smith’s certainly taking the film a little less seriously than everyone else with his excitable performance; he’s an entertaining presence for sure, but he perhaps takes it a little too far. Charles Dance’s Mr Bennet is suitably doting and fatherly, and Lena Headey’s reinterpretation of Lady Catherine into a kick-ass zombie slayer is a change that provides both humour and awesomeness. Ultimately, it’s Jack Huston’s Wickham who has gone under the most drastic change from the original. Reinterpreted from a mildly scheming side character into the film’s main villain, it’s a change that has roots given the already present rivalry between him and Darcy, but considering so much of the film’s new material centres around his character, it’s a bit baffling that he ends up feeling like an even less nuanced character than he was before.

From a visual perspective, the film from a distance again looks like it could be a normal adaptation, but it’s the little details that clue you into the different dynamic. It’s a great exercise in visual contrast, seeing Georgian country houses surrounded by spiked gates or women brandishing blades on their garters, but it manages to never feel out-of-place. The action sequences are well choreographed, especially the martial arts sequences, but on a horror level it’s somewhat dissatisfying. There are plenty of decapitations, dismemberment and gutting, but the blood levels are pretty tame and some of the more gorier moments feel like they’ve been edited around to secure a lower rating; hopefully they can reinstate these for an unrated home video cut.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: if just the title sounds stupid for you, then you need not apply. However, if the idea of aristocrats bickering about inheritances whilst shooting zombies in the face sounds cool to you, then there’s certainly enough to enjoy here. Again I’m worried I might be the only one who appreciates the joke, as I’m sure Jane Austen fans will be frustrated to the concessions made to the story, whilst horror nuts will be annoyed by the lack of gore, but for me it struck the right balance between sincere adaptation and glorified joke. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is the still the superior film for me, mainly because that did embrace the goofy a little more (c’mon, there’s a scene in that movie where Lincoln fights a vampire who throws horses at him!), but as its own film it achieves its goals admirably. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to write a version of To Kill a Mockingbird where it turns out Boo Radley was a werewolf the whole time.

FINAL VERDICT: 7.5/10

Starring: Casey Affleck (Gone Baby Gone), Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave), Anthony Mackie (The Hurt Locker), Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad), Clifton Collins Jr (Crank: High Voltage), Norman Reedus (The Walking Dead), Teresa Palmer (I Am Number Four), Michael K Williams (The Wire), Gal Gadot (Fast Five), Woody Harrelson (Zombieland), Kate Winslet (Titanic)

Director: John Hillcoat (Lawless)

Writer: Matt Cook

Runtime: 1 hour 55 minutes

Release Date: 19 February (UK), 29 February (US)

Making a unique heist film is very hard to do. They’re heavily reliant on formula, so it’s very easy to follow it to the book and end up being generic, but if you stray too far it loses something. Triple 9 does bring a couple of new ideas to the table and, though nothing it does is particularly groundbreaking, it is an entertaining ride whilst it lasts.

A major theme of Triple 9 is crossing threads and coincidence, so fittingly the story is told through various intersecting characters that form the bigger picture. It’s a technique that certainly helps increase the citywide scope of the narrative, but with so many plotlines to follow it does end up meaning the individual stories are quite simple. You’ve got the rookie cop struggling to fit in, the noble criminal fighting for his family, the crooked cop caught between two worlds, and they’re all stories you pretty much know the basic beats of; if you’ve seen The Departed, The Town, Point Break, Heat, Sicario, or any other such film, you know what’s coming. However, the film ultimately works because all these different stories are weaved together well enough through pitch-perfect pacing. After an exciting opening bank heist, a looming sense of tension is quickly created and the anticipation for the climax slowly builds throughout the entire film instead of just the last third. When the finale eventually kicks off, it feels a little abbreviated, but the epilogue is where every storyline truly pays off and the film ultimately ends on a suitably thematic note.

Triple 9 has an incredible cast, and though many of them get far less screen time than they deserve, I don’t think anyone’s phoning it in here. Casey Affleck’s Chris Allen is a little by the numbers, but the actor overcomes the marginal material with a powerful performance that hints at a darker, more inquisitive character. Anthony Mackie is great as the conflicted Marcus, injecting his natural charm into the character whilst never making us forget his more nefarious side; whether he and Affleck are arguing or bonding, it’s a compelling watch. Woody Harrelson is as engaging as ever as the vice-ridden but noble detective, and it’s great to see Clifton Collins Jr get a more prominent role that actually allows him to show off his talents. Chiwetel Ejiofor ends up stealing the show though (as he so often does), mining a lot of sympathy with very little screen time to create a character whose moral compass is very hard to pinpoint. The rest of the cast, whilst generally good on a performance level, is more problematic in terms of material. Aaron Paul is saddled with yet another variation on Jesse Pinkman, Norman Reedus’ role is basically an extended cameo, and Teresa Palmer and Gal Gadot’s roles can be summed up as “Affleck’s wife” and “Ejiofor’s baby mama”; that’s literally all there is to say about them. Kate Winslet playing a Russian mob boss is something I didn’t expect to be in her range and, though she certainly looks the part, her accent faded in and out and she ultimately doesn’t get her hands dirty enough to be threatening. Oh, and Michael K Williams is only in one scene, but he gets to play a role you’d never expect him in and he nails it.

Triple 9 doesn’t do anything to really make it stand out as a heist movie, but it does its job effectively enough. The pacing is tight, the performances are generally strong, and the way its structure and themes intertwine is interesting, but there isn’t anything that makes it something you need to rush out and see. If you’re curious enough and are in the mood for a dark but fun crime thriller, you could do far worse.

FINAL VERDICT: 7/10

Starring: Christian Bale (The Dark Knight), Steve Carell (Foxcatcher), Ryan Gosling (Drive), Brad Pitt (Moneyball), Rafe Spall (Hot Fuzz), Hamish Linklater (Fantastic Four), Jeremy Strong (Lincoln), John Magaro (Carol), Finn Wittrock (American Horror Story)

Director: Adam McKay (Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy)

Writers: Charles Randolph (Love and Other Drugs) and Adam McKay

Runtime: 2 hours 10 minutes

Release Date: 11 December (US), 22 January (UK)

Seeing a director drastically change genre isn’t a new thing. Sam Raimi and Peter Jackson went from gory horror films to iconic blockbusters, George Miller went from Mad Max to Babe: Pig in the City and back again, whilst Steven Spielberg and Danny Boyle flit between styles all the time. Regardless, seeing Adam McKay, director of comedies like Step Brothers and the Anchorman series, swap out goofy laughs for something more dramatic like The Big Short is still a shock. It’s not like McKay’s never shown signs of social commentary, considering how both Anchorman films do satirize the American news network in subtly biting ways, but this is the first time that side of himself has taken focus, and by doing so he’s somehow made one of the best films of 2015.

The story charts the lead-up to the 2007-2008 financial crisis through three intertwining stories, and the film does a great job of balancing these threads. Though tied together by a parallel goal, they each have their own unique flavour and show the effects of this impending crisis through different eyes. But just because McKay is focusing on serious subject matter doesn’t mean The Big Short is completely dull or po-faced or snooty. The film wants to be respectable, but it also wants to be accessible to a wide audience, and there’s no better way of being both educational and entertaining than through humour. There is a lot of financial jargon to follow, but everything is clearly explained to the audience in simple and entertaining ways. Whether through clever analogies, humorous asides, or characters directly explaining through the fourth wall, it genuinely educates you on how all these seemingly complicated systems are actually simple and flimsy, and soon the complicated mumbo-jumbo is easy to swallow. By doing this, it then allows you to focus on what’s actually going on and how broken the system was and still is. The film also gains a lot of credibility by never completely siding with our protagonists, nor does it paint them as manipulative hypocrites taking advantage the way The Wolf of Wall Street does. The Big Short’s ultimate goal is to show you that our financial crisis was caused by the ignorance and stupidity of the American banking system, and these people whose eyes we see it through did what they did mainly to prove to those bankers how ignorant and stupid they were for ignoring the signs.

The Big Short is so star-studded that I’m probably not going to even mention half of the famous faces the film has crammed into it, so let’s focus on our main players. Ryan Gosling acts as our main guide through the film as a participant in all three stories, and he excels as scheming market trader seizing the opportunity to make some money out of this falling tree; if the film has a Jordan Belfort equivalent, he’s the closest fit. Steve Carell is fantastic as the angry crusader trying to make a difference in yet another brilliant stretch for the comedy star; it’s hard to believe that he’s working under the same director here as the one who told him to say “I love lamp.” Carell’s underlings are wonderful played by Rafe Spall, Hamish Linklater and Jeremy Strong, each offering their own unique comedic flavour to the proceedings, whilst Brad Pitt’s understated performance as the jaded ex-banker helps ground the film when it gets too exuberant. But ultimately, Christian Bale steals the day as Michael Burry, the socially awkward hedge fund manager who discovers the impending crisis in the first place. Though not quite as transformative as some of his other performances, Bale does manage a convincing introverted weirdo and in turn manages to provide some of the film’s biggest laughs and harshest truths. There are a lot of cameos in the movie, some more important than others, but two in particular may rank among the best and funniest cameos in a movie ever; eat your heart out, Stan Lee.

The Big Short often feels more like a documentary than a fictionalised account, and a lot of that is thanks to the presentation. The cinematography uses a lot of loose handheld camera work, often wobbling around a scene whilst going in and out of focus. In most feature films, this would look amateurish but here it gives the film a stronger sense of verisimilitude; by making the film look more grounded in reality, it removes that aura that reminds you it’s not real. The editing is swift and crisp, keeping even the most jargon-heavy scenes feeling snappy and energetic, and there’s a lot of great use of pop culture imagery to remind ourselves of the world in the mid-2000s. That sense of era also permeates the eclectic soundtrack populated by recognisable songs from pop, rap and even heavy metal, often doing so to comedic effect. I won’t say much more, but the film probably has the best out-of-context use of the theme to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera ever.

The Big Short is not just a great film; it’s an important film. It’s the kind of view into such an important subject I wish we got more often. So many filmmakers would have told this story through some serious filter, believing that would be the only way to for it to be done justice. But Adam McKay understands that often the best way to explain a bad situation is to mock it, and by doing so has created an entertaining satire that doesn’t avoid the hard truths of the matter. Even if you have no understanding of how Wall Street or mortgages work, this film explains it to you in a hilarious way and will have you invested in its issues by the time credits roll. After such a dramatic shift for McKay, it might be hard to seem him return to directing Will Ferrell shouting ludicrous nonsense, but whenever he next puts out something like The Big Short again I’ll be sure to pay attention.

FINAL VERDICT: 10/10!

Starring: Samuel L. Jackson (Django Unchained), Kurt Russell (Escape from New York), Jennifer Jason Leigh (Road to Perdition), Walton Goggins (Predators), Demian Bichir (Machete Kills), Tim Roth (The Incredible Hulk), Michael Madsen (Reservoir Dogs), Bruce Dern (Nebraska)

Writer/Director: Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction)

Runtime: 2 hours 47 minutes

Release Date: 25 December (US), 8 January (UK)

As Quentin Tarantino is now even closer to his supposed retirement (his plan being to quit directing after ten films), it seems odd for him to return to the western so soon. Django Unchained was an excellent view on the classic genre from the original film geek, but now he brings us an extra helping of blood-soaked bounty hunter justice with The Hateful Eight. Has the director struck gold twice in the same place, or is he scraping for leftovers at his point?

As much as many will compare The Hateful Eight to Django Unchained, they have as many differences as they do similarities. Instead of a sprawling adventure across the open fields of the American South, we have an enclosed suspense film set in the snowy mountains of Wyoming. Instead of focusing on one man’s journey for vengeance against those who wronged him, we have several characters all with hidden motives and backstabbing agendas. Otherwise the film is full of all the classic Tarantino tropes: non-linear storytelling, extensive exchanges of witty dialogue peppered with colourful expletives, anachronistic music choices, and a lot of blood. Story-wise it’s as much a mystery film as it is a western, playing out like a sadistic version of Clue at points, with the uneasy tension of not knowing who did what or what will happen next managing to keep the film riveting through its gargantuan running time. The film’s length is its biggest issue, with certain scenes dragged out far longer than necessary, and it’s a complaint that’s plagued Tarantino films for years but one he’s never heeded. Cutting out about fifteen minutes longer would have made it a little breezier, but then again this isn’t even the longest version of the movie; the 70mm Roadshow version in select theatres is twenty minutes longer including an interval.

The main cast of The Hateful Eight is mostly composed of Tarantino regulars, and all of them give the performances you’d expect from such a production. Samuel L. Jackson has certainly had more interesting characters in his previous collaborations with Tarantino, but in the role of Marquis Warren he gets a lot more screen time and he shines in every moment; a scene between him and Bruce Dern is a major highlight of the film where Jackson joyfully revels in mad perversion. Kurt Russell as the no-nonsense John Ruth is perfect casting, allowing the veteran actor to flex both his dramatic and often-forgotten comedic chops, and of all the characters he’s the one I wish I could have seen more of. Jennifer Jason Leigh steals every scene she’s in as the abrasive Daisy Domergue, her madness levels set at a constant ten as she screeches and grins her way through every scene. Walton Goggins gets a rare chance to act against type by playing the most honourable member of the main cast, but even he has his prejudices that make him an unpredictable character; any time he gets to interact with Jackson, the sparks of tension and chemistry fly. Demian Bichir and Tim Roth take on more comedic roles as the Mexican Bob and British Mobray, affecting ridiculous accents that are amusing on their own but are strengthened by impeccable comedic timing. Bruce Dern’s General Smithers spends all of his screen time sat in one spot, playing a character not dissimilar to his role in Nebraska, but he’s as fantastic an actor as he’s ever been and his aforementioned scene with Jackson is wonderful. The only weak link in the main cast is Michael Madsen’s Joe Gage. Not only is the character bland and forgettable, Madsen’s performance feels disengaged as he spends the whole movie speaking like a hung-over Nick Nolte doing a bad Batman impression. I know Madsen has been in I-don’t-give-a-sh*t mode for the past few years (AKA The Bruce Willis Method), but in reuniting with Tarantino again I’d thought he’d give just a teensy bit more effort.

Tarantino has made a big deal about shooting the film on 70mm film in all of the promotion, and though most viewers will never get the full experience of the format you can still appreciate the gorgeous cinematography in digital projection. The film clearly takes visual influence from the classic Spaghetti Western The Great Silence with its grand shots of bloodstained snow on rural American vistas, and the haberdashery set most of the film takes place in is very well detailed and captured on camera. The special effects are as gory and overdone as any of Tarantino’s previous films, especially when it comes to exploding heads; it wouldn’t be one of his films without it. The music of legendary composer Ennio Morricone has been repurposed in many of Tarantino’s films, but for the first time the director has actually brought in Morricone to compose a brand new original score. Though there is some reuse of music from Morricone’s own scores for The Thing and Exorcist II alongside some other tunes, the new soundtrack blends perfectly with the classic imagery so often associated with the musician’s work.

The Hateful Eight isn’t Quentin Tarantino’s finest work but it’s still a fantastic experience no fan of cinema should go without seeing on the big screen. It doesn’t have as many surprises as you usually find in one of the director’s iconic works, but maybe that’s because we’ve seen him riff on the Western before. For his next project, I hope Tarantino tries a genre we haven’t seen him tackle yet; I know he’s expressed interest in sci-fi before, or perhaps a spy movie or a horror would suit him well.

FINAL VERDICT: 9/10

Starring: Brie Larson (Trainwreck), Jacob Tremblay (The Smurfs 2), Joan Allen (The Bourne Ultimatum), Sean Bridgers (Trumbo), Tom McCamus (Orphan Black), William H. Macy (Boogie Nights)

Director: Lenny Abrahamson (Frank)

Writer: Emma Donoghue

Runtime: 1 hour 57 minutes

Release Date: October 16 (US), January 15 (UK)

You know how in a lot of thriller mystery movies someone goes missing and at the end the hero finds them living in some hovel in a deranged guy’s basement? What if we saw that story from the captive point of view? Room is that story, but just because it’s about a dire situation that doesn’t mean it’s a depressing experience. It is harrowing and tense in a lot of ways, but ultimately it’s a far more hopeful tale than you’d expect.

What makes Room so inspired and original an experience is how it’s told from the perspective of 5-year-old Jack (Tremblay). By seeing this story through his eyes, it drastically changes the tone of the movie because he doesn’t see the horror in his situation. In many ways it lightens the mood, but in those moments when you really think about the reality of his and Joy’s (Larson) life it brings you right down to Earth again. When they finally escape their capture, you might expect the film to lighten up, but in certain ways the story takes an even darker turn. It shows how an experience like that would have a massive effect on both characters, and because they perceived their captivity differently they also deal with the aftermath very differently. The film never feels too saccharine or too depressing, blurring the line between the two moods seamlessly, but it’s those moments of high intensity or high emotion where the movie truly sings. The tension in the escape scene is especially frightening to watch as Jack simultaneously deals with trying to flee his captor and comprehend this new world he’s found himself in. It’s a nerve-wracking watch at many points, but ultimately hope wins out and you’ll leave the theatre feeling emotionally drained but fulfilled at the same time. My only major fault with the film is that post-escape the story doesn’t give much closure to the fate of their captor Old Nick (Bridgers). It’s mostly insinuated what happened to him and the story is more about our main characters recovering rather than seeking justice, but I simply felt there was a lack of resolution to that thread.

Brie Larson has been hanging on the fringes of fame for a long time now, popping up in small but memorable roles in films like Scott Pilgrim vs The World and Don Jon, but only recently has she started attracting real attention and I think her performance in Room is going to skyrocket her to even higher stardom. Even during scenes when she’s supposed to be composed and in control, you can sense the fear and frustration underneath every line, and whenever that horror breaks through it’s frightening. A scene where she’s interviewed post-escape and is asked some particularly difficult questions reveals how truly broken she is as a person, making you wonder whether she can or would want to continue living on even though she’s now free. It’s a haunting but beautiful performance that will surely define Larson’s career, and she’s certainly a versatile enough actress as proven by her previous work that she’ll never become typecast. But as much as she impresses, young Jacob Tremblay shines just as brightly. In one of the best performances by a child actor ever put to screen, he is completely convincing as a young boy completely oblivious and even in denial of a world beyond what he knows. The way he locks up when someone unfamiliar enters the room or how he reacts to something unknown or justifies his imagination-fuelled beliefs all feel completely genuine; there’s never a moment where his acting falters. He is the true star of the film, and without such a phenomenal performance I don’t think the movie would have worked even half as well.

Room shows us a horrible situation from the most innocent of perspectives, and in doing so creates a truly unique film experience. Larson and Tremblay elevate the already strong material to awards-worthy calibre, making it certainly one of the best films of 2015. It truly runs the full gamut of emotions during its runtime, but you’ll hopefully find the experience more uplifting than upsetting.

FINAL VERDICT: 9/10

Starring: Jennifer Lawrence (The Hunger Games), Robert De Niro (The Godfather Part II), Edgar Ramirez (Deliver Us From Evil), Virginia Madsen (Sideways), Diane Ladd (Chinatown), Isabella Rossellini (Blue Velvet), Bradley Cooper (American Sniper)

Writer/Director: David O. Russell (Silver Linings Playbook)

Runtime: 2 hours 4 minutes

Release Date: 25 December (US), 1 January (UK)

David O. Russell’s been on a great roll of late, his last three films all being nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. I personally was underwhelmed by his last effort American Hustle, but both The Fighter and Silver Linings Playbook are excellent movies more than worthy of the accolades they received. Joy has been going a little more under the radar however, its presence this awards season overshadowed by bigger pictures and the marketing evasive of what exactly the movie is about. The lack of excitement around it may lead you to believe Joy is one of those movies looking for Oscar attention but failing to get it due to mediocrity, hoping to fly by on name recognition and doomed to join denizens of similarly forgotten “prestige pictures”…but you’d be wrong.

Loosely based on the life of entrepreneur Joy Magano, Joy is above all about the struggle to pursue your passions. Semi-linearly telling her story from childhood to millionaire, the film focuses on Joy’s (Lawrence) constant struggles with her squabbling family and vicious businessmen that send her constantly slamming into failure. It’s a rags-to-riches tale, but one where our heroine is thrown right back to rags several heartbreaking times. But with the struggle being so much harder, it makes the moments of real joy (badum tish!) feel far more satisfying. It sinks you far better into Joy’s mindset and every time she falls you get just as pissed as she does. It’s a tough film to watch at points, but by its conclusion it’s uplifting and inspirational. The film is well paced and consistently engaging, but it does have a tendency to get a bit experimental and surreal. There are several dream sequences in the film, all of which related to the soap opera Joy’s mother (Madsen) obsessively watches, and whilst they are enjoyable in a kitschy way they feel a bit out of place and are overbearing in how they incessantly hammer home Joy’s psychological condition.

Whether you love her to bits or think she’s overexposed, you cannot deny Jennifer Lawrence is a phenomenal actress when given the right material and clearly Russell knows how to get the best out of her. Her performance as Joy is what ultimately makes the film work so well, portraying a very complex character who evolves from put-upon housewife to commanding woman of business whilst remaining relatable and sympathetic even in her darkest moments. It’s a tough balancing act to pull off and Lawrence acquits herself flawlessly, crafting yet another memorable character to add to her quickly growing collection. The supporting cast is negligible when compared to her, but a lot of them are fantastic in their own right. Virginia Madsen is particularly impressive as Joy’s reclusive mother, and Edgar Ramirez delivers a career best performance as the ex-husband with even more unrealistic ambitions. Robert De Niro is there to do what Robert De Niro does best, and Bradley Cooper’s role is small but vital and he does a lot with his small amount of screen time. The only person that lets the side down from a character perspective is Elisabeth Röhm as Joy’s half-sister Peggy. Röhm does her best with the material, but the role of Peggy feels utterly spiteful and shallowly written. The rest of the family all have their annoying foibles but they all genuine moments of humanity too. Peggy never gets a moment to be human and is purely there to aggravate Joy; maybe it went down like that in real life, but it gets to the point where it’s almost like she’s trying to make Joy fail.

One of the positives I can say about Russell’s work on American Hustle is that he really nailed the time period, and he does similarly great work with Joy. He captures that transitional period from the 1980s to the 1990s extremely well in how the fashions and designs don’t quite fit into either decade specifically; it would have been easy to favour one but they found a good balance. The cinematography is strong too, especially how well it emulates the look of soap operas and shopping channels in certain scenes, looking just cheesy enough to capture the feel without seeming forced.

I can understand why Joy has gotten lost in the shuffle this awards season and I doubt it’ll even make my list of favourites, but that’s no reason to not go see it for yourself. It’s quirky and a bit uneven, but overall the film does a fantastic job of taking what might have been a pretty standard story and making it different and impactful by doubling down on those low moments. Too many inspirational stories like this gloss over how frighteningly difficult pursuing your dreams can be, and instead Joy is completely honest and realistic about the entire situation. In other hands this material could have been complete tripe, but Russell and Lawrence elevate it into something more than worth watching.

FINAL VERDICT: 8.5/10