American Made Movie Review

Released: 25th August 2017 (UK)

Length: 115 Minutes

Certificate: 15

Director: Doug Liman

Starring: Tom Cruise, Domnhall Gleeson, Sarah Wright, Jayma Mays, Jesse Plemons, Frank Licari and Caleb Landry Jones

Split between serious dramas and light-hearted efforts, adaptations of real stories often swap back and forth between these two focuses. American Made, the latest biopic to hit cinemas, once again takes a thorny subject matter and transforms it into a rapid-fire drama with a healthy helping of creativity.

Taking place in the late 1970s and eventually the eighties, Barry Seal (Tom Cruise) is an airline pilot who comes across a CIA agent named Schafer (Domnhall Gleeson), who tasks him with flying reconnaissance missions to assist in disrupting communist regimes in Colombia and Nicaragua. What starts as a straightforward way of making some extra money for his family turns into a massive operation with Barry pulling favours and winning approval from both sides of the drug and weapons trade. Staying almost entirely focused on the main character and his errands, it’s incredibly energetic, occasionally dipping into narration territory to frame the action. American Made is very much a rags-to-riches story, sharing the same over-the-top flair as last year’s War Dogs and Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street; as the pressure piles on and the number of contracts stack up, Barry finds himself bouncing between North and South America, barely managing to avoid the prying eyes of the law. This is where the film is at its most riveting, with a few slices of humour thrown in for good measure. Because of the singular focus on Barry and his exploits, American Made also takes a well-rounded look at the shady deals that went on behind the scenes, giving ample screen-time to both the US government, drug cartels and everyone in-between.

American Made’s characters are very simplistic, preferring to let the narrative and action deliver most of the engagement, occasionally to its detriment. Tom Cruise brings his charm to full effect here, being particularly great in the narrations where he throws in all his enthusiasm. Domnhall Gleeson is also good; there’s a definitive shift between his time in the offices and his interactions with Barry, working to hide their business from the public eye. Barry’s wife Lucy (Sarah Wright) is more grounded with more than a few difficult moments between the two. There’s little time dedicated to character development here as the film blasts from scene to scene, perhaps to mimic the speed of Barry’s air travel. His colleagues in the flying services he provides don’t have a lot to them and a certain character played by Caleb Landry Jones that shows up to hinder him halfway through doesn’t have much to do other than complaining and getting into trouble. Some of the characters and their relationships could have been developed a bit more to further deepen the plot, especially where the pressure from the authorities is concerned.

Doug Liman’s latest film makes use of a stylised look that blends seamlessly with the time period it’s set in; from the moment the Universal ident morphs into a retro eighties look, you know you’re in for a creative and dynamic production. The handheld camera shots are very close and intimate with only a few traditional mid-shots strewn about the runtime; you feel as if you’re with Barry on these errand jobs, feeling the weight of all these contacts asking him to manage all these different tasks at once. Add to that the real planes used in filming and the always impressive stunt work from Cruise and you have some often-edgy scenes in the air. The sequences that take place in Colombia and Nicaragua are tinted with a hazy yellow, emphasising the roasting heat Barry finds himself in. American Made also goes beyond this with a variety of cross-cuts; real footage, animations and infographics all used to convey its anchoring into real life events while the soundtrack features a range of period-piece tracks that not only ground the film but show off the extravagant lifestyle Barry ends up creating. The film is superbly shot and edited, meaning you’ll never grow tired of the action. You get the sense there was a real commitment to making American Made stand out from its contemporaries.

American Made is charismatic, clever and not afraid to barrel along at top speed; its basic characterisation is the only blemish against a wave of frenetic pacing and wonderful cinematography, a killer combo that propels it to become one of the most entertaining films of the year.

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars (Brilliant)

This War of Mine Game Review

Released: November 14th 2014

Developer: 11 Bit Studios

Publisher: 11 Bit Studios

Certificate: 18

Formats: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, iOS and Android

Format Played: PC

In a games industry filled with action focused first-person shooters, there are very few titles that place their focus on portraying war in a realistic manner. This War of Mine takes the opposite approach from most studios, putting the player in the shoes of the innocent civilians who struggle to get by as the battles rage on outside.

Taking place in a bombed-out house in the fictional city of Pogoren, Graznavia, you’ll take control of up to 12 individuals as they hunker down and wait out the war until peace comes. Based on a random count, this could be anything between a month and eighty days. Each of the characters has their own background, whether it’s a cook forced to flee their restaurant or a child separated from their parents. Rather than traditional voice acting, the game instead relays the character’s feelings through diary entries that can change based on the situation they find themselves in. There are also many different endings, depending on the choices you make throughout the journey but this is only the base of how This War of Mine presents itself.

Everything about This War of Mine has been carefully crafted to create one of the most absorbing experiences you’ll see in modern gaming. Much like real war, the action is both unflinching and unpredictable. Scavenging for supplies in rubble, taking on solely charitable deeds and avoiding the attention of other survivors is immensely difficult and when you see the consequences of nastier actions, it’s often horrifying; at one point, I was forced to kill a resident of a larger apartment block after venturing too deep into their territory; the resident’s family poured into the room and dropped to their knees, begging them to wake up. The absolute despair and grief conveyed simply through atmosphere, text boxes and the sound of weeping led me to feel a sense of guilt that no other game has been able to accomplish. Time is an important commodity; without sufficient medical supplies, characters will take many days to heal from injuries and even longer to recover from a depressed or broken state. The trauma of conflict will cause characters to become unresponsive, even to the point of killing themselves if they feel they cannot carry on. Some may even leave if they feel the house isn’t safe anymore. If all the characters in the house leave or die, it’s final and you’ll have to start the survival journey over from the beginning; much like XCOM, there is no perfect playthrough; injuries, raids and deaths are common in a war-torn environment, especially on higher difficulties where resources are exceptionally rare. The Little Ones DLC (which donated all profits to the War Child charity) added children to the mix and they have their own set of considerations. They break down under pressure much more easily and will need comforting and a place to play very often, raising the emotional stakes even higher. With all the different actions and consequences, This War of Mine is highly replayable and the game was also open to modding for additional content.

If there’s any downside to the game, it’s that the scenarios are limited; the game always makes use of the same bombed out house and it’s very grounded in its original inspiration; the atrocities committed against civilians in the Bosnian War and the Siege of Sarajevo which took place between 1992 and 1996. The game may have struck a nerve had it included scenarios based on the more recent Syrian conflict or wars in Iraq and Afghanistan but it could have brought more attention to the struggles of civilians in those regions by diversifying its overall design.

This War of Mine is presented from a 2D ant-farm perspective; controlling each character is as simple as clicking on them then clicking again on the many different icons strewn about the environments which represent a variety of actions. Characters will clear debris, search for supplies (or steal them, depending on the location), cook meals, build and manufacture items and even comfort each-other amid disaster. In the day, you’ll be working to put meals together and rest up; occasionally you may also have a visitor to trade with, assist or even invite inside to survive with the others. But at night you’ll go out to scavenge; you’ll have to choose carefully here as there are many other survivors who will not hesitate to raid your shelter and take your supplies while you’re away. Whoever goes out to scavenge must use caution as you’ll never know who is friendly and who is hostile. While outside, your chosen scavenger will sneak by default; double clicking will make them move faster but this is noisier and may attract the attention of some unsavoury residents. On top of that, any scavenger will only have so much space in their backpack for food, supplies and materials. This is where the gameplay drastically deepens as there are many tactical decisions to make; do you take most of your valuables with you at the risk of losing them forever if your chosen scavenger is killed? Do you build more beds to provide a better sleep and healing from injuries or a small furnace to keep everyone warm? Playing This War of Mine is all about micro-management and making choices that will ultimately determine where the twelve characters will end up at the elusive ceasefire. It’s simple enough that anyone can pick it up but creates an often-unforgiving challenge.

Atmosphere is masterfully crafted in This War of Mine and it starts with the black and white filter; with all the colour drained out of the game the desolation of war and suffering is conveyed immediately. The music is slow and echoing which creates a haunting ambience. The locations are suitably foreboding with structures reduced to crumbling pillars and ruined architecture. The game accomplishes so much with a minimalistic presentation, conveying all the emotion with just a few tools; it envelopes the player fully into the horrors the characters are facing.

It could have been a bit bolder by spreading its themes across different conflicts but This War of Mine is a heart-wrenching, brutal and unrestrained depiction of war and the tragic consequences of those caught up in it. Anyone who sits down to play it will feel something and amidst all the mindless war games from the industry over the years, this is a superb achievement.

Rating: 9.0/10 (Brilliant)

The Dark Tower Movie Review

Released: 18th August 2017 (UK)

Length: 95 Minutes

Certificate: 12A

Director: Nikolaj Arcel

Starring: Tom Taylor, Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey

Stephen King’s fiction has achieved many followings over the years, resulting in countless film adaptations that have reached varying success; following in the footsteps of The Shining, It, and Children of the Corn, The Dark Tower could well be the worst adaptation released in the author’s long ventures in writing.

In modern-day New York, young Jake Chambers (Tom Taylor) is plagued with mysterious visions of a tower, one which guards the realms of Earth and other dimensions from demonic forces of darkness. There are the Gunslingers who work to protect the tower and those who wish to destroy it using the minds of children, personified by the Man in Black (Matthew McConaughey). After heading into another dimension, Jake finds the Gunslinger (Played by Idris Elba) from his dreams and together they work to stop the forces of evil from laying waste to the titular structure. The Dark Tower commits the worst mistake a film adaptation can make; it poorly introduces every aspect of its fictional tale. Everything from the characters to the world they inhabit is just “there” without any sort of development or building. Without any effort to draw the audience in, The Dark Tower trudges along, never becoming interesting until the end. There’s a scene taking place in a village made vulnerable by the Man in Black’s around halfway into the film and instead of fleshing out the world, all it does it bring the film to a halt. This is the kind of adaptation that expects its audience to be familiar with the source material and haphazardly ploughs through the lore of its universe without any time for the audience to take it all in. It all rings so hollow that by the halfway point you’ll be disconnected from the proceedings completely.

The performances in The Dark Tower are almost completely flat, generally wasting the talent brought on board. We learn next to nothing about these characters so we don’t care about any of them. Jake is a blank slate with nothing interesting about him; even the central notion of his troubled childhood is meaningless because there’s no time dedicating to characterising it. Equally frustrating is the near complete lack of chemistry between Jake and his mother (Katheryn Winnick) which could have formed an emotional anchor.  Matthew McConaughey is horribly generic here, a villain whose finest quirk is running his mouth off about how scary his plan to destroy the tower is. Other pointless or underdeveloped side characters include Jake’s friend and the people of the aforementioned village scene. You simply don’t believe in any of the characters or their motives, making the plot even more uninvesting. The only redeeming actor here is Idris Elba who makes the best of the basic material given to him; while it’s all pretty cliched, he does a capable job of selling the roguish figure.

The visuals of The Dark Tower are mostly colourless and drained, but rather than working to sell a foreboding landscape they instead serve to highlight just how bland and lifeless the entire film is. The use of multiple dimensions could have created a unique identity for the film, but because it does nothing to distinguish the two locations apart from a few cosmetic differences the sense of immersion is lost. Its costume design is equally unimaginative with The Man in Black’s plain shirt and trousers being the worst offender. Many of the action scenes are too fleeting to make an impact and don’t contribute anything to the plot; for example, there’s one point where Roland and Jake are attacked by some unnamed computer-generated creature but it’s never referred to or mentioned ever again. At least the last action scene does feature some free-flowing, rapid-fire choreography, even if it has no investment or context; Elba blasts his way through the enemy while dual-wielding revolvers. Sadly, it’s probably the only time you’ll get into the film’s failed ambitions.

Outside of Idris Elba’s serviceable performance and a decent action scene near the end, The Dark Tower is a massive let-down. It’s easily one of the shallowest adaptations in a long time; one that just can’t make effective use of Stephen King’s wild imagination to create an enticing adventure. You’re better off sticking to the original literature.

Rating: 1.5/5 Stars (Bad)

Fargo Series Review (Season 3)

Released: May 31st 2017 (UK)

Created by: Noah Hawley

Number of Episodes: 10

Where to watch: Channel 4 (Netflix release likely to follow)

Starring: Ewan McGregor, Carrie Coon, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, David Thewlis, Goran Bogdan and Shea Whigham

Taking place across twenty years from 1996 to 2016, the Fargo series went beyond the original Coen Brothers film to provide a tremendously engaging anthology. For its first two seasons, it proved a near perfect fit for the small-screen but moving into more recent times, season 3 finds itself with a hard mountain to climb.

In modern-day 2010, Emit Stussy (Ewan McGregor) is a successful businessman with more than a few problems; A shadowy company who he borrowed money from some time ago now wants their investment back and his grudging brother Ray (Also played by McGregor) wants his share of the wealth, all the while being egged on by his devious fiancée Nikki Swango (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). From these feuds, a collection of awkward circumstances unfolds involving and a creepy visitor with false teeth and a penchant for blackmail and all the connected deaths and police investigations in-between. The unpredictable nature of the show is once again in full swing here, providing plenty of surprises across the ten episodes but there definitely some weaknesses for this third outing. The biggest problem though comes with episode 3, which moves the action away from Minnesota for the first time; it’s meant to be a diversion, a means to add detail to the crime story while building the strong female archetype the series has become known for. Instead it goes nowhere, which takes away from the otherwise engaging narrative. The ending also feels quite abrupt too, with a key character or two breaking off from the narrative completely.

Leading the proceedings with a dual performance, Ewan McGregor plays the brothers Stussy with very distinctive characteristics that set them apart and emphasise their feuding ways; Emmit is high and proud, calmly disdainful as he pushes his sibling down while Ray is rugged and uncaring, filled with an unending jealousy that pushes him beyond the boundaries of ethics. Mary Elizabeth Winstead brings a tomboyish sensuality to Nikki that ends up deceiving many characters throughout the season. David Thewlis as the antagonist (who I’ll leave you to discover on your own) is also brilliant, bringing a very slimy, repulsive presence to every scene he’s in. Sadly, when compared to previous seasons some of the other characters stick out for how underdeveloped they are. Carrie Coon’s Gloria Bungle, the main police officer this time around, just doesn’t have much to her as a character; she has that same grit and determination to see things through but not so much to set her apart from her predecessors. The same also goes for Chief Moe Dammik (played by Shea Whigam) who mostly exists to put Gloria down and tell her she can’t do one thing or another due to police regulations. This results in the characterisation being somewhat unbalanced here; you’ll still be rooting for Gloria just as you did for previous deputies Molly and Lou Solverson but the level of investment is undoubtedly lower.

Compared with the look of the nineties and seventies, Season 3’s modern day setting of 2010 features a very washed-out colour palette, almost signifying a disconnect with the technology driven society we live in today. Dull whites and greys permeate many of the office environments and the brighter backgrounds of the outdoor environments have been replaced with a dimmer, almost depressing look. This disconnect is further personified with Gloria’s tendency to run into technology that simply doesn’t work for her most of the time; it suggests an over-complication that technology has brought to modern life. Some of the more unique presentation techniques this time around include a symbolic narration by Billy Bob Thornton from the first season that really gets the audience into the characters and the roles they have to play. The costume work is very conforming and on the whole, there’s a very palpable tying in to today’s issues with references to off-shore accounts, back-room dealings and a bit of hacking here and there to ground the setting seamlessly. Fargo’s season 3 doesn’t have the brightest or most appealing look, but it makes effective use of it to create a distinctive look. 

It feels very unremarkable when compared to the seasons that came before but Fargo’s third season is still worth a watch. Most of the performances are still brilliant and the modern setting distinguishes itself with its intentionally drab look. The overall narrative and some main characters have taken a sizeable step backwards however and that’s a shame considering how strong the first two seasons were.

Rating: 3.5/5 Stars (Good)