Tag: characters

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The Choir

Formulaic is one of those complaints that is hard to pin down on the scale of complaint strength. On one hand we should be striving for original content and these formulas undermine that ideal. On the other there are only so many plots and characters and we can only do so many variations on them, leaving out the possibility for new ideas.

Taxi Driver is just The Catcher in the Rye. The Choir is just Dead Poets’ Society. Is that something worthy of moaning about?

The Choir stars new-coming child actor Garret Wareing as a troublesome boy who is sent to a prestigious choir school to be taught by a well-renowned choirmaster played by Dustin Hoffman.

Dustin Hoffman would make me want to join my school’s boychoir!!

I’ll start with some of the negatives of this film. First and foremost is the pacing.

Halfway through, I thought that this movie was wrapping up and I was baffled by how quick it felt. I was thinking “wow, this must have really kept me hooked, since this two hour movie feels like half that length”. Then the movie kept going with another build-up to another climax.

Despite this, I feel like certain things were rushed. The big emotional scenes that were barely set up were underscored by quiet choir music as if that would help us connect more.

Another problem is of course how formulaic a lot of the plot is. Now, I don’t mind the fact that this premise of a troubled youngster proving himself through art has been done a helluva lot, but the fact that elements from those formulas were cut and pasted in here without real need, namely the cartoonish villains.

So, what did I like about this movie?

Well, paradoxically, it  was some of the elements borrowed from other cheesy yet well done films of this kind that were satisfying.

At the beginning of this review, I said that this has a lot in common with Dead Poets Society, and while I stand by the idea that that film is far superior, Robin Williams’ english teacher’s spirit can be seen in Dustin Hoffman’s conductor, particularly in the subtlety of the effect the protagonist has on him and how much of it happens off-screen. That brings us closer to the point of view of the child, since we as children don’t see our teachers express their emotions about their profession.

I think that Garret Wareing has a strong future as an actor. I won’t say this is the greatest under-age performance I’ve seen. This is partly because he’s hampered unrealistically in the language department by a PG rating which makes the children in this movie often speak the way their parents wish they would (seriously, have you ever heard an impoverished 12 year old say “go to hell”). He still does a fine job with the material.

The music is fantastic, as it needed to be. We needed to connect to the notes almost as much as the characters do and the staging and singing really help that. This is the only reason I’d say it’s worth seeing this film in a theatre for rather than on Sky Movies.

A break from the formula of this plot comes near the end when the realities of singing come to a head for the characters. It’s done wonderfully. However, the film is undercut by a resolution that I find morally questionable in how neatly the bow is tied up.

To counteract a point I previously made, I enjoy some of these villains as well. Two of the bad kids in the choir are so OTT that I had to laugh, even at the line “get me a flash drive”.

What did I think of The Choir? It’s decent, but enjoyable. That’s all I can really say. I give credit to the filmmakers and actors involved that they didn’t half-ass this project that I will probably not remember, but I won’t be sorry if I didn’t forget.

Recommended Scenario: A lazy Sunday night on TV.   

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Jurassic World (2D)

When it comes to franchises like Jurassic Park, reviews are pretty much unnecessary. That’s the level of power Universal have with these movies. All they had to do was say, “We have a new movie called Jurassic World and…”, and by the time they finish the sentence they already have your money and you’re watching. Dinosaurs will never, ever not be cool.

This fourth iteration in the saga is set around 20 years after the first film. The theme park is now open. Bad stuff happens. You know the drill.

HA! I bet you thought I would show you pictures of dinosaurs!

To give this review context, I’ll give you my quick opinions on what my blu-ray boxset calls the “Ultimate Trilogy” of the first three movies.

Jurassic Park (1993) – VFX that still hold up surprisingly well 22 years on. Classic Spielberg suspense, wonder and whimsy. A lesser version of Jaws, but on land!
The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) – The message of “Life finds a way” is crammed down your throat by characters we are supposed to like but ultimately despise. Some cool scenes.
Jurassic Park 3 (2001) – A completely unnecessary and stupid movie that I love to bits out of blind nostalgia.

When I saw trailers of Jurassic World I was completely baffled by the in-movie plan to open the park after THREE movies told us that dinosaurs and people don’t mix. But then I took a step back and had a re-think about those movies and what ties them together.

What ties them together is silliness. The science behind bringing dinos back from 65 million years of fossilisation is unfounded and silly. Opening a theme park to display those monsters is even sillier (made worse when they try to do it in San Diego in the second one). Letting your kid go with your idiotic husband parachuting over the cliffs of the island where those dinos are held is tantamount to manslaughter!

However, this silliness has been shown to be successful and unsuccessful in those movies, so that on its own shouldn’t kill the fourth outing. Besides, this film series has already stooped pretty low so this movie cannot be accused of soiling the good name of the Jurassic period.

Now on with my thoughts on 2015’s interpretation of what would happen if Dinosaurs came back today.

Let’s start with what I didn’t like. Namely, the writing.

The relationships between the characters here, I just didn’t get into. Major and minor details that were meant to add depth serve simply to make me look at my watch. And I know you need to build characters so you care about them when the danger comes and so that danger becomes more tense and exciting (what I call the rule of Jaws). Unfortunately it wasn’t done that well here.

In the first movie, the bad guys were clearly marked. Here, I feel like pretty much every one of these people are idiots, drilling plot-hole after plot-hole into the script. While not as bad as Chappie, it did bring me out of the moment a couple of times.

Much criticism has been made of this film’s overuse of CGI and the lack of grit in the realism. While it is true that there are some scenes that have not so great effects and I feel like a couple more animatronic animals would have worked to the film’s favour, I will give the animators that there were a few scenes with near perfect use of their computers.

That brings me onto the good stuff. First of all, while I say that the dialogue is often clunky, there are some incredibly good lines and one hilarious character, Lenny. I want this guy to have his own spin-off movie! Make it happen Hollywood!

The writing also comes into it’s own when it becomes self-aware. There are times when I feel like the writers knew that this whole scenario is ridiculous and that the twists have the complexity of an old cartoon and so when a cheesy line is said, I can’t help but smile. They know that all they’re doing is trying to one-up the first movie in terms of getting new types of creature and so they attempt to pull off a balance between winking at the camera and keeping the seriousness in the characters’ predicaments.

The park itself is very creative. It felt close enough to the real world and yet was fantastical enough to make a connection to the main attraction that is the dinosaurs. And the film makes an excellent point about the fact that we do tire easily of seeing the same sort of stuff again and again.

So what is my opinion of those dinosaurs? Well there’s an overused phrase I just have to utilise now. They are jaw-dropping!

I mean it, my inner child made me forget all the asinine characters in the third act and made me appreciate just how fun these creatures are. Even when there’s something that doesn’t make sense by the warped logic of the universe, I don’t care as long as it looks cool.

I wish I was less reserved in cinemas, because there were moments when I honestly wanted to whoop with excitement and what was in front of me, occasional CGI glitches and all.

If you believe that these terror lizards weren’t enough to keep you hooked, I understand. But for me, I think this was well worth seeing just for those moments.

What’s odd is that I came out of the cinema beaming in memory of what I just saw and yet through most of this review I’ve been pretty much nit-picking at elements that when the whole thing came together, I didn’t care about. I suppose that sums up the weird mix that is Jurassic World. While failing in a number of areas that, if I was watching say, Transformers, would ruin the film for me, the filmmakers somehow keep it together to make something badass.

All in all, the lack of really scary moments and that many likable characters makes me place this below Jurassic Park, but I can safely say that this is the strongest sequel that it’s had so far.

In a word, DINOSAURS!

Recommended Scenario: Dinosaurs. There, you’ve already booked tickets.

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The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

I’m not going to try and pretend to be all “macho” here. I really liked The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. It was funny, charming and at times very moving. So what are my thoughts on its follow-up?

This sequel, whose title means so many things, continues the intertwining stories of the characters we grew to enjoy the company of in the first movie, plus a few new ones.

I can think of a dozen other old British actors who deserve a stay at this hotel, off the top of my head.

Some of the elements I adored in the first movie are back. There are still funny moments and the characters and the actors who play them are effortlessly charming.

There is certainly acting royalty on display from the geriatric British characters. Dame Maggie Smith in particular is on firs as the “angry auld bisum” she portrays.

A matter for debate for viewers, I’d imagine is the reprised performance of Dev Patel and his character’s writing. I find Patel to be one of the most likeable actors in the business, particularly as the bumbling fool that is the manager of the titular Indian hotel. To others, he could come across as a tad over-the-top.

Another unfortunate issue, which I find the movie suffers from, is its own existence. While I can deal with it suffering “sequel-itis” and having its quality being a couple notches down on the previous film (particularly in delivering emotional punch when it needs to), it is hard for me to get over the fact that the entire production seems a little unnecessary.

On one hand, I’m glad that a relatively small picture I liked got enough attention to warrant a sequel. And it is nice to be invited back to India to spend time with our old favourite characters.

On the other hand the first film’s conclusion warranted no continuation of the stories. And the resolutions of this one are generally little different from those of the first. Either that or they are easily guessable answers to old cliffhangers or the stories leaves on not quite so nice a note.

This film was also spoiled by its advertising. No fault of the film itself, mind you, but I hate trailers which give too much away. It is as if they believed that this film was not good enough not to be spoiled.

So do I want a Third Best Exotic Marigold Hotel? I don’t think so. The first film was good enough to have on its own, as a background movie one can watch again and again while doing some ironing. No further stories need be told.

However, I do not hate this second film. Both the first and second have a certain cheesy nature to them which did have me smiling by the end.

Take it for what it’s worth.

Recommended Scenario: If you’ve seen the first film and genuinely want to know what happened after “Happily Ever After”.