Thursday 24 January 2019

Movie Review -- Glass


   Did you know that Unbreakable (2000) was always meant to be a trilogy? Yup. That was how it was intended from day one. It definitely needed two sequels, right? Right? No, I'm being sarcastic! Unbreakable's first sequel – if you can even call it that – was Split (2016), a good movie, but it had nothing to do with the original. And the second sequel Glass – the subject of today's review – is an awkward marriage of the two. I'm going to have to look at Glass on its own since I haven't seen Unbreakable, so how does it fare in the eyes of this fractionally informed viewer? Let's find out.
   Glass is about the characters from both of the previous two films and despite having not seen Unbreakable I was able to pick up on and follow things alright. After a fight to free some hostages/keep some human sacrifices the Horde and the Overseer are imprisoned in a mental institution along with Mr. Glass. There they are treated by Dr. Ellie Staple who tries convincing them – and the world – that they don't really possess superpowers. It's a story that dissects and deconstructs how superhero movies and comic books work. It seems that every five minutes or so people talk about comic book tropes and cliches and what they think superheroes mean to people. These discussions can be interesting at first but I can't help but think they've overstayed their welcome by the time they keep showing up even during the final action scene. As for the tone, Glass is largely devoid of the tension and thrills that Split had. The plot moves along nonchalantly, trying to slowly build into action, which leads me to my biggest complaint about Glass: it's kind of boring. Pretty much the entire second act is people sitting around and talking; nothing happens! This isn't helped by the fact that probably 3/4 of this film takes place at one location, making it feel like a prison movie. And to add insult to injury, the second act teases us with a cool location that we don't even get to see! What a load.
   What doesn't suck is the acting; the three main characters are all very well portrayed. We've got Samuel L. Jackson as the enigmatic Mr. Glass, Bruce Willis as the in-over-his-head vigilante Overseer, and James McAvoy as the Horde, i.e. that guy with two dozen personalities. The problem comes from the fact that the story doesn't always know what to do with them. For example, Bruce Willis is gone for large portions of the film. Also, remember how terrifying it was seeing Kevin Wendell Crumb become the Beast in Split? Remember how it only happened twice in that film? Well, in this one it happens probably ten or eleven times and after a while it starts to look silly. And then there's Dr. Staple played by a rather one-note Sarah Paulson whose job it is to hold the same facial expression throughout the entire film. Also, why does the lady playing Mr. Glass's mother look like she's the same age as him?
   Lastly, I have to discuss the direction by M. Night Shyamalan. I've already mentioned how he handled Glass' tone and as for the cinematography it's pretty much what you'd expect of the man. If you like extreme closeups then you'll freakin' love Glass. There's also plenty of subjective camera angles as well as some dynamic shots centred on the characters which looks cool at first but also makes the action scenes hard to watch. Shyamalan also makes his customary cameo. So yeah, there's that.
   And that's Glass, a thoroughly “meh” superhero film that tries to be really different and smart but with mixed success which could've been so much more. One could say that it's a return-to-mediocre-form for M. Night Shyamalan. But if you ask me there's two words that perfectly sum up Glass: half empty.

Grade:


Saturday 12 January 2019

Movie Review Repost -- Interstellar (2014)

Hey, folks. It's been a while since I've done a repost of a previously reviewed film (sorry, 'bout dat. I've been busy lately.) and today I'm highlighting a film I can't believe I haven't shared with you yet. This is Interstellar, one of the best movies I've ever reviewed. Has it really been four and a half years already? I remember this film being fascinating when I first saw it and upon repeat viewings it has lost its lustre at all. I have briefly mentioned Interstellar in other articles such as my 2018 Year in Review (just last month) and the Top 20 Best Films I've Ever Seen (November 2016) but now I'm finally uploading my original review from 2014 for your enjoyment. Thanks for reading.


  To infinity... and even further!! It seems fitting that this film would be playing at the Galaxy theatre! Hahaha... sorry. Let's just review this thing.
  Interstellar displays all the trademarks of a typical Christopher Nolan film: familiar cast/collaborators, a long run time, a huge budget, and a plot that is heavily based in both philosophy and metaphysical puzzles. A science fiction film that takes place in the near future (presumably, no dates are ever given), Interstellar is set in a world of privatized education, a drastically reduced government, and virtually no militaries. Sounds like paradise, right? Nope, because the now-largely-agrarian world is ravaged by a huge blight causing dust storms everywhere. A former NASA pilot, Cooper (McConaughey) is recruited to lead a mission to make contact with expeditions that have already landed on far away planets in order to gauge their habitability so that humanity can leave Earth. I'll try not to spoil the rest for you; it's a real melon-scratcher of a plot. And don't even think about asking me about the validity of the sciency stuff in this; I'm sure that Stephen Hawking fella can enlighten you. But while I'm pretty sure that artistic licence overtakes accuracy in the film's last twenty minutes, it doesn't diminish the film's enjoyability and I think it makes for a very strong ending. Even though the film is nearly three hours long, it certainly doesn't feel too long; I guess you could say that viewers will experience time dilation of their own! This is helped by the fact that Interstellar jettisons the unnecessary debates that plagued some other Nolan films (Dark Knight trilogy, anyone?). The story handily manages to be both thought-provoking and tear-jerking at times.
  Interstellar's acting is out of this world. The whole cast – especially McConaughey and Jessica Chastain – does a phenomenal job with only a few exceptions: Michael Caine's occasional unintelligible mumbling and Matt Damon's sometimes stiff dialogue.
  As for the production, it's the same high standards that you'd expect from a Christopher Nolan movie. The special effects – both practical and CG – are spot-on. Interstellar also has a powerful soundtrack that will seldom leave you wanting – although there's one scene in particular that might have benefited from the silly Star Trek fight music. Seriously though, it's one of the best soundtracks I've heard in a while.
  But as with all movies, Interstellar has a few puzzling oversights. We're not given very many details about what Earth is like in the future. The same can be said of the other planets that are explored in this film; they're about as creative as Star Wars planets (spoiler alert: Kamino, Tatooine, and Hoth appear in this movie). Also NASA comes off as a rather shady organization here with all the lying and double-crossing going on. And yet for such an important top-secret institution they sure do have lousy security.
  No matter. Interstellar is still a fantastic adventure from start to finish. It's a splendid-looking and -sounding spectacle that has decent drama and yet doesn't bore you with the interminable discussions that people often criticize Nolan films for. Offering lots in the way of science, fantasy, and surrealism, Interstellar is a very worthwhile experience.

Rating: four and a half stars out of five.