The Good Dinosaur (December 2015)

Official Australian release date: 26/12/15. Viewed: 13/12/15.

Director: Peter Sohn

Actors: Raymond Ochoa, Jack Bright, Jeffrey Wright, Frances McDormand

Genre: Comedy/Adventure

Rating: PG       

‘The Good Dinosaur’ is a fun kid’s movie that has a few strenuous moments, but I saw it with a five-year-old and she was fine, so its PG rating for “some scenes may scare young children” is probably fair. Fairly simple plot – the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago just misses Earth, hence allowing mammals & dinosaurs to evolve and coexist.

The story follows Arlo (Ochoa), an Apatosaurus, and his anthropomorphised family, of which Arlo’s the runt of the siblings. Wright & McDormand are mum & dad, who spend their time farming. Arlo falls in the river and gets swept away and begins a quest to get back home and is aided by an unlikely partner – Spot (Bright) the human, who’s really more of a puppy! Plenty of similarities to ‘The Adventures of Milo and Otis’ and ‘The Lion King’, with Arlo having to find his own courage before he can find his family.

There’s actually not that many dinosaurs (a few T Rex, Pteranodons, Velociraptor and Triceratops) as the film really sticks with Arlo & Spot. The backdrop they’re set against, which looks like the mountains of Canada, is superb, with all the scenery seemingly vividly real – truly exceptional CGI, with the only things looking cartoony are the characters! Some sad bits, some funny bits and some lessons for good measure.

Overall: Well-made family film.

Gav's Rating: 3.5 stars.   

The Night Before (December 2015)

Official Australian release date: 3/12/15. Viewed: 3/12/15.

Director: Jonathan Levine

Actors: Seth Rogen, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Anthony Mackie, Lizzy Caplan

Genre: Comedy

Rating: MA       

“It was ‘The Night Before’ Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse” – except for Isaac (Rogen) “tripping balls”! This is almost more of a drug film than a Christmas movie, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing – or a good thing. Simple concept – Ethan (Gordon-Levitt)’s parents died when he was 18, so his two best friends, Isaac & Chris (Mackie) have a Christmas Eve tradition where they go drinking in New York.

From there, it’s easy – people grow up & grow apart, so this is their farewell to the tradition. Drugs are taken, ridiculous situations ensue. Rogen didn’t write this, but there’s still plenty of jokes for him and his drug-addled self, even if he is playing the “responsible Dad” from Neighbours’, just with the night off. Lizzy Caplan needed more screen time and backstory, but it’s good to see Michael Shannon, Tracy Morgan & James Franco pop up.

A few great laugh out loud moments, particularly in the Midnight Mass scene, and some other chuckles throughout, but there’s not enough sustained hilarity, or heartfelt moments, even if the film gets there at the end. Not the worst Christmas film, but nor is it ‘Bad Santa’.

Overall: Solid Christmas adult comedy.

Gav's Rating: 3 stars.   

Spectre (November 2015)

Official Australian release date: 12/11/15. Viewed: 13/11/15.

Director: Sam Mendes

Actors: Daniel Craig, Lea Seydoux, Christoph Waltz, Ralph Fiennes

Genre: Action

Rating: M       

‘Spectre’ is the 24^th Bond film and Daniel Craig’s fourth – and final – outing as 007. Is not the best Bond, but nor is it the worst. It does play a lot on nostalgia and the villains/plots (Spectre) of the Moore/Connery eras. It has a lot of classic Bond attributes going for it: worldwide locations (Mexico, Italy, Austria, Morocco), great cars & car chases, plane/helicopter stunts, some sly humour, martinis, explosions and disobeying orders, but it also feels a little tired in places.

The plot does well to link in aspects of ‘Casino Royale’, ‘Quantum of Solace’ and ‘Skyfall’, but doesn’t really offer much of a driving force, as does Blofeld (Waltz)’s motive as the villain – it’s there, but poorly articulated and Waltz is not fully utilised as well as he could be, which is a shame, since we know he can be a great bad guy (‘Inglorious Basterds’ & ‘Django Unchained’). Swann (Seydoux) is also adequate, but never 100% convincing.

There’s probably too many “down”/slow moments in a 2 & a half hour film, but at times the score – or lack of, before it kicks back in – is excellent. Q (Whishaw) and M (Fiennes) are both good and get a bit more screen time than usual. The fight scenes are well done and there’s plenty of action, but I’m interested to see who the next Bond is – and hope they give us four or five years to anticipate it.

Overall: Does what a Bond film should.

Gav's Rating: 3.5 stars.   

Bridge of Spies (October 2015)

Official Australian release date: 22/10/15. Viewed: 24/10/15.

Director: Steven Spielberg

Actors: Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance, Scott Shepherd, Austin Stowell

Genre: Drama

Rating: M       

‘Bridge of Spies’ is an espionage thriller at its finest. It’s set in the late 50s & early 60s and certainly looks the part – I always love seeing the old cars driving around New York, looking classy. Starts off like any classic spy film, but then Abel (Rylance) is caught. In comes Donovan (Hanks), an insurance lawyer who is asked to defend Abel, so he can receive due legal practice. The first 45min or so is a good courtroom drama and moves along fast enough, with Hanks giving a few great speeches and making some solid points about what’s right and what’s best.

The movie really captures well the Cold War tension in America and what families would’ve gone through. It helps that this is the best film Spielberg has made in a few years and the best film Hanks has been in for a while. Once the movie turns into political chess, with an exchange of Abel for Powers (Stowell) in Berlin, the stakes are raised and there’s plenty of great subterfuge.

Hanks basically owns the film, with everyone having some good moments (especially Rylance, with his “would it help?”s), but he really plays a great everyman who stands up to both Germany, Russia & his own country (mostly portrayed by the CIA/Shepherd) for what is morally right and just, not just what is politically acceptable at the current time.

Overall: Really well made Cold War true story.

Gav's Rating: 4 stars.   

The Martian (October 2015)

Official Australian release date: 1/10/15. Viewed: 2/10/15.

Director: Ridley Scott

Actors: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Michael Peña, Jeff Daniels, Chiwetel Ejifor

Genre: Action / Sci-Fi

Rating: M       

‘The Martian’ is based on Andy Weir’s excellent novel – one of my favourite books from last year. It’s a very simple concept – in the near-future, a manned-mission to Mars goes awry and Mark Watney (Damon) is presumed dead, as the rest of the team returns to Earth. However, rumours of Watney’s demise were exaggerated and he just manages to survive, only to be faced with the conundrum of how to stay alive on a freezing planet with almost no food, water or oxygen until he can be rescued?

It’s beautifully shot, with Jordan a good stand-in for Mars on most occasions, and the CGI doing the rest. And there’s obviously a few shots of Earth from space – always a great perspective to see. Scott directs well, with the pacing good, and time spread across the strong cast – Chastain, Peña, Mara, Stan and Hennie on the spaceship home; and Daniels, Ejifor, Bean and Wiig at NASA – showing how everyone involved deals with the initial tragedy and then attempted rescue mission(s).

However, the film belongs to Damon, who has to use all his charm and skills to make one man talking to a video journal interesting. The film’s possibly 15min or so too long, but luckily, it’s a great book & a good screenplay, so there’s plenty of levity to go along with the serious life-or-death/fingernail-chewing moments. Tense/great final 25min or so. Never quite reaches the heights of the book, but comes very close.

Overall: Great, realistic, space adventure.

Gav's Rating: 4 stars.   

Everest (September 2015)

Official Australian release date: 17/9/15. Viewed: 20/9/15.

Director: Baltasar Kormakur

Actors: Jason Clarke, Josh Brolin, Jake Gyllenhaal, Emily Watson, Keira Knightley

Genre: Action / Drama

Rating: M       

‘Everest’ is a true survival – man vs nature – film. It’s not necessarily fun, but it is engrossing. Since it’s based on a true story (I haven’t read the ‘Into Thin Air’ novel), it’s a simple plot – in 1996, a group of experienced climbers engage the services of Rob (Clarke) to assist them in their climb to the summit of Earth’s highest mountain – Mt Everest in Nepal. The film spends 40min (probably too long) introducing the characters and staying at Base Camp, but it does give you the chance to get to know them and their motivations – especially Beck (Brolin) & Doug (Hawkes).

That’s the main question throughout – “why”? I think it boils down to ego – man’s desire to conquer everything, even nature’s most extreme obstacles – highest mountain, driest desert, deepest ocean trench, outer space, etc. It is nice to see them fulfilling their dreams on making it to the summit, but once the inevitable storm blows in, it really does make you think “these people are insane for being up there”! I definitely won’t be climbing Everest!

It’s a well-made film, with good pacing once they’re climbing and some truly beautiful shots of the Himalayas – very glad they shot a lot of it on-site. The devastating storm is one of the loudest and most ominous things you can imagine when at the top of a mountain. Rob’s calls with Jan (Knightley – worst Kiwi accent ever) slow things down, but add to the drama.

Overall: A solid character-driven survival epic.

Gav's Rating: 3.5 stars.   

A Walk In The Woods (September 2015)

Official Australian release date: 3/9/15. Viewed: 4/9/15.

Director: Ken Kwapis

Actors: Robert Redford, Nick Nolte, Emma Thompson, Kristen Schaal

Genre: Comedy / Adventure

Rating: M       

‘A Walk in the Woods’ is basically a middle-aged “bromance” movie. It just happens to be based on Bill Bryson’s fantastic 1998 eponymous true-story book. Full disclosure – Bryson is one of my favourite authors, always having something interesting or funny to say. The film is not quite about Bryson (Redford)’s mid-life crisis (as he’s now in his 70s, not 40s like the book), but he and a formerly-estranged friend, Stephen Katz (Nolte) set off on the Appalachian Trail, which spans America’s east coast, from Georgia in the South to Maine in the North – 2,100 miles (~3,500km)!

From the director of ‘He’s Just Not That Into You’ and ‘The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants’ – not a promising pedigree! – Kwapis nonetheless does a good job of keeping the pace up, which can be hard when it’s mostly two guys just walking and talking! But therein lies the beauty of the film – it’s simple and sweet, with plenty of jokes and wit between the two old friends, some quick interactions with other hikers on the Trail (such as Schaal, gratingly funny!) and some breathtaking wilderness shots.

It did remind me of my time in the U.S., when I did visit the Pisgah Forest in North Carolina and the Great Smoky National Park in Tennessee, where they start their hike. The scenery is helped by Lord Huron’s soundtrack, which is folky, but upbeat. The final third is not as engaging as it could be, but there’s some sincere moments to be found amongst the humour and everything is propelled by Nolte & Redford’s enjoyable chemistry.

Overall: As good as the book? Of course not, but fun and light

Gav's Rating: 3.5 stars.