Figment Reviews: February 2019

Tuesday, 26 February 2019

Cold Pursuit (2019) - Cinema Review

Review:

*Originally written February 26th, 2019*

You kinda know what to expect when it comes to Liam Neeson action thrillers by this point. Aside from the Taken sequels, they are perfectly serviceable pieces of throwaway entertainment. I was very much expecting this to be more of the same, but instead, it is far more out there, weird and surprisingly different to his usual revenge films.

There are so many strokes of such weird broad comedy littered throughout. I mean, it can be a bit of a mess at times, I rarely knew when I was meant to just be laughing, taking it seriously or just meant to take in the gonzo randomness of it all. At the very least, there are some very strong moments of broad, strange humour that do land, I just wish it was a little more consistent for the most part.

Neeson is as reliable as he usually is, once again playing a man who is avenging the death of a family member. In this case, the family member being his son, who is found dead of a heroin overdose despite the fact he was never known to be a drug user, so see goes on a quest to figure out who did it. Even in his older age, Neeson is still a competent action star and they use his age to the films advantage, never getting him to do insane stunts or anything to unrealistic for a man his age. He does also display some nice touches towards the beginning as a man distraught of the loss of his young son, probably helped by his own loss of family in real life.

While being an action film, there's never really any massive memorable set-piece for the most part, aside from one final shootout that barely even has Neeson in it. It's mostly a series of cold executions from Neeson, as he makes his way from target to target, gathering information and coldly killing anyone involved with his sons death. I was a little reminded of Taken, which I always appreciated for him just coldly murdering anyone who got in his way and the take no prisoners attitude.

As entertaining as this all was, there's a lot added subplots that really don't add up to much. The weirdest of which being Laura Dern as the wife of Neeson's character, who really just had no purpose in the film and is quickly written out of the film with a brief and pointless role. Then there is also the inclusion of two cops who you'd assume would be tailing Neeson's exploits, but the two stories barely come together and also just feel like needless padding. The removal of both of these could have easily given the film a much brisker run-time, not that 2 hours is completely unreasonable.

There is also a decent amount of the run-time dedicated to the villain, which is rare for a film like this. I honestly could not tell you anything about the bad guy in a previous Liam Neeson action film. Thankfully, Tom Bateman's "Viking" is a fun piece of eccentric villainy, a camp, pantomime performance filled with weird little ticks and characterisations that really steal the show.

I was also unaware this was a remake of a Norwegian thriller "In Order of Disappearance", also directed by Hans Peter Moland. I'm not sure how this compares to the original, but I am very interested to check it out at some point. In all honesty, I am shocked this wasn't another collaboration between Liam Neeson and Jean Collet-Serra. They do so many action films together, that I just expect every new Liam Neeson thriller is directed by him.

So I guess that's why I was so surprised by the weird and unusual tone for such a film, but for all of the films tonal messes, Moland has directed a genuinely great looking film, making use of its gorgeous snowy town in a fictional town in Norway. Thinking about it, this might actually be Neeson's best film since The Grey. It's not quite up to the level of that masterpiece, but I think with rewatches, this could grow on me as I adjust to the weirdness and tonal awkwardness.

Cold Pursuit might not be what you would expect from a typical Liam Neeson thriller, but is all the more better for it. Neeson is reliable, the action is cold and brutal, and it's surprisingly out there and weird. It's a shame it's done so poorly, as it's one of Neeson's best in years.

7/10 Dans

Cold Pursuit is out now in cinemas in the UK, with a 4K UHD Steelbook available to pre-order from Zavvi

Watch the trailer below:

Thursday, 21 February 2019

Destroyer (2018) - Film Review

Review:

*Originally written February 21st, 2019*

Well, looks like I'm in for another year where my favourite films of the year don't play anywhere near me in theatres. Meaning I either need to wait for a watchable torrent or a Blu-ray/4K release down the line. This is the state of cinema in the UK outside of huge cities at the moment. Unless it's Star Wars, Marvel or award contending Oscar-bait, I do not get to see the film at the cinema. Leaving me to wonder why I even bother any more.

Destroyer is already one of those, and it's only February (It was released here in January, but like I said, showed nowhere near me. Despite being heavily advertised at the Guildford Odeon. Honestly, the month leading up to its release, any film rated 12A or above showed the trailer for this. Then its release date came and nothing).

I'm amazed how overlooked this has been this awards season. Nicole Kidman is absolutely on fire here, in her most volatile, heartbreaking and ferocious turn I've ever seen from her. There's obvious comparisons to Charlize Theron in Monster, where they "Ugly" themselves up to look barely recognisable. It works here incredibly well, making for not just the best performance of Kidman's career, but one of the best of 2018. It is a travesty this was overlooked at this years Oscar's in favour of more baitey performances.

Outside of Kidman's performance, this is still an incredibly effective and uncomfortable corrupt police thriller that spans multiple time periods. Karyn Kusama balances everything with such care, delivering some powerful storytelling with bleak and brutal violence, leading to a surprisingly poignant ending (Although I'm not sure about that final shot).

I was instantly reminded of some of Taylor Sheridan's works throughout. Being a coldly told and bleak story featuring gorgeous cinematography and bursts of harsh violence. I'm amazed this came from the director of films like Jennifer's Body and the atrocious Aeon Flux, it's rare that a director can move on from films like that to create something far more meaningful and worth watching. I'm very impressed and once again she's shockingly overlooked along with several other female director's who failed to be nominated at this years Oscars.

We've seen corrupt police dramas told many times before, perhaps peaking in FX's series 'The Shield", but I really have a soft spot for films about these broken people who use their abuse of power in order to earn some kind of redemption down the line. While Kidman's Erin Bell is definitely not one of the most evil of corrupt cops we've seen in media, she is definitely one of the more interesting. Her handling of guilt after the events decades before the film begins which we learn through flashbacks throughout makes for some genuinely compelling viewing, leading to how she ends up the way she is.

Then there's the lengths she'll go to cover up her crimes and how that effects the relationships with the people around her. The relationship with her daughter is a little cliched, but Kidman's sincere performance certainly makes something we've seen before work, especially with help of the excellent script.

I'm really surprised this was completely slept on. I know I have a soft spot for these sorts of films, but it really is something special that really deserves seeking out. Kidman's performances carries a film that is excellent in all other aspects of its own right. A tight, compelling, beautifully shot piece of harrowing police drama that will most certainly be in my top 10 of 2019.

10/10 Dans

Destroyer is out May 27th, 2019 on Blu-ray and DVD in the UK
Watch the trailer below:

Sunday, 10 February 2019

The Expendables 2 (2012) - 4K UHD Review

Review:

*Originally written February 10th, 2019*

While the first Expendables film truly is bad, I'd always been a fan of the second, a film the first should of been. Having way more fun with the premise of bringing these faded action stars together to give us some over-the-top, violent and explosive action. Expendables 2 doubles down on everything the first gave us and improves on it at the same times.

Where the first was a self-serious mess of a film, this has a much more playful take on the concept, filled with self-aware humour (That doesn't always hit), but it works more than taking any of these '80s action cliches seriously. And this sequel is rife with fantastic cliches and terrible puns that add to a much more entertaining experience. Jason Statham's Lee Christmas proclaiming "I now pronounce you husband and knife" being a particular stand out.

What surprised me is how Stallone managed to direct the first one so poorly, despite being an extremely competent and great director, releasing Rambo just a couple of years before the first Expendables. That said, it was definitely best Simon West took over the reigns for the sequel and makes the great choice to film all the action during the day and not at night where you can barely make out what was happening. It is a shame that a film that cost $100 million looks so ugly though, the CGI is frequently poor and the emphasise over CGI blood instead of blood squibs is a gross oversight considering these are meant to be '80s throwback films.

There is some suitably brutal and gory violence as the team of mercenaries turn countless faceless henchmen into chunky pieces of red meat throughout, while delivering on some extremely entertaining set-pieces the original lacked. The finale at the airport was probably my favourite of the several action scenes. Plus it was great to see Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger return and actually get involved with the action this time and play off each other, which they sadly did not get to do in the first.

I suppose what's most disappointing about these films are just how bland the characters are. The team are more their actors than their characters, while I know it is hard to juggle this huge cast, I barely care about any of them and it's more just fun to see the actors on screen rather than any sort of care for their characters. I honestly could not tell you a single thing about these people despite they seem to be a mismash of previous characters they've played in their careers.

Who really shines out the cast though is Jean-Claude Van Damme who is perfectly cast in the playful role as the wonderful camp villain "Jean Vilain", he seems to be having the time of his life in the role and it's the sort of silly nonsense these films need to have a sense of personality and once again, a huge step up from the first. I really don't remember who the villain even was in the first.

The only real thing the first had over the second isn't even to do with film itself. This is a massively disappointing 4K disc, not helped by how the film was shot. There are some moments that boast impressive detail and colour, but a lot of the time the films looks soft and carries a massively inconsistent amount of grain, some of it natural, some of it intrusive. While I was we got a better transfer this is still the best the film has ever looked.

The Expendables 2 massively improves on the first in every way. Competent and fun action, a self-aware tone and an insane cast. It's fun throwaway fodder that doesn't live up to the potential of its cast, but hell, it's still a blast.

7/10 Dans

The Expendables 2 is out now on 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD in the UK
Watch the trailer below:

The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part (2019) - Cinema Review

Review:

*Originally written February 10th, 2019*

I honestly wasn't sure how this would turn out. I've been a pretty big fan of these surprisingly good Lego Movies so far, which seemed to have come out of nowhere. Who thought something as cynical as a film about Lego could spawn a franchise of excellent kids films? With that said, I was massively underwhelmed by the trailers for this, but thankfully, the film itself turned out to be a worthy and possibly better effort than the first.

With all the meta aspects of the original sort of making a sequel hard to do, they fully commit to it with ideas that build upon the first and takes the story into some surprising and interesting places. It takes place 5 years after the first as Emmet and his friends have to take on an invasion of Lego DUPLOs as they try and fight to save their world.

Off the bat, it is so great to see Mad Max: Fury Road get to the point where it's even being massively homaged in a big budget kids film, as the opening act takes place in a dystopian destroyed version of the city as most of citizens have embraced the new status quo and have their own Fury Road style vehicles. This all quickly becomes a sci-fi adventure though as Emmett's friends are kidnapped and forced into an alien wedding ceremony as he has to learn to grow up, mature and save them.

Once again, the story and jokes seemed to resonate far more with adults than it did with children. Most the kids in my screening didn't really seem to laugh a lot at some of the jokes, but there was a lot of subtle stuff there for people my age to enjoy. Including a fantastic cameo from an '80s action star. It was also relieving to see this one didn't rely too heavily on gratuitous cameos from licensed characters, like the first did. Sure, there's still lots of characters, but they're mostly returns from the original, which was fine.

I was also massively impressed by how creative the animation is with this. I remember being a little put off by the look of these films before they were released, but they really are some of the most creative animated kids films going today. There is always so much going on with every scene, making for some excellent rewatchability. From it's gorgeous, vibrant and colourful pallet to the detail on display, this really was a feast for the eyes.

As gorgeous as the animation is, thankfully there really is a great story to go along with it. Emmett's journey is far more interesting than the one he went on previously and introduces us to a a new character also voiced by Chris Pratt as a bad ass action hero style character clearly inspired by his films. Emmett is just so immensely likeable, although his naivety can get on your nerves at times, but it was great to see a lot of the film dedicated to his journey of self-discovery, leading to some genuinely emotional and touching beats towards the end.

The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part brings the Lego Movie franchise 4 for 4 in terms of quality now. Another incredibly animated, funny and sweet journey packed with heart. I really hope they continue this streak and I can't wait to see where the series goes next.

8/10 Dans

The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part is out now in cinemas in the UK
Watch the trailer below:

Hitman: Agent 47 (2015) - 4K UHD Review

Review:

*Originally written February 10th, 2019*

Wow, I'd not planned on revisiting this since its release in 2015, but thanks to my compulsive problem of buying whatever film comes my way and out of morbid curiosity to rewatch it, I ended up buying this on 4K against my better judgement, and to no surprise, it is just awful.

How do they keep getting the Hitman license so wrong? I'm not sure if this is a sequel to the 2007 Timothy Olyphant film at all, or just a straight up reboot? Not that it matters, as the actors are changed and I cannot think of a single reference to the previous film. I spent a lot of this just wishing I was just watching the 2007 film again. That film wasn't great, but compared to this, it seems like a damn masterpiece.

Everything going on here is just not what the Hitman games are about. The games are a series of missions where you have to creatively use your environments to take out your targets as stealthily as possible with a loosely connected narrative sending you to the next mission. There is not a single hit of this in Agent 47. It's a mindless display of awful CGI action, that is poorly shot and lacks any sort of impact.

Every single bit of action is completely overblown, ugly and utterly stupid. People want to see Agent 47 carefully planning a mission and executing it flawlessly, not getting into gunfights in the middle of streets and purposely getting himself arrested, giving his name to the police and getting caught on camera. It's like the makers of this film have never even played the games.

God knows what they were thinking bringing back Skip Woods to write this mess. A man I'm convinced doesn't exist and is just a pseudonym used by studios to attach a name to a script that a 12 year old submitted. Honestly, look at this "Man's" history of films. A Good Day to Die Hard, Hitman, X-Men: Origins and Sabotage. Oof, this guy is just awful and I don't know who he is blowing to keep getting work in Hollywood.

The story here is just nonsense. Like I said, the Hitman games are rarely known for their stories, but at least they keep it simple and straight-forward. This is just an insane level of clones, cyborgs and conspiracy that I was pretty checked out by towards the end. I did laugh at just how bat-shit insane some of this crap got, but it's also so barbarically stupid and annoying.

The only bright spot here is Rupert Friend, who does a commendable job as Agent 47, but everything they do with his character is just wrong. I've always felt to do a Hitman film they should have Agent 47 as the antagonist, a Terminator like figure throughout the film, rather than the clear-cut good guy they make him out to be here. Which is another problem translating the character to film. He's just not an interesting lead, he's a cold, calculated killer that doesn't say much, making for a very uninteresting lead.

I know this franchise is being rebooted as a streaming platform show, which hopefully work a hell of a lot better than these awful films that are only good for a cheap laugh. When will we ever get truly great video-game movies? The nicest thing I can say about this is it least has an excellent 4K release, this should be expected from a film this glossy and new. And part of me sickly wants the 2007 film to get a 4K release at some point too....

3/10 Dans

Hitman: Agent 47 is out now on 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD in the UK
Watch the trailer below:

Monday, 4 February 2019

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019) - Cinema Review

Review:

*Originally written February 4th, 2019*

I was very late to the game with the How to Train Your Dragon franchise, I'd initially dismissed the films as more generic kiddie crap, but when I actually watched them, I was surprised to learn these were some of the best animated films of the decade, rivalling even Disney and Pixar. I'll admit it took me a little while to warm to those first one, but I was instantly won over by the sequel.

What's surprised me is how long this final entry in the trilogy and franchise (For now) took to make. It has been five years since HTTYD2 came out, which is a shockingly long time for most sequels to get churned out. So I really appreciate they took their time and effort to perfect this finale and it really shows. It might go places you'd expect, but this is an extremely effective and emotional end to Toothless and Hiccups story.

We're once again given some of the most beautiful animation in recent history. Bursting with such insane attention to detail, creative and incredible creature and location designs. I absolutely loved every bit of animation on display here. Every scene just popped and sparkled to a degree I did not expect. I really can't wait to see this bad boy on 4K in the future.

The focus here is once again on Toothless and Hiccup as they search for a hidden world where the dragons can live in piece without the threat of humans hunting them, while at the same time they are hunted by a deranged hunter obsessed with killing Toothless (The last of his kind) and Toothless finds himself a love interest.

The way Toothless is brought to life on screen is so easy to make you love him and care about his relationship with Hiccup, he's just so damn adorable. Plus it's great to see how much Hiccup has changed throughout the series, I'd recently rewatched both the previous films in preparation for this and the character really has grown and matured. Turning from the embarrassing child obsessed with killing a dragon to a man trying to bring peace to his late father's land and live up to his legacy.

The real only gripe I have with this whole thing is the villain, who is just pretty bland and uninspired. He's just another bad guy evil for the sake of being evil and having very little in the way of motivation. There is at least some cool stuff in the form of him having a few controlled and evil dragons, leading to some insanely fun set-pieces that live up to some of the best this series has seen.

I'd also seen a lot of people calling this easily the worst of the trilogy, which is fair enough, but for me I found it easily the most engaging, emotional and fun to watch out the three. It might help that this is the only one of the trilogy I've actually seen in theatres, but this all popped for me. The final scene is pretty up there in terms of endings for kids films. You're probably a monster or dead inside if you felt nothing at the end of this.

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World is a triumph in animated film making. A beautiful, insanely creative and touching, heartfelt end to the story of Toothless and Hiccup that we've been following for nearly a decade. I really hope they just let this series lie and stop here though. This was something special that I didn't see coming. It's only February and animated films have had a seriously high bar set for 2019.

9/10 Dans

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World is out now in cinemas in the UK
Watch the trailer below:

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