The Legend of Tarzan (12A)

It’s interesting to think that the Tarzan film franchise is continuing after almost ninety years of movies and tv series about the great jungle one, writes David Flynn.
There have been several versions, some good, most bad, and now over 25 years since Hollywood last filmed a Tarzan movie – a new one comes along, with the huge title – ‘The Legend of Tarzan’.
This movie is great to look at – it has got some of the most beautiful African scenes ever filmed, but sadly it lacks a plot, and yet it’s got a plot and a half.   The back story of Tarzan being raised by Apes, making friends and enemies, meeting and falling in love with Jane, and returning to his ancestral home in London under his birth name, John Clayton is told as having happened in the past.  Tarzan and Jane are played by actors Alexander Skarsgard and Margot Robbie, both of which have done mostly tv series.  Both had great chemistry as the well-known characters.
The new movie takes up the story of he and Jane returning to Africa, along with a Dr. George Washington Williams, played effectively (obviously) by Samuel L. Jackson.  Dangerous times await them when they encounter Dr. Rom, (played well by Bond villain, Christopher Waltz) who captures Jane, and intends to bring Tarzan to the lair of an old enemy.
Unfortunately you get the feeling that you missed something in the movie, ie the prequel.  But there was no prequel.  This was it.  The whole story of Tarzan is clumsily told in this feature, which is a pity, because this movie is worth seeing, and its cinematography will certainly pick up an award next year at the Golden Globes, and be nominated for an Oscar.

 

THE REVENANT (18)

The American wilderness of the 1820s is the setting for this new survival movie with a difference.  The meaning of the title is: ‘one whom returns after a long period, especially from the dead’.
The movie features the immense mental and physical torture endured by the lead character – a frontier leader of a fur trading expedition, played by Leonardo Di Caprio. 
Hugh Glass (Di Caprio) is attacked by a bear in the wilderness, and left for dead, until he is rescued by his team.  However when his injured body becomes too much to be transported over the unforgiving wilderness, three stay behind with him, Fitzgerald, (Tom Hardy) and two boys, one of which is Glass’s son. 
Murder takes place, and Glass is left on a stretcher to survive the elements and the wilderness.  What takes place afterwards is a survival mission with a difference.
Seeing this story on the big screen is the only way to go, because of the mountains, the forest, and the waters of the wild.
At the beginning of the film, it becomes hard to study the plot, because of the different dialects used by the actors.  Their accents could have done with a bit of work.   But that’s a minor glitch, because the use of subtitles worked well. 
Watch out for a winter snow scene involving the lead character with a horse!
Di Caprio should take the Oscar, with Tom Hardy as Fitzgerald in line for Best Supporting Actor.  However Hardy will have tough competition from Sylvester Stallone for ‘Creed’.
‘The Revenant’ is a movie about the early days of America, which should help it get the Best Picture Oscar.  It has already done so at the Golden Globes, where Di Caprio also took his award.
‘The Revenant’ could be called an escapism movie, but it’s not ‘Grizzly Adams’ so it’s not for the faint-hearted.  However the story is honest, and portrayed in a believable way.  Apparently it’s loosely based on a true story.
Irish actor Domhnall Gleeson needs also to be mentioned as Capt. Henry.  It’s another fine performance from the young Gleeson, following on from his role in ‘Brooklyn’ and the new Star Wars movie.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens (12A)

The movie saga, which began in 1977, is back with its original three stars, in a massive new blockbuster movie, which takes up the story with a new generation of Jedi knights.
Light and dark and good and evil are still parts of the theme of the saga, and while this story is set thirty or so years after the movie ‘Return of the Jedi’, which was released in 1983, the plot must continue to be a guarded secret by those who have viewed the movie.   As much of the story as can be told is - a new Galactic war beckons with a group called the ‘The First Order’, which grew out of the ‘Empire’ from previous movies.  However some Resistance fighters are also on alert to the growth of the first order, writes David Flynn.
You could fall back in the cinema seat a couple of times with the flying galactic debris, thanks to the action as beautifully portrayed in 3D. 
This writer could see similarities between this ‘Episode 7’ of the saga, and the pilot episode of the television series, ‘Battlestar Galactica’ (1978).  Interestingly there was a court-case back in the day between that series and Star Wars with the latter claiming ideas were stolen.  Similarities are still there, but who knows who is to blame??
‘The Force Awakens’ is really interesting, and features newcomers to the saga, including, Domhnaill Gleeson as the First Order’s General Hux, and Daisy Ridley as Rey,(who was brilliant) and John Boyego as Finn.  It is also no secret that Harrison Ford (Han Solo), Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia) and Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) returns for this episode.
It’s got a fine storyline carried throughout the action, and delivered well through good cinematic scenes.  No scenes are more beautiful than the scenery of Skellig Island, Co. Kerry, which is breathtakingly featured in a pivotal scene of ‘The Force Awakens’.
It’s the best of the Star Wars movies since ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ in 1980, and it’s great to see many of the old favourite characters again, including Chewbacca, C3PO and R2D2 in this galaxy far away, and long long ago. 

Brooklyn (12A)

The live and loves of a 1950s Irish emigrant girl between her native Ireland and New York is brought to life on film, in ‘Brooklyn’, from Colm Toibin’s longlisted Booker prize novel of the same name.

The movie, writes David Flynn has certainly brought to life the small-town Ireland of the 1950s, in a very unflattering light.  People queuing up in a small grocer shop, and taking the sarcasm of proprietor, Miss Kelly, played splendidly by Brid Brennan really brings home the lack of choice of customers without the big superstores of today.

Enniscorthy is the town in question, which is beautifully photographed throughout, as indeed is the whole ‘Brooklyn’ film, most especially the Irish beach scene, and the exteriors of 1950s New York.

Eilis, played by Irish star, Saoirse Ronan, is a girl living at home with her widowed mother and older sister.  She works in the grocery shop, but her sister wants a better life for her, and arranges safe passage for Eilis to emigrate to Brooklyn.  Vivid images of the boat over to America showed the sea sicknesses suffered, and the loneliness of the trip.

The early scenes of America show the loneliness and despair of living and working as an emigrant. However happiness happens for Eilis when she meets a boyfriend, but then news of Ireland brings her home again, where she faces much different challenges than were there before she emigrated.

The set dressings of ‘Brooklyn’ are oh so cosy, and the many different sets, ie Eilis's mother’s kitchen, the US landlady’s dining room, and also her private sitting room are displayed in a very warm setting of furnishings and other props. Well done to whoever was involved in that.

Acting by Saoirse Ronan puts her as a cert for the BAFTA, and in strong contention for the Oscars and Globe Globe.  Emory Cohen played the role of Tony, Eilis’s New York love interest, and Domhnall Gleeson plays Jim Farrell from back home in Enniscorthy.  Gleeson had the edge in the acting stakes, but while he wasn’t on screen as long, his part was also better written than the Tony part.

Mention has to go to Julie Walters for her increased cameo role as the landlady. 

Intense is the best way to describe Saoirse Ronan’s performance.  It tied in with the storyline of Eilis in Wexford and New York. 

The movie is good for youngsters to see what communications was like in an era of not so long ago.  It felt odd; watching people waiting in priest’s offices to phone loved ones across the world, telling them about the deaths from home.  No mobile phones or internet then.

The colour of ‘Brooklyn’ the movie is very vivid, and it’s a rare window to 1950s Ireland, with a great production that is ahead of the storyline.

 

 

Spectre (12A)

Bond is Back, even though it seems only a few weeks ago since his last outing, in the brilliant ‘Skyfall’.  However that was three years ago, and the story of Bond follows on from the death of the most popular of the M figures (Judi Dench). 
In 'Spectre', Bond discovers M has one last message for him from beyond the dead.
The message leads to Daniel Craig on his fourth outing as James Bond.  The licensed to kill spy heads from Mexico City to the middle of Europe to meet a beautiful widow, Lucia, played by the oldest Bond girl ever – 51 years old, Monica Belucci.  Lucia is connected to a crime conglomerate, which after their love tryst, Bond attempts to infiltrate, which leads him to an even deadlier group called Spectre.  At the pulse of Spectre, is a force which begins a personal battle for Bond.  The head of Spectre is played by character actor, Christoph Waltz.
What appears to be a subplot of this Bond 24 story, is Irish actor, Andrew Scott playing Max, the head of a new security group, which is aiming to bring down MI6 and its spy programme.  Along the way Max comes head to head with the new M, played by Ralph Fiennes.  So therefore we get two Bond villains in this feature film. 
Bond forms an alliance with Madeline Swann, (played by Lea Seydoux) the daughter of a legendary assassin, to help bring down Spectre and its enemies.
Since Daniel Craig took over the Bond lead in the 2006 movie, ‘Casino Royale’, it has been a back to basics, rebooting journey for the character.  Here we have another part of his backstory, which uses elements of the many other Bond features since the 1960s. 
‘Spectre’ is an unsatisfying movie, which at 148 minutes is way too long.  The main storyline falls flat, and comes across almost as a clone of a lot of the earlier feature films.  Daniel Craig did his best with the script, but he seems tired, and rumours abound that he is not interested in playing the role again.  Lea Seydoux and Andrew Scott also do their acting best with the script, as does Christopher Waltz, but it’s hard to have any enthusiasm for the storyline.  It’s surprising that Ralph Fiennes found himself in this franchise, and pardon the pun, he seems out of character.

David Flynn

Everest (12A)

Mount Everest climbers have come a long way from the time of Edmund Hillary, who in 1953 was the first person to reach the summit, without technology and assistance at hand.
Here is a movie portraying a true story about a motley crew climbing, in freezing conditions, the last vestige for them – the peak of Mount Everest, writes David Flynn.
‘Everest’, gives an insight into the world of the climbers of the high mountains.  In the movie, the difficulties of climbing to the peak, in blizzard conditions, couldn’t be shown more clearer, with or without the 3D.
It’s almost 20 years since two private expeditions at work on the mountain met the almighty storm – the likes of which hadn’t been recorded before.  
Seemingly each individual had to pay the sum of $65,000 to go on an exhibition to climb the peak of Everest.  These folk were made up of middle-aged men in the last hours of any sort of youth, still searching for that high mountain to climb.   The movie gave an interesting insight into such a venture.  A base camp high on the mountain housed the different groups for induction and relaxation before they climbed.
Warnings appeared to be thin on the ground before the impossible snow storm hit the mountain.  People from the two expeditions were caught between base camp and the peak, and lives were in jeopardy.  The efforts of the climbers appeared fruitless when they attempted to come back down the mountain, and through the storm.
The temperature continued to plunge and the wind cut like a knife, not mentioning the snow, and lack of oxygen available.
Emily Watson, in an interesting cameo role played Helen Wilton, the boss of base camp. Jason Clark, (who when young in 1998, acted on ‘Titanic’) played the pivotal role of Rob Hall, who was a guide on one of the expeditions.  Keira Knightly played his pregnant wife in some claustrophobic scenes, not on the mountain.  
Josh Brolin played the middle-aged Beck Wethers, and Golden Globe winner, Robin Wright played his wife, in just two scenes.  Jake Gyllenhaal played the happy-go-lucky, too positive climber, who was bound to come to harm’s way.
One of the writers of Everest – William Norton has a good CV, and wrote the recent hit, ‘Les Miserable’ which starred Russell Crowe, and Crowe’s breakthrough movie, ‘Gladiator’.
‘Everest’ was shot on location in Nepal, and you’ll feel that you are on the edge of the mountain, at the cinema.   It is available in both 2D and 3D but it makes little difference, because the way its filmed makes you feel you can walk onto the mountain.  It’s gripping, it’s cold, but it’s worth watching.

Terminator Genisys (12A)

A sci-fi saga, which originated in the 1980s returned to its roots last weekend, alongside the movie’s star, Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was returning to the role that made him famous.
In 1984, the movie ‘The Terminator’ was released starring Schwarzenegger, and this new movie, ‘Terminator Genisys’, is the follow-on from three other sequels, and a tv series.
This version of the otherworld story begins in the late 21^st century with the legendary hero, John Connor, (who has led the humans against the machine Terminators), sending his protégé Kyle Reese back to 1984, to protect John’s mother Sarah, before he is born, and therefore ensuring the future of the Resistance.  Confused? Why wouldn’t you be?
However before Kyle gets there, Schwarzeneggar has become Sarah’s protector, (known as the Guardian) and has been since her childhood, and the guardian’s task is to beat off his lookalike Terminator, who has arrived from the future to kill Sarah.  And yet, Kyle is also on the way to also save her, sent by her son from the future. 
The characters of Sarah, Reese and the Guardian find themselves in a world where they are trying to move on to another time, twenty years later
Confusion is the order of the day with ‘Terminator Genisys’, and that is where it falls down.  It tries to be two or three movies thrown into one.
Schwarzenegger is himself and doesn’t even bother to try and act.   In fact, he’s as wooden as ever, but he’s a star, and still as physically strong as ever at age 68 years.  Jason Clarke did his best with the part of John, but he was let down by a poor script, 
Sadly underused in the film was Oscar winning actor, JK Simmons who played a cop that witnessed destruction by the Terminator thirty years previous.  However he, like Courtney B Vance, who played another minor character, was underused.
‘Terminator Genisys’ is allright for a reminiscent laugh about the 1980s movie.  However, it’s not to be taken seriously.
David Flynn