Tag: Harry Gregson-Williams

Quick Thoughts – July Mega-Post – ‘Mission: Impossible – Fallout’ ‘Sorry to Bother You’ ‘Skyscraper’ ‘The Equalizer 2’

Mission: Impossible – Fallout

My affinity for these movies is fairly well-documented, from the first one to the last one.

And why not?  After all, when the consensus “worst film” in your franchise is a John Woo guns-motorcycles-doves-knives spectacular, you know you’re doing something right.

A lot of that credit belongs to J.J. Abrams for resurrecting things in 2006 (and staying on as a producer ever since), which was perfect timing, because when the James Bond franchise zigged to more gritty and grounded, Mission: Impossible zagged to what classic Bond always was: a globetrotting, fun, high action, insane stunt-filled series.  The key difference is that where the Bond actors would step aside for a stuntman (or stunt driver, or stunt pilot), Tom Cruise, more often than not, gets in there and does these amazing feats himself, and Fallout is no different; so much so in fact that to me the movie played more like a Bond Greatest Hits album than a Mission: Impossible film, which is fine by me.

Hate him all you want for whatever reason you want, I choose to respect Tom Cruise for this: he was an action star at 27, and is still an action star at 57, and while this may be the last Mission: Impossible movie with him in the lead, it looks like he’ll be an action star for at least a few more years.

All that said, and it’s hard to put my finger on exactly why, the script for Fallout feels like a step back compared to the last two films (not to mention my boy Jeremy Renner feels conspicuously absent).  However, I will still give it four stars because the action and stunts are more than big-screen worthy, and because the movie does reward long-time fans (making reference all the way back to the first, and yes, second one).

Rating: ★★★★☆

 

Sorry to Bother You

Often times, when I find myself having to sit through a movie’s trailer dozens upon dozens of times (*COUGH*EighthGrade*COUGH*), I become resentful and refuse to see it on the principle of how annoyed I am, but in the case of Sorry to Bother You, I was always looking forward to it, just because it looked so refreshingly original, which it most definitely is.

In fact, not only is it an original script from writer/director Boots Riley, he also contributed a number of songs to the film’s soundtrack with his band, The Coup, so the whole project has a real homegrown vibe to it (but in a good way, not a crappy student film way).

Fair warning, the third act goes off the rails, which will divide people, but in terms of comedies with social commentary and satire, it’s the best I’ve seen since Ingrid Goes West (though the style of much of the satire is akin to the original Robocop, which, again, is a good thing).

It’s definitely not a movie for kids, and I’m sure it’ll piss some people off, but I enjoyed it and would absolutely recommend it to adults with brains.

Rating: ★★★★☆

 

Skyscraper

I know I’m not making a revelatory statement when I say that this movie is like if Die Hard and The Towering Inferno had a baby in Hong Kong.

In fact, it’s safe to say that not only do most people going to see this already know that, but the movie knows that they know that, and therefore delivers exactly that.

What I’m trying to say here is that the movie knows what it is: a fairly mindless yet relatively satisfying piece of popcorn entertainment.  Is it dumb?  Yes.  Is it as dumb as it could be?  No, and I appreciate that.

It’s nothing special, and you’re either on board or you’re not, but if you are, you’ll have a good time (and I even noticed and liked some of the music, which feels so rare these days).

Rating: ★★★½

 

The Equalizer 2

Maybe I’m wrong, but I’m starting to get the sense that Antoine Fuqua is not a great action director, because though I think these movies are okay (largely because Denzel is Denzel), I have issues with both that hold me back from enjoying them as much as I theoretically think I should.

My major problem with the first one was I felt the “badassness” was way overwrought, and I thought the movie would have been better served by underplaying it a bit; but I guess be careful what I wish for, because the sequel swings the pendulum hard the other way, but overall I didn’t find the story as interesting as its predecessor, so, I don’t know.

There are some satisfying moments and plotlines, and I really can’t hate on the slower pace (and the James Bond-esque cold open was kind of nice), but, I can’t say I’ll be all that disappointed if they never announce an Equalizer 3.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Movie Review – ‘The Martian’ – Red Storm Rising

 

The_Martian_film_poster

Directed by Ridley Scott
Written by Drew Goddard, based on the novel by Andy Weir
Cast: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Jeff Daniels, Michael Peña, Sean Bean, Kate Mara, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Donald Glover, Benedict Wong, Enzo Cilenti
Soundtrack: Harry Gregson-Williams

I know I’ll probably take some flack for this, but I’ve actually seen more of Tony Scott’s films than Ridley’s; and, yes, that does include some major tentpoles.

Regardless, and in spite of Ridley Scott riding in on kind of a bumpy streak, my expectations going into ‘The Martian’ were sky high (like 4.5 out of 5 stars minimum high).

Did it deliver?  Should you believe the hype?

Well, mostly.

Let me start with the negatives, because, frankly, this movie left me with a funny aftertaste in my mouth.  95% of the film is “fictional ‘Apollo 13’ 2.0”, which is great, but then the remaining 5% is “MOAR ‘Gravity'”, which I was not expecting and which I found to be quite off-putting.  Also, I question whether ‘The Martian’ needed to be two and a half hours long, and the length of acts should have been more balanced (first act a little longer, second act much shorter, third act much longer).  Furthermore, everyone not named Matt Damon seemed pretty interchangeable in their roles; I mean, I don’t know this for sure because I didn’t work on the movie, but it didn’t seem like any role was written with a particular actor in mind, and they just cast whomever they wanted for whatever reason.  Lastly, there’s a running gag of bad 1970s music which I didn’t find all that funny, and I thought it felt somewhat out of place in a movie such as this.

So, anyway, what’s good about this film?

Well, for one thing, Matt Damon.  I’m not going to say it was the role he was born to play or anything like that, but the script puts a tremendous amount of responsibility on his shoulders and he carries all of it with aplomb.  As an actor, he gets to demonstrate almost the full spectrum of emotion, and he is always believable; total heart and soul of the movie.

Another main strong point of ‘The Martian’, as you might expect, are the visuals.  Now, it’s not on the same cinematic level as, say, ‘Interstellar’, or even ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’, but for an outer space movie it looks as it should.  There was obviously a lot of thought and effort put into the mission itself, like how all the vehicles and habitats and equipment would look, and it definitely comes through in the finished product.

Really though, what makes ‘The Martian’ as good as it is is the story, and this is no doubt thanks in large part to the fact that it’s based on a highly acclaimed novel.  Movies don’t have to be entirely new ideas to capture our imagination (not that any idea is really new anymore).  Sometimes they can take things we’re already familiar with and expand on them in a creative and exciting way, and that’s how I think of ‘The Martian’.  And really, when is someone facing impossible odds not, at the very least, interesting?  Not only that, but I appreciated seeing the ethical dilemmas of both the various teams on Earth and the remaining crew still in space.

It may not be the next “greatest movie of all time”, but ‘The Martian’ is certainly worth a theatrical viewing.  Even if you don’t want to run out and see it again, you definitely won’t regret seeing it once as it was meant to be seen; and it’s probably much more fun than you’re expecting.

Rating: ★★★★☆