The Fifth Estate

The Fifth Estate is a film about the rise of Wikileaks, starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Julian Assange and Daniel Brúhl as Daniel Berg. It is based on the Novel by Daniel Berg, and is quite clearly told from his point of view. Assange himself has said that the film is untrue and biased. At the end of the film, there is a short clip from an interview with cumberbatch playing Assange where he emplores the viewer to seek out truth, and not to accept everything you are told, this almost seems to be a bit of a concession to Assange, and can be taken as don't except everything your Governments tell you, but also don't believe everything you have just seen in this film.

Assange is portrayed as an uncaring, egotistical man, Who is driven by self promotion and self interest. Whilst I'm sure a lot of this is based on some understanding of the man himself, It is clearly a very biased viewpoint.

The performances of Cumberbatch and Brúhl are great, with the latter adding to his rising stock after a fine performance as Niki Lauda in Rush.

The main issue with this film is it's plot, there does not seem to be any great sense of Momentum, with much of the plot played out in irc chat rooms and no real tension, it lacks the sense of threat and danger that is really needed to get the audience to engage with the plot.

The US government discussion scenes are not nearly strong enough, I can't believe that the conversations around the table when the War Logs and cables were leaked were that calm.

Great performances, but failed by a poor script, the film never feels like it is going anywhere 6/10

Filth

Filth, Starring James McAvoy, is an adaptation of a novel by Irving Welsh.

Regular readers of my blog will know my views on sex and violence in film, but with Irving Welsh you know what to expect before you enter the cinema. I had considered adding Filth to my growing boycott list, for that reason, but it has had so many great reviews, that I felt I had to see it and make up my own mind.

Set in Edinburgh, it tracks the fall of Detective Sergeant Bruce Robertson, who is in line for a promotion to Inspector, and will do anything to eliminate the competition.

McAvoy is superb as Robertson, as he goes about ruining his own life, and many of those around him, with descent into Drug, Alcohol, and sexual pleasure addiction.

The screenplay is great, with some very crude jokes along the way, It is a very difficult novel to film, as parts of the book are narrated by a tapeworm, and the way in which that is used in the film is interesting.

I also enjoyed the fact that the film leaves you guessing right up to the last second as to the eventual outcome, right up until the closing credits I didn't know if he would get the help he needed, or if his lifestyle would eventually destroy him.

However, I did feel that there is something missing that turns a good film into a great film. It is certainly not as good as Trainspotting, some of the minor characters are not very well drawn after the opening scenes where we are introduced to them, and the twist/reveal regarding Robertson's wife was just a little bit off the wall, I have not read the book so don't know how that is handled in the Novel, but I'm not sure about the way it is revealed in the screenplay.

If you enjoyed Trainspotting you will definitely enjoy this, but its just lacking that little extra something 8/10

Sunshine on Leith

Sunshine on Leith is a musical based on the Songs of The Proclaimers. It follows Davy and Ally, 2 Scottish soldiers returning home to Edinburgh after a tour of Afghanistan. It follows their relationships with Girlfriends and parents and siblings etc.

This is a film with many issues, the singing is very poor, and autotuned to within an inch of its life, and the acting between songs is almost as bad, and the plot is contrived in order to meet the demands of the songbook.

However, it is so rubbish that actually it is brilliantly entertaining, my head was telling me it is all wrong, but my heart went with it. despite not being a huge fan of the Proclaimers, and therefore not knowing some of the songs.

If you are a Proclaimers fan, you will enjoy this immensely, If you loved Mamma Mia I'm sure you will enjoy this too. For film making 4/10 for Entertainment 10/10

How I Live Now

Saoirse Ronan stars as Daisy, an American teenager sent to live with her cousins on a farm in Rural England, just as War breaks out and London is hit by a nuclear bomb. The cousins are then split up during an evacuation and we follow Daisy as she attempts to get herself and her young cousin Piper back home to the farm.

Whilst this film is quite harrowing in places, and deals with some tough subject matter of how civilians would be treated in a war situation, you have to be quite forgiving to follow the plot, lots of things are left unexplained, we are given no information about the "war" apart from the fact it is happening, so is it world war 3 or just internal terrorism? It is very confusing as to the nature of the threat, although the opposing forces seem to have a highly organised army.

The opening sequence of Daisy arriving at the airport is almost deliberately amateurism, the opening credits do not befit a film dealing with complex issues of death and destruction, and initially the terse set-up with Daisy not wanting to be there is extremely off-putting.

As the film goes through and once the plot gets going post nuclear bomb, the acting improves, and the film begins to show its true potential.

There are still a few niggles, such as Daisy leaving Piper on her own out in the open when there are plenty of places to tell her to hide, and the Hawk is just an unnecessary addition that adds little other than a convenient contrivance.

Worth a watch, stick with it through the opening half hour of setup because it does improve 7/10

Runner Runner

Justine Timberlake stars as Ritchie in Runner Runner, a modern take on a old story. When he loses thousands of Dollars on online poker he realises he has been cheated, and travels to Costa Rica to draw it to the attention of the Website owner Ivan Block, played by Ben Affleck. Block takes Ritchie under his wing and gives him a Job, but everything is not as it seems.

Runner Runner is an engaging gritty movie that moves along at pace and holds the attention throughout, however it suffers from a degree of predictability, so I found myself often one step ahead of the movie, and I'm not usually the most observant cinema goer.

The storyline is interesting, and keeps the right side of believability, with decent performances from Timberlake and, in particular, Gemma Arterton, this is a a decent film, but lacks that little extra that turns a good film into a great one 8/10

Blue Jasmine

Blue Jasmine is the Latest film by Woody Allen, starring Cate Blanchett if tells the Story of Jasmine, a New York Socialite, who has lost all her money when her Husband is prosecuted for fraud. At the start of the movie, we see Jasmine arriving in San Francisco to the home of her Sister Ginger, who she has had to move in with while she sorts herself out.

Initially I was a little put off by the films style, running two timelines, as Jasmine explains in the present the events of the past, the past events are revealed as they become relevant. However by the end of the movie this style grew on me.

I found this film very engaging, and was not bored once, what is undeniable in this film is that the Performance of Cate Blanchett is outstanding, Jasmine is an extremely complex character, who has suffered a nervous breakdown, and often talks to herself/anyone who will listen, drinks heavilly and relies on prescription drugs. Blanchett brings this Character to life with a remarkable acting performance, and must be heavy favorite for Best Actress awards at the end of the year.

Whether or not you enjoy this movie, it is an absolute must see for the performance of Blanchett 9/10

The Call

Starring Halle Berry, The Call focuses on a 911 operative, who gets a call from a girl who has been abducted and is in the boot of a car. She then sets about trying to rescue the girl.

This is largely a film in 3 acts, the opening act sets up the characters and is used to add tension during the second act, which is "The call" itself, however the film is let down by it's final act, and the way in which the film brings about its conclusion.

The first hour if this movie is superb, tense and gritty, well acted, and with well developed character and plot, however  the final half an hour or so of this film is very weak, and the half baked explanations for the abductors motives are a little bizarre. It is difficult to say to much without plot spoiling, but it's almost as if they got to the end of the call itself, without any real idea of how the drama was going to end. The final scenes feel a bit forced, in order to reach a conclusion, and takes a twist off the road of believability. Which is a shame as two thirds in this was shaping up to be a really good thriller.

New and refreshing, gritty, slightly unsettling and something different from a lot of the run of the mill cinema on offer, but massively let down by it's final act 6/10