Luke Kenny Film Blog

Reviews, recommendations and lists. Long, short and indecisive.

[ikickstand]

Life Itself

A touching documentary about the life and long career of arguably the worlds most famous and respected film critic Roger Ebert.

I was looking forward to Life Itself mainly to get a deeper look into how fiim criticism has changed over the years, what its like to be a famous critic in America and how the lifestyle was in the 70′s & 80′s. There is plenty of that in the movie, including Roger’s up-and-down working relationship with Gene Siskel on their TV review show and his early life as a Chicago newspaper critic.

Perhaps the main focus on the film though is the sad illness that Ebert battled with during the last years of his life. The courage and positivity shown throughout by Roger as well as the strong love of from wife to get through everything that is thrown at them, are truly humbling. As is the decision to let intimate filming continue to the very end so that his life’s story has an honest conclusion.

Whether you are a film journalism fan or not, Life Itself is a heartfelt documentary and one I’m sure Roger Ebert would have been proud of and given two thumbs up.

3/5

[ikickstand]

Lost River

Being a massive Nicholas Winding Refn fan and a pretty big Ryan Gosling fan, I have been greatly looking forward to Gosling’s directorial debut, especially when I saw the cast list, photo’s and teaser trailer for this strangely enticing head-warp of a film.

Visually stunning. Sets, lighting, locations, imagery and grading, “Lost River” is like a beautiful but decaying moving photograph. The town the story takes place is as rundown as any American town you've ever seen but it is so well lit and pictured that this movie is a wonder to lay your eyes on. There are a few gruesome images in the film which may put some off (one scene of animal cruelty especially may be too much for a lot of viewers) but the clear idea here by Gosling is to create some iconic images from this crumbling town and its characters. The soundtrack helps to set a very moody and ream like tone. Even if not everything on screen makes sense, Lost River feels like an experience in the sordid and violent lavishness that these characters inhabit.

Quite often it feels very much a Refn film, I can understand why he recently said they were "twins" making the same movies. Many have pointed out the clear inspirations too from David Lynch. I personally think this is a very valiant first effort and am excited for Ryan’s future as director if this is the direction he is going in.

Christina Hendricks holds the film together well with her central “mother trying to do best for her family” role. Matt Smith is great as the psycho nutjob, I encourage any Dr Who fans to see this based on his performance alone.

The film does feel a bit rushed at the ending (perhaps because of the ten minutes taken out since Cannes). The side-plot of the actual “Lost River” city particularly feels underdeveloped and not involved enough into the final film. The whole package of visuals, sound and eerie town creates a fantasy like package like Only God Forgives, Valhalla Rising or even Mullholland Drive.

Yes, the plot wasn't the strongest but I don't believe this is enough of an issue to warrant such a tiny limited cinema release on a weekend that the Fast and Furious 7 is playing four times a day in every town. Gosling is a very promising director and once he gets hold of a great script with a really strong story, he may have a universally praised hit on his hands. I for one though will be happy If he continues making mystical art house films like this. The last few years have clearly shown it's where his passion lies.

4/5

[ikickstand]

Chopper

The story of Melbourne maniac Mark “Chopper” Read during his life on the inside and outside of prison in the 80’s.

Eric Bana is amazing in this film. He fully becomes Chopper and even though most of us don’t know what he is really like, you can tell he has the likeness spot on. The first half hour is particularly special as Chopper does horrendous things to other prison inmates as well as himself, it’s his straight faced comments about all of it that manage to be hilarious even when someone is bleeding to death. I cannot think of any other film that strikes this balance of horror and comedy in the same scenes as well.

Some of the movie admittedly does seem to glorify the terrible behavior of this celebrity prisoner but if having no close friends or family throughout the film isn't a reminder of what his lifestyle has cost him, the final scene of a prison door shutting for another lonely night will be.

The real life Chopper Read died a couple of years ago now after a legibly refusing a life saving liver transplant on the grounds that someone else could benefit from it instead. Catch this Aussie classic now fifteen years old if you like off the wall character films and for the best Eric Bana has ever been.

4/5

[ikickstand]

Robot & Frank

“Robot & Frank” is about an aging ex-con who is struggling to conqinue looking after himself and living alone. His son decides to buy him the latest Robot servant companion who Frank initially can’t tolerate but he gradually warms to.

Simple, heart warming and sincere. “Robot & Frank” is the touching story of the effects slow setting dementia can have on the elderly and the family around them, wrapped in a lighthearted coat in the form of Frank’s sidekick “Robot”. It doesn't try anything too adventurous and the Robot character is probably more subdued than what most people are familiar with in film, but the film knows how to have of fun and tackles the terrifying prospect of Alzheimer's in a thoughtful and tender way.

Frank Langella marvelously plays the lead in his best performance in years and though Robot’s voice sounds identical to Kevin Spacey, he is in fact voiced nicely by Peter Sarsgaard.

Catch it on Netflix on a Sunday afternoon while you can

4/5

[ikickstand]

Locke

Whoever pitched “Locke” to a film studio must have some magic Jedi-mind convincing powers because on paper - a Welshman driving down the M1 for an hour and a half, while using the hands-free speaker in his car to communicate with the other characters in the film - it doesn't sound like the most riveting plot for a feature length movie. 

In truth though, the stellar performance and charisma of Tom Hardy make “Locke” thrilling and unable to turn your attention away from the screen as this mans life unravels during the hardest and longest emotional drive of his life. Bar one or two shots, the whole thing is filmed inside one BMW X3 but at no point do you feel bored or wishing for more to entertain your eyes.

If you enjoyed “Buried” or “127 Hours” then give “Locke” a go next. It’s available on Netflix now and well worth the 88 minute sitting.

4/5

[ikickstand]

Ex Machina

“Ex Machina” is the story of a lowly programmer who gets invited to his Boss’ secluded high tech home to ultimately conduct the Turing test with the latest model of advancement in AI.

I love Artificial Intelligence films. “Blade Runner”, “A.I” and “The Terminator” are among some of my favorite Sci-Fi movies so I was naturally looking forward to Ex Machina as soon as I saw the trailer. It didn't let me down.

I love the feel of this movie. Everything in Nathan’s housing complex seems so clean, polished and state of the art yet the confined, remote setting makes you feel claustrophobic and helpless when things start going wrong. Despite all the advanced technology we are introduced to though, it doesn't feel too optimistic or far off into the long-term future, like a more civilized version of “Children of Men”. 

The film centers around four main characters which is just enough to keep things tightly focused but also keep you guessing everybody’s motives throughout the running time. The performances by Oscar Isaac (who I am sure everyone is familiar with now) and Alicia Vikander are especially great with Alicia embodying the intelligent android "Ava” brilliantly.

The film says a lot about what it means to create an artificial life with personality in this quickly evolving world that we are living in. With mobile companions like “Siri” or “Cortana” now commonplace in our pockets, I feel this is a better time than ever to watch and discuss what these advancements will mean for the human race in ten to twenty years, and provides a good companion peace to “Her” released at the same time last year.

The last fifteen minutes are exciting, tense, slightly horrifying and will leave you with mixed emotions about each character and how they behaved. For me, it’s already a top contender for film of 2015. Catch it on theaters or on Blu-Ray as soon as you can.

5/5

[ikickstand]

Suspiria

Suspiria is an Italian made supernatural horror film from 1977. It is about an American dancer who enrolls in an esteemed ballet school in Germany to train, but soon discovers strange goings on and suspicious murders taken place on the school grounds.

The first thing you realize about Suspiria is the loud, energizing piece of soundtrack music that runs from the first scene and through most of the suspenseful scenes in the movie. The second thing you realize is the very vibrant colour pallet the film has which is apparently a main-stay of director Dario Argento. Some scenes look beautiful colored like this with dynamic range of blues and reds, though others rooms and hallways are so over-saturated that they look silly and distracting from whats going on. The other distracting thing about Suspiria is the often very noticeably bad dubbing job that many of the characters have as on set, the actors only spoke scenes in their native tongue and English was added post edit. This is sometimes awkward because you can see mouths stop moving while words are still coming out or sometimes it’s simply a case of a high pitched voice that you know doesn't fit a persons face or body.

The story was good though. A set piece at the beginning is a particular highlight and the general eerie atmosphere of the school  is done really well. The highlight for me was the soundtrack though which really brings the tension of the film up a notch and stays with you after the credits roll. I will be checking out a few of Argento’s other highly rated horror classics in the future.

4/5

[ikickstand]

Zero Dark Thirty

I read that the original script was written about the decade long search and failed manhunt of Osama Bin Laden but was completely re-written months before filming began once American forces had found and killed him. In hindsight, this is really lucky because I felt the film really picked up pace once the Pakistan fortress was introduced and especially during the half hour long night raid. 

Jessica Chastain gives another great performance as the strong and smart CIA operative who’s ten year work was the backbone of finally hunting down the worlds most wanted man. Other roles are played well enough but it really rests on Chastain’s shoulders. The movie was released at the perfect time following the true events that took place. I’m glad that they didn’t release this a year earlier or I feel it would have felt unfinished ala Zodiac.

3/5

[ikickstand]

The Fault In Our Stars

A moving picture about a young love story and making the most of what little time we have. Though three of the major characters are cancer sufferers, I disagree that this is a “cancer film” and only deals with subjects related to that. In fact, it fits much better into the “teenage romance” category, albeit one that has a lot more clout and appeal to a wider audience. 

By the end you will feel like hugging a loved one and re-evaluating your life priorities. The male lead I feel is especially good and expect to see him more soon.

3/5

[ikickstand]

Frank

"Frank" was great. Ginger lad from Ex Machina joins Jake Gyllenhaal's sister (Yoko Ono)'s avant-garde band. They spend time recording in Ireland before heading to the states to perform live for their masses of fans at the SXSW festival. Picks up especially to the end building up to their final performance where we see band life isn't all sunshine and rainbows.

You will feel inspired to go make some crazy music or walk out the house in just a dressing gown and some flippers as this movie cheers for the unique and strangely creative creature inside all of us. Recommended - as long as you're looking for something different.

3/5