Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)

Director: J.J. Abrams
Starring: John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Harrison Ford, Oscar Isaac, Carrie Fisher, Peter Mayhew, Domhnall Gleeson, Lupita Nyong'o, Anthony Daniels, Andy Serkis, Max Von Sydow, Mark Hamill
Certificate: 12
Genre: Sci Fi
Awards: None

What other film could I do for the last review of the year if not Star Wars?

The seventh film in the series, The Force Awakens has taken the world by storm and, in a number of ways, it deserves to. Set thirty years after The Return Of The Jedi, Luke Skywalker has disappeared and the galaxy seems to be in a civil war between the first order, lead by a strange being named Snoke (Serkis) and the resistance, lead by general Leia (Fisher).

On a lonely sandy planet (sound familiar?), a young girl (Ridley) finds a droid being hunted by stormtroopers for information that it has from one of their prisoners. She meets a turncoat stormtrooper named Finn and the two escape the planet with an old veteran in order to find the resistance.

As somebody who quite enjoys the prequels (although I grant that they could never be called good films, they are admirable failures at trying something new), it was somewhat disappointing that The Force Awakens does not seem to have much ambition and instead seems just a newer version of A New Hope. Yet the film is still incredibly enjoyable and any fan of Star Wars is bound to have a good time.

The old faces returning are all great to see, although some seem to be there for no reason (cough, 3PO) other than for fan service but that is what this film was always going to be, a film for the fans. It is great to see how the world has gone on and the technology and the fact that it feels like a Star Wars film but The Force Awakens, to me, shows that the Star Wars film of the future aren't going to do anything new and exciting. Like Marvel, the films are likely to be entertaining and keep an audience hooked but the dream of something radically different is dead. This is not altogether a bad thing but it makes the Star Wars universe a smaller world.

****Good

The Purge (2013)

Director: James DeMonaco
Starring: Ethan Hawke, Lena Headey, Rhys Wakefield, Max Buckholder, Adelaide Kane, Edwin Hodge
Certificate: 15
Genre: Horror
Awards: None

Set in the not-so-distant-future America, The Purge is a night that happens every year where all crimes are legal. The wealthy Sandin family become the focus of a siege after the son allows a homeless man being attacked take shelter in their house.

Whilst having a great amount of potential, The Purge seems incredibly lazily written with many of the plot points being incredibly unconvincing for the scenario. The main character works in security yet is completely helpless when being attacked on a day when one should have been prepared.

The Purge is one of those films that tries too little at creating tension and fear and instead does the predictable and the boring. None of the characters feel fleshed out and narratively, the third act simply does not pay off. In the hands of a greater talent, The Purge could be riveting but it just simply is not.

**Pretty Bad

The Heroes Of Telemark (1965)

Director: Anthony Mann
Starring: Kirk Douglas, Richard Harris, Ulla Jacobsson, Michael Redgrave
Certificate: U
Genre: Action, War
Awards: None

The Heroes Of Telemark is a WW2 film detailing the exploits of the Norwegian resistance as attempt to stop the construction of heavy water - needed for the atomic bomb - for Nazi Germany. Douglas plays the scientist, Rolf, who is persuaded to join Harris' resistance soldier to destroy a factory that creates the component.

Whilst educational (the film is based on a true story), The Heroes Of Telemark cannot stand up as one of the great World War Two films. It is overly melodramatic at points and often seems slow for no discernible reason. It is fun to see Douglas and Harris together however as two of cinemas greats and some sequences look very nice in the snow but the film is ultimately nothing special.

***Okay

Ted (2012)

Director: Seth McFarlane

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Seth McFarlane, Mila Kunis, Joel McHale, Giovanni Ribisi, Patrick Warbutton, Patrick Stewart

Certificate: 15
Genre: Comedy

Awards: None

Ted is Seth McFarlane's first feature film, yet it still contains many of the attributes of his TV programs (Family Guy, American Dad et al). McFarlane voices a teddy bear that comes to life when his owner John wishes it one christmas. Years on, Ted and John (now played by Wahlberg) are all grown up but now losers who won't get their lives together, infuriating John's girlfriend Lori (Kunis) who feels that Ted is holding John back.

Like McFarlane's other work, Ted is deliberately provocative which leads to some brilliantly shocking and surreal jokes. Yet, like many un-clever comedies, watching it for a second time feels a little flat. With the punches already thrown, what you're left with is a run-of-the-mill story about a guy who tries to get his life together.

The ending is somewhat predictable and the overall narrative leaves one wanting but Ted is first and foremost a comedy. Whilst the jokes may be cheap (fart jokes) and non PC, this is why people like McFarlane and nobody can deny that Ted is very funny.

****Good

The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)

Director: Orson Welles
Starring: Tim Holt, Dolores Costello, Joseph Cotten, Anne Baxter, Agnes Moorehead, Ray Collins, Orson Welles
Certificate: U
Genre: Drama
Awards: None

The Magnificent Ambersons was Orson Welles' follow up to his astounding Citizen Kane and features the rich family of the Ambersons including Isabel (Costello) and her son George (Holt). One day Isabel's ex lover, Eugene (Cotten) returns to the town and he and the recently widowed Isabel become close again. This does not go well with George who wishes to keep them apart for the good of the Amberson name.

Compared with Citizen Kane, The Magnificent Ambersons cannot compete as the characters feel flatter and the story not as vast and appealing. Yet on its own two legs, the film is still highly enjoyable. The spiralling saga of the family's decline is always interesting to witness. The cinematography is still brilliant with every shot being as beautiful as the last whilst the performances are still very strong.

Perhaps not as vital a watch as its predecessor, The Magnificent Ambersons is still very worthy of being a Welles film (although he had less control on this one).

****Good

Nil By Mouth (1997)

Director: Gary Oldman
Starring: Ray Winstone, Kathy Burke, Charley Creed-Miles, Laila Morse, Jamie Foreman
Certificate: 18
Genre: Drama
Awards: None

Nil By Mouth is a british film made by Gary Oldman about a working class family and their relationships towards various drugs and alcohol. Ray (Winstone) is an abusive husband which causes his life to spiral downwards whilst his brother in law, Billy (Creed-Miles) is a drug addict who also falls into deeper and deeper holes.

The film is grim and dark and unpleasant, as would be expected. Most of the characters are unlikeable and even terrifying, yet the don't lack charisma making them seem much more real. The main arc of the story considering Ray and wife Valerie (Burke) feels incredibly raw and allows the viewer to feel invested. Billy's story is a little bit more of a lackluster yet still stands as a subplot.

If you are familiar with the darker side of british social realism you have probably seen films like this already but at the time it stood out as something different. Performances are great and well directed, Nil By Mouth still might not be for everyone.

****Good

Meantime (1984)

Director: Mike Leigh
Starring: Phil Daniels, Tim Roth, Jeffrey Robert, Marion Bailey, Gary Oldman, Pam Ferris, Alfred Molina, Tilly Vosburgh
Certificate: 15
Genre: Drama
Awards: None

Meantime is a British social realism film by Mike Leigh which has very early performances from actors such as Tim Roth and Gary Oldman. The film shows us the lives of a family living on benefits in the east end. When Roth's character, Colin, is given a job by his aunt Barbara (Bailey), it causes tension between him and his brother, Mark (Daniels).

Mike Leigh's film (like his later film, Naked, to a lesser extent) doesn't seem to be interested in telling a story more than giving us a glimpse into the lives of these characters. Nobody is shown to be happy and sometimes their motivations seem unclear yet they still seem believable people you could meet in east end London (which is where I actually live, by the way). The film tries to make us understand the problems of the working class rather than one individual problem, leading to many parts seeming unresolved. But that seems to be the point.

If you enjoy British social realism, Meantime is a grim and despair-filled slice of it. The fact that it features young versions of some now-massive stars just adds another interesting aspect to it as they started in the same place as their characters (if not the same circumstances).

****Good

All About Eve (1960)

Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Starring: Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, Celeste Holm, George Sanders, Gary Merrill, Hugh Marlowe, Gregory Ratoff, Marilyn Monroe
Certificate: U
Genre: Drama
Awards: Best Picture, Best supporting actor (Sanders), Best director, Best screenplay, Best costume, Best sound

All About Eve is a film about the ruthless profession of the theatre and a girl who rises from nothing to become a star of the stage. Eve (Baxter) is taken under the wing of ageing actress Margot (Davis) but after a while the older woman becomes suspicious of the younger and her intentions.

This film contains twists and turns throughout that kept me surprised. The power games being played here are a wonder to behold with each of the six main characters all seeming to be playing for their own agenda. George Sanders' critic Addison DeWitt is a stand out character due to his elitist but devil-like position but Bette Davis is a wonder to behold as the paranoid and aggressive Margot who the audience turns against as the story progresses.

All about Eve has brilliant performances and a narrative that keeps you enthralled and guessing until the very end. There is no doubt that this is one of Hollywood's immortal greats.

*****Brilliant