Testament of Youth Review

Vera Brittain fights the repressive attitudes of pre-WW1 British society, including her parents who argue that she should not be going to university to study, but instead concentrating her efforts on finding a decent man to marry. She is a bright, determined young woman who gains entry to Oxford just as she falls for a man on the eve of the First World War. Brittain is forced into making the difficult decision of abandoning her studies that she worked so hard for, in order to support the man she loves and her only brother who have gone to fight at the front in France.

Based on Brittain’s memoir of her experiences during the war, Testament of Youth is an incredibly potent anti-war film where very little fighting is actually glimpsed. Forget those ‘war is hell’ movies that dwell on the blood, guts and gory glory, Brittain’s story swims in the waters of the women like Vera who were left at home to pick up the pieces. A traumatised, devastated generation were born out of the trenches and while the men leaped at the chance to fight for their country, the women who made incredible sacrifices and nursed the wounded both at home and at the front are undoubtedly just as heroic.

Alicia Vikander, so impressive in Ex Machina (also out in January), delivers a heart breaking performance as Brittain. From driven young woman to tragic heroine to fierce pacifist, Brittain endures incredible hardship and Vikander never puts a foot wrong even with the camera clamped to frequent close ups on her face. Kit Harington is also striking, making a decent break from his best known role in Game of Thrones, and the rest of the supporting cast, including Taron Egerton, Miranda Richardson and Dominic West also get effective moments to shine.

It’s a shame that the real story is not considered emotional enough, without going for a couple of clichés like having a tragedy occurring on a wedding day. Nevertheless, this is an incredibly moving story, driven by a brilliant performance from Vikander and a vital message that still resonates tragically today.

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American Sniper Review

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American Sniper Review

Is America's deadliest sniper really a hero? Millions of Americans undoubtedly think so. If the sound of his sniper rifle rung out over your head when you were serving in Iraq, and one of his precisely aimed bullets saved your life, no doubt you would think so too. But to some, Chris Kyle was a man who killed a lot of people in a country he should never have been in in the first place. He killed these people to save his fellow American soldiers and to protect the country he loved. His tours in Iraq earned him a bounty on his head and the nickname The Devil of Ramadi from those who feared and hated his ability with a sniper rifle.

American Sniper is based on Kyle’s own memoir so it gets right under the skin of this seemingly simplistic man. He’s a Texan cowboy told by his father to be a sheepdog rather than a wolf or a sheep. He joins the marines because he sees American embassies being attacked on TV. He shoots to kill with barely a thought for the people, their stories, their circumstances or their motivations in the foreign land he ends up in. He is addicted to saving his fellow soldiers, even if that means sacrificing countless days away from his wife and young children.

Bradley Cooper is sensational as Kyle, while Sienna Miller offers memorable support as his suffering wife. It’s a tragic true story with Clint Eastwood keeping things incredibly tense both back home and in the rubble of Iraq. Whether you will feel that Kyle turned out to be a wolf preying on the weak or a sheepdog who protected those in need will be a matter of your personal politics but his motivations, particularly after the war, appear admirable, even if the whole reason for the war remains dubious. The final heart-breaking shots of real footage in the film will undoubtedly unite most in a sense of grief and loss.

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Unbroken Review

The incredible true story of Olympian runner, plane crash and Japanese prison camp survivor Louis Zamperini is vividly retold by director Angelina Jolie, starring the massive young British talent and star in the making Jack O'Connell. Starting in World War 2, as Zamperini is faced with his first hairy experience dropping out of the sky in a damaged plane, the screenplay worked on by the Coen brothers then flashes back to Zamperini's troubled childhood in America as the bullied son of Italian immigrants. After his brother encourages him to take up running, Zamperini soon starts to excel at the sport, leaving his criminal behaviour behind. His running takes him all the way to the Berlin Olympics but it is his war stories that really show the unbreakable spirit of this remarkable survivor.

Surviving a second plane crash but this time being lost at sea for 47 days with two other men, Zamperini floats through starvation and shark infested waters until he is eventually picked up by the Japanese and put into prison under the sadistic guard known as The Bird. Unbroken is undoubtedly a hell of a story but somehow it never manages to fulfil its emotive potential. Jack O’Connell is outstanding in the lead but special mention should go to Domhnall Gleeson for offering fine support and a physical transformation that will make you wonder to what extremes the actor went to in order to achieve his starved appearance.

Ultimately, Unbroken dwells a little too much on the torture and sadism of The Bird, becoming a little repetitive and drawn out in its prison set scenes, where instead more could have been done to build Zamperini’s character in his earlier, formative years. Far from a broken mess, Unbroken just needed a little fixing to do its amazing story the justice it deserved.

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FURY Trailer brings out the big guns

The new film from director David Ayer gets a fantastic looking new trailer featuring its impressive cast battling through World War 2 in a tank. Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman, Michael Pena and Jon Bernthal will be packing that war machine with so much testosterone, you'll be able to smell the sweaty balls dripping off the screen.

This is the director of End of Watch, one of my top 3 films of 2012 as well as the guy who wrote Training Day. His last film, Sabotage, may have been a bit of a misstep but at least it gave Arnie a bit of a darker character for his post-Governor career.

World War 2 are often action packed and though The Monuments Men was a recent star packed disappointment, Fury looks like a gritter, dirtier and far more exciting ride that George Clooney's film. Logan Lerman is the only one of the major players who I'm not thrilled to see in this. No offence to Lerman who I'm sure is great but when he comes toe to toe with Pitt, Pena, Bernthal and LaBeouf, he's bound to struggle. What a cast and what a trailer! Can't wait for Fury to be unleashed in November.



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The Railway Man Review

The Railway Man is a film of two very distinct halves; one half set in the gloomy 80s of the UK on windswept beaches and stuffy train cabins and the other in the hot and humid Thailand of World War 2.

Colin Firth plays real life war veteran and traumatised survivor of torture Eric Lomax who meets lovely Patricia (Nicole Kidman) on a train and immediately falls in love with her. After the pair marry, it becomes increasingly clear Lomax is still dealing with demons from his past and flashbacks ensue to reveal how the young Lomax (Jeremy Irvine) survived being imprisoned, tortured and made to work on the notorious 'Death Railway' by his Japanese captors.

The Railway Man is best when it's at war and though Firth, Kidman and Stellan Skarsgard all deliver fine performances in the terribly British post-war scenes, it is Irvine's performance as the young Lomax and the tension, drama and brutal treatment of the soldiers in World War 2 that makes this story truly gripping. You'd be forgiven for thinking you were going to get a Brief Encounter-ish love story from the start of the film and it is only when Firth's Lomax starts to crack that the film gets really interesting.

Kidman's Patricia has to work hard to get under Firth's stiff upper lip and goes to his friend and fellow survivor played by Skarsgard in order to elicit the truth about Lomax's experiences and finally break all the war veterans' code of silence. As the tale is told and the film builds to its scenes of torture, it is horrifying and driven mostly by Irvine as the young Lomax.

The Railway Man eventually becomes a great companion piece to Mandela with its story of imprisonment and forgiveness. When the older Lomax eventually finds out that his torturer is working for a war museum, he travels to Thailand to let out all that rage and resentment and have his revenge. This final part of the film may not be quite as riveting as the war scenes but it does give Firth and Hiroyuki Sanada a great face off and an unexpectedly emotional pay off.

The film ends with real life photos that show just how true the story is, making it a very inspiring and ultimately emotional tale.

On a side note, I visited the museum and bridge featured in the film when I was in Thailand in 2007. It was very strange to see Firth stood on the bridge and also to see the real life photos of Lomax and Nagase on the very same bridge. It has made me want to return there one day as I suppose the film has given me a better understanding of what went on in World War 2.

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What is The Hunger Games trilogy really all about?

The Hunger Games started out as a series of young adult books written by Suzanne Collins. The author stated that she was inspired to start writing the trilogy when she was channel surfing and images of reality TV started to blend with raw footage of the Iraq War.

Though some saw The Hunger Games as the new Twilight with a young female protagonist caught in a love triangle with two handsome young men who she cannot decide between, the book and films of The Hunger Games are about far more than the trials of young love.

The Hunger Games and its sequels are about far greater themes than Twilight and with Catching Fire and Mocking Jay on their way, the franchise is about to take a turn for the darker and far more distressing as revolution brews in the districts and war rears its ugly head. So what is The Hunger Games trilogy really all about?

Reality TV

The Hunger Games is a televised event where young people are forced into brutal competition with each other for the entertainment of the masses. Sound familiar? The likes of The X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent may not force young people to take part and they may not be fighting for survival but the comparisons are clear. Katniss has to ensure that the wealthy audiences like her enough to send her gifts that help her through the games. She has to be constantly aware of her image and her actions as she needs the public to like her. All the while the people at home sit and stare at their screens enjoying the spectacle of young people fighting for their lives, without really caring for those that the television show chews up and spits out.

Inequality

The people of the Districts, especially those of District 12 where Katniss is from, have nothing compared to those in the Capitol. Katniss and her fellow competitors fight in the Hunger Games to win some wealth for their districts and Katniss herself had more chance of being picked as a tribute due to her desire to feed her family with rice. The people in the Capitol on the other hand dress in the latest fashions, gorge themselves on fine food (and then vomit it back up so they can eat some more) and watch the likes of Katniss fight to the death for their own entertainment. The gap between rich and poor is clear to see and is an ever growing cause for concern in our own society.

War

The Hunger Games progresses from a story about a televised event to a revolution to a full blown war. By the final book Mocking Jay (split into two films) Katniss will be more than a competitor but a soldier and revolutionary icon. She has to overcome oppression from those that will try to keep the districts down and will use propaganda to convince the people to rise up and fight the Capitol with her. The morality of war and the ethics of not only Katniss’ action but also the Gale’s will be questioned and explored in the final thrilling part of the trilogy.

Don’t expect Twilight. The Hunger Games will test your head every bit as much as your heart.

Why I love The Hunger Games.
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