ALLIED : Tuesday 3rd January 2017.

'ALLIED' which I saw earlier this week is Directed by Robert Zemeckis and Written by Steven Knight based on a story he had been told some thirty years ago during his days travelling around the US, which whilst not confirmed as being true, proved too good to be true not to make a film out of it. And so whilst the notion has been kicking around for thirty years or so, it is only now that his story has been committed to celluloid. Costing US$85M the film opened in the US in late November and has so far made back US$87M, and garnered mixed reviews since, although its two lead performances have been largely praised.

Here Royal Canadian Airforce Intelligence Officer Max Vatan (Brad Pitt) must travel to Casablanca to assassinate a German Ambassador. The film picks up with him parachuting into the French Morocco desert sometime in 1942, being picked up by a car en route to Casablanca to rendezvous with his 'wife', a new identity for the mission, and a suitcase full of secret agent stuff! He is partnered up with French Resistance fighter Marianne Beausejour (Marion Cotillard) who fled from France after her resistance group was compromised and killed. The couple masquerade as French husband and wife, under the guise that they are being reunited in Casablanca after a long period of absence from each other due to his career in remote phosphate mining. She is trusted by the German's who have a stronghold on the territory.

Their planned assassination is still ten days away, so the couple get acquainted and do the things that couple do - enjoy the streetside cafes, party with acquaintances, be seen together arm in arm, take machine gun shooting practice out in the desert, and make love in the cramped front seat of a car in the middle of a raging sandstorm the day before the assassination attempt (must be a metaphor in there somewhere methinks!), because hey, they both might be dead in 24 hours time if their plan doesn't pull off.

After their mission to kill the German Ambassador at a glitzy gathering goes according to plan, and they are able to escape unhindered, Max asks Marianne to join him back in England. She agrees, they marry, fall pregnant, they set up home in Hampstead and settle down to a life of domesticity with him still working for the British Government and reporting to Frank Heslop as his Commanding Officer (Jared Harris) and friend. In time Marianne gives birth to a baby daughter, Anna, during a bombing raid over London, and the three return to the family home in the suburbs and all is good in the world.

Fast forward a few more months and Max learns from a Special Operations Executive (SOE), that Marianne is in fact suspected of being a German spy, having assumed the identity of the real Marianne, now long since dead. The SOE intend to run a 'blue dye' test whereby at a given time (11:07pm) a phone call will be made to their home and Max is to write down a piece of false intelligence, where Marianne can easily find it. If the information is picked up from intercepted German transmissions within a few days, Max must personally execute her, or be hanged for treason. He is told otherwise to act normally, and not to discuss the matter with anyone. Max is needless to say distraught with this news, and believes it all to be a big mistake - after all Marianne shot and killed the German Ambassador!

Defying orders Max first confides in his sister Bridget (Lizzy Caplan) knowing that she will keep a secret. He then visits a former colleague in hospital who knew Marianne well, but he was blinded in battle and is therefore unable to identify a photograph of her, but points Max in the direction of someone who may be able to help. Ultimately, Max flies to France to meet with someone who knew Marianne and will be able to identify his wife from a photograph. Landing under cover of darkness he learns that his contact is in fact in a local Police cell for drunken and disorderly conduct. Knowing that time is running out and this is his last ditch attempt to clear his wife's name, he and some Resistance Fighters break into the Police Station and confront his contact, who coming out of a drunken stupor recalled that Marianne was an accomplished pianist.

Back in London, Max forcibly takes Marianne to a local pub after hours, but where he knows there is a piano. They break in, and Max orders Marianne to play the French national anthem, La Marseillaise, on the piano because he had been told that she can, and beautifully. Marianne confesses to Max that yes, she is a German spy but her feelings for Max had always been genuine. She advises that her handlers in London had threatened both her and Anna if she did not continue complying with orders. Max refuses to kill his wife as instructed, and instead kills her handlers en route to the local RAF airstrip so that the three of them can effect their escape before the SOE close in with the news that he now knows is inevitable. In the pouring rain at the airstrip their escape plans are foiled by Heslop who intercepts their plans to commandeer a plane. Heslop confirms that their suspicions are confirmed as the Military Police arrive. Marianne gets out of the car, having secured Anna in the back seat, confirms her love for them both, and then promptly shoots herself in the head. She slumps to the ground beside the plane dead. Heslop who witnesses this commands the Military Police that what they saw was Max execute his wife as per his orders, to avoid any repercussions on him.

I enjoyed this romantic war time drama because it is a throw back to the war time melodramas of yesteryear that seldom get made any more these days. Ever since the days of 'Saving Private Ryan' and right up to the recent 'Hacksaw Ridge' war time films have been about the horrors of war writ large in graphic detail of severed limbs, flayed bodies, psychological trauma, physical injury, bloodshed and pain. 'Allied' offers us some welcome respite from this - it is a simple enough story, but well told by Robert Zemeckis who has a track record of delivering great performances from his Actors. And so he does so with Pitt and Cotillard. The pair are well matched and well suited to this period piece both looking very dapper and debonair in their '40's uniforms and fashions, and the era is recreated well enough to make the film complete. Certainly worth the price of entry, and worth looking at in homage to those films this one pays tribute to, albeit with a few random acts of violence, sex and profanity that those films of yesteryear wouldn't have deployed. Nonetheless a good watch.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

NOW YOU SEE ME - THE SECOND ACT : Wednesday 8th June 2016.

'NOW YOU SEE ME : THE SECOND ACT' is the follow up to 2013's first instalment in this magic heist adventure offering that was Directed by Louis Leterrier, comprised an all star cast, and despite its largely mixed critical reviews it made US$352M from its US$75M production budget and was therefore hailed a commercial success at least. Three short years later, and as if by magic we have a sequel up our sleeve, this time Directed by Jon M. Chu with much of that original line up reprising their roles. This film had a bigger budget than the first at US$90M and was released in Australia largely ahead of the rest of the world with its Stateside release on 10th June and the rest of the world thereafter. As long ago as a year, Lionsgate Films announced that 'Now You See Me 3' was already in the planning stages, so its very much looks like our intrepid, daring 'Four Horsemen' will survive to ride another day, and perform more sleight of hand for your disbelieving pleasure with plenty more tricks up their sleeves.

Essentially one year on from cleverly outwitting the FBI with a grand illusion to end all grand illusions whilst winning over the confidence, respect, support and adulation of the general public, 'The Four Horsemen' (no, not those from 'X-Men : Apocalypse') - Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg), Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson), Jack Wilder (Dave Franco) and new girl on the block replacing Isla Fisher, Lula (Lizzy Caplan) reappear for an encore performance in the hopes of exposing the unethical dealings of a tech magnate who is about to launch a new smart phone on the world that will gobble up all your personal and private data and use it for seemingly unscrupulous means to become all controlling. Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo) meanwhile leads The Four Horsemen covertly whilst 'working' for the FBI in supposedly tracking down The Four Horsemen, but along the way sending those authority figures on a merry hunt half way around the world to maintain their cover, their disappearing act for over a year now, and allowing them to go about their business largely unhindered.

Assembled, and with another grand illusion at the ready, The Four Horsemen prepare to make their mark on a Conference/Exhibition Hall where this latest smart phone is to be revealed on an unsuspecting world. When things go awry and Rhodes plan is scuppered by the FBI, the illusionists need to make a quick exit stage left. In doing so, they escape via a roof top and slide down a construction shute that is meant to exit them in an awaiting truck several stories below . . . but instead they emerge in a Chinese looking kitchen with surprised Chefs rattling the pans all around them. They walk out of the kitchen dazed and confused into a bustling restaurant and quickly learn that they are in downtown Macau - WTF just happened they exclaim looking totally bewildered.

As they quickly gather their thoughts, they are welcomed by Chase McKinney (Woody Harrelson) - the estranged twin brother of Merritt, and who has a serious axe to grind against his brother, and vice versa. Suffice to say there is no love lost between them. The four get loaded up into an obligatory black 4WD and taken off across town to meet devious tech wizard Walter Mabry (Daniel Radcliffe). Meanwhile Rhodes is back on the other side of the world wondering where the hell his Four Horsemen are, and their phones are unresponsive.

Mabry announces that he engineered their 'abduction' to Macau and explains how he preformed that trick, and reveals that in exchange for their freedom from his clutches and those of the FBI, he requires them to steal a micro-chip embedded in a playing card sized sliver of plastic. The chip has the ability to hack into any computer in the world, decrypt any code, break any password and reveal the most secret, sensitive information to the holder of said chip. Of the four, only Atlas agrees and so the others are forced to go along with the plan, and have 24 hours to do so. They swing into action visiting the worlds oldest magic store which just happens to be there is Macau, for some essential supplies with which to pull off this daring heist from a heavily guarded technical fortress.

Meanwhile back on American soil, Rhodes receives a phone call from Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman) who is locked up in a prison cell, having been put there by Rhodes himself as a result of his antics in the first film. With Rhodes now being chased down by the FBI who have worked out his cunning agenda, he reluctantly reaches out to Bradley who claims he knows the whereabouts of The Four Horsemen, and will reveal their location in exchange for a 24 hour leave pass. Bradley and Rhodes arrive in Macau after the Four Horsemen have deftly and with remarkable sleight of hand acquired the microchip, with Atlas waiting in a downtown market to hand over the merchandise to Mabry and his henchmen. At that point Atlas is intercepted by Rhodes, and a fight breaks out as Atlas gets away with the chip leaving Rhodes to fend off the others after Mabry reveals his intentions towards them were hardly genuine.

When the dust settles Rhodes and The Four Horsemen reunite to ponder their next move. Aided by the magic shop owner and her son, they devise a cunning plan to beat Mabry at his own game - in London on New Years Eve where they will stage their greatest illusion yet, and they let the world know of their imminent arrival. In the meantime, we have learnt that Mabry is the illegitimate son of Arthur Tressler (who The Four Horsemen tricked out of millions of dollars in the first film), and so he has his own agenda to rid the world of Rhodes and his four magicians, and has Bradley on side too.

As the action moves to London on NYE The Four Horsemen assemble at various points across the city and each gather a crowd of expectant on lookers ready to see their magical mastery up close & personal. Behind the scenes the FBI has gathered ready to nab Rhodes and The Four Horsemen when they appear. Mabry & Tressler have also touched down still hunting the chip, and so they too are in hot pursuit. What follows is a cat and mouse game across a busy London on NYE as the FBI close in but as usual are one step behind the bad guys who have captured Rhodes, Atlas, McKinney, Lula and Wilder and intend to make off with them by private jet and dispose of them once the chip is in their safe hands. But of course, the gang of grand illusionists have a few tricks up their sleeve which ensures the downfall of Mabry, Tressler and Chase in front of a worldwide audience.

In the final analysis, Rhodes, Atlas, McKinney, Wilder and Lula convene in Greenwich when the dust has settled and the FBI are off their scent. There Rhodes meets with Bradley who reveals his true identity as a close friend and business partner to Rhodes' father, Lionel Shrike (Richard Laing) who died when the young Dylan was just eight years of age performing an illusion that went horribly wrong. Also revealed are three other members of 'The Eye' who we were introduced to earlier in the film, as Bradley bids his farewells from his office headquarters.

I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by this film. It moves along at a cracking pace and the cast are strong enough both individually and as an ensemble to complete this magic circle and make it greater than the sum of its parts. The illusions and the magic are well orchestrated if somewhat stretched in their plausibility, but then hey, this is a film about master illusionists writ large and their ability to perform feats of magic on a grand scale, so you'll need to suspend your disbelief and go along for the ride. The one flaw in this tale for me is the ability for the gang to perform their illusions on such a grand scale so quickly using very limited time and resources and pull everything off so successfully. There's no months, not even weeks, of pre-planning, preparations, rehearsals, assembling a crew, fine tuning, checking and double checking that everything works and is at it should be . . . but then I guess this is the magic of Hollywood, and why let practical details get in the way of a good story. It is worth the price of your ticket, it delivers exactly what you would expect from the first film, and as sequels go, it ain't bad!

 

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

THE INTERVIEW : Tuesday 17th February 2015.

All the hoop-la surrounding 'THE INTERVIEW' which I saw last night at a big screen multiplex is well known now around the world and will be forever cast in movie folklore as the film that caused more that a stir at Sony Pictures, resulted in the theatrical release by Columbia Pictures being put back about twelve weeks, that had the North Korean authorities rattling their sabres and gnashing their teeth at Uncle Sam, and the so called hackers that infiltrated Sony Pictures Entertainment computer network -  the 'Guardians of Peace' - demanding that the 'movie of terrorism' be pulled, or there would be 'stern' and 'merciless' retaliation against the West if the films release went ahead! Really - WTF?

So what is all the fuss about? This US$42M film Directed (with Evan Goldberg), Produced (with Evan Goldberg), Written (with Evan Goldberg) and starring Seth Rogen amongst others is a farce, a satire and a comedy of errors that front & centre pokes big time fun at the ruler of North Korea for sure, and in ways that are none too complimentary. First he is painted up then he is torn down and meets his demise in a final set piece that gives the tyrannical leader his comeuppance so that ultimately some balance can be restored to this 'misunderstood' country!  In this respect this film follows plot contrivances that we have seen more times in the movies for the past fifty or so years than you can poke a North Korean warhead at - so nothing new here, and, we have come to rely on Seth Rogen coming up with something controversial to gain a reaction before . . . and so it is here!

The story revolves around a handful of central characters with Seth Rogen as Aaron Rappaport the Producer of evening celebrity tabloid kitsch talk show 'Skylark Tonite', whose amiable, handsome, fashionable but dimwitted Host is Dave Skylark (James Franco). Rappaport and Skylark have good history behind them, they are close mates and as good as brothers - always larking about as much as their wealth, celebrity, and libidos will allow - which is pretty much all the time. They talk as though they are seventeen, although Rappaport tries at times to remain aloof and a little more mature, in complete contrast to Skylark. After celebrating the shows 1,000th episode Rappaport yearns to to inject some more seriousness into the nightly proceedings with guests of note rather than celebrate air heads, has beens and wannabes! And so a plan is hatched to secure an interview with Kim Jong-un (Randall Park), to which Producer Rappaport must go to extraordinary lengths to secure even though the North Korean ruler is Skylark's number one fan!

When news of this pending interview is beamed around the world everyone has an opinion that Skylark will mess things up royally, and what the hell is that doofus doing interviewing Kim Jong-un anyway? At this point the CIA make an appearance and Agent Lacey (Lizzy Caplan) advise the Producer and the Host that when they meet Kim Jong-un for the interview in North Korea, they are to 'take him out'! At first they ask - 'what, for a drink, for dinner, to party' and then the harsh reality dawns that they are to assassinate him, but in a carefully planned closely monitored execution operation for which their extraction is also planned to ensure success.

So far so good, and the hapless duo set out on their mission. Upon arriving Skylark and Kim Jong-un hit it off immediately, and we see that the North Korean leader is a humble, down to earth, fun loving and misunderstood man who was downtrodden at a young age by his mother and father giving rise to the misconceptions that exist about him today. He likes margaritas, listens to Katy Perry, shoots hoops on his own basketball court, is kept entertained by small guitar playing children, cares for his people, has a collection of classic cars . . . and a few tanks, and keeps a bevy of beautiful scantily clad Korean babes to keep him 'amused'! What's not to like here? Skylark is bowled over, Rappaport not so!

With Skylark now convinced that Kim Jong-un is an OK dude and the rest of the world are mistaken the plan starts to unravel. The leaders assistant handling the interview telecast from the Korean end - Sook Yung Park (Diana Bang) and Rappaport get the hots for each other, and in a moment of passion it is revealed that she hates Kim Jong-un herself and wishes for him to be overthrown and a new balance of power installed. Later on over dinner Skylark begins to see for himself the truth behind Kim Jong-un's facade of mis-information, lies and conspiracy and so reveals to Rappaport what he has witnessed and that their plan must be reinstated, and so the interview is to go ahead beamed around the world as originally planned.

With a carefully scripted text, pre-determined questions and already defined outcomes for the camera the interview progresses. It is not long though before all mayhem is let lose in the studio behind the scenes where Rappaport and Sook are attempting to thwart those loyal to Kim Jong-un who wish for the interview to be scrapped now that Skylark is getting the upper hand and his guest is buckling under pressure on live TV revealing his true personality. Needless to say, here it does turn to mayhem with rapid gunfire in a confined space, several fingers being bitten off, a joy stick going where the sun don't shine, and spurts of the sticky crimson stuff arcing through the air gratuitously! It's all just a little OTT at this point, and of course it doesn't end there, as the interviewee makes his escape to a waiting helicopter later seen circulating overhead as half a dozen nukes are being primed on the US, and Skylark, Rappaport and Sook arrive in a tank on the ground below ready to face off against their quarry!

Needless to say Kim Jong-un buys the farm, and our three heroes all walk off into the sunset - but in two different directions! This film has an extreme storyline there is no doubt, but we've seen worse (think 'Team America' anyone!) and there are more than enough sight gags, gross out humour, sexual references aplenty, drugs, booze and Katy Perry touch stones to keep any teenage juvenile amused for approaching two hours. The film also stars a string of celebrity cameo's that for some, if you blink you'll miss, and despite its release headaches it has made about US$12M at the Box Office and over US$40M in digital rentals when Sony released it on-line on December 24th. With subsequent very limited general release in certain territories, it is due for BluRay and DVD release Stateside on 17th February 2015. This film certainly won't go down in history as one of the world's great satirical comedies of all time, but it will be recognised as causing WWIII . . . well nearly, maybe, perhaps!

  
-Steve, at Odeon Online-