In the 1950s, sleazy American Hollywood film director Leo Köpernick (Adrien Brody) visiting London sets out to adapt a popular stage play into a film, but things go off the rails when the director is murdered. World-weary Inspector Stoppard (Sam Rockwell) and rookie Police Constable Stalker (Saoirse Ronan) find themselves amid a puzzling Agatha Christie-style whodunnit.

For audiences who are looking for something different and have an appetite for the quirky director Tom George’s See How They Run is a very nice bit of fun. A whimsical, absurdist and witty whodunnit mystery, See How They Run takes an eclectic group of characters, many of them based on real-life persons and throws them into a dastardly tale of murder and mischief. When shady filmmaker Leo Köpernick (Adrien Brody) is killed, the production team behind Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap are all suspects in a chilling game of cat and mouse and soon gruff Inspector Stoppard (Sam Rockwell) and his over-eager rookie partner Constable Stalker (Saoirse Ronan) find themselves right in the middle of murder spree with a killer who is getting bolder by the minute.

Packed together with off-beat characters and an eccentric style, director Tom George employs a very dry wit to deliver this story and he’s got a lot going with his talented cast. See How They Run is very much a character-driven story, and he takes his leading cast into entirely new directions with their performances. Chief among them is Academy Award winner Sam Rockwell who switches things up as the rather hoarse police detective Inspector Stoppard, and Rockwell makes a go of it with this very different character. Paired next to him is the very versatile Saoirse Ronan as rookie policewoman Constable Stalker and her all-to-eager sense of enthusiasm makes her a stand-out member of the cast.

While there’s a good dose of moody crime and murder going on in See How They Run, it was the film’s unique dry comedy that won me over as an audience member. George’s film is incredibly dry and idiosyncratic in its delivery and he manages to find a good dose of laughs in this narrative, which alongside its 1950s decor and styling makes it all the more hilarious when the time calls for it. This use of comedy also helps to keep the audience in a state of suspense about the story and it’s a wickedly good use of narrative to help propel the plot forward.

If you’re seeking something a little bit different and slightly left of centre, then See How They Run makes for a very fun watch.

Image: 20th Century Studios

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A gorilla named Ivan tries to piece together his past with the help of an elephant named Stella as they hatch a plan to escape from captivity.

Directed by Thea Sharrock, The One and Only Ivan has been adapted from the best-selling book by K. A. Applegate, and which is in turn based on the true-life story of Ivan, a gorilla who stunned the world after it was learnt that he could paint, and who was set free from captivity after 27 years. Sharrock brings a sense of major and wonder to The One and Only Ivan with her high-concept CGI visuals that brings this colourful cast of anthropomorphic characters to life. But it’s her focus on the film’s story of family and the quest for freedom that will pull at the audience’s heartstrings. Sharrock focuses on the conflicting nature that can arise between humans and the animal kingdom, and this film has a solid environmental message that most definitely strikes a chord with young and old audiences alike.

Taking on the lead role of Ivan is Academy Award-winning actor Sam Rockwell, and he brings his usual dry wit and likeable character to this big-bodied, big-hearted gorilla. As a character, Ivan is billed as the star of the show at The Big Top Mall, but in reality, he’s very much an everyman who is searching for meaning in the world, while also trying to help those around him in his extended circus family. Rockwell brings a sincerity to the character of Ivan, who is somewhat of a lost soul until he is given charge of a baby elephant named Ruby (Brooklynn Prince), and becomes determined to see her to freedom. Making this his mission, Ivan and his family around him work to find a way back to nature and it’s here where The One and Only Ivan takes off. After watching this film I couldn’t think of anyone better suited to the role of Ivan than Rockwell, and he does something special with this character.

Joining Rockwell in The One and Only Ivan, and dishing out plenty of comic relief, is the always delightful Danny DeVito. DeVito, a long time Disney veteran, stars as Bob, a stray dog who is Ivan’s best friend and who is content to take each moment as it comes. That is until he sees how much pain Ivan and his family are in due to their lack of freedom and it’s then that he encourages Ivan in his plan to ‘break out’ of the mall. As always DeVito is an absolute hoot in the role and delivers plenty of cracking dialogue and off-beat comedic hi-jinks.

Giving the film it’s gravitas and spirit is Angelina Jolie, who not only produced the film, but who alos voices the sage-like elephant Stella. Stella is the matriarch of this family, and who has sadly spent all of her life in captivity never having seen the freedom of the outside world. She’s a character who speaks with a graceful authority and who desires that her newfound adopted niece Ruby learn about all the beauty of the outside world. Jolie’s performance is incredibly heartfelt and you can feel that she was making this film for her children, and wished to inspire others to look out on the beauty of the world around them through her performance as this wise and noble elephant. Jolie’s performance will have a profound effect on all audiences and the character of Stella certainly stays with you.

Finally bringing The One and Only Ivan together is show-stopping performer Bryan Cranston as Mac, the owner of The Big Top Mall Circus and who is the film’s most complicated and layered character. Cranston’s Mac very much reflects the idea of man as both friend, and foe, to the animals that we share this world with. While he is deeply loving and affectionate to the animals that make-up his circus, he eventually develops a callous business-like authority in order to drive them to perform so he can keep the show, and the mall, going. While fundamentally a good man, it’s this conflict that keeps you off-guard and I found that as an audience member it’s very difficult to reconcile with how you see Mac, which is a testament to how good of a performer Cranston is.

The One and Only Ivan has a style all it’s own, possessing this quintessential American feeling to it, and even though its setting reflects the late 1980s to early 1990s, it feels entirely contemporary at the same time due to its due environmental message. This focus on the interaction between animal and man brings you deeper into this story, and it’s this narrative of interpersonal relationships between our two species where The One and Only Ivan finds its rhythm. It is a film that has that quintessential Disney magic about it, and you can’t be helped but pulled into this beautiful movie.

In these uncertain times that we currently live in a film such as The One and Only Ivan is sure to lift up your spirit and make your heart sing with that quintessential joy that only Disney storytelling can bring. This film is pure magic and enchants in every way possible. You’ll love it.

Image: Walt Disney Pictures

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“There is a bomb in Centennial Park. You have thirty minutes.” The world is first introduced to Richard Jewell (Paul Walter Hauser) as the security guard who reports finding the device at the 1996 Atlanta bombing—his report making him a hero whose swift actions save countless lives. But within days, the law enforcement wannabe becomes the FBI’s number one suspect, vilified by press and public alike, his life ripped apart. Reaching out to independent, anti-establishment attorney Watson Bryant, Jewell staunchly professes his innocence. But Bryant finds he is out of his depth as he fights the combined powers of the FBI, GBI and APD to clear his client’s name while keeping Richard from trusting the very people trying to destroy him.

Clint Eastwood has been behind the camera now for more than five decades, and his skills as a director ceases to diminish. And now as only Eastwood can he turns his attention to the life of Richard Jewell, a security guard who was hailed as a hero in the aftermath of the 1996 Atlanta Olympic bombing before being quickly vilified as the villain of the event. It’s a story that carries plenty of heavy-hitting drama and its ripe for Eastwood’s directorial eye and his focus on examining American values and society. With a documentary-like focus, along with his simple and to-the-point filmmaking style, Eastwood takes audiences back to 1996 and a brazen media circus that quickly envelops into flames and is ready to destroy an innocent man’s life. Richard Jewell is an important film that explores themes of duty, justice and the media and even though it’s a portrait of the past it’s entirely contemporary in its significance.

Standing front and centre as our protagonist is rising star Paul Walter Hauser and he gives an utterly magnificent portrayal as Richard Jewell. Richard can essentially be described as a simpleton. A slightly eager to please every man who has fantasist like ambitions of working in law enforcement and whose over-zealous enthusiasm for flaunting an authority he does not possess rubs people the wrong way. After initially being labelled a hero he soon finds himself in the crosshairs of a rabid media circus, undergoing a ‘trial by media’ and harassment by overzealous law enforcement. Hauser’s performance makes this film all the more moving as Jewell because he can’t see the facts and isn’t willing to accept that he’s a suspect. It’s painful to see him trying to ‘help out’ the FBI agents who are trying to convict him as he simply doesn’t understand the severity of the situation that he’s been placed in. Hauser’s performance is one that pulls at your soul and when he does eventually pull himself together and starts to fight for his innocence you’re just hoping that he finds a way to pull through and beat a system of seemingly insurmountable odds.

While Hauser is the central character of Richard Jewell, the heart of the film comes from the presence of Kathy Bates as Jewell’s mother Bobi Lee, and her’s is an especially heart-wrenching performance. Bates’ Bobi Lee is the good neighbour, a perfect picture of wholesome everyday American values who looks after her son and who has raised him with an adherence to a Norman Rockwell type of patriotism and responsibility. Celebrating her son’s heroic turn, she basks in the delight of the good he’s done….until it all turns sour and it’s then that she just can’t deal with it all. With his ‘trial by media’, Richard’s life is torn apart and in turn so is Bobi Lee’s. It’s Bobbi Lee who bears the brunt of the media’s full attack and Bates’ sincere performance and the pain and anguish at having to face down this baying beast gets into your heart and is sure to move you to tears.

Standing next to Hauser’s Jewell in his hour of need is Sam Rockwell as attorney Watson Bryant. And it’s a part and performance that clarifies why Rockwell is one of the most in-demand actors working today. As the irascible, mouthy, and in-your-face Watson, Rockwell jumps off the screen and is a scene-stealer in every single regard. His character is very much the objective centre of this film and as he tries to keep the baying dogs from Jewell’s doorstep, he also has to contend with a system that has blinded itself to the truth amidst an angry mob mentality. As Watson, Rockwell goes toe-to-toe with the other actors in his scenes in Richard Jewell and his hunt for the truth to clear Richard’s name gives this film its substance.

Stepping back from the director’s chair, Olivia Wilde makes a return in front of the camera with Richard Jewell as reporter Kathy Scruggs and she’s a straight-up bitch here. Wilde portrays Scruggs as an overly ambitious, fast-talking egotist who is willing to go to extreme lengths to get what she wants and has no qualms about using people to get there. While she’s the first one to break the Richard Jewell story and swiftly follows through to get more out of it, her hubris gets checked when she discovers that there is no way Jewell could have committed this crime, and she’s left reeling with the fact that she’s condemned an innocent man. Richard Jewell is a film that gives Wilde a challenge when it comes to performance and she rises to meet it.

Bringing the narrative of Richard Jewell together is Jon Hamm as FBI Agent Tom Shaw who feels the full brunt of the Atlanta bombing with it happening on his home turf, and because of this feels indebted to make sure he finds the perpetrator no matter the cost. As Shaw, Hamm takes the gloves off here and his turn as the pursuer crafts him into the role of the villain as he viciously hunts Jewell, even though he’s in all likely innocent. While Eastwood doesn’t out and out vilify Hamm’s Shaw, he does lay it on pretty thick here with Shaw as the idea of law and order left unchecked and which caught up in an unstoppable pressure cooker of hate and obsession, can’t see through to the truth. Hamm doesn’t disappoint in the role, and you can tell that working with Eastwood was a career highlight for the actor, and this most definitely influences the intensity of his performance.

With Richard Jewell Eastwood puts his homeland under a microscope as only he can and examines what happens when due process gets dropped in favour of mob madness. This film is an incredibly harsh critic to the media, and while a definite period piece, we all to often feel the repercussions of a 24-hour news cycle that increasingly favours sensation over the truth. Stylistically, Richard Jewell is a quintessential Eastwood film and is delivered in a similar style to his works like Gran Torino and The Mule, where he tells the story of ordinary people caught up in extraordinary times. Richard Jewell is also extremely heavy on the emotion and when the credits do begin to roll there won’t be a dry eye in the house.

Filmmakers don’t get more impressive than the likes of Clint Eastwood and Richard Jewell is another fine entry in his long list of credits. It’s a moving, evocative and extremely relevant film to our current time period and is a must-watch for true cinema aficionados.

Image: Roadshow Films

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Vice is the story of Dick Cheney (Christian Bale), an unassuming bureaucratic Washington insider, who quietly wielded immense power as Vice President to George W. Bush, reshaping the country and the globe in ways that we still feel today.

Director Adam McKay has a taste for the satirical and his talent is in capturing a subject and uplifting all of its edges to find the harshest, most unbelievable story at its core and then delivering them to his audience. We saw his satirical scalpel at work with his sharp-eyed critique of America’s financial system in The Big Short and now he seeks to examine the nation’s political machine at work and the evils that lay at its center. And what he delivers is unbelievable. From the beginning, McKay skirts the line between facts and narrative and his ability to use the satirical to his advantage makes this narrative all the more compelling. But as things ramp up and we begin to see the satire fade away, we instead find ourselves in a political horror movie that is far scarier than The Silence of the Lambs ever could be. Vice is satirical comedy at its most extreme and McKay pulls you left and right at every occasion.

Forming the focus of Vice is a unique character study of one Dick Cheney, 46th Vice President of the United States, and a man who comes to be the ultimate political figure in a transformative performance from actor Christian Bale. With Bale, we see a complete character arc in play here in Vice, with Cheney beginning as nothing more than a ne’er-do-well, shit-kicking dirtbag, who then suddenly finds himself charged with purpose and on the course to better himself. But while you think you’ll see the triumphant story of a political hero in play, what we actually get is a character whose unrelenting hunger, both physically and metaphorically, unleashes in him a desire for absolute power that can only be fed by greed and wickedness and results in a thoroughly dangerous and completely reprehensible life.

In short, it’s an utterly miraculous performance by Christian Bale of a character who is presented as the ultimate villain. Just when you think that Cheney cannot possibly fall further into the depths of degradation to obtain his ultimate goal, well he proves you wrong. If Richard the Third and Darth Vader could find an apprentice to teach their dark arts to then Cheney would be their guy, and in the end, would completely outdo both of their evil. And you won’t believe what is going on before your eyes. The brilliance of such a performance comes back to Bale and his commitment to the character because he gives a truly shocking performance here.

They say that behind every great man there’s an even greater woman, and for Dick Cheney in Vice this absolutely rings true thanks to Amy Adams as his wife Lynne. With a determination and ruthlessness that exceeds that of her husband, Lynne is the perfect woman for Dick and she is the ultimate architect of her husband’s rise to power. It is she who gives him the ultimatum to change his life and it is she that encourages his pursuit of the Republican Dream and it is she that ultimately paves the way for his own inner monster to come out.

Adams is sharp and focused in the role and extremely quick on her feet and her every step seems to be led by her desire to elevate her family to the highest tier of American life. Of the two of them Lynne is painted in my mind as the far more patriotic of the Cheney’s and while her ambitions have the air of nobility, her husband’s come to represent an interior desire to realise his own ambitions even above the good of America. Adams is perfectly cast in the role and her chemistry and relationship with Bale really shine through in her performance.

Finally, Sam Rockwell lends his talents to that of George W. Bush, the 43rd President of the United States, and his performance leads to a hysterical turn of events. Rockwell’s Bush is a completely Cowboy character, a wisecracking good’ol boy who has walked into the family business but isn’t aware that he’s just the puppet. McKay’s focus on Bush is ultimately a vicious one, but thanks to Rockwell’s performance we can’t help but want to see him at every turn. In terms of performance, Rockwell is spot on with his characterization of the former President and he channels an innate charisma and cool that completely wins you over.

While Vice is satire in action, it’s also a scathing presentation that vividly paints the Republican party in every shade of red imaginable. While you could call it a political horror movie, its level of satire and comedy continually throws you about as an audience member and you truly begin to wonder whether you can believe what is unfolding before you. It’s simply that absurd. Seeking to outdo himself at every turn, Cheney and his minions continue to sink to new lows no matter the cost, and just when you think he’ll find his comeuppance he sails through and wins out, profiting in the fallout. Vice might be shocking, but it’s shockingly good and anyone who has the chance to see it will be treated to a masterwork in both direction and performance.

If you’re seeking an exceptional cinematic experience then Vice is the film to give it to you. Loaded with its own sharp humour and an incredible performance from its cast Vice is a film that really gets under your skin and captures a unique snapshot of history that was ultimately the doing of one man.

Source: EOne Films

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