Best Pictures 2019: Part I

A Star is Born

A dazzling directorial debut from Bradley Cooper, breathing new life into a classic Hollywood narrative. As the fourth re-imagination of of the same story, there's a danger of being stale and tired, falling victim to over-used tropes and clichés. Cooper, however, fearlessly presses on like a veteran and creates one of the year's biggest and boldest hits.

A Star is Born requires one thing to succeed: a real star. Fortunately, it has two. Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper are astonishing, with Cooper particularly turning in the performance of his life and Gaga's mesmerising voice will blow you away; the leads make this story real. There's an overwhelming feeling of truth hidden behind the artifice of cinema, helped in no small part by having a pop star reenact the climb to fame with dialogue that feels pulled directly from Gaga's backstory. It's a beautifully shot, masterful piece of work, that seamlessly overcomes its weaknesses such as pacing in its third act. Like the songs it contains, the film hardly misses a note. It's enthralling, moving, and musically outstanding.

Black Panther

Marvel films dominate today's cinematic landscape and appear in, and regularly on top of, lists of the best movies of the year. Whether you believe they're that good or not, no one can deny their cultural impact and certainly not that of Black Panther. The eighteenth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe caused a worldwide stir at the beginning of 2018 when it was released and those ripples are still apparent now, a year on. It's clear to see why; in a cinematic universe, and more widely a cinematic landscape, featuring predominately white male heroes, the lack of representation for people of colour in cinema's biggest franchise was painfully apparent.

But Black Panther is not just a check box for the MCU's diversity quota; it's a political commentary, a thrill ride of power struggles, and one of the MCU's best movies. In many practical elements, it is flawless. Its production design and costume design are inspired, drawing inspiration from African tribal wear - the image of which contrasts with the valuable knowledge and resources the Wakandans have to offer. It feels more timely, more pertinent today than Marvel's other films, but even its visually impressive and strong design, fresh take on the superhero genre, and brilliant performances can't save it from feeling too neat, too restrained by the bigger picture that the MCU has in sight. With a bit more freedom, it's exciting to imagine what Black Panther could have been.

Bohemian Rhapsody

The controversies surrounding new allegations of sexual misconduct by director Bryan Singer may be an external factor affecting how (and if) one watches Bohemian Rhapsody but on on it's own merits, it still struggles. It's not a bad film, but it's not great. It's all spectacle and no depth and it feels like a cheap imitation of a creative genius. It's not just air-brushing to compress the narrative, it's unnecessarily manipulating Mercury's life to evoke an emotional response and tell a more compelling story. But it feels dishonest; Mercury was a legend, so why adjust key aspects of his life? In order to tell a 'better' story?

And despite being an entertaining romp through Queen's greatest hits, it's often emotively flat. The supporting cast are one dimensional at best which elevates a brilliant performance by Rami Malek by contrast. But there's no character development beyond Mercury, which is strained anyway and mostly hinges on a literal descent into a gay underworld. Maybe there was something worse here, salvaged into something watchable and mostly enjoyable by veteran editor John Ottman, but it's not inventive, innovative, and inspiring like its subject. And really, isn't that what Freddie deserves?

Vice

Featuring a powerhouse politician embodied in a powerhouse performance by Christian Bale, Vice tells the story of Dick Cheney; his subtle rise to a position of power and how he wielded that power. Adam McKay’s energetic follow up to The Big Short is angled in a way designed to make Thanos look like a puppy dog. It’s partisan and biased but it’s completely compelling film making, playing with narrative story structures and using its cinematic medium to full effect. There’s a restaurant scene where the menu offers tasty travesties from the invasion of Iraq, a false ending, archival footage, a Shakespearean soliloquy, and much more. It’s a storytelling marvel.

That being said, it sometimes rushes and sometimes drags and occasionally becomes confusing as we jump between self-aware meta-scenes, safari footage, and the main narrative. There’s a lot to digest which will no doubt require multiple viewings and it’s exciting enough to not make that a chore. It's funny, which only highlights the severity of its subject matter. It's a well aimed satire and, for the most part, it hits its mark dead on.

Arachnid Dude

The current zeitgeist of the film industry seems to be able to be split into two things: Superheroes and reboots. So our film for today has the fortunate privilege of fitting into both these categories by being possibly the fastest rebooted franchise of a superhero related basis. As in most of these cases, it is, of course, an origin story and, like many other superhero reboots, takes a completely different tone to its predecessor. It is The Amazing Spider-Man

Several years after being left in the care of his Uncle Ben (Michael Sheen) and Aunt May (Sally Field) by his parents, Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) lives a very plain and uninteresting life. He is an awkward high school dwelling student who is ignored by the ladies but not by the bullies. He has trouble talking to the girls, particularly the beautiful blonde Gwen (Emma Stone), and he is constantly trying to come to terms with his parents’ abandonment. Then he finds some of his father’s old and secret work. This sparks an investigation into the works at Oscorp and their experiments which lead to him getting bitten by a radioactive spider. (But you knew that bit, right?) After this incident he develops some superhuman qualities and, after his Uncle Ben is murdered, he sets about stopping crime in the hope he can avenge his uncle. Elsewhere, his father’s algorithm on cross species work is put into development by Dr Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans) which causes some disastrous results. Feeling the burden, the newly named Spider-Man jumps into action.

Who said books couldn't be sexy?

It is suffice to say that the casting director for the film should be given an award. Andrew Garfield is almost the perfect Spider-Man. At first he seems a little too attractive to be the typical nerd type character, but the second he opens his mouth to speak, all becomes obvious. His speech represents the idea of a geek fantastically. Stuttering, shy looking away, misunderstandings, ramblings, it’s perfect. And he is great with the more confident, sassy side of Spider-Man as well. Full respect for doing a lot of the stunt work too. Emma Stone is brilliant as Gwen Stacey and, like Garfield, is great with the awkward conversation and they are an excellent pair. The supporting roles are all superb too. Michael Sheen as Uncle Ben and Rhys Ifans as Dr Connors are the two that particularly stand out. Sheen for his subtle performance that shows his love and complete frustration with Peter and Ifans for his psychotic nature and his internal struggle with what is best for himself and science.

To appeal to a wider audience, Spider-man
 raises money as a pole dancer

The biggest flaw with The Amazing Spider-Man is its length. Admittedly, it has few flaws, but they are big ones, the length being the most prominent. A film should never seem to drag and, if it does, cut out a few of those slow motion shots of Spider-Man doing something we have seen him do a hundred times before. Not to say these shots weren’t visually stunning, but they were superfluous; they served no benefit to the movie.        The other biggest flaw was the lack of development spent on certain moments and decisions. While the audience’s imagination should be led by a director in a particular direction, they should not be left to guess which direction that is. Apart from these two issues, Spider-Man is technically fantastic. The score is spot on and the camera work is incredible (though the first person is a bit disorienting.)

Overall, it is a good movie. It is a solid reboot and is one of the rare occasions where it outdoes the previous attempt. The film also includes Stan Lee’s funniest cameo to date and some fantastic fight scenes. While it could do with a bit more flesh and a bit less fat, metaphorically speaking, it is an enjoyable ride through Spider-Man’s origins with some touching and uplifting moments along with the action.

Best Bit? The most outstanding part of the film is when we see Parker go from vigilante after revenge to actual hero after saving several cars and a child from plummeting to their doom. 

Which Avenger Is Best ? (Part 3) Iron Man and Thor (Spoilers)

I'll throw a SPOILER ALERT right here again in case you missed it. Below I review each Avenger and some other important characters to decide who the best is. There will be several systems of voting including:

• Badassness - How badass are they? I need some DAYYUMM moments. 
• Wit - Can they make you laugh or banter brilliantly?
• Intelligence - What smarts do they have?
• Heart - Are they a team player? What is their limit? Would the sacrifice themselves for the world?
• Style -  How good do they look while they do what they do?
• Hotness - Hotness impacts how much we want to watch them...

This will hopefully determine the Best Avenger.

Iron Man/ Tony Stark

• Badassness- There's something automatically badass about a man who already has everything and yet still chooses to fly around in a metal suit of armour trying to save the world. He risks his life twice in order to help save the world, he takes out Thor mid sentence. He then continued on to fight Thor (and it was epic and badass) He has lasers in his arms, he tries a new method based on Jonah and the whale, he doesn't fall victim to Loki's brainwashing. Oh yeah, and he hacks into S.H.I.E.L.D Badass rating: 10/10
• Wit- Everything Stark says drips in wit and sarcasm. Creating an original Shakespeare in order to mock Thor, congratulating The Cap and his efforts with modern technology, being confused when Agent Coulson is called Phil ('His first name is Agent') He's just a funny guy and a cocky bastard. They say you have to be smart to be witty... Stark has that down. Wit rating: 10/10
• Intelligence- Inventing a suit of armour that builds itself around you as you walk along a platform is pretty smart. Making it build around you as you fall out of the sky, is pretty smart. Inventing a flying suit of armour in the first place is pretty smart. He hacks into S.H.I.E.L.D and discovers their secrets and his intelligence has made him ridiculously rich. He's the only person that can understand Banner when they talk... science. Intelligence rating: 10/10 
• Heart- Tony Stark does not play well with others. This is evident throughout the film. He's rude, sarcastic, puts everyone at risk by poking fun at banner. Despite all this, he loves Pepper Pots and he risks his life numerous times in order to help or save the team/world. It takes a lot of guts to fly a bomb into a portal to another world that is closing behind you, especially when your suit is almost out of power.  Heart rating: 7/10
• Style- Tony Stark handles everything with a surrounding presence of cool. He offers an evil god of mischief a drink. He flew into the mouth of a giant alien creature and blew it up from the inside. Just everything is done with style. However, his carelessness (particularly with Banner) is stupid. It's not cool and he gets immature. It's a good thing he has those super cool and stylish hologram computers. Style rating: 9/10
• Hotness- Well, he's cocky and that confidence and arrogance is somewhat attractive. However, he is getting on. Again, like Banner, he looks old enough to be half the viewers' dad but I'm sure they all 'would'. Plus he's an action hero and a genius. Rather attractive qualities to most people I am sure.  Hotness rating: 8/10

Thor

• Badassness- Well, he's from a different realm and he's had to get his father to conjure up enough power to send him to Earth and on top of that he's a god. Why did he return? Simply to collect his jackass of a brother. All of that to get his brother. He then proceeds to fight Iron Man and attempts to attack Captain America. When he's involved with the team, he works well with others. No rouge side here, but he'll still kick your ass. Badass rating: 8/10
• Wit- A god does not participate in the childish banter of the mere mortals. In fact, he stands to the side and points out how petty they all are. He just want's to return Loki to Asgard without too much hassle. Evidently, Loki was always the more outspoken one and Thor was a bit more serious. Wit rating: 2/10
• Intelligence- He has knowledge beyond our realm. He understands space and the stars better than any astrologer. But yet, here on Earth, he is a bit out of place. This is mostly shown in his solo movie (smashing coffee mugs, ordering a dog to ride) but, again, his main task is to collect his naughty brother and hand him over to the justice system in Asgard. I suppose you could say his intelligence is relative to the context surrounding him Intelligence rating: 6/10 
• Heart- Family comes first. Always. Despite his brother killing dozens upon dozens of people, he still stands by and states his love for him. He has no wish to kill him, only arrest him. And one of the first things he does when beginning to work with S.H.I.E.L.D is he checks that Jane is okay (from his solo movie). Yes, family and friends are important. But he's also quick to angry or offend. Bless well spoken Thor. Heart rating: 8/10
• Style- He wears a cape. If that's not stylish then I don't know what is. Also, he talks with such grace and grandness that you can't help but love everything he says. He can make his hammer fly around the room into his hand and, oh yeah, his weapon of choice is a hammer. Now that's stylish. He also stops The Avengers mid flight to get his brother back and starts a group brawl. Though he doesn't handle it quite as well as Iron Man. If only he had more cool stunts to do.  Style rating: 8/10
• Hotness- When fully clad in his armour, it leaves a lot to the imagination, perhaps too much. Some girls go crazy for long blonde, wild hair but not all. In his solo movie he is adorable at the same time as being smoking hot. Something about the human clothing that makes him more attractive. The armour seems a bit over the top. But still, look at those arm muscles. It would be impossible to claim they're not hot. Hotness rating: 7/10