Thursday, 26 July 2018

The Devil Wears Prada (2006)

All movies are chosen for you, from a pile of "Stuff".

The Devil Wears Prada follows Andy (Anne Hathaway), a young woman who aspires to become a journalist but due to her failing career position, begrudgingly takes a job as the 2nd assistant to Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep), the editor-in-chief of "Runway" fashion magazine and the most influential name in fashion. Andy soon learns that the world of fashion, which previously alluded her, is more powerful than she ever thought possible. Through hellish trials set by Miranda, as well as her 1st assistant Emily (Emily Blunt), Andy transforms into an expert of the fashion world but in doing so, jeopardises her friends, her love and ultimately, her integrity.

For some reason, I put off watching this film for a long time but now that I've seen it, I more than regret avoiding it. It's overwhelming lessons of self-image, passion and hard work deeply resonate with anyone who has ever struggled with the workload of achieving their career goals. Both Miranda Priestly and Andy Sachs stand as points of reference as to what you can achieve given determination, sacrifice and unwavering confidence in your abilities.

The unsung hero of this film however is Stanley Tucci and his incredible performance as Nigel, a key member of Miranda Priestley's staff. Throughout the film, Nigel is seen as "the wiseman", "the shaman" that directs Andy on a path to discovery and improvement by simply reminding her of the truth; she's not good enough . . . yet. His transformation from condescending fashion expert to passionate mentor and then to caring friend, it's the films second story that would more than a suit being the primary tale of the film.

The transformation of characters in The Devil Wears Prada doesn't limit itself to simply changing their opinions on the protagonist, throughout we see Miranda Priestly as a cold-hearted, ruthless boss who demands the near impossible of Andy, only to be continuously upstaged by Andy's determination to impress and deny Miranda the superiority she constantly craves. This easily means the audience puts her in the firm position of the despised antagonist, which works for the story but we then proceed beyond that, we see moments of weakness with Miranda in her home life, exposing the fact that she's not just abusing her power like the audience assumes, she's actually working harder than most to uphold the magazine and maintain her title that means so much to so many people.

The Devil Wears Prada also demonstrates a fantastic use of language; tailoring words and phrases around the situations to completely warp meaning and intention. A perfect example of this is the pain felt by the audience when Andy's boyfriend says she "looks really pretty". Normally, this would be a genuine compliment but now, because of the transformation that Andy has undertaken, it symbolises the social and romantic life she is sacrificing for a seemingly superficial endeavour, proven by the improvement in her appearance.

The Devil Wears Prada delves deep into what it means to succeed and it's a lesson that a lot of people need reminding of. Determination is, above all, the most powerful weapon you can wield, or in this case, wear.

4.5/5 - You'll never go wrong with this on your shelf.



Friday, 20 July 2018

Dinosaur (2000)

Dinosaurs can be both friendly and free range, Spielberg!

Dinosaur follows an adolescent Iguanodon named Aladar (D.B Sweeney), who after being stolen as an egg, is raised by a family of lemurs (Alfre Woodard, Ossie Davis, Hayden Panettierre).After a cataclysmic event caused by a meteorite, Aladar and his family are forced to join a large variety of other herbivores on a trek across the desert to find “The Nesting Grounds”, an oasis for all herbivores. All this while being hunted by a pair of blood thirsty Carnotaurs, vicious carnivores bent on devouring the entire herd.
Dinosaur tackles a story of love and respect that a lot of other “Kids films” in the sense that it injects a lot of fear and overpowering situations into it’s story that enforces the morals that were obviously initialised in the early stages. The focus on the opposing force against the lesson they were trying to teach about friendship and love, it makes it much stronger than simply saying it in obvious exposition for the audience. Scenes like the Carnotaur attacks, the meteorite strike and Bruton's (Peter Siragusa) sacrifice, they all use the success of the antagonistic elements to further strengthen the successes of the protagonists throughout the film.
The use of militant characters like Kron (Samuel E.Wright) and Bruton supplies the story with another antagonistic force that isn’t simply villainous, it actually provides an obstacle to overcome that is rare to see in most modern Disney films that simply present a “Good VS Evil” dynamic that feels repetitive, most of these films featuring a “Disney Princess”. With Kron having a "Sacrifice everything for the mission" attitude and Bruton sharing that mentality until he witnesses the sacrifice first-hand, the audience sees that change within seemingly immovable objects can happen and will happen if you try hard enough.
It also boasts a cast that perform the parts incredibly, all fitting the roles with ease and carrying their characters with the realism and emotion that modern films lack, due to the studios wanting “Bigger names”. Gone are the days of actual animated characterisation, we are now in an age of recognisable names and celeb selling points. Alfre Woodard has often been a reference point for me when watching films with mother characters, especially in animated films, as she performs so fantastically and is constantly bringing a warmth that provides hope for Aladar and the audience in the darker areas of the movie.
At such an early stage in Disney’s exploration into 3D animated films, Dinosaur boasts a wealth of stunning visuals an animated feats that, again, a lot of modern CGI struggles to keep up with. Just five years after Disney's first 3D animated feature; Toy Story, Dinosaur carries the level that Toy Story started, with incredible reptilian designs, jaw-dropping landscapes and specific shots that would've honestly scared a lot of other companies at the time.
In an industry saturated by merchandising opportunities, Dinosaur represents a much needed look back at the earlier stories focused on characters and actual emotion, rather than loop-able soundtracks and promotable actors. 4.5/5 - We cannot let this beautiful creature go extinct.



Friday, 13 July 2018

Queer Eye: Season 1 & 2 (2018)

A makeover show with the potential to change the drab "God save the queen" to a flamboyant "Yass Queen!".

Queer Eye follows the Fab 5 (Karamo Brown, Tan France, Antoni Porowski, Jonathan Van Ness and Bobby Berk), five gay men that set out to makeover the lives of individuals around the USA, helping them to improve their homes, style, eating habits and self-image. Each episode focuses on a specific person and their transition from the uncomfortable position their life was in, to the much preferable version at the end of the episode.

In a period where progressiveness in entertainment is moving forward with strong strokes, a show like Queer Eye demonstrates that a conversation with a homosexual person doesn't have to be about homosexuality. Yes, the main selling point of the show is the fact that it's five gays guys improving straight people a lot of the time but it's not about making them adhere to gay stereotypes. Each of the Fab 5 are experts in their respective field; Karamo for Culture, Tan for Fashion, Antoni for Food and Wine, Jonathan for Grooming and Bobby for Interior Design. The show goes beyond a lot of other makeover shows that simply provide a new house or a fixed car, the Fab 5 improve every aspect of a persons life with the goal of improving how they view themselves, what impact they have on their families and friends and how successful they can be at achieving their life goals.

It also extends beyond the regular makeover or renovation shows in the sense that it actually approaches the person being made over, not as a pity case but as an opportunity for improvement. They aren't seen as a negative from the start, the Fab 5's is much more positive, friendly and uplifting. This also struck me on a personal note as I came away from the show analysing my everyday activities and how I was living, not in a negative way but in the mentality of "What can be improved?" and because of how much fun the show was, how much of a friendly experience they were having instead of watching an hour of builders and electricians fitting walls, I was actually excited to experiment with the clothing ideas and hairstyles that were being suggested in the show.

Queer Eye displays an incredible effort in how understanding and co-operative activities can open up some of the more closed-minded of the population. It's not a full on Pride festival but it's not hiding the fact that a lot of the show is based around homosexuality. If more programming can follow the blueprint of tone and theme that Queer Eye has demonstrated, I feel that homosexuality and even more areas of the LGBT+ community will be a much easier talking point for the unfamiliar members of the audience.

Outside of the obvious themes, Queer Eye also tackles a lot of other strong topics that don't see the light much, topics like: difference in cultural parenting, race and perceptions of race, how religion affects the community and individuals, what a position of authority can mean and a lot more. All of these topics are treated with respect and serious moments that disperse themselves within the fun, to provide a deeper learning experience. The mix that the fun of the makeover and the seriousness of the topics can only really be summed up as heart-warming.

I honestly recommend Queer Eye to anyone of any age, race, religion or sexual preference, it's just a good time that harms no one and only seeks to enlighten and improve.

5/5 - Love is love


Friday, 6 July 2018

Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)

We didn't ask for it, we didn't need it and we certainly didn't get it.

Ron Howard's Solo: A Star Wars Story follows a young Han Solo (Alden Ehrenreich) as he attempts to escape from the slum life he was born into on a planet called Correlia, ruled over by a vicious creature known as Lady Proxima. Upon escaping, he then then sets out to steal enough money to return to Correlia and rescue his childhood friend and love-interest, Qi'ra (Emilia Clarke). He journeys through the Empire meeting a wealth of characters; the fresh mentor and father figure Tobias Beckett (Woody Harrelson), the charming Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover), the always well-spoken Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo) and the fearsome leader of the mafia group Crimson Dawn, Dryden Vos (Paul Bettany).

The first thing I'd like to make clear about Solo is that, in my belief, it was a gap in the lore of the original trilogy that really didn't need to be filled. Han Solo was introduced to the world as a scumbag who only operates out of interest in financial gain, who then reforms his morally questionable ways to help Luke and the gang overcome the Death Star and, temporarily, defeat Darth Vader. A fantastic little side arc beside the main story of Star Wars: A New Hope that gave us a loveable rogue side-kick. If you remove all the questionable motives from Han in A New Hope, he simply becomes another "Good guy" which, unfortunately, is very boring. Solo send Han on an adventure that doesn't even make him question his morality, he's just constantly risking his objective to save the lives of people that he's only just met and have reminded the audience that they wouldn't do the same for him.

This leads me to one of the only non-stereotyped characters in the film, Beckett, very well performed, in the character's limited space, by Woody Harrelson. Throughout the film, Beckett is shown to be the wiser, more experienced smuggler/thief/lowlife and he is constantly reminding Han to follow his advice and the instructions he gives him in order to get the job done. Han of course doesn't do this, decides to improvise and proceeds to balls up every plan Beckett puts in place, because it'd be cooler to see Han fly the spaceship in a weird way or try to save everyone than actually succeed in his objective. Beckett was so under-utilised in this film; there was potential for him to be Han's father figure, wasted, he came into the film with an already established crew, whoops, now they're dead and most offensively, the only time Han follows his advice is when he kills him! In an unnecessary and obvious reference to the Greedo "Who shot first?" incident.

Another perfect example of under-utilising potential was throwing Paul Bettany, a phenomenal actor, into the stereotype role that was Dryden Vos. Dryden Vos was your basic, slightly mad, classy mob boss character who amounted to as much as someone saying "If Han doesn't complete this mission, I'll kill him". His relationship with Qi'ra was hinted at but never explored, he attempted to fight lasers and Sci-Fi weaponry with some off brand, light-saber knuckledusters and then spent his last 10 minutes flicking his head back and forth between people claiming they were trustworthy, like the audience at a tennis match.

Aside from the performance and character aspects of the film, I was impressed with the visuals, which was bound to be a given for a Star Wars film. The ships, settings and costumes were all very reflective of the original trilogy, in the sense that there were a lot of surprising, practical aliens all being integrated into the scenes to feel natural. Alongside that is the sound design, which was fantastically executed to surround you with a wide variety of planets and settings. You're completely encapsulated by the visuals and the sound creating a sublime environment, the potential for complete immersion is right there.


In summary, I think Solo had the potential to be a really in depth look into the more seedy side of the Star Wars universe; all the bounty hunters and scumbags we heard about but hardly saw. Instead we get someone pretending to be Han Solo through 2 extensively lengthy, failed space heists and a 20 minute sequence of double-bluffing and betrayal.

2/5 - Some parts of the universe don't need exploring.