2019 - IN REVIEW: MOST UNDERRATED

FAST COLOR

The movie that I have chosen for my most underrated film of 2019 is this sadly under-seen gem, “Fast Color” directed by Julia Hart. It is about a mother who is simultaneously on the run and attempting to reconnect with her eight year old daughter, after her super powers are discovered by the government who want her for themselves. It is essentially almost an origin story of a superhero, except that the film's focus is more on the family drama rather than the bigger superhero side of things. with the film written and directed by a woman, and the three main characters themselves being female, it is fair to say that this is a superhero film from a woman's perspective, and it is one that is much more emotive than its male counterpart. Something interesting that I read that director Hart said about the film is that while superhero films from the normal male point of view focus heavily on destruction, her film is the opposite as that it is more about “creation”.

I loved this film; it is such a beautiful tale of love and redemption and for fighting for your family. The main characters are three generations of women from the same family, all who possess supernatural powers but keep them hidden from the outside world. The main character of Ruth is the middle generation, and she is estranged from her mother and daughter at the beginning of the film because her powers are so powerful that she struggles to contain and control them. After almost inadvertently killing her daughter, Lila, when she was her baby via her powers, Ruth abandoned her daughter, leaving her with her own mother, Bo, to raise her grandchild. After that Ruth started dabbling in drugs to dull the sensations in her body and thereby squashing her supernatural abilities. However as time has passed, all she wants to do now is to be with her little girl and raise her, but when her family's safety is threatened by the government, it is the catalyst for Ruth to learn how to harness and control her ultimate power to protect her loved ones.

As you can see from the above, there is that supernatural bent to the story, but believe me, the real heart of the story is the emotional connections between the three women as they work through their initial pain and hurt to fight for redemption, remake a connection and love each other once more, while learning at the end that there is no greater power than love itself. Reading back on that sentence, it sounds a little corny, but it really isn't thanks to Julia Hart's sensitive handling of the material that she co-wrote with her husband Jordan Horowitz. All of the performances in the film are very good, particularly Gugu Mbatha-Raw who plays Ruth. At the start of the film she has a hard edge to her, due to the rough way she had brought herself up, but as the film moves on, she begins to soften and become more and more maternal. And the girl who plays her daughter, Saniyya Sidney, is bloody adorable; she just lights up every scene she is a part of. Another performance that I want to mention that is small but impressive is that of David Strathairn whose role in the film I won't reveal, as it is a lovely moment when we find out his purpose in the narrative. He is so soft spoken and quiet in his performance.

“Fast Color” is also a magnificent looking film filled with colour, especially during the scenes when the girls use their powers. The colours do hold a large significance within the film so I will not ruin their purpose either, but it leads to some stunning visual moments.

This is a film that I really wish a lot more people would know about, as it is a little different but it is very well done, and is good family entertainment. Filled with emotion, this is a superhero film that is not the norm, but one I highly recommend. “Fast Color” also has one of my favourite movie posters of 2019 too.

2019 - IN REVIEW: MOST OVERRATED

 

US

There is a lot of good in “Us”, director Jordan Peele's follow-up to his successful horror film, “Get Out”, but it is also a film that has a myriad of problems that I cannot help but think it is not as worthy for all the critical praise that it gets.

The film is about a young family who have their holiday interrupted and threatened when their doppelgangers arrive and attempt to take their place. For the first half of the film, it is a wonderfully creepy experience filled with some chilling images and situations. The doppelganger concept is a favourite of mine, and I believe it is one that works incredibly well in horror films. Being stalked and chased by someone who looks exactly like you is such a strong visual, that is also just horrific. “Us” is excellent in creating an uneasy atmosphere when the doubles arrive and at sustaining an intensity when the two families share an extended stand off together. All of the family members also play their doppelganger variants but it is actress Lupita Nyong'o who stands out above the pack for her stunning performance as Red, the evil double of Adelaide. She makes two distinct characters out of Red and Adelaide and they couldn't be more different. Scenes when she is playing against herself are just something else, and the reason why “Us” works as well as it does rests entirely on her shoulders.

Another aspect of the film that works well is the non-traditional and very bizarre musical score from Michael Abels. It kind of sounds like carnival music being played in a broken music box, but it works so well and is so creepy. It perfectly suited the equally impressive horror visuals captured by cinematographer Mike Gioulakis. This is a seriously good looking horror film and I was surprised by how dark the film was, meaning how deep the blacks were in the imposing shadows.

As the film goes along, it starts to become obvious that this doppelganger phenomenon isn't happening to just this one family and that everyone's double is out to claim their place in the world. Somewhere along the line, we find out that these doubles are called “the tethered” and it is here that Jordan Peele starts to make some rather big mistakes in his screenplay. By explicitly explaining who the tethered are and how they came to be, the mystery and creep factor is lost and the film begins to drastically fall apart. I get that by doing so, it makes the “message” of the film easier to understand, but it also works against the film as a whole and frankly turns it into a bit of a ridiculous mess. “Us” would have been so much more powerful if Peele trusted his audience and didn't feel the need to explain every detail. Sometimes it works better in horror films if things aren't ever explained “why”, and to me this is the biggest failing in “Us”. However, because of the message that the film is trying to convey, (which is that the lower income and homeless families, not to mention those that are minorities of race, that the US consider their dirty little secret and have tried to sweep under the carpet, have had enough and want to stand up to be heard and counted...ie. They are human too and want their say), I feel that reviewers have over-praised “Us” and neglected to look more closely at its failings. These failings are huge as once we know the truth of the tethered, the reality of the situation does not work. You cannot help but question what would happen to the tethered if certain other things happened to their human double; the explanation just does not work, which means neither does the film. Also if anyone was surprised by the film's final twist, then they just have not watched enough horror movies, as this was anything other than a surprise.

I understand that the above paragraph my not be the greatest, but I am trying to be considerate of spoilers for those who have yet to see the film. Let me just say that for the first half of “Us”, it is an excellent and chilling horror film. It is beautifully shot and scored particularly well, however when it begins to explain exactly what the deal is in regards to the film's antagonists, it falls apart dramatically, and never recovers. The reason why I believe the film is overrated is due to the fact that reviewers are sensitive to the message “Us” is trying to project, and as such are praising it wholeheartedly due to that message rather than critiquing the film for its very obvious narrative failings. Don't get me wrong, I do like “Us” but it is definitely overrated. 

 

2019 - IN REVIEW: BIGGEST SURPRISE

DUMBO

I am a massive Tim Burton fan to the point that I am sure many people could accuse me of being an apologist for this great director. Most people these days feel that Burton has lost his touch and becoming a caricature of his himself, but I can genuinely say with hand on heart that I have enjoyed all of Burton's recent features that have been poorly received. Even when the films aren't the greatest, there is always something that I really enjoy in them (“Dark Shadows” is the perfect example of this). However, very early on during the production of “Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children”, when it was announced that Burton's following film would be a live-action remake of “Dumbo”, I must admit I was livid, and thought it was a waste of his talents and a terrible idea altogether. In my mind, I just could not see how they could make the animated classic from 1941 work as a live-action film. For one of the first times in my life, I was not looking forward to a Tim Burton film.

Cut to a year or so later when the film's teaser trailer was released and after watching it, I thought that maybe this wasn't going to be as bad as I expected, although admittedly there still wasn't a huge lot to go on. Then when the film was released, so too came the (predictably) negative reviews. The film was soulless, a travesty to the original, Burton has lost his magic, blah blah blah. Honestly, in this day and age it almost appears chic to attack a Tim Burton film in a review, but I am ashamed to admit that these reviews did affect my own will to rush out and see the film. It was about two weeks after it had been released that I decided that I really should make the effort to see “Dumbo” on the big screen, so made my way out to do so. The cinema was fairly bare, almost as a precursor of what was to come, as it appeared no one was too interested in the film. The film began and to my surprise I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!!! Seriously, I was blown away by Tim Burton's version of “Dumbo” and loved (almost) everything about it.

The parts of the original film that I could not get my head around working in a live-action film, such as all of the talking animals, Burton did away with. Gone are the talking storks, elephants and mice, but beautifully, Burton does make reference to them all. Even that weird looking train, “Casey Jnr.”, from the animated film is referenced in the train's design here, which brought a smile to my face. One of the greatest moments of this remake is when Burton also finds a way to make reference to the truly bizarre “Pink Elephants on Parade” scene, that occurs in the original when Dumbo is drunk. It is such an odd scene in the animated film that I was sure that it would not be retained here, but Burton came up with the most magnificent way to include it. One of the biggest aspects in regards to the 1941 film that Burton and his team had to overcome with their version was it's short running time. At only sixty four minutes long, the story is far too short to pad out and stretch to feature length and still make it work. As such, this new version follows the original story for the first hour before branching off on its own where Dumbo is sold as the attraction of a new and very large theme park, before he then sets off to find his mother who he is separated from earlier in the film. For mine, all of this new material works wonderfully well and fits with the first, more familiar hour of the film. While the film is rated PG, the second half goes to some quite dark places but with Burton behind the wheel, this is really no surprise.

One aspect of the film where Tim Burton excelled at is in his casting. Nearly everyone is fantastic here, with Danny DeVito being the absolute stand out playing the kind-hearted ringmaster of the circus. It is the first time DeVito and Burton have worked together since “Big Fish” from 2003, and as great as he was as The Penguin in “Batman Returns”, I think I would have to say that his performance here is his best in a Burton film yet. The reunions don't stop there though as Michael Keaton appears for the first time in a Burton film since 1992, the aforementioned Batman sequel being the last time the two worked together. Sadly though, it is his performance that is the only thing that I do not love about “Dumbo”. It is not that he is bad per se, but it screams caricature rather than character; his character never rang true for me. Eva Green was delightful as the elegant trapeze artist, while Colin Farrell oozed charm as the children's father and a war veteran who lost his arm in battle. Speaking of the children, both Finley Hobbins and Nico Parker are great in their roles (and thankfully never annoying, like kids can be in movies), with Parker the spitting image of her mother, Thandie Newton.

Now onto Dumbo himself, and I am delighted to say that I just fell in love with his design. He is obviously a full cgi creation, but the animators have given the elephant so much character and big beautiful eyes, that you cannot help but feel for this creature's plight. Amazingly, he fits perfectly into the world and you believe he is there amongst the actors. While his mother has been designed more as a photo-realistic elephant, Dumbo himself is slightly exaggerated in areas, but it just works so well. He feels alive, and you just care for him so much. The little fella is just so damned cute!

Behind the scenes, and once again Tim Burton has created another stunningly good looking film with “Dumbo”. This time around he has used Ben Davis as his cinematographer, and the pair have created gorgeous images leaning towards a lot of blues and reds. Burton's regular composer, Danny Elfman, has come up with one of his best scores yet here and there were moments during the film, like when Dumbo takes flight, when the music just takes over and the whole thing becomes sublime. Man, I love this film.

I could honestly talk about this film for ages, but what must be apparent by now is that Tim Burton's “Dumbo” will feature in my Top Twenty of 2019, so I should leave some things to talk about there. Suffice to say, I was very pleasantly surprised by just how much I ended up adoring “Dumbo”. It is such a great, and beautiful family film, and I also consider it Burton's best film since 2007's “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”, something I never anticipated when the film was first announced.