The Girl with All the Gifts

The Girl with All the Gifts (2017)

Starring Gemma Arterton, Paddy Considine, Sennia Nanua, and Glenn Close

Directed by Colm McCarthy

Written by Mike Carey

***This film is currently streaming via Amazon Prime***

Summary (in 500 words or less):  A fungus has turned the masses into zombies and some of the remaining British human population are attempting to figure out a cure via a small group of children who have been infected, but still retain many human characteristics including the ability to speak, learn, and empathize.  One girl in particular, Melanie (Sennia Nanua), holds the most potential, but her teacher Mrs. Justineau (Gemma Arterton) and scientist Dr. Caldwell (Glenn Close) hold very different opinions on how to deal with the young subject.

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating: B

Movie Review - The Bourne Ultimatum

***Movie #3 of BOURNE Week***

The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)

Starring Matt Damon, Joan Allen, David Strathairn, Scott Glenn, Paddy Considine, Albert Finney, and Julia Stiles

Directed by Paul Greengrass

Director Paul Greengrass returns a little wiser with The Bourne Ultimatum, the best Bourne film in the series up to this point.  Seemingly put together as a bit of a final chapter for the character of Jason Bourne, Ultimatum succeeds because it brings the character full circle, becoming fully aware of both the reasons he lost his memory and why he worked for the CIA.  While Matt Damon had thus far been a bit bland, he comes alive a little bit here as he tries to uncover the mystery of the CIA program Blackbriar which has turned his world upside down for the past few years.

Full of some nice smaller performances, The Bourne Ultimatum carries the most tension throughout with Greengrass really able to maintain excitement and verve not only his action sequences, but also within the film's calmer moments.  The action scenes, in particular, are the best we've seen in the series so far with a lengthy opening one involving Bourne and a British reporter (Paddy Considine) who is beginning to uncover Blackbriar the most thrilling.  Admittedly, Greengrass's penchant for quick cuts and shaky camera movements feels more obvious in this installment than his first venture, but it worked here, creating a bit of a chaotic feeling surrounding the main character.

The Bourne Ultimatum certainly had an advantage working in its favor in that it was trying to somewhat neatly tie things up in a bow for the character of Jason Bourne, so the sense of finality helps the flick.  Even without that, though, the film's technical aspects are the best in the series so far.

The RyMickey Rating:  B

Movie Review - Macbeth

Macbeth (2015)

Starring Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, Paddy Considine, David Thewlis, and Sean Harris

Directed by Justin Kurzel

***This film is currently available on Amazon Prime***

I've always said that you have to be in the mood to watch Shakespeare and I thought I was when I started director Justin Kurzel's iteration of Macbeth...but the heaviness and gloom combined with whispered and sometimes unintelligible dialog (which is never a good thing in a Shakespearean adaptation since the Bard's words are sometimes difficult to grasp) make this adaptation quite a slog.  Truth be told, Macbeth isn't one of my favorite Shakespeare dramas so that may have something to do with my displeasure here, but I had hoped that this cinematic piece would've enlightened me a little bit into Shakespeare's tale of a good guy turned very bad and with one exception that simply isn't the case in the slightest.

Quite frankly, the storyline here, particularly at the beginning, is incomprehensible.  If this were one's first venture into Macbeth, you could never be admonished for not understanding what in the hell is going on.  The heavy Scottish accents, mumbled words, and whispered verse are difficult with which to acclimate oneself.  I tried for forty minutes, but then had to give in and turn on the subtitles -- oh, well.  About an hour in once our title character (played by Michael Fassbender) really takes control of the fiefdom and his wife (Marion Cotillard) begins to recognize the monstrous man she's created, I began to gain interest, but it was too little too late as the dour heaviness of the production just weighs down any modicum of interest.

What the film does do right in terms of the story -- and the few times that the otherwise unemotional and cold Fassbender and Cotillard really shine -- is showcasing the impact that the loss of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's infant son had on them.  The film's most powerful moments revolve around paternity and lineage, and my eyes are actually newly opened to this aspect in Shakespeare's work.  Kudos in that regard to Justin Kurzel, but while his film contains some beautiful stark cinematography which is admirably shot, that aforementioned dirge-like atmosphere never ends.  The bleak and dismal environment isn't the least bit entertaining or captivating and makes this Macbeth an aggravating failure.

The RyMickey Rating:  D 

Movie Review - Child 44

Child 44 (2015)

Starring Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Noomi Rapace, Joel Kinnaman, Paddy Considine, Fares Fares, Jason Clarke, and Vincent Cassel

Directed by Daniel Espinosa

"In 1933, at the height of Stalin's state-imposed famine against the Ukranian people, an estimated 25,000 died each day from starvation.  The systematic extermination by hunger known as the Holodomor left millions of children orphaned."  One of those children mentioned in Child 44's opening subtitles is Leo Demidov who as an adult (played by Tom Hardy) has become a Russian Ministry of State Security agent.  When a series of child murders is uncovered including the killing of his partner's son, Leo sets off on a mission to find the murderer...however, this doesn't sit well with his commanders because Russia at the time failed to acknowledge murder as they felt that was a crime brought about by capitalism.  Soon, Leo finds his wife Raisa (Noomi Rapace) accused of being a traitor to the state and the only way Leo can save her is by moving far away and taking a job in a lowly militia.  Desperate to find the serial killer ending the lives of innocent children and also hoping to seek revenge on fellow agent Vasili Niktin (Joel Kinnaman) whom Leo believes set up his wife, the vengeful Leo finds himself battling a Russian mindset that is unwilling to face the truth.

Ultimately, the problem with Child 44 is that it tries too hard to be too many things.  In addition to the variety of story lines above -- murdered children, traitors, the Holodomor -- there are numerous other tales woven into the mix.  While the serial killer certainly takes precedence, it too often feels pushed to the side while a variety of other depressing aspects make appearances with very little emotional impact.  Tom Hardy and Noomi Rapace are fine, but there's certainly no aire of charisma between the two.  Quite frankly, I didn't even realized they were actually married until about halfway through.  Gary Oldman (as an officer who befriends Leo) has a tendency to overdo it in certain films, but here, his screen presence is a welcome breath of fresh air in the film's second act.  Granted, it's not enough to save the film from being a rather tiresome slog to sit through.  While there are aspects of the story that could very well stand on their own, the kitchen sink method of Child 44 just doesn't work in its favor.

The RyMickey Rating:  D+

Movie Review - Pride

Pride (2014)

Starring Ben Schnetzer, Bill Nighy, Imelda Staunton, Dominic West, Paddy Considine, Andrew Scott, George MacKay, and Joseph Gilgun

Directed by Matthew Warchus

While the jovial atmosphere nearly always omnipresent in Pride is welcoming and certainly entertaining, Matthew Warchus' film about a group of gay and lesbian activists working to help Welsh miners during a year-long 1984 strike finds itself a bit too packed to the gills with quirky characters to really make an impact.  The removal of a variety of subplots would've trimmed down the rather extended runtime and created a more concise and resonant piece.  As it stands now, Pride is a decent film, but always finds itself teetering on the edge of overstaying its welcome.

Although the subject matter can get serious at times, Warchus keeps the atmosphere relatively light-hearted while detailing the mining strike and the oftentimes anti-homosexual attitudes of 1980s England.  Plus, despite the abundant and sometimes superfluously large cast, all the actors assembled here more than adequately provide the requisite humor and drama necessary for their individual characters.  Ben Schnetzer is certainly captivating as the film's lead, emoting the proper amount of strength and vulnerability in the role of the leader of his founded group - LGSM (Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners).  Aided by the jaunty Imelda Staunton, buttoned-up Bill Nighy, and charming Paddy Considine as Welsh townsfolk who welcome LGSM to assist them in raising money for the miners, the cast clicks.

The successful cast, in the end, makes it all the more unfortunate that the movie doesn't quite click as well.  Pride is fine, but "fine" could've been so much better with a little more working with the script in order to excise some of the extra side stories.

The RyMickey Rating:  C+