Film Friday #258

Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)

I want to write this review with as few spoilers as possible since I managed to completely avoid everything except a couple of trailers before seeing The Force Awakens and I think it significantly increased my enjoyment of the film. Almost thirty years after the defeat of the Empire a powerful organisation known as the First Order attempts to control the Galaxy while the resistance under General Leia (Carrie Fisher) and backed by The Republic, tries to stop them. With the last Jedi, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) missing, the Force is out of balance and the resistance’s only hope is to track him down using a piece of a map hidden on a droid but The First Order is not going to let things go quite so easily and as a young scavenger (Daisy Ridley), a fugitive storm trooper (John Boyega) and a couple of familiar faces get drawn in, a new adventure begins. I’ll start by saying that I kind of expected The Force Awakens to be a total bust so I went in with pretty low expectations and found myself very pleasantly surprised. Not only does it look fabulous but the balance of action, drama and comedy is on point. I also thought not only the older more experienced cast but also the younger cast, which also includes Oscar Isaac and Adam Driver totally brought it. I loved Daisy Ridley’s Rey who brings us a new, strong female character to continue Leia’s legacy. I also appreciated the fact that instead of CGI-ing the fuck out of the alien characters, they maintained the look of the original films – just better. Whether you’re a Star Wars fan or just enjoy a bit of a sci-fi romp this is not to be missed. Fun times. 4/5

When Jabba the Hut farts everyone better get out of the way

In the Heart of the Sea (2015)

In this recounting of the story that inspired Moby Dick, Chris Hemsworth plays Owen Chase, the first mate on a Nantucket whaling ship called The Essex. The ship is captained by George Pollard (Matthew Joy), hired for his family connections but lacking in experience of actually being in charge of such a large vessel. The two are immediately pitted against each other making for a tumultuous journey. If that wasn’t enough the whales are far and few between and greed and desperation drives the crew on a dangerous path that leads to tragedy. In the Heart of the Sea looks absolutely breathtaking but there’s a real lack of character development which stops it from reaching the heights it could have. There are some great moments of action but the build up feels like it takes an eternity and then once the main action has passed things really drag along. And then it doesn’t help that Hemsworth can’t quite carry his role and Cillian Murphy and even Tom Holland, who plays the youngest crew member, act circles around him and Joy. Watchable but ultimately forgettable. If you don’t get to see it in 3D I probably wouldn’t bother. 3/5

One Direction’s latest video was breaking hearts all over the place

Begin Again (2013)

Keira Knightley plays Gretta, a singer songwriter who finds herself at a bit of a loose end after her boyfriend (Adam Levine) finds fame and leaves her for another woman. While reluctantly playing live at a friend’s (James Corden) gig she is spotted by Dan (Mark Ruffalo), who has recently been fired from the record company he started. When his attempts to convince his former partner to record Gretta’s album fail he decides they should record it independently at various outdoor locations around the city incorporating their sounds. As the two work together they get the opportunity to work on their demons together and Gretta in particular helps Dan reconnect with his daughter (Hailee Steinfeld). It took me a long time to get around to watching Begin Again because of the terrible trifecta of Knightley, Corden and Levine. However I decided that Mark Ruffalo outweighed it. In the end I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this little love song to New York. Knightley is less annoying than usual, Ruffalo is as excellent as ever and the songs are actually really lovely. Better than expected. 3.5/5

Dan was having trouble covering up his uncontrollable farting

Iris (2014)

This documentary explores the life of 93 year old interior designed turned fashion icon, Iris Apfel, who is known for her eclectic over the top style. I have to say that while I appreciate how Iris manages to put together the craziest things to create a coherent and beautiful look and I do enjoy a bit of a look into the fashion world I feel like I could have gotten everything I need to get from this in about 20 minutes. So after almost 90 minutes I found myself getting really quite bored. One soon starts to feel like Iris’s public facing persona is as put together as her amazing fashion creations and director, Albert Maysles never really gets under the surface of what makes her who she is. 2/5

Coco Chanel just turned in her grave