Here are my brief thoughts on some films that I’ve seen recently but haven’t got around to reviewing.
Fantastic Four
There’s been a lot of negative press surrounding the release of Fantastic Four ranging from stories of backstage drama and an overwhelming amount of bad reviews. I was surprised then when I found that I quite liked the film. I felt that it was paced really well. The film comes in jus under 100 minutes so it never overstays its welcome. I felt it moved along well taking its time it never went too slowly or too quickly. I found the tone suited me, whilst director Josh Trank may have been going for a more serious tone I don't think it got there and the film did have a touch of silliness to it which worked for me. I also thought the cast were all very good and the characters were likeable and I understood their motivations for their actions in the film.
Trainwreck
I’m a big fan of Amy Schumer’s comedy work in general. I think her sketches strike a perfect line between being funny and having something meaningful to say and from the bits I’ve seen of her stand up I think she has a real talent for the craft of stand up. When it comes to Judd Apatow I’m a bit more undecided. Whilst I do really like Knocked Up and think that Apatow himself is a good comedy voice I think the films he has directed and produced tend to lack any cinematic skill I think they rely too heavily on improv and tend to outstay their welcome. However I thought Trainwreck was totally terrific. It’s one of the funniest films I’ve seen from Apatow I think it started funnier than it ended so maybe the jokes could have been more spread out but I found that towards the end whilst I wasn’t laughing as much the film was becoming more of a drama and it was an especially good one because I found the characters were all very engaging so I cared what happened to them. This was not only down to the good performances all round but the fact Schumer’s script was really strong. I think that together Apatow and Schumer really found something so I hope they work together again.
The Man From U.N.C.L.E
As summers go I think 2015 has been one of the more lacklustre ones when it comes to action cinema. I loved Mad Mx but that came all the way back in may and Avengers and fast 7 were out even earlier. Since then we’ve had Jurassic World :-( . Ant Man (which I thought was really good but hasn't stayed with me the way Guardians of the Galaxy did last year). I was hoping Man From U.N.C.L.E would step up and really do something great, did it? Well sort of. The film is a spectacular ride. It propels itself along for a good 110 minutes with a cocktail blend of style, action and humour with results in a big cheesy grin and it was a totally successful piece of summer entertainment the only thing was the film leaves you a little cold because it doesn't quite have the emotion behind it that would really make it work on all levels.
