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culture film
the courier
c2.film@ncl.ac.uk Film Editors: Jimmy Athey, Joe Holloran and Jack Gill Online Editor: Lucy Lillystone
Monday 4 March 2019
Sussing out Shyamalan: Glass review
Lucy Lillystone gives us her take on the latest outing by master of the twist M. Night Shyamalan Image: YouTube
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Private War follows the life of fearless, famed, Sunday Times foreign affairs correspondent Marie Colvin as she attests to the injustices and suffering of seemingly all modern warzones from the last 11 years from the jungles of East-Timor to the desserts Libya, and her final days as one of the last journalists covering the atrocities committed by the Assad regime in Syria. The film offers insight into a relentlessly lived life of a women in the inner circle of London’s media elite, chainsmoking cigarettes and swilling martinis at bohemian soirées in luxurious London apartments. A real-life James Bond but with the very real demons of witnessing so much war playing havoc on her mind. Marie Colvin’s character and mannerism are masterfully and meticulously portrayed by Academy Award nominee Rosamund Pike, giving the audience a full picture of this remarkable women. The film goes a level deeper representing Maire’s life in a way that gives the audience a perspective into how she viewed the world. This creates a film that is everything Marie was, charming, charismatic, rebellious, and as was her life, disorientating.
A real life James Bond but with very real demons...
The way the film is segmented, switching between Marie at war and her London life seems to have the intended effect of setting the bi-polar nature of Marie’s existence against each other. Contrasting Marie as a hero war reporter out on the front-line dodging gun fire, with her in London living the high life, dealing with what she had seen, trying to conceive a child and maintaining her relationships.
Image: YouTube
The effect is innovative in that it puts the wars we often see in the news up against a life-style we can relate to, hitting home the stark differences between our everyday existence and the lives of those living in wartorn countries. The technique leads to the film feeling clumsy in places with aspects of the plot left unexplained though considering this is 35-year-old, award winning documentary filmmaker, Matthew Heineman’s first narrative feature it is surprising how well the young director has managed the transition between genres. Journalists aim to achieve a satisfying blend in their writings between connecting to the audience on a human level while communicating the facts so as to create the greatest impact. A Private War has attempted a similar feat in a visual form and while the blend could have been smoother the lasting effect is something unique, a fitting homage to Colvin. Theo Turvill
Image: YouTube
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. Night Shyamalan is back again with his final film in the ‘Eastrail 177 trilogy’ as Glass hits cinemas, ultimately connecting the worlds of Unbreakable and Split. Glass, set three weeks after the events of split, sees security guard David Dunn use his supernatural abilities to track Kevin Wendell Crumb, a man who suffers from an extreme case of Dissociative Identity Disorder with 23 separate personalities, alongside his 24th and probably the scariest personality, known as “The Beast”. But that’s not the only antagonist he finds himself facing as Samuel L Jackson also makes a return as former enemy Elijah Price. Clearly M. Night Shyamalan had taken ideas from Avengers: Infinity War this year as in a similar way in which the most popular superhero film brought together heroes from different movies, Glass similarly combined his two distinctive characters from the previous movies. But did it live up to what fans wanted from this new superhero movie? Personally, despite the plethora of negative reviews and opinions, this movie lived up to my own expectations. Glass offered a new perspective on what defines a superhero, with thrilling and extremely on-edge, creepy scenes between newcomer Dr Staple, a psychiatrist who specialises in patients who are convinced they have abilities and the films three antagonists. I think when people went into this movie, based off the trailer, they were expecting the typical fight scenes between the archetypal hero and villain. But this isn’t what Glass is about. Glass focuses on the
Animation Station Kubo and the Two Strings (2016)
dark psychological nature of the human condition and while there are fight scenes, this was not the focus of the movie. Unbreakable, Split and now Glass are characterdriven movies, not action action action. Alongside this, the cast of this movie was perfect. With the brilliantly scary James McAvoy bringing back his character from Split, fans get an insight into more of Kevin’s personalities such as a flirty teen and even a personality that speaks Spanish! McAvoy does justice to the disorder to the point that it is almost scary to watch him perform. You can tell from the start the effort and work he has put in to every single line and shot and bravo to him. Glass also sees the return of Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson who undoubtedly do an astounding job of their
roles, both in themselves and with one another. The only downside to this film, giving it a 4-star rating as opposed to the golden 5 is the ending. I found myself sat in the cinema looking at my watch, back to the screen thinking “is it done yet? Oh no there’s more”. It wasn’t even that it was a long movie (I’ve watched The Lord of the Rings trilogy), it was simply that more and more kept happening. It felt more like the beginning or middle of the movie as opposed to the end. It was mind blowing. While it will never live up to the popularity of Avengers, Glass gives returning fans the answers they’ve all been craving in a jam-packed 2 hours and is worth the watch if you enjoyed Unbreakable and Split. Or if you’re simply a fan of thrillers with a mix of action and superhero fun.
Image: YouTube
Roma (15)
How To Train Your Dragon 3 (U)
Image: FreePhotobank
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ith the release of 2016’s Kubo and the Two Strings, Laika, the Oregon based studio behind Coraline, gave the world an animated visual masterpiece. Set in a fantastical vision of feudal Japan rife with magic and mythology, the film follows the story of a young boy with the power to bring his paper origami creations to life using the power of his shamisen (a Japanese stringed instrument). However, Kubo and the Two Strings’ greatest strengths lay with its gorgeous artistic style. Partly influenced by origami and Japanese ukiyo-e prints, the studio aimed for the film “to look and feel as if it’s a moving woodblock print”. This effect is largely achieved through the dynamic created between the use of stop-motion character models and spectacular computer-generated 3D background landscapes. In a modern industry dominated by CGI animation, it is fascinating to see the potential of the stop-motion form pushed to its limits with modern technology. For one of the film’s epic battles the studio created a 16-foothigh skeleton puppet - which they claim is the largest ever created for a stop-motion film – that Ray Harryhausen would surely be proud of (stay seated while the credits role to be treated to a time-lapse of the construction of this monstrosity to truly comprehend the scale the team were working on). Yet this is not to say that Kubo is all style over substance. The story is original and well-written, with moments both far more profound and dark than would normally be expected in a PG film. For instance, the monster lurking in the ominous ‘Garden of Eyes’ is truly terrifying. Excellent voice acting is also provided by an almost allstar cast led by Art Parkinson (better known as Game of Thrones’ Rickon Stark), Charlize Theron, Mathew McConaughey, and Ralph Fiennes as Kubo’s estranged grandfather, the god-like Moon King. Although the film did come under some criticisms of whitewashing upon release, these certainly do not detract from its value as an outstanding offering of what animated cinema can achieve with a much-needed injection of originality and innovation. Alex Moore
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ith a combined total of 20 Oscar, Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations, it’s fair to say my expectations of Oscar-winning director Alfonso Cuarón’s latest project were extremely high. Whilst much of the intense hype is somewhat lost on me, there’s no denying that Roma is a technical masterpiece. Set against the backdrop of politically tumultuous 1970s Mexico City, Roma follows the life of Cleo (Yalitza Aparicio), a housemaid to a middle-class Mexican family. Her character is based on Cuarón’s own childhood nanny, Liboria “Libo” Rodriguez, to whom he dedicated the film. Over the course of the film both Cleo and her employer, Sofía (Marina de Tavira) experience profound betrayals from the men they love – mirroring Cuarón’s childhood memories of his increasingly absent father. Shot in 65mm widescreen monochrome, Roma is aesthetically incomparable to much else. With many scenes filmed as single shots, the steady, panoramic camerawork has the curious quality of making you feel simultaneously immersed in and detached from the on-screen events. At times it almost feels as though you are a fly on the wall; privy to deeply intimate domestic moments. With his very meticulous cinematography, Cuarón somehow captured an enchanting element of mundane domesticity. Yalitza Aparicio, who only auditioned for the role because her sister forced her to and later accepted it because “she had nothing better to do,” absolutely shone in her acting debut. Her own mother still presently works as a domestic worker, as such, she embodied the role with authority. The cultural significance of having an indigenous woman at the heart of a storyline cannot be overlooked. Her visibility will inevitably inspire a generation young people who almost never see themselves represented on screen. Roma is a mesmerising, emotive portrait of resilience that should be viewed on the largest possible screen you can find. Natalie Chigariro
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ow To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World concluded the HTTYD trilogy, but was the ending satisfactory? HTTYD is without a doubt the best series of films that Dreamworks has ever made, and whilst I am sad to see it conclude, I am so relieved they didn’t make it like Shrek with endless sequels to serve as a cash cow. Honestly, the final film was probably my least favourite, but that doesn’t mean it still wasn’t excellent. Spoilers ahead! Personally, I already knew that the theme of the final instalment was knowing when to let go, so I was fully prepared to cry my eyes out. Oh boy did I cry. I think the best part about this series is how attached you become to Hiccup and Toothless, and how well Dreamworks explores their relationship. Whilst I did sigh at the cliché of finding a female Light Fury, honestly it felt fitting. Toothless was always regarded as the last of his kind, so to end the series with him finding a partner and not being lonely was really satisfying. My only real complaint was that the villain was a bit weak, with the narrative ending quite abruptly. However, I understand why, because they wanted to focus on the relationship between Hiccup and Toothless, eventually resulting in Hiccup letting Toothless free alongside the other dragons, so that they could live their lives in the hidden world rather than constantly in danger of being hunted. I really enjoyed this ending as the Isle of Berk grew with the characters; hunting dragons to protecting dragons, and finally knowing what is best for them and letting them go. I honestly cried so much at the last ten minutes because the ending was so perfect. I thought it was a really nice touch to show future Hiccup and Astrid, now with their children, reuniting with Toothless and his dragon babies. Instead of being a bittersweet ending, it filled the resolution with hope that they eventually reunited in the future. I will severely miss this series, and I hope Dreamworks has realised their potential.
Sophie Hicks