The Herald - The Herald Magazine
PICK OF THIS WEEK’S FILMS
Dwayne Johnson channels the spirit of Die Hard-era Bruce Willis in this vertiginous adventure thriller. Will Sawyer (Johnson) is a former FBI hostage rescue team leader who lost one of his legs in the line of duty. Sarah (Neve Campbell) was the attending surgeon that day and Will fell in love with her during his hard-fought recovery. Ten years later, Will and Sarah are married with a sassy daughter, Georgia (McKenna Roberts), and a young son, Henry (Noah Cottrell). The doting father has retired from the FBI and is working as a security expert, having just been hired by Zhao Min Zhi (Chin Han) to offer his assessment of The Pearl, one of the tallest skyscraper in the world. A group of terrorists storm The Pearl and set the 96th floor ablaze. Meanwhile, Will puts his FBI training into action to leap from a crane into the building and outwit the terrorists.
THE FIRST PURGE (15)
Five years ago writer-director James DeMonaco terrified cinema audiences with The Purge. His bloodthirsty horror thriller unfolded on the one night when citizens of America are permitted to arm themselves with knives and guns to kill anyone they choose without fear of legal reprisals. Gerard McMurray replaces DeMonaco in the director’s chair for a redundant and predictable prequel, which traces the origins of the carnage to a sociological experiment in a borough of New York City. The First Purge doesn’t advance the franchise’s narrative other than to pin the blame for the slaughter on one female behavioural scientist (Marisa Tomei). The script makes familiar arguments about race and class divisions while it aims barbs squarely at the rampant fearmongering of the current US administration.
SWIMMING WITH MEN (12A)
Inspired by a true story, director Oliver Parker’s feelgood comedy treads a lot of dramatic water before a rousing finale, which affirms the power of friendship to heal deep emotional wounds. Swimming with Men follows a group of disillusioned husbands, widowers and singletons who discover camaraderie, courage and a sense of belonging as a ramshackle synchronised swimming team. Screenwriter Aschlin Ditta wades through syrupy sentiment festooned with familiar plot points to reach a fist-pumping resolution, which includes underwater shots of a homegrown cast putting their best feet forward (and in the air) in pursuit of sporting glory. The Full Monty is an obvious template but Parker’s film lacks the rich characterisation, bountiful good humour and lump-in-the-throat emotion which carried the stripping Sheffield steelworkers all the way to the Oscars red carpet.
UNCLE DREW (12A)
In 2012, professional basketball player Kyrie Irving aged five decades with the help of latex, stage make-up and a white wig to portray street-smart Uncle Drew in a TV commercial for a sugar-free soft drink. The wise-cracking old coot makes his big screen debut in a feature-length sports comedy directed by Charles Stone III, which dunks almost as many punchlines as it misses in a haphazard script written by Jay Longino. The film employs a familiar structure – fearless underdogs put their hearts on the line in pursuit of glory – to expand on the cross-generational bonding of the small screen advertisements, replete with brazen product placement. When Uncle Drew stumbles, the results are painful but the sincerity of Irving’s performance coupled with colourful supporting turns from fellow sport stars including Shaquille O’Neal secures Stone’s uneven picture a narrow victory against tedium.
ADRIFT (12A)
Californian actress Shailene Woodley anchors an extraordinary true story of survival against the odds in the aftermath of a category four storm, which tore across the Pacific in the autumn of 1983. Baltasar Kormakur’s picture sails into similarly choppy waters as the 2013 one-hander All is Lost, which pitted Robert Redford against the raging elements of the Indian Ocean in a stricken boat. The Icelandic filmmaker shows an equally sure footing at sea, nimbly choreographing action sequences that quicken the pulse. He reserves the pivotal setpiece for the second half, marshalling digital effects and directorial brio to propel ill-fated lovebirds into the eye of a storm and a towering wall of water that will surely smash their yacht to smithereens. We are left in no doubt about the devastation wrought by Mother Nature on a couple who never thought they would be stranded for 41 days and 1,500 miles from salvation.
SICARIO 2: SOLDADO (15)
Expectations were high following the popular reception of 2015’s Sicario film, so Italian director Stefano Sollima arguably had big boots to fill when he took over from Denis Villeneuve for the sequel. Josh Brolin returns as CIA agent Matt Graver alongside Benicio del Toro, who reprises his role as lawyer-turned-hitman Alejandro, and the pair are a formidable on-screen force. Tasked by the American government to find out if Mexican drug gangs are trafficking terrorists across the border, they concoct a plan to provoke cartel bloodshed by kidnapping Isabela Reyes, the young daughter of one of the big bosses. Transformers actress Isabela Moner, 16, is impressive as the gutsy, headstrong character and she more than holds her own against her seasoned co-stars. There’s a complexity to writer Taylor Sheridan’s characters that keeps you guessing and you’re never quite sure what their next move will be. As a viewer, though, you are left hoping Sheridan’s next move will be to write a third film.
WHITNEY (15)
Staccato bursts of the rousing anthem I Wanna Dance with Somebody open Kevin Macdonald’s revealing documentary, which arrives one year after Nick Broomfield and Rudi Dolezal’s poignant film Whitney: Can I Be Me. This heartbreaking portrait of doomed musical genius is the only account of Houston’s life and career officially supported by her estate and includes original studio recordings and never-before-seen footage alongside live performances recorded by the late singer. What sets apart this meticulous sift through family albums is the suggestion that Houston’s downfall may have been precipitated by child abuse when she was growing up. In one of the film’s most eye-opening sections, friends and family go as far as to name the person they believe was responsible for shattering Houston’s childhood innocence. The world will continue to dance with somebody at the late singer’s behest. Her vocals soar to dizzying heights and Macdonald’s upsetting film follows her.
TAG (15)
The Bible suggests that when we cross the threshold to adulthood, we should put away childish things. The quintet of fortysomething men, who reunite every year in Jeff Tomsic’s potty-mouthed buddy comedy, blow a raspberry at the idea of responsible behaviour. This merry band of suited professionals, wastrels and dreamers stave off the spectre of middle age by devoting one month every year to the playground game of tag, travelling between states and donning disguises if necessary to touch an unsuspecting victim. The last person to be tagged as the bell tolls midnight on May 31 is deemed the loser until the following year when the high jinks begin again.
OCEAN’S 8 (12A)
Crime pays handsomely in a convoluted and effervescent caper, which continues the misadventures of the larcenous Ocean family from Steven Soderbergh’s trilogy. Director Gary Ross’s stylish picture features an all-female lead cast spearheaded by Oscar winners Sandra Bullock and Cate Blanchett. They plot an ambitious jewel robbery in plain sight which subtly acknowledges seismic shifts in gender politics by refusing to hire a male accomplice and strain the bonds of sisterly solidarity. The loosely coiled plot requires similar suspensions of disbelief to previous chapters but there’s a loopy logic to each narrative twist and our enjoyment stems from watching the pieces of an elaborate puzzle fall into place.
HEREDITARY (15)
Modern horror films seldom prioritise nerve-shredding suspense – the kind of creeping dread that sends beads of sweat trickling down your spine and haunts your waking dreams. Writer-director Ari Aster’s twisted family portrait comes close to repeating the feat, only to descend into madness with a loopy final act that will sharply divide and perplex audiences who have been biting their nails down to the cuticle for the previous 90 minutes. Hereditary performs a cinematic striptease, holding our gaze (even when we want to look away) by peeling away the layers of darkness and deceit that condemn one grief-stricken family led by miniaturist artist Annie Graham (Toni Collette) to a grim fate.
JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM (12A)
Now five films in, the old formula of dinosaurs, dastardly hunters and the human heroes who save the day should be running out of puff. But Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard coming on board in 2015 gave it fresh legs and with director JA Bayona they manage to squeeze a few more thrills out of it here. This time around, the dinosaurs are in peril from a volcano. Former park manager Claire (Dallas Howard) is offered a sanctuary for them and, with her old flame Owen (Pratt) in tow, all that remains is getting the beasts from A to B.