Mini Reviews: High-Rise (2016), Triple 9 (2016) & Dirty Grandpa (2016)

As we approach the middle of the year, all the movies that I missed in January and February are slowly released on DVD and VOD, meaning I can finally catch up and rack up a few more 2016 releases on my 'watched' list. That means, for the first time in forever, one of my Mini Reviews posts has a theme. These three movies were all released in the UK at the start of 2016, and I've caught up!

OH MY GOD WHAT WAS EVEN GOING ON HERE. Seriously. I was so excited for High-Rise (2016) when I first saw the trailers. A suited and booted Tom Hiddleston? I’m in. A weird and quirky plot? Excuse me, I already told you I’m in but now I’m excited. I was gutted I missed this in the cinemas, but now? I’m relieved. This movie was so weird. It was like Snowpiercer but in a high-rise building. Snowpiercer also had a plot! This had so many suit-clad characters I forgot who was who. What made it worse was that the movie starts with the ending, so it’s not like I felt the need to stick with it to find out what even happens. Argh!

I had no intention of seeing Triple 9 (2016) in the cinemas, truth be told, it’s not my kind of movie, but I saw it get a lot of decent reviews, so I made sure I gave it a try once I could. It’s your typical action-heist movie, filled with dirty cops and criminals, and takes a few turns that the veteran action fans probably smelt a mile away, but I really enjoyed it! My fiance (probably husband by the time you read this!) plays a game called Rainbow Six Seige, and I got that vibe from this, so he was kind of bummed that I watched it without him. Still, he gives me this proud kind of look when I start spewing lines about breaching the door and stuff…

I don’t know what made me give Dirty Grandpa (2016) a watch, but sometimes you just need to watch some mindless comedy, you know?! These things are so hit and miss and even though general consensus seems to be that this is one a stinker, it just hit my funny bone in a way that a comedy hasn’t for a long time. Maybe it’s my growing appreciation for Zac Efron, or the shock of such foul words coming from Robert De Niro, but this worked for me. Sure, the plot is tired and has been used time and time again, and yep, 99% of the comedy relies on rude jokes, but what more did you expect? I’m still laughing at the ‘Jenny from the c*ck block’ line, and it’s been weeks.

Review: A Long Way Down (2014)

I hadn't even heard about this film when I found it on Netflix so I thought I would just give it a go and although the critics may disagree with me, I'm glad I did.

A Long Way Down starts on New Years Eve, Martin (Pierce Brosnan) a disgraced TV personality is on the top of a building London all ready to commit suicide.  He is soon joined by Maureen (Toni Collette) an exhausted mother of one, Jess (Imogen Poots) and JJ (Aaron Paul) who are all there for the same reasons.  Instead of going through with it, they become each other's surrogate family and learn to face their problems.

I can understand why the critics don't like this film, there was a lot that could be done with such a sensitive subject that just wasn't.  It could have made it more brutal and heartbreaking and really touched on a taboo subject that most people are afraid to talk about.  Unfortunately, it actually makes it all too relateable (quite scarily in some places) and it somewhat belittles the idea too much for comedic reasons, which is more than likely why the critics didn't feel it was much cop.

I think the film hit middle ground perfectly. It could have been more honest and really dug into the heart of these characters, and it would have been a depressing drama. On the other hand, it could have skimmed over the serious issues completely, and it would have been a heartless comedy. For me, this was a true to life drama that made me smile just as much as cry.

That being said, I was engrossed.  I didn't look up from the screen or move once throughout the whole thing, I laughed, I cried, I cheered and I really loved the characters and the relationships they have developed with each other.  I've always been a fan of Collette's work, I think she has such a broad range, ever since I saw her in Muriels Wedding a loooong time ago!  I found it so entertaining considering it was a film based around depression and suicide but I also think it showed how one person (or 3 in this case) can have such a huge impact on your life and change the way you think about things. 

This might be the first thing I've seen Toni Collette in so I can't really compare her performance to anything else (Edit: Holy moly, I just realised she was in Little Miss Sunshine! Love this lady!), but as much as I loved the whole cast, Imogen Poots absolutely stole the show. She might be annoying in A Long Way Down, but she was spot on and I really hope she gets some bigger roles following this.

Its a common misconception that depressed people are sad all the time and never smile or laugh or enjoy some moments, I think this can be highlighted more.  Many cases of 'movie' depression find the character not getting out of bed or considering suicide, this turns that on its head and reminds people that you can be depressive and fully functional in the real world, sometimes you just need the right people around you. Absolutely true! 

I could be simplifying this too much but thats my opinion.  I really enjoyed the film and the sentiments attached to it, it got a bit cheesy at times but I could see past it and enjoy it for what it was.  Its worth a watch, just remember not to overthink it and just watch, you might like it.

It's definitely a slow burner! I wasn't bored at all but I was grateful for the shorter running time, as I really felt every minute. That probably comes across way harsher than I mean it to!

Maybe it was just my imagination running away with me, but I couldn't help but wonder whether the reason JJ was up on the roof had anything to do with a certain meth lab incident gone wrong... haha!! Amazing!

Mini Reviews: Hello I Must be Going (2012), Thanks for Sharing (2012), Smashed (2012)

I appear to have recently found some hidden gems on Netflix recently instead of the usual ABC Family/Made for TV tripe that I usually succumb to.  Rather than a lengthy review for each, I decided to add these to the mini review series.

Hello I Must Be Going (2012)

Young divorcee Amy has to move back in with her parents and manage her heartbreak and depression, until a younger guy give her hope and passion for the future.  I always liked Melanie Lynskey in Two and a half men so I liked the idea of this from the get-go.  She was brilliant as expected, highlighting the pitfalls of being divorced and back at home with humour and sharp dialogue.  Blythe Tanner is great as the disapproving mother who is at her wits end with her daughter and is determined to make her move on.  

Brilliantly witty and a real insight into the 'horrors' of middle aged divorce and having to seek solace in your parents home.

Thanks for Sharing (2012)

Three stories of sex addicts weaved together to produce a movie that highlights the harsh reality of recovery from sex addiction.  Adam (Mark Ruffalo) is a 5 years 'sober' and hiding his past from his new girlfriend, his sponsor Mike (Tim Robbins) dealing with the aftermath 15 years from recovery and Neil (Josh Gad) who is in meetings because he has been court ordered to.  This has the opportunity to be really clever and approach the subject with a dark humour but instead it all seems to play out a a bit cheesy.  The acting is great throughout but I think there were much more that could have been done with this somewhat taboo topic than what was.

Entertaining enough but didn't have the depth that I was hoping for when I read the synopsis.

Smashed (2012)

A couple who's marriage is built on a love of alcohol and music start to crumble when Kate decides she needs to get sober.  This is quite a sad film to watch because Kate (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and Charlie (Aaron Paul) obviously love each other but tend to be a bad influence on each other.  Always harder to leave someone for reasons other than falling out of love, and harder to watch.  Winstead and Paul both put in great performances as the couple who don't seem to understand each other anymore and find it hard to be around each other in their respective states. I personally would have preferred a more solid ending but these decide for yourself endings seem to be all the rage at the minute!

Heartbreaking to watch but well written and another dent in my attempt to watch all of Aaron Paul's work.

Review: Need For Speed (2014)

UPDATED: Now that Jenna's seen the film!

Although I'm not a huge Breaking Bad fan, (please bear with me) I think Aaron Paul is brilliant, and I love the Need For Speed games, so I was really looking forward to seeing this. I can happily say that I wasn't disappointed! I love Aaron Paul and I was disappointed!

I didn't want to spoil anything for myself, but I couldn't help reading a few reviews before I went to see this. I'm glad I did because someone heartily recommended seeing this in 3D, which we did. I don't usually do 3D unless we go to the Giant Screen in Birmingham, and generally I don't like 'real actor' 3D films, but this was something else. The racing scenes in particular were fantastic in 3D!  I wouldn't have minded giving this a go in 3D, even though I have a strict rule of no live action films in 3D, animation only!

Now, as much as I don't want to, I'm going to mention Fast and Furious. I'm sorry! But you just can't help comparing the two. However, I've only actually seen the first and sixth films in the series, so I have a slightly fresher view on it. In my personal opinion, I prefer Need For Speed. I liked the characters more, I liked the racing scenes more, and in some places this film was absolutely hilarious.  I have to disagree, I prefer the characters in the F&F films, although the comedy was a little better in this, I find the storylines in the F&F franchise much better and actually somewhat more logical (see my 5 point rant below that include spoilers - sorry!

 

 

My only criticism would be that it lacked emotional depth. Perhaps a silly thing to say taking into account the genre of film? But that's what I thought, nonetheless. The romance was nice, but I didn't really see how prison really effected Aaron's character. That's all I can say without spoilers, but see what you think. 

I really enjoyed the racing scenes and the comedy element to the film and I actually quite liked the characters but the awful storyline and lack of logic really ruined it for me, I just couldn't understand why half the characters were doing the things they were doing. 

Just some words of advice? If you see this on the big screen, hold back the temptation to drive home like this:

 

*SPOILER ALERT* Please don't be mad at me for including spoilers, if you have seen this film you will understand why I had to do it!! I got so grieved about these points while watching this film, I had to write them down immediately so I wouldn't forget.  Plus I don't think I can do a full review without discussing these points.  I have put them in grey so if you haven't seen the film you can just skim past and head to the ratings at the bottom!!

 

1. Why would a man pay $2.7m for a car and then 2 years later allow a convict (who isn't allowed to leave the state due to parole) to drive it across country to compete in a race to win him $4m and if I heard the rules right all the cars are given to the winner so he has absolutely no collateral if Toby loses!! Ridiculous!

2. Why is this girl happy to vouch for Toby who we are led to believe she has met all of once and why is she happy to help him break parole to go to the race and get herself a criminal record for a guy she doesn't know.

3.  Why does Toby have to compete in the race to get revenge, surely killing the dude would be revenge, what does beating him in a race do, put more lives in danger.  Surely after what he saw happen to Pete he would rather skip the races all together no??

4.  Pete's sister got engaged to the guy who Toby said killed her brother, from what we can tell she has know Toby a long time, even if she didn't know for certain do we really think she would marry him? Are we supposed to believe that??

5.  When some random girl (to her, to us it's Julia) announces on the radio that Toby is only driving across country to prove he didn't do it (how?) suddenly all the doubts (that she should have had all along) come to light and she decides to search her fiancé's  computer, impressive considering she didn't know what she was looking for found compelling evidence of his betrayal within 30 seconds... Genius!!!

Ahhhhh...deep breaths Allie, deep breaths...it's based on a game though, a game which has very little storyline and focuses nearly solely on the racing. Anyone who has ever played a Need for Speed game knew what to expect so I don't think it can bashed for that. 

 

I can confidently recommend watching this film, and I for one can't wait to see it again.

As you can probably tell from my 5 point rant above (if you read it) I would recommend this film for the action and even the comedy but not for the storyline.  If you like films where you don't have to think and just watch fast cars fly by, this is the film for you.  I hate to give it such a low rating because I actually really enjoyed it but the story dropped the rating right down.