Molly’s Game

Molly’s Game tells the true story of “Poker Princess” Molly Bloom, for those of you who don’t know Molly Bloom was running million dollar poker games in both New York and LA. Now I’ve been looking forward to this film for quite a while, because it marks Aaron Sorkin’s directional debut. Sorkin has previously won an Oscar for his adapted screen play for the Social Network, fans of Sorkin’s previous work would expect his usual quick and snappy dialogue and that is here in abundance. The script and dialogue of Molly’s Game feels like a tour de force for Sorkin, serving as a highlights reel of everything that makes him one of the best currently working screen writers. Furthermore, the plot of the film itself has enough twists and turns to genuinely keep you on the edge of your seat, with all the characters being three dimensional and well formed. This excellent formation is shown in Jessica Chastain’s Molly, who is shown as both powerful and savvy whilst also having moments of weakness. Jessica Chastain is on top form here and makes Molly a very easy to root for character, even when she does things that you don’t agree with. The best pairing in this film is easily Chastain’s Molly and Idris Elba’s Charlie Jaffey, the scenes that feature the pairs back and forth are easily some of the most enjoyable moments in the film, and the two have an easy chemistry through the entire proceeding. Elba’s Charlie is somewhat of an audience surrogate as he goes through the same journey as the audience, believing in the beginning that Molly is guilty and he has no interest in her case, but as the film continues he starts to see her more and more for her she actually is and see’s past his first impressions. The friendship Jaffey and Bloom have at the end is testament to Sorkin’s writing ability as you can see the friendship blossom throughout the film, and doesn’t feel rushed but rather earned. Even Molly’s father played by Kevin Costner, who at first seems to be plying the disappointed father stereotype, is later shown to be more than he seems, really it is foolish to assume anyone in a Sorkin film is as simple as they first appear. My only complaint about the film is that it is slightly too long at 140 minutes, with me personally thinking it could still be an excellent film at the 120 minute mark, but other than that this may be one of the best crime dramas I’ve watched in a long time.

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Greatest Showman

Let me start off by saying that musicals aren’t really my type of films, and at its heart, that is what this is. However, this is the first musical I have managed to relate to and enjoy. There truly is something for all ages with this film, making it hard not to like. This film is actually quite informative about the life of P.T Barnum, showing him progress from being a child well into his establishing of his Circus. The ability to capture the wonder, awe, and imagination of the Circus and of P.T Barnum himself, would be quite a tall order for any actor, but Hugh Jackman manages to pull it off with ease never breaking the immersion once. The rest of the cast also do a great job with especially great turns from Zac Efron and Zendaya, with quite a believable romance; that doesn’t fall prey to the usual stereotypes of musical romances. Furthermore, the most rememberable song was the bar scene when Barnum tries to recruit play write Phillip to the circus, with the most creative use of shots I’ve ever seen in a film. The overall problem with the film is that some of the songs sound quite similar to each other, and some quite poor lip-synching especially with Rebecca Ferguson’s Jenny Lind during her big number it’s quite apparent it isn’t her who is singing. Furthermore, the mid point character transformation of Barnum also feels quite unbelievable, with him going from a nice family man who cares about his friends and workers to a man only concerned with chasing fame and status. With this shift being an interesting one but ultimately one that feels rushed. The side shows performers all being quite interesting flushed out characters, although they all share a similar arc, the character progression with these characters feels just that bit more earned.

Ultimately the film is a joyful Christmas film, that fills you with optimism and can brighten even the blackest day

4/5

reviewed by Luke

Star wars episode 8

SPOILERS

Its taken me a long time to mull over all my feelings about this movie, to be able to properly review it. There is good points and bad points about this film, and there is a very clear reason why this is the most divisive Star Wars movie yet. First off the good points, all of the characters set up in Episode 7 So Finn, Rey, Poe, Hux and Kylo ,( John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson and Adam Driver), are all developed in satisfying ways; with Rey’s journey to one of the most powerful Jedi’s, continuing to feel believable if a little rushed. Now the new characters are more of a mixed bag, Rose what can I say about her that hasn’t already been said, whilst I’m not in the legions of fans who really don’t like her I’m some where in the middle. Whilst her romance with Finn seems completely unbelievable , because its seems improbable that after less than a day that she has feelings for him, and feels more like an attempt to inject stakes into a tense battle scene. Her character does however work in the base reason I believe that she is included, and that is to capture this idea of the hope and purity the Rebellion represents. This is used to set up that moment at the end with the boy and the broom to show that hope is still alive, which Juxtaposes the idea of hope being fleeting which is explored throughout the movie. Now lets talk about the big talking point of the film, the deaths. There are 3 high profile deaths though on is off screen so don’t be surprised if she comes back in episode 9. Personally I liked what the film was doing of having Snoke ( Andy Serkis ), being this near omnipotent villain and a real clear and present danger to the heroes. So I felt his death was under whelming and hard to believe because he could use force powers that had barely even been seen before but he couldn’t notice Kylo’s trick. However I do feel like this development in Kylo Ren’s character and the end to his divided nature, will show by the end of episode 9 a great character arc, only strengthened by Adam Driver’s performance. Next up Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie), she was under used in episode 7 and after fan outcry was promised to have more to do in the next entry, and I have to say arguably she had less to do this time around. Whether she had a more meaty part and it got cut down in editing, or was just not needed from a story point of view, she is still wasted in the long run. Finally and perhaps most impactful is the death of Luke Skywalker and yes we all knew that the deaths of the original trilogy stars were coming, but I thought that Leia would die in this one and Luke the next, there was even a moment they could have tastefully killed her off, but instead they used it as a huge character reveal/ moment for her. This moment resulted in more people in my screening laughing then there probably should have. Luke Skywalkers death on the whole is at least handled quite well with the appropriate stakes and level of mystery. The most harmful negative of this film comes through its inconsistent tone. With the film itself being quite serious in tone ,(not unlike The Empire Strikes back), however with the overuse of humour the tension in some of these serious scenes is completely lost. This is further shown through the casino planet side plot which feels inconsistent with the other subplots and themes, and ultimately feels like its not far removed from the prequels.

It is with all that being considered and weighted up, that I have to say to sum up this film in a word, it would be average not good or bad.

3/5

reviewed by Luke