Well, this past weekend ended up resulting in something that
I didn’t expect going into it; a double-feature run. If you’ve been following
this blog for a while, you’ll know that I usually don’t go to see two new films
in one day. It’s usually just one film a week for me and the only times that I
do partake in a ‘double-feature’ day are my annual post-Christmas double-feature
runs that I do with my best friend and fellow film critic Matt Goudreau (writer
for The Young Folks and The Nerd Stash). But this past Saturday, I wound up
seeing not one but two films in one day. I had gone to see one film with my mom
late in the afternoon but wound up running across Matt as I leaving the
theater. He was there to do his own double-feature run and I ended up joining
him on his second screening. So, with that in mind and given the fact that I’m
currently focusing more on some of the other projects that I’m working on right
now, namely Disney Month posts, I decided to do what I usually do on a ‘Double
Feature’ day; a quick pair of short reviews for the two films that I saw that
day. So, without further ado, here are my quick thoughts on the two films that
I saw on November 12th, 2016. They are…
ARRIVAL
First up is Arrival,
the newest film from director Denis Villeneuve. Villeneuve has recently become
one of the most well-regarded directors in the industry thanks to films like 2013’s
Prisoners and 2015’s Sicario. Next year, he’ll be taking on
his biggest project yet in the form of the long-awaited sequel to the 1982
sci-fi classic Blade Runner; Blade Runner 2049. But before that, he
has a different sci-fi story in the form of Arrival,
which stars Amy Adams as a linguist who is recruited by the military to try and
translate the language of an alien race that has arrived on Earth via a series
of shell-like ships to determine if they’re friendly or not. What follows is a
very interesting sci-fi story that does hold your interest throughout. Admittedly,
it is a slow burn (though, at the same time, never overstays its welcome at a
runtime of just under two hours) and it did take me a bit to figure out the big
‘reveal’ but once I did, I found myself liking it; it results in a solid
conclusion. From a technical perspective, the film does showcase Villeneuve’s
talents as a director. The cinematography is solid, the film is well-edited, the
score by Villeneuve regular Johann Johannsson is excellent, and the cast is
terrific all-around, particularly Amy Adams in the lead role. Though there are
also some solid supporting performances from the likes of Jeremy Renner (who
works well with Adams as the deuteragonist), Forest Whitaker, and Michael
Stuhlbarg. In short, Arrival is a
smart sci-fi film that does take some commitment to get into probably but will
ultimately leave you satisfied for sticking with it.
Rating: 4/5
HACKSAW RIDGE
Hacksaw Ridge is
Mel Gibson’s first directorial effort in a decade. Gibson, of course, is known
as being one of the most prolific actors in the film industry. He was a major
action star thanks to the Mad Max and
Lethal Weapon franchises and then
began to transition into directing in the early 90’s. His most famous
directorial effort is 1995’s Best Picture winner Braveheart and he also had a commercially successful, but highly
controversial, hit with 2004’s The
Passion of the Christ. But then over the next few years, his career started
to go downhill as the result of various embarrassing incidents, most notably
the time in 2006 when he got arrested for drunk driving and spewed Anti-Semitic
remarks. But like I always say, sometimes you got to separate the art from the
artist. Now it seems like he’s starting to make a career comeback and it will
no doubt get a major boost from his return to the director’s chair. This WWII
biopic tells the true story of corporal Desmond Doss (Andrew Garfield), a
Virginia native who enlisted in the army but then proceeded to attract a
considerable amount of backlash when he refused to hold a rifle because of his
religious beliefs. After nearly going to jail on the charge of insubordination,
he manages to be granted his request of not having to carry a firearm into
battle and instead serve as a combat medic. And during a battle in which he and
his platoon found themselves having to combat Japanese forces stationed near a
cliff known as ‘Hacksaw Ridge’ (hence the title of the film), he managed to
save 75 soldiers and would go on to be awarded the Medal of Honor. He’s the
only conscientious objector to do so.
While some parts of the film come off as being a tad
melodramatic, namely in the beginning when Doss is romancing his future wife
Dorothy, Doss’ peaceful ways in staying true to his beliefs is an extremely
admirable trait, especially from the perspective of our current times. The film
takes a while before it gets into any scenes of warfare and thus gives a solid
amount of time to develop Doss as a character, from the extremely traumatizing
incident during his childhood that led him to truly embrace God to him not
giving up after being subjected to much physical and mental abuse from his
fellow soldiers. But once the film does get into the actual warfare… in one
word, damn! These are easily some of the best war combat scenes ever to be put
on film but bear in mind that they are very, VERY intense. That’s usually the
case with Gibson’s directorial efforts, after all. In fact, this may even
surpass Saving Private Ryan in terms
of how violent the action sequences are. Through it all, though, this is truly
an epic war film backed by the terrific action sequences, an outstanding
performance by Andrew Garfield in the lead role, and a solid supporting cast
that includes Sam Worthington and Vince Vaughn as Doss’ superiors in the army,
Teresa Palmer as Dorothy, and Hugo Weaving as Doss’ tragically broken father
who constantly deals with the demons that came from partaking in World War I. In
conclusion, it's safe to say that Gibson has a major success on his hands in
what will surely be a major awards contender. It’s a hard-hitting war film
(though, really, what war film hasn’t been hard hitting?) that is based around
the admirable courageous actions of its main character; one who never fired a
single bullet.
Rating: 4.5/5
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