Gattaca

UK Release Date: 20th March 1998

A genetically inferior man assumes the identity of a superior one in order to pursue his lifelong dream of space travel (www.imdb.com).

Director: Andrew Niccol (In Time, The Host, Good Kill)

Starring: Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, Jude Law, Alan Arkin

Gattaca is one of the very few science fiction films with a one-of-a-kind world that's depth should have me excited before the title credits even start. Genetic engineering governs lives before birth; flawless people with high IQ's and highly resistant to illness. Ethan Hawke is not one of them. He's an In-Valid, someone born of natural birth, with bad eyesight and a dodgy ticker. This premise is stronger than most of its genre, but the depth of Gattaca doesn't end there. Hawke, the genetically flawed, helps out Jude Law, the physically flawed, by pretending to be him (blood, urine, hair strands, DNA and all) so that 'they' get the chance to pop to outer-space, because anyone imperfect is forbidden. It doesn't even end here! A murder is committed at the space station. All fingers point to the 'guy who's not supposed to be there'. Hawke spends most of the film trying to not blow his cover, whilst getting romantic with work colleague Uma Thurman.

Gattaca is organised mess at its best (setup) and worst (plot) due to an over-commitment to be unique. A society of flawless beings who work like drones show that our flaws make up our personalities and sense of humour. Hawke and Thurman are more steely than wooden, whereas Jude Law's crippled genius is the only character with human instincts. 

Great promise, poor execution. I nearly felt as bored as the desk-workers at the space-station. Gattaca is in much need of a personality.

2.5/5

Reservoir Dogs

UK Release Date: 15th January 1993

After a simple jewelery heist goes terribly wrong, the surviving criminals begin to suspect that one of them is a police informant (www.imdb.com).

Director: Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, Kill Bill Vol. 1)

Starring: Tim Roth, Harvey Keitel, Michael Madsen, Steve Buscemi, Chris Penn

Reservoir Dogs is Quentin Tarantino's first movie. It's not clear that he had a low budget to play with, because what he's done with it is superb. A robbery gone wrong force a group of criminals, only known by different colours (Mr. White, Mr. Pink etc.) into an abandoned warehouse, to await help. In the mean time, they work out who the mole is. Tarantino fleshes out characters motives with a speech driven screenplay, music that defines memory and the ability to play on our imaginations. Madsen, Buscemi, Keitel and Roth are astutely incomparable, their given names matching their sporadic personalities. Reservoir Dogs is a profound start to Tarantino's career; one that's hard to beat with an unbeatable style, fast paced dialogue and an unforgettable scene that, whenever Stuck in the Middle With You by Stealers Wheel comes on, springs to mind instantly. 

4.5/5  

What Lies Beneath

UK Release Date: 20th October 2000

The wife of a university research scientist believes that her lakeside Vermont home is haunted by a ghost - or that she is losing her mind (www.imdb.com).

Director: Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future, Forrest Gump, Contact)

Starring: Harrison Ford, Michelle Pfeiffer

What Lies Beneath goes through a two hour period of no ambience, or at least it feels that way. Michelle Pfeiffer's wife to scientist Harrison Ford believes their house is haunted by a single ghost. For the majority of this film we're led down a path of tense scares and frights, which are conjured from thin air. Robert Zemeckis knows how to add these unbearable moments without us really knowing what they're about. Pfeiffer puts in a stellar performance as the jittery, mentally unbalanced wife, whereas Ford's as wooden as a tree trunk, not giving a hoot about his wife's slowly deteriorating health. What Lies Beneath is a very thrilling thriller, with the bathtub scene (no, not sexual in any way) likely to stick to the mind for a long, long time.

3/5

Creed

UK Release Date: 15th January 2016

The former World Heavyweight Champion Rocky Balboa serves as a trainer and mentor to Adonis Johnson, the son of his late friend and former rival Apollo Creed (www.imdb.com).

Director: Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station)

Starring: Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone

Fruitvale Station director Ryan Coogler has revitalised a franchise that otherwise seemed dead. Stallone wasn't keen on the idea of a new Rocky film,  but with a decent script and much persistency, Coogler managed to convince him. And what a story it is! Coogler has deviated the attention to former collaborator Michael B. Jordan, who plays Apollo Creed's illegitimate son. Stallone's Balboa may be on the sidelines, but has just as much impact on us than when he was in the ring. He agrees to train the young Creed (who's going by the name of Johnson). Creed's story follows the usual pattern laid out by previous Rocky films, yet musters enough originality to place it amongst the best of them. Stallone puts in his greatest performance to date, whilst Jordan is exceptional, as he battles with his name and tires to build his own legacy. Jordan is improving over time. One of Creed's fights is shot in one, long breathless take. His fights place us in close quarters. We're there for every punch given, and every punch taken. Expect a sequel very, very soon. 

4/5

Contagion

UK Release Date: 21st October 2011

Healthcare professionals, government officials and everyday people find themselves in the midst of a worldwide epidemic as the CDC works to find a cure (www.imdb.com).

Director: Steven Soderbergh (Traffic, Ocean's Eleven, Che: Part One) 

Starring: Marion Cotillard, Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Bryan Cranston

Contagion is a slow burner, a mildly tense thriller about an unknown disease that spreads as fast as wildfire. We're spoon fed with information from different sources, from Kate Winslet's support aid helper to Laurence Fishburne's CEO of a company who're attempting a cure. On ground zero there's Jude Law's 'tell it as it is' blogger and Matt Damon as the only representative with any feelings. And here lies the problem with Contagion; it may have kept my attention for the duration, but I didn't really care who lived and who died, bar Matt Damon and his daughter. This film feels like could have been a documentary in its early drafts, and the team behind it decided to take a different route.

3/5

The Revenant

UK Release Date: 15th January 2016

A frontiersman on a fur trading expedition in the 1820's fights for survival after being mauled by a bear and left for dead by members of his own hunting team (www.imdb.com).

Director: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (21 Grams, Babel, Birdman)

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Domhnall Gleeson, Will Poulter, Forrest Goodluck

The Revenant satisfied all my senses on levels beyond my wildest imagination. Shot in natural light, director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki (best known for his work on Gravity and Birdman) have outdone themselves with a scope and magnitude which I can't even begin to describe. The Revenant is raw, placing us in the life of Hugh Glass, a frontiersman in 1820's America, fighting for his life and seeking revenge after being left for dead. It's violent, tense and nerve-wracking, even when there's little going on. It never feels too long, even at 156 minutes. It starts with the most intense scenery to grace the big screen since Saving Private Ryan. Emmanuel Lubezki's camera ducks, dives and weaves around frontiersman and native Indians in one, brutal battle. He takes us from one death to another, over hills, under water, never favouring one side over the other, and yet we're still routing for our favourites, even though we've just met them. Leo's sublime, the hardships he ensure makes him an awards contender. He goes through unimaginable tasks most actors wouldn't. Tom Hardy, Domhnall Gleeson and Will Poulter are great alongside him, the latter quivering his way brilliantly through the film. I haven't come out of the cinema feeling in cold, in shock, and mostly, in awe. The Revenant is a must see on the big screen.

5/5