Rebel Without a Pause Button

Pablo Larrain's account of Jacqueline Kennedy following the assassination of her husband John F. Kennedy is dominated by a stunning central performance from  Natalie Portman.  Her gradual meltdown is devastating to witness, with Portman perfectly capturing the torment and distress that her real-life counterpart must have experienced. Such is the strength of her performance that it almost (but not quite) masks the disappointingly  formulaic structure adopted by director Larrain, with a number of stale scenes that somewhat distract from the power of Portman's role. Since the film is built around Portman's character, it is fair to judge a substantial amount of the film on her performance alone. Portman proves perfect for the role, dominating every scene as she suffers through the turmoil of her husband's death, creating an incredibly intimate portrait of a struggling widow. Her viciously unpredictable behaviour as she moves between hopeless depression and outbursts...

Damien Chazelle's latest is a glorious whirlwind of romance, nostalgia and optimism, a joyous love letter to 50's Hollywood that encapsulates the charm of classic musicals such as Singing in the Rain and Guys & Dolls. From the glorious opening number, set on a crowded LA freeway with drivers leaping from car to car in an incredible one-take scene, through to the beautifully judged epilogue, the film's energy never ceases to charm and impress.  A relatively simple tale of a hopeless romantic meeting another hopeless romantic, the film rides heavily on the chemistry and likeability of the leads Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone. As Sebastian and Mia, the two waltz effortlessly through dazzling dance sequences and catchy musical numbers in a style highly reminiscent of Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds. Their passionate but unpredictable relationship is a joy to watch and, although filled with many extraordinary moments, it is far from the traditional "boy meets gir...

Martin Scorsese's latest project is a tough beast to conquer. Clocking in at over two and a half hours, it is a harrowing tale of oppression and brutality that doesn't shy away from scenes of shocking violence and disturbing torture. The film follows two Jesuit priests, Sebastião Rodrigues (Andrew Garfield) and Francisco Garupe (Adam Driver), as they travel from Portugal to Japan in the hopes of rescuing fellow priest Cristóvão Ferreira (Liam Neeson) from the Japanese rulers and their anti-Catholic regime.  Driver and Garfield are well cast in their respective roles,  this being a pivotal film for them, particularly the latter, to prove their ability in such demanding roles. Though Garfield's accent wavers in opening scenes and his reactions feel a little overplayed at times, it is very clear how much both put into their performances and they capture well the powerful devotion of the priests. While Driver has already displayed his talent through ...

Since his extraordinarily intense performance as the tormented Andrew in the Oscar-nominated Whiplash, Miles Teller has been nothing short of a disappointment. Roles in last year's infamous Fantastic Four reboot and the Allegiant series have stunk of blockbuster blandness, while his character in schlocky generic rom-com That Awkward Moment was as unambitious as it was overdone. Clearly, the brief golden boy of Hollywood needed a better project and Bleed for This seemed a promising place to start. The strength of director Ben Younger's film lies primarily in the incredible true story it tells. Teller plays Vinny Pazienza, a world champion in middleweight boxing, who is seriously injured in a horrific car crash. A broken neck leads to Pazienza being told he may never walk again and the majority of the film follows his life in the aftermath of the accident. The contrast of seeing Teller go from a cocky, egotistical champion to a feeble, bedridden patient is a powerful sight ...

Woody Allen's Cafe Society is really nothing we haven't seen before: the tale of a hapless romantic Bobby (Jesse Eisenberg) who moves to Hollywood in search of work and ends up falling in love with the charming Vonnie (Kristen Stewart)  has been told countless times before . The setting of late 30's America, rich furs and jazz music aplenty, is far from original too. Clearly, Allen's latest is far from ambitious and retreads familiar ground for the director but the film just manages to prove its worth with two likeable protagonists and gorgeous cinematography. If anyone were to play Allen in a biopic of his life, it could only be Eisenberg. As Bobby, he adopts the fretful gait and frenetic, half-stuttering voice that is instantly recognisable from any number of Allen's past roles.  The impression is far from perfect and lacks some of the charm of Allen but it doesn't feel too much of a departure from Eisenberg's usual, awkward style...

Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg's food-based animated flick is a parody of all things Disney and Pixar and takes no time in establishing its target audience, with swears dominating the script from start to finish.  If you've seen the trailer, you've seen the movie. Or at least the only good joke. The whole point of Sausage Party is simply to get cutesy things to say nasty things, dressing up a sweary shock comedy as a cheery kids film.    Of course, such foul language would be fine if the comedy were actually funny. But disappointingly, there isn't really that much comedy. Well, comedy that actually works anyway. The frequent food-based puns are amusing for the first few minutes until you realise that they make up 90% of the film. The surprise in seeing hot dog buns and baby carrots cursing at each other wears off quickly, showing how one great trailer can't be stretched into a full length film when little else is added. Even the clever Saving Private Ryan ref...

We Are Your Friends looks to cover new ground in exploring the electronic music scene and the DJs at the heart of it. The film attracted a very mixed reception upon its release last year, with some denouncing its simplistic portrayal of the US's current rave scene while others praised Zac Efron in his portrayal of aspiring DJ Cole Carter. However, the film subsequently bombed at the box office, taking a pitiful $11 million in total. Was this simply due to the ambitious and unique subject matter that audiences weren't used to or the film simply being a failure?  Few films have explored the modern American electronic music scene and the increasingly ludicrous world of DJing so We Are Your Friends had plenty of potential and original ideas to explore. However, what we get instead is a tired, cliched coming of age story as Cole and his friends dream of escaping the San Fernando Valley and moving to L.A. Cue an abundance of party scenes, horribly forced ba...