Film Review: Argo

Argo is a drama based on the true events of a secret CIA mission to extract six Americans from Iran in 1980. Iran at this time is going through a revolution and has put a new Islamic government in place. They want to charge the old leader for crimes against the people but he has been granted exile in the US. The people of Iran are deeply angry with this and eventually they end up storming the US embassy, whilst taking all the people they can find as hostages. Little do they know that six Americans have escaped, but the clock is ticking and it’s only a matter of time before the Iranians realise.

The film starts with a brief history of Iran and tells the story of how the region became what it was in 1979-80 in less than two minutes. In this time they dedicate a whole sentence stating that the US and Britain actually helped to overthrow a democratic government and then replaced it with an evil dictator. After skimming over the history of Iran and how the west has screwed over its people on more than one occasion, the film cuts to Iranians appearing to be irrationally angry towards the west.

The story itself though, as already mentioned, is set around a CIA mission that aims to get a group of Americans out of an obviously dangerous place and it is actually told really well. Ben Affleck plays the lead role as CIA agent Tony Mendez and he is also the director of the film. He manages to give a connection with the characters and the audience, even if you don’t really want one. Affleck plays his acting part really well too, but to be honest there isn’t much to his character so he doesn’t have to try too hard. He makes a much better director, telling the story really well and dragging you to the edge of your seat by the end - no matter how you feel about this period of history.

The other characters are also played well, but considering the film is meant to be about them there isn’t much in the way of character development. Affleck still keeps you feeling for them though, by showing that they are very vulnerable and extremely dependent on those around them. There were other characters though that didn’t need that much development because the actor was good enough to play the role perfectly. I’m thinking of John Goodman here, who plays the role of Hollywood makeup artist.

This brings me to another small issue that I had with this film. Argo makes out that Hollywood was the real Hero in this story. Now I don’t mind that so much and it could well be true, I’ve been far too lazy to find out in all honesty. But what I don’t like about it is that as a result of this Hollywood have dramatically overrated this film. Don’t get me wrong it’s a good film; it’s just not as good as the vain people of Hollywood believe.

The Verdict
Argo is a good film and it tells the story of a Hollywood/CIA rescue operation set in the mists of the 1980 Iranian revolution, although fails to put much emphasis on how Iran got to that place to start with. Affleck does a good job in the lead role and a better one at directing. The support actors are really good and no matter what you think to the situation in Iran, you’ll be hoping that the US civilians get out alive. 

LHSRAting for Argo 7.3/10

-Ayden

Film Review: Les Misérables

Les Misérables is quite possibly the best novel based, turned musical play, turned film, ever. Alright, that might be a bit of a small category area, but it’s still pretty damn good. It has something for everyone and even the most masculine of people won’t be able to help but enjoy this well told story.

Les Mis is a musical drama set in France during the 19^th century, which itself is a brilliant historical place and time. The story follows a man named Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman), an ex-convict who breaks bail and is constantly on the run from a police officer called Javert (Russell Crowe). During the film Valjean comes into contact with a range of different people, spanning from prostitutes and convicts, to revolutionaries and priests. Each one of them has a unique tale to tell about their lives, and each one is gripping in its own way.

As you would expect with a musical there is quite a lot of singing in this film. In fact, unlike most other musical films, this story is almost 100% sung to us. At first it seems a little strange, but after the first five minutes you kind of forget that it’s a musical and you just find yourself engrossed in the character’s lives. Most of the music, like most of the film, is really quite depressing. But you kind of have to expect that in a film that is about the people at the bottom of society in a time and place that was well and truly hard.

It’s not all doom and gloom though. Thénardier (Sacha Baron Cohen) and his wife (Helena Bonham Carter) bring a comical element to the film and just as you’re about to cry they will make you laugh. I honestly think this is the best role Cohen has ever played. It’s like it was written just for him.

That been said, every single actor played their role perfectly and the acting really could not have been improved. It’s even more impressive when you think that most of the main actors aren’t professional singers. One actor that stood out for me though has to be the young Daniel Huttlestone who plays Gavroche, a child soldier who is more than aware of his position in society and is more than happy to do his part for the French revolution.

The only real complaint I have to make about this film is that it did go on a little too long. Even for a brilliant musical, 158 minutes is quite a long time. So even though there is something for everyone in this film, it goes on for a while so you might be waiting sometime between the parts that you enjoy. That been said though, I personally enjoyed the entire thing, just some parts more than others. It’s still worth sitting through and it is really only the ending that seems to drag a little.  

THE VERDICT

Les Misérables might turn out to be the best musical you’ll have seen in recent memory. It is set in a period of French history that was a really hard time to live in, and tells the story of one man and those that he comes into contact with throughout his life. The music and songs sang tell the story brilliantly and the acting is next to flawless. Even though the film goes on for quite a long time, it is still one that could make you shed a tear or two and will definitely make you laugh on occasion.

LHSRAting for Les Misérables 8/10

-Ayden

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Film Review: Wreck-it Ralph

Ralph (John C. Reilly) is a computer villain in an arcade and he’s been around for thirty years. It’s his job to wreck the crap out of things whilst Fix-it Felix (Jack Mcbrayer), well, fixes it and is loved by everyone for it. Ralph on the other hand is hated by everyone in this computer game universe, even though he’s really a nice guy who has been programmed to do a bad job. So after thirty years of being bullied for been a bad guy Ralph decides he can be a hero and goes on a quest to prove it by game jumping across the arcade that he’s in. During this film Ralph and other characters show a range of different games and characters from different gaming generations.

Wreck-it Ralph is a well animated film with some great voice acting. It has a funny storyline for both young children and adult gamers. The film is bright and colourful and very fast paced, which will keep children entertained. At the same time there are some well hidden adult jokes (similar to how The Simpsons do it). If you’re an adult gamer then you’ll appreciate it even more as they’ve sneaked in loads of little references to games and consoles (like the Konami Code). So if you have a young child that you want to keep occupied for an hour or two and you’re into computer games, then this film is perfect for you! 

Wreck-it Ralph is superb role modelling for children as well. It shows that some people that seem bad might be good and that those that seem good, might be bad. It also teaches that you shouldn’t bully people because of things that they’re born/programmed with. I know that you’d probably expect that from a Disney film, but to be honest they have a huge track record of racially and sexually profiling their characters. This doesn’t seem to happen in this film though and this made me very happy, especially with female badasses like Sergeant Calhoun (Jane Lynch) and Vanellope von Schweets (Sarah Silverman). With any luck this will be a direction that Disney continues to go in. 

The film could probably have done with featuring more of the real game characters as they don’t really make very many appearances. However, they may have made the right decision not to give them bigger roles because if they got it wrong there would have been a lot of complaining from the gaming community. Something that they shouldn’t have done though is put in that awful ‘music’ by Rihanna, although it did fit quite well and I almost didn’t notice it until she repeated the word ‘drive’ several times.  

 

THE VERDICT

Ralph is bad, and that’s good. He’ll never be good, and that’s not bad. In fact, it’s pretty damn brilliant. This is a great story for young children, parents, and adult gamers. It sets a good example for children to follow whilst entertaining them, and has some brilliant voice acting in it too. At the same time Wreck-it Ralph is filled with adult humour and gamer references. We don’t see as many real game characters as would be liked, but it still works very well. Disney have made a great family film here and I really recommend that if you’re taking the kids to the cinema this weekend, that you take them to see this film.

LHSRAting for Wreck-it Ralph 8.5/10

-Ayden

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Film Review: Lincoln

This isn’t Spielberg’s best film. But when you’ve directed almost 50 movies, and amongst them are some of the greats such as Schindler’s List, then a film not being your best doesn’t really mean much... And to be fair it’s still up there.

Lincoln starts off by showing a brutally bloody battle one year before the end of the American civil war and the opening scene really sucks you in from the offset. That’s pretty much as far as the film goes with showing us the horrors of the American civil war however. So if you want to watch a film that has loads of battle scenes in it, then this film is not for you.

Instead Lincoln moves forward to the very final months of the civil war and is mainly focused around the political struggles that Abraham Lincoln (Daniel Day-Lewis) faces in trying to pass the thirteenth amendment to end slavery, whilst at the same time trying to end the war... at the right time. Lincoln is a film that is fully focused on US history and politics. It shows the struggles that the Union faced internally in trying to eradicate slavery, the different views that particular groups of politicians had on giving slaves their freedom, and even touched on Lincoln’s own views regarding equality between white and black people (although unless you know what Lincolns views really where then you probably won’t realise). 

Daniel Day-Lewis does a superb job at playing the role of Lincoln; a mainly calm, storytelling, convincing man that was loved by most. He shows how Lincoln had a knack for changing the minds of men without them realising what he was doing until it was already done.

 

But I don’t think Daniel Day-Lewis was the best actor in this film and I don’t think that Abraham Lincoln was the best Character either, even though it’s a film about him. The guy who stole the show for me and made me really connect with this film was Representative Thaddeus Stevens (Tommy Lee Jones). Stevens would probably be classed as an extreme left winger in today’s US politics, so you can imagine what the thought of him in the 19^th century. He not only advocated that black people should be free from slavery, but that they should be treated as white people’s equal (something that Lincoln never did).  Anyway, I digress into a History lesson, although that is what this film is. Stevens in this film is portrayed brilliantly and he has an extremely dry, insulting wit that he uses in the House constantly in quick response to any attack that is sent his way. In short, Stevens will make you laugh in this film because he’s brilliantly provocative.

     

Unfortunately this film is a little too long for my liking and could probably have told the same story in two hours. The end also seems quite messy. It seems that Lincoln’s death is rushed through as a way of trying to avoid telling that par of history. And then there’s a bit of a flashback to one of Lincoln’s speeches. It’s a shame really because this film could have ended a lot better in a number of different ways.  

  

THE VERDICT

Lincoln is a brilliant film for portraying US history (although too gently at times) and the political system that surrounded the Union towards the end of the civil war. This film will teach you about a very important era in US history whilst giving you a glimpse into who the people at the time really were. The acting in it is brilliant and the characters are played exceptionally well.  Lincoln, although a very serious film, will not fail to make you laugh on occasions. This goes double if you enjoy politics as well. But if you’re not into politics or history and you need lots of battle scenes, then this film isn’t for you and you may find that its 150 minute length may drag. Otherwise, this film is worth a watch.

LHSRAting for Lincoln – 7.8/10

- Ayden