In the picture: Maleficent: Mistress of Evil and The King

movie reviews

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil fails to enchant; The King lacks memorability

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil

Starring: Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sam Riley, Ed Skrein, and Michelle Pfeiffer

Directed by: Joachim Rønning

After a four year absence from the screen, Angeline Jolie resumes her acting career by reprising the titular role in the Maleficent sequel Mistress of Evil, the continuation of the Sleeping Beauty offshoot that tries to present the original fairy tale’s antagonist in a more complex, sympathetic light.

(The cloyingly saccharine) Aurora (Elle Fanning) is now queen of the Moors, the enchanted enclave inhabited by magic folk, while Maleficent is the woodland’s guardian. After Prince Phillip (Harris Dickinson) proposes to the formerly sleeping beauty, a very disapproving Maleficent reluctantly agrees to accompany her goddaughter to a dinner hosted by her future in-laws, kind King John (Robert Lindsay) and scheming Queen Ingrith (Michelle Pfeiffer). Tempers predictably flare, leading to a rift between Aurora and Maleficent; the latter’s departure unexpectedly leads her to discovering her heritage as one of the last Dark Fae, a powerful race forced into hiding due to human oppression. 

As war looms, the fate of the lands and its inhabitants lay at stake. But even at the most (seemingly) crucial of turns, there is an odd absence of suspense. The repercussions of what should be significant developments – including battle and bloodshed – seem lost on the film’s writers. The fantasy’s building blocks are all fairly standard and formulaic; the drama is oddly vacant. Potentially interesting ideas are thrown into the storyline but then not fully developed; the Dark Fae arc, for instance, raises more questions than it answers. 

The writing and character building are the movie’s main weaknesses. Fanning’s Aurora is beautiful but dull, and utterly unconvincing as a queen. The Three Good Fairies are downright grating. 

Pfeiffer’s Queen Ingrid is a caricature of an evil queen who seems to have been created simply to make the titular protagonist seem noble in comparison. Jolie’s Maleficent is often sidelined in her own movie. The actresses’ performances, though, are the film’s highlights. Jolie shines in her first live-action role since 2015 (she did lend her voice to Tigress in the third Kung Fu Panda adventure in 2016, but has not been in front of the camera since By The Sea), and it’s to Pfeiffer’s credit that her one-dimensional character seems marginally intriguing.

Disney’s fairy tale revisits, retellings, and reimaginings may be financially rewarding for the company, but they hardly deliver a rewarding cinematic experience to the audience. And while Maleficent: Mistress of Evil may be a very slight step up from Disney’s recent slew of abysmal remakes, it’s far from the studio’s best work.

Rating: 2 out of 5

*****

The King

Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Joel Edgerton, Sean Harris, Robert Pattinson, Lily-Rose Depp, and Ben Mendelsohn

Directed by: David Michôd

Tagline: All hail.

David Michôd tells the story of King Henry V by way of William Shakespeare’s Henriad plays in The King, a historical drama loosely based on the life of the 15th century British monarch.

We meet Hal (Timothée Chalamet), the eldest son of King Henry IV (Ben Mendelsohn), when he is a wayward prince, disillusioned by his father’s reign and opposed to his war policies. Although uninterested in succeeding his father, Hal is nonetheless forced by circumstances to ascend the throne and thereby get his act together.

Despite his intentions to establish peace in the region, Hal decides to declare war on France after being provoked by Louis (Robert Pattinson), son of French King Charles VI (Thibault de Montalembert), and advised to retaliate by his aides.

He recruits his trusted old friend Falstaff (Joel Edgerton) as his captain, commanding his forces to battle. The ensuing drama and skirmishes, though competently executed and generally well-acted, aren’t as engrossing as one would have hoped. The film goes about its business at a leisurely pace, portraying Hal’s journey from an irresponsible youth to a fierce leader and warrior. But even though it spends 2 hour and 20 minute primarily focused on its protagonist, The King doesn’t handle Hal’s character development with much deft and the actual personality of the new king largely remains evasive.

Chalamet, though, is very impressive in the lead role, and his brooding presence conveys the weight on the ruler’s shoulders. Pattinson, too, gives a standout performance as the Dauphin, even though he appears in only a handful of scenes, and also gets some of the most memorable lines in the script.

But the film leaves some of its supporting players – like Lily-Rose Depp’s Catherine, who wanders into the story in the last half hour of the movie – underdeveloped, and neither gives them enough screen time nor the chance to really establish their presence in the tale. 

Ultimately, The King possesses a few intriguing elements, but it just isn’t as interesting or powerful as you’d expect. It fails to really stand out or leave a mark and doesn’t quite deliver the emotional impact it could have had. 

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

- By Sameen Amer

Instep, The News on Sunday - 24th November, 2019 *

In the picture: The Laundromat and Zombieland Double Tap

movie reviews

The Laundromat fails to make the most of its intriguing premise and talented cast; Zombieland: Double Tap offers more post-apocalyptic fun

The Laundromat

Starring: Meryl Streep, Gary Oldman, Antonio Banderas, Jeffrey Wright, Robert Patrick, David Schwimmer, and Sharon Stone

Directed by: Steven Soderbergh

Tagline: Based on actual secrets.

An immensely talented cast, a well-known director, and an intriguing topic somehow come together to yield mindbogglingly poor results in The Laundromat, a docudrama about the recent Panama Papers fiasco that aims to explain the global money laundering, tax evasion scandal but ends up getting mired in an unnecessarily convoluted narrative.

The film takes the shape of multiple, incoherent storylines, all revolving around the Mossack Fonseca debacle, interspersed with tongue-in-cheek commentary by the two men central to the fraudulent activities, Jürgen Mossack (portrayed by a very miscast Gary Oldman) and Ramón Fonseca (an equally unconvincing Antonio Banderas).

The primary thread follows the tale of Ellen Martin (Meryl Streep), a bereaved widow who ends up discovering a tangled mess of deceit while seeking an insurance payout after her husband’s (James Cromwell) death. But the focus doesn’t remain on Ellen’s story for too long. The film haphazardly switches from one subplot to another. Some detours – like the vignette about a coldblooded Chinese businesswoman who is willing to take extreme measures for financial gain – are interesting; others – an African billionaire who is having an affair with his daughter’s friend – less so. None of them, however, are very essential, and together they don’t yield anything substantial.

The Laundromat stumbles on for an unfocused one and a half hour running time till it arrives at a bizarre, preachy ending that is more eyeroll-worthy than compelling. Steven Soderbergh’s attempts to offset the heavy themes with some lighter humorous touches rarely work well. The handling of the subject is too convoluted for viewers who know nothing about the scandal, and not in-depth enough for those who do and want to learn more.

Even the combined talents of its (usually stellar) cast aren’t enough to save the movie from turning into an aimless slog. The Laundromat basically comes off as The Big Short gone wrong. The execution is woefully poor and the script in dire need of polishing. The film ultimately squanders a fascinating premise and leaves you very disappointed because this project could easily have been so much better.

Rating: 0 out of 5

*****

Zombieland: Double Tap

Starring: Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Abigail Breslin, Emma Stone, Rosario Dawson, Zoey Deutch, Luke Wilson, and Thomas Middleditch

Directed by: Ruben Fleischer

Ten years after our last visit to Zombieland, we return to this zany post-apocalyptic world in the much-awaited sequel Double Tap, a second helping of the action and comedy that won us over the first time around.

The film picks up a decade after the events of its predecessor, reuniting us with grumpy Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), neurotic Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), moody Wichita (Emma Stone), and rebellious Little Rock (Abigail Breslin), the makeshift family of survivors who are now expert zombie slayers. But several challenges confront our protagonists as they settle down at the White House and the strains of their situation begin to pull them in different directions. Wichita is freaked out by how serious things are getting between her and Columbus when the latter brings up the possibility of a commitment. Little Rock is upset that Tallahassee still treats her like a child and yearns the companionship of someone her own age.

The ladies take off, giving the film a chance to split the group and add some fresh blood to the mix. The standout newcomer is the ditzy Madison, a dumb blonde caricature who may not seem like the most inspired character but is played to comedic perfection by Zoey Deutch. The undead, too, have evolved, opening up the narrative for some tougher, crazier skirmishes.

The laughs arrive consistently, as the gory action and familial drama are served, once again, with a generous helping of levity and zingers. Zombieland: Double Tap is aimed squarely at the fans of its 2009 predecessor. It retains the style, tone, and wit of the original, and while the sequel isn’t exactly teeming with novel ideas, its self-awareness and humour – as well as the talent of its stellar cast – do ensure that the movie entertains viewers from start to finish.

It is, ultimately, fun to see this band of misfits back together. Zombieland: Double Tap is a solid follow-up that does it predecessor justice, thanks to its sharp script, amusing gags, and a wonderful core cast. And while it may not exactly be the most essential cinematic release of all time, it is still very likely to make you glad that it exists anyway. 

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

- By Sameen Amer

Instep, The News on Sunday - 17th November, 2019 *

Inktober (Lite) – a month of drawing (badly)

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Every October, artists around the world participate in Inktober, an annual drawing challenge that entails creating an amazing ink artwork every day of the month.

This year, I decided not to let the fact that I’m not an artist and am downright incapable of creating amazing ink artworks get in the way of participating in this challenge. Because what’s the worst that could happen? I would forever traumatize someone with my awful drawings? That’s a chance I was willing to take. You know, for art.

I’ve always loved to draw but have simply never had the time or energy to actually take on a proper art project. My life is busy, what with my daily routine of writing, taking care of my cats, eating, taking care of my cats, napping, taking care of my cats. My point is, them cats be high maintenance.

My other point is, I ain’t got no time to make awesome masterpieces.

So I decided a less fancy approach to Inktober – Inktober Lite, if you will – might be the way to go. Simple, quick drawings; no rules; all just for fun. It sounded good.

Except there was no chance I was actually going to make it past day two and a half on my own. Maybe it would be more interesting if I asked a friend to join me? So I messaged the lovely Anny – who is annoyingly good at arts and crafts – to see if she’d like to give Inktober Lite a go as well.

“Wanna?” I asked.

“Sure,” she replied.

“Woohoo!” I said.

Maybe not in those exact words, but you get the gist.

And so we set off on our month long journey. 31 days, 31 prompts, 31 drawings.

This was going to be fun. Probably.

Week 1

We began with the kind of enthusiasm that is only brought on by the start of new projects. 

We had decided that we were going to make simple pictures that didn’t take more than a few minutes to draw, and not focus on insignificant things like accuracy and precision and whether it looked like our designs had been drawn by human adults.

Skilled artists were using this exercise to create beautiful, intricate pieces that they could possibly even sell or use as a way to drum up commissions. We, on the other hand, were going to call it a win if we came up with a vague approximation of whatever it was that we were aiming to draw. 

With that lofty goal in mind, we began our Inktober adventure.

Anny chose to make a two page spread in her bullet journal, filling up the month’s calendar, one day at a time, with her drawings.

I found some loose sheets of papers and a couple of pens, and sat down to draw. And the second I picked up a pen, my cat Jolly decided to join my art endeavours by plonking herself right on top of the paper. Over the course of the month, it would become fairly obvious that no matter where she is, Jolly can almost invariably sense when I’m holding a pen and then feels like it is her duty to immediately make her way to my workspace and demand cuddles.

With Jolly by my side, I breezed through the first week of Inktobering. Me drawing, Jolly smudging what I drew, me trying to fix what Jolly had smudged, Jolly smudging my attempts at fixing her smudges. Such fun.

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The prompts may have seemed a little weird at first but they provided plenty of opportunity for creativity. And if I had more than one ideas for a prompt? No problem; I would draw both!

Things were going great. Forget a month; I could do this all year long!

Week 2

By week two, the novelty of the mission was starting to wear off, but we were still very committed to our daily doodles. But also, I was trying my best to pick simpler and simpler ideas. My drawing for “frail” is basically a single line. I wanted to draw Mushu for “dragon” but knew how long that would take so didn’t even bother to try making my favourite Mulan character.

There were no attempts at making multiple drawings for the same prompt.

Sometimes I would just do a pencil sketch and leaving the inking for the next day.

Also, I seemed to have caught a cold. I, shockingly, do not enjoy having a cold. I, even more shockingly, do not enjoy doing anything when I have a cold; just convincing myself to keep existing feels like an accomplishment.

Ok, so maybe doing a whole year of this wouldn’t have been as exciting as it had seemed at the beginning, but I could surely do this for a month, right? RIGHT?!

Week 3

By week three, I was becoming acutely aware of just how long a month is. My cold had turned into an annoying sore throat and my body seemed to be trying really, really hard to cough my lungs out. As a result, all attempts at drawing lines and circles were going very awry. Each piece was accompanied by a torrent of curses directed towards scientists who still haven’t managed to discover a cure for the common cold. Not cool, you guys. Not cool at all.

But I persevered, and finished all my drawings on time. Anny and I both did. Because we are awesome (as I’m sure you’ve already figured).

Week 4

Increasingly shocked by the fact that neither of us had given up, we made it to week four, so close to the finish line and determined to make it to the end.

Jolly, however, had other plans. Towards the end of the week, Jolly went missing. I even took out all my art supplies, because surely that was going to bring her back home, but – hard as this may be to believe – even that didn’t work. The next few days were spent searching for her; more on that at a later date, but suffice it to say, no drawings were made in the last three days of the month.

In solidarity, Anny too paused her project. We eventually resumed and completed it at the start of November. It felt great to finish the project and then look back at this fun activity we had done together.

We are very proud of – and more than a little surprised by – the fact that we made it all the way through. And we have even blessed the Internet (Instagram: sameenamer) with our awe-inspiring artwork (which is something we initially did not set out to do), so … you’re welcome, world.

Commissions are now open, obviously.

*****

Inktober

- Inktober is an annual art challenge that takes place every October.

- The challenge was created by American artist Jake Parker in 2009.

- The objective is to create a new drawing – preferably in black and white, using real ink – every day.

- The aim is to improve your drawing skills.

- An official prompt list is issued every year, specifying a different drawing prompt for each day of Inktober.

- Participants are encouraged to share their drawings and post photos of their artworks on their social media accounts with the #Inktober hashtag.

*****

Inktober tips

- Consider keeping it simple: If you’re an amazing artist who can make stunning drawings, then you are awesome and more power to you. But if you don’t fall in that category and feel a little intimidated by something like Inktober, then you might want to go with our Inktober Lite idea and keep things simple. You can still have a lot of fun making quick pieces and learn a thing or two about drawing along the way.

- Get a good pen: Using a shoddy pen is not the best idea. It will make your drawing process harder and you will probably also end up with smudges. If you’re properly invested in this challenge, then you might want to purchase Copic, Pentel, and/or Tombow pens. If you want something less pricy, then Sakura Pigma Micron pens are also a popular choice. If you’d rather go with something less fancy, then a Staedtler Triplus Fineliner will work just fine.

Getting some nice drawing paper, while you’re at it, will make your Inktober experience even smoother.

- Make sure your indoor cat stays indoors: THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT.

- Rework the mistakes: Mistakes happen. Embrace them. Try to incorporate them into your illustration. If that isn’t possible, then cover them up. Gently shade the area with a white Prismacolor Premier or Faber Castell Polychromos colour pencil. Cover up more prominent errors with correction tape. Resist the urge to start over because of small imperfections; explore different ideas instead.

- Seriously, keep that darn cat inside!

- Try a theme: Want to make things more interesting? Pick a theme. Choose a style or category or topic, and use that to guide your daily drawings. For instance, Anny embraced her inner geek and focused on her favourite movies and things; this made her choices even more creative.

Another idea is to combine prompts. Husky, enchanted, frail, swing? How about coming up with an enchanted husky or a frail swing?

- Share the experience with friends: Doing Inktober with a friend made it twice as rewarding for me. Ask your friends if they’d like to join you. See if you want to post on Instagram (or a social platform of your preference) and take a look at what other artists are creating; seek inspiration and inspire others. If you do post your drawings on social media, most people will be encouraging, but at times someone might make negative comments. Don’t let that discourage you. Ignore the negativity and keep going.

- And don’t forget to have fun!

- By Sameen Amer

Us Magazine, The News International - 15th November, 2019