In the picture: Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood

movie review

As the race for the Oscars heats up, Instep takes a look at one of the award season’s biggest contenders

Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Emile Hirsch, Margaret Qualley, Timothy Olyphant, Austin Butler, Dakota Fanning, Bruce Dern, and Al Pacino

Directed by: Quentin Tarantino

Tagline: The 9th film from Quentin Tarantino. 

Quentin Tarantino revisits Hollywood past while rewriting history in his latest project Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, a comedy drama that takes an alternative route down the Tinseltown memory lane.

The movie is built around real people and moments but focuses on two (mostly) fictional characters – actor Rick Dalton (a terrific Leonardo DiCaprio) and his long-time stunt double Cliff Booth (a standout Brad Pitt) – as they navigate their way through 1960s Hollywood.

Dalton, a veteran of Westerns, fears that his star is fading, while Booth, too, is struggling, partially because a rumour that he murdered his wife has left him unable to find work. Stuck playing the villain in episodes of television series, Dalton muses that he might be able to revive his declining acting career if he can befriend his new neighbours, actress Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie) and her husband, director Roman Polanski (Rafał Zawierucha). Booth, meanwhile, gets acquainted with a group of hippies who turn out to be the Manson Family.

Packed with a plethora of references to ‘60s Hollywood guaranteed to leave movie enthusiasts giddy, the film wonderfully captures the era of its setting and cleverly links different people before arriving at an unexpected (and divisive) ending; the last half an hour or so of this 160-minute-long tale is also its most entertaining. (To enjoy it fully though, it is essential that you have some knowledge about the setting as well as Charles Manson and Sharon Tate.)

But some of its elements and characters don’t feel entirely essential, especially those that seem to fall by the wayside as the movie passes them by. Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood presents Tarantino as a filmmaker who is passionate about his subject and has lots of interesting things to say, but instead of whittling down his ideas into a solid storyline, he enthusiastically mashes them all together. The result comes off not so much as masterful storytelling but as a series of vaguely connected scenes often left searching for a purpose. These scenes certainly are impressively made – some are even instantly iconic – but as soon as the storyline starts to meander, the more self-indulgent choices of the project start to become more apparent.

It isn’t hard to see why the film is doing so well at the awards. The acting by De Caprio and Pitt is absolutely wonderful; the latter in particular is excellent. The extended ensemble cast includes (often too brief) appearances by the likes of Bruce Dern, Al Pacino, Damian Lewis, and Timothy Olyphant as well as child actress Julia Butters who shines in her part. The ambience is spot-on. And Hollywood is quite fond of movies about itself after all. But this quirky comedy drama also feels a little uneven. Still, this imperfect Hollywood fairy tale is largely enjoyable with many memorable elements and is ultimately essential viewing for movie fans.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

- By Sameen Amer

Instep, The News on Sunday - 26th January, 2020 *

In the picture: The Informer and The Two Popes

movie reviews

The Informer doesn’t make the most of its intriguing elements; The Two Popes is fascinating despite not being rooted in reality

The Informer

Starring: Joel Kinnaman, Rosamund Pike, Common, Ana de Armas, and Clive Owen

Directed by: Andrea Di Stefano

Tagline: Choose your enemies wisely.

The Roslund/Hellström novel Three Seconds makes its way to the big screen in the form of the film The Informer, a crime thriller that may not be the smartest entry in its genre but is sporadically entertaining nonetheless. 

The protagonist is Pete Koslow (Joel Kinnaman), an ex-con who is working as an FBI informant, operating under the watch of his handler Wilcox (Rosamund Pike) and her boss Montgomery (Clive Owen). But when an undercover sting to take down a drug-peddling Polish gang goes very awry, Koslow discovers that his handlers now expect him to return to prison in order to infiltrate the mob.

With the lives of his wife (Ana de Armas) and daughter in jeopardy, Koslow must figure out how to get himself out of his dangerous predicament. His task, however, is made even harder when a cop (Common) starts looking into a murder that seemingly incriminates him as well as the betrayal of those who were meant to be helping him.

It’s a fairly intriguing plot with several interesting elements, but the storyline, unfortunately, gets more and more convoluted and implausible as the film goes along. Andrea Di Stefano does a more convincing job getting his protagonist stuck in a precarious web than he does getting him out of it. The characters – especially the gang and its boss, who come off as caricatures of bad guys – aren’t very well written. Plus, the actions and motivations of certain players aren’t always clear, and not all questions are adequately answered by the end.

The cast seems solid but their performances aren’t exactly memorable. Kinnaman is intense but perhaps not charismatic enough as the lead. Pike is serviceable if unexceptional, while Owen is stuck with an unconvincingly one-dimensional role.

There is some suspense along the way, but the story lacks the originality and ingenuity that could have made the film stand out and deliver a thrilling, gripping ride. As it is, while it may not be quite as riveting as it should be, The Informer is still watchable if you are in the mood for a mediocre crime thriller that will deliver some excitement while providing a lot of exercise for your suspension of disbelief skills.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

*****

The Two Popes

Starring: Jonathan Pryce and Anthony Hopkins 

Directed by: Fernando Meirelles

Tagline: Inspired by true events.

Before watching Fernando Meirelles’ The Two Popes, it would have been hard to imagine the leaders of the Catholic Church as compelling cinematic protagonists. Yet Meirelles has crafted a dramatic gem from this seemingly unlikely source, portraying two larger-than-life personalities through a human lens while gently reflecting on their struggle with opposing ideologies and search for common ground.

Written by Anthony McCarten as an adaptation of his own stage play, the movie hinges on the events surrounding the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI (Anthony Hopkins) and the subsequent succession of Pope Francis (Jonathan Pryce).

The focus primarily lies on Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio (Pryce), who wants to resign as the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, just as the Church is dealing with the Vatican leaks scandal. When he goes to personally deliver his resignation letter to the Pope (Hopkins), he is invited to the Pontiff’s summer residence. As the two get to know each other, they find themselves debating their different ideologies. One sees the need for change, the other sides with the importance of tradition.

The film effortlessly draws you in with its exploration of the very unusual position the men find themselves in, while humanizing what would otherwise seem like unrelatable individuals. Their simple interactions elicit warmth. Their imperfections emerge as Bergoglio grapples with his past and Benedict confesses his guilt. 

The Two Popes is a wonderful showcase of great acting (both the leads are phenomenal), brilliant casting, effective writing, and terrific cinematography. It is witty, poignant, charming, heart-warming, and very hard not to get absorbed in.

But where the project stumbles, however, is in leading with the statement that it was “inspired by true events”, insinuating that what the viewers are about to watch is historically accurate. The Two Popes may have been inspired by real people and real moments of historical significance, but, as more well-informed commentators have been pointing out, it certainly isn’t based on actual encounters or even rooted very firmly in reality. It is, after all, built upon imagined conversations between the two men and not actual documented interactions.

To appreciate The Two Popes, you have to view it as a dramatization trying to delve into deeper issues and presenting a larger debate than the characters at its core, and it is perhaps more enjoyable when you aren’t deeply invested in or connect to the subjects. Those knowledgeable about the topics are more likely to be frustrated with the movie’s handling of the people and issues the movie depicts, especially since the fictionalization isn’t entirely fair to the individuals involved.

Embrace it as historical fiction and watch it for the dexterity of filmmaking and the pure joy of witnessing two stellar performances, not for an accurate history lesson; Hollywood generally isn’t the best source for the latter anyway. You may not emerge with a better understanding of the actual popes, but you will certainly be rewarded with an absorbing, thought-provoking drama that easily ranks among the best offerings of last year.

Rating: 4 out of 5

- By Sameen Amer

Instep, The News on Sunday - 19th January, 2020 *

The Twenty Tens

cover story

One step forward, two steps back! Here’s a look at the adventures of humankind in the second decade of the twenty-first century:

Politics

Tabdeeli was in the air, but change didn’t always live up to its potential. Political movements against authoritarianism and corruption resulted in the downfall of leaders but did little to fix regional or global issues. Arab Spring turned to Arab Winter. Unrest became commonplace. Elections brought surprising people to power – a reality TV personality unexpectedly became the leader of one of the most powerful countries in the world; a former cricketer took the reins of our own democracy.

Longstanding regional conflicts remained unresolved. A referendum caused a curious amount of kerfuffle in the European Union. Whistleblowers and leaks unveiled the wrongdoings of governments, politicians, and businesses. North Korea expanded its nuclear capabilities. China rose in power and prominence, while its leader had a meltdown every time someone compared him to Winnie the Pooh.

The beast of terrorism affected almost all corners of the globe. The rise of ISIS opened a whole new can of worms, while Al Qaeda’s infamous leader met his end in a U.S. raid in Abbottabad.

Society

Socio-political polarization increased as people seemed more interested in building walls instead of bridges in the 2010s.

Few topics proved to be as divisive as illegal immigration. The migrant crisis raised concerns for those who were fleeing strife, but the way we chose to deal with the displaced didn’t always reflect positively on us as a species.

Time and again the world also got a reminder that we were failing those around us who were suffering from mental health issues. The deaths of people like Chester Bennington, Chris Cornell, Anthony Bourdain, and Robin Williams highlighted that when it comes to dealing with mental health problems, we as a society still have a long way to go. Issues related to drugs and alcohol abuse also stole the likes of Amy Winehouse, Whitney Houston, and Mac Miller from the world, as well as countless other people whose names we may not know but whose deaths were just as tragic and unnecessary. 

But don’t despair for humankind just yet, because we did make several strides in the right direction as well. We stood up against the one percent as we faced matters like economic inequality and rising inflation. We tried to improve conditions for so many groups often considered powerless. We fought for women’s rights and helped them bring down abusers. And we were blessed to have beacons of light like Abdul Sattar Edhi guiding our way. 

Technology

It was a decade defined, shaped, and reshape by technology. Tech made a huge impact on all facets of our lives. People may not have been getting smarter, but devices sure were. Smart technology – phones, tablets, watches, televisions, glasses – took over the world and changed the way we interacted with people, consumed information, and performed various everyday activities. Apple was a major player in these developments, even after the death of Steve Jobs, who was one of the main forces early on behind the popularization of smartphones and tablets.

The growing prominence of social media gave celebrities yet another way to peddle their latest products while bombarding us with selfies, and gave teenagers yet another way to develop an inferiority complex. The socials also played a role in everything from the propagation of fake news to helping socio-political movements gather momentum. Also, we always knew what everyone was having for lunch so that was super helpful.

The emergence of streaming platforms changed the way we consumed entertainment. Cord cutters said goodbye to cable and embraced streamers. Music, movies, television series … everything was available at the click of a button or touch of a screen.

Cryptocurrencies gained popularity as digital assets. Online shopping replaced many a trip to the store. Amazon became an e-commerce giant and Jeff Bezos became a bazillionaire. (Alexa, remind Bezos to treat his workers better.)

Environment

Extinctions of flora and fauna, increasing pollution, toxic smog, widespread bushfires … 2010s clearly didn’t go too well for poor old Earth. Upon realizing that we were the villains in the story of our planet, we did try to make some amends, although we could have done a lot more had we not wasted a stupid amount of time debating whether climate change was real.

Music

Who run the world? Girls, obviously. Just ask Beyoncé. Female artists ruled the decade, especially its first half, with the likes of Queen Bey (who released two universally praised albums and impressed with her historic Beychella performance) and Adele (who won acclaim with two of the decade’s best selling albums) making a sizable impact. Also, Rihanna and Katy Perry perfected the art of making chart-toppers, Taylor Swift dominated the zeitgeist with her polarizing antics, while pop newcomer Ariana Grande ended up becoming the queen of streaming.

Several lads, too, saw much success in the 2010s. Few artists could rival the popularity of the ubiquitous Drake, who became the most streamed artist of the decade. Justin Bieber and Ed Sheeran built huge fanbases, One Direction turned into a phenomenon, and Kanye West stayed in the limelight, both for his music and behaviour.

It was a decade dominated by R&B and hip hop, but the proliferation of streaming made it easy for fans of everything from indie to experimental music to discover and listen to artists of their preference. The Internet also turned tunes like ‘Gangnam Style’, ‘Despacito’, and even ‘Baby Shark’ (doo doo doo doo doo doo … and good luck getting that out of your head now!) into global hits. Also, K-pop was suddenly huge for some reason.

Here at home, recycled music was in vogue via Coke Studio while newer artists got the chance to reach an audience via online platforms.

Movies

Superheroes conquered the cinematic world as Marvel created the most successful franchise in movie history. No one could compete with the might of the Avengers who reigned supreme for the entire decade. The escapades of Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Black Widow, and co. enthralled movie enthusiasts, and Endgame, the climactic offering of the Infinity Saga, became the highest grossing film of all time, earning a mindboggling sum of over US$2.7 billion. The success of the series also helped make Samuel L. Jackson and Scarlett Johansson the highest grossing actor and actress respectively. MCU also trumped DCEU, although the latter did find success with some of its offerings.

Disney dominated the decade, making a killing at the box office with franchises like the Avengers and Star Wars, as well as a slew of adaptations, remakes, and reboots. 

3D gained popularity, as did streaming, with Netflix releasing some terrific – and some not-so-terrific – films.

Pakistani cinema also churned out a number of movies, but none gained global traction, although Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s documentary work did earn her much acclaim abroad. The most prominent local movie of the decade was Nadeem Baig’s Jawani Phir Nahi Ani 2 (2018) which broke all-time earnings records. 

Television

The Golden Age of Television was upon us, not only with the release of terrific series like the incomparable Breaking Bad and the immensely popular Game of Thrones, but with the expansion of streaming services which allowed for the creation of complex, terrific content while making entertainment available to a global audience. Hulu and Amazon Video had their share of successes, but Netflix was the undisputed king of streaming, thanks to its vast library as well as acclaimed original offerings like House of Cards, Orange is the New Black, and Stranger Things.

Pakistan’s biggest international success in television was the animated Burka Avenger, which earned a Peabody Award as well as an International Emmy nomination and was also dubbed in various languages and aired in other countries. And our TV (melo)dramas continued to resonate with the local audience.

Books

The most prominent books of the 2010s were – unsettlingly – the three Fifty Shades of Grey instalments, which proved, once and for all, that humans are a truly disturbing species. E. L. James was one of the many female authors – including Suzanne Collins, Kathryn Stockett, Paula Hawkins, Gillian Flynn, and Veronica Roth – who were responsible for some of the most-read novels of the decade.

Pakistani author Mohsin Hamid continued to be one of the most prominent novelists of the country with the publication of How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia (2013) and Exit West (2017).

While fiction still accounted for the most successful books of the last ten years, nonfiction did gain more popularity. Memoirs – like Malala Yousafzai’s I Am Malala, written with Christina Lamb, which was lauded in the West but proved more controversial back home, and Michelle Obama’s Becoming (2018) – were widely read, as were pop science books by the likes of Yuval Noah Harari and Neil deGrasse Tyson.

Sports

Several scandals hit the sporting world in the 2010s. FIFA dealt with bribery allegations. Lance Armstrong fell from grace when he was stripped of all his achievements for using performance-enhancing drugs over the course of his career. Russia was in the news an awful lot primarily for two things: election meddling and doping; so this was clearly a great decade for them.

The sporting world also saw remarkable individuals wowing us with their remarkable skills and feats. The likes of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic ruled men’s tennis; Serena Williams excelled in the women’s game. Football players like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were assets for their respective teams. And Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps just made the rest of us wonder if we are even the same species as they are, because if so, then how depressingly useless are we in comparison?

Also, lots of different countries won lots of different Olympic medals in lots of different sports. Pakistan obviously wasn’t among them. 

As we enter the next decade, here’s hoping that fidget spinners aren’t the only thing we leave behind in the 2010s, and that menaces like intolerance, violence, bigotry, and the Kardashians don’t follow us into the 2020s; we’d certainly be better off without them.

- Sameen Amer

Us Magazine, The News International - 10th January, 2020

In the picture: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and Cats

movie reviews

The Rise of Skywalker relies heavily on nostalgia; Cats is an uncanny valley monstrosity

Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker

Starring: Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Anthony Daniels, Naomi Ackie, Domhnall Gleeson, Richard E. Grant, Lupita Nyong'o, Keri Russell, Joonas Suotamo, Kelly Marie Tran, Ian McDiarmid, and Billy Dee Williams.

Directed by: J. J. Abrams

Tagline: No one’s ever really gone.

The Skywalker Saga comes to an end, nearly 42 years after it began, with the ninth and final episode in the main Star Wars series.

The Rise of Skywalker banks on franchise nostalgia for a finale designed to please fans while playing it safe and suffering, perhaps, as a consequence.

The film begins with the revelation that Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) somehow survived the events of Return of the Jedi (1983) – presumably by jumping through a convenient loophole – and has now assembled a fleet of Star Destroyers to decimate the Resistance and establish a Final Order. 

Rey (Daisy Ridley) – who has been training under the watchful eye of General Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher) – joins defected stormtrooper Finn (John Boyega) and commander Poe (Oscar Isaac) as well as Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo), BB-8, and C-3PO (Anthony Daniels), to find and stop Palpatine while continuing her tussle with Kylo Ren (Adam Driver).

Clashes ensue, in one form or another, for much of the film. But everything ends up feeling rushed, even though the movie has a nearly two and a half hour running time to handle all its storylines. There are parts that could have been written and presented more deftly, and unnecessary arcs – like C-3PO’s Sith text issues, for instance – that could have been exorcised altogether without losing anything from the story.

Also, for a film with this much action and destruction, The Rise of Skywalker is oddly vacant and short on excitement and poignancy. The climactic battle isn’t as edge-of-the-seat exciting as it should be, while the rest of the proceeds lack impact, possibly because they lack permanence; several times the film presents a touching or powerful moment, and then, a few minutes later, promptly undoes that development.

J. J. Abrams mostly chooses to bask in throwback nostalgia and brings back familiar faces without managing to do anything particularly interesting along the way. His competent but risk-averse approach keeps the film from going in an inventive direction.

There are moments that feel contrived, and the script’s sharpness is often lacking, as is character development for intriguing players like Finn who aren’t used to their full potential. Carrie Fisher’s parts – put together using unseen footage fragments – leave you wishing we could have seen the movie that would’ve been made if she had still been alive. The choice of primary antagonist also has a significant impact on the rest of the series, and not necessarily in a positive way.

That said, there is fun to be had in Episode IX, and there are many elements of this action-packed finale that fans will enjoy. But the sequel trilogy, on the whole, feels a bit mismanaged. The Rise of Skywalker ultimately leaves you with the feeling that things might have been more consistent and powerful if the three films were better planned, helmed by one filmmaker, and managed to strike a finer balance between creativity and fan service.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

*****

Cats

Starring: James Corden, Judi Dench, Jason Derulo, Idris Elba, Jennifer Hudson, Ian McKellen, Taylor Swift, Rebel Wilson, and Francesca Hayward

Directed by: Tom Hooper

Tagline: You will believe.

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s long-running stage musical Cats makes its way to the big screen in the form of a bizarrely poor film, the pure awfulness of which simply boggles the mind.

The musical basically shows anthropomorphic cats – or what are supposed to be cats but rather look like creepy pointy-eared humanoid extra-terrestrials – auditioning to be picked for the chance to … die and be reincarnated, I guess? 

The plot – or what passes for a plot here – finds the Jellicle cats tribe introducing themselves via song and dance in the annual Jellicle Ball, hoping that their leader Old Deuteronomy (Judi Dench) will choose them as the one who gets to go to Heaviside Layer and be granted a new life, while the villainous Macavity (Idris Elba) plans to kidnap the other contestants so that he can win by default.

What should be a delightfully quirky romp quickly turns into a nightmareish fever dream instead. The CGI descends to the depths of the uncanny valley. The (almost non-existent) story is as incoherent as it is bonkers. The songs are unmemorable, the dance sequences badly shot. Cats may work on stage (although based on this cinematic atrocity, it’s hard to tell why the musical has been so popular), but onscreen, the whole project feels like a giant misuse of T. S. Eliot’s whimsical poetry. 

The cast seems to comprise of actors who can’t sing and singers who can’t act. Stars are crammed into the film for no real reason (other than marketing?), including a glorified cameo by Taylor Swift (in a brief appearance as Bombalurina), who makes zero impact with a performance that would have gone unnoticed were it not for her fame. Rebel Wilson (who plays the lazy Jennyanydots) gets what is possibly the most poorly conceived sequence of the film. Judi Dench’s monologue at the end is bewildering. Meanwhile the overwrought Jennifer Hudson (who plays the ostracised Grizabella) seems to be in an entirely different movie altogether.

Tom Hopper (who previously did an uneven job with Les Misérables) has basically delivered a case study in how not to make a movie. The fact that this CGI-drenched live-action version was made altogether is baffling in itself, seeing how the material is clearly better suited for an Aristocats-style animated adaptation. And the fact that they managed to mess up literally every aspect of the project is almost intriguing.

Creepy, inconsistent, uninteresting, and (perhaps most fatally) downright boring, the Cats movie isn’t even “so bad that it’s good”; it’s just plain awful.

Rating: 0 out of 5

- By Sameen Amer

Instep, The News on Sunday - 5th January, 2020 *