Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are

The first stand-alone film in the Star Wars universe, Rogue One bridges the gap between episodes 3 (2005's Revenge of the Sith) and 4 (the original 1977 motion picture); it is also a movie that lives in the grey zone more than any other in the operatic space saga – depicting the complexity of the actions executed by the Rebel forces that are our protagonists. What we see is a complicated universe filled with spies, traitors and extremists – a place where no decision is an easy one. Our lead character, Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones), is a perfect example of this, for when she was young, her father, Galen (Mads Mikkelsen), a weapons developer, was forcibly taken by Imperial baddie Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn) to finish work on the Death Star (the planet killer from A New Hope). This leaves the impressionable girl in the hands of a radical, ultra dangerous Rebel fighter by the name of Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker), who deserts her at the age of sixteen.

Juxtaposing the horrors of war around a message of peace, Mel Gibson’s 2016 offering, Hacksaw Ridge, is a rivetting piece of film making, capturing a touching love story, a complex family dynamic and harrowing battle sequences, giving us a rich, multi-faceted tapestry. Providing us with an effective window into the upbringing of our main character, Desmond Doss (Andrew Garfield), Gibson is easily able to make us bond with our lead. Each aspect of the first third of the movie, where we see this boy grow into a young adult, is perfectly chosen, as it renders us with a vision of exactly who he is as a human being. Son to a kind mother, Bertha (Rachel Griffiths), and a complicated, abusive father, Tom (Hugo Weaving), who is struggling with demons from his time spent in the military during World War I, he also has a brother nicknamed Hal (Nathaniel Buzolic). Nearly killing his brother after a tussle at a young age, Desmond becomes focussed on the Sixth Commandment: thou shalt not kill.

With Jack Reacher: Never Go Back opening today, I thought this would be the perfect time to reflect on the original 2012 film. I am sure that most of you have heard the controversy revolving around it, with ardent fans of Lee Child’s ‘Jack Reacher’ novels being discouraged by the casting of Tom Cruise in the leading role. Much like an overzealous carny following the stringent rules and regulations of height restrictions on rides, book lovers were uninspired by the selection of the action superstar, as his five foot seven inch frame did not fit with the character’s description – at a gargantuan six foot five inches tall.

It is rare that a sequel can match the quality of the first motion picture. Whether it is an effort to outdo the original, or simply an attempt to cash in on the popularity of the primary offering, it usually comes off as less original, with the story feeling lackluster – often blandly regurgitated. Yet, one film that is able to match its predecessor is James Wan’s 2016 horror flick The Conjuring 2. Written once again by Carey and Chad Hayes, along with director Wan and David Leslie Johnson, the story picks up with the spectre-hunting married couple, Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga) dealing with their most famous case, the Amityville house. Lorraine sensed a horrible presence in that home, with the ominous figure resembling some sort of demonic nun. During this vision, she witnesses the death of her husband at the hands of the spook.

Set within the decaying, abandoned neighbourhoods of Detroit, Fede Alvarez’s Don’t Breathe goes deeper by examining the decline of both family values and traditional American ideals. Following a gang of young hoodlums, at first glance they seem to be nothing but lowlife thugs. Yet, Alvarez provides enough of a back story for us to know that the female of the group, Rocky (Jane Levy – Frank and Cindy), is trapped in a single parent home with a mother (and her boyfriend) that is less than motherly. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, she is more of a mom to her little sister Diddy (the wide eyed Emma Bercovici) than the drug-addled, slovenly matriarch of the ‘family’.