Set in the depression and prohibition era of the 1920’s and 1930’s, Joe Coughlin (Ben Affleck) is the son of Boston police Captain Thomas Coughlin (Brendan Gleeson) but rather than follow in his fathers footsteps Joe prefers the other side of the tracks and runs with criminals and women much to his fathers chagrin.

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His main squeeze is Emma Gould (Sienna Millar) but she is already taken by local big wig Albert White (Robert Glenister) so their liaisons are all done in secret. When this doomed relationship ends poorly, leading to Joe spending time behind bars, he is forced to ditch his lone wolf stance and head to Tampa to work for the Italian mob boss Maso Pescatore, where he finds his fortunes improve dramatically as he moves up the food chain to eventually run most of the Florida area, thanks in no small part to his befriending of the immigrant Caribbean population to corner the rum distribution market. He is ably assisted through all this by this loyal friend Dion Bartolo (Chris Messina) and local Chief of police Irving Figgis (Chris Cooper) but inevitably getting to the top of the ladder means there are those beneath you who want a shot at top spot and Joe has to take extreme measures to stay in command especially when the local chapter of the KKK decides that they want a piece of the pie, leading to Joe becoming more weary of his lifestyle and deciding he wants to find a life for himself away from it all with his new love Graciella Corrales (Zoe Saldada) but letting go proves much more difficult then Joe expects.

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Taking aside Affleck’s acting career, I actually like him as an actor but I understand those who find him a bit wooden, it’s hard to find fault with his performance behind the camera, with, in particular, The Town and Gone Girl being great examples of good film making and this movie is no different. It is a very well made, well shot film with some very good action scenes interspersed through it, but this is, by far, the weakest of his movies as a whole package. Where the was good tension and intrigue in his previous efforts this movie seemed dull, the pacing was poor and the plot seemed very weak. It starts well enough and the Boston scenes are good, setting the movie up very well but once the action moves to Tampa it drags terribly before redeeming itself a bit in the last third or so.

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Taking a few dodgy Irish accents out of the ring, there’s nothing wrong with the acting, everyone does well with what they are given, in particular Cooper and Messina are excellent but there seems to be a bit of a discord between the plot threads leaving the interactions between some characters seem like they are not genuine which takes you out of the moment. In particular there is a story line around Coopers daughter Loretta Figgis (Elle Fanning) which could have been a really good plot point but for me it was handled very poorly leaving it feeling out of context for how the rest of the movie flows.

There was a big smell of Oscar bait off on screen and that seemed to take some of the potential shine away from the story which is disappointing as it ends us as a mediocre gangster film with very little we haven’t seen before.

DJ Speaks Rating: 5 Out Of 10

©Darren Jones 2016

With his background in the fashion industry you can be guaranteed that you are going to get a beautifully shot movie with Tom Ford behind the camera and this is no exception. Amy Adams plays Susan Morrow, a Los Angeles art gallery owner who seems to have it all but her relationship with her husband Hutton (Armie Hammer) is not so rosy as it looks on the outside. It seems that their financial situation is not as grand as the lifestyle they are living. This shows us the other side of Susan, trouble trying to get a good nights sleep, with self doubts over her talent, her husbands fidelity and the friends she has showing us quite a disturbing picture of a woman on the edge.

When she unexpectedly receives a copy of a new novel from her ex husband Edward Sheffield (Jake Gyllenhaal) she is both shocked and intrigued, especially when she see the title is Nocturnal Animals, a nickname he used to call her. Her curiosity gets the better of her so she begins to read the tale and gets drawn into the memories of her former life and almost welcomes it as a form of escapism.

Told in an overlapping style from the real world, where Susan tries to get on with her life despite being so seemingly unhappy, to the story contained within the book where Jake Gyllenhaal plays Tony Hastings who along with his wife Laura (Isla Fisher) and daughter India (Ellie Bamber) are on a road trip when they are run off road by a group of men lead by Ray Marcus (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and when his wife and daughter are kidnapped her turn to the police for assistance. This brings Bobby Andes (Michael Shannon) onto the case and together the two men must track down Tony’s family and bring justice to the men involved, to Susan’s reminiscing of her younger, seemingly happier years.

The movie features, arguably, the most on point acting of a cast in any movie this year, Adams was superb (but not quite as engaging as her role in Arrival) as Susan, Taylor-Johnson was almost unrecognisable as the slimy gang leader, Gyllenhall gave his usual high standard performance as the father who turns from meek to marauder in search of his family and above all Shannon was absolutely superb, and should get a best supporting actor nomination, as the lawman with nothing to lose.

It’s the kind of movie that people will view differently despite watching the same thing as the whole movie is very open to interpretation. For me, the juxtaposition of the three threads is fantastic, jumping from the gritty, raw, desert setting of the book to the upper class circles Susan lives her life and then to the early days of their relationship when both were happy, at least to begin with, which gives a real feel of just how different Susan and Edward were. Also the cleverness of how the book becomes a non literal allegory for how Edward viewed his relationship with Susan leading up to the events which eventually drove them apart was fantastic movie making and Ford deserves credit for how he pulls you in to the story.

A cleverly built film where the jumps from the visualisation of the novel on screen, to Susan’s present life and back to her past could have been confusing but instead controls the tempo of the film so it never becomes one paced and just as you begin to get sucked into one part of the tale it switches back, keeping you on your toes at all times. With a couple of nods to a David Lynch style film, some very disturbing moments mixed up with a reality that feel dream like, a triple overlapping narrative, some great use of metaphor and eerie artwork to enhance the surrealism of the situation I can see this one developing a cult status in years to come. Best watched with as little knowledge of the plot as possible, it’s going to be a case of you making your own mind up on this one, crass or classy? I’m leaning towards the latter.

DJ Speaks Rating: 7 Out Of 10

© Darren Jones 2017

In a year of disappointing blockbuster movies, yes I’m pointing at you Ghostbusters and Independence Day, mixed levels of superhero movie quality across the board and the resurgence of the horror film genre, 2016 was a year where the better movies were not the ones with huge budgets and massive media campaigns. So with that in mind, in no particular order, here are my top 5 movies of 2016.

Criminally ignored by the general movie going audience, a throw back to the classic buddy cop films with  great performances from both Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe as two private investigators with demeanour as polar opposite as can be, investigating the disappearance of a girl and the death of a porn star set against a 1970’s back drop. Comedic and entertaining in equal measure with some great over the top violence, Shane Black adds to his impressive resume with this effort.

A young boy struggling with family life in 1980’s Dublin starts a band to impress a girl. Sounds simple? It is, but John Carney makes it so much more, as it becomes a coming of age tale John Hughes would be proud of, a tale of brotherly love beating adversity with hints to ‘sticking it to the man’. Set against a back drop from my childhood and a soundtrack you will not beat, which is unfortunately likely to be ignored at the Oscars, this is a feel good film everyone will enjoy.

This is the one that most people will question but this is an underplayed movie which keeps you guessing right the way until the last few scenes. Jeff Nichols does a fantastic job of disclosing the truth behind who this child may be one step at a time, gradually revealing the motivations behind all the players without ever slowing the film down and adding twist after twist to keep you on your toes. It wont be for everybody but it’s very clever film making at its best.

Take a classic cowboy movie and transport it into modern day, you get Hell Or High Water. Two bank robbing brothers are carrying out scores on local banks pursued by a grizzled old sheriff who has one last case to close before he retires but don’t think that’s all the movie is as there’s much more to this tale. Beautifully shot and fantastically acted (I’ll be very surprised if both Jeff Bridges and Ben Foster are not nominated for this) it may be a modern setting but pays homage to its roots and when the truth behind the brothers motivations is revealed the lines between good and bad become blurred, while hitting a nerve topically in this era of depression and homelessness.

As if it wasn’t already apparent from his earlier movies Prisoners and Sicario, Denis Villeneuve has shown himself to be a master behind the camera in this tale of first contact where Amy Adams is an expert linguist who must battle against time to decipher the message brought by the beings who have landed at 12 separate locations across the globe with the threat of all out war looming the longer the intentions of the visitors remains unknown. Visually stunning and with a superb performance by Amy Adams, Arrival will draw you into the mystery and intrigue of the tale before blind siding you with a twist which changes the whole concept of the film. Absolute class.