Amy Adams is Louise Banks, an expert linguist, who is recruited by the army, and in particular Colonel Weber (Forest Whittaker) to try and decipher what is believed to be a communication attempt by the unknown beings who have landed at 12 separate points across the globe for a yet to be determined purpose. She is teamed with physician Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner) so between them they must decipher what the aliens are trying to say before time runs out, as tension rises across the planet since the world remains unsure if the visitors are friend or foe.

The acting is spot on all round, particularly from Adams, and the chemistry between herself and Renner is a key selling point of the film as this is a character piece rather than an action movie. There are no right or wrong actions as the situation is unique, there are no good or bad guys, it’s the tale of how humanity deals with the quandary it faces with individuals acting in what they see to be the best way. The gradual heightening threat of conflict is done in a way which is reminiscent of the best of the Cold War or Cuban Missile Crisis themed movies.

With some great use of camera angles and spectacular visuals the cinematography is of the highest standards. The superb score from Jóhann Jóhannsson adds to the suspense and drama on queue, as required. For the most part the plot is very plausible which gives the whole movie an air of believably often missing in science fiction movies and this only heightens the intrigue.

First contact movies have a strange way of dividing the viewing public with even the great Stephen Spielberg’s Close Encounters still swaying opinion today. There may just be another to add to the list here as director Denis Villeneuve has developed a very cleverly layered story which asks the viewer to immerse themselves in the building drama and brings a number of unexpected twists before reaching its conclusion.

While the slow burning plot may be a little dull for some the pay off is well worth the investment if you are engaged in the film however, if you switch off halfway through or if science fiction is not your thing then you may just find the unravelling climax a bit too much to swallow. I can highly recommend checking this movie out though as, in my opinion, it is one of the best films of the year.

DJ Speaks Rating: 8 Out Of 10

 © Darren Jones 2016

Kicking off with a bank robbery Hell Or High Water grabs you from the off and rarely lets go through the whole running time. Toby Howard (Chris Pine) is a divorced father who lives on his deceased mothers farm and rarely sees his ex-wife or kids and we see him engaged in the robbery with his ex-con brother Tanner (Ben Foster) as they make off with a small amount of cash in what, on the outside, seems to be a carefully planned heist. Over the next few days we see the brothers carry out a few more robberies with the same M.O but sometimes the facade drops and we realise that, while clever, these guys may not be the professionals we first thought. But there is more to these robberies than greed as there is a genuine purpose for what they are doing so there becomes a Robin Hood like feel to their actions. In the meantime a soon to retire Texas ranger Marcus Hamilton (Jeff Bridges) and his partner Alberto Parker (Gil Birmingham) are given what looks like a cut and dry bank robbery to investigate but it soon becomes much more than that and their chase takes on a whole different vibe as with Bridges closing in on them the brothers must change their game plan as run their operation at a mush higher degree of risk as their window of opportunity is closing fast.

This description may make it sound like a been there, done that film as the concept is not new but the style, tone, dialogue and acting in this movie take this to another level. It’s a slow burn film, the tension is always there but it starts small and gradually building into a climactic crescendo before dropping again at the very end without ever leaving the screen. With script from Taylor Sheridan who also wrote the excellent Sciario I had high expectations and I was not let down, there are only a few action packed moments yet I was never bored as the setting is superb with the towns in ruin, the signs of foreclosure and sale of properties and the general depressing feeling hitting home and I almost felt the heat and dirt coming off screen, so credit must go to Scottish director David MacKenzie for his portrayal of a dying area with people trying to keep the wolves from the door by any means possible.

The casting was near perfect, there were moments that there was nothing being said on screen but the facial expressions of the four leads were enough and told us as much as any words could, the dialogue was superb and realistic. Humorous to relieve some of the tension without ever eliminating it. While it’s possibly the best performance I’ve seen from Chris Pine and if this is a sign of things to come from him then I’ll be looking forward to it, if Ben Forster and Jeff Bridges are not in the running for the Oscars then there is no justice. Foster has always been a good actor but he absolutely absorbs you into his character this time as the less moralistic of the brothers who will do anything to atone for his guilt over not being there for his family and you can feel his internal pain without him ever mentioning it while Bridges gives a smashing performance as the grizzled old, tenacious ranger who just cannot let the case go even when it is getting the better of him often to the detriment of those around him, especially his partner who pretends that he hates being around him but you just know will miss him once he retires. He doesn’t want to retire the job is his life and he’s not going to let his last case be the one that got away.

The conversations between the partnerships, and when it occurs the interaction between the characters on either side of the fence, felt real so you believed that Pine and Foster were brothers and Bridges and Birmingham had been working together for years. So it is these two partnerships which keep the whole movie balanced and leave you conflicted as, while the bothers are criminals and should be punished, you are rooting for them to success given their purpose and goal which I find very rare in a movie.

I don’t want to give too much away or put this movie on too high a pedestal but I haven’t enjoyed a film this much in a long time and, along with Midnight Special and Sing Street it is in the top three movies of the year for me but this possible edges it. In a year full of promise for movies where we have had so many letdowns do yourself a favour and see this as soon as you can before word of mouth ruins some of the surprise moments as I believe it’s one of the best you will see for a while and as a pretty harsh critic that is high praise indeed.

DJ Speaks Rating: 8 Out of 10

Midnight Special is one of a dying breed of movies in so far as it sets up a plot but does not fill the dialogue with exposition, there are no voice overs and it respects the intelligence of the viewer and let’s you make up your own mind as to what is occurring with only small snippets of hints towards the developing plot at the end of which, again you are not spoon fed an ending, it’s up to you to decide how you take it.

The movie starts in a hotel room with Roy (Michael Shannon) & Lucas (Joel Egerton) watching a news report of a developing manhunt for a missing child. We are then shown Alton (Jaeden Lieberher) who is in the room with them and it is soon apparent that these are the men at the center of the manhunt. There is also a religious group who are speaking about the abduction of the child as the FBI arrive to search their compound so it becomes apparent that there is more to this story than just a simple kidnapping. That’s all you get and it’s enough to peak your interest and pull you in.

Director Jeff Nichols expertly leads you along answering the questions that are building in your head but raising new ones all the time to keep you on your toes. The moments of silence are perfectly placed as they allow you gather your thoughts before the next sequence begins and there is so much in the tone of the movie with threads of faith, loyalty and sacrifice which he handles superbly. The main cast of Egerton, Lieberher, Kirsten Dunst, Adam Driver and in particular Shannon all add to the tale with a believable genuinely that makes this feel less like a movie and more of an event and what could have been a run of the mill film in lesser hands has been turned into a classic sci-fi/thriller with echoes of the classics of the late 1970’s and early 1980’s era.

I recommend that you see this as soon as possible with as little knowledge of the movie so that you can enjoy what is sure to become one of the most memorable, and for my worth, best movies of recent years.

DJ Speaks Rating: 8 Out Of 10

I absolutely loved both Memento and Inception so I had high hopes for this movie from director Christopher Nolan as he is one of the few directors in this day and age of Superhero blockbusters, cash grab movie sequels and straight to TV series, that brings something unique to most of his movies and tries to make films the spectacle that they should be.

It’s difficult to give too much detail about this film without potentially ruining the movie so the short version is that Joseph Cooper (superbly played by Matthew McConaughey) is a, widowed, ex NASA astronaut who now is a crop farmer but thanks to an aggressive blight mankind is on the brink of extension as earth slowly decays into an inhospitable planet. Cooper and his daughter discover a binary message which leads them to a secret NASA facility. They soon learn that NASA have sent twelve missions through a wormhole they discovered however these were one way missions and with one last throw of the dice NASA are planning a launch with the intent of having two options. Either to work out how to harness gravity into a propulsion system which will make space travel a realistic option for the remainder of the survivors on earth or else locate one of the missions that report potential favourable conditions and use the 5,000 embryos the ship will carry to start humankind again so Cooper signs up for the sake of saving his family. While this may not sound like anything other than a standard space movie it’s done so well that the emotional drama is intense and the themes of love and loss are as much to the fore and have as much of an impact on the characters and their decision making as the main storyline so despite the flashbacks and inevitable twists and turns which occur it never takes you out of the moment and you can’t help keep on rooting for Cooper and his crew through each step.

Some of the camera work and use of miniatures to portray space is bordering on Stanley Kubrik’s 2001 level and Hans Zimmers superb score add all the right emotions on key but the real brilliance in the movie is the script particularly the use of relativity, dimensions and the space/time continuum where minutes on a planet can mean hours back on their ship which in turn could mean months in earth time so each step and each action has impact which keeps the tension high at all times even through the mundane and tedious day to day tasks the astronauts need to carry out as each wasted moment, minor issue or even discussion brings earth closer to doom.

Even though the movie is almost three hours long it doesn’t feel it and Nolan has created a masterpiece which will stay with you long after you have finished watching the movie. This is a classic which will still be spoken about in years to come and is a must for any movie lover and it’s one I’m going to watch again to really appreciate what is one of the best movies I have seen in the last number of years.

DJ Speaks Rating: 8 out of 10

 

Steven Spielberg paints a great picture of Cold War times in this political tale based around the capture of two spies on either side of the political fence the Soviet, Rudolph Abel (brilliantly portrayed by Mark Rylance) and American Gary Powers.

Tom Hanks is another of those actors who rarely will turn in a poor performance, he is brilliant here and he must have been close to getting an Oscar nomination, as he plays insurance lawyer Jim Donovan with so believably. He’s a family man who stands firmly behind the American way of life but is also a man of principal so when he is asked to put up a defence for the Soviet spy, purely for the PR circus event of giving the spy due process in the American justice system, he understands the pressure and danger, this may put him and his family in, but feels duty bound to carry out this task. As with other Spielberg movies such as Lincoln & Schindler’s list, Hanks portrays a character who goes above and beyond what is expected from him and, while he has no experience in the world of espionage he is clever enough to know how to manipulate the system to ensure Abel faces a prison term instead of a death sentence and again when he arrives in the Eastern block he is street smart enough to match the game playing and subterfuge he faces.

Credit must go to Spielberg for creating another outstanding piece of film, with the feel and style of a classic Cold War thriller, without ever becoming tedious. Some of the scenes are so clever, such as in the opening part where is shows Abel painting a picture of himself which subtly gives us a glimpse into this mans duality and the double life he plays. The sets are fantastic and every details has the right look for the era, the tone and atmosphere he sets of behind the Berlin Wall is excellent without ever making the movie feel like a period drama. The balance he brings between Hanks’ home life and his work activities feel like the lawyer is playing an espionage game of his own given how he cannot divulge most of the information about his case to his family leading to clandestine trips abroad where he has to lie to the people he loves about his actions and through Hanks’ active you can feel the hurt this causes him but again being a man of honour he realises that he must do this for the greater good.

Even if this type of movie does not fit with your usual viewing material I would highly recommend you give it a go, it’s a slow burner but I think this will become a classic Hollywood movie and a must watch for any movie lover.

DJ Speaks Rating: 8 out of 10