Talking Movies: The Guilty, Sometimes Always Never and Attack of the Hollywood Cliches!
Spling reviews The Guilty, Sometimes Always Never and Attack of the Hollywood Cliches! as broadcast on Talking Movies, Fine Music Radio. Listen to podcast.
TRANSCRIPT
Good morning – welcome to Talking Movies, I’m Spling…
This week, we’re talking about a crime thriller drama, a comedy drama and a comedy docu-special.
Starting off with a film now on Netflix…
THE GUILTY
A demoted police officer assigned to a call dispatch desk is conflicted when he receives an emergency phone call from a kidnapped woman.
Director: Antoine Fuqua
Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Riley Keough and Peter Sarsgaard
– Jake Gyllenhaal is a fine actor who rarely disappoints, tending to headline darker films… possibly as an overflow from his days as Donnie Darko.
– Having co-starred in End of Watch and Prisoners, these performances help inform his latest role as a cop serving in the communications division of the LAPD.
– 911 recalls the dramatised TV show, hosted by William Shatner, but in The Guilty all the drama is taking place at the call centre.
– The concept may recall Halle Berry in The Call but this sharp little drama thriller is based on the Danish thriller of the same name.
– Fuqua often works with Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke, dialing back these bigger crime thrillers for something much more intimate.
– Hinging on Gyllenhaal’s performance, he weaves together emotive callers and concerned support staff to craft a real space for this over-the-phone drama.
– Using sound design that takes you places in your imagination, this tension is cleverly leveraged much like Buried did for Ryan Reynolds.
– Embedding the drama against the backdrop of runaway fires, police brutality and an edgy cop with a bad attitude, the atmospheric tension is real.
– While it may border on cloying with one caller in particular, there are enough twists-and-turns to keep the drama compelling underwritten by Gyllenhaal’s showcase performance.
– Tense overhanging themes tie this emotionally-charged thrill ride into Los Angeles and Gyllenhaal’s tormented performance keeps us on the hook.
A solid 7 on the splingometer!
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Moving on to a film on Showmax…
SOMETIMES ALWAYS NEVER
A Scrabble-obsessed father reconnects with a missing son.
Director: Carl Hunter
Stars: Bill Nighy, Sam Riley and Alice Lowe
– Bill Nighy always seems to have a card up his sleeve, making him an entertaining and quirky actor.
– Appearing in some of the strangest places, he continues this streak with Sometimes Always Never… a low-key detective drama about wordplay.
– Just like Nighy, it’s difficult to pin this oddball film down, leaning on the touching father-son dynamic from About Time and inspired by Wes Anderson’s eclectic and textured world-building.
– Set against minimalist interior backdrops that question its façade of reality, Sometimes Always Never has a delightful and whimsical sense of humour.
– From word definitions and Scrabble strategy to wry family comedy drama, it’s a strange fish of a movie.
– Gentle, unpredictable, intelligent and dry, it attempts to capture Nighy’s essence through the lens of Wes Anderson’s visual quirk.
– Unfortunately, this inspiration isn’t completely fulfilled with the unconventional film’s aesthetic coming up a bit short.
– It takes quite a few minutes to adjust to Hunter’s style of storytelling and while laugh-out-loud funny at times, can also be aloof and uninvolving.
A satisfactory 6 on the splingometer!
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And finally a comedy docu-special…
ATTACK OF THE HOLLYWOOD CLICHES!
Director: Sean Doherty, Ricky Kelehar and Alice Mathias
Hosted by Rob Lowe and features Andie MacDowell, Florence Pugh and Jonathan Ross
– Hollywood has been around for over a hundred years, bringing dreams to screen using a filmic language and montage that takes some getting used to.
– During that course, the industry has developed a number of affectations from storytelling devices from the laughable to insidious.
– Attack of the Hollywood Clichés takes a tongue-in-cheek look at the clichés that linger on today, many of which you already know.
– From the meet-cute interlude of romance where couples inadvertently bump heads and stereotypical characters to riding into the sunset, this comedy special takes a broad overview with a multitude of film critics, actors and executives weighing in with snippets of examples from classics to modern films where these persist.
– Covering the clichés and how some have actually turned into inside jokes, the handsome Rob Lowe who is probably guilty of most of them, presents the show with a cheesy swagger.
– Aiming for entertainment, it also tips into infotainment, educating viewers with its sprawling list of Hollywood clichés.
– While there’s a fun energy at play and some wonderful insights, the comedy is hit-and-miss with the stellar interviewees there to raise its profile.
– There’s something fun about Richard E. Grant talking us through some of his biggest clichés, something that probably would’ve been better served with more focus.
– As it stands, the presentation is quick-paced, laden with interviewees, fun scenes, snarky comments and cheesy jokes but does make a fascinating and thought-provoking expedition beyond the celluloid to offer up the best and worst of Hollywood.
A satisfactory 6 on the splingometer!
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So just to wrap up…
THE GUILTY… a strong lead performance, great atmosphere and a bold concept compel this stoic remake… A solid 7!
SOMETIMES ALWAYS NEVER… an amusing, quirky and gentle comedy drama with good performances… A satisfactory 6!
ATTACK OF THE HOLLYWOOD CLICHES!… while a bit hit-and-miss, this cheesy special remains upbeat and infotaining… A satisfactory 6!
For more movie reviews, previous Talking Movies podcasts and upcoming Bingeing with Spling watch parties visit splingmovies.com.
And remember, Don’t WING it, SPL!NG it!
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