Podcasts

Talking Movies: The Lost King, Gold and Minions: The Rise of Gru

Spling reviews The Lost King, Gold and Minions: The Rise of Gru 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 biographical comedy drama, a survival drama thriller and an animated action adventure.

Starting off with a film now on circuit…

THE LOST KING

An amateur historian spearheads efforts to find King Richard III’s remains and reclaim his reputation.

Director: Stephen Frears

Stars: Sally Hawkins, Harry Lloyd and Steve Coogan

The Lost King is based on a true story, exploring the real King Richard III’s legacy and history by way of a retrospective hunt for his grave. Sally Hawkins has an innate complexity, owing to the actor’s reluctance to be a star. Her casting in the role of real-life amateur historian Philippa Langley rings true, as she spreads her wings to lead a university-funded project in Leicester. Leaning on Hawkins, who doesn’t disappoint, The Lost King is a bit scattered in its pursuits. Trying to dress up a rather simple plot with a tentative character portrait, it loses focus and struggles to draw empathy or create suspense. While the news story is over a decade old, the simmering mystery still holds weight as the quiet film struggles with what you could describe as an obsessive academic adventure. To spice things up, The Lost King slips into Langley’s inner world, as the psychological drama explores her challenges of living with chronic fatigue syndrome and her encounters with a figment of Richard III. Seesawing amid the politics of a university, the fanaticism of a society and the demands of home and work life, The Lost King sways between fact, feeling and fiction. Its absurdist and light humour are appreciated as screenwriter and actor, Steve Coogan aims for a similar tone to Philomena. A soliloquy of sorts that plays like an adaptation of an essay, there’s a great deal of conjecture and navel-gazing as The Lost King wrestles between gut instinct and cerebral debate.

A satisfactory 6!

Moving on to a film now on Showmax…

GOLD

A drifter must guard a gold deposit from thieves amid harsh desert conditions.

Director: Anthony Hayes

Stars: Zac Efron, Susie Porter and Anthony Hayes

Alfonso Cuaron’s deep space masterpiece, Gravity, was originally written as a desert survival drama before being relocated to the stars. As if picking up where Cuaron left off, Hayes takes Gold to the outback of Mad Max, creating a suspenseful and isolated survivalist tale with Western vibrations. Instead of the Wild West, the story takes place in the not-too-distant future where China has become a much more dominant force. Centred on two unnamed men on their way to a compound, they literally stumble upon the largest nugget of gold ever found after their vehicle breaks down. Leaving one behind and the other to get help to excavate the fortune, the bounds of trust and “finder’s keepers” are put to the test under threat of scorpions, sunstroke and wild dogs. Efron is an actor who’s been on a continual quest to prove his mettle beyond his appearance. Having broken type with a solid turn as Ted Bundy, Gold is Efron’s chance to rely on everything but his film star looks. Sparsely scripted as one would expect with this kind of survivalist drama, it finds Efron digging deep amid the grit and heat as an enigmatic drifter. Gold has an artful eye, switching things up to present beautiful wasteland vistas and translate the emptiness of its wide open spaces. While it makes a promising start, serving as a meditation on greed, a bleak and wobbly third act undoes a lot of good work. Coming in to land, the psychological drama amplifies it into a curious and overdue dimension but this dark dreaming is subverted by subpar CGI. Designed to serve as a cautionary tale, the unfortunate resolution comes across as ham-fisted rather than haunting.

A flat 5!

And finally another film on Showmax…

MINIONS: THE RISE OF GRU

A twelve-year-old begins his quest to become the world’s greatest supervillain.

Directors: Kyle Balda, Brad Ableson and Jonathan del Val

Stars the voice talents: Steve Carell, Alan Arkin and Michelle Yeoh

Minions: The Rise of Gru does what the box says it does. As an origin story, it’s a strange brew trying to give equal weighting to Gru and his favourite three minions. Minions: The Rise of Gru plays into the trademark comedy elements of the franchise. Set in the 70s, the retro refresh is welcome as it taps into some fun trends and fashion of the times. From pet rocks and headbands to kung fu, this animated adventure keeps things light and predictably frothy, lacing the story with gags to poke fun at its assortment of oddballs. Expanding the universe back in time, there are some clever nods to other origin stories but for the most part, it’s more of the same crazy minion antics with Gru trying to maintain all due respect. Minions: The Rise of Gru is geared towards colourful and zany kids entertainment, but is breezy and silly fun for the young-at-heart too. As expected, the animated visuals are crisp and imaginative, even if the character design has some similarities with the equally wacky quiz game, Buzz. It’s more of the same but for some, the infectious nuttiness of the Minions never gets old.

A satisfactory 6!

So just to wrap up…

THE LOST KING… a solid performance, promising story and intriguing portrait is diluted by scattershot and stuffy storytelling… A satisfactory 6!

GOLD… this artful, gritty and sparse survivalist drama thriller turned meditation stumbles to a clumsy resolution… A flat 5!

MINIONS: THE RISE OF GRU… a funky refresh injects energy into this wacky more-of-the-same retro animated action adventure prequel… A satisfactory 6!

For more movie reviews and features visit splingmovies.com.

And remember, Don’t WING it, SPL!NG it!

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