BAD MOMS (2016)

"Amy (Mila Kunis) has a great husband, overachieving children, beautiful home and successful career. Unfortunately, she's also overworked, exhausted and ready to snap. Fed up, she joins forces with two other stressed-out mothers (Kristen Bell, Kathryn Hahn) to get away from daily life and conventional responsibilities. As the gals go wild with their newfound freedom, they set themselves up for the ultimate showdown with PTA queen bee Gwendolyn and her clique of seemingly perfect moms."

This is one of those films that I was a little apprehensive about. On the one hand, I love Mila Kunis (she is probably one of my top actresses, up there with Kate Beckinsale), Kristen Bell (I really miss Veronica Mars, adorable!), and Christina Applegate (who doesn't love Anchorman?!). But on the other hand, a near enough 100% female cast, combined with comedy...well I've been less than impressed with past attempts at female comedy films (not to mention, the title of the film tends to make me think it's not really targeted at males, which is the gender that I am a part of).

I don't know why I don't generally enjoy female comedy. Maybe it's too on the nose, maybe the topics are things that I don't normally joke about, maybe I'm sexist (I'm just saying. I don't want to be, but I'm pretty sure the world affects what I consider humorous, so there is a chance that I subconsciously won't give it an honest chance). But before I get into the review, I will give you two disclaimers; 1) I really love Mila Kunis at the moment. I have a hell of a crush on her, and I could probably watch her shovel an offal pit and find it entertaining. 2) I was watching this film with the flatmates over a few beers and ended up about 6 beers deep by the end of the film, so there is a chance that I may not be as critical as I would otherwise be.

Anyways, on with the review. I was honestly surprised by this film. It started off slow, and followed the usual tropes that I would expect of a "chick flick" genre of film. It felt manufactured, and the cast didn't quite gel as well as I wanted; none of it really felt genuine. Almost like a poorly directed episode of desperate housewives. But once the overall introduction and internal narrative were finished (while she is incredibly attractive, Mila Kunis' narrative voice does leave a lot to be desired) the film changed for me. It changed from being a sappy, whiny, complaining film, and the protagonist's behaviour fell more in line with something that I could empathise with; an overworked human being, underappreciated in employment and with family, who ends up under extreme pressure from the stress.

So from that point on I was emotionally invested in the protagonist and relished in seeing how she coped with the stresses and overcame the events and obstacles in her path. While a female-oriented film, I found the comedy to cater more towards a male audience (be prepared for a multitude of jokes and inaccurate information regarding perceptions around male genitalia, including some rather interesting interpretations on dealing with uncircumcised...well if you don't know what I am speaking of, then you are too young to understand).

Halfway through the film, there was a slight change in the direction of the plot. It again started to follow the generic formula for a chick flick, and I started to lose interest, but within 20 minutes or so, the direction meandered back onto a path that I enjoyed following and empathised with more. The film gave me many "laugh out loud" moments, many "face-palms", and many cries of frustration. I was truly invested, and wanted to see it through to the end. Mila Kunis was really the only member of the cast that properly sold the performance however. Kristen Bell and Kathryn Hahn were both enjoyable, and provided a source of laughs, but never truly came across as authentic. Christina Applegate, never came across as genuine either, but provided a good antagonist, whose successes fueled my investment in the protagonist's goals.

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the film. It felt like the humour that I was used to, despite it being provided by the female sex; which was a refreshing and enjoyable experience. But I did feel it was a little too disproportionate in the equality, in my opinion. I don't know whether it was a deliberate decision, or whether that is just how things work in the United States, but I was shocked to see so little representation of males at the Parent Teacher Association meetings. I myself would like to think I would take an interest in my child's educational experience (if I had a child), so it was odd to see little to no males involved in many of the PTA scenes. The film was still enjoyable despite this, but it was something that I did observe and take note of during the film.

The end credits scenes themselves are hilarious. I missed maybe 40% of the scenes during the credits because I was on the floor laughing too loudly about the discussions between the actresses and their real-life mothers (I laughed the loudest during one anecdote featuring Al Pacino). Overall, it ticked enough boxes to be something that I would see again. There was enough innuendo and jokes for me to have missed a few; enough for me to enjoy it and see something new next time I watch it.

Originally posted to: http://djin.nz/Kr7409

SUICIDE SQUAD (2016)

"Figuring they're all expendable, a U.S. intelligence officer decides to assemble a team of dangerous, incarcerated supervillains for a top-secret mission. Now armed with government weapons, Deadshot (Will Smith), Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Captain Boomerang, Killer Croc and other despicable inmates must learn to work together. Dubbed Task Force X, the criminals unite to battle a mysterious and powerful entity, while the diabolical Joker (Jared Leto) launches an evil agenda of his own."

I love my superhero movies, so anything DC or Marvel related is something I look forward to with bated breath. DC hasn't really had the greatest track record as of late, but the trailers had me thinking this film would be an action-packed, comedy filled extravaganza.

The soundtrack is both appealing and unappealing. I'm a bit of a rocker, so to have the movie open with The Animals 'House of the Rising Sun', feels like a great start. I love having my chosen genre of music put into a mainstream film like this seems ideal, but it really didn't fit in. Despite the film playing hits from the likes of Queen, Black Sabbath, The Rolling Stones, and AC/DC ('Bohemian Rhapsody', 'Paranoid', 'Sympathy for the Devil', Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap', respectively). The soundtrack felt separated from the movie, and in many cases was a distraction from what was going on in the plot.

The first bits of the movie serves as an introduction to the villains. This was a part that I quite liked. It is something that is done in the comic books because the actual members of the Suicide Squad change so frequently (in the comics, Suicide Squad missions are actually suicide missions, so many villains don't survive long). While good to get to know the characters, it was easy to see which characters they were really pushing; Harley Quinn received an extensive introduction, including multiple flashbacks and scenes, whereas the rest of the team receive very short introductions if any at all.

The whole premise of the film is quite odd in that it undermines itself, selling itself as a team of "meta-humans" to battle other meta-humans, despite the initial team of 9 Suicide Members was comprised of 6 humans, with no superpowers. So I was rather confused as to why they picked the characters for this film as they did (unless they were looking purely at future spin-offs and sequels). Casting-wise however, I feel they were largely on the dot. Margot Robbie does a brilliant job demonstrating the energy, enthusiasm, and mental instability of Harley Quinn. Will Smith's rendition of Deadshot, while unexpected, was great. He provided the professionalism that the character required while also being a source of humility, compassion, and even having a sense of humour to lighten the mood in otherwise tense situations. Even Jai Courtney was an engaging Captain Boomerang.

Cara Delevingne, however, left a lot to be desired. Her interpretation of Enchantress felt weak and was irritatingly portrayed (constantly wiggling and waving like she is having a seizure of some sort). Jared Leto's Joker was, while not horrible, it was unnecessary. Looking at the film as a whole, his presence had no effect on the plot, and if anything, it prevented the main plot from being able to properly develop. In terms of the plot, there really isn't any sign of a strong one. It takes a good 45 minutes just to create the team, which means you only have an hour left to create a dangerous situation, send in the team, and resolve the situation. So after the build-up, it never really had a chance to build tension properly. No real chance for the team dynamics to develop, alliances and internal dissension to develop etc.

The villain's minions are strange CGI monstrosities, with no real introduction, and no real explanation. In fact, the villains themselves have no real motivation and direction. So there is never a real threat. Inconsistent effects of damage and injury also make it harder to follow. There really are so many plot holes and nit-picking aspects that I could easily write 4000 words just on the negative aspects (Don't get me started on the writers' apparent hatred of helicopters). But the reality is that I still enjoyed the film. I enjoyed it more than the theatrical release of Batman v Superman. It's a Saturday night popcorn flick by definition. You'll enjoy it. It has action, and it has comedy, but there is nothing else to it. No substance.

If you know nothing about the history of the Suicide Squad in the comics, and just want a no-brainer film where you can switch off and stop thinking, then you will very much enjoy it.

Originally posted to: http://djin.nz/Kr7408

MOANA (2016)

"An adventurous teenager sails out on a daring mission to save her people. During her journey, Moana meets the once-mighty demigod Maui, who guides her in her quest to become a master way-finder. Together they sail across the open ocean on an action-packed voyage, encountering enormous monsters and impossible odds. Along the way, Moana fulfils the ancient quest of her ancestors and discovers the one thing she always sought: her own identity."

Moana is a film, that I was unsure of what to expect. Creating children's films with female leads is becoming more common, but sometimes you find that despite them being the "focus" of the film, they aren't really the focus, and instead fulfil the same tropes as in the past; the skinny, beautiful white girl that exists as a romantic interest with no bearing on the plot. So seeing a movie named "Moana", where the story looks based around a male character "Maui" (voiced by none other than Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson), I was fearful that this would be a failed attempt at bringing some equality to their movies. But I needn't have worried. Right from the opening scenes, we see that everything revolves around the title character, and in fact, there are no romantic interests introduced in this film at all. 

The film begins on the fictional Polynesian island of Motunui (in the real world, Polynesia encompasses around 1000 islands within a triangle that has New Zealand, Hawaii, and the Easter Island as its corners), and does well to provide a brief introduction to the history and culture of the Polynesian islands. It delves into such things as community positions and roles, elders and story-telling, migratory tendencies, and the tattoos role in the culture. 

Working our way through Moana's childhood, we skip forward to a time when she must make a decision whether to follow the wishes of her father or those of her grandmother. Now I've mentioned in other Disney reviews how there are so few films that have whole families. There is always a loss somewhere, but this movie deals with it well, weaving in the cultural beliefs of the afterlife into the plot of the film, with characters still able to affect the decisions of the protagonist (so good job to the writers there). The film is reasonably serious. There are a lot of dangerous situations, but they are approached in a light-hearted way that doesn't detract from the message in any way. Moana's animal companions provide a great source of hilarity, (Heihei the rooster is great, even if a little comparable in the role to that of Scrat in the Ice Age franchise). The plot has a weight to it, that is crushing insignificance, and while there are successes along the way, there are many failures, that keep you guessing as to the direction that it will go.

One of the aspects that I loved the most, was the animated tattoos of Maui. It effectively introduces an additional mute character, that acted as a conscience for the demigod, as well as keeping track of who comes out on top of any disagreements, providing some great comedy too. It helped to create more banter in situations that would otherwise come across as stale, allowing characters to voice concerns and thought processes without it feeling too forced.

On the other hand, I was a little sceptical of the songs. After Frozen's 'Let It Go', I think everyone is hoping that no other songs are as infectious as it was, though it appears that Disney is trying to replicate it with the tune "How Far I'll Go". The song has similarities to 'Let It Go' (the titles alone are similar sounding), and the song is revisited on multiple occasions throughout the film, with variations in lyrics to mirror the changes in the plot. With the song itself, there is nothing wrong. My main irk with the songs comes with the style of song. While the vocal attributes during discussions and conversations are quite similar to those of the Polynesian communities, during some, the style immediately changes (I suppose you could say it sounds American?). Very catchy songs (you'll be singing "You're Welcome" on the drive home), but I just wish it fitted in better in the film vocally.

Visually, the film is beautiful. The environments are lush, the colours are bright, and the blacks are dark. The environments do tend to vary a little between life-like computer-generated textures, and cartoony effects. Despite the clearly unscientific plot and animated look of the film, it portrays itself amazingly well, tugging at my heartstrings during many moments. I legitimately felt saddened when I realised how far the film had progressed, and it dawned on me that the movie was coming to an end soon; I could have easily watched it for another hour without getting bored. A film I would definitely recommend watching (and maybe buying the soundtrack too).

Originally posted to: http://djin.nz/Kr7407