CITY | OF | SOULS - SYNÆSTHESIA (2020)

Synæsthesia is a neural rarity that can allow a person to see sound. Double-dipping in both aural and visual spectrums, there is an unfathomable connection between the two. A valid name for the debut album of kiwi act City Of Souls, whose long awaited seminal offering is a piece best experienced with eyes closed, and mind opened.

Nearly five years to the day since the debut single Sleep was first released, Synaesthesia has been through its fair share of choppy waters on the road to release, and it is safe to say that since that day, City Of Souls has already evolved and formed the crux of what could be considered their unique sound. Each member brings with them years of experience in various genres, in particular the heavy metal and hardcore scene, being members of the likes of 8 Foot Sativa, In Dread Response, Blindspott, New Way Home, and Solstate.

With an epic runtime of over 68 minutes, City Of Souls has become much more than the sum of their parts, transcending the aggressive and technical traits of its member’s histories. This is a mature and melodious release, with a focus on balancing a symphony of layers, rather than merely attempting to elicit an impassioned response from the listener with low tuning and djent.

The album itself does not waste any time on over-extended intros. Efficiently jumping straight into Life Blood with the deep sultry tones of vocalist Richie Simpson. Considering the band has three fulltime guitarists and a bassist, their ability to pull back and allowing melody to rise to the surface is a feat in itself. Chillingly passionate, and overwhelmingly layered, the track is one solid piece of music and yet also simultaneously a multitude of different musical strands that can all be heard with ease if the mind chooses to focuses on it. 

From the natural heartbeat that began Life Blood, Ferryman begins with the formidable presence of the mechanical heartbeat that is Corey Friedlander’s kick drum. His controlled presence cements the rhythm of the track, with a simple time signature and tempo that makes the listener want to move; not because of aggression, but fortuitous energy and power. For those familiar with Richie Simpson’s prior repertoire with New Way Home, City of Souls brings less harshness and antagonism, instead the melodies originate from a place of love and pain.

Where too many instruments could easily because overblown, City Of Souls balances their four guitars exceptionally well. Dan Insley’s undulating and wide-ranging bass lines, Trajan Schwencke’s chunky rhythm, Marcus Powell’s riff-heavy style, and Steve Boag’s high harmonies (something that could be described as the falsetto of the guitar). Every guitar has its defined place, the arrangement forming a consistent sound that still allows a lot of room for variety. Every once in a while a riff, drum fill, or vocal fry will hit a sweet spot, such as the guitar riff in Shimmer, sending a sweet shiver of dopamine flowing down the spine.

With such a consistent sound and so many players involved, it would be easy for your tracks to become “samey” and right when you think Synaesthesia is going to fall into that trap, Cruelty breaks out with a dark and gritty, almost Korn-esque edge to the riff, before pulling everything back and creating tension and suspense with ease. There are no mathematically obscure time signatures here. Everything moves with a natural rhythm that ebbs and flows. Even in the quiet patches, the atmospheric keys and high lead create a cacophony of sound. Never a moment of true silence in the album, there is always something that continues to guide the listener. It does lead to a consistent sound across the tracks, but can reduce the impact of certain moments that could have benefited from a moment of silence and clarity to give the soundscape more poignancy.

From spoken words to full belting melodies into a fry, Richie Simpson is in his element. There is no sign that he is holding back, and it lifts each song with the timbre of his voice over such thick guitar riffing, so pleasing on the ears.

With an album that has been slowly releasing tracks over the last five years, there is an air of nostalgia and comfort that is hard to separate from the album. While many of these tracks are only just now officially seeing the light of day, there isn’t a shocking new quality to it. Instead, there is a sense of belonging and peace that is simply meant to be, especially with the likes of White Ghost. Melody and rhythm are key, and each member takes turns to reach the spotlight. Do not expect something hardcore, I wouldn’t even go as far as to call it prog. City Of Souls provide a full bodied, heavy melodic rock.

The early singles are the tracks that stand out the most from a compositional point of view. The mix has a light and airy nature, and swells with such emotion. The likes of Sleep, Water, and Long Gone have a cleaner ambiance, and are the tracks where Dan Insley’s throbbing bass, and Corey Friedlander’s technical accomplishments are on display the most.

Even for those that have been following the bands live performances, with a packed 16-song tracklist, the latter half ventures into the unknown. Regularly switching tone with daring vocal melodies that pay handsomely in the chorus, and finally some effective use of silence and instrumental arrangements, Tying Tongues and Brush Strokes stand out from the pack.

Synaesthesia is an album that requires your full attention. The composition is done in such a way that the music itself feels elemental; floating and suspended, like water barreling over rocks. The flow is well-executed, and the entire album has a great rhythm that fills you with energy. Fingers crossed it won’t be another five years before the next release.

Synaesthesia is available on all digital platforms from May 1st, 2020

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DOLITTLE (2020)

Dr. John Dolittle lives in solitude behind the high walls of his lush manor in 19th-century England. His only companionship comes from an array of exotic animals that he speaks to on a daily basis. But when young Queen Victoria becomes gravely ill, the eccentric doctor and his furry friends embark on an epic adventure to a mythical island to find the cure.

When I write a review, I try my best to be constructive and to describe the aspects that I think could have been improved to make the film better than it was. In doing so, many of my reviews can get somewhat of a negative spin to them. I'm okay with this because, for the majority of my readers, they are aware of how I write and take my nit-picking thoughts with a grain of salt. What it also does, though is it reduces the hype around a film. I have had many films absolutely ruined for me because everyone loved it, all of the reviewers raved about it, or it had a super high Rotten Tomatoes score. I went in expecting to meet God, and instead, I only got a glimpse of heaven. It may have still been a great film, but because I expected the absolute pinnacle of filmmaking, I left disappointed. I see my role as a reviewer as someone that manages expectations, so that you can decide I was just nit-picking and then come back afterwards and tell me how much better the film was than you were expecting. Lowering expectations leads to more enjoyment in the end when the reader watches the film.

Unfortunately, I can't really do that for this remake of Dolittle, because it is one of the worst big-budget films of the year. The quality of this film is so low that I could not lower expectations enough to make this an enjoyable viewing experience. Dolittle is his Robert Downey Jr's first role post Avengers: Endgame, and he could not have chosen a worse role. It is as if Downey Jr (or the studio) was so concerned about how closely linked he is with the Iron Man character now, that there must have been an explicit directive to be as far away from Tony Stark as possible. From an unintelligibly gruff accent that near enough requires subtitles to understand the majority of it, to the hair and personality of a rabid hobo. Gone is any sense of charm, gone is any ability to understand the dialogue, and gone is the likeability of the character. 

The fact that the film was originally released in January is a telling sign in itself. January is notoriously the dumping season for studios, as it is too late for an Awards nod, and too far away to be memorable when the next round comes around. But to have a big-budget remake with a budget of $175 million dollars dumped into a January slot? It is quite rare; this is when the cheap horrors and indie films thrive, having no big films to compete with.

Apart from Robert Downey Jr's unexpected character quirks, it is increasingly apparent that the majority of the film's budget would have gone towards the CGI and the voice cast; a cast that includes Emma Thompson, Rami Malek, John Cena, Kumail Nanjiani, Octavia Spencer, Tom Holland, Craig Robinson, Ralph Fiennes, Selena Gomez, Will Arnett, Jason Mantzoukas, and Marion Cotillard. Do any of these characters stand out in any way that makes me remember their role? Not a single one. I literally had to check the Wikipedia article to find out who was involved. 

The tone of the story is somewhat similar to that of the later Pirates of the Caribbean films; adventurous, however, toned down and full of over-the-top physical humour. The script is incredibly weak, to the point that everything that could count as the plot is simply provided by introducing a new character and being given exposition dialogue telling us to go to another location. It all hinges on the breathtaking CGI environments and character models, and while it could have been much worse, the effects were simply satisfactory. Dr Dolittle isn't an exciting main character. Not only is he not able to be understood, and not likeable, but he does not drive the story at all. He simply reacts to events that happen and that directs his actions. He does not have to make any significant character decisions and is simply passive, as far as the narrative goes.

There is no sense of wonder. There is no mystery. Everything is completely explained as soon as possible, with no sense of setting things up for a payoff later in the film. With no real character development arcs for any of the characters and creatures, there is no reason for the audience to care about anything that goes on onscreen.

What can I say, this is still a children's film. It has polar bears that wear hats because they are cold, a gorilla that is easily scared, and many other quirky animals, which may very well bring laughs to the mouths of the very young children. But for anyone over the age of 9, to not beat around the bush, this will bore you. Cats was a horrendous film, but at least it was entertainingly bad. Dolittle is simply unconvincing and engaging. The effects team did well with the CGI, but everything was pulled down by the lacklustre script, and unlikeable characters.

SPIES IN DISGUISE (2019)

When the world's best spy is turned into a pigeon, he must rely on his nerdy tech officer to save the world.

No matter how mediocre his filmography seems to be these days, it remains a cold hard fact that Will Smith is still one hell of a drawcard. When I heard the voice cast included Tom Holland and Will Smith in the lead roles, I can honestly say it wasn't Spider-Man that sold it to me, it was Men in Blacks' Agent J, and boy does he have a voice that is perfect for animated films.

The premise is nothing new. Based on the animated short Pigeon Impossible, somewhere along the lines of making this into a feature film script, when it came to choosing personalities for the characters, the scriptwriters clearly phoned it in and made heavy use of "inspiration" from the likes of Disney's The Emperor's New Groove, and the team-up capabilities from videogames such as Jak and Daxter or Ratchet and Clank. The similarities are quite clear, and it forms an air of familiarity around the flick, which is unfortunate given the potential that the film has.

Because the animation is quite well done. The lighting and textures are well executed and the overall character designs (while some seem a little bit repetitive) are out of proportion enough that it will no doubt keep the little ones entertained. The voice casting works out quite well, with Will Smith absolutely smashing the role with that super charismatic voice of his. Tom Holland is far less convincing, but it works well considering the personality traits of his character (it just doesn't make him all that memorable).

What is unfortunately missing, is a strong script and character development. Will Smith's character does get a simplistic arc, but Holland's character is much flatter, and the villain is underutilized. The villainous plot suffices, but it could have quite easily have created a much stronger and cohesive story if the screenplay had delved into that side of the story more because it fits in nicely with the contrasting belief systems that our main characters have.

It is the main source of conflict in the film; that sense of efficient violence vs playful pacifism. It links with all of the main characters and the villain but is only slapped on top of a weak action script. Everything that could have created a really strong story, instead, was only used to try and plug plot holes in a series of well-animated action sequences. If we learned anything from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, it's that cool moments don't equate to a great story on their own.

The contrast in personalities between Smith and Holland's characters is the aspect that holds the film together, and the evolution of that relationship is the source of most comedy and emotion. There is something inherently enjoyable about watching the tall poppy getting chopped down and learning humility, as well as watching the down-trodden lackey getting an opportunity to shine. It is the ideal buddy cop film.

Overall, will the adults enjoy it? It's harmless enough and is certainly capable of getting a few laughs from adults. There is a good balance of conflict and time pressures, which keeps the pace of the film high for near enough the entirety of the flick once it finishes the set-up in the first act. The real question is, will the kids enjoy it? I think they will. Character designs are wacky enough, and the action scenes are flashy enough, that this tale of spies and espionage will keep them very well entertained. 

It's by-the-books and forgettable, but it has a nice message and will keep the kids quiet for a while. What's the worst that could happen.

MISS FISHER & THE CRYPT OF TEARS (2020)

After freeing a young girl in Jerusalem, Phryne Fisher begins to unravel a mystery concerning priceless emeralds, ancient curses and the truth behind a suspicious disappearance.

In many ways, I am thankful to Joss Whedon's Serenity. Not only was it an exceptionally evocative standalone sci-fi flick, but it introduced me to the very compelling world of Firefly. That series will always hold a special place in my heart, as do all of the actors involved. The main point I am trying to get across here is that I never would have actually watched the series if I had not decided to watch Serenity. To start watching an established series can be quite a commitment, so the shorter-form film is a brilliant way of introducing a new audience to the basics of the tone and chemistry within the series. This should have been the goal of Miss Fisher & The Crypt Of Tears, instead, what we get is a sloppy serving of fan-service.

Miss Fisher & The Crypt Of Tears is based on the Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries television series, which itself is based on the series of Phryne Fisher novels written by Kerry Greenwood. The movie follows directly on from the end of the third series of the television show, which aired nearly four years ago. Bringing back members of the television series several years after the shows cessation and crowdfunding $250,000 of it's 8 million-dollar budget within 48 hours, and even offering those funding fans a chance to be extras in the film, there is no doubt that this film was focused on appealing to the nostalgic fans of the original show. 

The end product is a very mediocre flick. In what was originally destined for a theatrical release, there are too many signs that corners were cut when it came to transitioning the format of the television show into a cinematic experience. The most noticeable aspects coming from the visual aesthetics of the film. This isn't shot in widescreen, and as such it's easy to not how the framing is more conducive to a television series. Exaggerated actions and mannerisms, flat lighting, and blurring of the backgrounds are all elements that point towards methods for cutting costs on television shows being incorporated into film format, at the expense of the overall product.

Without using a wider format and neither paying much attention to set design and props, the focus of the audience is drawn to the actors and the story. Neither of which impress. To be fair, Essie Davis really tries her best with what she is given in her role as Miss Phryne Fisher, and you can feel the effort that she is putting into her performance, but the weak script does her no favours. I haven't seen the original television series, but you would be shocked at the complete lack of charisma and chemistry between these characters that have been working together for so long. Shootings, chases, romantic arcs and deaths, all occur with very little signs of emotion. 

There would have had to be a decision made early on, whether to provide backstory for our characters or simply carry on without context. The latter was chosen and all of sudden you have excluded a large number of potential viewers as they lose interest trying to figure out the relationships between a group of largely unlikable characters. The actors are then put into poorly choreographed action sequences with bland cinematography. They form long sequences that add very little to the story beyond stretching out the runtime. All topped off with a plot that has everything handed to our protagonists creating new challenges as soon as the last challenge was overcome, and ditching storylines for no reason at all;  there is little to create intrigue. 

There is nothing inherently bad about the film. It's entirely watchable, and many of the facets that are wasted on the big screen can be overlooked now that the COVID-19 pandemic has had this film moved from a theatrical release, direct to streaming. Despite the film containing some violent scenes, the tone of the film works well for a young audience, giving off that comical adventuring vibe or Indiana Jones and The Mummy with the glamour of Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego? and the quirkiness of Inspector Gadget. It's frivolous and fun, but ultimately Miss Fisher & The Crypt Of Tears simply feels like a stretched out television episode, and become forgettable. If you are a huge fan of the original series already, or if you have some children to keep entertained during the lockdowns while you do some baking, this should certainly fit the bill. 

Miss Fisher & The Crypt of Tears is available for both purchase and rental from Youtube, Apple and Google Play as well as rental on both Lightbox and Sky from April 15, 2020

Originally posted to: http://djin.nz/Kr8611

OFFICIAL SECRETS (2019)

The true story of a British whistleblower who leaked information to the press about an illegal NSA spy operation designed to push the UN Security Council into sanctioning the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Everyone knows someone that is deep into conspiracy theories. Whether it be a belief in the moon landing being fake, 9/11 being an inside job, commercial flights releasing mind-altering chemicals in chemtrails, or the government hiding the existence of aliens for 70 years, we all know someone that has a deep belief that officials are working hard to deceive and control us.

No doubt it is a simpler life when you simply trust the information that is communicated to us through the media, but every once in a while something comes to light that challenges the worldview that we can trust our own governments; every once in a while, a conspiracy is proven true. Official Secrets is one of those cases of government manipulation, in the hopes of justifying going to war.

This is shown in the opening scenes, but Official Secrets isn't so much about the plan of governments to make an illegal war legal. Instead, the film is more about their disreputable actions in controlling the dissemination of "classified" information. At the heart of this dramatization of a true story, is Katharine Gun (portrayed by Keira Knightley), and her performance is well-executed. To keep things as grounded as possible, the news reports shown in the film are the actual news reports that occurred, no fabrication or exaggeration for the sake of drama. It pushes home the idea that this really happened.

A political drama, the events are largely slow-paced, and the thriller elements come through the high stakes, as opposed to the energy or the action. Trading in explosions and gunfights for heated telephone conversations and secretive conversations in concrete parking garages, the reality of this "David v Goliath" situation is a strong source of tension and empathy. Knightley does a superb job as an honest citizen that is faced with a significant moral dilemma. The significance of leaking classified information and the consequences of doing as such is brilliantly displayed in Knightley's performance, her behaviour increasingly erratic as she faces becoming a target.

The pacing will not appeal to everyone, but it does allow for stronger character development in Knightley's portrayal of Katharine Gun. Through that, the audience gains a strong sense of pride and support for Gun as she puts every aspect of her life on the line to try and prevent an illegal war; as honourable as intentions to get, there was literally nothing for her to gain, and everything to lose. Other cast decisions are a mixed bag. Ralph Fiennes and Matt Smith are brilliant as Ben Emmerson and Martin Bright, respectively (Fiennes, in particular, was incredibly engaging on-screen). On the other hand, the remainder of the cast were decidedly one-dimensional and caricaturesque in quality. 

The cinematography Florian Hoffmeister matches the tone of the film well and keeps the intrigue without unnecessarily increasing the energy or pace. Official Secrets needs slow patches. It needs to give time for the events to sink in and take an emotional toll. The success of the film relies on the audience being invested in the life of this average citizen that works a job that they do purely to pay the bills. In the end, all of the pieces come together, and it leaves you with a sense of satisfaction that leaves you craving for more. 

A slow character-driven underdog story, the pacing will not appeal to this with a short attention span, but will provide gratification for those that see it through to the end. Once Ralph Fiennes enters the story, he instantly envelopes the meandering character study and provides a direction and end goal for the film. Highlighting the confusion and complete and utter helplessness that our protagonist was going through beforehand. Official Secrets is an immensely powerful film despite its reserved appearance. It does just enough to really make you question where we get our information from. Nothing is to be simply trusted.

Official Secrets is out on DVD from March 11, 2020

Originally posted to: http://djin.nz/Kr8598