MOVIE REVIEW: The Best of Me (2014)

This was one of those movies where I might as well have been blind folded before picking it on Netflix. I couldn't be doing with anything deep and hey, rom coms can be good sometimes, right? Perhaps, but not in this case. The Best of Me suffers from the usual problems of overly contrived characters, mundane and cliched cinematography, and a story that thinks it has something to do with love but ultimately falls desperately short.

Before we get 10 minutes in, it was already pretty easy to guess where the film was going. The central characters, Dawson and Amanda, are both looking up at the stars, reminiscing about days gone by. We get a couple of corny lines about destiny being written in the stars and I am already rolling my eyes. The story from that point on follows two different timelines, one involving their younger selves and the other the present day. Another recycled idea. We learn about Dawson's troubled childhood and his monster of a father, a man that you can't believe he's been living in the same house as for 18 years. He meets Amanda and a romantic relationship ensues. I have to say that my favourite actor in the whole film was Luke Bracey as the young Dawson, who gives a tolerable performance. But my GOD, the scenes with him and Amanda were the definition of dull. It's like the director just wanted to get as much kissing in this film as physically possible. We get the kissing under the moon scene, the kissing in the rain scene, the kissing in an exotic lake scene, the kissing on a rooftop scene, the kissing whilst dancing scene, the kiss that one of them regrets scene, and so on. Clichéd does not do justice to just how predictable this movie was.

Several unfortunate things happen to Dawson as a young man, straining his relationship with Amanda. This all comes to a head when he is sent to jail for accidentally shooting his friend whilst fighting his father, creating the eventual bridge that kept them apart for so many years. The scenes where the young Dawson gets angry are by far the best in the film, although nothing special really. At least we get to see some genuine emotion though. More time should have been spent developing the relationship between Dawson and the man that takes him in after he runs away, Tuck. It would have grounded the film in something that resembles what it is trying to be about, love. Instead it gets lost in this back and forth between present and past, with the soppy romancing of characters you don't care about. The present day stuff was particularly mundane and void of feeling. A lot of it comes down to the acting, which for the most part was just lazy. In the end we get a bit of a twist ending that I won't spoil, but it doesn't land any emotional punch simply because the film doesn't earn it.

Visually, The Best of Me also woefully underwhelms. Every scene has this super glossy look to it that only adds to the feeling of fakeness. What I like in a romantic drama is for it to feel like I am watching real people in real places. This film felt like I was watching one long dream sequence. I do understand that this type of movie isn't trying to appeal to people like me, but I struggle to see how even very casual film fans will enjoys such mediocrity. Maybe I'm wrong though.

What annoys me the most about films like this is that the script doesn't resemble real human interaction. Sure, it is how people might talk in an ideal world (although I hope not), but everything just ends up feeling too clean cut. The character flaws don't seem like flaws because they are not explored enough, so you end up just thinking that these people are too perfect to be real. You never really get to a point where you want to get invested in the stories of the characters. When you watch a great romantic drama like Before Sunrise, you automatically relate to the people in it because that is how human beings actually speak to one another. With such vapid characters, the story has to be something truly special for me to get on board, and unfortunately The Best of Me does not have that. I can't say that it is embarrassingly bad. I mean, it is just about watchable and sugary enough for perhaps a date night with your significant other. Please though people, go for something with a bit more to say.

Characters: 35
Narrative: 40
Visuals: 30
Music: 40

Overall: 36/100

Milo Comes Home to Launch Young British Heritage Society

Milo Yiannopoulos is a devisive figure. That’s exactly how he likes it. I have been a fan of his for about a year now, ever since I saw him on British television and debate shows like The Big Questions and Sky News. Since then, Milo has taken it to the next level, touring America’s campus scene on his infamous ‘Dangerous Faggot Tour’, a name I am particularly fond of. What is so invincible about Yiannopoulos is how he displays the exact opposite traits to your typical right wing commentator. It makes him into a kind of juggernaught. We have been led to believe, somewhat justifiably so, that right wingers are these dull, faceless traditionalists with a chip on their shoulder about everything. Milo though, is colourful, gay, religious and brilliantly funny. He is the embodiment of odd, making it very hard to stereotype him.

I had the privilege of seeing Milo give a speech in London a couple of nights ago. He was there to launch the Young British Heritage Society at Conway Hall. A conservative libertarian society set on promoting the merits of British values and principals, with a particular emphasis on bringing back free speech and open discussion of ideas on university campus’s around the country. It is a mission statement I can get behind, having been at university myself and experiencing a increasing level of censorship within my institution and especially within the mainstream media. Despite my interest in the society, I was primarily there to see Milo. Without going into too much depth on the society as a whole, I came away a little perplexed by it. Much of what was said I agreed with, but the manner in which many of these people speak is the exact thing I am opposing on the left. This sort of self-aggrandising, disturbingly ignorant type of rhetoric that serves very little purpose aside from getting a reaction from the audience. 

Milo was his typical unabashed self however. He gave a good speech, if not a little recycled. He touched on his infamous ban from Twitter, the dangers of the left’s influence on campus, Brexit and the US presidential race, candidly speaking about his support for Donald Trump, but also his fear and distain for another potential Clinton administration. The best thing about Milo is that he treats his audience with respect, never stopping to explain his points in too much depth but instead assuming that the audience is intelligent enough to keep up. His quick wit is what keeps his act feeling fresh and dynamic, stopping seemingly every other sentence to make a quip about either himself or the radical left. It kept me engaged and listening to everything he was saying. Staying within the theme of the society, he concluded by talking about Britain, and how we are a country based on strong values and a tendency for subversion and mischief, which makes our press 'the best in the world'. It was a very patriotic moment for most of the audience. The event had a different tone to it than the other speeches he's given on his campus tour so far, most of which have taken place in the US, where students have turned up with the sole purpose of sabotaging him with random and irrelevant protests that ironically only go to further his message. At one point he even vocalised exactly what I was thinking, ‘part of you comes to see me for the spectacle, the protests and the controversy’. He’s right, a part of me was hoping for exactly that. I’m afraid to say though, that is one of the main fears I have for the movement Milo is trying initiate, that it will just turn into an ‘us vs. them’ type of ordeal. In truth, it already has become a bit like that. 

Having said all that, what makes Milo more than simply an entertainer with an funky hair cut is that he brings it back to his libertarian values. He understands that a key element of why people behave and think in the way they do is because they have strayed from what made us as a nation, and America, the leading proponents of libertarianism. He is not here to start a war with the left, just to make fun of them and point out just how irrational and brainwashed many have become. Under all the layers of fake tan and hairspray is somebody who is concerned about the younger generation and is willing to do something about it. This was the crux of his speech, returning to the importance of action. He boldly stated that ‘By coming here tonight you haven’t really done anything’, and he’s right. He followed it up by urging people to go out and do things, to fight for what they believe in. ‘This is why the left always win’ he quips, ‘because they band together and get things done’. I am glad that he did this as it felt like he way putting most of the audience, and some of the speakers in fact, in there place, telling them not to get too wrapped up in the petty politics that a large proportion of our generation engages in. I know I have been guilty of this in the past, but I am reaching point now where I am beyond arguing with people who refuse to see sense. I will only engage in political debate if it feels right and I am not just trying to convert the person I am speaking to. It is still hard at times, and much of the politically correct stuff I am seeing in the media needs to be addressed, but addressed in a logical and sometimes comical way, like Milo does.

Milo Yiannopoulos will continue to gather steam as more and more people cotton on to the ridiculousness and genuine danger of movements like extreme feminism and phony organisations like Black Lives Matter. He will be a leading figure simply because of how likeable and vocal he is, but I hope that as we move forwards, he uses his influence to encourage real action and doesn’t just act as the pied piper for the angry, disenfranchised youth who simply want to spout hatred and vitriol at those they oppose. This speech gave me a fair amount of faith that he understands the people he is seeking to address. I don’t agree with Milo on everything, but that is part of the process of rebuilding an open dialogue within universities and other sections of society. We should be able to listen to speakers that we respect and be able to disagree with them. Yes, he might have been preaching to the choir with this one, but at least it didn’t end up like a Trump rally. Well… not quite. 

MOVIE REVIEW: Finding Dory (2016)

I can't quite believe it has been 13 years since Finding Nemo was released. Already a huge Pixar fan by that point, Nemo was another fun and interesting world to immerse myself in. It was never my favourite of the early films, but I still became obsessed with it for a certain period of time, like I had with the 4 that preceded it. I've always thought that Pixar succeeds or fails on the strength of its characters, and Finding Nemo had fantastic characters.

One of those loveable characters was Dory, a regal blue tang fish who suffers with short term memory loss. She featured heavily in Finding Nemo, but was always the comic relief character, designed to draw in the younger audience with light hearted jokes and her innocent naivety. Some may question whether a sequel centred around Dory was justified considering her relatively surface level role in the first film, but personally I see no issue with it as she was never given a proper backstory. Finding Dory then, is less of a literal title than Finding Nemo. Instead, this film wants the audience to find Dory in a different way entirely. We are invited to share in flashbacks of her rather troubling past and her initial separation from her parents that led to her eventually bumping into Marlin at the start of the first film. Although I had a level of scepticism for this film, overall I thought the guys at Pixar came through with another stellar experience. This is a movie that will thrill younger and older audiences with beautiful visuals, hilarious characters and a satisfying story, perhaps even providing a more rewarding experience than its giant of a predecessor.

Visually, Finding Dory is quite similar to the first film. The aesthetics and colour palette is almost identical, which can only be a good thing - Finding Nemo was one of Pixar's best looking early films. That being said, this film is certainly a bit more ambitious with its action set pieces and character movement. The septopus character, Hank, glides and rolls around the environments in such a fluid and almost poetic fashion. He is by far one of the best characters Pixar have ever attempted to bring to life and my god did they succeed. Robbie Collin at the BBC also mentioned how he saw a concerted effort to make the characters appear like puppets in some scenes, which I definitely see having reflected on the film. I guess the guys at Pixar have been making these animated films for over 20 years now, they must be looking for ways to move the genre forward within the limited scope that they have. I'm glad that they managed to pull a few off with this film whilst still maintaining that loveable and timeless formula of the early movies. I wasn't drawn in by the film's soundtrack however, that felt a little bit tagged on and not as memorable as previous Pixar soundtrack's. That being said, the use of Louis Armstrong's 'What a Wonderful World' in the final climactic scene was a hell of a choice.

The characters in Finding Dory are certainly the making of it. We have the same central trio in Dory, Nemo and Marlin, who we get to see go on a nostalgic adventure together once again. Dory is just as likeable, if a little bit grating at times. The surrounding characters though really hold everything together and above all, progress the story forwards. They are not simply there as comic relief or for side plots. Aside from Hank, who was by far my favourite character outside the central three, the whaleshark Destiny and beluga whale, Bailey were some of the funniest and most likeable characters Pixar have created. The scenes in which all three of these characters were on screen together were some of the best in the entire movie and rarely failed to get me laughing out loud. Dory's parents, for the brief time they appear in the film, were really endearing, and I really believed in the love that they had for their daughter. When we learn what they have been doing since they lost Dory it serves as a reminder of the importance of family, and how we should never give up on those we love and care for. The voiceovers were all immaculately done. Ellen Degeneres comes through again with a performance that has both greater range and depth than she did in the first film, which was required considering the fact that she had to transform Dory from a comic relief character to central protagonist. However, as with all of the great Pixar films, they manage to tell the stories of all the characters at the same time, with almost all of them learning something about themselves along the way.

The story is as engaging if not more engaging than Nemo's. It is set up with flashbacks to Dory's childhood with her parents, yet we don't learn how she was separated from them until much later on. These early flashbacks had a certain resonance for me, as I felt myself empathising with Dory and how profound it must have felt to be remembering sacred moments for the first time in years. The first act sees Dory, Marlin and Nemo head off into the unknown to try and find her parents after she miraculously remembers where they used to live. It is really fun as the three are faced with all of the dangerous deep sea perils that we loved in the first film. The feeling of insignificance in this vast ocean is as potent as ever, and as an audience we relate to this desperation of trying to find some kind of home in a cold, dark world. Even in the early scenes, the main message of the film starts to become clear, that sometimes it is best to be spontaneous like Dory. This is contrasted with Marlin's cautiousness, who eventually learns something from Dory's outlook and attitude to life. 

The adventure continues in the second act as Dory finds Hank, who is willing to help her find her parents in the aquarium if she gives him her tag in return, which will allow him to live in isolation in Cleveland. More great action sequences happen involving both Dory and Hank, as well as Nemo and Marlin. Having these two storylines running parallel kept the everything feeling fresh and spontaneous, and once again it was gratifying to have them find each other in the end. The final act reveals how Dory was separated from her parents all that time ago, and the way it was handled gives it maximum emotional impact. After finding them it feels like the end of the journey, but instead we get one more mini adventure involving all of the main characters. This final scene is easily one of my favourites. It's hilarious, visually stunning and a perfect crescendo for Dory and the surrounding cast. 

The movie takes us on a parallel yet ultimately very different journey than that in the first film, which was a kind of giant search and rescue effort to find Marlin's son Nemo. Finding Dory definitely shares several themes. For instance parenthood, and what parents will do for their children. Another one is disability. Obviously Dory struggles with short term memory loss, which she learns to use to her advantage. Similarly in the first film Nemo had to overcome his damaged fin. What I liked more about Finding Dory though was that Dory's condition, and consequentially how it shaped her character and decision making made for a fascinating character study of a certain type of person (or in this case fish). Mental handicaps and indeed, mental illness, is a growing problem for our generation, and many of them aren't given enough attention. The central message of Finding Dory is therefore a very important and relevant one. That our quirks and defects can be turned around and used as advantages. That they are not always going to opress us and one day might actually do the opposite and liberate us. I am not normally one to look too deeply into movies of this kind, but I think it needs to be mentioned. Hence, the tag line, 'What would Dory do?', feels like a fitting one.

Finding Dory should go along way to silence the critics who have accused Pixar of resorting to sequels instead of coming up with new ideas for films. In the same way as Toy Story 2, they have made movie that is at least as good, if not better than the first, at least in my opinion. It works as a fun and slapstick kids film and a reflective look at parenthood, disability and overcoming the odds in the name of love. I have very few criticisms of it, only that by the end I felt quite exhausted by it all, which isn't really a criticism at all. It is a very fast paced movie that will probably annoy some people out there. But overall I felt like it managed all of this franticness very well with great pacing and a fair share of slower, ponderous moments that break up the action. I think that families, Pixar fans and hardcore movie buffs will find a lot to love in this summer dive back into Pixar's deep blue sea.

Characters: 85

Narrative: 80

Visuals: 90

Music: 75

Overall: 83/100