Film Reviews by TB

Like Bohemian Rhapsody, this is a film which is dominated by a stunning central performance which the rest of the movie cannot reconcile with or support with a script worthy of it. Gary Oldman is magnificent, completely disappearing behind not only the incredible prosthetics but also the many different layers of Churchill the man. Churchill has been played by so many actors in so many different parts of his life that everyone has their own idea of the man. 

And there is no doubt that Oldman adds another incredible dimension to this cannon. His Churchill is by turns difficult, moody, temperamental but also there is a real fear behind the pomposity. It was him and him alone who from the first moment he encountered Hitler, knew the monster he would become, as well as his plans for world domination. However, it is everything else which is lacking. 

The various other elements of the script & story is just fairly rote, despite the weighty subject matter it is dealing with. One of the worst things I can say about it was just how forgettable it was. I can immediately think of various bits of the film with Oldman electrifying the surroundings around him with his presence. But as to what a lot of those scenes were about & the story elements within them, it almost draws a blank. 

I do however remember a cringe-inducing scene set on an underground train where Churchill meets the people of England sheltering from the bombs, then there is a spectacularly awkward “bonding” moment, including with a token black character who seems to have been shoe-horned in to the film (which is in itself staggeringly offensive,) just to show Churchill was a man of the people. 

Whilst for many, including an American audience, this is very much the idea that they have about what Britain was like during the war, for those of us who have seen many exceptional films about this period, from action films through to TV series including Cambridge Spies or Enigma, there is a lot left wanting. 

See it for Oldman and not much else. 

Densely Washington is a stalwart of cinema & the screen. Since the beginnings of his career in the early 80’s, which then exploded at the end of that decade with his Oscar win for Glory, he has built a reputation as a brilliant actor, even in the films which were misfires. But it was only in 2014 that he was finally persuaded to take part in an action film with the potential of it turning into a franchise/series. However, he has chosen wisely & this is not a simple case of taking the cheque & starring in something rubbish. For starters, he is reunited with his frequent collaborator Antoine Fuqua & also with a great cast including Chloë Grace Moretz & Martin Csokas. And he also has a great script, which importantly & actually quite rarely for an action picture, really allows time for character building to be done.

Robert McCall is a retired US Marine & DIA officer. He has left his life of espionage, combat & violence behind him and now works a menial job in a hardware/DIY store. It is also shown in subtle ways the enormous internal pain he goes through, a combination of PTSD & loss, the latter being the premature death of his wife after he left the military. One side-effect of this trauma is his inability to sleep, meaning he spends a lot of time reading at an all-night diner. Over time, he strikes up a friendship with a Russian prostitute called Teri & they bond. However, one night Teri is confronted by her pimp in front of McCall, then later ends up in hospital after being savagely beaten. McCall then begins to wage a 1 man war against the Russian mafia.

There is a huge amount to like in this film, especially the work of Washington, Moretz and Csokas. Denzel’s ability to command the scene is used to perfection here, whether it is the trauma of trying to deal with the nightmares and visions inside his head, or his fury at seeing a vulnerable woman being disgustingly exploited. Moretz also does great work, really making a profound impact with what is often treated as a story point to give the hero the reason to start his crusade. As noted on the special features, Moretz spent considerable time talking with prostitutes in order to fully inform her performance. One of the other reasons for the impact is, as I mentioned earlier, the fact that we are allowed to spend a decent amount of time with her as a character. And rounding this up, we have Marton Csokas as Teddy, although in no way is he a cuddly bear or harmless. A monster in human form, he is sent by the head of the Russian Mafia to clean up, following the initial attacks by McCall against the pimps who harmed Teri. 

The subsequent story, where McCall slowly eliminates everyone connected with the Mafia, leading to the big showdown, is great. And the whole film itself is really good as a whole as well. Direction is good, music/soundtrack great & stunts brilliant. It also nicely lays the ground for part 2, which is just as good. 

After the brilliant & surprisingly good 1st film, plus the large box office haul, it was only a matter of time until we got a sequel. But welcomingly, the standard of quality has been maintained & number 2 is again a great film, doing everything that a good sequel should do: honour the themes & tone of the first film, don't mess with what worked, don't change too much and improve on what the initial film started. Another massive positive in this film's favour, although it isn't always a guarantee of a good film when this happens, is that the entire crew/director & the main cast have returned. And finally, another element of the series which has been kept & expanded upon is the amount of time given with characters/allowing the world we are in to be fleshed out. The different people McCall meets, from the young man teetering on the edge of joining a gang to the older gentleman who he regularly see, are all allowed breathing space & time to actually be real people.

After the events of the 1st film, some things have changed. For starters, Robert McCall seems in many ways slightly more at peace. He also has grown out his hair, wears more comfortable clothing & changed his job. Now working as a taxi driver, he spends his time driving round the city, encountering many of the inhabitants. Most are lovely, but as is the way, some are scumbags. However, his new-found peace is shattered when one of his friends is murdered & the circumstances just don't feel right. McCall is then pitted against new foes who are even more dangerous than the Mafia he took out in the previous movie.

Washington again is magnificent. I was watching this film with my best mate & part way through the film he said to me "I could just watch Denzel drive around all day, interacting with the different people he meets." And I felt the same way. McCall is such an interesting & dynamic individual, so it is a pleasure to be in his company. Melissa Leo, McCall's handler & close friend, is also great, giving him one of the only constants & comforts in his life. But we also have some new characters as well, front & center Pedro Pascal's Dave York, one of McCall's old colleagues, who has no idea he was still alive. Finally, there is Miles Whittaker, a young black man whose brother has been murdered & is teetering on the edge of falling down the dark & violent rabbit hole of gang culture/violence. The scenes of McCall taking Miles under his wing, whether as a gentle calm man or, when he catches Miles arming himself with the gang, roasting him & threatening to take his gun and shoot him, are all powerful.

There is much to love in these films & there is still a freshness to them. The final showdown also makes excellent use of the various deadly skills McCall has learnt during his military service. And welcomingly, things are set up perfectly for a 3rd film, which has just been released & which I'll be seeing tomorrow. Hopefully it'll be the send-off the character deserves.

But number 2 is powerful, great filmmaking from a cast & crew at the top of their game.

Sometimes, words just aren't enough. Despite the hundreds of thousands of them in the English language, there are a few things they cannot adequately do justice to in terms of describing how something makes you feel. From the closest of bonds with a friend or family member to an experience/something that touches you profoundly, you can try to talk about it, yet nothing you say fully conveys how you feel.

And that is how I feel about Trainspotting.

Of the multiple reviews I have written/films rated, I have given many 5 stars. And they are all 5 star films. But there are some, including this one at the top, which I would give 10 stars to if that option was available to me. I love this film, adore it, revere it. It is perfection. From the cast, led by Ewan McGregor in what is and always will be his best performance, through to the magnificent script, the masterful direction & iconic music/soundtrack which still today is a best-seller, not one thing isn't flawless.

This is British filmmaking at its best. It has never been bettered. It will never be bettered. To me, if you don't love this film, then you cannot have a pulse.

I had never heard of Lee Israel before Can You Ever Forgive Me? (CYEFM) My sole reason for renting was due to the enormous praise for Melissa McCarthy and Richard E Grant's performances, as well as watching anything Grant is in. I had never really experienced McCarthy's acting before, although I knew the types of films that she made her name on, which normally aren't my preferred type of film. I deliberately have referenced that because CYEFM is emphatically not that type of film. This is a slow, thoughtful & at times really sad character study of loneliness, despondency & loss. It is also brilliant & moving.

The film starts in 1991, introducing us to Lee Israel, a previously commercially & critically successful writer who's latest book has completely & utterly failed. Alongside that, she is in a difficult financial situation & basically penniless, as well as being an extremely difficult & abrasive woman to be around. In desperation, she starts to sell her possessions, including an old letter written to her by Katharine Hepburn, which generates more interest than expected. Seeing a potential way to make easy money, Israel then becomes a forger of letters which she claims are from various celebrities/well-known individuals, aided & abetted by old friend Jack Hock. However, the greed as well as the naivety of the two means that it isn't long before they draw attention to themselves & the authorities.

Strangely, one of the best things about this film for me is how unlikeable the two leads are portrayed as being. Israel in particular is a difficult, prickly & at times deeply unsympathetic woman; Jack Hock an unbelievably narcissistic & arrogant conman who even steals off the woman he is supposedly in allegiance with. The two of them make an amusing & odd couple, but their on-screen chemistry is perfect. In particular, Grant has here a role as meaty as Withnail, who's shadow he has never been able to get out of, which is of course is a wonderful problem to have.

The other element of this film which I also liked, even though at times it came perilously close to overstaying it's welcome, was the pacing & length. We really get the chance to spend time with these two people, finding out their flaws as well as their hopes. It is also made clear that as much as Hock is a chancer, Israel is a genuine talent who made a lot of bad life choices & then decides that the only way to survive is to go down the route of criminality.

But there is absolutely no point in watching this film if what you want is the over the top humour that McCarthy made her name on. However, if you want to see a different type of performance from her and a side I really want her to tap into again, then this excellent film is well worth a go.

After Shame, Steve McQueen then chose as his next project a deeply personal film, looking at the horror of slavery, but from the perspective of a free black man, Solomon Northup, who is kidnapped & sold to the highest bidder, refuses to be cowed and is determined to escape.

It is an extremely difficult watch, rightly so, starting within the first few minutes where, after being kidnapped & speaking to the criminals responsible, he is repeatedly & graphically beaten. Transferred between highly successful farms where, along with hundreds of other slaves, they are treated as worthless even whilst making the farm owners untold riches, Northup determines to escape. He also meets & bonds strongly with Patsy, a young & enigmatic woman whose spirit is slowly being destroyed by the horror she is trapped in. This includes a scene of unbearable brutality towards her which is all but unwatchable.

I don't want to say too much more about this film due to not wanting to reduce the impact of it. But it is a brilliant, shocking and deeply upsetting film, which is vital in portraying the horror & crimes committed against the black population in America & the millions shipped in from all around the world in order to satisfy the insatiable demand.

The performances, cinematography, soundtrack and direction are all fantastic. And despite the horror that this film puts you through, you are gripped throughout. A vital and extremely moving look at one man's incredible & horrific story.

After the incredible Dark Knight trilogy marshalled by Christopher Nolan, then a case of significantly diminishing returns with Batman V Superman & the Justice League, we now have a new Batman & a new angle of the Caped Crusader's adventures in Gotham. But whilst there are some genuinely good elements to the film, it never rises above average for me.

The story starts a couple of years into Batman's campaign against the criminal underworld. Bruce Wayne is a young man, trying to deal with the enormous pain & personal grief he feels by beating the scum & criminals of Gotham to a pulp. There have however been some successes, mainly the busting of Salvatore Maroni's drug empire. But a dangerous new psychopath surfaces, who slaughters the wealthy & elite, then leaves riddles at the crime scenes, taunting Batman & the police. At the same time, there is also a fellow vigilante in the form of Selina Kyle/Catwoman, who is out to avenge her close friend, who has gone missing & worked at the club of Oswald "The Penguin" Cobblepot.

The cast themselves are overall really good. Pattison in particular is emphatically not the disaster that some people were predicting. Although his take was a little strange, looking at times like a moody emo-kid who you'd see sulking in the corner, he does project very effectively the heartache & loss he is grappling with. The stand-out performance by a country mile though is Paul Dano. He is such a creepy, evil & slimy creation, half the time goading Batman & the other half desperately wanting him to like his work/revere him. Colin Farrell as the Penguin is also great, the make-up/prosthesis he has had done to him rendering him totally unrecognisable. Andy Serkis sadly is short-changed by the script, as it Jeffrey Wright, despite both giving their best.

I think for me, the biggest thing is that quite simply I am not a comic book film fan. The main reason I loved the Dark Knight trilogy was completely because of my fan as Nolan as a filmmaker, with the fact it was a comic book story simply a factor of it. But as much as I have mixed feelings, there is some good things to like about it, alongside the drudge.

Freddie Mercury was a complete one-off: a stunning, staggeringly gifted musician & performer, outstanding vocalist & one of the best entertainers the world will ever have. Many of Queen's songs are still as popular today as they were when released, perfectly written & performed. But, particularly during his lifetime, very little was actually known about Mercury, driven primarily by him & his fanatical privacy. Stories/rumours would be published, but never confirmed. So, in other words, the perfect subject for a biopic.

But, this film has many many flaws alongside it's great parts. The main one by a country mile is how safe & sanitised this film is, which is in every way the polar opposite of Mercury the man. There is no doubt that the main reason for this is due to the extensive creative control that the remaining members of Queen had over production, controlling not only pretty much every element of the film, but also the rights to the songs. There would be no way to make a Freddie biopic without the music he created, and by extension of that, by controlling the rights, the band members could shape the film they wanted.

There was an infamous example of this early on in the gestation of this film many years ago, when Sacha Baron Cohen was cast as Mercury & wanted to make a no-holds barred, totally extreme biopic, showing the many outrageous sides of Freddie as well as his sexuality. But for many reasons, one probably being the backlash of many of Queen's fans not liking to see this extreme representation of gay life, Baron Cohen & the band fell out, the film stalling for years.

By the time it finally came to fruition & was shot with Malek in the lead role, the film had changed to what it is now: fairly rote, a bit bland & despite flashes of brilliance, nothing ever more than mediocre. There are some good parts, particularly the fleshing out of Mercury's incredibly close bond & love for Mary Austin, who was first his girlfriend then best friend. But despite some good performances from the cast, Malek is in many ways the only one who comes out of this really well. It is just a bit "meh" and I wanted & expected so much more.

Yes the music is great, hence the 3 stars, but especially when comparing this to Rocketman, released around the same time, there is so much here lacking. Yes, it was warmly received by many, but it could have been so much more.

I love this film. It is a wonderful, moving & action-packed movie, but more than anything, for me it is quintessentially a James Bond film. Bond is show to be fiercely patriotic & loyal, plus also vulnerable. Not since Die Another Day have we seen him beaten up, exhausted & jaded. But as he starts to get back to who he was, the screen just lights up & the joy you feel is the reason why, for so many people, there is no substitute.

Amusingly, one reason why Skyfall also works is because it is the only film of the series which in no way tries to tie itself in to the shadowy organisation which is first introduced in Casino Royale & then attempted to be fleshed out in Quantum of Solace. This is a truly standalone Bond film & is all the better for it.

And it starts as it means to go on: a shadow appears in the distance, then there is the almost deafening blast of the iconic Bond chords. Sat in the IMAX watching this, immediately it grabbed me & the message straight away, loud & clear was "Bond is back." In the space of 10 minutes, we see Bond desperately chase, with a car & motorbike, then on top of a moving train, a mercenary who has stolen highly classified files. The mission goes awry & Bond then vanishes, spending months in an island paradise drinking the bars dry & bedding beautiful women. However, a terrorist attack in London then draws him back to his home country & tracking down the mastermind behind it all.

This film has everything: a fantastic script, beautiful cinematography from Roger Deakins, a perfect score from Thomas Newman & theme song by Adele, incredible stunts & note-perfect performances. I mean, the list just goes on. And it is so welcome & brilliant to be able to sit in your seat & be totally swept up in everything that is going on, especially as the story & themes become much more personal. As much there is the real-world element to this & every Bond film (in Skyfall, it is mainly hacking/destroying high-value or important targets,) it becomes much more about James Bond himself & particularly his relationship with M.

Central to all of this is Daniel Craig. This is, even though Casino Royale is my favourite film overall, his best performance as Bond. Having 2 films under his belt (one spectacularly successful, the other average at best,) here you feel that he is much more comfortable & confident in the role. He really has grown into the skin of Bond & never for a second did I doubt any part of his performance. Judi Dench is also, as you would expect, incredible. Having been M since 1995 with Pierce's 1st film, here she is in many ways given her meatiest role in the 007 series. As you would expect, she delivers everything you could want & more. Alongside her, we get the return of Q, Ben Whishaw perfectly filling the shoes of Desmond Llewellyn after a long hiatus.

And then there is Javier Bardem as Silva. With a shock of blond hair & an extremely eccentric/camp persona, you almost dismiss him at first, even as he tells a fairly repugnant story in his opening monologue. But you underestimate him at your peril. He is totally ruthless, vain & evil, valuing only himself & prepared to destroy everything to get what he wants. He matches Craig toe-to-toe in dramatic tension & stakes.

Then we come to the ending. Again, no other Bond film makes you actually FEEL so strongly & emphatically the raw emotion which is shown on screen. As the final credits rolled, I felt every type of joy imaginable. I loved this film & it still saddens me to this day that despite trying, Bond has never again reached the heights it scaled here. This is James Bond, one of the greatest action heroes ever created, in one of the best films in the series.

Nobody will ever do it better.

Whenever I see David Fincher has released a new film, I always get excited. Whilst there are many reasons for this, the biggest one is because you never know what you are going to get. From his magnificent (and completely unfairly traduced,) 1st film Alien3, through to the massively successful & legendary crowd pleasers Se7en & Fight Club, Fincher is a chameleon, incapable of creating anything bland or stale, irrelevant of whether the viewer likes it or not. For his latest film, he adapts another novel, this time a highly successful & critically adored one from writer Gillian Flynn.

Gone Girl is about the sudden disappearance of Amy Dunne, who achieved a certain level of fame as a child after a series of successful books written about her by her parents, on her 5th wedding anniversary. Her husband Nick is a business owner but also in many ways, despite some small successes, basically a loser who has come to take everything in his life, including his relationship, for granted. After Nick calls the police, he then becomes a suspect, a suspicion that is exacerbated by the media hysteria/circus that descends upon the case. Nick then realises that something is very wrong & has to take matters into his own hands.

As you would expect in a Fincher film, everything is technically perfect. The cinematography, sets, costumes, soundtrack & performances note perfect. The actors are amazing, especially Rosamund Pike. In a film where she has to play so many different emotions, she aces every one. But I also feel that huge praise must go to Carrie Coon as Nick's sister. As the story progresses & it dawns on her the full horror of the situation that she has been dragged into, it is a joy to watch.

The script and story is also great. Even though I have not read the book, this did not in any way affect my viewing of it, plus I did also hear that the structure & ending has also been changed to keep an element of mystery. And the story itself is a dark & at times graphically violent one. This is a film where nothing is held back & that is absolutely to the movie's benefit. This film would not work if it was shot with half measures.

Whilst this is essential viewing, it's also emphatically not a "date" film, unless you both really like messed up films, in which case, everything you could want is catered for here.

After one of the greatest ever careers as an actor, filled with unbelievably varying characters/stories, it was completely appropriate that Daniel Day-Lewis would choose as his final film another strange & deeply idiosyncratic individual to portray. Although, as confirmed in an interview with him, when filming started, he had no idea or thoughts that this would be his final role; it was only in the middle of shooting that a deep depression & need to retire took hold. But he has gone out with a bang so to speak, playing a man only he could play & keeping us as the viewer engrossed & riveted as the film progresses. He also reunites with PT Anderson, after the magnificent There Will Be Blood, often called one of the best films ever made.

Reynolds Woodcock is a highly respected & supremely gifted fashion designer, running his fashion house in post-war 1954 London. He is revered for his designs & tailoring, catering to a wide variety of extremely influential, wealthy & important women, including royalty & the upper classes. But Woodcock is also an absolute nightmare as a person: a petulant, highly demanding, controlling & obsessive creature. Every single detail of his life, whether it is the minutiae of the stitching on the dresses he creates through to people at the breakfast table not eating certain foods at certain times, has to be exactly as he wants it, otherwise all hell breaks loose. His sister Cyril manages this life, tolerating much of this behaviour, as she accepts that this is what a tortured genius requires in order to keep the show on the road.

Into this life of precision & exacting standards comes Alma, a waitress who Reynolds meets on his yearly vacation. They immediately form a bond which then turns into love & a relationship. However, it soon becomes clear that Alma is absolutely not going to slot into the world & whims of Reynolds. We are then treated to a ringside seat as a monstrous ego meets its match.

The film itself is great fun. It is brilliantly written, quite profound & also at times unbelievably funny. Day-Lewis, who also did uncredited work on the script, dives headfirst into this world. As much as when you read the above description of Woodcock, he sounds unbearable, you do grow to love him but also feel pity for him. He is, in every sense of the world, a tortured genius, plagued by visions & hurt over the loss of his mother. But matching him toe to toe is newcomer Vicky Krieps. As with Barkad Abdi in Captain Phillips, putting a relatively new actor up against a talisman of talent like Hanks or Day-Lewis either works or it doesn't. But Krieps's gentle, fierce and strong Alma always has the viewer willing her on, whilst at the same time imaging the horror of having to deal with what is in many ways an extremely talented baby in a grown-man's body.

Lesley Manville is also excellent, her acid tongued sister Cyril managing this situation whilst also begrudgingly respecting what Alma is trying to do. There are a few great scenes between Woodcock & her, in particular one where he tries to pull his tricks on her & is cut down immediately & remorselessly. There are other elements of great humour, my favourite involving a teapot.

I did love this film, but it is in no way like There Will Be Blood, in terms of certain scenes having a degree of action in them. This is a film full of conversations, dreams & musings about life.

As much as I am devastated that one of my 2 favourite actors will no longer be working, I am glad that this was the film he went out on: a brilliant & difficult look at talent and genius.

Mr Day-Lewis, thank you for the memories.

A very gentle & warm film, showing what happens when children grow up, but don't completely lose their innocence and wonderful memories.

In this film, Christopher Robin is an adult and now is working for a company where he is in constant demand, forgetting not only his family but also all the animals in the Hundred Acre Wood. After a personal crisis, Robin is drawn back into the world & comfort of the animals and the place where all of his happy memories were created. He then slowly rediscovers the parts of himself that were suppressed & forgotten about as he was forced to mature.

It is all very gentle, with no nasty surprises, or indeed any surprises narrative wise at all. Exactly what you think will happen happens, but it is enjoyable. The cast are great, especially McGregor and welcomingly, Jim Cummings, the original voice actor of both Pooh & Tigger. The CGI is also excellent.

A perfect film to watch with your children, or by yourself if you want a trip down memory lane & a reflection of everything you had to lose in order to grow up, some of which you would do well to rediscover.

In a career full of amazing performances, this is for me hands down Nicole Kidman's best. Like a number of other actors in challenging roles, she has totally transformed herself through incredible prosthetics & make-up, but most importantly, this is emphatically not a case of simply relying on this transformation to carry the film. Like Charlize Theron in Monster or Matthew McConaughey in Dallas Buyers Club, this simply allows you to buy much deeper into the story & enhances the performance in every single way.

Erin Bell is a cop with the LAPD, who has spent time deep undercover within gangs. When we first meet her, she is as close to death as it is possible to be without being in an intensive care bed. She looks like she has spent a millennia in the baking sun, her blood has been replaced by whiskey & the last time she slept was a hundred years ago. Bell is also openly mocked & traduced by her colleagues, who express credulity that she still has a job within the police force.

Arriving at the scene of a brutal gang murder, Bell claims to know who was involved, which again is dismissed by those around her. The film then jumps back in time, looking at her evolution from a keen & fresh-faced undercover cop to the ruin of a person she is now.

The entire metaphor of the film, which Kidman plays to perfection & the director Karyn Kusama flawlessly deconstructs, is the enormous personal price that being in enforcement, especially undercover, does to a person. It can, in the case of Bell, literally destroy you. But it is absolutely gripping. It also, for a nano-budget film, has a stunning heist scene, which rivals any big budget thriller film.

I won't say too much more, as part of the joy of this film is the shocking journey that you are taken on. But this is Kidman & cast at the top of their games.

A brilliant film

Free climbing, meaning the scaling of mountains & rock faces with no safety equipment, is a niche but horrifyingly watchable and adrenaline-raising sport. Whilst there have been some TV programmes on it before, there has never been a standalone docu-film about one particular individual, following his journey. 

Alex Honnold is in many ways the perfect subject for a film like this. It is clear from the opening moments that he never intended to be famous or well-known, and treats the media fascination around him with a sort of bemused detachment. As someone who has spent the vast majority of his life simply being on his own, setting & breaking multiple records, he would have probably stayed under the radar indefinitely with no-one outside of the climbing community knowing about him. But this documentary has been massively successful, even winning an Oscar & propelling him into the spotlight. 

We follow Honnold as he prepares to try to achieve the first ever free-solo climb on part of El Capitan. Along the way, we find out more about his early life, as well as how he mentally deals with the pressures and strains, despite also being strangely separated from the dangers in certain ways. Honnold is also fairly open to investigations as to why that is, including agreeing to submit to brain scans examining how his mind works. There are also some lovely intimate scenes as he finds love with Sanni, who becomes in many ways the beating heart of the documentary. 

Then we get to the climb, after months of preparation & close calls. And the way it is shot is perfect: no music, no stupid tricks or media flourishes. We are just given a front row seat to one of the greatest athletic performances of all time. Huge praise must be given to the directors, who give us just enough distance whilst still keeping us close. 

An incredible documentary & richly deserving of all the plaudits that it received.

I remember so clearly the tsunami of 2004, especially as it was Boxing Day. But this story seeks to flesh out not only the true story/experience of one family, but also to show not only the selfishness at times of some of those caught up in it (like someone refusing to allow a desperate person to use their mobile to contact family,) but also and far more frequently the incredible generosity & care of particularly the Thai people to help.

Maria & Henry arrive in Thailand with their 3 children to spend Christmas in the beautiful surroundings of Khao Lak. Over the opening minutes, you see them all sharing wonderful & precious moments together, as they mess around in the swimming pools & light fire lanterns, making the night sky come alive. Then, one day the peace is shattered in the most horrific scenes imaginable: an enormous tsunami hits the beach where they are, destroying everything in its path & splitting them up. When the tsunami passes, there is a frantic attempt to try to help the wounded & find loved ones.

For me, the special effects, as well as the use of miniatures/real world effects was absolutely staggering. When you look at the special features & see how it was recreated, it simply blows your mind. There isn't one second where it doesn't look like you are watching actual footage/you have been thrown into the center of this horror. The scenes of the water exploding through everything in its path, destroying & obliterating enormous buildings like they are made of glass, are the stuff of nightmares.

But this film is most remarkable for its performances. Naomi Watts & Ewan McGregor had worked together before on the fairly underpowered & little-seen film Stay, but had always said that they wanted to work together again. And their chemistry pays dividends here. One thing which is often completely missed by people is that in the space of literally 10 minutes, they have to convince you that they are a family who have known each other for years & make you want to follow/become emotionally involved with them.

Watts, who we mainly follow for the first part of the film is, as you would expect, amazing. Her chemistry with Tom Holland (in his feature film debut after coming to fame as one of the Billy Elliot's in the UK stage shows,) is also great. Her resilience in the face of catastrophic injuries & undescribable fear is stunning.

But this film belongs to Ewan McGregor. He has always been one of my 2 favourite actors (the other being Daniel Day-Lewis,) and in this film, there was not one thing that could be improved with his performance. He is a completely broken man who has to try & find his children and wife, whilst dealing with the constant horror of what is happening around him. And this leads to one of the most heart-breaking & unbearably emotional scenes I have ever watched, with some of the best acting imaginable, in a bus garage surrounded by actual people who were caught up in the tsunami (not actors.)

But there is also many wonderful acts of kindness shown which were inspired by real-life events. One of the most moving for me was the small moments that were shown of local people who has literally lost everything they had, be it property or loved ones, making rafts out of whatever they could salvage, rescuing people & getting them to medical help. This showed so clearly & movingly how decent people can be when helping their fellow man.

The film does everything you could imagine. It makes you laugh, cry, wince but also feel hope that in the worst times imaginable, people help each other & miracles can happen. I loved it, and I hope you do as well.