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My Rating: 6/10 – *This review contains spoilers.

In the future, everyone might live in communal buildings. If you’ve ever lived in a tiny apartment in a big city, you know these can have their drawbacks. This film shows some of those potential problems in the form of a drama. It all looks great but it somehow lost me in its fragmented plot.

High Rise (2015)

Cast

Tom Hiddleston, Jeremy Irons, Sienna Miller

Directed by

Ben Wheatley

Written by

J.G. Ballard (novel), Amy Jump

Other Info

Drama
Rated R
1h 59min

Did you “get” this film? Imagine you live, work, swim, workout, shop, and recreate in a London high-rise building. That’s what’s going on here. The cover almost looks like the game “Clue” since it has all the characters posed sardonically as if to say “I could have done it, but I didn’t.” But this isn’t a “whodunnit.” Instead, it’s a drama about things that go on in said high rise. One facet that’s really weird and alluring is the way the futuristic stuff is all retro 70’s looking. It’s like a trip into a sort of “James Bond” land on a movie studio theme park tour. I also reminded me of Ray Bradbury’s writing. He wrote in the 50’s about a future he imagined from 50’s stuff (phones, analog computers, telescreens, monorails). What’s different here is you have a move made in 2016 that portrays a future using 70’s stuff. It really needs to be seen to be understood. I call it futuristic retro.

Tom Hiddleston plays the main character, Laing. He is the protagonist in the real life novel of the same name by J.G. Ballard. I would assume the novel provided some of the retro visual motivation. The film was directed by Bean Wheatley who is known for Kill List and Sight Seers. He is joined by his wife as screenplay writer on this film once again. Jeremy Irons plays “the architect.” He represents the older gentleman who knows everything about the building. Sienna Miller also stars in the film.

High-Rise is a story about surviving and thriving in a futuristic high-rise. It’s as much about human technology as it is about its failures. Were people meant to live this closely together? One might decide not after watching this film. Then again, it could be the fault of a few bad applies that spoils it for everyone. When Laing first moves in to the building, I asked myself “Why would he ever need to leave?” There is even a floor that serves as a grocery store. On its face it seems a novel idea, but perhaps we do need to go out from time to time and mingle?

Luke Evans (known for Dracula) plays a scary Wilder. He is the antagonist and the constant fly in the ointment. At the same time, he was the character I enjoyed watching the most. He bares a similar resemblance to Michael Shannon, who has a similar demeanor as well. It’s impossible to rule out whether a certain person or the faulty plans of the architect pave the way for anarchy in this London high-rise. despite the contained setting, there is sex, violence, vengeance, and science fiction that keeps the plot interesting. By the way, does anyone agree the sex scene was way too long? Is Tom Hiddleston gunning for a new genre here? Unfortunately, the structure and slick look is fragmented. I don’t think I “got it” as I was supposed to.

Lots of time movies look really slick but I just can’t get into them. It happened with the remake of The Man Called Uncle and some others I reviewed last year. I could probably go back and understand this film better a second time but I probably won’t anytime soon. For the visuals and futuristic/retro ideas, I gave it a 3/5. This is one however that I think will depend a lot on the individual as to whether it’s “gotten” or not. Part of being a “spoilers” reviewer as I am these days is being honest about my gut response. On a gut level, this movie scores lower with me. I try to avoid rating film by my gut so for the look, acting, and structure, I give it 3/5.

My Rating: 9/10 – Phillipe Petit is the subject of the feature film on this event. This is a different film, a documentary covering the idea to walk on a tightrope across the late World Trade Center. This film is much better than the Hollywood version. It does an amazing job of bringing you into Petit’s world and even onto the wire itself.

“A look at tightrope walker Philippe Petit’s daring, but illegal, high-wire routine performed between New York City’s World Trade Center’s twin towers in 1974, what some consider, “the artistic crime of the century.”” -IMDB

Cast

Philippe Petit Himself
Jean François Heckel (as Jean-François Heckel) Himself
Jean-Louis Blondeau Himself
Annie Allix Herself

Directed by

James Marsh

Written by

Philippe Petit

Other Info

Documentary
PG-13
Fri 29 Aug 2008 UTC
90min
IMDB Rating: 7.8

The early part of the film shows Petit practicing his unicycle and wire walking skills in Paris. He knew he was destined to do something amazing with his talents but he didn’t know what. Early on, in a dentist’s office he saw the towers in a magazine and got his inspiration to do it.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The best feature of this film is that you get Petit himself talking about why and how he pulled off this feat of art. The amount of work and stealth trickery involved is staggering. It is mindblowing what he was able to do but you keep asking yourself, “why?”

In comparison to the Hollywood version, this film draws you in to a real event. That’s why this one makes my great 100 list and the Hollywood version does not. The documentary is not perfect in that it does contain a lot of interview footage, and that can get less than exciting if you aren’t really into the topic.

4/5

My Rating: 3/10 – It doesn’t really matter that critics are giving this movie an average of 30% on Rotten Tomatoes. People are paying to see it anyway. The explosions and short-attention-span vignettes are what makes it very much like a comic and we all know how popular comics have become in pop culture.

Starring: Margot Robbie, Jared Leto, Will Smith, Joel Kinnaman, Cara Delevingne, Jai Courtney, Jesse Eisenberg, Viola Davis, Jay Hernandez
Genres: Action
Directed By: David Ayer
Studio: Warner Bros.
MPAA Rating
R

In case you haven’t divined it by now, Suicide Squad is a comic movie made for comic fans. There is a lot to like about this film but there is also I found hard to follow in the plot. I found it recovered about halfway through and I ended up liking it for what it was.

Director David Ayer is known for his films set in Los Angeles. He is also known for directing Training Day which shines a light on the dark side of law enforcement in L.A.. In Suicide Squad, a set of high profile prisoners are commissioned by a secret government agency to battle an evil supernatural witch. The prisoners are offered less time for their sentences if they comply. These characters are fun to watch and they have a lot of crime adventures as they seek to take down the witch. Unfortunately, the story of how the witch came to be is a little hazy and she is, in my opinion, weak as a villain.

Everyone talks about Margot Robbie as the star of the film as Harley Quinn. I will grant her that but then again, there isn’t a whole lot of competition present here. Jared Leto as the Joker but the backstory about he and Harley Quinn takes away from the plot in my opinion and is not really necessary. I say if you are going to give the story of one you should give it for others. In all truth, I don’t think we need the history for any of these criminals, they should just let them do their work.

The plot starts out really slow but picks up 1/2 to 3/4 of the way through. Unlike a lot of the critics, I liked this film for what it tried to be. Comic books have simple, boxy cartoons that tell a story. This was sort of like “in your face” comic book pages flipping wildly. If you can put aside your desire for a traditional movie, it’s fairly easy to get in to this film. I know because I expected nothing and ended up enjoying it. It was clearly made for children, hence the PG-13 rating. I teach ten year olds and nearly my whole class told me they have seen it. It lost a couple stars with me, I give it a 3/5. Still, if you can shed your grownup sensitivities long enough for this funhouse ride, you might enjoy it. It’s a good idea to do that now and then you know?