Jojo Rabbit (2019)

Based on the novel ‘Caging Skies’ by Christine Leunens, this film tells the story of a young boy living right in the middle of World War 2 in Germany, and his idolisation of his hero - and imaginary friend - Adolf Hitler.

Ten-year-old Jojo (Roman Griffin Davis) lives with his mother Rosie (Scarlett Johansson) in a small village in Germany. He considers himself a Nazi, and at the film’s opening, is going away to a Hitler Youth style training camp with several of his closest friends, including best friend Yorki (Archie Yates).

There, he meets SS Captain Klenzendorf (Sam Rockwell), as well as Klenzendorf’s assistant Finkel (Alfie Allen) and Fraulein Rahm (Rebel Wilson), who introduce the young children to all manner of practices they will need to be skilled in in order to serve in Hitler’s forces.

The thing you need to know is Jojo not only idolises the Fuhrer, but he actually has him as an imaginary friend, and the two of them have lengthy conversations (of course, only Jojo can see him) and Adolf (Taika Waititi) is constantly commenting on Jojo’s life and decisions, and giving him advice on what to do next.

Jojo (Roman Griffin Davis) and Adolf Hitler (Taika Waititi).

After Jojo is sent home from the camp seriously injured - and also with physical deformities - he is stuck at home with his mother (his father is off in France fighting, as he has been told).

While there, he accidentally comes across a Jewish girl hiding in their attic. The girl, Elsa (Thomasin McKenzie) has been invited to hide out by Rosie - unbeknownst to anyone else of course, including Jojo.

Jojo’s personal beliefs are called into question, as he must decide what to do with this discovery. Does he turn Elsa in, and risk his own life and that of his mother? Or does he put aside his fascist thinking and learn to accept this person who isn’t all that different from him after all?

Rosie (Scarlett Johansson) and Jojo (Roman Griffin Davis).

The screenplay, adapted by Taika Waititi from Leunens’s book, is absolutely brilliant. Sure, there are a lot of differences between the book and the film, but none of these affect the film too negatively. The script - and hence the film - is absolutely hilarious, which may come as a surprise given the subject matter and the historical and cultural setting, though not as much of a surprise to those who have read the book.

There are plenty of twists and turns in the plot as the film progresses, which of course I will leave for you to discover. The characters are all incredibly well-constructed, with plenty of internal and external conflicts.

Michael Giacchino’s score is barely noticeable (in a good way). There is music there, but it is so well-suited to the scenes in which it features, it is never jarring. The film is certainly not overscored, in fact, it doesn’t have a lot of score at all. Even when it does, it is incredibly understated, with minimal instrumentation, keeping itself out of the way to allow the comedy (and drama) to come to the fore.

The cinematography - courtesy of Mihai Malaimare Jr. - is sensational throughout. The overall look of the film is in keeping with the setting and time period, and Malaimare’s command of light, dark, shadow and contrast is a joy to behold. The film - even though it is primarily a comedy - is visually spectacular, and deserves to be seen on as large a screen as possible (if you miss it at the cinema, watch it on a nice big television; you’ll thank me).

Elsa (Thomasin McKenzie).

Ra Vincent’s production design and Mayes C. Rubeo’s costume design firmly plant the viewer right in the middle of 1930s Germany, indeed right in the middle of an active war zone. The two work together in such a beautiful way as to perfectly set the scene from beginning to end, and everything just feels so real.

The performances of the entire cast are sensational as well, none more so than young Davis in the title role. Despite his young years, he has a seemingly innate ability to convey so much through his eyes. He also possesses brilliant comic timing - perfect for this film. The same things can be said of Scarlett Johansson, who doesn’t feature nearly enough considering her brilliance.

The supporting cast are equally as good, almost without exception. Waititi steals every scene he appears in, as does Sam Rockwell.

Director Taika Waititi has made an exceptional film here, one that I would happily pay money to see again at the cinema (it really is that good). I can not recommend it highly enough; you absolutely must see this film.

10 out of 10.

Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)

Based on characters from the comics by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, this film serves as a near-perfect follow-up to the hugely successful Avengers: Endgame, and continues the ever-expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Following the death of Tony Stark, Peter Parker (Tom Holland) finds that he is the new hero of the moment, with everyone wanting to share a moment with his alter-ego Spider-Man. But all he wants is the chance to relax with his friends on a school trip to Europe over the summer.

But this wouldn't be much of a film if he simply got what he wanted now, would it?

S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) has been trying to call Peter for some time, but Peter has been ignoring his calls, fearing the worst: that Fury wants Spider-Man to become the next Iron-Man; all Peter wants is some time alone with MJ (Zendaya Coleman) so he can finally tell her how he feels.

Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Tom Holland).

But when the class group, chaperoned by teachers Mr. Harrington (Martin Starr) and Mr. Dell (J. B. Smoove) get to Europe, Fury effectively abducts Peter, taking him to a secret location, needing him for yet another mission.

Peter meets Quentin Beck (Jake Gyllenhaal), a god-like creature from another dimension of Earth - think of a cross between Thor and Dr. Strange - who has come to help destroy monsters known as Elementals, creatures made up of each of the four basic elements: Earth, Air, Fire and Water. These creatures destroyed Beck's Earth some time before, and now they are here, doing the same thing over again. Only one creature - the 'Fire' Elemental - still remains, and it will be striking in Venice in a matter of days.

And so, together, Spider-Man and Beck - who becomes known as Mysterio - must work together to save the world, though Peter's immediate priority is just keeping his friends out of harm's way.

Quentin Beck/Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal).

Again, if this was all that was going to happen, the film would be a lot shorter than it is. But it's all I can say at this point; the film hasn't been in theatres long, and I don't want to give too much away. I will say that I did see one of the twists coming early, but that's only because I've been reading the comics for years, so there were things within the Spider-Man universe I had a little advance notice of.

Erik Sommers's screenplay is well-written, with plenty of twists and turns to keep audiences on the edge of their seat. Seriously, the film doesn't let up even for a moment; even the post-credits scene (yes, this staple of Marvel films is back after the briefest of hiatuses, I'm looking at you, Endgame!) is devastating and shocking in and of itself. The characters are all clearly defined, of course, the majority of them are characters we have met before in earlier Marvel films, predominantly the previous Spider-Man film, subtitled 'Homecoming'.

The score, courtesy of experienced and accomplished composer Michael Giacchino, is magnificent. Ever since Black Panther won the Academy Award for Best Original Score, Marvel soundtracks have simply been getting better and better, and this is no exception. You've heard me rave about Giacchino before - I've been a massive fan of his work since 'Lost' - and the best thing about this score is that it doesn't sound like every other score you've heard before. Yes, it's largely traditional in terms of its instrumentation and arrangement, but there is still enough in there that is different and unexpected. The on-screen action - as well as the rise and fall of the tension from start to finish - is perfectly countered by the music at all times, the mark of a great film score.

Peter Parker (Tom Holland) and Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson).

Matthew J. Lloyd's cinematography is also brilliant, bringing the feel of the comics directly onto the screen. I know I've said this before about previous Marvel films, but there are numerous moments when what you're seeing on screen looks like a comic panel transferred straight to the big screen. Of course, this is due to a collaborative process between the director and the cinematographer, as well as the heads of numerous other departments, but the capturing of the image is the realm of the cinematographer, and Lloyd has done very well at achieving a very comic-book feel to this film.

The cast performances are stunning, as far as a film based on a comic book goes. Tom Holland is still to my mind the greatest on-screen Spider-Man, and he is only getting better with each film he does. The supporting cast are also great, particularly Gyllenhaal, who brings an incredible realism and inner conflict to his character.

Director Jon Watts has done a great job with this film, making what I believe to be the greatest possible follow-up to Avengers: Endgame. I hope there will still be many more films based on Marvel properties to come (and when they do, I will certainly be reviewing them!).

8 1/2 out of 10.

The Incredibles (2004)

Mr. Incredible (Craig T. Nelson) is one of several superheroes keeping evil at bay. Fighting crime at every turn, his super strength makes it almost effortless for him to stop just about anyone.

Two other heroes also fighting crime in the same city are Elastigirl (Holly Hunter), whose limbs and in fact entire body can stretch to ridiculous proportions as if she were made of rubber; and Frozone (Samuel L. Jackson) who can freeze anything, and can essentially shoot ice from his hands.

And when we meet them, Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl are getting married.

Soon after this, after a long line of lawsuits from people who were saved by Mr. Incredible against their will - including a suicide attempt - superheroes are driven deeper and deeper underground, until the government is forced to rehouse them in a process similar to witness protection: they assume new identities and new lives in a new place, and try to keep their superpowers a secret.

Mr. Incredible (Craig T. Nelson).

Fifteen years later, Bob Parr - formerly Mr. Incredible - and his wife, Helen, have three children: Violet (Sarah Vowell), Dashiell (Spencer Fox) or 'Dash' and baby Jack-Jack. Given that their parents are both 'supers', the children too have powers: Violet has the power of invisibility and also the ability to generate a protective force field around herself, Dash has super speed and Jack-Jack, well, we don't know yet, he's still too young.

Bob now works in insurance, a job that is crushing his spirit. His boss, Gilbert Huph (Wallace Shawn), treats him like dirt. But once a week - when Helen thinks he is going bowling - he and friend Lucius Best (or Frozone) sit in his car listening to the police scanner, dreaming of the day when they can use their powers to fight crime again.

That day comes all too soon when Bob - as Mr. Incredible - is recruited by a woman named Mirage (Elizabeth Peña) to test the features of a super-strong robot, developed by an inventor named Buddy Pine (Jason Lee), who always wanted to be a superhero, but has now turned to super-villainy, going by the name Syndrome.

Elastigirl (Holly Hunter).

Unknown to Mr. Incredible, Syndrome is actually trying to rid the world of all other superheroes, so that in their absence, he can become the hero he always wanted to be; if there isn't anyone else with superpowers, then his abilities will seem greater.

But when Mr. Incredible can't get back home, the rest of the family - including the two eldest children, who until now have been told to repress their abilities - must come to his aid and stop Syndrome's evil plan.

The screenplay, written by Brad Bird, is absolutely brilliant. The story itself is simple enough, but the writing is executed in such a clever way that it makes for a wonderfully entertaining ride that will surely have you on the edge of your seat (unless you've fallen off from laughing too hard). The relationships between all the characters are very well defined, and there is plenty of underlying conflict, as well as serious external conflict, to keep the story moving.

Violet (Sarah Vowell) and Dash (Spencer Fox).

Michael Giacchino's score is equally brilliant, matching the on-screen action and emotion perfectly. This shouldn't be surprising, Giacchino is a compositional genius, as any of his previous work will show. I was quite surprised, however, at the significant portions of the film that featured no score whatsoever, something that is incredibly rare in animation, but something that here works to the film's advantage. It is only certain points within the film where music is used, thus heightening and highlighting these key moments even more.

The voice cast are all fantastic in their respective roles. I particularly enjoyed the chemistry between Nelson and Hunter as husband and wife, but also between Vowell and Fox as brother and sister. And Jason Lee is the absolute perfect choice to play the villain.

Director Brad Bird - yes, he wrote and directed this film - has done a fabulous job. I absolutely love this film, and watching it over and over does not diminish its brilliance.

8 out of 10.

Tomorrowland (2015)

A truly unique adventure from the wonderful world of Disney, this film becomes more enjoyable every time I watch it, though nothing can beat seeing it on the big screen as I did years ago.

Casey Newton (Britt Robertson) has always been fascinated by the stars. Able to name all the constellations and point them out from a very early age, she has always dreamed of going into outer space one day.

Living with her father Eddie (Tim McGraw) and younger brother Nate (Pierce Gagnon), she continues to chase her dream. Her father is an engineer with NASA, and she spends her evenings carrying out her own form of protest against the planned closure of a launch site at Canaveral.

After being arrested for vandalism one evening, she is taken into police custody. When she is finally bailed out (by her very disappointed father), she collects her belongings from the front desk. Included in her belongings is a small lapel pin (which she doesn’t recognise), but when she touches it, she is instantly transported into another world (although she can only see it when she is touching the pin; she is technically still in our world, but can see an incredible vision of a futuristic society).

Casey (Britt Robertson) discovers a lapel pin among her belongings after being
released from police custody.

Desperate to find out what the pin is, and how she can get back to this future world on a more permanent basis, she finds a collectable store online that is looking for the very pin she possesses: evidently it is a memorial pin from the World’s Fair in 1964.

But when she gets to the store, the couple trying to get their hands on the pin seem to not be all they seem. Ursula (Kathryn Hahn) and her husband Hugo (Keegan-Michael Key) even end up threatening her life, and would succeed if it wasn’t for the last-minute intervention of a young girl named Athena (Raffey Cassidy).

It turns out that Hugo and Ursula are robots (actually, so is Athena) from this very society Casey is wanting to get to. Athena takes Casey on a road trip to find the one person who can get them both back there: Frank Walker (George Clooney), who met Athena when he was a little boy.

Athena - it turns out - has recruited Casey, believing her to be the last hope for saving both her world and ours.

Frank Walker (George Clooney) being pursued by robots.

But her world - ruled over by megalomaniacal Chancellor Nix (Hugh Laurie) - is reticent to help save our planet; as Nix himself says “You have the simultaneous epidemics of obesity and starvation”, and he doesn’t believe that Earth is worth saving.

The screenplay, written by Damon Lindelof and Brad Bird, is so unique and fast-paced, not letting you relax even for a moment; you will be on the edge of your seat from beginning to magnificent ending. All the characters are well-written, especially Athena and Chancellor Nix, neither of whom are what they first appear to be.

Michael Giacchino’s score is fabulous, big and expansive in just the right places, while also being subtle and understated when necessary. I first discovered Michael Giacchino’s music on the television series Lost; he has now scored a large number of Disney releases, and only seems to get better with each one.

As you would expect from a film that deals primarily with a futuristic world, one of the strongest elements of the film is its fantastic production design. Scott Chambliss has not only created a wonderful world in the society known as Tomorrowland, but also created some wonderful sets and props for our own world, with plenty of unique scientific inventions to satisfy any audience.

Frank Walker (George Clooney) and Athena (Raffey Cassidy) telling Casey
(Britt Robertson) about the importance of their mission.

The performances of the cast are equally fantastic, with plenty of credit going to acting stalwarts Clooney and Laurie. However, it is the film’s young cast that truly steal the show. Britt Robertson, who until this film had not taken on a role of this size, is magnificent as Casey. But newcomer Raffey Cassidy - playing the robotic Athena - is absolutely stunning, bringing to her character a deep wisdom (bear in mind, as a robotic character, she is obviously older than she looks) but also a vulnerability and innocence that I haven’t seen on screen in a long time. And her fight scenes - in which she did all her own stunts and choreography - will absolutely blow you away.

Director Brad Bird, who started his career in animation, directing among other things Pixar’s film The Incredibles, has made an incredibly enjoyable thrill-ride of a film here which, even upon multiple viewings, will continue to entertain and excite you.

8 1/2 out of 10.

Up (2009)

As children, Carl and Ellie meet and bond over their love of explorer Charles Muntz (Christopher Plummer), whose most famous expedition was to Paradise Falls in South America.

Carl and Ellie pledge to each other that they will one day go to Paradise Falls, and meet the great Muntz in person.

Staying together for their entire lives, until Ellie passes away, they sadly never make good on that pledge, and Carl (now elderly, voiced by Edward Asner) lives alone in the same house they moved into together when they got married.

But all around him, the world is changing. A property developer wants to build apartments, and continually pesters Carl to sell him his property too, as it stands right in the middle of where he is already building.

Carl is stubborn, however, and refuses to budge; this house is all he has left to remember the many good times he had with his wife.

After an altercation with the construction workers, Carl is about to be admitted to Shady Oaks Retirement Village. But when staff turn up to escort him to his new home, he has other ideas.

Tying hundreds of helium-filled balloons to the top of his house, he lifts right off the ground, and begins his promised journey to Paradise Falls.

It isn’t until he gets hundreds of feet into the air that he discovers he has a ‘stowaway’ on his porch: Junior Wilderness Explorer (basically a Boy Scout) Russell (Jordan Nagai), who only needs one more badge to become a Senior Wilderness Explorer: his ‘Assisting the Elderly’ badge.

So the two of them adventure together to South America, Russell hoping to get his final badge and Carl hoping to settle down in the place he and Ellie had always wanted to visit.

As I’m sure I’ve said numerous times now, there is just something so wonderful about Pixar films, and this one is no exception.

Written by Pete Docter & Bob Peterson, the script is funny, clever, heartbreaking, tender, and so many other great adjectives. It may not be Pixar’s best film to date, but it is still a good one.

Docter and Peterson also directed the film together, and it is just as wonderful as any other Pixar film, as I’ve already said. The characters are all clearly defined, and the love between Carl and Ellie is just as strong and motivating a force as the frustration Carl has with Russell.

The plot is incredibly inventive (I mean, whoever thought it was possible to fly your entire house to South America using balloons?) but within the confines of the film, it feels perfectly normal and acceptable.

The voice cast are all fantastic. I’m sure this is one of the most fun parts of an animated film for the directors: choosing actors whose voices will best capture the particular nuances of character you’re going for. It’s impossible now to imagine these characters being voiced by anybody else, as it is the voices themselves that make and define the characters.

But what I want to focus on the most in this review is the music. Michael Giacchino’s score is absolutely superb, and an opportunity for anyone studying film scoring technique to learn some of the greatest lessons, more informative than anything a traditional class environment could teach you.

Giacchino has written a theme - a leitmotif - to represent Carl and Ellie’s relationship, and this theme recurs many times throughout the film. Each time it appears, the instrumentation is different. Occasionally the tempo varies. Sometimes the key centre changes, sometimes the mode changes, but each time, it is the ‘same’ theme.

This serves to unite the entire film as one story: the story of Carl and Ellie, even though Ellie is not physically present for the majority of the film. But the way the music is used like this is just beautiful, and even if the audience only realises it unconsciously, Ellie is as much a part of this film (as a whole) as any of the other characters, if not more so.

As I’ve already mentioned, this may not be Pixar’s best film overall. But it does have the best music of any Pixar film to date.

8 out of 10.

Inside Out (2015)

Have you ever wondered what is going on inside someone else's head? Well, this film attempts to answer that question.

Riley Andersen (Kaitlyn Dias) is 11 years old, and with her parents (Kyle MacLachlan and Diane Lane) has just moved from Minnesota - where she has lived her whole life - to San Francisco, where she knows no-one, has to adjust to a new school and new surroundings.

And thanks to the magic of animation, we are able to see inside her head, where her emotions are all personified. Joy (Amy Poehler) is the self-appointed leader of the emotions, as Joy is the main emotion that Riley has felt so far as a child. But now, as she approaches her teenage years - and as her life is becoming less and less enjoyable for her - some of the other emotions are beginning to take over.

The other main emotion who starts coming to the fore a lot more is Sadness (Phyllis Smith). In fact, even some of Riley's Core Memories (that were hitherto Joyful memories) are beginning to be tainted with touches of Sadness.

One day, Joy and Sadness together are whisked out of 'Headquarters' and end up lost in Riley's 'Long Term Memory', and have to find their way back to Headquarters, along with all of Riley's Core Memories, that are at risk of falling into 'the dump' and being lost forever.

While Joy and Sadness are away from Headquarters, Riley's other emotions are left to take charge. Fear (Bill Hader), Disgust (Mindy Kaling) and Anger (Lewis Black) start to become more and more prevalent in Riley's various outbursts, as her parents try to understand what has come over their little girl all of a sudden.

In Riley's Long Term Memory, Joy and Sadness find Riley's imaginary friend, Bing Bong (Richard Kind), who helps them in their journey out of his long-held love for Riley.

I'll let you discover the rest for yourself if you haven't seen this film yet. Writers Meg Lefauve, Josh Cooley and Pete Docter (who was also the director of this film) have created in my opinion an absolute masterpiece. The writing is so clever, and the animation so good (though who could expect less from a Pixar film these days?) that it is very easy to get swept up in the story, and to really feel for Riley and her parents in the whole situation.

Music by Michael Giacchino is subtle and heartfelt. There is a very simple piano theme that repeats throughout, which serves to ground the viewer each time it appears.

I have said this over and over again to many people with whom I have discussed this film over the years: This is quite simply the best Pixar film since Finding Nemo back in 2003. And I think it would be very difficult to knock it from this position, at least as far as I am concerned.

There is plenty here for young children to enjoy and to learn, particularly the lesson that it is okay to feel sad sometimes (Joy has a very hard time accepting that Sadness is a valid part of Riley's emotions, and it is only through a long and arduous journey that she realises for herself that Sadness is important, too). But there is also so much in here for older audiences, parents and other adults alike. This to me is the appeal of animated films like this, there is something for everyone.

9 out of 10.