The Kings of Summer

Currently In the groove of small independent ‘coming of age’ releases, with such films as ‘the way way back’ already having graced our screens, the newest addition for the sub-genre, The Kings Of Summer, hit very selected theatres earlier this summer only to gift us with a DVD release in October. Following very much the fanatical dream of the early teenager (if not the current one), The Kings Of Summer follows three friends as they embark on a woodland adventure to escape their parents and live self-provided in the wild. Whilst it’s a plot line that’s been walked countless numbers of times in some route or another, The Kings of Summer manages to create a strong identity for itself being sincerely heartfelt and true to life, launching surprises throughout as it consistently breaks genre expectations.

Being a film of standard running time it’s extraordinary to consider the great depths that each character is read into, with protagonist, Joe (Nick Robinson) being the most seasoned of the three main characters. Usually displayed with contrived gush in a conventional film of the genre, the protagonist here is instead hugely genuine, being presented in one of the most realistic portrayals of any teenage character to date. This comes with aid from the fantastic screenplay written by Chris Galletta who not only writes with incredible truth and charm but also does so with such effortless comedic flare. Being truly one of the funniest comedies of the year if not in recent memory, Galletta entwines ‘intelligent’ wit from the parental characters and contrasts it with the puerile humour of the teenagers; creating something for everyone either in the dead pan delivery of Joes father (Nick Offerman) or the bizarre antics of Biaggio (Moises Arias). Both of these performances are highly enjoyable with Offerman’s now polished cold humour and delivery standing out being consistently hilariously rude and obnoxious to every character he comes across.

With consistent surprises and realistic turns of events, The Kings of Summer never resorts to genre stereotypes or clichés making a recognisable brand for itself with its stunning cinematography and near flawless screenplay.  Moving the story along with some pace, at times certain events feel very contrived as the three characters find a knowledge of the woods from nowhere with skills to surprise even the most daring architect.

Watching The Kings of Summer is very much like going on the adventure yourself, part of the trio, despairing in their losses, grinning in their triumphs and consolidating with their damaged emotions; this is a truly heart-felt and genuine film that is assured to paint a smile across your face.

8/10- A portrait of young life, hilarious and painfully true.

Calum Russell 

Captain Phillips

Displaying Tom Hanks’ most terrific performance for years, Captain Phillips follows the true story of an American cargo ship which is hijacked by Somali pirates, as skipper ‘Rich Phillips’ defends his ship and crew.

Having an evident knack for the suspension of disbelief as well as the simultaneous maintenance of intensity, director Paul Greengrass bounces back from his slight 2010 miss step ‘Green zone’ to remind us of his directorial talent in his newest release. With a true to life narrative which works hard to keep close to its source material, Captain Phillips never refrains to entertain keeping an unbearable level of intensity throughout the whole course of the relatively lengthy running time. On occasion the story does slow down with repetitive scenes of nothingness as well as countless establishing shots of the boat used simply to fill time; however these moments are not significant enough to impact the overall intensity of the film. This intensity is heavily aided by the fantastic performances across the whole cast, with two in particular being deserved of momentous praise and perhaps award nominations. Protagonist Tom Hanks gives his best performance since arguably his Oscar nominated role in 2000’s ‘Castaway’ shoving every ounce of emotion into his performance with enthusiastic gusto as his character endures an emotional rollercoaster, emotion which is evident from even the smallest details of his performance. The antagonist ‘Muse’ played by first time actor Barkhad Abdi was hugely impressive playing an almost soulless pirate with a truly terrifying piercing stare and an equally unsettling monotonous tone. Unlike many films of a similar nature however Captain Phillips does an excellent job in humanising the pirates, giving them an identity to give them a motivation for their actions, this leads to the audience having a stronger connection to the villains at times feeling oddly sympathetic towards them as we witness them being almost forced to carry out the hijack.

As always in Greengrass' films the military is especially portrayed with extreme accuracy, making it seem as though we are following the actual occurrences of the time with real life navy troops, only adding to the already intolerable tension of the film. Captain Phillips shows that thrillers don’t need gratuitous violence and an offbeat storyline to stimulate the audience, only a gripping and fast paced narrative with complex characters and fantastic performances.

8/10- A hugely exciting thriller which will undoubtedly leave you fulfilled.

Calum Russell

Prince Avalanche

Coming perhaps unexpectedly from 'hit and miss' comedy director of ‘Pineapple express’ David Gordon Green, Prince Avalanche, his new release,takes a more subtle approach to humour than his previous 'in your face' style of filmmaking following two isolated road workers in their efforts to repair the surrounding area after a forest fire.

With such a constrictive narrative, Gordon Green allowed little space for comedic movement and rightly so as in a few ways Prince Avalanche is not a comedy at all, sure it has a lot of hilarious moments, but for the most part these moments are simply entwined with the day to day interactions of two hugely likeable, honest characters. This creates for a film which never ceases to put a smile on the audiences face, despite its lack of narrative material it consistently holds interest through its sheer realism and depiction of people in an atmosphere riddled with cinder and contrasting wondrous greenery. With the cinematography to match any ‘cinematic spectacle’ Prince Avalanche often feels like a nature documentary, with its truly inspiring shots of nature continuing the struggle through a beaten up area of collapsed forestry. This certainly builds the themes of the film sufficiently but perhaps lectures for a little too long; lasting for an unnecessary duration of time they occasionally felt like they were simply filling time until we revisited the two protagonists.

Alvin and Lance, the films two lead characters played by Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch are absolutely fantastic effortlessly displaying a realistic relationship of two people almost forced into friendship. This chemistry allows for the film to offload its messages and themes without being even marginally whimsical at any point, which is impressive considering the almost kitsch situation of the two characters and their personal lives. Gordon Green orchestrates his comedic lines with precision and realism, being inserted into comments at the most appropriate times, with the performances of both leads making the lines all the more hilarious until eventually their sheer screen presence paints a smile across your face.

With the plot unable to run its simplicity throughout the whole 90 minutes, new strands are added to the tale towards the end and throughout making it all the more interesting. These new elements are ambiguous in there meaning and sometimes slightly puzzling adding a wholesome undertone that leaves you thinking, acting as a relevant sub-plot to the films central narrative. Prince avalanche is a consistently surprising and heart-warming film which zigzags across the linear line of filmmaking, displaying two outstanding central performances and a tightly woven narrative, Prince Avalanche is a total joy to watch.

9/10- A refreshing and truly touching view at the lives of two begrudging friends.

Calum Russell