Drama

DOPE (2015)

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“I’m in the mood, can’t bring me down”.

Was this film made for me? I think someone, somewhere must have had me in mind when making this because I couldn’t have been more excited when watching this brilliant film about these geekz ‘n the hood.

Clever script, great acting, priceless comic moments, an outstanding soundtrack; finger-snappingly awesome.

This was, without a doubt, one of the most entertaining films I’ve seen this year, an uplifting, coming of age in the hood film that doesn’t shy away from the harshness of the streets but never gets overwhelmed by it. There is so much heart here, one can not help but be charmed.

Shameik Moore plays our hero Malcolm and brings a quiet confidence to the role, he is, for sure, one to look out for. Tony Revolori plays one of his friends, Jib and Kiersey Clemons plays the other, Diggy (“I will slap the shit out of you”) completing the triangle. The chemistry between the three works brilliantly. They are the geekz in a band, ‘Awreeoh’ with their music written and produced by Pharrell Williams and their tunes are phat and phunky, reminiscent of The Neptunes. The rest of the soundtrack is just bomb; Tribe Called Quest, Busta Rhymes, Nas, Digital Underground, Naughty By Nature, Public Enemy, Onyx and many more make this BY FAR, the hippest soundtrack we’ve heard for a minute.

The script is tight, clever and on point (only one tiny plot confusion with a text that didn’t quite fuse, maybe this was down to the edit) but otherwise from the start to the finish the writing is on the money. Written and directed with skill by Rick Famuyiwa this is a film that should be up for a best comedy award somewhere. Funny, whip-smart and hip; it’s a breath of fresh air.

Support comes from Rakim Mayers (the New York rapper A$ap Rocky) as the gangster, Dom making his acting debut and bringing a charisma that shows strong on-screen presence. Zoe Kravitz is beautiful and real as Nakia, Malcolm’s crush. Quincy Brown (Puff Daddy’s kid) is Jaleel, the wannabe gangster, Chanel Iman as his seductive sister, Lily (a nice use of her name that comes to represent a certain substance and creating a bunch of very funny memes-“People on Lily be like….”). The very funny Blake Anderson (Workaholics) given a witty, hilarious exchange about the ‘N’ word “ Whaddup my N-Word?”.

Special mentions go to De’Aundre Bonds as Stacey, the school’s security, Rick Fox as Councilman Blackmon, Josh Meyer as the DEA tech, and a very funny, tense exchange with rapper Kap G playing Fidel X, Forest Whittaker plays the narrator (he is also one of the producers on the film) and finally the great Roger Guenver-Smith as Austin Jacoby. The cast is killing it.

Bitcoins, deep web, Harvard, molly, 90’s hip hop, slippery slopes and social media.

Dope is dope. I watched it twice in less than a week, which is unusual and testament to the entertaining value of this quality film. Check it out.

4.5/5

BUY THE FILM ON BLU RAY DVD HERE

DOWNLOAD THE FILM ON iTUNES HERE

EX MACHINA (2014)

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A young computer programmer wins the chance to spend a week at his employer’s estate to participate in a groundbreaking experiment with Artificial Intelligence.

Alex Garland writes this incredible work, makes his debut as a director and succeeds in making an intelligent, challenging piece of sci-fi.

The film is basically a four hander and lends itself to a more intimate experience that is at times uncomfortable but infinitely engaging and fascinating.
Domnhall Gleeson plays the young coder, Caleb who is welcomed into the world of Oscar Isaac’s Nathan, a man who has made his money several times over with a thinly disguised Facebook stand-in ‘Blue Book’. At first he seems to be a regular guy but as the story progresses the audience we realise all may not be what it seems. Isaac is a brilliant actor who hasn’t taken a step wrong in his recent choices. Swedish actor, Alicia Vikander is wonderful playing Ava, the A.I. that Caleb is to give the Turing test to, a test to prove that the machine exhibits intelligent behaviour indistinguishable from a human. The fourth piece to the puzzle is the excellent Sonoya Mizuno as Nathan’s assistant, Kyoko. Everyone here delivers great performances with such rich material.

The idea of the Singularity, the moment when man and machine become one has been a topic of hot discussion over the last few years thanks to Ray Kurzweil and his research and Garland mines this subject with intelligence and skill.

The soundtrack is incredible, building tension and mood minimally. Put together by Ben Salisbury and Portishead’s Geoff Barrow, the music becomes a character in its own right. It is stark and cold yet filled with wonder. The cinematography posits the viewer into a world unlike anything we have seen before.

This could be a great companion piece to Moon, they would make a great double bill. Both asking the philosophical questions of what it means to be truly alive. It also sits well in the style that 2001: A Space Odyssey began. Great science fiction eschewing the ridiculous plot contrivances that many films in this genre fall prey to. Clever scripting and directing allows space to communicate with the audience without much being said; a look or a gesture saying so much more than dialogue.

This is a breath of fresh air. Brilliant.

Highly recommended.

4/5

BUY THE BLU RAY DVD HERE

DOWNLOAD THE FILM ON iTUNES HERE