SPECTRE (2015)

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James Bond is back with Daniel Craig reprising the role for the fourth time. He is a great Bond showing us the character’s deep waters, but can only rise as high as the material in front of him and in this instance the material is shoddy, much less exciting or as well made as the previous film.

The job as a Bond director can NOT be an easy one, there is so much to contend with. Sam Mendes doesn’t quite do justice to the franchise with this film.

It seems like the writers tried to shoehorn the narrative (or certain plot points) from the last three films into this one and in doing so stepped many steps backwards from the heights and excitement of Skyfall. This is totally in response to the fact that Universal can now legally use Spectre(TM) and the characters relating to the organisation and in the process of ushering this in the quality diminishes SPECTRE-acularly (soz).

In 2013 a legal issue concerning S.P.E.C.T.R.E. and all its characters was finally resolved, MGM acquired the rights to characters and concepts of SPECTRE and the film-makers brought this to the script of this film, by trying to integrate this into the latest film, they have mis-stepped.

This film is like two episodes of the BBC series Spooks with more money, just a bit ‘meh’. The treatment of women in this film also seems so regressive after the strength of previous female characters, the wonderful Monica Belucci is wasted in her role as Lucia Sciarra, she is brilliant but the script gives her very little to play with. Léa Seydoux is also under-used here playing a damsel in distress, which is so old and tired now. The greatest aspects of Skyfall were the storyline that Dame Judy was given and Naomie Harris as Moneypenny seemed to have more dimensions than previous incarnations of this character. This ain’t the 60’s anymore, let’s catch up people.

The set pieces are better than Quantum of Solace but still seem tame, not as tight or engaing or exciting as the ones in Skyfall.
The whole film is marginally better than QOS, maybe slightly inferior to Casino Royale. The fantastic Christophe Waltz is also wasted, great as he is, also not afforded much chance to shine. Nowhere near as effective as Javier Bardem in Skyfall, this is not down to his talent, the fault lies with the script. Dave Bautista is a perfect Bond henchman, a force that will not be easily stopped and while his addition to the story and cast is welcome it comes too little too late amongst the confusion and damp squibby-ness of the journey.

Andrew Scott playing C is a little too smarmy and one dimensional for me, he is a decent actor, but the fault lies predominantly with the average material.
Ben Whishaw is settling into the role of Q nicely, although I much preferred his scenes from Skyfall. (Did I mention that I didn’t like this film as much as Skyfall already?).

Enough already with the old standards, let’s get back to the dizzying heights of the new that we have seen just recently. It’s much more interesting.

A wasted opportunity. :O(.

2/5.

BUY THE FILM ON BLU RAY DVD HERE

DOWNLOAD THE FILM ON iTUNES HERE

LISTENERS PROJECT – 4 – FARMILOE BUILDING (2015)

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“By creating a series of short films we acknowledge the history of the space and tell stories that keep it forever.
The Listeners Project have just completed working on their fourth project this time at the Farmiloe Building in Farringdon. Since 1886 glass, paint, lead and brass have been manufactured here and more recently the building has served as location for ‘Batman’, ‘Inception’, ‘Eastern Promises’ and now The Listeners Project.
Directors were randomly assigned a floor of the soon to be refurbished Building. Following four consecutive days filming, and a little over a week to edit, the films were then screened at the same location on October 15th 2015, to an audience of over hundred.
Watch the films below and subscribe to the mailing list for updates of new locations, shoots and screenings…”

Back once again with the listening walls, this time in the Farmiloe Building in Farringdon, London; this marks the 3rd Listeners Project completed in 2015.

1-Glass (The Basement)

The first of our Farmiloe films is set in an abandoned building (who’d have thunk it?), written and directed by Ben Lambert this is an interesting snapshot of a moment in the journey of two men who are in each other’s lives for what reason, we’ll never know, but the point is not to know what’s happening, the short draws you into a world and teases the audience with what they don’t know. I am of the mind that with these shorts, the most successful ones are the ones that speak the least dialogue, but say so much more than some of the conversation heavy ones. It’s all in the unsaid.
I was engaged throughout and loved the dialogue and the shots. The two actors, Andrew Obney and Shane Cameron seemed rooted in the world and Obney conveyed a world-weariness that had seen too much and as tired of it all.

Props to all involved.

2-Coupled (The Attic)

The second outing in the Farmiloe project written and directed by Jamie Sims plays with the perceptions of the characters and the things we do to each other. Very clever and underpinned with a driving tune that builds nicely. Great use of space.

3-Fast Food (The Factory Floor)

Written and directed by Phil Fisk, this film is beautifully shot but I’m not entirely sure what the point is. It is subjective, but I think it may be about monotony and monotony broken, along with humankind’s relationship to food.
Watch and decide for yourself.
Chris Fairly plays a weary security guard, trudging through his routine of rounds through an empty warehouse.

4-Deliverance(The Ground Floor)

Directed by Oscar Hudson and Freddie Mason (who also writes the piece), Deliverance is a weird and wonderful short film that is described in the synopsis as:
“A fur-coated Norse demi-god is one day delivered to an empty storage facility”.
This seems to be the most ambitious piece so far, bringing to mind Jodorowsky with a touch of Greenaway; the surreal and the poetic.
The framing of the shots and the use of light shows an understanding of cinematic aesthetic that is both beautiful and stark. (That sentence was for the Sight and Sound crowd).
I enjoyed this film massively, it brings to mind Ben Wheatley’s A Field in England, which was as enjoyable as it was different, and the directors here manage to achieve something quite extraordinary in a mere 10 minutes.

Massive props to all involved.

That was the four films but sneakily the Listeners decided to step up their game and as an easter egg they also give the challenge to four spoken word poets to interpret the spaces in their own way. They are all brilliant (and short).

Here they are:

The Basement

The Attic

The Factory Floor

The Ground Floor

Well done to all involved. This is an exciting project that deserves to be seen.

Watch, share and follow.

You can see all the films from the previous projects at the website below:

http://www.listenersproject.com