Baby You Can Drive My Car: Review of Baby Driver

Baby Driver

Director: Edgar Wright

By Alex Watson

Absent from our screens since 2013's The World's End, Edgar Wright has truly come back with a bang! Baby Driver is one ride that is impossible to resist and throughout manages to skillfully manage high-octane thrills with comedy and some lovely romantic tones. Featuring a wonderful ensemble cast and a belting soundtrack that will have you nodding your head for hours afterwards- Wright has produced one hell of a picture.

Baby (Ansel Elgort) is a talented getaway driver who has headphone's permanently attached to drown the tinnitus ringing in his ears. In debt to mob boss Doc (Kevin Spacey) after stealing one of his cars as a kid, Baby simply does the job he's asked and looks forward to getting out. When he meets waitress Debora (Lily James), the young man sees a future in front of him. Doc, however, is keen for him to keep working but Baby's quiet way doesn't sit well with criminals Bats (Jamie Foxx), Buddy (Jon Hamm) and Darling (Eiza Gonzalez).

Opening with possibly the best scene of the year (expertly soundtracked to The Jon Spencer Blue's Explosion track Bellbottoms) Baby Driver shows its A-game early. A spectacular and jaw-dropping car chase sequence soon follows- marvel at everything from the beautiful choreography to just how well Wright fits the action around each song. Although a gifted driver, Baby is out of place among his peers. Assumed to be either mute or mental due to his lack of words and constant listening to tunes. Doc favours him highly because "he's been boosting cars since he could see over the dash!" Underneath the cool facade is a switched on and likeable young man who cares for his elderly and deaf foster father Joseph (CJ Jones). Secretly he pines for his lost mother (who died in a car accident when was young) and he records conversations with the thugs and mixes them into tunes.

Meeting Debora should have been the start of a new life as she breezes in while working at the same diner his mother once worked. Having other ideas Doc ropes him back in with apparent ease which is a testament to the menacing charm Spacey holds. The crew is what makes this picture really fire and Bats is the unpredictable element in the equation. Having a hair trigger temper and constantly suspicious of everyone he meets or sees, things can get ugly in a heartbeat! "I'm the one whose got the mental problems in the crew. Position taken!" he publically declares and he really isn't lying. Party Animal Buddy and his wife Darling are equally troublesome on the job. A former Wall Street trader turned bad, Buddy chose to run off with his stripper mistress and turn to crime. His descent into madness gives the final act a magnificent tension along with several nice comedic touches.

A remarkable original piece of work, Baby Driver manages to excellently blend romance with high-speed thrills. The movie's final act is the best-crafted piece of cinema you will see this year. During this sequence, Baby's strength as a character is truly revealed. A young man forced into a terrible position, he is willing to do whatever it takes to get out. Wright wonderfully combines his desire to leave with Debora alongside several brilliantly executed action sequences. He is a character with big brains and heart but also a clean-cut conscience. Egged on earlier by criminal Griff (Jon Bernthal) to get blood on his hands, Baby is always thinking two moves ahead and these kinds of smarts make him so appealing. Perhaps the real star of Wright's movie is the soundtrack including Queen, Barry White, Beck, Martha and the Vandellas and The Button Down Brass. Each song fits around every scene so well and always dedicate the pace.

Ansel Elgort has the role he was born to play and as Baby, he is a cool and iconic figure. Though it could have been tempting to simply copy from Ryan Gosling in Drive, Elgort gives him a wonderful human feel. Baby underneath is a boy who longs for his mother and wants a clean break in life. His vulnerability is what draws him to us and Elgort shines brightly here. Lily James while a sweet, wholesome and heart stealing is given little to work with. While she and Baby share the same dreams, we learn next to nothing about her. Jon Hamm makes for great support as Buddy, the at first kindly yet deranged bank robber- his turn into something more sinister makes for great viewing. Hamm is always capable in a big movie and he makes full use of himself here. As the unpredictable Bats, Jamie Foxx gives his strongest performance in years and serves a timely reminder of how captivating he can be in the right role.

Baby Driver is not only the best movie this summer has to offer, but one of the best pieces of cinema you will have the pleasure of seeing in the coming months. Expect this movie on everyone's top-10 lists come the end of the year.

Gears of War: Review of Fury

Fury

Director: David Ayer

By Alex Watson

As Plato once wrote "Only the dead have seen the end of war" and this will most likely continue to be the case in the world we live in. War films have forever been a staple of good storytelling in Hollywood and Saving Private Ryan has so far set the bar in terms of WW2 films. This week writer/director David Ayer brings us an account of a tank crew facing insurmountable odds in his film, Fury. But how can this movie compete against an already established field?

Sergeant Don 'Wardaddy' Collier (Brad Pitt) is the tortured yet adored soul of a fiercely loyal tank crew consisting of Boyd (Shia LaBeouf), Grady (Jon Bernthal) and Gordo (Michael Pena). The squad is tired of war but continues to kill Germans nonetheless. Things are complicated by the arrival of rookie gunner Norman (Logan Lerman) who has to learn quickly the lessons of war and its scars, particularly when the crew finds itself stuck in the open with 300 armed Germans strolling into view!

David Ayer's Fury is a credible attempt by this man to get away from the police genre he has been stuck with in the past. His movie makes for a compelling view of the strained final days of WW2 and for the most part, it works very well. We open with a potent shot of a German officer on a white horse emerging from the smog and trekking across a field filled with destroyed US tanks. The ghosts of war are already present and the loss of innocence and sense of impending death that follows gives a haunting spirit hanging over Ayer's film.

When we meet our heroes, they are not portrayed as heroes by any means. This group of beleaguered GI's have the horrors of war painted on their expressions, but still they struggle on. Wardaddy is not made out to not be any kind of likable persona. His cold blooded killing of SS officers and often ruthless approach to war such as "History is Violent!" at points makes him no better than the Nazi's he sets out to kill. But as a leader, he has the firm head while the bullets fly and is determined to fulfill a promise to see his boys get home. From this you can see why his group would follow him through fire.

Aside from some neat and tense moments, such as a stunning shot of a sky swimming with bomber planes- Ayer fails to really break any new ground in this film and the stuff on display we have seen too many times before. This squad are the same type of grizzled veterans that Spielberg introduced previously and sadly they fail to add any real depth to proceedings. The side story of the dehumanizing of new recruit Norman is one that feels a little cliched as he goes from wimpy young cub to gun roaring lion by the films climax.

But what it make lack in originality, Fury makes up for it pure thrills and we are given a finale battle that leaves us hanging in excitement. Stuck at a crossroad with 300 germans rolling into view and nowhere to run, the crew decides to make one brave (albeit suicidal) last stand! Watching the bullet swarm around like fireflies and the night sky lit up with shell blastings, this is one sequence that stands out and surprisingly gives us a poignant yet taut ending that it so badly requires.

As normal Brad Pitt does well as the disturbed combat master Wardaddy, but it doesn't feel like a role that particularly stretches his ability. Cleverly Pitt gives his nature a very rough edge and makes him out to be borderline hero and enemy. Throughout though we are drawn to Pitt and he proves to be troubled face of war.

In the supporting ranks, Shia LaBeouf delivers a performance that is surprisingly excellent as war torn technician Boyd. Demonstrating a range of emotion that many wouldn't have thought likely, LaBeouf demonstrates his potential and hopefully this will prove to be some kind of a turning point for this man! Logan Lerman again impresses post Percy Jackson, but although he tries his best, Norman is not the endearing character that we yearn for him to be.

Fury might not be in the same league as more recent efforts such as The Hurt Locker in terms of thrills or good story lines. But it does provide a very realistic and gut stirring view of the last days of war. Aided by some good performances, this is still an effort that deserves your attention.

Three October Movies To Get Excited About

As we move closer to award season, the films that will be in contention are slowly rearing their heads. TIFF brought us a taste for what is to come, but now we are back to regularly scheduled multiplex showings. Here are my three picks for October!

Nightcrawler 

Dan Gilroy's suspenseful and pulsating Los Angeles set crime thriller has been a smash hit with critics so far. Telling the story of ambitious freelance crime journalist Lou (Jake Gyllenhaal) who becomes gradually more obsessed with the dark underbelly of his occupation which leads to him crosses a dangerous line! Gyllenhaal has been proven to do intense acting well and it appears that this could be one of his career best!

Fury 

War movies have always been a staple of award season nominations and it appears that director David Ayer could have a contender on his hands with Fury. Set against the backdrop of WW2, Sergeant Dan 'War Daddy' Collier (Brad Pitt) commands a fatigued Sherman tank crew who soon find themselves involved in one hell of a battle where the odds are firmly stacked against them! From the clips on display this could prove to be an exciting underdog stories with a firm heart to support it! With a solid cast including Michael Pena, Jon Bernthal, Logan Lerman and well... Shia LaBeouf this is one to watch.

Birdman 

Mexican maverick, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu returns next month with his comedy-drama Birdman. The revolves around fading star Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton) who is synonymous for playing superhero 'Birdman' and his attempting to get his career back on track by staging a bizzare broadway show- only for his mind to slowly unravel! From the looks of things this could well be a memorable and dark comedy drama from Inarritu and most likely, a revaletory turn from Keaton that cleverly mocks his former turn as 'The Dark Knight' aka Batman!