Tag Archives: Kenneth Branagh

2023 Films, Alden Ehrenreich, Alex Wolff, Benny Safdie, Best Picture Oscar Winners, Biography, Casey Affleck, Christopher Nolan, Cillian Murphy, Drama, Emily Blunt, Epic, Florence Pugh, Gary Oldman, Gustaf Skarsgård, James Remar, Jason Clarke, Josh Hartnett, Kenneth Branagh, Matt Damon, Matthew Modine, Rami Malek, Robert Downey Jr., Tony Goldwyn

Oppenheimer-2023

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Oppenheimer-2023

Director Christopher Nolan

Starring Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr., Emily Blunt

Scott’s Review #1,384

Reviewed August 1, 2023

Grade: A

Knowing the films of Christopher Nolan who directed works like The Dark Knight Trilogy (2005-2012), Inception (2010), and Dunkirk (2017) I expected what I would be served with by his new film Oppenheimer (2023).

This would include a big booming soundtrack and an arguably more ‘guys’ genre film, but with intelligence, than other contemporary hits like Barbie (2023).

Dark and looming with complexities are usual for Nolan so I settled in for a three-hour epic journey centered on the atomic bomb and physics that has unexpectedly become a blockbuster.

Speaking of the pink phenomenon its simultaneous release with Oppenheimer led to the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon on social media, which encouraged audiences to see both films as a double feature.

This forever links the two vastly different films that were responsible for filling movie theaters once again.

I expected to enjoy Oppenheimer but was jarred (in a good way) by the sheer brilliance of its construction. Prepared for more mainstream fare that typically follows a biography or historical piece I was instead overly fascinated by the experimental elements enshrouding a more conventional film.

During World War II, Lieutenant Colonel Leslie Groves Jr. (Matt Damon) appoints physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) to work on the top-secret Manhattan Project.

Oppenheimer and a team of scientists spend years developing and designing the atomic bomb. Their work came to fruition on July 16, 1945, as they witnessed the world’s first nuclear explosion, forever changing the course of history.

The film is constructed marvelously in every way and is authentic to the eye. The first notice is that it feels like it’s the 1940s 1920s or 1960s or anywhere in between depending on where the film goes.

The art design, costumes, and makeup feel natural rather than stagey which helps its audience escape into the scientific world.

Speaking of, Nolan constructs the film in a series of pockets and goes back and forth between periods. We see Oppenheimer many times as an aspiring upstart with visions, a confident, established physicist, and in 1963 when President Lyndon B. Johnson presented him with the Enrico Fermi Award as a gesture of political rehabilitation.

His personal life is also explored.

Many, many scenes shift back and forth involving different characters at different ages. Most of the scenes in the 1940s take place in the desert at Los Alamos, New Mexico while the later years are set in a stuffy conference room where Oppenheimer is grilled for his left-leaning and suspected Communist politics.

The cinematography led by Hoyte van Hoytema provides some edgy moments especially when Oppenheimer descends into frightening and psychedelic hallucinations of those suffering the aftereffects of the atomic bomb. Images of peeling and melting faces are terrifying.

Cillian Murphy successfully makes Oppenheimer sympathetic especially after he creates the bomb and is left forgotten by his government.

Various moments in the film showcase Murphy at his best. After relinquishing his deadly bomb after a test the government callously tells Oppenheimer that ‘they’ll take it from here’. The look of dread, regret, and sadness in Murphy’s crystal blue eyes speaks volumes.

Another great scene occurs when President Harry S. Truman (Gary Oldman) a left-leaning democrat calls Oppenheimer ‘a crybaby’ when he expresses interest in returning land to the American Indians.

The supporting cast is a bevy of riches with several top-caliber actors appearing in cameos. My standouts in larger roles are Robert Downey Jr. shredding his Iron Man superhero persona as a slighted and venomous Lewis Strauss, intent on revoking Oppenheimer’s security clearance, and Emily Blunt as the boozy biologist and former communist wife of Oppenheimer.

My biggest takeaway from Oppenheimer (2023) though is a powerful one. The difference between the United States of America during and post World War II and in present times, 2023.

Then, a patriotic infrequently questioned nation brimming with pride and glory, where nationalism was rampant and expected and those with foreign respect were cast aside as traitorous.

Now, a divided country half of whom support an ideology based on hate, racism, and cultlike dedication to a corrupt ex-president, and the other focused on diversity inclusion, and equality for all.

This film resonated so powerfully well and in so many different ways.

Oscar Nominations: 7 wins-Best Picture (won), Best Director-Christopher Nolan (won), Best Actor-Cillian Murphy (won), Best Supporting Actor-Robert Downey Jr. (won), Best Supporting Actress-Emily Blunt, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Film Editing (won), Best Cinematography (won), Best Costume Design, Best Production Design, Best Original Score (won), Best Sound, Best Makeup and Hairstyling

2022 Films, Agatha Christie, Annette Bening, Armie Hammer, Drama, Gal Gadot, Kenneth Branagh, Ridley Scott, Russell Brand, Sophie Okonedo, Thriller, Tom Bateman

Death on the Nile-2022

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Death on the Nile-2022

Director Kenneth Branagh

Starring Armie Hammer, Tom Bateman, Gal Gadot

Scott’s Review #1,245

Reviewed April 15, 2022

Grade: B+

Death on the Nile (2022) is a modern remake of the 1978 thriller of the same name, which in turn is based on Agatha Christie’s famous 1937 novel, one of many stories the author wrote.

I love a good whodunit, and the fact that I already knew the outcome from seeing the original film did not lessen the entertainment and suspense that befell me.

It only made me salivate with anticipation about how the new incarnation would handle the inevitable big reveal during the film’s final chapter.

As the suspects are locked in a boat, bar one character boldly announces that the murderer is in this room and will be unmasked.

Death on the Nile is a meat-and-potatoes offering peppered with glamour.

Similar to the remake of Murder on the Orient Express (2017), Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) is once again enshrouded by mysterious folks with money to burn and secrets to hide. One of them has murdered a wealthy young heiress with her own set of secrets, and Poirot must quiz and entrap the perpetrators aboard a sailing vessel.

Or could there be more than one murderer?

The setting of mystical Egypt and the luminous Nile River in northern Africa puts the players amid gorgeous locales. This only enhances the juiciness and the appetite for a good, solid murder mystery.

Our hero’s lush Egyptian vacation aboard a glamorous river steamboat turns into a deadly search for a murderer when a picture-perfect couple’s idyllic honeymoon is cut short by the killing of one of them.

It turns out that almost everyone aboard has a reason to want her dead. Naturally.

Set against an epic landscape of sweeping desert vistas and the majestic Giza pyramids, Poirot peels back the onion of the lives of his fellow vacationers. He discovers jealousy and deceit as he gets to know the wealthy cosmopolitan travelers.

The trip includes the honeymooners, Simon and Linnet, played by Armie Hammer and Gal Gadot, Bouc (Tom Bateman), a long-time friend of Poirot’s, Euphemia (Anette Bening), a renowned painter and Bouc’s mother, Salome (Sophie Okonedo), a black jazz singer, and her niece Rosie (Letitia Wright), Linnet’s maid, Linnet’s godmother, and her companion, and a doctor who used to date Linnet.

It would seem as if all roads lead to Linnet, which it does since she is the character who suffers her fateful demise. What is key is that every character has a connection to her, making the puzzle all the more intriguing and interesting to figure out.

Branagh, coming directly from his Oscar-winning film Belfast (2022), deserves the most credit because he not only stars in but directs the movie as he did with Murder on the Orient Express.

Michael Green once again creates the screenplay. The consistency is crucial and satisfying to the overall product, and the two films can be watched back-to-back with ease.

There is trust that the anticipated enjoyment will be fulfilled, and for me, it was.

Death on the Nile is not high art but merely slick entertainment done quite well. There is considerable manipulation for the audience to endure, and the setup of the potential suspects and the victim’s background is presented directly to the viewer.

This was welcomed.

I didn’t mind the implausibility of every character having reason to kill the heiress, nor did I mind a mystery character racing around the ship, causing mayhem, then changing into formal evening wear in less than thirty seconds flat.

The numerous plot devices are to be expected from a film like Death on the Nile, and I happily and willingly fell for them hook, line, and sinker. The wealth of most of the characters is a splendid intrigue and only adds to the enjoyment.

Considering the time is the 1930s, a same-sex relationship and a brewing romance between the caucasian Poirot and the black Salome are fabulous additions.

Rumor has it that there will be another production of an Agatha Christie novel adaptation directed by and starring Branagh, and I can’t wait for this. He has dusted off the old whodunit storyline and updated it with a spectacle about crimes of passion that feels fresh.

The result is a modernized Death on the Nile (2022) brimming with fun and pleasure while never taking itself too seriously.

2021 Films, Caitríona Balfe, Ciarán Hinds, Drama, Jamie Dornan, Jude Hill, Judi Dench, Kenneth Branagh

Belfast-2021

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Belfast-2021

Director Kenneth Branagh

Starring Jamie Dornan, Caitríona Balfe, Jude Hill

Scott’s Review #1,202

Reviewed November 28, 2021

Grade: A-

Belfast (2021) is a film I wanted to see based solely on the year-end awards buzz it is receiving as of this writing. The trailer would lead you to believe that the film is a sentimental and heartwarming journey through the lives of a group of people living in Belfast, Ireland.

This is nothing but strategic marketing.

The film is significantly better than the trailer suggests, offering a dark and raw exploration of a family torn between their current lives in Belfast and the opportunity to leave the troubled city for new prospects in England.

However, it’s not all doom and gloom, and in fact, Belfast offers enough humor, entertainment, and drama to please a broad audience. There also exists a lesson in kindness, decency, and respect that is so needed in the world today.

Belfast is a movie rich in real-life experiences from director Kenneth Branagh’s own life, which successfully lends realism and honesty to the picture.

The film is told through the eyes of a nine-year-old boy named Buddy, wonderfully played by Jude Hill. He struggles to forge a path from childhood to manhood in a world that has been turned upside down.

It is 1969, and battles over religion have overtaken his neighborhood with radical Protestants wanting the Catholics out.

Buddy experiences the joys and sorrows of young love, loss, joy, laughter, music, and the magic of the cinema.

His family surrounds him- Ma (Caitríona Balfe), Pa (Jamie Dornan), Granny (Judi Dench), Pop (Ciarán Hinds), and a brother. They each fill Buddy’s life with kindness and fun.

The film starts slowly for me, despite an immediate, wonderfully compelling slow-motion sequence in which Buddy is surrounded by violence and terror as he walks home from school on a pleasant afternoon.

As I ponder Belfast, I realize that much of the film is slow, yet rich in texture and goodness. Every so often, an emotional scene erupts, but then a great deal of it is Buddy’s everyday experiences.

The black and white cinematography is crucial in portraying the bleakness of Belfast and how its residents strive to add some life. Most are born and die where they live.

Branagh adds an occasional glimpse of color, which is effective to show a burst of delight in the characters’ lives. This is most powerful when the family goes to the cinema and enjoys an afternoon watching Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

The lighting and extreme close-ups of some characters’ faces reveal their emotions, while the landscape shots are appropriately smoky and bright. This fits the mood perfectly.

The film features music by Belfast native Van Morrison, including eight classic songs and a new song Morrison wrote for the film.

The acting is superb by all the principal cast, and Dornan and Balfe provide the emotional core. Both actors are beautiful, and their performance of ‘Everlasting Love’ is simply delightful.

Providing proper role models for their children, Dornan’s Pa nearly had me in tears when he told Buddy that a person’s religious beliefs are unimportant, but their kindness is what truly matters.

He is a progressive man trapped in a traditional world.

In the end, the family chooses to reach for the stars, and the moment is fulfilling for both the characters and the viewers.

Belfast (2021) did not completely win me over until it ended, when I realized that I had witnessed a superior film. Branagh fuses heart and decency into a tale of a family’s struggles and trials.

It’s a message film that doesn’t scream or preach that message, but instead gives a quiet lesson in humanity.

Oscar Nominations: 1 win-Best Picture, Best Director-Kenneth Branagh, Best Supporting Actor-Ciarán Hinds, Best Supporting Actress-Judi Dench, Best Original Screenplay (won), Best Original Score-“Down to Joy”, Best Sound

2020 Films, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Action, Christopher Nolan, Dimple Kapadia, Elizabeth Debicki, Emma Thomas, Himesh Patel, John David Washington, Kenneth Branagh, Michael Caine, Robert Pattinson, Science Fiction

Tenet-2020

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Tenet-2020

Director Christopher Nolan

Starring John David Washington, Robert Pattinson

Scott’s Review #1,149

Reviewed June 4, 2021

Grade: C

For those film lovers craving a plot that serves as a weaving puzzle that can never be figured out, Tenet (2020) is highly recommended. Others who desire a more defined and linear story and character development will be disappointed by the film.

Tenet is a visuals-only experience as I tuned in and out of the actual plot points after realizing they intersect past, present, and future elements.

I did try from the outset to understand, but ended up falling flat.

One’s enjoyment will depend on one’s cinematic desires and expectations.

I lean more towards a compelling story with excellent acting and a strong emotional connection to the project. I’m not as focused on brilliant CGI or dazzling visuals as some, but I recognize that Tenet has these elements.

However, I’m not sure I agree with the film’s Oscar win for Best Visual Effects or nomination for Best Production Design- thank goodness the terrific Mank (2020) won the latter award.

I’ll try to summarize the plot.

A secret agent named the Protagonist (John David Washington) embarks on a dangerous, time-bending mission to prevent the start of World War III.

The villainous Andrei Sator (Kenneth Branagh) is a Russian oligarch who communicates with the future and is intent on destroying the world. His wife, Kat Barton (Elizabeth Debicki), despises her husband and aligns with the Protagonist to stop him. They fall in love.

Along for the ride are an arms dealer, Priya Singh (Dimple Kapadia), and Robert Pattinson plays the Protagonist’s handler who may or may not be trusted.

Let’s start with the positives.

Tenet gets off to a terrific start with a scene at the Kyiv opera house in Ukraine. Though silly, the invasion of the theater and the massive sleeping effect of the theater attendees and performers is like a domino effect. The scene is fast and exciting.

Later, a daring car chase featuring a car speeding down a highway in reverse gear is pretty exciting. Add a character bound and tied in the passenger seat with no driver and no way to get out, which provides an incredible James Bond moment.

Another positive is the luscious locales like Estonia, Oslo, Norway, London, and the Amalfi coast.

That’s where the fun ends.

I have to admit that I expected more from Christopher Nolan, who wrote and directed the project. The man has churned out superlative efforts like The Dark Knight (2008) and Dunkirk (2017), but Tenet will not rank among his finest moments.

To that end, it’s a Nolan film. Sound and visuals are his trademarks, and the bombastic, booming score is tight and familiar. The mixing of loud, techy, thundering beats is commonplace, but sadly does little for the film. They almost become annoying.

The cast is seasoned and capable. With Washington, Pattinson, Branaugh, and Debicki onboard, there is a talent to be found. Even Michael Caine is cast in one wasteful scene.

Nonetheless, the actors drift through their scenes looking perplexed and stiff. Probably because they didn’t know what the hell was going on in the scenes.

Just like the viewer.

The dialogue is an issue because it’s not written well. Why would Kat want to kill a man who is already dying of terminal cancer? Why not wait out his demise? And the time travel was lost on me from the first sequence. I didn’t care.

The most laugh-out-loud line occurs when Kat exclaims to the Protagonist, “I just knew you’d have a backup plan. Wait, you do have a backup plan, right?” With juicy dialogue like this, it’s a wonder Tenet didn’t receive a Best Screenplay nomination. I jest, of course.

Minor details, such as the Protagonist and Kat having zero chemistry, despite the interracial romance having so much potential, are disappointing.

I can’t say I’d recommend Tenet (2020), but I can provide details of what you can expect from the experience. Some incredible visual moments can’t overcome the lack of any storyline, and the viewer will become lost in the tired moments.

By the final sequence, I thought I had watched a generic episode of a network television series like NCIS.

Ouch.

Oscar Nominations: 1 win-Best Visual Effects (won), Best Production Design

2017 Films, Agatha Christie, Daisy Ridley, Derek Jacobi, Drama, Johnny Depp, Josh Gad, Judi Dench, Kenneth Branagh, Leslie Odom Jr., Lucy Boynton, Michelle Pfeiffer, Olivia Colman, Penélope Cruz, Thriller, Tom Bateman, Willem Dafoe

Murder on the Orient Express-2017

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Murder On The Orient Express-2017

Director Kenneth Branagh

Starring Kenneth Branagh, Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer

Scott’s Review #698

Reviewed November 25, 2017

Grade: B+

Kenneth Branagh leads and directs an all-star cast in a 2017 remake of the 1974 thriller Murder On The Orient Express.

The film is based on the famous 1934 Agatha Christie novel of the same name. With a ritzy cast that includes Judi Dench, Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Penelope Cruz, and Willem Defoe, top-notch acting is assured.

The cinematography is tremendous, and the film looks gorgeous from start to finish. The story is an effective, good, old-fashioned whodunit that will satisfy audiences.

We meet our hero, Hercule Poirot (Branagh), in Jerusalem. He has recently solved a murder mystery and is anticipating a good rest. A friend invites Poirot to travel back to his homeland of London via the lavish Orient Express.

Amid a group of thirteen strangers, all inhabiting the luxurious first-class accommodations, one of them is savagely murdered in the middle of the night as a blustery blizzard and subsequent avalanche derails the train atop mountainous terrain.

The strangers are trapped together with a murderer on the loose. Poirot must deduce who has committed the crime and why.

Murder On The Orient Express has all the trimmings for a good, solid murder mystery, and director Branagh sets all of these elements in motion with a good flow.

Paced quite nicely, each principal character is introduced intriguingly, so much so that each contains a measure of juicy intrigue. The film briefly describes each character as they board the grandiose train.

Judi Dench broods as rich and powerful Princess Dragomiroff oozing with jewels and a chip on her shoulder. Corrupt American businessman, Samuel Ratchett (Johnny Depp), is suave and shady as he seems destined to cause trouble.

Finally, Penelope Cruz gives her character, repressed Pilar Estravados, enough shame and guilt that we cannot think something may be off with her motivations.

The details of the characters are rich and compelling.

The playing field is set very high with actors such as Dench and Depp, and all actors play their parts with gusto.

An excellent experience with Murder On The Orient Express demonstrates the true nature of an ensemble cast—each character is relevant in his or her own way, regardless of screen time, and the casting works well.

The cast must have enjoyed working together on this lovely project. Each character is written so that the individual actor can sink his or her teeth into the role, and the wonderful reveal at the end of the film allows each a chance to shine, giving each part equal weight.

After the actual murder is committed, the story takes off as each character is interviewed by Poirot and given a glance of suspicion.

The first half of the film is just the buildup, and, at times, the story slightly lags, but this is fixed when the movie kicks into high gear midway through.

Sometimes, a climactic conclusion makes up for any slight lag in the film’s first portion, and Murder On The Orient Express is an excellent example of this.

My standouts are Branagh himself as Poirot and Pfeiffer as the sexy Caroline Hubbard, an American man-crazed older woman.  How wonderful to see Pfeiffer back in the game in 2017- with fantastic roles in Murder On The Orient Express and Mother!

She has the acting chops to pull off sex appeal, vulnerability, and toughness. Branagh’s acting never disappoints in any film he appears in, but seeing him in a leading role is fantastic, and he can carry a film with such a dynamic cast.

Branagh’s Poirot is classy, intelligent, and charismatic.

I adored the film’s conclusion and found the explanation and reasoning of the murderer or murderers quite effective and believable. The use of black-and-white flashback scenes perfectly balances the action aboard the grandiose yet slightly claustrophobic train scenes.

Furthermore, the explanation and motivations of the killer or killers make perfect sense, and much sympathy is evoked. The story is moralistic and not a black-and-white subject matter.

Murder On The Orient Express succeeds as a wonderfully shot and star-studded affair. The filming is grandiose, and the production values are high. It is a caper film with a mystique and class.

The film may not be a true masterpiece or necessarily remembered ten years from now, but what it does, it does well.

The original film from 1974 is a tad bit better, but as remakes go, the 2017 offering is quite good.

A rumored sequel, Death on the Nile, is planned.

2017 Films, Action, Barry Keoghan, Christopher Nolan, Cillian Murphy, Emma Thomas, Fionn Whitehead, Harry Styles, Jack Lowden, Kenneth Branagh, Mark Rylance, Michael Caine, Tom Glynn-Carney, Tom Hardy, War

Dunkirk-2017

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Dunkirk-2017

Director Christopher Nolan

Starring Fionn Whitehead, Tom Hardy

Scott’s Review #666

Reviewed July 24, 2017

Grade: A

Of the hundreds of war films made over the years, most have a similar style, with either a clear patriotic slant or a questioning/message-type nature.

Regardless, most have a certain blueprint—from the story to the visuals to the direction—and rarely stray from it.

The genre is not my favorite, as machismo is usually overdone, and too many films turn into standard “guy films” or “good guys versus the bad guys.”

Finally, along comes a film like Dunkirk (2017)that gives the stale genre a swift kick.

The story is both simple and historical.

In 1940, Nazi Germany, having successfully invaded France, pushed thousands of French and British soldiers to a seaside town named Dunkirk.

With slim hopes of rescue or survival, the soldiers are sitting ducks for the raid of German fighter planes, which drop bombs both on the soldiers and rescue ships.

In parallel stories, a kindly British civilian (Mark Rylance) and his son sail to Dunkirk to help rescue the soldiers, and two British fighter pilots chase the German fighter planes, attempting to thwart their deadly intentions.

One will immediately be struck by the film’s pacing, which is nonstop action from start to finish. The action, combined with very little dialogue and an eerie musical score, is what makes the film feel unique and fresh.

Directed by Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight, 2008 and Inception, 2010), critics herald this film as his most remarkable work yet- I tend to agree.

Scenes involving such differing musical scores as screechy violins mixed with thunderous, heavy beats shake up the film and keep the audience on their toes as to what is coming next.

An interesting facet of the film, and certainly done on purpose, is that the characters’ backstories are not revealed- we know very little about them.  Do they have families? Are they married? This is a beautiful decision by the screenwriters and by Nolan.

For instance, the first scenes involve a disheveled private named Tommy (Fionn Whitehead).  Panicked, he runs through the streets in pursuit of the beach, where he meets a fellow soldier named Gibson, who is burying another soldier in the sand.

Together, they find a wounded soldier and carry him to a departing ship. The men never speak but communicate through their eyes and gestures—it is a powerful series of scenes.

Another positive to Dunkirk is the anonymity of the enemy. The German soldiers are never shown. We see many scenes of fighter planes overhead, pummeling the soldiers with bombs and pulsating gunfire in various scenes. Still, the mystique of the enemy troops is a constant throughout the film.

The faceless component of the villains adds terror and haunting uncertainty.  In this way, the film adds to the audience’s confusion about where the enemy may be at any given moment.

The visuals and the vastness of the oceanside beach are at the forefront throughout the entire film, which is one hour and forty-six minutes, relatively brief for a war film. It elicits both beauty and a terrible gloominess.

Scenes of the vastness of the beach peppered with thousands of cold and hungry men are both pathetic and powerful.

The best scenes occur on Mr. Dawson’s  (Rylance) mariner boat. Aided by his son Peter and Peter’s frightened schoolmate, the trio heads for dangerous Dunkirk to help rescue, but en route, he picks up a shell-shocked soldier determined to stay as far away from Dunkirk as possible.

This leads to compelling drama and deep characterization of all the central characters.

Many list 1998’s Saving Private Ryan as the best film in the modern war genre, but Dunkirk may very well rival that film in intensity and musical effectiveness. Dunkirk (2017) also contains shockingly little bloodshed or dismembered soldiers—it does not need this to tell a powerful story.

The film is sometimes emotional and intense, but it never lets go of its audience from the very first frame—it is a war film for the history books and a lesson in film creativity and thoughtfulness.

Oscar Nominations: 3 wins-Best Picture, Best Director-Christopher Nolan, Best Original Score, Best Sound Editing (won), Best Sound Mixing (won), Best Production Design, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing (won)