Film reviews: The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Trainwreck, Absolutely Anything, Paper Towns

Armie Hammer is Kuryakin and Henry Cavill is Solo in The Man From U.N.C.L.E with Alicia Vikander

The latest blockbuster film reviews from BRIGIT GIANT.

 

THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. (12A, 117 mins)
Director: Guy Ritchie

Stars:  Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer, Jared Harris

NAPOLEON SOLO and Illya Kuryakin, names that take me instantly back to Thursday nights in 1968, when my late father was glued to The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

Dad was an avid fan of the hit US TV series along with Paul, the boy next door, who got Napoleon Solo’s rifle detach pistol for Christmas.

I have no doubt Paul was as excited as me to hear that Guy Ritchie has turned the show into a film and though overly long, it is an affectionate, uber-stylish and entertaining production that salutes U.N.C.L.E.

U.N.C.L.E (for those who do not own a Solo pistol) stands for United Network Command for Law and Enforcement, a fictitious counterespionage organisation run by the CIA and KGB for the greater good when East-West relations were at their worst.

In the series, U.N.C.L.E was already up and running when it started, but Ritchie and co-writer Lionel Wigram wanted to show how the union occurred and we meet suave American spy Solo (Henry Cavill) on a mission in East Berlin which gets interrupted by the blue-eyed Russian menace Kuryakin (Armie Hammer).

Both men have been intentionally sent to fetch Gaby (Alicia Vikander), the daughter of a former Nazi bomb-maker who has mysteriously disappeared, though it is a small mystery as the U.N.C.L.E bosses, of which the fabulous Jared Harris is one, already know he is being held by a rich Italian fishing family who are more interested in atom bombs than halibut.

The plot itself is familiar, but this does not matter as it is more about the visuals, particularly when the film moves to Italy, where a parade of exquisitely-dressed extras model 1960s fashion to the beat of a brilliant score by Daniel Pemberton.

The music leads the action and turns what would have been so-what fight and explosion sequences into something rather special.

As for Solo and Kuryakin, well, we will always think fondly of their TV counterparts Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, but Cavill and Hammer put their own stamp on the characters and what little they do say amuses.

It helps that both actors are exceedingly pretty and it is not too much of a stretch to picture Cavill as James Bond.

But as Hugh Grant ultimately reminds us in his fitting five-second role as British spy chief Waverly; this is just the beginning for U.N.C.L.E.

 

Amy Schumer, Bill Hader and Tilda Swinton star in Trainwreck

TRAINWRECK (15, 122 mins)
Director: Judd Apatow
Stars: Amy Schumer, Bill Hader, Tilda Swinton

THE LEAP from tea and polite conversation in the 1960s to in-your-face lewd banter in the 21st century is a big one, but comedienne Amy Schumer makes it worthwhile.

Like a lot of female comics, Amy thinks nothing is too risqué to say out loud and the high ratings for her Comedy Central TV show prove it works.

Now Amy has written a movie Judd Apatow deemed funny enough to direct and this likeable woman with a real body, major attitude and an endlessly expressive face makes an impressive debut as the Trainwreck of the title.

Also named Amy in the film, she does not believe in monogamy or even second dates with some men.

Her attitude was borne out of an early relationship lesson from her unfaithful father (Colin Quinn) who reminded her how dull life would be if she could only play with one doll.

“What if you saw air-stewardess Barbie, wouldn’t you like to play with her too?” asks Dad.

His philosophy sticks and while her older sister (Brie Larson) chooses marriage and children, Amy plays the field and works for a men’s magazine full of trivial content conjured up by a ghastly English editor, played by wizard chameleon Tilda Swinton.

Things change for Amy when she is sent to interview a gifted sports surgeon (Bill Hader) and finds a second date is not so bad if it is with the right guy.

I imagine reverting to rom-com territory may not be what is expected of Schumer, but it works here and the film is a starvehicle for a very funny woman who has not saved all the jokes for herself.

VERDICT: 4/5

 

The Pythons, Simon Pegg, Kate Beckinsale star in Absolutely Anything

ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING (12A, 86 mins)
Director: Terry Jones
Stars: The Pythons, Simon Pegg, Kate Beckinsale

THE PYTHONS have always been good about sharing jokes with us and each other and now after sell-out shows at the O2, Terry Jones has taken up the reins as co-writer/director on Absolutely Anything.

All of the Pythons are in it, but only vocally as they have been CGI’d into bickering aliens who set up an intergalactic challenge to determine the worthiness of humankind by giving a randomly selected person the power to do anything.

If the person they choose uses it selfishly, Earth will be destroyed. So no pressure then.

Except the chosen one, teacher Neil Clarke (Simon Pegg) does not know what is at stake or why he can suddenly eat dinner without lifting a finger or enable his dog (the last vocal performance by Robin Williams) to talk.

Dog lovers will appreciate that his first word is “biscuits” which made me laugh a lot. P

egg is Pegg, bubbly and all over the place which is why he is popular, but I feel love interest Kate Beckinsale is a bit too Hollywood to fall for Mr Average.

It is a very silly, eccentric British film with comedy coy enough to suit the whole family and Python devotees who will see it out of duty.

VERDICT: 3/5

  

Cara Delevingne stars in Paper Towns

PAPER TOWNS (12A, 109 mins)
Director: Jake Schreie
Stars: Cara Delevingne, Nat Wolff

NO DOUBT Cara Delevingne fans will respond in the same way to Jake Schreier’s Paper Towns in which she makes her debut as spirited Margo, a high-school girl veiled in mystery who is worshipped by her neighbour Quentin (Nat Wolff).

He has been in love with her since childhood, but Margo only notices this when she signs him up as a wing man for a night of revenge on her cheating boyfriend.

Then she disappears, leaving a series of clues to lead Quentin to her... or so he thinks.

For teens with identity crises it is a winner, but only Quentin’s mate Ben (Austin Abrams) keeps the energy going.

Cara is a bit of a Lindsay Lohan lookalike on the big screen, but she shows promise and can now add acting to her CV ahead of what will inevitably be her first album, first art show, first everything.

VERDICT: 3/5