The Courier

This is a version of a review airing on ABC Central Victoria on April 26, 2021.

(M) ★★★½

Director: Dominic Cooke.

Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Rachel Brosnahan, Jessie Buckley, Merab Ninidze, Angus Wright, Kirill Pirogov, Olga Koch.

"What do you mean you don't own a hat?"

The Cold War officially ended in 1989, but it keeps on giving - the pace may have slowed, but we still get a good Cold War film every few years. The best of recent times are undoubtedly The Death Of Stalin, Bridge Of Spies, and The Man From U.N.C.L.E..

And this one is reasonably good too, though not quite to the same level. Workmanlike in its delivery, it tells its exceptional true story in a suitably unexceptional manner, with a side of good old stiff-upper-lip Britishness to boot. It's a story that's been told before, but here it gets a half-decent budget and an excellent cast led by an unforgettable Benedict Cumberbatch.

The Courier is the fascinating real-life adventure of Greville Wynne (Cumberbatch), a British salesman recruited by MI6 to travel behind the Iron Curtain in the early '60s and bring back Soviet secrets from Russian war hero-turned-double agent Oleg Penkovsky (Ninidze). Wynne and Penkovsky's crucial role in changing the course of history contrasts with Wynne's problems at home, and an inevitable fate that lurks ominously on the horizon.

Cumberbatch was probably hoping for some awards and nominations to stem from his performance, and he would have been deserving. While those nods and noms haven't been forthcoming (oddly), this role finds Cumberbatch pushing himself to new extremes. There's a physical transformation to go with the seesawing emotions, confirming Cumberbatch's credentials as one of the best actors going around.

He's not alone in his endeavours. Buckley, so astounding in Wild Rose, confirms the suspicions of greatness as Wynne's put-upon and suspicious wife Sheila, bringing depths to the role that other actresses might not have found. Similarly Brosnahan sells her CIA spook Donovan as a real person and not a cliché. Both roles are solidly written, but both are taken to the next level by Buckely and Brosnahan. Along with veteran Georgian actor Ninidze, who is low-key yet mesmerising as Penkovsky, they ensure there are no weak points in the performances.

Indeed the performances are the most memorable part. There are no big scenes or killer dialogue (in fact there are a few dud lines in the mix), and the whole thing is weirdly subdued. This restrained Britishness does take some of the sting out of the tale - the peril and danger is evident, but the tension is lacking. 

And as the film progresses and things do turn grim, there's a shift in tone. The move is inevitable but the movie starts to drag, despite the stakes having finally risen to an acceptable point. It's weird, but in trying to be a quiet and un-showy story, some of the oxygen gets been sucked out of the film.

Yet, at its core there is a fascinating story of an everyman thrust into a world-changing situation, and the impact that has on his life. This, along with performances, is the thing that will stick with you the most film - not the film itself, but the story it tells. Much like Greville Wynne himself, The Courier is solid and does its job with a minimum of fireworks.

Godzilla Vs Kong

This is a version of a review airing on ABC Radio Ballarat and South West Victoria on April 16, 2021, and ABC Central Victoria on April 12, 2021.

(M) ★★

Director: Adam Wingard.

Cast: Alexander Skarsgård, Rebecca Hall, Kaylee Hottle, Millie Bobby Brown, Brian Tyree Henry, Julina Dennison, Demián Bichir, Shun Oguri, Eiza González, Kyle Chandler.

Best zoo ever.

It all started so promisingly. The 2014 Godzilla reboot was a surprisingly relevant and impressive update of the kaiju king's legacy that made us care as much about the squishy humans running around beneath its feet as the big lizard itself. 

Then came Kong: Skull Island, a not-bad Vietnam War-era adventure that was both fresh yet faithful to the 100-foot primate and his legacy. This was followed by the poorly received Godzilla: King Of The Monsters - current Tomatometer rating: 44% - but that wasn't bad enough to sound a death knell for the series.

Which brings us to Godzilla Vs Kong, the fourth film in Legendary Entertainment's "Monsterverse" and the supposed pay-off to all that has come before. 

Short review: all the stuff where Godzilla and Kong (and other spoilerific kaiju) fight is awesome. Everything else around it is rubbish.

The plot revolves around a seemingly unprovoked Godzilla attack in the US, despite Godzilla supposedly being one of the good guys following the events of King Of The Monsters. Enter billionaire tech entrepreneur Walter Simmons (Bichir), who thinks he has a way to stop Godzilla and any other titans that come along. But he's going to need the help of Kong, a team of scientists led by Kong expert Dr. Ilene Andrews (Hall), and a young girl (Hottle) with a special connection to the giant ape.

Godzilla Vs Kong has obviously been written backwards from its titular premise. It gets there via a mess of its own mythology, scientific mumbo jumbo, and whatever else stuck when it was thrown against the wall. 

There's a Hollow Earth thing going on, which is magnificent to look at and not even the dumbest idea in the film. Indeed in the film's own internal logic, it's easier to believe that titans came from inside the Hollow Earth than some of the other stuff going on here. A doctor studies Kong for 10 years but doesn't realise Kong knows sign language? Come on. A random scientist knows how to fly a super-advanced hover-jet despite no indication he can fly even a light aircraft? Gimme a break.

It's this kind of broken plotting that gets glossed over with astounding regularity in Godzilla Vs Kong. And that's not even counting the entire subplot involving Brown, Dennison and Henry's characters that is utterly, infuriatingly irrelevant. This part of the film could have been deleted with no detrimental impact on the finished product. In fact, it would have been an improvement, trimming things down to a neat 90 minutes or so.

As it is, despite the best efforts of an earnest cast, the titanic battles are the film's only saving grace. A stoush on an aircraft carrier midway through proceedings is impressive, but only an entrée for the demolition that awaits. There's a tendency to be numbed by these CG-intensive set pieces, but there's an undeniable art to them when done well, and pixel-powered onslaughts in Godzilla Vs Kong are excellent.

But it's not enough to save the film. So dire are in-between bits, you'll be begging for a super-sized smackdown to happen. Better yet, you'll be hoping a few of the top-billed leads will get squashed in the process. It's unfortunate this Part IV can't live up to the series' fine start, but the poise of balancing the human stories with the city-levelling battles is nowhere to be seen in this disappointing sequel.

Crisis

This is a version of a review airing on ABC Radio Ballarat and South West Victoria on April 16, 2021.

(MA15+) ★★★½

Director: Nicholas Jarecki.

Cast: Gary Oldman, Armie Hammer, Evangeline Lilly, Greg Kinnear, Michelle Rodriguez, Luke Evans, Lily-Rose Depp, Guy Nadon, Nicholas Jarecki, Indira Varma, Martin Donovan, Veronica Ferres, Mia Kirshner, Kid Cudi.

One man Armie.

Crisis has been an apt name for the circumstances surrounding the release of this earnest opioid drama. As if COVID-related troubles with cinemas and distribution weren't enough, the film has had the additional whammy of finding one of its stars - Armie Hammer - accused of rape and, bizarrely, a predilection for cannibalism.

All this is overshadowing what is a tidy thriller not a million miles away from Steven Soderbergh's 2000 award-winner Traffic. Jarecki's film shares a multi-threaded storyline with Soderbergh's drug-trafficking drama, but is less dynamic and flashy. This quiet approach makes Crisis feel oddly low-key, but helps it avoid a preachiness that threatens to creep in as it spirals toward its surprising conclusion.

The narrative follows three seemingly unconnected lives deeply affected by America's opioid crisis. There's a grieving mother (Lilly), a concerned scientist (Oldman) and a desperate cop (Hammer), with each character taking on the highly addictive scourge in their one way, painting a picture of a war being waged at every level of society.

Crisis bounces quickly between its three threads, and Jarecki layers dialogue over his establishing shots to help keep up the pace. This helps prevent the slow-moving narratives from getting bogged down, while simultaneously allowing each one to breathe, enjoy its occasional moments of silence, and maintain its quiet brooding tone.

The cast takes the material to a higher plane, easily nudging it out of any slow patches or repetition. Lilly is outstanding in a demanding role that has her either in tears or on the verge of tears most of the time. Oldman is also excellent - his subtle behind-the-eyes acting is a joy to watch, and yet another reminder of his greatness.

As for the soon-to-be-cancelled Hammer, he's fierce in a role that could easily have toppled into over-the-top territory. It's a strong, steely performance that mixes enough humanity amid its tough guy desperation. Not so great is his cop partner, played by Jarecki, who is out of his depth alongside Hammer and might want to stick to writing and directing in the future. 

Jarekci's acting aside, he's done a fine job helming this. The story dovetails into a neat ending that blends hope and dread, and is nowhere near as preachy as it could have been, which is a blessing. He also instils a bleakness into every pore of the film, aided by the stark wintery Quebec and Michigan settings. 

Crisis isn't electrifying but it's thoughtful and told in a straight-forward manner. Its broad brushstrokes on the issue paint a quietly compelling portrait of a problem not easily solved. Ironically, this worthy film has been overshadowed by other events in the world - much like the opioid crisis itself.