Exodus: Gods and Kings Review

Note: The below review does contain spoilers, but nothing that I fell constitutes a spoiler giving how well known this story is.

Exodus: Gods and Kings as one may expect follows the tales of Moses a godless Egyptian prince who upon discovering his true parentage is exiled into the dessert where he meets his wife. One day Moses walks up a mountain that just so happens to be one that is forbidden by whilst trying to capture some stray sheep he presumably shepards. It is here that he meets 'god' who needs a general not a shepard and convinces Moses to return from his exile and see what had become of his enslaved people. Unsurprisingly upon returning matters are worse then before and he decides to take action with the help of 'god'.

Exodus: Gods and Kings is a film that I imagine many people will find offensive. It is directed by a man who has a very low opinion on religion and has treat the film as a simple story. In it god is shown as a largely thoughtless half wit who whilst incredibly powerful is unable to utilize his power in an effective manner and comes across and immoral and evil entity. Something that Moses in this film seems to agree with, but at no stage is it ever explained why. The characterisation for the most part is equally troubling. With few exceptions characters motivations seem to simply change with the changing requirements of the plot and few are giving enough screen time to be fully realized characters in their own right. This leads to the 'epic' scenes lacking any punch and being nothing more then a visual treat in the same way many enjoy brainless action spectacle films.

The cause would seem to be how rushed the film is. For example, the relationship between Moses and his wife is nothing more then them meeting at a water hole, exchanging no words, next Moses is meeting her father who asks numerous questions as she watches and then suddenly they are married. This lack of development is in part to the mostly passable but entirely unremarkable acting on display, but also that their simply where not enough scenes dedicated to developing important characters beyond Moses. Their is an early scene between Moses his sister and adoptive mother which is certainly a highlight that promises some dramatic punch, but neither are seen again and nor is the dramatic punch.

In many was Exodus: Gods and Kings is like Kingdom of Heaven. Both are directed by Ridley Scott that hope to have an 'epic' scope but are faltered by rushed pacing and story telling that skims over far to many important details. Hopefully Exodus: Gods and Kings get an extended edition that improves the film like Kingdom of Heaven had. But in its current state Exodus: Gods and Kings does not come recommended.

What about the 3d?

The 3d is simply put a rather mixed affair. Starting of rather mild it later pushes to rather heavy levels of depth. Whilst this heavier level of depth is certainly a nice trend to see in an industry that seems fearful of anything but mild 3d in years past the presentation here is also inconsistent with the levels of depth fluctuating wildly within the same scene and similar shoots. The result is a mostly competent 3d presentation that will certainly satisfy fans of the format, but will be unlikely to convert those who have yet to be convinced.

The Counselor Review

From director Ridley Scott and Pulitzer prize winner Cormac McCarthy comes The Counselor a film about greed and the consequences of ones actions. The Counselor starts as a character only known as The Counselor enters into a drug trafficking arrangement. Many may immediately take issue with The Counselor as it doesn't explain how The Counselor is involved and is shown to have little knowledge of the exact workings of the deal. But to do so would be to miss what The Counselor is striving for. The Counselor at its core is not a film about drug trafficking rather it is a film about how the decisions of today can effect tomorrows decisions and the horrific consequences that they can eventually lead to.

The Counselor is an unapologetically slow film that despite being classified as a thriller provides for little to no thrills. This in of itself isn't an issue and I quite enjoyed watching the consequences of the various characters actions slowly unfold on screen and how they react in a desperate attempt of self preservation. This is especially helped throughout by the performances which are mostly sublime throughout with Michael Fassbender as The Counselor Brad Pitt as Westray being particular highlights. Those however looking for the film to delve into the Drug Trafficking beyond a very cursory surface glance will likely be disappointed.

The most notable issue present with The Counselor is the quality of the writing which varies dramatically from scene to scene. Some dialogue is razor sharp and often impressively oblique, however other lines are borderline laughable. Thankfully the razor sharp lines overwhelm the relatively small portions of poor writing. None the less the borderline laughable dialogue is accentuated by the serious tone the film maintains throughout and whilst some of the actors and actresses are able to make some of the more egregious dialogue work, others simply come across with delivery that simply fells off. Characters motivations are also in most cases only surface deep which leads the film lacking the impact it so clearly is striving for. Thankfully The Counsleor himself has enough relatable albeit simple motivation behind his greed to keep the films slow but ever present forward momentum present.

The Counsellor is a film that with its at time ponderous pacing, lack of thrills and at times inconsistent writing has the signs of disaster written all over it. Despite this I found the majority of performances coupled with the at times oblique writing to provide for a fresh change of pace and compelling narrative. Hence whilst The Counselor doesn't come with the strongest of recommendations it still comes recommended for those who enjoy a slowly paced dialogue heavy film and are not looking for the edge of your seat thriller it was advertised as.

Most Anticipated Releases for the Remainder of 2013

As we move out of the  winter (or summer depending on where you live) blockbuster period and towards the award and Christmas movie release schedule the quality of recent releases can become rather heterogeneous. It is a time of year where we often find some hidden gems or films with niche audiences released (like the recently released Riddick). Sadly it is also a time when studios often release films that are expected duds in terms of quality presumably to try and take what advantage they can of what tends to be a less competitive release schedule. Despite this their are several film releases I am anticipating. Below are my most anticipated titles for the remainder of 2013.


The Counselor

My main interest for The Counselor comes from the involvement of Ridley Scott who is of course directing and Michael Fassbender (who was easily the highlight of Ridley Scoots most recently released film Prometheus). I do have some concerns and reservations regarding this film which I justify based on some of the issues present in Ridely Scott's most recently released film Prometheus. In spite of these concerns I cannot wait to see how The Counselor turns out. I however am disappointed that both Ridely Scott and Martin Scorsese have seemingly abandoned 3d despite numerous comments both have made and of course as both Prometheus and Hugo are simply breathtaking in 3d.



The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

No doubt an obvious choice and one that needs little explanation, afterall how many times can one here and read that it looks to be a fun filled fantasy adventure film. Admittedly The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was a colossal disappointment and its trailers (especially the teaser) where even more tantalizing then what we have seen for The Desolation of Smaug (which looks as if it could also contain more fan service then I would like). None the less the prospect of seeing the next chapter still has me excited. It also helps that it has been shoot at 48fps (often refereed to as HFR) as apposed to the traditional 24fps which provides for a much smoother image and an experience that currently cannot be experienced at home. Furthermore it also stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Smaug and The Necromancer (both of which briefly appeared in An Unexpected Journey) and who doesn't want to see that?



Carrie

Carrie is easily my most anticipated film for the remainder of 2013. I am far from a large horror fan and remakes are something I am usually not all that fond of as they are notorious for adding little that the original didn't already cover and are far to often simply terrible films (this is especially true when it comes to remakes of horror films). However in this case I have not seen the original film and some excellent 'remakes' such as Let Me In and The Girl With T he Dragon Tattoo coupled with some excellent trailers has me thrilled to see how Carrie turns out. Hopefully it is not only a good film but provides a new twist on the source material so that it can stand on its on and not be viewed as simply a remake of a much better film (as Let Me In was able to achieve which also starred Chloë Grace Moretz).