It's been a mix of films this month, from comedy to sci-fi and not all of them were what they seemed. We went to see the much-anticipated film Passengers starring two of Hollywood's biggest names and the tragic but powerful true story of Sully: Miracle on the Hudson. Read on to find out what we thought about these latest films and more...
Sully: Miracle on the Hudson
Rating 5/5
Worldwide Box Office $233,064,239
It’s almost impossible not to give top marks to a film that’s based on a true story. Adaptations of real life events are always done so well because film producers, directors and actors are fantastic at capturing the emotions of the event by working closely with the real life protagonists. In this case Tom Hanks spent time with the man he was going to play in this film; Captain Chesley Sullenberger aka Sully of the US Airways Flight 1549 in 2009. When a huge flock of geese hit the plane shortly after take off, the engines explode and Sully soon realises that his only option is to use the Hudson river as a runway. It’s known as a miracle because the odds of all 155 people on the plane surviving a water landing were next to none, and it’s not something pilots are trained for. Tom Hanks was the perfect man for the job because as always he can make you feel the raw emotion of what his character is going through. I found myself biting my nails and trying to suppress tears during the climactic scene in which the passengers of the plane are told to “brace for landing”. The story focuses on the investigation that occurs after the event, when the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) come to the conclusion that Sully could have returned to the airport’s runway, rather than land in the Hudson. Sully suffers a form of Post Traumatuc Stress Disorder and that, combined with the findings of the investigation, make for an interesting and powerful film.
Office Christmas Party
Rating 3/5
Worldwide Box Office $81,020,219
This star-studded comedy about the ultimate office Christmas party was set to be one of the funniest films of the year but unfortunately fell short. The story was a typical ‘save the company from going under at Christmas time’ sort of film, which is fine but it didn’t offer much more than the usual feel-good Christmas ending. The starring actors were great and all oozed their signature style of comedy in their own rights, especially Jason Bateman, Jennifer Aniston, T.J. Miller and Kate McKinnon. But the laugh out loud moments were few and far between, which was a bit of a disappointment after watching the hilarious trailer. Don’t get me wrong it was pretty funny, but not as much or as often as it should have been. Jennifer Aniston played Carol, a CEO of a company who warned her brother Clay that if he didn’t hit his financial targets for the quarter she would close down his branch, making all of his staff lose their jobs. Clay and his colleague, played by Jason Bateman, take charge of hosting a huge Christmas party to impress a client. If the client chooses to invest in the company then of course it will save all of their jobs because of the income boost. It was pleasant to watch but nowhere near as funny as I expected it to be. If you’re a fan of the actors involved then go along to watch their signature comedy that we all love.
Passengers
Rating 4/5
Worldwide Box Office $30,010,201
This movie has been one of the most anticipated of the year. Set in space and starring the fantastic talents of Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence, the story is based on their characters who are on a voyage to space where 5,000 other passengers are also on board in hibernation mode. Jim and Aurora wake up around 90 years too soon and therefore have to face the fact that they will have to live out their lives on the spaceship and will ultimately die there too. The story makes you think about how you would face life if you could only live it in one place with just one other person for company. The spaceship is on its way to a new planet called Homestead II, which is where Jim and Aurora were heading before their hibernation pods broke and they woke up. There are a few surprises in the plot which kept me interested and there is a nice love story between the characters, with the added intrigue of how they will stand to be on their own in space for the rest of their lives. We see their mental state go up and down as they struggle to cope but also find out what is wrong with the ship and try to fix it before everyone on board is killed. It was an enjoyable film to watch and the only downsides were that it was at times predictable and the ending could have been made much better. But out of all the films I have seen in the last few months this is one of the best and exceeded my expectations.
The Edge of Seventeen
Rating 3/5
Worldwide Box Office $14,329,434
Hailee Steinfeld is brilliant in this awkward teen movie about her character Nadine who goes through a rough time, when she catches her best friend in bed with her older brother and feels like her mum isn’t paying attention to her. She can feel her life crumbling around her and she’s all alone, apart from the sarcastic wisdom of her teacher, played by the hilarious Woody Harrelson. When Nadine feels her life falling apart she, as a typical teenager, makes it seem like the end of the world but for the most part she has isolated herself and made it all seem much worse than it is. But that’s teenage life for you because when you’re young everything feels like a much bigger deal than it is. The film was mostly lighthearted apart from one scene where Nadine is in a car with her crush and we got a sense that a sexual assault scene was coming, which thankfully it didn’t. But what this did was gave the film a sense of harsh reality and that it’s not just a comedy, it deals with serious issues that teenagers face today. Hailee Steinfeld was a shining star in this film and led the comedic elements. It’s a film that would appeal mostly to young girls, but even women in their twenties (like me) who will in some way re-live their teen years through this movie. The reason I didn’t find it an amazing film was because most of the really funny parts were in the trailer, so unfortunately it wasn’t as good as I’d hoped it would be.
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