STACK May 2016 Issue 139

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visit CINEMA REVIEWS
20 MAY 2016
CINEMA
Computer Generated Images traditionally falter with the power of hindsight. Imagery that
appeared photorealistic to the eye in 2006 is often substandard to that same eye ten years later.
Animals have proven particularly testing for filmmakers. The work on Jon Favreau’s The Jungle
Book, which constructs a world of CGI and populates it almost entirely with CGI anthropomorphic
animals, is a startling step in the direction of the real. There is a lingering impression, however,
that the entire film is little more than an exercise in technical wizardry. The plot doesn’t veer
wildly from the 1967 Disney animated original. Mowgli (Neel Sethi) is a boy reared by a wolf
pack in the jungle. When the nefarious tiger, Shere Khan (Idris Elba), threatens his existence,
Mowgli is excommunicated from the pack and forced to discover his place in a savage world.
The appearance of the characters – from Mowgli to Bagheera (Sir Ben Kingsley) and Baloo (Bill
Murray) – are also very closely modelled on Disney aesthetics. Even the music is somewhat
dictated by the songs from the original. The Jungle Book is bursting with visual artistry, and
Favreau certainly has a flair for atmosphere, but the film is somewhat redundant, particularly
because it adheres so closely to its animated antecedent. But while The Jungle Book is bound by
obligation and upstaged by its technical prowess, there’s an undeniable competence to the way
in which the whole thing is assembled. And sometimes, that’s enough. John Roebuck
THE JUNGLE BOOK
Now that The Hunger Games has wrapped, Divergent and The Maze Runner are the only YA series
in town, and their similar storylines are in danger of becoming Convergent. Allegiant is the first
of the (obligatory) two-part finale to The Divergent Series, and the practice of bisecting the final
novel doesn't do Veronica Roth's saga any favours. The film is essentially 20 minutes of set-up
stretched to a dull two hours. Having ventured beyond the wall surrounding the ruins of Chicago,
Tris (Shailene Woodley) and her fellow Divergents are captured by the Bureau of Genetic Warfare,
led by bland and underwritten villain David (Jeff Daniels). This mob appear to have started the whole
apocalyptic mess, and are now seeking to "purify the human genome" – or something to that effect
– with Chicago functioning as an ambitious social experiment. Using Oblivion-like flying pods, the
characters flit back and forth between the Bureau and Chicago, where conflict has erupted between
Naomi Watts's Factionless and Octavia Spencer's Allegiants, following the downfall of Kate Winslet's
regime. Will they put aside their differences, embrace diversity, and unite against the common
enemy beyond the wall? Will Shailene Woodley realise she doesn't possess the screen presence of
Jennifer Lawrence? And more importantly, where does all that shiny and powerful technology come
from in the middle of a post-apocalyptic wasteland? Next year's Ascendant will undoubtedly answer
these questions, but will anybody beyond fans of the book still care? Scott Hocking
RELEASED: Now Showing
DIRECTOR: Robert Schwentke
CAST: Shailene Woodley,
Theo James, Jeff Daniels
RATING: M
THE DIVERGENT SERIES: ALLEGIANT
RELEASED: Now Showing DIRECTOR: Cedric
Nicolas-Troyan CAST: Chris Hemsworth, Jessica
Chastain, Charlize Theron RATING: M
The plot of The Huntsman: Winter’s War is
convoluted and threadbare. Scorned and heartbroken,
Queen Freya (Emily Blunt) forges a kingdom in the
north using her powers to control ice as well as her
deadly force of ‘Huntsmen’ (although no hunting is
ever actually committed). Two of the Huntsmen, Eric
(Chris Hemsworth) and Sara (Jessica Chastain), fall
in love – a sentiment that is outlawed. They incur the
wrath of the Queen, who plots to force them apart.
There’s a lot more in it, but not much more to it. In
the tale of Snow White, as published by the Brother’s
Grimm in 1812, the Huntsman drags Snow White into
the forest to kill her, on orders from the evil Queen.
He takes pity on her and lets her go, taking back the
liver and lung of a boar to the Queen as evidence of
the girl's death. And that’s it. That was also the role
of the Huntsman in the 1937 Disney animation, Snow
White and the Seven Dwarfs. And now, because of
Hollywood’s apparently insatiable desire to tamper
with classic fairy tales, the Huntsman has a franchise
of his own, free of Kristen Stewart’s Snow White.
The Huntsman: Winter’s War is a sequel that nobody
asked for to a film that generated poor reviews
and mediocre box office returns, directed by a man
known principally for his work in special effects.
Mercifully, it’s the last feeble live-action fantasy
release for quite some time. John Roebuck
THE HUNTSMAN:
WINTER'S WAR
RELEASED: Now Showing
DIRECTOR: Jon Favreau
CAST: Neel Sethi, Bill
Murray, Ben Kingsley
RATING: PG
Delusion is a powerful force, particularly when
combined with a capacity for indulging that
delusion. The life of Florence Foster Jenkins, a
New York socialite who became an opera singer
infamous for her atrocious voice, is a tale about
what happens when the two collide. Foster Jenkins
(Streep) is a wealthy heiress who lives with her
husband, St. Clair (Grant), and runs nights at the
musical society, the Verdi Club. But St. Clair has
another life, and another woman, and we soon learn
that he’s but one of many benefactors of Foster
Jenkins’ generosity. She has delusions of becoming
a famous opera singer, but she has little feeling for
rhythm or pitch and is hardly capable of sustaining
a note. The people surrounding her, including St.
Clair, rehearsal pianist Cosmé McMoon (Simon
Helberg) and the curiously adoring fans from the
Verdi Club, encourage her. Is it wrong to support
such fantastical egotism or should everyone be
supported in his or her dreams? Director Stephen
Frears carefully toes the line between admonishing
and sanctioning the support given to Foster Jenkins.
The blame lies not on Foster Jenkins herself; after
all, she’s deluded. It’s how her ambiguous husband
feels about her that emerges as the most intriguing
element of the film. John Roebuck
FLORENCE FOSTER JENKINS
RELEASED: May 5 DIRECTOR: Stephen Frears
CAST: Rebecca Ferguson, Meryl Streep, Hugh
Grant RATING: PG