David R. Walker

Posts Tagged ‘Phoebe Waller-Bridge’

A Big Bold Beautiful Journey

Director: Kogonada

Cast: Colin Farrell, Margot Robbie, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Jodie Turner-Smith, Kevin Kline, Billy Magnussen, Sarah Gadon

Running Time: 1 hour and 49 minutes

Film Rating: 5 out of 10

To understand what a brilliant film is, you also have to watch a terrible film. A Big Bold Beautiful Journey is possibly one of the worst films I have ever seen and to think that Oscar nominees Colin Farrell (The Banshees of Inisherin) and Margot Robbie (I,Tonya) signed on to star in this film has a lot to be said for their agents.

One the major problems with A Big Bold Beautiful Journey is that the Korean director Kogonada while displaying some odd visual flourishes just delivered possibly one of the most boring cinematic experiences ever made about two singletons, David and Sarah who meet at a wedding and are two of the most uninteresting characters ever created.

There is no conflict at all in an episodic and bizarre storyline by screenwriter Seth Reiss focussing on the surreal journey of David and Sarah as they revisit key moments of their past lives both painful and memorable. With the exception of a brief musical number in which Colin Farrell proves that he is no match for Ryan Gosling in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, the rest of the story is darkly lit and involves the odd couple driving in a car at night in some stylistic version of America which is somnambulistic and tiresome.

There is one other brief scene involving the two main stars along with their ex-lovers played by Billy Magnussen and Canadian actress Sarah Gadon in a crowded restaurant which is vaguely entertaining, otherwise the rest of this film is obscure, lagging any direction and zero conflict. Conflict drives narrative and lifts the characters off the screenplay into sentient beings filled with strong emotions which cause action. Unfortunately David and Sarah are cardboard cut-out characters which frankly Colin Farrell and Margot Robbie should have known better than to even agree to such a terrible script.

After watching brilliant cinema like Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another, A Big Bold Beautiful Journey is slow and bizarre, with a convoluted script and direction so bad that I am surprised Sony released this film.

If audiences enjoy boring love stories, then catch this film online or just skip it completely.

Unfortunately A Big Bold Beautiful Journey gets a film rating of 5 out of 10 and goes nowhere except through a series of doors. An unmitigated disaster of a film.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

Director: James Mangold

Cast: Harrison Ford, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Antonio Banderas, Mads Mikkelsen, Boyd Holbrook, Thomas Kretschmann, Shaunette Renee Wilson, Karen Allen, John Rhys-Davies, Toby Jones, Ethann Isidore

Running Time: 2 hours and 34 minutes

Film Rating: 8 out of 10

Languages: English & German

3:10 to Yuma and Ford v Ferrari director James Mangold tackles the Indiana Jones franchise bringing an old fashioned charm to the adventure series as he reunites Indiana Jones with his wayward goddaughter in the new film Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.

If viewers enjoyed the Indiana Jones films from Raiders of the Lost Art back in 1981 followed by the Temple of Doom in 1984 starring Oscar winner Ke Huy Quan (Everything, Everywhere all at Once) to the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull in 2008, then they will love this new film and probably the last in the franchise.

The Dial of Destiny opens with a de-aged Indiana Jones played by Harrison Ford (Witness, Blade Runner, Star Wars) facing off against the Nazi’s in a terrific opening scene aboard a train in the French alps whereby Indy and his friend Basil Shaw played by British character actor Toby Jones are fighting Nazi’s as they both battle to get their hands on an ancient relic.

The Nazi’s headed up by Colonel Weber played by German actor Thomas Kretschmann (King Kong, Wanted) attempt to fend off the American spy and his British counterpart while the real villain Dr Voller wonderfully played by Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen (Another Round, Casino Royale) spots the Dial of Destiny and realizes it’s true potential.

Fast forward from the 1940’s to New York in 1969 and Dr Jones sees himself retiring gracefully until his feisty goddaughter Helena wonderfully played with panache by British star Phoebe Waller-Bridge accosts Dr Jones and requests his help to locate the hidden dial of destiny which could be resting in the tomb of Archimedes in Sicily.

After a riveting chase sequence through the Manhattan streets during a parade, Indy and Helena escape the likes of the evil Dr Voller and his henchman Klaber brilliantly played by Boyd Holbrook (Logan, Gone Girl, Milk) and travel to Tangier in Morocco whereby they enlist the help of Teddy energetically played by French Mauritian actor Ethann Isidore.

For the rest of the action packed adventure, director James Mangold keeps audiences guessing as the heroes are chased by the villains from Tangier to the Aegean Sea while everyone is unaware of the true potential of the Dial of Destiny and its uncanny ability to change history.

While the narrative is completely implausible, the action is brilliantly orchestrated and the entire film has a great supporting cast ably assisted by solid direction by James Mangold who soaks the entire film in a sepia colour which only makes sense in the climactic scene at the battle of Syracuse.

Suspend your disbelief and go and watch a riveting adventure film, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny gets a film rating of 8 out of 10.

Fresh from its glittering premiere at the 2023 Festival de Cannes, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is an enjoyable cinematic ride, an old fashioned caper about archaeologists who go on the Archimedes Trail, from New York City to Sicily.