Crisp Criticism - "Kong: Skull Island", "Alone in Berlin", "Before I Fall", "A Cure for Wellness"

by

Julien Faddoul

Kong: Skull Island *

A team of scientists explore an uncharted island in the Pacific, venturing into the domain of the mighty Kong, and must fight to escape a primal Eden.

Some stunning visual effects and a lively performance or two can’t compensate for another big-budget remake on autopilot, following the same beats and falling into the same cynical trappings as others of its ilk.

d – Jordan Vogt-Roberts

w – Dan Gilroy, Max Borenstein, Derek Connolly, John Gatins

ph – Larry Fong

pd – Stefan Dechant

m – Henry Jackman

ed – Richard Pearson

cos – Mary E. Vogt

p – Alex Garcia, Jon Jashni, Mary Parent

Cast: Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, John C. Reilly, Terry Notary, Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell, John Goodman, Thomas Mann, Shea Whigham, John Ortiz

Alone in Berlin

Berlin, 1940. Working class couple Otto and Anna Quangel receive the news that their only son has lost his life in the battlefield and decide to resist the Nazi regime in their very own way

Creaky and bland WWII thriller with everyone involved hamming it up.

d – Vincent Perez

w – Achin von Borries, Vincent Perez   (Based on the Novel by Hans Fallada)

ph – Christophe Beaucarne

pd – Jean-Vincent Puzos

m – Alexandre Desplat

ed – Francois Gédigier

cos – Nicole Fischnaller

p – Stefan Arndt, Christian Grass, Marco Pacchioni, James Schamus, Uwe Schott, Paul Trijbits

Cast: Emma Thompson, Daniel Brühl, Brendan Gleeson, Mikael Persbrandt, Uwe Preuss, Katrin Pollitt, Katharina Schüttler, Imogen Kogge, Jürgen Tarrach

Before I Fall *

February 12 is just another day in Sam's charmed life until it turns out to be her last. Stuck reliving her last day over one inexplicable week, Sam untangles the mystery around her death and discovers everything she's in danger of losing.

Kind of a twofold rip-off of both Groundhog Day (1993) and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006). There is some ambition but the result is strictly for teenage girls who buy this sort of thing.

d – Ry Russo-Young

w – Maria Maggenti   (Based on the Novel by Lauren Oliver)

ph – Michael Fimognari

pd – Paul Joyal

m – Adam Taylor

ed – Joe Landauer

cos – Eilidh McAllister

p – Matthew Kaplan, Brian Robbins, Jon Shestack

Cast: Zoey Deutch, Halston Sage, Elena Kampouris, Logan Miller, Cynthy Wu, Medalion Rahimi, Jennifer Beals, Diego Boneta

A Cure for Wellness

An ambitious young executive is sent to retrieve his company's CEO from an idyllic but mysterious "wellness centre" at a remote location in the Swiss Alps, but soon suspects that the spa's treatments are not what they seem.

Overlong, aggravating and altogether laughable horror/mystery with its director trying every trick he’s learned throughout his career to make something out of nothing. It is another example of the fashionable striptease of uneasy information that all modern movies seem to covet.

d – Gore Verbinski

w – Justin Haythe, Gore Verbinski

ph – Bojan Bazelli

pd – Eve Stewart

m – Benjamin Wallfisch

ed – Pete Beaudreau, Lance Pereira

cos – Jenny Beaven

p – Gore Verbinski, David Crockett, Amon Milchan

Cast: Dane DeHaan, Jason Isaacs, Mia Goth, Douglas Hamilton, Adrian Schiller, Celia Imrie, Ashok Mandanna, Harry Groener, Godehard Giese, Tomas Norström, Angelina Häntsch