REVIEW: Enemy

Director Denis Villeneuve became seriously hot material after the fantastic Incendies wowed critics and audiences alike. Prisoners was also a strong follow-up, but I get the impression that Enemy, more akin to his older films is more in tone with his repertoire. Jake Gyllenhaal plays a enigmatic professor who spots his doppelganger on a movie. Tracking down the individual (also played by him), who is far more confident and abrasive, a plan is contrived to allow for a girlfriend swap of sorts, however, things start to get very strange, as the characters (and subsequently, audience) begin to question every action and detail, as the lines between dream and reality begin to blur. It’s an audacious feature, and certainly a very original take on the lookalike saga (as also done recently in The Double), plus, it’s worth the watch just for the outrageous and shocking final shot. [4/5]

REVIEW: Edge of Tomorrow

Based on Hiroshi Sakurazaka’s brilliantly-named novel ‘All You Need is Kill’, Doug Liman’s sci-fi spectacular Edge of Tomorrow is one of the smartest and most adult blockbusters to hit our screens this year. 

Set in the future, mankind is at war with an alien species (think some kind of oily, spidery, tentacled, rolling glob…hard I know!), and in a slightly bizarre twist of fate, is preparing for a new-age D-Day style invasion against the aliens – think Saving Private Ryan with hi-tech gadgetry and uber-weapons – when cock-grinned pen-pushing PR man Lt. Col. Bill Cage (Tom Cruise) is sent up to the front line, with his impending death looming and certain. However, every time he dies he reawakens to the morning of the invasion, and relives the day, slowly learning more about the weaponry, fighting techniques, and alien behaviour, each time bettering his previous lifespan. Only he can unlock the key to defeating this invading race, and with the help of she-warrior Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt) and a group of jarhead soldiers, he has the team to do it.

Tom Cruise may not be the most liked man on the planet, and he certainly burnt a lot of kudos with his past shenanigans on Oprah, and his outspoken bullshit on Scientology, but the guy has certainly got leading-man charisma. Like Minority Report, he has proven that his determined stare and action abilities are well-suited to sci-fi, and he plays Bill with enough tongue-in-cheek to keep us very entertained. His pairing with Emily Blunt, who plays the foil to his cocky Lieutenant, is a great match, and they have a decent on-screen chemistry to keep the anticipation rolling. 

Liman doesn’t just deliver on action and spectacle – the aliens are brilliant, the backdrop is awesome, and the set-pieces spectacular – but the dialogue keeps us grinning with some cheeky laughs, and in-jokes, as Bill acts out this nightmarish ‘groundhog day’ day in, day out. Liman’s team has also shown a keen eye for detail and a wild imagination when it comes to the weapons and mecha-suits, which are mega eye-candy. What more, Liman even gave us some of the best bits to watch more than once, each time giving a new take or differing angle on the action, so it never wanes, and never bores. Edge of Tomorrow set the bar for sci-fi blockbusters of 2014, and hasn’t really had much in the way of competition this year – with X-Men, Godzilla, Guardians, and Apes all falling short of this intelligent action (which was made to be seen in IMAX 3D).  [4/5]

Top Twenty Screen Spies of All Time

To mark Phillip Seymour Hoffman's superb performance as spymaster Gunther Bachmann in A Most Wanted Man, below is a list of the Top Twenty Screen Spies of All Time.

Taking into account character, attitude, quotes, ability, intelligence, style, and disposition, the list seems complete, with some characters famous the world-over, and others quiet but relevant footnotes in the annals of screen spydom, either way, they all get the job done - some with brains (Smiley), some with brawn (Bond), some with both (Bourne).

  

 

 

James Bond - (David Niven, Peter Sellers, Sean Connery, Roger Moore, George Lazenby, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, Daniel Craig)

Lover, fighter, drinker, British secret agent. The most iconic and loved spy of all time has taken down some of the most nefarious villains ever, and what more, is a dapper hand at cards, and can wear the hell out of a suit; men want to be him, women want to bed him.

George Smiley - (Rupert Davies, Alec Guinness, Gary Oldman) The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (BBC & film), Smiley's People (BBC)

Smiley is the cold war spymaster responsible for numerous collars in the shady world of intelligence. He is the dab hand responsible for outsmarting Russian uber-spy Karla in a chess-game of espionage. Described as possessing 'the cunning of Satan, and conscience of a virgin.'

Jason Bourne - (Matt Damon) The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum

Amnesiac super-agent, capable of killing you with a biro, magazine or tea towel. He's the perfect combination of brain and brawn, and the most deadly man on the list, outwitting and outfighting any agent that gets sent his way.

Carrie Mathison - (Claire Danes) Homeland

Obsessive, ridiculously smart and extremely determined, Carrie is not someone whose cross-hairs you want to enter.

Gerd Wiesler - (Ulrich Muhe) The Lives of Others

This quiet reflective Stasi operative is ruthless first and foremost, unless you can get to his heart. He reads your mail, and hears you calls.

Avner Kaufman - (Eric Bana) Munich

Educated, rugged and adaptable, Avner is tasked by the premier of Israel to lead a revenge squad. Don't confront him if you're Palestinian.

Gunther Bachmann - (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) A Most Wanted Man

Like Smiley, a spymaster who understands the long chess game of intelligence-gathering, and never rushed to conclude a scenario. Trusted and respected by his team, and an unlikely tough guy to boot.

Alec Leamas - (Richard Burton) The Spy Who Came in from the Cold 

The tough old codger who has known the 'cold' days of a pariah spy. Adaptable and ponderous with a gentle side, he's from the same old-school as Smiley.

Sir Hugh Hayden-Hoyle - (Stephen Rea) The Honourable Woman

Slow-paced and softly spoken, this MI6 spy has a knack of joining the dots, and once he's caught a whiff be sure to lose your scent.

Harry Palmer - (Michael Caine) Funeral in Berlin, The Ipcress File

Cool, calm, collected, and very stylish. This Burnley boy is the working man's Bond, and a very shrewd player amongst the shadows and allies of this uderworld.

Johnny Worricker - (Bill Nighy) Page Eight, Turks & Caicos, Salting the Battlefield 

He's an old hand who's too smooth and smart to ever get involved in the rough and tumble of spydom - but that doesn't stop him getting his hands dirty, even if it means taking down the Prime Minister.

Bob Barnes - (George Clooney) Syriana

A tough old agent, jaded and bearded after a lifetime of distress and cynicism. He's world-weary, but never loses his ability to decipher a plot.

Erik Heller - (Eric Bana) Hanna

Dark, handsome, tough and capable, Erik lives in the snowy wilderness where he trains his young daughter to kill and fend for herself. He's evaded capture from numerous agencies, and displays a wide knowlegde of survival and counterintelligence.

Jack Bauer - (Keifer Sutherland) 24

He's badass, he doesn't play by the book, he's saved mankind many times over, and he never needs to piss or charge his phone; he's Jack Bauer, one man army.

Sir Harry Pearce - (Peter Firth) Spooks

The well-thought-of head of counter-intelligence in MI5, Harry has always been the stalwart headmaster to his team of beautiful and capable spies.

Carl - (Ciaran Hinds) Munich

A 'grey man' who can move quietly and efficiently to clean up any evidence which may put Avner and the team in harm's way. An essential role in their super-secret squad.

Bryan Mills - (Liam Neeson) Taken, Taken 2

He has skills, lots of skills, from a long career. Don't mess with him, or his family, or he will find you, and he will kill you. 

Tom Quinn - (Matthew McFadyen) Spooks

Chief of Section at MI5, this broading hulk of smarts is the full package, delivering both intelligent analysis and assessment, as well as a bulky physique to flatten a foe.  

Ruth Evershed - (Nicola Walker) Spooks

Would even give George Siley a run for his money on an IQ test, Ruth is the ultimate brainiac spy, able to apply a lifetime of absorbing information to any task at hand, and an imperative analyst in tackling any terrorist plot.

Jim Prideaux - (Ian Bannen, Mark Strong) Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (BBC & film)

Head of the Scalphunters, Brixton's nefarious MI6 'black-ops' crew, and a trusted and loyal agent for Control and Smiley, Prideaux is a gangly figure of betrayal and loss, with a head brimming with fight technique, countersurveillance, and tradecraft.