The Personal History of David Copperfield (2019)

The Personal History of David Copperfield is based on the story by Charles Dickens but is given a twist by Armando Iannucci. To be honest I haven’t read David Copperfield and have no desire to do so but I have seen several versions of this story and its only because that Iannucci is involved is the reason why I went to the cinema. It took me about 30 seconds to start laughing because with an Iannucci and Simon Blackwell script, what you do get is plenty of humour and it runs through this film from start to finish. 

As there has been several thousand (slight exaggeration) versions of this story I wont really spend any time talking about it as the film is more interesting for the performances. Dev Patel is very good as David Copperfield. His younger self was also interesting but Patel brings a likeable quality to the character and despite all the horrible things that happen to him during the course of the film but he still maintains a calm point of view. Peter Capaldi is very funny as Mr. Micawber. I’m a huge Doctor Who fan so found Capaldi fun to watch. Hugh Laurie is always dependable but as Mr Dick he makes perfect use of his comedic skills to bring us a slightly bonkers guy. I couldn’t help but think of his performance as Prince George in Blackadder 3. Other notable performances include Daisy May Cooper as Peggotty who is the first friendly face that Copperfield sees and becomes the anchor for most of the action in the film. 

The directing is quite good during this film. It’s nothing special by any means but there are a couple of instances where it has to show something or shift to a different scene and does so by changing the background to a drape and having the drape then rise or sink and then there are a couple of moments where images are projected onto a background which I thought worked quite well. 

I really liked this film. I don’t think its quite as good as some of Iannucci’s other films but to be honest he has managed to do something different and put a new spin on a story that has been done some many times. In fact in the trailers there was a new version of Emma which seems like it is the same as every other version of the story. If you want something game changing then I wouldn’t go and see this film but if you want something that’s enjoyable and can just submerse yourself in this world then this film is worth a go.

1917 (2019)

There aren’t many films in recent years that I have been looking forward to see. 1917 is one of those films largely because of a video I saw on YouTube and that one shot of George Mackay running towards the camera. This film is directed by Sam Mendes who attempted a similar thing in Spectre a few years ago. In that case it was only a few minutes and in this film it's just over two hours long. In short, 1917 is a superb film. 

The set-up of the film is that Lance Corporal Blake (played by Dean-Charles Chapman) has to deliver a message to Colonel MacKenzie (played by Benedict Cumberbatch) calling off an attack which will kill 1600 men including his brother. The key selling point is that the film is shot as one continuous shot. I thought that this helped add to the drama and tension. It was quite clever how they managed to make things flow and keep the low key moments interesting enough. 

The central performances are really good although I was surprised that Blake died so early in the film. It’s his brother that is driving him through this terror but in the end it makes sense why they did this. I thought the scene where Schofield meets Blake’s brother and tells him he has died was a really sad moment and despite being a downbeat way to end the film I thought it was the best way to end it. In fact the final shot mirrors the opening shot which I appreciated.

If I had one issue with the film is that the gap in time when Schofield is knocked out is a bit of a cheat. Ok so they only did it once but its something that bothers me. I am a bit pedantic in that way but it is what it is. Another slight thing that could be filed under nit-picking is one bit when after Blake has died we learn that there is a whole convoy of vehicles that somehow managed to go right by them without making a sound. I just thought it was a bit strange. Apart from those two things, I thought it was everything I hoped it would be. It would have been nice if they had found a way of getting around it so they whole film is one long shot but I suppose they only did it the once so it could be forgiven.

There is very little blood yet it manages to convey the horrors of war yet never feels like it's being preachy or self righteous. There is one moment when Schofield is swimming through bodies that had become bloated by being in the water so long which was quite grim. The big scene where Schofield is running towards the camera is as close to iconic as it's possible to get. I don’t know if it was planned that he ran collided with other soldiers but it helped add to the realism and he did well to maintain his focus.

It never stops at any point in the film which for something with a two hour running time is quite impressive. 1917 deserves all the praise it is getting and is one of my highlights of the year and if it's not in my top 3 then I will be surprised. Sam Mendes has directed a film that is just as good if not better than Skyfall. I came out of the screening and was stunned and was so glad that I saw this on the big screen instead of my TV at home. A gem of a movie.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)

After being disappointed with Episode 8, there was sense that I was going to be disappointed with the final instalment in this trilogy. The set for the film is that Rey and the other are going to hunt down the Emperor who somehow managed to survive after the events of Episode 6.

There is a lot to like about this film. Firstly I thought that the plot was much stronger than in the last film. It hit the ground running and never really stopped. The plot gave Rey, Finn and Poe enough to do and my main issue with Episode 8 was that it felt like Finn were being side-lined with the casino stuff. The plot is this film never felt like it was stalling, during episode eight the whole casino scene just felt tacked on and in this film the plot felt like some thought had been given to it.

Bringing back the Emperor seemed like a clever way of getting round the fact that Snode was killed in the previous film despite being pushed as the new Emperor. I thought that the Emperor was very good in this although his plan was slightly rehashed from Episode 6. The sight at the beginning where all the battle ships are in the air and there is thunder and lightning was a brilliant shot and it was just as good when it was shown again towards the end. The big scene between Rey and the Emperor was quite good and it was done in a way that got rid of the emperor by Rey’s hands but not an act of murder which is what the Emperor wanted.

This whole film seems like J.J. Abrams was trying to make us forget episode eight and its understandable. With the exception of Luke and Snode, there is very little reference to the last film. The character of Rose who seemed to be destined for a bigger role after episode eight, gets relegated to looking at computer screens. I thought the character was irritating in the last film and its not the fault of Kelly Marie Tran but more of Rian Johnson who seemed incapable of making her less whiny.

I thought they did a great job of dealing with Leia. Carrie Fisher passed away just before Episode 8 came out and she was involved enough in the story to feel like she wasn’t being side-lined but when the time came she got a dignified exit. I also thought that bringing Han Solo back for his brief cameo was a great idea.

There are a few issues with the film. I thought that the revelation that Rey was the granddaughter of the Emperor was a bit disappointing. I think that she should have been related to either Luke or Leia but then people might have really gone negative with that but I just think that being the grand daughter seemed like a bit of a cop-out in narrative terms. Also there is one effects shot where they do a mini-flashback where we see a young Luke Skywalker and a young Leia in training and it just looks bad but thankfully its not on screen for very long.

Rise of Skywalker is much better than The Last Jedi but I don’t it’s quite as good as Force Awakens. This film does a great job of telling its own story and let it wraps up the saga perfectly. The running time was perfect and I cant really pick any faults with the film. It was nice to walk out the cinema and feel that it was as good as I hoped it would be. I don’t know what the future holds for the Star Wars franchise but if this was the end of it then I would be ok with that but I suspect Disney have plans for more but just not yet.