Review No.74: Fury

So I seem to be the only person who hasn't seen The Avengers yet, but fear not dear readers I will endeavour to do so next week, however I do know that Samuel L Jackson plays the character of Nick Fury in the film which is odd as here he stars in a film called Fury however it has nothing to do with the comic book franchise. I would even go as far as to say that the film is trying to cash in on Jackson's character by changing the name for its UK release from The Samaritan to Fury. Anyway instead of playing a mysterious eye-patched dude, Jackson pays Foley a former conman who had been jailed after killing his former partner in crime. The partner's son Ethan tracks Foley down trying to convince him to participate in one last con however when he turns him down the once charming Ethan turns nasty sending a hooker named Iris to tempt it over to the dark side. However Foley ends up as Iris' protector and the two start a sexual relationship but Ethan ruins it with a revelation about her true identity which forces Foley back into his life of crime. The con they are about to pull is 'The Samaritan' in which a husband has to pay to save his junkie wife from the crime lord she owes money to, in this case Tom Wilkinson's bonkers wine obseswed Englishman, before stealing his money. Though Ethan has Foley on board things don't really go to plan especially when Iris throws a spanner in the works towards of the film.

Samuel L Jackson begins Fury by delivering an opening montage as he leaves prison making me believe that this was some sort of Shawshank Redemption tale with Jackson in the Morgan Freeman role, especially since former Shawshank resident Gil Bellows pops up here as a bartender, however it soon becomes a revenge thriller. The final third of the film then focuses in on the con so it becomes more like an Ocean's 11 noir with everybody wearing slick suits and talking about plotting the con to the final detail before another shift in tone linking back to the start of the film. For me I felt Jackson was phoning his performance in and there was nothing special about it to the extent where I almost felt like Sam was doing a favour for director David Weaver. Thankfully there are some decent supporting actors with the British actress Ruth Negga impressing as Iris while Wilkinson hams it up to a major degree in the scenes in which he features as Xavier. There's no denying that this was a solid film with a decent idea however Weaver's tonal shifts coupled with Jackson's sub-par performance meant that at the end of the day Fury felt completely unremarkable.

Verdict: A couple of decent performances in a film that doesn't outstay its welcome doesn't make it any more remarkable so I'm going to give it the same score as Transit with 5.5/10

Review No.23: The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

As I arrived for my free preview screening of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel I thought there wouldn't be many people out and about on this cold Sunday morning but how wrong I was. Getting to my local Odeon I found a large queue outside the cinema of mainly more mature customers waiting to get in which isn't surprising seeing as the film is about characters in the latter stages of their life. The film is almost like The Expendables of seasoned British thespians with a cast including Dame Judi Dench, Dame Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy, Penelope Wilton and Tom Wilkinson. The first scene we see is of Dench's widow Evelyn who is trying to sort out her internet provider now her husband has passed away as he left with a mountain of debt she has to move out of their home. Also suffering with money woes are Nighy and Wilton's married couple who invested all their money in their daughter's internet company and are still waiting to see the money. Celia Imrie plays a grandmother who wants to fly her wings while Ronald Pickup's Norman is still on the lookout for love. All of them are tempted to move away and find out about a luxury resort for people in their autumn years the only catch is that it is located in India. Wilkinson is also tempted by this offer as he grew up in India and has a secret that he's never told anyone and finally there's Maggie Smith's Muriel who is going to India for a different reason as she can get her hip operated on a lot quicker. They find out that the Marigold Hotel isn't what they thought as owner Sonny, Slumdog Millionaire's Dev Patel, is still desperately trying to renovate the establishment left to him by his late father. During their stay some of the characters find the joy they've been missing while others realise that it is time for the end of certain things and the affect that these residents have on Sunny is also a positive one as he makes a decision about his own future.

I can appreciate that this sort of film isn't for everyone and if you've already switched off during the plot synopsis then you'll have no interest in seeing this but I'm glad I saw it as I probably wouldn't have had it not been free. The best thing here is the performances but that's to be expected with the crop of acting talent available and standouts for me were Dench as the widow who is having to stand on her own two feet for the first time and Wilkinson a man who's been trapped by a secret which he is trying to put right with his return to India. Maggie Smith also does well with her woman who at the start is presented as a bit of a racist but as time goes on learns to appreciate the similarities between those she meets and her own life. But with five or six plotlines going on at once some characters get left in the shuffle with Imrie and Pickup getting the least screentime and Wilton being disserved with playing the pessimistic moaning woman a similar part to the one she portrayed in Calendar Girls. However within the script there is enough laughter and some tears to justify the moments when characters talk like no ordinary person would ever speak. John Madden's direction also picks up on the tourist culture of India and will probably see a lot more people think about holidaying in that area if they have enough cash. The transposition between old India and modern India is a theme here as is the question have you ever really lived even if you've grown old? This was a lovely old-fashioned film with a good story and some fine performances despite it being cheesy as well as slightly predictable it kept me smiling throughout as well as keeping my attention which a lot of films fail to do these days.

Verdict: While this isn't everybody's cup of English Breakfast Tea I personally found it engaging, well-acted and engaging so personally I'll award it a 7/10