Film Review: Robot & Frank

Robot & Frank   8/10
Director: Jake Schreier
Starring: Frank Langella, Peter Sarsgaard, Susan Sarandon
Plot: an elderly man named Frank (Langella) receives a robot butler from his son, with the purpose of looking after him. The robot assists Frank, an ex-jewel thief, in a heist.

Creating a 89-minute film about an old man and a robot is incredibly ambitious and brave during such a tough, economic climate. You may be pleased to hear, however, that this film is many things, and dull isn't one of them.

Firstly, the cast here is superb; Frank Langella’s portrayal of a lonely, old man is touching at times, and his relationship with the robot (voiced by Peter Sarsgaard) unravels on-screen beautifully. James Marsden and Liv Tyler, the two siblings, dip in and out of the film with terrific performances; we see Marsden introduce the robot to his father’s home and Tyler shooing it away. Susan Sarandon is also marvellous as the librarian; she seems to steal each and every scene she appears in and plays a vital role later on.

Most notably, the film’s script is witty, fast-moving and solely character driven. It seems a very risky film to make, as it’s unlikely to draw in the audiences. However, this film could gain widespread appeal and perhaps a cult status if it receives the right publicity. Perhaps the only part of the film which could've cost is the robot. Created by Alterian, a Los Angeles-based company, it moves flawlessly and is truly fascinating to watch. Thankfully, the robot isn't borderline creepy. Instead, thanks to voice of Sarsgaard, the robot becomes a well established character, despite having few physical, human characteristics.

In Conclusion: Overall, Robot & Frank is an endearing tale which explores the truth behind old age. With one of the most interesting and compelling casts ever assembled, Robot & Frank is a fantastic drama with an unexpected ending. 

Film Review: What If

What If     8/10
Director: Michael Dowse
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Zoe Kazan, Megan Park
Plot: The friendship of Wallace (Daniel Radcliffe) and Chantry (Zoe Kazan) is questioned when one falls in love with the other.

If you're looking at the checklist for a typical romantic comedy, you'll find affairs, crude jokes and Jennifer Aniston as the female lead. Thankfully, What If is not any of these, it is a fresh, independently-written take on the genre, with electric chemistry between the two leads - Daniel Radcliffe and Zoe Kazan.

Michael Dowse takes the directorial reigns of this modestly budgeted comedy ($11 million) and has successfully crafted a film you'll recommend to your 500 Days of Summer-loving pals. Dowse has somehow manage to dodge the majority of rom-com cliches and pulls off a surprisingly witty coming-of-age tale. With that said, Dowse has merely utilised and built on Elan Mastai's simply marvellous script, with special effects used to only improve and elevate the script's potential. It's also one of those films where there aren't any awkward silences for the audience to laugh, the script almost knows when you're emotionally or humorously vulnerable and takes full advantage of that.

Likewise, leads Radcliffe and Kazan clearly saw the script's potential and decided to deliver a whole lot more. Their chemistry and comedic timing isn't something audiences can always expect, with numerous gross-out comedies pretty much bloating the market in recent years.

As well as the two main stars, there's Adam Driver and Mackenzie Davis as Allan and Nicole, whose side story is surprisingly enjoyable to follow and doesn't detract from the main events.

In Conclusion: Arguably one of the wittiest and sweetest romantic comedies in recent memory (and some of us can definitely relate). Radcliffe and Kazan steal the show with their undeniable chemistry. 

Book Review: The Maze Runner Series

The Maze Runner Series 9/10
Author: James Dashner
Books in the series: The Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials, The Death Cure as well as the prequel, The Kill Order

Since The Hunger Games, there’s been countless dystopian, young adult novels that have simply failed to reproduce the same intense, kinetic action extravaganza. The Maze Runner, though it still remains insuperior to Suzanne Collins’ masterpiece, is a refreshingly thrilling trilogy.

The Maze Runner – the first in the series – is by far the best of the four. From the first few lines of the first chapter, I was immediately captivated and puzzled as to what the world Thomas had found himself in really was. The characters (of which there are countless, almost on a LOST-type scale) are all established perfectly; it’s easy in young adult books for the characters to become too samey and generic. Here though, Dashner distinguishes between them all well and you really get to understand them all within a few chapters of the book.

What Dashner also does, which is very clever, is know what the reader is thinking. Though the book’s written in the third person, you always follow Thomas’ journey throughout the first book. There are points where you yourself, the reader, believe you’ve cracked it. Where you really believe you know what’s going on. Dashner, brilliantly, seems to then find a way of smashing down your theory at the exact same time. Thomas asks questions that you would ask if you were him, which is incredibly rare in a series such as this. Dashner is always a step ahead of you.

The next two books in the series are not quite as unique as the first. They continue the story on perfectly and the character development continues on. More characters are introduced and even more plot is pumped in. Although, Dashner doesn’t for one moment take away the enormously addictive cliff-hanger chapter endings, which stick with you until the final book.

I’ve never been a huge fan of prequels, but The Kill List serves its purpose well. Yes, it’s completely unnecessary, but it fills that sad void that you’re left with once you’ve finished the trilogy off – it eases you out of the world a little more easily.

In Conclusion: James Dashner has officially done it. The interesting characters and intriguing plot serve as a thrilling and tense read, and it isn’t bogged down by the number of characters or backstory that’s unfolding – definitely a series to read before it hits cinemas this coming November.