Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018)

Director/writer: Ol Parker

WARNING: SPOILERS! 

Picture this: you live in a parallel universe, where everything in the world is exactly the same as it is in reality, except the only people who have ever written music are the extremely talented members of ABBA. And the only people you ever meet are Colin Firth and company. If that sounds appealing to you, then by God you will love Mamma Mia 2. 

Acting as both a prequel and sequel to 2008's Mamma Mia, this film is better than the original in nearly every way. Sure, its premise may still be as ridiculous as it was first time around and there's not as much of the original's beloved cast, but this film is a massive hit from start to finish.

Normally, one would save the film's greatest strength as the last to write about, but I just cannot wait to write about how fantastic Lily James is. Already having proven her ability in last year's Baby Driver and Darkest Hour, this is James' true breakout performance. She is utterly convincing as a young Donna Sheridan and her likability elevates the film immeasurably. James is by some stretch the strongest vocalist in the main cast and does an impressive job of replicating Meryl Streep's Donna from Mamma Mia 1. Seriously, this film is worth seeing for James alone.

Writer Ol Parker also made some very wise choices with the music for this film. The favourites from the first film are still here (Mamma Mia, Dancing Queen, et al), but some of the new additions are inspired. Angel Eyes is used particularly well, once again bringing the best out of the superb Christine Baranski and Julie Walters, while James and Hugh Skinner bring Waterloo brilliantly to life.

The film's editing and direction are inventive and the performances of the young cast are vivid and enjoyable. Perhaps the film's biggest weakness is its under-usage of the stars of the first film. Colin Firth and Stellan Skarsgard aren't seen until an hour into the film and when they do appear, they take a back seat. Walters, Baranski and Amanda Seyfried are the only original cast members who get anywhere near the screen time they had in the first film.

That being said, the prolonged absence of Meryl Streep is vindicated by that tearjerker of a penultimate song. An incredibly emotional rendition of My Love, My Life is the perfect way to use Streep, given the plot. For such a lighthearted and fun film, this scene packs a real emotional punch.

It must also be said that Amanda Seyfried has improved noticeably since the first film. Both as an actress and a vocalist, Seyfried has matured fantastically and the improvements are even noticeable from her turn as Cosette in Les Misérables. This improvement may be down to the fact her character is given a lot more of meaning to do in this film than the original, but nonetheless she does a very impressive job with what she is given.

Oh, and Cher is in this movie too. Her scenes are fun, particularly her duet with Andy Garcia on Fernando, but it says a lot about the quality of the rest of the film that it would not feel any lesser without her.

In summary, the music is great, the stars are great and Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again is a fantastically fun watch. Dragged down only by the sparing use of Firth, Skarsgaard and Dominic Cooper, it hits all of the right notes. Unlike Pierce Brosnan.

Eoin Harrington

The Silence of the Lambs (1990)

Director: Jonathan Demme
Writer: Ted Tally, adapted from the novel by Thomas Harris

This film is something alright. Before watching it, I was apprehensive. I'm not a fan of horror films at all. However, I soon discovered that isn't your usual jump-scare horror film. What's horrifying about this film is that this happens. There are serial killers out there who skin their victims. It gets scarier when you learn that the serial killer here Buffalo Bill is a composite of three infamous American serial killers. As exhilarating as it is harrowing, this film is a slasher film in which the woman is the hero not the victim, the pursuer not the pursued. It says something about our fetishistic obsession with serial killers that this film has been ranked by over a million IMDB users. This fetish is still there in society today.

The film opens with Clarice Starling (a superb Jodie Foster) training to receive her FBI badge. She is put on a case by her boss Jack Crawford (a stern but rounded Scott Glenn): find out who this serial killer Buffalo Bill (a creepy-as-hell Ted Levine) really is. To do so, her boss suggests she consult incarcerated serial killer Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins, we'll come to him later). From here, Clarice probes Lecter's mind and he probes hers as she seeks information. Then we meet Bill while Lecter goes off to do his own thing (I won't spoil it because it's just too genius for spoiling). The plotting of this film is unique and masterful, teasing out little nuggets of information like a proper investigation. For a film as thrilling as this one, it is also remarkably faithful to procedure. It's unique nature also comes from the fact that our main villain, Bill, isn't introduced to us visually for roughly an hour. The whole time we're engulfed by Clarice and Lecter. Ted Tally the screenwriter and Thomas Harris the original novelist must receive credit for this.

This film is a masterpiece in tension. Its direction from Jonathan Demme is superb, leading the actors into this story and getting them to deliver with such gusto that you'd be forgiven for thinking this were a documentary. The cinematography, the editing, the music, all the nitty-gritty bits of film-making are excellently displayed here. A perfect example of this is the scene towards the end where Clarice is in Bill's house in utter darkness and he puts on night-vision goggles. He reaches out to touch her and she has no idea. This scene is gripping, masterful and I'm running out of adjectives to describe its effect on my heart rate. Truly brilliant. Now for Anthony Hopkins.

In the last review on this page, I argued that Heath Ledger's incarnation of "The Joker" from The Dark Knight was the greatest villain in cinematic history. Here, however, he has a rival. Sort of. You see, I'm torn whether or not to call Lecter a villain. On the one hand yes there's the whole cannibalism thing in his past and his actions in the scene in Memphis are nothing short of disgusting (watch the film to get this reference). However, on the other hand he leads Clarice straight to the killer, giving her vital information and helping the hero, or heroine here, catch the villain. Surely a villain is someone who only does bad, who, in the vain of The Joker, wishes to create chaos for chaos' sake. I found it ironic that in the scene in the bedroom of the first victim, music from The Magic Flute is playing. That's an opera by Mozart where an evil queen tricks a young prince into fighting a rival king, only to find out that the rival king is the virtuous one and the evil queen is, well, evil. It's this level of detail and symbolism that elevates the film. We're never certain who the villain is. Is there more than one? Are we all villains? By posing these questions, this film makes a statement greater than any horror film.

His stare, similar to Ledger's Joker from The Dark Knight, plants itself deep within our soul and spooks us to our core.

Lecter here doesn't blink which is incredibly creepy. He stares malignantly at Clarice and at the camera, at us. He even invites Clarice to look at herself, egging her on to be introspective, as if the clues to the identity of Bill lie within her. This raises a question of morality and the goodness within us. Do we all have a hidden side to us that has evil thoughts lurking, and only some people put these thoughts into practice? Anthony Hopkins called Lecter a "compassionate man, trapped inside an insane mind". I agree completely with this. His all-white costume when he's transferred to Memphis is just inherently spooky and leaves everyone feeling just a teeny bit uncomfortable. Lecter is the most likable cannibal there is, but also incredibly creepy too. I never thought I'd be saying that.

Horror films are usually cheap. They rely on jump-scares and dark setting and mysterious characters to spook us. This film doesn't do that. It scares us because it's true, because it's human. It is like The Shining (1980) in this respect. It doesn't rely on boring clichéd tricks to make us feel scared. That's why people should watch this film instead of awful zombie flicks or stupid vampire films. I don't even like horror films and I liked this. 9/10 for me.

By Cathal McGuinness.

The Dark Knight (2008)

Director: Christopher Nolan
Writer: Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Nolan and David S. Goyer.

Sometimes, a film comes along and it leaves us speechless. For me, there's been a few. There Will Be Blood, Drive and The Social Network to name some. The Dark Knight will always be on this list for me. I was lucky enough to catch it in 35mm in cinemas recently for its 10th anniversary. This was only the second time I'd ever seen a film and not taken a breath during (the other is Dunkirk, another Nolan masterpiece). From the opening bank robbery to the final confrontation, my heart beat rose and rose and rose. With the ending came a sort of euphoria. I could breathe. My heart could relax. I was free from this film. But like anything truly good, I wanted more. I needed more. This film is like a drug, or perhaps great sex. During the "high", I felt like I was on another planet. It was an out-of-body experience. Some people get their kicks by doing drugs, but not me. I'll take a good film instead. This films is the perfect drug.

The film opens with a bank robbery and the introduction to The Joker (Heath Ledger, we'll come to him), definitely the greatest cinematic villain of the 21st century and maybe of all cinema. From there we switch between Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale, excellent) and Alfred (Michael Caine, brilliant), Harvey Dent and Rachel Dawes (Aaron Eckhart and Maggie Gyllenhaal respectively, both stunning), Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman, far too under-rated) and The Joker. Nolan and his story writer Goyer create, above all else, a humanist superhero story with viable threats and realistic outcomes. The Joker is a terrorist, an anarchist, someone who wishes solely to bring chaos to the world. Batman, our "hero", tries to stop him while also remaining within his moral code (thou shalt not kill). This creates a moral dilemma for Batman, and what occurs is a journey for him, mostly introspective, where he tries to figure out who is a villain and who is a circumstantial hero (the answer = everyone's a villain, except Rachel maybe). The plot grounds itself in reality, and by doing so, it elevates this film above the usual explosion porn seen in superhero films (see any other DC film).

Everything Christopher Nolan touches seemingly turns to gold. A psychological thriller (Memento)? Check. A thriller about magicians (The Prestige)? Check. Sci-fi (Interstellar)? Check. War (Dunkirk)? Check. Whatever the hell Inception is? Check. Include in that a superhero trilogy. However, to downgrade it simply to a superhero trilogy is to diminish its best quality. Its questions about humanity, morality and vigilantism are poignant, thought-provoking and strikingly relevant. It shows us the triumph of humanity over a supposedly unconquerable evil, the ferry scene showing that there is some good in us after all. Nolan makes a film with a lot of death, but we see very little of it. That creates a brooding atmosphere, one that shows death is around the corner, but it shall strike before we turn. Everything in this film oozes auteur. They don't come around very often. But Nolan is a gem who should be mined for every quality he possesses before we're left thinking what might have been.

The music is something I had never appreciated in this film. I've seen it upwards of 10 times at this stage. Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard build tension with striking percussion and heavy brass interludes. It pushes us further to the edge of our seats, which is what strong music should do in a film like this. The script is sensational. Every line of dialogue out of Alfred's mouth is the perfect line. The same goes for The Joker. Kudos to the writers for achieving that.The cinematography, the editing, the VFX, the sound work. Everything in this film is exceptional. This is the kind of film we get where everyone involved is working at the top of their game.

His maniacal stare grips us from first minute to last

Now for Heath Ledger. His performance is usually listed on "best ever" lists, often alongside Marlon Brando for The Godfather and Daniel Day-Lewis for There Will Be Blood. Look. More has been said about his performance that's far better than anything I could write. It's been analysed down to his lip-licking and grunting and all of it. Yes, Nolan wrote an exceptional, meaty character for him to develop, but by God he took The Joker off the page and made him into the single most memorable villain of recent history in all art, literature included. His malevolent eyes, moist lips, sinister costume and creepy laugh has stuck with me ever since I was a 10 year old cowering behind a cushion when he came on the news programme in this film. Art is about transporting us to another level, letting the common person see something they would not normally see, letting us feel something we would not normally feel. By this definition, Ledger is a true artist, transcending the traditional villain who has a motive. His character creates chaos because he wants to. He doesn't want Batman to die because, as he says, Batman completes him. Without Batman, The Joker has no game to play and no one to play with. All he wants is to wreak havoc, to have "a better class of criminal" in Gotham. The perfect antidote to Batman. And Ledger is the perfect possessor of this ampoule of the antidote.

There is no thing that is truly perfect. Perfection and universality don't exist. Someone out there was underwhelmed by The Mona Lisa. Someone detested Citizen Kane. Someone couldn't stand Ulysses. Someone turned Eine Kleine Nachtmusik off after 30 seconds. We will never find a film, or work of art for that matter, that is perfect, that is universal, that transcends us and whoever will come after us. But put a gun to my head and I say The Dark Knight is a worthy nominee for this accolade. 10/10 doesn't do this film justice. Nothing does.

By Cathal McGuinness.