Kingsman: The Secret Service

Matthew Vaughn, 2015

IMDB

4/5

Matthew Vaughn returns to the director's chair for the first time since 2011's X-Men: First Class, one of the new generation / reincarnations of the X-Men franchise that focuses on origin stories with a mostly new cast. It was a good film, largely because they were able to imbue the CGI into the fabric of the film and not have it stand out or look gimmicky. The same thing goes for Kingsman, a story about a highly secretive and resourceful spy agency. The film focuses on young applicant Eggsy (Taron Egerton), a rebellious young adult whose father was a Kingsman and sacrificed himself to save his fellow service members.

The film grows in scale, all while maintaining a certain stylistic integrity. You're invested in the characters. It's suspenseful. Kingsman succeeds because it's self aware, never takes itself too seriously. It gives nods to the spy genre, with elements that remind you of the Bond franchise or Mission Impossible while also getting creative with some new concepts. You come away from Kingsman with some memories in your brain. Always a sign of a good film. The action sequences are well choreographed. The use of technology is enough to satisfy the inner geek in you. The blend of music and action is so well crafted that it reminds you of Vaughn's previous impressive work in Kick Ass. The film has a lot to offer, even if you aren't a big fan of the spy genre. At the very least, you'll be a fan of one of them. 

Love Actually

Richard Curtis, 2003

Netflix

2/5

This romantic comedy is a collection of very different lives. Very different lives all searching for the same thing. Love. As the Christmas holiday approaches, the pressure to have someone by their side is felt by everyone involved.

It's a film that carries a light load with a lot of star power. Love is the clear theme shown early on, and it's delivered in various flavors. Billy Mack (Bill Nighy), the aging punk rocker who just recorded a Christmas album and is feeling the loneliness of being a musician. A political aide who catches the attention of a freshman Prime Minister (Hugh Grant). Harry (Alan Rickman), a husband who has a flirtatious secretary that he hides from his wife Karen (Emma Thompson). A writer (Colin Firth) who employs a woman at his country retreat that he grows a fondness for. A pair of nude stunt doubles who spend a lot of uncomfortable time together (Martin Freeman and Joanna Page). A child (Thomas Brodie-Sangster) who has a crush on a classmate who seeks the love advice of his widowed father (Liam Neeson). A woman (Laura Linney) totally in love with a co-worker but doesn't have the courage to confess. A hodgepodge of different lives, intertwined. You get it. Lot's of stories. Almost like Crash without the drama and a lot of mistletoe, Christmas lights and ecstasy pills.

It's an ambitious film that's positively charged, but it's also very frustrating film at times. You would think that with such an ensemble cast that it would be a cakewalk. And they aren't to blame, the acting is actually quite fine. You feel yourself getting pulled into the emotional tone of the moment only to have the rug pulled out on you. You think to yourself, "this won't happen again" and then it does. Again and again. The erratic direction of each story-line never slows down enough for you to savor it. That and there's really just too many ongoing story-lines to begin with. You continue to feel starved for some kind of dilemma, while a lot of the characters get their happiness served to them on a silver platter. Clearly Curtis wasn't looking to settle into any dramatic moments, probably hoping to maintain a more light-hearted overall feel. But that makes it feel evasive. In the end the picture is as clumsy as an elementary school Christmas play.