James_Take2

Get the popcorn and other essentials in situ as Babylon is over 3 hours of all out attack on the senses in a true cinematic sweep. Containing some truly incredible scenes that truly capture the mood of early cinema and the indulgences of the 1920s society in California, Babylon truly shows literally anything goes.

Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie superbly lead as the main protagonists with a mix of class and vulgarity that brings authenticity. In their roles you may see some shades of famous actors like Gable, Davis (at one point Pitt sound like he's imitating Jack Nicholson) but they carry it off convincingly. Both also truly expose their characters' weaknesses and contradictions that have been synonymous with Hollywood stars since the outset. Think Barrymore, Flynn, West etc.

Though the film is long, it is broken down into three acts.

The scene is set in act one when writer/director Chazelle shows the excesses of the 1920s in a quite dazzling but no holds barred style. He does a first class job in providing more than flavour of the indulgences, the debauchery, the unadulterated joy and sheer wildness of the era.

The second part shows, the human side of those working in the hedonistic times/industry and how the vices take and tighten grip. It also beautifully illustrates how the transition from silent movies to talkies both made and destroyed careers/lives.

In act three, the impact of time on the era and how the film industry fully evolved for the better and how many of the people changed for the worse is highlighted.

The downsides of Babylon are; it's a bit too long - should (and could) have been about 2.5 hrs. Some scenes go to far and take viewers to places I suspect most would rather not see. Perhaps leaving something to the viewer's imagination would have worked better. The other failing of this magnificent and at times manic spectacle was that, as a viewer, it's a struggle to find any real empathy within oneself for the characters and their journeys. In end, the shallowness of the lifestyles is reflected in the characters, they just don't plumb the depths of the souls to draw much emotional reaction.

In summary, definitely worth seeing, it's technically brilliant, with the director showing great vision and using every tool at his disposal to create a visual feast. It also follows good storylines from the embryonic stage of cinema through to the peak of its golden age. In addition it's worth mentioning that it has some fine jazz music throughput and is also a great film for film fans, as it pays an unusual homage to some of Hollywood's greatest. All of this though comes with a warning, it may be a bit too rich for some palates.

According to this show, the FBI is full of really good looking people who are all smart mouthed individuals who all try and show each other how intelligent they are at solving crimes to save the world.

The SFX and cinematography, direction and production levels are high, but as a drama it is way too formulaic and after a few episodes it is hard to have any empathy with the characters who just reel off loads of information without any feeling, thought or deliberation.

Columbo and Kojak were great because they were human. They solved the problems using human instincts, skill, personal qualities and thought. The characters in this series just shout facts and rules at each other and they all seem to process everything super quick without question or thought. At times you'd think they were just reading the script like a telephone directory.

Overall watchable if you like special effects and dumbed down drama full of empty dialogue. It also comes across as quite stupid at times. Like when they are going to spring a surprise raid on a bomber - yet they are all wearing jackets with FBI in big yellow letters emblazoned on the back and front. Talk about lack of surprise. If you were a criminal you'd see them a mile away.

It's all a bit pretentious and grows tedious quite quickly. There are loads of much better crime box sets out there, to view than this over glossy cliched corn.

This is very much a 90s movie with a low sense of reality and a lot of Hollywood sugar coating. It's a shame it was ruined by miscasting McConaughey as the hot shot lawyer. He's unconvincing and mumbles his way through the script with obnoxious smugness.

The other actors put in a sterling job, Samuel L Jackson, Sandra Bullock and Kevin Spacey were all good and the premise of the movie and its characters flowed well.

The cinematography was first class and it felt like a blockbuster, like a big movie deserving of the big messages (racism, justice) behind it.

Where it went wrong was in the nonsense scenes such as McConaughey becoming an impulsive action man. What smart lawyer charges into a riot scene to start punching everything that moves? In another scene, McConaughey entraps a bomber and then beats him for information - is this typical legal procedure for US lawyers?

If that wasn't bad enough his courtroom questions were laughable. His first question to one of the victim's mothers was "In the 23 years you've known your son, how many children has he kidnapped and raped?" We are supposed to believe he's a lawyer and he opens with that question. Even when he put glasses on to try and look intellectual, he simply was not believable as a criminal defence lawyer.

In summary quite entertaining, some good set pieces, decent plot/script but ruined by McConaughey's hammy muffling acting and some very silly scenes. Some other parts of the movie that were designed to be the emotional scenes were also a bit sugary to try and force emotion.

A six out of ten for the cinematography and decent performances by the supporting cast, but this was a missed opportunity.