Movie reviews: Triple Frontier, At Eternity's Gate
TRIPLE FRONTIER (M18) ***
From Oscar-nominated writer-director J. C. Chandor (Margin Call, All Is Lost, A Most Violent Year) comes this action thriller about a team of former Special Forces operatives (Ben Affleck, Oscar Isaac, Charlie Hunnam, Garrett Hedlund and Pedro Pascal) who reunite for a heist in a remote multi-border zone of South America.
Events spiral out of control, putting their loyalties, skills and morals to the test in an epic clash between survival and greed.
Though it does succumb to a conventional storyline about guns, drugs and displays of machismo that Hollywood so loves, Triple Frontier - which premieres on Netflix today - is not simplistic.
It makes a sincere effort to shed light on the men who have dedicated their lives to working in the shadows.
The talented cast elevates a decidedly average plot to one that is worth catching, as they fully embody their band-of-brothers roles and share striking chemistry.
If you can tolerate the messy start, you will be rewarded with a pretty good second half. - JASMINE LIM
AT ETERNITY'S GATE (PG) ****
This biopic is film-maker Julian Schnabel's fragmented, interior look at painter Vincent van Gogh's (Willem Dafoe) life, that says more with music and visuals than it does with words.
What drives it is Dafoe's deeply committed Oscar-nominated performance.
He captures Van Gogh's essence to a tee, drawing on his own past work for portraying complex characters tormented by inner conflict.
While the pacing is slow, the cinematography is a visual masterpiece.
From borrowing the symmetry of Wes Anderson flicks to drenching each scene in soft warm hues, and then removing colour to highlight textural details, At Eternity's Gate transforms itself into a painting in its own right that the late artist would have been proud of.
Taking a lesson from the impressionists, the shaky camerawork reflects Van Gogh's artistic methods and captures the heart of each scene. - JASMINE LIM
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