The Infiltrator

Directed by Brad Furman with a screenplay written by his Mother, Ellen Brown Furman, Bryan Cranston's latest appearance on the big screen is a classic American crime film. The Infiltrator is based on an autobiography written by Robert Mazur, a U.S. customs agent, who in the 1980s helped bust Pablo Escobar by going undercover as a corrupt businessman. I will make no attempts to hide the fact that my knowledge of Escobar and the drug world is limited but I have started watching Narcos so I figure it's only a matter of time until I know everything, right? The film took just under 1 year and a half from the first day of filming to its premiere in Florida. When you see the film, if you ever do, it's astonishing how much the production crew were able to achieve considering how elaborate some shots and sequences were.

The film looks like another Wolf of Wall Street on the surface but is clearly very different. Rather than focusing on the drugs and on Escobar like in Narcos, The Infiltrator follows an undercover operation that was designed to discover the route of the drug money flowing through southern Florida. This film was based on a true story and has occasional video footage and image stills of the real events intercut with the film. And in true Hollywood style, the credits are rolled after a quick round up of the fates that met those involved along with side by side images of the actor and the real person they were playing. As a result of the operation, CEO's and upper management in several banks that were knowingly laundering drug money were convicted. In fact, throughout the film it's easier to sympathise with the drug lords than it is with the international bankers. In part, this was due to the focus placed on Roberto Alcaino's family in the second half of the film. I had to remind myself that these men were responsible for deaths in several countries and endangered their families lives on their own accord. The plot definitely puts an emphasis on the individuals and their families and how they are affected but deliberately limits the drug use on screen almost to help viewers forget the real issue.

Cranston is joined by Diane Kruger for the second half of the film as she plays his fiancé. The two have a lovely, plutonic relationship on screen. Even when the two embrace after witnessing the death of a business partner, there is never an assumption that the two are anything other than colleagues and friends. I respected the decision to portray the characters in this way and to avoid an unnecessary adultery subplot. Besides Kruger and Cranston the cast of The Infiltrator aren't the most recognisable in Hollywood. However the ensemble cast, especially when all together in the climactic wedding scene, were wonderful and truly compelling in their roles. Special mention goes to Benjamin Bratt who definitely deserves more roles, more recognition and more beard! Damn, his beard looked good. I do hear he's involved in the upcoming Doctor Strange so fingers crossed his facial hair is here to stay!

If you are interested in the Medellin cartel or the individuals involved in Escobar's downfall, I recommend this film. Equally, if you're a fan of well paced and tense crime dramas then The Infiltrator should be next up on your to watch list.

Sausage Party

I feel like I've been saying forever that we need more adult animation in movies - and I don't mean the very popular 'adult' videos that can be found online.

Sausage Party, written by Seth Rogen and his merry band of blockbuster screenplay writing machines, is a delicious feast of hilarious stupidity packed into a store bought bun. And by that, puns aside, I mean that the film was funny, surprisingly clever and exactly what I was expecting. The animation was smart and the facial expressions were well executed. I always appreciate any departure from the digital standard set by Disney and Pixar. It was incredibly easy to lose yourself in the film and sympathise with food items. So here's the basic rundown of the plot: perishable goods in every supermarket are under the illusion that being purchased and taken home with humans is the 'great beyond' and a place that food aspires to go. But as Frank the sausage, Brenda the bun and a few of their friends are eventually picked up in the market, the discover the unfortunate truth and their inevitable fate in the human stomach from the mouth of a PTSD suffering mustard. From this point on, scenes of Frank's journey to discover the truth are cut together with scenes of other groceries being prepared in the kitchen. Shit gets weird but it's great.

The cast was as you would expect in a Seth Rogen backed film. Filled to the brim with the A-list, B-list and the I-Forgot-You-Exist of Hollywood. However, without a doubt, the best (voice) performance was supplied by Rogen. The abundance of dirty jokes perfectly executed in his infamous grasp made for a truly entertaining character. It's painfully clear throughout how invested Rogen is in the film. Every joke, scene and plot point screams his name and it has resulted in a really funny film. However, I would argue that this film should have been an 18 not a 15 like it is here in the UK. Some of the content was definitely not for the ears of impressionable school kids. Especially the celebratory orgy after they overpower the 'gods' in the supermarket. Spoilers ahead.

The final scene of this film, after the afore mentioned orgy, is unlike anything we've seen on screen since Enchanted in 2007. The gang are told by Firewater, an ancient drink who seems to know everything, that they are in fact cartoons and even shows Frank an image of Seth Rogen in the fire. Together they then travel through a portal to cut the 'puppet' strings they believe they are controlled by. This was, frankly (pun intended), an amazing way of ending a film like Sausage Party. Let's just add some more surrealism in to the mix and hope for the best! Sometimes the most successful way of building a fictional universe is by testing the limits and trying something that is even stranger than its predecessor. 

With Rogen already discussing the possibility for a sequel, I don't think this will be the last we see of Frank, Brenda and the gang. With an Enchanted type film hinted at before the closing credits, I'm excited to see what the team come up with. Rogen has really come into his own in the last 5 years, proving that although his style of acting and choice of films are all from the same weed smelling cloth, he can still draw an audience and make them laugh. It's also worth noting that this was a film I saw myself at 11am on a Tuesday and I still enjoyed it.