jOBS Review: It Does Not Do Justice

 

Director: Joshua Michael Stern

 

US Release Date: 16th August 2013

 

Running Time: 128 minutes

 

Starring: Ashton Kutcher, Josh Gad, Dermot Mulroney, James Woods

 

There is a lot to say about "jOBS" the movie and unfortunately not all of it is good.  The film tells the true story of Steve Jobs, who co-founded, chaired and was CEO of Apple Inc.  A business entrepreuner, inventor and marketer - Jobs is credited for revolutionising the personal computer market and also was part of the development of some of the most popular technological devices that we have with us today.  To tell the story of a man who is clearly one of the most inspirational men to have lived in the last 50 years is a hard task for any person and we felt that "jOBS" the film did not do him justice.

 

It was always going to be tough. Portraying truth in film is something that has still not been mastered - by this we mean that there are different interpretations on how truth can be portrayed on the big screen and there is a whole debate that circles around the notion.  With a person like Jobs, it is sometimes easier to portray a true representation of their life because so much of it has been documented.  However, this does not always mean a film that claims to be a 'biography' or claims it is based on a true story is always is 'true.'  This is evident in Joshua Michael Stern's "jOBS" as reports hit the headlines about the credibility of the story after the film was released. It is unfortunate that such an awe inspiring story has this aroma around it. But this is the problem with portraying truth in film. Whose truth do you tell? Someone else's truth may be different to yours. But this is was makes film interesting.



Gad and Kutcher play Wozniak and Jobs respectively.



 

The film for us was a difficult one.  To review this film we had to separate the story that the film tells away from the film itself. This is because the story is not the film.  What we mean by this is that the story is true, its inspiring and shows the life of a great man, but it is not a creation of Stern's.  However, the portrayal of Job's life by Stern is and this we did not like.  The film itself has the makings to be an excellent movie.  First of all, you have excellent real characters - Steve Jobs and Apple Inc's co-founder Steve 'Woz' Wozniak. Although the film is based on Jobs - Wozniak features heavily due to his role in Apple and the friendship they had.  The problem we found was that the film did not flow. It seemed to jump around from place to place without ever settling enough for the audience to fully understand what was going on.  This meant that every time we saw Jobs, played by Ashton Kutcher, on screen, there was rarely time for him to actually connect with the other characters.  There were rarely any heavy scenes of great discussion or speech that added depth that was much needed.
 

This was disappointing in itself but Kutcher's performance made this film not a total flop.  We liked his portrayal of Jobs and found that he really worked well on screen.  His display of emotions, passion and frustration shone through and were actually very pleasant to watch.  It was good to see him play a more serious role compared to his usual comedic characters. Josh Gad, who played Steve Wozniak, also impressed.  On the whole, the cast were the silver lining - they each gave good performances and made the film better. 

 

If given the chance, you should definitely watch "jOBS." If you are unclear as to who Steve Jobs was or would like to know the story behind Apple, then this film does give a good account of that. The cast are pleasant to watch but do not expect to be knocked off your seat.  The story line is jumpy and sometimes hard to follow but you can get a good feel for the life of Steve Jobs.

 

M+F Rating: 6/10

jOBS Movie Trailer

 

 

 

Reviewed by M+F Reviews.

Machine Gun Preacher Review: Truth or Critical Response?

 

Director: Marc Foster

 

UK Release Date: 2nd November 2011

 

Running Time: 129 minutes

 

Starring: Gerard Butler, Michelle Monaghan, Michael Shannon

 

Machine Gun Preacher is a film based on the real life of Sam Childers.  Gerard Butler stars as Childers and the films title is a true reflection on what the film is about.  In short, Childers was a biker who recently released from prison, is hooked on drugs and alcohol. However he turns his life around after finding Christianity with his wife and goes on to save the lives of children in South Sudan against the Lord's Resistance Army.

Butler plays the role in a convincing manner having that 'biker-ish' look and was able to stand out in the film as the lead.  The other characters all pop in and out throughout with no one in particular standing out impressively. What is portrayed very well in this film is the emotions between characters and between wanting to something good while not having the money or resources to do so. Butler does a great job and you can really feel the emotions he is having when torn between helping the children in South Sudan and leaving his family behind which causes his relationships with his wife and daughter to suffer.

Critically the film was not a success and at the box office it flopped. Here at M+F Reviews we believe that the audience can take a different meaning away from the film rather than just whether we enjoy watching it or not.  Obviously most of us watch films or go to the cinema to have a good time but with this film the true story of Sam Childers is a difficult one to like and there are a few reasons as to why.

1. Sam Childers was a drug addict and alcoholic and although he found Christianity it can be difficult for the audience to associate with a character linked to taboo subjects.
2. The topic centres around the problems in South Sudan where the Lord's Resistance Army were attacking and killing innocent civilians.  Like Hotel Rwanda (2004), this topic/subject is difficult to enjoy watching. 

Due to these two factors the content is overlooked and other aspects are examined under increasing pressure leading to bad reviews critically.  However, the film tackles real issues and troubles and should be applauded for this and its efforts to bring it to a larger audience.  It is obviously an ongoing problem in our world from the Holocaust, to genocides in Rwanda, Sarajevo, South Sudan and in current times, Syria.  Problems portrayed in this film are still ongoing and more needs to be done to get the word out for support and film is a great medium for this. 

This however takes us into another dimension - truth in film.  Can truth be portrayed in film or does the fact that huge budgets and pressure to receive good reviews critically override and alter the truth?  This film focusses on the positive - Childers turns his life around to help save children who are suffering - however reports have surfaced about Childers story.  Questions have been asked as to whether his story is true and reports have surfaced on how well looked after the children are that have been saved by Childers.  The fact that the truth is somewhat being questioned makes it even more difficult.  However, director Marc Foster has interpreted the story for the big screen and while some parts of the story may not be true - the film does convey a message and this consists of truths. 

Although Machine Gun Preacher suffered badly at the hands of the critics it is definitely a film people need to watch.  It addresses world issues that cannot be ignored and the fact that it can be shown through film is great as it means these issues can reach a wider audience.

 

M+F Rating: 7/10

 

 

Reviewed by M+F Reviews.