'A Star Is Born' Review

Seasoned musician Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper) stumbles upon a remarkable talent named Ally (Lady Gaga) one night as he searches for a drink. That moment starts a new journey for both, with Ally discovering success and newfound fame as Jack fights his own demons whilst the two try to maintain a relationship.

A remake of a remake that's already been remade would usually draw groans from filmgoers and critics alike but it's not a studio blockbuster so nobody really cares. This time around, it's an early award season contender as well as an exciting debut from director Bradley Cooper, in which he also is starring in. After spending many years in development hell, 'A Star Is Born' is back on the big screen with a pairing you wouldn't have expected. Nonetheless, Cooper has delivered a solid modern retelling of this story, despite not maximising its full potential.


Focussing on the rise of a star, the demise of another and their relationship amongst it all, Cooper's directorial debut depicts an interesting dysfunctional celebrity couple. Backed by a pair of strong performances from both Gaga and Cooper, the story showcases those short-lived celebrity romances very well, with brief moments of genuine care and a lot of disputes between the two. Within this portion, the relationship is never really shown to be that great, with Cooper's characters struggles leading to most of the troubles the two face with most interactions ending up negative. This does create an interesting dynamic and does provide a decent insight into a troubled relationship between two in the same business but going in completely different directions.


However, with this aspect being so heavily featured in the film, it takes an effect on the emotional moments that the film so heavily relies on. With the relationship between the two never appearing to be that great, the emotional moments don't quite hit the mark they could have had the film shown a bit more of the good times between the two. There are a few moments but it's mainly career based, there isn't much personality or character in their relationship meaning that would have made the sadder moments that more effective. That's not to say that there aren't moments in the film that are well done, it is just that these set pieces never get more than just fairly sad when they could be devastating and much more memorable. With more character, depth and development to this relationship, 'A Star Is Born' would undisputedly be one of the years best and most emotional in recent times. However, it squanders its potential and doesn't get much further than being a well made, musical drama.


With a talent like Lady Gaga being in a musical film, the expectation is for there to be some quality musical numbers in which the film delivers. 'Shallow' is the clear standout - put your house on it winning Best Original Song - and although the rest of the tracks don't quite reach the same levels, there is a high standard throughout. Cooper impresses alongside but Gaga showcases her incredible capabilities tremendously which does help elevate her performance along the way. Perhaps not enough for award contention, but this was certainly an impressive showing from a unique talent. Despite some instances of the classic Southern mumble and some obvious signposting, Cooper manages to balance directing and acting fairly well in his first outing.


'A Star is Born' looks to be a crowd pleaser that has delighted moviegoers, pleasing myself included. It is certainly a well made, enjoyable film but is also one that could've been a lot more impactful and reached that next level. With strong performances and good music, its emotional hold on the audience really lets this one down in what is by far the films biggest downfall. Nonetheless, there is plenty of enjoyment to be had with this award season contender.

Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

'War Dogs' Review

From the director of the 'Hangover' trilogy comes 'War Dogs', a film more serious than it's being portrayed in the trailers. With Todd Phillips directing you can still expect those moments of comedy sprinkled throughout the movie. Whilst looking at a true story with some serious issues, Phillips is able to combine all of the elements within 'War Dogs' very well.

Efraim Diveroli (Jonah Hill) is a guns dealer who is making a hefty profit due to war in Iraq. He offers childhood David Packouz (Miles Teller) the chance to work alongside him as an international arms dealer which would make him very rich. Together they exploit the governments initiative that allows businesses to bid on US military contracts. They make a wealthy living until they find themselves with a $300 million deal to supply the Afghan forces. This deal causes a lot of problems for the pair forcing them to work with some shady people.

As the story deals with the bizarre ways that weapons are sold, Phillips does the most important thing which is keeping this interesting. There are times where Hill and Teller's characters are spending most of their time working in offices but it is kept entertaining throughout. You can see that Phillips has worked with comedy before as he sprinkles his humour across the story. It is never overdone to make it feel like a complete comedy which he also deserves huge credit for. Phillips has shown that he is more than capable of creating a more serious film whilst still adding that touch of humour to make it that bit more enjoyable.

The aspect of war being treated like a business and how it was open for anyone really to be apart of was very compelling creating a good storyline. This takes our protagonists all over the world from Jordan to Albania where they meet interesting characters- such as Bradley Cooper's performance as the mysterious Girard who is up to no good- as well as getting themselves caught in tricky situations. Cooper's character seems untrustworthy adding more something else to the film that you have to question. This really keeps the film interesting and keeps a hold of your attention as we see Hill and Teller in action rather than behind the desk or just on the phone. They have to face many difficulties throughout their journey which creates a very entertaining viewing as the pair react to everything perfectly.

Jonah Hill does a fantastic job as Efraim, the experienced of the duo with a shady past. Hill is hilarious as he takes no crap from anyone and also seems very convincing that makes his character seem quite untrustworthy. Hill's portrayal is one of my favourites of his as he combines both the fun and serious sides of the character incredibly well. Teller provides a good performance alongside Hill whilst narrating over a lot of the events that are going on. The pair work very well and create that feeling of being good friends and do very well as the film progresses and you can see them slowly drift apart. It does reach a certain point though where you can tell exactly where their relationship is going and it then comes as no surprise when it eventually happens. Despite this, Hill and Teller's performances really elevate this film and are by far the best parts of the film.

There is a clear motivation from Teller's character David to make money to provide for his new family at first. However once he starts getting more into it, it sort of loses track of this other than showing a new apartment that he has moved his family into. His wife Iz (Ana De Armas) seems to be brought in every so often to create a conflict for David and to try  keep him level-headed. It also continuously creates a conflict between the two that doesn't really go with the rest of the film. We see Iz pack up and leave and David isn't as bothered as you'd think he would be. Instead, he's off in Albania, even spending the likes of Christmas away before making a real effort to patch things up. I feel that this aspect and the character of Iz wasn't properly utilized and only brought up when the story needed a diversion.

Overall, 'War Dogs' is a fairly good tale which is propelled by its two leads. Director Todd Phillips has also shown that he can do more than just comedy but still sprinkles his expertise in comedy throughout the movie. An enjoyable movie that is worth checking out, even just for the performance from Jonah Hill alone.

Final Verdict = 

So have you seen 'War Dog's? If so what did you think of it? I hope that this review was useful for if you were planning on seeing the movie. Once again, thank you for taking the time to read my review, it is much appreciated!

By Angus McGregor