At The Back

Sucker Punch

2012-02-11T19:39:00.003Z

I really don’t know where to begin with this terrible, misogynistic excuse for a film. The plot is as good a place as any but I don’t even know how to put it into words. As far as I could tell, Emily Browning plays a girl who after the death of her mother, accidently kills her sister and is committed to a mental asylum. The asylum is populated entirely by good looking women in their early 20s. She is told that she will require four items to escape the asylum before she is lobotomized and for some reason enters a fantasy world where she attempts to find them. There are two fantasy worlds with one inside the other. In the first she is, for some reason a kind of lap dancer/prostitute. This world is populated by young women dancing around in their underwear. Why a 20 year old woman’s fantasy would be to be trapped in an evil lap dancing club I don’t know. The second level of fantasies occurs when she starts to dance. During these, Browning is transported, along with four other girls to some sort of battle scene where they must defeat the bad guy to get the map/knife/whatever they are looking for. During these scenes, the girls wear different skimpy outfits. And other than some borderline rape scenes, that’s basically it.

The film is massively over stylised. Zack Snyder well is known for this and although it worked ok in Watchmen, here it just looked stupid. The opening five minutes felt like a music video and from there on in it was a mixture of a computer game and a fourteen year old boy’s daydream. There were far too many slow motion shots which all zoomed in slowly. It was repetitive and unnecessary. The film dragged on and the slow motion made it feel even longer. By the time Browning’s character went in to her third fantasy featuring a Lord of the Rings style Orcs vs Knights battle, I let out a grown as I realised we were only about half way through.

This is the most video game like film I’ve ever watched. Each fantasy acts as a level which the characters must complete before moving onto the next and the CGI was like watching a trailer for a fantasy game. Browning’s character even dressed like a Japanese girl in one of those platform-fighting games.

Like all women, the cast wear their 'sex clothes' to coffee mornings

The film seems to suggest that the objectification of women is somehow empowering or makes them stronger. I find this assumption to be disgusting. I’m a little surprised that the film was even made given its clearly misogynistic tones. Why if the female characters are constantly on the brink of being raped are they seen in their own fantasies as fetishised versions of themselves? I would have thought that the fantasy versions of themselves would be as un-sexual as possible but instead we see them dressed as ‘sexy school girls’ in more up skirt shots than you’d find in the Daily Star. This film’s sexual politics are so unbelievably skewed that I am surprised that the actors agreed to appear in it.

The acting isn’t atrocious but when all the actors have to do is dress as sex workers and fight imaginary monsters, there’s not much you can do wrong. The Very Hungry Caterpillar probably has more dialogue than this film and that story is more compelling. The actors spend half of their time posing in their underwear and the rest of the time kicking giant Samurai warriors or German soldiers with red eyes.

For a film that contains so much action and titillation, it is incredibly boring. I think its astonishing that I was bored by two hours of scantily clad young women hitting monsters but I didn’t care what happened or when or even why. There is one nice moment towards the end where I thought to myself “Ahh that’s why she…” but for the other 108 minutes I was left feeling bored and angry. I don’t know why the film was made. If people want to see near naked women, they can go online. If they want to play a video game, they can. If they want to watch a film, they should avoid this pile of nonsense crap.

Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace

2012-02-10T19:21:00.000Z

When Avatar 3D became a huge box office hit in 2009, taking over $2.8bn in theatres alone, one had the feeling that it was only a matter of time before George Lucas recycled his Star Wars franchise one more time with retro-fitted 3D. The first film to be released in 3D is the worst of the bunch The Phantom Menace.

The plot is basically the back story of Luke Skywalker’s parents, Anakin Skywalker and Queen Amidala. It shows their first encounter as well as about an hour of nonsense politics that even I with a Politics degree couldn’t care less about. Anakin is a slave on Tatooine who gains his freedom with the help of Liam Neeson’s Qui-Gonn Jin while Queen Amidala is under threat from The Trade Federation who with backing from Darth Sidious is attempting an invasion on her home planet of Naboo.

The first problem to address is the 3D. There is absolutely no need for it whatsoever and it actually detracts from what was already a quite bad film. At times I had to take the glasses off due to the background being fuzzy and sometimes it was like I had double vision in certain areas of the screen. It looked really shoddy. I had two pairs of 3D glasses with me and the problem was consistent with both. While I had the glasses off, it became apparent that only about half of the film was even in 3D. But this at least meant that it only looked crap half of the time. I can’t think of one scene in which the 3D enhanced my viewing experience. One can’t help but feel ripped off when the quality of the product is this poor. My 3D hopes had been raised after Scorsese’s Hugo but with poor retro-fitted 3D like this around, it is surely only a matter of time before people say enough is enough.

My problems with the film are two fold. Firstly it is really boring. I hadn’t seen it for a couple of years so thought maybe id been overly harsh on it before, but if anything I wasn’t harsh enough. There are a few scenes which get the blood pumping but these are usually interrupted by an annoying character. For the most part it is like you are watching an episode of The Daily Politics in a country you no nothing about and care even less. My second problem is with the films the characters. Upon its release, many people complained that Jar Jar Binks was just an opportunity for extra commercial tie-ins but I see him as more of a lazy, racist stereotype. It is quite clear that he and his race of Gungan’s are based on the people of Jamaica and it is quite incredible that no one during the films production pointed this out and had the character altered in some respect. The Trade Federation also sound like a ten year old doing a Chinese impression and slave owner, Watto is a hideous caricature of an Arab trader. Where the human characters are concerned, it cant be often that Yoda comes across as one of the most natural speakers in a film but here he is surrounded by Natalie Portman who sounds as though she is trying to do an English accent while eating peanut butter, Ewan McGregor who seems like he is acting with a baseball bat up his arse and Jake Llody who gives one of the worst performances of any child actor I’ve ever seen. The only actor who comes out with any credibility is Liam Neeson who does a decent job playing Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn.

On the plus side, while the thirteen year old CGI looks quite cartoony, it has held up well to the test of time. I liked the character of Darth Maul and his fight scene was good. Also, some of the scenes did look spectacular. The pod race in particular looked very nice but was incredibly boring. Another positive note is that it’s over now and we only have two more films to sit through until Episode IV.

DVD Extra --- I've seen the film at least four times now but yesterday I noticed something new. When I got home I googled what I thought I saw and it turns out I was correct. During one of the long, boring Senate scenes, have a look out for a well known alien from outside of the Star Wars franchise. When you see him you can 'phone home'...

Modern Times

2012-02-09T20:33:00.003Z

1936’s Modern Times finds Charlie Chaplin’s iconic Tramp character at work in a modern, mechanized factory. He struggles to keep up with the ever quickening pace of the production line where he screws nuts onto bolts and suffers a mental breakdown. After being released from hospital, The Tramp finds himself as the accidental leader of a Communist rally and is thrown in jail. Once released he finds life in the Depression ruined 30s difficult but meets an orphan girl with whom he develops a friendship. The film then follows their ups and downs as they try to scrape by and stay out of jail.

Modern Times is one of Chaplin’s best remembered films and features some wonderful set pieces. Just some of the iconic scenes include; when he gets caught up in the cogs of the factory machines, when he mistakes cocaine for salt, when he roller skates blindfolded and when he is used to test a new feeding machine. All of these scenes are laugh out loud funny. While the film features some of Chaplin’s funniest moments, the laughs are spread more thinly than in some of his earlier films. This is much more of a comedy/drama than out and out comedy.

Chaplin’s politics are obvious to see throughout. The opening scene shows sheep being lead out and then cuts to men streaming into a factory. Once inside, the workers are worked to exhaustion and we see the harsh conditions of the unemployed. Chaplin is later falsely accused of leading a Communist march and gets thrown in jail, an eerie premonition of what later happened to him. It is obvious that Chaplin blames modern industrialization for the conditions of the Great Depression and understandable why it came under scrutiny at the time.

Chaplin is joined on screen by the beautiful Paulette Goddard, who was also his wife at the time. Despite playing a homeless orphan she still manages to dazzle and is also superb in the more touching scenes. Chaplin as always is sublime. There are little touches in every scene that cement him as cinema’s greatest entertainer.

The beautiful Paulette Goddard

The film is still considered ‘silent’, despite it containing ‘talkie’ moments. Most of these moments come from inanimate objects or from one or two characters but I wish it had been one way or the other. It’s a bit of a cop out to be a mixture of silent and spoken but by 1936 silent films were considered very old fashioned so its understandable why the decision to introduce some dialogue was made.

Unfortunately, Modern Times was one of Chaplin’s final films and the last to feature his Tramp character. For that reason its ending carries even greater significance and is wonderful. The film contains some of Chaplin’s best moments and is a wonderful reminder of his genius and the class of his film making.

Farewell to The Tramp...

The Chaser

2012-02-09T17:48:00.004Z

The Chaser is yet another fantastic thriller from Korea, the country that bought us Oldboy and Thirst. Joong-ho is an ex-cop turned pimp who is getting pissed off that his girls keep running away. What he doesn’t know is that they are in all being murdered by the same man, Young-min, played by Jung-woo Ha. After another of his girls gets into trouble, Joong-ho sets about chasing down Young-min. He is thwarted in his attempts by bad policing and also has the added worry of caring for the missing prostitute’s young child.

The film is very stylish which should not come as a surprise given that Korea is known for making some of the most visually arresting cinema anywhere in the world. What else should come as no surprise is the violence. A couple of scenes are quite disturbing and although they don’t show as much as you think they do, they are difficult to watch. The Mangwon district of Seoul in which the film is set feels like a maze and adds to the tension of the search. You feel for the characters as they have a near impossible task.

The acting is great. Jeoung-woo Ha is every inch the crazed killer. He seems innocent and almost childlike for much of the film but is capable of turning on his dark and destructive side. Yoon-seok Kim is also excellent as Joong-ho. He starts out as quite unlikeable but his character transformation is impressive. His anguish and desperation regarding the circumstances are apparent. The little girl who plays the missing woman’s daughter is also very good, especially for someone so young in this type of film.

The film has a couple of plot holes as most thrillers do. For some reason the police release the killer despite a confession of twelve murders. Maybe this is down to some sort of Korean law I don’t know about but it was a bit odd. Other than that, The Chaser is an excellent crime/thriller which will have you on the edge of your seat for two hours.

Brighton Rock

2012-02-08T18:09:00.000Z

2010’s Brighton Rock is a massive disappointment. Despite nice period detail and a great cast it is unbelievably boring.

Sam Riley plays Pinky, a member of a Brighton gang who after killing a rival gang member, befriends Angela Riseborough’s Rose in order to keep an eye on her as she has witnessed the gangs behaviour before the murder. She falls head over heels in love with Pinky and the film charts their relationship and Pinky’s subsequent role within the gang.

1960s Brighton looks wonderful here and the clothes, hair and makeup all look genuine. It is a very nice film to look at. Angela Riseborough is the pick of the cast, outshining the likes of Helen Mirren and John Hurt. She is wonderful as a shy and impressionable young waitress who falls for the sociopathic Pinky. Riley’s Pinky is deeply unlikeable and without any redeeming features. He is played well by Riley. Andy Serkis plays rival gang leader Colleoni and is also wonderful. The acting as a whole is marvellous but the film is just so boring. I couldn’t engage with the film and didn’t care what happened to any of the characters.

The transportation of the film to the 1960s to coincide with the Mods and Rockers clashes seemed pointless. There was no reason for it to have been set in that time and would have worked just as well if it had been set in the 1940s like the original. The film didn’t make any use of its time change. Sam Riley is also too old to have played the character in my view. Riseborough looks and acts like a girl in her late teens or early twenties but Riley looks about thirty. He is too old to be an up and coming gangster.

The Grey

2012-02-08T17:07:00.001Z

I read somewhere the other day that in the last three years, Liam Neeson has had more number one movies than Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Matt Damon, George Clooney or Denzel Washington. This is down to movies such as The Grey. It is a no nonsense stupid action movie that draws in the teenage and young adult audience like a chav to a velour tracksuit.

Neeson plays John Ottway, who is employed by an oil company to kill wolves in the wilds of Alaska. During a flight back to Anchorage, the plane crashes, killing most on board but leaving a few survivors to fend off the isolation, bitter cold and a pack of ravenous wolves who seem hell bent on killing everyone. Joining Ottway in his quest for survival are a bunch of typical action movie characters; there’s a cocky, arrogant man who learns cooperation is better than going it along, an annoying, say what you think guy, a geeky type with glasses and a notepad and a few more cliché characters who have the task of speaking briefly with Neeson before being eaten alive.

Fight for survival

The freezing Alaskan landscape creeps into the audience during the film. It feels very cold! You feel like the actors were really there, freezing their bits off. A faulty multiplex heating system also helps add to the cold feeling so I have our local Cineworld to thank for the freezo-vision.

The animatronic and CGI wolves look quite realistic and behave in a menacing way throughout. The human actors are also quite good and there is an unexpected emotional scene just after the crash which surprised me. It was really good.

The plot is fairly formulaic. It is obvious that the men will be picked off one by one until there is only one left, and I bet you can’t guess who that one will be? This being said, the ending was very satisfying. The film happily wastes 117 minutes of your life and goes along at a decent pace. There are some silly bits and plot holes and it is extremely annoying when Neeson, who is obviously in the wolf’s den, almost turns to camera and says “I’m in the fucking wolfs den!” But other than this, The Grey is thoroughly enjoyable.

Martha Marcy May Marlene

2012-02-06T22:06:00.002Z

If anyone ever writes a book of the worst film titles in history, Martha Marcy May Marlene will be sure to feature. This is a great shame as the film itself is fantastic.

Featuring Elizabeth Olsen in a breakout role, the film cuts between Martha’s (Olsen) time as a cult member and after fleeing, her stay with her older sister and brother-in-law. The scenes of Martha in the cult are often dark and chilling. She is degraded and abused but seems powerless to resist what is happening. Later, we watch as she is in the cult’s inner circle and now the one who is doing the abusing. While with her sister, Martha is distant, confused and scared. She often doesn’t know how to act around ‘normal’ people and this results in inappropriate and odd behaviour. Martha is obviously deeply traumatised by her time with the cult and becomes increasingly paranoid that they are still watching her and waiting to take her back.

Martha feels uncomfortable back, in the real world

Olsen’s central performance is outstanding. Innocent and awkward yet beautiful, she is thoroughly believable as the sort of young girl who could get caught up in a cult. She is also excellent while back in normal society, playing a young woman who is trying to forget what she has been a part of. Her performance is the highlight of the film. John Hawkes who plays cult leader, Patrick, is also fantastic. He is domineering and powerful yet has an air of attraction about him. You can feel and understand why the young men and women are drawn to him and kept under his spell. His is a performance that should also draw great plaudits.

Martha under Patrick's spell

There are two disappointing things about this otherwise exceptional film. The first is the title. I spent the whole film trying to remember what it was called and it left a nagging feeling in the back of my mind throughout. I went through all the female names I could think of beginning with ‘M’ and tried combining them. ‘Is it Mary Martha Maud Marlene? Mia Michelle Margaret May? It became very frustrating! My second problem is the ending. The film builds up ninety minutes of tension and just as it reaches a crescendo, ends. This was a shame as it kind of left the audience hanging. I understand that sometimes a film wants to leave the ending up to the interpretation of its audience but I didn’t think it worked this time. It wasn’t The Sopranos.

Apart from those two, admittedly small problems, Martha Marcy May Marlene (is that right?) is a wonderful film with a fantastic central performance from Elizabeth Olsen, who we are sure to see much more of in the future.

Young Adult

2012-02-06T21:59:00.002Z

I had heard great things about Young Adult but after watching it, I felt let down. While I didn’t think the film was a masterpiece, Charlize Theron’s performance was excellent. I haven’t seen Monster for which the actress won an Oscar in 2003 but this was the best I’ve seen her.

Theron plays a 37 year old divorcee, author of a young adult book series who upon receiving an email from her High School boyfriend featuring a photo his new baby decides to go back to her hometown in the mistaken belief that they are soul mates.

Theron’s inability to properly enter the adult world is the main theme of the film. Despite a reasonably successful career we see that her apartment looks like a college dorm, her car is filthy and she drops clothes, makeup and rubbish wherever she feels like it. Her diet consists of Diet Coke, whiskey and ice cream. She is basically living the life of a teenager and as the film progresses we begin to suspect that she is also like a teenager on the inside. As a character study, the film is brilliant. Unfortunately, I was just expecting more from the rest of it. Perhaps if I’d gone in without great expectations I’d be writing a glowing review right now.

The other actors do a fine job of supporting Theron but are complexly outclassed by her. You can see minute details in her face such as a slight glimmer of hope when she believes she may have a chance to win back her ex. If not for her I wouldn’t have enjoyed the film. The script is reasonable and features some good lines for Theron’s character. I also liked the character of the geeky, fat guy from high school who becomes Theron’s confidant.

What annoyed me most about the whole film was that it was like one 93 minute Diet Coke ad. I understand that sometimes the drink was used as a device to show that Theron doesn’t look after her body and only drinks coke but it featured in about half the scenes in the film. Sometimes there would be a can on a table, its label facing the camera. In another scene, Theron bends down and the camera goes to her feet which are next to two large boxes of Diet Coke. I understand that some films are part financed by product placement but when it’s that obvious it just gets annoying. Other product placement in the film included Pizza Hut, KFC and Taco Bell. It was a bit OTT and the fact that it was so obvious shows how little I cared about the characters and plot.

When it comes down to it, I didn’t dislike Young Adult; I’m just finding it difficult to think of reasons why I did like it.

Battleship Potemkin

2012-02-05T20:37:00.002Z

Released in 1925 as Communist Propaganda, Battleship Potemkin went on to become one of the most famous and most loved films of the silent era. The film is ranked at Number three on Empire’s ‘100 Best films of world cinema’ and was named ‘The greatest film of all time’ at the 1958 World Fair.

The film is an account of a mutiny which occurred in 1905 aboard the Russian battleship Potemkin. We find the crew to be poorly treated by their Tsarist officers and are about ready to snap when all they are offered to eat is rotten meat. The crew, upon hearing of workers rising up on land commit the act of mutiny and set sail for Odessa. When they reach the port they are supported by the people who are then brutally murdered by the Tsarist authorities. Back out to sea the Potemkin is set upon by a number of Tsarist ships who seem ready to engage the mutineers. The question is, will they join with the mutineers or fight?

As a piece of propaganda, the film is unmatched. The Tsarist’s are seen as cruel, unjust and bloodthirsty. Even Joseph Goebbels claimed anyone without firm political conviction could become a Bolshevik after watching it. The most famous scene is still shocking today. The army is bought in to quell the rebellion and we watch as children are stamped to death by a fearful crowd, a mother is shot while holding up her dying son to the soldiers and the most famous image of all, a baby in a pram, falling down the Odessa steps. This scene in particular has become iconic and has been copied by numerous artists and film makers. Nearly 90 years on, it is still a shocking scene to witness.

The Odessa Steps sequence

The film seems ahead of its time with its use of close ups and quick cutting. Though common today, the editing seen in Potemkin was revolutionary in its day. Multiple cross cuts were also used to show the hustle and bustle of ship life.

Shocking even today

While I believe the film is a masterpiece of silent cinema and propaganda, I couldn’t help feeling bored at times, especially during the first third of the film. The boredom paled in comparison however to the frenetic pace and shock of the Odessa steps scene. At only 72 minutes long, Battleship Potemkin is a must see for fans of early cinema or political propaganda but even for those without an interest I would still recommend seeking out the Odessa Steps scene online.

The Great Train Robbery

2012-02-05T18:43:00.004Z

The Great Train Robbery is a terrible film, but I urge you to watch it. For a start it is only nine minutes long and can be watched for free here. But you should really watch it because of its historical significance.

Released in 1903, the film had a number of technical innovations which had barely been seen before. An example of this is the cross-cut. This is an editing technique which cuts between two scenes to show that they are happening simultaneously. This of course is industry standard now but The Great Train Robbery was one of the first films ever to use it. Moreover it used Double Exposure, something also new to film. The most striking thing about the film however is its use of a close up. The last scene features a close up of a cowboy, shooting a pistol at the audience. I can imagine how unsettling this would have been to a 1903 audience and is still a well known scene today. The film is also generally regarded as the first ever film with a complete narrative and thus making it the precursor of all narrative cinema.

The films innovative and famous ending

The basic plot of the film is that of a train robbery. After committing the robbery, the thieves are hunted down and shot by either locals or the sheriff, it is difficult to tell.

The acting is comical. The film is mostly overacted, possibly due to the actor’s lack of experience with film. People also fall down dead after being shot from guns pointing in completely the wrong direction and die with their arms and legs spread in a very unconvincing way. I think this can all be excused however, it was 1903 after all.

Steamboat Bill Jr

2012-02-05T15:34:00.002Z

While not generally regarded as one of Buster Keaton’s greatest works and coming just a year after his most famous and arguably best film, The General, Steamboat Bill Jr, is still a fantastic example of Buster Keaton at the height of his powers and I believe a masterpiece of its era.

The film takes place along the banks of the Mississippi, where an old steamboat Captain, whose boat has seen better days, is awaiting the arrival of his son who he hasn’t seen since he was an infant. The son is Steamboat Bill, Jr, played by Keaton. Jr is not at all what his father is expecting and they don’t exactly hit it off. Keaton arrives in town at a time when his fathers livelihood is under threat from the arrival of a new steamboat, operated by the father of Keaton’s love interest. The film follows Keaton as he attempts to impress his father and his girl.

Father and Son

At only 71 minutes, the film is twenty or thirty minutes shorter than most modern comedies but packs more laughs than even the best that Apatow or the Farrelly’s can offer. The film is full to bursting with fantastic sight gags and stunt work. Keaton is always at his best when running around, getting into trouble and there is plenty of that here. Some of the highlights include Keaton climbing over a gate in a storm to find the gate has opened and he is back where he started, having a house fall on him and the reaction when his father meets him for the first time.

Keaton’s stunt work as always is unbelievable. People tend to get carried away these days when an actor announces that ‘I do my own stunts’ but Keaton was working at a time before stunt doubles, wires and CGI and along with Harold Lloyd he is responsible for some of the greatest stunt work in history. He makes everything look so easy when it reality it is both incredibly complex and dangerous.

Brilliant Stunt Work

The film builds to an incredible set piece that takes place during a storm. This scene features both the most laughs and stunt inspired gasps and is well worth watching even without the rest of the film.

It is great to know that after over 80 years the work of Buster Keaton is still being enjoyed the world over and he is still inspiring. It is a little known fact that Wall:E was based on Keaton and it is my hope that this and the renewed interest in early cinema, bought on in part by the success of The Artist will help even more people to become acquainted with the great Buster Keaton.

My Super-Ex Girlfriend

2012-02-05T15:27:00.001Z

Starring Uma Thurman as an emotionally unstable Superheroine, 2006’s My Super-Ex Girlfriend was a pleasant surprise for me. Being let down so often by dull, unfunny romantic comedies, I found it to be a refreshing take on a tired formula.

The likable and affable Luke Wilson stars as the likable and affable Matt Saunders who meets a shy and seemingly uninterested Jenny Johnson, played by Uma Thurman on the Subway. When a man steals Johnson’s handbag, Matt pursues the thief and retrieves the bag. This act of heroism earns Matt a date. Several dates later, by which time Johnson has become increasingly neurotic and unbalanced, she lets Matt into her huge secret, that she is in fact G-Girl, a crime fighting Super Hero. When Johnson/G-Girl’s increasingly aggressive and jealous behaviour gets too much for Matt he decides to break off the relationship, a decision he could come to regret.

The film, while not incredibly funny is very enjoyable. I was watching with a smile on my face. Uma Thurman looks like she is really enjoying playing both characters and Luke Wilson is fine, though he is just playing Luke Wilson. A lot of the humour comes from Thurman’s wonderful portrayal of an emotionally unstable woman who becomes increasingly mentally unbalanced throughout the film. She is a joy to watch. Thurman and Wilson are joined by a strong cast which includes Anna Faris as Wilson’s co-worker and the fantastic Rainn Wilson (of The Office fame) as Matt’s best friend. Also joining the cast is English comedian Eddie Izzard who does a fairly convincing American accent but is not as convincing as a super villain.

Being both a Rom-Com and Superhero movie, there was only one place that the film could best set and that is in New York. The city looks fabulous but the CGI is sometimes shiny and unconvincing. A GCI shark looked about as real as a reality TV star’s face. I found it quite funny that G-Girl’s disguise is just a wig and glasses, but Superman gets by unnoticed with less.

While My Super Ex-Girlfriend is in no way a classic or even close to being great, it is a nice take on the romantic comedy genre with some funny moments and an excellent performance from Uma Thurman.

The Artist

2012-02-04T16:44:00.000Z

Up until today I have only even see three films more than once at the cinema; Titanic (don’t judge me, it was very difficult for an eleven year old to see boobs in a pre internet age), Slumdog millionaire and Senna. The Artist is the forth.

The Artist invites us back to a time where cinema was something that one wore their best suit for and applauded at the mere mention of a stars name; a world before jumbo popcorn and cheesy nachos where cinema and its projection were an art form. The film draws you into the world of George Valentin, a silent movie star at the height of his powers. We join Valentin, who is played superbly by Jean Dujardin, as he is back stage awaiting the response to his latest picture. It is a huge success and he enjoys the crowd’s adulation after the curtain has closed. Outside, while speaking to the press, Valentin has an accidental encounter with a beautiful young woman called Peppy Miller, played by Bérénice Bejo. The film charts the rise of Miller’s career as an actress in the talkies in contrast to the free-fall of Valentin as he is stuck in a world with talking movies which he doesn’t want any part of.

I absolutely adored it when I first saw it about a month ago and found it even more enjoyable the second time around. I was able to spot the nuances that help to make the film one of my all time favourites. I could hear subtle changes in the music when a look was given and even a ‘plink’ when one character blinked. I was able to appreciate the beautiful framing of every shot and the attention to detail in each scene. I could see how a chair was placed in just such a way that it split the frame in half, showing us two characters separate emotions that, though sat very close, were worlds apart.

Although I’m no expert on silent cinema, I believe I have seen more silent movies that most young people, count Charlie Chaplin as my favourite film maker and Keaton’s Electric House and Hawks’ Scarface amongst my favourite films. I felt that the film totally lived up to what was great about the best silent movies. The score, so integral in a film without dialogue was perfect. It captured the mood of each scene, let us into the minds of the characters and also updated with the films progression from 1927 to 1932. The use of mirrors and shadows was reminiscent of German expressionism and Film Noir and fitted perfectly with the tone of the movie. The script was also brilliant. While it wasn’t spoken, what you could lip read; tell in body language and read on title cards was delightful and wonderfully written. I also noticed on my second viewing the subtle uses of words like ‘talk’ and ‘silent’ in important scenes, often having nothing to do with the lead characters refusal to speak on film.

The use of shadow in 1922s Nosferatu

The acting of both leads was sublime. It is no wonder that both have been nominated for Oscars. Dujardin looks every inch the silent movie star. He has the face, smile and demeanour down to a tee. He has the look of Douglas Fairbanks and the confidence and swagger of Maurice Chevalier. He is absolutely wonderful in the film and I expect him to be named Best Actor later this month. Bejo is just stunning. Her beauty and grace have not been matched on screen in many years and she looks as though she has walked straight into the film from 1929. I have a huge crush, though more on her feisty yet sweet and caring character than the actress herself.

The Artist has been nominated for Best Sound as the BAFTAS, along with 11 other nominations. It may seem odd for a silent movie to be nominated for sound but I believe it should win in this category. What little ‘sound’ there is is perfectly timed and placed. A scene featuring a glass deserves the award just on its own.

It would have been easy to make a modern day silent movie by just filming in black and white and adding old swing style music to it but The Artist cuts no corners in its quest for authenticity. It is a delightful, masterpiece that will leave you tap dancing all the way home.

The Descendants

2012-02-04T16:33:00.001Z

George Clooney stars as the father of two children who has to cope when his wife goes into a coma after a water sports accident. He has the added burden of an important decision regarding his ancestor’s estate and discovers that his wife was engaged in an affair before her accident.

Filmed and set in Hawaii, the film looks beautiful. That sounds like an easy task considering where it is set, but a lot of the film is set in the built up areas of the archipelago which are rarely seen in films. Not everything is pristine which is nice to see. There are leaves on the driveway and cracks in the walls. When we do see the natural beauty of Hawaii, it is with good reason and not over done. This isn’t a film about Hawaii’s beauty but about a families struggle while living in it.

Family trouble

The story is interesting but unfortunately as so often is the case, too much of it was given away in the trailer. There were very few surprises and generally you already knew where it was heading. The dialogue is witty though which helps with the lack of suspense.

George Clooney is very good and probably deserves the nominations and awards he has received for his performance. The rest of the cast are also admirable. Clooney’s daughters, played by Shailene Woodley and Amara Miller are both excellent as a rebellious teen and inappropriate ten year old respectively. Woodley’s boyfriend, played by Nick Krause, while remaining annoying throughout, becomes more likable as the film progresses.

I find it difficult to talk about what I liked about the film. The ending was excellent and quite sad but I found myself bored at times and it is far from perfect.

Hall Pass

2012-02-04T16:00:00.000Z

Below are a picture of Nicky Whelan and a two minute clip of Stephen Merchant. Look at these and save yourself the 109 minutes it would take to watch Hall Pass.

The film stars Owen Wilson and Jason Sudeikis as married best friends who are entering middle age. Though happily married, they both fondly remember their time as single men where they were free to do whatever they wanted to whoever they wanted. After a series of forgettable mishaps and arguments, both of their wives, played by Jenna Fischer and Christina Applegate, agree to give them a ‘Hall Pass’ or week off from marriage. The next ninety minutes of your life are spent watching what they get up to.

I decided to watch this film because I’d seen Stephen Merchant in the trailer and thought he seemed funny in the film. I’m a fan of both his solo work and his writing with Ricky Gervais so thought I’d give it a go. Unfortunately, he is only on screen for about four minutes. While he is the funniest thing in these few fleeting moments, it is not nearly enough and the rest of the film is very thin on the ground with laughter. I found myself smile a couple of times and chuckle once.

The idea of a Hall Pass is interesting and occasionally the film skirts around the philosophy of relationships. I wish there had been more of this as these were often the best moments of the film. The rest of the film is spent watching a couple of forty-somethings eat food, lie on hotel beds and occasionally try to meet women. Their disastrous attempts are meant to be funny but just aren’t and when things do start to change for the better for Owen Wilson’s character, he is pursued by a beautiful college student (Alexandra Daddario) and gorgeous barista (Nicky Whelan) which just seemed a little unlikely given his failed attempts to attract a woman throughout the rest of the film. What Fischer and Applegate get up to is more interesting and I think the film would have benefitted from spending more time with them.

One Film
No Laughs

Towards the end, the film comes to the incredible conclusion that actually both men and women like sex (who knew?) and that although relationships can be difficult at times, they need to be worked at and everyone lives happily ever after… Snore.

The acting is not terrible but there is nothing for the actors to do. Everyone seems to have one eye on their bank balance, plodding through until they can move on to something else.

Carnage

2012-02-03T20:12:00.000Z

Imagine a middle class version of Jerry Springer or Jeremy Kyle. Swap the Blue WKD for eighteen year old, single malt Scotch, the tracksuits for sharp suits and sharper tongues. Takeaway the child with six possible fathers and introduce an argument regarding a child’s fight and you have Carnage, the brilliant new film from Roman Polanski.

Set in Brooklyn though filmed in Paris due to Polanski’s ongoing legal problems, Carnage is set around two middle class couples meeting to discuss an altercation between their eleven year old sons. Almost the entire film takes place in the Brooklyn apartment of Michael and Penelope Longstreet who are played by Jodie Foster and John C. Reilly. They are joined by Alan and Nancy Cowen, played by Christoph Waltz and Kate Winslet, whose son is seen attacking the Longstreet’s boy in the films opening scene.

What starts off as a civil conversation, albeit with subtle antagonistic undertones soon unravels into a hostile; vomit strewn mess with arguments covering everything from hamsters to Darfur by way of toilet flush mechanisms. The angst of middle class political correctness is felt as both sides desperately try to remain calm and polite while losing control of their tongues more and more with every sentence. One of the best things about the script is how the arguing and bickering isn’t contained between the two couples. Every now and then it will switch so that perhaps it is three against one or drawn on gender lines. This enriches the film and stops it from stagnating. It is often when one person in particular is turned upon by two or three of the others that they shine, John C. Reilly for instance although excellent throughout, is at his best when backed into a corner by Winslet and Foster.

The acting on the whole is outstanding and the ensemble cast works very well together. Each actor is given at least a couple of moments when they can come to the fore and show what they’ve got but the other three are always ready and waiting in the middle distance for their turn. If I had to choose I’d say that Kate Winslet gives the best performance overall but both Reilly and Foster have scenes where they are sublime. Waltz, plays the role of an arrogant, slightly slimy lawyer who never fails to say what he thinks and while I don’t believe this is a stretch for him, he plays it rather well, especially considering he is not performing in his first language. Inglorious Basterds was no fluke.

What adds to the wonderful script and acting is the setting. While the apartment helps to intensify the tension and feeling that all are trapped, it never feels overly claustrophobic. On a few occasions, the Cowen’s are on the verge of leaving and get as far as the elevator. You can feel yourself urging them to get in and run but something always stops them. This is both adds to the tension and is comical.

The comedy is where the film really had me. The dialogue is cutting and sharp-witted and there is a laugh almost every couple of minutes. In fact, I laughed more during this film than in any since I saw Black Dynamite maybe two years ago. The looks between each couple are also perfectly timed. The whole thing feels very natural which makes it even funnier. Nothing seems forced. The more farcical moments are timely and spread thin.

If I did have one complaint about the film it would be in its marketing. The trailer features a scene in which a mobile phone is ‘disposed of’. The phone plays an integral part in altering the casts emotions during the film and each time Waltz answered it I was waiting for what I’d seen in the trailer. This distracted me somewhat as I was thinking to myself “this must be it…” each time I saw it emerge from his inside jacket pocket. While this isn’t a major problem, it annoys me when films give away too much in a trailer. Christoph Waltz’s and John C. Reilly’s reaction to what we see makes up for having seen it so many times however, is one of the funniest parts of the film and also where it turns into Carnage.

Chronicle

2012-02-03T10:59:00.003Z

I saw Chronicle the day before its official release at an advanced screening so hadn’t heard any reviews beforehand. As a result I didn’t know what to expect. When I was joined in the cinema by 15 or so loud teenagers, playing on their phones and laughing at popcorn, my expectations suddenly lowered, however I enjoyed Chronicle very much indeed.

The film, written by 26 year old Max Landis, son of John Landis, is about three American High School students who discover a hole in the ground in the woods near their home. Inside the hole they find a glowing ‘thing’ which somehow gives them super powers including telekinesis and flight. The story then follows the boys as they discover the extent of their powers and how they can and should use them.

The boys discuss the use of their powers

The three main characters are all played well and have defined and interesting characteristics. One is a geeky, awkward kid who has lots of problems at home. He is played by Dane DeHaan who convincingly transforms from a socially awkward teen into a powerful but unbalanced man. His arc is what the film is built around. He is joined by Alex Russell, playing DeHaan’s cousin, a smart, semi-outsider with a puncheon for spouting philosophy. The third member of the group is the High School jock and popular kid, played by Michael B. Jordan, seen in early series of The Wire. Together the three of them seem to be having fun with the characters and are all believable in their roles.

The film uses the now fairly common found footage technique that has been so popular is The Blair Witch Project and more recently Cloverfield and the Paranormal Activity movies. Chronicle introduces a twist on the technique though by using multiple cameras. While a lot of the film comes from the boys own video camera, we also see CCTV footage and film from other minor characters. While I thought this worked well for the most part and was an interesting, fresh approach, I felt that one character in particular was only in the movie because she used a video camera for her blog. Towards the end of the film, one of the main characters also steals lots of cameras and phones so that we are able to see a particular set piece from many different angles. I felt this was lazy and obviously only in the film for this reason. It also broke somewhat from the rules the film had set itself.

Not everyone can handle super powers

Some of the best scenes in the film come when the boys venture above the clouds. The GCI is superb and the scene looks beautiful. Other effects looked very natural and realistic which made a change from the often shiny, computer game like effects seen in similar films. Another of the films strengths is its ability to switch genres quickly and unsuspectingly. What stars off as a fun, sometimes funny look at some kids playing with new found abilities quickly shifts to a very dark place. The final third of the film turns a mirror on society, suggesting a parallel between the story and what we have seen at Columbine and similar events that have involved children with personal and social problems.

This is a film which one should watch without preconceived ideas and I look forward to seeing what debut director Josh Trank comes back to us with next.

71: Into the Fire

2012-02-01T21:33:00.002Z

Boy Soldiers

71: Into the Fire is based on the battle of P'ohang-dong in August 1950 where 71 barely trained students of the South Korean army, armed with nothing more than a few rifles, held off a vastly superior North Korean force for over eleven hours. The film tells the story of those young students and how they managed to hold back the North Korean army for so long.

I am a big fan of Korean cinema but none of the actors were known to me before watching. The standard of acting from the mostly young cast is excellent however. Actor/rapper Choi Seung-hyun leads the students as their inexperienced and frightened Captain. We see Choi transform during the film from a frightened ammo carrier in the films opening scene, into a confident and calculating leader at the films climax. He is supported by a cast of great individual characters who due to the numbers involved see little screen time. One standout is Kwon Sang-woo, playing Choi’s rival. He reminded me of Battle Royale’s Taro Yamamoto with his bravery and nonsense attitude.

The battle scenes in 71: Into the Fire rival any in Saving Private Ryan or Letters from Iwo Jima. One feels right at the centre of the action as the bullets goes whizzing by and explosions tear through soldiers and buildings alike. The film was made for a fraction of the cost of recent Hollywood War Films but feels just as well made and in my opinion you have more value for money here than in the likes of Ryan and Iwo Jima. 71: also has a strong emotional edge to it. You feel for the soldiers and desperately want them to pull through despite the odds being stacked against them. Choi’s narration of the letters he is unable to send to his mother adds to the emotion and sadness of the film.

While I still believe the best recent film about the Korean War is 2004’s Brotherhood, 71: Into the Fire is a fantastic film that is well worth the time to watch.

Unknown

2012-02-01T16:41:00.001Z

Unknown is a smart and interesting psychological thriller set in modern day Berlin. It stars Liam Neeson as Dr. Martin Harris, who along with his wife arrives in Berlin for a Biotechnology summit. Things start to go wrong for Dr. Harris though when the taxi he is riding in plunges off a bridge and into a river. When he wakes up in hospital four days later he has trouble remembering what happened and worse still, his wife doesn’t recognise him and is with another Dr. Martin Harris.

The film follows Neeson on his quest to uncover the facts behind his memory loss and stolen identity. While Neeson does nothing out of the ordinary, he is suited to the role. (To see Neeson in his best role for a long time click here). Along the way Neeson is both helped and hindered by a fantastic, mostly European cast, including Diane Kruger, seen in Inglorious Basterds who is fantastic as the driver of Neeson’s ill fated taxi. Bruno Ganz, famous for playing Hitler in Downfall as well as countless YouTube parodies excels as an ex Stasi agent who helps Neeson uncover the truth. Sebastian Koch who was fantastic in Black Book and also appeared in the masterful The Lives of Others plays a Professor at the summit and he is joined by Karl Markovics from The Counterfeiters who here plays a well meaning doctor. Along with these fine European actors, Frank Langella joins the cast and the only weak link in the whole cast is January Jones of Mad Men fame who as far as I can tell must surely still be getting roles due to her looks as she is as wooden as ever here.

Another star of the film is Berlin itself which looks beautiful. Set in November, the film shows both Berlin’s famous sights as well as the grittier side which I personally love. The concrete buildings of East Berlin help to add to the coldness of the film and a car chase through snowy streets is a highlight.

The twist is not totally obvious and is left for the third act. When it does unfold it is welcomed and the whole plot falls into place. While the film is in no way perfect it is a decent thriller with enough action to go along with its fine acting. It is a far better film in my opinion than Neeson’s recent thriller Taken.

Unforgiven

2012-02-01T16:33:00.003Z

Clint Eastwood directs, produces and stars in this 1992 Western which won four Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director. While I personally don’t think it is a great film it is certainly a good film. Eastwood plays William Munny, an ex gunslinger who has put his past behind him to raise his two young children singlehandedly after the death of his wife. Meanwhile in a small town in Wyoming, a young prostitute is attacked by a drunken customer. Her fellow prostitutes raise $1,000 as a reward for the person who can kill her attacker. Eastwood is approached by the ‘Schofield Kid’, played by Jaimz Woolvett, who asks Munny to join him on one last ride out. Munny also persuades his old partner Ned Logan, played by Morgan Freeman, to accompany him.

When I think Cowboy, I think Clint Eastwood

The strength of the film lies in Eastwood’s directing and in the superb acting. Eastwood creates a tense and claustrophobic atmosphere despite the film being set in mostly large open spaces. Eastwood plays Munny with great precision. His looks could kill and his rough voice and tired appearance create a feeling that he is too old for killing but he is capable of turning these perceptions on their head in a matter of seconds with his ability to quick-draw and shoot down anyone who stands in his way. Gene Hackman is also excellent as the Sherriff whose job it is to run Munny and his gang out of town. He is arrogant and sure of himself despite flaws which become apparent as the film unfolds. Frances Fisher is strong as the Madame prostitute behind the $1,000 bounty whereas Morgan Freeman just appears to be along for the ride.

Beautiful title shot

Where I feel the film is let down is its length. At 131 minutes long, it feels much longer. I also felt that the character of ‘English Bob’ played by the late Richard Harris was unnecessary and detracted from the main story of the film.

While Unforgiven is now considered to be a classic of the Western genre and although I liked it, I didn’t like it as much as most other people seem to.

The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec

2012-02-01T10:31:00.000Z

Luc Besson’s The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec is a loose interpretation of Jacques Tardi’s historical comic book of the same name. Staring Louise Bourgoin in the role of adventurer and writer Adele Blanc-Sec, the plot follows Blanc-Sec to Egypt in 1912 where she attempts to bring back to Paris the mummy of Ramesses II’s personal doctor so that he can be bought back to life by her friend, Professor Espérandieu in order to save her sisters life. The reason for Blanc-Sec’s sisters injuries are that during a tennis match, she fell onto a hat pin which went right through her head. If all this isn’t strange enough, while Blanc-Sec is in Egypt, Professor Espérandieu resurrects a 130 million year old Pterodactyl that is hatched from an egg in a Paris Museum.

As you can probably guess from the plot, this film is absolutely bonkers. While every effort is made to maintain the historical accuracy for most of the film, the addition of flying Dinosaurs and 5,000 year old Egyptian nuclear physicists can only be described as silly, but in a good way. The film has the look of an early silent movie with makeup and prosthetics that look very similar to what was used in the 1910s. Actors have deep eye shadow and lines drawn on their faces to indicate wrinkles and the costume is accurate of the period. This early twentieth century look is complemented well by the up to date computer graphics of the Pterodactyl and Egyptian mummies. While these effects are not incredibly realistic, they are pleasing to look at.

Beautiful period makeup

The script is fast paced and snappy with most of the best lines going to Bourgoin as Blanc-sec. The best line of the whole film is left to the mummy of Ramesses II however as he looks at the Louvre and suggests someone should build a pyramid in its courtyard. Bourgoin is also the standout as far as the acting is concerned. She is irresistible on screen, playing a kind of female Indiana Jones but with even more attitude. She completely controls every scene she is in and I was surprised to learn that this was one of her first roles. She appears very comfortable on screen. She manages to remain very beautiful and ladylike while fighting all who get in her way.

Bourgoin is stunning as Adele Blanc-Sec

The fast cutting and snappy dialogue help the film to push along through some of its less exciting scenes, giving the film a frenetic feel. It is also funny in places though I felt that it lost some of its humour in translation. As the film is so fast paced at times, subtitles flash on and off the screen in an instant, sometimes leaving no time to take in and enjoy what is being said.

Overall I enjoyed this odd, French blockbuster. It was one of the strangest films I’ve seen in a while. The makeup and costumes were satisfying to look at and Louise Bourgoin is surely a star in the making.

J. Edgar

2012-01-31T20:36:00.002Z

Clint Eastwood, Leonardo DiCaprio, January release, biopic. All of these things scream Oscar bait but disappointingly the film doesn’t deliver.

Based on the life of J. Edgar Hoover and starring Leonardo DiCaprio in the lead role, director Clint Eastwood has delivered a solid if unremarkable film that skirts around the edges of much of Hoover’s life without delving deeply into any facet of it.

I found the film quite dull which it shouldn’t have been. Hoover was the head of the FBI for nearly forty years, serving under eight Presidents and responsible for introducing much of the scientific methods used to solve crimes today. He was also widely rumoured to be homosexual and that his long term second in command was, in fact, also his lover. Hoover also had secret files on thousands of high ranking political figures which he was able to use for his and the FBI’s own personal gain. With all that to work with it is perhaps surprising that the film is as boring as it is.

DiCaprio delivers a convincing performance as Hoover although one is sometimes reminded of his Howard Hughes in The Aviator, a vastly superior film. Armie Hammer, last seen playing twins in The Social Network plays Clyde Tolson with authority and is only let down by some dodgy prosthetics in scenes set in later life. Despite this, I felt that he played the older Tolson particularly well. Naomi Watts is given little to do as Helen Gandy, Hoover’s long time secretary but again excels playing the older version of Gandy. There is recognisable affection between Hoover and Tolson which is most obviously shown by Hammer who provides just enough bodhi to show that he has strong feelings for Hoover.

It is perhaps because we know so little about Hoover’s private life that the film is unable to give us many answers as to why he was the man he was. There are hints that his mother, played by Judi Dench, forced him to attempt to become as powerful as possible and her disdain of homosexuality gives some insight as to the secrecy of his personal life but the film is very balanced and unable to get off the fence. One scene in which Hoover wears his late mother’s dress and necklace could be viewed as either a way for him to grieve, to finally let his sexuality out or a combination of both.

Overall the film has a decent stab at portraying the life of one of the most powerful and controversial figures of the 20^th Century but because of who Hoover was and because of who was behind the film, I expected more.

Friends, colleagues, lovers?

NEDS

2012-01-31T20:30:00.002Z

NEDS or Non-Educated Delinquents is the third film from actor, writer and director Peter Mullan. It is the story of a bright young Glaswegian boy who is corrupted by his surroundings, turning him into a psychopathic thug. Its lead Conor McCarron plays John McGill, a boy who studies hard and appears to be heading for an illustrious future. As the film progresses, McGill’s personal situation at home along with pressure from the area in which he lives drives him to become a leading member of a local gang and in turn he goes on to commit terrible acts of brutality and violence.

The film has the look and feel of the mid 1970s in which it is set. I don’t know how it was done but the film has the grainy look of a 1970’s TV show and the colour pallet, set design and costumes and all superb. Mullan has also managed to capture the bleak hopelessness of a 1970s Glasgow council estate. Apathy is found not only in its youth but also in the adult characters such as McGill’s father, played by Mullan and his teachers.

Conor McCarron gives a sublime performance as John McGill, a boy whose boredom and anger lead violence. He is equally convincing as a knife wielding thug as he is as a book-worm school kid. His transformation from the latter to the former is both outstanding and terrifying. The rest of the cast are also very good. McGill’s gang is made up of well defined characters who beef up the feeling of apathy and boredom. The script is convincing and the dialogue sharp and realistic. I must admit to missing the odd word or phrase due to the thick Glaswegian accents which also help to give the film its realism.

NEDS is a fantastic and often brutal look into the world of the 1970s delinquent and has many parallels with the world of the NEDS of today.

Love and Other Drugs

2012-01-31T20:27:00.005Z

Here, Jake Gyllenhaal plays Jamie; a pharmaceutical sales rep in a small mid-Western town who meets Maggie, a young Parkinson’s disease sufferer played by Anne Hathaway and embarks on a whirlwind romance.

Both Gyllenhaal and Hathaway give capable performances in the film. Gyllenhaal manages to be smarmy and cock-sure while being likeable and Hathaway is credible as a quirky but confident artist. It is their relationship on screen where the film’s strength lies. You believe that both the actors and their characters enjoy spending time with each other and they appear to riff off one another with ease. When things start to get emotional however, Hathaway outshines Gyllenhaal who appears wooden.

The film grows from a comedy to a more serious feature as it and Hathaway’s Parkinson’s progress and this I believe is a good thing. Often the better Romantic Comedies are the ones who aren’t afraid to leave the comedy behind for long periods of time. The film also drew some attention for its nudity and bold sex scenes. While both actor’s bottoms and Hathaway’s breasts are on screen several times, I believe that it and the sex are done in a tasteful way which is integral to the storyline. There is nothing gratuitous or objectifying in any of these scenes.

One problem with an otherwise admirable film is that Gyllenhaal’s character appears to be a bit of a screw up in the first act and is ridiculed by his family for being the only member not to be a doctor when it is obvious from the outset that he is a smart and determined man. Why he is not more successful is unclear and he soon becomes a top salesman thanks to his gift of the gab and the invention of Viagra which he has no trouble selling.

As with most Hollywood Rom-Coms there are ups and down in the relationship and the film but with more ups in both respects. It is an above average Romantic comedy with some fine performances by its lead actors.

The Duchess

2012-01-31T20:22:00.003Z

Based on the life of Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire The Duchess is set in late Eighteenth Century England. It follows Georgiana’s life from a teenager on her family’s estate and through her life as the wife of the Duke of Devonshire. Before the film I was unaware of her but her story is fascinating. Married to the Duke at a young age with the promise of bearing him a male heir, Georgiana settles in to a life in the spotlight with great ease, charming everyone she meets. Behind closed doors though, life is very different as her husband becomes increasingly angrier that despite three children, none are male. He looks elsewhere for a male heir, eventually inviting Georgiana’s closest friend in to their house as a second partner for himself.

Keira Knightley is well cast as the Duchess and gives grace and poise to the role. She is an equal match for the men around her and shows both great strength and vulnerability. She looks the part of an Eighteenth Century aristocrat, helped in no small way by the fantastic costume and makeup. It is not surprising that the film won an Oscar for its costume design. Each outfit looks wonderful and of the period. It must have taken months to design and manufacture the hundreds of dresses seen in the film.

Ralph Fiennes does a good job playing Knightley’s husband, The Duke of Devonshire. No one is better than him at playing an arrogant, grumpy bastard. Where the casting falls down I believe is in Dominic Cooper’s Earl Grey. I think that Cooper is a solid actor but here he seems out of place and hidden by the great performances around him.

No one does grumpy like Ralph Fiennes

I enjoyed The Duchess much more than I expected to. The story of a spoiled aristocrat played by an actress who I am not particularly keen on had little promise for me but the film makes the audience feel very sorry for Knightley’s Duchess, something that I believe is not easy to do. The story is interesting and the setting and costumes are impressive.

It's Kind of a Funny Story

2012-01-31T15:49:00.003Z

Well, no, it really isn’t. It’s Kind of a Funny Story is based on the true story of a 16 year old New York teenager who seeks help for his suicidal feelings. He is checked into a mental hospital which he is forced to share with adults due to the teenage facility undergoing renovation. There he impacts on the lives of his fellow inmates and meets the girl of his dreams.

I have two main problems with the film. The first is the main characters name; Craig. While Craig is a fine name, it is the American pronunciation which I cannot stand. It appears the Americans are blind to the letter ‘I’ in the name and instead pronounce it Creg as in Gregg. I find this incredibly annoying so a film with a lead called Craig/Creg has to do a lot to impress me. One scene in which the entire hospital chants ‘Creg, Creg, Creg!’ is infuriating.

My second problem with the film is Craig/Creg’s reasons for being in the hospital in the first place. As far as I can tell he is depressed due to the pressures of being a teenager (getting good grades, impressing girls, being popular etc). While I empathise with this, most teenagers feel this way but he appears to have no reason to. He is worried he isn’t smart and has no talents when he goes to one of the top schools in New York City and is a talented artist and singer. He is in love with his best friend’s girlfriend and doesn’t think he will ever find love but during the course of the film, both the girl he is in love with and another girl throw themselves at him. I just find his reasons for depression to be a bit woolly.

Craig/Creg is played unspectacularly by newcomer Kier Gilchrist while Zach Galifianakis plays Bobby, a fellow patient at the hospital. Galifianakis is well cast and gives a solid performance as Bobby. He is able surprise the audience with his ability to go from stable to unstable and back again and keeps the audience on the edge of its seats as you don’t know when he might ‘lose it’ again. He also plays the role of mentor to Craig/Creg in a believable and loving way. Craig/Creg’s love interest is played by Emma Roberts who is convincing as a depressed and quirky teen. Her reasons for being in the hospital are never really explained.

While the film has some nice moments including a sing-a-long to Queen and David Bowie’s Under Pressure and the ending is typical Hollywood slush but nice the film falls down on its protagonists reasons for being there in the first place. I don’t want to sound as though depression is not an illness as it most definitely is but I just don’t buy into Craig/Creg’s reasons for his depression.

Hereafter

2012-01-31T15:43:00.003Z

In recent years I’ve come to expect good things from Director Clint Eastwood and actor Matt Damon (I still say it in the Team America voice) but I was disappointed with Hereafter.

The film’s protagonist, Damon plays George Lonegan, a man who can communicate with the dead. Lonegan does his best to hide his power after an earlier career making money from it left him unable to get close to people for fear of what he might discover. To him, his gift is in fact a curse. This is shown to be the case when his psychic readings wreck the beginnings of a promising new relationship.

Damon shares a moment of tenderness with love interest Bryce Dallas Howard

The two other strands to this story about a young boy who loses his twin in a car crash and a Frenchwoman caught up in the Boxing Day Tsunami in 2004 are unfortunately dull. While the Tsunami scene itself is exciting, you are left feeling detached and wondering where all the locals were. (Most of the victims appear to be European).

The acting is for the most part, terrible. Some actors seem as though they are reading their lines off a piece of card in front of them for the first time. It must be said however that Matt Damon delivers a believable performance of a man troubled by his gift.

It is perhaps difficult to get into a film about a psychic as the profession is in my opinion a disgusting attempt to use pseudoscience and guesswork to con bereaved people out of money. I could see past this in The Sixth Sense though so perhaps the fact that I was thinking about what bollocks psychic abilities are tells me that I was not gripped by the film.

Crocodile Dundee II

2012-01-31T15:37:00.000Z

Coming two years after Crocodile Dundee, 1988’s Crocodile Dundee II sees Paul Hogan reprise his role as Australian crocodile hunter, Mick ‘Crocodile’ Dundee. While the plot is largely forgettable and not really why one would watch a Dundee film, it involves Mick trying to acclimatise to city life in New York when his wife Sue is kidnapped by a Columbian drug cartel.

The enjoyment here doesn’t lie with the story but in watching Mick attempt to navigate through New York City, misinterpreting almost everything around him. It is fun to remember an age where a man coming from a developed country such as Australia would have so much trouble understanding life in another developed country. It is perhaps hard to imagine now in a world with social media, the internet and more TV channels than you could ever want to watch that Mick Dundee would be so out of his depth in New York. But just twenty years ago these things weren’t available and the world was a much larger place.

One of the pleasures of this film is to see New York as it was in the late 80s. While New York always looks beautiful to me, seeing it then reminds me of some of the great films set in the city around that time. Another reason to enjoy the film is the performance of Hogan who is loveable as Mick Dundee and it is not surprising that he eventually went back to the role in 2001 with a third Dundee film.

... This is a knife!

Life in a Day

2012-01-26T20:51:00.000Z

Do you remember what you did on July 24^th 2010? No? Well thanks to Life in a Day you can relive it through the eyes of people from all over the world. Life in a Day was created using the phenomenon of crowd sourcing. The producers asked people via YouTube to record themselves on 24/07/10 and received 4,500 hours of footage in 80,000 submissions from 192 nations. The 4,500 hours was then edited into a 95 minute film which represents almost the entire globe on that July day.

A 15 year old has his first shave with help from his dad

It is a genius idea which has spawned an interesting, funny and at times emotional film. Beginning in the early morning the film shows people from all over the world going about their day from getting up, brushing their teeth, going to school or work, having lunch and so on. Occasionally one person’s story is followed and we revisit some of the more interesting characters including my personal favourite, a Korean man who has spent nine years and thirty-two days cycling through 190 countries with the aim of uniting North and South Korea. Along with his, there are several other stories which would make an interesting feature film on their own.

I can count the number of films I’ve cried during on one hand but Life in a Day filled my eyes with tears twice; once during a surprise marriage proposal and again after a woman finished talking to her husband, a US soldier based in Afghanistan, on Skype. Many of the people we meet live sad lives but the vast majority are happy. We meet a man living in a graveyard with fourteen children who is happy to be alive. A young boy working as a shoe-shine is happy that his father provides him with fruit. These and other stories give the film a generally uplifting feel.

A man 'comes out' to his Grandmother

One of the greatest things about the film is that it shows us how similar we are to one another. Our lives, routines and customs are mostly the same whether we are from Kentucky, Kathmandu or Kabul. We all brush our teeth, we meet friends and family, we work, we laugh, we cry, we are born and we die. The film manages to show such diverse human life while at the same time bringing us together and allowing us to recognise our similarities as well as celebrate our differences.

The entire film is available for free on YouTube here.

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

2012-01-26T17:39:00.000Z

2007 was a very good year for Westerns with 3:10 to Yuma, There Will be Blood and No Country for Old Men all joining The Assassination of Jesse James in being released in that year. While Jesse James is a good film, I believe that it is the weakest of this quartet.

The film focuses on the last few years of the life of famed Outlaw Jesse James, played by Brad Pitt. Pitt is joined by a strong ensemble cast which includes Sam Rockwell and Casey Affleck as James’ assassin, Robert Ford.

The first thing that needs to be said about this film is that as with many modern takes on the Western, it looks stunning. Vast open plains are shot with a fantastic use of natural light and artificial light is superbly used during a scene in which the James Gang attack and rob a train during the night.

The acting is also top notch. Rockwell plays his oft seen ‘crazy guy on the edge’; Affleck is well cast as the young, impressionable Robert Ford who is out to prove himself to his idol, Jesse James, who Pitt plays perfectly. He has the audience on the edge of their seat, guessing about his next move and when his mostly quiet and thoughtful Outlaw will next burst into anger like a bullet from a six-shooter.

One of the problems with the film is that because you know that it is about an assassination you are waiting for it to come for the entire film and as a result the rest of the plot just washes over you. When the assassination finally does come it is well played but the final act of Ford’s life after the shooting I felt was only skimmed over.

In the end, the film lacks Yuma's punch, No Country's madness and There Will Be Blood's tension but overall this is a film that is well worth watching, if only for the performances of Affleck and Pitt and the beautiful countryside in which it is filmed.

Made in Dagenham

2012-01-26T17:10:00.000Z

I’d wanted to go and see this film when it was on at the cinema but was unable to persuade my girlfriend to join me. I found this disappointing as at its core, this is a film about feminism. The story of female workers at a Ford Motors plant in Dagenham, Essex is based on real events from 1968 when a dispute with management with regards to a change of being classed as unskilled from semi-skilled labour provoked a series of events that ended up with the women demanding equal pay. This in turn helped lead to the Equal Pay Act 1970.

The film follows a young Dagenham employee played wonderfully by Sally Hawkins who becomes the unofficial spokesperson for her fellow employees. Hawkins as so often is the case comes across to the audience as a quiet, likable girl next door in the first act but as the film progresses unleashes a tirade of seemingly off the cuff speeches to various people and organisations about the women’s plight and eventually gains the attention of Secretary of State for employment Barbara Castle, played here by Miranda Richardson.

I felt that the film was a well told portrayal of life for a working class family in the late 1960s and the fight for civil rights. It is clear that the women’s fight is not an easy one and that the men behind them while mostly supportive, wavered from time to time.

I remember on the films release hearing an interview with producer Stephen Woolley who was outraged at the films 15 Certificate due to the use of the word ‘fuck’. Having now watched the film I can understand totally why he felt aggrieved and despite I think two or maybe three uses of the word would definitely encourage any young person to watch it. If I ever have children it will certainly be amongst the pile of films I will be showing them.

I think it is important the films like Made in Dagenham are seen by a large young audience at a time where female role models include The Only Way is Essex ‘stars’ and Jordan/Katie Price. I’d rather young girls were influenced by and inspired by the Essex girls of Made in Dagenham than by the Essex girls they see on TV in 2012.

Barbara Castle meets with the strikers. But only the pretty ones...

If I was to have one criticism of the film it would be that in the important negotiation scene with Miranda Richardson, only the good looking girls were involved, once outside, the 'larger' ladies appeared from nowhere and joined in with the celebrations. I thought for a film with a strong feminist tone it was strange that of the 180-something strikers, only the good looking ones were involved in such a pivotal scene.

War Horse

2012-01-26T12:31:00.000Z

I’d been looking forward to Steven Spielberg’s War Horse for months and had squeezed my girlfriend’s hand each time I’d seen the trailer in the cinema. Unfortunately I left the film feeling disappointed. For me, a person with a deep fascination with the First World War, I felt there was a lot of Horse before we got to the War. I understand that the film is called War Horse so would obviously contain a lot of ‘horse’ but being unfamiliar with the source material my only knowledge of the story was the films trailer which was more Saving Private Ryan than Black Beauty.

The film however was not terrible and for me the touching scene featuring barbed-wire in No Mans Land was a standout. I felt that the film could have lost one of the strands which made up the story. Instead of the story with the old French man and his granddaughter, I’d have preferred to have seen more of the trenches, but this could well be due to my interest in the war.

One of my main problems with the film and which spoiled it for me was that the French and German characters all spoke English. This is a particular bugbear of mine and I think that the sorts of people who go to see War Horse are not the sort of people who would mind subtitles. It is not Ratatouille. This became even more stupid when two German characters were speaking English to each other while a German officer in the background spoke German.

I can understand why many people have found the film sad but as someone with no particular love for horses I felt indifferent towards it and didn't spend enough time with any ofhe hman characters to feel anything for them either.

War Horse is not a bad film but I found my excitement of the trailer nowhere near matched my enthusiasm for the film as a whole.

Shame

2012-01-26T12:16:00.000Z

I found Shame to be a bleak, edgy and intriguing film which stuck with me for a long time after watching it. It follows Michael Fassbender as Brandon Sullivan, a successful thirty-something in New York who has an addiction – to sex. Brandon is forced to juggle his addiction with his job and this is made even more difficult with the arrival of his emotionally damaged sister Sissy, played by Carey Mulligan.
One of the first things that me struck about the film was how beautiful both New York and the internal sets look. Steve McQueen is obviously a man with a great eye for beauty in simplicity, a trend that has continued from his earlier career as an artist. One very simple scene early on set the tone for the film. We watch as Fassbender seduces a young married woman on the Subway by just looking at her. It is obvious that she is both excited and scared by him but cannot look away. Fassbender just continues to look deeply into her eyes without any expression on his face. This scene is tense and gives you an insight into Sullivan's thirst for sex.

Fassbender excites and scares both a fellow passanger and the audience

Another thing that struck me was Michael Fassbender’s penis. My girlfriend’s three word review of the film “it’s so big!” sums it up well. The film doesn’t shy away from sex or nudity which is refreshing in a world where 18 Certificate films are becoming much rarer. Many film makers see the 18 as something to avoid for financial reasons but Searchlight, the films distributor has called it a “badge of honour”.

Fassbender shows what a talent he is throughout the film and is fast becoming an A List actor. Carey Mulligan convincingly pulls off the 'damaged woman' role but her accent is somewhat odd in places. While it is explained that the family moved from Ireland to New York several years ago, Mulligans accent flips between New Jersey and Home Counties.

Although the film focuses on sex addiction, it could be about any type of addiction. You are increasingly drawn in to Fassbender’s quest to scratch his itch as his life spirals deeper into depravity. You realise that he will do almost anything to get his fix and the parallels with other addictions are evident.

While sex addiction is at the forefront of this film I believe that its motif is the relationship between Fassbender and Mulligan. You are left wanting to know more about what lead them to become the people they are. They don’t seem like brother and sister and find it hard to act as though they are. This mystery is at the heart of the film. Shame is a powerful and uncompromising film that delves deep into the subject of addiction and its impacts on us.

The Sitter

2012-01-25T22:35:00.000Z

Had I known before hand that David Gordon Green, the man behind my least favorite film of 2011, Your Highness was also responsible for The Sitter then I’d have saved myself 81 minutes.

There is very little in this film worth savouring and the highlight for me was hearing Slick Rick’s Children's Story playing over the titles. From there it was all down hill.

The film stars permo-slacker Jonah Hill as Noah, a College dropout who is forced to babysit three caricatures of children so that his long suffering mother can go on a date with a surgeon. It is unfortunate for Hill that the release of this film coincides with his Best Supporting Actor nomination at the Oscars for Moneyball as when we should be reminded of that time a few months ago where we began to believe there was more to him as an actor than wearing baggy T-Shirts while wise-cracking we are presented with him playing a baggy T-Shirt wearing, wise-cracker.

In the opening scene we are meant to feel for Noah as the favour is not returned after he performs a sex act on his girlfriend. I think this scene is also supposed to be funny but its hard to tell. It is difficult to feel sorry for Noah who despite the efforts and encouragement of his mother seems in no mood to do anything about his sad, lonely life.

The three child characters who Noah ends up babysitting are all annoying and ill judged. There is the South American adoptee pyromaniac who is at the heart of most of the ‘capers’ the film lumbers between, a wannabe celebrity daughter and son who seems to be playing Woody Allen in Annie Hall.

If only the film was a fraction as funny or enjoyable as that. I watched the film in a half full cinema with an average age of about 17, the films core audience, and barely noticed a titter. It’s a sad state of affairs that this sort of boring, unimaginative stuff passes for comedy these days.

A couple of years ago the screenplay for The Sitter was on The Black List, an annual poll of the best unproduced scripts in Hollywood. If only it had remained so.

Coriolanus

2012-01-25T22:21:00.000Z

I’d half hoped that the cinema would be full of annoying teenagers who had seen the trailer for a Gerard Butler war movie and would be confused and disappointed when they realised that it was in fact Shakespeare. Alas this wasn’t the case as there were only five people in the screening and I was the youngest by a good twenty-five years.

I hadn’t seen the play so I was new to the story and was gripped from start to finish. First time director Ralph (don’t call me Ralph!) Fiennes choice of setting the play in the modern day is inspired. The story works perfectly within its setting and has the look and feel of 1990’s Yugoslavia. The direction is very good considering it is Fiennes first attempt while Barry Ackroyd’s Cinematography is apparent. This in particular helps add a thump to the battle scenes.

In quieter moments it is the acting that is bought to the fore. Fiennes Coriolanus is powerful and arrogant while Vanessa Redgrave gives a superb performance as Coriolanus’ mother, Volumnia. I left the cinema impersonating Fiennes monotone voice and speaking in pig-Shakespeare language.

I’m glad I got to see Coriolanus and look forward to Ralph Fiennes future directorial features.

Mission Statement

2012-01-25T22:17:00.000Z

I watch a lot of films and I enjoy discussing them with others so I thought I'd post occasional blogs about films I've seen and what I thought about them.

I have no background in writing, journalism or film criticism so there is no guarantee that what you read will be well written or well informed but we all do the best with what we have.

I hope you enjoy and feel free to comment.