Hugo (U)

Happy Christmas readers! Hugo is a perfect family film, for this time of year especially. (To my readers in South Africa, unfortunately you'll have to wait until February to see it)!

This review was first published in The Methodist Recorder (www.methodistrecorder.co.uk).

Hugo (U)

Martin Scorsese’s first foray into family entertainment has produced one of the very best films of the year. Hugo is an orphan living in a 1930s Paris rail station. Skilled with mechanics and in love with the movies, he lives a lonely existence maintaining the stations complicated clocks and trying to mend a robot left to him by his father. Ever dodging the dastardly Station Inspector, Hugo’s adventures bring him to a mysterious toy shop owner and his bookish daughter Isabelle. As Hugo and Isabelle form an unlikely friendship the tale of the boy’s past unfolds, interwoven with the history of early cinema.

Best known for his violent and bravura gangster movies, here Scorsese brings every ounce of his virtuoso directing skills and unrivaled technical mastery to younger audiences. A champion of film preservation, Scorsese uses Hugo to share his love of cinema with a new generation, and as the credits roll many parents are going to be hearing their little ones chirp “I want to be a film director when I grow up!”

That said, compared to more typical family adventure films Hugo is likely a little on the slow side for some. For each exhilarating chase through the crowded station there are two or more flashbacks to the dawn of filmmaking, with beautiful recreations of early films such as the seminal ‘Le voyage dans la lune’ (1902). While magical and inspiring for most, it may be less engaging for very young children.

The story’s theme is rediscovering purpose: Hugo tries to work out what his father’s robot is for; a retired filmmaker is reminded what he was born to do, and Hugo and Isabelle wonder how they fit into the world. The point is that if we lose our purpose in life then we are as broken as Hugo’s robot, and the teaching in the book of Ecclesiastes’ that there is nothing better than to find contentment in whatever God has given us to do, definitely resonates with that.

Chloë Grace Moretz is charming as Isabelle, and although Asa Butterfield is not quite as good as the title character he still does plenty to win the audience’s empathy. With the cast also featuring greats such as Ben Kingsley and Christopher Lee, and the cinematography showcasing the best of use 3D to date, Hugo is an emotional, edifying and truly exceptional silver screen experience for all ages.

The Ides of March (15)

Recently nominated for four Golden Globes and still in cinemas (just), The Ides of March is one to watch this awards season.

This review was first published in The Methodist Recorder (www.methodistrecorder.co.uk).

The Ides of March (15)

Opening with a speech about a politician’s religion being the Constitution of the United States, The Ides of March is a clever political thriller of the highest quality. The title comes from the date in the Roman calendar on which Julius Caesar was assassinated, and the plot is rife with backbiting and deception. Ryan Gosling is superb as Stephen, Junior Campaign Manager to George Clooney’s Democratic presidential candidate Mike Morris. Stephen’s loyalty and ideals are tested as multiple scandals threaten to surface.

As well as starring, Clooney directed and co-wrote the film, and being a self described political liberal he clearly intended to make a point. The point would seem to be a mixture of generalised lamenting over the extent of corruption in politics, and a frank admission that even the best of us aren’t completely innocent. Isaiah 64:6 says ‘...all our righteous acts are like filthy rags’, and it is striking that even before Stephen loses his supposed innocence, he is already neck deep in lies and spin.

His troubles start when he begins an illicit relationship with intern Molly. What seems to them just a bit of fun soon turns out to be the opening of a Pandora’s box of nightmares. Once again Hollywood inadvertently illustrates how much damage could be prevented if society stuck to the Biblical principle of reserving sex for marriage.

Clooney and Gosling aside, the film boasts a dazzling cast of fine actors. Paul Giamatti plays the opposition’s experience hardened campaign manager; Marisa Tomei is a reporter who’s allegiances stretch no further than her latest story will allow, and the great Philip Seymour Hoffman gives yet another scene stealing performance as Stephen’s senior manager Paul.

The script powerfully brings home many truths that secular society is quick to ignore, with personal responsibility for action and inaction being high up its list of themes. When Stephen tries to excuse his campaign threatening behaviour, Paul cuts him down to size with the line ‘... you didn’t make a mistake, you made a choice”: a distinction which leaves the fresh faced protagonist speechless.

Clooney’s direction is solid and polished, and with surprisingly few direct parallels to 2011 American politics, rather than missing the mark he has had the ambition to make a film that might have the same impact it has today even decades down the line. Consummate, entertaining and honest, Ides is an eye opening must watch.

The First Movie (12)

This moving documentary is out on DVD Monday. It's a must see.

The First Movie (12) (This review on FilmJuice.com)

For many film lovers the first film they ever saw holds a special place in their heart. Others have been watching films since before they can remember. Critic turned director Mark Cousins’ 2009 documentary attempts to capture the magic of cinema as experienced for the very first time, in Iraq of all places, thus also showing a side of a topical country that news cameras never cover.

Cousins begins by describing his childhood as an imaginative youngster in Belfast, which like present day Iraq of course had bombs of its own. As a child the time he spent in his local cinema felt more ‘real’ to him than that spent in the everyday world outside of it, and he invites us to once again see through the eyes of a child, considering what might be ‘real’ in the experience of a group of children in the small Iraqi town of Goptapa. Like the rest of the country, Goptapa is a place with a history of unimaginably violent tragedy.

To introduce the townsfolk to the movies Cousins shows a selection of classic short films, followed by Steven Spielberg’s magnificent E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial. The kids go berserk, clapping and whooping at the finale! In the narration Cousins puts it that “Never have films about love, solidarity and loneliness heard such cheering.” It’s moving stuff.

Next the children are given little high definition cameras to take away with them, with instructions to shoot stories of their own. Without revealing what they come up with, the results demonstrate real creativity and an inner compulsion towards love rather than hate. Cousins refers to cameras as empathy machines, and anyone who witnesses what he has captured with his camera and the children with theirs, will be hard pressed not to be filled with compassion for the young people of Goptapa, who had no say on the situation which they were born into. The way that their environment has shaped their imaginations is affecting and vivid.

The film explores at a base level what the art of filmmaking can be, and the value that it holds for humanity. Cousins’ gentle style of direction and the delicate edit are the perfect fit to bring these points home. His insights delivered via voiceover periodically give way to magical montages, with music that breathtakingly enriches the images. This highlights not only the effectiveness of moving pictures to portray emotions and experiences, but also the way that sound can transform an image into something entirely new, or a place like Iraq into a children's wonderland.

When all is said and done Cousins doesn’t deny the reality of Iraq’s situation, including footage of his crew being ordered to stop filming by the police. As a snapshot of a rarely seen side of the country combined with a powerful reminder of the near elemental force of stories told with moving pictures, The First Movie is a true triumph.

The Help (12A)

The good people at The Methodist Recorder (www.methodistrecorder.co.uk) have given me permission to post the reviews that I write for them on here, with a wait of a couple of weeks from when the paper goes to print. My reviews for them are (unsurprisingly) more geared towards Christian readers.

Here we have The Help, which is still in cinemas and well worth a look:

The Help (12A)

The Help is a heartwarming tale set in Mississippi during the 1960s Civil Rights Movement. Local girl Skeeter is the only white person in her town with an affinity for the black maids who work in the white middle class homes. She alone seems moved by their mistreatment, and so she sets about using her skills as a writer to produce a book to shed light on their untold plight.

Based on the best selling book by Kathryn Stockett and directed by relative newcomer Tate Taylor, The Help deals with issues that aren’t perhaps as relevant in 2011 as they were in their day, but which do certainly conjure themes that are timeless and goldmines for truth about the human condition.

A lot of effort has gone into recreating the period, and the authenticity is enhanced by the absence of any big name Hollywood stars, bar perhaps guaranteed future star Emma Stone as the naïve but assured Skeeter. Visually the film glows with an inviting charm, making the story and experience it has to offer all the more appealing.

Unusually for a film on wide release, there are moments which unmistakably portray Christianity not just with respect, but also as a positive and constructive worldview. In order to write her explosive book Skeeter must persuade enough maids to be interviewed, at great personal risk to each. Both fear of God and conviction of what is right are clearly shown to be deciding factors in the maids’ decisions to stand up for what they believe in.

If there is a villain in the film then it is Hilly Holbrook, a bitterly racist prima donna. She is brilliantly portrayed with malevolent relish by Bryce Dallas Howard. Octavia Spencer is hilarious as the feisty and daring Minny, a maid who’s candid contributions prove crucial to Skeeter’s chances of success, and Viola Davis represents The Help’s best hopes for Oscar glory with her emotive performance as Aibileen, the bravest of Skeeter’s interviewees who has many stories of her own to tell.

The Help deals with a very dark period of history, and effectively considers themes ranging from hypocrisy through to friendship. In doing so Taylor has crafted a film that is thoroughly entertaining, and yet totally dignified in it’s reflections on racism, even boldly including the passé view that if you can love your enemy, then victory is yours already.

Camp Hell (15)

This is out in UK cinemas tomorrow (2nd Dec.) It's a poor film but I had fun panning it!

Camp Hell (15) (This review on FilmJuice.com)

If you liked the trailer for Camp Hell, don’t bother to watch the film. Falsely advertised as a fast paced supernatural horror, the story in fact moves at a snail’s pace, and most of the spooky finale is in the trailer anyway (not to mention nearly all of Jesse Eisenberg’s screen time!).

Tommy is a young lad sent to a pseudo-Christian camp where the youth are taught the dangers of sins such as premarital sex and, wait for it... rock music. He is haunted by a demon via nightmares, and when he fails to resist the advances of the alluring Melissa, his sin gives the demon cause to wreak havoc on the camp.

Now there are of course some fanatics in the world following twisted offshoots of Christianity, as there are of many other religions, and perhaps one day a film will be made that accurately and fairly portrays their pitfalls and hypocrisies. But Camp Hell is not it. The Christians here are a confusing mishmash of stereotyped Catholicism, evidenced by the camp being run by a priest, not to mention the characters making the sign of the cross every two minutes... and radical charismatics, whose main crime seems to be irritating people with their cheery songs and perpetual smiles. Writer director George VanBuskirk clearly wasn’t aiming for realism on any level, which is pretty disgraceful when his film claims to portray some of the inner workings of a popular world religion.

One thing the film does have going for it is the controlled and credible performance of Will Denton as Tommy. He very nearly lifts the quality of the production out of the gutter, where it would certainly belong if weren’t also for the accomplished cinematography. Valentina de Angelis however is horrendous as Melissa. To be fair it doesn’t help that her character is there purely as sin inducing eye candy for poor Tommy, but she simply couldn’t be less convincing if her face was made of plastic. Perhaps she has a future as a model.

The music is inappropriate and distracting, so much so that any atmosphere that might have been created is instantly evaporated whenever the score kicks in. The most frustrating thing about Camp Hell though is its ending; not that it doesn’t come soon enough (that too...) but that the conclusion is so bizarrely disconnected from all that has gone before, that any message or intention VanBuskirk may have had is completely lost.

Aside from a couple of entertaining (but irrelevant) half clever references to popular classics like Jurassic Park and Star Wars, Camp Hell is a distinctly lifeless film; boring, pointless and offensive. Save your time and money. Life really is far too short.