Dark Horse (15)

Polarising director Todd Solondz's latest 'sad comedy' hits UK cinemas this Friday 29th June.

Dark Horse (15) (This review on FilmJuice.com)

Dark Horse, Todd Solondz’s latest philosophical romp is both a step in a new direction and a throwback to his glory days when he was renowned for his playfully (and painfully) harsh comedies Happiness and Storytelling.  Abe is a thirty-something man-child whose belated attempts at growing up manifest as well-intentioned mistakes and a naively fast-tracked romance.

Before Solondz reveals his trademark ‘awkward couple’ opening scene, he boldly declares this film will be different from his previous work by starting with a sarcastically over-the-top dance set-piece at a wedding.  It’s here that Abe meets the perpetually tranquilised Miranda (an on-form Selma Blair, effectively reprising her role as Vi from Storytelling).  Abe’s chat-up line?  “I don’t dance.  It’s just not my thing.”  Miranda’s response?  “...Uh huh.”  Cue fairy tale romance!

The central part of Abe is a talent showcase for the formidable Jordan Gelber, best known previously for his work on Boardwalk Empire.  Gelber successfully performs the unenviable task of making an unlikable character relatable and is deadpan enough to convince that Abe is truly oblivious to the achingly obvious errors that he makes.  Christopher Walken turns in an unusually quiet performance as Abe’s disappointed dad who has long given up hope that his son might be a late bloomer.

For fans looking for a dose of the cruel, puppy-strangling cynicism served with vitriolic panache that Solondz has become known for, it might come as something of a letdown that Dark Horse is a more mellow effort from the auteur.  If the film was a person, it would still have acid for blood, but it would be pumped by a warm heart.  For example, after going on a misanthropic rant, like letting pus bleed out from his angry, wounded soul (“we’re all horrible people!”) Abe is brought down to Earth by his well adjusted mother reminding him that she cares about him, even if no one else does.  It’s a scene where Solondz perhaps admits that his negative worldview might seem true on a generalised scale but not on an intimate one.

However, movie-goers unversed in Solondz’s often shocking writing best stay away if hoping for anything resembling a ‘feel good factor.’  Don’t be deceived by the marketing calling the film a comedy, a ploy so often used to lure the unsuspecting to see films more likely to leave them in tears than in stitches (Synecdoche, New York is a prime example).  There is humour but it’s wrapped so tightly in tragedy that you’ll be chuckling through clenched teeth.  There’s palpable awkwardness at every turn and, though some find that kind of thing delicious, others find it nauseating.  Solondz knows this of course and both reactions are probably intended!

The director has put together another memorable soundtrack, the highlight being the recurring theme song that is Michael Kisur’s excellent ‘Who You Wanna Be’, used to ironic effect.  The film is infused with a more surreal edge than Solondz has toyed with before, the narrative draining away as the plughole of Abe’s subconscious is released, so that by the time the credits roll you’ll be wondering what really happened and what didn’t.

Dark Horse is a simultaneously tender and abrasive wake up call to those who have delayed starting their adult lives for the sake of clinging to some comforting remnant of childhood security.  Solondz latest ‘sad comedy’ provides plenty of pathos and is sure to divide audiences.  It wouldn’t be Solondz if it didn’t!

A Bronx Tale (15)

Brilliant mob film from Robert De Niro, out on Blu-ray Monday 18th!

A Bronx Tale (15) (This review on FilmJuice.com)

It’s a tragic truth that Robert De Niro’s rich and enthralling directorial debut A Bronx Tale is one of the lesser seen gangster pictures.  Upon release in 1993 it sorely under-performed at the box office (having Jurassic Park to compete with), and has since fallen behind such titans as Goodfellas and The Godfather as far as must-see mafia movies go.  This month’s welcome Blu-ray re-release is a chance to right this wrong, and put this mighty work back where it belongs with the best of the best.

We meet Bronx-dwelling Italian American Calogero at the age of nine.  He’s a typical school kid, memorising baseball trivia and testing his parents’ boundaries.  He develops a curiosity for local mob boss Sonny, who hangs out on the corner of his street, and he tries to sneak peaks at him at the bar next door, which his parents have deemed strictly out of bounds.  De Niro plays Calogero’s father Lorenzo, a hardworking and honest ‘stand up guy’, to use the vernacular.  When his son’s fascination with the gangster develops into a father-son-like relationship, Lorenzo becomes all the more protective, which in turn drives Calogero further away from him.  Sonny even gives the boy a new name, ‘C’, and soon C finds himself earning more than his father by running seemingly harmless errands for his new mentor.

As a director De Niro simultaneously pays homage to Martin Scorsese, from who he clearly learnt so much, and sets himself apart as something new and different.  He takes Scorsese’s energetic and wild style but gives it a twist, removing the darkness and injecting a child-like playfulness, perfectly suited to a story told from a child’s point of view.  As well as playing Sonny, Chazz Palminteri adapted the script from his own play, which premiered in 1990 to critical acclaim.  The story offers an unusual and refreshing perspective on the often over-glamourised world of mobster life, with C struggling to figure out whether Sonny is the tough guy and his father the sucker, or vice versa.

The soundtrack gives A Bronx Tale extra heart and soul; a dizzying selection of Doo-wop and rock n’ roll making the film every bit as operatic and exhilarating as any of Scorsese’s.  The cinematography is authentic and beautiful, and with a couple of small exceptions the performances are more than worthy.  The conclusion, featuring an apt cameo played to wise-guy perfection, is just the cherry on top of a really scrumptious celluloid cake.

If you’re a gangster flicks junky, or fancy a game of ‘spot the Sopranos actor’, then you can’t miss this film.  The script is elegant in structure, sparkling in dialogue and heartfelt in message, leaving very little to criticise amongst the riches to recommend.  Now if that’s not an offer you can’t refuse I don’t know what is.

Blu-ray extras: Making of, Trailer

Brassed Off (15)

Classic British film from 1996 just re-released on Blu-ray and DVD!

Brassed Off (15) (This review on FilmJuice.com)

Brassed Off is one of the best British films of the nineties, perhaps second only to Trainspotting in terms of homespun cinematic genius.  Set in the fictional South Yorkshire village of Grimley (obviously intended as the real life Grimethorpe, where much of the film was shot, and which at the time was the poorest village in the UK) the film follows a local miners’ brass band as they face financial hardships, and struggle for motivation when it comes to work, family and even the will to live, let alone keeping up their music.

Pete Postlethwaite’s star has hardly shone brighter than it does here.  He plays bandleader Danny, whose coal-filled lungs are only one of a number of problems threatening the existence of the band, the primary one being the imminent closure of the village pit, should its workers vote for redundancy over a financial viability review.  All the musicians are agreed: should the pit close and they lose their jobs, then they will disband forever. Music is first and foremost in Danny’s heart however, and he spurs the jaded men on to compete in the National Brass Band Championships, eyeing the final at the Royal Albert Hall with anticipated pride.

Director Mark Herman (The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas) expertly guides his audience on a journey of emotional highs and lows, making it impossible not to be cheering the band on as they fight to stay together and compete in the nationals.  The political message is mostly of the non-preachy kind, making it easy to sympathise with the trials of these men who face losing their jobs in the pits, with the script being loosely based on recent historical fact.

The weakest subplot is the romance between Andy and Gloria, played by Ewan McGregor and Tara Fitzgerald.  Thankfully this thread of the story is not overplayed, and more time is given to the gut wrenchingly emotional subplot that follows Danny’s son, Phil, who is locked in a downward spiral as he loses everything near and dear to him.  Even his dignity is left in tatters, as he has to resort to performing as a clown for children’s parties to keep the wolf from the door (barely).  Stephen Tompkinson fills the role with such intensity that you can’t but watch his scenes with gritted teeth.  Seeing him fume in full costume, red nose, baggy trousers and all is a sight to behold, and almost as painfully funny as it is moving.  The script takes this character to dark places indeed, only perhaps going too far during a climactic rampage in a Church.

The drama is woven between montages scored with sublime brass music, all performed by the actual Grimethorpe Brass Band.  This lends the film a warmth and gives it great character, but the montages get a little repetitive after the fourth or fifth one.

With hearty music that gets the blood going, irresistible English humour, tiptop performances and a powerful message, Brassed Off is a magnificent film and well worth a revisit.

Blu-ray extras: Theatrical trailer, Interviews, Subplots, Biographies, Photo Library

The Living Wake (15)

Just out on DVD this week is the hilarious and thoughtful The Living Wake. FilmJuice are running a competition, so for your chance to win a copy just click here!

The Living Wake (15) (This review on FilmJuice.com)

The Living Wake is an absurdist comedy of the highest order. K. Roth Binew (Mike O’Connell) is an eccentric with an expiry date. His Doctor has diagnosed him with a mysterious disease, the only known fact of which is the precise moment at which the sufferer will die. Accompanied by his friend and devotee Mills Joquin (Jesse Eisenberg) K. Roth spends his last day making a last ditch search for the meaning of life, and ensuring that once he’s gone he will not be forgotten.

K. Roth is a character of such inventive wit and passion that it’s hard to believe he’s on the verge of death. O’Connell perfectly inhabits the character, embracing every ridiculous implication of his nature. Without such a strong turn The Living Wake would have been a lesser affair, but as it is his performance makes the film a blast. Shunned by his family and desperate for recognition, K. Roth is a character custom-made for young artists to relate to.

Director Sol Tryon clearly drew inspiration from the works of Hal Ashby and Wes Anderson, particularly Harold and Maude and The Royal Tenenbaums. The way Tryon frames a shot is unmistakably reminiscent of the quirky yet matter of fact look that has become a signature of Anderson’s work; but Tryon keeps safely on the right side of the line between style stealing and paying homage.

The story’s whacky reality takes a few minutes to warm to, but once it gets going the film is consistently entertaining. Some of the supporting parts are underdeveloped and cheesy, but this is mostly redeemed by the strength and depth of the central characters.

Jesse Eisenberg brings a quieter brand of comedy to the show, expertly complementing O’Connell’s over the top performance with a less showy but equally effective one. Though sometimes mute, the rest of the time Mills makes no less clever use of the English language than K. Roth does. The script (jointly written by O’Connell and Peter Kline) is alive with wordplay and charm, achieving an impressive balance between its dark themes and surreal jokes.

O’Connell also contributed to the music, collaborating with Carter Little to produce a delightfully peculiar soundtrack interwoven with songs, lending the production a heightened dreamlike quality.

Though undeniably off the wall the film retains a sombre edge, as if lamenting the transience of life without ceasing to beguile its audience (just like K. Roth’s living wake). Tryon has crafted a production that enthralls with gags and mayhem, whilst subtly presenting a bleak and thought provoking worldview.

Tiny Furniture (15)

Out in cinemas this week: Tiny Furniture. Hardly worth the price of admission, but very much worth reading the review to find out why!

Tiny Furniture (15) (This review on FilmJuice.com)

Lena Dunham’s second feature film as writer, director and star is a semi-autobiographical coming of age comedy. Technically it is several steps ahead of her last effort ‘Creative Nonfiction’, but covers much the same ground about the life of a young woman (Aura, played by Dunham) with a frustratingly unknowable future. In the former film she was a student, whereas here she is a graduate returning home to her family (played by Dunham’s actual family!) where she must either remember who she is, or discover who she is going to be.

Aura drifts lazily between different aspects of her new life, from finding work to relating to her family, and most of all looking for boys. Unsurprisingly the film presents a distinctly feminine point of view, with everything from dolling up to recently grown body parts getting a mention. Tiny Furniture is much more likely to appeal to female audiences.

Aura finds herself in adventures involving meeting new faces, experimenting with drugs, sex, and finding a job. She goes to parties, scolds her sister for filling the house with noisy teens, and invites a man she barely knows to live with her and share a bed. She fumbles through this early stage of her none too eventful life, getting burnt here, finding pleasure there... unsophisticatedly getting her bearings on her existence as many do. End of film; and that right there is the trouble... Tiny Furniture doesn’t have much substance. It’s like a dramatised diary entry of a woman in her mid-twenties put on screen for all to see... you don’t have to be a psychoanalyst to spot the exhibitionist in Lena Dunham.

The thing that is impressive is Dunham’s obvious growth as an artist. Where Creative Nonfiction looked frankly home made, this is shot with an elegant confidence rarely seen from young filmmakers. Though it may seem lacklustre, Tiny Furniture is a definite gauntlet for wannabe filmmakers everywhere to get off their posteriors, film the scripts saved on their coffee stained laptops and get them in front of an audience.

The curious soundtrack by newcomer Teddy Blanks is infectious and uplifting, a perfect fit for Dunham’s endearingly Woody Allen-esque mumblecore work. Edit-wise the film could have done without the final twenty minutes or so, with Dunham finally succumbing to repeating herself self-indulgently.

Although most will likely find it an overlong navel gazing fest, the cheeky laughs and likable, if not memorable, vibe make this an undiminishable achievement for Dunham.

Jack Goes Boating (15)

Fantastic film from one of the best actors in the world, Philip Seymour Hoffman. Out on DVD & Blu-ray Monday 27th Feb.

Jack Goes Boating (15) (This review on FilmJuice.com)

Philip Seymour Hoffman’s directorial debut is a blistering gem of a bittersweet romance. Adapted for the screen by Robert Glaudini from his own play of the same title, the story follows the love lives of four central characters. The titular Jack is a sensitive soul trying to make the best of his average life, and is inexperienced when it comes to relationships. One day he decides to take a chance and go on a blind date at the recommendation of close friend Clyde (John Ortiz). Connie, Jack’s date (the lovely Amy Ryan) hints that she’d love to go boating one day, and so Jack learns to swim so that he can make her wish come true.

Clyde and his wife Lucy (Daphne Rubin-Vega) are almost parent-like figures to Jack, as they advise and enable him to woo Connie, with whom he hits it off from day one. They seem a perfect match, each as timid and unpretentious as the other. At the other end of the spectrum Clyde and Lucy’s marriage is showing some serious cracks, as past indiscretions gnaw on their minds and ruin the good that they have. Jack witnesses these painful realities and has to decide whether to take the enormous risks that go with starting a relationship. As always Hoffman plays the part with incomparable intensity.

The plot unfolds with a wealth of delicious dark humour, played to perfection by the accomplished thespians. The writing is a real treat, with some of the most interesting and believable dialogue this side of (vintage) Tarantino. The characters and their relationships are revealed layer by layer with such intricacy and finesse, that reading the screenplay could be compared to dismantling and admiring a fine Swiss cuckoo clock.

Hoffman, Ortiz and Rubin-Vega also starred in the stage play, so clearly it’s a story with characters close to their hearts. The character’s frailties and strengths are painted so vividly that even the absurdity that marks some of their behaviour rings true. At times the film feels a little too much like ‘the Philip Seymour Hoffman show’, with the director letting the camera dwell for longer than perhaps is necessary on his latest powerhouse performance. But on the other hand the man is an undeniable genius in front of the camera even he if he isn’t quite one behind it (yet), and so maybe that isn’t such a bad thing.

Hoffman’s fluid direction coupled with an efficient edit make the film all the more absorbing, and the soundtrack has all the charm and beauty of the very best low budget indies (think Little Miss Sunshine but with more variety). Simply put, Jack Goes Boating is an affecting, unmissable delight.

Extras: UK theatrical trailer, Philip Seymour Hoffman UK Press Conference, Cast interviews.

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.

Incendies (15)

Today we have the excellent and hard-hitting Incendies, recently out on DVD and Blu-ray.

Incendies (15) (This review on FilmJuice.com)

Sometimes you wish the horrors in a film were just that, part of a horror film without root in reality. But here the horrors are all too real. Canadian director Denis Villeneuve’s devastating sucker punch of a film charts twins Jeanne (Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin) and Simon (Maxim Gaudette) on a journey that unravels their identities and unveils their past.

After their mother’s sudden death, the twins open her Will with her employer, a notary called Jean. In it she has asked them to travel to her home country in the Middle East, to discover the facts of their mysterious family origins.

The twin’s odyssey is interwoven with flashbacks to the past struggles of their mother Nawal (Lubna Azabal). The effect is straightforward and to the point, the intention clearly being to bring home to Westerners what life for many in the Middle East is really like. The tone is set beautifully by a recurring Radiohead song, which is strangely appropriate and avoids being jarring, with just the right contemporary blend of unsettling raw emotion.

Incendies (or ‘Scorched’ in English) is based on an award winning play by Wajdi Mouawad, which in the past has been criticised for being melodramatic, and some of that criticism could certainly be levelled at the film version. It is flawed then, but Villeneuve expertly and successfully disguises the plot’s weaknesses by pressing hard on the thriller button, and he never drops the ball in terms of suspense.

To put it simply, the ending, if you can stomach it, will leave you reeling. Undoubtedly it is one of the most gut wrenching and emotionally draining finales to a film in a recent years; the darkest secrets are truly saved for last. Therein lies another flaw however: though excellent in their respective roles, it was always a tall order for Désormeaux-Poulin and Gaudette to portray the extremes of emotional torture that their characters are put through. Thankfully such feelings are too distant for most of us to imagine, and the director partly compensates for this with great use of understated emotive imagery, symbols and sounds. Perhaps it’s best that some things remain unfilmable.

The cinematography is accomplished; nothing we haven’t seen before but still beautiful from time to time. Grégoire Hetzel’s score is haunting and very sparse; the film largely being silent aside from voices and atmospheric sounds. This creates an atmosphere of realism, thus lending the truths from the real world that the script brings to light even greater impact.

Not being a ‘date movie’ Incendies hasn’t won as many viewers as it deserves, but having been rightly nominated for Best Foreign Film at the Oscars this year, it will hopefully be more successful on DVD. If you’ve got two hours to sit back and concentrate, then Incendies will engross, enlighten, shock and move you unforgettably.

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead - 26/03/07 - *****

Review of the Film Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead (15)

Warning: this review contains some plot spoilers. The rating is out of five stars.

In a word, Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead is an intense film. I can’t remember the last time that I actually found myself struggling to watch what was happening on screen, and not because of any excessive blood, gore, or other ‘pornographic’ content. The drama, tension, and the suffering of the main characters is so great, and the heat and pressing nature of their constantly multiplying dilemmas just don’t let up, not even for a second; and when there’s the slightest whiff of a more positive ending to a particular plot thread, that plot thread is cut off and left where it is. Basically, do not watch this film if you want to relax or are feeling in any way depressed or suicidal! If you are wanting to relax, or are depressed/suicidal though, find a way to snap out of it quickly… and watch this film in the next one hundred and seventeen minutes that you have free. Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead is a thoroughly captivating film told with such classy professionalism that it’s few pitfalls can be forgiven in almost an instant, because of it’s unrelenting bounty of mesmerising intellect stimulating sequences!

From the off, we are told in no unclear terms that this isn’t going to be an easy ride. The very first scene is a rather startling and sobering sex scene, far more graphic and lengthy than your average such scene in most of today’s at least relatively mainstream films. Any feelings of being comfortable or thinking that you know what to expect are instantly shattered by this quite jarring and seemingly unnecessarily drawn out opening scene. But, it’s purpose I believe, justifying it’s graphic and ‘long’, duration-wise nature, is as I have described. To get us in the mood…

This film definitely doesn’t want to leave it’s audience feeling like it’s had a good time, it does not want to please you or entertain you in any way that your average cinema fodder might settle to do. But please, please please do not take that as a warning not to see the film… I’ve said it already but I’m going to say it again even more unambiguously! See this film, now…!

I do not want to destroy the delicate experience that the film creates for the viewer, a web of pain, a tale of how different people deal with crazily pressured situations, and so I will just give you this brief and decently plot spoiler free outline of what the film is about in basic story terms: two estranged brothers attempt to rob their parents suburban jewellery store… and things just don’t go to plan one little bit.

I am not yet very familiar with the work of this film’s famous director, Sidney Lumet. There are a few of his films that I have been wanting to see for a very long time, and now I shall be prioritising them even more. This is definitely a director who’s work it is worth looking into. Do it!

One of the main highlights of this film from a less story-based aspect, is the acting. Philip Seymour Hoffman has instantly gone from being ‘one’ of the best actors working today in my mind, to possibly the very best currently working out there anywhere in the world. He is such a recognisable actor yet he still manages to become so vividly and totally the characters who he is portraying, and in this film he plays a character who I haven’t seen him play anything very much like before I don’t think, and I really was way beyond the point of thinking to myself, “I’m watching Philip Seymour Hoffman on the big screen here, my isn’t he good…” He is his characters. …And if he ever plays another one like this he may just a have a genuine heart attack on camera and die… No, not in a bizarre display of extreme dedication to method acting, but out sheer failing to be able any longer to keep from buckling under the strain of living the woes and fears of another person not even himself, for the sake of art! When you see this man screaming and crying on screen, it chokes you up; end of story.

Of course the other actors, including Ethan Hawke, Albert Finney and Marisa Tomei must get their special mentions, but in the light of Philip Seymour Hoffman’s bright and shining star it is a little hard to concentrate on thinking of ways to describe their also excellent talents in quite the same way. Suffice to say though, they are all more than worth watching. If all of the acting quality that this film displays were divided between all of the other films released on the main circuit in an average year, then it wouldn’t be so easy to guess who’s getting what in the acting categories at Oscar time!

The performers are all helped enormously by the truly great script writing that has gone into this film, and much credit must go to Kelly Masterson, who’s debut screenplay this film was shot from.

I mentioned earlier about some pitfalls that this film understandably does have; I say understandably because this is not a film crafted by God himself, and so is therefore open to the possibility of not being entirely one hundred percent perfect. The main things I will say, if they can really be called main things on account of their being such small problems to begin with, are some pacing issues and editing quibbles mainly around the mid, leaning towards end section of Before the Devil Knows You‘re Dead. A few scenes feel just a little too long and slow for I’m sure some people’s tastes, but their quietness and stillness in the dark light of all that is going on contributes massively the films taut and demonic atmosphere. Also, the films clever way of unfolding the plot in a non-chronological bit by bit format, tying up loose ends here and there and explaining what led to what and so on, does by about three quarters of the way through the picture begin to feel maybe a little too clever for it’s own good; perhaps a few segments could have been combined into one instead of being placed at opposite end of the film’s running time; and finally, by certain points in the film the cruelty of the writer to his own characters seems to become a little like adding insult to injury… but really, these are extremely minor gripes indeed that most people would probably believe are best left ignored, as they are equivalent to particularly small black spots on the sun, and who can’t see the sun for the black spots on it…?

So, that is all; see the film, if you think that you're mind is up to it.

Rating : *****

Written by,

.Peter.D.Marsay.

Originally completed: 26/03/08.
Updated: 28/03/08.

Cloverfield - 03/02/07 - *****

Review of the Film Cloverfield (15).

Warning: this review contains some plot spoilers. The rating is out of five stars.

I have not yet seen the similarly filmed motion picture The Blair Witch Project, and how similar the two films are in style I do not know… but whatever the case, I have never seen anything like Cloverfield. I haven’t been so thoroughly ‘in to’ a film at the cinema for a long long time; much of the film caused me to make use only of the edge of the seat that I had paid for, and if you could have seen my face during most of it then I would probably have appeared to you like some kind of demented and euphoric drug addict. So intensely thrilling were many scenes that I couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear, making my cheeks begin to cramp. The handheld style of shooting makes the film so immersive that at times I could almost genuinely feel the fear that the characters were feeling, and feel as though I was an invisible companion of theirs. The tension is so nerve-racking so that watching Cloverfield must be at least as good for your heart as taking a brisk walk supposedly is. The film really flies past, not just because it runs for only eighty-five minutes, but because it is so thoroughly exciting!

The format in which the story is told is that the film that we are seeing is merely amateur video footage discovered by the military in an area of Manhattan ‘formerly known as Central Park’… Said story is about a group of young New York city-slickers having their goodbye party for one of their number, (the lead character Rob Hawkins,) rudely interrupted by some kind of Godzilla-like monster attacking the city! What a wonderful recipe for fun. The country to which Rob was planning on moving to is Japan, and I think that that is a very appropriate nod of thanks by Drew Goddard the scriptwriter to the country from which the character of Godzilla first originated. Another interesting reference (of a kind) to the original Japanese Godzilla film Gojira (1954), is that in that film Godzilla is caused to appear and attack Japan by American nuclear weapons testing, whereas in this film it is hinted (very subtly indeed…) that the monster was caused to appear by a falling Japanese satellite… see if you can spot the clue (and then look it up online) in the very last shot of the film. So originally, America caused the monster to attack Japan, but now Japan causes it to attack America. See?

The actions of the creature and the way in which the authorities attempt to handle the situation are done so convincingly that you really forget that the premise of a skyscraper sized monster rampaging through a city is really a very fantastical idea, and together with the ‘it’s all real’ approach of the handheld camera work supposedly shot by one of the main characters, creates such a convincing level of virtual reality that surely couldn’t have been any better unless the film was shot in 3D, but that wouldn’t have fitted with the film’s concept because there aren’t yet any video cameras available on the market that can shoot in 3D.

Cloverfield works almost perfectly as a horror/adventure film, and I dare you not to be thoroughly impressed by the bold ending; but it does, naturally, have it’s flaws. The main problem is the horribly stupid and annoying main characters! To put a good spin on it, perhaps the filmmakers wanted that to be so in order to make the film more believable and realistic, but at times I just wanted to shout at them to get on with it or to wake up! So, the lead characters are a bunch of dumb rich kids, but their reactions and decisions and so forth are believable enough, and the performances of the actors more than sincere enough to make this a sufficiently glazed over flaw to render it not too big a problem in the overall scheme of things. Aside from that, the only other slight weakness that I noticed are a couple of rather too obviously set-up scenarios, in the sense that they are obviously done to produce the most drawn out feelings of shock and horror in the audience as possible. But this is also forgivable, as in the end theses scenarios are executed by the director Matt Reeves, (and of course the editor Kevin Stitt,) in an extremely taut and urgent fashion meaning that you won’t have time think too much about what you know is going to happen. Another thing which makes this more forgivable is that towards the end and probably even as it progresses throughout most if not all of it’s running time, the film becomes less and less predictable, building to a quality finale that is both frantic and chaotic in all the right ways. I did think that perhaps it should have ended a few minutes earlier than it did, at what seemed to be a very appropriate point to me, but I can see that the filmmakers needed to give the main character’s stories a little more closure so as not to jar the unprepared audience too much, although perhaps this was at the expense of even greater realism and, as you will see, the overall effectiveness of the monster. The ending as it stands and the ending as it could have been both have good arguments for and against them, so this is not really a solid gripe to have with the film.

I cannot finish this review without mentioning producer J.J. Abrams, without whom this refreshing and absolutely essential film would never have come to be… and I can certainly say that I am more than looking forward to his franchise restarting film Star Trek, being released on boxing day, which he is both co-producing and directing… probably shooting even as I write! Much of the credit must go to him for giving Cloverfield such quality even on the relatively of minuscule budget of thirty million Dollars… which is for example ten times less than that of the recent film Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, which made less money on it’s opening weekend at the box office in the U.S. than this did; Cloverfield made back more than one and a half times it’s budget on it’s U.S. opening weekend alone!

There is plenty to stay for during the end credits, including the film's only musical score which is absolutely brilliant and will make you tingle. It serves as another nice and appropriate reminder of past science fiction B-pictures; not that Cloverfield is a B Picture, despite it's low budget. Beyond that though and more importantly there is something else to be heard right at the very end of the closing credits... and once you have heard it you'll need to look it up online to discover it's full meaning as I am not going to spoil it for you here! Now, a little warning if you are (as you should be...) planning on going to see this film: if you suffer from motion sickness, take something for it beforehand, and if you have epilepsy or perhaps even just a history of it, then you would probably be wise to give this film a miss… Flashing light effects and shaky, (more like wave all over the place-y…) camera work is the reason for that. It would be a shame though, because given the truly excellent nature of the film you would be really missing out on something very special.

Rating : *****

Written by,

.Peter.D.Marsay.

Originally completed: 03/02/08.

No Country for Old Men (2007) - 20/01/08 - *****

Review of the Film No Country for Old Men (2007) (15).

Advanced warning: this review contains some plot spoilers.

It is generally thought that the Coen brothers quality of work has seen a significant dip in recent years. Well, if that is true, that time is now over. No Country for Old Men, based on the book by Cormac McCarthy, is a one of a kind, truly transcendental piece of work. It is nothing like any other film that it is possible to see at the cinema nowadays, with characters, ideas and a story structure that would surely (and apparently is…) confusing the living daylights out of most average multiplex attendees. The trick is to not see this film as a straight forward thriller… that is not what this film is at all. It is about ideas, themes, and philosophical questions as timeless and grandiose as chance, change… and inevitability. Now, even after doing some significant research after watching the film I do not in any way claim to myself understand exactly what No Country for Old Men is all about… what each character means and what each twist of fate in the plot points at; but I do claim to be one of the relatively few to have seen the film and realised that part of the point and intent of it, is to leave you with shreds of ideas and meaning, to encourage you to go off afterwards, think and research what it’s all about in your own time… and even to make you need (and want) to see the film again, far from only in a money grabbing sense.

The pacing and structure of the narrative are crucial elements in the telling of this tale and the portraying of the themes and ideas that the film makers wanted to get across and cause the viewer to dwell upon. On the whole, the film is actually quite slow moving, but the tension, created by careful editing and the order in which different plot elements are introduced and/or revealed, makes it feel a lot faster, in much the same way that fear and alertness can make even long drawn out situations in real life, fly past as though they were hardly even really happening. Now there’s another key, a good deal of the events depicted and even the characters in the story, are at certain points and moments indicated through dialogue or particular choices of camera angles, that perhaps they do not really exist in the reality of the film, in the sense of being actual physical beings… maybe they are just parallels and/or representations of the mental struggles that the other ‘real’ characters might be going through; or perhaps they represent something else entirely… The whole thing really hinges on one of the least seen characters in the film, that of an aging Sheriff played by Tommy Lee Jones. To avoid giving too much away, I will just advise you to keep a careful eye on this character, and to ensure that whenever he is on screen and especially when he is speaking, that you pay particularly close attention to every scrap of information that the filmmakers are feeding you through the screen and speakers of the cinema that you are in, via this cornerstone character.

On to a less abstract analysis of the film now, the performances of all the actors involved are each floating comfortably somewhere above top notch level… The most obviously revelatory performance is given by Javier Bardem as the films most compelling character, a totally inhuman, incurably evil killer. To highlight a moment that I think is important relating to what we can learn about this character, I just want to point out his response to another character who says at one point that he can go to hell: “Okay.” The film’s advertising campaign really milks the publics lust for cold hearted brutality and murder by constantly showing Bardem’s character and his actions and not much else to sell the film by; it is probably best for this reason that if you are able to you avoid seeing and/or taking too much note of the content of the trailers and T.V. spots for the film, as they will give you the wrong impression of what the story concentrates on, and will warp your expectations for the worse. As I have said before, Tommy Lee Jones’ character is very much the key to what the film is all about, and he gives one of the best performances of his career by portraying the character with all the delicacy and thoughtfulness that was required in order for the Coen brothers to really pull off their vision for the film. Josh Brolin is also perfect in the lead role as a hunter who finds himself having bitten off more than he can chew, in a highly volatile situation… The only options that the character seems have are to either spit ‘it’ out before it’s too late, or choke on ‘it‘. …And, perhaps because of greed, apparently favourable chance and/or sudden ambition, he doesn’t want to just spit it out.

The soundtrack is a very unusual one, overall the film is coated in silence… a silence which slowly but surely oozes out of the screen and wraps itself around you, until it is broken by various bouts of the constantly threatened, impending violence… and the danger and edginess that the film has cast upon your psyche is paid off. Yes, I am talking about atmosphere, something which is disappointingly not to be found in very many films these days. By contributing to No Country for Old Men’s gripping atmosphere, the soundtrack by Carter Burwell succeeds beautifully, although very little actual ‘music’ is ever heard.

In conclusion, and to risk putting things more (or too) simply, No Country for Old Men is to me about an aging Texas Sheriff, coming to realise that one cannot always keep up with changing times, that the only thing that anybody can be sure of is their own eventual deaths… and that fear and uncertainty of what comes after death, along with the near impossible challenge of accepting that inevitable event, are seemingly universal in their pressing on human kind. But, the film is complex and about many things, and I suspect that it perhaps will not be possible to ever say what all those things are… but it does get your mind hooked on some intriguing and fundamentally important facts, thoughts… and musings. The Coens have reached back in time, past their recent dwindling efforts, past even their finest hour which is the real marvel of a film, Fargo, back to their very first film, Blood Simple. There is no other film in the Coen brother’s filmography that No Country for Old Men is more like… and so may this be a new beginning for them which will trigger another long string of terrific, quality films just like the one that followed their cinematic debut, and better even! Now that would be marvelous.

If, once you’ve seen the film, you disagree with me as to what exactly it is about… so be it. But! If you disagree with me as to the quality and essentiality of it, then may you be barred from ever entering a cinema again for committing such an indefensibly heinous intellectual crime! So, go and see the film. Then if you have seen what I have seen… go and see it again.

Rating : *****

Written by,

.Peter.D.Marsay.

Originally completed: 20/01/08.

Shaun of the Dead - 12/01/08 - *****

Review of the Film Shaun of the Dead (15).

Advanced warning: this review contains some plot spoilers.

The 2004 so called romantic comedy with zombies, Shaun of the Dead, is probably both the most critically acclaimed comedy and also British film of that year. On the surface it might seem to be just an excuse to have a few laughs with some squirm-inducing gore thrown in, but for the viewer who is willing to become more fully immersed in this work of entertainment it is so much more than that, and for none more so than those who live in the capital of the United Kingdom! Let us begin now by getting the largest part of this review out of the way… on to the good points.

Before we even get into any of the zombie/horror action in the film, we are treated to some slightly stylised portrayals of typical Londoner’s walking the streets. Funnily enough… their manner is frequently reminiscent of a classic horror film monster, the zombie. …And later on when these same characters reappear but now dead and re-animated, they really don’t seem very different from when we first saw them, apart from perhaps some blood on their faces, and also various missing chunks that have been bitten out of them.

The humour in this film is so biting (pun intended) and spot-on in it’s satire of the average middle-class South Londoner’s way of life, that writing as a South Londoner myself the odd in-joke that I can particularly identify with makes me feel as if I know the characters involved like they were my own dear mates! If this is transferable to viewers who are not South Londoners, or even not from England at all, (and judging by the positive reaction of most international critics and audiences it is,) then this is not just a film for it’s most obvious target market, having a far more widespread appeal.

Of course the issue of blood and gore is off putting to a lot of viewers, and there are indeed plenty of incidents featuring incredibly violent and shocking dismemberments as well as other grisly happenings and much blood-letting. For the most part though this is done in a way that spoofs the horror film genre, and in particular of course zombie films, as is most obviously demonstrated by the films very tongue in cheek title which references probably the most famous (or perhaps infamous…) zombie film, 1978’s Dawn of the Dead. (Shaun in this film is in fact the main character, played with wonderfully life-like normality by the marvelous Simon Pegg.) One could argue that in certain scenes the filmmakers did go too far with the blood and gore filled moments of horrific carnage, but they really are just moments on the most part and the real fun to be had here is in ‘recognising’ figures who might as well be people that you know, in the crowds of shuffling, hungry un-dead.

Shaun himself does not want to believe that they are in fact zombies… and whenever somebody says that they are he gets annoyed with them for using the ‘z’ word. His real opinion on the matter however is never revealed… but it is indicated through various hilarious news reports in the film that religious groups are hailing the phenomena as a sign of the coming apocalypse. These news broadcasts that film’s characters listen to on the radio or watch on television at certain points, also include advice to the public on how best to deal with said ravenous assailants walking the streets… such as this piece of advice given by none other than the real Sky News presenter Jeremy Thompson, and to which the main characters seem to take most heed! “…remove the head, or destroy the brain.”

The film does have it’s weaknesses, with a couple of secondary characters who are really only there to help move Shaun’s story along. The plot basically revolves around him attempting to redeem himself to his ex-girlfriend at the same time as surviving in the zombie infested streets of London. Another slight weakness is perhaps that the numerous cleverly set-up ‘jump’ moments do begin to get a tad predictable after a while, and also the film’s ultimate ending feels a little too neat and convenient to be entirely satisfying.

But fortunately, this is definitely a case of a film where the good points massively outweigh the bad, and when you are in the right mood, and particularly on repeat viewings the bad points fade into near non-existence. So I say to you, feast your eyes on Shaun of the Dead and if you can stomach it you will be far from disappointed!

Rating: *****

Written by,

.Peter.D.Marsay.

Originally completed: 12/01/08.

Little Miss Sunshine (2006) - 29/10/07 - ****

Review of the Film Little Miss Sunshine (2006) (15)

Advanced warning: this review contains some plot spoilers.

The story behind the 2006 film Little Miss Sunshine has many similarities to the plot of the film itself. Both had a bumpy ride to the finish, both had a sudden and unexpected chance of glory right before the end, and finally… both were let down an inch short of the finish line. But, importantly, those involved did not care. It did not matter. So much had been gained from so little, and completely unexpectedly, (undeservedly?) The film was independently made and struggled to find a distributor, which mirrors the film’s story of a little girl and her family putting so much effort into having her hearts desire fulfilled; competing in the Little Miss Sunshine beauty pageant, many miles away from where they live. As they reach it just in the nick of time, so also did the films producers find it a distributor just in the nick of time. The films unprecedented success and glorious spiralling of award winning mirrors the success of the family in the film in getting the girl to compete in said beauty contest. But it all falls apart at the end, those others attending the contest do not want people like them there, and kick them out. But they are not left feeling defeated and deflated, quite the opposite in fact! Having come so far and learnt so much along the way, the family is happy enough with what they have managed come away with, which was after all far more than any of them had expected in the first place. The way that this part of the film mirrors the reality of the story behind it is that after being critically acclaimed and stealing away with so many unexpected awards, the films hope for ultimate glory was lost when it missed out on the Academy Award for Best Picture at the 2007 Oscars, for which it had (very surprisingly in my opinion,) been nominated. But of course the film’s makers were far from disappointed, and were in fact simply very surprised and happy to have gotten as far as they had.

Whether the film deserved to be quite as financially and critically successful as it was is a topic that is open to debate. In the opinion of this reviewer, while the film is a decently enough made satirical comedy, it is really not that great a film by any stretch of the imagination. Starting at the beginning, with the screenplay, (which did in fact actually win the 2007 Oscar for Best Original Screenplay), I think that it is in fact a rather weak and predictable plot that the film follows, and that much of the structure of the film is far too methodical in a step by step manner to make it possible for an audience to jump into it with both feet… there is always the feeling that the reality created by the film is not quite real enough, the family just seems a little too conveniently appropriate for the film, with all of its different elements of dysfunction and quirkiness. There is the Father who is living in a dream world where any problem can be overcome by following a simple series of steps, who is present in the story for no other purpose other than to show us that positive thinking isn’t enough when it comes to crunch-time. Then there is the grumpy old Grandfather, who is there largely just for comic-relief but also to teach us a lesson or two along the way… thanks Gramps. Next is the very, very typical teenaged son, who only seems to be there in order to demonstrate to the audience that even though adolescents may look like idiots, they actually do have brains and are just going through the process of working out how to use them. Then we have the Mother, who is the backbone of the family, and a crooked one with slipping vertebras at that, as she struggles to hold everyone together and keep them friends… Penultimately is the suicidal and gay Uncle, apparently there to show us that gays are ’normal’ people too and suicide isn’t stupid, adding more lessons to the films already packed curriculum of them… as if the Grandfather’s weren’t patronising and numerous enough. Finally, of course we have 'Little Miss Sunshine' herself; well, not quite. The strenuously cute, screaming little ball of fun who is the cause of her unusual families road tripping adventures serves to teach us the biggest lessons of all: it’s the taking part that counts and nothing matters more than family! Oh, and that supermodels can eat ice-cream too. These message bearing characters really do nothing more than indicate their creator to be an unnecessarily cynical and tiresomely easygoing member of the human race.

Whilst decently well made, expertly acted (Alan Arkin in particular stands out as the Grandfather, and he won an Academy Award for the role,) as well as enthusiastically directed, the real core of a film is it’s story, and beyond that… it’s message. To me, the message of this film is painfully shallow and hopelessly useless. So long as we’re all friends and we‘ve all done our best, the outcome doesn‘t matter! Surely anyone can see the foolishness in that. To add another positive point to pad out this paragraph, and because I don’t want to come across too harshly as I did actually enjoy Little Miss Sunshine on the whole, (especially on the second viewing…) the choice of music and scoring is generally very good indeed, particularly the pieces performed by the musical ensemble DeVotchKa.

There are a few half decent moments for out-loud laughter, all though not nearly enough for a film that’s been billed as a comedy as well as a drama, and many of it’s jokes fall flat as either clichéd or simply not funny, and when a joke that is obviously meant to be a funny falls flat like that the few seconds afterwards that are there to allow the audience time to finish laughing before the story is continued, can feel very empty indeed… The film’s genuinely disturbing finale makes the most effective but least important (and perhaps most irrelevant…) point of all, as it shows how a child beauty pageant must surely be a huge magnet for paedophiles. But that point is really a bit lost among the films bigger but more poorly portrayed themes and ideas.

The fact that little Abigail Breslin was actually nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar just seems to demonstrate that the film really didn’t deserve many of it’s awards or nominations, as it just seems rather ridiculous that she was nominated because there were many more accomplished and just far better performances by actresses in supporting roles that year. For example, what about Maggie Gyllenhaal in Oliver Stone’s World Trade Center, or Hilary Swank in Brian De Palma’s The Black Dahlia…? To name only two. It just seems ridiculous.

In finishing, I would like to summarise this review just by saying that this is one of very few films that I recognise as being technically well-made on most levels, but that I do not personally actually like… and in my opinion that reflects badly on the film as a whole; a little like an empty swimming pool… it is a swimming pool, but you can’t swim in it. The films ideas hold no water!

Rating : ****

Written by,

.Peter.D.Marsay.

Originally completed: 29/10/07.