April 2011
Triangle
Cool, mind-bending 'time-travel' flick sees Melissa George play a struggling waitress with an autistic son. When a friend invites her onboard his sailboat for a weekend cruise with friends she jumps at the chance to get away from her day to day life. Things soon go awry, though, when a freak storm capsizes the yacht leaving them clinging to the upturned hull... but they soon manage to find refuge on a passing liner. However, the liner seems mysteriously deserted & George's character starts to feel a strange sense of déjù vu... To say any more would give away the clever twists that begin to unfold in this genuinely creepy movie. It loses some originality points as it borrows the basic plot & structure of the even more mental Spanish movie 'Timecrimes', but once things start to happen the pace never lets up and grips right to the clever end. Marketed, probably incorrectly, as a 'horror' flick it's more along the lines of 'alternative' type thrillers like 'Mulholland Drive', 'Donnie Darko', 'Memento'. Recommended if you like something a bit different. (Mark)
Wim Wenders' road movies
Around 1980 in Osaka, there was a low-key film festival at the new German cinema and I saw 'Alice in the Cities'. It was the time when the name Wim Wenders was imprinted on my brain. Influenced by French Nouvelle Vague, American cultures and Yasujiro Ozu, Wenders, together with the marvellous cinematographer Robby Muller, established a unique style of depicting wandering souls. This road movie trilogy captures his early days and consists of 'Alice in the Cities' (1974) - 30 something writer and 9 years old girl journey together after an unexpected turn of events -, 'Wrong Move' (1975) - based on Goethe's book, ideological, may be pretentious, but remembered as Nasstassja Kinski's debut film - and 'Kings of the Road' (1976) - a beautiful and frail movie about two rootless wanderer travelling along. They are not as polished as the ones he made later in his career but show the root of this one of the most distinguished directors of our time. (Shinji)
Harry Brown.
Michael Caine is commanding as the titular character, a pensioner & retired marine, living a quiet & lonely life in his autumn years. With his wife in a coma, Harry spends his time playing chess with his one friend, but when that friend crosses the local gang he ends up beaten to death. With the police ineffectual Harry, finds himself pushed into taking matters into his own hands...Difficult to pigeon hole, 'Harry Brown' appears at face value to be a kind of UK 'Death Wish' but there's more going on than just a plain 'revenge' flick. Downbeat & subdued, the film makes no attempts to study the social & economic causes that created such an environment, instead chooses to paint a portrait of the desperation of people trapped in 'sink estates' with ineffectual policing, and how acts of alarming violence can break even the most rational person. (Mark).
Chocolat.
A whimsical story of love, hope and atonement. Vianne comes to Lansquent during lent to open a chocolaterie which is frowned upon by some. Despite this her shop becomes a place for miracles, some small and some life-changing. The film has a gentle pace and the characters are believable. Of course Johnny Depp adds the icing to the chocolate! (Liz).
Party down. Season one.
From the creators of 'Veronica Mars', 'Party Down' sees Adam Scott playing the leading character Henry, a washed up actor (who had 1 big line in a beer commercial), who has quit acting & gone to work for his old buddy Ken Marino (Vinnie Van Low on 'Veronica Mars') - the likeable but ineffectual boss of 'Party Down Catering'. His colleagues, of course, are all desperate wannabe actors/actresses, failed stand-up comics and general wash-outs - & the great supporting cast includes, among others, Jane Lynch from 'Glee' as a washed up B-actress, & Ryan Hansen (Dick Casablancas on VM) as a pretty boy actor. Each episode takes place at a particular catering gig, from a Porn Awards after-party, to a 'Young Republicans' meeting, to the 'acquittal' party of a Russian mobster, with much ensuing hilarity. Plenty of cameos from other Veronica Mars alumnus occur, including a nice turn by Kristin Bell playing an uptight rival caterer in the last episode. Great raunchy fun. (Mark)
Predators.
As an attempt to wring more out of the extra-terrestrial franchise, 'Predators' succeeds fairly well, but owes a debt to the Alien franchise which is not limited to the pluralised title. Unlike the previous predator films, "Aliens vs. Predator", and "Aliens vs. Predator: Reqium" [792182] there is no direct reference to the H.R. Giger's mucus-exuding horrors. This is probably for the best since the 'alien' often upstages the predator on creepiness alone and leaves it's dreadlocked adversary looking relatively... well... human. So freed from its face-hugging rival, the predator in this film is left with only humanity to deal with. The problem, however is that even Adrien Brody - who adopts a throat infection in order to seem like a dangerous mercenary - easily out-performs the predators in terms of personality, and the rest of the cast often acts better than he does. Even the military tactics used by the predators may seem pedestrian to anyone who has watched few war films. The best part of 'Predators' therefore lies with its humans. Despite being weighed down with expositional baggage and over-explanation, the human characters are interesting, even if depth is sacrificed for variety. 'Predators' here borrows tactic from the Alien handbook by using the life-or-death situation to hold up a mirror to humanity over the course of the film. This is done fairly effectively, and can even leave the viewer with something to chew over, which is a rarity in the action genre. But don't worry, there is plenty of mindless violence, gratuitous posturing, and there are of course lots of guns. (Rowan).
Farewell.
Slow moving spy drama, based on real events from the 80's 'cold-war'. Colonel Sergei Gregoriev (Emir Kursturica), code named 'Farewell', uses a French electronics engineer Pierre Froment (Guillaume Canet), a civilian resident in Moscow, to pass secrets to the French domestic intelligence agency, the DST, and on to the CIA. The material he supplies is so explosive it goes straight to US President Regan himself (played by Fred Ward) and changes the face of the cold war forever - meanwhile the emotional toll on Sergei, Pierre & their respective families begins to mount. The cold-war atmosphere is faithfully recreated & the two leads are excellent, but the story itself, while intriguing, doesn't generate as much tension as one would expect. Still, well crafted & enjoyable. (Mark).
Mother and child.
This film is definitely a tug at the heart strings. The extremely delicate subject of adoption and the effects on the lives of the people involved. Three women, whose paths will cross and change them forever. Karen (Annette Bening) 37 years after she was forced to give up her daughter, has lived with the guilt and the constant wondering and what ifs, of the daughter she has never known. Elizabeth (Naomi Watts) a strong willed successful lawyer who has guarded herself from the disillusionment of her birth, as a result avoiding commitment at all costs. And Lucy (Kerry Washington), a young woman desperate for a child of her own, turning to adoption to fulfil that desire. The lead characters tenderly supported by Samuel L. Jackson and Jimmy Smits. Deeply intense and moving, this film takes us into the lives of these three women and life's challenges. It's about regret, forgiveness and chances missed. It's about the powerful bond between a mother and child. (Ethel).
The town.
After directing & co-writing the successful 'Gone baby gone' in 2009, Ben Affleck does the same for 'The Town', in which he also stars. Based on the novel 'Prince of Thieves' by Chuck Hogan, Affleck plays Doug MacRay the head of a bank robbery crew in Boston. After a robbery in which Affleck's crew take the Bank manager (Rebecca Hall) hostage, they discover she lives only blocks away from them. Affleck's childhood friend, hothead Jem (The Hurt Locker's Jeremy Renner) thinks she may be able to recognise them, so Affleck details himself the job of keeping an eye on her. Unknown to his fellow crew members he arranges an accidental meeting between them, and beings to romance her, to the point where he begins to think that he wants out of the robbery game ...for good. Everything about 'The Town' is solid from the tight direction & acting, to the well paced action scenes & local colour, but there's a kind of predictability about it at the same time. From the characters themselves, to the way they interact with each other, to the way the plot unfolds - everything happens exactly as you think it will happen, leaving you with the feeling that you've seen a better version of the movie before, the most obvious reference point being Michael Mann's epic 'Heat'. Still that's not to say 'The Town' is bad by any means, as it's entertaining enough, just perhaps not quite as good as it could have been. (Mark).
Sex and the city. 2.
Contrary to all the big wig negative or 'so so' reviews, I thought this movie was good, ok it wasn't as good as the first, but I am yet to see a "sequel" that is as good as the first, but I wouldn't write this one off as bad! Where else would we get to see a black tie gay wedding extravaganza? With swans! And Liza Minnelli with her bad hip (!) dance 'all' the dance moves to 'Single ladies'? With ease! ...And what about trivialising the Global Financial crisis? If anything, they 'put a ring on it!' brought it to sparkle with a 'go with it mentality', rather than a 'bring me down with it splash!' I think they made the right choice. Sadly we may have seen the last of Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte, the fun, the fashion and the friendship, and in particular Samantha's 'if you've got it flaunt it attitude', but I don't think we've seen the last of frolic and friendship...News flash' I hear they're bringing out "Friends" the movie! Let's see what hit or miss they make of 'Ross & Rachel...and co...?? (Ethel).
Buried.
Grim, claustrophobic thriller sees Ryan Reynolds as a civilian truck driver in Iraq, who awakes to find himself imprisoned inside a coffin underground, kidnapped by insurgents for ransom. All Reynolds has is a cell phone & a lighter & Spanish director Rodrigo Cortés spends the next 90 minutes attempting to milk as much tension as possible out of the limited space of this Hitchcock-ian premise. And it turns out that he can milk quiet a lot. Never leaving the coffin, Cortes shoots & lights Reynolds from every angle as he struggles through every emotion the situation generates: panic, anger, despair, & hope, while the clock ticks down on the air left in the coffin, & he scrambles to use the cell phone to extricate himself from his underground prison. Reynolds is excellent, but an enjoyment of 'Buried' probably boils down to whether you find the films central premise gripping or gimmicky & boring. Reviews were divided, so it's probably one of those movies you have to take a chance on & see what side you come out on. (Mark).
The sacred triangle: Bowie, Iggy & Lou, 1971-1973.
The coming together of three seemingly washed-up musical mavericks from vastly different backgrounds - the London ex-Mod, ex-hippy one-hit wonder, the proto-punk Midwestern train crash, and the New York ex-Velvet lurching towards oblivion - produced a chemistry that profoundly influenced the rest of the 1970s. This is the story of how three huge egos collided and shook up rock and roll forever. (Neil)
Luther.
The Wire's Idris Elba (Stringer Bell) gets his own show (in his original accent) with 'Luther' a gritty UK Police Procedural, with Elba as the titular character, DCI John Luther. The template for his character - brilliant detective, life collapsing around him, on the outs with his colleagues etc etc - is familiar to anyone whose seen an episodes of 'Cracker' or 'Prime Suspect', but Elba is such a good actor that he breathes life into what could have been a fairly clichéd role. It also benefits from an excellent supporting cast with Indira Varma, as Luther's estranged wife Zoe, & Ruth Wilson as his nemesis, the icy murderess Alice. Good writing, production values & some genuinely creepy killers make this one a recommended watch. (Mark).
Sharkwater.
Grim and beautiful by turn, a wonderful investigation into the realms of sharks and a sad indictment of our callous regarded for these majestic creatures. (Craig)
The social network.
Directed by David Fincher with a screenplay by Aaron Sorkin ('The West Wing') (based on the book 'The accidental billionaires' whose main source was Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin) 'The Social Network' tells the story of the creation of the 'Facebook' site by Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg. Structuring the narrative around 2 lawsuits (the first by 3 Ivy League classmate's who claim he stole the idea of 'Facebook' from them, the second by his disgruntled ex-business partner & friend Saverin) a series of flashbacks detail the creation & rise of the social network phenomenon. Jesse Eisenberg is great as the brilliant but abrasive Zuckerberg, as are the 'two' Harvard Winklevoss twins (both played by Armie Hammer), and the screenplay is hugely entertaining (with the legal scenes particularly full of great verbal jabs) even if you have no interest or knowledge regarding 'Facebook' itself. Arguments abound as to the degree of factual/creative liberties that have been taken in telling the 'story' behind Facebook, so perhaps it's best to view the story as a framework for a deeper commentary on the many themes that underlie the screen story. (Mark).
