Very quiet this week, after five weeks of double figure releases we're down to just seven picks hitting the multiplexes (although if I'm perfectly honest only 3 of them are actually coming on strong with the other four all limited release foreign language choices). We're deep within the blockbuster season now, with all the necessary large scale counterprogramming that is such a part of the season. Mind you choosing the top film this week is hardly a stretch. There aren't many US auteurs as recognisable as Wes Anderson, every frame, every shot can instantly be categorised as part of his canon, and it's fair to say the style has it's fans and acolytes - note how last years Submarine was instantly compared to Anderson's work. Unsurprisingly then the runs like a gay film of the week is Moonrise Kingdom.
Last week The Dictator did indeed climb it's way to the top of the box office charts, taking nearly double Avenger Assemble in it's fourth weekend. Although both of these will drift downwards now, especially Sacha Baron Cohen's showcase which will, I expect, slip significantly leaving an easy win for Will Smith's return to the big screen with Men in Black 3.
Moonrise Kingdom
Anderson is an acquired taste, a director who splits audiences between those who can stomach his artificial and ordered universe and those who cannot. Personally I tend to err of the anti-side but I cannot deny the superb reviews and craftmanship involved so it's an easy pick for the top film. As ever the cast for this teenage love story is amazing with Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton and a cameoing Harvey Keitel among the stars on board.
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Read on for a unique take on fairy tales, time travelling aliens and the ultimate in self help book adaptations.
There's an element of enforced quirk to the proceedings, but couldn't you just take any frame from this trailer and put it on your wall?
Tales of the Night
This French animation is both exceptionally simply and deliciously complex in it's central conceit of using traditional silhouette puppetry styles to illustrate original fairy stories. If I had kids this would what I would take to the cinema to see.
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Hommes Libres
The classic French resistance sub-genre gets a welcome twist highlighting Algerian immigrants in their fight to help defeat the Nazi's from within. Cultural and religiously clashes abound in the thriller trailer and any film that includes the combined talents of Tahar Rahim and Michael Lonsdale must be worth taking a punt on.
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Men in Black 3
Coming 10 years after a disappointing sequel amid horrendous production difficulties it comes as no surprise that early reviews of the third entry in the popular comedic alien franchise have been scathing. Based on Will Smith's very own time travel idea it's a chance to see whether his charisma and box office pulling power has been retained after nearly four years off. I certainly won't be heading out to see the finished product no matter how well it performs with the masses or how good Josh Brolin's impersonation of Tommy Lee Jones. Emma Thompson also stars.
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Gabbar Singh
Appearing on just two screens is this Teluga movie from India boasting a simple plot revolving around a cop, and thug with political ambitions and a pretty girl. Expect lots of action, the odd song and a predictable ending.
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What to Expect when You're Expecting
Hollywood has officially run out of ideas as evidenced by the bizarre choice to turn a how to guide about pregnancy into a hyperlink comedy (I expect all the stories end happily). The all-star cast is led by Cameron Diaz, Elizabeth Banks, Jennifer Lopez and Anna Kendrick, each of whom will take the money and run whilst the film flops at the box office.
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Rahe Chardi Kala Punjab Di
Punjabi melodrama about an adopted Muslim girl trying to reunite with her Sikh birth parents and all the emotional and religious baggage you'd expect from such a tumultuous set-up.
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Saturday, 26 May 2012
Following your own formula (Out this week - 25/05/12)
Wednesday, 23 March 2011
You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger
2010. Dir: Woody Allen. Starring: Gemma Jones, Anthony Hopkins, Naomi Watts, Josh Brolin and Antonio Banderas. ●●○○○
There's a sense of trepidation that sinks in whenever Woody Allen releases another picture. Where will it fit in the canon? How many times will I laugh? Will I regret the ticket price? Will it be better or worse than his last picture (like a neverending higher or lower card game)? Well the answers for You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger are as follows: Pretty low. Very few. Yes. And this is both better and worse than Whatever Works - better because the characters and morality is nowhere near as repugnant and worse because there isn't the experimentation and concepts that drove his previous film.
The overstuffed plot follows couples Gemma Jones and Anthony Hopkins and their daughter Naomi Watts with Josh Brolin as their relationships breakdown and they find themselves back on the dating game with (respectively) Roger Ashton-Griffiths, Lucy Punch, Antonio Banderas and Freida Pinto. Each of these relationships seems to be doomed to failure for the exact reasons that they are brought together - a mix of ennui and foreshadowing covers the players clearly indicating their individual fates.
The performances range from the reasonably entertaining - Antonio Banderas gets away with a hesitant charm and a tendancy to prevaricate - to the downright offensive; Lucy Punch doing to English high-class hookers what Mira Sorvino did for her American contemporaries only making it sound like a Catherine Tate impersonator. With some of the others barely registering. Anthony Hopkins in particular needs to get a new phone to deliver his performances through.
Of course this smorgasboard of talent would be forgiven if the writing was clever or witty. Unfortunately there's little realism in the script - nearly everytime Naomi Watts as the patient Sally, trying to remain sane as everyone else falls apart, speaks I found myself screaming inside "But no-one talks like that". Recrimination led arguments come and go with no sense of tension around them, mildly offensive chat-up lines seem to have the female cast gazing tenderly into their male counterparts eyes.
The are whole sub-plots that appear and drift away with no real meaning or connection to the whole including Brolin's writing career, Pinto's engagement and the dead son of Hopkins and Jones which seems to exist only to make a cheap psychological connection to forward momentum of Hopkins. All this would be forgiveable if the central fortune telling storyline (featuring the delicious Pauline Collins hammily doling out phoney advice to the neurotic Gemma Jones) was given the necessary room to breathe and develop.
The design is fine, location shooting fine and the jazzy score fine - but nothing we haven't seen before from Allen and it's not a London that I recognise that's for sure.
I wouldn't bother with this one, if I were you, just cross your fingers that Woody will find form again with his next picture so I can ask those leading questions again.
Wednesday, 16 February 2011
True Grit
2010. Dir: Joel and Ethan Coen. Starring: Jeff Bridges, Hailee Steinfeld, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin and Barry Pepper. ●●●●○
The Coen Brothers have done it again, they have taken their brand of subversive reverance and paid homage to a new genre. Tackling for the first time, in a direct way, the great American artform: the Western. All at once True Grit is a reminder/throw back to the classics of the genre that once ruled the commercial cinema scene, and yet at the same time there are distinct touches of Coen humour that fit the movie to their style perfectly.
We begin with a voiceover describing how Mattie Ross's (the younger version of whom will be played by Hailee Steinfeld) father has been brutally murdered at the hands of outlaw Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin in a virtual blink and you'll miss him role) and how she will set out to avenge his death, in a strike for feminism unlikely to be seen or believed in the Arkansas plains in which it's set. On the way she picks up two radically different compatriots in her quest (Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon).
It's impossible to review the Coen film without comparing it to the 1969 Henry Hathaway version which won John Wayne his only Oscar (and it's far from Wayne's best performance see The Searchers or The Quiet Man for that), so I will pepper the review with direct references to both version and I hope you don't mind that. The Coen's obviously might, they've claimed repeatedly that this adaptation is taken directly from Charles Portis's novel but there remain some obvious shots (hello final shootout) and iconic images (Cogburn has no eyepatch in the Novel) that must have arrived, conciously or subconciously, from the older version.
The screenplay has been tightened in the last 40 years, with some fluff removed quickening the pace of the movie and substantially improving the flow of the non-action scenes, although disappointingly the scenes between Steinfeld and the inept horse trader trying not to pay out for her loss have been cut down which takes away from the precosious intelligence of the character. Not that Steinfeld really needs it, she totally inhabits the role and convinces both as a teenage girl struggling to find a way in a man's world and as a hardened frontierswoman, coming to terms with the harsh realties of necessary violence.
Jeff Bridges, as the Marshall with True Grit she signs up to the cause, takes a deliberatly low-key approach to the role (in direct contrast to the bombastic Wayne), mumbling into his beard, breathing the drawn out intentions like every line is quoted from the Old Testament. It's the sort of performance that only Bridges can do, laidback but intense able to hold the audience in the palm of his hand.
Matt Damon is "a Texas Ranger" already under contract to capture Chaney. He's a comic delight, drawling his lines with a mix of pomposity and underscored menace. It's a shame his work hasn't seen more recognition from awards bodies. The character is missing for much of the screenplay - the arguments between him and Cogburn seem more realistic and thorough than the previous version with the team splitting up to allow the dust to settle on two occasions.
The Coen's, working within the post-revisionary Western Arena, have constructed a world far muckier and infused with corruption than Hathaway could allow. When Cogburn breaks his promise to bury a dying man there is no conscience baiting argument from Maddie. The ending is also changed significantly, and whilst surprising in it's anti-climatic brevity it does reflect the ambiguity of most of their work.
The look of the film is perfect, New Mexico has never been shot to make the vistas so elegant, and it's good to know the inevitable overdue Oscar for Deakins will be for a piece of work that thoroughly deserves it.
I would have to highly recommend this movie, it's very limited drawbacks would only be the lack of ambition with regards to subtext and an over-enforced brevity which doesn't givve the actors the freedom to explore they probably deserve.
Saturday, 12 February 2011
Josh Brolin
Happy Birthday to
Josh Brolin
43 today
Brolin may not be getting much of the heat from True Grit (which opened yesterday) but I expect his scarred Tom Chaney is coming across as suitable repellent. Add that to his forthcoming performance in Woody Allen's You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger and it's quite a year for the Californian native.
Wednesday, 13 October 2010
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps
2010. Dir: Oliver Stone. Starring: Michael Douglas, Shia LaBeouf, Josh Brolin, Carey Mulligan and Eli Wallach. ●●○○○
When the producers first considering a belated sequel to 1987's Wall Street the probably envisioned a searing look at both the insatiable greed and the obscene politics that created the financial meltdown of 2008. By resurrecting the anti-hero of the previous film - yuppie iconoclast Gordon Gekko as performed to oscar winning effect by Michael Douglas - they had a ready made sneering villain all they needed was Oliver Stone to bring back his righteous anger. Unfortunately Allan Loeb and Stephen Schiff's screenplay humanises Gekko and muzzles Stone leaving Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps a pale (even dull) imitation of it's predecessor.
As in 1987 the plot follows a young man torn between father figures. In 1987 it was Charlie Sheen (who has a fun cameo with a bitter aftertaste) who couldn't decide between following his father's (literally it's Martin) airline mechanic or Gekko's example of insider trading. Here it's Shia LaBeouf tossing his loyalties between old school trader Frank Langella, corporate shark Josh Brolin, fusion physicist Austin Pendleton and Douglas. However where Sheen could show the struggle and the script clearly delineated the two opposing forces here all of the potential father figures come with the same set of pros and cons and LaBeouf is unable to present the emotional burden placed upon him.
Shia's failure to convince with each of these relationships, as well as the ones with his mother (Susan Sarandon) or leftwing blogger girlfriend (Carey Mulligan) is a major issue with the movie. I honestly don't know why LaBeouf keeps getting high profile roles with quality directors; when did he put in a good performance? Personally I'd say he was quite good in 2003's Holes but it's been decidedly downhill since then.
This isn't the only problem. One of the main reasons that Gekko worked so well in the original was because whilst he was a gloriously quotable bastard there was a clear legal line he stepped over when insider trading. The most recent crash was perfectly legal if morally dubious so the badguys, mainly the superbly oily Josh Brolin but also his mentor Eli Wallach grunting and whistling through his lines with aplomb, are repugnant but have to resort to same crimes as Gekko in order to be punished.
The script even sits back from fully condemning Wall Street, clearing pointing out it doesn't fully understand all the concepts involved with these high end debt products but regularly reminding them of the values involved.
Most distressingly Gekko is given a heart. The plot contrives to make Carey Mulligan Gekko's estranged daughter (there's also a son who committed suicide!) so there's plenty of making up for Gordon to do, whilst he's still double dealing on all of the other characters. The final scene in particular (there are others but thy aren't always what they seem) involves Douglas making a number concessions to the character, and there are many occasions when Gekko insists he's human.
The film isn't all bad - Douglas does remind us how good his performance was in the original and the costumes are gorgeous and obscene. Director Oliver Stone does his best with the flat script using splitscreen and CGI to jazz up the trading a the use of Goya's Saturn devouring his Son is exemplary but the blunt visual motifs usually fail bubbles and dominoes among them.
Overall I would say this is a film worth missing. Just rent out the original for a far more invigorating look at the wolves in our financial services industry.
Saturday, 4 September 2010
Just going with it (Out this week - 03/09/10)
I would love to say that we're spoiled for choice this week, that there are 14 films of excellent quality and a wide range of styles and genres. Unfortunately most of them at first glance appear to be absolutely dreadful... I expect Dinner for Schmucks will just about win at the box office, but for film of the week I'm going for Abbas Kiarostami's Certified Copy 
Bonded by Blood
British Gangster movie based on a real life quartet of drug dealers who were brutally murdered in Kent in 1995. Very sweary.
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Certified Copy
The run-in between French acting giants Gerard Depardieu and Juliette Binoche may have soured reception for her latest showcase but Kiarostami's first non-Iranian movie, about a gallery owner and a novelist slowly falling in love should stir all the right emotions.
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Cherry Tree Lane
I don't know if September sees the official start of the horror season but there's quite a few out the week, one of the most interesting is this Brit effort which sees a suburban couple hijacked by a group of hoodies intent of wrecking revenge for being shopped in for a previous crime.
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Chhevan Dariya
Punjabi musical celebration of marriage, oddly enough part US funded. Still not interesting enough though.
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Dinner for Schmucks
The original concept (from the French film this is ripped off from) is a competition to find the most annoying dinner guest and during the meal one of guests manages to ruin his hosts life. This American remake decides that having Steve Carell mug through supper is clearly not enough so opens the film up. Please avoid.
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Jonah Hex
Part Western, part gothic horror, part comic book adaptation of a lesser known property. Watch it for Megan Fox oddly soft focused throughout the movie, or because it flopped so badly in the states. Actually with a cast including Josh Brolin, John Malkovich and Michael Shannon I'm not completely turned off by it.
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The Last Exorcism
Horror movie two takes the traditional exorcism route, only adds a modern twist in the form of a fly on the wall documentary crew filming a con artist exorcist who on his last job actually comes across a real demon. It's had some good notices.
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Nandalala
For the fourth time I am mentioning this slightly offensive looking Bollywood road trip following a child and a man with learning difficulties try to find their lost parents. It's unlikely to be actually out this week either...
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Soul Boy
As in Northern Soul, the British derivative of the Soul music scene that flowered in the 1970's and forms the backdrop of this Stoke set coming of age drama.
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Splintered
This is the nasty horror movie, also from the UK - making it a bumper week for homegrown releases, that you probably won't be wanting to see at the muliplex. Unless you like sweaty chesty girls screaming for mercy.
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The Switch
Artificial Insemination has become the rather unlikely film trend for 2010 with Jennifer Aniston now following J-Lo in using the turkey baster for a different purpose. Jason Bateman reportedly steals the show as the neurotic best friend and Juliette Lewis also shows up.
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22 Bullets
Jean Reno has decided to go straight after a long career in the Marseilles Mafia, naturally they drag him back in by attempting to assassinate him. Then it turns into a revenge fantasy - I don't know if the 22 bullets refer to the times he's shot or the number of people he must kill for revenge.
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We are Family
Bollywood film, partly set in Australia (interesting trend there too), where a devoted mother and divorcee meets her ex husband new girlfriend and starts to take on her career orientated outlook - to hilarious results no doubt.
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Why did I get Married Too
Following the moderate success of Tyler Perry produced Precious back in January the writer/director and star of the Madea franchise has decided to release his first personal project here in the secular UK. Given it's a direct sequel and the Christian ethos isn't subtle I can't see it being a massive hit here. Cicely Tyson and Louis Gossett Jr. are among the supporting cast.
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Sunday, 17 January 2010
20 for 2010 - Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps
Putting a sequel in the second place in my countdown is not just about having a 2 at 2 but it's certainly an interesting coincidence as we move to Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps.
Actually the timing for this is pretty good because Stone's been in the news this week preparing people for his upcoming true history of America. Without risking turning this post into a political tirade I welcome that a Network is prepared to make a documentary series about how the history of the 20th century has been shaped by a large number of factors and that very result has a build up, but I'm not sure that Stone is the man to do it. Purely because he's already despised by the right. It needs a level headed academic historian to front a series like that, one that the lunatic fringe will not be able to throw historical accusations at.
Some of these accusations will be down to the back catalogue of Stone's feature films. From his (anti) Vietnam trilogy to the portraits of 2 former Republican Presidents, his left wing credentials are worn proundly on his sleeve. In Wall Street Stone dared to hold up a mirror to the corruption of big business. His timely return to America financial capital will hopefully once again remind people of the mandacity of the traders and hedge fund managers that have slipped most of the world into recession.
The story will pick up 20 years after the riginal film with Michael Douglas as the infamous Gordon Gekko just getting out of the chokey for insider trading. His daughter (Carey Mulligan) is dating Shia LaBeouf, so naturally when laBeouf discovers some dodgy goings on at the firm, with villain Josh Brolin behind them, he turns to the penitent Gekko to help him investigate. Original cast members Charlie Sheen and Sylvia Miles also return for cameos.
If the plot sounds like a bit tired try to remember the first film was essentially a cliched thriller, too. The devil will be in the detail and how the mirror holds up to the reality of life in Wall Street today. Let's hope Stone has lost none of his conviction in the last couple of decades.
Thursday, 7 January 2010
20 for 2010 - You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger
Next on the countdown, and just missing the top ten at 11, is Woody Allen's You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger.
At 74 Woody Allen is showing no signs of letting his work rate slip - he has made at least one film per year since 1982 and there were a further 10 in the 15 years previous, and it's fair to say that within that time he's made more than his fair share of masterpieces. But will this be one of them?
I have been a loyal fan for most of those years, I evenly enjoyed Anything Goes, and the mere mention of Allen will usually get me into a theatre so there's no surprise in seeing this on my list. Saying that there is no denying the general direction the quality of the films is going. Even Vicky Cristina Barcelona, which had some of the best reviews Woody's seen in years, was markedly below his best output. In fact last years Whatever Works still doesn't have a UK release date, some 7 months after it was seen in America.
His latest London-set project - which should make it more likely to score over here - has a truly international flavour with a cast that includes Antonio Banderas, Frieda Pinto, Anthony Hopkins, Naomi Watts, Josh Brolin and Carla Bruni(!).
That sort of cast alone is enough to get me tingling. But I'm reserving judgement on the film itself until I see it.
Thursday, 12 February 2009
Josh Brolin
Happy Birthday to
Josh Brolin
41 today
Coming of a couple of fantastic years the great hunk of manliness, Josh, is celebrating his 41st. Well done him, especially with the news released yesterday that he's been cast in Woody Allen's next London pic alongside Anthony Hopkins. (It's not actually his first filme with Woody, see Melinda and Melinda, but it's still good news for Josh)
