2011. Dir: Ron Howard. Starring: Vince Vaughn, Kevin James, Winona Ryder, Jennifer Connolly and Queen Latifah. ●●○○○
How do they say it? Dying is easy, comedy is hard. And judging by Ron Howard's latest effort, The Dilemma, comedy is very very hard. Actually I very nearly didn't judge this film in terms of it's comedy as there's only a couple of laughs to be had, then it occurred to me that would be awfully generous, not matter that it would work better as a drama the movie spends most of the time desperately trying to raise a chuckle and consistently fails so that's how it should be measured.
Vince Vaughn plays a salesman who's scored well above his league with top chef Jennifer Connelly. Vaughn's best friend and business partner Kevin James is even more inexplicably married to Winona Ryder, and has been since they were at college. It's no surprise that Ryder's playing it away with heavily tattooed Channing Tatum. Vaughn stumbles upon the two making out at the local tropical garden and then faces the decision of whether to pass this information on.
This has all the makings of a fine farce, with slapstick humour and uncomfortable conversations, and when the film succeeds it's aiming for those ideas. The fight between Vaughn and Tatum has a nice energy and Vaughn's monologue at a wedding anniversary raised a little titter, but most of the jokes fall utterly flat. Signposted and overwrought the one-liners limp into the characters mouths with no perceptible timing or any thought of consistency. Minor characters are introduced in order to create a "funny" situation or make an amusing statement. Queen Latifah in particular seems to have walked out of a completely different movie. In fact the whole section she represents, where the central duo are selling electric engines that vibrate, could have been completely exorcised from the movie without anyone caring.
The bigger issue is the moral quagmire the film seems to lower itself into. All of the central characters are deeply flawed human beings (Vaughn's a recovering gambling addict, James visits prostitutes, Connelly's secretive and patronising) to such an extent tht you don't care who is, or has been, sleeping with whom. It's almost justifible on many counts.
In terms of the performances only Ryder, all spiky and manipulative, and Tatum showing surprising talent for physical comedy come out with any credit. Below the line talent seems perfunctory and Howard does nothing to persuade his critics there's anything close to a competent director here.
Needless to say I regret putting this in my countdown for 2011. Avoid at all costs.
Thursday, 3 February 2011
The Dilemma
Sunday, 9 January 2011
20 for 2011: 20 - The Dilemma
The first film (and effectively the lowest ranking) on the 20 most anticipated films for 2011 is The Dilemma. It's also going to be upon us soon, with a UK release date of 21 January 2011.
There are always a few films in my most anticipated list that require some explanation. It's not just a question of why I rank them in a particular order but why I would even include them at all. What could I say right now about the unholy alliance between Ron Howard and Vince Vaughn that could persuade you this film might be worth seeing?
I don't believe it can be done. Even my own confidence in the project has been under pressure from my subconscious. At first I thought it was a great concept - do you tell your best friend if you find their wife is having an affair? It's a situation we must all have faced at some point. Then the cast and director were announced: Ron Howard's OK, and family comedies are what he used to do best (remember Parenthood?) but he's never an exciting director and the combo of Vince Vaughn and Kevin James is quite horrid (although Winona Ryder and Jennifer Connelly are good value in the female cast).
Finally the first trailer arrived with it's "Gay" joke. I confess I now want to see this movie out of morbid curiosity rather than genuine enthusiasm. Will this be the first stinker of 2011?
Saturday, 9 January 2010
Film News (09/01/2010)
It's been an incredibly busy week, with rumour and counter-rumour flowing about many of the studio tent-poles of this year and next, as well as some delicious indie features. I won't bore you with US release date changes - but May 2011 was all a flurry on Wednesday - but we've still got loads to get through.
Bond 23
At the beginning of the week the news was not good - the sale of MGM meant that some high profile projects, such as the Bond franchise, were on hold until completion. Of course MGM denied it and surprisingly a day later the story leaked that Sam Mendes (Away we Go, Road to Perdition) was in negotiations to direct the next episode.
There's been no official confirmation yet, but equally none of the major players have denied it. It's an odd choice for both parties, especially coming after the last off-the-wall director choice (Marc Forster) made the underwhelming Quantom of Solace. Saying that we know that Mendes can build tension in a scene, and he's probably got enough clout to force the film to delay if he's not liking the script.
Oh, and I'm using this post as an excuse to remind everyone what Daniel Craig looks like in his Casino Royale swimming trunks... Here you go:
Read on for child killers, nuclear bombs and Soderbergh doubles.
Hanna
Killer teenage girls have been dominating the press this week with the release of the Kick Ass trailer and the casting of Saoirse Ronan in Hanna, reuniting her with her Atonement director Joe Wright. It's a story about a girl bred as pat of a secret CIA assassin experiment, sounds half Bourne, half Leon. Maybe half good.
Ron Howard/Vince Vaughn collaboration
Vaughn, who is probably desperate for a hit, has pitched a comedy about infidelity to his mate Ron Howard, probably aware that Ron says yes to everything. The concept is simple, and instantly recognisable, revolving around a guy who finds his best mates girls has been cheating but can't tell his friend. It probably sounds more like a soap opera twist than a mvie, but if it's handled correctly there could be the basis for a likeable farce of co-incidences.
The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Even though variety reported that Chris Robots Wedge was directing this childrens fantasy back in May the rumours of Martin Scorsese holding the megaphone have not died down. I guess Marty has nothing to prove at this stage of his career so there is no longer a need to make biopics or gangster dramas - see his pulpy Shutter Island for proof.
Invention concerns a small boy living in the rafters of a Paris train station and fixing the clocks, as well as a small curious device left to him by his father. I don't know what that device does so I guess that's the invention of the title.
Knockout
Steven Soderbergh's martial arts movie has been gaining some fantastic actors to support MMA fighter and cinema newcomer Gina Carano, including Ewan MacGregor, Michael Douglas, Dennis Quaid and Michael Fassbender. It's that sort of delightful mix of ators that gets so interested in Soderbergh's work, even the likely popcorn efforts such as this female Bourne rip-off. (Carano plays a Black Ops soldier who's been cut off by shadowy governement figures - yawn!)
Talking about Steven Soderbergh it's emerged in the Sydney Herald that whilst he was over in Australia directing for the stage he may have shot a quickie using the same, unknown cast. Nothing official or plot-based yet, but I'm thnking that if this is the same sort of quality as The Girlfriend Experience then we could be in for another great year of Soderbergh output.
Last Train to Hiroshima
We were all saddened to hear of the death of Tsutomo Yamaguchi, the last survivor of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki nuclear bombs, this monday. It's easy to forget just how awful and indiscriminate a nuclear device is and only by talking to the survivors can we understand why we must never let them be used again.
Curiously, following his death, it emerged that James Cameron had visited him to talk about his experiences in December. It look likely that Cameron was researching in order to adapt The Last Train to Hiroshima, the heavyweight non-fiction account of the afteraffects of the blasts, based on interviews with survivors. Whether Cameron has ideas of making a documentary or a fiction piece based on the transcripts remains to be seen, but we should support whatever his efforts are as this is a shameful chapter in 20th century history that has yet to be fully explored in film.
Thor
Adriana Barazza has become the latest cast member to sign onto the Norse epic due to start filming next week, as a yet to be disclosed human character. It's good to hear there will be some human characters among all the gods, it will make the drama of the story a little more interesting. Oh, and going full circle Thor is one of the films shifting it's release date in response to the Spider-man delay rumours. 
Friday, 22 May 2009
Angels & Demons
2009. Dir: Ron Howard. Starring: Tom Hanks, Ewan MacGregor, Ayelet Zurer, Stellan Skarsgård and Pierfrancesco Favino. ●●●○○
Before I write anything else down, I know I will need to justify that score. Even for such a generous reviewer as myself 3 out of 5 seems awfully nice, and to be sure the plot is complete bobbins, the acting variable and the script risible in parts, however if you take it for what it is, a thriller set against the backdrop of a conclave for a new Pope then it does go by at a fairly reasonable pace and we learn a lot about the processes in the Vatican.
So, to recap the plo to those who haven't already read it, there's a macguffin about to explode inside the Holy City. Naturally the Church call in their sworn enemy Robert Langdon (Hanks) who you may remember uncovering the secret lovechild of Christ and sporting a strange mullett in The Da Vinci Code. I suppose that Jesus did teach forgiveness and this is especially important when the 4 leading candidates to be the next Pope has been kidnapped and a threat against the conclave has been issued.
Hanks teams up sexy scientist Zurer, who's responsible for the macguffin, and some doomed Vatican detectives (including Favino who stands out in the cast for me) to find the bomb and save the Preferati by following a treasure trail written by Bernini over 400 years ago. Possibly hampering their investigation for their own ends - it's that sort of film - are Skarsgård as the head of the Swiss Guard, MacGregor as the Camelengo (sort of Pope deputy running the show until a new one's in) and Armin Mueller-Stahl as a faintly ambitious, but definitely traditionalist Cardinal.
None of these three are particulary trying hard, but I could accept the moody Swede and the Middle European gnome, but the Irish-Italian helicopter pilot was one step too far.
The first 3/4s of the film work very well. We're either in the middle of the chase (and seeing old churchmen die in painful ways) or we're geting some insights into the workings of the Vatican (fascinating details). Even the set-up in CERN is pretty tense, except for the pointless CGI. Didn't Ron Howard learn from A Beautiful Mind that exhibiting scientific ideas with pretty lines that aren't there is just patronising?
The last 30 minutes are less successful, as the detective story we've been following falls flat and the heroes have to rely on CCTV footage to solve the crime. In the rush to end we also lose any real understanding of the motivations, so was he just mad?
The design elements are pretty good throughout, and I especially liked the costumes. Although I expect we should be congratulating Catholic tradition rather than Daniel Orlandi.
Finally I'd like to congratulate Nikolaj Lie Kaas on being a kick ass assassin. Although he was still pretty ropey - I wouldn't have used that car - at least he was better than our man in State of Play. Looks like it could be a bad year for hired killers.
