2011. Dir: Lasse Hallstrom. Starring: Ewan MacGregor, Emily Blunt, Kristin Scott Thomas, Amr Waked and Conleth Hill. ●●●○○
I hope you don't mind if I waffle a little at the start of this review, can you believe it's been five weeks since I last saw the inside of a cinema, let alone had the opportunity to discuss my findings with you here. I also have the added advantage of having read Paul Torday's novel, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, dramatised by Slumdog Millionaire's Simon Beaufoy and directed by Swedish helmer Lasse Hallstrom. The novel itself takes an epistolic format with a series of e-mails, interviews, diary entries and Hansard extracts which allow the audience to piece together the events that led to the suggested desert set fly casting. Cinema naturally struggles with translating the myriad of styles into a single movie, although the film nods to social networking and modern communication systems, however the smoothing out of the narrative had the unfortunate side effect of downplaying some of the key themes of the novel.
If the central conceit of establishing the sport of salmon fishing in the mountainous areas of Southern Yemen seems far fetched then you will probably sympathise with Ewan MacGregor the middle ranking civil servant in DEFRA with an expertise in Caddis fly larvae seconded into the project much to his personal chagrin. Perhaps you will just have the confidence that money can buy you anything, including the apparently impossible, like business consultant Emily Blunt. Or maybe there's a third way, maybe all you really need in life is faith - possibly a faith in an greater force, God, if you will - or just faith in the power of idea. It's this third way that is personified by Amr Waked Yemeni Sheikh in the novel, a man who's mere presence changes the way people look at the world, who's softly spoken wisdom nicely counterpoints the stressed actions of our main protagonists and most especially the wheeler-dealer Prime Minister's press secretary Kristin Scott Thomas, in a slightly less sweary version of The Thick of It's Malcolm Tucker.
It's perhaps a shame that the film stirs away from the practical difficulties of the project, summarising them in a few ill-tempered rants from MacGregor and an extended section looking at the procurement of the fish, as this reduction of focus (along with other decisions) undermines how important faith is to Waked and to the project as a whole, and as a result lessening the impact. Instead the unlikely romance between MacGregor and Blunt takes centre stage with all the complexities of their personal lives laid bare.
You can't fault the two leads, mind. MacGregor does fusty reasonable well, even if he's fundamentally miscast in a role clearly written for someone much older, struggling at the outset within a failing marriage (and well done to the studio for not writing out that tricky story element). Blunt is as delightful as she always is although the romantic decisions she makes in the final third of the film are hard to keep up with.
Of course both of these performances are blasted out of the movie by Scott Thomas who sets the screen alight every time she gets a chance, her Press Secretary is ballsy and insightful, whizzing from flirtatious to bitchiness and back again often within a sentence. As ever she's the main reason to watch a film, although without resorting to spoilers, her final act is squeezed unforgiveably into a - admittedly quite humourous - punchline.
Once again I find myself drawn back to comparisons with the novel. The central romance is pushed forward whilst the issue of faith is downgraded, the ending is softened to make a joke about ineffective politicians funnier. And I don't want to seem like a like literary snob arguing against the very concept of adapting novels but this is a rare case where I feel Simon Beaufoy his missed the mark, taking an insightful satirical novel and turning into a standard romantic comedy that merely hints at the bigger themes.
Overall I can thoroughly recommend this diverting and pleasant movie, even if I can't honesty say I was stunned by it.
Thursday, 26 April 2012
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
Saturday, 21 April 2012
In, two, three, out, two three (Out this week - 20/04/12)
It's a bizarrely complex week this year with a massive 14 new non-fiction narrative releases not to mention the re-release of Vincenti Minelli's excellent inside Hollywood expose The Bad and the Beautiful and the highly praised Bob Marley documentary from Oscar winner Kevin MacDonald which is getting most film of the week recommendations. This platoon of cinematic offerings oddly doesn't have a clear front runner in either terms of critical reception or box office clout, in the former case there's plenty of decent looking pictures that seem utterly watchable but nothing looks like a must see art-house selection. I'm going to see (Yes, for the first time in 5 weeks) an adaptation of a satirical novel that appears to have lost it's edge in translation, but I'm skewing European in the weekly recommendation and am going for Austrian coming of age movie Breathing as the Runs like a Gay film of the week.
Box office wise I have no idea which film to back, so whilst I consider the options lets have a look back at last weekend. I claim no pride in having correctly guessed the rise of Battleship, with a £2m lead against it's nearest rivals. I expect Peter Berg's board-game adaptation will continue to lead the box office charts, but the battle for the top new release will be between Salmon Fishing in the Yemen and Lockout. My £8 is going to the former so I suspect that the romance between Ewan MacGregor and Emily Blunt will just about win out.
Breathing
Just about sticking it's head out in front of the pack is this Austrian picture (side note Austria seems to be having a mini filmic renaissance as this is the second RLAGFOTW from the central European nation this year) directed by Counterfeiters star Karl Markovics and starring Thomas Schubert as a child offender readjusting to life outside, his new job as an undertaker and the guilt and responsibility he still feels.
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Read on for frank sexuality, fly casting and a misleading named revenge thriller, as well as the round-up of all of this weeks releases and their trailers.
Elegant slow-paced trailer there that appears to encapsulate the feel of Markovics' debut.
Elles
Juliette Binoche is the magazine journalist working for French 'Elle' assigned to investigate the rise of middle class working girls (Elles) using the oldest profession to fund their University education. The article, and the close relationship founded with one of her subjects, awakens long repressed sapphic desires. Note even the trailer doesn't hold back in the imagery.
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Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
Paul Torday's epistolic novel is part political satire - a watered down Iannucci - and part treatise on the power of faith. This big screen adaptation with heavyweight Brit cast list including Ewan MacGregor, Emily Blunt and Kristin Scott Thomas appears to focus on the love story angle, but I'm still drawn by the unique premise.
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Skoonheid
The breakout picture at this years London LGBT film festival is this South African expose of Afrikaaner brutality in Apartheid with Roeline Daneel struggling with internalised homophobia and becoming obsessed with the son of a family friend. The title translates into Beauty.
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Fury
Called The Samaritan in the States I expect the name change is in part to capitalise on the publicity for Samuel L. Jackson's little know Nick Fury character who you may know appears in a tiny independent fil coming out next weekend. Tom Wilkinson also stars as the mark in this twisty turner grifter flick.
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Hollywoo
I'm not sure if this French trailer looks funny or not, mainly because it isn't subtitled and the release is so limited I can't be bothered to find a better version, but the concept of a dubbing artist trying to meet the "A"-lister she provides a French voice for is quite a cute premise and Jemel Debbouze has been good value in the past.
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Lockout
Guy Pearce takes the wisecracking anti-hero role in this thriller inspired by an original idea from Luc Besson or maybe hundreds of B-movies to which it obviously holds a debt, films like Escape from New York, with the key concept of a one man mission to rescue the President's daughter from a high security prison. In space. Some shonky special effects in the trailer though.
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Vicky Donor
Somewhat odd looking Bollywood comedy about a serial sperm donor and his later attempts to romance. I expect the hundreds of children he's fathered on behalf of others complicate matters but not so much to spoil the chance of a happy ending.
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11-11-11
Darren Lynn Bouseman's (of the Saw films) cheap looking horror stumbled into US multiplexes (just 17 of them) last November and barely managed $30k, here in the UK without the benefit of the appropriate release date and with only a single showing it's not going to do even close to those paltry figures.
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Divide
I've watched the first few seconds of this apocalyptic thriller several times and I have to say I'm a touch confused but apparently you can outrun an nuclear blast. Obviously the survivors will then turn on each other and the living will envy the dead. It's all derivative crap with allegedly Michael Biehn's best ever performance.
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Gone
More psycho killers in this US thriller starring Amanda Seyfried in her attempts to prove she can open a film as an escaped kidnappee convinced her sister has also been abducted in order to be horribly murdered. Lots of screaming, untrusting cops and running around in creepily lit woods at night. P.S. she can't this grossed only $9m in the States in January.
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Irvine Welsh's Ecstasy
I had thought this latest adaptation of Irvine Welsh's Scottish drug scene came out last year to unenthusiastic reviews but no. It's come out this year to equally unimpressed ratings. The problem being that however much work is put into a project like this it's always going to suffer from comparisons to Danny Boyle's Trainspotting. Still it's good to see former Hobbit Billy Boyd is still employable.
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Transit
What a difference 8 years makes. Do you remember when Jim Caviezel defied all expectations and box office prognostications with The Passion of the Christ but now it's all virtaully direct to video thrillers like this nonsense involving a security truck heist, mixed bags and marital tensions coming to the fore. Mind you at least his career is going better than Mel Gibson.
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Elfie Hopkins
And finally the worst looking movie since last months Act of Valor is this British comic horror staring Jaime Winstone as the sleuthing titular teenager who discovers her neighbours are cannibals. Daddy Ray cameos as the local gun toting butcher.
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Saturday, 14 April 2012
Forgotten Genius (Out this week - 13/04/12)
Choosing a film this week is a tough job, there's a whole range of releases that is bound to include something that appeals to everyone although possibly not appealing enough to persuade anyone to actually go to see them. It's odd in that even as I type this up, reading the reviews and watching the trailers, even as I can appreciate the quality offerings I just can't imagine buying a ticket for any of them - even my film of the week. Incidently I've sidestepped the revisionist Westerns and genre bending horrors to select a little known French movie as the pick of the week, whilst I suspect it won't break out of the art-house circuit (just 2 screens this weekend) it got some minor awards buzz back in December including a trio of Satellite Award Nominations. So the RLAG film of the week is Mozart's Sister.
Has the blockbuster season started yet? I know it hasn't in America as this weekend the biggest opener is a Farrelly brothers re-imagining of a classic comic trio that precisely no-one really wants to see. However here we have the first big box office behemoth opening this weekend in Battleship presumably to avoid Euro 2012 which is known to affect cinematic attendance in the UK. I think we can safely assume it will take the box office crown this week, but I also suspect that - based on the reviews - it will be the second box office disappointment for Taylor Kitsch. Last week I foolishly imagined Mirror Mirror would lead the pack however not only did it fail to pass The Hunger Games but Titanic 3D, which I suspiciously avoided last week, was the clear box office champion. I hang my head in shame.
Mozart's Sister
Classic music fans everywhere will be fascinated by this French movie concentrating on the early life of Wolfgang's older sister, a prodigy whose genius was later overshadow by that if her male sibling mainly because of his gender. Clearly this film is in the shadow of Amadeus but could well be an interesting companion piece that displays a different side to that well known family dynamic.
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Exquisite costuming, but the translations seem to let the trailer down.
Blackthorn
Sam Shepard picks up the mantle of Butch Cassidy from Newman in this 20's set Western focussing on Cassidy's (now called Blackthorn) career as a Bolivian horse trader, only he gets the itch to return back to the States and right a terrible wrong. Cue plenty of contemplative vistas and shoot-outs. Stephen Rea also stars.
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Cabin in the Woods
Twisty Turny horror movie produced by Joss Whedon and directed by one of his prodigies Drew Goddard. It's spent an awful long time on the shelves due to the financial implosion at MGM but that shouldn't be considered indicative of it's quality given the high praise from most critics. Thor himself (Chris Hemsworth) leads the usual selection of disposable teens but it's the presence of Richard Jenkins and Sigourney Weaver in a potentially spoilerish cameo that make this seem like an interesting spin on the deserted cabin horror sub-genre.
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La Delicatesse
Do you remember when Audrey Tatou was set to be a huge star? Well, whilst her international career prospects may have been stalled by The Da Vinci Code she is still a bona fide draw in France and for French exports hence we're seeing this uninspiring looking lump of whimsy in which Tatou falls unexpectedly for another man after her "the one" is tragically killed. Should do reasonably well at cinemas.
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Battleship
Oh, come on, this slice of boring Hollywood crap designed purely to sell toys and appeal to pre-pubescent boys should be throttled at before it gets a chance to throw away millions on hum-drum sub Transformers CGI. What's worse is I hear the plot sees the US Navy firing the first guns so therefore seems to applaud the aggressor. Is this really the type of message we want our children to see at cinemas? Liam Neeson pops up as an Admiral and Taylor Kitsch and Rhianna are among the sailors looking to kick start their acting career with this bilge.
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Oru Kal Oru Kannadi
Something tells me this cheap looking trailer will not be the one that persuades non-Bollywood followers to try something a little different (bearing in mind Houseful 2 made the UK and US top tens last weekend). It's about a guy and a girl and the guy's best friend who gives him all the worst advice in how to woo her, which is at least very familiar to all audiences.
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Edge
Carol Morley's recent semi-doc Dreams of a Life was exceptionally well received in the last quarter of last year and it's probably that good will which has led to her previous feature starring local girl (to where I'm living) Maxine Peake getting it's release. That said the glooming looking chamber piece about six characters in a dour hotel is hardly likely to gain the same traction.
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Gospel of Us
I did want to give more blobs to this cinematic oddity, but finding reviews or in reality an audience for this strange experience seems difficult. It's the filmed elements of Port Talbot's acclaimed Passion Play from last year with Michael Sheen in the role of Jesus. I do wonder why it wasn't opened last weekend but I'm sure the producers have their reasons and I do hope that non-Christian cinema-goers see this which is as much about community as it is about God.
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Saturday, 7 April 2012
Rock on Seany (Out this week - 06/04/12)
There's a giant boat shaped elephant in the multiplexes this weekend which, being a re-issue, does not fit within the usual rules surrounding this post. That's right I'm going to try and completely ignore it. That's relatively easy to do in this first section devoted as it is to mulling over the relative qualities of our new feature releases, indeed whilst I thoroughly enjoy the nautical tragedy I don't have any issue with recommending the French cartoon or the Scandinavian darkly comic thriller over Cameron's weepie largely because I feel it's important to try new things, back in 1997 it's possible it would have been the top film (I went to see it twice at cinemas but then I was a newly out student), and sometimes we should choose the art-house over the multiplex. So this week I feel no qualms in selecting the Sean Penn as a Nazi-hunting washed-out rock star in the RLAG film of the week This Must be the Place.
Last week I fluffed on the box office predictions, as The Hunger Games clung on to the top spot and Wrath of the Titans somehow sneaked ahead of Pirates to become the highest new entry. I confess to being quite shocked by this double loss of judgement however I pick myself up and cheerfully ignore that iceberg (it's got a very good chance of stealing my thunder although I suspect it will just lose out). Instead I'm going to go out on a limb and predict, thanks to the aid of several days of preview and the kids being off school, that Julia Roberts will lead the first Snow White adapt of 2012 Mirror Mirror into the top spot.
This Must be the Place
On paper the combination of a Robert Smith alike goth rocker and a plot involving the investigation and capture of Nazi criminals doesn't seem at all enticing. But when revered Italian director Paolo Sorrentino is making his English Language debut and using a cast that includes Sean Penn (as the washed out star), Frances McDormand (as his eminently sensible wife) and Judd Hirsch (as a pragmatic Nazi hunter) it begins to appear to be something more. Ignore the mixed reviews from Cannes last year and focus on the incredible soundtrack and you know you're getting drawn in.
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Read on for twisted fairy tales, a briefcase with big secrets inside and a small scale Iraq war indie as well as all of this weeks releases and trailers.
It's got a Coen-verse vibe (partly attributable to the appearance of Frances but also to the weird characters inhabiting the story) which makes it hard to resist.
Cat in Paris
This French animation was a surprise nominee in the 2012 Best Animated Feature Oscar race, and the crude animation style may certainly put off a lot of kids but as a branch they are usually quite discerning so I suspect this may be worth the extra mile for the more adventurous parents this Easter weekend.
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Headhunters
Already the subject of a major studio bidding war for the remake rights and boasting Mark Wahlberg as a major fan this Norweigan thriller, based on the international bestseller by Jo Nesbo sees an art thief, masquerading as an estate agent, suddenly out of his depth after stealing from the "wrong people". Expect black comedy as well as the usual spills and chills in this potential art-house breakout.
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Le Harve
There's another Cannes alumni hitting screens this week and it's slightly disappointing to note Aki Kaurismäki's movie has had such little critical attention. It's also bringing dead-pan comedy to a serious subject - European attitudes on immigration in a time of fiscal austerity - and maybe that odd mix of tone and content will put people off.
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Mirror Mirror
Now I believe that one day musical video supremo Tarsem will create a masterpiece, always visually inspirational he just needs someone to write him a good script to use. Note this is not it - although it does look more compelling to me than the other Snow White adaptation coming this year. Julia Roberts and Armie Hammer get to ham it up as the Evil queen and Prince Charming whilst Lily - daughter of Phil - looks pretty as our heroine. Expect kids to love it at least. Mare Winningham and Michael Lerner pop up in tiny supporting roles.
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North Sea Texas
You'd be forgiven for thinking NST is just another American Indie, indeed at first I made that assumption, but watch the trailer and you'll find a sweet coming out story about a teenage boy in Belgium coming to terms with his sexuality and how that affects his teenage years. Almost a flemish Beautiful Thing so should be worth a look.
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Cold Light of Day
We haven't had too many chances to see future Superman Henry Cavill in action - sure he was Theseus in last years Immortals but who honestly watched him as an actor rather than just as a piece of well oiled meat - so this CIA double cross thriller with Bruce Willis and Sigourney Weaver might just introduce him to audiences. Shame it hasn't been shown to critics and looks horribly unoriginal. Does make you worry about the box office potential for the man in tights.
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Housefull 2
The biggest Bollywood release in some time might just sneak into this weeks box office top ten thanks to the 52 screens and the 2010 success of it's predecessor also starring Akshay Kumar. That said there aren't many Bollywood sequels and the slight whiff of mysogny - all the women seem interchangeable - might put more enlightened viewers off. We'll see.
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Mirza - The Untold Story
There are two South Asian releases this weekend which don't yet have corresponding IMDb pages - which as you probably know irritates the hell out of me. The first is this action-romance about a girl forced to choose between her gangster brother and her sweetheart saving her from an arranged marriage. I wonder...
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Ordinary
On the other end of the spectrum is this comedic mystery set entirely on a bus journey to a remote mountainous village. It sounds like an interesting set-up.
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Return
Fans of In Contention (at Hitflix) will have read Guy Lodge's raves about this final Cannes release, a small scale picture starring Linda Cardellini doing career defining work as an Iraq war veteran re-adjusting to life in her small industrial town. Deftly handling themes of alienation and PTSD and with a cast that includes Michael Shannon and John Slattery it's a real pity that only two cinemas (in London and Hull) are showing this.
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Saturday, 31 March 2012
Coming of age in Italy (Out this week - 30/03/12)
Busy-ish week with lots of fine looking European movies competing for our collective attentions this weekend. Which, for the uninitiated basically means I will largely ignore the supposed big hitters that will blast their way into the box office charts -even the plasticine based one which looks quite good - and instead focus all my attention on the arthouse circuit this weekend. I suppose one of the real tragedies of our age is that even though there are three very highly praised foreign language pictures this week, any one of which could have made my film of the week, none of them has opened in as few as 5 cinemas let alone the 425 that The Hunger Games is still holding on to. Oh well, eschewing messed up relationships and miniature trees I have chosen Corpo Celeste as the runs like a gay film of the week.
Last week no-one was surprised to see Katniss Everdene smash it on the box office chart both sides of the Atlantic as well as Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Russia, Singapore, South Korea and Sweden, as well as virtually everywhere else, so I get no kudos for jumping onto that particular bandwagon, even if I haven't personally added to it's gargantuan haul. This week we have dancing teens and wrathful Gods but I suspect Ardman Animation have the necessary edge to be next weeks number one with Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists
Corpo Celeste
Coming of age dramas might seem like a done to death genre but Alice Rohrwacher Cannes hit seems to take a interesting twist focussing on the confirmation classes of our heroine Martha and her readjustment following a recent upheaval.
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The trailer certainly hints at the complex moral and religious layers confronting young Catholic girls.
Babycall
Noomi Rapace gets the opportunity to shine as a character both far removed from her revelatory turn as Lisbeth Salander as well as sharing some common DNA as a young mother escaping an abusive past who accidently overhears a shocking event somewhere in her apartment block. Superior Scandinavian thriller.
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Bonsai: A Story of Love Books and Plants
Looking slightly more surreal is this South American picture flicking between two timelines - the present where a writer tries to impress his new found love and the past the story the writer is telling of a previous relationship and how it failed. Looks really intriguing, but also only showing in one cinema.
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Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists
Aardman are back with their first feature length hand crafted animation since The Curse of the Were Rabbit. Hugh Grant plays the less successful than ambitious Pirate Captain intent on winning the Pirate of the year award, with David Tennant as Darwin who gets caught up with his nefarious plans. Imelda Staunton and Selma Hayek are along for the ride.
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Tiny Furniture
Five films in before the first US production and even this with it's vague indie stylings feels miles apart from the bombastic blockbusters that usually clog up screens. Flirting dangerously with an overdose of quirk the trailer at least gives us a glimpse of the multi talented (writer/director/actor) Lena Dunham who will be one to watch out for in the future.
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Les Lyonnais
Probably forgettable French crime drama, based on a true story, that nonetheless looks epic enough in scope to consider itself as an vague relative of the Godfather trilogy and more recently Mesrine. It'll be interesting if this finds an audience.
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Streetdance 2
Back when the first Streetdance came out a couple of years ago I remember being really captivated by the 3D trailer which promised the dancers jumping out of the screen at you, it's interesting the inevitable sequel is underplaying that aspect which perhaps shows the public loss of interest in 3D screenings. Anyhoo this looks like it will still appeal to the same crowd as the rest of the dancing movies with it's mix of beautiful people and displays of rhythm. I think Tom Conti learnt his French accent from watching "Allo Allo".
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Switch
I am assured it has a very limited cinematic release as well as the DVD issue this trailer points to even if I can't find a listing that proves that. Eric Cantona, who has done an awfully good job in changing career from footballer to actor, must run through a lot of streets to prevent bad things happening to fellow runner Karine Vanasse. Or something like that anyway.
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3
Two things struck me whilst watching the trailer for this Tamil language action romance. Primarily I really like the graphic where the heart monitor turns into writing, lovely job, and then I decided I need to go to India to give some lessons in kissing as the leads miss each others mouths twice in quick succession and clearly need help.
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Wrath of the Titans
It seems slightly disingenuous to end with this mythology sequel especially as it seems infinitely better than it's 2010 forebear. That said expect it to fail miserably at the box office and for the studios to continue to doubt the leading man credentials of Sam Worthington. Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes are on hand to do some thesping as a couple of the Gods in need of Perseus' aid.
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Saturday, 24 March 2012
One Million Presales? (Out this week - 23/03/12)
There are few things more difficult to understand than the forces of collective anticipation. It invariably feeds on itself but it can’t be reconciled to any particular factor, nor can a project be pre-selected as a potential lucrative goldmine. You probably need to hit the zeitgeist first, that intractable will ’o’ the wisp that raises a subject into public consciousness, witness the ground-breaking special effects of Avatar, the out of nowhere Jack Sparrow performance or the untimely passing of Heath Ledger for recent examples that dragged a film into the billion dollar club. This week we’re witnessing something akin to that with the release of The Hunger Games, the RLAG film of the week, and whilst I wouldn’t want to predict that large a haul from the partial indie I think few can doubt it will be in the top ten biggest international grosses of the year.
It’s easy to argue the film will do well purely because the book is doing well, or even because of the extreme stage-management of it’s publicity, for some time last year barely a week went by without a casting announcement or the release of an image plus the post-Twilight feminism that guarantees a young adult audience driven by the girls as well as the boys; and whilst these have had an impact I would argue they only partly explain it’s likely profitability. I would like to posit that the 99% are understanding and accepting the social satire and political message of the movie even whilst cheering on the 12a violence. It’s occupy Panem and the corrupt self-serving ultra capitalist state it represents. The revolution won’t be starting here, but I expect it adds some fuel to the fire.
I’m still hanging my head in shame after last weekend’s post. Not only did I miss out on a British indie release (not that it stood any chance of picking up a sizeable audience anyway given it’s one screen pre-DVD strategy) but I also fluffed the box office predictions, even whilst making clear in the post I originally had other predictions. Yes, it was the critically ravaged Devil Inside that hit first and hit hard on the publicity circuit and beat off the action comedy 21 Jump Street by nearly 30%. This weeks is insanely easy to predict so I guess if Katniss isn’t standing astride her competitors with bow and arrow in hand I guess I’ll eat my Caesar Flickerman latex mask.
The Hunger Games
I may be reading too much into the plot synopsis of Suzanne Collins’ acclaimed series of books in the comments above but it’s certainly safe to say the Battle Royale meets The Grapes of Wrath in a dystopian alternative future treads the fine line between kiddie entertainment and brutal black comedy. Even though I personally won’t be going to see it (the trailer didn’t wow me as much as it should, it does seem a touch packaged in it’s approach to marketing) I do hope it does well, as I hope all new ideas do well, as Andrew Stanton recently pronounced in John Carter interviews “[The film industry]... isn’t a zero-sum game.” Increased sales for one film generally improve the likelihood of other films succeeding. Backing up Jennifer Lawrence as out heroine Katniss are the ever-reliable Woody Harrelson and Stanley Tucci in key supporting roles.
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It isn’t all about the YA’s this weekend, read on the brave counterprogramming form overseas and gangster Britflicks as well as a bizarre movie to compare HG with from the States.
Still not personally drawn in but when it beats all opening weekend records I'll be prepared to shut up.
Kid with a Bike
The arthouse crowd don't have too much to fear from the multiplexes, being catered for as they are by the redoubtable Dardennes. What's more the simplicity of the plot (it's literally about a kid with a bike, albeit a kid in foster care goign for rides witha local hairdresser) is an interesting way to get into the Belgian's oeuvre.
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Wild Bill
The British Gangster movie, a sub-genre that blossomed with Guy Ritchie's Lock Stock back in the late 90's has seemed like it was about to collapse in on itself ever since, but occasionally between the sub-par dreck a little gem can appear like paternal crisis spin by first time director Dexter Fletcher. Charlie Creed-Miles stars as the eponymous Bill trying to go straight and bring up his lads, left behind after an 8 year stretch.
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Agent Vinod
We're might be sick to death of remakes in the West, not that it stops Hollywood from trundling on, but at least it's not a purely Anglo problem as this Bollywood release is a remake of a 1977 hit. Saying that it's looks hardly more than a Bourne rip-off anyway.
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Bu Son Olsun
I have no idea whether the somewhat difficult subject matter of this Turkish movie will work - it's a comedy about five homeless guys sent to prison following the military coup in the 1980's and witnessing the results of the corrupt politics and gang violence. It could be biting and surreal, although my money is on it being crass and disrespectful. Feel free to contradict in the comments.
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Sümela'nin sifresi: Temel
Screwball comedy set in North Eastern Turkey which in essence follows a man desperately in love but unable to tell her. A football mad Iman and Russian hooker are among the supporting characters dragged into his "wacky adventures".
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Act of Valour
I promised you some odd counterprogramming this weekend and here you go. Facing off against Katniss and the neo-fascist society she lives in is this unashamed US military propaganda, the type of movie you didn't think they made anymore. Needless to say no civilians are killed in this SEALS recruitment video. I'm shocked it's done so well in the States and rather hope it won't start a trend of large indies co-operating with governments at the expense of subtlety and good story-writing.
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Oh, and one more thing:
Booked Out
Last week I missed the release of this low key British comedy about the misadventures of a photographic artist/novelist, the boy she falls for and her dementia ridden neighbour. Oddly I did see the Guardian review, which was reasonable positive, but I didn't see any listing that included the movie. I wasn't the only one to miss it as it took a paltry £223 in one site. Looking at the trailer it probably deserved more than that, but I have to ask why didn't they try harder to sell it?
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Wednesday, 21 March 2012
We Bought a Zoo
2011. Dir: Cameron Crowe. Starring: Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson, Thomas Haden Church, Colin Ford and Elle Fanning. ●●●○○
It’s strange how distance and time affects your appreciation of a movie. Sometimes you exit the cinema unsure as to how to respond to the themes like Terence Malick’s Tree of Life or bombarded by the intellectualism of Fincher’s Social Network. These are usually highpoints of cinematic achievement, films that make you want to discuss and dissect their intentions. On other occasions the film elicits a more emotional response but even this sometimes needs to be discussed. A few weeks ago I saw The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. At the time I enjoyed watching it but as I’ve talked with my friends and family – most of whom also enjoyed it – my opinion has wavered. Those elements of the film that annoyed me have intensified in my brain whereas the feel-good aspects have dwindled.
But what has this to do with the review for We Bought a Zoo? Do I think that too will lose it’s sheen over time? Well, no, almost the opposite. There are plenty of flaws with Cameron Crowe’s first narrative feature since 2006 but I am going to go out on a limb and say that over time I will look back fondly on the Benjamin Mee story that those flaws will feel less significant and that I will be singing it’s praises for some time to come.
Adapted from the Guardian columnists memoir with the notable change of geography from rugged Dartmoor to sun-dappled (except when the plot requires) California, We Bought a Zoo holds nothing about the plot back in the title, indeed it's one of those films where the title appears to be repeated ad nauseam during the two hour running time. Matt Damon as Mee and his two clichéd children (troubled teen Colin Ford and adorable muppet Maggie Elizabeth Jones) are struggling with coping following the passing of their respective wife and mother, played by Stephanie Szostak is photography and the odd flashback.
Seeking a new school, new house, new neighbourhood and new job (I said they were struggling) Damon buys a... you guessed it, and the family must learn some life lessons from the animals and zookeeping staff and remember how to work together as a unit before it all ends happily and the credits role. If that seems cynical it's only half intended. There's nothing in Aline Brosh McKenna and Crowe's script that in any way surprises or shocks the audience, this adaptation is aimed squarely to the family demographic, the animals are cute, just not quite as cute as the kids, and we are liberally peppered with platitudes such as "I like the animals. I Love the people." from Mee's hard-nosed but eventually approving brother Thomas Haden Church.
Of course the zoo will have to traverse some spectacular obstacles on it's way to opening, from over-zealous inspectors to economic woes to escaping animals - with only the threat of a Biblical flood in the final act seeming over-written for effect - and all of these obstacles will prove as easy to overcome as the apparent intractable father-son emotional pain. Nevertheless the triumph of the grand opening is no less emotive for it's predictability and when the mere sight of red kites can get the eyes watering you know the film has worked it's insidious magic on you.
Matt Damon once again proves he is the natural successor to Tom Hanks, effortlessly taking these everyman roles that magnify his humanity, unlike many of his peers Damon can sink under the skin of a role, and you easily forget your watching him. You can't forget you're watching Scarlett Johannson as the love interest/head zookeeper but she makes the effort to not appear unfeasibly gorgeous.
The acting plaudits mainly go to Elle Fanning as the 13 year old neighbour developing a crush on Ford, she expertly presents a winning performance of annoying character, so even as you understands Ford's stand-offishness you root for Fanning to get her man. (The same cannot be said for Maggie Elizabeth Jones who I saw as giving an annoying performance of a winning character, of course I doubt any child could make me like the over excited six year old as written).
The story also allows for supporting characters (including the animals) to shine in b storylines and whilst the rivalry between Angus Macfadyen and John Michael Higgins may be sketchily put together it's performed with such broad strokes the comedy will amuse the parents and kids alike. There's a bear and a tiger that in their own way provide Mee and his family with the tools and incentive to fix their problems.
Not all the animals get this opportunity and whilst it seems churlish to complain about the mistreatment of a (obviously plastic) snake in a children's movie there do seem to be unnecessary double standards about the needs of these creatures held in captivity. For the record the abuse on the snake is pointed out but only in a throwaway line in the next scene, very disappointing.
There's little technically great about the film, some of the photography is nice (especially the still shots of the deceased Mrs. Mee) and the location work helps with setting the story beats but it's no great shakes.
On the negative side (excluding the unadventurous storytelling) it takes a long time for the plot to get going and the editing appears to be all over the place with the pace of the picture veering wildly throughout and some hints of secondary plot strands that vanished in the final edit.
Overall I think I can recommend this movie to family audiences. It's nice and you'll have a nice time watching it. But I doubt they'll be any strong emotions tied to it at the end of the year.
Saturday, 17 March 2012
My family and Other Animals (Out this week - 16/03/12)
Here in the UK there are sometimes some really odd release clashes which come as a huge shock to those of us who pay attention to global box office strategies. This week there’s a real conundrum for the multiplex crowd with three US chart toppers set to battle for the top spot (admittedly one of them hasn’t opened yet, but it seems like a no brainer this weekend), and bizarrely none of them will have the screen count of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel or John Carter. Of course I won’t be recommending any of those films as my top choice, lets face it the general public have proven time and time again that they’ll watch any old dross. I won’t be going with the two very highly praised foreign language offerings either. Instead I’m nailing my middle of the road colours to the mast and choosing a family drama about Matt Damon reconnecting to his kids with the help of a tiger and Scarlett Johansson. RLAG Film of the week: We Bought a Zoo.
Unsurprisingly John Carter of Barsoom just about took the top spot in last weeks charts, but be not fooled the £2m gross was pathetic by blockbuster standards and given the critical drubbing and poor word of mouth I can’t see it maintaining any defence against this weeks new releases. Tellingly the number of showings for Andrew Stanton’s overpriced misfire has – in my local cinema at least – reduced to less that the aforementioned Judi Dench does Jaipur dramedy. But what’s going to take the top slot? It’ll certainly be close but I reckon 21 Jump Street with it’s promise of big action, big laughs and big Channing Tatum will sneak ahead of the rest of the pack, sure there’s no awareness of the antecedents this side of the pond, but the reviews are very positive and it will probably appeal across the spectrum.
We Bought a Zoo
Based on the memoir of Benjamin Mee, the British journalist who lost his wife to cancer and set about reinvigorating Dartmoor Zoo (although it could have been the other way round in real like) Cameron Crowe’s first film since 2006 looks like a sweet option. Matt Damon is the everyman father figure helping his kids through the grief whilst impulsively buying a Southern Californian animal sanctuary. Aided by Scarlett Johannson (Oh you know where that storyline is going) and Thomas Haden Church he must find a way to open the zoo and save the animals. Yeh!
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You'll find the trailer for WBAZ, as well as the trailers and synopsis from all of this weeks releases after the jump, including undercover cops, counterfeit cash and an apple caught in a stream.
Luckily this is not the type of film that has much to spoil so it doesn't matter the entire plot is in the trailer.
In Darkness
Based on the true story of Leopold Soha this Oscar nominated Polish movie exposes an untold story of survival during the Nazi occupation. Soha, initially motivated purely by profit, gave a disparate group of Jewish refugees a chance of survival by housing them in the sewers and delivering their supplies. Reviews indicate this is not an easy film to sit through, and perhaps the situation (excluding the locataion) feels a bit overdone but the characterisations of Soha and the refugees are excellent.
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Once upon a Time in Anatolia
If you see just one Turkish film this year then make it Anatolia, on one level it’s a simple police procedural, following an uninspiring collection of coppers investigate the dumping of a body over one very long night, but on the other it’s a philosophical discussion of the nature of criminality, of the place of Turkey in 21st century politics and the repetitiveness of life. It ain’t a Cannes Grand Prix winner for nothing.
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21 Jump Street
Since last years atrocious Dilemma I’ve been looking forward to seeing Channing Tatum’s next foray into comedy, he seems to be a uniquely safe aware Hollywood hunk and is prepared to work his genetic advantages in ways that undercut the machismo of other chisel-jawed beauties. Here he stars with Jonah Hill, straight off his Oscar nod, as a pair of mismatched cops (is there any other kind) returning to high school to bring down a drug ring. Only to find it’s very different from when they left. I don’t know the original TV series affectionately parodied however it’s most recognisable alumni, Johnny Depp – don’t know if you’ve heard of him, gets a career boosting cameo.
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Contraband
“Marky Mark” Wahlberg wears two hats in Hollywood, as an actor witness his searing performances in The Fighter and The Departed or as a Producer he created the fantastic and virtually cult making series Entourage. Unfortunately when he does both he chooses a derivative remake of Euro thrillers like this smugger with family movie, directed by the star of the Icelandic original. Did get to number 1 in the States. Surprised everyone at the time.
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Kac Wara
Do you remember when Sex and Zen in 3D opened last year we thought we’d seen the lowest point where producers would go to try and burst titties out of the screen? We were wrong. This Polish film looks like the smuttier, less plot driven, comedy version of that. Amazingly it has a IMDb average vote score of 1 so clearly it’s not a film that needs to be seen on the big screen.
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Devil Inside
If you’d asked me three weeks ago which film was likely to capture the public imagination this weekend I’d have plumped for this dreadful looking exorcism, found footage dreck. Obviously it’s not for the quality – I’ve seen one Guardian blogger call it the worst film ever made – but for the early publicity campaign which took the watch audience members scream route to selling the movie which worked so well on Woman in Black and added a twist by showing it IN A CHURCH. However the ads have virtually disappear now and 21 Jump Street looks really funny.
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Sunday, 11 March 2012
Weight of Expectation (Out this week - 10/03/12)
The title says it all. Whatever your views on the panopoly of cinematic releases this weekend they are mostly united by the pressure of delivering to expectations, whether in a literal narrative sense, or in the sense of public perception of the project. In the first category we find Michael Winterbottom's update of Tess of d'Urbervilles with it's Indian caste war setting or the challenge set by the copycat killer taunting Edgar Allen Poe, but it's more keenly felt in the second derivation. Adam Deacon makes his first big screen appearance after winning the BAFTA rising star award in February, and we'll begin to find out whether his career will go the way of Tom Hardy or Eva Green. The biggest challenge faces Pixar alumni Andrew Stanton, making his live action directorial debut, and wrestling with a reported budget north of $250m, with the perceived financial success of the project lies not just Stanton's future but also the potential for an on-going lucrative franchise for Disney. Whilst we're theoretically spoilt for choice among all the British and American releases it has to be said few look significant enough to warrant attendance, with even the best reviewed options getting middling notices at best, so whilst I find myself selecting John Carter (not "of Mars" as originally stated) as the Runs Like a Gay Film of the Week it hardly comes with a ringing endorsement, and should be noted it's only been selected because I can't just leave a gaping hole in it's place.
I had the right idea last week when predicting a holdover title taking the box office crown, unfortunately I picked the wrong one, whilst Woman in Black slipped a very respectable 22% in takings, Best Exotic Marigold Hotel actually experienced a 5% rise in attendance, possible because I went, and has stolen the lead. This Means War was the highest new entry with a respectable, but by no means successful third place. Next week I feel confident in predicting John Carter defeating all other contenders, but this comes with the caveat that it still won't be enough to make the accountants happy.
John Carter
Even if you didn't know about Edgar Rice Burrough's series of sci-fi novels you would almost certainly be aware of their legacy, it's not hyperbolic to state that John Carter and his Martian adventures extensively influenced the space adventure genre including Flash Gordon, Star Wars and Superman unfortunately this familiarity may work against the project as trailers have made it seem highly derivative and safe. The plot revolves around a civil war veteran transplanted to the red planet where the difference in gravitational pull on a smaller planet causes him to appear superhuman in strength, perfect to be used as a pawn in the power struggles between native tribes/species. Taylor Kitsch leads (in what should be a make or break year for the young star) with Willem Dafoe, Thomas Haden Church and Samantha Morton among the Martians hoping to exploit his abilities.
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Read on for the full breakdown of releases and trailers this week including Parisien gigolos, paparrazi shy celebrities and a stash of £1 million.
This second John Carter trailer was better than the first, but there's still a feeling of been there, done that, and the damage may have already been done.
Bel Ami
I am not a pervert, but I have had my share of contact with skin flicks, so when I first heard R. Pattz had signed up for a Bel Ami movie I was shocked at the thought of Ed Cullen getting down and dirty with a troupe of Eastern European twinks. Fortuntely, for him, me and the majority of teenage girls, this is a straightforward adaptation of the scandalous 1885 novel by Guy de Maupassant centred around a homeless soldier using his considerable charm and sexual appetite to manipulate the ladies of Paris society. Kristen Scott Thomas, Uma Thurman and Christina Ricci are among the deflowered females.
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Cleanskin
It doesn't look like Games of Thrones has re-propelled Sean Bean (or Seen Born) back into A-list releases yet, but at least this UK terrorism drama is at least trying to be even handed about the prospect of jihadist cells targeting London streets. Bean is the Secret Service Agent tasked with capturing Abhin Galeya a radicalised Muslim undergoing a crisis of conscience about his proposed course of action.
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Kahaani
Bollywood thriller that follows a pregnant woman across the globe, well from London to Kolkata, and she tries to find her missing husband. Hampered by the lack of evidence or even belief that the husband ever existed. Was he just a figment of her imagination? If so what is the pregnancy about? I have to say that's a really good trailer, too.
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Sen Kimsim
Turkey remains one of the most interesting exporters of film-making to the UK, in that unlike most European countries where we get the critically lauded art-house selection the Turkish community are fed with a broad range of home-grown hits, whether historical epics like Fetih 1453 a few weeks ago or high concept comedies like this. The private eye plot is based on the hunt for a wealthy heiress, however the widow instigating the search may not be all she seems to be. (Is it me or is that just Chinatown?)
Bollywood thriller that follows a pregnant woman across the globe, well from London to Kolkata, and she tries to find her missing husband. Hampered by the lack of evidence or even belief that the husband ever existed. Was he just a figment of her imagination? If so what is the pregnancy about? I have to say that's a really good trailer, too.
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Trishna
Winterbottom has wrestled with Thomas Hardy before, witness his stunning Gold rush set The Claim (based on The Mayor of Casterbridge) or early work Jude (the obscure), and in each he has found unique ways to present Hardy's themes. In his retelling of Tess of the D'Urbervilles the action has been transplanted to modern India where rapid industrialisation and the growth of universal eduction attainment creates a split between the feminist heroine, played by Frieda Pinto, and her traditionalist upbringing. Riz Ahmed is the wealthy hotelier she falls for.
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Decoy Bride
Yes, we're already down to 2 blob releases; the first week since October that saw such a high proportion of very crappy looking movies. Alice Eve, getting a baptism of fire this weekend, is the Hollywood actress marrying shy novelist (and former Dr. Who) David Tennant. Unsurprisingly these planned nuptials incite the whole world's press to descend on the remote Scottish community playing host to the wedding of the century, so the happy couple hire Kelly MacDonald to pretend to be a bride in order to lure the snappers away from the real deal. I have no idea how that would work in practise, after all there's a good 6 years and 3 inches difference between them, however I feel confident in predicting a change of heart by the groom before the final reel.
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Payback Season
Realism be damned in this morality tale about a Premiership footballer, played by up and coming Adam Deacon, who gets drawn back in to the petty crime and drug deals he thought he's left behind in the council estate he grew up in. Between flashing around in his fast car with his fast women he must ensure his kid brother stays on the straight and narrow and avoid getting caught up in the gangland culture of his youth. If I had as much money as a Premiership footballer there's no way me or my brother would be near the old estate - but maybe that's just me?
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Raven
When John Cussack was first tapped to play influential poet and novelist Edgar Allen Poe there were whispers that this could be the kind of casting coup that nets him his first Oscar nod. Rest assured this pulpy mess looks unlikely to trouble any award bodies at the end of 2012. Watch as historical fact and Poe's lurid prose gets mashed into a dash to identify the serial killer using Poe's suggested methods to off his victims. Alice Eve (again) is one of the pretty girls he must save. No spoiler, but I reckon Poe dies at the end.
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7 Welcome to London
A few weeks ago we witnessed the release of Naachie London a Hindi language movie made exclusively with UK financing, and as the market continually expands, witness the regualr appearance of Bollywood releases at the bottom end of the top ten box office figures, it seems like a reasonable business model. This film centres around 25 year old Jai, a Dehli resident who migrates to London, meets two beautiful girls and gets embroiled in a web of criminal deceit.
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Hard Boiled Sweets
Finally, crashing in as the least appealing movie of the week there is Brit gangster drama that feels like it's been played hundreds of times before with an ex-con at the centre forced back into the game for one more heist, targetting the personal stash of organised crime ganglord Shrewd Eddie. Oh, and he's not the only one trying to get hands on the cash.
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Wednesday, 7 March 2012
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
2011. Dir: John Madden. Starring: Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Dev Patel, Tom Wilkinson and Maggie Smith. ●●●○○
I can highly recommend watching the trailer for John Madden's The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, it's a delightful piece of advertising with a distinctive palette, easily definable characters and the odd laugh out loud line delivery. Unfortunately I cannot recommend the movie as a whole which somehow drags that trailer over two hours without further developing the characters, providing tension or even giving the audience many more laughs.
In the pre-credits sequences we are introduced to the great and good of British acting talent through a series of short vignettes designed to develop an understanding of back-story and hint at the personalities. There's everything from Judi Dench as the resilient widow to Tom Wilkinson's down-to-earth judge stopping off at Bill Nighy and Penelope Wilton as a bickering pair of retirees choosing how to spend their later years with reduced incomes. One by one they are seduced by the tempting offer of the best exotic marigold hotel, a palce converted into a residential home for senior citizens looking for adventure and not quite requiring care.
As our dysfunctional septet make their journey to Jaipur, mixing for the first time on the plane out you rather hope their stories will intertwine, however oddly right until the end it feels like separate tales. Even as one pair find a common cause whilst another share the beginnings of an illicit romance there's never a feeling of cohesion within the group. Each day the characters go off alone to face or hide away from the world, each night they return to the culinary challenges placed on them by the hotel's love starved owner Dev Patel.
This literary convention of presenting a collection of characters all of whom must have an arc in which to travel probably works very well in Deborah Moggach's novel but I find it irritating beyond belief. In two hours it's simply too much to ask from an audience to make them care about so many personalities, so their storylines either feel irrelevant or hopelessly shortened. It's not helped by most of cast who seem content to take the money and run. Judi Dench reprises her "As Time Goes By" performance only with less one liners, whilst Tom Wilkinson reveals a secret he's kept hidden, tearing away at his soul for over 30 years, with all the gravitas of someone admitting to eating marmite with a spoon.
Maggie Smith does the best she can with an underwritten role, effectively playing a threatened working class racist bigot at the beginning and a entrepreneur with purpose at the end; it's not her fault that the scene where she undergo's her transformation makes no sense. Does she really embrace Indian culture just because an untouchable lets her rant about her life in service? By the way how old is she?
Only Celia Imrie as a glamorous granny looking for husband number 4 and Dev's over the tops pride inject any life into the film, and the scene they share just past the halfway mark is a moment of delightful farce. And no, I'm not going to tell you what happens, other than it involves a chain of misunderstanding starting with the wrong people getting in bed together.
I suppose one of the reasons that scene shines is because there were laughs to be had that hadn't already been shown in the trailer. Make no mistakes this isn't a comedy, it's a series of life lessons with comedic elements, and I rather believe that amping up the comedy may have helped the film. There were moments in the trailer that made me chortle out loud, but stretched out across the running time it felt awfully thin, just the odd joke at the expense of the more extreme characters surrounded by the self-satisfied blog posts of Judi's silver surfer. When she tapped out "With so many old people together it was inevitable one of us would die..." I nearly screamed at the screen in disgust. The average age of the 7 actors is barely 65 and none of them - bar Maggie Smith and her plot developing broken hip - look remotely like age is slowing them down, even the character that does die simply slips away during an afternoon slumber once their storyline has been resolved. It's nothing like the pain and torment and inherent boredom most of us will experience in old age.
There's not even much given to the Indian actors either. Sure Patel along with his girlfriend and mother, played by Tena Desae and Lillete Dubey respectively, have a soap opera level storyline along the lines of following your heart over tradition and family expectations, but aside from them no other Indian gets a look in. There's even two moments when Dench and Wilkinson refer to long conversations they have had independently with a husband and wife whose connection to the group has rocked their relationship to it's core, yet all we hear is a precis from the mouths of our middle class heroes.
All this sounds like I'm ragging on the film, but to be honest I did like it when I was watching. It was nice, the location work was fabulous, as Wilkinson says in the trailer "[I see the] light, colours, smiles. All life is here.", and he's right India is stunning, if nothing else this is a brilliant tourist video for the sub-continent.
I can't say I recommend it. But if you're seeing it for free don't say no. And do try out the trailer.
