2010. Dir: Sofia Coppola. Starring: Stephen Dorff, Elle Fanning, Chris Pontius, Nunzio Alfredo 'Pupi' D'Angieri and Michelle Monaghan. ●●○○○
The Random House Dictionary defines metaphor as "something used, or regarded as being used, to represent smething else." As such it becomes a vital weapon in the armoury of the modern film maker, however like all tools it must be used sparingly lest the audience get wise to your tricks. Unfortunately no one told Somewhere director Sofia Coppola this so her latest film is so packed with metaphor it's virtually unwatchable.
In what little plot we have the camera listlessly follows Stephen Dorff's movie star - Johnny Marco - as he drifts from room to room in the Chateau Marmont following alternately his rampant libido or his pubescent daughter Cleo, played by Elle Fanning. During the 97 minute running time the odd couple manage to connect over computer games, breakfast and a quick visit to Italy in order for Marco to receive an award in an utterly bewildering way. When she isn't with him - I don't wish to completely slate his parenting abilities - Johnny also shags his neighbour and orders in hysterically inept pole-dancing twins.
Coppola seems to be trying to emulate her success with Lost in Translation, another film about lost souls wandering hotels, but where Bill Murray and Scarlet Johannson were at crossroads in their life there is nothng as tangible for Dorff and Fanning. In Tokyo both of our leads were experiencing cultures alien to them, here whilst the cult of celebrity Marco has to deal with is outside of our experiences it's a comfortable fit for him so thecamera is definitely an outsider to his life.
Dorff is fine, he is able to carry off the role of the bored movie star with aplomb, but like the rest of the movie he is unble to bring us in. Fanning also does good work but it's only a stepping stone for her. The rest of the cast barely register, even that sneaky lift based cameo.
The cinematography by Harris Savidas has a woozy charm and Sofia's script is not without it's incisive or comic touches and it has to be said the soundtrack selection is ace.
We end though with the metaphors, the films started with Johnny Marco drving around in circles and ended with him getting out the car and walking away. We get your point, Sofia, but this just isn't interesting enough.
Thursday, 30 December 2010
Somewhere
Friday, 12 February 2010
Out This Week (12/02/10)
It's an extremely busy week with 12 different titles competing for audiences, including 2 animations, 2 big budget action adventures, an all-star romantic hyperlink picture and this weeks film of the week: A Single Man
Anonyma: A Woman in Berlin
Hailed as a major turning point in World War 2 cinema, Anonyma looks at the occupation of Berlin following it's fall to the Russian Army, and the sacrifices and concessions a group of women had to make.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●○○○○○○○○
Battle for Terra
Looking suspiciously similar in plot to James Cameron's Avatar (humans conquering defenceless peace loving planet) this computer generated animation plays to a much younger audience and probably is less defensive about it's parallels to modern society. Cast includes supporting turns from Brian Cox and James Garner.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●○○○○○○
Beyond the Pole
Big screen adaptation of the cult British radio serial about the first organic, carbon-neutral expedition to the North Pole. The trailer looks hilarious, with some high class UK comic actors in the main roles. Worth going beyond the multiplex for.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○
My Name is Khan
Bollywood superstar Sharukh Khan has been going all out to publicise his latest project, including interviews with Empire Magazine and on the massively popular Jonathan Ross show. Whether this will translate to a bigger audience will yet to be seen, but the trailer which highlights the personal journey a Muslim man makes to speak with the President following 9/11 looks like it has potential.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●○○○○○○○○
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The lightning Thief
The first of 2 Greek themed adventure movies for 2010 (Clash of the Titans is coming in April) this one transplants the Greek legends to a 21st century setting with the teenage son of Poseidon rescuing the lightning bolt stolen from Sean Bean's Zeus. All very silly. Catherine Keener (Who should know better) and Uma Thurman take on supporting roles.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●○○○○○○
Ponyo
Ponyo on the cliff by the sea (to give it the full title) may not be getting the raves that director Hayao Miyazaki is used to but the animation is still divine and the story will entrance everyone who sees it. The English language cast includes a galaxy of big names such as Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, Liam Neeson, Lily Tomlin and Cloris Leachman.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●●●○○○○
A Single Man
Finally bringing Colin Firth the awards attention he has deserved since his harrowing turn in the BBC film "Tumbledown" back in 1988. Firth excels as the gay university professor who has resolved to commit suicide but calmly lives his last day as normally as possible. Julianne Moore also has a plum role as his boozy neighbour.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●●●●●○○
Sukhmani
Finding anything about this Bollywood drama is really difficult. It was filmed in the Sabathu Army camp and concerns a family dealing with everyday issues against a backdrop of army life. The only trailers I've seen are song listing which doesn't sell it to me.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●○○○○○○○○
Takeshis'
It's taken nearly 5 years for Takeshi Kitano's surreal neo-noir to hit UK cinemas, which is odd as he's pretty much a known entity with a serious committed following. The film starts with a meeting between actor Beat Takeshi (himself) and his doppelganger (also Takeshi) and then slowly segues into masses of violence. Business as usual, then.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●○○○○○○○○
Valentine's Day
Big confession here. I know I have A Single Man as my film of the week, and I suspect Ponyo will be a much better second choice, but this is the film that I plan to see over the weekend. It's got an all star cast who all fall in love. What could be more wonderful than that?
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●●●○○○○
Winter in Wartime
The second World War 2 film of the week - it never ceases to produce new storylines - revolves around a small boy in the Netherlands finding out his family are involved in the resistance and assisting an injured British soldier. Similar to a reverse Whistle Down the Wind.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○
The Wolfman
There was a point when there were very high hopes for this Universal monster remake, but with Joe Johnston in the director's chair we should have known better. Still it should be the number one box office hit of this weekend. Anthony Hopkins and Benicio Del Toro play the world's least likely father son pairing and Emily Blunt gets to wear period dresses again.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●●○○○○○
Wednesday, 30 December 2009
2009 in Review - Best Actor
Compared to the last three days the Best Actor category is by far the starriest group with a couple of massively popular performers, but it still has it's fair share of wtf selections so I'm looking forward to hearing comments on this. Tee hee.
1. Benicio Del Toro - Che Part 1 and 2. There are few biopics where the actor so inhabits the person that we can't see the affectations and walls the actor has copied off the original. As far as I'm concerned Del Toro is Che Guevera.
2. Russell Crowe - State of Play. This superior thriller may not be the sort of film you would imagine as an acting showcase, but in casting Crowe as the archetypal news hound they managed to make it one. Everything he does is natural and built around an solid believeable characterisation.
3. Max Records - Where the Wild Things Are. Few child actors can make me sit up and notice their performance, often they come across as mannered or "stage schooly". As the one real wild thing in the movie Records was equally impressive when having a temper tantrum as when feeling isolated in his fantasy island.
4. Willem Dafoe - Antichrist. The He in Lars von Trier's nightmarish vision was a tough role for anyone to take on, both loving yet arrogant and mentally abusive, the performance had to be perfectly balanced to prevent it from going over the edge. Dafoe managed that and with Charlotte Gainsborough salvaged the humanity in the film.
5. Sean Penn - Milk. It's a tough choice for number 5, with both Penn and Mickey Rourke fighting for it. In the end I had to decide which performance spoke to me more, and Harvey Milk recruited me.
Friday, 27 February 2009
Che: Part 2
2008. Dir: Steven Soderbergh. Starring Benicio Del Toro, Franka Potenta, Joaquim de Almeida, Demián Bichir and Lou Diamond Phillips . ●●●●●
The second part of Steven Soderbergh's Che Geuvera biopic takes up his story several years later at the point of his resignation from the Cuban Government, indeed we open by watching Fidel Castro (Birchir) reading the letter of resigntion in full to the people of Cuba. For a staid and uninteresting letter the impact is huge, which goes one step to guaging the idolatory that surrouded Che at the time.
The film then follows Guevera as he leads a group of Cuban and Bolivian revolutionaries around the jungles of Bolivia in an attempt to recapture his former glories.
The film is almost unremittingly bleak - for anyone who knows the fate of Che we can see him getting closer and closer to his destiny as the band of brothers are hittled down in defeat after defeat.
As with the first part we understand few of Guevera's motivations or explanations regarding his actions, although it seems the weight of Cuba (both the campaign and the peace that followed) lies heavily on him. He is no longer opposed to recruiting young men with little or no education and on the flip side he is more tolerant of derserting. Benicio continues to live in the role rather than act it, and the supporting cast are solid throughout. I'd especially like to commend the peasant who flips from supporting Che's band to selling them out is believeable and tragic. If anyone can tell me who that was I'll be very grateful.
Some people have complained about the bizarre Matt Damon cameo, although I'm letting it pass as his German was very impressive, and it didn't really take away from the ordinariness of the scene.
The technical set-up is almost identical to the original, hand held cameras, mid range shots etc. Even the scenes at the Presidential Palace and US embassy have an urgency to the filming.
I would perhaps have liked more of outsider view, the reasons why he succeeded in Cuba but failed in Bolivia are only hinted at, and it can't just be because of American Military training. But maybe Soderbergh was deliberately vague on this point, after all Guevera did not know the difference when he started his Bolivian campaign so why should we.
Thursday, 19 February 2009
Benicio Del Toro
Happy Birthday to
Benicio Del Toro
42 today
Another attractive in an unconventional way actor - it's the way I like them - Benicio is on a bit of a role at the moment. I'm eagerly anticipating the second part of Che (hopefully opening this weekend) and he also has The Wolfman in November to propel him to the top of the Box Office. There are also rumours that he's to play one of the Jesuits in Scorcese's Silence. Now that a pairing the world needs to see.
Sunday, 4 January 2009
Che: Part 1
2008. Dir: Steven Soderbergh. Starring: Benecio Del Toro, Julia Ormond, Demián Bichir, Catalina Sandino Moreno and Rodrigo Santoro . ●●●●○
It has been over 24 hours since I saw Che: Part 1 and I'm not sure I've given enough time to fully be able to review the film. The experience was so visceral, so raw I find it difficult to seperate my thoughts about the process from my thoughts about the film making. It is common, when watching biopics, to be unable to distance my ideas about the characters to those of the film, but somehow, because of the way Che was made, I find it even harder than normal.
The films alternates between scenes of the July 26th movement's struggle against Batista's dictatorship in Cuba and Che's triumphant speech to the UN headquarters in December 1964.
It is in Cuba that the film is truly alive. We are plunged alongside Ernesto "Che" Guevera as he fights alongside Fidel Castro, romps with the wounded, leads the troops and in his decisive battle in Santa Clara. During these sections we get a real insight into what Guevera was like: his crippling asthma, his belief in education as being the only way of leading Cuba out of poverty, his resolve and bloody mindedness, even his ideas on justice.
In the main this is due to the seamless performance by Del Toro who disappears completely in the role, physically and spiritually embodying the famed revolutionary. Soderbergh's cinematography and direction help with this feat, the camera always appears to be placed so that Che is central to the action, or ahead of the rest of the crowd. You end up feeling like you're following Guevera in a documentary.
The grainy black and white work in the New York scenes are less sucessful. Seeming more like a greatest hits of Guevera's speeches and some interlocking scenes I was aching either to here the speech in full or just return to the Cuban jungles.
The rest of the cast are exemplarary too, even if the nature of guerilla warfare and the films focus on Che means that many of them have little characterisation to work with.
Perhaps the biggest issue I had with the film was that it seemed to focus on how Che acted but not on the why. It seems that Fidel persuaded him to join the Cuban revolution over a single cigar. Even in the New York scenes, where Del Toro is interviewed by Ormond he states he fully realized why he was joining the campaign whilst transporting the sick from the attack on the Moncado barracks yet what this why is is never investigated.
Maybe the whys will be become more apparent following Che: Part 2. Until then the review can only ever be 4 out of 5 blobs.
