I can't quite believe it's happening, but after two and a half years of previewing the weekly releases I'm coming to a major milestone - it's the first movie to get a perfect score. The reviews have been cracking, it's from a director(s) and cast that I truly admire, it's picked up awards and nominations from major organisations - whilst I have had my doubts frankly it's hard to ignore it even if it didn't actually make my countdown for most anticipated film for 2010! So later today I will go to see , this weeks film of the week True Grit. 
True Grit
Without doubt this is the most exciting Western proposition in nearly 20 years. The Coen brothers returning to Charles Portis' novel for this exciting tale about redemption and loyalty all seen through the eyes of a 13 year old girl. By the way the talk that this is not a remake of the earlier movie is slightly undermined by the eyepatch, which was an invention of the first film.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●●●●●●●
Gnomeo and Juliet
Smart looking children's adaptation of Shakespeare most famous romantic tragedy set to the music of Elton John. The changing of the characters to Gnome's is odd but is at least understandable for the kids. The eclectic cast backing James McAvoy and Emily Blunt in the leads ranges from the highbrow Michael Caine, Maggie Smith and Julie Walters to the bizarre trilogy of Ozzy Osbourne, Jason Statham and Hulk Hogan!
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●●○○○○○
Never Let me Go
Kazuo Ishiguro's subtly sci-fi love triangle set in an alternative 1970's UK somehow never managed to capture the pre-screening buzz it elicited. Nevertheless the melancholic style and triumphant central performances by Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley and Andrew Garfield makes this an interesing proposition.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●●○○○○○
Just Go with It
Dreadful looking Adam Sandler vehicle where he somehow manages to drag Jennifer Aniston and Nicole Kidman into the mess with him. Plot seems to revolve around Sandler pretending Aniston is his wife in order to attract another (younger) woman.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○
Nothing to Declare
French Buddy Cop Comedy (be warned) about the closing of the French-Belgian border in the ninety's. Plenty of national stereotypes abound. Should appeal to the Top Gear crowd - if it weren't actually in French.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○
Patiala House
Akshay Kumar headlines this UK set Bollywood movie about a second generation Sikh, the central question is whether supporting your family or following your dreams is more important or whether you should have to choose.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○
Son of Babylon
Iraqi drama about a 12 year-old boy Ahmed and his Grandmother crossing the country to find Ahmed's missing father who might have been released after the fall of Saddam Hussein.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○
Yogi Bear
The questionable regurgitation of 1960's cartoons reaches a new low with Hanna-Barbera's most famous Bear, most famous for it's "Best things come in Bears" first poster. You can understand why Dan Aykroyd desperately needs the work but Justin Timberlake has no excuse fr this boo boo.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○
Bizarrely missed from 04/02/11
New York, I Love You
Not sure how I missed the release of this themed collection of shorts in the same vein as Paris Je t'aime. I've already got the DVD and will review - as part of my normal film reviews - in a few weeks.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●●●●○○○
Saturday, 12 February 2011
The clue's in the eyepatch (Out this week - 11/02/11)
Wednesday, 9 February 2011
Rabbit Hole
2010. Dir: John Cameron Mitchell. Starring: Nicole Kidman, Aaron Eckhart, Dianne Wiest, Miles Teller and Sandra Oh. ●●●●○
Grief is a difficult and complex set of emotions, and losing a child must be one of the most horrific episodes in anyone's life, but presenting that issue on screen is rarely managed well. The usual method is to overload the pathos to emotionally devastate the parents. Thankfully Rabbit Hole manages to avoid that pitfall in this slow-burning, deeply felt and under-played look as parental loss.
The film picks up eight months after Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart have lost their only child in a car accident, and follows them as they drift apart, both of them looking for ways to deal with their mixed emotions and neither of them feeling the other can help. Kidman begins a - suspend your disbelief here - faltering friendship with the college student who ran her son over (newcomer Miles Teller) whilst Eckhart finds himself drawn to Sandra Oh, a fellow attendee at the group grief counselling sessions.
The tone of the screenplay allows the charcters to feel and think in ways that seem realistic and nuaced, elements of guilt and mutual anger - partly due to the differences in how they cope - mingle freely with black comedy and tender observations. The group therapy includes some of the most delicious lines, Kidman reishing "Why didn't he just make one" which is even funnier in context than it was in the trailer.
Both of the protagonists give career best performances and I'm surprised Eckhart didn't get much heat in award season his mood swings and need to both goforward and hold onto the past are utterly convincing, Teller also stands out as one to watch in the future (he has a supporting role in the Footloose remake coming up but I expect more will come). I have to say I was less enthused by Dianne Wiest, party because I found it extremely hard to imagine her and Kidman were actually mother and daughter both in the way they interact with each other and the characers outlook on life.
John Cameron Mitchell directs with an unfussy plainness that would surprise fans of his earlier work (Shortbus, Hedwig) and Frank G DeMarco shoots with a drab sensibility that fits the dourness of the script. I would like to suggest to Nicole and Aaron that they get some decorators round, it's going to be difficult to sell their house with the relentless brown of the ground floor, a depressing reminder of the emptyness of their lives.
A couple of glitches and a painfully slow pace aside this is a unique look at the grieving process and certainly worth a look.
Wednesday, 30 December 2009
Nine
2009. Dir: Rob Marshall. Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Marion Cotillard, Penelope Cruz, Judi Dench and Nicole Kidman. ●●●●○
The question I asked myself as I walked into the cinema this week was: Is Rob Marshall the saviour of musical cinema or it's destroyer. I left the cinema with the same question. I simply do not know. I deeply suspect that he is neither, and in the fullness of time he will remian merely a footnote in the history of movies. That is not to say that Nine is a bad movie, it is very enjoyable, but also strangely forgettable.
Before I go any further on this review, I'd like to point out the excellent review by TomS over on his blog. I'd advise going there if you want a slightly more positive spin on what I'm about to say.
Nine is a film adapatation of the stage musical based on Fellini's 8 ½, which is in itself essentially a rumination on writer's block within the film industry, with the lead protagonist a thinly veiled version of Fellini. Nine then follows the story of an egotistical, womanising director - Guido Contini (Day-Lewis) - struggling to create his latest masterpiece even though production is set to begin and the marketing is in full throttle.
Contini distracts himself by talking to and imagining the women in his life, and in each of whom he equates to a particular song and dance style, and so we are able to include the element of music added to the stage without arousing suspicion that it's a musical - it's all in his head. A heady reminder of the artifice of cinema and the strains of the creative process. You may remember Rob Marshall used this technique in Chicago, there it seemed original and clever, here it seems like he's stolen it from himself.
Daniel Day-Lewis does his best in the lead role, hunching his neck forward like a vulture seeking out new prey (or women), but there's little in his demeanor to indicate why women flock to him. Maybe they're awed by his talent, but as he doesn't appear to be "nice" to any of them I can't see why they'd stay around. Saying that Day-Lewis is better at the comedy than I'd suspect - he skulks around the spa furtively hiding from people like a seasoned farceur.
Of the ladies the stand-out is Marion Cotillard (she came first in my supporting actress of the year awards), as I said there she effectively gives us the impression that her love for her husband Guido is balanced by her realisation that that may not be enough. She also performs both her songs with dignity and passion.
The singing performance can only be surpassed by Fergie as the under-written Seraghina, the whore Contini remembers as a child. She has the best song (Be Italian - it was used in the trailer) and really knows how to sing to the back row, the Fosse inspired choroegraphy is also a great additoon to the song.
Some of the other ladies do not do so well - Sophia Loren was distinctly underwhelming and I was also disappointed by Penelope Cruz's mugging. Part of the fault of this is because Nine is just not that good a musical. We want either songs we can repeat the refrain endlessly or to at least be able to spot the beauty of the music outside of it's setting. Nine largely fails at both of these.
The production values also seemed inconsistent. I liked the dancing, but wished the camera would look at it more - Marshall hasn't learnt that editing is crucial to getting the audience to understand the "story" of the dance. The evocation of 1960s Italy was superb until Nicole Kidman's movie star glared at me from a film poster, her face seemingly painted by a different artist from the rest of her body. I will admit the opening and closing scenes were excellently staged and performed, as a introduction and effectively a bow from all the women and their imagined choruses.
As I said at the beginning of the review my overall impression was that I enjoyed the film, but I will soon forget it.
Saturday, 20 June 2009
Nicole Kidman
Happy Birthday to
Nicole Kidman
42 today
There are few stars in cinema today who can claim such an interesting and exciting C.V. as Nicole. She may not have topped the Box Office in a while but we are still in awe of her star quality, and at the sme time she's worked for directors as diverse as Stephen Daldry, Stanley Kubrick, Baz Luhrmann, Anthony Minghella and Lars von Trier, and shone for each of them. She's just had to drop out of Woody Allen's next London set picture, but at least we'll get to see her sining again in Nine.
