Portmanteau fans are salivating at their screens this week as not just one but two examples of short film collections hit screens, although frankly if you're not in London your options are less open. The anthology format used to be the preserve of certain kinds of horror movie with Peter Cushing coaxing terrified guests in his haunted mansion to spill their ghosts stories before revealing himself to be the demon about to devour their souls - or something like that. I definitely remember Bernard Cribbins and a man-eating bush in one of Hammer's earlier incarnations. However, in the noughties a trend for serious directors to put together themed shorts - notably 11'09'01 and Paris, Je t'aime - with the aim to experiment in style and promote the short film form. Perhaps I may be backing the wrong horse, the reviews for both have been decidedly mixed, but I'm plumping for relentless infidelity over a sojourn to Cuba so the Runs Like a Gay film of the week is Players.
The UK's box office champion last weekend wasn't included in my run-down of new releases seven days ago. This is because it hasn't actually opened yet. Why, then, is it the top of the chart I hear you ask... Because it has opened. Ice Age: Continental Drift isn't just an unwanted sequel to a fairly forgettable animated franchise, it's also the Schrodinger's Cat of cinema. It is both in cinemas and not in cinemas - and I suppose the animal cast are therefore both alive and not alive at the same time, which may well be a boom to the career of John Leguizamo. Last weekend saw it's release in the Republic of Ireland, Scotland and Northern Ireland where the schools have already broken up for their summer holidays. In England and Wales (including the RLAG headquarters in Manchester) it has shown in previews but won't be formerly out until July 13th - which basically means we can see it weekends but not week days. This whole extended opening is a fraudulent way of boosting opening weekend figures if you ask me, but then that's probably a discussion best left for another time. So in effect the scottish pre-teens have propelled Scrat and co to the top of the charts with no help from the rest of us, good for them eh? Setting the fossil-record challenged critters
to one side the biggest new entry was Friends with Kids, so at least I got that right. Meanwhile MIB3 slipped back below Prometheus, the weeks best holdover. No plaudits for guessing this weekend biggest challenger, my spidey sense is telling me the all-new Peter Parker, the amazing Andrew Garfield will swing into the lead, covering the opposition of layers of sticky clue to feast on later. Undoubtedly the people will choose The Amazing Spider-Man.
Players
I've yet to see The Artist (I know, I know) but even so the extraordinary success of a black and white silent French movie is the guiding force that propels me towards this comedy about affairs that sees the direct and star reunite. Based on an idea by Oscar winning actor Jean Dujardin - although to be fair the gallic film is based on the comedic value of sex outside of marriage - the contributions come from Michel Hazanavicius and Frad Cavaye (Pour Elle) among others.
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Read on for arachnid transformations, tasmanian tigers and an illicit trip to the Caribbean as well as all of this weeks releases and trailers.
Too much cutting in a subtitled film can be a dangerous thing, and yet I'm still intrigued. Will have to wait for DVD though - I am not travelling to London for it.
The Amazing Spider-Man
The first trailer was a bit underwhelming, hence the surprisingly low score here, although I confess the marketing got better later on. Of course the real question is not whether it is necessary to reboot a successful series of films less than 10 years after the first run started, but whether this is indicative of Hollywood's laziness and the constant plundering of comic books. Although when original sci-fi properties are as creatively bankrupt as Battleship and John Carter you con't really blame the studios. Andrew Garfield is the eponymous web-slinger, Rhys Ifans his scaly nemesis, Emma Stone provides the love interest and Martin Sheen/Sally Field up the acting quotient in the first of this proposed spider trilogy.
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God Bless America
Comedian and Police Academy alumni Bobcat Goldthwaite continues his run of subversive satires that play with the notions of Americana and the cult of anti-hero's with Joel Murray (brother to Bill) driven to homicidal fury by society's failings, defending his central belief of kindness by gunning down reality TV contestants, talk-show DJs and in-cinema texters. I expect viewers from all sides of the political spectrum will react with outrage and smug satisfaction as the carnage reigns.
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The Hunter
Willem Dafoe spend the majority of this movie's running time stalking the last remaining Tasmanian Tiger, who may even be extinct. Not that you'd know that from the trailer which seems to play up the thriller aspects of the plot. Dafoe's performance, where he stalks through the undergrowth and uncovers all sorts of conspiracies whilst considering the empty recesses of his soul, and the delicious Australia geography virtually worshipped by Robert Humphreys' cinematography should bring in a significant art-house crowd.
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7 Days in Havana
Our second portmanteau is, in many ways, the more curious of the two options with Gasper Noe and - in his directorial debut - Benicio Del Toro amongst the contributers. But the structure of an American student (Josh Hutcherson) smuggling himself to Cuba and absorbing the culture seems slightly contrived - although looking at the trailer I wonder if my plot information is even vaguely correct.
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The Women on the 6th Floor
It's taken a long-time for this French hit comedy (it took $19m in France last February, just outgrossing Thor) to reach the UK. It looks jolly, focussing on the effect of Spanish maids on a stuffy middle class Parisien and his redemption. Carmen Maura is probably the best known of the ensemble.
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Bol Bachchan
There's no doubting the sincerity of this Bollywood comedy, or the title which gets constantly repeated during the trailer. That said there aren't many laughs to be found so I'm not expecting very impressive box office returns.
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Diamond Necklace
The soundtrack to the trailer's more shopping channel than Malayalam action flick so maybe this quietly released Dubai set flick with it's cautionary tale of monetary excess and true love might be worth seeking out.
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Exit Humanity
Sneaking out into cinemas for one day before getting a DVD release is this civil war era zombie film, obviously influenced by the idea, if not the execution, of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. That said I have no idea how they managed to rope Brian Cox in to narrate.
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Strawberry Fields
British Indie which I suspect deserves more than I've given it here but I can't in all honestly get enthused by the trailer and premise of two sisters running away from their past, but not quite escaping from each other.
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And finally, as if dragged in from another dimension, it's
Ice Age: Continental Drift
Being confused about whether to put it in last week or next week I'm splitting the difference. Not that it makes much difference there's no way this animated cash-cow would get my film of the week endorsement. The gang's all here from the last film - literally even side character and minor addition comes back for a line or too for the pay-cheque (hello Simon Pegg) and we also get a love interest for Denis Leary's Diego in the form of sexy sabre-tooth Jennifer Lopez. Not that we should expect too much subtly in this oddly popular franchise, just colourful characters and well crafted back-drops. Ray Romano, John Lequizamo and Queen Latifah also star.
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Saturday, 7 July 2012
More films for your buck (Out this week - 06/07/12)
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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Friday, 29 April 2011
By Odin's Beard (Out this week - 29/04/11)
Summer's Here!!! We know this not because certain birds are singing, or flowers budding, or even the increasing temperature, but becuase the cinema schedules tell us so. The first of the tentpole movies has been unleased onto the unsuspecting movie public today (although actually it's been on at UK cinemas since Monday) and what with the positive reviews, and the fact that it's the one comic book adaptation this year that interests me, I'm going to say the movie of the week is Thor.
Thor
Marvel have cornered this end of the blockbuster season, with the Norse God taking over the spot from Iron Man last year, even the marketing here in the UK has emphasised this is from the same studio. Chris Hemsworth is the headline but quality supporting turns from Natalie Portman and Anthony Hopkins should be expected.
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Cedar Rapids
Indie comedy starring Ed Helms ("The Office", Hangover) as a naive insurance salesman sent to the annual insurance convention. Unfortunately he meets up with other, less strait-laced colleagues - including John C. Reilly - who slowly begin to push him towards an inevitable breakdown. Sigourney Weaver also stars.
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Farewell
True life spy story about the eponymously codenamed Russian who slipped secrets to his CIA counterparts in 1981. Serbian filmmaker Emir Kusturica plays our anti-hero with Guillame Canet, Willem Dafoe and Fred Ward among those using his info to good use. Solid looking movie that highlights a lesser-known element of the closing of the cold war.
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I Saw the Devil
Kim Jee-woon flips genre's agian with this Korean revenge movie to end all Korean revenge movies. The plot essentially involves a cop who repeated captures and tortures a killer before letting him go and starting the process again. Expect lots of gore.
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Insidious
Original Saw director James Wan has teamed up with Paranormal Activity producer for a derivative horror that's still managed to make back something like 30 times it's budget in US cinemas alone. Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne have a haunted son, Barbara Hershey comes along for the ride.
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Chalo Dilli
A Bollywood version of Planes, Trains and Automobiles with a cool headed female protagonist finding herself travelling with the ladies man from hell. Akshay Kumar has a supporting role which should guarantee a crowd.
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Shadow
Italian horror movie, that's taken a couple of years to secure a UK release. Concerns a young soldier on a biking expedition running into some unsavoury locals who like nothing more than chopping up strangers. You have to wonder if there really are weidos like that in every rural space?
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Tracker
Ray Winston is a Boer (who does this casting?) paid to find Maori murder suspect Temeura Morrison in this UK/New Zealand co-production. That's a great combo of actors and the film hints at British war atrocities during the empire's heyday however there's a definite sense of familiarity over the whole project.
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The Veteran
Messy looking british movie about an Afganistan vet (Toby Kebbell) finding it difficult to adjust to life in the council estates following his repatriation. It all ends in mass gunfights with marauding hoodies and Brian Cox. Unlikely to be a subtle investigation into the struggles our troops face.
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Naturally I missed a couple out from last week:
Island
Janet McTeer, Colin Morgan and Natalie Press are the torn apart family rediscovering each other and working through their differences in this drama set on a lonely Scottish island.
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Ko
Tamil movie that opens with a bank heist and from then on proverbial really hits the fan. Frankly Tamil releases are even harder to find a synopsis for than other Bollywood entries and the trailers bonkers crazy so that's all I can give you.
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Wednesday, 15 December 2010
Miral
2010. Dir: Julian Schnabel. Starring: Hiam Abbass, Freida Pinto, Omar Metwally, Alexander Siddig and Ruba Blal. ●●●○○
Over the years cinema has been littered with personal filmaking, statements from writers, directors or actors with which they intend to pass on their wisdom and change the way we, as an audience, view the world. On rare occasions these efforts are memorable, often they are risible, but mostly they are worthy but oh so very dull. Unfortunately Miral, the fourth biopic directed by former New York artist Julian Schnabel, falls distinctly into that third category.
The story is essentially about the eponymous Miral (played with monotonous solidity by Freida Pinto of Slumdog fame) and the complexity of her political and emotional journey through the Palestinian Intifida of 1987 onwards. It also concenrs the three women who most shape her life: Her Teacher, the real-life Hind Husseni (Hiam Abbas, fine) whose work and death bookend the movie; her mother (Yasmine Elmasri, the best of the women) an abused Palestinian giurl who sinks into prostitution and alcoholism and her aunt (an underused Ruba Blal) who was radicalised, dynamited an Isreali cinema (during Polanski's Repulison no less) and was subsequently incarcerated following the 7 day war in 1967. Each of these women present different choices that Miral has to make - in the face of the Isreali occupation should she show caring stoicism, desperation or merciless revenge.
The film breaks into chapters for each of the women, ending with Miral, and this episodic structure becomes the movies biggest failing. Each of the first sections seems rushed and incomplete - of course they can only be complete if Miral chooses to follow their example - and the film as a whole seems to lck the focus necessary for Schnabel to make his grand statement.
I suspect, as with Miral, Schnabel and Rula Jebreal the novelist and scriptwriter wish to present Hind Husseni as the ideal. A woman who dedicated her life to educations orphans of the occupation, positive that education is the only way out of poverty and out of repression. Miral Iman father, a superb Alexander Siddig, also believes in the path of passive resistance, sure that there is a way forward through dialogue rather than through the instruments of terrorism.
Perhaps the closest character to the minds of the production team is Omar Metwally as Hani the Hamas activist Miral falls for. Whilst a charismatic on-screen presence Metwally is saddled with some of the most expositional dialogue as to render his performance unnecessary. Two scenes in particulary - a day time picnic and a midnight assignation as meant to be signs of their buidding romance but his earnest monlogues about the future of a two state solution seem horrendously out of place.
There is plenty on the sidelines to enjoy though. You could start with the celebrity cameos; lefties Vanessa Redgrave and Willem Dafoe turn up to secure funding and to bring in a US/Brit audience and not much else...
Seriously, my favourite section was where Miral stayed with her aunt and cousin recouperating from an injury. Her cousin has struck a relationship with a young Jewish girl and the humourous and conflicting reactions from eacdh family is a delight. Especially Miral aunt who turns the Palestinian mother up to 11 (talking fast is Arabic, wearing traditional attire she usually shuns) when her potentially daughter in law comes over for the first time. These comic vignettes could form the basis of a delicious film about inter-religious acceptance and abstract prejudice - but alas we were up for a much more plodding sermon about politics in the Middle East.
Cinematography comes courtesy of Eric Gautier (Motorcycle Diaries, Into the Wild) and you can recognise his lensing style, with many of the more experimental florishes of Schnabel's previous films put aside.
Overall I would say I wanted this film to be so much more than it was. The Palestinian/Isreali conflict deserves a film that truly illuminates the conflict in totality. This filmed failed to do so without it turning into a lecture. That is a very great shame.
Saturday, 11 September 2010
Frolicking in the Countryside (Out this week - 10/09/10)
Closely fought campaign for film of the week with two big comedies slugging it out for the top spot. I'm not sure which of them will take the box office crown, or if Milla Jovovich Will steal it away from them. In the end I've plumped for the British option (got to support the local produce) and will be going to see Tamara Drewe
Alamar
Low key Mexican family drama about a five year old getting aquainted with his father whilst learning how to fish. Either mesmerising or twee depending on your tolerance for this sort of thing.
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Boss Engira Bhaskaran
Standard Bollywood romantic comedy with the titular hero turning his life around on discovering love. Ahhh.
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Cyrus
Just failing to make the grade this week is the latest film from the Duplass Brothers, and their first departure from their mumblecore background. John C. Reilly plays lonely divorcee falling for Marisa Tomei only to have to compete with her obsessive son Jonah Hill. Catherine Keener also stars.
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Going the Distance
It seems to have been previewing for months but the latest Drew Barrymore rom-com finally opens properly this weekend. Still looks saccharine and twee mind.
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My Son, My Son, What have ye Done
Warner Herzog has amassed a knock out cast (including Willem Dafoe, Brad Dourif, Chloe Sevigny and Michael Shannon) for this why dunnit murder mystery set in the quiet suburban driveways of middle America, but there seems to be little thought as to why we should watch.
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Resident Evil: Afterlife
Easily the most annoying trailer of the week, with director Paul WS Anderson and Milla Jovovich re-teaming for the fourth installment of zombie battles based on the superior computer games.
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The Runaways
The all-girl rock band on which this biopic is based had significantly more impact in the States than over hear, and I doubt even the presence of Twilight star Kristen Stewart can generate excitement. Michael Shannon has his second film this week and Tatum O'Neal (remember her?) gets a minor role.
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Tamara Drewe
Based on Posy Simmonds comic strip, as reproduced in the Guardian, which was in turn based on Thomas Hardy's Far from the Maddening Crowd, the Stephen Frears comedy should tick all the right boxes for a pleasant night out.
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Friday, 8 January 2010
Out this week (08/01/2010)
You've actually got a decent chance of seeing a film worth the ticket price this week, with 5 that look just as good, if not better, than last weeks victor (there're also 3 Bollywood releases if you fancy that). Personally I'm going to be seeing Meryl Streep (I just can't help myself) but the most interesting looking project, and therefore the film of the week, is The Road.
Daybreakers
Sometime in the not too distant future a virus will come along which turns most, but not all people, into blood thirsty vampires. Faced with a limited supply of non-vampiric humans to feast upon there is a moral dilemma of whether to farm people or create a synthetic substitute - that is before it descends into a chaotic third act, probably.
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Dulha Mil Gaya
The first of our Bollywood releases is a look at 4 different modern relationships and how the couples live their lives. Doesn't sound innovative or ground-breaking, but apparantly the lead has remarried to publicise the film.
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Exam
A mixed bunch of job candidates have to take an exam in a closed environment, only to find the sheet has no question. Naturally the candidates turn on each other in increasingly violent ways. Taut looking Brit thriller from debut director Stuart Hazeldine.
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Fireball
Have you noticed that all future set sports dramas have seen the rules relaxed so much that death is an acceptable by-product, but in reality competitive sports are getting less and less about contact? Anyway, this Thai drama sees a game where the first basket leads to a win, but that's the only rule. Immensely missable.
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It's Complicated
So, Meryl Streep used to married to Alec Baldwin, who had an affair and left her for the much younger Lake Bell. Only now he's missing what he's left behind and Alec is having an affair with Meryl. Add to this a new beau for Ms Streep in the guise of Steve Martin and we have the potential for a superb farce. We'll see.
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Mitti
Bollywood drama with a poster involving a large army and a set of four young men with their faces plastered at the top. The only plot outline I can find, which is about corrupt politicians, makes no sense in relation to the image. I don't know: See it, don't see it... Up to you.
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Pyaar Impossible
I could have sworn this came out last year... The tagline to the Hindi version of Notting Hill is 1 beauty plus 1 geek equals Pyaar Impossible, which will probably pack them in.
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The Road
It's not really my cup of tea but it's hard to argue the raw power of Cormac McCarthy's Pulitzer prize winning novel The Road. Here John Hillcoat has tried to distill the sense of foreboding as the Man and the Boy move through the desolation of a post-apolcalyptic America. It's had mixed responses but you cannot take away the ambition of such an endeavour.
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Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll
It's rare that Andy Serkis plays a person, let alone a historical figure as he does in this warts and all biopic of legendary punk rocker Ian Dury. It's getting some very early buzz for next years awards season so it might sitting through it.
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Treeless Mountain
Two young sisters are left to fend for themselves when their Mother goes in search of the father who abandoned them in this rich film from South Korea. It's done well on the festival circuit, winning the best film award in Dubai. Art-house certainly but well worth the trip if you want something a little different.
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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.
Thursday, 30 July 2009
Antichrist
2009. Dir: Lars von Trier. Starring: Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg. ●●●●○
I don't normally pay too much attention to other cinema goers, the films I go to see are either too mainstream (and therefore the audience too numerous to get an idea of them) or seem to be a fairly even mix of people. For Antichrist this was not the case. For one thing there were very few groups, most of the audience arrived and left the auditorium as singletons (myself included). The audience was also over-whelming male. Only 13% of the punters were female, an incredibly small percentage, and apparently that was close to the national average. I say this only as an interesting side point. I don't believe the film was excessively violent, or that it's a reflection of von Trier's misogynistic subconscious. Merely that the press furore that has attached itself to the film has attracted many more men than women to see it.
The story is relatively simple, so simple it could be the basis for any number of standard horror movies. Couple lose their son in freak accident, suffer immense guilt, go to summer home to recuperate, she goes a bit crazy. In the hands of Rob Zombie or Eli Roth the violence (screws through the leg, fox intestines) would still be the same, albeit with less obvious sexual activity, but the build of tension would not.
That opening scene, Dafoe and Gainsbourg having explicit sex in the shower whilst their boy tries to catch snowflakes is beautifully filmed. A touch cliched perhaps with the black and white palate, but effective nonetheless.
Dafoe's therapist then ignores the cardinal rule of never treating your family and sets about helping Gainsbourg out of her deep depression. The sessions that follow are painful, both in the way that Charlotte exhibits physical symptoms of anxiety, but also in the emotional intensity of the actors. It is during these scenes that the film really soars.
During the third act, once they decide to meet Gainsbourg's demons at 'Eden", the Grand Guignol begins in earnest. From talking foxes to female circumcision, the extremes are huge. And whilst the violence seems over the top it never appears to be gratuitous, and more importantly it's never celebrated. Each blow revolted me - far from the excitement that the injuries of Saw seems to celebrate. And the violence also seemed difficult to do. One of the characters is asphyxiated; it appears very real, and like it was taking the correct amount of time and effort. Horrifying but you couldn't take your eyes away.
Both of the actors give 100% into their performances, which seem wholely dedicated and effective.
On the technical side the stand out id Anthony Dod Mantle's cinematography. From the gorgeous opening to the mist in the trees every frame is filled and balanced perfectly. If Slumdog Millionaire wasn't enough to let us know how good his talents are, then Antichirst seals the deal on his genius.
Overall I was more interested in the act of dealing with grief rather than the fanciful witchcraft related elements, so I think the film would have pleased me more if it stayed in the city, but a fascinating picture nonetheless.
Tuesday, 22 July 2008
Willem Dafoe
Happy Birthday to
Willem Dafoe
53 today
Willem is probably best remembered for throwing his hands up in the air and dying herorically to Barber's Adagio for Strings in Platoon, but right now he seems to be capitalising more on his slightly creepy looks. Over the next 12 months look out for 2 vampire films (Daybreakers and Cirque du Freak). Personally I'm most looking forward to his Nazi Commandant in Paul Schrader's (co-incidently it's Paul's birthay as well) Adam Resurrected.
See poster after the jump:
