2011 Review Round-Up: Part 2

Continuing the review round-up for 2011: the rest of the films I never got round to covering. Read and enjoy.

A Lonely Place to Die ✰✰✰✰
Underrated and overlooked, A Lonely Place to Die is thrilling, but simple - the characters have as much depth as the parent-and-toddler end of your local swimming pool, and the finale gets a little bit too wound up in itself; the majority of the cat-and-mouse action takes place in the remote highlands, and things get a bit clustered when things come to a head in a Wicker Man-style village fete. Still, this tale of a group of climbers who find a kidnapped girl is breathtaking.

30 Minutes or Less ✰✰✰

This small-town comedy hits the mark - but only just. Danny McBride and Nick Swardson play a couple of arrogant, selfish goons who strap a bomb to unsuspecting delivery boy Jesse Eisenberg (think Futurama’s Philip. J Fry) and tell him to rob a bank. Or else. This could easily have made for a Nic Cage action vehicle, but ultimately is done a much better service by Eisenberg and pal Aziz Ansari (of Scrubs). Not laugh-a-minute, but on the right end of the humour spectrum.

Melancholia ✰✰✰✰
This one’s a grower, that’s for sure. My initial reaction was one of tedium; Lars von Trier’s end-of-the-world sci-fi about another planet colliding with Earth oddly has the doomsday scenario take backseat, in favour of The Depressing Tales of Kirsten Dunst. Yet, on reflection, a breathtaking mix of beautiful cinematography, fine acting (especially from Dunst’s pitiable husband Alexander Skarsgård) and a lasting impact make Melancholia a great watch indeed. But I still can’t stand Kirsten.

Midnight in Paris ✰✰

Everyone seems to have fallen for Woody Allen’s love letter to Paris and literary age, but I’m not so sure. That’s not to say it’s not enjoyable; a good few laughs were to be had and it’s definitely a feel-good hit. But Owen Wilson’s only playing himself, and a lot of it boils down to ‘oh look! It’s that well-known writer that I’ve heard of before! I can identify with this!’ It’s worth a watch, but emphasis on ‘a’. No need to sit through it again.

The Ides of March ✰✰✰✰

Ryan Gosling’s on fire lately. Crazy Stupid Love? Maybe not. But Drive and The Ides of March were two of 2011’s best. Attempting to illuminate political strife in local American politics, George Clooney’s drama is hard-hitting and possibly the cleverest film since Inception. It might not be the political exposé George intended, somehow failing to inform us of anything the media hasn’t already forced into our preconceptions, but it’s still a smart, funny and engaging drama that proves Gosling’s range - and Clooney’s ability both behind and in front of the camera.

In Time ✰✰
Justin Timberlake’s first serious action role as lead, after making a name for himself as an actor alongside Jesse Eisenberg in 2010’s The Social Network, In Time doesn’t really stand out amongst a crowd of sci-fi thrillers. The concept is fairly unique - hit twenty-five years of age and you have to earn more life or, well, die - but that’s about as far as it goes: the execution is bland, the acting blander, and ultimately it’s all a bit boring. Cillian Murphy is uninspired and romps through clichés left right and centre, though Amanda Seyfried is notable in a fairly diverse role (as opposed to her previous work - see Mamma Mia).

Tower Heist ✰✰✰
Assembling a cast of clowns and somehow ending up with the most serious comedy in years, Brett Ratner’s Tower Heist focuses on a group of employees who vow to get back at their big bad boss after realising he’s swindled them of their savings. Getting off to a slow start, and not really picking up the pace, the film provides nowhere near as many laughs as it could (and indeed should, considering its cast of Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Matthew Broderick et al) - and where it does provide comic moments, they’re hardly subtle. Though for a film entitled ‘Tower Heist’ perhaps that’s to be expected…

Take Shelter ✰✰✰✰✰
Another slow burner, but like The King’s Speech, it only burns brighter because of that. Or, should I say, burns intensely - for this is perhaps the most hard-hitting, intense film of the year. Donnie Darko if done by Nolan, Take Shelter tells the tale of hardworking father Curtis (Michael Shannon), who is plagued by a series of apocalyptic visions. Coming to a head in one of the most powerful scenes in modern film history, director Jeff Nichols’ darkly themed drama is a brooding, psychological masterpiece that prompts as many questions of its audience as it answers.

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol ✰✰✰✰

This one needs to be seen in IMAX to be properly seen, so catch it while you can. Tom Cruise’s action series returns for its fourth instalment, and defies all conventions attached to the modern fourquel (see Kingdom of the Crystal Skull or Die Hard 4.0). Ably joined by a now fully-featuring field man Simon Pegg and rising star Jeremy Renner (who will soon be taking over the Bourne series), Cruise’s impossible mission will take him to Dubai and back - and might involve a slight vertical climb up the tallest building in the world. A dizzyingly good action blockbuster: Michael Bay, take note.

And the rest...

Hugo ✰✰✰

Sacha Baron Cohen is the standout in Martin Scorsese’s foray into family film. Heartwarming but not spectacular.

Another Earth ✰✰✰✰

Science fiction without the sci-fi, but this is still a powerful drama with a frank message.

The Rum Diary ✰✰✰

Johnny Depp being Johnny Depp. A little overblown but still engaging and humourous.

Carnage ✰✰

Fine actors being finely wasted by Roman Polanski’s dull and drawn out film. With projectile vomiting.

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Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows [Review]

Bang; boom; KABLAMO - Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows starts as it means to go on. It’s bigger; it’s louder - simply put, it’s the original film turned up to eleven.

That’s not to say this is in most respects a replication of 2009’s Sherlock Holmes. Far from it; while the continuity is, for the most part, there - the style, the cinematography, director Guy Ritchie’s trademark slow-motion - this is an entirely new film, though one that neither surpasses nor falls short of its predecessor.

The film’s new villain is Jared Harris, in the very unshadowy role of Professor Moriarty. Spending most of his time in broad daylight, meeting main man Holmes (Robert Downey Jr. reprising his lead role) on several occasions, Moriarty is thoroughly demystified by the film’s conclusion, though that doesn’t make him any less of a menace. He’s also Holmes’ opposite: where the detective is jittery, impulsive and sporadic, Moriarty is poised, calm and collected.

Moriarty’s dastardly plan sprouts from, unsurprisingly, finance: he attempts to instigate a world war in order to stimulate demand in cotton, guns and other goods - industries the professor has invested in heavily. It’s up to Sherlock to stop him, and once more he enlists the aid of faithful sidekick Dr Watson (Jude Law). Well, maybe enlist is too strong a word - suffice to say it involves an interrupted honeymoon and Watson’s new bride being pushed off a moving train (“DID YOU JUST KILL MY WIFE?”).

On that note, it’s fair to say the humour is still a distinct part of the once again genius script. Penned by Kieran and Michele Mulroney, the insanely logistical and clever screenplay infuses the trademark cocky humour of Downey Jr. that we’ve seen in his previous Holmes outing and recent Iron Man films. But it’s worth noting that things also get a bit darker here - particularly during one of Holmes’ and Moriarty’s skirmishes in Berlin that ends in the famed detective suspended by a meat hook. Not a pretty sight.

Mr Moriarty (Harris) has a less than civil meeting with Mr Holmes (Downey Jr.)

Ritchie’s direction will be familiar to anyone who’s seen his previous work; full of juxtaposed speed or lack thereof, his slow-motion is matched only by his frantic dashes with the camera. It’s all pulled off exquisitely, though, and still feels like a dig at Michael Bay - where the latter catapults everything at us full speed, Ritchie slows the key moments down to a pace where the audience can actually tell what’s going on.

These camera novelties are the Holmes reboot’s primary mechanic, it seems, and are used to much greater extent here than the original - again, it’s the first film turned up to the max. A scene towards the film’s climax displays how Moriarty is more than a match for Holmes, as both play out how a fistfight between them might occur in their minds’ eyes. Elsewhere the script runs anything but clockwork, ticking back and forth to explain previous scenes in flashbacks.

Here’s where I’d really like to say: ‘but it’s an exemplification of the script’s strength that it never jars’. But alas, at times, the flaws are evident. The frantic train scene backtracks more than once, and it’s too much. But the script is otherwise fairly tight, and while the plot won’t make one hundred per cent sense, it’s still enjoyable. And the riff on the title in the climactic game of wits is ingenious.

The film’s structure is good for the most part, even if it is just a collection of set-pieces across Europe, cobbled together in one big continental dash. Sadly, its climax is anything short of fulfilling the build-up, and even feels slightly underwhelming - though, as mentioned previously, its return to a more logical battle is still welcome.

Also welcome is the film’s evident self-mockery - in response to comments on the first film of the subtle homo-eroticism between Law and Downey Jr., A Game of Shadows embraces its protagonists’ bromance to the point where one of them dons full drag as they huddle on the floor of a train compartment.

It’s not all fun and games, though - the supporting characters are all a bit disappointing; a pineapple would have been more convincing than Stephen Fry as Holmes’ brother Mycroft, while female lead Noomi Rapace seems nothing more than an empty plot device. Rachel McAdams returns as Holmes’ female equal, but she’s woefully under-used.

While the parts that make up A Game of Shadows might be inherently similar to those of the original Sherlock Holmes romp, the sum of its parts is a different beast altogether - more action; more locations; more everything. It has its fair share of flaws, but it’s still an enjoyable whirlwind ride across Europe, that’ll keep you hooked right ‘till the very last costume from the classic Master of Disguise.

✰✰✰✰

See also: Sherlock Holmes (2009)

Dir: Guy Ritchie
Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Jared Harris, Rachel McAdams
Warner. Bros Pictures, 129 mins, 16/12/11

Synopsis: A year has passed since the original Sherlock Holmes outing, and Robert Downey Jr.'s erratic detective has one last case (as always). Professor Moriarty is on the scene, and danger isn't far behind...

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New trailer for The Dark Knight Rises

"There's a storm coming, Mr Wayne. You and your friends better batten down the hatches, 'cause when it hits, you're all gonna wonder how you ever thought you could live so large, and leave so little for the rest of us..."

The words of Selina Kyle, played by Anne Hathaway in Christopher Nolan's third and final Batman film, The Dark Knight Rises, due to hit cinemas in 2012. A film that's so highly anticipated by both this critic and pretty much every other fan of movies, there isn't much need for anything else to come out next year. And now there's a new trailer for it (see above).

We're introduced to Miss Kyle (aka Catwoman) for the first time, however briefly, and catch our first glimpses of Batman vs. Bane. Glimpses which only ratify the rumours doing the rounds on the web - will Nolan kill Batman? We see Bane looking down at a bloody Christian Bale, unmasked and seemingly defeated, before the baddie, played by Tom Hardy, growls:

"When Gotham is ashes... you have my permission to die."

We also see a fairly epic scene whereby Bane seemingly causes a football field to cave in, taking most of the players with it.

Two things to take from this - one; Bane is one seriously badass mofo. Two; Bane knows Batman's real identity. Which will obviously cause problems for the newly resurfaced caped crusader. It would be an amazingly huge risk for Nolan to kill off his Dark Knight, but if anyone can pull it off, it's him. Personally, I wouldn't complain too much. I like filmmakers who take risks.

My only experience of Bane is what I've seen in the excruciating watch that is Batman and Robin, where he was a braindead brute, only to be used for strength. Now he's Nolan's primary antagonist, so he'll need to do a bit better than that. The question is; will he? Well, watch the trailer and see for yourself...

The Dark Knight Rises is released on 20th July 2012.

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2011 Review Round-Up: Part 1

Looking back over 2011, there's a fair few films I've seen but never got round to reviewing. So, hey presto, here follows a paragraph-review for each, starting with the first ten. Scores are numerical but act as a star rating. Enjoy!

127 Hours ✰✰✰✰✰

Another masterpiece by Danny Boyle, who successfully pulls off 94 minutes of film where the main antagonist is… a boulder. Tells the true story of Aaron Ralston, who gets trapped in a canyon. A soundtrack to inspire the coldest of hearts on the blackest of days, and a story to match. James Franco gives the performance of a career.

 


The King’s Speech✰✰✰✰

Slow burning but brighter for it. Geoffrey Rush pirates around the decks while… no, hang on, that’s a different film. Beautifully British, and oh so 1930s/40s, a film about a speech impediment somehow ticks almost all the boxes. Cinema sure has been surprising this year…

Paul ✰✰✰

It’s no Hot Fuzz, and seems to have never heard of Shaun of the Dead, but Pegg/Frost/Wright’s third film together isn’t part of the Cornetto/Ice Cream Trilogy anyway apparently. So, that aside, it’s an alright ride. Not exactly laugh-a-minute, and drags at the start - where’s the chemistry? The joke that the pair are on their honeymoon might as well be true - but still enjoyable.

The Adjustment Bureau ✰✰✰✰

Romantic sci-fi. Is there any better genre? Well, yes, but The Adjustment Bureau doesn’t care. Matt Damon and Emily Blunt are on fire, and it’s a stylish, thrilling blaze as they burn across New York. Ambiguous themes culminate in an ambiguous ending, and it’s not one you’re likely to watch more than once (twice at a stretch) but you’ll have a whale of a time the first run through.

Source Code ✰✰✰

Groundhog Day meets The Hurt Locker, and Jake ‘I-can’t-quite-tell-if-he’s-good-or-not’ Gyllenhaal revels in it. Confusing to no end, with a pretty big plot hole dangling in the centre, but manages to keep you engaged even by the fifth or sixth time Gyllenhaal, um, blows up. Sure to spark moral debate among those so inclined to give a damn.

Thor ✰✰✰✰

One of Marvel’s better superhero flicks, though completely unexpectedly. Tom Hiddleston steals it as Loki, Thor’s younger sibling, and like most Marvel films, it’s enjoyable without really doing much else. In fact, with the exception of maybe the Spider-Man trilogy, which is all over the place, I could probably just give every Marvel film four stars and be done with it. Oh, but not The Avengers next year. Which looks terrible.

The Hangover: Part II ✰✰

Part two, two stars. See what I did there? Basically, watch the first one again with Bangkok-vision turned on and you’ve got the same thing. Every last plot detail is practically exactly the same. Someone, anyone; please tell me - WHAT IS THE POINT OF THIS FILM?

X-Men: First Class ✰✰✰✰

Look! Marvel! Four stars! Didn’t see that one coming! Bests the rest of the X-Men films, which have dated badly, but even at their release none were quite as good as this. Blatantly ignores continuity and the script isn’t water-tight, so it loses a star for that. And the incessant need to cram in every other character from the original trilogy. Fassbender and McAvoy are exquisite though, as a young Magneto/Xavier (respectively), in this stylish prequel.

Super 8 ✰✰✰✰✰

Sure, it’s overly nostalgic, and sure, it’s a bit wound up in throwing out homages left, right and centre, but it’s also one hell of a film. The sum of its parts, and what fantastic parts those are: superb acting, child and adult alike; wonderful cinematography and direction; a water-tight and engaging plot - Super 8 oozes charm and nostalgia itself. A must-see.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes ✰✰✰✰✰

Despite its silly title, this is the other of Part 1’s must-see films. Powerful, raw and engaging, it’s James Franco again, playing off Andy Serkis doing what he does best: being an animal. And believe me when I say; this film is a beast. My top pick of this list, you’d be a monkey to miss it (puns all completely intended).

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Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol [Preview]

Last week I managed to catch a preview screening of Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, where 30 minutes of footage was showcased on the biggest IMAX screen in the country.

And it was every bit as bombastic as one would expect from a Mission: Impossible film. The first sequence depicted leading man Tom Cruise, as disavowed agent Ethan Hunt, attempting to scale the Burj Khalifa – the tallest building in the world, located in Dubai. This bit is shot with IMAX cameras, and it’s predictably vertigo-inducing – but all the while breathtaking and thrilling.

Indeed, the first film shot with IMAX cameras since The Dark Knight (2008), Ghost Protocol uses the technology only to its advantage – wide, panning shots that often veer to a vertical angle offer a real sense of dread and height in sequences such as the tower climb. From there the footage moved on to a sandstorm chase; again, every bit as thrilling, though here director Brad Bird’s cameras felt a little too frantic – reminiscent in ways of Michael Bay’s staple ‘technique’ (I use the term loosely).

The film’s plot is not dissimilar to that of the original Mission: Impossible – the Impossible Mission Force (IMF) team is forced to disband after a bombing in Moscow is blamed on Hunt. However, Cruise’s 4 man team are allowed to escape, in order to pursue the true bombers under the radar. And Cruise is definitely back on form here after the debacle that was Knight and Day (2010), though it’s the genius pairing of Simon Pegg and Jeremy Renner who steal the show, providing both humour and conviction.

Other sequences shown were from the earlier in the film, when said escape of Hunt’s team occurs. It’s all standard action-thriller fare at this point – though doesn’t take itself too seriously, with Renner (who’s rumoured to be taking over from Cruise in future instalments) even questioning how Cruise’s tactics could possibly have worked; thus simultaneously addressing and dismissing both a clichéd escape and a damning plot hole. Sure, it might be considered a lazy get-out clause for the writers, but it’s also humourous and a cynical nod to our weariness of such tiresome plot devices.

Otherwise the script is fairly tight; Pegg’s role as the techy follows on from his role in Star Trek (2009) aptly, and his dialogue is no less suitable. Pegg’s comic timing adds an extra depth to the proceedings; not so much that Ghost Protocol becomes farcical – it is, first and foremost, an action movie – but just enough to balance the light-hearted side of things.

This is Brad Bird’s first live-action outing, after a series of animated efforts that included Pixar’s The Incredibles (2004) and Ratatouille (2007), and it’s shaping up to be very promising. Four-quels might have been getting a bit of a bad rap lately – see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) or Die Hard 4.0 (2007) for examples – but Ghost Protocol looks set to turn that around.

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol is directed by Brad Bird and stars Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner and Simon Pegg. It arrives in cinemas 26^th December 2011. You can find the trailer below:

(For The Hollywood News: http://www.thehollywoodnews.com/2011/11/22/mission-impossible-ghost-protocol-preview/) 

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Assassin's Creed III confirmed in all but title

As you can probably tell from past articles, I've taken a bit of a shine to the Assassin's Creed series. In fact, it's probably one of my favourite series of all time. And even though next week's release, Revelations, promises to tie up the story of pretty much every character we've seen so far, developers Ubisoft haven't quite done with the franchise just yet (don't look so surprised).

CEO Yves Guillemot announced during a recent financial earnings call that a new game will be released in 2012 - the fourth in as many years, starting with Assassin's Creed II in 2009 - promising "another great full-fledged Assassin's Creed title next year".

And it looks like this might finally be the next numerical instalment fans have been hoping for (yes, me). Guillemot released no further details, but promised: "It will be another major release and we will be communicating more about it in the coming months."

With Altair, Ezio and Desmond's 'cycles' concluding in Revelations (though surely cycles do not conclude, but simply start over?), the path looks clear for new protagonists, locations and stories to embrace the stunning world of Assassin's Creed.

And to echo a statement in my Revelations preview: here's hoping for something along the lines of Victorian England.

Source: thesixthaxis

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The Thing [Review]

Far be it from me to presuppose the outcome of this horror prequel to the 1982 classic of the same name, but… I did. Much too easily can the audience predict every single twist and turn The Thing catapults at them, long before it has chance to fire. Such is the problem with psychological horror; of course, the premise is interesting – no one can be trusted, anyone could be an enemy – but in many cases it comes at the expense of the basic horror elements.

The Thing takes place, predictably, in a remote location – this time somewhere in Antarctica, where a Norwegian team have stumbled upon a crashed alien spacecraft, and seemingly the corpse of an alien creature. After retrieving the creature from the ice, it becomes clear that it is still alive, and has the ability to imitate members of the crew – thus removing any trust the characters might hold.

This is where the psychological element comes in, and it certainly provides intriguing subject matter. It’s just a shame that The Thing gives so much exposure to its titular antagonist so early on in the film – we’re shown a brightly lit long shot of the creature just fifteen minutes in – because in doing so any tension or dread is removed.

To this end any sense of shock (or indeed horror) is dispensed with, and in a horror film that’s quite a fatal flaw. It’s lucky for The Thing, then, that it carries more generic, non-genre specific elements that work to its advantage. For instance, the acting standard is commendable; something rarely seen in horror. Led by Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Die Hard 4, Scott Pilgrim Vs The World), who plays palaeontologist Kate Lloyd, the cast are believable enough to demand the audience’s attention with little effort.

Winstead is the standout; logical, thorough and down-to-Earth, Kate beguiles her way into the leader role without ever feeling thrust there. She’s an unlikely hero, but a competent and convincing one nonetheless – a refreshing change from the usual slap dash mechanics of traditional horror films, whereupon a lead would either be facetious or infallible to extreme lengths.

Instead, Winstead makes her character believable; a standout casting choice amongst a crowd of competence, which also includes Joel Edgerton, Ulrich Thomsen and Jonathan Lloyd Walker. Not one of these is any less deserving than another for commendation, unless to Winstead; indeed, the basic principle of the film – each character must convince the rest he or she is not the monster – alludes finely to the convincing nature of each actor.

But while The Thing might be able to boast an amalgam of acting abilities, its predictable nature means it suffers at the one thing it must achieve: at the most basic level, horrifying or otherwise scaring its audience (acting, after all, as a horror film). This it does not do. While the human cast might be convincing, the special effects are not, and leave much to be desired.

And indeed, much the same can be said of this prequel as a whole. Simply a rewarding ego-boost for those who like to work out films as they watch them, The Thing satisfies in very few respects; its production values may be high (special effects aside) and its acting commendable, but its predictability and in-your-face nature curtail any notions of horror or dread director Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. may have wished to convey.

✰✰

See also: The Thing (1982)

Dir: Matthijs van Heijningen Jr
Cast: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Joel Edgerton, Ulrich Thomsen
Universal Pictures, 103 mins, 02/12/11

Synopsis: In 1982, a team of Norwegian scientists discover an alien lifeform buried deep in an icy grave in Antarctica. They enlist the help of a palaeontologist, Kate (Winstead), to help them extract the creature, but realise too late that it is still alive. Thus begins a deadly game of cat and mouse, as everyone is suspect and nobody can be trusted...

(For The Hollywood News: http://www.thehollywoodnews.com/2011/11/04/the-thing-review/)

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