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Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (2016)
This is an excellent film.
How many times have we sat at our work desks and yearned for more excitement, more danger and more fun? I know I have but I don't think I would have contemplated following in the footsteps of Kim Baker. She's a news writer for a US network writing copy for stupid beautiful people to say on screen while she goes no where. It's 2003 and the network asks for volunteers to go to Afghanistan to report on the war so she takes the opportunity.
On arrival in Kabul, Kim meets an eclectic collection of foreign journalists, private security contractors and local translators. They all live in the compound where they submit stories to their respective employers between forays with US Marines to local villages and return each night to drink heavily and enjoy themselves in a country dominated by Muslims adhering to strict Sharia laws. The irony is Kim had to travel thousands of kilometres from the comparative safety of New York to one of the world's most dangerous locations to discover a security within herself and her abilities.
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot is well written with some solid laughs, high drama and quality tension from beginning to end while the direction offered by co-directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa is spot on. Each scene is purposeful and engaging without wasteful conceits and they avoid diverting into self-serving dead ends. Thankfully the directors chose to limit the explosions so when the action scenes arrive they have greater impact and appear much more realistic. The film is tight and edited to just under 2 hours and never feels like it is treading water or merely offering scenes for the sake of filming.
The cast is excellent led by Tina Fey who has the greatest comedic timing this side of Julia Louis-Dreyfus but should now be considered for more than just funny roles. Fey can bring the drama, the anger, the tension and the heartbreak when required and confirms once again an intelligent actress really can perform every role.
The casting directors certainly outdid themselves putting this cast together with the always impressive Australian actress Margot Robbie as an English reporter, the brilliant English actor Martin Freedman as a Scottish photographer, the American actor Chris Abbott as an Afghani fixer and another Australian actor Stephen Peacocke as a New Zealand security contractor with a secret identity. This group is then topped off with Billy Bob Thornton as a grim Marine General and Alfred Molina as an eccentric Afghani politician. They are both perfectly cast and almost steal each scene underplaying their performances beautifully against Tina Fey.
This is such an excellent film. The undercurrent is a reflection of the media and government who were initially so enthusiastic to fight the Taliban yet lose interest and become apathetic as their focus is directed to a new war in Iraq. However, the heart of the film is that an intelligent, sincere and competent woman must go to a dangerous frontier just so she can be seen by millions of viewers yet in the very same place because of the laws imposed on them by men, Afghani women cannot be seen at all.
Eddie the Eagle (2015)
Don't jump to conclusions
Eddie the Eagle Edmonds was a British skier who failed to qualify in his preferred downhill category so turned to ski jumping to represent his nation at the Calgary Winter Olympics in 1988. The film telling the story of this man is about perseverance, dedication, sacrifice and glory in the face of defeat. It's also a 90 metre ski jump away from how it really happened. If you're looking for a biopic you best search up something on youtube but if you just want a nice story with some laughs mixed in with a little tension and drama then you will enjoy Eddie the Eagle.
The story is told from Eddie's perspective growing up entirely un- athletic yet with a burning ambition to represent his country at the Olympic level. His determination is admirable while the patience and love from his supportive yet bemused parents is charming in a very understated English manner.
The film revolves around the portrayal of Eddie by Taron Egerton, an English actor I have not seen before. It's a truly distracting imitation as he mimics Edmonds habits so he appears more caricature than man. He has some funny moments but the laughter is often at Eddie and not with him.
Hugh Jackman plays the reluctant coach Bronson Peary who is a welcome distraction from the main protagonist and his idiosyncrasies. Peary is supposed to be an amalgam of real-life coaches but he also has a story arc which must wait until the end to be fulfilled.
At the heart it's a simple story of a man thwarted by officialdom from achieving his dream. The nasty British IOC official played by Tim McInnerny with all the sneering subtlety of a moustache-twirling matinée villain tying a damsel in distress to the rail tracks resulting in another caricature who is highly predictable. The resolution for the drama is left to one of the few real life characters a Finnish jumper who explains to Eddie that although their abilities are poles apart their ambitions are parallel.
The finale is heart-warming and inspirational which in some small way makes up for the two previous hours which for me came across as manipulative, forced and fabricated.
The Jungle Book (2016)
What a great film.
Jon Favreau take a bow. This is one of the most enjoyable films I've had the pleasure of watching in the last few years. It's funny, it's dramatic, it's spectacular, it's vivid and it is the most complete update of a previous Disney production you will see. Were the great Walt Disney around today he would stand and applaud having seen one of his cartoons truly brought to life.
The Jungle Book for me was pure escapism. For an hour and 45 minutes I was thrust into the darkest jungle with young Mowgli traveling to the Man-village for his safety and encountering those well known characters Baloo the Bear (Bill Murray), Bagheera the Black Panther (Ben Kinglsey), Shere Khan the Tiger (Idris Elba) and King Louie (Christopher Walken) lord of the monkey clans. The CGI rendering is supreme yet these characterisations are driven primarily by their voices and not their movement. It is quite an achievement to be taken to a place where we accept animals talking as normal and without question. The actors providing these voices were perfectly chosen.
The only real element in the picture is Neel Sethi as Mowgli who found himself in front of the camera for what must have been 95% of the production. He's a charming young fellow with an easy smile and a determined nature to match his difficult task as the central figure of a multi-million dollar Disney feature at the tender age of 12. In years past his character would have devolved at some point into an obnoxious child but not here. Sethi portrays the youngster in all of us who wanted to maintain our fantasies and not join the adult world of serious responsibilities.
Is there anything to complain about from The Jungle Book? No. You would have to be a hard marker or a pedant of the highest order to look for or find a flaws in this brilliant film. Had the film been released before the last awards season it would certainly have won every category relating to effects specifically because they are so dominant yet so subtle and believable. I could also make an argument Bill Murray deserves at least a nomination as Baloo the Bear one of the funniest and most charming characters you will enjoy this year. The same could be said for Kinglsey as the protective panther or Elba as the cruel and brutal tiger but in the case of Murray the Bear, an award for his role would be a necessity.
The Lady in the Van (2015)
Don't Go Quietly
It's been several years, possibly a decade since I saw a play but my wife and I had the opportunity to rectify this when we went to the cinema to see The Lady in the Van. Never before have I been so aware a film in presentation, direction and dialogue was meant for the theatre instead of the camera.
This doesn't take away from the excellent portrayal of the cantankerous old Mary Shepherd by the magnificent Maggie Smith. The great dame is a force to be reckoned as she begrudgingly accepts Christmas gifts from local kids, screams and shrieks at a small street musical ensemble of local children, paints her four-wheeled domicile or dominates her reluctant landlord.
Maggie doesn't play this for laughs, her performance is real and truly human. Yes there are some funny moments but these are usually more smile inducing rather than loud snorts of laughter. More than anything this lady in the van is an enigma. We yearn to know how she became this way and what brought her to this upper middle class road in the London suburb of Camden. From the beginning we have a mystery of sorts yet instead of providing answers the film is a progression of questions regarding her religious influences, musical tastes, family and general hygiene.
Maggies co-star in the production is Alex Jennings as Alan Bennett. He is the man who wrote the book and play the film is based so not surprisingly he gets most of the best lines. There is a device the filmmakers use to enable Bennett to both narrate and portray his character which I didn't like. I don't know if this was also taken from the original play but it felt unnecessarily complicated and more like a gimmick just to be different. Jennings was still very good as a straight man to Smith and we certainly share his frustrations with this elderly squatter.
The major problem I have with the picture is the final 15 minutes when it totally goes off the rails from a solid British drama to something resembling Monty Python. Don't get me wrong, I love the Python films but I found this ending more of an "in joke" for the producers and merely an opportunity to make fun of themselves.
Poignantly the The Lady in the Van is the portrayal of how the elderly are so poorly treated by our modern society. The film offers the juxtaposition of this cranky old lady who will not be told by anyone what to do as opposed to the mother of Alan Bennett who never wants to cause a fuss. One is known by all in the street and although notoriously ill-tempered and clearly suffering from mental health issues is ultimately cared for by strangers and looked after in her time of need. Alan's mother lives alone begging her son to visit over the phone and is only seen by him when she ventures to London or later in a nursing home after she has been badly injured and in a coma.
Are our elderly such a burden that we must shut them away because we cannot cope for their needs? Or are we just hiding them like Dorian Gray and his portrait to stop reminding ourselves of our own mortality? Either way I greatly admire Mary Shepherd for not meekly accepting her fate.
Deadpool (2016)
A shot to the heart of the boring comic heroes.
Well it's about time.
For so many years we've suffered through the moralising of Batman, Superman and any number of X-Men (or women), oh and don't get me started on Spiderman and his "with great power comes great responsibility" waffle. They're all so anxious, obnoxious and tedious.
But now we have Deadpool.
Here's a superhero I can get behind (not the same way his girlfriend gets behind him
. not that there's anything wrong with that
) he's a dude who fights the bad guys the way they fight. Nasty! How many times have we seen Superman smash a baddie and stop short of killing the guy to hand him over to the authorities just for said villain to escape again? Deadpool doesn't suffer from such niceties as justice or compassion. He shoots first and asks questions later. Much later. Like the next day while the coroner is sifting through the remains.
Deadpool is a guy who just gets the job done and doesn't need to moan about it to his butler, in his billion dollar mansion while two supermodels polish his furniture. In fact his alter-ego Wade Wilson lives in a fairly spartan apartment with a blind woman for company and what seems to be a cache of weapons and ammunition big enough to take down ISIS? He's a blue-collar-down-to-earth former soldier with outstanding recuperative skills thanks to a recent brush with a mad scientist. Not "crazy" mad, "angry" mad
at Wade!
Ryan Reynolds was born for this role. He's funny AND annoying which is huge improvement on his Green Lantern effort where he was just annoying. His co-stars are just along for the ride which is wildly violent, extremely crude and so unlike every other superhero film it's an instant classic.
Not a kids film or a date film (unless your girlfriend recommends it, in which case go
.. then marry her on the way home).
Hail, Caesar! (2016)
Not great but not awful.
Joel and Ethan Coen, have they don't it again?
No, I don't think so.
Going back to their earlier efforts Raising Arizona, Millers Crossing, Fargo and The Big Lebowski the brothers had an ability to create weird and interesting characters who carried the narrative as well as beguiling us with their idiosyncrasies. These films were like jumping on a roller-coaster and riding it through the loops,the twists and the turns. Hail Caesar is more like walking through side- show alley and stopping to look at the carnival freaks; each of them interesting on their own but non related to the last and the only thing they have in common is they're in the same circus.
The central character Eddie Mannix is an interesting guy. Played by Josh Brolin he has a fascinating job and you get the feeling he really loves films, the people and the industry. But wouldn't everyone love his job? He's not acting a role, writing a script, directing the talent or producing a picture? His job is to make sure all those elements work together and sort out the problems which could prevent the completion of the productions. This includes maintaining the pure reputations of the female stars, convincing directors they should continue with miscast actors and rescuing his biggest star from a group of communist writers. Just your average day for a god-fearing father of two in Los Angeles 1951.
Josh Brolin is the best thing in the film. He's supported by George Clooney in over-acting mode doing his best homage to 1950's Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster dressed as a Roman Centurion. His kidnapping is supposed to be the main story but it feels like an excuse for Brolin to move from studio to studio allowing us to witness an Esther Williams-esque aquatic piece with Scarlett Johannson in the starring role, a Sailor-themed dance number with the excellent Channing Tatum clearly inspired by the great Gene Kelly or a black & white socialite vehicle directed by Ralph Fiennes doing his best Noel Coward impersonation.
I left the cinema asking myself whether the Coens created Hail Caesar as a thank you to all the producers who helped make their pictures? These thankless yet well-rewarded individuals very rarely get the recognition they crave. Other than that I don't get the purpose of the film unless it's to poke fun at the black-banned writers of the McCarthy era or just so the Coen boys could create a swimming pool scene, a singing cowboy piece, a black & white high society drama, a sword & sandal epic or a dance number without going to the trouble of making five separate movies?
Hail Caesar is not a return to form for the Coens in fact it may not make their top ten but it is an interesting walk behind the scenes of the Hollywood studio system of the 1950's.
Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
It's a video game
My teenager daughters were insistent, we had to go and see the new Avengers film. I like spending time with the girls so off we went with our popcorn and drinks to enjoy a couple of hours away from reality.
Boy, were we a long way from reality. Here's an outline for you:
Opening sequence: Avengers fighting hordes of human soldiers. Break for act 1. Middle Sequence: Avengers fighting each other. Break for act 2. Act 3 and Final Sequence: Avengers fighting hordes of robots.
In summary, it's a video game.
If you enjoy shooting, smashing, bashing and destroying a seemingly never ending supply of bad guys (ie: every video game in history) you'll enjoy the film. I like video games but after a while they can get repetitive and boring..... can you see where I'm going with this?
There are some funny lines and an opportunity for each of the actors to emote for brief periods. Some better (Ruffalo, Johansson, Downey Jr) some not (Renner and Olsen) and some just shouldn't bother because it's embarrassing for him and us (Chris Hemsworth I'm looking at you mate).
The greatest enjoyment I took from the film was the bad guy voiced by James Spader. In fact he was so good as Ultron I found myself cheering for the robot to defeat the mostly wooden Avengers and rule our planet. Alas it was not to be be as the forces of good were too much for his army of warrior robots......set on video game easy level.
Having said all that, the kids (or as the producers would call them: "The Target Audience") loved the film and my wife enjoyed herself as well. As for me, I could have stayed home and played Xbox.
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013)
I found some negatives....
Do you daydream? I think most of us do don't we? We imagine winning the lottery or going to exotic holiday destinations
. or at least I do. But Walter Mitty takes it a bit further, he zones out and imagines himself as a hero saving the day
. or saving a dog, or saving a childhood toy, or a friend performing karaoke. Not your average daydreams but very real and sometimes very exciting. He even daydreams about telling his boss off
.. now everyone does that.
Walter Mitty daydreams because he is a pretty boring guy. He works for Life magazine and looks after the negatives from the battalion of photographers working for the magazine around the globe. Now before you say" "this is 2014, wouldn't all their photo's be digital? Who has negatives anymore?" let me say yes, I got stuck on that thought for a while as well. In fact, when you scratch the surface of this film you'll find there's not a lot of substance supporting very much at all. The plot is a pretty thin excuse for a two-hour film: a lost negative sends our daydreaming hero to obscure places around the world in search of the man responsible. It's worse when it's quite obvious where the supposedly "lost" object is anyway. But this is a Hollywood film and suspension of belief is after all an important reflex for enjoyment. It's not a bad film and it has a few laugh out loud moments but it's not motion picture history either.
My greatest criticism for the film is it felt like one long advertisement. If you've never read Life Magazine (my aunt gave me dozens of copies years ago) then you'll be jumping on eBay to purchase an issue. If you've never tried eHarmony then you'll be getting online to find your next soul mate. If you've never tried Papa Johns pizza..... well, you see my point. The product placement and references were out of control and left me wondering was the film made for artistic value at all? Now I'm daydreaming!!! Ben Stiller as Walter is a minimalistic version of his usual self. In so many roles Stillers' fall back position is aggression or confrontation but here he dials it right down to be a guy who, through his own choices, has been boxed into his unsatisfactory life. Day dreaming is his only escape from a boring existence and Stiller the actor is more mundane than he's ever been before.
Our romantic interest is played by Kristen Wiig who also compared to her usual roles is a bit of a wet rag in this one. She, like most romantic female characters, doesn't have a lot to do other than be the object of drooling affection, daydreams and the occasional tool of exposition for the audience.
Whilst Walter Mitty is supposed to be the hero of this feature, the hero for me however is not he, nor is it the photographer (played by Sean Penn almost like the adult version of his character from Fast Times at Ridgemont High) but it is the cinematographer. This film shows off some of the most gorgeous views of the wonderful world we inhabit from different angles and perspectives. There are several sequences in the film which made the whole experience worthwhile; an experience with a fishing boat, skateboarding in Iceland, a volcano and a high-altitude meeting Penn are all shot beautifully and underscore the real meaning of this film.
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is a reminder that there's a big beautiful world out there with interesting people, fascinating places and life changing experiences. Stop day dreaming. Go and have a look for yourself...... when you finished your Papa Johns pizza.
Noah (2014)
Raining on Noah's parade
In the beginning, Russell Crowe was a fresh faced young actor playing roles as the gladiator, an insider, Jack Thompsons gay son
and it was good. Unfortunately as time marches on so do the plum roles with beautiful leading ladies in exotic locations. Now we find Russell filming in Iceland with grey hair, a long grey beard and a bit of extra girth under his belt like he's wearing a South Sydney jersey
. or two
. beneath his costume.
The story of Noah is one well known. The world is dominated by evil so god decides to drown everyone like rats except for one man, his family and two of every creature on the planet. Sounds simple enough but we're talking about a time well before Noah could tender the contract out for the nearest Japanese ship builder to create the Ark on time and on budget.
As a character, Noah is as complex as you're average god fearing hunter gatherer having a middle age crisis. He's having trouble feeding the family on the sparse paddocks of earth and wondering what it's all about when he has a dream the world will end in a hurricane of Katrina-like proportions with no Super Dome to hide in or US government to come and rescue them
. eventually. Russell plays his role well. He's understandably a bit confused in the beginning but eventually Methusela (played by Anthony Hopkins) puts him on the right track and before you know it he's a determined Noah with trees to chop, animals to herd and rock angels to organise.
This all understandably gets a bit stressful and Russell's journey to peaceful shores has a few rocky seas to navigate including every other man, woman and child hoping to punch their ticket aboard the "SS Last Chance" to help shovel manure. Our hero really starts to fray at the edges in the final act bringing out the best acting skills of Rusty himself, Jennifer Connolly as his increasingly baffled but loyal wife and Emma Watson as their adopted daughter who experiences one of the more challenging sea voyages outside of a refugee heading to the Australian coast. But there's no turning this boat back.
The films obligatory bad guy, Tubal-Cain, is played by Ray Winstone. A solid mass of frothing hatred to smash against the stoic goodness of Noah. Winstone is a brilliant actor and is in his element as the evil king having fun leading his hordes and attempting to influence on Noah's second son Ham.
Overall if you're a Christian then this film is for you; as long as you can accept the possibility that old Noah had some divine assistance putting his floating zoo on the high seas. If you're not a believer then you will just as happily accept this as a Peter Jackson-like middle earth populated by good guys and bad guys with the occasional rock-monster-angel happy to lend a hand to a man with a large scale maritime ambition. If you're Muslim, Hindu or Buddhist you'll probably spend two and a half hours trying to join the dots and wondering where they put all the animal poo.
Draft Day (2014)
It's a solid pick.
Before I begin I have a confession to make; I'm a fan of the NFL or Gridiron as Australians know it. In fact I'm a huge fan and have been since I was a teenager. The simple explanation is some people love country music, some love Shakespeare well I love American Football and everything about it.
Over the years I've watched films about this sport on the field which shows owners, executives and coaches off the field but this film, Draft Day, is different. For the 50-odd players on a team their biggest day is the Super Bowl but for the hundreds of executives and coaches behind the scenes their biggest day of the year is Draft Day because similar to the beating of a butterfly wing it can have massive repercussions on the future.
NFL is about parity. They want every game to be as competitive as possible. There's an old saying in the NFL which goes, "on any given Sunday in football any team can win" (its also the name of an Olive Stone football film from a decade ago). To ensure this happens and avoid one or two teams forever dominating the game the NFL brings the best new players from college and distributes them to the worst teams first. With 32 teams in the league, the team with the very worst record last year gets the first pick the next year so they potentially improve themselves by adding the best young player in the country. The second worst team gets the second best and so on until last years champions get the last pick. There are seven rounds but the first round is the most important.
Does that make sense or am I talking another language? It can get even more complicated than that because teams can trade picks to move positions up and down the draft and this is what our star Kevin Costner has to do as the Cleveland Browns General Manager Sonny Weaver Jnr. The Browns had success back in the 60's but have had very little to cheer about since then in fact they have been so awful, incompetent and success-starved are referred to by some sources as "A Factory of Sadness".
The conflict in our story comes from Sonny wanting a defensive player but the Browns coach Denis Leary wants a running back while eccentric owner Frank Langella is demanding a superstar Quarterback but they can't get them all with the seventh pick. Everything is on the general manager Sonny to make the impossible happen on this day with the clock ticking as well as dealing with his workmate slash girlfriend Jennifer Garner and his difficult mother Ellen Burstyn
.. who's husband the esteemed former coach of the Browns Sonny Weaver died in the last week. Talk about your tough days at the office? The film is well directed by Ivan Reitman (Stripes, Ghostbusters 1&2 and Kindergarten Cop). He draws humour, drama and sincerity from his actors and keeps the pace rolling until the climactic moments. Because executives, players, coaches and managers are in constant communication there are dozens of phone conversations in this film so the producers came up with some very original and ingenious ways to play with these scenes.
As a longtime football fan I really enjoyed Draft Day but I would. If you like modern sport of any kind and appreciate that the top levels are really businesses or corporations now then you will get something from this movie. If you're not into sport but can enjoy a film which is part underdog story, part mystery then perhaps you should pick Draft Day.
12 Years a Slave (2013)
Comedy??????
Let me start by saying this is not the comedy I was expecting
..no, I know it's not a comedy.
Several months ago my wife and I were going to the movies and had a choice of seeing this film or a light comedy. I opted for the comedy offering that "I didn't feel like seeing black Americans being beaten for 2 hours". Well the other night I guess I did feel like watching said beatings because we chose to watch this amazing film on DVD in the comfort of our home.
What an amazing, unrelenting story writer & director Steve McQueen created bringing to life the dozen years the unfortunate Solomon Northup experienced as a slave in the deep south of America. Beginning with his reasonably comfortable life with his family we follow Solomon to Washington then Louisiana after he is illegally sold into bondage and does his best to exist in a world where he has no more value than livestock.
The role of Northup (or Pratt, his slave name) was very ably portrayed by British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor. His role could have easily boiled down to simple outrage and hate but Chiwetel's journey is one of survival and he learned very early on that if he was to ever return to his family he would have to swallow his pride, hide his ability to read & write and exist as just another "dumb slave". In fact that's quite the life lesson for everyone watching this film; when the morons are in charge you have to act dumber than them to survive.
If I have a complaint about the film its that all but one white person in the south is portrayed as a sadistic maniac. Surely they couldn't have all been this way? One owner, Ford played by another Englishman Benedict Cumberbatch appears decent but he still employs psychopaths who enjoy terrorising the innocent blacks in their care.
The worst of the white slave owners however is the truly despicable Edwin Epps played by Irishman Michael Fassbender. A man drunk in all senses of the term; drunk with alcohol constantly and drunk with his power over the poor human beings he owns as slaves. He tortures them mentally and physically only because he can. Pushing them to the point where death comes as a welcome relief for the departed and as a result to be envied by those left behind.
If you haven't yet taken the opportunity you should watch 12 Years a Slave. It's well written, beautifully directed and the performances are outstanding
. with the only exception of one big name Hollywood star who appeared to be reading his lines from cue cards and offered very little emotion in what was a pivotal role. That being said, without said actors support the film wouldn't have been made and that would have been an endearing tragedy.
I rank this movie in the same category as Schindlers List in that it moved me to such a degree I'm not sure I can watch it again. Not because of the horror and depiction of man's inhumanity against his fellow man but because I don't want to dilute the power of this film.
The Hundred-Foot Journey (2014)
A tasty offering that won't repeat on you.
First a word of warning, you will put on weight watching this film. It is best you don't eat before seeing The Hundred Foot Journey because you'll surely feel like sitting down to a meal when it's over. This production has more cooking than a season of master chef with some of the most mouth-watering dishes served by a collection of stereotypical Indian and French characters.
We start with young, doe-eyed Hassan played by Manish Dayal, the cook from Mumbai accepted into the UK as an asylum seeker with his family. Lucky they chose merry old England to ask for political protection; had it been Australia this would have been set in the Manus Island catering section and called the hundred thousand foot round trip....but I digress. Hassan, his brothers and sisters arrive in Britain led by their patriarch who is loud, barters for discounts and argues with anyone and everyone. Is the Indian word for stereotype Papa? That's the name of this character played by esteemed sub-continental actor Om Puri. He delivers his role well and has a lot of fun with most of the best lines.
The family decides to migrate to the continent and when they arrive, literally by accident in a quiet French village, Papa decides they must open an Indian restaurant right across the road from the townships only eatery, a very swish classic French place owned and run by an arrogant Gallic female stereotype played by Helen Mirren. I would have thought there were enough actual French actresses in the world to portray Madame Mallory but Helen got the gig and did a brilliant job. Mirren is by far and away the best actor in this piece putting on an acting master class showing how the very best can impart feelings, emotions and intentions without words but by merely lifting an eye brow or turning a corner of her mouth.
The only other character of note is Hassan's love interest Marguerite, played by the beautiful Charlotte Le Bon. Marguerite is a brunette with a bobbed hair, spends her days riding her bicycle over the countryside picking mushrooms and wearing brightly coloured summer dresses. The producers deserve some credit for resisting the need to give Margueritte a beret but clearly the stereotype Police were away the day this script was passed through.
At its heart, this film is a fish out of water story..... only the fish is filleted, cooked and covered in exotic herbs and spices seldom tasted in a quiet French village. It really boils down the point parents have been making to children at dinner tables across the world; how do you know you won't like something until you've tried it? In this case the children are the snail eating population of a small town. Mind you, this tiny hamlet is home to one of the nation's finest restaurants run by a women desperate to achieve her second Michelin star. The stars are the highest honour for a European restaurant and are not handed out easily. Madam Mallory earned one 30 years ago and she will stop at nothing for a second.
As I said at the start, this is a film best watched on an empty stomach because the real star of the picture is the food. Swedish Director Lasse Hallstrom gives the food the kind of close up slow motion attention John Woo would dedicate to explosions in an action flick but here the only rumbles will be caused by your tummy as you are part of the stirring eggs, the frying fish, the searing chicken and the famous Indian spices. Hallstrom has some experience with food having previously directed Chocolat, The Cider House Rules and What's Eating Gilbert Grape..... pardon me, I couldn't help that one.
The French countryside and landscapes fill out this spectacle and are used as beautiful place-mates for the story and its characters. The cinematographer deserves a free dinner for their effort with the food and the scenery in this production.
The Hundred Foot Journey is a tasty enough offering which I rate as a one night stand. Happy to have tried it once but don't need to go back for seconds. Certainly better than the last film I saw about Indian food.... The Life of Pi.
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
Fun family film
As could possibly be expected, fighting over earth was always going to become a little repetitive so now the galaxy needs to be defended, or guarded as it were by a ragtag collection of miss-fits called simply enough the Guardians of the Galaxy.
These guardians are a collection of lost souls led by earthling Peter Quill (although he prefers the more swashbuckling moniker, Star-Lord); the green skinned and highly dangerous Gamora; a vengeance fueled warrior Drax with his blue muscular body adorned in red tattoo's, a psychotic yet industrious raccoon called Rocket and his side-kick the walking tree named Groot. They are brought together by accident and happenstance to save a planet (not earth, surprisingly) from the villain of the piece, Ronan the Accuser.
The story is part Star War, part Raiders of the Lost Ark which I would prefer to consider an homage while some are suggesting a blatant rip off (although the Guardians in comic book form actually predate Lucas and Spielberg's respective films). What happens? Well in a nutshell, Quill finds an item Ronan needs. The hero is compelled to work with Gamora, Drax, Rocket & Groot to get out of trouble and before you know it we have a team with the best parts of each malcontent brought to the fore.
As far as performance is concerned who were my favourite characters? Groot and Rocket Raccoon, the animated characters voiced by Vin Diesel and Bradley Cooper respectively. Some would say Mr Diesel had the simpler challenge as his walking tree didn't say a lot, in fact hardly anything. But he conveyed his emotions using only a few words which made for a truly intriguing and amusing character. Bradley Cooper continues to go from strength to strength in every role he inhabits on the screen and again here he was as lively and interesting as he was in American Hustle or Silver Linings Playbook.
Former WWE wrestler Dave Bautista acted about as well as anyone you would expect with that kind of background but his character is meant to be a moron so he's believable. Zoe Saldana as the assassin Gamora was competent as both a fighter and the romantic interest. The term "coloured actress" is never more accurate then when describing Ms Saldana given her (blue) role in Avatar and (green) in this film. Surely she would be begging her agent to find her a role in a black & white film so she can avoid arriving at the make-up trailer before sunrise? The lead and hero of the film is the "Ravager" Peter Quill (or Star-Lord) played by Chris Pratt of Parks & Recreation fame. I was surprised to see Pratt in the role as he has always seemed more of a side-kick or comic relief kind of actor. In Parks & Recreation he plays a no-hoper but I suppose he did it pretty well if I assumed he was just that? According to his bio, Chris worked out and dieted for 6 months to lose nearly 30 kilos for this role which left him with 6 pack abs and the ability to flog his exercise regimen on late night TV for the rest of his life... but I digress. In this role he was okay. Perhaps they specifically wanted someone a little rough around the edges or basically unknown? Who knows what Matt Damon or Johnny Depp could have done with this character? Alright they probably would have done it better but Chris tried hard.
Overall the acting (from the human characters) was okay but could have been better. I actually blame the director & writer James Gunn as it felt for at least half the film the actors were compelled to deliver lines with Shakespearean passion and it wasn't until the second half of the feature that they were allowed to loosen up. Special mention should go to Michael Rooker, Glenn Close and John C Reilly. The veterans played their small roles comfortably and with a charm the lead players weren't afforded.
If I have a major complaint it's with the villains. Ronan the main baddie for this effort and his superior Thanos (presumably the bad guy for the sequel) are so dreadfully one dimensional that it's impossible to understand why they would have any supporters. Why would their battalions of soldiers fight for them? Just to defeat people they didn't know? To destroy planets and ruin the lives of anyone who comes near them? Sure it's why people join the US Republican Party or the NRA but this is a fantasy realm. It's completely impossible to imagine the bad guys being anything than exactly that so as soon as we were introduced to the evil doers the result of the film was obvious. If there was a saving grace for the bad guy team it was Nebula (played by former Dr Who side-kick Karen Gillan) who as the half-sister to Gamora gave us the only evil character we could imagine changing sides and having any empathy.
The Guardians of the Galaxy is a quirky picture with plenty for everyone. There's plenty of colour and movement with loud bangs and explosions for the younger generations along with a few good laughs for the rest of us. Was it motion picture history? No. Does it stack up against the great Sc-Fi or adventure films? Not really but myself, my wife and two teenage daughters happily repeated our favourite moments on the way home from the cinema so we certainly got our monies worth from an action film that didn't take itself too seriously and will more than likely do it again when the sequel hits our screens.
A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014)
Expected More
If Seth McFarlane created this film just for the opportunity to snog Charlize Theron then well played sir, well played. Unfortunately one mans opportunity to kiss a beautiful movie star is another mans two hours of average entertainment.
As a longtime fan of Family Guy I went into the cinema armed with popcorn, M&M's and a drink with pretty high expectations. The popcorn was salty, the M&M's were sweet and my drink wasn't flat but sadly I can't say the same for A Millions Ways to Die in the West. It began poorly and only just rose above that standard on a couple of occasions until the final credits.
To be fair, the storyline wasn't too bad but Seth and his writers spent a quarter of the film introducing the main protagonists before getting on with the narrative. Charlize Therons character introduction was almost an after thought and her friendship with Seth went from introduction to firm friends in 5 minutes. The writing comes across as convenient, lazy and disjointed.
As an actor McFarlane tries hard and is at his best when his emotions are extreme. Anger or depression are his best moments but in between he appears unsure of himself. Theron and Neeson are clearly having fun in their roles with the Northern Irishman thoroughly enjoying himself as the villain of the piece. Sarah Silver is excellent as always but Giovanni Ribisi could not have appeared more disinterested as her fiancé. He all but checked his watch in every scene and appeared to want to be anywhere else but in this film. The same could be said of Amanda Seyfried and Neil Patrick Harris who practically phoned in their performances.
I'm not saying the movie was unfunny because there were a couple of laugh out loud moments but over two hours they were few and far between. Perhaps the film could have been reduced to 30 minutes....and produced as a cartoon.......and Seth could have still kissed Charlize if he wanted.
Godzilla (2014)
Pretty Good
The wonderful thing about taking a chance is sometimes you get lucky.
Thanks to the Godzillas franchises dubious history I didn't really expect much but I was pleasantly surprised.
The film makers supplied ample tension and (for sci-fi) a decent story to explain the huge monsters wandering around the pacific rim. The real genius was taking a leaf from Speilbergs "Jaws" and taking their time to reveal the real star of the film. Even the early battle scenes are intermittent and out of focus to tease and keep waiting for the ultimate confrontation in San Francisco.
If I have a complaint its with the portrayal by Ken Watanabe as he pursues Godzilla with the aid of the US Navy. Ken must be looking for a role in the next installment of a teen vampire/werewolf melodrama as he spends most of the time staring off into the distance. The rest of the actors play their part as capably as anyone asked to fill the gaps between rounds 1,2 & 3 of the heavyweight combatants. Brian Cranston more so than others.
This film is what the Godzilla movies of the 50's aspired to but as then special effects amounted to a bloke in a lizard suit traipsing around a collection of cardboard box skyscrapers with a smoke machine they were a bemusing Japanese fascination. Thanks to modern special effects those film makers could finally see their creation in all its glory.
It was a fun couple of hours (which as always could have been 15 minutes tighter) and worthwhile experiencing on the big screen.
The Monuments Men (2014)
Not much here but at least George smiles.
The Monuments Men - Directed by George Clooney. Starring Matt Damon, Cate Blanchett, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Hugh Bonneville and George Clooneys smile.
If you're a fan of George Clooneys trademark grin then this is the film for you. Good old George, his crooked smile has papered over the cracks of more screenplays than anyone in Hollywood history but on this occasion its just not enough.
"The Nazis are stealing precious art works Mr President!" announces George.
"What can we do about?" replies FDR.
"Put a team of character actors together to save them Mr President" says George.
"Then get it done dammit! demands FDR.
George smiles.
So the team is thrown together in 60 seconds and we're in Europe to find stolen art pieces. We know little of the individuals, how they met, their motivations or their families although we find out one isn't happy being a private.....so George smiles.
From this point on the team members divide into pairs as they weave their way around France and southern Germany. Shots are fired, art is found, Nazis are bad, friends are lost and George smiles.
I got the impression I should have read the book before seeing the film....and perhaps Director Clooney shouldn't have. Clearly the real Monuments Men had a series of adventures throughout Europe while they tracked down stolen artworks and Director Clooney was determined to show us. Unfortunately he just didn't feel the need to string the events together with much of a plot making The Monuments Men feel like more of a skit show. But at least George smiles??? The co-stars weren't asked to do a lot or in the case of Bill Murray, anything. A comic genius of his quality and his role amounted to standing quietly and staring at the camera. If this was meant to be an accurate depiction of the real person then they could have just cast Harrison Ford and encouraged him to be himself. John Goodman, Hugh Bonneville and Matt Damon were competent but Director Clooney didn't ask them to do very much while George just smiled.
The shining light for the whole piece was Cate Blanchett as a French curator. She was highly convincing and played her part beautifully. Her dislike for the Nazis became contempt for the Americans. It took Damon a while to convince her of their motives and once he got her onside we learned more about her than any other character in the film. Interestingly this was achieved without George sharing the screen with Cate.... so it seems to me Director Clooney is better behind the camera when George isn't in front of it.....smiling.
The Book Thief (2013)
Enjoyable
If you ever wanted to explain to a child what went on in Germany prior to and during World War 2 then The Book Thief is ideal.
Shown from the perspective of young Liesel after she is placed in a foster home we see a German people steadily influenced then overcome by the Nazi party. Children wearing the infamous brown shirts, singing nationalist anthems and attending book burnings remind us how that society was controlled by their political leaders. We all know what happened to communists and Jews during this period without the "Schindlers List" graphic detail yet the tension for those working against the barbarity and bigotry remains palpable.
The main story is simple and drawn around somewhat stereotypical characters but thanks to the talents of the brilliant Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson playing her step-parents they are more than one dimensional. Young Liesel and her friend Rudi carry the film on their young shoulders with the wide-eyed optimism you would expect of their age and pre-1940's era. The only serious criticism I could offer is of the narration which seemed totally unnecessary as the film told the story perfectly. I still remain baffled as to why the film-makers needed a voice-over to occasionally point out the bleeding obvious? Call it artistic license I suppose?
In 2014 as our media and political parties infect us with the belief that refugees or worshipers of different religions are our enemies I found The Book Thief to be a great antidote. Yearning for knowledge by not burning books and doing something when innocents are victimised is the cure to hatred, ignorance and intolerance.
If you can stand up for what's right in Nazi Germany you can do it today. This is the lesson of The Book Thief and I encourage you to share it.
American Hustle (2013)
One of the best films this year.
David O Russell has once again created a film with fascinating characters who emanate from the darker places within ourselves. They love the ones they shouldn't, they can't control themselves and they think they are cleverer than they really are. All of which leads them down dangerous paths but unlike a lot of characters in film & television today, they do actually learn from their experiences.
The name of the film is an interesting choice also because the whole show is a hustle, each character is trying a con and the society they exist in is a facade. Irving & Sydney are small time fraudsters cheerfully ripping off people who believe $5000 will get them $50000 before they're caught by Richie who uses them to trap corrupt politicians to make a name for himself. Irving's wife Rosalyn uses her son as bait to keep their relationship together and controls her husband with passive aggressive manipulation whenever he comes home.
The only decent characters in the story are Carmine (the target of Richie's sting operation) a politician who is actually doing his very best for the people of his district and Richie's superior Stoddard who's cautious approach and drawn out ice fishing story results in him being ignored, beaten and made fun of by Richie.
The irony in the story (and I do enjoy ironic humour) is Carmine is attempting to get funding from an Arabian sheik to build a casino and create employment for the people of New Jersey so for this to happen other politicians apparently have to be bribed. In reality, the alternative to the sheik building the casino would have been a tax on the people of New Jersey to create a centre for gambling addiction, prostitution and drug trafficking....like I said earlier, the society they live in is a facade.
Thus we have Irving & Sydney doing what they do best, an unwitting Carmine doing what he believes to be best all acting for an overly ambitious Richie who becomes more and more corrupted by his power. Every single actor disappears into their character thanks obviously to the director but also due to the wonderful costumes and hairstyles of the day. Truly the seventies was a dark period for fashion from the hair to the glasses, the paisley shirts, the plunging necklines and the fur coats it is an assault on the optic nerve but this camouflage melts away when the actors are allowed to act. There's some golden comedy thanks mainly to Rosalyn, simmering antagonism between Irving, Sydney and Richie and one of the most tense scenes in years when Victor Tellegio, a Miami mobster meets them to discuss their venture, I was on the edge of my seat.
Everyone did a great job on this one. The costumes as mentioned earlier, the soundtrack is a time machine and the narrative is tight. The characters have depth, emotions and motivations and I really engaged with them from beginning to end. These are real human beings caught in the headlight of an oncoming train and they're doing all they can to get off the tracks.
Now You See Me (2013)
Disappointing
In all fairness, I had been warned. A movie review show said this was less than impressive and the write-ups in print were "luke-warm" but when the missus said lets go watch a movie, I wanted to give it a try because the cast was impressive and come on, who doesn't like magic tricks???? Let's begin with the positives. It runs for 115 minutes which compared to The Long Ranger and anything Peter Jackson hands in is almost preview length so that was good. Unless the result of decent editing is a lack of character depth then perhaps it wasn't.... but we'll get to that shortly.
The cast were good. The Four Horsemen actors were solid while Mr Freeman, Mr Caine and Mr Ruffalo just don't know how to put in a bad performance. Ms Laurent was also quite good too.
Now, the negative. Whilst I liked the actors I don't like any of the characters... actually that's unfair, I don't dislike them I just don't know them. The film makers spent ten seconds giving us a back story for the main protagonists therefore giving me no cause to support their scheme. BUT THEY WERE RIGHTING A WRONG FROM A LONG TIME AGO I hear you scream!!! And this is true but we're not meant to know this until the final reveal......unless you worked it out as soon as Morgan Freeman mentioned it, in which case the whole movie failed as a mystery and you were left to decide whether to finish your coke before your popcorn or keep a little to wash out those annoying bits that get stuck between your teeth....but I digress.
I had also hoped to enjoy some magic tricks but these were all achieved with CGI so like Star Wars I,II, & III I'm left wishing the director refused to take the easy way out of disguising a less than competent script with colour and movement.
A couple of quick lessons from this film. One, when you pretend to kill off a character in a car accident get at least one of their friends to look like they're upset, distressed or just annoyed that they have to feed their cat while they're in hiding. No one cared when the young bloke was blown up in the car crash so we knew he had to turn up again.
The second suggestion is to paraphrase Mr Eisenberg's line during questioning "the first rule of movie making is don't try to be smartest person in the room if you're not." It just turns into a shallow mess.
I also read with some interest that the film makers were working on a sequel, which unless it's just the director and writers apologising for this effort then I won't be attending. Now you see me....now you don't.
The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Very poor movie
To everyone who enjoyed the film, congratulations it's always nice to spend a few hours escaping from reality in the theatre.
For those of us hoping the creators would build on the previous two films and complete a fine movie trilogy, sadly I left the theatre entirely underwhelmed. The movie was at best a video game with shallow characters and a boring story. At the 2 hour point I heard myself begging for the film to end but it would not.... for another 45 minutes!! How was I rewarded for remaining in my seat for nearly an hour? Batman takes a nuclear weapon out into the Atlantic (after wasting some of the precious last few seconds kissing Anne Hathaway and making Gary Oldman look a bit of a dill) where it explodes. The fact that a cloud of lethal radiation blown by onshore breezes to liquidate the cheering people of Gotham within a day annoyed me but not as much as Batman surviving the detonation!!! I was fine with them planting a headstone and delivering a eulogy but did they need to show him sipping a latte like smug a Goldman Sachs executive retired to the Riviera with their GFC bonus!! The most genuine and believable part of the film was Michael Caines resignation. When he sobbingly explains why he must leave because he can no longer stand by and watch everything he worked for and loves be destroyed in an act of selfish futility..... I couldn't help thinking he made the same speech in Chris Nolan's office! Compared to it's predecessors and the third installments of other film trilogies.... this was a very unsatisfying and poor film.
Beneath Hill 60 (2010)
Could be better
It's very hard for any film to follow in the wake of Gallipoli and Breaker Morant, both of which I consider the best Australian war films ever made.
Beneath Hill 60 is a nice effort. The story is laid out for us all, the characters are likable and there are a couple of good tense moments I found challenging.
Probably would have been a better mini-series so we could get to know the characters a little better and the writers may have been able to expand on them some more.
Good on the producers and all concerned for their effort..... now where's my Breaker Morant DVD????
Black Knight (2001)
Not funny
I always thought to be a comedy a movie must be funny, this film disproves this theory. There is nothing amusing or funny about this story or the actor Martin Lawrence. Possibly the only interest one may have in this film is to wonder why a company would invest vast sums of money or time into producing it. Surely a priority in financially backing a venture of this type would include the most basic check of the script but obviously the person responsible for reading it must have been sick that day. Perhaps they did read it and went home sick and the message was never passed on to the powers that be, this is awful and should never see the light of day. I'm sure the crew and cast tried their hardest (perhaps Mr Lawrence didn't have to try so hard) and when its all said and you can't eat pride, everyone needs to earn a dollar. Lets hope they all went on to be involved in a production they and viewers would discover to be far more rewarding than this effort.
Cars (2006)
Kids under 10
I saw the movie with my wife and kids and would have to say it was the adults that probably enjoyed it most. It was visually stunning as per their usual standard but the story was just a bit above the littlies, perhaps too subtle for them. Kids today maybe more perceptive than I all those years ago but the majority of the little ones in the theatre became noticeably restless about an hour in and then struggled to maintain attention until the final race when there was a lot more colour, movement and sound.
All over another excellent Pixar production but if the kids are under 10 get a babysitter and enjoy it yourself.