With: Edward Asner, Jordan Nagai, Christopher Plummer, Bob Peterson
Plot: Needing a change of direction after the death of his wife and renovation of his neighbourhood, old man Carl Frederickson (Asner) attaches hundreds of balloons to his house in hopes of floating to a legendary falls in Costa Rica, unwittingly transporting a determined young boy scout in the process.
---
Absolutely the most wildly veering and random plot Pixar have ever had, it almost seems like they're making it up as they go along, but it's no worse for it, and the unpredictable, adventurous nature suits the themes and atmosphere of the story. Settings are lushly realised and characters animated with flawless personality and nuance as you would expect (the dogs are endlessly funny to watch). I can't think of a single thing like it, and it manages to spin several odd-couple dynamics without seeming hackneyed. Basically, it's great, my only complaint is that Carl doesn't really seem old enough, often achieving near super-human feats of strength and reaction. Despite this discrepancy, and also the whirlwind plot, the emotional undercurrent remains firmly strong and consistent throughout, building to a well-earned, heart-warming finale.
80
Tuesday, 27 October 2009
Halloween 2 (Rob Zombie, 2009)
With: Malcolm McDowell, Scout Taylor-Compton, Sherri-Moon Zombie, Brad Dourif, Tyler Mane
Plot: Exactly one year after trying to track down and kill his only remaining sister (Taylor-Compton), seemingly invincible killing machine Michael Myers (Mane) comes back to try again.
---
People on the internet seem to really hate Zombie's Halloween's, I seem to remember enjoying his original remake enough while not thinking it was particularly good, and the same goes here. It's better than the original Halloween 2, with Zombie bringing his unique flavour of on-the-fringes society as extras, victims and helpers, and a genuinely filthy aesthetic, with industrial horror soundscapes and grungy visuals pounding away like Myers' brutally relentless killing. Otherwise there's nothing special about it, certainly a competently constructed slasher with no real ambitions, unlike the first remake's slightly awkward backstory for Michael. Though this film does get a similarly unsatisfying strand, with the bafflingly pointless sub-story of Myers' former psychiatrist McDowell touring the country with his exploitive new book, suddenly turning hysterical at the end when he tries to battle Michael. When all's said and done I wouldn't mind seeing a third one really, though it would be more fun to see Zombie using his imagination for a new story to use his visceral style.
50
Plot: Exactly one year after trying to track down and kill his only remaining sister (Taylor-Compton), seemingly invincible killing machine Michael Myers (Mane) comes back to try again.
---
People on the internet seem to really hate Zombie's Halloween's, I seem to remember enjoying his original remake enough while not thinking it was particularly good, and the same goes here. It's better than the original Halloween 2, with Zombie bringing his unique flavour of on-the-fringes society as extras, victims and helpers, and a genuinely filthy aesthetic, with industrial horror soundscapes and grungy visuals pounding away like Myers' brutally relentless killing. Otherwise there's nothing special about it, certainly a competently constructed slasher with no real ambitions, unlike the first remake's slightly awkward backstory for Michael. Though this film does get a similarly unsatisfying strand, with the bafflingly pointless sub-story of Myers' former psychiatrist McDowell touring the country with his exploitive new book, suddenly turning hysterical at the end when he tries to battle Michael. When all's said and done I wouldn't mind seeing a third one really, though it would be more fun to see Zombie using his imagination for a new story to use his visceral style.
50
Triangle (Christopher Smith, 2009)
With: Melissa George, imdb isn't working so I can't name any of the others
Plot: The harried mother of an autistic boy takes a great leap when she agrees to go on a date in a friend's yaught, but the boat ends up in the middle of a storm and George and friends must take refuge on a mysteriously abandoned cruise ship, which is playing host to the same horrific events on an endless loop.
---
It seems fairly unassuming, if well handled at first, but this soon grows into a mind-blowing labyrinthe of horror, complicated and with constantly morphing meaning (first a slasher, then a ghost story, then a psychological punishment), but utterly satisfying. The importance of details is never overstated, letting us forget about many of the film's twists and loose ends until they are resolved and given shocking new contexts as the plot twists back on itself. I'm maybe overrating it a bit, for those not interested in marvelling at such a watertight cobweb of a plot and wondering at the psychological meaning of it all, this will come across as an efficiently scary but somewhat impenetrable standard horror ghost train. It had me thinking about it for a couple of days though.
75
Plot: The harried mother of an autistic boy takes a great leap when she agrees to go on a date in a friend's yaught, but the boat ends up in the middle of a storm and George and friends must take refuge on a mysteriously abandoned cruise ship, which is playing host to the same horrific events on an endless loop.
---
It seems fairly unassuming, if well handled at first, but this soon grows into a mind-blowing labyrinthe of horror, complicated and with constantly morphing meaning (first a slasher, then a ghost story, then a psychological punishment), but utterly satisfying. The importance of details is never overstated, letting us forget about many of the film's twists and loose ends until they are resolved and given shocking new contexts as the plot twists back on itself. I'm maybe overrating it a bit, for those not interested in marvelling at such a watertight cobweb of a plot and wondering at the psychological meaning of it all, this will come across as an efficiently scary but somewhat impenetrable standard horror ghost train. It had me thinking about it for a couple of days though.
75
Couples Retreat (Peter Billingham, 2009)
Cast: Vince Vaughan, Jon Favreau, Jason Bateman, Kristen Bell, Malin Akerman, Kristin Davis, Jean Reno
Plot: Three couples travel to a world-renowned exotic resort which specialises in new-age couples therapy. Barely comedic hijinks ensure.
---
As bland and fake as a comedy can get, though it's at least a bit funnier and less head-achingly pointless than the last couple of Vince Vaughan vehicles. This one also 'beneifts' from his tiresome motormouth routine, though the cast surrounding him are likeable, despite their thinly drawn characters. This treads an awkward line between sentimental relationship film and wacky mix of therapy satire and holiday slapstick. The plot gets really, really stupid and lazy later on (the logic nadir being when divorcee Faizon Love inexplicably bumps into his long-gone ex-wife on the retreat), but before that it's fairly harmless, even if it struggles to even raise a smile. The only laughs it does manage are from a colourful, well-acted trio of staff caricatures: Peter Seranefowicz's magisterial resort manager, John Michael Higgins as an easily horrified therapist and Carlos Ponce as the over-tactile yoga instructor ("Encouragement!"). not sure why Jean Reno turned up though.
40
Plot: Three couples travel to a world-renowned exotic resort which specialises in new-age couples therapy. Barely comedic hijinks ensure.
---
As bland and fake as a comedy can get, though it's at least a bit funnier and less head-achingly pointless than the last couple of Vince Vaughan vehicles. This one also 'beneifts' from his tiresome motormouth routine, though the cast surrounding him are likeable, despite their thinly drawn characters. This treads an awkward line between sentimental relationship film and wacky mix of therapy satire and holiday slapstick. The plot gets really, really stupid and lazy later on (the logic nadir being when divorcee Faizon Love inexplicably bumps into his long-gone ex-wife on the retreat), but before that it's fairly harmless, even if it struggles to even raise a smile. The only laughs it does manage are from a colourful, well-acted trio of staff caricatures: Peter Seranefowicz's magisterial resort manager, John Michael Higgins as an easily horrified therapist and Carlos Ponce as the over-tactile yoga instructor ("Encouragement!"). not sure why Jean Reno turned up though.
40
Sunday, 25 October 2009
Watchmen (Zack Snyder, 2009)
With: Jackie Earl Haley, Billy Crudup, Patrick Wilson, Malin Akerman, Matthew Goode, Jeffrey Dean Morgan
Plot: I really can't be bothered with the whole set-up, but it's an alternate 1985 where costumed superheroes existed but have now retreated to normality after a public backlash, when one of their ranks is murdered it sends another one of them into his own investigation.
---
Obviously a good, rich story and also a slightly better film than I expected. I haven't read the graphic novel, and don't really agree that this adaptation is too slavishly faithful, as it never seemed over-indulgent in length and plot to me. It is sort of a mess though, veering tonally from goofy hero caper to soul-searching, super-serious satire of mankind. This isn't helped by the cast who are uniformly weak (Haley is alright as Rorschach, but why the constant batman-esque gravelly drawl?) and undermine most of the serious stuff, but Snyder keeps a surprisingly coherent handle on things, despite some cartoonish moments of gore and more overuse of his precious slo-mo. The ending is a bit of a let down after so much portentous build-up, but it's too weird and visually zippy to ever become boring. Points taken off for crashingly obvious and inappropriate soundtrack choices (including the rubbish score) and for the wise character (Dr Manhattan I think) who picks on shoping malls as a banal evil of the world. Why do filmmakers have it in for shopping malls so much?
60
Plot: I really can't be bothered with the whole set-up, but it's an alternate 1985 where costumed superheroes existed but have now retreated to normality after a public backlash, when one of their ranks is murdered it sends another one of them into his own investigation.
---
Obviously a good, rich story and also a slightly better film than I expected. I haven't read the graphic novel, and don't really agree that this adaptation is too slavishly faithful, as it never seemed over-indulgent in length and plot to me. It is sort of a mess though, veering tonally from goofy hero caper to soul-searching, super-serious satire of mankind. This isn't helped by the cast who are uniformly weak (Haley is alright as Rorschach, but why the constant batman-esque gravelly drawl?) and undermine most of the serious stuff, but Snyder keeps a surprisingly coherent handle on things, despite some cartoonish moments of gore and more overuse of his precious slo-mo. The ending is a bit of a let down after so much portentous build-up, but it's too weird and visually zippy to ever become boring. Points taken off for crashingly obvious and inappropriate soundtrack choices (including the rubbish score) and for the wise character (Dr Manhattan I think) who picks on shoping malls as a banal evil of the world. Why do filmmakers have it in for shopping malls so much?
60
Zombieland (Ruben Fleischer, 2009)
With: Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin
Plot: An alternate present day where 99% of the world's population have become zombies, strangers Eisenberg and Harrelson team up with con-team sisters Stone and Breslin to try and reach a safe haven.
---
Never a dull moment, and it rockets by in only 80 minutes, but I still thought it could have been better, this feeling is strengthened by the fact that everything this film does try and do it does very well. The laying out of Eisenberg's 'rules of survival' as actual text popping up on the screen could be overly cute, but his dry performance and likeable observations make such moments enjoyable. Despite being a comedy it's properly gory and manages decent tension when it needs to, and the main quartet of survivors are all well acted and written, though the girls are typically more throwaway than the boys. You could say it does everything right, but there's too much untapped potential, such as the extended Bill Murray cameo, which is very funny but so easily could have been hilarious. I should just be thankful that it's a very enjoyable comedy horror, it's just that it seems a few steps away from greatness.
63
Plot: An alternate present day where 99% of the world's population have become zombies, strangers Eisenberg and Harrelson team up with con-team sisters Stone and Breslin to try and reach a safe haven.
---
Never a dull moment, and it rockets by in only 80 minutes, but I still thought it could have been better, this feeling is strengthened by the fact that everything this film does try and do it does very well. The laying out of Eisenberg's 'rules of survival' as actual text popping up on the screen could be overly cute, but his dry performance and likeable observations make such moments enjoyable. Despite being a comedy it's properly gory and manages decent tension when it needs to, and the main quartet of survivors are all well acted and written, though the girls are typically more throwaway than the boys. You could say it does everything right, but there's too much untapped potential, such as the extended Bill Murray cameo, which is very funny but so easily could have been hilarious. I should just be thankful that it's a very enjoyable comedy horror, it's just that it seems a few steps away from greatness.
63
Pandorum (Christian Alvart, 2009)
With: Dennis Quaid, Ben Foster, Cam Gigandet, Antje Traue
Plot: A pair of crewmen (Quaid and Foster) wake up from suspended animation on an apparently abandoned spaceship, with no idea of who they are or what their mission is.
---
I can see how some people, particularly those who don't like horror, would think this was absolutely terrible. The plot is pretty weak and the film's action is very repetitive, with overwrought editing and music. It's one of the more effective cinematic nightmares of this year though, with the claustrophobic visuals and garishly light and dark colour palette making for a viscerally unsettling experience. The monsters, when they appear are vague in appearance and move like a stop-motion animation on extreme fast forward. Basically a rubbish script but it's wonderfully terrifying and creates an uneasy nausea not through gore but an excellently sustained atmosphere, and the ending really feels like a long-awaited release. I'm still not sure I'd classify it as a really good film, but it's a memorable experience.
56
Plot: A pair of crewmen (Quaid and Foster) wake up from suspended animation on an apparently abandoned spaceship, with no idea of who they are or what their mission is.
---
I can see how some people, particularly those who don't like horror, would think this was absolutely terrible. The plot is pretty weak and the film's action is very repetitive, with overwrought editing and music. It's one of the more effective cinematic nightmares of this year though, with the claustrophobic visuals and garishly light and dark colour palette making for a viscerally unsettling experience. The monsters, when they appear are vague in appearance and move like a stop-motion animation on extreme fast forward. Basically a rubbish script but it's wonderfully terrifying and creates an uneasy nausea not through gore but an excellently sustained atmosphere, and the ending really feels like a long-awaited release. I'm still not sure I'd classify it as a really good film, but it's a memorable experience.
56
Thieves Like Us (Robert Altman, 1974)
With: Keith Carradine, Shelley Duvall, John Schuck, Bert Remsen, Louise Fletcher
Plot: Three criminals unite for a bank-robbing spree, the youngest (Carradine) falling in love with a girl from their hideout (Duvall), the other two facing different lives when all three become the most wanted thieves in Mississippi.
---
Like so many Altman films, a lot of time is spent watching this wandering what genre it fits into, I settled on doomed romance. Carradine and Duvall are both excellent as the couple so in love but so clearly wrong for each other, who form the film's only really notable story arc, as the ruminations of the other two, one happy and in love, the other a glory-chasing alcoholic are slotted in almost randomly to create an approximation of real life. Altman's matter-of-fact handling of the robberies keeps the film from falling into overtly dramatic territory, the whole thing coming off as a bittersweet slice of 1930s life. Charming and affecting.
74
Plot: Three criminals unite for a bank-robbing spree, the youngest (Carradine) falling in love with a girl from their hideout (Duvall), the other two facing different lives when all three become the most wanted thieves in Mississippi.
---
Like so many Altman films, a lot of time is spent watching this wandering what genre it fits into, I settled on doomed romance. Carradine and Duvall are both excellent as the couple so in love but so clearly wrong for each other, who form the film's only really notable story arc, as the ruminations of the other two, one happy and in love, the other a glory-chasing alcoholic are slotted in almost randomly to create an approximation of real life. Altman's matter-of-fact handling of the robberies keeps the film from falling into overtly dramatic territory, the whole thing coming off as a bittersweet slice of 1930s life. Charming and affecting.
74
Joyeux Noel (Christian Carion, 2005)
With: Diane Kruger, Benno Furmann, Guillaume Canet, Danny Lewis, Daniel Bruhl
Plot: The true story of how, on christmas eve 1914, the French, Germans and English on the front line in France decided on a one day truce and came together to celebrate christmas.
---
Not bad, but for some reason I just never really got into this. It's an obviously uplifting story about spirit and the desire for peace momentarily transcending war, but it's not too sentimental and offers decent personal stories to flesh out all the different sides. Some people really love this, I just thought it was... quite nice.
51
Plot: The true story of how, on christmas eve 1914, the French, Germans and English on the front line in France decided on a one day truce and came together to celebrate christmas.
---
Not bad, but for some reason I just never really got into this. It's an obviously uplifting story about spirit and the desire for peace momentarily transcending war, but it's not too sentimental and offers decent personal stories to flesh out all the different sides. Some people really love this, I just thought it was... quite nice.
51
Monday, 12 October 2009
The Invention of Lying (Matthew Robinson & Ricky Gervais, 2009)
With: Ricky Gervais, Jennifer Garner, Louis CK, Rob Lowe, Jonah Hill
Plot: In a world where lying doesn't exist, one man (Gervais) suddenly thinks to do it, changing the world in the process.
---
A very strong concept for a comedy, but this just wastes it utterly. Even early on in the film when the rules of the world are being set up, you'll barely raise a smile at the sort-of-jokes on offer. Basically it's people being unnecessarily rude to each other (Why does telling the truth mean saying every horrible thing on your mind?) and this wears very thin as it is mostly only used for calling Gervais fat and ugly. Otherwise this boasts embarassingly bad structuring and plotting, with meaningless one-dimensional side characters like Hill's suicidal neighbour and the dying, confused mother flitting in and out of the story as Gervais desperately keeps spinning crap plates to distract from his non-plot. It gets worse when the film veers clumsily towards religious satire, with absolutely nothing to say on the subject, or on any subject for that matter (even lying!). I wasn't expecting a really well put together film, but I thought there might be some funny jokes at least, your best bet for entertainment here is trying to figure out who got paid the most: Coca Cola or Pizza Hut.
34
Plot: In a world where lying doesn't exist, one man (Gervais) suddenly thinks to do it, changing the world in the process.
---
A very strong concept for a comedy, but this just wastes it utterly. Even early on in the film when the rules of the world are being set up, you'll barely raise a smile at the sort-of-jokes on offer. Basically it's people being unnecessarily rude to each other (Why does telling the truth mean saying every horrible thing on your mind?) and this wears very thin as it is mostly only used for calling Gervais fat and ugly. Otherwise this boasts embarassingly bad structuring and plotting, with meaningless one-dimensional side characters like Hill's suicidal neighbour and the dying, confused mother flitting in and out of the story as Gervais desperately keeps spinning crap plates to distract from his non-plot. It gets worse when the film veers clumsily towards religious satire, with absolutely nothing to say on the subject, or on any subject for that matter (even lying!). I wasn't expecting a really well put together film, but I thought there might be some funny jokes at least, your best bet for entertainment here is trying to figure out who got paid the most: Coca Cola or Pizza Hut.
34
Sweet November (Robert Ellis Miller, 1968)
With: Sandy Dennis, Anthony Newley, Theodore Bikel, Burr DeBenning
Plot: Sara (Dennis) is a plucky neighbourhood lady who takes one man to live with her every month, as an extended therapy session to iron out their personal flaws. Her November man is Charlie (Newley), and the two fall in love.
---
I thought this was great most of the time, but the ending really spoiled it for me. not just because it's a sad ending but because it's one that bends and twists the characters and film's logic until they are unrecognisable just to achieve a sad ending. Also Sara can easily be interpreted as a somewhat insidious character, snaring in men to fall in love with her, shaping them naggingly until they fit her ideal of a good man, and then casting them off to find the next victim. A revelation late in the game is meant to justify this behaviour, even make it seem saintly, but to me it was infuriating that no-one ever calls her bluff. What a bitch! Other than this there's pretty much nothing wrong with this lovely comedy, Newley and Dennis are perfectly matched, with the latter doing all she can to mask her character's selfishness and succeeding quite well. It's all been soured in my mind by the end, but if I saw it on TV again I'd definitely rewatch most of it.
65
Plot: Sara (Dennis) is a plucky neighbourhood lady who takes one man to live with her every month, as an extended therapy session to iron out their personal flaws. Her November man is Charlie (Newley), and the two fall in love.
---
I thought this was great most of the time, but the ending really spoiled it for me. not just because it's a sad ending but because it's one that bends and twists the characters and film's logic until they are unrecognisable just to achieve a sad ending. Also Sara can easily be interpreted as a somewhat insidious character, snaring in men to fall in love with her, shaping them naggingly until they fit her ideal of a good man, and then casting them off to find the next victim. A revelation late in the game is meant to justify this behaviour, even make it seem saintly, but to me it was infuriating that no-one ever calls her bluff. What a bitch! Other than this there's pretty much nothing wrong with this lovely comedy, Newley and Dennis are perfectly matched, with the latter doing all she can to mask her character's selfishness and succeeding quite well. It's all been soured in my mind by the end, but if I saw it on TV again I'd definitely rewatch most of it.
65
A Fine Madness (Irvin Kershner, 1966)
Cast: Sean Connery, Joanne Woodward, Jason Seburg, Patrick O'Neil
Plot: Connery is a frustrated, womanising poet struggling to make a wage and pay his alimony. The film follows him on his misadventures.
---
Sort of a satire, sort of a farce, a very fun mix to watch though. It does begin to feel pretty strained and overly wacky by the end, but there are loads of highlights, not least Connery. You wouldn't pick him as your first choice to play a poet but he has a constant, weary rage which really works, and Woodward is equally good as his long suffering girlfriend. I'm not sure if it's making any point, Connery is an ultimately selfish and lazy creator, wishing to step on society in all walks to get his work done, but the film demonises the doctors and employers around him more. The film's tone is light and quick though, so this doesn't really matter and better to have a farce with just an undercurrent of intelligent thought than one with none at all.
62
Plot: Connery is a frustrated, womanising poet struggling to make a wage and pay his alimony. The film follows him on his misadventures.
---
Sort of a satire, sort of a farce, a very fun mix to watch though. It does begin to feel pretty strained and overly wacky by the end, but there are loads of highlights, not least Connery. You wouldn't pick him as your first choice to play a poet but he has a constant, weary rage which really works, and Woodward is equally good as his long suffering girlfriend. I'm not sure if it's making any point, Connery is an ultimately selfish and lazy creator, wishing to step on society in all walks to get his work done, but the film demonises the doctors and employers around him more. The film's tone is light and quick though, so this doesn't really matter and better to have a farce with just an undercurrent of intelligent thought than one with none at all.
62
Disco Pigs (Kirsten Sheridan, 2001)
With: Elaine Cassidy, Cillian Murphy, Darren Healy, Brian F. O'Byrne, Eleanor Methven
Plot: Pig (Murphy) and runt (Cassidy) are best friends since birth, do everything together, and speak in their own twisted version of the English language. as their parents worry and try to separate them, pig wants to take their relationship to the next level.
---
Very vivid and emotionally charged, but a bit uneven, and its problems get worse as it goes on. Murphy and Cassidy are both outstanding in very different roles, but in trying to create really, really (really) idosyncratic characters, writer Enda Walsh has made two exceptionally annoying characters, and it's mostly down to the cast that we care for or relate to them at all. The story ends predictably (with a really awful ten minutes slightly made up for by a good final five minutes) and not entirely convincingly. Memorable, but ultimately a little pointless.
56
Plot: Pig (Murphy) and runt (Cassidy) are best friends since birth, do everything together, and speak in their own twisted version of the English language. as their parents worry and try to separate them, pig wants to take their relationship to the next level.
---
Very vivid and emotionally charged, but a bit uneven, and its problems get worse as it goes on. Murphy and Cassidy are both outstanding in very different roles, but in trying to create really, really (really) idosyncratic characters, writer Enda Walsh has made two exceptionally annoying characters, and it's mostly down to the cast that we care for or relate to them at all. The story ends predictably (with a really awful ten minutes slightly made up for by a good final five minutes) and not entirely convincingly. Memorable, but ultimately a little pointless.
56
Marnie (Alfred Hitchcock, 1964)
With: Tippi Hedren, Sean Connery, Diane Baker, Martin Gable, Louise Latham
Plot: A kleptomaniac with a complex about ever being touched by a man (Hedren) is caught stealing from the work safe by her new boss (Connery) who then covers for her and blackmails her into marrying him.
---
For a while I was wondering whether this was a thriller or not, but it turned out to be a psychological romance. Hedren is great as a desperate, broken woman and Connery is perfectly cast as the suave, terse, yet caring man who becomes obsessed with her.Marnie seems fully formed as a character rather than a silly woman who's a danger to herself and others, and the films also invites us to judge Connery's character, and question his motives for loving a woman he'll never be able to trust, and acting as a harsh master as much as a husband. Maybe a bit overlong, and the reductive ending seems a bit neat, but it's still totally engrossing.
74
Plot: A kleptomaniac with a complex about ever being touched by a man (Hedren) is caught stealing from the work safe by her new boss (Connery) who then covers for her and blackmails her into marrying him.
---
For a while I was wondering whether this was a thriller or not, but it turned out to be a psychological romance. Hedren is great as a desperate, broken woman and Connery is perfectly cast as the suave, terse, yet caring man who becomes obsessed with her.Marnie seems fully formed as a character rather than a silly woman who's a danger to herself and others, and the films also invites us to judge Connery's character, and question his motives for loving a woman he'll never be able to trust, and acting as a harsh master as much as a husband. Maybe a bit overlong, and the reductive ending seems a bit neat, but it's still totally engrossing.
74
Waist Deep (Vondie Curtis-Hall, 2006)
With: Tyrese Gibson, Meagan Good, Darris Love, Larenz Tate
Plot: An ex-con (Gibson) must somehow raise £100,000 for ransom after his car is stolen with his son still in the back. He forces a woman who helped rob his car (Good) into helping him.
---
Very straightforward gangstas in LA thriller, the one thing that stands out is that it looks very nice (shot by the cinematographer that Christian Bale shouted at). Curtis-Hall seems to be trying hard to make up for Glitter and although one or two visual gimmicks are a bit overdone (the camera wandering around Gibson and Good's noses, eyebrows and mouths as they tell their weepy backstories is just silly) he mostly pulls it off. Gibson is also not too bad, but the film itself is mostly boring and the villains are too cartoonish. Aside from its looks it seems truly straight to DVD, even though it wasn't, which sums up how interesting it is.
36
Plot: An ex-con (Gibson) must somehow raise £100,000 for ransom after his car is stolen with his son still in the back. He forces a woman who helped rob his car (Good) into helping him.
---
Very straightforward gangstas in LA thriller, the one thing that stands out is that it looks very nice (shot by the cinematographer that Christian Bale shouted at). Curtis-Hall seems to be trying hard to make up for Glitter and although one or two visual gimmicks are a bit overdone (the camera wandering around Gibson and Good's noses, eyebrows and mouths as they tell their weepy backstories is just silly) he mostly pulls it off. Gibson is also not too bad, but the film itself is mostly boring and the villains are too cartoonish. Aside from its looks it seems truly straight to DVD, even though it wasn't, which sums up how interesting it is.
36
Requiem (Hans-Christian Schmid, 2006)
With: Sandra Huller, Burghart Klausner, Imogen Kogge, Anna Blomeier, Nicholas Reinke
Plot: Based on a true case that ruled in belief of demonic possession. Michaela (Huller) has a disabling history of epilepsy which seems to seep into psychosis. When she gets away from her controlling mother and loving father for the first time at university, her attacks and fits gets worse and more frequent, leading her to believe she is possessed.
---
Not a horror film at all, but an intimate drama that is surprisingly warm in places and for the most part functions as a perfectly balanced, brilliantly acted (Huller is excellent) character study of a girl finding her independence while battling a debilitating condition. When the film does raise the spectre of the devil it brings with it no doomy music or genre-styled filmmaking, just an intense sadness as you see the main character falling to pieces as she believes she has no hope. While the film's naturalistic style would suggest that Schmid does think it's all in her head, the answer is left open. The question of what is happening to her never seems to be the real focus though, her life shown in a series of jump cuts and snippets that by turns emotional, funny and harrowing.
84
Plot: Based on a true case that ruled in belief of demonic possession. Michaela (Huller) has a disabling history of epilepsy which seems to seep into psychosis. When she gets away from her controlling mother and loving father for the first time at university, her attacks and fits gets worse and more frequent, leading her to believe she is possessed.
---
Not a horror film at all, but an intimate drama that is surprisingly warm in places and for the most part functions as a perfectly balanced, brilliantly acted (Huller is excellent) character study of a girl finding her independence while battling a debilitating condition. When the film does raise the spectre of the devil it brings with it no doomy music or genre-styled filmmaking, just an intense sadness as you see the main character falling to pieces as she believes she has no hope. While the film's naturalistic style would suggest that Schmid does think it's all in her head, the answer is left open. The question of what is happening to her never seems to be the real focus though, her life shown in a series of jump cuts and snippets that by turns emotional, funny and harrowing.
84
Green Card (Peter Weir,1990)
With: Andie MacDowell, Gerard Depardieu, Bebe Neuwirth, Greg Edelman
Plot: A frenchman (Depardieu) marries a New York botanist (MacDowell) so he can get a green card to stay in the country, and so that she can move into an apartment with a greenhouse that only allows married couples. They go their separate ways but when Immigration comes investigating, they must learn everything about one another to fool them.
---
Unexpectedly pleasant, it even achieves the near impossible feat of making Andie Macdowell likeable, and its imposed typical romcom deception conceipt (where they get to like each other through pretending to like each other) is quite underplayed and lightly handled, unlike the shrieking contrivances of stuff like How To Lose a Guy in Ten Days. There's nothing groundbreaking about the tentative romance on display here, but it manages to feel quite natural, and you find yourself caring about the characters enough to make the ending properly sad. Pretty good.
61
Plot: A frenchman (Depardieu) marries a New York botanist (MacDowell) so he can get a green card to stay in the country, and so that she can move into an apartment with a greenhouse that only allows married couples. They go their separate ways but when Immigration comes investigating, they must learn everything about one another to fool them.
---
Unexpectedly pleasant, it even achieves the near impossible feat of making Andie Macdowell likeable, and its imposed typical romcom deception conceipt (where they get to like each other through pretending to like each other) is quite underplayed and lightly handled, unlike the shrieking contrivances of stuff like How To Lose a Guy in Ten Days. There's nothing groundbreaking about the tentative romance on display here, but it manages to feel quite natural, and you find yourself caring about the characters enough to make the ending properly sad. Pretty good.
61
Wednesday, 7 October 2009
It's Alive (Josef Rusnak, 2008)
With: Bijou Phillips, James Murray, Raphael Coleman, Ty Glaser
Plot: Young, pregnant Lenore Harker (Phillips), leaves university to settle down with her boyfriend and raise their abnormally large baby. The baby eats people.
---
I love Larry Cohen's original, and was pleased to see he got a writing credit on this, though it doesn't show. Whereas Cohen used the situation of a monster baby as a sly musing on male and female reactions to miscarriage, this has no sub-text. It's very spare and doesn't show the baby, aside from its hand, until the very end. At first this seems like a sign of good pacing, but when you see the horribly CGI'd face at the end you realise it's probably down to cost issues. It feels much too minor, again probably a budget problem, and its only real benefit is a committed performance from Phillips who really makes you see the sadness at the life she's given up to protect a monster from trouble. Other characters are cardboard cut-outs, there simply to be victims of the baby in scenes lacking in any tension or build up, it's always just the baby (who can move like a ninja) suddenly killing everything in the shot. It's very focused, no needless subplots and only 78 minutes long including credits, but too slight to enjoy even as a mindless horror.
29
Plot: Young, pregnant Lenore Harker (Phillips), leaves university to settle down with her boyfriend and raise their abnormally large baby. The baby eats people.
---
I love Larry Cohen's original, and was pleased to see he got a writing credit on this, though it doesn't show. Whereas Cohen used the situation of a monster baby as a sly musing on male and female reactions to miscarriage, this has no sub-text. It's very spare and doesn't show the baby, aside from its hand, until the very end. At first this seems like a sign of good pacing, but when you see the horribly CGI'd face at the end you realise it's probably down to cost issues. It feels much too minor, again probably a budget problem, and its only real benefit is a committed performance from Phillips who really makes you see the sadness at the life she's given up to protect a monster from trouble. Other characters are cardboard cut-outs, there simply to be victims of the baby in scenes lacking in any tension or build up, it's always just the baby (who can move like a ninja) suddenly killing everything in the shot. It's very focused, no needless subplots and only 78 minutes long including credits, but too slight to enjoy even as a mindless horror.
29
The Hand that Rocks the Cradle (Curtis Hanson, 1992)
With: Rebecca De Mornay, Annabella Sciorra, Matt McCoy, Ernie Hudson, Julianne Moore
Plot: An expectant mother (Sciorra) is molested by her gynaecologist, who kills himself in the resulting investigation. His wife (De Mornay) then takes a job as Sciorra's nanny, planning to ruin the family.
---
Thrillers like this are a guilty pleasure for me, and although it has its silly parts, it doesn't get as wacky as you'd expect.Perhaps because it was written by a woman, but for whatever reason it builds up the female psycho character surprisingly well, with good motivation helped by De Mornay's sympathetic performance. When it all comes down to it, she really is just another movie lunatic, though watching the games she plays and allegiences she forms with different family members makes for tense, relatively believable viewing. Hanson seems at his livliest when executing thriller cliches, like the murder (there's only one, odd for this sort of thing) and also indulges in my favourite thriller cliche, a character learning about De Mornay's true nature by researching old newspaper slides in a library (Do libraries really have these?). Not that memorable overall, and much tamer than I would have liked, but it's a decent thriller-by-numbers.
54
Plot: An expectant mother (Sciorra) is molested by her gynaecologist, who kills himself in the resulting investigation. His wife (De Mornay) then takes a job as Sciorra's nanny, planning to ruin the family.
---
Thrillers like this are a guilty pleasure for me, and although it has its silly parts, it doesn't get as wacky as you'd expect.Perhaps because it was written by a woman, but for whatever reason it builds up the female psycho character surprisingly well, with good motivation helped by De Mornay's sympathetic performance. When it all comes down to it, she really is just another movie lunatic, though watching the games she plays and allegiences she forms with different family members makes for tense, relatively believable viewing. Hanson seems at his livliest when executing thriller cliches, like the murder (there's only one, odd for this sort of thing) and also indulges in my favourite thriller cliche, a character learning about De Mornay's true nature by researching old newspaper slides in a library (Do libraries really have these?). Not that memorable overall, and much tamer than I would have liked, but it's a decent thriller-by-numbers.
54
Hotel for Dogs (Thor Freudenthal, 2009)
With: Emma Roberts, Jake T Austin, Lisa Kudrow, Kevin Dillon, Don Cheadle
Plot: Two wholesome foster children take over a derelict hotel and turn it into a hotel for stray dogs, if their foster parents find out, they may get separated
---
Well, this is one for dog-loving young children and no-one else at all (the adult actors are wasted), and for this audience it's certainly vibrant and dog-filled enough. All of the children involved are impossibly earnest and bland, having no personality apart from wanting to look for dogs. The story feels stretched, even at just over 90 minutes, and the cloying cuteness of the dogs just isn't for me. What can be said in its favour, however, is that the hotel itself is a marvel of production design, full of Heath Robinson-esque devices dispensing shoes, food and baths to the dogs and the film really comes alive in the montages depicting them. Outside of this? Nothing of interest.
36
Plot: Two wholesome foster children take over a derelict hotel and turn it into a hotel for stray dogs, if their foster parents find out, they may get separated
---
Well, this is one for dog-loving young children and no-one else at all (the adult actors are wasted), and for this audience it's certainly vibrant and dog-filled enough. All of the children involved are impossibly earnest and bland, having no personality apart from wanting to look for dogs. The story feels stretched, even at just over 90 minutes, and the cloying cuteness of the dogs just isn't for me. What can be said in its favour, however, is that the hotel itself is a marvel of production design, full of Heath Robinson-esque devices dispensing shoes, food and baths to the dogs and the film really comes alive in the montages depicting them. Outside of this? Nothing of interest.
36
Home of the Brave (Irwin Winkler, 2006)
With: Samuel L Jackson, Jessica Biel, 50 Cent, Brian Presley, Christina Ricci
Plot: The film follows four Iraq veterans as they deal with returning to America after their tour of duty
---
A well-meaning, and largely well-acted soap opera, this is unfortunately full of terrible writing (sample line - to an angry, distant amputee - "I guess it only takes one good hand to push people away"). At first I thought it was admirably restrained, before figuring out it was just tedium. Things still get hysterical with little logic, and the characters are relatively bland archetypes which you find yourself getting annoyed with rather than sympathising. Still, a few moments and strands are satisfying (Jackson's troubled relationship with his anti-war son for example) and the groundwork for a powerful drama is there if only the characters were better.
47
Plot: The film follows four Iraq veterans as they deal with returning to America after their tour of duty
---
A well-meaning, and largely well-acted soap opera, this is unfortunately full of terrible writing (sample line - to an angry, distant amputee - "I guess it only takes one good hand to push people away"). At first I thought it was admirably restrained, before figuring out it was just tedium. Things still get hysterical with little logic, and the characters are relatively bland archetypes which you find yourself getting annoyed with rather than sympathising. Still, a few moments and strands are satisfying (Jackson's troubled relationship with his anti-war son for example) and the groundwork for a powerful drama is there if only the characters were better.
47
Sunday, 4 October 2009
F/X (Robert Mandel, 1986)
With: Bryan Brown, Brian Dennehy, Diane Venora, Mason Adams, Jerry Orbach
Plot: Special effects creator Rollie (Brown) agrees to participate with police in the fake murder of a mob snitch, when things go wrong he realises he is part of a corrupt police cover up and has been framed. Shiiiiiiiiiit!
---
I wanted to like this more than I did, in template its a thoroughly workmanlike you've-been-framed thriller, but the inclusion of practical special effects as not just a career for the protagonist, but also several key plot points, is almost irresistable. I hear the sequel is a bit more sci-fi than this, which is a shame as this film's real asset is its low tech charm, not just how the 'F/X' are applied but also the obviously under-planned escapes, which adds just enough realism (at one point he just pushes this guy into a lake then legs it!). The bits centring on effects are just window dressing on some very routine action, but they are fun, and the film rattles along at a quick pace. It's an undemanding thriller with a minor twist, just well executed enough (and with a thoroughly likeable cast) to make you glad there's stuff like this around.
55
Plot: Special effects creator Rollie (Brown) agrees to participate with police in the fake murder of a mob snitch, when things go wrong he realises he is part of a corrupt police cover up and has been framed. Shiiiiiiiiiit!
---
I wanted to like this more than I did, in template its a thoroughly workmanlike you've-been-framed thriller, but the inclusion of practical special effects as not just a career for the protagonist, but also several key plot points, is almost irresistable. I hear the sequel is a bit more sci-fi than this, which is a shame as this film's real asset is its low tech charm, not just how the 'F/X' are applied but also the obviously under-planned escapes, which adds just enough realism (at one point he just pushes this guy into a lake then legs it!). The bits centring on effects are just window dressing on some very routine action, but they are fun, and the film rattles along at a quick pace. It's an undemanding thriller with a minor twist, just well executed enough (and with a thoroughly likeable cast) to make you glad there's stuff like this around.
55
Scent of a Woman (Martin Brest, 1992)
With: Al Pacino, Chris O'Donnell, James Rebhorn, Philip Seymour Hoffman
Plot: Charlie (O'Donnell) is a prep shool student unwittingly involved in trouble to do with vandalising school property, over a weekend he takes money to baby-sit a blind, bitter retired Vietnam vet (Pacino), who whisks him off for a weekend of pleasure in New York, planning to subsequently kill himself.
---
It's funny when, after watching this, you suddenly realise how manipulative and corny it is, because I was too engrossed to really notice until the end. Taken at face value the story is pretty stereotypical and trite (wherein Pacino's horrible character is a wise and noble mentor underneath the drinking and rudeness), it even fails to call out the character for any wrongdoing, though at least it doesn't trumpet him as a hero (not quite anyway). The reason these problems don't particularly matter is Pacino's exhaustive performance, inhabiting the character with a fascinating overflow of verbal tics and mannerisms. The script wisely chooses to not deal too heavily in his past (Everything we know about his life is informed by Pacino's attitude), and the parallel storyline of O'Donnell's school troubles is kept to a minimum number of scenes, helping just enough to define the character of Charlie without thinking he can carry as much of the film as its true heavyweight character can. Yes, it's a very Hollywoody 'surrogate father and son' journey but it's mostly kept admirably low key and, despite being a bit overindulgent at two and a half hours, it has enough positives to make for a truly memorable main character, sufficiently served by the story.
60
Plot: Charlie (O'Donnell) is a prep shool student unwittingly involved in trouble to do with vandalising school property, over a weekend he takes money to baby-sit a blind, bitter retired Vietnam vet (Pacino), who whisks him off for a weekend of pleasure in New York, planning to subsequently kill himself.
---
It's funny when, after watching this, you suddenly realise how manipulative and corny it is, because I was too engrossed to really notice until the end. Taken at face value the story is pretty stereotypical and trite (wherein Pacino's horrible character is a wise and noble mentor underneath the drinking and rudeness), it even fails to call out the character for any wrongdoing, though at least it doesn't trumpet him as a hero (not quite anyway). The reason these problems don't particularly matter is Pacino's exhaustive performance, inhabiting the character with a fascinating overflow of verbal tics and mannerisms. The script wisely chooses to not deal too heavily in his past (Everything we know about his life is informed by Pacino's attitude), and the parallel storyline of O'Donnell's school troubles is kept to a minimum number of scenes, helping just enough to define the character of Charlie without thinking he can carry as much of the film as its true heavyweight character can. Yes, it's a very Hollywoody 'surrogate father and son' journey but it's mostly kept admirably low key and, despite being a bit overindulgent at two and a half hours, it has enough positives to make for a truly memorable main character, sufficiently served by the story.
60
Saturday, 3 October 2009
Middletown (Brian Kirk, 2006)
With: Matthew McFadyen, Daniel Mays, Eva Birthistle, Gerard McSorley
Plot: Ireland, the 1950's. Returning from being a missionary, priest Gabriel (McFadyen) finds his hometown, and his family, in a state of sin. Railing against this, he tries to change their ways by any means possible (ie becomes a maniac).
---
Kirk obviously believes he's making something important here, with things to say about religion and society, and while it achieves a sort of credibility with a well conceived family situation, it's really pure, silly melodrama underneath. Luckily the cast are all excellent, McFadyen (who literally seems to hover around over the townsfolk) gives an elegant performance which helps to make an extremely OTT character a convincing force of nature. Really it all loses dignity as Gabriel gets more and more hysterical, but it still manages to be quite riveting in a lurid way, as we watch him get more and more pissed off with the sinners the tension ratchets up considerably, as we wonder what he's going to do. When he finally does snap, it's the film's most ludicrous moment, but the script and, particularly, the cast mean even in its worst moments Middletown is a striking and compulsive film, even if it's also a bit self-important.
52
Plot: Ireland, the 1950's. Returning from being a missionary, priest Gabriel (McFadyen) finds his hometown, and his family, in a state of sin. Railing against this, he tries to change their ways by any means possible (ie becomes a maniac).
---
Kirk obviously believes he's making something important here, with things to say about religion and society, and while it achieves a sort of credibility with a well conceived family situation, it's really pure, silly melodrama underneath. Luckily the cast are all excellent, McFadyen (who literally seems to hover around over the townsfolk) gives an elegant performance which helps to make an extremely OTT character a convincing force of nature. Really it all loses dignity as Gabriel gets more and more hysterical, but it still manages to be quite riveting in a lurid way, as we watch him get more and more pissed off with the sinners the tension ratchets up considerably, as we wonder what he's going to do. When he finally does snap, it's the film's most ludicrous moment, but the script and, particularly, the cast mean even in its worst moments Middletown is a striking and compulsive film, even if it's also a bit self-important.
52
Turner and Hooch (Roger Spottiswoode, 1989)
With: Tom Hanks, Mare Winningham, Craig T Nelson
Plot: Hanks is a police investigator in a town where nothing happens, when one day a murder occurs, and Hanks must look after the only witness: a giant dog.
---
God, they made some terrible films in the 80s, didn't they? Pretty much the whole rating here is for Tom Hanks, who remains likeable throughout and has a couple of slightly funny monologues with the dog. Everything else is near-unwatchable though, with a crime plot not even good enough for TV and a romantic subplot that's there just so there can be a woman in the film. These two elements, along with scenes showing the dog destroying Hanks' house, all seem disconnected from one another, with the crime plot vanishing entirely for most of the film until the writers decide we've had enough fun watching Hooch eat sofas and suddenly shove it back in again. Every poor joke is rammed down your throat with gurning slow-motion close-ups and that tuneless 80s synth cacophony. Even today's Eddie Murphy kiddy vehicles are better than this.
28
Plot: Hanks is a police investigator in a town where nothing happens, when one day a murder occurs, and Hanks must look after the only witness: a giant dog.
---
God, they made some terrible films in the 80s, didn't they? Pretty much the whole rating here is for Tom Hanks, who remains likeable throughout and has a couple of slightly funny monologues with the dog. Everything else is near-unwatchable though, with a crime plot not even good enough for TV and a romantic subplot that's there just so there can be a woman in the film. These two elements, along with scenes showing the dog destroying Hanks' house, all seem disconnected from one another, with the crime plot vanishing entirely for most of the film until the writers decide we've had enough fun watching Hooch eat sofas and suddenly shove it back in again. Every poor joke is rammed down your throat with gurning slow-motion close-ups and that tuneless 80s synth cacophony. Even today's Eddie Murphy kiddy vehicles are better than this.
28
Thursday, 1 October 2009
Surrogates (Jonathan Mostow, 2009)
With: Bruce Willis, Radha Mitchell, Rosamund Pike, Ving Rhames, James Cromwell
Plot: In an alternate present day, everyone stays at home and conducts their business in the outside world via a surrogate robot, when the impossible happens and the destruction of a surrogate kills its operator, cop Tom Greer (Willis) is assigned to get to the bottom of things.
---
Too short, too thin and too busy sprinting towards the ending to be particularly convincing or entertaining. The concept is quite strong, suggesting a world where paranoia and technology have converged and effectively cocooned society, but there's not a single decent character here and it never manages the excitement or streamlined mystery of I, Robot, which this film strongly resembles (right down to casting James Cromwell as the well-meaning inventor of doom). There aren't enough details to flesh out what would be a vastly changed world and the fact that Willis sleepwalks through the whole thing makes it even harder to engage with. It's still perfectly watchable, the subtle effects that define the surrogates are quite hypnotic, but despite the intriguing set-up, this is as humdrum a sci-f-fi actioner as you could imagine.
50
Plot: In an alternate present day, everyone stays at home and conducts their business in the outside world via a surrogate robot, when the impossible happens and the destruction of a surrogate kills its operator, cop Tom Greer (Willis) is assigned to get to the bottom of things.
---
Too short, too thin and too busy sprinting towards the ending to be particularly convincing or entertaining. The concept is quite strong, suggesting a world where paranoia and technology have converged and effectively cocooned society, but there's not a single decent character here and it never manages the excitement or streamlined mystery of I, Robot, which this film strongly resembles (right down to casting James Cromwell as the well-meaning inventor of doom). There aren't enough details to flesh out what would be a vastly changed world and the fact that Willis sleepwalks through the whole thing makes it even harder to engage with. It's still perfectly watchable, the subtle effects that define the surrogates are quite hypnotic, but despite the intriguing set-up, this is as humdrum a sci-f-fi actioner as you could imagine.
50
The Ramen Girl (Robert Allan Ackerman, 2008)
With: Brittany Murphy, Toshiyuki Nishida, Sohee Park, Tammy Blanchard
Plot: Abby (Murphy) is at a loss in Tokyo after being dumped by the boyfriend she moved there for. She takes refuge in a local Ramen shop and trains under a tempestuous master (Nishida) to become a skilled ramen chef.
---
Starts off agreeable enough, with Murphy a fairly appealing presence as the emotional but plucky fish out of water, and for a good forty minutes it's a pleasant, if derivative extended training montage. there seems to be no real goals set for the character other than becoming good at cooking ramen, so other elements such as a chef's contest and a parental bond forming between teacher and student are half-heartedly thrown into the last act. This gives the film's second half a curiously unsatisfying feel, but despite this the main problems are fuzzy logic and character motivations (this certainly isn't the real world) and the awful western friends who are obviously copied from the wacky, lovable brit-com friend template but are written and acted with such shrieking campness that the film literally drops dead whnever they're on screen. The slightly unusual mix of elements (girly self-actualisation film with karate kid structure) is unusual enough to keep things mildly engaging, but as one listless scene fades into the next (the romantic sub-plot is the definition of an afterthought, and the much-vaunted ramen cooking barely features) it's hard to sustain interest.
38
Plot: Abby (Murphy) is at a loss in Tokyo after being dumped by the boyfriend she moved there for. She takes refuge in a local Ramen shop and trains under a tempestuous master (Nishida) to become a skilled ramen chef.
---
Starts off agreeable enough, with Murphy a fairly appealing presence as the emotional but plucky fish out of water, and for a good forty minutes it's a pleasant, if derivative extended training montage. there seems to be no real goals set for the character other than becoming good at cooking ramen, so other elements such as a chef's contest and a parental bond forming between teacher and student are half-heartedly thrown into the last act. This gives the film's second half a curiously unsatisfying feel, but despite this the main problems are fuzzy logic and character motivations (this certainly isn't the real world) and the awful western friends who are obviously copied from the wacky, lovable brit-com friend template but are written and acted with such shrieking campness that the film literally drops dead whnever they're on screen. The slightly unusual mix of elements (girly self-actualisation film with karate kid structure) is unusual enough to keep things mildly engaging, but as one listless scene fades into the next (the romantic sub-plot is the definition of an afterthought, and the much-vaunted ramen cooking barely features) it's hard to sustain interest.
38
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