Film Review: The Hunger Games

Director: Gary Ross

Based on the popular trilogy of novels by Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games opened to the third highest opening weekend box office sales of all time. It was beaten only by The Dark Knight and some film about a wizard or something. The books themselves were very popular upon release so a good movie adaptation could be a real box office smash with 2 more books to be made into movies.

The whole film is slightly tongue in cheek when looking at reality TV shows and how extreme they become just to chase ratings. Tributes not only have to fight each other to the death but also be popular with the viewer's so that they might donate money to help their cause. Becoming popular is crucial if you are to be helped with food and medicine when in need during the games. Some of the ideas used by the tributes and their aides are used constantly during TV shows like The X Factor and Big Brother, there is no doubt that this a slight swipe at those programs.

Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) during the Hunger Games

The Hunger Games are an annual competition where 24 tributes (children aged 12 to 18) are forced to fight to the death until only one remains and is crowned as the winner, all shown on TV for the public. The tributes are chosen from the 12 districts in a nation known as Panem and are chosen from these districts as punishment for a rebellion against the capital. Katniss Everdeen (the sublime Jennifer Lawrence) becomes the first ever volunteer after her younger sister Primrose (Willow Shields) is chosen in the lottery. She heads off with Peeta Mallark (unconvincing Josh Hutcherson) to the capital to be trained for 4 days before the games by previous winner Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson on top form once again) who is a drunk that always hated the games.

Jennifer Lawrence is truly astounding as the lead, Katniss Everdeen, managing to pull off the sweet and tender moments with her family and the love interest as well as the kick ass moments where she is taking out other tributes in the games. I have to say she became more and more attractive to me as the movie went on! Woody Harrelson plays a cynical drunk, a role he's probably familiar with, but to great effect and becomes a great mentor to Katniss as the training progresses.

Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks believe it or not) with Katniss Everdeen after she volunteers

The violence depicted during the games is heavily watered down to achieve the 12A rating to open the film out to a wider audience. In most cases you get an idea of what happened to the tributes that've been killed but seem only very limited amounts of blood and gore, you can imagine someone like David Fincher or David Cronenberg could have gone all out on these scenes. Some aspects of the games I wasn't so keen on like the additions at the end to speed it up but this is more down to the book which the film is very faithful to.

 Despite the comparisons I made in my preview of the film, Battle Royale this is not. It has a different edge and is only compared in a plot device that forces children to fight but is carried out in a completely different manner. I for one will look forward to the following two books being made into sequels.

3.5/4 Stand out performance from Jennifer Lawrence in this gripping if slightly watered down version of the book

Total Recall teaser trailer released

Everybody remembers Total Recall right? Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sharon Stone? It was a good film from 1990 but some people in Hollywood have decided that this film needs to be remade and that Colin Farrell is the man to star in it. Len Wiseman is the man directing the movie and has a reported budget of $200 million! If this movie makes a profit then this really will be the start of the decline of western civilization and no I'm not being over-dramatic.

Euroamerica (formely USA) and New Shanghai (formely China) are fighting for power in a fascist future world where Douglas Quaid (Colin Farrell), who is a simple factory worker, thinks he is a spy who has had his memory erased. He teams up with Melina (Jessica Biel) to try and change the system in Euroamerica as well as the corrupt government.

A teaser trailer is embedded below and the film is due out on 3rd August.

This week's releases

StreetDance 2 3D: Expect the usual mix of highly choreographed routines in many varied places around the world all in 3D with some love story attached. Can't say I've ever seen a dance movie in 3D but does it really add to the effect?

Wrath of the Titans 3D: The gods and titans return to do battle in 3D. Perseus (Sam Worthington) and Zeus (Liam Neeson) are living a quiet life as fishermen until the gods lose control of the titans in prison. They both return on a quest to save mankind from the titans.

Into the Abyss: A documentary film by Werner Herzog about two men charged with murder of which one of them is on death row awaiting execution.

Into the Abyss film preview

The Hangover Part III announced

Todd Phillips has announced that he will finish off The Hangover franchise with a third film which will be released in April 2013. He is reuniting the wolf pack of Bradley Cooper, Zac Galifianakis and Ed Helms with Mike Tyson also expected to feature. Obviously rumours are rife regarding where this film will be set and what will bring them back together, Amsterdam is being mentioned a lot as a possible destination as the setting for a stag do for Alan or that they break Alan out of a mental institution but nobody knows for sure yet.

The Wolf Pack

This does leave the question of whether a third film is needed? The first film was an undoubted success with a clever plot device in retracing their steps from the night before but the second film was basically the same but set in Bangkok. Based on Project X the film that Todd Phillips produced I'm not massively excited but Phillips has promised to spring a few surprises in the final chapter.

Film Review: Project X

Director: Nima Nourizadeh

The feature film debut of Nima Nourizadeh, who has previously worked mainly on music videos, sees him collaborate with The Hangover director Todd Phillips (in very familiar territory). The idea with the film was to cast actors who had never acted before or had very little experience which along with the hand held camera filming would make the party scenes very realistic. Thomas Mann who played birthday boy Thomas had to audition 7 times for the role as the producers wanted someone without acting experience as Thomas Mann had acted in It's kind of a funny story in 2010. It is reportedly based on the story of Melbourne teenager Corey Delaney who announced a party on MySpace which resulted in 500 people turning up and clashes with the police.

The party in full swing

Thomas (Thomas Mann) is turning 17 and his parents are going away for the weekend so his friends Costa (Oliver Cooper) and J.B. (Jonathan Daniel Brown) want to throw him a huge party. They do this hoping to sleep with women and to increase their popularity, saying it will be a ''game changer''. Thomas' friend Kirby (Kirby Bliss Blanton) is one of the only people to initially show up to the party but after a while hundreds of people start appearing. The party suddenly moves inside as the hired security, two guys from school; struggle to contain everyone and the party gets completely out of hand.

Unfortunately this seems to be a cross between The Hangover and Superbad except it's not as funny or original as either. The ultimate failing is that there is nothing clever or charming about the characters or the party goers themselves, it's just a lot of expensive party set pieces and montages of people dancing and drinking to the latest dance hits. The film lasts just under 80mins but even with such a short running time there seems to be just a lot of moments added to fill the time. The aspect of the teenagers becoming media hits could have been further developed and given it a different angle from some of the other party films that have been released in recent years.

Costa (Oliver Cooper), Thomas (Thomas Mann) and J.B. (Jonathan Daniel Brown) hide from the ensuing chaos

The character of Thomas Mann worked well in the film and Costa seem to remind me of Jay from The Inbetweeners with his cocky demeanour and clearly made up stories from when he lived in New York. But the unpopular guys throwing a party then becoming popular at school and with girls is hardly original or even done that well here. It's an easy film to watch and the scale of the carnage is fun to watch but don't expect some surprising classic to unfold in front of your eyes.

1.5/4 some funny moments but largely too predictable a plot which becomes absurd at the parties end.

Film Review: The Muppets

Director: James Bobin

The Muppets were revived by Jason Segel who helped write and produce the movie but already confirmed that he wouldn't take part in a sequel saying that he achieved his goal of bringing The Muppets back. It is the first theatrical release in 12 years and sees a huge list of cameos by famous actors and musicians. It has also become the first Muppet movie to win an Oscar which was for Best Original Song "Man or Muppet".

Walter and his brother Gary (Jason Segel)

Walter is a man born as a Muppet and always dream of seeing the Muppets even though they haven't performed together in years. He gets the chance to go to Los Angeles and see the Muppet theatre when his brother Gary (Jason Segel, superb) agrees he can go with him and his girlfriend Mary (Amy Adams). At the dilapidated theatre tour they realise that an oil tycoon called Tex Richman (Chris Cooper who performs an amazing rap) is planning to buy the studios and tear it down to mine for oil. So Walter convinces Gary and Mary to help him get the Muppets back together to save the theatre by raising the $10million they need.

Jason Segel is brilliant as the conflicted Gary who can't decide between being with his girlfriend Mary and helping his brother Walter. All the characters that people love are back and I think the back story for Animal was by far the funniest when Walter, Gary and Mary go on a road trip with Kermit to round up the whole gang. Look out for Gonzo shutting his business down, Chris Cooper's rap and Fozzie bear's new gig.

The legendary Miss Piggy and Kermit the frog

The laughs come for both kids and adults with some more subtle jokes breaking the fourth wall so it is certainly a film that adults can enjoy watching with their kids. It was a safe choice in terms of plot and humour but there are a few clever jokes to keep you entertained amongst the to be expected stuff. There are even some chirpy upbeat songs to help along the way, if you don't feel happy and fuzzy inside afterwards then I would get a check-up.

3/4 Segel does a great job bringing the muppets back

Film Preview: Marley

Marley is a documentary film directed by Kevin MacDonald who is known for his directing of The Last King of Scotland and Touching the Void. MacDonald looks to tell the story behind the music of Bob Marley with help from family members such as Ziggy and Rita.

"Possessions make you rich? I don't have those types of riches. My riches is life." Bob Marley

It is a documentary film about the life, music and legacy of Bob Marley, a man still hugely revered to this day but whose actual actions have been lost among the legend.

The film is released on Friday 20th April in the UK and the trailer is embedded below:

Film Review: Inception

Director: Christopher Nolan

Inception is the big budget creation of Christopher Nolan who had the idea back in 2001 about dream stealers and decided to develop the idea. He wanted to work on some bigger productions so delayed development whilst he worked on the Batman series to increase his experience before coming back to the idea behind Inception. After its release it became one of the highest grossing films of all time and won four Oscars.

Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) in the hotel room while the others dream

The film follows Dom Cobb (Leonardo Di Caprio) and business partner Arthur (Jospeh Gordon-Levitt) who perform illegal espionage by entering people's subconscious to steal crucial information. They use a ''dream within a dream'' strategy to gain this information. Dom struggles with the memory of his dead wife who frequently appears in his dreams and sabotages his plans. They are hired by the wealthy Mr Saito (Ken Watanabe) to perform the art of ''inception'' where they plant an idea into somebody's subconscience and make them believe the idea was their own.

The narrative becomes reasonably complex as the team must enter many dreams within a dream to convince the victim that he really did conceive the idea himself. This requires Ariadne (Ellen Page) to create various complex dreamscapes for these dreams to occur in which vastly differ in background. It sets up some stunning visual aspects especially with each dream affecting the dream being had beneath it so the van they have that gets flipped upside down causes a superb fight scene in a hallway which sees the two men fly around as if in zero gravity. The intriguing and complex narrative combined with superb visual effects create one amazing movie to watch.

Dom (Leonardo Di Caprio) with his wife Mal (Marion Cotillard)

Some say it is an achievement that a film as complex as this was such a hit at the box office with all this talk of dumbing down at the cinema, I personally think the issue is more a case of the movie industry just under-estimating how intelligent the average person is. A clever moment is when Cobb asks Ariadne how they got to a certain place and that people only remember the middle of the dream and not the beginning which is very true. Tom Hardy who plays Eames, a sharp tongued Englishman, was somebody who grew on me a lot throughout the movie after I was initially annoyed by his character. Marion Cotillard is also great as the femme-fatale Mal.

With a film this ambitious in plot as well as being highly regarded by critics and fans alike, it's hard not to want to find criticisms with Inception. Some of the casting was slightly dubious in my eyes, with Ellen Page being the main culprit, but I did feel some of the ''rules'' regarding entering dreams were just created purely to facilitate big budget special effects. There isn't really any mystery to solve within the film, it's more of an action heist movie with a complex narrative.

3.5/4 Superbly clever and innovative movie

Film Review: Super 8

Director: J.J. Abrams

Movie Poster

J.J. Abrams directed and also wrote Super 8 but obviously with a helping hand from producer Steven Spielberg. To stop myself harping on about it throughout the review I will state now that I felt the ending was ruined by Spielberg which is a real shame as the first 2/3 of the movie were top notch. I won't say what happens obviously except that I was very disappointed, would love to hear other people's thoughts on this.

Jack Lamb (Kyle Chandler who is superb once again) and Joe Lamb (Joel Courtney, excellent also) mourn the death of their mother in the fictional town of Lillian in Ohio. Joe and his friends decide to enter a film competition at the end of the school year, they decide to film a low budget zombie movie and even convince Alice Dainard (Elle Fanning) to star. After sneaking out after a dark, the film a scene at the local train depot and use a passing train to increase the authentic feel of the film but the film derails after crashing head on with a car. A pile of strange white cubes are found by the train but the kids are forced to run as an armed force from the local air base arrive.

Alice Dainard (Elle Fanning) and Joe Lamb (Joel Courtney)

The acting by the youngsters, especially Joel Courtney and Riley Griffiths, is excellent as they play a group of nerdy teenagers making a zombie movie on an 8mm camera. Some even compared Elle Fanning's audition scene to Naomi Watts' audition scene in Mulholland Drive but I think that is a bit excessive. The scene by the train depot from the filming of the scene to the train derailing is superb and leaves you captivated as to what everything means. Why does someone drive their car under the train and what are the small white cubes?

The ever brilliant Kyle Chandler as Jack Lamb

As a huge fan of Friday Night Lights, I am obviously biased when it comes to Kyle Chandler but he is great as the caring Dad who wants his son to stay out of trouble before realising that the Army are up to somethign dodgy with regards to the train crash. He takes to fighting the army to find out the truth in a realistic way without trying to turn some normal Dad into Jason Bourne.

Naturally the making of the zombie movie creates some sweet and funny moments between the youngsters which again are well played. We even get to see the final cut of the zombie movie that is finished after the movie, suddenly the acting doesn't seem quite so powerful!

2.5/4 The first 2/3s of the film are excellent but the ending destroys a lot of the magic.

Film Ratings

Just a quick post to note the overall ratings that I have given to every film I have reviewed so far on the blog for easy reference:

Shame 2.5/4
The Iron Lady 1.5/4
Au Revoir les Enfants 3.5/4
Margin Call 4/4
The Artist 3.5/4
Paths of Glory 3/4
Moneyball 3/4
The Descendants 2.5/4
12 Angry Men 4/4
Twelve Monkeys 1.5/4
Drive 3.5/4
Bull Durham 3/4
The Help 2/4
Brazil 3/4
We need to talk about Kevin 2/4
A Dangerous Method 1/4
Martha Marcy May Marlene 3/4
Dog Day Afternoon 3.5/4
Lost Highway 3.5/4
Thank you for Smoking 3/4
Contagion 2.5/4
Beautiful Boy 2/4
Schinder's List 4/4
Up in the Air 3/4
Rampart 2/4
Ides of March 3.5/4
Contraband 1/4
The Town 3.5/4

Film Review: The Town

Director: Ben Affleck

Co-written, directing and starring Ben Affleck, The Town was his second attempt at directing after Gone Baby Gone in 2007 which was also set against the crime underworld in the city of Boston. The film was adapted from the book Prince of Thieves by Chuck Hogan and resulted in a much deserved Oscar nomination for Jeremy Renner for his role as James 'Jem' Coughlin.

The bank robbing gang

The story follows four life long friends who rob a bank and take the manager Claire Keesey (the impressive Rebecca Hall) hostage but then release her without harming her. Doug (well acted by Ben Affleck) follows her afterwards to prevent her from testifying to the police about the men and also to stop Jem (the superb Jeremy Renner) from eliminating her as a witness. Unfortunately Doug starts to fall for Claire and the plot thickens as he decides to try and escape the criminal life to be with the woman he loves.

The portrayal of the tough streets of Charlestown and the projects seem completely genuine, Affleck manages to make the 4 gang members seem like normal guys, except maybe Jem, with no hope for success from any other means. In real life this tends to be the case, people like to live under the belief that people who commit these crimes are all violent maniacs like Jem in the film but that isn't always true. It's this human element that was completely missing from the film Contraband (reviewed here: Contraband review) that is present in The Town.

Doug McRay (Ben Affleck) and James 'Jem' Coughlin (Jeremy Renner) argue

Ben Affleck is impressive as the conflicted bank robber, thinking about whether he can escape the Boston crimeworld but Jeremy Renner is the star of the show, brutal and un-nerving. The praise for the cast doesn't end there as there are top notch performances in small parts by Pete Postlethwaite (bullying local crime boss Fergie), Jon Hamm (FBI Agent Adam Frawley) and Chris Cooper (Doug's incarcerated father Stephen). The action sequences, at the beginning and the end of the movie in particular, are incredibly tense but totally realistic. You begin to root for Doug and Jem which for me means the film has won me over.

3.5/4 sharply worked action sequences and strong lead performances

This weeks releases

The Hunger Games: America in the future sees a town forced to send people into a gladatorial battle in the latest TV sensation where of all the contenders that start the contest only one can survive.

Full preview can be seen here: The Hunger Games preview

Act of Valour: Sees us follow the U.S. Navy SEALS to some of the most dangerous places on the Earth as they fight against terrorists. One such mission sees them try to rescue a kidnapped CIA operative and sees a the cast work with real-life NAVY seals.

Wild Bill: If the movie poster above isn't enough to put you off or the fact this is a film about 10 years too late after the success of Lock Stock and Snatch then just watch the trailer. There seems to still be a belief that cockney gangsters are cool and films must be made about them. Why?

The failure of John Carter

This week has seen Walt Disney announce that the company expects to lose around £125million on the film John Carter. Disney shares dropped by over 1% in the wake of the announcement that the film was one of the biggest flops in cinema history. The loss isn't a huge issue for Disney as there TV business is going well so they will still turn a profit this quarter and also have The Avengers film (previewed here: The Avengers Preview) coming out in May which is expected to be a box office smash.

Let's look at why the film failed to win fans at the box office, well the big problem it seems is that it's a boring film with terrible characters. Mark Kermode reviewed the film by saying "The story telling is incomprehensible, the characterisation is ludicrous, the story is two and a quarter hours long and it's a boring, boring, boring two and a quarter hours long." Peter Bradshaw who is the Guardian newspaper film critic was equally scathing about the movie "John Carter is one of those films that is so stultifying, so oppressive and so mysteriously and interminably long that I felt as if someone had dragged me into the kitchen of my local Greggs, and was baking my head into the centre of a colossal cube of white bread."

The component parts seem to be there for this film to work, the original books by Edgar Rice Burroughs were popular and the director Andrew Stanton had worked on previous hits like Wall-E and Finding Nemo. Even the lead actor Taylor Kitsch is hugely popular in America after his role as Tim Riggins in Friday Night Lights but unfortunately as many people have said before, a film is only as good as its script.

Film Review: Ides of March

Director: George Clooney

With the help of Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon, George Clooney wrote the screenplay and directed The Ides of March. A political drama about a candidate running for the Democratic presidential candidate in the upcoming American election. The film is adapted from the acclaimed play Farragut North by Beau Willimon. With an ensemble cast comprising of George Clooney, Ryan Gosling, Phillip Seymour-Hoffman, Paul Giamatti and Evan Rachel Wood. To add to the mix you have Leonardo di Caprio involved as a producer as well.

George Clooney as Mike Morris, Demorcatic presidential candidate and Ryan Gosling as Stephen Meyers, junior campaign manager

The film follows Stephen Meyers (Ryan Gosling on top form again) who is the junior campaign manager for Mike Morris (George Clooney). Morris is the governor of Pennsylvania and is running for the Democratic presidential candidate against Ted Pullman (Michael Mantell) so are busy gathering support in the party especially from Senator Franklin Thompson who controls 356 convention delegates so could decide the race. Meyers start a relationship with intern Molly Stearns (Evan Rachel Wood) who is the daughter of the chairman of the Democratic National Committee. As the race continues things within the campaign become murkier as Meyers realises that Morris is trying to contact Molly on her mobile.

The Ides of March is a bleak and cynical look at the world of politics where information is power and trust is key. We see what campaign managers and presidential candidates will do to win votes and elections, whether that be covering up scandals or undermining the trust of key team members from the opposing campaign. Stephen Meyers is the young idealistic campaign manager who sees himself running a presidential election campaign in the future is slowly turned sour as he witnesses and then becomes part of the blackmail and lies that come with a political campaign.

Phillip Seymour-Hoffman as Paul Zara, Morris' campaign manager with Stephen Meyers

Clooney's character is more of a background figure in a semi-cameo role; the film is about Meyers and his naivety to the world of politics. In essence it's a crash course in politics for Meyers and the viewer as many non-American viewers will be unaware of the process in choosing presidential candidates.  Phillip Seymour Hoffman is the experienced campaign manager, who has seen and been through it all before, and knows how the system works from top to bottom. Even when there isn't scandal and back-stabbing in the air, Morris is forced to decide whether his morals that he set out at the start are worth sacrificing for a near cast-iron guarantee of winning the campaign. The moral of the film is that nobody's hands are clean.

If you were sceptical about politics in general before this movie, you will certainly have no faith in it afterwards.

3.5/4 sometimes more like a play but enthralling at times and superbly acted

Film Review: Contraband

Director: Baltasar Kormákur

The little known fact about Contraband is that it's actually a remake of an Icelandic film called Reykjavik-Rotterdam which starred none other than Baltasar Kormákur. Unfortunately it seems to have fared better in Icelandic than it has as an American version with the critics.

Mark Wahlberg as Chris Farraday

Chris Farraday (played to an acceptable standard by Mark Wahlberg) is an ex-smuggler who now fits security alarms to support his wife Kate (Kate Beckinsale) and two kids. He is forced back into the smuggling game as his brother in-law Andy (totally miscast Caleb Landry Jones) drops a drugs shipment into the ocean after a surprise inspection by U.S. Customs. Tim Briggs (convincingly played by Giovanni Ribisi) wants Andy to repay him the drug's worth in cash which forces Chris to act with him on one last trip. Naturally much double crossing and problems arise on the trip to Panama to get the package of fake U.S. dollars.

It really seems the bad guy turned good guy going back for one last job scenario has been really over played in recent years. We are supposed to be cheering for Chris because he is now a good guy and has just got sucked in for one last job but it certainly wasn't what I was doing. The greediness in their plan leaves you hating everybody you are supposed to like and feeling sorry for Captain Camp (best performance of the film played by J.K. Simmons) but maybe that's just because I like him much more as an actor.

Giovanni Ribisi as Tim Briggs

None of the acting performances are particularly bad in this case, it's just the plot is either predictable and a bit cliché in parts or just totally laughable in others. The film would have been better had they made it more of a comedy caper rather than a serious action thriller, the joke about the stolen Jackson Pollock painting proving my idea. Being honest, even if you want a film just to entertain you with action sequences then there are better films than this one.

1/4 not boring but certainly predictable and unbelievable in parts.

Film Review: Rampart

Director: Oren Moverman

Moverman co-wrote the script for Rampart with James McEllroy and managed to create a film which takes an acrid and brutal look at police corruption in LA in the wake of the Rampart scandal at the end of the 1990's. Dave Brown (the simply awesome Woody Harrelson) is the bad cop in question who is a foul mouthed, chain smoking sexist and possible murderer which lead to his nickname 'Date Rape Dave'. He has two kids both by different mothers who also happen to be sisters and they all live under one very unhappy roof.

Dave Brown (Woody Harrelson) attacking a member of the public but was caught on camera

The Rampart scandal hit the Los Angeles Police Department in the mid-1990's and saw more than 70 police officers implicated for a wide variety of crimes that ranged from framing suspects to dealing narcotics. It was a scandal that the media jumped upon and lead to many convicts being released early and spread doubt among the public about the police force.

Dave Brown adds to the problem by chasing and beating a man who accidently drove into his police car then tried to run away. The whole incident is caught on camera and the film is sent to the local news networks, with the whole thing stinking of a setup. This leaves Dave on light duties and plenty of opportunities to discuss his behaviour with his superiors or seem fully aware that his conduct as a police officer isn't exactly by the book. This is shown in the opening scenes when he is openly sexist towards a new recruit he is supposed to be training before physically assaulting a robbery suspect to reveal information. Despite his erratic and violent behavour, Dave has encyclopedic knowledge of previous case law and is obviously an intelligent guy who has gone off the rails as he became more drunk on power and booze over time.

Dave with his eldest daughter Helen (Brie Larson) 

The whole film revolves around Woody Harrelson and that can only be a good thing as he is compelling and fascinating within the film, a modern day Travis Bickle in some regards. Rampart is more of a character study than a film about the events that happen, it hopes to help you understand Dave Brown but without giving much away in terms of his past. Ice Cube is criticly underused within the film and could have served as a great antagonist for Brown.

It is an acrid and desolate film at times but I can only be impressed by the way it has been filmed, none of the scenes are staged so quite often you will hear car noise and stereos blasting as if you were actually in downtown LA with the characters.

2/4 Harrelson's performance and some great individual scenes stop this being a total flop

Film Review: Up in the Air

Director: Jason Reitman

Adapted from the 2001 novel of the same name by Walter Kirn, Jason Reitman strikes again at least in terms of my watching list having very recently seen Thank You for Smoking (reviewed here: Thank You for Smoking Review). Reitman has claimed to have written the parts for the actors who played them although this didn't quite work for Natalie Keener as this role was written for Ellen Page but was ultimately played by Natalie Kendrick, although he did still meet other actors to discuss these roles. The film was very popular on release and received 6 Oscar nominations although won none so my expectations had started to creep up.

Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) and love interest Alex Goran (Vera Farmiga)

Ryan Bingham (charmingly played by George Clooney) works for a company called CTC who inform workers within other companies that they are being dismissed from their jobs instead of the company doing it themselves. This means that Ryan is constantly flying all over America visiting different offices to deliver the bad news like a hatchet man as well as delivering motivational speeches on the side. He proclaims that he spent 322 days on the road last year meaning he spent 43 unhappy days at home not working towards his goal of 10 million frequent flyer miles with American Airlines. On his travels he mets Alex Goran (the delightful Vera Farmiga) who is another frequent flyer who he has a casual relationship with but his world could be turned upside down by the ideas of Natalie Keener (Anna Kendrick) who wants to revolutionize how the company operates.

Bingham is a man who obviously likes to live in limbo and not face the realities of life by constantly flying between places rather than settle down. When he meets Alex he feels he's met someone similar and it becomes captivating to see how he deals with this. One of my favourite lines from Alex being "think of me as you, but with a vagina". His life spent in the air is at a cost to the rest of his family, especially when his sister gets married and he returns for the wedding.

Ryan handing out the sack with his young colleague Natalie Keener (Anna Kendrick)

The three lead actors/actresses are the key behind the success of this story, the fact that you like them as people even if they have big flaws in personality makes the film work and work well. There is a lovely blend of humour and emotion in the script. The relationship between Ryan and Natalie is cleverly worked as Ryan slowly comes around to liking Natalie despite what she stands for, some of their early clashes are great to watch with a personal favourite being when Ryan asks Natalie to fire him. This was the perfect role for Clooney and he performs it as expected.

3/4 charismatic and loveable characters with a witty script.

Film Review: Schindlers List

Director: Steven Spielberg

Without a doubt, tackling a reasonably big budget film about the holocaust during the second World War was always going to be a tough challenge. There are so many aspects to get right and the potential for offending somebody or being inaccurate with important historical events is high. Spielberg is superb in this instance despite some rather weak criticisms from certain parties (always likely to happen with a film on such a controversial topic).

The girl in the red coat

*spoiler alert*

Oskar Schindler (superbly played by Liam Neeson) is an ethnic German businessman who looks to make his fortune by building kits for army soldiers, he bribes Nazi officials to win the contracts and then uses Itzhak Stern (Ben Kingsley) a Jew from Warsaw to run the operation for him. As the Nazi's look to dissolve the Jewish ghetto in Warsaw, Schindler is content to leave with his fortune whilst all the Jews will be sent by train to Auschwitz. He finds himself unable to leave Warsaw and comes up with a list of "skilled workers" that he wants to take to Brinnlitz with him to start up a new factory. The story itself is almost universally known from the book and history itself.

There are many great performances to praise within the film, Liam Neeson is superb as the charismatic Schindler which is on display when he is introducing himself to the Nazi's near the start and at the end when announcing the war is over to the Jews and for the Nazi officers to go home as men and not murderers. The film never looks to answer why Schindler decide to change and is all the better for it as we'll never know exactly what changed in his mind. Ralph Fiennes is chilling as Amon Goth the SS officer who is assigned to run the concentration camp and likes to take shots at the Jewish people with his sniper rifle from his window.

Oskar Schindler in front of the Jewish people he saved

Filmed in black and white, barring a girl in a red coat, it shows the holocaust from both sides in some ways. The Nazi's being pressured from above to dissolve the ghetto and the Jews who are just trying to survive from day to day. Both Polanski (originally asked to direct) and Kubrick (working on a similar project) said that Schindler's List could not be bettered and Kubrick even stopped work on his project seeing it as pointless in the wake of this film's release. That is how strong the reception was upon release.

I could talk about themes and motifs within the film for pages but would leave these to the viewer but would like to share my favourite moments. Two key scenes to look out for are when the women are sent to be cleansed at Auschwitz and the man who is to be shot for being too slower worker but could be reprieved due to a gun malfunction But the scene when all the Jews who were saved are gathered in Brinnlitz and Schindler breaks down in shame for not having saved more people by selling his car or gold Nazi badge will live with me forever. It is an utterly heart breaking scene which shows just how much one man could do but also how little it was in the grand scheme of things.

4/4 a true must-see classic film

This week's releases

Contraband: Mark Wahlberg stars as Chris in this crime thriller set in New Orleans, drawn back into the world of international drug smuggling after a previous shipment involving his brother goes wrong. To save himself and his family he makes one last run to Panama which doesn't exactly go to plan.

In Darkness: My pick of the week, based on a true story from the second world war of Jews hiding in the sewers under the city of Lviv from the Nazi's. The film follows Leopold who is a sewer worker by day but a petty thief by night who is bribed to hide the Jews and works to try and save them.

21 Jump Street: Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum are underachieving cops who go undercover at a high school to bust a drug ring.

A full preview can be found here: 21 Jump Street Preview

We Bought a Zoo: Matt Damon in an attempt to bring himself closer to his two children buys a rundown zoo and attempts to turn it into a success again with the help of Scarlett Johansson. A feel good family movie.

I was going to preview The Devil Inside this week as well but it looks like exploitative tat so I won't.

Film Preview: The Avengers

 After the success of previous Marvel comic films like Ironman and Captain America, this summer sees the release of The Avengers which features many of the superheroes from previous films like The Hulk, Thor and Ironman to name just a few. This is the big film that the previous ones seem to have been building to with all the superheroes coming together, the budget for this film is a whopping $220million but is eagerly anticipated by many fans so shouldn't have any problem covering this at the box office.

The superheroes tasked with saving the world

Nick Fury, who is the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., has ensembled a group of superheroes to fight the latest enemy that is threatening to take over the world. They must work together and combine their powers to fight this evil. Expect some spectacular action sequences and special effects!

The film is released in the UK on Friday 4th May 2012 and the trailer is embedded below:

 

Film Review: Beautiful Boy

Director: Shawn Ku

Unfortunately, with increasing volume we seem to see tragedies involving mass-murder and suicide in our world. It was only a matter of time before the world of film put this under the microscope and films were made on the subject. We need to talk about Kevin (which I apologise now for the fact I will compare the two constantly) attracted some attention at the Oscars this year but last year also saw Beautiful Boy released, somewhat under the radar.

Michael Sheen as Bill Carroll and Maria Bello as Kate Carroll

The film looks straight into the aftermath of the shootings at an un-named university where Sam Carroll (Kyle Gallner) has shot dead 17 people and killed himself. Bill (Michael Sheen) and Kate (Maria Bello) have to deal with the death of their son as well as the atrocities that he committed. There are angry people on TV saying it is the parents fault but not the sort of bullying and harassment witnessed in We need to talk about Kevin (review here: We need to talk about Kevin review )

Both the leads are excellent as they go through the anguish and turmoil, Sheen plays a man who deals with his emotions by just suppressing them until everything boils over. Bello is the sort of mother that many people can relate to in her behaviour and is in many ways the typical mother. Beautiful Boy doesn't focus on Sam much at all as a child like We need to talk about Kevin, he is presented as a normal college student rather than an angry evil child. Beautiful Boy tries too hard not to glamourize the events that happen and possibly says too little about these sort of killings, it is far too timid in its approach.

Kyle Gallner as Sam Carroll, rarely shown in the movie

It isn't trying to delve deeply into why these tragic events happen and what drives people to commit these crimes, it tries to make you feel sorry for the parents who it seems did nothing wrong. They were just hugely unfortunate to have a son who didn't know how to communicate his feelings and get the help he needed. Maybe they were hoping you would think differently about parents in this situation rather than instantly blame them?

2/4 slow and timid at times but does pull at your conscience.

Film Review: Contagion

Director: Steven Soderbergh

When you really think about it, the world of film is desperately trying to end the world or kill off the human race. Whether it be an alien invasion, nuclear war or, in the case of Contagion, a deadly virus. With an ensemble cast it had a big budget of over $60million and was heavily advertised. Soderbergh said he wanted to make an ''ultra-realistic'' film about scientific and social response to an epidemic around the world. He was praised by many scientists for the accurate portrayal of how they would go about investigating an epidemic and that many films in the past have sacrificed scientific accuracy for drama.

Movie Poster

*contains spoilers*

After a trip to Hong Kong, Beth (Gwyneth Paltrow) stops to see her ex-boyfriend in Chicago before heading back in to Minneapolis to be with her husband Mitch (Matt Damon) and daughter Jory (Anna Jacoby-Heron). She at first appears to have contracted a cold as she displays similar symptoms but then her condition worsens considerably. This starts the outbreak of the virus that spreads all over the world and means that society starts to collapse as people fight to get vaccinated as well as get food and water. All while scientists try to contain the virus and work out exactly what virus it is so they can try to stop it.

Within the ensemble cast with Jude Law in his usual annoying form with some ridiculous accent and Gwyneth Paltrow looks unconvincing. But its fair to say there is a good performance by Matt Damon who has to look after his daughter through the epidemic whilst society around them seems to be collapsing but Kate Winslet is unrelenting and mercurial as Dr. Erin Mears who is brought in by the Department for Homeland Security. She works for the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention; she is obviously proud of her work and will stop at nothing in trying to help solve the crisis.

Gwyneth Paltrow as Beth Emhoff as she falls ill from the virus

The film itself takes an in-depth look at society as people literally fight for vaccinations and food at stations across America, people take action into their own hands by carrying guns and robbing unsuspecting neighbours. Everybody starts to fight for themselves but it in Mitch we see a character willing to do everything he can to protect his daughter Jory. A superbly macabre moment was the lottery draw based on the date of your birthday for a vaccination, leaving millions of people's lives to be decided by pure chance. Thinking about it, there is no fairer way.

2.5/4 Interesting look at the state of panic but didn't hold the tension well enough

Film Preview: Men in Black III

Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are back in Men in Black III, with such a gap to the last one and both men considerably older, I imagine anticipation isn't particularly high among movie buffs. But for the memories and Nicole Scherzinger in skimpy outfits I'm sure many people will flock to see this film.

Men in Black III sees the duo time travel as the future of the planet is once again put at risk. But in this instance they find out a lot more about each other as secrets are slowly revealed. The idea was actually pitched originally by Will Smith to director Barry Sonnenfield during the filming of Men in Black II.

The film is released in the UK on Friday 25th May and the trailer is embedded below:

Film Review: Thank You for Smoking

Director: Jason Reitman

Also known for directing Juno (tainted my thoughts of him already), Jason Reitman wrote and directed Thank You for Smoking. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Christopher Buckley which was written in 1994, Reitman says he tried to maintain the tone and satirical message of the book within the film but many critics believe that this was not achieved. The film itself is not supposed to support or condone smoking in anyway, believing that people should make up their own minds as everybody knows it is bad for you.

Movie Poster

Nick Naylor (played with all the confidence in the world by Aaron Eckhart) is a tobacco lobbyist who uses spin tactics and misleading information to promote cigarettes and downplay the negative health effects that are associated with them. He is also a father who wants to remain a role model and hero to his son Joey (slightly annoyingly played by Cameron Bright). Nick is incredibly handsome, charming and clever when it comes to debating topics as shown at the start of the movie during an appearance on a talk show.

The funniest moments come when the MOD squad meet on a weekly basis, the MOD squad being Ministry of Death, as Polly Bailey (Maria Bello) and Bobby Jay Bliss (David Koechner) are alcohol and gun spokespeople for their respective industries. They exchange dark jokes and discuss how many people a year they are responsible for killing in their industries. Both Bello and Koechner play their roles in the manner you would expect of the stereotypes they portray with Bello in particular standing out.

Aaron Eckhart as Nick Naylor the tobacco lobbyist

Some of the scenes are beautifully scripted and directed but they don't always flow that naturally into one another. The storyline of Naylor sleeping with newspaper report Heather (awkwardly played by Katie Holmes) is a tad unbelievable as a tobacco lobbyist must surely be the most suspicious person around journalists rather than telling them everything believing it's 'off the record'. It does portray a strong message about the power of spin in the media and what people can make you believe with the right words, the character of Nick Naylor is somebody you can't help but like despite what he does for a living.

3/4 slightly patchy plot but some very dry and dark humour throughout

Film Preview: 21 Jump Street

Based on the TV series with which it shares its name, 21 Jump Street is an action comedy starring Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum. The original series was similar in premise and was the platform which launched Johnny Depp's career in the late 1980's turning him into a teen idol (he has a small cameo in the movie). Jonah Hill actually rewrote a script for the movie as well as starring in it.

The film sees the two stars go undercover in a high school to try and bust a drugs ring. Expect some American Pie style gags to ensue as they spend their time in high school as regular students.

21 Jump Street is released in the UK on Friday 16th March and the trailer is embedded below:

Film Review: Lost Highway

Director: David Lynch

''Dick Laurent is dead''. The words spoken over the intercom at the start of the movie, we have no idea at this stage who Dick Laurent is or who said those words. Here starts another David Lynch movie where every scene and every line could be a crucial moment in the movie. It is the reason he is my favourite director as his films are so clever and really make you think about what just happened on the screen in front of you. The number of theories and opinions I've read on Mullholland Drive as to what happened and what it all means has got so high I can't even remember, but I love the fact people can take such different ideas away from the same movie.

David Lynch wrote the film with Barry Gifford who had written a short story called Night People which used the phrase 'lost highway'. Lynch decided he instantly liked the phrase as the title of the movie and wanted to make a movie around it. It was filmed mostly in California and Nevada including a scene where they drive along Mulholland Drive over Hollywood. The inspiration for someone saying ''Dick Laurent is dead'' over the intercom came from it happening to Lynch in real life.


Movie Poster

*spoiler alert for the rest of the review*

Fred Madison is a saxophone player who gets a message over his intercom system saying ''Dick Laurent is dead'', he quickly looks outside and sees that nobody is there. Suddenly videotapes start arriving with footage of the outside of the apartment then scenes inside and Fred asleep in bed with his wife Renee (Patricia Arquette). A final tape arrives showing that Fred has just murdered his wife for which he is promptly arrested. Everything seems quite normal so far before things start to become complicated (realistically the whole film is complicated!)



The film in parts is deeply unsettling, the soundtrack as well as the shady way the videotapes are shown all seem very sinister. It's all quite disturbing as you try to decipher what is real and whether Fred actually did murder his wife? Who is this mystery man and how can he answer the phone in Fred's apartment whilst standing in front of him at a party? The images and memorable soundtrack continue to unnerve you throughout. Bill Pulman puts in a good performance as the bewildered Fred Madison and Robert Blake (who hasn't been in a film since) is superb as the creepy Mystery Man.



Renee (Patricia Arquette) and Fred (Bill Pulman) watching one of the tapes



So here goes my explanation of what I think is happening (I don't have an answer for everything), the opening part of the movie where Fred and Renee live together in there dull apartment is all inside Fred's head. The dialogue between the pair is extremely awkward and not typical of a married couple; my theory is that this is Fred's dream so that none of these conversations are really happening. The videotapes that keep arriving anonymously at the door is Fred's sub-conscious reminding him of what he has actually done and that he can't escape that even in the dream. The key line when Fred is saying he likes to remember things his own way "How I remember them, not necessarily how they happened". This is Fred remembering things how he thinks they happened rather than what actually did happen. It also explains why he says that Dick Laurent is dead at the beginning of the film over the intercom.

The part where Fred is arrested is the only part of the movie that's real when he is in prison and struggling to come to terms with what has happened. He starts dreaming again and metamorphoses into Pete Dayton (Balthazar Getty) who has everything that Fred seemingly wants, woman interested in him and nothing major to worry about. As the story unravels between Alice and Pete we start to realise similar characters with different names in the second part of the movie with Alice and Renee being the same person as well as Mr. Eddy and Dick Laurent. He remembers the people differently from how they really and a slightly different story to the reality.


The Mystery Man - An extension of Fred's conscience?

The Mystery Man played by Robert Blake is an extension of his sub-conscience, that's how he can be in Fred's flat at the same time as being stood in front of him at Andy's party. That is also why when Fred drives Mr. Eddy/Dick Laurent into the desert he is given a knife from nowhere to stab him with, Mr. Eddy even says "what do you two want?" to Fred and the Mystery Man. After they shoot Mr. Eddy, the Mystery Man disappears and Fred is on his own again to disappear from the cops so he once again metamorphoses into another dream to escape the law.

3.5/4 Deep and complex like many of Lynch's other films, leaves just enough questions unanswered.

PS This blog has some very interesting ideas on the film being about the 5 stages of grief that Fred goes through after he's murdered his wife. I don't agree with all the ideas but fascinating nonetheless Lost Highway Explained