Film Review: Its a Wonderful Life

Director: Frank Capra

A 1946 comedy-drama that has frequently been labelled one of the best Christmas films of all-time with the crucial scenes set on Xmas Eve and for its heart-warming message. Despite initially performing poorly at the box office due to high production costs and stiff competition at the time of its release, it did finally become a commercial success as well as a critical one. It was nominated for five Oscars but actually won none.

George Bailey with his family

George Bailey (James Stewart) is deeply troubled after events in his life means everything didn't turn out like he always dreamed of, we get to see George's life in flashback to see what lead him to this point. Unhappy with life he attempts suicide but is saved by his guardian angel Clarence (Henry Travers). After George says that he wishes he'd never been born he gets to see what would have happened to his family, friends and the town of Bedford Falls if he had never existed.

It took until 1990 for the film to be deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in their National Film Registry. A prestigious honour held only by the most revered films, the story is a very enjoyable one with a clear message of appreciating the family and friends that are around you. Its a very sweet film but one that can't help but make you feel happy inside. Whilst the story of the Building & Loan that Bailey runs being a great example of how communities should be run at the time and even now rather than how banks have sprawled today. Another example of foreboding comes when we see the town without George Bailey has become Pottersville, many described this not as a nightmare for Bailey but a glimpse into what some towns have actually become at the time.

George Bailey with his guardian Angel Clarence 

James Stewart is brilliantly as the conscientious yet confident George who is always willing to step up and do the right thing, even at the detriment of his own feelings. His more comedic moments play perfectly into Stewart's character. The film follows his story for 95% of its running time and wouldn't have been such a big success without a great performance from its lead to carry it through.

4/4 An absolute Christmas classic

Film Review: Don Jon

Director: Joseph Gordon-Levitt

The directorial debut of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, has he joins the long line of serious actors moving behind the camera, is a romantic comedy of a very different kind. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival with its full name Don Jon's Addiction which was then shortened before its theatrical release. Both Channing Tatum and Anne Hathaway agreed to play cameo roles in the fake movie that is seen by Jon and Barbara.

Jon Martello Jr (Levitt) is a confident New Jersey twentysomething who lives for many of the things that the rest of us do in life, except he has an unhealthy obsession with pornography which he explains is actually better than actual sex most of the time. When he meets Barbara (Johansson) he is forced to wait to have sex as well as give up watching pornography which proves a real challenge to him after years of being single and one night stands with no commitment.

Jon Martello Jr (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) with girlfriend Barbara (Scarlett Johansson)

Both Joseph Gordon Levitt and Scarlett Johansson do a good job as native Jersey youngsters, although their accents and behaviour do becomes irritating in a Jersey Shore type way. The best roles are reserved for the smaller characters played by Tony Danza, as Don's Dad, and Julianne Moore as Esther who befriends Jon at night school. They are both a little quirky and are the key elements to the comedic moments of the film.

*possible spoilers*
The film is actually less about someone getting over an addiction, in this case a less damaging one, than about a young man learning to be more mature and more sensitive. A scene sat outside the coffee shop near the end confirms that he is a different man to the one shown to us in the opening ten minutes of the movie, outwardly less cocky but actually more self assured on the inside. Many of the scenes take place in the same place over the movie with frequent visits to church, the gym and the same nightclub to less than subtly portray the change in character over time. It becomes a bit predictable by the final act but its still an enjoyable film

2/4 Solid debut for JGL behind the camera

Film Review: Cinema Paradiso

Director: Giuseppe Tornatore

A 1988 Italian film which was recently re-mastered and re-released to celebrate its 25th anniversary, an ode to cinema itself as one young boy becomes enchanted by his local cinema and the art of projection. It swept the cinema world upon its release with critical acclaim as well as the award for Best Foreign Language film at the Golden Globes and the Oscars.

Alfredo with a young Toto in the projection room

You'd imagine if a film was made that would be a celebration of the joy of the cinema it would be made by the Americans, but this sweet drama shares one boys passion as he grows up with films very much the centre of his universe. The young boy Toto (Salvatore Cascio) slowly manages to befriend the local cinema's projectionist Alfredo (Philippe Noiret) and is taught how to work the projection equipment, all whilst watching the latest films of the 50's with the rest of the town.

The film moves at a reasonably swift place after starting near the end and looking back to Toto as a young boy as he discovers the local cinema that shares its venue with the church. At first Toto is a mischievous young boy who continually gets into trouble and annoys the adults around him, but his behaviour calms and this instantly makes him more likeable not just to the characters in the film but the audience as well. From there we closely follow the adolescent life of Toto and his other love.

An older Toto make a film of his own

Philippe Noiret is excellent as the mentor Alfredo who takes Toto under his guidance to teach him how to be a projectionist but also to guide him on his life, how to make the most of his career which was incredibly sweet to watch. The relationship the two have when Toto is an adolescent is the true beauty behind this film that just keeps giving when we re-visit Toto as an adult near the end of the movie. The film has many light-hearted and funny moments usually with various characters from around the village whilst watching the censored movies but the final scene with the montage was truly heart-warming.

3.5/4 Sweet and funny drama

Film Review: Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues

Director: Adam McKay

With most popular Hollywood films returning for sequels within just a couple of years of the original, its a surprise that it took 9 years for the story of Ron Burgundy to be revisited. The immensely random yet incredibly quotable original film achieved cult status after a slightly slow start at the box office and generally improved on future viewings. Lets hope the second is the same because on first viewing it completely lost its magic and had far too many cheap gags.

The News Team back together in New York

Rob Burgundy (Will Ferrell) learns that his wife Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate) has been chosen to be the lead anchor at the TV station whilst he has been fired. After hitting rock-bottom he is hired by a new 24 hour news channel called GNN where he reunites the old group. They make their way to New York to try and rekindle their careers working the 2am graveyard shift against Jack Lime (James Marsden) who runs the primetime crew.

While the credits are rolling we can see that the sequel is already re-creating jokes from the first film with Ron Burgundy's infamous warm up routine before going on camera, but inevitably more puerile and louder. Which generally sets the tone for the rest of the movie as its generally the same sort of jokes as the first only done with more shouting, gurning and cruder material. Thats not to say there aren't quite a few funny moments for each of the cast members, a personal favourite being Brian Fantana and the ladykillers which was a tad more subtle, but as a whole a lot of the gags are more forgettable.

Another News Team Battle

Unfortunately I think Brick was a huge let-down, a bad caricature of the 2004 version who isn't actually in the original as much as you think. But he's in this one a lot and his random jokes start to fall flat as you become a bit sick of them. The addition of Kristen Wiig as Chani actually did add something as it gave him someone on his own level to bounce off. While Burgundy's love interest with African-American newscaster Linda Jackson (Meagan Good) was a needless sub-plot only included to add some ill-advised race jokes that seem to be repeated incase you didn't hear them first time.

The return of the throwdown between newscasters at first seemed a needless distraction but with many cameos and some quite funny stereotypes, including BBC news, it actually became quite one of the better parts of the movie. Another crude joke about BP again showed that the writing here could be witty and clever but before you could enjoy that one you were generally groaning at the next gag. To be fair, the film is exactly what you would expect, very similar to the first but on acid so there is more everything which isn't always good.

1.5/4 Still quotable but the magic is lost

This week's releases

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues: After nearly a decade, the greatest newsteam of all-time is re-assembling for a sequel to the surprise quote-along comedy. Will Ferrell, Paul Rudd, Steve Carell and David Koechner all return whilst the film is littered with cameos from the likes of Sacha Baron Cohen, Liam Neeson and Kirsten Dunst to name just three. This time the news crew move into the 80's and the world of 24 hours news.

The Harry Hill Movie: Not a huge amount is known about this film except that Julie Walters is starring alongside Harry with many other guest appearances from well known British celebrities. The film sees Hill embark on a road trip to Blackpool with his Nan (Julie Walters) when he discovers that his hamster only has one week to live. Hopefully this does better than the last ITV comedian who took his material to the big screen (Keith Lemon).

Film Preview: Out of the Furnace

The second feature film from director Scott Cooper who previously did Crazy Heart with Jeff Bridges back in 2009. The film has Leonardo DiCaprio and Ridley Scott as producers which surely must have helped in bringing together an ensemble cast including Christian Bale, Casey Affleck, Woody Harrelson and Forest Whittaker to name just four. Zoe Saldana also moves over from the big blockbuster action movies into this crime drama.

Christian Bale as Russell Baze

Russell Baze (Bale) and his younger brother Rodney Jr. (Affleck) live in the economically-depressed Rust Belt, and have always dreamed of escaping and finding better lives. But when a cruel twist of fate lands Russell in prison, his brother is lured into one of the most violent and ruthless crime rings in the Northeast – a mistake that will almost cost him everything. Once released, Russell must choose between his own freedom, or risk it all to seek justice for his brother.

Out of the Furnace is released in the UK on 31st January 2014.

Film Review: Nebraska

Director: Alexander Payne

A comedy drama from the director of Sideways and The Descendants, Alexander Payne has formed a niche for himself on the independent movie circuit with touching yet funny dramas. The film was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival where Bruce Dern won the Best Actor award for his portrayal of grumpy father Woody.

Woody Grant (Dern) is a retired married man living in small town Missouri, he is an alcoholic who is starting to suffer from Alzheimers. He receives a letter from a marketing company saying he has won $1 million but believes the scam letter is real so decides to walk to Nebraska rather than trust the postal service with his money. After being picked up by the police walking down a freeway his son, David (Will Forte) decides to drive him there as an opportunity to spend more time with him and get away from his own drab existence.

Woody Grant (Bruce Dern) and David Grant (Will Forte)

*possible spoilers ahead*

The story itself isn't as touching and dramatic as you would think, you seem to expect a grand finale as the family finally confronts its problems and work towards a solution but you are left quite disappointed. The film generally meanders along through scenes which add very little to the plot and seem rather superfluous, its not a boring or long film but at times it seems very directionless which is ironic for what is essentially a road movie. The final scenes live up to the rest of the film as it seems again they were unsure how the film should end.

In terms of realism its a grim look into middle-America with few people having well paid or meaningful jobs as they all just scrape by from month to month dreaming of the big payoff that Woody might be getting to get away from it all. All the family members and friends of Woody come out of the woodwork, excuse the pun, to claim that Woody should set things right for money previously owed due to his drinking.

Bruce Dern is impressive although unlikeable as the slow and strong willed Woody whilst Will Forte who is more accustomed to comedies is the sweet character that enables Woody's behaviour at times. The best role is saved for June Squibb as Woody's wife Kate who gets most of the funny lines in the script which she delivers with a shocking tone. Its a nice easy film to watch but it isn't one that will live long in the memory like some of Payne's previous work.

2/4 Not quite dramatic or funny enough to live up Payne's previous films

Why the Oscars are a flawed process

The Oscars are generally seen as the cream of the crop, winning a Golden Globe or a BAFTA is nothing to be sniffed at in the world of film but it's the Academy Awards that are always seen as the ultimate mark for a film-maker, actor or actress. Much weight is put behind who the winners are but in general are they representative of what the best films were in the last year? The obvious answer is of course no.

Last years main acting winners

The selection process is the best place to start and has seen many films fall short of the requirements laid out by the Academy. Hoops Dreams was one film that notoriously fell short in the Best Documentary category, a film which is still on my list to see, although a change to the process has taken place since 1995 the film wasn't shown till the end because so many voters weren't interested in following it all the way though so it was turned off after ten mins. In more recent time documentaries have struggled because voters have to attend an Academy branded screening which means taking time out of presumably busy schedules to watch a film you've probably seen more than once just to register one vote, this is the reason that great docs like Senna and The Imposter missed out in recent years.

The further problem with the selection process with the bigger films is that its generally accepted that to be an Oscar contender you have to release your film near the end of the year and then campaign for it if it is nominated, campaigning basically meaning pandering to a bunch of stuffed shirts presumably with money to entice them to vote for you. But even then if you look at the nominations for the Golden Globes and then the Oscars you'll notice they are incredibly similar. A lot of Oscar voters can't be bothered to trawl through a hundred movies over the past year to decide what to vote for, so they look at what the Hollywood Foreign Press Association have chosen and start there. In short meaning the press help decide what is nominated at the Oscars by default and of course the press are completely unbiased in who they choose.

Now we are past the issue of qualifying and being nominated for an award, the problem of actually winning one comes down to a lot of things other than how good the film was or the acting was in said film. If your film has a lot of violence in it or is generally a sci-fi movie then you might as well take January off to practice your gracious loser face. The Dark Knight was the last straw for movie fans as they campaigned vigorously after it was omitted in 2009 so the academy increased the Best Picture nomination from 5 to 10 mainly to include to help push up viewing figures.

The winners are generally quite predictable far out in advance, certain films come along that aren't particularly great as films but fit a set of criteria that the Academy loves. Films like Lincoln and The Kings Speech fall into this category, Lincoln especially as it was a mess of a film and Daniel Day-Lewis aside should never have been near the awards. But politics always rears its ugly head around the Oscars to decide that Shakespeare in Love, truly awful film, should win Best Picture rather than Saving Private Ryan because Miramax pulled out a huge ad campaign.

It also gives the voters a chance to stroke their own ego by promoting small independent films meaning their director and actors get a huge chunk of the limelight, then they can sit back and watch their career hopefully flourish safe in the knowledge it was down to them, Beasts of the Southern Wild being this years small film despite it being one of the most tedious 90mins of cinema ever.

So next time you get annoyed that a film you loved didn't get nominated like Drive in 2012, remember this.

Golden Globe Nominations

As we approach the end of the year its time to prepare ourselves for awards season which is usually kicked off by the nominations from the Golden Globe's (which has a huge bearing on what the lazy Oscar committee decided to nominate). This year sees the obsession with the civil rights era continue with 12 Years a Slave being nominated in almost all major categories although The Butler with Forest Whittaker appears to have been snubbed, the criteria for getting a nomination follows a strict formula of timing and topic which almost guarantees you recognition. Its difficult to fully critique the lists because many films like American Hustle, 12 Years a Slave, The Wolf of Wall Street and Dallas Buyers Club aren't released in the UK until later this year or in most cases January 2014.

Best Motion Picture – Drama
"12 Years A Slave"
"Captain Phillips"
"Gravity"
"Philomena"
"Rush"

Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
"American Hustle"
"Her"
"Inside Llewyn Davis"
"Nebraska"
"The Wolf Of Wall Street"

Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
Chiwetel Ejiofor, "12 Years A Slave"
Idris Elba, "Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom"
Tom Hanks, "Captain Phillips"
Matthew McConaughey, "Dallas Buyers Club"
Robert Redford, "All Is Lost"

Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
Christian Bale, "American Hustle"
Bruce Dern, "Nebraska"
Leonardo DiCaprio, "The Wolf of Wall Street"
Oscar Isaac, "Inside Llewyn Davis"
Joaquin Phoenix, "Her"

Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama
Cate Blanchett, "Blue Jasmine"
Sandra Bullock, "Gravity"
Judi Dench, "Philomena"
Emma Thompson, "Saving Mr. Banks"
Kate Winslet, "Labor Day"

Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
Amy Adams, "American Hustle"
Julie Delpy, "Before Midnight"
Greta Gerwig, "Frances Ha"
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, "Enough Said"
Meryl Streep, "August: Osage County"

Best Supporting Actor
Barkhad Abdi, "Captain Phillips"
Daniel Bruhl, "Rush"
Bradley Cooper, "American Hustle"
Michael Fassbender, "12 Years A Slave"
Jared Leto, "Dallas Buyers Club"

Best Supporting Actress
Sally Hawkins, "Blue Jasmine"
Jennifer Lawrence, "American Hustle"
Lupita Nyong'o, "12 Years A Slave"
Julia Roberts, "August: Osage County"
June Squibb, "Nebraska"

Best Director
Alfonso Cuaron, "Gravity"
Paul Greengrass, "Captain Phillips"
Steve McQueen, "12 Years A Slave"
Alexander Payne, "Nebraska"
David O. Russell, "American Hustle"

Best Screenplay
Spike Jonze, "Her"
Bob Nelson, "Nebraska"
Jeff Pope and Steve Coogan, "Philomena"
John Ridley, "12 Years A Slave"
Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell, "American Hustle"

Best Original Score
"All Is Lost"
"Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom"
"Gravity"
"The Book Thief"
"12 Years A Slave"

Best Original Song
"Atlas," Coldplay ("The Hunger Games: Catching Fire")
"Let It Go," Idina Menzel ("Frozen")
"Ordinary Love," U2 ("Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom")
"Please Mr. Kennedy," Oscar Isaac, Justin Timberlake and Adam Driver ("Inside Llewyn Davis")
"Sweet Than Fiction," Taylor Swift ("One Chance")

Best Foreign Language Film
"Blue is the Warmest Color"
"The Great Beauty"
"The Hunt"
"The Past"
"The Wind Rises"

Best Animated Feature Film
"The Croods"
"Despicable Me 2"
"Frozen"

This week's releases

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug: The second film out of three in the the new Hobbit franchise sees Martin Freeman return as Bilbo Baggins to continue his quest to reclaim Erebor from Smaug. All whilst Bilbo has found a strange yet magical ring. Peter Jackson continues as director.

The Christmas Candle: A sweet natured but original Xmas movie which is mostly known for having Susan Boyle in it. Legend has it every 25 years an angel visits the candlemaker in the village of Gladbury and touches a single candle. Whoever lights this candle receives a miracle on Christmas Eve. But in 1890, at the dawn of the electric age, this centuries old legend may come to an end. When David Richmond, a progressive young minister, arrives in Gladbury, the villagers discover a new formula for miracles: good deeds and acts of kindness.

Film Review: United 93

Director: Paul Greengrass

Films based on harrowing real life events very rarely capture the genuine terror and sorrow of these events compared to the actual news footage that generally accompanies them at the time. After 9/11 it was inevitable a number of films about the events would be made and many were released to disappointing reviews. But if you are to watch just one film about the events that day, make it United 93 as it captures everything so beautifully. The confusion, the panic, the tears and the explosions all with a very real and humanistic feel to it. You don't feel like you are watching a movie, you feel like you were there.

Director Paul Greengrass has made his name working on films charting tragic real life events, the English director previously worked on TV films like Bloody Sunday and The Murder of Stephen Lawrence. His success directing The Bourne Supremacy meant he had a foot in the door to making a cinematic movie back in his favoured territory (he also went on to make Captain Phillips). 

Two passengers on the hijacked plane United 93

The story of the fourth plane that crashed in Pennsylvania without hitting its intended target was slightly forgotten amongst the hysteria around New York and the destruction of the World Trade Centre. The film focuses early on the people on the ground in charge of air traffic who slowly realize that not just one but four planes have been hijacked. After they scramble to do what they can after realizing it is a terrorist attack we see the developments on board United 93 as the passengers decide to take action to try and save themselves.

Shot in an almost documentary style as if we were a fly on the wall during the events. This added realism helps to build the tension and the emotions as the characters come to realize what we have all known since the start of the movie. Making a film feel real is often neglected by Hollywood in favour of cheap attempts to pull on your heart strings, which is where many other 9/11 movies failed. The final 20mins are a frantic and deeply emotional battle with the captors as the plane grows wildly out of control, rarely have I watched a movie so engrossed especially considering we all know how it turns out.

4/4 Ultrareal version of the fateful events on that day

Film Review: Secretary

Director: Steven Shainberg

An independent film from 2002 which featured as the breakthrough for director and screenwriter Steven Shainberg, a breakthrough it appears he failed to capitalize on with the disappointing Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus in 2006. Many felt the advertising campaign that ran before the films release was slightly misleading in plot, I think many felt it was going to be more titillation than substance. Maggie Gyllenhaal was nominated for a Golden Globe for her role as the submissive secretary Lee.

Lee Holloway is a socially awkward young woman who lives in a dysfunctional family, after a dangerous incident of self harm she learns to type and starts to work for an attorney called Edward Grey (James Spader). Despite some initial errors, it appears her boss is aroused by her submissive behaviour and they start a secret relationship based around their dominant and submissive personalities.

Secretary Lee Holloway (Maggie Gyllenhaal)

Shainberg approaches this topic with a measure of restraint, he doesn't make the film too offensive in a crude sense or trivialize the subject matter which could have so easily been done. This is an issue that is rarely talked in Hollywood films beyond it being a cheap excuse for some repulsive material. It also deals with the sorts of power struggles that are fought out in offices across the world on a daily basis and is a quite clever satire on the subject. That isn't to say the film is always completely tasteful either but nobody is perfect.

Maggie Gyllenhaal is excellent in the lead role, adding a real warmth to the film that is lost elsewhere. Once the film scratches beneath the surface you do feel it could do so much more with this, the ending felt a little forced as if Shainberg had said what he wanted to say and wasn't entirely sure how he wanted to end it all.

2.5/4 Stand out performance but the film doesn't say enough

Film Review: The Killing

Director: Stanley Kubrick

An early Kubrick movie from 1956 which was the third feature film of his career. The film struggled at the box office despite being a hit with the critics but over time it garnered a cult following especially as Kubrick's stock rose in Hollywood with films like Paths of Glory and Spartacus shortly after. The telling of the story of the heist is something that hugely inspired Quentin Tarantino when making the film Reservoir Dogs. 

Johnny Clay (Sterling Hayden) is a veteran criminal who comes up with the idea of robbing two millions dollars from a local racetrack, his plan is to use his share of the money to run away and get married to Fay (Coleeny Gray). He enlists a corrupt cop, a teller from the racecourse, a sniper as well as a wrestler and barman to cause a scene at the track to distract attention from the robbery. The plan is perfectly set as long as everyone agrees to stick to the original plan.

The group come together to plan the heist

The first thing that is immediately apparent is the narration at the beginning of each scene to explain what is happening, although an entirely serious part of the film it actually works out being quite funny and light-hearted against the more serious plot. Sterling Hayden is your classic bad guy wanting to go good after one last robbery with the female roles playing a much bigger part than you would have expected, in many ways they are the ones indirectly behind the heist.

This film noir was one of the early heist movies that set the bar for the many that have followed since, The repeating of key scenes from different characters perspective is a stroke of genius, rather than just having one universal truth it gives it a different edge. Kubrick has never been scared of pushing the boundaries of cinema and was doing so even in his early years.

3/4 A little dated but still an enjoyable classic

This week's releases

Oldboy: A remake of the 2003 South Korean classic, that should never have been touched by Hollywood but they can't help themselves, where Joe (Josh Brolin) intends to find out why he was locked in solitary confinement for 20 years and by whom. Many scenes from the original are re-created here including the infamous corridor fighting scene.

Class of '92: A film charting the rise in global stardom for footballers during the early 1990's as we follow six Manchester United players in this documentary. We see the players go from youngsters breaking into the squad to winning the Champions League trophy in 1999 all to the backdrop of immense social and culture change in the UK.

Frozen: Animated comedy from Disney starring Kristin Bell and and Josh Gad. Fearless optimist Anna teams up with Kristoff in an epic journey, encountering Everest-like conditions, and a hilarious snowman named Olaf in a race to find Anna's sister Elsa, whose icy powers have trapped the kingdom in eternal winter.

Nebraska: The latest drama from director Alexander Payne who was behind hits such as The Descendants and Sideways. Here we follow alcoholic father Woody (Bruce Dern) who makes a trip from Montana to Nebraska to pick up his winnings from a Mega Sweepstakes Marketing draw.

Film Review: Threads

Director: Mick Jackson

A joint venture which the BBC helped fund and produce that looks at the effect a nuclear war would have on Great Britain with the focus mainly being on the Northern city of Sheffield. The film was made in 1984 in the style of a real life documentary and chronicles the build up to the war as well as the effects for years after on the population as a whole and a few characters whose lives we follow. The Director General of the BBC at the time, Alisdair Milne, commissioned the film after watching The War Game which deals with the same topic. The War Game was also banned upon its release in 1965 over concerns that people might commit suicide at its bleak depiction of a post-nuclear war world in the middle of the cold war.

The atomic bomb going off near Sheffield

The threat of a new world war involving nuclear weapons becomes apparent when a US-lead coup d'etat in Iran leads the Soviet Union to invade the Northern area of the country. The political battle is now on as both countries have no desire to back down as a few small skirmishes happen in the Persian gulf between their navies. A full scale war begins after fighting in Northern Iran and the Soviet Union launches a nuclear attack on the UK with a warhead hitting the North sea and more hitting cities around the UK. In Sheffield, the local families witness the nuclear warhead hitting RAF Finningley nearby and for the survivors of the initial bombings there is the threat of radiation poisoning as well as other disease.

The film does a good job of building the tension as news reports on the TV and radio report the escalation of hostilities in Iran with the locals of Sheffield becoming more concerned at the events. The threat of war becomes imminent with the government closing roads to the public and issuing warnings of what to do in the event of a nuclear attack. The whole thing feels almost surreal but given the increasing number of countries developing nuclear weapons its still a very real threat even with the end of the Cold War.

The devastation for the remaining survivors

The effect a nuclear attack would have on the UK is genuinely horrifying, almost seems that immediate death would be the preferred outcome rather than trying to survive the radiation or in a country over-run by diseases like cholera or typhoid. A country decimated down to a population around a sixth of its current levels which is too weak for manual labour where crops can't grow and there is no sunlight. I found the whole experience deeply unsettling and the outdated special effects make it feel even more real. It certainly falls into the category of a film I'm unsure I'd want to sit through again but it will certainly be memorable.

3.5/4 Grim and horrifying depiction of the effects of a nuclear attack

Film Review: Scream

Director: Wes Craven

A 1996 horror flick that became synonymous with the mid-nineties and sent the trend for so many teen horror movies that followed. I had the opportunity to watch this again having not seen it for nearly a decade, its a film that has been copied and parodied endlessly so always feels familiar. It's a film that looks less scary now and actually becomes funny with its hammy acting, poor script and terrible fashion sense. But these are all great qualities to be able to enjoy this film in a different way from when it was released.

Infamous Scream mask

The film is partly based on the real life case of the Gainesville Ripper but also is hugely inspired by older horror movies like Halloween. Scream follows a group of teenagers at the local high school and especially Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) are terrorized by a masked man who torments them on the phone before entering their house to kill them whilst they are alone. Apart from being loosely based on real life, the film was controversial as it was blamed for many copycat killings that took place in America afterwards.

It was seen as adding another dimension to the horror genre as it was knowingly mocking the clichés that followed so many movies before it, then it also became copied itself in that its own style became cliché as well. The slapstick comedy looks funnier now than it did at the time even if the scary moments have lost their effect. The sequels had their moments but never really lived up to the original and it will now be remembered for many years to come.

3/4 Still a classic, era defining horror movie

This week's releases

Carrie: A "re-imaging" of the classic horror tale by Stephen King about a teenage girl called Carrie White (Chloe Moretz). A shy and awkward girl ends up unleashing all sorts of horrors on the small town she lives due to her lack of control over her telekinetic powers. Julianne Moore plays her mother Margaret but it is going to be hard for this film to break out of the shadow of Brian De Palma's original film.

Saving Mr. Banks: A film about author P. L. Travers (Emma Thompson) who wrote Mary Poppins who reflects on her difficult upbringing when she meets with the famous Walt Disney (Tom Hanks). We see the battle Walt Disney goes through over many years to acquire the rights to make the movie that his daughters loved so much and hopes to do it justice.

Film Review: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Director: Francis Lawrence

The second installment of the franchise based on the novels by Suzanne Collins sees the return of Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen, dealing with the fallout from the ending of the first film and her victory in the arena. Once again it broke records upon release with box office sales higher than the previous film and it was 6th on the all-time list for highest box office takings on opening weekend. In addition to the return cast there were roles for Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Meta Golding and Jena Malone amongst others.

Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) and Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) salute the crowd in District 12

Following on from the first film, Katniss now lives in the Victors Village in District 12 with the rest of the world believing that she is deeply in love with Peeta. Before her victory tour around the districts she is visited by President Snow (Donald Sutherland) who says he must convince him that she is very much in love to help quell the possible riots in the districts against the Capitol. With the districts starting to show hope of a rebellion, President Snow with Gamesmaster Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman) decide to crush Katniss in the hope of killing off the spirit of hope in the districts by having a special Hunger Games for the 75th anniversary.

A thoroughly engrossing and thrilling film that despite its relatively long running time, 146mins, manages to completely hold your attention right through to the dramatic ending. Jennifer Lawrence is excellent again in the lead role, the beacon of hope for the impoverished districts whilst Woody Harrelson is even better than before as the alcoholic but canny Haymitch who helps Katniss. Josh Hutcherson's performance as Peeta still leaves something to be desired, he just isn't convincing as the true hero behind Katniss whilst Liam Hemsworth as Gale is cast aside.

The tributes for the 75th Quarter Quell

Having read the books, a major part of the second book was how the film would go about presenting the arena for the 75th Hunger Games. The circular arena is well rendered and stays true to the original text that portrays the arena in very descriptive terms, you can certainly tell that the budget has been upped for this installment and put to good use. The conflicting feelings of Katniss towards not just Peeta and Gale but her role as the mockingjay which is sparking the rebellion is firmly believable, it ponders the question that not every hero is totally assured of themselves and what they are doing at all times. It means Katniss is much realistic as a person rather than a demi-god like other protagonists in similar films.

The film does grind to a bit of a halt during the early part of the film in District 12 and again in the arena which is something a lot of critics picked up on but its a small complaint when the rest of the ensemble is so impressive. The decision to split the final book into two films to finish off the series can't really be debated until we have seen the end product but the second film does a great job of building the excitement to a fascinating finale.

3.5/4 Excellent return to the Hunger Games sets up the final book perfectly

Film Review: Donnie Darko

Director: Richard Kelly

Released in 2001, it was a sleeper hit that didn't perform amazingly at the box office but slowly won over an army of movie fans and became a real cult hit. It grossed just $7.6 million worldwide at the box office but is now synonymous as a modern classic film despite its slightly dated 80's look. A spin-off sequel entitled S. Darko was released in 2009 which focused on Samantha, Donnie's younger sister. The sequel was panned by critics.

Donnie, Gretchen and "Frank"

Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal) is a troubled teenager living in the suburbs of Virginia who is woken in the middle of the night by a mysterious figure in a giant rabbit costume that tells him the world will end in 28 days. In the morning, Donnie returns home after waking up on a Golf course to find a jet engine has crashed into his bedroom. The visits of the giant rabbit named "Frank" changes Donnie's behavior in a negative way which deeply concerns his parents and his psychologist.

The film is deeply shrouded in the mystery surrounding "Frank" that appears at different times during the film but is only ever seen when Donnie can speak alone with him. It creates a lot of tension as to why Donnie continues to see him and whether it a delusion or that he is actually there in front of him, with Donnie's sleepy eyes adding to the idea that this may be him in some sort of trance. Kelly does a good job of pitching this creepy story amongst a very normal town with people engaging in the usual mundane activities. Jake Gyllenhaal is excellent in the lead role of the out of control teenager and for me adds another film to the list that he's impressed me in.

Donnie stabbing at "Frank"

*spoiler alert*
The ending was something I was concerned about as it seemed to weave towards the final act, I was hoping that whatever happened would live up to the impressive tension and drama that had been created. I certainly did not see the ending coming at all and was very impressed with a film that was slightly ambiguous about exactly what the ending meant. Naturally the film deals with an alternate universe which Donnie survives when in reality he should have died under the jet engine, many believe that his actions in the final act were to help go back in time so that he would die and set a different course of events so that others might live. In effect sacrificing himself for the good of others making him a surprising hero although this wouldn't be immediately apparent to the people he saved.

Another theory I heard runs along the same lines of it being an alternate universe with a finite end time that is given by Frank at the beginning of the movie, the actions of every person in this reality is there to guide Donnie towards his destiny at the end of the movie and that there actions are driven by God (Donnie speaks at length about his issues with the universe and there is a lot of religious symbolism throughout especially in the Director's cut). So on a subconscious level the people in Donnie's life drive him to create a time portal just before the universe collapses where he sends the jet engine from the plane his parents were on to land on his bedroom with him inside so that the last 28 days we've just seen never existed.

The final scenes of all the people Donnie knew waking up slightly haunted by what's happened and in some way knowing something strange has happened to the backdrop of Mad World by Gary Jules was a fantastic way to end it all.

3.5/4 Extremely clever and subtle film

Film Review: M

Director: Fritz Lang

Following on from his huge success with the 1927 silent movie Metropolis (a truly stunning film that I could not recommend highly enough). Fritz Lang made his first sound film loosely based around the real life case of Peter Kurten, the Vampire of Dusseldorf, who was a serial killer in the 1920's who killed and sexually assaulted adults and children. The film struggled for funding and studio space as the studio believed the film was meant to depict the Nazi's but Lang settled the confusion and they were able to begin filming.

The city of Berlin is under attack from a mysterious child killer who keeps taking children away in broad daylight without being seen. We see Elsie Beckmann taken away by a shadowed man who whistles the tune of  "In the Hall of the Mountain King" by Edvard Grieg. The police begin a huge raid of all criminals and houses they believe engage in illegal activity in search of this man which enrages the criminal bosses who begin their own search for this man to end the scrutiny by the Police. All the while more children appear to be disappearing.

Hans Beckert (Peter Lorre)

This German language film is a very roughly cut film, there are many scenes where the sound is clearly being dubbed in afterwards and times where the silence actually feels like the sound has just been muted rather than the genuine sound of nothing. Obviously technology wasn't what it was now in 1931 but it's still not impossibly to achieve this if you compare it to other films of the time. A few scenes are excruciatingly long like the chase for M and the criminal finally revealing why he was searching an office block that was closed for the evening. But this aside it is a very intriguing and daringly subtle movie.

Nothing is really known as to why the killer is doing it except for an impulse to do so or exactly how or what he is doing with the children. There has been much debate as to whether the killer is sexually motivated but there is nothing here to suggest that this is true or false. Lang purposefully left the murders to the imagination of the audience saying that they could come up with a far more gruesome scene than he ever could. Peter Lorre's portrayal of the simple and childlike Hans is excellent even if it typecast him as a villain for future roles.

3/4 Sinister German thriller

Film Preview: American Hustle

David O. Russell (the man behind The Fighter and Three Kings) is returning with this crime drama set in the late 1970's. He brings together an ensemble cast including Amy Adams, Christian Bale and Jeremy Renner whilst also reuniting with the stars of Silver Linings Playbook Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence and Robert De Niro. The original title for the film was American Bullshit on the original screenplay before it was picked up.

The filming didnt go completely smoothly as they were filming in Boston around the time of the bombings that took place during the marathon which shutdown production. Some of the actors visited victims in the local hospitals in the days before filming started again.

A brilliant con man, Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale), who along with his British partner and lover, but frightened newbie grifter, Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams), are recruited and forced to work for an FBI agent, Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper), who pushes them into a world of Jersey powerbrokers and mafia that is as dangerous as it is enchanting. The film revolves around FBI ABSCAM that took place around 1978 and was revealed on NBC in 1980 that the FBI had found the level of corruption had moved into Congress.

American Hustle is released in the UK on 20th December 2013.

This week's releases

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire: The second book by Suzanne Collins is shown on the big screen with its star Jennifer Lawrence back as Katniss Everdeen.

Full preview here

Parkland: Zac Efron stars in this drama about the events on that fateful day in Dallas where John F. Kennedy was assassinated. The film focuses more on chaotic scenes at the Dallas Parkland Hospital that Kennedy was taken to after he was shot whilst the Police try to piece together exactly what happened to the President of the United States.

The Family: Luc Besson's latest incarnation is a comedy about a mafia family that is forced to leave America under the witness protection programme. There new home is to be in Normandy in France but unfortunately old habits die hard as they try to adjust to a law abiding life in France. Starring Robert de Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer.

Favourite movies of all-time revisited

In June last year I named my top 10 favourite movies of all-time list, a bold list that created some good debate. The issue with producing such a list is that it will change based on your mood at the time of writing and will constantly be in flux, or in my case you'd forgotten some key movies you loved like The Shining and Metropolis. It only took a few weeks for me to start picking apart my own list and critique my reasons for choosing certain films.

The main films in peril were the most recently released in Drive and Margin Call. The issue is that are they on the list because they are very good recent films that are stuck in my mind? Is it because they look even better against most of the predictable dirge served up by Hollywood these days? Looking back now with both films having been out for well over 18 months I'd say I'm happy with both being included. Drive is easily one of the slickest and aesthetically pleasing films I've ever seen (and I've seen it 5 times in the last 18months or so). Whilst Margin Call was clever, depressingly realistic and sharply scripted that it felt like a film for our time whilst we all suffer and endlessly hear about the recession.

The two films that may fall close to being axed would be Alien and Vanishing Point. I had considered one of the David Lynch films but it just can't happen, axing one of those would be like choosing which of your children you'd like the least. Alien is a great tense sci-fi classic that set the standard for so many films afterwards whilst Vanishing Point is the ultimate road chase movie but are they both films I love that much to include still? Possibly not when considering the films I mentioned above that I missed out and others such as City of God which wasn't included because I only saw it for the first time this year.

The list from 10-6: http://therollingpicture.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/10-favourite-movies-of-all-time-part-1.html
The list from 5-1: http://therollingpicture.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/10-favourite-movies-of-all-time-part-2.html

Film Review: Hitlerjunge Salomon

Director: Agnieszka Holland

Based on the true story of Solomon Perel who released an autobiography of his life during the second world war when he hid his Jewish heritage to avoid capture and became part of Hitler's youth. The film was released under the name 'Europa Europa' in the UK but was sometimes confused with the Lars von Trier film Europa so many reverted to the original German name.

Solomon Perel (Marco Hofschneider) is a Jewish teenager living in Nazi Germany and has to escape naked on the day of his bar mitzvah to avoid the Nazi's attacking Jewish homes and shops. His father originally came from Lodz in Poland so he decides to take the family there. His family then sends him and his brother East towards the Russians who are less likely to persecute the Jews but they are seperated and Solomon starts a long journey to survive during the bleak Second World War.

Solomon Perel (Marco Hofschneider)

The story of Solomon Perel has divided people for many years with some saying it showed an amazing will to survive to go through what he did whereas many others accuse him of turning his back on his religion and his own people. At the end of the day we are all selfish people on some level and at some point your own will to survive will kick in and you may act in your own best interests. Other critics said it did embellish upon the book and made it more interesting for the screen with him not actually coming as close as it seems to being caught as a Jew by the Nazi's.

Where the film should be lauded is for its depiction of ordinary people, this film refuses to make sweeping judgements about groups of people purely based on what history has told us. Not every Jewish person was good and the victim just as not every Nazi was evil at the time, many sympathized with the plight of Jewish people and other victims of the regime. It was refreshing to see this and the acting from the star Marco Hofschneider was impressive as he is very much left to carry the film, this was very much a depiction of his time during the war and nothing else.

2.5/4 Alternative look at one Jew's experience of the Second World War

Film Review: Rush

Director: Ron Howard

Howard is an experienced man whose produced many impressive films over a long film career spanning four decades. A documentary was also produced by the BBC called Hunt vs. Lauda: F1's Greatest Racing Rivals which aired in July. This gave viewers a chance to see old footage of them racing with interviews etc and get a feel for what the film would be about.

The film follows both Hunt and Lauda as they start their careers and their rivalry at a Formula Three race where Lauda blames Hunt's reckless driving for him spinning out of the race. The rivalry is renewed when they both enter Formula One but Lauda forces a move to Ferrari to help him win the 1975 Championship whilst Hunt struggles on a poor team. With Hunt moving to MacLaren both drivers are primed for a huge run at the 1976 Championship.

James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) and Niki Lauda (Daniel Bruhl)

Howard moves back to the 70's following his film Frost/Nixon that was so well received and also sees two men slug it out on the international stage but in this case in driving a Formula One car. Chris Hemsworth actually puts in a decent performance which surprised me having seen him play very similar characters in his previous work but he is still no match for Daniel Bruhl who coolly impresses as the genius Lauda. The driving scenes are quite impressive but on the whole the film didn't wow me and certainly lost momentum with Hunt's marital problems. I think F1 fans will find a lot to enjoy here but for the rest of us I'm not sure.

2/4 F1 fans aside, it doesn't offer a whole lot

Film Preview: Dallas Buyers Club

The main news associated with this movie is the huge amount weight that the lead actors Matthew McConaughey (50lbs) and Jared Leto (30lbs) have lost in preparation for this movie. McConaughey is almost unrecognisable in the lead role in which he dieted for 5 months under the supervision of a doctor to protect his health, although he is still said to have suffered due to the weight loss whereas Jared Leto mainly just stopped eating. The film is directed by Jean-Marc Vallée who is Canadian and mostly known for doing French-language films so it was unsurprising that the film debuted at the Toronto Film Festival.

Matthew McConaughey as Ron Woodroof

In 1986 Dallas, homophobic, drug addicted party boy Ron Woodroof is diagnosed with HIV and is given 30 days to live. He starts taking the Food and Drug Administration approved AZT, the only drug legally available in the U.S, which brings him to the brink of death. To survive, he smuggles anti-viral medications from all over the world, which were still unapproved and unavailable in the U.S.

Dallas Buyers Club is released in the UK on 7th February 2014.

This week's releases

Don Jon: Joseph Gordon-Levitt writes, directs and stars in this comedy drama about Jon who is a New Jersey guy who is a great friend and family member but suffers from an addiction to pornography. As he meets Barbara (Scarlett Johansson) he is forced to confront his addiction and make choices about the life he wants for himself.

The Butler: Classic Oscar material, Hollywood is now rolling out films set during the civil rights movement to push for Oscar nominations and to be fair you can't blame them with the Oscar buffs being even more obsessed themselves. Forest Whittaker plays Cecil Gaines who plays the butler to eight different presidents during his working life as the civil rights movement and the Vietnam War take hold of America.

The Counselor: The latest film from director Ridley Scott is a crime thriller with an ensemble cast. After much anticipation the initial reviews were poor from America with many blaming a laughably poor script, we have to wait till this Friday to find out for ourselves. The film is set by the troubled border between Texas and Mexico at Juarez with a lawyer finding himself in deep trouble with drug trafficking.

Film Review: Moon

Director: Duncan Jones

The debut film from director Duncan Jones, son of popstar David Bowie, is a science-fiction film with a nod to the heroics of 2001: A Space Odyssey among others. It was praised by scientists for its generally realistic depiction of what life would be like on the Moon. The film was written by Jones along with Nathan Parker who wrote the film specifically as a film for Sam Rockwell to star in and it was a film that many felt was snubbed by the Oscars.

Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell) is nearing the end of his three year work contract at the lunar mining base on the Moon. Lunar Industries are mining Helium-3 from the moon to meet the energy needs of the planet and seem to be very profitable from doing so. With no live link to Earth he speaks to his wife and daughter with delayed video messages and his only companion is an AI machine called GERTY (voiced by Kevin Spacey). Sam starts to suffer from loneliness as he starts to hallucinate but how many of the images are actually real?

Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell)

The film lines up a few surprises which took the plot in a completely different direction to what I was expecting. It is a clever and thought provoking piece that deals with many of the mysteries of life and who we are and what we believe. Sam Rockwell is decent in the lead role that he carries well through the first half of the movie. Kevin Spacey's deadpan tone as the computer GERTY is pitched perfectly although is slightly more sympathetic than his spiritual brother HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey. 

In a bizarre coincidence I watched this film straight after Ridley Scott's Blade Runner which Duncan Jones said would be the spiritual descendant of his next movie which is believed to be a semi-sequel to Moon. Clearly looking at some of the same questions as Scott's film I actually think Jones does a great job in questioning our existence and our reality in a more engaging way than the lauded Blade Runner ever did. For a debut film this is a very impressive effort.

3.5/4 Thoughtful clever sci-fi drama

Film Review: Blade Runner

Director: Ridley Scott

A 1982 American Science Fiction film that despite indifferent reviews on release, became a huge hit as many discussed the more subtle questions around the improvements in technology to the detriment of society and the issue of being human. The screenplay, written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples, is loosely based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick. Blade Runner has many different versions as the original featured a much parodied narration by Harrison Ford as Rick Dekard but subsequent releases took this out and also changed the ending.

Downtown Los Angeles in 2019

Retired Police Officer Rick Dekard (Harrison Ford) is forced to meet his former supervisor to return as a blade runner to catch four bio mechanical beings known as replicants. The plan is to find them and "retire" them (basically kill them) as they are no longer allowed on Earth. The Voight-Kampff test is performed to try and promote an emotional response from the subject to prove whether they are human or not. The film continues with the theme of what it means to be human throughout.

The main criticisms of the original release of the film was the narration and poor choice of ending which were both changed for this release. A bigger issue lies in the pacing of the film as after the opening scenes, which basically setup the films premise, it slows to a crawl that spends the next hour not really going anywhere before an intriguing climax. The films presents some very good ideas to consider over the course of the film but at times they are so lost amongst everything else. It feels like a film that is remembered fondly because people forget how dull it is in parts.

Rick Dekard (Harrison Ford) and Replicant Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer)

The special effects for the time were very impressive and the overall look of the film especially the downtown shots of Los Angeles are excellent. The constant stream of light shining into peoples homes and the buildings of the city show the negative effect that improved technology has had on society, along with the omni-present police and huge corporate advertisements. Harrison Ford is surprisingly off form here and is easily overshadowed by the violent yet intelligent Rutger Hauer as Roy Batty. Sci-Fi fans will be guaranteed to love this one but the rest of us may struggle.

2/4 Plot too often takes a backseat to special effects

Film Review: Gravity

Director: Alfonso Cuaron

The latest film from Mexican film maker Alfonso Cuaron takes him firmly away from any of his previous films and into the world of sci-fi with Gravity. It received rave reviews after being premièred at the Venice Film Festival before moving onto many other film festivals where it continued to impress the critics. The project saw many actors and actresses linked to play the main role with Robert Downey Jr interested before George Clooney took the role of Matt Kowalski. For the lead Angelina Jolie was initially interested whilst Marion Cotillaird and Natalie Portman both passed due to scheduling conflicts before Sandra Bullock agreed to the movie.

Dr. Ryan Stone (Bullock) and Matt Kowalski (Clooney)

Dr. Ryan Stone and astronaut Matt Kowalski are on a space mission floating above the Earth and have been in space for a number of weeks. Their mission is aborted after mission control in Houston (voiced by Ed Harris) warns them of a Russian missile strike on a satellite that has caused a cloud of debris to orbit the Earth at high speed and is heading their way. The two astronauts and the crew on-board the Explorer must battle to survive and return to Earth.

The opening shots of the shuttle just floating above Earth with the voices of the crew members slowly becoming louder and more clear is beautiful, it sets the tone for the whole movie and its simply sublime cinematography (hats off to Emmanuel Lubezki). The shots of the astronauts against the deep blue sea and the infinite skyline are a joy to watch and simply remind you of 2001: A Space Odyssey in its beauty, the comparison was inevitable so got it out of the way early. Although its worth noting that I only saw it in regular 2D so cannot comment on how good the 3D effects were.

Debris strikes the space shuttle Explorer

Sandra Bullock is soft yet steely determined in the lead role whilst Clooney is his natural easy going self as the experienced astronaut doing his last space mission. Ed Harris lends a familiar voice to mission control in Houston essentially picking the role he took in Apollo 13. The terror of being alone drifting in space is incredibly real here on many occasions and rarely has it been done to greater effect, unlike so many sci-fi movies that have gone before it didn't need an actual physical enemy to create tension and difficult situations for the main characters. As the film progresses it does lose its way in parts but this doesn't detract from the superb impression it leaves upon you.

3.5/4 Beautiful yet tense sci-fi thriller