Film Review: The Hurt Locker

Director: Katheryn Bigalow

With a screenplay written by a journalist (Mark Boal) who spent time with an EOD team in Iraq, you expect a realistic yet harrowing portrayal of probably one of the toughest jobs in the world. With The Hurt Locker this is more or less what you get, a very tense movie which actually lacks the action scenes you'd expect from this genre of movie.

The film opens with a quote: "The rush of battle is a potent and often lethal addiction, for war is a drug." We follow Sergeant First Class William James (Jeremy Renner) who is an experienced vet in charge of an EOD unit in Iraq. First hand we see the brave and tough job he has to do which is sometimes made all the worse by his slightly reckless behaviour.

William James (Jeremy Renner) in the protective suit

Jeremy Renner is an excellent lead, in the first few scenes he is quite tentative but then releases an intriguing charisma that helps carry the film. The constant disagreements with his team roots itself as a sub-plot throughout the entire film and certainly adds to the drama. Naturally the story pitches towards the friends and family that soldiers left behind but at no point is this overplayed for which I applaud the film-makers, it could have been easier to go overboard on this.

The film has realistic elements in most of the film, the filming was completed in Jordan near the Iraqi border for authenticity and the camera crews worked in stifling Middle-Eastern heat. Unfortunately some parts of the story were clearly unrealistic for how the army would handle a certain situation and this is something that has been echoed by Army veterans who were shown the movie. For the most part though this does not detract from what is a very good movie.

3/4 tense and thrilling but lacks the realism you expect

Film Preview: Hitchcock

At first Hitchcock's films took centre stage in the world of cinema, now it appears his life is also being moved on to the big screen. Alfred Hitchcock is rightly revered as one of the greatest directors of all-time with his finest works including Vertigo and North by Northwest. We see Alfred Hitchcock (Anthony Hopkins) and his relationship with his wife Alma Reville (Helen Mirren) revealed, all against the backdrop of the filming of Psycho.

The filming of Psycho was quite controversial as it tried to gain an age rating. There was an issue over whether the classification board could see a pair of nipples through a white shirt and the fact a toilet flush could be heard (which had been deemed in bad taste to show in cinemas). The possibly nudity was dodged as Hitchcock submitted the footage again unedited because he couldn't get the cast back together, this time the board members who had seen the offending footage now couldn't and those hadn't now could.

It also deals with the risky idea of killing off the main actress (Janet Leigh played by Scarlett Johansson) in the first half of the movie, the tensions in filming strain the relationship between Hitchcock and his wife which makes for drama and intrigue at every corner.

Hitchcock is released in the UK on the 8th February 2013 and the trailer is embedded below:

Film Review: Skyfall

Director: Sam Mendes

A big movie in the latest franchise of James Bond with Daniel Craig as the thoroughly British hero, Casino Royale was a runaway success which re-ignited the ailing hero but Quantum of Solace pulled everyone back to Earth with a bang. So the difficult third film in the series was key to keeping the public interested if Bond is to continue to be a must-see spectacle at the cinema. The production of the movie was fraught with difficulties after financial troubles at MGM stopped the movie being made for a time and meant screenwriter Peter Morgan left the project.

Bond (Daniel Craig) is called into defend MI6 after a villain with an intricate knowledge of how they work and uses it to try and get to M (Judi Dench). His mission takes him round the world trying to trace his enemy (Javier Bardem) with the help of new Q (Ben Whishaw).

Daniel Craig returns as James Bond

Javier Bardem is the most impressive character within the film and is slightly under-used especially in the early going, his humour and uncomfortable nature was a highlight. Craig is solid as ever whilst Judi Dench as M takes a front seat much to the detriment of the movie, there is only so many sarcastic and abrupt put downs you can give her in one film. It's clear at certain points that the production team from this movie has learnt a lot from Christopher Nolan's version of Batman. 

Some inventive humour is induced to the movie which lurches wildly from surprisingly funny to incredibly flat and predictable, it's difficult to pitch humour in action movies without it being forced and cliché but Skyfall manages it for the most part. The suspense is well kept throughout the film although the ending does slightly drag on extending the run time of the film to an unnecessary length. But it's no doubt an improvement over Quantum of Solace and that was key here.

2.5/4 solid action movie and an improvement on its predecessor.

This week's releases

Skyfall: Daniel Craig returns as James Bond for a third time in the long running franchise.

Full Preview here

Fun Size: Teen comedy starring Victoria Justice, Chelsea Handler and Jackass' Jonny Knoxville, Wren (Justice) is tasked with looking after her odd brother Albert but decides to ditch him to join her friends at a Halloween party. There are a lot more tricks than treats!

Room 237: A documentary about the numerous theories and myths surrounding the Stanley Kubrick film The Shining. To this day the film still creates debate and speculation as about its deeper meanings as well as why certain events occur in the way that they do. Almost guaranteed to make you want to watch the film again.

Film Review: The Girl who kicked the Hornet's Nest

Director: Daniel Alfredson

Alfredson remains in the director's chair for the third and final film in the Millenium series by the late author Steig Larsson. It continues the story from The Girl who played with Fire which finds Lisbeth Salander charged with murder despite the belief that she has been framed and works from a distance with Blomqvist in trying to reveal major corruption surrounding a man called Zalachenko and the Swedish Security Service.

Having been shot twice by Zalachenko out in the forest, Lisbeth is saved by Blomqvist who comes to the remote cottage to rescue her. She wakes up in hospital with Zalachenko just two rooms down after she hit him twice with a shovel and she has to prepare for her court case for murder as well as attempted murder of Zalachenko. Whilst this is going on Blomqvist is trying to find the major corruption in the SSS that might save Lisbeth and stop them from silencing all the parties involved.

Lisbeth walking to court under armed guard

The third film has a lot of ground to cover and races along at a quick pace which could easily leave the viewer left behind. Once again I found the tension of the books missing with the whole thing leaving me a little cold until the end. The opportunity for a fantastic finale to the trilogy on the big screen is wasted and one of the only lasting memories from the film will be Noomi Rapace who has gone on to a career in Hollywood when the film as a whole could have been so much more.

The scenes in court help you derive some satisfaction but the story leading up to this is lacking punch and anxiety which means that when the finale you want suddenly appears you aren't as excited as you should be, you don't feel yourself rooting for Lisbeth as much as you should. The other mistake in the movie is that there is little doubt of Lisbeth's guilt, in the books there is always a hint that Lisbeth could be capable of killing these people but that is omitted from the film. It leaves us with a slightly more predictable premise than the books deserve.

2/4 underwhelming and uneven conclusion to the superb trilogy.

Film Review: The Girl who played with Fire

Director: Daniel Alfredson

The second book of the millenium series by the late Steig Larsson sees Lisbeth's past come back to haunt her whilst Blomqvist investigates an illegal sex-trafficking ring that brings him back close to Lisbeth. After a spate of killings involving key people in the sex slave industry, the killings are seemed to have been committed by Lisbeth as her fingerprints are on the gun owned by her guardian, the creepy Nils Bjurman who is also killed. She hides out trying to find out who is behind it all whilst Blomqvist does the same from the offices at Millenium.

Lisbeth Salander fighting her way out of yet more trouble

The film has a new scriptwriter and director but retains much of the same feel as the first, mainly down to the performances of Noomi Rapace and Michael Nyqvist. The film isn't as surprising and shocking as the first as you are lot more familiar with the characters and their behaviour. The acting is once again reasonably impressive especially from the new characters involved in the second movie.

Having read the books around six months ago I had a decent knowledge of how the plot goes but even I had moments where I was unsure. This film seems exclusively for people that have read the books so know what is happening as I think it would be baffling otherwise. Unfortunately the nerve-wracking tension of the book doesn't translate onto the screen as well either, the slightly claustrophobic tension of everyone spying on each other and the corruption inside the government and Swedish Security Service.

2.5/4 slow starting but tense build-up to the final part of the trilogy.

Film Review: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Swedish Version)

Director: Niels Arden Oplev

Steig Larsson's phenomenal trilogy originally got converted to the big screen in it's native Swedish and it's success has meant that the whole trilogy has now been filmed and released. Much of the success of this film was believed to be the reason that the American remake was unsuccessful, with many fans refusing to see it saying it was needless with the Swedish version being available. It certainly looks like the American franchise of the books is dead in the water now.

The story is obviously similar to the books but obviously certain aspects were included into this that weren't in the American version. This film feels a lot darker and is filmed in a less pristine manner giving it a slightly murky quality which matches the tone. Some of the scenes feel more chilling when watched and leave you with a cold feeling.

Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth Salander

The directing is superb throughout by Niels Arden Oplev, he creates tense set-pieces that leave you fascinated whilst still maintaining the ability to thrill you when the action happens. The acting was something that received the most praise in the film, Noomi Rapace certainly looks better in the Lisbeth Salander role but I honestly think Rooney Mara was the better actress whilst for Mikael Blomqvist it was vice versa, Daniel Craig looked more like the Blomqvist I had in my head but Michael Nyqvist is certainly more convincing.

Fans of the millenium trilogy would do well to see the film as well as the American remake and draw your own conclusions, they both have their positives and negatives when they are compared. I'm intrigued to see how they have filmed some portions of the second and third book.

3/4 darker take on the books but wasn't blown away by the acting