Film

Interstellar

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9/11/14

Some films arrive in the cinema burdened by the weight of unreasonable expectation and Interstellar is one such film. Probably the most anticipated release since Prometheus (and look what happened with that!), if we are to believe what we’re told, this film is destined to save the film industry itself because what the world needs now is a major blockbuster and this just might be it. The film takes on weighty themes like the demise of mankind, the exploration of space and some fairly ‘out there’ theories about black holes and the fifth dimension. If much of it feels like a homage to Kubrick’s 2001, that’s no bad thing. The good news is, that though not perfect, Christopher Nolan’s three hour epic manages to hold a viewer’s attention throughout and in two key set pieces racks up levels of almost unbearable suspense.

The world is going to hell in a handcart, mostly because it’s turning into one great big dustbowl. Crops are dying out and ex space explorer Cooper, (Matthew McConaughey) now a corn farmer, sees his livelihood slipping away. When his young daughter Murphy tells him that the bookcase in her bedroom is trying to communicate with her (stay with me) Cooper identifies an anomaly, one that leads him to a remote location, where NASA scientist, Professor Brand (Michael Caine) is preparing a secret space mission, which he hopes will find a way to save the world. He’s prepared to send his own daughter, (Anne Hathaway) as a member of the team and he wants Cooper to pilot the spaceship. But it will mean being parted from his children for many years, with no guarantee of survival…

It’s to the film’s credit, that it makes some fairly unlikely events seem believable, but much of the ‘science’ here is so mind-blowingly complicated, that characters often have to resort to sketching diagrams to ensure that the audience understands it better – and there’s a final M. Night Shymalan-style twist that will either have you starry-eyed with wonder or shouting ‘no way!’ at the screen. Whether Interstellar can save the film industry is debatable. What is for sure is that Nolan hasn’t lost his Midas touch when it comes to creating awe-inspiring cinema. The father-daughter relationship at the heart of this tale is a powerful hook and the cinematography and special effects sequences are often breath-taking. A palpable hit, methinks.

4.8 stars

Philip Caveney

The Two Faces of January

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9/11/14

This labyrinthine thriller, based on a novel by Patricia Highsmith, treads similar ground to Anthony Minghella’s The Talented Mr Ripley – it has a stylish 60’s setting and takes place in a series of photogenic locations –  Athens, Crete and Istanbul; but it isn’t remotely in the same league as Ripley. It’s nonetheless handsomely produced and well-acted and though it wasn’t strong enough to make much of an impression in the cinema, it’s certainly worth checking out on DVD.

Athens tour guide, Rydal (Oscar Isaac) finds himself drifting into the orbit of American couple, Colette and Chester MacFarland (Kirsten Dunst and Viggo Mortenson), only to discover that Chester is a notorious swindler, who owes money to people back in the states. When the couple are apprehended by a private detective, Chester accidentally kills him and the MacFarlands are obliged to go on the run. Rydal, unaware of the full story and strongly attracted to Colette agrees to help them, only to find himself implicated as an accomplice. From this point, a devious game of cross and double cross evolves…

Ripley, mainly because of a mesmeric performance by Matt Damon, managed to achieve the near impossible, making an audience root for a character who is, quite clearly, a worthless lying scumbag. None of the performers here manage to generate sufficient charisma to make us care about the outcome of the story and anelement suggesting that Rydal perceives Chester as some kind of father figure (his own father has recently died) isn’t really explored enough to convince.

This is a decent movie, that entertains throughout but lacks the extra factor that would have made it a great one.

3. 6 stars

Philip Caveney

Mr Turner

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7/11/14

Mr Turner is that rarest of things, a resounding art house success. Judging by the ‘bums on seats ratio’ at my local Cineworld, Mike Leigh has succeeded beyond all reasonable expectation with this biopic of the great artist, Joseph Mallard Turner. It’s a difficult movie, one that obeys few of the rules you’d expect to find in a recent cinematic success – there are no car chases, superheroes or heads exploding in slow motion. But it’s also a richly rewarding experience and one that takes its own sweet time to convey its central message – that great artists exist outside of everyday conventions. For the first time since Topsy Turvy (his impressive biopic of Gilbert and Sullivan), Leigh has eschewed the contemporary ‘talking heads’ routine that is his trademark, to give us a historical piece where he’s employed the canny use of CGI to convey the intrinsic moods of some of the artist’s best-known work.

In the title role, Timothy Spall is simply quite extraordinary. He gives us a grunting, gurning turnip of a hero, a (probably autistic) painter who is hopeless at small talk and who treats the other people who drift into his world as little more than contemptible. We witness his deplorable relationship with Hannah Danby (Dorothy Atkinson), the niece of the woman who bore him two (unacknowledged) children but, nevertheless, a subject of brutal sexuality. We see his idolisation of his father, William (Paul Jesson) and his secretive relationship with Margate landlady Mrs Booth (Marion Bailey), where he finally found true happiness.

The film observes few of the accepted tropes of cinema. There’s no real story arc here, just a series of vignettes, illustrating Turner’s world, his relationships with those around him and his often stormy association with the Royal Academy. But throughout, there is stunning cinematography (by Dick Pope) that eerily recreates some of the man’s finest paintings; there’s dry humour -particularly in  the scenes with Ruskin (John McGuire), which serve to accentuate Turner’s lifelong hatred of critics, and there’s the stunning scene where Turner turns down the offer of £100,000 for his complete works from a rich benefactor, insisting that he wants to bequeath his paintings to ‘the nation.’

Mike Leigh is, quite simply, an anomaly. In an age where cinema is increasingly ruled by those who seek to champion the everyday, he is, quite simply, a national treasure, a man who ploughs his own furrow and does so on his own terms. Mr Turner will either leave you cold or cut you to the marrow. I’m happy to say that I belong to the latter category.

4.7 stars

Philip Caveney

Pompeii

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7/11/14

Paul WS Anderson’s sword and sandal epic came in for a thorough critical pasting on its cinematic release, but on DVD at least, it’s a bit of a guilty pleasure in its galumphing, Sunday afternoon telly-ish sort of way. I’m sure that many liberties have been taken with historical detail and it’s so evidently a Gladiator-lite remake it almost hurts, but nevertheless the narrative carried me through to the explosive conclusion.

Events start back in Roman-occupied Britannia where a young boy, Milo, watches his family summarily slaughtered by Roman centurion, Corvus (Keifer Sutherland.) Within a few minutes of screen time, Milo has grown into Kit Harington, a fearsome gladiator known simply as ‘The Celt.’ Able to dispatch a whole army of opponents in curiously bloodless fashion (Anderson clearly chasing the PG13 certificate) Milo must be the most politely spoken barbarian in history but to make up for the deficiency, he sports a six pack you could break coconuts on. Milo’s abilities in the arena get him chosen to complete in the city of Pompeii and en route, he bumps into Cassia (Emily Browning) who is clearly impressed by his horse-whispering skills (and no doubt the afore-mentioned six pack.) Milo arrives at the arena where he is destined to fight the Emperor’s champion, Atticus (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje.) When Corvus, now a powerful senator arrives on the scene, with his sights well and truly fixed on Cassia, Milo spots an opportunity to avenge himself for the loss of his parents. But ominous rumbles are beginning to issue from the direction of Vesuvius…

The special effect maelstrom that’s subsequently unleashed is (on the small screen at least) pretty impressive, while the human characters run around doing their best to make an impression amidst the carnage. Sutherland chews the scenery in entertaining style as Corvus, complete with creepy English accent, but it’s sad to see somebody of the stature of Carrie Anne Moss relegated to the thankless role of Cassia’s mum, with little to say and even less to do. Obviously, history has long ago established that this isn’t going to end well for any of the characters so those hoping for an uplifting finale will be disappointed, but for those seeking diversion, this film passes 105 minutes in agreeable enough style.

3.5 stars

Philip Caveney

Nightcrawler

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2/11/14

A nightcrawler is not, as you might suppose, a lower form of verminous insect that comes creeping up through the cracks in the floorboards after you turn the light out. It’s a term for those members of the paparazzi who drive around LA in the small hours of the morning, listening intently to police band radio in the hope of finding some horrible disaster that they can film and then sell the footage to one of the many independent TV news stations that flourish in the area. So, the two things are pretty much in the same arena as far as appeal goes.

Lou Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal) is a mildly-spoken loner who spends his time trolling the streets, stealing scrap to sell to unscrupulous dealers, someone who thinks nothing of clubbing a security guard unconscious in order to avail himself of the man’s watch. When he chances upon a car crash, he sees Joe Loder (Bill Paxton) a dedicated nightcrawler, filming the carnage. ‘If it bleeds, it leads,’ announced Loder, gleefully. When Lou subsequently overhears him making a deal to sell the resulting footage to a TV station, he thinks he’s found a new career, so much so that he hires a down-and-out called Rick (Riz Ahmed) to be his ‘assistant.’ He then locates a willing buyer for his ‘art’ in the form of Nina (Rene Russo) a TV news producer who is happy to accommodate his grisly footage and doesn’t ask too many questions about how he came by it. Then Lou becomes obsessed with getting to accident scenes before the police arrive…

Dan Gilroy’s directorial debut is a mesmerising tale of darkness and dismay, in which the only honourable characters are sidelined in favour of the kind of grotesque, venal scum that seem to be completely unhindered by any degree of humanity. Gyllenhaal, in what must rank as a career best performance (and I’m including Donny Darko and Brokeback Mountain here) somehow manages to transform himself from handsome young lead to malevolent creep, simply by losing a few pounds and slicking down his hair. Bloom is a magnificently repellant character, someone who talks in self-help video cliches, somebody who smiles sweetly but harbours, beneath his calm exterior the cold reserve of a true sociopath. Gyllenhaal manages to achieve the impossible here; you will find yourself rooting for Lou even as he makes your skin crawl.

While we’re handing out the accolades, it’s great to see Rene Russo eschewing her usual lightweight persona and firing on all cylinders as the (almost) equally repellant Nina. When she defines her ideal film clip as ‘a white woman running down the street screaming with her throat cut’ you realise that she and Lou are simply made for each other.

Gilroy handles it all effortlessly. There’s not an ounce of dead weight here and in the last fifteen minutes, when he takes us into a lengthy car chase, I very nearly forgot to breathe. The amoral conclusion is as shocking as it is inevitable, but given the kind of characters on display here, it was never going to have a Mary Poppins conclusion. Don’t miss Nightcrawler. It’s unlikely you’ll see a better film this year.

5 stars

Philip Caveney

Wither

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28/10/14

Question; what would the Evil Dead look like if filmed by Swedes? Answer: Wither. But you have to imagine the Evil Dead completely stripped of wit, logic and storyline. (Not that the original had an awful lot of the latter, but Wither makes it look like the complete works of Shakespeare by comparison.) The film’s premise will be familiar to anyone who’s ever watched a horror movie. An assorted bunch of teenagers set out to spend the weekend in an abandoned house in the woods (as you do). They are led by squeaky-clean young couple Albin (Patrick Almkvist) and Ida (Lisa Henni) who spend a lot of time snogging, even in the midst of a raging bloodbath. They’re so annoying you start to hope that something bad will happen to them soon, but annoyingly they last longer than most of their companions.

Everyone settles in to the weekend vacation spot. Luckily, Albin’s Dad is an electrician and has arranged for a supply of juice to be sent to the house (some accomplishment considering he never actually visits the place.) Unlike virtuous Albin and Ida, the other kids, being Swedish, are even more obsessed with copping off with one another, than their American cousins. Within minutes of arrival, people are energetically humping, something that they will pay dearly for, later on.

Now, I know that in these films you are required to stretch your credibility a bit, but these kids keep doing things that nobody in their right mind would EVER do. Repeatedly. Hmm, a trapdoor leading down into a dark cellar? Think I’ll go and investigate. Oh, my friends are turning into monsters all around me, should I run away? Hmm, no it’s raining, I don’t want to get wet. Oh, my companion has turned into a monster and I’ve had to kill her. I’d better spend a very long time digging a grave for her. OK, now I’ve phoned for the police and they’ve told me to meet them out by our cars. But… it’s still raining, so let’s stay in the cabin. Sheesh! (The Swedish police, by the way, should probably sue the film makers for slurring their reputation. Though summoned by phone, quite early in the proceedings and informed that people are being killed, they fail to show up at any point.)

There are some decent special makeup effects here (the movie earns its 18 certificate) but directors, Sonny Laguna and Tommy Wiklund are rather too fond of the depiction of women being mercilessly beaten by men, for comfort. I know people are turning into demons, but it never seems to happen the other way around and some of these scenes are prolonged and feel unpleasantly prurient. Ultimately, Wither is just a thinly veiled excuse to unleash a string of decapitations, amputations and beatings. Most of the budget must have gone on Kensington (or should that be Karlstad?) Gore, with which the weekend retreat is soon liberally redecorated. It’s pretty poor stuff, only to be approached with extreme caution.

1 star

Philip Caveney

Maleficent

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2/11/14

I love fairytales. I Iove them in their original forms (the grimmest of Grimm for me) , but they’re also ripe for reworking. Like Shakespeare’s plays, fairy tales contain such universal themes and truths about humanity, that they can work well transposed into almost any time or place and their characters are familiar enough for the impact of the reimaginings  to be clear.

Maleficent then, is essentially the tale of Sleeping Beauty, with the ‘wicked fairy’ moved to centre stage. Here, she is given a back-story; a compelling psychological reason for her vicious turn at the Princess Aurora’s christening. Angelina Jolie is never less than impressive as Maleficent, as malevolent and magnificent as the name implies, sporting a set of cheekbones you could slice a loaf of bread with. This ‘fairy’ is ironically a deeply human character, with flaws as well as virtues, weaknesses as well as strengths.

The film looks stunning. The cinematography works perfectly, combining with state-of-the-art special effects to create a convincing fairyland from a river and some woods, and the supporting cast, including Elle Fanning as Aurora, all do a decent job. Unfortunately the dialogue is clunky and expository in places and this mars the film significantly. Make no mistake, whatever else, this is Jolie’s film and it is her performance you’ll remember at the end.

3.5 stars

Susan Singfield

Fury

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30/10/14

April 1945. As the allies push further and further into a defeated Germany, the crew of a Sherman tank, nick-named Fury, encounter hostile resistance wherever they go. When a valued member of their team is killed, he’s replaced by raw recruit, Norman (Logan Lermann,) a man more versed in using a typewriter than a machine gun. The tank’s battle-hardened sergeant, War Daddy (Brad Pitt) realises that if Norman is going to have a chance of survival, he’s going to require a swift and brutal indoctrination and that’s exactly what he gets.

Director David Ayer seems to be in his element when depicting men under pressure – his last release, End of Watch, deals with two cops on the firing line and the bond that exists between them, and here, Ayer successfully portrays the bloody mayhem of battle as seen from the claustrophobic confines of a tank. The battle scenes are mesmerisingly hideous and the moments in between reveal more about the crew themselves and the dehumanising aspects of war. By the way, those of you who normally operate a ‘No Shia Le Beouf Policy’ can relax. Here, he’s totally convincing as a religious man fighting to keep hold of his belief as hell unfolds around him.

The film has been criticised in America for the scene in which War Daddy makes Norman execute an unarmed German solider. It’s harrowing, for sure, but this is a film about warfare and the scene feels totally believable, just one more barbaric act amidst a maelstrom of destruction. Its central message, that war corrupts and destroys everything in its path is no great revelation, but you’ll emerge from this feeling that you have been in the thick of battle and if nothing else, you’ll feel a greater appreciation for what soldiers endured during the Second World War and how much we have to thank them for.

But be warned, this is no date movie. A scene where Norman is obliged to scrape what’s left of the face of his predecessor off the seat he is to occupy requires a strong stomach. It’s powerful stuff, not for the faint-hearted.

4.2 stars

Philip Caveney

The Babadook

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27/10/14

Fright movies come in different styles and formats but usually they have just one thing in common; they’re not really about anything much. People get shredded by murderers or pursued by ghosts, usually for no reason at all. This Australian creep-fest from writer director Jennifer Kent breaks the mould. It’s essentially an allegory about loss, grief and depression but in its own way, it’s even scarier than its American cousins.

Single Mum, Amelia (Essie Davis) is struggling to bring up her young son, Samuel (Noah Wiseman) after the death of her husband Robbie some years ago. The fact that Robbie was driving Amelia to the hospital to give birth to Samuel when he died hasn’t helped matters one little bit and added to that is the fact that Samuel is a bit of handful to say the least, addicted to performing magical tricks and frightened about the monsters that supposedly live under his bed. One night, Amelia reads to Samuel from a storybook he has found on the shelf in his bedroom, a nightmarish pop-up book entitled The Babadook, which they have never seen before. It isn’t long before mysterious things are going bump in the night…

Like all the best fright movies, the Babadook gets a lot of mileage out of very little. The creature of the title is barely more than glimpsed and there’s always the suspicion that it might just be a figment of Amelia’s imagination. The film is also boosted by two superb central performances. Essie Davis is totally convincing as a woman pushed to the very edge of madness and her gradual disintegration through the film is a wonder to behold. Meanwhile, young Noah Wiseman is terrific in the difficult role of a hyperactive (and initially not very likeable) kid.

It’s interesting to note that the film started as a short and that Kent crowd funded it on Kickstarter in order to get the budget to produce a full-length version. It’s a powerful and at times, genuinely nerve shredding debut and it will be interesting to see what this director does next. Meantime, those of a nervous disposition may want to stay away from this one. Because you can’t get rid of the Babadook.

4.5 stars

Philip Caveney

Annabelle

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19/10/14

Annabelle began ‘life’ as a short segment in James Wan’s, The Conjuring, a film that proved to be unexpectedly successful. So now we’re offered this 60’s set sequel which gives us Annabelle’s back story. Capably directed by John R. Leonetti, it features fairly effective fright scenes of the silence, silence, silence, boo! persuasion, which would be all right, if the bits in between weren’t so desperately predictable.

Dull as ditchwater young couple, John and Mia Gordon (Ward Horton and Annabelle Wallis) are going to be parents soon. John is training to be a doctor, while Mia spends most of her time at the sewing machine, making… something (we’re never quite sure what.) As a special surprise gift, John buys Mia a doll she’s ‘wanted for a long time. Since the titular Annabelle is a thing of exceptional ugliness, this proves to be the film’s most baffling mystery. Why would anyone give anyone something that looks so downright creepy in the first place?

The Gordon’s blissful life is rudely interrupted when the next door neighbours are brutally murdered by their daughter, now a member of a Charles Manson-like hippie death cult. Mia is injured in the resulting affray and once back from hospital, with her new baby, Leah in tow, things start to bump and creak and generally jump out of cupboards in  her direction. Local priest Father Perez (Tony Amandola) is called in to help…

With it’s 60’s apartment-block setting, the film this mostly resembles is Rosemary’s Baby though frankly it’s not in the same league as Polanski’s iconic fright movie. This is a film where every character speaks in exposition and where you can see the ending coming as soon as the friendly bookshop owner steps into view. It has a few scary moments dotted throughout the proceedings but ultimately, it’s just a series of set pieces linked by not very much at all.

2.9 stars

Philip Caveney