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Film review: Great Expectations (cert.12a)

5 Dec

Well on hearing that there was to be yet another version of the Charles Dickens book Great Expectations brought to our screens, I immediately thought, why does the world need this again when there are so many books in the world. However, the production directed by Mike Newell drew me in enough for an enjoyable evening.

This telling of the story of orphan Pip who we first meet as he encounters the terrifying escaped convict Magwitch (Ralph Fiennes)in a graveyard one day, is handled well. Fiennes plays subtly a character away from his usual middle class type.

The young Pip grows up in hardship in a life punctuated by trips to the mansion house as the enforced entertainment of the manipulative Miss Havisham and the adopted daughter Estella he secretly adores. Helena Bonham Carter gives a lighter touch to Miss Havisham than some of the more recent harsher embodiments.

Pip (Jeremy Irvine) is enabled, by a mysterious benefactor, to live a life of luxury in London when he grows up. It’s a world for him surrounded by velvet-wearing sparring glamorous youths.

Again, he encounters and falls for Estella (Holliday Grainger) who has been brought up by Miss Havisham to be cruel to men. His life is then thrown into turmoil by an unexpected visitor. Jeremy Irvine plays a pretty self-absorbed Pip who irritates a little though not necessarily a bad thing. Holliday is suitably beguiling. Newell gives us a very colourful version of this well-known story.

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Film review: Silver Linings Playbook, (cert.15)

23 Nov

If you’re looking for a romantic comedy that breaks a few rules, you’d find it hard to do better than the David O’Russell directed movie Silver Linings Playbook based on the novel by Matthew Quick.

After incarceration for beating up a fellow teacher for having an affair with his wife, Pat (Bradley Cooper) who has bi-polar is back in the community and living with his parents. He has an obsession with making amends and reconnecting with his ex-wife but is hampered by the restraining order that prevents him from getting in touch with her. Life is a little difficult to adjust to again with his father (Robert De Niro) also being immersed in his love of American Football.

Pat’s introduced to Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence) at a dinner party. Her husband has died and she’s suffering depression. The interaction between the two who become friends is captivating as their reactions are symptomatic of their mental states. Tiffany agrees to contact his wife on his behalf if he’ll be her partner in a dance competition. Though Tiffany is falling for him, he still pines for his ex-wife.

Some knowledge of the rules of American football might help you in this movie but not understanding it doesn’t take away from being gripped by the main leads and the absorbing storyline.

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Film review: Untouchable (cert.15)

21 Sep

When Driss (Omar Sy), an unemployed, ex-offender attends a job interview to be the carer for wealthy quadriplegic Philippe (Francois Cluzet), he only wants to tick off a box and doesn’t want the role. However, Philippe spots in him someone who won’t give him pity. Driss finds himself with the job and living in a mansion.

The French film directed and written by Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano after they saw a documentary ten years ago about the people they based the story on, is quite a gem. Driss starts to get the hand of all he needs to do as a carer for a man who cannot use his arms and legs, all with a certain charm and innocence. Philippe is at the same time energised and motivated by this person with an alternative perspective on life.

Sy lights up the screen with a captivating performance and Cluzet draws us into his insecurities while being limited in how he can express his anxieties. There are times when the troubles of Driss at the lower end of French society and difficulties within his own family can seem a little stereotyped but as it’s based on real people, you give it the benefit of the doubt. It’s also a film with loads of humour. I left the screening enraptured by the movie. I hope it also re-ignites a love of the excellent music of Earth Wind & Fire, which was featured in the film. The film is out today in the UK. Rating: 9 out of 10

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Film review: Dredd 3D (cert.18)

9 Sep

Viewing Dredd 3D as someone who has never read the 2000AD comics, I wanted to see if the plot would be magnetic enough for me. It turns out that the Pete Travis directed film was gripping from the opening scene. In Mega City One, a downtrodden city filled with criminals, the police are judge, jury and executioner. One such cop is Judge Dredd (Karl Urban) and he’s given the responsibility of taking out female rookie cop and psychic Anderson (Olivia Thirlby). The new cop’s future hangs on how she copes with her first assignment. She chooses to investigate a triple homicide which turns out to be the work of Ma Ma (Lena Headey)’s ruthless gang. Though it’s hard to detect an emotional element to Dredd 3D, the lead and side-kick encourage enough fascination for me to want to root for and follow them. The 3D elements are stylish enough to create more awe than most. This was an unmistakably violent movie but the comic-book feel is reassuringly strong. This deserves a sequel. Rating: 8 out of 10.

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Movie review: Lawless (Cert. 18)

5 Sep

David Michod directed prohibition era movie Lawless tracks the attempts of the Bondurant brothers at supplying liquor in Franklin County. Jack Bondurant (Shia LaBeouf) is the least violent of the three siblings. Forrest Bondurant (Tom Hardy) and Howard Bondurant (Jason Clarke) are unafraid of using weapons to preserve their business. Proceedings are further fired up when underhand Deputy Charlie Rakes (Guy Pearce) comes to town. Jack is also trying to romance preacher’s daughter Bertha Minnix (Mia Wasikowska) and barmaid Maggie Beauford (Jessica Chastain) has her aim set on Forrest. The screenplay written by Nick Cave is based on a true story.

The film steers you easily into the brothers’ lives but without you feeling that you’re championing their cause. Hardy seems a little expressionless at times though he generally captures the elder brother seniority well. Jessica Chastain’s Maggie is promises more excitement and mystery than she’s given. Howard is a little short-changed as a character. If you extreme violence in movies disturbs you, best to try another film. Out on the 7th September in the UK. Rating: 7 out of 10

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Marley documentary is gripping viewing

17 May

Some people make an outstanding impact on many in a relatively short life and singer/songwriter/musician Bob Marley is one of those. The documentary Marley directed by Kevin Macdonald encapsulates Marley’s life from his very humble beginnings in Jamaica until his death at age 36 as a superstar. The film is crafted together using a mix of interviews with the star himself, conversations with people who knew him and performance footage.

To me you can see how from an early age that Bob was a genius with engaging words that reach deep into the heart of a situation. He was dedicated to his music and to bringing people together. The early Bob Marley and the Wailers were a formidable band, including the great musician and performer Peter Tosh. The film features an amazing piano version of No Woman No Cry. Still the inspirational music combined with stirring lyrics continued through other line-ups of the group.

One of the controversies about Bob was that though he was married at an early age to Rita, he had many affairs while she was still there singing in his band. You imagined the great strength it must have taken for her to carry on through that situation.

Marley was also swept into political rivalries in Jamaica. His life came under threat and he had to play a key role in striving for peace. All the while the film inspires an empathy for Bob’s passion for mankind and reggae music, right up until the documentary’s sad conclusion. It is definitely a film for music lovers and people who want to learn more about the charismatic figure that Bob Marley was. It’s out at cinemas now.

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Film review: Shame

25 Jan

http://youtu.be/arD1Hmjlqag

In director Steve McQueen’s film Shame, being a high flyer in New York doesn’t harness fulfilling relationships when you’re a sex addict. Michael Fassbender who has graced our screens in numerous films such as X-Men First Class and Haywire over the last few months, plays Brandon. His restrained and stark life revolves around meeting women for one thing only – dispassionate and emotionless sex. Caring very little for the woman he engages with is essential. He is essentially commitment phobic and to build a relationship would be to risk letting his guard down and in his eyes feel trapped. Marriage appals him and the possibility that you could be with someone for any length of time is unbelievable to him.

Into this environment steps his singer sister Sissy (Carey Mulligan), the woman whose calls he’s been deliberately avoiding and deleting. She has her own problems of wanting love and feeling needed. Her forcing herself into his life unsettles him. A desire to change is triggered when he starts to feel something for Marianne (Nicole Beharie), a woman at work. The magnanimity of the situation challenges him. Then there’s his sister who wants to cling to him further, especially after he tells her off for an affair with his boss. Brandon experiences some rock bottom moments when he even seems to be punishing himself to the extreme.

The film takes you to some bleak places through the addiction convincingly expressed through Fassbender. Carey is the best we’ve seen her so far in a role that requires so much more of her. At the end of it all, you’ll still be wondering why he turned out this way. See the film without expecting clear answers.

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Film review: The Help

24 Oct

http://youtu.be/1GYmhc8Xk8g

Director Tate Taylor’s adaptation of the best-selling novel The Help by Kathryn Stockett is a reminder of the conditions and struggles black people in the USA contended with during Civil Rights movement in the sixties. White graduate Skeeter (Emma Stone) returns to her southern hometown with aspirations to become a great writer. The only job she can get in town to kick her off on her aims is a job writing the housekeeping column in the local paper. She asks her friend if she can enlist the help of her housekeeper Aibileen (Viola Davis) to get the answers to problems. From there she starts to absorb the ill-treatment of the black maids just because of their colour. When Skeeter has the opportunity to be published by a mainstream publisher if she tells the stories of the maids, she takes the challenge. Aibileen writes her own accounts and gradually persuades her friend, the feisty Minny (Octavia Jackson) to also contribute. Passion at the wrong-doing the maids encounter eventually inspires contributions from more women. Viola, Octavia and Emma all give outstanding performances. The film is a tear-jerker but also make you laugh. You will become immersed in the lives of the women, the friendships and cruelty that they are subjected to. The Help is out this week.

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Film review: Drive

3 Oct

http://youtu.be/uE1tqMUd4R8

Moody but captivating, we are sucked right into the double-life of movie stuntman Driver (Ryan Gosling) in the film Drive. In this adaptation of a book by John Sallis, the Danish director Nicolas Refn Winding introduces us to Driver, who has no other name but moonlights as a getaway car driver when he’s not on set or working his other job as a mechanic. Driver has a five minute rule that makes him totally committed to his criminal colleagues for five minutes and then his priority is getting away no matter whether they have successfully rejoined him.

He’s a man of few words and few friends. However, he falls for neighbour Irene (Carey Mulligan) who lives two doors away with her son. They share a gentle love which exists mainly through shy embarrassed looks and the occasional touch of hands. Things get complicated when her husband (Oscar Isaac) returns from jail and needs help fending off criminals who want to call in protection money. In an effort to protect Irene and son from the menaces that threaten to hurt them, Driver agrees to help out on a job. From there things go wrong and Driver finds himself up against gangsters.

What makes this ultimately extremely violent film, very special, is the subtlety of two lead characters who express their love in an underplayed, shy but touching way – not all sudden love has to be aggressive. There are no over-the-top gestures or overt sexuality but just depth of feeling. It also makes the Driver’s behaviour in the latter part of the movie more compelling.

In other ways, the film is slick, tense and several violent scenes are shocking. Refn Winding picked up the best director award at the Cannes Film festival and it’s easy to see why as this movie has more unexpected dynamics than the usual gangster flick.

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Film review: The Big Picture

3 Aug

In The Big Picture, an adaption of the book by Douglas Kennedy, Paul Exben (Romain Duris) has everything – a successful career, an attractive wife Sarah (Marina Fois), two young children and a wonderful home. He’s about to be left in control of the law firm he works for by his ill boss Anne (Catherine Deneuve) when a chain of events means that he loses everything.

Paul discovers that his wife is having an affair. When he finds out who her lover is, he confronts him and ends up fleeing his life having killed him unintentionally. We’re then invited to watch Paul trying to escape his past and develop a new persona as a photographer.

This Eric Lartigau directed film hinges on how much sympathy for Paul and his plight we can muster – a very difficult challenge. His story and the fact that he’s someone you wouldn’t automatically warm to are hard to overcome. But it is a very watchable film though maybe a little too long.

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