observe and report (2009)

observe and report, the second feature from apparently "hip" young thing jody hill, came with high praise indeed. i went to see it purely out of the comparisons to the work of paul shrader, but found nothing of any worth in the picture. it was boring, it said nothing and the comedy was appallingly judged. the really annoying thing was that if the film had been played completely straight, with a competent dramatic lead actor and without stupid wannabe-quirky asides (the sketch show-comedy drunk mother, asian twins and "gangsta" side kick especially) i think it would have been a successful attempt at a shrader-esque character study. the line towards the end spoken by the cop hiding in the cupboard along the lines of " i thought this was going to be funny, but its just sad" actually came very close to moving me, which is an incredible feat considering just how much i disliked the proceeding 90 minutes, and an indication of the direction the film could have taken. 

several online critics, well i say critics but im referring to the sort of folk that haunt aint it cool news and chud claim that observe and report is the sort of film that comes along every couple of years that slips through the radar of many, yet influences cinema in a deep manner (see fight club). this film wont be remembered, it wont have an effect on anything, it isnt clever in any way, its just a bad film. for the record, i didnt go expecting a judd apatow style comedy, i went because i heard it was a fairly removed piece of work, which was darker in tone and far more dramatic. had it been compared to apatow i wouldnt have gone near it, i hate that particular style of "comedy", and while i generally dislike seth rogen (although found him to be rather affable in monsters vs aliens), i gave everyone involved the benefit of the doubt upon hearing claims that it was the spiritual follow up to the likes of the king of comedy and even taxi driver! clearly i was wrong to do so. 

crank 2 : high voltage (2009)

the follow up to the 2006 trashy-action-classic, crank 2 : high voltage proved to be a less fruitful and indeed joyable experience than its surprisingly great predecessor. the problem lies in the fact that everything is amplified in the sequel, and not just the positive aspects. the casual racism of the first has been replaced by a torrent of racial hatred and abuse, although the fact that no single aspect of society has been left out may be seen as a plus to some. its treatment of women was not only disgusting, but shocking that this sort of attitude can be displayed on the cinema screen in 2009. it was horrifying, as were the accompanying laughs that came with it from the audience. saying that, jason statham is his usual semi-affable self, and the video game-esque aesthetics prove desirable once again. crank 2 is much longer than its swift predecessor, which proved just how apt the originals running time was, as halfway through i felt physically exhausted.

obviously this sort of picture was never intended to appeal to a cinemagoer like myself, but as i actually enjoyed the first film i dont think this is a case of me just not "getting" crank 2, it was simply a poor film.

let the right one in (2008)

possibly the most highly praised film of last years festival circuit, let the right one in arrives complete with the sort of hype and expectation usually reserved for the summer blockbuster period. having anticipated this film for what seems like an age i felt somewhat let down with the final product. what an interesting premise suggests is let down by an unwelcome running time. the story doesnt feel big enough to necessitate the epic running time it is given, an act which isnt disguised by the tagged on ending, which follows a perfectly adequate conclusion anyway.

negatives out of the way and we are left with a satisfying experience, courtesy largely to a staggering pair of central performances and some beautiful photography. kåre hedebrant and lina leandersson are great as the two friends that map out the films direction. the character of oskar (played by hedebrant) actually develops in a very complex manner for a child performance, and is the highlight of the overall piece. prior to seeing the picture myself, a friend described it as ''a kitchen sink drama crossed with a horror film", and by and large this is what i too took out of it. the central premise is accompanied by a rather touching subtext focussing on childhood alienation, which i found to be genuinely affecting, especially at the point where i expected the film to actually finish.

awaydays (2009)

the closing film of the bradford international film festival, awaydays from director pat holden and based upon the book by kevin sampson proved to be largely entertaining but ultimately rather disappointing. awaydays would at first appear to be a product of the subgenre of "the football hooligan film", a subgenre which, for this viewer at least, would potentially qualify for the title of "worst subgenre of all time". the likes of lexi alexander's green street and the danny dyer starring the football factory are genuinely terrible films, the problem of which stems from the fact that neither actually tackle (pun intended) the problem at hand, in the respect that they dont actually answer for the subject at hand, and seemingly celebrate the vile nature of what is being portrayed on-screen. there is no remorse, no real consequence and very little conscience at hand, which are exactly the things that one would expect from the portrayal of such dispicable behaviour. alas awaydays is largely removed from the negatives fo what has gone before, which in itself is a point worth celebrating, although it does lack severely outside of this one particularly positive area.

the familiar story of an outsider looking to be a part of a gang made up of people he aspires to be like, awaydays features twin great turns from its two young leads, both of whom are making their feature film debuts. liam boyle, as the genuinely likeable elvis is especially strong, in a performance that has a good chance of genuine crossover appeal into mainstream cinema. nicky bell is great as the young outsider, who strikes up an almost romantic friendship with elvis en route to becoming a part of the firm. visually the film is very strong too. it reminded a lot of anton corbijn's joy division biopic control, with the pace at times reminiscent of corbijn's film too. awaydays lacks the authentic feel that control had in abundance though, and at times feels like a fred perry commercial (everyone is far too clean and fitted).

the soundtrack to awaydays, featuring the likes of magazine, kraftwerk and the obligatory joy division is the highlight of the picture, bringing to mind christopher petit's radio on in its jukebox-like nature. the sheer fact that a film with a relatively small budget features such a strong soundtrack ought to be commended.

the films failings, which ultimately bring the entire picture down lie in its largely disjointed structure. perhaps this is intentional, in fact i am of the attitude that it probably is, but the nature of the flow is so unreliable that its problem is glaringly obvious when apparent. the running time doesnt help either, with the film being at least 30 minutes too long, although the editing nazi in me would trim 50 minutes, streamlining the whole thing.

despite being largely unimpressed with the film myself, i have a feeling that awaydays will be pretty successful when it reaches cinemas in june.

faubourg 36 (2009)

christophe barratiers follow up to the chorus is perhaps the most staggeringly beautiful film i have had the pleasure of seeing so far this year. the highly stylised paris that stands as the films backbone looked beautiful in the 70mm print that i saw the film shown on over the weekend. alas i wasnt able to stay for the entire film, so cant really comment on the whole piece, but will say that the first hour was really good, with barratier recycling much of the cast of his earlier film. i look forward to seeing the rest of the film as soon as possible.

carny (2007)

an interesting little documentary on the role of the "carny" or carnival worker within the modern world of present day america. while maintaining an overtly positive facade of the its subject the film doesnt shy away from the darker side of this line of work (child abandonment, felony implication and three-way relationships are just three of the stranger aspects tackled). i dont know if the film will ever really reach beyond the festival circuit, the structure and tone seemed more at home in the home, via television, with the style being reminiscent of the sort of thing one would expect to be produced by the likes of louis theroux. it was a great film though, with its limited fate being somewhat slightly depressing.

OMG/HAHAHA (2007)

when setting out on writing this review i headed the title with the year 2009, assuming that it was a new film. however upon looking at the imdb entry for the film i found that it was actually 2 years old. this is an important note, as it confirms that the film has been as successful as i expected it would have been.

the descriptive term "the facebook generation", one which has been applied to this film, is enough to put me off of any form of anything immediately, alas i figured i would give it a shot. what i was faced with was perhaps the single most self indulgent piece of cinema i have ever had the misfortune to sit through. it was a mess of a film, with the incredibly naff concepts that drive the plot proving tired and contrived, which is kind of ironic considering the nature of the film. throw in a heavy dash of patronisiation and ladies and gentlemen, we have the worst film this writer has seen all year.

synecdoche, new york (2008)

i have been sitting on my review of synecdoche, new york for a good few days now. while im making an effort to remove any overtly foul language from my blog at the moment (a new title is en route folks) this film is the new benchmark when it comes to that most beloved of cinematic event, the mindfuck. move over inland empire there's an heir to thy throne, in the shape of charlie kaufman's directorial debut. kaufman is best known as writer of the likes of spike jonze's being john malkovich and adaptation as well as eternal sunshine of the spotless mind from michel gondry.

synecdoche, new york is a hard film to summise, but basically it tells the story of caden cotard, a theatre director whom suffers a breakdown of sorts. we follow caden throughout the course of his breakdown; during which he attempts to stage a production based on his own life (and the lives of his family and friends), within a large warehouse in new york. within the warehouse he rebuilds the settings and scenarios of the outside world, building effectively a life size model of new york within it. all this without a mention of the smoking house, the tattooed ten year old child, miniature artwork and a bizarre obsession with tootbrushes, time (and the subsequent timekeeping) and hairstyles. its all very odd, but wonderfully realised.

i thought of the film as a comment on many aspects of film and art, with particular note made on the role of the actor within the picture. there's a great scene whereby one of the actors is attempting to perfect he way his character walks. considering the genuinely epic scope that this film exhibits, to make note of such a trivial moment may seem odd, but i found the moment strangely telling of the true nature of the piece.

philip seymour hoffman continues his recent good run (following doubt) with perhaps his most interesting role to date. there is great support from the triptych of women in coden's life.

it goes without saying that synecdoche, new york will have many a different interpretation, but that eally is the joy of this kind of cinema. the discussion factor is endless, with the film already proving incredibly devisive amongst those that have seen it.

watchmen (2009)

when it comes to comic books and superheroes my knowledge and attention is fairly lacking. i have a historical love affair with captain america and a bunch of other marvel superheroes, and have a good grasp of the universe they exist in and the industry they are a part of. i am not an unreasonable man. i understand the technicalities that come with any adaptation, be it comic strip, tv show or prose novel, therefore i have never been one to bemoan the changing of aspects of a particular piece of source material to suit its newfound cinematic audience. with the unveiling of watchmen though, for the first time in my life, i found myself in the rather worrying predicament of acting a bit like a fanboy. i felt as though i had a god-given right to act as if the source material mattered enough to me so much that i had an opinion. ''this isnt like iron man, or batman" i thought, those films can exploit 50 plus years of history to their benefit, origins can be manipulated, scenarios can be changed, they do it in the comics so feel free to do it within the realms of film. with 'watchmen' though it was different, very different. the puzzle like nature of the book dictates that if a single ingredient is missing then a disaster could be afoot.

first of all changes to the ending were announced. many exclaimed blasphemy, whereas i wasnt hugely fussed. as long as they kept the message, the subtext if you will, then i will be happy. the second major negative mark against the films production was the employment of my chemical romance, pop-punk emo-supremo's to provide the films "theme-tune". not only that but it was a cover of one of my most beloved of songs, bob dylan's ''desolation row". "desolation row" provides what i feel to be one of the key inspiration points for the original ''watchmen'' book, in the shape of the line "now at midnight all the agents/and the superhuman crew/come out and round up everyone/that knows more than they do''. indeed the song is credited in the book, and the line is used to bookend one of the issues of the original comic that was collated to make up the now famous graphic novel. now my big problem doesnt lie in the fact that the song is one of my favourites, nor does it lie within the fact that my chemical romance are a terrible band (following record label ethics that surely contradict the message within 'watchmen'?), my problem lies in the very fact that zack snyder chose this band and this version of the song for his film. in his artistic opinion, this was the best he could come up with? really? the third and final negative pre-release woe came in the shape of the 30 second clips that were unleashed upon the internet just a few weeks ago. knowing full well that i would be seeing the film i didnt particularly want to check out the clips, for fear of spoiling the one aspect of the film that i didnt already know, but in the case of one scene i buckled. it was the scene involving nite owl 2 and the comedian on "crowd control" duty. in less than 30 seconds of footage i learnt 3 things. well i say i learnt 3 things, only 2 of those were new, whereas 1 was a confirmation of an earlier worry. the first piece of information was the confirmation that snyder really cant choose music. the scene in question, in which civil disruption turns into carnage at the hands of the comedian, features a riot, and is set in the 1970's. now whatever gave snyder the impression that 'im your boogie man' by k.c and the sunshine band was the soundtrack of choice for the keen rioter in the late 1970's i do not know, but it was a ridiculous decision, and indictive of his other musical choices, of which i will get to later. secondly, for all his good intentions, snyder just didnt get the look of this scene right. there was an ominous red glow involved in the original composition, and one which i always took to be a parallel with the scenes on mars. alas it wasnt replicated here. finally, thirdly, and perhaps most obviously was the apparent overuse of slow motion. in this one 30 second segment there were two uses of the damn technique. now im not exactly against the use of slow motion, but if ever there was a technique that required it be used in moderation then this is it.

so the run up to 'watchmen' wasnt particularly positive.

having seen the film this afternoon im actually confused as to how i felt about it. there were some great moments, and the film has a lot going for it, but i cant help but be ultimately disappointed by it.

as a literal translation of the comic strip-based action of the book then it worked fine. i was particularly impressed with jeffrey dean morgan as the comedian, and didnt find any of the performances especially lacking. the sidelining of 'moloch the mystic' and 'hollis mason', the first nite-owl was particularly annoying, being that they represent an area of the graphic novel that i found to be particularly of interest; the roots of the demistification of the superhero if you will. the pacing, obviously a victim through circumstance more than anything, really didnt work. the film didnt feel epic, as much has been made of it on various reviews, it felt slow, and lacking any kind of real heart. the all important subtext, without the contextual background provided within the book, didnt really exist. sure there was a mythology in place, plenty of opportunity for those who would like to seek out more to seek something out, but the subtext and message that were inherent throughout the source material is all but missing. a point that really got to me was the fact that the key point within the book that spells out the comedian and ozymandias' fate isnt in the film. there's a scene in the book whereby the comedian gives the young ozmandias. its a fleeting moment, but the nature of the assault mirrors the image of the opening section of the film perfectly; the roles are reversed and there was something rather poetic about the whole encounter. quite why the comedian fights back is again, beyond my comprehension. he has already accepted his fate by the time his killer strikes. for him to fight back (in the film) reaks of the filmmakers attempt at shoehorning action in. the fact that we lose the wonderful little bit of mirroring with the earlier (in the time frame of the narrative) event just adds salt to the wound.

the music, both score and found was awful, with particular woe being aimed at the use of leonard cohen's 'hallelujah' throughout the most embaressing sex scene i have seen in quite some time. seriously its just incredibly lazy filmmaking when you rely on such well known songs to project a feeling upon the audience. add in the use of 'the sound of silence' during the funeral march and you have something that i would expect from a student film.

one last negative - richard nixon? what on earth went wrong there?

as i mentioned above, the film translates the literal image of the book onto the screen in a very faithful manner. at times it genuinely does feel like the book has come to life, yet at others it feels like a shoddy rip off of the product it claims to be. the overuse of slow motion does wear at first, but after a while it blends into the edit and isnt especially noticeable. it would be nice to see snyder lay off on the slo-mo a bit tho, the final fight in particular would have benefitted from a bit of speed and realism, especially considering the nature of the participants attire. and while its the negatives that stand out the most, the overall experience was fine, just not necessarily alan moore's 'watchmen'; it wasnt great, but it wasnt awful either. it was just "ok", which is probably the most disappointing thing of all.

the international (2009)

an action film with a topical beating heart, "the international", from director tom twyker of "run lola, run" fame stars clive owen in full-on james bond mode as a british policeman involved in an international case involving illicit bank dealings. naomi watts stars as his new york-based associate, with able support from a cast selected from around the world, the most impressive of all being 'brian f. o'byrne' as the impressively titled 'the consultant'.

"the international" opens with a great scenario, involving one of owen's colleagues, poison and a car wing mirror. from then on we are led through a gripping journey across the globe as we follow owen's 'louis salinger's' attempt to indict a high profile bank. there's an over the top, yet scarily real shoot out at the guggenheim, which is one of the most impressively realised action scenes iv seen in some time, managing to outdo not only its closest comparrison in the shape of the bond flicks, but also the bourne films too.

while it wont change the world, "the international" proved to be an impressive piece of mid-afternoon entertainment.

gran torino (2009)

part two in my current series of academy award "upsets"....

i kid of course, its just a funny coincidence that i saw "i've loved you so long" and "gran torino" back to back, but quite why clint eastwood was all but missing from this years oscars seems a tad odd to me, especially if you take into account the fact that this may well be the last time we see him up on the silver screen. let's just ponder that thought for a moment; clint eastwood, american icon, hell, american IDOL, may well have performed his final performance. its the end of an era, of that of the great american motion picture. a symbol of the old hollywood that no longer exists. what with newman passing last year, eastwood is one of the few familiar strands from yesterday.

"gran torino" originally existed as the final chapter in eastwood's "dirty harry" series, yet prior to hiiting the screen the character has seemingly become an amalgamation of several of eastwood's key roles. we see the obvious, be it harry callahan or ben shockley (courtesy of "the gauntlet"), and the not so obvious in the shape bronco billy (providing the light humour over the dark themes). the role certainly seems to be a celebration of eastwood's career, and the fact that the film exists in such a workmanlike and unglamourous fashion is a testament to eastwood's no-nonsense attitude. if "gran torino" does prove to be eastwood's final role then it will mark an outstanding era of american cinema in a suitably just fashion, although personally i dont see him quitting just yet...

the young victoria (2009)

emily blunt stars as queen victoria in this martin scorsese produced pseudo-biopic. french filmmaker jean-marc vallée helms a competent enough picture, that is pleasingly enough while it lasts, but leaves little in the way of after effect. emily blunt and paul bettany both provide great performances, with rupert friend as prince albert being the key performance. he brings genuine sense of emotion towards the relationship between albert and victoria, with the final moments proving incredibly touching.

doubt (2009)

ever the fan of philip seymour hoffman, its great to see him back in the sort of role that he would have produced prior to his breakthrough success in capote, and exactly the sort of role i have been eager to see him in for what seems like quite a while. the uneasy nature of our relationship as a viewer with the character of 'father flynn' is left in a similiar position to that of the way in which we relate to hoffman's 'scotty j.' in paul thomas anderson's ''boogie nights''. part of us pities the man, yet part of us cant help but be disturbed by him (well maybe thats going a bit too far for poor 'scotty j.'). regardless of this, hoffman is electric in the role.

enough of the philip seymour hoffman love-in, there is no mistaking that ''doubt'' is very much meryl streep's film. empire magazine recently declaired that her entrance as 'sister aloysius beauvier' was the most iconic since that of darth vader's, and while i may not agree with that point entirely, its still pretty great and sums up the mood of the picture from the out. as a former catholic schoolboy myself, albeit in the later days of the sort of school on display in ''doubt'', i can wholeheartedly relate to the sense of fear, ambiguity and sheer menace that 'sister beauvier' projects. similiarly i can relate to the way in which 'father flynn' comes across as a comfortable figure, and the naivety and frailty in which amy adams' 'sister james' signifies.

the film is beautifully shot by roger deakins, the british cinematographer behind the dark hues of andrew dominik's ''the assassination of jesse james by the coward robert ford'' and ''no country for old men''. the film looks as good as one would expect from deakins, and is especially surprising considering the restrictions imposed by the fairly limited number of locations. despite this deakins manages to craft a film as cinematic as anything else i have seen all year.

the films core theme, of one dealing with their own faith leaves us with a rather ambiguous ending. the core story is largely tied up, with the eleventh hour revelation from 'sister beauvier' all but confirming 'father flynns' guilt, but the larger question is to what her tears concern. is it because she has reached a crisis of faith herself? despite what she projects on the outside, did she secretly doubt her own concerns internally? as a fan of ambiguity in cinema i was pleased with such a conclusion, and while i hold my own beliefs as to what the tears signify, im sure that there will be many that beg to differ.

JCVD (2009)

i mentioned in my previous post on bolt 3D that disney's "the aristocats" was the first film i saw at the cinema. well, funnily enough jcvd marks a landmark of sorts in my viewing history too. the first film i ever went to see alone, without the aid of parentage was "street fighter", the film based on the video game, and starring jcvd himself; jean claude van damme. at the time it was the greatest film in the world, i remember the monday morning at school after the saturday viewing, the playing fields of st georges seemed alive....


hindsight of course, is a great thing. the fact that "street fighter" could be seen as a high point in his career surely suggests the dire quality of the sort of film van damme made afterwards. but jcvd, adored in france and beloved of the art house circuit aims to change that, and it suceeds incredibly well. im not sure if it will give van damme's career the kick start it needs (i have a feeling it wont), but as a piece of film its genuinely great fun, with heart to boot. a lot has been made of the fact that this film exhibits to the world the fact that jean claude van damme can act, which i think is a moot point, but less has been made of the humour. obviously the fact that the film exists suggests an amount of good nature on its stars behalf, but im talking about the more subtle attempts in the project, the humour that is actually on the screen. ''jcvd'' is very, very funny. the "roundhouse-kick" conversation is a highlight, as is the banter between the store clerks that meet van damme at the start of the picture, and its the sort of huour that isnt crass or cheap or easy or lazy, it has heart. all of which leads to the way in which we as the viewer sympathise with van damme. he doesnt plea for our empathy, in fact at times he actually seems to discourage it. he knows hes done wrong and that seems to be the station hes happiest in, emphasised by a downbeat ending that is happier than any we could have actually imagined without going too overboard.

the basic premise of the film plays out like a post-post-modern take on sidney lumet's "dog day afternoon", with our anti-hero caught up in a bank robbery for which he has been mistaken for the purpetrator. through the course of this situation it is revealed how van damme came into being into there, which is a metaphor for his entire career, easily laid out over the course of 90 minutes. a great monologue to the camera, beautiful sypia-based photography and a great supporting cast add up to create a very entertaining and interesting film.

as a sidenote, i would just like to quickly point out the hideous nature of the dvd artwork, which seemingly goes against everything that the film is criticising. there arent even any explosions in the film! oh well...

bolt 3D (2009)

the first of disney's output that has genuinely been affected by the appointment of john lassiter as head of animation proves a great success. i genuinely believe this to be the best disney film in many a year, in fact i claimed it to be the best since 1970's "the aristocats" (my first theatrical experience fact fans), upon first leaving the screening. the effect is helped greatly by the use of 3D. gone are the traditional 3D gimmicks of spikes coming out of the screen every five minutes, or shards of glass floating in front of the viewers eyes, and in comes a subtle technique adding a layer of depth previously unseen in such a film. it also helps to take the gloss off of the sterile nature of some computer generated animation. the use of 3D really does put that seen in last months ''my bloody valentine 3D'' to shame, and shows how imagination is once again rife at disney.

revolutionary road (2009)

kate winslett and leonardo dicaprio are reunited 12 years after ''titanic'' in sam mendes' adaptation of richard yates' 1961 novel. i found it interesting to discover that the novel was written so closely to the time of the films setting (1955), as it genuinely felt like a post-modern take on the subject matter, akin highly to "mad men". alas when taking into account the authenticity that the date of the publication of the source then an even higher level of praise is pushed onto the project.

in short, i loved ''revolutionary road", which came as quite the surprise to me. i actually enjoyed it much more than the other high profile releases of the awards season (excpet for maybe ''the wrestler"). im not sure why exactly, maybe it was that the themes spoke to me in a fairly direct manner, that whole thing about the hope of fruitility and of leading an extraordianary life struck me as quite real and rather timely. the performances were very strong too, with dicaprio once again proving why he is one of the best actors of his generation and winslett in the role that she should have received the oscar nomination for.

the film is beautifully shot by roger deakins, the man whom i consider to be the best cinematographer in the world. if anyone has been snubbed at this years oscars it is deakins, but saying that he should have won last year for "the assassination of jesse james by the coward robert ford" too, but didnt. sam mendes direction is perfect for the source material; the nature of the raw emotion of the story doesnt require fast editing or over the top visuals. thats not to say that the film doesnt feature striking direction, it does, its just different to that of some of the other work in this vein. the soundtrack, courtesy of thomas newman compliments the tone of the film perfectly. the use of period jazz songs works well too.

the curious case of benjamin button (2009)

at first glance, "the curious case of benjamin button" may seem like an odd direction for the director of "fight club" "se7en" to go in, but rest assured that "the curious case of benjamin button" is very much a david fincher film.

the bittersweet story of a man who ages backwards, whom falls in love with a woman aging in the opposite direction at roughly the same time is told with a beautiful conviction that keeps a film that may usually head into "forrest gump"-territory feeling fresh and inventive. brad pitt is on top form as benjamin, providing much more than simply the award-fodder performance that the role requires. cate blanchett in a role much more forthright than expected is also outstanding. the real star of the film (and not one that usually interests me) is the special effects. the aging technique used on benjamin (in reverse) and daisy (traditionally) is awe-inspiring. i genuinely havent been so impressed with a special effect since first seeing gollum in 2002. the obvious benchmarks for the techniques are when the characters are aged to their most extreme, i.e infant and elderly, but for me the effects that stood out the most were those of the characters in their late teens and early 20's. to see cate blanchett with the body of a 17 year old girl ballet dancing truly is an incredible sight, as are the scenes of benjamin travelling throughout india. with brad pitt in the public eye for much of his twenties we are only too familiar with how he looked, and for this reason alone i think that many will not give these scenes credit enough. its a shame because they do look genuinely great, at one point i couldve sworn that brad pitt circa-"meet joe black" was actually on screen!

while a long film at 2 hours and 40 minutes, the film doesnt ever seem to not work, which is a testament to fincher. the opening tale of gateau the blind clockmaker sets the audience into the required pace at hand, and the film doesnt ever get too sentimental. in fact i was reminded of the work of powell and pressburger in many ways. they too dealt with situations that could easily have come across as too emphatic or overdone, yet manage a control that keeps everything in check. this is the closest we will ever see fincher come to doing a "disney" film, and a chance that one should savour.

frost/nixon (2009)

as someone who is a bit of an obsessive with this political era in general i entered 'frost/nixon' with may doubts. ron howard is perhaps the epitome of ''safe'' filmmaking, hes hardly known for his visual flare or even his political gravitas (although the recent 'happy days'-themed obama campaign video he did with henry winkler suggests there is a heavy political awareness in the man if not his work) so with this in mind i was of the staunch opinion that he was the wrong man for this film, and that someone more obvious should have been in his position, say george clooney, aparently attached to the project post-''good night, and good luck''. alas i was wrong. howard pulled off the film with an unfamiliar strong kick. his work in the past has shown a tendency to lean towards the over-emotional, yet the extent to which it was used in "frost/nixon'' actually worked.

much has been made of the projects theatrical origins. many have said (presumably those who havent actually had the pleasure of seeing it) that the film didnt need to be a film, and that at best it would lend itself to a tv movie of sorts. i couldnt disagree more, ''frost/nixon'' is a film that needs to be seen on the big screen. the whole 'theme', for want of a better word throughout of ''the power of the close-up'' is a unique and hugely strong point that exhibits itself throughout the film, and is one of the best uses of the technique that this viewer has ever seen. the cut of the film is very cinematic too, and while the scenes of the now-older participants commenting on the importance of what was happening jars and distracts a little, ultimately its a much more cinematic and powerful experience than maybe one would have anticipated.

while the fancy shooting and cutting may impress, ultimately it comes down to the performances in such an intimate project. having never been terribly impressed with michael sheen's turns as tony blair (iv often considered him to be a poor mans david tennant) i have to admit that i was sold on his david frost. frank langella as richard nixon is a powerhouse of a performance. he owns the screen, and while compared to the actual frost interviews his performance may be slightly bombast, its still a great perfomance that lends an emotional side to nixon that i had never considered prior to this. the best actor contest at this years oscars truly is a thing of great deliberation, what with langella being nominated alongside sean penn in milk and mickey rourke in the wrestler, both of which i have enjoyed hugely. as of the moment my money is going on langella, maybe not for the right reasons (i see it as a career oscar) but still justly deserved.

valkyrie (2009)

a lot of criticism has been levelled at the use of the respective actors own accent in bryan singer's "valkyrie", yet i feel this is a fairly trivial criticism. if anything the dropping of german accents actively helps the performances, pushing the accessibility whilst dropping any form of distraction. i think a lot of people are forgetting that, at heart at least, this is a popcorn adventure film, and nothing more (despite the best intensions of the filmmakers.

the film tells the story of colonel claus von stauffenberg, a key player in a plot to assassinate adolf hitler. obviously hisory dictates that he wasnt successful in his endevear, yet the suspense of the film still flows.

this is tom cruise's film, something that will be blazingly obvious to anyone who has seen the films marketing campaign or indeed any tom cruise film this decade. i once wrote an essay on how cruise is perhaps unique in the sense that he is the only actor who could be considered an auteur, in the respect that he makes the majority of the creative decisions on a film project, akin to how a director would usually. thats not to say that the rest of the performances in''valkyrie'' are invisible. kenneth branagh, terrence stamp and thomas kretschmann (the actor originally set to play von stauffenberg, prior to cruise's involvement) are all great, although bill nighy annoys (as usual).

stylistically the film isnt the usual thing that one would expect from bryan singer, its far too pedestrian. alas it does what it intends to do, and for a couple of hours at least, is an entertaining saturday night film.

the wrestler (2009)

i honestly believe that darren aronofsky is one of the most interesting people working in cinema today. i was one of the few that wholeheartedly adored (and still adore) "the fountain", seeing it at its very first screening when it was released a few years ago. to this day i still defend it online, an act i have become accustomed with from the very first evening after seeing it. i just dont understand what the big problem with that film is, i dont understand why people hate it so vehemently. anyway, regardless of my feeling on that film im pleased to see that aronofsky is back in the loving arms of the film press at large.

my one worry over "the wrestler" was that aronofsky may dilute his style too much, that he may have been worried about over stylising his film after the complaints of his previous effort. alas i had little to worry about, there are plenty of indications that this is a film by a bona-fide auteur, working at the (current) height of his craft. the fractured narrative in the telling of randy's (mickey rourke) near-fatal wrestling match shows traits of aronofsky's past, with the most telling sign being the abrupt ending. i cant explain how pleased i was to see that the ending of the film wasnt a cop out, with the usual hollywood ending tact on. it wouldnt have made sense for randy to be happy anywhere other than on the top turnbuckle of a wrestling ring, and im glad to see that that is where we leave him. randy is a fuck up, he cant do anything right outside of the ring yet inside of it he is transformed into a king.

mickey rourke is the obvious standout of the picture, as shown from the huge reception that he has received for the role. he is wonderful as randy "the ram", but as to whether the role will kickstart his career or not, im not too sure it will. perhaps rourke is too much like the character, and is always destined to mess things up regardless of the chances he is given. based on previous for it would suggest the latter, but im hoping not. marisa tomei is great in support, as the stripper with a heart. what with this and "before the devil knows youre dead" she too is on a bit of a career resurgence.

"the wrestler" is the one hundredth film on the hopeandbullshitlist. i cant think of a better film to take that honor.