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American Hustle  (2013)    79/100

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Rating :   79/100                     Treasure Chest                   138 Min        15

A film which could deservedly take home a clean sweep at this year’s Oscars ceremony, with fully merited nominations in the best film, director, actor, actress, supporting actor and supporting actress categories.

It’s from writer/director David O. Russell (Eric Warren Singer wrote the original version of the screenplay, which was more focused on the real events that inspired it) hot on the heels of his success with 2012’s ‘Silver Linings Playbook’ and once again featuring Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper – this time in supporting roles, with Christian Bale and Amy Adams taking the lead as two con artists forced to work for the FBI in order to try and catch bigger fish, specifically the mayor of Camden, New Jersey – played by Jeremy Renner. The only problem is, the mayor and his associates are willing to break the law in order to speed the wheels of a deal which would reap great benefits for the local community, cue certain moral dilemmas.

At its heart though, this is a story about the central characters and their relationships with one another, told against the backdrop of high crime and egotistical one-upmanship. The same strong vein of comedy that existed throughout Silver Linings is once again in fine form here, possibly to the extent that if you liked that movie you almost certainly will enjoy this too, and naturally the converse of that is likely just as true.

It’s difficult to think of that many films where all of the cast do such a universally impressive job, together with O. Russell, and it is nice to see it getting the attention it deserves, with Bale in particular giving one his finest performances in an already illustrious career, here once again replete with a physical transformation – gaining a very noticeable amount of excess baggage for the role.

Set around 1978, the film very cleverly opens with the line ‘Some of this stuff actually happened’, partly because the story is very loosely based on the Abscam sting operation, but it’s also perhaps a jibe aimed in the direction of ‘Argo’, which beat Silver Linings to win the best picture Oscar but which also came under heavy fire (including from The Red Dragon) for saying ‘Based on a true story’, and yet it fabricated almost everything…

47 Ronin  (2013)    66/100

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Rating :   66/100                                                                     118 Min        12A

Based on Japan’s epic legend and visually very nice, but at the same time somehow completely flat throughout. The true story this is based on is a fascinating tale of honour, feudal Japan, and the way of the samurai, or Bushido, as the forty seven warriors are forced to become ronin (the Japanese term for a samurai without master) when their lord is ordered to end his life, and they spend the next couple of years planning a reckoning. Here, however, the filmmakers have opted to mix the story in with fantasy elements from mythology, which may have worked but there’s no real skill in the delivery, no real scope or tension to bait the audience with.

Keanu Reeves is the token famous western actor to sell the film with and who had his part deliberately augmented with that in mind, although he is actually pretty good in it – the rest of the cast is comprised of well know actors in Japan, but with that in mind it would have been a much better idea to film the dialogue in Japanese and then subtitle it as their delivery of the English lines leaves a lot to be desired and arrives, at times, painfully slowly. Where the film is successful, is in painting a wonderfully rich image of eighteenth century Japan with fairly grandiose sets and the costume department in particular outdoing themselves (although they too have not always pinioned themselves with historical accuracy). The fighting though, is nowhere near as good as in the likes of ‘13 Assassins’ (10) and there is a very average feel to what had the potential to be very spectacular indeed. It may still satisfy though, if you just happen to be in the mood for a bit of light fantasy action.

Walking with Dinosaurs 3D  (2013)    43/100

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Rating :   43/100                                                                       87 Min        U

A big budget animation based on the BBC documentary series ‘Walking with Dinosaurs’ which aired in the late nineties. This was financed by both the BBC and independent investors in the states and so all the main characters have American accents, with Justin Long being the biggest name to lend his talents to the voiceover work. We follow the adventures of two young brother dinosaurs, two Pachyrhinosaurus to be exact, as they mature from following the herd to leading it. The animated work is very good and everything looks slick and realistic enough, with Alaska and New Zealand providing visually splendorous backdrops (in fact the same mountain that can be seen in the Desolation of Smaug review also features here), but the story is simply terrible. Early on the two bros witness their father being torn to shreds, and then an instant later they’ve forgotten about it and they continue on regardless – in fact they assume their mother has met a similar fate, they don’t actually bother to try and find out.

They become part of a particularly lame love triangle which attempts to be both part of the animal kingdom and also relate to human relationships, with the potential conclusion being that the alpha male will get the woman who will bow down to him even though she thinks he’s a moron, and the way to counter this is to attempt to beat him to a pulp – and if that fails wait until hopefully someone else does it for you. It does tell you the name of each of the species that they encounter and what the name means which is nice – the bad guys are the gorgosaurus, which translates as ‘fierce lizard’, and also lends more depth to Lena Headey’s sexy queen Gorgo in ‘300’ (06).

Outlander  (2008)    59/100

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Rating :   59/100                                                                     115 Min        15

Sci-fi that sees Jim Caviezel’s soldier from another humanoid race (who seem to be exactly the same as us, something never touched on – nor is their relationship with Earth explained) crash land in Norway in the year 709 AD, releasing his deadly cargo onto the harsh and beautiful Norwegian landscape (although it was mostly filmed in Canada). Encountering a local tribe led by John Hurt, he must help the natives defend themselves against the extra terrestrial beastie he has forced upon them, and will inadvertently garner the lusty attentions of the king’s daughter, played by Sophia Myles (who is essentially recreating her character from ‘Tristan + Isolde’ 06), but how will the local churls react to potentially losing one of the two attractive women we see in the village? Well, they are about to get eaten anyway, markedly improving our hero’s chances.

A reasonably interesting story with convincing sets and average-decent swordplay, but one that is sadly let down by having an all too traditional resolution and increasingly improbable action sequences.

Irresistible  (2006)    65/100

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Rating :   65/100                                                                     103 Min        15

A fairly intricate psychological drama but one that’s hindered by slightly odd editing choices, though it is still worth a look and features strong central performances from Susan Sarandon, Sam Neill and Emily Blunt – for whom this was her third feature film, billed just before her appearance in ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ the same year, though you would never guess she was new to big-screen productions based on her onscreen confidence here. Blunt plays the ‘irresistible’ bait, the attractive young woman Sarandon’s husband, played by Neill, is working with who is seemingly obsessed with their relationship and seems to have taken to sneaking into their home and stealing items on a regular basis, but is this really the case – or is it just a series of strange coincidences, or indeed has the stress of the wife’s pressing artwork and the recent loss of her mother taken too much of a mental toll on her?

The sympathetic and involving performances certainly hold attention throughout, and ultimately it’s a decent film, it just lacks anything to elevate it beyond that, other than an abundance, or a parliament if you prefer, of owl related things which the central character has a thing for – in fact in a dream sequence a deck of owl themed playing cards can be seen. I WISH TO POSSESS THESE ARTEFACTS.

To date the most recent film to have been written and directed by Australian filmmaker Ann Turner.

Anchorman 2 : The Legend Continues  (2013)    61/100

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Rating :   61/100                                                                     119 Min        15

Equal parts slightly entertaining and just plain cringe worthy, this sequel to one of Will Ferrell’s best comedy films does not live up to expectations. All the cast have returned, as news anchorman Ron Burgundy and his team are put on the night shift of the new innovative 24hrs news channel, and to liven things up they effectively invent reality television. The very heavy advertising unleashed for the movie to give it a chance against the likes of The Hobbit, has ruined a lot of the comedy as cinema goers will be familiar with many of the jokes by now, and some of the others could have been good but the delivery is just not quite right. Keeping some laughs and losing others to just plain silliness, the film is redeemed somewhat by having a pretty good scene toward the end with a smorgasbord of famous faces joining in. Starring Ferrell, Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, David Koechner, Christina Applegate, Meagan Good, Kristen Wiig and James Marsden.

The Hobbit : The Desolation of Smaug  (2013)    73/100

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Rating :   73/100                                                                     161 Min        12A

Lots to like and lament in this, rather like last year’s first instalment ‘An Unexpected Journey’, including the realisation that Smaug is not pronounced ‘Smawg’, which sounds great, but rather should be uttered as ‘Smowg’, which sounds crap. At least, if we are to believe Martin Freeman’s Bilbo, who finally meets the great red dragon in person (voiced by man of the hour Benedict Cumberbatch, and yes dragons can talk, as well as type). Having a particular vested interest in seeing how well the animated creature bears up, I have to say I am impressed – even if he does seem to be a little easy to give the run around, certainly the hubris of Bilbo and his dwarves to rob him of his rightful home and treasure is deserving of some toasty punishment.

Like part one, for the 3D releases (not for the 2D ones I believe – check with your cinema) this was filmed with a double frame rate (48 frames per second instead of the normal 24 that pretty much every other film in history has been made with) and director Peter Jackson has stated that he listened to criticism of the technology before and endeavoured to ensure the film had a more ‘cinematic’ look this time. Well, for large chunks of footage MISSION FAILED – the negative aspects of this high speed rate largely disappear as the film progresses, but initially there are several scenes where things are happening laughably quickly. A scene with Gandalf (Sir Ian McKellen gives another fantastic performance as everyone’s favourite wizard) and Thorin in a Bree tavern (The Prancing Pony one presumes) sees sharp clear images that would be more at home in a made for TV episode of something, with the patrons zipping ludicrously about in the background. Surely someone working on it noticed it looked daft? Some of the effects (look out for the giant bumblebees that appear around Bilbo) also simply look fake, whilst others are fantastic: like most of the last third, and there is a scene featuring a captured orc at one point – the makeup and prosthetics would have us believe we’re looking at a real humanoid that once inhabited the Eurasian plate. In terms of the decision to even attempt a high speed frame rate – the cinematography from the original Lord of the Rings films was amazing, there really was no need at all to change it, and here, as well as the aforementioned misgivings, more could have been made of the natural beauty of Middle-earth/New Zealand in this instalment.

Jackson does seem to have listened to other criticisms and made better adjustments though – here the bad guys are nowhere near as squishy as before, although they remain pretty hopeless. We meet some new elves in the guise of Thranduil, played by Lee Pace, and Tauriel, played by Evangeline Lilly who was the absolute perfect choice for the part and seems to love every moment of her role, and the return of Orlando Bloom as a supposed to be younger but not really pulling it off Legolas. Those with a keen memory of ‘An Unexpected Journey’ will no doubt be puzzled as to why the eagles which saved the adventuring troupe did not take them all the way to The Lonely Mountain, and instead part two opens with them being chased by the same pesky wargs that the eagles purported to take them away from. This should really have been explained in the film, but the reason is either that the eagles believe in the balance of nature and don’t want to interfere too heavily on one side of any conflict, as Tolkien would ascribe to, or that they have a sense of humour, or indeed that they would also not really like a nearby, enormous sleeping dragon be woken up any time soon if it can be avoided.

The adventure is continued in a pleasingly convincing way, although I would probably suggest that seeing it in 2D is going to be by far the best way to enjoy it. It still feels like Lord of the Rings ‘lite’, a more palatable version for a younger audience which is in keeping with the novel but will still slightly annoy adult viewers. Nevertheless, the final part is set up to be the best of the bunch, and delving back into Middle-earth still feels suitably exciting.

Alas, there is no extra scene at the end of the credits. I certainly know what I would like to have seen a little sneak preview of ….

Kill Your Darlings  (2013)    69/100

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Rating :   69/100                                                                     104 Min        15

A film hot on the heels of Walter Salles’ perspective on the Beat Generation of Jack Kerouac and co released earlier this year. Here, the story focuses on the coming of age of budding poet in the making Allen Ginsberg (Daniel Radcliffe) and his erotic fascination with Lucien Carr (Dane DeHaan) whilst the two of them studied together at Columbia university in 1940’s New York City. I wasn’t expecting to get anything out of this, and was simply envisaging more pretentious glorification of just how self absorbed they all were, as they continue to drag their lives into ever increasing circles of depravity, a vicious symbiosis with their writing careers (misery and poetry do often go hand in hand) all whilst the audience ask themselves who exactly would want anything to do with these people?

This sort of egotistical masturbation does exist, and it is annoying, but as the film progresses the story and in no small measure the good central performances begin to make it quite interesting – Radcliffe in particular has a very good turn, with a convincing accent to boot. The film opens with Carr in jail for murder, and the rest primarily fills in the blanks as to what led to it. The murder in question is a matter of historical record which inevitably most of the Beat Generation wrote about at one point or another – here the details have been shifted around a little, but the essence of events seems to be well captured. An interesting and impressive directorial debut from John Krokidas and, ahem, miles better than ‘On the Road‘.

Nebraska  (2013)    71/100

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Rating :   71/100                                                                 115 Min        15

The latest film from director Alexander Payne (‘Sideways’ 04, ‘The Descendants’ 11) stars Bruce Dern as Woody Grant, whom we initially see determinedly walking down a Montana highway trying to march his way to Lincoln Nebraska (that state’s capital) before being picked up by a state trooper and his worried family informed. His wife Kate (June Squibb) and sons David (Will Forte) and Ross (Bob Odenkirk) try to convince him that the marketing voucher he’s received saying he may have won a million dollars to be collected in Lincoln isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on, but eventually David takes Woody on a road trip in order to satisfy him and spend some time with his father, stopping off in the small town where Woody and Kate first met along the way.

The entire film is shot in black and white, which looks great (they used Arri Alexa digital cameras, which would definitely be The Red Dragon’s weapon of choice too), and has elements of both a personal journey – the sort of thing where you one day decide I am absolutely going to do this one thing, even though that one thing may not make a great deal of sense, may not be at all practical, and may not have even existed as a thought a mere second ago, but then as the story progresses it becomes a much more reflective piece looking at the father son relationship, and the lives of the family in general. The same slow burn but involving nature from Payne’s previous work turns this into something endearing – helped along by good performances from everyone on the way. Bob Nelson wrote the screenplay, making this the first of Payne’s feature films not to have him appear on the writing credits.

Homefront  (2013)    67/100

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Rating :   67/100                                                                     100 Min        15

What is by and large a really good film unfortunately dwindles into all too familiar territory come the end, but nevertheless it remains on the whole worthwhile. It’s the latest action number from Jason Statham and features James Franco, Kate Bosworth and Winona Ryder as the supporting bad guys trying to trade off his life and that of his little girl to an incarcerated drug baron, who was of course put behind bars by Statham during his days as an undercover DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) officer. Trying to lay low and just look after his family now, things are set in motion after his young girl, whom he has taught how to defend herself, bedecks a local bully, and his hick junkie mother (played wonderfully by Bosworth) sets out for vengeance. Definitely worth a look for Statham fans.