Powder Room  (2013)    63/100

Rating :   63/100                                                                       86 Min        15

Focusing on one central character Sam (Sheridan Smith) and the events of one evening’s session in a night club and, predominantly, the gossip/social haven of the ladies toilets this has the distinct feel of a theatrical piece, no surprise then that it is based on the comedy play ‘When Women Wee’ by Rachel Hirons. Sam must balance her existence for the evening between two different, mutually exclusive sets of friends – the upper class and well to do Jess and Michelle (Oona Chaplin and Kate Nash), and the not so haughty Chanel, Paige, and Saskia (Jaime Winstone, Riann Steele, Sarah Hoare), or scrubbers if you prefer, neither of which two groups really know about the other’s existence. In the spaces between this balancing act she must also weigh out the measure of her own existence, as she tries to desperately avoid the truth that her own life has not turned out the way she thought it would.

The comedy aspect is a little too obvious, and it takes a very long time to get into, but overall it is a decent drama, dealing in a reasonable way with the sort of things one might expect to find in the female latrines of a dingy nightclub, although in modern day times Sam’s life is not really nearly as bad as she makes out – she does for example have a job and money, which already puts her above the swell of misery still undulating around the shores of Europe. Credit is certainly due for taking a rare look at this aspect of British life – the nightclub culture that all young Brits will be familiar with to some extent. Indeed, one of the most common things that visitors from abroad have to say about this country is (along with the insanity of having one tap for cold and a separate one for hot) that they simply can’t believe the lack of clothing exhibited by people out on the town in all kinds of weather. It would indeed be most interesting if an equally mainstream, exciting social alternative to drink, hangovers and vomit were to arrive on the scene – perhaps more cinematic social satire and commentary on the issue is no bad thing.

Frozen  (2013)    85/100

Rating :   85/100                       Treasure Chest                     108 Min        PG

A dazzling, emotional and thoroughly entertaining Disney animated musical that takes the studio back to the work of Hans Christian Andersen with a tale loosely based on his ‘The Snow Queen’, and this is every bit as good as their previous reworking of his ‘The Little Mermaid’ back in 1989. Two new princesses get added to the canon of Disney hotties as we are introduced to Anna (Kristen Bell), a playful redhead full of energy, and Elsa (Idina Menzel), the elder of the two but who, as she ages, sees her mysterious powers to shape ice grow, effectively becoming a Nordic version of Doctor Manhattan and a danger to everyone she loves. But will she turn to the Disney dark side and kill everyone whilst laughing maniacally? That is, indeed, the question.

Actually, a number of tropes are wisely turned on their head here, and the company have made sure to fill the movie with their trademark wit and intelligence to allow all members of the family to enjoy it. The contrasting voices of the two sisters, with both lead actresses doing all their own singing, works really well, and a number of the songs are delivered with memorable gusto and power. The animation is simply terrific, making the snowy landscape look wonderfully crystalline and at the same time inviting with their choices of rich, decorative and intrinsically beautiful colour schemes. One of the main scenes doesn’t work quite as well as intended, but this slight hiccup doesn’t prevent the film from being great from start to finish. It’s simply the perfect Christmas film.

There is a small post credits scene – the wait is a long one, but if you stay, look out for the brief note regarding one of the characters right at the end.

Quotes

“I want you to take me up the North Mountain…. I’ll rephrase that. Take me up the North Mountain!.” Kristen Bell/Anna

Free Birds  (2013)    20/100

Rating :   20/100                                                                       91 Min        U

Slapstick animated comedy about turkeys = listening to Owen Wilson squawk pointlessly for ninety one minutes as his stupid blue Turkey is smacked in the face by every person and object he encounters. Don’t watch this.

The Best Man Holiday  (2013)    70/100

Rating :   70/100                                                                     123 Min        15

Malcolm D. Lee’s comedy sequel to his 1999 film ‘The Best Man’ sees the return of the entire talented cast as we catch up with their lives more than a decade on. This is a situational comedy, with the majority of the film taking place at the rather lavish house of Lance (Morris Chestnut), which looks pretty great onscreen, and although there is little of any striking originality, the story is nevertheless heart warming and at times genuinely funny.

Thankfully, it does a good job of engaging the audience before the really cheesy elements are put on display, but if you don’t mind a touch of melodrama then this is a worthy little Christmas film. As well as Chestnut, the returning cast include Monica Calhoun, Terrence Howard, Sanaa Lathan, Taye Diggs, Melissa De Sousa, Regina Hall, Harold Perrineau, and Nia Long.

Saving Mr. Banks  (2013)    79/100

Rating :   79/100                                                                     125 Min        PG

There was nary a dry eye in the house by the time this biographical tearjerker ended, and despite slightly over egging the pudding at times, it has set itself up nicely for multiple award nominations over the coming months. The plot focuses on the behind the scenes storyboarding and scriptwriting of ‘Mary Poppins’ (64), or, to be more exact, Walt Disney’s (Tom Hanks) invitation to P.L.Travers (Emma Thompson) to come work with his team in California to oversee that her Marry Poppins novel was being treated respectfully, in order to gain her signature on the rights to make the film – which Disney had been seeking for two whole decades. This task, however, would not prove to be easy.

Initially, Thompson’s Travers is far too ruthlessly curt and acidic to be likeable in any emotionally tangible way, but over time we warm to her and to the heart of the story as we learn that the titular Mr Banks (the father of the family in Mary Poppins) is in fact based upon Travers’ memories of her own father and her childhood in Australia – and we relive those memories via flashbacks, and great performances from Colin Farrell as her father and Annie Rose Buckley as her younger self.

Hanks is good as always (he grew his moustache to meticulously mirror Disney’s) but it is really Thompson that gives both a transformative and genuinely evocative performance – and so far she and Cate Blanchett for ‘Blue Jasmine’ are The Red Dragon’s top two contenders to take home the coveted best actress award at the Oscars next year …

Carrie  (2013)    68/100

Rating :   68/100                                                                     100 Min        15

The remake of the 1976 classic horror film (based on Stephen King’s 1974 novel) does a pretty convincing job, but unfortunately loses its way toward the end. Chloë Grace Moretz takes on the titular role of Carrie White (originally immortalised by the wonderful Sissy Spacek) a shy and bullied young girl in high school who discovers she has telekinetic powers, and who also has to contend with her unhinged religious zealot of a mother (Julianne Moore). Moretz is convincing throughout – not an easy role for her given the existing iconic status of Carrie, and also the fact that her character here is in many ways the opposite of her own immensely popular onscreen persona of Hit-Girl in the ‘Kick-Ass’ franchise. It’s just a shame there isn’t a more rewarding release of all that tension that is successfully built up in the first two thirds of the film. It should mostly satisfy, but is unlikely to either delight, or overtly offend.

Blue is the Warmest Colour / La vie d’Adèle  (2013)    51/100

Rating :   51/100                                                                     179 Min        18

I don’t think any film has ever made me feel so bored for such an extended period of time – watching this feels like an experience I’ve survived rather than one I’ve gained any pleasure or cause for reflection from. It’s the French language Palme d’Or winner from this year’s Cannes film festival, which in many ways has pretension written all over it – even the choice of English language title (although it is taken from the comic) typifies so much of modern French cinema, moody art house fare where, by necessity, everyone smokes, stares into space for ages, and is inherently miserable, or ‘blue’ – the French title is actually a much better one.

Here, the story follows both the sapphic and straight erotic adventures of Adèle (played by Adèle Exarchopoulos) as she discovers a taste for carpet munching – largely through studying French philosophy in class. Probably not the intended outcome of the curriculum, but certainly visually entertaining – though this film is so long I found myself salivating more over the scenes where everyone was eating pasta rather than the explicit images of young nubile girls grinding away at each other. Indeed, the sex scenes will shock some (although I don’t know who really, Daily Mail readers who aren’t aware of the concept of sex for fun perhaps) but I wouldn’t say they were out of place with the narrative and style (the majority of the camera work is used to show off the eroticism of the leads, such as a close up of Adèle’s mouth as she’s sleeping for example, though reports that many of the cast and crew refuse to work with the director again after what they termed an abusive shoot, does throw a somewhat darker shadow over things)  – they do however exhibit a peculiar trait in that they are at once very immersive, we see faces coming up from a spot of muff diving covered with juice for example, and yet the actresses have very obviously been told to keep their butt cheeks firmly clenched, as if the sight of a sphincter will someone blow people’s minds. So the scenes are at once honest, and dishonest (rumour is fake genital shots were also used).

This reminds me of John Ruskin, the famous 19th century writer and artist who of course married his wife Effie Gray (who was due to be played by the hypnotic Keira Knightley in a big-screen adaptation of the story slated for release next year, but Dakota Fanning appears to have taken over the role for one reason or another) and, so the story goes, having only seen the nude female form through works of art, was so horrified at the discovery the apple of his eye had pubic hair that he was unable to ever have sexual intercourse with her, and the marriage was later annulled unconsummated. Thankfully, modern, young, arduous males and females alike need not suffer the same pitfall of sexual ignorance thanks to the internet, and perhaps films like this …

In any case, nothing of note really happens during the course of the film other than very standard coming of age and relationship issues that will be familiar to everyone, and some moments are unintentionally laughable. Directed by Tunisian filmmaker Abdellatif Kechiche and adapted from the French graphic novel by Julie Maroh – with even Maroh distancing herself from the final product, it at times does feel like we’re being allowed to get closer to the central characters and empathise with them, but this feeling never lasts very long. The performances are brazen and very good (the main love interest is Emma – the girl with blue hair played by Léa Seydoux), and perhaps if an hour and a half had been axed then it would have worked, as it is, it’s simply a self indulgent meandering waste of time. Expect lots of girl on girl action, extensive pasta eating scenes shot in a slightly dizzying manner, and ‘arty’ shots of people kissing with the sun shining between their mouths.

Parkland  (2013)    55/100

Rating :   55/100                                                                       93 Min        15

Released in the UK on the exact 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s assassination, this film appears to simply highlight that memorial – there really is no other point to the film whatsoever as we watch a dramatisation of the events surrounding that fateful day from the point of view of his staff, the medical professionals at Parkland hospital where Kennedy was taken, and the brother and mother of Lee Harvey Oswald who shot him (officially, at any rate). There’s lots of weeping, shouting, fake tension for events we already know the outcome of – all in all it’s an uninvolving soporific affair that barely adds anything at all to the plethora of other takes on the event. Indeed, simply rereleasing Oliver Stone’s ‘JFK’ (91), which is a real film, would have been a much better idea, if a somewhat controversial one. An impressive cast: Billy Bob Thornton, Marcia Gay Harden, Paul Giamatti, Zac Efron, Jacki Weaver, but each of them are given very little screen time, and just as little dialogue to work with.

The Hunger Games : Catching Fire  (2013)    71/100

Rating :   71/100                                                                     146 Min        12A

The sequel to last year’s first instalment in The Hunger Games trilogy (well, they are stretching the original three novels by Suzanne Collins into four films) sees the return of new best actress Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson as Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark respectively, ready to face the repercussions and responsibilities expected of them by the domineering force of The Capitol after successfully surviving the annual Hunger Games in the last film – a brutal last man standing, kill or be killed contest designed to both entertain and control the partially enslaved populace in this dystopian vision of the world’s future.

Those consequences are predictable enough – indeed the very names of the novels and films are kind of spoilers in their own right. Not that there is much in the way of originality in this teen fantasy series – the Japanese film ‘Battle Royale’ (2000) which predates all of the novels is one of many examples telling essentially the same story. However, the production value here is enormous, with a great spectrum of committed creative talent behind it. All of which ensures that the films are visually engrossing and perfect just to escape from reality for a few hours with.

Aside from an underwhelmingly abrupt ending, this is just as fun as the first one, compellingly acted and with a number of nice flourishes – like Cinna’s (Lenny Kravitz) indulgence with Katniss’s dresses …

The Family / Malavita  (2013)    61/100

Rating :   61/100                                                                     111 Min        15

Based on the novel by French author Tonino Benacquista and written/directed by filmmaking legend Luc Besson (‘Leon’ 94, ‘The Fifth Element’ 97), this English language film sees the family of one Giovanni Manzoni, a former member of the Brooklyn mafia, under witness protection with his family in Normandy, France, after bad blood and attempted assassination forced him to testify against one of the other crime lords. It’s a black comedy, as the family’s violent traits find themselves at odds with the quaint/rustic/backward way of life in their small town. Unfortunately, the gags are all very predictable and although Besson stages his familiar action set pieces well, his inexperience with comedy does show.

The central cast all do a good job – with Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Dianna Agron and John D’Leo embodying the main family, and Tommy Lee Jones playing the FBI agent assigned to try and manage their protection. It’s a very likeable film, it’s just not anything more than that. Although the scene where Giovanni is invited by the town to watch and discuss a classic movie of American cinema, is quite wonderful.