Sunshine on Leith (2013) 71/100

Posted on October 15, 2013 by The Red Dragon

Rating : 71/100 100 Min

Does the sun ever shine on Leith? It is an interesting metaphysical question. The Proclaimers certainly seem to think so – and have celebrated both their songs and the city of Edinburgh with this musical, based on their previous successful stage production (for non Edinburghers, Leith is the dockland area of the city). There are six central characters – two young men Davy and Ally (George MacKay and Kevin Guthrie respectively) returning from military operations in the Middle East, Davy’s sister Liz (Freya Mavor) and her pal from England Yvonne (Antonia Thomas), and the sibling’s parents Rab and Jean, played by Peter Mullan and Jane Horrocks, who are about to celebrate their twenty fifth wedding anniversary.

Initially we are confronted by a war scene, and the effects from this underlie much of the ensuing drama, but for the most part returning to Edinburgh sees the story become all sunshine and rainbows and it is not until areas of conflict arise half way through that it starts to become more interesting. There is a freshness to the acting, although inexperience does show through for some of the youngsters, but in the musical department, which matters most, this shouldn’t disappoint. Even Jason Flemyng, close pal of director Dexter Fletcher and often appearing in the same films as him, manages to belt out a brief number with enough gusto to be charming and cover up the fact that he is probably not a regular at the karaoke machine.

Overall the film is fun and likeable, but it’s lacking any major gravitas. It is, however, very successful at showing off the city of Edinburgh – in fact for possibly the first time in history the city features as the main setting for two major feature films screening in cinemas at the same time, this and ‘Filth’, although they are somewhat juxtaposed together. I believe the reason for this is the Scottish government’s decision to offer a tax incentive to film companies, so probably we can look forward to seeing more of Scotland on the big-screen (there are several more recent films that have made use of this, such as ‘World War Z’, ‘Fast & Furious 6’ and the opening plane hijacking sequence in ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ filmed around Inverness).

Oddly, The Red Dragon himself was in the crowd for the climatic scene of this film – shot between the Royal Scottish Academy and the National Gallery on Princes Street. Sadly, I believe they edited out the reels of people screaming in horror …

White House Down (2013) 71/100

Posted on September 17, 2013 by The Red Dragon

Rating : 71/100 131 Min

Hitting cinemas not long after ‘Olympus Has Fallen’ this is essentially exactly the same story, as terrorists invade the White House and only Channing Tatum can stop them. Perhaps suffering slightly from being released second, it still manages to be quite fun, in fact various elements work slightly better – the child in peril scenario and some of the fight sequences for example. Similarly, it’s DNA closely mirrors that of Die Hard (88), in fact the character played here by Jason Clarke is very much a simulacrum of Karl in Die Hard, just as here the computer hacker Tyler (Jimmi Simpson) is essentially Theo, replete with one of his scenes being accompanied with classical music. There are also elevator scenes with the heroes listening to the terrorists below them, ‘rescue’ by helicopter plays a big role, and I think one of the lines used over the radio may almost be word for word the same as one issued forth by Bruce Willis all those years ago. But… who cares? Just as if you like one AC/DC song, you will probably like the majority of the rest (they stuck to a winning formula) if you enjoy Die Hard esque stories then they don’t ever really get old, so long as they’re done well. Roland Emmerich directs (‘Independence Day’ 96, ‘The Day After Tomorrow’ 04, ‘Anonymous’ 11) but manages to limit at least some of the cheese factor (you can still expect a decent amount though) and Tatum along with Jamie Foxx as the president do a reasonable job overall. Don’t have high expectations, but it should still satisfy any sudden cravings for an action blockbuster.

Beowulf (2007) 71/100

Posted on March 20, 2013 by The Red Dragon

Rating : 71/100 115 Min

The Red Dragon has a very definite soft spot for this reimagining of the classic Old English tale, written sometime between the eighth and eleventh century. This is an enigmatic version, due in no small measure to a thundering score by Alan Silvestri and a powerful central performance by Ray Winstone as the titular epic hero himself (the etymology of his name has been ascribed to various possible sources, from the common bear, to ‘war wolf’ and even possibly a type of Scandinavian woodpecker). The casting of Winstone is not without a humorous irony in that at the time of filming he was in his fifties and, arguably, not in the best shape of his life, and of course here he is playing a buff, quintessential hero archetype. This was made possible by the animation of the entire film using motion capture technology, the same technique used by director Robert Zemeckis on his previous film ‘The Polar Express’ (04).

That technology has been updated, and here for the first time ever special electrodes were used that detected the electrical impulses controlling all of the visual responses within each actor’s body, and these signals were then used by computers to mirror realistic eye movements on screen, making an enormous difference to the believability of the 3D renderings as people, and to providing engrossing performances. It was one of the first films released in many theatres using the new 3D technology that we are all now familiar with, and it remains one of the best uses of it. Transferred onto a regular screen some of the graphics of the human characters don’t hold up too well, the queen, played by Robin Wright, for some reason looks particularly pallid and slightly eerie, but in general it still works, and the artistry, details and effects that make up the rest of the environment more than compensate for the, at times, lacking in realism rendering technology. Indeed, even on 2D there is a scene where a warrior on horseback thrusts his spear towards the screen, and it looks a lot more three dimensional than some of the purportedly 3D films out there.

The two disc DVD version is worth getting for a variety of behind the scenes featurettes showing how they actually made the film. The whole shoot was done within an open ‘cube’ inside a studio that was lined with infrared cameras firing relentless beams at the actors, with all the props being hand crafted wire meshes so that unnecessary interference with the beams was kept to a minimum. It seems to have been a hit with cast and crew alike, as scenes that may have taken hours to do on a location shoot could be wrapped in a fraction of the time. Indeed, John Malkovich who appears in a supporting role here (along with Anthony Hopkins, Crispin Glover, Angelina Jolie, and Brendan Gleeson, all really bringing their characters to life) tells of his frustration, partly due to his thespian roots, of so often having to simply hang around on sets waiting for hours to act for only a few moments, and how this method of filming is in many ways a Godsend for professional actors – he has something similar to say on the subject of digital filming in general in ‘Side by Side’.

The script is from screenwriter Roger Avary (who perhaps most famously shared the best original screenplay Oscar win with Quentin Tarantino for their collaboration on Pulp Fiction) and novelist Neil Gaiman. Not short on writing talent then, they decided to take large liberties with the original poem, very much at the bequest of Robert Zemeckis who had strongly negative memories of being forced to study the original in his school days. Without having similarly studied the virgin text, it seems their additions are really the points that anchor the whole story for this version, and in their view have raised it above what otherwise would have been a simple hack and slash bloodfest. The big alterations are with regards to the relationships of the monsters with the humans, and indeed the somewhat human relationships of the monsters, as well as the increasing role of Christianity in their landscape, a landscape which remains in Denmark rather than returning to the homestead of the Geats in Sweden, as in the poem. However, the final act in their original script continued these points through scenes that were mainly dialogue heavy, but when they were granted a larger budget than previously thought, Zemeckis told them to go wild. So, instead, we have over the top action replacing story, which is an enormous waste and it just becomes silly for that segment, with arrows being deflected by sword stroke and horses only just making the final jump over burning bridges etc. etc. At least the animation of a certain mythic beast in this section is fairly impressive…

A lot of subtlety has gone into the production, in fact some of it is perhaps too subtle to really notice, but the idea was to have some of it sink in subconsciously. The music plays a critical role, and it’s spot on, with some live singing from Robin Wright in there too. This is a Warner Brothers film, and, just as they have done with the Dark Knight trilogy and several of their other films, they set the tone with the music amidst the opening shots of their logo rather than waiting for the film proper, which is a very good idea. Much better than a lot of companies who have their insignias show accompanied with complete silence, resulting in either palpable awkwardness in the cinema, or irritation at those still chomping away on popcorn. Bear in mind there is a bit of a let down toward the end of the film, and a further indulgence with the ‘claws’ of Angelina Jolie’s character, but otherwise this is a very fine film.

Also, if you can’t make out some of the dialogue then fret not – several sentences of Old English were deliberately written into the script.

Quotes

“Men, build another pyre. There’s dry wood behind the stables. Then burn the dead. And seal the hall. Close the doors and the windows. And by the king’s order, there shall be no singing or merrymaking of any kind. This place reeks of death. The skops are singing the shame of Herot as far south as the middle kingdom and as far north as the ice-lands. I’ve let it be known that I will give half the gold in my kingdom to any man who can rid us of Grendel. … No. Unferth, no. No, the gods will do nothing for us that we will not do for ourselves. What we need is a hero.” Anthony Hopkins/Hrothgar

“Demon! Your bloodletting days are finished… It speaks. It speaks!… I am ripper, tearer, slasher, gouger. I am the teeth in the darkness, the talons in the night. Mine is strength. And lust. And power. I, am, Beowulf!” Ray Winstone/Beowulf

“This is not battle Wiglaf. This is slaughter. … We men are the monsters now. The time of heroes is dead, Wiglaf. The Christ God has killed it, leaving humankind with nothing but weeping martyrs, fear, and shame…. Leave him! You think it’s sport to mock your opponents in this fashion? Let him die quickly, with some honour still intact. … Stop! Let him up. You want your name in ‘The song of Beowulf’? You think it should end with me killed by some Frisian raider with no name? … Only if you kill me. Otherwise, you’re nothing. You think you’re the first to try to kill me, or the hundredth? Well, let me tell you something, Frisian. The gods will not allow my death by your feeble blade. The gods will not allow me to die by a sword or be taken by the sea. The gods will not let me pass in my sleep, ripe with age. Plant your axe here, Finn of Fresia. Take my life. .. You’ll what? Kill me? Well, kill me! Do it! Kill me! Kill me! You know why you can’t kill me, my friend? Because I died many, many years ago when I was young. Give him a gold piece and send him home. He has a story to tell.” Ray Winstone/Beowulf

Catch Me if You Can (2002) 71/100

Posted on March 18, 2013 by The Red Dragon

Rating : 71/100 141 Min

Spielberg directs a story ‘inspired by’ (which sadly means everything we see has to be taken with a pinch of salt, although the man in question is a fan of the film and its narrative embellishments) the tale of Frank Abagnale Jr., a man who discovers an early life of adventure as a con artist, taking that old profession to fairly epic and legendary new heights. Leonardo DiCaprio plays Frank, with Tom Hanks as the FBI agent closing in on him, who begins with a peculiar accent and then ditches it in favour of his own half way through. There are strong elements of farce in the way Hanks is evaded and tricked, and the whole film has a tangible and immediately accessible comedic vibe. A great job has been done of making DiCaprio’s age appear different in the various time frames concerned and, although it is a tad too long, the characters and comedy are dramatic enough to make it all work. Support is delivered by Amy Adams, Elizabeth Banks, Jennifer Gardner, Martin Sheen and Christopher Walken as Frank Abagnale senior. Interestingly, there seems to be a continuity between this and Spielberg’s later animated adventure Tintin, most obviously with the music by John Williams.

Coffee and Cigarettes (2003) 71/100

Posted on February 11, 2013 by The Red Dragon

Rating : 71/100 95 Min

O my goodness, this film features one of THE most beautiful actresses of all time, and as exciting a discovery as this was to make, it is matched in complete and absolute equal measure by the irritation of realising this is pretty much the only film she actually appears in! Aaaargh! Was it a drug-fuelled mirage on my part (I had consumed quite a large amount of caffeine before the viewing – it seemed appropriate), or did some horrible fate befall her after filming, like marriage?? Her name is Renee French (possibly a stage name) should anyone out there posses the answer, and she features on the headline picture above. Her character appears in one of the eleven vignettes that together make up this film, as she sits sultrily flicking through a guns catalogue, a harsh juxtaposition with her elegant looks – think of Jennifer Aniston when she looked her very best, in one of the early seasons of friends before sun blasted emaciation became the fashion of the day, but then crank up the sex factor another notch.

Happily, the film itself is also quite good – each scene is shot with classy black and white cinematography and is linked in some way to the theme of coffee and cigarettes, though writer and director, Jim Jarmusch, is at pains to show he’s not necessarily pro-smoking. Every section has a vein of comedy, and at times contemplation, with a long list of actors and musicians involved; Bill Murray, Cate Blanchett, Iggy Pop, Steve Coogan, to name but a few, and some had an input on the script as well. It was shot over a time span of two decades, and some of the scenes appeared as previously released short films before being collated into the final piece.

The two elements of the film’s title present a perfect ambivalence for The Red Dragon, loving one and abhorring the other. No matter what your opinion of them, don’t be put off as they exist as a fairly neutral linking artifice. It would, however, be fascinating if someone were to make a documentary exploring the use of smoking in the movies and its evolution with social trends and medical knowledge. The Red Dragon firmly believes the movie industry has a lot to answer for in terms of knowingly encouraging the youth of every generation to take up smoking and, despite the aforementioned sexual allure of Ms French, in real life there are few things less sexy than someone looking to desperately light up a fag, or uncaringly blowing their foul ash into your lungs as you are walking behind them.

Eventually, humankind will look back and laugh at the stupidity of their ancestors, smoking having long since been completely banned (I believe one dictator in central Asia has already done this), unless, perhaps, they are all fans of film noir. Check out ‘The Insider’ (99) and ‘Thank you for Smoking’ (05) for films that deal with the smoking industry as a central theme.

The Hobbit : An Unexpected Journey (2012) 71/100

Posted on January 15, 2013 by The Red Dragon

Rating : 71/100 169 Min

The long awaited prequel to ‘The Lord of the Rings’ trilogy from director Peter Jackson finally hits the big-screen and delivers a faithful adventure back into the lush meadows and goblin invested caverns of Middle-earth. The story follows the youthful adventures of Bilbo Baggins, as he embarks upon the titular unexpected journey with Gandalf the Grey and an entourage of dwarven companions. The scope of the film is wonderful, and fans of both Peter Jackson and J.R.R. Tolkien will be glad to see that there are quite a few extras in the film taken from outwith the relatively small confines of ‘The Hobbit’ the novel, but still from the pages of Tolkien’s world of Middle-earth from other sources.

It has been said that spinning a much smaller story out over three films again (‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug’, and ‘The Hobbit: There and Back Again’ will be released in 2013 and 2014 respectively) is simply a cynical attempt to make as much money as possible from a venture which is guaranteed to do just that, given ‘The Lord of the Rings’ was one of the most successful film franchises of all time, and the third film ‘The Return of the King’ one of the most successful at the Oscars in their history too. However, the new trilogy is also an opportunity for the fans and filmmakers alike to once again invest in a world they love, and to bring as much of it to life as possible, and with that in mind using material other than just ‘The Hobbit’ is not only valid but to be actively encouraged.

A major let down and problem with the film is, unfortunately, Peter Jackson’s style of shooting action sequences. Here there are many, many, confrontations of sword and magic, and though the details differ, they are all essentially one and the same thing. Believability and tension are the casualties of bad guys that are too easy to kill, and good guys that should by rights all be dead a thousand times over. In fact, one sequence seems to be an exact replica of one the director has already used in his version of ‘King Kong’ (05), a film that was good visually but was all but destroyed by nonsensical action set pieces.

It would have been much better to keep the action gritty and tense, even at the expense of the grandeur that has been put into the final version. In a sense, the action does fit with what is supposed to be the translation of fiction aimed at younger readers (‘The Lord of the Rings’ was aimed at a more adult readership compared to ‘The Hobbit’), but adult audiences will almost certainly find it dull and a little disappointing. Nevertheless, it is wonderful to see Sir Ian McKellen back on the big-screen as Gandalf, though they seemed to have used prosthetics to make him look older than in ‘The Fellowship of the Ring’, and yet they’ve sensibly used computers to make a lot of the other characters look younger.

The young Bilbo is played by Martin Freeman, who was head hunted for the role, and the dwarves feature a range of accents and talents from across the British Isles – no doubt we will come to know, and probably love, them much better over the next few years. Female readers might want to debate this list trending on Facebook at the moment – the-13-dwarves-in-the-hobbit-ranked-by-hotness.

An enjoyable sorte back into Middle-earth. Hopefully the action will have a little more bite to it next time round. Also, note the somewhat frugal use of transportation at the end…

Pitch Perfect (2012) 71/100

Posted on January 15, 2013 by The Red Dragon

Rating : 71/100 112 Min

Surprisingly good. It doesn’t take itself too seriously and isn’t afraid to make jokes at its own expense. The Red Dragon despises X factor and the many similarly styled heads of the same monster and considers them, and crazy teenage girls, to be responsible for the continued decline in the quality of the music industry in Britain, and indeed further afield. So to enjoy this, a comedy about an all girl singing group entering competition as the unlikely contenders, was unexpected. Excellent singing quality and a good selection of music, including The Proclaimers ‘I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)’ mixed with David Guetta’s ‘Titanium’, ensures an enjoyable couple of hours of light relief.

Quotes

“Nothing makes a woman feel more like a girl than a man who sings like a boy.” Elizabeth Banks/Gail

The Girl (2012) 71/100

Posted on January 5, 2013 by The Red Dragon

TV Movie

Rating : 71/100 91 Min

A curious little number about the relationship between Alfred Hitchcock and one of his leading ladies, Tippi Hedren, perhaps especially so as it comes at the same time as another biopic of the famous director – the aptly titled ‘Hitchcock’. Here, Toby Jones stars as the man himself, looking to cast someone for the now famous role of Melanie Daniels in ‘The Birds’ (63). Enter Sienna Miller as Miss Hedren, a model whom Hitch had seen in a commercial and asked someone to go find ‘The Girl’. He would also use Hedren in his next film ‘Marnie’ (64), which The Red Dragon considers to be one of his very best, ranking alongside ‘Frenzy’ (72) and ‘Vertigo’ (58) – in fact, whenever I think of Hitchcock’s work it isn’t the image of a girl in a shower being brutally stabbed that comes to mind, nor James Stewart being dragged into a whirling vortex, but rather the image of Tippi Hedren walking consciously along a train platform sporting a suggestive bright yellow purse, one which contrasts starkly with the dark shades of grey around her. The story of ‘The Girl’ provides invaluable insight into just why ‘Marnie’ feels so unique, and dangerous; far scarier than ‘The Birds’ or ‘Psycho’ (60).

Alfred Hitchcock’s work is studied in film schools the world over, indeed it has been claimed more so than any other artist in the history of film. Yet, the details of this film are revelatory to say the least, not to mention highly controversial, with several of his previous leading ladies decrying the piece as false. None of those actresses, however, can really speak about the events mentioned here themselves, and the screenwriter Gwyneth Hughes spoke extensively with Tippi Hedren herself (as did Sienna Miller) and several surviving members of Hitchcock’s crew. Indeed, Tippi Hedren has publicly endorsed the film as accurate in its portrayal of events and persons. This fact alone makes it an absolute must see for fans of Alfred Hitchcock and indeed for anyone with an interest in film history.

Both leads are very well cast, and interestingly just as here Toby Jones, an extremely versatile and talented actor, is playing a role for which someone else (Anthony Hopkins in the aforementioned and yet to be released in the UK ‘Hitchcock’) may very well get an Academy Award nod, so too did he play Truman Capote in 2006’s ‘Infamous’, hot on the heels of Philip Seymour Hoffman’s Oscar winning 2005 interpretation.

The Passenger (1975) 71/100

Posted on December 12, 2012 by The Red Dragon

Rating : 71/100 126 Min

A mid 70’s team up of one of the most famous Italian directors of all time, Michelangelo Antonioni, and one of the hottest actors of the decade, Jack Nicholson. The story begins with an act committed by the protagonist which sets his life on a new path, and as the film progresses we learn more of his backstory and we watch as the consequences he sets in motion fall like implacable, vengeful dominoes. It is perhaps a tale of conformity versus freedom and adventure, but with the price of acting thoughtlessly spliced with an understated and hopeful lesson on the value of what’s left behind. Maria Schneider co-stars, playing much the same part as she did in ‘Last Tango in Paris’ (72), her work for another Italian heavy weight, Bernardo Bertolucci.

For anyone put off by the fact this would come under the umbrella term of ‘foreign arthouse film’, it is in English, and the main thing that sets it apart from more standard Hollywood movies, and this is true of many arthouse films, is that instead of inserting music to tell the audience what to think, only diegetic sound is used (that is, sound the characters themselves would hear), effectively opening up space and inviting the viewer to make up their own mind. This was often put to great effect by the masters of Italian cinema, and although this isn’t quite as good as Antonioni’s most famous work, ‘L’Avventura’ (60), it has many of the same themes in common, and is only really let down by a lull about halfway through.

Interestingly, much as Shakespeare is rumoured to have died on the same day as Cervantes, Antonioni died on July 30th 2007, the very same day Ingmar Bergman passed away, quite possibly the most famous arthouse filmmaker of all time, and, indeed, one of The Red Dragon’s top three favourite directors.

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