Tag Archives: Movies

The Croods  (2013)    53/100

Posted on by
Reply

Rating :   53/100                                                                       98 Min        U

The latest from Dreamworks Animation, and if we look at the original concept art from director Chris Sanders below..

The Croods concept art

… then compare that to the finished article at the head of this page, we see a certain resonance with the title. The story follows the desperate adventure of a family of prehistoric human/squirrel hybrids as they attempt to avoid plummeting into the fiery chasms of molten lava that dog their travels, the result of cataclysmic tectonic activity. Not to worry though, there’s plenty of time to fall in love and invent fire, shoes, and the umbrella along the way, courtesy of the wiry but bright male orphan Guy (Ryan Reynolds) and his affections for the physically stronger, and very much in vogue (and slightly aping ‘Brave’), female cave dweller Eep (Emma Stone), much to the chagrin of her equally meaty father (Nicolas Cage).

It’s a very standard Dreamworks movie, with little of interest for adult viewers but enough constant action and fanciful colours to keep younger audiences entertained. There is a chase sequence for a precious edible egg near the beginning, for example, that seems to last for an eternity as it’s passed from family member to family member via a series of increasingly unlikely measures in order to avoid capture from its mother, whom The Red Dragon’s sympathies were mostly with, and come the end of it one’s attention will almost certainly have wandered naturally away from the film. This pattern is oft repeated, although it gets slightly better as it goes on, and despite the modern day cliché of the romance involved, there is a nice touch when Guy refers to the apple of his eye as being “heavy”, at which she seems genuinely complimented and offers a beaming “Thank you” in return – good to see a children’s animation endorsing a slightly different feminine physique from the status quo of wafer thin princesses.

As with other Dreamworks productions, all the animation was done via computer, and some of the details on the main characters seem a little basic and lacking in finesse. The film also highlights, not for the first time, despite their Shreks and Madagascars, a difference in class level for the company against its much more diverse rivals, Disney, Disney Pixar and Studio Ghibli, not least of all by virtue of the fact director Sanders was the co-director and co-writer of Disney’s ‘Lilo and Stitch’, which The Red Dragon considers one of Disney’s most original and best, and he actually left the company to film this for Dreamworks, although he completed the successful ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ for them first, and he has Kirk De Micco helping, or diluting, his efforts with both direction and the screenplay here on ‘The Croods’. To keep up with its competition Dreamworks really has to make more of an effort to engage the whole family, rather than just its smallest constituent parts, although they have made an interesting strategic move into the Chinese market, with ‘Oriental Dreamworks’ under construction in Shanghai, and their first feature film, ‘Kung Fu Panda 3’, expected to be released in 2016 coinciding with the completion of their ‘Dream Center’ in the city, which will feature a host of shops, theatres, the world’s biggest IMAX screen, and is aimed to rival the likes of Broadway and London’s West End.

Not short on corporate ambition then, though the ‘Dream Center’ will be going head to head with a new Disneyland opening in Shanghai that same year…

Jack the Giant Slayer  (2013)    68/100

Posted on by
Reply

Rating :   68/100                                                                     114 Min        12A

A fantasy adventure film from director Bryan Singer (‘The Usual Suspects’ 95, ‘X-Men’ 2000) surrounding the legendary children’s tales of ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ and ‘Jack the Giant Killer’. Jack, played here by ‘Warm Bodies’ Nicholas Hoult, is forced to go on an errant hike up the mythic plant to rescue the young princess, played by relative newcomer Eleanor Tomlinson, whom he has, understandably, developed the horn for, accompanied by several of the perhaps less keen of the King of Cloister’s guards. Included in the entourage are old ‘Trainspotting’ (96) Scottish pals Ewan McGregor and Ewen Bremnar, along with Eddie Marsan, perhaps having acquired a taste for fantasy after appearing as one of the dwarfs in last year’s ‘Snow White and the Huntsman’, along with American Stanley Tucci as the next in line to Ian McShane’s throne. Tucci always invests in his roles with playful relish, and here is no exception with his tone perfect for the film, as is McGregor’s posh gallantry. Bill Nighy also voices the leader of the giants, with his accent wavering between the one he used for Davy Jones and a reasonably convincing Irish one.

The effects are good, I don’t believe seeing the film in 3D really adds anything, although that is hardly anything new, and the efforts made with the story to make it interesting are successful in a lot of ways, although despite good intentions a certain drag factor does creep in, which for adult viewers will probably not see this advance beyond the ‘likeable’ category, which is a shame. Overall though it remains an enjoyable fairytale romp, which should see both romantic hopefuls prove likeable and attractive enough to hold interest to the end.

Identity Thief  (2013)    59/100

Posted on by
Reply

Rating :   59/100                                                                     111 Min        15

The latest film to revolve around a road trip and, therein, a forced scenario that sees two unlikely characters ‘buddy up’, in this case Jason Bateman’s financial services worker and the person who has stolen his identity and threatens to destroy his assets and credibility, played in a wonderful performance by Melissa McCarthy. In fact, if it were not for McCarthy this film would have almost absolutely nothing of value in it, the pace of the comedy is slow and often too obvious, as is the story generally, the use of violence for comedic effect is by turns funny and then way, way off, and Jason Bateman turns in another of his now much overused roles of the reluctant ‘strictly by the rules’ straight guy ‘forced’ into extremity, and his character is, even given the scenario, creepily mean to his new criminal friend. McCarthy manages to bring pathos and emotion to a below average production, and one can only wonder what she would have been able to do with a half decent script. Robert Patrick and John Cho appear in support.

Beowulf  (2007)    71/100

Posted on by
Reply

Rating :   71/100                                                                     115 Min        12A

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

Stolen  (2012)    65/100

Posted on by
Reply

Rating :   65/100                                                                       96 Min        12A

The latest film from Nicolas Cage in a very familiar action role, reuniting with ‘Con Air’ director Simon West, who also directed last year’s ‘Expendables 2’ and the remake of ‘The Mechanic’ the year before that. This is one of Cage’s better films of late – better than the likes of ‘Drive Angry’, ‘Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance’ and ‘Bangkok Dangerous’, but not in the same league as ‘Face-Off’, nor ‘Con Air’ for that matter. Our sympathies lie with his very traditional thief with a moral code, as he tries to evade the attentions of Danny Huston’s FBI agent. It’s quite good fun, and although they have made no effort to disguise its similarities to a certain Liam Neeson flick, and it does run out of steam toward the end, it doesn’t take itself too seriously either. There are a few nods to other films as well, most noticeably ‘Con Air’, but also the likes of Ang Lee’s ‘Hulk’ (a massively underrated film) as the camera switches from a balloon of the superhero in the New Orleans Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras) celebrations to Josh Lucas’ character, who played the villain in Lee’s film. Also with the ever delectable Malin Akerman, pictured above, in support.

Coriolanus  (2011)    70/100

Posted on by
Reply

Rating :   70/100                                                                     123 Min        15

You can’t really go too far wrong with Shakespeare, though this version of his acclaimed tragedy, a directorial debut from veteran actor Ralph Fiennes and starring him as the eponymous warlord and general of Rome, has great and, ahem, not so great performances to boast of. The story is a clash of warriors, egos and pride, and Rome’s defence against her enemies is relocated to a modern warfare setting, with location shots in Serbia and Montenegro providing the backdrop. Everything has a sort of artificial greyness to it, a haunted and low key ghetto like atmosphere, and at times the fighting feels like watching a game of ‘Ghost Recon’. However, I think generally this adds to the film rather than interfering or diluting the narrative, although there are one or two strange and perhaps over the top indulgences – such as a sort of orgiastic shedding of soldiers hair, courtesy of an executioner-esque, razor wielding barber.

Gerard Butler plays Coriolanus’ nemesis and military equal, Tullus Aufidius, and surprisingly it is he that has a bad time with Shakespeare’s lyrical lines – he doesn’t have too many of them, but he does make sure to take his time and brutally murder as many of them as he possibly can, lest they escape his bearded maw unharmed.  Vanessa Redgrave appears as the mother of Coriolanus, with Jessica Chastain as his wife, and it is Redgrave who is consistently the scene stealer, with a convincing and committed turn from Fiennes for the most part too, and also from Brian Cox and James Nesbitt in support. A better, more intense finale over the last thirty minutes or so would not have gone amiss, and indeed here it gives the impression of Shakespeare almost veering on forced melodrama, but it’s still a good opportunity to see a performance of one of The Bard’s lesser known plays, and a mostly wonderful character portrait of Coriolanus himself. To have a look at the play itself, click here.


Quotes

“Make you a sword of me?!”   Ralph Fiennes/Coriolanus

“You might have been enough the man you are, with striving less to be so.”   Vanessa Redgrave/Volumnia

“Pray, be counselled. I have a heart as little apt as yours, but yet, a brain. That leads my use of anger to better vantage.”   Vanessa Redgrave/Volumnia

“Anger is my meat. I sup upon myself. And so shall starve with feeding.”   Vanessa Redgrave/Volumnia

“This Martius has grown from man to dragon – he has wings. He’s more than a creeping thing. There is no more mercy in him, than there is milk in a male tiger.”   Brian Cox/Menenius

Catch Me if You Can  (2002)    71/100

Posted on by
Reply

Rating :   71/100                                                                     141 Min        12A

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.

Peaceful Warrior  (2006)    63/100

Posted on by
Reply

Rating :   63/100                                                                     120 Min        PG

‘Peaceful Warrior’ manages to be both corny and hackneyed, and yet still remain fairly enjoyable. It focuses on the journey of one American gymnastics hopeful, Dan Millman, who finds an unlikely mentor in the guise of a gas station attendant he nicknames Socrates, played by Nick Nolte. It’s the familiar Karate Kid esque tale, but this time with a slightly supernatural taint to it, and with some nice bits of philosophy thrown in there too. A low budget, imperfect film, but one that has its heart in the right place, made a little more compelling by being based on a true story, although I believe very large liberties have been taken with the truth of actual events…

Red Dawn  (2012)    53/100

Posted on by
Reply

Rating :   53/100                                                                       93 Min        15

The plot is completely ridiculous, not to mention horrendously cheesy, but the action is reasonably good. ‘Red Dawn’ sees the improbable invasion of the American mainland, focusing specifically here on Spokane in Washington (second largest city in the state after Seattle) by the North Korean military in a covert D-Day esque landing, that seems to involve parachuting in one CGI soldier for every few square metres of American soil. The logistics of this exercise are not deemed particularly relevant. What is though, is how Chris Hemsworth and his band of youths are going to arm themselves and take back the homeland from the enemy guerrilla style, calling themselves ‘The Wolverines’ and hoping to inspire others in the process.

The film is a remake of the 1984 version, and during production the original Chinese protagonists were digitally altered to become North Korean after news of the film’s plot didn’t go down too well in The People’s Republic. Angering militant North Korea, where the producers don’t stand to make money from the native box office anyway, doesn’t seem to matter. Why didn’t they just make it a fictional country? It’s not like any effort was made on a realistic plot anyway. After the first third it gets much better with some surprisingly enjoyable action, though unfortunately the one-liners do not similarly improve but are at least delivered with gusto.

(The politically astute amongst you may have noticed that North Korea threatened nuclear war within a couple of weeks of this film’s release. Coincidence? Or is the relatively young Kim Jong-un a massive, and easily offended, film buff? Although, really, all film buffs should be offended by this film, not just those in North Korea)

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone  (2013)    53/100

Posted on by
Reply

Rating :   53/100                                                                     100 Min        15

A comedy about performance magicians that starts really strongly, with attention grabbing use of music and the scene well set, and then loses its way badly, largely due to a central character as devoid of comedy and interest value as the cardboard cutout of himself that he carries around with him. It also ‘misses a trick’ by very obviously using computers and camera play to perform a lot of the magic, which for a big budget movie is really not good enough. Steve Carell plays the aforementioned central character of Wonderstone, who has performed countless shows over a successful career with his high school buddy and fellow magician Anton Marvelton, played by Steve Buscemi, and is now jaded, bored, and bullying everyone around him, with an ego even larger than his over the top hairdo. Enter new wannabe magician Jane, played by the perfectly formed Olivia Wilde, who will of course make him see the error of his ways. It’s overtly trite to say the least, and unfortunately the comedy is largely unwaveringly flat. Notwithstanding, however, a wonderful turn from Jim Carrey as the new daredevil of street magic, Steve Gray, appearing on the scene like a cross between Johnny Knoxville, David Blaine and Axl Rose. Here, on the periphery of the central plot, the film is more successful, if only they’d put more effort into the centre rather than going for the same old dull as ditchwater routine. Alan Arkin and James Gandolfini also appear in support.