Reel Review Roundup

Sunset Strip

Directed by: Hans Fjellestad

Starring: Johnny Depp, Dan Akroyd, Tom Arnold, Alice Cooper, Peter Fonda, Tommy Lee, many more

Three and a half stars

Review by: Julian Wright

People, locations, world events and wars all past and present have been documented, but could this be a first? A documentary about a street. And not even the whole thing, just the 2.4 kilometres that is referred to as the Sunset Strip- the glitzy fraction of the 35 kilometres that Sunset Boulevard extends through Hollywood. Sounds like a bonkers idea to dedicate about 95 minutes to bitumen, but as director Hans Fjellestad finds out, it was one mightily influential and iconic section of road.

With a celebrity guest list of participants that rivals that of the Academy Awards, the audience is taken down memory lane via anecdotal stories harking back to the 1920s when Sunset Boulevard was just a dirt road, through the subsequent decades and the cultural shifts that the popular road experienced. It was place where actors came to make it big, where musicians came to be creative and where comedians slugged it out at popular night spots. Some of the biggest names in showbiz graced this section of street.

Several minutes are dedicated to the scandals that went on at famous Sunset Strip hotel Chateau Marmont – a place that many movies stars called their home away from home and got up to some mischief. But the focus here is the evolving music scene, which appeared to shift like clockwork with each new decade from jazz to rock to punk to grunge. The stories we hear from those that grew up there or spent a significant amount of time there are funny, insightful, breezy and a times gossipy – but that’s half the fun.

Eventually, it begins to feel a little elitist and there is an inescapable feeling that this is just an excuse for a bunch of big name movie stars and rock legends to reminisce. They are fun to listen to but it is hard for “outsiders” to relate to these people and the experiences they had. Weren’t there any ordinary LA residents that were affected by this buzzing street that wasn’t involved in the arts? Another point of view might have made this more accessible.

Sunset Strip screens as part of Revelation Perth International Film Festival 2013 on July 6, 7 and 9.

I Am Divine

Directed by: Jeffrey Schwarz

Starring: Divine, John Waters, Ricki Lake

Four stars

Review by: Julian Wright

Before people like Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian proved that worldwide fame can be achieved by doing nothing at all, fame was something that was earned, something that you worked hard for. For one particular person, this was true, but it was also by eating dog poo. Before drag sensation Divine came along, one would have thought that anyone documented chowing down on dog faeces would have been shunned by society, forced to hole up in their house and never be able to walk down the street or look anyone in the eye again. But it was that stomach churning act captured in Pink Flamingos (1972) that became drag queen  Harris Glen Milstead’s (as his alter ego Divine) key to notoriety and the success he dreamed of.

I Am Divine is an intimate love letter to the man, who died in 1988, who embraced the outrageous and became a sensation. Wiping away the drag makeup to reveal what drove and troubled the ambitious all-round performer, this documentary sheds light on the in-your-face talent through interviews with friends, family and ex-lovers and manages to communicate his appeal to those unfamiliar with his work. From his humble, small town beginnings as a teenager who struggled with his sexuality and an eating disorder (not just the dog poo), to appearing in rough home made movies for his pal John Waters and later a short lived music career, Harris was a bold fellow and unafraid to give anything a go. Through his eclectic showbiz career, he became the inspiration for generations of the gay community, an inspiration that he never had growing up.

Never afraid to let his freak flag fly, and always encouraging others to do the same, the bombastic and unapologetic diva touched many lives before his untimely death at 42, just as his career trajectory was taking him into the mainstream. While preparing for a recurring role in television sitcom Married…With Children, he passed away. But as it is revealed in I Am Divine, the bright makeup, outrageous wigs and impossibly high hair-line were often a cover for a man that was battling some demons. Testimonials offered to us from those that knew him best are thorough and insightful, but there is something missing. Despite some (very limited) interview footage of the man himself, this suffers from a lack of Divine’s voice. Archive footage is spliced in, but one can’t help but wish there was just a little bit more.

I Am Divine screens as part of Revelation Perth International Film Festival 2013 on July 8 and 13.

The Internship (M)

Directed by: Shawn Levy

Starring: Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson, Rose Byrne

Three stars

Review by: Julian Wright

I was immediately curious as to whether or not Hollywood BFFs Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson could successfully stretch an episode of TV’s Friends to feature-length with The Internship. Did they think we had forgotten that down on his luck Chandler had opted for a career change, took an internship with an advertising company and had to deal with colleagues half his age? The young enthusiastic intern mistaking the aged Chandler for an executive by offering to make him a coffee, then immediately dismissing him when he discovers the truth is still pointed observations of the office hierarchy.  The age related quips and fish out of water gags were short and sharp in TV land, but could they sustain a two-hour film? While the basics are similar, the comedic duo of Vaughn and Wilson have buffed the scenario up with recession references, saccharine motivational speeches and a gigantic advert for Google.

When their brand of wrist watch becomes obsolete (no one has a watch anymore, they just look at their phone), salesmen Billy (Vince Vaughn) Nick (Owen Wilson) find themselves jobless. Desperate to not be stuck in a menial job for little pay, they sign up for an internship at Google, without any technological skills or knowledge. Easily twice the age of all the other interns, they struggle to fit in, and to contribute to any of the challenges set they must be completed to secure a job. But they eventually discover that there is plenty about life that they can teach these young tech heads and plenty of computer and internet knowledge that they can gain from them.

Some of the jokes are painful – the online/on the line that goes on far too long in particularly horrendous, but this is mostly tolerable. The team of nerdy stereotypes that Billy and Nick team up with is a nice collection of appealing actors, who allow some screen time relief from Vaughn and Wilson. But Australian Rose Byrne is wasted as the love interest Dana, only permitted to offer shocked facial expressions in one of the film’s funniest scenes – her date with Nick.

The ideas and observations on generational gaps are there but director Shawn Levy and screenwriters Vaughn and Jared Stern have no sense of rhythm. Vaughn and Wilson are allowed to riff yet again to their heart’s content, admittedly offering some laugh out loud moments, but then things come to a screeching halt every 10 minutes with a motivational speech. For some reason, they thought it was a good idea for these two to inspire every character that crosses their paths throughout this journey of self discovery and growth. The sentiment is there and admiral, but the delivery is excessive. Just when you get caught up having a laugh, the film comes crashing back down to with another score enhanced lesson. At least Chandler spared his colleagues the lectures.

We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks

Directed by: Alex Gibney

Starring: Julian Assange, Bradley Manning, Adrian Lamo

Four and a half stars

Review by: Julian Wright

Hero or terrorist? Depending on your point of view, you may label Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks, one of these two. Since the website found worldwide notoriety after it posted thousands of confidential military documents, it has been up in the air as to whether the actions have been in the public’s interest or detrimental to American safety. Could this have been a reckless attempt by a truth-seeking techno geek to get fame, or was this a huge step forward in the digital age of sharing information, finally ensuring governmental transparency? After 130 minutes of We Steal Secrets, you may not have a firm answer, but you will be asking yourself where you stand on the issue.

Charting Assange’s hacking career from when he weasled his way into an American space launch in 1989 and wreaked havoc from his home in Melbourne, Australia, to the creation of his infamous website, that was set up to allow people to anonymously deposit super secret government information, and beyond. The website went relatively unnoticed until a troubled soldier Bradley Manning, who was dealing (poorly) with a gender identity crisis in isolated Iraq barracks, in 2010 began feeding documents proving military indiscretions. Footage of US soldiers gunning down suspected terrorists (who were journalists with long lense cameras that looked like weapons) and documents with unedited names were posted online, causing a wave of panic and rejoice, and opening a Pandora’s box of moral and ethical ambiguity.

While working as a nice catch up for those that had not followed the saga of Manning’s subsequent arrest, Assange’s new-found infamy and curiously timed charges of rape forcing him to go in hiding, We Steal Secrets also offers a look into a pair of fascinatingly troubled and enigmatic characters and the moral whirlwind that they played major parts in. As Manning leaked the truth about his sexuality and his needs to live as a woman, he was leaking other truths, which could have put America’s safety and national security in jeopardy. As it turns out, Assange and Manning working together could have been one of the most powerful duos in history. Exploring the unusual relationship these two men, who never met, had based on a shared a passion for truth-telling, is what drives the narrative, giving an emotional edge to what could have been extremely dry proceedings.

With Assange housebound and his unreasonable interview demands preventing him from confirming or denying what is presented to us or to offer us first hand insight to his personality, and Manning in solitary lock up – We steal Secrets is missing two key talking heads, but this documentary pieces together enough information to get a sense of who they are and paints a compelling picture nonetheless. As noted in the end of the documentary, there have been no negative ramifications from the publishing of those documents, certainly none to the extent that the US government claimed or feared. So, did the ends justify the means? Have fun pondering that one.

The Call (MA)

Directed by: Brad Anderson

Starring: Halle Berry, Abigail Breslin, Morris Chestnut

Three stars

Review by: Julian Wright

The mobile phone, now basically a small computer in your pocket, can do almost anything except vacuum your house and wash your dishes for you. So convenient. Except, of course, when you are in peril, then suddenly all the conveniences are stripped away. It is the one invention that must be the bane of every thriller or horror scriptwriter’s existence. The constant struggle to find ways to eliminate their use in believable ways must be a doozy. Dead battery, out of range, dropped in the water etc. Trying to weave these into the story so that the thrills can continue and the movie lasts longer than 20 minutes and without the audience groaning “Oh, come on!” must result in much hair loss.

The Call is one example in which their conveniences and limitations are exploited, but not in a way that would have the audience groaning. When goody two shoes teenager Casey Welson (Abigail Breslin) is kidnapped, her new fan-dangled mobile phone is broken, smashed to pieces but aha! she still has her friend’s phone in her back pocket which allows for 90 minutes of conversation with a 911 operator. But uh-oh!, it is a prepaid so satellite tracking takes ages. But director Brad Anderson has already established drama and kept up a brisk pace so that instead of the audience going “Oh suuuuure!” they are likely to go along with it.

The aforementioned drama revolves around operator Jordan Turner (Halle Berry) who, six months ago, received a call from a terrified teenage girl, the victim of a home invasion who was killed while still on the line. Still racked with guilt six months later, Jordan is now teaching new staff the ropes of “The Hive” where the 911 operators work. Casey’s call comes through from the boot of a moving vehicle being driven by her abductor, and a shaky Jordan gets back on the line. The two Capricorns (information repeated because they are both “fighters” – why, hello there, foreshadowing!) stay on the line while Jordan instructs Casey in ways that she can alert other motorists and the pursuing police of her presence in the vehicle. Of course, it is not as easy as it sounds, with her kidnapper particularly violent and crazy and several hurdles thrown in their way.

This taut and intense (with bouts of unpleasantness) nerve jangler is a thrilling three-quarters of a film before it collapses into an overwrought and bizarre The Silence of the Lambs rip-off with exceedingly stupid and Rambo-like behaviour by its protagonists. A morally questionable ending strives for “edgy” but comes off cheap and irresponsible. These two likable female fighters do a 180 degree turn that leaves a bad taste in the mouth, making them no better than the man terrorising them.

Michael Ecklund is appropriately creepy in the first half but revelations about his disturbed character are ham-fisted and far too over the top to remain scary. As Ecklund and the screenwriters go down the check list of weird and kooky behaviour, it becomes clear they have decided that subtly is a dirty word. By the time the character’s incestuous tendencies are made apparent, he is more likely to inspire laughs than shudders. When things get increasingly sillier, it is Ecklund that comes off looking worst as the crazy is dolloped on.

Snitch (M)

Directed by: Ric Roman Waugh

Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Benjamin Bratt, Susan Sarandon, Barry Pepper

Three stars

Review by: Julian Wright

Would somebody please get Ric Roman Waugh a tripod? The former stunt man seems to have forgotten about the little invention that helps keeps cameras steady and an audience’s breakfast down. His misplaced belief that wobbly shots are the only way to create gritty tension will not get him very far. But credit where it is due, he does try. In fact, everyone involved in this hard-edged drama/thriller about an ordinary man driven to extraordinary actions tries incredibly hard to deliver a suspenseful film with a mushy, emotional centre. It is unfortunate that their best intentions result in a middle of the road film.

When teenager Jason Collins (Rafi Gavron) is set up by a friend as a drug dealer, arrested and thrown in jail, his absent but hard-working father John Matthews (Dwayne Johnson) attempts to have his sentence reduced from the mandatory 10 years. He meets with state attorney Joanne Keegan (Susan Sarandon) to appeal to her, but she is keen to clean up the streets and appear tough on drug dealers to secure votes in an upcoming election. She agrees to reduce Jason’s sentence if John can bring her another drug dealer, so he recruits his employee with a criminal past Daniel (Jon Bernthal) under false pretenses to introduce him into the life and death world of drug transportation.

With “The Rock” shedding his tough guy persona to play the every man, this descent of the blue-collar worker from his leafy suburban environment into some dodgy and dangerous territory is a trip of familiarity, but one almost worth taking. Johnson has picked a reasonable script (co-written by Waugh and Justin Hathe) to broaden his acting skills that spends more time developing characters and setting up the stakes than one might expect. Despite his Arnold Schwarzenegger physique, Johnson manages to be a relateable screen presence and we are willing to go along this (inspired by a true story) journey with him. He keeps the story grounded when it becomes embellished for the sake of heightened drama.

The script tends to wonder into seen-it-all-before territory, as do some of the performances, but Waugh feels the way to elevate the material is to yank his camera around while filming in ultra tight close ups of his actors. While it rivals the camera-work in The Blair Witch Project, it does little in the way of improving the story. The climax isn’t quite the satisfying one we hope for after sitting through such a thorough build up, with a truck versus cars sequence that underwhelms. For a film that feels like the camera is about to burst with all the shaking, one would think that the final action sequence might be a bit more frenetic. But Snitch miraculously never feels boring. Despite the shaky cam and soap opera style acting , Waugh and company have given this their best shot. Hopefully, next time he remembers the tripod.

Star Trek Into Darkness (M)

Directed by: J. J. Abrams

Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto,

Four stars

Review by: Julian Wright

Space bromances are the best kind of bromances. The complex relationship between a bed hopping, risk taking, gut driven but vulnerable ship captain Captain James Kirk and his emotionless and logic driven first officer Spock create dramatic sparks in this sequel to the 2009 franchise reboot. The much-needed tension between these polar opposites that you just want to see hug it out (if only Spock had the emotional capability to do so) is a nice alternative to the familiar spectacle of exploding space ships, a bad guy’s attempts at world domination and J.J. Abrams’ incessant lens flares. Not that the spectacle isn’t impressive, but like the central relationship, balance is good.

When former Star Fleet agent John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch) attacks a secret meeting of officials, killing many, then retreats to an uninhibited area on the planet Klingon, the recently demoted Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) and re-assigned Spock (Zachary Quinto) are put back on the USS Enterprise to carry out a military mission. It is a far cry from the crew’s usual exploration trips and is what prompts moral debates between Kirk and Spock. Not only is the mission unorthodox, but it could instigate a war between them and the Klingon race. This proves to be the least of their worries once they discover who Harrison really is and what he is up to.

With Abrams at the reins, we can rely that there will be plenty of action and adventure with any sequel he delivered to the box office and critical hit reboot, and he does not disappoint. Behind the lens flares, there are impressive, large-scale action set pieces that thrill (albeit accompanied by overbearing score), and special effects that impress, but they wouldn’t have as much impact if the scriptwriters Robert Orci, Alex Kurtzman and Damon Lindelof did not focus on characters and relationships. The bromance between Kirk and Spock is strengthened with life and death stakes forcing them to evaluate their friendship. Another bonus is the well-timed humour, with Karl Urban and Simon Pegg delivering spot on laughs with their scene stealing performances as ship doctor Bones and engineer Scotty respectively.

But when it comes to the villain, Star Trek Into Darkness is all smoke and mirrors and misdirection. Cumberbatch relishes the role, playing Harrison with barely contained seething rage, and he is a creepy and intimidating presence. We are privy to several monologues that build him up to be the most evil and relentless man to ever come across and an unbeatable force – and yet we hardly see him at work. Ultimately, Harrison comes across as having a bark much worse than his bite, which results in the dulling of the dramatic edge he has in the story.

Evil Dead (2013)

Directed by: Fede Alvarez

Starring: Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, Lou Taylor Pucci

Three stars

Review by: Julian Wright

Shoestring budget video nasty classic Evil Dead (1981) made the remarkable achievement of being a rip-roaring, hilariously good time while also managing to scare the bejesus out of its audience. The roller coaster ride of gags and guffaws was filmed over several months with a crew of amateur college kids. Their skills might not have been honed but unknown director (at the time) Sam Raimi showed style and directorial flair and the team’s ambition was potent. The fact that the same team oversaw this remake inspires confidence, but the final result is nowhere near as inventive as the original.

Upping the drama by having the five characters head to the infamous remote cabin in the woods for an intervention so that Mia (Jane Levy) can kick her nasty drug habit (and some family issues with her brother thrown in for good measure), this remake takes itself more seriously than its inspiration. Stripped of the laughs, Evil Dead re-imagined forges ahead with deadly serious intent, aiming for a more disturbing, sombre feel than the playfully horrifying one of the original. Tonally, this one has more in common with other recent horror classic remakes such as Marcus Nispel’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (2003) and Rob Zombie’s Halloween (2007), with the added brutality and grittiness. But unlike Nispel’s and Zombie’s characters, the victimised bunch in Evil Dead are more likeable and sympathetic.

Alvarez’s attempts and intentions are admirable, but trying to take a possessed book seriously doesn’t quite work. It was easier to go along with the reading of the passage from the forbidden book that unleashed evil spirits in the first version because Raimi’s tongue was firmly in cheek. Here, it is passed off as reality, which doesn’t sit right. While Mia’s battle with her own demons makes for more interesting plotting – and her violent withdrawals making her look demonic before the evil ghosties take over is a nice twist – it leaves little room for giggles. Raimi wanted us to have fun, Alvarez is only interested in grossing us out.

Alvarez is true to the original with the gore content, but the advertising does him a disservice by promising “the most terrifying film you will ever experience”, because unfortunately, his version is not. Sure, there is a sense of dread that hangs heavily over the film from the get-go, and the dreary look suggests a sense of unease, but Alvarez is more successful in putting you on the edge of your seat with the build up than pushing you off it with the highly touted practical horror effects money shots (CGI was shunned to please gore hounds). The horror suggested with the inventive sound effects prove to be more unsettling than the close-ups of gaping wounds, gallons of blood and needles in the eye.

A more thoughtful plot and fleshed out characters was a noble idea, but their impact is often let down by the exposition-heavy dialogue. The sentences these characters speak seem less like conversations you would hear from real people and more like a scriptwriter spoon-feeding information. This blood drenched but humourless affair is not the nightmare inducing remake it thinks it is, but its enthusiasm for the graphic makes it a passable entry in the horror genre.

A Good Day To Die Hard (M)

Directed by: John Moore

Starring: Bruce Willis, Jai Courtney,

Three stars

Review by: Julian Wright

Sometimes we just need to accept the inevitable. The Die Hard series is not what it used to be. At once genre defining, now merely an unrecognisable, unimaginative string of explosions and one-liners. What you need to ask yourself as an audience member is are you going to resist or are you going to accept the latest installment for what it is and go with the flow? We must come together and mourn the passing of the original trilogy (although they will forever live on in our minds, or when we revisit them on DVD), put a big black mark after part three (Die Hard With a Vengeance) and accept that part four Live Free or Die Hard took the series in a much inferior direction.

The charm, heart, soul and appeal of the series and the down to earth, everyman nature that made John McClane the ultimate relateable hero have been unceremoniously stripped away, but it is not to say that we cannot enjoy some of the explosive, pyrotechnic heavy eye candy that is now on display. Director John Moore (The Omen remake and Max Payne – dead giveaways of the quality of work to expect) certainly doesn’t expect us to take any of  this seriously anymore, so why should we? With a script, by Skip Woods) that probably read as a check list of one-liners and action direction (ie: cars crash, vehicles explode, insert five minutes of gunfire here etc) this is all about how much damage can be made and put on screen.

Moving the action to Russia (apparently there was nothing left in the USA for McClane to obliterate after his trail of destruction through LA,  Washington DC and New York), our aging hero John McClane (Bruce Willis) attempts to reunite with this estranged son Jack (Jai Courtney) but discovers he is in much deeper trouble than he once thought. Jack has been working as a CIA operative trying to prevent a nuclear weapon heist and McClane finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time yet again.

The Die Hard series may have lost the plot but it has found a great team of stunt performers and special effects whizzes. Not a minute goes by that doesn’t feature an over-the-top action sequence that makes a crazy attempt to outdo anything else committed to film before. The effort put in to wow an audience with such mindless activity is impressive (Moore’s nauseatingly incessant shaky cam and whip pans and zooms aside), the lack of attention to the script is not. While this hollow but bombastic sequel cowers in the grand shadow of the original, and even the first two sequels, it brings the family theme back on track as the two men (cheesily) bond during all the carnage.

If you were to look deeper into the path this series has taken, one might be greatly troubled that McClane’s daughter Lucy (Mary Elizabeth Winstead, in an obligatory book ending appearance here) was the victim in part four, yet his son is a world saving hero in part five. But we are clearly not supposed to think that hard about it. It is a shame the series has descended to this point. My advice to 20th Century Fox would be to quit now while it only has one foot in the grave and not both. But if you are willing to have a laugh at the indestructible McClane hanging from the bumper of a car that is chained to a flying helicopter, you might get your money’s worth.

Jack The Giant Slayer (PG)

Directed by: Bryan Singer

Starring: Nicholas Hoult, Ewan McGregor, Stanley Tucci

Three stars

Review by: Julian Wright

There is a glimmer of hope early on in this beefed up, big budget, silver screen adaptation of Jack and the Giant Beanstalk that promises something special has sprouted. An impeccably edited sequence cuts between Jack (Nicholas Hoult), a teenager on the verge of manhood, being yelled at by his exasperated uncle to grow up and take responsibility and the young hero’s love interest Princess Isabelle (Eleanor Tomlinson), who craves independence and a grand adventure. We know this story will bring them together eventually to battle the giants, but it suggests a particular interest in characters and relationships and that it will focus as much on the human aspect as it will the spectacle.

Unfortunately, once those CGI giants appear, this gem of a moment becomes just a memory and so does promise of a fleshed out courtship. But despite dropping the ball with this particular aspect, director Bryan Singer and his team of five screenwriters deliver a fun, if not always overly thrilling, ride with action, humour and additional grand mythology and mystical legend to appeal to the attention spans of modern audiences and boost the story to feature-length running time.

Bringing us up to speed on the legendary battle between humans and giants, we see a young Jack and young Princess Isabelle being told the tale as a bedtime story. The battle was thought to have ended once humans came to possess the magical crown that sparked the conflict. But when Jack grows up, he comes into contact with a handful of magic beans that, when wet, create a beanstalk passage to the giants living in the sky and the contention is resurrected. Jack volunteers with a team of the King Brahmwell’s (Ian McShane) men, including Elmont (Ewan McGregor), Roderick (Staley Tucci) and Wicke (Ewen Bremner), to help rescue the princess when she is captured by the stinky and hairy over sized ogres. But Roderick, who has been handpicked to marry the much younger princess, has more sinister plans of his own.

This passable updated fairytale is at times tonally confused; Singer is never really sure when this film’s tongue should be planted firmly in its cheek. Singer occasionally takes things a little more seriously than what is necessary. This is after all about magic beans and giants. McGregor seems to be on the right wavelength with his performance, with a hint that he is winking at the audience more than his colleagues. Hoult is sweet and sensitive but never really transforms into the fearless hero we want to be rooting for. But then again, this film becomes as disinterested in his arc as it does with the central relationship the more it progresses.