Reel Review Roundup

Shame (R)

Directed by: Steve McQueen

Starring: Michael Fassbender, Carey Mulligan, James Badge Dale, Nicole Beharie

Four stars

Review by: Julian Wright

Films have explored drug and alcohol addiction and the spiral into hell that accompanies it to the point where audiences are on the verge of desensitisation. We know by now the difficulties in overcoming the addiction and the effect it has on family and friends. But when Sandra Bullock gives it a whirl in the woeful rom-com misfire 28 Days, we know we have seen it all.

It is refreshing that co-writer/director Steve McQueen has chosen to explore an addiction that many may not know exists, or believes exists. And due to a prudish society, is all but swept under the rug. But as we learn in Shame, the effects of an addiction to sex can be just as harrowing as an addiction to any destructive substances.

Brandon Sullivan (Michael Fassbender) appears to be a fairly regular 30-somthing New Yorker with a career and nice apartment. But what he manages to conceal is his addiction to sex. He spends every waking moment thinking about, doing it, looking at internet porn and masturbating.

It is a difficult enough task to keep this dark, shameful secret from his friends and co-workers every day, but when his work computer is taken off for repairs without warning and his sister Sissy (Carey Mulligan) shows up on his doorstep unannounced, he becomes unhinged. Sissy and Brendan have an unspoken troubled past and her presence brings is all back.

Shame explores some daring and fascinating territory as Brandon seeks sexual gratification in a gay club as a last resort and later evoking emotional pain during a threesome. And McQueen films some eloquent dialogue-less moments, preferring to show than to talk about it.

We come to feel great sympathy and empathy for this damaged character, but anyone hoping he may find reprieve or  a light at the end of the tunnel will be sorely disappointed and left as frustrated as Brandon. This isn’t a road to recovery story with a neatly placed bow at the end. This is an example of the hell an addicted person lives in, but a beautifully filmed one.

My Week With Marilyn (M)

Directed by: Simon Curtis

Starring: Michelle Williams, Eddie Redmayne, Kenneth Branagh, Julia Ormond, Dame Judi Dench

Three and a half stars

Review by: Julian Wright

What a splendid idea for a film about iconic Hollywood star Marilyn Monroe. Instead of laboriously charting her life from her troubled childhood to her extraordinary popularity and untimely death, My Week with Marilyn encapsulates it all in a story that took place in (as you may have guessed) one tumultuous week.

Based on the novel of the same name by Colin Clark, about his week-long whirlwind friendship and romance with the curvaceous beauty, this film sheds light on Monroe’s crippling low self-esteem, her addiction to drug and alcohol and her heartbreaking need to be loved.

In 1956, Marilyn Monroe (Michelle Williams) and Laurence Olivier (Kenneth Branagh) came to loggerheads on the set of the film The Prince and the Showgirl. Marilyn was already on to her third marriage and trying to establish herself as a serious actress, complete with her iron fisted acting coach Paula Strasberg (Zoe Wanamaker) in tow. Olivier, on the other hand, a disciplined theatre legend had no patience for Monroe’s erratic behaviour.

The tension on the set was observed first hand by 23-year-old third assistant director Colin Clark (Eddie Redmayne), particularly when he got caught up in the middle of it. As the shoot became more unbearable and Monroe’s drinking and drug problem more apparent, the pair formed a close bond. As Colin got dangerously closer to the renowned heartbreaker, he managed to see what made her tick.

More than just a gossipy look at behind the scenes shenanigans, My Week with Marilyn touches on clashing personalities, the pressure of stardom and one woman’s deep sadness despite worldwide fame and adoration. With a bright script that has some sharp dialogue and amusing moments, mixed with some touching moments of insight into the starlet, there is plenty to take away from this brisk biopic.

However, it doesn’t escape flaws such as shoddy editing and the occasional storytelling oversight – Dame Judi Dench makes a fine impression in her early scenes as Monroe’s co-star Dame Sybil Thorndike, only to be unceremoniously forgotten about for the rest of the film.

Williams captures Monroe’s fragility admirably. While she can switch on the charm and giggly starlet persona like Monroe did so effortlessly, she also demonstrates the harrowing inner pain she felt and hid from her fans. For those of us who, shamefully, have never seen a Monroe film (me included) or followed her career, this is a respectable short hand to catch us up on who she was when the cameras stopped rolling.

Martha Marcy May Marlene (M)

Directed by: Sean Durkin

Starring: Elizabeth Olsen, Sarah Paulson, John Hawkes, Hugh Dancy

Four and a half stars

Review by: Julian Wright

Criminally neglected during this awards season, the tongue twister titled Martha Marcy May Marlene is one of those powerful indie gems that wont get a huge audience but will haunt those that see it. With so much talent in front of and behind the camera, it is a shame the Academy has not recognised this near perfect film.

This multi layered effort is more impressive for the fact it was created by a first time feature film writer/director. There are more experienced and seasoned film makers that could take notes from the fresh and evocative storytelling structure of this terrific film.

Martha, (Elizabeth Olsen) as she is known by her biological family, wakes one morning from the room she shares with several other young women in a rural farmhouse and escapes through the woods. Here, she is known as Marcy May, a name given to her by the influential but creepy Patrick (John Hawkes) who leads the mysterious cult in upstate New York where young women are welcomed then made to work and raise his children.

Martha calls her sister Lucy (Sarah Paulson) who she has been estranged and out of contact from for two years, and stays with her and her husband Ted (Hugh Darcy) in their modern and isolated holiday home by the lake. Ted is not as welcoming or patient with Martha and her bizarre behaviour (swimming naked and laying in bed while the married couple make love) as Lucy is.

At this point we are not let in on why Martha decides to flee her other “family” but the events that motivate her are slowly revealed with the help of some stunningly skillful editing techniques, in which we are seamlessly transported between present day and Martha’s memories. What is clear, is that after spending so much time living by their rules, this lost soul has problems adjusting to a more regular and stable life, while constantly in a state of stifling paranoia.

Torn between lifestyles, unsure of her place in the world, racked with guilt over the things she has been seduced into doing and shattered by things that have been done to her, Martha is one damaged young woman. And she is brought to life by the lost Olsen sister no one knew about: Elizabeth. Writer/director Sean Durkin has created a deeply complex character and has drawn some extraordinary talent from this newcomer, who up until this moment, has lived in her twin sisters’ footsteps.

Much has been made of the final scene in which an abrupt ending could drive some audience members into a fit of unsatisfied rage. But think about it for a minute and it becomes another beautiful moment in this impressive film that will have you debating for a long time.

Underworld: Awakening (MA)

Directed by: Mans Marlind, Bjorn Stein

Starring: Kate Beckinsale, Stephen Rhea, Michael Ealy, Theo James

Two stars

Review by: Julian Wright

That corsetted vampire warrior Selene (Kate Beckinsale) is back in the same old clothes, same old plot and same old overblown action sequences. How this franchise keeps going is beyond me. When Beckinsale didn’t even turn up for the last one I was sure that would be the end of it – well, at least at the cinema. A few direct to DVD additions would not have been surprising. But that one little novelty named 3D is apparently enough to keep reviving any dreary action series (another Resident Evil was previewed, but don’t even get me started on that franchise).

After a much-needed catch up sequence – I certainly wasn’t going to go back and re-watch the others just to be reminded of how inane these movies are – we are thrust into Selene’s latest adventure which is brief (humans know about vampires and lycans and have waged war on them, doing their best to exterminate them) before she is caught, frozen and stored in a lab run by Doctor Jacob Lane (Stephen Rhea).

Released 12 years later, the war continues but her lycan loverboy Michael (played previously by Scott Speedman) is dead, or maybe  just conveniently missing, and she has a young mutant girl Eve (India Eisley) in tow. How cute, this installment tries to make us care by giving Selene an ankle biter to look after and bond with.

Selene and Eve, or otherwise known as Subject 1, have a special connection – they can see through each other’s eyes. They also must discover what kind of experiments were carried out on them and uncover Lane’s plan, while on the run from super lycans.

Yet, with all the runnig, jumping, driving and shooting, it is a wonder how they make any revelations at all. I’d love to see some fanboy’s count of how many rounds were fired, lycans killed and cars totalled. This film seems to be aiming for some sort of record. The simpleton dialogue is just a mere excuse to get from one action sequence to the next, which is usually accomplished in about 90 seconds.

No-one expects good performances out of these films, and rightfully so, they are horrible, but the waifish Beckinsale does still impress with her athleticism in such a figure hugging outfit – not that the corset has to be pulled all that tightly – and the way she effortlessly handles the hardware.

Despite feeling like I was being beaten into submission from the get go by the endless action and overbearing soundtrack that would threaten to upset the Richter scale, the action scenes are a tolerable enough distraction. Just skip the 3D version – the effects are barely noticeable – and wait for the DVD. But keep the volume down for the sake of your neighbours.

The Artist (PG)

Directed by: Michel Hazanavicius

Starring: Jean Dujardin, Berenice Bejo, John Goodman, James Cromwell

Three and a half stars

Review by: Julian Wright

Much like the recent Hugo, The Artist is a love letter to a particular period of film making. Hugo gushed when it came to the pioneering days, while The Artist wears its heart on its sleeve for the time when silent films were edged out by the talkies. While the addition of sound revolutionised the industry, it is no secret many were affected and hit hard by it-namely the silent film stars. Those whose popularity was not based on what they sounded like.

It was a scary transition for some, but especially for Hollywood star George Valentin (Jean Dujardin), who made a successful career out of mugging for the camera. But when the technology to record sound came along, coupled with the Great Depression hitting in 1929, it was trying times for the charming performer.

Thinking sound in films was a joke and seeing his audience and fan numbers drop, George decides not to adapt to the changes but to try his hand at directing. The failure of his over-produced action romance sends him into a spiral of depression.

When day player and former co-star Peppy Miller’s (Berenice Bejo) star rises to the point where she becomes a Hollywood sweetheart, George becomes inconsolable. Her screen presence and mega watt personality bring her a lot of attention, the kind George once had. The fact they fancy each other just makes it even more unbearable.

What begins as a cheery, utterly delightful and deliciously authentic silent film – film goers be warned, there is no sound, dialogue is written across the screen and it retains a 4:3 aspect ratio – it soon loses its cool. While a fascinating study of how the golden era of cinema took a hit and recovered, it takes itself far too seriously in the second half. Forty-five minutes of a moping George is not so much fun.

The Artist means well, is technically well made with some stunning sequences (a favourite is the montage that tracks Peppy’s rise to fame by following the placement of her credit in each film she appears in) and contains terrific comedic and dramatic performances, but the tonal imbalance is a hindrance. It is no surprise the Academy has slathered oscar nominations on Hugo and The Artist – they tend to love it when films are about their own industry – but in my mind, one outshines the other.

The Darkest Hour (M)

Directed by: Chris Gorak

Starring: Emile Hirsch, Olivia Thirlby, Max Minghella, Rachael Taylor

Two stars

Review by: Julian Wright

You may raise an eyebrow at the generous two stars given to what is already one of the most unfavourably reviewed films of 2012. Admittedly, we are still in the very early stages of the new year, but The Darkest Hour will undoubtedly stick in our memories until the end for all the wrong reasons. And yet, while it deserves its spot as one of the worst films of the last 10 years, sitting nicely alongside The Room, it was a hoot.

Just hours after two young software inventors Sean (Emile Hirsch) and Ben (Max Minghella) touchdown in Moscow on a business trip, they are thrown together with a couple of tourists Natalie (Olivia Thirlby) and Anne (Rachael Taylor) and a dodgy Russian businessman when invisible aliens invade.

After spending four days locked up in a heavily stocked nightclub storeroom during the initial attack, where they eat all the food and emerge with coiffed hair, they find themselves running around the abandoned streets of Moscow looking for anyone who may have survived. The two survivors they do find, a young woman and mad scientist type,  have admirable adaptation skills. In less than a week, they have already managed to figure out how to evade the aliens and build a special home-made gun to kill them.

With dreadful dialogue like “I keep my freak-out on the inside”, illogical scenes like when the group fall off a boat and one ends up miles away from all the others in the blink of an eye, and misjudged moments such as when the characters run around with light bulbs around their necks, this is certainly not high brow entertainment.

So why two whole stars? Because it is hilariously dreadful. I haven’t laughed so consistently at the cinema in a while. This is the kind of film that makes you laugh more than many supposed comedies. This is the kind of film that gains a cult following and screens at midnight where the audience is invited to throw things at the screen.

This horrible film already has a secure place on my worst of 2012 list, but just you wait for the DVD where you can watch it with a bunch of your mates and make a drinking game where you take a shot  every time there is a dumb moment, like bad CGI, when the girls run in heels, or when the invisible aliens are clearly visible. But then again, you may end up having your stomach pumped.

Young Adult (M)

Directed by: Jason Reitman

Starring: Charlize Theron, Patrick Wilson, Patton Oswalt

Four stars

Review by: Julian Wright

Remember that hot girl at high school who every guy wanted to date and every girl wanted to emulate? Well, according to Young Adult, she turns into the kind of girl you glad you lost touch with and should avoid at the reunion. According to this film, she became a hateful, spiteful witch. We know that doesn’t always happen, but let’s be honest, it is the most interesting scenario.

While no one really wants to see a film about the hot high school cheerleader who got married, had a successful career and popped out 2.5 gorgeous children, it is almost as unbearable to watch her carry on the way she does in this movie. Almost.

Former high school beauty turned professional ghost writer Mavis Gary (Charlize Theron) has hit rock bottom. She is divorced, the once popular teen series she writes is coming to an end and her so-called glamorous big city life consists of little more than drinking herself into a stupor on a regular basis. Not exactly the way she thought her life would pan out.

Out of the blue, she receives an email of a new-born baby that belongs to her old high school boyfriend Buddy Slade (Patrick Wilson).  She promptly packs up some clothes into a suitcase and her cute little puppy into her handbag Paris Hilton style and heads back to the dreary small town she came from (leaving her one night stand still asleep in her bed).

Mavis’ goal is to win buddy back so they can have the life together that she believes they were supposed to have back in the city and to hell with his wife and baby. Oh yeah, this one is a real charmer.

Everything that Mavis does from here on in is rude, selfish and downright despicable. Why would we want to sit through her hurtful shenanigans? We are given more than what just appears on the surface. We might not like what she does but the writer, director and actor make sure they give her enough reasons for it to be believable.

Theron turns in another layered performance, once again, never afraid to look and be ugly on film for the purpose of creating a challenging character who is clinging desperately to her past. But it is not all doom and gloom with some comedic relief with a handful of lighter moments, particularly in scenes with her physically disabled former school mate Matt (Patton Oswalt). One thing is for sure, you wont look at that hot chick you went to school with the same way again.

Hugo (PG)

Directed by: Martin Scorsese

Starring: Asa Butterfield, Chloe Grace Moretz, Sacha Baron Cohen, Ben Kingsley

Four and a half stars

Review by: Julian Wright

It can be easy to lose faith in film making when Hollywood seems to be more interested in churning out money makers rather than stories and characters with substance that linger. With so many soulless, special effects driven, one-liner laden blockbusters, sometimes we need a nice little reminder of the power of films and why we love movies in the first place.

Enter legendary director Martin Scorsese, who up until now, has often delved into the darker side of life in his career with Taxi Driver and Goodfellas. But with Hugo, he has held back on the graphic violence and vulgar language to bring us a new, lighter side of his artistic ability.  Catering to a whole new demographic here, such as children and families, rather than film goers with strong stomachs, Scorsese celebrates film making with a sense of adventure.

Hugo (Asa Butterfield) is an orphan who lives at a Paris train station in the 1930s. He was close to his father, who was killed in a fire leaving Hugo to live with his alcoholic and slave driving uncle who keeps the clocks at the station running on time.

Hugo keeps up a project he and his father began, which is to fix an automaton (found abandoned and collecting dust in a museum vault) and make it work once again. There is just one missing piece – a key in the shape of a heart – which he finds hanging from the neck of his new-found friend Isabelle (Chloe Grace Moretz).

The young pair try to solve the mystery of who created the machine (all the while trying to evade the station guard played with relish by Sacha Baron Cohen) which leads them to make all sorts of fascinating discoveries about the pioneering days of cinema.

To go from a heartfelt, moving story about a boy trying to maintain the one connection he has with his deceased father to a tip of the hat to cinema and film making sounds like quite a leap, and at times it is. The link between the two is a bit of a stretch but the journey is half the fun and it is a joyous journey these two young ones take. And by the end, it wont just be the hard-core cinephiles that will be giddy with nostalgia.

While not quite as viscerally thrilling as child driven adventure films such as The Goonies, or more recently, Super 8, Scorsese has his finger on the pulse of what draws in and fascinates an audience. His sweeping camera movements and overhead shots not only help tell the story but allow the 3D technology to be used to its highest potential. He has also created one of the most detailed worlds seen on-screen, from the costumes and props to the sets – we are utterly immersed in this world.

Go and see Hugo and be reminded why film, which one character mentions was expected to be a short-lived fad, has lasted so long as one of the major storytelling devices and continues to have the power to inspire, fascinate, surprise and awe us.

The Iron Lady (PG)

Directed by: Phyllida Lloyd

Starring: Meryl Streep, Jim Broadbent, Anthony Head

Two stars

Review by: Julian Wright

Showcasing a person’s life can be difficult. Taking decades worth of moments and stringing them together in a thematic way for the purpose of a film narrative forces us to make unreasonable leaps. Going from childhood, to teen years to adulthood in just a handful of scenes can be jarring. The best are the ones that explore one moment that shaped the subject.

While according to The Iron Lady, there were three significant eras to delve into to see what made Margaret Thatcher tick, it makes one grave mistake by making us sit through her latter years as her mind deteriorates. With her class struggles and rise to her role as Prime Minister amidst political and social unrest, why have us endure her talking to the ghost of her dead husband for such long stretches of time?

As Maggie’s (a heavily aged Meryl Streep in movie magic makeup) mind crumbles from the onset of dementia she spends her time making breakfast and chatting to her husband Denis (Jim Broadbent) who actually passed away years ago. She clings to her past, reluctant to get rid of Denis’ clothes, despite her daughter’ urges.

As her mind plays tricks on her it also wanders to moments in her past, like when she was a young and wide-eyed grocer’s daughter (Alexander Roach) trying to break into politics. Her struggles, despite her idealistic attitude to break into what was essentially seen as men’s business. And how she dealt with social and economic unrest in Britain.

While at times, the story of a woman breaking through the glass ceiling is alternately fascinating and familiar (how many of these have we seen before?) the sequences of her in her later years are clunky. Exploring the effects of dementia seems like a completely separate issue, particularly when dealing with the story of this woman’s life. It often comes off as a misjudged technique to take us back several years for a few flashbacks.

Meryl Streep is, as always, a powerhouse and the sole reason to continue watching. Biographical films are difficult but this is possibly the worst cock-up in cinema history with some dreadfully mishandled moments. If Thatcher were in her grave, she would be spinning in it.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (MA)

Directed by: David Fincher

Starring: Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Robin Wright, Christopher Plummer

Three and a half stars

Review by: Julian Wright

A US version of a Swedish film that is only two years old? Hollywood tried something like this before when it Amercianised the perfectly fine (and utterly hilarious) British film Death at a Funeral just three years after its release to disastrous results. Except this time, Tattoo already has phenomenal book sales, a cult following, critical success and the original film was a hit. So why bother revisiting?

Well for one thing, it is right up director David Fincher’s alley. Death, torture, obsession and the dark side (sometimes literally; you often need a torch to get through his films) of human nature are all things he has touched on and reveled in in his career. Fincher seems to be the type to turn his nose up at such blatant cash grabbing – so he must have been confident he could bring something new to the table.

And he does, with his fascinatingly dark style, and flare for storytelling, he is able to bring us a compelling film. If only he had made this version first.

In the midst of a scandal and court proceedings, disgraced and broke journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) is hired by Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer) to investigate the disappearance of his niece 40 years ago. It is a cold case that has baffled police and locals for decades and haunts Vanger, particularly once a year when he receives a gift identical to one he used to get from his niece before she went missing.

Meanwhile, social outcast, tattooed, pierced and damaged 23-year-old Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara) struggles with a newly appointed and abusive guardian who is left in charge of her finances due to her violent and troubled past. The things he does to her in exchange for occasional access to a chunk of her own money are unmentionable, but this tough cookie gets her revenge.

When Mikhael discovers Lisbeth, a computer whiz, was hired by Vanger to hack into his computer and create a thorough report on his background, he utilises her and her expertise to solve  the case, sparking an unconventional relationship. As the pair get closer to the truth, their bond grows stronger.

While the original Tattoo roped me in with its fascinating and bombastic lead female character and the intriguing structure of the story, the subsequent two failed to impress me. What began as a cracking mystery that drew two disparate and unlikely allies together, the sequels lacked that driving force of a central plot tying it all together.

Luckily for the viewer, the story of this first instalment is so potent and compelling that it is not a chore to sit through a second time. Fincher hardly veers from the foundations of the original, but does the seemingly impossible of building suspense in a story that we have seen and know the outcome of.

With the departure of Noomi Rapace, there are some big, iconic shoes for relative newcomer Rooney Mara (seen briefly but memorable in The Social Network) to fill. Going in to Fincher’s version with a new Lisbeth is like when we went in to see Hannibal starring Julianne Moore in the role that Jodie Foster won an oscar for. But Mara nails it with an equally raw performance.

The proceedings are familiar but Fincher’s ultra dark spin and utter confidence in his own storytelling abilities injects a bit of life into the film. Even the worst Fincher film is a ripper of a flick. The real challenge for Fincher, if he agrees to or is able to continue the franchise, is how he can lift the second two stories so they are not drawn out, overlong misfires like the originals.