Short review: Defiance

Director: Edward Zwick
(2008)

Set in the forests of Belorussia, Defiance follows 4 brothers (Daniel Craig, Jamie Bell, George MacKay, Liev Schreiber) as they build camps to protect their fellow Jews from the invading Nazi’s. The performances make Defiance work, especially from Craig and Schreiber who have good chemistry together, making their brotherhood seem genuine. Wonderful pacing helps keep events interesting; as essential to the enjoyment of the film as the solid action scenes. Defiance falters by doing little to develop its characters, with a too little focus on supporting characters that often play a lame stereotype. This also applies to the leads, Craig’s character possesses no development, save for getting sick and grouchy half way through. while far from cheery, little is done to make the Germans seem like a threat, making events less distressing. Defiance makes for a solid drama, but not a spectacular one.

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World review

Penny: You're a really nice person. 
Dodge: You are an awful judge of character. 

Director: Lorene Scafaria 
(2012)

What would you do if you were told that everything in existence would end in 3 weeks? Some would do all the things that they wish they could before society collapsed, while others, I suspect, would go on living exactly the way they normally would. Seeking a Friend for the End of the World poses this question to its leads, the melancholic Dodge (Steve Carell) and quirky Penny (Kiera Knightly) as they set out fulfil their final desires before the human race is destroyed by a meteor. What's more important is that SAFFTEOTW is a terrific RomCom, as funny as it is emotionally resonant.

As a radio announcer informs of earths demise in 3 weeks, Dodge sits gloomily in his car as his long-time wife Linda opens the door and runs off. It’s a funny scene, but also a sad one, leaving Dodge to sit out the Armageddon on his own. As society becomes liberated from the shackles of decency and responsibility, he encounters his rarely seen neighbour Penny, for the first time. They're both alone, so decide to go on a road trip, searching for those they love before it’s too late. Dodge wants to find his high school sweetheart while Penny is searching for a plane to get back to England to see her family. The biggest initial surprise here is that Knightly puts in a good performance. It’s not up to that of 2007’s Atonement, but it’s a damn sight better than the majority of her filmography. She’s charming, funny and while her performance becomes borderline hysterical a little too often, likeable. She is overshadowed by Carell though, who delivers another great performance, akin to last year’s superb Crazy, Stupid, Love. Playing an almost serious character in a comedy is becoming his forte, and long may it continue. He’s an empty man, purposeless without his unhappy wife, aptly demonstrated by his attendance of his dull insurance job for an entire week.

The pair sees some odd sights on their journey, from orgies in restaurants to others who prepare for the end of the world by hiding away in bunkers and bomb shelters. This is easily the finest aspect of Seeking, how people are portrayed when facing the end of existence. Some riot, fight and steal. Like Dodge and Penny, some take the remaining planes and busses to find their loved ones. But the most interesting is those who continue doing their routine, almost as if they're unable to process the near insanity of the predicament that they find themselves in. Some of these are funny, Dodges boss offers the remaining employees in the office a promotion to CFO, the money is better, but you’ll be dead before you get your pay check. One man has stuck in my mind since I viewed the film; seemingly content with cutting his front lawn. It’s a split second of footage, but it captures the tone of the film excellently; a perfect marriage of odd, funny and endearingly sad.

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World has a good ending, though it’s almost spoiled by being needlessly rushed. An ending can make or break a film, and while this is a successful conclusion to a bittersweet story, it’s ripe with underdeveloped potential. The road trip film of the year, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World is a fine example of how RomComs should be done.

The Village review

Lucius Hunt: I am not the one with secrets. 
Alice Hunt: What is your meaning? 
Lucius Hunt: There are secrets in every corner of this village. Do you not feel it? Do you not see it? 

Director: M. Night Shyamalan
(2004)

I’ll admit, I was all too happy to bash M. Night Shyamalan until recently. Like many of his detractors, I liked The Sixth Sense, but it was 2002’s Signs where I started to become disappointed with the famous directors work. The ending felt weak compared to the tour de force of The Sixth Sense, and Mel Gibson could be in contention for one of the worst performances I've seen. With disdain for the director and knowledge that it didn’t fare particularly well with critics, I went The Village without the burden of expectation. If only every movie goer could do this for every film, cinema would be a far more enjoyable experience.

The film is set in the late 1800’s; focusing on a village is surrounded by dense woodland. The villagers don’t enter the woods, due to a pact that they’ve made with the fearsome creatures that reside there. No human enters the woods, no creature enters the village, a rule that every member of this tightly knit community are taught from a young age. Our protagonist Lucius Fox (Joaquin Phoenix) wishes to venture through the woods to the nearby towns to gather supplies to improve the standard of living for his fellow residents, most notably Ivy (Bryce Dallas Howard). The elders (including his mother) forbid it, something that he outright ignores, plunging everyone in mortal danger.

Just like his last film Signs (2002), Shyamalan does a spectacular job of mounting and developing the atmosphere of The Village, accentuated by howls in the wind and schools that teach of ‘those we do not speak of’. Shots that are seemingly insignificant, a figure in a red cloak for instance, soon has great meaning bound upon it. Cinematographer Roger Deakins allows Shyamalan to infuse loneliness in images of empty rocking chairs and flickering candles smothering scenes with a creepy, foreboding vibe that dominates first half of the film. It makes for unsettling viewing; so far the beasts that lurk in the tree line haven't even been seen. This is what The Village does so well, the little details add up to make an intricately detailed whole.

Like the vast majority of Shyamalan’s films, things aren’t exactly what they seem. To pinpoint this exactly would be a horrific spoiler, but it’s easy to say the film gives payoff to its build up. In differentiation to the signs or the sixth sense, the twist here leads the plot in a different direction, rather that signalling the end of the film. As a result we have a more satisfying film that doesn’t spend its entire time building up to one moment, portraying Shyamalan’s subtle maturation as a filmmaker instead of the centre point of his films being a cheap trick on the audience.

Even with its terrific atmosphere and gripping narrative, The Village stumbles with its writing on more than one occasion. Halfway through the film I realised Ivy was actually blind, a disability that really wasn’t made clear from the beginning. Exchanges between character is stilted, the 19^th century dialogue comes across as wooden regardless of the actor who delivers it. Weaver is horribly miscast and Phoenix little in the way of lines or development. But through intense build up, shocking payoff and thoroughly haunting music, the village is a good film. It’s not the same calibre as the Sixth Sense, but it isn’t deserving of the hate that it is so often lavished with.

Short review: Watership Down

Director: Martin Rosen
(1978)

Watership Down does things a little differently than other animated children’s films. The goal for Hazel (John Hurt) and the other rabbits is to find a new warren after Fiver envisions the destruction of their current home. They achieve this goal half way through, and the story turns to liberating rabbits from a warren owned by the vicious dictator General Woundwort.

Despite its audience, Watership Down is remarkably violent, with rabbits slice through each other on a frequent basis. But nothing compares to the snare scene. Warrior rabbit Bigwig gets tangled around his neck, choking and throwing up blood. Its harrowing stuff, even today. The films emotionally upsetting too, with an ending seemingly constructed to make grown men weep. Watership Down will be, and to an extent is, a timeless classic, destined to go down as one of the most beloved animated features of all time.

Beasts of the southern wild review

Hushpuppy: In a million years, when kids go to school, they gonna know: Once there was a Hushpuppy, and she lived with her daddy in The Bathtub. 

Director: Behn Zietlin
(2012)

Since an incredibly positive word of mouth had erupted earlier this year, I became especially excited to watch Beasts of the Southern Wild. Its story, setting and themes were something I simply had to see, making an immediate trip to the local arthouse cinema. 90 minutes later I left feeling incredibly deflated. Beasts isn’t a bad film, but it frequently shows glimpse of pure brilliance that Behn Zeitlin and his crew simply fail to capitalise upon.

After a phenomenal opening parade, we learn that the bayou community the Bathtub is likely to be flooded as the polar ice caps melt. Our main character is Hushpuppy (Quvenzhané Wallis), a 6 year old girl who lives with her loving yet abusive father, Wink (Dwight Henry). What begins at a snappy pace soon runs out of steam though, and Beasts of the Southern Wild relies solely on its gorgeous location, dreamy voiceover and knockout performances from its leads.

 But what a knockout these performances are. Quvenzhané Wallis was amazingly only 6 years old during filming, yet she washes over the film with her wide eyed brilliance, more so than any storm could ever hope to achieve. The same can be said for her onscreen father Wink (Dwight Henry) also an amateur actor, found by Zeitlin due to his crew frequenting Henry’s bakery. He gives a very stark, real character, harbouring great love for hushpuppy but supplying it with a heavy dose of brutality. Most notably, he makes her live alone, his own way of morphing her into a self sufficient being in the event that he’s no longer around. Something that is bound to happen after he returns wearing hospital apparel, much to Hushpuppy's amusement. While Hushpuppy tries to make sense of the world that rages on around her, prehistoric monsters called Aurochs have awoken from the melted ice, and are stampeding towards the Bathtub. While a very interesting idea, these titular beasts are a wasted opportunity. After being built up throughout the film, Hushpuppy's encounter with them squanders of one of Beasts more magical aspects. If they weren’t in the film, events would be exactly the same.

Beasts is yet another film that suffers from some needlessly shaky camerawork. While it does allow us to become more intimate with Hushpuppy and her perception of the world, it also becomes immensely annoying. When the film’s opening establishing shot is the equivalent of a plastic bag being blown around in the wind, something clearly isn’t right. It isn’t nausea inducing like say, The Hunger Games, but it’s far from perfect.

Despite being full of post Katrina imagery of homes flooded and retaken by nature, Beasts is not an allegory to that shocking storm of 2005. The residents of the bathtub could have abandoned their homes, but chose to stay and wait out the floods. It’s clear that they love where they live, an emotion that shines through strongest when aid workers from the other side of the divisional levee force them into care centres. This marks the worst 20 minutes of the film, gone is the beautiful yet ravaged countryside and instead we get to look at the sterile walls of a treatment centre. Its excruciating to bear and the lacklustre escape by the people of the bathtub is relieving.

After a good hour of nothingness in the bathtub and treatment centre, Hushpuppy decides to search for her mother. There’s no build-up to this quest; her and her friends just jump into the sea and swim outwards as far as they can, aiming for the light that sparkles in the distance. It’s doesn’t mesh with the rest of the narrative, but at this point any event that drives the plot forward is relieving. The next scene is wonderful however, and is what the film should have been like for the entirety of its running time. It’s emotional, taught, beautiful and mystical, coupled with amazing music and camerawork.

In all honesty, I'm disappointed with Beasts of the Southern Wild. Failing to deliver little over sublime acting and incredible beauty, it left me with a rather bitter taste in my mouth. At its best it’s a good film, emulating Malick while retaining its own sense of identity. At its worst it glorifies poverty with its limp story and dead in the water plot. While others witnessed a film equivalent of a force of nature, all I saw was the calm before the storm.

The Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 4: The Killer Within

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Warning, mild episode 4 spoilers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Click the link to reveal review.

The Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 3: Walk with Me review

!!!!!!!!!!!!!Warning, Season 2 and Episode 3 spoilers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Click the link to reveal review.

The Raid review

Mad Dog: Pulling a trigger is like ordering a takeout. 

Director: Gareth Evans
(2012)

When I went to watch the raid, I had set my expectations in accordance to the little I knew about it. Through various sources I knew that plot, character development and depth were almost nonexistent, with the action being placed centre stage. With this in mind I could appreciate the Raid for what it is, a riveting and intense action film.

Through the films first minutes we’re introduced to the films protagonist, Rama (Iko Uwais). Within minutes he is in his swat uniform and has joined up with the rest of his squad. Their objective is simple, reach the top of a tower block in the slums of Jakarta and capture the gang leader Tama (Ray Sahetapy) who resides there. Soon after the bloodshed has begun, the police team must fight for their survival as the gangs close in. This is about as complex as the raid ever becomes, it is very much a film with a simple story and even simpler characters. Thankfully director Gareth Evans cares not for such frivolities, and instead puts focus the stunning fighting style of Pencak Silat, a decision that has turned out to be the correct one.

The action is fluid and fast paced right from the get go. Ranging from 1 Vs 1 fights to massive one sided 12 man brawls. From the first gunfight, Evans paces his set pieces perfectly; they're close enough to each other to keep the audience interested, and far enough apart to prevent them from becoming overwhelming. The highlight is undoubtedly the meth lab brawl, with Rama and the remaining SWAT team beating down a bunch of scientists and junkies. The scene hits a strong climax as our hero runs across an incredibly long table that’s smothered in meth, clashing with gang member in a furious table top battle. The fight is brutal, the blows amplified by the clouds of the powered drugs that litter the air after every blow that connects, reminding me very much of The Matrix subway fight.

By the time the credits role, the Raid has done such a good job hiding its empty plot and lifeless writing by being a breathless and furious experience. In place of story is mind-blowing combat, where there should be character development there’s a stunning score from Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda, the lack of gunplay is covered by tight pacing. If you manage to take The Raid for what it is, it’s hands down the best action film of the year.

Hanna review

Hanna: Adapt or die. 
Erik: Think on your feet. 
Hanna: Even when I'm sleeping. 

Director: Joe Wright
(2011)

Joe Wright isn’t a director who produces many films a year. While he isn’t as commercially lucrative as other more productive filmmakers, I find that when a director takes his time with his films by working on them one at a time they often turn out to be better, more enjoyable films. After my surprise at the quality of 2007s Atonement, Wright has done it again with Hanna, one of the finer action films of 2011.

 After her great performance in Atonement, Wright reunites with the talented Sariose Ronan, who has bounced back wonderfully after her shockingly poor turn in the abhorrent The Lovely Bones. She owns her scenes as the titular Hanna, a 16 year old trained assassin. She has lived with her father alone in the isolated wilderness of Finland almost since birth, being trained so that one day she could take her revenge on mysterious CIA agent Marissa Wiegler (Cate Blanchett). From our first shot of Hanna, we know she means business, and is one of the strongest female protagonists since Alien heroine Ellen Ripley.

The highlight of Hanna is the action sequences. Not a fan of shaking cameras and jumpy editing, Wright frames his fights well, and lets them play out in real time.  Sariose Ronan certainly holds her own in these scenes, engaging with multiple foes in brutal hand to hand engagements. The undoubted highlight of the set pieces comes from Hanna's father Erik (Eric Bana). Upon arriving in Germany, we witness a single, unbroken tracking shot from exiting the train station all the way down to a subway station, where he engages in a fight with 4 of Marissa’s goons. If there was ever a shot to rival the Dunkirk scene from Wrights Atonement, this is it. What amplifies the intensity of these scenes is the excellent original score from the Chemical Brothers. It’s purely electric, a factor alone that raises the tension before the during the fighting. What’s more of a credit to Wright however, is that while he does use the score to amplify tension, he follows this up by giving the viewer a worthwhile payoff, making Hanna all the more satisfying.

Hanna's biggest flaw is its dull and unfulfilling story that cant capitalise on a thrilling and well paced build up. The first 2 thirds are shrouded in mystery, feeding us only the basic information about Hanna, her father and their connection with Marissa. Once the final third rolls around, any unanswered questions are met in such a fashion that describing them as boring is a detriment to the word. The quality of the climax is lessened further by lacking a good action scene. Until now, every engagement and encounter has been delightful, but Wrights focus on trying to be clever seems to come before making a well rounded film.

On the whole, Hanna is much like Ronan's performance; an elegant blend of edgy, exciting brilliance. But it also resembles Blanchett's antagonist, armed with an accent so bad it almost devalues the entire character. Regardless of flaws Joe Wright has done a marvellous job with Hanna, and has given 2011 one of its finest action thrillers.

Adventureland review

Director: Greg Mottola
(2009)

I'm sure that this is the third Greg Mottola film that I have watched. Given the fact that Superbad was average and Paul was a poor effort, I shouldn’t have even bothered watching Adventureland, his coming of age drama that was made in between the 2 aforementioned titles. I'm incredibly glad that I did. Not only is Adventureland Mottolas best film, it’s also a fine example in how to correctly make a coming of age film correctly without it feeling forced or superficial.

Like all of his work, Mottola doesn’t force an overly complex story onto the viewer. James (Jesse Eisenberg) has just graduated high school and is preparing to backpack around Europe through the summer before heading off to university. This summer of culture and debauchery is short lived when his parents reveal that their financial troubles can’t afford for him to go; troubles that also threaten his chance to go to university as well. The solution is to get a summer job; the only place that will take him is Adventureland, the local theme park. From here were thrown head first into a touching and genuine film, something that Superbad should have been. They do, after all, sport similar themes, the final summer of adolescent youth, drinking large quantities of alcohol and looking for that final love before departing to make a name for themselves in the big, bad world.

A big part in what helps keeps Adventureland fresh is that it has humour that works. Perhaps not as constantly funny as Superbad, the jokes here resonate more, so it’d be unwise to expect talks about semen and being possessed by a dick devil. I think what makes Adventureland more grounded that Mottolas other work is due to the toned down language. Almost every character has the word fuck pass their lips, but compared to Superbads 186 uses of it, less is definitely more here.

The brilliance of Adventureland is helped significantly by solid performances from the entire cast. Eisenberg imbues James with a dorky clumsiness, when juxtaposed next to the tomboy Em (Kristen Stewart) makes for some cute, awkward scenes. The park owners, Paulette and Bobby (Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader) bring chuckles, his hideous 80’s vibe and her complete uselessness. Even actors who I feel aren’t adept at their profession in good turns here. There’s no doubt that its helped by good writing from Mottola, but actually caring about Ryan Reynolds is something I never thought I would do. The script is so tight in fact, that its ending looks weak next to the rest of the film. Adventureland does so well to stay well away from the typical clichés for the most part, but the ending couldn’t have been more clichéd even if it tried. It might give some much needed closure, but did why do these scenes always feature terrible weather?

Personally find it wrong to compare the works of a director. I believe that each film should be taken as an individual piece of work. But with Adventureland, Mottola has proved his development as a filmmaker. Practically all his mistakes in Superbad have been rectified here, demonstrating tighter editing (Superbad outstayed its welcome far before the end), deeper characters and more resonating sentiment. His talents don’t hit stratospheric heights, but they do mesh together to make a fantastic film its performances are stronger and the humour less childish. Adventureland is a part coming of age story, part comedy, and all heart.

Dead Man’s Shoes review

Richard: [narrating] God will forgive them. He'll forgive them and allow them into Heaven. I can't live with that.

Director: Shane Meadows
(2004)

Back in 2011 I was lucky enough to catch Shane Meadows’ This Is England’ on Channel 4 one afternoon. Needless to say it blew me away with excellent performances and chilling themes. It’s a surprise even to me why I didn’t search out Meadows’ other films there and then, a mistake I only rectified recently when I finally bought and viewed Dead Man’s Shoes, his 2004 revenge thriller. While not close to This Is England in terms of overall quality, it still remains a competent and engaging thriller.

Opening with a super 8 montage of 2 brothers, charting their childhood, we pick up with the duo in the present day. Richard (Paddy Considine) is a solider returning from duty in order to get payback on a group of local criminals who abused his disabled brother Anthony (Toby Kebbell) while he was on tour. Through the use of black and white flashbacks, we witness the horrendous nature of the films antagonists, lead by a man named Sonny (Gary Stretch).they’re a bunch of low time crooks and petty drug dealers, as an audience we’re made to hate them profusely, and its moments like these that make Dead Man’s Shoes difficult, almost overbearing to watch. While it is highly uncomfortable, it does its job in giving the audience the same burning desire that Richard possesses to get even.

Within a short space of time, DMS centres on Richard as he begins his revenge. The performance here is strong, and Considine imbues his character with an uneasy edge; a loaded gun that could erupt in a seconds notice. In an early encounter with drug dealer Herbie (Stuart Wolfenden), he flips out showing a glimpse of the furious anger he intends to unleash. When the slaughter does begin, Dead Man’s Shoes is remarkably close to becoming a supernatural horror film. Richards drive for revenge, the mask he dons and his ability to be one step ahead of his targets gives him an aura of unpredictability and otherworldliness. The killings themselves are vicious, but despite their brutality, we revel in the violence that is lathered on our evil antagonists.

After maintaining a sharp pace throughout, things slowdown in the final third, a decision that has a negative effect on the films ending. After such drive and brutality, it feels very much like a cop out. It’s almost feels as if Meadows didn’t have an idea on how to conclude, and just decided to finish the film as quickly as possible. More scenes with Richard and Anthony would have been useful too. What Meadows has given us is great, but more of it would have worked wonders, as well as alleviating the films issue of being a little short. So while the flaws here are quite major, Dead Man’s Shoes is recommended is engrossing, entertaining and uncompromisingly raw. It doesn’t stand close to This Is England, but very little does.

Short review: Submarine

Director: Richard Ayoade
(2011)

IT Crowd star Richard Ayoade directs this immensely charming coming of age story of precocious teenager Oliver Tate, whose goals are to prevent his parents from splitting up and to lose his virginity before he becomes 16. The film is filled full of quirky, laugh out loud moments, from Oliver daydreaming about how people would react to his death to paddy Constantine’s hilarious new age mystic, Submarine never lets up. Despite being stuffed with odd comedic moments, submarine has real heart under its funny exterior. Oliver is simultaneously likable yet repulsive character, something that can be attributed to a great performance. At its worst, submarine is too quirky, sacrificing plot development for crazy flashbacks and bizarre tangents. When it strains to prove just how indie it is, submarine feels hollow, yet so very sweet. It offers little sustenance, but makes for an incredible snack instead.