Cinema Without Borders Blogs

Growing Pains…

Charlize Theron stars as a dysfunctional ghost writer of a onetime hot teen franchise that’s rapidly going off the boil. Finding out that her High School sweetheart has recently had a child, she decides to return to her small town and rescue him from the life of domestic Hell she believes he’s trapped in. What ensues is her maddening and hilarious selfish nature hurricaining into self destruction.

Theron is a delight in this film, and that’s partly down to her commitment to really going all out in the role, and partly down to the brilliance of the script, from Juno writer Diablo Cody. There are so many quotable moments, and an abundance of sharp little one liners. For the most part it’s a delightful dark comedy fronted by a very unlikeable lead character, whose horrid plans make her halfway endearing (a little like Cameron Diaz in Bad Teacher). However as more drama begins to seep in, the end gets a little uncomfortable and murky, but it’s understandable why, this is a character with some serious issues.

For the most part it’s fun and humorous watching with some great performances from Theron and her side kick. The ending is a little neither here nor there, but it’s definitely worth a watch for the script and Theron’s performance.

Set in the seemingly paradise island of Hawaii, George Clooney stars as a lawyer who’s become so caught up in a land endowment deal that could make him a fortune, that he hasn’t realised how neglectant a father and husband he’s become. However when his wife is fatally injured in a water skiing accident, he must face up to his duties as a father and deal with the harsh truth that his wife was in the midst of an affair with a local realtor.

The Descendants is a low key indie dramadey that’s greatest strength is its believable and humorous dialogue. Its story telling that delights in its distinct lack of bullshit, it George Clooney puts in a really solid performance in this film, relying on his vulnerability rather than his presence or easy going charm. He’s simply a flawed man trying to keep his 2 girls in check after the tragedy. It helps that he has a really great supporting cast, from his rambunctious 8 year old daughter and his older rebellious teen daughter, complete with endearingly moronic boyfriend who comes along for the ride.

It’s very much a film with no major events or twists, but it bounces along with enough fizz, fun and heart to make it resonate.

Neesons not afraid of the Big Bad Wolf…

On a journey back from an oil drilling expedition, a plane crash leaves a motley crew to survive in an arctic wasteland. However, the freezing cold is the least of their worries as a pack of territorial wolves set out to kill these outsiders.

I wish I had been a fly on the wall when this film was pitched. ‘Liam Neeson takes on a wolf pack’. On the one hand it sounds like an excellent idea for The Hangover 3, Neeson taking on The Wolf Pack, summoning his spirit from Taken and going on a hell bent, booze fuelled journey to retrieve a missing groom. Better though, Neeson fighting wolves’ sounds like a dream ending to the tiresome Twilight Franchise, with the Irish man mountain hunting down each one of those melodramatic po-faced tween morons and snapping their necks for inflicting the sheer stupidity of Breaking Dawn upon the world. Equally entertaining would be Neeson running riot in a bullets and bodies tour de force in Emmerdales famous pub. But I digress….

This survival drama delivers some really great cinema action, Neeson is on top form as the hunting expert keeping these stragglers from becoming pedigree chum. The harsh tundra makes for dramatic viewing and it’s got frights and chases and action, with some over egged emotions thrown in for good measure. There were parts when I wished I was in the comfort of my own home so I could have shouted encouragement to Neeson to take those mutts out. The wolves themselves are merciless and fierce, the most menacing thing to come out the arctic since that creepy Polar bear puppet who stalks freezers in the BirdsEye adverts (would love to see Liam Neeson rip the head off him too).

My biggest criticism of this survival epic has to be the fact that it took a different direction from the one I wanted. The story attempted to plum depth from sentimentality in an attempt to make it serious and give it some form of credence. Yes it is a dire situation, and the men’s heartfelt fireside confessions did attempt to make them ‘real’ characters, but the whole time I was secretly praying they’d shut up and let Liam Neeson start kicking some serious canine arse. It’s got such a great B-Movie premise that I would have preferred to see Neeson give the RSPCA something to really moan about. Perhaps though the real sentiment behind my criticism is that it’s simply not Taken 2: Neeson vs The Circle of Life. But I still treated it as a really great action film.

If nothing else it has cemented Neeson as my favourite action hero, which is really something considering his age. It also seems fitting that as Sylvester Stallone rounds up every coffin dodging action stars of yesteryear for The Expendables 2, all I really want is a middle aged giant Irishman to beat the Hell out of anything that gets in his way.

Life’s simple pleasures….

Homemade Heroes go wild…

Andrew is a picked upon outsider at school who purchases a camera to document his life. His cousin Matt tries to get him out his shell a bit by taking him to a rave and introducing him to popular jock Steve. However the boys late night adventure into the woods to explore an anomaly in the ground has a bizarre affect on them, bestowing each with the gift of telekinesis. It’s not long before the 3 are larking around with their new powers, learning to shift objects, taking flight and generally making mischief. Unfortunately though things take a sinister twist when Andrew’s teen angst consumes him…

Just when it seemed no more mileage could be gotten out of the ‘shaky-hand-cam-found-footage’ genre than this film comes like a refreshing bolt out the blue, not only reinvigorating the potential of this medium that made The Blair Witch Project and Cloverfield so engrossing and captivating, but also upping the stakes of the stalest of genres, The Super Hero flick.

Brevity and pace definitely work in its favour, and the film intelligently lays down the ground work that helps make its climax so exhilarating. Chronicle is the film that has come out of nowhere and rightfully deserves a watch. Its originality and its simplicity are complimented by its actors and direction.  It grips your attention throughout and delivers a real punch.  There’s a real sense of fun when the 3 boys first discover their powers that’s delightful to watch, and Andrew’s slip slide into becoming a monster is relayed to us in a manner that makes us sympathise with his choices (there’s even a subtly chilling sequence that signals the start of his madness when he splits an incy wincy spider 8 ways)

Hugely enjoyable, massively entertaining, a quality example of how blockbuster film making should be. Let’s hope word of mouth makes this film the hit it deserves to be.

Following a playground dispute between two 11 year old boys, their parents get together to discuss how best to handle the matter in a civilised way. However it’s not long before niceties turn into a verbal knife fight….

The genius of this film lies with its simplicity; barring the opening and closing sequence, the entire film takes place in a plush New York City apartment.  Furthermore it involves only 4 main actors, each bringing their own flare to this explosive mix. In the one corner we have Jodie Foster and John C. Reilly, her an uptight bleeding heart liberal with very touchy feely PC ideals on parenting, he a laid back regular working Joe, ever so slightly hen pecked by his wife. Opposite them we have Kate Winslet and Christophe Waltz, Winslet a reserved investment broker and Waltz a pig ignorant savvy attorney. What begins as well meaning soon turns sour. Both couples begin with the best of intentions, to take a tricky situation and try and resolve it peacefully. Foster’s character sits astride her high horse, keen to assign the blame for her sons ‘disfigurement’ (he was struck by a stick by the other child and lost 2 teeth) on the parents. However it’s not long before Christophe Waltz begins to antagonize the situation, which rapidly spirals out of control, as alliances and opinions twist and turn for the best part of an hour. We get couple vs. Couple, men against women, the men spar off, then the women spar off.  

The film starts with an air of wicked fun, all the forced pleasantries and politeness are laced with accusation and guilt. For all their want to be civilised bubbling beneath all this fakery is a volatile mix of anger, judgement and dislike. Christophe Waltz easily has the best part, deliciously delivering each line with a condescending tone that Foster bats right back at him. The fireworks really begin though when a nauseous Kate Winslet unexpectedly pukes all over the place (and I mean all over the place) suddenly everyone’s masks slip and true colours appear. The blame game gets truly underway, and not only are parenting skills dissected; each couples marriage comes under scrutiny as well. By the end it’s a free for all. Unfortunately though as threads come apart the whole thing gets a little dark and philosophical, it gets lost in the murky undertones of examining these wealthy New Yorkers middle class sensibilities rather than flaws in human nature. The point becomes side tracked and matters become a bit too self indulgent and melodramatic.

It’s clever, good fun to begin with, and when the veneers fade things do get feisty. Top notch acting carries the fighting along and cements Christophe Waltz as one of my favourite actors. However certain parts could do with trimming and the points being made a little more concise.

My lovely Horse, running through the fields…

War Horse tells the tale Albie, a modest stable boy from a struggling rural family whose father takes a chance on a spirited young foal to change the fortunes of their failing farm. Albie forms a bond with the horse, Joey, but before long the pair are separated by the outbreak of World War One. As Joey is sold off to the army and sent away to France, Albie finds himself not far behind, being recruited to fight in the trenches in Germany.

War Horse is Steven Spielberg at his finest. With Tin-Tin it seemed he was so swept up with new technologies and an Indiana Jones style adventure, that the character himself seems too bland to connect to. War Horse sees Spielberg combine the same kind of emotional warmth from ET with the horror of war we see in Saving Private Ryan. It’s a whopping 2 and a half hours long, but that length is justified in him setting up the friendship between boy and horse and getting us to invest in their bond. The second act focuses more so on Joey, and his travels between a nervous Army General to a pair of frightened German soldiers to an enchanting young French girl and her protective Grand Father. Each all recognise the specialness of Joey, and each have a tragic tale of their own that transpires with him. When Albie reappears in the trench that’s when the film takes on a different tone, we see the inescapable horrors of war, and the infinite sadness that such atrocities bring about on both sides. The fear and anxieties of the young men is palpable, and all lead to a very emotional pay off.

War Horse is at times overly sentimental, and weepy moments litter this film like teary landmines. But if you give in to its intentions then it becomes a hugely rewarding cinema experience. Like Scorses’s Hugo, there is a sense of mastery and wonder weaved through each scene, and the bond between Joey and Albie drives this film forward, allowing us to get swept up in their experience. I swore I would resist crying at a film about the love between a boy and horse, but by the end it’s nigh on impossible to avoid. It’s terrific, joyous film making, cinema at its finest.

Finchers Re-inked rethink…

A shamed journalist is hired by a wealthy magnate to solve a 40 year old mystery surrounding his missing Grand Daughter. To help him, he recruits a lone woman, an investigative reporter with a tragic and dark back story. Together they get more than they bargain for when their digging around turns deadly.

There is a distinct sense of oddness in watching this film having already seen the pretty fantastic original Swedish version. It’s made all the more odd by the fact it’s also set in Sweden, with everyone but it’s lead (Daniel Craig) adopting Swedish accents. Keeping so strikingly close to the original in its settings and themes, this could have quite easily become an exercise in pointlessness. However with David Fincher at the helm this remake has just enough flavour to set it apart. His distinctive style of filming, and his trademark colour schemes help elevate this film, and even at parts out strip the original. He boldly doesn’t side step the unflinching violence of the original, and does his best to put his own stamp on the harrowing events.

Fincher also has the good sense to have the same team from The Social Network compose the score which adds buckets to the intensity, mystery and tension. He also utilises a thundering opening credit sequence that’s part music video, part Bond-esque title sequence, part techo, S&M silver paint drenched nightmare. It was so mind blowingly stunning I almost applauded when it climaxed.

The biggest comparison that needs to be made is between Noomi Rapace’s and Rooney Mara’s portrayal as the illustrious outsider, Elisabeth Salander.  Rapace, for me, wins hands down. That is no slight on Mara though, who goes that extra mile to push out a suitably twisted performance. It just seems in the remake Salander  is perhaps too vocal, less relatable, and more sociopathic. At one point she wears a T-shirt that reads ‘Fuck you, you fucking fuck’, whilst at another she screams of how crazy she is. It lacks the subtle creepiness of the first one by being a little bit too much on the (pierced) nose.

On exiting the cinema, I was in two minds about how I felt. I think in actuality I would have loved to have seen a mash up of both films, with the original cast, scenery and Swedish language, but directed by Fincher (but with ending of the original, because Fincher fudged the pay off and conclusion). Still a hugely enjoyable, shockingly violent affair.

Documentary made from stock footage and interviews about the rise and death of Formula One champion Ayrton Senna.

I had initially avoided this film because Formula One holds absolutely no appeal to me, I figured it would only be of interest to the fans of Top Gear and Sunday afternoon Grand Prix lovers. However you don’t need to know a single thing about race car driving to enjoy this film. Senna is such a charming, ambitious and relatable person that this film is much more about him and his life than it is about racing.

Through it we learn of his intial interest in the sport, his early beginnings and how his signature style got him noticed. Through him we learn about the politics of Formula One, the money and sponsors involved and the rivalry that built up between him and fellow team mate Alain Proust. It’s more so a documentary about passion and ambition. I found it very informative, educational, exciting and ultimately saddening. It’s well worth a watch for everyone.

 Sex and the City 3…

Set in New York, Michael Fassbender plays a cool headed businessman consumed by sex addiction. An unscheduled visit by his flaky and vulnerable sister leads him to face up to his demons.

Upon viewing I was left cold by this film, its stark visuals, lack of dialogue and abundance of sex just by passed me. Fassbender’s character was not someone to whom I could relate to, and admittedly I dismissed this film too readily as over hyped arty crap. I just plain did not get it. The point it was trying to make simply didn’t click with me. But strangely throughout the week my mind kept pondering about it, flashing up key scenes and moments. The aftertaste of it seemed to intrigue me more than the viewing itself.

It was the intense silence and darkness of New York that had stuck with me. So often do we see the hustle and bustle of The City That Never Sleeps, its lights and its glamour, that to see it from another angle, makes it very impacting. Fassbender’s character is a broken human being, a victim of a culture that wants everything and wants it immediately. He’s merely been reduced to the most base and primal of urges, his constant and unyielding need for sexual contact. His jungle is New York by nightfall, away from the tourist images and scenes of sitcoms, his New York is a dark and seedy place, of subway journeys eying up potential prey. He lives an isolated life, shattered by his sister’s unwelcome arrival. It’s only after tragic circumstances that Fassbender’s character comes to realise the depth of his depravity and the extent of his despair.

This film has a very pertinent cultural commentary about the nature of Big City living and the anonymity it throws over people. It highlights how alienating and lonely the world can be and how in a world of Facebook and internet forums that people can stop genuinely connecting with one another or plain just forget how to. Arty and powerful stuff, with an awful lot of sex.

 How Mission Impossible 4 and Sherlock Holmes teamed up to show Transformers how it’s done…

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol.

Tom Cruise returns once again as Ethan Hunt, and after breaking out a Russian Prison in a barn storming opening sequence finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time; outside the Kremlin just after it’s been blown up. Fearing that his team will be blamed for the attack, they go off radar and attempt to find the real culprits.

This franchise hasn’t so far carved out a distinctive enough niche to be as popular as say Bond or Bourne, but this film helps it find its feet as being more fun and frantic, more so along the lines of Salt. It bolts from one large set piece to another, with plenty of actions and gadgets to keep it riveting. It was one of the best all out action films I’ve seen at the cinema in a long time. From the fast paced prison break out, to a stunt heavy sequence on a very tall building in Dubai, the action (and humour in the form of Simon Pegg) comes thick and fast. The story is a little preposterous and achingly simple (catch put big bad Russian no gooder from blowing up the world) but for a Friday night popcorn film it is bang on the money.

Big, stunt filled, action crammed dumbness. Pretty good popcorn Action Blockbuster.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Not quite as delicious as the BBC’s modern Day adaptation, this Guy Richie lead franchise has more than enough character and charm to hold its head high. Robert Downey Jr returns once again as the borderline crazy private investigator and Jude Law as his put upon sidekick Watson. This time they most pit their heads against Holmes arch nemesis Moriarty. Much similar to the first in tone and humour, Downey Jr and Law bounce off one another with enough fun and good will that the whole film zips along nicely. It’s clear that Downey Jr relishes his role as the crazed detective with an oversized ego and equally bad attitude to boot, and it’s a pleasure to watch (much similar to when Johnny Depp is on top form as Jack Sparrow). The story gets a touch convoluted but it’s entirely forgivable amidst all the adventure and fun. I particularly enjoyed the raid on the train scene in which a dragged up Holmes hijacks Watson’s honeymoon to save him from a group of assassins.

Fast paced and fun, just the way a blockbuster should be.