Oblivion

Fabulous; another traditionally cocky Tom Cruise affair, but one where he doesn't really have to share screen time with anyone. We've been waiting so long for another one of these, and Oblivion plays pretty much precisely as you'd expect; a slightly cheesy sci-fi action romp with Mr. Cruise taking the unashamed role of 'saviour of humanity'. The visuals are actually pretty decent, but in truth, not a whole lot more than should be readily expected of a $120 million Tom Cruise sci-fi epic. Couple that with a slightly over-egged and astonishingly over-sentimental ending (that comes about 20 minutes too late) and the films plays out its two hour running time and leaves little more than a feeling of slightly over-long cringey disappointment. Perfectly watchable cringey disappointment, but cringey disappointment all the same.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

So, the second hairy-footed, axe-wielding, wizard-filled instalment is upon us after a year in the waiting. And 12 months is a particularly long time to wait in the world of Middle Earth, with such an enormous amount of active plot lines to have to remember from 2012's 'The Unexpected Journey'. Left partway through their quest, (and with Bilbo having just pocketed Gollum's precious), Desolation picks up the party (after a minor sojourn to recap on unseen events from before the first film) still being pursued by the Orc gang as they travel closer to the Lonely Mountain. Despite the somewhat aborted attempt to refresh the audience's memories though, Peter Jackson does assume a fair amount of revision on the part of the viewer, with a little too much of the mythology swept over too quickly to truly get back up to speed before a new avalanche of story to stay on top of.

Flight

Aghast as I was to be greeted by a female full frontal within 20 seconds of tucking into my popcorn, it was in fact the characters, not the content that really let Flight down for me. Sure, the film does drag in places, and at more than two and a quarter hours it is a little over-long which seriously doesn't help, but the biggest downer in the whole thing is in fact the lead character, which despite taking the shape of Denzel Washington, takes more than a fair amount of effort to like even remotely. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your perspective), that seems to be nothing to do with Denzel's acting, which as usual is brilliantly solid, but does mean that it's rather a trial to keep caring. That, and with yet more gratuitous shots of injections proving yet again that Hollywood cares little about those of us with trypanophobia (yes, that's a real thing), Flight fails to really make an impact in quite the right way.

Elysium

Elysium marks Neill Blomkamp's second time in the feature length director's chair, and it seems he has brought plenty with him from 2009's District 9 (not least it's leading man, Sharlto Copley). Altogether bigger budgeted and better equipped, Elysium is set in another dystopian future, with the human elite lording it from the heavens aboard an idyllic space station called Elysium. Underneath, amid an overpopulated (District 9?), multinational-company controlled (District 9?) Earth, a small group of smugglers and rebels plan to incite a revolution (District 9?) in defiance of the wealthy's all encompassing monopoly over medical treatment and health care (Obamacare?). Truth be told, it's very difficult to tell whether there is actually an intended political statement at the heart, or just an overactive metaphor gland.

District 9

Throwing aside the overly obvious real-life racial parallels, District 9 actually aims to do a pretty good job at telling a science fiction story with a difference, an aim which is aided no end by the fascinating concept on which the story is based. Sectionalised refugee aliens in Johannesburg, courtesy of a South African independent film certainly doesn't sound like the basis of your bog standard extra-terrestrial romp, but with Peter Jackson's assistance as producer, newcomer director Neil Blomkamp had plenty in his arsenal to make this work. All that being said, District 9 is a bit of a game of two halves for me. Stylistically intense (albeit a tad overly grotesque in places), the story is truly brilliant (driven almost entirely as a character drama rather than science fiction), and the fact that it is all set in the cinematically 'alien' landscape of South Africa is absolutely spot on. It would have been so easy to have commandeered the story and set it in the skies of Philadelphia or New Orleans, but an American backdrop would have lost every ounce of gravity that this final product has ended up with. However, and it's a big one, despite wanting to like District 9 for all the technical brilliance of the above, there's just something about it that makes it hard to do. Partly down to the frustrating mix of documentary extracts, found footage and 'real' narrative which never quite seem to gel together, the film is a little tricky to penetrate, and never quite managed to immerse me in the goings on of the people we're meant to be caring about. Although therefore able to appreciate it from afar, it's difficult to cast any meaningful judgement on a film that just didn't bring me along for the ride.

Are you happy with your gas and electric supplier?

 

Vital Statistics
Director	Neil Blomkamp
Cast	Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope, David James
Length	112 mins
Post Credits Scene	No
TFC Mash-Up	Independence Day swaps interstellar warmongering for alien refugees. Cue "what does it mean to be human?" filmmaking.
Star Rating

Pitch Perfect

Oh I do love film with a shambolic sense of Hollywood irony, and in this case, for a film that has a whole scene lambasting movies for having predictable endings, Pitch Perfect certainly flies in the face of its own advice. Despite the rather inevitable conclusion though, it does a relatively good job at keeping the entertainment level high for the necessary 112 minutes. Obviously, the film itself was always going to draw comparisons to Glee, which is wholly understandable given that Pitch Perfect's storyline effectively plays out as the whole first season in little over an hour and a half. Throw in some more hit than miss Dodgeball-esque humour and the sheer variety of well-written characters, (including plenty enough eye-candy regardless of sexuality) and actually what could very easily have been written off as a movie cash in of a popular TV genre quite capably stands on its own two feet.

I have no idea whose hand that is on the right hand side, but this scene was evidently a great deal more homoerotic than I remember it...

In A World

My second showing of the 2013 Sundance London season represents (for one person at least) the very definition of the word obsession. Introducing the film, Lake Bell described it simply as "short and sweet", which as it turned out, was an incredibly accurate description. But then of all people, she should know, as in what can only be thought of as a dazzling display of control freakery, she is not only the writer of the film, but also the director, producer, provides the post-prod vocals for nearly every unseen character (male and female) and even takes some time out to try her hand in the starring role. Someone's got trust issues.

In A World is a comic look into the American film voice-over industry, and the personal and professional struggles of a girl trying to find her break. Whilst the presence of the nigh-on compulsory love-story is an obvious inclusion as a back drop, the main narrative actually follows Lake Bell's Carol Solomon as she comes up against the industry that made her father's name, and the sexism and family dysfunction that crops up along the way.

Say what you like, the Windows 95 shower curtain behind her is a nice touch.

Though not a rip-roaring guffaw fest, In A Word does carry some genuine comic weight. It does feel slightly forced in some places, and even though some of the acting is guilty of becoming unbearably over the top towards the end, hidden within the rest are some absolute gems of one liners and comedy facial expressions which seem to come so easily to the veritable star of the show. Just as personable in real life, Bell's first full length feature is a genuine labour of love, and even attracts cameos from Hollywood top flight in the form of Eva Longoria and Cameron Diaz. A-listers and despotic writer/director/leading ladies aside though, In A World does have one precious thing that very much earns it's place on the silver screen at Sundance; originality.

Jack the Giant Slayer

And so, as the year has a January in it, Hollywood has deemed another retelling of a classic English fairytale be appropriate. Fortunately, 2013's offering does size up rather better than previous attempts, not least thanks to a very pleasing number of British actors in role (in fact, Stanley Tucci's devious Roderick is left alone in holding the fort for our American cousins in a delicious reversal of Hollywood stereotyping). As another bonus, girls shouldn't have too much of a struggle with this film, as aside from Nicholas Hoult needing a smidgen of a haircut, Ewan McGregor is looking so devilishly dapper it's almost off-putting.

The other things to look at aren't bad either. The special effects are decent enough, although admittedly not some of the finest I've ever seen on screen, but more than made up for by the beautiful sweeping panoramas of the Kingdom, which certainly do deliver the goods.

That sinking feeling when you feel compelled to make reference to Nicholas Hoult's massive beanstalk. Too predictable.

By way of a side note, as my viewing company for this film was yet to enter the realms of teen-dom, it would be remiss of me not to comment on its suitability. Though a 12A, the screen was certainly full of individuals much (and in some cases, much much) younger, and felt pretty friendly throughout. Save for the obligatory minor swear words, there is plenty to keep the younger members satisfied, which is why perhaps it did feel slightly more childish than I'd been expecting. Don't get me wrong, having been adapted from a children's fairytale, it was unlikely to be anything else, but there were moments that did just fail to walk the tightrope between appealing to kids and appealing to adults, and fall squarely on the children's side. One such annoyance comes in the form of a truly surreal end sting, which (although I won't ruin) doesn't feel like it's in any way necessary, or indeed additive to the narrative of the story. But then as school holiday fodder goes, I'm reliably informed it's "the best film of the year", so who am I to argue?

The Imposter

The Imposter is not particularly a genre favourite of mine, but pleasingly, it is just too compelling a story to miss. Effectively the documentary equivalent of 'Catch Me If You Can' but with an added twist, this tale keeps us in the real world with a mix of interviews, reconstructions and a smattering of home movie footage to really bring home the reality of events on screen. Pace and intrigue is good throughout, with the tension never really letting up on screen as new information is consistently drip fed to great effect. If only to learn the final sting in the tail, The Imposter is genuinely riveting, and well worth a look.

Possibly the broodiest photo you're ever likely to see...

Welcome to the Punch

I'm speaking slightly provocatively to start, but in my opinion, Welcome to The Punch is exactly what we need to see more of; a (comparatively) low budget, British based indie film that certainly pulls a decent proportion of its own weight in comparison to some of the Hollywood behemoths out there. At no point does the smaller budget (still hardly loose change at $8.5m) diminish the final product, which is a well thought through cops and robbers drama, packed with plenty of set piece action sequences and top quality casting, including James McAvoy at the helm.

After a particularly strongly worded argument, James McAvoy just waits for his car to apologise.

Perhaps the most overwhelming positive of the film is the extra thought and care the production team has put into the planning. The resulting precision and ambience in so many of the scenes is truly visually arresting (pun not intended), and a particular joy in its dramatic presentation of a very different side of London, with the Canary Wharf based opening sequence falling at the particularly memorable end of the spectrum. That said, while the extra care is highly evident in the big set piece shots, the slickness doesn't seem to extend quite into the link scenes. For some reason, they feel slightly looser, perhaps more akin to an extended TV show than a feature length thriller on the silver screen, and as a result, the film seems to lack the final punch to the gut (again, no pun intended) that should really be expected of the genre. With the added hardship of having to sit through a series of grotesque needle shots, Welcome to the Punch doesn't quite jump off the screen quite as it should, but does prove some undeniable promise for its critically acclaimed writer/director Eran Creevy.

Men in Black 3

With such a long gap (a full decade) before this film completed the trilogy, there was going to be a fair amount riding on the third instalment being worthwhile to get everyone back on board. Thankfully, the extra time in planning has meant that the finished article still carries the classic MIB mix of extra-terrestrial silliness and universe ending peril, with the familiar faces and Easter egg references to characters past to keep even the most seasoned fan happy. At it's heart then, MIB3 is a relatively standard time travel storyline, which to be honest, does a reasonable enough job of keeping an audience's attention for the required 106 minutes. That said, there is a niggling feeling that it doesn't really know who it wants to entertain; some moments seem decidedly more grown up than prior instalments (including the 'big bad' being decidedly scarier), yet some elements are so immeasurably childish that I cannot believe that anyone who remembers the previous films would find them entertaining in any way. Fortunately though, 10 year old humour aside, the film does surprisingly well as a time travel story arc, without too many of the major plot holes cropping up that so often plague similar titles. All in all then, MIB3 forms a pretty respectable conclusion to the Men in Black trilogy, but given the box office success, I can't imagine this is the last we'll see of Agents J and K.

The ultimate source of inspiration for any type of futuristic mode of transport; Party Rings.

 

The Lucky One

It's been a while since we had a good look at the Zefron, and fortunately from a 'good look' perspective, The Lucky One doesn't disappoint. Not a title that's ever going to be genre-defining, but it comes with a pleasing enough outcome, and plenty of smouldering to be getting on with in the meantime. Originally a book (from which I'm reliably informed the film does deviate in some aspects), the movie version provides a perfect platform for Efron's female fanbase, casting him in a relatively unlikely (but not altogether unbelievable) turn as a US marine. Despite playing out very much as a standard love story, The Lucky One is still worthy of note, if only for the excitement of seeing Zac Efron in his boxers (which, let's face it, must be one of the main reasons that the thing got made in the first place).


Children, animals and a wet Zac Efron. The holy trinity to make women weak at the uterus?

The Cold Light of Day

Truth be told, most of the potential twists in this story are sacrificed by the fact that Sigourney Weaver looks physically incapable of actually playing a good guy. That said, her performance is ultimately worth it, and there are still more than enough left to make it interesting enough. It does however present another fascinating example of an ordinary business consultant (in this case, read Wall Street trader) gaining CIA quality driving and gun control ability in a matter of hours. Despite that, the result does provide some reasonably good action sequences, but the film does leave itself a long way from being the best of its genre.

I think it's best for all involved if I just leave this one uncaptioned. Otherwise the "nice weapon" puns are just going to be too much for any of us to bear.

Ronin

Despite some pretty dodgy sound effects, and some even dodgier accents (the Irish in particular is truly terrifying), Ronin actually turns out to be a decent enough timewaster movie. A great location piece centred entirely in France, its top notch cast deliver an engaging and involving story really quite well. And provided you're able to suspend your disbelief long enough to be happy with the idea that all small French hatchbacks immediately burst into flames when they hit another vehicle, it'll easily keep you guessing (but more importantly, entertained) for a good couple of hours.

I think we're all agreed; that inch and a half of menu chalkboard seems like more than adequate protection for a shoot out.

 

The Invention of Lying

The Invention of Lying was always going to draw its own obvious comparisons with 'Liar Liar'. For me however, the biggest similarity is a more unusual one; both films share the same annoying plot hole. Unfortunately, Hollywood seem yet to realise that the principle of 'only being able to tell the truth' doesn't mean that everyone is compelled to say everything that pops into their head. Sadly for scriptwriters, it seems to be a rather inconvenient reality that it is actually technically possible to just not say anything at all. But then where would all the cringe-worthy misunderstanding-based situation comedy be in that?

As titles go, The Invention of Lying does a rather Ronseal job of explaining its own plot line. Sadly, that doesn't halt the apparent need for about 20 minutes of 'set up' so we can fully be introduced to the concept. Unnecessary as it may seem, its inclusion does allow for a series of short, lie-based sketches, whose single purpose seem to be to allow Ricky Gervais to dip into his American friendly little black book to create an on-screen party for all his new friends. Indeed, the resulting treat features a succession of hilariously big name cameos from the likes of Edward Norton, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Tina Fey and Jason Bateman (to name just a few), with each granted just three minutes of comedic screen-time to help establish a principle that can be summarised in three words.

Even a $18.5m film can be a vehicle for Ricky Gervais' ego. New double glazing anyone?

The film itself is easy-watching enough. The story follows a series of deliberately obvious religious parallels, dealt with in an oddly inoffensive fashion for Gervais, that was presumably done so as not to anger middle America. That said, his influences are most certainly felt elsewhere, as no Ricky Gervais film would be complete without twenty second appearances from both Stephen Merchant and Shaun Williamson.

Although the comedy is slow and gentle, it does manage to chalk up more hits than misses, and can at least claim to be pretty unrelenting throughout. That said, the end does feel rather damp, with the storyline tying itself up in a neat, predictable little bow almost either side of a single heartbeat. It's that lack of comedy crescendo that just adds further conviction to the feeling that this film is probably just a subdued version of Gervais' original fun-poking vision, watered down to ensure the maximum appeal and the lowest number of cinema-going 'casualties'. And whilst they have undoubtedly been successful in limiting that level of  severe offensiveness, the comedy backbone of the film is just too badly compromised, and the cheeky appeal that comes with a name like Ricky's is all but lost.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Truth be told, I didn't know what to expect with this movie. The trailer doesn't really give anything away, and it wasn't so overly hyped that any twists were given away instantly upon release. And being more honest, I'm not totally sure why. While its certainly true that (to me at least) the characters (with the exception of Tom Hanks) are not instantly likeable, it's also the case that I have to admit to spending the last 10 minutes in floods of tears. Now I'm no stranger to my feminine side, but the emotion in this movie just seems so subtle at the start, that being snuck up on so close to the end just brings with it even more impact. Indeed, the very journey the audience is taken on in empathising with the characters makes the crescendo of emotion all the more intense.

Sun Zu would be proud at this level of planning

While all this talk of emotional endings is all very well and good, the filmmakers did choose subject matter that should have struggled to be anything but. In fairness, the story being so entrenched in heartbreaking fact and real life events does result in something even more real and more painful being brought to life, but it does rely on its script and a very well chosen cast to solidify the emotion. In the same vein, the very fact that the main role is played by a Hollywood 'unknown' (Thomas Horn) actually makes the film all the better, eliminating potential distractions to the central point of the story, and providing a better canvas for the emotion of the final chapters. The final word of this review though has to stay with the silent yet undeniably best supporting actor of the film; the city of New York. One other online review of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close likens the film to a love letter to the city, and it's an analogy that's easy to follow. The elegance and flow of the story is really only possible thanks to the beauty and tragedy of the setting itself, a feature-length postcard of affection to the city that never sleeps.

Man on a Ledge

Aside from the Ronseal job they've done on the title, Man on a Ledge doesn't really let a whole lot on from the outset. Instead, it favours a drip feed of loosely relevant information to keep viewers engaged, but not entirely clear on where they're headed. Sadly, unlike other similar examples, this movie doesn't necessarily add anything to the pretty established genre. Certainly, the plot is intricate enough, and well written enough to be capable of holding attention for the little over an hour and a half that it runs, but by the same token, it doesn't generate the kind of tension or excitement that is going to compel anyone to be discussing it around the water cooler tomorrow morning. The first half is especially guilty of this, falling particularly flat in it's reliance of the tired and overly predictable "clear in the nick of time" rigmarole to generate any pace whatsoever.

Just a smidgen too nonchalant for my liking...

Ultimately, the slowness up front isn't really helped by the constraints of the concept. It was always going to be a tricky feat to keep the action looking fresh when the only choice is whether to look up at the ledge from the street, or show how high he is from the ledge down. Sadly the small cutaway sequences don't quite do enough to restore balance, and the action begins to feel quite repetitive.

Despite struggling early on, Man on a Ledge does find its stride before too long. Unfortunately though, despite trying its best to keep you guessing throughout, the story soon unravels into an annoyingly predictable ending, which is precisely the opposite of what this type of film should deliver. It certainly does bring enough of it's own complexities to the plot, but if anything, it does become a little too reliant on viewer complacency not to ask too many questions, rather than delivering a truly labyrinthine story. As a result, it doesn't really move the needle in terms of 'wow factor', and lacks that pivotal moment of realisation when the audience are finally brought up to speed. Though watchable enough, equivalent titles like Inside Man might prove to be far more fruitful watches.

The Campaign

A film about a US political election? In a presidential election year?! Oh Hollywood, you unpredictably topical flirt! Truth be told though, this doesn’t feel like political bandwagoning. Even with the fairly scathing anti capitalist-America premise aside, The Campaign feels pretty poles apart from the real-life machinations of the road to the White House. While not exactly rife with sharp-witted political satire, and serious underlying messages (bar the betrayal of the middle-American ability to be politically blinded by the right words) it does poke just a little fun at the inherent ridiculousness in political campaigning, and raises an inquisitive eyebrow at just how fair the system ever really is.

At heart a political underdog story, the film pitches the camp, unwitting and naïve Marty Huggins (Zach Galifianakis) against Will Ferrell’s selfish, brash and cocky four-term incumbent Congressman Cam Brady. Cue a series of tit-for-tat humiliations and accidental embarrassments (including the flabbergasting ‘can’t-not-watch’ act of punching a baby). And truth be told, that’s a pretty good metaphor to describe the rest of the comedy. In fairness, the film does offer genuine moments of laugh-out-loud goodness, but the sophistication rarely raises its head above the level of dirty jokes or cheap slapstick. Given the title stars, perhaps that shouldn’t be a surprise, but feeling a little bit like ‘Anchorman does politics’ it certainly doesn’t live up to the similar parodical titles of either Ferrell or Galifianakis’ back catalogues.

What on Earth is that guy doing in the background?!

In short, The Campaign is certainly watchable (albeit at some points you wish you weren’t – baby-gate, for instance) but doesn’t feel like the kind of comedy that could sustain a viewer for much longer than it does. The ever-looming “do the right thing” finale does give the story a somewhat predictable feel, but there is certainly enough boundary-pushing done in the rest of the film that the first watch is kept entertaining. The debate is on for any more than that.

Die Hard 2

So this certainly isn't going to be the most modern film I'm ever going to review. In fact, at the time of going to press (I've always wanted to write that!) it's the oldest movie to find a place in my blog. With a 1990 release date, I was only 5 when Bruce Willis returned to the screens as John McClane, and I wish that was a good enough excuse as to why I'd only ever seen random half hour scraps of it until now. Shamefully though, despite being one of the most iconic action franchises ever, my baptism to McClane's exploits came rather late in the day...

Given the 1990 release, the film could be forgiven for feeling a little dated. Sadly though, it's looking more than just a little old, coming complete with jokes about not being tech-savvy enough to use a fax machine... (Aah, the early nineties!). That said though, the entertainment value is in no way diminished, coming pretty much entirely from the overly bombastic explosions and shoot outs that still look pretty passable even for today's standards.

In all fairness to Bruce, snow is terrifying

One thing does have to be said for the acting though. Sadly, despite being his second outing in the role, Die Hard 2 is an object lesson in how even a well respected actor of modern Hollywood needs to 'grow' into his talent. This film proves, more than anything else, that monologues were certainly not Mr. Willis' strong suit.

Bar some other minor irritations (like our hero being a worryingly accurate shot seeing as he never seems to aim the gun) Die Hard 2 still brings the action magic to the screen more than twenty years after it's initial release. A defining moment in 'don't take it too seriously' cinema, the original installments of the franchise are still capable of delivering the goods.

Shooter

One thing can be said for Shooter; they've certainly invested some time in making the locations look good. The director's helicopter fetish makes for some particularly lavish long shots, but it's a feat not overly matched by the storyline itself. In trying to be a twisting plot of double-crossing and assassination framing (think Bourne meets 24), they've actually managed to produce quite a predictable movie, that doesn't really bring anything new to the genre. Sure, Mark Wahlberg is a perfectly capable ex-marine sniper (and it's nice to see someone other than Bruce Willis or Jason Statham in that kind of role), but in order to cut-through in the cluttered double-crossed story space, the filmmakers needed something a little more innovative than just a new name in the title role.

Mark Wahlberg takes his Xbox gaming very seriously

As far as everything else goes, it's a perfectly acceptable action movie. One phenomenally minor point, but important to me at the time; all the major dialogue seems to be only a little more than a whisper, which makes it a slightly nerve-wracking (or confusing) film to watch while babysitting. Otherwise, bar a strange overuse of shopping lists (I counted him writing at least three!), and the suspension of disbelief required when Mark is able to train a rookie cop to be a world-class sniper in an afternoon, Shooter is a worthwhile watch.