Now, I feel this review should really come with a blasphemy warning; the following may not be pretty. It's never easy when a review disagrees with the prevailing public opinion, much less when it's regarding such an anticipated release with an enormous cult following, but such is the situation we find ourselves in...
Showing posts with label A. Show all posts
Showing posts with label A. Show all posts
Wednesday, 11 December 2013
Tuesday, 13 August 2013
Argo
You'd really hope you could expect a lot from a three-way Oscar winner, and Argo merrily lives up to almost all of those high expectations. With a lightning start out of the blocks, Argo's charm is partly in the attention to the minutia of the detail, and partly to the ludicrousness yet truth of the story (note, the subtleties of 'based on a true story' vs. 'a true story'). It's not often than Hollywood will allow itself to be parodied as badly as it is here, but then it's not everyday when it can claim to be the singlehanded saviour of a group of American embassy workers in a revolutionary Iran. And while that account is not entirely historically accurate (the CIA, US and Canadian administrations and local Canadian ambassador and diplomats did play relatively central roles too) the slight creative license can be relatively easily overlooked. Of more concern, despite the interest at the start, proceedings do get a teeny bit slow towards the middle, though are more then made up for by the end. In actual fact, the level of tension is kept pretty decent throughout, but done with enough care and attention to detail that it doesn't get tiring. What's more, while there are some familiar Hollywood faces present (director and leading man Ben Affleck being one of them), it's pleasing to see them actually blend into the story rather than standing out like the sore thumbed 'big names' that they are. In fact, the way that all the little things work together so seamlessly is probably the biggest reason that Argo has triumphed so magnificently in awards land, and pleasingly, it's easy to see why.
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| There's something worryingly pristine about that suit. No man should be able to wear a jacket without creasing it somewhere... |
| Vital Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Director | Ben Affleck |
| Cast | Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, John Goodman |
| Length | 120 mins |
| Post Credits Scene | Nothing 'post' as such, but one of the most poignant and beautiful 'true story' credits sequences, that just brings home the reality of the events, and how true to life the film was made to be |
| TFC Mash-Up | Charlie Wilson's War meets a Mad Men / Spooks cross-over episode |
| Star Rating |  |
Wednesday, 4 July 2012
The Amazing Spider-Man
So it's not everyday that you can go to the cinema and watch a $230 million Hollywood blockbuster starring someone that you have acted with in your teens. And yet, such is my experience with The Amazing Spider-Man. Sadly, I can't say that we kept in touch, but that does mean I am free to be totally impartial about Andrew Garfield's big new multi-million dollar film franchise role here (with no bitterness whatsoever). Truth be told though, it's well earned. Andrew seems to slip into the red and blue lycra all too easily, and manages to carry the rebooted story incredibly ably (looking annoyingly handsome in the process).
That said, the storyline itself does seem to provide a few problems for the film. By the nature of reboots (and especially true of such a well known 'origins' story as Spider-man), the film does occasionally feel constrained in having to tick certain boxes just to get them out of the way. The spider biting for example is such an intrinsic moment for whatever comes next (which by the sounds of it will be a Hollywood trilogy at the least), that it really needs to be a bigger deal than was made of it. It almost seemed to skip by; just a minor inconvenience in the story that the film makers were trying to tell. That said however, to their credit, while some things were lost, others gained enormously. Marc Webb's version (you can't make up Hollywood puns like this) put a massive amount of focus on showing the evolving relationships of the protagonists, and as a result, pivotal scenes like Uncle Ben's death and the resulting relationship between Peter and Aunt May are truly beautiful. In fact, this film is full of incredibly poignant moments, which is a big (and in my opinion, very welcome) departure from the Spider-man franchise of old.
The double-edged sword of poignancy is that the film can feel slightly slow in places, and at a little over two and a quarter hours, could possibly have benefited from a smidgen of tightening round the edges. Unfortunately, some parts also had a tendency to feel slightly schizophrenic - this film made deliberately grittier than previous installments, and yet still seeming unable to escape from certain comic book clichés that jar with the rest of the film.
Overall though, while this film seemed hell-bent on re-establishing the characters of the franchise under the new 'Amazing' paradigm, the effort put into shaping the relationships between the main characters is certainly worthy of the stars that it's been awarded. As a result though, it can feel slightly like a two-hour set up for something yet to come, so while it is a perfectly enjoyable film in it's own right, I'm hoping for truly amazing (see what I did there?!) things to come now that the producers are free of the 'shackles' of re-telling, and can focus on the story they want the world to see.
That said, the storyline itself does seem to provide a few problems for the film. By the nature of reboots (and especially true of such a well known 'origins' story as Spider-man), the film does occasionally feel constrained in having to tick certain boxes just to get them out of the way. The spider biting for example is such an intrinsic moment for whatever comes next (which by the sounds of it will be a Hollywood trilogy at the least), that it really needs to be a bigger deal than was made of it. It almost seemed to skip by; just a minor inconvenience in the story that the film makers were trying to tell. That said however, to their credit, while some things were lost, others gained enormously. Marc Webb's version (you can't make up Hollywood puns like this) put a massive amount of focus on showing the evolving relationships of the protagonists, and as a result, pivotal scenes like Uncle Ben's death and the resulting relationship between Peter and Aunt May are truly beautiful. In fact, this film is full of incredibly poignant moments, which is a big (and in my opinion, very welcome) departure from the Spider-man franchise of old.
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| You seem confused. They're books Andrew. They should live in the shelf behind you... |
Overall though, while this film seemed hell-bent on re-establishing the characters of the franchise under the new 'Amazing' paradigm, the effort put into shaping the relationships between the main characters is certainly worthy of the stars that it's been awarded. As a result though, it can feel slightly like a two-hour set up for something yet to come, so while it is a perfectly enjoyable film in it's own right, I'm hoping for truly amazing (see what I did there?!) things to come now that the producers are free of the 'shackles' of re-telling, and can focus on the story they want the world to see.
Sunday, 13 May 2012
Avengers Assemble
First of all, let's deal with the elephant in the room. No, I haven't taken leave of my senses. At least I don't think so. Even I would have scoffed had anyone told me that I would have been giving a Marvel superhero film five stars, but it would seem that's exactly what's happened. Now don't get me wrong, I'm a massive fan of the Marvel formula on the big screen. Aside from the slightly dubious job they did on Captain America, they normally churn out some pretty high quality entertainment. But five stars? Not so far...
Now to be fair, as releases go, the Avengers had an awful lot riding on it. The momentum for the film has been building for what seems like a lifetime, seeded in ten second teases throughout the last five years of Marvel's cinema offerings. What's more, several of their most lucrative character franchises hang pretty squarely in the balance of this film, so it's not surprising to see that they've pulled out some pretty hefty guns. Aside from Joss Whedon at the writing and directorial helm, the production team essentially reads like a who's who list of Marvel movie veterans. And to be honest, with all that cinematic firepower, it shouldn't come as such a massive surprise when the quality of their output reaches such a high bar.
Aside from the numerous talents of the team pre, during and post-camera, the thing that strikes most immediately about the Avengers is actually how funny it is. The script is chock full of expertly judged wit, never taking itself anywhere remotely seriously, just like a Marvel film should. There are numerous audience-pleasing laugh-out-loud moments laced throughout the film, and many more subtle ones waiting to be discovered on subsequent viewings ("Better clench up, Legolas" being a personal favourite).
All that said, the film is by no means perfect. The eagle eyed reader may have noticed that at no point during this review have I actually referred to it by it's full (British) title. In fairness, as much as I may resent the last minute name change (done presumably so the UK cinema-goer wouldn't confuse this action-adventure superhero epic with the 1960's cult TV series about a spy who swordfights with an umbrella - an easy mistake to make...) even I realise that isn't quite enough of a reason to penalise the film as a whole. Equally, even though the film does feel a smudge too long, especially up front, the truly spectacular special effects and action sequences more than make up for any length-related shortcomings.
Ultimately then, the Avengers seems to have been a massive success. And with 3 character sequels (Iron Man 3, Thor 2 and Captain America 2) already planned, plus a Nick Fury spin-off and rumours of a possible return to the solo Hulk franchise, it would look to have done some pretty good things to the Marvel cinema universe as a whole. It will also come as no surprise, given that the film has already smashed pretty much every box office record available and is still climbing, that a formal Avengers sequel has now officially been announced. The tough thing is, they've now set one hell of a bar for themselves.
Now to be fair, as releases go, the Avengers had an awful lot riding on it. The momentum for the film has been building for what seems like a lifetime, seeded in ten second teases throughout the last five years of Marvel's cinema offerings. What's more, several of their most lucrative character franchises hang pretty squarely in the balance of this film, so it's not surprising to see that they've pulled out some pretty hefty guns. Aside from Joss Whedon at the writing and directorial helm, the production team essentially reads like a who's who list of Marvel movie veterans. And to be honest, with all that cinematic firepower, it shouldn't come as such a massive surprise when the quality of their output reaches such a high bar.
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| In case it wasn't clear from the picture, something bad is happening off camera right |
All that said, the film is by no means perfect. The eagle eyed reader may have noticed that at no point during this review have I actually referred to it by it's full (British) title. In fairness, as much as I may resent the last minute name change (done presumably so the UK cinema-goer wouldn't confuse this action-adventure superhero epic with the 1960's cult TV series about a spy who swordfights with an umbrella - an easy mistake to make...) even I realise that isn't quite enough of a reason to penalise the film as a whole. Equally, even though the film does feel a smudge too long, especially up front, the truly spectacular special effects and action sequences more than make up for any length-related shortcomings.
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| Is it just me, or are those costumes just not quite tight enough? |
Saturday, 11 February 2012
The Artist
First off, let's get one thing straight; 'The Artist' is not going to be everybody's cup of tea. Some cinemas have even been offering refunds to people who have walked out early, not realising it was a silent, black and white homage to the early twentieth century beginnings of the movie industry itself. Whilst that does seem a little short-sighted (and a particularly uneducated film choice for people to have made), I do understand that 'The Artist' will have a very particular audience.
For my part, I really didn't know what to expect from the film. Shot in the 'silent movie standard' aspect ratio, and at a lower frame rate than the current Hollywood norm, even the production methods used demonstrate a genuine love and admiration for the films of the era, let alone the old-fashioned movie making techniques. And in an age where CGI and 3D are king, it is a brave move to make. Indeed, having to appeal to a 21st century audience, whose brains are wired for instant gratification of all the senses at once, makes this concept a tough sell. I, for one, spent the first half an hour just getting used to the story-telling techniques on offer. However, having re-learnt how to watch a film (following the action on inference rather than relying on verbal affirmations of a character's intent), it is difficult not to get completely absorbed in the storyline, with silence actually becoming a more powerful tool in the director's arsenal than anything else.
Regardless of the cinematic style though, the level of attention to detail paid to every single frame becomes painfully obvious at a very early stage of watching. It seems slightly self-evident, but without the need to attend to dialogue, the viewer is free to direct absolute focus towards the actors and their surroundings, making them face even greater scrutiny than normal. Fortunately, the cast are more than up for the challenge, and deliver superb performances all round. Notably though, almost every scene is stolen by a worryingly talented Jack Russell Terrier, who manages to upstage his two legged screen colleagues at pretty much every turn.
Taking it all together then, it becomes pretty easy to understand why 'The Artist' has received so much praise and award hype (including 12 BAFTA and 10 Oscar nominations). And instinctively, it feels particularly deserving, if only to reward the people who had the bravery to make it in the first place. Unfortunately though, it appears that the public at large have not quite been as enthusiastic to give it a go. Box office takings to date do not seem to match with the widespread critical acclaim the film has received. My advice is therefore remarkably simple; despite looking like it would feel more at home in cinemas a century ago, 'The Artist' has been imaginatively and attentively crafted to make it comfortably accessible to even the most hesitant of modern audiences. Full of vintage glamour, class and old-school charm, 'The Artist' truly is deserving of a chance...
For my part, I really didn't know what to expect from the film. Shot in the 'silent movie standard' aspect ratio, and at a lower frame rate than the current Hollywood norm, even the production methods used demonstrate a genuine love and admiration for the films of the era, let alone the old-fashioned movie making techniques. And in an age where CGI and 3D are king, it is a brave move to make. Indeed, having to appeal to a 21st century audience, whose brains are wired for instant gratification of all the senses at once, makes this concept a tough sell. I, for one, spent the first half an hour just getting used to the story-telling techniques on offer. However, having re-learnt how to watch a film (following the action on inference rather than relying on verbal affirmations of a character's intent), it is difficult not to get completely absorbed in the storyline, with silence actually becoming a more powerful tool in the director's arsenal than anything else.
Regardless of the cinematic style though, the level of attention to detail paid to every single frame becomes painfully obvious at a very early stage of watching. It seems slightly self-evident, but without the need to attend to dialogue, the viewer is free to direct absolute focus towards the actors and their surroundings, making them face even greater scrutiny than normal. Fortunately, the cast are more than up for the challenge, and deliver superb performances all round. Notably though, almost every scene is stolen by a worryingly talented Jack Russell Terrier, who manages to upstage his two legged screen colleagues at pretty much every turn.
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| All that posing simply wasn't helping to get the crossword done... |
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