Cloud Atlas

To say that Cloud Atlas is confusing is probably one of the biggest understatements of the year. Assuming you can get through the first 45 minutes (every single second of which with a puzzled expression permanently fixed to your face) I can promise that you'll be hooked until the end. A superbly written story (at least in book form, which most people had deemed unfilmable) combines with a perpetual succession of big name stars (including the lesser-spotted Hugh Grant bad guy) and an absolutely relentless pace to keep your attention right the way through. Don't get me wrong, it is requiring of a significant chunk of your time (and 100% of your attention) to make it all the way through and remain mentally unscathed, but it seems to me to be a wholly worthwhile investment. I also have no doubt that David Mitchell's book is probably far cleverer in telling the story than can be committed to screen. Indeed, it does rather play out as six short films in a single epic (with a running time to match), but despite the furious editing and bewildering story jumping (each of which include some outstanding performances from both the cast and production teams alike), each one of the plot lines immerses you so completely, that the final pay-off is simply six times as good.

The Cabin in the Woods

Any who know me will agree; this is not my first choice of genre. I was fully ready to hide behind whatever I could lay my hands on first, especially as the protective powers of a cushion are all too easily dismissed. Fortunately, this film was so laughably unscary that no soft furnishings were required in the watching. The premise is standard enough - American teens, cabin miles from civilisation, death by the paranormal follows. But this movie makes an open promise very early on that all is not as it seems when it turns out that all that transpires is being manipulated by an underground (literally) team. Despite this not being my genre, even I was disappointed. There are moments of shock, things to make you jump, and a zombified family of sadists for company, but none of it quite seems to capture the spirit of why you go to see this kind of movie. Normally I would applaud a movie able to poke fun at itself and yet still remain entertaining, yet in this case it feels like doing that just makes it lose it's edge.

Did I mention? There is one good reason to watch this movie...

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.

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.

Chasing Ice

I have always tended away from feature length documentaries. Perhaps a foolish sentiment, but I've just always thought it easier and more rewarding to be immersed in fiction. Never have I been proven so wrong than with 'Chasing Ice'. As one of the films honoured with a place at this year's Sundance (and indeed picking up one of the prestigious cinematography awards from the festival), that should perhaps have been a little more evident up front.

Put simply (possibly overly so), 'Chasing Ice' is the big screen account of a nature photographer's mission to obtain and showcase undeniable evidence of the impacts of global climate change through the ever-evolving ice landscapes. The resulting film is a supremely beautiful example of documentary film-making at it's best. Aside from evoking emotions of utter jealousy from me (any other combination of two of my major passions without me being involved is likely to do the same thing), 'Chasing Ice' also manages to be genuinely touching; a seemingly illogical thing for what is ostensibly a photography documentary. And yet there is just something about James Balog, the photographer in question, that just makes you desperate to come along for the ride.

The point that James Balog realised he could get the field assistant to do all the really dangerous bits... (Yes, that tiny speck in the distance is a person)

To be fair, both he and the film-makers were particularly blessed with the subject matters they had in hand. The breathtaking scenery of the Earth's glaciers make it very difficult not to be able to take an truly stunning shot, though the film does rather quickly show the lengths that James will go to, and his mission to ever push one step further. In fact, for the film-makers, it is James himself, his team and his enormous passion that are nothing short of a gift. It was in fact James that founded the Extreme Ice Survey (EIS), the photograph-based glacier study which 'Chasing Ice' is in fact about. That in itself is nothing short of impressive; EIS is one of the most thorough scientific glacial measurement programmes on the Earth, and now has as many as 43 time-lapse cameras permanently stationed watching glaciers all over the world, and recording data every half an hour during daylight. What started as one man's campaign to be able to demonstrate the dramatic effects of global climate change, has now become one of the most important scientific records of glacial activity ever documented.

Difficult not to be completely in awe.

Though it's only inevitable that some will dismiss this as yet another piece of climate propaganda, it's perhaps more upsetting that more people won't get to see this. Though the director aspires for 'Chasing Ice' to appear as part of the curriculum in American schools, I worry that too many people will just be put off by the idea of another film about climate change (let's face it, not even having Leonardo DiCaprio in it helped 'The 11th Hour'). In this case though, even aside from the political, social and environmental lessons, 'Chasing Ice' is actually a fabulous piece of work; beautifully shot, spectacular scenery, and some truly touching and even poignant moments. Sadly though, those are not going to be enough on their own to convince the vast majority to see the film, regardless of their environmental viewpoint.

C.R.A.Z.Y.

'C.R.A.Z.Y.' was always going to be a difficult film for me to review. Even in spite of it's rather humble and unheard-of status, for a great deal of audiences, this film is (sadly) going to soar graciously over their heads without even a second thought. Set in French speaking Quebec (with English subtitles), 'C.R.A.Z.Y.' follows the life story of Zac, the fourth of five brothers, as he struggles through his younger years, the relationship with his family (especially his father) and his developing sexuality. Now at this point, it would be very easy wax lyrical about how the plot spoke to me personally and how I could identify with the character through some of my own experiences as a gay man. Truth be told though, I think there are so many elements of this film that will resonate with absolutely anybody's life, that in the end, sexual orientation becomes almost meaningless. In fact, for me, that wasn't the draw of the film at all. What made it so different, and so engaging, was the supreme reality of the story being told; the acute believability of the characters, the astonishingly accurate insight into boyhood, the plausibility of the situations, and ultimately, the credibility of the relationships which, at the end of the day, is what really makes up the heart of the story.

Fortunately, given the scale of the task to get the realism across, the cast are more than up for the challenge. Having watched this, I'm quite ashamed to say that I'm not more au fait with French Canadian cinema and the cast lists that such films might attract, but there really was no weak link in this one. The strength of Zac's performances (at every age) and the exceptionally well defined relationships between the other characters are a real testament to the writing and direction (perhaps not coincidentally, the work of the same person). One other particular strength, that makes a big impact throughout, is the strong association with certain music. In that space, Patsy Cline and David Bowie become notably recurring themes, which tie the story together neatly, regardless of decade. In fact, music was deemed to be such an important part of the film, that the director took a pay cut in order to fund the acquisition of the music rights, which in the end totalled about 10% of the entire production budget. Fortunate then that the music became a real asset.

It's time to play 'Guess The Decade'. Who had money on the 70's?

In all then, 'C.R.A.Z.Y.' seems to me like it's been a little misjudged. Perhaps it's big selling point has actually been to blame for keeping it outside of the limelight, and generating a much smaller cult following among those who can more openly identify with the characters on screen. Speaking as 'one of them', that is always going to be a little difficult for me to judge, but either way, the refreshing realism and lack of any kind of reconciliatory happy-ending grandiose (more typical of Hollywood), does deliver a really powerful and engaging story. Sexuality does indeed play a role, but certainly not enough of one for people to justify overlooking the film.

Click

'Click' really confused me from the start. Not from a plot point of view - that seemed moronically simple - a technology-based rehash of a somewhat exhausted Hollywood concept; a neglectful jerk of a father finds a universal remote control that allows him to skip through parts of his life, until it all goes wrong and he gets his all important epiphany too late. Perhaps more perplexing was who on Earth this film was aimed at. With so many overt references to drugs and sex, it seems unlikely to have been made with suitability for kids in mind, and yet with the humour being so decidedly childish, I found it hard to think of an adult group who may be interested in laying claim. Perhaps most frightening of all however, were the worryingly big-name cast members who should really have known better (David Hasselhoff's inclusion being the sole exception).

David Hasselhoff relaxes on set by doing his own search for America's big new 'talent'

Normally, Adam Sandler's appointment at the helm of any movie would be indicative enough of at least some mild amusement. Sadly however, in the case of 'Click', the only comedic options available are so juvenile - instances of puerile toilet humour and desperate slapstick - that the whole thing just grates from the outset. What's more, the fact that Adam Sandler is able to play such a contemptible jackass so effortlessly doesn't make the premise any less awkward or onerous to watch. Fortunately, the backup of Kate Beckinsale and Christopher Walken does manage to keep things slightly more grounded and watchable, but at times it's a close run thing.

Regardless of the above, if you do manage to make it through the first three quarters of the film (and credit to you), a few of the closing scenes do actually provide some quite emotional and poignant moments that cement the (albeit rather predictable) moral. Sadly though, as touching as some of them are, those moments are so few and fleeting that they simply don't stand a chance of compensating for the previous 90 minutes.

Truth be told, if I wasn't watching the film safe in the knowledge that I had to write this review at the end, 'Click' would most likely have suffered a rather premature deletion from my hard drive, with all traces of it removed in a particularly forensic fashion. In a funny way then, I'm glad that I was forced to watch until the end, as it's the last 10 minutes that have actually managed to salvage any kind of star for this film at all. Sadly, not everyone is going to be governed by the same motivation, so it's really anyone's guess as to how many people have actually stuck with it long enough to be able to predict the ending on their own.

Chronicle

I've never been the biggest fan of 'found-footage' films, but actually Chronicle has a fancy trick up it's sleeve; telekinetic powers. No longer do we have to simply make do with awkward crotch shots and the breathtakingly rare sight of the main character whilst somebody else holds the camera... No, now we can sit back and watch all the characters, thanks to some floaty-filmic glory.

To be honest, Chronicle's trailer pretty much sums up 84 minutes of film in 20 seconds. Kid gets superpowers, kid goes bad. We're hardly talking Shakespeare here. And yet the way the film (and characters) develop over the course of the first hour is really a testament to a pretty solid script, and a strikingly talented acting front line. The special effects are especially impressive, particularly considering the film's relatively meagre budget. The director is also clever to weave in as many opportunities to find interesting camera angles as possible, meaning that the film keeps a fast pace, and doesn't suffer from stagnation by relying on a first-person-view for too long.

On a personal level, I couldn't help but notice a few quirks that did reflect slightly annoyingly after the movie. Andrew's mental state for example, seemed to be directly correlated to how attractive he's looking at any given moment. At first, an unattractive geeky loner, he rapidly gets hotter (coincidentally as he gets more popular - I wonder what subliminal messages Hollywood is trying to tell us here...), before getting injured and scarred and descending into madness.

Judging by Dane DeHaan's smouldering good looks, I would guess this is about 52 minutes in...

For me though, the film is best summed up by a single sentence, graciously and enthusiastically stolen from the girl leaving the cinema directly behind me; "That was really f*cked up... but in the good way"

Charlie St. Cloud

I've never made a secret of my love of the Zefron. It's difficult for any gay guy to even try. So Charlie St. Cloud was always going to be an important film for me, and all other paid-up members of the Kylie fan club; our boy was finally growing up.

Visually, the film doesn't disappoint. If the beautiful, sweeping landscape shots don't make you want to pack up your bags and move to the west Canadian coastlines where it was filmed, nothing will. The opening sailing sequence is particularly good-looking, not least because of the magnificently sculpted arm muscles of the leading man (below).

Charlie St.Cloud (Zac Efron) tests his deodorant

Despite first impressions of the cast list, the acting throughout is reasonably good. Efron is the only real 'named' talent (assuming you're willing to ignore the combined total of 5 minutes of screen time given to Kim Basinger and Ray Liotta), and delivers a truly tender and poignant performance when dealing with the death of his younger brother. Indeed, overall Efron plays his role admirably (and no, I'm not just saying that), showing that sensitive and moving are just as much a part of his portfolio as broody and smouldering.

Sadly, the film relies a little too much on it's luscious appearances (both background and foreground), that it forgets to spend any real time investing in its storyline. Once past the first half hour, a lot of the film feels padded, and suffers without any real pace or momentum. The addition of several topless scenes does help hold some interest, though ultimately, it's not quite enough to make up for the lack of substance in story.

Worse still, the latter stages of the film suffer from that most heinous of cinematic crimes; predictability. A fully expected "just-in-time" ending is on the cards from about the mid-way point, not helped by the fact that the whole piece hinges around a plot twist that Hollywood has done to death in recent years (no pun intended).

Overall, Charlie St. Cloud is not a terrible movie. It's got it's flaws, but the performances and artistic settings on offer just tip the scales in it's favour. Plus, Zac Efron in a series of tight, fitted (and in some instances) wet t-shirts, is enough to win it a couple of stars back.