Busy times means less time to indulge at the movies and even less time to review. My film viewing over the last two months has been limited and there are loads of films, probably better than these, that I would have love to have seen. Here is a round up of the mostly mediocrity that has met our silver screens in feb/march.
John Carpenter's The Ward (John Carpenter, 2011)
This is an awful John Carpenter horror film that lacks any real scares and is no better than an average episode of Buffy the Vampire slayer, complete with man in a costume running about making growing noises. Set on a psychiatric ward and full of slightly offensive ‘wacko stereotypes’ it is not worth the ninety minutes it takes to watch. A last minute plot twist can be spotted a mile off and this film demonstrates that the once seminal director may have completely lost it.
*
The Fighter (David O. Russell, 2011)
A run of the mill sports drama. Very well acted and when the boxing kicks in you are right in the ring with them, I found my arms flinching. A satisfying but unremarkable film.
***
Rabbit Hole (John Cameron Mitchell, 2010)
A sad little picture following a couple as they try to move on after the death of their child. Nicole Kidman is excellent as the mother trying to repress her emotions whilst Aaron Eckhart makes up for the awful Battle: Los Angeles through his excellent performance. Tirelessly sad with little sparks of humour, this is neither the hart wrenching melodrama nor exploitative weepy it could have been. An original picture.
***1/2
True Grit (Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, 2011)
The Coen’s first true Western, after using the genre in their work from their early pictures, this is a fantastic and unusually mainstream picture from the best brothers working in film today. A story of revenge and ultimately redemption which sees a young girl (a flawless performance from Hailee Steinfeld) trying to find the man who murdered her father. It feels so authentic that it is impossible to fully understand Jeff Bridge’s southern drawl, which is shame as the dialogue is rich and full of humour. A little lacking in the usual Coen originality, this is still a beautiful and enthralling film.
****
Drive Angry 3D (Patrick Lussier, 2011)
‘I’m not going to rest until I drink beer from his skull’ claims Nicolas Cage’s Milton, the aptly named escapee from hell who is after the kidnapper of his child. Disappointingly there isn’t much angry driving in this film, Cage is largely emotionless as he fights his way through Texas after a psychotic cult leader. This film seems to come from the Roger Corman school of 3D as bodily parts and fluid flies out of the screen. At its’ best it is a Tarantino light Grind House picture, at its worst it is a mindless action flick.
**1/2
The Adjustment Bureau (George Nolfi, 2011)
The biggest disappointment of the year so far. It has an interesting premise as Matt Damon and Emily Blunt fight against fate personified who forbid their love as it is not ‘meant to be’. The film works as a romantic drama but utterly fails as a fantasy thriller. Spectres of fate can kidnap and take Damon away to hidden warehouses and stop him in his tracks but cannot out run him up a building? Ultimately it is a very dull experience.
**
Rango (Gore Verbinski, 2011)
An artistically impressive but overlong animation from Gore Verbinski. Johnny Depp is brilliantly cast as the easy going chameleon who finds himself lost in the Nirvada desert. Its’ short comings arrive from a confusion towards which audience to pander resulting in some jokes falling flat for entire audiences. Kudos to the director for giving us an animation that is mature enough for adult audience and not in 3D! There’s hope for the animated film outside of Pixar yet.
***
Battle: Los Angeles (Jonathan Liebesman, 2011)
An astoundingly stupid film. Aliens invade LA and an army of clichéd characters fight back. The fact that it is an alien invasion is seemingly irrelevant, this is the most ridiculous war film in years. It is like watching someone play a video game and not being able to play. I slept through large portions of this.
*
Hall Pass (Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly, 2011)
Another entry in the post-hangover series of comedies seeing middle aged men trying to rekindle their youth. Two married men are granted a hall pass allowing them a week off from marriage. There is some fun to be had seeing two men fail miserably in their persuade for young women but as a picture from the gross-out mixed with sentiment Farley Brothers there is only one direction they can do. Worth seeing solely for a sequence in the credits in which our own Stephen merchant gets a hall pass, the single most funny moment this year.
***
Submarine (Richard Ayoade, 2011)
My film of the year so far. First time director Richard Ayoade shows real cinematic flair in a drama about growing up in Wales. Oliver Tate tries to woo his girl and save his parents’ marriage in a selfish quest for fulfilment. The stroke of genious in this film is that he isn’t a likeable character, like a less violent Alex from A Clockwork Orange, he indulges in ‘a light bit of arson’ to charm his lady and breaks into his neighbours house to investigate his mother’s private life. Originally shot using fantastic colours and a soundtrack from Alex Turner it is a moving and amusing film that sound be seen by everyone.
*****
Limitless (Neil Burger, 2011)
A high-concept thriller which finally shows that Bradely Cooper has what it takes to take a lead in a film. This enjoyable film begs the question, what it would be like to take a pill that made you a genius. The answer seems to be pretty fantastic as Cooper goes from zero to hero. Director Neil Burger pulls all the tricks out of the bag as he zooms his way through New York City capturing the intoxicating and trippy adventure the wonder pill leads our hero on.
****
Source Code (Ducan Jones, 2011)
Duncan Jones follow up to his brilliant debut ‘Moon’ is equally mind bending and only slightly less successful due to a faltering conclusion. Jake Gyllenhaal playing a US army helicopter pilot wakes up to find himself in the body of a complete stranger on a train, eight minutes away from death when a bomb goes off. He is tasked with reliving the last eight minutes on this train repeatedly too find the bomber to prevent a second attack. Whilst this would be enough of a story for your average thriller, Jones troubles us with bigger questions such as where exactly is Gyllenhaal’s character operating from, why has he been chosen and how the hell does this time travel even work? A frequently thrilling, surprisingly funny thriller that would have got 5 stars if it had finished five minutes early than it does. A last act twist which defies any logic and reason taints what has been an enthralling mind-bending journey.
****
