Film review - Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (2011)

Guillermo Del Toro's stamp is all over this from the outset, immediately reminding me of both Pan's Labyrinth and The Orphanage. Unfortunately, these comparisons aren't favourable, and don't last long as the tone is very uneven; too scary for a younger audience, and yet too sanitised to appeal to anyone else. Bailee Madison is the star of the show, and does an excellent job. But the film ultimately lets itself down with sub-par monsters (slightly scarier versions of Harry Potter's Cornish pixies) and a ridiculous ending.

Film Review - Perfect Sense

A fascinating premise, beautifully delivered. Completely compelling from the outset, the relationship between Ewan McGregor and Eva Green is the core of the story, rather than crowbarred in. Giving their characters the respective careers of chef and medical scientist keeps klunky exposition at a minimum.

The direction is thoughtful, contrasting frantic montages with slow, contemplative moments, and the ending is the perfect combination of happy and sad.

It's a shame that it's been such a box-office non-entity, as this film deserves to be every bit a classic as the similar Children of Men, if not more so.

Film Review - Melancholia

At times, I really hate arthouse cinema. Pretentious, meandering, self-involved... But occasionally beautiful, thought-provoking, and emotional. This was all of the above and more.
The second of two "parts" was definitely the better; featuring the far more involving hysteria from Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg) and far less moping from Justine (Kirsten Dunst). We know the ending, but can't help get caught up in Claire's misplaced hope; and yet appreciate Justine's sense of calm in her "knowledge" of what is actually going to happen.
Impressive, but extremely boring for large periods.

(c) SRW 2011. All opinions are mine. If you like what you read, all the better; if not, other opinions are available.

Film Review - Red State

Kevin Smith is back! Easily his best film for a decade, Red State demonstrate a real ballsiness and confidence like we've never seen from him before. His directorial style has picked up a few new tricks, and they're used surprisingly effectively, reminding me at times of Tarantino at his best, Inglourious Basterds in particular. He rackets up the tension, the action, the claustrophobia with a deftness he's never shown before.

However, it's not all great news. Things begin to get a bit tedious and repetitive in the second half, thanks to shoot-out after shoot-out after tedious bloody shoot-out, followed by a sudden Coen-brothers-style interruption where we're told the story's ending, rather than see it for ourselves. Comparisons to Burn After Reading may be considered a compliment to some, but not to me.

But we are talking minor niggles here. If Kevin Smith hadn't shot himself in the foot by recently pissing off both film critics and distributors, this might have been his best shot at Oscar glory. The screenplay is one of his best- considered and intelligent, with his trademark base humour down a necessary, effective minimum. But the cast are flawless. Melissa "fucking" Leo outdoes her Oscar-winning turn in The Fighter by a long shot, Michael Parks is terrifyingly sincere and John Goodman grounds things superbly. Even the bit players get so show off some highly convincing acting chops.

Genuinely unpredictable, but nowhere near as unpalatable as you might expect.

(c) SRW 2011. All opinions are mine. If you like what you read, all the better; if not, other opinions are available.

Film Review - The Debt

I must admit I started this with an air of trepidation, having recently been burned by a spy film (Tinker, Tailor, bored already...) and as the film begins with approximately three timelines running at once, I began to fear the worst.

Fortunately, it was not to be. The opening was merely one of those Inception/Matrix head-f*** beginnings that makes sense only at the end. And by this time I'd spent a good hour or so holding my breath with suspense, cross-legged, afraid to miss anything during a loo break. The loose ends are nicely tied (but not too neatly), and I left the cinema one satisfied punter.

On the negative side, I do wish I'd seen the original (Israeli?) film upon which this is based, as the performances here are, at best, mixed. Yes, Helen Mirren is a national treasure and Sam Worthington does an adorable furrowed brow like nobody else. But those accents... I think Dame Helen was supposed to be Russian (she failed), but Sam's was downright indistinguishable, no doubt more so when he was speaking German.


(c) SRW 2011. All opinions are mine. If you like what you read, all the better; if not, other opinions are available.

Film Review - Abduction

When Alfred Hitchcock made North By Northwest, it was basically an excuse for the various exciting set-pieces to appear in one film, and the plot was incidental. Somehow, it worked. That template has been used by Hollywood ever since, ad infinitum, with varying degrees of success (Mr. Bond, I'm looking at you in particular).

Abduction is one example when it doesn't work. It's basically an excuse to get Taylor Lautner to fight, run/ jump/ slide around, fire guns, and snog; shirt optional. All of which he does rather well.

But the story supposedly tying it all together puts the "guff" into "MacGuffin". Ten seconds into the action and I wanted every immature irresponsible "character" on-screen to get some kind of hideous comeuppance. Unfortunately, that fate was destined to be mine.

Okay, so the action scenes are well-done, and Sigourney Weaver & Jason Isaacs are welcome on my cinema screen any time. Lautner does an adequate job with what he's been given, but it's far from the new Bourne. But at least it's not as bad as the similarly-premised Hanna.


(c) SRW 2011. All opinions are mine. If you like what you read, all the better; if not, other opinions are available.

Film Review - Crazy, Stupid, Love

One of the best romcoms for years. Well cast, acutely observed and, most importantly, funny.

Yes it loses a star for falling foul of the romcom cliches (most irritatingly the big misunderstanding followed by the big public declaration of love) and of course you know how it's all going to end (well, mostly). However, as I've said before (with romcoms in particular), it ain't the destination, it's the ride, and this one had me grinning throughout.

Carell and Gosling make for a well-matched odd couple, and even Julianne Moore manages flashes of believability. But the undoubted star (again) is Emma Stone, who, based on this evidence, could even charm me into bed.

(c) SRW 2011. All opinions are mine. If you like what you read, all the better; if not, other opinions are available.