Film Review - Tyrannosaur

Having missed this in its initial run, I managed to catch it recently, during its BAFTA tour re-release. It's received a lot of acclaim, including a BAFTA for its debut director, actor Paddy Considine (a man coincidentally born on the same day as me).
But it's the performances, in particular, Olivia Colman, that have received the most attention. And she deserves all the praise in the world- tender, caring, downtrodden, and yet forceful when required. She is absolutely heart-breaking.
Peter Mullan is just as fantastic (as usual), playing a terrifying brutal streak with a horrifying believability, whilst keeping the character relatively sympathetic and relatable. Imagine Victor Meldrew with a violent streak.
A worthy mention also to Eddie Marsan, a now-familiar welcome presence in any movie, and whilst his character is as brutal and tender as Mullan's, it's in a completely different, yet no less believable way.
As for the plot, it's one of those where you think you know where it's going, but doesn't really get there. You suspect it's heading somewhere bad, but there are opportunities for redemption- reminding me of This Is England '86. Unfortunately, once the film reveals its final, most shocking secret, it quite possibly should have ended there. Instead, it continues, rather ambiguously, only hinting at what came next regarding the leads' relationship. Nothing wrong with that per se, but I felt it was unsatisfying as and end to the rather brilliant, if harrowing journey on which we'd been taken.

Film Review - Safe House

After the temporary blip that was the rather marvellous Unstoppable two years ago, Denzel Washington is back on tediously disappointing form with this run-of-the-mill actioner.
Throw in some grainy stock footage, far-too-close-to-see-what-the-hell-is-going-on action scenes, highly expected twists and overly long scenes of waffly exposition and you get the picture.
That said, the performances are surprisingly good. I hated Training Day and thought Denzel's Oscar win for that was an absolute travesty, and this is the far more convincing hard-man performance he should have given in that film. Similarly, Ryan Reynolds gives a tear-filled, emotionally-charged performance that is, frankly, far too good for this film.
Some of the action is pretty good, what you can see of it, anyway. There are quite a few extended chases, car chases, shoot-outs and punch-ups, not to mention quite a few jump-out-of-your-seat moments. Unfortunately the film seems a bit preoccupied with its delusion of its own depth, and drags itself down in the process.

Film Review - Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

This has potentially become the Best Picture Oscar nominee with the worst reviews EVER. Does it deserve them? In a word, no. It's not even the worst film of the nominees.

Yes, it has its flaws, but given that this will be one of the few positive reviews of this film on the web, I'd like to explain why.

Of the Oscar-nominated films about a kid whose late father left behind a key, this is the one that's worth watching. For me, Hugo just didn't work, nor emotionally connect. This film did both, and in 2D.

Yes, it's flawed and manipulative, but a lot of its criticisms are unfounded. Setting a film around the events of "9/11" is a risky thing to do, as it can be (and, in this case, has been) accused of using the events to create an emotional bond that the characters/story should have managed on their own. As far as I'm concerned, the film has succeeded.

The emotional weight in the story comes from the emotional connect/disconnect between father and son, mother and son, husband and wife, grandson and grandparent, but, most overwhelmingly, the emotional bond that can be achieved between complete strangers.

The inclusion of the 9/11 events are important, however. This is the tale of a child wandering the boroughs of New York, on a mission to extract personal details from complete strangers. The fact that his father died in 9/11 serves to make these strangers more open to his quest, rather than some cheap attempt to emotionally manipulate the audience into more sympathy. This accusation has been levied- unfairly- by many a sniffy critic, but it's certainly no cheaper nor emotionally manipulative than War Horse, even if the latter was more successful.

The performances are strong, and not just from Supporting Actor nominee Max Von Sydow. Hanks and Bullock are given very little to do, but their brief appearances do still manage an emotional weight. Bullock's late revelation does generate a little scepticism, even if it does go some way to justify why someone would allow their young son to walk the streets of New York alone. Sydow's character, whilst adding a quirky charm that lights up the screen, ultimately adds nothing to the story, especially his "so what?" twist regarding his potential connection to the boy (which is never confirmed anyway).

Oskar, the boy, is something of an acquired taste. He has some form of social disconnection- Autism? Aspergers?- and his rapid-fire delivery (not to mention that damn tambourine) can irritate more than charm. But Thomas Horn does a phenomenal job, given the complexity of his role, even if you ignore his age and the fact that this is his first acting role. Director Stephen Daldry, of course, discovered a young Jamie Bell, and appears to have found another potential star. He's the man that directed both Nicole Kidman and Kate Winslet toward their elusive Oscars, and, again, his direction is very assured. Once more he has made a worthier contender for Best Picture than a few of its rivals.

Film Review - Chico & Rita

A couple put more time and energy into arguing about each others' infidelities than they do into their relationship, both professional and personal. 47 years later they decide they should be a couple. I assume we're supposed to care.

Film Review - Albert Nobbs

An intriguing premise, but the story goes nowhere. There are a few predictable-but-dramatic directions that the story could have taken, but ultimately it isn't even interesting enough to explore them. Close and McTeer give brave performances, but neither truly convince as men.

Film Review - A Better Life

A quite moving account of an honourable man trying desperately to provide for his son, whilst encouraging him to remain on the straight and narrow, despite himself being an illegal immigrant living on the outskirts of the law. Bashir's Oscar-nominated performance is indeed strong, but certainly not the only reason to see this.

Film Review - Man on a Ledge

Snakes on a Plane had snakes on a plane. Similarly, Man on a Ledge has a man on a ledge. However, whereas the snakes were the most interesting part of the former, it's not the case with the latter.
In one of his previously high-profile roles, Sam Worthington was the actor who had more charisma in his animated Avatar form than in his human counterpart. Conversely, Jamie Bell proved with TinTin that he's more charismatic when seen, rather than heard. So when the two are paired on-screen as brothers, it's no surprise that it's Jamie's show, and fortunately he's given all the hard work, while Sam does little more than literally stand on a ledge. But at least he's not as embarrassing as Ed Harris's baddie, who may as well have been given a moustache to twirl in his fingertips.
Elizabeth Banks, hilarious in the likes of 30 Rock, The 40 Year-Old Virgin and Zack & Miri Make A Porno, follows up The Next Three Days with another serious role. I'm still not quite convinced that she can pull it off, but it may be simply because I worry her finely-tuned comedic instincts are wasted on dramatic roles.
The film ultimately reveals itself to be a pretty perfunctory heist movie. Cue crawling through vents, still images placed over security cameras, dangling from wires in elevator shafts... you get the gist. You may see the ending coming long before the lead characters do, although I was hoping that at the very least its execution would have been a bit more creative.
You wouldn't exactly be wasting your time and money going to see this, but I can pretty much guarantee there's little here you won't have seen before.