Film Shapes

I'd heard good things about this film but it was actually better than I had imagined. In fact, I'd go so far as to say it's great, probably the best new film I've seen this year. A lot has to do with Tom Hanks. I never thought I'd say this, but his performance was brilliant. For much of his career, I'd had him down as a jobbing everyman, appearing in formulaic, populist fare and so I'd actively avoided him. Under the astute guidance of director Paul Greengrass however, Hanks rips this film open by downplaying the role of Richard Phillips, real-life tanker captain. No histrionics, no money-shots. Just a paunch, some grey hair and a number of stares and glances that tell us exactly what he's thinking. Greengrass is responsible for giving Hanks his head and 'under-directing him'. When asked on Wittertainment how you direct Tom Hanks, Greengrass replied "Get out of the way. Let him get on with it". And it worked, as did the prepping of...

Saw this for free in Kobe at a preview screening, so I've still never paid for a Sandra Bullock film. Well done me. She's alright in this, to be fair, and she needs to be, as it's pretty much a two-hander with Clooney as the other hand. So where to start.....? Probably the visuals. They are suitably spectacular and they'll sweep the boards at the major awards ceremonies. The 3D was fine and didn't give me a headache (unlike The Hobbit ) - I even flinched from the screen a couple of times. More impressive was the stillness, the lack of sound. Even when disaster was pitching up all around, we (and presumably the astronauts) don't realise it until we actually see the speeding metal debris. The lack of a whizzy, zoomy, bangy, boomy soundtrack is shocking and, I reckon, the standout point of the film. Storywise, it's fairly basic and I'm reasonably impressed with the pared-down nature of the plot. Without spoiling too much, it's fundamental...

Elysium .  A conception of the afterlife that developed over time and was maintained by certain Greek religious and philosophical sects and cults. Initially separate from the realm of Hades, admission was initially reserved for mortals related to the gods and other heroes. Later, it expanded to include those chosen by the gods, the righteous, and the heroic, where they would remain after death, to live a blessed and happy life, and indulging in whatever employment they had enjoyed in life. (Thanks again Wikipedia) This space-station world, at odds with the filthy, poverty-riddled Earth mainland seems a sound stepping off point for a really meaty Sci-fi satire, or at least a social conscience drama. So why is it so unsatisfying? I'll see if I can work this out in the next few paragraphs (I'm still not quite sure, if I'm honest). Due to the need to pick over the bones of this film, there'll be some spoilers to follow. I reckon Elysium is let down quit...

Nerd disclaimer. I quite like the whole Star Trek world/universe, specifically The Next Generation and DS9 , even Voyager had its moments. With that in mind, I didn't take much convincing about the quality and punch of the first 'rebooted' Star Trek back in 2009. The second film in the new series continues the style of its predecessor, probably because it comes from the same writers and director (Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman and J.J. Abrams, with Damon Lindelof also getting a writing and producing credit for this new film). Most of the Enterprise crew get something to do here, Kirk and Spock hogging possession, of course, but Scotty, Bones and Uhura all have important scenes. Once again though, the villain comes away with the film (I was reminded of Iron Man 3 in this regard) as Benedict Cumberbatch was bloody top notch. Trekkies (Trekkers?) will have already guessed the name of his character and also noticed one scene - possibly more - lifted...

World War Zed ? World War Zee ? I'm naturally inclined to go with the former but there's a fair reason to go with the latter, namely the book this film is based upon was written by an American, Max Brooks. Also Zee rhymes nicely with Three, suggesting this is the second sequel to 'The Great War' (aka WW1). Anyway, I digress. Onto the film itself. In preparation for this screening, I read the aforementioned book and quite enjoyed it. I was also ready for the vast differences between the book and the film. These didn't really matter too much in the wash up. The changes from the book to the screen were mainly due to necessity, with one major exception - that being the decision to finger China as the source of the zombie plague being carefully switched to the less lucrative box-office zone of India. Cynical? Maybe, but no real damage to the film. Other changes have created slightly more controversy. The major issue has been with the 'fast' zombies. This ag...

So here are the ten best films I've seen so far this year (up to June 30). This time round, I'm only picking films I've seen for the first time. In order, they are: 1. Wish You Were Here 2. The Imposter 3. We Need to Talk About Kevin 4. Argo 5. Even the Rain 6. Iron Man 3 7. The Kid with a Bike 8. Django Unchained 9. 500 Days of Summer 10. The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists And here's the offal. Worst first. 1. Intouchables 2. The Tree of Life 3. You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger 4. Life of Pi 5. Mamma Mia! 6. Morning Glory 7. Ted 8. Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai 9. Amazing Grace 10. Haywire

The Cannes Film Festival of 2013 has just finished with the Palme d'or going to a French film called La Vie d'Adèle - Chapitre 1 & 2 ( Blue is the Warmest Colour ) by Abdellatif Kechiche. Seems to be a 3 hour lesbian romance starring Lea Seydoux. I'm on board. The Grand Prix went to the Coen Brothers for Inside Llewyn Davis , which has garnered some pretty good reviews. I'll watch anything they do but the setting doesn't really grab me (1960's New York folk music scene). Here are the other films that were vying for the top awards. BEHIND THE CANDELABRA directed by Steven SODERBERGH BORGMAN directed by Alex VAN WARMERDAM GRIGRIS directed by Mahamat-Saleh HAROUN HELI directed by Amat ESCALANTE INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS directed by Ethan COEN, Joel COEN JEUNE & JOLIE (YOUNG & BEAUTIFUL) directed by François OZ...

This Japanese poster seems to suggest this will be the last outing for the titular Iron Man/Tony Stark character (さらば　- 　アイアンマン。= Farewell Iron Man) but as long as the box office continues to ching-ching, I'd say that's a premature assumption. Certainly, he'll reappear in the next Avengers movie at least. And I kind of hope he doesn't disappear. He's one of the most likeable 'superheroes' I've seen - a flawed smart-arse who runs like a 'suit' avoiding the rain and reacts to surprises with either a cocked eyebrow or a look of exasperated acceptance. All credit must go to Downey Jr. for this - he's good in other films but this is his Harry Potter or Alan Partridge, he may never be able to shake this role. But the film itself? I'd have to say it's better than it's immediate predecessor but not quite as good as the original. Kind of what you'd expect from a third installment. The script has some gems but at the same time...

Here are some brief appraisals of a few films I've seen so far this year, cinema trips not included. Some of them have been for my ongoing movie lesson but most have been for my leisure. Ted   (2012) Seth McFarlane - Not half as funny as it wishes to be and annoyingly referential. Haywire (2011) Steven Soderbergh - Boring 'covert ops' action film from a very over-rated director. I don't understand how he always seems to attract the big(-ish) name stars to appear in his films. I can't recall actually liking any of his movies. The Hunger Games (2012) Gary Ross - A bit slow to get going and, of course reminiscent of Battle Royale but watchable enough for a lark. First part of another fucking franchise as well. The Tree of Life (2011) Terrence Malick - Eye-burningly terrible. My wife accused me of making her watch 'a two hour screen saver'. Guilty as charged. I can never get back the time that I wasted watching this dross. Wish You Were H...

The second of my two trips to the cinema while I was back in Aus, this time I enjoyed the surprisingly tranquil surrounds of the Bunbury Grand Cinema. The film was Quentin Tarantino's latest, Django Unchained and I had a pretty good time while watching. It was only a few days later that a few reservations began to leak out. Now, I quite like Tarantino as a film-maker. He's smart and he knows his film history. Pulp Fiction was one of the movies that defined the 1990s and Reservoir Dogs and Jackie Brown are brilliant. I didn't like Kill Bill (1 or 2) and I've yet to see Death Proof but Inglourious Basterds was great fun. So that basically leaves us with Django . And (of Tarantino's work) I reckon it's just above the Kill Bill films in quality. Well, maybe quality is the wrong word - more like.....heart or emotion. As with much of his portfolio, Django comes across as a cocky, smirking movie, one that's a little too clever for its own good. I get...

One of my two trips to the cinema while back in Australia, I saw this at Cinema Paradiso in Northbridge (where once upon a time I used to get the odd free entry courtesy of the Pig Strangler). It seems to have retained its indie charm though not its old price listings - $17 for a ticket and $4.50 for a choc bomb! Welcome to Perth. Argo is Benna Fleck's 3rd directorial effort and he seems to be growing into a pretty solid film-maker. He must have done his research regarding pacing (helps to have a good editor) and atmosphere. I've never really been a fan of his acting or presence on screen but he obviously knows how to get a performance from actors. In fact, I think he's a better actor when he's directing himself (or maybe he's just getting older and more familiar). The cast is fine all round, especially the relatively less well-known group on the periphery of the crisis. Their performances lend a pseudo-documentary feel to the whole thing, especially in counte...

Here are the ten best films that I watched in 2012. This follows on from the mid-year report and as you'll note, there have only been a few changes from that list (see pic below for one example). Once again, this list is made up of films that I watched in the past year - new or old, first time viewings or repeats. In the future I may settle on only first time viewings. 1. Blade Runner 2. Casablanca 3. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy 4. There Will Be Blood 5. Delicatessen 6. Vertical Ray of the Sun 7. The Descendants 8. The Apartment 9. The White Ribbon 10. Rise of the Planet of the Apes And here are the duds. 1. Mighty Joe Young 2. I Come with the Rain 3. Invictus 4. Wedding Crashers 5. John Carter 6. A Christmas Carol (2009) 7. Young Sherlock Holmes 8. The Spanish Apartment 9. Me and Orson Welles 10. The Iron Giant