The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

I caught The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in Kobe and this marks the first film I've seen in 3D. Probably the last also. At least until the technology improves to a level where I don't need to wear heavy, head-ache inducing glasses over my existing specs. But more than the lack of comfort, I don't think 3D actually brings anything extra to a film - I'm sufficiently 'immeresed'  if the film is good enough. And it darkens the picture somewhat as well.

The HFR (High Frame Rate - 48 frames per second as opposed to the regular 24) was another oddity. Now I'm not sure if this was just the HFR or the 3D/HFR combination but the pictures seemed rather fake looking, especially at the start. Kind of like a presentation of some new ultra-clean medical imaging system or a Terminator show at USJ Osaka. Too sharp for these eyes. They need a bit of grain.

So onto the film itself. Some pundits have derided it for being too long. I disagree with this but they're on the right track. I've no problem with the running time, just with some of the flabby early scenes - specifically the Frodo bit and the introductions of the dwarf gang. I'd happily watch a three hour film if it's edited ruthlessly. The Hobbit sadly isn't, perhaps a drawback of Jackson's faithfulness.

That's not to say it isn't a good film. I reckon it does many things well. Once we're underway on the titular journey, the pace starts to pick up and from here, it's a very satisfying film. It wobbles a bit when the comic relief gets in the way (mountain trolls who sound like Chelsea fans, belching dwarves, etc) but the returnees from The Lord of the Rings trilogy are a welcome fillip.

Performance-wise, Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins stands out. He delivers lines, which could sound full of cheese in another mouth, believably and with some heart. Sir Ian, Sir Ian, Sir Ian, action, wizard, "You shall not pass!" does as well as you'd expect but the film really picks up a notch when this cute little fella (right) appears. The two-hander (three-hander?) between Gollum and Bilbo is a highlight for me. Oh, and I thought Rupert Everett did a top job of acting all heroic and dwarfly as Thorin....until I realised at the end credits that it wasn't him at all. It was some bloke called Richard Armitage. Phhhmmt.

Not having read the book yet, I'm anticipating some fine shenanigans in the next two films. But I'll be watching with my old friend 2D - you can ram your slow-burning two day headaches, 3D! If I want three dimensions, I'll ride a BMX along a bat infested river or something. Goodnight.

Skyfall

Dodging newspaper and podcast reviews as well as YouTube trailers is fairly easy but it's more difficult to avoid spoilers when a preview is shown ONE MINUTE BEFORE THE FILM STARTS. Twats. Anyway, onto the film itself. Skyfall is Daniel Craig's third Bond effort but not his best - Casino Royale still holds that mantle. It's hard to talk about this movie without bringing the previous two in as comparisons, but I'll try.

I enjoyed Skyfall but rather less than I had imagined I would. I think one of the reasons was the storyline, which seemed a bit old hat. Without giving too much away, the villain (a brilliantly camp Javier Bardem) seems based on Sean Bean's character in Goldeneye. Bondies will get the reference. The M-centric part of the plot worked in a kind of oedipal, 'mummies boys' sort of way, with both Bond and Bardem's Silva hovering around Judi Dench, albeit with different motives. But the MacGuffin that begins the film buggers off halfway through, leaving the emotive, character-based stuff to take hold. There are many nods and winks to Bond of old and even one or two corny lines, which hark back to Roger Moore's stint and these are generally well handled.

The action set pieces are fine (though not as exciting as in Casino Royale or even the plane crash in Quantum of Solace), with a special mention for the Istanbul sequence. The DOP was Roger Deakins and he is as classy as usual here, shooting on digital.




The performances are very good all round with Bardem a stand-out. He has a great introduction monologue, shot in a very teasing way. His scenes with Daniel Craig are creepy and funny and he seems to be playing it just this side of hysterical. Craig is really growing into the suit, grizzling into it sometimes and Judi Dench has a lot more to do here than in previous Bond films but she's an old pro. She handles it all with dignity. Ralph Fiennes could act with only his little fingers if need be, so no worries there. Naomi Harris was the requisite sassy and Ben Whishaw as Q was OK, as was Albert Finney in a minor, but important role. My only gripe was that Berenice Marlohe was so unceremoniously dispatched but this is a script point, not performance issue. I guess M was the "Bond girl" in this one, no room for anyone else.

On a nerdy note, I stumbled upon a blog that talks about the paintings in Skyfall (above) and their significance to the story and characters. Pretty interesting reading.

An Alternate Top Ten

I've been thinking recently about some of the films that are hovering around the gate to my favourite films paddock. The top ten that sits to the right of this post shall remain sacrosanct (though some films have crept in or out over my lifetime) but I sometimes happen upon a great film that has the temerity to challenge them. Here are some of those crackers in no particular order:


Tell No One (Ne le dis à personne)

This 2006 French thriller has so many attributes, it's hard to know where to start. From the word go we're gripped, due in no small part to the lead, Francois Cluzet. He's a bit like a middle-period Dustin Hoffman (think Tootsie or Rain Man), in looks and intensity. Cluzet is the perfect piece of casting in a film with countless great performers - Kristin Scott Thomas, Jean Rochefort and Gilles Lellouche all shine in parts of varying length or importance.

After an initial, important back-story, the pace doesn't let up with the different threads deftly held together by director Guillaume Canet, a solid actor in his own right. The whole film is exciting and immensely watchable but the key sequence for me is one where a funeral is intercut with a wedding. Sounds simple but it's amazingly effective. If you haven't seen this, do yourself a favour and watch it. If you have seen it, watch it again.




The Vertical Ray of the Sun (Mua he chieu thang dung)

Those who know me will be aware that I don't find too many things beautiful. Let's see.....

My wife - My daughter - A Wanganeen speccy - A Tendulkar cover drive - A Zidane pass - Carcassonne - Various songs by Queen, Radiohead, David Bowie, Pink Floyd, The Pixies, etc - Brigitte Bardot (circa 1955) - the Slow Loris - and The Vertical Ray of the Sun.

The images of Hanoi streets, the waters of Ha Long Bay, Tran Nu Yen-Khe (the gorgeous wife of director Tran Ahn Hung) washing her hair, the amazingly rickety houses and cafes and the songs by Lou Reed and Arab Strap among others are all beautiful.

Sure, the plot is meandering and some of the characters come across as quite ponderous or ethereal but I think that's beside the point of this film. It's a wonderfully evocative piece of cinema and the scenes of the brother and sister waking up in their airy, musical apartment are some of the best transition scenes I've ever witnessed on film. Watch it and relax.



No Country for Old Men

Not much more to be said about this film. It's purely brilliant film making from the best American directors working today. I mentioned once that I thought this was their best film, even though I liked Barton Fink slightly more. I think that still holds.

The performances are outstanding and were it not for a bravura turn from Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood in the same year, then Tommy Lee Jones may have been one Oscar better off (the fact that he was nominated for a different film skews that claim slightly). As it stands, it won awards for best film, best directing, best adapted writing and best supporting actor in Javier Bardem anyway. All richly deserved.

Notable moments include the drug dealers and dog chase of Josh Brolin's character, the almost unbearable tension in the motel, the off-screen shoot-out and death of &*^#%%&'s character and the clinical morals of Anton Chigurh.  A modern classic.



Nine Queens (Nueve Reinas)

Quite a surprise. I had no idea what to expect and I reckon that's the best way to enjoy this film. So all I'll say here is that Ricardo Darin is great and Nine Queens is a must see movie.












A Prophet (Un Prophete)

A brilliant, genre-busting film. Is it a crime melodrama? Is it a political drama? A religious allegory? A coming-of-age tale? An anti-crime message piece? Fuck knows, but it is fantastic.

Tahar Rahim has the chops to pull off a pretty harrowing role and despite great support from Niels Arestrup, it's Rahim's picture. Or is it director Jacques Audiard's picture? I'll say both. Audiard had excellent form coming into this film, after Read My Lips and The Beat That My Heart Skipped, both top quality also. He's a really clever writer/director - half hard-boiled, half sensitive - and A Prophet illustrates these qualities well.

Never mind that Michael Haneke's The White Ribbon beat A Prophet to the Palme d'Or in 2009. They should have chopped that palm tree in half.




The Sea Inside (Mar Adentro)

Hard to go past this moving film by Alejandro Amenabar. I have a little blub each time I see it but the over-riding theme is of guts and independence. Javier Bardem does all his acting with his face in this and he shows real emotion without once going overboard (I wonder how Cruise would do in a role that didn't allow him to use his hands - shite, I'd guess).

The support Bardem gets from his (mostly female) co-stars is very solid, especially Belen Rueda (from The Orphanage, Julia's Eyes, etc). The scenes when the priest pays Ramon a visit are brilliantly dry and acerbic and I'd challenge anyone to watch the part where his nephew chases the van without leaking a little salty water (behave!). A fantastically European and mature study of an heroic life.





Don't Look Now

This is one of the creepiest films I've seen and I mean that in a good way. Nic Roeg is a fine director and this is possibly his best work. The relationship between Julie Christie's and Donald Sutherland's characters is believable and honest, even more so considering the events that take place. Sad, hopeful, confusing, mesmeric and slow-paced in a way not many films try to be these days, it really stays with you after the end credits.

Christie and Sutherland are on cracking form and the celebrated sex scene feels as normal as if they were making breakfast - maybe the inter-cutting with them getting dressed helps in that regard. Odd but effective. Venice is another star of Don't Look Now. It's one of the reasons I went to Venice - I even found the church that Sutherland is restoring in the film. It looked like they hadn't got much further. I won't delve into the central, brightly coloured conceit of the movie, except to say that I still get a bit of a shiver when I catch a glimpse of a kid in red raincoat in the distance.



La Haine

One of the best films of the 1990s. It twitches with frenetic energy as the three leads run amok through the streets of Paris. But this Paris isn't for tourists, it's grimy, dingy and violent. Vincent Cassel basically begins his stellar career here as a cocksure, borderline mental case, full of anger and disenchantment.

The multicultural stand of the film is timely and probably went some way to altering the thinking of sections of European society towards their 'underprivileged' classes. It may also have helped some French people to get behind the brilliant, multi-racial French national team that went on to win the World Cup on home soil in 1998. I'd like to imagine a link anyway.

La Haine was also the breakout film for director Mathieu Kassovitz, who hasn't quite lived up to the promise of this. Hard to top, I reckon.



Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Saw this film earlier in the year and I haven't changed my opinion of it. It's outstanding. Please refer to my previous entry here.















And I can't decide between When We Were Kings and Hidden (Cache) for the last spot, so they're both here. Sorry.

When We Were Kings is the best doco I've seen. It tells an extraordinary story that has a satisfying conclusion (if you're fans of Ali). Skillfully made and absorbing.

Hidden is the best slow-paced movie I've seen. The tension builds agonisingly towards a nicely obscure climax. It left me with more Qs than As and I tip my hat to Michael Haneke for that. Oh and Auteuil and Binoche have rarely been better.



Well, that took some time. I strongly recommend seeing these films ASAP if you haven't already. They'll make you smarter, faster and stronger. Fact. 

Prometheus

It has taken me a few days to start this entry as I needed to ponder a number of issues. Without thinking too much about it, I really enjoyed Prometheus. It looked great (2D), the cast was pretty solid, Fassbender excellent, but I'll return to him later and the story was satisfying in its connection to, and, at the same time, its distancing from Alien. Let me explain that last messy clause. I think you can watch this without any knowledge of the Alien series but as most of us over 20 know about the other films, its quite good fun to recognise the hints and echoes throughout.

The only slight issues I have are regarding the details in the story. Here's where it may get a little/very SPOILERY, so please look away if you haven't seen the film. Firstly, the religious angle irritated me a bit but I guess if you're investigating the origin of humanity, you might at least pay lip service to "the great magic". And of course, Christianity is at the heart of the main character's drive or motivation, not one of the many other perfectly 'acceptable' (!?) religions. I understand the reasoning, I'm just a little deflated.

Secondly, I know Prometheus was just over 2 hours long but I think it actually could have been a bit longer, primarily to flesh out some of the characters a bit more. The pilots, the doctor, the captain, even Theron's character seemed a bit underdone - I'd have liked to get a bit more from them (but maybe I'm comparing unfavourably with Alien, where most of the characters are pretty well rounded).

Thirdly, one or two scenarios didn't ring true for me (though I'm not sure why they should in this fantastical sci-fi, horror film). But here they are for those who've seen it. I didn't really buy the 'sacrifice' scene where the scientist guy gets his arse roasted. Surely, the situation was still too uncertain to go all 'Arab Spring'. Another curious scene was the immediate domino to the previous one - why did David spike the same said fella?? As far as I could make out, and I'm trying to stay as vague as possible, that was a hitherto unknown agenda, wasn't it? It seemed like the writers had jumped into the plot of the original Alien (or Aliens). And imdb's FAQ explanations don't hold water for my money.

But regardless of these quibbles, I still liked the film and am looking forward to the next one, should they choose to make it. Fassbender's performance was brilliant; cool and mannered, yet there's one exchange with the scientist as they're heading off to explore the structure where he delivers some serious menace. His early scenes are a bit reminiscent of solitary space vessel wanderings in films like Moon, Silent Running and of course, 2001. It's Fassbender's film, pinched neatly from Sir Ridley, who has in fact created something pretty bloody good.

The Dark Knight Rises

I saw the third part of Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy a few days ago in Kobe and I was suitably gobsmacked. TDKR is, I think, better than its immediate predecessor, The Dark Knight and just as good as Batman Begins, maybe even a touch superior (no Katie Holmes in this, for example). The plaudits should go primarily to Nolan himself. This guy could find a novel way to direct a film based on the instructions on how to open a bottle of Pocari Sweat. Probably. He makes a seemingly routine story sparkle and the odd thing is, I'm not sure how he does it. Some of the scenes would have been quite clunky without Nolan's sure hand.

He is helped no end by Wally Pfister, the DOP and by the guy responsible for the gargantuan task of editing this web of character and plot. It doesn't seem rushed and yet it's probably the longest 'tight' film I've ever seen (at 2 hours 45 minutes). There's not a single superfluous, 'look at your watch' moment and credit must go to the massively accomplished Aussie editor Lee Smith.

The cast knocks seven shades out of most other big films out in recent years. Christian Bale reminds me that he is bloody good on screen and helps me forget that he's most likely a tool off it. Tom Hardy is superb as Bane, odd accent and all and Michael Caine is just Michael Caine. Which = brilliant. Anne Hathaway has most of the witty lines and pulls them off well. Not enough actual purring though. But the supporting cast could carry other films on their own, and they have done so in the past. Without giving anything away, the likes of Morgan Freeman, Marion Cotillard, Gary Oldman and Joseph Gordon-Levitt all offer quality back up, shit even Ben Mendelsohn has a significant role.

Saying any more may give too much away for those who haven't seen it so I'll wrap up by posing a theory that this may be the best trilogy of films ever to grace the screens (even with the slight misgivings I have about The Dark Knight). Musings on that claim may appear in another blog soon.

Mid-year report - 2012

A bit late but here are the 10 best films I've seen up to June 30 2012. Again, most of these are repeat viewings, in fact only one is a new(ish) film. So here they are from the top:


1. Blade Runner
2. Casablanca
3. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
4. There Will Be Blood
5. Delicatessen
6. The Apartment
7. The White Ribbon
8. Some Like It Hot
9. Dr. Strangelove
10. Welcome to Sarajevo



All great, unlike the following. Here are the worst 10 up to the middle of the year. (Admittedly, some of these are not terrible, just the ten films I liked the least. A special mention though, for the top of this list - it's possibly in my ten worst films of all time.)


1. Mighty Joe Young
2. Wedding Crashers
3. Young Sherlock Holmes
4. The Spanish Apartment
5. Me and Orson Welles
6. The Iron Giant
7. The Merchant of Venice
8. Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol
9. A Little Romance
10. The Wings of the Dove

Cannes 2012 (UPDATE)

UPDATE : June 1st

Michael Haneke has won the Palme d'Or for Amour. This is his second Palme in 4 years after The White Ribbon in 2009. Both times Jacques Audiard has missed out, though this year Rust and Bone was completely overlooked whereas in 2009, Un Prophete at least took the Grand Prix, ostensibly the runners-up prize.

Here are the winners in the main categories. I'm pretty chuffed for Mads Mikkelsen (he won best actor for The Hunt). I first noticed him in a pretty good Danish police show called Unit One. He's since appeared in some average Hollywood films but he made a class villain in Casino Royale, scratching Daniel Craig's nuts. I reckon he's one of the most intense actors rocking the screens these days.

It looks like a pretty good year for official entries at Cannes. The stand-out for me is the new Jacques Audiard film Rust and Bone with Marion Cotillard. One of my favourite directors AND possibly my favourite actress working right now. I hope it's as good as Un Prophete.

The films from Michael Haneke, Abbas Kiarostami, Wes Anderson, John Hillcoat and Ken Loach all look promising but picking a winner is a fool's errand.

Here's the list: http://www.festival-cannes.fr/en/archives/inCompetition.html

And you can check out the trailers for the films here: http://www.festival-cannes.fr/en/trailers.html

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Released in September last year in the UK and it takes SIX MONTHS to get to Japan, yet Battleship arrives seemingly everywhere at once! Just one of the many injustices Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy must endure. Another would be the notion that films like The Artist and Hugo are better than it (according to assorted Awards ceremonies recently past). Piffle and tommy-rot!

After reading the book years ago and watching the BBC series with Alec Guiness as Smiley, and enjoying both, I approached this new film with a mixture of trepidation and excitement. And I think it needs to be stated that the book, the TV show and the film are like kids with the same father but different mothers. They all come from the same seed but have quite noticeable differences. Le Carre himself apparently told Tomas Alfredson to do what he liked with the film, saying something along the lines of, "If you fuck up the film, the book will still be good". Well, Alfredson certainly didn't fuck up the film.

Tinker Tailor... starts quite slowly, even morosely, as it builds the picture of 'The Circus', a representation of MI6, and the goings-on therein. This office building reeks of 1970s biege and musty cigarette smoke. Top drawer set design. The music is unobtrusive, delicate and tension-building (especially in the scene where Guillam is clandestinely poking around the archives department). The song at the end ("La Mer" the French original of "Beyond the Sea") is a surprise choice but really packs a punch. The cinematography by Hoyte Van Hoytema is just right, not too flashy but not too staid either, full of obscured characters and glimpsed views. The colour scheme meshes nicely with the drab sets too.

But overall, I guess it's an actor's piece and nobody here disappoints. From stalwarts like John Hurt to the younger generation of Tom Hardy and Benedict Cumberbatch, all shine. Gary Oldman is quietly brilliant and how he lost out on a Oscar to the gurning chump from The Artist shows what a sad state those awards are in. My pick of the cast though, would have to be a toss-up between Hardy's Ricki Tarr and Cumberbatch's Peter Guillam. They've both been very good before but here they grow into their own. One scene where Hardy is explaining his backstory to Smiley had me rivetted. That sequence in Turkey may in fact be the best in the film - one of many 'seat edgers'.

Some folk may grumble that Alfredson has taken too many liberties with the film, changing locations, altering characters, etc, but for me, none of these tweaks detracted from the story in any way. They made it a film to stand alone and be appreciated all the more.

Can't wait for The Honourable Schoolboy or Smiley's People.

From despair to where?

The last couple of months have thrown up (and I use the term deliberately) some nasty prospects at the cinema. I'm talking specifically of the slew of (once) great actors appearing in roles ordinarily thought well beneath them.

Case One: How the fuck did Robert De Niro go from this.....

 ....to this?

The film (?) is New Year's Eve - full of pretty, vapid, talent-shy, model-cum-actors AND Robert De Niro!!?? That said, De Niro has some form with poor choices (We're No Angels, The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle, Little Fockers and Righteous Kill for example). And so does the next perpetrator.

Case Two: From this.....

            ........to Journey 2: The Mysterious Island?

The near legendary Michael Caine seems to enjoy this flirting with dirge, as though he wants us to forget his roles in such classics as Get Carter (above), The Italian Job, The Man Who Would Be King, Educating Rita and Hannah and Her Sisters. In the past he has counter-balanced these with missteps like The Hand, Blame it on Rio, Jaws: The Revenge and Miss Congeniality. According to Mark Kermode on the BBC, Caine was once asked if he had seen Jaws: The Revenge and he replied "No, but I've seen the house it bought". Fair enough.

Maybe I shouldn't be so shocked with the previous two cases but the next one left me a wee bit slack-jawed.

Case Three: From this.....      

......to mugging alongside a cross-dressing Adam Sandler in Jack & Jill?

That's right. Al Pacino, who made his name as Michael Corleone and appeared in quite a few solid films has joined the party. Admittedly, he has a penchant for scenery chewing (Scent of a Woman, The Devil's Advocate and Scarface to name a few) but I don't think he has wilfully chosen a role like this before. I may be wrong but he seemed less of a 'pay-cheque' style actor, more earnest and thoughtful with his choice of films....until now.

So what next? Will Ralph Fiennes pop up in a Judd Apatow movie? Terence Malick to direct the sequel to Mamma Mia? Seriously, am I missing any heavyweights who have sunk as low as these three cases? Which actor spans the widest gulf between great roles and dross?

Best and Worst of 2011 - End of year report

Like I did at the half-way point of the year, I've chosen the best ten films I have seen since July. Again, some are old but a couple are new releases. Here they are in a top-down fashion:

1. Yojimbo
2. Taxi Driver
3. Secrets and Lies
4. Don't Look Now
5. Inception
6. A Separation
7. Point Blank (A Bout Portant)
8. Seven Samurai
9. Rise of the Planet of the Apes
10. Pan's Labyrinth


And for balance, the bilge and dross.....

1. In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale
2. Sucker Punch
3. Sliding Doors
4. Blitz
5. A.I.
6. Escape from New York
7. Shall We Dance?
8. Finding Forrester
9. Perfect Blue
10. Limitless