Gone Girl

Title - Gone Girl. Director - David Fincher. Main cast -  Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike. Genre - maybe mystery, thriller (?). These raisins were pretty much all I knew about this going into the cinema. And that's the best way to see this fine film. With no background at all. So, even though I'll try to avoid spoilers, I'd suggest not reading any more of this until you've seen the film.
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Okay. So.....For fuck AND fuck's brother's sake as well. What a satisfying 'big' film. Very much against type for a studio picture. The performances are nicely tuned to the bi-polar nature of the story. Pike is superbly icy and unhinged. Affleck plays a more aggressive version of The Affleck but it's positioned in the sweet spot, almost like a Tendulkar cover drive. The supporting cast fill in the cracks with farce or pathos or whatever is required at any given point. Uniformly sound.

Fincher himself said on an Empire magazine podcast interview that he didn't know what actual genre Gone Girl was. He suggested it skips from missing person mystery to thriller to dark satire. I'd probably add elements of police procedural, black comedy and the unreliable narrator but he's basically on the money. The satire angle is the most audacious. Fincher and the writer Gillian Flynn (from her own novel) rip the piss out of the mainstream media and suburban American marriage and society without really condescending too much (well, one particular TV host comes off as a vulgar caricature but I'm guessing that's sadly accurate in the U.S.).

I've heard that some reviewers (?) have suggested the film is misogynistic. I can see where that's coming from but I'd like to give the benefit of the doubt to Fincher and Flynn. I actually think it reads more like a parody of the warped views of the bottom drawer misogynist. [Hear Helen O'Hara on the Empire podcast 'Gone Girl Spoiler Special' for more on this]. As you may be able to tell, I'm still chewing over the plot points and character motives of this film nearly two days after seeing it. Will be for a few more days, I'll wager. Quality cinema. Thank you Mr. Fincher. A proper film-maker (putting Bennny Button to one side, of course).

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

This will be a brief write-up as I have to admit to a bit of 'Middle Earth fatigue'. In short The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies is okay, a bit better than An Unexpected Journey and not as good as The Desolation of Smaug. I'd actually like to see one film with the Bilbo/Gollum face-off of the first and the titular battle of this one wedged into the second film somehow. Instead, we'll get extended versions, director's cuts, anniversary editions, blur, blah, blamph.......

There were some nice touches - the 'battles within the Battle' featuring Legolas (Elf) vs Bolg (Orc) and Thorin (Dwarf) vs Azog (also Orc), as well as some grotesque 'war beasts' (basically huge Orcs with battering rams for heads or catapults on their backs. Visually very Jackson-esque.

On the clumsy side - The character of Alfred from Laketown was an annoying prick and really changed the mood of the film (as well as being used for the same 'gag' a few times over).

A pet hate of mine is the irritating habit of characters in (usually modern American) movies to exclaim "I got this" or "I've got this", alongside "Let's do this" and  "Let's end this". Fucking horrible. And a dwarf has a crack at it here. Bugger off. It's getting close to "It's showtime!" and "What do you want from me?!" for annoying clichés.

But finally it's the big birds that save the day again. It reminds me of this Big Train sketch. I was told you had something....a little stronger. Come on.

Interstellar

I like so many things about Interstellar that I'm quite willing to ignore or disregard the missteps. I don't care if the physics are a bit unlikely or inaccurate. I'm satisfied with the dumbing-down of some of the dialogue. Shit, I was even happy with the occasional clichéd 'cowboy' attitude of McConaughey's character. None of this bothered me at all during the film, and it's only since reading some reviews that I've come across the criticisms. In fact, the only problem I had with Interstellar was the ear-splitting volume of some of the audio (possibly a cinema issue).

So maybe I should go over some of the positives. To begin with, this film had a great feel to it. I can't put my finger on it. Maybe simply the cinematography of Hoyte Van Hoytema was key. Maybe because it recalled some old sci-fi that I'm partial to (Star Trek, 2001, Silent Running, Hitchhiker's Guide, etc). Maybe the throwback music of Hans Zimmer. Not many films can manufacture a good feel, but I reckon this succeeds.

I loved the hinted dystopian future set up here. Dusty, blight-threatened corn fields, technology in retreat, memories of 'food wars' past. It's a cool stepping-off point. And that fucking dust almost made me reach for my Hello Kitty mask. Dead amazeballs.

The performances were mostly fine. One or two of the 'minor' astronauts came across a bit 1970s but that added to the odd, 'going backwardly forwards' mood of the film. I thought the stand-outs were Mackenzie Foy (as the young Murphy Cooper) and Bill Irwin (as the voice of the robot TARS). The robots got the majority of the funny lines too.

I also like the fact that multiple readings can be made of the guts of this film. I'm not about to go into it as it would spoil the broth. That and my head hurts when I think too deeply about it. But though it's very Nolanesque to offer a quandary, Interstellar isn't as complex as Inception or Memento. It even takes pains to simplify the science somewhat (McConaughey actually flips over a monitor in a spaceship to draw a black hole and some squiggles on a whiteboard!).

Finally, the essence of this film is the father-daughter relationship shared by McConaughey's character, Coop and Mackenzie Foy and Jessica Chastain's Murph. The early scenes are really well played and the emotional wrench of Coop's decision is a solid solar-plexus punch. Maybe I wouldn't have been affected as much if I'd seen this film before my daughter was born but it certainly pushed the right (wrong?) buttons. Another Nolan winner. It might be brilliant.





(NB. I'm not really partial to Silent Running. I think it's pretty boring actually but it did pop into my mind, especially regarding the robots)

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes picks up about 10 years after the end of Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Incidentally, I'd have thought a dawn would be before a rise, but there you go. There's quite a bit going on here. It opens with Caeser and his ape tribe (face paint and all) and stays with them for a good while before any pesky humans start stinking up the place. These pesky humans (Gary Oldman, Jason Clarke, etc) don't compare very well to the apes, as far as holding the interest goes. They do compare in other ways, though, chiefly the fact that the human group mirrors the dynamics within the ape group. Without getting to technical, there's a liberal and a hawk on each 'team', and therein lies the drama.


The performance capture technology is top drawer once again, but whereas in Rise it was gob-smackingly advanced, here in Dawn it might be taken for granted. In fairness, it's probably a little better and Andy Serkis deserves a mention here. A great performance that requires recognition. Many of the other 'apes' give good 'per-cap' too, notably Toby Kebbell as scarred, fucked up Koba. He actually has some of the films best moments, whether it's riding a horse through huge flames, brandishing a machine gun in each hand, a la Rambo or dispatching a couple of humans at a weapons range (quite a scene this one).

There are also some visual referrals to Rise which work quite well. Apes steaming through the treetops en masse, only given away by the quietly falling leaves. Caeser and Koba's relationship highlighted by the submissive hand stroke. There's even a scene involving Caeser deciding whether someone can be dropped from a great height or not (see helicopter in the bridge battle in Rise). I'm guessing this kind of  'thumbs up or thumbs down' judgement isn't coincidental.

The slight missteps of the film come with the gender politics. The female characters might as well be dudes in dresses. They're basically there as male support, juvenile (male) nurturers or not there at all. Coming on the heels of Freida Pinto's (non) role in Rise, this seems like an unnecessarily paternal pattern. Likewise, the father/son thing is a bit over the top  - both ape and human have issues here.

Ultimately it's a good enough jaunt, a finely made 'bridge' between Rise and whatever comes next. Not quite as much fun or intrigue as Rise but sets things up for (hopefully) a cracker in a couple of years. Going on the final messianic scene in Dawn, my guess is for a holy war of some description.

Guardians of the Galaxy

As the picture above suggests, Guardians of the Galaxy is a bit reminiscent of such films as Seven Samurai (and its remake, The Magnificent Seven) and The Dirty Dozen. An unlikely bunch of misfits come together to fight something or somebody. Hatred and tension within the group leads to respect and friendship. Victory is achieved, albeit at some loss. This is not to undersell Guardians, though. It's a fun film with many things to like about it. It reminded me of Firefly and Serenity, especially the costumes and the design of the spaceships and planet vistas - the giant floating skull of 'Knowhere' is a stand-out.

It's also a nice coincidence that Nathan Fillion (Mal in Firefly) has a pretty funny cameo. Most of the humour in Guardians works. Not too esoteric (though I missed the joke about 'baby gravy') or American focussed, even the 1980s cultural references fit the lead character's situation. The lines are played straight and Chris Pratt has an easy charm that clicks with the rest of his 'gang'. Zoe Saldana is fine again and is fast becoming the Sci-fi actress of our generation. It's actually getting a bit silly now. She's not in fucking Star Wars VII, is she? Groot is very watchable and Rocket Raccoon has a speech in the prison which could have been uttered by Rorschach in Watchmen. The soundtrack is full of cheesy goodness, epitomised by a cracking opening credits sequence with Pratt miming to a song called 'Come and Get Your Love' by Redbone. Nope, me neither.

Some things don't work with this film, namely a few of the minor characters. The ones played by Glenn Close and John C. Reilly are two-dimensional and could have been aided by a longer running time to enable the writers to flesh them out a bit more. They're pretty incidental though, so no mind. The bigger issue of character would be the fact that the 'wrong'uns' also suffer from similar failings - not enough light and shade, just a lot of pantomime eeeeeeevvveeeeel, especially the main (?) scenery-chewer, Ronan, overplayed by Lee Pace.

Slightly more worrying for Marvel as a whole is the similarity to other films' climaxes. I won't go into it too much, suffice to say that Star Trek Into Darkness, Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Thor: The Dark World have fairly carbon copy 'event' finales. See Dan Jolin's review at Empire Magazine for more spoilery detail on this.

Apes next. Night.

Edge of Tomorrow

Or as some wag writing in to the BBC's film review show put it - Saving Private Groundhog. Wish I'd though of that. The similarity to Groundhog Day is pretty clear but it doesn't lose anything for it. Someone was going to re-use that high-concept conceit and I'm pretty glad it was a Sci-Fi film and not some dodgy rom-com or something (Richard Curtis missed a trick here - though About Time treads similar ground).

In fact, here in Japan they've gone with the name of the original manga book, All You Need is Kill. Wait, what? Kill can be used as a noun, can't it? Good enough for me. Apparently the book differs slightly in that the protagonist is a raw recruit, not the cowardly press officer that Cruise plays in the film. If you have Cruise, you have to fit the part to him, not t'other way round, but this works as the character has a pretty curvy arc.

A word about Mr. Cruise. He's not terrible here. I'm not his biggest fan and he did his signature 'hand acting' thing once, but he does have the star wattage to hold a film like this together. Emily Blunt is great but she's never anything less and the two leads have a bit of a spark together. The director, Doug Liman said something about this being an indie love story dressed up as a summer blockbuster. Hmmm. He also said that if you hate Cruise, this is the film for you (reason apparent on viewing).

So I enjoyed Edge of Tomorrow for the most part. It's a lot of fun with a few nice comedic touches. Slightly disappointed with the ending and confused reading the posts on imdb.com that try to make sense of it but, as with most time travelly films, I went with it. I say slightly because I spent hours after watching it trying to posit alternative endings to myself and came up with similarly unsatisfying ones. So rather than second-guessing Liman and the writers, I hereby accept this ending.......

You're welcome.

X-Men: Days of Future Past

I managed to see the newest X-Men film, Days of Future Past just before the World Cup kicked off. And if my memory serves me correctly, this is my third favourite, after X-Men and X-Men: First Class. It starts with a nice showcasing of some new mutants - Blink takes the gold here - being torn new ones by robotty fellas called Sentinels.

The overall pace is fairly sprightly and blends the typical three act structure of super-hero films better than most. Much has been made of the lack of a smashy-smashy finale but I liked the more thoughtful climax. The cheeky decision to all but remove Wolverine from many of the action scenes shows massive brass balls, as he is pretty much the main draw in these films, especially when he gets to slice some muthas.

There's quite a lot of Mystique in this film. This works well enough as a MacGuffin of sorts, but I couldn't help thinking this may have been more due to the fact that the writers and director needed to give Jennifer Lawrence more to do. Her stock has risen dramatically since the last X-Men film. It doesn't look forced though, as her mutant powers are top drawer.

A few mores thoughts before I start watching the Belgium vs Algeria match.

The scenes with Quicksilver are lots of fun, especially where his extreme speed meets Professor X's near time freeze is displayed (just watched the film again - Oct. 2014 - and I've realised the Prof didn't have his powers at the time those scenes took place. Fnar). Very well done. In fact, his scene in the Pentagon may be the best set piece in the whole film.

Peter Dinklage is quite good as the somewhat sympathetic but slimy villain, Bolivar Trask, but he can't quite shake his Imp for me.

My main reservation would be that there are perhaps too many new (or minor) mutants while the old geezers - Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellan, etc - don't get enough to do. And the music occasionally put me in mind of Shutter Island or a wonky air conditioner.

I won't go too far into the denouement, suffice to say I had never heard the word 'retconned' before listening to discussions about this film. But then I'm not a comic magi/warlock/goblin geek.

Right then - to the football!

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

A rainy morning/afternoon meant I had the chance to slip away to the cinema to catch the second part of the Hobbit trilogy in Kobe. Now that I've seen two of these films, I think I've come to the conclusion that I'm a bit dwarfist. Not in reality, of course. Some of my best friends are dwarves. And Tyrion Lannister is the business. But in these films I have found myself wanting that lot off screen. Martin Freeman as Bilbo - great, more please. Sir Ian as Gandalf - say no more. Even Orlando "Legoman" Bloom as Legolas was fine.

But I'm terribly underwhelmed by the dwarves. I hope this is due to the rather one-dimensionality of the characters and not a deeply hidden mistrust of the wee folk. Time will tell, I suppose. I still think this film had too much dwarf action and not enough Hobbit (or Gandalf. Or Smaug. Or even Galadriel. And don't get me started on the dearly absent Gollum). Thirteen dwarves is about ten too many I reckon. Of course it's faithful to the book but they have fiddled in other ways, the introduction of Tauriel (hot elf played by 'er out of Lost) being the prime example in this chapter.

The entrance fee-justifying showpieces were great fun, most notably the 'dwarves in barrels' river chase sequence. I'll gladly own up to giggling like a school kid at some of the Buster Keaton-style shenanigans during this frenetic theme park ride.

The confrontation with the whiny dragon Smaug is fun and Benedict Cumberbatch provides a suitably slighted voice performance. There is a slight narrative issue here and the book is just as guilty. Let's get this straight. A group dwarves with as much poise as the Ant Hill Mob and a Hobbit with no military experience prepare to take on a fucking huge, vindictive, gold-crazy DRAGON!

Without a plan.

"OK Bilbo, pop down there and grab the white jewel, you'll know it when you see it."

"And the dragon?"

"Well, he's probably not there any more, it's been such a long time."

"Hmmm...."

Or words to that effect. No surprise when things go pear-shaped, as they may or may not - it all ends somewhat up in the air. 'Middle film syndrome' and all. So in summary, a nice way to spend a few hours. Could have been shorter though. Same could be said for many of Jackson's films. Not by the nerds, mind. Not by the nerds.

Best and Worst of 2013 - End of Year Report

So here are the ten best films I saw in 2013. These may have been new films last year or they may just have been first time viewings for me. I'll start with the ten best from July 1st 2013 (following on from the mid-year report) and then an amalgamated yearly top ten.

From July 1st

1. Captain Phillips (2013)
2. Rust and Bone (2012)
3. The World's End (2013)
4. Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa (2013)
5. The Raid: Redemption (2011)
6. Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
7. Silver Linings Playbook (2012)
8. World War Z (2013)
9. Gravity (2013)
10. Carancho (2010)

All Year

1. Captain Phillips (2013)
2. Rust and Bone (2012)
3. The World's End (2013)
4. Wish You Were Here (2012)
5. Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa (2013)
6. The Raid: Redemption (2011)
7. The Imposter (2012)
8. We Need to Talk about Kevin (2011)
9. Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
10. Silver Linings Playbook (2012)





As for the dregs, I'll just list the ten worst films I saw in 2013. No pictures. Those with sensitive stomachs, look away now.......


1. Intouchables (2011)
2. The Tree of Life (2011)
3. Chinese Zodiac (2012)
4. You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (2010)
5. Flight (2012)
6. Life of Pi (2012)
7. Mamma Mia! (2008)
8. Safe (2012)
9. Morning Glory (2010)
10. Pacific Rim (2013)


Depressingly awful films.