ALICE IN WONDERLAND
As a grown up, Alice considers her vague recollection of Wonderland as simply the residue of old disturbed childhood fantasies. Even when she tumbles down a rabbit hole to rediscover a peculiar and magical land she is far from convinced that the bizarre adventure she encounters is still nothing more than another twisted dream.
Okay… So you take the oddball and quirky Johnny Depp, the oddball and quirky Helena Bonham Carter, mix with the oddball and quirky director Tim Burton, and place inside the oddball and quirky story of Alice in Wonderland and you should be delivered an amazing and spectacular movie.
Should… but you don’t. This movie has some great ingredients, but while the final product clearly wants to sizzle, the pan barely gets warm.
The short time span of the film, barely over 100 minutes, causes the scenes to race by and not allow any depth of connection to be forged between the audience and the story or its characters. And, in this instance, the 3D was awkwardly distracting rather than an enhancement.
But still, such an notable cast, director, and story should have been able to overcome these setbacks and deliver.
Perhaps the biggest problem is simply that we’ve seen it all before. Depp’s performance, for example, is brilliant, but nothing we haven’t all already seen in his history of twisted characters ever since Edward Sissorhands. And Tim Burton’s ‘trippy’ vision, is just exactly what we’ve all come to expect.
So, in short, this movie offers nothing particularly new, entertaining, or captivating. And the story of Alice in Wonderland deserves so much more than this film delivers.
AVATAR
Okay, your ticket cost more than a new DVD (or a couple out of the bargain bin), you’ve driven over an hour to get to a cinema with a decent screen, you’ve rolled your eyes at the corny 3D tricks used in the trailers… and you’re thinking this had better be bloody good.
And then, almost three hours later, you suddenly realise you’re back in the real world after being totally captivated by the visual spectacular that is Avatar.
The planet Pandora is rich in a material called Unobtanium (yeah, I know; sounds like it came from a child’s comic book) which is greatly sort after by a human military/mining operation – however the native alien population, the Na’vi, stand in their way. Sully (Sam Worthington), using an avatar body, to meet the Na’vi and seek ways to move them on from the intended mining site, but quickly falls for the beauty of Pandora and it people.
Yes, it is true that the plot is one of a well used formula, and fifteen minutes in you can probably guess the rest of the movie, but you don’t really care because by this stage you’ve gotten over the “Wow look at the 3D” and will be caught up by the enchanting world of Pandora. Sometimes one might want to urge the film onward, knowing that Sully’s revelation is inevitable, but this is remarkably mild distraction for such a long movie.
My biggest cringe would have to be bad guy, Colonel Quaritch (Stephen Lang). In all seriousness, if he was any more clichéd he’d wear an eyepatch and shoot lame puppies for sport.
Worthington does us Aussies proud with a blend of larrikin and strength in Sully. But probably the most captivating performance would have to be the spell-binding Neytiri; few aliens have graced the screen more beautiful than this blue Na’vi.
In the end Avatar finished how I guessed it would, but I didn’t mind because the journey was so thrilling. Perhaps the ending felt a bit hurriedly wrapped up, but – like a good movie should – it left me wondering and imagining long after I’d left the cinema.
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KUNG FU PANDA
Animated kids movies – be it about extinct mammoths, green trolls, fuzzy monsters or Chinese pandas – are all pretty much the same. They all stick fairly well to the same tried and true storyline: The protagonist suffers a series of setbacks as he/she struggles for a goal, they learn a life lesson, and then overcomes the antagonist in a climatic battle.
So why are some better than others? Well don’t ask the animators. Every article, behind-the-scenes, and documentary on animated films seems to focus on the quality of the animation – how many hairs on each creature, how each hair moves and flows independently, how it shines in accordance with expected light sources… YAWN. If that was a true measure of a productions appeal, then animations like The Simpsons would be a terrible flop.
The only comparable difference is that the best animated movies have the best characters; from Kimba the White Lion to Homer Simpson and now, in Kung Fu Panda; Poe.
Kung Fu Panda starts in Poe’s fantasy, a place where Poe is a supreme kung fu master, but soon we realise his reality; he is a flabby panda who waits on tables in his fathers noodle shop. Instantly Poe is likeable (possibly more so by the adults who remembers youthful daydreaming about being our own special hero) and we are quickly drawn into his world.
Jack Black is the voice of loveable Poe, and Black’s humour looses nothing in animation, even his more ‘adult’ fans will enjoy his performance. The film-makers deal with Chinese culture in a way that an audience will appreciate – without getting too lost, and there is enough comic action and dialogue to keep the little ones entertained.
Kung Fu Panda is thoroughly enjoyably with a cast of entertaining characters, but most special is the disarmingly warm appeal of a certain flabby panda.
FORGETTING SARAH MARSHAL
We’ve all had that friend who, after a break-up, becomes a miserable and depressed whiner who feels that everything is now meaningless and null. Perhaps, if we’re honest, we might admit to having been that person ourselves. In Forgetting Sarah Marshal the dumped sad sac is Peter Bretter (Jason Segal) and he’s just been left by Sarah (Kristen Bell), his TV star girlfriend, for another man.
The premise that three weeks later the two will, by chance, happen to both end up in the same Hawaii hotel – Sarah now with new love (Russel Brand) – is a bit thin, but well worth accepting for the sake of the story.
For an Apatow production Forgetting Sarah Marshal is comparatively tame on smut and rudeness. Don’t be mistaken, it’s still there so don’t take your grandmother, but the story scenarios are amusing enough so it doesn’t have to rely on cheap gags to keep things rolling.
The film also presents some great supporting characters including sex-struggling newly-weds, a geeky advice-giving step-brother, and a weed smoking surf instructor. Yet it’s Russel Brand’s performance as rock star Aldous Snow – apparently not too far from Brand’s reality – that often brings the best moments.
1/2
BE KIND REWIND
Director: Michelle Gondry
Staring: Jack Black, Mos Def.
When video shop owner (Danny Glover) goes away, shop assistant Mike (Mos Def) and his best friend, Jerry (Jack Black) accidentally wipe all the videos available for hire. They set out to re-record the movies by acting them out themselves.
The first thing fans of Gondry are going to do with this film is compare it to his other work, and the truth is, it’s quite removed from the likes of Eternal Sunshine, or Science of Sleep. For sure it has that Gondry style (it’s supposedly the characters doing the hands-on camera work and being eccentrically creative, but nothing can hide that Gondry vibe), but Be Kind Rewind has more comical tilt.
Fans of the director will probably find it more humorous than they expect, but then again, fans of Jack Black will possibly find it lacking. On a balance though, the film hits a good equilibrium and one can’t help but feel that Gondry and Black decided to make this movie together simply because it seemed like a lot of fun.
The people who are going to get the most out of this picture though is us film nerds. If you’ve ever compiled your own top 100 films of all time, imagined you were your own character participating inside the events of your favourite flick, or you’ve ever been told to shut up by bored family or friends as you’ve tried to excitedly tell them why an original is better than a remake… then this is the film for you. But, while you may enjoy comparing the life and work of Gondy to those of Mike and Jerry, as I did, it might be socially polite to think first before espousing your thoughts on all your film-indifferent friends – that is, if you want them to remain friends.
1/2
RUN FAT BOY RUN
Director: David Schwimmer
Staring: Simon Peg, Dylan Moran, Hank Azaria…
When Dennis Doyle (Simon Peg) discovers that his ex-partner, Lizzy (Thandie Newton) has started seeing new partner, Whit (Hank Azaria) he makes the rash decision to run against Whit in an upcoming marathon. Three weeks before the race Whit is fit, experienced, and well trained for the race. Dennis is lazy, fat, and has no idea what he is in for. But with training from his mate, Gordon (Dylan Moran) and his landlord, anything is possible.
This is a great film. It has a heart-warming story line, a relatable underdog, a love interest, a slimy antagonist, and a brilliant comic side-kick. It makes for a really enjoyable movie.
However. If you take Simon Peg (Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead), mix with sidekick Dylan Moran (Black Books), and add in Hank Azaria (The Simpsons), then this film shouldn’t be great… it should be awesome.
Sadly, it isn’t. Standing alone, it is worthy of a great review, but burdened with the great work that had gone before, it struggled under high-expectations.
And yet, what makes this film so good is not the overall film, but some great character driven moments throughout. The Peg and Moran fight scene is an instant classic. Young Jake’s antics with the bed remote is wonderful. And when a special romantic moment is interrupted by Moran in a bath robe, well, it is a must see.
1/2
DAN IN REAL LIFE
Single dad Dan (Steve Carell) and his three daughters join the rest of his extended family for time away on Rode Island. While in the local town he meets a woman and forms a connection – only to later find out it’s the girlfriend of his brother, also on her way to join in on the family vacation.
Steve Carell’s performance in movies such as Little Miss Sunshine demonstrated that he is a well skilled actor, capable of far more than his extensive work as a comic. In Dan In Real Life he again goes for a drama role as single dad of three, but somehow he just doesn’t quite hit the mark.
Perhaps it is a case of ‘Never work with children or animals’ as the three daughters deliver touching performances, leaving Dan looking like a miserable fool, struggling to gain sympathy from the audience.
Dan In Real Life is a nice story, with some entertaining quirks, but over all struggles to build the connection between the lead roles – both with each other, and with the audience.
CLOVERFIELD
Director: Matt Reeves
A friend is capturing a farewell party on video when the city is attacked. He, with a small group of friends, attempts to rescue loved ones and escape, while still recording it all on camera.
The first people out the doors of the cinema, only seconds after the first credits appear, usually make statements like; “That’s the worst s**t I’ve ever seen” and “I don’t know why you put on movies like that!” However, the feelings slowly change as the later leavers make their way out, and finally the ‘credit watchers’ give comments like “That was so awesome! I loved it!”
The best way to describe Cloverfield is to simply think of The Blair Witch Project but switched genres. Imagine Godzilla, but from the acting extra’s point of view and experience; all the confusion, non-understanding, and frightening bewilderment. In Cloverfield you don’t really know what’s going on, or why, or what precedes or follows the story, but neither do the characters and it is their story the movie is following.
It is this intended reality that makes it a hard movie to enjoy. It’s frustrating not knowing, or ever finding out, much about what else is going on. And, for me, I wanted to grab the guy shooting the video, punch him repeatedly in the face and scream “For F**k sake hold the bloody thing straight!”
This film, however, is not intended to be enjoyable. Watch it more for the mystery, the experience, or the great visual FX, but don’t expect to come out feeling delightfully merry for the happy ending. I loved it, but it drove me nuts at the same time.
1/2
I AM LEGEND
Director: Francis Lawrence
Staring: Will Smith
Dr. Robert Neville (Smith) is alone in what was once the thriving metropolis of NY City. A virus, a once supposed cure for cancer, has turned some humans into flesh hungry monsters who have killed off all who are immune – Except Dr Neville, who lives an isolated life of research in the heart of ‘ground zero’ as he attempts to find a cure.
The most commonly uttered words of people leaving this movie seems to be “28 Days Later” and for good reason. Yeah, it’s based on a book. Yeah, Robert Neville (Smith) is all alone. And yeah, there’s some quirky twists and events, but when it comes down to it, it bares remarkable parallels to any number of apocalyptic monster movie.
However, apart from the excellent visuals of a deserted and decrepit NY, it is Smith who makes this film stand out. It must be big ask of any actor to carry a solo performance for the bulk of a feature film, especially one such as this which extends from emotional heartbreak through to rampant action, but Smith manages a standout performance, proving once more he’s a long way removed from the Fresh Prince of Bel Air.
A well paced and exciting film.
SHOOT EM UP
In Shoot Em Up, the hero (Clive Owen) rescues a baby and the bag guys (led by Paul Giamatti), who want the baby dead, give chase… and that about it.
If you cut out all the action, this movie would be a five minute film. It’s just action, gunfight, action, gunfight, action, etc… and it’s fantastic! With scenario and stunts reminiscent of a comic book the far-fetched-ness of this flick will disappoint some, but if you think that too often plot detail or realism bog down a good action film, then this should keep you grinning.
You may leave the cinema asking ‘so why were they after the baby?” But the truth is; it doesn’t matter. The plot is nothing more than a vehicle to house the various stunt action sequences, and the film-makers seem to glorify in this, rather than make any apology.
Many will think this movie is stupid, ridiculous and in-sensible, but other, like myself, will love it and not care.