Traitor

Director: Jeffrey Nachmanoff
Starring: Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce & Said Taghmaoui

An intelligent thriller involving terrorism that, whilst not offering anything ground breaking or original in its approach, is still far superior to many similar attempts by Hollywood to tackle the subject and is helped by a strong performance by Don Cheadle.

With there having been many films coming out of America, post-9/11, that have tackled different aspects of terrorism and America’s “War on Terror” with them ranging from highly complex (Syriana) to near-straight action films (The Kingdom) though it seems that few have dealt with an Islamic perspective on terrorism. Whilst Traitor is an American film with an American actor in the lead role, the film does attempt to offer a different perspective on the situation.

Samir Horn (Cheadle) is a Sudanese born, American raised Muslim who saw his father killed by a terrorist bomb when he was a child and, having spent time in the US Special Forces, is now captured in Yemen for selling explosives to a terrorist group. After refusing to co-operate with FBI Agent Clayton (Pearce), Horn is imprisoned where he builds a friendship with Omar (Taghmaoui), a member of a terrorist group and is then brought into the group after a prison escape. Using his explosive skills to aid Omar’s group whilst debating the ethics of his actions with his own religious beliefs, the question is whether Horn is who he says he is. Is he a Muslim who has fallen into extremism or could he be an undercover agent? And, if he is an undercover agent, could he still have become sympathetic to the extremist cause?

Whilst some answers regarding Horn’s past and past relationships are provided early, the conflict Horn faces with the morality of his actions remains engaging throughout the film. Having his character be a devout Muslim gives Don Cheadle plenty to work with as an actor. Having a Muslim lead character also means audiences get to see a Muslim perspective on terrorism, America and the cycle of violence that continues between them while also showing a different perspective of Islam than that of extremists. While Traitor does generally follow a fairly standard plotline involving attempts to stop a terrorist plot with the possible help of an inside, it is the addition of having a Muslim lead that makes Traitor more satisfying than many films with similar plots.

Traitor also benefits from some strong performances amongst its cast. Don Cheadle is, of course, the most impressive as the lead character Horn. Portraying his character as a man who doesn’t excuse his actions and dealing with the reality of his situation and the events that comes his way, Cheadle also keeps Horn sympathetic even when can, or do, cause harm. Cheadle remains engaging and believable whether his character is debating interpretations of Islamic scripture with his friend Omar or preparing and planting explosives. There is also Guy Pearce as FBI Agent Clayton, a man trying to piece everything together about the plot to attack America and Horn’s role in it. Additionally Traitor features Said Taghmaoui as Horn’s friend within the extremist group, Omar. Omar is a man who has come to believe his group’s actions are justified by their faith. Horn has sympathy for Omar and their friendship and the attempts Horn makes to reach out to Omar provide extra dimension to the character, further aided by Taghmaoui’s performance portraying Omar as a man of intelligence and calm rather than having him delivering bile-filled messages of hate about Americans.

Overall, whilst the plot and some of its twists and turns are somewhat predictable, the performance of Cheadle and the focus on an Islamic perspective of events means Traitor is actually quite satisfying. It might not offer too much additional insight on its subject matter but what it does offer makes it worth watching.

Rating: 3/5

Monsters vs. Aliens

Director: Conrad Vernon & Rob Letterman
Starring: Reese Witherspoon, Seth Rogan & Hugh Laurie (voices)

A highly entertaining animated adventure that takes a high concept and makes it equally appealing to children and to adults with excellent CG animation.

The very best family films are those that are able to appeal to not only children, but also to the adults that will accompany those children to watch the film. With Monsters vs. Aliens, Dreamworks has managed to make a film with a concept that appeals to children, to the child inside most adults whilst also offering enough humor that appeals directly to adults, or at least those with a history of enjoying films featuring Monsters and/or Aliens.

When a strange meteor hits Susan Murphy (Witherspoon) on her wedding day, she finds her life forever changed as properties within the meteor make her grow to 50ft tall. Having been captured and contained by the US Military, Susan finds herself in the company of other strange creatures including: Dr. Cockroach (Laurie), a mad scientist with the head of a cockroach; The Missing Link (Will Arnet), an amphibious-reptile man; Bob (Rogen), a living gelatinous blob and Insectasaurus, a gigantic insect. The chance for freedom for Susan and her companions comes when the Earth finds itself under attack by an alien robot sent to track down the energies of the meteorite that affected Susan therefore leading to high adventure and action where Susan learns of inner strengths she never knew she possessed.

Taking cue from children’s stories and films like Monsters Inc. the makers of Monsters vs. Aliens make sure that while their characters are recognizably monsters, they are nevertheless likeable monsters, helped by the addition of comedy actors to provide their voices and plenty of humor both verbal and visual. The makers of the film also ensure that there are plenty of in-jokes for fans of the B-Movie Monster and Alien films of the 1940s to the 1970s with its monster’s origins reflecting those of popular movies such as Attack of the 50ft Woman, The Fly, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, The Blob and Japanese Mothra films whilst also referencing popular Sci-Fi films like The Day the Earth Stood Still, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and even Dr. Strangelove. Whilst such references may be lost on young children, they help add an extra layer of fun for adult audiences.

Monsters vs. Aliens also features a strong voice cast featuring Reese Witherspoon as the lead character Susan who brings plenty of lovability and confidence to her character. Giving support is Hugh Laurie (TV’s Blackadder, Jeeves & Wooster and USA’s HOUSE M.D.) who relishes the chance to play Dr. Cockroach as a sound intellectual in one moment and maniacally laughing mad scientist in the next; Seth Rogen (Knocked Up, Pineapple Express) mines his laid back charm as the blissfully mindless blob Bob with Rogen’s own laugh being particularly suitable for his character’s childlike naivety; Will Arnet (TV’s Arrested Development) provides his character, The Missing Link, with the right amount of bravado but with sensitivity too whilst Rainn Wilson (USA’s The Office) is enjoyably obnoxious and superior as the Alien leader Gallaxhar. Rounding out the rest of the roles include Kiefer Sutherland (TV’s 24) who parodies his Jack Bauer persona as a gung-ho General and Stephen Colbert (of political satire show The Colbert Report) as The President of the United States.

Overall, whilst the plot itself is fairly simple and straightforward, Monsters vs. Aliens features enough humor, action, enjoyable characters and performances and impressive visual effects (be sure to see the film in 3D at cinemas if you are able) that Monsters vs. Aliens is very enjoyable and appealing to old and young audiences alike. Recommended.

Rating: 4/5

Duplicity

Director: Tony Gilroy
Starring: Clive Owen, Julia Roberts & Paul Giamatti

An often fun con artist caper that features some fun twists and interplay between its lead actors though is not always as light and fun as it tries to be.

Reuniting Clive Owen and Julia Roberts who last performed on screen together in Mike Nichols’ Closer, their on screen relationship this time is less bitter than that of their previous collaboration and is instead more quick witted, sharper and instead of using insults to create tension, insults are given to generate suspense and keep the audience as much on their toes over the motives the actors’ characters as the characters do to each other.

No stranger to espionage, writer/director Tony Gilroy, having already directed the excellent corporate/legal thriller Michael Clayton and having scripted the Bourne Identity film series returns to a similar arena for his latest film Duplicity. However, where Gilroy’s previous efforts were strictly serious in the drama/thriller arena, with Duplicity he mixes drama with a healthy dose of humor with as many twists and surprises coming from its character’s dialogue as from the events they are involved in. Ray Koval (Owen) is a former MI6 Intelligence Operative now working for the intelligence department of a major corporation looking for inside information on a rival company. Clare Stenwick (Roberts) is a former CIA Operative working within that rival company and feeding the inside information out to Koval’s employer. Through the reveals of a past history between Koval and Stenwick in a series of cleverly constructed flashbacks, using split screens to give the feeling of a jigsaw puzzle and the scenes contained within clues to the overall plot, we find that the pair is aiming to manipulate both corporations and possibly each other to make a profit for themselves.

The plot itself is actually a fairly traditional affair. Both characters being former spies knowing that their skills at manipulation ultimately means they can’t even trust each other but find themselves attracted to each other regardless is an entertaining twist on a relationship. As Koval states during one flashback, no one really trusts anyone though they’re honest enough to actually say it. So, with our lead characters possibly manipulating each other but also manipulating their employers who themselves employ people and technology to prevent anyone, especially their rivals, from gaining their secrets means that you are kept on your toes throughout most of the film. Sometimes it gets a little tiring as, even after some further twists in the films final scenes, you are still left waiting for there to be more when you want to relax. What helps make a lot of the espionage and double-crossing fun to watch though is the frequently witty dialogue which, while not as quick and fun as that of the Ocean’s Eleven films, is still enjoyable.

Performances in Duplicity are generally pretty good though sometimes unsatisfying. While Clive Owen and Julia Roberts make for enjoyable leads and perform well together, they don’t quite have the bounce, the energy of that some other actors may have given to those roles. Clive Owen in particular, whilst frequently enjoyable in his scenes without Roberts, is slightly less enjoyable in scenes with Roberts despite having better dialogue in those scenes and compares, less favorably, to similar scenes shared between George Clooney and Julia Roberts in Ocean’s Eleven. Also, the supporting cast of Duplicity features the excellent Tom Wilkinson and Paul Giamatti as the rival business leaders whose competition allows for Koval and Stenwick to work their con. However, as good as Wilkinson and Giamatti usually are, and there are also good in Duplicity, they barely have any screen time in the film, especially Wilkinson, which is also disappointing.

Overall though, Duplicity is an enjoyable film. The performances, while not as excellent as they could be, are still enjoyable and the plot, while not offering anything too original, is executed well enough and features enough witty dialogue that Duplicity still manages to satisfy.

Rating: 3/5

Bronson

Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
Starring: Tom Hardy, Matt King & James Lance

An interesting approach to a biopic in this film about England’s “Most Violent Prisoner” results in an interesting film but one that is also only occasionally enjoyable.

Charles Bronson, born Michael Peterson, is a cult figure in British society. Seemingly driven to make a name for himself he has somewhat succeeded with his reputation for being “the most violent prisoner in Britain” having been arrested in 1974 for stealing £26.18 from a Post Office, Bronson has spent most of the 35 years since in prison (with just over 4 months on parole in total over the same period) and has spent all but 4 of those years confined to solitary for acts of violence against prisoners and guards, rioting and hostage taking. In addition to his reputation for violence, Charles Bronson has also becoming an award winning poet, artist and author. It is these latter aspects of his history that has influenced this film on his life the most.

Bronson tells the story of Charles Bronson as if portrayed through a theatrical performance performed by Bronson himself (here played by actor Tom Hardy). With frequent cuts to scenes of Bronson on stage telling his story to an unseen audience with jokes and putting on make up to play the roles of people he has encountered, this biopic takes an interesting approach to an otherwise formulaic genre. How much of what we see is based on actual truths and how much is false bravado on the behalf of Bronson? It is an enjoyable approach and one that allows Tom Hardy to portray Bronson as the larger than life character that he may believe himself to be and that some that know of him already believe. On occasion the performance feels OTT but then, admitting early on that he, Bronson not Hardy, can’t really act means that the moments of OTT acting actually serve the performance rather than detract from it. If there is one aspect of Bronson that is most memorable, rather than the inventive approach to the narrative, that aspect would actually be Tom Hardy in his approach to playing Charles Bronson. Bronson is a role unlike any Hardy has played before and is, no doubt, the most intense character he’s portrayed in his career so far. Putting on weight and building up muscle for the role, Hardy looks the part and Hardy is also careful to make the most of his physicality to aid in his portrayal.

However, despite a memorable performance from Hardy and the stage performance approach to the story and the portrayal of events, the story of Bronson himself, as seen in the film, frequently fails to generate much interest beyond a few scenes. Bronson’s earlier life, pre-imprisonment, is interesting as are the scenes dealing with Bronson’s later years as an artist, but in between the film frequently gets repetitive with too many scenes of Bronson getting in a fight and getting locked away again and again. When Bronson cuts away at one point to insert actual news footage from the riot and hostage taking at Broadmoor in 1983, it entertains and educates but also serves to remind us how less interesting some of the performed sequences from Bronson’s incarceration are in comparison. Also, while sometimes entertaining, the moments of OTT can also be quite intrusive leaving the film with pacing and a tone that is quite uneven especially when it becomes uncertain as to whether it is glorifying Bronson’s attitude to imprisonment or trying to portray the harsh gruesomeness of it.

Overall, while ambitious in its approach and featuring a very memorable turn from Tom Hardy, Bronson is still only an average story about one of Britain’s most notorious criminals. Bronson is definitely a curious film and one with cult appeal but its overall value lies in its lead actor’s performance and its narrative approach rather than in Bronson’s own story.

Rating: 3/5

Watchmen

Director: Zack Snyder
Starring: Patrick Wilson, Jackie Earl Haley & Malin Akerman

A very enjoyable and successful adaptation of the critically acclaimed comic book series that manages to remain largely faithful to the original material’s story and themes.

It would be an understatement to say that Zack Snyder had a huge task ahead of him with pressure to match in regards to him signing on to adapt Watchmen for the big screen. Watchmen is widely considered to be greatest comic book series ever told, receiving much critical acclaim, adoration from fans and also held responsible for ushering in a new era of mature superhero comics. On top of that and over 15 years of failed attempts to adapt the series for film featuring attempts by such directors as Terry Gilliam, Darren Aronofsky and Paul Greengrass, also following the massive critical and commercial success of The Dark Knight in 2008 and also being a story featuring characters that are largely unknown to audiences who’ve never a read a comic book before, it would seem almost impossible for Snyder to make a film that could do the material justice and achieve success. Luckily Snyder has in fact succeeded in making a very faithful, yet accessible, adaptation.

Watchmen deals with a lot of mature themes, posing the question of what would have actually happened to the world if superheroes had existed and how would they change world events and what does it mean to be a superhero anyway? In this world heroes worked for the government even intervening in Vietnam. After succeeding there and Nixon continuing as President beyond two terms and facing rioting and accusations of authoritarianism, superheroes were forced to retire or be arrested. Now, there is the threat of war against Russia’s arms build up, a response to America’s superman Dr. Manhattan, with nuclear war beckoning when a former hero is found murdered. Is someone out to kill heroes and, if so, why? Could it be to ensure no one interferes with the threat facing the world? We get to see what has become of the world’s former heroes in their retirement s the threat of war increases. Rorschach never retired, fighting alone and, under threat of arrest, has become increasingly violent and alienated; Dr. Manhattan, the only hero with actual powers making him almost God-like has grown emotionally distant as he loses his human perspective; Nite Owl is retired, missing the old days yet never admitting it, becoming out of shape; Ozymandias traded in on his fame as a hero and now runs a multi-billion dollar industry looking to help the world in other ways and Silk Spectre sticks by Dr. Manhattan despite his distance leaving their relationship loveless. As events conspire to harm or otherwise prevent each hero from being able to intervene in any upcoming conflict they face an unseen threat to themselves and to the world.

Staying largely faithful to the look and the pacing of Alan Moore’s original comic book, Snyder surprises at how faithful to the text he has been. Visually constructing many scenes to resemble the way they were depicted in the comics whilst also keeping the script and dialogue faithful to that of the comic it is hard to imagine any film succeeding as being as faithful to its source material as this adaptation within and 2 & ½ hour film. For fans of the original comics this film should be very satisfying. Whilst not everything makes it into the film, the amount that does is impressive whilst some of the extra touches that Snyder adds to the material are often entertaining. An opening credits sequence that portrays the history of the superheroes from their appearances in the 1930s until the present day (the 1980s) is one of the film’s most impressive sequences taking additional material from the comics that wasn’t portrayed in the stories themselves and working it into the film to give the characters and the world depicted in the film’s plot plenty of context and insight. Also, a change to the ending that removes an element that new audiences may have found silly, results in a replacement element that works just as well and maintains much of the themes and events of the comic book’s conclusion. However, not all new elements or changes work. Some of Snyder’s soundtrack choices fall flat including one moment during a love scene that provokes laughs and the enhancements to some of the story’s action sequences feel more suited to a film like The Matrix or Snyder’s previous film 300 than in Watchmen. Also, the absence of many of the man-on-the-street scenes which gave a sense of the fear and desperation the average person felt in the face of nuclear war is instead replaced with scenes in the Pentagon that are less effective in generating the sense of hopelessness the world faces. Fortunately, what Snyder does right, and does right often, more than compensates for his missteps.

On the acting front, Snyder has been smart in casting actors that are not big names allowing for more believable performances. Patrick Wilson gives Nite Owl just the right amount of reluctance and regret that a man retired, feeling guilty for retiring and also feeling apprehensive about his ability to regain his glory days. Jackie Earl Haley is very impressive as the violent loner Rorschach, delivering punishments to law breakers without remorse and delivering lines with the right amount of hatred despite wearing a mask for most of the film yet demonstrating heart-breaking emotion and humanity in the film’s final scenes. Haley’s performance is, perhaps, the film’s most memorable. Billy Crudup gives a deliberately emotionless performance as the God-like Dr. Manhattan, seeing the world from a detached point of view as if human existence is a science project just to be observed. While Crudup’s performance sometimes suffers from some poor CGI that, while effective when his character is viewed at a distance, looks stiff in many close ups but still Crudup gets the character’s tone right. Jeffrey Dean Morgan is impressive as the Comedian, the dead hero whose life is seen through flashback. His character is one that is truly unlikeable and Morgan catches the character’s sleazy, selfish and amoral nature very well whilst also being an imposing screen presence. Slightly weaker are Malin Akerman and Matthew Goode as Silk Spectre and Ozymandias, the first manages to be very likeable yet Akerman struggles to maintain a strong impression in scenes with Crudup whilst also sometimes being unconvincing as a fighter while Goode, who initially captures Ozymandias’ smugness and sense of self-righteousness in early scenes fails to be as impressive in the film’s later scenes, sometimes coming off too weak instead of being suitably imposing or convincing with his words or actions.

Overall though, Watchmen is a film that succeeds far more often than it fails. Despite a few average performances and a few story and stylistic changes falling flat, the film impresses with the rest of its performances, its faithfulness to the complex plot and to the depth of its themes so that the overall experience is a very positive one and one that will hopefully satisfy fans of the comic books, entertain new audiences and highlight a different type of superhero story. A very satisfying experience.

Rating: 4/5

Franklyn

Director: Gerald McMorrow
Starring: Ryan Phillippe, Eva Green & Sam Riley

An impressive debut from McMorrow that mixes present day London locales, a Gothic Fantasy world and interweaving plotlines to create a very enjoyable mystery with strong performances.

Franklyn is a jigsaw puzzle of a movie, and if you don’t like puzzles then perhaps Franklyn isn’t the film for you. But, if you like mysteries and stories that require your attention then Franklyn should entertain. Featuring several different characters and following several different plotlines, Franklyn is a film that begins to make more and more sense as it goes along and as each plot strand interweaves and comes closer to revealing the whole picture. First, in a city of gothic fantasy called Meanwhile City where religion drives all of society, we have John Preest, an assassin without religion who is preparing for a kill then, in present day London, we follow three other characters: Milo, recently jilted at the altar by his fiancé, now has glimpses of a girl he knew as a child who he’s trying to locate; Emily, an artist who films her own suicide attempts for an art project; and Peter, a father looking for his son who has gone missing from a military psychiatric facility. How these three, real world, characters and John Preest in Meanwhile City relate to each other is vague at first but as connections between them all begin to surface, the mystery becomes even deeper, more interesting and more rewarding.

Filmed on a low budget, Franklyn’s fantasy based sequences still look very impressive. Meanwhile City is a gothic city gone mad where the architecture resembles Cathedrals with spires and arches and statues towering over the streets and high into the sky. Its inhabitants and their society bear resemblance to our own but in a society where church and state is no longer separate and bureaucracy also reigns. Meanwhile City and its people resemble a world that feels somewhat like a mix of Terry Gilliam’s Brazil and Alex Proyas’ Dark City and its main character, the assassin John Preest, looks like a Halloween nightmare wearing a white mask that resembles a straight-jacket in its material but with hollow, black eyes. The real world scenes, initially, stand out as looking poorer in comparison to the fantasy based scenes but soon the differences in quality seem less obvious as the director, McMorrow, makes good use of the Cathedrals of Canterbury and the alleyways of London to highlight similarities between these locales and Meanwhile City.

In addition to an interesting plot, and impressive set design, Franklyn also benefits from a strong cast and impressive performances. Ryan Phillippe manages to be effectively intimidating as Preest, whether wearing a mask or not, and speaking with a low growl and with spite for the world he lives in and the people he encounters whilst also being able to convincingly demonstrate his character’s vulnerabilities in Franklyn’s later scenes. Eva Green continues to be very watchable as, despite her character feeling like a stereotype at times as the traumatized artist with a gothic appearance and outlook, Green still infuses her character with world weary cynicism and intelligence and Bernard Hill delivers a very sympathetic performance as the father looking for his lost son and whose mistakes in the past caused the problems that lead to his son being committed to an institution in the first place. Hill manages to give Peter a satisfying amount of guilt and compassion. Most impressive though is Sam Riley. As Milo, his character and his story seems, at first, to the least in common with any other part of Franklyn’s plot but Riley gives a very earnest and likeable performance and is perhaps the closest thing Franklyn has to a lead character. Like with his performance as Ian Curtis in Control, Riley continues to demonstrate here the qualities that make him a talent to watch for in the future.

Overall, while the backgrounds of some of the characters feel old, and some of the fantasy settings, despite looking great, feeling over-influenced by similar settings from other films, Franklyn is still a very enjoyable film. The performances of its cast add much more depth to their roles than their character’s backgrounds might have permitted them whilst the mixing of a fantasy setting with stories set in recognizable locations like Canterbury help make the use of Meanwhile City more interesting than if the film had solely taken place there. Add to that an intelligent storyline that, whilst testing the patience of some audiences, wraps up into and interesting and satisfying finale that allows for both logic and fantasy to explain. An enjoyable debut from Gerald McMorrow.

Rating: 4/5