Drag Me to Hell

Director: Sam Raimi
Starring: Alison Lohman, Justin Long & Lorna Raver

Sam Raimi returns to the horror genre where he made his name with Drag Me to Hell, a highly enjoyable horror film filled with Raimi’s trademark humour and moments of gross-out gore.

Despite becoming an established name in Hollywood thank to the cult-success of the Evil Dead trilogy of films throughout the 1980s and early 90s, Sam Raimi has become even better known to audiences thanks to another trilogy of films that has seen far greater success, especially in Box Office takings, with the Spider-Man films. After Spider-Man 3 in 2007, the biggest film project of Raimi’s career, and spending six years on directing and producing the Spider-Man trilogy, Raimi has taken a much deserved break and has returned to the genre he loves and to a more comfortable production scale and budget with Drag Me to Hell. There is an almost palpable sense of relief throughout the film too as Raimi throws himself, and especially his lead actress, into the level of gore, scares and gags that Raimi has been unable to truly engage in for years. Whilst also managing to scare when needed, Drag Me to Hell is the most fun and funny horror film in years.

The story, which is fortunately timed in the midst of a global financial crisis, deals with a young loan officer Christine (Lohman). With ambitions to become the assistant manager at her bank, her momentary greed gets the better of her when Mrs Ganush (Raver), an elderly Gypsy woman who is looking for an extension on her mortgage is turned down by Christine with an eye to impressing her boss. With Mrs Ganush embarrassed by the incident after begging to Christine and being forcibly removed Mrs Ganush later attacks Christine and places a curse upon her. A demon will now taunt Christine for three days before taking her to hell as punishment for her sins. With the help of her supportive, yet highly sceptical, boyfriend Clay (Long) and of a local psychic Rham Jas (Dileep Rao), Christine tries to seek ways to rid herself of the curse before the demon finally takes her.

With this plot, Raimi allows himself to engage in all manner of scares. Many are cheap but effective (eerie shadows, slamming doors), some slightly too absurd to scare or amuse (a possessed handkerchief is perhaps too much) whilst the rest are expertly designed to illicit big laughs but also gruesome enough to make audience squirm and avert their eyes. Animal sacrifices, flying bodies, eyes and all manners of bodily fluids are inflicted upon, or by, Christine throughout the film. Raimi’s oral fixation in particular in the film is a source of much amusement and scares as things end up upon faces, in mouths or coming out of them yet, in between some of the funnier moments are also some genuine jumps and scares with a séance in particular managing to shock, amuse and then shock again with effective regularity. Whilst the occasional use of obvious CGI makes some scares less effective, the more old fashioned make up effects are more rewarding.

Raimi also enjoys a strong cast with Drag Me to Hell. As with his previous films whether they be Spider-Man or Evil Dead, Raimi likes to put his lead characters and actors through a lot of punishment and in Alison Lohman, like with Tobey Maguire or Bruce Campbell, she can take the punishment Raimi has to offer and give plenty back to her antagonists. Faced with the prospect of a horrible death and facing several vicious and gruesome attacks both by Mrs Ganush and by the demon stalking her, Christine who starts the film quite timid, reveals true stamina and strength when backed into a corner and Lohman’s transformation from a quiet and unassuming loan officer to a woman willing to kill and to even dig up graves is an effective and enjoyable one even though it is a transformation that, perhaps, make Christine somewhat more deserving of the fate awaiting her. With a supporting cast including Justin Long as Christine’s, almost unbelievably, supportive boyfriend; Lorna Raver as he initially sympathetic yet later frightening Mrs Ganush; Dileep Rao as a psychic trying to aid Christine and Reggie Lee as Christine’s slimy competition at the bank, Drag Me to Hell features several enjoyable, if undeveloped, characters and performances.

Overall, while possessing enough gore and enough jumps to qualify itself as a horror, Drag Me to Hell isn’t the scariest of horror films. What the film is though is much better; it’s an often hilarious and squeamishly enjoyable return to the horror genre by one of its legends. Raimi fans should love the film and horror fans whilst not getting the scares they may have expected should still find themselves entertained.

Rating: 4/5

Synecdoche, New York

Director: Charlie Kaufman
Starring: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Samantha Morton & Catherine Keener

A complex and rewarding drama sees Charlie Kaufman, writer of Being John Malkovich and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, make his directorial debut with his most ambitious project to date.

After writing some of the most acclaimed and cerebral dramas of the past ten years, Charlie Kaufman finally makes his directorial debut with Synecdoche, New York which, especially for a debut picture, is a far more ambitious story than any of Kaufman’s collaborations with Spike Jonze or Michel Gondry. As with his previous films, Synecdoche, New York is another film delving into the realms of the human mind and of human identity, both being obsessions of Kaufman’s. Where Being John Malkovich and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind sought to dive into the human mind and explore its workings (literally so in one case), Synecdoche, New York sees its protagonist project his mind outwards onto the largest stage in history as a play where his every word and action and those of the people in his life are rein-acted by performers as a way to understand himself, to find his true self.

Caden Cotard (Hoffman) is a theatre director who, while accomplished, feels unworthy in comparison to the success of his artist wife Adele (Keener) and his inability to create a play of his own that expresses something true about himself. When his wife leaves to start a new life in Berlin, taking their daughter with her and achieving even greater success abroad, Caden slips further into despair suffering with thoughts of him dying and of not having meaning. He starts a new, if temporary and initially unfulfilling, relationship with his assistant Hazel (Morton) whilst continuing to seek therapy from an uninterested therapist (Hope Davis). However, when Caden is awarded an artist’s grant allowing him unlimited funding to create a work of art he uses the funds to fulfil his goal of creating a play that speaks about him. Performing in an impossibly large warehouse, Caden begins casting players in the roles of people from his life and hundreds of background players making up the New York suburb they existed in. With each having a role to play and the story getting larger, so does the cast and the sets until a near scale model of New York is created with Caden beginning to cast himself and his assistant Hazel with actors (Tom Noonan and Emily Watson) who rein-act their day to day lives and even directing their own play within a play and becoming so true to their roles that they inform and direct their own real-life counterparts.

Kaufman explores many themes throughout Synecdoche, New York with the stage life of Caden’s world representing an almost dreamlike state which progresses to become more real that his old life and as time moves on in great jumps, many unnoticed by Caden, it is his real life that becomes more like a dream. As Caden’s play expands further to encompass plays within plays and multiple actors cast in similar roles and more time is spent within the performance we are left wondering how much of what we see is part of the play, is part of Caden’s dreamlike state or is actually happening off stage. Because of this, Synecdoche, New York warrants more attention and becomes more demanding of its audience to maintain comprehension so how rewarding the film becomes depends on the efforts of its audience to follow. However, where Synecdoche, New York compares less favourably with Kaufman’s previous films and what sometimes makes committing to the film’s story is a lack of warmth. Where some characters and performances come away more favourably (Morton’s Hazel, Noonan as Caden’s stage equivalent), many of the characters are too often cold and difficult to like though Kaufman still manages to make them sympathetic.

Synecdoche, New York also boasts an impressive cast. Philip Seymour Hoffman is a very watchable leading man who, despite Caden being a character lacking warmth, still gives a very sympathetic performance. Samantha Morton is particularly impressive as Hazel, Caden’s assistant with whom he shares a brief relationship which instead develops into a more rewarding partnership and Tom Noonan impresses as Sam, an actor hired to play Caden in his play who knows Caden better than he knows himself but demonstrates a charm that Caden realises he is not capable of. In other roles there are Hope Davis, as Caden’s distant therapist; Catherine Keener as Caden’s ex-wife; Michelle Williams as Caden’s stage wife and Dianne Wiest’s Ellen who, while initially being cast by Caden in a smaller role, becomes much more important to Caden’s life and his play than he could realise.

Overall, Synecdoche, New York is a very intelligent drama. The complexity of its plot and characters won’t appeal to all audiences nor will the seriousness of its tone but those that do give it the attention it requires will come away more satisfied although whilst more intellectually rewarding than Kaufman’s previous films, Synecdoche, New York is not quite as enjoyable as some of his previous efforts. It is still an impressive debut from one of cinema’s most unique talents.

Rating: 4/5

Angels & Demons

Director: Ron Howard
Starring: Tom Hanks, Ewan McGregor & Ayelet Zurer

An entertaining drama and sequel to 2006’s The Da Vinci Code that, whilst overlong and suffering some flaws, is enjoyable and an improvement over its predecessor.

When Dan Brown’s bestselling novel, The Da Vinci Code, was adapted into a film in 2006 it was, unsurprisingly, a big Box Office success. However, despite its popularity it suffered poor to average reviews with the film being overlong, filled with too much exposition and not enough tension. However, due to its Box Office success, a sequel based on the book’s prequel, Angels & Demons was inevitable and while the result is still overlong, still filled with a little too much exposition, and it does improve on its pacing and is a more enjoyable affair.

Rather than place events before those of The Da Vinci Code as there are in the novel, the events of the film Angels & Demons follow on from its preceding film. Following the death of the Pope whilst the Vatican are preparing to choose a successor, a murder at scientific facility that sees the theft of an Anti-Matter device along with the kidnapping of four candidates for Pope-hood forces the Vatican to enlist the help of Robert Langdon (Hanks), the symbologist whose work has frequently exposed the Vatican and the Church’s secrets and misdeeds. With a threat to murder a kidnapped victim every hour until midnight and then to detonate the Anti-Matter device which would consume the Vatican being made by a secret sect called the Illuminati, Langdon must decipher a series of clues buried in old texts and Vatican landmarks to find out where each victim will be killed, where the bomb is located and stop them from happening.

Angels & Demons improves on its predecessor by narrowing its events down to single evening and within a single location, Vatican City, where The Da Vinci Code was a more widespread, sprawling affair. With a threat that they have only hours to stop, Angels & Demons has a far greater sense of emergency which translates into a faster paced and more enjoyable affair and because of the time restraints within the plot the exposition with which Langdon explains the clues, the history surrounding them and what they mean, whilst present, is kept more to the point since our characters really don’t have the time to talk for too long. Angels & Demons does still run for too long, giving too much reverence to the pomp and tradition of the Vatican particularly to the events that surround the election of a new Pope where, perhaps, the film is better served by focusing more on the threat they face and the actions of Langdon to stop it and there are a few too many moments where the characters stop to either repeat how serious the situation is or to, yet again, rehash the differences between faith and science and between Langdon and the Vatican officers also investigating the threat. However, the running time does not feel as long as it could thanks to the injection of more tension, several enjoyable set-pieces and the exclusion of a few of the novel’s less necessary sub-plots.

In terms of performances, Angels & Demons mainly relies on two. Tom Hanks, reprising his role as Langdon, is suitably serious giving the role the intelligent, focused hero it requires without trying to make him too much of a man of action (no attempts at gunplay here) and, while nothing original or noteworthy, it’s a performance that still satisfies. More enjoyable is Ewan McGregor as the young priest McKenna, the adopted son of the former Pope given leadership of the Vatican whilst a successor is chosen. McGregor has the meatiest role within the film representing a man trying to save the Vatican, aid Langdon and overcome the restrictions of the Vatican’s many, centuries old traditions. Less well served are some of the supporting roles. Ayelet Zurer, cast as the scientist aiding Langdon to find and defuse the Anti-Matter device is decent but mostly forgettable with a role and performance that lacks the interest or impact of Audrey Tautou’s from The Da Vinci Code. Few of the officer’s aiding Langdon in the investigation leave much of an impression beyond Stellan Skarsgard’s gruff chief of the Swiss Guard and the assassin behind the kidnappings is likewise unmemorable as a villain. Fortunately, with the film more driven by its events than its performances beyond those of Hanks and McGregor, Angels & Demons is not harmed too much by its casting.

Overall, while still too long and suffering from a less impressive cast that its predecessor, Angels & Demons is still a more enjoyable affair than The Da Vinci Code and whilst not gripping enough to warrant repeat viewings is still decent.

Rating: 3/5

Star Trek

Director: J.J. Abrams
Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto & Eric Bana

An excellent sci-fi action movie that reinvigorates the Star Trek franchise for new audiences whilst managing to be respectful and appealing to established Star Trek fans.

After the lackluster performance of the pervious Star Trek film Star Trek: Nemesis in 2002 and the disappointing performance cancellation of the previous Star Trek television series Enterprise in 2005, it seemed that the Star Trek franchise was struggling to remain interesting or relevant to viewers after an unbroken run of 18 years of Star Trek television series. After several years of developing new scripts and ideas for the franchise, J.J. Abrams (creator of TV series Alias, Lost and Fringe, director of the film Mission Impossible III and producer of films such as Cloverfield) has brought Star Trek back, and back to cinemas, by revisiting the early days of the original Star Trek crew and reintroducing the characters and universe to new and old audiences alike.

Whilst investigating an anomaly described as a “lightning storm in space”, the U.S.S. Kelvin comes under attack from an enemy ship emerging from the anomaly. The ship, coming from the future, destroys the U.S.S. Kelvin but not before its captain, one George Kirk, manages to save 800 crew members including his wife and new-born son Jim. Flashing forward we see Jim Kirk (Pine) grow up to be a rebel whilst Spock (Quinto), a half human/half Vulcan struggles with feelings of rebellion on his home planet where emotion is strictly controlled in favor of logic. With both joining Starfleet, an intergalactic space force dedicated to exploring space and other worlds, they are both forced to work together when Spock’s planet is threatened by the same ship that destroyed the U.S.S. Kelvin 25 years before, killing Kirk’s father. Using a clever time-traveling hook, Star Trek acknowledges the history established in the previous Star Trek series and films but has the actions of its villain Nero (Bana) alters history creating a new series of events and a new status for classic Star Trek characters like Kirk, Spock, Dr. McCoy, Scotty and more. Still taking place in the character’s earlier years prior to the period covered in the original Star Trek series from 1966, the new Star Trek film takes a younger cast and the advantage of modern effects to create a new adventure that introduces the characters and the Star Trek franchise to new audiences in an accessible manner that, whilst not requiring familiarity with the continuity of 43 years of Star Trek, is still respectful of it and offers plenty of little in-jokes and references for more experienced fans of the franchise.

What J.J. Abrams also returns to the Star Trek franchise is a sense of fun. Whether it is humor at the expense of its character’s youthful mishaps and exuberance or pokes at long standing running gags within the franchise, Star Trek offers plenty of laughs without spoofing the franchise it is reviving. The humor, along with some impressive action sequences and special effects opens the franchise up to a bigger audience than most previous Star Trek films have been able to achieve. The cast in Star Trek is also impressive. Chris Pine steps into the shoes previously worn by William Shatner to play James T. Kirk and while demonstrating moments of Shatner-like charm, also adds his own mark to this character, one whose life takes a more rebellious course than Shatner’s original Kirk. Quinto (TV’s Heroes) steps into the role of Spock with ease giving the character the necessary cold, emotionless demeanor when needed whilst keeping just enough emotion bubbling underneath the surface as his character struggles with his more human emotions. Karl Urban (The Lord of the Rings films) channels the spirit of Deforest Kelley in his performance as Dr. McCoy getting many of the best lines and being suitably grumpy and cynical throughout while Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead, TVs Spaced) adds comic relief as the Scottish engineer Scotty. John Cho and Anton Yelchin are enjoyable as Sulu and Chekov and Zoe Saldana gets to develop her role of Uhura into a far more spirited character than the previous incarnation had been portrayed. The only weak link in the casting and in the film is in its villain. Nero, played dependably by Bana, is little seen and underdeveloped. With his motives merely spoken and not really developed and the focus more on the film’s heroes, Nero is an adequate villain whose threat depends more on his ship and his weaponry than on the character himself.

Overall, while the villain is a little disappointing, the rest of the cast of Star Trek are enjoyable as is the story, the humor, the effects and the action sequences. Star Trek is a very enjoyable film and the best Star Trek film in over a decade and certainly the most accessible film yet. An excellent Star Trek film and an excellent summer blockbuster.

Rating: 4/5

Coraline

Director: Henry Selick
Starring: Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher & Keith David (voices of)

A very impressive stop-motion animated film from the director of Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas adapting the novel by Neil Gaiman. Charming, funny with beautiful visuals, the film should entertain children and adults alike.

Sixteen years after bringing the stories and imagination of director Tim Burton to life in 1993’s The Nightmare Before Christmas, Henry Selick adapts Neil Gaiman’s novel Coraline for the cinema screen. Despite having some limited success with an adaptation of Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach in 1996 and the critical and commercial failure of Selick’s live-action/stop motion hybrid Monkeybone in 2001, it might have seemed that Selick owed more to Tim Burton for the success of The Nightmare Before Christmas than on his own skills as a director. Now, with Coraline, Selick is back and demonstrates he is more than just a skilled stop motion animator but sheds the influence of Tim Burton and proves he is an adept filmmaker himself showing a strong grasp of storytelling and an impressive visual style of his own that will still entertain fans of Burton but feeling more fresh and original.

Coraline (voiced by Dakota Fanning), is a young girl relocated to a new home in Ashland, Oregon with her botanist parents. Away from her friends, living in a secluded house with unusual neighbors and parents who are too busy to find time for her, Coraline goes exploring. What she finds is a hidden door that leads her to an alternate home where her parents and neighbors are warm and exciting people, where imagination thrives though where everyone has buttons for eyes. Initially lured in by the warmth and charm of her “other” mother and father and their home, Coraline soon sees the cost when she is asked to stay and replace her own eyes for buttons. With a sinister side revealed to her other mother and her world, Coraline must find her way home and also save her real parents. Based on the novel by Neil Gaiman, the author of Neverwhere, Stardust and the Sandman graphic novels, Coraline is a tale in the fashion of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland where a young girl finds a wonderful fantasy world that soon becomes a nightmare. At times quite scary and frequently funny (featuring some almost-inappropriate yet delightfully bawdy humor involving two elderly actresses living in the apartment below Coraline’s), Coraline is a fairytale in a classic sense. Confronting fears in a mature manner that does not underestimate the abilities of children to understand and enjoy the story’s message whilst also allowing Selick to let loose with a beautifully realized fantasy world that will delight audiences of all ages (a sequence in the garden of the other world is a highlight).

Selick also casts Coraline with some strong voice talent. Dakota Fanning voices Coraline herself, giving Coraline the intelligence and strength the character requires to face overwhelming odds and defeat them whilst Teri Hatcher (TV’s Desperate Housewives) voices both Coraline’s actual and “other” mothers impressively, with the “other” mother particularly well as she veers from warm and loving to frightening and evil. With talented actors voicing the roles of Coraline’s neighbors like Ian McShane (TV’s Deadwood and Lovejoy) as a Russian gymnast, Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French as an elderly of former actresses and Keith David’s gravelly voice bringing the neighborhood cat to life within the fantasy world, Coraline has a strong crop of supporting performances to rely upon.

Overall, Coraline is very entertaining. Smart, funny, well performed and with some stunning visuals, Coraline is a classic family film in the making and proof that Selick is capable of directing as well as animating. An excellent film for any age.

Rating: 4/5