The Hole

Director: Joe Dante
Starring: Chris Massoglia, Haley Bennett & Nathan Gamble

A fun, family film that shows brings back scares into family films whilst also showing the horror films need not be targeted solely at adults or rely on gore to produce and effective shocker.

Joe Dante made his name throughout the late 70s, the 80s and the 90s for making both horror films like Piranha, The Howling and Gremlins and family friendly adventures like Inner Space and The Explorers all of which possessed a B-Movie sensibility, some even qualifying as B-Movies themselves. Having not made anything for cinemas since 2003’s Looney Tunes: Back in Action, Dante now returns to movies with The Hole, a horror film that is suitable for younger audiences but also possesses sufficient scares to appeal to adults without having to resort to the violence or gore that dominates most horror films. The result, released in cinemas in 3D, is an enjoyable and effective shocker that possesses many of the familiar and enjoyable Dante trademarks.

17 year old Dane (Massoglia) and his 10 year old brother Lucas (Gamble) have just moved to the quiet town of Bensonville with their mother, the latest in a string of moves. With little to do, the pair are introduced to Julie (Bennett) who lives next door who then discover a trapdoor in the basement of their new home. Opening it out of curiosity, they find the hole is seemingly bottomless and generates a feeling of unease and eeriness. When the three start finding themselves haunted by visions of a little girl, a sinister clown and more. The three realize the hole may lead to hell and whatever lies within is bringing their fears to life with their efforts to recover the hole fraught with failure. Can they reseal the whole and can they overcome their fears and stop the darkness that escaping it?

Joe Dante’s return to cinema with The Hole, shows he has not lost the skills for humour or scares that he demonstrated throughout the 1980s and 90s even if his last film, Looney Tunes: Back in Action was less well received in 2001. Toning down a horror film so that it is suitable for younger audiences as well as adults may seem a difficult task if not for Dante himself showing it quite possible in his earlier filmmaking career but doing so today seems fresh and daring when horror has mostly gone towards extreme violence and gore. The Hole is a very enjoyable film that derives it scares from spooky lighting and eerie looking figures placing the film into the horror sub-genre of chiller film. While the ghost of a little girl or a seemingly possessed clown doll may not be that original as sources of fear, they feel quite welcome and almost fresh here with both providing ample opportunity for scares with the latter even having moments of humour not unlike the type associated with the Gremlins that Dante introduced to audiences in the 1980s. The hole itself also oozes menace with the only real threat to the characters that struggles to generate as much scares being the shadowed figure that is the source of Dane’s fear even though Dane’s confrontation of this fear leads to an interesting finale with set design reminiscent of Tim Burton. The Hole is also released in cinemas in 3D, though the 3D adds little to the enjoyment of the film overall with the film standing up quite well without the need for it.

While The Hole features a few cameos from Dante regulars like Bruce Dern, as the house’s unstable former tenant, and Dick Miller in a brief but cute appearance, The Hole’s cast is mostly driven by it’s three young cast members. Nathan Gamble stands out the most as the youngest member of the trio, Lucas, getting most of the best lines and is the target of some of the film’s best scares and Gamble gives a likeable and nervous performance. Haley Bennett, probably better known in the US as a singer, is also likeable as Julie and gets to play a character that seems more capable of dealing with the fears confronting her than either of the boys. Chris Massoglia is fine as Dane though his character has the least interesting arc and least interesting lines but is fine nevertheless while actress Teri Polo is largely relegated to the role of concerned but absent mother to Dane and Lucas.

The Hole is an entertaining chiller that is certainly suitable for most ages and showing up many adult-focused horror films that have become over-reliant on violence to sell scares. The 3D might add little and the film isn’t as good as many of Dante’s most well known films but it’s certainly a worthy addition to Dante’s filmography.

Rating: 3/5

Enter the Void

Director: Gaspar Noe
Starring: Nathaniel Brown, Paz de la Huerta & Cyril Roy

Certainly memorable and confirming that Gaspar Noe is indeed a director with vision like few other directors, Enter the Void is however, overlong and over indulgent, lacking the punch or even the controversy of Noe’s previous film Irreversible.

After a controversial debut with I Stand Alone in 1998, Gaspar Noe became infamous in 2002 with his second film Irreversible with its extreme violence, particularly a prolonged rape scene, leaving audiences and critics both offended and enthralled by the events and the meaning behind them. Irreversible seemingly confirmed Noe as a director willing to push what is acceptable in cinema aiming to shock and provoke audiences. Now, eight years after Irreversible was released, Noe returns with a new film called Enter the Void. With a grander scale in mind in terms of themes and ideas being explored and it how they are presented, Enter the Void is certainly an ambitious and memorable film that will court controversy like Noe’s previous films but it is neither as controversial or as powerful as those earlier films with Enter the Void becoming too overindulgent, especially in its second half, leaving the film memorable, intriguing but also somewhat tedious.

Oscar (Brown) and Linda (de la Huerta) are brother and sister living in Tokyo. After witnessing the deaths of their parents in car accident as children, the pair vowed never to leave each other only to be separated and placed into foster homes. Years later, Oscar having moved to Tokyo has been able to afford to bring his sister over and they now live the family life together they never had before with each providing almost surrogate parental roles for one other. Oscar is a regular drug user and has taken to dealing on the side whilst Linda makes a living as a go-go dancer and is in a relationship with the club’s owner. When a deal goes wrong and Oscar is shot by police, he finds himself lifted out of his body and his spirit moving between past, present and future as he tries to look over and after his sister after his death and see the events of his past that shaped who they both became.

Having already established himself with his previous films as a director willing to experiment with what cinema can achieve and push the boundaries of what is acceptable, not only in regards to themes and events but also in regards to narrative structure and cinematography, Noe’s latest film Enter the Void continues to push those boundaries with varying levels of success. Filmed entirely from the point of view of its lead protagonist Oscar, the cinematography takes off once the lead character dies and becomes a disembodied spirit as, at this point, Noe is then able to take the character, the point of view and the cinematography that goes with it to represent the point of view to places that have rarely been touched upon in film and certainly not to the extent that is shown here. Floating above in, around, through and above the action, there is a sense of freedom to the cinematography as Noe takes the camera and character zipping across the Tokyo landscape and into the homes, rooms and lives of the film’s characters. Initially very impressive and recalling somewhat the music video for The Prodigy’s ‘Smack My Bitch Up’, what begins as an interesting technique becomes somewhat tedious in the second half of the film where the movements backwards and forwards over the city and between characters seemingly accounts for more of the runtime than the lives of the characters whom Oscar is following. Noe also experiments with time too as Oscar, in his afterlife voyage which takes the form of the experiences described in the Tibetan Book of the Dead, a text referenced directly and frequently in the film, relives his past and the most formative events that shaped him, his sister and their relationship. This exploration accounts for much of the first half of film following Oscar’s death and is interesting and engaging, portraying the traumatic event that shaped the bond Oscar has with his sister explaining their commitment to each other and the near-incestuous relationship they hold in the present as though each is taking the role of one of their lost parents. When the film moves ahead to the aftermath of Oscar’s death and he witnesses the events in the lives of his sister and friends the film loses steam as Noe spend increasingly more time floating between scenes than exploring them though there are still interesting moment when events he witnesses recall moments from the past where such moments are intercut with flashbacks, often sudden ones. As Enter the Void approaches its climax, Noe’s indulgences become more prevalent including a finale in a sex hotel that features imagery that is less shocking or controversial than it is, presumably unintentionally, hilarious though is nevertheless memorable.

Featuring mostly newcomers, Enter the Void’s cast performances vary in quality. Nathaniel Brown is fine as Oscar though his appearance and involvement in the story is limited mostly as voiceover as he narrates the events he is witnessing, which we too are witnessing through his point of view, up until his death when his thoughts cease to be voiced and he is largely replaced in the film by the director’s camera. Paz de la Huerta has moments of interest in her performance as Linda though her performance, and her character, rarely manage to convey what makes her so appealing to those around her and to Oscar in particular. Cyril Roy is more interesting and memorable as a friend of Oscar’s named Alex who is the film’s most sympathetic character, a philosophical and poetic character and the child actors who play Oscar and Linda’s younger selves are interesting too, especially Emily Alyn Lind as the young Linda whose performance is powerful and chilling at times especially when portraying the traumatic reactions to deaths of her character’s parents and her separation from her brother. The performance is the most memorable in the film and impressive for a child actress.

Whilst still likely to court controversy, Enter the Void is less controversial and certainly less powerful than Noe’s previous film Irreversible, though Enter the Void certainly demonstrates more ambition on Noe’s behalf with an engaging first half and some impressive cinematography that confirms Noe as an auteur even if his overindulgences means the second half of his film is overlong and somewhat tedious with an ending more humorous than shocking or thought provoking.

Rating: 3/5

Winter's Bone

Director: Debra Granik
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, John Hawkes & Garret Dillahunt

A cold, harsh but tense and gripping drama, featuring strong performances from Lawrence and Hawkes making Winter’s Bone an impressive film.

Adapted from the novel by Daniel Woodrell, Winter’s Bone is only Debra Granik’s second film after 2004’s Down to the Bone but the film comes to cinemas already with some critical acclaim after winning the Grand Jury prize at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. Winter’s Bone turns out to be worth the acclaim being a gripping drama with impressive performances from its cast, particularly Jennifer Lawrence in the leading role having been developing her name off the back of several dramatic supporting roles, and marks Granik as a highly promising director worth watching in the future.

Living in an impoverished part of the Ozarks, Missouri, Ree Dolly (Lawrence) is left to look after her younger brother and sister and her near comatose mother in lieu of her father’s absence. When the local Sheriff (Dillahunt) turns up at her house one day saying her father is due in court on charges of making meth in a week’s time and has put up the family home as payment for his bond should he not appear, Ree finds herself searching for her missing father hoping to get him to appear and save herself and her family from ending up homeless. Ree finds this more difficult than hoped when her uncle Teardrop (Hawkes) and some of her father’s past associates refuse to assist her in her search or provide her with answers for his absence and all warn her of dangers facing her should she continue her search. Ree continues out of desperation knowing the risk to her safety whilst also coming to terms with her suspicions that her father may never be found for reasons no one wishes to confirm.

Winter’s Bone is an impressive drama even qualifying as a mystery and thriller with its lead character’s search and the dangers she faces raising a fair amount of tension throughout the film. There is also much tension to be derived from the fact that the lead character is a 17 year old girl as, when it becomes obvious that Ree’s father is more than just missing and the reasons for why that is, Ree’s slight build and the nature of the people who possess the answers to her questions makes her vulnerability and the very real threat to her life should she pursue her search all the more clear leading to several scenes where the level of intimidation being directed against Ree, including one scene of violence, leaves audiences guessing as to whether she will walk away at all. While the mystery of what has happened to Ree’s father is easily solved, the real mystery throughout the film is over whether Ree can prove it, whether she can survive it and who, if any, of her father’s past associates including family members can be trusted. Winter’s Bone is a gripping drama most of all for its character’s which are brought to life by some of the excellent performances of the cast but also impressive is the cinematography where this impoverished Ozark community is brought to cold, harsh life where a kind of untamed beauty can be seen but where the unforgiving nature of the environment takes precedent making the attitudes of it’s community almost understandable and the inner strength that some, like Ree, need to endure it clear.

Winter’s Bone is film that impresses most through its performances. Jennifer Lawrence is excellent in the lead role of Ree Dolly where her character’s conviction and strength is believable despite the youth of the character and the actress as is the desperation she feels which drives her also. Lawrence gives a performance that delivers upon the promise she had shown in earlier supporting roles setting her up here with the proof that she can lead a film and has a promising career as a dramatic actress ahead of her. The film also features good performances from its supporting cast. John Hawkes (TV’s Deadwood) is particularly impressive as Ree’s uncle Teardrop, an individual whose temperament and history keeps even some of the most intimidating of Ree’s father’s associates on edge. It is a performance where Hawkes plays against type having been best known for more sympathetic and caring characters and he delivers it convincingly being suitably intimidating whilst also keeping his loyalties unknown until later and motives believable when they are revealed. Other supporting roles are good including Dale Dickey as the partner of one of Ree’s father’s most dangerous associates and Garret Dillahunt as the town sheriff.

Winter’s Bone is a gripping drama. It is cold and hard but engaging with moments of real tension and featuring some impressive performances from Lawrence and Hawkes. An excellent film.

Rating: 4/5

The Town

Director: Ben Affleck
Starring: Ben Affleck, Rebecca Hall, Jeremy Renner & Jon Hamm

An engaging crime drama with good performances all around and proving Ben Affleck to be a promising director after this and his debut Gone Baby Gone.

Originally establishing his fame, first through small supporting roles and then through his screenwriting credit for Good Will Hunting, Ben Affleck soon became a Hollywood star until a string of flops and his relationship with Jennifer Lopez seeing his withdraw from acting for a while. Building his career back up again with smaller roles, Affleck made a bigger name for himself in 2007 when he directed the film Gone Baby Gone which received much critical acclaim. Further establishing himself as a director, Affleck now brings the film The Town to cinemas whilst also casting himself in a lead role to further boost his acting career too. The result is a solidly entertaining crime drama that proves Gone Baby Gone was no fluke when it comes to Affleck’s directing talent whilst also reminding us that Affleck is a very capable actor.

After a successful bank robbery where he and his team also kidnapped the bank manager to secure their getaway, Doug MacRay (Affleck) takes it upon himself to monitor the movements of the bank manager, Claire Keesey (Hall), afterwards to ensure she hadn’t witnessed anything during the robbery that could betray them to the FBI much to the disagreement of his friend Coughlin (Renner) who’d rather get rid of her and be done with it. Reaching out to Claire when he witnesses her grief, MacRay finds himself attracted to her and the pair start a relationship even though Claire is unaware of MacRay’s role in the robbery that left her traumatized and unbeknownst to Coughlin. Problems arise when FBI agent Frawley (Hamm) suspects the guilt of MacRay and his gang and discovers his relationship with Claire meanwhile MacRay is under pressure to pull more heists when he wants to leave town with Claire and begin a new life.

While The Town includes many themes that are somewhat clichéd in the crime genre such as the crook who wants to put it all behind him, the relationship to an innocent unaware of their past or the reluctance to abandon those they grew up with as well as the staging of heists and robberies themselves, The Town is a film that proves that it’s the execution of such themes that matters more in film. Affleck proves again, after the excellent Gone Baby Gone, to be a confident director focusing on character and performances most of all but also able to film bank robbery sequences that approach the quality of those of Michael Mann’s Heat whilst not feeling derivative of them. Affleck also films again in his native Boston where he demonstrates a clear love and respect for the kinds of communities in which he grew up infusing the characters and their relationships with each other with local character and culture. Affleck also approaches the film’s central romance carefully to avoid the kinds of cliché of films such as those he starred in himself in the middle of his career being sure to take the relationship of Claire and MacRay slowly and quite different from the usual approach with the characters meeting because of Claire’s trauma and with them both sharing their worst tragedies that, when MacRay’s secret about his role in her trauma is about to be exposed, the feelings against MacRay are mixed. There is anger at against him for his deceit yet also sympathy in knowing his desire to change.

In addition to strong direction, Affleck also puts in a good performance as MacRay making him sympathetic despite his crimes and despite his secrets from Claire providing a grounding presence for the film. Rebecca Hall (Vicky Cristina Barcelona) is engaging as Claire, vulnerable though not weak while Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker) gives a tense performance as MacRay’s partner Coughlin. Renner’s performance is one of simmering rage ready to explode violently even making him a threatening presence to those who might call him friend. Jon Hamm (TV’s Mad Men) also gives a good performance as FBI agent Frawley in a role that could easily have been underwritten as just the guy out to bring MacRay down, but is instead, and with Hamm fulfilling the role, one that has more depth as Hamm gives the character a Machiavellian quality as he pieces together the puzzle of who is guilty and how whilst playing the women in MacRay’s life like Claire and an ex, Coughlin’s sister, played by Blake Lively against each other without them ever meeting. Supporting roles are filled well too with Pete Postlethwaite as an intimidating crime boss masquerading as a florist and Chris Cooper in a single scene as MacRay’s imprisoned father.

While not reinventing the crime genre, conforming to several well worn themes and character types, The Town is still very enjoyable for the execution of the story with confident direction by Affleck resulting in some tense and exciting sequences and some strong performances from the cast. The film and it’s ending won’t be as memorable as that of Gone Baby Gone but The Town proves Affleck once again capable of being an actor who can direct.

Rating: 4/5

The Other Guys

Director: Adam McKay
Starring: Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg & Steve Coogan

Whilst having a good cast and the potential for good laugh, The Other Guys is a surprisingly average comedy with the feeling that little effort was put into it.

After a string of comedies that were not critically and/or commercially well received including the adaptation of TV series Land of the Lost, Will Ferrell’s latest film reunites him with director Adam McKay who has been involved in Ferrell’s better received films Anchorman, Talladega Nights and Step Brothers. The Other Guys, a buddy comedy pairing Ferrell with Mark Wahlberg that pokes fun at the buddy cop genre should entertain, especially given the quality of the star’s previous work with McKay, but the film instead disappoints with many gags falling flat in their execution as though few involved were making the effort to make the film more entertaining with only Wahlberg standing out positively.

Detectives Gamble (Ferrell) and Hoitz (Wahlberg) are partners who don’t get along. Gamble is more concerned with pushing paperwork and doing accounting within the department whilst Hoitz is frustrated by seeing very little action after accidentally shooting baseball star Derek Jeter a year before. Detectives Danson (Dwayne Johnson) and Highsmith (Samuel L. Jackson), on the other hand, are supercops bringing in criminals and getting all the accolades and glory. When Danson and Highsmith go out in a blaze of glory, an opening appears for other detectives to fill their shoes. Hoitz is desperate too but Gamble wants to avoid too much action preferring instead to follow up licensing violations. However, when Gamble and Hoitz turn up to arrest a wealthy billionaire named Ershon (Coogan) for a scaffolding violation, they get caught up in a multi-billion dollar investment scam when those Ershon owes money to try to stop Gamble and Hoitz from arresting Ershon and upsetting the scam leading the unwitting pair into bigger action than they anticipated.

With Anchorman regarded highly and Talladega Nights and Step Brothers both being almost as entertaining, there was expectation that Ferrell and McKay’s latest effort would be a return to form for Ferrell after a series of films that were less well received. However, despite a strong cast, a few good moments and some lines that should work, The Other Guys is very disappointing. The film feels too long and many scenes and jokes feel stretched out or lack energy in either the performances of the cast or the direction of the scene. Where there was a distinct feeling of all involved having fun on and off set in previous films, here there is the odd sense that little effort was made. While some jokes and scenes feel predictable and uninspired, others feel like they should work but don’t. The liveliest scenes are reserved for the beginning where Dwayne Johnson and Samuel L. Jackson appear as supercops, embodying clichés with glee. Most highlights afterwards lie with Wahlberg’s character and Gamble’s wife, played by Eva Mendes.

Will Ferrell puts in a restrained performance in The Other Guys as Allen Gamble and disappoints as a result. Even when it is revealed that his character has dark secrets he has repressed with them starting to surface in his actions, Ferrell’s performance feels too restrained and lacking conviction. Wahlberg however is much more entertaining, getting to demonstrate his comedic talents again after I Heart Huckabees, here playing Hoitz straight with conviction where he delivers lines like “I am a peacock” or displaying a talent for ballet without betraying his character’s own belief in their masculinity with often hilarious effect only occasionally undermined by the performances of those around Wahlberg. Michael Keaton offers dependable support as the detectives’ TLC-quoting Captain though he never gets to stand out and Steve Coogan is wasted on a one-dimensional role as a slimy investor though Eva Mendes is likeable as Gamble’s wife.

The Other Guys should have been a funny film, reuniting Ferrell with his Anchorman collaborator Adam McKay, however a seeming lack of effort from the star and director leaves many scenes and jokes falling flat when tighter editing and timing could have made them work and only Wahlberg giving a good effort reminding us that the he has a gift for comedy when he wants to use it. Overall though, the film is very disappointing.

Rating: 2/5

Tamara Drewe

Director: Stephen Frears
Starring: Gemma Arterton, Luke Evans & Roger Allam

An enjoyably light and frothy adaptation of the comic strip series from The Guardian newspaper, Tamara Drewe is a fun British comedy.

Adapting the popular comic strip written and drawn by Posy Simmonds and published in The Guardian newspaper, itself a loose adaptation and modernization of Thomas Hardy’s Far from the Madding Crowd, Tamara Drewe is an unexpected comic book adaptation not being based on action ad/or super heroics. Adapted by Stephen Frears whose films have frequently delved into sects of British society, his adaptation of Tamara Drewe is a more light hearted film that that which he most often known for. The film itself is quite enjoyable if more light in tone than the actual material it is adapting.

Ewedown is a small village with little to do. Ewedown has no bus service and no Post Office but is the location of a writer’s retreat run by author Nicholas Hardiment (Allam) and his suffering wife Beth (Tamsin Greig) with the help of local handyman Andy Cobb (Evans). When an attractive young journalist named Tamara Drewe (Arterton) returns to Ewedown, having left there many years before, she creates a stir within the community with her new looks, particularly with Andy, who once had a relationship with her, and Nicholas who wishes to start despite promises to his wife to cease his infidelity. Further complications arise when Tamara begins a relationship with a famous drummer named Ben Sergeant (Dominic Cooper) who she interviewed at a nearby concert which also draws in the attention of two neighborhood school girls whose pursuit of Sergeant and knowledge of the locals makes them privy to the secret goings on of the village, particularly in regards to Tamara, her suitors and her love life resulting in a teenage prank that threatens to not only wreck Tamara’s love life but also have implications for Andy, Nicholas, Beth and more.

Whilst an adaptation of a comic strip, the story and basis for such of Tamara Drewe is one that knowing this detail bears little relevance to the audience though doing so may at least expand their expectations of comics and comic strips beyond those that include super-heroes. Tamara Drewe, partly inspired by the book Far from the Madding Crowd, has more appeal to those familiar with that tale than those who are not. References are littered throughout and aspects of the story and certain characters are directly inspired by Hardy’s novel but then there are elements to Tamara Drewe that might also appeal to literary crowds such as the inclusion of a writer’s retreat which pokes fun at aspiring writers working in different fields whilst offering different perspectives on the events occurring around them in Ewedown in their roles of overly imaginative witnesses. Perception is a key theme throughout the film too with characters getting momentary glimpses of situations that allow them to be misinterpreted with the roles of two school girls following a famous drummer to the home of Tamara Drewe resulting in gossip and pranks that threaten to destroy several relationships. Despite the humour, Tamara Drewe does have a few flaws. The role of Tamara herself, whilst seemingly intended to be a cipher shaped by others perceptions of her, is still frustratingly undeveloped leaving her motives largely unexplained as though she is fickle and indecisive whilst the ending, faithful to the comic strip, strikes a very different, and somewhat uneven, tone compared to the events that preceded it.

While the character of Tamara Drewe is somewhat undeveloped leaving Gemma Arterton with little drama or depth with which to give the character, she is nevertheless perky and engaging when affecting the men in her presence. It is the most memorable film role for Arterton to date. Luke Evans brings a satisfying level of brooding to the role of Andy, the man who is perhaps more deserving of happiness than those with whom he is competing with for Tamara’s affections while Roger Allam is suitably smug and slimy as the adulterous Nicholas. Dominic Cooper gives a memorable turn as drummer Ben Sergeant, no doubt inspired somewhat by Peter Doherty while Tamsin Greig and Bill Camp get the most sympathetic roles as Nicholas’ suffering wife and aspiring writer who admires her from afar respectively. The younger cast entertain too with Jessica Barden and Charlotte Christie as the school girls Jody and Casey with Barden being particularly memorable.

Lighter in tone than the material it is adapting, Tamara Drewe is still a fun and charming comedy while still keeping much of the drama. The lead character may be too undeveloped to really engage with but the supporting cast and characters provide plenty of entertainment.

Rating: 3/5

Cyrus

Director: Jay & Mark Duplass
Starring: John C. Reilly, Jonah Hill & Marisa Tomei

An engaging comedy drama that avoids many clichés and feels surprisingly honest for a film that could easily have fallen into formula.

From Indie filmmakers the Duplass brothers whose low budget films The Puffy Chair and Baghead achieved positive critical response if not commercial success, have returned with Cyrus which would appear to be their most mainstream effort to date. This perception is partly due to two known comedic actors Jonah Hill (Superbad) and John C. Reilly (Walk Hard, Step Brothers) in the leading roles and a marketing campaign that seems to emphasis the film as being much more of straight forward comedy than it actually is. Cyrus however is far more original and in keeping with the brothers’ previous efforts than first appearances would seem resulting in a comedy drama that does include emphasis on the drama as much as the comedy with story, characters and performances that often avoid predictability and feel surprisingly honest.

John (Reilly) is a divorced freelance editor. Seven years after his split up with his ex he is still struggling and has given up on finding someone new. Pressured into coming to his ex’s engagement party to another man he encounters Molly (Tomei) who finds herself touched by some of the honesty John expresses throughout the evening regarding his loneliness. The pair hit it off but John is worried about Molly’s tendency to frequently leave late in the evenings. Spying on her home one day, trying to find out why, he encounters Cyrus (Hill), Molly’s 20 year old son who is still living at home and soon proves to be highly dependant on Molly with the pair having only had each other for company since Cyrus’ father left them both when he was a baby. Trying to get accustomed to Cyrus and win him over whilst continuing his relationship with Molly, John soon finds Cyrus does not like him and wants him out of Molly’s life with Cyrus proving to be smarter and more manipulative than John expected leading John and Cyrus into a careful game with each other over who gets to have Molly’s attention.

Whilst trailers, posters and even the casting in Cyrus suggesting a far more mainstream and comedy-focused film, the actual film is a surprisingly mature affair. There are certainly plenty of laughs but few come from moments of exaggeration with many feeling natural. While audiences expecting/preferring a more straight forward comedy of errors may not be happy with the more dramatic film with which they are given Cyrus is a much better film for its avoidance of the usual clichés of such films and certainly demonstrates the Duplass brothers are not betraying their own sensibilities and will, in fact, reach a greater audience with Cyrus than they have with past films. The film often feels quite honest, not just with its characters but also with the direction its story takes. None of the characters are perfect, even Molly, the object of John and Cyrus’ affections is flawed with her affection towards her son following her partner leaving her 20 years before resulting in a relationship with her son that, while loving and supportive, has not allowed her son to fully flourish and an independent individual leading her to have a very honest discussion over her failures with him when Cyrus’ own problems and manipulations come to light. John, while more noble than his first appearances might seem is a sympathetic character but also demonstrates some of the same neediness as Cyrus whilst Cyrus, despite his manipulations, has motives that come from a very understandable place making his actions not altogether unsympathetic. Audiences are left guessing as to how the story will play out and how each of the characters will be changed.

Cyrus features strong performances throughout. Whilst Catherine Keener is her usually dependable self in a supporting role as John’s ex, bringing some Indie credibility to the film, it is the trio of Reilly, Hill and Tomei that must, and do carry the film. Reilly balances his dramatic abilities seen in films like Magnolia with some of the more comedic talents he has portrayed in films like Step Brothers in the character of John, coming off fully rounded and able to generate laughs and sympathy as needed. Jonah Hill shows some impressive dramatic abilities making his character more than the stereotypical kid-from-hell and Marisa Tomei is also likeable as Molly demonstrating the warmth that would so engage John and Cyrus whilst not being perfect with her too easily able to overlook the flaws in those she cares for.

Better than advertised, Cyrus is not the straight-forward comedy it may first seem but is in fact a much more engaging balance of comedy and drama with its character’s having much depth and them and the story playing out in a more mature, realistic and therefore less predictable manner making the film feel much more refreshing than others that might resort to cliché in the ‘son-from-hell’ stakes.

Rating: 4/5

The Girl Who Played With Fire

Director: Daniel Alfredson
Starring: Noomi Rapace, Michael Nyqvist & Georgi Staykov

Less cinematic that The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, the first of the Millennium adaptations, The Girl Who Played With Fire not only struggles with middle-film-in-a-trilogy syndrome but also fails to adequately adapt the source material with too many characters and sub-plots left undeveloped.

Based on the successful Millennium Trilogy of novels by Stieg Larsson, the first film in the trilogy named The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo for international audiences was a successful adaptation both commercially and critically. All three films in the series had already been filmed and released in their native Sweden prior to their international release and all three were filmed with the intent of releasing shortened versions for cinemas with longer versions for television where the series would run as a mini-series. Where the first film adapted the first novel and felt like a film while remaining very faithful to the books, the second film The Girl Who Played With Fire now comes to cinemas and feels very different. Adapted by a different director than the first adaptation, the second film feels more like a TV movie in its production values but is also less faithful to the novels than the first film resulting in a disappointing second instalment in the series.

A year after the events of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, no one has seen young hacker Lisbeth Salander (Rapace) for some time. Journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Nyqvist) has moved onto other stories as young journalist brings him a story of a high profile prostitution and drugs racket running in Sweden which includes high ranking government officials amongst their clients. When the young journalist and his partner turn up murdered and the murder weapon at the scene bears Lisbeth’s fingerprints, Lisbeth becomes the police’s prime suspect especially when the weapon turns out to have belonged to Lisbeth’s care worker who once raped her and has also turned up murdered. With Lisbeth staying in hiding whilst trying to find evidence to prove her innocence, Blomkvist also investigates as he is also convinced that she is innocent and that the guilty party is a mysterious man named Zalachenko (Staykov) who is named in the murdered journalist’s notes who is a man that also has connections to Lisbeth, unbeknownst to Blomkvist.

Originally adapted as longer versions to be screened on Swedish television as a 6 part mini series, the film versions of the Millennium Trilogy had been shortened down for cinema audiences. Where the first film, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, adapted the first, and shortest, novel in the series while remaining largely faithful to the novels, The Girl Who Played With Fire suffers in comparison. Filmed by a different director than that of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, the second film in the trilogy feels much more like a television production than the first film which managed to feel cinematic. Adapted from a longer novel and having to follow on from the first film whilst setting things up for the third and final film, The Girl Who Played With Fire was expected to suffer from some effects of middle-film syndrome since its story’s beginning and ending occur in other films but the adaptation also suffers on many other levels. The film is less close to the original source material than the first film which suggest a lot from the longer TV edit has been left out, notably a major plot thread involving a detective and his team introduced in this chapter that means many characters are left very undeveloped and the film seems to rush along to its conclusion with little of the time devoted to allowing us to get to know new characters or get to grips with developments in the story. Action set pieces in the film also fall flat lacking the scale or tension of their literary equivalent and tension as a whole during the story is barely felt which suggests that Alfredson, the director of this instalment of the trilogy, lacks the experience and/or confidence of his predecessor.

Fortunately performances as a whole remain good. Rapace and Nyqvist reprise their roles as Lisbeth and Blomkvist with ease with Rapace getting more screen time and development this time around as her character become the centre of attention for the series from this film onwards with her performance demonstrating strength and vulnerability well through her expressions given her character’s reluctance to speak most of the time. Georgi Staykov and Micke Spreitz appear as the menacing Zalachenko and his near mute, blond giant of a henchman with Staykov disappointing slightly with his performance bearing a whiff of bad Bond villain while Spreitz, also in a Bond-style henchman role, intimidates with his size. Johan Kylen barely registers as Detective Bublanski in a role that is severely cut down from that of the books and one hopes is better served in the TV edit of the adaptation whilst real life boxer Paolo Roberto also gets little time to impress playing himself as his role, also cut down, is poorly served by a poor edit of a fight sequence between himself and Spreitz that should have served as the film’s crowning action set piece.

After the engaging and faithful adaptation that was The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played With Fire is a disappointing follow up and a disappointing adaptation of its source material too.

Rating: 2/5

Mother (Madeo)

Director: Bong Joon-ho
Starring: Kim Hye-ja, Won Bin & Jin Goo

Bong Joon-ho’s latest film is a gripping mystery thriller which, in places, conjures up memories of his film Memories of Murder but with the addition of a novel choice in protagonist driven to commit desperate, even dangerous, acts to find the truth.

After achieving huge success in his native Korea as well as success abroad with his excellent monster movie The Host, director Bong Joon-ho follows that film with Mother, a nourish, almost Hitchcockian thriller which has more in common with his directorial debut, the police procedural Memories of Murder than the film that better established his name. Casting heart-throb Won Bin as a mentally handicapped boy arrested for murder and Kim Hye-ja, a popular actress in television in Korea as her grief stricken and protective mother shows Joon-ho willing to takes risks again as before by making another film the subverts expectations of their genre. Mother is a gripping mystery thriller that has an interesting twist in its leading protagonist being an older mother looking to prove her son’s innocence. Mother has elements of Joon-ho’s Memories of Murder in its treatment of the investigations against the accused son but also bears elements of Park Chan-wook’s Vengeance trilogy in its lead character’s determination and willingness to go to dark places to uncover the truth.

When Do-joon (Bin), a boy with a mental handicap, is arrested for the murder of a school girl with whom he was last person seen in her presence, he is easily persuaded by police officers to sign a confession without fully understanding what it is he has admitted to and what punishment he will receive. His mother, Hye-ja (Hye-ja), has long been overprotective of her son for reasons that are unknown to many and is distraught at what has happened to her son. Hye-ja sees her son’s only chance is her discovering who really killed the schoolgirl and progresses on a search for answers which, when frustrated by the lack of help the legal system provides, sends her looking into dark corners and maybe having to accept dark truths about her son and herself and the over what actions she is willing to take to prove her son’s innocence if evidence should point to his guilt.

Working against type with his police procedural Memories of Murder about an inept attempt at police investigation and his monster movie The Host focusing as much on family relationships as on its creature, Joon-ho’s latest film takes a murder mystery and makes his leading protagonist not a police officer, lawyer or journalist or even the accused but rather an aging mother and one without many resources. This twist is likely the film’s most engaging aspect as it makes for a plot that is somewhat unpredictable. The mother is clearly over-protective of her son though doesn’t display and obvious signs of affection for her son. Her relationship with her son and her reasons for being so protective prove to be for reasons beyond her son’s handicap. The mother too, is also unsure of where to look and how to prove her son’s innocence and even seems unsure as to whether she believes in his innocence herself but her frustrations at being unable to get police or lawyers to look into his case provokes her to search for answers herself. What is engaging and sometimes surprising is the threat the mother can present. Her frailty leads others to underestimate her as she too underestimates herself not because she is particularly skilled or confident but because she is desperate and prone to commit acts in panic that are morally ambiguous and, perhaps, worse. Mother takes the audience and its lead character through several twists and turns that serve to darken the tone and take its characters into grey areas of right and wrong.

The lead performances in Mother are strong with two of its stars playing against type. Kim Hye-ja is a familiar face to Korean television as a motherly figure but here she takes a motherly role driven into desperation and her character’s desperation is clear and also sympathetic even in spite of some of the actions her character takes. It is an engaging performance and one which allows audience’s interest to grow as the character’s initial eccentricities originally serve to distance audiences from the character but the character’s desperation draws you back in, investing you in the outcome of her search for the truth. Won Bin subverts his heart-throb image very well as Do-joon, playing on his looks in part whilst delivering a believable performance as someone with a mental handicap that makes him prone to forgetfulness, anger and being unable to fully grasp the reality of what he experiences. Jin Goo is also good as a friend of Do-joon’s whose illicit activities mark him as a possible suspect but also as a possible ally in proving Do-joon’s innocence.

Mother is a gripping mystery thriller with an unusual choice of leading character that allows the story and character to proceed towards some unexpected acts. The mother’s quest for the truth is often touching, tense and disturbing in equal measure making for another memorable film in Bong Joon-ho’s filmography.

Rating: 4/5

The Switch

Directors: Josh Gordon & Will Speck
Starring: Jason Bateman, Jennifer Aniston & Thomas Robinson

A likeable comedy drama with an enjoyable performance by Bateman, The Switch does play things quite safe so isn’t particularly memorable but wisely avoids going the way of gross out gags in favor of a little more maturity.

Originally to be titled ‘The Baster’, the filmmakers made the wise choice of renaming the film The Switch to play down expectations that the film would have more emphasis on comedy than drama and/or be a more gross out style of comedy. Having its release pushed back to avoid conflicting with the release of a film with a similar premise starring Jennifer Lopez called The Back Up Plan, The Switch may be coming to cinemas too late to feel original in it’s premise of a woman looking to be artificially inseminated and needed her best, male friend to assist but The Switch is certainly a likeable film with some nice performances from Jason Bateman and Thomas Robinson even if the film itself does tell it’s story in a safe and predictable manner.

Wally (Bateman) has been Kassie’s (Aniston) best friend for 6 years. Wally has also been in love with her the entire time without ever admitting it to Kassie or anyone and feels he missed out on his chance due to his neuroticism. When Kassie decides she is through with trying to find Mr. Right she decides she wants a child and begins looking for potential suitors for artificial insemination, asking Wally to help. When Kassie finds a suitor in Roland (Patrick Wilson), she throws a celebration where Wally, in a drunken state, accidentally spills Roland’s sample for Kassie and finds himself replacing it with his own. Remembering none of this once sober, Kassie moves away to raise her child out of the city but returns 7 years later with her son Sebastian (Robinson) in tow. Reconnecting with Wally, Wally soon realizes through Sebastian’s neurotic behavior that Sebastian is in fact his son and not Roland whom Kassie is looking to reconnect with. Wally is then left in the situation of having to tell Kassie the truth about who Sebastian’s father is and confess his feelings for her before she makes the mistake of spending her life with Roland.

While the title originally conceived for this film and some of its marketing including Bateman looking at a semen sample might provoke assumptions that The Switch is more of a comedy than a drama, the resulting film is one that favors drama while still providing humor. This works to the film’s benefit as while there is a romantic element involved between Bateman and Aniston’s character, this film is more about Bateman’s Wally and his reactions to becoming a father and overcoming his fears, his neuroticisms, to do the right thing and maybe be happy at last. Wally is a sympathetic and likeable character throughout and his story is one that you hope turns out well for him. Some of this likeability is down to Bateman’s performance but the script deals with his character and his relationship to others in a mostly mature fashion which aids the story. However, despite the film’s likeability, it is also quite predictable and there seems little doubt over who Aniston’s Kassie will ultimately choose to be with by the end or that Wally will bond with Sebastian and learn life lessons that make him stronger. While some time is used to convey and confront the character of Roland’s belief that life throws you curveballs, The Switch does not really throw any at the audience and unless you’re particularly fond of happy endings, the ending itself is nice but somewhat unsatisfactory feeling a little forced.

Jason Bateman puts in a good performance as Wally. While the role itself bears too much in common with that of Michael Bluth on TV’s Arrested Development, Bateman is nevertheless enjoyable to watch, particularly in scenes he shares with Thomas Robinson playing Wally’s son. Bateman and Robinson have some good on screen chemistry and Robinson too puts in a nice performance, initially playing to miserable kid type but becoming warmer later. Jennifer Aniston is decent as Kassie though he story is less present than Wally’s and Aniston doesn’t add anything to her performance to separate it from much of what she’s done before. Amongst the supporting cast we have a highly likeable turn from Jeff Goldblum as Wally’s friend with Goldblum’s natural charisma stealing scenes, Juliette Lewis is somewhat annoying as Kassie’s friend but plays the character’s type well while Patrick Wilson’s performance as Roland is just the right level of likeable but with enough vulnerabilities shown that you can root against his character without hating him but rather seeing it as the best thing for him too.

Overall, The Switch is a little more mature than might be expected. The story is somewhat predictable and many of the actors aren’t providing performances that you haven’t seen them give before but Bateman makes for a likeable lead and he has good chemistry with child actor Thomas Robinson. Throw in an excellent Jeff Goldblum in a supporting role and The Switch is an enjoyable if average comedy drama.

Rating: 3/5

The Expendables

Director: Sylvester Stallone
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham & Jet Li

While featuring a, unsurprisingly, predictable plot and its characters being largely two-dimensional, The Expendables certainly features enough old-fashioned action and an impressive, if aging cast, that there is enough to excite fans of these stars and of the 1980s/1990s action films of whose tone is trying to be captured here.

Several years in the making and boasting a cast of some of the biggest heavyweights of 1980s and 1990s action cinema, The Expendables seems like a dream film for many an action fan. The Expendables is the latest film in Sylvester Stallone’s comeback after reviving his characters of Rocky Balboa and Rambo to mixed results (Rocky Balboa was a touching look back at an aging pro’s career, Rambo a disappointing flop). This time Stallone tries for something more ambitious in uniting other action legends many of whom, like Stallone, haven’t seen successes today to match their glory days. While some names like Seagal, Van Damme and Snipes turned down roles, others like Lundgren, Li, Rourke, Willis and Schwarzenegger accepted and are complemented by current action stars like Statham and wrestlers like Austin and Couture looking to build film careers. The resulting film is one that could never live up to expectations of audiences and doesn’t really try to either which is disappointing but there are enough fun moments and action to make this a worthwhile film for fans of the genre and these stars.

Having recently had to expel a teammate from going too far, Barney Ross (Stallone) and his mercenary team dubbed ‘The Expendables’ are called upon by a CIA operative named Church (Bruce Willis) to take on a mission on the island of Vilena where a general named Garza (David Zayas) has become a dictator and with the help of a former CIA operative named Munroe (Eric Roberts), have enslaved the island and producing mass amounts of heroin. The Expendables’ mission is to oust Garza and Monroe but, to do so, must face down an army, Munroe’s henchmen and possible conflicts with old teammates.

As action cinema has moved away from the style of films seen in the 1980s and 1990s featuring muscle bound heroes and more towards leaner action heroes such as Matt Damon’s Jason Bourne or the recently revamped Bond films with Daniel Craig, many of the stars of those older action films have either retired from acting, moved towards other genres or continued making action films in that old mould but with straight-to-DVD fodder. The Expendables however, is Sylvester Stallone’s attempt to revive the style of action film where he once made his name and, in doing so, has enlisted an impressive cast of names who were once legends. There is certainly enjoyment to be found for fans of those older films in The Expendables even if age has resulted in some being unable to equal feats performed in their earlier films. There’s room for study somewhere in the film over the fate of that older style of action film and in its stars trying to relive old glories to see if they are still capable of doing so. It is disappointing that, for such an impressive cast, that the plot of The Expendables is very thin and very predictable with two-dimensional villains and even several of the heroes filling over-familiar personality types. There are things to enjoy however as if ever a question was asked over who would win in a fight between Dolph Lundgren and Jet Li, or wrestlers Randy Couture and Steve Austin or in seeing the long awaited onscreen appearance of Stallone, Schwarzenegger and Willis which stays just on the right side of fun, though isn’t the gun toting scene fans may have hoped for. Expectations for a film such as The Expendables amongst fans could never be met but there is some fun here, some decent action though the thin plot and characters leave you feeling that something better was deserved

A film like The Expendables isn’t one where concerns over whether an actor’s dramatic performance is good are an issue. The cast merely need to look tough and perform well in action scenarios and on this ground, the cast mostly deliver. Stallone is a dependable leading man where Jason Statham and Jet Li get the more energetic fight scenes. Dolph Lundgren gets more to work with as an Expendable that’s washed up and feeling resentful while Rourke is likeable as another Expendable that has retired to work as a tattoo artist. Schwarzenegger and Willis fit in a few wisecracks in their short scene together though the remaining Expendables members such as Randy Couture and Terry Crews are largely sidelined until there is an action sequence requiring them to turn up armed. David Zayas and Eric Roberts lead the cast of villains with neither being particularly memorable or threatening and Steve Austin just spends the film looking mean as one of Munroe’s henchmen until the finale requires him to actually fight.

While there is some decent action and some fun to be had at seeing so many old, and new, action stars on screen at once, The Expendables never lives up to expectation with a thin plot and undeveloped characters though if you’re in it for the action, as most likely are, there is enough to satisfy though not of a quality that matches past action classics.

Rating: 3/5

Salt

Director: Phillip Noyce
Starring: Angelina Jolie, Chiwetel Ejiofor & Live Schreiber

Despite a plot and plot twists that stretch credibility, Salt is still and enjoyable and fast paced action thriller with a good performance from Angelina Jolie continuing to cement her position as an action heroine.

Originally meant as a project to star Tom Cruise, Salt was forced to undergo re-writes when Cruise turned down the film in fears that its concept and characters were too close to those of the Mission: Impossible franchise that Cruise had already starred in. The director, Phillip Noyce, then turned to Angelina Jolie whom he had worked with in 1999 on The Bone Collector, re-writing the script to have the film focus on a female lead rather than a male. The resulting film, while not matching the quality of Noyce’s films Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger in terms of realism is nevertheless a fast paced and enjoyable action thriller in the mould to the Bourne Identity series though remarkably more far fetched.

Evelyn Salt (Jolie) is an American spy working for the CIA, when a Russian defector walks into a secure facility claiming he has knowledge of an assassination attempt that will soon take place on American soil to kill the Russian President, Salt is assigned the task of interrogating him to decide if his story is true. When this defector, Orlov (Daniel Olbrychski), makes claims that the assassin is a Russian spy working within the CIA and names that assassin as Evelyn Salt, Salt is detained for questioning though Salt, who claims to be being framed, is unable to reach her husband who she fears may be in danger. Salt escapes custody shortly after Orlov does the same and goes on the run claiming to be looking for her husband and hoping to find the real assassin though her escape compounds her guilt in the eyes of her colleague Winters (Schreiber) and Agent Peabody (Ejiofor) who has been tasked the assignment of capturing Salt and stopping the assassination. Is Salt innocent as she claims and who is manipulating her and the Americans?

Fast paced and with some exciting action sequences, Salt seems to be trying to outdo The Bourne Identity films whilst also cementing Angelina Jolie’s status as an action heroine and launch a spy franchise with Jolie to rival that of Bourne and Bond. While Salt certainly lacks some of the complexity or the feelings of realism that can be attributed to the Bourne and Bond films, it certainly matches them in terms of action, a memorable lead and exceeds them when it comes to plot twists. Salt does suffer somewhat from having too many plot twists as loyalties switch, switch and switch again sometimes at so fast a frequency to stretch credibility though one mid act twist involving Jolie’s character serves to strengthen the film and the character by muddying her motives and leaving audiences guessing over who it is they are rooting for. The action sequences, while often enjoyable also occasionally stretch credibility beyond that that is often seen in the Bourne and recent Bond films which are more willing to acknowledge the toll some actions take upon their heroes. A scene inside an elevator shaft and another in a police vehicle involving Salt, an officer and a tazer are amongst the more ludicrous moments as well as one act of disguise where Jolie comically, though perhaps unintentionally, resembles Cruise. Still, despite some of its silliness, Salt is still enjoyable and certainly has the potential to lead to more films with its lead character.

Angelina Jolie is a good choice for the lead role of Evelyn Salt, even during some of more unbelievable action sequences; Jolie sells her character’s capabilities with conviction and cements herself as cinema’s current, leading action heroine. Jolie is able to portray the character’s humanity early on whilst making the transition to superspy almost believable later on though still able to convey her vulnerabilities as seen in one moment when her character witnesses a distressing act but must maintain her composure to survive. The relationship Salt has with her husband is somewhat less credible, as seen through several flashback sequences that are needlessly saccharine, though Jolie’s struggle to make them convincing is somewhat down to the script and direction than the performance. Providing support in Salt are Live Schreiber and Chiwetel Ejiofor as two agents tracking her down, the former a long time colleague of Salt’s. While neither of their characters are particularly well developed nor Schreiber or Ejiofor’s performances particular memorable as a result, both actors are nevertheless fine in their performances.

With plot twists and action sequences that make the recent Bond and Bourne films seem even more realistic in comparison, Salt is nevertheless an enjoyable if often ridiculous action film though the conviction of Angelina Jolie in the lead role makes for a memorable action heroine and certainly has the potential to launch a new franchise in the spy thriller genre.

Rating: 3/5

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

Director: Edgar Wright
Starring: Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead & Jason Schwartzman

Fun, funny and faithful to the comic books on which it is based without being slavish; Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is an engaging and enjoyable film mixing action, comedy and romance to great effect.

Based on the popular graphic novel series and directed by Edgar Wright of Spaced, Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz fame, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World comes to cinemas with high expectations from its fan base. The film is a successful adaptation of the graphic novels remaining largely faithful to satisfy the fans of that series whilst not being slavish to every scene and detail like the adaptation of Watchmen which resulted in a film with limited appeal beyond fans of the comic. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is a fast, energetic, funny and loveable romantic comedy with enough videogame-inspired action sequences to make the film more satisfying than any videogame adaptation released in cinemas.

Scott Pilgrim (Cera) is a 22 year old slacker. Scott has no job, performs in a small band named Sex Bob-Omb and has just started dating a high school girl named Knives Chau (Ellen Wang). His laid back lifestyle undergoes changes however when a girl he sees in his dreams turns out to be real. Persuading the enigmatic Ramona Flowers (Winstead) to go on a date, Scott believes her to be the girls of his dreams but soon finds that, to keep dating Ramona, he must first defeat her seven, evil ex-boyfriends all bent on making Scott’s life hell and with one, named Gideon (Schwartzman) looking to get her back. So Scott must fight for his life, win over the girl of his dreams, help brings his band to success and stardom and deal with the fact that he’s already dating someone. Scott’s life is getting suddenly complicated.

The Scott Pilgrim graphic novels have seen their popularity grow as the series approached its conclusion (the sixth and final volume was released a month prior to the film’s release). Released in a Manga-style format, mixing comedy, action, and romance but with many references to videogames of the 1980s and 90s, the series had broad crossover appeal. So, any film adaptation would have pressure to meet the expectations of the already existing fan base whilst also allowing the film to be accessible to new audiences. Fortunately the series is very accessible anyway and so is the film. Adapted by Edgar Wright, known for the film Shaun of the Dead but also for the cult TV comedy Spaced which also mixed comedy and romance with action and references to old videogames and films, Wright seems a suitable candidate for directing the film and he does so admirably. Condensing the plot of six books into one film, Wright has managed to not only preserve most of the story, but the quick pacing of those books along with Wright’s fast editing style allows the film to be packed with many recognizable characters, scenes, jokes and references from the books that even though there are alterations to the story in places, it still feels faithful yet isn’t hindered by trying to include everything such as what happened with the adaptation of Watchmen. Wright also adds to the film, but unlike the slow-motion fighting of Watchmen or added camp in Kick-Ass, Wright’s additions to the film feel natural as though they always part of the series such as some alterations to some battle scenes (Lucas Lee’s in part, the Twins more significantly) but also lines. The adaptation isn’t perfect, Ramona Flowers’ character arc is not as strong as her comic book counterpart’s and the same applies to the role of Envy Adams but the broad strokes regarding their characters and their development is maintained to the degree that they are served satisfactorily if not ideally.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World features an impressive cast and despite there being many characters to include in the film, each is casted with care so that they are all memorable even if some don’t get screen time equivalent to the time they have in the Scott Pilgrim graphic novels. Michael Cera certainly impresses as Scott Pilgrim with Cera’s past persona of playing more introverted characters initially making him appear suitable for the role but here Cera tunes his neuroticisms towards Scott’s naivety, his slow-wit and short attention span leaving Cera’s performance surprisingly effective. Mary Elizabeth Winstead also gives a good performance as Ramona who, despite not having as much moments to explore her character more deeply to the expense of her sometimes coming over cold, is still able to add enough to hint that the character does have more depth than she wishes to be seen and is still sympathetic thanks to Winstead’s mannerisms and expressions. The Evil Exes are cast by a mixed bunch with some characters like the twins appearing too briefly for their actor’s performances to be memorable while others like Chris Evans as Lucas Lee and Brandon Routh as Todd Ingram are able to steal scenes with their performances. Jason Schwartzman as the final Ex, Gideon relishes the role of the lead villain bringing much smugness and feelings of superiority to the character that he is memorable and a suitable mastermind for events. While all the smaller roles from Scott’s band mates, to his sister, to his own ex-girlfriend are memorable, the last two stand out performances are from Kieran Culkin as Scott’s wisecracking gay roommate who steals many scenes and Ellen Wang as Knives Chau, Scott’s high-schooler girlfriend who is very endearing and whose vulnerability works against Scott’s likeability effectively.

While not quite a perfect adaptation of the graphic novels, Ramona’s character not getting as much development as in the series, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World nevertheless is one of the best adaptations yet but remaining fast paced, accessible and fun for new audiences unfamiliar with the source material. Edgar Wright keeps the story largely intact, packs the film with enough characters, scenes and gags to satisfy fans and adds touches of his own that feels natural. The cast are enjoyable and memorable, particularly Culkin, Routh and Ellen Wang and Michael Cera proves to be an enjoyable Scott Pilgrim. Highly recommended.

Rating: 4/5

The Sorcerer's Apprentice

Director: Jon Turtletaub
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Jar Baruchel & Alfred Molina

An unremarkable, though still likeable, film: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice features some nice effects and an enjoyable cast even though it offers nothing particularly memorable.

The second attempt by producer Jerry Bruckheimer to start another, family friendly, film franchise to follow Pirates of the Caribbean in 2010, the first being Prince of Persia, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice comes to cinemas inspired by the popular sequence in Disney’s Fantasia. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice turns out to be a fairly enjoyable film with a likeable cast and good effects though it succeeds most when it strays away from elements that inspired it and, despite its likeability, doesn’t really offer many characters or moments that are particularly memorable.

After a battle in 740AD, the wizard Merlin lies dying and his nemesis Morgana (Alice Krige) trapped in a nesting doll after possessing one of his apprentices, Veronica (Monica Bellucci). Merlin tells his other apprentice Balthazar (Cage) that only his successor can defeat Morgana and entrusts Balthazar with his ring which will alert Balthazar as to who that successor will be. Over a thousand years later in the year 2000, Balthazar has not found Merlin’s successor but has tracked down and trapped many followers of Morgana’s, including another of Merlin’s apprentices named Horvath (Molina) who betrayed them all to Morgana in the past. Balthazar finds Merlin’s apprentice by chance, a ten year old boy, but is trapped in an urn for 10 years along with Horvath after Horvath escapes the nesting doll. 10 years later, in 2010, both escape the urn and seek out Merlin’s successor Dave (Baruchel) who has grown up to become a nervy, though talented, physics student. Dave, reluctant to believe or accept his destiny as Merlin’s successor must nevertheless learn the skills from Balthazar if he is to survive Horvath and stop him from bringing back Morgana.

Inspired by an animated short starring Mickey Mouse that was part of the feature film Fantasia, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice mines more than what was present to build its story and characters much like the Pirates of the Caribbean films did with the theme park rides on which they were based. It is with the new material where The Sorcerer’s Apprentice impresses most as a scene paying homage to the most famous scene from the cartoon stands out as being out of place. The film’s most intriguing and enjoyable twist is to introduce science into a film about magic and wizards. Its lead character, Dave, grows up to become a physics student building Tesla Coils in and abandoned subway to conduct electrical experiments. While this elements leads to an enjoyable romantic scene with Dave’s love interest where he ‘plays’ the Tesla Coils as each burst produces its own musical note, the science elements also compare well with the magic elements where the wizards control fire and produce plasma balls that look, not too unlike, the energy emitted from Dave’s Tesla Coils. This blending of science and magic, or scientists and wizards is fun though when the film strays from this blurring of lines, such as in a set piece with a dragon in Chinatown, it disappoints. The science however, is the film’s one most notable achievement as the plot itself remains predictable and some of the characters thin. There is also a curious lack of danger which, even for a family film, undermines some of the tension and Dave’s journey and romance with an old school sweetheart seem to occur because the story dictates they should rather that through a process that feels more natural and satisfying.

None of the cast of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice especially stands out. All seem to be playing personas they have played before though many are, nevertheless, satisfactory. Baruchel still entertains with his nervy, nerd persona with jokes coming better when he is able to infuse them with his nervous energy. Nicolas Cage puts in a rather restrained performance as the pretty grumpy wizard Balthazar which is decent but could have benefitted from some of the nervous tics he better known for. Toby Kebbell gets to steal a few scenes as an assistant to Alfred Molina’s Horvath as Kebbell’s character has exploited his abilities in the present to become an entertainer, a famous magician and thus infuses his performance with some swagger. Molina too is entertaining as the villain Horvath though is not able to truly make the character feel threatening unlike his performance in Spider-Man 2 which was threatening as well as sympathetic depending on the needs of the scene. The rest of the cast are largely average and/or forgettable. Monica Bellucci and Teresa Palmer appear as love interests for Balthazar and Dave respectively and are given very little to do accept appear interested whilst other characters barely have time to make an impression.

While possessing a likeable cast, effects and some interesting blurring of lines between magic and science, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice plays things too safe too often, sticking to a too familiar formula that makes the film enjoyable but not particularly memorable.

Rating: 3/5

Splice

Director: Vincenzo Natali
Starring: Sarah Polley, Adrien Brody & Delphine Chaneac


An entertaining genre piece that is often effective and exploits fear of the unknown quite well though it descends to less satisfying, more typical scares by the finale.

Written and directed by Vincenzo Natali, Splice was originally intended to be the project to follow Natali’s debut, Cube. However, neither the budget nor the technology was available to Natali at the time. Now, 13 years later, Natali finally brings Splice to the big screen to mostly positive reviews. The film, while entertaining, does have some flaws. There are comparisons that can be made to the 1995 Sci-Fi Horror Species, though Splice is frequently more effective, and the ending unfortunately descends into something more generic going for somewhat cheaper, monster movie scares. Splice is still an enjoyable horror film that touches upon some relevant real world fears and ideas.

Clive (Brody) and Else (Polley) are two pioneering genetic engineers who have just succeeded in creating a new life form from splicing the DNA of several Earth species. Wanting to take the research further to include human DNA, they find themselves obstructed by their financiers who wish to avoid the controversy of using human DNA and focus upon exploiting the life form they have developed to produce a new protein that can be sold to aid in medicine. Unwilling to let this stop her, Elsa proceeds with experimenting with human DNA, pressuring Clive into supporting her and the result is a strange new hybrid that Elsa names Dren (Chaneac). Trying to keep their discovery a secret, Else and Clive come into conflict over the ethics of what they have done whilst Clive is ever fearful of how dangerous Dren could become. When they are forced to take Dren out of the lab and hide her on a farm that belonged to Elsa’s mother, they have further troubles as Dren becomes attracted to Clive whilst her rebellious behavior begins to turn Elsa against her, all the while Dren continues to go through more strange and frightening transformations.

Like most horror films, Splice exploits real world, often irrational, fears. In the case of Splice it is fears over science, particularly over the progressions within the field of genetic engineering. Taking two scientists whose ambition is at odds with some moral standards, they end up creating a being that could be exciting but could also be a great threat to themselves and to those around them. There is some interesting drama to be found over the film’s question of ethics as seen in the differing opinions of its lead characters though most favor, conservatively, to support the argument that experimenting with human DNA is wrong. More interesting than the moral dilemma is the creature Dren herself, Dren is an interesting character and creature than bears many human traits and as he grows, she appears to undergo a kind of adolescence which means struggling with many new, often strong, emotions which given some of the character’s more animalistic attribute, notably her tail with poisonous stinger, makes her frightening more out what she may do almost innocently. The teenage rebellion angle on Dren’s behavior also makes her a sympathetic creature too as many of her actions, particularly in response to her treatment by Elsa, are those of a child. Despite some interesting ideas and themes in Splice, there is also a lot that feels derivative of other horrors. The similarities between Splice and Species are sometimes obvious such as the splicing of human DNA with non-human DNA to create a new, female, creature that could be dangerous and a sex scene that is similarly laughable rather than disturbing. The ending of Splice also disappoints as it descends into a generic, run from/fights the monster conclusion with characters picked off too quickly to care.

Leading the cast of Splice is Sarah Polley and Adrien Brody as the two scientists, Elsa and Clive. Polley has the more interesting character and gives the most interesting performance portraying Elsa as a character, not so much oblivious to making ethical decisions, but rather driven by issues of parenting instilled from her relationship with her mother and also her sense of ambition. Polley’s performance portrays Elsa as a character that is sometimes ruthless yet sometimes driven by a need to love something, like a mother, that also makes her sympathetic. Brody gives the more sympathetic performance as the member who is initially against the experiment, but then develops concern for Dren effectively switching places with Polley’s character in relation to their attitude to Dren. In the role of Dren, Delphine Chaneac gives an interesting performance having to convey the character’s emotions, its childlike attitudes through body language rather than be delivering dialogue and does so effectively. The remainder of the cast, Clive’s brothers, Clive and Elsa’s bosses are generally two-dimensional and forgettable.

Overall, Splice is an interesting horror film, more so for the relationships between its three lead characters and the performances of Polley and Chaneac than over some of the scares which, while effective in the first half of the film, become too much like any other monster movie by the finale. An interesting film but one not as original as might be expected.

Rating: 3/5

Knight and Day

Director: James Mangold
Starring: Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz & Peter Sarsgaard

Trying too hard to be a fun, breezy action comedy, Knight and Day struggles to amuse or thrill with its uneven pacing, slight characterization and an annoying turn from Tom Cruise.

Having spent many years struggling through development seeing changes in director, cast and re-writes of the script, Knight and Day comes to cinema screens as a vehicle for Tom Cruise which unites him with Cameron Diaz with whom he starred alongside in 2001’s Vanilla Sky. The result is a film that struggles to entertain, where the frequent changes in the scripts and production show in a film that feels a little disjointed and even the presence of Cruise does not help, with Cruise putting in a performance where his, at one time, natural charisma feels forced and less than charming. Knight and Day comes away feeling quite generic.

June Havens (Diaz) is on her way home to prepare for her sister’s wedding when she bumps into a stranger at the airport named Roy Miller (Cruise) whom, after some confusion over seats, she ends up sitting beside on her flight home. Finding Roy attractive, June’s preconceptions are shattered when Roy attacks members of the flight crew leaving the pilot dead and Roy to land the plane. Roy tells June he is a spy, framed and on the run and for her to deny knowledge of having met him. When June is approached a day later by FBI agents claiming to be looking after her safety, Roy reappears to save June whilst creating havoc and damage on a highway then proceeds to take June on the run with him whilst he clears his name and protects an important device and its creator from forces within the FBI that Roy claims are out to exploit it. Is Roy telling the truth or has he suffered a mental break down as the FBI claim?

Knight and Day’s premise, a spy caper/romantic comedy that stars Cruise and reunites him with Diaz, seems one guaranteed to succeed however the finished film is far from perfect or even satisfying. There is some energy in the film’s action sequences such as a highway pile up and a race through the streets of a Spanish city but little that feels new. The plot feels disjointed at times, perhaps a result of the many writers involved in the script with the action taking jumps from place to place and across continents with little explanation as to why but to offer different locales around the world for audiences to see. There is also little to enjoy about the romance being developed between it’s two leads as Diaz’ June is frequently subjected to drugging to keep her docile while Cruise’s Roy takes her from place to place and most of the finale features June drugged on a truth serum leaving her to act drunken and reckless. As treatment of a female lead character it is poor, as treatment of one that is supposed to feel for the man who is doing this to her it defies belief leaving the romantic element even more unsatisfactory than the spy/secret agent thread that features over familiar tropes like macguffins and double crosses.

The performances in Knight and Day are also fairly average. Cruise, once a star able to charm with ease comes across as forced here as Miller. Cruise is enjoyable sometimes as Miller when he goes into super secret agent mode giving action sequences some energy though this part of the role feels seen before and too much of the time Cruise’s performance borders on the hysterical, bringing into mind similar behaviors Cruise has exhibited in his personal life over recent years. Diaz is quite likeable at times but since her roles leaves her character often drugged and passive or requiring Diaz to act overly hysterical as bullets and explosions fly around her, Diaz is left with little to work with but follow behind Cruise. Sarsgaard is good in the villainous role and Paul Dano makes the most of a minor supporting role but the film is dominated by Cruise and Diaz, but mostly Cruise.

A big disappointment, Knight and Day offers a few enjoyable action sequences but there is little that hasn’t been seen before while the performances consist of a hysterical Diaz being dragged around by an OTT, dominating performance from Cruise with even the romance feeling forced.

Rating: 2/5