Category: Film Review

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Film Review

The Russia House (dir. Fred Schepisi) 1990

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This is a John Le Carre novel given the Hollywood treatment. The story is as complex as you would expect from a Le Carre story, you will need your full faculties about you to decipher who is lying to whom, and the twists will keep you interested right until the end. Even the ending was unexpected given the author’s earlier stories but it is often nice to be surprised.

It was released in 1990 and is packed with big names of the time. It has Sean Connery, Michelle Pfeiffer, Roy Scheider, James Fox – it even has Ken Russell, as eccentric an actor as he was a director. Sean Connery plays a jazz loving, book publisher and is as good as I have ever seen him. Michelle Pfeiffer and Roy Scheider are excellent too, in quite complex roles.  I really enjoyed the soundtrack too, an interesting mixture of jazz and Russian influenced themes.

For me though, the real star of the movie was Russia. It was one of the earliest movies to be allowed to shoot on location in the Soviet Union. Moscow and Leningrad (St Petersburg now) look austere, monumental and beautiful.

The settings here capture a time and place perfectly; adding an extra dimension to an already vey good film.

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Film Review

Requiem for a Dream (dir. Darren Aronofsky) 2000

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I really liked this film. I really disliked this film. They say about good art; it invokes strong feelings.

I found the story preachy and two dimensional. There was no suspense and you will foresee the end, before you are five minutes into the film. It made me think of the 1930’s movie “Reefer Madness” or the 1970’s “Go Ask Alice” – remade for the 21st Century.

However….it is very well made. The acting, writing, direction and soundtrack are all very good.

Ellen Burstyn was nominated for an Academy Award for her part in this and she is wonderful. Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly and Marlon Wayans are very good too. All four characters are beautifully written and we genuinely care about what happens to them. The direction is clever, Darren Aaronofsky illustrates the circuits of addiction elegantly, so it is compelling to watch – even as you tell yourself that you shouldn’t be watching.

Finally, the soundtrack is fantastic. Clint Mansell and The Brodsky Quartet, have created a hypnotic and immersive soundscape that fits perfectly with the mood of this film.

This is a great movie. I didn’t enjoy it. I don’t think it was made for enjoyment, but it is still good art.

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Film Review

Jaws (dir. Stephen Spielberg) 1975

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This was on at the BFI as part of a Spielberg retrospective. The 450 seat auditorium was full on a Friday night for a 41 year old movie. That fact alone testifies to the strength of this film.

It was my first time seeing it and I was surprised at how well it has stood the test of time. It is a thriller that delivers thrills. It is the first time that I have heard gasps from the audience in a movie theatre in a very long time, the face in the boat is a genuine, jump back in your seat, moment. The character development is good and the script is excellent, it has some very funny moments to lighten the mood. The music is possibly the most famous film score ever and it matches the action perfectly. The only part of the movie that shows its age is the shark itself, but even this is interesting to see from a history of cinema perspective.

Jaws won 3 Academy Awards; editing, score and sound. The only surprise is that it didn’t win more. It regularly appears in lists of all-time best films. Having just seen it, 41 years late, its inclusion in those lists is fully justified.

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Film Review

Indignation (dir. James Schamus) 2016

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Indignation was first shown in London as part of the Sundance London film festival. Based on a Philip Roth novel, it is set in Columbus, Ohio. It is the story of a New York boy’s first semester at college. The whole film is a flashback to 1951, showing how decisions made at that time, led to the position that he is in now.

This film is James Schamus’ first as director and he does an amazing job of immersing us in the milieu and mindset of the day. The sets and costumes are beautiful, with a lovely eye for detail.

Logan Lerman is excellent as Marcus Messner, an idealistic young man, setting out on life. His exchanges with the dean of the college and his relationship with his first girlfriend, adroitly show both the attitudes of the time and how they are about to change. Tracy Letts and Sarah Gadon are very good as the dean and the girlfriend.

Indignation is a precise, deep film and a brave choice as a directorial debut.

James Schamus’ self-confidence has paid off well.

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Film Review

Margin Call (dir. J.C. Chandler) 2011

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Margin Call was filmed in 2010 and released at the Sundance film festival early 2011. It is very well made, has a great script and the cast is packed with famous actors, all of whom do a good job. Paul Bettany’s and Jeremy Irons’ performances, in particular, are excellent. Kevin Spacey is always good.

The farther away we get from its release date, the less impact this film has. It is a film about a very specific incident; the financial crisis of 2008/9 and the part that sub-prime mortgages had in this. This film sets out to be an insight into the companies involved and into the people running and working in those companies.

It feels like an independent festival movie because its prime motivation is to inform rather than entertain. It achieves this well, and it suited the market when it was released, shortly after the crash.

Now though, most people who would choose to watch this, already have the information that it imparts, and the story itself is good but not brilliant.

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Film Review

Money Monster (dir. Jodie Foster) 2016

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Money Monster is a gripping thriller that will keep you entertained for an hour and a half. It is a Hollywood hostage movie set in a New York television studio. It has a big name cast; George Clooney and Julia Roberts are both on top form, as an irritating TV show host and his producer. Jack O’Connell is also excellent as the hostage taker. It is directed by Jodie Foster, who does a good job subverting expectations in a genre that the audience will know well.

The script and character development are fantastic, because although all the main protagonists have flawed personalities, over the course of the film, we are given an insight to their humanity and motivation. This means that we have sympathy with all of them to some degree.

Money Monster is funny, surprising and knowing. It is also nicely subversive from Jodi Foster because all the men in the film are the brash, sensationalist types getting all the attention and the women are the ones who quietly get things done.

Don’t go to this movie expecting insights into the world of financial markets, or the effects of the 24 hour news cycle on society. Go expecting pure light entertainment, for that is what it delivers

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Film Review

The Mothman Prophecies (dir.Mark Pellington) 2002

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This film is supposedly based on true events that happened in Point Pleasant in 1966 and 1967. Although it is said that truth can be stranger than fiction, I have seen Disney talking animal movies that required less suspension of disbelief. I guess that this film was aimed at the part of the market that thought the X Files was a documentary.

As a horror film, it misses the mark because, although the storyline is quite dark, there aren’t really any scary moments in the film.

The acting is pretty good, Richard Gere, David Eigenberg and Will Patton all cope well in contending with a meandering storyline and their character’s unusual decision making. Will Patton goes from holding Richard Gere at gunpoint in the bath to trusting him, overnight, without much convincing.

I’m not going to say avoid this film at all costs, it was well paced and it held my attention throughout but, for me, there are better things to watch on Netflix.

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Film Review

The Grand Budapest Hotel (dir. Wes Anderson) 2014

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The Grand Budapest Hotel is light, frothy escapism. The story is an unlikely but likeable tale involving the concierge, played by Ralph Fiennes, aided by the lobby boy, played by Tony Revolori.

It is crammed with famous actors in cameo roles. Jeff Goldblum, Tilda Swinton and Edward Norton are particularly memorable, but there are so many others that you could spend the whole movie saying “Oh look! Isn’t that…..”

The jokes are off-beat and sometimes off-colour. The script contains some nice aphorisms and some good one line jokes. The characters are a lovely mixture of smarmy and sharp.

The sets and set pieces are extraordinary and absorbing. It was nominated for 9 Academy awards and best set design was one of those it won.  The costumes and the acting are wonderfully camp, it also won Oscars for best make-up and best costume design.

I didn’t find any great universal truths in “The Grand Budapest Hotel” but I smiled for the full hour and a half and that is definitely a recommendation.

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Film Review

A Single Man (dir. Tom Ford) 2009

 

A Single Man is a day in the life of George Falconer, who is grieving over the sudden death of his partner, 8 months prior. It is set in California in 1962. Public expression of his grief would have been socially unacceptable at that time and repression is a major theme of this film.

Colin Firth was nominated for an Academy Award for his part, he is in every scene and his performance is remarkable. He portrays a man barely able to keep his emotions in check despite years of practice of self-restraint. However, he is also aware that this discipline makes the liberation all the more sweet when it comes.

I can imagine that the idea, based on Christopher Isherwood’s 1964 novel, would have been difficult to pitch to a film studio, so it not a surprise that it was self-funded by the director, Tom Ford. It is his first film and he does an amazingly good job.

Everything about this movie is beautiful; the clothes, the sets, the music. I loved “A single Man” and I recommend it, but do expect to leave the cinema in a contemplative frame of mind.

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Film Review

Everybody Wants Some (dir. Richard Linklater) 2016

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Do not go to this movie expecting big action, high adrenaline thrills or nail-biting tension. If you do you will be disappointed and probably bored.

Do go if you want high quality nostalgia, astute character development or an insight into group dynamics.

The story is pretty light. It follows a group of middle class, well adjusted, young guys on the first weekend of term, before their classes begin. It is set in 1980. They party, they drink, they smoke, they try to get laid. They do what they are probably going to do every weekend for the rest of the school year.

This is the strength of the film. They are likeable people in a normal setting having an average weekend and mostly enjoying life. The script is excellent – you feel that you get to know the characters and understand their insecurities.

The acting is remarkable throughout and the direction is light touch and faultless. The soundtrack is great.

So, if you want a chilled couple of hours, sit down, relax and let Everybody Wants Some!! take you back to a sunny weekend in 1980 where the world is full of potential…..