Review: No Strings Attached (2011)

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2011, Ashton Kutcher, Ivan Reitman, Kevin Kline, Natalie Portman, No Strings Attached

Director: Ivan Reitman
Stars: Natalie Portman, Ashton Kutcher, Kevin Kline
Plot: After bumping into eachother down the years, old friends Emma (Portman) and Adam (Kutcher) decide to have a purely physical relationship, but inevitably it’s not long before feelings enter the equation.

Take a well-known relationship-related phrase. Throw in a bunch of fluffy, inoffensive characters with that-bird-who-played-the-Black-Swan alongside Demi Moore’s husband and you’re onto a winner, right? Wrong.

From the first few scenes you can easily predict what will happen between the two main characters, Emma and Adam. The majority of so-called chick-flicks are particularly formulaic (which is not always a bad thing), but No Strings Attached has barely a shred of originality of note. Once the film’s set-up becomes clear, there’s an inevitability about the whole thing.

Natalie Portman looks out of her comfort zone, away from the challenging dramas she has become accustomed to. Ashton Kutcher has been here before in Valentine’s Day, although he really isn’t romantic lead material. As you would expect, a series of ‘hilarious’ events unfold as fate brings them together and forces them apart so many times you lose count.

It’s not awful, but this piece of fluff is just too mawkish to be taken seriously.

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Review: The Bourne Identity (2002)

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2002, Bourne, Chris Cooper, Doug Liman, Franka Potente, Identity, Matt Damon

Director: Doug Liman
Stars: Matt Damon, Franka Potente, Chris Cooper
Plot: A man suffering from psychogenic amnesia found floating in the Mediterranean, quickly realises he’s being hunted down and must remember who he is before it’s too late.

Brace yourself for the first instalment of what is quite possibly the most thrilling, exciting yet sophisticated spy action film franchise ever. James Bond has his moments (especially after Bourne arrived on the scene he seems to have upped his game), but instead of tired sexual innuendos we’re treated to a no-nonsense, high-octane game of cat and mouse, all tied up in a fantastic yet intriguing story.

Prior to The Bourne Identity, Matt Damon was best-known for being the troubled mathematical genius in Good Will Hunting. One transformation to action hero later and he totally convinces as the spy with no memory, Jason Bourne. Fished out of the sea by a trawler, Bourne can’t remember how he got there – just a few bullet holes in his back and a metal implant in his hip with the name of a bank and an account number, are the only clues to his identity. After hitching a lift to Paris with Marie (Potente) who he meets outside the American Embassy in Zürich, his search continues amidst a barrage of gunfights, car chases and, most memorably, exquisitely choreographed hand-to-hand combat.

It turns out that he failed to complete an assassination about which his employers, the mysterious ‘Treadstone’ division of the CIA, are not best pleased to say the least. As a result they are on his tail every step of the way, sending out their European-based operatives to seek out Bourne and eliminate him.

Damon and Potente make a convincing double-act and their performances fit in with the realism conveyed on-screen by director Liman. Chris Cooper and perennial rent-a-baddie Brian Cox watch over the operation mainly from Washington, but their characters are only really developed in The Bourne Supremacy. This first chapter in the series is really a scene-setter, but as far as those go, it’s a real cracker.

The Bourne Identity is terrific, edge-of-your-seat entertainment and is guaranteed to leave you wanting more – of which there thankfully is.

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Review: Little White Lies (2010)

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2010, Benoit Magimel, François Cluzet, Guillaume Canet, Lies, Little, Marion Cotillard, White

Director: Guillaume Canet
Stars: François Cluzet, Marion Cotillard, Benoît Magimel
Plot: A group of Parisian friends go on their annual holiday while one of their number lies in hospital following a motorcycle accident. However, underlying tensions soon begin to surface.

French cinema isn’t usually the first port of call when looking for something in the mainstream. Ever since arguably the most quirkiest film of all time, Amelie, was released, only now and then do we get a taste of what France has to offer. Marion Cotillard’s turn as the irrepressible Edith Piaf in La Vie En Rose showed that there are French films that can appeal to a wide audience.

It is Cotillard who features here among an assortment of friends who usually holiday on France’s west coast every summer. However, just before this particular trip, Ludo (Jean Dujardin) has a rather nasty accident and is subsequently bedridden in hospital while the others reluctantly go as per usual.

The star turn in Little White Lies is Dustin Hoffman lookalike François Cluzet, whose character restaurateur Max is the startling subject of affection from Magimel’s Vincent, who apparently would like a little ‘l’amusement derrier’ with him despite the fact he is married with children. Max’s exasperation with this situation, a self-destructive squirrel problem at the holiday home and a speedboat lesson gone awry are the comic highlights.

Ultimately, the ensemble of characters have to face a final tragedy, but also that they have all been lying to eachother as well as themselves. These concluding revelations do not sit particularly well, as they are not satisfactorily explained but merely added onto the end as if to remind us this is first and foremost a drama instead of a comedy.

Little White Lies is a slow-burner, but the witty repartee and performances enable its audience to forgive the slightly haphazard ending.

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Review: Ned Kelly (2003)

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2003, Geoffrey Rush, Gregor Jordan, Heath Ledger, Ned Kelly, Orlando Bloom

Director: Gregor Jordan
Stars: Heath Ledger, Orlando Bloom, Geoffrey Rush
Plot: As Ned Kelly gets on the wrong side of the corrupt local police, he eventually becomes one of the most famous outlaws in Australian history.

Ned Kelly proves that even the most bankable stars can make a dud, even if their stock is rising to the A-list. Not only does Heath Ledger fail to impress as the Irish Australian folk hero, but his supporting cast join him in making this a rather underwhelming experience.

Famous anti-hero Kelly is given a very sympathetic makeover – the Victoria police are seen as the bad guys while Ledger’s Ned and his family appear to be on the receiving end of a corrupt justice system. While this might be true to a certain extent, the majority of this biopic is exaggerated in the name of dramatic licence, although this depiction is far removed from the very first feature film ever made, namely The Story of the Kelly Gang, in 1906.

The most bewildering aspect of Ned Kelly is the array of comedy accents. Australians Ledger and Joel Edgerton along with Orlando Bloom tackle an ‘Oirish’ twang, while Nicole Kidman and Geoffrey Rush are saddled with posh English accents. Such a film needs a convincing dialect to go with the character, so as soon as one of them opens their mouth it’s a case of ‘here we go again’.

It’s all very Robin Hood-like, but the predictable fugitive-on-the-run plotline quickly becomes all too familiar. Looking down the list of Heath Ledger’s filmography, there are much better films for which he should be remembered for.

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Review: Cowboys & Aliens (2011)

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2011, Aliens, Cowboys, Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Jon Favreau, Olivia Wilde

Director: Jon Favreau
Stars: Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde
Plot: In 1873 Arizona, a feud between cowboys is quickly forgotten as they must unite to stop aliens taking over the world.

With a title such as Cowboys & Aliens, you might expect a knowing parody, poking fun at both the Western and Sci-fi genres in equal measure. Instead, this is not done for laughs (although there are a few unintentionally funny/cringeworthy moments), but more to see quite seriously how Wyatt Earp would’ve coped with an angry group of E.Ts.

James Bond and Indiana Jones in the same film on the face of it, is a sure-fire winner. Harrison Ford dons a Stetson once again but his is a grumpy character, intent on protecting his business from troublemakers such as Daniel Craig’s (initially) Man-With-No-Name-But-A-Fancy-Bracelet. The unmovable piece of ‘jewelry’ in question has been acquired by unknown means and it is this and his real identity that forms the primary mystery in the first half-hour or so.

Once the aliens appear halfway through a petty argument, all conflicts are suddenly put to one side, especially when the bracelet turns out to be able to blast the other-worldly invaders to smithereens. A number of locals are abducted and it is down those remaining to find them with the help of the obligatory stranger Ella Swenson (Wilde). Cue obscene cringeworthiness, as those stereotypically savage Red Indians get involved but who ultimately join forces with the cowboys in defeating their mutual enemy (of course).

The CGI and the soundtrack are magnificent, but once again we have a production company that has invested heavily on special effects but very little in script development – ironing out the frequent nausea-inducing clichés would have earned another star. Don’t expect too much from Cowboys & Aliens – it’s arguably a genre mesh too far.

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Review: Super 8 (2011)

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2011, Amanda Michalka, Elle Fanning, J. J. Abrams, Kyle Chandler, Super 8

Director: J.J. Abrams
Stars: Elle Fanning, Amanda Michalka, Kyle Chandler
Plot: Whilst filming a mock horror film with a Super 8 camera for a competition in the summer of 1979, a group of friends witness a train crash which triggers a series of terrifying events in their town.

Steven Spielberg might only take the producer credit on Super 8, but his influence is clearly all over J.J. Abrams’ sci-fi thriller. Strong elements of E.T. and The Goonies are evident throughout, as a group of schoolkids come to terms with the fact that there is a dangerous fugitive alien on the loose – and a team from the U.S. Air Force is determined to track both them and the monster down.

The two central performances from Joel Courtney as Joe and Elle Fanning’s (Dakota’s younger sister) Alice, which form the perspective of the film’s events from which the audience connect with, are superb. The supporting cast of kids do well for both drama and laughs, especially Charles (Riley Griffiths) whose bossy character is reminiscient of Fat Sam in Bugsy Malone. The design of the alien on the run is a reminder of Lord of The Rings‘ Shelob, but isn’t quite as scary (or hairy), but the CGI doesn’t overwhelm the screen as it could so easily have done.

The most significant aspect of Super 8, is in the way that it is directed. There is a strong E.T. vibe – the late 1970s come alive on the screen and feels like you are genuinely watching a film from the period. Having said that. the ending doesn’t satisfy as it should, although there is a very Spielbergian finale, as the town’s inhabitant’s stare up in wonder at the spaceship.

Super 8 is an exhilarating ride, but with one or two tweaks it could have been an absolute classic.

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Review: Groundhog Day (1993)

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1993, Andie MacDowell, Bill Murray, Chris Elliott, Groundhog Day, Harold Ramis

Director: Harold Ramis
Stars: Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell, Chris Elliott
Plot: World-weary weatherman Phil Connors is assigned to cover the Groundhog ceremony in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. But when he wakes up the next morning, he realises it’s the same day – and will be over and over again.

Bill Murray’s comedy mojo has waned in recent years. Whilst attempting to recapture the magic of his famous deadpan delivery for which he was so well-known, he has by and large failed with poor efforts such as Broken Flowers and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.

Groundhog Day is Bill Murray’s finest hour. No longer sharing the screen with his fellow Ghostbusters (although Harold Ramis aka Egon Spengler takes the writing credit here), he takes on the lead role of Phil Connors effortlessly, in a role he was born to play.

Everything starts off quite unremarkably. Connors goes to small-town Pennsylvania to present a twee piece on the annual Groundhog Day celebrations, which focuses on whether ‘Punxsutawney Phil’ (the aforementioned Groundhog) will predict how long there is left of winter. Before Connors and his camera crew (MacDowell and Elliott) can return to Pittsburgh, a blizzard closes the roads thus trapping them in the town overnight. Connors wakes up the next day but is suddenly overcome by an overwhelming sense of déjà vu…

A series of wonderful set-pieces are held together by Murray, who is well-supported by MacDowell. The best of these involves Connors trying to woo Rita by quoting Charles Baudelaire and of course the iconic scene in which an irritating old school friend tries to sell him insurance and gets an obligatory punch in the face.

Groundhog Day is one of the very few time-bending films where its not about the logistics and/or physics of getting here or there, but rather its the main character learning about himself and changing his ways, which makes for a touching comedy of pure gold. One thing’s for sure, you’ll never think about Sonny and Cher’s I Got You Babe in the same way ever again.

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Review: Hereafter (2010)

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2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, 2010, Bryce Dallas Howard, Cécile de France, Clint Eastwood, Matt Damon

Director: Clint Eastwood
Stars: Matt Damon, Cecile De France, Bryce Dallas Howard
Plot: Three people – an American blue collar worker, a French journalist and an English schoolboy – are each affected by death in different ways.

Shoehorning a fictional story around a real historical event is a very tempting idea for a scriptwriter.

James Cameron’s Titanic proves that it can be done – creating a story which can captivate a huge audience whilst conveying the main event in all its glory. Pearl Harbor and Remember Me are two examples of how this can fall very flat indeed.

Hereafter features not one but two significant world events: the Boxing Day tsunami of 2004, followed by the London 7/7 bombings just over six months later. The story jumps from one character to the next (generally Paris, San Francisco and London), without really giving us enough time to get under their skin – except for Marcus, a London schoolboy, whose tragic tale is easily the most affecting.

Matt Damon and Cecile De France play their characters well enough, but after an exhilarating opening, the plot peters out into a melancholic tone which clashes with the set up. Hereafter is decent entertainment, but after one too many European clichés, its appeal begins to wane.

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Review: Animal Kingdom (2010)

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2010, Animal Kingdom, David Michôd, Guy Pearce, James Frecheville, Joel Edgerton

Director: David Michôd
Stars: James Frecheville, Guy Pearce, Joel Edgerton
Plot: When Josh ‘J’ Cody’s (Frecheville) mother dies, he goes to live with his estranged grandmother and extended family of uncles who are well-known violent criminals.

Melbourne may not be the most obvious place to set a gangster film, but this Australian crime drama is a hidden gem. Ever since The Godfather trilogy set the template upon which similar films must be judged, there has been very much a need for something a little different from the usual tit-for-tat mobster stereotype.

Throughout the film, there is a two-front battle with the Victoria police. On the one hand, the criminals in the Cody family view violent revenge as being the only way to deal with the corrupt elements of the police who target them specifically. On the other, the only straight cop is seemingly Nathan Leckie (Pearce), who tries to befriend Josh in order to bring his relatives to proper justice in the courts.

James Frecheville is superb as ‘J’, who has conflicting duties to both his family and towards doing the right thing. The most outstanding performance comes from Jacki Weaver, who plays matriarch Janine ‘Smurf’ Cody in a very cold and matter-of-fact manner. Every setback that befalls her family is met with a calculating response (during one police raid on the house she calmly sits at the kitchen table with a tea bag), which makes her appear even more chilling than if she were to take up arms herself.

Animal Kingdom is an entertaining yet gritty drama, which, next to the behemoth of Hollywood, really does give the underrated Australian film industry a lot of credit.

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Review: Black Swan (2010)

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2010, Black Swan, Darren Aronofsky, Mila Kunis, Natalie Portman, Vincent Cassel

Director: Darren Aronofsky
Stars: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel
Plot: Nina Sayers (Portman) is chosen to play the lead in Swan Lake, but is deemed too delicate to incorporate the Black Swan into her performance. Cue some very disturbing visions as she slowly loses her mind in the name of art.

Black Swan is a dazzling insight into the extremes a person is expected to go in order to achieve ‘perfection’. Natalie Portman stars as the tragic and eventually self-destructive Nina, who seeks to learn how to become the infamous Black Swan as well as the White, purer version which is a closer match for her personality.

Portman’s portrayal of Nina’s descent from innocence to madness is brilliantly imagined – it’s easy to see why she won a Best Actress Oscar. After a host of playing generally wishy-washy characters (save perhaps for Mathilda in Leon and V for Vendetta’s Evey), we finally see her get to grips with a challenging role. Winona Ryder doesn’t have a major part to play, but her electrifying performance as the jilted ballet company lead Beth Macintyre hints at a return to form. Mila Kunis is also another to watch – she has proved herself as an accomplished supporting actress and does so once again here.

Black Swan is more akin to Aronofsky’s Requiem For A Dream in its unrelenting intensity than its alleged companion piece The Wrestler, especially in the stunning final half hour. The grand performance of Swan Lake is shot almost in a first-person perspective, allowing the combination of stage lights, live orchestra, the noise of the audience and the frenetic events happening in the wings and onstage to be experienced in a way seldom seen before.

It maybe a little too off the wall for some, but Aronofsky has raised the bar for films where the focal point rests on a theatrical performance.

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