Review: Julia’s Eyes (2010)

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2010, Belén Rueda, Guillem Morales, Julia's Eyes, Lluis Homar, Pablo Derqui

Director: Guillem Morales
Stars: Belén Rueda, Lluis Homar, Pablo Derqui
Plot: Julia (Rueda), a woman slowly losing her eyesight, investigates the mysterious death of her twin sister, who had become blind from the same degenerative disease.

Guillermo Del Toro is a man of many talents. From director to producer, make-up artist, writer, designer, actor and film editor – his CV proves that he could save any studio a heap of money by just running the entire production himself. Del Toro is best known as the director and producer of Pan’s Labyrinth, a visceral Spanish fantasy film, full of terrifying, overwhelming visions, which is ironic considering his latest Spanish-language film is about a woman losing her sight.

Directed by Guillem Morales, an apprentice by comparison, Julia’s Eyes revolves around a woman, Julia (Rueda) whose twin sister Sara (Rueda, again) apparently commits suicide in her basement. But because she has already been struck blind by the same disease that Julia is suffering from (and the police dismiss her as being depressed due to her condition), she suspects foul play despite there being very little evidence.

Julia confides in her husband Isaac who isn’t convinced that there is anything amiss, but as she discovers the existence of an ‘invisible man’ and a mysterious boyfriend whom Sara was apparently involved with, the genre of the film switches back and forth from intriguing thriller to squeamish horror.

With flashes of first-person perspective, Julia’s increasing frustration with her impending blindness is superbly conveyed. As she investigates the clues to her sister’s death, the problems with her sight make this film different from the usual straightforward thrillers. As each mysterious subplot is explained, the full horror of Julia’s predicament becomes apparent, ironically as she herself can no longer see.

Julia’s Eyes matches up to most thrillers, but it fails to totally satisfy in some areas of the plot, especially where the explanation for why an unseen perpetrator can’t be noticed even by those who can see. There’s also an overdose of mawkishness, which is a misguided attempt to inject a little wistful romance into the proceedings, but it falls rather flat.

This is well-directed by Morales, but one wonders if Del Toro could have used his editing skills to take out the schmaltz so that we would be left with something a lot more substantial.

Rating:

Review: Trust (2010)

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2010, Catherine Keener, Clive Owen, David Schwimmer, Liana Liberato, Trust

Director: David Schwimmer
Stars: Clive Owen, Catherine Keener, Liana Liberato
Plot: When Annie (Liberato) is groomed online by a sexual predator, her naivety has far-reaching consequences for her family.

Trust was never going to be a barrel of laughs. Despite the presence of David ‘Ross from Friends‘ Schwimmer behind the camera, this rather obvious, preachy (and at times disturbing) film about the perils of meeting strangers on the internet is a tough-to-watch drama that deals more with the general family fall-out rather than the effect on the child/teenager in question.

Schoolgirl Annie (Liberato) receives a laptop for her birthday and soon begins chatting online with her friends and random people in chatrooms. She has frequent conversations with ‘Charlie’ (Chris Henry Coffey), a 15-year-old with whom she initially connects well, but he soon changes his age to 20, then 25. Annie agrees to meet Charlie in a shopping mall but, of course you guessed it, the last time he was 25 was more like 1991. They go back to a hotel room where they have a sexual encounter – Annie confides in her best friend who then tells a school counsellor.

The impact of these revelations form the vast majority of the plot, which particularly focuses on Annie’s father (Owen) who, instead of going on a Liam Neeson-style Taken rampage, finds himself helpless to help his daughter deal with the situation, as he is frustrated by the FBI’s excuses for not finding Charlie soon enough.

This subject matter has surprisingly not been tackled in this way in the cinema, yet many of the issues raised are so common that there are no new ideas. The character of Annie is so unbelievably naive that it borders on the ridiculous, but otherwise the acting is effective enough, even if the ending leaves you needing a little more to be convinced.

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Review: The Other Boleyn Girl (2008)

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2008, Boleyn, Eric Bana, Girl, Justin Chadwick, Natalie Portman, Other, Scarlett Johansson

Director: Justin Chadwick
Stars: Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson, Eric Bana
Plot: Henry VIII’s quest to find a wife capable of giving him a male heir draws his attentions to two sisters, Mary and Anne Boleyn.

About five years ago, the popular perception of Henry VIII used to be as a grotesque, fat, ginger-haired king, working his way through six wives as easily as he would a banquet. Charles Laughton’s brilliant performance in The Private Life of Henry VIII merely fuelled this view, although many screen portrayals of arguably England’s most famous monarch followed, more recently Ray Winstone’s ‘Henry does Eastenders’ impression in the imaginatively titled TV movie Henry VIII.

A year after the advent of The Tudors, in which Jonathan Rhys-Meyers is the most unlikely Henry you’ve ever seen, The Other Boleyn Girl once again sexes-up the time period with a trio of über generic characters with perfect teeth and hygiene. Based on Philippa Gregory’s historical fiction novel of the same name, the plot twists the facts to focus on Anne Boleyn (Portman), her sister Mary (Johansson) and of course a dark, brooding Henry (Bana).

The story picks up towards the end of Catherine of Aragon’s tenure as queen, as she fails to produce the male heir that Henry so desperately needs. Anne Boleyn’s father and uncle arrange for her to be installed at court as a potential replacement for Catherine along with her sister Mary, but it is the younger sibling to whom Henry becomes initially infatuated. After much back-stabbing and conniving behaviour between the two sisters, Anne eventually takes her place in history as Henry’s second wife – but the back story which is largely fictional, forms the majority of the plot.

Purists would say this distorted view of Anne Boleyn’s rise and fall is not a fair representation of her life, nor of the period. But this is pure entertainment which isn’t supposed to be taken as a gospel, although only Portman really has a grasp of her real-life character, acquiring a near-flawless English accent. Bana and Johansson go through the motions as needed but the fabricated sister-centric storyline doesn’t grab you as much as it should.

Rating:

Review: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)

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2011, Caribbean, Ian McShane, Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Pirates, Rob Marshall

Director: Rob Marshall
Stars: Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Ian McShane
Plot: Jack Sparrow sails the high seas once again, this time in search of the elusive Fountain of Youth. But he’s not the only one looking for the ultimate prize of immortality.

After the interminably dull second and third entries in the Pirates series, Dead Man’s Chest and At World’s End, during which walking the plank seemed a more tempting idea, Disney really needed to go back to the drawing board and get swashing some buckles in order to make the franchise enjoyable again. Unfortunately, despite there being a few decent set-pieces, it soon becomes clear that it’s same-old, same-old – along with a few new badly drawn characters thrown into the mix.

Jack Sparrow (Depp) apparently escapes execution, before being double-crossed and hauled before King George II (Richard Griffiths). He escapes and encounters Angelica (Cruz), who has been impersonating him (don’t ask). She is conveniently the daughter of the most infamous pirate of them all, Blackbeard (McShane) upon whose ship, The Queen Anne’s Revenge, Sparrow is taken aboard. He is forced by Blackbeard to find two chalices that hold the key to eternal life and also sudden death.

There’s a strong whiff of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade about the whole thing – although seeking immortality and blasting away a few Nazis on that occasion was much more fun. Here we have a very tired franchise, limping along on its rotting wooden leg and without the parrot of originality on its shoulder. Amazingly, Stranger Tides is currently the eighth highest-grossing film of all time, so there’s clearly a wide audience for repeated masochism.

On the plus side, a mermaid attack on a rowing boat is by far the highlight of a generally dour and predictably twisty film that tries once again to be too clever for its own good. The inevitable Pirates 5 is apparently on its way. Will it be worth watching? We live in hope.

Rating:

Review: Arlington Road (1999)

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1999, Arlington, Jeff Bridges, Joan Cusack, Mark Pellington, Road, Tim Robbins

Director: Mark Pellington
Stars: Jeff Bridges, Tim Robbins, Joan Cusack
Plot: When a college professor (Bridges) gains a neighbour, he becomes suspicious that he might be a terrorist.

Prior to the release of Arlington Road, Tim Robbins was best known for his portrayal of cuddly Andy Dufresne in The Shawshank Redemption. So it was probably quite a shock for fans of that classic film to see him playing a character such as Oliver Lang, the cold and mysterious neighbour of Jeff Bridges’ Michael Faraday.

A college history professor at George Washington University specialising in domestic terrorism studies, Faraday suspects his neighbours may not be all they seem. Oliver (Robbins) and Cheryl (Cusack) move in next door and quickly make friends with Faraday and his son Grant. However, Michael begins to have suspicions that the Langs have something to hide when he finds little pieces of information about their background which contradicts what they had told him. As Faraday even openly challenges Oliver about his past, he remains unconvinced and begins to follow his new ‘friend’ to find out what he is up to.

There’s a strong nod to The Parallax View in the film’s paranoid style – as Michael’s desperation flies in the face of almost all other evidence to the contrary. Tim Robbins and Joan Cusack make a chilling double-act as the Langs – especially the latter, who doesn’t need to do a great deal to look and sound sinister. In one memorably chilling scene, Michael’s girlfriend Brooke (Hope Davis) tells him about Cheryl’s movements whilst on a payphone, only to discover she is standing right behind her, coldly grinning away.

Arlington Road is a cracking thriller, which really cranks up the tension. It is badly let down however, by a series of ridiculous plotline coincidences which are way too convenient to take seriously. Having said that, if you are willing to suspend belief for a couple of hours, it’s an entertaining ride.

Rating:

Review: Super (2011)

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2011, Ellen Page, James Gunn, Liv Tyler, Rainn Wilson, Super

Director: James Gunn
Stars: Rainn Wilson, Ellen Page, Liv Tyler
Plot: Frank D’Arbo transforms himself into comic book-style hero Crimson Bolt in an effort to fight crime, but crucially lacks any actual superpowers.

Rainn Wilson has made a name for himself in the American version of The Office, playing the ultra-serious big kid Dwight Schrute, the US equivalent of UK’s Gareth. Here (intentionally or not), he plays Frank, an exaggerated version of Dwight, who sets out on a one-man crusade to rid the streets of crime in a grown-up Kick-Ass aimed more towards adults.

Super has a very strong indie feel – the prescence of Ellen Page as a comic book store assistant-turned superhero sidekick ‘Boltie’ may have something to do with that. Frank’s wife Sarah (Tyler) is ‘kidnapped’ by drug dealer Jacques (Kevin Bacon), but when the police fail to do anything, Frank turns himself into the Crimson Bolt following a visitation from God and some tentacles with a knack for brain surgery. Having acquired a suit, he goes on a rampage against crime, striking drug dealers, child molesters and even queue-jumpers with a monkey wrench in an effort to satisfy the rage he feels about his life.

He meets Libby (Page) while looking for comic book inspiration and she joins him in his quest to ultimately save Sarah from the clutches of Jacques and his henchmen. The comedy comes thick and fast in the first hour, mixed in with some violence that will make you wince. Unfortunately the laughs eventually diminish and the brutality increases to the point of disturbing – this is among the blackest of black comedies.

Rainn Wilson’s first major leading role is tailor-made for him, but his previous TV incarnation is clearly evident – this is not a bad thing, but he needs to disconnect Dwight from future performances before we suffer from something similar to ‘Brent Fatigue’, a contagious disease caught by watching too many films starring Ricky Gervais.

Super is fun to begin with, but by the end you’ll feel like you too have been hit on the forehead with a wrench.

Rating:

Review: Into The Wild (2007)

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2007, Catherine Keener, Christopher McCandless, Emile Hirsch, Into The Wild, Sean Penn, Vince Vaughn

Director: Sean Penn
Stars: Emile Hirsch, Vince Vaughn, Catherine Keener
Plot: ‘Straight A’ student and athlete Christopher McCandless graduates from university but then abandons a potentially glittering career to go live in the Alaskan wilderness, meeting an array of characters along the way.

Having a career, getting married and settling down is something that is an expected standard practice in society. After a while however, there is often the feeling for some that there is much more to life than trying to pay off a mortgage and the daily 9 to 5 grind. Adapted from Jon Krakauer’s non-fiction book of the same name,  Christopher McCandless (Hirsch) casts aside such concerns as he leaves his family and friends behind, gives away his savings to charity and travels to Alaska on a journey of self-discovery.

Into The Wild is a romanticised account of the real-life McCandless’ experiences as he travelled across America in the early 1990s. Travelling under the pseudonym ‘Alexander Supertramp’, McCandless hitchhikes westwards across the country via Arizona, California and North Dakota, including an illegal kayak trip into Mexico until eventually reaching Alaska where he intends to survive off the land, living a life of solitude.

The people he meets include hippie couple Jan (Keener) and Rainey (Brian H. Dierker), whose encounter with Chris breathes new life into their relationship. Vince Vaughn’s Wayne Westerberg employs McCandless in his harvesting company but questions his motives for travelling alone, providing the devil’s advocate perspective of the film which he apparently fails to consider.

Into The Wild is well-directed by Sean Penn, who manages to help make this a thought-provoking film despite the decidedly downbeat, if surprising ending. Hirsch is convincing as McCandless and the support from Keener, Vaughn and a pre-Twilight Kristen Stewart as Tracy Tatro is top-notch. For anyone planning a round-the-world trip, this is compulsive viewing.

Rating:

Review: Scream 4 (2011)

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2011, Courtney Cox, David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Scream, Scream 4, Sidney Prescott, Wes Craven

Director: Wes Craven
Stars: Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, David Arquette
Plot: Sidney Prescott returns to Woodsboro after ten years as part of a book tour, coinciding with another Ghostface killing spree.

If you thought the Scream franchise had been milked completely dry after a trilogy which significantly depreciated in enjoyment with each instalment, think again. Not only does Neve Campbell and Co. return for even more stabbing fun with Ghostface in number four, rumour has it that a fifth film is in the works. Even with the pointless Scary Movie vehicle which spawned another four (also soon to be five) films, surely the tired slasher movie genre is in need of a long, well-earned rest.

Neve Campbell’s film career has been defined by Scream, so it surely wouldn’t be the same without her character Sidney who decides to include Woodsboro on her tour promoting a new book about her experiences. Enter Ghostface, who decides this would be a good time to terrorise the town with a series of gruesome murders using the original phone technique with the obligatory horror movie quiz thrown in for good measure.

As there seems to be only one journalist and a handful of police in Woodsboro, it’s down to Gail Wethers-Riley (Cox) and Dewey Riley (Arquette) to help Sidney and her cousin Jill (Emma Roberts), whose high school friends are being picked off, one by one. There are several nods to the original film as the killer tries to re-create the murders once again but with Sidney as the eventual victim, as all her bad memories come flooding back (and she wasn’t the only one).

The plot twists and turns so much that you actually expect it to – ironically becoming predictable rather than surprising. A third sequel was never going to be a patch on the original, which was fun, creepy and cleverly scripted – every scene just feels forced and tired, trying and failing to recapture the popularity of the first.

The poor box office figures spoke volumes about how audiences feel about the Scream films – let’s hope Dimension Films take note.

Rating:

Review: The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2008)

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2008, Asa Butterfield, Boy, David Thewlis, Holocaust, Mark Herman, Pyjamas, Striped

Director: Mark Herman
Stars: Asa Butterfield, David Thewlis, David Friend
Plot: Set against the backdrop of Word War II, Bruno, the son of a concentration camp commandant, strikes up a friendship with a Jewish boy sitting on the other side of the garden fence.

If Schindler’s List is viewed as the definitive adult perspective of The Holocaust, then The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is its innocent equivalent. The vast majority of films devoted to showing the horrors of the Nazi concentration camps have, aside from Life is Beautiful, shown how grown-ups dealt with the realisation that their lives were going to be cut cruelly short by such an evil regime.

The story concentrates on the life of Bruno (Butterfield), the son of a high-ranking German officer (Thewlis) who is promoted to a new job. As a result, the family has to move away to southern Poland. Unbeknownst to Bruno, this new post that his father has acquired is actually as commandant of the notorious Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.

One day, left to his own devices, Bruno goes for a wander behind the house (even though his mother forbid him) and encounters a group of people milling about beyond a tall fence – most notably Schmuel (Jack Scanlon), a boy who appears to wearing pyjamas. His new friend is actually an inmate at the camp who, along with his family, have been put to work wearing the camp uniform (the ‘pyjamas’ of the film’s title). Bruno visits Schmuel a number of times, bringing him food and water while they become friends yet blissfully unaware of what is really going on.

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is a curious film, because it isn’t really aimed at any age in particular. There are strong elements of family drama, yet the second half well and truly builds towards a climax that could only be comprehended by an adult audience. Having said that, it is refreshing to watch a different, knee-high perspective on a well-worn subject matter – particularly the horrifying finale that will haunt you for days afterwards.

Rating: 

Review: Jane Eyre (2011)

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2011, Cary Fukunaga, Charlotte Brontë, Jamie Bell, Jane Eyre, Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender

Director: Cary Fukunaga
Stars: Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender, Jamie Bell
Plot: After a strict upbringing, Jane Eyre becomes a governess at Thornfield Hall. She falls for the brooding master of the house, Edward Rochester, but his terrible secret is about to tear them apart.

Charlotte Brontë’s most famous novel, Jane Eyre, had previously been adapted for the big screen an amazing eighteen times – not to mention the many television versions that have been produced down the years. Unsurprisingly, this influential account of a poverty-stricken, headstrong woman battling with her beliefs and coming to terms with her feelings has been singled out as a watershed moment in the formation of the feminist movement.

Ten-year-old orphan Jane (Wasikowska) has a difficult childhood – initially living with her late uncle’s family who mistreat her – she moves onto Lowood School, where the cruel Mr. Brocklehurst (Simon McBurney), encourages Jane’s classmates to shun her. She eventually leaves to take a position as governess at Thornfield Hall, run by its keeper Alice Fairfax (Dame Judi Dench). Jane encounters the moody Edward Rochester who isn’t sure what to make of her but warms to Jane’s intelligence and gumption.

Mia Wasikowska is around the right age (nineteen) to play Jane, and is also appropriately plain. Instead of casting the usually glamorous actresses in the role of classic literary heroines, here we have a much more realistic main character who convinces. But you get the feeling that Michael Fassbender’s Rochester is trying his best to ‘out-Darcy’ Colin Firth, but he doesn’t have the same screen presence, nor the required roguish charm.

The storyline has been edited for the screen, especially the ending which misses out the fact that Rochester recovers to a certain degree, along with his and Jane’s general relationship thereafter. However, if you’re not familiar with the plot of the novel, this won’t really matter.

Jane Eyre feels too much like a television adaptation than a feature film and fails to bring anything original or different, which you would think was essential after so many previous incarnations. It’s a decent effort, but won’t set the world alight.

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