01 Wednesday May 2013
Directors: Nat Faxon, Jim Rash
Stars: Liam James, Sam Rockwell, Steve Carell
Plot: Over the course of his summer break, a teenager comes into his own thanks in part to the friendship he strikes up with one of the park’s managers.
Release Dates: 5th July (USA), TBC (UK)
29 Monday Apr 2013
Directors: Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris
Stars: Paul Dano, Zoe Kazan, Annette Bening
Plot: A successful but lonely novelist who suddenly suffers from writer’s block finds the answer by creating a female character to love him…but who then astonishingly materialises.
It’s surely the ultimate fantasy for any novelist; to create a character who actually comes to life, not only on the page but in real life. Such an idea pushes the boundaries of imagination and is one step up from getting your words adapted for the screen. Will Ferrell’s Harold Crick suddenly found his days were numbered by a mysterious narrator who he sought out in Stranger Than Fiction, but in Ruby Sparks our protagonist writer directly conjures up in front of his eyes, what he imagines to be the perfect woman.
A young novelist, Calvin Weir-Fields (Dano) has enjoyed widespread success with his first effort, but is now struggling to find inspiration for the follow-up. His therapist Dr. Rosenthal (Elliott Gould) assigns him a task to write a page about someone who likes his dog, Scotty. Calvin then has a dream about a woman who draws a picture of Scotty and says she likes him. Calvin admits to Rosenthal that he has been inspired to write about this woman who he names Ruby Sparks (Kazan) and that he is falling in love with her. Calvin’s brother Harry (Chris Messina) and his sister-in-law Susie (Toni Trucks) both come to visit and find articles of women’s clothing around the house. To Calvin’s shock and disbelief, the next day he finds Ruby in his kitchen.
Thinking he is going mad, Calvin calls Harry who doesn’t believe him and tells his brother to go out and take his mind off everything. Ruby can’t seem to understand why Calvin is trying to avoid her and goes shopping while he meets with Mabel (Alia Shawkat), a fan of his book at a cafe. Ruby shows up and Calvin is amazed to find that other people can see her; she is not after all a figment of his imagination. Ruby and Calvin have an argument, but they make up when he explains that he finds everything rather stressful. Calvin introduces Ruby to Harry, who tries to find an explanation. Calvin and Harry soon discover that Ruby can be manipulated by whatever Calvin types on his typewriter – this revelation leads to the situation to quickly spiral out of hand when Calvin tries to control his new creation.
Ruby Sparks is not your (well below) average romantic comedy. Too often have we seen rom-coms with chemistry-less romance and no laughs whatsoever (Made of Honour and The Ugly Truth are guilty as charged) and the genre as a whole has suffered from some extremely lazy scriptwriting and sloth-like casting (you know who you are, Gerard Butler). So, if you’re expecting the same old ‘hilarious’ scenarios and cringeworthy dialogue, then you’ll be pleasantly surprised. Zoe Kazan, who also stars as the title character, has written a screenplay from the heart as opposed to a team of writers bashing their heads together in search of a one-joke film. The characters feel genuine, even though Ruby herself is clearly a figment of Calvin’s imagination; the storyline is amusing, heartfelt but above all very original, even though you could say it does lend itself in the broadest sense to Stranger Than Fiction. While Will Ferrell’s comedy played everything purely for dry laughs, Ruby has at its centre a plot which, though is pure fantasy, feels very real – and that is a great testament to both Kazan and everyone involved. To dismiss the film as a ‘chick-flick’ would be easy, but when you have a winning idea and interesting characters for a change, this appeals to a much wider audience.
The worst romantic comedies tend to fall at the first hurdle due to horrific casting choices. Shoehorning in whichever Hollywood stars seem to be doing the rounds at the time tends to be the norm. However, real-life couple Paul Dano and Zoe Kazan have real chemistry (as opposed to Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez in Gigli) and, as a result, we can get onboard with the story very easily. Dano is terrific as Calvin – he is our eyes and ears throughout the film, as we follow the remarkable chain of events unfolding from his perspective. His lead character is neither a sappy drip trying to get the girl nor a hunky guy trying to be sensitive, but instead sits between the two as a happy medium. Kazan’s turn as Ruby shows her to be one to watch for the future; she conveys her character’s rollercoaster of emotions from one extreme to the other in both an affecting and humorous way. Kazan’s scenes in which she becomes incredibly clingy are the highlight of the film and are sure to raise the most laughs. As for the supporting cast, Chris Messina excels as Harry, being his younger brother’s voice of reason, Elliott Gould has a nice turn as Calvin’s therapist, with Annette Bening and Antonio Banderas appearing briefly in arguably the weakest part of the film in scenes reminiscent of Meet The Fockers.
Ruby Sparks breaks the mould of thoroughly insipid rom-coms and gives us something to actually enjoy, not endure. Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris’ dreamy style of direction matches the subject matter perfectly, which turns out to be a real thought-provoker. Hopefully this is the first of many writing/acting projects in which we will see Zoe Kazan feature.
Rating: 
27 Saturday Apr 2013
Director: Sofia Coppola
Stars: Katie Chang, Israel Broussard, Emma Watson
Plot: Inspired by actual events, a group of fame-obsessed teenagers use the internet to track celebrities’ whereabouts in order to rob their homes.
Release Dates: 14th June (USA), 5th July (UK)
25 Thursday Apr 2013
Director: Roland Emmerich
Stars: Channing Tatum, Jamie Foxx, Maggie Gyllenhaal
Plot: While on a tour of the White House with his young daughter, a Capitol policeman springs into action to save his child and protect the president from a heavily armed group of paramilitary invaders.
Release Dates: 28th June (USA), 6th September (UK)
23 Tuesday Apr 2013
Director: Ben Wheatley
Stars: Alice Lowe, Steve Oram, Eileen Davies
Plot: A Brummie couple go for a holiday in Yorkshire, but when Chris’ patience is tested to the limit, his psychotic tendencies come to the fore.
If you’ve ever seen a Ben Wheatley film, the chances are you’ll vividly remember the experience. The one stand-out theme he goes back to time and time again is a very visceral use of violence that is most definitely not for the squeamish. Down Terrace is perhaps his least well-known film, but Kill List really put Wheatley on the map with its very odd set up, graphic ultra-violence and baffling finale. Sightseers is certainly blood-thirsty, but there’s also a strong comic element that is injected into proceedings. Right alongside bursts of rage are genuinely funny moments that collectively represent extremes of emotion that only a British setting could possibly get away with.
Tina (Lowe), a thirty-something woman, still lives with Carol (Davies) her oppressive mother (who hasn’t forgiven her daughter for ‘killing’ her beloved dog accidentally via knitting needles), in a semi-detached house in Birmingham. Tina’s new boyfriend Chris (Oram) shows up with his caravan to take Tina on holiday to Yorkshire, much to her melodramatic mother’s chagrin. Once they reach their destination, it doesn’t take long for Chris’ more primitive side to come out. Initially irritated by a rather ignorant man littering in front of him, he causes a scene, having a full-blown argument in public. With his cause looking lost, Chris takes Tina back to the car, but inadvertently reverses into the object of his irritation, killing him. After being questioned at the police station, the couple are released without charge.
A drive across the countryside takes Chris and Tina to their next destination – a caravan park. After a quick game of chase with the car in front results in them taking a prime spot, the pair get acquainted with their surroundings and their fellow campers. One couple in particular catches their eye; a well-spoken writer called Ian (Jonathan Aris) and his rather snobby wife Janice (Monica Dolan). Ian has been working on a series of guide books and is currently researching his next – Chris finds this intriguing, but after being rubbed up the wrong way by their apparently superior neighbours, Chris decides to take matters into his own hands. He follows Ian early one morning and delivers his own brand of retribution – there’s virtually a queue of people waiting to annoy Chris, but even Tina gets in on the act and the two continue their rampage across Yorkshire towards a dizzying finale.
Sightseers employs a very particular kind of humour, one that many people won’t be able to get on board with. Not only are the scenes of gratuitous violence timed to coincide with a witty one-liner or two, but the mostly quirky, genteel Nuts in May-style setting is quintessentially British. Harking back to the opening scenes of Four Weddings and a Funeral, the colourful language spewing forth from our initially mild-mannered protagonists is designed to shock, as is the amount of blood spurting directly at the screen. One of the main reasons as to why the humour works is the identifiable irritations that many of us encounter – that of other people. No matter where you end up going on holiday, you’re bound to find those annoying fellow travellers (and some locals) who can’t possibly keep their bad habits to themselves. Nodding along to Chris’ vexed behaviour with some of his comments is a little too easy, but it’s the fact that there is no line for him when it comes to exacting some kind of revenge, which is where the chuckling is transformed into wincing. Brummies are associated with a simple disposition and while this is obviously an inaccurate, sweeping regional stereotype, this is exploited by the screenplay and works extremely well.
Steve Oram and Alice Lowe, who together as well as starring, also wrote the script alongside Amy Jump, are terrific as our protagonists with short fuses. Oram is the scene stealer though, delivering a fantastic performance as the lead of the two in their rampage. He balances the childishness of Chris’ character with his darker side, seething with rage whenever anyone even slightly irritates him – he is an anti-hero who goes too far, but we can’t help but empathise due to the comical context. Lowe’s Tina is supposed to be the straight character, but the situation only really starts spinning out of control when her own red mist descends during two bouts of extreme jealousy. Tina’s childlike manner is not the same as Chris’ – hers is more innocent than immature, but Lowe manages to be a fantastic foil for Oram’s far more easily provoked Neanderthal. Ben Wheatley’s third film which is a departure from the gritty Down Terrace (which can best be described as Goodfellas meets The UK Office) and the equally realistic yet weird Kill List, retains the visceral death scenes, yet feature a lighter tone, even if a long list of characters meet a sticky end. Wheatley’s direction is spot-on once again and it’ll be interesting to see where he takes us next.
Sightseers is most definitely not for everyone, but if you approach it with an open mind and not expect a picturesque journey across Yorkshire akin to Last of the Summer Wine, then you’ll be in for a treat. Ben Wheatley has proved himself to be an accomplished director and his next feature film will be definitely one to watch out for.
Rating:
21 Sunday Apr 2013
Director: Ron Howard
Stars: Daniel Brühl, Chris Hemsworth, Olivia Wilde
Plot: A biography of Formula 1 champion driver Niki Lauda and the 1976 crash that almost claimed his life. Mere weeks after the accident, he got behind the wheel to challenge his rival, James Hunt.
Release Dates: 13th September (UK), 20th September (USA)
19 Friday Apr 2013
Tags
2013, Francis Lawrence, Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Director: Francis Lawrence
Stars: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth
Plot: As Katniss and Peeta embark on a “Victor’s Tour” of the districts, Katniss senses that a rebellion is simmering, but the Capitol is still very much in control as President Snow prepares the 75th Annual Hunger Games.
Release Dates: 22nd November (USA, UK)
17 Wednesday Apr 2013
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Stars: Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman, Olga Kurylenko
Plot: A drone mechanic is tasked with a clean-up mission after a devastating war which leaves the Earth virtually uninhabitable. However, a strange turn of events forces him to question the real reason why he is there and his very existence.
Trailers for science-fiction films are traditionally unlike any other genre. The perceived spectacle is far more important at this point, whereas the finer details of the plot are secondary. However, more recently there has been a distinct lack of originality where such movies are concerned. Sure, the otherworldly landscapes and gadgets are essential, but in a time where cinematic CGI has reached a level of excellence never seen before, ironically the onus is on the need for good old-fashioned storytelling to back it all up. With the summer blockbuster season almost upon us once again, are we seeing the start of a new trend in convincing plots and characters?
In 2077, Jack Harper (Cruise) works mostly alone as a drone repairman on Earth, which was nearly destroyed by an alien invasion which resulted in the annihilation of the moon. From a base suspended above the remains of New York City called ‘Tower 49′, Jack and his romantic partner Victoria (Andrea Riseborough) work together to ensure that Earth’s resources are sent to a space station (Tet), which was humanity’s escape vessel. Through their mission controller Sally (Melissa Leo), Jack is guided to certain locations where drones need to be repaired. However, he has to deal with the attentions of ‘Scavs’, aliens who were left behind after the war. Jack and Victoria are promised that their mission will eventually end in a few weeks’ time and they can join the other survivors on Titan.
Jack keeps having recurring dreams about meeting a mysterious woman on the observatory level of the Empire State Building before the war, even though he and Victoria had their memories wiped five years earlier for the sake of security. Whilst out on patrol one day, Jack rescues Julia (Kurylenko) from a downed spacecraft, whom he recognises from his dreams, from Scavs who are revealed to actually be humans living underground. Their leader Malcolm Beech (Freeman) claims that the invasion was a lie and urges Jack to reprogram a drone and use it to attack the Tet. Jack refuses, but when Malcolm lets them both go, he tells him to investigate the ‘high radiation zone’ that Jack is not allowed to enter. Upon returning to the base, Jack learns that all is not what it seems and he will have to fight to survive.
The only people who will truly enjoy Oblivion are those who have never seen a single science-fiction film in their entire lives before. The first thing that strikes you about the decidedly bleak world into which we are plunged, is the familiarity of it all. Borrowing, er, stealing ideas directly from the Alien films, Moon, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Total Recall, Blade Runner, Wall-E, Mad Max and a finale which unashamedly lends itself heavily to Independence Day (though thankfully without a token cringeworthy speech from an American President), this is an Earth created by screenwriters who have no new ideas whatsoever and can only do but tick all the sci-fi boxes from the unwritten book of clichés. This is all a real shame because there is a great idea in here which could have been developed into a really engaging experience, combining themes of existence and reality in a dystopian setting to give us a highly thought-provoking film. The CGI is at times impressive (as all featured on the trailer), but these moments are few and far between – the characters themselves still need to deserve our empathy for their plight, but this is sadly not forthcoming.
Tom Cruise is undoubtedly a talented actor, but now and again he lapses into his comfort zone, that of not really bothering to act at all. If you swoon at the mere sight of little Tommy, then this will not bother you in the slightest, but his penchant for ‘being Tom Cruise’ (also see Jack Reacher) is once again evident here. He has a way of conjuring his narcissistic alter ego he most famously used in Top Gun and brings out arguably his most famous incarnation, fighter pilot Maverick, at hilariously random points in his career. Cruise isn’t so much as miscast; he is up to the task of playing Jack, but just fails to convince us that he isn’t on a film set running around in front of a green screen. Andrea Riseborough is suitably gorgeous and mysterious as Jack’s colleague Victoria, but the script doesn’t really allow much development in the way of finding out about her past and a methodical revealing of the reasons behind her and Jack’s mission. Instead we’re left with a stiff and starchy leading lady, with a personality as sterile as the decor of the base she operates from. Olga Kurylenko, whose career is just starting to come to fruition a few years after starring in Quantum of Solace, has a similar role to her Camille in the aforementioned James Bond instalment – she does just what is required.
Oblivion should be a fascinating watch, but the first hour is surprisingly slow, although there are a few scenes in the first half that punctuate the serenity and quicken the pulse slightly. Apart from a decent chase sequence and some nice views of a ruptured moon, there’s not a great deal to recommend here. This is yet another nail in the coffin of films that concentrate on ground-breaking plot development instead of diverting attention to what’s happening in the CGI sky above.
Rating: 
15 Monday Apr 2013
Tags
2013, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Chloë Grace Moretz, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Jeff Wadlow, Kick-Ass 2
Director: Jeff Wadlow
Stars: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Chloë Grace Moretz, Christopher Mintz-Plasse
Plot: The costumed high-school hero Kick-Ass joins with a group of normal citizens who have been inspired to fight crime in costume. Meanwhile, the Red Mist plots an act of revenge that will affect everyone Kick-Ass knows.
Release Dates: 19th July (UK), 16th August (USA)
13 Saturday Apr 2013
Director: Neill Blomkamp
Stars: Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, Sharlto Copley
Plot: Set in the year 2159, where the very wealthy live on a man-made space station while the rest of the population resides on a ruined Earth, a man takes on a mission that could bring equality to the polarized worlds.
Release Dates: 9th August (USA), 20th September (UK)
