14 Wednesday Nov 2012
Director: Marc Foster
Stars: Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, David Morse
Plot: A U.N. employee is racing against time and fate, as he travels the world trying to stop the outbreak of a deadly Zombie pandemic.
Release Dates: 21st June (USA, UK)
21 Friday Sep 2012
Director: Andrew Dominik
Stars: Brad Pitt, Ray Liotta, Richard Jenkins
Plot: A professional enforcer cleans up the fallout from a heist that took place during a poker game involving the mob.
The expectations of gangster films have been transformed in recent years. In 1990s, Goodfellas and Casino glamorised the world of the mob, with witty repartee mixed in with beautiful women and the obligatory violence. Now there is a tendency for said films to be much more gritty and realistic, a more down-to-earth approach that makes audiences able to connect with the protagonists instead of just dazzling drama which is fantastic in itself but lacks that all-important raw edge. Killing Them Softly continues this bare bones perspective, stripping away the flashy restaurants and clubs often frequented by the archetypal gangster and substituting this world for more seedy, low-level disorganised crime that is a far cry from Scorsese’s wise guys.
In New Orleans, set against the dying embers of the Bush administration and the 2008 election, two lower than low hoods, Frankie (Scoot McNairy) and Russell (Ben Mendelsohn) are tasked with robbing a high stakes mob-protected poker game by Johnny “Squirrel” Amato (Vincent Curatola). The organiser of the game, Markie Trattman (Liotta), previously robbed one of his own games thus throwing their organisation into doubt for a while until they were revived at which point he jokingly owned up to what he had done. “Squirrel” deduces that Trattman will take the fall as his employers will suspect that he was once again behind it and therefore Frankie and Russell will get away scot-free. As the games once again are halted in response to the robbery, “Driver” (Jenkins), a lawyer and go-between, is employed to weed out who was behind it and brings in Jackie Cogan (Pitt), who has form for cleaning up similar situations where things have gotten out of hand but prefers to carry out his contracts from afar without getting too involved or as he calls it, ‘killing them softly’.
As Frankie splashes out on a new car and Russell gets his hands on a stash of drugs that he gleefully smokes, it becomes apparent that not all is well when Russell reveals in a drug-induced haze that he may have accidentally snitched them both to someone who has connections with mob boss Dillon (Sam Shepard). Cogan and “Driver” have various meetings to discuss how disgruntled the mob is with the deteriorating state of affairs. Cogan tries to negotiate a decent price for despatching more than one perpetrator, but is frustrated by the lack of available funds due to the general economic situation which has hit the mob hard. Despite his reservations, Cogan arranges for Trattman to be ‘pushed around’ by two hoodlums to the point that he ends up in hospital and then brings in his own man Mickey (James Gandolfini) to sort things out, but he is more interested in getting drunk and enjoying the company of prostitutes. Seeing that he is getting nowhere, Cogan decides to take matters into his own hands, leaving no trace behind.
Make no mistake, Killing Them Softly is gritty, with neither Roberta Flack or the Fugees in sight. We’re not talking about a Jimmy McGovern level of grittiness, but this is about as close American cinema gets to it. Despite the presence of star names in Brad Pitt, Richard Jenkins and James Gandolfini, there is little glitz or glamour to the proceedings. In amongst the visceral, violent scenes that are required by gangster films runs a statement on the difficulties being experienced by every corner of the community, including that of the mob. Far from the romantic nature of The Godfather, with its Sicilian influence coursing through its veins, here we have a view of how greed and deception are the name of the game instead of family loyalties – there is no honour among thieves in this adaptation of George V. Higgins’ 1974 novel Cogan’s Trade. For all its style, which particularly shines through Andrew Dominick’s direction, his screenplay doesn’t quite match what should be a thoroughly fascinating spin on the gangster genre.
From the off, the plot moves along at a steady but purposeful pace with plenty of intention, only really pausing for breath when Pitt’s Cogan meets with Jenkins’ “Driver” for their in-car negotiations. The major flaw in the plot arrives with the introduction of James Gandolfini’s character Mickey, who could quite easily be cut out from the film completely and there would be little lost. After about 20 minutes on and off, talking solidly of nothing else except drinking (whilst drinking) and prostitutes (while paying one off) – the real question remains – what was the point of Mickey? Perhaps the casting of Tony Soprano was too tempting to resist, but this is the only big let-down from an otherwise superb cast. Some have argued that this is Brad Pitt’s career-best performance. While this is too much of a stretch to even consider (his Billy Beane in Moneyball is eons ahead), his screen presence is second to none, especially when he creates an air of intimidation in a bar as Cogan subtly interrogates Frankie, who is played by Scoot McNairy with the right degree of weasel. His partner in crime Ben Mendelsohn, who you might recognise from superb Australian drama Animal Kingdom, is once again on form and is definitely one actor to keep an eye out for.
Killing Them Softly tries to break new ground with its political themes, but when everything is said and done, this is a solid thriller with excellent direction and high-quality acting. The storyline loses its way for about half an hour before the home straight, but the cast alone is reason enough to enjoy a rare, thought-provoking gangster film.
Rating: 
14 Tuesday Aug 2012
Director: Andrew Dominik
Stars: Brad Pitt, Ray Liotta, Richard Jenkins
Plot: Jackie Cogan is a professional enforcer who investigates a heist that went down during a mob-protected poker game.
Release Dates: 21st September (UK), 19th October (USA)
02 Wednesday May 2012
Tags
2010, Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Megamind, Tom McGrath, Will Ferrell
Director: Tom McGrath
Voices: Will Ferrell, Jonah Hill, Brad Pitt
Plot: When supervillain Megamind defeats his nemesis Metro Man, he finds himself without an opponent or purpose in his life.
Comic book films are expected to follow a strict formula, which in turn makes them difficult to broaden their scope for originality. Whether it be a radioactive spider which bites an unsuspecting human or an alien with ready-made superpowers crash-landing on earth, the germ of an idea always grows from an accepted convention, which makes Megamind stand out from the crowd. This is a very ‘knowing’ film that openly mocks the idea that superheroes are all good and so-called villains are inherently evil.
Megamind (Ferrell) is a self-proclaimed alien genius, who has suffered at the cruel hand of fate. He arrived in a pod as a baby from his home planet, sent by his parents as his world is consumed by a black hole. At exactly the same time, his nemesis Metro Man (Pitt) came to Earth in the same fashion, but his custom-made spaceship collided with Megamind’s, landing him outside a rich family’s doorstep whilst Megamind ended up in a prison yard. And so the path of good and evil was set. For the following years, the two battled eachother until Megamind finally won, apparently vapourising his enemy during a very public battle. He is now in control of Metro City, but having lain waste to the people’s freedoms and literally cast the entire city under a cloud, Megamind finds himself without an opponent to keep him occupied.
Meanwhile, reporter Roxanne Ritchi (Tina Fey) is kidnapped by Megamind and his friend Minion (David Cross) as part of his plan to bring down Metro Man. When Megamind releases her after his plan is accomplished, he goes to the Metro Man Museum in order to blow it up, but notices that Roxanne is there too. He disguises himself as curator Bernard (Ben Stiller) using a special device and finds himself falling for his former hostage. Roxanne’s curiosity gets the better of her and she sneaks into Megamind’s lair with help from her cameraman Hall (Hill). Megamind, inspired by a comment Roxanne made about creating a new superhero to do battle with, gets Metro Man’s DNA so that he can inject it into a human. Whilst selecting his target, he accidentally turns Hal into “Titan” – after a brief moment of panic, he manages to train his new adversary, but of course, it doesn’t all go according to plan.
The first half an hour of Megamind is a dazzling barrage of one-liners, which you’d expect to find in many Will Ferrell films. Such exchanges between Pitt’s Metro Man and Ferrell’s Megamind as: “It’s revenge and it’s best served cold!” “But it can be easily reheated, in the microwave of evil!” initially come thick and fast, giving the film a cracking start. But like, Megamind himself, the script loses its way after this promising beginning, resorting to particularly silly and predictable set-pieces which we’ve all seen many times before. Taking such an original approach to comic book storylines and films needs to be maintained throughout the entire spectacle and unfortunately the plot succumbs to the age-old formula it is trying so desperately to mock. Despite its faults, the storyline manages to entertain and there are still a few ripostes from Megamind and Minion to their bewildering situation that will no doubt tickle even the most cynical of funny bones.
Will Ferrell is well-cast as hapless supervillian Megamind. The delivery of the sharpest lines needs someone who knows how to convey comedy in this way and he is the perfect choice. His funny exchanges with Tina Fey’s Roxanne are most in part down to the script, but once again it is Fey’s wit that is required and she delivers. The animation is nothing out of the extraordinary, as Dreamworks aren’t presently a patch on Pixar when it comes to detail – but it does the job and there are some very neat sequences that would look nice and shiny on the 3D big-screen. Tom McGrath’s direction is at times thrilling during the action scenes, but there are few moments where you could say he raises the bar in any way. It’s interesting to note that Guillermo Del Toro is credited as a producer here, although you would be hard-pressed to find any of his weird and wonderful Spanish flair injected into Megamind himself.
There is much to like about Megamind, although the theme of self-parody is now rather common among animated feature films. However, this is a decent effort in poking fun at how film studios expect us to pay good money to see a conveyor belt of superheroes at the cinema, just with different names and dressed up in an alternative matching cape and Y-fronts.
Rating: 
29 Sunday Apr 2012
Director: Bennett Miller
Stars: Brad Pitt, Robin Wright, Jonah Hill
Plot: A biography of Billy Beane’s trials and tribulations, as he puts together an Oakland A’s team based on mathematical principles.
Sports films are a particularly tricky genre to take on. Not only does the idea need to appeal in some way to non-sports fans, but also to those who follow their chosen sport with such fervour that they can roll off statistics from a famous game played years ago. This is why taking real-life stories or setting them against the backdrop of a famous event appears to do the trick. Escape to Victory (1981), set during World War II and features a stellar cast of actors and real-life sportsmen. In recent years however, there has been more of a focus on straightforward triumph-over-adversity stories, such as We Are Marshall (2006) and The Blind Side (2009), which both centred on loss and sacrifice, but ultimately the glory of defying the odds. Moneyball follows this path, but on a much more subtle level – the battles here are mostly behind the scenes, rather than out on the baseball field.
Oakland Athletics baseball team’s general manager Billy Beane (Pitt) is frustrated at his player’s loss to the New York Yankees during the 2001 postseason. With three of his star players – Johnny Damon, Jason Giambi and Jason Isringhausen – set to leave to free agency, Beane consults with his advisers on how to improve for the follow season, bearing in mind their significant lack of funds. Whilst visiting the Cleveland Indians, Beane encounters Peter Brand (Hill), a Yale economics graduate who has a brand new take on how to assess the value of players. Beane checks Brand’s theory by asking him if he would have drafted him – Beane was regarded as potentially a very gifted player, but turned down a scholarship to Stanford University, instead choosing to play in the Major League but to little acclaim. When Brand admits he wouldn’t have drafted him until the ninth round, Beane employs him as his assistant.
Oakland’s scouts are initially dismissive of Brand’s non-traditional sabermetric methods, believing that their years of experience are being undermined by someone who knows little about the game. Instead of relying on the scouts’ experience and know-how, Beane chooses players based on their on base percentage (OBP), also looking for characteristics and manages to put together a team which is seemingly undervalued. Tensions between Beane and his more traditional staff are raised, as he and Brand identify and recruit players such as unorthodox submarine pitcher Chad Bradford (Casey Bond). Beane also finds himself at loggerheads with Athletics’ manager Art Howe (Philip Seymour Hoffman), when he trades away the team’s lone traditional star player Carlos Peña, in order to make Howe play the team in the style he desires. With plenty of criticism and cynicism about his methods, Beane goes to task in trying to make the Oakland A’s a competitive team despite their lack of financial clout.
On the face of it, Moneyball appears to be essentially about sport statistics, but beneath this belies the fact that Brad Pitt gives one of his career-best performances. What could have been a dull film aimed at baseball diehards not only transcends sports in general, but also gives weight and meaning way beyond your common all garden, triumph-over-adversity formulaic schmaltz. There is little sentimentality in Pitt’s subtle portrayal of Billy Beane’s struggle in bridging the gap between the haves and the have-nots, thoroughly deserving his Academy Award nomination for Best Actor in this year’s Oscars. Even to those who are far from well-versed in the intricacies of baseball will be able to identify with Beane’s frustration on, but especially off, the pitch.
Jonah Hill, usually typecast as the token-fat-guy-to-laugh-at-for-being-fat, takes on the role of Peter Brand which looks completely out of his comfort zone, but here looks anything but uncomfortable. Hill is a superb foil for Pitt’s Beane, despite the fact that he doesn’t have an awful lot to do, there is at last a glimpse that he can improve on the same old Superbad-style comedy. Screenwriters Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin place a great deal of emphasis on the behind-the-scenes action, rather than the on-field shenanigans which tend to overwhelm film where sport is the predominant element. This reflects the true notion that the game itself is only a very small part of the bigger picture – sports clubs are first and foremost businesses and here the Oakland A’s are shown as such. Much credit must go to scribes Zaillian and Sorkin for creating a script that is wonderfully nuanced, in perfect keeping with Bennett Miller’s direction and Brad Pitt’s central character.
Moneyball doesn’t spark into life immediately but once Beane and Brand team up, the world of economics never looked so fascinating. If you have a passion for any sport or just love a great story, then sit back and enjoy a film that is a fine example of how a simple plot and a fine lead performance can go a long way.
Rating: 
18 Sunday Dec 2011
Director: Terrence Malick
Stars: Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, Jessica Chastain
Plot: The origins and meaning of life are explored with a story centering on a family living in 1950s Texas.
Terrence Malik is the Daniel Day-Lewis of film directors. Since Badlands in 1973, Malik has only brought us Days of Heaven (1978), The Thin Red Line (1998) and The New World (2005) – each with its own grand style but always slowly considered and prepared. So when another film release by the enigmatic Malik is announced, there’s an equal sense of anticipation yet trepidation at how his next project will be received. The Tree of Life, winner of the Palme d’Or at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival is very profound and will surely divide audiences with its very unusual tone and narrative.
Mrs O’Brien (Chastain) recites an old lesson she was given that people either follow the path of grace (free, nurturing, wondering) or nature (pragmatic, cynical). During the 1960s, she and her husband (Pitt) receive news that her son has died at the age of 19, wracking the entire family in grief. Jack O’Brien (Penn), in present-day Houston, recalls his early teenage years in the 1950s after seeing a tree being planted near his workplace. The entire narrative then jumps back to the beginning of time, when the universe is formed. Planets and galaxies come into being, volcanoes erupt on Earth and land appears along with the origins of first life. Dinosaurs rule the world until a meteor hits the planet and the vast majority of life is wiped away.
Back in 1950s Waco, Texas, the O’Briens welcome a new baby, Jack, into their family and then later two more boys – R.L. and Steve. Mr. O’Brien is seen to have followed the way of nature (being harsh, strict and authoritarian) and his wife, grace (more tolerant and understanding) – this is reflected in the way they treat their sons. As a promising musician, Mr. O’Brien has chosen instead to become an engineer and inventor, deciding to take a trip around the world to sell his inventions to foreign companies. While he is away, Jack starts to rebel and, subject to close peer pressure, carries out acts of vandalism. When his father returns, the dynamics of the family have changed – he and especially Jack must somehow, somewhere, reconcile their relationship after years of tension.
The Tree of Life combines two completely different themes and throws them together in an attempt to pose questions about our place in the universe. If you’ve seen Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey there will be the familiar non-linear narrative which includes a few shots of stars and planets that don’t fit in at all with what’s going on in the rest of the movie. Whereas in Kubrick’s film, there was a purpose – here it makes little sense at all. Following the story of the O’Briens is all well and good, but when we are just getting used to them, to be confronted by an intense swathe of swirling galaxies and classical music feels like an intermission instead of being part of the same film.
Emmanuel Lubezki’s cinematography is stunningly beautiful, accompanied by the strains of Tavener, Mahler, Berlioz and Holst to name a few – this could be enough to constitute a short film in itself. But here it is, plonked next to 1950s Texas in some attempt to make us think about religion, spirituality and science – do we care? Not really. There are countless films that have tackled the loss of innocence and the meaning of life separately – it’s almost like shoving a clip of Silent Running into Stand By Me and asking everyone to find a hidden meaning. However, the acting is top-notch with Brad Pitt in outstanding form and Hunter McCracken as ‘Young’ Jack excelling. The main flaw is, no matter hard we try there’s no real connection to the events or characters in the 1950s, despite the standard of acting.
The Tree of Life is most definitely not the masterpiece that some have over-zealously hailed it. Nevertheless, despite its pretentiousness, every reel is beautifully realised and is directed with heart, but ironically the finished product lacks the empathy and feeling it so craves from a mass audience.
Rating: 
15 Friday Jul 2011
Director: Alan J. Pakula
Stars: Harrison Ford, Brad Pitt, Margaret Colin
Plot: New York cop Tom O’Meara (Harrison) discovers his house guest Rory (Pitt) is an IRA terrorist in hiding.
Down the years, there have been otherwise superb or at least decent films that have been somewhat spoiled by the casting of an actor with an ill-advised accent. Dick Van Dyke’s Bert in Mary Poppins or Sean Connery as Jim Malone in The Untouchables spring to mind. Unfortunately, the same can be said of Brad Pitt’s Belfast-inspired twang in The Devil’s Own. Having a limited number of lines Pitt, to his credit, has a good go, but there’s only so much you can do by saying ‘aye’ and ‘cheers’ a lot before having to really talk.
The film producers must have seen dollar signs in their eyes at the thought of Ford and Pitt together in the same film, but this doesn’t really work as well as it should. The recipe is there for an exciting story: IRA terrorist Frankie McGuire goes into hiding, moving into the house of an unwitting New York sergeant. Then, of course, all hell breaks loose. The gunfights are choreographed well enough, but the meat of the story is very clichéd and doesn’t really get under the skin of the conflict in Northern Ireland – this is definitely a Hollywood perspective.
Rating: 
