The Muppets

The Muppets

Director: James Bobin
Written by: Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller.
Photography: Don Burgess 
Starring: Jason Segel, Amy Adams and Chris Cooper
Year: 2011
Country: USA 

 I won't lie and say The Muppets was part of my childhood. I don't have any memories of watching The Muppets on a more than sparse occasion. It took me till fifteen to fully differentiate it from Sesame Street.

 But wherever or not I have a personal spot in my heart for the Muppets means nothing. What's important is that the people involved in making it have. And it's clear for the writing that this isn't another cash-in reboot or remake. It's made with love, which is part of makes it such a joy to watch.

 Walter and Gary are brothers and residents of Smalltown, they're extremely close and are very similar. The one big difference being that one's a puppet and the other is a man, played by Jason Segel. Walter came to terms with being a puppet by finding solidarity with his heroes on his favourite TV program, The Muppet Show. Fast Forward to present day and The Muppet Show is no more but Walter and Gary are still as obsessed. Walter accidentally uncovers a plot by the evil Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) and The Moopets to destroy the Muppet Studio. Walter Gary and his 10 year girlfriend Mary (Amy Adams) set off find the Muppets and put on one final show to raise the money to keep the studio open.

 The writing for the most part is charming and funny. It keeps what made The Muppets popular back in the 70s, managing to keep both children and adults entertained with a huge spectrum of jokes while always staying clear of the PG benchmark. Though sometimes the writing feels a little lazy; An evil oil baron called Tex Richman and a small town called Smalltown, it's almost like a James Cameron screenplay.

 I find it hard to judge acting in movies that are playing down to an infant audience because the actors often are too. It's hard to adjust Jason Segel doing this when you're used to seeing him crude post Judd Apatow comedies. 

 They're are a lot of great cameos as there always are in Muppet movies. I won't say who appears because that would spoil it. But to get a grasp of the calibre of celebrities in there; Ricky Gervais, Danny Trejo and Billy Crystal all had their scenes cut out. Though none beat the Orson Welles cameo in the original Muppet movie back in 1979. 

 The musical numbers are fabulous. Written by Bret Mckenzie form Flight of the Concords, the song 'Man or Muppet' won the Oscar for best original song (the fact that only two songs were nominated doesn't take away from its brilliance). Even as a non Muppets fan, Rainbow Connection still makes my heart grow three sizes. It's like The Beatles or hot chocolate, it resonates with everyone.

 The Muppets is the most charming movie I've seen in while, my only disappointment is that it hasn't brought baby blue suits into fashion. 

Score: 4/5

The Dark Knight Rises

The Dark Night Rises

Director: Christopher Nolan
Written by: Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Nolan
Photography: Wally Pfister 
Starring: Christian Bale, Tom Hardy and Anne Hathaway.
Year: 2012
Country: USA, UK



 My expectations going in to The Dark Knight Rises were so high, it was almost destined to disappoint me. But like an unexplained phenomenon, it somehow managed to exceed my hopes.

I want to avoid spoilers as much as possible, so I won't go into too much detail of the story. All I'll say is that The Dark Knight Rises is set eight years after the events of The Dark Knight. Gotham doesn't need The Batman any more and Bruce Wayne has gone into exile.

 This is the final chapter is the Batman trilogy. Director Christopher Nolan claims to have no interest in making any more and I believe him. Cinematographer Wally Pfister is retiring from his role as cinematographer for life as a director.  The film is also a clear conclusion to Bruce Wayne's story, albeit an ambiguous and subjective one.  

 It's a shame Wally Pfister is retiring from photography because he's one of the best  cinematographers of his generation. It was no exception in The Dark Knight Rises, it's mostly shot underexposed and it has a similar blackness to films like David Fincher's Se7en or The Godfather.   

 Christopher Nolan and Wally Pfister are both preservers of celluloid, so The Dark Knight Rises was shot on 35mm film and is not in 3D. Which leads me to one of the only grievousness,  not with the film, but how it was exhibited. In my local Vue cinema a digital projector was used which made what should have been pitch dark blacks come out as really deep greys. If you can see it projected in 35mm or in an IMAX cinema, do so.       

 Chris Nolan, who is yet to make a bad film, delivers again. His direction is spot on throughout and delivers a well written and intelligent screenplay in coalition his brother, Jonathan.  

 Christian Bale's Batman is still somewhat laughable with his 'Get off my lawn' voice, but is otherwise great and think he makes a brilliant Bruce Wayne. 

 Anne Hathaway as Catwoman I had a lot of trepidation about, she can be a hit or miss. She actually does pretty well In this... and she's sexy, too. She also has a sidekick, played by Juno Temple. Who I think must have had most of her scenes cut out because she's a pointless and rarely seen.

 I've been a big Tom Hardy fan for a while and he makes a badass Bane, he begets genuine fear every time he's a screen. A lot of people complain that they couldn't understand him most of the time. I didn't have this problem myself. Some of it could be to do with the sound systems varying cinema but I think most of it is to do with not being able to see his mouth, we don't realise how much we rely on lip movement. 

 I wont go into every actor because there are so many, but everyone in this film gives their best. New actors include Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Marion Cotillard. All returning actors are given their due course, no characters are crammed in out of obligation. Gary Oldman as Commissioner Gordon could finally get the academy he's been due for a long time. 

 The action scenes are some of the best I've seen in a long time. The first confrontation between Batman and Bane is intensely visceral, I could personally feel every hit Batman took. 

 It refreshing to see an action film from a filmmaker that understands that great action scenes aren't made with shaky cam (that is the technical term) and fast editing, but from carefully crafted choreography. 

 The art direction was stunning, I especially liked the design of Bane. In the comics bane wears a full face mask but the decision to show his eyes adds to the horror. The colour scheme is mostly black and other cold colours. This looks great and fits the tone of the film but less so as I said before if you're watching it in digital. 


 Hans Zimmer's score is faultless, I would say better than his score for Inception in terms of how it fits the movie. But the film also knows when not to use music at all. In Batman's fight with Bane and in an emotional speech by Alfred from Michael Caine, no music is used which adds to the emotion. Although it does makes the crunching of crisps and popcorn clearer.


 The film is full of the wildly imaginative set pieces, which use a mixture of CGI and practical effects the two of which blend together nicely.   

 The film is on the long side at almost three hours. I honestly didn't feel this and I could have carried on watching for at least another half an hour.


 My only complaints are that some things aren't explained that I would have liked to have been. I can't go any further without spoiling the film, but they're not major plot holes, so nothing that will take you out of the experience.   

 I think it's important to state that I don't think this film is suitable for children. It might be a 12A here in the UK and a PG-13 in the US, but the long dialogue scene, bleak persona, dark cinematography and colossal run-time will bore your under twelves. And although the violence may not be bloody it's definitely brutal. Don't risk it, take them to see The Amazing Spider-Man instead. That has the bright coloured, wise cracking, pantomime villain fitting stuff they like. There were several children in the screening I was in and they all talked, cried, climbed and eventually left before the end. 

 I still need to watch Moonrise Kingdom and there are many movies ahead of us including The Master, but The Dark Knight Rises has the potential to be my movie of the year. It's everything you want in a Blockbuster and more. It's a must watch, go see it (unless you have kids) 

Score 5/5          

Woody Allen: A Documentary

Woody Allen: A Documentary

Director: Robert B. Weide
Written by: Robert B. Wide 
Photography: Neve Cunningham, Anthony Savini, Nancy Schreiber, Bill Sheehy and Buddy Squires
Starring: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton and Scarlet Johansson
Year: 2011/2012
Country: USA 




 Although this is a film blog and I have no intention of branching out into television as well, out of genuine interest and admiration for Woody Allen, this is a review of the full three hour long television version of  Woody Allen: A Documentary. Which was split into two episodes of PBS's long running documentary show, American masters. This is opposed to the one hundred and nineteen minute theatrical cut that got limited release this year.


 Woody Allen is famously know for being painfully shy, and much like Terrance Malick hates any kind of interviews or press events and he never allows his production on his set to be recorded. This is why you never get any special features other than theatrical trailers on DVDs of his films. Which makes this documentary a treat for a Allen fans.       


 Director Robert B. Weide, who known mostly for How To Lose Friends And Alienate People as well as being a executive producer of the brilliant HBO show Curb Your Enthusiasm ( A show with clear Woody Allen influence) was given the rare privilege to document the life of Woody Allen. 


 The first segment of the film is about the early life of Woody Allen. We follow him around New York City and learn about his childhood by seeing where he went to school, his favourite cinema and hear the story of his cross over from writing jokes for the newspapers to stand-up to filmmaking. the latter three quarters of the film is going through his filmography with various famous faces giving their stories and reviews of the films. Their were some interesting factoids in there, but I would have like more on the man, less on the pictures. You don't need a documentary to tell you that Annie Hall is a great film. 

 There is an diverse range of interviews. You have people who have worked with Woody like Larry David, Scarlett Johansson and Diane Keaton. Film critics and historians like Leonard Maltin and Richard Schickel. General admirers such as Martin Scorsese and Chris Rock. His sister and of course Woody Allen himself.


 The three hour run-time isn't as strenuous as I imagined it would be going in, It's entertaining and funny throughout which helps to keep your focus. And there is a two hour cut available. 


 What makes the film a must watch is that we get to see Allen work for the first time, whether it's watching him hit away at his typewriter, or watching him direct on the set of You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, we're finally getting to see this master at work. 


 You couldn't make a Woody Allen documentary without talking about the Soon-Yi scandal. But Robert B. Weide goes about this gingerly and it's put back in the closet almost as fast as it's brought out. 



 Woody Allen: A Documentary doesn't digg very deep, but we're in an area of hard soil and it's unlikely we'll ever find what we're digging for. I'm sure there is not much here that hasn't been reviled in previous biographies. But the bonus of finally getting some footage of Woody working on set, means cinephiles and Allen fans will hold it close to their hearts. 


 Score: 3.5/5

Grand Hotel

Grand Hotel

Director: Edmund Goulding

Written By: William A. Drake

Photography: William H. Daniels

Starring:  Edmund Goulding  and Joan Crawford

Year: 1931

Country: USA

 Something I've not reviewed on here yet is classic gem from the golden age of Hollywood. So to make up for this cinecrime I've committed, I'm reviewing MGM's best picture winner, Grand Hotel, directed by Edmund Goulding.


 The film is based on the stage play by the same name. And the play itself was inspired by the novel Menschen im Hotel by German writer, Vicki Baum.


 Grand Hotel stars two of Hollywood's biggest female stars; Greta Garbo, the meek Swedish actor that, in the words of the Kinks, turned her back on stardom, because she vanted to be alone. It also stars Joan Crawford and her impeccable eyebrows.


 Garbo gives one of her best performances in Grand Hotel and it's down in movie history as her movie. But for me, Joan Crawford is one of the best female actors of her time and she steals the show.


 The Grand Hotel is a prestigious institution in the centre of Berlin. Where, as one sharp guest dryly states "People come and go. Nothing ever happens"


 The film uses an intertwining narrative. It follows several stories of guest in the hotel and throughout these stories will cross.   


 As good as it is, you would be wrong to believe that Grand Hotel is anything more than a movie made to make money. The studios knew just as much then as they do today that stars bring in an audience, so it was filled with the five of the biggest names in 1931. Think of Grand Hotel as a 1930s equivalent of New Year's Eve    


The screenplay was adapted for the screen by its playwright, William A. Drake. The screenplay for Grand Hotel is fantastic, the dialogue is engaging and authentic. The line 'I want to be alone' delivered by Gerta Garbo came in at number thirty on the American Film Institute's 100 Years... 100 Movie quotes. 


Score: 3.5/5

Mesrine: Public Enemy #1

Mesrine: Public Enemy #1

Director: Jean-François Richet.
Written By: Abdel Raouf Dafri & Jean-François Richet. 
Photography: Robert Gantz.
Starring: Vincent Cassel, Mathieu Amalric, Ludivine Sagnier.
Year 2008.
Country: France, Canada.




 Last week I reveiwed Mesrine: Killer Instinct and I really loved it. I ended the review by saying that I hope   the second part of the film, Public Enemy #1 is as good. Well I've seen it now, and you know what? it is! 


 I don't need to go to much in to the story, it's just a continuation of the last film, following the life of infamous French gangster, Jacques Mesrine. (Pronounced, May-reen) 

 I won't go too much in to Vincent Cassel either, because I think I've praised him enough already.  All you need to know is he's as good in this as he is in Mesrine: Killer Instinct and anything else he's been in. 


 Another of France's best actors joins the cast, Diving Bell and the Butterfly actor Mathieu Amalric. Who was also the villain in Quantum of Solace, which you might not remember due to Quantum of Solace was such a forgettable film. 


 Mesrine: Public Enemy #1 isn't as ambitious as film as it's predecessor aesthetically speaking, though saying that the direction and photography are still both above par. This film embarrasses it's French heritage, there's some À Bout de Souffle style editing, which still gains the same mixed reactions as it did in 1960. 


 Although he hasn't built up much of a filmography, I really like Jean-François Richet. He's a good person to point out to Michael Bay apologists, who believe that action films or blockbusters can't be visceral, meaningful or interesting. I also enjoyed his remake of Assault on Precinct 13 (though not as much as the John Carpenter original, obviously)


Mesrine: Public Enemy #1 is a rewarding conclusion to the Mesrine story. A triumph of style and substance, these films are a staple in the career of everybody involved. 


Score: 4.5/5   

The Amazing Spider-Man

The Amazing Spider-Man

Director: Marc Webb
Written By: James Vanderbilt, Alvin Sargent and Steve Kloves.
Photography: John Schwartzman
Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone and Rhys Ifans.
Year: 2012
Country: USA   

It's hard to believe that the Sam Rami Spider-Man movie was only 10 years ago, with the third instalment only 5. But nether the less we already have a franchise re-boot. But don't forget that Spider-Man has another 50 year old source material.


The Amazing Spider-Man goes back to the origins that we saw in the first film, it tries to retell it in an original way. Which I think it does honourably, but fails to pull off successfully.


I've been a reader of Marvel Comics since I was thirteen and Spider-Man was always a particular favourite of mine, so I had a lot of hopes and predictions for this movie, a lot of which came true.


I was pleased that spider-strenght was among Spider-Man powers. Although the way this was established was done poorly. A bathroom scene where he breaks taps and doorhandels, a scene I saw a few years ago in X-Men Origins: Wolverine and other films before that. And then a basketball scene lifted straight from Teen Wolf.


Web-blasters are back, although these seem to be unlimited web-blasters because he doesn't run out or change cartridges at any point.


There were lots of little things I liked about the movie, that Spider-Man wears a backpack when he's swinging through New York. That Peter has a Rear Window poster on his wall, Richard Feynman as his desktop picture and has equations written on the bottom of his skateboard decks.


Andrew Garfield is a great Spider-Man, a great Peter Parker and a great actor. A lot of people are talking about how great it is that Spider-Man is funny, like he's supposed to be. But this is only true in one scene. The scene where's stopping the carjacker, which we've all scene in the trailer.


Emma Stone is fantastic as Gwen Stacy. Given that her and Andrew Garfield are a couple in real life, too means chemistry between the two in the film is incredibly believable.


Rhys Ifans, who's an overrated actor as it is, is quite good as Dr. Connors but in my opinion is pretty poor as the Lizard. I wasn't a fan of the way the Lizard looked either.


Marc Webb's only directorial experience is (500) Days Of Summer. Coming in to a big action blockbuster
with only indie rom-com credentials is a pretty big jump which Webb doesn't quite make. The action scenes were badly directed and for the most part incoherent.


The film's pretty sloppy, too. Story threads are dropped at random, like Spider-Man's hunt for Uncle Ben's killer. Aunt May, who is such an important part of Peter's life, is as good as pointless, and the final battle with the Lizard was just copied from Iron Man.


Which brings me to The Amazing Spider-Man biggest fault: it's too reliant on a sequel to finish telling the story, so much that it doesn't work as a stand alone film.


This review is sounding mostly negative, which is because it is. But there were things I liked about it: the score from James Horner was incredible and the practical effects and stunt double work was a treat.


The Amazing Spider-Man is flawed, but so where it's predecessors. Despite these flaws, I believe there's enough there for me to have confidence that Marc Webb can come back with more directorial experience, and in the sequel give us the Spider-Man movie that we want.


Score: 2.5/5

Magic Mike

Magic Mike

Director: Steven Soderbergh
Written by: Reid Carolin
Photography: Peter Andrews
Starring: Channing Tatum, Matthew McConaughey and Alex Pettyfer
Year: 2012
Country: USA


Much like The Social Network was dubbed 'The Facebook Movie', Magic Mike is even less imaginatively named 'The Channing Tatum Male Stripper Movie'.


I had no qualms about seeing Magic Mike, eighteen years of cinema obsession has left me for the most part a-sexual. In fact, I wanted to see it. The reason for this was mostly the director, Steven Soderbergh. I knew with him involved the movie would be more than what the trailer was letting on. Soderbergh's a storyteller and an auteur at the top of his game, he has no motive to start making exploitation films.


And I was right to trust my faith in film-makers, as Magic Mike is far from one hundred and ten minutes of camp song and dance. Magic Mike is actually a movie about the economy. A lot of it is them sat around, fully dresses, talking about money. There's going to be a lot of disappointed Hen Nights to Magic Mike, in fact it might even ruin their night as it takes a dark turn in the second act, in a Boogie Nights sort of way.


The film starts with Mike (Channing Tatum) at his day job on a construction site where he's set to instruct the new kid, played by Alex Pettyfer. Despite sparking up a new friendship, the newbie's first day at his new job is fairly disastrous and he's fired. That evening he follows Mike into a nightclub, which leads to him discovering Mikes magical alter ego and him eventually becoming a stripper himself. When Mike takes him home the next morning, he meets his sister and romance between the two blossoms.


There's lots of other plot threads weaved in. Like Mike's dreams to become a designer of custom furniture. Or his complicated open-relationship with Olivia Munn's character.


Channing Tatum was actually a male stripper before he was an actor. He worked with screenwriter, Reid Carolin to make the film as authentic as possible. He also produced the film and choreographed all his own dance routines.


Channing Tatum is showing what a good actor he really is in his recent roles. He's breaking out of the awful soppy romance films that he's known for and started to take more daring roles. I actually really like Channing Tatum, I think he walks the line between cool and charm that you want from a Hollywood star.


Matthew McConaughey, who I never thought I would like in anything other than Lone Star and Dazed and Confused, steals the film. I never thought I'd say this but I think he has a shot at a Best Supporting Actor Oscar this year. The man who was once the STD contracted from Hollywood's rape of the the Rom-Com, McConaughey has finally realised that he's more of a Steve Buscemi than a Hugh Grant and this will do his career a service.


Cody Horn didn't impress me much, I found her character a bit bitchy and unlikeable. Alex Pettyfer is reasonable, I can see him going on to do bigger and better things in the near future.


Other actors aren't given much dialogue or screentime, but the films worth watching for TNA Wrestler, Kevin Nash's attempt at dancing alone.


Soderbergh direction is brilliant as is the cinematography which was also Soderbergh under his pseudonym, Peter Andrew.


Magic Mike is a film full of Hollywood clichés and conceits, but the characters are realistic and interesting and the story has charm. As well as that It balances it's fun strip routines well with it's social commentary.


Score: 3/5

Fargo

Fargo

Director: Joel & Ethan Coen

Written By: Joel & Ethan Coen 

Photography: Roger Deakins 

Starring: William H. Macy, Frances McDormand and  Steve Buscemi. 

Year: 1996

Country: USA

 Based on a true story, (Or so It says. When a film says 'Based on a true story' or 'Inspired by true events' is isn't as literal as you might think.) Fargo is sixth film from sibling auteurs, Joel and Ethan Coen. 

 Fargo follows all the same themes and has all the trademarks of a Coen Brothers movie. A cowardly  car-dealer, played by William H. Macy is in financial trouble and too afraid to let it known to anybody close to him. He hires two men (Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare) to kidnap and hold at ransom his wife for one million dollars, which the rich father-in-law will cough-up, and the three men will split the money.

But in true Coen Brother fashion, crime is never successful and things result in a triple homicide which brings the Brainerd police force into the mix.

 The investigation is led by pregnant police chief Marge Gunderson, played  by Frances McDormand, who quite rightly won a best actress Oscar for her career best performance in this role.

 The rest of the cast is also superb, especially William H. Macy, who is someone I don't think we see enough of in movies and Peter Stormare who plays the brooding, silent type, similar to Javier Bardem's character in the Coens' No Country For Old Men.

 The cinematography is excellent as it always is when it's courtesy of Roger Deakins. Roger Deakins is a fantastic D.P. who does the photography on most of Sam Mendes's and the Coen Brothers' movies. He's the first D.P whose name I went out my way to learn (Other than Caleb Deschanel, thought that was more to do with him having a really attractive daughter)


 The Coen Brothers are know to repeat themselves with themes, with time-periods and with actors. But in Frago there are actual recreations of scenes in their previous movies. For example when Steve Buscemi's character is trying to drag a corpse of the road at night and he sees car headlights coming towards them. The exact same thing in there first film, Blood Simple. Albeit with different conclusions. 

 Fargo has Coen DNA all over it, which is why I'm so cynical about the true story disclaimer at the beginging. Some scenes I know for sure, like the scene with the woodchipper, are quintessential Coen Brothers inventions.                 

 Fargo won two Oscars, Best Actress and Best Original Screenplay. It was nominated for another five, including Best Cinematography, Best Director and Best Picture. In my opinion it was overlooked for costume design, but then I'm a sucker for anything that includes a big Blade Runner style coat.     

 Fargo is one of the finest movies in the Coens' filmography and is a dark comment ofn the effects and the true futility of money. 

 Score: 4.5/5

Mesrine: Killer Instinct

Mesrine: Killer Instinct 

Director: Jean-François Richet
Written By: Jean-François Richet and Abdel Raouf Dafri.
Photography: Robert Gantz
Starring: Vincent Cassel, Cécile De France and Gérard Depardieu.
Year: 2008
Country: France, Canada and Italy.


 Mesrine: Killer Instinct is the first of two films that recalls the life of France's most infamous criminal, Jaques Mesrine. Who I'll admit before seeing this film I wasn't aware of.


 Jaques Mersrine is played flawlessly by Vincent Cassel, possibly my favourite actor. Only challenged by Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Vincent Cassel you may know from Black Swan, Shrek, Irreversible or a fantastic French film called La Haine, which is a must watch.


 The direction in Mesrine is phenomenal throughout. But there's one act that steals the film (mild spoiler coming up) Where Mesrine is sent to prison and put in an isolation cell. Imagine, if you can, Steve McQueen's Hunger meets Terry Gilliam's 12 Monkeys and that's what you get in this.


 Mesrine: Killer Instinct appears to borrow from nearly every action movie and thriller ever made: Natural Born Killers, Mean Streets, Leon. It even has a little Matrix/Equilibrium style camerawork and its use of Tammy Wynette's Stand By Your Man is completely Tarantinoesque. Its art direction also has element of The Conformist.


 I honestly can't think of anything bad to say about Mesrine: Killer Instinct and even if I could, I wouldn't point it out in fear that it may persuade you to not watch it.


 Mesrine: Killer Instinct is a phenomenal film. It works as action, it works as a thriller, it works as a biography and it works as cinema. I just hope Mesrine: Public Enemy #1 is as brilliant


Score: 5/5

The Man Who Fell To Earth

The Man Who Fell To Earth 

Director: Nicolas Roeg.
Written By: Paul Myersberg.
Photography: Anthony B. Richmond.
Starring: David Bowie, Rip Torn and Candy Clark.
Year: 1976.
Country: UK.


 It's often said of rock-stars that they can't act to save their lives. This isn't too unfair, we've all seen and winced  at Madonna and Henry Rollins attempting to act in movies before. But let's not forget how how phenomenal Björk was in Dancer in the Dark and that Will Smith was once The Fresh Prince.

 David Bowie stars in this 1976 cult sci-fi classic. Bowie is held in the minds of most as a poor actor. Mostly for his performances in Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence and his small role in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me. The only Bowie movie I've seen actually (other than The Man Who Fell To Earth) is Labyrinth, and that was a long time ago. All I know about David Bowie's acting in The Man Who Fell To Earth is, frankly, amazing.

 Nicolas Roeg's first film was Performance, which stars Mick Jagger. Then four years after making The Man Who Fell To Earth, Roeg made Bad Timing starring Art Garfunkel. Roeg got a reputation of liking to cast musicians as his leads. But Roeg originally wanted to cast Peter O'Toole as the lead in The Man Who Fell To Earth, but was watching the BBC one night and saw the TV Documentary David Bowie: Cracked Actor. He thought that Bowie had an ethereal quality, perfect to play a space alien.

 The Man Who Fell To Earth is about an alien from a planet that's suffering from eternal draught. He's sent to earth to try and find a way to transport water from earth to theirs. But when on earth he becomes corrupted by capitalism, emotion and becomes a drunk.

 That's all moot, because nobody involved in the production of The Man Who Fell To Earth cared about telling the story. The Man Who Fell to Earth is more about, and I'm quoting Nic Roeg here,  pushing the structure of film grammar in to a different area by taking away the crutch of time that the audience holds onto.  In layman's terms: It doesn't make sense. If you thought Prometheus was bad, wait till you see this!

 Despite it being completely incoherent, it's actually a really impressive film in an avant-garde sense. As is often the case with science fiction movies, the art direction is stunning. And Nic Roeg does some really impressive and progressive stuff with his direction, especially with inter-cutting.

 The Man Who Fell To Earth has a diverse soundtrack, from Roy Orbison  to Grace Kelly. The real surprise is that there's no Bowie in the soundtrack. Actually, Bowie was working on the soundtrack. There's a lot of stories about why we never it never appeared on the finished film, non official. But Bowie has said that some of the music he was working on for The Man Who Fell To Earth ended up on the b-side to Low. (The cover to low is also a shot from the movie, as are the covers to Station to Station and John I'm Only Dancing)

 If you can handle the incoherence, The Man Who Fell To Earth is worth checking out as it's aesthetically stunning and Bowie's acting alone is worth your time.

 Score: 3.5/5

Play Time

Play Time

Director: Jacques Tati. 

Written By: Jacques Tati, Jacques Lagrange and Art Buchwald.

Photography: Jean Badal and Andrés Winding.  

Starring: Jacques Tati, Leon Doyen and Georges. 

Year:1967

Country: France 

It's hard to get laughs from French comedies sometimes. films like Le Dîner de Cons are brilliant but you don't get the sense of comic timing when you have to read subtitles. With Play Time you don't get that problem because about 80% of the movie is dialogue free. And half the dialogue that is in it is English.

 Play Time is a charming satire of modern life (Or at least modern life as in was in the '60s). Satire is usually quite fierce and takes a vicious bite, Play Time however is quite quaint and is more like a cheeky poke than a Hang, Drawn and Quartering    

 The first half of the movie, which is the superior half, sees Jacques Tati's recurring character, Monsieur Hulot getting lost in a elaborately designed office block. The second half follows the disastrous opening night of new five star restaurant, that's still under construction. 

 At a glance you might think Play Time as a quirky little French comedy, but it's effectively an epic. Shot on 70mm film and, due to the size of the sets it required, it took three years to produce, starting in 1964. 

 What's incredible about Play Time, much like Star Trek, it predicted so much. For example when Monsieur Hulot is running through the levels of the incomprehensible building, he see's all the workers working solitary in their own tiny square boxes. This was 20 years before the office block structure was introduced into workplaces.

 Play Time is a delightful physical comedy which is wonderfully choreographed. And I can see it becoming an annual viewing pleasure of mine.  

Score: 5/5

   

Say Anything

Say Anything...

Director: Cameron Crowe. 

Written By: Cameron Crowe. 

Photography: László Kovács.

Starring: John Cusack, Ione Skye and John Mahoney.  

Year: 1989.

County: USA.

 Almost Famous is one of my favourite movies, and with every Cameron Crowe movie I watch I'm hoping for something I can love as much I do Almost Famous. But unfortunately that movie doesn't seem to exist.

  Say Anything... is one of the last teen movies of the 1980s, staring John Cusack in a Jean-Peirre Melville style trench coat trying to gain the love of intelligent, beautiful enigma played by Ione Skye. 

  Say Anything... is at a disadvantage from the start, having to follow teen movies from the past nine years like Sixteen Candles and Fast Times at Ridgemont High. But unlike those movies, Say Anything... creates a more realistic world without any annoying stoner supporting characters or an overly cocky male lead. 

 This is Cameron Crowe's first film, but all his trademarks are already here; His love of music and his tendency to try and violate your emotions (which he does more successfully in this than he does in other films).   

 I was born in '94 and Say Anything... makes still me nostalgic for a time that I wasn't even alive. When you watch the iconic scene of John Cusack holding up the boom-box, you can't help but think how stupid that would look if he was holding an iPod or a Macbook.

 Say Anything... is funny and fresh, it won't give you that Breakfast Club feeling but it does have a lot to offer.

Score: 3.5/5

Before The Devil Knows You're Dead

Before The Devil Knows You're Dead

Director: Sidney Lumet.
Written By: Kelly Masterson.
Photography: Kelly Masterson.
Stars: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Marisa Tomei and Albert Finney.
Year: 2007.
Country: USA.


Before The Devil Knows You're Dead sounds like a title for a Woody Allen film, but it's actually the last film from legendary director, Sidney Lumet.

 I have to say that from the man that gave us Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon and the masterpiece that is 12 Angry Men, one of the greatest movies ever made; Before The Devil Knows You're Dead is not a fitting end to a great career.

 It could have been worse, His penultimate film, Find Me Guilty, which wasn't even released here in the UK but, unfortunately, I have seen, stars the atrocious Vin Diesel and is a complete car crash.

 Before The Devil Knows You're Dead does however hold many saving graces. For one it has an interesting plot: Two Brothers (Philip Seymour Hoffman and Ethan Hawke )are both running into financial troubles and come up with a plan to rob a jewellery store. The twist in the tale is that the jewellery store they hold up, belongs to their parents, a jewellery store they both worked in when they were younger so know all the combinations to the safes. This ends tragically when their mother ends up being shot and killed. The film then takes a narrative similar to the 1950 Kurosawa film, Rashômon; telling the same story from different perspectives.

 The other saving grace is the infallible Philip Seymour Hoffman, who I completely admire as an actor and think he put his greatest performance into every character he plays, one of the best actors of this generation.

 Ethan Hawke is also great, it's a testament to both of their acting abillitys that you can belive them as brothers.

 There are also great supporting roles from Albert Finney and Marisa Tomei.

 My problems lies with it not working as a crime thriller, the drama is all there as is the plot but it lacks any thrills. At points I got bored and my eyes drifted off and became more interested in my magnolia coloured celling.

 I wasn't a fan of the cinematography either, I found it dark and colourless.

 Maybe it's just, it did revive some five star reviews and has 88% on Rotten Tomatoes, but for me Before The Devil Knows needed a a few minutes more in the oven and a little bit of food colouring added.

Score: 2.5/5