Be Kind Rewind

DETAILS:
Released - 22 February 2008
Certificate - 12A
Running Time - 97mins
Director/Screenwriter - Michel Gondry
Producers - Georges Bermann, Julie Fong
Cinematography - Ellen Kuras
Editing - Jeff Buchanan
Music - Jean-Michel Bernard
Theatrical distributor - Pathé
Country - USA


SYNOPSIS:
Elroy Fletcher (Danny Glover) is the proprietor of a failing Video rental store. On the verge of his business folding he must quickly raise enough money to keep it afloat. When he leaves town for a few days to do some market research he reluctantly leaves Mike (Mos Def) in charge. This soon turns to disaster when Mike’s idiotic friend Jerry (Jack Black) accidently wipes all the tapes clean after a bizarre encounter with the local power plant. In an attempt to restore all the tapes content Mike and Jerry film their own shoddy remakes of each film. Surprisingly the store starts to gain a profit as all the locals lap up the duo’s comic take on Hollywood movies. But this soon starts to gain too much attention as the evil copyright authorities grab a hold of the situation.

REVIEW:
It is of little importance when a comedy film has little artistic or innovative value, as long as the film is sufficiently amusing and entertaining, what more could you ask for? Therefore I walked into the cinema thinking that Gondry’s directional talents and love of cinema mixed with Black’s natural talent for comic performing could possibly make Be Kind Rewind the Manhattan or This is Spinal Tap of our generation. This sadly, is not the case. For a comedy film, Be Kind Rewind is just simply not funny. Gondry is a victim of his own failed script as the simple plot is too long and drawn out lasting for an unwelcomed one-hundred minutes. It is a fairly simple story to establish and most people are familiar with the basis of the plot anyway so why Gondry chooses half the films running time to set up the basic events is beyond me. We understand that the stores tapes have been wiped, move on. By the time Black and Def have finally started ‘Sweding’ tapes into their own comical remakes the film is almost over. It is through these remakes that we see little glimpses of Gondry’s directorial talent through his minimalist inventiveness. A pizza jump-cut behind someone’s head to replicate a gunshot and people spinning on top of children’s road maps to portray the feel of falling from a great height are fairly amusing. Black's impersinations of Jackie Chan and Jessica Tandy are also amusing but very brief. To people other than film buffs these in-jokes and movie spoofs will more than likely fall on deaf ears.

It is not only the script but the talents of the cast which holds a comedy film together. The acting here is far too bland. With a severe lack of sharpness and wit in their dialogue no chemistry is sparked between Black and Def and such a dire script leaves them little room to improvise. In the future Gondry should leave his scripts to Charlie Kaufmann. This film seemed to have potential but in the end the talent on board was wasted in this predictable rubbish. If Be Kind Rewind was released a decade earlier it may have had more resonance when the transition from VHS to DVD was first imminent, but the film’s message has little meaning in this current day and age.

When the credits finally reach the screen we are given an e-mail address to watch the comical remakes in full. I urge anyone thinking of seeing this film to go to http://www.bekindmovie.com/ instead. The little humour featured in the film can be seen here and will save you the price of a cinema ticket and inconvenience as there little point in making such an effort.

TO SUM UP:
Once you have sat through the utter bore that is Be Kind Rewind you will wish that its memory was wiped from your brain along with the tapes in Fletcher’s store.

Eastern Promises

DETAILS:

Released - 26 October 2007
Certificate - 18
Running Time - 96mins
Director - David Cronenberg

Screenwriter - Steven Knight
Producers - Robert Lantos, Paul Webster
Cinematography - Peter Suschitzky

Editing - Ronald Sanders
Music - Howard Shore
Theatrical distributor - Pathé
Country - UK /Canada/ USA

Awards - Oscar nomination for Viggo Mortensen as best leading actor, BAFTA nomination for best British film and Viggo Mortensen and British Independent Film Award win for Viggo Mortensen as well as many various nominations

SYNOPSIS:

One night at work, London based midwife Anna (Naomi Watts) delivers a baby from the arms of a dying Russian teenager. Due to the suspicious cause of her death and the imminent threat of the baby being sent to an orphanage, Anna takes it upon herself to find the girl’s immediate family. With the only clues that lie on her dead person are a Restaurant business card and a diary written in Russian, Anna is led to Semyon (Armin Mueller-Stahl) and his family. After visiting the family a few times Anna soon grows close to the families ‘driver’ Nikoli (Viggo Mortensen). However, when her Russian uncle Stephan translates the dead woman’s diary it soon becomes apparent that this seemingly harmless Russian family are actually prominent figures in a Russian Mafia organisation; the Vory. All is not what it seems as Anna is sucked into an underworld of grim violence, where vengeful bloodshed and human trafficking are common practice.

REVIEW:

Director David Cronenberg is infamous for his controversial subject matter. Despite the low budgeted and unrealistic settings of his earlier work, it has always been the humanism of the main characters which made his films so engaging. Whether it is the touching deterioration of a human fly or a group of sex obsessed car crash fanatics it is their emotional portrait which touches the viewer. In 2006, Cronenberg scrapped his typical unrealistic settings for A History of Violence. Here he explored what lies beneath the surface and the consequences of an underworld of violence meeting with peaceful normality. Whereas Cronenberg’s first collaboration with Mortensen dealt with the American mob clashing with white picket fence suburbia, their second attempts to delve deeper into the psyche of the apparently charming Russian Vory in the city of London.

It is somewhat refreshing to have a British gangster film without fast talking Guy Richie cockneys. Screenwriter Stephen Knight has found an existing Russian subculture fit with a legacy and an attention to detail that Scorsese wishes he would have found first. But this is where the originality ends. What Eastern Promises lacks is any emotional realism. Our attention is briefly drawn to the problem of sex trafficking but Knight’s script never really delves beneath the immediate surface. All we learn is that the Russian mafia is simply full of bad, raping, killing homophobes, it is that simple.

Whereas Cronenberg is known for the emotional depth and originality of his characters, Eastern Promises is merely full of stereotypes. Vincent Cassel’s attempts to portray the Joe Pesci tearaway gangster are laughable. His overacting makes his character about as terrifying as a rebellious fourteen year old rather than a supposedly menacing gangster who could snap at any minute. It makes no sense for the skulking Mortensen to be intimidated and ordered around by him, you half expect Mortensen to just turn around and flatten his annoying face. Similarly Watts and her family are so sickly ‘normal’ and perfect they never actually appear to be truly threatened or scared with their situation. Maybe this is because Mueller-Stahl’s niceness in no way appears threatening anyway. For all the problems with the casting it appears everyone’s hackneyed attempts at Russian accents is the only requirement to portray evil.

But what Eastern Promises desires the most is a gripping edge. The film feels incomplete without any real character development. Constantly waiting for something to happen, the events happily plod along with no real urge of progression about them. This Subsequently provokes no real shock to the so-called plot twists. Unlike Cronenberg’s previous work Eastern Promises needs to learn the meaning of ambiguity. It is too obvious with its morals and sentiment. Where A History of Violence raised questions about the use of violence in our society, Eastern Promises spoon feeds the audience with the message that killing and supporting sex slave labour is obviously wrong!

However, the collaboration of Cronenberg’s direction mixed with Mortensen’s acting adds a certain integrity to the film. Viggo has certainly absorbed himself into the role of a Russian gangster. With his big face, chiselled jaw and a body covered in tattoos his mere presence fills the screen. He proves his acting talent as his facial expressions speak volumes. His charisma oozes with an undercurrent of threat as he coolly cuts off a dead mans fingers and stubs out a cigarette on his own tongue. This is perfectly combined with Cronenberg’s direction. The sauna fighting scene finale has a very intense feel about it and the chilling scene of Mortensen raping a prostitute to the exerts of the dead woman’s diary is very close to the bone.

TO SUM UP:

Eastern Promises is certainly not without its iconic moments, but it will forever be remembered as the inferior sequel to A History of Violence.

Bobby

DETAILS:
Released - 26 January 2007
Certificate - 15
Running Time - 112mins
Director/Screenwriter - Emilio Estevez
Producers - Edward Bass, Michel Litvak, Holly Wiersma
Cinematography - Michael Barrett
Editing - Richard Chew
Music - Mark Isham
Theatrical distributor - Momentum Pictures
Country - USA
Awards - 2 Golden Globe nominations for best original music and best drama motion picture as well as Screen Actors guild nomination for outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture

SYNOPSIS:
June 4th 1968: The Ambassador Hotel California, Senator Robert Kennedy is about to give a speech as part of his presidential campaign. As all the hotel and campaign staff await his arrival, we embark upon a vast array of individual narratives in an attempt to contextualise the general political feeling of the time. In these whole host of stories; Lindsay Lohan marries Elijah Wood to prevent him being sent to Vietnam, Laurence Fishburne and his kitchen staff including Freddy Rodríguez debate about race and baseball, Hotel manager William H. Macy cheats on his wife Sharon Stone with a call girl Heather Graham , Christian Slater is a Kitchen supervisor fired by Macy for his racism, Anthony Hopkins is a retired hotel doorman discussing his old age whilst playing chess with a friend, Martin Sheen is a campaign strategist who is growing apart from his wife Helen Hunt more concerned with her material possessions, two campaign staff including Shia LaBeouf trip on new found drug LSD, Demi Moore is a deluded aging alcoholic lounge singer and Joshua Jackson is a campaign leader sceptical in letting Czechoslovakian journalist have a personal interview with Kennedy. Occasionally through each personal account plays stock footage of RFK calling for a better society. Unaware of the assassination that will ensue each characters life will never be the same again.

REVIEW:
Emilio Estevez has matured a lot since his Brat Pack days. Most remembered for his role as The Mighty Ducks coach Gordon Bombay this is certainly an ambitious project to step up to. Personalising class and race divisions through hotel staff is certainly a laudable idea and being the less famous younger brother may well be a subject he can relate to. Although, anybody looking for a biopic of Robert Kennedy read this review before you see Bobby, because by no means is the purpose of this film to educate or retell his life story. Although, Estevez’s political bias is certainly apparent as his portrayal of Bobby himself is only shown through old television footage, which seems to put him on a pedestal as a sort of messiah figure.

The films main flaw is its overloaded star studded cast. There are simply too many split narratives. The film is essentially a drama sketch show, each character’s story is not given time to develop and every actor’s appearance is just short of a cameo. Instead of setting up the basis of each character, we are left to rely on our preconceptions of their typical roles, giving them no room to explore their varying talents. The phrase, too many chefs spoil the broth comes to mind. Every actor plays themselves and in turn creates one dimensional characters, e.g. Elijah Wood is a nervous teenager, Heather Graham is an attractive young woman, Anthony Hopkins is an old man and Laurence Fishburn is Morpheus working in a kitchen! The point of the film is to empathise which each person, to try and bring the politics of the time down to a personal level. But this fails because each character is neither realistic, moving nor believable. They are all ideological mouthpieces, spouting advice or sentimental rubbish. Morpheus comparing one of his kitchen staff to King Arthur and Martin Sheen trying to open up to his wife are sentimentalised cringe-worthy scenes.

The film is structurally flawed, after each disjointed story comes another without any evidence of progression. All the plot loopholes are simply solved and given closure with everyone’s love for Bobby Kennedy. Attempting to focus on too many themes, and feelings of discrimination of the late sixties; Age, race, drugs, corruption, class division, power and sexism, to name but a few, are briefly brushed upon, but never given any real exploration. The whole film time is used to set up a story that never occurs, it is never leading anywhere but to an assassination.

However, for all Estevez’s flaws this is certainly an encouraging debut. It may not be as perfect as other split narrative cinema but there is definitely potential here. The assassination of Bobby at the end is the most emotionally charged assassination scene to climax a film since Spike Lee’s Malcolm X. The montage of people injured from bullets whilst Robert Kennedy’s most compassionate speech is played in the background, is certainly poignant as well as haunting. However this is too little progression too late.

TO SUM UP:
Bobby is fairly symbolic in using hotel staff as a metaphor for the American society of the time. However, these confused ensemble of characters lack the emotional depth of Magnolia and the political resonance of Nashville. Overall this provides a mildly entertaining but otherwise forgettable watch.

Control

DETAILS:
Released - 5 October 2007
Certificate - 15
Running Time - 116mins
Director - Anton Corbijn
Screenwriter - Matt Greenhalgh adaptation of Deborah Curtis' autobiography "Touching from a Distance"
Producers - Anton Corbijn, Todd Eckert, Orian Williams
Cinematography - Martin Ruhe
Editing - Andrew Hulme
Music - Peter Clarke and Ian Neil

Theatrical distributor - Momentum Pictures
Country - UK
Awards - 2 BAFTA nominations for best British film and best supporting actress Samantha Morton as well as various British independent film, Empire, Edinburgh International Film Festival, London Critic Circle and Cannes awards


SYNOPSIS:
Ian Curtis (Sam Riley) is a Macclesfield born teenager working as a benefits officer in the late 1970’s. Just after marrying his childhood sweetheart Deborah (Samantha Morton), her biography on which the film is based, he joins up with Manchester band Joy Division as their front-man. Under their new manager Rob Gretton (Toby Kebbell) their innovative sound and stage presence starts receiving critical acclaim. But as their fan-base increases and Curtis is diagnosed with epilepsy, he soon becomes over-exhausted with the pressures of keeping the band together and dealing with his condition. Also falling in love with Belgian journalist Annik (Alexandra Maria Lara) he is divided in the love for his family and of his love for her. Struggling with his life and an America tour looming, the prospect of fame all proves a little too much for him to deal with.

REVIEW:
Any musician who dies during the height of their fame is automatically made an icon. Forever preserved as young they are always looked back on with a certain nostalgia and symbolism of their times, e.g. Hendrix, Cobain. But what separates Curtis from the rest is that he never quite achieved fame per say. Dying at the very early age of 23 he never made much money or experienced a life of sex, drugs or rock and roll. Curtis was not able to see the extent of the band’s success in his lifetime and in turn was never wrapped up in his own cult status. This is very well reflected in the film. This is not a Hollywoodised story of chasing fame but a deeply moving tale of Curtis’ inner struggle. In no way is Joy Division idolized, this is simply a tale of working class Manchester boys trying to break free from their lifestyle in a way that truly expressed themselves.

A significant contribution to the realism is Riley’s well rounded performance of an artistic stage performer with a troubled soul. He nails Curits’ enigmatic stage presence along with the intensity of his infamous ‘dance’. Riley’s subtle hints of inner feeling speak volumes in portraying a very complex, quiet character with a concealed vulnerability. When shouting at his on-screen wife towards the end of the film, Riley’s sudden and unexpected bursts of heartfelt emotion is enough to make the hairs stand on the back of your neck.

The rest of the cast are also commendable for their efforts in recreating Joy Division. Not only do they look and sound the part but they actually performed and rerecorded Division’s songs to pin point accuracy for the films soundtrack. Out of the supporting cast Toby Kebbel is the star of the majority of scenes. Stealing the limelight away from his co-stars his comic timing is perfect with his hilarious portrayal of a motor mouth, wide boy manager. This provides some comic relief which balances out the humour and prevents the film from becoming a complete sob story. Samantha Morton’s talents are also apparent as she provides a lot more passion to the simple role of the loving wife.

The most striking thing about Control is Corbijn’s decision to shoot the entire film in black and white. Effectively this embodies the unique and strangely sombre sound of Curtis’ low singing voice combined with Peter Hook’s high bass riffs. The stark colouring also reflects Curits’ disconnection from society and his inability to interact with those around him, which provides an atmospheric edge to the proceedings. Along with the real suburb locations Control is very reminiscent of the British new wave film movement. Corbijn has used the plot devices of the old kitchen sink drama to bring more empathy to Curits’ character. This is certainly a valuable homage to the often underrated legacy of British Film.

Another prominent aspect to Control is the sound levels. The dialogue itself is rather quiet but the rerecorded soundtrack is a lot louder in comparison. This symbolises how everything came together for Curtis under his music. In one scene where he has an argument with his wife and the loud bass line of ‘Love Will Tear us Apart’ kicks in it gives the song further meaning.

One of the main criticisms of Control is that we do not learn anything new about what Curtis was feeling at the time. This is not a detailed study into his psyche but ultimately a retelling of his life events. In one of many iconic scenes Curits is reduced to floods of tears after a failed sexual encounter with Annik and we are not explained what he is thinking. But that is in fact the whole point, nobody did. Curtis was only able to express himself through his music.


TO SUM UP:
A well crafted, stunning and above all intimate biopic of one of the biggest icons of the twentieth century. A truly collaborative artwork, more than deserving of its BAFTA and Oscar nominations. Control is very faithful to Curits’ and Joy Division’s cult following and will hopefully inspire a new generation of fans.

Shoot 'Em Up

DETAILS:
Released - 14 September 2007

Certificate - 18

Running Time - 82mins

Director/Screenwriter - Michael Davis

Producers - Rick Benattar, Susan Montford, Don Murphy

Cinematography - Peter Pau

Editing - Peter Amundson
Music - Paul Haslinger
Theatrical Distributor - Entertainment
Country - USA

SYNOPSIS:

Mr. Smith (Clive Owen) is a social recluse with a hidden talent for gun wielding. After a bizarre shoot-out involving a pregnant woman running from a group of hit-men he ends up caring for a newly born baby. Subsequently trying to shed light on matters he somehow finds himself amidst a huge government conspiracy. In order to unearth this evil scheme and care for his baby he must team up with gorgeous hooker (Monica Bellucci). On the run they do battle against murderous villain (Paul Giamatti) in endless shoot-outs in a number of various awkward circumstances involving a parachute jump, a car chase and a sex scene. This is a classic example of the shoot 'em up sub-genre tale of good versus evil.

REVIEW:

Pitched to studio executives as the ultimate action flick, screenwriter and director Michael Davis set out to create ‘John Woo’s wet dream’ and to a certain degree he is successful. Davis’ ambitions are certainly admirable in trying to create a non-stop rollercoaster ride of a film, but this where he fails. In order to cram as much OTT gun fighting scenes as possible into a modest 100 minutes Shoot em’ up sacrifices a gripping plot and engaging performances for, well, a shoot em’ up. Straight away as the film’s title fills the screen viewers are sucked into a world of gunplay. As Clive Owen slips and slides about a warehouse, Davis’ fast editing and wide variety of camera angles is textbook action cinema. But before long these endless scenes of Owen shooting faceless goons in a number of different locations soon becomes tiresome. Obviously the film was never aiming for realism but as Owen kills men with carrots, events become a too little over the top. The structure of this film is basically a shoot-out scene followed by a break to vaguely explain the plot proceeded by yet another action scene. Viewers are in unison groaning as yet another action scene builds up to the sound of pulsing rock music. The film feels like one long trailer, essentially a disjointed string of action sequences accompanied by loud music without any meaning. The performances are little to be desired as Paul Giamatti’s whispering villain belongs in a Disney film, Monica Bellucci is merely cast as eye-candy and Clive Owen has nothing to do but shoot at people and deliver vulgar dialogue. John Woo’s Wet-dream? More like John Woo’s nightmare!