So The Town, it’s got two words involved in it which made me a little concerned - Ben Affleck. Now I have nothing against the guy but he’s had a bad run with his films but let me say this. The Town is AMAZING and the aforementioned Mr Affleck has really pulled it off!
The acting is excellent, the balance of action and drama could not be anymore precise, the characters are real, you believe in them, you understand them, you feel sorry for them and even though a few of them are the reputed bad guys you are willing them to win.
This movie’s strength rests on its close check with reality. The Boston setting is a choice which gives a rich historical background to a story essentially about a dark and dangerous world. A world which 99% of viewers have no experience of. Bankrobbery is luckily not an feature of most people every day lives, and instead of focusing on the bankrobbers, this movie focuses on the people robbing the banks, why they do it, how they do it and what they do when they are not doing it.
Affleck’s writing and directing are great but his acting steps back up to where Good Will Hunting originally put him.
Saying that Jeremy Renner is rapidly ascending my ‘this guy is amazing’ list. He’s great in this movie and despite his characters misgivings he portrays ‘James Coughlin’ in a way that makes you forgive all of his foolish moves and turn a blind eye to his stupidity and really get behind him.
With a few Point Break-esque moments (The Nun masks instantly made me think of the Dead Presidents) to make you smile The Town truly is a gritty drama which you absolutely must go and see.
The script alone deserves a great audience but this truly is a tender and torturous journey for the characters and I recommend you go along for the ride!!
Having been fortunate enough to attend a preview screening of the upcoming Gareth Edwards movie Monsters I thought I would share my thoughts on it with you.
As most of you will know from the trailer the aliens in ‘Monsters’ have been resident on earth for 6 years and occupy a large part of Mexico referred to as the Infected Zone.
Finding themselves on the wrong side of the border 2 Americans make a journey home, which will leave you reeling in the beauty of the cinematography.
With leans towards Apocalypse Now during some breathtakingly beautiful river boat scenes and an intense and painstaking nervousness shared between audience and cast alike reminiscent of Jurassic Park this movie really is 90 minutes of viewing pleasure. Do not assume that these references are anything close to a ‘rip off’ or a ‘copy’ because they are not. In fact this movie is somewhat unique. Shying away from a big budget and numerous redrafts whilst it had a set plot, the movie did not have a script and the two main actors Whiteny Able and Scoot McNairey improvised large parts of dialogue drawing in key elements instrumental to the unfurling of the story.
Essentially quite an Avante Garde technique the feel of Monsters is really enhanced by paced development of the story, allowing the viewer to be drawn in and feel as though they are part of the journey. A slow burning build up of fear, a warming relationship and 2 very personal journeys all come to light as the film goes on and you will find yourself breathing sighs of relief and freezing in terror along with your onscreen cohorts.
Not without it’s highly tense moments the movie will inevitably draw comparisons with previous and recent ‘alien’ films such as District 9, however as pointed out by the editor Colin Goudie during a Q and A at the end of the screening having other movies in the same genre released around the same time is no reason to not continue with a movie. In fact Monsters is something of a breath of fresh air.
Rather astonishingly for a film shunning so many of the Hollywood conventions Monsters proves to be not only an intense ‘journey’ movie, but is dripping with stunning shots.
For those of you who are debating whether to venture out and see this on its release, I implore you too. Not only is it so beautifully shot you will at times think you are viewing award winning photos, the slow burning story which builds to a tense and nerve wracking ending will keep you guessing long after the lights are up. Monsters has focused on the elements of humanity and tragedy as well as natural beauty in a time of fear creating one of the most unique and intelligent pieces of cinema I’ve seen in years.
The title in itself is also, throughout the movie, revealed to be poignant and in fact quite a statement. I won’t say any more for fear of ruining it but I would without a hesitation recommend this movie so get out to the box office upon its release in December and settle down for a British movie adventure.
Much like when Phonebooth was announced a few eyebrows were raised at the idea of a one man movie set entirely in a coffin under the ground.
This Rodrigo Cortes offering however clears away any misconceptions about a one man movie not being enough to hold an audience.
The opening few minutes of total darkness, stammering distressed breaths and screams of confusion make for harrowing viewing and as the movie progresses and the light gradually becomes more through lighters, phones, glowsticks and the story unfolds.
Paul Conroy we soon discover is Buried in order for his kidnappers to extract ransom money from the American Governments. The truck driver working in Iraq is buried alive and ordered to make videos for his kidnappers to post online and draw attention to themselves and their demand for 1 million dollars.
Armed with a mobile his desperate and frustrating attempt to escape his underground hell begins with a series of unsuccessful phone calls to monotone disembodied call centre voices, who, ignorant to his plight place him on hold, leaving us to despair at the hold music with him. Following this are emotional phone calls to family and loved ones, threats from his captors, information from a hostage specialist and a horrific and mortifying example of capitalism at it’s coldest and most treacherous.
Ryan Reynold’s one man show is a real feat. To hold an audience without any space to physically move more than a few inches at a time and only a phone to contact the world is something I was not sure was possible. The suspense that builds through his fluctuations between total panic, nostalgia, and moments of erie calm are truly brilliant. The direction of focus on the tiniest of movements and expressions will have you wincing along and your breath shortening as the time begins to run out for our captive protagonist.
During the first few minutes the panic Reynolds portrays at discovering he was buried alive literally had me squirming and feeling somewhat claustrophobic. The suspense of his will he won’t he escape is almost unbearable and yet compelling.
Sofia Coppola is the queen of observation cinema. Her latest offering ‘Somewhere’ is essentially a large collection of lingering shots focusing on the main character Johnny.
The film centers around Johnny’s life which is filled with long lonely silences and occasionally interspersed with women who offer brief casual sex and no companionship. We quickly learn through his various placements and appointments that he is living a disembodied existence of drinking, sleeping, and press spots for his new movie.
We spend a large amount of time watching him in his silent sombre moments, watching him watching others, watching him watching TV and watching him interact with the few people in his life that are not just passing through.
There is also a large emphasis on the women in his life, those he sleeps with, those he has deserted, those he watches pole dance, those that throw themselves at him and those that matter, namely his daughter Cleo.
I have to say that as the movie began, the large part of which is silent my patience began to wain slighty, the length of time spent on the shots and the repetition of incidents that would ultimately contribute nothing to the plot went on just a few seconds too long and I found myself getting restless. There were however compelling moments, for example when Johnny sits breathing through his nostrils whilst his head was being cast in plaster and a rather poignant moment when he faced himself as an elderly man.
Salvation for Johnny’s boredom came with the arrival in the film of his daughter Cleo played by Ellie Fanning. Cleo’s arrival brought a little more interaction and allowed us to finally see the character Johhny’s personality which was getting lost in the lonliness portrayed early on. I’m assuming that this was a huge part of what Coppola was trying to achieve in this film and in that respect the relationship is an integral part to this story.
After Cleo’s fleeting first visit, we watch as through circumstances force him to care for his daughter for a longer time period than normal.
This is where the silence is broken, for me personally however it is not broken enough to bring out a real shift in character, his considerations of his daughter are minor, such as playing guitar hero to keep her entertained and kicking out naked women from his apartment. The fact is he is never enough of a, for want of a better word, ‘asshole’ in the beginning to make you doubt that he wouldn’t be responsible when necessary. In fact his characters loneliness dominates so heavily that you doubt he is remotely interested in his ‘wild partying ways’. With her presence he does however remain aloof and whilst caring and responsible I don’t feel that the viewer ever gets beyond his guard and the relationship never feels one of a father daughter closeness.
I have to be honest and say the lack of connection with the character Johnny made watching the film less compelling than I had hoped. With no indication of where his character was going I wasn’t gripped by his story, nor therefore itching for the outcome of the movie.
Saying all of this the film is shot beautifully, there are classic Sofia Coppola shots by the bucket load and it is very visually pleasing. The soundtrack too is dripping with cool and the actors work well together on screen.
As I said Copolla does observation cinema very well but unlike previous offerings I didn’t feel a connection with the characters in Somehwhere.
I hate to be negative about any film because after all this is someone’s idea and a lot of peoples hard work but for me Somewhere’s visual beauty and poignant story would have benefitted from a stronger change in the main character to make more of an impact.
I’d like to say this film was amazing and awful at the same time but that would give the impression I mean the film itself was awful and this is not the case. In fact the total opposite the film is frankly an astoundingly good piece of cinema. The subject matter is what is awful, and awful as in heartbreaking to watch not awful in the just plain bad sense.
The ‘romantic drama’ as it has been dubbed is a total turn on the usual portrayal of love in Hollywood, in fact this shows the decline of a relationship and the struggles of the characters as they live with another person who they can no longer stand.
It at times is emotionally draining and I found myself feeling for both characters at different points.
The film starts showing the couple at odds, these arguments and tense periods are interspersed with fleeting moments of affection and humility for each other which is what makes their terrible situation even more heart wrenching.
We then begin to see how they first met and from that point have an image of them as happy and carefree youngsters, which again when compared to their current state is tragic and really very sad.
You live with Dean and Cindy as they go through a challenging beggining to their flamboyant young love, the turbulent sitatuions they find themselves in and the tense destructive tension that gradually builds.
The efforts of Dean (played by an amazingly good Ryan Gosling) to induce some affection back into their relationship is nothing short of agonizing to watch. Cindy (An also brilliant Michelle Williams) constantly rejects him and the discomfort she feels around him is portrayed on screen subtly but firmly.
The build up of the inevitable boiling over of tensions which is the finale of the film is also accentuated by their young daughters presence. Frankie (Faith Wladyka) is young and carefree and you can see the struggle between Cindy and Dean to shelter her from their growing resentment of each other as much as possible.
Their lack of communication comes to a head when they head to a motel for a night in order to escape the tensions of their life but only to find them heightened by the claustrophobic room, the alcohol and the confrontation that happens.
At the end of the film I was left contemplating their situation and felt exahausted, like I too had gone through an emotional turmoil. Do not however let this put you off, as a viewer it is a rewarding experience and a delight to watch such an original and strong film.
The performances by Gosling and Williams are both breathtaking. Their total change in character from the scenes at the start of the relationship to the scenes at the end and the breakdown of the marriage are Oscar worthy. They work perfectly together on the screen as at the start their is a genuine affection between the pair and at the end they both display visible characteristics that help you understand why they have got to the point we now see them at.
I would highly recommend this film, it made me smile warmly, it made me squirm, it made me laugh and it made me cry. I haven’t seen such a resounding and well performed piece of dramatic cinema in a very very long time.
Insidious has been described as one of the scariest films in year, and as someone who is not a big fan of horror films, mainly because i’m a massive wimp, i headed to see it and what ensued was a brilliant and terrifying film that made me and a cinema full of people jump, gasp and hide their faces behind whatever they could find.
Without a doubt the scariest film i’ve seen in years the tension of this movie is built quickly and then the suspense cleverly maintained throughout ensuring you are on the edge of your seat and regularly jumping in fright.
Based around a family who move into a new house and whose son will not wake up one morning they begin to suffer a serious of seemingly odd occurences that quickly escalate causing them to move house again out of terror, only to discover it is not the house that was the problem and the horrors have followed them.
Clever traditional horror movie conventions have been employed, everything from creaky floorboards to static mixed with wheezing creepy voices help create an at times almost unbearable tension.
Rose Byrne’s portrayal of a mother terrified for the safety of her family is breathtaking, her performance is tense and awash with exhaustion making you sympathise in fear.
Bought to us us by the men responsible for Saw Insidious is genuinely tense and shocking but has a stumble into the ridiculous towards the end, recovering in its final scene to terrify you once more and leave you willing the lights in the cinema to come back up.
Who has seen it? And did anyone else notice the tiny little nod of the head to Saw in this movie? Let me know!
Hanna is a visually exsquisite tale of a child assasin journeying to the outside world for the first time whilst being pursued by government agents determined to end her life.
The story exisits in two strands, beautifully interwoven, catching you up between the two threads and captivating you the whole way through.
As Hanna’s journey begins so to does the viewers, the film sets an early pace that will, along with the astondingly brilliant soundtrack by the Chemical Brothers, get your heart racing.
Quickly revelaing her skills as a honed fighter taught by her father (Eric Banna) Hanna begins her epic journey to destroy those who threaten her and meet with her father several countires away. Of course those out to stop her follow vigilently threatening her freedom with every step.
Discovering an alien world, Hanna finds shock and beauty in the everyday and her chance encounter with a British family provides us with moments to explore and find true beauty in the simplest of things alongside her. Just as we get comfotable though the adrenaline inducing action scenes kick in and you will again be on the edge of your seat willing the defeat of evil in the guisse of an American agent. (Cate Blanchett)
The film is both visually and aurillay pleasing, an element of the fantastic comes through in this film making the moments of action even more exciting and captivating. The pumping soundtrack along with a blend of handheald camera work and sudden cuts ensure that you will be gripped throughout.
Tom Hollander in the role as the psychotic hired help is simply brilliant and aside from the talents of Saoirse Ronan in the lead role as Hanna he is a an integral part of the brilliance of this film.
If you only watch one film thats come out so far this year make it Hanna.
Forgive this but it has to be done- X Men first class, truly is First class!
Set against the backdrop of the Cuban Missile Crisis X Men First Class explores the begginings of the group that we have all come to know and love.
Opening with the discovery of Raven or Mystique as she comes to be know, Charles Xavier studies genetics in order to learn more about his own mutation which gives him special powers.
Unbeknown to him he has come to the attention of the CIA, and is soon hunting out more unique and lost young people in order to make them aware they are not alone.
During their mentored development Sebastian Shaw played by the fabulous Kevin Bacon advances his evil plans to start a war that would see mutants rule the world and in a bid to stop him and as a way to carry out revenge Magneto and the others join forces.
Struggling to accept themselves and control thier powers the moment of truth comes for the young mutant league when faced with Shaw and his own mutants who are powerful and hellbent on trouble.
Thrown in at the deep-end the struggle between mutants and humans turns to a battle of epic proportions and shows the young X Men just how powerful they can be.
Written by Jane Goldman and directed by Matthew Vaughn (the team that brought us kick-ass) the film is as fun as it is action packed. Never a dull moment the characters are strongly identified quickly and with the classic struggle of good versus evil makes for a truly excellent and enjoyable film.
Even without any X men knowledge you will not be lost, however the film is true to the series in order not to put off the diehards. A genuine treat! A big thumbs up from Movie Emporium!
50/50 tells the tale of Adam (Jospeh Gordon- Levitt) a healthy and slightly over cautious young man who discovers he has cancer.
The movie charts his journey through the rollercoaster ride of his illness, with moments of joy, and genuine sadness shared with his onscreen best friend Kyle (Seth Rogen) who brings light to the darkest of moments.
Gordon-Levitt and Rogen make the perfect on screen combo. Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s character Adam’s frailty is beautifuly balanced out by the carefree comedic Kyle. An unlikely pairing whose relationship transcends the screen and leaves you emotionally attached to the characters.
Along the way Adams life is touched by many people from girlfriends, to therapists and of course his parents feature too as he discovers a lot about not only himself but the people around him.
A heartfelt movie interspersed with genuine laugh out loud moments, it will have you wiping a tear away one second and shrieking with laughter the next.
Gordon-Levitt and Rogen are both magnificent. Anna Kendrick puts in a solid performance as the young and bumbling therapist who quickly finds her feet whilst Anjelica Huston plays Adam’s manic mother.
Managing to never get too dark, but without skirting around it’s tricky subject matter 50/50 is a well written gem.
This is clearly a movie that due to it’s subject matter some people may avoid, however you should definitely see this film. It’s funny, it’s heartwarming and it will leave you walking away feeling like you have just been along for a very rewarding journey.
The highly anticipated remake of John Le Carres novel is a visually stunning execution of his classic spy tale.
Pulled in at the centre of this spy drama, we join a group of top agents in the 70’s who are led to understand that there is a Russian mole at the top of their organization.
Control, (John Hurt) is hell bent on discovering who the corrupt double agent is. Helped by the forcibly retired George Smiley (Gary Oldman) who is recruited to hunt out the mole and whilst working with Peter (Benedict Cumberbatch) as his inside man he also simultaneously ends up harbouring fugitive Ricki Tarr (Tom Hardy.)
Whilst the story is clearly a complex and intruiging piece the film let me down slightly, jumping in from the off there seemed to be little time to allow the viewer to establish the characters which at times with such a vast array of characters, made it hard to follow. This lack of clarity made it easy to loose interest during scenes of heavy dialogue and overall id didn’t develop an affinity or concern for the characters.
Whilst i could appreciate the great performances and it’s excellent cinematography and direction it was just a little too much of a slow paced intrigue for me and i felt it could have benefited from being slightly longer and setting the characters up better at the beginning.
