Rev Stan's film blog

Disappointing double bill: Savages and Killing Them Softly

A rainy sunday and two highly anticipated films in prospect sadly neither quite lived up to expectation:

Savages

Oliver Stone directs a tale of pacifist weed grower Ben (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and his slightly less pacifist business partner ex-Marine Chon (Taylor Kitsch). Their USP is a quality product lovingly grown and developed - think M&S foodhall as opposed to Asda economy aisle.

When a Mexican drugs baron decides to introduce a quality line of product, Ben and Chon's quality product in fact things get more complicated. Ben and Chon's girlfriend O (Blake Lively) is kidnapped to persuade them to comply.

The main problem I had with it, is that I just didn't buy Ben's journey from pacifist to someone who could do what he does. He also seems to become very cool in life threatening situations rather too easily. I suppose I was expecting a slightly cleverer way of resolving the situation.

You could argue that it is musing on the notion of savagery and how savage behaviour begets savage behaviour. When is such violence justified etc? Certainly there is little honour amongst thieves or in this case drug dealers.

And if you are going to take this stance then what does it say about Ben and his choices? I'm not sure it is quite enough to satisfy. That said, I love Aaron Taylor-Johnson and this coupled with Anna Karenina just show was a magnetic and charismatic screen presence he is.

Savages isn't a bad film but it just felt a little unsatisfying like the parts didn't quite make up the whole. And if someone can explain how that film got away with a 15 certificate I'd like to know. If you show a female nipple it's an 18 certificate but show someone being burned to death and that is a 15. Something is just wrong somewhere.

I'm giving it 59%. On IMDb it's got 67% with a Metascore of 59% while on Rotten Tomatoes it has 49% with 56% of audiences giving it three and a half stars or higher.

Killing Them Softly

I was really, really looking forward to this but I think the trailer had the most interesting bits. Brad Pitt and director Andrew Dominik have said in interviews that they wanted to work together again and I'm afraid it feels too much like a vehicle for that rather than anything substantial.

Pitt plays a hit man and when two amateurs knock off a gang controlled illegal card game and then make a hash of covering their tracks he's brought in to take them out *plot spoiler* something that doesn't seem to take much effort or cause too much tribulation. And that is about it in terms of plot. There is one particularly violent scene which felt gratuitous and a fairly obviously psychedelic drug taking scene.

The plot felt a bit under-developed. The characters felt a bit under-developed, I'm afraid I got a bit bored but I think I'm in the minority.

It's getting 42% from me while on IMDb it has 77% with a Metacritic of 74%. On Rotten Tomatoes there is a disparity between critics and audiences with the latter giving it 95% and only 61% of audiences rating it three and a half stars or higher.

 

Two good people movies: Hope Springs and About Elly

Hope Springs

On paper this film about a couple going through marriage counselling conjures up all sorts of cliched Hollywood horrors bit in reality what you get is a nicely observed, beautifully acted, tender and warm film.

Meryl Streep is on fine, fine form as Kay who wants to save a marriage that isn't on the rocks so much but has meandered down the path of routine and co-existence. Her and husband Arnold  - Tommy Lee Jones who also puts in a stunningly understated performance - take each other for granted and over the years the romance and passion has ebbed away to the point where they have separate beds and barely touch each other.

Kay persuades, sort of, Arnold to visit marriage counsellor Dr Feld (Steve Carrell who refreshingly plays the role straight).

There are no scandalous revelations, the sensations of this film are the gamut and complexity of human emotions, how a couple can as one be so content and easy in each others company and yet so physically and emotionally shy when it comes to affection and sex.

Yes there are some funny moments but it doesn't go for the obvious laughs. A lovely film I am going to give it 79%. On IMDb it has 67% and a Metascore of 65% while on Rotten Tomatoes it has 74% and 66% of site visitors have given it three and a half stars or higher.

Was I the only one who enjoyed Total Recall?

Haven't see the original Total Recall with Arnold Schwarzenegger because it, er, had Arnold Schwarzenegger in it but this remake, reboot or whatever you want to call it stars an actual actor, Colin Farrell.

I love the concept - you can get fake memories planted in you brain so essentially you can live another life for a bit. The only rule is you aren't allowed to choose a memory that has any roots in reality.

And that is where our hero has a problem because when he goes to recall and chooses to be a spy, it turns out he really was one and he just can't remember it. So suddenly he's being pursued by people who know who he really is.

Now there are plenty of plot holes and leaps of faith - a train through the centre of the earth for one and said train only takes something like 20 minutes to go from Australia to Britain. But leaving that to one side it is a good action flick.

Farrell, I am sure, giving depth and humanity to Douglas Quaid in a way Schwarzenegger could only dream of. I liked the futuristic vision, probably because it reminded me a little of Blade Runner and I liked the play with what is real and what isn't. I also liked the fact that it had strong female characters who were more than capable of kicking a bit of butt.

It was an enjoyable, not taxing couple of hours in the cinema and I am going to give it 59%. On IMDb is has 63% with a Metascore of 43% while on Rotten Tomatoes it got 29% from critics and 47% of site visitors gave it three and a half stars or higher.

Nearly flawless Lawless

Love John Hillcoat's work. He takes gritty realism to a new level and The Proposition is one of my favourite films.

With a cast that includes Tom Hardy, Mia Wasicowska, Jessica Chastain, Guy Pearce AND Gary Oldman his new prohibition era film could only be a winner even if it did have Shia LaBeouf in the lead. Indeed it seems Hillboat even works his magic on him.

Lawless is based on a true story about three brothers who run a moonshine business in 1930s Virginia. The middle brother, Forrest (Hardy) is the stuff of legend defying death in war when all those around him are slaughtered. Eldest brother Howard enjoys tasting the fruits of their labours but is handy in a fight and fiercely loyal. Youngest brother Jack (LaBeouf) doesn't quite live up to the reputations of his elder brothers but is desperate to make his mark and be taken seriously.

The local cops don't so much turn a blind eye to the illicit selling of home made booze but are big purchasers, almost protection officers. All is in balance until a new uber Sheriff turns up (Guy Pearce) who isn't so much interested in enforcing the law as taking a big slice of the business. When Forrest refuses a tense and sometimes extremely violent battle ensues.

And it has all Hillcoat's trademarks: the realistic, brutal violence, minimal dialogue and the dirt and dust of the era which make for a tense and engaging thriller.

Tom Hardy gives a superbly understated performance developing a tell-all grunt to the point that when he does speak more than one word the fact that his dialogue is sometimes buried in his gravely, mumbling American accent is almost irrelevant. But, for a man of few words, he quickly has you rooting for him, in part due to his idiotic younger brother's propensity to rashness that threatens their livelihoods and lives.

Guy Pearce is deliciously nasty and continually proves what a versatile actor he is. While relative new comer Dane DeHaan, whom I first noticed in the superb low budget Chronicle, reminds me of a young Leonardo DiCaprio here playing Cricket Pate the crippled friend of Jack's who has the technical know-how for distilling and souping-up cars.

If I was going to grumble (aside from the lost dialogue) then it is the shameful lack of screen time given to Gary Oldman as an uber-villain from the city. He steals his two scenes, naturally.

Lawless will certainly been an addition to my DVD collection of favourite gang thrillers, sitting nicely alongside The Proposition and The Departed, it's getting 89% from me. On IMDb it has 72% from critics and a Metacritic score of 58% while on Rotten Tomatoes it has 66% from critics and 81% of users have given it 3.5 stars or higher.

 

Joe Wright does Baz Luhrman with breathtaking theatrical style: Anna Karenina

The trailer for Anna Karenina doesn't really prepare you for the full thing. This isn't Joe Wright doing costume drama Pride and Prejudice style, this is Joe Wright doing costume drama Baz Luhrman style. With knobs on.

It is theatrical in the literal sense of the word. We are presented with a stage, the curtain draws back and the drama and tragedy of Anna Karenina begins. Wright uses cleverly staged juxtaposition: Characters climb steps into the lighting rigs above the stage which become streets or a garret, a toy train becomes a real train, a horse race is watched at the theatre with the horses racing across a stage.

He also uses choreographed movements so that office workers stamp paper work in time as do those cutting hay in the field and individual movements are repeated dance-like such as putting on and taking off a coat.

And through the spectacle, the breathtaking, beautiful opulent spectacle weaves a thread of more traditional story telling.

It is a clever mix. It would be easy to lose the heart of the story, a story of love in all its guises from dutiful love to the physical and passionate together with the accompanying heartache, heartbreak and jealousy and, this being 1874, tainted reputation. In the midst of the colour and movement there are micro moments where time almost stops and the focus in on one thing - Anna watching her lover Vronsky (Aaron Johnson) at the races fanning herself in a frantic, noisy rhythm.

Anna Karenina is a wondrous pieces of film making, audacious in its vision but a vision that has a stunning effect, it oozes atmosphere - and emotion thanks to the cast. It is great to see so many wonderful performers in one piece, to see Jude Law playing straight and upright and Keira Knightley reunited on screen with her Mr Darcy, Matthew Macfadyen, albeit playing brother and sister here.

Yes you can pick faults but when you have to go and sit down somewhere quiet afterwards and just absorb what you've just seen, when you are haunted by it long afterwards, much can be forgiven.

I was already excited about the prospect of Joe Wright directing for the stage for the first time at the Donmar but now I really just cannot wait to see what he does.

I'm giving it 84%. On IMDb it has 72% with a Metacritic score of 61% while on Rotten Tomatoes it has 65% from critics with 65% of site visitors giving it three and a half stars or higher.

 

 

Two great films: The Imposter and Shadow Dancer

The Imposter

I'm not normally drawn to documentaries at the cinema, although the few that I have seen have generally been really good but I was struck by the utter absurdity of the story of The Imposter tells when I saw the trailer.

And it is an utterly absurd story. Director Bart Layton, in an interview, said he was asked why he'd made it as a documentary rather than a drama based on true events and he said that if this story was made into a drama no one would believe it.

It's a film where you can't give too much away without spoiling its impact but what you'll get from the trailer is that it's about a French Albanian who turns up in Spain claiming to be the missing son of a Texan family. The missing child  - missing for three years - was blond haired and blue-eyed, the Imposter has black hair and brown eyes and the family believe him and take him in. Yep I told you it was utterly bizarre but it really happened. The narrative is told  through a series of direct to camera interviews with the imposter, the family and the authorities intermingled with some re-created scenes.

Totally compelling I think my mouth was agape with the incredulity of the story for the entire film I'm giving it 83%.  On IMDb it has 75% with a Metascore of 78% while on Rotten Tomatoes it has 95% with 85% of site visitors giving it three and a half stars or higher.

The Shadow Dancer

If you like quietly intense, intelligent thrillers of the ilk of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy then get yourself off to see The Shadow Dancer. Set during the early 1990's Mac (Clive Owen) works for MI5 and is trying to turn Colette (Andrea Riseborough) from IRA activist to informant using the fact that she is a mother as leverage.

From the outset this film is laced with tension but in a subtle way. It would have been easy to make it into an action thriller, over sensationalising certain events but in choosing not to, it is all the more powerful and uncomfortable to watch. It also allows the audience to join the dots rather than spoon feeding the story.

Superb performances from all involved but particularly Andrea Riseborough who is a joy to watch in whatever she does.

I'm giving it 86% on IMDb it has 72% and no Metacritic score yet while on Rotten Tomatoes it has 93% with 77% of site visitors rating it 3.5 stars or higher.