Rev Stan's film blog

Review: BAFTA winner and Oscar foreign film nominee, the beautiful Ida

Synopsis: Ida, an orphan, has been raised in a convent in post second world war Poland but a couple of weeks before taking her orders the mother superior sends her to see an aunt where she discovers who she really is.

Stan's thoughts: Missed this when it was released back in September and I kept hearing such good things that I pounced on a scheduled screening at the Soho Curzon yesterday morning - presumably it's been re-released for awards season.

And I'm so glad I caught it because it is such a beautiful film. It is subtle and quiet, like the central character Ida and every shot is like a beautifully composed photograph, dripping with atmosphere and meaning.

Ida is prepossessing in looks and character, gentle and innocent but certainly not quite as naive as you might think given her upbringing. Agata Trzebuchowska gives one of the subtlest and most intelligent performances I've ever seen. Always perfectly composed she doesn't say much but there is something in her eyes and in a quiet look that communicates volumes. The success in the performance is that by the end you feel like you completely understand her even when the path she takes is unexpected.

It's shortlisted for best foreign film and cinematography Oscars and deservedly so for both. Pawel Pawlikowski writes and directs with such empathy for the subject matter. The politics and history of the period are all there but they never overcrowd Ida's story. It is shot in black and white and the two directors of photography Lukasz Zal and Ryszard Lenczewski capture the stark 1960s Polish landscape and yet still make it beautiful.

I'll be backing Ida at the Oscars.

Ratings

• Stan’s 90%
• IMDB 75%
• Metascore 90%
• Rotten Tomatoes 96%
• RT Audience Rating* 80%

* Number of people rating 3.5/5 or higher

Review: Teacher vs talent in the thrilling Whiplash

Synopsis: Andrew (Miles Teller) enrolls as a prestigious music school where he comes under the tutelage of Fletcher (JK Simmons) who will stop at nothing to get the performance he wants out of his pupils.

Stan's thoughts: Fame this isn't. There is no dancing in the corridor and friendly pep talks just a teacher who walks into a room and everyone immediately stands up and is silent, a teacher who is a perfectionist and will use whatever means necessary - psychological or physical - to get what he wants.

As a result Whiplash is a tense, nerve jangling psychological study and not what I was expecting. It is gripping battle of minds, personality and talent that keeps you on the wrong foot until the very end at which point you just want to stand up and applaud.

A worthy best film Oscar nomination and likewise best supporting actor for JK Simmons but a shame Miles Teller isn't getting recognised. This is an unexpected gem of a film, powerful, disturbing and thrilling to watch. And that's all I'm going to say because anything else would spoil it.

Ratings

• Stan’s 86%
• IMDB 87%
• Metascore 88%
• Rotten Tomatoes 95%
• RT Audience Rating* 96%

* Number of people rating 3.5/5 or higher

Review: American Sniper

Synopsis: Based on the story of real life US Navy SEAL Chris Kyle who became a legend for his pinpoint sniper accuracy during the Iraq war.

Stan's thoughts: Clint Eastwood makes very American films doesn't he? That probably seems like an odd statement but there is a particular type of patriotism in America that we just don't have in Britain, a patriotism that can be difficult to fully comprehend. It's a cultural thing and can be slightly alienating especially as Clint Eastwood's films tend to portray it in a full suited and booted form.

Where American Sniper wins for me - and I had no idea who Chris Kyle was or that he was in fact an actual person when I sat down to watch - is in its dealing with the psychological effects of his work. This is most acute when he returns home after tours.

The war time environment is so ingrained in him that he can't fully relax. Bradley Cooper who plays Kyle doesn't need to say anything as, out of the corner of his eye, he watches a car overtaking him on the freeway, you just know he is assessing it for potential threat, in the same way he would in Iraq. Having spent so much time with him 'on tour' in the film, I found myself sharing his suspicion: 'would someone pull a gun?'.

It makes for a nerve jangling film and you can understand how his military life becomes all encompassing. It's a wall of physical self preservation and a psychological muscle that can't flex to civilian life when he's back home. Not knowing his story made the ending all the more powerful.

This isn't the sort of film that is going to linger too much on the impact his dangerous job has on his wife and family; Sienna Miller* plays his wife Taya and does a great job with what she is given. I think there is a whole separate story as to how she coped; at one point she is on the phone to Chris in Iraq and he comes under attack. The phone is dropped and Taya hears the whole battle not knowing what is going on at the other end of the line or whether her husband is alive or dead.

American Sniper is a testament to Clint Eastwood's directing skills in that it has more depth than your average war movie but, for my personal taste, it was just a little too reverential at times.

* Sienna Miller is in two Oscar nominated Best Films but hasn't herself been nominated.

Ratings

• Stan’s 70%
• IMDB 77%
• Metascore 45%
• Rotten Tomatoes 73%
• RT Audience Rating* 88%

* Number of people rating 3.5/5 or higher

 

Review: Steve Carrell is scary in track suit bottoms - Foxcatcher

Synopsis: Based on true events, multi-millionaire John du Pont (Steve Carrell) sets up a training camp for wrestlers looking to compete in the Seoul Olympics. Among those training are the Schultz brothers Mark (Channing Tatum) and David (Mark Ruffalo) who are already Olympic champions.

Stan's thoughts: The synopsis and trailer don't really give you a proper insight into what this film is about. It's a psychological thriller that makes for an uncomfortable two and bit hours in the cinema - but that certainlyisn't a criticism.

Carrell's performance is quite incredible and key to why this film works. John du Pont is a complex character whose motives and intentions are never fully clear. He has a difficult relationship with his mother (a brilliant Vanessa Redgrave), has had a very privileged but potentially lonely upbringing, comes across as interested and passionate about his hobbies but likes to get his own way.

He makes those around him just a little uncomfortable. The way he holds his head slightly back looking over the bridge of his nose and meets peoples gaze for just a bit too long after the conversation has finished is part of it.

Then there are the track suit bottoms. There is something just a little bit odd and creepy about someone who wears tracksuit bottoms most of the time or maybe that is just me.

This is a film about the relationship between three people who happen to share a passion for wrestling. It's not a sport I know anything about or have any real interest and while it is peripheral to the story, I walked away with a better appreciation for the skill involved.

A lot of people are talking about Channing Tatum's performance in this and it is certainly his best by a long shot even if his 80s haircut is a little bit scary.

I know some have found this a little too uncomfortable to watch and some might find it a little plodding but for me it's careful and considered pace is what helps give it its taut atmosphere.

This is a film of great quality, a film of great subtlety that makes you want to go and spend time watching something fluffy and colourful afterwards.  Steve Carrell's John du Pont still haunts me a week on.

Ratings

• Stan’s 83%
• IMDB 74%
• Metascore 81%
• Rotten Tomatoes 87%
• RT Audience Rating* 74%

* Number of people rating 3.5/5 or higher

 

Review: Outstanding performances in Dallas Buyers Club

Synopsis: Biopic about Ron Woodroof, a straight man who was diagnosed with AIDS in 1985 and fights the system and his own prejudices to help other suffers get the medication they need.

Stan's thoughts: Spectacular performance from Matthew McConaughey who is almost unrecognisable as the Woodroof, a slight man even before he contracts AIDS. He's not immediately likeable as a character - a drinking, drug-taking, womanising, homophobic hustler - but he gradually pulls you over to his side as he realises death has no prejudices. Who'd have thought that the mahogany, lame rom-com actor would be turning in performances like this?

And Jared Leto messed with my head. He plays transexual Rayon whom Ron befriends and goes into business with. He's an attractive man and an attractive woman.

The two together make this film and it is the relationships and character arcs which hooked the most, slightly more so than the political and legal wranglings which can sometimes feel shrouded in legal and medical jargon. Nonetheless  this is a story fascinating in its exploration of prejudices and injustice and the battle to overcome.

Ratings

• Stan's: 80%
• IMDB: 80%
• Metascore: 84%
• Rotten Tomatoes: 94% 
• RT audience rating: 92%

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Review: A moral tale or not a moral tale - Scorsese's Wolf of Wall Street

Synopsis: Based on the true story of Jordon Belfort an 80's stock trader who played fast and dirty with other people's money, women, alcohol, drugs and anything else expensive he could get his hands on.

Stan's thoughts: This film has earnt plaudits and criticism in equal measure. On the one hand it is highly entertaining and funny and the three hours running time pass by surprisingly quickly. On the other hand, the victims and consequences of Jordon and his cronies behaviour are notable by their absence.

Jordon Belfort - a Leonardo DiCaprio on find form -  and chums are despicable and immoral and nothing seems to be out of bounds just as long as they are making heaps of cash and having a good time.

In an interview DiCaprio said the aim was to tell the story through the eyes of Belfort who had no moral compass. Fair enough. He then said that the real Belfort now spends his time teaching responsibility in financial trading but the problem is that in the final scene that just doesn't come across. We see Belfort teaching sales technique using a method he himself was taught.

I'm sure there will be plenty of people who, like me, will rankle at least a little at the behaviour portrayed in the film and be tinged by guilt by being so entertained by it; it almost becomes intoxicating and that concerns me slightly.

So I have a dilemma. This is a highly entertaining film but at a cost. It needn't shove morals down your throat but just shade of something would have satisfied.

Ratings

• Stan's: 80%
• IMDB: 86%
• Metascore: 75%
• Rotten Tomatoes: 77% 
• RT audience rating: 82%

Recently seen and reviews available here unless otherwise indicated

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Review: Lincoln

Synopsis: President Abraham Lincoln tries to secure the 13th amendment which will abolish slavery in the US while trying to bring about an end to the civil war.

Stan's thoughts: The cast is stunningly good. Lincoln was an incredible man of words and orator and put his speeches into the performance of Daniel Day Lewis and you have something quite stunning happening on screen.

The downside of Lincoln is that it is essentially two and a half hours about a man trying to secure votes. You only get occasional brief insights into the man, the relationships aren't fully explored and the politics isn't quite enough to sustain the drama. When Lincoln is on screen you sit up in your seat and pay attention but otherwise it feels like it plods along and I'm not sure I understand that much more about what was going on at the time than before I watched the film.

I'd happily watch a compilation of clips of Daniel Day Lewis but otherwise it feels good to have ticked off my Oscar contender list and move on.

Ratings:

• Stan's: 70%
• IMDB: 79%
• Metascore: 86%
• Rotten Tomatoes: 90%

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Review: Zero Dark Thirty

Synopsis: Based on first hand accounts, tale of the hunt for Osama Bin Laden.

Stan's thoughts: It's caused controversy because of the depiction of torture, some saying it glamorises and condones but I disagree. Director Kathryn Bigelow's style is very matter of fact and I believe she leaves it very much to the audience to judge the central question of whether Osama Bin Laden would have been found without torture. It is a little long - as is the way with Oscar contenders these days - but the tension builds nicely towards the end, which is quite a feat considering only someone who has lived in a box for the last 3 years wouldn't know how it pans out.

Don't claim to have understood exactly what led from a to b to c to Osama as the language is jargon heavy but Jessica Chastain gives a great central performance that is compelling to watch.

Well done and engaging enough but ultimately feel like I can tick it off my list.

Ratings:

• Stan's: 72%
• IMDB: 77%
• Metascore: 95%
• Rotten Tomatoes: 93%

The Descendants - as good as the poster makes out?

Must confess that the trailer for The Descendants did nothing for me so I was curious as to why a) George Clooney has been shortlisted for an Oscar and b) the poster was full of superlatives and high praise.

So it's the story of Matt King (Clooney) who lives in Hawaii with his wife and two daughters who tells us from the outset that there is a misconception that it is paradise. Cue bad things happening. 

The bad things are his wife is in a coma after a speed boat accident leaving him parenting his daughters - something his not used to doing. The second bad thing (it's all in the trailer so I'm not spoiling it) is that he finds out that his wife is having an affair.

There is also a parallel storyline about the sale of some family land he's involved with hence the title.

So did Clooney give an Oscar worthy performance? Well he gave a very good performance in something that isn't his usual fare and he made me cry a few times but I've seen more interesting performances with more depth elsewhere and from people that haven't been short-listed (coughs: Michael Fassbender).

The land sale plot line feels a little extraneous. It's obviously there to show the journey that Matt goes on as a person - he learns to appreciate the importance of family and his heritage - but otherwise just gets in the way.

Its strength lies in the dynamics of the close family and how the mother's absence exposes its strengths and weaknesses, the resentments and failings. But is it enough?

Again it's one of those films that is nicely done, well constructed with a nice balance of lighter moments and emotional moments but will it stand out from the crowd in a few months time? The answer to that is probably 'no'.

It's getting a Stan rating of 60% from me. On IMDb it has a rating of 77% with a Metacritic score of 84% while on Rotten Tomatoes it has 90% with 82% of audience members giving it 3.5 stars or more. So what do I know. Perhaps I'm just getting a hard person to please?

 

In A Better World - worthy of the foreign film Oscar?

The Best Foreign Film winner at this year's Oscars - In A Better World - is definitely a film to mull over. At its heart is the question of justice versus revenge and follows the story of two Danish families who become linked through the friendship of two of their sons.

Christian has just lost his mother to cancer and has a strained relationship with his father. He's just moved back to Denmark to live with his Grandmother as his father frequently travels for work. Elias's parents are getting a divorce. His father Anton also works abroad for spells as a doctor in an African refugee camp.

Elias is bullied at school but Christian, the new kid, steps in to help giving the ring leader a savage beating and threatening him with a knife. A firm friendship forms between the two. Elias's dad remonstrates the two boys saying that if you respond to violence with violence it solves nothing. While Christian continues in the belief that perpetrators of violence need to be taught a harsh lesson.