Nima Nourizadeh directs and Todd Phillips of The Hangover produces this tale of teenage debauchery shot through found-footage coverage of the best party in the history of house parties.
Starring Thomas Mann as Thomas, the loser son who has to look after the house whilst his parents are away celebrating their anniversary. Influenced heavily by Costa (Oliver Cooper), a kid from Queens who has moved to middle America suburbia and finds himself at the bottom of the high school food chain, the boys decide to throw a party for all time.
What slowly becomes a small event to gain acceptance and cool credits, descends quickly into a flash mob of destruction as the whole school and neighbourhood attend the shin dig. The boys fail to control the event, attempting to keep it solely in the garden and pool, quickly the party comes inside and the sheer level of damage done to the house is mind-boggling.
Whilst the party holds a purpose for the three lame boys to rise up in the ranks, the party holds no narrative thread and instead is just a basis for a string of skits and gimmicks that would be more at home on youtube clips, where people capture the moment or party tricks are shared with the world.
A nice romantic thread is forgotten about quickly, and the boys punishment for such a horrible display of recklessness and fecklessness is nothing more than a slap on the wrists. In terms of a narrative thrust with traditional cause and effect, what effect does this party have on the community is forgotten about in the wake of having a good time.
In comparison to Superbad, the better attempt of losers attempting to gain some respect in high school, Project X is as lame as the characters it tries to put on a pedestal.
Project X is out on DVD on Monday 2nd July from Warner Bros
Showing posts with label Comedy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Comedy. Show all posts
Sunday, 1 July 2012
Tuesday, 10 April 2012
The Angel's Share - Preview
Ken Loach, the award winning and critically acclaimed director, has long been admired but following on from his Palme D'or win at Cannes in 2006 for The Wind That Shakes the Barley, he is currently enjoying his most consistent and sustainable piece of bankable films.
After the Cannes victory he followed up with Its A Free World..(2007), Looking for Eric (2009) and Route Irish (2010).
Now Loach returns to Scotland, a place where he has shot films before - My Name is Joe (1998), Sweet Sixteen (2002) and Ae Fond Kiss (2004) - and continues his creative partnership with Paul Laverty, his esteemed screenwriter for The Angel's Share.
The story centres around Robbie, a young father who after narrowly avoiding a prison sentence meets three lost souls (Rhino, Albert, Mo) during community service who like him want a better life for some reason. Robbie wants to avoid his newborn child having the same trouble as him, yet like the others he cannot get work because of his criminal record.
Yet on a visit to a whiskey distillery, Robbie finds the answer may lie in drink where the most obscure and reserved whiskies are sold for huge profits at auction. Robbie and his friends have the nose.
Following in the tradition of The Full Monty or Waking Ned, the trailer promises a laugh a minute, with some insightful character observation from aspirational figures, some great cameo roles by policeman and nuns. Yet this is also a calling card for Scottish tourism also, set in and around Edinburgh the distilleries and grandeur of Edinburgh castle get a good location shots.
Yet for Loach, this may well be the most laissez-faire film of his storied career. Whilst, he has always been wise to having an underbelly of humour in his more serious films, and vice versa; he has never done an out and out comedy in this vein before.
Also helping is Loach's touch of finding young, unknown talent like he did with Martin Compston in Sweet Sixteen and years ago, Brian Glover in Kes (1969); on this occasion he has found Paul Brannigan as Robbie, a young man who has a notable scar on his face which adds authenticity to his past plight. Brannigan is shepherded by some stellar veteran actors Roger Allam and John Henshaw.
The title from the film refers to the 2% of whiskey lost to the air whenever a barrel is opened - The Angel's Share - as the tagline says, Enjoy Responsibly from June 1st.
Watch the trailer here
After the Cannes victory he followed up with Its A Free World..(2007), Looking for Eric (2009) and Route Irish (2010).
Now Loach returns to Scotland, a place where he has shot films before - My Name is Joe (1998), Sweet Sixteen (2002) and Ae Fond Kiss (2004) - and continues his creative partnership with Paul Laverty, his esteemed screenwriter for The Angel's Share.
The story centres around Robbie, a young father who after narrowly avoiding a prison sentence meets three lost souls (Rhino, Albert, Mo) during community service who like him want a better life for some reason. Robbie wants to avoid his newborn child having the same trouble as him, yet like the others he cannot get work because of his criminal record.
Yet on a visit to a whiskey distillery, Robbie finds the answer may lie in drink where the most obscure and reserved whiskies are sold for huge profits at auction. Robbie and his friends have the nose.
Following in the tradition of The Full Monty or Waking Ned, the trailer promises a laugh a minute, with some insightful character observation from aspirational figures, some great cameo roles by policeman and nuns. Yet this is also a calling card for Scottish tourism also, set in and around Edinburgh the distilleries and grandeur of Edinburgh castle get a good location shots.
Yet for Loach, this may well be the most laissez-faire film of his storied career. Whilst, he has always been wise to having an underbelly of humour in his more serious films, and vice versa; he has never done an out and out comedy in this vein before.
Also helping is Loach's touch of finding young, unknown talent like he did with Martin Compston in Sweet Sixteen and years ago, Brian Glover in Kes (1969); on this occasion he has found Paul Brannigan as Robbie, a young man who has a notable scar on his face which adds authenticity to his past plight. Brannigan is shepherded by some stellar veteran actors Roger Allam and John Henshaw.
The title from the film refers to the 2% of whiskey lost to the air whenever a barrel is opened - The Angel's Share - as the tagline says, Enjoy Responsibly from June 1st.
Watch the trailer here
Tuesday, 7 February 2012
Midnight in Paris
Woody Allen's Oscar nominated movie comes out on DVD for the pleasure of Home Entertainment purposes.
Allen's love affair with Europe which has brought us such commerical work as Match Point and Vicky Cristina Barcelona, continues with his biggest and most profitable film to date.
Midnight in Paris stars Owen Wilson as Gil, a former screenwriter on holiday in Paris with his fiancee Inez (Rachel McAdams). Gil is attempting to write his first time novel, and is seeking inspiration on the streets of Paris with its endless reams of culture and sophistication. A spanner in the works appears in the form of intellectual Paul (Michael Sheen), a former college crush, who is meant to be a superior of Gil.
One night after wine-tasting, Inez, Paul and his fiancee Carol go dancing. Gil passes over the invitation, and goes strolling the streets. When he gets lost, he sits and hears a church bell strike Midnight. A car appears and in it is Ernest Hemingway (Corey Stoll), who takes him to a party where he encounters Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald (Tom Hiddleston and Alison Pill).
Gil has a better night with historical figures than the present day people he is on holiday with - he is in opposition to Inez's Republican parents due to his democratic, Hollywood beliefs - Gil's novel centres around a man who runs a nostalgia shop. This stream of nostalgia flows through the film as figures from literature (Gertrude Stein), art (Picasso and Dali) and music (Cole Porter) co-exist in Gil's fantasies.
Problems arise when Gil has a connection with Adriana (Marion Cotillard), a muse for Picasso, as they slowly begin to fall in love Gil begins questioning his commitment to Inez and whether they are in love. There is a funny scene between Gil and Dali (Adrien Brody), who will not stop comparing a man to a rhinoceros in terms of love.
Allen does a wonderful job of making Gil a believable fantasist. Although he is blind to his fiancee falling in love with her college crush, Gil has happened upon a world away from the mundanity and pseudo-intellectual falsity of Paul. Whilst Paul is all book smarts and academica; Gil is a street smart and fittingly is an embodiment of never judging a book by its cover.
As an Allen surrogate, Wilson has this ease and charm about him. In Frat Pack movies, which made his name it came across as a laissez-faire influence; but his laidback nature here compensates Allen's easy flow of narrative and plot.
Allen is helped by a wonderful original score by Stephane Wrembel, a jazzy Parisian score that chimes throughout the film like a long lost cousin of the score in The Third Man, another European movie.
My own criticism would be that Allen has concentrated so much on Gil and the historical figures; that he has failed to paint fully rounded characters in the real world especially the women such as Inez, who although beautiful as Rachel McAdams is, she comes across as a women who wants to control Gil rather than co-exist with him. You also wonder how their paths ever crossed in the first place, as she is so fixated with herself - a shame considering how well he wrote Rebecca Hall and Scarlett Johansson in 'Vicky..'
Midnight in Paris is out on DVD now from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
My thanks to ThinkJam movies for the check disc.
Allen's love affair with Europe which has brought us such commerical work as Match Point and Vicky Cristina Barcelona, continues with his biggest and most profitable film to date.
Midnight in Paris stars Owen Wilson as Gil, a former screenwriter on holiday in Paris with his fiancee Inez (Rachel McAdams). Gil is attempting to write his first time novel, and is seeking inspiration on the streets of Paris with its endless reams of culture and sophistication. A spanner in the works appears in the form of intellectual Paul (Michael Sheen), a former college crush, who is meant to be a superior of Gil.
One night after wine-tasting, Inez, Paul and his fiancee Carol go dancing. Gil passes over the invitation, and goes strolling the streets. When he gets lost, he sits and hears a church bell strike Midnight. A car appears and in it is Ernest Hemingway (Corey Stoll), who takes him to a party where he encounters Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald (Tom Hiddleston and Alison Pill).
Gil has a better night with historical figures than the present day people he is on holiday with - he is in opposition to Inez's Republican parents due to his democratic, Hollywood beliefs - Gil's novel centres around a man who runs a nostalgia shop. This stream of nostalgia flows through the film as figures from literature (Gertrude Stein), art (Picasso and Dali) and music (Cole Porter) co-exist in Gil's fantasies.
Problems arise when Gil has a connection with Adriana (Marion Cotillard), a muse for Picasso, as they slowly begin to fall in love Gil begins questioning his commitment to Inez and whether they are in love. There is a funny scene between Gil and Dali (Adrien Brody), who will not stop comparing a man to a rhinoceros in terms of love.
Allen does a wonderful job of making Gil a believable fantasist. Although he is blind to his fiancee falling in love with her college crush, Gil has happened upon a world away from the mundanity and pseudo-intellectual falsity of Paul. Whilst Paul is all book smarts and academica; Gil is a street smart and fittingly is an embodiment of never judging a book by its cover.
As an Allen surrogate, Wilson has this ease and charm about him. In Frat Pack movies, which made his name it came across as a laissez-faire influence; but his laidback nature here compensates Allen's easy flow of narrative and plot.
Allen is helped by a wonderful original score by Stephane Wrembel, a jazzy Parisian score that chimes throughout the film like a long lost cousin of the score in The Third Man, another European movie.
My own criticism would be that Allen has concentrated so much on Gil and the historical figures; that he has failed to paint fully rounded characters in the real world especially the women such as Inez, who although beautiful as Rachel McAdams is, she comes across as a women who wants to control Gil rather than co-exist with him. You also wonder how their paths ever crossed in the first place, as she is so fixated with herself - a shame considering how well he wrote Rebecca Hall and Scarlett Johansson in 'Vicky..'
Midnight in Paris is out on DVD now from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
My thanks to ThinkJam movies for the check disc.
Thursday, 18 August 2011
The Inbetweeners Movie
Firstly, lets set something straight. Some people will like this film because they like the C4/E4 sitcom, whereas some small-minded film critics will hate this film because they did not get a chance to see this film before everyone else. The distributors did not allow press/preview screenings so one notable film review site gave it a 1-star vicious review. It does not matter what this reviewer thinks of this film, it does not matter what that reviewer thinks of said movie. The Inbetweeners Movie is critic-proof, the producers and writers - Iain Morris and Damon Beesley - are hoping that people who liked the show and invested time in the 'shittest boy band ever' to go see them again, and this time pay £7-9 to do so. They are entrusting the fans to spread the word of mouth, and they will not be disappointed.
Like most British sitcoms that go big screen, it involves our motley crew going on abroad on holiday (a la Kevin and Perry Go Large) to indulge in 'sex, beer, girls, sex, beer, sex, minge, fannny, vag, sex and sex' - to quote Jay (James Buckley)
The film cleverly sets up the Inbetweeners for people who have never seen the television series in the first 15 minutes, giving a basis of all the guys in brief, along with school and the embarassing parents. Then the holiday starts as they arrive at Gatwick in all pink matching t-shirts with nom de plumes on the back such as Mr.Ladykiller for Neil and Mr. I Fuck Kids for Will, although Mr. I Touch Kids would have been funnier, as all the characters swear enough for us to laugh, we do not have to read a swear word also.
The boys check in to a grotty apartment, there is a joke about a bidet and then they hit the town at the emptiest bar in town, when the boys attempt to dance to entice some girls when talking to them would do the trick. From there on in, we have situation comedy on the big screen and the film does play like a feature-length special of the sitcom with a fist-fight between friends and new girlfriends ditching them. There is also the threat of the gym rat muscle bound rep who is all chessy smile but no class. Tellingly, the boys do not stand up to him in a fight (as anticpated), but instead the characters do not break their seal and do something unexpected. We all know these four cannot fight, so the douche gets his comeuppance another way that saves the boys face and makes the rep look stupid.
Most of the characters remain the same - Will (Simon Bird) is the straight man of the piece though the most un-PC when it comes to a wheelchair bound holidaymaker; Neil (Blake Harrison) gets all the best lines and has some enlightening theories on theology and religion; Jay (Buckley) is gross but is just that guy who says what you think and after initial resentment develops a fondness for the fat bird who is his equal, whilst Simon (Joe Thomas) is the odd one of the group. He gets a storyline, his girlfriend Carly dumps him, prompting the holiday for the group but he acts like a complete tool when missing her and is downright disrespectful to Lucy, the new girl who actually likes her. Generic conventions clearly mark out that Carly is bad (blonde, bimbo, user) and Lucy is good (brunette, smart, honest).
The film ends happily enough, with all the boys paired up and genuinely happy. Although the writers have indicated this may be the last we see of the boys for a few years, as a fan I would be impressed with this send-off. The gags and laughs come thick and fast in the same method as the sitcom; embarassing scenarios, bad language, gross humour and some nice touches of humanity; when Will is facedown in an ant's nest similar to Jay earlier in the piece, Jay is the one who picks him up and carries him to bed, a moment that Jay would not have done in the sitcom.
And unlike that other critic-proof movie that made shedloads of cash (The Hangover Part 2), this movie actually held my attention an made me laugh out loud on more than just the two occasions that inferior American product did.
Like most British sitcoms that go big screen, it involves our motley crew going on abroad on holiday (a la Kevin and Perry Go Large) to indulge in 'sex, beer, girls, sex, beer, sex, minge, fannny, vag, sex and sex' - to quote Jay (James Buckley)
The film cleverly sets up the Inbetweeners for people who have never seen the television series in the first 15 minutes, giving a basis of all the guys in brief, along with school and the embarassing parents. Then the holiday starts as they arrive at Gatwick in all pink matching t-shirts with nom de plumes on the back such as Mr.Ladykiller for Neil and Mr. I Fuck Kids for Will, although Mr. I Touch Kids would have been funnier, as all the characters swear enough for us to laugh, we do not have to read a swear word also.
The boys check in to a grotty apartment, there is a joke about a bidet and then they hit the town at the emptiest bar in town, when the boys attempt to dance to entice some girls when talking to them would do the trick. From there on in, we have situation comedy on the big screen and the film does play like a feature-length special of the sitcom with a fist-fight between friends and new girlfriends ditching them. There is also the threat of the gym rat muscle bound rep who is all chessy smile but no class. Tellingly, the boys do not stand up to him in a fight (as anticpated), but instead the characters do not break their seal and do something unexpected. We all know these four cannot fight, so the douche gets his comeuppance another way that saves the boys face and makes the rep look stupid.
Most of the characters remain the same - Will (Simon Bird) is the straight man of the piece though the most un-PC when it comes to a wheelchair bound holidaymaker; Neil (Blake Harrison) gets all the best lines and has some enlightening theories on theology and religion; Jay (Buckley) is gross but is just that guy who says what you think and after initial resentment develops a fondness for the fat bird who is his equal, whilst Simon (Joe Thomas) is the odd one of the group. He gets a storyline, his girlfriend Carly dumps him, prompting the holiday for the group but he acts like a complete tool when missing her and is downright disrespectful to Lucy, the new girl who actually likes her. Generic conventions clearly mark out that Carly is bad (blonde, bimbo, user) and Lucy is good (brunette, smart, honest).
The film ends happily enough, with all the boys paired up and genuinely happy. Although the writers have indicated this may be the last we see of the boys for a few years, as a fan I would be impressed with this send-off. The gags and laughs come thick and fast in the same method as the sitcom; embarassing scenarios, bad language, gross humour and some nice touches of humanity; when Will is facedown in an ant's nest similar to Jay earlier in the piece, Jay is the one who picks him up and carries him to bed, a moment that Jay would not have done in the sitcom.
And unlike that other critic-proof movie that made shedloads of cash (The Hangover Part 2), this movie actually held my attention an made me laugh out loud on more than just the two occasions that inferior American product did.
Wednesday, 27 July 2011
Bridesmaids: Lifting the Veil on the Hype
When word that an all-female ensemble comedy was heading to our screens this summer, lots of the hype surrounding it concerned the possibility that this was a film that could be the female equivalent of the original Hangover. Much like how that film came in under the radar and caught a lot of people by surprise, not only the executives, but also the director Todd Phillips who has been able to make two more films based on the revenue but has shown no ambition or scope.
The parts of the film boded well; a lead role for Kirsten Wiig, one of the starlets of Saturday Night Live for many years who has remained unheralded for sometime whilst in the shadow of Tina Fey, but Wiig co-wrote this screenplay with Annie Mumolo; directed by Paul Feig, who along with Judd Apatow had a lot of creative licence on Freaks and Geeks, that seemingly seminal but little-seen television series that gave star roles to James Franco, Seth Rogen and Jason Segel. Apatow produces the film, and in support Wiig enlisted two actors who have become quite adept at comedy, Rose Byrne who lit up Get Him to the Greek and Melissa McCarthy, the heart of CBS chubby sitcom Mike and Molly.
However, I feel a lot of people have not been totally honest with their appraisal of the film. A lot of hype has been circulating about the laugh riot in place of the film, how people were rolling in the aisles, how they laughed so hard popcorn sales went down because nobody could eat because of fear their sides may split.
As is often the way with me, I let a film's hype die down and then I go to see for myself - I went with my girlfriend on a quiet Wednesday afternoon (2for1 come on) and a quiet auditiorium of about 12 other people joined us.
To be fair, I laughed more at the trailer for Horrible Bosses.
The film starts with a sex scene between Annie (Wiig) and her fuck buddy playing with delightful glee by Jon Hamm. Any film that starts with panting and grunting of a sex scene whilst in progress is graving for your immediate attention, as if this is the best we have got, so please come and watch. Annie is partically blind to her situation, and how much of a dick the guy is, 'I want to ask you to leave, but I don't know how to say it and not sound like a dick'. Classy guy, yet she remains in his world.
Annie used to have a cakery that folded after her husband left and the recession hit, she is now working at a jewellers where she peddles terrible advice to would be married couples, 'Can you trust him? He might not even be Asian, look at him.' to an Asian couple no less. She has one good friend, Lillian (Maya Rudolph, another SNL alum), who is engaged to be married and she asks Annie to be her Maid of Honour. At the engagement party, Annie meets Helen (Byrne) who is Lillian's new best friend. Helen is rich, well-connected and gives Lillian a world in which to be a part of. Lillian and Annie are first shown doing a boot camp from a distance without having to pay.
Helen and Annie are immediately at loggerheads. When they go dress shopping, Annie decides to take them to an off the road Brazilian restaurant. Upon arriving at the bridal shop, a shop Helen manages to get them into, everyone gets the terrible stomach pains and diarrhoea, all except Helen a strict vegan who did not eat the grey meat. It is during the gross out that Megan (McCarthy) gets to shine as she its astride a sink to get rid of the lava coming out of her. McCarthy is a deft comedian, but on occasion here, her ability to improvise is given too much rope with which to hang herself with. That is a detriment to a lot of the cast. The two actresses who play Becca and Rita, the other two of the bridesmaids, are not given enough screen time even though they are given a significant plotpoint on the plane. After the plane scene they are quickly forgotten about.
The extended sequence on the plane is probably the most delicately and well paced scene on the plane, as Annie who has chosen to sit in coach tries to infiltrate upper class - here the clever division between Helen and Lillian's relationship in contrast to Lillian's with Annie is clearly labelled but nonetheless divided by an airplane curtain. Annie's slow dissent into a frenzy after mixing pills and whiskey leads to big laughs and the most I laughed during the film.
However, too often scenes feel flat such as when Helen and Annie try to one-up each other in terms of speeches at the engagement party, what could be funny was cringe-worthy to the nth degree. Also when Annie has finally blown up at the bridal shower, she is at her job and has an argument with a young girl regarding best friends, an argument that reaches the cresecendo when Annie uses the C-word. Now, the C-word can be a funny word when used properly by say Ray Winstone or Russell Brand; but it is an Anglo word, it is our word, that we gave to the Americans. Here Wiig uses it for shock value, which is in bad taste and not funny for this particular scene.
The whole film is just a missed opportunity, too long (nearly two hours, which is half hour too long) due to scenes that indulge the actor's improvisational ability but with a story that sometimes forgets characters. Admittedly, I liked the scenes involving Wiig and Chris O'Dowd as Officer Nathan Rhodes; the scenes exhibit a sweet chemistry between the two and a film based around the flowering relationship would have been more worthwhile with the wedding and bridal showers in the background.
The parts of the film boded well; a lead role for Kirsten Wiig, one of the starlets of Saturday Night Live for many years who has remained unheralded for sometime whilst in the shadow of Tina Fey, but Wiig co-wrote this screenplay with Annie Mumolo; directed by Paul Feig, who along with Judd Apatow had a lot of creative licence on Freaks and Geeks, that seemingly seminal but little-seen television series that gave star roles to James Franco, Seth Rogen and Jason Segel. Apatow produces the film, and in support Wiig enlisted two actors who have become quite adept at comedy, Rose Byrne who lit up Get Him to the Greek and Melissa McCarthy, the heart of CBS chubby sitcom Mike and Molly.
However, I feel a lot of people have not been totally honest with their appraisal of the film. A lot of hype has been circulating about the laugh riot in place of the film, how people were rolling in the aisles, how they laughed so hard popcorn sales went down because nobody could eat because of fear their sides may split.
As is often the way with me, I let a film's hype die down and then I go to see for myself - I went with my girlfriend on a quiet Wednesday afternoon (2for1 come on) and a quiet auditiorium of about 12 other people joined us.
To be fair, I laughed more at the trailer for Horrible Bosses.
The film starts with a sex scene between Annie (Wiig) and her fuck buddy playing with delightful glee by Jon Hamm. Any film that starts with panting and grunting of a sex scene whilst in progress is graving for your immediate attention, as if this is the best we have got, so please come and watch. Annie is partically blind to her situation, and how much of a dick the guy is, 'I want to ask you to leave, but I don't know how to say it and not sound like a dick'. Classy guy, yet she remains in his world.
Annie used to have a cakery that folded after her husband left and the recession hit, she is now working at a jewellers where she peddles terrible advice to would be married couples, 'Can you trust him? He might not even be Asian, look at him.' to an Asian couple no less. She has one good friend, Lillian (Maya Rudolph, another SNL alum), who is engaged to be married and she asks Annie to be her Maid of Honour. At the engagement party, Annie meets Helen (Byrne) who is Lillian's new best friend. Helen is rich, well-connected and gives Lillian a world in which to be a part of. Lillian and Annie are first shown doing a boot camp from a distance without having to pay.
Helen and Annie are immediately at loggerheads. When they go dress shopping, Annie decides to take them to an off the road Brazilian restaurant. Upon arriving at the bridal shop, a shop Helen manages to get them into, everyone gets the terrible stomach pains and diarrhoea, all except Helen a strict vegan who did not eat the grey meat. It is during the gross out that Megan (McCarthy) gets to shine as she its astride a sink to get rid of the lava coming out of her. McCarthy is a deft comedian, but on occasion here, her ability to improvise is given too much rope with which to hang herself with. That is a detriment to a lot of the cast. The two actresses who play Becca and Rita, the other two of the bridesmaids, are not given enough screen time even though they are given a significant plotpoint on the plane. After the plane scene they are quickly forgotten about.
The extended sequence on the plane is probably the most delicately and well paced scene on the plane, as Annie who has chosen to sit in coach tries to infiltrate upper class - here the clever division between Helen and Lillian's relationship in contrast to Lillian's with Annie is clearly labelled but nonetheless divided by an airplane curtain. Annie's slow dissent into a frenzy after mixing pills and whiskey leads to big laughs and the most I laughed during the film.
However, too often scenes feel flat such as when Helen and Annie try to one-up each other in terms of speeches at the engagement party, what could be funny was cringe-worthy to the nth degree. Also when Annie has finally blown up at the bridal shower, she is at her job and has an argument with a young girl regarding best friends, an argument that reaches the cresecendo when Annie uses the C-word. Now, the C-word can be a funny word when used properly by say Ray Winstone or Russell Brand; but it is an Anglo word, it is our word, that we gave to the Americans. Here Wiig uses it for shock value, which is in bad taste and not funny for this particular scene.
The whole film is just a missed opportunity, too long (nearly two hours, which is half hour too long) due to scenes that indulge the actor's improvisational ability but with a story that sometimes forgets characters. Admittedly, I liked the scenes involving Wiig and Chris O'Dowd as Officer Nathan Rhodes; the scenes exhibit a sweet chemistry between the two and a film based around the flowering relationship would have been more worthwhile with the wedding and bridal showers in the background.
Monday, 20 June 2011
Crazy, Stupid, Love - Preview material
Set for UK release on 2nd September 2011 from Warner Bros. Pictures, Crazy, Stupid, Love. stars Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore, Emma Stone, Marisa Tomei and Kevin Bacon, and is directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa (I Love You Phillip Morris).
At fortysomething, straight-laced Cal Weaver (Steve Carell) is living the dream—good job, nice house, great kids and marriage to his high school sweetheart. But when Cal learns that his wife, Emily (Julianne Moore), has cheated on him and wants a divorce, his “perfect” life quickly unravels. Worse, in today’s single world, Cal, who hasn’t dated in decades, stands out as the epitome of un-smooth.
Now spending his free evenings sulking alone at a local bar, the hapless Cal is taken on as wingman and protégé to handsome, thirtysomething player Jacob Palmer (Ryan Gosling). In an effort to help Cal get over his wife and start living his life, Jacob opens Cal’s eyes to the many options before him: flirty women, manly drinks and a sense of style that can’t be found at Supercuts or The Gap.
Cal and Emily aren’t the only ones looking for love in what might be all the wrong places: Cal’s 13-year-old son, Robbie, is crazy about his 17-year-old babysitter, Jessica, who harbors a crush on Cal. And despite Cal’s makeover and his many new conquests, the one thing that can’t be made over is his heart, which seems to keep leading him back to where he began.
With a huge potential audience across a wide reach of demographics judging by the talent on display from the everyman quality of Steve Carell, to the still under-rated Ryan Gosling. Female comedic quality is supplied by Emma Stone and Marisa Tomei, while overall veteran experience is guaranteed by Julianne Moore and Kevin Bacon. As fine a group of ensemble actors as you could wish for; and directed by the two men who directed the criminally unseen I Love You Philip Morris, and wrote Bad Santa, so laughs are their perogrative.
This is out in September, so lets get tongues wagging about Crazy, Stupid, Love before then.
Click here to watch the hilarious trailer
The official web site: http://www.crazystupidlove.co.uk/ and follow on Facebook
Thursday, 16 June 2011
West is West - DVD review
Follow here for a link to interview with the director Andy De EmmonyThe long anticipated and hoped for sequel of the 1999 box office success 'East is East' is released by Icon Home Entertainment on 20th June.
The film with the wish of Aybu Khan-Din is written not so much as a sequel but as a stand-alone film in its own right, and for the most part it proves a successful follow-up to the film that won a Bafta for Outstanding British Film. The cast return en masse (although Jimi Mistry fans will feel slightly short changed).
The original film was ground breaking in that it brought subject matter previously unheralded to the big screen; inter-racial marriage set against the backdrop of 1970s working class Salford,Manchester with all its contexts of class and social status. The idea of a white woman marrying a Pakistani and the hatred that such things may incite were addressed, but the violence is reserved for the cold hand of George Khan (Om Puri) who beats up his wife in the back office of their chip shop. Whilst played and marketed for laughs, the original did have its darker moments.
'West is West' focuses on Sajid (Aqib Khan - in his first role), the youngest son, who is rebellious playing truant from school and avoiding bullies who berate him as a 'Paki' thus causing worries about his identiy and reluctance to accept his mixed heritage and hating his father. The need for discipline and restraint in the young tearaway leads George to take him to his homeland in Pakistan to the family home he abandoned 30 years previously to marry Ella (Linda Bassett).
Mostly played for laughs, but asking genuine questions about identity and belonging not just to your race but your family home; the film has these major questions but has a lovely parallel narrative surrounding Nemar (the middle son) and his quest for a wife. This narrative garners the most laughs as the bride he chooses proves to be more than meets the eye. Sajid and George's narrative journeys are directed with a humility and subtlety which is with thanks to the direction of Andy de Emmony, who has a long track record in television drama, and this comes to the fore in his feature length debut effort.
Beautifully shot by Peter Robinson, again making Pakistan (though the film was shot in Indian Punjab for insurance purposes) look as beautiful as Chris Menges did for 'Slumdog' and it is this debt to that Oscar winning film that gives this film not a rose-tinted view of the world, but a serious enough tone to go in balance with the humour that comes from Sajid's escapades as a hermit attempts to teach him lessons about life by stating the obvious and making the youngster discover it for himself.
Great performances by all concerned, most notably Aqid Khan who with no training instills Sajid with a bit of Malcolm McDowell mixed with Alex Turner, giving poetry to such profanity he sometimes spouts and Ila Arun, as Basheera Khan, the first wife who shows the vulnerability of her husband's abandonment in her aged face; though talking only Punjab she instills the character with such grandeur and poise it is striking and the scene with her and the second Mrs. Khan are startling.
Khan-Din (and the producer, Leslie Unwin) gets the wish of having the film stand on its own, and though it might not garner the same box office and clamour as its predecessor did it still deserves credit for being a work of supreme technical accomplishment and maturity. A straight drama with comedic appeal in this day and age of hook and gimmicks.
There may be a third film to complete the trifecta, possibly following Sajid's attempts to get married himself - maybe this will be played for laughs; but as long as this cast remains the same, there remains the key to its ever growing appeal.
Distributed by Icon Home Productions this Monday for £17.99RRP on both DVD and Blu-Ray
Thursday, 9 June 2011
The Hangover - Drunk on success
THIS IS MY 100th BLOG, AND I HOPE IT IS A GOOD ONE. THANKS FOR READING.
Finally, you get to see the film that everyone is talking about. And much like a night out at the think everyone says is hot, it falls flat on its face and leaves a bad taste in your mouth.
Whilst the original Hangover in 2009 was a shot in the arm for American studio comedy, a resurrection of sorts after so many baffling rom-coms and Frat Pack comedies that left you speechless, this is a return to those dark days.
I remember speaking to a fellow cinephile about the release of the film in fact two weeks ago on the day of its release, and he asked me what the expectations were. I had to be honest, they were not positive. Partly, because the sequel is emblematic of too much of a good thing (look at the Pirates franchise), why ruin something that was so perfect with what will be bad from the get go.
The beauty of the original was that it was an idea for the film that should have been done years ago, so credit to the screenwriters Jon Lucas and Scott Moore who wrote it and enshrined themselves in history. Luckily, they are left laughing loudest because they did not write the script for this awfulness. That should have been an indicator, instead the script is written by the director, Todd Philips, who is a better director than writer - and taking over inherited characters and feeding them lines is not the same thing.
From the get go, it takes ages for the film to get a head of steam - it starts in LA and then they leave for Bangkok. Stuart (Ed Helms), the dentist, is getting married to American-Thai bride Lauren in her home country, so Phil (Bradley Cooper), Doug (Justin Bartha), Alan (Zach Galifinakis) and Lauren's younger brother, Teddy () are in tow on the flight.
From the initial re-introduction of Alan, there is a whiff of staleness about Alan's material - whereas two years ago his child-like naivety was whimsical and hilarious, due to Galifinakis playing the same role in Due Date, albeit effeminately, you feel as if you have been beaten to death with this schtick of a fat man-child who may or may not be gay and is the stupidest person in the room; even though he gets the two biggest laughs from me, when a ladyboy reveals her parts he turns and says 'Is this a magic show?' and when he drops anchor on a boat which is on dry land. The latter one is near the film's end, where I wanted to laugh after nearly 90 minutes of not laughing. He also leans in over peope's shoulders when in shot to get cheap laughs.
The performances are not great, as I have stated with Galifinakis - Cooper seems bored and looks destined to befall the career of second generation McConaughey, eye candy with a good delivery of a line; Bartha might as well not be there, Teddy is a red herring to the proceedings and almost forgotten about a few times. Only Helms as the constantly put upon Stu is the one who comes out with any credit, as he embraces his demon (or is it semen)inside him. Even Chow (Ken Jeong) returns and he chews up the scenery with relish but annoying degree of sanity.
My other initial acknowledgement of this film being a failure, was that it was set in Thailand. Knowing how easily American comedies are racist all is apparent here as we have ladyboys, the language difficulty -not one American even attempts to speak the local dialect and a monkey (always a bad sign when a sequel introduces an animal to the cast) that stimulates masturbation on a Buddhist monk. Alan says masturbation is funny and universal, no it is tasteless and lowest common denominator comedy.
The whole production feels like it was rushed with a script that the original scriptwriters had now say in and would have refused had they seen it; hence their absence. I hope this is the end and we do not see a film to complete a trilogy, although again money talks and the initial box-office receipts are positive, although that is because the original was so adored people cared about these characters and wanted to see what happened next. Now I am not so sure that investment will carry over to a third film.
There was a reason why there was no sequel to Animal House, you can have too much of a good thing. In this case, we have had too much of a bad thing and like any old Hangover that takes place in a foreign country - it is best to keep it to yourself, forget it and never bring it up again.
Finally, you get to see the film that everyone is talking about. And much like a night out at the think everyone says is hot, it falls flat on its face and leaves a bad taste in your mouth.
Whilst the original Hangover in 2009 was a shot in the arm for American studio comedy, a resurrection of sorts after so many baffling rom-coms and Frat Pack comedies that left you speechless, this is a return to those dark days.
I remember speaking to a fellow cinephile about the release of the film in fact two weeks ago on the day of its release, and he asked me what the expectations were. I had to be honest, they were not positive. Partly, because the sequel is emblematic of too much of a good thing (look at the Pirates franchise), why ruin something that was so perfect with what will be bad from the get go.
The beauty of the original was that it was an idea for the film that should have been done years ago, so credit to the screenwriters Jon Lucas and Scott Moore who wrote it and enshrined themselves in history. Luckily, they are left laughing loudest because they did not write the script for this awfulness. That should have been an indicator, instead the script is written by the director, Todd Philips, who is a better director than writer - and taking over inherited characters and feeding them lines is not the same thing.
From the get go, it takes ages for the film to get a head of steam - it starts in LA and then they leave for Bangkok. Stuart (Ed Helms), the dentist, is getting married to American-Thai bride Lauren in her home country, so Phil (Bradley Cooper), Doug (Justin Bartha), Alan (Zach Galifinakis) and Lauren's younger brother, Teddy () are in tow on the flight.
From the initial re-introduction of Alan, there is a whiff of staleness about Alan's material - whereas two years ago his child-like naivety was whimsical and hilarious, due to Galifinakis playing the same role in Due Date, albeit effeminately, you feel as if you have been beaten to death with this schtick of a fat man-child who may or may not be gay and is the stupidest person in the room; even though he gets the two biggest laughs from me, when a ladyboy reveals her parts he turns and says 'Is this a magic show?' and when he drops anchor on a boat which is on dry land. The latter one is near the film's end, where I wanted to laugh after nearly 90 minutes of not laughing. He also leans in over peope's shoulders when in shot to get cheap laughs.
The performances are not great, as I have stated with Galifinakis - Cooper seems bored and looks destined to befall the career of second generation McConaughey, eye candy with a good delivery of a line; Bartha might as well not be there, Teddy is a red herring to the proceedings and almost forgotten about a few times. Only Helms as the constantly put upon Stu is the one who comes out with any credit, as he embraces his demon (or is it semen)inside him. Even Chow (Ken Jeong) returns and he chews up the scenery with relish but annoying degree of sanity.
My other initial acknowledgement of this film being a failure, was that it was set in Thailand. Knowing how easily American comedies are racist all is apparent here as we have ladyboys, the language difficulty -not one American even attempts to speak the local dialect and a monkey (always a bad sign when a sequel introduces an animal to the cast) that stimulates masturbation on a Buddhist monk. Alan says masturbation is funny and universal, no it is tasteless and lowest common denominator comedy.
The whole production feels like it was rushed with a script that the original scriptwriters had now say in and would have refused had they seen it; hence their absence. I hope this is the end and we do not see a film to complete a trilogy, although again money talks and the initial box-office receipts are positive, although that is because the original was so adored people cared about these characters and wanted to see what happened next. Now I am not so sure that investment will carry over to a third film.
There was a reason why there was no sequel to Animal House, you can have too much of a good thing. In this case, we have had too much of a bad thing and like any old Hangover that takes place in a foreign country - it is best to keep it to yourself, forget it and never bring it up again.
Friday, 20 May 2011
Barney's Version - DVD review
Paul Giamatti first came to prominence with his role as Bob Zmuda opposite Jim Carrey's Andy Kauffman in Man on the Moon; but I first noticed him in two very small roles. As Howard Stern's lamentable boss, Kenny, in Private Parts where he is all mouth but no bite and as a smoking bellboy in My Best Friend's Wedding who give Julia Robert's character some advice in a corridor. Both small roles and typically throwaway but there is something endearing and charming about Giamatti - the actor who gets that role as the schlub, the schmuck, the fat guy with his unique shape.
Barney's Version is directed by Richard J. Lewis, and based upon the novel by Mordecai Richler with a screenplay by Michael Konyves. The film stars Paul Giamatti as the synonymous Barney Panofsky, the unrepentant callous individual who despite being a somewhat drunk and acerbic in his intellect, is nevertheless irresistible to women. During the flashbacks that Barney has during the film's duration we see him with three desirable women, all whom marry him. The third and final wife, is in particular a saint, and he ultimately ruins his happiness with her and their life together. Ultimately, Barney's brain begins to slow down and he becomes a mere ghost in the world as his family and friends begin to shun him.
Giamatti pleasingly gets his teeth into the role, as we follow Barney from his bohemian musings in Rome in the late 70s and his first misguided marriage to Clara who he believes he made pregnant; to his second marriage to the Jewish princess played by Minnie Driver, like the novel (which saved its most acerbic comment for) is not granted a name. The sequences with Barney and this princess and her family are the most cynical of the literature and the hierarchy of Jewish stereotypes; the father in law looks down upon Barney's father, Izzy (played with aplomb by Dustin Hoffman) with disdain when he bemoans his lack of career progression saying stating maybe his lack of integrity when assaulting criminals might have served him better than focus on predjudices.
And yet, this film does have a unique heart. Barney meets his third and final wife, Miriam Grant (stunning Rosamund Pike) at the wedding of his second wife. He leaves his wedding and tracks her down saying run away with me, when cooler heads should prevail. Barney later calls Miriam as he is signing his divorce papers for a date a few years later, and on their first date he retches up all the whiskey he hoped would give him courage. Barney is an old romantic, and that is where the heart comes from, and once he and Miriam are married these are shown to be the best years of his life - two kids, success with his television production company (Unnecessary Productions - which gets a good pun) and respect from his peers.
The only cloud that hangs over him is the unsolved disappearance of his friend Boogie (Scott Speedman), who fell into the lake by his country house after an argument involving a gun. We are led to believe that Barney shot Boogie, and the unrelenting pursuit of a Detective O'Hearne (Mark Addy - yes that guy from the Tesco's adverts and The Full Monty) to prove Barney's guilt makes us believe that maybe Barney did do it.
These questions are lightly glossed over by the film's conclusion, which is a reflection on the at times whimsical screenplay and light direction, both of which are helped by a stunning central performance by Giamatti who is at times beguiling yet never less than charming. He is helped by Pike, who in a role that could easily be wafer thin on paper is elevated by her elegance and radiance she brings to the role; two tropes lacking in a lot of North American cinema lately.
It is important to note, that this is a Canadian production, and the film never over states that fact in the production unlike other films that may blare out the nationality of the piece, but the attention to period detail and set design puts some American productions to shame.
Barney's Version is for you if you like films similar to Mr.Holland's Opus that tells the story of someone through the decades and is helped by a powerhouse central performance by an under-rated performer, this is for you although it does include a little bit more swearing and sex than the Richard Dreyfuss film. And as to why Giamatti did not get a Leading Actor nomination from the Academy, well that is as tragic as Barney Parnofsky's life wants to be.
Paul Giamatti, is one of my favourite actors to come out of Hollywood in the last ten years. My favourite performance of his remains Miles in Sideways, a performance that wrongly was ignored by the Academy awards that year whilst his co-star Thomas Haden Church did get a nomination. This year Giamatti won a Golden Globe for Best Actor in Comedy, and rightly so, alas he was again ignored by the Academy for this performance, admittedly a good field of actors but should not it be time to give a guy his due.
Barney's Version (15) is released on DVD and Blu-Ray on 23rd May from Universal Pictures International Entertainment with a £19.99RRP (DVD) and £24.99(Blu-Ray). The bonus features include a special featurette.
Barney's Version is directed by Richard J. Lewis, and based upon the novel by Mordecai Richler with a screenplay by Michael Konyves. The film stars Paul Giamatti as the synonymous Barney Panofsky, the unrepentant callous individual who despite being a somewhat drunk and acerbic in his intellect, is nevertheless irresistible to women. During the flashbacks that Barney has during the film's duration we see him with three desirable women, all whom marry him. The third and final wife, is in particular a saint, and he ultimately ruins his happiness with her and their life together. Ultimately, Barney's brain begins to slow down and he becomes a mere ghost in the world as his family and friends begin to shun him.
Giamatti pleasingly gets his teeth into the role, as we follow Barney from his bohemian musings in Rome in the late 70s and his first misguided marriage to Clara who he believes he made pregnant; to his second marriage to the Jewish princess played by Minnie Driver, like the novel (which saved its most acerbic comment for) is not granted a name. The sequences with Barney and this princess and her family are the most cynical of the literature and the hierarchy of Jewish stereotypes; the father in law looks down upon Barney's father, Izzy (played with aplomb by Dustin Hoffman) with disdain when he bemoans his lack of career progression saying stating maybe his lack of integrity when assaulting criminals might have served him better than focus on predjudices.
And yet, this film does have a unique heart. Barney meets his third and final wife, Miriam Grant (stunning Rosamund Pike) at the wedding of his second wife. He leaves his wedding and tracks her down saying run away with me, when cooler heads should prevail. Barney later calls Miriam as he is signing his divorce papers for a date a few years later, and on their first date he retches up all the whiskey he hoped would give him courage. Barney is an old romantic, and that is where the heart comes from, and once he and Miriam are married these are shown to be the best years of his life - two kids, success with his television production company (Unnecessary Productions - which gets a good pun) and respect from his peers.
The only cloud that hangs over him is the unsolved disappearance of his friend Boogie (Scott Speedman), who fell into the lake by his country house after an argument involving a gun. We are led to believe that Barney shot Boogie, and the unrelenting pursuit of a Detective O'Hearne (Mark Addy - yes that guy from the Tesco's adverts and The Full Monty) to prove Barney's guilt makes us believe that maybe Barney did do it.
These questions are lightly glossed over by the film's conclusion, which is a reflection on the at times whimsical screenplay and light direction, both of which are helped by a stunning central performance by Giamatti who is at times beguiling yet never less than charming. He is helped by Pike, who in a role that could easily be wafer thin on paper is elevated by her elegance and radiance she brings to the role; two tropes lacking in a lot of North American cinema lately.
It is important to note, that this is a Canadian production, and the film never over states that fact in the production unlike other films that may blare out the nationality of the piece, but the attention to period detail and set design puts some American productions to shame.
Barney's Version is for you if you like films similar to Mr.Holland's Opus that tells the story of someone through the decades and is helped by a powerhouse central performance by an under-rated performer, this is for you although it does include a little bit more swearing and sex than the Richard Dreyfuss film. And as to why Giamatti did not get a Leading Actor nomination from the Academy, well that is as tragic as Barney Parnofsky's life wants to be.
Paul Giamatti, is one of my favourite actors to come out of Hollywood in the last ten years. My favourite performance of his remains Miles in Sideways, a performance that wrongly was ignored by the Academy awards that year whilst his co-star Thomas Haden Church did get a nomination. This year Giamatti won a Golden Globe for Best Actor in Comedy, and rightly so, alas he was again ignored by the Academy for this performance, admittedly a good field of actors but should not it be time to give a guy his due.
Barney's Version (15) is released on DVD and Blu-Ray on 23rd May from Universal Pictures International Entertainment with a £19.99RRP (DVD) and £24.99(Blu-Ray). The bonus features include a special featurette.
Monday, 16 May 2011
Something Borrowed - review
Something Borrowed is adapted, upon the chick-lit novel of Emily Giffin, by Jennie Snyder. It stars Kate Hudson, Ginnifer Goodwin, Colin Egglesfield and John Krasinski.
Rachel (Goodwin) is thrown a surprise 30th birthday party by her best friend Darcey (Hudson), who is engaged to Dex (Egglesfield), who was Rachel's study partner at New York University when studying law. At the birthday party, Darcey shows off a video projection of her and Rachel's life together, best friends forever but with Darcey playing a more prominent role. It appears that whilst Darcey is the life and soul of any party, Rachel is lucky to be invited.
After the party, and after Darcey has been taken home by Dex, he returns looking for Darcey's handbag. Dex and Rachel then have one more drink which leads to a clinch in the back of a cab home, and them sleeping together. Whilst Rachel puts it down to wedding jitters, flashbacks convince us that Rachel and Dex were meant to be together and they missed their chance after their final exam, when Darcey jumped in and practically threw herself at Dex, as Rachel stepped aside and let Darcey get what she wanted - as she has done all her life. A point raised by her best friend Ethan (Krasinski), who takes a dislike to Darcey even though they have been friends since childhood.
Dex and Rachel continue their clandestine arrangement over the summer switching between the city of New York and the beaches of the Hamptons, whilst wedding plans carry on regardless. Ethan tells Rachel to tell him to leave Darcey, but Dex being the Ralph Lauren model from the Hamptons (to quote Ethan) has no backbone and cannot call off a wedding he does not want to go through.
This leads to generic themes of romantic comedy with declarations of love in the rain, nostalgia of eternal first love and the youth it arrived at with and a coffee table soundtrack.
That last paragraph may sound like a bit of a dismissal of the film, but the film is above average thanks in part to the performances of Goodwin (wholesome idealism) and Krasinski (sarcastic bite) whose to and fro dialogue when together is better and more believable than the wooden Egglesfield. As for Hudson, so often the poster girl of the 21st century rom-com, has gone the other way and instead of playing the put upon woman, is here the woman who puts upon. Her Darcey, is loud, brash, egotistical and a believer of her own hype - nevermind, the borderline and worrying alcoholic dependency of her character.
Some moments are laugh out loud funny, such as the badminton game that brings to the surface the competitive nature of all the characters and the fear and grip a secret can hold over a group - this is thanks to Krasinski, so used to working in an ensemble with the rat-a-tat delivery of dialogue, whilst everytime Hudson talks you feel she wants the camera still so she can be seen and heard. Also kudos to Steve Howey as Marcus, Dex's cousin, a man stuck in a timewarp of late 1990s surfer dude persona, but gets good mileage from his nympho role and bad boy with a gentle heart.
At the end, characters all end in happiness but sometimes the script feels a little labourious (a typical trend of current rom-coms) and feels back to front - the moment when we see the chemistry of best friends Rachel and Darcey doing a Salt n Pepa dance routine in perfect synchronisation comes too far and too late into the film; there is never any evidence as to why Ethan and Darcey are at each other's throats and the sub-plot of Ethan being 'gay' to stave off a girl's advances, is never fully explored for comic potential. The film may have something borrowed, but it certainly has nothing new.
Rachel (Goodwin) is thrown a surprise 30th birthday party by her best friend Darcey (Hudson), who is engaged to Dex (Egglesfield), who was Rachel's study partner at New York University when studying law. At the birthday party, Darcey shows off a video projection of her and Rachel's life together, best friends forever but with Darcey playing a more prominent role. It appears that whilst Darcey is the life and soul of any party, Rachel is lucky to be invited.
After the party, and after Darcey has been taken home by Dex, he returns looking for Darcey's handbag. Dex and Rachel then have one more drink which leads to a clinch in the back of a cab home, and them sleeping together. Whilst Rachel puts it down to wedding jitters, flashbacks convince us that Rachel and Dex were meant to be together and they missed their chance after their final exam, when Darcey jumped in and practically threw herself at Dex, as Rachel stepped aside and let Darcey get what she wanted - as she has done all her life. A point raised by her best friend Ethan (Krasinski), who takes a dislike to Darcey even though they have been friends since childhood.
Dex and Rachel continue their clandestine arrangement over the summer switching between the city of New York and the beaches of the Hamptons, whilst wedding plans carry on regardless. Ethan tells Rachel to tell him to leave Darcey, but Dex being the Ralph Lauren model from the Hamptons (to quote Ethan) has no backbone and cannot call off a wedding he does not want to go through.
This leads to generic themes of romantic comedy with declarations of love in the rain, nostalgia of eternal first love and the youth it arrived at with and a coffee table soundtrack.
That last paragraph may sound like a bit of a dismissal of the film, but the film is above average thanks in part to the performances of Goodwin (wholesome idealism) and Krasinski (sarcastic bite) whose to and fro dialogue when together is better and more believable than the wooden Egglesfield. As for Hudson, so often the poster girl of the 21st century rom-com, has gone the other way and instead of playing the put upon woman, is here the woman who puts upon. Her Darcey, is loud, brash, egotistical and a believer of her own hype - nevermind, the borderline and worrying alcoholic dependency of her character.
Some moments are laugh out loud funny, such as the badminton game that brings to the surface the competitive nature of all the characters and the fear and grip a secret can hold over a group - this is thanks to Krasinski, so used to working in an ensemble with the rat-a-tat delivery of dialogue, whilst everytime Hudson talks you feel she wants the camera still so she can be seen and heard. Also kudos to Steve Howey as Marcus, Dex's cousin, a man stuck in a timewarp of late 1990s surfer dude persona, but gets good mileage from his nympho role and bad boy with a gentle heart.
At the end, characters all end in happiness but sometimes the script feels a little labourious (a typical trend of current rom-coms) and feels back to front - the moment when we see the chemistry of best friends Rachel and Darcey doing a Salt n Pepa dance routine in perfect synchronisation comes too far and too late into the film; there is never any evidence as to why Ethan and Darcey are at each other's throats and the sub-plot of Ethan being 'gay' to stave off a girl's advances, is never fully explored for comic potential. The film may have something borrowed, but it certainly has nothing new.
Friday, 6 May 2011
Submarine - Review
Richard Ayoade, who came to prominence by performing with relish in the Channel 4 sitcom, The IT Crowd, also did a side bit of directing music videos, primarily for the English indie band, The Arctic Monkeys, even directing their only live DVD, as well as Alex Turner's (lead singer of the Arctic Monkeys) side project, The Last Shadow Puppets. Submarine, is his feature debut as both writer and director, adapting the novel by Joe Dunthorne.
The novel follows the erstwhile Oliver Tate (Craig Roberts), as he comes across first love for the first time with the equally tenacious Jordana Baker (Yasemin Paige), whilst trying to keep his parents marriage together. This juxtaposition of young love with the dwindling of the adult relationship is a clever trick of Ayoade's adaptation.
The script includes numerous callbacks throughout - Oliver mentions how he reads the dictionary looking for obscure word of the day's and then when his father, Lloyd (Noah Taylor) uses an obscure word (in this case, atavistic) it prompts him to look it up. Oliver is the type of young male who uses words like schism to explain the current obstacle affecting his parents relationship; and the constant referring to the depth of the ocean (six miles) which is brought up initially and then recalled on two more occassions later in the film.
The work that Ayoade most resembles is that of Wes Anderson - this film and Anderson's are quirky, literate (the film is presented with three parts as well as a prologue and epilogue) and perhaps a bit too clever for itself, yet is not ashamed to use big displays of public emotion, which ultimately leaves the characters flummoxed. Another trait they share is that all the characters know a character better than themselves; after their first intercourse, Jordana tells Oliver, 'Don't get cocky', the formal warning of the phrase serves as an intuitive part of Jordana in forewarning how this may affect Oliver when he gets to 38 years of age, as he fears for a moment.
The period detail of the mid to late 1980s is immaculately rendered and yet the film could have been located in any post World War 2 period due to the universal themes - first love, bullying, infidelity, the fear of a broken home and cynicism of other belief systems. Yet Ayoade is able to inject nice typically British quirks on the school theme and the usual close conversation between concerned teacher and timid student. As Oliver is talking to the teacher about his fears, a middle shot is set up with them at the forefront backing onto a window onto the playground, and behind them students jump up and down mocking the serious situation whilst gesticulating for all to see, whilst the two people indoors are oblivious to it all.
All the actors on display are brilliant; Taylor and Sally Hawkins as Oliver's unhappy parents are both given key scenes to show off (especially Hawkins when she talks to Oliver in bed, and it ends up her worrying he might be gay), Paddy Considine hams it up as next door neighbour-mystic Graham, with an awful Pat Sharp mullet. However, the deepest admiration should be reserved for the two newcomers, both are brilliant yet when they are together is when there is a real spark - never more apparent than in the wordless finale at the water's edge; they merely look at each other to say it all.
The songs by Alex Turner, a key feature of the poster campaign, are a bit wistful at times and not inspiring as they should be for a film, which may rely on them more in another context. In spite of that flaw, Ayoade is helped by his DoP, Erik Wilson (who also worked on the forthcoming Tyranosaur directed by Paddy Considine) who lends a vibrancy to proceedings.
This film was part funded by the UK Film Council and the National Lottery, a travesty that that body has folded when something as rich and fulfiling as this shows that there is genuine talent in the British Isles when it comes to film-making.
The novel follows the erstwhile Oliver Tate (Craig Roberts), as he comes across first love for the first time with the equally tenacious Jordana Baker (Yasemin Paige), whilst trying to keep his parents marriage together. This juxtaposition of young love with the dwindling of the adult relationship is a clever trick of Ayoade's adaptation.
The script includes numerous callbacks throughout - Oliver mentions how he reads the dictionary looking for obscure word of the day's and then when his father, Lloyd (Noah Taylor) uses an obscure word (in this case, atavistic) it prompts him to look it up. Oliver is the type of young male who uses words like schism to explain the current obstacle affecting his parents relationship; and the constant referring to the depth of the ocean (six miles) which is brought up initially and then recalled on two more occassions later in the film.
The work that Ayoade most resembles is that of Wes Anderson - this film and Anderson's are quirky, literate (the film is presented with three parts as well as a prologue and epilogue) and perhaps a bit too clever for itself, yet is not ashamed to use big displays of public emotion, which ultimately leaves the characters flummoxed. Another trait they share is that all the characters know a character better than themselves; after their first intercourse, Jordana tells Oliver, 'Don't get cocky', the formal warning of the phrase serves as an intuitive part of Jordana in forewarning how this may affect Oliver when he gets to 38 years of age, as he fears for a moment.
The period detail of the mid to late 1980s is immaculately rendered and yet the film could have been located in any post World War 2 period due to the universal themes - first love, bullying, infidelity, the fear of a broken home and cynicism of other belief systems. Yet Ayoade is able to inject nice typically British quirks on the school theme and the usual close conversation between concerned teacher and timid student. As Oliver is talking to the teacher about his fears, a middle shot is set up with them at the forefront backing onto a window onto the playground, and behind them students jump up and down mocking the serious situation whilst gesticulating for all to see, whilst the two people indoors are oblivious to it all.
All the actors on display are brilliant; Taylor and Sally Hawkins as Oliver's unhappy parents are both given key scenes to show off (especially Hawkins when she talks to Oliver in bed, and it ends up her worrying he might be gay), Paddy Considine hams it up as next door neighbour-mystic Graham, with an awful Pat Sharp mullet. However, the deepest admiration should be reserved for the two newcomers, both are brilliant yet when they are together is when there is a real spark - never more apparent than in the wordless finale at the water's edge; they merely look at each other to say it all.
The songs by Alex Turner, a key feature of the poster campaign, are a bit wistful at times and not inspiring as they should be for a film, which may rely on them more in another context. In spite of that flaw, Ayoade is helped by his DoP, Erik Wilson (who also worked on the forthcoming Tyranosaur directed by Paddy Considine) who lends a vibrancy to proceedings.
This film was part funded by the UK Film Council and the National Lottery, a travesty that that body has folded when something as rich and fulfiling as this shows that there is genuine talent in the British Isles when it comes to film-making.
Thursday, 6 January 2011
FOUR LIONS review
Has written by a good friend of mine..a self-confessed film freak like yours truly but insightful musings nonetheless by a man who knows his stuff:
With a film containing as contentious a story as this, I was unsure what to expect from Four Lions. Chris Morris has a sense of humour that often courts controversy as it is, adding that to a story surrounding suicide bombers in the UK and the resulting press attached to the film was inevitable.
Whether that helped or hindered the film as a success, I am still unsure. What I am certain of, however, is that Four Lions is very, very funny.
Yes, some of the stupidity of the characters often seems a little implausible, but each is performed with such commitment and often excellent comic timing that they are a joy to watch - and at the end of the day, I think it would some of the harsher critics of this film to remember that is first and foremost a comedy.
I have read many articles about claiming that Morris seems to have been to fearful in really tackling the arguments surrounding suicide bombers and their Jihad against the West in greater depth. However, just because it is against this backdrop that Morris is telling his story, I don't think that automatically makes it his responsibility to provide a piece of cinema that explores the rights and wrongs of religious motivation and action, terrorism and the destruction of Western infidels.
This film is about 5 men that come together and through their own incompetence, stupidity, stubborn pride and complete ignorance that the results of their embarking on the usually spiritual journey to Allah becomes hilarious.
That comedy, however, does not serve to trivialise the sacrifice made by such men when they are true believers nor the devastating impact that their actions have on many innocent people. Four Lions simply stays true to the characters within the story and leaves the political debate about it's content for others to argue. It is simply a well-written, brilliantly executed and very funny film.
Thank you Mark Brennan, for this review and for wanting to share it with my followers
With a film containing as contentious a story as this, I was unsure what to expect from Four Lions. Chris Morris has a sense of humour that often courts controversy as it is, adding that to a story surrounding suicide bombers in the UK and the resulting press attached to the film was inevitable.
Whether that helped or hindered the film as a success, I am still unsure. What I am certain of, however, is that Four Lions is very, very funny.
Yes, some of the stupidity of the characters often seems a little implausible, but each is performed with such commitment and often excellent comic timing that they are a joy to watch - and at the end of the day, I think it would some of the harsher critics of this film to remember that is first and foremost a comedy.
I have read many articles about claiming that Morris seems to have been to fearful in really tackling the arguments surrounding suicide bombers and their Jihad against the West in greater depth. However, just because it is against this backdrop that Morris is telling his story, I don't think that automatically makes it his responsibility to provide a piece of cinema that explores the rights and wrongs of religious motivation and action, terrorism and the destruction of Western infidels.
This film is about 5 men that come together and through their own incompetence, stupidity, stubborn pride and complete ignorance that the results of their embarking on the usually spiritual journey to Allah becomes hilarious.
That comedy, however, does not serve to trivialise the sacrifice made by such men when they are true believers nor the devastating impact that their actions have on many innocent people. Four Lions simply stays true to the characters within the story and leaves the political debate about it's content for others to argue. It is simply a well-written, brilliantly executed and very funny film.
Thank you Mark Brennan, for this review and for wanting to share it with my followers
Thursday, 18 November 2010
500 Days of Summer - A Story of Love
America, the country that brought us the romantic comedy has seemingly tried to dismantle its reputation in recent efforts with such banal efforts as 'The Sweetest Thing', any Jennifer Lopez film; it remains hard to believe that the most romantic of comedies was 'The 40 Year Old Virgin' where the focus was on the blossoming relationship between a man wanting to lose his virginity with great humility, rather than 'Good Luck Chuck' where it was all about sex, lust and nothing emotional.
In a way this is down to the narrative structure: we meet boy - boy meets girl in the 'meet cute' - they fall in love - they fall out - reconciliation - marriage (sometimes). Whilst the marriage was a more apparent resolution in the golden era of the 1930s and 40s (the comedy of remarriage) when it was in partnership (appropriately) with the screwball comedy.
With '500 Days of Summer' you get a film that is both typically an American film, yet at the same time atypical - there are French influences and disruption wiht the chronological order. The films starts with day 200 odd, then we jump to 488, then back to day 1 to the meet cute. But we already know that this couple are not destined to be together yet we are told the resolution before hand - this meddling with the status quo of the narrative structure may serve to alienate viewers especially female ones so used to the romantic storyline of 'love conquers all'; female acquaintances have told me that they did not get the story, why do we watch a story where they dont fall in love. This is not a love story, but a story of love: how love can make you, become you, make you joyful, make you suffer, make you love other things - so this reciprocates into other cultural formats such as music (hence the killer soundtrack), fashion and architecture.
Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is 27 years old and stuck in a job he did not want to be in, writing greeting cards instead of the career in architecture he envisaged. Summer (Zooey Deschanel) is a playful soul who does not want a serious relationship - people may argue this as misogynistic characterisation - nice enough to desire, impossible for asking for independence, then succumbing to the very things she mocked earlier in the film - love, fate and destiny. Summer is a free spirit, but ultimately grounded once 'the one' arrives, this arrival of her soulmate is too abrupt to believe, hence why some female viewers did not connect with the film as planned.
Wearing its influences proud on its sleeve, parodying European influences from Nouvelle Vague to Antonioni; the soundtrack of bittersweet artists (The Smiths, Temper Trap). An individual bemoans his role in society, yet belives in such a sentimental trope like love so effortlessly as we see in the 'meet cute' and the film's conclusion when he looks at the camera a la Alfie, you await a wink that does not arrive but the breaking of the fourth wall works as the revolution of the romantic comedy has begun.
If only we could get Kate Hudson, Jennifer(s) Aniston and Lopez to take a risk and lets stop Amy Adams before she makes another 'Leap Year'. Comedy reflects the society it lives in, it needs to be socially conscious and more prevelant of the time - than a weak comedy with sex and fart jokes with real talent rather than Dane Cook.
'500' is reminiscent of a film from France you have never seen before drawing influence from Francois Ozon's '5x2', which used the narrative device of showing a relationship at the end up to its beginning concluding the film.
Witty but not self-congratulatory in its dissection of modern day relationships, funny without bordering on tasteless; acted with poise and skill, it is a film to cherish as well as recommend.
In a way this is down to the narrative structure: we meet boy - boy meets girl in the 'meet cute' - they fall in love - they fall out - reconciliation - marriage (sometimes). Whilst the marriage was a more apparent resolution in the golden era of the 1930s and 40s (the comedy of remarriage) when it was in partnership (appropriately) with the screwball comedy.
With '500 Days of Summer' you get a film that is both typically an American film, yet at the same time atypical - there are French influences and disruption wiht the chronological order. The films starts with day 200 odd, then we jump to 488, then back to day 1 to the meet cute. But we already know that this couple are not destined to be together yet we are told the resolution before hand - this meddling with the status quo of the narrative structure may serve to alienate viewers especially female ones so used to the romantic storyline of 'love conquers all'; female acquaintances have told me that they did not get the story, why do we watch a story where they dont fall in love. This is not a love story, but a story of love: how love can make you, become you, make you joyful, make you suffer, make you love other things - so this reciprocates into other cultural formats such as music (hence the killer soundtrack), fashion and architecture.
Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is 27 years old and stuck in a job he did not want to be in, writing greeting cards instead of the career in architecture he envisaged. Summer (Zooey Deschanel) is a playful soul who does not want a serious relationship - people may argue this as misogynistic characterisation - nice enough to desire, impossible for asking for independence, then succumbing to the very things she mocked earlier in the film - love, fate and destiny. Summer is a free spirit, but ultimately grounded once 'the one' arrives, this arrival of her soulmate is too abrupt to believe, hence why some female viewers did not connect with the film as planned.
Wearing its influences proud on its sleeve, parodying European influences from Nouvelle Vague to Antonioni; the soundtrack of bittersweet artists (The Smiths, Temper Trap). An individual bemoans his role in society, yet belives in such a sentimental trope like love so effortlessly as we see in the 'meet cute' and the film's conclusion when he looks at the camera a la Alfie, you await a wink that does not arrive but the breaking of the fourth wall works as the revolution of the romantic comedy has begun.
If only we could get Kate Hudson, Jennifer(s) Aniston and Lopez to take a risk and lets stop Amy Adams before she makes another 'Leap Year'. Comedy reflects the society it lives in, it needs to be socially conscious and more prevelant of the time - than a weak comedy with sex and fart jokes with real talent rather than Dane Cook.
'500' is reminiscent of a film from France you have never seen before drawing influence from Francois Ozon's '5x2', which used the narrative device of showing a relationship at the end up to its beginning concluding the film.
Witty but not self-congratulatory in its dissection of modern day relationships, funny without bordering on tasteless; acted with poise and skill, it is a film to cherish as well as recommend.
Monday, 8 November 2010
EASIER WITH PRACTICE
Last Thursday (4/11/10) I was granted the privilege of watching a preview of a well reviewed film on the festival circuit. The film was EASIER WITH PRACTICE directed by feature length debutant Kyle Patrick Alvarez and is based upon the autobiographical essay by Davy Rothbart which was pulished in GQ.
A road movie (my first instinct was it reminded me of a younger version of 'Sideways') following Davy Mitchell (Brian Geraghty) as he treks across New Mexico reading at book clubs peddling his book of short stories entitled, 'Things People Do To Each Other'. The book clubs smack of boredom, and with his brother Sean (Kel O'Neill) in tow the nights are long and full of bars with literature students adoring the young writer, whilst his engaged brother indulges in adultery. From the outset, there is a difference and tension between the two brothers; one is intellectual, one is an easy going spirit. One is shy around women, the other has no sort of problems. One night at another motel, Sean goes out to get some cigarettes and leaves Davy watching television and then the phone rings. Davy answers it and a female voice is on the other end, she calls herself 'Nicole' and she is horny; Davy initially put off is intrigued and so starts entertaining her notions of masturbation. And so we are met by one of the bravest scenes in recent American independent cinema; the camera is fixed on Davy, initially in long shot, it slowly zooms into have just his chest and head in the shot as he masturbates in unison with Nicole, culminating in a mutual climax.
Often in independent cinema, there is a greater freedom and honesty with sexual activity (you need only see any mumblecore film for reference), but rarely do you see a male character(actor) do a scene that is so raw and real at the same time; a scene that could have been so easily played for laughs, tells us a lot more about Davy than any conversation with a periphery character. Davy is lonely, but has love to give and finally feels like he has made a connection with someone, albeit with a voice somewhere.
Ultimately, the film leads to a climatic scene that is again a scene of such openness and social embarassment, the like of which is rarely seen in American film full stop. The final reveal of Nicole is both powerful and startling, in that the twist is the last thing you saw coming.
There is more drama than comedy, although the laughter is more witty than laugh out loud because of the urbane intellect of Davy's surroundings - if you were to pigeon hole the film it would be in the same vain as the work of James L. Brooks.
I would like to touch upon the character of Davy - whilst in theory and genre he is a million miles from the characters of the Apatow universe, he does provide a missing link in my theory of the 'Noughties Oh-No man', a character very prevelant in the first decade of this century's American cinema. He is an intellectual based on genuine talent, but nevertheless a talent that remains undiscovered, however, he is a man easily made a fool of by his peers and family (much like Andy in 'The 40 Year old Virgin'), and is but in context of his situation by contrasting him with an alpha male to his beta (in this film Sean is alpha to Davy). Unfortunately, these highlighted flaws in his beings lead to him being unsuccessful in his career and love; such as when he attempts to reignite an old flame Samantha in the film.
Brian Geraghty, whom I first recognised getting high with Shia Labeouf in 'Bobby' and matured to appear in 'The Hurt Locker' gives an extrarordinary performance from an actor under the age of 30, he is still young in face but his manner shows a built in world-weariness that the character requires, but the requirement of him to be in every frame/scene of the film could have been a tough ask for a less accomplished actor.
Alvarez who shows some assured footing in this his debut feature is lucky to have such a performance, but his sureness of touch and feel is good to see in a film that is both sincere and human. Some of the scenes/montages which show Davy and Sean cruising around motorways and motels are expertly shot and remind me of music videos in there framing and composition, coupled with a hip indie soundtrack that full of male voices externalise most of Davy's feelings.
There are some moments that will leave you scratching or shaking your head in disbelief, but believe it not because you have to but because the conviction and honesty of both direction and performance commands it. Recommended and try and hold out for the ending, unlike the two or so people who walked out shaking their head.
EASIER WITH PRACTICE is due for release on 3rd December 2010, a Forty Second Production it is distributed by Axiom Films, whom I thank for the preview seat.
A road movie (my first instinct was it reminded me of a younger version of 'Sideways') following Davy Mitchell (Brian Geraghty) as he treks across New Mexico reading at book clubs peddling his book of short stories entitled, 'Things People Do To Each Other'. The book clubs smack of boredom, and with his brother Sean (Kel O'Neill) in tow the nights are long and full of bars with literature students adoring the young writer, whilst his engaged brother indulges in adultery. From the outset, there is a difference and tension between the two brothers; one is intellectual, one is an easy going spirit. One is shy around women, the other has no sort of problems. One night at another motel, Sean goes out to get some cigarettes and leaves Davy watching television and then the phone rings. Davy answers it and a female voice is on the other end, she calls herself 'Nicole' and she is horny; Davy initially put off is intrigued and so starts entertaining her notions of masturbation. And so we are met by one of the bravest scenes in recent American independent cinema; the camera is fixed on Davy, initially in long shot, it slowly zooms into have just his chest and head in the shot as he masturbates in unison with Nicole, culminating in a mutual climax.
Often in independent cinema, there is a greater freedom and honesty with sexual activity (you need only see any mumblecore film for reference), but rarely do you see a male character(actor) do a scene that is so raw and real at the same time; a scene that could have been so easily played for laughs, tells us a lot more about Davy than any conversation with a periphery character. Davy is lonely, but has love to give and finally feels like he has made a connection with someone, albeit with a voice somewhere.
Ultimately, the film leads to a climatic scene that is again a scene of such openness and social embarassment, the like of which is rarely seen in American film full stop. The final reveal of Nicole is both powerful and startling, in that the twist is the last thing you saw coming.
There is more drama than comedy, although the laughter is more witty than laugh out loud because of the urbane intellect of Davy's surroundings - if you were to pigeon hole the film it would be in the same vain as the work of James L. Brooks.
I would like to touch upon the character of Davy - whilst in theory and genre he is a million miles from the characters of the Apatow universe, he does provide a missing link in my theory of the 'Noughties Oh-No man', a character very prevelant in the first decade of this century's American cinema. He is an intellectual based on genuine talent, but nevertheless a talent that remains undiscovered, however, he is a man easily made a fool of by his peers and family (much like Andy in 'The 40 Year old Virgin'), and is but in context of his situation by contrasting him with an alpha male to his beta (in this film Sean is alpha to Davy). Unfortunately, these highlighted flaws in his beings lead to him being unsuccessful in his career and love; such as when he attempts to reignite an old flame Samantha in the film.
Brian Geraghty, whom I first recognised getting high with Shia Labeouf in 'Bobby' and matured to appear in 'The Hurt Locker' gives an extrarordinary performance from an actor under the age of 30, he is still young in face but his manner shows a built in world-weariness that the character requires, but the requirement of him to be in every frame/scene of the film could have been a tough ask for a less accomplished actor.
Alvarez who shows some assured footing in this his debut feature is lucky to have such a performance, but his sureness of touch and feel is good to see in a film that is both sincere and human. Some of the scenes/montages which show Davy and Sean cruising around motorways and motels are expertly shot and remind me of music videos in there framing and composition, coupled with a hip indie soundtrack that full of male voices externalise most of Davy's feelings.
There are some moments that will leave you scratching or shaking your head in disbelief, but believe it not because you have to but because the conviction and honesty of both direction and performance commands it. Recommended and try and hold out for the ending, unlike the two or so people who walked out shaking their head.
EASIER WITH PRACTICE is due for release on 3rd December 2010, a Forty Second Production it is distributed by Axiom Films, whom I thank for the preview seat.
Thursday, 28 October 2010
AXIS OF AWESOME
Next Thursday 4th November at the Bush Hall, a global YouTube phenomenon will be appearing on stage in London. Axis of Awesome; Australia's biggest comedy band will be giving a full performance of their stagecraft. Having garnered 15million hits of their song '4 Chord Song' where they riff saying that every great song uses the same chord sequence - featuring Natalie Imbruglia, to Enrique Iglesias to Tim Minchin.
It is telling that they riff Minchin in the five minute marathon through pop history; as Minchin along with Axis' fellow antipodean's 'Flight of the Conchords' have brought back comedy rock to the mainstream and to the big theatres - the Conchords sold out Wembley Arena. Now the history is endebted to Spinal Tap, but comedians always aspire to be rock stars and vice versa, you need not look any further than 'The Blues Brothers' for more evidence.
Following on from three sold out seasons at the Edinburgh fringe and performing at the prestigious Just for Laughs comedy gala at Montreal; they intend to conquer England and this is their first live show in London. It is something not to be missed.
To book tickets call 08432 210 100 or visit www.hmvtickets.com/performances/5385/book. Tickets cost £15, show starts at 7.30pm with support from Marcel Lucont
It is telling that they riff Minchin in the five minute marathon through pop history; as Minchin along with Axis' fellow antipodean's 'Flight of the Conchords' have brought back comedy rock to the mainstream and to the big theatres - the Conchords sold out Wembley Arena. Now the history is endebted to Spinal Tap, but comedians always aspire to be rock stars and vice versa, you need not look any further than 'The Blues Brothers' for more evidence.
Following on from three sold out seasons at the Edinburgh fringe and performing at the prestigious Just for Laughs comedy gala at Montreal; they intend to conquer England and this is their first live show in London. It is something not to be missed.
To book tickets call 08432 210 100 or visit www.hmvtickets.com/performances/5385/book. Tickets cost £15, show starts at 7.30pm with support from Marcel Lucont
Monday, 25 October 2010
WEST IS WEST
The long anticipated and hoped for sequel of the 1999 box office success 'East is East' gained its European premiere at the London Film Festival last week in a red carpet event at Leicester Square's Vue cinema with bhangra music, elephants and stars in attendance.
The film with the wish of Aybu Khan-Din is written not so much as a sequel but as a stand-alone film in its own right, and for the most part it proves a successful follow-up to the film that won a Bafta for Outstanding British Film. The cast return en masse (although Jimi Mistry fans will feel slightly short changed).
The original film was ground breaking in that it brought subject matter previously unheralded to the big screen; inter-racial marriage set against the backdrop of 1970s working class Salford,Manchester with all its contexts of class and social status. The idea of a white woman marrying a Pakistani and the hatred that such things may incite were addressed, but the violence is reserved for the cold hand of George Khan (Om Puri) who beats up his wife in the back office of their chip shop. Whilst played and marketed for laughs, the original did have its darker moments.
'West is West' focuses on Sajid (Aqib Khan - in his first role), the youngest son, who is rebellious playing truant from school and avoiding bullies who berate him as a 'Paki' thus causing worries about his identiy and reluctance to accept his mixed heritage and hating his father. The need for discipline and restraint in the young tearaway leads George to take him to his homeland in Pakistan to the family home he abandoned 30 years previously to marry Ella (Linda Bassett).
Mostly played for laughs, but asking genuine questions about identity and belonging not just to your race but your family home; the film has these major questions but has a lovely parallel narrative surrounding Nemar (the middle son) and his quest for a wife. This narrative garners the most laughs as the bride he chooses proves to be more than meets the eye. Sajid and George's narrative journeys are directed with a humility and subtlety which is with thanks to the direction of Andy de Emmony, who has a long track record in television drama, and this comes to the fore in his feature length debut effort.
Beautifully shot by Peter Robinson, again making Pakistan (though the film was shot in Indian Punjab for insurance purposes) look as beautiful as Chris Menges did for 'Slumdog' and it is this debt to that Oscar winning film that gives this film not a rose-tinted view of the world, but a serious enough tone to go in balance with the humour that comes from Sajid's escapades as a hermit attempts to teach him lessons about life by stating the obvious and making the youngster discover it for himself.
Great performances by all concerned, most notably Aqid Khan who with no training instills Sajid with a bit of Malcolm McDowell mixed with Alex Turner, giving poetry to such profanity he sometimes spouts and Ila Arun, as Basheera Khan, the first wife who shows the vulnerability of her husband's abandonment in her aged face; though talking only Punjab she instills the character with such grandeur and poise it is striking and the scene with her and the second Mrs. Khan are startling.
Khan-Din (and the producer, Leslie Unwin) gets the wish of having the film stand on its own, and though it might not garner the same box office and clamour as its predecessor did it still deserves credit for being a work of supreme technical accomplishment and maturity. A straight drama with comedic appeal in this day and age of hook and gimmicks.
There may be a third film to complete the trifecta, possibly following Sajid's attempts to get married himself - maybe this will be played for laughs; but as long as this cast remains the same, there remains the key to its ever growing appeal.
Distributed by Icon Productions, the film is scheduled for a general release in February 2011
The film with the wish of Aybu Khan-Din is written not so much as a sequel but as a stand-alone film in its own right, and for the most part it proves a successful follow-up to the film that won a Bafta for Outstanding British Film. The cast return en masse (although Jimi Mistry fans will feel slightly short changed).
The original film was ground breaking in that it brought subject matter previously unheralded to the big screen; inter-racial marriage set against the backdrop of 1970s working class Salford,Manchester with all its contexts of class and social status. The idea of a white woman marrying a Pakistani and the hatred that such things may incite were addressed, but the violence is reserved for the cold hand of George Khan (Om Puri) who beats up his wife in the back office of their chip shop. Whilst played and marketed for laughs, the original did have its darker moments.
'West is West' focuses on Sajid (Aqib Khan - in his first role), the youngest son, who is rebellious playing truant from school and avoiding bullies who berate him as a 'Paki' thus causing worries about his identiy and reluctance to accept his mixed heritage and hating his father. The need for discipline and restraint in the young tearaway leads George to take him to his homeland in Pakistan to the family home he abandoned 30 years previously to marry Ella (Linda Bassett).
Mostly played for laughs, but asking genuine questions about identity and belonging not just to your race but your family home; the film has these major questions but has a lovely parallel narrative surrounding Nemar (the middle son) and his quest for a wife. This narrative garners the most laughs as the bride he chooses proves to be more than meets the eye. Sajid and George's narrative journeys are directed with a humility and subtlety which is with thanks to the direction of Andy de Emmony, who has a long track record in television drama, and this comes to the fore in his feature length debut effort.
Beautifully shot by Peter Robinson, again making Pakistan (though the film was shot in Indian Punjab for insurance purposes) look as beautiful as Chris Menges did for 'Slumdog' and it is this debt to that Oscar winning film that gives this film not a rose-tinted view of the world, but a serious enough tone to go in balance with the humour that comes from Sajid's escapades as a hermit attempts to teach him lessons about life by stating the obvious and making the youngster discover it for himself.
Great performances by all concerned, most notably Aqid Khan who with no training instills Sajid with a bit of Malcolm McDowell mixed with Alex Turner, giving poetry to such profanity he sometimes spouts and Ila Arun, as Basheera Khan, the first wife who shows the vulnerability of her husband's abandonment in her aged face; though talking only Punjab she instills the character with such grandeur and poise it is striking and the scene with her and the second Mrs. Khan are startling.
Khan-Din (and the producer, Leslie Unwin) gets the wish of having the film stand on its own, and though it might not garner the same box office and clamour as its predecessor did it still deserves credit for being a work of supreme technical accomplishment and maturity. A straight drama with comedic appeal in this day and age of hook and gimmicks.
There may be a third film to complete the trifecta, possibly following Sajid's attempts to get married himself - maybe this will be played for laughs; but as long as this cast remains the same, there remains the key to its ever growing appeal.
Distributed by Icon Productions, the film is scheduled for a general release in February 2011
Friday, 15 October 2010
The Other Guys
On a cold miserable Wednesday, and some convincing to my loyal girlfriend, and after watching a trailer of the film we went to a very empty cinema to watch something that promised a lot of laughs and hilarity. And as my girlfriend was feeling a bit under the weather I used the old cliche of laughter being the best medicine plus the timing of the screening was convenient. I just wish that halfway through the production of this film, someone from the money men turned to each other and went I wonder what the script looks like. Because as is the norm about Will Ferrell/Adam McKay films, there is no scripted film per se - just a pick'n'mix of improvisation with sketch comedy. The idea of a plot is meant to be there, and in this instance the Bernie Madoff role is played by Steve Coogan, a foriegner, so the fact that he is literally unAmerican makes him the enemy.
The film starts off as this inversion of the buddy cop movie, laughing at action movies that over indulgent and over the top (much like Bad Boys 2). The cameos of Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson, as two honored and decorated policeman who take city landscapes as their prisoner in the face of law and order - they are also shy of paperwork which they leave to 'the other guys' in this case Gamble (Ferrell) and Hoitz (badly cast Mark Wahlberg) - policeman with past history who will never trouble the spotlight. Hoitz wants to taste it, but Gamble a forensic accountant wants to sit at his desk and go home to his 'average' wife.
Initially, the chemistry between the two - Hoitz screaming at Gamble for humming reminds of the Odd Couple and you hope that the buddy movie cliche will arise and they learn to embrace each other's faults whilst cracking a big case. Weirdly though, the filmmakers make sure Hoitz spends the entire film shouting and screaming ('I'm a peacock. Let me fly') just to be heard in an office that where he feels tarred with the same brush as Gamble, a man who believes a desk pop (shouting his gun in the office) is a means of being embraced into the office fraternity. The emmasculation of him by giving him a wooden gun is funny but infantile.
Infantile is an appropriate word as some of the humour is childish to the point of them taking the first joke that came into the head. The bad cop/bad cop miscommunication between the two of them as they interrogate Steve Coogan's evil businessman ('I'll give you both $10,000. It is not a bribe') is something I have seen before; a grown man yelling incessantly and trashing a room, and not the first time in a Ferrell film either.
There are funny moments but they all come in the first half of the film when it is still establishing characters and dynamics; the relationship and the banter between Gamble and Hoitz is put to the test by an exchange over Hoitz being a lion and not even eating him even though he is not in his food chain, when Ferrell comes back with an explanation faulting Hoitz's logic, the rambling becomes incessant and hysterical. The other hilarity comes from the casting of Eva Mendes as Sheila, Gamble's wife; the fun with the placing of the exotic Mendes with the not necessarily attractive Ferrell leaves Hoitz flummoxed and open mouthed (No, who are you, really?'), his disbelief leading to a sequence of extended laughs. These laughs are retreaden over the film and for most of the film that is it, jokes are rehashed and retold - the peacock gaff, the infatuation between Hoitz and his partner's wife, the Captain who keeps quoting TLC lyrics without realising (four times) and Grand Theft Auto gets a laugh. At times I was thinking, was this film written in the last year or were they throw away gags from National Lampoon Loaded Weapon.
It had me laughing for 20 minutes, but soon enough it flags and by the end it struggles to reach a conclusion it fully deserves, but not without more chases and action sequences which bring it back down to Cop Out's level. Maybe police work just is not meant to be funny.
The film starts off as this inversion of the buddy cop movie, laughing at action movies that over indulgent and over the top (much like Bad Boys 2). The cameos of Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson, as two honored and decorated policeman who take city landscapes as their prisoner in the face of law and order - they are also shy of paperwork which they leave to 'the other guys' in this case Gamble (Ferrell) and Hoitz (badly cast Mark Wahlberg) - policeman with past history who will never trouble the spotlight. Hoitz wants to taste it, but Gamble a forensic accountant wants to sit at his desk and go home to his 'average' wife.
Initially, the chemistry between the two - Hoitz screaming at Gamble for humming reminds of the Odd Couple and you hope that the buddy movie cliche will arise and they learn to embrace each other's faults whilst cracking a big case. Weirdly though, the filmmakers make sure Hoitz spends the entire film shouting and screaming ('I'm a peacock. Let me fly') just to be heard in an office that where he feels tarred with the same brush as Gamble, a man who believes a desk pop (shouting his gun in the office) is a means of being embraced into the office fraternity. The emmasculation of him by giving him a wooden gun is funny but infantile.
Infantile is an appropriate word as some of the humour is childish to the point of them taking the first joke that came into the head. The bad cop/bad cop miscommunication between the two of them as they interrogate Steve Coogan's evil businessman ('I'll give you both $10,000. It is not a bribe') is something I have seen before; a grown man yelling incessantly and trashing a room, and not the first time in a Ferrell film either.
There are funny moments but they all come in the first half of the film when it is still establishing characters and dynamics; the relationship and the banter between Gamble and Hoitz is put to the test by an exchange over Hoitz being a lion and not even eating him even though he is not in his food chain, when Ferrell comes back with an explanation faulting Hoitz's logic, the rambling becomes incessant and hysterical. The other hilarity comes from the casting of Eva Mendes as Sheila, Gamble's wife; the fun with the placing of the exotic Mendes with the not necessarily attractive Ferrell leaves Hoitz flummoxed and open mouthed (No, who are you, really?'), his disbelief leading to a sequence of extended laughs. These laughs are retreaden over the film and for most of the film that is it, jokes are rehashed and retold - the peacock gaff, the infatuation between Hoitz and his partner's wife, the Captain who keeps quoting TLC lyrics without realising (four times) and Grand Theft Auto gets a laugh. At times I was thinking, was this film written in the last year or were they throw away gags from National Lampoon Loaded Weapon.
It had me laughing for 20 minutes, but soon enough it flags and by the end it struggles to reach a conclusion it fully deserves, but not without more chases and action sequences which bring it back down to Cop Out's level. Maybe police work just is not meant to be funny.
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