Review: True Grit (2010)

Directors: Joel & Ethan Coen
Year: 2010
Score: 8/10

Thoughtful and consistently engaging Coen Brothers western didn’t take long to push the John Wayne version out of my mind so I could judge and enjoy it on its own terms rather than by comparison. Hailee Steinfeld is excellent as the bold and forthright 14 year old girl; Jeff Bridges is solid if a touch one-note as the drunk but effective bounty hunter she hires to go after her father’s killer; and Matt Damon is oddly cast but not bad as the Texas Ranger hunting the same criminal. On the surface this is a simple western, but with the Coens overseeing proceedings there’s a confidence and a tension that elevates the material and turns it into something that’s as gripping in its quiet moments as in its well-staged action sequences. As to be expected, the visuals are often quite stunning. A triumph only slightly let down by a lack of emotion in the denouement.

Review: Les Misérables

Director: Tom Hooper
Year: 2012
Score: 8/10

I came to this without having read the book or seen the musical; all I knew was that bad things would happen and mercifully Anne Hathaway wouldn’t last long. I thoroughly enjoyed it – much more than I thought I would. While some have dismissed Tom Hooper’s ‘gimmick’ of recording the actors’ vocals live on set (as opposed to them lip-synching to pre-recorded vocals), I found it to be very effective: unlike almost every other musical movie I’ve seen, there wasn’t obvious lip-synching to take me out of the moment. The performances are all great, both dramatically and musically, except for Russell Crowe whose vocals are jarringly terrible. The songs are very catchy (it’s not hard to see why the musical has been so successful for three decades) and Hooper’s direction is incredibly dynamic, which is perfect for a movie of this genre, style and scope. A few things bugged me, such as the character Éponine (apparently we’re supposed to feel sympathetic towards her; I just found her irritating and wished she’d be quiet), but overall I was very impressed.

Review: Shotgun Stories

Director: Jeff Nichols
Year: 2007
Score: 8/10

I have nothing funny to say about this – it’s just a beautifully composed shot.

Excellent debut from writer/director Jeff Nichols, who went on to make Take Shelter and Mud. It’s actually many things at once: a thoughtful meditation on the consequences of a deep-seated hatred between two sets of brothers who share a recently-deceased father; a grim slice of life within a rural Arkansas community; a study of the bonds between three brothers; and a showcase for the superb Michael Shannon. More understated in its tone and approach than either of Nichols’ later films, it’s incredibly well-crafted, creating the impression that we’re in the hands of an accomplished expert rather than a newbie who was just 25 when most of this was shot. While Shannon is the stand-out, Douglas Ligon (who has done almost nothing apart from this) is also very good as one of his brothers. As far as I’m concerned this makes it three from three for Nichols; I now regard myself as a devoted fan and am very much looking forward to his next film, a sci-fi chase movie called Midnight Special, due out in 2014.

Review: Terms of Endearment

Director: James L. Brooks
Year: 1983
Score: 8/10

This movie kicked me square in the nuts; in fact, I think you’d have to be completely heartless not to be moved by the final half hour or so. There are so many enjoyable moments throughout, and some excellent work from Debra Winger, Jack Nicholson, Jeff Daniels and John Lithgow. Shirley MacLaine is also very good, but I spent much of the movie hating her character so much that it was hard to appreciate the performance. At times the story seems to meander, but by the end you feel every moment with these characters was necessary and worth it. (The exception is Danny DeVito, whose character seems entirely superfluous.) Well worth a watch, but have some tissues handy.

Review: Barry Lyndon

Director: Stanley Kubrick
Year: 1975
Score: 8/10

Very long but always engaging Kubrick film about the rise and fall of a character who at times reminded me of Forrest Gump. Covers a lot of ground but has a consistency of tone that makes it work. Nice soundtrack too.

Review: Annie Hall

Director: Woody Allen
Year: 1977
Score: 8/10

Interesting exploration of a relationship. Allen basically plays his usual self but Diane Keaton plays a remarkably layered and genuine-seeming character, and excels in the role. It’s very good but slightly overrated (i.e. I don’t think it’s as brilliant as many others seem to). The more innovative stylistic elements are done very well and keep things lively throughout, and the script is solid but lacks the constant jokes of Love and Death and the transcendent dialogue of Manhattan.

Review: Before Midnight

Director: Richard Linklater
Year: 2013
Score: 8/10

Bold third entry in the series reintroduces us to Jesse and Celine, who by now feel like old friends, another nine years further into their lives. Once again, as Before Sunset did, it goes down a darker and more interesting path than it might otherwise have done, exploring the strife and tension that inevitably emerge in long-term relationships rather than simply giving us a feel-good rehash of the first two movies. There’s an honesty to this one that gives it a real edge and sense of gravity. Celine gets two of the funniest lines of the series: “The only upside of being over 35 is that you don’t get raped as much” and “Kissy kissy, titty titty, pussy, [snoring sound]”. Despite these laughs, though, it’s definitely the least pleasant viewing of the three. I really hope Linklater, Hawke and Delpy continue to revisit these characters every nine years!

Review: Aguirre: The Wrath of God

Director: Werner Herzog
Year: 1972
Score: 8/10

Haunting, strange, vivid and compelling. Many events, and also Herzog’s decisions about what to show us, seem inexplicable. The locations are quite incredible and lend the film such an air of reality; it’s often clear that we’re not just seeing these actors act, we’re seeing them experience the wild places Herzog has taken them to and wild events he has conjured. It’s often slow but I never lost interest. Kinski is great, as is the soundtrack. The whole movie feels like a canvas upon which to paint one’s own interpretations; viewers can decide for themselves what this story is a metaphor for, and we’d all be right even with very different answers. Either that or it’s just a bunch of crazy shit Herzog cooked up and managed to capture on film. I can completely understand its cult status.

Review: Sightseers

Director: Ben Wheatley
Year: 2012
Score: 4.5/10

Disappointing (given how well it was received by critics) British black comedy about a strange couple whose caravan holiday to various crappy sites in the West Midlands turns into a killing spree. It’s certainly memorable, there’s some nice scenery, and I liked the ending. Problem is it isn’t very funny and despite good performances from the two leads (who also wrote the screenplay), these aren’t likable people and I didn’t much enjoy my time with them. Memorable ending.

Review: Sharknado

Director: Anthony C. Ferrante
Year: 2013
Score: As a genuine action/disaster movie, 2/10; as a (possibly intentional?) contender for ‘worst movie ever’, and a piece of pure entertainment, 8/10

Oh. My. Fucking. God.

It’s so stupid, so cheap, so full of bad acting, so ridiculous, so objectively terrible… and yet these are the qualities that make it a wonderfully entertaining experience (if watched with the right attitude and expectations). I don’t need to explain the premise – it’s all there in the title. The hokey special effects and hokier dialogue are hilarious. One climactic moment involving a chainsaw is perhaps the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. It’s fun to watch Tara Reid’s face closely when she’s on-screen to see if all the work she’s had done has left her with any capacity to change her facial expression. Other than her, the only person I recognised was John Heard (from The Sopranos and the first two Home Alone movies), and even he’s laughably bad in this. I’m not sure it will end up having the staying power of The Room in the best worst movie stakes, but I sure am looking forward to Sharknado 2: The Second One (yes, that’s the official title).

Review: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Director: Stephen Chbosky
Year: 2012
Score: 8/10

Very sweet movie, this. Aspects are clichéd and predictable, but there’s enough meat on the bone to satisfy. The cast is quite good, particularly Ezra Miller (Patrick), who steals most scenes he’s in. The part where a character is asked if he writes poetry and unironically responds with “Poetry writes me” made me laugh out loud in an airport.

Review: Anvil! The Story of Anvil

Director: Sacha Gervasi
Year: 2008
Score: 8/10

This is great: imagine if This Is Spinal Tap was a documentary rather than a mockumentary, and you’d have a fair idea of what to expect here. Anvil is a Canadian heavy metal band that was on the cusp of ‘making it’ in the early ’80s but never quite got there, and yet they’ve stayed together ever since. This documentary gives us a sweet portrait of a friendship between two guys who never give up their dreams and retain hope in the face of near-continual mediocrity and failure. I want the painting of a turd in a toilet drummer Robb Reiner shows us at one point. Ironically the band has now achieved a measure of success solely due to the release of the documentary. Interestingly it was directed by Sacha Gervasi, a former Anvil roadie, who after this went on to direct Hitchcock.

Review: The Fighter

Director: David O. Russell
Year: 2010
Score: 8/10

Coincidentally I watched this right after Silver Linings Playbook, the movie David O. Russell made next. I liked it even more: great performances from Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams and Melissa Leo; bold and lively direction by Russell; a strong sense of place and culture; overall, a poignant mix of tragedy and triumph. There aren’t many better boxing movies.

Review: West of Memphis

Director: Amy J. Berg
Year: 2012
Score: 8/10

At this point I was convinced that the turtles should be arrested and tried for killing those three little boys. The case against them is pretty compelling.

I went into this thinking ‘Really? Is yet another doco about the West Memphis Three necessary?’, and for a while it felt a tad pointless to be retreading old ground again (with the sole point of distinction being more celebrity talking heads). However, about a third of the way through it picked up and only got better – by the end, in fact, it had become more powerful than any of the Paradise Lost films. Part of its power was a result of being broader in scope than any individual film in that trilogy; part was from its more cinematic (rather than televisual) approach; part was from its willingness to more openly accuse authorities of corruption and incompetence, and accuse individuals of wrongdoing, than the Paradise Lost films had done; part was from the explosive nature of the claims made about Terry Hobbs; and part was from the sheer emotion of the events surrounding and following the release of the West Memphis Three in 2011 (events covered more fulsomely here than in Paradise Lost 3). Once again, though, as with Paradise Lost 3, the extent to which the documentary medium is used to prosecute a case against Hobbs (a case some would regard as wholly circumstantial and unfair) is troubling and has – not unreasonably – led to accusations of hypocrisy. A note about the graphic crime scene imagery: it’s included, but its handling seems more sensitive and less relentless than in any of the Paradise Lost films. Full disclosure: the Pearl Jam fan in me acknowledges that I may really just be scoring this higher than Paradise Lost 3 because Eddie Vedder is a prominent interviewee throughout and the soundtrack includes two of his songs.

Review: Blue Jasmine

Director: Woody Allen
Year: 2013
Score: 8/10

Oooh please please please can Louis C.K. be the lead next time, Woody? Though if that further delays the next season of Louie, I take it back.

The best late-career Woody Allen film I’ve seen (though I admit I haven’t seen many; I’ve focused more on his classics). I often dislike Cate Blanchett but she’s marvellous as his latest leading lady: neurotic, fragile, perhaps already broken, but utterly compelling. The movie is full of interesting characters brought to life by a great cast, especially Bobby Cannavale, Louis C.K., Andrew Dice Clay and Sally Hawkins. The flashback structure works well; he certainly knows how to put a story together. I admit I found the ending somewhat abrupt and unsatisfying. I watched this before A Streetcar Named Desire, so the parallels went over my head, but on reflection, having subsequently caught up on it, I appreciate what Allen was going for.

Review: Five Easy Pieces

Director: Bob Rafelson
Year: 1970
Score: 8/10

Powerhouse lead performance from Jack Nicholson as an intelligent but dissatisfied and often angry man. As viewers we empathise with him so strongly even as he mistreats people around him, and that’s what makes the film impressive. It’s not a hugely eventful movie, but it really packs a punch.

Review: Malcolm X

Director: Spike Lee
Year: 1992
Score: 8/10

Long but engaging biopic of – you guessed it – Malcolm X. Denzel Washington is superb in the title role and – since I watched this just a few weeks after Scent of a Woman – I feel qualified to say he was robbed at the Oscars; his searing portrayal of Malcolm X was far more deserving than Pacino’s ‘Hoo-ahs!’. As any good biopic does, it immediately left me wanting to find out more about the subject. A criticism: Al Freeman Jr’s portrayal of Elijah Muhammad is laughably bad, an SNL-style caricature, detracting from the (numerous) scenes he appears in. Look for Wendell Pierce (The Wire), Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad), Michael Imperioli (The Sopranos), Richard Schiff (The West Wing) and Nelson Mandela (real life).

Review: The African Queen

Director: John Huston
Year: 1951
Score: 8/10

The only movie I can remember featuring a live cat being thrown off the side of a ship.

Thoroughly enjoyable adventure anchored (excuse the pun) by great performances from Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn. They make their way down an African river at the start of World War I, aiming to blow up a German ship but inevitably falling for each other along the way. The romance is simple but quite lovely, avoiding the sorts of contrived obstacles I’ve come to expect, such as her objecting on the basis of his uncouth nature or them bickering the whole way through and only declaring their love for each other right at the end. The focus is narrow – for about 90% of the movie they’re literally the only two characters on-screen – and that’s a strength. John Huston’s direction is perfect, and the African locations are vivid.

Review: Mad Max 2

Director: George Miller
Year: 1981
Score: 8/10

The best of the series, in my view (and, from what I understand, many others would agree). It quickly dispenses with exposition and gets straight into the conflict between The Humungus’ gang and the settlers protecting their tank of oil. We seem more properly into post-apocalyptic territory now, with fewer trappings of the pre-apocalyptic world; aptly, our protagonist has more fully embraced his ‘madness’ and is now the archetypal road warrior, survivalism replacing the residues of civilisation he had left by the end of the first movie. The action scenes are a step up and dominate most of the proceedings; this is a clear strength. The focused nature of the story is also helpful. There’s not much depth here, but it’s got buckets of style and entertainment value, and it paints a vivid picture of a society past the point of decay. Once again, Brian May provides an excellent score.

Review: The Place Beyond the Pines

Director: Derek Cianfrance
Year: 2012
Score: 8/10

Long but powerful story about responsibility and consequences. The movie takes a left-turn about a third of the way through, and then does it again later on; at first this is jarring and it feels like a misstep, but by the end it all ties together nicely and justifies the approach. Ryan Gosling gives a good performance; he has sad eyes and they suit the character well. Bradley Cooper is also quite good, and Ben Mendelsohn impresses in support.