Sunday, July 28, 2013

Weekly Film Review Round Up-July 28 2013

  THIS WEEK'S PREVIEWS

This is a catch up Film roundup.  I've been away for two weeks on a wonderful holiday in the Hunter Valley, a wine growing area of Australia, with a quick pop-in to Sydney to see the Manchester United football (soccer) match against the Aussie All Stars.  Manchester won 5 to 1 and it was interesting to see a stadium of almost 90,000 Australians barracking for an overseas team and booing their own countrymen.  Poor form I thought but then I am not a soccer fan (I was dragged along).
So, most of these films have been in your local popcorn distributor for a couple of weeks.  There is quite a choice at the moment and some good ones coming up over the next few weeks.  You should see my preview diary.  On one week there is five screenings.

(My movie Pick of the week)
This Is The End
★★★★

Opens in Australia: 18th July, 2013
Other Countries: Release Information

OUR THOUGHTS
This is Seth Rogan all the way.  If you don’t like high school toilet humour, ala ‘Pineapple Express’ and ‘Superbad’, then you will probably wish for the end of the world whilst watching his latest outing, ‘This is The End’.
I am a fan despite not loving toilet and sex humour (some of it combined explicitly in the same scene in this) and yet there is something about the exuberance of Rogan I really love.  He is simply the coolest uncool guy in Hollywood.
Be warned, this is silly ridiculous but if you go along with the ride, you will find yourself chuckling and imagining the fun this bunch of Hollywood A-Listers had mocking their own celebrity.  It’s a long way from ‘The Breakfast Club’ but we’ve evolved haven’t we?  You will find every extreme in this, including actors peeing into their own mouths (yep, that’s right).  Don’t take the kiddies.
STUDIO BLURB
The comedy This Is The End follows six friends trapped in a house after a series of strange and catastrophic events devastate Los Angeles. As the world unravels outside, dwindling supplies and cabin fever threaten to tear apart the friendships inside. Eventually, they are forced to leave the house, facing their fate and the true meaning of friendship and redemption. (c) Sony

BEFORE MIDNIGHT ★★★★      
Opens in Australia: 18th July
Other Countries:
Release Information
Perth, Australia: See at Luna Cinemas 

OUR THOUGHTS
I’ve not seen the first two in this series, ‘Before Sunset’ and ‘Before Sunrise’.  However, after this one I am going out to find them. It’s a beautifully crafted piece that is so true to modern day romance, as opposed to the fluffy pieces we are constantly delivered, you will hear yourself saying, ‘I know that feeling’, ‘I’ve said those words.’  This is a film made with respect for the medium of film and, it is also a very true portrayal of adult love. It’s not about how beautiful is love, it is about how  true is love even though it is hard to maintain when life happens to you.

STUDIO BLURB
  It has been nine years since Celine (Julie Delpy) and Jesse (Ethan Hawke) reconnected on the streets of Paris in Before Sunset, having met on a train to Vienna nine years earlier in Before Sunrise. Now the parents of two children, the couple are vacationing with friends on the coast of Greece.
Director Richard Linklater continues his enchanting tale of a chance meeting between two strangers, bringing to it a nuanced perspective only gained by years lived. Life carries with it new responsibilities and attitudes, forcing the two dreamers to reassess what they each want next. Bolstered by an increasingly refined onscreen chemistry between lead actors Delpy and Hawke, Before Midnight is a fitting third chapter in one of the great love stories of American independent cinema.

THE WOLVERINE ★★★       
Opens in Australia: 25th July
Other Countries:
Release Information

OUR THOUGHTS
Reviewed by Tracy Harris

Director James Mangold returns us to the universe of the X-Men and one of their most popular characters, Wolverine.  Since his last appearance on film, Logan has hidden himself away in a remote part of Alaska, partially to lick his wounds after the death of his love, Jean Grey, but also to protect the world around him from the chaos that follows the beast that is Wolverine. After a slight altercation involving illegal hunters and a grizzly bear which Wolverine calls friend, Wolverine is reluctantly dragged out of his solitude by the striking Yukio (Rila Fukushima) who has been sent by a ghost from his past, Yashida, who wishes to see him once more before he dies. 
This sets in motion a plot which could ultimate cost Wolverine his life. Wolverine’s spends much of the film doing what Wolverine does best, fighting down and dirty through the streets of Tokyo.
The Wolverine is an enjoyable action film aimed at the fanboys (and girls) Hugh Jackman recreates Wolverine accurately, playing him as a world weary hero, surviving rather than living. One of the highlights is the character of Yukio, who lures Wolverine back into our world. She’s a strong, smart and sassy character, who seamlessly combines her modern life with that of traditional Japan, fights like a samurai and she can foretell death, the perfect sidekick for Wolverine.
As my fanboy brother said after viewing this film, “not even Wolverine’s healing powers can save some of this film.” And that’s a shame, because The Wolverine certainly had the potential to be so much more than this.

STUDIO BLURB
In modern day Japan, Wolverine is out of his depth in an unknown world as he faces his ultimate nemesis in a life-or-death battle that will leave him forever changed. Vulnerable for the first time and pushed to his physical and emotional limits, he confronts not only lethal samurai steel but also his inner struggle against his own immortality, emerging more powerful than we have ever seen him before.

PACIFIC RIM ★★ ½
Opens in Australia: 11th July 2013
Other Countries: Release Information

OUR THOUGHTS
Reviewed by Tracy Harris

Giant robots fighting giant alien monsters from another dimension. What more can one say?
It’s our not so distant future and the Earth is under attack by Kaijus, colossal monsters which are emerging from a portal to another dimension on the floor of the Pacific Ocean. The world has united in an attempt to fight these Kaijus by creating Jaegers, gigantic humanoid shaped robots, mind controlled by specially selected pilots. These Jaegers have successfully fought the Kaijus but the military have shut them down, instead focusing on building huge seawalls surrounding each continent.   This is a grand idea until the Kaijus break through and leave humanity’s fate in the hands of the last five operational Kaijus, their pilots and their support crews.
If you suspend your common sense, check reality at the door and ignore plot holes the size of a giant alien monster, then you’ll enjoy this film. It is squarely aimed at teenage boys.   See this if you love the 1998 Godzilla or the Transformers of 2000s, but remember, you have been warned.

STUDIO BLURB
When legions of monstrous creatures, known as Kaiju, started rising from the sea, a war began that would take millions of lives and consume humanity's resources for years on end. To combat the giant Kaiju, a special type of weapon was devised: massive robots, called Jaegers, which are controlled simultaneously by two pilots whose minds are locked in a neural bridge. But even the Jaegers are proving nearly defenseless in the face of the relentless Kaiju. On the verge of defeat, the forces defending mankind have no choice but to turn to two unlikely heroes - a washed up former pilot (Charlie Hunnam) and an untested trainee (Rinko Kikuchi) - who are teamed to drive a legendary but seemingly obsolete Jaeger from the past. Together, they stand as mankind's last hope against the mounting apocalypse.

The Way, Way Back
★★★½

Opens in Australia: 25th July 2013
Other Countries: Release Information
Perth, Australia: See at Luna Cinemas

OUR THOUGHTS
Here is another ensemble Indie coming of age piece dissecting American family values.  This has wit and depth and a stellar cast.  I love the way Steve Carell takes opportunities to play dramatically against typecast.  He is quite unlikable in this.  Toni Collette is her usual solid self and Allison Janney is seriously brilliant providing great comedy.
When I received the preview invite I replied to the publicist, “You had me at Sam Rockwell.”  And it’s Rockwell, playing the cavalier manager of a water park, who lifts this out of mediocre territory. I didn't love the ending but everything before was a real summer holiday.

STUDIO BLURB
THE WAY, WAY BACK is the funny and poignant coming of age story of 14-year-old Duncan's (Liam James) summer vacation with his mother, Pam (Toni Collette), her overbearing boyfriend, Trent (Steve Carell), and his daughter, Steph (Zoe Levin). Having a rough time fitting in, the introverted Duncan finds an unexpected friend in gregarious Owen (Sam Rockwell), manager of the Water Wizz water park. Through his funny, clandestine friendship with Owen, Duncan slowly opens up to and begins to finally find his place in the world - all during a summer he will never forget. (c) Fox Searchlight


What have you seen this week? Did you find our comments helpful or do you disagree? Share your thoughts with us.

Friday, July 5, 2013

Weekly Review Round Up 5/7/2013

There is a good pick this week (well this fortnight, I missed last week) of mostly solid Indie film releases. They’re those films that usually have something interesting to say with out all the bangs and whistles of the big buck studios.  For all the mainstream lovers, Epic 3D is pretty good animation for the holidays but sadly Man of Steel is a wretchedly boring overkill.  I am still cranky about them getting it so wrong.

(My movie Pick of the week)
In The House (Dans La Maison) ★★★★

Opens in Australia: 27th June, 2013
Perth, Australia: See at Luna Cinemas 
Other Countries: Release Information

OUR THOUGHTS

Ooh La La.  This is a bit delicious.  It’s a fascinating mystery and you will be ducking and weaving with the twists and turns.  Is it real or just a wild story within a story?  This is why I love French Cinema. Their film-makers have a way of looking at ordinary lives and transforming them into art and mystery. Sometimes they’re crazy and sometimes they are amazing. This is both.  Loved it. 
STUDIO BLURB
A 16-year old boy, Claude, (Ernst Umhauer) insinuates himself into the house of a fellow high-school student, Rapha, (Bastien Ughetto) and writes about his family in essays that perversely blur the lines between reality and fiction for his jaded literature teacher, Germain (Fabrice Luchini). Intrigued by this gifted and unusual student, Germain rediscovers his taste for teaching, but the boy's intrusion sparks a series of uncontrollable events. Kristin Scott-Thomas plays Germain's wife, Jeanne, a contemporary art gallery director, who, alongside her husband, avidly follows Claude's semi-imaginary escapades, while Emmanuelle Seigner plays Rapha's mom, Claude's object of desire. (c) Cohen Media

Man of Steel ★★
Opens in Australia: 27th June 2013
Other Countries: Release Information

OUR THOUGHTS
No, no, no. This is not good what they have done to Superman.  And it is almost unforgivable that director, Zac Snyder (Sucker Punch, 300) managed to make Michael Shannon act badly. I thought that was impossible.  Its spot the 'A' list actor but that means nothing if they have nothing to work with. Something has gone terribly wrong in Hollywood when nobody tells Directors they have gone too far and repeated the same scene too many times.  Yes, there is a spectacular fight sequence but we don’t need two of them that drag the film out to 143 minutes.  And there are plot holes big enough for Superman to detonate some kind of weird bomb in.  Another reboot that needs another reboot.  Super-boring.
STUDIO BLURB
A young boy learns that he has extraordinary powers and is not of this Earth. As a young man, he journeys to discover where he came from and what he was sent here to do. But the hero in him must emerge if he is to save the world from annihilation and become the symbol of hope for all mankind. -- (C) Warner Bros

Epic (3D)
★★★½

Opens in Australia: 4th July, 2013
Other Countries: Release Information

OUR THOUGHTS
It’s charming and colourful and I feel a little sorry for ‘Epic’.  What animation release wants to go up against ‘Monster’s University’ or ‘Despicable Me 2’?  We needed ‘Epic’ last school holidays when there was a bunch of below par animations released. It would have rocked then.   It is a good, solid story, beautifully done and I think the wee littlies will enjoy it.  My twelve-year-old harsh critic enjoyed as did his tag-along mate, Alex, who wrote a full review here.  But I would see the other two superstar animations before this.
STUDIO BLURB
EPIC is a 3D CG adventure comedy that reveals a fantastical world unlike any other. From the creators of ICE AGE and RIO, EPIC tells the story of an ongoing battle between the forces of good, who keep the natural world alive, and the forces of evil, who wish to destroy it. When a teenage girl finds herself magically transported into this secret universe, she teams up with an elite band of warriors and a crew of comical, larger-than-life figures, to save their world...and ours. -- (C) Fox

The Look of Love ★★★½
Opens in Australia: 27th June 2013
Other Countries: Release Information
Perth, Australia: See at Luna Cinemas 

OUR THOUGHTS
The English do these bio-pics extremely well.  The Director, Michael Winterbottom (Trishna, The Killer Inside Me) does not mind confronting audiences.  ‘The Killer Inside Me’ is still one of the most violent and nasty films I have ever seen (and I didn't like it).
In this film, we learn about the British smut King, Paul Raymond, who from this film we gather is the equivalent of Hugh Hefner or Larry Flynt.  You won’t feel a great deal of sympathy for Raymond enduring the tragedies of his life. 
It’s a well crafted, interesting film, albeit probably not on a person I really care to have this much detail.  In saying this it is interesting to see London in the swinging sixties and seventies.  Warning, there is a great deal of sexual content and nudity. 
STUDIO BLURB
The Look Of Love is the quite extraordinary true story of British entrepreneur and smut peddler Paul Raymond (played by Steve Coogan), who made his fortune opening some of Britain's first strip clubs and financing other classically un-British pursuits to eventually become Britain's richest man. The film follows Raymond's life in humorous fashion before leading up to the darkest parts of his life when his daughter (played by Imogen Poots) and heir to his empire dies of a drug overdose.

We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks
★★★
Opens in Australia: 4th July 2013
Other Countries: Release Information
Perth, Australia: See at Luna Cinemas

OUR THOUGHTS
After recently viewing ‘Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God’ produced and directed by Alex Gibney, I had high hopes for his latest documentary, ‘We Steal Secrets’. 
WikiLeaks is a fascinating story and in viewing ‘We Steal Secrets’ I’d hoped to  learn more about the headline-making, white-haired enigma Julian Assange.  However, whilst it was interesting, I don’t think there was anything here we didn’t already know.
There was some insight into Bradley Manning, the analyst who leaked the super secret military documents to WikiLeaks but instead of delving deeper into Assange and Manning, there was a lot of repetitive information which filled the film out to 130 minutes.
For documentary lovers who have been on another planet and know little of WikiLeaks it will be fascinating.  Although, smoothly done, afterwards I felt rather a little spun by a documentary exposition on the evils of ‘spin’.   
STUDIO BLURB

Acclaimed documentarian Alex Gibney (Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room) takes the reins for this no-holds-barred look at one of the most unusual phenomena of early 21st century media. In 2006, an Iceland-based outfit called The Sunshine Press launched the website WikiLeaks.org. As run by Australian Internet activist Julian Assange, the site's mandate involved regularly publishing top-secret documents and covert information, often regarding governments and their respective military operations. As might be expected, this set off a firestorm between those who admired the organization's bravado and resourcefulness, and those who argued, not unjustly, that the dissemination of data regarding such events as the U.S. war in Afghanistan could put untold numbers of lives at risk. In We Steal Secrets, Gibney relays the story of the WikiLeaks website from the inside, and moves beyond black and white to penetrate a complex network of activity guided by courage and idealism but also allegedly guilty of ethical insensitivity and hypocrisy. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi