2011 on Screen - Part 1: The Tides of Change

And so, another film year has drawn to a close, all the popcorn popped, the drinks drunk, the previews previewed and the reels changed all for the last time, and it seems to get faster every year.

As you may have noticed by the title, I'm going to break up my end of year piece into 2 parts, the second part will have the top 3, worst 3 and 3 disappointments, this first part will talk about my own views on the year as a whole as well as the 2 good and 2 bad trends.

So, let's get started, first off I want to talk about the year as a whole in regards to movies as I saw it and to be honest, I thought this was a better than average year at the movies, last year I felt was not a good year for movies, a lot of them came and went and the consensus seemed to be from both critics and mainstream audience members that Toy Story 3, Inception and the Social Network were the ones that stood tall for 95% of the moviegoers.

Here that hasn't happened at all, the choices for top film of the year seemed to vary depending on the person you talked to where it be the documentary Senna, Terence Malick's divisive Tree of Life, the neo pop thriller Drive and others which is great to see I feel as it proves that each person like what they like and they aren't afraid to show that in their end of year lists.

But I can't not mention this year in film and avoid the discussion of cinema going, probably the one thing in life I like to do more than anything and this year saw the closure of my local cinema and its work in progress re opening, now to be honest I wasn't surprised that it closed down as it wasn't all that good to begin with but it was indeed mine and I did feel a sense of loss when it was gone, having seen the work in progress re opening on the day I write this, I feel a great sense of improvement and want to see it when the work is fully done but it will also depend on the film whether I go back or whether I decide to continue doing what I had done prior to it which is to take a trip for those films that I want to see and waiting for the DVD and/or Blu-Ray for most.

Now, with that out of the way I am going to talk about my 2 good and 2 bad trends of the year overall, and to start I'm going to give you the good which are:

The Rebellion against 3D: Yes folks, 2011 was the year that audiences finally woke up to the horribleness that is 3D, last year most gave it a chance, this year they began to reject it and see it for what it really was: dark, dim, horrible, murky and a general drain on your bank account that you just don't need, 2D is all you need it looks better, it looks brighter, it's cheaper and it's not murky, it's all you need when going to the movies.

The quality of the blockbusters: Probably the most surprisingly trend of the year was how well the blockbusters were received, normally most blockbusters are frowned upon but this year Thor, X-Men First Class, Super 8, Captain America and Rise of the Planet of the Apes all got good reviews even though I didn't like some of those myself, still it bodes well for next year's crop which could continue this trend and I hope it does.

Now, that was the good, this is the Bad:

The Box Office: What on Earth Happened this year with the overall Box Office, it seemed that nothing could catch on with audiences, they either came in droves or stayed home, to me the only film to do anything regarding big numbers was the last Harry Potter but then that was always going to happen, you knew it was going to be big going in and it was every bit the big bang it promised to go out with.

Apart from that, so little managed to do well, it was liked those that wanted to see it went in the opening weekend and after that were either the stragglers that got the chance to see it or those that went because "hey there was nothing else on and I was there so what the hell", even movies like the Hangover 2, Twilight 4.1, Transformers 3 and Pirates 4 which did do well couldn't escape the near unanimous negative word of mouth and dropped off big time after their big openings.

But I can't say I'm surprised, the year started off badly and it ended that way, despite a promising middle part of the year, hopefully the box office improves next year but I can't say I hope for it to do so as audiences seem to have made up their mind when it comes to their movie going, well at least for now.

Weak Villains: Ah yes, my old bug bear re surfaced big time this year and that is the action film with the weak villain, I mean come on guys it can't be that hard can it, seriously I have really had enough of this, any film goer worth their salt knows that every good hero needs a good villain to define him and his quest I mean look at the Star Wars Trilogy, those movies would be nothing without Darth Vader and the Empire to help define it and if you want proof of that theory in practice, look at the prequel trilogy.

So, that's part 1 of my look back of the year, stay tuned for part 2 where I talk about my best, worst and disappointments of the year.

Film Review - Ides of March (2011)

The Ides of March is directed by and stars George Clooney as Mike Morris, a US State Governor who seeks the presidential nomination for the US Democratic Party, behind him is a hip young advisor Steven played by Ryan Gosling who along the road gets a few lessons on the political arena.

I went into this movie really with no expectations but I have to say that I felt that it was well directed by Clooney who keeps a firm eye on the proceedings and does well with close ups and getting performances out of his actors, particularly Evan Rachel Wood and Phillip Seymour Hoffman and boy did he remind me of Channel 7 Political Commentator Graham Richardson when he was on screen with the white hair and facial structure.

But outside of them, this film fails, mainly because it lacks a sense of cohesion in its storytelling and a structured 3 act narrative to drive it along, the film feels like a bunch of individual bits edited together but don't really signify anything and if it does, its the same "politics is dirty" and "every dream has a price" message we've heard from other movies, like Oliver Stone's Wall Street as an example.

And speaking of that film, rent that one instead and if you want to see this one, wait for the DVD, it'll be just as enjoyable at home than in a cinema, 2 out of 5.

Film Review - Cowboys and Aliens (2011)

Cowboys and Aliens is based off a graphic novel and stars Daniel Craig, the current James Bond as Jake Lonergan, a man who wakes up in the middle of the desert in the 1870's with no memory of who he is and how he got a mysterious bracelet on him, he's then picked up by some deputies and taken to a nearby town, but trouble soon comes calling.

Before heading into this film, I didn't know much about it only that it starred Craig and Harrison Ford and was directed by Jon Favreau who directed the first two Iron Man movies, was this a winning combination?

Sadly no for one clear reason: The story, I know the title says "Cowboys and Aliens" but a lot of fun could've been had with this title and made for a cracking film but sadly it isn't and for the most part I found it boring mainly because the story didn't hone in on a central purpose and rambled on from one scene to the next and also, the characters in it we don't really care about very much at all as they're introduced for the most part and then not given anything to do apart from become cannon fodder for the Aliens.

And as for the Aliens side well they feel like a cross between the Chimera from the Resistance series and Kuato from Total Recall and nowhere near as interesting or scary as those two alien life forms and even they get a little boring after a while.

But there were some things I did like, mainly Craig himself I mean he nails that old school look of Indy so well with the Fedora, the Outfit, the Gun all he needed was the bullwhip and presto the rightful heir to the Indiana Jones throne, I also liked the action scenes which are well directed and give you a sense of what's happening at any given time and who's fighting who and I also liked the cinematography and the early scenes which had that real western feel with the widescreen landscapes, the old time setting and the "saddle up boy, yaw" feeling they help to create.

You know, if this had been a proper western, I would've loved it but the sci-fi elements bring it down and the messy script keep it lodged deep in the ground, a shame, 1 out of 5.

Film Review - Green Lantern (2011)

Green Lantern represents a move by DC to try and follow Marvel's lead and bring their own superhero library to the big screen, the story here concerns the Green Lantern Corps, a Jedi Knight style peacekeeping force who are faced with their darkest foe, Parrallax voiced by Clancy Brown which is powerful enough to destroy entire worlds and defeat their finest warrior, Abin Sur played by Teumeura Morrison, but Sur manages to flee and initiate the selection process which will determine who inherits his ring, meanwhile Hal Jordan played by Ryan Reynolds finds the dying alien and his whole life changes.

Now to say in advance of what I thought of the film I have to say that before its release, I was actually really looking forward to it probably more than most movies this year mainly due to the film's director Martin Campbell who unlike some can actually direct a pretty good action film, his work on the Bond series is a good example of this and the early trailers also helped to fuel my anticipation for it, but now that I have finally seen it, how did Campbell do, did he overcome the fear of it all or did he succumb to its dark power?

Well, sad to say he did not do a very good job with it all for multiple reasons, the first being that Campbell didn't do anything with the material given to him to justify his hiring as director on the film which can be absolutely crucial to how a superhero movie can either rise or fall and to use as an example of how a director can make a superhero film work is Richard Donner with Superman, a difficult character to pull off for sure but Donner and Tom Mankiewicz who was brought onto that film to rewrite the script completely nailed the essence of the character and what he stands for and I am also convinced that if they had been able to complete their version of Superman II, they would've made a much better film.

But getting back to this movie and as I said, there is nothing here that justifies the hiring of Campbell as the director as when he tries to put his stamp on the film, the script shifts gear and crashes back to Earth and so much of those scenes which also help to make up the bulk of the film feel lifted from other films such as Hot Shots, Batman Begins, Star Wars and Superman which I mentioned before.

But boy oh boy is this script as a whole a complete mess, nothing makes any sense at all, scenes that start off promising are cut off just as they get interesting and at times I was reminded of Highlander 2 in terms of both movies being completely incomprehensible.

But wait there's more, along with wasting Campbell, it also wastes a great cast I mean you have Ryan Reynolds, Mark Strong, Tim Robbins, Geoffrey Rush, Michael Clarke Duncan, Peter Saarsgaard, Angela Bassett plus Brown and Morrison who I mentioned earlier and all of them I felt very sorry for as they have done so much better work in the past and didn't deserve this to happen to them, but as for Blake Lively well quite frankly wet lettuce would have more charisma than she does in this film.

Though if there was one waste above all that makes me saddened the most it is Strong, who plays Sinestro and it is an inspired choice to play the character if you know his story in the comics, here he doesn't really get anything to do apart from help lay the groundwork for a sequel and that is a real shame as I see in Sinestro's story the true back story of Darth Vader as told by Alec Guinness in the original Star Wars film, the pupil of theirs who turned to evil, helped the Empire hunt down and destroy the Jedi Knights and who was seduced by the Dark Side of the Force.

But there was, yes was some small positive moments and almost all of them are to do with the home world of the GL Corps which actually look pretty good and those scenes do try to bring the viewer in and get them interested but they are far too brief and come across as too late as by the time we get to those scenes, most audience members will have lost interest.

And so in closing, In brightest day, in blackest night, no movie this year is as disappointing as Green Lantern's light, .5 out of 5.

Film Review - Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol (2011)

Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol is the fourth film in the Mission Impossible film series and once again Tom Cruise stars as Ethan Hunt, special agent for the IMF (Impossible Mission Force) and after a bomb goes off at the Kremlin in Russia, Hunt and his team played by Simon Pegg, Paula Patton & Jeremy Renner are disavowed, leaving them on their own to find who was really responsible.

Alright, now I went into this movie with next to no expectations, having not really seen the other films in the series nor was I really all that impressed with the previews for the film, but along I went and after two and a bit hours in the cinema, how did it go?

Well, lets just say that I'll start with the positives first, mainly the score by Michael Giacchino which combines very well the original MI theme which was composed by Lalo Schifrin and a beautiful Russian choir that reminded me of Basil Poledouris's choir for the Hunt for Red October, there's also a gripping scene involving the world's tallest building in Dubai that frankly, you need to see for yourself to get the full impact.

But the overriding feeling I got from this film was that I was bored, bored out of my mind, this joke of a plot feels like it was ripped from Goldeneye and Tomorrow Never Dies, not only that all Cruise seems to do in this film is "running, running, running, running, running, running, running" and boy does that get tiresome after a while.

But you know, there are three fundamental reasons why a spy film is good, very good, how do I know, let thee count the ways:

1. A Charismatic Hero: Yep, what you need first is a charismatic hero that the audience is willing to follow around on their mission, my favourite James Bond film is the Living Daylights for one reason: Timothy Dalton, he was suave, he was dashing, he moved with great grace and most of all he had that dark side to him which the Bond of the books always had, here Hunt is an uncharismatic bore and Cruise's age REALLY shows on his face in the film, frankly I hope its his last as I doubt he could continue on as an action man for much longer.

2. A good villain: I have said this before and I'll say it again folks, WRITE A FUCKING DECENT VILLAIN, Jesus Christ it can't be that hard now can it, I mean all the best action films succeed on this regard and here all Hunt and Co deal with is a bunch of Russian nobodies that you can't identify and aren't that threatening, apart from the fact that they hit people well and can shoot guns, whoop de fucking chook.

3. A proper plot: To use what is probably my favourite spy movie of all, 1990's The Hunt for Red October, as an example, the plot of that film concerned a secret Soviet sub that had a special silent drive system that could prove devastating if it fell into the wrong hands, here the gizmo of interest concerns a satellite that for all I care could power the Death Star, again some piddling missile has no threat, something Red October had in spades.

To be completely frank, do not see this movie, it's boring to sit through and a waste of your money, rent the Living Daylights and the Hunt for Red October instead, they're MUCH more worth your money than this tosh, .5 out of 5.

Film Review - Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)

Rise of the Planet of the Apes stars James Franco as Will Rodman, a scientist for the Gen Sys company that is testing experimental drugs on chimps captured in the wild, one of which runs amok and is killed by the building's security but it turns out she bore a cub who Will takes home to his sick father played by John Lithgow who names him Caesar, and from there the legend begins.

Rise of the Apes wants to be the precursor to the iconic 1968 sci-fi film Planet of the Apes and in its defence it has an exciting action climax on the Golden Gate Bridge towards the end of the film but the film's script fails in almost every way to generate anything regarding excitement, imagination or feeling for anyone or anything contained in the film.

And it's a shame as there are some good actors, the biggest waste being John Lithgow, a seriously underrated actor reduced to mouthing "Caesar" and other sorts of gibberish as he's suffering Alzheimer's in the movie, as for Franco well he was fine but Frieda Pinto from Slumdog Millionaire is just pointless, she's okay but her role was just that of the thankless girlfriend cause hey we can't have a major movie without an attractive woman for the main male lead to go all goo goo eyed over now can we?

Hello?

(Cricket noises)

Nope, didn't think so.

Moving right along, you're probably asking "what about those damn dirty apes?" well Andy Serkis is Caesar and he's fine but when you look at the original Apes in the 1968 film, they looked very life like and believable which makes the Apes here feel more like the CG creations they are.

And not only that, one of the locations is the California Redwoods, most famously used as the forest moon of Endor in Return of the Jedi and boy oh boy was I reminded of that every time they went there.

Oh and last point, they shoe horn in the famous "damn dirty ape" line into the film and it falls completely flat, in the original Heston delivered it powerfully whereas here Tom Felton just delivers it like an actor delivering a line in a flat monotone, I suppose that could be said of the whole tone to the film now that I think about it.

All in all, don't watch this movie, watch the original Planet of the Apes instead, it's cheaper and will be more satisfying than this movie which is possibly the most boring movie I've seen all year, 1 out of 5.

Film Review - Senna (2011)

Senna is a documentary focusing on the life of Ayrton Senna, a Formula 1 race car driver from Brazil who started in Go Kart racing and rose to F1's greatest heights in terms of his championships and the lows regarding the politics.

Senna is simply great filmmaking full stop, director Asif Kapadia succeeds where so many movies documentary or otherwise based on a real life person and/or events fail to do and that is give the viewer a sense of who the man really is and that we learn about that man as we watch the film, not 5 minutes after we finish watching and look up that person on the internet, no Kapadia doesn't make that mistake instead he uses purely archival footage to tell his tale and it is a masterstroke for it immediately gives the viewer the sense of the time and the place in which he lived and drove on the circuit.

Nothing however can prepare you for the final 20 minutes of the film, it is simply heartbreaking stuff, I won't say too much more if you haven't seen the film yet but if you already know of Senna's final fate then it won't be a surprise to the end but still it is heartbreaking and heart stopping stuff.

But I feel that the main reason I like this film so much is this, to me this gets right what so many action films get wrong and that is it gives you a complex hero, a snivelling villain, the bond that defines them and the arena in which they will face off against each other and where one has to beat the other and its done with real life figures that can't be thought up on the page and in a documentary of all things.

All in all, this is straight up one of the year's finest films, exhilarating, exciting and simply fantastic filmmaking, even if you are not an F1 fan and I know only a tiny bit about the sport its still highly recommended viewing, what an absolute joke that its lost its chance at the Oscars to compete for best documentary as it deserved a shot at the title, 4 out of 5.

Film Review - Hanna (2011)

Hanna stars Saoirse Ronan as Hanna, a young girl who grows up with her forest with her father played by Eric Bana who is training her for a great quest to Berlin, but to do so she'll have to avoid the dastardly Marissa played by Cate Blanchett.

Hanna I thought was well made by Joe Wright, last seen directing Atonement in 2007, he imbues the film with a great sense of style and a good pace, never letting things run on for too long, he also gets good performances from his 3 leads and there's a fantastic score created by the Chemical Brothers.

However this film has one big problem: The Script, quite frankly it feels predictable and that infects the film as a whole as you play spot the plot point throughout the whole thing; "That's gonna happen", "this is gonna happen", "Bang they're dead", "that person's gonna die", "they're gonna die" and on and on it goes.

There was one point while watching this movie where I was reminded of another Euro action thriller I've seen, 2008's Taken with Liam Neeson, that film to me felt far superior to this one and its a shame as I'd heard so much good about it before watching it.

All in all, I can't recommend this movie, all the style in the world can't make up for an obvious script that just feels too familiar for my taste, 1 out of 5.

Film Review - Fast Five (2011)

Fast Five is the 5th in the Fast and Furious series and this time, Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel), Brian O'Connor and Dom's sister Mia (Jordana Brewster) are hiding in Rio de Janiero following a prison break, but whilst there they learn of a corrupt businessman who has millions of dollars, with that its time to get racing once again.

Fast Five is a fun entry in the series, all of the main characters from the first movie are back and there are some others who appeared in the other entries in the series, notably Tyrese Gibson who appeared in the 2003 sequel 2 Fast 2 Furious, the main leads have some fun chemistry and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson also has a few good moments despite his near endless sweating in almost every scene.

Unfortunately though the film runs way too long for its own good, it runs about 2hrs 10 when a good 10-15 minutes should've been trimmed from the film to allow for a more fast paced, high speed adventure but given that this is film number 5 in this series, you can't expect miracles.

As it stands, its an okay film with some nice chase scenes but rent the first film instead and leave it after that, this one whilst okay feels somewhat unnecessary, 1.5 out of 5.

Film Review - Red Dog (2011)

Red Dog tells the tale of well, Red Dog, an Australian Kelpie who wanders into the Western Australian mining town of Dampier, from there he meets the locals who work for the mining company as well as the local bus driver John (Josh Lucas) who changes his life forever.

Red Dog was a wonderful Australian film, reminding me very much of the good old days of our industry, especially the miners themselves as I was reminded of a late 70s Australian filmed called "The Last of the Knuckle men" which by the way produced by Byron Kennedy and starred Mike Preston both of whom would also work on Mad Max 2 a couple of years later.

But enough about the trivia, lets get back to this movie, it will tug at your heartstrings almost right away due to Koko the Kelpie, I mean sure Lucas, Rachael Taylor and the other actors are fine, in fact they're quite good but this is Koko's movie through and through and its hard not to fall in love with him with those oh so cute eyes and that look on his face that makes your heart melt, the cute little dog, I know that sounds slightly schmaltzy but if you've seen the film, you will understand why.

Though if I have a gripe with the film it is this, at times the movie plays out like a feature length version of a "This is our story" ad that the mining industry here in Australia showed on TV and in cinemas a while back, I know that is the point of the film but at times the mining segment of the film felt very tacked on and in your face.

And lastly, I couldn't help but call Red Cat MAD Cat at times as I was reminded of that famous cat while watching Red Cat in this film.

All in all, it took me a while to get to see it but it was well worth the wait, especially for that little dog, 3 out of 5.