American Hustle

Sometimes we build up films, books or music in our heads before it gets released. Heaping more and more pressure on to whatever it is we are waiting for. Anticipation is not a bad thing most of the time, however, if it goes unchecked or is increased by outside influences, then it can lead to severe disappointments. Something that can make even a passable or good piece of art, look like a load of rubbish.

American Hustle loosely, and I mean loosely, tells the story of the Abscam scandal in the late seventies in America, in which a number of politicians were arrested in a sting operation by the FBI. That however, is more of a backdrop for what is, essentially a character piece. Our main characters are two con artists and an FBI agent looking to make a name for himself.

As it is a character piece, it‘s driven and interested more on the characters and performances than anything else and top of the list is Christian Bale. This is, to put it out there right now, one of Bale’s best performances ever, as Irving Rosenfeld the experienced con man who is forced into the FBI operation for reasons I won’t go into here.

Where other performances verge on parody or awards baiting, Bale keeps it understated, realising that with the already substantial amount of hair and make up he has on, that he too could become nothing more than a joke. Not only are his big scenes quite often the films strongest moments, he also manages to lift the smaller scenes, even when he may not have anything to say, with nothing more than a look.  This performance is the stand out reason for seeing this film.

With such a rich story and setting, it is a sad aspect of the film that the plot is pushed to the side. Yes, the performances are good, but they hardly drive the film forward. You could easily divide the films scenes up into two categories. Character and Plot quite easily. Despite the clear preference for character scenes, if is more often that not the more plot based scenes that are the best. Which makes it a shame that the ratio is heavily favoured the other way.

A quick note on the music, something that is often a strength of David O Russell’s films, he uses it to build the world and period, but also matches them perfectly to the scenes or sequences we are watching. The club scene between Adams and Cooper is made to feel even more intense and euphoric with the O Russell’s perfect choice of song. The deliberately cheesy early montage of Bale and Adams rise to prominence is a cheesy delight.

Some have argued that American Hustle is all style and no substance, that to me is an unfair and quite frankly inaccurate criticism to lay at this films feet. As it is a period piece, it will naturally attract comments on how it looks and if that attention to detail was at the expense of other parts of the film. With the characters it certainly wasn’t a detriment to them. But as mentioned, the lack of plot hurts the film and doesn’t leave you thinking about the film once the film has ended, which The Fighter and Silver Linings Playbook did for me.

The easiest way for me to sum up this film is Scorsese light, it definitely takes inspiration from Casino and Goodfellas in particular, as far as films to have as an influence, these two are arguably the best to take ideas or visuals from.

Come awards time, I am sure we will see American Hustle dominate in all categories, but it will be acting categories where its greatest chance lies, in particular Christian Bale. Next to better-plotted films, such as Captain Phillips, it will be interesting to see how it fairs in the screenplay award, to see if the preference is character or plot.

By no means a bad film, more a victim of its own hype.

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues

I will start this review by saying that I wasn’t the biggest fan of the original Anchorman, not because I didn’t enjoy the film, but more so that I didn’t find it as infinitely quotable as many other people did. The humour is very broad, allowing each viewer to latch on to their own preferred kind of comedy, be it slapstick, crude, offensive or satire.

The plot of Anchorman 2 follows Ron Burgundy in the eighties after he is fired from his news show and his wife, Veronica, is made the news anchor after choosing the job over their marriage. Ron then sinks into a dark, albeit hilarious, pit of despair before he is offered a job with a brand new twenty four hour news channel.

As with any comedy, it all comes down to the simple point. Is it funny? For the most part it is. There a few jokes that didn’t work for me, but this is hardly something to be hold against a film. Anchorman 2 is undoubtedly at its best when it sticks to satirizing the news and the numerous programs and channels, or when it really goes for it, such as the ‘smoking crack’ scene or the family dinner. While these could be seen as easy fare for comedy, because of Ron and the news team, they work.

Ron Burgundy, to no surprise, makes the film and anchors the gradually increasing insanity that unfolds, building to a very surreal finale. Without such a likeable and funny character, the films second half wouldn’t have worked. Especially with the news team battle and the lighthouse sequence. I am trying to giveaway as little of the plot or the jokes as possible.

Not the longest review I have done, but comedy is a hard genre for me to get into. You will either find it funny or you won’t. Character development is relatively sparse, definitely preferring the delivery of jokes above evolving the people swept up in the story.

If you are a fan of the first, then you will in all likelihood enjoy this one. If you aren’t then the film could feel too long and in need of trimming at least ten minutes.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

The Desolation of Smaug picks up almost immediately after the end of An Unexpected Journey, with Bilbo, Gandalf and the dwarves struggling on their way to the Lonely Mountain and the lost dwarf city of Erebor, so that Thorin can take his place as King under the mountain. Along with this, we get to meet some old and new elven characters, are introduced to a completely new town and people with Lake Town and see the seeds of The Lord of the Rings being sown.

As you can imagine with any Middle Earth film, the run time is substantial, but unlike the first instalment of The Hobbit this film doesn’t slow down for a second, offering up more excitement in the films first hour than we got in the entirety of the previous film. The Barrel sequence, which I will get to later, is the highlight of this series so far. Don’t let this films running time or your experience of the first film put you off going to see the next part of Bilbo’s journey.

Visually The Desolation of Smaug relies on a large amount of CGI, which is to be expected, but unlike the first, the frame rate isn’t an issue with this film. As a result, the CGI holds up much better this time, while you know it’s not real, this time it is easier to lose yourself in wide vistas and detailed characters.

Like An Unexpected Journey, a lot of the film is carried on the shoulders of the films main heroes, Bilbo, Gandalf and Thorin. McKellen gives us more of the same of a character we have seen insult and lecture kings and the powerful since 2001. Thorin is as rough, rude and driven as he was in the first film, a dwarf who is set on one goal and won’t allow anyone to get in his way. Martin Freemans Bilbo is the heart and soul of the film, he is character we spend the most time with, although not as much as we did in the first film. He isn’t a near invincible hero like Aragorn was in The Lord of the Rings; instead he has to use his brains and wits to get him and his companions out of countless perilous situations.

The most interesting part of this film is the way we are introduced to the different workings of various societies and races throughout Middle Earth, each of them motivated by a communal goal established by a single man, some selfless, others not. The elven kingdom of Mirkwood is the most interesting society, undoubtedly the most fearsome and skilled warriors, they are happy to stay within their borders, even becoming lenient when Orcs spread into the forest. The father son relationship between the King and his son, Legolas and their discussion of what should be done about the events in Middle Earth is the films strongest scene and one I hope is revisited in the third film.

As mentioned earlier, the Barrel sequence is the highlight of the film, based around a river escape as the dwarves flee Mirkwood in a convoy of barrels floating down a river, chased by Orcs who are in turn being hunted by elves, led by Legolas and Tauriel (Evangeline Lily). We are treated to dwarf humour and ferocity as they struggle to stay alive and elven acrobatics and fighting flamboyance as they cross tree branches and cut through the orcs with utter precision.

While it may not be up to the standard of The Two Towers, The Desolation of Smaug is a return to form for Middle Earth. Helped by more action and greater stakes, this will leave you wanting more. Luckily we only have to wait six months this time.

Saving Mr Banks

I’ll start this review by saying that I saw Saving Mr Banks within twenty four hours of seeing The Counsellor, so the swing in tone and content may have bled through into how much I enjoyed this film. One that is infinitely easier to get into and far less unsettling. Unless you have some sort of beef with Mickey Mouse.

Saving Mr Banks follows the story of how Walt Disney and his team tried to make Mary Poppins into a film. Focusing on the story of P L Travers when she was a young girl living in Australia and the present day (early sixties) in which she has travelled to Los Angeles to work on the film and to be persuaded to hand over the rights to Walt Disney.

There are a lot of good things going for this film, one of the biggest is the script by Kelly Marcel, which knows exactly when to send us back in time to the days in the outback with her father. The moments that influence the older Travers don’t immediately precede or appear right after, instead we are given all of these ticks, memories and clues into how these experiences have changed her. We are asked to put it together for ourselves.

The two leads Emma Thompsons as P L Travers and Tom Hanks as Walt Disney have great chemistry together and their back and forth squabbles and arguments are a joy to watch. The supporting cast really fill out the world, bringing it to life and giving Travers different personality to interact with and put down in a amusingly upper class way.

Hanks, who has slightly less time than Thompson I think on screen, gives us a likeable but layered Disney, something behind the good natured and always smiling man you would expect. This is less a case of imitation as taking bits and pieces of the real man and making fit into this story. Hanks a true great of the screen gives you nothing less than this and while this is one of his best in years, if he is to take home an Oscar this year, it will surely be for Captain Phillips.

Thompson dominates every scene she is, in that way becoming every bit the woman she is portraying. She isn’t immediately likeable, in fact for long parts of the film it is in some way hard to sympathise with her at all. But maybe that’s because we know how it all ends up and she obviously doesn’t. As Travers begins to loosen, not by much though, Thompson plays up more of the vulnerability and longing for something she has long lost.

Colin Farrell is given one of the most interesting roles he has had in many years, as Travers’ father. A supporting father who encourages his daughters’ creativity and imagination, but suffers from a kind of chronic alcoholism. This is shown quite early on, so it’s not a major spoiler. The creative team of the two musicians The Sherman Brothers and the screenwriter are instantly sympathetic, stuck in the rehearsal room with the rude and incessant Travers. There best ideas are crushed and the film they have been playing ripped to sheds.

Saving Mr Banks is a great family film and one that people who both have and haven’t seen Mary Poppins will enjoy.

The Counsellor

I will start this review by saying that this is quite simply one of the most uncomfortable and unsettling film I have ever seen, taking its place alongside Oldboy and Blue Velvet. Like those films, it has moments of brutal violence carried out by people completely aware of what they are doing. Violence however, is simply the tip of the iceberg with The Counsellor. This film is an eighteen for a reason.

Written by one of the greatest living novelists, Cormac McCarthy and directed one of the best directors working today, Ridley Scott. The Counsellor follows an American counsellor as he gets involved in a drug deal, hoping to make a lot of money in a one time deal. I’ll avoid spoilers, but as you can imagine, his best laid plans soon unravel.

Where else to start with than the writing and the screenplay. You are dropped right into the middle of this world of drug dealers, corrupt middle men and assassins. There is little to no set up of the main story or its central characters. You are told to keep up and forced through this relentless terrifying descent into genuine horror.

The dialogue is beautiful throughout, although it does depend on the actor to see just how good it is, and  it is unlike anything you are likely to hear in a film this year. The monologues, which there are a few of, can be distracting and slow down the film at times, purely because they force you to really listen to words and understand the gravity and emotion behind each of them. One phone call is particularly hard to sit through, solely because of the actions and consequences which have led to this moment and the event to follow.

The plot is relatively simple to follow, but because we don’t come in at the start, you have to put together the pieces as the clues are drip fed to you. Although it’s nice to not be swamped with exposition, I can’t help but think that a few lines here and there would have gone a long way to making this more accessible.

The cast for this film is impressive, to say the least. Led by the stellar Michael Fassbender, whose arrogant law man starts off with the world at his feet and feeling untouchable before the inevitable and subtly delivered fall starts. Fassbender handles the unique dialogue well, giving the elaborate sentences and monologues a human feel, bringing substance to the style.

Brad Pitt and Javier Bardem fill out the supporting male roles. As with Fassbender, they handle the dialogue with a smooth and confident air, letting the words flow out. But it is their characters facial expressions which really bring them to life. Pitts final scene is powerful and echoes words and advice he told to the counsellor at the start of the film. Bardems greatest moment is in a flash back, as he tells of a night with Malkina (Cameron Diaz) on a golf course. I won’t give away details, but he holds a look that encompasses fear, confusion and a little bit of disgust throughout it all.

Penelope Cruz and Cameron Diaz, who play the two main female characters, fair in varying degrees with the dialogue, but both succeed with the silent moments. Like their male counterparts, they bring them to life with the simple gestures, smiles, glances or the wrinkle of a brow. It’s hard to go into details about these two, as a lot of their best moments come late on and would give away some key moments.

Visually this film is superb, as you would come to expect from any Ridley Scott film, set mostly in the desert, Scott and Dariusz Wolski make each barren landscape a pleasure to look at. Even when you know you shouldn’t, or don’t want to. Decapitations and automobile based sexual interactions have never been so beautifully shot.

The Counsellor will worry you, confuse you, entertain you and scare you. Some will love it, others will hate it. But you won’t find another film like it anywhere.

Just be warned, it is certainly not for the squeamish.

Gravity

It’s been a long wait for Alfonso Cuaron’s follow up to Children of Men, one of the great dystopian films of the last twenty years. With Gravity, Cuaron has returned with both his attention to detail and elegant use of long shots.

The story of Gravity is straight forward, taking a lot from the survival genre, as we initially follow the crew of Explorer as they attach scientific equipment to a satellite. This changes when a freak accident causes countless pieces of debris to rip through the shuttle and the satellite, effectively leaving them dead in the water, or space. What follows is a desperate race to get to the next satellite or space station that can sustain the team till the debris comes round again.

That pretty much covers all you need to know about Gravity in terms of plot, it is happy to keep it simple and instead focus on the visuals and it’s characters, arguably the films weakness.

But it would be wrong to start anywhere else with Gravity than the quite frankly stunning visuals. Yes, large amounts of it are made up of CGI shots, but this is CGI on another level, it looks real but at the same time never distracts from the rest of the film, something that often ruins CGI heavy films.

The other great visual joy is the use of long takes. The first shot of the film is roughly 15 minutes long. This shot isn’t just of a conversation, or a simple tracking shot of a single character. It shows us the Earth, the main characters as they work on a moving satellite, then follows each of them during the debris storm. It’s worth going to see this film for the opening shot alone.

Now, lets move onto the two characters in this film, Stone and Kowalski, played by Sandra Bullock and George Clooney. Bar a few radio voices, these are the only two people you are going to follow for the film.

Bullock is arguably the lead in Gravity, as it her past that is focused on more and she is one that has any sort of character arc. As she fights to survive, we slowly have more and more information drip fed to us about what happened to her back on Earth. Bullock does her best with a somewhat basic script, there is very little character work, in part that is down to the events that follow the debris storm. It would have been interesting for her to have been given something meatier to work with and really build out Stone.

Clooney is as charming and funny as you would expect from him, he is the veteran up there and as a result the part plays to his strengths. His knowledge and experience earns him the right to be so relaxed up there. Clooney builds his character quickly, thanks to some stories he shares with Houston as they are working on the satellite, something like this would have greatly helped Bullocks character.

In Alien, the tag line was ‘In space no one can hear you scream’, and thanks to Gravity, sticking to this scientific fact, you get some really unsettling and discomforting sequences, especially during the action set pieces, when chaos is breaking out visually, but we can’t hear anything except the voices of the astronauts.

I had heard great things about Gravity, going into the cinema, even that it would change cinema. While I enjoyed the film, it did fall a little short of the hype that preceded it. This obviously, isn’t the fault of the film, critics will say what they want and it is easy to be taken in by the hyperbole that has come out of the film.

Gravity is a technically stunning film that will pull people in, but will ultimately divide.

Thor: The Dark World

The first Thor was, and still is may favourite Marvel Studios film, as it didn’t stick to their usual structure and handling of the villain. Instead of focusing on the action, of which there is a lot, it was more interested in the family dynamic of the main characters, Especially the relationship between Thor and Loki, something that would go on to be the best part of The Avengers.

The plot for Thor: The Dark World is fairly straight forward, a race that existed before the creation of the nine realms, the Dark Elves have returned seeking a power source known as the Aether, something that if controlled by their leader Malekith, will return the universe to darkness. This Aether has been locked away for thousands of years, but when Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) stumbles through into another realm and comes across it, she alerts Malekith to where it is. From there on, Thor must return to Earth, protect Jane and stop Malekith.

The films greatest strength, as with the first one is in the interplay between Thor and Loki, played by  Tom Hiddleston and Chris Hemsworth superbly. Their chemistry is so good and believable that they feel like brothers. Their first scene in the film together is where the film as a whole starts to pick up. Whether one is better in their respective role compared to the other is beside the point. 

They embrace the characters and make them their own, something that often seals the fate of any comic book film. Without one, this series wouldn’t be anywhere near as successful or interesting as it is.

As with any good comic book film you need a good  villain, someone you can really hate and with Loki being given a very grey area in this film it falls on Malekith to carry the threat. Unfortunately, he rarely does anything to warrant hatred, in fact you will probably barely manage more than casual dislike for him. In all, he kills about five people that I can remember and they are faceless warriors in the prologue.

His hench-elves do the majority of the shooting and stabbing. Christopher Eccleston is not bad in the role, in fact a lesser actor would have barely left an impression, but he certainly could have done with more screen time than he got to make the character more detestable or have him try and justify what he is doing. While not necessary for all villains, this crusade needed some sort of reasoning.

For a film about gods and the end of light in the universe, the action is somewhat downplayed at times, again similar to the first. But here, I really wanted it to go big, especially during an attack on a certain city and the climax of the film. The two major set pieces of the film.  Both sequences have good beginnings and good ends, but not that something special. By these points we are invested in the characters and have just been treated to some excellent characters moments. 

There is no grand moment in these sequences, no truck flip (The Dark Knight) or fight on top of the train (Spider-Man 2) to make the memorable. Where Man of Steel received complaints for the level of destruction and length of its final battle, Thor: The Dark World should be criticized for not going big enough.

By no means is this a negative review of the film, I enjoyed it a lot and would recommend it to anyone looking for a fun film to go and see. It slips into the upper echelon of Marvel films with ease.

Go to this film for the performances, specifically Hemsworth, Hiddleston and Hopkins, it’s their relationships and family politics that make this film as good as it is.

It looks like the red capes are doing okay this year.