Filed under: Published film reviews
Jenny is pretty, doing well at school, and set to land a place at Oxford. Then she meets David, an older man who dazzles her with the world beyond her ’60s suburban life, and soon a very different destiny opens up before her.
An Education is a movie that is gently engaging. Danish director Lone Scherfig never feels the need to hit the drama button for the sake of hammering home any moral points.
While this film has an easy charm that will leave you thinking that it was a “lovely” film, (though not necessarily cinematic as one could watch it on the telly or on DVD and be quite happy about it) its primary pull is through the strong performances, particularly the new starlet Carey Mulligan who plays “Jenny,” and who is deeply convincing as a young woman who is intellectually a step ahead of the rest, but experentially three steps behind. (Cert 12A)
Filed under: Published film reviews
When the daughter of veteran Boston detective Thomas Craven (Mel Gibson) is killed in front of him, police assume he was the target. But Craven begins to suspect it’s to do with the ‘dodgy’ businessman she was working for.
Craven is “damaged goods,” attacked by inner demons and haunted by grief — literally, as he hears the voice of his late daughter and imagines her there, as a little girl, during his exploration of her killing.
The original story is by the late Troy Kennedy Martin, fuelled by his frustration at a Thatcherite Britain in thrall to American interests. This film, directed by Martin Campbell (Golden Eye, Casino Royale, The Mask of Zorro) is similarly suspicious of government and big business.
Mel Gibson’s excellent comeback performance is worth seeing – the Lethal Weapon hasn’t lost it. (Cert 15)
Filed under: Published film reviews | Tags: Heartbreaker, L'Arnacoeur, Pascal Chaumeil, Romain Duris, Vanessa Paradis
Silver-tongued seducteur-for-hire Alex (Romain Duris) earns his living using his wiles to break up couples. But he’s met his match in gorgeous Juliette (Vanessa Paradis) and her charming English fiancé (Andrew Lincoln).
Director Pascal Chaumeil’s romantic comedy may have a silly premise in the seducer paid to break up couples, and the challenging rich heiress as his latest assignment – yet his debut feature surprises and enchants at every turn.
An expert screenplay that favours dry wit over sentiment is fleshed out by wonderful performances and perfect physical comedy from its two leads (Duris & Paradis). This film has a true heart at its centre and is simply funny. It’s a romantic comedy that packs warmth and humour in every moment and is an unexpected delight. Set in the luxuriant locales of Monte Carlo and Paris, it’s also gorgeous to watch.
Filed under: Published film reviews | Tags: Ewan McGregor, film review, Pierce Brosnan, Robert Harris, Roman Polanski, The Ghost Writer
If you’re in the mood for nail-biting suspense, then THE GHOST WRITER is the movie for you.
A ghost-writer (Ewan McGregor, Trainspotting, Down with Love) is hired to complete the memoirs of a former British prime minister (Pierce Brosnan, Matador, Die Another Day) and uncovers secrets that put his own life in jeopardy.
Director Roman Polanski (Rosemary’s Baby, Chinatown, Death and the Maiden) is back to form with this stylish, edge-of-your-seat political thriller, that plays extremely well whether you’re into politics or not. Polanski’s trademark themes, such as black humour, paranoia, the pervasiveness of evil, and a preoccupation with ‘foreignness’, are all showcased in this film that looks as chilly as its story.
With plot twists that will keep you guessing all the way to the conclusion, it’s a pleasure to see an intelligent thriller that’s extremely well acted.
Filed under: Published film reviews | Tags: film review, Gabourey Sidibe, Lee Daniels, novel "Push", Sapphire
Sixteen year-old Precious is obese, illiterate, physically and mentally abused, and pregnant (again) by her father. When an incident at school finally attracts attention, Precious grabs the lifeline offered by a teaching programme for problem girls.
Gabourey Sidibe’s Precious maintains an impassive attitude, making all the more affecting the flashes of emotion she exposes when pushed (PUSH is the title of the novel the film is based on). Mo’Nique, better known as a stand-up comic, plays a mother so monstrous she’d fit into a horror film. In smaller roles, Mariah Carey gives a strong performance as the social worker who uncovers the truth about Precious’ ‘home’ life, and Lenny Kravitz charms as a compassionate nurse.
Even as this is a triumph for indie filmmaking from Producer (Monster’s Ball)-turned-director Lee Daniels, rarely has one been so relieved to have an uplifting outcome.
Filed under: Published film reviews | Tags: Crazy Heart, Jeff Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Scott Cooper, Thomas Cobb
Veteran country singer/songwriter ‘Bad’ Blake (Jeff Bridges) battles bills and booze on endless tours of dead-end towns. He’s interviewed by journalist Jean Craddock (Maggie Gyllenhaal) and sees some hope for himself and the future in her and her son Buddy.
Jeff Bridges gives an amazing, heart-breaking performance as the whisky-wracked Bad; a man for whom drunk driving isn’t so much a crime as a lifestyle choice. Selfish, charismatic, charming but utterly destructive, he’s both lovable and infuriating. Maggie Gyllenhaal is wonderful, too – her relationship with Bad would stretch credulity but for the fact she plays the role so warmly and believably.
The film also has great music, written largely by T Bone Burnett (O Brother, Where Art Thou?) and the late Stephen Bruton. Colin Farrell plays Bad’s (more successful) protégé, and both he and Jeff Bridges sing surprisingly well.
Combined with the music, the fantastic cinematography sets the tone, capturing the landscape of the Southwest of the US, beautifully. (Cert 15)
Filed under: Published film reviews | Tags: Dennis Lehane, film review, Leonardo Dicaprio, Martin Scorsese, Max Von Sydow, Shutter Island
1954: US Marshal Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) travels to an offshore asylum for the criminally insane to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a murderess from her cell, but he also wants to confront an imprisoned arsonist he believes was responsible for the death of his wife. Once there, Daniels comes to believe that psychologists Cawley (Ben Kingsley) and Naehring (Max von Sydow) are involved in unethical experiments. The story of criminal investigation turns in on itself as our hero suffers contradictory flashbacks and drug-induced hallucinations.
SHUTTER ISLAND is the nearest thing to a horror film Martin Scorsese (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull) has made since Cape Fear. Based on Dennis Lehane’s novel, it has one of those tricky plots that keeps pulling the rug out from under the hero and with Scorsese’s masterful direction, it’s engaging Film Noir mystery combined with gothic melodrama.
Filed under: Published film reviews | Tags: Ewan McGregor, film review, I Love You Phillip Morris, Jim Carrey
Steven Russell (Jim Carrey) is happily married and a member of a local police force when a car accident causes him to reassess his life. Steven realises he’s gay and decides to live life flagrantly, even breaking the law if it gets him what he wants. When he’s jailed for fraud, he falls in love with inmate Phillip Morris (Ewan McGregor). His obsession with freeing Phillip and their building a perfect life together, prompts Steven to attempt, and often succeed at one impossible con after another.
For those of us who find Carrey often ‘too-too’, this is a stunning turn for him as an actor, a dream role that combines his old-school comedic tricks with an emotional honesty that feels genuine and earned. Directed by the writers of Bad Santa (John Requa and Glenn Ficarra), this is one of the blackest and funniest comedies of the year.
Filed under: Published film reviews | Tags: film review, Natalie Portman, Sam Shepard
Sam Cahill (Tobey Maguire, Spiderman) begins his latest tour in Afghanistan when his chopper is shot down and he’s presumed dead. As his family, including his wife Grace (Natalie Portman, V for Vendetta, Star Wars III), brother Tommy (Jake Gyllenhaal, Brokeback Mountain, The Day After Tomorrow), and father (Sam Shepard, Blackhawk Down, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford) mourn his loss and try to move on with their lives, Sam unexpectedly returns home; this film is essentially about the consequent family dynamics.
While the Danish original is better when it comes to pacing and depth, this is an affecting and sturdy remake that brings a powerful story to an even wider audience.
Filed under: Published film reviews | Tags: film review, George Clooney, Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) is a suave but haunted jetsetter bent on reaching ten million air miles as he goes from city to city laying off the workforce on behalf of cowardly bosses. His life is just how he wants it – no emotional ties and plenty of material perks – until he falls for Alex and is saddled with work-partner Natalie.
It’s a consumerist fable set against bleak corporate downsizing with Clooney a ‘career transition counsellor’ who is thriving in the chaos of recession. Topical, eh? Heavy? This is a film saying something important about its times. But in the hands of director Jason Reitman’s (Juno, Thank You for Smoking) hands, it is smart, silky, sensitive, funny old school movie magic – an emphatic statement that Hollywood can still make excellent movies.
Victoria Jelinek 