Wednesday 29 February 2012

February 2012



Drive – 2011, Nicolas Winding Refn
Obviously I’ve not seen every film that was released in 2011 but I’d have to say this is by far the best. Well worth all the hype. A lot of this film is just a guy with an awful jacket driving around LA in the dark but the reason it’s so good, the reason we care we much about this guy, is because the opening sequence established him as being cool as fuck. He’s a badass and after five minutes in his company we want him to succeed, whatever it is he winds up doing. It looks good and sounds good and the dialogue is very sparse which is also good. The less everybody says the less chance any of the characters have to say something annoying or unbelievable and thus turn the audience against the characters they are supposed to be routing for. I wish I’d seen it at the cinema.

Last of The Mohicans – 1992, Michael Mann

It’s strange to see Daniel Day-Lewis being all heroic and dashing but it’s hard to think of another actor of that period (20 years ago) who could have done better. Mel Gibson? Michael Douglas? Kevin Coster? Pierce Brosnan? I read the James Fenimore Cooper novel over Christmas, I wouldn’t recommend it. It’s nowhere near as bad or unreadable as its harshest critics say it but plot doesn’t really live up to the premise, hence the liberal rearranging of things in this movie and adaptation (preceded by four others, the first in 1912). I suppose this film will go in and out of fashion, just like the novel, but I enjoyed it. Worth watching just for Mugua.

Hunger – 2008, Steve McQueen

I watched this late last year and at the time it was the best film I had seen in ages, but then I do watch a lot of pretty bad films. It’s nice to see a film throw conventional structure out of the window and yet still maintain the viewer’s interest. Michael Fassbender and Liam Cunningham share most of the dialogue but the events bookending their big scene are equally compelling. I like the prison drama genre, but it always leaves me wondering just how accurate such films are and Hunger had me questioning the most. There’s some pretty nasty stuff going on in this film, almost unbelievable in fact. Does doubting make me naive?

Mulholland Drive – 2001, David Lynch
I went into this one completely cold. I knew to expect a the unordinary from Mr Lynch but I was still a bit thrown and slightly annoyed by the u-turn it takes after the first 90 minutes or so. I watched the special features on the disc afterwards and discovered that it was originally a pilot for a TV series that was never commissioned so they decided to film a bit more and release it theatrically. So the first part is the first episode and the second part is the final episode. It’s good and weird and funny, but by the end it seems that it’s just crazy for the sake of crazy. Worth watching I suppose. Incidentally, this film made me feel like a teenager aging; I can’t remember the last time I watched a film where I hoped that a bird would get her tits out as much as Laura Harring in this one. Sweet Jesus what a pay-off.

The Hangover Part II – 2011, Todd Phillips
So The Hangover made over $450 million on a budget of $35 million, all because it was better than everyone expected, so those who had seen it probably recommended it to their friends more highly than they intended. At least that was my experience after seeing it in the cinema one Sunday after a wedding the day before. As you’ve probably heard, part II is the same as the first (if it ain’t broke don’t fix it), only in Bangkok. Any ‘charm’ that the first one had is lost. Apparently the third one won’t follow the same formula.

Warrior – 2011, Gavin O’Conner
Like Rocky but with MMA, or so the producers would have you believe (the plot about a couple of nobodies getting a chance to be contenders is just as far fetched). It was conceived and produced by a bunch of guys who actually look like clowns who are somehow involved with MMA without actually being fighters or trainers. The story is a bit overwritten; it takes itself very seriously in order to arrive at an very contrived climax, but the cast and the direction make up for it. I can’t decide if Tom Hardy is a good actor. He’s very good in Bronson and he’s not bad in this (although his Pittsburgh accent slips a little sometimes). Nick Nolte does well in the role of recovering alcoholic estranged father, well worth an Oscar nod I suppose. Is that Kurt Angle?

Horrible Bosses – 2011, Seth Gordon
Shit, all the more so because of what I read about it in the Variety website:
New Line has decided to go to work with "Horrible Bosses," snapping up Michael Markowitz's spec comedy script for mid-six figures and setting it up with Brett Ratner and Jay Stern to produce through their New Line-based Rat Entertainment shingle.

The Brothers Solomon – 2007, Bob Odenkirk
Not as shit, but far from great. I watched it because of this article.

Senna – 2010, Asif Kapadia

I probably made a mistake in watched the 162 minute extended Blu-ray version. It’s still very interesting but I’m reliably informed that the theatrical version was very well paced. The extended cut was never boring, but some of the taking heads got a lot of screen time, and some of the sound editing was very heavy handed (I imagine it was much better in the shorter version). I’m supprised they didn’t interview more former F1 drivers.

Gran Torino – 2008, Clint Eastwood
Just as good third time round. Maybe my fave Clint, but one day I’ll buy that 35 DVD box set and pick one for sure. Made my girlfriend cry.

Troll Hunter – 2010, Andre Orvedal

Norwegian ‘found footage’ romp about a bunch of students following a grizzled Troll Hunter around picturesque Scandinavian type places. The beginning and the ending aren’t great but the hour in the middle is very good. It’s like Monster and Stakeland in that it’s clearly been made on a shoestring but the digital effects stand up very well.

The Devil’s Double – 2011, Lee Tamahori

The true story about the guy who was forced into being the body double for Saddam Hussein’s son Uday. You’d think that such a premise would attract the interest of a big studio and a big name actor to play the duel roles of psycho Uday and his far abused look-alike (especially since the true story Machine Gun Preacher was made recently). But interesting as it sounds it has a clearly limited budget and the main guy Dominic Cooper doesn’t really pull it off. Shame.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – 2011, Tomas Alfredson

Because I had heard it was very hard to follow I listened very closely and didn’t have any trouble. It’s good, but too evenly paced; there are no real dramatic highs or lows, just steady investigation leading to a slightly unsatisfying climax.