Now that term has broken up and all the essays are done, it's time to sit back and relax... Or in my case, watch as many bloody movies as I can cram in as possible. This time of year is great for films, as all the big Oscar-friendly movies get released, meaning we have a slew of huge credible films hitting the multiplexes. So first up was Danny Boyle's latest...
Slumdog Millionaire
There has been such a fanfare of critical praise for SM, that it seems like the film could never possibly live up to the hype. SM tells the story of a young man, Jamal, a slumdweller in Mumbai, who defys the odds to get to the very last question on the hindi version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. Made for a meagre budget on location in India, SM is a huge change of direction for director Boyle following his last film, the creepy sci-fi epic Sunshine, but Boyle has never been one to stick to one genre as his previous films have shown (Shallow Grave, Trainspotting, Life Less Ordinary, 28 Days Later etc). So how does is foray into fairytale bollywood-esque film-making fare?
I liked the film, I really did, but for me it never transcended from being a well made and pleasant to watch film, into a great piece of cinema. True, it's beautifully shot, and features some great performances from the young actors portraying the heroes in their youths, but for me, it was a little cliched, with an air of inevitability about the whole thing. True, the film is meant to play as a Dicken-esque, rags to riches, modern fairytale, but Boyles vision of Mumbai, although he doesn't pull any punches on the grime of day to day life, never feels fully authentic. Plus, the great turns from the younger versions of Jamal threaten to outshine Dev Patel (of Skins fame), who frankly comes across as a bit wooden, god knows why he's nominated for a Bafta, lets just hope he's not up for an Oscar too.
Worth seeing for the feel-good factor, but don't expect anything truly breathtaking.
3/5
My Bloody Valentine 3D
My only venture into 3D films previous to this was a crappy VHS of some Nightmare on Elm Street sequel which had some pretty ropey 3D sequences which you viewed with those old-skool cardboard red & blue glasses, to pretty dismal effect. The red & blue meant you viewed the sequences in a weird off-colour hue, and the 3D itself was pretty basic. But...let me tell you now. After seeing MBV3D I am converted...
3D IS THE FUTURE OF FILM!
The 3D in this film is so breathtaking, I literally couldn't believe my eyes. The technology is there now. Yes, you still have to wear stupid specs in the cinema, but gone are the red & blue in place of polarised lenses, which mean there is now colour degradation, you view the film just as you would a normal film, but its in 3D! To be honest, being a horror, it can come across as a bit gimicky in places, but even outside of the obviously done-for-effect shots, the 3D is just incredible, bringing the action on screen to life in a way i'd never seen before. Honestly there is no reason why, in the future, that all films should be released in 3D. It just seems to me just a totally natural progression. Good news then that Pixar has announced all it's future films will be released in 3D (as well as re-releasing Toy Story 1 & 2 in glorious 3D), meaning i'm even more hyped for Up than before. You need to experience this new 3D now, trust me, it blew my mind.
The film itself is fairly standard US-slasher fodder, never really that scary, full of cliches and ropey acting, but it is played fairly tongue-in-cheek, so you can forgive that for the most part. The gore is great (if you like that sort of thing), with numerous inventive murders throughout (the spade one my personal favourite, tied with the jawbone one), and they really push for the 18 rating, with plenty of swearing, explicit nudity and gut-churning violence. Stupid mindless fun. But make sure you catch it in 3D...
Bloody, guts, gore, nudity and violence all in incredible 3D.
4/5 (or 2/5 in 2D)
The Wrestler
Another serious critic-friendly award-hungry picture, this time starring Mickey Rourke as a washed up pro-wrestler, Marisa Tomei as a washed up stripper, and Evan Rachel Wood as the wrestlers long-suffering daughter. Directed by Darren Aronofsky (who also directed one of my least favourite films ever, Requiem For A Dream, but I won't hold that against him), The Wrestler tells the sad tale of fictional wrestler Randy "The Ram" Robinson, who was massively popular in the 1980s, but who still wrestles to pay the bills, despite his aging frame crying out for him to stop.
All the hype to this film has been surrounding Mickey Rourke and his performance, in a role which seems absolutely perfectly fitted for him, the washed-up has-been out to prove everyone wrong. And Rourke's performance doesn't disappoint, he looks terrific in the movie, a beaten up hulking wreck of a man, and he hits all the right emotional notes. Kudos too though to Tomei, who also looks fantastic (she does spend half the film in half-naked stripper mode), but carries off the stripper with a heart with convincing results. Evan Rachel Wood feels slightly underused, but holds own in her scenes with Rourke, which have visible chemistry. The film itself doesn't pull any punches, nor does it patronise the 'Sports Entertainment" world of pro-wrestling, which in the UK (and maybe USA I couldn't comment), has always been one to prompt sniggering amongst the masses, but still has a huge fanbase all around the world. The fight scenes are graphic and brutal, with the hardcore fight being so wince-inducing, you almost don't want to watch. The whole world of these pro-wrestlers is laid bare for all to see, with all the hair-dying, fake-tanning, egotistic posturing, illegal drugs and constant pain these guys live with all there on the big screen.
For all that, I did enjoy the movie, although it was a tough watch, there are moments of touching light humour and pathos that lift the film from it's essentially B-movie basing, into something a lot more affecting. That said, I don't think it's a 5 star movie, and that is simply because, without Rourke and his personal history that are now attached to the film, making The Wrestler his 'comeback movie', this film would never have been anything more than an interesting curio of a sports film, that itvery bravely, nearly transcends.
Tough, brutal and affecting movie, shot well, with a great cast. But still just a movie about wrestling...
4/5
DVDs
[rec]
5/5 Quite simply the BEST horror film I have seen in ages. A spanish Blair Witch style, shot on handheld camera zombie movie, which has more scares than your average horror fare. SEEK THIS OUT!
Zack & Miri Make A Porno
3/5 Kevin Smith's latest is crude and funny in equal measure. Just a shame about the ending, bit too obvious Kevin. Worth watching though to hear the concept of The Dutch Rudder.
United 93
5/5 Vital 9/11 film. A heartbreaking recreation of the events on the hijacked United Airlines flight 93. Well worth seeing.
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