Fish Tank: Movie Review

Fish Tank: Movie Review

Rating: 7/10
Cast: Katie Jarvis, Michael Fassbender, Rebecca Griffiths, Kierston Wareing
Director: Andrea Arnold
This British film about a 15 year old girl on a council estate has had accolades hurled at it left, right and centre in the UK.
Showing as part of the World Cinema Showcase, it's the story of Mia (brilliantly played by newcomer Katie Jarvis) and her life in the "fish tank" of her world.
Mia's an angry outsider, scornful of the other girls around her and more likely to let loose a tirade of foul mouthed language than try to fit in. In her grey tracksuit, she's a snapshot of many UK teens who feel their lives are going nowhere.
But her world changes one day when her mother brings home a new boyfriend, Connor (Inglourious Basterds' Michael Fassbender) - she's intrigued by this stranger, and the scales fall from her eyes and she starts to see a life outside of her own small world.
There's a certain degree of inevitability to this story - you can see what's coming a mile off; but what you can't see is how powerful the central performance by Katie Jarvis is. She's brilliantly captured the futility and anger of the teen years as she deals with one disappointment after another. However, when she meets Connor, thanks to a multi layered and subtle performance you start to warm up to this lower class ladette as you're drawn into her life.

It's unusual to recommend a film because of one person - but Fish Tank is that film. It rises because of Katie Jarvis' performance and marks out the fact she will be a talent to watch in the future.

How To Train Your Dragon: Movie Review

How To Train Your Dragon: Movie Review

How To Train Your Dragon
Rating: See Below
Vocal Cast: Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, America Ferrara, Craig Ferguson
Director: Dean DeBlois, Chris Sanders
It must be school holiday time very soon.
The reason I say that is because there's animated fare on the way - and this is the first off the block.
How To Train Your Dragon is the story of Hiccup (voiced by Jay Baruchel) a scrawny wannabe Viking, who works as a trainee blacksmith while his Viking father and leader Stoick (voiced by Gerard Butler who appears to be channeling Leonidas from 300 at times) tries to protect their village from the invading forces of dragons.
But while Hiccup yearns to learn how to kill dragons and make his dad proud, Stoick isn't convinced his son's ready for such a task. One day, however, Hiccup brings down the most revered and rarest of dragons, the Night Fury. But when Hiccup meets the creature, he forms an unlikely friendship and realizes that the dragons are not to be feared but rather befriended.
Will he be able to persuade his father in time as well as get through Dragon academy without compromising his new found morals?
How To Train Your Dragon is the latest 3D film to hit - and it's a joy from beginning to end - and a relief to report that the 3D is used as a tool of the film rather than a gimmick. Sure, it's the traditional story of the son trying to grow and go his own way, but thanks to some pretty impressive dragon flying scenes, a sparse (and underused) vein of humour and a gorgeous soundtrack, it'll keep the kids - and parents - amused for 90 minutes.
Once again, the kids reviewers, Jackson and Connor, came along to help appraise the film - and this is their verdict:
Connor: 10/10: Loved the film overall and liked how the 3D was not in your face and was subtly used; he thought the scene which saw the Night Fury dragon tamed was great and demonstrated the good use of well placed humour; in summary, despite admitting to a love of dragons in literature, he reckons this is the best film of the year so far.
Jackson: 8/10 - he liked the very beginning of the film which saw the Viking village under attack and the idea that dragons were pests like rats and mice; he was also impressed with how well the Vikings could draw dragons and was won over by a scene which saw a small dragon steal a fish from Toothless, the Night Fury dragon. However, as is normal with Jackson, he wasn't so quick to decide which dragon he'd like as a pet - and spent a long time after debating the pros and cons&.I'm still waiting to hear.
Overall, How To Train Your Dragon's a good start to the holiday season; with a lot to indulge the actual children and the children within it should see you happily entertained for 90 minutes.

Final rating (using averages from the kids) 9/10

Bronson: Movie Review

Bronson: Movie Review

Rating: 7/10
Cast: Tom Hardy, James Lance, Amanda Burton
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
Tom Hardy (TV ONE's Sunday Theatre The Take, Rocknrolla) stars as Charles Bronson, the man dubbed the most notorious UK inmate, in this biographical take on his life and times.
The story is told in a rather unusual and visually captivating way - in front of an audience, Bronson tells us he always wanted to be famous; with his bald head, polished dome and large handlebar moustache, he cuts a comical figure; almost clown-like in his mannerisms and speech - but heaven help you if you mock him - because there's also an explosion of violence around the corner.
And it's merely minutes before the fighting begins; Refn cuts directly back and forth from Bronson's speech on the stage to his taking on a series of guards and battering them black and blue.
Cutting back to his (brief) life before prison, we learn a little more about Michael Peterson aka Charles Bronson - but quite frankly it appears a life of petty crime was only the precursor to a blooming time in jail which sees him thrive; Bronson becomes a star taking on the guards and starts to believe his own celebrity.
However, Bronson the film is a savage assault on the senses - thanks to the stunning and towering performance from Hardy himself; while Bronson's never going to be a likeable character, it's Hardy's performance which makes him so compelling to watch.
There's some great visual touches and an extension of the performance of a clown sees Bronson at his peak - Hardy's mesmerizing turn never sees you off guard; you're 100% sure of his propensity for explosive violence but yet you can't help but watch this portrayal.

Bronson may be a difficult film for some to watch; it's violent and shows no sign that this prisoner can be rehabilitated - but thanks to Tom Hardy's acting and some visually curious moments, it remains a film which will haunt you over you've seen it.

The Men Who Stare At Goats: Movie Review

The Men Who Stare At Goats: Movie Review

Rating: 8/10
Cast: Ewan McGregor, George Clooney, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Spacey
Director: Grant Heslov
Based on a book by Jon Ronson (and an apparently true investigation) comes the film adaptation of The Men Who Stare At Goats.
Ewan McGregor stars as small town reporter Bob Wilton, who one day looks into the story of Gus Lacey who claims to have psychic abilities. After dismissing the story, Bob's life falls apart as his wife leaves him for his boss and he ends up going to Iraq.
Quite by coincidence one night, he stumbles across Lyn Cassady (a deadpan turn by George Clooney) who Lacey claimed was a major part of the operation. With his journalistic nose well and truly piqued, Wilton follows the story having learned that Cassady was a "Jedi warrior" and part of a psychic unit started up by Bill Django (Jeff Bridges in Dude a la Lebowski mode).
So the two set out on a road trip which finds them in the Iraqi desert - and then Lyn reveals he's actually on one last mission.
The Men Who Stare At Goats is a deadpan shaggy dog style story - with terrific turns from Clooney as the Jedi Warrior and McGregor as the increasingly interested and slightly gullible Wilton.
(Incidentally, The Men Who Stare At Goats is titled so because soldiers in Iraq were apparently training to use their psychic powers to make goats' hearts stop - yes it's that kind of slightly offbeat quirky humour.)
While it veers from incredulity to outright "What did they just say?," The Men Who Stare At Goats manages to keep the right side of absurd. Sure, there's plenty of in joke moments to see McGregor told "The Force is strong with this one" and various Jedi references but there's also a lot of very unexpectedly farcically funny moments which catch you off guard and amuse.
Once again, Clooney demonstrates his O Brother Where Art Thou? skill of humour - he never once mugs to the camera or overeggs the jokes; it's a pitch perfect performance.
Jeff Bridges also shines as the man who started the New Earth Army psychics; Kevin Spacey amuses as the runt of the squadron whose jealousy pushes him to the limit and Ewan McGregor displays heart as the reporter who's just after something in his life when it all falls apart.

While The Men Who Stare At Goats' ending comes a little unravelled (and the final scene is a bit of a disappointment) the journey is a scarily funny one with some great one liners, hysterically odd situations and moments where you actually question a) whether these soldiers truly had psychic powers and b) whether what you've just witnessed was based on some grain of truth.

The Boys Are Back: Movie Review

The Boys Are Back: Movie Review

Rating: 8/10
Cast: Clive Owen, Laura Fraser, Nicholas McAnulty, George McKay, Erik Thomson
Director: Scott Hicks
Clive Owen stars as Joe, a wise cracking sports journalist and absentee father (due to work) in south Australia.
He's got a pretty sweet life; a wife Katy (Laura Fraser) whom he adores and a six year old Artie (a brilliant, crowd winning performance from McAnulty) whose hedonistic enthusiasm for life keeps him on the move.
But when his wife suddenly dies, Joe finds himself having to run the house and is forced to reconnect with his son. That's not the half of it though - as his teenage son Harry (McKay) from his previous marriage is heading over from the UK to stay.
Suddenly Joe is facing responsibilities and emotions he'd long thought buried and forgotten&
Based on the memoir by Simon Carr, The Boys Are Back is a sensitive look at a father's relationship with his sons, brilliantly handled by director Scott Hicks (who did Shine) and masterfully performed by McAnulty and Owen.
In fact, it's probably fair to say that it's Clive Owen's charisma which keeps the film from miring itself in schmaltz - the story's rooted firmly in reality and his easy going charm on the screen shows why he's probably one of our more underrated actors.
Joe's lack of rules in the house clearly is destined to lead to problems and it inevitably does lead to things falling apart - but all the way through their troubles, there's an unspoken and permanently obvious love between the father and his sons which makes the film plausible and their relationship believable.
There's a nice chemistry between Owen and his costar Emma Booth who stars as single mum Laura - their arc doesn't follow the normal route and you'll be glad it didn't fall into cliché. And there's a dose of reality when Joe's wife suddenly falls ill which may make you re-appraise the relationships in your life.
The good thing about The Boys Are Back is that it avoids the trapping of usual films like this - not once does director Scott Hicks milk any emotional moment on screen - he uses a subtlety that makes the drama feel more intimate and real.

With its low key warmth and heart, as well as heartbreak, I think it's fair to say that you'll be hard pushed to find a more poignant film about the complicated relationship between a father and his son. Clive Owen shines and is a joy to watch - every one of us can recognize some element of family life (single parent or otherwise) in his portrayal of a man coming to terms with his place in the world.

Green Zone: Movie Review

Green Zone: Movie Review

Green Zone
Rating: 7/10
Cast: Matt Damon, Greg Kinnear, Brendan Gleeson, Amy Ryan, Jason Isaacs
Director: Paul Greengrass
The team behind the successful run of Bourne movies have reunited for this thriller set in Iraq after the 2003 war.
Matt Damon is Captain Roy Miller, who's in charge of the hunt for WMDs - but every lead they're following turns out to be a dud; each time they're sent in, there's absolutely no trace of anything.
So with suspicions aroused over duff intelligence, Miller starts to follow his own leads - and finds himself slap bang in the middle of a major conspiracy.
But the situation begins to spiral out of control as Miller fails to realise how serious and widespread the conspiracy is.
Matt Damon continues to push his image as the dependably stoic and intelligent everyman that has seen him become a big screen success; Green Zone itself is a conspiracy thriller which takes a little while to unravel but if you have your wits about you, you can see where it's going - and how it will end.
Greg Kinnear and Brendan Gleeson provide good support as opposing factions of the conflict - although, I'd rather director Greengrass had eased up a little on the whole WMD issue; it still feels like there's a lot of anger to be worked through over whether there actually were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq - and unfortunately towards the end of the film this becomes a major issue and nearly threatens to derail the tension which has been built up.

Green Zone is not a bad film - it does exactly what you'd expect and along with its jerky camera movements, there are some wonderfully taut and tense times as Miller finds himself out of his depth; throw in some great recreations of the post war Iraqi world and some very impressive chase scenes (including a final act edge of the seat chase) and you've got a good solid thriller.

The Road: Movie Review

The Road: Movie Review

Rating 8/10
Cast: Viggo Mortensen, Charlize Theron, Robert DuVall, Guy Pearce, Kodi Smit-McPhee
Director: John Hillcoat
Prepare yourself for a particularly depressing end of the world.
In the adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's The Road, a father (Mortensen) and his son (Smit-McPhee) are journeying across America after the world ended in some unknown way.(Though it appears to have been nuclear)
As they head south at the urging of the father's wife (Charlize Theron) and search for food, shelter and fuel, the duo meet all manner of problems - thieves, cannibals, and worst of all, their own paranoia and fears.
Against a backdrop of a devastated planet, survivors who are reduced to horrendous scavenging ways to get by and an ever increasing cold front, the duo find themselves unable to escape the inexorable physical and mental horrors which surround them.
To describe The Road as compellingly bleak may seem a little odd - but when you have a film which finds the worst that men can do and has a protagonist who would rather shoot his only son to avoid him being eaten alive, it's clearly not a laugh riot.
What emerges over the course of two hours is a powerfully loaded discussion and contemplation on what it means to be human and how the last vestiges of humanity are gradually worn down as time wears on.
Through billowing skies thick with smoke, and with most of the "action" onscreen taking place amid the backdrop of grey colours, the pair soldier on - and as an audience, you may feel at times like you do.
It's frustrating to report there is no real explanation of what happened to end the world as it did (although it does lead to a lot of discussion once the lights go up) - and while that's fine for a film (after all, we don't need everything spelt out), a little context would have made the sacrifice of one character more poignant rather than feeling odd and unexplainable.
There's a mournful tone throughout and both Mortensen and Smit-McPhee carry the screen well; newcomer Smit-McPhee brings a resonance and humanity to his character - and Mortensen is perfectly cast as the man who's coerced into making some awful decisions and loses a lot of his soul as he tries to survive.

Granted, there are some brooding lines throughout - Robert Duvall's old man character says talk of suicide to survive is "foolish to ask for luxuries at times such as this" - but the meditations on who's good and who's bad when everything goes to hell in a handcart will haunt you for hours after you leave.