A Single Man: Movie Review

A Single Man: Movie Review

Rating: 8/10
Cast: Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Nicholas Hoult, Matthew Goode
Director: Tom Ford
Finally, the Oscar films are making their way to our cinemas.
The latest is A Single Man, based on the book of the same name, the directorial debut of Tom Ford and the film which saw plaudits rained down upon its leading actor, Colin Firth.
Firth stars as Professor George Falconer, a gay English professor who lives in 1960s Southern California. As the film begins - and via viewers' flashback, he's told by a phone call that his long term partner Jim (Goode) has been killed in a car crash.
Struggling to find any reason to carry on after the death of his 16 year relationship, and reflecting on his past and seemingly empty future, Falconer sets about planning for the end of his life via suicide.
What follows are his attempts to say goodbye and bring some order to his life at the end - and the seemingly mundane duties of his last day at college, dinner with his old friend Charlie (Julianne Moore) and drinks with a student Kenny (About a Boy's Nicholas Hoult) all bring a special significance to Falconer.
A Single Man is a stylistically heavy film - it won't surprise you to learn that it's from the same production design team who make TV's Mad Men; in fact a lot of the stylish recreations of the time are perfectly encapsulated on the screen.
But Ford's made a ham fist of some of his direction - there's plenty of close up scenes focusing on eyes; be it of people or in one case of a massive poster; these seem odd distractions and motifs which don't really fit in.
Likewise Nicholas Hoult's Kenny appears to have been airbrushed to within an inch of his life; with his spray tan and bleached teeth, it's like watching a mannequin - again, there's nothing wrong with his performance, but it just distracts from the overall feel.

However - those are just minor niggles because A Single Man is Colin Firth's film. I'll freely admit I've never really rated him (sorry ladies, I know many of you are thinking of that scene from Pride and Prejudice) as an actor - but after this performance, I really am going to have to re-evaluate him because he's sensational and sears on the screen in this.
One scene when he's told of Jim's death is just stunning to watch; in just a few moments Firth conveys every conceivable emotion you'd expect of someone who's just been told their one true love has died; it's heartbreaking to watch and yet mesmerizing to see him perform so well. Firth commands your attention and never once betrays that commitment.
Where A Single Man also works so well is in its portrayal of Jim and George's relationship - never once is it in your face; it's subtle, tender and loving, a relationship to aspire to and thanks to that, you fully understand George's emotive response to his loss.

A Single Man is a slice of sophisticated cinema; it's slick (perhaps a little too much in places) but thanks to Colin Firth, it's a hypnotic film which will be cherished by many.

New York, I Love You: Movie Review

New York, I Love You: Movie Review

Rating: 6/10
Cast: Natalie Portman, Bradley Cooper, Rachel Bilson, Cloris Leachman - and a host more
Director: Natalie Portman, Anthony Minghella - and a host more
New York - a diverse city and a collection of cultures.
New York, I Love You - a diverse collection of stories all tied together by the city they're set in. And a sequel of sorts to Paris, Je T'Aime.
This film's comprised of 11 stories of around 10 minutes long and they cover a whole range of story topics - the only ever common theme is NY itself.
And it's not just a wealth of acting talent involved too, there's a whole heap of directors - including the late Anthony Minghella (to whom the film's dedicated.)
As with any collection of anthologies and like a box of chocolates, there's some good ones and some duds that you tolerate. But as the stories themselves are only 10 minutes long, it means if you're ever bored or irritated by one of them, another one's knocking in the wings waiting for your attention.
Some are more successful than others - I loved the sparkle and sleight of hand of the story of Anton Yelchin's dumped boyfriend off to the prom; thanks to some crackle and rug from under your feet moments, there's a lot to love about this story where not everything is what it seems.
Likewise, the story of OAPs Abe and Mitzie has a universality around it - and many of us will recognise something of themselves in their tale.
The less successful segments sadly make the 10 minutes a difficult ask - Orlando Bloom and Christina Ricci's tale of books and connections doesn't work as well as it could; but to be honest the diamonds outweigh the lumps of coal.
Sure, there are some common links to these vignettes; characters who drop in and out of frames - but each story is its own beast.

Stringed together by some obligatory shots (and at times unoriginal shots) of the skylines, of life in the city, of shapes and jazz New York I Love You has excellently conveyed the feel of the Big Apple and will find you lost in them for around 100 minutes.

The Hedgehog: Movie Review

The Hedgehog: Movie Review

Rating: 6/10
Cast: Josiane Balasko, Togo Igawa, Garance Le Guillermic
Director: Mona Achache
The Hedgehog aka Le herisson is a French film about a Parisian family living in an apartment block.
11 year old Paloma (Le Guillermic) is a deadly serious child - brought up within a rich family, she's desperate to prevent her life turning into a stuffy rich person. So she decides to kill herself when she's 12 - and spends the intervening time with a hand held camera taping everything around her.
Renee (Balasko) is the concierge of the building; a quiet, unnoticeable woman who performs her chores without complaining and never steps out of line.
However, under that façade lies the truth about Renee- and when both Paloma and Renee meet new neighbour Mr Ozu (Igawa) their lives are changed forever.
The Hedgehog is a sentimental story, which has, according to the director, a kind of fairy tale theme. Paloma is fiercely intelligent and seems at odds with the rest of the world around her. During Paloma's filming, she captures the mundanity of life around her and wonderfully articulates why she wants out. There's a good solid performance from both the actors who play Paloma and Renee and you do get engaged in the story.
It's a story which rewards investment in the characters - and certainly the last 10 minutes packs an emotional punch.
There's also some wonderful animation which appears onscreen from time to time and adds a lot to overall feel of the film - it's not quirky or irritating; it simply allows a bit more depth into this story about friendship.

The Hedgehog is an odd curio of a film - you may actually find yourself more moved than you anticipated as it nears its end.

Gentlemen Broncos: Movie Review

Gentlemen Broncos: Movie Review

Rating: 3/10
Cast: Jemaine Clement, Sam Rockwell, Michael Angarano, Jennifer Coolidge
Director: Jared Hess
So the director of Napoleon Dynamite returns with this film showing nationwide in the World Cinema Showcase.
Set in mid town America, Angarano stars as aspiring sci fi teen author, Benjamin Purvis, home schooled and naïve in the ways of the world. Sent to a writers' camp, Purvis meets his hero, esteemed sci fi author Ronald Chevalier (Clement) and enters his manuscript (the terribly titled Yeast Lords) into a competition to win a deal.
However, Chevalier is struggling to find inspiration for his next book - and so, inspired by Purvis' Yeast Lords, he promptly plaigarises the whole thing.
But at the same time, Benjamin's sold the story to some local (terrible) film-makers and when their movie comes out, a creative showdown's on the way.
Gentlemen Broncos is quite frankly irritating. With prevalent quirky characters who are just annoying rather than wonderful, it quickly begins to grate. Every single one involved on the screen is blessed with irritations rather than nuances which would make them lovable.
Sam Rockwell makes good of his role as the star of Yeast Lords, in the comic reinterpretations of both Chevalier and Purvis' books - yet, these recreations mock the terrible sci fi adaptations and just look awful. I understand it's supposed to be a tribute to the comic and awful pulp scifi world, but after seeing scenes of pink vomit, dive bombing stags and naff costumes, it just cloys.
Thank goodness then for Jemaine Clement, the shining beacon from within the mess. His Ronal Chevalier (who sounds like Alan Rickman at times) is destined to be a cult character, with easily quotable lines from within his New Age mantra just waiting to be embraced by the masses.

It's just unfortunate that the rest of the film is such a disappointment and a misfire.

Home By Christmas: Movie Review

Home By Christmas: Movie Review

Home By Christmas
Rating: 8/10
Cast: Tony Barry, Chelsie Preston Crayford, Martin Henderson, Gaylene Preston
Director: Gaylene Preston
With The Pacific now underway on TV ONE, there's a lot of nostalgia in the air.
And Home By Christmas will simply compound that.
It's a New Zealand film memoir by Gaylene Preston based on interviews with her father Ed Preston about his time in World War 2 in Italy and North Africa.
Culled from archive material, Preston's called in the services of Goodbye Pork Pie's Tony Barry to narrate the material and essentially play her father. But as we learn early on, Ed was never too keen on sharing his experiences until one day, as a Christmas present, he decided to open up to his daughter.
What unfolds is the story of one man and how he signed up to the NZ Army back in 1940 because the rest of the rugby team were doing it for a free holiday and he didn't want to be left out.
As he remarks, they never expected to see any war - but that was the opposite from what they'd ever have hoped.
In between Ed's recollections, the story of the domestic life and wife he left behind, Tui (played by Chelsie Preston Crayford from The Cult and Show Of Hands) unfolds in flashback. It's a clever way to tell the story and there's a simplicity to it which is appealing - and while it's not the most original story, there's a level of truth to it which makes it universal.
Through old photos, footage from the times and period recreation, the whole story of Ed Preston comes to life - it's a bold narrative touch which makes the memoir stand out.

There's a subtlety and restrained feeling about this film which makes it engaging - Ed's tell it like it is style means Home By Christmas will strike a chord with many in the audience who've heard hints of similar stories from previous generations. It's also a humbling and haunting film - but one which is important and needs to be told; given that old soldiers didn't tend to talk about what they saw or what happened, many memories and reasons to be grateful for their sacrifice have been lost over the years.

The Box: Movie Review

The Box: Movie Review

The Box
Rating: 7/10
Cast: Cameron Diaz, James Marsden, Frank Langella
Director: Richard Kelly
Following on from Donnie Darko and the flop that was Southland Tales, Richard Kelly heads to Twilight Zone territory with this new film showing at the World Cinema Showcase nationwide.
Based on an episode of the show called "Button, Button" Diaz and Marsden star as a couple just getting by in 1970s Conneticut. One day the doorbell rings early in the morning and the pair find a box on their doorstep along with the message that Mr Steward will visit at 5pm.
When the time comes, Mr Steward (Langella) shows up on their door - and with the offer that if they press the button, they will get one million dollars. However, if they do take the offer, someone unconnected to them will die.
As if that wasn't bad enough, he gives them 24 hours to mull over what they'll do before the offer is rescinded.
So moral dilemmas abound as the situation begins to spiral out of control...
The Box is frustrating, infuriating and to be honest, brilliant in places. There's a Twin Peaks/ David Lynch style running throughout which gives the whole story an edge of insanity which sees it work.
Langella and Diaz are very good in their roles; Marsden is not quite upto par - but it's Kelly who sees a return to form after the critical drivel that was Southland Tales. Complete with trademark water effects, nosebleeds and Arthur C Clarke, the whole film has a haunting and eerie feel which will guarantee it cult hit status.

Iron Man 2: Movie Review

Iron Man 2: Movie Review

Iron Man 2
Rating: 7/10
Cast: Robert Downey Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow, Scarlett Johannson, Mickey Rourke, Sam Rockwell, Don Cheadle, Garry Shandling
Director: Jon Favreau
Iron Man's back - and so is Robert Downey Jr.
Downey Jr stars as Tony Stark, the billionaire weapons manufacturer/ playboy in this sequel which carries on 6 months from the end of the first (which saw Stark reveal to the world he was the man in the mask).
However, that declaration's irritated Russian Ivan Vanko (a heavily tattooed Mickey Rourke) who believes Stark stole the design for the Iron Man suit from his father. So with that in mind, Vanko sets out for revenge.
But Vanko's not the only one who's got designs on Stark - rival Justin Hammer (a brilliant Sam Rockwell) is out to usurp Stark on the business front; a senate enquiry (headed by Garry Shandling nonetheless) is out to strip Stark of the Iron Man suit; and the army's got designs on the suit - for national safety naturally.
And Stark's got even bigger problems because it appears the power source he's using to keep himself alive is fading - and soon, with time running out, both Stark and Iron Man could be no more....
Iron Man 2 boasts some great action sequences and has some pretty impressive gadget tech within Stark's laboratory; that coupled with some scenes of War Machine and Iron Man fighting side by side mean it's destined to become a fan favourite. In fact Favreau's ploughed everything into the action scenes and they're excellently executed - right down to Scarlett Johannson's very impressively choreographed fight scenes.
Downey Jr once again owns the role of Stark - and some sparky scenes with long time love and Stark Industries cohort Pepper Potts (aka Gwyneth Paltrow) really manages to convey an excellent relationship between the pair. There's also a fair amount of humour scattered throughout and in places, the script crackles with great dialogue.
But despite Downey Jr's cocksure swagger, he's nearly eclipsed by Sam Rockwell's brilliant performance as Hammer and a menacing Mickey Rourke who lumbers in the background as Whiplash.

It's just unfortunate that at times, this feels a little crowded and suffers from the Boys and their toys affliction with guns everywhere, explosions and so on. What it leaves you feeling is a little underwhelmed - that said, Iron Man 2 is a good solid action flick, which while sadly lacking in emotional depth at times (and is not as much fun as the first) won't stop you lapping up this blockbuster.