Home By Christmas: DVD Review

Home By Christmas: DVD Review

Home By Christmas
Released by Roadshow Entertainment
Rating: PG
It's a powerful 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.

This story is interspersed with the tale of the wife he left behind (played by Chelsie Preston Crayford) and the problems she faced while they were at war. It's a nice device which off sets the archive footage used by Preston to piece together the narrative. And it's one which many Kiwis will associate with.
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.
Extras: A Solid bunch here including making of, docos, deleted scenes and Ed's original interview, this is a well thought out batch which really rounds off the release and makes it essential viewing.

Rating: 8/10

The Town: Movie Review

The Town: Movie Review

The Town
Rating: 8/10
Cast: Ben Affleck, Rebecca Hall, Jeremy Renner, Jon Hamm, Titus Welliver, Blake Lively, Pete Postlethwaite, Chris Cooper
Director: Ben Affleck
Well, I think the first definite contender for Oscars 2011 just hit our cinemas.
In this flick, set in Charlestown in America, Affleck is Doug MacRay, a criminal who's found robbing banks is the only way to survive the miserable drudgery of working a construction job.
However, he along with his three co-robbers, end up abducting the manager of the latest bank they turn over - Claire, played by Rebecca Hall.
The problem is that they're not sure what Claire saw or heard so when Doug's volatile buddy Jem (a searingly jumpy turn by Jeremy Renner) suggests keeping an eye on her, Doug decides it'd be safer if he looked out for Claire.
As Doug and Claire's relationship begins to flourish into something, the police (led by Mad Men's Jon Hamm and Lost's Man in Black Titus Welliver) begin to close in on the gang - and Doug starts to wonder if he can ever escape from the life he's forged for himself.
I hadn't been expecting too much from a Ben Affleck outing to be honest - but thanks to some excellently restrained directing which allows the story to breathe and come to life, he's managed to put together a corker of a film with some brilliant ensemble performances - from the likes of Gossip Girl's Blake Lively as Jem's sister who's had an off-on-off again thing with Doug and is resentful of Claire to Jeremy Renner's nerve tingling performance as Jem, a man who can explode at any second.
That's not to say the likes of Pete Postlethwaite as a gangland kingpin who runs a florist and a cameo from Chris Cooper as Doug's dad don't shine - everyone brings their A game to this flick about desperation, hopes of escape and the promise of another life.
But it's Affleck who gives his soul to this project - action scenes, intelligent humour (one cop says at one point "You need a Venn diagram to keep all these together") and sensitive directing help the maudlin tone rise into something gripping and compelling.
It's the small dramatic moments which keep the film from the "too earnest" category which could have seen it derail as the fragile house of cards MacRay's stacked begin to fall.

Look for this to figure in the Oscars next year - and possibly someone from the Town to be heading up to the stage to pick something golden up.

Eat Pray Love: Movie Review

Eat Pray Love: Movie Review

Eat Pray Love
Rating: 4/10
Cast: Julia Roberts, Billy Crudup, James Franco, Javier Bardem, Richard Jenkin
Director: Ryan Murphy
From the incredibly popular book by Elizabeth Gilbert and from the director who brought us Nip/Tuck and Glee comes this cinematic version of Eat, Pray, Love.
Julia Roberts stars as magazine writer Liz Gilbert, who's quite frankly restless in her married life with Stephen (Crudup) - one day, after much agonizing and following a chance visit to a Balinese medicine man, she decides to split from hubby and head around the world for a year to find herself again.
So she starts off in Italy, before heading to India and ending the year in Bali - on each journey, there's something to help her re-build. In Italy, it's the nourishment of food; in India, it's the replenishment of the spirit and in Bali, it's finally time for her heart to re-heal.
Along the way, Liz meets different men who have varying effects on her life - there's James Franco's David, the man she rebounds to after her divorce; in India there's the ever marvellous Richard Jenkin's Richard from Texas and finally in Bali, there's Javier Bardem's Felipe who reignites something in her heart.
Eat Pray Love is going to appeal to a certain sector of the audience; those who like the bon mots like "Having a baby is like having a tattoo on your face - you have to be fully committed"; that said, Julia Roberts is good as Liz but she can't carry the film which towards the end begins to sag and feel quite long and drawn out.
It looks beautiful in Italy - all the postcard picture perfect food and scenery remind you why the country is so popular; in India, it's Richard Jenkin's brilliant turn who instils some heart into the film but the whole thing is curiously unemotional for what should be a satisfying journey.
For a film which should be about soul, there's sadly too much of this lacking and not enough passion on display.

It's a shame because Roberts does the gamut of emotions well - but the film takes too long to get to its resolution and despite jabs of humour here and there, there's not enough to sustain Eat Pray Love as the nourishing experience it clearly longs to be.

Robin Hood: Blu Ray Review

Robin Hood: Blu Ray Review

Robin Hood
Rating: M
Released by Universal Home Entertainment
Russell Crowe and Ridley Scott reteam in this retelling of the Robin Hood saga.
It's 1199 and a glowering Crowe is Robin Longstride, an archer in King Richard The Lionheart's army, who's been fighting in the Crusades for the past decade.
Following the death of the king in battle Longstride and three comrades (Will Scarlett, Little John and Allan A'Dale) head back to England to try and restart their lives. But before Longstride can resume his life (despite never knowing exactly who his father was), he has to keep a promise made to a dying knight, Robert of Loxley.
The problem is that when he returns to Loxley in Nottingham, Robert's father (a frail Max von Sydow) asks him to impersonate his son to keep the village alive with hope - particularly as the recently crowned King John (Oscar Isaac) has started a crusade of taxation.

Also lurking in the wings is Sir Godfrey (the ever wonderful Mark Strong) who's trying to steal the crown for himself.
Ridley Scott's Robin Hood is a good epic take on the story - sure there will be some who'll feel that he's taken liberties with the story - but what he's crafted is an intelligently told and thoughtful story which in no shape or form is simply Gladiator with Bows and Arrows.
Russell Crowe is restrained as Robin; plenty of scowling but you can tell he is the kind of man who does the right thing. Longstride's relationship with Cate Blanchett's Maid Marian works well as the flick takes time to build it up - giving it more of a realistic feel and one which feels human. The film becomes a thoughtful piece with more of an accent on characters rather than action - though the action scenes which there are do stand out
Extras: An impressive 2 disc release sees the film given an extra 16 mins - and a second disc boasts an impressive 62 minute doco behind the scenes. Add onto that, a slew of deleted scenes and you've got a bunch of extras which certainly hit the bullseye.

Rating: 8/10 

Letters to Juliet: DVD Review

Letters to Juliet: DVD Review

Letters To Juliet
Released by Sony Home Pictures
Rating: PG

Amanda Seyfried stars as the soon to be married American researcher Sophie, who heads to Verona with her fiancée Victor (Gabriel Garcia Bernal) to enjoy a pre marriage break.

But instead of splurging on the culture or her, Victor spends a lot more of his time meeting with suppliers for his restaurant and leaves Sophie to her own devices.

So, Sophie ends up under that infamous balcony where many a star crossed lover posts a "letter to Juliet" asking for help. As Sophie follows a gaggle of ladies who answer these letters, she finds herself questioning her own life and destiny.

Things get worse when she answers a letter written years ago - and that response brings the writer and her grandson to Verona in search of true love.

What can you say about Letters to Juliet? It's another romantic comedy which is light and frothy and pitches squarely for a certain audience who'll be happy with this latest entry into the rom com genre - high art it certainly is not. Beautifully shot though it is - still, with a canvas like Verona to work from, that's not surprising.

There's a few cheesy contrived moments as well as some predictable moments but all in all Letters to Juliet delivers exactly what you'd expect.

Extras: Deleted scenes, audio with Amanda Seyfried and director, the making of, plus a look at the courtyard which is so iconic.

Rating: 4/10

The Road: DVD Review

The Road: DVD Review

The Road

Rating: R16
Released by Warner Home Video

In the adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's The Road, a father (Viggo Mortensen) and his son (Kodi 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.

But yet, this film is intellectually stimulating watching as the events unfold - it's all wonderfully underplayed which adds to the horror -and thanks to the great performances of Mortensen and Smit-
Phee, this is riveting and terrifyingly good.

Extras: Behind the scenes featurettes and a gallery.

Rating: 8/10

Buried: Movie Review

Buried: Movie Review

Buried
Rating: 8/10
Cast: Ryan Reynolds
Director: Rodrigo Cortes
Ryan Reynolds stars in this claustrophobic thriller where the clock is ticking in a deadly race against time.
Reynolds is Paul Conroy, an American truck driver in Iraq who awakes to find himself trapped in a coffin with only a cellphone, a few pens and a lighter for company.
As Conroy comes round, he begins to realize the horror of the situation; namely that he's buried alive, with no idea where he is, why he's there and perhaps most importantly, how he's going to get out.
However, as he makes a series of desperate phone calls, he begins to piece together a potential escape plan. Things get more complicated when those who put him in the box call and make demands of him..can Conroy get it together in time and get out alive with time, oxygen and hope running out?
Buried is a good old fashioned thriller with an intriguing premise and a great sense of claustrophobia.
From the moment the Saul Bass/ Hitchcock style opening credits end, you're plunged into darkness and your senses adjust at the same time Conroy's do. Every sound, every nuance is disorienting on the big screen in the dark - Conroy's frenzied panicked breathing puts you on the edge of your seat right away.
But what will keep you on the edge of that seat is Ryan Reynolds - what a performance in what is essentially a one man film. As the camera pans over Reynolds in his captivity, his every performance (whether it's the breathing or freaking out as he realizes how problematic his situation is) is pitch perfect, conveying the horror of the situation and the desperation of a man determined to get out. He goes through the gamut of emotions with ease and emerges a fully rounded character whom we empathasise with immediately - no mean feat seeing as his is the only face on the screen for 90 minutes.
The script could have so easily run out of steam but with time trickling away, it powers along with plenty of pace and deadly realism.
Director Cortes has done a good job too - with close ups, spiralling camera work in the confined space of the coffin, we get every sense of tension; every feeling of intensity is there up on the screen.
There's also some humour in there - Reynolds has issues with answerphones as he tries to get help; a clash with a sister in law is fraught with desperation - but there's also humanity as Conroy talks to those who matter most to him and thanks to the carefully handled script, the situation isn't milked for effect.

Buried is a nervy mesmerizing treat - a tensely claustrophobic affair which is vividly brought to life by a power house performance from a mightily impressive Reynolds.