Drive: DVD Review

Bathed in acclaim from the Wellington leg of the NZ International Film Festival and from Cannes and many end of year critics' lists, this action drama film has a lot to live upto.
And it doesn't disappoint.

Gosling stars as an unnamed stunt driver who finds himself drawn to his neighbour, Irene (Mulligan) and her young son. However, Irene's husband Standard is on the verge of being released from prison - and when he gets released, the seedy underworld catches upto him again.

The driver decides to help Standard do one last job to help rid him of the past - but soon finds himself in a world of trouble.
Violent, slick and masterful and one hell of a ride, Drive is not what you'd expect - which is a great thing.
Beginning with one of the best pre-credits scene in years, it's clear what kind of movie Refn wants to make.

Whereas most action films involving cars and heists throw everything at the screen and often overwhelm with screeching tyres, wailing police sirens and loud explosions, Refn's gone for the more considered and realistic approach - which is greatly beneficial and makes it thrilling from the get go.

Coupled with a steely performance from Gosling as the calm and measured driver, this visceral opening is stylish and suspenseful.

Everyone in this occasionally violent film steps up; Gosling deserves the lion share of the praise but the rest of the cast all bring their A game. Unfortunately though, there seems to be little chemistry between Mulligan and Gosling which is a shame given how pivotal their relationship needs to be to fuel the plot. That said, the ensemble cast are particularly impressive with Bryan Cranston rolling out a very solid, very empathetic performance as the Driver's friend who scores him work; equally, Perlman and Brooks add the level of menace to the crims which comes not only with age but also with experience.

Drive is effortlessly cool and is probably one of the best films of the year - it's not exactly what you'd expect from a heist movie but it's rapidly becoming a classic in the way Bullitt and other films of its ilk were back in the day.

Also, I am painfully aware there's a growing fan movement behind Gosling - and quite frankly, this role will cement a lot of people's opinions of him; be it chewing moodily on a toothpick behind a wheel or wielding a shotgun to take someone down, this is the role which is going to send his star well into the stratosphere.
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Contagion - Blu Ray Review

Rating: M
Released by Warner Home Video

If you've ever been worried about a viral outbreak and the costs of a pandemic, this is not the film you want to see.

In the latest ensemble drama, Gwyneth Paltrow stars as Beth Emhoff, who's just back from a trip to Hong Kong - and is feeling somewhat rough. However, having returned to her Minneapolis home to hubby Mitch (Matt Damon), she promptly collapses, has seizures and dies.

At the same time, others begin to display similar symptoms and pretty soon, the Department of Homeland Security meets with Dr Cheevers (Laurence Fishburne) of the Centre for Disease Control amid fears it's a biological attack aimed to cripple America over Thanksgiving weekend.

So Cheevers dispatches an epidemiologist Dr. Erin Mears (Kate Winslet) to Minneapolis to begin an investigation into what's going on - but it could all be too late amid fears the MEV1 pandemic's about to sweep the world. And with society breaking down amid quarantines and supplies shortages, there's everything at stake.

Contagion is a masterful film - it's intelligent, based on some good science and solid research and to be frank, utterly terrifying in places.

But unlike other Hollywood blockbusters of a similar ilk, this doesn't go for overblown action and hysteria - this latest from Soderbergh is more of a creeping dread and richly unsettling given how much reality it's based in.

There's been some serious scientific research into how diseases are tackled, the actuality of society breaking down and the methods of how scientists would react amid the unleashing of a new global virus.

The disparate threads of the story come together very well - and throw in a solid ensemble cast and you've got a recipe for unnerving cinema, replete with the possibilities of how it'd unfold. Tensions, disputes and a microcosm of detail are Soderbergh's specialities here and because of the depth of information, it's a gripping watch.

Don't get me wrong - this isn't a dull watch at all; it's simply a highly intelligent and smartly presented, masterfully crafted and brilliantly acted piece of What If? disaster movie that is so horrifying because of the depth of its research and the plausibility of its scenario. With reigned in directing and restrained acting, it's brutally successful at being so terrifying.

Just don't be surprised if after viewing it, you start to worry about that person coughing next to you on the bus or the constant sniffer in the office....

Extras: The reality of Contagion doco, behind the scenes with the people who wrote this, doco on how the virus changed the world

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TT - Closer to the Edge: Blu Ray Review

TT Closer To The Edge - Blu Ray Review

Rating: M
Released by Warner Home Video

"There's nothing to compare it with."
How often have you heard that from anyone involved in any kind of extreme sport?

This latest sports doco looks at the legendary Isle of Man TT motorbike racing event; one which has been running for years and has claimed around 231 lives in spectacular crashes and yet doesn't see a drop off in willing participants.

De Aragues' film takes a look at the races of the 2010 event and in particular follows the tousled mop topped and lamb chopped racer, the Englishman Guy Martin, a fascinating and in some ways intimidating young character.

Martin is the classic loner - and also the classic self deprecator, full of Northern English charm and the kind of guy who'd call a spade a spade and that'd be that. When we first meet Martin, he's being interviewed in a garage pit repairing a truck - before he takes his bike out to hoon around to see what speed he needs for the upcoming race.
The following 100 minutes then chart the highs and lows of the race, The Isle of Man Tourist Trophy described as "the greatest motorcycle road race in the world, the ultimate challenge for rider and machine."
But De Aragues has triumphed by making this film an edge of the seat, thrilling piece about freedom of choice, spirit and endurance.

Thankfully the 3D is non intrusive - it's not used to make you duck in the cinema when bikes come hurtling toward you, it's used subtly to bring depth to the proceedings and give you a feel for the event.

Sure, some of the sporting clichés are there - phrases like "If it doesn't excite you, then you're not alive and that's a fact" sit alongside the likes of "it's like being able to fly" and slow mo shots of riders in action. But I'm prepared to forgive all of those because of how gripping this actually is right from the get go.

Eschewing charm and a straight talking style, Martin's an easy subject for De Aragues to follow - but it also gives the sport a face and grounds the competition in a humanity and warmth which make it feel universal, rather than just a speed freak's wet dream of a film.

Guy Martin is an enigmatic guy - often seen being interviewed with a mug of tea in hand and prone to sleeping in the back of his van and enjoying his own company before a race, he's something of a riddle but his no-nonsense attitude has won him a legion of fans - and this film is likely to cement that reputation as it provides a fascinating insight into not only his mindset but the rest of the racing fraternity.

I realised I was gripped when I was on tenterhooks and on the edge of my seat to see if one racer had made it out alive after a crash - it's here that De Aragues gets to the knub of what makes these riders tick because of one scene in a hospital where a rider lets down his guard and finally shows some vulnerability after an horrific crash - before a bit of the bravado came back. It's a brief but telling moment and one which spoke volumes about all of those who take part in this race.

Mashing archive footage and a candid look at one competitor, Guy Martin, this doco is simply hands down one of the best sports docos I've ever seen - packed with humour, tension, suspense and humanity - and believe me when I say that's praise coming from a non sports fan.

Quite simply unmissable.

Extras: Interviews from the racers and on the course itself, commentary and more

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In Time: Blu Ray Review

In Time - Blu Ray Review

Rating: M
Released by 20th Century Fox Home Ent

Kiwi director Andrew Niccol returns with this sci-fi film, set sometime a few days after the day after tomorrow.
In this alternative future, people stop aging at 25 and must work to buy themselves more time. A green digital clock counting down on their arm signals how much time they've got left in life - but they have options to work to buy time and can transfer it freely between themselves. With me so far?

It's in this world we meet Justin Timberlake's Will Salas, who lives in the ghettos. When Salas finds himself in a bar one night with a man who's got over a century of time notched up on his arm, Salas ends up saving him from a corrupt gang preying on those who live in the ghetto.

However, the next day, Salas finds the man dead and all the time transferred to him.

Suddenly, the police force of TimeKeepers (including Cillian Murphy's character) is on his tail - and Will heads to New Greenwich where the rich live to try and escape the law and live his life.
There, he meets Amanda Seyfried's Sylvia Weis, the rich girl/spoilt brat who's desperate to get out of her father's clutches so that she can live a little.

However, she hadn't bargained for becoming Will's hostage when he finds himself trapped and with nowhere to run....

It's an intriguing concept and one ripe for sci fi trappings but In Time just falls short of its clever central premise.

The whole feel is starchly pompous at times and utterly silly at others. It's also a mish mash of other films; shades of Logan's Run, elements of Bonnie and Clyde and touches of Robin Hood as Salas robs time from the rich to give to the poor. With lines like "The poor die, but the rich don't live" and "Don't waste my time", there's some heavy handed hammering home of the ideas at play here.

That's some of the problem as the film doesn't quite know what it wants to be. Sure, there are thematic questions running underneath as the ethics of living and dying come up but they're mired in noisy chase scenes and plenty of running that they lose their intelligence too early on. It's a shame that Niccol resorts to car chases to keep the audience engaged when the central conceit is such an interesting one.

Seyfried makes a very sultry wide eyed naïf to begin with and Timberlake is relatively straight as he tries to become an intelligent action hero (which unfortunately he doesn't quite make), but the two just don't mix well and there's very little chemistry on display, making Seyfried's Stockholm Syndrome a little hard to believe in.

Granted there are some good ideas, concepts and designs here- the look and feel particularly of the day after tomorrow works very well - but Kiwi director Niccol doesn't seem to know what ultimately he wants to do with this film, which is a real shame.

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Beautiful Lies: DVD Review

Beautiful Lies: DVD Review

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Released by Universal Home Ent

Amelie's Audrey Tautou stars as Emilie in this French romantic comedy about little white lies.

Emilie is a partner in a hairdressing business - one day she receives an anonymous love letter from Jean (Sami Bouajila) who works with her. But she dismisses it and carries on with her life.

However, realizing her mother Maddy's yet to recover from her father walking out on them four years ago, she decides to take that letter and retype it, changing the intended addressee and sending it to her depressed mom.

But, that rejuvenates Maddy  and sets in motion a chain of events which spirals out into farcical consequences.

Tautou is perfectly fine in the role; one minute all wide eyed and the next haughty and cross; while she has a bit of spark about her, it's only really at the start of this film that you're carried along with the premise. About a third of the way in, it becomes a little too farcical for you to care as the misunderstandings escalate and a somewhat strange situation/ triangle develops between Jean, Maddy and Emilie.

Beautiful Lies is a piece of French fluff; beautifully shot in a bright French town - it has all the breeziness within but is insubstantial and instantly forgettable.

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Jig: DVD Review

Rating: PG
Released by Vendetta Films

Irish Dancing sounds like an odd idea for a doco - but you'd be surprised to realise just how prevalent the sport is.

This doco from Sue Bourne takes to the highly competitive world of the jig, a multi generational sport which has everyone competing - both on and off the mat.

Choosing to follow rivalries, Bourne's piece takes a look at what motivates the young children to follow Michael Flatley's lead. There's little need really to explore what it is which gives them the push; most of the kids have the desire to win the world championships and their parents back them all the way.

By letting the kids narrate most of the doco and following them (as well as occasionally catching up with the parents), Bourne's doco has a disarming charm and is beautifully shot.

There are plenty of shots of practice dancing and a whole heap of shots of the young girls wearing the Irish dancing equivalent of Big Fat Gypsy Wedding outfits as they prance around in make up, wigs and expensive costumes.

You get the views of parents who give up all their wages to ensure the kids can take part, kids who're friends with their rivals first and teens who've resisted the call of their peers to take part in "normal" pursuits like going out partying and drinking. And yet, there's a feeling that this doco goes on a little bit longer than it should.

Sure, the dancing's incredible but there are few moments of real insight. When Bourne concentrates her camera on the parents watching and you see them moving while their kids dance for 2 minutes at most, that's when you really appreciate how much everyone's invested in this. Sadly though, there aren't enough moments like that throughout - and while there's a degree of contagion from the kids' enthusiasm, it's not unfortunately not enough.
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One Day: Blu Ray Review

Rating: M
Released by Universal Home Ent

Based on a tremendously well received book, One Day stars Anne Hathaway as Emma Morley, and Jim Sturgess as Dexter Mayhew.
The pair have just graduated from Edinburgh on July 15th, 1988 and very nearly fall into bed together.

However, they don't quite make it and thus begins a 20 year friendship, charted on screen by following the pair every year on July 15th to find out where they are.

Emma is an idealist; a wannabe writer and working class girl who always seems thwarted in her attempts to achieve greater things, ending up in a relationship with Rafe Spall's terribly dull stand up comic, Ian.
Dex, meanwhile, seems to have it all - a TV career fronting a music show and women, booze and drugs on tap. But unsurprisingly, he's a mess.

Can the pair realise what they truly need has been under their noses for the past 20 years?

One Day is pure romantic fluff drama; some will swoon and fawn over it and others will absolutely hate it.
While the recreation of the relevant decades is brilliantly realised - right down to the music choices which evoke the era within seconds of you hearing them in the background, the main plot device (jumping a year) starts to grate very quickly.

The trouble is that the central conceit makes each visit feel a little like a disjointed vignette and it's hard to really engage with or care about the characters.

Sturgess and Hathaway have little chemistry together - and while Hathaway's attempt at a Northern English accent isn't as bad as you may have read, she certainly doesn't impress as much as perhaps she might.

There's some disarming charm in the dialogue and some good one liners but to be honest, you can see where this film is going from the beginning.

Ultimately, One Day is a little polarising; some will adore the true love storyline and tearjerking moments whereas others will simply roll their eyes and wait for it to end.

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