Savages: Movie Review

Savages: Movie Review

Cast: Taylor Kitsch, Blake Lively, Aaron Johnson, Benicio del Toro, Salma Hayek, John Travolta
Director: Oliver Stone

Oliver Stone returns to the big screen with this lurid tale of drugs deals, cartels and rivalries.

In this pulpy, trashy and violent film, Taylor Kitsch stars as Chon, who's best friends with Aaron Johnson's Ben. The pair have been tight for years and live it up on Laguna Beach thanks mainly to a business growing and selling dope.

But not only do they live the high life, they share a girlfriend O (played by Blake Lively in post Gossip Girl career mode) who they both care about. 

However, when the trio receive a video showing decapitations at the hands of a drugs cartel in Mexico, they're set on a collision course with the cartel, its enforcer Lado (Benicio del Toro) and its shadowy head honcho. 

The cartel wants a partnership and won't take no for an answer - so the trio plans to move out to Indonesia and ride it out. But when O's kidnapped, they find their options running out and their love for O sorely tested....

Savages is your typical Oliver Stone film; it's stylish, ultra violent, sexy and trashy but a wee bit shallow in terms of any emotional connection.

The menage a trois mix with drugs and kidnapping works well as a story device and idea complete with Stone's use of heightened colour behind the lens but it's definitely hard to get behind any of the main three as they face obstacle after obstacle.

Blake Lively has a disconnected voiceover in parts of the film which detracts from any tension within (of which there is frankly little given that the odds are supposed to be so high) and Benicio Del Toro spends the opening portion of the film simply mumbling from his Hoff-like hair and dodgy mo. A relative lack of danger prevents you from actually engaging with this and it's almost as if Stone wasn't quite sure what to do with the characters; not once did I feel anything remotely nearing a care or concern for O and whether she'd make it.

Johnson fares well as Ben, a nice stoner dude who really finds himself having to make some terrible choices and he at least manages to convince that he's having a hard time with some of this; Travolta barely makes his presence felt throughout and del Toro eventually manages to add a level of delicious danger as the enforcer, pulling you back in just as you're about to check out and roll your eyes. I've not read the source material that this has come from, but it did feel at times, like the writers had lost their ideas of what they wanted for these characters as they struggled to extricate themselves from the web of danger.

Taylor Kitsch and Salma Hayek impress by adding some new characters to their repertoire - Kitsch, in particular, impresses with his simmering powderkeg former Afghan marine persona, finally showing a bit more depth to the roles he's willing to take on and bare all for (both literally and metaphorically). Hayek's equally good as the bitch running the cartel, but it's frustrating to have the tough woman act crumble so quickly near the end.

That's perhaps symptomatic of the whole of Savages really - a frustrating time at the movies; it's good to see Stone back in some kind of form and while the ending's certainly going to irritate some, it's perhaps worth taking a punt on Savages but only for some of the central performances.

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Jackpot: Movie Review

Jackpot: Movie Review

Cast: Kyrre Hellum, Mads Ousdal, Henry Mestad, Arthur Berning, Andreas Cappelen

Director: Magnus Martens

Another Scandanavian crime thriller, Jackpot is yet further proof that the Nordic way of looking at life is somewhat skewed.

After a violent shoot out at a porn shop, one survivor, Oscar remains. Surrounded by eight bodies, and the police and clutching a shotgun, Oscar's immediately hauled into the cop shop to be interrogated as to what exactly he knows about the shooting....

However, while the investigating detective Solør is convinced Oscar's guilty, Oscar begins to explain what happened - and how it all came from the winning of a football pool which netted four men over 1.7 million kroner and caused all manner of divisions.

Jackpot is as dark a black humoured story as they come - it's also incredibly amusingly dry throughout.

Oscar's choice of colleagues for the football pool happens to be three ex-cons, Billy, Thor and Dan who are particularly inept at division (a running gag centres on how they're unable to work out exactly how much money each of them will get) but whose propensity for mistrust and paranoia outweighs the benefits of the win.

But there's a very tongue in cheek feel to some of the extreme violence throughout; when one ganglord's killed in the shoot-out, his final words to a co-worker in the porn shop is to plead with him to go and pick up his son. To which, the co-worker asks if he'll need written permission to do that.

It's that kind of off-kilter, slightly left-field view which permeates the slickly produced piece and thanks to a snappy running time, touches of Fargo (think chippers) Jackpot is a twisty, albeit slight shaggy dog story with a fun pay-off that's as pulpy and in keeping with the genre as you'd expect.

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Your Sister's Sister: Movie Review

Your Sister's Sister: Movie Review

Cast: Emily Blunt, Mark Duplass and Rosemarie DeWitt
Director: Lynn Shelton

Emily Blunt, Mark Duplass and Rosemarie DeWitt star in this threesome which is probably one of the most charming films of the year.

From Humpday director Lynn Shelton, comes this tale of the trio and whose lives are changed by a trip.

A brilliantly hilarious and rubber faced hangdog, Duplass stars as Jack, whose brother Tom died one year ago; Jack's struggling to cope so his best friend Iris (the ever luminous Blunt) sends him off to a family cabin to get some headspace time and to hopefully, change his outlook on life.

But when he arrives there, he finds Iris's gay sister Hannah (DeWitt) there nursing a break up.

One bottle of tequila and a drunken fumble later finds the duo in all manner of problems. Particularly when Iris shows up unannounced...

Jack's plan? To keep the truth from Iris and just get through the next few days. However, both Iris and Hannah have designs on Jack which he could never have expected.

Deftly funny, smartly written and with a cast that underplays each line and scene so beautifully, Your Sister's Sister is a gently amusing, utterly engaging and totally enjoyable visit to the cinema.

Clever writing which feels real is Shelton's trade in this - and when matched up with the rising brilliance of a deadpan and yet farcical Duplass (who you really should see in Safety Not Guaranteed when it shows up), it's a winning combination. It's funny, charming and hits everything it aims for.

Even when things take a turn for the apparently more serious, Your Sister's Sister never loses the plot - or the audience.

This goofily charming movie is an acutely observed three hander which is poignant when it needs to be and totally winning from beginning to end.

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On the Road Movie Review

On the Road: Movie Review

Cast: Kristen Stewart, Sam Riley, Garrett Hedlund, Viggo Mortensen, Amy Adams
Director: Walter Salles

Jack Kerouac's infamous book has long been deemed unfilmable - but that doesn't appear to deter Walter Salles from teaming up with the star of Trampiregate 2012, Kristen Stewart.

Sam Riley stars as Sal Paradise, KStew as Mary Lou and Garrett Hedlund as Dean Moriarty in this road trip ramble of a movie.

After the death of his father, Sal, a fledgling but struggling writer, heads out across America with his friend Dean in the hope that the travelling will inspire his writing.

And that's, erm pretty much it in this adaptation which is a sprawling, well acted, but emotionally detached road movie that pretty much encapsulates the feeling I imagine the book would have.

I say imagine, because I've not touched Kerouac's tome so can't tell you if it's true to the tone or the feel or plot points (if they even exist).

In terms of atmosphere, there's certainly plenty of hepcat hedonism and feeling of young pretentiousness afoot but I never really felt deeply engaged in these self absorbed poets/ writers as they shamble through a form of life.

Kristen Stewart finally gets to really emote on the big screen and brings a bit of vibrancy to MaryLou and Riley seriously impresses as Sal, who only really comes to life when others around him flourish.

Beautifully shot with cinematography that really captures the mood of the era, there's as much of a rambling freeform narrative here as there are beats in an ever lasting jazz piece and to be honest, it was a struggle to really care about these guys and the girl who's caught between the life on the road or the fiancee back at home, patiently waiting.

The hedonistic approach of the wannabes lacked any real emotional captivation and despite them giving it their all, it failed to muster any kind of empathy or excitement within.

Though cameos from Amy Adams, Viggo Mortensen and a brilliant Steve Buscemi liven up proceedings, if it weren't for the captivating performances of Sam Riley and Kristen Stewart through a story which weaves and rambles as it winds on its merry way, I would have demanded this ride pulled over mid-way through and let me off.


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New Hobbit stills unveiled

New Hobbit stills unveiled

Oh my gosh.

Hobbit fans rejoice. There's been a whole raft of new Hobbit images unveiled today as part of the launch of the Hobbit Apple app.

We've already had the news that The Hobbit will be now three films and now there's a stack of images from the Hobbit for you to salivate over.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey hits cinemas in December....can't wait.

Final Breaking Dawn Part 2 Trailer

Final Breaking Dawn Part 2 Trailer

Fresh off the satellite of the VMAs, here's the final full Breaking Dawn Part 2 trailer.

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 hits cinemas in November.

The Watch: Movie Review

The Watch: Movie Review

Cast: Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill, Richard Ayoade, Rosemarie DeWitt
Director: Akiva Schaffer

In this latest aliens invade comedy, we find ourselves back in middle America.

A dialled-down Ben Stiller plays Evan Trautwig, a local guy who lives in Glenview, Ohio and who's terribly proud of his community. He's head of a stack of different hobby clubs, works as a manager of a local supermarket after years of slowly climbing up the ladder and is proud of what he's achieved and the people he lives with.

But when the night guard of his store is murdered, the uptight Evan decides to step up to show his love for the community and form a neighbourhood watch.

Having recruited only three others - boorish Bob (Vaughan), a rejected trigger happy wannabe cop (Hill) and a mild mannered, socially awkward Brit, Jamarcus (Ayoade) - the whole thing appears to be more of an excuse for lonely guys to socialise rather than patrol the streets, despite Evan's best intentions.

However, when the four of them discover that aliens have invaded and are about to take over Glenview, it becomes more of Evan's mission to try and convince everyone outside the watch and save his beloved community.

What to say about The Watch?

If you're after a slightly vulgar, occasionally puerile and hit and miss laugh out loud experience, then this film is for you.

Sure, this kind of film's been done plenty of times before (Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Men in Black et al) but the central ensemble cast seemed to promise more than they actually delivered. On paper, it's a dream team - Stiller, Vaughn and Hill have great comic chops and CVs and the adding into the mix of the brilliant Ayoade seemed to hint at freshening things up between them all.

But what emerges on the screen is a patchy, scrappily funny affair with a few generally amusing lines which punctuate the unevenness of the overall script. Scenes meander on with very few punchlines worthy of their set up - or they're entirely predictable as this suspicion of suburbanites alien invasion story progresses.

Stiller's the straight man to Vaughn's overprotective, just-wanna-hang-with-the-guys boor; and Hill adds a level of funny with his edgy, rejected cop who threatens to overflow into violence. But the star of the film (and who gets the admittedly slim lion's share of the best lines) is the IT Crowd's Richard Ayoade who punctures and peppers the "comedy" with moments of awkwardness and unpredictability. Sadly, though, there's just not enough of those scattered through the film - although it is a star debut.

With horrendous product placement once again on show and the film really reneging on the promise of a group of mismatched guys coming together and enforced bonding, The Watch proves to be a picking at low hanging fruit kind of film - and if you're in the mood for that (or have a teenage boy mentality to cope with the vulgar jokes) then it's the film for you.

Everyone else will just want The Watch to disband and never reform.

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