Skyfall: Movie Review

Skyfall: Movie Review

Cast: Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Javier Bardem, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, Ralph Fiennes, Albert Finney
Director: Sam Mendes

Bond's back - and this time, he's 50.

Well, to be more accurate, the Bond franchise is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and the latest, Skyfall, (the 23rd outing for Ian Fleming's spy) has its work cut out for it - present a nostalgic look at what Bond's done and as well as demonstrate what the future of the franchise could offer.

Fresh from delivering the Queen to the London 2012 Olympics, Daniel Craig returns for his third outing as James Bond 007 in the Skyfall release.

Tasked with retrieving a hard drive, containing a list of undercover British agents, the pressure mounts for Bond to ensure success in his latest mission. But when it looks like he's about to fail, M (Judi Dench) orders Bond's fellow agent Eve (Harris) to take a shot and take out the man who's stolen the hard drive.

However, the agent accidentally hits Bond and sending him plummeting from the heights of a moving train in Turkey, he's believed dead...

When MI6 comes under attack and M is targeted, Bond decides, out of a fierce loyalty, to come out of his shell to track down the people behind the threat - no matter what the cost....

Skyfall is as thrilling a James Bond you'd expect to get for the franchise's 50th anniversary - and one from such a director as Sam Mendes.

Tautly pulled together and respectful of the franchise's past, it's a pulse-racing ride - right from the beginning with an opening sequence which takes in rooftop bike chases, street chases, and a crane atop a train in Turkey. The opening packs in as much tension and spectacle as you'd expect from the franchise.

Daniel Craig is very good as a wounded Bond - through his piercing blue eyes and pursed lips, the hurt he conveys after returning from the dead to confront M, says more than any exposition and over-acting could ever do. This is a Bond who's faced a near-death experience, begrudgingly lived to tell the tale and appears slightly resentful of the loyalty he's expected to show. Towards the end, when Bond reveals a little more of his past, it seems to add a level to the agent and give him an emotional resonance which has been missing in previous outings.

But, in all honesty, this film truly belongs to an exceptional performance by Judi Dench as M - as her past catches up to her, Dench conveys a whole range of emotions, from haunted to hunted, with a deft turn which commands the screen whenever she appears. When her time comes, she will be much missed from the franchise. This time around, through a nuanced and excellent turn, she's added emotional complexity and heart to the relationship between M and Bond.

Beautiful cinematography (a sequence where a high-rise Singapore showdown takes place is all done in shadows with neons and computers providing the backlighting), smart crowd pleasing nods to Bond's past and a strong debut from Ben Whishaw as Q mean this Bond will resonate with all concerned who proffer up their cash to witness the latest. Skyfall by Adele is also a great addition to the previous Bond opening credit montages.

That's not to say that Skyfall doesn't have its flaws, though.

After an exceptional start and opening sequence, the very slight story (it's just about revenge, folks) appears to sag slightly during its middle section as the relatively threadbare plot starts to shine through. While it's a relief that the plot's a little lighter after the last Bond Quantum of Solace's muddled bland mess, the 150 minute running time could have been trimmed a little to give it a hint of leanness it needs.

Also, I have to admit, I'm somewhat on the fence over Skyfall's bad guy, Raoul Silva, under-played by Javier Bardem in a blond wig. While he brings some of the unhinged menace, with a hint of sexual ambivalence, he doesn't quite hit the mark as a truly memorable Bond villain in my eyes. (I think in fairness though, everyone, Bond included, are incidental to this film with the whole movie pivoting around Dame Judi's M.)

"Sometimes, the old ways are the best" is an adage quoted a few times in the knowing script - and this in many ways, could be applied to the whole film and franchise itself.

Better than Quantum of Solace but not matching the highs of Casino Royale, with crisply lean action sequences, a few knowing quips, some impressive acting and an emotional resonance, Skyfall is perhaps the perfect Bond for a 50th anniversary. It shows the franchise has a life to live and effortlessly demonstrates the best is yet to come.

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The Cabin In the Woods: Blu Ray Review

The Cabin In the Woods: Blu Ray Review

Rating: M
Released by Roadshow Home Entertainment

Joss Whedon's much- vaunted The Cabin in The Woods gets its small screen release after a very strong showing in this year's Incredibly Strange Festival outing.

Let me say now, this review won't proffer up anything of the spoilery nature as you're best going into this completely fresh and without any prior knowledge. 

Suffice to say a group of good looking teens (including NZ's very own Anna Hutchison as a cheeky vixen) head into the woods for a weekend away - but as ever, when they get there, things turn rather hellish. 

And that's all I want to reveal because, if you go into this knowing little, you'll be sure of a few major surprises.

Billed as genre-mashing and genre-bending, The Cabin in The Woods is actually a pulpy, trashy piece of meta film which plays with horror conventions, mocks the twists and turns and slaps on the smarts as well as the laughs. 

There's also a lot of horro gore too as the cleverness unfolds. 

Best watched with a group of mates, The Cabin in The Woods is a bit of a self referential enigma, as you can't help but feel that you've been subverted and had your expectations messed with as it unfolds. 

This effective genre piece is grounded by great performances by Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford and is peppered with in jokes that horror fans will lap up. Humorous, shocking and a sly tipping of the genre, mean that Cabin will be a cult hit that deserves a wide audience on the small screen. Fans of Joss' previous outings will be buying this en masse and if you want to see what the buzz is all about, you'll be smart enough to join them.

Extras: Making of, Make up and animatronic effects and visual effects. My only real comment on these - why no commentary???!!!!

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Four new banner posters for The Hobbit

Four new banner posters for The Hobbit

Hobbit fans, time is getting precious.

And with the world premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in Wellington just around the corner, I've got four new banner posters for The Hobbit to share with you.

They've just dropped on theonering.net so I thought I'd pass them on....

No sign yet of Radagast The Brown banner....

The Last Stand trailer is here

The Last Stand trailer is here

It's finally here - your first full look at Arnold Schwarzenegger's forthcoming The Last Stand, hitting cinemas in 2013.

The leader of a drug cartel busts out of a courthouse and speeds to the Mexican border, where the only thing in his path is a sheriff and his inexperienced staff....

Check out the all new full trailer for The Last Stand below!

Electrick Children: Movie Review

Electrick Children: Movie Review

Cast: Julia Garner, Rory Culkin, Billy Zane, Liam Aiken, Cynthia Watros
Director: Rebecca Thomas

It's back into the world of the weird we go for Electrick Children, written and directed by Rebecca Thomas.

Julia Garner stars as Rachel, a girl turning 15 years old in her fundamentalist Mormon home in Utah - and who finds a cassette tape, hidden in the bowels of her home. She places the tape in a cassette player and has a religious experience, listening to the cover version of Blondie's "Hanging on the Telephone."

Her brother, Mr Will (Aiken) finds her listening to it and following a scuffle, tries to recover it from her. Discovered tussling on the floor by her mother, the pair are separated.

Then, Rachel finds she's pregnant, and believing it's an immaculate conception caused by the tape, she sets out to the nearest town - Las Vegas - to find the singer....and the person she believes is responsible for her pregnancy.


However, her fundamentalist family do not feel the same - and banish Mr Will, threatening Rachel with an arranged marriage...

Electrick Children is the very definition of indie and first time film-making.

Garner gives a bravura performance as the teenager finding her way in the world that she knows scant little about in any shape or form. When she falls in with Rory Culkin's rocker and her brother Mr Will tries to discover himself in the seedier grimier side of Las Vegas, the film finds its groove as it dwindles away from the conception thread. And Garner's frailty and watchable performance grounds a film which demands a lot from its audience.

Culkin is solid as the feckless rocker, Zane is zen-like as the preacher and Aiken gives good solid support (as well as a few laughs) as the Mormon exposed to the not-so-bright lights of Sin City. All in all, the cast offer up sensitive and nuanced performances of subtlety throughout but Electrick Children is not without problems though. There are far too many coincidences which pepper the second half of the film and feel more like deus ex machina moments rather than plotted narrative and reasoning.

And the main thread which makes the film so appealing in the first place (immaculate conception or not) is abandoned halfway through proving maddeningly frustrating to what you've initially invested in. So be warned, if you're looking for answers, they may not be coming.

Electrick Children is quite indie; but it shows promise from Thomas which isn't quite fulfilled as it spills out - occasionally quite dark and murkily - on the screen.

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The Way: Blu Ray Review

The Way: Blu Ray Review

Rating: PG
Released by Vendetta Films

Martin Sheen stars in this film directed by his son Emilio.

Sheen stars as Thomas Avery, a widowed ophthalmologist, who's also estranged from his son, Daniel. Avery's drive these days is his work but one day, his world is shattered when he gets a call from a French policeman telling him that his son's dead.

Daniel had been killed in the Pyrenees, walking the Camino de Santiago, a Christian pilgrim route made by thousands. This news, coupled with the fact Thomas wasn't sure why Daniel was doing the route, throws his world into turmoil.

So, setting out to retrieve the body in France, Tom decides on the spur of the moment to walk the route himself - to try and reacquaint himself with his son and find out why he was doing what he was doing.

But along the way - and despite his many protestations to the contrary, he falls in with three other walkers. Joost, an overweight man from Amsterdam, Sarah, a bitter Canadian and Jack, an Irish travel writer who's trying to beat writer's block.

The Way is a gentle, unassuming and moving film which has an emotional resonance from beginning to end.

Thanks, in a large part, due to Martin Sheen's subtly layered performance; the guy is a powerhouse of an acting talent who takes you through this road movie despite its occasional faults and flashbacks to Tom and Daniel's relationship. His tetchy and grumpy Tom is very relatable and watchable as the film unfolds and his dynamic with the other travellers is perfectly understandable for anyone who's been backpacking.

Estevez does a good job of this writer/ director piece - even if he does occasionally sentimentally over-egg the pudding by inserting shots of Tom seeing Daniel at key moments on the walk. It's unnecessary and heavy handed. But beautiful shots of scenes along the way help to hint at something a little majestic in places.

While The Way is perhaps predictable in plot and denouement, it's simply unmissable as a piece of inspirational cinema- it's the characters' dynamics and relationships which make it so enjoyable and  touching; as a character piece, it's gentle, unassuming, touching, reflective, emotionally satisfying and soulful.
Extras: A great bunch - commentary from Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez; interviews, taking The Way on the road, behind the scenes, trailer - nice package

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Attack The Block: Blu Ray Review

Attack The Block: Blu Ray Review

Rating:R16
Released by Icon and Roadshow Home Entertainment

On Bonfire Night in the UK, nurse Sam (Jodie Whittaker) is walking home when she's approached by a group of lads, lead by ringleader Moses (John Boyega). Needless to say the group doesn't want to escort the nurse home, but instead set about mugging her.

However, their attack is interrupted by something falling from the sky - together the gang set on a creature which appears to have been what fell from the sky and kill it, before taking it to local drug dealer Ron (Nick Frost).

But when more objects start falling from the sky, the gang arm themselves and set about defending their territory, the Block (a council house) from the invaders...

Attack The Block is a slice of welcome cultural sci-fi - the writers spent a year studying the language of the youthes of the area and it's reflected in every last spoken detail on screen, taking in street vernacular and interplay between kids these days. It takes a little bit of time to get used to - but soon, it starts to become a catchy lingo and you may even find yourself dropping in the odd word from time to time.

For a relatively low budget UK film, Attack The Block is a certainly assured piece of film-making. Director Joe Cornish has the perfect eye for details and shots as well as throwing in some good action sequences as well.

The aliens themselves are kind of novel too - furry like gorillas but with huge glow in the dark teeth (which fade out like batteries dying after the creatures are killed) they're feral, brutal things which are unlikely any other aliens ever committed to screen.

There's something novel about Attack The Block - it's destined for cult status, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't check it out. In the words of the gang themselves - "Believe, bruv, believe."

Extras: The making of

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