The Way Way Back: Blu Ray Review

The Way Way Back: Blu Ray Review

Rating: M
Released by Sony Home Entertainment

In this latest from the studio who brought you Little Miss Sunshine and Juno, it's back to the old cliche of teenager coming of age.

Liam James stars as 14 year old Duncan, an awkward and inept kid who, as the film begins, is on his way to a summer beach home with his mum (Toni Collette), her new bully-boy boyfriend Trent (Steve Carell) and his daughter. It's a vacation he doesn't want and a family he's got no desire to be part of. And when he meets neighbour garish drunkard Betty (a wonderful Alison Janney) it seals the deal for him - he's going to hate the summer no matter what happens.

But against the odds, Duncan strikes up a friendship with Sam Rockwell's wise-cracking water park owner Owen and begins to blossom under his tutelage and Duncan begins to find his voice in the world.

Coming of age movies are traditionally cliched and unoriginal - not The Way, Way Back. Despite handling material that's as old as the hills, The Way, Way Back is fresh, funny, dramatic when it needs to be and utterly charming. It succeeds largely in part due to the smart, sassy script which is on offer - and the performances of the likes of Sam Rockwelland Alison Janney as well as Liam James as the awkward teen.

It's Rockwell's piece really though as he rocks out some comic monologues as he lounges around the idea of management of the washed out water park. He has charm and charisma aplenty in this character piece - and he's got some of the most unpredictably funny moments in the movie as he espouses dry and deadpan moments of wisdom to Duncan. The growing relationship between the pair as Duncan finds the father figure he craves instead of the hectoring and badgering of bully boy Trent shines throughout and feels natural and realistic.

But other performers in the piece also shine - Carell delivers a distinctly unlikeable turn as the newcomer to the family, whose borderline menace is always simmering in the background; Janney blazes an early trail in the movie before giving way to Rockwell and James deserves some credit as the teen blundering his way through growing up, discovering himself as well as the neighbouring girl (played by AnnaSophia Robb). There's an undeniable charm to The Way, Way Back - it has an ease of originality and offers a new sideways take on the old "coming of age during one summer away from my normal life" movie that we've seen a million times before. Faxon and Rash have a way of wrong-footing you throughout and taking the path less travelled to deliver the moments that shine on the screen.

The Way Way Back is an unmissable film with comedic poignancy - it sings of fresh originality and proffers up a brilliant turn from Rockwell. I can't urge you enough to see this movie - it's already got a place on the best films of 2013 as far as I'm concerned and you should succumb to its immense charms immediately.

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The Croods: Blu Ray Review

The Croods: Blu Ray Review

Rating: G
Released by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

Emma Stone stars as Eep, the eldest girl of the Croods, a family of Neanderthals getting by thanks to the over-protective nature of her father in this animated outing, Grug (Nicolas Cage, in one of his best performances in a while) who simply wants to keep the family safe from harm and trapped within a cave. But Eep is growing up and wants to spend more time in the sun rather than the dark of the cave.

However, when nature intervenes, their cave's destroyed and the continents begin to separate, the Croods have no choice but to move on to find a new cave. And things are further complicated when Guy (Ryan Reynolds) shows up - a smart, thinking and inventive chap, with diametrically opposed ideologies to Grug. Eep falls for him but his attitude puts him on a collision path with Grug... Will the Croods survive the new world?

The Croods movie is, without a doubt, a blast of animated air for the holiday period.

With an opening that exudes CGI confidence as the Croods hurtle around the landscape trying to catch their food,The Croods movie hits the ground running as it crafts together a world of colourful critters and hilarious hijinks. Whereas Scrat had his acorn to chase, the Croods have an egg which provides them with sustenance - a parallel which can't be ignored in this latest prehistoric outing.

With her waving red hair, Eep is the latest redhead after Brave to grace the screen but it's the animation and the world around the Croods movie which scores highly. From its bright colours to its general lunacy of pace, there's plenty to keep the kids entertained in this - with its supporting character of Belt, a sort of pinkish/ purple long armed sloth providing some of the film's best laughs. Which is a good thing because there's scant story to see the film through to be honest. It's simply a tale of a family trying to find their way into a new life - and the usual father / daughter tensions shining through as the girl-meets-her-first-boy and father-struggles-to- reconcile-with-the-possibility-he-will lose-her-to-a-younger, smarter version of himself. The whole family as Neanderthals and new guy as an intelligent next stage works well as an allegory (who hasn't thought their family were primitive when it comes to being impressed by a new suitor?) but it's anything but subtle as the occasional ACME style zaniness plays itself out.

Still, in terms of the journey, it's one which is worth taking - even though it lacks a fully rounded and expanded story, it pushes family values right in the final stages and provides a gooey resolution to the Eep / Grug tensions, The Croods is still a film which will delight many - no matter how young or old they are and regardless of whether they're Neanderthals or otherwise.

Extras: Lost scenes, be an artist, HD picture...

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Now You See Me: Blu Ray Review

Now You See Me: Blu Ray Review

Rating: M
Released by Universal Home Entertainment

In this new heist / caper / magic, Jesse Eisenberg, Dave Franco, Woody Harrelson and Isla Fisher star as a quartet of magicians aka The Four Horsemen - J Daniel Atlas (a cardsman), Jack, (a pick-pocket) Merritt (a mentalist) and Henley (another escapologist), who, having worked individually are brought together by a mysterious benefactor to pull off some of their biggest ever tricks after a year of planning.

But the group attracts the attention of the FBI's Dylan Rhodes (a wonderfully rugged Mark Ruffalo) after they apparently rob a bank in Paris and give the money to their audience during a show in Las Vegas.

Rhodes teams up with an interpol agent Alma Dray (Inglorious Basterds' Melanie Laurent) and a debunker of magic Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman) to try and track the Horsemen down and stop them.

And so begins a taut game of cat and mouse....

Now You See Me is a slick, flashy, crowd-pleasing affair. With swirling cameras looping around all the actors and the action all the time, you may get a little dizzy and disorientated as the speedy plot plays out. There's hardly any time to catch your breath really as well as the chase begins and there's certainly no time to dwell on some of the plot holes, light characterisation and confusing moments as it speeds to its ever so slightly open ended conclusion. A lack of real explanation as to why the group's taken in by this scheme is missing until the end, giving you open-ended discussion over why they're involved and causing you to feel a little cheated.

Like any magic trick, Now You See Me is a heady mix of quick cuts, sleight of cinematic hand and misdirection. Nothing is of course as it seems and its ending is ludicrous, making a lot of what has already proceeded seem like something mysterious yet empty.

Eisenberg is smug and arrogant as Atlas; Harrelson's smirking and wise-cracking as the Mentalist - and unfortunately Fisher and Franco barely register as characters in this rather crowded cast. They're lost in the confines of the story and the initial brilliant opening scene, introducing us to all of the characters doesn't follow through on its promise. Freeman and Caine have a frisson of conflict as Tressler, the Horsemen's bank roller and Thaddeus the debunker. But it's Ruffalo who emerges as eminently watchable throughout this piece; his FBI agent seems to always be one step behind the action but his dogged determination is catchy and pretty soon, you're on his side, rooting for the capture of the quartet. That's the thing with Now You See Me - its mix of magic, heist caper and slick Hollywood swirling cameras is infectious - like any good trick, you're caught up in the moment as it plays out - but the minute you step out of the cinema, you find yourself questioning what you've seen - and while Now You See Me proffers up some entertaining moments throughout its 110 minute run, you're soon left with a hollow after glow and a feeling that you've been tricked. A real case of Now You See Me, Now You Don't on the plot front...
Extras: Extended version of film, history of magic, deleted scenes, audio commentary

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The Look of Love: Blu Ray Review

The Look of Love: Blu Ray Review

Rating: R16
Released by Madman Home Ent

"I'm Paul Raymond - and welcome to my world of erotica."

So announces Steve Coogan,straight down the barrel of the camera, at the start of his fourth collaboration with director Michael Winterbottomin this biopic about Paul Raymond, the Soho baron of smut and once Britain's richest man.

The notorious journey to infamy began back in 1958 when he opened a gentleman's club that none could resist - and Winterbottom charts this journey from the very beginning as it grew into an empire for Raymond, and one which was scattered with booze, birds and blow (well, a lot of hard drugs, but you need the alliteration, right?) along the way.

But it's Raymond's personal life which is laid relatively straight forwardly out through the 60s, 70s, 80s and up to his daughter Debbie (Imogen Poots) and her death from an overdose in the 1990s. Along the way, it's a heady mix of sex, drugs and porn, but it's relatively lacking in insight into Raymond and remains simply a re-telling of his life rather than an interesting look behind the curtain. Anna Friel blazes a trail early on as his first wife Jean but she soon falls by the wayside when Tamsin Egerton's Fiona Richmond shows up and steals his affections. Though perhaps, that's somewhat unsurprising given how many women appeared to come and go in his life. Jealousies stir and Coogan manages to just about convince as Raymond (even though he does veer dangerously close to feeling like another Steve Coogan comedy stereotype - something which admittedly, it took a while for me to shake). Poots brings a fragility to the proceedings as the daughter who simply wants to impress her dad, but ends up falling into his world as she desperately tries to connect with him.

Winterbottom's wonderfully brought to life the swinging era with some great period detail, but some terribly corny, cheesy, almost Carry On like lines proliferate his leading man that you're never quite on his side. The Men Only shoots are stylishly recreated and evocative of the era and add a level of sleaze to the proceedings that's necessary, but Raymond is such a two dimensional character, it's quite hard to really feel for him when he inevitably finds himself on his own. 

It's easy to see why Coogan was attracted to this character - there's certainly shades of his tabloid presence within and moments which border on parody - but Winterbottom brings little to the direction of this tale of excess and regret. Despite the mountains of merkins and bare flesh on show, there's little passion in this piece. It's a sleazy, simply told tale which lacks a real heart and poignancy that's needed to convince of the unfolding tragedy.

Extras: Deleted scenes, interviews with cast, timeline of life.

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Elysium: Blu Ray Review

Elysium: Blu Ray Review

Rating: R16
Released by Sony Home Entertainment

The director of District 9 returns with yet another sci-fi outing. In the year 2154. the Earth has become over-populated and over-polluted leading to the rich upping and leaving the planet to inhabit a floating space station called Elysium where everything is perfect - and where those who can afford it can be healed of any condition or problem. But back down on the surface, the have nots are struggling to get by, spilling out of slums and slaving for what little they can find.

Matt Damon is Max, who's always wanted to be among the stars and who's sickened by the class system which has developed on the Earth. He works on a production line in a factory, building the robots who police the world and who, ironically, suspect him of wrong-doing simply because he has a criminal record. When he's given an overdose of radiation at work, he believes he has nothing left to lose - and sets Elysium in his sights. But, in order to secure a ticket and transport to the space station, run by Defence secretary Delacourt (an icy Jodie Foster, underused, underwritten and with a truly bizarre clipped accent), he finds himself part of a mission which could bring equality to both those up there in space and down on Earth. But there are those who don't want the equilibrium damaged....

District 9 was such an incredible success that it was perhaps inevitable that anything Blomkamp followed it up with would be disappointing.

Not so with Elysium - to a degree.

Once again, his flair for stunning visuals and establishing shots is there right from the beginning; as with District 9 and its spaceship hanging in the sky, Blomkamp brilliantly sets the scene of the ravaged Earth and creates the world within the space of a few minutes.But despite Elysium being a gritty, dystopian piece of sci-fi, it proffers up a bitterly sweet sentimental ending that seems unnecessary.

Flashbacks back to Max's childhood and friendship with Alice Braga's Frey swoop in and out maybe a few times too often and the end reminiscence certainly is unwarranted. It's Blomkamp overegging the pudding in attempt to ground his protagonists with sentimental motivation.

That said, Damon is pretty good as the man with nothing left to lose and everything to gain as he plies his everyman persona to a slowly dying Max.But it's Copley who once again shines - this time playing bad ass mercenary and rogue agent Kruger, who's sent to deal with Max. There's a cruel streak to him which is uncomfortable to watch in places - I wouldn't be surprised if he gets offered a few more roles as the bad guy now.

FX wise and on the technology front, Blomkamp has created a world which is utterly plausible and totally impressive - he really has grounded the scifi look in a reality which seems just over the horizon and then dirtied it up a little to take the sheen off it. With props created by Weta Workshop and including Weta crew Joe Dunckley and Tim Tozer, we've got something to shout about.

The social message is clear for all to see and while the action scenes are sparse and brutal (aside from a final showdown between Max and Kruger which is all Hollywood bluster as they go head to head in exosuits in something akin to Rock Em Sock Em Robots ) Blomkamp has not lost sight of the thrust of his film despite the bluster and slightly out of place ending.

It was always going to be impossible to reach the heights of District 9 and by over-sentimentalising towards the end as he attempts to humanise the protagonists, Blomkamp's actually detracted from what the film sets out to do. That said, it's still a superior slice of sci-fi and a film which is well worth watching, from a director who's pretty quickly raising the bar for the genre.

Extras: Over 1 hour of content for the blu ray including behind the scenes content on how it was put together

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To The Wonder: Blu Ray Review

To The Wonder: Blu Ray Review

Rating: M
Released by Roadshow Home Ent

This time around, rather than taking on the big mysteries of life, director Terence Malick's choosing to concentrate on the nature of love, in To The Wonder with a piece centring on Ben Affleck and Olga Kurylenko's relationship and how it plays out. 

It starts off romantically as the duo journey to Europe on a train. With no inclination for explanation, we're thrown into the middle of their relationship and left to observe; Affleck is near mute and Kurylenko's voiceover gives us snapshots of a life, a love and a budding world of dreams. As time goes on though, the romance cools, the pair split amid a visa issue and Affleck falls back for former girlfriend played by Rachel McAdams. However, once again, that dream falters and the original duo reunite. Intertwined with their life and love is a priest played by Javier Bardem whose purpose in life is drifting away from his calling.

Once again, Malick displays a real propensity and skill for a lyrical liquid narrative, blessed with some wonderful imagery which captures the life within our grasp; but for some, the fluidity and lack of real structure may prove a stumbling block as it rambles on to its conclusion. The overall feeling of To The Wonder is more of an experience, a live picture book than a conventional film - a spiritual journey rather than a scripted pathway. An orchestral score soars early on as the trio all search for something - and while Affleck and Kurylenko's characters seem to get the most closure, Bardem's priest is a little neglected and on the outside of the film rather than being more fully embraced. To The Wonder is a film to be seen and discussed but it may not be one whose snapshots of life and love are anything more than fleeting moments of celluloid; haunting definitely but lasting, not entirely.

Extras: Making of

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The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey: Extended Cut: DVD Review

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey: Extended Cut: DVD Review

Rating: M
Released by Warner Home Entertainment

For some, an extended cut of the first Hobbit movie is something akin to torture. For those who love Jackson's deep dive into Middle Earth though, it's to be welcomed as much as a second breakfast.

Everyone knows the story of the Hobbit, so let's skip over that and just say that this cut adds in 13 minutes of footage which was dropped - including more dwarves singing. It's ok, but nothing sensational and there really is the feeling that Peter Jackson put in as much as he could into the main body of the film and there was little left over.

However, the greatest addition part of this 5 disc set is the appendices which chronicle the making of the film and these are a real insight into a production from inception to final birth on the screen. These are essential viewing for anyone who's ever been interested in making movies and also for the fans of this series - Jackson's released these kinds of docos before with King Kong but the scope of them this time around is greatly rewarding and worth the price of the set alone.

A final disc goes back to Middle Earth and discusses the characters within- another greatly expanded piece for completists.

All in all, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey: Extended Cut set is a must own for any one serious about either Middle Earth or film-making in general.

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