Winter's Tale: Movie Review

Winter's Tale: Movie Review

Cast: Colin Farrell, Russell Crowe, Will Smith, Jessica Brown Findlay, William Hurt, Jennifer Connelly
Director: Akiva Goldsman

Ah, Valentine's Day - the time of year when syrupy mush is served up to the lovelorn cinematic masses so they can snuggle up to their beloved and leave with warm fuzzies.

The latest entrant into the paean is an adaptation of the 1983 Mark Helprin book set in a mythic New York City where demons roam in human form, taking down humans and advancing the fight of good vs evil.

Farrell plays Peter Lake, an Irish orphan, who's living a life of thieving and getting by in 1916 New York. But he's angered the boss of a mob, Pearly Soames (Russell Crowe in dead eyed Irish accent mode) and has a price on his head.

It all changes for Lake though, when he meets the consumption-ridden Beverley Penn (Downton Abbey's Lady Sybil aka Jessica Brown Findlay) and falls in love. But when tragedy strikes, Lake finds himself in 2014 New York with another chance to redeem himself....and give it all for love again.

Winter's Tale starts with a plummy British voiceover explaining the virtues of the stars and how the angels are born and goes downhill from there pretty quickly.

Mixing in a smattering of the mystical into a dour film, it very rarely stops to offer any kind of real explanation of what's going on or make you believe in the truly implausible romance between Beverley and Peter (as they fall for each other over a cup of tea). It's supposed to mix in magic thanks to a white horse guardian who appears to Peter at a time of need and can fly away, but there's no sense of it ever really soaring in any shape or form.

Dreary performances (with the exception of Brown Findlay, whose luminescence and lively eyes light up the screen) taint the movie and rob it of any feeling other than of actors on auto-pilot. Farrell looks non-plussed in the moments that he's not trying desperately to emote as he pours tears from under his caterpillar like eyebrows; even he struggles with getting any kind of grasp of what's going on; Crowe looks constipated as he tries to glower as an angry demon; Smith crops up as Lucifer (!) and seems completely lost and Connelly is totally wasted and wishy washy as a mom whose child has cancer in the present day segment of the movie.

Perhaps the worst part of this is that a kiss from Farrell's character evidently can cure child of said illness, a move that feels crass, badly written and executed on screen - and rankles you even more in the final moments. Throw in some shonky CGI for the flying horse and it looks as if you've got a contender for one of the worst romantic movies of all time. Even with heavy handed talk of miracles laid on in spades, and utter tosh in the voiceovers talking of the great design of life, there's not even a remote hint of subtle sentimentality coming into play.

But here's the thing with Winter's Tale - there's just no emotion or feeling to it whatsoever, leaving you more with the impression that you've just wasted 2 hours of your life thanks to a cloying, confusing narrative that doesn't play up the eternal love angle, it simply doesn't seem to know what story it really wants to tell. It relies on wild leaps of faith from the audience throughout, and doesn't reward them for taking the chance or the journey. It's a fantasy movie without any of the fantastical.

And that's the cruellest blow possible on a day when love is supposed to reign supreme.

Rating:

Inside Llewyn Davis: Movie Review

Inside Llewyn Davis: Movie Review

Cast: Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, A ginger cat, Justin Timberlake, John Goodman
Director: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

The Coen Brothers return to the movies with a ramshackle week in the life of a young folk singer and a reminder that life's journey doesn't always take the straightest path toward destiny.

A bearded, sad-eyed Oscar Isaac plays Llewyn Davis, a singer who's trying to make it in the Greenwich Village scene of 1961 but failing to break through and falling deeper into self-doubt as he shambles from one uncertain night to the next.

Complicating his life are an unexpected pregnancy with Carey Mulligan's Jean (one of the places where Davis crashes), the lack of definitive work, a manager who appears to never pass any money on and a cruel winter. Even with a guitar slung on his back, Llewyn is facing his darkest days yet as he sets out to audition for a music mogul in Chicago, with nothing but misfits, biting cold, crippling hunger, and a ginger cat for company...

Inside Llewyn Davis is a film that soars on many levels - from the understated yet totally relatable Oscar Isaac as Davis, who nails every desperate scene with a quiet frustration as the thwarted artist, to the ragtag group of misfits who drift in and out of his life, the Coens have brought together a cyclical film that encapsulates the life of the artist as they move from uncertainty to tantalising hope.

But the Coens haven't lost any of their playfulness by doing this (even if they've dialled it back) - a recurring motif of a ginger cat who likes to travel (and whose name reveal at the end of the movie is a delicious treat), a cameo from John Goodman as a jazz singer who steals the scene he's in as a brute of an over-confident man who's the antithesis to Isaac's quietly frustrated Davis to Justin Timberlake's jumper-wearing oblivious to everything around him folk singer, there's something to love in almost every scene.

And that's without mentioning the rich, soulful soundtrack that is a perfect representation of the times - even down to the final appearance of a certain singer who kicked off the folk scene at that time. The songs range from the heartbreakingly frank (Oh Hang Me) to the verging-on-popsong-parody (Please Mr Kennedy) and are the perfect side dish, peppered as they are throughout. Drab colours and a washed out look to the film add to the vibe of the 60s Greenwich scene.

Inside Llewyn Davis feels exactly how it is to be a struggling artist, every scene reeks of quiet desperation and utter despondency as Davis goes from one uncertain moment to the next. When his eventual dark moment of the soul arrives, Isaac completely and heartbreakingly sells it with his sad tired eyes - fulfilling the melancholy almost maudlin vibe of what's already transpired as the soul crushing lows come to fruition. Particularly devastating is the scene where Davis pours his heart out with the guitar to a producer who simply dismisses him with the words "I don't see any money in it".

The sombre tone of this ramshackle road movie of the soul is beautifully played, though Davis is nothing more than a melancholic loner on this journey; his interactions with the likes of Jane and Timberlake's Jim merely emphasising that he doesn't fit in with them, an artist doomed to go his own lonely way - even the ginger cat leaves him as soon as the chance arises. If there are loose ends strewn here and there, it's symptomatic of how Davis comes and goes in people's lives more than poor writing or plotting.

Inside Llewyn Davis leaves you uncertain as to whether Davis is the real talent, destined to make it when the scene eventually breaks through or if he'll crack under the growing pressure of reality; it's a perfect portrait of someone suffering for their art - but the Coen brothers have ensured this journey is as far away from suffering as is remotely possible. It's a gorgeous film, a true testament to their skills as story-tellers and also their actors.

You can't afford not to see this quiet little masterpiece.

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Blue Is The Warmest Colour: Movie Review

Blue Is The Warmest Colour: Movie Review

Cast: Lea Seydoux, Adele Exarchpoulos
Director: Abdellatif Kechiche

It won the Palme D'Or at Cannes this year, garnered divisive word of mouth and then promptly disappeared amid talk the director wasn't happy with the cut and wanted to clean it up.

Now, with 3 hours and 7 minutes under its belt, Blue Is The Warmest Colour emerges for a fully-fledged cinematic release after discussions of the gruelling set conditions its stars had to endure.

Exarchpoulos stars as Adele, a 15 year old art student, living with her parents in a grey and overcast French town. She's trying to find her place in the world and despite hooking up with a senior who's the boy everyone wants, she's not happy. A fleeting glimpse of a blue haired girl throws her into a daze and she can't stop thinking of her - so, Adele sets out to the gay clubs to find the girl, Emma (played by Lea Seydoux).

Eventually the pair meet and Adele's thrown into a world of self-discovery, sexual awakening and a chance to come of age. But the path to true love and happiness is never an easy one as time weaves back and forth in this tale.

Blue Is The Warmest Colour is an interesting, if over-long story with some interesting narrative choices but some decisions which leave you scratching your head.

The film's already gained notoriety for its 10 minute long sex scene between Adele Exarchpoulos and Lea Seydoux that leaves nothing to the imagination - and neither does the camera, as it almost drools over the naked writhing flesh of the pair, lingering in close ups and perhaps giving you more of a sense of voyeurism than any real tenderness. (Though Kechiche spends a lot of the film focusing on close ups of his actors - maybe a bit too much time - which gives it an alarming lack of intimacy)

Elsewhere, the story is fine - though an expeditious edit in places of the script and the final cut could have substantially helped. In terms of the coming of age of Adele, it's exactly the story you'd expect - girl finds love, girl finds jealousy, girl makes mistakes and tries to atone for them - there's nothing inspiringly original here on that front.

Some of the problems come with characters brought in and simply used once before being dismissed - Adele's friends who form an important start of the first 30 minutes are dispensed with when their need is done. Worst though, is the use of the parents. Initially they're brought into symbolise a cultural difference and naive innocence between Adele and Emma; with Adele being unaware of oysters and trying them at Emma's house (oh, the lack of subtlety and overt subtext) during one repaste. When the meal favour is returned at Adele's, she tries simpler food and her parents are unaware of her sexual leaning - a dramatic tension that's strongly hinted at and dropped without warning. Frustrations like this come and go during the three hour run.

What is impressive though is Adele Exarchpoulos as the doe-eyed naif; she makes the large part of her journey and awakening feel real and heartbreaking when it counts; likewise, to a lesser degree Seydoux convinces as the blue haired Emma, who's more sure of herself and knows what she wants.

Blue is the Warmest Colour has its highs and narrative lows; while it captures the heartbreaking realities of coming of age nicely in some parts, the director's choices and at times meandering narrative unfortunately make the three hour paean to love an at times hard slog, but nevertheless rewarding because of its strong central performances.

Rating:

15 minute preview of Game Of Thrones Season 4 is released

15 minute preview of Game Of Thrones Season 4 is released

Good news for fans of Westeros.

A 15 minute preview of Game Of Thrones Season 4 has been released.

Game of Thrones bows on HBO April 6th.

I, Frankenstein: Movie Review

I, Frankenstein: Movie Review

Cast: Aaron Eckhart, Bill Nighy, Yvonne Strahovski, Miranda Otto, Jai Courtney
Director: Stuart Beattie

Based on a graphic novel by one of the creators of the Underworld series Kevin Grevioux, I, Frankenstein stars Aaron Eckhart as the titular creature.

200 years after he was created and after he got revenge on those who brought him into this world, Dr Frankenstein's creature (Adam as he's named) finds himself suddenly in the middle of an age old war, which could determine the fate of humanity.

On the one side is the Gargoyle Race - and on the others, the demons.

But when the demons get word that Adam could hold the key to their tipping the balance, the fight for Adam and the notes from his creator which brought him to life intensifies...

I Frankenstein is quite simply, a fairly bad B movie masquerading as something wanting to be more.

Infused with sullen and emotionless characters, it's hard to care about any of the fight going on or any of the combatants.

Aaron Eckhart skulks about as the creature, decked out in hobo gear, scars and guyliner and looking like someone's stolen his chocolate milk. While trying to effect a Batman style growl, he's effectively given the creature no unique selling point and a way to stand out from among the grim, dark FX that are placed all over the film. Granted, Frankenstein's monster is trying to find his place in the world, but Eckhart never quite nails that tortured alienation or the distance from any of the human or creatures within the world created.

Bill Nighy throws in another version of the character he played in Underworld and chews a bit of the scenery while doing so as the demon bad guy; and Chuck star Yvonne Strahovski gives the English accent a bit of a mangling as the scientist trying to make sense of it all. Miranda Otto is probably the worst offender though - through an aloof performance as the Queen of the Gargoyles, you don't feel any sympathy with their plight or a sense this battle's been going on for centuries.

Nobody's expecting miracles in a film like this - merely seeking a distraction and some FX heavy action sequences. Beattie manages some impressive FX for despatching the demons (with swirls of fire filling up the screen) but a ponderous over-reliance on using too much slow mo and bullet time style makes each sequence feel like a turgid rehash of the previous one.

Along with lumpen, leaden wooden dialogue, delivered soullessly by all the players, I Frankenstein feels like Comic Book 101 - the dialogue may work in the panels but in the 3D world and despite some visual directorial flourishes, it barely registers anything other than a groan of unoriginality. In fact it would be better titled Y, Frankenstein...

Rating:

Doctor Who: The Time of the Doctor: Blu Ray Review

Doctor Who: The Time of the Doctor: Blu Ray Review

Rating: PG
Released by BBC and Roadshow Home Ent

Here it is then - Matt Smith's final outing as the Eleventh Doctor in Doctor Who.

In the last Christmas special outing, The Doctor is drawn to a mysterious message which echoes throughout the stars - dragging Clara (Jenna Coleman) along for the ride, the Doctor soon realises he's been summoned to his final battle and that the clock is soon to strike twelve...

The Time of The Doctor is a mournful and glum outing and one which is in many ways, tangled up in all its own continuity to almost be impenetrable to those unsure of the history of the 11th Doctor. While it posits together a story that's practically unheard of for the Doc - stranded in one place, refusing to leave and defending a small village to the last, its only real strong point is the tour de force performance of Matt Smith, who excels despite the layers of old man latex thrown on him.

It's a curious regeneration story in many ways - most of the Doctor's exits force him to face a series of unstoppable odds that he only defeats by making the ultimate sacrifice, thus enforcing his stance as a true hero for all. This one sees the Doctor taking a series of small victories and the writers taking a few liberties in the dismissal of mysteries which have haunted the last 3 years - and it sometimes feels like a slap across the fans' faces.

However, when it comes to the moment we've all been expecting, Matt Smith delivers something utterly heartbreaking and makes up for the 55 odd minutes of head scratching. It's a truly sad end and one which makes you realise just how much he's given to the role - 30 seconds of Peter Capaldi may not add too much, but Matt Smith's brutally quick exit is a shock - and all in all, so is The Time Of The Doctor - it's Doctor Who at its most divisive.

Extras: All of the Matt Smith Christmas specials have been thrown on, as have a couple of BTS pieces.

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ZB Movie Review - Are We Officially Dating?

ZB Movie Review - Are We Officially Dating?


http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/Auckland/player/ondemand/1398321779-Darren-Bevan--Are-We-Officially-Dating-