NZIFF Review - Joe and Wild Tales

NZIFF Review - Joe and Wild Tales

Heading back into Southern Gothic territory, David Gordon Green gives us the story of Joe, a tough Mississippi woodsman who takes a youngster Gary under his wing.

Joe's an ex-con with a volatile temper who's trying to avoid going back to jail, but this latest course of action sets him on a collision course with Gary's drunken and violent father. Will he give in to his dark side?

Joe certainly has the moody feel of the American deep South a la Mud, even if the story is not quite as engaging. With facial hair aplenty though it's Nicolas Cage who impresses as the titular Joe, a simmering man waiting to explode in this slice of Southern Gothic.

Tye Sheridan (who did star in Mud) impresses as Gary, a conflicted boy who just wants what's best for his family as this slow burning flick kicks into gear. As a surrogate to Gary, it's Cage though who owns this film from beginning to end despite the brooding and building soundtrack trying to push all of your viewing buttons.

This taut tale of doing the right thing is a quietly impressive piece which has a dry rich humour occasionally thrown it. It's more a simmering cauldron of resentment though and you'd be wise to hunker down for it - and enjoy Cage finally giving up on his OTT acting and turning in a performance that's watchable from start to tragic end.

Wild Tales was Auckland's closing night film - and the audience ecstatically clapping by the start of the opening will give you an idea of why this Argentinian flick was a Cannes sensation.

Six short films about revenge / vengeance are thrown together in this 2 hour piece from director Damian Szifron. And about two thirds of them are successful - though nothing really reaches the opening short's dizzying heights about a model on a plane; quite simply that freeze frame into the titles is one of the best I've glimpsed all year.

The following two shorts also work as well - one about poisoning and another that demonstrates road rage is a very real and ongoing problem.

One short within the mix that does stand out for all the wrong reasons though is a piece about a rich family trying to cover up their son's involvement in a hit and run by implicating their gardener. It's an horrifically ugly piece that is repugnant and could do with being dropped despite its acting prowess on display.

I'm guessing these shorts generally showcase a growing feeling of dissatisfaction with authority in Argentina, such as they are basically a series of fingers to those in power - from a corrupt official to parking warden bureaucracy, they all hit that note.

The portmanteau showcases very recognisable feelings of frustration at civic bureaucracy and the idiosyncracies of life, but all in all, Wild Tales is a farcical way to end the festival and an overall slickly polished compendium to put a blackly comic smile on everyone's faces.

NZIFF Review - Still Life

NZIFF Review - Still Life

The wonderful Eddie Marsan stars in this beautifully poignant drama.

Marsan is John May, a quietly unassuming man who's spent his 22 years at the South London council trying to help those who've died alone. His job is finding next of kin and trying to get them to funerals that he's organised. But in many cases, there is nobody - so John is the one who stands there alone, writing eulogies and farewelling those who have moved on.

But, despite the thoroughness and the attention to detail with which he runs his world, the council decides his job is no longer necessary and makes him redundant. He's given three days to close his last case - and prepare for the inevitable...

Still Life is an utterly wonderfully English film that reeks of sentiment and heart. thanks to the carefully measured and precise performance delivered by Marsan. Each case is meticulously investigated and every lead pursued with the forensic precision of a criminal investigator. With his gentle touch, nuanced performance and ensuring every single moment counts, Marsan is a tragic joy to watch in this. Every sequence with him aches with pathos and heart - and it's all down to the work done by Eddie Marsan.

While the investigation of the last case perhaps inevitably heads toward a saccharine conclusion, it still doesn't lose any of its power and certainly the last act had me wiping away a tear as the speeches, reflections and observations on life continue to hit him time and time again. It's also the eye for the details as well which hit perfectly - from a flat of the deceased that's got drying laundry hanging from everywhere to a head impression in a pillow which will no longer be used, every last moment is perfectly positioned and executed.

"You're a rare thing, Mr May" is one of the lines uttered in this piece, and it could be said of Eddie Marsan, who delivers an unassuming tour de force in this. Recommended as a reminder why life counts and why the small man is an ambition to aim for.

NZIFF Review - The Internet's Own Boy

NZIFF Review - The Internet's Own Boy

Pioneers of the internet don't come much bigger than Aaron Swartz, the co-founder of Reddit and the star of this new documentary about his short life.

But it's not the internet which is the shadiest part of this documentary - it's the US government forces who brought down Swartz and drove him to the edge as they decided to make an example of him to the masses.

Starting back with footage of when Swartz was a young prodigious and precocious talent, director Brian Knappenberger is never far from being in Swartz's corner as this sympathetic portrait is sketched out. Using home video, stock footage and interviews from family, friends and co-workers, the tale reveals a driven talent who was unhappy that Government sources were charging for access to public documents or academic journals.

Moved by that and styling himself as a guerilla (even with his own manifesto), Swartz set out to free up access for all with a series of apparently philanthropic moves that endeared him to his peers but angered those in charge. Unfortunately, he was a victim of the times as well - with 9/11 still strong in the collective memory, his actions weren't exactly welcomed - particularly his opposition to the SOPA bill.

While the doco is slickly put together, sensitively etched and grabs the zeitgeist of the digital generation against the stuffy masses (none of the Government's decisions seem to make sense), the fact that none of the opposing parties will appear on screen or issue statements make this polished piece seem a little unbalanced, through no fault of the directors at all. It does however remain an interesting insight into the digital issues faced these days and galvanises those who feel oppressed on that front - an interesting epilogue posits that Swartz's push to get medical journals freed up has led to one 14 year old making a break through in pancreatic cancer treatment.

All in all, The Internet's Own Boy is a well constructed piece, a portrait of an internet giant and a proponent for freedom for all - however idealistic and naive that may seem, you leave this feeling that Swartz was unfairly hounded - and with a lack of counter arguments, it's hard to shake that in any sense.

Newstalk ZB Review - The Dark Horse, Deliver Us From Evil and Boyhood

Newstalk ZB Review - The Dark Horse, Deliver Us From Evil and Boyhood

Talking this week to Jack Tame about new New Zealand film, The Dark Horse, horror Deliver Us From Evil and the NZ Film Fest - Boyhood.

Listen directly here - http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/auckland/listen-on-demand/audio/334606437-darren-bevan--the-dark-horse

Bluestone 42: DVD Review

Bluestone 42: DVD Review

Rating: R16
Released by BBC and Roadshow Home Ent

An 8 part comedy set in Afghanistan and focussing on a British bomb disposal squad sounds like it would be something a little bit different.

Billed as a mix between The Hurt Locker and Miranda, it's an odd mismatch of comedy, war and shaky camera movements. The action is set in motion after the death of Mike McShane's character, a brash American who's killed after removing his helmet while the squad's trying to clear a route. That death brings onto the scene a new female padre whom the head of the unit tries to seduce, setting up a series of black comedy moments from the squad as well as the war.

Bluestone 42 has moments of genius, but then dishes out a script that's as predictable as some of the broadest BBC comedy. Some fall flat and are predictable, others showcase the black humour to its real potential for this Dad's Army x Afghanistan x Miranda. While the premise is to be lauded, and the fact it's made three series shows that it's been popular, it's not quite edgy enough for this critic and feels occasionally like it's holding back, to get a simple laugh rather than show a smarter side.

Extras: Outtakes

Rating:

NZIFF Review - Starred Up

NZIFF Review - Starred Up

Prison dramas don't come searing than this.

Set in the UK, Jack O'Connell is Eric, a young offender who's transferred to a maximum security jail because of the danger he poses to others.

Within hours of being moved, he accidentally beats up a fellow inmate and puts himself on the radar as a troublemaker (even though his actions are instinctive rather than deliberate). Finding himself moved into a self-help group run by the apparently easy touch Oliver, he reluctantly begins to open up (to a degree) but it's his relationship with a fellow prisoner (played excellently by Ben Mendelsohn) causes more problems than he could ever imagine.

Starred Up is a brilliantly adrenaline filled drama that has you on the edge of your seat from the beginning sequence.

It's not your traditional arc for Eric - ie was a tough guy, but softens along the way - but is realistically handled in that he gradually lets down his guard only to come back out seething like a caged animal. O'Connell delivers a performance of searing ferocity that is both by turns terrifying and also occasionally vulnerable. It's the rare glimpses into the chinks underneath this armour that makes Starred Up so watchable and so unpredictable.

Likewise, Mendelsohn as one of the prison's top dogs is pretty damn good too; wanting the best for his kid but not wanting to see that harder edge softened at all. Gritty and exactly what you'd expect set in a male prison, this mix of volatile atmospherics and character insights makes for an undeniably edgy film that throws up many questions - can a man like Eric be rehabilitated, how soon will that powderkeg be lit and how does he survive day to day as well as outside?

But for all its dramatics and simply shot cinematics, Starred Up shows what an incredibly nuanced talent O'Connell is - it's his film and his alone in this father and son struggle that's undeniably powerful and utterly electrifying.

Guardians of the Galaxy: Movie Review

Guardians of the Galaxy: Movie Review

Cast: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Lee Pace, Josh Brolin, Michael Rooker
Director: James Gunn

Finally, after the Marvel Universe has spent its last few outings hinting at a world beyond our own, it heads out into the Universe - and as a result, breathes new life into the Marvel franchise after the likes of Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and The Avengers threaten to become too Earth-bound with their obsessions.

Chris Pratt stars as brash adventurer Peter Quill aka Star Lord, abducted by aliens when he was young and had just lost his mother. Complete with a Walkman full of 80s tunes and a cocky swagger (Han Solo / Indiana Jones anyone?), Quill finds himself the object of a bounty hunt after making off with an orb sought by Lee Pace's Ronan, a despot who wants to destroy everything in his path.

It's this hunt which puts him in the sights of beautiful green skinned assassin Gamora (a kick-ass Saldana), psychopathically enhanced Rocket Raccoon (a CGI creation voiced by Bradley Cooper), his protector the tree Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel), as well as Drax The Destroyer (Bautista).

Forced to team up, this ragtag bunch of squabbling and quipping misfits are determined to save the day when Ronan's ambitions threaten the entire galaxy...

Essentially, the plot of Star Wars redux with a mash of every 80s film you can think of (even the legend of Footloose is tossed in there), Guardians of the Galaxy is a space adventure which benefits from not taking itself too seriously at all.

Eschewing the brooding of the Earth set Avengers in favour of plenty of action, humour and general lightness of tone, Guardians of the Galaxy simultaneously succeeds in expanding the Marvel Universe and introducing a great new set of characters to it, who bristle with unpredictability and hints of chaos. This is not a team that has superpowers to fall back on most of the time, may not succeed with their plans and bicker affectionately along the way.

But it also benefits from a large dose of heart in places; Quill's determination to cling to the Walkman and the mix tapes his mother made for him is a lovingly poignant touch, a way into his past and a nostalgia the older parts of the audience will recognise.

The group have a great chemistry (particularly thanks to Bradley Cooper's scene-stealing Rocket Raccoon) and synergy together and off-set the po-faced and overly serious nature of Ronan and his gang. Former Doctor Who companion Karen Gillan impresses as cyborg Nebula, even if she is slightly underwritten. Even Thanos shows up to link the last lot of film, but he's casually tossed aside as an irrelevance to the plot and inadvertently loses some of his menace because of it.

If there are echoes of previous film's denouements and big final act action pieces, it's probably to be expected given how Marvel is all about spectacle and team building. A final sequence of ramming home the message very nearly chokes the film - but even with this cinematic deja vu, former Troma director James Gunn handles it all with a certain directorial aplomb, never losing sight of the fun and action of the piece throughout - and creating some truly stunning space visuals.

But it's Pratt's film for the taking. And it sees him seize his chance to soar as an occasionally vulnerable lead, who's always ready with a quick comment and a self-knowing wink (he describes the orb as a Ark of the Covenant / Maltese falcon type) in any given situation. For Star-Lord, this is a charismatic star-making turn - along with his colleagues - that suggest Quill's future is assured (even with hints of more personal discoveries to come).

Oh, and stick around for the now obligatory post-credits sequence - it fits perfectly with the 80s kitsch colourful vibe, even if it does little to advance the ongoing Marvel threads.

Rating:



Watch the new Guardians of the Galaxy trailer



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