St Vincent: Movie Review

St Vincent: Movie Review

Cast: Bill Murray, Melissa McCarthy, Naomi Watts, Jaeden Lieberher, Chris O'Dowd, Terrence Howard
Director: Theodore Melfi

Bill Murray proves to be the big draw card in St Vincent, a story that's been done time and again.

A grouchy and grumpy Murray is Vincent, a hard-drinking, gambling, crank-pot of a man whose life is turned upside down by the arrival of new neighbours in the form of Melissa McCarthy's single mom Maggie and her son Oliver (Lieberher). When Oliver's bullied at school and has his stuff stolen, he ends up having to stay with Vincent while his mom finishes her shift - unamused but seeing there's a chance to make some cash from his neighbour, Vincent takes the kid under his wing - but under his own terms....

Soon, Oliver's learning street smarts and friendship from Vincent while visiting bars and the dog track. However, it's not long before reality comes crashing in.

St Vincent won't win any awards for its screenplay, given that it's not the most original of stories or character arcs. But it's a turn from Murray, who's clearly relishing playing it fast and loose as a cantankerous grouch that makes St Vincent rise above its clearly sentimental gloopy centre.

Melissa McCarthy, Chris O'Dowd and Naomi Watts have all minor roles orbiting Murray's Vietnam vet gone bad, but all turn in solid performances to round out the cast and give the piece some quiet heart and soul.

Equally, newcomer Lieberher holds his own against Murray and proves to be the spot-on foil he needs to offset some of the crankiness on display. But, director Melfi's wise enough not to overplay the sentiment of the part from his child actor when things head into truly predictable territory.

That's the thing with St Vincent - it's an entirely obvious movie (and slightly implausible ending) that proves to be a crowd-pleasing treat thanks in large part to Murray's performance. By charting a course from unlikeable to softening his edges, Murray will help blow out any of the funk you may feel - as well as distract you from any of the predictability you see on the screen.

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Godzilla: Blu Ray Review

Godzilla: Blu Ray Review

Rating: M
Released by Warner Home Video

It's time to do the Monster Smash again.

Set across three time periods, the 2014 Godzilla film starts with Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston's apparently crazy Joe Brody warning that a disaster is about to hit the nuclear plant he works in with his wife. Sustained seismic activity has lead to this potential problem - and soon, Brody loses his wife in the subsequent meltdown.

15 years later and Brody's son, Ford (Kick Ass's Aaron Taylor-Johnson) has now grown up and works as a bomb disposal expert. When his father's arrested in Japan for going back into the quarantine zone, Ford leaves his wife (a woefully underused The Avengers' Age of Ultron star Elizabeth Olsen) and son to go to pick him up - but soon finds himself caught up in an event which could signal the end of the world - and the return of Godzilla...

Unashamedly B-movie in its feel and story, but bang upto date in its execution, the creature feature Godzilla is a curious beast in many ways.

The director of low budget indieMonsters, Gareth Edwards, has brought the creature back to life in a film which embraces the history of Godzilla films and simultaneously updates the monster. In fact, the creatures in the 2014 Godzilla movieare perhaps rendered perfectly, with Godzilla himself almost bear-like in his reptilian appearance and true to his earlier celluloid incarnations.

Sadly, though the actual monster star of the movie appears to be sidelined in many ways - rejected in favour of a series of cliched and stereotyped characters, ripped directly from a pulpy trashy movie, with some cheese served up that's almost as large as Godzilla himself.

There's a crazed conspiracy crackpot scientist, whose warnings no-one pays heed to (a great Cranston), another scientist who spends a lot of the time aghast but who seems to mysteriously know how Godzilla works (Ken Watanbe), a stoic yet impassive soldier who finds himself in every appearance of the monster (Taylor-Johnson, relatively emotionless and unable to really centre the movie as it progresses after Cranston's searing turn) and a procession of kids and animals who are in danger.

It's these beats which pepper the relatively serious movie and which make it feel tonally a bit uneven, and crucially, add little to the overall narrative. A lack of emotional connection in among the impressive set pieces does little to connect you to the unfolding disaster. (Though the subtext is there - Ford deals with bombs in his life and yet is negligent of the human one ticking under his nose.)

That said, while the dialogue borders on the cliched and preposterous ("Nature has an order, a power to restore balance"), the restrained action more than delivers throughout as cities get smashed once again. It's the smaller moments which shine in this, the touches which embrace the creature's past heritage and the genuine chills that Edwards throws down your spine. Flourishes that recall Jurassic Park and small Godzilla easter eggs add to the feeling of a film that's occasionally derivative but respectfully willing to tread its own path.

Edwards has found a way to bring some new and intimately haunting visuals to the screen - from troops jumping out of a drop-ship skydiving into hell to jets plummeting out of the skies, the darkness haunts Godzilla the movie, with 24 hour news showing footage of creatures fighting (both an homage to old movies and a commentary on today's global eyes and ears) to great effect. The opening titles are impressive too, a mix of conspiracy theories, Hiroshima atomic bombs and censorship which set the murky tone right away.

But it's that dour feeling which ripples through Godzilla  - Edwards has negotiated a cautious way through silly and sensible, but, in among the scale of it all and with the odd intimate (and occasionally over-used moments), he somehow manages to leave you with a feeling of wanting more carnage - after all, isn't that what Godzilla does?

All in all, Godzilla deserves to be commended for embracing the creature feature of olden days, and the legend of yore - certainly, monster fans will be impressed by what Edwards has committed to the screen - it's almost a love letter to the Godzilla movies you'd have watched growing up. It's just a shame that the human elements of the movie let the side down and leave this monster lurching a little when it really should be roaring.

Rating:

Justified: Season 4 : Blu Ray Review

Justified: Season 4 : Blu Ray Review

Rating: M
Released by Sony Home Ent

In the latest season of the much under-rated Justified, Timothy Olyphant's Deputy US Marshal Raylan faces more problems.

This time though, it's a 30 year old mystery that he has to tackle after a bag linked to a man who slammed into the ground thanks to a defective parachute causes all manner of complications.

Based on Elmore Leonard's novels, this gritty series works because of Timothy Olyphant's portrayal of the sheriff who delivers justice in his own way. It also works because of the smart dialogue and way the story is etched out over a season length. It's worth bearing with these residents of Harland as the story envelops to see how crime novels should be best adapted.

Worth a saunter down for a TV binge.

Rating:

Armageddon - Shots from the show

Armageddon - Shots from the show

Here are some shots from the Armageddon Expo which wraps up in Auckland today.

Hope you've had fun!

Armageddon Expo - Final day

Armageddon Expo - Final day

It's the final day of the Armageddon Expo in Auckland at the ASB showgrounds today.

Here's some shots from the event as it wraps up its biggest outing yet.