Film Review: Tammy

Always the bridesmaid, never the bride - Melissa McCarthy moves beyond her normally golden supporting roles and takes centre stage as the writer, producer and lead star of Tammy, a somewhat self-serving comedy directed by husband and fellow actor Ben Falcone. 

Following her break-out role in Paul Feig's hilarious Bridesmaids, McCarthy earned popularity as the stand out in underwhelming films such as The Heat, Identity Thief, and was arguably the only good thing to come out of The Hangover III. 

Her physical, obnoxious, brash comedy routine as the outspoken all-American has no doubt been her most appealing quality in certain parts of the world. 

Tammy is keen to show there's more to the actor than this, as the film begins as an over-the-top, beer and cheeseburger fuelled, slapstick road trip movie, only to turn into an unconvincing parable about dealing with low self-esteem and trying to sort your life out for the better. 

McCarthy plays Tammy, a thirty-something disheveled slob of a woman who only realizes her life is going nowhere when, in the space of one fateful day, she crashes her car into a deer, loses her job at the local fast-food joint and walks in on her husband having a romantic dinner with the next door neighbor. 

Determined to escape all of her problems, she decides to leave town and go cross-country with Pearl, her care-free, alcoholic grandmother who, in a rather bizarre casting choice, is portrayed by Susan Sarandon in a silver wig.

Casting Sarandon in the role of Grandma Pearl is confusing, given that there's only twenty-four year age gap between her and McCarthy. Stranger things have happened in real life, but even on those rare occasions when it becomes part of the gag, like when the pair meet a randy barfly (Gary Cole) and his more romantic son (Mark Duplass) in a bar, it just isn't funny. 

Perhaps her casting is deliberate, as some sort of throwback to Ridley Scott's 1991 classic road movie Thelma and Louise. Sarandon channels a care-free spirit that predictably rubs McCarthy's aggressive, pent-up Tammy the wrong way. It makes for the odd laugh, but generally many of the jokes seem all too familiar.

Sarandon isn't the only famous face McCarthy has managed to recruit. Kathy Bates, Sandra Oh, Toni Colette, Dan Ackroyd and Allison Janney all appear in minor roles throughout the film. 

However, they all manage about twelve lines between them, with Toni Colette in particular being criminally underused. Even Cole and Duplass, the only supporting characters to make it beyond more than one scene, stick to their underwritten, one-dimensional roles so as not to intrude the patented odd-couple shtick between McCarthy and Sarandon. 

As the pair get drunk, crash a jet-ski, get drunk again, wind-up in jail, attend a Fourth of July party for lesbians, and get drunk one final time, Tammy does stir-up a few laughs, but nowhere near as many as it would like to, drunkenly staggering across the not-so-fine line between farce and sentimentally. 

A scene involving the robbery of a Mc-Restaurant seems to be the one scene where we finally understand what the film is trying to do. Her face hidden under a greasy paper bag, McCarthy dishes out her trademark obnoxious ad-libbed humour, while at the same time showing she can manage a little sweetness. It makes for one of the film's funnier highlights.

At this point, it's worth noting that the film also has Will Ferrell and Adam McKay on board as producers. No wonder then that Tammy leans towards the (Ron) Burgundy end of the spectrum, although as far as quotes go, it ends up falling flat on its face. 

Desperately trying to appeal to two very different audiences, the film ultimately satisfies neither, trumping moments of schmaltzy self-discovery with cheap jokes about drinking beer and raunchy old people. 

McCarthy does show she has other talents outside of her comfort zone, but it's just a shame that no matter what the situation, her character defaults back to the whingy loudmouth. As far as developing a redeeming character arc goes, it's an unforgivable error, especially when you consider that her husband is the director.

Ultimately, if the moral of the road movie is that changing the direction of your life will always work out for the better, then Tammy does just that, only to realize that it's actually ended up on a busy roundabout with absolutely no idea which way to turn next.

Originally published on http://banterflix.com/

Banterflix CineCast - Edinburgh Film Festival 2014 Special

On this episode of the BanterFlix CineCast, I take on hosting duties while Richard and Jim share their experiences as attendees at the 68th Edinburgh Film Festival.

Running from 18-29 June, the EIFF is the longest continually running film festival in the world and has developed into a key attraction for Edinburgh, and one of the world’s best -loved audience festivals. With an emphasis upon new talent, discovery and innovation, this year’s festival saw the screening of 122 new features from 47 different countries with at least 10 premieres every day. Cold in July, Coherence, Anatomy of a Paper Clip are just a few examples of the films on offer this year. 

Podcast features reviews from quite a few films, including the one film from the programme that I had seen - Bong Joon-Ho's post-apocolyptic science fiction thriller Snowpiercer, starring Chris Evans, John Hurt and Tilda Swinton.

The podcast also features interviews with Jim Mickle, Elijah Wood, Andy Goddard and Steven Mackintosh who all attended this year’s festival. We also had a chance to sit down with Empire Magazine’s Chris Hewitt and chatted about the film magazine’s 25th anniversary celebrations.

Maybe next year I'll get to go, but until then I'll just have to take the rest of the Banterflix team at their word and apply to attend next year!

Don’t forget to follow Banterflix on Facebook and Twitter to keep up to date with what we’re getting up to, or simply check out our website for the latest movie reviews and event info.

Listen below, head to the Banterflix site, or subscribe on iTunes to make sure you never miss a show.

Film Review: Oculus

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the scariest of them all? If the box-office is to be believed, it’s Blumhouse Productions. In recent years, the company has been behind the wave of micro-budgeted popcorn horror flicks such as Paranormal Activity,Sinister, and The Purge – all of which went on to be great financial successes at the box office. Directed by Mike Flanagan, Oculus seems to be next in line to join the ranks of the franchised fright fest.

Based on a short film, also written and directed by Flanagan, the film stars Karen Gillan as Kaylie, a young woman who has spent the past eleven years convinced that her parents’ death was caused by an antique mirror and the evil spirits that dwell within. 

While she has spent the last decade trying to build a case to support her theory, her brother Tim, played by Brenton Thwaites, has been trying to convince himself otherwise. Spending his teenage years in a psychiatric hospital, he’s finally released at the age of twenty-one, coming to terms with the fact that his family was extremely dysfunctional, rather than pinning the blame on a supernatural entity. 

When the two are reunited, they return to their parents old house in order put their demons to rest – whether they are of psychological or supernatural origins. 

Pitting skeptic against believer, Oculus actually has some rather interesting psychological ideas, particularly in the first half of the film. The cynic brother puts his sister’s delusions down to ‘fuzzy-trace theory’ – an idea that human memory creates false memories out of inaccurate associations. In this film, it’s used as a defense mechanism against dealing with the truth.

For a horror film, it’s not a new concept but one that’s quite unique to this current trend of casual big-screen summer horrors. As an audience of course, we want to believe, so the film uses a dual time frame to simultaneously explain what happened eleven years ago alongside what is happening in the present. 

Katee Sackhoff and Rory Cochrane play the parents who, depending on who you believe, are either on the verge of a rather bitter break-up or are being tormented by the demonic powers that lurk in the mirror. Initially, we’re given two sides of the same coin, as both the rational and the supernatural side of things are alluded to. 

Some interesting cinematography sees both past and present played out in real time, keeping the pace going at a heart-pumping speed, even if it is rattling towards an rather unsurprising conclusion. It’s at that point you realize that, for all of its good ideas, Oculus can’t help but succumb to the usual whizz bang funhouse horror rather than create something rather more unsettling. 

While there are reflections of Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, the film probably owes more to the 2003 Korean film Into The Mirror, directed by Kim Sung-Ho (or its iffy American remake Mirrors, starring Kiefer Sutherland).

But the spooky mirror plot device is underused, instead stepping to one side in favour of the usual horror tropes and unnecessary lore. It’s as if Blumhouse Productions have a certain quota of loud noises and satanic references to fulfill. 

That’s not to say there aren’t some genuine shocks. One scene in particular involving a light bulb leaves a rather bad taste in your mouth. Of course, these would be all the more shocking if we hadn’t seen them already in the trailer. 

The best horrors are the ones that leave you feeling creeped out afterwards, checking all the doors are locked before you go to bed with the lights on. Instead, Oculus undoes all of its own hard work and descends into a predictable horror that goes straight for the cheap thrills. And for that sin, it needs to take a good long hard look in the mirror.

Originally published on The Big List NI

Film Review: Grace of Monaco

Booed at Cannes, torn to pieces by critics and almost dropped by producer Harvey Weinstein – Grace of Monaco has had a bumpy ride since it premiered at this year’s Cannes film festival. But is this biopic about the late Grace Kelly really that bad? The answer is yes. In fact it’s more than bad. It’s the worst film of the year so far.

Admittedly, you can’t help but feel a little curious when a film is unanimously greeted with such vitriol and venom. You have to understand that critics don’t go out of their way to hate films. They don’t go into preview screenings with their opinion already made up nor have scathing reviews already written in their minds.

Generally, it’s quite the opposite, particularly when a film comes along that everyone else already hates. You’re hoping to be the one to find something in it than no-one else does. Deep down, you’re hoping to be the one who "gets it".

The problem is that Grace of Monaco doesn’t even know what "it" is to begin with. Part biopic, part historical drama, the film features Nicole Kidman as the Philadelphian born starlet, most famous for appearing in some of Alfred Hitchcock’s best, including Rear Window and To Catch a Thief.

But the film doesn’t bother with any of that stuff. Instead it decides to create a ridiculously pompous melodrama out of Kelly’s post-Hollywood years, which according to this plot, she spent wallowing in self-pity, trapped in a loveless marriage to the Monegasque royal, Rainier III.

She faces a dilemma. Stay in the lap of luxury as the princess of Monaco, or return to a star-studded career in Hollywood. If that wasn’t enough, her husband, played by Tim Roth with a perpetual hangover, is being badgered by a very angry Charles De Gaulle. He demands that Monaco pay their way or feel the might of a blockade by France.

It’s all smoke and no mirrors as the film makes a rather enormous, snow-covered mountain out of a relatively insignificant molehill from European history. If this film is anything to be believed, the dispute between France and Monaco seemingly brought Europe to the brink of another World War. What can the Prince and his tuxedo wearing, chain-smoking, dodgy-accented band of high rollers do to get them out of this pickle?

The correct answer of course is, we don’t care. 

As this footnote in history is amplified to gargantuan proportions, it’s hard to feel sympathy for the Monegasque cause, particularly while the film’s cast prance around like they’re living in a Ferrero Rocher advert. 

Unfortunately there isn’t a butler with a perfect pyramid of choccy-nut confectionery at hand to defuse the situation; otherwise this vile piece of self-righteous tripe would have been over a hell of a lot sooner.

Even when trying to justify their actions, the film does nothing but dig its own grave. How DO you raise money for schools and hospitals when your tax rate is 0% and most of the population is minted? It doesn’t take a genius to work that one out. 

But this film and its characters exist inside a strange bubble where somehow taking princess lessons seems to be the best course of action to try to solve your nation’s problems. Lessons in etiquette and elocution are dished out by a rather eccentric Derek Jacobi who looks like he knows better and is simply taking the piss with this role. 

Unfortunately the whole scene plays out like a Rocky montage if it were directed by Disney, except there aren't any talking creatures or catchy tunes to keep you amused. It has all the life and sole of a welly boot rather than a glass slipper. 

The dialogue is bland and often too cryptic for its own good, spewed out in patronizing stereotypical French accents that will have you spitting sacreblue in rage. It’s like watching those strange perfume commercials at Christmas, which make absolutely no sense to anyone except the strange, creative minds behind them. 

And even he doesn’t like it. Director Olivier Dahan claims that there was a better cut of the film, before Harvey Weinsten took his golden scissors to it and ruined it. But given that Grace of Monaco is stuck so far up its rear end, so demeaning, and so full of itself, I find that very hard to believe.

FIlm Review: Edge of Tomorrow

For a film about repetition, Tom Cruise's latest in a long list of recent sci-fi adventurse never becomes monotonous but that’s not to say it doesn’t give us a series case of déjà vu in the process. If Groundhog Day was the rom-com you’re allowed to love, then Edge of Tomorrow is it’s gung-ho younger brother. Die-rinse-repeat are the rules set out for us in this over-the-top action flick that makes the most of its sci-fi heritage. 

Earth has been invaded by Mimics, extra-terrestrial entities that operate using hive mind to outmaneuver whatever the human race can throw at them. Tom Cruise is in full cowardly slime-ball mode as William Cage, a military spin doctor who puts on a reassuringly brave face on for the entire world to see, despite never having spent a single day in the throes of combat. As the United Defensive Force assembles everything it has to throw at the alien menace, the cowardly Cage finds himself stripped of rank and tossed onto the front lines. 

“I think there’s something wrong with your suit - there’s a dead man in it!” a fellow private taunts, and just as soon as his boots touch the ground, Cage does indeed bite the dust. However, he wakes up again, reliving the last few days of his life, finding himself in a time loop that could potentially be the key saving the human race. 

Cage runs, leaps, shoots and explodes, his way along this long road to redemption, and so too does Cruise who certainly seems to be having a lot of fun in this role. It certainly makes up for some of his recent po-faced errors, such as the bloated action thriller Jack Reacher and lackluster sci-fi Oblivion.

Bouncing off supporting players, such as Brendan Gleeson’s no-nonsense general and Bill Paxton in full drill sergeant mode, you realize just how weasely Cage is. It’s a role he knows how to handle perfectly. Plus it's rather humorous to see a million ways to kill Tom Cruise. 

Paxton’s casting is perhaps no coincidence. Aliens is just one film in a long list of influences that Edge of Tomorrow riffs on. The oorah comradery, brief glimpses of humour and chunky over-the-top battle sequences are also a nod and a wink towards Paul Verhoeven’s Starship Troopers, even though Edge of Tomorrow doesn’t quit pack the same satirical punch. 

The Matrix, Elysium and even Saving Private Ryan are all embedded in this mash up of a movie. Surprisingly, Edge of Tomorrow is actually based on an original story, Hiroshi Sakurazaka’s short, pulp novel All You Need is Kill, but you’d be forgiven for thinking that is was based on a computer game, given the trial-and-error, continuously check pointed pace of the film and it’s chunky, robotic aesthetics. 

If Edge of Tomorrow were a game, then Emily Blunt would be the main playable character. As Rita Vrataski AKA the Full Metal Bitch, she physically brings blood, sweat and tears to the role as the sword swinging heroine who is idolized by her fellow troops. The role moves Blunt well out of her comfort zone, but she thrives as Cruise’s mentor throughout, in a performance combines that demands battle hardened vigor and war weariness. 

The film itself never feels tired though, even with the familiar plot device. Director Doug Liman keeps the pace alive by juggling moments of sci-fi exposition with sheer over-the-top spectacle. It’s certainly the best we’ve had from the director since helming the first installment of the Bourne saga. 

A pic ‘n’ mix of science fiction classics come together with the fizzy chemistry between Cruise and Blunt, with the former in the most comfortable role we’ve seen him in a long time. It all makes for a surprisingly fresh and exciting thriller, with action sequences that prevail over and over and over again.

Edge of Tomorrow reviewed after a preview screening, courtesy of Movie House NI and CityBeat

Film Review: Godzilla (2014)

It’s common knowledge that Godzilla was originally born out of fear for all things nuclear. Released by the Toho Company in 1954, the giant lizard’s first appearance was a not-so-restrained, but perfectly legal, combination of fear and loathing against an American imposed media embargo that banned any criticism against the Allies or indeed the bombings themselves. So it’s unsurprising that American productions of Godzilla have never been any good. That is at least, until now. 

Sixty years old and Japan’s most famous son has gone on to become a worldwide cult smash. Featuring in 28 Toho films, the 350 ft. tall reptile has inspired a whole genre of ludicrous creature features, thanks in particular to low budget, B-Movie aesthetics. Ironic then that the biggest blip on Godzilla’s career is the $130 million, American produced film by Roland Emmerich back in 1998. 

No pressure then for Gareth Edwards, the director behind the west’s second attempt to wrestle Godzilla onto American soil. Thankfully, the British filmmaker is no stranger to creating monsters of his own. His post-modern, ultra-cheap, and low key Monsters, released in 2010, was a compelling character driven drama set in the aftermath of an alien invasion. 

The legacy of Godzilla has been retooled to fit in with modern times. The plot seems to tie the first Gojira to this new version, with obviously some degree of ret-conning. The hangover of World War II still lingers, particularly in the film’s black-ops styled opening credits, but there’s a shift in politics to give this a much more contemporised feel. 

The opening act of the film harks back to events as recent as the 2011 Fukushima nuclear meltdown. Shifting the blame from human error to natural disaster becomes a recurring theme in the film, and certain scenes become reminiscent of very real catastrophes, such as Hurricane Katrina and the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. The apocalypse will come on Mother Nature’s terms, not humankind’s and wherever the story takes us, it seems like the end of the world isn't too far behind. 

The cast also provides some much needed human perspective on the monstrous rampage. Aaron Taylor-Johnson plays an American soldier caught amidst the chaos as he tries to get home to his wife, played by Elizabeth Olsen. The Kick-Ass actor’s performance is rather flat throughout, but as fates conspire to keep him apart from his family, you can’t help but get a little choked up.

Out of all the cast, however, it’s Bryan Cranston who stands the tallest, even perhaps towering over Godzilla’s. As the father to Taylor-Johnson’s character, he is transformed from nuclear physicist to conspiracy nut in the gut-wrenching, albeit predictable opening prologue. It sets up themes of complete family units for the human characters, giving them an extra dimension beyond that of simply gawking and pointing as the destruction unfolds. 

But don’t dig too deeply into the subtext of Godzilla. “Let them fight,” Ken Watanabe’s scientist character advises as the US Navy run out of options. Big monsters’ fighting is what it’s all about and when it comes to the final act of the film, it’s a no holds barred brawl fest. In the style of Jaws, Edwards employs smoke and mirrors for the majority of the film, treating us to just occasional glimpses of Godzilla’s most recognizable body parts. 

One particular scene involving a HALO (High-altitude-low-opening) gives the human characters a special effects extravaganza of their own. As they fall back to Earth, followed by a trail of red smoke, it’s like they are plummeting into the fiery depths of Hell, and it’s only then to we get a true sense of Godzilla’s impossible height. It also makes for one of the most breath-taking set-pieces to appear in film this year. 

His appearance is finally unveiled to be much more consistent with that of the Toho originals, rather than the Jurassic Park leftovers from the 1998 film. He even comes complete with his trademark nuclear breath, all powered by state-of-the-art, visually stunning special effects. It makes seeing the finished result all the worthwhile, even if it does mean less room for fighting and destruction than we’d have liked in the film’s two hour running time – perhaps the film’s biggest let down. 

The tone and action of the film can obviously compared to the likes of Jaws and Jurassic Park, but there are also few nodding references to sci-fi master classes such as Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Alien thrown into the mix. Edwards’ respect for the Toho legacy seems to work well with his heritage in Hollywood cinema. A combination of science-fiction, action and all-out disaster movie makes for not just the best American version of Godzilla to date, but perhaps the biggest, loudest, proper summer blockbuster this year.

Film Review: Frank

How to describe Frank? That’s the quandary facing Lenny Abrahamson’s pseudo pop-flick that reaches for the far corners of offbeat black comedy. An exploration into the mental processes of the avant-garde musician, the film is inspired by memoirs of Jon Ronson, a writer and journalist who for a period in his life played keyboards for the late Frank Sidebottom.

Unmistakable for his nasal Mancunian accent, leftfield cabaret routine and of course wearing an oversized, doe-eyed papier-mâché head, Sidebottom was the bizarre alter-ego of the late Chris Sievey. Now the mantle has passed to Michael Fassbender, and while the film isn’t a biopic of Sidebottom or Sievey, it certainly doesn’t lack any of the entertainer’s anarchic spirit. 

Domnhall Gleeson steps into Ronson’s shoes as Jon, a young keyboard player with a dream of reaching stardom, but sapped of his creative drive by the monotony of his 9-to-5 job. However, all it takes is a chance meeting with the dysfunctionally experimental rock band Soronprfb and his life his changed forever. 

"Can you play C, F and G?” seems to be the only experience necessary and it isn’t long before Jon finds himself on stage alongside Soronprfb, witnessing first-hand the eccentricities of the band’s leader, Frank. Despite protests from the other members of the band, spearheaded by the delightfully wicked theremin player Clara (Maggie Gyllenhaal), Jon is invited to become the full-time keyboard player, taking him on a journey from Wicklow to Texas, as he wonders all the while what goes on inside the head inside THAT head.

Throughout the film Jon captures his experience and shares it with the world through social media. The band’s bizarre approach to finding their perfect sound is posted on Youtube, propelling them into somewhat hipstery, cult stardom while Jon finds himself a celebrity in his own right, questioning the methodology of Frank and criticizing the intentions of his fellow band-mates via Twitter, posting on screen for the audience to read.

Jon’s approach to finding fame and fortune seems to satire the music industry today. He seizes the oddity of Frank as a scheme to propel himself into the spotlight, putting gimmickry and publicity before the music itself. It’s a path that so many take, choosing to bypass creative process in favour of getting those precious fifteen minutes of fame. 

Ironically, Frank subverts all that. “He’s 100% the sanest cat I’ve ever met,” band manager Don (Scoot McNairy) tells Jon. It’s a hard truth to take at first, particularly amidst the wacky hijinks that apparently inspire Frank to write music. Some have compared the Frank story to that of other musical lunatics such as Captain Beefheart or Syd Barrett, with this incarnation of Frank acting as a poster boy for avant-garde musicians. 

But whether he’s recording sound bites from Mother Nature or singing about a little tuft of stray wool, you realize there’s innocence and purity in his music. When the band finally does record a song, it’s one of mesmerizing mayhem and enthralling anarchy, and a far cry from the ukelele parodies of Smiths and Queen singles. 

Absurdity gives way to tragedy in the film’s final act and it’s at that point you remember that there’s a truth buried somewhere in this yarn. Behind the fantasy of fame, fortune and facades masks a story about mental illness. The cartoonish head is a shield, protecting a somewhat fractured personality rather than a gimmick to propel him into the limelight. 

He comedically describes his facial expressions verbally. But just like the Mona Lisa, the head is expressionally ambiguous, eerily still providing a seemingly emotional response without moving a muscle. It’s just another weird and magical twist in this already bizarre tale. 

Ronson’s memoir can only take us so far, and the film builds upon the legend of Frank Sidebottom in order to breathe new life into a papier-mâché icon. Whimsical, sharp, funny and sweet, there’s definitely a method to Frank’s madness, and by not going down the straight-up biopic route, the film sticks to the anarchic, chaotic, alternative scheming that both Sidebottom and Sievey would have been proud of.

Film Review: Brick Mansions

Shifting the action from a Parisian banlieue to a Detroit ghetto, Brick Mansions is a typically uninspired, unnecessary remake of the superior foreign language film, District 13. Yet, unlike other stuffy American bastardisations such as Spike Lee’s recent take on Oldboy, there’s a fitting sentimentality to the sheer unapologetically absurd nature of what would be the late Paul Walker’s final finished film.

Much of the action takes place inside a walled ghetto, abandoned by the United States government, overrun with drugs and now controlled by gangsters. When the criminal kingpin manages to get his hands on dangerous device (because “bomb has such negative connotations” apparently), it’s up to (surprise, surprise) hero-cop-who-just-happens-to-hold-a-grudge Damien Coullier (Paul Walker) to go undercover and put a stop to the district’s Kingpin before the the city of Detroit is held to ransom. 

Returning from the original film is David Belle, the man who is considered to be the creator of the parkour movement. In a role identical to the original, he plays Lino, a Robin Hood type character who goes up against the over-the-top mobsters types with his impressive free-running moves partnered with his equally unimpressive acting skills. It’s the exact same role he played from District 13 so you think he’d have been able to build on that, ten years down the line. 

Walker is in familiar territory as the almost squeaky clean undercover cop who always gets results. Mansions will never be considered the actor’s swan song, and even though he phones the performance in, there is sense of nostalgia to this role, sandwiched somewhere between a disjointed plot and boring action sequences.

It’s quite late in the film before Walker is paired up with Belle, so their relationship isn’t allowed to develop into anything like the Lethal Weapon level of buddy cop dynamics, save for a few very flat choreographed sequences or Belle’s condescending wind-ups aimed at Walker’s lack of free-running skills. 

Rounding off the cast is Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA as the crimelord in control of Brick Mansions. Spouting off all the nonsensical, stereotypical rhetoric you’d come to expect from a baddie, RZA delivers these lines with such little menace that he ends up playing second fiddle to his much more cartoony, two-dimensional cavalcade of henchmen. 

The plot begins to crumble around the half way mark of the film, but it is when it tries to make some sort of sociopolitical statement that it gets demolished completely. Characterization goes right out the window, rendering much of the film’s build up or backstory null and void right around the time all character arcs should reach a satisfying close. 

But of course, Brick Mansions was never meant to be a lesson in pathos. Scripted by Luc Besson, District 13 was also little shaky when it came to the plot, but the French action thriller certainly made up for it with its breath-taking chase sequences centered around the discipline of parkour. 

Brick Mansions puts its money on the star power of Walker instead of using the one strength it had over other run-of-the-mill action films. We even get Fast and the Furious inspired car-chases thrown in for good measure, but no matter how much nitrous oxide is in the tank, it doesn’t quite reach the adrenaline pumping heights of the film’s strangely few free running sequences. It almost seems pointless to have put David Belle in this movie at all as his talents are wasted. 

The fist fights are also incredibly incoherent thanks to poor, out-of-sync editing, with many of the punches that land conveniently being covered by sweeping jackets, shaky cams or unconvincing cinematography. What makes it even more disappointing is that the film’s director, Camille Delamarre is editorial graduate of similar macho action flicks including Taken 2 and Transporter 3, so one would think that would have been the one sucker punch the film would have been able to deliver. 

So let’s call a spade a spade, and call out Brick Mansions for what it is – a terrible action film that would have probably went straight-to-DVD, if it weren’t for Paul Walker’s tragic death in 2013. 

Let down by poor acting and a disappointing approach to the action, the one saving grace is that by the end, you realize that the film has been reveling in its own absurdity the whole time. It’s enough to provoke a few laughs, but you can’t shake that feeling that you’re not laughing with it, but at it.

Film Review: Her

From the quirky mind of visionary filmmaker Spike Jonze comes Her, a warm romantic comedy-drama with just a touch of science fiction that takes the concept of technological dependency to the next level. It’s the classic tale of boy-meets-girl given a post-modern, cerebral twist.

The title is misleading, for you see Her is actually about him. Joaquin Phoenix stars as Theodore Twombly, a socially awkward recluse living in a near-future Los Angeles that looks like it’s been airbrushed in Photoshop, rendered on an Apple Mac and uploaded to YouTube. 

Working as a writer for the Beautiful Handwritten Letter Company, it seems that finding love in an age dominated by technology is no easy task, even for a die-hard romantic like Theodore. There’s very little room for human interaction when everyone is tethered to their smart phones and constantly connected to the internet. Sound familiar?

After his attempts to forge a loving connection with the female of the species fail, it seems that the only relationship worth any effort from Theodore is with Samantha, his computer’s ever-evolving sentient operating system, voiced by the seductively husky Scarlet Johansson. 

Beneath the surface, the film satirically comments on the state of modern relationships. Her is a very dry and rather revealing take on our increasing reliance upon gadgetry to function in a social capacity. As Theodore navigates the dangers of singledom, such as online dating and disturbing phone sex, his relationship with Samantha is surprisingly the most human and real one depicted on screen. 

There’s an anxious comedic tone to Theodore’s interactions with his operating system, but that

doesn’t make the film lose any of its sweet emotional integrity. Much of the film centres on the "honeymoon stage" of Theodore and Samantha’s relationship, with Phoenix performing some of the most endearing and tender acting of his career all by himself. the film is clearly inspired by the works of Woody Allen; imagine Annie Hall for the internet generation. 

The premise is as simple as it is bizarre, but then Jonze was never one to play by the rules of our reality. To some, the sheer notion (and indeed the film’s lead character) may strike audiences as creepy or unnerving. Alongside the slow pace and rather peculiar ending, the whole concept of Her just may not sit well with some. But what else can you expect from the director of Being John Malkovich?

Deservedly, award committees are praising Her like they should, and the film has been nominated for five Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay. More importantly, Her is perhaps the first great heart-breaking romantic tale inspired by the twenty-first century, and a film that might even move some to tears.

Reviewed for The Big List NI

Film Review: The Wolf of Wall Street

The Wolf of Wall Street is Martin Scorsese’s 23rd feature film and even with the director entering his twilight years, he proves that he can still pack a punch. Based on the memoirs of the morally deprived New York stockbroker Jordan Belfort, Scorsese is reunited once again with Leonardo DiCaprio for what is arguably one of the best, yet most controversial, films he has ever made.

The Wolf of Wall Street is a very welcome return to the gangster genre for Scorsese. But these gangsters aren’t the hot-headed wise guys of Goodfellas or Casino. Rather, Scorsese trains his cross-examining spotlight onto stock brokers and investment bankers, using the almost unbelievable tale of Belfort to turn their rituals up to eleven. These guys are quick on the dial rather than quick on the draw. 

Narration from the film’s lead and the signature blues soundtrack are all Scorsese trademarks, but to consider The Wolf of Wall Street as simply a pastiche of Goodfellas would be criminally underselling the film. What makes it stand on its own hind legs is that it's also the funniest film Scorsese has ever made. 

Lasting bang on three hours, you’d expect the smug, drug-addled, orgy of anti-heroism that is DiCaprio’s Belfort to grow tiresome. However, from a game of midget-tossing to a demonstration of taking out-of-date drugs, every scene bests the last as Belfort and his pack of money-hungry wolves indulge in every adolescent fantasy conceivable. 

Even his bragging asides, where he talks down to the audience, are so full of wit and cheek that you both laugh with, and hate, his character. It’s a full on performance that could hopefully lead to Leo finally winning that Oscar he has deserved for the past twenty years – although my money says that he won’t. 

Much of the humour stems from the runaway dialogue and more importantly the improvisational skills of the supporting cast. Matthew McConaughey appears all too briefly in a scene stealing performance as the inspiration behind Belfort’s money making dreams. And Jonah Hill is hilarious as Belfort’s all too eager partner in crime Donnie Azoff.

Naturally, the film has come under fire, with some criticising it for reveling in the scandalous antics of Jordan Belfort and not giving the full picture of his actions. Indeed not once does the film show what is happening on the other end of the telephone to those who are giving up their hard earned money to rogue traders for these “pump-and-dump” scams. 

In response to the backlash, DiCaprio and Scorsese are selling The Wolf of Wall Street as a “cautionary tale”, but not one that warns us off giving into the temptation of being consumed by greed. Instead, it’s a tale that warns us that characters like Belfort do exist within our financial system, and that realistically they will never get the justice they truly deserve.

Reviewed for The Big List NI

Films of the Year - 2013

I suppose the first thing I can say about film in 2013 is that the year itself will always be memorable. In a year that seen the Superman return to the silver screen (Man of Steel), Edgar Wright's Cornetto trilogy come to a satisfying close (The World's End), Ron Burgundy attempt to make a difference (Anchorman 2) and former Disney princesses go wild with James Franco (Spring Breakers), above all else I'll always remember 2013 as the year I first got paid to review film. 

However none of the above made this, my first, published (hopefully of many) top ten of the year list. 

Of course, if you haven't already skipped ahead, you'll notice some other glaring omissions. As the first film I was paid to review, Spielberg's Lincoln will always have a place in my heart for that reason, but not for the three-hour historical epic that is sadly lost in translation for a European audience. And is rather boring on second viewing.

Blockbusters such as Iron Man 3, Star Trek Into Darkness and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire all surprised me, particularly when you consider the general rule surrounding Hollywood sequels. However, they didn't strike a nerve with me on a personal level. Great explosive fun, but not quite as challenging as one could have hoped. 

There's also the fact that I'm yet to see Alexander Payne's Nebraska which, if I'd had the time to see it, could have snuck it's way into this top ten. This probably applies for quite a few other films this year (replace Nebraska with The Selfish Giant, Frances Ha, Blue is the Warmest Colour et al. and you'll catch my drift) so I've a bit of homework to do while I'm still off for the holidays. 

Anyway without further ado, here are my own personal top ten films of the year:

10. Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa

When a beloved television series attempts to take the big leap onto the silver screen, more than often something gets lost in translation. So when the announcement was made that dear old Alan was going to forfeit a second series in favour of a feature film, I was naturally skeptical.

However, Alpha Papa treats it's television roots with respect, making it one of the funniest films of the year. The storyline surrounding a hostage situation at North Norfolk Digital may be the failed chat show host's most unorthodox adventure to date, but by keeping the film firmly rooted in East Anglia, the humour throughout the film is very much "essential Alan".

True to form, Alan seizes the the opportunity by becoming the face of the siege in an attempt to raise his celebrity profile and I for one hope that Armando Iannucci and Steve Coogan use the film as a springboard to bring Mr Partridge back on to the small screen.

9. Captain Phillips

When handed the directorial reins of a delicate real-life event, Paul Greengrass can be trusted to bring out the human story above all else. Both United 93 and Bloody Sunday cut through personal grudgery and political agenda in order to capture an impartial dramatization of the events in real time. Captain Phillips is no exception.

Newcomer Barkhad Abdi may not share the top billing with Hanks but he certainly should, in keeping with Greengrass' keen desire to present both sides of the story in a neutral, equal manner. His portrayal of the pirate leader Muse shouldn't be overlooked by the judges when it comes to award season early next year. 

Even as the film hurtles towards its suspenseful conclusion, neither Somali nor American come across as the heroes or villains of the piece, an encouraging worldly view perhaps shaped by the post-War on Terror era.

For Greengrass, the effects of Globalization maybe the burning issue in Captain Phillips, but even drudging up this political insight doesn't distract audiences from experiencing one of the most climactic finales in cinema this year. 

Reviewed for The Big List - Captain Phillips

8. Upstream Colour

The strangest thing about the recent DVD release of Upstream Colour is that the cover gives the impression that Shane Carruth's long awaited to follow up to Primer is somewhat of a Cronenbergian body horror. Whilst that is true of one particularly itchy sequence, there's far more going in within the life-cycle of the film.

Part romantic drama, part revenge thriller, Upstream Colour examines the chemistry behind relationships on both biological and metaphysical levels. On top of directorial duties, Shane Carruth stars, edits and even acts as composer for this hallucinogenic, intoxicating film that sacrifices the basics of narrative in favour of creating a sensory experience unlike any other. 

Reviewed for OneMetal.Com - Upstream Colour

7. Only God Forgives

A quick look at Rotten Tomatoes will give you a thermometer reading of how the critic population worldwide views Nicolas Winding Refn's follow up to 2011's Drive. Booed and jeered by many after it's initial Cannes premiere, Only God Forgives was criticized for putting "style, over substance," and for being "gruesomely grotesque."

Yet I found this brooding tale of American gangsters heavily embedded in a dark, Thai criminal underworld totally engrossing. Visually stunning, every scene could be paused, printed and proudly hung on the wall as a striking piece of art. Even scenes of violence are choreographed in such as way to make them hypnotically mesmerizing. 

Only God Forgives also features two of the most extraordinary film characters of 2013. Vithaya Pansringarm's karaoke loving sadistic cop provides some of the goriest action sequences of the year while Kristen Scott Thomas' emasculating gangster mom is so wicked and venomous that she gives even Lady Macbeth a run for her money.

6. Filth

While we're on the subject of 2013's most despicable players, perhaps the biggest C U Next Tuesday of the lot was James McAvoy's manipulative Edinburgh cop in the film adaptation of Irvine Welsh's Filth. 

Fuelled by sex, drugs, fags and booze, the film charts Bruce's descent into madness as he plays 'the games' in order to steal promotion from right under his colleagues noses. The comedy may be black as tar and just as difficult to swallow, but for me that's what made the film so interesting.

Certainly the darkest role on McAvoy's CV, there's something dangerously fetishist in seeing just how long this right bad bastard can get away with it before he finally is forced to see the errors of his ways. And that's not something I've felt watching a film in quite some time - Pure filth. 

5. Good Vibrations

I have a confession. Despite being lauded by critics, championed by the local music scene and even after getting a personal recommendation from my hero, the good doctor Kermode, I resisted seeing Good Vibrations for quite some time. Perhaps the trademark Northern Irish cynicism in me is to blame.

Finally, I caved and caught an early evening screening on my own on a rainy springtime afternoon. Even if you see the film as a somewhat romanticized version of Terri Hooley's impact on punk music during "The Troubles" it's impossible to deny that the film boasts a pleasurable feel good factor that is impossible even for the most cynical Norn Irish man to deny. 

4. Saving Mr. Banks

I have a soft spot for stories that give a glimpse behind the scenes of some of cinemas most iconic films. Saving Mr Banks details the difficult process Disney had to go through in order to acquire the rights to Mary Poppins from the novel's author, P.L. Travers (Emma Thompson).

Flashbacks give insight into the childhood of Travers and in particular her relationship with her father (Colin Farrell), a lovable whimsical man who succumbs to alcohol and inevitably becomes the inspiration for the Mr Banks character in Mary Poppins. 

These flashbacks not only show us the inspiration behind Mary Poppins herself, but give us an understanding as to why Travers comes across as so cold and unmovable. She is so protective over her characters out of fear that Uncle Walt (Tom Hanks) will 'Disney-fy' them. It's a lovely tale that still keeps the warm Disney spirit alive, without putting the real story in jeopardy. 

3. Zero Dark Thirty

During the award buzz early on in the year, Kathryn Bigelow's Zero Dark Thirty was without a doubt the winner of the "most controversial" award. Graphic scenes of torture and violent coercion caused quite the stir in the run up to the 2013 Academy Awards with some commenting that the film actually promotes the use of these violent coercive methods - Not something I wholeheartedly agree with, particularly given its somber ending.

Starring Jessica Chastain, the film follows the hunt for Osama Bin Laden through the eyes of a young CIA operative. Even with the news of Bin Laden's death still fresh in our minds, Zero Dark Thirty maintains a tense, gripping atmosphere throughout, particularly during the storming set-piece siege on Bin Laden's compound towards the end. 

2. The Kings of Summer

Blink and you may have missed it, for The Kings of Summer barely had time to reign before being dismissed in favor of the next film. If not for the championing review from just one critic (you can probably guess who that was), I would never have even heard of it. It became my mission to track down this film and see what the fuss was about. 

A comedic tale of misspent youth, teenage revolt and falling in love may not sound like anything out of the ordinary, yet thanks to idiosyncratic characters, charming story-telling and the always welcome Nick Offerman appearance, The Kings of Summer was even more surprising than I could ever have imagined. 

Since watching the film, I've passed it around a few friends who have all been surprised by just how entertaining it was (there's that Norn Irish cynicism again). And just as the characters will have that shared memory of spending their summer in the woods, my friends and I will always have that shared memory of just how heart-warming and funny the Kings of Summer is, especially for a film that almost slipped by us all unnoticed. 

1. Gravity

Not only does Alfonso Cuarón's sci-fi thriller give us cinephiles a reason to finally care about 3D cinema, but it also gives the lost genre of pulp space drama a much needed rejuvenating thrust.

Stranded above the Earth's atmosphere with absolutely no contact with ground control, a grizzled veteran and a nervous rookie must work together in order to navigate the dangers of space and find a way to get back home. 

Bringing together both the wondrous beauty and horrifying perils o space travel, Gravity is a self contained space oddity that packs in visually stunning cinematography, a brooding soundtrack and an emotionally engaging roller-coaster ride all in just ninety minutes. My favourite film of the year. I only hope I get the chance to see it again on the big screen. 

Reviewed for The Big List NI - Gravity