Super 8 (directed by J J Abrams)

The Monster Smash?

In a Hollywood production line of sequels and remakes, it would be nice to experience again the Summer Blockbuster of days gone by, the type of movie event which had originality but also crucially a heart and soul.

Step forward J J Abrams with Super 8, a throwback to the early work of Steven Spielberg, who handily holds the producer credit for the film. In fact Super 8 bares many of the themes of the classic Spielberg movie-the reminiscent warm hue of childhood, the joys and growing pains of friendship, the absent father, who in this case is present but still scarce and the misunderstood Extra Terrestrial. One might argue why we need a film where Abrams does his best Spielberg impression? But any movie that instills the nostalgic yearn of childhoods spent riding bikes and long summers with your friends is a welcome addition to break the monotony of Superheroes and Smurfs.

Super 8, set in 1979, tells the story of Joe Lamb, a young boy whose mother has tragically died in a factory accident and whose father, the town sheriff, is unable to relate to his son. Fast forward four months and Joe and his friends are making a zombie movie in their summer holidays for a film competition. One night they sneak out to a remote train station/platform to film scenes with the new addition to the cast Alice, an object of teenage lust for the boys (particularly Joe) and a catalyst for division in their friendship. While filming they witness a train derail in suspicious circumstances and flee the scene when the U.S Air Force arrive and surround the area. The gang agree not to tell anyone what they have seen; however things start to take a turn for the strange in their small town. People begin to disappear, all the towns pet dogs flee to neighbouring areas, electrical appliances appear to have been looted and finally the shady U.S Air Force take over the panicked town.

Abrams film provides all the thrills and spills you would expect from a summer monster movie, his flair for directing action set pieces and building suspense, clearly evident in the train crash sequence and the slow reveal of what is now lurking loose among the town, moving through the trees and hurtling up water towers. Yet the films real ace is the kids, the interaction between the group of friends is utterly believable, funny and bittersweet, they are the spirit of the movie (stick around for the post film credits to see the results of their antics). Top marks should go to the casting director for finding such a natural, genuinely likeable bunch of child actors, the standout being Elle Fanning (sister of the precocious Dakota) who shows that her charming screen turn in previous film Somewhere was no fluke and displays an affable screen presence that could outshine her sister.

Super 8 does have a few flaws, at times it veers into schmaltzy territory (something that Spielberg himself is no stranger to) and the third act doesn't quite reach the giddy heights of the original premise but there is enough good old fashioned entertainment and bye gone whimsy to please many a film lover. To quote a former Apprentice candidate everything Abrams touches 'turns to sold'.

Review- Blue Valentine (dvd)

Directed by Derek Cianfrance
A stolen glance, a passionate embrace, a music set montage of playful dates. These are all the 'hallmark' moments of the traditional Hollywood romance. But these moments are redefined, stripped back and then crushed in a subtle anguish in Derek Cianfrance's Blue Valentine. Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams star as the flourishing/decaying couple Dean and Cindy whom meet, fall in love and then fall out of love, but what sets this apart from many other cookie cutter, run of the mill romances is the honesty, often brutally bleak and unflinching portrayal of human emotions.
Like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind which showed the end of the relationship at the beginning and the beginning of the relationship at the end, Blue Valentine starts with the fleeting hours of the couple, all the nasty elements that come from years of resentment and disappointment and then alters through a series of flashbacks to the first blooms of their romance, the sparks that fly through their first encounter. The film begin a rhythm of shifting from one time period to another, juxtaposing the sour present with the bittersweet past as the pair make a last ditch attempt at their fledging romance with a night in a motel, staying in the 'future room' (a symbol of their relationship and also the disillusion of what advance society would be). In one climatic scene we see Dean and Cindy in a final embrace, intertwined with the couple getting married, making the film all the more heartbreaking as we long for the past to be present again.
Ryan Gosling has been treading through indie waters for some time after the over sentimental swooning of The Notebook, shows why he is the go to guy for the thinking person's leading man, showing an impulsive sporadic nature, yet all the while maintaining a delicate tenderness. Michell Williams meanwhile has shown she can depict downtrodden yet spirited with uncanny astuteness in films such as Brokeback Mountain and Wendy and Lucy, she is at home in the independent film where she excels with vulnerable, raw, passionate performances.

Shot through with an accurate eye that still retains a dreamy aesthetic, without being overly mawkish, Derek Cianfrance creates a wholly believable picture of the fragility of love, his direction infringing on awkward angles and uncomfortable close ups, that the camera shows his two leads sometimes in uncomfortable lights should be praised for the realistic nature that it constructs and the authenticity that Gosling and Williams bring to their roles.

Blue Valentine may be a thorny watch to bear, but it is one that reminds us that beyond the Hollywood gleam, love stories, even those with moments of beauty and grace, do not always have happy endings. We must remember that love is a many splintered thing and can only hope that we can weather the storm and keep it alive.

Tree of Life

Could it be Malick?
The latest directorial output from Terrence Malick arrives in a flurry of film column inches, dividing viewers by winning the Palme D'Or at Cannes, but in turn also receiving just as many deflated scowls at the ceremony.

If you are the kind of film viewer that only sees cinema as a means of narrative entertainment then stop reading now, this really isn't the film for you and you will probably find this article pretentious in some way. That includes you Dad, I love you to bits but Con Air this ain't.

To even use the word film seems almost redundant in many ways as Malick has reached new heights in creating a experience so singular and unique that it defies and rewrites the concept of conventional film making. There is no easy way to explain the plot of Tree of Life that would either make sense or do justice to the experience, (this is what it feels like more than a film-an experience). It does however, concern a family in rural Texas in the 1950s, taking in on the way, ideas of creation, evolution, life and death. The themes of our existence in the world and the loss of innocence by the eldest boy in the family are the main contributors of the film, but this my reaction to the film, I believe that each viewer will take away something different from the Tree of Life. The key is to give in to its power (and it does yield a power that becomes apparent when leaving the cinema), to immerse yourself in the vast, consuming landscapes, the intimate portrayal of family life, so simple yet so tender, the nostalgic hue of the beautifully recreated 50s backdrop and the notions of the creation of the world we live in.

Malick's camera lives every inch and detail of the everyday nuances of life, whether its gliding through the rooms of the family house, an extreme close up of a newborn baby, and in turn the vengeful elder siblings reaction to the new addition, or the realisation that life is not all about riding your bike or climbing trees, that childhood has to end. It is a journey that, once succumbed to, reaps rewards in a once in a lifetime cinematic episode. There are elements to the Tree of Life which will be familiar with viewers of Malick's previous films, with its existential mood and use of melancholy voice over. The film also recalls images usually reserved for documentaries such as Planet Earth and comparisons can be made in some of the scene's style to the film Koyaanisqatsi, which used visual images and haunting music to create a scenario of the creation of the world and the landscapes around us.
However Tree of Life still feels completely unique, the term 'like nothing you have ever seen before' is saddled around a lot in Cinema, but in this case, it resonates profoundly. That this film ever saw the light of day in the realms of contemporary Hollywood, must be attributed to Malicks clout as a director and the star wattage that Brad Pitt brings to any project. That it shares cinema listings with the latest Transformers film is absurd but also empowering.
Terrance Malick has only made five films in the past forty years but with Tree of Life, he has left an enriching encounter that will last in the memory and mind for a long time.

Disappointing dvds

Recent viewings have been disappointing to say the least as follows

Paul (Directed by Greg Mottola)


When does a movie go from paying homage to its favourite sci fi films to just ripping them off every five minutes? The answer is Paul.

Paul is the bloated, self indulgent offspring of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, a film about two sci fi geeks who encounter an alien on their way across America's outback of Paranormal hotspots. There is no denying Pegg and Frosts love for the films of Spielberg, Lucas et all and their in joke tributes to them have worked well in the past in the series Spaced. However over the course of an entire film it feels lazy, unfunny and unoriginal (apart from a Star Wars bar reference which is a doozy). The script is predictable and not up to the standard of previous efforts and one cant help wonder that perhaps the duo's secret ingredient is really Edgar Wright who is absence on directing duties, after Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. The lovely Kristen Wiig is wasted in a role that does not play to her strengths and Jason Bateman is well Jason Bateman. It seems left to their own devices, the boys don't know when to reign it in, Paul at times feels like a film just made for themselves. Wish they had included the audience a little more.

Best left assigned to a galaxy far far away......

The Adjustment Bureau (directed by Gregg Nolfi)

Grrr, this film makes me a little mad. It could have been so much better. It had the pedigree for pity's sake. Based on a Phillip K Dick story, starring the reliable Matt Damon, it has Mad Men's Roger Stirling! (ok so it's John Slattery but he will always be Roger Stirling to me) and an intriguing premise of how we are not in control of our destiny and everything is in fact pre ordained by a shady organisation The Adjustment Bureau.
What emerges from this sci fi thriller is a very bland, dull pointless film. The plot revolves around Matt Damons politician and Emily Blunts dancer falling for each other and then being kept apart by the forces on high, as they were not supposed to be for one another and for some inexplicable reason, the Bureau is intent on keeping them apart. Cue clever plot devices, involving romance and edge of your seat tension, guess again. Instead it's a series of meandering scenes, silly code breakers (Hats, really is that all it takes and a few twists of a doorknob?) and half hearted relationships entwined in a narrative that might as well not bothered. Damon is wasted paired with the comatose Blunt who looks like she is falling asleep in every scene (that she is a dancer is laughable given her languid performance). The fact that she doesn't even seem interested in Damon for three quarters of the film means that you care little that this pair even get together which leaves the film at a loss with the audience and you almost wish that Damon is caught and lobotomised (Blunt looks like she already has been).

Ladies and Gentlemen please adjust your sets.

Movie of the Month

My movie of the month is Spanish thriller Julia's eyes. Check out newempressmagazine.com for my review.

Why the Movies made me want to Roller-skate

A young girl sits on a living room carpet, idly playing with a Barbie doll, whilst her Dad pops a VHS into the tape player. The film begins and the girl’s attention is drawn to the TV screen, to the images that dance before her. A glamorous cornucopia of women on roller-skates appear out of walls and begin gliding around in a sea of colour beams and big hair. The girl becomes transfixed. The girl was me and the film was Xanadu. From that moment on, all I wanted to do was pick up a pair of skates and hit the pavement in a blaze of Technicolor glory, such was the passion instilled from witnessing this movie. Perhaps Xanadu could be considered to be one of the influences of my love of film, purely for the reason that it made me feel at that time and age that anything was possible, that I could burst through walls and induce a flushed frenzy in my wake. (Though if anyone asks me what I consider influential films I will of course, say something more intellectual like Citizen Kane).

Xanadu stars Olivia Newton-John as an all singing, all wheel rolling floaty muse, sent to reinvigorate the life and creativity of a struggling artist with whom she ends up falling in love with. She also hangs out with Gene Kelly! who she inspired years previously and he opens a roller skating disco in a gloriously glitter infused extravaganza.
The film did not make any sense to me at the time and on a repeat viewing recently some 20 odd years later, still doesn’t make much sense. The plot is slight, some of the acting borders on woeful and features incredibly dated cheesy graphics (though the ELO soundtrack still rocks) yet the film is enjoyable and entertaining. Perhaps this is due to the feeling of nostalgic bliss it leaves on me, remembering the first time I experienced its headily camp enchantment as a small girl. Film touches and inspires us in many different ways and sometimes even the guiltiest of pleasures can stay with us, if it stirs such unadulterated revelry. And so I donned a pair of roller skates, Barbie printed as I recall, and set about recreating Xanadu in my back garden, with varying degrees of un-success and me being of an age and mentality where I didn’t stick to things that I didn’t pick up straight away, left the roller-skate obsession to flourish and then fade out in my day dreams until......

On an overcast April day last year, myself and my sister took a trip to the cinema to see Whip It! a film about a teenage girl finding a love and solace in the sport of Roller Derby. Now I knew there would be skating involved in this film, that was a given, but at this point I felt I was past my roller fantasy and was more drawn to the impressive cast and the promise of a feisty female orientated narrative. However as soon as the lights went down, in and on the screen for the first scene of derby mayhem, I was hooked. The giddy excitement came rushing to the forefront again, my feet began dancing under my seat, my body wanted to hurtle out into the open as I was hit by the overwhelming desire to hit the streets on a pair of wheels.

Whip It! tells the story of Bliss Cavendish (Ellen Page) an awkward teen whose pushy mother (Marcia Gay Harden) makes her compete in Beauty Pageants but longs for something different. That something different comes in the form of Roller Derby in the neighbouring town. Bliss finds herself drawn to this tough girl sport and taking on the alias of Babe Ruthless, becomes the newest and fastest member of the Hurl Scouts team, but the ride is bumpy as she drifts apart from her best friend, has a brief flirtation with a muso crush and traverses her domineering home life. As Bliss/Babe Ruthless discovers her way in the Roller derby arena and in turn, her place in life, she tells her mother ‘I am in love with this’ and my own heart sang with the refreshing declaration of worship for something other than a mans affection (this is second fiddle in the film compared to Derby), which is the usual fare for a ‘chick flick’. The strong female vibe, funky monikers and skating action, embellished with eyeliner war-paint and coloured hair was an intoxicating combination and I left the cinema trying to use my feet as skates and coming up with my own derby name, Disgrace Kelly. Since watching Whip It! I have contemplated purchasing a pair of skates again (sans Barbie who doesn’t fit the pro female image), held my own Whip It! themed party (try it, its oodles of fun) and downloaded the soundtrack to motivate me as I jog. I have also researched into roller derby possibilities in my area as this past-time has taken off in the UK since the release of the film and has recently been recognized as a sport by the British Roller Sports Federation with a Great Yorkshire showdown taking place annually right on my doorstep! As the coach of the hurl scouts Razor declares in training ‘There is a lot more to Roller Derby than picking a tough girl name’ I will have to wait and see if this reignited zeal actually bears fruition but whether I don those skates or not, it does not take away the fact that I am constantly delighted and amazed at cinema’s power to evoke a myriad of emotions in people and instill this girl with the glee and musings of a secret life as a Derby queen.


Hmm now wheres's that website with the roller boots again...........

An ode to Harold and Maude

You know you really love a film when you put it in your top 5 list of all time greats. You know you really love a film when the mere mention of its name, be it in someones conversation or a magazine article, makes your heart skip a beat and pulls at your emotions. You know you really love a film when you name your cat after one of the main characters.

I have such a love for the film Harold and Maude, which has been called something of a cult film, though most people I have met have never seen or heard of it (this I have tried to rectify in my own small way by forcing copies of those nearest and dearest who I believe will dig its individual charms).

The movie bombed upon its release in 1971 and a sufficient dent in the reputation of director Hal Ashby, as cinema goers were not tempted by the (slightly misguided) premise of a romantic comedy between a nineteen year old boy and a seventy nine year old woman.

Though there is an element of romance to their relationship, to me Harold and Maude is more about friendship and how this has no age bounds when two people truly connect. Harold is a sombre young man obsessed with death, who daydreams of suicide plots and frequents funerals. It is at a funeral that he meets Maude, an effervescent old lady who turns his world upside down with life's simple quirky pleasures such as stealing trees from roadsides to give them a better, more dignified life. And yes the film is quirky (though this was in the days when the term had not been overused and thrown at every other film to make it seem 'cool') with singalongs, fake death sequences and a one armed Army General but the film out rides all the kookiness to deliver a genuine heartfelt love letter to two outsiders finding their soul mates.

The influence of Harold and Maude can been seen in many contemporary works, particularly on Cameron Crowe who lists the soundtrack (composed entirely by Cat Stevens) as one of the greatest ever in movie history. The sequence which uses the song 'Trouble' is in my opinion one of the best uses of music and image in a movie, cutting together the unfolding story and heightening the mood that the film has taken.

If this review encourages others to seek out this little gem, then it would make this fan very happy. If not, it has made this fan very happy to simply reminisce about one of my favourite movies.

Oh and I named my cat Maude.