All posts from: Reviews

Skyfall (2012)

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This globetrotting film is, at it’s heart, about family. Just not the most loving kind.

In this, the latest James Bond movie that also marks its 50th anniversary, the plot almost necessarily turns inward on MI6 itself, with the story feeling claustrophobic and very personal. After a harddrive containing the names of undercover agents is lost, and Bond disappears for a while, M herself is targeted as the unhappy focus of a bitter former golden child. Names of the undercover agents will be released every week until M is destroyed, one way or another.

Skyfall’s story is where most of this movie’s strength lies; M is brought to the fore and the movie is as much hers as it is Bond’s. Her past threatens her future, and in so doing throws into sharp comparison the shadow of a younger and more idealistic M with the practical and cynical leader that she is today. However it also signals a shift away from the rest of the films in the Bond franchise. The psychodrama bent makes this one the least Bond-​​like film I’ve seen, while simultaneously bringing to the fore a side of Bond that we haven’t seen since Connery’s turn in the iconic role.

Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Ralph Fiennes, Javier Bardem, Naomi Harris, and Ben Whishaw all turn in fine performances. No complaints; they each did their part well. The stand out performance for me came from Bérénice Marlohe, who was captivating, stealing all the scenes she was in. By far one of the best Bond girls of the ‘femme fatale’ lineage that I’ve seen. From goddess, to priestess, to sacrifice; she was magnificent. Her strength is all brittle sharp edges presented with a too-​​wide smile, that makes her mesmerising, and her death regretful. The settings are also given their cinemagraphic love-​​notes, from a Shanghai that electrifies and excites, to the sultry golden glaw of Macau, the sensible and stately London, and the rolling hills and fog of Scotland. One of the best assassination scenes occurs in neon noir Shanghai, while Macau champions a more traditionally Bond-​​like fight in a Komodo pit.

As great as the action, acting, story, and scenery were…there was still something about this film that threw me off. At the one moment in the film that I should have felt something, that I so desperately wanted to feel something, I felt nothing. And that was a problem. There’s no doubt this film is tight, and I wouldn’t have missed it for the world, but some vital connection was missing for me. I’m also left with the feeling that the Bond we see at the end of the film has nowhere left to go.

Overall? 7 out of 10.
Recommendation? It’s a Bond film! See it.

Trailer: Official trailer.
Reviews: Box Office, Slate, AV Club, Hello, Tailor
Director: Sam Mendes
Starring: Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, Naomi Harris, Bérénice Marlohe, Ben Whishaw
Genre: Thriller
143 mins


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Tenchi Meisatsu (2012)

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A surprisingly engaging story based on historical events, this movie benefits from having a charming lead in Junichi Okada.

An adaptation of Tow Ubukata’s book, Tenchi Meisatsu is based on the life of Santetsu Yasui (later, Shibukawa Harumi), who was appointed as the first official astronomer during Japan’s Edo period. After his clan lord sends him to join an expedition, mapping Japan using the North Star as a guide, Santetsu Yasui realises that the current calendar is inaccurate and that astronomical events can no longer be accurately predicted. His love of mathematical puzzles, the heavens, and the support of his friends all aid him as he struggles to understand the movements of the heavens.

It’s hard to imagine that a plot based upon the creation of a calendar can sustain an entire film, but it does, thanks largely to engaging actors. The film starts by introducing us to Santetsu Yasui, an affable young Go player with an interest in mathematics and a fascination with the stars. While every other character is secondary (from mathematicians to clan lords and astronomers to imperial advisors), they’re nonetheless portrayed as wholly realised people, whose lives we can imagine beyond the scope of what we see to be just as intriguing as the journey we’re currently on.

The editing is occasionally strange, largely where years fly by without much indication (amusingly enough, considering the focus of the story) and the soundtrack is a little instrusive; they’re small complaints, but they’re enough to hold you back from being as fully immersed and captivated by the story as you could be. Comedic beats are played much better than dramatic ones, but the cinematography is lovely, the sets stunning, and the rest of the editing neat and unobtrusive.

This isn’t an amazing film, but it is a solid historical drama that makes the absolute best of a stellar cast, and a story that needs little embellishment for the translation to screen. Watch it, and you just might find Santetsu Yasui’s enthusiasm and spirt as admirable and indomitable as I did.

Overall? 7 out of 10.
Recommendation? It’ll play just as well on the small screen, so if you miss it in the cinema make a note to check it out on DVD.

Trailer: Full trailer.
Reviews: The Japan Times
Director: Yôjirô Takita
Starring: Junichi Okada, Aoi Miyazaki, Ryuta Sato, Kiichi Nakai, Koshiro Matsumoto, Kamejiro Ichikawa, Takashi Sasano, Ittoku Kishibe, Yu Yokoyama, Dai Watanabe, Akira Shirai
Genre: Drama, Historical
141 mins


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Looper (2012)

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With it’s intricate and intriguing timelines, this movie is an enjoyable blend of science fiction conceits and action.

The year is 2044 and time travel hasn’t been invented yet. But it will be, and criminal syndicates are using this one-​​way ticket to disappear people to the past, where they will appear at an appointed place and time and be killed by a ‘Looper’. The sole function of a Looper is to make all of their appointments, even when that means killing the older version of themselves, closing their causal loop and erasing all evidence of their involvement. And letting that older version of yourself get away? That’s a very bad thing. The story focuses on Joe, a mysterious criminal in the future called the Rainmaker, and the shifting timelines caused by the actions of his future self in the present when Joe fails to close his loop.

The film starts at a stroll, with Joe’s narration introducing you to his world and his life as a Looper. It’s needed, if a little distracting, and is quickly supplanted by smart editing and action as the plot moves along. It’s very cleverly filmed, with showy shots never being unnecessarily used, and the editing is used to great effect to enhance our understanding of the plot as it unravels. The soundtrack is complementary to the action, the set and costume design great (right down to the hilarity of changing fashions), and the effects so casually unobtrusive you accept them as real (with one notable exception).

Bruce Willis is his usual self, here. While he excels at action, he also makes for compelling viewing as Old Joe struggles to create the future he wants. Joseph Gordon-​​Levitt is fantastic as Joe. His make-​​up is distracting if you aren’t able to ignore it, but if you can you’ll quickly recognise and appreciate how well he’s picked up on Willis’ speech patterns and facial ticks to believably portray the same person. Emily Blunt as Sara cuts a swathe through the masculine bravado with a swagger all her own, as well as providing all the heart and love in the film. Her emotional link to Pierce Gagnon as the incredibly smart Cid is genuine and rewarding. And my love to Garret Dillahunt, who has been a favourite of mine since Deadwood, as Jesse.

Rian Johnson has clearly spent a lot of time working on this movie, building the world, and very carefully constructing the time travel to have as much detail and functional causality as possible. A flawless depiction of time travel is not the point of this movie, but just because the characters don’t understand how it works, doesn’t mean you should make the mistake of thinking that Johnson doesn’t have (most of) it figured out. Instead of going into Looper’s time travel here I’ve written another post about it, which you can read here (warning: there are spoilers) after you’ve seen the film for yourself.

Looper is an exceptional movie, in that it creates an interesting story that maintains our attention and fascination, and provokes a lot of post-​​movie thought about the time travel concepts it portrays. If you like science fiction and action, this movie has enough of both to keep you mesmerised for almost two hours.

Overall? 8 out of 10.
Recommendation? Watch it, and admire Rian’s forethought while enjoying the action.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Joe, in Looper. Image credit: SonyPictures.

Trailer: Official trailer.
Reviews: ReelViews, AV Club, Slate
Director: Rian Johnson
Starring: Joseph Gordon-​​Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt, Pierce Gagnon, Noah Segan, Jeff Daniels
Genre: Science Fiction, Action
118 mins


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Resident Evil: Retribution (2012)

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It’s madness. Fun, action packed, bad dialogue-​​filled, plotless madness, with Milla Jovovich in fine monster-​​killing form.

The Resident Evil series excels at consistently ramping up for each successive movie, to the point of the ridiculous-​​but-​​awesome. Case in point: they killed the entire planet in Extinction, and two movies on they’re still going strong. Retribution picks up where Afterlife left off, and Alice soon finds herself battling zombies and monsters (presumably in order to stay alive for the next movie, where she gets to…battle a few more zombies and monsters). The bottom line is that there is a plot here, but you shouldn’t let it distract you.

First, let’s get the bad out of the way. The dialogue is terrible, some of the acting questionable, the editing very cut-​​scene, and the plot…what plot was that, again? This would leave a bad taste in your mouth if it weren’t for the fact that Alice is an arse-​​kicking goddess, whose balletic and vicious head-​​kicks will have you sighing in admiration and appreciation. Every time a neck snaps, crunches, or makes some other sort of sound that it normally shouldn’t, you’ll want more. Not only that, but a few familiar faces make an appearance; Michelle Rodriguez and Oded Fehr are both back, to my delight.

In a way, the Resident Evil movies are perfection. It’s a perpetual fight that simply moves from place to place, because these people are survivors, and there is nothing else left for them to do (except die). I hope they never stop fighting, because that would mean the end of this stupidly lovable franchise, which continues to make no sense and kick arse.

Overall? 6 out of 10
Recommendation? Go. Go, now. Fill your eyeballs with pretty and brainless action.

Milla Jovovich as Alice, in Resident Evil: Retribution. Image credit: Sony Pictures.
Trailer: Official trailer.
Reviews: Slant, AV Club, Indiewire.
Director: Paul W.S. Anderson
Starring: Milla Jovovich, Sienna Guillory, Michelle Rodriguez, Aryana Engineer, Bingbing Li
Genre: Action, Science Fiction, Horror
96 minutes


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Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012)

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This movie is silly, ridiculous, and predictable, but also very good fun.

Just in case you missed the title, the story revolves around Abraham Lincoln and his secret past-​​time as a vampire hunter. In this alternate history/​universe not only do vampires exist, but they’re using the slaves in the southern states as a food source, giving them a stake in the outcome of the civil war. And so, Lincoln’s personal vendetta as a young man against a single vampire is dwarfed by his presidential concern, in which the freedom of all plays a vital role in the future defeat of vampires.

The twists and turns of the plot are not so much surprising as inevitable, the soundtrack is forgettable, and not all of your laughter will be intentionally prompted by the script. The action scenes alternate between cool, boring, and absolutely hilarious. Fortunately they’re interesting, short, and very worth it, respectively. The charm of this film lies in the way it is played straight, but has an inherent sense of glee in it’s premise, allowing you to have a laugh when they combine in a way that is particularly absurd.

The performances are average, but perfectly serviceable for this type of fare. The rangy Benjamin Walker is charming and affable as the lead hero, and the passing resemblance to a young Liam Neeson doesn’t hurt. Rufus Sewell has some fun as the lead villain, delightfully draining a young woman as he spins her around in his embrace, and later striding along kicking out bridge supports with ferocious ease as everything around him burns. The rest of the cast all do their best with what is given to them, but there’s nothing amazing to see, here (unless it’s Alan Tudyk’s brief appearance, which prompted giggles from both Yunita and myself for no apparent reason).

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is a great popcorn flick; if you leave your brain at home, this movie offers up one and a half hours of frivolous fun. It isn’t a great movie, but it is an enjoyable one.

Overall? 5 out of 10
Recommendation? It’s good for a laugh with some like-​​minded friends in the cinema.

Benjamin Walker as Abraham Lincoln, in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. Image credit: 20th Century Fox.
Trailer: Official trailer.
Reviews: Slant, AV Club, Rolling Stone.
Director: Timur Bekmambetov
Starring: Benjamin Walker, Dominic Cooper, Anthony Mackie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Rufus Sewell, Martin Csokas, Jimmi Simpson, Erin Wasson
Genre: Action, Fantasy, Horror
105 minutes


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The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

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It takes a while for the plot to gain momentum, but once it’s up and running this ambitious end to Nolan’s Batman triology slams home with a lot of noise, and no subtlety.

The story picks up eight years after the events of The Dark Knight; both Batman and Bruce Wayne have retreated from the world, and Gotham city is (for the most part) peaceful. The emergence of Bane and his agenda of social reform (carried out in the violent, nefarious, and grand-​​standing fashion so often favoured by screen villains) forces Batman out of retirement to once more save Gotham.

It’s a slow start; there are a lot of plot points and a some new characters that need to be established, and the somewhat lacklustre editing doesn’t help the pace. Hans Zimmer is nowhere near his best with the score, assaulting your eardrums with some of his most boring and obvious work to date (particularly in comparison with the amazing soundtrack for The Dark Knight), and none of the action is particularly new or exciting. Even the broad strokes of the story are obvious, with very little payoff, and no truly satisfying moments. These are probably the worst things that can be said about The Dark Knight Rises.

Some of the very best things about this movie are the newest characters, Bane and Catwoman. They’re a blessing to the story and two of the best grey hats in the trilogy. They don’t over-​​moralise and struggle with ‘good’ and ‘bad’; they are what they are, and neither make any apologies or excuses for it. Tom Hardy as Bane is mesmerising, charismatic, and inexorable. His singsong voice is at odds with his physicality, and when he’s on screen you want his plan to come to fruition. Anne Hathaway as Catwoman (or, Selina Kyle) sashays her way through the film with ease, making off with your admiration, your respect, and your heart.

The Dark Knight Rises is not an exceptional movie, but it is a fitting end. The ho-​​hum action and obvious plot twists are more than made up for by the presence of Hardy and Hathaway, who both deliver excellent performances, and rescue this movie from being a bit of a yawn.

Overall? 7 out of 10
Recommendation? Catch it on the big screen, to say goodbye to Gotham in this final instalment of Nolan’s Batman.

Bane, in The Dark Knight Rises. Image credit: Warner Bros. Pictures
Trailer: Official trailer.
Reviews: AV Club, Slant, Reel Reviews.
Director: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-​​Levitt, Morgan Freeman
Genre: Action
165 minutes


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Brave (2012)

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The plot isn’t new, but the relationship between mother and daughter feels genuine and Merida’s fiery spirit, and hair, lights up the film.

Set in a pseudo-​​medieval fantasy Scottish kingdom, Brave is a story about fate; of denying, accepting, changing, and confronting it. Merida, the headstrong and flame-​​haired princess, isn’t ready for marriage even if it is expected of her by her mother. Things take a turn for the worse when she tries to take matters into her own hands, and a new ending is written for an old legend.

The animation is stunning, and you will be left loving what you see on screen, from the deep forests to Merida’s scene-​​stealing shock of red hair (caveat: I saw this in 2D). The plot is lacking in originality, which I suspect is the influence of Brave’s ‘Disney Princess’ lineage, but the emotional connection between the two female leads is real enough. It’s a pleasure to see a mother-​​daughter dynamic brought to the fore, in which the mother figure isn’t evil, absent, or killed off to advance the plot. The supporting characters, who are sadly never as fully fleshed out as we might like them to be, are largely played for laughs which are frequent and authentic. Merida’s father is a warm presence and her young triplet brothers a source of fun. There is welcome ambiguity in the lack of a clear villain, with moralising left to the interactions between characters on screen, rather than movie to audience. Sadly, however, it also feels as though Merida herself has learned nothing at the end of the film, while gaining a great deal. And why marriage could possibly mean a loss of freedom will go directly over the heads of younger children.

It’s easy for someone like me to see the story of Brave as part of a larger tapestry of events within the universe of the movie itself, which speaks to the potential for richness that exists here. Overall, however, there is something missing. Brave comes up short on delivering a strong emotional resonance or a new type of fairy tale. It is more than what we expect from Disney, but it is less than what we want from Pixar, and in that respect it is ultimately a little disappointing.

Still… While Brave may play it safe, it is also joyous, beautiful, and charming. I can only hope that this is the spark for a new generation of heroines and fairy tales from the house of Disney-​​Pixar.

Overall? 7 out of 10
Recommendation? Take advantage of seeing it on the big screen to enjoy the incredible animation.

The red-haired heroine of Brave, Meridia. Image credit: Disney-Pixar.
Trailer: Official trailer.
Reviews: Salon, AV Club, Slant Magazine.
Director: Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman, Steve Purcell
Starring: Kelly Macdonald, Emma Thompson, Billy Connolly
Genre: Fantasy, Adventure
100 minutes


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Prometheus (2012)

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Prometheus is what happens when you take the best of a franchise, reduce it, refine it, remix it, and then mainline it.

A not-​​quite-​​prequel, Prometheus is the fifth installment in the Alien franchise, although it doesn’t quite match up with the Alien-​​verse timeline we’ve become familiar with over the years. In the year 2089, two scientists discover a map leading to a distant star system, which they believe is where humanity will discover its origins. Androids are new, human stasis has yet to be perfected, and xenomorphs are still just a terrifying twinkle on an undiscovered horizon. Human curiousity and desire being what it is, a ship (the titular Prometheus) is sent to the system, to find what it can. And yes, it certainly finds some things.

The story unfolds at an ever-​​increasing pace, successfully combining suspense, action, and philosophy, with some humour and a dash of situation-​​appropriate gore for flavour. The actors all do well, with Noomi Rapace and Michael Fassbender stealing the overall show as Shaw the scientist-​​believer and David the android, respectively. From the locations, to the interiors, costume design, visual effects, and Giger’s reverse engineered designs, almost everything is picture-​​perfect. You’ll encounter few soggy visuals here, and one spectacular moment which (almost) justifies the use of 3D. The sound effects are used subtly and well, always adding to what is happening on screen, rather than distracting.

My biggest problem was the score. After the very effective sound-​​scape of the teaser trailers, I was expecting great things. I wasn’t expecting repetitive heroic horns intruding on seemingly every scene in the film, often inappropriately, noticeably, and annoyingly. My irritation increased with each swelling wail, to the point where I couldn’t appreciate it in the one scene it probably suited. (Also, if you’re anything like me at all you’ll have some serious questions about air-​​supply calculations in one of the last scenes, and you will subsequently waste far too much time thinking about it and then annoying your fellow movie-​​goer with it…sorry Yunita).

As a fan of all (and yes, I really do mean all, provided we include director’s cuts) the previous Alien films, I thoroughly enjoyed this addition to the mythology. Each of the installments has its own unique flavour, and Prometheus didn’t disappoint. If you haven’t seen any of the Alien films so far, don’t worry, you’ll still get a great deal out of this; you’ll miss out on a few ‘ahhh’ and ‘ha!’ moments, but the performances and story will carry you through. For those who have, accept the universe reboot and enjoy the ride, my friend.

Overall? 8 out of 10.
Recommendation? Embrace this new entry into the Alien-​​verse, and see it on the big screen.

Noomi Rapace as Elizabeth Shaw, in Prometheus. Image credit: 20th Century Fox.
Trailer: Official trailer.
Reviews: Lifelounge, Twitch, AV Club.
Director: Ridley Scott
Starring: Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, Logan Marshall-​​Green
Genre: Science Fiction
124 minutes


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Wish You Were Here (2012)

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This is a well-​​crafted film that, for some reason, left me cold.

Wish You Were Here focuses on two couples having been on holiday in Cambodia, and the subsequent fallout when they return to Australia with one of their group ‘missing’ without an immediately discernible reason. The story is centred around the trio, the destructiveness of secret knowledge, and the bonds and bondage of relationships.

The story unfolds at a studied pace; each moment and piece of the puzzle is treated with equal importance, regardless of how insignificant or revelatory it seems at the time. Even the climax of the film has the same deliberate tempo, leaving the audience to experience the highs and lows of the characters as they happen in their lives and memories; catharsis here is not some grand, sweeping, moral statement—it is quite possibly the hollowest moment in the story.

I adore Felicity Price (having had a soft spot for her since I first saw her on Farscape), Joel Edgerton has done well for himself, and it’s nice to see Teresa Palmer again, but their characters here left me unsatisfied. I was unsympathetic, unpitying, detached, and cold; I felt nothing for these people. The satisfaction of seeing all the pieces of the puzzle fit together was clinical, and void of any emotional content. And that left me uncertain of the movie as a whole. There are good things about Wish You Were Here. I enjoyed the inexorable pace, the transitions between here-​​and-​​now and then-​​and-​​there are fluid and seamless, the immediacy of the visuals creates the sense of a waking nightmare, and the actors put in terrific performances.

I really did want to love this movie. The trailer looked great, the presence of Price and Edgerton looked promising, and the story intriguing. I even put off writing a review for a few days in the hope I would find something more, but I just couldn’t connect with it on a personal level.

Overall? 6 out of 10.
Recommendation? The visuals and performances make this worth it…as long as you don’t mind the missing emotional connection.

Trailer: Official trailer.
Reviews: Hit Fix, The Vine, Coming Soon.
Director: Kieran Darcy-​​Smith
Starring: Joel Edgerton, Felicity Price, Teresa Palmer, Antony Star.
Genre: Drama, Mystery
93 minutes


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Battleship (2012)

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For something that rips off a myriad of other science-​​fiction action movies, Battleship is surprisingly not that bad.

Don’t misunderstand me; Battleship is not a good movie. But nor is it the shambles that I expected to see. The plot is barely there (message goes out, aliens come back, fighting ensues), the script is rubbish, the acting is lacklustre (Liam Neeson simply growls his way to a paycheck), the special effects are actually nothing special at all, the score is unrelentingly loud, I couldn’t figure out what anyone’s motivations were (human or alien), and the number of sub-​​plots and unecessary characters threatens to drag it down to the depths.

And yet…

There are genuinely good things about Battleship. The scene which most directly recalls the game from which this movie was developed is deftly handled, creating one of the most captivating battle sequences in the entire movie. Tadanobu Asano does well as Nagata by somehow conjuring a character from a threadbare script, as does Jesse Plemons in his supporting role as Ordy. Some of the laughs are truly genuine, the explosions are duly big and loud, the ships are impressive pieces of machinery, and the explosive alien ‘pegs’ are a lovely nod to the original game. I’ll even go so far as to say that the floundering alien ships that hippity-​​hop all over the ocean are really quite adorable.

Still, none of that can rescue this movie from, at it’s heart, being about ships (of any kind) going boom. Although if you have negative expectations, as I did, you may be pleasantly surprised. And really, you have to applaud someone for trying to come up with an entire movie—that runs for over two hours!—based on a game. They failed terribly, but it was an admirable effort, nonetheless.

Overall? 5 out of 10.
Recommendation? Skip it on the big screen, unless you really like ships and explosions.

Trailer: Official trailer.
Reviews: Den of Geek, Total Film, IGN.
Director: Peter Berg
Starring: Taylor Kitsch, Liam Neeson, Alexander Skarsgård, Tadanobu Asano, Rihanna, Jesse Plemons
Genre: Action, Science Fiction
131 mins


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