Tangled - Review

You would have to worry what the world is coming to, if Disney - the animation studio that brought us such 'girly' titles as The Little Mermaid, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Beauty and the Beast, Pocahontas, Mulan etc - are so worried about box office receipts, they would rename their latest princess fairytale, Rapunzel to Tangled in some silly attempt to attract a wider male audience. Regardless of this cynical observation, Tangled once again returns the studio to what it does best - and the world is a happier place for it.

Loosely based on the Grimm Fairytale, the film tells the tale of young Rapunzel (Mandy Moore) as she's snatched away from her mother and father as an infant and locked away in a tower by the sinister Mother Gothel (Donna Murphy), so the evil wench can harness the girl's magical power which emanates from her hair. Whenever she encounters a suave and swindling thief, Flynn (Zachery Levi) breaking into her tower, she uses this chance to follow her dreams and goes off on the traditional Disney coming-of-age journey full of comical, colourful, characters and infectiously catchy musical sing-a-longs.

The redesign of Rapunzel was simply glorious. An energetic, clumsy, spirited, over-sensitive, kind and curiously naive soul. One could argue Disney injected the character with a touch of Pixar or even a hint of Dreamworks satire, but I'd disagree as the girl is as quintessentially Disney as Belle, Snow White, Cinderella and Ariel. Moore's sincere yet fragile voice worked wonderfully in the tender moments of the film, while soared and warmed hearts in such songs as 'When Will My Life Begin?' Equally her co-star, Flynn was probably more akin to the sweet-talking, sly-moving Prince Naveen seen in last year's overlooked and under-rated Princess and the Frog as oppose to the more heroic yet fairly bland characterless princes of Disney's past.

As far as Disney villains go, Donna Murphy's Mother Gothel is probably more reminiscent of 'Cruella DeVille' than her evil fairytale peers seen in The Little Mermaid or Sleeping Beauty. Nevertheless, she is perhaps one of the classiest highlights of the whole feature, especially in her faintly damning and overly passive musical number, 'Mother Knows Best'.

I mentioned last year when reviewing the Princess and the Frog that its only flaw was the film played it too safe and failed to have, what I like to refer as, 'the moment'. Every truly memorable Disney film has it, the one scene where it'll be remembered, for decades to come. That ballroom scene in Beauty and the Beast, the dinner scene in Lady and the Tramp, Hi-Ho from Snow White, the opening of The Lion King, A Whole New World from Aladdin, the list goes on. These are moments that truly stand the test of time. Tangled had such a moment, which involves a beautiful animated sequence of lanterns filling up the sky to the song, 'I See The Light'. Struggled to hold back the tears. Ahem...anyway...

I'm always reluctant to see Disney make their fairytale features in any other format besides traditional hand drawn animation but regardless, Tangled is visually stunning with some of the most spectacularly crafted backgrounds ever seen from the company. The legendary Alan Menken produced songs that are probably more at home in Disney's own satire piece, Enchanted as oppose to his high points of the early 90s, but even then I'm still humming the film's main theme as I type.

Final Thoughts

Despite the daft and needless rename, Tangled is as magical and heart-warmingly sincere as some of the studio's most famous works. Moore and Levi's comical and tender chemistry carries the film excellently while Murphy is delightfully sinister and memorable as the villain. Tangled marked Walt Disney Animation's 50th feature length film, and off the strength of this, I toast them to 50 more. Spectacular.

4.5/5

Tangled is in cinemas everywhere throughout the UK now.

Blue Valentine - Review

Within minutes of Blue Valentine beginning, you have a fair idea that it's probably not going to end well. The inevitable melodrama aside however, sees the audience treated to two absolutely stellar performances from, in my opinion, two of Hollywood's most under-rated and hardest working actors. The film tells the story of young married couple Dean and Cindy Pereira - played by Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams - as it shows how they originally fell in love, then fast-forwarding to the present day and painful realisation that it isn't all 'happily ever after'.

Going in with the expectation, all of this film would put me on an extreme downer, I was pleasantly surprised by the warmth and affection Blue Valentine radiated through certain moments, more so in the scenes set in 'the past'. However, it is slightly disheartening to see the concept of marriage and having children sold as nothing other than a fruitless venture.

Though the film sees both stars crumble into a pit of complete melancholy, it's very much Michelle Williams who outshines her co-star. I got the impression the story was ultimately her's, while Gosling acted as, one of the many, catalysts to the sadness unfairly inflicted upon her. As far back as her father (The Wire's John Doman), the character's male influences - including an ex-boyfriend played by Mike Vogul - have been nothing short of horrid, finding solace mainly in her grandmother's love and affection. I found even in the 'flashback' moments there was a strange deviousness to Gosling's character, yet as the credits roll, I didn't feel a true sense of anger and a distinctive distaste for the man, just an intensely profound amount of pity.

Reminiscent of, the excellent 2004 drama, Closer there was always this uncomfortable awkwardness to watching two people's lives fall apart, and personally you might have to worry if you take some sadistic pleasure in viewing such a film. Like all good pieces of Indie-Americana cinema it also features a touching score from the folk act, Grizzly Bear.

Final Thoughts

Blue Valentine bleakly provokes the question of why we all fall in love, if there is such a thing as 'love at first sight' and presents the rather humanistic answers such questions and consequences throw at us. Williams and Gosling's chemistry is remarkable and deserves its plaudits, just best not to go see this one on a first date. If this film is anything to go by, love is black and blue but thankfully there's still a hint it can still be heart-warmingly red all over.

3.5/5

Blue Valentine is UK cinemas now. Belfast audiences will be able to see the film in Queen's Film Theatre from Friday 4th February.

The Green Hornet - Review

I'm starting to wonder where it all went wrong for Michel Gondry. Cast yourselves back to 2004, he was the coolest commercial and music video director about, and he just released the absolutely marvellous and nearly unrivalled Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - one of my favourite films of all time. Then regrettably and inexplicably he's steadily got more unimaginative and uninspiring as his films have progressed, though Science of Sleep was hardly terrible, when compared to his previous effort it all felt a bit too samey, while lacking even less cohesion. Be Kind Rewind promised so much on paper but failed to deliver on the quirky trailers, resulting in something that was, well, boring.

Unfortunately for the French born director, his latest film, The Green Hornet takes his prolonged spat of banality to new heights. Loosely based on the classic pulp superhero of the same name, the film tells the tale of, obnoxious, newspaper editor, Britt Reid (Seth Rogen) as he decides, essentially out of spite, towards his father (Tom Wilkinson), to become the masked vigilante, The Green Hornet with the help of his associate, Kato (Jay Chou).

The film was a gamble that ultimately failed for both star and director. Though I'm not a fan of Rogen in the slightest, I can see his appeal across the dozens of comedies produced by Judd Apatow, and kudos for the amount of physical work he put into the preparation of the title role, but as a superhero he just failed in all departments. Yes, I get that was partly the point, and Gondry was clearly trying to poke fun at the whole superhero mythology but Kick-Ass this was not. Similar to Kick-Ass the film had a protagonist who obviously had no idea what he was doing, but unlike that film it lacked the sincerely brilliant comedy and the genuinely likable and well-crafted characters. Rogen once again was the idiotic, bumbling, buffoon who I cared little for - he might as well have stayed with his original rotund appearance if he wasn't going to use his new found strength to good use.

His co-star Jay Chou fared much better but the themes played on in the story were premeditated from the moment the film began. Seriously, even Batman and Robin even tried to crafted a better 'strained partnership' story than this (Okay, that's perhaps a slight exaggeration). It felt as though Cameron Diaz was seemingly slotted into a role to add an extra name to the poster, as she was ultimately quite needless to the overall story.

The Battlestar Galactica fanboy in me smiled in delight at Edward James Olmos' small role, in the feature. However, the highlight, unsurprisingly, was Christoph Waltz' (last seen as the stand out star of Tarantino's brilliant World War 2 romp, Inglourious Basterds) insecure and colourful villain who also shares the best scene of the entire film alongside a cameo appearance from James Franco, during the film's opening moments.

Admittedly I don't know enough about the character in a comic book context to complain about the inaccuracies when compared to the source material, but then I didn't know a thing about The Crow, 300, Blade and other such properties but found them all easily accessible and ultimately very enjoyable. I can't really imagine the original creators, George W Trendle and Fran Striker quite envisioned this shockingly unamusing parody of the character, when a straight action mystery in vein of some of the original pulp serials might have been more fun.

The special effects and action pieces were done relatively well but sadly lacked the visual magic of the director's films to come before. I also never quite got this "Spidey-Sense" the two main protagonists kept on possessing, and I can only imagine it was served for the purposes of the film's 3D conversion - once again I stubbornly and cynically stuck to my guns and caught the film in 2D.

Final Thoughts

The Green Hornet was littered with all the ironic quirks and parodies seen in previously like-minded films such as Kick Ass and Mystery Men. However, it lacked two key elements which made those films enjoyable, namely some heart and (heaven forbid) some humour. Seth Rogen was presented a chance to prove he was more than the hapless goof we've been subjected to, in recent years, but failed to make the most of it. Hopefully the other superhero film, with Green in its title, will fare a bit better later in the year...

2/5

The Green Hornet is in cinemas everywhere now.

Black Swan - Review

The first film I ever, properly, reviewed on theFILMblog was Darren Aronofsky's moving drama, The Wrestler. So upon my two year anniversary of doing this self-made job, it's perhaps fitting the film which marks the occasion is the review, is his follow-up. The dark and mysterious macabre thriller, Black Swan.

Darren Aronofsky has been known, infamously, for twisting the minds of cinema goers with art-house hits such as Pi, The Fountain and Requiem for a Dream. So, whenever the director released The Wrestler in 2009 he defied expectation for the film's relatively straightforward narrative. Through The Wrestler he added a new element to his film-making, an ability to touch the souls of his audience with a heart-wrenching portrayal from Mickey Rourke. In Black Swan he attempts to combined the mind-bending elements of his earlier films with those newly discovered personal nuances to create something new entirely, something very strange and very unique.

The film tells the tale of uptight ballet dancer, Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman) as she prepares herself for the leading role of a lifetime as the Swan Queen in, perhaps, the only ballet even people who are ignorant to the art-form would know of, Swan Lake. As she strives herself to the complete performance, she descends deeper and deeper into her own psychological wilderness, quickly losing grip with reality entirely.

Natalie Portman truly gives the performance of her career, under the director's guide. Nina's tentative nature makes for frustrating viewing, while this strangely dark, psychological, sexual exploration finds herself in, as the film progresses, makes for utterly compelling cinema the likes not seen in such a mainstream film for some time.

The dark forces willing Nina on, in the form of ballet head, Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel) and her seductive and curiously free spirited colleague, Lily (an excellent, Mila Kunis), add to this detached drama. While Winona Ryder was quite terrifying in the role of Beth, the overly bitter, ageing, leading dancer Portman replaces and the near institutional Barbara Hershey invoked a suffocating mother, not entirely out of place, from one of David Lynch's cinematic odysseys.

The film's duality themes are open to many interpretations. Perhaps the path to hell, lust and total ambition being paved with the purest of intentions of working hard, striving for perfection, trying to be a nice person? As a man I found the experience totally gripping and even at times quite sensual. I would be really fascinated to hear a woman's opinion on the film though (comments welcome below please ladies) as I imagine it would conjure different points of view on the main character's personal demons. The near brutal strives towards total perfection play true to the only other ballet centric film I've seen, the 1948 classic, The Red Shoes albeit not nearly to this level of sheer horror.

The deeply tragic and almost operatic nature of the film's narrative is amplified, profusely, by the grand, virtuoso elegance of Clint Mansell's astonishing score - especially in the film's incredible climax. Which, even on its own, is a beautiful piece of standalone classical music, combining beautifully as a companion to Tchailovsky's original score, for the Swan Lake ballet.

Final Thoughts

Darren Aronofsky excels himself once again with a piece of high end cinematic art, like nothing he has ever truly produced before - which is something, considering I'm still trying to figure out The Fountain. Black Swan is a film of two halves in the most sincerely literal sense, it's progress from being shy and playfully imaginative to intensely dark and even quite uncomfortable. Like the ballet, the film sets itself around, it was never going to be happy ending. Incredible.

5/5

Black Swan is in cinemas throughout the UK from January 21st 2010.

127 Hours - Review

Anyone with even a slight interest in film, or even current affairs, will know what Danny Boyle's latest film, 127 Hours is about long before they've settled themselves in the cinema. Furthermore if you know what it's about, then you'll know already know about that particular scene. However if you prefer to be kept in the dark about such matters, 127 Hours tells the true story of adrenaline junkie, Aaron Ralston, as he finds himself trapped in an isolated cavern, located in Canyonlands National Park, Utah.

Admittedly I wasn't overly enamoured by the idea of sitting in a cinema watching a man struggle between life and death for 90 minutes before the inevitable conclusion the film leads us to. I'm not squeamish, it just isn't my idea of a pleasant afternoon out, or in front of the television. However, the film takes this rather straight forward story and creates something of a personal odyssey of Ralston's soul - highlighting the mistakes and flaws of his past which he eventually feels he needs to rectify, by any means necessary. The real man himself, in the years after, described the whole event about how he didn't lost a hand, but gained his life back.

James Franco has progressed leaps and bounds since his early days appearing as Peter Parker's troubled chum in the Spider-Man films, taking on all kinds of different roles, and coming out all the better for it, transforming himself into one of Hollywood's genuine leading men of this generation.

With 127 Hours he continues this streak of great performances with the touching portrayal of Aaron Ralston, not necessarily coming across like a bad person pre-amputation, but certainly emerging as a new man after. His performance carried the audience through every emotion imaginable, often tragic, desperate, comedic and even uplifting, which is quite remarkable considering he lead most of the film, on his own, in such a confined space - slightly reminiscent of Ryan Reynolds in last year's stripped down minimalistic thriller, Buried.

Visually, as Rolston starts to lose a slight grip on reality, the film takes us through some truly strange and trippy imagery, often teasing that the character might be saved or, quite the opposite, die there alone without so much as a whimper. Of course, the main talking point of 127 Hours is the infamous amputation scene, and it's as hard-hitting and uncomfortable as initial reports have suggests. However, to Danny Boyle's credit he does execute it (poor wording?) with a degree of elegance and integrity, which doesn't lower the tone of the whole film.

Once you get over the first tentative sounds of bones breaking - which I personally thought was worse than the slicing of the arm - just switch off the mind and let yourself be carried by the emotional roller-coaster that ensues from there on, as it makes for some truly remarkable cinema, enhanced even more by the sounds of Sigur Ros. Yes I admit, the tears were flowing and the heart was left feeling toasty warm.

Final Thoughts

127 Hours has all the ingredients for award-winning success; another excellent leading performance from James Franco, an original approach, beautiful direction and epic camera-work from Danny Boyle as well as intensely provocative themes which test the true perseverance of the human soul. Truly remarkable cinema, but unfortunately I'm not sure if I could handle watching it again for a long time after.

4/5

127 Hours is in cinemas everywhere now.

The Next Three Days - Review

You never quite know what you're going to get when sitting down to a new Russell Crowe film. Like him or (as most seemingly do) loathe him, his CV does contain a reasonable amount of diversity from the enjoyable cheesy 'historical' epics such as Gladiator, Master and Commander and Robin Hood to more measured dramas like A Beautiful Mind and Cinderella Man, not to mention, a personal old favourite, long before Edward Norton made such films in vogue,his infamous breakout piece, Romper Stomper.

For his latest venture he's teamed up with Crash director and Bond rejuvenator, Paul Haggis, for the tense thriller, The Next Three Days. Based on the 2008 French film, Anything for Her, the film tells the story of a man who (Crowe) will go to great lengths to free his wife (Elizabeth Banks) from prison, after being convicted for a murder he, profusely, believes she didn't commit - despite the evidence being heavily stacked against her.

For lack of real exposure - during a frantic period of Oscar campaign from most studios - in the lead up to the film's release, I admittedly wasn't expecting a great deal, but was pleasantly surprised with the results. It combines elements seen in classic 'whodunit' capers such as The Fugitive and injects a modern grittiness seen in films like last year's brilliant Ben Affleck film, The Town and coming across slightly like a toned down companion to 2009's ridiculously flamboyant, Law Abiding Citizen.

Russell Crowe's portrayal of conflicted husband, John Brennan was a strangely fascinating one. You would be quite right in thinking he's an irrational loon, but he does it in such a sympathetic and humanistic way, it's hard not to feel for the position he's in. Unbeknownst to all his family and friends around him, he desperately plunges himself into the depths of the criminal underworld to know everything, he needs to know, about breaking out of prison. Elizabeth Banks meanwhile has come a long way from her days of making cameo appearances in Scrubs and glorified walk-on parts in the first three Spider-Man films, and all the better for it, a tremendously likable actress who keeps you guessing of her innocent right to the film's slightly sombre closing moments.

The most remarkable, and seemingly most undersold, element of the film was the oodles of quality and star-power littered in the supporting performances. Liam Neeson's role in the film, though limited to essentially one scene, was hugely significant to the story, as the street-wise ex-convict, turned author who had previously broken out of prison on numerous occasions. While 2011's hottest new leading lady, Olivia Wilde just added an extra level of gravitas and eye-candy to a character that would've been totally passable otherwise. Other honourable mentions include the excellent Lennie James - seen in last month's critically hailed and fanboy panned AMC drama, The Walking Dead, and most remembered by me, his role in Guy Ritchie's Snatch - as well as the often overlooked Brian Dennehy as Crowe's estranged but compassionate father.

Most impressively, Haggis did a tremendous job of instilling a degree of realism to such an outlandish plot. This wasn't the tale of a simple college lecturer who suddenly turned into a ruthless, prison breaking, schemer overnight, this was a world completely alien to what he previously knew and makes a lot of genuine mistakes along the way. Haggis also very regularly takes a break from the tense pace to remind the leading character of the rock and the hard place he so often finds himself in; be an attentive father to his socially troubled seven year old or trying to never give up hope on his incarcerated wife? Quite tragic in truth.

If I had to be overly critical, I would say the suggestive intensity of the film's title is grossly misleading, as the time scale of the film is a bit longer than one would assume. The film also lost some of its edge and emotional impact with a happier, 'Hollywood' ending than I would have imagined but nevertheless found myself being completely satisfied upon leaving the cinema.

Final Thoughts

The Next Three Days is as tense and gritty as it is emotional and humanly flawed. An extremely enjoyable thriller with terrific performances from Crowe, Banks, Neeson and co, which makes its hefty running-time not feel like an overly taxing one. Just don't be fooled kids, takes more than three days to plan a prison break, and this film knows it.

4/5

The Next Three Days is in cinemas now.

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives - Review

If Uncle Boonmee had been no more than an Asian animated film, then it may have passed most audiences and critics by unnoticed, with a lot of its outlandish imagery and playful dialogue certainly not out of place sitting next to a Hayao Miyazaki film for Studio Ghibli. However, because it was live action it resulted in one of the most imaginative and visually captivating films of recent memory - which includes peculiar primate creatures, with glowing red eyes and seductive, talking catfish (seriously...).

Having swooned everyone at the Cannes Film Festival last year, picking up the coveted Palm d'Or, Uncle Boonmee tells the beautiful tale of a man's final few days as he's visited by the ghosts of his past and encounters some genuinely strange out of body experiences. With warm and vivid camera work the film is a life enriching fantasy which is, at times, disorientating but ultimately very rewarding. Its opening scene involving the camera following the movements of a lost bull with a mysterious stranger watching in the background is certainly one of the most striking and abstract scenes I've witnessed in a film for quite sometime.

I won't even pretend to know anything about the actors featured in the films - says more about my Western ignorance than it does about the actors' profiles, let me assure you - but the performance of Thanapat Saisaymar as the title character was simply glorious. Not a twisted bitter old man cursing his illness and fearing the unknown but an admirable and reflective soul who accepts his aliment and soughs to gain more understanding, with the help of his deceased son and wife, into why perhaps this had came to be.

This isn't to say the film will be for everyone, as more casual cinema goers may be turned off by the long, slow burning scenes with very minimal dialogue, and may get lost in some of the more mystifying and spiritual aspects of the narrative. Similar in approach to last month's excellent Of Gods and Men, the film relies on the natural sounds of the characters' surroundings rather than a specific score carried throughout the film, which gives the story a far more serene and peaceful atmosphere.

Still being a relative novice to the remarkable array of world cinema on offer, I ashamed to say this is my first experience of director, Apichatpong Weerasethakul's work but would certainly hope it is not my last.

Final Thoughts

Bewildering, humorous, fantastical, heart-warming and truly imaginative. Uncle Boonmee is all this and more. Apichatpong Weerasethakul does a beautiful job creating a magical piece of cinema which utilises many classical techniques arguably lost in the modern era, and over time the world will be all the more grateful for it. Though not the most accessible film ever likely to be released, like an ancient folk fairy tale, the story will undoubtedly become a more enriching experience upon more viewings and greater understanding.

4/5

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives is currently showing in Belfast's Queen's Film Theatre now.

Waking Sleeping Beauty - Review

Watching Waking Sleeping Beauty was a deeply personal and emotional experience for me. Not just for my, now infamous, love for Walt Disney Studios and all the wonderful films associated with it, but because the documentary centred on a collection of Disney animated features which came out for the first time when I was a child such as, Basil The Great Mouse Detective, The Little Mermaid, The Rescuers Down Under, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and The Lion King.

Narrated by one of Disney's leading producers, Don Hahn, the film tells the surprisingly chaotic and troubled story of the inner workings and petty politics of Disney during this time of unimaginable commercial success. Having been stuck in an, arguable, rut with features such as The Fox and The Hound and The Black Cauldron flopping at the box office, as well as creative guru Don Bluth shooting off and making his own studio, the 1980s sparked major change within the company.

Through using only archived footage and reflective audio commentary (which is slightly unusual for this medium), the documentary was an utterly fascinating insight and gives these treasured animated features a new found perspective for film enthusiasts, such as myself. Early on, once Michael Eisner, Jeffery Katzenberg and Frank Wells took over there was much dismay and conflict which raged between the corporate end of Disney and the creative, with the countless animators and writers fearing they would be the first to go in a huge shake-up of the company.

The journey was, at times, harsh and painful with the animation studio being beaten until its last breath, from being moved off site, being outdone by Don Bluth's first two - admittedly excellent - features, to being shone up by the first Care Bears movie (a guilty pleasure of mine from childhood I won't lie...). Then suddenly Oliver and Company was made, which wasn't brilliant, but hardly awful and interest peaked slightly. Thankfully the film that came afterwards brought the company back and was something of a masterpiece, The Little Mermaid.

Michael Eisner, Jeffery Katzenberg and Frank Wells came across rather poorly for the most part, especially as their inner boardroom conflicts started to spill out into the public eye. While it was humorous to see the creative likes of Ron Clements, John Muskers, Kirk Wise, Gary Trousdale as eager upstarts, wanting to mark their mark on the studio. While there was faint smiles seeing, now, titans of the industry in their early days such as, arguably, the closest modern day equivalent to Walt Disney himself, John Lasseter or the little troubled strange kid in the corner, one Mr Tim Burton.

There was also a deeply emotional core to the telling of this documentary, none more prevalent than in the memories shared on the great and, unfortunately, late Howard Ashman - one half of Disney's creative duo who made some of the most memorable musical number in modern film history. Ashman's last moments as he lay dying in his hospital bed, and his musical partner, Alan Menken said: "Beauty and the Beast is a huge success, who would have thought it?" and Ashman reportedly whispering, "I would have," was particularly heart-wrenching. Regrettably the man didn't live to see the film finished.

Though he died long before this era bloomed into what we all remember it as, the presence of Walt Disney himself loomed over the film constantly like a controlling old father still influencing his children's actions from beyond the grave and the memory of him varied from person to person. Low-level animators treasured his memory like some mythical godlike figure, while his nephew Roy E. Disney seemed to fear straying too far from his uncle's original vision while the new members to the boardroom attempted to change Walt Disney Studio - for better or worse - into something perhaps even Walt would have never thought possible.

Final Thoughts

Waking Sleeping Beauty is an absorbing and essential documentary for anyone with a passionate interest in Walt Disney Studios, animation or just the film industry in general. Regardless of the convoluted and bitter workings of the company during this prosperous time, Waking Sleeping Beauty serves as a reminder to how a lot of untrusted and inexperienced people brought a magic kingdom back from the brink, which resulted in a collection of some of the greatest films (not just animated) ever seen on the big screen. Wonderful.

4.5/5

Waking Sleeping Beauty is not out in UK cinemas any time soon. Nor is it even available on Region 2 DVD. However I implore everyone to see this film by whatever means possible. Totally worth it.