Film Flare

Film Flare's Film Diary 2013/27

Well in case your date keeping devices are all broken due to some atmospheric EMP burst or summit', it's clear to all and sundry that today's FFFD is coming out on a Wednesday. 

 

Try not to faint.

 

The Incredibles (2004)

 

Proof if proof be needed that Pixar know how to make some amazing films!

Director Brad Bird at this time had only really acted as creative consultant for the first eight seasons of the Simpsons before directing his first feature film, the beautiful The Iron Giant. After joining Pixar, his first feature that he both wrote and directed was The Incredibles.

 

It ranked easily amongst one of my favourite films. Not only is it one of the finest Pixar films (among quite a catalogue), but one of the best superhero films ever. The film's success can be attributed to two main reasons.

The first is that whilst the film is a superhero film, like all great superhero films it focuses on the people behind the powers and in the Parr family, you find a family suffering so much from the mundane everyday that the rediscovery of them being superheroes is fantastic. It's not too many films that deals with marital dysfunction and midlife crisis as well as a level of philosophical angst. However, the film is never too serious or distressing for children. Whilst it is more dark in tone than many other animated films, the film still at its core is an animated action film.

The second is that it is really very mature for an animated feature film. The villains not only try to actually kill children but the whole premise of the film implies that whilst you can be a genius, there will just always be 'supers', people who are just better than you regardless. Brad Bird made a decision to have the villains very willing to harm the children as a reaction to the normal cartoon fluff where the villains are crippled by the fact that they will never harm children. The decision certainly initially shocks in the film.

 

It's also a pretty funny film. Samuel L. Jackson as Frozone has some really really good lines (and super classic scene!), Mr and Mrs Parr (Craig T Nelson and Holly Hunter) really imbue the characters both with the sense of dashing heroism but also resignation, it's a very nice piece of voice casting. Jason Lee as Syndrome carries across a surprising amoung of anger and whilst you don't agree with the character, the circumstances of him becoming so villainous are really nicely done. I also just realised that the director, Brad Bird, also voiced fashion/suit designed Edna Mode, easily one of the stand out characters of the film despite a minor appearance.

 

So all in all, a great film. Not just a great animated film, but a great film period. It is still one of the best films to suitably explore the people behind the costumes whilst still providing a hugely entertaining film. The darker tone and threats of violence may come as a shock even after watching other Pixar films but it fits the darker and more mature tone of the film. Not just for the kids, this film is just amazing!

 

Trailer:

  

2 Guns Review

 

Well this was a surprise.

After being grabbed by the trailer and its use of the really, really good Ed Sheeran/Devlin version of All Along The Watchtower, I had an urge to go see this film.

 

And I was expecting something mediocre, not great. A standard action comedy film.

And I was surprised.

 

This film was a tightly made, stylish action film. It's also really funny, mainly thanks to both a crackling script by Blake Masters and the superb interaction between stars Mark Wahlberg and Denzel Washington.

The film is by no means perfect though, let's start with a negatives.

 

The plot:

The twisty, turny, everyone could be a villain type film has been done before and it's been done better. It's no shock to learn that the action comes before the plot of this film. Whilst it does make sense, it's hard to keep track of as the film moves at a whip crack pace.

 

Original Ideas:

The film doesn't tread any new ground or try to bring anything new to the genre. The action/crime film is a well worn one and this film could cynically be seen as simply throwing together a crazy white guy (Walhberg) and a smooth black guy (Washington) like many films (e.g Lethal Weapon) have done before.

 

The females:

I like Paula Patton. I really do. She's capable of being not only a good actress but a great female action star (see Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol for point 2). In this film however, she is given surprisingly little to do. Her character appears in a lot of scenes and she has quite a few lines but the character never has any weight behind her. She's there as almost nothing other than a plot device rather than a fleshed out character.

 

But those are literally the only complaints I can raise against this film. The rest of the review is waxing fantastic about the great points of the film, which far outnumber the negatives.

 

The script:

It's super slick.  The dialogue between the two leads is some of the best I've heard for ages. It crackles along, aided by the great acting which I'll move onto shortly. Besides the two leads, the male peripheral characters are great too. I've never seen Bill Paxton do menacing so well, seriously. His character has a single mindedness and a methodology which seems brutally at odds with the comedic side of the film. Edward James Olmos brings a lot more to a thinly written character than you would expect, his character has a weary, exhausted edge to him. James Marsden is also great as a slimy navy officer.

 

The lead actors:

Wahberg and Denzel have such good fun together and the film pushes hard to get as much fun and comedy out of the two of them as possible as there isn't much comedy found anywhere else in the film. They work so well off each other that you really want to see them partner up in another film.

 

The feel:

The film feels great. The action is wonderfully shot, not quite as poetic or balletic as John Woo or Antoine Fuqua but it's incredible to watch. The action scenes have a gritty nature behind the flashy look which means that it's not all slow motion gunplay without the threat to make you care.

The film looks great as well. The scenes in Mexico in particular almost make you rub the back of your neck. It looks so dry, dusty, prickly. It's really quite well done. The colours in the film are very brown, grey or gold, there's very little bright colour in the film. 

 

I've heard reviews saying the film is jarringly violent. 

The film is violent, yes. There is a moderate level of gruesome violence on the screen which is at odds with the comedy/action side of the film but it's never 'too much' violence, usually in short, sharp jabs. It never lingers. To the credit of the film makers, the film straddles the line quite well. I laughed so hard at a lot of the screen and winced at others and never once did I feel it had gone too far comedy or too far violence. 

 

I really liked this film. I wasn't expecting much and I got much more than I thought I would.

 

Trailer:

 

 

The World's End review (No spoilers)

Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Edgar Wright set our screens on fire back in 1999 with lo-budget super comedy program Spaced. Two seasons of that comedy gold later and we had to wait until 2004 for the release of seminal horror/comedy/romantic/zombie film Shaun of the Dead. Soon this was followed up by the second film Hot Fuzz, released in 2007. 

The two films shared many cast members, director and producer Nina Park (who also helped produce Spaced). During promotions for Hot Fuzz, it was pointed out that Shaun of the Dead featured a strawberry Cornetto (to signify the blood) and Hot Fuzz had a blue original cornetto, mirroring the blue of the police. So the Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy was born.

 

So we now have the final part. Mint Cornetto (green to signify aliens) aka, The World's End.

 

 

This is a funny film.

The question on (almost) everyone's lips is how it compares with Shaun and Hot Fuzz and I'll get onto that shortly. But first:

The film is a really quick, funny, action packed science fiction film that throws in a healthy amount of social satire. The main cast of Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), Paddy Considine (who I last saw in grim, revenge-a-thon Dead Man's Shoes) and Eddie Marsan (who I last saw being creepy as all hell in grim film, Tyrannosaur) are all excellent and are very good to playing seperate roles within the group. Eddie Marsan in particular has some really good scenes and stands out here.

The character played by Simon Pegg is one of the reasons why I don't find the film as funny as Hot Fuzz or Shaun of the Dead, but instead more tragic. In Shaun and Fuzz, his character is flawed but lovable, capable of growing and redemption. In The World's End, he is just pathetic. And instead of the film really breaking this character down, it kind of celebrates in his stupidity. He does have a lovable, emotional side which comes out every now and then but it's much harder to see this because the character is such a tit. However, it does show off actually how capable Simon Pegg is at being an actor beyond comedic roles. If you remove the jokes from the script, the character would be a truly tragic figure and Simon Pegg plays it very well.

Certainly the film has plenty of action, really good action. Mostly involving pubs. The robots as the villains  are fantastic and creepy until the explanation for them being there is explained. It's just not as robust as even the solution to the murders in Hot Fuzz. 

Edgar Wright's direction is on the ball for this film. Employing some of the camera techniques and music used waaaaay back in Spaced made me smile so much, but it's clear he's grown as a director, both from directing Shaun and H.F (Hot Fuzz, durr!) as well as Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. The film has a fantastic look to it, a great feel and whilst there is CGI, it's never for the sake of gratuity. The films deftly handles both quieter moments and the louder, faster, more action packed scenes and on a personal level, it'll be super hot seeing Edgar Wright and his direction of the upcoming Ant Man film.

I really liked this film. But for me, it didn't quite stand up to the insanely brilliant Shaun of the Dead and almost as brilliant Hot Fuzz. It's a worthy end to one of the most genre spanning trilogies of recent times. By the time the credits roll, you'll feel super satisfied. Again, on a personal note, I heavily appreciated the use of Sisters of Mercy "This Corrosion" in the film.

 

Trailer:

 

Film Flare's Film Diary 2013/26

Hey everyone.

I've got a busy old week of writing up ahead, what with my reviews for The World's End and 2 Guns to get out in the next few days. 

With this in mind. It's just a one film show tonight.

 

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994)

 

 

Alongside The Mask, this film is seen as being the start of Jim Carrey's rise from elastic faced, crazy stand up comic to elastic faced, crazy film star. To be fair, compared with The Mask, this is weak sauce.

There are a few quality jokes and Carrey himself is so manic, hyperactive and trying so hard to make the audience laugh that inevitably, some of the jokes land but it's a really, really poor conversion rate. 

The general story involves Ace Ventura who is, as the title implies, a pet detective. He gets hired because someone has stolen the Miami Dolphin's dolphin and they need him back before superbowl. This is an unusual film because something like The Naked Gun is far, far better. Sure, Leslie Nielson is trying too hard to make you laugh and the jokes aren't clever but it's a far, far funnier film.

It's odd because the film tries so hard to make Carrey the star, no other character is even trying to be funny so it makes Carrey's brutally over the top comedy just outlandish because no one else seems to be in on the joke. At least in The Mask, the over the top antics are explained by tricker gods and whatnot, in Ace Ventura, he just is like that. There's no explanation, no reason, it's just him. 

 

Ace Ventura is just not too great. Even though I was in the mood for a juvenile comedy film, it still didn't hit the spot. It disappointed me.

I am disappointed. Watch The Mask instead. Of Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, the superior and funnier sequel. And even that film hits a seriously bum note about two thirds of the way through. In fact, if you want to see Jim Carrey actually being funny, just watch some of his comedy. 

 

Trailer:

 

Film Flare's Film Diary 2013/25

Good morning.

Sorry for the delay.

 

For this FFFD entry, I watched the X-Men trilogy. But not X-Men Origins Wolverine...for obvious reasons.

 

X-Men (2000)

 

This film almost set off the post 2000 Superhero film craze by itself and it's not hard to see why. From the unexpected starting point of the Holocaust to a cast including Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart, these kind of superhero films banish the memories of the cheesy action-entric Superhero films of the 90s (Spawn, Blade, Judge Dredd).

So you have the famous comic book story finally appearing on the big screen and it's Hugh Jackman as Wolverine who steals the show. His charisma, visual appear and character is by far the most interesting of all the mutants who appear on screen and it is his character that most goes through a narrative 'arc', neatly ending up in place for a sequel (which I'll move onto later).

Ian McKellan is a joy to watch, bringing a sobering intensity to a villain single mindedly bent on the death of humans. Despite this, the character (aided by McKellan's stellar acting) is much more than a single minded entity. Patrick Stewart is equally as intense as Prof. Charles Xavier, the head of the X-Men and the father figure to the mutants in his school. There is also Anna Paquin as Rogue, a great role well played. She is a fragile as you'd expect someone in her position to be and seems to be the one mutant on the screen in fear of her powers. Famke Janssen's Jean Grey is the love interest for Hugh Jackman and her character is given enough to do to make sure she isn't just eye candy for the audience.

Unfortunately, given that the film sets up a whole mutant filled universe and already has several great characters to flesh out, the rest of the mutants end up being little more than window dressing. Rebecca Romijn Stamos has some of the finest body makeup I've seen and her character is by far the most useful on display. Halle Berry has pretty much nothing to do apart from going milky eyed before doing some weather stuff. Cyclops is merely the alpha counter to Wolverine. Sabretooth and Toad are henchmen who happen to have super powers.

The story isn't too twisty and turny but provides danger and spectacle. The film must also be commended for not drowning the story in pseudo-science and exposition about mutants. Instead, it merely shows that mutants are among us and deals with the political, moral and scientific problems that this brings.

 

It's not the best of superhero films. It'll be dwarfed in scale in a few years time by Sam Raimi's Spiderman. But it's a really cool film and gives a great sense of achievement in creating a film that sounds of silly being executed so well.

However, it is peanuts in comparison with X2. Which I'll move onto shortly.

 

Trailer:

 

 

X2 (2003)

Now THIS is how to you do a sequel.

You take the ensemble cast from the first film, add several new, well written characters to expand the roster. You up the ante, increase the action and the quality of the action scenes. You somehow (god knows how) give almost every character at least one 'moment' for surprisingly deep character development and you have yourself one of the finest superhero sequels of all time.

 

So let's start at the beginning. Nightcrawler's attack on the White House.

Wow! Wow wow wow! It is stunning. A perfect example of how you can make a deeply exciting CGI-filled action scene. Alan Cumming's role as Nightcrawler is actually one of the most undeveloped in the film, simply that he is found part way through the film and never really develops. The increased role of Bobby (Iceman) is great and his homecoming and his family is a really nicely done, personal and emotion scene. Pyro's addition and inevitable turning to Magneto's side isn't a shock, but it is nicely written how he feels like he's treated like a child and Magneto gives him the respect he craves. Lady Deathstrike is the simple hench woman role but she has a great fight with Wolverine. Rogue's confidence in her own powers has grown a little since the first film and less of the film's running time is spent on her than in X-Men.

In the first film, Magneto's powerful moment came during a stand off with some police. In this, it's his escape from his plastic prison. It is stunning! It is so good. The plot means that Magneto and Xavier start working towards a common goal and it's always nice to see each play off each other. Magneto's single minded attempts to turn things to his advantage is great too.

New character (to the film series), William Stryker is superbly played by Brian Cox. He's a mean man and given just the right level of fanaticism to be dangerous. It's a great role and it's nice to have a narrative that writes humans as the main villains. 

 

So yes, this film manages to juggle a huge ensemble cast with much more finesse than the first film, whilst increasing the stakes and scope of the film without losing touch with the well written, well acted characters. Oh, and it totally sets up a sequel.

 

A joyful film to watch.

 

Trailer:

 

 

X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)

 And this is where it all goes wrong....

 

Actually no. It doesn't. I remember walking out of the cinema having watched this film feeling really, really disappointed and I've not watched it since.

And you know what?

It's no where near as bad as I remember it being.

 

It's not on par with either X-Men or X2 but Bryan Singer had left the series to direct the shockingly shitty Superman Returns. So it was left to Brett Ratner and a budget of $210 million dollars to pick up the slack.

What you end up with is a hugely scoped CGI-driven action film that briefly touches on an awful lot of moral dilemmas that a stronger script would have had fun with but instead, they're barely glossed over. The idea is that scientists have discovered a cure for mutation.

Now X-Men has been seem as an allegory for a variety of minority groups and their role and treatment within society as a whole. So, thematically, a cure for mutation could have been treated as seriously as a cure of homosexuality, instead, the film doesn't plunge the potential depths of what ideas the script comes up with but instead focuses on action.

Most of that action is great. The final fight on Alcatraz is great as the X-Men work together in the first large scale mutant on mutant fight the series has seen. The tone of the film gets undermined a bit by Vinnie "I'm the Juggernaught, bitch" Jones and the jarring shift of Magneto and Mystique's relationship.

There are still some great moments in the film, however. Jean Grey and Xavier in the house is one in particular that stands out. All the main characters are present and accounted for but there is no real growth for them which means that disproportionate amounts of the film are taken up with the love triangle between Rogue, her boyfriend Bobby, and Kitty. This leads Rogue to try to get the cure but again, it's an underwritten dilemma. There are some new additions to the role call, Famke Janssen as Dark Phoenix has little to do other than smoulder and look confused.  The usually fantastic Ben Foster is criminally underwritten here too.

 

It's not a bad film, not like I remember it being. It tries to end the series with a bang and in doing so, loses touch of the greatest asset the film series has, its characters.

 

Trailer: