Films I Saw In April

Iron Man 2 (Jon Favreau, 2010)

The follow-up to the surprisingly brilliant and successful Iron Man film promises more of the same and delivers in spades. Downey Jr. of course, carries the film again and does it very well with heaps of charm and some great one-liners. The film also benefits greatly from the addition of Sam Rockwell as his rival Justin Hammer, who is also given some great lines and functions well as the desperate foil to the charismatic Tony Stark. The film does fall prey to the curse of comic adaptations in bringing in too many characters, although she looks great, Scarlett Johansson is a bit of a sideshow as Black Widow, and seemingly functions as a vehicle for a future spinoff. Likewise, Mickey Rourke, on excellent form, equipped with a Russian accent is rather underused as Whiplash. It's not quite as good as the first, but fans of that will definately not find Iron Man a disappointment. Note: this film has some of the most OTT sound effects I've ever heard. See it at a decent cinema and you'll see what I mean, a human fistfight between Favreau and a security guard sounds positively industrial.




Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (Werner Herzog, 2009)
Quite an unusual choice for Herzog to film: a remake of Abel Ferrara's controversial Harvey Keitel film, I’ve never seen the original so have no point of reference, but its hard to believe it could be better than this. Nicholas Cage, on something of a roll now after the superb Kick-Ass is on explosive film. I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen someone look so insanely wired in a film (think the “I’m going to take his face…off!” moment in Face/Off but he’s in that mode for the entire two hours). He carries this brilliantly messy film throughout as Herzog delivers a gripping and disturbing portrait of post-Katrina New Orleans. Val Kilmer appears as his partner but is a little under-used, but Eva Mendes is effective as his prostitute girlfriend. This film is not for everyone, but I thought it was absolutely brilliant and cements Cage’s recent comeback of sorts..




Michael Jackson's This It It (Kenny Ortega, 2009)
Assembled together from the rehearsal footage taken during the build-up to Jackson's o2 concerts, which of course never took place, what we are left with is a surprisingly full own concert film, that is actually surprisingly impressive. Despite, or perhaps because of Jacksons' heavily medicated state at the time he appears to be dynamic, never faltering and full of energy taking full control of the rehearsals and immersing himself in every aspect of the production. As a tribute to Jackson, 'This Is It', although very sentimental, is very effective painting the bizarre artist as a dedicated perfectionist. Whether he would have been able to do all fifty dates is one matter, but on the basis of this, it would have been a really good show and certainly better than the awful performance fellow 1958-er Madonna put in that I saw at the o2 last year. Anyhow, this is a film review...'This Is It' is a rather saccerine film, but fans of the King of Pop should rightly lap it up.




District 9 (Neill Blomkamp, 2009)
I thankfully didn't know much about this film other than it was about aliens and I was all the better for it. What I expected to be a dumb action film (nothing wrong there mind) turned out to be a thoughtful and intelligent sci fi thriller that packs a decent punch too. Newcomer Sharlto Copley is superb as the hapless office worker who runs afoul of aliens (known derogatorily as prawns) while leading the evacuation of their Cape Town ghetto. The special effects are believable and innovative, the acting is superb throughout, the script is thoughtful and the action thrilling. Highly recommended.



Robin Hood (Ridley Scott, 2010)
I was somewhat wrong-footed with this film; it is very much a prequel to the Robin Hood tale, showing you how he became an outlaw as opposed to narrating his 'robbing from the rich' exploits. Nevertheless, this is a very dark film to the point where it barely seems to have any life in it at all. There are some superb action sequences in 'Robin Hood' particularly at the beginning and the end, but in-between we are given nearly an hour twenty of exposition, and various meandering plotlines. The film was originally supposed to focus on the Sherriff of Nottingham (Matthew McFayden), now he is barely in the film, even as a villain. As a hero, Russell Crowe is not particularly likable and lacks the charisma and charm to be able to carry around the films stumbling middle act. The main problem here is the plodding storyline, and as always Ridley Scott has re-created middle age England very convincingly, but at 2h15m 'Robin Hood' sadly lacks the thrills to make you enjoy the film and charm to make you warm to it.




Up (Pete Docter, 2009)
The latest Pixar film is also one of the best and a worthy edition to their glorious library of modern classics. Unlike other Pixar films, 'Up' is not dominated by big name voices (Christopher Plummer is the biggest name here), the real star here is the touching story and breathtaking visuals. The story involves a kindly old man who attaches balloons to his house to fly to South America, and encounters a stray boy scout along the way, but that’s only part of the tale. I, like several of my friends found myself crying at various points throughout the film. All in all, up is exciting, enjoyable, moving, funny, sad, melancholic and optimistic. It's also absolutely brilliant. Watch it immediately.




Roger & Me (Michael Moore, 1989)
I fucking hate Michael Moore. He is arrogant, egotistical, deceptive and at heart, a total propagandist who is as unhelpful representative of the left as someone like Bill O'Reilly is to the right. Nevertheless, I have had a copy of his acclaimed debut 'Roger & Me' a film about the General Motors layoffs occurring in his hometown of Flint, Michigan. Despite my personal dislike of Moore, I actually found this film to be fairly decent; it gives Moore an opportunity to focus and not go sprawling out in all directions as he does in 'Bowling for Columbine' and the awful 'Farenheight 9/11', and he tells the story of his hometown with clarity and intelligence. Still, maybe it’s because I work for a big corporation myself, but it really pisses me off when Moore turns up at buildings expecting to see GM CEO Roger Smith without an appointment and looks really hurt when he's told he can't see him. I can't help but feel empathise with the security staff instead of this at times obnoxious filmmaker. Anyway, Roger & Me has clearly not made me change my mind about Michael Moore, but I can get over my dislike of him personally a little and his is definately the best film of his that I've seen.




Where In The World Is Osama Bin Laden? (Morgan Spurlock, 2008)
Spurlock's follow up to the brilliant 'Super Size Me' is, I'm afraid to say, hugely disappointing. The stated aim of the film (finding Bin Laden) is clearly the root of the problem, as he is obviously not going to locate him. Instead, he spends much of his time wandering around Arabic countries asking randoms if they have seen Bin Laden (which gets tiresome after a while) and then, while meeting ordinary people realises "Hey! They don't hate all Americans, just our government and they are normal people like you and me!” Spurlocks conclusions would make a sixth form student feel pre-school, and his attempts to work himself and his family into the 'plotline' come across as egotistical. Nevertheless, unlike Michael Moore, he is a likable enough fellow, who clearly can make a decent film providing he chooses the right subject.




Thirst (Park Chan Wook, 2009)
The latest film from the director of 'Oldboy' is yet another vampire film to add to the 2009 pile. Still, this may actually be the best of the bunch...'Thirst' is an offbeat, supposed black comedy about a Priest who becomes a vampire and seduces a young girl and gradually gives up his chaste life. The lead characters are compelling but the film is bogged down slightly by its running time. Nevertheless, it is quietly compelling and a offers a refreshing new perspective on the vampire myth.