Films I Saw In March

Crank 2: High Voltage (Neveldine/Taylor, 2009)

Utterly bonkers and extremely entertaining sequel to the surprisingly brilliant 2006 original. This time Chev Chelios (a hilarious Jason Statham) has his heart stolen by gangsters and has to run around LA causing havoc while recharging himself with high voltage currents. Like the first film, this is paced brilliantly at breakneck speed and creates so much fun in its carnage you almost feel guilty about it. In a way it’s more of the same, but it succeeds in re-creating what was so deliriously enjoyable about the first and if you liked that, then you will this too.




The Two Jakes (Jack Nicholson, 1990)
This long delayed sequel to Roman Polanski’s 1970’s masterpiece Chinatown is an incredibly boring and dull affair. Robert Towne, once again wrote the script and it has a number of good lines but the plot wanders around aimlessly and Jack proves himself to be no director. It goes on and on for two and a quarter hours and feels much longer, with very little actually happening. It’s wrong to compare it to its lofty predecessor, but by any standards this is an incredibly dull and pointless movie. It’s critical and commercial failure, along with deteriorating relations between Nicholson, Towne and the legendary producer Robert Evans killed off any chance of the planned third film, which on the basis of this, was probably a good thing.




My Neighbour Totoro (Hayao Miyazaki, 1988)
I actually saw this last month but forgot to add it, so here it is anyway. I’m pretty unfamiliar with the Studio Ghibli film (this is the second one I’ve seen after Spirited Away), but this is still a funny, whimsical and very strange film. Like the best children’s’ fiction it is actually fairly dark, with the kids struggling to cope with their mothers’ death along with the friendly titular spirit. The animation is superb with several memorable characters, particularly the giant bus-shaped cat, sticking in the mind.



An Englishman in New York (Richard Laxton, 2009)
Technically, this is a TV movie but I’ll write about it nonetheless. This, a long awaited sequel to the 1975 TV film The Naked Civil Servant, finds John Hurt reprising his classic role of gay icon Quentin Crisp as he moves to New York (bizarrely after the original series comes out!) and becomes a pundit/cultural commentator. The pacing isn’t as good as the original, and the plot centring about off the collar remarks Crisp made about AIDS is desperately contrived at times, but it’s still quite enjoyable and John Hurt is again outstanding as Crisp.




Altered States (Ken Russell, 1980)
A very, very strange sci-fi/body horror film from British enfant terrible director Russell. This finds William Hurt experimenting with various drugs and states of altered consciousness, while in the process hoping to discover if alternate realities are real, but in the process ends up devolving himself into an ape-man like creature. If you’re looking for an intelligent, thought provoking film, you’re in the wrong place…make no mistake this is a proper druggy/stoner film, completely loony with some excellent imagery and special effects, and very enjoyable. Leave your brain at the door and allow Russell’s box of tricks to delight you.




Drag Me to Hell (Sam Raimi, 2009)
Sam Raimi’s long awaited return to the horror genre is a fine retro style chiller packed with enough jumps and gross-out effects to keep those missing his earlier work happy. Alison Lohman is subjected to numerous perils and unpleasantries as she struggles to lift a curse placed on her by a vindictive gypsy. Drag Me to Hell pretty much knows what it is, and does it very well indeed. Shame there is no Bruce Campbell cameo though.




Outland (Peter Hyams, 1981)
Average, sci-fi in space (actually a re-imagining of High Noon) has intergalactic marshal Sean Connery battling evil corporate bosses at a mining station, trying to find help where there is none willing. The film is fairly diverting and has some good gross-out images of people exploding in space, but overall the action sequences are pretty standard and the whole thing basically rests on Connery’s own star power.

 Alice in Wonderland (Tim Burton, 2010)
The latest film from (the imagination of) Tim Burton is on the whole a rather disappointing affair. Adapting elements from two of Lewis Carrol's classic stories, his attempts to find a narrative instead of a series of strange happenings falls rather flat. It has some great imagery, and some of the casting is excellent (Stephen Fry voicing the Cheshire Cat and Alan Rickman as the Caterpillar especially), but overall the film lacks any kind of warmth or heart. Once again, I am yet to be convinced by the 3D effects and do not believe it is the 'future of cinema'.




Shutter Island (Martin Scorsese, 2010)
A slightly unusual film for Scorsese, but he proves to be well suited to the gothic horror Shutter Island. Di Caprio is effective as the traumatised detective investigating the disappearance of a patient in an island based mental hospital and becomes gradually paranoid and unsettled as time moves on. The 1954 setting adds additional cold war suspicions to the mix. It's a little too long, and at times the plot feels predictable, but overall this is a strange, offbeat Hollywood psychological horror film well worth seeing, and a pleasing little ditty for Scorsese after his recent award worthy epics.




Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (Alex Gibney, 2005)
Very engaging documentary from Oscar Winner Gibney. Although I find concepts of shares and stock market fraud largely incomprehensible, this is a very human story about greed and its consequences, well told with characters straight out of high drama. Indeed, they made a play about it!




Hellraiser (Clive Barker, 1987)
Another classic horror film I never got round to seeing until this month. Although the Cenobites have become fairly iconic, this is still a genuinely unsettling film with great special effects for this time and with an intelligent script. Not sure the sequels are supposed to add up to much, but overall I was impressed with this and surprised I had not seen it sooner.




Iron Man (Jon Favreau, 2008)
This passed me by on its original theatrical run, and have only just caught up with it on DVD. Of course, the reason this was so successful is the superb central performance from Downey who brings buckets of charm and humour to the role of Tony Stark; arms dealer turned superhero. Bridges and Paltrow are fine in the supporting roles, but the film succeeds mainly because of its engaging, funny script and Downey's effortless charisma. A fine blockbuster, I await the sequel eagerly.




Crazy Heart (Scott Cooper, 2009)
A fairly likable, if by the numbers story of a country singer (Bridges) down on his luck, drinking heavily, who gets a second chance at life. Nothing we haven't seen before then, the film is rather formulaic, though quite watchable. It gets a significant boost from a superb, Oscar Winning Jeff Bridges that goes some way to elevating an otherwise pedestrian story.




Fish Tank (Andrea Arnold, 2009)
Excellent British social drama, benefits greatly from newcomer Katie Jarvis' central performance about a teenage girl on an Essex council estate who forms an unhealthy association with her mothers' boyfriend (Michael Fassbender). The film is very grim at times, but is not without a sense of hope in the end. The performances are all outstanding, and the script and film as a whole is very believable.



Jennifer's Body (Karyn Kusama, 2009)
The adaptation of Diablo Cody's follow up screenplay to the Oscar Winning Juno is an altogether messy affair. Megan Fox, in the title role of the bitchy schoolgirl posessed by a man eating demon, proves once again that she can't act for shit, and does little else other than look great throughout. The film main fault is that it tries too hard to be a cool comedy indie flick, and a spiritual successor to Carrie and it doesn't achieve either. In short, Jennifer's Body is not as smart or as scary as it tries to be. Despite this, Diablo Cody's screenplay does have some good dialogue in it ("She's evil, not just high school evil!") and Amanda Seyfried is superb as Jennifer's geeky best friend.


FILM OF THE MONTH: Crank 2 - High Voltage