Every Secret Comes with a Price.

Film: The Debt
Year: 2010
Director: John Madden
Written by: Matthew Vaughn, Jane Goldman and Peter Straughan (based on the 2007 film 'Ha-Hov')
Starring: Helen Mirren, Tom Wilkinson, Ciarán Hinds, Jessica Chastain, Sam Worthington, Marton Csokas, Jesper Christensen, Romi Aboulafia. 
Running time: 113 min.

Right, the time has come: you may as well call me a hipster. I saw the original movie of The Debt, a small Israeli film made in 2007, before I saw the remake. I know, I made a choice so obscure that I should probably be wearing my hipster flag out and proud - but for now, I'd like to call it a good choice on my part by delving into the shallow waters of the preview drawer. Usually, there is just a flood of needlessly violent and cheaply gruesome horrors, or action movies starring Z-list 'actors'. At first, The Debt looked a little like that. But going in 'blind' led to some good results.

These results, though, were some that - dare I say - could have been improved on. I don't want to put anything indelicately, but better production values and a little more money could have turned a solid movie into an extremely good one. With a who's who of British screen-writing team (Matthew Vaughn, Jane Goldman and Peter Straughan), Shakespeare in Love director John Madden at the helm and a cast headlined by the always wonderful Helen Mirren, this remake is not one that we can dismiss as a 'copy-cat crap'. Trust me, I know - I'm a 'hipster'.

Reviews Round Up: The Tempest, The Trip, Trollhunter

I kinda stopped doing these 'reviews round ups' when I stopped reviewing every film I saw, but since I have run out on inspiration and movies that I can actually give a full review, here are my quick takes on The Tempest, The Trip and Trollhunter. A diverse range of movies, indeed.

The Tempest

Admittedly, I am quite the fan of Shakespeare. I am familiar with the large majority of his plays (I was quite the Shakespeare nerd when I was 13 years old). But one play I'm not quite familiar with is The Tempest, which I guess wasn't the best thing when I was watching this new version from Julie Taymor (Across the Universe). With her new vision on the story, she decided to change the lead character, Prospera, into a woman, with the great Dame Helen Mirren taking on the role. Now, many people love Mirren and would watch her do anything...but would anyone really watch, and love, The Tempest? This film is bizarre. And surprisingly, that has little to do with the already bizarre source material from Shakespeare. The film is bizarrely stagey. This is actually quite jarring because one minute, we have wondrous special effects that work particularly well in conveying the character of Ariel (Ben Whishaw), which feel right in the film. We also have an exquisite location that looks pretty damn unreal - also, a good thing to have in a film. But the way this film is shot and directed is so bizarrely stagey. Just the way the actors move around, and the camera doesn't make any effort to liven up the action...it just follows the actors, or it just sits there for extended amounts of time. Which is surprisingly extremely annoying, and definitely lets down the rest of the film. The acting is okay - pretty stagey - but okay. We all love Mirren, and she's pretty good. Felicity Jones is lovely, but this isn't really her film. I actually quite enjoyed watching Russell Brand and Alfred Molina play Trinculo and Stephano...they were rather entertaining. Djimon Honsou was pretty good, too, and his (Oscar-nominated) make-up was quite impressive. Otherwise, do yourself a favour and see this on the stage. If you can get to the Ralph Fiennes version that's going on at the moment, then that would be cool. This film version is just plain exasperating.

What I got:

The Trip

The opening movie at the New Zealand Film Festival made it's way into the preview drawer thanks to Madman. The Trip is a fabulous comedy starring both Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon, who are essentially playing themselves - but maybe they are fictional versions of themselves. I don't quite know what I was expecting from The Trip, as I only knew it had a little to do with the culinary adventures of Coogan and Brydon and it was directed by Michael Winterbottom, whose last film, The Killer Inside Me, was not one that I particularly liked. The Trip had surprisingly very little to do with the culinary adventures of the two. Yes, the basis of their week-long trip was to have Coogan go to several different restaurants to write about their food, with Brydon being his tag along. But what we get from their trip is a collection of conversations between the two and quite an insightful look into their lives that feels real. They talk and talk, Coogan often becoming impatient around Brydon, but they also worry about themselves as they're heading for mid-life crises...maybe Coogan is more upfront about it all. However, while The Trip is not the most engrossing film, it has some extremely funny moments, which are mainly the two impersonating several movie characters/actors (James Bond being one of them). The funniest moment is near the very beginning, where the two compare their Michael Caine impersonations. The duelling Michael Caine's is definitely one of the funniest things to hit the screens all year, and is worth the price of the ticket, or the rental, alone. That, and a pretty interesting and unflattering look at fame.

What I got:

TrollHunter

Dannevirke is a largely Scandinavian town, as back in the day when this place was a huge bush the Scandinavian settlers came here and made their village which turned into the place where I live today. About 10-20 minutes away from here, there is a town called Norsewood, which is a cute little town where a few of my friends live, and it is particularly proud about one thing: trolls. There used to be fake trolls everywhere, until people stole them because that's apparently what you do in Norsewood. So as a kid growing up in such a Scandinavian place with Norsewood being a prime spot for many class trips, I acquired quite the knowledge about the fictional creatures that are trolls. TrollHunter is a Norwegian film abotu trolls, which joins the ever-growing list of 'found footage' horrors which is both quite effective and too long...like most of it's kind. As a group of young 'uns try to make a documentary about some mysterious bear killings, they discover that trolls are indeed very real and they're out to get everyone that comes into their isolated area in Norway. It's all pretty exciting stuff, as the origins and the world of the trolls is explained in quite a bit of detail that I'm actually starting to wonder if maybe there are trolls in Norsewood and somebody is not telling us about them. However, like most of these 'found footage' horrors, it's clunky and far too long for it's own good. Yet, I think it's more effective than those bloody Paranormal Activity movies, in a weird, folklore sort of way.

What I got:

So, have you seen any of these movies? What did you think?

Reviews Round Up, Part 1: American Beauty, The Disappearance of Alice Creed, Red, The American

In the midst of my Classic Movie Marathon, I was still watching a lot of movies (thank you school holidays). Therefore, I have a lot to catch up on. So, sorry, long reviews fans, I'm just going to give some quick paragraph long reviews otherwise I'll never catch up, though you can expect a lengthy review on Thor coming veeeeery soon.

American Beauty

I was hoping to do a full length review on this one, but I kinda thought that since I’m incredibly late to the party and most people have seen it,  I won’t bother. I can’t really add much to what everyone else has said about the film over the past 12 years. I loved this movie. The performances, the script, the direction, everything. It just felt so real. Some people have pointed out that this film has aged so quickly since it was very ‘in the moment’ when it was released, but I didn’t have a problem with that. Sure, a few things have changed, but this film still captures the world of suburban boredom and discontent so well, and it does still seem quite relevant. Kevin Spacey was positively spectacular in the lead role, with his sarcastic and cynical outlook on life. Watching him with drama queen Annette Bening was great too, they really played the part of an unhappy marriage quite well. Thora Birch was also a believable teen, and one which I felt compelled to relate to in so many instances. Mena Suvari did a brilliant job as the popular dream girl, and I felt so happy once we found out the truth about this girl, because I know there are a lot of people like her. Alan Ball did a wonderful job with the script, using every trick in the book to convey a believable world. From this to the wonderful True Blood, I think he might just be my favourite person right now. Sam Mendes, too, did an exceptional job of directing, considering he made this so early in his career. This really hit the heights of modern film-making.

What I hoped for:

What I got:

The Disappearance of Alice Creed

2010 was really the year to release movies with minimal sets. Like Devil, 127 Hours and Buried. The Disappearance of Alice Creed, a British kidnapping thrilled set almost entirely in a run-down house, is every bit as good as the other movies. Sure, the film may go astray a few times, and it really loses some ground as the movie goes on, but I found it simply reeling with intensity. As the film goes on, it gets increasingly hard to watch, as it really throws you in the position of Alice in a small way. The dynamic between she, Vic and Danny was also very interesting, even though I felt that we found out the truth way to soon, leaving little to be desired for the rest of the film. In saying that, I was completely and utterly entertained throughout the whole thing, and despite it's many flaws, I just kept going with the flow happily. From start to finish, it was an enjoyable thrill ride with a truly haunting end. By far the greatest thing about the film was seeing Gemma Arterton finally in a role worthy of her talents. After seeing her dabble in that blockbuster business (Clash of the Titans, Prince of Persia), she gets down and dirty and seems to be at home when she is just being natural. I can't wait to see future projects with her in it similar to this one, though if a few people in high places see this, hopefully she'll get a bigger break.

What I hoped for:

What I got:

Red

I admit, I need to watch this one again. While I liked it, and thought it was quite funny, everyone in Dannevirke has been going absolutely nutters for it. And fair enough, I think this is just a little too high above my age group, since it's all about old peeps with their guns. But hey, Helen Mirren, shooting people? Now that makes for a good movie! I swear that woman can do anything! And when Helen Mirren is in a film, you know the class level goes up a bit. Though you could say that this movie is pretty classy, as it has one of the better casts of recent history. You take Bruce Willis, you give him a little bit to do, some downright cool action scenes and tell him to smile a few times. Then you get John Malkovich to play a complete nutso. And along comes Morgan Freeman, taking a break from being God or narrator in Alec Baldwin's dreams to kick some ass. Mary Louise Parker also comes for the ride as the confused girlfriend of old Willis, and she's fun, too. Oh, and Kiwi man Karl Urban continues his Hollywood rise being a guy who always looks angry. The cast do lift this a hell of a lot, and it's a really fun ride. If only more Hollywood action comedies could be a bit more like this.

What I hoped for:

What I got:

The American

I do like slow movies. As long as I have the willpower to really get into them and dissect all the hidden themes . Which usually takes me a couple of watches. The American is a damn slow movie. Yet, in all it's slowness, in all the minimal things that happen, you really get to just bask in the glory of beautiful cinematography. Jaw droppingly beautiful cinematography. And then you get to bask in the glory of a mostly silent, completely charmless George Clooney. It's hard, but there it is. The story is quite interesting, as it unfolds slowly. The set pieces and the various beautiful women are great to look at. Yeah, this movie is all about the aesthetics. If aesthetics are enough, then there is a 75% chance you'll love this movie. The ending is absolutely haunting. However, I do admit to succumbing to boredom while watching this movie, and definitely wasn't wowed by it at all. It wasn't anything special, it was just an incredibly stylish and stunning piece of cinema. It's not a movie, it's cinema. Which will be a little too hard for the mainstream audiences to grasp, but that's just the way it rolls, Holmes.

What I hoped for:

What I got:

DVD--The Last Station

or: War and Peace in marriage.

One word to sum it up: Dramatic.

Helen Mirren. How do I explain Helen Mirren? In 2006, she won an Oscar for her amazing performance in The Queen. Upon it's release, Hollywood started realizing that she was one of hottest people around...even though she was around 60 years old. Earlier this year, she got thrown into the Oscar race again for a small film called The Last Station, which was a British period film about the final year of writer Leo Tolstoy. If it wasn't for Dame Helen Mirren, I probably would have passed this on.

After almost fifty years of marriage, Sofya (Helen Mirren) – Leo Tolstoy's (Christopher Plummer) devoted wife, lover, muse and secretary – suddenly finds her world turned upside down. In the name of his newly created religion, the novelist has renounced his noble title, his property and even his family (including their 13 children) in favour of poverty, vegetarianism and celibacy. Sofya also discovers that Tolstoy's trusted disciple, Chertkov (Paul Giamatti) may have convinced her husband to change his will, leaving the rights to his iconic novels to the Russian people rather than his own family. Consumed by righteous outrage, Sofya fights fiercely for what she believes is rightfully hers. Into this minefield wanders Tolstoy's worshipful new assistant, the gullible Valentin (James McAvoy), who quickly becomes a pawn – first of the scheming Chertkov and then of the wounded, vengeful Sofya.

As promised, Helen Mirren delivers and makes this movie what it is. However, it's cast of brilliant British actors provide valuable support to her tour de force performance. Christopher Plummer has clearly studied his role of Leo Tolstoy, deserving his Oscar nomination for best supporting actor (though not quite as good as Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds). James McAvoy, who we haven't been seeing much of lately, gives a heartfelt yet very comedic performance, fitting for a young actor performing against such experienced stars like Mirren and Plummer. His wife, the lovely Anne-Marie Duff, last seen in Nowhere Boy, makes an appearance as the ungrateful daughter. She is definitely onto big things. Kerry Condon serves as a luminous love interest for McAvoy and their chemistry lights up the movie.

While it's premise sounds a little dramatic, The Last Station has some fine comedic moments which hels lighten the mood. Mirren and Plummer are a lovely married couple who have fair share of disagreements, making for a hilarious battle of the sexes reminiscent of early screwball comedies like Bringing Up Baby. It isn't a stuffy period piece, or the kind of historical drama you would expect. Instead, it's a charming romance story and a pretty funny movie. Even though the constant yelling and arguements get to be a bit tiresome, the performances got me through and I really enjoyed The Last Station. This is the perfect movie for a Saturday night in with a box of chocolates.

THE VERDICT: An enjoyable romp and comedic battle of the sexes, led by amazing performances from Oscar nominated Helen Mirren and Christopher Plummer.

7/10