Zero Dark Thirty (2012)

7.9/10

Quite frankly, I didn't even want to use you guys, with your dip and velcro and all your gear bullshit. I wanted to drop a bomb. But people didn't believe in this lead enough to drop a bomb. So they're using you guys as canaries. And, in theory, if Bin Laden isn't there, you can sneak away and no one will be the wiser. But Bin Laden is there. And you're going to kill him for me. 

So, I gotta give it to you straight. When it comes to films, I shall always be nothing but pure raw honesty. 'Zero Dark Thirty' exhausted me. Lest I be misunderstood, not because it wasn't good. No nothing of the sort. I shall be more explanatory.

Given the fact that Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker, Point Break) is not really my cup of tea, I went into this film rather biased. Not against it, but I was very cautious when I sat down to watch this film. 

Having soaring at the Academy Awards back in 2010, Kathryn Bigelow returns with another highly-packed war/political drama/thriller. This time, her muse is Jessica Chastain, who literally gives a kick-ass performance through the ashes and the dust of the Middle East.

The story line? The story is about Maya, a CIA operative whose first experience is in the interrogation of prisoners following the Al Qaeda attacks against the U.S. on the 11th September 2001. She is a reluctant participant in extreme duress applied to the detainees, but believes that the truth may only be obtained through such tactics. For several years, she is single-minded in her pursuit of leads to uncover the whereabouts of Al Qaeda's leader, Osama Bin Laden. Finally, in 2011, it appears that her work will pay off, and a U.S. Navy SEAL team is sent to kill or capture Bin Laden. But only Maya is confident Bin Laden is where she says he is.

Let's start from Jessica Chaistain (The Help, The Tree of Life). Brilliant actress. Undoubtedly she did a fantastic job in this film. An extremely hard role to pull through, a role that really did show that she pushed herself to the limits to deliver. But deliver she did. The role of Maya, is quite intricate; socially withdrawn, obsessive, workaholic, persistent to find the truth but strong enough to kick ass when she needs to. She does not stop to catch the man responsible for so many global deaths, for her own peace of mind and to serve and protect her ethical duties. Jessica Chastain really outdid herself with this performance giving the role the humanity and the obsessive mannerisms needed to portray Maya.

In the two and a half hours of this film, Kathryn Bigelow guides her audience through a whole decade up until the capture of Bin Laden. It is a very torturous journey I will tell you this much. But a journey none the less. I cannot really describe this film as war or anti-wear because it is neither. What I can say is that this film is about psychological strength through the most inhuman political environments; war-zone. 

Considering Bigelow's previous film commendations, and having won the Best Director and Best Picture in the 2010 Academy Awards, we expect a lot out of this film. Although she does grant us an inside into Maya's obsessive and persistent nature, she does not really give us the satisfaction when she finally manages to achieve what she had been fighting for, for the past decade. The film slacks off somewhere in the middle, it drives a very slow up-hill mode and  does not give that high speed energy that one would expect. 

I cannot say it disappoints entirely, as it does speaks of a monumentous event in American history (at least) but its filmic pace is slow-beat and un-escalated. 

Cinematography rolls high with the camera viewing the war through soldiers' eyes and through unsteadiness. The war-zone is not even pleasing for the filmic iris, as it is raw, with little sentiment and lots of inhumane violence. 

Summing up, this is a strong film. It may not keep all viewers satisfied or enthusiastic enough, but it had a sizzling plot-line, by screen writer Mark Boal (The Hurt Locker, In the Valley of Elah) and an even more dynamic performances. Do give it a go if you're brave enough and you would like to get a slight insight on how the Bin Laden campaign went down. 

Margin Call (2011)

Rating: 7.1/10

"There are three ways to make a living in this business: be first, be smarter, or cheat." 

I happened to stumble on this film whilst I was watching the Independent Film Spirit Awards 2012, when Zachary Quinto introduced this film as a collective work among the cast and crew and the effort it took for this project to take off.

Personally I went in with limited expectations, knowing that as an Indie film I should expect the new 'Wall Street' phenomenon. What it did intrigue me though it was indeed the collaborative work among the cast. A high profile swarm of actors such as Kevin Spacey, Demi Moore, Zachary Quinto, Penn Badgley, Simon Baker, Paul Bettany, Stanley Tucci and world-class thespian Jeremy Irons make for a challenging project to try to avoid not watching.

The story talks about a "respected financial company is downsizing and one of the victims is the risk management division head, who was working on a major analysis just when he was let go. His protégé completes the study late into the night and then frantically calls his colleagues in about the company's financial disaster he has discovered. What follows is a long night of panicked double checking and double dealing as the senior management prepare to do whatever it takes to mitigate the debacle to come even as the handful of conscientious comrades find themselves dragged along into the unethical abyss." (www.imdb.com)

The story may not be the most andrenaline-based story-line ever, but it possesses some features which extricate the talents of newly come actors, such as Zachary Quinto (Heroes, American Horror Story), who was also one of the producers of the film, and Penn Badgley (Gossip Girl).

The true element that elevates this film is the time-span of the story-line. Due to the fact that the plot takes place for about a time-span of about 12 hours, this film is very character-based, giving the viewer a variety of glimpses into the psyche and mannerisms of each character. Moments of quite desperation, of frantic realizations and shocking corruption.

Demi Moore's come back role, as the bitchy high-rank analyst is a well-sowed implentation to the story, as it gives you that realistic edge of the corporate high street of the man-made business of Manhattan and the limited room it has for a female partnership into a billion-dollar corporation.

With Kevin Spacey to a yet-again-selling-my-soul-to-the-devil-for-money this story takes on a different dynamic as to how and what a corporate head would feel in a very perplexing and corrupted situation.

This story makes it real if you let yourself think of the high-end stakes that were involved in a company like this at the beginning of the 2008 crisis. The direction albeit it plain and with no great gimmicks of glitz to offer, does present a more humane side of things into the character's background.

Albeit it very well advertised and with a solid effort to make its way into the Indie film line, this film will not offer so many thrills as one would expect, but a more of an in-depth aspect of what might have gone down to a number of companies out there during the economical crisis.

Watch it if you find an interest to see an aspect of the economical crisis of 2008.

Hope you enjoy the film!

Margin Call (2011)

Bridesmaids (2011)

Rating: 7.2/10

"'This is some classy sh-... [burp]' - 'Megan!' - 'I want to apologize. I'm not even confident on which end that came out of.'"

Many people believed that woman can't be ridiculously funny and cringeworthy-ngly hilarious. This myth was refuted by this year's raunching comedy written and co-produced by Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo and directed by Paul Feig but well-known Hollywood comedy director Judd Apatow gave his helping producing hand in this year's laughing-out-loud comedy.

Hence, 'Bridesmaids' was made.

Although it's not your typical chick flick type of comedy the quite common story goes like this:"Annie (Kristen Wiig), is a maid of honor whose life unravels as she leads her best friend, Lillian (Maya Rudolph), and a group of colorful bridesmaids (Rose Byrne, Melissa McCarthy, Wendi McLendon-Covey and Ellie Kemper) on a wild ride down the road to matrimony. Annie's life is a mess. But when she finds out her lifetime best friend is engaged, she simply must serve as Lillian's maid of honor. Though lovelorn and broke, Annie bluffs her way through the expensive and bizarre rituals. With one chance to get it perfect, she'll show Lillian and her bridesmaids just how far you'll go for someone you love." (www.imdb.com)

To be very objective, I will lay my cards wide open and simply say this film was not at all what I was expecting. This is not your typical rom-com type of film; then again not many films produce or directed by Judd Apatow are your typical american-comedies. They have a character and a sense of humour  of their own. This film for me was kind of embarrassingly funny, and what do I mean about that? I mean that this film was very realistic, almost none of the scenes felt like a make-belief, they had all those awkwardly funny moments that happen to almost everyone at one point in their life (whether you'd like to admit it or not) and at the end, albeit having a happy ending - as this is a comedy after all-, it did feel like a film with a lot of heart and brains.

Yes it was written from women, but this is not a film for women. It is a film about women, but not only for women. What Wiig and Mumolo managed to accomplish is a film that's real, with real life cringe-worthy moments, that when they happen you want to crawl up under your duvet covers and die and where life's expectations sometimes get the best of you.

In all honesty I can't promise that everyone out there will laugh at the awkward jokes and moments in the film, but I will guarantee you that you will sit down to watch a film that  did not have the guts to get made before. The vulgarity and the lewdness usually seem to be a male attribute, especially in films (i.e. look at 'The Hangover' which is a recent example of a male-drive comedy packed with vulgar jokes and profanities), and this film came to shatter all the urban legends and myths of having always the men being profane and rude on screen. 'Bridesmaids' was made I believe to show to people out there that 'yes, women can be also vulgar and rude and tough and as raunching as men can'.

The public opinion is torned whether one should hate or simply admire the brilliance of this film. I think that one should simply enjoy women being ordinary women. No more, no less.

Slapstick comedy = check
Rude jokes = check
Vulgar hilarious scenes = check
Embarrassingly funny real-life moments = check
Great expectations that go awry = check
Feeling all screwed up and lonely inside but no one seems to understand you = check
Disgusting toilet scenes = check
Casual promiscuous sex = check
Kissing at the ending = check (sorry for those who have not watched it yet - well, it's not a big shocker this one, it is a comedy after all)

So as you see, there's quite a few elements for a good entertainment here. This film will not stay in your selves for decades to come, but it will serve its purpose for a night in with your girls (and boys if any around).

Enjoy the film and let's hope that comedy will find its way back again!



   
Bridesmaid (2011)

The Iron Lady (2011)

Rating: 6.9/10

" It used to be about trying to do something. Now it's about trying to be someone."

'The Iron Lady' is a much talked about film these days; Having won the Academy Award for Best Actress with Meryl Streep this film has gone to be hailed as an anthem for the English's ex-ruler Margaret Thatcher.

As a political genre film this does not sets its basis only in with the politics factor. The film cleverly takes us on a journey to discover the unknown life of Margaret Thatcher, from the time she was a young lady till the time she became an old lady. Flashbacks were a must for the story, something which made the film quite rough around its edges. The non-linear narration was quite complex, thus leaving the audience at times perplexed and confused as to how they should feel for Streep's role.

Although the directing seems to be sailing with a smooth pacing, Phyllida  Lloyd does not fully succeed in her vision to make us fully sympathize or even understand the purpose of the film; whether we like the protagonist or not and what purpose did her life and actions served at the end. Albeit these minor flaws the film has a lot of emotional background, taking us slowly into the mentality of the Iron Lady and at the end releasing us into her world of hallucinations.

There's too little I can say for the real-life Iron Lady of the cinema though; whatever I put into words for Streep's acting would be pointless enough, as this actress never seems to fail in every portrayal she may give. In my opinion the Oscar was well deserved, not because of the girth and the humanity she brought into this role but because of the pieces she gave from her heart into Maggie Thatcher's character. You could feel her pain, her loss, her hallucinations, her long-forgotten glories, her strength, her ambition and her love for everything she may have tried to do. For Streep it wasn't just to portray the goodness in this character but to present her reality, with the good and the bad equally and in the end to let you decide on the qualities that this character deserves.

A wonderful achievement of the recreation of so many different decades would be in order for the costume designer, Simon Elliot (North & South TV Mini Series), who literally had an overwhelming task to achieve in his creation of the first lady in the English Cabinet. Superb production design.

And it would be a mishap on my behalf if I failed to mention the always breath-taking music score of Thomas Newman (American Beauty, Shawshank Redemption) who as always was not much appreciated for his astounding work. Truly a remarkable musical score.

And last but not least, it is only fair to mention Steep's co-star and brilliant....no brilliant's not too good enough of a word to describe this actor...the extraordinary Jim Broadbent. What a colossal performance each time this thespian gives. He truly is the modern embodiment of a thespian. Always carries his performance on screen with such ease. In the Iron Lady he was so carefree, so pious and willing to give an emotional portrayal of his relationship with Streep that it couldn't fail but move the viewer.

As a last thumbs up I would give to the young, and yet so far unknown, actress who portrayed Margaret Thatcher as a young lady, Alexandra Roach. In my opinion she is among the newly rising British actresses and would love to see more of her in the near future. She had the zeal and the stamina to portray such a crucial character and yet she did not fail.

The film as a whole does not say a lot, but the performances speak aloud. Watch it for the  brilliant acting and the production design and relish for a little while how it must have been for a lady of Thatcher's stature. Albeit many people suffered under her time of ruling, she did leave her political mark in the British people; restrain.


The Iron Lady (2011)

A Dangerous Method (2011)

Rating: 5.4/10

"Sometimes you have to do something unforgivable... just to be able to go on living."

It isn't often that I want to slander a period piece. Since they kind of are my cinematic vice, I find it hard to bad-mouth or give a negative review to a period drama piece. This time round though, the case was somewhat different.

'A Dangerous Method' "tells about the intense relationship between Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud gives birth to psychoanalysis."

All's well and good with the story-line, only we seem to see more of Carl Jung's character than sir Sigmund and the relationship between the two forefathers of psychoanalysis. We do however, see a lot of Carl Jung's ex-patient and mistress and how that relationship affected Jung into the depths of psychoanalysis.

I am a great fan of Michael Fassbender and Viggo Mortensen but this period drama was lacking chemistry between the protagonists as well as a stamina to follow up with the characters' story-line. In my opinion I believe the scripted lacked this emotional ground that could be built between these two men, thus leaving me emotional detached from their drama and their emotional journey. Since both the actors above have well proved in the past to be one of the best-in-depth actors in currently in the business, I expected a lot more from their performance, but instead got very little and a lot of jumble trying to follow where they were coming from.

Keira Knightley....Oh the never-ending battle of this actress's pouting. Indeed I do hold a bit of prejudice against this actress, since I have been watching her progress since she was 16 years old, and have yet to be impressed by her. With this film, she really did try to do the best she could, I could tell she struggled with her role, but in the end she did not again manage to exceed her yet-so-far acting abilities. She can do a lot better I think. She still needs more work in her craft, because a pretty corset and a bit of provocative nudity won't do. Keep on acting Keira.

All in all, story was a bit dull and mundane for my taste. Found it a bit hard to follow the characters and what their ultimate goal was. Had a couple of good scenes with Fassbender and his on-screen wife, Sarah Gordon. The direction was mellow and uninteresting; followed a very steady pace but which at the end lost me as an audience as to what it was trying to tell me. A very peculiar phenomenon if you think that this film is by David Cronenberg, an acclaimed director in the business who failed in many ways to deliver with this film.

Worth the watch if there's nothing else in the cinema this award season, which I can assure you this is not possible as there's plenty of much worthier films out there currently showing.


A Dangerous Method (2011)

The Artist (2011)

Rating: 9.2/10

"Perfect. Can we do it one more time?" - "With pleasure!"

Probably one of the most talked-about films of the year, if not the decade! 'The Artist' is the most recognizable silent films of the 21st century!

A lot has been said and written on this film, and my review will not be the exception of the majority of what's been said. This film is quite the accomplishment for writer/director Michel Hazanavicious. Although this is hist first transatlantic endeavour, Hazanavicious did wonders. He simply proved to every active director out there that simple is best!

He managed to get people from around the globe into the cinema theatres to watch a silent film; in our day and age when people are more and more driven to words and blabbering on screen, Hazanavicious was capable of mesmerizing the cinematic audience with no words, no dialogue, simply image, music and sound.

The story in brief: "George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) is the king of silent movies in Hollywood in 1927. Audiences just adore everything George is a part of. Along comes Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo) who you just know is going to be a huge star some day. George and Peppy work together on one film as George not only takes her under his wing, but an undeniable spark develops between the two. Over the course of the next few years, silent movies fade into obscurity as talking pictures or "talkies" explode onto the scene. George finds himself struggling for not only work, but a purpose to live as Peppy becomes the next big thing overnight." (www.imdb.com)

Hazanavicious innovative idea of shooting this film silent, black and white but also in a 1:37:1 aspect ratio has literally and figuratively brought Hollywood and the rest of the world by surprise, as it not only dares to experiment on a very unique film idea but also make the world experience cinema like the old days. He asks of his audience to relive the golden glory of the silent film era; an era full  of romantic ideals and enthusiasm for what was to come in the future.

The absolutely vital ingredient for this film's success though lies in the protagonists; Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo. A match-made in Heaven. In cinema heaven. These two actors,  bring the enthusiasm, the energy and the passion needed to carry through the narration of the story. Their merge is astonishing, as the freshness in their performance, is able to magnetize every viewer on the big screen. An amazing pairing in my opinion, that manages not only to captivate and engage the audience with their very heartfelt performances, especially Dujardin who holds the lead role, but also both actors are able to let their faces light up on screen, thus reminding to the audience how powerful the face of an actor can be on camera.

Russian director Grigori Kozintsev once said "what would be the point of  setting-up a camera to shoot anything, if that camera does not manage to capture the facial expressions of the character's emotional journey". And this is what exactly this film is about. It has the courage and the guts to remind us what we, as an audience, forgot nowadays; to pay a little less focus on the visual and a little more attention to the character development.

A worthy mention to the cameos and non-cameos of veteran actors such as Malcom McDowell, John Goodman and the always warm James Cromwell, as well as actresses that have many-a-time been underestimated by Hollywood producers Missi Pyle and Penelope Ann Miller, are few of the names that simply add to this cinematic recipe of success.

The costume and production design certainly must have been an overwhelming task for the production team to fulfill but it accomplished to transfer us for an hour and a half back in the late 1920s with such ease, it made the make-belief all the more easy to buy in and get sucked in the feeling of the era. So wonderfully designed and mastered!

And it would be a tremendous error of me if I wouldn't praise the music design in this film. The soul and heart of this silent 'picture'. Ludovic Bource. A true artist who I do hope his name will echo loud and clear this coming Sunday evening at the Academy Awards Ceremony for the Oscar for Best Original Score, since to say that he did a superb job in the musical enhancement would merely be an understatement on my part. Thumbs up for the brilliant work he did!

This film is not just a brilliant masterpiece made for the wider audience to enjoy; it is an experience that everyone who loves and appreciates good cinema should indulge in! It is the wonders of all wonders of filmmaking, and it came from a very unknown background, and not a mainstream filmmaking co-operation that just wanted another blockbuster hit, but instead wanted to make magic on the big screen. And that it does.

Just to clear the air of a myth though. The film is not entirely in silence; and for those who will endeavour to watch this film, they will understand why I'm saying this.

I do urge people to go and watch this film. Support it, love it, and simply enjoy the ride!

Sound rolling. Camera rolling. Aaaaaaaaaand.....Action!!!

'The Artist' (2011)

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (2011)

Rating: 7.7/10

"It's the oldest question of all, George. Who can spy on the spies?"

Another one of those award films thrust upon us this winter. This one though is somewhat of a different story. A British espionage story, 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy', that is set in the bleak days of the Cold War, about an espionage veteran, George Smiley, who is forced from semi-retirement to uncover a Soviet agent within MI6.

The plot is one of the most complex and intricate plots I have come across during the last couple of years in the British cinema. The film was made into a TV Series back in 1979 with the likes of British thespian Alec Guinness. This is a film adaptation from the world acclaimed novel of John Le Carre, and it is one of the most fascinating espionage thrillers to have been made into film during the last decade.

The superb acting line-up includes an all British thespian cast: award nominated Gary Oldman (Dracula), Award Winner Colin Firth (The King's Speech), Tom Hardy (Inception), Mark Strong (Body of Lies), Toby Jones (Infamous), Ciaran Hinds (Rome), Benedict Cumberbatch (Warhorse) and the always astounding and award nominated John Hurt (The Elephant Man).  So as you can see a sea of actors parading through the screen for 2hrs and 7mins.

The brilliance of the film though, lies in the unravelling direction of Tomas Alfredson. It is one of those films that it starts of a bit slow but guides you and sucks you in the plot so smoothly you do not even realize where and what hit you by the end of it.

The story is told in a non-linear narration, hence there's a lot of back and forth, thus forcing you to stay glued on the screen. Details are extremely important, so that you can put the pieces of the puzzle together with the protagonist.

This film pays homage to the good old days of British cinema, the voyeuristic era of the long lenses shooting approach, almost giving you the feeling of a 1970s italian film. The set and costume design did an astounding job in transferring you back in 1973, and the dark and gloomy atmosphere of London was very distinctive and apparent.

It truly felt whilst watching this that I was grasped by a mighty force of story-telling, thus making me unable to lose focus in the film (something that happens to me more often than not when I watch films nowadays) and not only was I intrigued intellectually but was also faced with the issue of how different and yet similar the world is today since 1973.

Excellent performances, witty dialogue, carefully woven plot, eerie musical score and an even more visionary directorial attempt on espionage drama by Tomas Alfredson. Go rent it, watch it, if you're lucky enough to catch it in your local cinema that would be superb, pay attention to it, and most importantly enjoy the raw British cinematic excellence.


Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (2011)

The Descendants (2011)

Rating: 6.3/10

"Goodbye, Elizabeth. Goodbye, my love, my friend, my pain, my joy. Goodbye. Goodbye. Goodbye."

So you have the award seasons, you get a bunch of new films to watch that there's so much hype built around them, naturally you would be excited to sit down and enjoy a good social drama. This however did not apply in my opinion for the new film of Alexander Payne, 'The Descendants'.

The story talks about Matt King, a Hawaiian land baron, whose wife goes on life support after a boating accident and takes his daughters on a trip from Oahu to Kauai to confront the young real estate broker, who was having an affair with his wife before her misfortune. (www.imdb.com)

Pretty straightforward story with linear narration and an eerie atmosphere. But the drama in this specific social drama is rather lacking. Throughout the film, the pacing felt odd at moments, the music felt way too up-lifting for the tragedy that this family was going through and the performances left me unemotional and unattached to the characters emotional journey.

It felt more like a travel guide to the Hawaiian islands rather than a social family drama in all honesty. Clooney did his best to carry through his character, to hold this film through, with only one scene that tried to get you attached to his character's drama, but which in the end it left you indifferent and apathetic to his sadness or frustrations.

Worthy to note the cameo of Beau Bridges, who give a more central-american performing feel to the whole film, but who did not fill the story with his character's story-line.

The film was musically designed from beginning to end with Hawaiian music, thus making it all the more hard to really disentangle myself from thinking how beautiful the landscape was and simply focus on the story.

Alexander Payne's directing leaves you wanting as on the one hand brings you a more down-to-earth approach of a family drama but which on the other it does not make you empathize or sympathize with the characters' emotions.

A film I watched once and would not watch again if it was up to me. Watch it if you would like to have an overview of the award season's films out there.


The Descendants (2011)