Showing posts with label The Five-Year Engagement. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Five-Year Engagement. Show all posts
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Big news in my cinematic world this week!
I'm now writing an extra film column, this time for the Daily Liberal's weekly publication Mailbox Shopper. The reviews I do will be of films from 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, my Bible of sorts. It's a life quest I intend to complete so this is one step towards that. As such, I'll be posting what I review for Shopper alongside my regular weekly reviews.
Now aren't I just the nicest? :D
Dark Shadows (M)
Johnny Depp’s work over time as
muse to Tim Burton has been nothing short of a rollercoaster as their
friendship repeatedly turns to some freaky business on screen. Their latest
collaboration continues along that path as television series Dark Shadows is transferred onto film in
typical Burton style.
The grand master of wacky presents
the story of Barnabas Collins (Depp), who loses his parents and the love of his
life to cruel witch Angelique ‘Angie’ Bouchard (Eva Green). She loves him too
much to see him with anyone else so turns him into a vampire, and two centuries
later the bickering resumes as they involuntarily reunite in a 1972 that
Barnabas struggles to comprehend.
His descendants are a
dysfunctional bunch, living off what little money is left from his family’s
former seafood empire and miserable. Supposedly they would have to be if a
proper English vampire is the only thing to get them out of a rut.
But the film quickly edges towards
a romance as a love triangle ensues; Barnabas falls for house governess
Victoria, so reminiscent of true love Joset (both played by Aussie Bella
Heathcote), but warring sides emerge from Angie and house psychiatrist Dr Julia
Hoffman (Helena Bonham Carter).
It’s this love game that makes the
leading man so incredibly confused and entertaining, only to be ruined by the
fact he kills people to survive. Barnabas is a traditional vampire through and
through, staying well out of the sun (to prevent burns, not sparkling) and
sleeping best in a coffin.
Burton plays this film subtle like
much of his previous work, still getting the quirkiest part of every character
to surface in a way that inspires intrigue. Depp cruises through as Barnabas,
perhaps a little too easily, but remains enjoyable while looking as youthful as
ever.
The supporting cast is an
interesting mix, as Burton’s choices usually are, with the likes of Michelle
Pfeiffer, Jackie Earle Haley, Jonny Lee Miller and Chloe Moretz. But it’s Green
as Depp’s downfall that emerges as a standout, suiting the snaky witch to a
tee. She’s a sexy villain, but indecisive on what to do with Barnabas and
letting emotion get in the way.
There’s no end to the torture for
anyone as secrets behind every character are revealed, exposing uncertainties
as they try and restore the family name. But Barnabas’ desire to strengthen
relationships with his descendants and return the Collins’ as a family of
honour is a heavy theme that continues to push on to counter the wackiness.
It’s not Burton’s best, but it’s a fun romp all the same.
Rating: 3/5
*Published in the Daily Liberal (Dubbo), Western Advocate (Bathurst), Parkes Champion Post and Midstate Observer (Orange) from Saturday 12/5/2012
***
This is how I'm getting published for my Shopper reviews. A lot harder to condense my thoughts into a smaller space. Then again, I started with a three-hour film...
Gandhi (1982)
Richard Attenborough’s epic feature on the life of Mohandas
Gandhi, the Great Soul, is an eye-opener for anyone who doesn’t know about the
impact of his actions.
Part one of the 183-minute film focuses on a younger Gandhi
improving his leadership skills to prove most fascinating, while in part two he is much the wiser,
although stubborn right until his death.
This is a beautiful project that took 20 years to be put to
screen. Ben Kingsley is so convincing as a calm man who struggles with the violence
that his calls for peace created.
Gandhi’s growth into a man who wishes only for cooperation
evolves further to make a man of wisdom and strength with simple ideas of
solving his homeland’s problems.
But he wasn’t God, and Attenborough shows his weaknesses
just as effectively as how much he was admired by his countrymen and the media
alike.
The production is excellent; with the extravagant use of
extras a nice reminder that CGI isn’t always the best choice, Gandhi reflects the sheer enormity of
the impact this attorney had on his people, the British Empire and the world.
*Published in the Mailbox Shopper (Dubbo) from Wednesday 9/5/2012
MISSED LAST WEEK'S REVIEW? See what I thought of The Five-Year Engagement.
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*I have two photos entered in the current Qatar Reflections competition. Please show your support for me by voting for either photo! Short backstory and links here.
Saturday, May 05, 2012
In cinema news, I've been asked to contribute a column of my choice to the Daily Liberal's weekly publication Mailbox Shopper starting next week. I've chosen to make it about viewing all the films in bible 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, a quest I've been slowly progressing through over the last six or so years (I'm up to something around the 190 mark). So check in for some classic reviews here and there as I first discover some of Hollywood's treasures and beyond.
But to this week...
The Five-Year
Engagement (MA15+)
Marriage is a funny thing. As an important component of life,
it presents stature for some in society while others fear it because it suggestively
presents an end to freedom. Then there are those who just avoid it, happy in
their bubble and willing to postpone it for one reason or another. Moving to
Michigan is enough for the couple in the latest project from Nicholas Stoller
to become these avoiders, but while a move usually suggests a relationship’s
progress, in this case it becomes a major stumbling block.
Tom (Jason Segel) is happy as a souz chef in San Francisco
when he meets Violet (Emily Blunt) and proposes to her on their first
anniversary. But a move for Violet’s work as an emerging psychologist leaves
him without a professional job and both of them for a reason to delay the
wedding. As time is killed by living what is a Segel-esque warped existence, so
are Violet’s grandparents by old age one by one. It doesn’t help that her
sister Suzie (Alison Brie) managed a shotgun wedding to Tom’s best friend Alex
(Chris Pratt), pleasing the family enormously and setting high expectations.
Tom and Violet are written as two of the world’s biggest
procrastinators but there’s no real justification to accompany their actions.
It’s hard to imagine that people are really that unsure or unbothered about
marrying the love of their lives for that prolonged a period. Violet moves
along with the world, enjoying her work with a diverse group of colleagues but
Tom takes a step back and retreats to a life of new facial hair and hunting
deer.
The team that brought you The Muppets has presented a film that takes you to some weird
places as a plan to encourage some laughs. They get them, but only because the
incredulity of it all is managed well by Segel and Pratt. However, having a
psychologist at the centre of the story is underused; Segel and Stoller, as
co-writers, don’t appear to have grasped the potential of using that more
within the relationship.
Stoller’s third film as director is too long at 142 minutes,
many scenes drawn out unnecessarily. But what it doesn’t have in precision it
does in charm. Segel and Blunt work well as the strung-out couple while Pratt
plays the lovable idiot of a best friend. However, the most interesting are Violet’s
workmates Ming (Randall Park), Vaneetha (Mindy Kaling) and Doug (Kevin Hart),
equally cruising along with whatever comes their way but not afraid to share
what’s on their minds. Rhys Ifans and Jacki Weaver also add good contributions.
The film is a fun offering, but like the length of the
engagement it’s stretched out which doesn’t work in its favour. This should
still appeal to Segel and Blunt fans, whose abilities are not compromised.
Rating: 3/5*Published in the Daily Liberal (Dubbo), Western Advocate (Bathurst), Parkes Champion Post and Midstate Observer (Orange) from Saturday 5/5/2012
MISSED LAST WEEK'S REVIEW? See what I thought of The Avengers.
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*I have two photos entered in the current Qatar Reflections competition. Please show your support for me by voting for either photo! Short backstory and links here.
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