Tuesday, September 16, 2014
I feel I need to express what I can of my sadness at the announcement Margaret and David will be no more after this year. At The Movies has been an institution for longer than I've been alive, something many (including myself) have at some point taken for granted.
Margaret Pomeranz and David Stratton are two of the reasons I would love to be recognised within the film industry as a critic. Their incredible depth of knowledge of film, their brutal honesty and genuine love for the art form give Australians worthy reason to respect them so highly, in much the same way Americans did for the late Roger Ebert. It's something for anyone who writes about film to aspire to.
I guess it's fitting that I forgot to put my review of the week up yesterday (or last week for that matter, which I will put up shortly). Here's what I thought of this week's new release.
The Maze Runner (M)
AS puzzles that manage to both work the
mind and body, mazes are a healthy challenge to some. But in truth,
they are a nightmare to most as claustrophobia sets in – where then
the only mind game at play revolves around personal sanity. There are
mazes in all our lives, but none quite on the scale of what this
group finds themselves faced with. It is their only way out from an
artificial world made for them by an unknown force.
Thomas (Dylan O'Brien) is the newest of
the all-male group to arrive to the Glade, and his curious mind goes
straight to exploring new escape plans. His actions are reckless but
brave, inspiring the group to consider rocking the boat of authority.
Enter token female Teresa (TV's Skins' Kaya Scodelario with a
wavering American accent), who has a connection with Thomas no one
can piece together. As things begin to change more questions emerge
than answers, and it's a fight to keep everyone working for the same
team.
It's Survivor meets The
Hunger Games as this post-apocalyptic story blends the struggle
for survival with villains that are aren't as obvious as what meets
the eye. Survival of the fittest stories have become all the rage
since The Hunger Games exploded into cinemas, and this
adventure fits right in there with targeting the young adult market.
It's an adrenaline rush with action and drama befitting the story.
Author James Dashner, who released the
first novel of his Maze Runner trilogy in 2007, was not involved in
writing the screenplay. That fell to Noah Oppelheim, Grant Pierce
Myers and TS Nowlin, who provide a script that gives room for the
main players to grow. The film retains a serious overtone that
doesn't give way to love or friendship dramas. It keeps the focus
squarely on kids beating the physical and mental monsters that stand
in their way.
In his first feature film, director Wes
Ball leaves things unexplained to good effect about the characters'
past lives and who subjected them to their fate. Set up for a sequel
(already slated for release next year), this tale does manage to
finish on a tidy note, concluding with anticipation for what's in
store for the group.
O'Brien and Scodelario are not quite
the leading pair you would expect, O'Brien given much of the film to
hold it all together. But with a good young cast, also including Will
Poulter (We're The Millers) and Thomas Brodie-Sangster (Love
Actually), the film will give young adults a story of wicked
proportions. Its intensity also serves other watchers, who will
appreciate the characters' mental fight.
Rating: 3.5/5
To be published in the Darwin Sun on Wednesday 17/9/2014.
MISSED THE LAST REVIEW? See what I thought of Magic In The Moonlight.
MISSED THE LAST REVIEW? See what I thought of Magic In The Moonlight.
Monday, September 01, 2014
Magic In The Moonlight (PG)
THE MAGIC and mystique behind love and
how humans come to have such feeling has been long explored by Woody
Allen. While his films range dramatically in the form his central
characters take, his creations predominantly deal with the mishaps
and other dramas love brings to their lives. For his latest offering
we're taken back to the 1920s, a time when the world was becoming
that little bit more liberated. With that came more public shows of
affection from those embracing the social change - but marriages of
convenience over pure emotion were still just as acceptable.
Stanley (Colin Firth) is a man of
convenience and righteousness, refusing to look past his
narrow-minded views on the world. His success in life acting as
magician from the Orient Wei Ling Foo and engagement to Olivia
(Catherine McCormack) lend to his views being perfectly rational. A
trip to southern France at the insistence of long-time friend Howard
(Simon McBurney) quickly threatens to shake up Stanley's entire
existence. As the master of trickery he heartily accepts a challenge
to debunk spirit medium Sophie (Emma Stone), who is seen to be
fooling the Catledge family.
Defining what is real and what is not
is harder for Stanley than meets the eye, Allen giving both he and
Sophie layers to masking their identities. Uncertainty is paramount,
delivered with more than enough of the snappy wit so familiar within
Allen's work. Firth and Stone, both newcomers to Allen's ways, create
an intriguing love/hate central relationship. This is despite the
fact Stanley is such an unlikable man - his pessimism is obnoxious to
the point of exhaustion. Firth is great at it, but the character
presents as overwritten even with the inevitable twist. Stone on the
other hand, is a delight.
It's a flamboyant film, using a simple
idea and amplifying it with extravagance to emphasise a point. On
what will depend on how you view the world - the pessimists' ability
to prove their views are logical, or the optimist's ability to crack
the pessimism and reveal there's more to life. Which in essence fits
in with typical Allen themes – characters' boredom with life,
anxiety and uncertainty about relationships. His films much of the
time become a moral compass, asking you to reassess where your views
on life sit, and this is no exception.
Allen assembles a great cast, which
also includes Marcia Gay Harden, Jacki Weaver and Eileen Atkins. He
also creates a whimsical setting with a southern France backdrop,
further creating a dreamy world amidst the almost-sinister intentions
at play. While entertaining, it will not rank among Allen's best. For
those unconcerned, it remains a fun piece of snappy comedy with
style.
Rating: 3/5
To be published in the Darwin Sun on Wednesday 3/9/2014.
MISSED LAST WEEK'S REVIEW? See what I thought of The Inbetweeners 2.
MISSED LAST WEEK'S REVIEW? See what I thought of The Inbetweeners 2.
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