Maleficent

 

• Released Internationally on 28/05/14
• Released in Malta by KRS on 04/06/14

Review (01/06/14)

3-word review: Disney’s Dark Side. 

Name the last big film you saw Angelina Jolie starring in. Not that easy, is it? Salt, I guess, would be mine. Not exactly a hugely memorable role, or film. But you'd have to go back six years to find Changeling or Wanted. Which shows how much of her immense star power is due to her humanitarian work, her looks, and her famous family. Not necessarily in that order. She broke into the limelight in 1999, with her role in The Bone Collector and her Oscar for Girl, Interrupted, and she also had starring roles as Lara Croft. But it feels like ages since we've had a proper Angelina Jolie film to enjoy, and this one is most definitely all about her.

Not your average Disney film
If you had any doubt that you wouldn't be watching a normal family film, the Disney logo doesn't feature the usual castle, but a darker, less symmetrical one. It does turn out to be Sleeping Beauty's castle after all, but this is the story as seen from a different angle. Jolie stars as the wonderfully-named Maleficent, whom you might remember as the horned evil witch with a crow as a pet, from Sleeping Beauty. This is very much her story, and as with all decent tales of redemption, the best way to understand a baddie is to start from childhood, where the lovely young Maleficent was innocent, lovely and cute.

Back story
Along comes the not-so-wonderfully-named Stefan (Sharlto Copley, District 13, Elysium), who forms a childhood friendship with Maleficent, but who really just wants to become king, at all costs. Things get ugly as the kingdom (where Stefan lives) tries to conquer the Moors (the nearby magical woods, where Maleficent and co. live), and we even get a few large-scale scenes of battle and brutality, whilst keeping everything PG-13. Eventually we reach adulthood, where Stefan has been crowned king and is throwing a party for his gorgeous baby princess Aurora. Maleficent turns up uninvited, and the fairytale you might remember from your childhood comes into play.

Plot holes and awkward moments
The film manages to maintain the aura of dread and mystery that was established so well in the trailers (see the wonderful teaser trailer below), with lots of moody lighting and numerous scenes involving hardly any dialogue at all - just smouldering looks and impossible cheekbones (augmented even further in this case) from Maleficent as she watches over the growing Aurora (Elle Fanning, Super 8), and grows fond of her. But the middle of the film gets dragging, while the ending feels rushed, and Aurora's all-important slumber seems more like a power nap in this version. The carte blanche resulting from the undetermined magical powers mean that it's hard to be surprised by anything that happens, and this origin story loses its charm by the end.

In the end
It's quite significant that this film was made, and it establishes an interesting new direction for Disney to take, now that they might seem to have run out of classic fairytales to adapt. Jolie fits the role like a glove, with looks and a laugh that make Maleficent a wonderfully evil character, despite us now knowing about her soft core and motherly instincts. It's entertaining enough, but nothing special.

 

Trailer:

The Monuments Men

 

• Released Internationally on 07/02/14
• Released in Malta by KRS on 19/02/14

Review (01/03/14)

3-word review: An odd disappointment.

 

It wasn’t easy to figure out why I didn’t love this. The ingredients all seemed fine, and I was in the mood for some good old adventure. But the film is unusually disjointed and bumpy, especially when compared to George Clooney’s excellent previous films as director. Something must have gone wrong at some point, because the film got delayed, and the end result seems slightly unpolished.

It’s not a complete mess, of course. The film still has some wonderful moments and an overall glaze of class, and a lot of effort clearly went into the WW2 setting and worldwide scope of the film. It tells the story of the piecemeal band of professionals who were assembled towards the end of the war to try to find and preserve the vast collections of priceless art that had gone missing as the war swept through Europe. The Nazi antagonists and the treasure hunt atmosphere give the proceedings a decidedly Indiana Jones feel, which is perfectly complemented by Alexandre Desplat’s vintage musical score, which pays homage to Jones as well as older classics and is probably the single best thing about the entire film.

The cast assembled by Clooney is top notch, but this might be part of the problem. As the team members are dispatched all over the continent, it’s hard to keep up with all of them but still give them enough time to make the characters anything more than superficial stereotypes. Maybe two characters less, and their scenes on the cutting room floor, would have made this the slick, old-school adventure story it was meant to be.

 

 

Trailers:
https://trailers.apple.com/trailers/sony_pictures/themonumentsmen/

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

 

• Released Internationally on 11/12/13
• Released in Malta by KRS on 13/12/13

Review (12/12/13)

3-word review: Necessary, uninspired viewing.

It’s 2013, and this second part of the Hobbit is released worldwide on the 13th of December, and once again features a rowdy company of 13 dwarves. So here’s 13 reasons why you should watch it, and, maybe more convincingly, 13 reasons why you shouldn’t.

13 reasons why you should watch ‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug’.

1. It’s more entertaining than the rather dull first instalment.
2. It’s slightly shorter, too.
3. It starts off with a prologue sequence in Bree, which might bring you fond memories of The Fellowship of the Ring, as it is intended to.
4. Martin Freeman is once again fun to watch as Bilbo, and Ian McKellen is his usual classy self as Gandalf.
5. The first half is quite fast-paced and features a couple of interesting and fresh new characters.
6. There’s an exciting and well-choreographed action sequence involving lots of barrels and lots of dwarves, which stands out in the book and is brought vividly to life here.
7. There’s finally one place that looks, sounds and feels completely new - a picturesque town on a lake, which is probably the first part of the Hobbit trilogy not to look like a recycled Lord of the Rings set.
8. The leader of said town is portrayed by Stephen Fry.
9. The magical sense of occasion that permeated throughout the Lord of the Rings trilogy finally returns once the company reaches their destination and knocks on the door of Smaug the dragon.
10. Smaug himself looks quite stunning (albeit similar to most other dragons we’ve ever seen on screen), and is voiced by the ever-eloquent Benedict Cumberbatch.
11. The way that Smaug is revealed and introduced lives up to all the hype surrounding such a magnificent character.
12. Just like the recent second Hunger Games film, and many famous second films in trilogies, this one has the luxury of ending with a cliff-hanger.
13. You need to see this to be able to see the climactic end to the trilogy next year.

 

13 reasons why you should not watch ‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug’.

1. The main flaw of the first film has not been addressed, and in a sense could not be addressed. Once they committed to making three films out of such a short book, there was no way it was not going to be dragging, drawn out and stuffed with ‘filler’ material.
2. The filler material includes the largely pointless prologue scene which feels so forced and fabricated, even including a repeat cameo by Peter Jackson just like in The Fellowship of the Ring, that you can’t but feel let down even before the main titles start.
3. The lack of excitement is a recurring theme – such as in a long, complex scene involving huge spiders, which fails to provide anything new at all when compared to the excellent Shelob material we’ve already seen in The Return of the King.
4. Gandalf is off on his errands as usual, but this time they are tedious, seemingly pointless, and to a large extent fabricated, besides slowing the films pace down even further.
5. Nearly six hours into this tale, it’s still hard to sympathise with, delve into or even recognise most of the dwarves, despite evident attempts to make them distinguishable thanks to ridiculous hairstyles and traits.
6. Evangeline Lilly (Lost) is a new main character, but her role also screams desperation - a desperate attempt to introduce some girl-power and a fresh face.
7. Legolas (Orlando Bloom) is dragged into the proceedings, despite being completely absent from the source material, in what seems like a sad attempt at sharing some of the Lord of the Rings love and linking the two time frames.
8. Surprisingly, the visual effects stand out as below par in certain instances, particularly the barrel action sequence.
9. The attempts at linking the story with that of The Lord of the Rings, beyond the obvious links created by Tolkien, leads to the focus being stolen away from Smaug at certain key moments.
10. Some scenes in the third act are so painfully long and dragging that you start to wonder if there was a pre-determined minimum length established for this film.
11. None of Howard Shore’s new music, including the new themes for the town on the lake, stand out as half as inspired or memorable as the countless themes he wrote for the original trilogy.
12. None of the dwarves are half as endearing as Gimli.
13. The end credits song is an very unfortunate choice, and not a great fit for the tone of the film and the excellent end credit songs that preceded it.

 

Trailers:

http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/wb/thehobbitthedesolationofsmaug/

Diana

• Released Internationally on 20/09/13
• Released in Malta by KRS on 02/10/13

Review (30/09/13)

3-word review: A missed opportunity.

This is by no means a successful, definitive, biopic. Those films are hard to find, and in recent years have often been passed over in lieu of films focusing on specific periods or incidents in famous people’s lives, without ambitiously claiming to be an all-encompassing account of the person’s time amongst the living. The King’s Speech was a wonderfully-executed example of these focused types, whereas The Iron Lady was a rather successful overview of Thatcher from her dawn to her twilight. 

Making a modern royal biopic must be quite tricky. A chunk of your intended audience probably have the subject of your film on some pedestal and will carefully scrutinise your every move and see if the film is worthy of its subject. Another chunk hate the idea of a monarchy and will gladly ignore the film or tear it to shreds. But it gets even trickier when your subject is one of the most photographed and public figures of the past decades, and everyone has an opinion about her.

As superficial as it sounds, however, a lot is riding on the resemblance of your main star to the person in question, aided as necessary by prosthetics and makeup. Which is a large part, of course, of why The Iron Lady worked. Naomi Watts, despite her very good acting and wonderfully 80s hairdo, does not look like Diana, and it takes a while for this to sink in and allow you to look past it. In fact some of the best shots in the film feature her from behind or from an angle, and I found myself making a double take to see whether it was archival footage or a carefully re-created scene. 

Unfortunately these designed re-enactments of iconic Diana photos and moments are the most enjoyable aspect of the film, since the love story itself feels like a standard soap-opera romance, which could be completely accurate, or mostly conjecture - we might never know. Naveen Andrews (Lost, Sinbad) is confident enough to pull off the role of the heart surgeon who stole Diana’s heart, and Watts manages to combine enough grace and fragility with occasional moments of daring to remind us what a complex person Diana must have been.

It’s interesting to dip back into the mid-90s, in an era of flip-phones, Concordes and cassette tapes, because back then the internet was brand new, and despite Diana’s constant media presence she was spared the endless, permanent internet plastering that some celebrities get today. Which might be why she managed to enjoy this modicum of privacy and have a last few years searching for happiness, albeit away from her sons for long stretches. “My boys need to see me happy”, she said, and at least she gave it a good try.

The cardiac love story plays out as we expect it to, and the film feels like it could end there, but of course it needs to go on a bit longer so that Dodi Fayed (Cas Avnar - Argo) can come into play, and lead things towards that fateful night in Paris. The chilling, famous scenes most of us will recognise provide a powerful coda to this sad tale, but ultimately they fail to lift this film to the incisive portrait it could have been.

Trailers:
http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/independent/diana/

Man of Steel

• Released Internationally on 13/06/13
• Released in Malta by KRS on 19/06/13

Preview (as published 01/06/13 in VIDA Magazine)

With attention spans and memories getting seemingly shorter, filmmakers are probably justified in never giving up on a film franchise. Just wait a few years, and give it another shot. When Ang Lee’s Hulk wasn’t a success, they tried again a few years later, and when that flopped too, they snuck the angry green giant into Avengers anyway, with record-smashing results. Which brings us to the second attempt at reviving the iconic Superman franchise.

In many ways, Superman is the purest, most impressive and certainly oldest superhero, appearing in some form or another since way back in 1938. As discussed at length in a wonderful dialogue scene in Kill Bill, he is also the superhero whose natural state is the heroic form, whereas the ordinary human clothes he wears whilst on earth are a costume for him to blend in. The red cape was something he was wrapped in from birth, and none of his powers were designed in a workshop or caused by some lab meltdown or insect bite. Yet, despite all these attributes, his popularity waned recently, as moviegoers shunned his red spandex briefs for the cooler outfits and antics of Batman, Iron Man and Spider-man, to name just three of the many recent crowd-pullers. Superman reached his cinematic pinnacle with the first two Christopher Reeve films in the late 70s and early 80s, helped by then-ground-breaking special effects and by one of the best musical themes in cinema history, courtesy of John Williams during his wonder years.

But when Bryan Singer tried to revive the franchise with Superman Returns in 2006, the results were entertaining but forgettable, with too much deference to the original films, and Superman’s good boy image (and red briefs) jarring slightly after 2005’s unbelievably cool and dark Batman Begins. The two masthead heroes from the DC comics universe apparently could not co-exist, and whilst Superman was shelved, Batman went on to dominate recent years with a critically acclaimed trilogy by Christopher Nolan. So, sure enough, it’s Nolan himself who now has a hand in trying to bring Superman back into the reckoning, although he’s producing, not directing.

Surprise, surprise, the red briefs are gone. So is the boyish curl on his forehead. This is no goody-boy superhero - he’s masculine, he’s damaged, and the first glimpses we got of him were him busting out of a safe and him being escorted in handcuffs. A crucial factor in bringing Superman into the current gritty trend of superheroes was casting Henry Cavill (The Tudors), who looks a bit more weathered than 2006’s clean-cut Brandon Routh. The rest of the cast is an exciting mix - Russell Crowe as Superman’s natural father, Kevin Costner as his adoptive father on earth, Diane Lane (Unfaithful) as his adoptive mother, plus Laurence Fishburne (The Matrix), Amy Adams (The Fighter) as Lois Lane, and the wonderful character actor Michael Shannon (Boardwalk Empire, Revolutionary Road) as the main villain, General Zod.

Directing duties went to Zack Snyder (300, Watchmen), directing from a script by David Goyer, who wrote the recent Dark Knight trilogy. Nolan himself has also contributed to the story, and amongst his many usual collaborators, he also brought along veteran composer Hans Zimmer, who was faced with the unenviable task of taking a new musical direction which will inevitably be compared to Williams’ Superman theme. He did a wonderful job with the Dark Knight music, and based on the stunning music which dominated the latest Man of Steel trailer, he might just pull this one off too. There hasn’t been a trailer that caused so much fuss since Inception (also by Nolan, of course).

Now that the film’s release is imminent, the sublime marketing campaign and response so far have more or less guaranteed that the film will be a financial success, probably based on the first few days alone. But the important question will be whether it can stand up to all the hype, and ensure we get to see a quality, well-made Superman trilogy that is as great as those of his peers.

Review (18/06/13)

3-word review: A super disappointment.

I was so let down by this film that I felt sad for the rest of the day. A first-world problem, granted, but it had never happened to me to this extent. It’s my fault, of course. I get caught up in the excitement. I read the news scraps we’re fed as the film is being made. I feed on the excitement and I believe the hype. I felt justified in this case based on the list of key players, and based on the subject matter. Then, in mid-April, the third trailer was released, and I was in awe. I think making trailers is an art form that not all filmmakers succeed at, but this trailer was by far the best this year, and caused an appropriate level of excitement as it spread online. Now, having seen the film, that ‘Trailer 3’ remains for me a perfect mini-movie which contains most of the things I loved about Man of Steel – the key scenes, the best lines, the best parts of the plot, and the best piece of the soundtrack. For me, it’s all I need to remember, and it’s far better than the film as a whole.

A bit much.

I had a hard time rationalising why I hadn’t liked Avengers last summer, but this film helped confirm why. I dislike films that use the ‘aliens’ plot device to signify that absolutely anything can happen, and that for a good chunk of the plot they will throw everything at the audience, in bigger and bigger waves, seemingly trying to outdo themselves. In Avengers it was that wormhole at the end, and all the enormities that emerged. In this case it’s practically the entire third act of the film, as the two main protagonists conduct their alien duel on our planet, with increasingly immense swipes of destruction, increasingly complex technology and ‘powers’, and increasingly enormous vessels. I am fine with science fiction, but the type I love sets out a few basic ‘rules’ for the world we are about to see, and then plays out using a mix of those rules and the rules of reality we are used to. So, to use an obvious alien example, in E.T. we of course know he is an alien, we know what ship he arrived in, and we soon find out what his handful of alien tricks are. But the story then develops using those factors and a good dose of earthly reality we can connect with. The same goes for the more recent Super 8, or to use another superhero example, the Iron Man trilogy. It’s that dose of reality and scale that helps us connect with what’s happening. The Dark Knight trilogy is of course a wonderful example of this, since Batman is a very human and real hero, and the fantasy/sci-fi element is tiny. His technology might at times be stuff we haven’t invented yet, but otherwise we can get a pretty good picture of what is happening. Even Star Wars, which is of course entirely alien and sci-fi, is wonderfully set in a world we can appreciate – dirty, rough around the edges, human. Where farm boys dream of glory, vessels often break down, and having your hand cut off is a huge inconvenience. We’re told what the ‘Force’ is, we’re shown what lightsabers do, we can grasp the concept of spaceships – and then the plot plays out like any earth-bound drama, but in that setting.

Loss of scale.

But here, that sense of scale is thrown out of the window. After a reasonably entertaining, albeit overlong, prologue detailing the titular character’s birth and destiny, we finally get to earth for what I considered to be the best part of the film – the non-chronological scenes of Clark Kent growing up and learning to harness his powers without making a splash. Director Zack Snyder covers these wonderfully, and the focus on Clark’s relationship with his father (a wonderful Kevin Costner) and their agreement to keep the powers hidden is a joy to watch. But once the cover is blown and the final battle begins, the destruction and action takes on ridiculous Transformers-type proportions, with endless, mind-numbing visual effects and wave after wave of to-and-fro hammerings and near-death experiences. How am I supposed to care about either Clark Kent or even his new foe, General Zod, if every scene is trumped by the one after it, and if new powers, options, ships, devices and weaknesses are introduced and used ad hoc? Why should I be awed by the appearance of an enormous spaceship or destruction of a city, if something even bigger could easily just turn up five minutes later. Why should I feel for a battered superhero if his capabilities are being revealed on an as-needed basis? Rarely has an epic battle left me so tired, uninvolved and bored.

Not all bad.

As mentioned above, the growing up scenes are excellent, and I wish they had been the focus here. One particularly interesting concept introduced might prove interesting to those with autism spectrum disorders, and their families. The performances are generally great throughout, although Henry Cavill doesn’t get to do or say too much as the main man. He looks the part brilliantly, however, and is clearly a great choice to take this franchise forward. There’s a scene as he flies up into a jet stream where for a second he looks uncannily like the late Christopher Reeve, which can’t have been just a coincidence. His love interest, Lois Lane, gets an interesting portrayal by the talented Amy Adams, who manages to make her likeable from her first scene, and who prefers jumpsuits and anoraks to the pretty dresses the character is used to. She also gets the best line, right at the end. Russell Crowe, who is thankfully back in a non-singing role, provides a great anchor of stability and wisdom, and delivers the important monologues with class. Another highlight is the obvious attention to the small, but key, moments – the ‘S’ word is only heard once, if I remember well - a good hour-and-a-half into the film. The outfit gets a befitting reveal scene, and the flying sequence that follows is gorgeous and appropriately exhilarating.

In the end.

The bookends are wonderful too – a slow, gorgeous logos sequence at the start, and a brief but perfect ‘What are you going to do when you are not saving the world?’ scene at the very end, which returns to earthly, nostalgic emotion once the action has ended, and nearly managed to make me forget the exhausting half-hour that had preceded it. It also features by far the film’s best piece of music, with a rousing new heroic theme by Hans Zimmer, which was also one of the reasons that third trailer was so jaw-dropping. Just like the film, this last piece of wonderful music unfortunately comes after a long sequence of battering noise (see a wonderful review here), but at least it allows you to leave the cinema with a slightly better taste in your mouth, and hope that the sequel will be better.

Trailers:

http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/wb/manofsteel/

Star Trek Into Darkness

• Released Internationally on 09/05/13
• Released in Malta by KRS on 15/05/13

Preview (as published 01/05/13 in VIDA Magazine)

J.J. Abrams received mountains of praise for his courageous rebooting of the Star Trek franchise a few years ago, and that was probably one of the main reasons why he has been handed an even bigger task - Star Wars Episode VII. Before that announcement was made, however, he had completed his Star Trek sequel, which hopes to build on the success and hype of its predecessor. The one element of the reboot that was slightly lacklustre was Eric Bana as the nemesis, so to raise this outing to the next level they enlisted one of the hottest actors of the moment to portray the foe - Benedict Cumberbatch. The star of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, as famous for his voice as for his acting (he will be voicing Smaug the dragon in the remaining Hobbit films, and he stole the show in the famous ‘Tom’ Google+ advert) has dominated all the trailers and posters so far, so it remains to be seen how the young crew of the Enterprise will get the better of him.

 

Review (14/05/13)

3-word review: For the fans.

J.J. Abrams has made a point of telling the press, at every possible opportunity, how he wanted to make a film that would appeal to all moviegoers, and not just Star Trek fans. Well, I’m no trekkie, and I felt neglected whilst watching this film. I’ve seen a few of the films, I’ve seen a small portion of the countless TV episodes, and I’ve read enough to know the basics. But in this film, although I got to enjoy it as an action and effects film, I felt like an outsider. Without spoiling anything, I can say that a huge character ‘reveal’ makes a very obvious reference to past Trek movies, and the way someone’s name is announced you’d expect the cinema audience to gasp out loud and burst into slow applause. The explanations that follow are sparse, and the ending of the films features other apparent symmetries with earlier films, which of course flew right over my head and I only learnt about later.

I guess it’s also for Cumberbatch fans. The rocketing star is wonderful as the main nemesis here, with his steely presence, impressive physicality and of course his famous voice, all combining to make a villain that you sincerely believe could take on every else in the film. The problem is, he’s hardly given a good ending, and I felt let down by the end of it. The other main new face is the gorgeous new female addition to the crew (Alice Eve), although it does seem like she is there merely to add a feminine touch and to walk around looking stunning, with or without her uniform.

It’s not all bad of course, and as expected in a J.J. Abrams film there’s stellar effects, a few action set pieces that take your breath away, and enough character development to make everyone interesting. The main cast continue their great work from the previous film, with excellent chemistry and a good mix of drama and humour, the latter mostly thanks to Simon Pegg. The musical and visual aura of the Enterprise is also continued in grand style, as is the simmering bromance between Kirk and Spock. It’s exciting and entertaining from start to finish, but I would hesitate to recommend it to anyone who never had an Enterprise or Cumberbatch poster on their wall.

 

 

Trailers:

http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/paramount/startrekintodarkness/

Olympus Has Fallen

• Released Internationally on 21/03/13
• Released in Malta by KRS on 08/05/13

Preview (as published 01/05/13 in VIDA Magazine)

It happens every few years or so - Antz/A Bug’s Life, Deep Impact/Armageddon, The Illusionist/The Prestige. This year we will get two similar films portraying enemies taking over the White House. This is the first. The instantly recognizable building is of course mostly know for what it represents, and has been an extra in films for decades - taken over by mutants in X-Men 2, a crime scene in Murder at 1600, and of course being blown to smithereens in Independence Day. This time around, Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight) is the president, Morgan Freeman is the speaker, and Gerard Butler (300) is the action hero who will save the day.

 

Review (07/05/13)

3-word review: Entertaining American clichés.

America has its quirks. I love how they go to great lengths to hype up and worship their institutions, their country, their star spangled banner. No harm in being patriotic, I guess. But then, when the aura surrounding the flag and the president has been cranked up to the max, they all flock to the cinema to see it all blown up or jeopardised. It's all harmless fun, of course, and I'll admit to having a soft spot for these sort of films - all-out action films, with not a single bit of science-fiction in sight. No superheroes, no paranormal phenomena, no fantasy, no aliens. Just good old-fashioned terrorism and disaster, with lots of guns, hostages and wreckage, lots of people saying 'Mr President' in urgent tones, and lots of codes and protocols we the public have never heard of and which probably don't exist anyway.

This is definitely one of those films. It reminded me a lot of Wolfgang Petersen's entertaining Air Force One from over a decade ago. That was fun, and there was nothing too fancy about it - just ordinary people in extraordinary situations, and the president of the USA thrown into the mix. Just like in that film, this one does a decent job of introducing the main players and showing us the president's family life and inner circle, and this of course so that later, when everything is at stake, the human drama will unfold with more depth. There's also a few no-nonsense fist fights, despite the mountains of government technology at hand.

When picking an enemy, the script-writers went with the very safe bet of a North Korean terrorist, and I imagine that this should make the film as uncontroversial and inoffensive as possible, unless of course you're a North Korean terrorist. Aaron Eckhart uses his Dark Knight noble image to look convincing as the supposed leader of the free world, although he does seem to keep the same facial expression for the duration of the film. Gerard Butler is likeable, dependable and occasionally funny as the renegade hero, and the various supporting roles are filled with recognisable faces who add some weight to the proceedings and look and sound like they actually could be in cabinet.

Unfortunately, what they spent on acting talent seems to have been saved on special effects, with some scenes looking below par for this sort of film. But ultimately everything ties up nicely in heroic fashion, and the world gets to live another day, and I walked out feeling as if I had ordered an item off the menu that was familiar, satisfying, but nothing special. Now we just wait to see how White House Down compares.

 

Trailers:

http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/independent/olympushasfallen/

Pina

• First Released Internationally in 2011 
• Showing at St James Cavalier, Valletta, from the 3rd to the end of April, to commemorate International Dance Day (April 29th)
• Showing in 3D 

Review (03/04/13)

I approached this critically-acclaimed film in the knowledge that I know very little about the world of dance, and next to nothing about the “dance theatre” style for which the late Pina Bausch is mostly famous. This unconventional documentary by the celebrated German director Wim Wenders (Buena Vista Social Club, The Million Dollar Hotel) showcases her dance company’s major works, and looks back on her artistic work through the eyes of her dancers.

The format is fairly simple – there is no obvious narrative, but rather a fluid and sequenced trip through her four major works, recreated for the film. The film is punctuated by brief, intense and original interviews with her dancers, who come from all corners of the globe, and evidently miss her a great deal. There are also numerous brief dance sequences set in various gorgeous locations, making wonderful use of 3D and giving an all-round better picture of her style of dance. Pina herself appears in numerous older clips, but unfortunately she passed away when the film was still in its early stages.

There’s no denying that this is vivid, beautiful and very different cinema, but whether you actually enjoy it or not as a film experience will probably depend highly on your relationship with dance. And on whether you view Pina’s quotes as inspirational nuggets to cherish, or vague statements that could really mean anything. But ultimately, I’m quite sure that everyone leaving the cinema will have a very good sense of who Pina was, at least professionally, and what an indelible mark she has left. Which is a testament to Wim Wenders and his observant and thorough approach here.

 

Trailers:

http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/independent/pina/

 

St James Cavalier have recently installed new digital projectors and a larger screen. Upcoming highlights which will make use of this technology include showings of Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake, Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds and many more. For more info visit http://www.sjcav.org/.

A Good Day To Die Hard

• Released Internationally on 07/02/13
• Released in Malta by KRS on 06/03/13

Preview (first published 01/02/13 in VIDA Magazine)

It’s hard not to like Bruce Willis, and men should hope they age as well as he has. Now approaching 60, he continues to mix dramatic roles (Moonrise Kingdom) with his famous action ones, and the Die Hard franchise would be unthinkable without him. Just like in the previous outing, Live Free or Die Hard, he has a sidekick this time around (Jai Courtney, who was very effective in the recent Jack Reacher) - but this time it’s all in the family. The action is shifted to Russia for this fifth instalment, so John McClane might need to pack something else besides his usual blood-stained vest.

 

Review (05/03/13)

There are hints of the previous Die Hard films peppered throughout this one - a few bars of Beethoven's 9th, the driving and eventual demolition of heavy vehicles, John McClane’s daughter from the previous film, and of course the bloody vest - but otherwise it plays out like an average action film, albeit with a likeable hero. Bruce Willis has finely honed the art of performing wonderful action heroics whilst always looking bemused and slightly annoyed, giving the impression that he’d rather be elsewhere. The scriptwriters still felt, however, that they had to get him to say he should be on vacation every 25 seconds, which gets tedious.

The traffic carnage is pretty impressive. We’re first introduced to the crippling traffic gridlock in central Moscow, and shortly afterwards McClane and his son proceed to destroy half the cars involved. The bulk of the action then shifts to Chernobyl (where else?), but often tries too hard to be over the top and epic. One shot stood out for the right reasons - a wonderful slow-mo of the Chernobyl sign being chewed up by a helicopter, but a later, climactic scene uses such cringe-worthy CGI that you’ll think you’re playing a computer game.

But I guess it’s reasonably entertaining overall, if you feel like some brainless fun. McClane spends a good third of the film roaming around Chernobyl without protection, so we can look forward to Die Hard with a Third Arm sometime soon.

 

Trailers:

http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/fox/agooddaytodiehard/

Rise of the Guardians

• Released Internationally on 21/11/12
• Released in Malta by KRS on 30/11/12

Preview (first published 01/11/12 in VIDA Magazine)

This looks like the clear winner for children this month, and may even carry through until the festive season. The animation team at DreamWorks, who have brilliant films such as How to Train Your Dragon to their name, have turned their attention to children’s author William Joyce, who also has experience in film and animation. He is working on a series of books about the Guardians of Childhood - an Avengers-like gathering of famous names including Santa Claus (voiced by Alec Baldwin), the Tooth Fairy (Isla Fisher), the Easter Bunny (Hugh Jackman), the Sandman (who takes care of dreams) and Jack Frost (Chris Pine). They all team up to protect children when Pitch (the nightmare king, voiced by Jude Law) threatens to take over the world. So there’s a fair bit of magic and wonder involved, which allows the animation teams to run riot. This should be fun, but even more so if you’re still at that wonderful age where you believe.

 

Review (29/11/12)

This delivers as expected, with stunning visuals and animation, right from the first few minutes. After a brief prologue introducing the central, misunderstood character of Jack Frost, the film launches into full festive mode, and despite being set around Easter time, provides enough north pole material to feel like a festive holiday treat. The ‘guardians’ all get ample screen time, but are slightly different to their usual self. Alec Baldwin provides a deep Eastern European accent for Santa Claus, who also sports heavily tattooed arms. But otherwise it’s business as usual, from tooth fairies to Easter bunnies to the lesser known Sandman. It’s a testament to the animation team at DreamWorks that the latter is probably the most memorable character, despite not uttering a single word throughout the film.

Jude Law’s villain draws heavily on Hercules’ Hades, and probably deserved a better ending. The film also seems to be cramming too much into one short film at times, and risks losing the plot in the second half. Worst of all, however, it somehow misses out on that extra something, that magical spark, that made recent gems like How to Train Your Dragon and most Christmas classics so heart-warming and special. The ingredients are all there, but something hasn’t set. Or maybe I just dampened my sense of awe when I found out the secrets behind the tooth exchange system and Christmas presents. Either way, young kids should be suitably blown away, and this should serve as a wonderful holiday treat.

 

 

Trailers:

http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/dreamworks/riseoftheguardians/

Savages

• Released Internationally on 06/07/12
• Released in Malta by KRS on 31/10/12

Preview (first published 01/10/12 in VIDA Magazine)

Director Oliver Stone is no stranger to extreme violence and drugs, but he seems to have toned things down since 1994’s Natural Born Killers, with his focus shifting towards violence of the political, financial and sporting kind. But he now returns to the seedy and dangerous world of drug cartels for this sprawling crime drama. Focusing on two best friends who share both a booming marijuana business and a girlfriend, the tragedy shows how the delicate balance that drug dealer’s lives are built on can collapse spectacularly (or so we’re told). The impressive cast includes John Travolta, Benicio del Toro (Traffic), Salma Hayek (Frida), Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Kick Ass), Taylor Kitsch (John Carter), Blake Lively (The Town) and Emile Hirsch (Into the Wild).

 

Review (30/10/12)

As expected, this one is not for the faint-hearted. Even before the opening credits roll, we’re given a hint of the level of violence we are to expect. Whether those involved in drug cartels actually go to these extremes to find new ways of murdering and torturing their enemies is a point for the police, but Stone tries to show how much is at stake by way of justification. The inevitability of a messy death for anyone who steps out of line helps to add some tension to the proceedings, but ultimately it’s hard to find a character to sympathise with when everyone is super rich and life isn’t worth too much to them. The way the tale unfolds, it seems evident that we are meant to sympathise with ‘O’, or Ophelia, the shared girlfriend and weak point of the two self-made weed kings. But even she lacks any real charm, despite looking stunning. When she tries to explain her plans in life, Salma Hayek’s character cuts her nonsense short with a well-placed ‘do you Americans all talk like that?”

Hayek is initially convincing as the feared drug lord, but her hard exterior crumbles a bit too quickly when the going gets tough. The cast all do quite a good job, with interesting characters that help make the surprisingly linear plot very easy to follow. Which all leads nicely to the predictable showdown in the desert, which much like every step of the dealings, can go either way. It seems that when working with savages things can very quickly descend into chaos, but Stone tries to show us that it’s not always clear who the real savages are.

In the end

Not exactly a drug-war classic, but the beach location and the young protagonists offer an interesting new angle. It’s all reasonably entertaining, if you’ve got the stomach for it.

 

 

Trailers:

http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/universal/savages/

To Rome With Love

 

• Released Internationally on 20/04/12
• Released in Malta by KRS on 31/10/12

Preview (first published 01/10/12 in VIDA Magazine)

Woody Allen has been making his own particular brand of film for decades, without worrying too much about what critics thought or what the box-office brought in. But his last offering, Midnight in Paris, was extremely well received, and one of his most successful films to date. It seemed to reach out beyond the usual Allen following and appeal to fans of the city, who rushed to see another cinematic postcard that captures the city’s charm and beauty. In the past, he had similar love letters to New York and, albeit less directly, London. So it’s no huge surprise that Allen is following a similar formula here, with his usual well-written drama and romance unfolding in the eternal city of Rome. As usual, he has attracted a stellar cast – Alec Baldwin, Penélope Cruz, Jesse Eisenberg, Ellen Page, and most interesting of all, Roberto Benigni. Plus, as a huge bonus, Allen himself is back on screen, adding his wonderful acting to the writing and directing duties. We can more or less imagine what this will be like - but that’s a good thing.

 

Review (30/10/12)

The film is bookended by two locals who serve as all-seeing storytellers – the traffic policeman at Piazza Venezia and a man whose balcony overlooks Piazza di Spagna. Between them they give us a small sample of the many stories and people that walk through the streets of the eternal city, and thereby absolve Allen of the need to make all their stories interconnect.

The narratives are predictably light and entertaining, playing out like longer sketches with better developed characters, possibly in reference to the many such Italian films of previous decades. Some of those we meet happen to walk through the main sights of the city, but sometimes the camera lingering on the famous monuments feels forced and extra. There’s a decent dollop of fantasy in a couple of the stories, which jars initially but plays out nicely, especially Baldwin as the commenting observer in the shaken love life of Jack (Jesse Eisenberg). Roberto Benigni’s story is also amusing, but only just avoids dragging the joke on for too long.

Woody Allen himself is central to possibly the better plotline, as a retired opera producer who feels he has discovered a raw, different talent during his brief holiday. Again, it’s a one-joke story, but it works. Allen’s writing shines best with the character of Monica (Ellen Page), in which he perfectly captures the intensely annoying ‘tortured artsy soul’ I’m sure many viewers will recognise. Besides the big names in the cast there are also many recognisable Italian stars, including smoky-eyed Ornella Muti, and a hilarious Antonio Albanese who is clearly enjoying himself.

In the end

If you’re new to Woody Allen, I wouldn’t start with this one, but if you’ve enjoyed his previous films you’ll probably find this fun, albeit not hugely so. Either way, if you love Rome, but have no flights booked for the foreseeable future, this could do for now.

 

Trailers:

http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/sony/toromewithlove/

The Other Guys

• Released Internationally on 06/08/10
• Released in Malta by KRS on 22/09/10

Preview (first published 01/09/10 in VIDA magazine)

In a nutshell

Yet another buddy-cop movie, but this time coloured with Will Ferrell and Adam McKay's particular type of humour.

Why we're hyped

Together, comedian Will Ferrell and writer/director Adam McKay have made many of us laugh (and probably just as many roll their eyes) with the comedies Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, and the recent Step Brothers. If you find Ferrell nauseating, you might as well skip to the next film preview now. But if he tickles your funny bone, this might be the first decent live-action comedy this summer.

Who's in it?

Every buddy-cop movie needs two antagonistic stars, and the man patiently accompanying Detective Gamble (Ferrell) is Mark Wahlberg as Detective Hoitz, who was lumped with Gamble after a tragic shooting incident. The two minor-league detectives live in awe of the city's star police duo (Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson), but they are thrust into the limelight when they least expect it. Michael Keaton and Eva Mendes also star.

Review (22/09/10)

The guys

The film opens with a feast of gunfire and car wreckage, as two veteran cops chase an alleged criminal across the busy daytime streets of New York. The scene sets the mood nicely – nobody takes anything seriously, the action is big and loud, and nearly every cop movie cliché is brought out for a beating. That's more or less the recipe that is kept cooking throughout the film, and for most of the running time it manages to remain fresh. Jackson and Johnson's extended cameo also establishes the huge difference between their status in the police department, and that of the two minnows who live in their shadow.

The other guys

Mark Wahlberg (Boogie Nights, Three Kings) is not at his desk out of choice. He craves the action on the streets, and curses his past luck and his present partner. As detective Hoitz, he's all enthusiasm but no delivery, and he tackles the part well, in a sort of skewered version of his own role from The Departed. Will Ferrell seems to be having more fun, and is perfect for his role as Detective Gamble - a nerdy, wholesome forensic accountant who is the biggest fan of the heroic cops, but feels his contribution at the desk is just as important. He is hilarious to watch, as always, and his inept manner makes it all the funnier when he actually gets things done.

The gal

Various police film staple themes are thrashed and ridiculed at length, and most running gags don't outstay their welcome. One which falls slightly flat however is the issue of Gamble's wife. Eva Mendes is down to earth but still quite astronomically hot as Gamble's wife, Sheila, and she seems to be head over heels in love with him, to the amazement of Hoitz. The marriage sub-plot wears a bit thin however, and Mendes' role is revisited unnecessarily. It's still fun to watch Ferrell with her, at least.

The result

Your mood might affect how you savour this film. It has lots of laughs, but many of them are of the silly variety, so don't expect to be rolling in the aisles too often. It's still enough to keep a smile on everyone's face, however, and coupled with all the action it constitutes some accomplished entertainment. The complex stock market plot might confuse you as it did the other guys, but that's hardly the focus here. Funnier than most other films we've had this summer, but nothing too memorable.

Trailers:

http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/sony_pictures/theotherguys/

She’s Out Of My League

• Released Internationally on 12/03/10
• Released in Malta by KRS on 23/06/10

Preview (first published 29/05/10 in VIDA Magazine)

June is looking like a good month for comedy, and the second most promising offering is an underdog story with heart. The man against the odds is Kirk, portrayed by Jay Baruchel, the young and slightly-built guy who played unlikely heroes in Tropic Thunder and the recent How To Train Your Dragon. After tackling the Vietnam jungle and a nest of dragons, he now attempts to win over a far deadlier foe – a 10/10 woman. His supportive friends assure him that he is clearly a 5/10 at best, and affectionately refer to him as a moodle, or man-poodle, whom women would love to pet. But for some strange reason, the stunning blonde Molly (Alice Eve – ­Crossing Over, Sex and the City 2) seems to have more than just pity for him, and with nothing to lose, he puts pride aside and goes for gold. The least us males can do is support him in this noble venture.

Review (22/06/10)

Beating the odds

Despite being inherently predictable, this films works. It may not cover any new ground, or deliver any unexpected thrills, but for its entire duration it manages to keep us interested in the romantic endeavours of its hapless hero, and his unlikely shot at scoring out of his league. This is largely thanks to the two main characters. Baruchel’s Kirk is hard not to like, and his attempts in the opening scenes to win back his previous girlfriend firmly establish his lowly rank in the world of romance. If geeky is the new cool, this guy is ice cold. Rather hotter, however, is Molly, who floats through airport security, where Kirk works, setting off every alarm in sight, including his. When she leaves her phone behind, he suddenly has a chance to meet her again, and she seems unusually nice to him when they do. Alice Eve manages to balance looking ridiculously hot with acting rather down-to earth, making her seem somehow attainable. If we can see it, then eventually so can Kirk.

Support network

Before he sees it though, his friends do. As is standard in these sort of love/sex comedies, the friends and family of the main couple play an essential role. Kirk has three close friends and colleagues with wildly varying views about life, the universe and everything. They provide some of the better scenes and lines, with hopeless romantic Devon often being the most original and amusing of the three. Inevitably, their interaction with Molly's friends takes on a role of its own. Kirk's family, however, make his friends seem meek. Loud, obnoxious and incredibly thick, they constantly ruin Kirk's life, and when Molly comes over for lunch he has good reason to feel uneasy. The family chemistry culminates in a hilarious in-flight scene later on in the film, which is well-played.

Self-esteem

As expected, Kirk's self-worth proves crucial in his attempt at greatness. In a world where perceived quality is swiftly replacing actual quality as a key to success, Kirk needs all the help he can get to believe in himself and project the right image. Sadly, he would probably not stand a chance in reality, but who needs reality when we're heading to the cinema?

Trailer:

http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/dreamworks/shesoutofmyleague/

Hot Tub Time Machine

 

• Released Internationally on 26/03/10
• Released in Malta by KRS on 02/06/10

 

Preview (first published 29/05/10 in VIDA Magazine)

In a nutshell

Time travel is fun, I’ve been told. And the 80s were fun, if I remember well. So as part of the ongoing fascination with that most unstylish of decades, we finally get to travel back to 1986.

Why we’re hyped?

Probably the best time-travel film to date was based in the 80s, with Marty McFly leaving 1985 to travel back and forth in Back to the Future. This time, four male buddies with women troubles find themselves trapped in 1986 after a very drunken night involving a hot tub. They wake up when hair was bigger, highlighter jumpsuits weren’t only worn by inmates, and Michael Jackson (rest his soul), was still black. With such a goldmine of kitsch references and retro jokes, this promises to be one of the funniest movies this summer. It’s like The Hangover, but on the set of a Bonnie Tyler video.

Who’s in it?

Leading the pack back in time is the ever likeable John Cusack, who continues to alternate between quirky but excellent smaller films like Being John Malkovich and big-budget epics like Con Air or 2012. He is also one of the producers of the film, and should know something about the 80s since that when he had his first starring roles. Rising comedy regular Craig Robinson (Pineapple Express, Zack and Miri Make A Porno and the upcoming Shrek Forever After) is one of his bosom buddies, who isn’t too keen on bumping into his 1986 self, complete with high-rise hairdo. Clark Duke (Kick-Ass) and Rob Corddry (The Heartbreak Kid) round of the futuristic foursome. The film is directed by Steve Pink, who once adapted the screenplay for another Cusack gem – High Fidelity. So get out your leg warmers and zip up your shell suits, and get in the tub.

 

Review (02/06/10)

Present imperfect

Adam (Cusack) returns home from work to find that his long-term girlfriend has finally left, taking most of his possessions with her. In his basement, his pudgy nephew Jacob (Duke) lives indoors and his only social interactions are online, via his avatar on 'Second Life' (which makes one worry about how many such situations really exist). Across town, failed musician Nick (Robinson), does various non-appetising jobs at a dog-care centre, and definitely doesn't wear the trousers in his marriage. When their previously close friend Lou (Corddry) is hospitalised after a suspected suicide attempt, their lives comes swiftly into focus and they decide to try a weekend of bonding in a ski resort they used to love when they were younger. Nostalgia plays tricks, however, and they arrive to find a run-down resort that is a mere shadow of their glorious memories. When in doubt, drink.

Details, details

Time travel films require a certain amount of suspension of belief, for what I hope are obvious reasons. But the concept is so entertaining, and such a goldmine for cinematic moments that we're usually more than willing to nod along with talk of 'flux capacitors' and the 'space time continuum'. So usually the scantiest of details are enough to get the plot going. In this case, the unlikely mode of transport is an outdoor jacuzzi, which during the wild night of partying in which lots of sticky alcohol is spilt over the control panel, sends the four naked occupants swirling back to the mid-80s. The scene is a fast-paced, slightly trippy and very dizzying montage, which moves the plot swiftly forward to where we want to be. Getting back proves slightly more complex, however, and the numerous scenes where the four travellers and a mysterious, angelic handyman (Chevy Chase) try to fix the tub and get home end up being rather tedious and overdone.

Sex, drugs and glam-rock 'n’ roll

It may not be the swinging 60s or hedonistic 70s, but these unsuccessful males travel back to what they consider to be the zenith of their social lives - a wild winter week they spent in the resort, which was eventful and memorable on various levels. Brought up watching numerous time travel films themselves, they decide they should relive the week exactly as they remember it, so as to hopefully avoid a ‘butterfly effect’ and end up changing history forever. So, with a sense of duty, they set out into the frosty night to get punched by bullies, stabbed in the eyebrow by angry ex-girlfriends and booed off stage at a concert. Until, that is, they start realising that there’s fun to be had. Jacob, the unlikely time traveller who wasn’t even born at the time, is the most eager to get back home, especially after meeting the rather slutty 80s version of his dear mother.

Johnny B. Goode

The references to Back to the Future are frequent and not too subtle, from the hot tub’s digital display to the scene where the crowd is awed by a rendition of a ‘song from the future’. Certain scenes have the same overall feel of that time-travel classic too, as the characters try to tip-toe through the night’s events without disturbing the course of history, and failing miserably. The film also contains numerous elements that struck a chord in last year’s The Hangover, from the buddy aspect of the main characters to the shameless lack of decency or correctness as the events unfold. Most of the sleaze and crudeness is embodied in the character of Lou, with his three companions trying to hold him back, which sets up an interesting finale to the timeline troubles.

In the end

It’s crude, it’s rather silly, and it’s often much less coherent than similar films it tries to emulate. But there are frequent moments of hilarity, and a few inspired scenes that the main characters handle with boyish charm. You’ll probably need to be in the mood for this one, but if you are, you’re in for a fun ride.

 

 

Trailers:

http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/mgm/hottubtimemachine/

Clash of the Titans

• Released Internationally on 26/03/10
• Released in Malta by KRS on 14/04/10
• Showing in ‘RealD’ 3D at Empire Cinemas, Buġibba and in 2D everywhere else

In a nutshell

If you learnt all your Greek mythology from secondary school and Disney’s Hercules, this might be a good opportunity for a not-too-accurate update. A remake of the 1981 classic, this battle of the gods is big, boisterous and not too brainy.

Oh my gods

The film opens with a much-needed prologue, where as we watch lightning snake across the sky, a soothing voice fills us in on the current state of Greek god affairs. Zeus rules the skies, whilst his brother Hades runs the underworld. We are also told that Poseidon captains the seas, but we hardly get to see him, despite Danny Huston (Birth) being cast in the role. One can only presume his scenes amongst the many that were allegedly cut. Back to politics – the people of Argos (the city, not the franchise), are angry with the gods for what they claim is poor recent management, so they declare war on Zeus by destroying the huge statue of him that stands astride their jagged coast. Bold move.

Of course, you know, this means war

In the meantime, we meet Perseus, who is adopted by a fisherman (Pete Postlethwaite – The Usual Suspects, Romeo + Juliet) after being found as a baby, adrift in a coffin with his dead mother. He grows into quite a strong lad, which can be partly explained by the fact that he is in fact the illegitimate son of Zeus. The attack by Hades on Argos, and on Perseus’ adoptive family, spurs the young man to accept a perilous mission to find a way to defeat the humungous Kraken, which Hades has threatened to unleash on Argos unless they sacrifice their princess, Andromeda (Alexa Davalos – Defiance).

I need a hero

Confused yet? If not, then by all means rush to watch this film. If you are, don’t worry – it won’t matter much in the end. The prologue unfolds so quickly and fitfully that before you know it Perseus is leaving Argos, with a small band of suicidal men, ready to face the numerous battle scenes that the script has prepared for him. Taking on this main role is rapidly rising actor Sam Worthington, whom you might have seen in Avatar. He seems to have walked off that set and onto this one, as he sticks to the same accent, look and motivation. Unfortunately, not even all the rousing one-liners that the screenplay throws at him are enough to breathe any true emotion into his role, and it’s ironic that the hero ends up being so two-dimensional in a film made for 3D.

Easy to hate

Films like this are unfortunately becoming common in this age where so much depends on your opening weekend box-office. Grand scope, enormous aspirations, hefty budgets, big names. Sadly coupled with poor writing, last-minute cuts and re-shoots that decimate the film, and a belief that spectacular effects alone with make the film a good one. Much like the 1981 original, the film boasts top-drawer actors in the roles of the gods, but the result is painful to watch, as Liam Neeson (Schindler’s List) as Zeus and Ralph Fiennes (The English Patient) as Hades prance around in grotesque hair and make-up spouting dialogue that would make a Dynasty fan cringe. Gemma Arterton (Quantum of Solace), as Perseus’ tepid love interest, looks very British and slightly out of place amongst all the olive-skinned Greeks. Also jarring is the last-minute replacement soundtrack, which tries too hard to drum up some sense of awe, but could easily have been copied and pasted from numerous recent action films. For all the emphasis they are given, the effects occasionally falter too, with some of the creatures being only slightly more convincing than their Harryhausen predecessors. But in the film’s final act, when the kraken is released, nearly all is forgiven.

Fun to like

Ultimately, this film needs to be watched as a source for mindless fun, rather than inspiration or art. The film starts building to its climax from an early stage, and the oncoming kraken onslaught hangs heavily over the proceedings throughout. Once he (she? it?) is awoken, many of the wince-worthy moments that came before are forgotten, and we can sit back and grin through a bombastic and destructive conclusion full of shrieking Greeks and slithering tentacles. The scenes with Perseus astride Pegasus are probably the best in the film, and his mismatched duel with Godzilla’s grandfather manages to make some sense of all that came before it.

In the end

Director Louis Leterrier (The Transporter, The Incredible Hulk) seems to have taken on too big a project, but in his defence the end product is probably very far from what he originally planned to make. For such grave source material, the film is rather ridiculous at times, but if you’re after a couple of hours of beasts, bombast and numerous heavenly bodies, than you might enjoy this more than you expected to. It’s a quiet month, so why not?

Trailer:

http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/wb/clashofthetitans/