January at the Movies

• This article was first published on 01/01/12 in VIDA magazine.
• Release dates are subject to change. All films released locally by KRS Film Distributors Ltd.

film of the month:

War Horse

Steven Spielberg made a much-welcomed return to the director’s chair last month, with a first for him - an animated film - but his usual style of adventure and awe. Now he’s back again, and this time with another two of his areas of expertise - war, and heart-wrenching emotion. War Horse is a beautiful tale of a boy who grows to love the horse he cares for, only to see him whisked off to serve in World War I. Although too young to enlist as a soldier himself, the boy eventually sets off on an impossible mission to find his horse and bring him safely home.

The original children’s book was brought to life in spectacular fashion as a piece of stunning theatre (if you’re in London, I strongly recommend it), which uses uncannily realistic puppetry to bring the equine stars to life. Now it’s getting the big screen treatment, and you can bet that Spielberg’s version will be just as moving. Benedict Cumberbatch (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), Emily Watson (Punch-Drunk Love), Tom Hiddleston (Thor) and David Thewlis (Harry Potter) star, although they will probably be outdone by the stars on four legs and the British countryside.

Richard Curtis, who does comedy and romance so well (Four Weddings, Love Actually, Blackadder) has adapted the screenplay, and Spielberg-regular John Williams will be providing the score. Not that the story needs much more emotion, but Williams usually manages to add a layer, or five. Whether you like Spielberg’s adult fare or his childlike awe, this should do the trick.

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also released this month:

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

I was recently in a London hospital waiting room, hoping that a tutorial hadn’t been cancelled, when my ears pricked up and I eavesdropped slightly. Two very prim and proper British ladies next to me were having a matter-of-fact debate about whether Daniel Craig would make a good Mikael Blomkvist in the new adaptation of the book. They proceeded to analyse most of the main characters, and an uninformed listener might have thought they were discussing a 70s soap opera on the BBC, not a twisted and often shocking crime thriller from Sweden. But such is the reach of the late Stieg Larsson’s Millenium trilogy, that mums everywhere can hold very strong opinions about the infamous Lisbeth Salander and her tortured past. The Swedes rightly got to the books first, and made three very good films out of them. Now it’s the Americans’ turn. I groaned at first, but with David Fincher at the helm, and what is so far unanimous acclaim for Rooney Mara’s performance as the petite but ruthless heroine, this is looking better by the minute. Rounding off the cast is Christopher Plummer as Henrik Vanger, Stellan Skarsgård as Martin Vanger and Robin Wright as Erika Berger. David Fincher does dark and twisted wonderfully (Se7en, Zodiac) and he even managed to make the birth of facebook a riveting thriller. This should be brilliant.

Immortals

If you’ve ever seen a film or music video by Tarsem Singh, you probably remember it. His visual style is quite unique, and he is more than willing to sacrifice story and flow just to make every shot worthy of a fancy frame. The Cell looked so great that J.Lo wasn’t the best-looking prop in it, and The Fall started off with a masterpiece prologue before diving into colour and looking gorgeous throughout. So he seems like a good fit for more tales of Greek gods and muscly heroes, since 300 was similarly spectacular and artsy. This film looks like an obvious offshoot of that Spartan tale, and we can expect a lot more shiny abdominals and slow-motion spear-throwing. Let’s hope there a plot in there somewhere.

My Week With Marilyn

Like many stars who died young, Marilyn Monroe has been immortalised at her peak, which is why decades later she casts a spell over people who were born decades after her demise. But, unlike many of the pin-up blondes of today, she was famous for more than just her looks (and her line of perfume, etc.) - she was an acclaimed actress who starred with the best. This nostalgia trip looks back at her encounter with the acting institution that is Sir Laurence Olivier (played by Kenneth Branagh), whilst filming in the UK. A young assistant gets to show Marilyn around the British isles, and quickly discovers the extent of her allure. Michelle Williams (Blue Valentine) is receiving heaps of praise for her portrayal of the blonde bombshell, and the film looks to be the best one about her yet.

The Iron Lady

If you’re not convinced by Michelle Williams’ portrayal of Marilyn Monroe, you can pop into the adjacent screen and watch the master at work. Soon after disappearing inside the character of Julia Child, Meryl Streep has now transformed herself once again and is Margaret Thatcher. Her acting, her voice and the hair and makeup make it quite uncanny to even see the film posters, and that’s usually enough of a guarantee that you will immerse into the film plot and forget you’re watching a performance. Directed by Phyllida Lloyd (Mamma Mia!) the film focuses on the run-up to the Falklands war in the early 80s, and is the first big-screen portrayal of the larger-than-life prime minister who still polarizes the public today.

J. Edgar

And rounding off this month’s trio of impersonations, Leonardo DiCaprio takes on a less well-known figure, J. Edgar Hoover. Hoover set up and built the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) across the Atlantic, and is the man credited with making it the crime-fighting powerhouse that it is today. Directed by Clint Eastwood, the film also starts Armie Hammer (The Social Network), Josh Lucas (A Beautiful Mind), Judi Dench (Iris) and Naomi Watts (King Kong). The script is by Dustin Lance Black, who shot to fame after penning the Oscar-winning Milk a couple of years ago.

The Darkest Hour

Timur Bekmambetov may not ring as many bells as, say, Steven Spielberg, but he’s only just making the transition from Russia to Hollywood, and the syllable count isn’t in his favour. After a couple of acclaimed films in his homeland, he brought his stylish action to the film Wanted, which had numerous sequences that you couldn’t dream up if you were the least sober person at Woodstock. He now turns his mix of action and spectacle to the subject of hostile aliens, and this film centres around five young heroes tries to survive an invasion of Moscow. To make things interesting, you can’t see the aliens.

It’s Complicated

• Released Internationally on 23/12/09
• Released in Malta by KRS on 27/01/10

In a nutshell

Jake and Jane have been divorced for ten years, after being married for fifteen. Jake has now remarried. When the ex-couple spend a weekend in New York for their son’s graduation, things get complicated.

Mid-life crises

This light-hearted romantic comedy manages to strike a good balance between fluff and drama, and builds a believable relationship dilemma between its two main protagonists. Since their divorce, Jane has taken time to adjust, but is now finally getting herself together emotionally. But empty-nest syndrome looms as her youngest daughter leaves the (huge) family house, and the loneliness isn’t helped by constant reminders about her dry spell from her girlfriends. Jake, in the meantime, is in a hectic marriage to a much younger woman with a harebrained son, and as he is dragged to fertility clinics by his trophy wife, he admits that he has become a ‘walking cliché’.

Happy families

The ex-pair meet occasionally, and the animosity has cooled, but it takes a full-blown family weekend like old times to bring out buried emotions, and with a lot of insistence from Jake, things start to happen. This proves badly timed for Jane’s architect, Adam, who is also divorced, and with whom Jane was starting a tentative flirtation. The triangle provides ample fodder for situation comedy and tough decisions, and the film manages to remain interesting without following any wildly unpredictable path.

Who’s in it?

Meryl Streep caps off yet another outstanding year with her omnipresent role as Jane. Torn between a steady situation she was getting used to, and the promise of fresh excitement, she is faced with all the tough decisions, and she manages all the complications convincingly, switching from lover to ex-wife to mother to cook to first date seamlessly. She continues to excel into her 60s, after an amazing turn in Julie & Julia, and a subtle but classy role in Fantastic Mr. Fox. Alec Baldwin (30 Rock, The Cooler) is single-minded and often hilarious as Jake, whilst Steve Martin (Bowfinger, The Pink Panther) gives a restrained but likeable performance as the nerdy but nice Adam. Baldwin and Martin will be hosting this year’s Oscar ceremony, which sounds promising. The supporting cast complete the complex family trees nicely, especially John Krasinski (The Office, Away We Go) as the fiancé of Jane’s eldest daughter, who starts off awkwardly but ends up having some of the funniest moments in the film.

In the end

Nancy Myers, who previously directed Something’s Gotta Give, The Holiday and What Women Want (as well as writing the former two), continues with her winning formula – light, fun, romantic comedies featuring top-class actors and tackling various relationship issues at different stages of life. Her script is as pleasant as usual this time around, and the cast, especially Streep, deliver. Romance and comedy, with some extra class.

Trailer:

http://www.apple.com/trailers/universal/itscomplicated/ (High-res QuickTime)

Julie & Julia

• Released Internationally on 07/08/09
• Released in Malta by KRS on 07/10/09

In an eggshell

Based on two true stories, this mouth-watering film chronicles how American cooking legend Julia Child ended up in the kitchen, and how 21^st Century blogging sensation Julie Powell was inspired by her to get her life in order.

Julia

Less known this side of the Atlantic, Julia Child is something of an institution over in America. After living in France for many years due to her husband’s diplomatic postings, she grew to love French cooking, and learnt the art to very high standards in order to pass the time. Her love of eating and cooking grew into a book project with French co-authors, because she was shocked to find that nobody had ever published a French cookery book in plain English. She therefore invested all her time and experience into a guide for ‘servantless’ American housewives. The success that followed led to television cooking specials, more books, and celebrity chefs as we know them today.

Julie

A sure sign of the times, this film can claim to be the first major release to be based on a blog. I’m assuming you know what a blog is (since you’re reading one now), but back in 2002 they were in their infancy. Julie Powell, newly married and reluctantly moving further from the city centre, was in an emotionally draining cubicle job handling post-9/11 complaints, and seeing her dream of becoming a writer slipping away. After much encouragement from her husband, she hatched the Julie/Julia project, a daunting attempt to cook her way through all 524 recipes in Child’s first book, within a year, and blog about the experience. She felt it would bring discipline and purpose to her life, and it turns out she got the recipe right. What started as simply something to do started attracting an increasing following, and she eventually went on to reach her goal, publish the writings as a book, and be a writer (now also with a film adaptation).

Through the eyes of a child

Meryl Streep, yet again, is excellent. She becomes Julia Child so convincingly, yet she doesn’t let the mannerisms, shrill voice and bubbly character stop her from turning in some fine acting. Child was an immense woman at over six feet, with an infectious laugh and voice that gave her no-nonsense approach such appeal with her audience (you can have a look here). With the help of various clever Gandalf/hobbit-style camera tricks, Streep towers over her co-stars and becomes Julia. The sheer joy she exudes on moving to Paris helps her settle in and love the locals, and this sincere love for the French way of life is what she gave back in her book.

Different time, different place

The film follows the two story lines deftly, and despite them being on different continents and in different centuries the various parallels are highlighted as the two projects take shape. Amy Adams, who co-starred with Streep in last year’s Doubt, portrays Julie Powell and the struggles of her annus mirabilis are intriguing to watch. It is in fact quite a nice surprise that the film manages to be so entertaining and engaging, seeing as half of it is essentially about an average person’s self-serving in-house project. But I guess that’s one of the plus points of blogging – Powell’s thoughts and troubles struck a chord with her unknown audience, and eventually with publishers, and now with cinemagoers.

Moral support

The most evident and significant parallel between the two stories is the unfaltering support these two woman had from their dedicated husbands. Both marriages appear passionate and respectful, and both husbands are depicted as admirable in almost every way. Stanley Tucci (The Devil Wears Prada, The Terminal) is quietly brilliant as Mr. Child, and Chris Messina (Vicky Cristina Barcelona) is equally admirable as Mr. Powell.

Low-calorie delight

The book was adapted for the screen and directed by one of the queens of romantic comedy – Nora Ephron. The director of lasting favourites such as When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle and You’ve Got Mail manages to lift the film from being simply another biopic, and she laces it with so much fun and great food that it’s easy to be swept up in the enthusiasm. Very little goes wrong in these two stories, and there’s very little not to like about these two characters. Just make sure you eat something beforehand, because I sat through it on an empty stomach and it was delicious torture.

Trailer:

http://www.apple.com/trailers/sony_pictures/julieandjulia/

Doubt

• Released Internationally on 25/12/08
• Released in Malta by KRS on 18/03/09

In a nutshell

Fr. Flynn is a charismatic, progressive young priest in a small Catholic parish in the Bronx, New York. He also teaches in the attached Catholic school, which is run by the Sisters of Charity of New York, under the iron fist of Sister Aloysius. She becomes convinced that he has abused a vulnerable boy in the school, and despite not having any evidence or witnesses she sets out to bring him down.

Cloistered habits

Adapted from the Pulitzer-prize winning play Doubt: A Parable, this film is predictably short on the action front, but more than makes up for it with its sharp dialogue and powerful performances. Set nearly entirely between the four walls of the church and school, the story is built around four or five key sequences, including two wonderfully orchestrated confrontations between Fr. Flynn and Sr. Aloysius. The dark corridors of the nunnery, the grey skies seen through the occasional window, and the dark, oppressive bonnets worn by all the nuns help to add to the sense of starkness and piety. The sparse score by Howard Shore (The Lord of the Rings) and the occasional Christmas hymn complete the effect.

Mother superior

The great Meryl Streep, unrecognizable as the care-free woman who danced and sang her way through Mamma Mia! only last summer, is terrifying as Sister Aloysius. With a name that conjures up a few memories of similar characters from my own school years, she is utterly believable as the one thing all her students, and colleagues, are afraid of. Once she has her own certainty of Fr. Flynn’s wrongdoing, she will stop at nothing in the pursuit of virtue, even if it means “taking a step away from God”.

“The dragon is hungry”

Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote, Magnolia) is equally impressive as Fr. Flynn. Whether standing at his pulpit, or mingling with his students, he draws us in, getting us on his side against this monster everyone should be terrified of. This is the beauty of the story – the characters’ doubts become our own, and from scene to scene we must re-evaluate what we have seen and heard to try and reach our own conclusion, and take sides.

Not so minor roles

Amy Adams (Enchanted, Charlie Wilson’s War) is Sister James, a young, naive nun who dutifully obeys Sister Aloysius’ command to be on the lookout, but who after reporting some oddities is then repulsed by the huge chaos she has created. And rounding off the four main characters is Viola Davis (Syriana, Disturbia) as the mother of the boy in question. Not since Judi Dench in Shakespeare in Love has so much praise and attention been given to such a brief role – she only has one speaking seen and a few more seconds on screen. But she turns everything inside out by defying Sister Aloysius and, incredibly at first, not giving the reaction one would expect from a mother. Her impassioned plea is startling, yet possibly the wisest of all the conflicting views, and her role is as pivotal as the other three.

In the end

John Patrick Shanley, who wrote the play, has adapted it for the screen himself, and also directs. He fleshes it out with a few mood-setting outdoor scenes and some background characters, but ultimately it’s his writing when the four main characters face-off that makes the film. Small in scope, and essentially just a detailed study of four different reactions to one dubious occurrence, this is a film that should get you thinking and taking sides, whether you’re a firm believer, a non-believer, or someone with doubts.

 

Trailer:

http://www.apple.com/trailers/miramax/doubt/ (High-res Quicktime)

Mamma Mia!

 

• Released Internationally on 09/07/08
• Released in Malta by KRS on 23/07/08

 

In a nutshell

Yet another successful jukebox musical makes the leap to the big screen. Mamma Mia! has been playing to packed theatre audiences on both sides of the Atlantic for nearly ten years, and considering the undying popularity of ABBA’s hits, it’s no surprise.

Summer loving

Mamma Mia! Is very much a summer film – loads of beautiful people singing and dancing away on a sun-drenched Greek island, as they prepare for a wedding. Guests start to arrive from around the globe, and a few old friendships are re-forged and some old flames rekindled. What more could you ask for on a hot summer night?

Happy families

I admit to never having watched the stage musical, for reasons related to my Y chromosome, so I’m not sure how this screen version steers away from the original plot or song line-up. We first meet Sophie on the eve of her wedding, and she confides in her bridesmaids that she has raided her mother’s old diary looking for clues as to the identity of her unknown father. Instead of an answer, she finds three, and therefore decides to invite all three of them to the wedding. And sure enough they all turn up, never having met each other before, and all eager to meet their old summer romance, Donna.

Mighty Meryl

Donna runs the island’s main hotel, is organising the wedding, and more or less steals the show. She is played by a very feisty Meryl Streep, who once again shows us her huge versatility and talent. Approaching 60, Streep transforms herself into a burnt-out but fun single mother, who’s put aside her wild youth and settled for a quiet but busy life cut off from the rest of the world. She sings, she dances, she performs splits, and she crowns it all with a wonderful rendition of ‘The Winner Takes It All’ atop a windy cliff.

Who else is in it?

Amanda Seyfried (Mean Girls, Alpha Dog) is the bride-to-be, Sophie. The three potential fathers she invites are portrayed with gusto by Pierce Brosnan (007, Mrs. Doubtfire), Colin Firth (Bridget Jones’ Diary, Love Actually) and Stellan Skarsgård (Pirates of the Caribbean, Amistad). Julie Walters (Harry Potter, Billy Elliot) and Christine Baranski (The Birdcage, Bulworth) are equally entertaining as Donna’s best friends. The film was directed by Phyllida Lloyd, who had directed the musical to worldwide success back in 1999.

Flawed but fun

The fun never stops, and there are over twenty musical numbers squeezed into the plot, and chances are you know the lyrics or at least the tune to nearly all of them. And the entire cast seems to be having great fun throughout the whole thing. Admittedly, watching James Bond suddenly burst into song on a Greek veranda can take some getting used to, but most musical numbers turn out quite well. The scenery is exquisite, although some sequences give away the studio setting and fail to match the outdoors scenes. But all’s resolved in the end, and in true musical style there’s a big grand finale to suit everyone. And just in case you’re not smiling by the end of it all, the closing credits are sure to win you over.

 

 

Trailer:

http://www.apple.com/trailers/universal/mammamia/ (High-res QuickTime)