The Help (2011)

A deeply touching human story filled with humour and heartbreak is rare in movies these days, especially just after a summer filled with comic book and Sci-Fi productions. That’s what makes The Help such a pleasant surprise.

Kathryn Stockett’s novel faced some sizeable barriers before being published (receiving over 60 rejection letters). Even when it finally found a publisher, this book still riled a few book critics, who thought Stockett to be a bit crazy: a white woman from Mississippi thinking she could write a book from the point of view of black maids serving white folks in the 1960s. However, the book touched a nerve with the general populace, causing a reaction which helped it to become one of the best-selling novels in recent years.

The film begins with Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan (Emma Stone) returning home from college to find that her family’s maid, who basically raised her, is no longer working with them. No one talks about it, but Skeeter is determined to discover what happened. Meanwhile, she hunts for a job and manages to procure one from the local paper, but it’s a cleaning column. She enlists the help of Aibileen (Viola Davis), a maid who works for one of the circle of friends Skeeter knows.

Skeeter is appalled by the attitude of her friends towards the help, so decides to write a book from the perspective of the maids, sharing their stories and their point of view on life.

The film version of The Help, directed and written for the screen by the inexperienced Tate Taylor- at Stockett’s request- does full justice to the book. The film is short on style and technique, but compensates with general emotional force.

The actors are all brilliant. To start with there’s Viola Davis: playing Aibleen, the housekeeper who raised 17 white children from various families but is still reeling from the accidental death of her own son. Then there’s Octavia Spencer who plays Aibileen’s best friend Minny Jackson, who isn’t one to hold back and gives the film its many laughs. Both performances are excellent and deserve an Oscar nomination at the very least.

We also have fine performances from Bryce Dallas Howard who plays racist boss Hilly Holbrook and Jessica Chastain who plays Celia Foote. Jessica plays the role with such warmth and feeling that it’s hard not to love her straight away.

Finally, we have the film’s catalyst Skeeter, Emma Stone, taking on the trickiest role with exceptional talent. Stone is subtly effective at showing all sides of Skeeter; from her passion of writing to her naivety at dating.

The Help is a story with many other stories attached to it. Tate Taylor obviously worked hard to try and deliver them all without making the audience confused with the detail. The dialogues are fantastic and the background stories on all the main characters are slowly revealed to keep the audience interested.

The Help takes the audience on an emotional ride through the lives lived in a culture aptly referred to as ‘hell on Earth’ in one scene. This is one moving film which does not bow to sentimentality. The Help has everything you could want from a film.

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Warrior (2011)

Before I start reviewing the film I’d like to get the obvious question out of the way. That question being, is it similar to The Fighter? The answer is yes. The next obvious question would be; is Warrior a better film? We would have to say, yes it is.

Gavin O’Connor’s Warrior manages to balance really tense action with a fractured family drama. It also features one of the best performances from a British actor this year; that of Tom Hardy.
After 14 years, ex-marine Tommy (Tom Hardy) returns to Pittsburgh to prepare for the world’s biggest mixed martial arts tournament, reconnecting with his father, Paddy (Nick Nolte), who will train him. Meanwhile, his estranged brother Brendan (Joel Edgerton), a former fighter himself, must return to the ring if he has any chance of saving his family’s home.

For those who don’t know what MMA is, it’s a type of fighting style that mixes all different types of Martial Arts. A fight can end in a typical TKO or the contestants can grapple each other and force a tap out (when the fighter gives up) This proves to be a blessing for O’Connor because the fight scenes are so much more intense than most boxing films and offers a lot more variety.

Warrior does a great job of showcasing its two up and coming stars, Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton. Hardy’s physique is astonishing, easily in the best shape of his life. He gives Tommy a very sinister edge, making him a tough character for the audience to cheer for; his past is clouded in mystery and he seems to hate everything that breathes, especially his father and brother.

Edgerton’s character, on the other hand, is the complete opposite. He’s a nice guy and adored schoolteacher, whose only priority is his wife and kids. Thankfully, both Hardy and Edgerton have the acting talents to pull these characters off. Tom Hardy can do no wrong at the moment. He stole the show in last year’s biggest film Inception (2010) and he’s threatening to do the same again with next year’s Dark Knight Rises (2012). In Warrior he is simply fantastic. If Warrior were released earlier in the year then Hardy would have got an Oscar nomination, he is that good.

When the brothers finally meet in the ring it hardly comes as a surprise but it’s still unquestionably one of the tensest cinema moments you’ll see this year. It’s genuinely tough to predict which brother will come out triumphant. The rest of the action scenes are just as terrific, with Hardy and Edgerton mixing it up with real MMA fighters and former WWE Champion Kurt Angle.

Warrior is a very emotional and inspirational film that tugs on the old heart strings. Warrior doesn’t do anything vastly different, but it’s still an utterly brilliant movie.





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Take Shelter (2011)

Roles in Revolutionary Road and Boardwalk Empire have finally put Michael Shannon on the map, but you could argue he is mostly known for a role he hasn’t even finished playing yet- Zod in 2013’s Man of Steel. However, it’s his nuanced turn in American indie Take Shelter- one that is full of emotion and slowly building anxiety – that’s probably his best performance in recent years.
Blue-collar worker Curtis LaForche (Michael Shannon) lives with his wife Samantha (Jessica Chastain again!) and their young daughter in the suburbs of Ohio. A series of strange goings-on in LaForche’s home town seem to signify impending doom. Curtis quickly starts to make plans to protect his family but his paranoia soon frightens his family.

Director (and writer) Jeff Nichols, working with Shannon for the second time after Shogun Stories (2007), has produced a compelling dive into a psyche spiralling into the abyss. From the start, we see Curtis staring at a faraway storm as dark oily rain falls from the sky. It’s the first of his vivid nightmares, which get more intense as his mind starts to unravel.

Nichols experiments with genre in hallucinatory moments that bring horror movies to mind. Obscured figures terrorise Curtis, trying to abduct his daughter Hannah and causing him to crash his car. In one haunting scene, Samantha is standing in front of Curtis, soaking wet and looking closely at a kitchen knife.

Take Shelter is the latest example of Shannon’s prowess as an actor; he’s surrounded by a great supporting cast which also includes Kathy Baker as his mother, Ray McKinnon as his older Brother and Shea Whigham as a co-worker and friend but none out-do Shannon. LaForche’s distress and confusion are palpable and whether his perceptions are correct or not, the cost is going to be high.
The only problem with Take Shelter (and it’s a very small problem) is the film is slightly too long. Nichols does a fantastic job in setting up LaForche’s situation, the small town in which he lives, the emotional and financial pressures that he and Samantha face dealing with their daughter’s condition and his devotion to his family. Nichols also keeps the audience as off balance regarding Curtis; is he insane or the sanest man on the planet? There is a point where Nichols could end the movie and retain that uncertainty. Instead, he opts for something more explicit which manages to keep the film’s power.

Shannon and Chastain wrench up their characters’ emotions and deliver performances that are worthy of Oscar nominations. Shannon’s explosion of rage during a town get-together is typical of some of his recent turns, but in truth his portrayal of Curtis is delicately layered with pain brewing beneath the surface.

Take Shelter is a terrific movie with Shannon’s performance staying with you long after you’ve left the cinema.

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Jurassic Park (1993)

19 years ago a film came out that would change cinema in many ways. Not only did the film exhibit extraordinary family-friendly narratives and showcase some of the finest Hollywood's actors of the time but it pushed the boundaries of CGI and taught film-makers that computer graphics could be integrated into a film without hindering the storytelling but rather enhancing it. During the film Jeff Goldblum's character exclaims, " You did it. You crazy son of a bitch, you actually did it", which I think can also appropriated to Jurassic Parks incredible director; Steven Spielberg.

Obsessed with dinosaurs since childhood, Spielberg had been nursing Jurassic Park for some time. However, in 1992, Spielberg had been intending to make Schindler's List his next project but having convinced to big studio executives to gamble on a three hour, black and white holocaust movie, Spielberg was happy to abide by the one condition made by the studio: he must make Jurassic Park first. No wonder people call 1993 Spielberg's miracle year.

To bring you back up to date on the story, the film follows the investigation of the zoological Jurassic Park and just how safe a South Pacific island that has free-roaming prehistoric dinosaurs (brought back to life through the magic of DNA retrieval and mind-boggling science). In for the ride are prehistoric world experts Alan Grant (Sam Neil), the role could've gone to Harrison Ford, but he turned down the opportunity to play Dr Alan Grant. Ellie Setter, who is played by Laura Dern is also accompanied by mathematician, Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum), and park owner, John Hammond's grandchildren Lex (Ariana Richards) and Tim (Joesph Mazello). Of course, Jurassic Park, being a hypothetical theme park, things go wrong and before long the characters go from awry situations to ones of life and death.

Coming off the back of Hook's troubled shoot - Jurassic Park managed to come in on budget and ahead of schedule. Some of of the human performances seem hurried, but Spielberg's definitely didn't rush the making of the dinosaurs and inspired a technical achievement on a scale that represented an entire visual revolution. In their early script meetings author Crichton was anxious to know how Spielberg was planning to tackle the technical challenge of the dinosaurs. Spielberg however, wanted to talk about dinosaur character. Spielberg took on board advice from some specialists but brought in lessons learned from his previous creature feature: E.T.. Eventually all this came together on the big-screen: The T-Rex eyes blinking in the flashlight, the velociraptor breath snorting against the kitchen door. These little details are what make the dinosaurs believable.

The film is remarkable in its ability to consistently juggle the many different themes and character paths without ever appearing clunky or tiring. From start to finish, Spielberg supplies us with varied sequences of horror, family, comedy, action and adventure. Jurassic Park reeks of Spielberg's incredulous charm and awe that makes you want to watch the film again and again.

Jurassic Park feels like a film that gets better with age, never feeling out-dated but just getting better and better with every nostalgic moment. Jurassic Park is one of the biggest and best summer blockbusters ever made, and a giant leap for cinematic effects.

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War Horse (2012)

In the nicest way possible, War Horse is old fashioned. It’s a film that could have been made – perhaps not with the technology but definitely with the heart – in Hollywood’s heyday. War Horse is an epic film that has Steven Spielberg doing what he does best. He takes the audience on an emotional journey through World War 1 and the other side. It wears its emotions on its sleeve, and there is no place for cynicism in that world. JJ Abrams payed tribute to Spielberg movies he grew up watching as a kid with Super 8. I feel Spielberg is paying tribute to the films he grew up watching with War Horse.

War Horse is set in England – 1914. Devon lad Albert Narracott (Jeremy Irvine) tames, trains and bonds with a stubborn farm horse he names Joey. When times get tight, Joey is sold into the British cavalry and begins an adventure that takes him across France and onto battlefields of World War 1 – with Albert in pursuit.

War Horse is adapted from the Tony-award winning play, as well as a children’s novel by Michael Morpurgo. The film opens with Landscape shots of Devon, where the story begins. If Tintin was made so Spielberg could try out the latest technology in film making, War Horse sees the director returning to his storytelling roots. There’s certainly no doubt that Spielberg is using the style of his childhood heroes, John Ford, David Lean, to name a couple, but he also brings his own cinematic intelligence to the film.  It may not stand up to some of his most applauded work (E.T, Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan), but his direction is as good as ever, the performances are strong (especially by Jeremy Irvine) and is, for want of a better word; a proper movie.

The film can take its time in certain passages; Spielberg seems to be enjoying his time with the characters, but spends too much time with some, and not enough time with others. But the cinematography is simply stunning. Janusz Kaminski’s work here is much different to the work he did on Saving Private Ryan. It’s shot in the style of a classical film, with long tracking shots. You won’t see many handheld shots here, especially in the more intense War scenes, and is definitely the most gorgeous work they’ve done together so far. War Horse calls on films from the 20’s and 30’s and feels like its come straight from that era.

The movie has Spielberg using his imagination, whether is entrance shots from the reflection of Joey’s eye, a regimental pendant as a telling narrative motif, or a strategic use of a windmill sail. Finally we have the use of the horses in the film. Much of the magic and enjoyment of the stage show comes from the excellent puppetry used to bring the horses to life. Of course, this wasn’t an option for Spielberg (it’s a bit too ‘old school’ for Hollywood). But somehow, Spielberg still manages to tell the story almost entirely from the point-of-view of the horse. Once the bonding session with Albert is over, we pretty much stay with Joey throughout the rest of the film, a decision that makes the journey of Albert less important, but the audience has came to see the story of Joey more than anything else. Spielberg definitely knows how to film horses, be it crafty camera moves or expansive tracking shots of Joey as he gallops through the war, in these moments in particular, there’s no more impressive camera movement.

The acting is top-notch with great performances from Emily Watson, Benedict Cumberpatch and Tom Hiddleston. Their performances are very old fashioned and works very well with the style of the movie. Of course the stars of the show are the horses. How Spielberg managed to get these performances from Horses is nothing short of amazing.

War Horse is fantastic family film making that does what all good films should do, which is take the audience to another world that either doesn’t exist or never will again.

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The Artist (2012)

They say silence is golden, well it certainly is in The Artist, a brilliant homage to 20’s and 30’s Hollywood cinema that’s so ripe with invention it goes way beyond what some people consider to be ‘Old School’.

When The Artist premiered at last years Cannes film festival, Harvey Weinstein snapped up the United States rights and a handful of critics pronounced it Oscar worthy on the spot. At the time, that sounded far fetched, and maybe still is now. But save your judgement until after you’ve seen the movie, a project so idiosyncratic, so unlikely, so simultaneously innocent and sophisticated that it could only have been devised by the French. Furthermore, The Artist is also an insane amount of fun, which is not a concept most people would associate with French film (think Mesrine Part 1 & 2). But it’s that factor that may have put its handsome leading man, Jean Dujardin, in the race for the top awards this winter.

Jean Dujardin is totally luminescent in the role, echoing stars like Rudolph Valentino and Errol Flynn in his mannerisms yet with an uncanny resemblance to Gene Kelly. Unless you’re a fan of the alternative cinema that is French comedy, you’ve never heard of Dujardin of director Michel Hazanavicius. But the qualities that would seem to make their movie totally unmarketable are also its strengths, The Artist is in Black-and-white. It’s not merely a silent film, but one that both imitates and spoofs the silent age dramas of the late 1920’s, movies that hardly any living people today have sat through. That’s at least three strikes against the film, (Mark Wahlberg’s latest film Contraband has taken more $ in one day, then The Artist did in one week), but ever since that Cannes premiere, audiences at festivals have been lapping it up. Not everyone will like it that much, that’s a given, but if you do, it’s the kind of movie you tell your friends about, and drag them to the cinema.

Dujardin plays George Valentin, who is byword for vanity at first, as the star attends the premiere of his latest romantic adventure and makes another performance out of soaking up the applause. He has legions of fans, including Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo) who breaks through the cordon and manages to get her picture taken with him.

She’s just the sort of sassy female you’d expect to see in a musical comedy of the era and Bejo adds a girlish twinkle that sets her apart in her first dance audition for Valentin’s next movie. Both Bejo and Durjadin rehearsed their dance scenes in Debbie Reynolds and Gene Kelly's dance studio. It’s only a walk on role, but in a wonderfully funny turn by Dujardin, it’s Valentin who keeps spoiling the takes. Very obviously, Peppy has turned his head.

Certainly director and his leading man have lots of fun with their affections for silent cinema, but the gags are crafted with such a loving eye for detail that you never once think they’re trying to make a mockery the genre. Even the slapstick moments are graced with a higher with and cleverly work to reveal things that are left unspoken.

Hazanavicius has created something truly great and unforgettable. Gorgeously shot by cinematographer Guillaume Schiffman and with a great score by Ludovic Bource, The Artist has everything we go to the cinemas for, to laugh, cry and get lost. How can this not fail to win big at the Oscars?

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Alien (1979)

When Alien was first released in 1979 during the summer season, science fiction movies were all the rage. The trend had been started two years earlier with the unexpected box office success of Star Wars, and by 1979, anything even remotely connected with space and/or aliens was a guaranteed success. Two highly anticipated efforts – the big screen debut of Star Trek and the Star Wars sequel (Empire Strikes Back) – both of which were within a year of their opening dates, further invigorated the atmosphere. It was into this climate that Alien was unleashed upon the general public.

When commercial towing vehicle Nostromo, heading back to Earth, intercepts a SOS signal from a nearby planet, the crew are under obligation to investigate. After a bad landing on the planet, some crew members leave the ship to explore the area. At the same time as they discover a hive colony of some unknown creature, the ship’s computer deciphers the message to be a warning and not a call for help. When one of the eggs is disturbed, the crew do not know the danger they are in until it’s too late.

The people who developed Alien knew they would be in the shadow of Star Wars and Close Encounters. But these were feel-good family films, Alien marked a return to the malevolent flying-saucer flicks of the 50’s –with a dash of horror thrown in. Writer Dan O’Bannon and Co-story man Ron Shusett intended Alien to be a low budget affair, like O’Bannon’s previous film; Dark Star. Over three months, a modest script emerged from a half-finished O’Bannon story about a distress signal in space called memory. It was re-titled Star Beast and finally Alien.

The film’s memorable tagline “in space, no one can hear you scream”, promised a far different experience to the other Sci-Fi films seen before. Most people these days would consider Alien to be more horror the science fiction. Alien is about shocks, chills and thrills, not space battles. Where Star Wars had Light sabers and blasters, Alien has intense atmosphere. In many ways Alien was the first of its kind. True – it wasn’t the first space movie to feature a homicidal monster, nor was it the first a group of characters were hunted down one-by-one in dark, dank spaces. However, this film was one of the first to effectively combine these two genres. Alien became the blueprint for dozens of rip-offs and three Alien sequels (With the prequel Prometheus coming out this spring!!), with one exception (James Cameron’s superior Aliens which changed the creepy horror for all out action), none has come close to what filmmakers attained way back in 1979.

As I said previously, Alien set the blueprint for Sci-fi horror: the claustrophobia, the crew class system, and getting a cat involved in the proceedings, and of course, the famous Alien out of chest scene. There are thrills of the highest order – but the beauty of Alien remains. One of the best Sci-Fi films ever made.

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Fast and Furious 5: Rio Heist (2011)

They simply had to get this latest instalment of a fading franchise right. So, Universal did what any right-minded studio should do, they put The Rock in it. Dwayne Johnson is the best thing in this film by a country mile. He hulks around the movie all sweaty and leaving testosterone trails in his wake. Clad in a flak jacket and a cage fighter’s beard, he’s the guy the FBI call when they want to catch someone. His body is a temple (I’ve never seen him looking so pumped), and from the moment he turns up on-screen (telling a little Brazilian cop to quite literally, stay the f@~k out of his way) you know you’re in for a stupidly entertaining film.

So, the latest instalment for the Fast/Furious franchise has finally brought Dwayne Johnson and Vin Diesel together. They’re both two well muscled action stars and their coming together has made Fast and Furious 5 the best film in the series so far. But that’s not all. Not only does the film bring the two meaty juggernauts together, but it’s also a reunion of almost every memorable character from the previous four films. With the notable exceptions of Michelle Rodriguez and Lucas Black, the cast features Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Chris Bridges (Ludacris), Tyrese Gibson (Tyrese), Gal Gadot, Tego Calderon, Don Omar and Matt Schulze. It’s a good time, especially if you’re already a fan.

Picking up where 2009’s Fast and Furious left off, Brian (Paul Walker) and Mia (Jordana Brewster) spring Dominic (Diesel) from his 25 year prison sentence by forcing an accident with the bus in which he is being transferred. The gang speeds off to Brazil on yet another assignment set up by their old friend Vince (Schulze). When the job goes wrong, they come up against Rio’s entire underground drug business. But instead of fleeing the city, they decide to rob the ringleader Reyes (Joaquim de Almeida) of $100 million. As the plot thickens with gunfire, chases and fights, an interesting dynamic between Diesel and Johnson emerges with a man-o-man smack down that’s pure macho magic. Needless to say it was one of the best fight scenes in 2011 (even Empire agrees).

Fast and Furious 5 (or Fast Five) shouldn’t have been a good film. Diesel, as always, is incapable of showing any kind of emotion. There are plenty of scenes that just don’t gel. And at over two hours, it’s too long for me. But this was still a bloody good action/adventure which proves that film series don’t always need to stop at 3. If you missed catching this at the cinema, then make sure you watch it on the loudest and biggest screen you can find.

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Everything Must Go (2011)

Will Ferrell literally had me in tears when he played Ron Burgundy in Anchorman, but his latest role offers an abrupt change of speed, so much so, that he’s near enough slammed on the brakes at full force. A comic looking for new avenues in drama is nothing new. Jim Carrey and Robin Williams have both had a go, and both have been successful. Adam Sandler also had a bash with Punch Drunk Love (2002). With a sombre short story from Raymond Carver as the source material, Will Ferrell is making a bid to be taken seriously.

Ferrell showed signs that he wasn’t just a guy capable of playing man-child clowns; he could do it all – even if it was just for a brief moment. In Everything Must Go, he shows that side again, but with a never before seen dark turmoil. Ferrell plays Nick, an executive VP for a marketing firm. He gets told his services are longer required after giving them 16 years of his life. He also loses his company car, and to top it all off, he gets home to find his Wife has left him, changed all the locks, and left all his belongings on their front yard. It’s fair to say that Nick is at his wits end, and lapses back into alcoholism.

Nick camps out in the yard doing little else but downing beers. His sponsor Frank (Michael Pena), neighbour Samantha (Rebecca Hall) and Kenny (Christopher Jordan Wallace), a young boy living down the road, all offer support in various forms. Eventually, Nick is given a permit to hold a days-long outdoor sale – allowing him to stay on his yard and sort out his life. The sales become a metaphor, as the cleaning away of possessions he gained while he was with his wife allows him to move on.

Now, the movie I’ve just described could be anywhere from terrific to terrible, so what you need to know is that Ferrell gives a great performance. He never overplays Nick’s drunkenness (like the drunken “we’re going to the gymnasium” of Old School), but never allows us to get too cosy with this severely drunk and depressed character. When Nick looks up an old girlfriend (Laura Dern), she tells him he always had a good heart, but there’s a clear subtext; if you don’t follow up with good actions, it doesn’t count for much, and Nick hasn’t done too well on that part.

The film is written and directed by newcomer Dan Rush, who does an admirable job of limiting the films scope and keep it moving. While the story takes place in and around Stockdale, Rush never really waivers away from the front yard, making it the central location for the majority of the story. However, it never feels confining, which is mainly due to the fact that it’s filmed outside.  

Ferrell was able to deliver a carefully restrained performance, bringing some occasional flashes of his comic skills in his relationship with Kenny and his conniving ex-boss Gary (Glenn Howerton). Everything Must Go is wilfully indie and occasionally too laid-back for its own good, and though the central story is a nice one, it never really gets too emotional, which is a shame because all the performances are solid and Ferrell certainly proves he has more tricks up his sleeve than just making people laugh.

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