Argo

Directed by: Ben Affleck

Starring: Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin 

& John Goodman

Released: 2012

Runtime: 120 minutes

Rating: 4.5/5

Ben Affleck’s third and most ambitious feature as director is a dramatization of the rescue of six U.S. diplomats from Tehran, Iran during the 1979 hostage crisis. The rescue mission itself is lead by CIA Intelligence Operative Tony Mendez portrayed by Affleck who plans to get the diplomats out under the guise of a Canadian film scouting locations for a fake film called Argo.

The more I heard about Argo the more I wanted to see it. I’m a real sucker for these big Hollywood dramatizations of true events and coincidently I was actually reading about the Iran hostage crisis on Wikipedia not knowing that there is now a film based on it. So yesterday morning I headed down to my local cinema for the first screening of the day; I always pick the odd times to avoid the crowds. I bought a choc-top at the snack bar and prepared to experience Argo.

So what did I think and does it live up to all the hype it’s been getting? Well I thought it was excellent and yes it does. It was so intense; there is constant tension throughout almost the whole film. The opening scene was down right frightening, it turns your stomach. And the documentary style makes it feel all that more real. But that constant tension is relieved numerous times very effectively by well timed moments of humour, which is a real credit to Affleck’s directing. And in regards to his directing, what I admired most about this film is that it isn’t bias towards any one of the nations involved. It would have been very easy to portray the people of Iran as the ‘bad guys’ but you’re given such a clear understanding as to why they’re so angry, to the point where to begin to sympathise.

A big surprise for me is that this incredible true story has as a pretty solid connection to my all time favourite film, Planet of the Apes. The connection being that of make-up effects artist John Chambers (John Goodman) who won an Oscar for his work on the film and had previously crafted disguises for the CIA. Chambers along with Hollywood producer Lester Siegel (Alan Arkin) assist in making the film Argo appear credible should it be called into question.

Performances are solid from a stellar cast; Bryan Cranston as Mendez’s supervisor who I’ve yet to see a bad performance from, John Goodman and Alan Arkin who both provide a lot of the humorous element and of course Ben Affleck who has never really been regarded as the best action in the world but in this case he absolutely nails it.

I thought Argo was brilliant; Affleck’s direction is flawless and I think it’s his best film to date by a mile. It’s an unbiased portrayal of a horrendous situation that will have on the edge of your seat. I’m sure you’ll utter a great sigh of relief at the film’s climax, I know I certainly did. Now as for the Oscar hype, I’m not really one for making that kind of prediction but I will say that it’s more than likely. 

Moonrise Kingdom

Directed by: Wes Anderson

Starring: Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Billy Murray, Frances McDormand, Kara Hayward, Jared Gilman, Tilda Swinton & Bob Balaban

Released: 2012

Runtime: 97 minutes

Rating: 4.5/5

For me this was easily my most anticipated film for 2012; the film I absolutely must see at the cinema. For a while I thought I had missed it, but lucky my local cinema started playing a very limited amount of screenings last week. Better late than never I suppose; I guess they realised that it might actually be a good film that people would want to see instead of the usual mainstream of the mainstream.

Moonrise Kingdom is latest film by director and screenwriter Wes Anderson. Set in 1965 it’s the story of two young lovers; an unpopular boy scout name Sam (Jared Gilman) and a troubled girl named Suzy (Kara Hayward); who flee their New England town to start a new life together, which triggers a local search party of family members, local authorities and other peculiar members of the community to fan out and find them.

Well I almost didn’t see this fine picture, we the audience sat patiently in the dark of 60 seat cinema for about 20 minutes whilst the projector was being fixed. An usher apologised and we didn’t have to sit through the advertisements, it was straight to the feature.

This is one of the most delightful films I’ve seen in a very long time. It’s sweet, cute, funny and extremely quirky. And it looks beautiful; every frame is like a painting come to life. The often symmetrical cinematography is stunning and adds to the film’s quirkiness; which is enhanced even more by the film’s unique soundtrack. And it’s such an adorable story about the innocence of young love that’s told on both an adult and adolescent level. You really get an insightful view from both perspectives.  

The cast in this film is staggering, there’s Bruce Willis as the lone police officer, Edward Norton as chain smoking Scout Master Ward, counsellor husband and wife and parents to Suzy played by Bill Murray and Frances McDormand, and of course Kara Hayward, Jared Gilman as mentioned above; who are both very talented young actors, they give so much emotion and heart in their performances.  There are so many other terrific supporting characters, in particular Bob Balaban as the film’s narrator who is at his best with his trademark awkwardness.

Everything about Moonrise Kingdom works so well. Nothing is wasted, especially the actors. And it has such wide appeal; there were only around ten of us in the audience but I feel very confident in saying that everyone enjoyed it, there was a good vibe in the air and the film got quite a lot of laughs. Actually there was even a small applause, but that was for when the projector finally started running. I enjoyed it so much that I could easily watch it again right now. I’m so tempted to jump on Amazon.com and buy a copy on Blu-ray as I imagine a film like this would nothing short of stunning in HD. I think this is Anderson’s best film since Rushmore. Jiminy cricket, I love this movie! 

Paranormal Activity 4

Directed by: Henry Joost & Ariel Schulman

Starring: Katie Featherston, Kathryn Newton, Matt Shively & Brady Allen

Released: 2012

Runtime: 88 minutes

Rating: 3.5/5

Set five years after the events of the second film in the series; an average suburban family begin to witness and experience strange occurrences in their home when a mysterious woman and young boy move into the neighbourhood.

This makes the second Paranormal Activity film I’ve seen at the cinema; I saw Part 3 around this time last year. I got what I was expecting with this latest instalment and it was pretty good. It’s the same routine as the previous films; strange things start to happen, they intensify, building up to an ending that is somewhat of a disappointment.  

The first half of the film is a bit of a slow burner, things happen but they’re not all that dramatic yet still I found them to be very effective, more just plain creepy than anything else. And the presence of this strange little boy is very unnerving; he gives off one hell of a very sinister vibe.  The use of sound is excellent and also the clever use of an Xbox Kinect makes for some very cool visual spookiness. Our two central characters Alex (Kathryn Newton) and Ben (Matt Shively) are quite likeable, they have good chemistry and bring a very light and balance element of humour. And as for the film’s climax, well it wasn’t as over the top compared to Part 3, it was creepy, very quick but still it could have been a little better. I think it’s the least disappointing ending out the sequels.

These films are not the type you should take seriously, they're fun, they give us a few good frights and they’re great to see in packed cinema; but unfortunately when I saw this one it was only I and two people behind me, not even close to resembling a crowd.

Paranormal Activity 4 opened yesterday in theatres across Australia, it’s not so much scary because I’m kind of use to the formula now but it certainly does get the heart pumping. So if you go see it don’t expect  anything new, just relax and let your imagination take over for hopefully what you’ll find to be an enjoyable 88 minutes and make sure you stay until after the credits.

Lawless

Directed by: John Hillcoat

Starring: Tom Hardy, Shia Labeouf, Jason Clarke,

Guy Pearce, Jessica Chastain and Gary Oldman

Released: 2012

Runtime: 116 minutes

Rating: 4/5

I’ve always been drawn to films that are set during the Great Depression. There is a certain cinematic quality about them that I find very appealing. I’m not sure if it’s the language, style, characters or it being just a simpler time; perhaps a combination of it all.  But it’s certainly what drew me towards Lawless, and also my fascination with American gangsters from that era.

Lawless is the true story of three brothers living in Franklin County, Virginia. They’re a bootlegging gang amongst many in the area who come under threat by a new deputy from Chicago and other corrupt authorities who want a cut of the gang’s profit.  

Being that this film is by Australia director John Hillcoat and that I loved his previous film The Road, my expectations were pretty high. I won’t say Lawless exceeded them but it certainly easily met them.  It was a compelling and thrilling movie going experience and a great example of why I love films set in this particular ear so much as per the reasons mentioned above.

A lot of people have noted and even complained how slow paced the plot is. I didn't mind that at all as I don’t constantly need something to be happening on the screen. There are many quiet scenes with soft spoken dialogue which I felt brought a peaceful and still quality to the film, in spite of the violence which is shocking and nothing of sort of brutal. But it’s not as constant as the trailer would have you believe. It comes in waves, each wave being bigger each time; it’s well balanced and has a meaning as well as being a reflection of that environment. 

Tom Hardy gives a potential Oscar nominated performance as the eldest brother Forrest. He doesn't say a whole lot and a lot of what he does actually say are often soft grunts. I think it’s more his body language that speaks more about him than anything else. His youngest brother Jack played by Shia Labeouf is quite impressive, giving an emotionally intense performance. And middle brother Howard (Jason Clarke) is also very good, a troubled man hiding from a traumatic past behind an endless supply of moonshine. Last but not least, Guy Pearce is just fantastically creepy as Special Deputy Rakes, a violent and corrupt authority figure but ultimately a coward. You watch Pearce in this film and it’s so hard to believe that was once on TV’s Neighbours; I guess we all have to start somewhere. One main gripe I do have with the film; more so in regards to characters, is that there wasn't enough of Gary Oldman. He’s in two fairly short but great scenes and that’s it. I just really would have loved to have seen more from his character. It’s Gary Oldman for goodness sake.

Upon final analysis, Lawless is a great story about good outlaws up against bad lawmen. A display of that fine line that lies between good and evil. It’s a beautifully shot film with a nice soundtrack. However the ending was not what I was expecting I was hoping for a certain character to show up and save the day. But it still managed to be thrilling and finishes a fairly pleasant note.

Take Me Home Tonight

Directed by: Michael Dowse

Starring: Topher Grace, Anna faris, Teresa Palmer, Dan Fogler, Chris Pratt & Michael Biehn

Released: 2011

Runtime:  97 minutes

Rating: 3/5

It was Sunday night; outside for the past two days winter had made an unwanted return and Monday I had to go back to work after a very relaxed two week vacation. I had watched three movies earlier that Sunday, Steven Spielberg’s road thriller Duel, Charlie Wilson’s War starring today’s answer to Jimmy Stewart, Tom Hanks and the second feature film from director Duncan Jones, Source Code. But I wanted to get one more in before going to bed and to make it an even four. I was in the mood for a comedy, so I chose Take me Home Tonight, mainly because of the 80’s flavour. There isn’t a great deal to say about this movie. There isn’t an ounce of originality to it, especially when it comes to the plot.

Its 1988, our main character is Matt (Topher Grace) who is somewhat of a social outcast. He’s works in a video store at the local mall. He’s well educated and very smart but since graduating high school four years prior he hasn’t figured out what he wants to do with his life. Along with his best friend Barry (Dan Fogler) he attends a party hosted by the boy friend of his twin sister Wendy by play Anna Faris. It is at this party where Matt hopes to make a move on a girl he’s had a major crush on since high school. So yeah, guy with little confidence goes to a party to try and score with a chick that he’s liked since high school, but feels he’s way out of her league. I could have just said that to begin with but I thought dragging out the plot outline to a full paragraph might make it sound a little more interesting. Oh well, I tried.

Okay, so what we have here is Topher Grace playing his character from That 70s Show and Dan Fogler’s character is basically a poor man’s Jonah Hill from Superbad. Anna Faris as Wendy is an almost throw away character with little relevance to the story and she isn’t really that funny. And Australia’s very own Teresa Palmer as Tori is likeable, very pretty but a very one dimension, she does the best she can with her character. Also I must mention Michael Biehn in a minor role as Matt’s father, who actually has some of the best dialogue; certainly the most meaningful.

Overall it’s an alright comedy, there are some good laughs and the film really goes all out with the 80’s setting;  way over the top, with the fashion, colour, music and some really radical opening credits. Take Me Home Tonight is a decent movie to relax and unwind to, you don’t have to think too a whole lot and has an ending you see coming a mile away. Actually you could just watch the trailer if you don’t have the 90 minutes to spare.