The Fighter (2010)

Dir: David O. Russell / Writers: Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy/ Cinematography: Hoyte Van Hoytema

Everything looks better in soft focus (image: OscarD FlickrCC)

Rocky for the new millennium?
A boxing movie that’s more about the characters outside than inside the ring…sounds strangely familiar? Well, The Fighter very much follows its own groove, as might be expected from fiercely independent director David O. Russell, but there are definite similarities to Rocky in its focus on the importance of family and community, and its recognition that even the most loving ties can bind you too tightly.

This Irish-American boxer, Micky Ward (Mark Wahlberg) is a quiet, rather colourless soul compared to his rabble of larger + louder than life siblings. Elder brother Dicky Eklund (Oscar nominated Christian Bale) is the charmer of the family, a former prize fighter and the spoiled favourite of their gum-chewing, hard-nosed mother. He is also (and Bale plays this to full jittery, mad-eyed OTT effect) a crack addict who deludes himself (and his mother) that he’s got one more fight left in him.

127 hours (2010)

Dir: Danny Boyle / Writers: Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufort / Cinematography: Enrique Chediak and Anthony Dod Mantle

Screen idol? (image: unsureshot & sheksays FlickrCC)

This film is insane…
We all know how this one goes – it’s the selling point of the film. Just how do you go about chopping off your own arm? And when the chips come down, could you actually go through with it?

These are the questions faced by hard-core rock climber and all-round adventure junkie, Aron Ralston when his arm comes between a tumbling boulder and the rock face of a crevasse in the middle of nowhere. No phone, no jacket, little food or water – just the clock counting down to almost certain death.

Franco is great – just as well given he’s in every frame – but this is Danny Boyle’s show. He’s gathered his Slumdog collaborators and between the frenetic editing, thumping eclectic soundtrack and constantly changing camera angles and framing they give pace, colour and context to Franco’s solitary journey adventure and gradual disintegration into delirium.

And so, how do you chop off your own arm? Well, for the curious, the film provides a practical “how to” guide… in glorious Technicolor.  At the same time you’re never in any doubt that only a few brave lunatics would ever do what Aron did.

Rating: 4/5
IMDb entry for 127 hours

Precious: Based on the story “Push” by Sapphire (2009)

Dir: Lee Daniels / Writer: Geoffrey Fletcher / Cinematography: Andrew Dunn

Gabourey Sidibe is Precious (image: worthingtheatres FlickrCC)

Suffer the little children
16 year old Clarice ‘Precious’ Jones (Gabourey Sidibe) may suffer from all the ills of the modern western world – parental physical and sexual abuse, illiteracy, poverty and teen pregnancy – but don’t be put off by the thought of the grim subject matter, this is not a relentlessly downbeat film.

Unflinching as it may be in looking at the lives of those who slip through cracks in the ‘system’, Precious is lifted by the colourful flights of fantasy Clarice escapes to whenever the world gets too much for her. There’s also a layer of humour, real affection between the girls at Clarice’s new ‘alternative’ school and their inspirational teacher, and, most importantly a refusal to descend into soapy sentimentality.

The leading ladies Gabourey Sidibe and Mo’Nique more than deserved their awards season attention. First-time film actress Sidibe (Precious) creates a character that’s stoical in the face of daily brutality but never a victim. Mo’Nique excels in her thankless task as a mother who’s eaten up with bile, and hate, and jealousy – so insecure that she blames her daughter for the fact that her father rapes her and makes her pregnant, and so self-absorbed that even to the end, when she is left on her own, she can only rage ‘what about me?’

Like the very best social dramas this is harrowing and powerful but never wretched. Precious has all the optimism of a film like Little Voice without the total misery of Nil By Mouth.

Rating: 4/5
IMDb entry for Precious

* Based on the novel by Sapphire

The Conversation (1974)

Dir: Francis Ford Coppola / Writer: Francis Ford Coppola / Cinematography: Bill Butler

Gene genie (image: The Kozy Shack FlickrCC)

All ears
A clever, absorbing study of obsession and creeping paranoia. Gene Hackman is impressive as he creates a wholly believable portrait of subdued, buttoned-up surveillance expert Harry Caul whose over-involvement in his latest case threatens to completely overwhelm him.

Rating: 4/5
IMDb entry for The Conversation

8 Mile (2002)

Dir: Curtis Hanson / Writer: Scott Silver / Cinematography: Rodrigo Prieto

The real 8 mile (image: PatriciaDrury FlickrCC)

“You only get one shot…This opportunity comes once in a lifetime yo”
Insecure underachiever from the wrong side of the tracks (Detroit’s infamous 8 mile), ‘Rabbit’ finally has a chance to make something of his life via his rapping skills.

If he can only find a job, move out of the trailer park, get rid of the stage fright that stops him from performing in his friend Future’s (Mekhi Phifer) weekly ‘battles’ / rapping contests – he might have a chance at impressing a top music producer. But he has to keep in mind DJ Iz who promises to get him a record deal, his flaky, drunk mother Kim who dates men half her age, his lovely little sister Lily and, coming in from leftfield, the seductive but unpredictable Alex.

The relationships between Basinger and Eminem, and Eminem and his kid sister add emotional depth to a film that is warm and inspirational without resorting to cloying sentimentality. And Basinger in particular adds a whole other level of class to what could have been a shallow, by-the-numbers film.

Unsurprisingly the soundtrack kicks it  – it’s a masterclass in cool, clever, grown-up rap with a rousing finale worthy of Rocky‘s finest moments.

Rating: 4/5
IMDb entry for 8 Mile

Mr. Lucky (1943)

Dir: H.C. Potter / Writers: Milton Holmes and Adrian Scott / Cinematographer: George Barnes

The original Mr Lucky (image: tomekei FlickrCC)

Grant’s hill of beans
Cary Grant is Joe, a Cockney conman not above faking his identity to dodge the war draft or double-crossing his business partner if it serves his needs.

Set in the early days of the Second World War – grifter Joe plans to fund his failing gambling business via an elaborate scheme to swindle a war charity, only to find himself falling for Dorothy Bryant (Laraine Day) the rich society girl who runs it.

More Bogart anti-hero than the debonair charmer we’re used to – here he’s dapper and witty but with a iron hard edge. Shrewd, cynical and utterly selfish, this version of Cary Grant is a revelation who doesn’t hesitate to use his fists when his charm fails.

But there’s plenty of Grant silliness to be enjoyed – watching him learn to knit is a comic delight, “did you show ’em how to pearl?” And the introduction of Cary’s own ‘unique’ (make-it-up-as-you-go-along) variety of cockney rhyming slang where “find someone to sew up my fiddle,” means “sew up my suit” rather than London East End’s finest phrasing “sew up my whistle” (and flute = suit). When Dorothy asks where he learned to speak it, he says he picked it up in Australia (a typical Cary Grant in-joke as he was sometimes (inexplicably) mistaken for an Australian).

The enforced conversion narrative (bad boy realises his troubles aren’t worth more than a hill of beans compared to the world’s problems) eventually puts an end to the fun as Cary, like Bogie in Casablanca, has to do his bit for the war effort, but it was great while it lasted.

Rating: 4/5
IMDb entry for Mr. Lucky

Eight Below (2005)

Dir: Frank Marshall / Writers: David DiGilio and Toshirô Ishidô / Cinematographer: Don Burgess

Paul and pals

Go lil’ doggies, go!

A research unit in the Antarctic has to pull out suddenly when a massive winter storm hits the base – leaving their team of (eight) huskies behind to fend for themselves as the region turns into an icy no-go area.  Their owner Jerry (a charismatic Paul Walker) distraught at abandoning his trusty mutts fights to set up a rescue mission.

It could be a complete slush-bucket but a lovely balance of humour, action and those cute canines give it the necessary backbone. But I defy anyone not to get a tear in their eye when the huskies realise they’re all on their own.

A well-crafted winter warmer with lashings of heart.

Rating: 4/5
IMDb entry for Eight Below

An Education (2009)

Dir: Lone Scherfig / Writer: Nick Hornby /Cinematographer: John de Borman

Peter Sarsgaard and Carey Mulligan

Minnie & Bubbalub…it’s all in a name

Even when I was 16 I found the idea of men in their mid-thirties lurking outside the school gates for their teen gfs decidedly creepy and here, on the big screen, it’s only the innate charm of Peter Sarsgaard that stops this mismatched romance from being outright disturbing.

Sarsgaard, in a beautifully-judged performance, plays David the charismatic but predatory older man who sweeps naïve, school swot, Jenny off her feet with tantalizing glimpses of his sophisticated life. He’s so convincingly charming that, even when this new life threatens Jenny’s virginity and the long worked-for dream of a place at Oxford University, her bedazzled parents are happily along for the ride.

We’re so used to rooting for the romance in a film that it’s hard to switch it off. But from David’s opening kerb crawling gambit to his cringeworthy bedroom manner – “can I look at them Minnie?” he wheedles in one ‘seduction’ scene – it’s clear he’s no knight in shining armour.

And so, as Jenny casts aside one male-constrained life for another (albeit with better frocks and more champagne) it’s hard not to inwardly scream at her not to be so stupid rather than swoon at her entry into the good life.

Much has been made of newbie Cary Mulligan and she’s a delightful leading lady but there’s a strong showing from the rest of the cast; notably Alfred Molina as Jenny’s strict but gullible dad and Dominic Cooper as David’s smart, world-weary partner-in-crime.

Rating: 4/5
IMDb entry for An Education

Based on Lynn Barber’s memoirs

The Informant! (2009)

Dir: Steven Soderbergh / Writer: Scott Z. Burns / Cinematographer: Steven Soderbergh

It's Damon...Matt Damon

Unbelievable? Just look at that ‘tache

Though the plot may sound similar to that other tale of corporate wrongdoing unmasked by dowdy desk jockey, Michael Mann’s The Insider, the exclamation mark in the film title is the first clue to The Informant!‘s tongue-in-cheek agenda. That’s only the start of the running gags and playful visual clues in Steven Soderbergh’s cracking new movie.

Leading man Damon has played dowdy before but here he’s almost unrecognizable with his bad hair, doughy physique and drab clothes as Mark Whitacre (Corky to his wife) – a middle-of-the-road company man who gets persuaded to run intelligence for the FBI on his firm’s fraudulent activities.

Over two years the case gets bigger and bigger snagging the attention of FBI and state prosecution bigwigs certain they’ve got the investigation of a lifetime on their hands but, as with all the best stories, things aren’t quite as straightforward as they seem…

Set in the nineties but with ostensibly seventies production design – tragic wigs, loud decor and unfeasibly large gadgets are the order of the day. Even the music is more seventies cocktail lounge than nineties thriller score. But then the soundtrack is one of the best of the in-jokes that litter the film. Each time the FBI appear on screen they’re accompanied by comic parpings and particularly dramatic plot points are served up with jaunty elevator muzak*. The obviously fake styling, incongruous music and chatty voiceover by Damon are all part of a masterly plan to misdirect the audience. It works. Each time it seems clear what’s going on another substantial story layer is revealed.

Soderbergh is back to his brilliant best in this clever, fast-paced comedy drama that rewards close attention.

Rating: 4/5
IMDb entry for The Informant!

French Kissers (Les beaux gosses) 2009

Dir: Riad Sattouf / Writers: Riad Sattouf and Marc Syrigas / Cinematographer: Dominique Colin

Les beaux get stuck in

Tarte francaise..mieux que American Pie?

A cinematic outing for that rarest of animals the lesser spotted French gross-out comedy. And rarer still is a film that manages to be funny, sweet and truly disgusting in equal parts.

Set in a French high school where les beaux gosses (translation: the hunks), gangly Hervé and mullet-haired Camel, are best friends on a mission to overcome their teen handicaps (erupting skin, greasy hair and braces) and snog a girl.

Which girl they don’t much care – anything would be an improvement on the lingerie section of the catalogue, which is the main outlet for their favourite pastime – jerking off. Until, that is, Hervé falls for cool classmate Aurore.

Barthes puts a magnifying glass on the adolescent world, bringing it vividly to life in all its gruesome glory. Her opening shot has the camera pulling back from an extreme close-up of two mouths engaged in swapping spit – a virtuoso snog-fest – with extra focus on spot licking and saliva.

These kids are immediate and unforgiving in their judgement whether casually casting aside a would-be suitor or laughing at an injured classmate. To the adult eye it looks brutal – Lord of the Flies comes to mind – but it’s a world they navigate with skill if not panache.

The adults are barely more grown-up than the kids: parents misbehaving badly and disinterested teachers failing outrageously (but amusingly) in their duty of care.

This funny, affectionate, little film has its focus and its heart set firmly on the lighter things in life but isn’t afraid to keep it real and, in the case of the spots and bodily fluids, all too real…

Rating: 4/5
IMDb entry for Les beaux gosses