DVD Review: Whip It

Whip It. 117 minutes. Rated M. Directed by Drew Barrymore. Written by Shauna Cross, based on her novel Derby Girl.

As long ago as the late 1880s, newspapers were reporting about the emergence of a new phenonemon: racers on rollerskates. Today, the contact sport that would become known (and trademarked) as 'roller derby' is enjoying a global renaissance that is captivating a new generation of participants and their devoted fans. It is an inspired world of indie-chicks with fantastic 'stage names', awesome costumes, strict rules and plenty of attitude. That it remains an almost exclusively female domain lends the sport a serious amount of enigmatic fascination.

Bliss Cavendar (Ellen Page) is suffering from a severe case of the small-town blues. When she is not working part-time at a local fast-food outlet 'The Oink Joint', she is being mercilessly dragged around to a never-ending calendar of beauty pageants by her mother 'Brooke' (the superb Marcia Gay Harden), who is determined that her plain-Jane daughter will fulfill her all-American obligation and become a Beauty Queen. But when mother and daughter are out shopping for new shoes and a group of girls rollerskate into the shop to deliver a handful of leaflets for an upcoming roller derby competition, Bliss's life is changed forever.

Whip It marks the directorial debut of actress and producer Drew Barrymore who, since she was catapulted to international fame as 'Gertie' in Steven Spielberg's ET: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), has celebrated her life and career as one of absolute self-definition. It is, therefore, hardly surprising that she should choose to bring Shauna Cross's inspirational story about the extent to which this fascinating sport brought about such significant change in her life, to the screen.

Ellen Page (who was nominated for the Best Actress Academy Award for her performance in Juno), is fantastic as Bliss. She is well-supported by a great supporting cast which includes Juliette Lewis as 'Iron Maven', Barrymore as 'Smashley Simpson', Saturday Night Live's Kristen Wiig as 'Maggie Mayhem' and Alia Shawkat as her best friend and confidante 'Pash'. Bliss's 'Hurl Scouts' teammates are complemented by actual roller derby stars, which not only lends the film a crucial authenticity in its many fast and furious roller derby sequences, but also balances out the recognisable actors in the cast with a nicely-grounded lack of pretension.

While it eventually suffers from a serious bout of roller derby repetition and fatigue, Whip It wins points for opting to keep it real. It also benefits from a great soundtrack and some powerful confrontations about the importance of independence and aspiring to live the life you want to live. It's also interesting to discover a film that places burgeoning young love in a meaningful context, and the manner in which Bliss refuses to have her exciting new journey interrupted for very long by her love for young muso Oliver (Landon Pigg), is absolutely refreshing. Ultimately, Whip It is a very impressive debut behind the camera for Ms Barrymore, and a film that will, if nothing else, introduce the wonderful world of roller derby to yet more fans and followers.

This review was commissioned by the Geraldton Newspapers Group and was published in the print edition of the Midwest Times.

Film review: How to Train Your Dragon

How to Train Your Dragon. 97 minutes. Rated PG. Directed by Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders. Written by William Davies, Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders. Based on the book by Cressida Cowell.

Dragons, it would appear, are currently all the rage as far as Hollywood is concerned. And while the list of films that feature dragons is becoming virtually limitless, something about these extraordinary creatures has obviously captured the imaginations of our current generation of filmmakers. The latest fascination may very well have been influenced by the worldwide, cult-like following enjoyed by the Japanese animated 'Dragon Ball' and 'Dragon Ball Z' phenomenon, where wish-granting dragons were summoned by the discovery of magical Dragon Balls. In 2006, there was Eragon, in which our young hero discovers a dragon's egg that later hatches to become 'Saphira', the dragon who will help him overthrow an evil regime and define his destiny. In Avatar, the astonishing sequences involving the taming of the banshees (James Cameron's imagining of the mythical beasts) leant the film, arguably, its most comprehensively exhilarating sequences as our heroes took to wing to, once again, define their destiny. And now, courtesy of animation powerhouse Dreamworks, we have another addition to the dragon-starring catalogue – and what a stunner it is.

'Hiccup' (beautifully voiced by She's Out of My League's Jay Baruchel) is a spindly, gawky young Viking whose clumsiness and lack of physical prowess and war-mongering skills are a source of constant humiliation to his father 'Stoick' (Gerard Butler). When the Viking clan are forced to defend their island home from a dragon attack, Hiccup inadvertently wounds a Night Fury (one of the most fearsome and elusive dragons), triggering a chain of events that will lead to a greater understanding and appreciation of the role each member of the clan plays in securing a harmonious co-existence with their supposed enemies.

The animation from the Dreamworks team is superb, with the Viking clan providing a unique cast of characters that are richly exploited by the artists. The exotic island setting and astonishingly realistic Viking boats provide the film with its singular uniqueness, and the sequences at sea – both above and below the waterline – are literally ground-breaking. But at the heart of this film is the friendship between Hiccup and his wounded Night Fury 'Toothless'. With the benefit of a great deal of screen time, it is here, in a divinely rendered, high-walled grotto, that the film truly comes into its own. The revelation of Hiccup's marvellously inventive creation that helps his newfound friend to fly is rich in detail and wonder – to the point where, when it appears that Toothless might not survive the ultimate battle sequence, we find ourselves in real lump-in-the-throat territory.

How to Train Your Dragon achieves what it sets out to magnificently. It is helped by a marvellous script that powers along with supreme confidence and manages to successfully combine high-energy action sequences with some beautifully studied, intimate scenes between a father and son as they struggle to respect the strengths each bring to the future of their clan. Ultimately, it is this celebration of the difference that we each bring to our world that elevates this film from being a stunningly imagined animation adventure to being a captivating film of immense heart and soul. Unmissable.

This review was commissioned by the Geraldton Newspapers Group and was published in the print edition of the Geraldton Guardian.

Film review: The Book of Eli

The Book of Eli. 117 minutes. Rated MA15+. Directed by Albert and Allen Hughes. Written by Gary Whitta.

Films about faith, and characters whose devotion to serving the word of God features prominently in the plot, have resulted in some extraordinary films over the years. Apart from the biblical epics like The Ten Commandments and Ben Hur, there is also Gene Hackman's memorable 'Reverend Scott' in The Poseidon Adventure and a young Julie Andrews serving Max von Sydow's will and missionary zeal in Hawaii. In 2004, Mel Gibson's controversial The Passion of the Christ (with its authentic Aramaic, Latin and Hebrew dialogue), divided audiences around the world – not only with its gruesome recreation of the death of Jesus, but also the resulting accusations of anti-semitism and misappropriation of Christian ideology which managed to either outrage, or inspire, practically everybody.

In The Book of Eli, an apocalyptic event involving the sun has turned earth into a desolate wasteland. Eli (Denzel Washington) is heading west, carrying with him a book that holds the key to the future of humanity. Along the way, he encounters marauding savages, murderers and rapists who roam the barren environment in search of food, water and possessions. Eventually, he arrives at a small town – home to a paranoid community ruled by self-proclaimed leader Carnegie (Gary Oldman), whose moronic henchmen return each night from having been out searching for the very book Eli has in his possession. When Carnegie discovers that the book is finally within reach, a furious battle of wills for its ownership ensues – a battle that can only result in one victor.

Shot in arresting monochromatic visual style by cinematographer Don Burgess (Cast Away, Spider-Man, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines) and accompanied by a fantastically atmospheric soundscape from Atticus Ross, Leopold Ross and Claudia Sarne, the Hughes brothers (From Hell, Menace II Society) have fashioned a bleak, sinister and oppressively violent tale of one man's journey to spiritual redemption. Washington is compelling as the devoted Eli and Mila Kunis (better known as the voice of Meg Griffin in The Family Guy) is perfect as his unlikely protegé 'Solara', who ends up being incredibly handy with a grenade.

The film's single greatest weakness, however, is Whitta's flawed script which, even though it manages to impressively mask the sting in its tail, serves up relentless and gratuitous violence in place of character development. It also manages to misjudge a critical point of faith-based reference, which is that it is our hope that faith should ultimately serve to unite us. Here, it only divides us into two groups: one that will revere the purpose of Eli's noble but excessively blood-lusty endeavour, and another that will not be able get out of the cinema fast enough once it's all over.

Pictured: Denzel Washington and Mila Kunis in The Book of Eli.

This review was commissioned by the Geraldton Newspapers Group and was published in the print edition of the Geraldton Guardian.

DVD Review: 2012

2012. 151 minutes. Rated M. Directed by Roland Emmerich. Written by Roland Emmerich and Harald Kloser.

One of the many great attractions of cinema is the artform's ability to create magic – to capture our imagination and transport us to another time and place where we spend time sharing in the lives of others. We can walk away from the cinema enriched, moved, educated and entertained. We can spend hours afterwards discussing the story, the characters, particular scenes and how we feel about what we have just witnessed. When magic happens in the cinema, it has the power to change the way we think about life and our place in the world. It can, in short, be the most enriching experience. But when we are promised magic and it never appears, then it's an entirely different story.

When science-fiction writer Jackson Curtis (John Cusack) discovers that Earth is about to be destroyed by an environmental catastrophe that will trigger a contintent-swamping mega-tsunami, he also learns that gigantic arks have been secretly built (in China) to ensure the survival of humanity. At one billion euros (one a half billion Australian dollars) a ticket, Curtis cannot hope to afford tickets for his ex-wife and his two children, so instead, he resolves to find these massive lifeboats and smuggle his family onboard.

It's almost impossible to imagine what went wrong with this film. Its classy production pedigree, experienced cast and a massive $200 million plus budget should have guaranteed at least something – but the lazy, cliché-ridden script and the awful "acting" combine to result in a film so incomprehensibly bad that it is only ever, and almost immediately, just boring. While a couple of the set-pieces are impressively imagined (watch out for a rogue aircraft carrier heading for Washington DC), the lavish scale of the end-of-the-world destruction sequences actually only results in them only looking and feeling fake. That they wipe-out most of the film's cloyingly bad acting actually only ends up being a blessed relief.

Emmerich (Stargate, Independence Day, Godzilla, The Day After Tomorrow, 10,000 BC) and composer-turned-screenplay-writer Kloser, share all the responsibility for this monumental dud that utterly fails to generate one moment of genuine emotion or interest throughout its tedious, interminable two-and-a-half hour running time. But even so, Emmerich has actually achieved something quite unique. He's managed to make a film about the end of the world that I, for one, couldn't have cared less about. Maybe that is a kind of magic after all?

Film review: She's Out of My League

She's out of my league. 104 minutes. Rated MA15+. Directed by Jim Field Smith. Written by Sean Anders and John Morris

Romantic/comedy filmmaking can be a tough ask – with films often suffering from not having enough (or an imbalance), of either of its necessary ingredients. It's also a big personality genre; one that challenges its filmmakers to guarantee we not only laugh, but engage on the hard-to-reach levels of pure emotion. Some filmmakers have been more successful (Garry Marshall's 1990 smash hit Pretty Woman) than others (the unwatchable The Bounty Hunter), but no-one is helped by underestimating the difficulties associated with engaging with cynical worldwide audiences in matters of the heart.

These days, it's also very rare that a film has its audience continually laughing out loud – but this little value-for-money gem is an absolute delight. Playing with the almost prehistoric story of nerdy, under-achieving boy falling in love with gorgeous and successful girl, She's Out of My League rises above the earnestly self-concsious telling it might have been and delivers a fresh, hugely entertaining and often hilarious take on often-regurgitated themes. It is helped along enormously by the effervescent, perfectly pitched performances of its two charismatic leads (Jay Baruchel and Alice Eve, pictured), and a fantastically engaging supporting cast of rogues, misfits and the kinds of friends and family members whose lovingly quirky foibles we instantly recognise.

Kirk (Baruchel) works in airport security and is desperately trying to get back with his ex-girlfriend Marnie (Lindsay Sloane). When the gorgeous Molly (Eve) is racing to catch her flight and inadvertently leaves her iPhone at the security checkpoint, she asks Kirk to hold on to it and give it back to her when she returns the following night.

Field Smith's flighty, yet absolutely assured, direction of Anders and Morris's tight, breezy, inventive and witty script, moves along with hardly a moment's pause. Kirk and Molly's dinner date (one of the film's best first-date-nerve destroying sequences) is immediately topped by their lively trip to meet his folks – a priceless poolside and dinner table sequence that kicks the film into overdrive. While it certainly plays around with more than a generous dose of derogatory insult and lewdness (for which it doesn't quite deserve its severe rating), there is much to savour about this journey, even when the film unexpectedly dips into the darker territory of issues relating to incompatibility, self-esteem and personal failings.

Ultimately celebratory and friendship-affirming, the message here is an excellent one; that just maybe, on a scale of 1 to 10, we are all, in our own unique way, much higher up on the scale than we often give ourselves credit for. I left the cinema feeling uplifted and hugely entertained – something that hasn't happened in a long time.

This review was commissioned by the Geraldton Newspapers Group and was published in the print edition of the Geraldton Guardian.

DVD Review: A Serious Man

A Serious Man. 105 minutes. Rated M. Written and Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen

With characters that redefine "quirky" (such as the childless, baby-thieving anti-heros in Raising Arizona), often found in situations that stretch the limits of credibility (The Big Lebowksi's mobster-inspired, mistaken identity/kidnapping plot), the films of Joel and Ethan Coen (more popularly referred to as "The Coen Brothers") are often considered to be an acquired taste. Discussion and debate about their prolific output, which also includes the Oscar-winning Fargo (1996), O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), No Country for Old Men (2007) and Burn After Reading (2008), is always guaranteed to divide audiences either side of the line between rampant, adoring fans and those who just don't get what all the fuss is about.

And while their latest offering will certainly not be to everyone's taste, A Serious Man is a scene by scene and, in fact, moment by moment, cinematic masterpiece – one of those rare, superb, faultless films that, while it's convenient to describe it as a 'black comedy', actually defies both genre and convention. Powered by the work of one of Hollywood's most gifted cinematographers Roger Deakins' (a Coen Brothers' regular), in stunning form, a brilliantly layered, insightful and marvellously original script, and a cast made up almost entirely of relative unknowns giving the performances of their lives, A Serious Man is a mesmerising and hugely rewarding experience.

Professor Larry Gopnik's (a magnificent Michael Stuhlbarg, pictured) life is falling apart. His snappy and acerbic wife Judith (Sari Lennick) announces she is "seeing" a friend of theirs, Sy Ableman (Fred Melamed), and wants a divorce. His no-hoper brother Arthur (Richard Kind) is a guest in the family home and is making no attempt whatsoever to move out. His daughter Sarah (Jessica McManus) is powering through life (and every room in the house) with typical teenage angst and fury, while his pot-head son Danny (Aaron Wolff) is nervously preparing for his Bar Mitzvah while trying to avoid his drug-dealing neighbour to whom he owes twenty dollars. And that's just the beginning of Larry's problems!

Returning to the world of their childhoods (Midwest America in the late 1960s), the Coen Brothers and their team work undeniable miracles of storytelling and filmmaking in every frame. While some of their Jewish faith-based intricacies are likely to be lost in translation, the subtle (and occasionally not-so-subtle) exploration of entirely universal themes results in an almost gravity-defying level of engagement. Stuhlbarg is purely astonishing in his first leading role in front of the camera – and it is his performance alone, within this extraordinary luxury of riches, that will win your heart. Highly recommended.

This review was commissioned by the Geraldton Newspapers Group and an edited version of it was published in the print edition of the Midwest Times.

Film review: Clash of the Titans

Clash of the Titans. 106 minutes. Rated M. Directed by Louis Leterrier. Written by Travis Beacham, Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi. Based on the screenplay Clash of the Titans (1981) by Beverley Cross

Today, the original Clash of the Titans (1981) is fondly remembered as a curious romp concerning the Greek Gods of Mount Olympus and their attempts to win back the respect and obedience of the mortals below who have begun to tire of the mistreatment they're receiving from above. Its blue-ribbon cast includes greats of the British stage and screen such as the late Laurence Olivier and the still very much alive Maggie Smith (Nanny McPhee and The Big Bang). Harry Hamlin (who would enjoy international success as lawyer Michael Kuzak in the television series LA Law), plays the toga-clad demigod (half man, half god) Perseus, whose destiny is to take on the gods and win back the right to self-determination for the good people of Argos.

The original also featured the work of legendary stop motion special effects pioneer Ray Harryhausen (who retired shortly after it was completed); and it is for this reason that Clash of the Titans remains an inspirational film amongst our generation of filmmakers who appear to be becoming utterly obsessed with the all mighty possibilities of computer-generated special effects. Peter Jackson, for example, refers to his remake of King Kong as "my Harryhausen film", and now self-confessed Harryhausen devotee Leterrier (The Incredible Hulk and an on-set production assistant on Alien: Resurrection), has jumped to the head of the queue and fashioned a high-energy retelling of the story that is as truly fabulous as it is truly awful.

Blissfully unaware that he is, in fact, the son of Zeus (Liam Neeson), Perseus (Sam Worthington) lives a simple and uncomplicated life as a fisherman with his adopted family. When they are killed by Hades (Ralph Fiennes), the spiteful god of the underworld, Perseus has no choice but to depart on an epic journey to discover how he can restore power to Zeus and prevent Hades from unleashing hell on earth.

There is a huge amount to enjoy about this whizz-bang remake – especially if you're looking for a big-budget adventure flick with more computer-generated action sequences than a film (and its audience) should reasonably be expected to endure. The 'acting' is generally terrible, with Neeson and Fiennes, especially, hamming it up as though they're actually in some kind of never-ending Benny Hill skit. Worthington (who, somewhat delightfully, makes no attempt whatsoever to disguise his Australian accent), is a perfect fit for the cavalier Perseus, and, when he's not leaping around all over the place fighting off mythical beasts, his scenes with his spiritual guide 'Io' (the beautiful Gemma Arterton) are among the film's most heartfelt.

But Clash of the Titans is all about the special effects, and they are sensational. The magnificent beasts (including a beautiful Pegasus, some seriously massive and angry scorpions, and an especially slippery Medusa) are all brilliantly realised and flawlessly incorporated into the action. But just when you think you've seen it all, the gigantic Kraken is summoned from the underworld for the film's spectacular climactic sequence. Ultimately though, perhaps we should just take Mr Worthington's advice: go, arm yourself with some popcorn, and just enjoy it for what it is – because what it's not just isn't worth thinking about.

This review was commissioned by the Geraldton Newspapers Group and an edited version of it was published in the print edition of the Midwest Times.

DVD Review: Alien

Alien. 117 minutes (Director's Cut 137 minutes). Rated M. Directed by Ridley Scott. Written by Dan O'Bannon

Thirty years after its original release, Ridley Scott's Alien remains one of the most influential films of the contemporary science fiction genre – not to mention a terrifically thrilling film in its own right. Alien firmly belongs in the era of impressively resourceful and imaginative filmmaking – free from the now familiar obsession with computer generated imagery which, at worst, has replaced the artform's intrinsic storytelling value with a catalogue of eye-popping visual effects and little else.

The commercial towing spaceship Nostromo's return to earth is interrupted by a mysterious transmission from a distant planetoid (LV-426). The crew, awoken from hyper-sleep by 'Mother' (the ship's computer), are surprised to find that the Nostromo has been been redirected to investigate the origins of the distress call. Landing on the environmentally hostile LV-426, Warrant Officer Ripley (a 30 year-old Sigourney Weaver in her feature film debut), eventually deciphers the signal as some kind of warning while, at the same time, the crew discover a derelict alien spacecraft that has crashed onto the planetoid's surface. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Alien's lasting effectiveness is powered by Ridley Scott's commitment to telling us a fantastic story and his uncompromising vision for how his film should look and feel. Unlike today, when much of a film's visual effectiveness is added courtesy of computers, every detail of what appears onscreen in Alien needed to exist in front of the camera as the film was being shot. This included not only a range of immensely detailed sets, special effects, models and miniatures, but also the massive Nostromo set (constructed to precise NASA specifications), which was built as one massive system of complex passageways and chambers – complete with a floor made up of upside-down milk crates painted silver.

Scott, too, relentlessly drove his outstanding cast to levels of extreme emotional and physical discomfort – heightening the real sense of apprehension, claustrophobia and panic among the Nostromo's increasingly fearful crew. The Swiss surrealist H R Giger's Alien design (based on his lithograph Necronom IV), not only radically departed from the human-like alien designs of past science fiction films, but also provided the film with its wealth of startling, other-worldy visual originality. 

The success of Alien resulted in James Cameron's Aliens, Alien 3 (abandoned by director David Fincher) and Alien: Resurrection (Jean-Pierre Jeunet), while Alien vs Predator (2004) and Alien vs Predator – Requiem (2007) succeeded in achieving nothing but compromising (and ending) the series in a flurry of tacky exploitation. Ridley Scott has recently announced that he has commenced work on a prequel – Alien 5 – in 3D. Given that he has expressed disappointment with how the series was left to die a slow and artless death, it will be fascinating to see how Scott approaches his return to a story that began his, now, illustrious career.

This review was commissioned by the Geraldton Newspapers Group and was published in the print edition of the Geraldton Guardian.