Departures: The Disappointments of 2013

While 2013 has certainly not been the worst year for movie lovers, we’ve had our share of disappointments. Here are the top five least value for money offerings from the films reviewed this year, with links to the review published at the time of the film’s release.

Gangster Squad

As the citizens of the USA again grappled with the consequences of gun violence against their children in their schools, Hollywood decided it was still appropriate to trot out a transparent imitation of The Godfather and other successful attempts to tell the story of organised crime. Dressed in Mary Zophres’s gorgeous costumes and paraded against Maher Ahmad’s equally gorgeous production design, the actors (Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling and Sean Penn led the charge) were all endlessly upstaged by weaponry of all shapes and sizes. The huge supporting cast of guns and bullets should have won Oscar nominations, and still might.

What to watch instead: The Godfather Part I

I Give It A Year

Even the often abused, yet tried and trusted romantic comedy formula buckled under the weight of this entirely forgettable attempt to turn the genre on its head. Beginning with a wedding and finding itself with absolutely nowhere to go from there, even the combined talents of Australians Rose Byrne and Simon Baker (perfectly matched to Rafe Spall and Anna Faris respectively) couldn’t save this under-done affair from sailing to its boring and predictable conclusion.

What to watch instead: An Affair to Remember

The Host

Twilight author Stephenie Meyer’s luck finally ran out when Andrew Niccol delivered what was arguably the worst film of the year – an Invasion of the Body Snatchers wanna-be about aliens implanting souls into unsuspecting humans. The Lovely Bones’ Saoirse Ronan threw herself out the window in order to escape the ordeal, and that was pretty much what the rest of us were considering doing to also escape this cinematically inert and ideologically suspect affair.

What to watch instead: Invasion of the Body Snatchers and The Lovely Bones

White House Down

Roland Emmerich’s morbid fascination with blowing up one of the most iconic and important buildings in the world reached a particularly self-indulgent zenith with this grotesque chest-thumper that we had an even more awkward time watching in the week we remembered the attacks of 11 September, 2001. As an action hero, Channing Tatum proved himself to be an excellent stripper, while his daughter Joey King’s flag-waving dance moves probably did more to inspire sign-ups to Calisthenics classes than any other movie this year.

What to watch instead: The Day After Tomorrow

Now You See Me

Leading the field of movies that were nowhere as good as their promotional trailer was this over-produced, curiously unengaging heist tale that failed to deliver on every single one of its promises. Even though it boasted one of the finest ensemble casts of the year (Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine starred), everyone was upstaged by the technological wizardy that director Louis Leterrier clearly mistook for heart, soul and, eventually, our interest.

What to watch instead: Shutter Island

This compilation was commissioned by the West Australian Newspaper Group.

Film Review: The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Rated PG (mild themes, action violence, sexual references and coarse language). 114 minutes. Directed by Ben Stiller. Screenplay by Steve Conrad, based on a short story by James Thurber.

Verdict: Romance and adventure go head to head in this uneven tale about daring to live the life you always dreamed of.

As ideas for potentially fascinating films go, Thurber’s short story (published in 1939) about a day-dreamer who escapes into the fantasy realm to escape his mundane existence is inspirational source material.

Previously adapted for the screen in 1947 with Danny Kaye in the title role, Conrad (The Pursuit of Happyness) has a bet each way on just how interesting the story will be in 2013. By setting his very loose adaptation in the headquarters of LIFE magazine as it faces imminent closure, Conrad surrounds the fantastic central premise of the story with too much baggage. Walter (Stiller, in a fine, understated performance) becomes the butt of too many workplace bullying jokes, and his romance with co-worker and single mum Cheryl (Kristen Wiig) feels awkwardly contrived and takes up far too much screen time.

But once the second act kicks in, Conrad and Stiller’s vision for the story finally takes flight, as Walter sets off on an adventure to retrieve a missing negative that world-renowned photographer Sean O'Connell (Sean Penn) was supposed to have provided for LIFE’s final cover.

The sequences in Iceland, where Walter finds himself confronting the wild and unpredictable environment are beautifully realised, and Stiller’s performance as a mild-mannered geek from New York forced into previously unimaginable heroics is wonderful to watch.

Problematically, the film ultimately appears to duck the profoundly personal message at the core of its source, which is that is possibly more liberating to convince yourself of just how capable you are of living the life you always wanted, than by obsessing about what others think of you.

This review was commissioned by the West Australian Newspaper Group.

Film Review: Anchorman 2

Anchorman 2. Rated M (sexual references, drug use, coarse language and comedic violence). 119 minutes. Directed by Adam McKay. Written by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay.

Verdict: Ferrell and Co are back in fine, and mostly hilarious, form.

Picking up several months from where Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004) left off, this sequel ploughs right on in to the same squirm-inducing terrain on the back of Will Ferrell’s wonderful portrayal of the super-vain television news anchorman Ron Burgundy.

When his now wife Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate) is chosen over Ron to become the first female news anchor in television history, Ron’s bitterness and jealousy drives them apart. But when Ron is invited to anchor the graveyard shift of a new Australian-owned Global News Network (GNN), the first 24-hour television news service, he reunites his gang of hapless misfits to take Veronica on in the battle of the ratings.

Ferrell’s vainglorious Burgundy is a masterpiece of shameless clowning, and the verbal slapstick throughout Ferrell and McKay’s screenplay is hugely entertaining in a ‘did they really just get away with that?’ kind of way. In sequence after sequence, political correctness is simply trampled underfoot, particularly the gasp-inducing exploits involving Ron and his family at the lighthouse he retires to after an accident.

Steve Carell’s endearing weatherman Brick, David Koechner’s overly-affectionate redneck sportscaster Champ, and Paul Rudd’s equally-vain reporter Brian provide ever-reliable support, with Carrell’s appearance in front of the state-of-the-art ‘green screen’ weather map an absolute highlight.

If the film comes close to drowning in chaos towards the end, there has been much to laugh at up until the point of no return – when not even cameos from the likes of Jim Carrey, Tina Fey and Liam Neeson can save it from over-playing its hand. But restraint and none-too-subtle jabs at the dubious morals of a manufactured 24-hour televised news cycle are of little concern to Ferrell and Co. They aim for madcap, character-based shenanigans and, refreshingly, manage to mostly bring it off successfully.

This review was commissioned by the West Australian Newspaper Group.

Film Review: American Hustle

American Hustle. Rated M (frequent coarse language). 138 minutes. Directed by David O. Russell. Written by David O. Russell and Eric Singer.

Verdict: A fashionable account of a very ordinary tale.

The trust gained as a result of successful collaboration can create memorable screen outings – films that function on an entirely different level, purely because the artists involved understand each other’s creative processes in ways that those working together for the first time might not. The pairing of Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart is just one classic example, where audiences flocked to watch them regardless of what they were doing.

Russell (Silver Linings Playbook, The Fighter, I Heart Huckabees, Three Kings) obviously values the art of collaboration with his actors. In American Hustle, he is reunited with Christian Bale and Amy Adams (The Fighter) and Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, and Robert De Niro (Silver Linings Playbook). And the dividends it pays are great – for Lawrence, in particular, whose performance in a secondary role as con-man Irving’s (Bale) disenchanted wife, is stunning. Lawrence is one of the most singularly interesting actors at work on film today, and if her Katniss Everdeen re-wrote the rules of engagement for onscreen heroines, then this performance reveals an extraordinary, big-hearted versatility.

The only problem is that the story about Irving and his partner in business and romance Sydney Prosser (Adams) falling for an FBI sting against a politician Carmine Polito (a never entirely comfortable Jeremy Renner) – led by rogue agent Richie DiMaso (Cooper being zany again) – just doesn’t have the legs to last its long running time. Sydney-born and NIDA-trained costume designer Michael Wilkinson contributes a magnificent array of costumes that not only perfectly encapsulate the late 1970s/early 1980s era in which the film is set, but are more often than not the most memorable onscreen element. And when you are not marvelling at how great everyone looks and Lawrence’s performance, there’s the soundtrack, which boasts a songbook of greatest hits from the era.

This review was commissioned by the West Australian Newspaper Group.

Film Review: Ender’s Game

Ender’s Game. Rated M (science fiction themes and violence). 114 minutes. Written and directed by Gavin Hood.

Verdict: A compelling study of the moral dilemmas associated with resolving conflict.

With Earth’s population recovering from near-annihilation at the hands of an alien invasion, the military – led by Harrison Ford’s Colonel Graff – decide to recruit young video game-playing geniuses to develop a defensive strategy that will not only protect the planet from the next invasion, but eliminate the threat entirely by exterminating the hostile alien species.

Led by an outstanding performance from young Asa Butterfield (Hugo, Nanny McPhee Returns, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas) as technology wiz Ender Wiggin, Ender’s Game makes no apology for feeding the brain as much as it dazzles the senses. Hood’s script skilfully covers the important and topical issues of generational change, bullying, peer pressure and survival strategies – resulting in compelling character studies that are equal to the stunning visual environment, confidently directed by Hood and expertly photographed by veteran Australian cinematographer Donald McAlpine.

Like it’s siblings The Hunger Games and TRON, Ender’s Game explores its moral imperatives (and ambiguities) within a complex gaming environment that is increasingly the exclusive domain of the next generation.

Ford is at his best espousing the rules and regulations of militaristic and moral fundamentalism, while Viola Davis (Prisoners, The Help, Doubt) is excellent as his colleague, who is charged with determining what psychological impact the relentless preparation for conflict is having on their young warrior.

While the militaristic motivations are relatively easy to comprehend (no-one wants to perish in an alien invasion after all), the film’s penultimate battle sequence is not only a tour de force of visual effects mastery, but one that generates an extraordinary moral dilemma. It is here that Ford’s Colonel and Butterfield’s Ender absolutely nail the film’s central conflict, resulting in a scene of immense power that challenges us to contemplate the film’s lasting message – which is how conflict of any kind might be resolved through striving for mutual consideration and respect as opposed to brutal aggression.

This review was commissioned by the West Australian Newspaper Group.

Film Review: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. Rated M (mature themes and violence). 146 minutes. Directed by Francis Lawrence. Written by Simon Beaufoy and Michael deBruyn.

Verdict: Treading water with Katniss and clan suffers from second-of-three books syndrome.

Beginning where The Hunger Games (2012) left us, our victorious ‘tributes’ Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peter (Josh Hutcherson) are paraded through the Districts at the behest of President Snow (Donald Sutherland) in a public relations exercise. As the poverty-stricken population become increasingly resentful of Katniss’s apparent capitulation to the Capital’s oppressive regime, Snow decides that to stamp out the murmurings of another uprising, Katniss must be eliminated.

With the help of a new game creator Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman), Snow announces that a Quarter Quell (a variation of The Hunger Games) will take place, with the contestants selected from the victors of past games. Realising she will have to compete against Peter again, Katniss makes a deal with her mentor Haymitch (Woody Harrelson) that whatever happens, Peter must survive.

Returning to this epic second instalment is like being reunited with old friends and the friends of theirs you don’t especially like. It’s no-one’s fault – but rather the over-riding sense that any kind of follow-up to the extraordinary debut of this series (and Ms Lawrence in particular) was always going to be problematic.

Wisely, Francis Lawrence (Constantine, I Am Legend, Water for Elephants) who replaced the director of the first film Gary Ross (reportedly due to production schedule concerns), doesn’t mess with the formula and gives his stellar cast their heads. They reward him with outstanding performances of roles that fit them like gloves.

Where the problem lies (as it did with the Twilight series) is that Catching Fire is the second of three books – so its task is pad out the story while we wait for the killer climax. Unfortunately, we’re well into ‘how much longer has it got to go?’ territory by the time the Quarter Quell kicks off, and nothing at stake under the dome this time (spooky fog and cranky monkeys) comes close to the horror and ingenuity of all that was at stake in the first film. But if you don’t know (or guess) what’s coming, then the build to the sense of what the final film (which, again like Twilight, will be split into two servings) will offer, is tantalising. And Catching Fire will most certainly do for the time being.

This review was commissioned by the West Australian Newspaper Group.

Film Review: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2. Rated G. 95 minutes. Directed by Cody Cameron and Kris Pearn. Written John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, Erica Rivinoja.

Verdict: A sensational explosion of food, colour, character and laughs for the entire family.

Picking up where the fantastic Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) left off, this delightful sequel finds our obsessive young inventor Flint Lockwood (superbly voiced by Bill Hader) faced with the task of finding and destroying his food-making machine, which has not only survived the earlier attempt to destroy it, but is over-populating Swallow Falls (Flint’s island home) with foodimals.

Flint’s idol, celebrity inventor Chester V (Will Forte), warns him that these dangerous foodimals are learning how to swim, which will see them invade every nation around the world and destroy all the iconic landmarks – with Sydney’s Opera House and New York’s Statue of Liberty in line for destruction.

With delightful nods to Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park and Peter Jackson’s King Kong, the bravura island sequences are fantastic, with every food pun imaginable planted liberally throughout the action-packed script. Cameron and Pearn keep the story moving at a perfectly agreeable pace, and as one brilliantly characterised foodimal after another comes to life, the sinister intentions of Flint’s hero gradually begin to become clearer.

The dazzling creativity and inventiveness of the animation, combined with the infectious energy of the voice cast, ensures that the pace rarely sags – and when it does, it is so we can spend some quiet, contemplative time with Flint’s dad Tim (the excellent James Caan) and his new-found friends, a group of endearing pickles who learn to appreciate Tim’s passion for sardine fishing.

The sequel, as is often the case, benefits enormously from the return of creatives who brought their magic to the first film. This is most certainly the case with Mark Mothersbaugh’s perfectly spirited score and Justin Thompson’s lavish, colourful and absurdly characterful production design. And while you might never be able to look at the contents of a bag of marshmallows in quite the same way again, it is the zany Steve (Flint’s pet monkey, voiced by Neil Patrick Harris) who eventually wears his hero status to perfection.

This review was commissioned by the West Australian Newspaper Group.

Film Review: Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa

Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa. Rated MA 15+ (strong sexual references and crude humour). 92 minutes. Directed by Jeff Tremaine. Written by Johnny Knoxville and Jeff Tremaine.

Verdict: An audacious and hilarious road trip with the Jackass clowns.

Anyone familiar with the Jackass team’s shenanigans will have the time of their lives watching Johnny Knoxville (made up to become the 86-year-old Irving Zisman) wreak havoc across America as he takes his 8-year-old grandson Billy (Jackson Nicoll) to the boy’s father Chuck (Greg Harris). Billy has to go and live with his dad because his mum, Irving’s daughter Kimmie (Georgina Gates), is about to go to jail. Complicating matters even further, is that Irving has decided to put the body of his recently departed wife Ellie (Catherine Keener) in the boot of his car while he decides where to finally lay her to rest.

So are those irascible, tear-away Jackass boys and girls finally growing up? Hardly, but there is a subtle line about the value of meaningful familial relationships beneath the surface of this hilarious, hidden camera caper that lends their latest outing an additional layer of irresistible charm.

It’s impossible to write in too much detail about the plot, because to give too much away would be to deny you the opportunity to witness it all unfurl with occasionally jaw-dropping amazement. The hidden camera footage is simply fantastic, as one, poor unsuspecting soul after another becomes a participant in Knoxville’s daring side steps into the lives of everyone he comes across. While some are certainly more successful than others, nothing will have prepared you for the funeral parlour and beauty pageant sequences – the most spectacular examples of just how audacious and hilarious the Jackass creative team can be.

The essence of the hidden camera is that the unpredictable happens, and the resulting level of anxiety as each new sequence begins ensures that the film remains absolutely riveting. Knoxville is in complete command of the proceedings, and he receives stunning support from young Jackson Nicoll (The Fighter, What's Your Number? Fun Size), who matches the expert Knoxville every step of the way.

This review was commissioned by the West Australian Newspaper Group.