Film Review: Annie

‪ Annie. Rated PG. 118 minutes. Directed by Will Gluck. Screenplay by Will Gluck and Aline Brosh McKenna.

Verdict: In a word, dreadful.

What might have been a landmark reimagining of a popular comic strip heroine turned Musical Theatre Star, ends up being a film of such gob-smacking mediocrity that it becomes almost impossible to keep watching. With all the musicality of a burst fire hydrant, it is impossible to comprehend how the filmmakers responsible have got it so completely wrong.
 
The added cruelty inflicted on us here, is that we really want it to work. The evergreen musical (music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin, and book by Thomas Meehan) has been enshrined in musical theatre history, with its signature tune ‘Tomorrow’ an instantly recognisable classic. Regrettably, like the rest of the fabulous score that has been slaughtered beyond recognition, it fails to make even the slightest impact – which can only be described as bizarre.

Quvenzhané Wallis, who became the youngest actress to receive a Best Actress Oscar® nomination for her performance in Beasts of the Southern Wild, is wonderful as Annie. And watching the rest of the film fall apart around her only makes the experience of watching it even more excruciating.

Jamie Foxx has a genuine go at the reimagined Oliver Warbucks character, Will Stacks, a mobile phone billionaire. Foxx is the only other cast member who can sing and kind of dance, but the major problem is that he obviously feels incredibly uncomfortable doing so in front of a movie camera. The hopelessly miscast Rose Byrne (as Stacks’ Personal Assistant, Grace) only proves that she can neither sing nor dance, which is awkward in a musical. But nothing will prepare you for the fear and panic that infuses Cameron Diaz’s unwatchable turn as Miss Hannigan.

But whatever the extent of the unjustifiable liberties that have been taken, the two-hour running time can only be described as beyond endurance.

This review was commissioned by the West Australian Newspaper Group.

Film Review: The Amazing Spider-Man 2

The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Rated M (action violence). 142 minutes. Directed by Marc Webb. Screenplay by Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci and Jeff Pinkner.

Verdict: A bloated Spider-Man outing that both rewards and tests our patience.

Given the saturation of superhero films, avid movie-goers could be forgiven for waking up in the middle of a dream starring the big, flickering Marvel logo. The studio’s output can only be described as prolific, and the trend for their films to run way too long is perfectly encapsulated in this Spider-Man sequel, which balances precariously on the edge of riveting human drama and an experience you might also find yourself waking up in the middle of.

What keeps it interesting is Andrew Garfield’s return to the title role. Garfield, like Captain America’s Chris Evans, constantly threatens to out-class the material, and his tortured, soulful Peter Parker gets as much screen time as his daredevil, smart-mouthed Spider-Man.

Cinematographer Daniel Mindel (Star Trek) unleashes a frenetic combination of moods and tones, while Webb places us firmly at the heart of all the action. What emerges, though, is the distinct impression that Garfield is more at home deep within the drama than the acrobatics, which accounts for the beautifully played scenes between Peter and Emma Stone’s perfect Gwen Stacy, Sally Field’s divine Aunt May, and Dane DeHaan’s outstanding performance as Peter’s childhood friend Harry Osborn/Green Goblin.

Jamie Foxx’s Electro starts out brilliantly, but ends up with far too much screen time, most of which is too effects-heavy to ever be totally convincing or as interesting when compared to the characters that remain resolutely human in the face of all the tedious, electrically-charged chaos and destruction. When DeHaan’s more relevant and invigorating Goblin eventually turns up, it unfortunately feels like someone has just served you up your nineteenth helping of apple pie and ice-cream.

This review was commissioned by the West Australian Newspaper Group.

Film Review: White House Down

White House Down. Rated M (action violence and coarse language). 131 minutes. Directed by Roland Emmerich. Screenplay by James Vanderbilt.

Verdict: More than just the sets and props are reduced to rubble in this chest-thumper.

You’ve got to hand it to Emmerich (2012, The Day After Tomorrow, Godzilla, Independence Day). He’s the go-to guy whenever Hollywood thinks they need to blow-up The Whitehouse again for whatever reason. And obligingly, he does – not in quite the same spectacular fashion as he did in Independence Day (1996), but boom, and the most influential building in the world is reduced to smouldering rubble. Perversely, watching this film in the week we remember the attacks of September 11 in 2001, it’s as compelling as it is grotesque.

The mess of contradictions that surround Emmerich’s film-making career make him infuriating to watch. His The Day After Tomorrow (2004), which he has also wrote, was a spectacular achievement. His re-imagining of an ice-bound New York (and the rest of the planet) was brilliantly realised, and sequence after sequence remains extremely watchable. He also revealed himself to be a fine dramatist, particularly with the unforgettable sequences involving the glass-roofed shopping mall and the tanker that drifted up the middle of a New York street.

With White House Down, it’s business as usual as ex-soldier and Secret Service Agent wannabe John Cale (Channing Tatum doing a fine Bruce Willis impersonation) finds himself making the sure that President James Sawyer (Jamie Foxx) gets out of The Whitehouse alive after it is taken over by some guys with Iraq war-sized chips on their shoulders. Complicating matters is that Cale and his daughter Emily (an excellent Joey King) were in the middle of a tour of The Whitehouse at the precise moment it was taken over, and Emily, of course, is taken hostage.

Vanderbilt (The Amazing Spider-Man, Zodiac) throws everything at this turgid affair. His long, patriotic and uninspired screenplay is only saved by a fine comedic line shared between Tatum’s bluff and Foxx’s bluster, which both actors play like there will be no tomorrow.

This review was commissioned by the West Australian Newspaper Group.

Fim Review: Django Unchained

Django Unchained. Rated MA 15+ (strong bloody violence and themes). 165 minutes. Written and directed by Quentin Tarantino.

Verdict: A brilliant cast brings Tarantino’s provocative southern adventure to life in high style.

This latest film in Tarantino’s career-long study of the grand theme of revenge is an extraordinarily complicated beast that can be appreciated on a number of levels. Beautifully shot by Tarantino’s (and Oliver Stone’s) frequent collaborator, cinematographer Robert Richardson, Tarantino’s finely-wrought screenplay combines wit, humour, passion, chance and the thrill of the tasks at hand perfectly.

Django Unchained can just as easily be dismissed as a gruesome pantomime from a bygone era that requires us to ignore just how much has changed about the way African Americans are portrayed in contemporary cinema. Either way, there is little doubt that Tarantino is an exceptional provocateur – but if Django Unchained is remembered for anything in years to come, it will be for the fearless performances from his exceptionally committed cast.

When the slave Django Freeman (Jamie Foxx) is purchased by bounty hunter Dr King Schultz (Christoph Waltz), the pair agree that if Django can help Schultz track down the evil Brittle brothers, he will help Django find and rescue his wife Broomhilda (Kerry Washington) who is a slave to the ruthless plantation owner Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio). As the tense negotiations for Broomhilda’s freedom reach a mutually-agreeable conclusion, Candie’s loyal slave Stephen (Samuel L. Jackson) realises that Django and Broomhilda mean more to each other than either have let on, and the price for her freedom becomes almost insurmountable.

Built on impossibly high stakes and played in a perfectly-matched style, Tarantino’s vision has been well-served by his brilliant cast who are all at the very top of their games. DiCaprio and Jackson both shed whatever previous association we may have had with them as actors like skin and escort their characters to extreme levels of perversity – with Jackson’s scenes with a shackled, strung upside-down Foxx among the film’s most challenging. Waltz (in a companion piece to his memorable performance in Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds) is mesmerising as Schultz – whose fascinating journey through the film is the one that captures our imagination and refuses to let us go unmoved.

This review was commissioned by the Geraldton Newspaper Group.