Film Review: Wild Target

Wild Target. Rated M (Violence and infrequent coarse language). 98 minutes. Directed by Jonathan Lynn. Screenplay by Lucinda Coxon. Based on the French film Cible émouvante (1993), written and directed by Pierre Salvadori.

As quirky, British comedies go, Wild Target is a diverting little gem – thanks mostly to the charming performances of its leads Bill Nighy, Emily Blunt and Rupert Grint who, both individually and together, light up the screen with truck-loads of charisma.

Victor Maynard (Mr Nighy) is a professional hitman who finds himself increasingly captivated by his latest target – con-woman Rose (Ms Blunt). When it becomes obvious that Victor has no intention of carrying out the ‘hit’, another hitman, Hector Dixon (Martin Freeman), is sent to do the job instead. With young stoner Tony (Mr Grint) along for the ride, Victor and Rose escape to Victor’s country estate to hide and work out how they can resolve their major life-and-death problem.

Jonathan Lynn (perhaps better known as the writer and creator of the acclaimed British television series Yes, Minister, and Yes, Prime Minister), has the good sense to leave his actors alone and they never let him down. While it occasionally feels a little too conveniently contrived, Ms Coxon’s English-language version of the French original is pretty much a case of more hits than misses, and Nighy’s perfect comedic timing is absolutely delightful to behold.

Ms Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada, the unfortunate The Wolfman, the soon-to-be-released Gulliver's Travels) is fabulous as the feisty ‘wild’ target, while Mr Grint (currently also onscreen in his continuing role as Ron Weasley in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1) is totally endearing as the orphaned young apprentice who Victor takes under his wing (to tutor, yet again) in the hope that he might one day take his place in the ‘family business’. Dame Eileen Atkins absolutely revels in her wonderfully offbeat cameo as Victor’s not-to-be-trifled-with mother, Louisa.

While Wild Target occasionally drags its heels as far as pace and action is concerned, it is a perfectly entertaining distraction from the mayhem that signifies this time of year.

This review was commissioned by the Geraldton Newspaper Group.

Film Review: Skyline

Skyline. Rated M (Science fiction violence and infrequent coarse language). 93 minutes. Directed by Colin Strause and Greg Strause. Written by Joshua Cordes and Liam O'Donnell.

Yes folks, it’s finally here: the worst movie of 2010 – and the only thing that kept me sitting in my seat was wanting to see just how much worse it could get. And my distinctly morbid curiousity was extremely well-rewarded: Skyline is an absolute dud.

It all starts promisingly enough, with a group of friends and business acquaintances recovering from a big night partying in a Los Angeles apartment (cue first distracting thought; ‘Oh, I must watch Cloverfield on DVD for the 100th time’).

As shafts of blue light descending from the clouds announce the arrival of a hostile alien force, our cast (including TV ‘actors’ Eric Balfour, Scottie Thompson, Brittany Daniel, Crystal Reed, David Zayas and Donald Faison) test the boundaries of ineptitude in order to survive the invasion.

They don’t stand a chance – and it’s not because (as you might have imagined) the fearsome aliens have superior firepower. No, it’s because our dreary, dopey ‘actors’ insist on running around in broad daylight, trying to drive away (cars vs aliens just never ends well), going on to the rooftop of the apartment building (yes, great idea guys), running around in the garden (very sensible) and constantly talking about trying to get to the marina where they will be able to get into a boat and sail away!

‘Why is it so terrible?’ you might well ask? The directors (who were also jointly responsible for 2007’s regrettable AVPR: Aliens vs Predator – Requiem) are primarily special effects gurus. Through their FX company – Hydraulx – they have designed and supervised the visual effects departments on a collection of the most FX-intensive films in recent memory (including Avatar, 2012, X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Jumper).

Skyline (filmed almost entirely in Greg’s apartment complex and entirely financed by the brothers themselves, presumably because no studio was interested), represents nothing more than a laughable demo reel to showcase their negligible film-making skills – independent of people who really know what they’re doing. And with the exception of one sequence where the inhabitants of LA are ‘hoovered’ up into an alien spacecraft, there is absolutely nothing else to redeem this film. Unless, of course, you want to go along and be amazed at just how cringe-makingly bad a film script (and the acting of it) can be.

This review was commissioned by the Geraldton Newspaper Group.

Film Review: Red

Red. Rated M (Action violence and infrequent coarse language). 111 minutes. Directed by Robert Schwentke. Screenplay by Jon Hoeber and Erich Hoeber. Based on the graphic novel by Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner.

Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) is a retired ‘black-ops’ (covert operations) CIA Agent, living alone in peaceful, if relatively boring, seclusion. He passes the time by flirting on the telephone with Sarah Ross (Mary-Louise Parker) who works in the agency’s Kansas City-based pension department. When Frank’s life is interrupted by the arrival of a hit-squad of assassins, he realises that he has become a target – and after kidnapping Ms Ross for her own safety, reassembles his crack team of retired colleagues to take on the CIA at their own game.

Much like playing Solitaire on your computer, Red has its moments of distracting charm. John Malkovich (Burn After Reading), Helen Mirren (The Queen) and Morgan Freeman (Invictus) as Frank’s colleagues bring a certain megawattage of star power to the proceedings – even if they mostly appear to be simply going through their paces, while William Cooper (as über-baddie CIA operative Karl Urban) does a mean line in vein-popping frustration. Ms Parker (perhaps best-known for her work in the television series Weeds), is totally engaging as the wide-eyed, stunned and amazed Sarah who gradually begins to relish the unpredictable excitement these dedicated has-beens have brought into her previously tedious life.

But in spite of the glittering cast (which also includes Richard Dreyfuss, Brian Cox and 93-year-old Ernest Borgnine) and lots of good intentions, the end result is a film that absolutely fails to equal the sum of its parts. Mr Willis (who has done some brilliant work over the years including the Die Hard franchise, Hostage, The Sixth Sense, The Fifth Element and the unforgettable Moonlighting), never gets anything to really sink his teeth into and is, like the rest of the cast, acted off the screen by Mr Malkovich’s marvellously paranoid and deluded ‘Marvin’. Apart from lacking any sense of originality, the Hoebers’ muddled but occasionally humourous script doesn’t stand up to too much interrogation – which is probably just as well because Mr Schwentke’s join-the-dots direction doesn’t ask very much of it. Sadly, it all ends up feeling a little more like Try Hard than Die Hard.

Pictured: Bruce Willis having a "how the hell did it all go so horribly wrong" moment in Red.

This review was commissioned by the Geraldton Newspaper Group.

Film Review: The Social Network

The Social Network. Rated M (coarse language). 120 minutes. Directed by David Fincher. Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin. Based on the novel The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich.

When contemplating the game-changing social-networking website ‘Facebook’, the statistics are staggering. Consider, for example, the following: more than 500 million active users; 50% of active users log on to Facebook in any given day; and people spend over 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook.

And while the debate rages regarding the extent of The Social Network’s authenticity, you can’t take anything away from the film as a sensational piece of cinematic story-telling. Fincher (Alien 3, Se7en, Fight Club, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) and Sorkin (The West Wing, Sports Night, A Few Good Men) have absolutely nailed the complexity of what just may have happened behind the scenes as the behemoth website was created.

The Social Network boasts the most brilliant performances from an exceptional young ensemble, with Jesse Eisenberg (Zombieland) and Andrew Garfield (Boy A), in particular, superb as Facebook founders Mark Zuckerberg and Eduardo Saverin respectively. Justin Timberlake proves he can, in fact, do anything with a fantastic turn as Napster founder and Facebook interloper Sean Parker.

But anyone familiar with Sorkin’s uncanny ability to write in often surprising detail about the intricacy of human interaction, will recognise the rich layering of emotion that gives much of The Social Network its cinematic torque – all spun masterfully from the simple premise of the extent to which Zuckerberg has to defend the proprietary rights over his much-loved creation.

With flawless cinematography from Jeff Cronenweth (Fight Club), pace-perfect editing from long-time Fincher collaborator Angus Wall and Sydney-born Kirk Baxter (… Benjamin Button), and a brilliant original score from Atticus Ross (The Book of Eli) and Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails), The Social Network powers along for every one of its 120 minutes – never looking or feeling like anything less than a monumental labour of love for everyone concerned – resulting in one of the most perfect films of the year.

Pictured: Jesse Eisenberg and Andrew Garfield.

This review was commissioned by the Geraldton Newspaper Group.

Film Review: Resident Evil: Afterlife

Resident Evil: Afterlife. Rated MA15+ (Strong horror violence, blood and gore.) 97 minutes. Written and directed by Paul W S Anderson.

Fans of the phenomenally successful undead/horror/survival game series Resident Evil (Biohazard) and fans of high-concept (with an equally high body count) film-making, will find hours of enjoyment arguing over the merits of Resident Evil: Afterlife – the fourth in the series of films adapted from the popular video game.

Since its debut on the Sony PlayStation in 1996, in excess of 40 million games have been sold – making the series one of the most popular and commercially successful in the world. The equally successful film adaptations that followed are Resident Evil (2002), Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004) and Resident Evil: Extinction (2007).

Anderson (who has written all the screenplays and also directed the first movie) returns as director, as does Milla Jovovich as the series’ heroine ‘Alice’. Having defeated the evil Umbrella Corporation’s tyrant and witnessed the awakening of thousands of clones at the end of Extinction, Afterlife begins with a dazzling sequence as Alice and her clones infiltrate the corporation’s state-of-the-art underground facility where the human tests of the deadly virus continue. Alice intends to free the humans and take them to ‘Arcadia’, a safe-haven where the infection-free survivors have apparently fled.

Filmed using the 3D technology pioneered by James Cameron for Avatar, Afterlife unquestionably has its moments, with cinematographer Glen MacPherson (The Final Destination), editor Niven Howie (Extinction, Dawn of the Dead) and production designer Arvinder Grewal (Exit Wounds, Dawn of the Dead) responsible for all of them.

Ms Jovovich is, as one might expect, perfectly serviceable in the lead role, and there is fine support from Ali Carter as the feisty ‘Claire Redfield’ – while the rest of the cast manage to look suitably dazed, confused and bewildered on cue. Sienna Guillory’s mid-end credits cameo as ‘Jill Valentine’ will ensure you either leave the cinema delighted or rolling your eyes – but you’ll certainly have had some serious gun-toting, daredevil, sci-fi razzle-dazzle in the process. And that can never be an entirely bad thing, can it?

This review was commissioned by the Geraldton Newspaper Group.

Film Review: Let Me In

Let Me In. Rated MA15+ (strong horror themes and violence). 115 minutes. Written and directed by Matt Reeves.

One of the many problems with English-language adaptations of foreign films (in this case, the Swedish vampire thriller Let The Right One In – adapted for the screen from his novel by John Ajvide Lindqvuist and directed by Tomas Alfredson), is the extent to which much of the original’s impact is lost in translation.

In the case of Mr Reeves’ (the sensational pop-cult masterpiece Cloverfield) hypnotically beautiful rendering of Lindqvist’s compelling ‘rites of passage’ story – the answer is both everything and nothing.

Owen’s (Kodi Smit-McPhee) parents are going through an acrimonious divorce and he is being bullied at school. The sensitive boy escapes the misery of his bleak existence fantasising about how he might take revenge against his tormenters. When young Abby (Chloë Grace Moretz) and her guardian (Richard Jenkins) move in to the apartment next door, Owen and Abby begin a friendship that will evolve into the most extraordinary bond – built of love, trust, courage and self-determination.

Reeves and his creative team (including Melbourne-born Cinematographer Greig Fraser) infuse their adaptation with many of the original’s visual motifs – none more so than by successfully transplanting their version from an isolated, snow-bound town in Sweden to an equally isolated, snow-bound Los Alamos, New Mexico. The intoxicating, wintery landscape provides the film with some extraordinary moments (such as the sequence where the body of a murder victim is retrieved from a frozen lake), while providing Fraser with limitless opportunities to create some equally extraordinary lighting. Oscar-winning composer for Up (2009) Michael Giacchino provides a brilliant score that rages against the sequence of events as the film powers toward its gripping conclusion.

The performances are superb, with young Australian Smit-McPhee (The Road) and Moretz shining as the young leads, while Elisa Koteas delivers a beautifully under-stated performance as the policeman investigating the strange turn of events. Editor Stan Salfas ramps up the relentless tension by rarely letting the film’s pace settle into a recognisable rhythm for very long.

Let Me In is an absorbing, visceral cinematic experience that will reward lovers of beautifully-made, superbly acted coming-of-age dramas – with a stunning (and perversely rewarding) sting in its tail.

This review was commissioned by the Geraldton Newspaper Group.

Film Review: Buried

Buried. Rated MA15+. 95 minutes. Directed by Rodrigo Cortés. Screenplay by Chris Sparling.

Like The Premature Burial (1962) and The Vanishing (1988), Spanish-born Cortés (The Contestant) plays with one the horror genre’s greatest trump cards: being buried alive. What he also does, courtesy of an punishing, rock ‘n’ roll screenplay from Mr Sparling, is shine a spotlight on the subject of foreigners being taken hostage in Iraq – and the desperate efforts by the US Department of State’s Hostage Working Group to free them.

Paul Conroy (Ryan Reynolds) is a US contractor working as a truck driver in Iraq. When his convoy is attacked by insurgents, he wakes to find himself buried alive in a crate with a mobile telephone, a cigarette lighter, a torch, a hip-flask, a pen and flick-knife.

Depending entirely on how impressed you are by the concept of a film shot entirely in a wooden crate starring only one actor, Buried may possibly elicit one response: ‘an actor in a box with some props – so what?’. But Sparling’s screenplay, Cortés’s rivetting direction and editing, Reynolds’s dazzling star turn and Eduard Grau’s (A Single Man) cinematography, all combine brilliantly to ensure that Buried is rarely less than an entirely engrossing experience.

Conroy’s only contact with the outside world is through the mobile phone, with Robert Paterson as Hostage Working Group representative ‘Dan Brenner’, in particular, providing excellent support to Reynolds’ desperate and ill-fated victim of circumstance.

Peversely, the day after I saw this film, the UK’s The Guardian newspaper reported that aid-worker Linda Norgrove – a 36-year-old British hostage being held in Afghanistan – was killed as Nato troops were trying to rescue her. What, only the night before, had been a marvellously escapist, cinematic tour de force, suddenly became a compelling ‘anti-war film’ – a powerful statement about the horrific possibilities that confront civilians working in conflict-stricken war zones. Hostage-taking, either to influence the outcomes for countries that send in their armed forces or companies that send in their workers, remains a potent consequence of both criminally- and politically-motivated opportunism.

The review was commissioned by the Geraldton Newspaper Group.