Timey-Wimey Stuff

The 'un-filmable', when referring to books, seems to be considered more of a challenge these days than a suggestion. We have seen it time and time again. Think American Psycho or Life Of Pi. In fact, 2012 also saw the release today's film, also deemed 'un-filmable'. This is Cloud Atlas.

Where to start?

At its essence, Cloud Atlas is six tales of six people throughout time. Across the six tales, there are, primarily, thirteen actors covering all of the main characters. Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugo Weaving, and Hugh Grant play seven characters each. Jim Broadbent, Jim Sturgess, and Doona Bae play six each. Ben Whishaw, Keith David, James D'Arcy, Xun Zhou, David Gyasi, and Susan Sarandon also all play several important roles over most of the stories. The stories consist of a man saving a slave and vice-versa in the 1800s, a young composer trying to create a masterpiece in the 1936, a reporter trying to reveal something huge in the 70s, a publisher getting in lots of trouble with his brother, a nursing home, and thugs in the present day, a Korean clone made purely to serve food longing for more meaning in life in the far future, and a tribal man in post-apocalyptic Hawaii.  All the stories interlink in some way, as Sonmi-451, the Korean clone, says: 'Our lives are not our own. From womb to tomb, we are bound to others, past and present. And by each crime and every kindness, we birth our future.'

Smashing 

There is one thing that is almost a certainty with Cloud Atlas: you will be surprised in the credits when the images of all the characters are shown with the actors names. The versatility of all of the performers is simply astounding. It is hard to pick a stand out amongst such a variety of performances and it is hard to dive into too much depth on such a wide topic. What is also worthy of high praise here is the make-up, hair, and costume departments on the film for making everyone almost unrecognisable across the six storylines. These, often horribly overlooked, departments were clearly a huge catalyst in developing the way in which the actors developed their characters; they were literally transformed into someone else. This is a whole new league of multi-roles and will take some work to top in years to come.

Well this sucks.

But Cloud Atlas' indescribable nature does not end with the acting. Trying to explain Cloud Atlas to someone is a lot like trying to theoretical physics to a seven year old; you can describe it perfectly, but it still will not quite make sense. But when all the stories link and tie together, it is masterful. Wonderfully adapted from David Mitchell's novel by Tom Tykwer and the Wachowski siblings, Cloud Atlas skilfully blends the six stories with such grace and brilliant editing that one cannot help but be sucked simultaneously into each one. The near three hour runtime seems like half that as climaxes come periodically throughout the film, releasing catharsis and then building up to the next one. A mix of all genres, stretching from period drama to sci-fi action, and all in between to create something truly unique.

Philosophical, dramatic, action packed, and touching. Cloud Atlas is a truly spectacular piece of cinema that will no doubt be a talking point for years to come. Some of the best performances in years, though focus is required. Set aside a solid three hours with snacks and drinks, and enjoy.

Best Bit? Jim Broadbent's Timothy Cavendish's story line goes from strength to strength but climaxes with one of the most entertaining escapes in years as some O.A.P.s and himself have to break out of a nursing home and, naturally, go to a pub straight after.

The Fabulous Bus.

This blog covers a lot of topics. We have seen films from every end of the spectrum of movie-making. But today we touch on something new: lip-syncing drag queens. Naturally, the film won an Oscar for costume design but will it avoid being like its characters and not be a drag? Let us see. This is The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.

Two drag-queens, Anthony/Mitzi (Hugo Weaving) and Adam/Felicia (Guy Pearce), and a transsexual, Bernadette (Terence Stamp), get invited to perform their lip-sync act at a holiday resort in a remote location in the middle of the Australian desert. In order to get there, Adam buys a large bus and dubs it Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. They kit it out with dresses and cushions and a giant shoe and away they go. Sounds like an easy ride right? Wrong. The bus, of course, breaks down in the middle of nowhere leaving the guys - er - girls struggling with boredom and each other. How do they fill their time? They sing, they dance, they meet Bob (Bill Hunter) who gets them up and running, and they discover a shocking secret or two about one another.

Nothing fabulous about road trips, they said.

Now, Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce, and Terence Stamp are no strangers to acting challenges. Stamp has even been nominated for an Oscar in the past. But there is nothing quite like Priscilla in their resumes. All of them are fantastic, as one would no doubt assume, and they are not only hilarious, they are touching too. All three protagonists have stories, pasts, and back drops that have led them to this point in their lives and all three actors do an incredible job of showing that. They masterfully portray everything and sometimes it is as simple as a glance or the delivery of a line. All three have wonderful comic timing as well. Pearce is gifted with throwing dramatic hissy fits and being his own queen of the desert, Weaving's talent lies in his unbelievable ability to lip-sync and a true mastering of the bitchface, and nobody can deliver a insult quite like Stamp. Some of the best lines in the film come from Bernadette in her constant conflict with idiotic and excitable people along her travels.

An example of the more touching side of the film.

Of course, without wonderful writing, there would no witty dialogue for the actors. The writing contains some absolute gems that will stick in your memory for years to come. The entire plot is hilarious and the characters are so well written and developed that the whole things just works despite seeming on the surface like an overly glorified road trip. And on top of everything, it is all very pretty. The costume are beautiful, the dances are bright, and the colours are eye-popping. The films flaws only lie in the ending. A strangely bitter sweet finish that leaves you feeling somewhat dissatisfied, almost like a film of build up to no end. Definitely not enough to dampen the film, in fact, in some ways it makes you want to watch it all again, After all, the art of a good story is not what happens, but how it happens; who does not enjoy a good journey?

A really, really enjoyable film. It is like taking the road trip of your life and there's something extremely therapeutic about watching world respected actors running around high heels and colourful dresses.

Best Bit? A brilliant dance in the desert with the Aboriginals. A classic scene in film.

Patriotic Superheroes Are a Thing Of The Past

With the record breaking release of The Avengers (which I will be reviewing, don't you worry) I thought it's about time we jumped back and had a look at some of the other movies that have led up to this. I've already looked at Iron Man 2 but I've neglected a couple of others. Let's make it up to them. Now we look at the first (and also last) Avenger: Captain America.

Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), a scrawny little fella, has dreams of joining his fellow men in laying down his life for his country. not because war excites him, but because he thinks, 'why should he do any less.' Unfortunately, he's completely unsuitable, physically, for the army and keeps getting rejected. That is, until Dr Erksine (Stanley Tucci) presents him with the opportunity. He immediately signs up and heads off to boot camp. It's obvious, when he stands next to the other soldiers, that he truly was not suitable for the army, as Colonel Chester Phillips (Tommy Lee Jones) isn't hesitant to point out. Once again, Dr Erksine comes up with a solution. An experiment known as Project Rebirth put together by Dr Erksine and Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper) (Tony Stark's father). Rogers is chosen because of his humanity, because he's a good person, because he, above all others, will value the rewards of the experiment. Project Rebirth gives Rogers super human strength and abilities. The allies begin using him as a form of propaganda under the name Captain America. But when it turns out the Captain's old friend Bucky (Sebastian Stan) might be in trouble, he turns to Stark and Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) to help him take matters into his own hands and find the evil Schmidt (Hugo Weaving), otherwise known as Red Skull.

Schmidt rehearsing for the annual Nazi show...
They're doing Hamlet. 

A wonderfully well cast movie. Hugo Weaving was a nigh perfect Red Skull. He was delightfully evil and equally chaotic and plain insane. It's always hard to play a super hero antagonist just right as everyone has different interpretations on how they should come across on film (For example, the realism in Christopher Nolan's Batman movies compared to the cheesiness of some other superheroes.) Hugo Weaving managed to strike a nice balance that should please everyone. Chris Evans was fantastic as Captain America, the soldier with a heart the size of America. Admittedly, it was hard to focus on him as every time he appeared on screen my friend had a little fan-girl session. But he did a swell job even though his face and voice did not match his small body at the beginning. Stanley Tucci... well, what can't he do? Another fantastic role from him. I never felt any care, however, for Hayley Atwell's Peggy. She seemed far too plain for Captain America. I honestly felt more attached to the random blonde who randomly kisses Captain America in a cheeky moment of weakness.

On second thoughts... Fan-girling over Chris Evans is allowed.

There were some brilliant decisions with the movie. Dominic Cooper as Howard Stark was a bit of casting genius. The CGI was all solidly handled - people really looked like they were exploding in a plume of blue. Considering how cheesy Captain America has the potential to be, Joe Johnston handled it extremely well. He kept the cheese but presented it with a slight disdain and focused more on the darker elements of the Cap. The war, Red Skull's insanity, the deaths. Things like the sequence of cheesy propaganda stops to Star Spangled Man (A fantastic song. Why was it nominated for an Oscar? Academy? You have some explaining to do...) were fantastically cheesy but Johnston made sure you could see the way it ate away at Rogers. My only major issue with the film was the pacing. There were moments that dragged and dragged on and then they were followed by some incredible action. My advice to the film makers would be cut half an hour. Dragging is one of the worst things in a movie. If someone has to check how long is left, you;ve made a mistake with the pacing.

Overall, a good superhero movie. Not quite as good as the first Iron Man or Thor, but enough to keep us excited for more in the form of The Avengers. A good back story to a good character and one that I could
happily see in more movies, providing that they're shorter.

Best Bit? I'm always a sucker for a good army training montage. Therefore, I shall say boot camp. I loved seeing Rogers at the top of his intelligence and heart.

V For Very Good - Part Of Natalie Portman Week

Hooray for Natalie Portman. With the release of Black Swan (Which I'm seeing and reviewing tomorrow) and in celebration of her Golden Globe win and her Oscar nomination, I've accidentally managed to watch two other films with her starring. Therefore, I'm dedicating my blog, this week, to her. Three movies: V For Vendetta, Garden State and Black Swan.

I very much enjoy reviewing one of my favourite films because it allows me to talk and talk about something I love. Our first of this week's movies, V For Vendetta, is one of those films. Every Monday, a friend comes over and we watch a movie. This week, V For Vendetta was selected for viewing in the Mega Massive Monday Movie Marathon.

So what it is it? Well, remember remember the fifth of November, gun powder, treason and plot. I see no reason why gun powder treason should ever be forgot. Imagine an almost Nazi London. No contact with the rest of the world, a curfew, a quarantined zone. That is the setting of the movie. V is a futuristic Guy Fawkes character, brought to life through the acting, but mostly voice, of Hugo Weaving. His plan? To crumble the government that ruined the country and himself. Oh yeah... And he'll do it on the fifth of November. Almost accidentally his paths cross with the beautiful Eve (Natalie Portman) and he lets her into his life. With other turns from such favourites as Stephen Fry and John Hurt, the film has some of the most powerful and brilliant performances around. (Particularly from our star of the week.)

Who is but the form following the function of what and what I am is a man in a mask.

With numerous plot twists and such a solid story, the film is simply brilliant. Hugo Weaving has one of the most incredible voices and his performance as the powerful yet sensitive V is mesmerising. Combine that with an incredible script crammed full with wonderful expressions and quotes, ("A revolution without dancing is a revolution not worth having,") and V becomes one of your favourite anarchic characters ever. Natalie Portman as Eve is simply stunning to watch. She is as incredible at acting as she is beautiful, even when she has a shaved head. It is currently my favourite performance by the Oscar nominated actress (But I'm seeing Black Swan in a bit) and there are so many reasons why. Not only is her performance stunning but also her character is simply excellently written. Even smaller roles such as Fry's Deitrich are wonderfully performed.

As for the direction, well what can I say. There's a wonderful thing about mirroring two images. Snatch does it brilliantly when the hare is running from the dogs at the same time Tyrone is running from the mob and V For Vendetta does it brilliantly every now and then. It mirrors everything from someone walking to Eve and V's characters. At parts, the film is very amusing and at others it's devastating. The balance is so ultimately perfect, you couldn't ask for more.

No, what you have is bullets and the hope that when your guns run out of bullets I'm no longer standing.

Other technical aspects, the cinematography is awesome. And the choreography for the fights is absolutely suburb. The classical music included in the score is beautiful, especially when juxtaposing any explosions.

It may not be in every one's taste. Some may argue that it's over the top, that the ending is too cheesy, that a character who just wishes to cause anarchy has no depth. To those people I say, each to their own. But I would strongly suggest this movie. In fact, I say you have to watch this movie before you die.

Best bit? The brilliant finale. The crescendo as V might say.