Cinema Review: Focus (15)

The thing about films revolving around con artists is that you're always looking for the big twist; The Sting, Ocean's Eleven, The Grifters, and Matchstick Men to name but a few. Focus is also a film about confidence tricksters which is a simple, entertaining story but it doesn't quite fulfil its potential.

Will Smith plays Nicky, a charming and confident con man who meets the extremely gorgeous Jess (Margot Robbie). He agrees to take her under his wing and proceeds to introduce her to his world. There is an obvious attraction from the start and they eventually fall for each other. However (and without giving too much away) Nicky abandons Jess without warning, leaving her devastated.
The film then jumps ahead three years and finds Nicky working another con for a rich Formula One boss (Rodrigo Santoro). Things get complicated when Jess suddenly shows up.

Will Smith as Nicky

From some of his previous roles, we already know that Will Smith can be charismatic and funny, and as Nicky he gets to display this throughout the film. Yet, despite his charm, it is still slightly ridiculous that anybody could be as good (or maybe as lucky) as this character. A gambling problem that is alluded to early on is never fully explored. This would have given Nicky much more depth as a person. However, Smith works well with what he is given.
He also looks great for a man pushing 50 as evidenced from a few shirtless scenes.

Margot Robbie as Jess

Will Smith may be the biggest name in the film but it's Margot Robbie who is the true star. She is sweet, playful, sexy and beautiful. It's easy to see why men adore her and women want to be like her. Jess could have been played as a bit of fluff, just something pretty to look at, but Robbie gives the audience a character with more substance.

The two main stars have great chemistry and work well within their roles but are let down by the actual story. It was far too simple and uncomplicated for a tale about con artists. At several points I expected a bit of a twist, a sting in the tale, but it never came. And while it was a good film, it could have been so much more. Even the ending is signposted if you pay enough attention throughout.

The story also suffers from the over glamorization of Nicky's world. He is essentially Fagin to a group of ridiculously good looking criminals. It is difficult for the viewer to truly get behind someone who already has so much.

Rodrigo Santoro is the villain of the piece but isn't given much screen time and is only really bad when it suits the story.

That aside, this movie has a good cast with enough to keep an audience interested. If you have nothing else to do and want a straightforward tale with some good looking stars, then this is certainly worth the ticket price. Just don't expect anything too convoluted.

R.I.P Leonard Nimoy

Today is an extremely sad day following the loss of one of the greatest sci-fi legends of all time, Leonard Nimoy.

Of course he will forever be associated with the role of Mr Spock from Star Trek, but he was more than one role.

He also appeared in other films and television series such as Transformers: The Movie, Mission: Impossible, Fringe and he even lent his voice to a couple of episodes of The Simpsons.

He will be remembered, mourned, imitated but never duplicated. Rest in Peace Mr Nimoy, you lived long and prospered.

87th Academy Awards (2015)

So here we are, for the 87th time, the Academy Awards. Presented from the Dolby Theatre in the heart of Hollywood and it's decked out in all the glitz and glamour expected from a night like this. Our host for this evening is Neil Patrick Harris, and from the get go he is on top form, participating in a song and dance number involving some great interactive screen acting plus support from Anna Kendrick and Jack Black. We are left in no doubt why we are here tonight; the love of movies. It doesn't take long to get on with the show and the first award of the night.

Best Supporting Actor - J.K. Simmons (Whiplash) With a speech that thanked his extraordinary wife and his 'above-average' children, he urged everyone to call their mum and dad. It was a moving speech from a very deserving man.

Our host, Harris, then picks on Octavia Spencer to keep an eye on a briefcase enclosed inside a clear perspex case which apparently holds his Oscar predictions. I'm sure we'll hear more on this subject as the night goes on.

Best Costume Design - Milena Canonero (The Grand Budapest Hotel).

Best Make Up and Hairstyling - The Grand Budapest Hotel. 

Best Foreign Language Film - Ida (from Poland) Wonderful speech from Pawel Pawlikowski that had the music playing over it twice, but he wasn't leaving until he was done. And why not, it's not every day you win an Oscar.

Special mention to the live performance of 'Everything is Awesome' from the brilliant Lego Movie. There's a part of me that hopes it wins although I'm still thinking 'Glory' will take the award (we'll wait and see).

Best Live Action Short Film - Mat Kirby and James Lucas (The Phone Call) More English winners!

Best Documentary Short - Ellen Goosenberg Kent and Dana Perry (Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1)

Now we have Neil Patrick Harris doing a 'Birdman' in his tightie whities and dress shoes. Surely he's just showing off

Best Sound Mixing - Craig Mann, Ben Wilkins and Thomas Curley (Whiplash)

Best Sound Editing - Alan Robert Murray and Bob Asman (American Sniper)

Best Supporting Actress - Patricia Arquette (Boyhood) This was not much of a surprise win, she was always hot favourite for the award. She gave a passionate speech about sexual equality that received a massive round of applause.

Over to the briefcase, a quick joke about Robert Duvall falling asleep ... and we're back to the show.

Best Visual Effects - Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Ian Hunter and Scott Fisher (Interstellar)

Best Animated Short - Patrick Osborne and Kristina Reed (Feast)

Best Animated Feature Film - Don Hall, Chris Williams and Roy Conli (Big Hero 6)

Best Production Design - Adam Stockhausen (Production Design) and Anna Pinnock (Set Decoration) (Grand Budapest Hotel) Poor Anna didn't get a look in during that speech.

Best Cinematography - Emmanuel Lubezki (Birdman) Now he has the Oscar to go with the Bafta he won only a few weeks ago.

Now it's time for the In Memoriam section where we say goodbye to those who left us over the past year. And, the Academy managed what the Baftas did not, a tribute to Bob Hoskins. The whole section culminated with a powerful performance from Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson.
As predicted, as soon as Robin Williams appeared on screen I began to cry, R.I.P Mork x

Best Film Editing - Tom Cross (Whiplash)

Terence Howard introduces the next few films in the Best Film category and I'm sure if he is just impassioned or milking his part.

Best Documentary Feature - Laura Poitras, Mathilde and Dirk Wilutsky (Citizen Four)

There are tears among the audience as John Legend and Common perform their nominated song 'Glory' from Selma.
John Travolta and Idina Menzel will be presenting the next award and they get the biggest laughs as they recall last year's mispronunciation of Ms Menzel's name (Mr Travolta has taken it far better than I thought he would)

Best Original Song - 'Glory' (Selma) I TOLD YA!

Lady Gaga gives a special performance honouring 'The Sound of Music'. I'm not her biggest fan but have to admit she looks stunning and her voice is amazing. OK, she's no Julie Andrews but she doesn't have the same vocal style so I think she has done a brilliant job. She looked genuinely overjoyed at the end when she was joined onstage by Ms Andrews.

Best Original Score - Alexandre Desplat (The Grand Budapest Hotel) His chances were high seeing as he was nominated for this and The Imitation Game.

Best Original Screenplay - Alejandro G. Inarritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr. and Armando Bo (Birdman)

Best Adapted Screenplay - Graham Moore (The Imitation Game)

Best Director - Alejandro G. Inarritu (Birdman) The tightie whities are mentioned again. Inarritu gives a warm, measured speech where everyone is thanked and art is the real winner.

Best Actor - Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything) In the least shocking 'surprise' of the night.

Best Actress -  Julianne Moore (Still Alice) It was nice that the oldest actress got the nod. Her film also has a great message so I hope people will go out and watch it.

So, finally the pay-off of the briefcase in the box and it's a run down of all the 'big' moments from the night's events. Not sure that was all worth it but nevermind as we are about to announce the winner of the biggest category of the night.

Best Film - Birdman Michael Keaton admits that he's happy just to be on a night out. The director made a joke about Mexicans at the beginning of his speech but finishes on a serious note mentioning the political problems in his home country.

And there we have it, the 2015 Academy Awards ceremony is over. 

No love for Boyhood, apparently taking 12 years out of your life to produce an innovative piece of cinematic history does not mean much to the Academy (this argument will continue for the next few days I'm sure)

The Grand Budapest Hotel started well but the night truly belonged to Alejandro G. Inarritu and Birdman.

The Razzies 2015 - Award Winners

So, it's Oscar weekend, a time when the great and good of the film industry are honoured for their work. But such an important event couldn't pass without someone taking it and making fun.
So, just as talent is rewarded by the Academy, the awful is revealed at the annual Golden Raspberries Awards, aka, The Razzies.

This award ceremony has taken place on 'Oscar Eve' for the past 35 years and we cannot celebrate one without acknowledging the other. So, here for your information, and entertainment, is the list of the 'winners' of the 2015 competition.

Worst Picture - Kirk Cameron's Saving Christmas

Worst Director - Michael Bay for 'Transformers 4: Age of Extinction'

Worst Actor - Kirk Cameron for 'Kirk Cameron's Saving Christmas'

Worst Supporting Actor - Kelsey Grammer for 'Expendables 3', 'Legends of Oz', 'Transformers 4: Age of Extinction'

Worst Actress - Cameron Diaz for 'The Other Woman' and 'Sex Tape'

Worst Supporting Actress - Megan Fox for 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'

Worst Screenplay - Darren Doane and Cheston Hervey for 'Kirk Cameron's Saving Christmas'

Worst Remake, Sequel or Rip-off - Annie

Worst Screen Combo - Kirk Cameron and his ego for 'Kirk Cameron's Saving Christmas'

Redeemer Award - Ben Affleck for going from 'Gigli' to 'Argo' and 'Gone Girl'

So, there you have it. Kirk Cameron may have saved Christmas but it would seem he destroyed a film (having not seen it I cannot pass any more judgement) and there was no love for Michael Bay, with Transformers 4 and Turtles receiving many nominations and winning a few awards.However there was good news for Ben Affleck as in recent years he has made a career U-turn and is back on top of his game (even if comic book/superhero fans are still unsure of him).

Retro Review - Ran (12)

Director - Akira Kurosawa

Starring - Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Terao, Jinpachi Nezu, Daisuke Ryu, Meiko Harada

Akira Kurosawa's films have been the inspiration for many a movie in Hollywood history; without The Seven Samurai there would be no The Magnificent Seven; without Yojimbo there would be no A Fistful of Dollars; without The Hidden Fortress there would be no Star Wars saga. With such an influence, Kurosawa is directing royalty but that doesn't mean he was averse to taking from history and producing a magnificent piece of cinematic gold. I finally got around to viewing his take on William Shakespeare's King Lear, and it was certainly worth the wait.

For me, this was virgin territory; a Kurosawa film that did not star Toshiro Mifune and was presented in full colour. And that colour is certainly used to full effect, but more about that a bit later.

Ran

Ran is Shakespearean in story but all Kurosawa in vision.

It's the tale of an old King, Hidetora, who makes the decision to split his lands between his three sons. His eldest two, Taro and Jiro, flatter their father with words of love and devotion but the third, Saburo, tells the king that he will be betrayed (as they are, after all, their father's sons). These words enrage Hidetora and he banishes his youngest child. From there, the lord visits his remaining sons and what follows is a story of treachery, murder and a downward spiral into madness.

Hidetora informs his sons of his decision

If you know the play of King Lear then this film won't hold any surprises, but that doesn't take away any of the enjoyment

The main actors are superb in their roles, with two in particular being stand out performers.

Tatsuya Nakadai. as the Lear figure of Hidetora, is wonderful to watch as he makes an emotional journey from the head of an almighty clan to a broken man, abandoned by his own flesh and blood. His face alone displays the pain of one thousand men as he descends into insanity.

Hidetora (Tatsuya Nakadai)

The other great performance is given by Mieko Harada as the vengeful Lady Kaede. Her deadpan affirmations of desire and menacing threats give the audience a character to truly hate. However without her, there is no story. Kurosawa uses Lady Kaede as the mistress of his tale; a woman who uses men as if they were pawns to sacrifice on the chessboard and who are too enamoured, too proud or just too stupid to realise. Shakespeare gave us Lady Macbeth but Kurosawa upped the ante with the deadly Lady Kaede.

Lady Kaede (Mieko Harada)

As mentioned before, colour is used to its fullest potential. The extensive battle scene at the mid point of the movie is a prime example of this. The skies outside by this point are grey and over cast (symbolising Lear's deteriorating status and mental well being) but reds and yellows practically glow. The violence is more extreme, with arterial spray and severed limbs scattered across the screen. The blood itself is almost luminous.

The violent death of a character... but which one?

The film is more bloody and grim than William Shakespeare's play but it is also more beautiful to view as Akira Kurosawa delivers a dazzling tragedy.

Thurrock Film Festival 2015

You could hardly say that Thurrock is the Hollywood of the South East, but the area has certainly  been part of film history. The State Cinema in Grays played host to Bob Hoskins and an animated bunny in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Coalhouse Fort doubled as a prison in Batman Begins, as well as other parts of the borough turning up in films such as Four Weddings and a Funeral, 28 Days Later and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

With such a connection to the movies, a local film festival was a logical next step. And that is what happened in 2012 with the debut of the Thurrock International Film Festival.

 

Founded by Natalie and Ben Scarsbrook, the festival is now an annual event that gives filmmakers a chance to showcase their work to the public. 

For a film lover such as myself, this festival is a godsend. A chance to see the work of new talented directors and actors alongside classic films such as Grease and Psycho (and that was last year alone). It also gave me the opportunity to meet one of my ultimate heroes, Barry Norman.

Waiting to get my book signed by Mr Norman

The Film Festival is now open for submissions and has several categories including animation, documentary and music video. If you're quick enough, you can take advantage of their early bird price which ends 1st March 2015, although the actual submission deadline isn't until 1st June 2015. All information can be found on their website, www.thurrockfilm.co.uk.

As for myself, I don't have the patience (or indeed the talent) to create a film, but I look forward to another year of writing about the new, and classic, films available at the Thurrock International Film Festival.

Cinema Review: Shaun the Sheep Movie (U)

A poor offering of films this half term had left myself and my nine year old daughter desperately searching for something to watch at the cinema.
The best of a bad bunch was an adaptation of a CBBC programme featuring an array of claymation animals and a mumbling farmer. I am referring to Shaun the Sheep and his big screen debut.

Shaun is looking good for his age, having made his TV debut in Wallace and Gromit's A Close Shave way back in 1995. It then took over a decade before he was made the star of his very own television series.  At 85 minutes, this could be seen as just an extended episode of the show. However, to say that would be an injustice to this film.

For a children's animation there is plenty of action on screen. Shaun is tired of the same old routine so all the sheep concoct a plan to get the day off. What should be an easy day soon turns into a nightmare as the farmer ends up in an accident in the big city and suffers amnesia. It's up to Shaun, Bitzer (the dog) and the rest of the gang to rescue him, all while avoiding an evil animal catcher. There are moments that make you laugh and even a couple that bring a tear to the eye.

I feared that my nine year old might be a little too old for the film but she laughed and gasped in all the right places. There are also a couple of moments purely for the adults (keep an eye out for the cat version of Hannibal Lecter).

This movie is thoroughly entertaining and will keep kids, big and small, hooked from beginning to end.

Cinema Review - Kingsman: The Secret Service (15)

Thank you for all your support during the Vue People's Pundit Competition. Unfortunately I didn't win but I did come 4th and was the highest placed female. Here is my entry:

The dynamic writing duo of Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn (who also directs) have another hit on their hands with this madcap tale of spies, gadgets and good suits.

The film, loosely based on the comic book created by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons, centres on Gary 'Eggsy' Unwin, a working class London lad who, after another run in with the police, is mentored by the mysterious Harry Hart (Colin Firth) and is introduced to a world of gentleman spies. What follows is a blend of classic Bond with elements of the modern action genre.

Newcomer Taron Egerton is superbly cast as the rebellious but utterly charming Eggsy; he is certainly one to watch.

Samuel L. Jackson is on bad guy duty as villainous billionaire Richmond Valentine, ably (and lethally) assisted by his right-hand woman, Gazelle.

The film is awash with social class stereotypes, however they appear to have been included for comic effect rather than as a serious social issue.

That aside, this film is fast paced, funny and thoroughly entertaining. The set pieces are frantic yet tense, with one particular scene pushing the boundaries of its 15 certificate. The language is full of expletives (and not just from the lisping lips of Mr Jackson) but it's all in keeping with the exaggerated nature of the film.

Kingsman: The Secret Service is 129 minutes of pure enjoyment which should keep fans of both classic spy films, and the action genre, more than satisfied.