The Artistry and the Egotism

An ambitious and brilliantly realised film biography of the American artist Jackson Pollock, Ed Harris stars, directs and paints on-screen. Harris’ performance is a tour de force, superbly portraying a challenging (and challenged) individual, and Marcia Gay Harden is excellent (and rightly recognised by the Academy) as his wife, artist Lee Krasner.

It’s apparent from Mr. Harris' portrayal that Pollock was a difficult person to deal with and it seems clear that he had mental health issues – quite possibly being bipolar, in spite of his talents as an artist he is not a likable character for whatever reason.

But despite the fact that neither Pollock’s art nor his personality do anything for me, Mr. Harris’ film is absolutely compelling and a very rewarding watch. The painting scenes are remarkable, they have a hypnotic quality and in their raw creativity are a stark counterpoint to the destructive tendencies that the man exhibited at times. They also present moments of calm in the alcohol-fuelled whirlwind that apparently surrounded Pollock for periods of his life.

If you like biography I think you will enjoy this piece, it’s a career-topping performance and a brilliant portrayal of an intriguing talent and the people around him.

Four Thumbs Up

Beautifully constructed morality tale from Rupert Wyatt with some really remarkable visuals. The effects work and the actors’ interactions with their 'props' are so assured that the outcome is highly convincing to the point that you won’t notice the join, and it's a huge accomplishment that will (if there's any justice) deservedly catapult Mr. Wyatt into the big leagues.

It’s a good if rather predictable story, but satisfying to spot the delicately placed traces of continuity that link to the later phases of the PotA franchise. In the first half at least John Lithgow is the emotional heart of the film and his performance is extremely touching and effective. James Franco’s is a strong turn too and Freida Pinto provides a powerful counterbalance to Franco's character’s increasingly reckless pursuit of a cure. It’s also good to see Tom Felton casting off his robes and discarding his wand (although just as nasty as ever).

John Lithgow

In relation to Caesar and the other apes it is difficult to comprehend the skills that must be necessary to perform effectively with what must be highly invasive technology. Andy Serkis is obviously a highly skilled actor in his own right, as evinced by his performances as Ian Dury and in The Prestige, Brighton Rock and Little Dorrit (tv) to name a few, but is he really the only guy who can play these marquee motion capture roles? I don't mean to be critical, far from it, I think Mr. Serkis will be remembered as the first and possibly greatest exponent of this newest branch of thespian-ism, but only because of making the transition to 'live action'. I find it interesting to consider whether any of Serkis's fellow mocap-ers will ever have the profile that he has deservedly achieved.

Andy Serkis - I still say Bluetooth is yesterday's technology

In the end RotPotA is highly enjoyable effects romp but is best, perhaps unusually, not in its big set pieces but in the personal interactions at the film’s heart.

All four thumbs up - bring on the Dawn...

Groan Ups

Every bone in my body wanted to hate Grown Ups. Surely this would be another brain-dead Adam Sandler spliff, his partner in crime Senor Schneider’s presence like a red rag to a bull, and yes GU is often crass and tasteless, smeared with great dirty stains of crude and puerile humour, but there is something else going on here.

There is a resonance in the central theme of lost childhood and the simplicity of bygone days that speaks to our need for friendship and simple pleasures, and that enables me to forgive a lot of this film’s lazy failings. For me there was one reluctant laugh for every two inward groans, and shakes of the head were often followed by a nod of recognition and possibly even a smile.

There are some moments of effective slapstick and as we know from his better moments Sandler is capable of being likable. His posse of Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade and the ubiquitous Schneider have an easy camaraderie that is watchable, and their significant others Salma Hayek, Maria Bello, Maya Rudolph and Joyce Van Patten provide effective foils for all the nonsense. Ultimately there is a sound message at the heart of Grown Ups and this is what redeems it.

Infantile, misogynist, heart-warming fun for all the family.

X Marks the Spot

Take everything that was excellent about the first trilogy and put those ingredients in the hands of someone who knows exactly what they are doing with the comic book genre, then sit back and enjoy the results. Superb entertainment delivered by Matthew Vaughn of Kick-ass fame, directing an engaging and dynamic cast.

James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender are entirely convincing at Xavier and Lehnsherr, and they have strong support throughout a well-constructed story from both A-listers and up-and-coming young stars alike.

Michael Fassbender throws stuff around

Jennifer Lawrence is again worthy of great plaudits essaying the troubled Mystique and January Jones is the screen equivalent of superglue to the eyeballs. Kevin Bacon has no trouble convincing as the personification of evil and the action hinges around his hideous masterplan, which is straightforward in its scope, but as usual with X-men it's the personal relationships where most of the real fireworks are flying. Great stuff - essential viewing for hero fans.

January Jones does bling

Cherchez Le Pterodactyl

Highly enjoyable historical hokum from the man who brought you Leon; Big Blue; Fifth Element; Subway; etc. Auteur Luc Besson presents a whimsical but nonetheless entertaining comic-book adaptation from the pen of Jacques Tardi (9 comics from 1976 to 2007).

The material presented here liberally plunders Indiana Jones’ locker and is chock full of the trappings of ancient Egypt, but Adele does not have the depth of (arguably) Spielberg’s greatest character. Nonetheless our spunky, no-nonsense yet glamorous heroine is played with great verve and style by Louise Bourgoin.

There is also a lot of humour in her performance, which is very engaging and drives the film forward – polite reserve is not a part of Adele’s armoury, but her impatience with others can perhaps be forgiven in view of her sister’s plight. It’s all a bit breathless and the plot does somewhat stagger from frame to frame in the way of a comic, but despite the other characters being little more than caricatures, and Adele’s motivation being very one dimensional (albeit noble), Mademoiselle Bourgoin’s charisma is more than enough to carry the film. Not taxing but loads of fun.

Louise Bourgoin

Captain Courageous

Whoa there, hang on a minute, Chris Evans is Johnny Storm a.k.a. The Human Torch, what the heck is going on here?! Initial concerns are quickly swept aside however since Mr. Evans was clearly born to play the iconic Captain America, whether in initial pint-sized and weedy form, or once transformed as if he’s been chiseled out of Mount Rushmore.

Chris & Haley

Great turns from an excellent cast, especially the hard-bitten Tommy Lee Jones; the deliciously frosty Haley Atwell; a gloriously malevolent Hugo Weaving, and the myopically intellectual Toby Jones – and not forgetting excellent work by Dominic Cooper as ‘old man’ Stark. The film is chock full of glorious rock ‘em, sock ‘em comic book action, and ‘Cap’ hits all the nails square on the head, from the frustration of his employment as a War Bond figurehead, to his fearless forays into the heart of enemy territory with his own band of brothers, all present and correct.



Dominic Cooper

It’s actually quite refreshing to meet a hero who is not flawed, as seems to have become the norm over the decades. Steve Rogers isn’t dark, he isn’t conflicted, nor is he guilt ridden (yet), he’s just out to punch old Adolf in the eye – although as it turns out he has bigger problems to face. The emotional centre of the film is nicely handled, not overplayed, there’s a war on after all and duty comes first, but there is still time for some brief, tender moments that add a romantic strand which is nicely played by Atwell and Evans.

General TLJ

The toning down of Cap’s costume is a wise move and allows the use of a more muted pallet of tones that helps to root the film firmly in the forties, and the production portrays the period beautifully. All this helps to set the film apart from the Marvel fare that we have been served up to date, and adds all the more to the enjoyment of it. One of the greatest pleasures however, as with ‘Thor’, is the anticipation of something greater, and there is a jarring closing sequence which is very well handled, another promise of things to come. Good, solid, square-jawed fun.



One cube to rule them all... Hugo Weaving



Watch The Right One

I previously ‘reviewed’ this without seeing the film because of my outrage at the original being remade, but I knew that was unfair, I’m glad that I have seen ‘Let Me In’ now. For one thing I think the title is better than ‘Let The Right One In’ which is a straight lift from the book. ‘Let Me In’ has the same muted palate as the original film and looks just as atmospherically grimy and dark. For me Chloe Moretz and Kodi Smit-McPhee are not quite as engaging as Lina Leandersson and Kare Hedebrant in the lead roles. It’s easy to see why Smit-McPhee’s character would be picked on and is called ‘little girl’ by the bullies because of his androgynous quality, but I think that quality is unnecessary for the story.

Elias Koteas - Kodi Smit-McPhee

In terms of the setting, on the one hand it is to director Matt Reeves’ credit that the feel is not overtly American. Other than some of the accents there is none of the flag waving, none of the trappings of the US of A (notwithstanding the Pledge of Allegiance, which didn’t jar for me), and Elias Koteas presence plus Ritchie Coster’s Slavic(?) gym teacher as central characters at least provide some link to the European original.

It’s clear that ‘Let Me In’ benefits from the ‘advantage’ of a bigger budget, but the occasional CGI almost acts as a barrier between the audience and the film. The car crash is a positive inclusion, very effectively done and quite a jump when it happens, then again the underpass scene is inferior, less convincing than the original for me.

Ultimately it’s a different film, more of a horror story and less of the fairy tale than the original is, and to me that says that Matt Reeves has, either deliberately or through misunderstanding the original, taken a different path, despite many of the scenes being lifted directly from Tomas Alfredsson’s film. To be kinder you could say they are lifted from the original screenplay, to the extent that John Ajvide Lindqvist is credited prominently. I find it quite objectionable that the credit is ‘written for the screen by Matt Reeves’ because the vast majority of the work was done by Tomas Alfredson and John Ajvide Lindqvist before him, and there is very little that is new, it is clearly a remake of the film and not a new adaptation of the book.

Richard Jenkins

For all that I did enjoy ‘Let Me In’, the performances of Chloe Moretz, Richard Jenkins and Elias Koteas are excellent, and the central relationship between Owen and Abby is well handled and nicely played, but in the end I think ‘Let Me In’ succeeds because of the utterly engaging original story and brilliant source material, and only served to remind me how good the original film is. If you haven’t seen either film, treat yourself to ‘Let The Right One In’ first.

Far Beyond Driven

Jaw-dropping piece of cinema from Nicolas Winding Refn, there isn't a weak link in the chain from the top-billed performances of Gosling and Mulligan down to the knuckle-dragging henchmen, everyone brings their A-game. Refn has a unique voice as his previous work (including Bronson and Fear X) ably demonstrates and this must be his strongest outing to date. Gosling's performance is beautifully empty, the epitome of 'spare' while Mulligan effortlessly illuminates the screen, making it impossible to tear ones eyes off her in much the same way as in 'An Education' (or anything else she's been in).

Carey Mulligan

These two performances alone would make an excellent film, but it is in the 'supporting' roles that 'Drive' is elevated from a good movie to a definitive piece of modern cinema that will stand out for years to come as a beacon of what can be achieved with total belief in a good project. Ron Perlman and Christina Hendricks know how to captivate an audience. Hendricks owns every one of her scenes in the peerless 'Man Men' and Perlman is the godfather of the twisted soul, but thankfully is given the chance to play it straight up here and does so to brutal effect, whereas Hendricks delivers a nicely judged if brief appearance transitioning from bravado to a much truer, baser emotion.



Bryan Cranston

These four performances are to be expected from the individuals in question, but the standouts are those ones that come from left field. Albert Brooks was for so long the straight man in funny movies but who knew he had this in him. His turn as Bernie Rose is every bit as menacing as De Niro at his best/'worst', but Brooks' foil is possibly even more surprising. Bryan Cranston, for so long delivering howlingly funny often slapstick comedy as Malcolm's dad, in 'Malcolm in the Middle', turns in a beautifully nuanced performance as Gosling's mentor Shannon. None of the main characters is entirely good or evil, with the probable exception of Mulligan's 'Irene' and Perlman's 'Nino' and it is perhaps that facet that makes 'Drive' as enthralling as it is.

Albert Brooks

'Drive' could be seen as yet another demonstration that so much that is exciting in modern storytelling is coming from Scandinavia, however I think it is actually a vivid illustration that the best cinema comes from the melting pot, with no barrier preventing directors, actors, writers and all the other creative fields from coming together. It's strong stuff in places, but if you can get past that you are in for one of the most memorable films in the last 20 years.

Everyone's A Winner, Baby...

We really should not be surprised anymore when Paul Giamatti delivers another winning performance in a movie that nobody has heard of, the man is a class act and elicits a heartfelt and tender reaction from his audience, whether he is at the centre of an insightful family drama such as this excellent story from Thomas McCarthy (first time director of the excellent Station Agent) or chewing up the scenery in his cameo in The Hangover Pt.II, where he was a welcome touch of class (and I enjoyed H pt. II).

Win Win is every bit as delightfully oddball as Sideways, but places family rather than fraternity at its heart. Young Alex Shaffner's performance is wonderfully low key and makes the film, but it's well played all round and Giamatti is front and centre, and we root for him despite some questionable decisions because we know his heart is in the right place. Gently humorous and engaging from start to finish, highly recommended.

The Mesmerising Mr. Nolan Works His Magic

Another masterful directorial outing for Christopher Nolan who has not put a foot wrong yet, The Prestige is sandwiched between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight and serves to once again highlight the wonderful diversity of his work. That he was overlooked for a directorial nomination for 'Inception' is to the eternal shame of the Academy.

The rivalry between Jackman and Bale's characters is loaded with intrigue at every mesmerising twist and turn, and they are supported by a superb cast of characters each presented with an engaging part that the audience cannot fail but invest in. But it is the story that is the true star, brought to life by Nolan, but beautifully imagined by author Christopher Priest.

The tricks are all explained but will enthral you nonetheless, as will this excellent film.

What's That Coming Over the Hill?

Superb debut from writer and director Gareth Edwards, this is the kind of work that should give us all reassurance that there are some safe hands on the rise that will offer alternatives to the output of Hollywood that have great artistic integrity, genuine invention and will provide some new vocabulary for the language of modern cinema. Edwards beautifully captures the sombre and confused mood of a fictional near-future where aliens have arrived on Earth. The journey of his characters across this disorienting landscape is totally compelling due to Edwards’ deft touch with situations and dialog, and due to engagingly believable performances from his leads McNairy and Able. In these aspects ‘Monsters’ is in stark contrast to something like the effects heavy ‘Skyline’. Edward’s meagre budget and (necessarily) inventive filmmaking methods, and the wonderful outcome of his process, should be a lesson to big-bankroll directors and studios that truly substantive creation needs no budget to demonstrate its value. Superb filmmaking that you really should see if you have any interest in the future of cinema, well worth the rental.

The Definition of Shift

I think that if you are going to try to create art with a camera the end result needs to be something that the eye cannot see unaided. As a result, pointing the camera and releasing the shutter is not enough in itself. Also, I've always been drawn to abstract images and so have, for some years, been trying to put these elements together. What I've come up with is not particularly clever in a technical sense, I'm no great technician when it comes to photography, I don't have the patience, but I think the results of my experimenting with movement of the camera are quite interesting.

This first image was taken in the Cannaregio area in northern Venice with my Sony, f/4, 1 second, ISO 320 (equivalent) and -0.7 step exposure bias.

The second image was taken on Olympiastrasse in Seefeld, Austria, Sony again, f/2.8, 1 second, ISO 320 (equivalent).

The Right One

Don’t let yourself be put off if you think that this is a vampire film, it most certainly is not. There may be some bloodletting involved and it could be considered to have horrific elements, but these are incidental, ‘Let The Right One In’ is so much more than what some of its constituent parts might suggest. A glowing recommendation from Guillermo del Toro should tell you what territory we are in here, and that Tomas Alfredson has crafted a thoughtful, intelligent, near perfect film from the source novel. The central performances from Kare Hedebrant, but particularly Lina Leandersson, are enthralling, beautifully capturing the tenderness and hesitancy of the relationship at the heart of the film. That Alfredson went on to create a definitive work like 2011’s ‘Tinker Tailor, Soldier Spy’ will not have surprised devotees of ‘Let The Right One In’, there can only be great things to come from this superlative filmmaker. If you are not overly sensitive, treat yourself to a delightful and moving filmic experience.

In The Camera Eye

How do you review a film about your all-time favourite band? Probably not very impartially, I think you would have to be a fan of Rush to seek this out, but it’s also well worth seeing for music fans who don’t know them. Rush and their music might be considered somewhat eccentric by some, but in my view Rush have, over the decades, conducted themselves with absolute decorum, through good times and hard times, concentrating on delivering the most stimulating, challenging and enthralling rock music that I have ever heard and (I strongly suspect) will ever hear. No one can do what they do, the power, the virtuosity, the insight, the passion, the sensitivity.

Intellectualism; compassion; virtuosity; heart; mind; soul; poetry; science; history; Earth; galaxy; universe; The Big Bang - Rush's canvas is the entirety of human existence. No theme is too big or too small. They are truly masters of the possible and the impossible. How well does this film capture that, well I think it is clearly an act of heart-felt tribute by the filmmakers, and the talking heads who have contributed are very impressive indeed. In the end it’s a pretty standard documentary about an extraordinary band, as a piece of archive work it is excellent, well worth seeing for those who know Rush and those who want to know them.

Keep Calm and Carry On, Watson

After a good, solid first outing by Guy Ritchie featuring excellent cut-and-thrust chemistry between Downey Jr. and Law, and a suitably mysterious and involving plot, I was unsure what to expect from the sequel, but there is no dip in form here, ‘A Game of Shadows’ is excellent, its canvas is the whole of Europe, Moriarty is on the move and the game is afoot! The action is well-paced, Holmes and Watson’s relationship is under strain and darkness and daring abound as a spate of bombings shakes Europe.

The introduction of Stephen Fry is inspired; he provides an excellent second foil for Downey Jr. and also a degree of gravitas that was missing before. Noomi Rapace is superbly cast, a pity she was not given more to do, but excellent to see her in a big circulation movie, hopefully more to come. The stand-out performance however is Jared Harris, oh how different from his meek and mild-mannered role as Lane Pryce in ‘Mad Men’, his Moriarty is superb; not a blustering caricature of evil, thank goodness, but the best kind of villain, a super-intelligent man of strong desires and no morality. The scenes that he shares with Holmes are riveting, none more so than the last one, which is superb cinema.

To conclude, despite the very tacky strap line ‘A Game of Shadows’ IS bigger, it IS better and it IS funnier, but not at the expense of an excellent Gothic action thriller with a tremendous denouement. Go and see it on the big screen NOW, TODAY! then see it again online and as a rental, fantastic stuff.

Absolutely Dire

As a child of the 60's, my musical hey day was in the early 80's. I've always had eclectic tastes, but it was the power and to some extent the bravado of Heavy Metal that called the loudest (literally) to me, I was too well behaved to be a punk, and only discovered the joys of The Clash and The Jam much later. Motorhead, Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Saxon, Scorpions were the staples, Black Sabbath, Rainbow were venerated high priests (oh yes, Judas Priest too).

Metalheads were sworn enemies of the New Romantics, I mean with a name like that, and those haircuts, it was a rivalry forged in the fires of hell. For that reason it was much (much) later before I could admit that Human League, OMD, Soft Cell, Duran Duran et al had some great songs too.

Amongst all this battle-of-the-charts nonsense (wasn't it great?) were certain artists that transcended genre, and none was greater in the early 80's than Dire Straits. Mark Knopfler had that skill that all truly great artists have, of melding supreme instrumental skill with peerless storytelling and making the whole thing seem effortless. I'm moved to write this as I listen to DS best of, 'Sultans of Swing' which my 17-year-old daughter requested for her Christmas (one of my greatest joys is that she has musical tastes every bit as eclectic as mine.) Knopfler's achievement is written clearly in the track list of that superb collection, but even more eloquently in the songs that there is no room for.

'Love Over Gold' was always my favourite Dire Straits record, DS songs were never short, but by 1982 Knopfler was unconstrained by the niceties of commercial songwriting. The shortest track was 5:49 (the poppy, radio friendly 'Industrial Disease'), and 'Telegraph Road' was a tour de force at a magnificent 14:21, but it is the album's book end 'It Never Rains' that was, for me, the most poignant and heartfelt on that record. Okay the riff is a bit repetitive and the song peters out through a solo that is not Knopfler's most inspiring, but the first 4 minutes are an emotional return to the fairground landscape of 'Tunnel of Love' - magnificent stuff, and he was born in Glasgow.

'Breaking' news...


http://norriemaclean.blogspot.com/2011/07/bob-and-knopfler-at-braehead.html

Motion Capture

This photo was taken in Paris in February 2007 at the Centre Pompidou. My family and I were there to see a Tintin exhibition, which was superb, lots of original drawings and page masters, really incredible Herge archive material. My Sony DSC-72P at work again with f/2.8 and 1/8s, set to ISO 100 with +2 exposure bias.

I love the way that the camera can capture images that the eye can't really see. The exposure is long enough that people moving across the shot appear blurred, but some standing or pausing are frozen fairly clearly. The man in the foreground turned to look at the camera, conscious that he was in the shot, but not enough to stop.

The over-exposure removes the definition from the outside world, although the odd person here and there is still visible in the distance. There are almost no objects in the shot so it becomes all about the people and what the viewer imagines about them.

I'd like to thank Orson Welles, without whom this would not have been possible

Welles filmed Kafka's 'The Trial' in Paris in 1962, using the abandoned Gare du Quai d'Orsay for many scenes due to insufficient funds to work in a studio. The old station was scheduled for demolition until Jacques Duhamel, Minister for Cultural Affairs ruled against it, no doubt because of its use by Welles and other filmmakers, and also for a time as an auction house and the base for a theatre company.

This photo was taken in April 2005 in the cafe situated behind one of the clock faces that bracket the frontage to the Seine, using my Sony DSC-P72 when 3.2 mega-pixels was a lot. Limitations of memory stick capacity meant I had it on VGA mode unfortunately. F/5.6 and 1/125s for anyone who's interested.

Camera Eye

It's been a long, long time since I blogged - in the interim since the Hangover II post (still stand by that), I have signed up to Twitter and found out at the I can't keep up with that either, at least my Fantasy Premier League team is up to date.

I've always wanted to 'do something' with my photography - the arty-farty, potentially pretentious stuff - Ash has a friend who started out trying to post a new photo every day - I'll never manage that! - maybe one a month, but then again I've got something of a back catalogue to work with. No time like the present.

This photo was taken in the Creston Valley on the shores of Kootenay Lake, British Columbia with by Minolta x-300 SLR (not digital, we're talking 1989!). This is a scan of the original print, pretty sure it was Ilford 125 film, but give me a break it was 22 years ago! The photo is called 'Spider', no prizes for spotting why.

More Bang and, indeed, C**k for your Buck

The great thing about ‘The Hangover’ was its brazen lack of shame and Part II displays all of the irreverence of the first instalment, with the addition of an exotic location. The film makes the most its eastern setting, which is always colourful, often tawdry, but also an integral part of the story, not just a gimmick to spice up a sequel.

The story is straightforward, delivering the right amount of jeopardy and threat without being over complicated. There are a couple of passing points of misjudged prejudice which are unnecessary, but the generally locals give as good as they get, and it is for most part bawdy but good natured fun, shared with characters that already feel like old friends, stupid, reckless, but ultimately likable much in the way that the Carry On characters are.

Paul Giamatti’s role is small but enlivens the second half. The final set piece is, thankfully, in context, but feels like personality placement and it’s a shame that it doesn’t come off when the rest of the film has been so entertaining. There’s an obvious Part III, and if it steps up to the plate as Part II has done we are in for a rollicking good show.