A Review of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is David Fincher's follow up to the underrated minor masterpiece that was 2007's Zodiac. Here, Fincher reunites with his Seven and Fight Club headliner Brad Pitt, to deliver a very different kind of film.
The film deals with the life and times of the title character, a person born with the features and infirmities of a man in his 80's who gradually grows younger in appearance over time. Those who have summarised the film as being about a person who ages backwards have missed one of the fundamental points of Benjamin Button – namely that his miraculous reversal of the aging process is only on the surface. The film is also misleading in the way it deals with the central character. Fincher uses a number of methods to avoid answering any real questions about the man. The central conceit is a journal which Button has left for his lifetime love – Daisy (played by Cate Blanchett). But it reveals next to nothing about the man, a fact reinforced by the moment Daisy asks him what it is like to age backwards and his only reply is that he doesn't know – he is always seeing things through his own eyes. This issue of perspective also has an effect on the film. By not committing to any explanation or examination of the motivations behind the character, the film misses out on what could have been its best feature. The admirable detached objectivity which Fincher used so liberally in Zodiac seems to have bled over into his next project and, with a title like Benjamin Button, a little emotional involvement was not just important but absolutely essential.
Still, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a well made film. Pitt makes an engaging lead, though as he grows younger he seems to become like a more and more distilled version of Brad Pitt than a younger Button. Blanchett is rather cold and, in her geriatric and much made up form, practically insufferable. Indeed, most of the characters are rather difficult to like – motivated mostly by selfishness without a thought for the repercussions of their actions. Such realistically complex characters simply do not belong in a movie which should only conform to fairytale logic. Only Taraji P. Henson (as Button's adoptive mother) seems to realise the type of film she is in and her warm and unrestrained performance is the only real heart of the film.
The rather cold tone is all the more strange considering that the story was adapted (from the original by F. Scott Fitzgerald) by Eric Roth – most famous for the smaltz and sentimentality smorgasbord that was Forrest Gump. The script is embellished by a dozen fanciful inventions which are straight from the Gump universe – from a (clearly symbolic) clock which runs backwards to the broadly drawn caricatures which populate Button's first job on a boat. And yet the movie's heart is barely beating, managing only a few emotionally charged moments in its nearly 3 hour running time.
Technically, there are no such disappointments with Benjamin Button. The design and camerawork are sublime, managing to evoke each distinct period perfectly. The score is subtly haunting and adds to the experience without being overpowering. The much vaunted special effects are very special indeed – with the many faces of Brad Pitt genuinely impressive.
In short, every individual department did an excellent job in the creation of Benjamin Button but some vital element was missing. Perhaps Fincher wasn't ready for a fairytale, there are certainly intimations here of a much darker tale lurking just beneath the surface. Without a doubt he is a talented director but some casting mis-steps and a not quite solid grasp of the fundamental point of the proceedings have left the movie weaker than it should have been. There was so much scope here for an examination of life through the eyes of an alien, one with a unique perspective and the apparent key to the fountain of youth. The ravages of age bearing down on the increasingly youthful looking Button are some of the most poignant moments in the film but they flit by in moments, mixed in with Daisy's underwhelming parallel story.
You may think I have been overly harsh on The Curious Case of Benjamin Button but that is only because I saw the possibility of something truly special from a director with obvious talent for complex stories. Perhaps making an enchanting, enduring fairytale was simply beyond even his copious abilities.

A review of The Wrestler (2008)

The Wrestler is without a doubt Darren Aronofskys most straightforward film to date and proves that he has the talent to handle a wide range of genres and styles, a skill which David Fincher may not have in light of his uneven Benjamin Button. Here, Mickey Rourke plays an aging professional wrestler who is lost in some no man's land between his 80's hey day and the realities of his bruised and broken 21st century self. After a brutal bout, The Ram's body betrays him and he ends up alone and battered by life, trying to recover from a heart attack. Unable to compete in the ring and alienated from everyone around him, he reaches out to a sympathetic stripper (Marisa Tomei) and makes a last attempt to connect with his estranged daughter (Evan Rachel Wood). The Ram is approached for a high profile rematch with a former foe and he must choose between a potentially fatal return to the ring and the tiny, nascent possibility of a real life which he has carved out for himself.

Much has been made of the parallels between Rourke and The Ram but making that connection takes away from the sterling work by Rourke. He inhabits the character totally – no doubt helped by his increasingly bizzare features (he underwent reconstructive surgery after a short lived boxing career) but also bringing a strange naïve sweetness to a difficult role. For The Ram, it is life outside of the ring that is hard, the everyday is not subject to the rules and controls which exist in a wrestling match. And, most telling of all, you always know who is going to win in a wrestling match – in real life it is never certain. Even when Randy's life is going well, there is always a sense of fatalism, the sense that he cannot allow himself to succeed because he is too afraid of not knowing what will happen next.

Alongside Rourke, Tomei gives a good performance, although she is far too attractive for the role of a forgotten stripper. Seeing the two of them together comes across as aspirational rather than real, an anomaly in an otherwise naturalistic film. Likewise, Rourke's relationship with his daughter, though heartfelt, is spiked with too much cliché to be truly engaging. She is the hate-filled daughter who grew up without a father while he plays the immature, absentee dad who lost his way in a multitude of character flaws. These elements weaken the film to some extent but are generally forgivable – especially in light of the fact that Wood features in some of Rourke's strongest scenes and she holds her own very well for such a young actor.

One of The Wrestler's greatest assets is its camerawork by Maryse Alberti. Fluid and almost documentary style, it also manages to be a commentary on theme and character. Often when Rourke is walking to a new location, the camera follows close behind, hand-held. This deliberately apes that oft-used shot of a fighter on the way to the ring, enhanced by the claustrophobic corridors he walks down, mirroring those underneath a stadium. This connection is made literal as Rourke walks in one long take to the deli counter, with crowd noises on the soundtrack. Rourke literally treats every moment as though he were on the way to the ring, and this is another subtle indication of his inherent immaturity and fear of reality. When faced with another life, he retreats – even going so far as working in the same dead end job for fear of being forced to grow up. Rourke's man child is pathetic, selfish and broken but in the ring he is loved, adored and lauded for not growing up. It is an escape for the character and not fundamentally different from the many ways in which we all escape from responsibility and the vicissitudes of reality.

The Wrestler is a strong and simple film about a deeply flawed and powerfully sympathetic character. Rourke's performance is mesmerisng and his envelopment in the character complete. As the film ends and Bruce Springsteen's 'The Wrestler' plays over the credits we cant help but wish that things could have worked out better for The Ram but the fact is, outside of the ring, no one ever knows who is going to win.

A Review of Ghost Town (2008)

David Koepp has proven himself a capable director and Ghost Town is probably his most well rounded film to date, with both Secret Window and Stir of Echoes having trouble balancing their supernatural elements. Doing double duty as writer and director, he gets a lot of mileage out of a rather standard romantic comedy plot.

I’ve never been a fan of Ricky Gervais in any forum, be it stand up or his tv shows – which seem to be based on vicarious embarrassment rather than genuine wit. Mainly, he always seemed to come across as a bit of an arsehole. In Ghost Town he plays a socially awkward dentist who shuns company and is openly rude to everyone he comes in contact with. His favourite part of his job is the fact that his patients spend 90% of their time unable to speak. After a near death experience, Gervais finds that he can now see and hear the dead and, in a city as large as New York, is suddenly inundated with requests from the denizens of the afterlife. One such ghost, played by Greg Kinnear, has some unfinished business with his widow (Tea Leoni) and sets out to convince Gervais to help him so that he can find some peace.

So far, so standard. Guy has to get close to girl for an ulterior motive and ends up falling for her. Ghost Town even recycles the Cyrano De Bergerac conceit of having Kinnear prompt Gervais with lines designed to sweep Leoni off her feet. What elevates this film is not so much the humour (which is consistently well written) but the performances and the moments of drama which underscore the comedy. Gervais is perfectly cast as a man who has retreated from society not out of misanthropy but fear of more pain and loss. His timing is excellent and his ability to move from comedy to drama genuinely impressive. Leoni works well as his quirky foil and the two have surprisingly good chemistry. The supporting cast are generally good but this is really Gervais’s movie and he performs admirably with some challenging material.

As a story, Ghost Town is nothing new. It reaches a predictable conclusion and gets there with a minimum of fuss. It is well polished entertainment and proves that Keopp is getting better with practise and that he has some flair for more light-hearted comedy fare. The film is sweet without crossing over into the saccharine, sharply funny and sad in an empathic way which mostly avoids melodrama. Gervais couldn’t hope for a better introduction as a leading man and his performance is the heart (and lightly mean-spirited soul) of the movie.

Recommended.

Trailer Digest - Xmen Origins: Wolverine (2009)

Had no idea what to expect from this first spin off to the Xmen universe but, judging from the trailer, it could be one to look out for next May.




X-Men Origins: Wolverine Trailer 1 HD from Jacob Sheppard on Vimeo.

Trailer Digest - Terminator Salvation (2009)

Welcome to the Future War...

Now we know that franchises (like cockroaches) can survive a nuclear holocaust. After the pretty definitive end of Terminator 3 (itself a surprisingly worthy follow up) now we have Terminator Salvation. Set in the future after the bombs have fallen, it tells the continuing story of John Connors fight to save humanity from the machines. Perhaps it was inevitable that the series would end up going here but I think the war against the machines was better left as a kind of back story mythology. News that Christian Bale had been cast as Conner seemed like a good choice, but bringing the guy who directed the Charlies Angels films (McG - he doesnt even have a name) and confirming that it was to be a trilogy seemed like monumental mistakes.

The first teaser worked for me. I especially liked the mixing in of the original Terminator theme. Also, considering this debuted in the first few weeks of principal photography, the visible effects work seemed to be of excellent quality.




'Terminator Salvation' Teaser (1080p) from Yggdrasil on Vimeo.


And now we have the first full length trailer. Its a bit of a mess to me - making the possibly fatal mistake of revealing far to much and reaching an unsatisfying crescendo. Bale seems to be channeling his awful gravelly Batman voice and the effects, in some of the longer shots, look only average (am I the only one who sees those Terminator bikes skating?). I also have an awful feeling that this will be a PG-13 Terminator, something which T:3 only just avoided (it was rated R in the States but 12's in Ireland). If you cant portray the power of the metal monsters by showing the frailty of human flesh then the hopelessness of the fight is lost. Check out the trailer anyway and by all means have a look at the HD streaming from Vimeo.




Terminator Salvation: Bande annonce subjective (2) from majestic on Vimeo.



'I have a bad feeling about this...'


Terminator Salvation is out in May 2009.

Trailer Digest - Watchmen 2009

Say what you like about Zack Snyder but he does not make bland comic book films. His visceral take on 300 was a revelation in a world filled with PG rated, child friendly superheroes and he looks to be continuing this run with his next feature - Watchmen.

Based on perhaps the most celebrated Graphic Novel of all time (apparently we cant really call them comics anymore) Watchmen tells the tale of an alternate 20th Century reality where superheroes walk among us and the Cold War is still very much alive. One of the heroes is murdered and it is up to the rest to solve the mystery surrounding his death - hence the line 'Who watches the Watchmen'...

Since the awe-inspiring teaser trailer for 300, Snyder has also had a reputation for creating excellent marketing campaigns for his movies and Watchmen is no different. This first teaser is notable for its music choices - no bog standard trailer music here, instead they use The Beginning Is the End Is the Beginning by Smashing Pumpkins. Which works better than anyone could have expected.


Watchmen (trailer 1) from Grimrock on Vimeo.


For the second trailer, the first true theatrical trailer, the song choices were even more niche. Anyone who can take an action filled trailer and put it to music by Philip Glass AND make it work is, frankly, something of a genius. The first piece comes from his mesmerising score for the mostly sucessful experimental movie Koyaanisqatsi while the latter part of the trailer is accompanied by the instantly recognisable Muse - coming from their song 'Take a Bow'. Together they evoke the startling, eerie difference of the world which Snyder is presenting, which also making it clear that this is a very different kind of superhero movie.


NEW Watchmen Trailer from Young Il Lee on Vimeo.


Watchmen has been in the press recently at the centre of a disagreement between 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. over who exactly owns the rights to the source material - a case which has already delayed its release in to 2009. It seems clear now that it is in the interests of neither party to delay the film further, but some kind of profit share agreement may be necessary. From the evidence presented by the trailers, Watchmen looks like an incredibly dark, stylish and indefatigably cool movie and one which should make a real splash when it hits screen around the world in March 2009.

Pride and Glory

I was a good man once...




Pride and Glory overcomes the clichés of the cop drama to emerge as one of the best films of the year. Raw and real, it recalls Narc in its gripping tale of fathers and sons and the insidious creep of corruption. Colin Farrel aquits himself well with a difficult role but Edward Norton steals the show with his best performance in years. Jon Voight also surprises in a role which makes good use of his stature and brings back the memory of the screen presence he once had. It is to the credit of the cast and director that every part seems entirely fleshed out and real, with perhaps the most effecting coming in a minor turn by Jennifer Ehle as the cancer ridden wife of one of the sons.

Technically, the movie makes the most of the natural grit of its location photography. There are a few long, accomplished steadicam shots here but they are unobtrusive - serving the story rather than the ego of the director (Scorsese, I'm looking at you). The music, from the underrated Mark Isham, is also very effective and subtle, becoming fittingly more dramatic as the movie nears its conclusion. Pride and Glory just feels solid - as though the proper time was taken to really work every aspect out properly (a feeling which was wholly absent from Quantum of Solace, for example). It is really refreshing to see every member of the cast and crew give their best to a project and the results speak for themselves.

Sterling performances aside, Pride and Glorys script (co written by Narc writer/director Joe Carnahan) is also extremely effective, slowly unfurling a dense and dark tale of power, greed and the dramatic effects which come from being a family of cops. This is not a mystery, the truth of what has happened is revealed very early on but a dozen shades of grey make determining the real villains of the piece a far more difficult task for the audience. Pride and Glory is one of the tightest scripts in recent memory, with each element coming together in a way that recalls the symmetry of greek tradgedy, if not its frankly distracting excesses. The pace and power wanes a little towards the end as the whole thing spirals towards lumpen melodrama but the resolution, when it comes, is fitting and manages to sidestep cliche at the last moment.

After several years in development hell and a further delay in releasing to theatres, Pride and Glory seemed to come and go in a flash. We can only hope it finds its deserving audience on DVD.

Highly Recommended.

Zack and Miri Make a Porno

"Hi, can I have a coffee?... Black?
Can't you see we talking?... White?"



Kevin Smith is a talented writer and no doubt an intelligent man but his latest so called comedy is an exercise in overcomplicated cliche which dodges any possible entertainment value in its premise to deliver a tired, meandering love story.

Seth Rogen continues his one man quest to drown considered and witty comedy in an excess of improvisation. Improv implies mental and verbal dexterity - responding to situations with speed and verve. Here Rogen is just making stuff up as he goes along. This kind of interplay is annoying in films like the Pineapple Express (listen to the last conversation in the diner - three actors say nothing of consequence for almost 10 minutes) but in a Kevin Smith film, it is a travesty. Smith may be overrated as a director but his writing - in particular his one liners - are always clever and often inspired. Ben Affleck works in a Kevin Smith film because he does what he is told and the script makes him hilarious. By the same token, Rogen ruins Zack and Miri by neutering Smiths zingy dialogue with constant attempts at his own hilarity.

Zack and Miri is all the more disappointing because there are whispers of a better film here. Justin Long's cameo is inspired, recalling Val Kilmer in Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang and Jason Mewes steps out of his Jay and Silent Bob persona enough to show he is capable of real screen presence. The supporting cast are generally excellent and Elizabeth Banks does well with her difficult role as Miri. For me, the real problem remains Rogen and, by extension, the Judd Apatow baggage he brings along with him. Apatows films are carefully plotted, often with very simple central stories, which gives the actors space for improvisation. In this environment, actors like Steve Carrell (and to a lesser extent Rogen) flourish. By contrast, Smiths best films are dense ensembles with a vaguely connected series of events requiring very strict focus by the actors to maintain any semblance of order. When Smith takes on a premise like Zack and Miri and peoples it with Apatow alumni like Rogen and Craig Robinson it loses all semblance of form and effectiveness.

Zack and Miri Make a Porno has courted controversy with its sex scenes (which are few and by no means explicit) and title but will be more remembered as the moment when Smiths sentimentality overcame his talent. The film lies in a no mans land between the View Askew universe and Judd Apatow territory but doesnt measure up to the weakest offering from either. Finally, Zack and Miri Make a Porno just isnt very funny and that, given the pedigree involved, is the most disappointing thing of all.


[AND some of the best lines in the trailer didnt even make it into the finished film...]


Zack and Miri make a porno from Auston Bunsen on Vimeo.

GAME.IE

As well as working on the first issue of Click Magazine I have also been writing for Game.ie - working on game reviews as well as articles and news pieces. The site has been a little neglected of late (mainly because everyone who works on it was also working on Click) but it should get some much needed TLC over the coming weeks.

So check out www.game.ie - we even have some good competitions for games that I want almost as much as you do!

:)

Click Magazine - Issue One...

I am now a professional, published journalist. How odd...

Click, Ireland's premier (and only!) Movies, Games and Technology Magazine landed on shelves countrywide on Friday the 5th of December. After an extremely sucessful launch party, there seems to be a really positive buzz in the industry and Click could well fill a significant niche in the Irish market.

I came on as a contibutor for the games section and somehow managed to become the editor of the movie section, as well as reviewing games. All things considered, the magazine turned out extremely well and I hope we manage to make it to a second issue because we all learned a lot from this first experiment.

So pick up a copy if you see it and give us a chance to give Ireland the Click Magazine it deserves.

Price is 4.95 from most newsagents and a mere 3.95 in Tescos (introductory price)

And remember...

WE KNOW WHAT MAKES YOU CLICK!


Click Magazine - Issue One from Daniel Anderson on Vimeo.