Layover

--So this movie was released earlier this month on VOD (video-on-demand). A lot of new independent movies are being released this way and instead of missing out on them, I am going to start reviewing them because they are just as good if not better than some of the big theatrically released blockbusters.

Joshua Caldwell's debut feature is startling beautiful love letter to the city of Los Angeles as witnessed through the eyes of an outsider. The film also takes a startling turn of having most of the dialogue spoken in French, as the main character is from Paris.

Simone (Nathalie Fay) is flying from Paris to Singapore, but when her connecting flight from LA is cancelled, she ends up with a twelve hour layover in the city. Confused as to what to do, she meets up with her old friend Juliette (Bella Dayne). They go out and enjoy the night and whilst they do this, Simone meets a mysterious French biker (Karl E. Landler), who takes her around the city.

This film takes an interesting look at the city of LA. While we see some of the sights that are not exactly high on the list of any tourist, we are presented with a beautiful and vibrant city. The characters bounce from one side of the city to another and through a series of amazing driving sequences, we don't end up missing any of it.

Despite LA being the home of one of the largest film industries in the world, Layover is slightly critical of the industry and the lengths that people will go to be a part of it. Simone's friend Juliette is an actress trying hard and failing to break into the industry but can't even get above the stage of commercials. The motorcyclist is a screenwriter who craves more fulfilling work and hates the fact that he is only appreciated for his shitty horror scripts.

On top of all these heavy themes and imagery, the film is cinematically amazing and draws slightly from the French New Wave of the 1960s. The use of jump cuts reminds me a lot of Jean-Luc Godard's Breathless, while the heavy use of close ups early on focus on Fay's soft features.

Fay is amazing in this. She is an American actress playing a French person with amazing ease. Her character is not supposed to know any English whatsoever and you really believe that this is the case. You feel just how uncomfortable she is in this new city. Karl E. Landler is also superb and likeable in his role. Despite never learning his name you feel that he is a genuine person. Landler also translated Caldwell's script to French.

Verdict: An amazingly visual love letter to Los Angeles with slightly critical undertones and a very cynical ending.

This Is Where I Leave You

As I have mentioned before here and here and I think maybe here, I'm a huge fan of movies about families. Doubly so if they're about dysfunctional families. I think it's because I come from a slightly dysfunctional one myself (sorry guys, if you're reading this). Anyway, that is what drew me into this movie.

Judd Altman (Jason Bateman) finds out that his wife is cheating on him with his boss. This comes just before Judd finds out that his father has died. His mother Hillary (Jane Fonda) wants to honour his last wishes by holding the Jewish practice of shiva, which is ironic because they are all atheist. During shiva, they must all stay together for a week. The rest of the family, Paul (Corey Stoll), Wendy (Tina Fey) and Philip (Adam Driver) all have their problems with each other, making the week extremely hard to get through.

I think this movie has my dream cast. All the actors in the rate among my favourites. Jason Bateman is back to his funny ways in a role not too similar to Michael Bluth in Arrested Development, but you can definitely see how this role is so easy for him. Tina Fey is a delight to watch in this and plays a much more sweeter character than some of her more recent roles. Corey Stoll (House of Cards) is great to watch in a comedy although he is a bit more of a straight-laced character.

Adam Driver is a lot of fun in this movie and a lot more wacky than some of the things he has been in and Ben Schwartz who plays the rabbi known only as "Boner" is great as Philip's foil. Schwartz has to be one of the funniest improv actors around (along with Thomas Middleditch) and is just great in this movie. Timothy Olyphant, who I have admired ever since seeing The Girl Next Door, plays a fantastic character who has a touching relationship with Tina Fey.

While the movie does seem to be a great comedy on surface, the movie does have overarching themes of family and taking risks in your life. These moments are sometimes interjected by jokes, but that doesn't interfere with the pacing at all, instead it makes the film more poignant and funnier.

Verdict: A great comedy-drama filled with some wonderful characters and fantastically hilarious moments.

Paul Greengrass to Direct Drama about Berlin Wall, 'The Tunnels'

Paul Greengrass, the director of last year's Academy Award nominated Captain Phillips and The Bourne Ultimatum, has reportedly signed on to direct the film adaptation of Greg Mitchell's proposed book, The Tunnels, a drama set in the era of the Berlin Wall.

The Berlin Wall has featured in an array of different films - most of which are documentaries - including the made-for-tv German film The Tunnel (2001) and The Spy Who Came in From the Cold (1965). The Tunnels will follow the true story of a group of West Germans, funded with the help of American news networks, trying to get their families out of East Berlin.

Greengrass has plenty of experience with action films, and he proved last year with Captain Phillips, that he can combine this action with true stories. Mark Gordon (Saving Private Ryan), has also signed on to produce. Of course, a lot depends on the direction that Mitchell takes the book in. Mitchell has focused on political themes in many of his past works, so expect that to factor in both the novel and the film.  

Gordon has said of the project, “Paul and I have been looking for a project to work on together for some time,”. He also noted that they were both thrilled to be working with FilmNation to realise the project.

Whiplash

"The two most harmful words in the English language are "good job"

Damien Chazelle's Whiplash has established itself a reputation as an anti-inspirational teacher film, with emphasis on J.K. Simmons scalding and sizzling performance as jazz teacher Terence Fletcher. However, this emphasis in wrong, while Simmons is brilliant, but the focus is on Miles Teller's Andrew Neyman and his work behind the drum kit, this much is established clearly in the opening scene. And while the focus on the inspirational teacher-trope is relevant, it is besides the point of  the film, this is a film about dedication, drive, passion, perfection and ambition. Neyman wants to be one of the greats, and so what will he allow to stop him? At New York City's Schaffer Conservatory, Neyman is headhunted into the brutal totalitarian regime of Fletchers Studio Band, and swept in his desire to be in its core competitive band, often putting him at odds with others that he already feels segregated from.

Writer-director Chazelle, with few credits to his name, developed this film from his own 85-page draft and off of the back of a positive response to a related short film that he premiered at Sundance, as well as one of his previous writing efforts, Grand Piano. A single-setting thriller centred around a traumatised pianist (Elijah Wood) playing a concert while being held at gunpoint by a Machiavellian sniper. Whiplash exists in a similar vein to Grand Piano, Neyman is a talented musician held under the thumb of his mentor, and both films have a keen sense of style and direction. Whereas Grand Piano loses itself in it's genre and concept, Whiplash engrosses itself within its own characters passion, dedication and the consequences. And through personal drama, Fletcher's brutal perfectionism, and his own ambition, Neyman grows, challenges, falters and succeeds in equal measure.

Whiplash has a keen directorial style that emphasises the minute details in performance and occasionally life. The short inhale in that one moment of silence before a performance begins, the blood, sweat and tears of dedication, or even the subtle signals of the woman you're on a date with. This film literally emphasises the sweaty passion of these perfectionist musicians and their cutthroat existence at the top, a position rarely earning them any recognition from those outside of the world. Each performance is incredible, and the focus on the drumming, something so naturally bombastic, technically challenging and cinema-friendly, makes for engrossing viewing. The very first performance of the eponymous song is simply incredible, full stop. Each performance is filled with energy and emotion, each struggle with meaning, each moment is therefore life-changing. The focus on solely one character and his experiences actually suits the film, as putting an entire band through the same paces would deny the film of the most vital result of its themes and subject matter, it's undeniable intensity.

And of course I have to post some of my favourite drumming and drummers, sorry, jazz isn't often my thing....,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PATEO4Uomk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OG8IioX1dHk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hreNWY3Isf8
Well, sorta......
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWKCqn1ExmQ

Director Appreciation: The Life & Work of Stanley Kubrick

Ask any Director, Cinematographer, or up and coming film student about who has influenced them, and chances are the name Stanley Kubrick will pop-up. Over a career spanning nearly fifty years, Kubrick made just thirteen feature films - almost all of which are now considered classics - and lived a life away from the public eye, emerging once or twice a decade to release a new film. Many have been quick to label him a 'recluse' because of this, but was he really? Like Kubrick's films, you're unlikely to get any answers here, but as I also appreciate and am influenced by his work, I feel that it's time we explored the quirky, ambiguous and totally wonderful world of Stanley Kubrick.

Stanley grew up in the Bronx, New York, was passionate about Jazz, and became an accomplished chess player, both of which influenced his rigorous and unique style of film-making. After his father purchased a stills camera for his birthday, Stanley began to take a keen interest in amateur photography, eventually landing a job as a staff photographer at 'Look' magazine. All the while, he was building his interest in motion pictures with regular visits to the cinema. He directed two short films before making his first feature length film, Fear and Desire, at the age of just 25.

Stanley's photographic training was key in the development of his directing techniques, and he was known for being incredibly meticulous about each shot, to the extent that on his third picture The Killing, the still relatively unknown Kubrick almost fired the well-established Lucien Ballard (Cinematographer), for not setting-up a particular shot in the manner that he had explained it to him.

The unparallelled style of Kubrick's films came from his emphasis on cinematography and unusual treatment of actors. He took no notice of the so called 'rules' of film-making and utilised techniques that even today, would be jarring to an audience, including long drawn-out scenes, wide and unusual camera angles (such as his regular use of one-point-perspective as seen in the video below), and interestingly, what has been described as his 'cinematic coldness'. That is, he took his characters to a point beyond the emotional, where the audience was completely unable to sympathise with them, yet would analyse and brood over their actions, long after the end of the film.

Kubrick // One-Point Perspective from kogonada on Vimeo.

Much of this 'cinematic coldness' came from the way he would treat his actors, fostering individual relationships with them to suit the needs of the characters that they would portray, such as with Shelley Duvall in The Shining, where he would nit-pick uncompromisingly - he made her retake one particular scene 127 times - until she was almost on the brink of a breakdown, just as Wendy was supposed to be. This 'method directing' if you will, aligned with his complete focus and drive for perfectionism in his projects. He was notorious for hundreds of re-takes and long shooting schedules, as well as spending years in pre-production, often just deciding on locations.

He was a man totally dedicated to his work, and in no rush to finish it. This is evident in all of his films, including Paths of Glory, 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, and The Shining, all of which we'll now look at in more detail.

Paths of Glory (1957):

Kubrick's second war film, Paths of Glory, takes an uncompromising look at the workings of the French army in WWI, and - apart from the 1918 french film J'accuse, which contained real footage from the front - it is arguably one of the most haunting representations of the horrors of trench warfare on film.

After a failed attack into no-mans land, led by Colonel Dax (Kirk Douglas), General Mireau (George Macready) decides to court-marshal three soldiers for cowardice.

Kubrick once said that making a war film is "a unique opportunity to contrast an individual...with a solid framework of accepted value" and Paths of Glory certainly conveys the hopelessness of war, ending with a bittersweet song and the news that the men are to return to the front. The film is an early example of Kubrick's technical prowess emerging. Just look at the drawn-out tracking shot of Dax wandering through the trench in the video below, and the effectiveness of these choices becomes clear.

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968):

However, if Paths of Glory is a mere glimpse at Kubrick's talent, then 2001: A Space Odyssey is the culmination of all his expertise in one hypnotic, memorable chapter of film history. Space Odyssey is unlike almost any other film, doing away with complex plots and character arcs, with the sole intent to inspire and immerse the audience in the boundless beauty (and terror) of space. If ever there was an argument for film as art, Space Odyssey is the primary evidence.

In the early twenty-first century, a mysterious black monolith is discovered on the moon, transmitting high-frequency signals towards Jupiter. The 'Discovery One' spacecraft, with pilots Dr. David Bowman (Keir Dullea) and Dr. Frank Poole (Gary Lockwood) on-board, is sent to Jupiter to investigate. Though their mission encounters difficulties when their malfunctioning ships computer, the HAL-9000 (Douglas Rain), turns neurotic and endangers the lives of the crew.

Released at the height of the space race, just one year before the U.S landed men on the moon, 2001 captured the imaginations of  a generation, and has continued to do so into the present day. A visual masterpiece, Kubrick utilised large format 70mm film to deliver a crisp ultra-widescreen experience. Superbly detailed models were hand-crafted and a huge spinning 'ferris-wheel' like set was constructed for the centrifugal section of the ship. The bewildering, but certainly mesmerising final sequence of the film, 'Jupiter and beyond the infinite' used slit-scan photography to create the rushing beams of light, and all of this was done for (when adjusted for inflation) roughly half the budget of the first Transformers movie. The special effects of 2001 still hold up well today, and earned (rightly so) Kubrick his only ever Academy Award.

This oddly evocative scene when Bowman deactivates HAL still remains one of the most haunting scenes in cinema

A Clockwork Orange (1972):

By far Kubrick's most controversial film, A Clockwork Orange, caused Kubrick so much trouble, that he actually had it banned in the UK - not something that just any director could do. It's one of those films that is capable of making you physically repulse, yet you don't. You just watch it again. This is the brilliance of Kubrick's 'cinematic coldness' at work, leaving the viewer with mixed feelings about the lead character, Alex, and his actions. Mainly, is he worse than the society which he inhabits?

Alex Delarge (Malcom McDowell) is the teenage leader of a gang in dystopic London, going around with his "droogs" at night, dining on "milk plus" at the Korova Milk Bar, and engaging in "a bit of ultra-violence", which includes beating up the homeless, breaking into houses, and raping women. After getting caught and serving a stint in prison, Alex is selected by the Minister of the Interior for experimental treatment with aversion therapy.

In a way, A Clockwork Orange, feels like an experiment in aversion therapy, which Kubrick has purposely let fail, with the shocking violence not actually forcing an opinion on the audience, but encouraging further thought. It's also a continuation of Kubrick's obsession with classical music, which he well-and-truly established in 2001. If anybody tells you that they find classical music "lame", show them a Kubrick movie.

WARNING: GRAPHIC SCENE from A Clockwork Orange

The Shining (1980):  

The Shining has always fascinated me, and is probably the first film that sparked my passion with both Kubrick, and films in general. Possibly his most 'mainstream' feature, it came about as a result of Barry Lyndon's box office failure, with Kubrick needing a 'safer' project for his next film. Yet it's actually very unique as a horror film, with it's unusually slow pacing much more effective in building a brooding sense of fear.

Jack Torrence (Jack Nicholson) is an amateur writer who takes his wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall), and son, Danny (Danny Lloyd) to the Overlook Hotel, where they serve as the caretakers during the harsh winter, when it is impossible for skiiers to reach the resort. After a while though, cabin-fever sets in, and Jack becomes psychotic, and the supernatural nature of the hotel drives Jack to attempt to murder his wife and child.

The effectiveness of The Shining lies in the suspense that Kubrick builds. Nicholson is capable of playing an incredibly creepy character, even when he's sane, so it's uncertain when he's actually going to snap. Again, this is Kubrick creating drawn-out scenes that leave the viewer in anticipation. Even the ominous opening credits are so palpable, with the eerily-beautiful helicopter tracking-shots.

The opening credits of The Shining

Hopefully, this has given you a sense of why Stanley Kubrick was, and is still, a world renowned director, and not only that, but is possibly the most unique filmmaker that has ever lived. But if you want more information, I would recommend checking out the documentary, Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures. Or, if you want to just bask in his films, check out this tribute.

Trailers Week 16: 26/10/14

The Gambler
It's no secret that we here at the blog are huge fans of Mark Wahlberg, he is our favourite actor. So when I say his new movie looks awesome, that's no exaggeration. Also I am under no obligation to say that because a) he might cut our funding if we don't and b) he might stop sending us reviews.

Avengers: Age Of Ultron
So after this trailer was leaked online a week earlier than what Disney had intended, they went ahead and released it because everyone had seen it already. In addition to the original cast, we are going to see Elizabeth Olsen as Scarlet Witch, Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Quicksilver and James Spader as the evil robot Ultron.

Insidious: Chapter 3
Just when you thought things couldn't get insidious enough, they do. This third chapter of the horror franchise is directed by Leigh Whannell, writing partner of James Wan and the director of the first two. Starring Dermot Mulroney, Stefanie Scott and Lin Shaye.

Take Care
This rom-com is about a woman who, after returning home from the hospital after a car accident, finds out that the only person who will take care of her is her ex-boyfriend. Starring Leslie Bibb, Tracee Chimo and Kevin Curtis.

The Woman In Black: Angel of Death
This sequel to the Daniel Radcliffe horror movie takes place during World War II in the same haunted house. You think someone would have burned it down by then. Starring Helen McCrory, Jeremy Irvine and Phoebe Fox.

Classic Trailer: 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
This is the re-release trailer for Stanley Kubrick's epic film about the terrors and beauty of space. Many consider it to be the ultimate space feature, with larger than life visuals and a classical music soundtrack that works perfectly. Fun fact: It still looks so fantastic today because it was shot on large format 70mm film, that was fun wasn't it?

Hector and the Search for Happiness

You would expect that a feelgood film with a title such as Hector and the Search for Happiness would result in a clichéd and totally overdone mess of a story, but Peter Chelsom's film manages to pull it off, thanks by-and-large, to a vivacious performance from Simon Pegg.

Hector (Simon Pegg) is a psychologist, troubled by the fact that he is offering advice to his patients about how to live life, without having truly experienced it himself. After somewhat of a mental breakdown, Hector decides to go on a trip, exploring the world and researching what it means to be happy. He doesn't know where he's going, or when he'll return, yet he asks his long-term girlfriend Clara (Rosamund Pike), to wait for him.

Armed with a blank notebook from Clara, and all the equipment he could possibly need, Hector travels to a variety of places including China and Africa, encountering very different people, from mothers, to prostitutes, to monks, to criminals, and asks them about what they consider happiness to be, and what personally makes them happy.

Surprisingly, the clichés that you would normally expect from this sort of film weren't particularly present in Hector, though as he travels through Asia and Africa there are definitely some strong stereotypes being played upon. I also found some elements of the plot rather obscure in meaning at times, but overall, there's plenty of funny and enjoyable moments to keep you interested. These 'moments' are great on their own but unfortunately, they don't work cohesively in the overall narrative and rather rely on the typical ending montage to link them all together.

Simon Pegg brings plenty of spirit to the part of Hector, and was certainly charismatic enough to push the film beyond the capabilities of the script. Toni Collette and Christopher Plummer were both well cast, but underused - though Plummer's small role is possibly the most interesting part of the movie - and it was good to see Jean Reno as a total badass again. However, Rosamund Pike, fresh off the heels of her fantastic performance in Gone Girl didn't bring much to the screen for me, mainly thanks to the nagging nature of her inherently uninteresting character, though this certainly isn't the worst film that she's appeared in...*cough* Die Another Day *cough*.

After the dull, grey world of Hector as a psychologist moves aside for his world travel adventures, the screen opens up to a brightly coloured series of landscape shots that highlight the outlandish experiences of his trip. It's really quite a beautiful movie, bolstered by some great acting and enjoyable scenes, unfortunately though it does succumb to a few stereotypes, and lacks a bit of substance overall.

Fury

David Ayer's follow up to his directorial debut, Fury, is an intense piece. He somehow has a way of getting under your skin and putting you in situations that most of us would hope to never experience. World War II was long over by the time I was born, yet I have felt the fear that tank units would have felt in the European War.

The film focuses on a tank and the men who command it in the final push into Nazi Germany in 1945. Don Collier (Brad Pitt) is loyal to his men and will do anything to get them home. After a mission that leaves one of the crew dead, he is assigned a new soldier in Norman (Logan Lerman), a young clerk with no battle experience.

This movie looks at some of the atrocities of war, although at times they can be a little exaggerated. Collier and his crew are obsessed with killing every single Nazi they find and do this, even when the enemy has surrendered and is unarmed. The violence is not hyper-real as you would expect in a movie like this, but rather it is portrayed realistically (apart from your typical Hollywood showdowns).

The film also looks at certain aspects of total war. Total war is when one of the sides in a war mobilises its entire population for the purposes of winning the conflict. As such, there are sometimes children sent into battle. This film shows the stark reality of the Germans being so desperate that they send in children as young as ten to fight.

The performances in this movie are extremely intense and well done. Pitt has mastered the American soldier by now, but his character is more sorrowful than Aldo Raine in Inglourious Basterds. His thousand yard stare belies the pain he has witnessed and felt. Logan Lerman's performance is also exceptional. As someone on the opposite end of the spectrum with absolutely no battle experience, he shows all the innocence that comes with fighting and losing people close to you.

Shia LaBeouf, Michael Peña and Jon Bernthal all play great supporting roles that display talents far from what they have been known for. Peña had worked with Ayer on his previous feature, End Of Watch, and he couldn't be further from that LA cop in this movie. LaBeouf also has come a long way from the child star that he once was with an incredibly intense performance. Bernthal builds on his amazing rep that came with his performance in The Wolf Of Wall Street.

Verdict: An intense look at the horrors of war and the toll that it takes on the soldiers who fight not for their countries, but one another.

Christian Bale as Steve Jobs

So fresh on the heels of the previous Steve Jobs biopic that nobody saw (although I hear Ashton Kutcher did a passable job) comes news of another biopic of the Apple founder. It will be written by the prominent Aaron Sorkin, who is famous for his work on the TV shows The West Wing and The Newsroom, as well as winning Best Adapted Screenplay for The Social Network. He will this time be adapting Walter Isaacson's biography and if The Social Network is anything to go on, this film should be sharp.

Sorkin has recently stated in an interview that Christian Bale has been cast in the role. He praised him for his work and said that "we needed the best actor on the board in a certain age range and that was Chris Bale". Sorkin also said of the film that role will be extremely difficult and that "he says more words than most people in three movies combined". Other actors rumoured for the role were Bradley Cooper, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. Leo DiCaprio was attached at one stage too. Danny Boyle will direct.

Where this will fit in terms of previous films about Jobs is anyone's guess. Whether it will focus on his early career like jOBS (2013) or his rivalry with Bill Gates a la Pirates of Silicon Valley (1999) is a mystery. Certainly due to the scope of both the biography and Sorkin's method of writing, I'm sure that it will be dialogue heavy and epic in scope.

A Walk Among the Tombstones

"So why are you looking up dead bitches, Matthew?"

Since 2009's Taken, the words "Liam Neeson dark-revenge-action-thriller" have become both ubiquitous and a running joke among audiences. But the sixty-odd year old Irishman's latest, A Walk Among the Tombstones, takes this recent bankable action-star power of Neeson and breaks convention through adherence to an old formula, which actually results in both a good performance from Neeson, and a solid film. Based off of the tenth in what is so far seventeen novels by Lawrence Block about an alcoholic cop-turned-private-investigator, Matthew Scudder, and being both written and directed by Scott Park (writer of Minority Report, The Wolverine and Marley and Me), the film opens with a stylised armed robbery being foiled by a badass, grizzled, hairy Neeson  in early 90's New York. The plot then jumps eight years forward with a clean shaven Scudder being summoned to a drug traffickers home to solve the mystery of the man's kidnapped wife Soon, Scudder is on the trail of the sick and twisted kidnapping murderers, and employing a young, savvy teenager as his associate, played by Brian "Astro" Bradley a finalist on the American X--Factor talent show. What follows is a simple, dark and formulaic investigation, though from behind the other side of the law.

Walk Among the Tombstones breaks little to no new ground, but what it does deliver is a solid detective story. Neeson, while not quite in form, fully commits to this role, and for the first time in a while (excluding his cameo in the Ricky Gervais/Stephan Merchant/Warwick Davis show Life's Too Short) he is not sleepwalking through this role. He commits so much that when the film inevitably takes a gulp from the Taken well, as in Neeson answering a phone and taking command of the call with his gravelly voice, it actually fits into the story, becoming a real moment in the film instead of just capitalising on a part of popular culture for the sake of marketing.

The film itself falls into a certain style early on, settling into a calm, disturbing quietness for the most part that is interrupted by a dark score. Much of the early film is shot in static tripod shots and interesting angles that focus on characters, as well as a distinct lack of weaponry, which all seems to serve the film and its classic detective style nicely. Handheld, pans, dolly's and gunplay begin to appear in the late second act, as Scudder's understanding and morality comes under fire. Overall. it's making the old new, but not too new so as to ruin the feel of the old.This film exists somewhere between the iconic Clint Eastwood-starring Dirty Harry and the recent Tom Cruise vehicle also based off of a successful series of books, Jack Reacher. And like the latter, it has little to no business being as good as it is.

Tammy

So I went into this movie with super low expectations. All I knew about it was that is a Melissa McCarthy vehicle where she goes on some sort of road trip. So I was a little surprised that I didn't find it all that bad. That was then I realised that it was supposed to be a comedy, it was then that I was disappointed.

Tammy (Melissa McCarthy) is a woman who is at a crossroads in her life. She has just found out that her husband is cheating on her and has been fired from her job. Fed up with everything that is going on, she goes on a road trip with her grandmother Pearl (Susan Sarandon), who wants to visit Niagara Falls. Along the way, Tammy meets Bobby (Mark Duplass), who she falls for.

Tammy is a strange movie. It's not a full on laugh out loud comedy (although there are a few laughs), but it is neither a drama. It suffers from severe under-characterisation and you never get close to any of the characters. The story isn't too bad, I can see the concept actually happen, but the situations that Tammy finds herself in are just absurd (and not in the funny way).

This film has a crisis in casting. Whilst the part of Tammy was written for McCarthy (she did write the script after all), some of the main roles are extremely poorly cast. It's hard to believe that Susan Sarandon is McCarthy's grandmother, but even harder to grasp at the idea of Allison Janney being her mother (there is only a decade difference in their ages). Toni Collette and Nat Faxon appear in this movie, although they barely have any lines. The only good choices I could pick out were Kathy Bates and Sandra Oh as a lesbian couple. These two were the sweetest and most likeable characters in the film.

The comedy relies on McCarthy being a foul-mouthed woman, which is really old hat for her (she did it better in both Bridesmaids and The Heat). She has some skill doing slapstick work, but doesn't take advantage of the opportunities and instead attempts to swear her way into some laughs.

Verdict: An alright movie if you've got a lazy afternoon to spare (like I had), but I wouldn't recommend rushing out to see it.

Trailers Week 15: 19/10/14

Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1
Personally I have always favoured Battle Royale as my go to violent teenagers shredding each other apart movie, but since you all seem to be #KatnissForever, I guess I can show you the preview. Starring Jennifer Lawrence and I'm pretty sure the entire cast from the other two movies.

In The Heart Of The Sea
So in our recent troubled times with modern whaling, Ron Howard has decided to stir up the world a little and make a movie about whaling in the 19th Century. Expect to see more humans than whales die because that's how it was back then. Starring Chris Hemsworth, Benjamin Walker, Cillian Murphy and Tom Holland.

A Merry Friggin' Christmas
This is beloved comedian Robin Williams' final film role and since 'Christmas movies about dysfunctional families' is one of my favourite film genres (right up there with Christmas rom-coms), I know I'm gonna love this one. Also starring Joel McHale, Lauren Graham and Clark Duke.

No No: A Dockumentary
This documentary is about baseball player Dock Ellis, who fought against racism in his sport in the 1970s. He was also known for pitching a no-hitter* whilst high on LSD (I would really recommend watching that link, it's a lot of fun).

*A no-hitter is a game where one team is unable to hit any balls pitched by the other team.

By The Gun
Ben Barnes plays a gangster who joins the Mafia and then throws it all away when he falls in love with a girl. Stupid kid. Also starring Leighton Meester, Toby Jones and Harvey Keitel.

Foxcatcher
I know that we already covered an earlier trailer for this movie, but I'm just so damn excited for this one. Directed by Bennett Miller (Capote, Moneyball), who won Best Director at Cannes for the film and starring Steve Carrell, Mark Ruffalo and Channing Tatum, all with various forms of prosthetics.

Whiplash
Miles Teller wants to be the greatest drummer who ever lived and gets a chance at his dream when he's accepted to a prestigious music conservatory run by an egomaniac conductor. Expect a lot of blood, sweat and tears. Also starring J.K. Simmons, Melissa Benoist and Paul Reiser.

Dying Of The Light
Nic Cage plays a CIA agent with an aggressive form of dementia out to kill his old nemesis. Just when you thought he couldn't push himself any further over the edge, he comes back time and time again. Also starring Anton Yelchin and Irène Jacob.

Classic Trailer: The Party (1968)
Probably the funniest movie ever made, Peter Sellers plays a bumbling Indian film extra who is mistakenly invited to a lavish Hollywood party. This movie has some of the best slapstick gags ever filmed and I can't even get through the trailer without laughing hysterically. Sellers was best known for playing Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther movies. This movie is next on our list for a classic review.

Before I Go to Sleep

I went into Rowan Joffé's second feature Before I Go to Sleep assuming that it would actually send me to sleep. The trailer presented me with what seemed like a melodramatic and most-likely uninteresting premise. However, I certainly didn't anticipate the twisting and over-the-top narrative, that would unfold before my eyes over the next ninety minutes.

Christine Lucas (Nicole Kidman) is an amnesiac that wakes up every morning with no knowledge of anything much beyond her late twenties. Ben (Colin Firth), her husband, has to explain to her over-and-over again that she was involved in an 'accident' and that they have been happily married for years, with an upcoming anniversary that he is preparing a surprise for. Christine receives a call from Dr. Nasch (Mark Strong), a neurologist that she has apparently been receiving treatment from - behind Ben's back - and has asked her to record a video every evening before she goes to sleep, to remind her who she is, and anything that she has uncovered about herself and those around her during the day. Dr. Nasch hopes that this will eventually trigger Christine's memories and help her to discover the truth about her past.

Now obviously I can't say too much about the plot for fear of spoiling it, but I can say, that when it's all pieced together, it is utterly ridiculous. Not that a ridiculous plot can't be engaging, and for the most part this is, however, it's also frustrating in the extreme. The story never seems to get rolling before Christine loses her memory and she starts to backtrack, but unlike in similar movies, such as Memento - which this film seems to draw a lot of inspiration from - we aren't really provided with sufficient clues to start piecing it together. It's like an (even more) irritating version of Groundhog Day, but without the fun of Bill Murray. Instead, the audience trudges along, exploring every possible red-herring before getting smashed in the face with a ludicrous, yet somehow still clichéd denouement.

I must say, I've never been much of a fan of Nicole Kidman, but this is quite a superb performance from her. She perfectly conveys the isolation and frustration that engulfs Christine's life. Supporting her, there's Colin Firth, who is about as good as the script allows for his part - although, given the nature of the character, I can't help but feel that he's a slightly unusual casting choice - and there's Mark Strong, who is fairly decent as Dr. Nasch.

One of the more interesting elements of the film is its seemingly aggressive cinematography. The camera becomes a brooding, almost voyeuristic presence in Christine's life, with the closest comparison I can think of being the hotel in The Shining, personified through the camera. Then there's the sound design, which utilises sudden noises to work with the image in creating an unnerving experience for the audience.

I may have spent a whole paragraph rambling on about the ludicrous nature of the plot, but Before I go to Sleep still manages to remain quite an engaging experience. It has great acting from the leads, and the true look & feel of a psychological thriller. Unfortunately though, in this case, seeing is not believing.

First look at Emma Stone in "Cabaret"

Okay, I know this isn't at all movie news, but Emma Stone is one of my favourite actresses (for obvious reasons). Stone will be appearing in the upcoming Broadway run of the musical Cabaret, where she will play the role of Sally Knowles.

The role is currently being played by Michelle Williams and was made famous by Liza Minelli in the 1972 film.

She will be starring alongside Alan Cumming as the Emcee. Cumming won a Tony in 1998 for his performance in the same role. Stone will start her run on November 9.

Neil Patrick Harris is your 2014 Oscars host

It's been confirmed by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences that Neil Patick Harris will be hosting the 87th Annual Academy Awards. Harris has previously won a Tony and an Emmy and participated in a musical number at the 2010 event.

Last year's event, hosted by Ellen DeGeneres, was the most watched Oscars event of the past decade and received a viewer-ship of 43 million worldwide.

Harris has stated in a statement that this is 'a dream come true' and 'to follow in the footsteps of Johnny Carson, Billy Crystal and Ellen DeGeneres is an honour.'

Looking at the films that have been released lately and those yet to come, I think it will be a close call for Best Picture and the other awards.

Blinky Bill movie? Take my money already.

So I have no idea how I hadn't heard that a Blinky Bill movie was in production, but now I've found out. And we have a cast list for the animated movie too.

For our international readers, Blinky Bill is an Australian character from a series of books and a very popular cartoon series from the early 90s. He is an anthropomorphic koala who has adventures in the bush with his other animal friends. The TV series was a staple for many kids who grew up in the 90s.

By the look of the cast, this is going to be a fun movie. Blinky will be voiced by Ryan Kwanten (True Blood) and the other cast members include Robin McLeavy (Hell On Wheels), Toni Collette (Little Miss Sunshine), Rufus Sewell (Hercules), David Wenham (The Lord Of The Rings), Richard Roxburgh, Deborah Mailman, Barry Humphries and Barry Otto.

From that cast and the source material of the film, they can take my money already.

Dave Bautista in Bond 24

So remember when I said that Mark Strong may or may not be cast in the next James Bond movie? Well I also mentioned that the producers were on the prowl for a classic Bond henchman. A few months previous a casting call had gone out with this description:

“Hinx (Male, 30 – 45)”

“Ideally over 6′ 2. Hinx is the main henchman/assassin. We are looking for an imposing extremely physically fit actor. He has several fights with Bond and will have to have stunt training. He has to drive. We are looking for someone very unusual, possibly from a sports background.”

“Height: 180cm – 195cm”

Well it seems that this role has been given to the imposing MMA fighter turned actor Dave Bautista, who recently appeared in Guardians of the Galaxy. By the looks of things, the next Bond movie is shaping up to be a good one.

Trailers Week 14: 12/10/14

The Humbling
Al Pacino does his best Al Pacino impression in this movie about an ageing actor who can no longer tell the difference between real life and the parts that he plays. Also starring Greta Gerwig, Dianne Wiest and Mandy Patinkin.

Sex Ed
Haley Joel Osment stars as an inept high school teacher who has to teach a sexual health class despite not having sex in a long time. Also starring Matt Walsh, Retta and Glen Powell.

Gold
A high school girl meets her real father for the first time whilst training for a cross country event. I honestly don't quite know what's going on in this trailer. Starring James Nesbitt, Kerry Condon and Maisie Williams.

Focus
Will Smith plays a master conman who goes after his dream score with his team. Also starring Margot Robbie.

Dear White People
Justin Simien directs this comedy(?) about a university where tension arises between black and white students over a party being hosted by the white students. Tyler James Williams, Dennis Haysbert, Tessa Thompson and Kyle Gallner star.

Classic Trailer: Ghostbusters (1984)
What with this year being the 30th anniversary of this comedy classic and hints and rumours that another Ghostbusters movie is around the corner, I'm gonna show all you guys the trailer for the first movie.

The Judge

Recently, it seems impossible for Robert Downey Jr. to play a character who isn't an arrogant know-it-all, and his role as Hank Palmer in David Dobkin's The Judge is no different. Yet Hank's strong family ties and an iron-will to defend his father at all costs, further proves that Downey Jr. is a fantastic actor.

Henry "Hank" Palmer (Robert Downey Jr.) is a talented lawyer and the son of a long-serving and highly respected judge, Joseph Palmer (Robert Duvall). The two lost connection with one-another many years ago, after a young Hank injured his older brother Glen (Vincent D'Onofrio), in a car accident and his father sent him to a juvenile detention centre. After the death of his mother, Hank returns to Indiana to attend the funeral and once again has a run-in with his father.

After Joseph is suspected of murdering a criminal, whom he sent to prison and was recently released on parole, Hank serves as his attorney and perseveres to prove his father's innocence against the odds of overwhelming evidence, strenuous relations with his family, and the determination of the prosecuting lawyer (Billy Bob Thornton).

This is a film that sets out to prove that blood is thicker than water, from the rocky father-son relationship, to the compassion Hank finds in his siblings. This makes for some truly touching moments throughout, and certainly some very confronting scenes. However these are unfortunately subdued by an overwhelming sense of sentimentality that becomes rather tiring and makes up the bulk of the nearly two-and-a-half hour running time. Instead, it is the courtroom scenes where the movie really comes-alive. It is here, mainly in the second-half of the movie, that we witness Hank's supremacy as a lawyer and where the humanity of the story and the troubled relationships really start to emerge.

Seeing Downey go head-to-head with Duvall is quite astounding. Both prove through their performances that they are some of the most talented actors alive today. I felt that Vincent D'Onofrio wasn't capitalised as much as he could have been, but he certainly shines in his moments in the spotlight, and Thornton, continuing in the wake of Fargo, proves that he is more than capable of playing a total bad-ass.

The Judge has an interesting, if slightly overdone look to it. There's an apparent obsession with panning and tracking shots throughout the film, as if they were afraid to just leave the camera static and let the scene develop, coupled with a huge amount of chiaroscuro lighting that seems to always show Downey Jr. in an angelic light. However once they simplify things, the beautifully gritty look emerges.

Despite some of these faults, The Judge remains a fantastic movie. Supported by a gripping, if slightly too 'Hollywood' story and substantial performances all-round, it never fails to keep you interested, and maybe even just a bit touched.

Son Of A Gun

I don't know how a hero of a movie could be so dumb. Like really dumb. But then again if he wasn't so dumb, the events that cause main plot of this movie wouldn't have happened. Julius Avery's crime thriller is certainly a ride for the audience, but at moments I feel like he dropped the ball.

JR (Brendan Thwaites) is a young crook who is adjusting to his first stint in prison. Eager to prove he is not a weakling, he gets in fights with other inmates and this brings him to the attention of Brendan (Ewan McGregor), a fierce armed robber. Brendan takes JR under his wing and once JR is out of prison, Brendan gets him to do various jobs for him.

The plot of this movie is a little all over the place. Instead of just sticking to one particular part of the criminal life, the movie jumps from a movie about prison life, mobsters and heists. While many of these sequences work well as their own small plots, smashing them together to form a larger narrative doesn't really work. The themes of this movie are also a little too obvious. Throughout the film, games of chess are played by characters who want to prove how smart they are. But the film also labours the point that each character represents a type of chess piece.

The character of JR is intriguing at times, we never learn why he was in prison and his background is hinted at, but never fleshed out. From that we are left to fill in the blanks and give our own theories as to who he actually is. One thing we do know is that he is an idiot and I think he is told this by nearly every character in the film. Thwaites plays him well, although whether he is meant to be a likeable character is a mystery to me.

Unlike the idiot that is JR, McGregor plays the character of Brendan with sharp wit. Brendan can see what is happening around him and the consequences of other's actions with a lot of foresight. McGregor also brings a lot of charm to this violent character, but unlike the other characters, his back story is glaringly lacking.

The character of Tasha (Alicia Vikander) is a bit of a missed opportunity. She only really serves to be a love interest to JR. She hints at a violent and turbulent past in coming to Australia but that is picked up and then dropped almost immediately. She is an Eastern European girl who is bought to Australia with the promise of a passport after she gets a student visa, but ultimately ends up working in a strip club. This was a perfect opportunity to explore the scary and sadly real world of sex trafficking, but it wasn't to be.

The supporting characters only serve to move the plot along and once they have served that purpose, they are unceremoniously dumped. Brendan's partner Sterlo (Matt Nable) is a fun character to watch, but he is killed off soon after he is no longer needed. Also the primary antagonist, Sam (Jacek Koman), is used so negligibly that I didn't know his name for the first half of the movie. Damon Herriman makes a brief cameo as a crazy gun runner in a scene that was a fun break in the tension.

The film's action sequences are rather spectacular. The driving chase scene that takes place is a stand-out sequence, with tense moments and amazing crashes. To see something like that in an independent Australian film is great to see.

Verdict: Despite having some plot problems and the main character being a complete idiot, Son Of A Gun manages to tell an intriguing and fun crime movie.

Dracula Untold

Gary Shore's Dracula Untold sets out to tell us the totally true and not at all embellished story of how the most famous vampire ever became a prince of the night. Or is the devil? Anyway, the only thing that comes close to a history lesson in this movie is a five minute sequence that doesn't really know what its talking about at the start of the movie.

Vlad Dracul (Luke Evans) is the prince of Transylvania whose kingdom belongs under the umbrella of the Turkish Empire, led by Mehmed (Dominic Cooper), a white guy in make up to make him look Turkish (seriously there was better casting of Hollywood films in the 50s and that was a time when everybody was openly racist). So Vlad angers Mehmed by not adhering to his wishes and thus condemns his people to be slaughtered because he doesn't have an army. Vlad travels to Broken Tooth Mountain, where he knows a vampire lives for his help. The vampire Caligula (Charles Dance) agrees to give him the power to stop Mehmed's army. (Just a side note, the vampire Caligula is apparently the Roman emperor).

This movie does have some admittedly spectacular fight sequences early on, but soon they get a little repetitive, like a side-scrolling video game. Once Vlad figures out how to use his vampire powers against the armies of Mehmed, you'd think the movie would be over. Instead we have to sit through another hour of people getting thrown in the air.

We get a couple of decent performances. Luke Evans definitely knows how to brood and this role calls for a lot of that. Sarah Gadon plays Vlad's wife and is one of the only redeeming characters of the film. Having Charles Dance (Game of Thrones' Tywin Lannister) in your film might bring some gravitas to your cast, but when you don't use him at all, it's a wasted opportunity.

I'm a bit worried that this is the launchpad for Universal's revival of their monster movies of the 30s and 40s. They were fantastic films, but the quality of this movie and those to come might taint the nostalgia for me.

Verdict: A very drawn out and overdone version of Dracula. Reading Vlad the Impaler's Wikipedia page is not only more exciting, but you'll learn something too. Also, what was with the present day ending?