Hugo - El

A superb and sincere story of courage, friendship & dreams told in sepia, steel grey and steam. One of the most beautiful movies I have ever seen and a must see for devotees of Film. A clockwork masterpiece!

5 stars.

NB: I will expand on this review after re-watching it on Bluray soon.

Hugo - DVD Review - Tash

I was looking forward to this movie and now that I have seen it, I'm not sure how I feel about it. The storyline was quite simple for 126 min (for future reference Mr Scorsese - the younger members of your target audience do not have a 2 hour concentration span).

The scenery was incredible, I loved the opening frames, the use of CGI to create the train station was breathtaking and more often than not, I was distracted from the story line (lucky it moved extremely slowly so even my addled brain had an opportunity to catch-up).  The simple use of young Hugo living within the walls of the train station and looking out at the world, disconnected, as it moves through it's paces and Hugo, poor Hugo, stuck within time as it moves all around him.  And that's pretty much where my love affair with this movie begins and ends.

The story was at times disjointed and somewhat....convenient.  The common thread of the automan, the connecting link between Hugo's past (Jude Law) and future father, George Melies (Ben Kingsley - the original creator of the automan) was sporadic.  I could not correlate the shift in focus from the train station to the despondent George Melies, a pioneer movie maker, who had lost everything through his own folly (I don't buy that Melies career was destroyed by the war, but rather the fact he could not adapt to the changing desires of his audience).

It was a struggle for me to follow this change, my desire was to return to the train station - this is where the real story was for me.   In my opinion there was enough depth in the story of a boy caught behind (within) time to satisfy the necessities of a good film. Both stories separately would have been enjoyable, together, I felt as though Scorsese had a bright idea half way through filming and randomly decided to connect the two.  The two (supposedly) interconnected stories do not have the rhythm of similar juxtaposed story telling films in the realm of Pulp Fiction or The Godfather. 

Too often my mind wandered and I found Asa Butterfield (Hugo) frighteningly similar in looks to Elijah Wood (Frodo, do you need a cousin??).

I do wonder thought, whether my satisfaction with the film would have changed if I had seen it in 3D?

Regrettably, a 1/5 star review from me. 

The Sapphires

From life to novel, to stage and now to the big screen, The Sapphires a story of four remarkable Aboriginal women who made it big.

Defying the blatant racism of Australia in the sixties, their racial stereotypes (and their mother), they doggedly pursued their dream to perform. They compete in a talent quest at a local pub, much to the disgust of the white patrons. And while they inevitably lose the competition, they win an admirer in Chris O'Dowd's Dave Lovelace. He becomes their manager and with his help they find their 'Soul', their groove, their estranged cousin and their destiny by singing to the soldiers in Vietnam.

This is a wonderful film that has broad appeal. It is funny, emotional, thought provoking and inspiring. Based on a true story it opens with the rich colours of the NSW outback and immediately warms your heart with humour and authentic love/hate relationship of sisters jostling for their own place in their family and their world. The cast is spearheaded by the magnificent Deborah Mailman who is superb throughout. Supported by newcomers Shari Sebbens and Miranda Tapsell as her sister and cousin - they croon together like molten sugar. But the true songbird is Jessica Mauboy whose vocals are the highlight of the show. O'Dowd's loveable and self deprecating humour creates balance with the girls' sharp tongued spunk. The chemistry and dialogue work a treat. The production values are high, and the soundtrack had me jiving in my seat (needless to say I have bought the soundtrack!).

The only major fault is that the journey is a bit bumpy in places, making me think it would have been better as a mini-series, but the story arc plays well overall. The horrors of the Vietnam conflict are kept to a minimum, but just enough was shown to underscore the senselessness of that war. However, injustice of Australia's Stolen Generation and the powerful theme of black rights comes across loud and clear.

The Sapphires is a tale of strength & weakness, of love & loyalty and of talent & ambition…and family. Told against the backdrop of the Australian bush and the Vietnamese jungle, it is a story everyone should know. Which makes me wonder why it has taken this latest incarnation for me to learn about these remarkable Australian women, who are leaders still today.

4 Stars.

El's Top 10 Kick-Ass Movie Heroines

1. Ellen Ripley, Alien & Aliens
2. Sarah Connor, Terminator 1 & 2
3. Lisbeth Salander, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Trilogy
4. Hanna, Hanna
5. Charly Baltimore, Long Kiss Goodnight
6. Evelyn Salt, SALT
7. Trinity, The Matrix Trilogy
8. Babydoll, Suckerpunch
9. River Tam, Serenity
10. Black Widow, Ironman 2, Avengers

My criteria: I have prioritised my heroines based on their grit, courage and ability to rise to the challenges they faced, despite their fears. Those who have been trained in combat come lower than those who were ordinary women who became warriors instead of victims.

Joss Whedon to write & direct Avengers 2!

Joss Whedon fans will celebrate at Marvel Studios' announcement that he has been signed on to write and direct the next Avengers movie.
He did a wonderful job with Avengers. Big action combined with punchy banter, especially between Tony Stark and Bruce Banner, not to forget some priceless one-liners by Loki. So I'm really looking forward to how he will develop the chemistry between that bunch of A-Types fighting for broad-shouldered room in the sequel.
But what is MOST exciting to me, is talk of a spin-off TV series based on Marvel characters... All Firefly fans will be doing a private happy-dance at the thought of Joss Whedon being able to really explore stories and characters again with his brilliant, acerbic wit across weeks, months, and hopefully years...(*Firefly grief..sniff sniff) rather than compressed into two and a bit hours.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/joss-whedon-avengers-sequel-359148

The Dark Knight Rises - Tash

Everyone who knows me will be familiar with my love of trilogies and as the final trilogy for Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight series the finale wasn't too bad. I loved the constant cameos throughout the film, Cillian Murphy aka The Scarecrow from Batman Begins as the very decisive Judge of Bane's  new world order, was a nice subtle touch (and there certainly isn't enough of that in today's Hollywood blockbusters).

My biggest issue with the film was not the storyline, or the cinematography, it was the sometimes shallow characters (whether through portrayal or writing) that caused a number of sighs and eye rolls (and may have contributed to my frustration which resulted in me asking the couple with a screaming baby to please leave the cinema).  Christian Bale is a great tortured soul - no arguments here, however I am not sure how necessary the deeply intense, and quite gravelly voice used when he donned 'The Batman' suit is to the portrayal of the character.  I did love the referral to The Batman not Batman throughout the film.

When one refers to The Batman we are no longer talking about the man (which obviously would be Batman) but the symbol, the myth, the concept - this is the power of adding that simple little word 'the'.  When you watch the trilogy again, take note of who calls him The Batman (usually his enemies) as opposed to those who call him Batman (usually those who are his friends).  But I digress, who was next?  Oh yes!  Let's talk about catwoman.  Any woman who has the guts to put on that catsuit has my vote.  Anne Hathaway was good.  Surprisingly good,  as the stunning Selina Kyle/Catwoman and her shoes were HOT!!!  Not a hint of a princess with a diary anywhere.  Whilst she lacked the silver screen goddess sex appeal needed to be a truly amazing catwoman (please refer to Michelle Pfieffer, Meow) she held her own and I really enjoyed her character. The ballroom scene was good, but it did not have the intensity of the same scene in Batman Forever, when Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle discovered each others alter egos.  On the whole, I liked her and thought she went along way to carrying the movie.

This cannot be said for Bane, who I found blandly evil (not even the bizarre breathing apparatus - we did this in Star Wars people) could truly convince me of his evilness (although the high collared sheep skin jacket did make me think he was bad - cause nothing good is coming out of that fashion faux par).  I like Tom Hardy. But I like him good and quirky.  Not blandly evil and dressed poorly.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt (one of my favourite up and comers) was great,  played a very Jimmy (from spiderman) potential sidekick part.  For those of you who have not seen the move do not read on past the 'spoiler alert'.

One of the things that really hit me throughout the movie was the cleverness of choreographing the fight scenes in broad daylight.  Batman fight scenes have traditionally been choreographed in an extremely dark and gothic setting.  Fight scenes in the day, really enhance the concept of The Dark Knight rising out of the darkness into the light.  A nice use of scene portrayal to really emphasize then underlying concept of the film.

The movie I gave a solid 3/5 with a well done to Christopher Nolen for wrapping up a trilogy with respect and finesse.

A satisfied Tash.

***************SPOILER ALERT**************











Now, let's talk about twists!!!!  Joseph Gordan-Levitt, character John Blake, real name Robin, gets the batcave.  Awesome.  Awesome. Awesome.  Some of you will think this is setting Blake up to be Robin, but I think that's the beauty of this twist.  There is no standalone Robin.  Batman is the hero, Robin is the support act.  There have been many times in the different batman renditions when Robin has stood in for Batman, the teaser here is I believe the final scene in the Batcave is inferring this will happen permanently.  That Blake will become the new Batman.

Now who thinks trilogy #2 is just around the corner????

Hobbit to be told in 3 parts!

It's official - The Hobbit, will be made into 3 movies.
Copied from Peter Jackson' facebook page, 31st July:
"It is only at the end of a shoot that you finally get the chance to sit down and have a look at the film you have made. Recently Fran, Phil and I did just this when we watched for the first time an early cut of the first movie - and a large chunk of the second. We were really pleased with the way the story was coming together, in particular, the strength of the characters and the cast who have brought them to life.  All of which gave rise to a simple question: do we take this chance to tell more of the tale? And the answer from our perspective as the filmmakers, and as fans, was an unreserved ‘yes.'  

We know how much of the story of Bilbo Baggins, the Wizard Gandalf, the Dwarves of Erebor, the rise of the Necromancer, and the Battle of Dol Guldur will remain untold if we do not take this chance.  The richness of the story of The Hobbit, as well as some of the related material in the appendices of The Lord of the Rings, allows us to tell the full story of the adventures of Bilbo Baggins and the part he played in the sometimes dangerous, but at all times exciting, history of Middle-earth.

So, without further ado and on behalf of New Line Cinema, Warner Bros. Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Wingnut Films, and the entire cast and crew of “The Hobbit” films, I’d like to announce that two films will become three.  

It has been an unexpected journey indeed, and in the words of Professor Tolkien himself, "a tale that grew in the telling."

http://www.facebook.com/PeterJacksonNZ

The Hunger Games (from 3rd June) - El

Visually stunning and well cast, The Hunger Games is a strong concept that is perfect for the big screen. The predictability was compensated by the beauty of the production. And my fears of graphic gore were allayed as the violence was tempered with chaotic close ups and motion blur. The true horror lay in the ethical chasm between the classes. It is Animal Farm meets the Truman Show, with the heavy presence of Big Brother (both Orwell's 1984 AND the dreadful voyeuristic TV series). Some might think that the idea of the opulent rich sending the desperate children of those they control to their death for entertainment is too far removed from reality. But you only need to look at human history to believe that Hunger Games is Reality TV taken to its terrifying logical conclusion... 4 stars from me.