Movie review - Giraffada

For the 2014 Munich Filmfest, I saw Giraffada. For the synopsis, please watch the trailer!

I'm not sure how much I can say without giving too much away, except I really enjoyed it although I felt extremely confused about how I was feeling once the film finished. I highly recommend this to people - despite the setting there's very little violence. I found it quite thought provoking on how a warzone (whether you wish to define it like that) affects the daily lives who literally have nothing to do with the conflict - kids and animals.

As a bonus since I was watching this at the German premiere, the director (Rani Massalha - this was his debut!) was present and taking questions. He revealed that the child lead is actually a relative of his and he was therefore able to get an excellent performance from him by using the familial privileges of threatening him. It worked - the kid was excellent.

Not a perfect film, but an excellent debut. You'll have to watch it for yourselves to see the things that I didn't like (you'll probably figure them out).
8/10

Movie review - Blue Jasmine

Described as a modern updating of A Streetcar Named Desire, Blue Jasmine follows former Manhattan socialite Jasmine (Cate Blanchett) attempts to rebuild her life after the arrest and death of her financier husband Hal (Alec Baldwin). To do this, she has flown to San Francisco to stay with her sister Ginger (Sally Hawkins), and we see Jasmine's shock at having to adjust to Ginger's working-class life and struggle at retaining her sanity.  

The summary should make pretty clear the similarities between Streetcar and Jasmine but there are several big differences, the main one being that while both Blanche du Bois and Jasmine are brought down by the actions of men in their lives, *SPOILER* while Blanche's final breakdown is  due to her rape by Stanley, Jasmine's is due to having to accept that her downfall is due to being the one to report Hal's fraudulent dealings in a fit of pique after he tells her he intends to leave her for a teenage au pair, and that she will not be able to claw back her former position. *END SPOILER* This is interesting in that it creates a character with whom we are trying to sympathise with, despite being quite a despicably arrogant liar.

And I did find myself sympathising with Jasmine even though I didn't like her. This would be due to Blanchett's performance as we see the character struggle to hold onto her aristocratic and haughty air in greatly reduced circumstances, how it affects the people around her in her new and, but also her fear at having to deal with a world in which she has no idea what to do with herself. That said, I find it hard to believe that even a spoiled upper class wife wouldn't know how to use a computer.

Also, while Blanchett's performance is enjoyable, I doubt I would watch this film again because something about it left me cold. Probably because there was no one in the film who was truly sympathetic, which then meant I wasn't really moved emotionally. I found that as much as the film mocked Jasmine's pretensions to maintaining her former status, it also mocked Ginger's by showing her apologising for and being easily swayed by Jasmine. The other working class characters (e.g. Ginger's boyfriend and her former husband) are portrayed as coarse through the way the dress, speak, and present themselves. So exactly who are we supposed to be like? Probably the only truly sympathetic character is Danny, Hal's son and Jasmine's stepson.

Anyway, Blanchett is great and the movie is alright but...missing something.
6-7/10

Movie review - 300: Rise of an Empire

Prior to, during, and following the events of the original movie, 300:Rise of an Empire follows Athenian general Themistocles (Sullivan Stapleton) as he tries to establish a coalition of the different Greek city-states against the invading Persian forces, particularly against the Persian navy headed by vengeful Greek commander Artemisia (Eva Green). We also see how Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) transformed from an ordinary Persian princeling into a God-King, and catch up with Spartan queen Gorgo (Lena Heady) who is coming to grips with Sparta's actions in the first movie.

As we left the cinema, someone actually said, "What the hell did I just watch?" To that, all I can say is that this film is no worse and no better than the first movie. Hugely stylised with lots of spurting blood, slo-mo, and improbable battles, if you're expecting historical accuracy, you're in the wrong place. Again. In fact, the following video is the best and most accurate review of 300:RoaE ever.

Review starts at 0:33. 

Ever.

So yes. I'd just also like to mention that there's a sex scene in the middle which is filmed at normal speed which was kinda funny. It's also notable for not being in slo-mo like the one in the first film.
7/10!

Movie review - Winter's Tale

I don't want to waste too much time writing this review because in my honest opinion, this supernatural-fantasy movie is rubbish. I will say that I haven't read the novel this is based on, but if online reviews are to be believed, the movie deviates quite a bit from the original source.

When an immigrant couple are denied entrance at Ellis Island, they place their baby into a model ship and set it adrift in the Hudson River, where he eventually grows up to be Peter Lake (Colin Farrell). Peter has been a petty thief and safe-cracker for Pearly Soames (Russell Crowe), but the two have fallen out and Pearly's gang intends to kill Peter...except for the intervention of a magical horse. Throw in a beautiful consumptive girl (Jessica Brown Findlay) and her precocious younger sister, time travel, amnesia, Lucifer, miracles, a fight to the death, a young girl dying of cancer and her journalist mother (Jennifer Connelly), and you have a movie full of tropes which seems to be building to something but ends up being nothing.

No joke - when this movie finished, my companions (all females) started laughing and asked what the hell exactly happened during this movie? How did so many big name people get involved? How is it possible to have a movie throw so many cliches into a 2 hour movie and yet still leave you with a sense of having no idea what happened? Laura actually said she was glad it was just us girls because if one of the boys came along with us, she would have been ashamed to have made him sit through it.

Watch if you're curious otherwise...I'd like my time back please.
2/10

Movie review - The Wolf of Wall Street.

Jordon Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a self-made made. A millionaire, owner of his own Wall St. stockbroking firm (Stratton Oakmont), beautiful wife Naomi (Margot Robbie), a huge house, a private yacht, and as many drugs and hookers as he likes. Based on a true story and the current record holder for most uses of the F-word (and variations) in a feature film, this is Martin Scorsese's latest film about criminals and low-lifes (even when they're living the high life).

Hmmm, I'm a bit conflicted about this movie so I'll just do a pro vs con review.
Pro

• This is a pretty interesting story that I feel was well-adapted. The opening scene where Belfort introduces himself and his possessions do a pretty good job of showing his self-absorption and materialism. It also does a pretty good job of immediately giving a reason how these combined to drive him towards criminal activity by his desire to control how others perceive him.
• Leo really puts in an amazing performance. At his manipulative yet charming best, we are shown how Belfort was well-regarded by his peers despite being an absolute shit. Also, two words - crawling scene.  
• The rest of the cast are also to be commended. Robbie could have easily been the sexy-bimbo/husband-stealing second wife, but draws an emotional response as her life-crashed down around her through no (real) fault of her own. Props also to Jonah Hill as Belfort's second-in-command who is let down by a combination of greed and a bit of lack of brains, and Matthew McConaughey as the broker who set Belfort down his path.

Con

• It might be well written but it's freaking long. Clocking in at 180 minutes (not including previews/adverts), I'll flat out say that I was sore from sitting so long! 
• The movie has been accused of glorifying Belfort and his crimes and to an extent I agree. We never actually see the people who suffer as a result of his actions, just repeated and prolonged scenes of parties, drugs and sex. These also become grating after a while - I just wanted to say, "Okay, I get it, let's move on." Perhaps this was the intention, but I felt that my reaction that Belfort is a despicable person is more to do with subjective response as opposed to what was presented to us on screen.  
• On that note, I can't help but feel the sex/drugs were completely over the top. I mean, I know some corporate types and have been told that there is a culture of drugs, booze, and sex that they join in on to 'fit in', but I can't help finding hookers for the brokers and sex in the office during working hours in front of others to be slightly unrealistic? 
• Unless you include Belfort's arrival at LF Rothschild, there's no real character development. Most the people are introduced as small-fry scumbags and end as bigger-fry convicted scumbags. It can be argued that this is because none of the people involved were/are actually repentant of what they've done, but we don't even get much insight into the FBI agent who brought it all down (Kyle Chandler).

So yeah, in this case my cons outnumber the pros. However, while I think this isn't Scorsese's best, but I can't say I wasn't entertained.
6.5-7/10

Movie review - What Maisie knew

On the plane to Singapore, I watched this modern-day updating of the story by Henry James. What Maisie Knew tells the story of a couple, art dealer Beale (Steve Coogan) and rockstar Susanna (Julianne Moore) whose relationship is breaking down. As they fight with each other, their six year old daughter Maisie (Onata Aprile) is caught between, first as a tool to try and score points from the other, and then shuttled in between the two as part of the custody arrangements. As she is essentially abandoned, becoming increasingly the responsibility of her parents' respective new spouses - bartender Lincoln (Alexander Skarsgaard) and her former nanny Margo (Joanna Vanderham), Maisie comes to understand the difference between what people say and what they do, and the complexity of adult relationships.

I clearly liked this otherwise I wouldn't be writing about a film I watched on a 12 hour flight. Despite its subject matter, WMK is not an overly dramatic movie. Other than a few adult histrionics as dysfunctional relationships breakdown, what we see is mostly an observational film from the viewpoint of a child. This is done in several ways - by having fights between her parents as a muffled background noise unless she's directly present, and by having low camera viewpoints so that we are on the same level as Maisie. Aprile is amazing as Maisie. Watching the film, you never get the sense that she's acting - from her joyous reactions to the people in her life or the quiet moments as she watches and waits to be remembered - I really felt as though I was watching a girl who has learnt to make herself unobtrusive and less demanding of the unreliable adults that flit in and out of her life.

The adults in the film are no less impressive. With Moore and Coogan playing Maisie's self-involved and thoughtless parents, it's hard to tell which one is the 'better' or 'worse'. As the fading rockstar, Moore presents Susanna as equal parts bravado and insecurity. From coach Maisie into saying that her father hit her, to impulsively marrying Lincoln to provide a caretaker for Maisie as she heads on tour for months, then exhibiting jealousy when observing how well the two get along together, we really see someone who likely loves her daughter very much, but for whose lifestyle the presence of a child is simply not compatible and is not willing or able to compromise. Likewise, Coogan presents Maisie's father as constantly on the phone or jetting off somewhere, making gestures that appear to be in her best interest but are actually self-serving, such as secretly marrying Maisie's nanny and arguing that the relationship means he should have custody, but then not having Margo's name on the apartment lease. Of the secondary adults, while Vanderham's Margo is seen to have a genuine affection for Maisie, Skarsgard as Lincoln is a revelation! Playing against his dangerous sexy type, we see Lincoln as an ordinary guy who has no real idea what to do with the role he's been thrust into, but finding himself Maisie's primary caretaker, does what he can for someone with whom he would normally have no contact with. The interaction between Aprile and Skarsgaard seems so natural - I have seen other men dangling children from their arms in the same way!

For people who have read the book, this might be a bit disappointing as the film truncates the years-long story to Maisie's adolescence and cuts out a large subplot, but at the same time, by doing so the film bypasses some Victorian-era morality that is not longer (really) relevant in this age. But what we do get is, what I feel, an unsentimental look at a now-common situation in which the actions that adults might conduct for convenience's sake is not always in the child's best interest.

This movie should have gotten more attention.
8/10

Movie review - Thor 2: The Dark World.

Following the events of the Avengers movie, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) has spent the last couple of years cleaning up various messes in the nine realms, meaning he hasn't had time to head to Earth and see Jane Foster (Natalie Portman). Jane has reluctantly decided to start dating again, and is in the middle of an awkward one when her science-y equipment and colleague Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgard) goes haywire. Investigating some of the weirdness, Jane get's transported to a new dimension, where a weapon of potentially mega epic mass destruction, the Aether, is hidden from the Dark Elves who created it. The Dark Elves are alerted to the location of the Aether, and pursue Jane to get it back, leading Thor to jump into action.

Writing that....this sounds like a movie that would totally suck. And thinking about it, the main storyline of the Dark Elves and Aether isn't that interesting. Yet somehow, I walked out feeling totally entertained and satisfied! How was this possible? Well, aside from the main conflict, the movie explores the relationships different characters have with each other, from Thor and Jane, to Jane, Erik and Darcy (Kat Dennings), Thor and the other Asgardians particularly between his father Odin (Anthony Hopkins, chewing the scenery like you wouldn't believe) and his foster-brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston), and most interestingly, Loki and his foster-mother Frigga (Rene Russo who I'd forgotten was in the first movie).

But the movie is also very funny. Like the first movie, some of it comes from watching Thor do things that seem bizarre (asking how to take a Tube to Greenwich, hanging his hammer up when entering an apartment). But the best parts are definitely the scenes involving Loki. You'll know what I mean when you see it because you should see it, even if it's just for a lazy DVD afternoon.

Lots of fun. Stupid fun, but fun nonetheless.
7.5-8/10

Movie review - Rush

The year is 1976. Niki Lauda (Daniel Brühl) is the reigning F1 champion but won't be this year if James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth), Lauda's rival from their Formula 3 days, has anything to do with it. I don't need to write a plot summary - it is literally all here in the trailer:

So I'll just get straight to the point. This film is awesome. AWESOME!!! I saw this with Susi, Laura, Ella, and Hero Thomas and while there was some hesitation from the girls about whether it would be worth heading out on a really disgustingly cold and rainy night to see a movie about race-car driving, about 20 minutes in, all doubts were dispelled! I think the other 3 girls are not fans of F1 racing but they all agreed that the movie is definitely worth seeing. It was tense, it was funny, it was action-packed, romantic and sexy! And it was agonising. Watching the scence of Lauda being rescued from his car and undergoing treatment at the hospital was gut-wrenching. There were audible moans and whimpers in the cinema. We had to comfort each other that despite the agonising injuries, that he survived and is in fact alive and well today! (Which is not what we can say about Hunt, RIP.)

The acting is great. Brühl is amazing as Lauda - he was so ratty as Lauda, and not just from the dental piece he was clearly wearing to get the buck teeth. The Germans and Austrian said afterwards that the way he spoke and held himself is exactly the way Lauda does, particularly the high-pitched voice. And while Hemsworth will always be referred to as Thor amongst us, he drips charm as Hunt, even though we're shown many of Hunt's non-charming aspects - the drink, drugs, arrogance, and womanizing. But you know what? It doesn't matter! Although the Lauda/Hunt rivalry was played up - it is known that they got on quite well, despite their opposing personality types, and even shared an apartment during their early racing days - it was nice to see who the two racers were the other's spur, bringing the best out of each other.

But while the characters and the story are excellently fleshed out, what really makes the movie is the cinematography. I'm going to call Oscar nominations right now. The colour palette has a slightly washed out quality that made me think (in the cinema) of photos from the seventies. The racing sequences...angles, the presentations, the way we are presented with how it was viewed of the participants and audience...they made me turn to Thomas and say, "Let's go to the autobahn and drive right now!!!" but we had about another hour of movie left to go.


But since we don't, let's go driving RIGHT NOW...and then go watch this movie!!!
8-9/10

P.S. I also found out that one of my colleagues is from the village of Nürburg!

Movie review - L'écume des Jours

Colin (Romain Duris) is a rich young man - he lives a pleasant life without having to work, enjoys the great food made by his cook, Nicolas (Omar Sy), and his best friend is Chick (Gad Elameh). Invited to a party by Chick, Colin meets and falls love with fellow guest Chloe (Audrey Tautou), and the two continue their charmed lives together. That is until Chloe becomes ill on their honeymoon due to a lily growing in her lungs.

Based on the story by Boris Vian (which I admittedly have not read), this film is certainly a visual treat. From Michel Gondry, I've got to say that I loved all the visual effects and marvelled at how some were achieved - check out the trailer for how wonderful it looks!

Looks wonderful, n'est-ce pas?

The story...well, maybe it would have made more sense if I'd read the story beforehand because this was less wonderful. The trailer is essentially composed of the first half of the movie, but the second half where life is not so rosy due to Chloe's illness...well, the visual effects are still there, of course, but the movie ended with me and Noelia going, "What just happened?" while Max (who is French) trying to explain various French wordplay jokes and the work of Boris Vian because he could see the puzzled looks on our faces.

I want to write a larger analysis of my strange reaction to the movie, but when I explained the plot plus spoilers to a friend, her reaction was also, 'What?!' so I....I just don't know!
8/10 for the first half which I REALLY enjoyed! 5/10 for the second that had me just puzzled and depressed :(

Movie review - Portugal, Mon Amour (La Cage Doree)

Maria and José Ribiero (Rita Blanco and Joaquim de Almeida) are a pair of Portuguese immigrants living in Paris. Both are doing reasonably well in blue collar jobs - José is the foreman for a building company, while Maria is the concierge in one of the more affluent arrondissements of Paris. They are appreciated by their bosses, and they and their family, adult daughter Paula and late-teen Pedro are well-integrated. Everything changes when José is informed that he has inherited his ancestral estate and winery, but with the condition that he move back and reside in Portugal. Confronted with the possibility of losing them, Maria and José's family, friends, and employers secretly conspire to keep them in France.

To be honest, since watching the movie, I've had mixed thoughts about it. During the film, I was laughing out loud at the various schemes and pratfalls, and walked out feeling thoroughly entertained and warm inside. Since then, I can't help thinking how selfish everyone was in wanting to keep them in Paris. I mean the argument is that it was all because the people around love them and/or appreciate their work, but really. These people have had the luck to inherit a legacy that they conspire to keep them from claiming by preying on Maria and José's essentially good natures. Having said that, the movie ends on a good-natures (if slightly clichéd) note that neatly solves all problems. 

Otherwise, it's a nice film showing conflicts that immigrants can have when balancing their origins and the lives made for themselves.

6/10

Movie review - Despicable Me 2

Whoops, this is a delayed review after the excitement of all the work, travel, and bike falling. A sequel to the 2010 movie (which I don't seem to have reviewed), Gru (voice of Steve Carell) has retired from being a super-villain and is happily living the suburban life. Raising Agnes, Edith, and Margo, whom he adopted in the first movie, Gru's many minions and Dr. Nefario (Russell Brand) are no longer developing evil weapons and have been put to developing new fruit jams and general housekeeping duties. But a mysterious villain has stolen an entire secret laboratory and the Anti-Villain League (AVL) decides that Gru, paired with undercover agent Lucy Wilde (Kristen Wiig) would be able to use his knowledge of villainy to identify the perpetrator.

It feels a bit funny saying this about a movie that's only 98 minutes long, but this was a fast-moving, action-packed film! Thinking back, there was a lot that happened throughout the movie that kept me laughing through out - whether it be suburban family competitiveness, what is the most macho possible way to die, to jokes about Australia being so damn far away. There were some bits that were cloying to me, but then, I'm a cold-hearted person :P

Basically, if you liked the first movie, you'll love this one. Why? Well the creators have taken what worked in the first film and expanded them in this one without going overboard. Firstly, the animation has maintained the distinctly bright appearance with retro styling of objects and plenty of fluffy unicorns. The voice actors and new characters are great fun, in fact, reading stuff about the movie, I would never have guessed that Benjamin Bratt, voice of new character Eduardo, was brought in after the character had already been fully animated! Fans of the minions will be thrilled as they absolutely provided what was the most random and hilarious part of the movie...

Their cover of All-4-One's early 90s song 'I swear'. 

SPOILERS IN THE VIDEO

I think we nearly all died laughing when that came on and we were certainly talking about it for days afterwards.

Solidly enjoyable, Despicable Me 2 is fun for all.
8/10

Harry Potter Studio Experience

Omgomgomgomg! I've only just wanted to go to this since I found out it existed! Another huge fan, Pooey had already been to the Harry Potter studio experience and H came along because...well, he thought he'd seen one, maybe 2 of the movies. Pooey and I were all, "But how can you enjoy this if you don't know the movies?!" He assured us it'd be cool. 

Our day started off by travelling to Watford Junction...

Where we see the first of my psychotically happy smiles!!!

And where we saw the HP-themed bus that would take us to the studio!

Pooey was happy to see the bus again!

My crazy eyed excitement at being driven up to the studio is apparent even under my sunnies.

So excited my arms kept shaking. H was more restrained

The studio was guarded by giant chess pieces from the first movie.

Daniel Radcliffe's hands. Not that much larger than mine!

The entrance hall with various cast photos. H actually asked me and Pooey, "Okay, so who is everyone?" :O :O :O :O

While waiting to enter the first proper room of the tour where they explain the history to making the film, we got to file past THE cupboard under the stairs!

The tour starts with a short film narrated by Harry, Hermione and Ron. When the film is over, the screen rose to REVEAL THE DOORS TO THE GREAT HALL AT HOGWARTS. IT WAS AWESOME!!!

From here, there was way, way too many photos taken so here are about....60 photos worth of highlights.

The great hall with some of the costumes

The decorations and costumes from the Yule Ball (HP4)

Examples of make up bench

OMG, IT WASN'T THEIR REAL HAIR?! ARE THEY NOT REALLY GINGER?!

The gates to Hogwarts!

The Gryffindor boys dorm

Gryffindor common room

A hallways with forced perspective

Hmmmm, the things I see in the mirror of Erised (HP1)

Giant pendulum

Portraits of previous Hogwarts principals in Dumbledore's office. They're sleeping!

The Potions dungeon

Snape, you hero

Some of the prop Deadly Hallows (HP7a&b)

The day we went was also the last day of a bonus exhibition explaining the role of animals in the movies. The owl is actually looking at a rabbit that was in a cage.

Her trainer kept turning her head around to look back at him and then fluffing up her feathers. They had a cute relationship.

Display on how they did all the flying sequences for example Hagrid's motorcycle!

Or the quidditch sequences!

There was actually a place where you could put on a costume and make a video of you flying on a broomstick playing quidditch or ripping through London but there were too many kids in the way :(

Lupin's travelling case which could move by itself

The kitchen from the Burrow (home of the Weasley family)

Sculpture from the foyer of the Ministry of Magic (HP7a&b)

Costumes of Voldemort and various Death Eaters

The Black Family Tree (HP5)

Umbridge's costumes (BOO, HISS!!! - HP5)

Umbridge's office - quite grotesque

Showing us how they trained kittens!

Tunnel to get to the Ministry. The tiles were deliberately made to mimic the Tube!

PHEW! At this point, there was a break where people could take a break from the magic and go into a courtyard where EVEN MORE props could be seen!

And you could be suckered into buying some butterbeer

Pooey in the queue with all the other suckers

But a very happy sucker

I enjoyed chugging it down though

And continued chugging while Pooey took me on a ride on Hagrid's bike. Yes, that is the Knight bus (HP3) in the background!

While Pooey drank while I drove the Ford Anglia (HP2)

Is...is that...?

Yes, it's Hedwig hanging out at Privet Drive!

PHOTO OP!!! (It was a real bid)

Pranking the Dursleys!

James and Lily's house :(

The next display moves on to prosthetics and animatronics needed for the various costumes and creatures such as goblins,

dementors, Aragog, 

thestrals,

and Buckbeak!

Like baby Voldemort. Still creepy

Also creepy were these wax mannequins of various actors/characters. They looked like corpses.

Then we turned the corner and found ourselves in...

 DIAGON ALLEY!!!

Some of the set drawings showing how the various pieces were contructed.

I think H was a bit exhausted by now. I was still super-excited!

The scale model of Hogwarts...

THE ACTUAL MODEL OF HOGWARTS!!!

Happy smiles!

This model took up a huge room; it was so detailed

And there were video displays showing how it was used for wide shots

The last room of the tour was the set of Ollivander's with the names of everyone who worked on the productions.

However, that wasn't quite the end - WE ALSO WENT NUTS IN THE GIFT SHOP!!!

Where I got to ride a broom with my own Hedwig!

And find out where the Sorting Hat wanted to put me

He said I was a Ravenclaw. They value intelligence, learning, creativity and wit, so I guess that is right.

Also, I totally rock the academic look

AARGH!!! TOO MANY THINGS TO BUY!!!

As you might be able to tell, I totally recommend the HPSE!!! Tickets cost £29 for adults (or really big children) and must be pre-booked Entry is time allocated - I think we spent about 3-4 hours there so plan wisely.  I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I clearly did!