Author Archives: crimebusterofthesea
Coriolanus (2011)
Coriolanus (2011) DVD / Blu-ray
By: crimebusterofthesea (Four Beers) -
BEERate this movie!
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The work of Shakespeare has often proved useful for directors who are looking to put a ready-made story on to the cinema screen. Now it is the turn of first-timer Ralph Fiennes (a man who is no stranger to the work of Shakespeare), with Coriolanus.
Coriolanus may not be one of the Bard’s most beloved plays, but it is more relevant than ever and Fiennes has prior experience, having played Coriolanus before on stage. Shakespeare’s play tells the story of Caius Martius Coriolanus (Fiennes), a Roman general who is banished by his people, but returns with his nemesis, Tullus Aufidius (Gerard Butler), to seek revenge on Rome.
The Raid: Redemption (2011)
By: crimebusterofthesea (A Toast) -
BEERate this movie!
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It is rare for an audience to applaud at the end of a film. It is even rarer that an audience will break out in to spontaneous applause in the middle of a film to show their appreciation for the sheer balls-to-the-wall brilliance they are witnessing.
However, this is just the kind of reaction The Raid gets and deserves. When you’re not slapping your hands together like an eager seal, you’ll be wondering just how no one died making what is possibly the best action film in a generation.
The story is a simple one; such a threadbare premise usually only belongs to a direct-to-DVD Steven Seagal movie. i sees a SWAT team enter a high rise building to take down a drug lord; they are met with resistance. It may not sound like much of a plot, but this is only the outer layer of a cake full of creamy action-packed filling.
A Toast
This film is a strange beast. It is an Indonesian film, featuring an Indonesian martial art, with a new Indonesian star (Iko Uwais as Rama) but it is written and directed by a Welshman, Gareth Evans. Perhaps it is this strange marrying of cultures that makes The Raid the standout film that it is.
Evans and Uwais, along with Yayan Ruhian (who plays Mad Dog), have crafted some of the most creative action sequences ever seen. There are no beefed up Stallones or Schwarzeneggers. Uwais and Ruhian fight in a flurry of fists and feet. They break necks, arms and hearts (in a bad, kill you kind of way). They may be small in stature, but they would be more than a match for any of Hollywood’s tough guys.
This will not end well for someone
Uwais could be the next big action star. He is Chow Yun Fat to Evans’ John Woo. He is a hero you can root for, but because he is not a hulking man mountain, also relate to. Despite his clear talent at being able to kill people, you are never sure that he will make it home safe before the credits roll.
The Raid does hit a lot of the expected action movie beats. Rama has to survive so he can get home to his pregnant wife and see his son grow up, blah blah blah. The SWAT team have been betrayed and now they’re on their own, with little chance of survival. It’s nothing we haven’t seen before. Except we haven’t seen it before. Not like this. There are enough action sequences here to fill three Die Hards.
Iko Uwais: He may look like quite a nice guy, but in fact he’s just thinking of ways to KILL YOU!
The Raid deserves and requires a second watch. The fight scenes move at such speed, it is difficult to catch every punch and stab. Gareth Evans has said that the film isn’t really “that violent”, because the camera cuts away at certain points before we see, say, a machete connect with a neck. But five minutes later someone is getting an axe in the shoulder. It all evens out in the end.
Verdict
The film is of course being remade by Hollywood, with Gareth Evans hanging on in an executive producer role. This makes it all the more important that people go and see The Raid in its original form. We may never see its like again. Until Evans and Uwais team up for the second part of their trilogy. Roll on Berandal.
Bonus Drinking Game
Take a Drink: every time someone dies
Take a Drink: every time someone is maimed
Drink a Shot: when you realise you have an insane man-crush on Iko Uwais
Senna (2011)
Senna (2011) DVD / Blu-ray
By: crimebusterofthesea (A Toast) -
BEERate this movie!
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It’s 1994, the third race in the Formula One season, and Ayrton Senna holds the lead over Michael Schumacher going into lap 7 of the race. As Senna approaches the Tamburello corner, his car is moving at over 200mph. His car suddenly veers off course and hits the concrete wall surrounding the track. Despite the best efforts of the medical team, Senna is later pronounced dead at a hospital in Bologna.
The Iron Lady (2011) Drinking Game
The Iron Lady (2011) DVD / Blu-ray
Bonus Drinking Game
Take a Drink: every time Thatcher sees or talks to her dead husband.
Take a Drink: for every flashback.
Take a Drink: whenever Maggie takes a drink.
The Iron Lady (2011)
The Iron Lady (2011) DVD / Blu-ray
By: crimebusterofthesea (Four Beers) -
BEERate this movie!
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At a glance, The Iron Lady looks like the kind of film that could sweep this year’s Oscars. It’s got Meryl Streep, who gets nominated for best actress just for getting out of bed in the morning, as Margaret Thatcher, possibly the most contentious Prime Minister England has ever had. Streep is surrounded by a supporting cast full of British thesps (Jim Broadbent, Richard E. Grant, Olivia Colman), and there’s nothing the Academy loves more than to add a healthy dose of Britishness to proceedings every year. And much like Academy favourites The Queen and The King’s Speech before it, The Iron Lady concerns itself with a well-known figure from Britain’s past (or, if you prefer, Britain’s present, as Thatcher is obviously still alive).
A clean sweep at the Oscars is unlikely though. The Iron Lady shows a senile Thatcher trying to come to terms with the death of her husband as she recalls the events that shaped her life and political career. The film, however, can’t get away from the fact that Thatcher, whether it’s in real life or on the big screen, is a completely unlikeable figure. The film fails to play to its strengths and never really engages the viewer.
The British won’t be coming this year…
A Toast
The film is all about Streep and her performance as Thatcher. She completely inhabits the role. Her portrayal of a frail and powerless Thatcher is completely at odds with the image of the ‘Iron Lady’ that people remember. It almost makes you sympathise with her. Almost.
Aside from Streep’s inevitably strong performance, there is the relationship between Thatcher and her husband Denis (Broadbent). Throughout the film she sees him everywhere and talks to him, even though he has been dead for years. The sadness she feels over his death is the emotional core of the film, but it is sidelined and the film ends up being more of a greatest hits package of Thatcher’s political life.
Who can forget her Number 1 smash, ‘The Falklands’?
Beer Two
A focus on what made Thatcher human, such as the sense of loss she felt over the death of her husband, would have made for a more engaging film. Instead the focus is on all of the events which, in the eyes of the British public, made her an uncaring monster. It is very hard to like Thatcher, and it is very hard to separate the opinion you already have of her from Streep’s performance.
The film hits all the marks you expect, but this comes across as just being lazy. We all know the highlights from her reign as Prime Minister; if people wanted to see them laid out again then they can watch a documentary.
Beer Three
The direction throughout The Iron Lady is sloppy. But what else should we expect from Phyllida Lloyd, the director of Mamma Mia!? Lines are repeated, some shots make no sense, and there is an over reliance on archive footage. All of this makes for a jarring viewing experience. The film is also lacking in any kind of subtlety. A shot near the end of the film showing Maggie cleaning a teacup is the cinematic equivalent of getting hit in the face with a brick. Over and over again.
The weak attempt at making Thatcher out as some kind of female icon doesn’t fly either. Clearly Lloyd was aiming for a similar audience to that of Mamma Mia!. If that is the case then she is very far off target.
Mamma Mia!: hardly the calling card of the next Scorsese.
Beer Four
As the film wears on, it becomes hard to care about events on screen. We already know how the story goes and as a result there is nothing else to keep the viewer engaged. The film leaves with you a feeling of indifference.
The ending is also a damp squib. Thatcher’s story isn’t truly over yet. She may spend her time coming to terms with the death of her husband, but films such as this usually end with the lead character dying. The fact that Thatcher is still shuffling around means that the film can’t come to the natural conclusion of other biopics. Her political career may be over, but the ‘Iron Lady’ lives on.
Streep and Broadbent are good, but the relationship between their characters is shelved in favour of showing Thatcher in her prime, evolving into a political monster that becomes too big for her boots. Her shift from grocer’s daughter to the ‘Iron Lady’ makes no sense and it is difficult to root for such an unlikeable character. Oh, and Maggie? The Falklands are nothing at all like Hawaii.
Bonus Drinking Game
Take a Drink: every time Thatcher sees or talks to her dead husband.
Take a Drink: for every flashback.
Take a Drink: whenever Maggie takes a drink.
The Adventures of Tintin – 2011
To avoid jacking with our current links, and just in case you read the review when it was first posted by our Foreign Correspondent, crimebusterofthesea, a month ago, you’ll have to click through the link below to give our Tintin review a read. It’s well worth it (and after giving it a watch myself, I can’t recommend the film itself enough either):
http://movieboozer.com/2011/11/19/the-adventures-of-tintin-2011/
The Adventures of Tintin (2011) DVD / Blu-ray
The Adventures of Tintin (2011)
The Adventures of Tintin (2011) DVD / Blu-ray
By: crimebusterofthesea (Two Beers) -
BEERate this movie!
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Tintin has been around for a long time. Despite his boyish quiff and baby faced appearance, he’s actually turning 82 this year. Tintin was created in 1929 by Belgian artist Hergé and since then he has not changed much. The quiff has stayed the same. The blue jumper and his loyal dog Snowy have been ever-present. So it is not surprising that the transition of Tintin from comic book page to big screen has been met with some opposition from long-time fans who are used to their hero staying the same. Who better, though, to take Hergé’s intrepid young journalist into the 21st century than the man Hergé himself described as “the only person who could ever do Tintin justice”?
The Three Musketeers (2011)
The Three Musketeers (2011) DVD / Blu-ray
By: crimebusterofthesea (Six Pack) -
BEERate this movie!
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The Three Musketeers is like a packet of cigarettes. It comes with a very clear health warning. It appears on all the posters and promotional material for the film. If you read it though and decide to venture forth into your local multiplex, then you do so at your own peril. For this is a film ‘Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson’. And no, that’s not the guy who gave us Magnolia and There Will Be Blood.
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (2011)
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (2011) DVD / Blu-ray
By: crimebusterofthesea (A Toast) -
BEERate this movie!
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Every once in a while a movie comes along that stands out for all the right reasons. It’s different from the blockbusters that fall from the Hollywoodconveyer belt. It entertains and enthrals, without having things exploding in your face. It doesn’t speak down to its audience, but instead appreciates that the average cinema goer can follow a plot. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is one such film.
Based on John Le Carre’s novel, Tinker, Tailor follows British Intelligence veteran George Smiley (Gary Oldman) as he comes out of retirement to uncover a Soviet mole at the very top of MI6. The main suspects are given codenames: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier and Poor Man. The fifth suspect however is Smiley himself. This shortlist of suspects leads to much tension and suspicion. The result is a slow burning, yet engrossing mystery that will keep those unfamiliar with the original novel guessing until the end.
A Toast
Much praise has been lavished upon Gary Oldman’s performance in Tinker, Tailor and it is fair to say this praise is well deserved. A long overdue Oscar nomination must surely now be coming his way. Oldman has taken a character that comes across as being a fairly ordinary but intelligent man, and instils in him a silent intensity. There seems to be something constantly going on behind Smiley’s eyes. You can see the cogs in his mind turning as the plot steadily unravels. He is one of the most unassuming heroes in cinema since Gregory Peck brought Atticus Finch to life.
“Atticus Finch: the greatest hero in cinema.”
“Tough break Batman, Superman….. Jesus…”
While many are paying tribute to Oldman, much of the credit for Tinker, Tailor’s brilliance is due to director Tomas Alfredson. Best known for Let the Right One In, Alfredson provides more than a steady hand. In a film like this it is difficult to keep things interesting visually. Alfredson however succeeds in keeping things fresh and engaging (watch out for how he introducesBudapest). If Oldman deserves an Oscar nod, then the Academy must also honour Alfredson.
“Let the right one in. So not this one covered in blood then?”
The performances in Tinker, Tailor are great. The film is visually excellent. You will be hard pushed to find a film that is as tense, intelligent and engaging. And I don’t just mean this year. If you can think of a better, similar film since All the President’s Men, let me know, because I can’t. So go and see this.
Bonus Drinking Game
Take a Drink: every time there is a flashback.
Take a Drink: every time someone looks suspicious
Take a Drink: whenever someone says a word from the film’s title
Drink a Shot: whenever someone gets shot
The Inbetweeners Movie (2011)
The Inbetweeners Movie (2011) DVD / Blu-ray
By: crimebusterofthesea (Two Beers) -
BEERate this movie!
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Television shows transplanting themselves from small to big screen do not always prove to be particularly successful. It’s a risky move to hope that the goodwill of fans will carry over into the multiplexes and that the quality of story does not get lost in the move from one medium to another. There are probably around half as many successes (Serenity, Mission: Impossible, South Park) as failures (Lost in Space, the Last Airbender, Bewitched, Dukes of Hazzard etc.). Based on the television show The Inbetweeners, the appropriately titled The Inbetweeners Movie thankfully falls in to the group of successes. Fans of the show will have expected this, but non-believers will now surely be converted by an inevitably crude but surprisingly heart-felt farewell to the Inbetweener boys.
