Archive for February, 2012

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel – A review


24 Feb

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In theory, a film addressing the lives, loves and everyday concerns of old folk is a good thing. In our Western youth-centric society in which anyone over the age of about 40 is pushed ever closer to the periphery, anything in the mainstream that reminds us the older generation counts is definitely a good thing. But you can’t be condescending in the process, and – tremendously disappointingly – The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is.

The titular hotel is a retirement home based in India for superannuated Brits uninspired by what’s on offer for pensioners at home. Lured by the promise of the ultimate in luxury living in a country that offers culture, excitement and adventure in the next phase of their lives, the group of ex-pat travellers at the heart of this film arrives to find it’s not quite as expected – but what they find instead is a way to be true to themselves and make peace with their pasts.

RETIREMENT: The Indian way

The question hanging over this film is why, when it’s a film that apparently wants to celebrate the older members of society, does it insist on patronising its subjects, as well as its target audience? A far more effective and powerful point could have been made in a more subtle way, by taking the focus off old age itself as a central topic. The talented ensemble cast would surely have been better deployed in a screenplay that doesn’t constantly refer to the fact they’re old: we need to see them as people rather than merely as oldies in their twilight years for the message it strives to convey to hit home in the right way.

Source novel aside, why should a film with a cast made up of older actors have to be directly about the fact that they’ve got one foot in the grave? Frankly, it’s insulting. Particularly when you consider that each and every one of these actors is so ebullient and spirited.

There’s the ever-youthful Bill Nighy who comes equipped with an in-built rock ‘n’ roll sensibility and generous dash of raw sex appeal, the wonderfully acerbic Maggie Smith, the cherubic Judi Dench, the earnestly-demeanoured Tom Wilkinson with all his old-school charm, the girlish, innately sexy Celia Imrie and the impish Ronald Pickup. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel fails in spite of – and perhaps because of – the real life personas of its cast, all of whom defy classification as ‘old’, and this is the fatal flaw that makes warming to this film problematic.

Commendable certainly for highlighting attitudes towards the elderly, particularly in the UK (India is a country that respects and reveres its elders – although this isn’t conveyed too successfully in the film) and also for reminding us that the older generation has passions and desires like anyone else, the message that emerges is that as we age, we are held back by society’s precedents and parameters. As a result we become restricted by our attitudes to our pasts (shaped by society’s diktats) and the choices we’ve made in life.

Ultimately, the audience is left feeling disillusioned, deflated and pessimistic about getting older. Instead of uplifting, and affirming life, there’s an overarching feeling that past a certain age, we’re all on the scrapheap – despite the best intentions of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance – A review


18 Feb

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Whatever you think of Nicolas Cage, he certainly makes entertaining viewing – if only because of his unpredictability and off-the-wall acting style. Arguably the most inconsistent of Hollywood actors, he follows up genius performances and projects with unconscionably bad ones: from Wild At Heart to Zandalee, Leaving Las Vegas to Snake Eyes and, more recently, Kick-Ass to Season of the Witch.
It’s his eccentricity and insistence on channelling expressionism (and whatever else takes his fancy) via the medium of acting that makes him so darn watchable.
And so it is to Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance. Cage picks up the role of comic book antihero Johnny Blaze again in this second outing for the retribution-seeking demon-possessed vigilante. Time has passed since the events of the first film, and Blaze has gone into hiding after striking that deal with the devil that saw him transform into the Ghost Rider, a flaming-skulled vigilante out to punish. Blaze, however, is compelled to re-emerge when an ethereal monk named Moreau (Idris Elba) asks him to save a young boy from a hellish fate at the hands of the devil (Ciaran Hinds). And maybe, just maybe, he’ll be able to save himself too…

WOWZERS: That looks hot

Although this is a sequel, with directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor at the helm it feels more like a re-boot, and the film’s opening scenes pitch it alongside their previous action-heavy, boy-friendly flicks Crank and Gamer, almost like a companion piece. It backfires rather noisily, though, as it ignores in its early stages the tongue-in-cheek tone of the first Ghost Rider. It isn’t until it eventually finds its sense of humour and Cage finds his mad-as-a-box-of-frogs footing that the film really gives itself the kickstart it needs.
With some laugh-out-loud one-liners, Cage’s Ghost Rider urinating a stream of fire and some spectacular flaming skull scenes, it certainly has its appeal even if it’s far from brilliant.
And though it feels disjointed and jumbled, and struggles to properly ignite, it does have the dependable Ciaran Hinds as a gradually decaying devil and a super-fun-to-watch bad guy in Ray Carrigan (Johnny Whitworth), who in demon form can turn anyone he touches into a pile of cinders. With the presence of Christopher Lambert delighting fans of cult favourite science-fantasy actioner Highlander, there’s enough here to bring some pleasure to comic book aficionados – even if it doesn’t quite deserve the label ‘devilishly good‘.

The Woman in Black – A review


10 Feb

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Inspired perhaps by the sporadic resurgence of the traditional ghost story in recent years as well as contemporary takes on the genre like Paranormal Activity and Insidious, which have helped to refresh the genre, The Woman in Black combines classic horror hallmarks and motifs with modern horror techniques to good effect.
The fifth project from the revived Hammer stable, a studio synonymous with old-fashioned chills, The Woman in Black winds up being a genuinely spine-tingling blend of timeless spookiness and modern day jolts, with a Japanese horror stamp on it – the influence of films like The Ring and The Grudge can clearly be seen.

REFLECTIVE STUFF: Be pretty funkin' scary if you saw that in the window. Radcliffe I mean.

The plot, based on Susan Hill’s 1983 gothic novel, is set during Edwardian times and revolves around young lawyer and father Arthur Kipps (Daniel Radcliffe), whose wife passed away during childbirth. When his work compels him to head to a remote town to look into the affairs of the recently deceased Alice Drablow, owner of the Eel Marsh estate, he finds the town and its townsfolk are concealing a devastating secret that he must unravel if he is to have any chance at all of saving his own son’s life…
Despite a hefty dose of cliché, a peppering of plot holes and the necessity for a substantial amount of suspension of disbelief at times, The Woman in Black deftly delivers real shivers and chills to keep you gripped from start to finish. Implausibilities merely add to the fun of the ride as you find yourself becoming immersed in the startling events  and tone – of the story.
Supported by a quality cast that includes Roger Allam, Ciaran Hinds, Janet McTeer and Liz White, Daniel Radcliffe comes off okay, in spite of the fact that the jury is still out on the former Harry Potter star’s acting skills. Here, his reserved, self-conscious, pared-down style works in his favour (to a degree), giving the impression of a blank canvas onto which we can transpose our own feelings and reactions as participants in the film‘s events. There’s also never any danger of overacting from Radcliffe, which can be fatal in a film that needs its audience to believe in what it sees and feel genuine fear. Underplayed is what works best.
Directed by James Watkins, the man behind distressingly brutal British horror Eden Lake, and with a screenplay created by the penmanship of Jane Goldman, there’s enough talent attached to The Woman in Black to know that you’re in for a well-made ghostly flick replete with some authentically scary moments.

A Dangerous Method – A review


07 Feb

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The ubiquitous Michael Fassbender stars in David Cronenberg’s latest film about the inception of psychoanalysis – but for once, it’s not the Shame actor that stands out. That honour is instead split between Keira Knightley and Viggo Mortensen, although each stands out for very different reasons.

FASSBENDER: Looking Junger by the (K)night(ley)

Fassbender plays Carl Jung, the famous psychiatrist who we see practicing pioneering methods of treatment for people with psychological problems. When he is presented with his latest case, Sabina Spielrein (Knightley), he finds himself drawn to her, beginning an affair with his sadomasochistic patient – an affair that leads him to start examining his own behaviour. He consults fellow clinician and theorist, the respected Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen), to help him make sense of his patient, his self and his own ideas, while at the same time becoming embroiled with controversial psychoanalyst Otto Gross (Vincent Cassell). As a result, Jung finds himself increasingly confused, not only about his methods but also about his own life…
As the psychologically unbalanced Sabina, Keira Knightley sets her stall out early, chewing the scenery from the outset. Almost literally as it happens – her character’s psychological problems manifest themselves physically in an awkward, somewhat debilitating tic that causes her to contort; her jaw jutting violently forward as if biting aggressively. It makes for uncomfortable viewing, not because of the affliction itself but because of the overstated, unconvincing performance.
And though Knightley is clearly at pains to impress, she falls into the trap that the film sets of being overly serious, and taking herself too seriously, thereby failing to win over the viewer.
Mortensen by contrast plays the famed Austrian neurologist with a  healthy does of tongue-in-cheek humour; the resulting gentle send-up becoming the most engaging aspect of a film that otherwise fails to make audiences care.
It’s a shame, because David Cronenberg is a wonderful filmmaker who is
justly celebrated for his work. Successful recent sojourns into other areas aside (A History of Violence and Eastern Promises were both well received), the Canadian director is known primarily for his body horror films in which he explores the theme of psychoanalysis in highly effective indirect ways. Here, however, he tackles the subject head-on with an unnecessary and intelligence-insultingly obvious approach.
Do yourself a favour. Give A Dangerous Method a wide berth and take your pick from one of Cronenberg’s brilliant earlier films instead for a far more powerful and pertinent insight.

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