Review: Water for Elephants

You’ve got to feel sorry for Robert Pattinson. Sure, the guy has half the world’s female population swooning over his handsome features and windswept hair, but you can almost sense his fear of being perennially associated to the lackluster Twilight films, a saga which requires him to do little other than brood in the shadows and sparkle in the sunlight. Roles in indie productions like Remember Me and the yet to be released Bel Ami are proof of the young Brit’s desire to flex his acting muscles, so how does he fare in Water For Elephants?

Well, he’s not exactly the new James Dean (nor the new Leo, for that matter), but there is some interesting work on display here. As Jacob Jankowski, the vet student who tries to escape the tribulations of the Great Depression by joining a travelling circus, Pattinson turns in a subtle performance which speaks volumes of his ability to play emotionally restrained characters. The scene in which he must make the painful decision of putting down a fatally injured horse is a career highpoint.

What takes the shine off R-Pattz’s performance isn’t so much the saccharine schmaltz or the formulaic plot structure, but the presence of two Oscar winners. Reese Witherspoon’s Marlena may not be the angelic figure director Francis Lawrence would have us believe, but the experienced actress manages to infuse her with enough grace and warmth to convincingly win Jake over. Christoph Waltz on the other hand is a commanding presence as despotic circus owner Augustus, even though his twitchy, psychopathic outbursts mean he too often resembles Hans Landa with a bullhook (there is also the nagging sensation that Waltz’s contract states he must strangle a blonde in every film he's in). By casting two acting heavyweights in the supporting roles Pattinson, like his character, is forced to step aside while his co-stars hog the spotlight and gain all the plaudits.

Special mention should also go out to Francis Lawrence's direction, which makes use of tracking shots to give the circus train’s crowded coaches a life of their own, while the warm palette succeeds in giving a surprisingly heartening portrayal of 30’s America, where a trip to see the Benzini Bros.’ “greatest show on Earth” is the stuff of dreams.

But the real star attraction of the film is Tai, the pachyderm playing Rosie. Whether she’s doing headstands, chugging lemonade or saving the day with her nifty trunk, she is always a truly awww-inspiring performer and will no doubt dominate all discussions of the film once the credits roll. Hopefully for Pattinson, he won’t be upstaged by an elephant in his next movie.

 

3/5     

Review: Thor

You don’t need to be the smartest deity in the room to see that Thor is not an easy sell. After all, this is a summer blockbuster about a hammer-wielding Norse god prone to bellowing in pompous Shakespearean verse whilst bashing his enemies. Factor in that it is also one of the key building blocks in the assembly of Marvel’s highly-anticipated Avengers movie and you’ve got a gamble of truly mythical proportions on your hands.

But just when people were getting ready to jeer and point fingers, Kenneth Branagh caught everyone off-guard by turning in a highly entertaining and truly innovative superhero flick. If you want to put a label on it, think of Thor as Marvel’s Lord of the Rings.

The plot is truly the stuff of epic tragedies. Just as he is about to be crowned the new king of Asgard, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is stripped of his powers and banished to Earth by the all-father Odin (Anthony Hopkins, in an uninspired performance) for having violently disrupted the delicate truce between his people and the Frost Giants of Jotunheim. It is on Earth that Thor must learn the ways of humility before he can reclaim the throne to Asgard by facing his evil and newly-empowered brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston).

In the hands of a first-time filmmaker Thor could’ve been easily fumbled, but Branagh manages to handle the material with the discretion and respect it deserves, mainly thanks to his experience with Shakespeare adaptations. As a result Loki comes off less as a hammed-up supervillain and more like a bitter, manipulative trickster who resembles King Lear’s Edmund, or Othello’s Iago. It is to Tom Hiddleston’s credit that he remains such a mesmerising character. But Chris Hemsworth is just as memorable in his first leading role. He possesses the looks, charm and deep tone to pass off as the titular God of Thunder, but is also very affecting in his scenes with Natalie Portman, who plays the human scientist he falls for during his time on Earth.

What unexpectedly bring the film down are the action sequences and the running time. Comic book blockbusters tend to leave their biggest set-piece for last, but Thor’s brawl with the Destroyer, an enchanted, energy-blasting automaton, feels rushed and low-scale when compared to his thunderous battle with the Frost Giants in the film’s opening half-hour. And while 115 minutes aren’t exactly a short run, this is one of those rare cases where you wish you’d spent a little while longer in the presence of these disarming, colourful characters.   

But these are just minor quibbles that a sequel will no doubt fix. The fact that Thor is nowhere near the laughing stock it could’ve so easily been is already a triumph in itself. The fact that it’s a rather good movie is a welcome bonus.

4/5

Review: The Last Action Hero

With the help of a nifty magic ticket, pint-sized movie buff Danny Madigan is magically catapulted into an Arnold Schwarzenegger flick, where guns don’t need reloading and explosions barely cause a flesh wound. A huge flop on its 1993 release (it opened a week after Jurassic Park. Ouch.), snotty critics have since scoffed at this action satire for its flaws and inconsistencies. Don’t listen to the snotty critics. The plot may be a mess, but LAH is ripe with cameos, zingers and set-pieces so ludicrous, even John Matrix would raise an eyebrow. Make no mistake, this is an action hero that deserves to be remembered.

4/5

Review: Tangled

Cynics are going to have a hard time believing this, but there is a moment of pure, magical animation during the second act of Tangled. As the two main characters share an intimate date by the lake, the background suddenly fills up with thousands of Chinese lanterns, each one a different shape and size, all of them gently illuminating the night sky. Rest assured, this is the closest Disney has come to reaching the creative heights of Aladdin’s carpet ride, or the ballroom scene in Beauty & the Beast.

Now that’s not to say the Mouse House finally has a new modern classic on its hands. After all, Tangled is really just a re-tooling of the Rapunzel fable, with instantly forgettable songs and characters that, while by no means un-likeable, they will not stay with you the same way Ariel or Simba did.

It is, however, a step up from the unremarkable Princess & the Frog. It is also very funny. You could almost say Tangled is Disney’s very own Shrek, a fairy tale which takes great pleasure in giving a modern, tongue-in-cheek spin on the conventions of its own genre (which is ironic, considering Shrek was parodying Disney’s back catalogue most of the time).

As a result, the early scenes in which Rapunzel interacts with her evil stepmother Gothel resemble the exchanges between an earnest teenager and her sardonic mom (“Don’t make me the bad guy”), while cocky beau Flynn Rider often seems like he is all too aware of being caught up in a Disney film (“Sorry fellas, I don’t sing”). It is also refreshing to see a pair of animal sidekicks who are amusing and amiable without ever needing to talk.

The proficient animation also deserves to be mentioned and not just because it is realised in top-notch 3D. Apart from the afore-mentioned lanterns, a sequence involving a shattering dam and a flooded mineshaft shows what can be accomplished nowadays with CG water, while Rapunzel’s golden hair is such a faultless and eye-catching creation, it could be a character itself. It flows, it glows, is used in all sorts of inventive ways: as a swing, a whip, a safety harness for painting frescoes, and much more.

Tangled is no masterpiece, but it should definitely be regarded as a triumph in self-improvement on behalf of a company that has not delivered a true animated hit in decades. It is far too early to tell, but if Disney’s next few films are of the same calibre, the people at Pixar might have to start watching their backs. 

4/5 

Review: The Bourne Identity

Who’d have thought Will Hunting would make such a fine secret agent? From the film’s stormy opening Matt Damon convinces as the amnesiac Jason Bourne, a man so lethal yet engaging in ways Bond could never be. The fact that you genuinely care for Bourne is what makes the search for his true identity all the more gripping. Furthermore, director Doug Liman treats us to a series of set pieces we’d be hard-pressed to forget, including a brutal domestic bust-up and a riveting car chase on the crowded streets of Paris. No doubt, 007 has found himself a contender.

4/5

Review: Talladega Nights - The Ballad of Ricky Bobby

“I wanna go fast!” says Ferrell’s Ricky Bobby in an early scene of this redneck comedy. Then why does the pace feel so slow throughout? Quite ironic, considering it’s a film about Nascar racing. Still, despite being distinctly hit and miss, there are a few gems to behold in Talladega Nights. Sure, Bobby is no Ron Burgundy but he is at his funniest when interacting with the equally deranged characters surrounding him. Best of all is Jean Gerard, played outrageously by Sacha Baron Cohen, who sports the kind of French accent that would make Pepe Le Pew green with envy.

3/5

Review: The Breakfast Club

There are many things that give the 80s a bad name. Terrible fashion, Maggie Thatcher, an overreliance on synthesizers in pop tracks… but Great Scott, The Breakfast Club is not one of them. Ostensibly a film about five mismatched youths spending a Saturday in detention, John Hughes’ film exposes teenage angst before meticulously dissecting it in ways which still resonate today. In every school there is a genius, princess or basket case that can relate to the issues affecting Molly Ringwald and co. For that reason The Breakfast Club remains timeless. All together now: “Don’t you forget about me…”

5/5