The Iceman

With his uncanny ability to play deranged alpha males, you’d suspect Michael Shannon is a closet sociopath who uses his roles to channel his inner psychosis. The Iceman sees him play Richard Kuklinski, a real-life serial killer turned mafia hitman who, unbeknownst to his wife and daughters, murdered approximately 100 victims over the course of twenty years. Ariel Vromen’s film is a biopic by the numbers and while a few interesting names pop up in the supporting cast, none of them can hold a candle to Shannon. His performance is a cold, unnervingly restrained one, the kind that a young Robert De Niro or Christopher Walken would turn in.

3/5       

The Great Gatsby

Like On The Road, The Great Gatsby is one of the American literature classics that deserves – nay, demands – a certain degree of tact when adapting it to film and so far the results have been a little disappointing. Jack Clayton’s 1974 effort made for lackluster viewing despite the presence of Robert Redford in the titular role, while A&E’s 2000 TV version was laughably miscast (Paul Rudd as Nick Carraway? Er, ok…). It seems that, despite the evident love and respect for the source material, most filmmakers fail to successfully transpose The Great Gatsby’s strengths and key themes to the big screen.

The moment Baz Luhrmann was announced as the next director to tackle F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, cinemagoers needed only look at his back catalogue to get an idea of what his approach was going to be like. Romeo + Juliet, Moulin Rouge! and Australia feel less like movies and more like grand theatrical productions that are ripe with musical numbers and place an emphasis on spectacle that frequently borders on camp (which is to be expected, when one of your titles ends with an exclamation mark).

The Great Gatsby is no different. From start to finish, Luhrmann’s movie feels like the most lavish party ever put up on screen, slicked with glossy visuals and beautiful people dancing the Charleston to contemporary music whilst pouring rivers of champagne down their throats. In terms of putting a modern spin on the depravity and inherent materialism of the twenties – a recurring theme throughout Fitzgerald’s work, it must be noted – it’s a roaring success. Purists may not be overly keen on the Jay-Z produced soundtrack, but the tune selection fits in perfectly with the glamourized fictional setting, while some songs even touch upon some of the tropes found in the novel (Florence & the Machine’s “Over the Love” directly references the “green light” that obsesses Gatsby).

However, while Baz has undoubtedly nailed the aesthetics, he doesn’t fare so well in replicating the book’s more profound themes. After all, this is a text about the corruption of the American Dream and how it is reflected in one man’s deluded pursuit for what he thinks is the love of his life. The best way Luhrmann can think of conveying such hefty notions is to have Tobey Maguire’s mediocre Nick Carraway recite lines directly from the book. Not that there’s anything wrong with referencing your source material, but when it’s done too often and unconvincingly, you know you’re not going to win over GG devotees (and it doesn’t help that Maguire delivers the most unintentionally hilarious quote with his typical blank stare).

Furthermore, the glossy visuals don’t always work in the director’s favour. The scene in which Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan finally share a kiss under the moonlight is marred by the abundance of digital make-up on the actors’ faces, while the daytime shots of downtown New York at times feel like the backdrop to a subpar Xbox game. Also, the excessive amount of screen time dedicated to speeding cars and revving engines suggest that Luhrmann is secretly auditioning for the next Fast & Furious gig.

Thank god then that he has the perfect Gatsby in Leonardo DiCaprio. Charming, handsome and with the kind of smile that truly does concentrate on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favour, he more than succeeds in embodying Jay Gatsby as the perfect self-made man. His introduction to Nick Carraway, complete with bubbly in hand and fireworks going off in the background, is the stuff of Hollywood glamour. But Leo is just as good in the character’s more revealing moments. Whenever he is around Daisy (a sweet, if one-note Carey Mulligan), DiCaprio strips Gatsby of his suave, charismatic aura and reveals the childish qualities of a gleeful schoolboy in love. It’s yet another towering performance he can add to his already impressive repertoire. Special mention should also go to Joel Edgerton who, in his brutish yet also surprisingly layered portrayal of Tom Buchanan, is fast becoming one of Australia’s finest talents to watch.

So where does 2013 Gatsby stand, then? Well, it is arguably the strongest of the adaptations to date, but it no doubt remains a lopsided effort. Beautiful to look at but a bit hollow on the inside, with only DiCaprio and Edgerton truly elevating the material whenever it gets bogged down in its own vanity. If anything, there’s fun to be had at counting how many times Gatsby calls someone “old sport” – it will make a terrific drinking game.

3/5

The Woodsman

Every once in a while, we are confronted with a film’s premise that truly puts us to the test. In The Woodsman director Nicole Kassell dares us to sympathise with a reformed child molester (played with a haunting conviction by frequent on-screen psycho Kevin Bacon) as he struggles to find his place in society after a 12 year spell in prison. Needless to say, there are more comfortable ways of spending 87 minutes, but both Bacon and Kassell manage to walk a fine line between subtle and controversial without ever ill-treating the delicate subject. In terms of sheer audacity, this is bold filmmaking that needs to be seen to be believed.

3/5 

Iron Man 3

For comic book fans across the globe, the sensation of seeing their heroes assemble onscreen in The Avengers was, to quote Phoebe Buffay, like “being Santa on Prozac at Disneyland getting laid”. Here was a film that nailed everything right – plot, pace, performances, truly epic action set-pieces – and, most importantly, managed to appeal to those outside of the geek community.

But how do you follow up the most lucrative superhero film of all time? The most instinctive reaction would be to go bigger and up the ante to vertiginous levels, but thankfully Marvel has not hired Michael Bay to helm Iron Man 3, the first in line for the company’s “Phase 2” of superhero adaptations that will lead to Avengers 2. Instead the gig has gone to Shane Black, most renowned for his screenwriting credentials on action classics like Lethal Weapon and The Last Boy Scout. An inspired choice, granted, but Hollywood execs would be forgiven for doubting he was the right man for the job, considering the budget and expectations involved.

They needn’t have worried. While Black has delivered in the set-pieces department (more on that later), it’s his work on the script with Drew Pierce that truly benefits IM3 as a whole, as they peel away our protagonist’s cocksure bravado and reveal a very different Tony Stark to the one we are used to. It turns out Tony is struggling with a bad case of PTSD since his team-up with Earth’s mightiest heroes. “Big man in a suit of armor”, asked Captain America defiantly last time round, “take that away, what are you?” It’s a line that haunts Tony, who has become all too aware of his humanity and now spends most of the time holed up in his basement working on new Iron Man designs, much to the chagrin of his girlfriend Pepper. So when The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley), a shadowy figure prone to orchestrating attacks on western civilization, picks Stark as their next target, matters take a turn for the worse.

After the intergalactic melee of The Avengers it is a smart move to go with terrorism as the big bad in IM3, especially as it is a threat that is made very real by the frequent reports broadcast on our news channels.  Factor in the presence of a serum capable of enhancing an individual’s biology with super strength plus accelerated healing (inspired by the popular Warren Ellis’ penned Extremis arc), and you’d half expect Lance Armstrong to show up as one of the henchmen. Even more intriguingly, Black has Stark spending most of the film sans armor and cut off from his technology, the moral being that perhaps he has grown far too reliant on his suits.

But in case you are now thinking the latest installment in the Iron Man franchise is pulling a Nolan with all this angst and gloom rest assured, this is also without doubt the funniest film Marvel has made so far. Virtually every major character gets a memorable line in and comedy is found in the most unlikely of places, such as War Machine’s password or the last standing henchman’s reaction to Iron Man in full kick-ass mode. As for the aforementioned action set-pieces, there is some truly inventive stuff on display here, whether it is Tony taking on a room of goons with only a glove and boot from his suit, or a spectacular freefall rescue after some particularly nasty turbulence aboard Air Force One.

There are some niggles, though. The battle between the Extremis-powered soldiers and an army of remote-controlled Iron Man armors is less thrilling climactic showdown, more priceless toy merchandising opportunity; Don Cheadle is better served this time as Jim Rhodes, Tony’s straight-talking best pal, but hardly gets to shine when in his Iron Patriot suit; and finally, while the big-screen portrayal of The Mandarin will no doubt amuse the mainstream crowd, it is likely to infuriate avid readers of the comics. One way or another, it will have an impact on you.

But what we should all be wondering right now is whether this will be the last we’ve seen Robert Downey Jr. in what has become his signature role. After all, with Iron Man 3, his four movie deal with Marvel has officially expired… Perhaps it’s best not to dwell on it too much, because what matters is RDJ’s accomplishment: he has single-handedly managed to bring to life a character that, prior to 2008, was unheard of outside comic book communities. Now good ol’shell head is Marvel’s most valuable property, second only to Spiderman. “They may take away my armor, but I’ll always be Iron Man” Tony says at some point. And he couldn’t be more right.

4/5  

Trance

“Your mind is the scene of the crime” intoned the teaser trailer for Inception. It turns out it’s a tagline better suited for Trance, as hapless art thief Simon (James McAvoy) is forced to go through hypnotherapy to uncover the location of a Goya painting he lost after sustaining an amnesia-inducing bump to the head. His partner in crime Franck (Vincent Cassel) thinks he’s onto a sure thing by enlisting the help of Elizabeth (Rosario Dawson), a shrink who is every bit as persuasive as she is seductive. What they don’t anticipate, however, is to uncover some buried memories in Simon’s subconscious that might prove to be more than they can handle…  

One thing that can be noticed from Danny Boyle’s back catalogue is that for better or worse, he rarely sticks to a single genre. Think about it, would you be able to pin down Trainspotting exclusively as a black comedy? The first act maybe, but then there’s the bit with the dead baby crawling across the ceiling. The Beach had us thinking we were in for a healthy dose of philosophical escapism, until Leo started wondering the jungle convinced he was in a cheap-looking videogame. And 127 Hours, with all its urine close-ups and shadow-lurking Scoody Doo dolls, is more akin to a psychedelic music video than it is to a survival drama.

By the same token Trance opens as a heist flick, but soon reveals itself to be an enigma wrapped in a riddle, repackaged as a whodunit with sugar on top, dipped in yoghurt. Eagle-eyed, cynical-minded viewers will no doubt do their best to stay two steps ahead of the plot and some may well be able to figure out the twist(s?) early on, but that’s no way to enjoy a film so intricately crafted by one of Britain’s finest directors. Danny Boyle has always been more concerned with style rather than substance – after all, 127 Hours was little more than an excuse to flex his filmmaking muscles over 90 minutes of footage – and throughout his latest feature he often advances the narrative via his signature quirks, such as crash zooms, unconventional POVs and fixations with assorted textures (if anything, this is the first time Boyle has dedicated this much attention to female genitalia).    

In case you haven’t figured it out yet, this is one of those films that is frustratingly difficult to review without spoiling the plot, which leaves little room for further discussion. Not even the performances can be mulled over without giving too much away. Everyone involved plays their role to the best of their abilities and James McAvoy cements his reputation as the new Ewan McGregor (although when comparing their track records, it would be more fair to call Ewan “the old James McAvoy”), but that’s pretty much your lot. All you need to know is that Trance is an intellectually rewarding film that will have you both gripped and intrigued all the way through. The best way to enjoy it is to go in knowing nothing and come out questioning everything you’ve just seen. It’s that kind of film.

4/5

Safe

There’s something gleefully entertaining about Jason Statham. With his propensity for starring in ludicrous action flicks that could have easily been made in the 80s, he feels like Britain’s answer to Bruce Willis. In Safe he plays a dubiously accented former NYC cop pulled out of self-imposed exile, when a valuable Chinese girl is hunted down by the Triad, Russian mob and a handful of corrupt detectives. The plot is every bit as bonkers as that last sentence, but who are we kidding, we’re just here to see The Stath kick the living shit out of anyone – meaning everyone – who crosses his path. Best enjoyed with some mates and a crate of beer.   

3/5 

Side Effects

If Steven Soderbergh truly plans on retiring from filmmaking soon then he’s hardly going out with a bang, if Side Effects is anything to go by. The plot sees Rooney Mara’s graphic designer affected by severe depression shortly after her husband is released from jail; as she goes into therapy, her prescribed medication starts have startling effects on her actions and personality. Initially playing out like a not too subtle anti-drug campaign, Side Effects takes a more sinister turn in the second act, with the focus gradually shifting to Jude Law’s conflicted psychiatrist. It’s just a shame the twist is blatantly predictable from the outset, which makes for mundane viewing.

2/5