~ My Sisters Keeper ~
Based on Jodi Picoult’ best-selling novel, actor turned director Nick Cassavetes bring us this wonderfully life affirming drama about a families struggles with leukemia.
Anyone familiar with the book will know to expect a tear-jerking rollercoaster ride and with Cassavetes on hand with previous experience pulling at heart strings with the equally weepy The Notebook, you better have plenty of tissues on standby!
Abigail Breslin once again shows a maturity and talent well beyond her years playing Anna, a young girl who discovers her matching bone marrow – which could help fight her older sister Kate’s (Sofia Vassilieva) leukemia – may be the only reason for her existence.
In some ways watching the film felt very much like reading a book with its story told partly in flashbacks as Kate continues her hospital treatment, recalling memories from a handmade scrapbook. Viewpoints are broken into chapters looking at the strain the illness is putting on not only Kate but her entire family. Continuously using voiceover to add insight, which although at times felt like the obvious was being underlined, still managed to keep the scenes engaging, very rarely feeling disjointed.
The film asks a lot of questions without ever forcing any answers; both sides of the argument carrying equal weight. How far would you go to save a dying child’s life? At one point does it become too much? Is one child’s life more important than another? The unimaginable agonies of watching a child suffer and the extremes people will go to in order to save them no matter what the cost.
As is often the case, the person with the illness becomes the first to accept their fate, eventually having to become the stronger person as their family blindly fights on with new treatments when maybe they should be living to the fullest with what time they have left.
What saves the film from becoming overly sentimental is largely down to the emotionally charged performances from the cast, noticeably the three female leads but also from the understated role of Kate’s brother Jesse played by Evan Ellingson, both him and Sofia Vassilieva are definitely ones to watch out for! Cameron Diaz gets to sharpen her serious acting skills in a difficult role as the determined mother often reaching times of obsessive control over her dying daughter as Anna battles for her right’s to medical emancipation from her parents.
Alec Baldwin makes a welcome appearance as the showboating high profile lawyer willing to fight in Anna’s corner offering a few light hearted laughs to balance the tone. Also one of my favorite actresses, Joan Cusack gives a knockout performance as the family court judge. Although keeping her usual quirky persona she delivers one of the greatest scenes in the film, managing to say so much and bring across such feeling in a dialogue free moment with Anna. It really is breathtaking.
With music being the powerful tool that it is nobody could be blamed for using it to their advantage and it’s no surprise how it’s used in a film such as this. While the score remains reasonably subtle many of the songs from the soundtrack do at times feel like cues designed to trigger an emotional response, at times becoming quite corny. It’s a small gripe that goes relatively unnoticed on a first viewing though.
As we reach the inevitable end, watching as Kate and family spend a final day at the beach away from the confines of the hospital, the sequence is set to one of many lyrical musical accompaniments. It really is one of those perfect moments, a simple few hours that in any other situation people would let pass them by; the little things that make up what life is all about.
Well written, beautifully filmed with heavyweight performances all round. You will have to pay an emotionally high price but it’s worth every tear.
***
Monday, 29 June 2009
Monday, 22 June 2009
Film Reviews
~ Tranformers: ROTF ~
As Autobots join forces with the US military to form an elite unit called N.E.S.T, Megatron rises from the depths of his oceanic prison. His resurrection kicks off a chain of events, fulfilling an ancient prophecy which could lead to the destruction of our planet at the hands of the mysterious "Fallen".
The film begins in 17,000BC with brief prologue, setting up the story with a history lesson on the origins of the original Primes. Powerful robots who once scoured the cosmos in search of energy sources from unpopulated planets, choosing never to destroy a planet found with life. After discovering Earth it's not long before we get our first look at the "Fallen", a power crazed megalomaniac hell bent on destroying the planet no matter what the cost. As the other Prime brothers become aware of his plans they manage to overpower him, sacrificing themselves to seal away the key to the technology capable of our world's destruction.
Skipping forward a few thousand years to the present day, we rejoin the Witwiki family as Sam (Shia Le Beouf) as he begins moving out of the family home to start college. As Sam packs up a few last minute items he finds a undiscovered second fragment of the All Spark and in a blinding flash his brain becomes imprinted with various symbol's which may hold the answer to the resting place of the ancient technology; much like his grandfathers spectacles from the first film. The life giving shard of alien tech treating us to a humorous Gremlinesque rampage as kitchen appliances come to life running riot around the house! At the same time in deep space communications satellites are being taken over by Decepticons as they finally locate the last remaining piece of the powerful All Spark. Growing in number and strength, additional scout and hunter robots are sent to Earth to retrieve the missing piece. With plans to reawaken Megatron, allowing him to reclaim his place as leader of the Decepticon army and killing Octomus Prime, in turn rejuvenating the ageing Fallen. With Octomus dead, his safe passage to Earth and the continuation of his original plans secured. It's easy to spot where the story is headed keeping it much the same as the original, but deep emotional and intellectual stimulation is not why we get excited by a Michael Bay film.
Bay returns to what he does best, let's face it, he likes to blow stuff up, so intercut with some light hearted humor we get reintroduced to the Autobots with some impressive actions sequences. The familiar sounds as the robots transform amid explosive and destructive special effects was initially quite exciting but all too quickly becomes overused and tiresome. Along with director, all of the original cast return; Shia LeBeouf, Megan Fox, John Turturro and Josh Duhamel reprising their respected roles as well as the voice talents behind the CGI actors. Shia seems to divide public opinion, you either love or loath him and I must admit I usually find him very charming and very charismatic but here he brings no more than what you would expect from the role of Sam with his usual geeky charm offering an amiable but ultimately forgettable leading man. The stunningly gorgeous Megan Fox is back to tease adolescent males to breaking point with an array of pouting calendar poses and slow motion hair tossing. This time returning with a meatier role over the first film, getting more screen time as the dynamics between her character Mikala and Sam develops; Miss Fox is definitely one to watch out for in the future! John Turturro brings back his obsessed and secretive military man with moments of gross out humor - the unusual choices of underwear are back in force, but nothing can prepare you for what's to come!
Enjoying the original film has become a bit of a guilty pleasure but I'd still set my expectations high for the sequel, with a 12a rating hinting at a more adult friendly tone to appeal to an older audience. Sadly I found myself hugely disappointed, having to think long and hard to write a balanced review with very few positive areas to draw from. I wasn't expecting anything complex and emotionally deep, all I was looking forward to was a no brainer action flick with moments of humor and plenty of explosions.
Unfortunately no amount of pyrotechnics could cover the simplistic and misplaced humor of the script. Maybe the decision to give the Transformers more dialogue wouldn't have been so bad had it not been for the poor choices to what I can only think was an attempt to appeal to the kids. Delivering exaggerated lines of hip hop slang and silly one liners which felt out of date and at times ridiculous, the worst coming from a pair of irritating gold toothed (yes that's right) gangster twin robots which eventually for me, just became laughable. Each computer character becoming overly cartoony and almost caricature. What I expected to be a spanner in the works for a possible love triangle turned into a Terminator/Species mash up as a fully formed human avatar turns out to be a hunter killer working for the Decepticons with fully extendable whip like tongue! I would have to say the lowest point for me though was being subjected to the horror of two crane wrecking balls form the giant testicles of 7 vehicle super-transformer Devastator.
The rating is there for the times the film dips into more sustained violence and from a few choice swear words which confused me as to who they were really aiming this film at. The further into the film you get though the more obvious it is that this is clearly aimed at a younger crowd, anyone under the age of 14 being the ones getting the most from the humor. For such a straight forward plot the film runs at a protracted 2.5hrs and considering the build up the end just doesn't pay off the time invested.
To end on something positive, the film does deliver on special effects and holds plenty of novelty value. As the moto-men transform every minute sprocket is perfectly rendered. And I still believe this film will be a huge box office success, drawing in huge crowds off the back of its predecessor. For the first time in months I actually had to cue to get a ticket and not an empty seat was left in the cinema. Although my face retained its confused look throughout, raising the odd eyebrow in disbelief, most of the crowd laughed in the right places. My theory proved as most of the people I was sat near were aged 11-15.
Star Trek still leads the summer blockbuster race but this is a supersized no brainer that brings back all the good and bad things from the first film, if not losing some of its lunatic charm.
**
As Autobots join forces with the US military to form an elite unit called N.E.S.T, Megatron rises from the depths of his oceanic prison. His resurrection kicks off a chain of events, fulfilling an ancient prophecy which could lead to the destruction of our planet at the hands of the mysterious "Fallen".
The film begins in 17,000BC with brief prologue, setting up the story with a history lesson on the origins of the original Primes. Powerful robots who once scoured the cosmos in search of energy sources from unpopulated planets, choosing never to destroy a planet found with life. After discovering Earth it's not long before we get our first look at the "Fallen", a power crazed megalomaniac hell bent on destroying the planet no matter what the cost. As the other Prime brothers become aware of his plans they manage to overpower him, sacrificing themselves to seal away the key to the technology capable of our world's destruction.
Skipping forward a few thousand years to the present day, we rejoin the Witwiki family as Sam (Shia Le Beouf) as he begins moving out of the family home to start college. As Sam packs up a few last minute items he finds a undiscovered second fragment of the All Spark and in a blinding flash his brain becomes imprinted with various symbol's which may hold the answer to the resting place of the ancient technology; much like his grandfathers spectacles from the first film. The life giving shard of alien tech treating us to a humorous Gremlinesque rampage as kitchen appliances come to life running riot around the house! At the same time in deep space communications satellites are being taken over by Decepticons as they finally locate the last remaining piece of the powerful All Spark. Growing in number and strength, additional scout and hunter robots are sent to Earth to retrieve the missing piece. With plans to reawaken Megatron, allowing him to reclaim his place as leader of the Decepticon army and killing Octomus Prime, in turn rejuvenating the ageing Fallen. With Octomus dead, his safe passage to Earth and the continuation of his original plans secured. It's easy to spot where the story is headed keeping it much the same as the original, but deep emotional and intellectual stimulation is not why we get excited by a Michael Bay film.
Bay returns to what he does best, let's face it, he likes to blow stuff up, so intercut with some light hearted humor we get reintroduced to the Autobots with some impressive actions sequences. The familiar sounds as the robots transform amid explosive and destructive special effects was initially quite exciting but all too quickly becomes overused and tiresome. Along with director, all of the original cast return; Shia LeBeouf, Megan Fox, John Turturro and Josh Duhamel reprising their respected roles as well as the voice talents behind the CGI actors. Shia seems to divide public opinion, you either love or loath him and I must admit I usually find him very charming and very charismatic but here he brings no more than what you would expect from the role of Sam with his usual geeky charm offering an amiable but ultimately forgettable leading man. The stunningly gorgeous Megan Fox is back to tease adolescent males to breaking point with an array of pouting calendar poses and slow motion hair tossing. This time returning with a meatier role over the first film, getting more screen time as the dynamics between her character Mikala and Sam develops; Miss Fox is definitely one to watch out for in the future! John Turturro brings back his obsessed and secretive military man with moments of gross out humor - the unusual choices of underwear are back in force, but nothing can prepare you for what's to come!
Enjoying the original film has become a bit of a guilty pleasure but I'd still set my expectations high for the sequel, with a 12a rating hinting at a more adult friendly tone to appeal to an older audience. Sadly I found myself hugely disappointed, having to think long and hard to write a balanced review with very few positive areas to draw from. I wasn't expecting anything complex and emotionally deep, all I was looking forward to was a no brainer action flick with moments of humor and plenty of explosions.
Unfortunately no amount of pyrotechnics could cover the simplistic and misplaced humor of the script. Maybe the decision to give the Transformers more dialogue wouldn't have been so bad had it not been for the poor choices to what I can only think was an attempt to appeal to the kids. Delivering exaggerated lines of hip hop slang and silly one liners which felt out of date and at times ridiculous, the worst coming from a pair of irritating gold toothed (yes that's right) gangster twin robots which eventually for me, just became laughable. Each computer character becoming overly cartoony and almost caricature. What I expected to be a spanner in the works for a possible love triangle turned into a Terminator/Species mash up as a fully formed human avatar turns out to be a hunter killer working for the Decepticons with fully extendable whip like tongue! I would have to say the lowest point for me though was being subjected to the horror of two crane wrecking balls form the giant testicles of 7 vehicle super-transformer Devastator.
The rating is there for the times the film dips into more sustained violence and from a few choice swear words which confused me as to who they were really aiming this film at. The further into the film you get though the more obvious it is that this is clearly aimed at a younger crowd, anyone under the age of 14 being the ones getting the most from the humor. For such a straight forward plot the film runs at a protracted 2.5hrs and considering the build up the end just doesn't pay off the time invested.
To end on something positive, the film does deliver on special effects and holds plenty of novelty value. As the moto-men transform every minute sprocket is perfectly rendered. And I still believe this film will be a huge box office success, drawing in huge crowds off the back of its predecessor. For the first time in months I actually had to cue to get a ticket and not an empty seat was left in the cinema. Although my face retained its confused look throughout, raising the odd eyebrow in disbelief, most of the crowd laughed in the right places. My theory proved as most of the people I was sat near were aged 11-15.
Star Trek still leads the summer blockbuster race but this is a supersized no brainer that brings back all the good and bad things from the first film, if not losing some of its lunatic charm.
**
Tuesday, 16 June 2009
Film Reviews
~ The Hangover ~
After regaining consciousness after an extremely heavy stag night in Vegas a trio of groomsmen realizes that their groom is missing. With no recollection of the previous night’s activities the boys head off around sin city to retrace their steps in hope of finding their lost friend.
With the cinemas dominated with Judd Apatow comedies over the last year it’s refreshing to see this lesser known film now getting the attention it deserves. From Old School director Todd Phillips and written by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore (Four Christmases) it follows the tried and tested formula of men behaving like boys perfectly.
Acting like idiots as the maturity levels drop and managing to mess up at every turn the boy’s in question - Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis – all manage to balance laugh’s with love, carefully bringing heart to their respective roles.
Unusually, we are spared from witnessing the drunken exploits of the night’s carnage with the film choosing instead to start where you would be expecting it to finish, in the chaos of the aftermath. Playing on the fact that they have consumed date rape drugs rather than E’s the three have no more idea about what’s happened than we do which is an inventive way to help drive the story and works brilliantly,
After a brief introduction setting up the story with the deadline of a wedding and establishing characters we move straight into the wreckage of a one lavish Vegas hotel suite. Destroyed furnishings, temporary beds set up on the floor, a tiger in the bathroom, a baby boy stashed away in one of the closets and of course a missing groom (Justin Bartha). The story soon turns into a detective story as the “best men” hunt for evidence finding little help in what they do find, which ranges from a missing tooth to a hospital admittance band and clues pointing to a unexpected wedding.
The laughs continue thick and fast as it becomes apparent things are far worst than first expected. The detective theme continues as the hotel Vallet pulls up, not in the pristine vintage car they were allowed to borrow from the groom’s father, but in a stolen squad car. One disturbing but incredibly funny scene involving Phillips and the newly acquired baby stands out as one to look out for. You will stare in disbelief, unable to contain the laughter even though you know you really shouldn’t. It’s very wrong and they know it, using it more than once to full effect.
Overall, what makes this film stand out over more generic buddy comedies is the genuine brotherhood between the main cast who all deliver convincing and endearing performances. It might be Bradley Cooper’s pretty boy leading man, Helms as the paranoid worrier or Galifianakis’ furry faced misfit you fall in love with, they all offer a likable familiarity that you can relate to in one way or another and give the film its emotional weight. The film hasn’t had the biggest marketing campaign and as a result it seems to be relying on word of mouth to fill cinema seats, so spread the word - mentioning you get to see Mike Tyson making a musical cameo should spark interest. I can’t wait to see what this group of relatively unknown’s come up with next.
****
After regaining consciousness after an extremely heavy stag night in Vegas a trio of groomsmen realizes that their groom is missing. With no recollection of the previous night’s activities the boys head off around sin city to retrace their steps in hope of finding their lost friend.
With the cinemas dominated with Judd Apatow comedies over the last year it’s refreshing to see this lesser known film now getting the attention it deserves. From Old School director Todd Phillips and written by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore (Four Christmases) it follows the tried and tested formula of men behaving like boys perfectly.
Acting like idiots as the maturity levels drop and managing to mess up at every turn the boy’s in question - Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis – all manage to balance laugh’s with love, carefully bringing heart to their respective roles.
Unusually, we are spared from witnessing the drunken exploits of the night’s carnage with the film choosing instead to start where you would be expecting it to finish, in the chaos of the aftermath. Playing on the fact that they have consumed date rape drugs rather than E’s the three have no more idea about what’s happened than we do which is an inventive way to help drive the story and works brilliantly,
After a brief introduction setting up the story with the deadline of a wedding and establishing characters we move straight into the wreckage of a one lavish Vegas hotel suite. Destroyed furnishings, temporary beds set up on the floor, a tiger in the bathroom, a baby boy stashed away in one of the closets and of course a missing groom (Justin Bartha). The story soon turns into a detective story as the “best men” hunt for evidence finding little help in what they do find, which ranges from a missing tooth to a hospital admittance band and clues pointing to a unexpected wedding.
The laughs continue thick and fast as it becomes apparent things are far worst than first expected. The detective theme continues as the hotel Vallet pulls up, not in the pristine vintage car they were allowed to borrow from the groom’s father, but in a stolen squad car. One disturbing but incredibly funny scene involving Phillips and the newly acquired baby stands out as one to look out for. You will stare in disbelief, unable to contain the laughter even though you know you really shouldn’t. It’s very wrong and they know it, using it more than once to full effect.
Overall, what makes this film stand out over more generic buddy comedies is the genuine brotherhood between the main cast who all deliver convincing and endearing performances. It might be Bradley Cooper’s pretty boy leading man, Helms as the paranoid worrier or Galifianakis’ furry faced misfit you fall in love with, they all offer a likable familiarity that you can relate to in one way or another and give the film its emotional weight. The film hasn’t had the biggest marketing campaign and as a result it seems to be relying on word of mouth to fill cinema seats, so spread the word - mentioning you get to see Mike Tyson making a musical cameo should spark interest. I can’t wait to see what this group of relatively unknown’s come up with next.
****
Monday, 15 June 2009
Cranford - Extras (who were such good fun)
Many of the extras cast was made up from local residents, many of which were very open about sharing their experiences and allowing people to take a better look at the fantastic costumes, made by nominated designer Jenny Beavan.
It's always amusing to see people in period dress using their mobile phones!
Cranford - On set
During the crew lunch break a small number of people were allowed to venture through the closed off area where filming had just taking place, allowing a better view of the set's and some of the filming equipment.
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