'The Hurt Locker'
This latest film from the former Mrs. J Cameron, Kathryn Bigelow, continues her high octane love of men living on the edge as we join a US bomb disposal unit on their latest tour of Iraq. After their commanding officer (Guy Pierce) loses his life on a mission that goes horribly wrong the team are joined by renegade, reckless Staff Sergeant William James (Jeremy Renner) who's constant insanity dances with death and threatens to blow apart the entire squad.
Gone are the cinematic flourishes of her previous films, such as 'Near Dark' and the stylish 'Point Break', in favour of handheld cameras which cleverly disorientate and throw you off-balance as we follow the everyday lives of the soldiers in question. The intense vérité style pushes realism to breaking point as the claustrophobic tension builds to unnerving levels. In one unbearable scene with the sun pushing down on them, soldiers face off against insurgents in a chess game of long distance rifle fire - it's truly exhausting to watch. In fact, very little time is given for you to take a breath as we quickly shift from area to area as the team are called out to investigate any number of suspected home made devices concealed within the rubble of Baghdad.
Although the film plants itself in reality it also has a decided sci-fi quality about it which is very reminiscent of Cameron's 'Aliens'. The arid landscapes with an unknown threat lurking behind every corner, POV shots from inside the protective bomb disposal suits add to the stifling, enclosed feeling as the soldiers restricted breath reverberates through the comms system. And death for them has many forms, some of which seem decidedly innocent at first. Prying eyes peer out of the darkness as spectators look on from their war scarred homes, an amateur cameramen waits like a hungry vulture as he films the events with a sense of expectation or the glimpse of a mobile phone could mean it's all over, everything and everybody is a possible trigger.
The plot flickers through a series of detached encounters that the EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team go through with focus on the growing addiction of lose cannon Staff Sergeant William James who is arguably the squad’s biggest danger. Cocksure and headstrong he heads off into the blast zone, an adrenaline-junkie looking for his next fix, each mission only briefly taking the edge off before his drug of choice begins to wear off! Emotions are brought to the surface as he tries to discover common ground with his team mates and even attempts to bond with a local street kid who sells knock-off DVD's, but ultimately he treats everything with the same challenge level as disarming a bomb, continuously getting swept back up in the swirling tornado of a job he can't stand being away from. His awkwardness is brilliantly captured when he returns home to his wife and child, struggling to deal with normal life he seems more out of place and unable to cope than when his life hangs at the end of a red wire.
Thankfully the film manages to stay relevant but is rarely used as ammunition to fire at the Bush administration or to comment on the current situation in Iraq. Instead Kathryn Bigelow has managed to make something very special, a thrilling and edgy war film that gives you a sense of involvement not felt since the opening sequence in 'Saving Private Ryan' which stays with you long after the closing credits.
****
Monday, 31 August 2009
Wednesday, 26 August 2009
Film Reviews
‘G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra’
Every young boy likes to play with action figures and director Stephen Sommers appears to still be doing it with this fast paced live-action cartoon version of the popular American Hasbro toy (a brand better known as Action man in the UK)!
The film get’s handled with the same frenetic enthusiasm as Sommers previous films (The Mummy 1& 2, Van Helsing). With guns, gadgets and girls beating the hell out of one another, often wearing as little as possible, it has a lot going for it – we even get a bungee jumping ninja for goodness sake!
And for the explosion feast that it is the silly script actually allows for a plot which makes surprising sense as G.I. Joe – a specialized military outfit, not just one man – takes on the villainous arms dealer Destro (Christopher Eccleston hamming it up nicely).
It’s certainly not a subtle film either. In both action and dialogue it’s laughable, but as the team get’s given cyber suits and crash through a Paris backdrop as the Cobra threaten to take out a well known monument it’s hard not to get a little pumped up. Its videogame enjoyment mixed with slow-mo action and energy reminiscent of the ‘Transporter’ films. You can almost see the child-like hand of Sommers guiding his plaything’s across the screen.
Sadly, for every fun moment that manages to up the thrills we get another to knock them back down again. Pointless flashbacks delving into overcomplicated back stories and more than one awkward moment attempting to emotionally connect the love interests does little to fill out the clichéd characters which end up as plastic as the toys they play.
The fact it never takes itself seriously does help it along and nods to films such as ‘Team America’, ‘Bond’ and even ‘Star Wars’ make this stupid and throwaway but easy on both eyes and brain.
**
Every young boy likes to play with action figures and director Stephen Sommers appears to still be doing it with this fast paced live-action cartoon version of the popular American Hasbro toy (a brand better known as Action man in the UK)!
The film get’s handled with the same frenetic enthusiasm as Sommers previous films (The Mummy 1& 2, Van Helsing). With guns, gadgets and girls beating the hell out of one another, often wearing as little as possible, it has a lot going for it – we even get a bungee jumping ninja for goodness sake!
And for the explosion feast that it is the silly script actually allows for a plot which makes surprising sense as G.I. Joe – a specialized military outfit, not just one man – takes on the villainous arms dealer Destro (Christopher Eccleston hamming it up nicely).
It’s certainly not a subtle film either. In both action and dialogue it’s laughable, but as the team get’s given cyber suits and crash through a Paris backdrop as the Cobra threaten to take out a well known monument it’s hard not to get a little pumped up. Its videogame enjoyment mixed with slow-mo action and energy reminiscent of the ‘Transporter’ films. You can almost see the child-like hand of Sommers guiding his plaything’s across the screen.
Sadly, for every fun moment that manages to up the thrills we get another to knock them back down again. Pointless flashbacks delving into overcomplicated back stories and more than one awkward moment attempting to emotionally connect the love interests does little to fill out the clichéd characters which end up as plastic as the toys they play.
The fact it never takes itself seriously does help it along and nods to films such as ‘Team America’, ‘Bond’ and even ‘Star Wars’ make this stupid and throwaway but easy on both eyes and brain.
**
Monday, 24 August 2009
Film Reviews
'Inglourious Basterds'
It seemed logical for Tarantino to take his love of cinema and eventually do a remake, but it appears that all that this film takes from the 1978 Enzo Castellari film is it's oddly spelt title.
"This might just be my masterpiece" reads the final line of the script of QT's latest film 'Inglourious Basterds', which may or may not be a self-aggrandizing pat on the back by the director himself. Quentin Tarantino set up camp on the line between genius and madman a long time ago, constantly playing against convention as he makes films for one person and one person alone - himself! And it's no different here with his somewhat fairy tale account of Nazi-occupied France in the 1940's.
Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad PItt) leads his band of 'Basterds', a team of unforgiving Jewish soldiers, as they plan to assist the Allies in a mission to wipe out the German high command at a local film premiere. As their mission crosses paths with cinema owner Shoshanna (Mélanie Laurent), a vengeful Jewish survivor with a plan all of her own, not everything goes as planned.
Like 'Kill Bill' the film gets split into chapters and rifting on a Sergio Leone film from it's first heading of 'Once upon a time in Nazi-occupied France' it's clear this is a typically self indulgent disconnection from reality as any Tarantino film; at times stepping into absurdity before going full circle back to brilliance.
In the opening scene as we watch a nervous French farmer and Col. Hans Landa - played by a fantastic Christoph Waltz in one of Tarantino’s most well developed characters - a lovable yet subtly malevolent Nazi officicer nicknamed 'The Jew Hunter', it's clear that Quentin's sharp dialogue is the films preferred weapon of choice. Every line is so perfectly thought out, creating unspoken threats and provocative subtext; it's where the bulk of the excitement can be found as the shifting of power is passed from person to person. At times though this can also work against the story as word heavy conversations become overlong and begin to lack momentum. Although in usual fashion the marathon chat is interrupted by a carnage kick, most noticeably in a bar shoot out that ends in, what else, but a Mexican stand-off.
The characters are also a mixed bunch. Quentin ranging between some of his best work in Col. Hans Landa to the caricature British officer played by - a more than a little Austin Powers - Mike Myers. The casting of Eli Roth was never going to be a good choice, although he's never given enough bullets to shoot himself in the foot. In fact many characters get just enough screen time to do their required jobs before being swiftly dispatched - the Basterds themselves only appearing in 3 of the 5 chapters! More successful is the casting of Michael Fassbender who is on usual top form as an English officer recruited to work undercover alongside the Basterds.
What may come as a surprise is the level to which the humor reaches as the story unfolds, especially towards the end. Brad Pitt's Aldo Raine comes across like a gurning Clark Gable with a heavy Southern accent and Martin Wuttke's portrayal of Hitler is more comical than criminal. It’s just another Tarantinoism and if you’re a fan, you should be used to them by now.
The violence in the film has also caused some concern, but in a society seemingly obsessed with torture porn and compared to successful films such as the Saw franchise and more recently Martyrs, it's actual fairly tame in comparison. Choosing to show acts on screen instead of cleverly keeping them to the audience’s imagination is the only departure from his earlier work, but it's certainly in keeping with the tone of the film with many graphic scenes diluted with humor.
Tarantino's work has always borrowed from other films and his typical touches can be found throughout with most noticeable references coming from Italian cinema. Familiar trademarks such as the use of on screen graphics as per the square drawing used by Uma Thurman’s Mia Wallace in 'Pulp Fiction', foot fetishes which are both seductive and sinister and the pumped up soundtrack - with music all taken from other films of course.
It's clear from the off that this is a film that will never be used as a study aid in history class. This is a film all about the power of cinema and its ability to mould history at the hands of a director with the power to do so. Yes it molests history and goes against expectation, but it ultimately ends up as a unique and thoroughly entertaining movie-movie. With the by-the-book histories of films like Defiance and Valkyrie, Inglourious Basterds provides an alternative reality of perverse perfection made by a man who loves language, actors and making great cinema.
****
It seemed logical for Tarantino to take his love of cinema and eventually do a remake, but it appears that all that this film takes from the 1978 Enzo Castellari film is it's oddly spelt title.
"This might just be my masterpiece" reads the final line of the script of QT's latest film 'Inglourious Basterds', which may or may not be a self-aggrandizing pat on the back by the director himself. Quentin Tarantino set up camp on the line between genius and madman a long time ago, constantly playing against convention as he makes films for one person and one person alone - himself! And it's no different here with his somewhat fairy tale account of Nazi-occupied France in the 1940's.
Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad PItt) leads his band of 'Basterds', a team of unforgiving Jewish soldiers, as they plan to assist the Allies in a mission to wipe out the German high command at a local film premiere. As their mission crosses paths with cinema owner Shoshanna (Mélanie Laurent), a vengeful Jewish survivor with a plan all of her own, not everything goes as planned.
Like 'Kill Bill' the film gets split into chapters and rifting on a Sergio Leone film from it's first heading of 'Once upon a time in Nazi-occupied France' it's clear this is a typically self indulgent disconnection from reality as any Tarantino film; at times stepping into absurdity before going full circle back to brilliance.
In the opening scene as we watch a nervous French farmer and Col. Hans Landa - played by a fantastic Christoph Waltz in one of Tarantino’s most well developed characters - a lovable yet subtly malevolent Nazi officicer nicknamed 'The Jew Hunter', it's clear that Quentin's sharp dialogue is the films preferred weapon of choice. Every line is so perfectly thought out, creating unspoken threats and provocative subtext; it's where the bulk of the excitement can be found as the shifting of power is passed from person to person. At times though this can also work against the story as word heavy conversations become overlong and begin to lack momentum. Although in usual fashion the marathon chat is interrupted by a carnage kick, most noticeably in a bar shoot out that ends in, what else, but a Mexican stand-off.
The characters are also a mixed bunch. Quentin ranging between some of his best work in Col. Hans Landa to the caricature British officer played by - a more than a little Austin Powers - Mike Myers. The casting of Eli Roth was never going to be a good choice, although he's never given enough bullets to shoot himself in the foot. In fact many characters get just enough screen time to do their required jobs before being swiftly dispatched - the Basterds themselves only appearing in 3 of the 5 chapters! More successful is the casting of Michael Fassbender who is on usual top form as an English officer recruited to work undercover alongside the Basterds.
What may come as a surprise is the level to which the humor reaches as the story unfolds, especially towards the end. Brad Pitt's Aldo Raine comes across like a gurning Clark Gable with a heavy Southern accent and Martin Wuttke's portrayal of Hitler is more comical than criminal. It’s just another Tarantinoism and if you’re a fan, you should be used to them by now.
The violence in the film has also caused some concern, but in a society seemingly obsessed with torture porn and compared to successful films such as the Saw franchise and more recently Martyrs, it's actual fairly tame in comparison. Choosing to show acts on screen instead of cleverly keeping them to the audience’s imagination is the only departure from his earlier work, but it's certainly in keeping with the tone of the film with many graphic scenes diluted with humor.
Tarantino's work has always borrowed from other films and his typical touches can be found throughout with most noticeable references coming from Italian cinema. Familiar trademarks such as the use of on screen graphics as per the square drawing used by Uma Thurman’s Mia Wallace in 'Pulp Fiction', foot fetishes which are both seductive and sinister and the pumped up soundtrack - with music all taken from other films of course.
It's clear from the off that this is a film that will never be used as a study aid in history class. This is a film all about the power of cinema and its ability to mould history at the hands of a director with the power to do so. Yes it molests history and goes against expectation, but it ultimately ends up as a unique and thoroughly entertaining movie-movie. With the by-the-book histories of films like Defiance and Valkyrie, Inglourious Basterds provides an alternative reality of perverse perfection made by a man who loves language, actors and making great cinema.
****
Thursday, 20 August 2009
Photos
My mother once again poses for the sake of experimentation!
The lovely Bryony Saxty looking suitably interested in her work
And a re-edited photo to take out some of the colour casting caused by cross processing. I like the tones that cross processing gives, just not the shifted colour balance!
Monday, 17 August 2009
Late night posting
An edited Harold Lloyd photograph that pretty much sums up my working day.
My mum's 62 year old teddy bear!
Film reviews
‘The Time Travelers Wife’
Another in a long series of recent adaptions of popular novels, Audrey Niffeneggers the Time Travelers Wife was never going to be an easy book to bring to the big screen!
Eric Bana plays a lonely librarian worker inflicted with a rare genetic disorder which causes him to travel uncontrollably through time in moments of heightened emotion. As you can imagine, trying to hold down any form of relationship has its problems, but as always, love conquers all in the form of Rachael McAdams as the eponymous wife.
The book was a wonderful read, both emotionally charged and incredibly rich. Unfortunately the truncated 107 minute running time contributes somewhat to the film loosing much of the written stories appeal with ghost screenwriter Bruce Joel Rubin deciding to take an admirably straight path with things.
Time travelling storylines have always been problematic in the sense that with so many variants of logic, plot is bound to suffer. I don’t have a problem with never going into detail on the how’s and why’s to find out the root cause of the ‘disorder’ but at times it often feels like your willing the characters to spot the obvious. And no good reason is ever given for Henry’s inability to warn his mother of her impending death from the opening scene.
The first half of the film seems overly simplistic to some degree, thanks mainly to what feels like a laboured script, once again wrapping a supernatural sci-fi in the warm blanket of a love story. ‘The Lake house’, ‘PS I Love You’, ‘The Notebook and more recently Benjamin Button have all walked down a familiar path but what saves this from becoming just another star crossed lovers tale is the spot on casting of Eric Bana as Henry and Rachael McAdams as his suffering wife Clare.
McAdams is unfeasibly stunning; you can’t help but be drawn in by her beauty, and although Bana is probably the more suited of the two, they both work very well together in their respective roles. The connection between them is clearly visible, the loving stares and tearful embraces go a long way to helping with the audience connection.
At times it can feel like a behind the scenes look at Superman’s home life and the score is more than a little distracting. But despite the flawed logic this is a solid watch that more than pays off in the third act. A convoluted film of maddening paradoxes it may be, but give in to the silliness of it all and you’ll be more than rewarded by its ironic and bittersweet ending!
** (Maybe a very average 3)
Another in a long series of recent adaptions of popular novels, Audrey Niffeneggers the Time Travelers Wife was never going to be an easy book to bring to the big screen!
Eric Bana plays a lonely librarian worker inflicted with a rare genetic disorder which causes him to travel uncontrollably through time in moments of heightened emotion. As you can imagine, trying to hold down any form of relationship has its problems, but as always, love conquers all in the form of Rachael McAdams as the eponymous wife.
The book was a wonderful read, both emotionally charged and incredibly rich. Unfortunately the truncated 107 minute running time contributes somewhat to the film loosing much of the written stories appeal with ghost screenwriter Bruce Joel Rubin deciding to take an admirably straight path with things.
Time travelling storylines have always been problematic in the sense that with so many variants of logic, plot is bound to suffer. I don’t have a problem with never going into detail on the how’s and why’s to find out the root cause of the ‘disorder’ but at times it often feels like your willing the characters to spot the obvious. And no good reason is ever given for Henry’s inability to warn his mother of her impending death from the opening scene.
The first half of the film seems overly simplistic to some degree, thanks mainly to what feels like a laboured script, once again wrapping a supernatural sci-fi in the warm blanket of a love story. ‘The Lake house’, ‘PS I Love You’, ‘The Notebook and more recently Benjamin Button have all walked down a familiar path but what saves this from becoming just another star crossed lovers tale is the spot on casting of Eric Bana as Henry and Rachael McAdams as his suffering wife Clare.
McAdams is unfeasibly stunning; you can’t help but be drawn in by her beauty, and although Bana is probably the more suited of the two, they both work very well together in their respective roles. The connection between them is clearly visible, the loving stares and tearful embraces go a long way to helping with the audience connection.
At times it can feel like a behind the scenes look at Superman’s home life and the score is more than a little distracting. But despite the flawed logic this is a solid watch that more than pays off in the third act. A convoluted film of maddening paradoxes it may be, but give in to the silliness of it all and you’ll be more than rewarded by its ironic and bittersweet ending!
** (Maybe a very average 3)
Wednesday, 12 August 2009
Tuesday, 11 August 2009
Dan Black
Dan is an up and coming actor who will be playing Carter in Field Trip. Between takes we managed to get a few nice shots for his folder.
'Field Trip'
I worked on my first feature film this weekend and managed to take a few photos along the way, more to follow!
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