A swift dash through several films today, the first of which is the Oscar laden Gravity. Now its easy enough to pick holes, but quite frankly thats more often than not missing the point. Jurassic Parks failings in terms of palaeontology are legion, its still not only a fantastic movie, it will spawn the next generations of palaeontologists in every kid its inspires with a love of dinosaurs. Gravity is not going to lead to anyone becoming an astronaut, but again, its fine entertainment. From its initial shock-and-awe opening, a chaotic whirl of disaster, it manages to not only keep the ticking clock running apace but captures the isolation and silence of the void wonderfully. Much of the film is carried by just the voices of its two leads, only really in the second half does what is essentially a one-woman cast have a chance to escape the restrictions of the bulky space suits and get some acting done. This also answers a very serious question. And the answer is Sandra Bullock stripping in zero gravity is nowhere near as excellent as when Jane Fonda pulled the same trick in the sixties, but then its not really that sort of film. Into The Blue is precisely that sort of film. A trite storyline, shonky acting, terrible dialogue, the film lives and dies on the good looks of its locations and cast. So yes, for the gents, Jessica Alba models a variety of tiny bikinis, while the girls get shirtless Paul Walker, and everyone benefits from some lovely underwater photography. That said, its not a movie that sticks in the mind. The best-selling film of last year suffers from Empire Strikes Back syndrome. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire cannot stand on its own. Everything plays off events from the first film, and it has a deeply unsatisfying open end. And that is all it really has in common with the poster child for excellent sequels. Its not a bad film, per se, its just, well, meh. And Im sorry, but Katniss Everdean is one of the blandest, least protagonising protagonists i can think of. Every other character is going around treating her like shes the most important person in the world, The Girl On Fire, oh shell start a rebellion, or some such yotz. She doesnt do anything. Ever. The action at all points is driven by one or more of the supporting characters while Jennifer Lawrence, one of the finest actresses of her generation, stands around, pouting and grimacing. She reacts while others act, and does so in one of two modes - either Kevin-the-teenager sulking, or hysterically over the top. The best thing about the first Hunger Games was when Mark Kermode referred to it as Battle Royale with cheese. It was a pointless, diluted retread of the Japanese great, with a cast of dull kids and stupidly over-wrought big names. And Catching Fire is more of the same. Seriously, if you want to watch this type of to the death tournament, Battle Royale. If youre after some Jenny Lawrence goodness, you want Winters Bone or Silver Linings. And if its Josh Hutcherson youre after, what the blithering smeg is wrong with you? Ill be back later, on behalf of my employers, to try and sell our Sunday screening of Catching Fire. Because Im a fairly shameless prick. Well, this has been deeply unsatisfying all told. Id like to recommend a film I like before Im done. Fortunately, Ive had plenty of time. There are few more perfectly constructed films than Roxanne, Steve Martins riff on Cyrano De Bergerac. Its one of the finest comedy scripts ever written. Theres not a poor performance anywhere in the cast. It has the confidence and charm to wander off into absolute ridiculousness without damaging the progress of the story. And while its more often than not the Steve Martin show, the supporting cast are all given their moment to shine. So, smart and literate, achingly romantic, frequently sillier than Monty Python, and it still has time to pause for several minutes of outlandish nose jokes, as Martins proboscally blessed fire chief takes down an oafish drunk in one of the more spectacularly one sided battles of wits film has ever seen. Its a joyous film, a pleasure to rewatch, and the jewel in Steve Martins comedy crown. Try it.
Posted on: Tue, 18 Mar 2014 22:10:13 +0000
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