Jamie passion and passionfruit!

Yes, it is quite a dramatic tale, yes, the images are brilliant, especially the underwater scenes, yes, Emilie Simon’s soundtrack fits well with the material and yes, the whole logisitics of making this intimate film on penguins is amazing.  And yet, I expected something more.  Maybe this is due to the hype the film has had.  I couldn’t quite get beyond a sort of grand Cousteau documentary and did feel that the rather coy script detracted from the visual aspect.  A nice film to see, an achievement in filming in Antarctica but in the end, it was not much different to many other animal docus seen on TV. 

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A nice cast of leading actresses and a very interesting theme for the US and indeed the world today – to what extent does money buy happiness?  Unfortunately, the movie doesn’t quite come off even though you spend a pleasant 90 minutes on the way.  It is a treat to see the actresses on screen together – Catherine Keener, Jennifer Aniston (the most interesting part), Frances McDormand (wonderful as ever) and Joan Cusack.  The choral plot meanders along visiting issues that relate to money relationships and friendships and throws up some food for thought on the way.  In the end, however, it sort of wimps out and we end up wondering what is the point.  Nicole Holofcener produces a halfway house of a film, saved only by the talent of the cast.

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Based on a true story type of movie, this stars Antonio Banderas as Pierre Dulaine a ballroom dancer wh convinces an inner city principal, Alfre Woodard, that ballroom dancing classes will teach the high school thugs the things they need in life to get on and out of their ruts.  It is very predictable, has a few good dance scenes, some pretty corny acting and that is it.  I liked Rob Brown from Finding Forrester and Yaya Dacosta and there are one or two talents to look out for but basically this is a simple version of films that have been better made before.

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I doubt that a more original movie will grace our screens here this year, or at least my list.  Guy Maddin is a Canadian director and this is his first film that I have seen.  It is amazing in several respects.  The first is that it is shot in black and white and made to look like a grainy 30’s movie. The next is the style of the movie – a sort of cross between newsreel, melodrama and musical.  Then you have the story – a brewery owner from Winnipeg who decides to put up money for the world’s saddest music contest.  But she is no ordinary gal – she lost both her legs in an accident , then there is a plethora of weird family and friends – everything is parody or invention and it really gives you a good giggle on the way.  Then we have the acting.  Isabella Rossellini is excellent as Lady Helen and is ably supported by Mark McKinney as Chester, David Fox and Maria de Medeiros.  A witty and unpredictable but coherent script by Maddin and George Toles tops it off.  The film is not without its flaws – the pacing is rather uneven and some of the gore did not exactly go down well with the audience I saw the film with (and raises issues as to how well the gags come off) but it is definitely a breath of fresh air and a film to be appreciated for its variety and humour.

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Ken Loach goes to Ireland in the early 1920’s for this very good portrayal of the struggles for independence as seen through the eyes of locals. It has all the hallmarks of a Loach film, action with lots of dialogue, political viewpoints, history and the effect of it on locals and this sense of people stuck in a destiny they cannot shake off.  It may not be a great work but it has its moments which definitely keep you on the edge of your seat and help balance the slacker pacing in parts.  Cillian Murphy and Padraig Delaney do competent work as the brothers who end up on opposite sides and a mention for the excellent performance of Orla Fitzgerald as Sinead.  It is a film full of characters and stories which give us another look at the process of independence in the world and how the space between that and civil war can be so narrow.  Not without its faults but a relatively satisfying work.

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A strange and yet very powerful film set in a futuristic Britain ruled over by the High Chancellor Adam Sutler (John Hurt), in which the country is fed a diet of lies from state television and the people are subjected to a totalitarian rule of military like politicians and the rich business elite.  In this context emerges V, an individual who wears a mask and exercises terrorism against the state because he has a genuine reason for revenge after being the victim of state persecution and experimentation in the past.  He sets about killing his former opressors and sowing a fair deal of chaos by taking out a few top government buildings in the course of it (Guy Fawkes is his chief reference point) and appropriating the main TV channel at one point to tell the people what is really going on.  There are inevitable similarities to various states today and the behaviour that certain nations are engaged in to circumscribe public rights in order to fight against perceived enemies.  V’s companion during the film is Evie, daughter of social protesters who lost their lives in repression earlier on, leaving her as a prime cause for both official suspicion and recruitment to the terrorist cause.  The main thrust of her role is more to do with her being the only person to be able to breach the mask (albeit not literally) of V.  Natalie Portman’s innocent and yet curious manner makes her an ideal actress for this role, accompanying Hugo Weaving as V.  Among the other stars are Stephen Rea as the Chief Inspector trying to catch the terrorist, whose own misgivings about the regime emerge during the investigation.  Stephen Fry as an entertainer who is a favourite of the regime but who has his own agenda is also a feature.  It is great to see Hurt back on screen. So, James McTeigue does a good job directing this film by the Wachowskis of the Matrix fame.  The script an story is first rate (Wachowski Bros) and good dark photography and music give the film a suitable sci-fi mood.  Lots to think about in the movie and well worth a look.  And best of all it is an excellent adaptation of a comic book.

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Another unusual film with a strong visual presence.  Richard Gere is the obsessed Jewish kabbalah teacher who decides to coach his daughter through a series of spelling bee competitions.  The girl, beautifully played by Flora Cross,  is gifted and somehow calls on stronger powers that Dad thinks may signify that has a direct link to the forebears. But is dad’s experimentations with her all too much?  Meanwhile, Mum played by Juliette Binoche has unresolved demons from her past that are driving her round the bend and son Max Minghella decides he is more attracted by the Hare Krishna movement than the Jewish faith.  Slowly and surely the seams of the family come apart.  The various strands here make for an interesting film that does not quite convince us but gets us thinking a lot.  Richard Gere also fails to quite convince as has happened before in some roles.  He cannot quite convey the emotion required and ends up being a rather wooden centre.  So, plus points (good photography, interesting concepts) and minus points lead me to rate this perhaps less than I would have liked.

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An interesting Argentine film that doesn’t quite pull it off.   The story of two swimmers, one Goyo, once a local great at river swims and then disgraced by a doping episode and Chino, a young guy whose life is the local pool but is never quite good enough to be a champion, though nor is he cut out for anything else.  Their lives intertwine and they help each other in a strange way to make sense of their situations.  The film has little dialogue and its ups and downs in both plot and continuity but what it does include is the most superb photography (much of it underwater) by Sabine Lancelin and Matias Mesa and good acting by the leads Rafael Ferro and Nicolas Mateo.  Director Veronica Chen has undoubted talent and dares to do many things that other directors don’t (replace music with a fantastic soundtrack of noises filtered by water)  I liked the film but felt that something was missing to lift it up to levels of greatness!

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Thriller from 2002 that I have finally caught up with on video.  Not bad as a sort of baby Fatal Attraction set in a high school with the stars being a swim jock and the strange new girl.  Not exactly super original either.  Good acting from Jesse Bradford and Erika Christensen does a super job of the wicked and weirdo Madison Bell.  A satisfactory film for a night in.

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