Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - Review

Another year, another new British director, but David Yates stuck around to finish the series - known for his acclaimed TV character-driven dramas, Yates is an interesting choice, but he lands on a good tone for the final 3 (4) instalments of the series, and possesses a nice visual flair.  

Order of the Phoenix features one of the best performances of the series in Imelda Staunton's Dolores Umbridge, a poisonous combination of Margaret Thatcher & Joseph McCarthy. In an effort to quieten Harry & Professor Dumbledore's claims that Voldemort has returned, the Ministry of Magic loans loyal state servant Dolores Umbridge to Hogwarts as - you guessed it - the new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor & Ministry watchdog. It is not long before she starts to take over, declaring war on anything suspicious. The embodiment of the cold heart of authoritarianism wrapped in a shell of pink & bubbly, she's all the more lethal for never letting the smile out of her eyes, even when her lips are spewing venom. Considering it was the follow up to her Vera Drake triumph, its a wonder she missed out on an Oscar nomination.

Phoenix triumphs with a stirring plot around the past & present band of underdogs coming together with a mutual sense of something being wrong with the status quo. In the past, the legendary Order of the Phoenix teaming up against Voldemort. In the present, Dumbledore's Army preparing for inevitable war despite the Ministry's ban on practicing defense against the dark arts. 




Gorgeous sets (the Ministry of Magic is a highlight), great cinematography, Harry's first kiss, the Room of Requirements somehow emerging as a compassionate - silent - character, a great climatic battle, and another tragic death add the icing to the cake. One of the highlights of the series.

Also fair to mention that Evana Lynch is pretty good fun as kooky Luna Lovegood.

Oscar noms: Curiously, none. 

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - Review

Out with Alfonso Cuaron, in with Mike Newell, in quite a departure from Four Weddings and a Funeral, Donnie Brasco and Mona Lisa Smile. Personally, I would have stuck with Alfonso Cuaron, but Newell does a good job, other than allowing Danielle Radcliffe to sport a highly rubbish haircut, and pulls off some impressive visuals, particularly the Quidditch World Cup, the dragon-duelling (excellent CGI) & the ominous maze of the triwizard cup final challenge.                 

Goblet of Fire is the last truly stand-alone story, as the triwizard cup takes centre stage, before the final three novels build up to the showdown between Harry and Voldemort. Harry is smartly cast as the underdog, unwillingly thrust underage into the triwizard championship, after saving Hogwarts three years in a row, so its easy to keep rooting for him (although you have to wonder what Harry finds intimidating about a inter-school challenge, even a dangerous one for seniors, after seeking out the Philosopher's Stone, the Chamber of Secrets and a werewolf's lair...).



Be it as it may, Harry gets to test his mettle & resourcefulness, while Mike Newell introduces females of the world to Robert Pattinson as generally nice, not very talkative Cedric Diggory. In between, hormones start to flair as Harry works up the courage to ask a girl to the school dance, while Ron & Hermione repress their feelings for each other, all before the great dark lord in the creepy climax. Ralph Fiennes relishes his role as dark lord Voldemort, with his hushed voice, piercing eyes & otherworldly intensity, and his brief performance puts Goblet on the map.  


Goblet is also notable for marking the point from which a major character will be killed off in each instalment, and because the band that plays at the school dance includes Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker, and Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood.

Brendon Gleeson & Miranda Richardson are colourful additions to the adult cast as Professor Alastor 'Madeye' Moody (the new 'Defense Against the Dark Arts' professor with - would you believe it - ambiguous intent) & tabloid reports Rita Skeeter, respectively.  


Oscar nominations: Art Direction 

The Ides of March - Trailer

Amazing poster, brilliant cast (I guess it helps being George Clooney).

I have no idea of the story beyond the trailer, and would prefer to keep it that way. At worst, this should be a solid political thriller, at best, one of the movies of the year.

A Dangerous Method - Trailer

Viggo Mortensen. David Cronenberg. Michael Fassbender.

Three very good reasons to put this on your must-see list. But if you need more, it also stars Keira Knightley & Vincent Cassell and concerns the friendship and psychological constructs of Carl Jung (Fassbender) & Sigmund Freud (Mortensen). And Jung's exploration of his methods through an affair with one of his patients (Knightley).

Cronenberg is never light watching, but he is on a career high. His last two films with Mortensen (A History of Violence, Eastern Promises) were powerful, violent and intensely constructed films, so tackling a period romantic psychological drama is an intriguing next move. Knightley seems on the borderline of overacting, but I doubt that Cronenberg would allow that, so it should be a good vehicle for her.

Trailer:

Alternate Poster:

Gary Oldman in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - Trailer

The year's first serious contender for Best Actor (or so we're all hoping...).

Gary Oldman has built a career playing extreme characters and unhinged psychos, so its lovely to see him play gentler, more nuanced characters of late - starting way back in 2000 with his quietly, politely evil politician, Shelly Runyon, in Rod Lurie's Joan Allen vehicle, The Contender, through his externally unhinged, internally wholesome & paternal Sirius Black in the Harry Potter series, and his fantastically endearing, good and wearied Jim Gordon in Chris Nolan's Batman reboots.

So it comes as good news to see him take on the intricate, high-stakes Cold War espionage of John Le Carre in what looks to be a smart, classy, character-driven thriller. He plays  George Smiley, veteran spy holding off retirement to engage in a lethal game of cat-and-mouse with a top level government spy. The fantastic ensemble cast includes Colin Firth, Toby Jones, Tom Hardy, John Hurt, Mark Strong, Benedict Cumberbatch and Stephen Rea.

Another reason to get excited is that it is directed by Tomas Alfredson, of Let the Right One In fame.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - Review

Alfonso Cuaron was as close as the Harry Potter franchise came to a visionary director. I can't imagine why they didn't keep him on for the rest of the movies. Cuaron swathes the film in a new, richly gothic atmosphere & finally gets more gritty performances out of the child cast. In the adult cast, Gary Oldman as the titular escaped convict Sirius Black & David Thewlis as the new Defense against the Dark Arts professor, are excellent as Harry's damaged, morally ambiguous mentors. 

Cuaron's directing, Michael Seresin's cinematography & John Williams' Danny Elfman-esque (I could probably get shot for saying that) score lend a sense of weight & momentum right from the outset. Cuaron's Dementors are thrilling creations, far superior to the ones in Order of the Phoenix. Cuaron nails his tone, & sets the scene for the finale, with an early shot of a bluebird leading the camera around early morning Hogwarts scenery before being chomped by the Whomping Willow.

Harry's breakaway flight on Buckbeak the Hippogriff is one of the series' most stirring & poetic scenes in the series; a rare happy moment for Harry & a triumph of visual effects. The sets are exceptional, even by Harry Potter standards, Hogwarts and surroundings have never looked more stylishly gloomy, the werewolves are cool & tragic, the magic bus is a blast and the nifty time travel plot is smartly executed. Prisoner of Azkaban has no detractors. Easily one of the best in the series. 

Interesting to note that Mexican born Cuaron's presence ushers in the first non-white Hogwarts students, even if they are confined to the background.

Oscar noms: Original Score (John Williams), Visual Effects.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - Review

  

Kenneth Branagh is good fun as preening, phony adventure writer Gilderoy Lockhart, the new 'Defense against the Dark Arts' professor. 

Unfairly regarded as an inferior retread of Sorcerer's Stone,  Chamber of Secrets still suffers from over-acting by the youngsters & a syrupy boarding school ending, but features some great set pieces, including the flying car, the whomping willow, a forest full of giant spiders (stealing from Tolkien & upping the ante) & an intense finale in the Chamber of Secrets featuring another giant beastie (Salazar Slytherin's Basilisk) & the 'memory' of Tom Riddle, who became Lord Voldemort. It is notable that JK Rowling introduces Voldemort's first horcrux as early as the second novel, already setting us up for the final showdown.

Chamber of Secrets also carries a strong social message in the story of Dobby the (somewhat annoying) elf. Dobby is a fairly impressive feat of CGI but, no doubt, overshadowed by the same year's introduction of Gollum in Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.

Shirley Henderson is also good, mad fun as Moaning Myrtle, the unstable ghost of the second floor girls' bathroom. 

Oscar noms: None

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer / Philosopher's Stone - Review

It took me years to warm up to the Harry Potter series, but I finally did & have done some catching up:

As an introduction to the magical Hogwarts universe, Sorcerer's Stone, is a beautiful piece of work. Its saccharine boarding school adventure ending & the awful acting from the child set, however, make it harder to take seriously. But with impeccable sets (Diagon Alley is a marvel), a haunting first shot of Hogwarts - oh how it will be destroyed in the years to come & John Williams' classic score, there is plenty for grown up cinema-goers to appreciate. 

Unfortunately, the visual effects are dubious - while the invisibility cloak is still something to write home about, "Fluffy", & the rest of the special effects guarding the Sorcerer's Stone, look a bit clunky. Especially considering this was made the same year as Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring  & AI: Artificial Intelligence.  

Script-wise, it is notable that JK Rowling had Harry talking to snakes right from the outset; as with Chamber of Secrets, its impressive how well planned & plotted her series was. It is also a nice showcase for Rowling's deft touch with surreal logic (a villain's face implanted on the back of a blithering idiot's head).         

At least the adult cast is excellent as ever. Maggie Smith is slick, if underused, as McGonnagall & Richard Harris makes a gentle & touching Dumbledore (although I will confess I prefer Michael Gambon's take), but the standouts are Robbie Coltrane as lovable Hagrid and the always-impressive Alan Rickman (can you imagine anyone else in the role) iconic as ambiguous Severus Snape.

Oscar nominations: Original Score, Costume Design (meh), Art Direction / Set Decoration

Somewhere - Review

Sofia Coppolla’s fourth film is the second from her own screenplay and, while it shares Lost in Translation’s DNA – a bored, semi-famous movie star (Johnny Marco, played by Stephen Dorff) hangs around a hotel (in this case, hotels) pondering his place in life while doing not much with a younger woman (this time, his daughter Cleo, played by Elle Fanning) – it is very much its own film, with its own concerns and, regrettably,  its own flaws.

Coppolla's direction is perfectly controlled, but her script lets her down. Through the pace of the editing, the composition of her shots and the general lack of her usual hipster cool soundtrack, Coppola manages to richly express her characters. The problem is that her characters are not much fun to watch - Dorff's Johnny Marco is a frustratingly hollow man, while the talented Fanning's Cleo is vague and underwritten.

The opening shot explains everything that is at once brilliant and frustrating about Coppola's latest exploration of celebrity alienation - a stationary shot of Johnny Marco's black Ferrari drives in and out of shot as he circles an abandoned racetrack - over & over & over & over & over & over & over again. Not at an exceptional speed, and with no one watching or cheering him on.

As a methaphor for Johnny's life, the opening shot could not be more effective; a fancy sports car, but no joy whatsoever. Just when you think Coppola can't possibly make you watch Johnny going around the track any more, she does. A few more times. It's powerful film making; as frustrating to watch as it must be to be Johnny, but making a film so committed to the boredom of its lead character has an obvious pitfall; it can be difficult to enjoy. And that is where Coppola's script & characters fails to provide the payoff needed to make the journey worthwhile.

Coppola's pacing traces the (minimal) development of Johnny and Cleo's relationship, but her technique is more intriguing than the actual characters.

Before Cleo arrives, scenes are shot in long, exhaustive takes with only diegetic (in-scene) music, and not Coppola's usually hipster cool music at that. While Johnny's life does not lack event, it certainly lacks emotional engagement, and so does the film, which is a beautiful illustration, but at times a difficult one to sit through. But that is Johnny's life.

Once Cleo arrives, the pace gradually picks up and the not much that happens takes on a somewhat lighter, less claustrophobic tone. In my opinion, though, the scene chronicling a game of Wii tennis takes it one step too far, but perhaps others may find it refreshing.

It's only once Johnny & Cleo have finally started to grow comfortable around each other - minus much  talking, mind you - & decide to spend a last day together before Cleo goes to Summer camp, that Coppola allows the editing & soundtrack to flow, setting a sweetly joyful montage of father / daughter poolside bonding to The Strokes' smashing I'll Try Anything Once.

But the surfacing of Johnny's feelings lead only to a solitary, self-loathing breakdown which is powerfully written and performed, but somehow feels forced an inorganic. And after hours of hanging around looking smart, shy & laid back cool, Fanning's Cleo is also allowed an out-of-the-blue, although justified, emotional catharsis, to which Johnny responds with a blank stare and awkward muttering.

When Johnny bids Cleo farewell, he is only able to express any kind of love for her when drowned out by the roar of a helicopter. Although a beautiful expression of Johnny's inertia, it is hard to care, after so much time, about a bored, self-indulgent movie star who makes no effort to enjoy his life, know himself or contribute anything of value to his daughter, even when she is begging for just one of her parents to make her a priority.

After Cleo is gone, Johnny's purposelessly mopey ways threaten to overtaken again. A shot of  Dorff's head slowly being cut out of frame as he floats lethargically on a li-lo was apparently unplanned, but is nevertheless pure perfection.

The enigmatic final reel, set to Phoenix's stirring Love Like a Sunset Part II, effectively revisits the Ferrari metaphor, but by this point, the journey taken with Johnny to get there feels exhausting rather than enriching. It is a poetic coda to a dry & measured film.

63rd Primetime Emmy Nominations

Outstanding Drama Series

 Boardwalk Empire

Dexter

Friday Night Lights

Game of Thrones

The Good Wife

Mad Men

Outstanding Comedy Series

Big Bang Theory

Glee

Modern Family

The Office

Parks and Recreation

30 Rock

Outstanding TV Miniseries or Movie

Cinema Verite

Downton Abbey

The Kennedys

Mildred Pierce

The Pillars of the Earth

Too Big To Fail

Outstanding Actress in a Drama

Kathy Bates, Harry’s Law

Connie Britton, Friday Night Lights

Mireille Enos, The Killing

Mariska Hargitay, Law and Order: SVU

Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife

Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men

Outstanding Actor in a Drama

Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire

Kyle Chandler, Friday Night Lights

Michael C. Hall, Dexter

John Hamm, Mad Men

Hugh Laurie, House

Timothy Olyphant, Justified

Outstanding Actress in a Comedy

Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie

Tina Fey, 30 Rock

Laura Linney, The Big C

Melissa McCarthy, Mike & Molly

Martha Plimpton, Raising Hope

Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation

Outstanding Actor in a Comedy

Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock

Louis C.K., Louie

Steve Carrell, The Office

Johnny Galecki, The Big Bang Theory

Matt LeBlanc, Episodes

Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory

Polanski's Carnage - Preview

Based on the Tony-nominated play, God of Carnage, Roman Polanski's Carnage replaces the play's excellent cast (Marcia Gay Harden, James Gandolfini, Hope Davis & Jeff Daniels) with a new, equally intriguing cast of Kate Winslet, John C Reilly, Jodi Foster & Christoph Waltz. A very eclectic set of actors with very little in common besides the 4 Oscars between them (2 belong to Foster, none to Reilly).

The story roughly concerns two sets of parents who get together to talk after their sons are involved in a schoolyard brawl. The witty script is set entirely inside a single New York apartment. Needless to say, Polanski did not shoot in New York, as the warrant for his arrest was not overruled by his Oscar, but it will be interesting to see what he and his cast bring to the table. Foster seems a touch too intense for comedy, but we shall see.

    

TIME's Top 25 Animated Films

25. Lady and the Tramp (1955)
24. Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
23. Yellow Submarine (1968)
22. Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who! (2008)
21. Kung Fu Panda (2008)
20. Paprika (2007)
19. Tangled (2010)
18. The Lion King (1994)
17. Akira (1988)
16. Happy Feet (2006)

15. Wallace & Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)
14. The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926)
13. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
12. Toy Story (1995)
11. Toy Story 3 (2010)
10. The Little Mermaid (1989)
9. Finding Nemo (2003)
8. The Triplets of Belleville (2003)
7. Up (2009)
6. South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999)
5. Spirited Away (2001)
4. Dumbo (1941)
3. The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie (1979)
2. WALL-E (2008)
1. Pinocchio (1940)

'Best of' lists are always doomed to be controversial, but I find this one particularly odd. While it includes a bunch of good but not great animations - Happy Feet, Horton Hears a Who, Tangled - it omits any number of classics - Ratatouille, The Incredibles, The Iron Giant, A Nightmare Before Christmas, Coraline, Watership Down, 101 Dalmations - & choosesThe Little Mermaid over Beauty and the Beast & Aladdin!


But it's nice to see a Top 5 that includes Dumbo, Wall-E & Pinocchio. 

Jason Reitman's Young Adult & Labor Day

Jason Reitman has very quickly become Hollywood gold, with 3 great, biting films proving he has much more to offer than his father's surname (his father is Ivan Reitman, once legendary director of Stripes & Ghostbusters, recently director of, um, My Super Ex-Girlfriend & No Strings Attached).

Reitman teamed up with Oscar-winning Juno screenwriter, Diablo Cody, to direct Young Adult, starring Charlize Theron as a divorced fiction writer returning to her small home town to rekindle a romance with her now-married ex boyfriend, played by Patrick Wilson.

Any resemblance to Never Been Kissed may or may not be intentional. It will be interesting to see what Diablo Cody dishes up next (after camping up sexy teen horror in Jennifer's Body & turning Toni Collette into everyone's favourite schizofrenic American mom on Dreamworks TV's United States of Tara), but with Reitman & Theron on board, there is no reason to believe it will be anything less than great.

Wasting no time, Reitman has already cast Kate Winslet & Josh Brolin for his next feature, an adaptation of Joyce Maynard's novel, Labor Day. The novel follows bored, horny teenager Henry and his depressed, divorced mother, Adele, who allow a mysterious convict, Frank, to take them hostage in their own home & learn important life lessons, like how to throw a baseball, how to make a perfect piecrust, how to handle jealousy & betrayal & still put loved ones before yourself and that true love is worth waiting for.

Just a touch of Eastwood's A Perfect World. Reitman's last novel adaptation was Up in the Air, so add this one to your watch list.

Stephen Daldry's Fourth

British director Stephen Daldry has had a good run so far - 3 films (Billy Elliot, The Hours, The Reader), 3 Best Director Oscar nominations & two Best Actress winners (Nicole Kidman, Kate Winslet) - heavily aided by make up & complex, arguably supporting, literary roles.

Now Daldry is trying his hand at adapting Jonathan Safran Foer's inventive 9/11 novel, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.


The big trick with Extremely Loud is pulling off the lead character, Oskar Schell, a nine-year-old amateur inventor, jewelry designer, astrophysicist, tambourine player and pacifist trying to find the lock that matches a mysterious key left behind by his father who died in the 9/11 attacks. 


Daldry worked wonders with Jamie Bell in Billy Elliott, so he should be the right man to direct 12-year old Jeopardy! Kid's Week winner, Thomas Horn, as Oskar. Meanwhile, Tom Hanks plays Oskar's doomed father & Sandra Bullock wastes no time cashing in on her Oscar to play Oskar's grieving mother, although the really interesting parts are Oskar's odd, misfit grandparents, whose tragic story is told in flashbacks.   


Not sure who's playing who yet, but Viola Davis, John Goodman, Jeffery Wright, Max Von Sydow & James Gandolfini fill out the supporting cast.


The novel is highly stylised, so it will be interesting to see what Eric Roth does with the screenplay, but Daldry's instincts in adapting tricky novels have served him well so far.

Bullock and Daldry on set

It's Kind of a Funny Story - Trailer