'Every film in 2011'

Don't forget www.everyfilmin2012.com

2012-01-07T10:38:00.000Z

Thanks for all your support but don't forget to look at www.everyfilmin2012.com for all the new films out this year.

608.Talihina Sky - The Story Of The Kings Of Leon

2012-01-05T19:15:00.000Z

DON'T FORGET. The 2012 quest and movie reviews can be found at www.everyfilmin2012.com

I have to say it took me a while to get into the Kings Of Leon.
Early on, I thought of Caleb Followill's vocal as whiny and lacking in dynamism.
Then there was the album Only By The Night and my view changed completely. For years, the catchy Sex On Fire was my ringtone.
Thus, I have long been looking forward to catching up with Stephen C Mitchell's film, which was out, very briefly, at cinemas in the summer.
However, despite my enthusiasm, I came away feeling it failed to match up to the other music documentaries I watched last year.
Essentially, Talihina Sky follows the Followill boys back to the village where they grew up.
To say the conditions were basic is an understatement but it was way out in the country and everyone knew everyone.
One admitted a first kiss was with a cousin but, with a shrug, said that was just how things were there.
I guess the problem with the film was that the Kings Of Leon just haven't got that much of a back-story.
Once the audience understands that they have a lot of wizened but good-hearted relatives, were brought up as zealously god-fearing and have now become the anti-thesis to what their daddy might have wanted (foul-mouthed drinkers and drug-takers) that's about it.
True, it was quite charming to see them in their natural environment but I wanted to hear more music, see more of the dynamic out on the road and more about the impact of fame.
There were limited insights into the above but none that made me feel like I was intimate with the band in the way I felt I was with George Harrison after Living In The Material World or with Ozzy Osbourne after God Bless Ozzy Osbourne.
But the truth is, the Kings Of Leon are young and it would have made a far more interesting movie had they been 20 years older.
As it was, Talihina Sky was quite interesting but nothing more and deserves no more than 5.5/10

607. The Tapes

2012-01-04T21:12:00.000Z

DON'T FORGET ...for all new releases go to the 2012 blog

So, here's the first of the catch-ups from 2011 and a film which would have been challenging for a place in the worst top ten of the year.
Why...because even by the woeful standards of found footage films, this is ghastly.
And I really have to make a plea to low-budget film-makers of the future - forget two genres - found footage and zombies. And remember one important fact - cheap movies don't have to look cheap.
But there is one fundamental flaw in all found footage movies... there is no way the video would be switched on when the horrors take place. It would be the last thing on the mind of those involved.
The premise of The Tapes is just daft.
It surrounds Gemma Baker (Natasha Sparkes), a wannabee TV celebrity who is making a cackhanded Big Brother audition tape with two lads (one seems to be her boyfriend).
After attempts to record it outside, they go into a pub and encounter a hostile local.
Rumour has it that he is part of a swingers' group and, for a reason which is never too clear, the trio then decide to take their camcorder to a farm and catch the free-lovers in action.
The trouble is they are not swingers at all and are something a whole lot more sinister.
I would normally have worried that this was a spoiler but The Tapes gives its own game away with allegedly real TV interviews with families of 'the victims,'' in its first five minutes.
To be fair The Tapes does have two saving graces. It made me jump twice and Sparkes's performance was believable (she'd clearly modelled in on all those awful reality show auditions).
But, overall, it is grim and I could not possibly give it more than 1.5/10

It's not over

2012-01-01T15:04:00.002Z

Well, 2011 is over and more than 600 films were ticked off.
But the chase is not complete.
During 2012, when I've got a spare minute (!) I will continue to try to catch up on the 2011 list.
Thus, not only will the archive remain...I will attempt to finish the set.
So, for older movies stick with www.everyfilmin2011.com and, from now on, new releases will be on www.everyfilmin2012.com
Keep reading.
Cheers,
Neil

606, Mademoiselle Chambon

2011-12-31T12:45:00.000Z

Isn't life funny?
Whatever talents we have, we always think they are inferior to those of others.
This morning, the cistern in our toilet broke. I'd love to be one of those blokes who could fix. It is much more likely that Mrs W will come to the rescue.
Conversely, those who are good with their hands are often envy those who are more arty...for example, those who can write, dance or play music.
Opposites do attract and that is the point of Mademoiselle Chambon.
It starts, most effectively, with both of a young boy's parents struggling to work out the answers to his homework. Clearly, they are on the same level and get along handsomely without challenging each other.
Covets her intelligence, her art, expression
The boy's father (Vincent Lindon) is, however, completely lost when having to converse with his son's teacher (Sandrine Kiberlain) Frankly, she speaks a different language.
Nevertheless, despite his tongue-tiedness, he agrees to her request to talk to the class about his job as a builder.
This is where he comes alive and she sees a completely different side to him.
Gradually...very gradually they fall for each other.
Stephane Brize's film is very gentle, even slow, yet wonderfully observed. Lindon and Kiberlain mirror each other's longing and yet realisation that it is a match which should never be.
The script, based on Eric Holder's novel, is wonderfully thought-provoking.
It is a movie which is typically French but will touch a nerve with people all over the world.
I'm rating it at 7/10.

605. New Year's Eve

2011-12-31T00:45:00.000Z

Right, first things first.
This is NOT the worst movie of the year. In fact, it is not nearly the worst movie of the year and those that say it is, frankly, haven't seen many.
Of course, it's a trite load of old nonsense but then aren't most rom coms?
Anyway, it being party season let's play a game:
Who were the celebrities in New Year's Eve that you wouldn't have recognised if you didn't know they were on the cast list?
Top of the list: Abigail Breslin. Was that really Little Miss Sunshine? She seems to have grown about two feet in every direction.
Next up: Cary Elwes: Robin Hood from Robin Hood Men In Tights was really Robert De Niro's dumpy doctor?
Then there's: Jon Bon Jovi. He looks better than he did 20 years ago. He's 50 next year but didn't look at out place in his part as Katherine Heigl's love interest and she is 17 years younger.
And..Michelle Pfeiffer: I know, I know. She's one of the main stars but Mrs W didn't know that and exclaimed during the closing credits: "Is that Michelle Pfeiffer?''
Also: Zac Efron: Took me a few glances to realise the cocky biker delivery boy was the shiny High School Musical star.
And..Yeardley Smith: Yes, I'm cheating a bit here because she is normally yellow and eight years old but who would have thought the smiley-faced middle-aged lady was Lisa Simpson.
Yes, just like Valentine's Day, New Year's Eve brings out the stars in huge numbers.
There was little surprise in seeing the likes of Sarah Jessica Parker and Jessica Biel but I'm still scratching my head as to why Oscar winners Hilary Swank, Halle Berry and, most of all, Robert De Niro would want anything to do with it. Surely, it couldn't be the money.
Nevertheless, there they were and the cheese ran like it was the ripest money could buy.
There were so many plot lines that it would take me too long to outline them but suffice to say they all slotted together neatly when the clock struck midnight.
As said, it was as twee as is possible to be but it was harmless and it got into the party spirit.
And thus, I'm giving it a middle of the road 5.5/10.

604. Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

2011-12-30T20:08:00.000Z

In July, Tom Cruise is 50 years old.
And the Top Gun looks damned good on it doesn't he? No signs of the middle-aged spread, balding pate or teeth disappearing behind upper lips which those of us of similar age suffer.
But while Cruise may look good for his age, he doesn't look 34, which is how old he was when he first played Ethan Hunt.
That was the age when one might have expected an officer with Us special ops to be at the peak of their game.
But it isn't just Cruise who is old - the whole Mission Impossible brand has long been surpassed by the likes of the Bourne franchise.
To my mind there didn't seem a need to restore a brand which had been in cold storage for five years.
And, by the end, I rather wish they hadn't bothered.
The truth is, Mission Impossible lacked soul. Both of its Christmas competitors, Sherlock Holmes and The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo have heroes who inspire the audience to care. I didn't give a fig about Ethan and his team.
Why? Because there is no pre-amble. From the word go, it is straight into action which doesn't let up until the very end.
Thus, for those who get off on incredible special effects and fast-paced chase scenes this will be a must.
For those of us who need a bit more depth, it will fall short.
What;s the story this time?
Well, an international terrorist (Michael Nyqvist) is deliberately trying to provoke nuclear war between the superpowers.
Hunt and his team of Benj Dunn (Simon Pegg), Brandt (Jeremy Renner) and Jane (Paula Patton) set about finding the keys and codes which will prevent catastrophe.
Of course, however improbable the odds, we all know exactly what will happen.
And I guess that is the problem with Mission Impossible 4: however great the stunts,we all know exactly how it will pan out.
One plus point I should mention is Pegg. I'm not his greatest fan but his quirky humour is a nice antidote to the transfixed grim faces of the rest of the team.
But overall, MI4 falls short of its Christmas competition and I reckon is worth 6.5/10

603. Puss In Boots 3D

2011-12-30T19:19:00.000Z

I have to own up. This afternoon I was weary.
This morning, fresh as a daisy, I probably over-egged a Tamil rom com just because I was in the right place mentally to see it.
This afternoon, the eyelids were heavy within a minute or two of Puss In Boots hitting the big screen at Nottingham Cineworld.
And, to be fair, I don't think it was the film's fault. It was mine. Too many films and too little sleep.
However, what I did like to hear was the young kids giggling away, particularly in the early stages, to this Shrek spin-off.
I guess the problem with Puss In Boots for adults is that it was always going to be in Shrek's shadow. And by Shrek, I don't mean Shrek 4 - I'm referring to the freshness of that first movie which took the mickey out of Disney and those old bedtime stories.
Here, Chris Miller, who directed Shrek 3, is working with similar ingredients... with Humpty Dumpty (Zach Galifianakis), Mother Goose, Jack (Billy Bob Thornton) And Jill (Amy Dedaris) and the Beanstalk all involved in key plot lines.
What transpires is that Humpty and Puss (Antonio Banderas) have had a fall-out some time before.
Humpty is keen to set the record straight so involves Puss in a scheme to snatch three magic beans from Jack and Jill, climb the beanstalk and grab the goose which lays the golden eggs.
With me so far? Obviously, not but, hey, cartoons were never meant to make too much sense.
Anyway, there is a fair bit of slapstick, pantomime-style jokes and a fair bit of 3D which had the little ones in the audience grappling at thin air (actually the 3D was probably the best of the festive films).
The biggest laughs are early in the movie whereas chase scenes and clashing swords dominate later on.
Mrs W gave it 7/10, I couldn't muster more than 6.
We compromised at 6.5/10.

602. Engeyum Kaadhal (Love Everywhere)

2011-12-30T12:32:00.000Z

It is a rom com, a rip-off of a 1950s classic and is riddled with implausibilities.
In short, I should have hated Engeyum Kaadhal (or Kadhal, depending on which website you believe).
So, why the heck did I like it?
Could it be that the Paris backdrop touched the old romantic in me, was it the soundtrack (it is very catchy) or the chemistry between its stars (Jayam Ravi and Hansika Motwani)?
Or, perhaps, I'm still in a great mood inspired by all the kind things being said about everyfilmin2011 over the last week?
I don't know but I skipped through this two hours with a strange fixed smile on my face.
As said, the plot is pretty much a copy of Billy Wilder's 1957 flick, Love In The Afternoon, in which the romantic leads were taken by Gary Cooper and Audrey Hepburn.
Obviously, neither Ravi nor Motwani are in that league but both have a joy about them which helps carry the movie.
The plot is that she is a music student in Paris and he is a billionaire who, for one month a year lives a playboy lifestyle.
They meet when her private detective dad (Suman) spies on him because he's a having a fling with a client's wife.
From that moment on, she falls head over heels for him but he just sees her as a bit of fun.
After a whole lot of too-ing and fro-ing, the ending is as inevitable as it is cheesy.
In between, there are a bunch of impressive dance routines to go with the upbeat songs.
And there is a decent amount of slapstick provided by the billionaire's best friend, played by Raju Sundaram.
There are also a couple of funny cameos involving Indian movie superstar Prakash Raj.
It does have obvious down points. It jerks around a fair bit (in one scene Motwani is soaking wet and bedraggled and, within a second, is dry and perfectly coiffured) and its English actors are bewilderingly stiff.
But I couldn't help forgiving it.
It's true, Prabu Deva's film is mere frippery but proved to me one thing. If I'm in the right mood a rom com can push my buttons.
Rating? 6.5/10

601. Broken Lines

2011-12-30T01:01:00.000Z

After all my criticism of the hyperbole which screams from movie posters, it is a pleasure to commend one.
Broken Lines does, indeed, feature a tour de force from Paul Bettany.
As a disabled former boxer his shattered life is felt through every snarled Cockney-accented profanity.
His fall into the abyss of despair as he fails to overcome his broken body and splintered spirit can be felt with every wince of pain.
So Bettany fans, go get the DVD (I missed this at the cinema in the summer).
Well, if you don't mind that the rest of the movie is a deary dirge.
While Bettany's broken boxer, Chester, stays at home, his partner Becca (Doraly Rosa) is falling for the flirtations of downcast Jake (Dan Fredenburgh).
Indeed, their developing relationship is the major theme of the movie.
But because both are wracked with guilt (Jake is engaged to be married to Zoe, played by Olivia Williams), the affair movies tortuously slowly.
Meanwhile, Chester becomes more embittered and it finally dawns on Zoe that something is wrong.
And, in the end, where does it all go...
Well, we don't really know because, frustratingly, we are left with a bag of loose ends.
Sometimes arty directors say they like to leave the conclusion to the audience's imagination. That, to me, is a cop out. I had invested 93 minutes and I wanted answers.
I didn't get them.
My answer to director Sallie Aphramian is to give her movie 4/10 and to thank goodness for Bettany's saving role.

600. Atrocious

2011-12-29T22:09:00.000Z

I should have planned it better. Film 600 is clocked up with one of the least memorable movies of the year.
Indeed, one of my least favourite genres - found footage.
As I feel like I've written a thousand times, Blair Witch was original and exciting - in fact, frightening. But this was because of viral advertising which had the world and his dog believing the footage might be true.
Moving on, Rec came about closest for using this type of movie to scare the pants of the audience.
And then there has been a rash of films just like this - with Paranormal Activity being the grandaddy of them all.
Actually, Paranormal Activity 3 was a marked improvement on its two predecessors because it achieved where they hadn't and made me jump.
Atrocious didn't - largely because I simply didn't believe in it.
The premise was that a family had gone to stay out in the country next to a wood, which, according to local legend, was haunted by a young girl.
After a monotonous first half hour things go bump in the night.
Then there is a great, breathless chase through the woods, illuminated only by the light from the obligatory camcorder. This isn't a plot, it's just a torch being shone at trees in the dark.
Now I know that it seems I am deliberately pouring cold water on Fernando Barreda Luna's movie but I just don't get the camcorder thing.
At the height of a family's stress, not one but two of them were taking them everywhere and, just like in Paranormal Activity, even when they are dropped they manage to fall to the precise spot where they continue recording the action.
Sorry, but it's just bunkum.
But if you don't believe me, see for yourself. Atrocious, which I missed at the cinema, is now out on DVD.
My rating is 3.5/10.

599. Vaanam (Sky)

2011-12-29T18:19:00.000Z

I know it's late in the year for me to write superlatives about movies but this Tamil catch-up is one of the oddest films of the year.

Not that there is anything remotely surreal about it but just that it takes a turn which is the most unexpected of any of those I've seen in 2011.

So, for two hours there are five separate stories, none of which adds up to a fat lot or seem to have anything in common.

Then they all come together and all hell lets loose.

Firstly, there is the story of a cable operator Raj (Silambarasan) who lives in a slum in Chennai and is obsessed by his rich girlfriend (Jasmin Bhasin). The trouble is that he has told her a tall tale of how wealthy he is and has agreed to pay 40,000 rupees to get them both into a VIP party.

The problem is that he has no cash. So, the movie follows the increasingly desperate efforts of Raj and his friend (Santhanam) to raise the money.

At the same time, we follow the story of the lead singer (Bharath) of a rock band. He is set against his mother's wish of following his father's footsteps and joining the army but his irresponsible attitude could cost him his future.

The third tale is that of Saroja (Anushka) who is working as a prostitute in a brothel. She is keen to break out and start her own business with her best mate, the eunuch (!).

Then there is there is Rahim (Prakash Raj) whose wife lost twins during a city riot. When she becomes pregnant again, Rahim tries to track down a brother who disappeared during the previous tragedy.

And finally, Lakshmi (Saranya) is an illiterate mother who is even prepared to sell her own kidney to pay for her son's education.

To be honest, only the latter is a story which truly grabs. Two of the others seem frivolous and the other two are a little bit hard to follow.

However, what becomes crystal clear for the last 30 minutes of the movie reaches a truly dramatic sequence where all of the characters become, surprisingly, in peril of their lives.

Director Krish proves he can create explosive scenes with nerve-jangling tension.

The only problem is that I had nearly baled on the movie by the time I reached them.

Indian films are, by and large, bloated. If the best part of an hour had been last from the cut of this one, it would have, doubtlessly, been better.

If I were to rate the last 30 minutes, it would have been approaching 9/10 but the rest would get 4/10.

I reckon that makes a final tally of 5.5/10 (maths never were my strong point)

598. The Lady

2011-12-28T23:37:00.000Z

It's all very well bathing in everyfilmin2011's newly found celebrity but I'm not going to impress my new band of followers if I don't give 'em what they are seeking - namely an up-to-date movie review.
Thus, Mrs W and I peddled off (it's a turn of phrase we drove not cycled) in the freezing cold to Nottingham Cineworld to see The Lady, a week before we get to see The Iron Lady.
It was a bit of a strange night mind you. Five youths were booted out just as the film was starting because they had clearly been hanging around the cinema all day without paying and then four more folk drifted off as the movie progressed.
This left just five of us in screen 4 who watched Luc Besson's biopic of Aung San Suu Kyi, the pro democracy leader in Burma.
That was a pity because more people need to know of the courage this former Oxford housewife has shown in the face of the most merciless intimidation.
I thought I knew the story of Aung San Suu Kyi because I, like millions, have followed the stories of her house arrest in Rangoon over the last 20 years.
However, I was unaware of the background, which Besson traces back to the murder of her pro-democracy father, a Burmese general, in 1947.
His daughter only became involved at the forefront of the movement when she went back to her native country to see her terminally ill mother in 1988.
Until then, she had been quietly bringing up her two sons from her marriage to Oxford University lecturer and writer, Michael Aris.
Aris, to his eternal credit campaigned vigorously on her behalf across the world.
Besson's film is high on emotion. Michelle Yeoh is terrific as Suu but is probably outdone by David Trewlis's inspired performance as her husband (and his twin!).
He conveys the feelings of love and desperation with aplomb.
The problem that The Lady is up against, however, is that by the story's very nature, not a lot happens for a lot of the time.
Suu's house arrest is well documented but, obviously, the government machinations are conjecture.
And, after a while, the constant battles of her husband, while important are repetitive.
Nevertheless, there is still much to recommend The Lady and it gave me food for thought. Suu is a woman, who has forsaken so much for her country but believes wholeheartedly in democracy and the rights of the individual.
Does she deserve to be called the Iron Lady more than a leader who would have taken her free speech for granted? We'll see, next week.
Rating for The Lady? 7.5/10
PS I'm sure I saw the Burmese comedian Zarganar in one of the scenes when political dissidents are rounded up. He featured in the documentary This Prison Where I Live. Who said watching movies isn;t educational?

597. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

2011-12-27T18:27:00.000Z

So here was the challenge. Create a creditable hit movie remake of an already acclaimed film of one of the world's most well-known books.
In other words, anyone who has been into Stieg Larsson's work over the last few years, would have been lining up to savage David Fincher had he got it wrong.
In isolation, he didn't. Anyone who hasn't read the book or seen the original Swedish film could well earmark this as one of the top 20 movies of the year.
Even as a Larsson fan, I was mighty impressed for big chunks.
The opening credits are James Bond-esque and brilliantly effective and the early stages of this picture are even more faithful to the source material than the original movie.
For the uninitiated, the plot surrounds journalist Mickael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) who has just lost a big libel case but is nevertheless brought in by a wealthy businessman (Christopher Pummer) to investigate the disappearance of his niece 40 years previously.
As he is doing so, he has to immerse himself in the world of the industrialist's despicable relatives.
Meanwhile, off-beat computer wizard Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara), has a myriad of personal battles to overcome before being hired by Blomkvist as his researcher.
Quite rightly, Fincher has kept the story in Sweden to the point that the all-star cast try to speak with a Scandanavian lilt (Mara, Plummer, Steven Berkoff carry this off to great effect, Daniel Craig doesn't really try and Stellan Skarsgard doesn't have to).
Anyway, the cinematography is ever bit as good as its predecessor. The landscape is so bleak that I felt like I needed an extra layer to keep off the cold.
While Craig is perfectly competent as Blomkvist, his thunder is stolen, first by Plummer, for whom 2011 has probably been as memorable as any since the Sound Of Music, and then Mara.
She turns in a truly terrific performance. I thought Noomi Rapace was top-notch as the original Salander but Mara takes her too another level. She gives everything (some of the sex scenes are particularly graphic).
But just as I thought that Fincher had completely nailed it and I was on the cusp of a 9.5/10 movie, he let is slip from his grasp.
Firstly, the climax, so brilliantly done in Niels Arden Oplev's film, lacks the tension I would have expected. Of course, I knew what was coming and that might have caused a degree of dissipation but really it was so short I didn't have time to get to the edge of my seat.
And then, to compound matters, the denouement is completely changed.
I don't know whether this is Fincher trying to create his own imprint but it left me reading the relevant chapter in the book again just to prove to myself I hadn't gone mad.
For sure, it didn't add anything so I didn't see the point at all.
What are we left with? Well, an absolutely cast iron 8/10 film with a decent recommendation but with a feeling that it would have taken too much to make it so much better.

596. Happy Feet 2 3D

2011-12-27T16:59:00.000Z

Cute, funny and great songs. Don't pay any attention to the knockers of Happy Feet 2...it's great.
Mrs W, Miss W and Miss W's fella joined me for the cartoon caper at Cineworld Nottingham today. We all loved it... and we're not kids!
Ok, the 3D is pretty rubbish (until the bubbles in the closing credits) but I felt less annoyed with it than I have with other films because of the beaming smile I had on my face by the end.
As you'd expect with any U certificate, the storyline is pretty basic...Mumble, his son Eric and his two pals have to try to rescue hundreds of Emperor penguins who have become marooned by an ice shift.
They get help from another penguin colony, a revered puffin, who has persuaded everyone he's a flying penguin, an elephant seal and two ambitious krill.
Aside of the great animation, there is also superb voice work from the likes of Robin Williams, Pink, Elijah Wood and terrific little Ava Acres, who gives Eric the aaaah factor.
The Krill provide the funniest moments, thanks to the comic chemistry (yes, I was surprised too) between Matt Damon and Brad Pitt (how do they get so many A-listers to do these films?).
Williams is as wonderfully bonkers as usual, playing two penguin roles, as the Latin romancer Ramon, and the portly Lovelace and Pink provides most of the notes.
It's all light-as-a-feather stuff but for under-10s and adults with a heart it provides super holiday entertainment.
If you haven't already, get ready to tap those feet.
Rating? 7.5/10
PS Having just read imdb's budget estimation, I have to admit that $130 million is more than a little obscene - but it looks like it will still make a profit!

595. Hannah And Her Sisters

2011-12-27T09:48:00.000Z

Three Oscars? Really?
Less than 24 hours after watching the sublime Zelig, I took in this week's other Woody Allen re-release, Hannah And Her Sisters.
Now, I know I've seen it before but I couldn't remember a single line.
And now I know why. With the exception of Allen's own role, it is full of the most irritating, self-consumed dullards.
Actually, let's be positive. Allen's portrayal of the hypochondriac TV executive is masterful. The dialogue and particularly his religious conversion are superbly witty.
But...by the end of Hannah And Her Sisters, I was only disappointed that a machine-gun toting madman hadn't been invited to their Thanksgiving dinner.
Michael Caine plays the whiniest character of his career. He has a perfect wife but is dissatisfied because of her perfection... and then becomes all teenager when he embarks on an illicit affair with his sister-in-law.
Barbara Hershey's Lee is just dithering and insipid. Even the passion of an affair doesn't spark interest in a character whose flame is meant to burn so brightly, she seduces her brother-in-law away from his happy marriage.
Then there is the Dianne Wiest's Holly. Doesn't she just drone on and on...all the way to an academy award.
Was 1986 such a bad year?
Caine and Wiest are two glorious actors but were their performances here really better than any other supporting actors or actresses? Caine, for one, has been far more stretched in dozens of movies.
Anyway, I get why the upper middle-class types who give out awards would be in love with this - it is, like many Allen films, about them.
For the rest of the world, despite its clever script, it just looks like a load of people who have nothing to moan about, moaning a lot.
Rating: 5/10.

594. Zelig

2011-12-26T22:33:00.000Z

What an unexpected pleasure.

The final film released in 2011 is a re-run of a Woody Allen classic which I'd never seen before.

Now, I reckon it might be my favourite Allen movie.

He was at the peak of his powers when he wrote, directed and starred in this curiosity about the man who changed personalities, and even what he looked like, depending on who he was with at the time.

But this is no ordinary movie. It is presented as a retrospective documnetary with interviews with real and fictitious people about the chameleon character, Leonard Zelig, who is presented as having a great notoriety in the 1920s and 30s.

Thus, Zelig is seen, Forest Gump-style, in black and white footage with great celebrities and even world leaders of the time.

It is quirky, original, witty and very funny in a way that Allen has struggled to be in recent years (although, Midnight In Paris was a return to form this year).

Allen's wife at the time, Mia Farrow, is his co-star in the film, playing a hospital doctor who believes she is the only one who can help him stop changing personalities.

The problem is that, while she may succeed, she has no idea about his past which certainly threatens to trip him up.

The cinematography in Zelig won Gordon Willis an Oscar and understandably so, considering how careful he and Allen were with the old newsreels and how Zelig appears on them seemlessly.

Apparently, they even added wrinkles to the footage to make them appear more realistic.

It's a technique which has been used widely since but, of course, this was a before widescale computer technology was used in films.

Anyway, I loved Zelig. It lasts only 74 minutes so if you get a chance this festive period it is well worth that small investement of time.

It is out on limited released from Friday.

I'm giving it 9/10.

593. Christian Brothers

2011-12-26T12:59:00.000Z

Back in March, I went to Cineworld in Birmingham to see this, the second biggest grossing Malayalam movie of all time.
There were no sub-titles. It wasn't altogether Cineworld's fault. The staff didn't know whether there were any so I took a chance and sat through the adverts and trailers before leaving.
Of course, I should have probably discounted it from my quest, like quite a few others of which I'm not sure whether they were screened with sub-titles.
But this is everyfilmin2011 and my aim on this blog is to have every UK release this year.
I won't make it in the calendar year but the archive remains.
Thus, I've got hold of a DVD version and watched all three hours of it today.
And, not withstanding the fact that it is way too long, Joshiy's film is high on entertainment and has an intriguing plot with a volley of twists and turns.
The story is a bit complex:
It surrounds a former army captain (Saikumar) whose family are split apart by his villainous son-in-law.
He frames one son (Mohanlal) for murder, kills a daughter and kidnaps the love of another son (Dileep). However, he covers up all of it and makes the captain believe he is the picture of innocence.
Corruption and love, two of the staples of Indian cinema, are the key ingredients of Christian Brothers.
The captain and his brother are paragons of honesty but this stance, in the face of local villains, bribed politicians and police, is dangerous.
Joshiy's film is part whodunnit, part revenge story.
Mohanlal is the key figure. And despite his drift into middle age and a spreading waistline, he makes a punchy action hero.
Belief in reality does have to be suspended from time to time, however, because he makes more unlikely escapes from tight squeaks than Harry Houdini.
There is romance but it plays a secondary role to the skullduggery. There are three songs, the first of which is particularly memorable.
I suppose the best thing I can say for Christian Brothers is that the time went quickly. And considering it was three hours long, that was an achievement.
Rating: 7/10

592. A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas

2011-12-25T10:58:00.000Z

Oh blimey. The last chance to see this 'stoner' comedy - it was 6.30pm on Christmas Eve.
But everyfilmin2011 never shirks a challenge and, besides anything else, Mrs W, surprisingly said she wanted to see this.
There is a premise about Harold (John Cho) and Kumar (Kal Penn) which I struggle to get over and it's this: I don't generally find jokes about drug taking very funny.
Don't think of me as being overly moralistic. I have my vices like the next person. But I struggle with this particular concept.
Thus, I found Pineapple Express, for example, a hateful movie. In similar vein, Harold and Kumar have never lit my candle.
Wait...there's a but coming.
BUT A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas has the best 3D in any movie since Tangled last January.
It is used to great comedy effect - it's a bit like being in the front row of a pantomime and fearing being drowned in gunk.
And while the plot is neither full of wit nor particularly endearing, there is one running joke, involving a fabulously cute baby, that despite my drug reservations, it is difficult not to laugh at.
The thrust is that Harold and Kumar have been estranged for a few years.
Harold is ensconced with his wife in their beautiful suburban home and Kumar is disappearing in a drug-fuelled haze after splitting up from his girlfriend.
Needless to say, however, they get together and embark on a Christmas Eve that is so psychedelic that, at one point, they turn into claymation figures.
It is a load of complete nonsense yet it was much better than I'd expected and it has to be admitted that Penn and Cho have chemistry.
It being the season to be jolly and I'll give it 6/10 with the reminder that the 3D is shockingly decent.

591. Don 2

2011-12-25T10:19:00.000Z

Finally. After months of watching the trailer with the killer line: "Don't call me sir, that's too honest. Call me Don,'' it's here.
So, Christmas Eve, and it was a packed screen 6 at Nottingham Cineworld (I swear there were five pushchairs and it was a 12A film with a considerable body count) and one of the biggest budget Indian films of the year.
And yet, in words, of one of everyfilmin2011's followers, Don 2 breaks the usual Bollywood rules.
There is only one song, there is little relationship drama and it is filmed almost entirely in the west.
My valued contributor, who is Indian and has a deep love of Bollywood, said it was soporific.
Yet, I, as a comparative novice of the genre and someone who has been conditioned in western-style films, rather enjoyed it.
Shah Rukh Kahn, Don's star, is one of my favourite Bollywood actors but I am starting to wonder if that is because he is more Holly than Bolly.
A couple of years ago, he was excellent in My Name Is Khan which was hailed as a big attempt to attract non-Asian audiences.
Here, he is a villain who is always one step ahead of the cops and his enemies.
His reputation means he is wanted in every country he has visited yet, deep down, he is desperate to be a free man.
Should we be cheering for him? Well, I certainly felt like I wanted to - despite feeling a bit guilty about it.
As said, I like Khan's style. He has a twinkle in the eye which draws the audience as he is outwitting his opponents.
Here he is supported by an all-star cast with former Miss World, Priyanka Chopra, as a strait-laced cop and ex-Miss Universe, Lara Dutta, as his moll.
The brilliant Om Puri is the chief police officer while Boman Irani is one of the chief villains.
The story essentially features Don's most audacious crime yet - the theft of Euro plates from a highly secure German bank.
It's clever in a Mission Impossible sort of way and there is a similar crash bang wallop of special effects.
There are, of course, still things about Bollywood films which are alien to me.
For example, why would the police call a villain by his chosen nickname? I can't imagine the bobbies in the UK calling an old lag 'Guvnor' but the detectives here seem happy to refer to Khan's character as Don (that means underworld head - as opposed to Donald).
I digress. To me, Don 2, was a pretty thrilling crime caper, while I understand, to Bollywood fans, it may not have ticked all of the boxes.
Nevertheless, I'm giving it 7/10.

590. Charlie Noades RIP

2011-12-24T14:11:00.000Z

At last! With a week to go of 2011, I have nailed a movie which I have been chasing the whole year.

Charlie Noades RIP showed only in Liverpool, for about three weeks in January and February but only now has it appeared on limited DVD release.

I must admit I had low expectations after finally picking it up through HMV's online store.

It has one of the lowest rankings on imdb (just 2.8) so I feared a turkey on Christmas Eve as well as tomorrow.

But, while it is a bit clunky in parts, it's certainly worth a better rating than that.

The movie's premise is that the family scrapyard business is on its knees and is about to be snatched by a local crook (John Henshaw) who has loaned its owner (John McArdle) money.

At the same time the owner's son (Neil Fitzmaurice - also its writer and co-producer) has discovered a tale of his grandad burying a stash of gold bars which have never been found.

If he can solve the riddle of the treasure the family's financial woes will be over.

Charlie Noades RIP is an offbeat comedy and stars a clutch of familiar TV faces. As well as McArdle and Henshaw, John Thomson, Dave Spikey and Suzanne Collins will be well known to viewers.

And there is an atmosphere of 'we're all in it together' because it is low-budget.

Thus, it is not the sharpest film of the year but there are several nice touches.

A character who is a super-shy Elvis impersonator who only says: "Ah uh uh,'' or "Thank you very much'' is one of its many quirks.

But overall it is a film which is endearing and mildly amusing as opposed to downright funny.

Thus, I'd give it 5/10. I will remember it more for the length of time it took me to see it than the movie itself.

589. Margaret

2011-12-23T18:37:00.002Z

How on earth did a director whose only other film was 11 years ago manage to persuade such a stellar cast to play bit roles in his new movie?
Matt Damon, Mark Ruffalo, Matthew Broderick, Allison Janney and Kieren Culkin all flit in and out of this intense drama.
But, of course, all the plaudits go to Anna Paquin for a devastating performance of a teenager who is is struggling to understand the world.
The poster rightly says the movie is 'from the director of You Can Count On Me' but it is a heck of a long time ago.
The good news is that Kenneth Lonergan has done a great job of Margaret which is spreading slowly around the UK after starting its run at a couple of cinemas in London.
Its down point, however, is that it is too damned long - two and a half hours.
So what is it all about?
Well, it is an incisive look into the world of a well-to-do, highly intelligent New York college girl.
Paquin plays Lisa, whose life has been destabilised by her parents' split-up.
She is struggling with relationships with both her teachers and college friends and with the direction of her life in general.
Thus, when something truly seismic happens it turns from a split-second tragedy into a life drama.
The incident is when she distracts a bus driver (Ruffalo) and he runs a red light before killing a woman (Janney).
Should Lisa tell the truth about what happened?
That dilemma and her consequent decision is the central plank of the movie.
Paquin's performance will certainly resonate with parents of teenagers who are going through a phase of being super stroppy without recognising how they are upsetting those around them..
Rating? 7.5/10
PS Why is it called Margaret. Answers on a postcard.

588. Beyond Time - William Turnbull

2011-12-23T18:13:00.001Z

To be honest, I've always poured scorn upon modern art.

And I guess the simple reason for that is that I have never understood it.

It would be simplistic of me to suggest that a 64-minute documentary had suddenly lifted the veil which my lack of imagination had drawn over it.

But Alex Turnbull's film about his father may literally have been a labour of love but it has demystified modern art more than any previous visit to a museum.

The biopic of the Scottish-born artist William, which was co-directed by Pete Stern, sheds light on his life and influences.

And, aside of the chronology, it offers opinion from a host of art world luminaries, on his work.

Just, as importantly, the man himself, nearing his 90s, gives insight too.

By the end, I was seeing beauty in one-colour paintings and, at least, understanding the thought processes behind the sort of stark sculpture he specialised in.

I'll own up - I still don't get his work in steel. It just looks like the sort of girders I used to see in the factory where I spent my teenage summer holidays, earning some much-needed cash.

I suspect few people who have had to sweat for a living at the side of a lathe or the like will find industrial installations particularly pretty.

Nevertheless, fans of art will find this a compelling documentary.

It outlines William Turnbull's life from 1922, when he was born, through his experiences as a 2nd World War RAF pilot to his times as an artist in London, Paris and New York.

It reveals how great artists of the day were not just admired by Turnbull but became his friends.

His membership of the influential Independent Group is also analysed as is the impact on his work of his first and second wives.

The commentary by Jude Law is clear and concise and the interviews reveal so much about the art world.

At one point, Lord McAlpine reveals how he bought a painting for £2,000 and it later sold for £22 million. The problem was he had already sold it for £4,000.

And he is someone who knows what he's doing!

So, thanks to everyfilmin2011, another knowledge gap has been slightly filled and, therefore, I would give Alex Turnbull's film 7/10.

After watching the movie, I was in correspondence with Alex Turnbull and asked him why he made it:

His reply was:

Because it needed to be made. Most art documentaries are full of so-called 'experts' telling us what the artist meant. Most are posthumous, so we rarely get the artist's perspective. Bill will never tell you what his art means but it was important for his story to be told. I actually mentioned it to Pete (Stern) because one evening I'd called Bill to tell him there was a South Bank show on Howard Hodgkins. Bill's only response was : "I f***ing' hate Howard Hodgkins.''

It seemed like the right thing to do.

587. Romantics Anonymous

2011-12-22T00:04:00.000Z

This is the most stress-free way of watching the movies.
A quick wander from work to Derby Quad, then a quick 78 minutes of French froth and frippery.
Not having to fret over car parking or having that decision whether to leave a lovely warm home to face the freezing cold.
Jean-Pierre Ameris's film is a little nugget. I needed the laughometer four times despite it being pretty much a one-joke movie.
Essentially, that gag is that the boss of a chocolate factory (Benoit Poelvoorde) and his new saleswoman (Isabelle Carre) are shy to the point of needing therapy.
Thus, when they fall for each other they can't express their feelings.
The giggles, therefore, surround the farce which surrounds their attempts to get it together.
Both have a fine feel for their roles which in Poelvoorde's case was particularly surprising because I had not long ago seen him as a bombastic customs officer in Nothing To Declare.
Carre also has a wispy comic timing which brightens up the screen.
And, to be honest, I've not got much more to say than that.
It's a pretty little picture which is a neat little-pick-me-up after a long day at work.
Its length made it feel like an aperatif but it was tasty, nevertheless.
Rating: 6.5/10

586. Happy Christmas

2011-12-21T23:29:00.000Z

It's the season to be jolly...unless you live in Cornwall, apparently.

I rather expected Mark Jenkin's low budget movie to be dripping in misery for an hour and then give a grandstanding peace-to-all-men finale in the style of It's A Wonderful Life.

No such luck. Not one of the parallel stories which make up the film ends with so much as a smile on the face.

Happy Christmas is described as a stark, lyrical portrait of a family in the festive season.

It is certainly stark but doesn't match any lyrics I have ever associated with this time of year.

The movie takes place over Christmas Eve and is set in Penzance, where is has been appearing on the big screen this week.

It paints the picture of a relatively quaint coastal town and misty landscapes nearby.

But this is no pretty picture. Instead, I was left with a feeling of grimness.

The plot thread surrounds a family matriarch who is expecting her children around for Christmas Day.

It then explores their messed up lives.

Her youngest son catches the train home from London but is mulling over whether he can face his family on account of his troubled past.

Another son, clearly off the rails following a marriage break-up, tries to burst into his estranged wife's home, while dressed as Santa, in an attempt to deliver his kids' presents.

Their sister has some hard talking with her new husband when her ex turns up with their daughter.

Basically, everyone has fallen out and there isn't much sign of kissing and making up.

In the meantime, the matriarch makes a discovery which puts all the other misery firmly into perspective.

Happy Christmas is depressing and slow. Thank goodness I watched a bit of Morecambe And Wise tonight - they gave me a glow about December 25 that this movie failed to extinguish.

Rating? 4/10