Looking like a dishevelled British rocker badly hung-over from an all night bender, Mark Butler seems like the kind of guy who would sooner consider calculus to be a comic book superhero than a mathematical theorem. It turns out, however, that before he became a talented comedian and an Adelaide Fringe regular, he spent four years as a maths teacher in the UK. So why the drastic change in career? If his entertaining debut play Rogue Teacher has any truth to it, Butler’s morals are far better suited to the stage than they are the classroom.

Adapted from Butler’s novel ‘A Playground for Disobedient Dinosaurs’, this semi-serious play focuses on Red Thomas (Butler), a crooked maths teacher who takes advantage of his students, and more scandalously, their teenage girlfriends. The result is a diverting classroom drama that is both capably performed and thoughtfully written, in spite of a few issues with pacing and a desperate need for a more suitable venue.

Butler, partly putting aside his knack for comedy, avoids trivialising events by not overdoing the humour, instead subtly infusing hints of wit to make the serious issues at hand more palatable. The show has been written specifically for this Fringe, meaning it’s packed full of references to Adelaide locations, such as St Peters College where most of the events transpire. It’s a nice touch as it helps the audience better envisage the locations outside of the main classroom setting, especially since the only props on the small stage are a desk and blackboard.

He claims to have never acted before, yet Butler’s subtly nuanced performance as Red is standout, the flippancy of his character being both credibly depicted and strangely endearing. The small supporting cast – including Aaron Nash as a hot-headed student, Alicia Case as his promiscuous girlfriend and Alex Cheers as a naive and self-absorbed sports teacher – all perform well, despite the occasional slip-up in what was their second performance to date. Look out for Gary Heartly as the school’s high achieving principal and Robyn Brooks as a student’s overtly suggestive mother; both are scene stealers in their all-too-brief roles.

The show is playing at the Producers Bar inside the Electric Light Hotel, a grungy venue on Grenfell Street that is far better suited to moshable music gigs than sit-down stage shows. On top of the theatre entrance being obscurely located within the main bar, the seating is severely limited (some were forced to stand up) and the heat was almost unbearable as the sole air conditioner ceased to operate. Such unacceptably high temperatures took their toll on the cast, who clearly started to run out of energy by the hour mark, while the audience grew restless in their seats. It wasn’t long before programmes became personal fans.

Ultimately, those hoping for a joke-a-minute might want to consider enrolling elsewhere, as the balance of comedy and drama in Rogue Teacher is definitely in favour of the latter. But if you’re keen for a dramatic lesson in concepts such as chaos theory – which suggests even the smallest of actions can have a life changing effect – you’d be wise not to wag this one.

[Review originally written for Buzzcuts]

Presented by Mark Butler/Alex Cheers
Electric Light Hotel, 235 Grenfell St
February 20 – March 6 (excl. Feb 21-25 & 28; Mar 1-3)

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Read many more great Fringe reviews at the Buzzcuts website!

The Adelaide Fringe Festival runs from the 19th February – 14th March. Check out the program guide and buy tickets online at www.adelaidefringe.com.au

Something unexpected happened around the half hour mark of the ho-hum romantic drama Remember Me. No, the film didn’t start to improve. Don’t be silly.  Rather, I realised that leading man Robert Pattinson – or RPattz as his legions of adoring Twilight fans call him – was in the middle of doing something many critics said he wasn’t capable of. Yes, he was acting. And doing a pretty darn good job of it too.

However, aside from allowing Pattinson a chance to flex his acting chops, Remember Me isn’t good for much else. It sits awkwardly between the heavy drama and teen romance genres, and much like a misunderstood teenager, it isn’t sure where it belongs, ultimately alienating itself from both.

With an uncanny resemblance to James Dean, Pattinson portrays angst-ridden Tyler Hawkins, a 21-year-old Brooklyn boy with daddy issues. Still cut from by the loss of his older brother years before, Tyler channels his anger toward his father Charles (Pierce Brosnan), a successful businessman who places family a distant second. After a clash with a jaded police detective (Chris Cooper) lands him in jail for the night, Tyler’s best friend Aidan (Tate Ellington) suggests he enact his revenge by wooing the officer’s daughter Ally (Emilie de Ravin). However, the two find comfort in each other’s company and eventually fall in love, causing Tyler to bury the truth behind their supposed ‘chance’ encounter.

As implied by the film’s tag-line ‘Live Life in the Moment’, screenwriter Will Fetters has scribed a story about appreciating the little things. That’s fine, but did those little things all have to be this mundane?  While the dialogue flows naturally, most of the drama in Remember Me lacks any real weight of consequence, haphazardly strung together by director Allen Coulter (Hollywoodland) without much consideration for dramatic tension. If it wasn’t for Marcelo Zarvos’ poignant score, I wouldn’t have known at any given time what emotion I was supposed to be feeling.

With Remember Me predominantly appealing to starry-eyed teenage girls, it doesn’t help that the romance between Tyler and Ally is criminally underwritten. The two barely get a chance to share sob stories before they’re in each other’s pants. I guess when you’re the adored star of Twilight, girls don’t put up much of a fight. Nevertheless,  the credibility of their relationship suffers as a result, which seems more interested in giving Pattinson and De Ravin an excuse to show off some skin than develop in any kind of meaningful way.

De Ravin, let down by the two dimensional nature of her character, leaves little impression as Ally, which is a shame because the 28-year-old Lost star has talent. With a far meatier role, Pattinson crafts a likable character out of Tyler, handling each emotional shift far more convincingly than he ever did as Edward in Twilight. He goes head to head with acting veterans Chris Cooper and Pierce Brosnan and surprisingly comes out on top, proving he’s more than just a pretty face. In fact, the only time he is truly outshone is during his scenes with the tremendously talented 11-year-old actress Ruby Jerins, who plays Tyler’s younger sister Caroline. Their touching relationship is easily the highlight of an otherwise unremarkable film.

And that’s the cruel irony here; Remember Me is totally forgettable. It knows it, too. That’s why it features a shock ending that arrives like a sharp stab in the back, a desperate act to bleed emotion out of the audience in the most shameless of ways.  If it is to be remembered, it’ll be for all the wrong reasons.

You would be forgiven for expecting a lot of sharp comedy from Grant Heslov’s The Men Who Stare at Goats. The plot contains an interesting mix of elements that should act as seeds for engaging, thematic humour. Unfortunately, the film restricts itself to a few moments of hilarity, leaving the rest of the story to become ‘quirky’ and rather average. It is by no means bad, of course, but rather a case of what ‘could have been’ that becomes the disappointment in the end.

When reporter Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) loses his wife to her lover, a man with one arm, he is forced to re-evaluate his life. Determined to make something of himself, Wilton travels to the Middle East to write on the current Iraq war in hopes of gaining some journalistic integrity. In an attempt to cross the Kuwait/Iraq border he meets Lyn Cassady (George Clooney) who convinces Wilton that he is part of a psychic arm of the US military. The desperate Wilton believes Cassady’s story, which includes a ludicrous description of soldiers as “Jedi’s” and their ability to kill goats by staring at them. It soon becomes apparent that the previous commander of this psychic division, Bill Django (Jeff Bridges), has disappeared and Lyn Cassady is on a mission to find him.

The film follows Bob and Lyn as they traverse war ridden Iraq in search of Django. This is mixed with sequences detailing the creation of the psychic division (known as the New Earth Army) and Django’s involvement. Overall, this works well to maintain variety, but the scenes with Clooney and McGregor are significantly more entertaining and leave you wanting less back story.

The Men Who Stare at Goats builds up well, but falls short during the final act. There are several moments in the film where the audience is left to question the validity of Lyn Cassady’s psychic power. These moments build up our expectations of discovering whether the New Earth Army is truly paranormal, or a complete sham – either outcome would be rewarding. Unfortunately this ends in disappointment, as the film doesn’t submit itself to either during the climax. This may be because the story is supposedly based on true events, but guessing which parts of the film are embellished (for comic/artistic license) and which are factual isn’t nearly as enjoyable as receiving a definitive answer. Leaving the audience uncertain can be disappointing for fiction; it sometimes works – but not here. A documentary on the true story would have been more acceptable and engaging, regarding this.

If you can overcome the disappointing climax (which also relishes in silliness instead of sharp humour) you can enjoy The Men Who Stare at Goats as a decent comedy. George Clooney exudes confidence as Cassady, who exasperates Ewan McGregor’s character frequently with his unquestionable reliance on psychic ability. Their dynamic is quite enjoyable to watch and the humour is varied and unpredictable. There is a sense of uncontrollable adventure following these two characters, who find themselves in some deliciously hairy situations. One scene in particular satirises the role of private contractors in war perfectly. If only more of this unpredictable, intelligent and topical comedy had pervaded the other half of the quirky storyline.

Unfortunately the scenes depicting Bill Django’s involvement in the New Earth Army aren’t nearly as good. Watching a group of US soldiers become hippies, taking drugs and dancing feels like a cheap shot at humour. Even Kevin Spacey’s presence as Larry Hooper, the antagonist, feels weak and single layered. Luckily it isn’t all about these characters.

There are some great moments in The Men Who Stare at Goats and those who are looking to be distracted with some light entertainment will find it worth the price of admission. However, the potential for comedy, in what reads as an incredible synopsis, falls short. Themes of superstition and cults mixed with war and politics are not comically explored as they could have been. It’s a letdown in this respect, but I admit that relies heavily on expectations. Don’t expect anything too multi-faceted and you should have a fairly enjoyable 90 minutes at the cinema.

Each time this year, the Fringe Festival hits little old Adelaide in an explosion of art and culture, engulfing the city of churches in a lively bohemian atmosphere. The festival sees live performers from all over the world come to flaunt their stuff, be it comedy, dance, music or theatre. I’ll be emerging from the dark depths of the cinema to catch some of the shows on offer, reviewing them for a great site called Buzzcuts.

Here is an excerpt from my review of Mada vs. Vegas, courtesy of Buzzcuts:

Magic meets melodrama in Mada vs. Vegas, but they don’t exactly hit it off.

You’ll already be familiar with the premise of the show if you’ve seen the 2006 film ‘The Prestige’: two rivalling magicians – who were long-time friends prior to a trick going horribly wrong – take to a smoky stage in a battle of wits, card tricks and pyrotechnics.

The idea is certainly novel – not often does stage magic get dealt a narrative – but the execution is lacking. The theatrics of their conflict are considerably underplayed, with the back story explaining why the two became rivals reduced to an offhand remark. Perhaps we could have seen the performance that started the feud?

Their greatest adversary here is time, not each other. An hour isn’t nearly long enough to adequately balance magic and drama, forcing a compromise to be reached. As a result, we get two magicians occasionally casting each other moody glances, trying to outdo one another by way of the more elaborate examples of pub magic.

There’s no questioning the talent of these Sydney illusionists, both being experts at sleight of hand and the performance of the illusion itself. But aside from a particularly daring opening trick (with a very real risk of injury), there’s nothing terribly elaborate here. Nothing you couldn’t see performed, say, by a skilled busker in the mall.

The high level of audience participation keeps everyone on their toes, but it works counteractive to the dramatic tension they’re trying to build. The show is at its best during the last act where the two don’t break the fourth wall, thereby allowing full immersion in their characters. Like something out of Mad Magazine’s comic ‘Spy vs. Spy’, both magicians resort to dirty tactics to get ahead, playing tricks on each other and not just the audience. It makes for an amusing dramatic spectacle and offers a brief glimpse of the show’s true potential.

So who is ultimately crowned top dog? Neither Mada nor Vegas in my book, but rather their accompanying magician Julia Madotti, who enthrals between each act with a magic-infused dance routine. As one of few female illusionists in Australia, she shows the boys how it’s done.

Read many more great Fringe reviews at the Buzzcuts website!

The Adelaide Fringe Festival runs from the 19th February – 14th March. Check out the program guide and buy tickets online at www.adelaidefringe.com.au

Alice in Wonderland is the result of Disney inviting director Tim Burton, a certified specialist in cinematic lunacy, and author Lewis Carroll, the pioneer of literary nonsense, to the same tea party. In other words, it’s the closest you’ll get to absolute madness without being locked in a room with padded walls. But being bonkers isn’t so bad. As Alice’s father remarks, “all the best people are.”

As the first ‘big’ family movie of 2010, Disney/Burton’s reimagining of Carroll’s classic tale almost lives up to some lofty expectations, remaining a wondrous piece of escapism despite some narrative shortcomings. It’s more of a sequel than a remake, with Alice (Mia Wasikowska), now 20 years old, falling back down the rabbit hole for the second time.

Or so the White Rabbit, still running late as ever, seems to think. He’s convinced that she is the same Alice who visited years before, but as she recalls, it was only a vivid dream.  He’s also having a hard time convincing his wacky companions, such as bulbous twins Tweedledum and Tweedledee (each voiced by Matt Lucas); a small but feisty Doormouse (Barbara Windsor); a cynical but wise caterpillar (Alan Rickman) and, of course, the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp),   whose tea parties have been spoilt by the wicked Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter) and her destructive rule over the kingdom.

Cherry picking concepts and characters from Carroll’s books, Linda Woolverton’s screenplay has plenty of peculiar wit to chortle at, in spite of a narrative that seems a tad undercooked. It doesn’t start that way; the framing story is both clever and amusing – Alice’s visit to Wonderland takes place during her own engagement party for a predetermined marriage she’s not exactly chuffed about – but before long,  the plot  starts to smell a lot like one of Disney’s previous ventures, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. It doesn’t help that fate is the key component to Wolverton’s story, adding to the predictability of events given they’re foretold to us early on, causing the CGI heavy climactic battle to underwhelm when it does inevitably arrive.

But notwithstanding the ho-hum narrative, the delightful characters and dazzling setting is more than enough to make this a joyous trip to the cinema. Burton is a true visionary, who doesn’t just vividly create surreal settings, but proceeds to dance his way through them with childlike vitality. Eye-popping 3D effects provide the rabbit hole with much more depth than before, the creature designs and animations – from the devious Cheshire Cat (Stephen Fry) to the utterly lovable bass hound Bayard (Timothy Spall) —  being particularly excellent. Comparisons to Avatar are to be expected, and indeed valid, as James Cameron has set a lofty benchmark for digital imagery. While Underland isn’t quite as lush or photorealistic as the moon of Pandora, it’s still beautiful place to visit with all its endearing eccentricity. In a way, it’s a bit like watching Avatar while high on opium.

Sitting somewhere between Saoirse Ronan of The Lovely Bones and Cate Blanchett in age and looks, pale Australian beauty Mia Wasikowska is perfectly cast as Alice, full of wide eyed wonder and compelling determination. Burton’s leading man Johnny Depp is up to his usual tricks, mixing up some of his most memorable personas to become the Mad Hatter. He bears the quirky disposition of Willy Wonka, with the tender insecurities of Edward Scissorhands and the occasional, near uncontrollable burst of Jack Sparrow zing. Maybe it’s just me, but you just want to give him a big hug every time he appears on screen, even though there’s a good chance he’ll try and nibble on your ear if you do.

Rounding out the impressive cast, Little Britain’s Matt Lucas provides solid comic relief as the Tweedle twins, while Burton’s partner Helena Bonham Carter – barely recognisable behind her digitally enlarged head and marvellous make up – makes being evil look more fun than it should. Perhaps it’s because the righteous alternative is made out to be so dull, the result of Anne Hathaway being both miscast and misdirected as overly mannered White Queen.

This is a Disney film, so it’s obviously not one of Burton’s darkest moments, but there are still a few gloomy scenes — such as floating, decapitated heads being used as stepping stones — that could frighten youngsters. Otherwise, they’ll be having a ball.  Adults, there’s plenty here for you too. Take, for instance, the Mad Hatters self-professed ability at the suspiciously suggestive “funderwhack” dance.

There’s sure to be ladies everywhere queuing up to see Depp perform that in 3D.

With the 82nd Academy Awards ceremony just under two weeks away, the movie blogging community is going rabid with their predictions. Here at Cut Print Review, however, we’ve kept quiet on the subject, as down here in Australia many of the Oscar nominated films don’t see the light of day until the weeks leading up to the ceremony, and often,  long after it has passed. Now that I’ve had a chance to see most of the films nominated, I thought it was about time to chime in with my predictions.

Unlike last year, where Slumdog Millionaire was a far and away the favourite across the board, there’s a tad more ambiguity surrounding some of the chief categories, particularly for Best Picture. Some argue that this is a result of the Academy’s decision to increase the best picture field from five to ten nominees. I disagree. If you ask me, all that’s done is give five pictures – District 9, The Blind Side, Up, An Education and Precious – a false sense of hope. The remaining five, however, are all in with a chance. But as much as I’d like to see Up in the Air or Inglourious Basterds take the Oscar, the last few weeks have seen two favourites emerge: Avatar and The Hurt Locker.

My prediction is that The Hurt Locker will edge out Avatar for two reasons. Firstly, because I really don’t think Avatar, although highly entertaining, is best picture material. Secondly, because it’s incredibly rare for the Best Picture winner to be different to the Best Director winner. Since Kathryn Bigelow is practically a shoo-in for the director statuette – Jim Cameron has had his day as King and it’s about time a woman director won — one would therefore assume her film would also pick up Best Picture. Wouldn’t it be great if during her acceptance speech Kathryn said “I’m the Queen of the world!” just to really rub it in.

As for the Best Actor category, I’m not convinced there is a clear cut winner like many suggest. Jeff Bridges of Crazy Heart is often cited as the favourite, but I feel that because he appears in a movie that isn’t nearly as good as his performance, he tends to come out looking better by comparison. George Clooney on the other hand appears in a fantastic movie and still manages to shine, which to me makes his performance all the more commendable. I wouldn’t rule out Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker) or Colin Firth (A Single Man) either, Renner entirely possible for the upset. But I’m going with Clooney.

Best Actress? I honestly haven’t the foggiest. One thing I can say for certain is that I do not want Meryl Streep to win. Not only did I find her performance in Julie & Julia irritating, the actress has Oscars practically for earrings. Same goes for you, Helen Mirren. I say give it to one of the newbies, preferably Carey Mulligan over Gabourey Sidibe. Say what you like, but I’m still not convinced Sidbe’s performance is all that good in Precious. Chances are though Sandra Bullock will win gold for The Blind Side, purely because the Academy felt sorry that she was involved in the disaster that was All About Steve (which our reviewer Katina went against the grain to give a lukewarm review).

Far more predictable are the supporting actor/actress categories; I wouldn’t be surprised if Mo’Nique (Precious) and Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds) had already cleared a space out in their trophy cabinets. While I’m secretly rooting for Anna Kendrick of Up in the Air and Stanley Tucci of The Lovely Bones, it’d be a huge upset if Mo’Nique or Waltz lost.

In the best Animated Feature category, I’d almost be willing to bet my left testicle that Up will win. Since the Pixar film was also nominated for Best Picture, surely that would mean it is guaranteed to win Best Animated, right? It just seems so logical. (By the way, I’m still devastated Adam Elliot’s clay-animated masterpiece Mary and Max didn’t make the nominees, as with the insanely entertaining Cloudy with A Chance of Meatballs).

As for all the other categories, I suspect most of the technical awards will head the way of Avatar (and rightfully so) and art/design awards will be fought between The Young Victoria, Sherlock Holmes and Nine.

Below is a full list of nominees for the 82nd Academy Awards:
My predicted winners are listed in blue, however the nominees I’d like to win (however improbable) are listed in green.

Best Picture:

“Avatar”

“The Blind Side”

“District 9″

“An Education”

“The Hurt Locker”

“Inglourious Basterds”

“Precious: Based on the Novel PUSH by Sapphire”

“A Serious Man”

“Up”

“Up in the Air”

Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role:

Morgan Freeman – “Invictus”

Jeff Bridges – “Crazy Heart”

George Clooney – “Up in the Air”

Colin Firth – “A Single Man”

Jeremy Renner – “The Hurt Locker”

Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role:

Meryl Streep – “Julie & Julia”

Sandra Bullock – “The Blind Side”

Helen Mirren – “The Last Station”

Gabourey Sidibe – “Precious: Based on the Novel PUSH by Sapphire”

Carey Mulligan – “An Education”

Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role:

Christoph Waltz - “Inglourious Basterds”

Christopher Plummer – “The Last Station”

Matt Damon – “Invictus”

Stanley Tucci – “The Lovely Bones”

Woody Harrelson – “The Messengers”

Performance by Actress in a Supporting Role:

Penelope Cruz – “Nine”

Vera Farmiga – “Up in the Air”

Maggie Gyllenhaal – “Crazy Heart”

Anna Kendrick – “Up in the Air”

Mo’Nique – “Precious: Based on the Novel PUSH by Sapphire”

Achievement in Directing:

James Cameron – “Avatar”

Kathryn Bigelow – “The Hurt Locker”

Quentin Tarantino – “Inglourious Basterds”

Jason Reitman – “Up in the Air”

Lee Daniels – “Precious: Based on the Novel PUSH by Sapphire”

Adapted Screenplay:

“District 9″ by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell

“An Education” by Nick Hornby

“Precious: Based on the Novel PUSH by Sapphire” by Geoffrey Fletcher

“Up in the Air” by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner

“In the Loop” by Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Ian Martin and Tony Roche

Original Screenplay:

“The Hurt Locker” by Mark Boal

“Inglourious Basterds” by Quentin Tarantino

“A Serious Man” by Joel and Ethan Coen

“Up” by Pete Docter and Bob Petersen

“The Messenger” by Alessandro Camon and Oren Moverman

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year:

“Up” – Pete Docter and Bob Peterson

“The Princess and the Frog” – Ron Clements and John Musker

“Coraline” – Henry Selick

“The Fantastic Mr Fox” – Wes Anderson

“The Secret of Kells” – Tomm Moore

Best Documentary Feature:

“Burma VJ” – Anders Ostergaard and Lise Lense-Moller

“The Cove” – Nominees to be determined

“Food, Inc.” – Robert Kenner and Elise Pearlstein

“The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers” – Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith

“Which Way Home” – Rebecca Cammisa

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year:

“Ajami” – Scandar Copti and Yaron Shani, Israel

“A Prophet” – Jacques Audiard, France

“The Secret of Her Eyes” – Juan Jose Campanella, Argentina

“The White Ribbon” – Michael Haneke, Germany

“The Milk of Sorrow” – Claudia Llosa, Peru

Achievement in Art Direction:

“Avatar” – Art Direction: Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg; Set Decoration: Kim Sinclair

“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” – Art Direction: Dave Warren and Anastasia Masaro; Set Decoration: Caroline Smith

“Nine” – Art Direction: John Myhre; Set Decoration: Gordon Sim

“Sherlock Holmes” – Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer

“The Young Victoria” – Art Direction: Patrice Vermette; Set Decoration: Maggie Gray

Achievement in Cinematography:

“Avatar” – Mauro Fiore

“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” – Bruno Delbonnel

“The Hurt Locker” – Barry Ackroyd

“Inglourious Basterds” – Robert Richardson

“The White Ribbon” – Christian Berger

Achievement in Costume Design:

“Bright Star” – Janet Patterson

“Coco Before Chanel” – Catherine Leterrier

“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” – Monique Prudhomme

“Nine” – Colleen Atwood

“The Young Victoria” – Sandy Powell

Achievement in Film Editing:

“Avatar” – Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua and James Cameron

“District 9″ – Julian Clarke

“The Hurt Locker” – Bob Murawski and Chris Innis

“Inglourious Basterds” – Sally Menke

“Precious: Based on the Novel PUSH by Sapphire” – Joe Klotz

Achievement in Makeup:

“Il Divo” – Aldo Signoretti and Vittorio Sodano

“Star Trek” – Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow

“The Young Victoria” - Jon Henry Gordon and Jenny Shircore

Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Score):

“Avatar” – James Horner

“Fantastic Mr. Fox” – Alexandre Desplat

“The Hurt Locker” – Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders

“Sherlock Holmes” – Hans Zimmer

“Up” – Michael Giacchino

Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Song):

“Almost There” from “The Princess and the Frog” – Music and Lyric by Randy Newman

“Down in New Orleans” from “The Princess and the Frog” – Music and Lyric by Randy Newman

“Loin de Paname” from “Paris 36″ – Music by Reinhardt Wagner Lyric by Frank Thomas

“Take It All” from “Nine” – Music and Lyric by Maury Yeston

“The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)” from “Crazy Heart” – Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T-Bone Burnett

Achievement in Sound Editing:

“Avatar” – Christopher Boyes and Gwendolyn Yates Whittle

“The Hurt Locker” – Paul N.J. Ottosson

“Inglourious Basterds” – Wylie Stateman

“Star Trek” – Mark Stoeckinger and Alan Rankin

“Up” – Michael Silvers and Tom Myers

Achievement in Sound Mixing:

“Avatar” – Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson and Tony Johnson

“The Hurt Locker” – Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett

“Inglourious Basterds” – Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti and Mark Ulano

“Star Trek” – Anna Behlmer, Andy Nelson and Peter J. Devlin

“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” – Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers and Geoffrey Patterson

Achievement in Visual Effects:

“Avatar” – Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R. Jones

“District 9″ – Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros and Matt Aitken

“Star Trek” – Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh and Burt Dalton

Best Documentary Short Subject:

“China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province” – Jon Alpert and Matthew O’Neill

“The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner” – Daniel Junge and Henry Ansbacher

“The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant” – Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert

“Music by Prudence” – Roger Ross Williams and Elinor Burkett

“Rabbit a la Berlin” – Bartek Konopka and Anna Wydra

Best Animated Short Film:

“French Roast” – Fabrice O. Joubert

“Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty” – Nicky Phelan and Darragh O’Connell

“The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)” – Javier Recio Gracia

“Logorama” – Nicolas Schmerkin

“A Matter of Loaf and Death” – Nick Park

Best Live Action Short Film:

“The Door” – Juanita Wilson and James Flynn

“Instead of Abracadabra” – Patrik Eklund and Mathias Fjellstrom

“Kavi” – Gregg Helvey

“Miracle Fish” – Luke Doolan and Drew Bailey

“The New Tenants” – Joachim Back and Tivi Magnusson

Who are your picks for the Oscars? Leave a comment below.

I may be going out on a limb here, but if the Coen brothes recent gem A Serious Man was a lot more, well, serious and the religious themes were replaced with homosexual ones, then the result might look something like A Single Man. Look closely and the two films share more than just a similar name; both are set in 1960s America and concern a College Professor trying to find clarity in their lives after they’ve each been given a royal shake-up. And both are driven by the masterful performances of their respective leads, which in the case of A Single Man is British idol Colin Firth, who has leapt out from Hugh Grant’s rom-com shadow to deliver his most earnest and refined performance to date. For good reason, Firth is in the running to be the third actor in five years to win the best actor Oscar for portraying a gay man, the previous winners being Sean Penn in 2008 for his role in Milk and Philip Seymour Hoffman in 2005 for his role in Capote.

But there’s a lot more to like about A Single Man than Firth’s performance. As the feature debut of fashion designer Tom Ford — who scraped the top off his millions to fund the film himself — there is a sophisticated style to the composition of this film that makes it quite simply beautiful to behold. First off, Ford has delicately retouched Christopher Isherwood’s acclaimed novel of the same name to lend it more cinematic tension, framing the protagonist George (Firth) as suicidal rather than just broken-hearted.

George’s depression is a result of the sudden death of his partner of 16 years, Jim (Matthew Goode) in a car accident. Unable to overcome his grief, George commits himself to one last miserable day on Earth before he plans to end his own life later that night. But as the day progresses, fleeting moments of clarity and colour manage to seep their way into George’s life through various encounters; an enamoured young student Kenny (Skins star Nicholas Hoult) looking to explore his sexuality, a Spanish hustler looking for a one-off fling and George’s best friend and ex-lover Charley (Julianne Moore) looking to snuggle up to something that’s not a bottle of gin. George, all the while, cannot stray his mind from his beloved Jim, recounting the fondest, and most distressing, memories of their relationship through vivid flashbacks.

Immaculately dressed in tailored suit designed by Arianne Phillips and made in Ford’s menswear factory, Firth looks every bit the part as George, making it understandable why everyone he meets wants a piece of him. Yet it’s the thoughtfulness of his character, and the delicacies of Firth’s layered performance, that makes him so charming to the audience, even with his constant state of misery. In support, Moore and Hoult both showcase their talent in their individual scenes, the former adding a touch of humour by playing a drunk eccentric while the latter charming the screen with his boyish good looks. The focus, however, never strays away from Firth.

Through the lens of cinematographer Eduard Grau, Ford milks significance out of every moment in George’s day, frequently using slow motion tracking shots and lingering extreme close-ups of the smallest of details. The sound is just as immersive, slowing down with the visuals so that each tick, clamour and whoosh rings throughout the cinema.  It’s a deeply aural and visual experience — reminiscent of Sam Mendes’ brilliant feature debut American Beauty –  that benefits immensely from being seen on the big screen.

Yet the fastidious, highly stylised nature of A Single Man can also be its greatest flaw. The film is so methodically structured that (almost) every plot development can be seen coming well before it does, which coupled with the limitless number of slow motion shots, can make the film feel sluggishly paced. There is also a odd cinematic trick used whenever George senses a moment of joy, where the drab hues swiftly blossom with saturated colour before reverting back again. It’s an interesting technique, but due to its blatancy, it’s also a distracting one.

For the most part, however, A Single Man is a subtle, sophisticated and heart-rendering portrait of the love lost between two men, while in wider context – this is certainly not a uniquely gay story – it’s a film that explores our fears of growing old and being not just alone, but without happiness.

Thanks to Ford’s acute sense of style, such sobering themes have never looked so good.

Each time this year, the Fringe Festival hits little old Adelaide in an explosion of art and culture, engulfing the city of churches in a lively bohemian atmosphere. The festival sees live performers from all over the world come to flaunt their stuff, be it comedy, dance, music or theatre. I’ll be emerging from the dark depths of the cinema to catch some of the shows on offer, reviewing them for a great site called Buzzcuts.

Here is an excerpt from my review of  Jason Chong’s Reel Life:

Packed with channels of high-definition humour and guaranteed to receive a great reception at this year’s Fringe Festival, Jason Chong’s Reel Life is the digital upgrade to analogue comedy.

He may be a bit of a techno geek, but it’s hard not to be charmed by the talented young Adelaide comedian – who proudly bears a shirt that confesses his love for his parents – as he cleverly interacts with a digitized universe being projected onto a three metre wide display situated onstage.

The show unassumingly kicks off with a typical stand-up routine, but before Chong can reach any sort of punch line, he is interrupted on-screen by the much reviled Paperclip help feature from Microsoft Office. Does the winner of 2009s Adelaide Comedian of the Year need help telling a joke? Certainly not.

Things go from funny to slap-the-skin-off-your-knees hilarious as Chong must put his routine on hold after his shoulder devil is accidently let loose within the digital world projected behind him. The imagination soars as we’re taken on a madcap journey through a collection of pop-culture sight and sound gags – from Super Mario to Star Wars – where Chong sets out to bring an end to his evil alter ego’s reign of terror. [...]

Read the rest of the review, plus many more great Fringe reviews, here!

The Adelaide Fringe Festival runs from the 19th February – 14th March. Check out the program guide and buy tickets online at www.adelaidefringe.com.au

Magic is a fascinating art form because it plays with our need to discover the illusion, whilst feeding our desire for it to be real supernatural power. Neil Burger’s The Illusionist takes this desire and runs with it, constructing a world where the audience is asked to question whether events in the film are mystical or trickery. The same technique was used in Christopher Nolan’s thriller The Prestige with great success. Unfortunately, The Illusionist provides a less stimulating experience, falling short of the rewarding turn of events in Nolan’s film. However, Burger’s movie still executes an intriguing plot with a decent cast and a strong visual and aural atmosphere.

Eisenheim the Illusionist (Edward Norton) is a successful performer in Vienna at the dawn of the 20^th century. His popularity garners the interest of the Crown Prince Leopold (Rufus Sewell), who attends one of Eisenheim’s shows and volunteers his date, Sophie (Jessica Biel) for the final magic act. Eisenheim discovers Sophie was his childhood sweetheart, a relationship disallowed by their difference of class. Eisenheim and Sophie’s romance reignites and they begin to disrupt the plans of Prince Leopold, who needs to marry Sophie as part of a plan to overthrow his father, the Emperor in an attempt to introduce a new form of government. Paul Giamatti plays Inspector Uhl, who is ordered by Leopold to discover Eisenheim’s the secrets and stop him interfering with his plan.

The performances overall are engaging, Norton and Giamatti evoke calm and deliberate characters, although it would have been nice to see a little more intensity between the two. Jessica Beil is very complimenting as Sophia and Rufus Sewell shines as the frustrated, violent and yet intellectual Prince. He is an unlikely antagonist, carrying ideas of fair government and rational thought – an interesting adversary to Eisenheim, who lives off mysticism, illusions and suspension of logic.

Overpowering the performances is the visual style of the film, the use of a strong tungsten filter and moody dark vignetting pervades most scenes, which partly detracts from any sense of realism and thrill. It feels calmer to watch though, especially with the slower movement of the camera and less erratic cutting of many modern pictures. Whether this style is too slow or relaxing will depend on the mood of the viewer, it certainly has the ability to go both ways for each individual.

The sound design compliments the visual style well. The overall feel would have been atrocious if there was a busy soundtrack, and luckily there isn’t. A downplayed sound mix with excellent brooding music by composer Philip Glass is a treat. Fans of Glass will not be disappointed by this score.

Unfortunately comparisons to The Prestige are going to haunt this film, and vice versa. The topic and mechanics of the stories are too similar. There are fewer thrills in The Illusionist and it maintains a slower pace. The magic tricks are based more in fantasy than The Prestige, some are even performed through obvious computer generated visual effects. The conflict between the characters is also less complicated and intense. Therefore Neil Burger’s film is a lot easier for the audience to follow, although the end portion of the film may be too abrupt for some.

For those of you who haven’t seen either picture, The Illusionist is still worth a watch. Food for thought and debate will certainly come from this movie – something any viewer should want out of a mystery.

Think of Shutter Island — the much anticipated mystery/thriller from movie master Martin Scorsese (Raging Bull, The Departed) — as the act of a master stage magician slightly past his prime.  His production values are top notch, and the performances of his stage hands make for great diversions, but his technique isn’t as refined as it used to be.  His sleight of hand isn’t so ‘slight’ anymore. We therefore catch him in the act of deception, and before he has time to finish the trick, we’ve sussed it all out.

But the magic isn’t lost. Against all odds, Shutter Island remains a good, borderline great, film purely because Scorsese still knows how to put on one hell of a show. The visual grandeur, pitch-perfect tenor and captivating performances is more than enough to keep the film in sailable waters, despite the often clumsy plotting. Still, it’s a shame that there is a problem at all, considering  Dennis Lehane’s mind-mulling story is brimming with great characters and clever concepts. The issue comes lies with the clunky way in which it has been adapted to the screen, where  information is fed to the audience in blatant chunks of exposition, making it almost impossible not to notice the trickery being conducted.

Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Teddy Daniels, a US Marshall assigned to help investigate the whereabouts of a missing patient from the psychiatric hospital on Shutter Island. Surrounded almost entirely by a perilous cliff face and with only one way in or out, the fictitious island situated off of America’s east coast is the perfect location for an insane asylum, and for that matter, a 50s-styled horror movie.  With the help of his new partner Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo), Teddy starts asking around only to find straight answers hard to come by, particularly from the institute’s chief physician Dr. Cawley (Ben Kingsley), who claims his methods of rehabilitation to be of a calming and nurturing nature.

Teddy doesn’t buy it. If there’s anything the Second World War taught him as a soldier – which we see in stunningly recreated flashbacks and creepy dream sequences — it’s that people are inherently brutal. He’s convinced there’s something much more sinister happening on the island, and although a Category 5 hurricane looms, he’s determined to get to the bottom of it.

While the plot tends to thrash about like it has been unwillingly strapped in a straight jacket, Shutter Island remains entirely  absorbing for one key reason; atmosphere. From  the immaculately dressed sets, amalgamation of eerie locations, cleverly manipulated lighting and a score that reverberates through your skull with nothing less than the sound of pure doom, the film is engulfed in such a ominous atmosphere, it just about seeps off the screen. In the same way Stanley Kubrick brought to life the isolated hotel setting in The Shining, Scorsese has constructed the imagined isle with great attention to detail and an acute awareness of space.  Grand set pieces are favoured over digital environments, lending a  fantastic tangibility to the setting often missing from digital-heavy films.  It makes for a deeply immersive experience, and much like the Overlook Hotel from Kubrick’s film, you never once feel at ease being on Shutter Island, which is how the film manages to keep you on the edge of your seat for over two hours.

Having cast DiCaprio in no less than four films, Scorsese knows exactly how to get the performance he wants out of the maturing actor in a role you wouldn’t normally associate him with.  Teddy is a deceivingly complex character, with a great big chip on his shoulder, and it’s really a credit to DiCaprio’s talent that he pulls it off so convincingly.  The 35 year old actor still has that Titanic glint in his eye that marks him as a man of passion, compelling us to follow him head-first on his downward spiral into the deepest and darkest secrets of the Island. Just as perfectly cast is Mark Ruffalo as Teddy’s agreeably soothing partner and Ben Kingsley as the politely spoken chief doctor, who unnerves in a ‘can’t-put-my-finger-on-it’ kind of way. Elsewhere, Patricia Clarkson, Emily Mortimer and Jackie Earle Haley all have a memorable impact in their brief but vital roles, which to discuss in any detail would spoil the mystery.

Chances are, though, you’ll spoil it for yourself, probably before the 20 minute mark if you’re a genre buff.  It was never going to be easy for screenwriter Laeta Kalogridis to adapt a film with such a twisted agenda, especially since The Sixth Sense fooled us back in 1999 and consequently made us more aware moviegoers.  But subtly in deception is the key here, and there’s not quite enough of it. What there’s an abundance of, however, is good ol’ fashioned movie magic, where the fun is not in how it ends, but in the journey getting there.

Pixar movies have become quite serious of late. Ever since Finding Nemo was released in 2003, comedy began to take a backseat to drama and stronger themes. I do not deny the increasing popularity and critical acclaim of recent Pixar films, a company who have replaced Walt Disney Animation Studios as the top dog in children’s storytelling.

I genuinely enjoyed Finding Nemo, for its great balance between comedy, beautiful storytelling and morality. However, the fun I had watching Monsters Inc. was ten times that, because it was cracking jokes with the pace of Rodney Dangerfield and still had time for a decent plot. Nemo was beautiful, Monsters was a good time; my point here is that, for me, these two movies mark the end of the Pixar gag film (more or less if you don’t count Cars – does anyone count Cars?) and the definite beginning of the serious Pixar film. Wall-E and UP have shone since then, not only as heartfelt kids’ entertainment but supposedly masterful, emotional, storytelling.

Now there is a new film on the horizon that could potentially bring Pixar back to its roots in Toy Story 3. As I’m sure some of you have noticed, trailers for the sequel have been released depicting the next adventure outside Andy’s room for the toys. Time has progressed as many years as ours in the world of Toy Story 3; Andy is now grown up and leaving for college. Woody, Buzz and the rest of the gang find themselves a new home in Sunnyside Day Care Centre, put at the mercy of energetic toddlers. Thus, hilarity ensues.

Of course, a new play room means new toys, including a very 80’s Ken doll, a female triceratops and a purple plush bear, who looks suspiciously like a Care Bear. No doubt Sunnyside is more than it seems, as the toys try to find a way to escape to get Woody back home, Andy’s most cherished toy.

Pixar has targeted this film perfectly, covering a broad demographic of viewers. Firstly, the “family” audience: this is a kids film for parent’s and grandparent’s to treat their children, without sacrificing their own enjoyment due to the sharp humour. Secondly, and most interestingly the “young adults”, those who watched the original films as kids and are coming back for some nostalgia.

Being part of the latter, I can certainly say I was excited after hearing another hilarious quip from John Ratzenberger who plays the sarcastic piggy bank, Ham. Tim Allen returns as ‘commanding officer’ Buzz Lightyear and Tom Hanks as the forward thinking, yet emotionally conflicted Woody. If you have a favourite character, it looks like it will very well appear in Toy Story 3, with Jessie, Slinky, Rex, the Potato Heads and many more featuring in the current trailers.

Providing the film’s plot doesn’t descend into a heavy thematic exploration of lost youth or otherwise, it can safely be said that Toy Story 3 is looking to become another amusing “old school” Pixar adventure.

Watch the trailer below:

For a man who usually pays his bills by acting small parts in various television series and the occasional film, the story of Scott Cooper’s 2009 rise to fame is nothing short of inspiring. As a first time director on the film Crazy Heart, which Cooper also adapted from a Thomas Cobb novel, he has created a film many seasoned directors could only long for. The screenplay is tight, dramatic and emotive but also quite funny. The cinematography is clear and vast, capturing the space of land and mind within the scope of protagonist, geriatric rocker Bad Blake.

Unsurprisingly, it is a combination of subtle and poignant song lyrics set to the natural rise and fall motion of one man’s hardened life that cannot determine whether this film should be remembered most for its soundtrack or its acting. According to the folks over at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Scott Cooper has coordinated a film in considerable contention for three Oscar awards; Jeff Bridges for Best Actor, Maggie Gyllenhaal for Best Supporting Actress and Ryan Bingham and T-Bone Burnett for Best achievement in Music for their song “The Weary Kind”. If the results of the Golden Globes, the BAFTAS and both the Screen and Actors’ Guilds of America can attest, 2010 looks to be the year of the golden trophies for Crazy Heart.

While still young and stunning, here Gyllenhaal takes on the role of a successful yet strained single mother with a knack for always falling for the bad guy. Truly, it is Maggie Gyllenhaal who brings life to a battered character as small-town journalist Jean. In this film, she falls for the worst of the worst  — a rocker well past his prime that goes by the name of Bad Blake (Bridges)  — and like him for her, she falls hard.

In the beginning their union seems a little weird and honestly, borderline gross. He’s twice her age, dirty and careless. He’s eating, drinking and making his way to an early grave with every one night stand he can get. She’s softly spoken, protective of her son but also weary and timid of the scars she wears in her heart by men who have since passed through. As the two collide she plays him off early, but continually they find themselves in situations that both remind them of emotions of the past and inspire their individual attempts at success – in love and in work.

As Jean becomes Bad’s muse, his music becomes reminiscent of his early genius and as a result, he once again holds the ears of the country music world. Through ups and downs directly influenced by Bad’s alcoholic dependencies and poor health, the couple weather a relationship that was doomed from the start. In resolution of this film the honest beauty is evident in the impact that each had on the other and, how their intersection provided the catalyst that allows Jean to love again and Bad Blake to rock again, back in form.

With amazing input by Colin Farrell, who plays a contemporary country rock god — who neither shoots anything nor broods for too long throughout the entire film — and some fantastic acting by youngster jack Nation as Jean’s son, Crazy Heart portrays a plethora of multi-layered characters as vast and demanding as the harsh environment of the American South-West.

Perfect for those in need of a good emotional cleanse, Crazy Heart does not harp on too much about country music or the country music scene, still affording those less inclined to the genre a decent trip to the movies. Most people will find it hard not to get sucked into Bad’s musical confessions, and will surely find themselves with with a distinctive tune stuck on repeat in their brains for days afterwards.

Verdict:
If you fancy a cinematic cross between Johnny Cash’s story Walk the Line and last year’s The Wrestler then this could quickly become your favourite movie ever.

Plots are for pussies and characters are for target practice.

That’s the mentality French writer/producer Luc Besson must swear by, if going by his back catalogue of supremely stupid, but undeniably exhilarating action movies such as The Transporter, Kiss of the Dragon and Taken. In other words, he specialises in making the kind of movies you don’t ever admit to enjoying.

Rip open From Paris With Love, the latest delivery from the Besson canon, and you’ll discover a film scarcely strung together by a shamelessly stereotypical terrorist plot and armed to the teeth with more action movie clichés than a Steven Seagal show reel. Yep, it has ‘guilty pleasure’ stamped all over it.

But Besson — who produced the film and co-wrote the screenplay with Adi Hasak (Shadow Conspiracy) — doesn’t deserve all the credit. You’d best thank director Pierre Morel (Taken,  Unleashed) for successfully walking that fine line between explosive dumb fun and just plain ol’ dumb. Just as he did with Taken, Morel captures the action with the kind of style and intensity rarely seen in the age of shaky cameras and twitch edits. He also draws fiery, charismatic performances from his leads, which in this case is John Travolta as the utterly bonkers, utterly entertaining special agent Wax.

Before Travolta gets a chance to steal the show, Jonathan Rhys Meyers sets the mood as James Reece, an aide to the US ambassador in Paris. On the side, however, he’s a low-level agent for an American intelligence agency, living a luxurious life with his gorgeous French girlfriend Caroline (Kasia Smutniak). Desperate to see some real spy action, James gets his big break when he’s partnered with the agency’s best operative, Charlie Wax.  What his handler fails to tell him is that Wax is possibly the most insane, reckless and fowl-mouthed agent on the planet.

For the sake of a witty punch line, I wouldn’t be surprised if Wax – who comes complete with his own catch phrase “wax on, wax off” – was from the same agency as Vin Diesel’s xXx. Both are consistently a close shave away from certain death, yet still manage to drop 10 gun wielding goons without a single drop of sweat forming on their shiny, bald heads.  That said, Travolta’s performance has much more bad-ass pizzazz than Diesel’s, the result of Die Hard’s John McClane (Bruce Willis) being thrown in a blender with Pulp Fiction’s Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson), a character Travolta is well acquainted with. As it turns out, Wax also has a hankering for a Royale with Cheese.

Counteracting Travolta’s dynamism, Rhys Meyers plays it much straighter as James, which is necessary in keeping an ounce of humanity intact. The Irish actor/model holds his own during the action sequences, but when it comes time to delivering serious dialogue (not often), he has an odd tendency to enunciate words like a contestant on Wheel of Fortune.

Back to the *ahem* plot; the oddball duo find themselves at the tip of a bizarrely interconnected  criminal conspiracy that works its way through a number of racial stereotypes before  pinning it on the root of all cinematic evil, Islamic extremists. Ultimately though, the story is just as expendable as the infinite number of ditzy bad guys, all of whom are in desperate need of some shooting lessons. The zany action set pieces all transpire in Paris, but you wouldn’t know that if it wasn’t for the fleeting cutaway shots of the Eiffel tower and a peppering of French accents.  Remove these and the film may as well have been titled ‘From a generic city in Europe…with Love’.

As with all of Besson’s films, enjoying From Paris With Love requires letting your better sense be taken hostage for around 90 frenetic minutes.  If you can do that,  you’ll be swept up by a capably directed, entertainingly performed homage to the action movies of the 80s and 90s, a time where “motherf***er” became Hollywood’s favourite adjective.

Verdict:

You get exactly what you pay for with From Paris With Love, and that’s plenty of bang for your buck.

As the American presence in the Middle East continues, the toll begins to show on both political and personal grounds. It’s the latter that attention is brought to in Kathryn Bigelow’s Oscar-nominated film, as troops in Baghdad face their greatest fears.

During the Bravo Company’s year-long deployment in the Iraqi capital, Sergeant JT Sanborn (Anthony Mackie) and Special Owen Eldridge (Brian Geraghty) must deal with the death of team leader Senior Sergeant Matt Thompson (Guy Pearce). When replacement SSG William James (Jeremy Renner) arrives, they are tested mentally and physically as he pushes them into reckless situations that nearly cost them their lives. Diffusing bombs and settling bomb threats are the crux of their duty, and with their job being one of the most suspenseful, it sets the film up for an intriguing journey.

Bigelow reveals the irony many American soldiers face – the countdown until the end of their deployment always remains at the forefront of their minds, but the uncertainty that faces them on their return home lingers (and often keeps them abroad).  The opening words shown on the screen (that ‘war is a drug’) remain with you for the film’s entirety as the adrenaline rush of the group’s work both scares and excites James. It’s he who becomes the centrepiece of the film after his delayed entrance; we’re allowed into his world slowly as Bigelow reveals that between the displays of masculine prowess from his ‘macho’ exterior there’s something about a normal life that he doesn’t understand. The hardest decision for him comes at the film’s end in a surprisingly laughable moment where Bigelow hints at the lack of good consumer choices in the States.

The Hurt Locker may focus on seemingly prominent events during their time in Baghdad, but doesn’t overdo the constant explosions. It is a ‘man’s man’ film, but there’s a lot to like about the un-stylised action. It’s more about the tension, which really stands out with the fear of a sudden end. It has a similar eeriness to Apocalypse Now in regards to the human psyche, as we see Eldridge struggle emotionally after Thompson’s death and Sanborn become unsure of his own abilities. They’re the original team, but that means little in the grand scheme of war as it becomes just as much about every man for himself. For James, the innocent civilians become a focus and highlight to us that there are always people hurt in conflict. This knowledge comes to haunt him as the story plays out and affects you watching just the same.

All the performances are noteworthy, particularly Renner as James, who’s everything from a hard-arse to a scared being, and a rough cameo from Ralph Fiennes.

It’s a slow-burning story as their endurance is tested, with gritty cinematography getting up-close-and-personal with these men. The use of slo-mo shots highlighting the impact of an explosion again puts you right in there. They’re used well to make viewers see that a moment may seem like a lifetime but the impact is instant; a truly haunting feeling. It’s a film that surprises in its hard-hitting reality, with a documentary feel grasping the portrayal of war with and showing a gripping account of what soldiers are signing up for.

Verdict:

The Hurt Locker gives nothing away on the surface but what’s underneath is extremely intriguing. The suspense may just kill you.

The interrelation between a group of people and the happenings for them on this marketing and consumer bonanza of a day tie a complicated knot, untangled throughout an entertaining romantic comedy.

Valentine’s Day involves a cleverly constructed plot, using simple but relatable life situations including adultery, virginity, single life, work, sexuality, national service and how can we forget, love. It’s a wonder how all of these themes are engaged without an equally busy screenplay, but a casual ‘fly on the wall’ approach gives the viewer the chance to look in on the excitement.

Ashton Kutcher’s sweet and loveable character manages busy inner city florist Sienna Bouquet. His and Jennifer Garners’ character friendship forms around the florists business for the day and the basis for the sequential fateful events to expand. Quite a condensing of topics means none are delved into in great detail, but for a light hearted movie, it’s a welcome attribute as it allows things to move along at a sustainable pace.

The appeal of such a large ensemble ensures the viewers attention due to variety and recognition. Valentine’s Day could be likened to the similarly star-studded Love Actually, but it bears that American shine that sparkles from atop the Los Angeles hills Hollywood sign.

Possibly not the kind of movie your typical action, thriller patron would attend, but with such a broad range of topics involved may locate an empathetic spot. Surprisingly, the film caters to singles as it explores how they deal with the saturation of love enforced on this day, and it is in the honest treatment of those in loving relationships that make them all the more believable. Having the appeal to draw in both couples and singles widens the film’s target audience and will help it succeed at the box office.

Verdict:

A fun, easy-going film with a certain cheesy charm, which as its title claims, simply recounts the events that occur one Valentine’s Day.