Movieblaze

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, Ben Kingsley, Alfred Molina, Toby Kebbell

Director: Mike Newell

Writer(s): Boaz Yakin, Doug Miro

Cinematography: John Seale

Original Score: Harry Gregson-Williams

Running Time: 116 Mins.

From the makers of Pirates of the Caribbean, screams the poster and all marketing for Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, what this means is that it is from uber-producer Jerry Bruckheimer, quite possibly the only auteur producer! Auteur in that you know his films consist of, explosions, epic action, one-liners, stunning leading ladies and buff leading men, so it will not surprise you to learn he was not only behind Pirates but also Con Air, The Rock, National Treasure, Pearl Harbour, Armageddon, Gone In 60 Seconds…you get the idea. Though these all vary in quality there is no denying they are entertaining, it is the substance that the director must bring and most fail to muster up the requisite amount to offset the kaboom! Pirates just about managed it first time around and succumb to Bruckheimer-itis as they went on which leaves the prospects of Prince of Persia somewhat up in the air…

Alas I am pleased to say that director Newell (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Four Weddings and a Funeral) manages to wield the tools at his disposal in such a way that he meshes the bombast of Bruckheimer with great characters and some  inspired set pieces, that while not wholly original are reminiscent enough of the right films in the right way while not seeming like cheap imitations. Most shocking of all though has to be that this is a film based upon a video game, possibly the first great adaptation though it is easy to forget the roots which were cinematic in their original state and build on, rather than succumb to, the trappings of a computer game and its narrative.

Taking its lead from the Indiana Jones series, Prince of Persia takes a Saturday matinee tone and spins it out into an epic yarn involving secret assassins, evil uncles, sword-fights aplenty, and a mystical dagger, what really makes this combination meld is the lead performances though, Newell has alwasy been an actors director with a great affinity for drawing out hugely entertaining turns from his cast and this is no exception Gyllenhaal is a revelation in a role that asks much of him, more than merely being the action hero, he must become both the hero (usually the dull one, Luke in Star Wars or Will in Pirates) and the more comedic sidekick (Han Solo or Jack Sparrow) and delivers on both fronts with buckets of charisma, all this and a convincing British accent! 

It really would seem that we have a new bona-fide action hero, but matching Gyllenhaal every step of the way is Arterton, always a joy in the film regardless of how poor (St. Trinians for example) she has found the perfect role here. Glamorous, sassy, and gives as good as she gets, independently they are great but together one of the best screen couples in quite some time, believable and fun to spend time with is a combination oft lacking in the modern blockbuster, even amidst any other success.

Having two turns this much fun would be a spoil of riches alone but when the support turns equal the level of glee it just gets better, Tobey Kebbell, Ben Kingsley are value for money but it is Alfred Molina that shines as brightly as Gyllenhaal and Arterton, providing proper belly laughs during a genius comedy/action sequence set amidst an ostrich race of all things! Though action wise this is simply the tip of the iceberg (or edge of the sandstorm!) stitched into the narrative each set piece arrives, not at the expense of the story, but rather to further or contextualize it, as all good action films should.

Oddly considering the fantasy elements involved in the games there is a real lack of obvious CGI, another big positive, with the creatures and sand monsters of the game forsaken in place of real people meaning that while most are still faceless (literally in some cases) assassins simply there to be stabbed they allow for a more grounded down to earth blockbuster albeit with its own distinguished flight of fancy, yes, there is one element that uses CGI to the best effect, and that is in the pressing of the dagger which turns back time. A staple power in the game it is one that transfers exceptionally well and is used sparingly enough to not overwhelm. If there is fault to be found it is in the slightly slow start, but once the characters are established there is no looking back, I can safely say a sequel is a more than welcome prospect and that this is far and away the best sand-set epic in some time.   

VERDICT

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time makes sure Gyllenhaal and Arterton are the stars of the show, but there much to treasure amidst Newell’s pacey, action packed and character led blockbuster proving that less can sometimes, certainly, be more.

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Eva Mendes, Val Kilmer, Fairuza Balk, Alvin “Xzibit” Joiner, Brad Dourif

Director: Werner Herzog

Writer: William M. Finkelstein

Cinematography: Peter Zeitlinger

Original Score: Mark Isham

Running Time: 122 Mins.

Nicolas Cage is an actor that seems to work on the basis that if a film is shoddy he will follow suit and coast along in an equally shoddy manner, witness Ghost Rider, The Wicker Man, Knowing, Next and 8mm, to name but a few, sleep walking his way through said films with that hang-dog expression that is all too befitting of the material. There was a time when Cage wasn’t happy to just pick up the pay cheque, a fact to which his Oscar would attest, and even in the big blockbusters he would perform with his wild eyes immersive take on a character taking what could have been a generic action film to the next level, Con Air, Face/Off and The Rock for starters, so what went wrong? It would seem Cage lost both his edge and passion for acting, either that or he just made the wrong choices?

Alas 2010 has seen Cage star in Kick-Ass and now Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans, to give the film its full title, Kick-Ass was revelatory and Cage had immense fun in a minor part that pushed the boundaries of a father/daughter relationship and now here he takes it up a whole other level, in a performance that dominates the film and will remind everyone why he is such a good actor, Oscar might just come calling again. Taking its title, and very little else, from Abel Ferrara’s cult classic Cage is a cop not so much on the edge but rather having already well and truly jumped over the edge. Injured in the opening scene through an unlikely act of sympathy Cage’s character is promoted to Lieutenant and proceeds to spiral into a life of hard drug use on top of the prescription painkillers he has for his crippling back pain.

This set-up is one that from the off is recipe for a masterful character turn from the star and he delivers, in spades. The highlight’s and most memorable scenes are obviously going to be those glimpsed in the trailer, the wide-eyed, shouty, eccentricities of the man. However, as unlikely as it may sound, it is in the subtleties that the man becomes the character, conversing with the excellent Eva Mendes he manages to make McDonagh  hugely likeable and emphatic, quite some feat considering the random acts he commits in abusing his job, roadside abuse of couples for drugs and sex, stealing from the evidence depot, and in one hilariously dark scene harassing elderly women in a retirement home.

It is the humour that is key to Bad Lieutenant for without this macabre vein of comedic direction and performance the film would make for both a hugely depressing experience and one that would likely garner little in the way of originality from the ultimately clichéd underlying plot which sees McDonagh “investigate” the slaughter of a family. Indeed time is spent of the police procedural line of things but very little so as to not over-ride the real story, that of McDonagh, all of which means aside from Mendes the support cast are very much that, support to Cage’s crazed antics, onlookers as confused as the audience, unaware as to which way an increasingly more desperate man will turn.

If there is another star however it is Herzog himself, bringing his ubiquitous style to every frame, the film reeks of his crazed genius and in Cage he seems to have found the perfect ruse. Though it is in the more obscure shots we see his most obscure streak shine through, long shots through the eyes of iguana’s and alligators are not commonplace in a Hollywood film unless it’s from Dreamwork’s animation studios! Shooting the film in the titular New Orleans adds an air of desperation and further enhances the hallucinogenic qualities, the bayou’s and flooded slums are desolate and uninviting places, much like McDonagh’s psyche, one enhancing the other and inviting the audience in with glee to experience a touch of the madness of genius’ at work!

VERDICT

Herzog and Cage, a match made in heaven? Each feeding off and injecting the other’s eccentricities with verve and genius, a film destined to reside as a cult classic alongside Abel Ferrara’s namesake, though Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call – New Orleans is both better and more original in its approach searing into your mind like a bad, but hugely enjoyable, trip.

Starring: John Cusack, Clark Duke, Craig Robinson, Rob Corddry, Chevy Chase, Crispin Glover

Director: Steve Pink

Writer(s): Josh Heald, Sean Anders

Cinematography: Jack N. Green

Original Score: Christophe Beck

Running Time: 100 Mins.

John Cusack is very much a product of the 80′s, not that he was born then, about a decade or two too old for that littoral deduction, rather he is and will always be associated with his 80′s successes, in the same way that the brat pack will always find their career’s epitomised by their 80′s output. So for Cusack to star in a film where a group of friends find themselves sucked back into the decade of glam-rock, russian paranoia and leg warmers is really a no-brainer, a formula that should add up to, at the very least, a great return to his true comedic roots by Cusack in a film helmed by he behind High Fidelity and Grosse Point Blank.

Surprisingly, or maybe not so surprisingly given the film’s title, this is not a witty and soul-searching piece of dark humour a la High Fidelity/Grosse Point Blank and more akin to the 80′s frat boy comedies such as Porky’s and Animal House, though substitute teens for three middle-aged men all facing their own crises and you have the recipe for something along the lines of The Hangover meets Back to the Future (another 80′s classic). Of course it is no surprise given the success of The Hangover last summer that someone has cottoned onto the fact that a comedy starring a group of friends, older than 18, on a jaunt away is a recipe for box office bling.

That said comedies of this nature live or die on their central performances, and thankfully Hot Tub Time Machine boasts a quartet of amusing turns, the fourth member being Adam’s (Cusack) nephew a 20-year-old along for the ride to provide some perspective for anyone young enough not to have the requisite 80′s based knowledge. Quite frankly had you not yet guessed the plot from the title alone you really are too dumb to understand the rest of the film, to embellish too much about what travelling back in time via said Hot Tub involves would rob you of much that there is to enjoy. Suffice to say there is little here that hasn’t been done before but the interplay between the friends belies said lack of originality and provides enough laugh out loud moments to mark it out from the glut of mediocre gross-out comedies that flood our screens.

Cusack harks back to his heyday with great verve and while the friends don’t have quite as much “chemistry” as their Hangover counterpart’s did there is a lot to be said for the fun they all appear to be having with each character having their own hilarious highpoint. The star of the show however is Craig Robinson, building on a great turn in Kevin Smith’s Zack and Miri Make a Porno he mines the same affable loser schtick but when you’re that good at being funny doing it, who’s to blame him for repeating the success, albeit with a touch more tenderness and characterisation.

The 80′s based jokes come thick and fast meaning this punches above the normal comedy weight of teen comedies with many jokes likely to go over the heads of your average 15-year-old, for example the casting of Chevy Chase and Crispin Glover will mean very little to those unfamiliar with Back to the Future or the National Lampoon films. This though is not necessarily a bad thing and means that the comedy is spread broad taking in all comedy styles, body swap, gross out, slapstick, innuendo…you name it Hot Tub Time Machine has it.

However while this scatter-shot approach works when wringing out laughs from the concept, it cannot paper over the cracks of the disjointed plot and an overall mediocre script, jokes unfortunately do not make for rounded characters you care for (with the exception of Robinson). Cusack is likeable as ever and The Daily SHow vet Corddry is funny as the slob of the group the event that brings them together is lame and every occurence relies on contrivance upon contrivance, so while it is the goal of a comedy to make you laugh, which this does, it must also raise the bar a little higher with a cleverer script and more memorable characters otherwise it will fail the ultimate comedy test, the ability to be entertaining and ultimately as funny second time around.

VERDICT

Hot Tub Time Machine, scatter-shot title, scatter-shot film. Consistently funny the first time round, this is very much is a one watch comedy that will not stand the test of time.

Starring: Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, Mark Strong, Max Von Sydow, William Hurt, Matthew Macfayden, Kevin Durand, Oscar Isaac, Mark Addy

Director: Ridley Scott

Writer: Brian Helgeland

Cinematography: John Mathieson

Original Score: Mark Streitenfeld

Running Time: 148 Mins.

Taking on the legend of Robin Hood was never going entail a simple retelling of the tale in the hands of  Scott and Crowe, initially mooted as a film entitled Nottingham that would have seen Crowe a version of  the Sheriff of Nottingham who simply used the idenitiy of Hood as a ruse, then the idea was shot down in favour of story that cast the Sheriff as the good guy and Robin as an out-and-out villain, an idea promptly discarded in favour of switching our perspectives back to Robin in what appeared on the surface to be a version of the legend we all know and love, albeit underpinned with some historical “fact” as is Ridley Scott’s will, ultimately Gladiator mk. 2.

As it turns out this is only half-true, yes the historical underpinning is there but the focus is not on Robin and his derring-do, robbing from the rich and all that jazz, rather this is Robin Begins, if you will! Opening with the crusades and seeing King Richard slain in battle, Robin Longstride (Crowe)  is an archer in the king’s army and by some contrivance ends up on a ship back to England entrusted with returning the sword of Robin Loxley to his father and the crown to the weak Prince, now King, John. As it turns out Loxley Sr. (Von Sydow) knew Longstride’s father and fills him in on his long forgotten past. As a ruse Longstride takes the identity of Loxley Jr at the behest of his father in an effort to save Nottingham, and Loxley Jr’s estranged wife Lady Marion from falling under the demands for taxes. Oh … and Longstride’s father conveniently drew up a version of the Magna Carta, so have a guess what happens there…

If this all sounds rather heavy it really isn’t and is woven into a coherent and satisfying story befitting of any historical epic, the thing is the story of Robin Hood is by definition a legend and it is occasionally that this concept is at odds with what Scott is trying to achieve, it is like he doesn’t want to give in to the fact that something can be untrue and has an undying need to place everything within the bowels of historical “accuracy”. This is fine when your character is not legendary to the point of being a treasured as was the case with Maximus in Gladiator or Balian in Kingdom of Heaven but messing around with the tale of someone such as Robin Hood seems to deny the story its magic…to give in to a cliched, but accurate, term.

 Thankfully it is married with a sense of fun, something all to often missing from the directors work, as willing as he is to linger on real people peppering the film, William Marshall (Hurt) and King John (Isaac), he isn’t afraid to spend time on those characters that are of Robin Hood lore. So there is Friar Tuck (Addy), wonderfully realised, as well as the three merry men, though they are never referred to as such, Allan Doyle, Scott Grimes and Kevin Durand, the camaraderie between them, and Robin, is great despite the humour usually mining the box marked crude or sexual, it is funny never-the-less. What this means ultimately is what many feared would become Gladiator Mk. 2 does not fall to such a fate and as such this film is as different to Gladiator as one would hope, in fact if you were to compare it to anything I would call to charge A Knight’s Tale, on a grander and slightly more serious scale!

One major plus comes in the maturity of this Robin, Crowe is in his 40′s and looks it adding a level of gravitas to the man, similarly Marian, Lady not Maid as she hastens to add, is great foil for Crowe’s gruff but never humour-less take. There is a rabble rousing speech, glimpsed in trailers, but it never feels forced and the more Robin Hood-y bits are a real treat, arrow firing aplenty and one ambush on a cart full of grain, hint at a film full of such treats directed with Scott’s usual panache and style. Perhaps, unsurprisingly, the Sheriff himself is underplayed to wonderful comic effect by Matthew MacFayden though it begs the question how he would serve as a villain in the possible sequel given his bumbling and weak demeanour though it was going to be a hard act for anyone to follow Alan Rickman, so kudos to MacFayden for trying.

All of which means the real baddies come in the form of Oscar Isaac’s King and primarily the treachourous Sir Gofrey (Mark Strong), the actor competes a trio of bad-guy turns (after Kick-Ass and Sherlock Holmes) and it must be said that sadly this is his weakest, often the best thing in a film through sheer magnitude he is down-played here playing the French off against the English and inciting unrest as is the main thrust of the film in which Robin becomes a pawn, sadly the lack of a more personal vendetta means Godfrey is simply a pawn and neither memorable enough to boo and hiss at nor a driving force enough to feel connected to the legendary story, all of which means that King John himself is the best of the bunch playing it just OTT enough with an edge of slyness to hint at a greater, more central, turn to come. 

Though for all the good, of which there is a lot, and bad points there is a nagging sense that the film we really would have liked to see Scott tackle is the one hinted at in the closing 5 minutes, the real legend, in once sense it is admirable that the director and star sought to create a back story for the hero that does ring true in a sense and provides a great period film, but it is something that could well have been handled in the opening 40 minutes allowing for a solid hour and a half of “real” Robin Hood action, similar to other tellings it may have been but given how long we’ve waited for the latest incarnation that in itself is not a bad thing.

VERDICT

Robin Hood is not what you may expect, neither Gladiator in tights nor a classic take on the legendary tale, more something in-between with a lighter touch offering as entertaining a romp as you would expect from the Scott/Crowe camp , the very thing in fact that promises much of a sequel that I for one I hope we get to see.

Starring: Jackie Earle Haley, Kyle Gallner, Katie Cassidy, Rooney Mara, Thomas Dekker, Kellan Lutz

Director: Samuel Bayer

Writer(s): Wesley Strick, Eric Heisserer 

Cinematography: Jeff Cutter

Original Score: Steve Jablonsky

Running Time: 102 Mins.

It was only a matter of time before Platinum Dunes turned there hands to a remake of Wes Craven’s seminal classic from the 80′s, A Nightmare on Elm Street. In fact the only surprise is how long it has taken to get it to our screens, having tackled remakes of Friday 13th, The Hitcher, Amityville Horror and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre there were very few icon’s left as well-known as Freddy Krueger to bring slashing his way into the noughties. One reason for the delay may be due to the character having become something of a comic rather than a scary figure, Robert Englund having drained and frights from his iconic monstrous child killer after the abysmal Freddy vs. Jason, not to mention the ever decreasing in quality sequels to the original Nightmare.

So unsurprisingly bringing Freddy back to life falls on new blood, both in front and behind the camera, music video veteran Samuel Bayer is calling the shots and given his credits include Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit, would seem the perfect choice while filling Freddy’s striped jumper and fedora is Rorschach himself, Jackie Earle Haley. A masterstroke in casting given Earle Haley’s, shall we say, creepy and unusual demeanour he appeared the perfect choice when it was announced amidst speculation of Billy Bob Thornton taking the role! Add to this the usual suspects for victims, aka voluptuous girls and jock-like guys and you have the recipe for a potentially creepy if a little by-the-numbers remake.

And that is the one thing this new Nightmare does achieve, potentially creepy, which is a shame because there are flashes of greatness, and as Freddy Earle Haley delivers a memorable take on an iconic character. Essentially a remake of Wes Craven’s first film this adds little to the story, the main thing being the idea of Micro-naps which give Freddy’s appearances a but more of a jump-factor but these are cheap shocks and ones achieved largely post-production simply by nudging the sound up a few decibel.

The real scares should, and threaten to, come from the man himself, stripped of the one-liners and sporting a rather grotesque burn victim look along with no eye-lids that add to the creepiness, Earle Haley makes a jester scary once again. Sadly Bayer seems unaware, or unskilled, enough to know how to build up tension in a scene meaning that jump scares and creepy close ups are the best you get. That said the sound is occasionally used to excellent effect and Freddy’s cackling laugh resonates round the cinema’s sound system in a way that is all too often neglected, the way Freddy toys with his victims is as nasty as you would expect, unfortunateky the kills are a little lacklustre, maybe it’s because we’ve seen them all before (literally) or maybe in the hands of someone a little more accomplished the execution, so to speak, would have been better.

But where Bayer seems unable to build tension he displays enough visual flourishes to keep the film from falling into stale territory, the way in which the film segues into dream territory and back again is expertly handled and the effects are for a change used sparingly and to great effect with a classroom turning to ash proving a standout. Another diversion from the norm sees the teen victims actually look like teenagers and a little less Barbie doll/jock-like with a surprising resistance to have the girls run around naked proving Bayer was aiming for something a little more serious in tone, and that can only be a good thing in this world of My Bloody Valentine and Final Destination’s.

As the film draws to a close Freddy’s secret past is revealed and in a change from his original back-story we find out he wasn’t simply a child killer but a paedophile, whether this is to make the film seem more topical or an attempt to simply shock is unclear, what is clear though is that this revelation does little for the film or the character (is this concept more scary or simple less palatable?) leading to a finale that feels somewhat wanting despite Earle Haley’s best efforts…maybe Bayer can refine his technique for the inevitable sequel…

VERDICT

A Nightmare on Elm Street see’s that Freddy is creepy again thanks to Earle Haley’s predictably sinister performance, though overall the scares are reaped largely from cheap (but effective) jump shocks, something that is a great shame given the concept (dreams) and a believable cast for a change, though the back-story is a little dubious here’s hoping something more satisfying can be achieved in the inevitable sequel.

Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Don Cheadle, Mickey Rourke, Gwyneth Paltrow, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell, Samuel L. Jackson

Director: Jon Favreau

Writer(s): Justin Theroux, Jon Favreau

Cinematography: Matthew Libatique

Original Score: John Debney

Running Time: 124 Mins.

The original Iron Man came out of nowhere and did a number of quite prolific things, firstly it established Robert Downey Jr. as a bona-fide movie star *natch* and one in which he delivered a definitive performance, secondly it proved that amidst all the doom and gloom of the Batman, Superman and X-Men of the movie world that it was okay for a film based on a comic book to be what it should be first and foremost…fun, and finally it set the stall out for Marvel Studios (now operating under Disney) big plans that will see a number of superheroes (Thor, Captain America) get their own independent outings that will see them ultimately combine for The Avengers film due in 2012. Quite some set of achievements and one’s which raise the bar for an Iron Man sequel somewhat, all of which begs the question…has Jon Favreau succeeded in making Iron Man 2 a worthy successor in the mould of both X-Men and Spider-Man’s second entries?

The simple answer to this question is yes, Iron Man 2 in hugely entertaining and contains within it several scenes and threads worthy of placement with the best of the superhero films, unfortunately as a whole it is somewhat lacking with a solid narrative drive clearly m.i.a. and some pacing that goes awry at times largely through the seemingly overwhelming desire to set up the other facets of the Marvel universe at the cost of the story at hand. I have no quandary with nods to other films based in the same universe, and have, thus far, loved how The Avengers initiative is building up. On the plus side if these “Avengers asides” as I like to call them (i.e. the scenes with Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury) are eliminating the need to have so much build up in The Avengers film it is surely a good thing, the issue is that in inserting them as lengthy as they are here it makes an unfocused narrative seem even more so and sends your mind wandering to pastures new rather than enjoying what you are meant to be involved in. 

Usually a lack of narrative drive would prove a huge problem, for example Iron man himself seems to do very little, the arch-villain makes a grand entrance and disappears for the bulk of the film while the usual problem of too many characters seeps in, however in the hands of Jon Favreau and scripter Justin Theroux the film ascends issues of drive and simply sucks you into the world of Tony Stark once again. Building on the foundations of the first film the same principle applies as it does with all big budget sequels, bigger, louder and more of everything that worked, which means we get more Downey Jr. quipping as Stark, more action handled much more bombastically this time around though it still inevitably descends into robots basj=hing each other about, and more in the way of the big name cast.

Considering how crammed the film is with big names and new characters, whilst bumping up old favourites screen time, you will be surprised to learn that everyone gets their time to shine, though some characters inevitably disappear for long stretches they are given standout scenes that make up for it. Sam Rockwell gets special mention and a scene between he and Stark in a bar is priceless, Hammer’s (Rockwell) admiration of Stark amidst his idol’s quippy put-downs are worth the ticket price alone, it;’s just a shame there isn’t more of them. Rourke similarly is a knock-out, a great villain that remains my major gripe, he is built up fantastically and has a great fight with Iron Man at Monaco to then be tethered by Hammer and restricted to sitting in a lab building robots, a sad waste of talent and character though the final and all too brief fight offers a touch of respite it’s a shame Whiplash will unlikely make another appearance.

It is admirable that Favreau has matured into a director of such ability, advancing vastly in directing an action set-piece from the first film to the second I would expect nothing less than something spectacular from an Iron Man 3. Juggling this many plot elements and loose ends would evade most yet through sheer sprightliness you can overlook any drawbacks. Of course it helps that Downey jr. is on hand again giving another ten out of ten performance, his interaction with everyone seems so natural and damn fun, whether it be ”admiring” Johanssen or quipping with Pepper Potts he epitomizes charming. Though the highest point comes when he drunkenly dances in the Iron Man suit and proceeds to pee in the suit, well you wouldn’t catch Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne/Batman doing that would you!

VERDICT

Iron Man 2 is superbly scripted, allowing for some of the years best dialogue, Favreau handles the action well and the swollen cast even better, while Downey Jr. excels again. With a little more focus and a little less deviation from the matter at hand, Iron Man 3 could be nigh on perfect.