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Each month on the CLEO movie page we'll feature our fave new-release flicks to help you separate the score from the snore!
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Film reviews
By Jenni Dawes
Lars and the Real Girl
In 25 words or less: A lonely young man forms a relationship with a sex doll, believing that she is both real and his girlfriend. Touching, funny, and completely adorable.
Tagline: The search for true love begins outside the box.
Roll call: Ryan Gosling, Emily Mortimer, Paul Schneider, Patricia Clarkson.
Running time: 1hr 46mins.
What's it all about, then? Lars Lindstrom (Gosling) is an awkward young man who can barely communicate with the people around him, let alone return the affections of a girl at work. He lives in his brother Gus’ garage, and his pregnant sister-in-law, Karin (Mortimer), has to resort to literally tackling him to the ground to get him to come to dinner. When he announces that he’s met a girl they’re delighted, then horrified to discover that she’s a sex doll he ordered off the internet. Not that sex is what Lars had in mind –being a devout Christian, he and Bianca sleep in separate rooms, and instead share what is in Lars’ mind a deep and meaningful relationship. The local GP/ psychologist (Clarkson) diagnoses Lars with a delusion, and advises that the best method of treatment is for everyone to go along with it, and pretend that Bianca is real.
This film will give you more fuzzy feel-goods than any Hollywood saccharine fare. Lars is head-over-heels for Bianca, and the way the people of the town kindly embrace and support their relationship is incredibly sweet, not to mention amusing.
Lars and the Real Girl isn’t fast-moving, but it’s completely captivating –just when you thought that Hollywood had run out of ideas, here is a film that presents a fascinating new subject matter. Had the role been miscast or had the actor missed the mark this film would have quickly become a farce, but Gosling is brilliant and his endearing shyness allows you to suspend disbelief.
Why it’s worth your time: This is undoubtedly one of the oddest films you will ever see, but it is also one of the most genuinely heart-warming. Throw your preconceptions out the window, and allow yourself to be caught up in the magic of this simple story.
Iron Man
In 25 words or less: Billionaire inventor makes iron suit that gives him superhuman strength and the ability to fly, tries to save the world. Comic book fun for grown-ups.
Roll call: Robert Downey Jnr, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges and Terrence Howard.
Running time: 2hrs 6mins.
What's it all about, then? Tony Stark (Downey) is a billionaire engineer who invents and sells high-tech weapons for a living. He’s a playboy with more than a dash of Bond –he drives fast cars, sleeps with hot women, and even has his own Miss Moneypenny, in the form of Pepper Potts (Paltrow), his unfailing assistant. While showing off his latest missile in Afghanistan he is kidnapped and forced to make the same weapon for the bad guys. Instead, he creates an iron suit that gives him superpowers and enables him to escape. Back in America with a new-found do-good attitude, he discovers that the bad guys are still in action and much closer to home than he realized.
This is a comic book tale with a difference –it’s more like an action/ adventure movie where all-of-a-sudden people discover they can fly, rather than the more fantasy-style comics such as Batman and Spiderman, which abound with larger-than-life characters. In Iron Man the violence is more realistic, the themes are more plausible, and it isn’t entirely inconceivable that events like this could occur.
It’s a fairly long movie but there’s no chance of getting bored – hot music, awesome special effects and a number of catchy one-liners will keep you more than entertained.
Why it’s worth your time: Paltrow and Bridges are solid but really they’re just passengers –this is Downey’s vehicle, and he drives it well. It would’ve taken a lot to get him to do a superhero movie, and Iron Man delivers the goods. A very, very cool movie.
Deception
In 25 words or less: A lonely accountant is introduced to an exclusive sex club. All too soon, however, blackmail, murder and fraud become part of the game.
Roll call: Hugh Jackman, Ewan McGregor, Michelle Williams.
Running time: 1hr 48mins.
What's it all about, then? Jonathan (McGregor) is a nerdy accountant who moves from firm to firm on contract positions. He’s shy, a little lonesome, and not great at making friends, let alone meeting women. Working late one night, he meets Wyatt (Jackman), a charismatic lawyer who takes him under his wing. Jonathan is introduced to The List, an invite-only sex club for high-flyers, where time-poor executives can get down to business anonymously and without commitment. He ends up falling for a beautiful and beguiling girl he knows only as ‘S’ (Williams). When she goes missing, Jonathan is quickly drawn into a web of, you guessed it, deception, where he discovers that nothing is what it seems.
The imagery of New York is breathtaking, and Deception has some great film noir elements, such as a scene set in the rain in Chinatown. It’s great to watch Ewan and Hugh play against type, as both are in roles that, before seeing this movie, you couldn’t have imagined them in. Ewan somehow manages to convince us that he’s awkward and inexperienced, and Hugh is in flying form as the alpha male bad-ass that men want to be like and women want to bed.
Why it’s worth your time: The film starts out strongly –the first third is so sexy you’ll be blushing – but doesn’t deliver as promised. The issue is that Deception is more a character-based drama with thriller elements, than the typical car-chase, guns-drawn-at-every-corner thriller that you are led to expect. However, if you concentrate on the characters, and the intriguing way that Jonathan and Wyatt come to affect each other, than Deception is a thoroughly enjoyable movie.
Black Water
In 25 words or less: An Australian horror/ thriller flick about a trio terrorised by a crocodile whilst on a fishing trip in the Northern Territory. Suspenseful and well executed.
Tagline: What You Can’t See Can Hurt You.
Roll call: Diana Glenn, Maeve Dermody, Andy Rodoreda.
Running time: 1hr 30min.
What's it all about, then? Sisters Lee and Grace, and Grace’s boyfriend Andy, embark on a fishing tour as part of their Northern Territory road trip. While cruising through a mangrove swamp their boat is overturned and their guide, Jim, is taken by a crocodile. Andy and Grace manage to make it up a tree, but Lee is left stranded on top of the overturned boat. In the middle of nowhere, surrounded by water, and with no one coming to rescue them any time soon, they must outwit a ferocious croc in order to survive.
The film wastes no time jumping into the action, cutting out the back-stories and instead allowing us to get to know the characters through their reactions to the situation. The writers were inspired by the stranded-at-sea-with-sharks flick Open Water, and Black Water does a good job of measuring up to its idol. The film capitalizes on the isolation of the Australian outback, and creates tension to the point where it’s almost painful. The vicious and unprovoked behaviour by the croc is in line with accounts of saltwater crocodile attacks over the past few years.
International audiences obviously have a soft spot for our man-eating wildlife, as the film has already been sold to 42 countries. The cinematography is excellent, especially one night-time sequence where a lightening storm provides the only source of illumination. The special effects scenes with the crocodile –they filmed using real crocodiles, and the footage was composited together later –are seamlessly done, and the acting by the two girls is solid and believable.
Why it’s worth your time: Black Water occasionally over-stretches the constraints of plausibility, but it’s great to see an Aussie film do so much on such a limited budget. Support the industry and see a local film with bite.
The Painted Veil
In 25 words or less: A moving drama set in the 1920’s about a British couple who rediscover their relationship whilst living in remote China. Romantic and visually enchanting.
Tagline: Sometimes the greatest journey is the distance between two people.
Roll call: Edward Norton, Naomi Watts, Live Schreiber, Toby Jones.
Running time: 2hrs 3mins.
What's it all about, then? Kitty (Watts) is an upper class British socialite, bored with her surroundings and her mother’s increasingly insistent cries for her to wed. She accepts a proposal from Walter (Norton), a man she barely knows, and moves with him to Shanghai for his work as a bacteriologist. Restless in the marriage, she embarks on an affair with an all-too-charming fellow Englishman, Charlie (Schreiber). When Walter discovers her indiscretion he enacts revenge by forcing her to accompany him to a remote cholera-stricken region. Here, surrounded by the threat of disease, they begin to find each other.
Adapted from a novel by W. Somerset Maugham, the script is well paced, and successfully engrosses you early on in the journey of their relationship. From like to loathing to possible love, they have a long way to go.
Watts and Norton prove why they’re constantly in demand, providing complex, multi-layered characters, neither of whom is willing to apologise first. The scenes where they face off in bantering/ bickering matches are highly entertaining, and in spite of its earnest themes the film is peppered with quite an amount of humour.
The Painted Veil is visually stunning, both in the lush and magnificent scenery and the decadent period attire. You’re likely to find yourself inspired both to plan a trip to Asia and host a 1920’s themed dinner party.
Why it’s worth your time: This is a beautiful, gentle film that is as rich and abundant in its characterizations as the scenery amongst which it is set. A great date movie if you can talk your boy into seeing it.
Gone Baby Gone
In 25 words or less: A thoroughly engrossing crime thriller about a little girl lost, and the people who try to find her. Plenty more than meets the eye.
Tagline: Everyone Wants The Truth… Until They Find It.
Roll call: Casey Affleck, Michelle Monaghan, Morgan Freeman and Ed Harris.
Running time: 1hr 54mins.
What's it all about, then? Patrick (Affleck) and Angie (Monaghan) are private investigators hired to look into the disappearance of four-year-old Amanda. Her drug-addicted mother, Helene, is less than cooperative, and both time and hope are quickly running out. The pair join forces with detective Remy (Harris) and police captain Jack (Freeman) and apply their local knowledge to a case that, while appearing simple, masks a tangle of deception.
Gone Baby Gone is the directorial debut of Ben Affleck, who also co-wrote the screen adaptation. Boston is his hometown, and he does a great job of taking you around the neighbourhood. His direction is crisp, adeptly leading from one twist into the next.
Based on the novel by Dennis Lehane, who also wrote Mystic River, this is a crime thriller with soul. Nothing is black and white, with each of the characters making morally ambiguous decisions that will stay with you long after the film has ended. Superbly acted by all, there are certainly no misgivings about Ben casting his younger brother in the lead role.
Why it’s worth your time: Gone Baby Gone is a taut thriller, with compelling characters and provocative themes that will see you captivated from start to finish. Its real strength however comes from the discussions it will provoke. See it with a friend, schedule time for coffee afterwards, and do it justice.
Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead
In 25 words or less: An accomplished, intense melodrama about two brothers who decide to rob their parent’s jewellery store, with horrifying consequences.
Tagline: No one was supposed to get hurt.
Roll call: Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Albert Finney and Marisa Tomei.
Running time: 1hr 57mins.
What's it all about, then? Andy (Hoffman) and Hank (Hawke) are two brothers both in desperate need of money. Hank is a no-hoper several months behind on his child support payments, and Andy has a high-flying drug habit and is struggling to keep his expensive wife, Gina (Tomei), satisfied. Andy convinces Hank that robbing their parent’s jewellery store is the “easiest money we’ll ever get”. The job goes horribly wrong, and their initial bad decision spirals into many.
This is a melodrama of epic proportions, comparable to the ancient Greek tragedies. The title comes from an Irish saying, “May you be in heaven half an hour before the devil knows you’re dead”, which is something that Andy in particular should be praying for. It is a tale of the ugly side of human nature, of how greed and ambition can distort a man, and desperation can destroy him.
The film is non-sequential, jumping back and forth in time and between different points of view. The beginning and the end are mesmerising, the middle section is heavy with flashbacks that are less involving, but which are necessary in order to understand the brother’s decisions.
The majority of the film’s genius lies in its casting, with brilliant performances turned in by the main cast members, each of whom have won or been nominated for an Oscar. Director Sidney Lumet is also in the Oscar club, receiving a Lifetime Achievement Academy Award in 2005, and having been nominated for Best Director no less than five times.
Why it’s worth your time: Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead presents some of the best performances in recent times, which will no doubt garner more nominations and possible wins for its cast -Finney is particularly deserving, as the father placed in one of the worst situations imaginable. Gripping and emotional, this is not a film that you will forget easily.
Be Kind Rewind
In 25 words or less: A kooky, inventive comedy about two friends who remake some of Hollywood’s most famous films in order to keep their local video store afloat.
Tagline: You name it, we shoot it.
Roll call: Jack Black, Mos Def, Danny Glover, Melonie Diaz and Mia Farrow.
Running time: 1hr 40mins.
What's it all about, then? Jerry (Black) is a hapless loser whose failed attempt to sabotage the local power plant leaves his brain magnetized. Being the kind of person who destroys everything he touches, he manages to erase the contents of every single video in the store his friend Mike (Def) has been left in charge of for the week. To try and avoid losing the ailing store’s few loyal customers, the pair set out to remake the videos.
The film is really enjoyable, as long as you don’t try and question the establishing plot points, which are entirely ludicrous. There’s a lot about this movie that doesn’t make sense, especially the inclusion of a number of unnecessary subplots, but fans of director Michael Gondry’s previous films, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Science of Sleep, will know that his are the kind of films where logic need not apply.
Despite its misgivings, at the heart of the film is the endearing notion that with a camera, some willing friends and a hell of lot of ingenuity, anyone can make an interesting film on a zero budget.
Why it’s worth your time: Be Kind Rewind is worth watching just for the remade films, which are absolutely hilarious. If you’re a fan of offbeat films in the style of Gondry and fellow indie director, Wes Anderson, you’ll love the film from start to finish.
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