Movie Muser

Have your say about cinema

Jennifer Lawrence Is Going On The Dive – She’s reteaming with Hunger Games’ Francis Lawrence

By

Jennifer Lawrence must have enjoyed working with Francis Lawrence on the Hunger Games sequels, as she’s now onboard for his new movie, which also has James Cameron attached to produce.

TheWrap says that Lawrence will Audrey Mestre in the free diving biopic, ‘who died during an attempt to beat her own world record of 557.7 feet. (Francisco) Ferraras paid tribute to his late wife by diving to the same depth in an attempt that was filmed by Cameron.’

Cameron has been eyeing a biopic of Mestre for some time and even flirted with directing it himself. However he’s now passed the reins to Lawrence, although it’s not clear when it will shoot.

CHECK OUT THESE RELATED ARCHIVES:

I’m All Right Jack (Blu-ray) – ‘One of the greatest and most memorable British comedy films’

By


This quintessential British comedy of class and industry is actually a sequel of sorts to a relatively little-known Army farce called Private’s Progress, which was also the work of director John Boulting and screenwriter Frank Harvey. But this is one of those rare follow-up films which is not only so good that it completely eclipses its predecessor but also works completely as a standalone film. You don’t have to have seen Private’s Progress to enjoy I’m All Right Jack but that film told the story of upper-class buffoon Stanley Windrush (Ian Carmichael) and his attempts to survive in the army, coming up against the even more upper-class and buffoonish Major Hitchcock (the legendary Terry-Thomas).

I’m All Right Jack see’s Windrush failing to find gainful employment in civilian life until he is coerced by former army colleague Sidney Devere Cox (Richard Attenborough and his spectacular moustache) into “throwing in with the working classes” and taking a manual labour job at a missile factory of which Major Hitchcock happens to be the manager. Of course it’s all part of an elaborate, farcical scheme that involves an arms deal, a Middle-Eastern millionaire and Stanley’s uncle. But complicating the plot is self-serving communist shop steward Fred Kite. The fact that Kite is played by Peter Sellers just before his Hollywood career took off explains why I’m All Right Jack is still fondly remembered as a classic whilst its predecessor is largely forgotten.

Seller’s Kite isn’t as flamboyant or outrageous a creation as his later characters like Inspector Clouseau or Doctor Strangelove but, with his Hitler moustache and self-serving, impudent fury, he’s just as memorable. But for me the film is stolen completely by Terry Thomas. I was recently shocked to discover that many people of my generation have never even heard of this appallingly underappreciated comedy genius. If you’ve seen the trailer for the upcoming Mortdecai you’ve seen Johnny Depp doing an (admittedly quite good) impression of him but until you’ve seen the real thing angrily deriding someone as “an absolute shower and a stinker of the first order” you do not know funny. If you have an appreciation for the British comic heroes of the 50s then the scene in which Kite and Major Hitchcock get drunk together is pure bliss.

In fact the whole film is a pretty blissful, nostalgic experience. In 1959, when it was released, popular British film comedy was starting to move away from the charming, socially-relevant satires like those made by Ealing Studios and towards bawdier, innuendo-laden Carry-On style romps. I’m All Right Jack is mostly the former with its gentle lampoonery of recognisable 50s figures from self-righteous shop stewards to amoral aristocratic business owners.

But it does have saucy moments that feel like they were probably pushing the boundaries of what was acceptable to 50s audiences. In fact in what was probably a deeply risqué move the opening and final scenes take place in a nudist colony and it’s fair to say the filmmakers probably didn’t anticipate the fact that audiences watching the film half a century later in high definition would be able to see that the “naked” extras in the background are actually wearing what appears to be paper underwear. And then there’s the cheeky running joke of the worker with a stutter who always seems to be about to say something very rude but then says something perfectly innocent “why don’t you just f…f…f…f…photograph someone else?” That never gets old.

All in all it’s a near perfect piece of nostalgic entertainment. It’s charmingly old fashioned at the same time as being witty and cutting in a way that makes it funnier than most modern comedies. The only thing that sullies its appeal is that fact that it contains some jokes and views that to modern sensibilities are racist. When these moments pop up they stop the humour in its tracks but of course it’s necessary that they aren’t cut out to make the film more palatable, it’s important to realise that jokes like this were once acceptable so we can realise how much we’ve moved on.

That aside the whole movie is delightful and well worth revisiting. And there are some interesting extras with retrospective interviews from the cast. The real gem though is the inclusion of the Running, Jumping & Standing Still Film a short put together by Peter Sellers and the Beatles director of choice Richard Lester. It was filmed over two days and features appearances by Sellers’ friends and family including Spike Milligan. It’s basically a silent, live-action cartoon and is ten minutes of pure joy and an excellent capper to a great film experience.

Overall Verdict: One of the greatest and most memorable British comedy films from a time when a lot of great, memorable British comedy films were being produced. Well worth owning.

Special Features:
Brand new interview with actress Liz Fraser
The Running, Jumping & Standing Still Film
Cinefile: Seller’s Best

Reviewer: Adam Pidgeon

CHECK OUT THESE RELATED ARCHIVES:

A Most Wanted Man (DVD) – A fine farewell performance by Philip Seymour Hoffman

By


Forget the three JBs: James Bond, Jason Bourne and Jack Bauer. Spying is not all fun and games. According to John le Carre (who should know), the world of espionage is a slow paced and complex world of surveillance and tense multi-layered conversations which is far more likely to involve faffing around on your laptop in the backseat of your car than hanging around swigging martinis with Eva Green in a in casino. The heroes are not Daniel Craigs or Matt Damons but fat, cynical, middle-aged, gravelly voiced types like espionage officer Gunter Bachmann, played in one of his many final roles by the late great Philip Seymour Hoffman.

The setting is Hamburg, a city already edgy after the intelligence service’s failure to detect the plot within the city which led to the 2001 September 11th attacks in the US. Tensions are exacerbated further by the arrival of a Chechen immigrant Issa Karpov (Grigoriy Dobrygin) who quickly adopts the services of a human rights lawyer (Rachel McAdams) to gain access to his father’s fortune using Willem Dafoe’s morally dubious banker (is there any other kind?) to help. Trouble is, Bachmann suspects Karpov of being a terrorist and Robin Wright’s CIA agent is clearly up to something too.

Thanks to this, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and The Constant Gardener, le Carre (upon whose eleventh novel this is based) has been well served by movie adaptations of his work in the last decade and despite his advanced years the author is on hand to give a helpful recap of the plot while on location in the DVD extra John le Carre in Hamburg (a further “making of” extra is just about worth watching too). With universally good performances, particularly from Wright and Hoffman, this is a slow moving but well executed espionage drama.

Overall Verdict: A fine farewell performance by Philip Seymour Hoffman enriches an intelligent espionage drama.

Special Features:
The Making Of A Most Wanted Man Featurette
Spymaster: John le Carre In Hamburg

Reviewer: Chris Hallam

CHECK OUT THESE RELATED ARCHIVES:

Win Very Good Girls On DVD! – The Dakota Fanning & Elizabeth Olsen movie to give away

By

From the producer of Milk, The Illusionist and Sideways comes VERY GOOD GIRLS – a drama with an all-star cast that will be available on DVD from 19 January 2015, and to celebrate, we have 3 DVDs to give away!

In a cosy corner of Brooklyn on a sweltering afternoon, best friends Lilly (Dakota Fanning, War of the Worlds, Coraline) and Gerri (Elizabeth Olsen, Godzilla, Kill Your Darlings) bump into a handsome, enigmatic stranger who quickly becomes an object of both their affections.

Lilly finds herself growing closer to David (Boyd Holbrook, Behind the Candelabra, Out of the Furnace) and as she struggles to tell Gerri, becomes increasingly caught between loyalty to her friend and her new found love.

However, when tragedy strikes Gerri’s family, Lilly’s actions to help her devastated best friend create only disappointment and anger and leave Lilly with the very real possibility that she might lose both relationships.

How the girls resolve this situation will be a lesson for the rest of their lives, defining love as impossible without truth and the only thing that really sets you free.

To be in with a chance of winning, sign in to the site below (or click here to register) and answer the multiple choice question (see below for more details on how to enter). The competition closes on January 30th, 2015, so get answering and good luck!

CHECK OUT THESE RELATED ARCHIVES:

The Oscar Nominations Are Here! – Check out all the nominees in all the categories

By


The race is on! The Oscar nominations have been announced, so we now know the people and movies that will be vying for a win when the gongs are handed out February 22nd at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.

As expected it’s a relatively open field, with no films looking like it’s going to sweep the board, but quite a few now teed up to go for Oscar glory. As expected there was a good showing for both Birdman and Boyhood. However there are others who’ve done well too, including The Imitation Game, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Theory Of Everything and American Sniper.

All of those movie showed up in the Best Picture race, which also includes Selma and Whiplash. Likewise they dominated the Best Director race, with only Theory Of Everything’s James Marsh and Oscar fave Clint Eastwood (American Sniper) missing out on nominations.

In the Best Actor race there were no surprises – indeed it was exactly as most predicted – with Steve Carell (Foxcatcher), Bradley Cooper (American Sniper), Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game), Michael Keaton (Birdman) and Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything). It’s a slightly more unpredictable race in the Best Actress race, with Marion Cotillard (Two Days, One Night), Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything), Julianne Moore (Still Alice), Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl), and Reese Witherspoon (Wild).

You can take a look at the full list of nominees below:

Best Picture
American Sniper – Clint Eastwood, Robert Lorenz, Andrew Lazar, Bradley Cooper and Peter Morgan, Producers
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)- Alejandro G. Iñárritu, John Lesher and James W. Skotchdopole, Producers
Boyhood – Richard Linklater and Cathleen Sutherland, Producers
The Grand Budapest Hotel – Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales and Jeremy Dawson, Producers
The Imitation Game – Nora Grossman, Ido Ostrowsky and Teddy Schwarzman, Producers
Selma – Christian Colson, Oprah Winfrey, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner, Producers
The Theory of Everything – Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Lisa Bruce and Anthony McCarten, Producers
Whiplash – Jason Blum, Helen Estabrook and David Lancaster, Producers

Performance by an actor in a leading role
Steve Carell in Foxcatcher
Bradley Cooper in American Sniper
Benedict Cumberbatch in The Imitation Game
Michael Keaton in Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Eddie Redmayne in The Theory of Everything

Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Robert Duvall in “The Judge”
Ethan Hawke in “Boyhood”
Edward Norton in “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”
Mark Ruffalo in “Foxcatcher”
J.K. Simmons in “Whiplash”

Performance by an actress in a leading role
Marion Cotillard in “Two Days, One Night”
Felicity Jones in “The Theory of Everything”
Julianne Moore in “Still Alice”
Rosamund Pike in “Gone Girl”
Reese Witherspoon in “Wild”

Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Patricia Arquette in “Boyhood”
Laura Dern in “Wild”
Keira Knightley in “The Imitation Game”
Emma Stone in “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”
Meryl Streep in “Into the Woods”

Best animated feature film of the year
“Big Hero 6” Don Hall, Chris Williams and Roy Conli
“The Boxtrolls” Anthony Stacchi, Graham Annable and Travis Knight
“How to Train Your Dragon 2” Dean DeBlois and Bonnie Arnold
“Song of the Sea” Tomm Moore and Paul Young
“The Tale of the Princess Kaguya” Isao Takahata and Yoshiaki Nishimura

Achievement in cinematography
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Emmanuel Lubezki
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Robert Yeoman
“Ida” Lukasz Zal and Ryszard Lenczewski
“Mr. Turner” Dick Pope
“Unbroken” Roger Deakins

Achievement in costume design
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Milena Canonero
“Inherent Vice” Mark Bridges
“Into the Woods” Colleen Atwood
“Maleficent” Anna B. Sheppard and Jane Clive
“Mr. Turner” Jacqueline Durran

Achievement in directing
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Alejandro G. Iñárritu
“Boyhood” Richard Linklater
“Foxcatcher” Bennett Miller
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Wes Anderson
“The Imitation Game” Morten Tyldum

Best documentary feature
“CitizenFour” Laura Poitras, Mathilde Bonnefoy and Dirk Wilutzky
“Finding Vivian Maier” John Maloof and Charlie Siskel
“Last Days in Vietnam” Rory Kennedy and Keven McAlester
“The Salt of the Earth” Wim Wenders, Juliano Ribeiro Salgado and David Rosier
“Virunga” Orlando von Einsiedel and Joanna Natasegara

Best documentary short subject
“Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1” Ellen Goosenberg Kent and Dana Perry
“Joanna” Aneta Kopacz
“Our Curse” Tomasz Sliwinski and Maciej Slesicki
“The Reaper (La Parka)” Gabriel Serra Arguello
“White Earth” J. Christian Jensen

Achievement in film editing
“American Sniper” Joel Cox and Gary D. Roach
“Boyhood” Sandra Adair
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Barney Pilling
“The Imitation Game” William Goldenberg
“Whiplash” Tom Cross

Best foreign language film of the year
“Ida” Poland
“Leviathan” Russia
“Tangerines” Estonia
“Timbuktu” Mauritania
“Wild Tales” Argentina

Achievement in makeup and hairstyling
“Foxcatcher” Bill Corso and Dennis Liddiard
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Frances Hannon and Mark Coulier
“Guardians of the Galaxy” Elizabeth Yianni-Georgiou and David White

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Alexandre Desplat
“The Imitation Game” Alexandre Desplat
“Interstellar” Hans Zimmer
“Mr. Turner” Gary Yershon
“The Theory of Everything” Jóhann Jóhannsson

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
“Everything Is Awesome” from “The Lego Movie”
Music and Lyric by Shawn Patterson
“Glory” from “Selma”
Music and Lyric by John Stephens and Lonnie Lynn
“Grateful” from “Beyond the Lights”
Music and Lyric by Diane Warren
“I’m Not Gonna Miss You” from “Glen Campbell…I’ll Be Me”
Music and Lyric by Glen Campbell and Julian Raymond
“Lost Stars” from “Begin Again”
Music and Lyric by Gregg Alexander and Danielle Brisebois

Achievement in production design
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Production Design: Adam Stockhausen; Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock
“The Imitation Game” Production Design: Maria Djurkovic; Set Decoration: Tatiana Macdonald
“Interstellar” Production Design: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Gary Fettis
“Into the Woods” Production Design: Dennis Gassner; Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock
“Mr. Turner” Production Design: Suzie Davies; Set Decoration: Charlotte Watts

Best animated short film
“The Bigger Picture” Daisy Jacobs and Christopher Hees
“The Dam Keeper” Robert Kondo and Dice Tsutsumi
“Feast” Patrick Osborne and Kristina Reed
“Me and My Moulton” Torill Kove
“A Single Life” Joris Oprins

Best live action short film
“Aya” Oded Binnun and Mihal Brezis
“Boogaloo and Graham” Michael Lennox and Ronan Blaney
“Butter Lamp (La Lampe Au Beurre De Yak)” Hu Wei and Julien Féret
“Parvaneh” Talkhon Hamzavi and Stefan Eichenberger
“The Phone Call” Mat Kirkby and James Lucas

Achievement in sound editing
“American Sniper” Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Martín Hernández and Aaron Glascock
“The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” Brent Burge and Jason Canovas
“Interstellar” Richard King
“Unbroken” Becky Sullivan and Andrew DeCristofaro

Achievement in sound mixing
“American Sniper” John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff and Walt Martin
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño and Thomas Varga
“Interstellar” Gary A. Rizzo, Gregg Landaker and Mark Weingarten
“Unbroken” Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño and David Lee
“Whiplash” Craig Mann, Ben Wilkins and Thomas Curley

Achievement in visual effects
“Captain America: The Winter Soldier” Dan DeLeeuw, Russell Earl, Bryan Grill and Dan Sudick
“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, Daniel Barrett and Erik Winquist
“Guardians of the Galaxy” Stephane Ceretti, Nicolas Aithadi, Jonathan Fawkner and Paul Corbould
“Interstellar” Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Ian Hunter and Scott Fisher
“X-Men: Days of Future Past” Richard Stammers, Lou Pecora, Tim Crosbie and Cameron Waldbauer

Adapted screenplay
“American Sniper” Written by Jason Hall
“The Imitation Game” Written by Graham Moore
“Inherent Vice” Written for the screen by Paul Thomas Anderson
“The Theory of Everything” Screenplay by Anthony McCarten
“Whiplash” Written by Damien Chazelle

Original screenplay
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Written by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr. & Armando Bo
“Boyhood” Written by Richard Linklater
“Foxcatcher” Written by E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Screenplay by Wes Anderson; Story by Wes Anderson & Hugo Guinness
“Nightcrawler” Written by Dan Gilroy

CHECK OUT THESE RELATED ARCHIVES:

American Sniper – The battle is never over for Bradley Cooper

By


Oscar season is once again upon us and should we be grateful? Don’t get me wrong, this is the time of year where the chances of seeing a truly excellent film are high. Some studios and distributors delay a film’s release in order to achieve Academy recognition and all the benefits that a win can do for the talent involved (not to mention box office revenues).

But more often than not it feels there’s a formula or checklist to the winning films in recent years. This includes: being based on a true story, a protagonist confronting their inner demons, the struggle to do right and what they believe in against adversity, a bit of racism, American / social guilt, helping the frail or disabled, the main actor undergoing a physical transformation for the part and an ending that sticks with the audience for days to come. Indeed there’s even a term for these movies – ‘Oscar bait’.

So with that in mind I am sceptical of any film that comes out this time of year. Once again I must reiterate that we get some truly excellent movies during this period, but most seem to adhere to a recipe to please academy voters.

American Sniper is a film that was below my radar until last month. It is based on the true story of Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper), a US Navy SEAL who served four tours of duty during the Iraq war. During his time he racked up a total of 160 confirmed kills (and nearly 100 more probably kills), making him the most deadly sniper in American military history.

The film begins with a tense sequence in Iraq where he has to make a decision to shoot a child who may endanger his fellow troops. We then jump back to his childhood and the film briefly chronicles his moral and religious upbringing, then to his adult life and his decision to join the SEALs at the age of 30. He meets his wife Taya (Sienna Miller), becomes a father, serves his four tours and deals the aftermath of leaving the war behind and adjusting to civilian family life.

So for starters this is mostly an all-American film but isn’t preachy. Chris is from Texas and dreams of being a rodeo star. He is a cowboy whose call to adventure is a cause to fight for good against the evil in this world. So it’s little surprise that Clint Eastwood chose to direct this (although Steven Spielberg briefly flirted with it). This is no Unforgiven (1992) but you have to admit that he has directed some brilliant films over the years and can get believable emotions from his cast and shoot some terrific action scenes, soundtracked in this film mainly by the sounds of gunfire.

This is his best directed film in years and held my attention throughout. Some moments are brutal and intense, but there doesn’t seem to be an overall pro or anti-war message to the film. Chris seemingly joined the SEALs blindly and stubbornly as he was brought up on a code of ‘God, country and family’. This stubbornness may be seen as patriotic but in action it is incredibly damaging to himself and his family.

Chris is portrayed as a manly man, but with most action films of the last decade or so there is always emotional consequences to the hero’s actions. He earns the nickname ‘legend’ on the battlefield which aids his fellow troop’s morale. As the film states, ‘winning is psychological’. He later resents the title as he becomes the most wanted man in Iraq and is weighed down not by the guilt of his kills, but by the solders he couldn’t save.

What this film is good at showing is the after effects of men at war. Chris suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and finds it hard to adjust to life back home. He is haunted by the evil that he has witnessed, can’t open up and is paranoid. He finds the best way to deal with it is to get back to the fight and when he does decide to come home, it truly is an emotional moment.

As the film progresses we see the pain in Chris’s eyes as he attempts to deal with it. He is more distant and in denial after each successive tour. This is where Cooper shines but he never goes full breakdown. He has been Oscar nominated twice before, but I doubt this will be his winning performance. I did find it a bit distracting that the more troubled he is, the bigger his beard gets.

We convincingly see the effects on his wife Taya as Sienna Miller really shows off her acting skills, struggling not only when he is away but also to bring her husband back when he’s home. There is good chemistry between them as their relationship goes up then down. Indeed she is the heart of the film.

It may seem a bit of a shame then that most of the other characters and actors play second fiddle and are largely forgettable, except for a few moments. Some of the villains, including an Iraqi former Olympic medallist turned sniper, aren’t fleshed out and as such seem two dimensional fodder. The people of Iraq just seem to be there and that’s it. But then again this is Chris’s story and Cooper’s movie.

We do see the bond of brothers in arms in the battlefield and when Chris is home he find a sense of solace towards the end as he helps disabled veterans, seemingly making it obvious to the audience that these men lost a lot fighting for freedom and came back broken.

I really enjoyed the film but had a few issues. Like True Grit (2010) I had trouble understanding some of the southern accents and missed some seemingly important dialogue. Secondly the physics of shooting a sniper rifle seemed ignored but this is a Hollywood film, hence the cheesy use of bullet time.

However my biggest issue was with the ending, once the story had come full circle.

SPOILER ALERT
The only time we see a date on screen is at the end and it seemed needless as it rightly led me to believe that something bad would happen. Chris is murdered by one of the veterans he was trying to help. We then have real life footage of his service and when the credits roll there is no music, a technique used in Game of Thrones and 24, when shockingly a main character dies. We aren’t told what happened to the solider that killed him, and as such there is no sense of closure or justice for the audience: which may have been intentional in order to achieve a haunting ending but it seemed like an easy shock tactic. That being said for those who knew about his demise, then the ending may seem poetically tragic as he finally overcame his demons.
END OF SPOILERS

That being said this is a good film. The direction and acting was fantastic and the action scenes are tense and the overall pace doesn’t sag. More importantly it isn’t preachy and doesn’t have much of a sense of American guilt for invading Iraq.

I have had difficulty giving a final verdict mainly due to the ending, but it does stick with you and as such this is a powerful film about war and the individual struggle of the solider.

Overall Verdict: A moving film showing not only the horror of war but the struggle in returning to normality once it’s over. A great performance by Cooper and co., but if they were going for Oscar glory then I think they have missed their target.

Reviewer: George Elcombe

CHECK OUT THESE RELATED ARCHIVES: