The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Posted on January 29, 2012 by Charles Atlas

Director: David Fincher

Certificate: 18

Time: 2 hrs 40mins

A number of eyebrows were raised when Hollywood declared that it was to make its own version of Steig Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy; the GWTDT being the first instalment. The Swedish version had been so good that critics wondered how it could be improved upon.

Having now seen both (see previous review March 2010)  it is probably true to say that they are of equal merit. Rooney Mara’s Lizbeth Salander is every bit at edgy as that portrayed by Naomi Rapace and Daniel Craig makes a convincing Mikael Blomquist.  So if you have seen the first representation it’s worth watching this one, if only to revisit an absorbing and macabre tale with a delightful feel good twist at the end.

Patrons: 43

Rating:  4/5

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Romantics Anonymous

Posted on January 21, 2012 by Charles Atlas

Director: Jean-Pierre Ameris     Certificate: 12a     Time: 1 hr 18mins       French with English subtitles

It is some time since I have laughed so much whilst watching a film at the cinema. That it should have occurred with Romantics Anonymous, a film of which I knew nothing, made the experience all the more enjoyable. The blurb had hinted at a touching romantic tale.  It is indeed that, but it is also very very funny, making it a complete delight.

Socially awkward boss, Jean Renard, is serving the last rights on his dying chocolate business. Failing to move with the times it is losing business at an alarming rate. In a last ditch effort to stem the tide he employs Angelique, a chronically shy young woman, who just happens to share Jean Renard’s passion for all things sweet. Unbeknownst to him she is the answer to his prayers, but in more ways than he could have imagined. Because, while he initially employs her as a sales rep, she is in fact a gifted chocolatier, albeit a covert one, whose sweets were once legendary around town.

On the way to discovering Angelique’s talent, Jean Renard falls in love with her; and she with him. But it is a tortuous journey hindered by a degree of emotional inhibition that is at times heart wrenching to watch.  But it is also hilarious, one particular scene – when the two go out on a first date – being unforgettable.

Poignant, clever, funny with not a hint of sentimentality this a charming film one that  could well be the sleeper of the year.

Patrons: 19

Rating: 4/5

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War Horse

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Charles Atlas

Director: Stephen Spielberg    Certificate: 12a     Time: 2 hrs 26mins

Based on the 1982 novel by Michael Morpurgo, War Horse is the story of the friendship between a horse named Joey and Albert, the young man who tames and trains him. With the onset of WWI, Joey is abruptly parted from his rural idyll in Devon and transported to the hell of the Western Front. And so begins a journey in which he touches to lives of the many people who come into contact with him; a British cavalry officer, German soldiers, a French farmer and his granddaughter, before reaching an emotionally charged climax in the desolation of no man’s land.

In setting his feel good children’s story against the industrial scale killing of the First World War, Morpugo has set director Stephen Spielberg a challenge; depicting that feel good emotion whilst maintaining a strong sense of reality. But whether he has achieved that is open to debate. Never one to shirk the opportunity to tug at our emotions, Spielberg has placed the horses at centre stage. But his portrayal of their heart rending plight, allied to improbable acts of honour, only serves to neuter the story of the thousands of brave soldiers who lost their lives in awful circumstances. Which is disingenuous.

Where War Horse succeeds is as a saccharine laced introduction to the First World War. As a realistic depiction of the horrors of that particular war, it falls some way short.

Patrons: 20

Rating: 2/5

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The Deep Blue Sea

Posted on January 9, 2012 by Charles Atlas

Director: Terence Davies    Certificate: 12a    Time: 1 hr 38mins

The Deep Blue Sea, Terrence Davies’ adaptation of the Terrence Rattigan play of the same name is nothing if not atmospheric. Filmed for the most part in half light, it captures perfectly the drab and repressed world of post WWII Britain.

Hester Collyer (Rachel Weisz) is the beautiful wife of high court judge Sir William Collyer (Simon Russell Beale). To the shock of those around them she walks out of her marriage and into the arms of Freddie Page (Tom Hiddlestone) a young ex-RAF pilot. He offers her the physical love that Sir William cannot, but in her pursuit of this love she becomes obsessed to a degree that can never be satisfied.

Davies’ adaptation suffers at times from a lack of pace – the opening sequence is over five minutes long, contains no dialogue and is set against a bleak violin concerto – together with the occasional confusing sequence of events, such that you are not always sure whether what you are watching is in the present or the past.  However, it also provides a revealing depiction of the intoxicating effect of love and how it can overpower all sense of reason. In achieving that the performances of Weisz and Hiddlestone are to be commended.

Patrons: 12

Rating: 2/5

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Resistance

Posted on December 19, 2011 by Charles Atlas

Director: Amit Gupta    Certificate: PG    Time: 1 hr 32 mins 

Adapted from the novel by Welsh author Owen Sheers, Resistance is set in an alternate history where Nazi Germany has conquered Russia, defeated the Allied forces at D-Day and invaded Britain. From the title you might think cells of plucky Brits blowing up troop trains and attacking convoys of tanks.  Not so. It is to our imagination that these events are directed for, in this slow paced account of a Welsh valley, it is the psychological impact of occupation that we are asked to consider.

The story begins as morning breaks. Four farmer’s wives wake to find that, during the night, their husbands have mysteriously disappeared. None of them has given any prior notice so nobody knows where they have gone. Aware that the German army is within striking distance, it is a surprise that it should arrive in the valley earlier than expected in the form of a small unit lead by the principled but troubled Lieutenant Albrecht . He has been sent to find an historic map which is believed to have been hidden in the fells nearby. Cut off from the outside world and the influence of the Nazi war machine it is not long before Albrecht and his team decide to discard their uniforms and become part of the community, befriending the four wives.  And as the time passes it becomes clear to the wives that their husbands are not going to return. Within this scenario, somewhat predictably, Albrecht falls for Sara (Andrea Riseborough). 

However amongst the locals there are those who revile the thought of collaboration and they take it upon themselves to send a message of disapproval. So callous is this act that it causes the local Gestapo to be made of aware of what Albrecht and his men are doing. All are compromised. The rural idyll is destroyed. 

At times the dialogue is so clipped and stiff, the imagery so clichéd, that one screams for things to move on. But in concentrating solely on the psychological impact of occupation the film does raise serious questions of how one would behave in a similar circumstance. And for that reason it is a film worthy of note.  Just a shame that proceedings should finish prematurely, and with so many strands left up in the air.   

Patrons: 6

Rating: 2/5

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Jack Goes Boating

Posted on December 5, 2011 by Charles Atlas

Director: Philip Seymour Hoffman    Certificate: 15    Time: 1 hr 31

In this romantic drama set in New York, renowned character actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, has followed George Clooney’s footsteps by a working on both sides of the camera.

Based on Bob Glaudini’s play of the same name Jack, excellently portrayed by Seymour Hoffman, is a middle aged limousine driver, with an anal predilection for beanies and reggae music. He is repressively shy, almost to the point of nervous exhaustion. He just needs to meet the right woman, to draw him from his shell. Friend and fellow limo driver Clyde (John Ortiz) sets him up on a date and so begins a tortuous courtship in which both Jack and Connie (Amy Ryan) agonise over taking that final leap of faith. It’s a fascinating conundrum facing many in their middle years.  

And there are some interesting scenes, none more so than when Jack has his first swimming lesson. The reason; he wants to take Connie boating, but will only do so when he can to swim. But this formula is then repeated with the need to cook, requiring Jack to take cooking lessons. At times the pace is too slow and there is much padding with background music supporting reflective scenes. Furthermore as Jack and Connie grow close friend Clyde, and his wife Lucy, are heading in the opposite direction. The manner of the final breakdown is overblown.

At its heart this is a morality tale about good people finding one another and how that contrasts with the destructive effects of infidelity. It’s a strong premise but sadly this film doesn’t quite pull it off. 

Patrons: 5

Rating: 2/5

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The Ides of March

Posted on November 28, 2011 by Charles Atlas

Director: George Clooney    Certificate: 15    Time: 1 hr 41 

We are told that politics is a ruthless, dirty business. And having just watched The Ides of March, George Clooney’s adaptation of  the Beau Willimon play, Farugat North, there is little to dissuade one from that view. 

Ryan Gosling – who must be the actor of the moment – plays Stephen Myers, an idealist deputy campaign manager caught up in the frantic last days of an Ohio presidential primary. Through a romantic assignation with one of the interns working for the campaign team, he unearths a political scandal that has the potential to upend his candidate’s (George Clooney) presidential ambitions. The resulting attempt to cover it up ends in tragedy and Myers, through various misguided actions, finds himself a total outcast. 

But his personal ambition knows no bounds and with a degree of political manoeuvring of which Machiavelli would have been justly proud, he engineers the circumstance to his ultimate advantage. By focusing the film on the final days of just one primary, Clooney has given the film a level of intensity that would have been missing from a broader sweep. And as a consequence it has both pace and tension to provide high degree of drama. Added to which is a mind blowing degree of back stabbing as friends, colleagues and enemies are well and truly skewered.    

Patrons: 7 

Rating: 5/5

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Tyrannosaur

Posted on November 28, 2011 by Charles Atlas

Director: Paddy Considine    Certificate: 18    Time: 1 hr 32 mins 

There are moments in some films when you wonder why you are there and whether the point of departure has been reached. Such is the case with Paddy Considine’s debut motion picture, Tyrannosaur. For having been emotionally battered for nigh on forty five minutes by the most bleak and cold-hearted behaviour one starts to wonder whether to stick or twist.  Fortunately I chose to stay and, whilst the general air of heartless behaviour continues there are signs of redemption in a story with an interesting twist. 

Joseph, brilliantly portrayed by Peter Mullan is a violent man, desperately trying to quell his rage. After yet another confrontation in a bar on the run down council estate where he lives, he seeks refuge in a Christian charity shop where Hannah – convincingly play by Olivier Coleman – attempts to engage with what little good is contained within his soul. Initially it is a fruitless task as Joseph ridicules her faux do gooding, based as it is on the comfortable mores of the middle class life from which she hails. 

We soon learn, however, that her life is far from the comfortable facade that she portrays. Indeed, in some ways, it is more hopeless than that of the man she is trying to help. Eventually the two find hope in one another but the way this comes about contains no hint of sentimentality. All of which helps to make the film totally believable.  And from the bleak beginning, things do get better albeit with the occasionally shocking event. Paddy Considine’s film is a difficult watch. But as an insight into the dark side of contemporary life, it is a must see.

Patrons: 5

Rating: 4/5

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Midnight in Paris

Posted on October 31, 2011 by Charles Atlas

Director: Woody Allen    Certificate: 12a    Time: 1 hr 34 mins 

Written and directed by Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris is a romantic comedy with a twist. Gil (Owen Wilson) is visiting Paris with his pushy fiancé (Rachel McAdams) and her equally pushy parents. He’s a laidback chap but not in the useless sense and we soon begin to wonder how he became betrothed to a woman – and by implication her parents – who think so little of him.

Needing time to himself he goes wandering around Paris and, on the stroke of midnight, is transported back in time where he goes on to meet a whole host of famous artists amongst them Picasso, Hemmingway, Scott Fitzgerald, Cole Porter and Dali to name but a few. Through this Allen attempts to show that it is an illusion to believe that life would be so much better if we could live in what we perceive to be a better time.

Whilst the time travel is entertaining, it gets repetitive and it doesn’t entirely prove the premise. What is clear is that the trips demonstrate to Gil that his impending marriage is a mistake and that, once back in the present, he calls time on the venture. Amusing rather than laugh out loud funny, Midnight in Paris is a diverting take on the romcom genre.

Rating: 3/5

Patrons: 5

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For Your Tomorrow

Posted on October 13, 2011 by Charles Atlas

Director: Don Clarke     Time: 1 hr 8 mins 

Consider the great events and campaigns of the Second World War and more than likely one will think about Dunkirk, The Battle of Britain, El Alamein, the Battle for the Atlantic and D-Day rather than perhaps Singapore or Burma. Yet in choosing the Burmese Campaign as the subject for his first documentary Don Clark has tapped into a rich local seam to provide a fascinating insight into the many thousands of working class men from the Black Country who were sent to the edge of empire to fight the formidable Japanese army.

Combining actual footage and academic analysis with personal recollections from the last surviving local men, For Your Tomorrow looks at the debt we owe to a generation of men who came to defend their country on the far side of the world. The moving anecdotes give a real sense of contrasting emotions; the excitement of going to a foreign land set against the background of war and the overriding fear of fighting a ruthless and fearsome enemy in the debilitating Burmese jungle.  

At its heart, however, the film seeks to demonstrate how events from the past have helped shape the way we live today and in this it succeeds admirably.

Rating: 3/5

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