Soon there won’t be anything left to see…

For various reasons, I’ve been sitting in the dark, air-conditioned wonder of various cinemas a lot over the last three weeks.  Reviews (or criticisms, depending on my time and inclination) are forthcoming for the following:

• Soundtrack for a Revolution
• The Brothers Bloom
• Alice in Wonderland
• Nowhere Boy
• Boy
• Crazy Heart
• This Way of Life
• The Boys are Back
• Green Zone
• The Last Song (hey, I saw it for free…)

IN BRIEF – Reviews of films past:

Nine

Actually, despite not-exactly-rave reviews, I thought this was spectacular.  Based loosely on Federico Fellini’s 8 ½ (if you studied that at Uni, as I did), Nine is a musical set in 1960s Roma, where Guido Contini (played wonderfully, as ever, by Daniel Day-Lewis) is a famous movie director whose film is about to start shooting – only he doesn’t yet know what it’s about.  Plagued by writer’s block and the various women in his life (played by Penelope Cruz, Nicole Kidman, Marion Cotillard, Sophia Loren, Kate Hudson and Judi Dench), this is a glorious evocation of a time when film-making was glamorous, cars were fast, and women were ridiculously beautiful.  I didn’t know any of the songs beforehand, but came out singing, utterly exhilarated.  Special mention goes to Fergie for her signature tune “Be Italian”.  The film certainly made me wish I was…

Up In The Air

This isn’t just about George Clooney (he’s far too old for me, anyway).  Up In The Air is rightly receiving Golden Globes and Oscar nods as a brilliantly funny, perceptive take on corporate culture, the recession, and relationships.  Ryan Bingham (Clooney) flies around the USA firing people on behalf of their cowardly bosses.  He loves the isolation his life affords him, clocking up millions of air miles, 340+ days a year.  When two women enter his life and threaten his world – one, a female version of his commitment phobic self, the other a bright young exec who proposes firing people over Skype – sparks fly and lessons are (of course) learnt – but not quite as you’d think.

It’s Complicated…

With an engaging, truthful performance from Meryl Streep as a 50-something divorcee who has an affair with her ex-husband (played with hilarity and seemingly no shame by Alec Baldwin), this film is well-written and completely entertaining.  Steve Martin makes a welcome return to our screens playing a down-to-earth architect who gives Streep pause for thought as she embarks on “one of the craziest things I’ve ever done”, as she negotiates the loss of her grown-up children from the nest, and tries to establish the next phase of her life.  Lots of laughs, plenty of home-truths, and not saccharine at all.

Avatar

Some people loved it (I know this from lengthy discussions in the tearoom at work).  Some people may still be unsure as to whether they need to see the most technologically advanced film in history.  If you’re looking for a clever narrative, good acting and a witty script, then perhaps don’t bother.  But there is no denying this is history in the making, and James Cameron has produced something very special indeed (for which he maybe deserved the Best Director Oscar in my eyes, but not Best Picture).  Avatar truly is amazing to watch, and to get lost in for 2+ hours.  See it 3D (Imax if you can handle it, but normal screen is fine too) and take it as pure entertainment.  Either that, or see the highest-grossing film of all time simply because you don’t want to be left out.

Creation

This film didn’t screen in many cinemas in my town, but it’s absolutely worth a look (even on DVD).  Paul Bettany and real-life wife Jennifer Cononlley play Charles & Emma Darwin – he of The Origin of Species masterpiece that shaped our understanding of the world in which we live.  This is a subtle film, beautifully acted and told, covering Darwin’s ambivalence about his discoveries and the church’s concern about what he was going to write.  The relationship between Darwin and his wife is somewhat inspirational, but it is his love for eldest daughter Alice that provides the backbone for the story.

Sherlock Holmes

Robert Downey Jr pulls off an exhilarating rendition of the famous detective, upping his physical prowess in impressively choreographed boxing matches, and nailing the witty dialogue, in what should be considered director Guy Ritchie’s return to form (he of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, rather than he “Mrs Madonna”).  Jude Law plays the put-upon Dr Watson, and together our heroes provide a most entertaining spectacle of how to catch an occultist murderer in olden-days London.  This is a jolly romp, not entirely faithful to the Basil Rathbone films of yore, but beautifully shot, lit and full of action.