The Courier
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Tuesday 5 May 2015
‘Andy Dufresne - who crawled through a river of shit and came out clean on the other side.’ - The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Avengers: Age of Ultron (12A)
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arvel has, for the last ten or so years, been progressively oozing itself into our lives, the red slogan infecting the media like a plague, a sexy, sexy plague. While the various on-screen reincarnations of Marvel’s biggest comic book characters have oft fallen shit-short of matching up (I’m talking to you, Daredevil, The Hulk, Elektra & co) it’s arguable that their film universe has gone from strength to strength since The Avengers. Well two years, and a great deal of practice, later and Whedon offers us a veritable orgy of delightful superhero action in Age of Ultron, his older, cooler, super-powered progeny. Featuring an opening scene with enough action, co-ordination and cheeky, self-referential wit we’ve come to expect from a Marvel film to have anyone quivering at the knees, the first fifteen minutes are exceptionally strong. Unlike its predecessor, Age of Ultron does not suffer from origin-itis and really hits the ground running in terms of a punchy, funny fast start. A lot can be said for Age of Ultron when you take into account the hulk-buster vs Hulk showdown occurs somewhere around half-way through the film. It’s a scene that would be the epic climax of many a block-buster, but Age of Ultron has so much to offer that it can safely slot the most amazing ten minutes of perfectly CGI’d arse-kickery without peaking too early. In fact, probably the best new
The Falling (15)
edition to the franchise – Paul Bettany’s Vision doesn’t enter until way after this point. Of course, with jam-packing your film full of goodies and delights does come the risk of having too much. It’s a line that Marvel straddles with Age of Ultron, between setting up a sequel, introducing a smorgasbord of new characters and ‘the mission’, it still manages to show us some down time with its titular characters – giving the audience time to breathe as well as to laugh. But, that being said, it is a whole lot to fit in a film without overcrowding itself. As for the – sometimes – dreaded Stan Lee cameo? Well, this one actually worked and added, in its own small way, to the scene. The sequel also improves visually upon the first, The Avengers was somewhat criticised for Whedon’s visual – his skills more suited TV programmes. Age of Ultron fixes this as Whedon really plays around with wide shots and a few visually astounding tracking scenes of Iron Man flying – pov style. It’s like your Iron
Woman in Gold (12A)
Man for a few seconds and it just looks fantastic. Finally, and without any of the biased penchant for superhero worship that I have exhibited above, easily the most effective thing Age of Ultron does is make Hawkeye relevant again. He matters, he actually contributes and he’s not the useless shell of a character seen in the first movie. Critics were quick to point out that in The Avengers Hawkeye is relatively useless in the grand scheme of things. Age of Ultron plays on this, giving us a classic ‘am I relevant’ self introspective which – whilst a little cliché – is pulled off with astounding authenticity. I like Hawkeye in this; he’s a bit deeper, a bit meatier and a whole lot funnier. He’s an actual person this time. So whilst it is (as always) more of the same from the superhero genre, if you like this kind of thing Age of Ultron is arguably the best of the best, sir. More like this: The Watchmen (2009) David Leighton
Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 (PG)
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The Good: Inglorious Basterds
f a director is going to pump life into your career, you might as well have Quentin Tarantino manning the hose. Michael Fassbender might be the longest and brightest burning light from Tarantino’s knack for reinvention, and Inglourious Basterds is the supernova that sets it all off. Playing Lt. Col. Archie Hicox, a smooth-talking cinephile of a British officer in World War II, Fassbender’s aching cool is easily one of Tarantino’s best film’s greatest selling-points. Carrying the longest scene Tarantino has ever directed (it’s a whopping 26 minutes in length), Fassbender nails the German accent and language as well as the other Nazis in the bar allow him to, and it’s a gorgeous showcase for his versatility in his first big supporting mainstream role. A beautiful counterbalance to Christoph Waltz’s Germanic smoothness, a star was born with a good long sip of that amazing scotch.
The Bad: Jonah Hex
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he Falling is a feminist masterpiece and an exploration of sexuality and mentality like nothing ever seen before. It delves into the darkest recesses of the brain to uncover the startling effects of loss and, in doing so, blends reality and metaphor until the two are indistinguishable and incomprehensible. The film focuses on an English girls’ school in 1969 - a staunch and highly regulated environment. After tragedy strikes the school, the veil between order and chaos slowly begins to fall, as do the girls as they are gripped by a fainting epidemic. Lydia (Maisie Williams) is the worst affected and revelations about her life are revealed, peeled back to the nerve. Maisie Williams is a delight as the volatile Lydia. She yet again excels herself seemingly tackling intense and troubling material with sheer ease and expertise. Her scenes with Maxine Peake, especially towards the end, are gripping intense and uncomfortable, yet joyous to behold. However, some of the fainting, and one incident in particular, is a little sloppy and laughable, it detracts from the subject matter and serves as little more than a tension-breaker. Also, Lydia has a nervous twitch which begins to grow tiresome as the film progresses. Although this is not down to Williams, but the director, Carol Morley. A great highlight of this film is Morley’s feminist vision. Female sexuality is explored in a novel way which provokes thought and, at times, confusion. With an almost all female cast it is mesmerising to see their bonds twist and stretch to the limit. The unknown cast members portraying the other girls are captivating as they explore their character’s vices. Overall, The Falling is a triumph for Morley. It is a perfectly paced imaginative exploration of the female condition. It is also refreshing to see a coming-of-age piece focused on girls. The Falling is wonderful, bizarre and almost like a bang to the head. More like this: Dreams of a Life (2011) Emma Allsopp
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irected by Simon Curtis (My Week With Marilyn), Woman in Gold tells the true story of Viennese born Maria Altmann’s (Helen Mirren) decade long battle against Austrian authorities for the restitution of the iconic Klimt painting, ‘The Lady in Gold’, which the Nazi’s stole from the very walls of her house during World War II. Armed with the gutsy school-boy lawyer of a family friend, Randy Schoenberg (Ryan Reynolds), grandson of the famous composer Arnold Schoenberg, Maria must face the troubled memories of her past as she goes head to head with the Austrian establishment, taking her case all the way to the US Supreme Court for the rightful return of the stolen painting that resides in Belvedere Palace. The Austrian’s see it as the pinnacle of their culture, but Maria sees a portrait of her Aunt Adele (Antje Traue), commissioned by her husband Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer (Henry Goodman) in happier times. In alternating flashbacks we see how young Maria (Tatiana Maslany) & family suffer under Nazi oppression, and in a tension-riddled moment of the narrative, she manages a dare defying escape with her husband Fritz (Max Irons) and they flee to the Americas. 60 years and Helen Mirren shows us just why she is a famed star with her mix of unflappable steel and pithy comments in her rendition of Maria’s plight for the return of her Aunt. The historical picture and legal drama is a true David and Goliath tale in its depiction of the struggle between, justice, and the cold-hearted refusal of the Austrian cultural gatekeepers to admit any wrongdoing and return the stolen property. Admittedly, there are some truly touching performances, which wrench at the heartstrings in these glimpses at a dark moment in history, sandwiched between cloistered courtrooms. But more time was needed on the emotional history of this narrative, it would have turned out amazing, rather than a mediocre version of an extraordinary true story. More like this: Philomena (2013) Rebecca Dooley
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aul Blart: Mall Blarp 2 is the sequel to the undeservedly successful Mall Blart: Paul Blarp. Produced from the same gunk that gave rise to Jack&Jill and Grown Ups (Damn you, Sandler) this six-years-too-late sequel-which-nobody-should-care-about follows the continuing misadventures of bumbling security guard Paul Blart, played by Kevin James. In this second instalment of Blarp, Paul is invited to a ‘mall cop convention’ in Las Vegas, where he has been nominated to receive a commendation for his efforts in the first film. Blart obliges and is booked into a room at the glamorous 4.6 star rating on Trip Advisor™ Wynn Hotel™. This is where the ‘plot’ begins. The Wynn Hotel™ is not only home to a beautiful botanical garden™, three lovely restaurants™ and a pool™, but also a very valuable art collection which the hotel staff do not seem to care about – it is sought after by the film’s villain, Vincent. Thus, Blart is forced to once again mount his trusty Segway™ in bid to accidentally overcome Vincent and his cronies in exactly the same shoddy slapstick-but-with-a-fat-guy-so-its-funny way he succeeded with in the first film. The only difference this time is the addition of several one dimensional, stupid, lumbering and downright offensively portrayed mall cops which aid him in his fight for justice. The only thing remotely funny about this comedy was me having to write a review about it. Whilst Kevin James isn’t the worst actor in general, he IS a hideously unfunny sell-out to the point where I doubt he can comprehend the words of critics behind all of the money he’s had thrust at him lately. (This slop grossed $24 million in its opening weekend for Blarp’s sake!) This film sucks and I can only pray that it gets Hulk smashed out of the box office. More like this: Catwoman (2004) Conor Dowling
Like any of us who have been fortunate enough to climb the ladder of fame, there are certain rungs we’re not proud of stepping on. For Michael Fassbender, it’s Jonah Hex, DC Comics’ big-but-tiny flop that squandered a great idea into the new generation’s Wild Wild West. A similarly steampunk view of the Old West, animation director Jimmy Hayward’s first (and only to date) dabble in liveaction, it features Fassbender as a creeping, giggling and completely forgettable henchman for John Malkovich’s arch-villain. The fact that Fass’ character is called Burke speaks volumes for his involvement in the project. While he certainly isn’t the worst thing about the film (Megan Fox’s woeful performance as Hex’s prostitute lover takes that particular biscuit), it’s disappointing to see Fassbender in such a flopping failure. Then again, we can only learn to make good movies when we’ve done bad ones, right?
The Ugly: Shame
To be fair, Shame has as much right to be Fassbender’s ‘good’ film as it does his ‘ugly’ one. But, since it is one of the most graphic and upsetting popular films I’ve ever seen, it’s gotta be ‘ugly’. Chronicling the steady decline of a sex addict in New York, Michael Fassbender was robbed of an Oscar nomination (and a win) in Steve McQueen’s sordid yet beautiful drama. Every inch of Fassbender’s body is explored intermittently in 100 minutes of quietly intense character-drama, escalating slowly and torturously as Carey Mulligan’s demanding sister, Sissy, comes to stay. Nasty and cynical without being cheap, Fassbender’s staggering commitment is something not easily matched by even the greatest of actors. Yet, it comes at the price of one of the most uncomfortable watches in recent history. Approach with caution, admire strongly. Simon Ramshaw