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Non-Review Review: Le Capital

Posted on February 21, 2013 by Darren

This film was seen as part of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival 2013.

Thanks to Costa-Gavras, Le Capital looks amazing. It’s crisp, it’s vibrant and it’s beautiful. For a movie about financial corruption, it moves along relatively quickly and with a lot of visual flair. The problem with Le Capital, though, is that it’s really a very simplistic version of a story we’ve all seen countless times before. A person assumes a large amount of power, only for that power to have a potentially corrupting influence. Okay, Marc Tourneuil is already a successful executive when good fortune thrusts him into the role of CEO of one of France’s largest banks, and he’s certainly not naive when he negotiates his salary and bonus scheme, but Le Capital hints early on that there is some level of decency to Tourneuil before the wealth and influence start chipping away. As such, as the movie explores his corruption and the way that power erodes him, Le Capital feels like an engaging modern telling of a story that we’ve already heard quite frequently.

Byrne the bondholders…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: american, art, Costa-Gavras, dublin, film, Film festival, france, Francis Urquhart, gabriel byrne, Gad Elmaleh, jameson dublin international film festival, Jameson Dublin International Film Festival 2013, London, Movie, non-review review, review, United States | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Far Out Isn’t Far Enough – The Tomi Ungerer Story

Posted on February 20, 2013 by Darren

This film was seen as part of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival 2013.

A lot of the strength of a documentary lies in the subject matter. If you can find an interesting premise or subject, then you’ve got a hook. Far Out Isn’t Far Enough, the debut from director Brad Bernstein, picks a fascinating central character – writer and artist Tomi Ungerer. It is very tough to reduce Ungerer to a one-line synopsis or to define him in a relatively short strong of words, but Far Out Isn’t Far Enough takes a look at the life and times of the artist who made an enormous impression on American popular consciousness, only to fade from view surprisingly quickly – retiring first to Nova Scotia and then to Ireland. Far Out Isn’t Far Enough is a fascinating portrayal of a unique talent, with Ungerer making for a charming and engaging subject. While Far Out Isn’t Far Enough might gloss over his departure from the scene a bit, it’s a fascinating overview of the life and work of a truly gifted individual.

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: art, Brad Bernstein, film, Film festival, Ireland, jameson dublin international film festival, Jameson Dublin International Film Festival 2013, Maurice Sendak, Movie, non-review review, Nova Scotia, review, Ryan Gosling, Three Robbers, Tomi Ungerer, Ungerer, United States | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: The Good Man

Posted on February 19, 2013 by Darren

This film was seen as part of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival 2013.

Films about social justice can occasionally seem a bit clunky. Part of this is down to the way that most seem to have been conceived as simplistic morals rather than engaging stories, but there’s also a tendency to earnestly moralise in a manner that condescends to the audience. The Good Man manages to avoid the worst of these problems with a smartly-constructed third act that dovetails its two central narratives into one another, and because it accepts that the problem with our attitudes towards disadvantage and poverty in the rest of the world isn’t down to a simply lack of awareness. It is, the film suggests, easy to know about a problem, and easy to try to help. Understanding, on the other hand, is a far more challenging proposition.

We’re all connected…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: 2010 FIFA World Cup, Africa, Aidan Gillen, Belfast, dublin, Embassies and Consulates, film, Government, Jacob Zuma, jameson dublin international film festival, Michael, Movie, non-review review, Northern Ireland, Phil Harrison, review, south africa | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Side Effects

Posted on February 18, 2013 by Darren

This film was seen as part of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival 2013.

On one level, Side Effects is a deliciously pulpy medical thriller, with the kind of zig-zagging twisty plot that you’d expect from a Michael Crichton novel. It’s more than satisfying on these terms, almost serving as a feature-length pilot for an imaginary medical drama starring Jude Law. After all, with House off the air, there’s a clear gap in the market for a smooth English actor playing the lead in an unconventional medical drama. If he is sarcastic, all the better. While the genius of the early years of House came from mashing up the medical subgenre with the police procedural to produce a then-unique hybrid, Scott Z. Burns instead blends the medical drama with a decidedly more trashy and sordid thriller to provide a satisfyingly twisty drama.

However, on another level, Side Effects teases issues that are far more interesting than the movie it eventually becomes. It’s very frustrating when your red herrings feel like they’d produce a more thoughtful or insightful piece of cinema than the final story. Side Effects broaches topics that mainstream cinema hasn’t really engaged with, and the opening scenes flirt with the idea of providing an entirely different film. It’s not always fair to judge a film for what it isn’t, but the problem is that Side Effects sets up a much more tempting and intriguing look at medicine than we get with the final product.

Love isn’t the only drug…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: art, banks, Clinical trial, Emily Taylor, Film festival, films, house, jameson dublin international film festival, Jameson Dublin International Film Festival 2013, Jonathan Banks, jude law, michael crichton, Movie, Movies, non-review review, review, Rooney Mara, Ryan Gosling, Scott Z. Burns, side effects, Steven Soderbergh, United States | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Mea Maxima Culpa – Silence in the House of God

Posted on February 16, 2013 by Darren

This film was seen as part of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival 2013.

It’s very hard to know how to react to the seemingly bottomless pit of sex abuse allocations that have surfaced against the Catholic Church over the past couple of decades. Mea Maxima Culpa reveals that not only does the institutional abuse reach far into the past of the religious organisation, but that the Vatican was aware of these betrayals and violations of trusts for forty years. Mea Maxima Culpa is brutally candid in the way that it exposes the steps that the Catholic Church took to insulate and protect itself from these allegations and insinuations, even pointing out that most modern concessions and apologies are more concerned about the violation of the sanctity of the priesthood than with the damage done to the victims.

Mea Maxima Culpa is rough and overwhelming at times, but it’s hard to fault the documentary for this candid approach to the most uncomfortable subject matter. It’s well-constructed, thoughtful and also quite affecting – a powerful piece of documentary cinema that really exposes the true extent of a problem that has only been acknowledged in the past decade or so.

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Alex Gibney, boston, catholic church, christianity, Father Murphy, film, Mea culpa, Mea Maxima Culpa, Movie, Murphy, non-review review, pope, Pope Benedict XVI, review, Sexual abuse, United States, vatican | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Broken

Posted on February 14, 2013 by Darren

This film was seen as part of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival 2013. It was the opening gala.

Broken is that rarest of beasts, a suburban ensemble drama that manages to merge charming humanism with gritty reality. Mark O’Rowe’s adaptation of Daniel Clay’s novel is filled to the brim with humour and joy, but isn’t afraid of the darker shades of emotion. It’s unflinching and occasionally brutal, a candid exploration of the intersecting lives of those inhabiting a small close. However, this honesty lends the film credibility in its lighter moments. The smiles, the giggles and the laughter that come from many off the movie’s more human moments feel earned, and there’s a wonderful sense of balance to Broken, as if to concede that life cannot be composed of entirely happy moments, nor entirely sad. That’s the wonder of it all, and Broken skilfully manages to combine those extremes into a single charming and engaging coming of age drama.

A close call…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: arts, book, Christ, Cillian Murphy, Equilibrioception, fiction, film, Harper Lee, mark o'rowe, Movie, non-review review, Rabies, Religion and Spirituality, review, Robert Emms, Rory Kinnear, Rufus Norris, Shopping, Skunk, Skunk Anansie, Specific Titles, tim roth, Wine tasting descriptors | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Warm Bodies

Posted on February 8, 2013 by Darren

Warm Bodies is a very curious film – a weird genre fusion that feels like it really shouldn’t work, but with just barely enough charm to pull it off. The movie hinges on the wonderfully crazy idea of blending zombie horror with romantic comedy. Drawing from the book of the same name, the film is light enough and fast enough that it never overstays its welcome. There are times when it overplays its hand, when it threatens to descend into sentimental nonsense, and when the two genres seem to threaten to smother one another. However, it has enough charm and wit that it never veers too far off course before correcting itself.

At its best, it demonstrates that there’s life in these two old genres yet.

Uncanny.

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: film, george romero, Grigio, JohnMalkovich, Jonathan Levine, Juliet, Movie, Nicholas Hoult, non-review review, return of the living dead, review, rob corddry, Romantic comedy film, Teresa Palmer, Warm Bodies, zombie, zombie apocalypse | 5 Comments »

Non-Review Review: The Last Stand

Posted on January 22, 2013 by Darren

In theory, The Expendables demonstrated that age was no real impairment when it came to the task of kicking ass and taking names, even if you might need to put your reading glasses on first. So, you could argue that the issue of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s age doesn’t really need to come up during The Last Stand. We know that he is 65 years of age, and we also know that he’s probably a great deal fitter than most of us will be at that age. (Being honest, I wouldn’t be surprised to discover that a hexagenarian Arnie could trump most people in their prime.) As a result, the fixation of The Last Stand on the age of its leading man feels a little strange.

It feels especially strange because it eats into a lot of the film. The Last Stand is mostly functional, but its pacing suffers greatly. We’re going to see an Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle, so it’s safe to assume that (a.) we’re okay with his advancing age, and (b.) we want to see him kick some whippersnapper ass. Unfortunately, The Last Stand seems to misjudge the audience’s interest in an Arnie film, and as a result our leading man spends most of the first three-quarters of the film doing very little.

The Last Stand is clearly intended to demonstrate the viability of its leading man in this modern age, but it seems to lack the confidence to just dive into the action that this sort of film is meant to provide. The result is a strange mish-mash of a film that winds up wasting a lot of good will long before it reaches its climax.

He’s back!

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Arnie, Arnold Schwarzenegger, California, Christopher Nolan, expendables, Fast & The Furious, film, last stand, Movie, non-review review, politics, Ray Owens, review, Steven Seagal, sylvester stallone, United States | 1 Comment »

Non-Review Review: Wreck It Ralph

Posted on January 16, 2013 by Darren

Wreck It Ralph is a charming animated film, and one with all manner of interesting ideas. It teases a fascinating take on the archetypal children’s movie narrative – the notion that perhaps roles in stories cannot be so easily devolved into “good guy” and “bad guy” stereotypes. It raises all manner of insightful possibilities, drawing on a diverse cast of characters to offer us what amounts to the story of two outcasts dealing with the fact that they don’t necessarily get to be part of narratives that might make them a hero.

Unfortunately, there’s only so far you can bend this sort of hero’s journey before it breaks – or snaps back in your face, if you’re watching a slapstick cartoon. Wreck It Ralph compromises a bit too much in its final act, undermining a lot of what had been its appeal in order to offer a staggeringly conventional ending. It’s a shame, because it’s willingness to subvert so many narrative norms is a large part of the appeal of the film.

Sometimes life isn’t two-dimensional…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: animation, Arcade game, art, Donkey Kong, film, Hero, incredibles, john c. reilly, Mario, monomyth, Movie, non-review review, pixar, Ralph, review, Rich Moore, The Walt Disney Company, toy story, Vanellope, Video game, Wreck-It Ralph, Zangief | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Les Misérables

Posted on January 12, 2013 by Darren

It’s hard not to admire Les Misérables. It’s the first honest-to-goodness entirely sincere and mostly unironic big budget musical that we’ve seen released in quite some time. While song and dance will always be a part of the movies (The Muppets, for example, carrying many a dainty tune last year), there’s something quite impressive about seeing a music as epic and as iconic as Les Misérables carried across to the big screen. The stage musical became something of a cultural phenomenon on the West End, and Tom Hooper does an effective job of transitioning from stage to screen – even if he doesn’t consistently capitalise on the format shift.

There are some fundamental problems. The second half is a little too awkwardly paced and too disjointed to come together as well as it should, and Hooper seems to have a great deal pitching the right amount of camp (and humour) for an Oscar-bait musical about the aftermath of the French revolution. However, if you can look past those problems, the opening half is a superbly staged musical and the performances are impressive. Including the much maligned Russell Crowe, who might – hear me out – be the best thing about the film.