Posts Tagged ‘review’

Werner Herzog has a reputation for being a bit mental. In the past he has cooked and eaten his own shoe after losing a bet. There was a short documentary made about this incident, the snappily-titled Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe. He was also shot whilst being interviewed by Mark Kermode but insisted on continuing the interview as ‘it was not a significant bullet’. You see? Crazy.

Nicolas Cage is also a rather deranged individual. The evidence? His performance in The Wicker Man remake and the fact that he named his son Kal-El after Superman’s real name. Bonkers. Now, what would happen if we took this pair of fruit-loops and got them to make a film together? Well somebody did and the result is Bad Lieutenant and it’s brilliant.

Cage plays Terence, a cop promoted to lieutenant after some heroics during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Unfortunately Terence injures himself and gets addicted to his pain medication. Like Dr House dialled up to eleven, his addiction escalates from Vicodin to weed, to coke, to heroin as the film progresses. Terence also has the small issue of a multiple homicide to clear up, sky-rocketing gambling debts to clear, a young witness to protect and his father’s dog to babysit. Eva Mendes, teaming up with Cage once more after 2007’s Ghost Rider, plays Terence’s girlfriend, whore-with-a-heart-of-gold, Frankie.

Cage gives the performance of his life, chewing up the screen and spitting out chunks of dialogue with barely contained fervour. If you thought he was fun as Big Daddy in Kick-Ass, you ain’t seen nothing yet. Cage clearly relished the role and is a joy to watch. Mendes also gives a fine performance and the supporting cast, including Val Kilmer, Xzibit and the ever-amusing bit-parter Jennifer Coolidge, play their parts well.

Bad Lieutenant takes the well trodden hard-boiled cop genre and warps it; Terence skulks around his beat, comically oversized .44 Magnum sticking out of trousers like Harry Callahan’s doped-up younger brother. The generic conventions of renegade cop movie are exaggerated to the point of parody; to say too much would spoil some of the film’s delight, but just ‘til you see Terence threatening witnesses, attempting to rig football matches and the lengths he goes to get his next hit.

One senses that perhaps Herzog would rather be making unhinged natural history documentaries (see Encounters at the End of the World and the mind-blowing insanity of Grizzly Man) and is probably looking to raise some cash to fund his next project. Rather than phoning in the direction however, Herzog makes the film never fearing to skew the genre further out of recognition or stick in a bizarre repeating lizard motif in the scene.

To conclude, Bad Lieutenant is one of the most unexpected and most entertaining films you’re liable to see any time soon. Hats off to the madmen.

Stieg Larsson may have died a tragically sudden death in 2004, but he also brought to life a worldwide phenomenon in form of The Millennium Trilogy, and its conundrum of a lead character Lisbeth Salander. Published after his death, the originally Swedish works have progressed into multiple languages and cultures, resulting in the listing of Larsson as the second highest selling author of 2008. Following in the success of the literary project came 2010’s release of the cinematic adaptation of the first of the trilogy, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and each and every Larsson fan is racing out to discover if the genius of the novels can be successfully translated onto the big screen.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo tells the story of investigative journalist Michael Blomkvist, takes a job from a capitalist giant to find out what really happened to the man’s long missing niece. On hitting a brick wall, Blomkvist enlists the help of mastermind yet mysterious computer hacker Lisbeth Salander whose anorexic frame and antisocial nature engrosses the reader as much as they do Blomkvist. Together the pair form an entirely unconventional team which takes the novel from the average crime thriller to a new and innovative take on the undercover workings of Sweden and its right-wing components.

Blomkvist is at first displayed as a slightly stereotypical hero, echoing features of Dan Brown’s Robert Langdon in his appealing persona and stubborn temperament. However, the use of one familiar face acts as an anchor for the other more unique characters and the enigmatic canvas on which they are painted. The novel’s opening in Sweden’s urban capital contrasts artistically with its immersion into the depths of countryside Hedestad; perhaps symbolising the angelic surfaces of the novel’s suspects and their harsher realities beneath. The most fervent appeal, however, is Lisbeth Salander for in her fearlessly feisty and intelligent nature, she encapsulates all the features that make the novel so irrevocably readable. In her, Larsson captured what was needed in modern culture; a woman who is free of archetype yet possesses amounts of strength and individuality sufficient to evoke both interest and envy in almost any contemporary reader.

The accomplishment of Larsson’s creations made the film adaptation a consequent must-see, and for a supporter of the trilogy it would not disappoint. The movie stays true to the book in every aspect from its plot and characterisation right down to the native Swedish language and location. The film is scenic and fast paced, and most importantly it indulges a deep sense of realism. The cast portray suitability rather than beauty, the unpleasant scenes of the novel are mercilessly transferred and the cinematography is minimalistic whilst effective. Larsson’s own activism against conspiracy in his journalistic pursuits was predominant in his prose, and this aspect of realism in the movie is a loyal tribute to the author’s own intent; the hidden secrecies of Sweden were actively displayed whilst maintaining the utmost credibility.

However, while the book intrigues the reader from start to finish, the film is simply too long. With a running time of over two and a half hours, the audience are by the end restless, and are excited by the movie’s climax only as it initiates a long-awaited end to a tiresome venture. The obvious intent to stay true to the novel’s plot was admirable, but a little more editing would have made the process more enjoyable, especially to viewers who were new to the tale. Soon to be followed by a Hollywood rival adaptation, it will be interesting for many, to witness whether either adaptation will stand the test of time or whether the novels will stand alone in their phenomenal and admittedly unexpected success.

Sam Worthington has a lot to be grateful for, with the builder-turned-actor being given some of the biggest roles in Hollywood to date. Due to the success of his role in Avatar, there are high expectations of Worthington in this re-envisioning of the 1981 classic, the Clash of the Titans.

Sadly, Worthington has not managed to meet these expectations, appearing as though he has succeeded in the acting world because of his rugged, “heroesque” looks. Worthington may look the part of Perseus, a fisherman-turned-demi-god-turned- hero, striving to save the city of Argos from destruction. But this is merely all that Worthington offers, as his acting skills leave little to be desired, being equipped with a lack of emotion and bizarrely, an Aussie-accent amongst an all-English cast. This, combined with a constant bewildered look, leaves the audience feeling awkward and deprived of a true hero. To top it all off, Worthington holds a sword like a wet fish, and his skirts are short enough to make even Jodie Marsh embarrassed.

Needless to say, the film, directed by Louis Leterrier, (who’s previous feats include the muscle-clad films: The Incredible Hulk and Transporter 2), features limited narrative, allowing it to be jam-packed with testosterone-fuelled action. However, this often prevents any emotional connection with the characters, as they are depicted as expendable, merely collateral damage in the race to save mankind.

The 2010 hit has definitely grown up; shedding the image of its sugar-sweet, pre-watershed predecessor. Instead, the script has matured, gaining adolescent rage in its years of development and spawning creations transcending childhood nightmares. It seems that Leterrier wanted to revamp the soon-to-be franchise, similar to what The Dark Knight did for Batman. Gone are Ray Harryhousen’s cutesy, playdoh creatures, replaced by truly terrifying CGI beasts, such as the giant, armoured scorpions, known as Scorpioks, or the frightening flying Harpies. These graphics are made even more fantastical by the fluid merging of CGI with live-action, beautifully demonstrated in the adrenaline-pumping fight scenes.

This treat for the eyes is further accentuated by Martin Laing’s set designs, which are comparable to the spectacles in box office smashes Avatar and The Lord of the Rings, with every minute detail being perfectly executed. Laing’s expertise shine through particularly on Medusa’s lair and the three seers’ hideout, making his high-tech designs on Terminator Salvation pale in comparison.

The smash-hit’s all-star cast features a variety of British treasures, including Pete Postlethwaite, Ralph Fiennes and Liam Neeson. However, few of these deliver to the high-standard expected from such prestigious actors, with Ralph Fiennes’s Hades being in desperate need of a cough sweet, with his distracting, husky voice. Unfortunately, Liam Neeson’s Zeus is no better, being so underdeveloped and indecisive about helping Perseus, making it difficult to decide whether Zeus is a villain, or merely “misunderstood.”

Nonetheless, there are those that raise the bar. Despite his small role, Pete Postlethwaite shines as Perseus’s guardian, the caring and loyal fisherman, Spyros. Postlethwaite plays his character with such integrity and gentleness that he wins the audiences’ heart with every sentence. Gemma Arterton also produces a surprisingly pleasant performance as the ageless beauty Io, allowing Arterton to finally correct her wrongdoings in the Quantum of Solace. Arterton plays her character with conviction, but is rather persistent in demonstrating her apparent elocution lessons, via numerous voice-overs and warnings for Perseus. However, the illusion of Io is shattered by her lack of humanity- there is never a hair out of place or a speck of dirt on her immaculate face, even after the most severe fight scene.

Clash of the Titans is indeed 110 minutes of pure, unadulterated escapism, allowing the audience to marvel at the battle for freedom between the Olympians and man. Due to its length, the Clash of the Titans gets straight to the action, sacrificing the minimal plot for explosive action scenes. But this is one rare occasion in which the length of the film should not have been forfeited for the plot and action, as it leaves the audience with the sunken feeling of being short-changed.