Film Review : Precious

Another of those movies that are released around this time of the year that you just know is intended as Oscar bait. It's already been recognised gaining some acting honours at the Golden Globes (although you'd be excused for thinking that Mariah Carey had somewhat misinterpreted what was intended by a golden globes presentation!) and may well get more come Oscar time.

Notwithstanding that, this is a powerful story depicting the life of Precious who has been brought up in an abusive relationship and who is pregnant by her mother's partner for the second time at the age of 16. Given the opportunity to enrol in a school designed to teach similarly underprivileged kids to read and write and, in doing so, to help to develop the other social skills that they are lacking in, Precious learns to find herself and to begin to understand what is important for her future.

Debutant Gaboury Sidibe gives a powerful performance in the title role, seething with resentment about the life she is forced to lead but equally unable to break the ties from her mother. Played by Mo'Nique, the mother is a manipulative and selfish woman but who is equally trapped by the cards dealt her by life. However, it is hard to feel any sympathy for this woman and a number of scenes (some of which brought an audible gasp from many of the audience) lead you to despise the woman. I hope for Mo'Nique's sake, that's a sign of good acting!!

Paula Patton plays teacher Ms Rain and portrays someone with a commitment to helping her pupils although it's not made clear until later on what perhaps motivates her. However, she is in her own way as much of an outsider as the children under her care. She is also the only conventionally attractive women on display, and her glamour and the glimpses of her own lifestyle make a considerable contrast to the other lives depicted on screen.

Precious' first baby was born with Downes Syndrome and is used by her mother as a means of claiming further benefits although that is far as her interest in her grandchild extends. The second baby is born with the full compliment of health and Precious is determined that she will be a worthy mother.

This is a film that also manages more than creditable performances from singers Mariah Carey and Lenny Kravitz as an extremely dowdy social worker and male nurse respectively. Carey, in particular, is surprisingly effective as the social worker who manages to build a relationship with Precious and ultimately to a showdown with her mother.

The other classmates are a cosmopolitan group and it is a joy to watch their initial suspicions and fears subside as they bond over time.

Although their are many bleak scenes in this film, the ending is uplifting without being too saccharin. All in all, this is an excellent and thought provoking film that lingers in the memory long after you've left the cinema.

Film Review : Brothers

This was a movie that didn't get much in the way of advance publicity (or, at least, none that I was aware of) until I saw the trailers which appeared in December. Despite its' top-notch leading cast, it looked as if it ran the risk of being a little too cut and dried in its' approach to its' topic.

Tobey McGuire and Jake Gyllenhall play two brothers, with McGuire being the dutiful son who married his childhood sweetheart - and who wouldn't if she looks like Natalie Portman - and Gyllenhall the black sheep of the family who has just been released from a prison sentence.

Sam (McGuire) is sent to serve in Afghanistan and is involved in an incident which leaves him missing in action. Believed to be dead, his family and friends mourn him and attempt to move on. Having made some attempt to sort himself out, Tommy (Gyllenhall) seeks to provide some comfort and support to Grace (Portman) and her two daughters.

Sam, however, is not dead but has been prisoner for some time and is eventually released after his hiding place comes under attack. However, his exposure to the horrors of war has been traumatic and deeply personal which have damaged him tremendously.

It is therefore a withdrawn, sullen and paranoid Sam who returns to his family. And for Tommy, Grace and the family an equally difficult set of challenges faces them.

As mentioned, the trailer suggested that this might treat the topic with some predictability and perhaps the script does this - the ending, in particular, is a little glib and unsatisying. However, the performances have an intensity and realism about them which makes this a gripping movie. McGuire in particular is excellent and is required to show considerable range from the loving father through to the mentally unstable soldier returning from combat.

Film Review : The Book Of Eli

How many post-apocalyptic films is it possible to enjoy in quick succession. After The Road comes The Book Of Eli which shares a similar theme depicting the world after events which change the face of the earth forever leaving humanity of no doubt about its' place in eternity's pecking order.

It was clear from the trailer that although it shared a post-apocalyptic vista that this would be a very different style of movie from The Road. Starring Denzel Washington in the title role as a man with a mission although at first it's not quite clear what that mission is. More than ably supported by Gary Oldman in his best over the top villain mode as Carnegie who displays all the usual villainous trait used to win friends and influence people. Carnegie is fixated with finding a book and send his henchman all round the surrounding country to find it.

Of course, Eli has this book and it is also the key to his mission. The book is the last copy of The Bible on earth and Oldman seeks it to use the content to further cement his control of the survivors.

Whilst the violence that was displayed on The Road was used to demonstrate the depths to which humanity will quickly sink when every meal might be a matter of life and death, in The Book Of Eli it takes a more conventional movie form being the means by which the struggle between Eli and Carnegie is determined.

Throw in the daughter of Carnegie's concubine who joins Eli on his journey, and enjoyable cameos from Michael Gambon and Frances de la Tour as an old couple who have taken to eating human flesh, this films pull all the entertainment levers that The Road so studiously avoids.

As such, this can't compete (and, to be fair, doesn't attempt to) with The Road's grim attempt at realism but is nevertheless an entertaining tale, with a nice little twist at the end.

Film Review : Up In The Air

Jason Reitman has made quite a name for himself with his first two films as director, Thank You For Smoking and Juno. Whilst he's worked with actors of some substance, he's now moved into the big time with this movie which boasts George Clooney in the lead part.

Clooney's character plays Ryan Bingham who works for a company who are hired to pass on the unwanted news to people that they are being made redundant. As such, he's pretty much perpetually on the move and as a man with absolutely no commitment genes he's able to live a life to his total satisfaction almost perpetually on the road and utterly in control.

His world is shaken as his company employ a bright, young thing called Natalie Keener played by Anna Kendrick who convinces the management that this type of thing would best be done remotely with the consultants stuck in the office and carrying out their interviews over a web connection. Needless to say this does not go down well with Bingham but, as the company's top man, he is asked to show Natalie the ropes of the business.

At the same time, Bingham has made an acquaintance of Alex (played by Vera Farmiga) who seems to share a similar commitment-free lifestyle and engage in a relationship which seems ideally suited to their preferences.

Needless to say, this confluence of circumstance develops as you might expect with Bingham discovering that he's not as commitment free as he thought, and the halt to his travelling lifestyle also means that he makes a connection to his family which has until now largely ignored.

Whilst reasonably gentle in tone, this still has a decent kick to it. Clooney and Farmiga have real on-screen chemistry, and Natalie Keener is excellent as the smart cookie who has to learn some tough lessons along the way. Although it sounds very much like the proverbial chick-flick there is much more to it than that.

Clooney has been one of the early front-runners for Oscar glory but, whilst he is good, I'm not convinced that he's doing enough here to make him rise to the top of that particular pile. In any event, after the first couple of rounds of awards, it's beginning to look like the cognoscenti have decided that it's Jeff Bridge's turn. The Dude deserves it too!

Bingham ends the film living life as he has become accustomed, except that some things will never quite be the same again.

Film Review : Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll

What more can you want from life? It is, after all, all your brain and body need. Ian Dury's iconic debut single for Stiff Records is the title of this biopic of the disabled singer who stormed the charts along with his superb backing band The Blockheads some (whisper it) thirty years ago.

Andy Serkis continues to build on his reputation with an excellent performance as the unlikely star who was disabled as a result of a polio attach at the age of seven. Truly gifted, manipulative and often lacking in self-confidence (despite all appearances to the contrary) Dury could be a complete and utter bastard to friends, family and anyone else who caught him at the wrong moment but who was nevertheless loved by all of them in equal measure.

Massively charismatic whilst, seemingly paradoxically, not wanting to be seen as a second class citizen as a result of his disability whilst using that self-same disability as a means to get his own way Dury's legacy has stood the test of time albeit this is based largely on a couple of singles with perhaps New Boots And Panties being his only truly satisfying album.

This film is less about the music and more about the man. Based largely in the period between the latter days of Kilburn And The High Roads and the return of Chaz Jankel (which makes it 1981 and the Lord Upminster album), it depicts Dury's rise to stardom and his fall from grace which was largely self-inflicted by his conflicted desire for fame and his bad reaction to achieving it. There are flashbacks to his earlier life bringing into play the influence of his father (played by Ray Winstone and as mythologised in the song "My Old Man") and his time in an institutions with other children with polio. Both had a significant impact on Dury the adult although he was largely brought up by his mother and two sisters in a loving environment.

The film does well to depict the complexities that made up this man including his manipulative relationships with the women in his life. The centrepiece of the movie focuses around his relationship with his son Baxter who is famously depicted on the cover of New Boots And Panties alongside his father.

Although there are a number of strong performances from the rest of the cast, the movie undoubtedly belongs to Andy Serkis. It's not very long into the movie before you fully believe that it is the late singer that you are watching on screen. He also does all of the singing backed by The Blockheads and does an equally remarkable job.

For those of you who liked or loved Ian Dury this is a film you will want to see. For the rest of you, I can only say that my wife couldn't stand Ian Dury but was impressed by Serkis' performance in the trailer and thoroughly enjoyed the movie. I think that's what you call high praise indeed!

Film Review : The Road

Following the success of translating Cormac McCarthy's No Country For Old Men by the Coen Brothers, director John Hillcoat was given the task of doing the same for The Road, McCarthy's post-apocalyptic tale of father and son trying to survive in the grimmest of circumstances.

Those who saw Hillcoat's last movie The Proposition will be aware that he has all the credentials to turn McCarthy's bleak tale into a gripping movie. And the good news is that he has succeeded, although it's not something to be going to if you're looking for some light entertainment.

Unlike many post-apocalyptic tales there is no attempt to provide any alternative to the fact that life for those that remain will be anything but difficult, challenging and plain grim. There is added power to the narrative by never revealing what has happened to create such devastation in the world - we probably all have our preferred end of the world phobias and each will fit nicely into this tale which will help to increase your empathy for the characters.

The plot is simple and revolves around the travels of a father and son as they head for the coast in the hope that they might find something more hopeful for the future. Viggo Mortenson plays the determined but pessimistic father trying both to protect his son and also to prepare him to try and survive in an unforgiving world where those that remain are largely hostile in their own determination to survive.

The bleak outlook of the father are offset by some flashback sequences before the apocalyptic event with his wife, played by Charlize Theron. It allows you to judge the cost that's etched on the father's face during their journey to the coast.

The son, played by Kodi Smit-McPhee was brought up in a post-apocalyptic world but retains some optimism about his fellow man. This is not shared by the father who is suspicious of everyone and, in a harrowing scene attempts to teach his son how to shoot himself should he find himself out of other options.

The father carries a gun but it's soon clear that this is intended for use on himself and his son should that prove necessary rather than to shoot others. But his whole being is devoted to the protection of his son, and the intensity of Mortenson's performance is remarkable in conveying this as the journey progresses and the pair have to deal with a number of incidents along the way.

Supported by some fine cameo performances by Robert Duvall and Guy Pearce, the film concludes with the vaguest glimmer of hope. But perhaps that entirely relative given the struggle of the pair through a bleak, devastated landscape.

Film Review : Nowhere Boy

When you tackle the portrayal of an icon on screen any director is playing with fire. Even moreso than a beloved novel, people have a vivid and perhaps fixed image of that person. In addition, the facts and figures of their lives may be well known to the target audience and woe betide any small changes in the name of artistic license.

John Lennon is the latest such icon to have their life (or, more accurately, the most critically formative part of his life) portrayed on the big screen. Nowhere Boy depicts the tale of young John starting with the death of his Uncle George through to the death of his mother in a car accident (knocked down by a drunken off-duty police officer).

This period covers not only his meetings with Paul and George and the genesis of The Beatles, but also his relationships with his errant mother and his Aunt May which helped to form the crux of his artistic drive in years to come.

My bookshelves are crammed with many Beatles books so the background to the story was familiar to me, and the good news is that the story told was largely faithful to my understanding of what happened. The major piece of artistic license taken is to overemphasise the extent to which the younger John had ready access to his mother - it's rather suggested that she was persona non grata to him until his mid-teens but I do believe that she was often in his presence before then.

However, this is more than compensated by identifying the sudden death of his Uncle George as a key moment, and it was after this that there wasn't a balance in John's life to counter his Aunt Mimi's strictures. Whether or not he had regular contact with Julia before then, this was almost certainly the point at which he sought more comfort from his natural mother.

The relationship between John and the more talented Paul McCartney is well handled as well, and with Julia's death it's clear that the shared bond of music and maternal loss forged a strength in their partnership which took them to the considerable success they achieved.

Kristin Scott Thomas is excellent as the strict and regimented Aunt Mimi, whilst Anne Marie Duff portrays the waywardness and attitude which must have been appealing to the teenage John. In the main role, Aaron Johnson is excellent as Lennon. In the opening scenes, you struggle somewhat to picture him as the familiar icon, but once he discovers rock'n'roll and reshapes his hair into a quiff the image is complete. He also has the familiar stare that provided such character to Lennon's face - all, of course, due to his extreme short-sightedness and reluctance to wear spectacles.

Whilst Thomas Sangster is perhaps a little too geeky for Paul, his portrayal does provide a good, reflection of the precocious talent that McCartney had even at that age and his recognition of the more primal talents that lay within Lennon. And for the musical pedants amongst you, Paul's playing of Twenty Flight Rock to the slightly drunk John is present and correct (as is George's bus journey audition of Raunchy to cement his place in the group).

In spite of all the danger (sic), director Sam Taylor Wood has crafted an excellent movie that provides an insight into Lennon's formative years which is well worth catching perhaps even for those of you less enamoured of The Beatles than I am.

Film Review : Sherlock Holmes

The resurrection of Robert Downey Jr's career over the last 10 years has been both to his personal benefit and also to ours as his presence is usually guaranteed to light up the films that he appears in.

Not so much of a resurrection but still needing some assistance was the career of Guy Ritchie after the mess that was Revolver which had followed on from the abysmal Swept Away (which was less of a title and more of a prediction). The stylish RocknRolla went some way to restoring some credibility but there was the creeping suspicion that he was only able to work in a limited genre.

The combination of both of these talents for a version of the much loved Sherlock Holmes certainly enticed but that was not without some concerns. Could Downey handle the extremely English Holmes? And would this simply serve to prove Ritchie's limitation?

The good news is that not only can Downey make an excellent Holmes, but that Ritchie has also directed a grand updating of Holmes for the 21st century and which has all the hallmarks of another successful franchise.

In addition, Jude Law is excellent as Watson played as equally formidable to Holmes rather than the lapdog version of the character as etched into legend by Nigel Bruce. The chemistry between the two actors helps propel the story along.

Also appearing is the delightful Rachel McAdam who is rather underused as an apparent previous but errant love-interest of Holmes, although it is her part in the story which leads to the clearest indication of a further celluloid adventure.

The bad guy is played by the excellent Mark Strong who is apparently resurrected after being hung in prison.

The uniformly strong cast do help to compensate for what turns out to be a reasonably predictable script but this is accompanied by terrific action scenes along the way which leave you thirsting for more from Ritchie and his ensemble.

In the meantime, I'm looking forward to seeing Downey reprise his role as millionaire superhero Tony Stark in Iron Man II

Concert Review : Ian McNabb - King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow

My last gig of 2009 was to see Ian McNabb play a solo gig at King Tut's in Glasgow. It was an extremely cold evening (and little were we to know just how long that would continue) and this may have had an impact on the attendance which was somewhat less than I had been expecting.

In addition to being one of the best songwriters of the past twenty five years, McNabb is also a superlative singer capable of wringing the last drop of emotion from a tender ballad as well as rockin' out with the best of them. It's something of a (beautiful old) mystery why his career has seemingly levelled out at what I would consider to be well below what he deserves. I do think that his songs are such that many could be covered by the Ronan Keatings of this world, but I do rather suspect that his own versions set the bar rather high for other vocalists.

Having led The Icicle Works through a series of excellent and varied albums to diminishing returns (and perhaps that variety is both where the interest lies for the hardcore fan but also makes it difficult to sustain mainstream success however deserved this might be), he set off on a solo career that looked as if it might hit the jackpot particularly with his second album, Head Like A Rock, being nominated for the Mercury Music Prize. Unfortunately for Ian, he seems to have been afforded winners luck for this award, despite not actually winning the damned thing! Nevetheless, his solo work continues to maintain an excellent level with many great songs that it's astonishing haven't found a wider audience.

He has a new album available called Great Things and many of the songs were shown off to great effect in the show. Making use of synths and other programmable devices, it does offer a different musical backdrop to recent albums without detracting from his consistent strengths. The new songs stood up well in solo performance (and I remain an adherent to the argument that if a song can't stand up in a bare acoustic versions that it's not a good song) and were not remotely embarrassed to be performed alongside the many classics from the McNabb back catalogue that we heard tonight.

Ian was a little tentative in the first half and wasn't as communicative as usual. Mind you, I think was very probably because he was absolutely frozen! It didn't take long for the audience to warm up and a starting duo of Fire In My Soul and You Must Be Prepared To Dream has them in good voice.

Ian was much livelier in the second half and was much more his usual ebullient self. He's always been a modest chap which is why one of the tracks on his album is called I Can't Help It If I'm Great which sits nicely in his songbook alongside I'm A Genius!! He is also clearly still in love with music and this comes over very clearly on all the occasions that I've seen him perform.

All in all, this was an excellent evening's entertainment although I do prefer to see Ian fronting a band. However, I suspect the economics of touring make that a less likely prospect these days. He has been in the habit of playing a gig with a band in Liverpool each December so I suspect I should aim to save my pennies for a trip over the border in 2010.

Film Review : Avatar

To describe this movie as long awaited would be rather understating the point. James Cameron's first movie since the award sweeping Titanic is keenly anticipated on two levels. Firstly, it's twelve years since Titanic broke box-office records so this counts as a follow up. Secondly, we've been promised a ground-breaking experience with the technological advances that Cameron has been championing suggesting that this movie is ready to push the boundaries of movie making so much that things will never be the same again.

As for the latter claim, I'm not sure that's necessarily going to be the case but it is undoubtedly a marvellous experience and one that should be enjoyed in 3D. Cameron has undoubtedly managed to create a world which is entirely believable and where the boundaries between reality and computer generated animation are just about entirely removed.

This is not to say that the CGI creatures are what you would describe as "photo-realistic" (which always appears to be the aim of those working in this medium) - they're not really. But they do appear to be alive, and you have no difficulty in accepting this from very early in the movie.

What probably shows the technological advances is the depth and realism of the jungle surroundings of much of the film, including some stunning deep shots (e.g. looking over the edge of a mountain). Some of this has been done in other films but not with the sheer amount of details that you see on Avatar.

So the technology is a resounding success - what about the story? The tale is a fairly typical sci-fi tale of the human race looking to colonise for their own ends without consideration for those who have lived for years on the planet, or the traditions that they have lived under for centuries. Sam Worthington plays the role of the spy who turns, and eventually defends what he was sent to undermine.

All in all, the tale is well told but does suffer from too clearly obvious and perhaps cliched characters where it's pretty clear who's on what side of the baddy/goody line. In other words, pretty much like most James Cameron movies!

Notwithstanding that it does make for a thoroughly entertaining and engrossing movie, with the spectacle leading the way over the script. Indeed, I'm not sure if you would enjoy the movie in 2D format as much as would undoubtedly be the case for its' 3D compatriot.