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Movie Train - FILM REVIEWS by Morgan Bell

Fresh critical film reviews by young Australian journalist Morgan Bell. A bight-sized opinionated analysis of popular movies and indie/art-house feature films. Explores plot, themes, characters, performances, soundtracks and film technique. Morgan Bell assesses movies in the context of what makes a successful cinema or DVD experience.

[ May 2008 ] [ July 2008 ]

Movie Train - June 2008

REVIEW: Southland Tales

June 29th 2008 11:29

Directed & Written: Richard Kelly (Donnie Darko)

Starring: Justin Timberlake, Bai Ling, Sarah Michelle Gellar, The Rock, Mandy Moore, Seann William Scott, Miranda Richardson, Jon Lovitz, John Larroquet, Christopher Lambert, Kevin Smith

Southland Tales is an exercise in self indulgence for one-hit-wonder cult director Richard Kelly. The film milks the success of Donnie Darko mercilessly while aggressively satirising american politics AND employing a massive cast list of famous friends to cement Kelly's "pull" in Hollywood . . . im a little cynical . . . Southland Tales has the cool indie soundtrack, the offbeat characters, unique scenes and an abundant collection of quirky quotable quotes but it ends up feeling like a community service announcement aimed at young people to encourage them to vote in the 2008 presidential election.

Justin Timberlake is our narrator, a soldier returned from Iraq to the dystopia of homeland security gone mad. The film is set in the immediate future, post an imagined nuclear world war, the human landscape is basically apathy as the government squashes every last civil liberty while the people are too emmerced in their porn and reality tv to care . . . its an ok idea but it is so heavy handed and self important that it falls short of the wittiness it is trying so desperately to achieve . . . it is badly executed and has bitten off way more than it can chew.

Strangely Bai Ling is the stand-out in this film, Bai Ling and Justin Timberlake, i think that should really tell you something . . . the rest of the cast is annoyingly self-aware and seem to pause for approval after delivering their lines, looking to the camera with a puzzled expression waiting for their canned laughter . . . so very pleased with themselves, yet not very pleasing to the viewer . . . Justin Timberlake gets the coolest scene in the film breaking out into a surreal musical interlude, lip-synching to The Killers with a troupe of marilyn-monroe-esque backup dancers . . . Bai Ling slithers about with a snakiness of biblical proportions, she is the evil temptress of the apocalypse, a striking serpentine seductress.

Richard Kelly seems to be aiming for Mulholland Drive and landing somewhere between The Fifth Element, Mars Attacks and Not Another Teen Movie, he throws in a bit of time travel theory and a few people with wounded eyes just so we dont forget we are watching the director of Donnie Darko . . . he is grossly underestimating the intelligence of his audience and it feels really condescending . . . this film cant decide if it is a homage, a spoofy parody, a black satire, a surreal thiller, a political sci-fi, a time-travel adventure, an armageddon drama, a comment on drugs, war, the environment, suicide, sexuality, fame, wealth, weapons . . . Kelly is like a kid in a candy store, completely overwhelmed an unable to decide "oh heck lets put it ALL in a blender and call it a tapestry with an ensemble cast"

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REVIEW: Sweeney Todd

June 21st 2008 14:09

The Demon Barber of Fleet Street puts the flavour of revenge in Mrs lovetts pies . . . a tale of blood lust, mistaken identity, corruption, and some terrible singing

Directed: Tim Burton (Charlie & The Chocolate Factory, Big Fish, Sleepy Hollow, Edward Scissorhands, Beetle Juice)

Written: John Logan (The Aviator, The Last Samuri) - screenplay adapted from the original play, musical and book
** the 1979 Hugh Wheeler book and musical adaptation was based on the 1973 play by Christopher Bond

Music: Stephen Soundheim (composer of the original music and lyrics from the musical)

Starring: Johnny Depp (Sleepy Hollow, From Hell, Edward Scissorhands), Helena Bonham Carter (Hamlet, Frankenstein, Merlin, Fight Club, Big Fish), Alan Rickman (Sense & Sensibility, Robin Hood: Prince Of Theives, Truly Madly Deeply), Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat, Ali G), Jamie Bower, Edward Sanders

Strangely i didnt enjoy this film as much as i thought i was going to . . . i am a huge fan of musical theatre, a huge fan of Burton, Depp, Bonham Carter, and Rickman . . . i love period film, i particularly love films set in London in exactly this time period . . . and above all i love films with a stylised gothic atmosphere which Burton creates so masterfully . . . so what went wrong?

Well as much as i feel like a philistine for saying this: there is too much singing in this musical! haha

And its not cool modern singing or dynamic complimentary musical interludes (like the oompa loompas in Burton's Charlie & The Chocolate Factory), it is this weird attempt to compress all the songs of a 3 hour musical into a 2 hour film . . . i had anticipated some clever writing to replace or shorten some of the songs by paraphrasing the plot points and characterisations that are revealed but instead everyone is just singing FASTER!? and without heart or expression . . . and sadly by people that arent even fantastic singers!

Depp pulls it off as Todd with an above average voice but Bonham Carter carves up the role of Mrs Lovett with her unsuitably shallow and speedy singing style and puts it in one of her stinky pies . . . Rickman is not a great singer, Sacha Baron Cohen has a great performance apart from the singing, the little boy (Sanders) murders more songs than Sweeney Todd slits throats . . . it is a beautiful cast with stunning costumes and art direction but i think i would rather look at the movie stills than actually watch it, or listen to it, maybe i could watch it with the sound muted?

TRIVIA: Helena Bonham Carter and Tim Burton began their relationship in 2001 while filming the remake of Planet Of The Apes, she has appeared in all of his films since and the couple now have two children together . . . how many children Burton has with Depp is unknown

Helena Bonham Carter in Sweeney Todd (dir: Tim Burton)

Johnny Depp and Alan Rickman in Sweeney Todd (dir: Tim Burton)

Jamie Bower and Johnny Depp in Sweeney Todd (dir: Tim Burton)

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REVIEW: 3:10 To Yuma

June 13th 2008 12:45

A western for people who dont usually like westerns . . .

Directed: James Mangold (Walk The Line, Identity, Girl Interrupted, Cop Land)

Written: Michael Brandt and Derak Haas - adapted from the original 1957 screenplay/story by Halstead Welles and Elmore Leonard (Mr Majestyk, Get Shorty, Jackie Brown)

Starring: Christian Bale (Batman Begins, American Psycho, A Midsummer Nights Dream, Little Women), Russel Crowe (A Beautiful Mind, Gladiator), Logan Lerman (The Butterfly Effect, Riding In Cars With Boys), Peter Fonda (Easy Rider, Wild Hogs), Alan Tudyk (Death At A Funeral, Serenity), Ben Foster (30 Days Of Night, Get Over It)

Ben Wade (Crowe) is a criminal, Dan Evans (Bale) is a one-legged rancher in debt up to his eyeballs . . . the time is just after the American Civil War where outlaws, bandits, prospectors, and cowboys were squabbling for power and money and to make some sense out of the anarchy that uprooted a generation of Southerners and spawned the legends of the wild west . . . the difference between this film and the hundred other westerns that i havent enjoyed, two words: character development!

Evans is commissioned to help transport Wade to the station in order to catch the 3:10 train to Yuma Prison. Wade is a bored but deadly outlaw who leads a pack of ruthless killers and thieves. Once Wade is apprehended his loyal gang (including the sociopathic Foster) try to track the party of lawmen who are escorting Wade to the train (including Fonda and Tudyk), also tracking them is Evans teenage son (Lerman). Wade and Evans develop an understanding of each other as the events unfold and by the end of the film the characters have changed due to their dealings with each other.

Christian Bale is mesmerising as a man conflicted between his honest morals and regaining the respect of his family who are seeking a "hero", a status automatically granted to criminals like Wade. Russel Crowe gives a surprisingly subtle performance and is menacing in his unwavering confidence. Ben Foster is a standout as Wade's sadistic protege who will do whatever it takes to free Wade. This story is set is the west but it is relevant to today or any uncertain times. All the characters are multi-faceted and real and we are taken on an amazing journey of self-realisation which examines father/son relationships and how a man can tell what is right from what is wrong when the social fabric decays and there is no moral yardstick.

Logan Lerman and Christian Bale in 3:10 To Yuma

3:10 TO YUMA TRAILER

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REVIEW: Sunshine

June 11th 2008 16:45

Spectacular sci-fi thriller, visually stunning masterpiece . . .

Directed: Danny Boyle (28 Days Later, The Beach, Trainspotting, A Life Less Ordinary, Shallow Grave)

Written: Alex Garland (28 Days Later, The Beach)

Starring: Cillian Murphy (Batman Begins, Girl With A Pearl Earring, 28 Days Later), Rose Byrne (Troy, Two Hands, TVs Damages), Michelle Yeoh (Memoirs Of A Geisha, Tomorrow Never Dies), Cliff Curtis (Runaway Jury, Blow, The Piano, Once Were Warriors, Whale Rider), Chris Evans (Not Another Teen Movie, Street Kings)

Sunshine is set in the near future imagining the Sun is dying and a team of scientists are forced to venture into space to re-ignite it so the Earth will not perish in a killer winter. The science is pretty loose and it is not dwelled on but the crew aboard spaceship Icarus are faced with a series of moral dilemmas which are explored brilliantly by the cast. This film is a homage to the space classics Alien and 2001: Space Odessy which also tackles the big issues of what it is to be human, where humanity goes wrong, the role of science, the existance of god, and (similarly to The Beach) if the ends can ever justify the means. The visual effects are absolutely stunning and rich vibrant colour tints every frame in a unique and captivating way. I am a huge fan of Irish actor Cillian Murphy and he pulls off the role of the intellectual physicist effortlessly in Sunshine. Danny Boyle has employed an international cast and created yet another modern masterpiece . . . if you want to sit in awe of something astoundingly beautiful then this film is a must-see!

SUNSHINE FILM TRAILER

SEPARATED AT BIRTH?
Random celebrity look-alikes Cillian Murphy and Tom Welling (USA TVs Smallville) could be identical twins!

Cillian Murphy

Tom Welling

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Princess Leia: Hero or Damsel in Distress?

June 7th 2008 10:40

Princess Leia may be wilful, but is she still just a damsel in distress waiting for the hero? The portrayal of gender roles in the film Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope deserves a closer look, as the Princess Leia is not the traditional naive girl from Alderon that we often take her for.

To appreciate Princess Leia as a groundbreaking female action hero, it is necessary for a modern day re-examination of the value of her role within this film. And to evaluate Leia in context we must take into to consideration:

a) Leia exists in a male dominated setting where she is one of only two female characters (the other one being a small appearance by Mrs Skywalker) and her actions can only be compared to those men

b) Leia exists also within George Lucas's world of comic strip style clipped dialogue where a feminist monologue may ruin continuity

In George Lucas's Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope Princess Leia is a reluctant damsel in distress. She is aware of her limitations and willing to play whatever role it takes to defeat the Empire, but it is largely the way the other characters treat Princess Leia that gives her outward appearance of a damsel in distress. By looking at her physicality, her mission, others' presumptions of her, and her as a representative of her world, it can be seen that Leia uses her knowledge of female stereotypes as a way to take advantage of the situation she is in.

It is a misconception by the marketing of Star Wars that Leia is the typical damsel in distress. The back cover blurb reads "Luke Skywalker and Captain Han Solo team together with the lovable droid duo R2-D2 and C-3PO, to rescue the beautiful princess and restore justice in the galaxy." This is not actually representative of the plot of the story. It makes a more romantic sound-byte but fools us into expecting a typical female character. Leia was not kidnapped and held ransom. The story is set in a Civil War where Leia works politically and actively for the Rebels whilst maintaining she is only on diplomatic and mercy missions. It is largely due to her wit and deception that the Rebels make their first victory of stealing the plans of the Empires new weapon, the Death Star.

Leia's rescue team never actually set out to rescue her. The recorded message that Leia leaves in R2-D2 is mostly remembered by audiences as the phrase repeated "Help me Obi Wan Kenobi, you are my only hope." This can be easily misinterpreted as a plea for her own rescue, but the message played out in its entirety proves she is acting as a representative for her father, her planet and the Rebels. Her message states that her father requests (and begs for) Obi Wan's assistance. Her original mission was to bring Obi Wan and the stolen plans to Alderon but her ship was intercepted. Her actual instructions to Obi Wan are to deliver the R2-D2 droid to her father as he will know how to retrieve the information inside it. She says, "This is our most desperate hour. Help me Obi Wan Kenobi, you are my only hope.", the word "our" being the key to us knowing the mission is not out of self-interest. She is not asking to be saved herself, she is asking for political help.

watch video of the Princess Leia message here:

It is by chance that Han's ship is pulled into the Death Star and only once the "rescuers" are on board do they even discover Leia is even there. When Luke and Han find out Leia is about to be executed, Han is not even interested in saving her at the risk of his own safety until Luke offers to reward him with money. Leia risks her safety by entering into her mission gladly for the good of many, and is selfless in that respect. Han is a mercenary and an opportunist and Luke relishes in the glory of being the hero and getting the girl, both very selfish in contrast. Morally, it is Leia who possesses the quality of a hero.

In Luke's eyes Leia is the victim. When Luke sees Leia's recorded plea he says, "Who is she? She's beautiful" and "Sounds like she's in trouble". The first time Luke sees her in person, he opens the doors of her prison cell and sees her curled up sleeping peacefully. She appears to be passive and helpless, and waiting to be rescued. His first words to her are "I'm Luke Skywalker, I'm here to rescue you". It is, in fact, his desire to act in a heroic way that makes him want to see her as a damsel in distress. Many scenes later after she has proved to be active by seizing and shooting weapons, evading the enemy, displaying her ability to plan and think, and much criticism of and backchat towards her "rescuers", Luke still protects her with his body when blasting a lock.

Leia is physically diminutive, the male characters towering over her. She is not physically strong, in the garbage shoot she struggles to climb to the top of the garbage. Han has to help her to get on top by pushing and pulling. But moments before she was barking order to stop shooting and brace the walls. She is strong in her mind, character and position but limited by her physicality. She is smarter than Luke and Han, the only one that realises they did not really escape Darth Vadar. Leia knows and informs Han that they were let go in order to be tracked.

Lucas intends Leia to be surprisingly wilful. The first image of her in the film shows her small feminine hand reaching out to R2-D2, making her mysterious. A quick glimpse of her in flowing natural white, hooded and looking scared, gives us the preconception that she will play the typical victim. We are introduced to the princess through C-3PO declaring "We're doomed! There will be no escape for the princess this time" but this is the droid's own perception of the situation, Leia never appears distressed about her own safety. After much setting the scene of Leia as the victim, we then get to see her reveal her true nature as she complains about Luke and Han's rescue effort, seeing it as disorganised and saying "Someone has to save our skins" and she grabs a weapon out of Lukes hands and provides an alternate escape route. But by this point, first impressions have already been made and the viewer has an expectation to see her saved, not realising she has been all the while saving herself.

Lucas treats violence towards the princess as implied. When she is interrogated about the whereabouts of the Rebels and the hovering spherical robot approaches her in a sinister way with an exposed needle, Lucas chooses to cut away leaving the threat of torture or violation as too indecent to be explicit. But the fact remains that she is treated as a man amongst men, as an equal opponent to Darth Vader. They do not treat her with kid gloves, or any differently because she is female. They are very eager to kill her but only concede to keeping her alive as she is valuable as the only link to the Rebels. She is a player in a high stakes political game regardless of her gender.

Leia stands at the strategy table with the men (the decision-makers) while the fighter ships attack the Death Star. Lucas focuses on Leia here, her reactions, the look of concern in her face and body language. A superficial reading of the scene is she is showing a nurturing concern for the men (including Luke) in battle. But the plot would advise us her concern is really for the success of the mission, as it is a culmination of all her past efforts against the Empire, vengeance against the destruction of Alderon, and the future of good against evil in the universe. As a character with political interests rather than just typical romantic interests she is much more calculating than she first appears.

Lucas portrays the character of Leia as a personification of her home planet Alderon. We are told Alderon is a peaceful planet with no weapons. Having a female typifying the values of a passive world, she must be subversive instead of actively aggressive. The ceremony in the final scene lets Lucas remind us that Leia is a figurehead, a leader and a politician, her role in the film not entirely defined by her gender.

Lucas does his best to present Leia as a damsel in distress but the plot does not allow it to be so. He shows her weakness not so much in her actions but in others reactions towards her. Lucas's Leia appears deceptive in her duality. She hides behind the facade of being a diplomat on mercy missions, whilst all the time working for the Rebels. When in official diplomatic mode she pretends to be feminine and innocent to achieve results, but she is keen to show independence and leadership at any opportunity. Due to gender roles and stereotypes in our culture we find it hard to recognise someone that is small and softly spoken can be powerful, important and even heroic, but that is what Leia is – more than just a pretty face.

This is the first article by Morgan Bell ever published for student magazine Opus in 2004

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REVIEW: The Weather Man

June 5th 2008 14:36

Directed: Gore Verbinski (The Ring, The Mexican, Pirates Of The Caribbean)

Written: Steve Conrad (The Pursuit Of Happyness)

Starring: Nicolas Cage (Adaptation, The Family Man, Moonstruck), Michael Cain (Children Of men, The Cider House Rules, Miss Congeniality), Nicholas Hoult (About A Boy, Kidulthood, TVs Skins)

When i see Nicolas Cage in something good like this (or Adaptation) i really wonder why he agrees the appear in such complete tripe the majority of the time, maybe idiodic action flicks are more fun to film or maybe they just guarentee to bring home the bacon, but i think its a shame hes such a sell-out because the man has serious depth and talent and will occassionally blow you away with a character (rather than a missile explosion). The Weather Man is a beautiful tale of a selfish man, David Spritz (Cage) being forced to assess his life and his priorites due to a series of problems with his children, ex-wife, and genius father (Caine) . . . Michael Caine is brilliant as usual as a well regarded academic and writer whos one real failure in life has been his son and he is trying to use his dying days to show him what he has to do to be happy . . . the relationship between Cage and Caine is magical and their converations are powerful and compelling. This is a story about accepting who you are and making the best of things . . . making an effort to pay attention to the needs of your loved ones . . . making time to listen and understand. The Weather Man looks at social identity and responsibility and the race against time im a funny, genuine and offbeat way. This film is carefully crafted with striking colour and beautiful winter locations and stylised interiors which are littered with symbolism. There is much to appreciate in this well-rounded classic piece of cinema.

Michael Caine and Nicolas Cage in The Weather Man

FILM TRAILER "THE WEATHER MAN"

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REVIEW: The Golden Compass

June 3rd 2008 13:08

Directed: Chris Weitz (About A Boy)

Written: Chris Weitz (About A Boy, Antz) from the novel by Phillip Pullman

Starring: Dakota Blue Richards (debut), Nicole Kidman (The Hours, The Others, To Die For) , Daniel Craig (Tombraider, Casino Royal), Eva Green (Casino Royal), Sam Elliot (Tombstone, Mask), Christopher Lee (Lord Of The Rings, Charlie & The Chocolate Factory, Dracula)

Voices of animated characters: Kathy Bates (Misery, Fried Green Tomatoes), Ian McKellen (The Da Vinci Code, Lord Of The Rings, X-Men), Freddie Highmore (The Spiderwick Chronicles, Charlie & The Chocolate Factory, Finding Neverland)

The Golden Compass is impressive intellectual allegorical sci-fi film that adults will find satisfying. The story has so many punchy elements that i just loved, and although it is marketed as a childrens film i think it has alot to offer in the way of philosophy and social commentary. One element that really works is the concept of a parallel universe where each person has their conscience/spirit/soul represented by a talking animal walking alongside them . . . the animal is called a "daemon" and changes while the human owner is a child but then settles when the human reaches adulthood . . . this is the most clever concept ive ever seen for personifying someones true character . . . the sneaky people are accompanied by snakes or moneys or cockroaches, while the strong and honourable walk with lions or eagles . . . brilliant!

The setting is basically a dystopian society heavily controlled by a burocracy who are ruled by superstition and fear, the "golden compass" is a pocketwatch-type devices which is the only remaining artifact to link this world with the parallel worlds . . . the "golden compass" is like a moral compass powered by "dust" a magical substance which invokes truth and also links humans to their "daemons" . . . the burocracy mistakenly believes "dust"/knowledge is dangerous, they perform experiments on the children of the underclass attempting to rid the world of "dust", and acquire the "golden compass" to keep it out of the hands of the people. The CGI is well done and the characters are fleshed out. Nicole Kidman is both striking and icey as the main villain of the piece . . . prim, proper, charming, hypocritical, and bold . . . her hair is a magnificent feature in its many blonde styles.

Dakota Blue and Nicole Kidman in The Golden Compass

The writing is the real feature of The Golden Compass with many thought-provoking quips . . . this film is in the same league as Star Wars, Lord Of The Rings, and even Lord Of The Flies (as opposed to the one dimensional Harry Potter or Stardust) in that it is a film that includes children/adolescents but it isnt solely aimed at them. A very enjoyable experience!