Ryan Watches A Motion Picture #85: Four Lions (2010)

Chris Morris, a notoriously shy, reclusive BBC comedian and so-called "media terrorist" has directed his first feature film. And fittingly, it's about terrorism. Yippee! He's directed for and starred in various BBC television projects in the past, and his stuff is typically hilarious and full of biting commentary. Seeing his name on the DVD case certainly grabbed my interest, since it promised something aggressively satirical.

Four Lions centres on four British jihadists trying to take their ideals to a violent end and blow themselves up in the name of the great struggle against MacDonald's and Jews and all that jazz. One of the characters is so comfortable with blowing up that his own family encourages him lovingly towards his goal as though he were simply going for a raise at his security job. He's the one with the most relative sense, and the other guys are mostly hapless, confused, and belligerent. Some of them aren't exactly sure they want to blow up, but the peer pressure is too great for them. One goes so far as to try to train cute, friendly crows strapped with bombs to fly into sex toy shops and jihad themselves up to heaven. It doesn't go too well.

While the characters are clearly huge idiots, they also seem very human. The stupidity that it takes to blow yourself up and kill people doesn't precisely come from a fanatically religious place in Four Lions. Rather, it seems to have more to do with human insecurities and vulnerabilities. This makes the characters mostly sympathetic idiots rather than easily dismissed and disliked religious lunatics. You get the constant impression that these people are missing something and getting in way over their heads. The key phrase at a pivotal moment in the narrative is "I'm sorry. I don't really know what I'm doing."

So: Some interesting and endearing satire. Worth a look.

Pose Reviews A Movie. #40: Pirate Radio (2009)

Lovers of rock and/or roll, lend me your ears!!!

...er...and your eyes for a minute.

It's time to promote the coolest, rockiest and probably funniest nautical comedy ever to grace international waters.

Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to present for your viewing consideration: PIRATE RADIO!

Pirate Radio, much like Do The Right Thing (the subject of my last review) is largely character-driven, but it presents one of the most lovable casts of characters since music-movie classic, Empire Records.

The film is set in 1966, and it depicts life on board Radio Rock, a ship that broadcasts rock n' roll music from outside the jurisdiction of the British government, since at that time Britain was hosting a decidedly ungroovy ban on broadcasting rock over the radio.

Pirate Radio mostly takes the perspective of Young Carl (Tom Sturridge), a troubled lad whose mother has sent him to live on the ship under the guidance of his godfather, Quentin (Bill Nighy) in a misguided attempt to straighten him out after he's been expelled from school.

However, sending the boy to live amongst rock 'n roll DJ's in order to make him a more disciplined, upstanding citizen turns out to be as ridiculous as sending a six-year old to work in a candy shop in order to enforce responsible eating habits.

Carl is swiftly taken under the wing of the ship's record-spinnin', jam-pushin' crew, consisting of radio DJ's all along the spectrum of wackiness. There's The Count (Philip Seymour Hoffman), Dr. Dave (Shaun of the Dead's Nick Frost), Angus (Flight of the Conchords' Rhys Darby) and the mysterious late-night DJ, Smooth Bob (Ralph Brown), who is more of a legend than a man, since he only emerges from his cabin once every twenty-four hours to spin ditties for all the lovers out in Radio-Land.

The cast of characters are what make Pirate Radio such a charming feature, and the personalities of each DJ really shine through when the suave "King of the Airwaves," Gavin Kavanagh (Rhys Ifans) rocks the boat with his return.

And let's not forget Kenneth Branagh as the crusty government minister who tries to shut down Radio Rock from the shore. He really steals the show.

Pirate Radio is full of great moments, and although it's not an outrageous laugh-a-minute gag-fest, it strikes the right balance between substance and humour to make it really worthwhile.

The story is also richly multifaceted, since focus is placed on each of the wonderfully diverse characters, delving into their personal lives, their squabbles with one another, and their reconciliations.

Conflict also occur both on and off the boat, which gives the audience a number of storylines to follow, while the coming-of-age story for Young Carl that underlies the entire film.

And it's impossible to talk about Pirate Radio without mentioning the epic soundtrack. Pretty well every song in this movie is a Britrock hit from the 1960's, and when each scene is kicked off with a classic tune, it's music to any music-fan's ears.

Pirate Radio is a great, lighthearted comedy for music-lovers and movie-lovers alike. I'd recommend it to anyone who digs slightly absurd, character-driven narratives, and also likes to rock out.

This is DJ Pose, signing off.

Pose Reviews A Movie. #27: Death At A Funeral (2007)

Ah yes...leave it to the Brits to put the "fun" back in "funeral."

Frank Oz (AKA Miss Piggy) brings us this celebrated dark comedy all the way from the UK, documenting an ordinary funeral that goes extraordinarily wrong.

The entire film plays like a really, really good episode of Fawlty Towers in the way that many of the characters buzz around, hiding secrets and lying through their teeth in a vain attempt to maintain order and solemnity at an occasion that is quickly and drastically taking a turn for the funny and ridiculous.

Death At A Funeral makes excellent use of awkward and deadpan humour, but it is also not short on laugh-out-loud moments. And I can't possibly review it without mentioning that it sports close-up of two of the best single facial expressions I've seen captured on film.

In short, there's no lack of golden moments, I assure you.

I think what makes Death At A Funeral so humorous, however, is the fact that most of the characters aren't particularly likable.

If they were people the audience could emotionally bond with, the movie would cease to be a comedy--you would just spend the entire movie cringing and wondering why such bizarre punishments were being bestowed upon such lovely people.

But they aren't lovely. Most of the time, they just suck as people.

I mean, you go from whiny but mostly harmless protagonist Daniel on the one hand to Ewen Bremner's character Justin on the other--easily one of the greatest assholes in British cinema.

And I think that's why it's perfectly OK to laugh at the outlandish antics that go on--that, and the antics that writer Dean Craig comes up with are pretty damn funny in and of themselves.

Overall, I'd highly recommend Death At A Funeral for anyone who hasn't seen a good comedy in a while--it may not make you laugh so hard you pee your pants, but...you know...not everything can be Airplane!

Plus you'll save on laundry.

Ryan Watches A Motion Picture #51: Morvern Callar (2002)

I'm a sucker for minimalist filmmaking; the sort filled with dreamy, quiet, aimless experiences filled with impenetrable characters embarking on strange and disconnected existential journeys. Morvern Callar is perfectly realised in that regard, and presents you with the sort of film that looks more real than life is.

It's about Morvern Callar, a young woman who finds herself in a profoundly grim but strangely advantageous position, one where a blank and arbitrary universe might be providing her with a way to exist as blankly (or perhaps just a little less so) as it seems to. Morvern is an ambiguous character and hard to read, but as the film progresses one can catch the glimmer of decisions being made if not their reasons, and Morvern takes charge of her life if perhaps to ensure that she doesn't have to.

So: Poetic imagery, great atmosphere, soundtrack, strong acting from Samantha Morton, and existential awesomeness. I dig.

Ryan Watches A Motion Picture #39: Red Dwarf: Back to Earth (2009)

It was a long wait for Red Dwarf fans. Series VIII ended in 1999. Over the ten year gap Dwarfers grew jaded (if they had not already been so) and milled about in great and murderous street gangs, causing mischief and violence wherever they went. Hanging out in vindaloo joints. Drinking lager. Smoking kippers. Petting cats. Vacuuming. You know, British things. When they heard that a new installment of their beloved Red Dwarf was on the way, they returned to their old homes and waited. When it came, they seemed mostly disappointed. But while many of my kin thought Back To Earth was crap, I actually thought it was pretty good. Maybe they liked the old days with the laugh track best.

The show has always had a dramatic leaning, and has preferred to construct characters with some real pathos. Their dynamics and psychologies have been the crux of the show to satisfying and impressive effect. Back To Earth decided to get a bit heavier on that element and present Dwarf fans with a little less comedy and a lot more emotional closure, in case this would end up being the very last of the Red Dwarf crew's adventures. As I've heard it, there's more on the way, and I'm glad for it.

Back To Earth's plot leads from an old and favourite episode from an earlier season, which might be awkward fan service to some, but comes to serve more as a useful and somewhat eerie contrast between the vibe of the earlier series and its current incarnation. This episode's filled with Blade Runner references, and the set work and scene recreations are fun to pick out and ponder in terms of their relationship to the characters. Oh, they visit the Coronation Street pub as well. It all gets pretty meta, which is of course often very trite in television, but in this case, works reasonably well.

So: If you like Red Dwarf and its characters, you really should give it a shot. If you've never seen any Red Dwarf and like sci-fi and laughter, you've got a lot of joy heading your way.

"Survivors 1975," Season One and a Bit

I had extremely low expectations of "Survivors," mainly because it was created by Terry Nation.

I associate Nation with some of the most plodding and formulaic Doctor Who scripts, usually involving some combination of killer virus, invisible monster, deep chasm, and cowardly-character-makes-brave-sacrifice. Nation's hack jobs for Doctor Who were notorious; the show's producers had a running joke about him just selling them the same Dalek script over and over again.

So when I heard that Nation had created a television series about -- you guessed it -- a killer virus, I just HAD to find out how the invisible monster fit in. But I'm sad to say that "Survivors" is anything but formulaic or plodding...in fact, for the first half, it's absolutely brilliant.

These are not your typical Terry Nation characters; they are complex, understated, and always interesting to watch. Sure there's a funny little Welsh tramp that you can laugh at...but then comes episode nine, "Law and Order," which is the first of two truly harrowing treatments of the "survival" theme: what do you do with a funny little Welsh tramp who isn't so funny anymore?

This theme is pretty simple: when almost everybody in the world dies suddenly, and the diverse survivors have to...well, survive...how do they live through the first few days when they can no longer rely on anybody else, let alone the creature comforts they've known since birth? How do they cope with their shock and grief? How do they find each other? What sort of communities can they form, and how do those communities relate to other groups who disagree with their philosophy? Who the hell knows how to make coal, and what will they do when the tea runs out?

That's the basis of season one, but it's so much more than that, because all of this is approached in a quiet way: no music, no big moments, no flash or spectacle. By contrasting the 1975 series with the new 2008 remake, the Outland Institute explains what is so wonderful and refreshing about this approach, compared to the way it would be (and is) done today. The 1975 series is has an almost documentary style, complete with atmospheric filmed outdoor footage.

Until halfway through the season, however, when things go downhill a bit. First of all, this was the transition period when the BBC was switching from film to "O.B." for their program inserts, and the outdoors look far less "real" when they start using videotape.

This is made worse by the simultaneous arrival (in episode seven) of Hana Maria Pravda, a woman who stands out from the otherwise excellent cast by turning all of her scenes into overwrought babooshka-stereotype cartoons. Combine her with the quietest bunch of cheerfully-prancing "feral dogs" -- especially in one scene when she must actually be ATTACKED by them -- and you get the first glimmers that things are going downhill.

And they do. The plots become more heavy-handed and deliberate, each episode involving the destruction of yet another hard-won and essential social advancement due to the stupidity of others, often the stupidity of the children whose sole purpose is Get Into Trouble or Get Others Into Trouble.

I also have to mention what I refer to as "The Tritovore Technique" (using convenient accidents to get rid of characters who would be too burdensome to keep around) and "The Lucy Saxon Technique" (using secondary characters to kill villains because the primary characters are too principled to do it themselves), which become more and more obvious as the show goes on.

I thought I'd give up after watching the first season, but the second season -- following a truly ridiculous Tritovore-style character-purge of last-season's dross -- has introduced Ruth, a character who harkens back to the complicated and interesting survivors of old. And the second story of the season ("Greater Love") is, once again, unpredictable and beautiful and terrible.

Here's to Ruth and Jenny and Greg and the rest of the survivors. May their wheat ripen, may their sheep multiply, may their babies survive and their horses never go lame. And may they never suffer the indignity of a crappy remake.

Oh, well that already happened.

Ryan Watches a Motion Picture #22: Vampire Killers (2009)

Bring out the keg boys!

Or as it's known elsewhere, Lesbian Vampire Killers, is a film where two unlikable guys swap homophobic jokes and get even with the shallow women that have done them wrong by killing shallow vampire women who are also man-hating lesbians with a sword that has a cock for a handle.

"Our women are cursed, and we're all spineless cowards for letting it happen!" says the badass Vicar! Better reclaim your lost masculinity and stop them. Women are apparently all cheating floozies, and the only good ones are pure virgins saving their sexuality up for that special guy. I normally assume this kind of thing is ironic in movies, and is secretly being critical, but in this flick the homophobia is so frequent and so normalised that the humour gets lost, and a weird 'us vs. them' dynamic is created.

Vampire Killers is basically a 'teenagers assailed by supernatural forces in a cottage' movie, and follows the traditional pattern: teens go to a cottage and everything is fine. Crazy shit happens. They defend themselves. Crazy shit defeats defenses and either kills or kidnaps friends and/or love interests. Leave cottage and fight last-ditch effort. A pattern I'm fond of. But when it uses distracting visual effects, like speeding up the last few seconds of a shot because they think it looks cool, it really just makes it seem like your movie is so uninterested in its own shots that it's in a hurry to get through them. You might be too.

So: Presumably written by frat boys. Regressive and embarrassing. I never want to hear "clam-lappers" used again.

tm Does the QT 20 Part 18: Shaun of the Dead

Shaun of the Dead (dir. Edgar Wright – 2004)

A spoof of zombie movies, you’ve got two slackers in suburban London faced with the unexplained transformation of normal people into flesh-eating zombies. They try to survive and ensure the safety of some family and friends.

It’s funny but also has enough gory blood’n’guts to let you know this is a zombie movie. It’s also apparent by the depth, sleight-of-hand, and rapid-succession of jokes and gags, that this movie has quite a bit of thought and rewrites behind it. Many initially dismissed this movie as a lame spoof, a la Scary Movie(s), but the quality and (mostly) resisting the urge to make the quick joke sets it apart.

tm sez: 7/10

Wendy's Films of 2010 #30: The Young Victoria (2009)

Watching films like this brings me back to my most vulnerable state. I have always had a weak spot for period pieces, especially those relatively cheerful romances that combine the most irresistible, devastatingly affectionate couples with gorgeous costumes and intriguing stories. Nearly very shot was like stepping into the most beautiful, luxurious imaginings of my childhood. As a girl I would drape our old yellow afghan around myself, its tassels dancing as I would twirl and pretend to be some exotic duchess or queen. The costumes in this film managed to express my most fantastic daydreams, with a plethora of expensive jewels, lace, stunning colours and fabrics. They were simply breathtaking, and I'll be stunned if Sandy Powell doesn't win another Oscar for her efforts, though Coco could potentially steal away the prize.

I loved Emily Blunt as Queen Victoria; her tone of voice and manner of being seem to lend themselves to a young woman attempting to lead a country while still unsure of herself. She skillfully balances the insecurity of a young woman and assertiveness of a girl brought up to be the queen of a patriarchal society. Rupert Friend performs his role as Victoria's unaffected suitor and husband Prince Albert with subtlety and quiet passion. Their love was not just fabricated for cinema, but a historical truth; according to Mike the Boss, several of the letters they wrote in the film came directly from the correspondence the two shared.

The film's focus lies heavily on romance, but does notice other issues and significant historical advances of the time. It is a member of a genre which seems to have been dubbed queen or crownsploitation (I prefer the later, it has a nice ring to it), and I enjoy the way it sheds new light on a Queen often thought of as a hefty, middle-aged force to be reckoned with.

Mike The Boss - Films of 2010 - Film the Eleventh: The Young Victoria

(Why was I thinking of naughty chess jokes during this scene?)

The Young Victoria (2009) (Dir: Jean-Marc Vallee)

Another queen movie for me! This one follows the chaotic first years of Victoria's rule and her romance with Prince Albert. If you are looking for gorgeous set pieces, fabulous costumes and high drama and political intrigue, this movie is for you.

Emily Blunt gets the nod as Queen Victoria and does an excellent job of portraying a willful 18 year girl who ascends to the most powerful seat in Britain. Rupert Friend plays Prince Albert and does a great job showing the respectful intelligence of the man. Paul Bettany is Lord Melbourne, Albert's competition for Victoria's hand in marriage. Miranda Richardson looks a little out of place as the Duchess of Kent (Victoria's mother) as does Jim Broadbent as dying King William but they can be overlooked.

The movie starts with typical teen drama. Victoria mom and her mom's boyfriend want Victoria to do as she is told but Victoria knows that they are not the boss of her and says, "No way Mom!" Okay, that isn't how it really goes. In reality, the Duchess of Kent and Sir John Conroy (played by Mark Strong) want Victoria to sign papers that declare them to be her Regents until she turns 25 (she is not quite 18 yet). The king is dying and they consider Victoria too young to take the throne. Victoria, strong willed teen that she is, declines their generous offer and sets about getting ready to rule the kingdom.

The coronation sequence is pretty damned sweet with lots of pomp and circumstance, everyone in their finery and the sets dolled up to the max. Blunt plays it well showing a touch of nervousness but keeping her facade of regalness for the public. This two-sidedness of her nature is continued throughout the film including during the romance with Albert, her dealings with Lord Melbourne and the parliament and with the general goings-on within the palace. She always seem to have a bit of that young teen petulance mitigated by her years of training to be the Queen of England.

The romance with Albert takes a long time to come to a head but the wait is worth the while. Poor Albert is constantly frustrated because he can't come out and say how he feels directly because his lady love is the Queen of England. Meanwhile, Victoria is having trouble making up her mind because, well, she IS the Queen of England and pretty much everything she does has double and triple meaning regardless of whether she wants to do so. The nice touch is that a lot of the long distance romancing is taken directly from the actual Queen Victoria's collection of letters. So we get to hear what the real queen thought when the real romance was happening.

Anyway, there are no real surprises here other than Albert getting shot (he did not in reality). Eventually, Victoria realizes Albert is a good match, they have an absolutely fabulous wedding and they live happily ever after having 9 kids until Albert dies and Victoria goes into mourning for the rest of her life. For a different look at Victoria's latter years, check out the marvelous Mrs. Brown, starring Judi Dench as an older Victoria and Billy Connolly as John Brown, her supposed lover. It makes a good companion piece to Young Victoria and is a damn fine film too.

As an aside, the film was written by Julian Fellowes, who also wrote Gosford Park and the film was directed by Quebecois film-maker JeanMarc Vallee, who directed C.R.A.Z.Y. . Both of those films are worth checking out as well.

Mike the Boss - Films of 2010 - Film the Tenth: Enid

Don't worry. I haven't given up on the quest of 365 movies in 365 days. I just happen to have caught a cold and then passed it on to my partner so I haven't had time to write my movies up. I'll try to catch up over the next week or so.

Enid (2009) (dir: James Hawes)

This movie was made for British Television which means it is good enough for the big screens over here. It stars Helena Bonham Carter doing her usual journeyman's work in the role of Enid Blyton, beloved British writer of children's books. If you don't like Bonham Carter's acting style, you'll hate this movie since it is all Helena all the time. I think she does a pretty good job most of the time and this kind of role is well suited to her talents.

You would think making a biopic about Blyton would emphasize the playful side of her writing but the Brits apparently thought otherwise. Instead we find out that Enid had a miserable childhood and left home shortly after her father abandoned her family. She managed to talk publisher Hugh Pollock into publishing her first book and promptly married him. Given that she came from a broken home, one would have hoped that Blyton could have chosen a different path than she did. However, old ghosts seem to haunt her resulting in her being an indifferent mother, an adulterous wife and really an all-around bitch.

Given that this movie is a thorough assassination of any good thoughts one might have had towards Enid Blyton, it is a wonder that they do not bring up the inherent sexism and racism involved in her writing. Some of it is implied in the movie but if your going to rake a dead person over the coals, why not go all the way? Other than that, the movie is a perfectly satisfactory BBC production and worth checking out unless you wish to keep your deluded image of what Enid Blyton was really like.

Wendy's Films of 2010 # 19: Easy Virtue (2008)

What started off as a moderately promising story, with its moments of humour and fun turned out to be disappointing both as a romantic comedy and a British period film. Though the costumes were often beautiful and the set exquisitely put together, this didn't make up for the lack of real depth in the film. What could have been a heart-wrenching past during the war for Colin Firth's character, was only lightly touched on and never once did his character think it necessary to explain his increasing detached emtions to his wife (Kristin Scott Thomas). Apart from this substory, Jessica Biel is charming as daughter-in-law Larita Whittaker, and her husband John (Ben Barnes) is boyishly cute, but it's not enough to hold the film together. It doesn't even really work as a conventional "romcom" either, which sort of shuns away a potentially large audience. The film just seems to lack something spectacular, it has potential, but the subplots aren't strong enough and the main dispute between Jessica Biel and her mother in law (Thomas) was too stubborn and dwelled on too much.

Mike the Boss - Films of 2010 - Film the Sixth: Notes on a Scandal

(Dame Judi gets ready to kick some albino ass in Notes on a Scandal)

Notes on a Scandal (2006) (dir: Richard Eyre)

One of my pet peeves in cinema is over narration. It tends to be used by incompetent story tellers to advise the audience of what is happening in the film rather than usual character dialogue and visual imagery. It is a cop out and an insult to the viewer. Having said that, I do believe narration can serve a purpose if it has context within the film and that is the case in Notes on a Scandal which uses the pretext of Judi Dench reading from her diary to advance the story throughout the film. It works, but I still wish that it had been used a little less as much of the narrating is not needed.

This film was filled with Oscar nominated acting performances as Cate Blanchett and Dame Judi tear up the screen with a great bit of histrionics. The basic plot is this: Blanchett plays an art teacher who has 2 kids at home (one with Down's Syndrome), is married to an older man (Bill Nighy, who is also excellent) and feels unfilled for no real good reason at all. So she decides to bang a 15 year old student at her school. Dench, who is a crazy cat lady living on her own and is the school's resident battleaxe, finds out and uses this knowledge to worm her way into Blanchett's life. As we come to realize that both characters are completely self-delusional the chaos, mayhem and melodrama gets cranked up to a fever pitch.

The acting is top notch and Blanchett looks gorgeous in the film. The story and character motivations left me a little dry and I did have problems with the giggles during what surely were supposed to be the most dramatic of the scenes but that may be my failing. Folks looking for their usual Britflick fix will do well with this film as they likely have a greater tolerance for this kind of thing.