Movies (Recent and... not so recent)
Of the movies I've seen this year (so far), three in particular stand out in the "requiring comment" area. I'll start with the oldest.
1. "Gone Baby Gone", Starring Casey Affleck, Michelle Monaghan, Ed Harris and Morgan Freeman. Directed by Ben Affleck.
Now, this one, I was curious about. Mostly because its release was delayed by a year after the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
That, and the title, is a pretty good indicator of what the movie's about.
Short version: Small girl disappears. Police clueless. Neighbour of kid's mother calls in a couple of PIs (Casey and Michelle). PIs make progress.... and I won't spoil the end because this really is a good movie and you might want to see it.
Technical stuff: The principal actors all put in very convincing performances in their respective roles: Casey Affleck as the young, still idealistic investigator, Ed Harris as the grizzled, older and more worldly cop - and casting Morgan Freeman as head of a police unit for finding missing children may well be genius. The actress playing the missing girl's mother (Amy Ryan) also deserves props - the character is not a nice person, yet cares about her daughter, and Ryan makes the woman at least a little sympathetic.
The biggest surprise of this movie, though, isn't in the acting but the direction. See, this is Ben Affleck's directing debut. And... well, I am not the biggest fan of Ben Affleck. His acting is sub-par most of the time, and the last decent performance of his that I remember was in "Chasing Amy". And even then he was upstaged by Jason Lee and Joey Lauren Adams.
Affleck-the-director, though, is a whole different story. Frankly, as a debut effort his directing is superb. So I think, in future, he should leave the acting to his more than capable younger brother and stick to directing, an area in which he could potentially become truly great.
Oh, and the ending? You won't see it coming.
2. "RockNRolla". Starring Gerard Butler, Thandie Newton, Tom Wilkinson, Toby Kebbell, Mark Strong. Directed by Guy Ritchie.
Pretty much everyone knows Guy Ritchie. Directed "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" and "Snatch". More recently, became Mr. Madonna, and then produced the flop "Swept Away" (with his wife in the starring role, no less) and "Revolver", a high-concept movie that was basically misunderstood by the cinema-going audience.
With "RockNRolla", Ritchie appears to not only be back on form, but possibly even better. This movie continues in the tradition of "Lock, Stock", with East End gangsters and all that is dark and violent. We start with narration from Mark Strong (Archie, the main character - last seen as the antagonist in "Stardust"), setting up the world we're about to enter.
A dark, gritty, violent and tough world (perhaps not that realistic but honestly... who cares, this is the movies), populated by such characters as Lenny Cook, the elderly crime boss (Wilkinson), Archie - his second in command, Stella - his "private accountant", played astoundingly well by Thandie Newton. There's also "Johnny Quid"(Kebbell), Lenny's no-good, rockstar stepson, and a number of small-time crooks, headed up by Gerard Butler, Idris Elba and Tom Hardy as "One Two" (Butler), "Mumbles" (Elba) and "Handsome Bob" (Hardy).
Honestly, all these people are amazing in their roles. Two stand-outs are Butler and Hardy, especially in a scene where Bob confesses that a) he is gay and b) he fancies his strictly hetero best mate One Two.
(Yes, Gerard Butler's character really is called One Two. No, I have no idea what that means. If I ever meet Guy Ritchie, I'll ask him.)
Leaving the cinema, I did try to figure out who my favourite character was. It came down to either One Two, Archie or Johnny Quid. Then I considered the end of the movie, and really it had to be Johnny Quid.
Basically, Toby Kebbell (who I hadn't heard of before seeing this movie) did a truly fantastic job. Saying much more would spoil the plot... but his storyline is good, I promise you.
In short: Welcome back, Mr Ritchie.
(the credits included a teaser for "A Real RockNRolla", which I personally hope is released really, really soon, because I just do not want to let go of these characters just yet.)
3. "Pineapple Express" Starring Seth Rogen, James Franco, Danny McBride. Directed by David Gordon Green.
First things first. It's an action-comedy with stoners. From the guy who did "Knocked Up". You might not think that all that equals a recipe for a good movie.
But it does.
a) Seth Rogen (bear in mind I haven't actually seen Knocked Up. Yeah, I know, shoot me later) does a rather good job as a man with a crappy job in his twenties who, basically, just wants to get stoned and listen to talk radio shows. The 18-year-old girlfriend (still in high school) felt a little off, but the hilarity of the impromptu "meet-the-parents" scene makes up for it in spades.
Dale (Rogen's character) can be a bit of an ass at times (even he admits this), and his main problem is that he spends a lot of his time stoned and when he is, he's not exactly functional. However, by the end of the movie he does grow as a character, and is moving towards doing something with his life, so all is good in the world of Dale.
b) James Franco. Now, maybe someone in Hollywood could explain to me why James Franco hasn't been used in many comedies recently... all I remember him for is Harry Osbourn in the Spiderman movies. And that's a shame, because in a comedy like "Pineapple Express" he really does shine. He plays Saul, the small-time dealer who provides Dale with his beloved weed, and he does a fantastic job of it.
c) The story. I'm not going to detail the plot, because it really does need to be seen in person. But, as well as the two leads, we have rival drug lords, a crooked cop, a police school liaison officer who takes her job very seriously indeed, the best variety of marijuana ever produced (the titular "Pineapple Express"), and some Japanese ninja-types with automatic weapons. And a lot of weed, of course.
Basically, this film was fantastic. Hilarious in places, and touching in others. You really come to like the characters by the end, and the end of the movie sees Dale and Saul and their friend, Saul's supplier Red (Danny McBride), together, and changed for the better.
1. "Gone Baby Gone", Starring Casey Affleck, Michelle Monaghan, Ed Harris and Morgan Freeman. Directed by Ben Affleck.
Now, this one, I was curious about. Mostly because its release was delayed by a year after the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
That, and the title, is a pretty good indicator of what the movie's about.
Short version: Small girl disappears. Police clueless. Neighbour of kid's mother calls in a couple of PIs (Casey and Michelle). PIs make progress.... and I won't spoil the end because this really is a good movie and you might want to see it.
Technical stuff: The principal actors all put in very convincing performances in their respective roles: Casey Affleck as the young, still idealistic investigator, Ed Harris as the grizzled, older and more worldly cop - and casting Morgan Freeman as head of a police unit for finding missing children may well be genius. The actress playing the missing girl's mother (Amy Ryan) also deserves props - the character is not a nice person, yet cares about her daughter, and Ryan makes the woman at least a little sympathetic.
The biggest surprise of this movie, though, isn't in the acting but the direction. See, this is Ben Affleck's directing debut. And... well, I am not the biggest fan of Ben Affleck. His acting is sub-par most of the time, and the last decent performance of his that I remember was in "Chasing Amy". And even then he was upstaged by Jason Lee and Joey Lauren Adams.
Affleck-the-director, though, is a whole different story. Frankly, as a debut effort his directing is superb. So I think, in future, he should leave the acting to his more than capable younger brother and stick to directing, an area in which he could potentially become truly great.
Oh, and the ending? You won't see it coming.
2. "RockNRolla". Starring Gerard Butler, Thandie Newton, Tom Wilkinson, Toby Kebbell, Mark Strong. Directed by Guy Ritchie.
Pretty much everyone knows Guy Ritchie. Directed "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" and "Snatch". More recently, became Mr. Madonna, and then produced the flop "Swept Away" (with his wife in the starring role, no less) and "Revolver", a high-concept movie that was basically misunderstood by the cinema-going audience.
With "RockNRolla", Ritchie appears to not only be back on form, but possibly even better. This movie continues in the tradition of "Lock, Stock", with East End gangsters and all that is dark and violent. We start with narration from Mark Strong (Archie, the main character - last seen as the antagonist in "Stardust"), setting up the world we're about to enter.
A dark, gritty, violent and tough world (perhaps not that realistic but honestly... who cares, this is the movies), populated by such characters as Lenny Cook, the elderly crime boss (Wilkinson), Archie - his second in command, Stella - his "private accountant", played astoundingly well by Thandie Newton. There's also "Johnny Quid"(Kebbell), Lenny's no-good, rockstar stepson, and a number of small-time crooks, headed up by Gerard Butler, Idris Elba and Tom Hardy as "One Two" (Butler), "Mumbles" (Elba) and "Handsome Bob" (Hardy).
Honestly, all these people are amazing in their roles. Two stand-outs are Butler and Hardy, especially in a scene where Bob confesses that a) he is gay and b) he fancies his strictly hetero best mate One Two.
(Yes, Gerard Butler's character really is called One Two. No, I have no idea what that means. If I ever meet Guy Ritchie, I'll ask him.)
Leaving the cinema, I did try to figure out who my favourite character was. It came down to either One Two, Archie or Johnny Quid. Then I considered the end of the movie, and really it had to be Johnny Quid.
Basically, Toby Kebbell (who I hadn't heard of before seeing this movie) did a truly fantastic job. Saying much more would spoil the plot... but his storyline is good, I promise you.
In short: Welcome back, Mr Ritchie.
(the credits included a teaser for "A Real RockNRolla", which I personally hope is released really, really soon, because I just do not want to let go of these characters just yet.)
3. "Pineapple Express" Starring Seth Rogen, James Franco, Danny McBride. Directed by David Gordon Green.
First things first. It's an action-comedy with stoners. From the guy who did "Knocked Up". You might not think that all that equals a recipe for a good movie.
But it does.
a) Seth Rogen (bear in mind I haven't actually seen Knocked Up. Yeah, I know, shoot me later) does a rather good job as a man with a crappy job in his twenties who, basically, just wants to get stoned and listen to talk radio shows. The 18-year-old girlfriend (still in high school) felt a little off, but the hilarity of the impromptu "meet-the-parents" scene makes up for it in spades.
Dale (Rogen's character) can be a bit of an ass at times (even he admits this), and his main problem is that he spends a lot of his time stoned and when he is, he's not exactly functional. However, by the end of the movie he does grow as a character, and is moving towards doing something with his life, so all is good in the world of Dale.
b) James Franco. Now, maybe someone in Hollywood could explain to me why James Franco hasn't been used in many comedies recently... all I remember him for is Harry Osbourn in the Spiderman movies. And that's a shame, because in a comedy like "Pineapple Express" he really does shine. He plays Saul, the small-time dealer who provides Dale with his beloved weed, and he does a fantastic job of it.
c) The story. I'm not going to detail the plot, because it really does need to be seen in person. But, as well as the two leads, we have rival drug lords, a crooked cop, a police school liaison officer who takes her job very seriously indeed, the best variety of marijuana ever produced (the titular "Pineapple Express"), and some Japanese ninja-types with automatic weapons. And a lot of weed, of course.
Basically, this film was fantastic. Hilarious in places, and touching in others. You really come to like the characters by the end, and the end of the movie sees Dale and Saul and their friend, Saul's supplier Red (Danny McBride), together, and changed for the better.