44 Inch Chest on DVD now

44 Inch Chest follows Colin Diamond (Winston) trying to come to terms with his wife, Liz (Whalley) leaving him. Well that’s the film in its simplest version, in this film Colin’s quest for revenge and justice is aided by his gang of friends who kidnap the man Liz is having an affair with and let Colin decide his fate.

Ok, it’s a sterling cast, and on paper there isn’t a weak link amongst them, which is why I feel disappointed that the film didn’t deliver for me. Noyce has chosen to present the film as if it is a stage play, depending on the strengths of the actors alone, this would be ok but theres something not quite right about the script, it doesn’t flow smoothly its too ‘staged’ not like conversation – not even like movie conversations. The film is riddled with swearing – and believe me Im not a prude when it comes to bad language  - I rate Goodfellas as one of my all time favourite movies, but hear it just doesn’t sound right. Its not like a lot of gangsters talking its more like a bunch of 10 year olds having a conversation where they fit in as much swearing as humanly possible – it just doesn’t flow.

I also thought that there was a lack tension in the film which is at odds with the films content. Surely the tension is supposed to be constantly cranked up as Colin builds up to his decision, egged on by his friends. I found myself not caring for any of the characters, except for maybe the unnamed ‘loverboy’ who does nothing except sit on a chair and look rather pathetic for most of the film.  Overall it’s a weird film, for me it didn’t flow at all, although I did find the approach interesting but it reality it fell somewhat short of the mark.

Director: Phillip Noyce
Cast:
Ray Winstone           Colin Diamond
Ian McShane             Meredith
John Hurt                   Old Man Peanut
Tom Wilkinson          Archie
Stephen Dillane        Mal
Joanne Whalley        Liz Diamond

Salt on DVD now

Evelyn Salt (Jolie) is a CIA agent whose life changes when one day a Russian defector Orlov (Olbrychski) walks into her CIA offices and apparently reveals that she is in fact a sleeper spy who’s mission is to kill the Russian President. Does her boss Ted (Schreiber) believe Orlov?, does Salt know that she is a sleeper agent or as she goes on the run is this because her cover is blown or is it just out of concern for her husbands fate?

So Jolie takes on another ‘action’ role with the underlying premise of is she or isn’t she a Russian spy trying to bring down the USA. Everything, excuse the pun, needs to be taken with a pinch of ……. as its somewhat light on story but heavy on action and if you can get over the fact that Jolie doesn’t look like she can jump down a kerbside without breaking her leg, let alone leap from bridges onto lorries etc I guess you are half way sold on the central idea of the film. Jolie has perfected her ‘hitting and kicking’ snarl which is on show through out the film but you overall get the feeling that this for all of the woefully underused talented cast is acting by numbers. A string of action sequences held together by flimsy script full of holes.  I guess as popcorn movies go it isn’t terrible, its just also not that good.

Director: Phillip Noyce 

Cast:
Angelina Jolie -                   Evelyn Salt

Live Schreiber                    Ted Winter

Chiwetel Ejiofor                  Peabody

Daniel Olbrychski               Orlov

 

A Prophet on DVD now

A Prophet begins when 19-year-old Malik (Rahim) enters an adult prison for the first time to serve a six-year sentence. The prison that Malik enters is divided into two groups - Corsicans and Muslims with the Corsicans in charge, they are a ruthless group headed by crime boss Cesar (Arestrup), who have the guards in their pocket. Malik unrealistically wants to keep his head down and out of trouble but because of his dual heritage (French / Arab) he is soon singled out by the Corsicans to undertake a deadly task. Malik has no choice but to cooperate but this marks the beginning of his determination to turn things around for himself both inside and outside of the prison.

 
A Prophet unfolds slowly, much like Malik’s character, when we are first introduced to him he is shy and awkward but soon, as he slowly turns his position around his intelligence and patience become apparent. It is testimony to the way that the character is written and portrayed in that you find yourself warming to him and willing him to succeed even if he is inflicting violent acts. This is though not a one man act although undoubtedly Rahim shines as Malik, he though would be nothing without having to deal with the prejudices of Cesar and his crew or the support and mentorship he receives from Ryad (Bencherif).

A great film, and one in which you cant predict what is going to happen until it unfolds. You find yourself supporting the underdog, from the first time he is forced to commit an act for the Corsicans to his slow and clever rise in power – unmissable.

Director: Jacques Audiard

Cast:

Tahar Rahim        Malik El Djebena
Niels Arestrup      Cesar Luciani
Adel Bencherif     Ryad
Hichem Yacoubi  Reyeb
Reda Kateb         Jordi

 

Lebanon on DVD now

Writer and director Maoz’ semi autobiographical story of a Lebanon tank crew is set in the first Lebanon war – June 1982, The film follows Shmulik who joins the tank crew on a mission to a nearby town. The situation goes from uncomfortable to perilous quickly, with the tanks instruments failing and the crew falling apart no-one seems to really know who to trust and what is really going on.

The film is entirely set within the restricted confines of the tank itself daylight is only glimpsed through the hatch or crosshairs or when their senior officer drops in to give orders, The film vividly portrays a feeling of chaos and claustrophobia in the cramped conditions. The viewer is brought in as close as possible to the conditions that crew are working under – Im pleased that smells are not conveyed by films!

The film portrays the futility of war, it shows the terrible conditions, tension, chaos, confusion and the feeling of the blind leading the blind. A good film – although a heavy watch too. 

Director: Samuel Maoz

Cast:

Yoav Donat                  Shmulik

Itay Tiran                       Assi

Oshri Cohen                 Hertzel

Michael Moshonov      Yigal 

Advetureland on DVD now

A coming of age comedy set in 1987, Advetureland follows James Brennan (Eisenberg) who instead of spending his graduation holiday travelling around Europe, has to take a job in ‘Adventureland’ when his dad loses his job. In Adventureland Brennan is placed working on the fixed ‘games’ rather than the cooler ‘rides’ area of this fun down, fixed theme park. Here he meets Em (Stewart) a fellow employee, can their relationship get to first base let alone blossom in the boiling pot of teenage hormones and skewed relationships that surround them.

Directed by Greg Mottola who also directed Superbad another teenage comedy, Adventureland again focuses on teenage dreams and the angst of growing up. Eisenberg, more recently seen in The Social Network, is great in the geeky / intelligent role, where he more than matches Michael Cera in a niche he thought he had cornered and Stewart as the object of his affections clearly starts to map out her post Twilight career admirably.

It’s a good film, although not one necessarily I would recommend someone goes out of their way to watch, if it was on the television I would suggest it but I wouldn’t want to recommend it as cinema viewing. Its funny, although not laugh out loud funny, its twisted, although only slightly and never to the highs and lows reached by Superbad. Having said that there are some obscure, weird and great back characters who shine when they are on screen and the main characters are suitably angst and troubled although the film gets a little bit predicable the more it continues.

Don't miss it but wait until it gets to TV – this low key film deserves to be seen, sometime.

Director: Greg Mottola


Cast:
Jesse Eisenberg - James Brennan
Kristen Stewart - Em Lewin
Bill Hader - Bobby
Kristen Wiig - Paulette
Ryan Renoylds - Mike Connell


and  a half

Invictus on DVD now

Invitus is centered around the South African based 1995 Rugby World Cup, where a new apartheid free South Africa take their first step on the world stage. The central figure in the story is Nelson Mandela, in a role that Morgan Freeman was born to play, and the film follows his struggle to unite the nation under the new flag – overcoming generations of prejudice and distrust.

Joining Mandela as a uniting force in South Africa is Francois Pienaar (an excellent Damon) the Rugby captain who Mandela asks to spearhead his campaign. The problem is that the Springboks are seen as the ‘white’ side of South Africa and bringing people together under the new flag is going to be a difficult job. Can Mandela use sport to unite a fractured nation?

Well rugby fans will know the history of this match – and for anyone else who doesn’t I'm not going to spoil the outcome of the final match with the Springboks and the All Blacks. As for the film itself it takes an interesting slant on South Africa's recent past and looks at the early hangover from apartheid and Mandelas recent release from prison. Eastwood directs well the film looks great and the two leads have morphed seamlessly into their respective characters – for that alone this film is worth viewing.

Mandela in life is the closest person to a living saint – and these are credentials that are not questioned in this film. Every speech he makes takes him closer to being a deity – is the man never angry / frustrated or even sharp with people? Maybe this is the sort of film that is looking but not digging into South Africa’s recent past and subsequently although its good there’s something slightly lacking.

Director: Clint Eastwood

Cast:
Morgan Freeman – Nelson Mandela
Matt Damon – Francois Pienaar

For the official website click here

Bunny and the Bull - On DVD now

Stephen (Hogg) is a man trapped by routine and lists; he hasn’t been out of his flat in a year lives alone, has relationship problems and definitely has some major issues. One day he begins to recall a trip around Europe he undertook over a year ago with his friend Bunny (Farnaby) when they meet Spanish free spirit Eloisa (Echegui).

Stephen and Bunny’s eventful trip brings both good an bad memories, visits to some of Europe’s more obscure museums (cutlery museum anyone?) and some weird and unusual characters all of this punctuated by Bunny’s compulsive gambling and visits to Captain Crab restaurants.

This was billed as a comedy from the makers of the Mighty Boosh but personally although some of the characters were strange and unusual I didn’t laugh out loud once. To me the film was more of a bittersweet story in which Stephen finds a way to step out of his front door. I suppose I didn’t really relate to any of the major characters and in some respects I found them a bit superficial and ‘nice’ rather than feeling real.

The film looks great the sets are produced in a very innovative way and add a magical playful edge to Stephen’s reminiscing. For me though, this was not enough to sustain my interest and engage with the film. Overall visually great but its not good when the characters appear to be made of cardboard rather than the sets.

Director: Paul King

Cast:
Edward Hogg – Stephen
Simon Farnaby – Bunny
Veronica Echegui - Eloisa

For the official website click here