by hutchwp

Ruggles of Red Gap (Leo McCarey, 1935)

Having recently watched McCarey’s excellent Make Way For Tomorrow, I thought I’d dig below the surface and watch some of his other films. I came into Ruggles of Red Gap knowing nothing about Charles Laughton and the other members of the cast, and very little about McCarey. I have to say that on first impression, I am very disappointed.

Laughton portrays Ruggles, an English valet who is working in Paris but is transferred to America to work for a brash American (confusingly portrayed by Charlie Ruggles). Once in Washington, our valet develops as a character and grows in confidence, going from obedient servant to full independence, eventually deciding to open his own Anglo-American restaurant.

Laughton biographer Simon Callow, in a key bonus feature on the UK Masters of Cinema release, discusses in great detail his opinion on the performance and his disappointment having watched it. In context, he was comparing him to his great performances as the Hunchback of Notre Damme and as Henry VIII, to name a couple. I have not seen these, but I wholeheartedly agree with everything he says. I’d go further – as an Englishman, the whole thing is utterly insulting.

The Ruggles that is portrayed is a bumbling Brit that would leave any aristocratic servant-employer worried for their own safety. Indeed, I’d probably ask for a different waiter if I was served by Ruggles in a restaurant. The portrayal leaves the viewer with an air of discomfort. There’s something going on between his flickering eyes and his awkward body language that made me want to look away. In hindsight, I think it was Laughton’s attempt at comedy. Perhaps it was “of the time”, but it really hasn’t aged well.

That he can’t find any route out of servitude until he goes to America, which is patriotically portrayed here – unashamedly – as the land of the free, is undermining of Britain. With very little knowledge of Laughton as a person, I’m willing to guess that he must have been very anti-British to accept such a role.

The film was hugely popular amongst American viewers and very much not popular in Britain, and for the reasons just mentioned I can understand why. Having listened to Callow speak so fondly of Laughton and McCarey, I’m really keen to seek out something that justifies their enduring popularity. I’ll gladly welcome any suggestions!

Ruggles of Red Cap is available now in the UK on Blu-ray and DVD.

by hutchwp

Transformers: Age of Extinction (Michael Bay, 2014)

So then. Transformers 4. The fourth in the rebooted franchise. The one everyone has been dreading. Can it really be as disappointing as we hope it isn’t?

Well, the answer lies in your expectations. The storyline is interchangeable with any of the others. The autobots and deceptacons are having a battle about something and the humans are involved too, because it’s set in a conveniently placed city in USA. They’re back here in hiding because… there was a reason. I think the humans wanted to kill them. Some of them did. But they wanted to protect the other ones. But… OOH EXPLOSION!

The main difference is that Shea LeBouf was busy perfecting his English accent for Nymphomaniac so has been replaced by Mark Wahlerg. This changes the dynamic, I guess, as he is protecting his daughter rather than his girlfriend. Her Irish boyfriend was introduced about 30 minutes in, but he felt like an afterthought. To be fair, Kelsey Grammer and Stanley Tucci are both in fine form as the bad guys.

At the end of the film, I felt surprisingly satisfied. The film didn’t tax me, the storyline was pretty forgettable, but I like the series and they have made some massive improvements, my favourite of which was to do with the CGI elements.

Of course, a Transformers film is not a Transformers film without good CGI and that is where the last two fell down. This time around, we can actually see the fights and the transformations. We can follow the action. The transformers are identifiable and unique. We are rooting for one over another. They don’t lose a heap of screws, metal and oil every time they take a step. The camera is much less shaky. It was, well, quite good to be honest.

Another good thing was that the human characters, in general, were likeable. You rooted for the good guys and hated the bad guys. They were clearly defined as they should be in a summer action film. Mainly the bad guys wore all-black, which helped someone with a low IQ like myself.

The film also managed to strike a good balance between taking itself seriously and being tongue-in-cheek. You can’t be too serious when you’re talking to an alien robot, and I felt they got this spot on.

I used to like the toys and cartoon as a child, but I wasn’t a die-hard fan. Indeed, from memory there weren’t that many die-hard fans, but people vaguely remembered having an Optimus Prime action figure and laid claim to being Transformarians (I made that up) when the reboot was originally announced. For this one, there was a lot of pre-release chat about the dinobots. I honestly don’t believe anyone remembers them vividly. They’re hardly in the film, appearing maybe 90 minutes into the action. They didn’t change much but might help fund film five.

So, take your pick. It’s a big, dumb, action film. The men are meat heads, the women are attractive. There are car chases, explosions, robots fighting. The storyline is flimsy. It’s great.

Now let me get back to drinking my Bud Light whilst I purchase a Chevrolet will you?

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by hutchwp

Ilo Ilo / 爸妈不在家 (Anthony Chen, 2014)

Back in October 2013, I saw the first ten minutes or so of Ilo Ilo in the most unfortunate of circumstances. Managing to get down to the London Film Festival (LFF) for a couple of days, I had to carefully select my programme of films based on stuff I really was desperate to see and then fill it with pictures I found interesting that I knew little about. This film was the latter, but my viewing pleasure was doomed from the start.

In a packed auditorium in Leicester Square, director Anthony Chen looked in in horror as his debut feature – on its UK premiere and being screened in competition – began playing with a terrible synchronisation problem that left the sound about two seconds ahead of the action. In the first instance I was disgruntled, having wasted an opportunity to so many other delightful films on offer by picking one that failed to even get started. Over the next few days, though, I began to be more frustrated by the fact I wasn’t going to get to see the rest of the film for an unspecified period of time.

Indeed, I did get to see the film last Tuesday, a whole nine months since my first attempt. As the feature started the familiar sound of Jiale feigning injury brought back memories of the LFF, and the dread overtook me that maybe I wouldn’t get past the first ten minutes again. At last, though, success. Everything was as it should be. Was it worth the wait? In every way.

The story focuses on a young boy called Jiale, who is causing issues at home and at school that are too much of a burden for heavily pregnant mother Hwee Leng and struggling father Teck. To ease the strain, they employ a housemaid Teresa (or Terry), a Filipina in search of better job opportunities. We join them on a journey as the family learns to adapt to the extra presence in the house and Terry becomes part of the family.

If you’re even considering seeing a Singaporean independent film at the cinema, then I’m going to assume it’s your kind of thing. I chose to see Ilo Ilo over the likes of Maleficent, Transformers: Age of Extinction and other summer blockbusters. I did this not to be purposefully obtuse and avoid populist opinion, but because I enjoy the wide variety of storytelling methods that I find when watching films from other cultures and continents. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Singaporean film before. Every director is influenced by his surroundings and experiences, and this is inferred in the way they tell their stories.

The film has no car chases, no romantic sub-plots, no heated affairs. It avoids a clichéd happy ending, even when there was an opportunity to play out a really obvious conclusion. To do so would have betrayed the previous 70 minutes of subtle and realistic character development. The point of the story isn’t to resolve everyone’s financial and emotional issues, but rather to show the massive effect the housemaid Terry has on Jiale’s life, as we join him on a journey from being a misbehaving child to something a little easier for his parents to cope with through the bond he forms with Terry.

Ilo Ilo. Not a film for every cinema goer, but if you’ve come as far as searching out this blog to look for an opinion on it then I have an inkling that it’s something you’ll enjoy. I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.

Ilo Ilo is showing at selected independent cinemas in the UK now.

by hutchwp

Film review – Star Wars Episodes I-III (George Lucas, 1999-2005)

I have a special guest reviewer for the Star Wars prequels, which were released to much fanfare and equal amounts of dismay from 1999 onwards. It’s my fabulous wife, a week after our wedding day!

I say review. It’s more of a quote. Here goes…

“The prequels are to Star Wars what Crocs are to shoes. An abomination.”

If you wish to remind yourselves of said abominations, they are available as a complete box set with butchered versions of the original trilogy now from here.

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by hutchwp

The Wind Rises / 風立ちぬ (Hayao Miyazaki, 2013)

“I am talking about doing something with animation that can’t be done with manga magazines, children’s literature, or even live-action films.”

It’s that last line that really bothers me. That was Hayao Miyazaki talking, in 1978, about what animation means to him. It wasn’t a hard quote to locate. I only started reading his autobiography (of sorts), Starting Point, five minutes ago. It was right there in the third paragraph of the first page.

I don’t think there’s any denying that, when looking back at the career of one of the greatest and most imaginative directors of all time (and I’m not limiting that to animation either), he has created a body of work that surpassed that which would have been capable in any other medium. If you look at Nausicaä, Princess Mononoke, even his work on Sherlock Hound The Detective, it’s difficult to see how any other medium mentioned above could have portrayed his story any better than in 2D animation.

So when I was sat there at the cinema watching The Wind Rises, even before I read that opening quote, I couldn’t help but wish for the magic to ooze back into play. I was with a fellow anime fan and another friend who was unaware of any of his output, and we all agreed that the film could have been better served as a live-action film. There wasn’t really any call for the animation. Yes, it looked visually stunning as usual, but it didn’t add anything to the story.

It’s sad that Miyazaki has chosen to finish his body of work with this film. Don’t get me wrong, it is definitely not a terrible film and it won’t tarnish his reputation. The story is solid, the characters well-realised, the backdrops deep in detail. It’s just a bit of an anticlimax after a series of such amazing films.

One for the completists and die-hard fans, but if you’re new to Miyazaki, you’d be better to start with Howl’s Moving Castle or Spirited Away.

The Wind Rises is out in cinemas in the UK now. Reviewed was the Japanese version with English subtitles.

by hutchwp

South Park: The Stick Of Truth (Obsidian, 2014)

After a good number of games based on the South Park franchise – some good and some pretty terrible – finally the quintessential tie-in has arrived. The reason? We finally feel like we’re living in the middle of an episode.

The plot line revolves around alien anal probing, the aborted foetus of a Kardashian, an ooze that turns people into zombie nazis, Cartman being an asshole and underpants gnomes. Fairly standard stuff for an RPG really. You play as the new kid in town -invariably referred to as Douchebag throughout – and join Cartman, Kenny and Butters in their quest to find and protect the Stick of Truth.

The plot-lines are full of comedy gold, which is bound to keep South Park fans happy whilst entertaining newcomers. The mechanics of battle, as RPGs go, is fairly basic. You have a choice of weapons to fit into two slots, plus a few summons and magic choices too. The enemies aren’t complex enough to worry you too much and you can usually put reducers on tougher enemies pre-battle to ensure you win. It wouldn’t trouble the complexities of, say, the Final Fantasy series.

I have to say I found certain parts really frustrating. I stupidly checked out the achievement list before I started, and this alone ruined my fun in my first play through. I had in my mind there were a number of missable tasks to complete for 100%, including collection of the Chinpokomon and making friends with all of South Park (for the hilariously-titled “More Popular Than John Lennon” achievement), which were tied together. Unfortunately, the checkpoint system used when saving means that you’re often taken back a couple of screens when you reload and I missed one collectible even though I knew I’d already collected it, but unbeknown to me it didn’t register when I reloaded. All this means I have to do a complete second play-through to finish the game. Why oh why do games do this? The worst case was Tomb Raider’s Chatterbox achievement. I’ll have to make a conscious decision to not think about achievements in future, but I guess it’s my OCD kicking in.

Another frustration will only be relevant to those playing in Europe. PEGI saw it fit to censor a handful of segments due to them being in bad taste. How you can decide that anally probing a cast member on an alien spaceship is off-limits, whilst happily allowing a battle against a Kardashian’s reanimated aborted foetus is beyond me. Sort it out!

The game has some amazing side quests, involving all your South Park favourites. Jimbo and Ned, Mr Hankey, Al Gore and Manbearpig, Crab People, Mr Slave and Randy all feature in the bonus material that will keep you entertained beyond the main plot of the game.

Small annoyances aside, I really recommend this to anyone with an interest in comical video games or indeed South Park itself. That this game almost never saw the light of day is a travesty and it’s wonderful we get to enjoy it now. It’s probably not very challenging to experienced gamers, but there’s plenty to enjoy if you want to commit some time to it. At the newly reduced price it’s a complete steal.

by hutchwp

Kuroneko (藪の中の黒猫, Yabu no Naka no Kuroneko, 1968, Kaneto Shindo).

I’ve made no attempt previously to hide my love for the Masters of Cinema series, which have been responsible for some of the most glorious transfers of classic cinema I’ve ever seen in home media. You’re not just getting a bit of quick entertainment, but an object to cherish and, in many ways, a work of art in itself.

No corner is cut. Ever. The picture and audio quality is immaculate, facilitating a near-cinema experience should your set up allow. There is almost always a chunky booklet to accompany the disc, and the bonus features on the disc always try to go beyond just a couple of short interviews and a trailer. Even the menu looks rich and well-thought-out.

Kuroneko is no different.

It’s a supernatural horror film, much in the same vain as previous Shindo film Onibaba. It tells the story of the spirits of a mother and her daughter-in-law who had been the victims of a horrific attack at the hands of a group of samurai. They seek revenge having apparently made a pact with the devil, though the ramifications of this only become apparent later on in the film.

The rich chiaroscuro achieved by Shindo and cinematographer Kiyomi Kuroda are beautifully displayed here. Much of the film is spent in the depths of a forest as dark as the story being told. The atmosphere and tension is palpable; it really is edge of your seat stuff at times. There are several disturbing and violent scenes in there, but the harsh reality is not left to the viewer’s imagination.

Kuroneko was a film I sought out after seeing Onibaba, which was also released through the Masters of Cinema label. Similar in style and themes, both pack a lot of punches and are worth checking out. Shindo really was a master of cinema and here in the UK we’re lucky to have such a caring label willing to give the attention his films deserve, even if it is just a handful.

by hutchwp

Godzilla (Ishirō Honda 本多 猪四郎,1954)

Spectacular special effects, a metaphor for nuclear weapons, the start of a still-popular franchise. There are many things that have been repeatedly said about the 1954 original of the Godzilla story by Ishirō Honda. But how does it stand up to viewing sixty years down the line?

I imagine a lot of people will seek the film out ahead of the release of the Gareth Edwards modernisation next month, a task made all-the-more easier by the fact it is out of copyright and there are plenty of copies available for free around the net.

For those not used to watching foreign or classic cinema, it might come as a shock. There are a few things you need to buy into if you’re going to enjoy it.

The use of miniatures at the time probably took most cinema-goer’s breath away, but nowadays you can spot them a mile away. What we are seeing looks very little like the complete destruction of Tokyo, but more like the complete destruction of a very little Tokyo. They’ve not even got the speed of the slowed-down film correct.

It’s also difficult to watch the film without seeing Godzilla as a man in a rubber suit. Haruo Nakajima is clearly putting a lot of effort into his portrayal but it’s hardly convincing by today’s standards. Remember, this is over two decades after King Kong had terrorised the big screen and there must have been some advances in technology in the intervening years.

I have seen this film before, probably around seven years ago. The flimsy conclusion to the film really had slipped my mind. Having annihilated several towns and cities in his reign of terror, we are quickly asked to buy into the concept that putting Dr. Serizawa’s Oxygen Destroyer under water will do the trick. Wait… Hasn’t he spent most of the film breathing fire on people above water? I know he’s sleeping underwater, so I guess he’s amphibious? We already know he can survive for hours above water so why does he die immediately? And why are there no dead floating fish at the surface? If the oxygen has been completely removed then why do the humans live on? I know, I know… He’s a giant fire-breathing dinosaur… Everything else is water under the bridge.

Overall I see this film as entertaining but flawed, historically significant but unbelievable. I enjoyed my time watching it, but I wouldn’t recommend it to someone looking to get into classic Japanese cinema.

And at least it wasn’t directed by Roland Emmerich.

by hutchwp

Oscars 2014 – What missed out

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With the Oscars taking place later tonight, I look at the films that have been overlooked by the Academy.

Monsters University
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Okay, it wasn’t the best picture Pixar has come up with over the years. It wasn’t even the best Monsters film they’ve produced. That said, they did find space for The Croods in the nomination pool, which was fine but could you really say it was better than MU? If Pixar had released The Croods, there would have been mass derision. Miyazaki’s The Wind Rises is a hot tip to take the prize this year, but I can’t comment until it gets a UK release.

Rush
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I feel like this film has suffered because it wasn’t released in the typical awards season. It didn’t play by the book. It came out back in September 2013 and performed well at the box office without an Academy recommendation. Bruhl and Hemsley were both outstanding, not just as eerily accurate take-offs but as flawless acting performances in their own right. The recreation of the classic races was spot on from Howard and the story was as exhilarating as the action. In my eyes, it could have easily come in as the 10th film on the best film list. To not even get an appreciative nod for best makeup (Bruhl’s scarring was critical and spot on) or visual effects (though admittedly this was a strong category this year) is surprising.

Inside Llewyn Davis
It’s the Coen brothers latest release and they usually get nominated, right? Not this year. Whilst it’s a strong year for nominations in the Best Picture category, it should have received a nod for best song. In fact, whole soundtrack could have been considered. It received one for best sound mixing, which is a bit of a throwaway category overall. At least it was appreciated on some level.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
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Okay, I don’t agree that this film should have been nominated for best film or best acting or anything else. However, the song “Atlas” by Coldplay is easily one of the best original songs in what was admittedly a poor year for soundtracks. It’s a shame they had a song on the list that was later disqualified, especially one as awful as “Alone, Yet Not Alone” by Bruce Broughton and Dennis Spiegel. There was also space for the bland “Ordinary Love” by U2. Neither of these should have made it and they would have made room for “Atlas” and, well, anything from Inside Llewyn Davis or Her.

Saving Mr Banks
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One of the biggest and most talked about shocks was the lack of a nomination for Emma Thompson in Saving Mr Banks. It’s frustrating to see Meryl Streep nominated for the 18th time for a role that she will never win the top prize for when Thompson could have been a front runner for.

Nymph()maniac
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I would have loved it if the Academy could have found it in themselves to nominate Uma Thurman’s fantastic supporting performance in Lars Von Trier’s latest film. It blew me away and really stood out in what was otherwise a pretty bland film. That said, it may not have qualified this year so we may have to wait another year before we see if this – and indeed Christian Slater’s excellent performance – was overlooked.

Elsewhere
Tom Hanks missed out twice for Saving Mr Banks and Captain Phillips, the latter being the biggest shock as it is probably his best performance for over a decade. Whoever thought the cinematography in 12 Years A Slave wasn’t worth noting must have been on drugs. Nothing for Robert Redford’s performance in All Is Lost was also a big surprise, though I’m not convinced Redford lost any sleep over it. The Butler was a massive omission but maybe a little too much like a typical Oscar nominee.

by hutchwp

The Book Thief (Brian Percival, 2014)

I’m a massive fan of foreign films. If a small film from an unknown director or studio outside of the US or UK has reached cinemas in the UK then it’s a pretty good indicator that it’s a film has something special about it. I managed to get hold of some preview tickets for this film and felt pretty excited at the start when the subtitles started and I thought “Thankfully, they’ve got it right”.

Then Emily Watson and Geoffrey Rush started talking and that’s where it all fell apart.

Why oh why would you pull in two hugely successful English actors and have them put on hammy German accents whilst speaking English, when Germany is full of excellent actors who would surely have been desperate for a big role in such a widely released film. I’m sure Christopher Waltz, Diane Kruger and Daniel Bruhl aren’t the only ones available. I have never ever understood why studios refrain from subtitles in this situation. Most people watching aren’t so stupid they can’t follow it. Heck, we English-speakers might even learn a language or two in the process. Please please please stop ruining films with this approach. If you want to see how to get it right then just watch the first ten minutes of Inglourious Basterds.

That said, the story is told well and there’s a fantastic performance from both the leads: 13-year-old Sophie Nelisse starring as book-obsessed Liesel, and her friend Rudy played by Nico Liersch (hurray a German!). I enjoyed it once I got past the annoying language distraction. It’s visually pretty if a little dull and soft. The John Williams score is beautifully emotive (as you’d expect from one of the greatest film composers of all time).

I’m sad that it didn’t quite hit the mark for me and I wonder whether I would have enjoyed it more if they had gone with a more realistic approach to the dialogue.

The Book Thief is released in UK cinemas on 26th February 2014.