Moving

Hi readers.

paulonfilm.co.uk is moving! I'm now the editor of my University's film magazine, and I've set up an online reviews section. The reviews on this site have migrated to the new one and new writers will aid me in continuing the reviews. Check it out at biglensreviews.blogspot.com!

Garden State

More than just a film exulting the genius of its writer/directer/star/executive soundtrack producer Zach Braff, Garden State is a solid, wholesome and wholly impressive debut for the New Jerseyan talent. Perhaps only someone from New Jersey could make a film set there seem remotely interesting, and this is what Braff achieves. The excellent casting of Natalie Portman and Peter Sarsgaard help this film come to life as much as the carefully chosen soundtrack which features heavily in the movie. One could criticise the over emphasis on the greatness of The Shins, but in my opinion they warrant it, and their mention in a film about real life is normal enough. One of the best happy/sad films of recent years, Garden State will continue to strike a chord in countless young people, as the medically numbed children of the '90s start to find that the line between child and adult is becoming ever more blurred.

Date Movie

Wow Aaron Seltzer can hit or miss. And this time it's way off. A few instances of visual humour remain a few instances and fail to transform Date Movie into anything like as funny, or even as eager to please as the Scary Movie franchise. There I was thinking I might want to give Epic Movie a try... I found the Hitch spoof the best, but honestly wished I hadn't started watching.

Sin City

First billed actors' names flash over and over in a title sequence that seems to go on forever which was preceded by the perfect introduction to the work of Frank Miller. That girl on that balcony, Josh Hartnett's smooth but tragic tone, nothing fools the viewer into expecting anything less than the somewhat high-brow noir presented for the rest of the 124 minute graphic novel extravaganza. The big names give way to interesting stories that are watchable if not enjoyable. The obvious thing to comment on is the use of (or lack of rather) colour. I think a good job was done, and in my mind pressing pause at any point appears to represent the style of the novels to near perfection; to the extent that the extreme violence and "adult themes" fade into the visual treat being served. Perhaps the danger here is of style suppressing substance- but as in 300, when it looks this good, I just don't care.

Scary Movie 2

Those crazy Wayans brothers at it again, but this was, in my opinion the last decent film they made. Anna Faris knows what these films are all about, stupid hilarity with nonsensical plots spliced with topical humour and gags that make you want to, well, gag. She knows it well, and hence her performance is brilliant. Faris makes this worthwhile. Little can be said of the others, I can't even remember their names, besides Tim Curry who was a creepy man then and remains so now. Being so specific to recent films and news, the jokes will age about as well as the franchise. Never mind, if you want a quiet laugh and a chance to flex your horror film knowledge, this is a movie for you, probably only you. Hell, just watch the opening scene with James Woods. Funny is an understatement.

Life in a... Metro

The screening of this Indian film I saw was not the final cut and didn't have the final soundtrack, nor did it feature any background noise. Saying then that this is a review of the film is not 100% correct, but I'll give you an impression of what I did see. Hovering in a genre caught between traditional Bollywood and cinema as we know it in the West, Metro tries to appeal to a wide audience. The trouble is I can imagine it alienating Indian viewers with it's discussion of sex and lust, infidelity and corruption- while repelling western audiences because most of this serious film is laughable. It's not unknown that Bollywood and Hollywood have different ideas about what makes a good film, so at any of the many many points in the film when the three-man band come into shot and start wailing while the foreground displays a montage of characters' situations it becomes ever harder to take the film seriously. So much so that it was excruciating for occupants of the screening room to try to quell our laughter. Shilpa Shetty is this film's most well known actor outside of India, but her acting here doesn't support the fame she found through Celebrity Big Brother, and of the rest of the cast, only Sharman Joshi puts in a notable performance. Anurag Basu certainly doesn't lack ambition (this is the first Indian film to achieve a Leicester Square premier, even if it is on a Tuesday evening while the cinema is being refurbished and without any movie posters) but I have an inkling that the film will be lost on non-Asian audiences.

Beerfest

How could the same group of people that wrote Club Dread be responsible for Super Troopers, and now Beerfest? I don't know, but Broken Lizard's most recent romp is a high point on the roller coaster of their portfolio. A guilty pleasure like Eurotrip, this film lacks the high quality finish of the hot Hollywood comedies from the likes of Jim Carrey and more recently Will Ferrell and his gang. You can't take a second of it seriously and you shouldn't want to. From the very first disclaimer "If you try to drink this much beer: YOU WILL DIE" to the final showdown, this is a laughfest that doesn't stop. Lizard poke fun at all sorts, including themselves and their own filmmaking. And the cameos, including Donald Sutherland, are well placed and not relied upon. Having lived many years in Germany, and England, the accents did disappoint me a little, but most of the time I was laughing too much to worry. Now I suppose I'll have to watch it sober and see if I agree with myself.

Four Weddings and a Funeral

After 13 years of hype I thought I'd better give it a go. And I'm glad I did. Now whenever someone starts praising the merits of Four Weddings I can argue back instead of just sit there and shrug. Richard Curtis is a clever man. His more recent television and film work has been great, especially the wonderful Love Actually. Four Weddings, however, is a different matter. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing I find offensive about this film, well, besides Andie MacDowell's acting (happy 49th birthday Andie, by the way), I just don't find it as emotionally stimulating as I'd heard it was. The plot seemed quite airy and the comedy served not as an enchanting way to progress the story, but more as a saving grace from the story. Yes, the funeral was sad, but (without giving too much away) I feel that the character who passed on, and the subsequent loss suffered, was too remote for the audience, not well enough developed to really provoke any real emotion. Nor could I relate to the feelings of the typically bumbling Hugh Grant character. Perhaps this film, after all made in the early '90s) belongs there, in what is increasingly revealing itself as having been a very different time.

The Prestige

The Prestige is a near perfect mystery thriller. And possibly one of the most difficult films to review without giving the game away. The problem is that the final few scenes reveal, to me, information that totally flattens all of the thrills of the film up until those revelations. I believe that even I could rewrite the last couple of pages of the script and make a more fulfilling story. As I said, up until the end the film is a gorgeous weave of twisting and interlocking mysteries and thrills. Both Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman bring life to their roles as I can't imagine other actors could. A lavish and clever glimpse of a time and society that fascinates me no end, the film takes you into the minds of the characters with many levels and dark depths. Overall I did really enjoy this movie, but illusion was always just that. I'll say no more.

Stranger Than Fiction

Will Ferrell in shock serious film! What may have been billed as a light comedy tumbles impressively into a very well thought out philosophical mind bender. Ferrell again proves that his game extends way beyond first man of funny, and the supporting cast are also faultless. I especially enjoyed the scenes Ferrell shares with Dustin Hoffman, in which the intelligence of Zach Helm's story becomes apparent. Impressive from start to finish, Stranger Than Fiction only lacks the extra amount of quirkiness that would propel it up among the likes of Being John Malkovich and Eternal Sunshine.