In GOB We Trust

Martin Scorsese is unquestionably one of the greatest directors of our time. His classics like Raging Bull, Taxi Driver, and of course Goodfellas are staples in American cinema, that everyone should watch, no matter what your forte is. His collaborations with Robert De Niro have been culture defining, and his collaborations with Leonardo Dicaprio have been near flawless. One thing Marty’s tried to do in the new millennium is tackle some different projects, a biopic like The Aviator pushed his limits of storytelling by finding a compelling character to elaborate on. Gangs of New York took in an epic direction, and many consider both to be faltering experiments on the legend’s long career.

His newest collaboration with Leo is another experiment. Returning to the realm of thriller/horror, Scorsese brings us to Shutter Island, a Dennis Lehane novel (Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone) about two U.S. Marshal’s investigating the disappearance of a mental patient on the secluded Shutter Island facility. Some may not find that appealing, and some may be turned off by the genre that Scorsese is testing here, but it’s nothing to be too afraid of. There’s legitimate thrills and not nearly as much violence as one would expect from Scorsese. Still brutal and unrelenting, the film is all at once a throwback, or homage even to the horror classics of the Hitchcock era. This isn’t new to Scorsese either, Cape Fear was the last time he ventured this way, and even sprinkled throughout his career he’s paid homage to cinema’s most prolific director – splotches in The Departed reeked of Hitchcock influence – and Shutter Island is just a full on assault for that homage.

It may not have the immediate Scorsese feel, but he’s in an unrestrained environment, and all of the actors and actresses seem totally unhinged from their typical roles especially Leo Dicaprio who turns in a haunting, bone chilling performance as Teddy Daniels. I stand by my testament of how great of an actor Dicaprio is, and this is further proof. He’s so out of his element here, tackling something that isn’t sincere, or good guyish, he’s very rickety as Daniels, and that just further proves how well these two work together. Mark Ruffalo gets his chance to shine as Chuck, the other U.S. Marshal, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg for an all around stellar cast including Ben Kingsley, Ted Levine, Emily Mortimer, and of course the new Freddy – Jackie Earl Hayley.

Shutter Island may not be an awards grabber, but it doesn’t need to be. It is all at once a spectacular throwback to the Hitchcock era, a time when films didn’t rely so heavily on special effects, or even on gratuitous violence, there was more emphasis on story and heavily on atmosphere which Scorsese does extremely well here. The performances are above average, and the story may seem predictable to some, a twist that no one enjoys, but that’s just a fact of film making. It’s a worth adaptation of Lehane’s novel (one that I’ve read) and a worthy installment in the Scorsese canon. By far the best movie of 2010 that I’ve seen so far, and further proof that a filmmaker as stout and methodical as Martin Scorsese can still test his abilities in a genre he knows little. Another triumph in the book, and it may not be as Best Picture winner like The Departed, but its definitely a fine film for all parties involved.

A-

Remakes are probably the most difficult type of film to perfect, unfortunately though they are the most produced type of film currently in Hollywood. They are mass produced, like a factory line, they get churned out as often as romantic comedies, and usually have the same worth. Once again, unfortunately, that is the case with The Wolfman, the 2010 remake of the 1966 Lon Chaney Jr. classic. This time around though, Universal Studios has upped the gore, upped the special effects, and downed the plot.

Instead of focusing on the main theme of the character – regarding how the tormented man becomes the uncontrollable beast – the script hones in on excessive gore for cheap thrills. And when I say “excessive” I really mean that. Carriages get tipped over and the wheels roll over some poor citizen crushing his back. The beast is caught in still shots feasting on the organs of his victims – a pointless inclusion to the film. The concept of the wolfman was about how a simple man was full of rage, and you were lead to sympathize with him. Here, the character has zero development and instead we’re left apathetic to what happens to him.

There’s moments of enjoyment, don’t get me wrong. Hugo Weaving is great as always, and the set design is fantastic. Fog and lighting really brings the atmosphere for the film, but there’s so much that could have been changed to improve this film. The cast isn’t too terrible – Emily Blunt and Anthony Hopkins due a fine job, the only truly disappointing actor is Benicio Del Toro, a huge surprise given that he’s the lead and a great actor. Instead, he drags every scene, though to his credit, he didn’t write the script despite uttering such atrocious lines.

Special effects wise its pretty decent, though nothing we haven’t seen before, and the transformations are still no where near as great as The Howling back in the 80s (still the best transformation scene in a werewolf movie). But at times it gets overly silly, the close-up running stills of the creature in action are dumb, the gore is over the top and worthless. but I think what really hurts the film is the lack of care put into the main character. The story is about the Wolfman, that’s what the movie’s called for crying out loud, and the focus is so broad it lends more attention to excessive gore than to the actual plot.

Originally, the theme of The Wolfman was about how he was desperate to get rid of this curse. You knew he was the villain but he was the hero too. And the great creature films of the old days like Frankenstein and Dracula were focused on the humanity of monsters, they showed bleeding heart duality to the fearsome and came out with sympathetic horror stories that tugged at the strings of the audience. You wanted to see the wolfman lose his curse, have his humanity returned to him, and for him to live happily ever after. But it wasn’t so, it’s a tragedy, and this updated version doesn’t feel like a tragedy, it feels like a bloodbath. It’s a sore subject, the movie should have been great, but instead, it suffers from the typical remake pitfalls. All flash, no substance. There’s no bark and no bite to this wolf, whatsoever.

C-

the films of the 2000s from Paul Proulx on Vimeo.

Wonderful montage of some really great films. How about a contest, I SCOURED through this video and named all 103 movies. First person to get me a full list or at least the person who comes the closest will get a gold star and maybe something else I can whip together.

GOOD LUCK!

PS, There isnt a list for this movie online, the video was made 3 days ago.

It’s hard to believe, but somewhere in America there is a seven-year-old who has no idea who Mel Gibson is. Yeah, it’s been that long since the man has been on-screen. It’s not that Gibson has been inactive since the year of Signs and We Were Soldiers; there was his direction of The Passion of the Christ, Apocalypto, and a couple of episodes of Complete Savages, and then all hell broke loose; there was that pesky DUI arrest in Malibu, the resulting anti-Semitic and sexist comments, the apologies that weren’t, the long-term affair with Russian pop singer Oksana Grigorieva, the expensive divorce from his wife of 28 years (she filed), and finally, the happy occasion of Grigorieva’s birth of his daughter. Now with Martin Campbell’s Edge of Darkness – a mere seven years later – Gibson is prepared to brawl his way back into the consciousness of audiences everywhere in a role he so often plays (and directs) in his films: the part of the sacrificial sufferer. Yes, it’s déjà vu all over again for Hollywood: yet another shooting star looking to return to Earth with all the pomp and circumstance of Haley’s comet.

Edge of Darkness recounts the story of homicide detective Thomas Craven, who after the murder of his daughter, sets out on a perilous journey as the answer to his questions about his daughter’s life and her activities weaves him straight into a deadly web of deception and the shady business practice of killing those who know or do too much; the story is very Hitchcockian and delivers on more than one aspect of that connection. From her dead-beat boyfriend (Shawn Roberts) to her suddenly chilling boss (Danny Huston), Craven twists himself up tighter into his daughter’s story until he comes face-to-face with the most deadly of all characters inhabiting this script: CIA operative Matt Jedburgh (Ray Winstone), a “fixer” who is as unsettlingly cold and charming as the Bostonian nights that envelop the events of this narrative.

Thomas Craven is a role Gibson sells well, and under the direction of Martin Campbell (director of GoldenEye, The Mask of Zorro, Casino Royale, and the upcoming Green Lantern movie) Gibson’s quiet quest for revenge is delivered in a seemingly calculated manner. It should be because Campbell is all too familiar with the source material; Edge of Darkness happens to be a remake of the BBC serial (of the same name) from 1985 that Campbell became well-known for. Adapted from that BBC serial by William Monahan and Andrew Bovell, Edge of Darkness is a dark narrative of sudden domestic disturbance and its lengthy affect upon all involved – including a Massachusetts Senator (Damian Young); it’s an effective recounting of the ties that bind motif.

According to Monahan’s criminally insightful vision, no one is untouched by the sudden murder of activist Emma Craven (Bojana Novakovic) at Craven’s doorstep. Apparently, Campbell wants to extend that affect to the audience as well because the scenes of violence are sudden and shockingly effective. While the film appears to be situated in a minimalist approach to filmmaking, the camera records and depicts the violence with an unflinching slant courtesy of Campbell’s long-time cinematographer, Phil Meheux. As a result of this poise between taut drama and hard-hitting violence, the film becomes an effective testimony to the absolute brutality of violence – making it all the more harrowing; Edge of Darkness will unnerve some movie-goers in the most unexpected moments and shock others with its detailed gore.

While Gibson is the star of this feature, the character that most reverberates throughout the narrative is the role Robert De Niro reportedly walked away from; it’s the part the always reliable Winstone delivers with uncanny flawlessness: Jedburgh. His brief thoughtful weariness with Craven – while deceptively undersized in its philosophical intent – is loaded with credence and, in actuality, provides the necessary human theme underscoring this revenge tale; it’s the part most audience members will want to see more of as the feature uncoils its narrative spool and it’s the part most deserving of a its inclusion in the story and, thankfully, Jedburgh is a fully fleshed-out character.

Gibson, as stated earlier, knows and delivers the part of Craven well enough; however, being a little more rugged and grayer than as previous seen might actually be an undoing of sorts for a major comeback; he’s good in this part even if his accent gets a little too Popeye-ish at times, but portraying anything – outside the role of the aging martyr – might provide to be too daunting of a task for even Mad Max to pull off. Right now, Craven suits him…even if the movie suffers (a bit) from his role being too familiar for audiences to be wholly unique. The somewhat poisonous “well-it-worked-last-time” mentality of Gibson in the role of martyr is somewhat detoxified by Campbell’s superb handling of the quieter scenes Edge of Darkness offers as they are engaging enough to be pot-boilerish and push the story to its conclusion in a satisfactory manner.

While Edge of Darkness isn’t the action-packed free-for-all that marked last year’s Taken phenomenon, Campbell’s quasi-redux delivers hundredfold on unyielding tension and abrupt moments of hard-core violence that are sufficient enough to make for a solid feature that’s just shy of being something uniquely memorable.

B

Starting out decidedly different than the last few records, Spoon’s Transference doesn’t hit with the immediacy of Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga’s superb opener “Don’t Make Me a Target.” Instead, it starts out subtlety through “Before Destruction,” a casual opener that feels more like an intro type song than an actual full fledged track. Running at about 3 minutes, it’s an interlude of sorts to the most diverse Spoon album I’ve heard in quite awhile.

Kill the Moonlight and Girls Can Tell were chocked full of radio-friendly hits, including Spoon’s most well known and popular song “The Way We Get By.” Here though, Transference doesn’t offer up any strikingly evident radio hits, it’s a departure from their previous efforts. Bold, ambitious, and all together daring, Transference is a success for the simple fact it pushes the band into a new direction. “Is Love Forever?” strives on the repetitive guitar lick for the entire song, a feat very few guitarists can keep with these days. Short and to the point, it feels more like an extension from the opener, before you blast into the first Spoon like song on the album “The Mystery Zone.”

Featuring the usual lyrical genius of Britt Daniel, “The Mystery Zone” is where some may actually find the album starting, despite it being the third song in. This is the way Spoon is supposed to sound for the lot of us. Transference is a departure, but not like one would expect. Their last album was a critical and commercial hit, thanks in part to songs like “The Underdog” and “You’ve Got Yr. Cherry Bomb.” Unfortunately for any fans that Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga picked up, they may bail after hearing Transference due to it sounding little like that album, with the exception of “The Mystery Zone.” Instead, they may be surprised to find throwbacks to Gimme Fiction in “Who Makes Your Money,” a smooth jazzy track and feels like a bit of a speed bump after the relentless guitar work on “Is Love Forever?”

“Written in Reverse” was the first single and track heard from Transference and its a great song, I found a greater appreciation for it after hearing it live last month, and the intensity of Daniel as he strums away at those strings. The beginning of the album is certainly a great way to begin, hitting a great peak in my opinion with “I Saw the Light” another throwback, this time to Kill the Moonlight. Transference feels like a band paying homage to itself, as they incorporate many styles that they perfected on previous efforts.

There’s very little to hate here, unless of course you’re new to Spoon, in which case this may not seem like such an immediate hit for you. I loved it instantly, but I’m a die hard Spoon fan, and the album is a great departure but also progression for indie rocks most notable band. “Goodnight Laura” is a piano driven track that doesn’t really feel like a Spoon song, and I think it sums up what Transference is all about. Experimentation, possibly a bit of a darker motive for the band. It’s not an emo record, it’s just far deeper than one would expect from Spoon, and that may not win over new fans, but it will definitely strengthen the bond between the band and their fans.

A

“Forget the second coming/I need you in the here and now” are the first lines of Surfer Blood’s debut album, just before the summer pop album jams through a 40 minute onslaught of nostalgic 90s alternative. That’s right, it’s a throwback to the mid-90s when bands rocked the hell out and sang about love and the summertime, with no political messages or even chest puffing bravado. No, instead, Astro Coast is exactly the shot of adrenaline the world needs right now. A strong debut from this west coast guitar rocking band that reminds me of Weezer circa The Blue Album.

Keeping in the vein of other bands in this genre, like my beloved Japandroids, Surfer Blood are relying heavily on strong guitar presence here, and memorable pop melodies that you won’t find on any radio station band. Ten crystal clear gems are on Astro Coast, an album that compiles the best the 90s had to offer and mixes it with the lo-fi, indie rockability of the current status of music. Just listen to the first single, released last Fall, “Swim (To Reach the End)” a pop single so head bangingly good you’ll think you’re surfing the coasts of Baja yourself. The album cover may be intimidating, a giant great white shark leaping out at you, but the name says it all – Surfer Blood. A new blood really, this bands debut is their only release, no EPs out there at all, and thanks in part to the exposure at Pitchfork, they’ve come to be recognized as a new breed of indie rock. Something even the casual fan can enjoy.

There are two winning tracks here that I have to mention before the rest of the album, which is fantastic. The first one was “Swim” a song that could get heavy airplay if radio DJs weren’t too busy whacking it to garbage like Green Day. The punk pop influences on “Swim” make it an instant classic for surfer rock types, and it’s the first highlight of the album. And much like The Blue Album, there’s a lot of diversity on Astro Coast. There’s switches in style and approach but never quality, and that’s never more present on my favorite track of the album “Harmonix.” It starts with a slow, almost ballad-esque intro, then it switches to an atmospheric guitar picking with a single drum beat. It’s incredible how cohesive a band this new sounds already, with only 2 years of preparation they sound like a band with at least 5 years under their belt making tunes.

The rest of the album goes as one would assume, the only short comings are from the length of the album in my opinion. Ten tracks is hardly enough to satisfy thirsty 90s alternative junkies like myself, the ones who miss the days of straight rocking, but thankfully we have bands like Surfer Blood. I strongly recommend everyone check them out on their Spring tour, they are not to be missed, due to their ability to suck you into their grooves like an undertow.

A

No, this didn’t have Cagney in it, but I felt the title clearly states the disgust for such an unbalanced piece of trash. Not to discredit those involved, there’s some truly gifted performers in this film – Paul Bettany is always fun; Dennis Quaid, while not my favorite actor, has a respectable career. Charles S. Dutton always adds to the comedy. The cast, despite it’s massive flaws – Lucas Black, you’re awful – isn’t too terribly unbearable. No, what Legion suffers from is not a piss-poor cast, but more appropriately, a lack of seriousness to the project.

There’s moments of pure gold in Legion, for one, the clever concept. Note, not the script so much, but the concept had potential written all over it. So, screenwriter and director Scott Stewart (a visual effects junkie), I blame you for the poor quality of this film. I’m sure at some point there was a decent edit of the film, but alas, not the final product. The story of how one smoking (literally) mommy is faced with the truth about her unborn, that he will be the savior of humanity. Why? We don’t know. How? Never find out. Is it through repopulation of the human race? Dunno. There’s gaps in the plot, something that definitely needed tightening before it got to this point. Goofy special effects aside, Bettany puts in a decent performance, but it’s hard to appreciate it when the story makes no sense. Michael (Bettany) is given the order to kill the unborn child, but he refuses and decides instead to defend Earth. Slowly, Earth’s people turn into zombie like creatures. It’s stated midway through that the “weak minded” individuals turn first, which is bizarre because half of the cast is “weak minded” so why were they spared? Baffling.

If anything, the granny scene is worth the nine bucks. There’s loads of unintentional humor in Legion, which towards the end I was curious if it was purposely done. It seems at times that the motive of Stewart was to make a cult B-movie, which this could potentially attain, if it wasn’t for the advertising vehicle portraying this as some judgment day showdown. In fact, there’s very little action, and when it’s there, it’s basically watching your kid brother play Duck Hunt, as Quaid, Dutton, and Bettany stand on top of the restaurant and pick off ice cream truck drivers and UPS men. The theater was in hysterics at this film, and it’s a shame because it had potential, but it was stifled by a director who didn’t know what he was doing probably when he took the job. Polishing the script goes a long way, and some of the dialogue made my ears bleed – thanks to Lucas Black. The depth given to unimportant characters was time consuming and meaningless considering their demise five minutes later. If they’re meant to be casualties of war, leave them as that.

Legion isn’t a good movie, by any means. It’ll entertain, but it’s not one you call your friends about and say “I just watched an amazing film!” Instead, it’ll be a rental, one that you might check out in the 5.50 bin, maybe even instant watch on Netflix, who cares? The bottom line is that Legion suffers from an extremely poor script, and rotten editing that hurts a product that could have sold so well had it been given more care. It’s more than likely a casualty of the writer’s strike in late 2007, because it begins promising, but ends like a true tragedy.

D+

(For Sale: Award Intergrity for top offer.)

One has to assume that if the worst of the best is going to be celebrating at the end of the day, that it would have something to do with NBC. Yes the Golden Globes aired last night which of course today means that this is the obligatory angry response from me that comes almost every single year. Though at least this year, while NBC might have lost ratings than previous shows, at least it maintains it’s integrity of not having any. Between the network and of course the always fabulous Hollywood Foreign Press, it’s a match made in the 7th layer of sellout hell.

WHAT WENT RIGHT.

Obviously they can’t all be bad. There were some really great moments that I enjoyed, mainly seeing Dexter finally get some of the recognition that it deserves have constantly being snubbed. Michael C Hall, complete with doorag to hide the hairloss from his latest batch of chemo (GET WELL MICHAEL!), won finally for best actor in a drama series and John Lithogow for best supporting actor. This was a redemption for a great show which always seems to be shut down by Mad Men, which of course won for best drama series.

I was also happy to see Glee take the award for best musical or comedy series. I honestly almost always expect 30 Rock to win this so was really glad to see someone dethrone that show. Modern Family as another great show that I would have been happy to see win but for such a scrappy and original TV concept as Glee is, any awards and recognition is always great.

On the movie side of the equation there was little that really felt like it came together. I was glad to see Crazy Heart actually take the two awards that it was supposed to have won, best original song and best actor for Jeff Bridges. I had to admit being scared that Clooney was going to walk away with the statue but Bridges was masterful in this role and very well deserved.

I also enjoyed Christoph Waltz winning the best supporting actor in a drama and LOVED Marty Scorsese’s acceptance of the Cecile B. DeMille award. I could listen to Marty talk about film for hours, he has a rich love for it that is incredible infectious.

WHAT WENT WRONG:

This section is more some of the nitty gritty personal opinions side of it. Not the worst of the worst but still somehow how the show made a wrong turn at Albuquerque.

Mo’Nique wins best supporting actress. Alright this was easily something that I can’t really pick apart that much, nor was it something I didn’t expect to happen. However, I just want to throw out there some major love towards Up In The Air’s Anna Kendrick who really was the saving grace and redemption for a movie that offered absolutely none. It was an amazing turn by a very talented young star. Now please stop making those Twilight movies.

The Hangover wins best comedy or musical. Again, part of me was really really happy for this movie. The Hangover was easily one of my favorite films of the year because what’s not to love? The acting, actors, script, and director all hit upon a great formula REALLY made this movie pop. It went on to be one of the highest grossing films of the year and deserves much acclaim for what it accomplished AND I was glad not to see it go to Julie and Julia. HOWEVER, there was another film out there called 500 Days of Summer. This movie I felt really saved a very dry and dying genre, the romantic comedy, and gave us one of the best modern tales in this form since Annie Hall. I consider 500 Days of Summer a modern classic and really would have loved to see this film get the recognition that it truly deserves. PLUS best musical number all year.

Another nit pick I had was for best Screenplay which went to one of my favorite working directors, Jason Reitman, for Up In the Air. I do believe that this script will win the Oscar for best adapted screenplay based on the book by Walter Kirn but if Inglorious Basterds is going to win ANYTHING (sans Christoph Waltz) it should be for the best screenplay which is Tarentino’s best since Pulp Fiction. Even Reitman accepting the award seemed more than a little surprised to be given the award over QT.

Finally was James Cameron taking the prize home for directing over his ex-wife Katheryn Bigelow. Okay, now this one I saw coming and was actually kinda hoping that it would happen purely so the Academy would say that Cameron already got his kudos and attention and would give Bigelow the Oscar for directing the Hurt Locker, and FINALLY have a woman win the award.

WHAT THE HELL?!?!

First off, Ricky Gervais. Yikes. I think I was more looking forward the watching the Golden Globes because of him than anything else but this really felt like a rushed, barely there, and HEAVILY network influenced performance by Gervais. For someone who I think has some of the biggest balls in Hollywood, this was just tame and he was barely given any air time to do anything. Sidenote: only two Leno jokes the entire show. One by Gervais and one by someone accepting an award I can’t remember who. NBC rushed this whole show for time and it felt bland, boring, and very tame.

Sandra Bullock wins best actress in a drama for The Blind Side. WHAT?! Sorry, must’ve blinked. Nope, that’s her holding the trophy. WHAT?! In the role that supposed to be just an honor to be nominated has now beaten out Helen Mirren, Emily Blunt, and especially Carey Mulligan and Gabourey Sidibe. The Blind Side wasn’t a bad movie, and box office wise ending up being a huge hit for Bullock. But not ONCE did her name ever realistically come up over the master class performances by two incredible actresses in Mulligan and Sidibe. This was atrocious and Hollywood Foreign Press snobbery of the WORST kind.

Almost as bad was the award for best actor in a comedy or musical going to Robert Downey Jr for Sherlock Holmes. WHAT?! C’MON! Matt Damon was horribly overlooked in The Informat!, Joesph Gordan Levitt was the lynchpin in the brilliant 500 Days of Summer, and the actual best performance was Michael Stuhlbarg for A Serious Man. I like RDJ as much as the next guy and in fact have been cheering him on since his big return (Not Iron Man but Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang several years earlier) but even accepting his award admitted to being personally told by his manager not to worry about an acceptance speech. Downey Jr is a charming and great actor but this was not even close his award to win.

Finally, the big one. Best picture. I’m guessing you can sense the trend here. Hangover, Bullock, Downey Jr all had massive hits on their hands this year and since apparently the Golden Globes are now the Blockbuster Movie Awards the best picture went to Avatar. Now I loved Avatar and thought that this film was a cinematic achievement of the highest level and am cheering it on as it destroys box office records both domestic and global and takes the number 1 film in the country for the 5th week. However, is it the BEST film of the year? No, not even close. Best achievement in film and best film are two very different ideas and if you want to rename the award that I’ll stand aside but as long as we are honoring the idea of a complete work including script and acting, then this film will consistently fall short.

Earlier in the show, Ricky Gervais made a comment to introduce the head of the Hollywood Foreign Press that if you wanted to buy an award that this was the guy to see. Sadly, this ended up being more prophetic than it was intended to be as the integrity of second biggest award show in Hollywood takes another huge hit and another ratings dive.

For the full list of winners you can go here: http://www.imdb.com/features/rto/2010/globes

In real life, humanity is neither all good nor all bad. We live and breathe and flourish in the gray area. We possess a sense of morality and entitlement that is constantly in flux with our mood, environment, and situation. However in film this is rarely the case. There is a protagonist, an antagonist, a conflict, and a resolution that generally can go one of two ways. Perhaps this is why I am so smitten with Fish Tank and the main character Mia. Fish Tank doesn’t just live in the gray area, it thrives in it. This is a very very good film.

If there’s anything that I want people to learn after this review is the name of two people: Andrea Arnold and Katie Jarvis. Arnold is your writer and director and is one of the best most original voices that I have come upon since I started this blog. She reminds me of the same promise that I had for Catherine Hardwicke after Thirteen was first released. Fish Tank shares more than a few similarities to the previously mentioned film in dealing with the pure angst of teenagers but instead of the focus on the family unit everything falls on 15-year-old Mia. Katie Jarvis handles the torn Mia with such authenticity that there isn’t a second that you don’t ache for this girl. It’s a master class performance from the 18-year-old newcomer  that should have her nominated in every way shape and form that she can get.

In a film so centered on Mia, it’s hard for anyone to steal the spotlight but Michael Fassbender knows exactly how to do that. Playing her Mia’s mother’s love interest who seems to have a bit too keen an eye on Mia herself, Fassbender feels almost as much of a victim of circumstance as he is of being a real prick. Fassbender has seen his stock soar of late after starring in the brilliant film Hunger and this year playing the roguish Archie in Inglorious Basterds. This is another great turn from an actor that I can’t wait to see what will do next.

I honestly implore you to find this film in any venue that you can. Like Let The Right One In, I will personally hold myself responsible to just say go download it if you have to because a wide release is never going to happen. If they did, how could Alvin and the Chipmunks the Squeakuel get 3 screens? It’s rare when you find a film that can handle the dredges of real life, the trials and tribulations and still leave you with a feeling of hope, and Fish Tank is that film.

This movie is the latest installment in what I truly believe is British cinema catching up to the Hollywood machine. With such great works like Bronson, Hunger, and An Education. I really love the way that these films are being held in high regard and putting England back on the map.

A

You would think by this point that I would be dytopianed out. In fact with The Road, Daybreakers, 2012, and more on the horizon I’m thinking of trademarking that word. So the essential question is, what makes The Book of Eli different? For starters, clout. By having a cast that starts with Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, and Mila Kunis and ends with Michael Gambon, Ray Stevenson, and Tom Waits, Eli automatically is given a level of distinction to it that sometimes carries a heavy handed script.

Eli has more of a Road Warrior type premise with the barren wasteland, broken down cars, and the roving wild gangs but also has a strong western feel to it. Denzel has come into possession of the final copy of the King James Bible and wants nothing more than to spread the word. Of course anything that is seen by important by one person is seen as covetous by another and in comes Gary Oldman as the leader of a broken down town who decides that he should be sole owner of the book. Action happens, biblical parables set forth, and Denzel plays a ginshu chef with people’s body parts. Dytopiariffic. Trademark!

Perhaps one of the most intriguing things about this movie to me was seeing the Hughes brothers handle this material. Best known for creating some epic urban dramas like Menace II Society and Dead Presidents, the action genre is newer terrain for them and perhaps that was one of the saving graces of the film. The current action film market loves the quick cameras, fast edits, and dizzying motions to give you a feel of being right in the moment but with Eli, they took a more steady cam approach, framing the shots and letting the action speak for itself. I was really impressed with the eye that they had for this and with the exception of a few cliched shots, took some risks that paid off well.

The few complaints that I had about the film come from first time screenwriter Gary Whitta. He doesn’t have quite the deft touch needed for something like this and often times ends up with dialogue or voice overs that are overly religious. This isn’t a commentary of religion or religion in movies, it was more just a lack of subtly in the handling of it. Where it could have been an interesting guideline for the film ends up instead like the final Matrix film being hammered into you.

Personally, I have always been a big fan of Denzel and even his more recent actiony films, Taking of Pelham 123, Man on Fire, I have thoroughly enjoyed. He brings an air of authenticity to just about every role that he plays and was blown away by his handling of the martial art sequences of the film. Apparently he had spent some time training with Bruce Lee’s protege to learn how to properly handle himself and it really shows. This movie lives and dies by the credibility that the lead actor can give it and Denzel, as he always does, delivers in spades.

Now stop ending the damn world!

B-