THE WOLF OF WALL STREET - FILM REVIEW

Release Date: 17th January 2014 (UK)
Age Certificate: 18
Running Time: 180 mins
Director: Martin Scorsese
Writers: Terence Winter and Jordan Belfort
Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill and Margot Robbie

Based on the true story of Jordan Belfort, from his rise to a wealthy stockbroker living the high life to his fall involving crime, corruption and the federal government.

Let’s start off with the negatives for a change. First, the character Jordan Belfort is totally unlikeable and a huge dick. I know this is the point of the film, you’re not supposed to know what happens to the unfortunate souls that buy nothing from him, and see his uncontrollable success. But the fact remains it doesn’t usually make a good film if you fail to back the main protagonist. The second failure of The Wolf is the over indulgent party scenes, there are too many to be frank. I am struggling to comprehend what Scorsese was pondering what to take out when ordered to do so. To give the benefit of the doubt, the party scenes do produce enough laughs to pull you through the film. However, the main point remains, you don’t care whether this guy dies, lives, is arrested or lives happily ever after.

The strengths are obvious; it looks marvelous, as it would, coming from Scorsese.  It’s also fast paced which is always nice in a film. The three hour time limit has been criticised, which I partly agree with, however, it doesn’t necessarily feel three hours. Finally, the acting is top notch. Saying that, I still think Leonardo DiCaprio still won’t win the Oscar, which is indeed disappointing, but one day he will achieve. He’s too much of a great talent to be forgotten in the Oscar timeline. Jonah Hill, for me, will always be remembered as the loser from Superbad, and that’s a shame. 

Good for some laughs and a spectacle for great acting. The Wolf of Wall Street is an adult film for teenagers.

7/10

GRAVITY - FILM REVIEW

Release Date: 7th November 2013

Age Certificate: 12A

Running Time: 91 mins

Director: Alfonso Cuaron

Writer: Alfonso Cuaron and Jonas Cuaron

Stars: Sandra Bullock and George Clooney

Gravity, a film about the lack of gravity.

It sees Sandra Bullock and George Clooney fixing a satellite in the atmosphere of space, only to find that debris is hurdling their way, they then have to use instincts to survive. 

 

The first, and most obvious feature of Gravity is the use of special effects, they are sublime. The opening shot is an overview of Earth and all you can hear are faint radio stations. I was excited before the film began, but when this shot filled up the screen it was unbelievable. As well as the film being silent, the cinema was silent, this is unprecedented, usually you have a woman with a nose bag strapped on filled with popcorn and hot dogs sitting next to you. Anyway, the rest of the film is filled with hundreds of effects to keep the whole world talking. 

I always like a film that has little dialogue and one major dilemma. However, the main problem with Gravity is its ending. I’m not going to spoil it, but it was just too ridiculous, this is to be said for a few features in the film, but especially the end. 

There’s not much to be said for the acting, other than it was great, it was good to get a back story to Bullock’s character, and she managed to pull the heart strings well. Sometimes the back stories are forced on to the audience and half the time it feels like the character doesn’t believe in it either. In Gravity this was not the case. 

Gravity needs to be seen in cinema, do not wait for this to come out on DVD, watch on the biggest screen possible. 

8.5/10

BLUE JASMINE - FILM REVIEW

Release Date: 21^st September 2013

Age Certificate: 12A

Running Time: 98 mins

Director: Woody Allen

Writer: Woody Allen

Stars: Cate Blanchett, Alec Baldwin, Peter Sarsgaard

The annual event of a Woody Allen film is here again; this instalment into his growing collection of 45+ films is called Blue Jasmine. First, let me start off by saying, I went to the cinema to watch this. I was the youngest there by about 60 years. It seemed to be the old peoples’ weekend evening out; you thought they would like to enjoy themselves, but no, all they do is moan and gossip! Every time a trailer comes on there was a collective moan, if it’s not Casablanca or Woody Allen they have the mindset that they won’t like it. However, apart from this I managed to enjoy the film.

A New York socialite, deeply troubled and in denial, arrives is San Francisco to impose upon her sister. She looks a million, but isn’t bringing money, peace or love...

I love Woody Allen; I’ve seen around about half of his film, yes I know, I’m slacking. However, in his most recent films, Blue Jasmine has to be up there with Midnight in Paris and Match Point. The directing is superb as usual; there are no special mamby pamby effects, and no explosions. On the other hand, there is one piece of special effect (a plane flying) and perhaps he should best stick to dialogue. What I love about Allen is that it’s all about the story. 

The acting in Blue Jasmine also obviously contributes to the transfixing feel of the film. Cate Blanchett steals the show, you will have to watch the film to understand fully, but you feel every step she goes through. Alec Baldwin also plays his role well. Allen is going through a stage of Mr. Baldwin at the moment and it seems to be holding up. Sally Hawkins also takes her character and runs away with it.

This is another one of those films where you don’t worry how many minutes you’ve got left or make a drink half way through, you will be compelled every step of the way. And what did the two old codgers sitting behind me think? ‘I think all Woody Allen films are pathetic.’

9.0/10

PRISONERS - FILM REVIEW

Release Date: 20^th September 2013

Age Certificate: 15

Running Time: 153 mins

Director: Denis Villeneuve

Writer: Aaron Guzikowski

Stars: Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis

Prisoners is gripping, fascinating, exciting, electrifying and any other positive words capable of fitting into a sentence. 

When Keller Dover’s daughter and her friends go missing, he takes matters into his own hands as the police pursue multiple leads and the pressure mounts. But just how far will this desperate father go to protect his family? 

Prisoners is directed by Denis Villeneuve who bought us the highly acclaimed foreign film, Incendies. Incendies was disturbing in many ways and so is Prisoners. The only difference is that this film wasn’t written by Villeneuve; instead he just chose a disconcerting tale of events. In terms of his directing style, it is clean and well shot. Even in the most difficult times of the film he makes us care for the characters, this compliment should also be given to Aaron Guzikowski, the writer. I’m definitely looking forward to Villeneuve’s next film, also starring Jake Gyllenhaal, if it is anything to go by it should be another content viewing. 

The acting in the film also contributes to the overall fantastic finish. This has to be one of Hugh Jackman’s best performances on the big screen. Furthermore, Gyllenhaal’s character is incredibly believable, and even though he is supposed to be a tough cop you still feel for him. It’s a good thing before he started filming The End of Watch he did police training, it helped for his role for sure. Another actor I would like to discuss is Paul Dano, he plays a young man, who is described in the film as ‘the brain of a ten year old’. I sometimes feel that Dano tries to over act his roles but in this film he seemed to calm down a bit and become a more mature actor which was defiantly evident. 

The story is gripping and should be watched by a vast audience. Prisoners is nearly two and a half hours long, but funny enough it seems to skip by. The directing, writing and acting are all superb. Oh, and I almost forgot, the editing is also top class, it keeps up the pace and when you think there is going to be a long conversation which isn’t neede. Perhaps without the great editing it wouldn’t have glued you to the seat as much. 

Prisoners is one of the best films this year. 

8.0/10

SOMERS TOWN FILM REVIEW

Release Date: 22^nd August 2008

Age Certificate: 12A

Running Time: 72 mins

Director: Shane Meadows

Writers: Shane Meadows and Paul Fraser

Stars: Thomas Turgoose, Ireneusz Czop and Elisa Lasowski

Somers Town is a bit of a weird one. Funded by Eurostar and just about scrapes the feature length category. It’s strange before it’s even begun and that doesn’t really change throughout the film; shot in black and white and a very slow, but engaging story, it won’t suit everybody’s taste. But if it’s your kind of film, then you’re in for a treat.  

The film has two main protagonists, a young polish boy, Marek, and a boy from the midlands, Tomo. They spend their time roaming around, whilst trying to earn money from this local ‘geezer’, meanwhile, sharing a fantasy about a French girl, Maria. Marek’s father is a builder, constructing the Eurostar, which plays a crucial role in the film later. Whereas Tomo’s parents are not presented in the film and it is questioned if he actually has any. Perhaps this is why he has nothing to do except to roam around meeting new people and getting used to being an outsider, which is a big theme in the film. Along with being an outsider, parents, growing up and transportation are also main themes. 

The main strength of the film would have to be the style and superb direction. It was a good thing that the film was funded by Eurostar, otherwise it would have never been made and a great British director wouldn’t have been able to continue to show us his great talent and flare. His previous film, This is England, was another great British flick, which defiantly dissevered the BAFTA’s Best British Film. Anyway, steering back to the subject in hand, the black and white effect contributes to the overall feel of the film. Perhaps Meadows, was trying to show the nitty gritty feel of Somers Town, or is trying to show that the two boys are not content about where they are and their way of life. This is probably the most likely answer, as the film turns to colour, and shot with a super 8 effect, when they are happy about where they are and who they are with at the end of the film. Furthermore, some of the shots in this film are sublime, partly because I live in England and it is weird to see somebody else’s perspective. The simplicity in a few of the shots do the most for me. Maybe some of the big Hollywood films need to take note. 

The acting in the film is okay in places and in others; one place in particular, is magnificent. That one place is from Thomas Turgoose, engaging, funny and just overall a terrific child actor. I hope that he grows to be more than a child actor, this usually isn’t the case but I believe he is heading for bigger things. The other actors get the job done but are not as wonderful as I would have liked. But that’s me just being picky.

The script, bought to us by Paul Fraser, is funny and well-crafted. Also plenty of space for improvisation, which helps us to view Turgooses’s obvious talents, one of which is keeping a straight face while wearing women’s clothes. 

Some will look at the slow pace as a downside, whereas others would say it was set at a terrific speed, just enough for the audience to build a bond with these two boys. I personally, was somewhere in the middle, I wasn’t yearning for a blockbuster feel but I wasn’t overly blown away with the lack of story line. The film didn’t really seem to take off. It just seemed to plod along at a comfortable pace, not in a hurry but doesn’t want to be late. There wasn’t really anything where the boys had an epiphany that they needed to urgently change their lives. I think it just needed slight encouragement to pick up the pace, defiantly not a kick up the backside. 

Luckily, the involvement of the Eurostar isn’t a downside of the film. Thank God it’s not plastered with billboards and stickers promoting the fact that they funded the film. In hind sight, I don’t remember the word Eurostar actually being mentioned. There isn’t really anything else I can say about this matter. 

If I was picking at straws, I would say Meadows intention was to state that it could be tough living in London, but you will always find a companion and it will always lead you to somewhere good. If you want my honest opinion, I don’t think that he wanted to say anything worth talking about; the film was all about character building, rather than a rational overall meaning to the motion picture. 

I would defiantly recommend Somers Town, for its style, great acting by Turgoose, its laughs and great character building. However, it’s slow pace needs a little improvement or an added defining moment in the film. There’s no doubt that Meadows is one of the leading British directors out there and that shouldn’t be pushed under the carpet. 

7.5/10