The Bank Job

Can you tell the quality of a movie from the trailers that play before it? Generally I can't stand watching trailers and aim to turn up to a film about a minute or two before the opening credits role. However you can't always time it right and I sometimes get there too early and have to sit through previews of films I either don't want spoiled in any way, or films that I have zero interest in seeing.

Before Roger Donaldson's The Bank Job we had trailers for:

The Eye - an unconvincing blind Jessica Alba undergoes an eye transplant and starts seeing things. The trailer asks us if we can believe our own eyes if they are not our own. I think the answer is yes, unless your trapped inside a stupid horror film.

21 - the film about the MIT students who took on Vegas at Blackjack. Good story, lousy looking film.

Never Back Down - whose title I think says it all.

Street Kings - Keanu Reeves plays a cop struggling to overcome a plot that looks like the sort of thing we've seen done before. Many times.

It seemed the sort of crowd that the distributors were expecting was easily pleased and not particularly discerning, so when the main attraction started I wasn't exactly hopeful. However this adaptation of a true story is actually pretty entertaining.

Jason Statham is not someone whose films I look out for but he's not someone I'd refuse to watch either. He's effective enough in this as the car dealer who is approached, indirectly, by MI5 to rob a bank in order to recover some sensitive photographs of a member of the royal family. The twist being that he doesn't realise that's what he's organising - he thinks it's a straight-forward bank robbery. Statham assembles a motley crew of slightly irritating East End wannabe gangsters and gets to work on digging a tunnel through to the floor of the vault.

Donaldson is an effective director and London is presented fairly nicely in retro-fashion, which adds a little bit of interest. The are problems. The robbery is not particularly gripping or ingenious, like it was for example in Rififi. There aren't any characters that keep you glued to the screen, like there were for example in Sexy Beast. It's simply a decently put together film, decently acted with a decent script but little that stands out as excellent. Perhaps the only stand out in fact is David Suchet as a sleazy, evil porn baron. It's the one noteworthy performance in the movie.

The Bank Job is not something you should try and see on the big screen. It'll work perfectly well on your TV, but is is certainly an above average piece of work that'll hold your interest throughout. C+

One Minute Bad Reviews

That is to say these are all reviews of bad films rather than bad reviews. Maybe they're both. And of course when I say they are bad films, what I really mean is that they are alleged masterpieces or at least quite highly regarded. I just didn't like them...

The Seven Samurai

It is no secret that I can't stand the pained expressions and histrionics of the style of acting that characterised Japanese cinema in and around the 1950s. Actors of the era performed with the idea of emulating the Noh form of theatre where actors wore masks. Their facial expressions are designed to appear mask-like but it just ruins the film for me and this is one of the worst examples. I tried watching this before but gave up after 20 minutes. This time I stuck with it but didn't particularly enjoy it. I really don't see the hallmarks of a masterpiece here. It is needlessly long - scenes are painfully extended with the director cutting to face after face to see the same sort of reaction. There's one quite elderly guy (possibly Yohei) who looks like he's about to cry every single time he's on screen and it is infuriating. Not my cup of sake at all. D

Radio Days

I've been on a Woody Allen role of late with Hannah and her Sisters, and The Purple Rose of Cairo cracking the A+ barrier and Zelig and Broadway Danny Rose also faring very well. This however didn't do it for me. There are a couple of wry observations in Allen's semi-autobiographical look at the end of the golden era of radio, but it doesn't have the engrossing characters or plot nor is it consistently funny enough to hold one's interest. C

The Ladykillers

This is the British comedy of 1955 that was remade by the Coens a few years ago to little success. Judging by the original though they were hampered by the source material. A gang of would be crooks plan a bank raid from the home of an old woman who they lodge with, pretending to be classical musicians. It's not very funny, it's not very well acted (yes even Alec Guinness and Peter Sellers can be off their game) and it's so low budget that consecutive shots in the same scene look as though they were filmed in different seasons. One minute it's brilliant sunshine, then we cut to a reaction shot and it appears overcast. All the interior shots are appallingly lit and the whole thing just doesn't hold together very well, with scenes badly strung together, badly edited and even the simplest of action sequences having no coherence. D

The Grapes of Wrath

Another alleged masterpiece another bad grade from me. Maybe I'm just not in a very charitable mood of late, I guess after such a spectacular year in the cinema my expectations are sky high. This though doesn't come close to its Best Picture nominated billing. John Ford won Best Director ahead of Alfred Hitchcock, whose Rebecca won Best Picture and must have directed itself. This was in the days of Picture/Director splits being very rare. Hitchcock never won an Oscar despite deserving at least 3 and the decision to reward Ford here was a strange one. The film doesn't hold up well although I suppose at the time, a young Henry Fonda starring in a very American epic (an adaptation of a pulitzer prize winning Steinbeck novel no less) was the sort of thing that went down well. They should have gone with the Brit though since his film was far more accomplished and the direction in Rebecca is exemplary. The Grapes of Wrath just did not hold my interest at all. Maybe the novel works better. D

Slow Movie Month

The post-Oscar season is always a slow one in terms of new films. There's nothing of any quality released since all the decent films came out in order to qualify for awards consideration. I've not been to the cinema in over a month (shocking!) and there's not even anything around that looks like it might be a decent guilty pleasure. I may try and catch The Bank Job before it disappears and maybe The Orphanage looks half-decent.

So apologies for lack of posts. I should be catching up on films on DVD to fill this void. I've seen a couple so I'll get some reviews up this weekend. In the mean time it is only 2 weeks until the Rolling Stones/Martin Scorsese film Shine a Light comes out on IMAX. I can't wait.

Modern Classics

#2 The Talented Mr Ripley

With the sad passing of Anthony Minghella yesterday I decided it was about time to do another extended review of a recent film that I believe to be near perfect in every way. You can find the first entry in this series here.

The Talented Mr Ripley starts at the very end of the film with a voice over that gives us a glimpse into the tortured mind of Tom Ripley. "If I could just go back. If I could rub everything out. Starting with myself. Starting with borrowing a jacket." As he delivers this briefest of prologues, Ripley's face is revealed, one shard at a time, each one symbolising the many different facets to his character. The movie's title is revealed on screen with the word "Talented" being last in a string of adjectives that flash up in turn, including Mysterious Lonely Confused Haunted and Passionate. Matt Damon is handed the unenviable task of portraying every single one of them over the 133 minutes if the film.

The jacket that Ripley mentions in the opening voiceover is a friend's, who he substitutes for during a musical performance overlooking Central Park. Among the very well off guests are Emily and Herbert Greenleaf, who spot the Princeton emblem on the borrowed jacket and comment on how he must have known their son Dickie, who also attended the University. Out of embarrassment Ripley doesn't correct their error and from this initial misunderstanding, Ripley soon agrees to travel to Italy to persuade Dickie, who is enjoying southern Italy at the expense of his father, to return home to New York and do something more worthwhile.

The opening exchanges fly by in a matter of minutes but so much is established here in terms of plot and characterisation that you imagine that Minghella (who wrote the screenplay) must have condensed scores of pages of the novel into just a few brief minutes on screen. Scenes are short, sharp but packed with insight and detail. Ripley is shown in the washroom brushing down the jackets of guests at a classical concert and is then seen playing on the main stage at 1.30am before a caretaker turns on the lights to stop him. In these two scenes, which take seconds, we understand that Tom Ripley is a nobody, yearning to be a somebody. There's no exposition here, the audience aren't treated as idiots with a Ripley voiceover telling us what we can see on screen. We understand Ripley wants to be someone. It may be for this reason that he introduces himself to an American tourist, Meredith Logue (Cate Blanchett), as Greenleaf at an Italian dock. It may also be, as the Greenleaf chauffeur puts it, that "the Greenleaf name opens a lot of doors".

Once in Italy, Ripley sets his sights on ingratiating himself with Dickie (Jude Law) and his girlfriend Marge Sherwood (Gwyneth Paltrow) by convincing Dickie he knew him at Princeton and pretending to be huge fan of Jazz since Dickie is obsessed by it. In no time at all Tom befriends the couple and is invited by Dickie to stay at his apartment.

I remember just prior to The Talented Mr Ripley's release in 1999 that Anthony Minghella was telling the press that "the whole world will be at Jude Law's feet" when they see the film. To this day it probably remains his most perfect role. Dickie is the carefree playboy who oozes confidence and a magnetism that has everyone enraptured. As Marge puts it to Tom later in the film "When you've got his attention you feel like you're the only person in the world." Law captures this perfectly.

Yet for this to be convincing those around him have to be faultless as well and Damon and Paltrow also deliver turns that should be regarded as highly as Law's was. When Dickie plays sax at a Jazz club early in the film, and invites Ripley on stage to sing along, there's a delight on Ripley's face that perfectly illustrates what Marge's point. They sing Tu vuo' fa' L'americano on stage and Damon doesn't take his eyes of Law for even a split second. It's perfect choices like that that build characterisation and help the viewer completely understand these characters.

The other side of Marge's illustration of the world of Dickie this that while you have his attention "it's like the sun shines on you and it's glorious, then he forgets you and it's very very cold." Everyone in the film feels the cold shoulder of Dickie at one point or another, but none feel the pain that this brings as intensely as Tom, not even Marge. Dickie suggests that Tom should return home once he can no longer pay his way, and after Tom suggests he return in the new year under his own steam, Dickie rebuffs the idea, saying instead that he'll be moving in with Marge. An argument ensures in which Tom cracks open Dickie's skull with the end of an oar. It's a beautifully filmed scene withe Tom and Dickie aboard a small motor boat floating in the middle of the pristine bay of San Remo - the water as intensely blue as the cloudless sky.

We cut to the same location minutes, maybe hours later. As Minghella puts it in his script: 'The boat rocks, gently, the sun sparkling indifferently on the waves. Ripley lies by Dickie in the bottom of the boat, in the embrace he's always wanted.'

Jude Law's absence from the rest of the film is, incredibly, not felt at all as the tension mounts with every lie Ripley tells to the police, to Marge and to Dickie's family as Ripley keeps everyone at arm's length, trying to conceal what has happened to him. Tom passes himself off as Ripley, withdrawing money with his passport and checking into hotels, in order to create the illusion that Dickie is still alive.

Suspicions grow, particularly a friend of Dickie's: Freddie Miles, played by the impeccable Philip Seymour Hoffman. Hoffman makes a brilliant entrance earlier in the film: "Don't you want to fuck every woman you see. Just once,". Freddie Miles is not quite the playboy Dickie is, but certainly has the confidence and the swagger and sees through Ripley straight away, sneering at him when he reminds Dickie not to forget to catch the 8 o-clock train.

In the best scene in the film Miles pays a visit to what he's been told is Dickie's apartment, only to find Tom there and Dickie nowhere in sight:

FREDDIE
Did this place come furnished? It doesn't
look like Dickie. Horrible isn't it? - so
bourgeois.

Now he's poking at the Hadrian bust.

RIPLEY
You should watch that!

FREDDIE
In fact the only thing which looks like
Dickie is you.

RIPLEY
Hardly.

FREDDIE
Have you done something to your hair?

Ripley starts to smile, his eyes darting around the room.

RIPLEY
Freddie, do you have something to say?

FREDDIE
I think I'm saying it.

And the thing is he is saying it: in every word, in every gesture, in every disparaging look.

Damon's perfect here too and completely shines in scenes where Ripley is confronted by someone. He's note perfect when being accused by the police in Venice, and again when confronted by Marge back in Rome. Marge finds Dickie's rings, which he had promised to never remove, amongst Tom's possessions. He tries to convince her of an innocent explanation but fails and loses his towel in the process. He returns to the bathroom, scrabbles around for some sort of weapon, which he secretes in the pocket of a bathrobe and again tries to convince Marge of a reason for him having the rings.

Tom desperately tries to persuade Marge that Dickie gave the rings to him, with such intensity that he doesn't notice he's gripping so hard on the razor that he cuts his hand open. Blood drips from his robe. Marge is retreating all the time as he advances, eager to appear sincere and sympathetic, but actually appearing more ominous and calculating. Marge is seemingly the only person in the world who knows the truth and as she backs away from him, her face reveals terror, devastation and pure hatred in equal measure. Paltrow is absolutely breathtaking here she responds with "I don't believe a single word you've said" and it's astonishingly convincing. The scene ends with another a friend of Marge's, Peter Smith Kinglsey, arriving at the front door. Marge, terrified, screams and sobs into his arms.

I would go so far as to say that this film contains the very best performances in the careers of Jude Law, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Cate Blanchett and Matt Damon. All are sensationally gifted actors, amongst the very best of their generation and they all given note-perfect turns in Minghella's film. Credit to a director who not only had the foresight to bring such talent together, but to get the very best out of them. Paltrow, Hoffman and Blanchett are all Oscar winners, Law and Damon both nominees but I truly believe their work here is better than anything they've done since, and all have done some pretty amazing work -it's just that they're so good here that it eclipses anything else.

The film ends with Ripley destined to get away with the murder of Dickie but cursed to a life of loneliness. His chance at happiness with Peter Smith Kinglsey is vanquished when Meredith Logue runs into Ripley, who's on a cruise with Kinglsey, as he watches the sunset. I'm coming across as way too obsessed with this film here, but Matt Damon's line reading is just unbelievably good. Meredith calls out "Dickie" for she only knows Ripley by that name several times. He turns in disbelief greeting her with "Hello Meredith" - his voice filled with anguish and desperation. When she points out that she's traveling with family he knows at once that there is only one way out. Peter knows him as Ripley. Meredith knows him as Dickie. Peter and Meredith know each other. Someone has to go, and it can't be the one traveling with family in tow. His cries as he strangles Peter play over a closing shot of Ripley as he sits on his bed, staring blankly as the film closes with the exact shot with which it opens.

Anthony Minghella created a breathtaking film. It is stylish captivating and beautiful, featuring wonderful cinematography a haunting score and as detailed and thoughtful a screenplay as you could wish to see. Quite clearly the source novel is a brilliant piece of writing but Minghella's adaptation is simply perfect. He brings to life an array of characters that are vivid and dynamic. They evolve over the course of the film, none more so than the Mysterious Yearning Secretive Sad Lonely Troubled Confused Loving Musical Gifted Intelligent Beautiful Tender Sensitive Haunted Passionate and Talented Mr Ripley. Matt Damon plays every facet of his incredibly complex character to absolute perfection. It's just one of a number of world class performances that are realised in Minghella's masterpiece.

A+

Juno (2007)

Okay, so I know that it has become trendy and cool to say that you like and 'get' this film. I don't know if I 'get' it, I think and hope I do, but I certainly like it. In fact, I more than like it. I love it.

I am actually surprised to be sitting here saying that. The film never really took my fancy and even when I did agree to go, I expected nothing greater than a jolly, quirky, light piece of afternoon fare. Not so.

Well, it is all these things. In places, it's a film with a soul lighter and more full of grace than air and it's certainly quirky, with a masterful performance by Ellen Page delivering that aspect to such great effect. It's also so much more than all this, though, and the film is simply littered with great, genuine, characters, who are as ordinary as any I've ever seen on screen, with the possible exception of the late Roy Scheider in Jaws.

That last sentence should point to what a complement this is. Nothing is more difficult to portray than ordinary. Most characters are just that, characters. Some, of course, are deeper than others, many hued, and full of emotion, but so few surpass that to portray the humanity we see before our eyes everyday, a humanity it is so difficult, if not impossible, to bottle. It is to Juno's vast credit that it is a film flooded with performances that take its protagonists to such a level. This is particularly the case with J.K. Simmons' masterful (and I do not use that term lightly) turn as Juno's Dad and Alison Janney's similar effort as her stepmum. They simply do not get enough screentime, though, in fairness, that is more forgivable in a film of this nature than it often is. Olivia Thirlby is also great as Juno's friend Leah. The one slightly less satisfactory effort is Michael Cera as the superbly named Paulie Bleeker. Cera has much work to do to leave the large shadow of George Michael Bluth behind and this performance sailed very close indeed to that wind. I haven't yet mentioned Jennifer Garner and Jason Batemen who are both perfectly cast in roles that end up lending that vital extra dimension to the film that, ultimately, makes it so damn good...

...Their relationship also ends up providing the film's best scene, truly one of those rare and beautiful moments which stay with you long after you've left the stale popcorn smell and stained carpets of the Leicester Odeon. Perfectly pitched and delivered. I have no shame at all in admitting that I cried like I haven't cried for a while.

I know this is a review of Juno but I can't help ending by echoing my colleague's comments about 2007 as a whole as this will be the last film I'll see at the cinema from 2007. It has been a great year, and I've still got many - potential - treats (American Gangster, Into the Wild and others) waiting for me on DVD. Fantastic. So that's an...

A+

For Juno.

Has any film year ever produced three A+ films for a single person before? Well, dear readers, you'll just have to re-read our lists to find out. Unbelievable. And 2008 has delivered another one already.

I'm in dreamland.

2007 completed list to follow soon. Where will Juno - and its protagonists - find themselves?

Anthony Mingella

At 1.35 today I heard the shocking news that Oscar winning director Anthony Minghella had died at the age of 54. He was a director whose work I looked forward to every year and his death is very sad not only for his family and friends, but also for an industry that will never again be touched by his immense talent. By way of tribute, rather than look at a career retrospective, which is certainly warranted with such films as the 9 time Oscar winner The English Patient, multiple Oscar nominee Cold Mountain and 2006's absorbing Breaking and Entering, I'll concentrate on what I believe to be his best work: The Talented Mr Ripley. The extended review will appear tomorrow.

Laura Linney

The daily poll on IMDb is which Laura Linney performance is your favourite of this deacde. Tragically the biggest vote-getter is the answer that basically says I've no idea who she is.

That's a real shame since she constantly delivers outstanding work. She features on my Movie Years awards 3 times, winning for her terrific turn in You Can Count On Me, which doesn't even make the top 5, as shown here...

I am not that familiar with Linney's work. 1991 (17.7%)
Sarah in Love Actually 1949 (17.4%)
Annabeth Markum in Mystic River 1173 (10.5%)
Joan Berkman in The Squid and the Whale 889 (7.9%)
I don't have an opinion here. 827 (7.4%)

For those that haven't, go rent You Can Count On Me and see not only a terrific film but one of the best female performances of the last 10 years. Stunning.

Slow Movie Week

Little bit addicted to this...

There Will Be Blood (2007)

This is a strange film. In all honesty, it's difficult to know how to judge it but I'll give it my best shot.

I must confess that I've been looking forward to this as much as any other film this entire calendar year. It did leave me feeling disappointed, as I was expecting pure excellence, but I'll try to be as impartial as possible.

The story centres (and I do mean centres) on oil baron Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day Lewis) who will seemingly stop at nothing to see his empire grow and grow. But when Plainview's lust for fortune takes him to the town of Little Boston, California, in the second decade of the 20th century, he comes into conflict with the town's church and preacher (played by a very off kilter Paul Dano), his own family, and, ultimately, with himself.

To say this is Daniel Day Lewis' film is something of an understatement. He is in every scene, certainly every scene of note, bar one. His performance is so outstanding that the character eats up every moment with sublime force and power. A truly tour-de-force performance if ever there was one, Day Lewis brilliantly depicts a highly complex and dynamic character, who has so much going on inwardly and psychologically, it is difficult to depict, even in a (near) three hour film. Despite my snooty denunciation of the Oscars the other day, it is hard not to call Day Lewis a worthy winner. He is. But will he win the Matt nomination for male performance of the year 2007? You'll just have to wait until Friday, until I've seen the final film still on at the cinema on my 2007 radar, to find out.

The main problem with all this is the complete lack of support for Day Lewis. Yes, there's Paul Dano, who is good at times and I really must emphasise at times because at other moments it feels like he's some terrible child actor auditioning for the college play and failing to be cast. His line delivery is, at times, that bad. This is ultimately a great shame, as an otherwise interesting character is lost somewhere in Dano's unconvincing delivery. The ending particularly suffers in relation to this. Dano aside, the only other performance worthy of note is Dillon Freasier, who is good as Day Lewis' son, H.W. Plainview. For a film with designs on 'epic', this is ultimately unsatisfactory and it is an aspect of the film that falls a little flat, detracting from the overall feel.

Yet, and despite the near 3 hour running time, this is, at no point, a difficult watch. The character is interesting enough, and Day Lewis' performance captivating enough, to maintain a firm hold on the viewer's attention. It is also a further testament to Day Lewis. The film would have hugely suffered in lesser hands. The cinematography, by Robert Elswit, is also excellent and a shot of an oil rig burning against the deep California night sky lingers long in the memory.

I think that final judgement will have to be reserved for a second watch and it says enough that I am looking forward to watching it again, at some point. Though it in no way leaves you hankering for more in the manner of The Assassination of Jesse James or (the very different) Cloverfield, to name two recent examples which have succeeded in drawing me in deeper.

Flawed but well worth a watch. Day Lewis' performance just demands to be up in lights and is truly worthy of the entry fee alone.

B+

What They're Up To Next

With the Oscars now well and truly behind us, and some analysts looking forward to next year's race (Reservation Road is my tip), MyFilmVault are looking at where are lucky Oscar winners are headed next. Obviously we expect all readers to ensure they've seen their Oscar winning work first...

The Coens (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay)

Burn After Reading

On my top 10 Most anticipated for 2008, this sees the Coens back in the comedy game with George Clooney cast alongside Brad Pitt. Tilda Swinton, Frances McDormund and John Malkovich complete an impressive cast. Critics will be worried that this sees the Coens return the lighter and not altogether successful fare of the likes of Intolerable Cruelty and The Ladykillers. I happen to be a big fan of the former though and Clooney is of course a living legend so I can't see any potential pitfalls. Now watch it bomb.

Daniel Day Lewis (Best Actor)

Ruining my column (selfish) Daniel Day Lewis is rather choosy about his projects having made just 3 films since the turn of the millennium. He is well known for other, often quirky, interests and may well put his feet up at least in the acting sense for a while before committing to another picture.

Marion Cotillard (Best Actress)

Public Enemies

Rather excitingly, Cotillard has been cast in this Michael Mann's project. Unsurprisingly (for Mann), Public Enemies is listed on IMDb as a crime/drama which tells us little, but costars Christian Bale and Johnny Depp tell us quite a lot more. Both have a pretty good track record with their choices (the horrible Pirates of the Caribbean sequels notwithstanding) and, although Mann can be hit and miss, his films are always ones to keep an eye on.


Javier Bardem (Best Supporting Actor)

Vicky Cristina Barcelona

This looks a little dicey. Not only does it have the worst title in recent memory, it's a Woody Allen film which these days can mean anything from brilliant (Match Point), to distinctly average (Scoop) although I think it is fair to say his latest films are more the latter. Bardem stars alongside Scarlett Johansson and Penelope Cruz so all may not be lost but I fear this one may be one to avoid.


Tilda Swinton (Best Supporting Actress)

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and The Limits of Control

We'll gloss over the Narnia sequel (zzzzzzzzzzzz) and ignore what seems to be a supporting turn that she's set to deliver in the aforementioned Burn After Reading and focus on two very exciting looking projects. The first is The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - another film on my 2008 preview. It's David Fincher's new one and stars Brad Pitt as a man who ages backwards. Fincher rarely puts a foot wrong and this is being talked up as one to look out for. Her other project is The Limits of Control which perhaps sounds even more exciting. Slated as a 2009 release, Jim Jarmusch tackles a (according to IMDb) crime/drama/thriller. I loved Jarmusch's Broken Flowers and it'll be really interesting to see him take on a completely different genre. It also features an unvbelievably great cast as well, with Bill Murray, John Hurt and Gael Garcia Bernal joining Swinton, which I dare say is even more exciting than the pant-wettingly exciting ensembles listed above.