Film Review: The Thing (2011)

Being a massive fan of John Carpenter's 1982 classic, I was unsure that I really wanted to sit and watch a prequel that fills in the gaps of what exactly happened in the Norwegian camp running up to the start of that film, but nonetheless, I gave it a go. And while it wasn't as terrible as I thought it was going to be, the whole thing was a waste of time, pretty much.

Paleontologist Kate Lloyd (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) is recruited by a team of Norwegian scientists, who have discovered an alien spaceship under the ice in Antarctica. Unearthing the body of one of the aliens, the team set about discovering what it is, until they find out it's still alive, can kill, and replicate human and animal form.

So far, so 1982 right? And that's the way it stays really. Pretty much the same stuff happens to them, that happened to Kurt Russell and company almost 30 years ago. There's some nice nods to the Carpenter film (which was a remake, of course) but that and the samey plot all tended to remind me of the superior movie.

Then, of course, there's the CGI. It's pretty bad. When a film released in 1982 can still top the special effects than one released in 2011, you know it's going to be bad. Some of it is horrendous, and really blunts some moments that had the potential to be quite good. Some models are used, and even they are worse!

A lot of time has been taken to recreate everything from the scene in Carpenter's film where the Norwegian camp is explored, that much is certain, and the film makers themselves refused to remake the 1982 version, likening it to "painting a mustache on the Mona Lisa", so I guess it all comes down to whether you want to know what happened beforehand, or would you rather just let your imagination do the work for you. I know I'd rather have left it all open, and I don't think there were any online petitions asking for these 'secrets' to be revealed somehow.

The very end of the film is very good though, and does segue perfectly into Carpenter's, even the iconic theme by Ennio Morricone plays, which is a very nice touch and is probably the best moment in the entire film because it works perfectly. You could easily put the 'original' on immediately after. If you had gotten anything else from the new movie, that is.

The performances are solid throughout, Winstead is fine, and Joel Edgerton is perfectly watchable as the helicopter pilot (American, obviously), but when it came to the Norwegian crew, they are all blatantly 'Thing fodder', except, of course, for the one who can't speak English. We all should know what happens to him.

In the end, The Thing is another in a long line of reboots or prequels or remakes no one asked for, and will soon be forgotten. And it didn't exactly do the business at the U.S. box office, which is just as well, because I can just imagine some bonehead cinema goer asking for a sequel.

**
Not the absolute disaster I was expecting, and with a very good ending, post credits. Other than that, you may as well put the 1982 classic on, and not worry about what happened at the Norwegian camp, we've all managed not knowing for 29 years!

Meeting Mark Kermode

As any reader of Thom's House Of Words will know, I love films. But not even my love of film can match that of Mark Kermode. Best known for being the BBC's premiere film critic (apologies to whoever is hosting Film 2011 these days, but it's a fact), Kermode has recently brought out his second book 'The Good, The Bad, And The Multiplex: What's Wrong With Modern Movies?', and came to Cinema City in Norwich last night to promote with a talk/Q&A/book signing.

The evening started with the talk, where the good doctor covered a variety of subjects in his usual entertaining and amusing style, but not before he said a few words about the great Ken Russell, a friend of his, who sadly passed away earlier in the day.

After that Kermode delivered a great talk about what was wrong with cinema today, from the films like Transformers 3 and Sex And The City 2 (the latter of which he really went to town on), to the modern day multiplex, where the film itself is no longer as important as the sweet counter at the front of the house, and projectionists, once a revered and skilled role, are now deemed pointless, and laid off left, right and center.

It's all true of course, as some of you may know, my Summer at the cinema this year was nigh on depressing. The 'blockbusters' were mostly terrible, and it did start to get me down a bit. These films get made, and people go to see them, and a lot of people hate them, but they still went to see them. Another great point Kermode made was that we get sequels that no-one really wanted!

And of course, there was also time to slate Danny Dyer a bit. Which should be par for the course really.

After the talk, the floor was opened up for questions, and apart from one very confusing one about films that mirror the country's current economic and governmental position, there were some real good ones. Independent cinemas, what makes a multiplex a multiplex, Pixar, horror movies and opinions on the outpouring of quality television shows (mostly American) provided some really interesting answers.

It was the Pixar question that led to a short debate on what was the best trilogy. Mark suggested that it had to be Toy Story, and the room did struggle to come up with anything that could top that. Suggestions such as The Godfather (doesn't anyone remember III?), Back To The Future and the first three Alien films (which almost ostracized my friend, and the entire row we were sat in!) were all shot down in his inimitable style. And the guy has a great point, I can't think of another trilogy of films that good!

Also mentioned in the Q&A was the role of internet bloggers, which is a subject that interested me, of course. Mark had a lot to say about them, and I like to think I'm staying on the right side of the line about what makes a good critic. Would be nice to have an editor though, I have to concur there.

After that was the book signing, and unlike so many other signings I've attended, it was a chance to have a nice chat with the man himself. A friend Michael, who along with his other half Mel we met up with after the talk, argued the merits of 2001 over Silent Running, a debate he was always going to lose, but it did end up with an amusing photo being taken. And sorry Michael, Silent Running is better!

When I met him, I asked something that just popped into my head. I'd heard many a time that Kermode's favourite movie, of course, was The Exorcist, and his least favourite was The Exorcist II, but I had never heard what he thought of the third film, which I think has a great film in there, but with a heap of crap dumped on top of it.

To my surprise, Mark agreed and said that he was convinced that the studio was sitting on enough footage to release a proper version of Legion, and one day he and William Peter Blatty would be able to get to it (I sincerely hope so!), but in the meantime he recommended a book that contained the the screenplay for the original Exorcist, and the original screenplay for Legion, so as soon as I got home I found and ordered that!

It was just a great night, and it was just so good to be able to listen to him talk about films, then be able to have a conversation with him about them. A thoroughly engaging speaker, and if the new book is half as good as the evening was, I'll be in for a treat.

The Good, The Bad, And The Multiplex by Mark Kermode is out now in paperback, from all good bookstores. 

Gig Review: Pure Reason Revolution. Norwich Arts Centre. 26/11/11

It's hard to believe it's been almost 5 years since I've seen Pure Reason Revolution live. The first (and only) time was back in February 2007, where they supported Blackfield at the Astoria 2 in London. Since then, they've released another couple of albums, but sadly are calling it a day and embarking on one final tour around the country, including a stop at the Norwich Arts Centre.

I actually had a ticket to see them at the Arts Centre when they last played in Norwich, but due to double booking on a friends birthday, I was unable to attend. So when they announced a date on the farewell tour at the same venue, I jumped at the chance.

I'd never been to a gig at the Arts Centre before, and it's quite a cool little venue. I was shocked about how close to the stage you could get, though. No barriers at all, it felt like I was almost on the stage. It made for a nice intimate gig, you could even hear the tapping of the effects pedals between songs! The place was about three quarters full on the night, I'd say. Hard to gauge when I'd never been in there before, though.

The set from PRR would be split into two parts, with no support acts. The first part would be debut LP 'The Dark Third' played in it's entirety for the first and last time, then the second part would be material from their other two albums 'Amor Vincit Omnia' and 'Hammer And Anvil'.

The first album was a very progressive album indeed (in the more classic sense), and that was reflected in the playing, with pretty much no breaks (except for an amusing mess up during 'Bullitts Dominae' that caused the song to be restarted from the top) throughout the hour long performance. They're aren't the chattiest band I've seen live, but they did all seem to loosen up as the gig progressed.

It was good to hear the album played out in full, though, even if I had heard quite a bit of it live before back in 2007. But it was the second act I was more interested in...

The second two albums (and obviously, the second part of the show) moved to a more industrial, electronic sound, and got heavier, but still retained the harmonic vocals from bassist Chloe Alper and guitarist/keyboard player Jon Courtney. 

While good on record, the live presentation of such songs as 'Les Malheurs' and 'Deus Ex Machina' were absolutely thumping live. Big industrial beats, bigger guitar riffs, it was a joy to witness live at last, and it's a massive shame that this will be the last time I'll be able to do so.

Pure Reason Revolution were a fantastic band, with such a diverse back catalogue, especially considering they only released 3 albums and a couple of EP's. I always remember the first time I heard 'Fight Fire' from the 'Hammer And Anvil' album, and I was convinced I had put the wrong album on! But at least we have the music to look back on, if not the fantastic live performances like this one.

****

At this point, I'd normally recommend you go see a band live, but unless you are reading this in the 3 days that remain that they are still playing together, that probably won't happen. But, it was a great performance from a great band, who will be missed. If you haven't heard their albums before, go find them.

Film Review: Hall Pass

Of all the people that piqued my interest in seeing Hall Pass, it was legendary author Bret Easton Ellis. Proclaiming it the funniest movie of the year on his Twitter account was probably an exaggeration, and while it comes over like a Hangover wannabe, it does walk all over the sequel to that film.

Fed up by their husbands increasingly erratic and sex obsessed behaviour, Maggie (Jenna Fischer) and Grace (Christina Applegate) decide to give Rick (Owen Wilson) and Fred (Jason Sudeikis) a 'Hall Pass', which is essentially a week off from marriage so they can get everything out of their systems, with zero guilt. The wives leave to see relatives, and while they start to have a blast, the guys are struggling to recapture their youth...

Directed by The Farrelly Brothers, known for hits like Dumb And Dumber and There's Something About Mary, you can expect some gross out moments and some heart, which is what Hall Pass delivers, even though it's nowhere near as good.

The cast are all likable enough, and there are some good (albeit unlikely) appearances from Richard Jenkins as a hardened partying god, and Stephen Merchant as one of Rick and Fred's buddies. Merchant also gets one of the more amusing moments in the film, during a bizarre post credits sequence, which is almost at odds with the rest of the movie!

The film does start to drag unfortunately, as it drifts past the 90 minute mark, it does struggle to hold the interest, and even for a Farrelly Brothers film, it does get, well...dumb and dumber. And not in a good way, just in a really silly way, which didn't really do it for me. It seemed to be trying to hard to be out there and wacky.

Overall though, Hall Pass is a decent enough watch, and while it doesn't reach the heights of...well anything the cast and film makers have done before, it's all watchable enough and has just enough laughs to get you through the films slightly bloated running time.

***
A mildly amusing comedy, with some heart too. But it's nothing amazing, and it's a bit too long. Worth a rental, perhaps.

Film Review: God Bless Ozzy Osbourne

Even the casual passer-by will know a lot about Ozzy Osbourne these days. The early years with Black Sabbath, the riotous 80's with it's dove/bad biting and Alamo pissing, the latter day mess that was MTV's The Osbourne's...so does everyone really need a 90 minute documentary looking at his life?

The answer, predictably, is not really. God Bless Ozzy Osbourne just retreads the same old ground we all know about. Don't get me wrong, it's an entertaining enough watch, and there are some different talking heads for once, people we haven't normally seen talk about Ozzy.

His kids from his first marriage have a bit of pop about what a bad father he was during the Sabbath heyday, his brother has a few childhood tales, and even his daughter Aimee (who wanted no part of the Osbourne's TV show) adds some input.

The film is co-produced by his son Jack, so that's probably the reason we get to see some different people, but it's just the same old stories. In fact, if you've seen the Don't Blame Me documentary from 1992, there really isn't much new here, other than the reality TV show.

Of course, The Osbournes is how a lot of people first heard of Ozzy and his family, but what they didn't know is that pretty much everyone was off their faces on alcohol and drugs at the time, so MTV's 'wacky' fly on the wall documentary was more a disturbing look at how alcoholism tears a family apart, but made for idiots to laugh at. In fact, one of the few revelations in the documentary tells of how Ozzy's drinking and drug intake was at an all time high during the course of the show, even topping the chaos of the 80's.

The 80's stories are always morbidly fascinating to me, particularly the tour with Motley Crue. Tommy Lee is on hand to retail the piss licking and ant hill snorting, but does add a story I hadn't heard before (or can't remember hearing, at least) involving a 'messy' encounter in a hotel room, not one for the queasy.

And for the fans, it's a bit worse. Hardly any of the music is touched upon. While there's some time devoted to the tragic loss of Randy Rhoads, we don't really here anyone talk about any particular songs, or albums. Not even the old story of how quickly 'Paranoid' was written is brought up. And on a similar note, the documentary footage of Ozzy on the road must be pushing 2 years old already, as it still shows Zakk Wylde in the band, and he left/was replaced by Gus G well over 18 months ago.

While it gives us nothing new, God Bless Ozzy Osbourne at least shows the world that the stumbling drunk seen on The Osbournes was exactly that. How many people thought that was how he was all the time? This new documentary shows the real man, articulate, amusing and an artistic side as well. And it's about time the world saw that.

***
While it does show everyone what Ozzy is like now he's clean and sober, and talks to some new people, it really is the same thing rehashed. If you've seen Don't Blame Me, or read any books by the family, there's not going to be much here for you. A entertaining if disposable watch.

Film Review: The Ides Of March

The Ides Of March is one of those films where it's hard to level any real criticism at. But at the same time, it's annoying, because it's also one of those films where a huge amount is given away in the trailer. You know when you're watching something, and you know 'something' will happen because you saw it in the ad? That knowing blighted my viewing, but fortunately the road getting to what was spoiled was very unpredictable.

It's also the best film George Clooney has directed to date (including the fantastic Good Night, and Good Luck), and further eradicates his status as 'the handsome doctor in E.R.' (swooning women's words, not mine) or even worse, of course, 'the shit Batman'.

The fact The Ides Of March is about American politics also furthered my enjoyment. After repeated viewings of all seven seasons of The West Wing, I know more about the Government of the USA than I do my own country, so when the script threw all the political jargon out there I was well on board.

Clooney also co-stars in the film (and co-writes it for good measure) as Mike Morris, the Governor of Pennsylvania, and prospective Democratic candidate for the President Of The United States, along with man of the moment Ryan Gosling, who plays Morris' Junior campaign manager Stephen Meyers.

After Meyers takes a phone call from the Democratic oppositions campaign manager Tom Duffy (Paul Giamatti), things get serious, and nasty and sets in motion a turbulent chain of events involving Morris, Duffy, Meyers, his boss Paul Zara (Phillip Seymour Hoffman), an intern (Evan Rachel Wood), a newspaper writer (Marisa Tomei) and a Senator (Jeffrey Wright.)

It's all a story of how far one person is willing to go to win, essentially. And even with the spoiler-tastic trailer looming, it's a gripping one. Just one look at the talent involved indicates this was never going to be a bad film.

Indeed, it's hard to fault any of the performances, but as good as everyone is, there's never a standout. I can't see any acting nominations being dished out come Oscar season.

But that, and the aforementioned trailer, are the only bad things I can say about The Ides Of March. Great acting, a great story, great direction. And if you're into your American politics, you'll love it. If not, it's very accessible and just a real pleasure to watch.

****
A fantastic political thriller, with great (but not showstopping) performances all round. Notch up another great role for Ryan Gosling, and another great film directed by George Clooney. Just avoid the trailer if you can!

Film Review: Larry Crowne

First off, I feel like I should offer some form of explanation as to why I actually watched Larry Crowne. You don't even need to know me that well to know that I'm not exactly drawn to films with tag lines on the front of the case like 'Find Life and Love', which is the case of this. I'm not one for inspirational messages on my DVD case, thanks.

The reason I wanted to watch it was the fact that Bryan Cranston was in it. After the one-two punch of the sensational Breaking Bad (which may end up being one of the greatest TV shows of all time) and his supporting turn in potential film of the year, Drive. To put it mildly, I wanted more Cranston, in any way, shape or form.

But Cranston aside, I found a film I was mildly surprised by, and found quite enjoyable, and if it wasn't for a few problems, I'd highly recommend it.

Larry Crowne is all about Tom Hanks (a man everyone loves, and if you don't, you have no soul), he stars, directs and co-writes (along with Nia Vardalos, best known for My Big Fat Greek Wedding) and his likability carries the film nicely.

Hanks plays the titular Larry Crowne, a middle aged divorcee who has just lost his job as a team leader at a big superstore, and decides to go back to college, where he falls in with an unlikely gang of students, mostly scooter fans. He also starts to fall in love with on his tutors, the miserable, and very married Mercedes Tainot (Juila Roberts.)

The supporting players almost seem like stunt casting. Dale Dye has a small role as one of the superstore executives letting Larry go, George Takei plays another tutor at the college, Cedric The Entertainer plays Larry's next door neighbour who is a permanent state of yard sale. It's a motley bunch, but they all are quite likable.

The aforementioned Cranston has about 4 scenes, after all that, but has a great role as Mercedes' husband, Dean - a college professor turned internet blogger. Which means he just sits online looking at porn. He's an unbelievable dickhead, and Cranston is brilliant in the role. It's a shame he wasn't in it more.

The comedy is really silly, but I warmed to it for some reason. Some subplots involve George Takei's tutor being annoyed Larry keeps using a phone in class, and the running joke of one of his college buddies being annoyed at the attention his girlfriend shows Larry. It sounds rubbish, but I actually quite enjoyed it.

For all its charm, the side is seriously let down when it gets to character development, though. Mercedes' character jumps from the unhappy wife, bringing her misery to work to all sunshine and rainbows so quickly, you barely have time to blink. And even if that wasn't the case, I just couldn't buy into the romantic side of the plot at all.

I just couldn't see what would attract Larry to Mercedes, all she does was come off as quite unpleasant for the longest while, and a lot of the time, he doesn't even seem to be that interested in her. It's almost as if it was decided that the film better have Hanks and Roberts kissing a bit, seeing that they're in it.

If watching the film, I do advise that it goes off the very moment the credits start rolling, as it involves a horrifically embarrassing sequence, set to green screen. To make a comparison, it reminded me of the music video to David Hasselhoff's version of 'Hooked On A Feeling'. Yeah, that bad.

It's all a game of two halves though. It's undemanding, sweet and mildly amusing where it needs to be, but there's no way you'll buy into the love story aspect.

**1/2
An OK film let down by a lazy romantic subplot, and possibly the worst post credits sequence I have ever seen. Try renting it.