Holiday mix-up

I love the story that I heard on the Radio today. A British couple were holidaying in Thailand, when they decided to leave the place, because they didn't like Bangkok. They picked Tenerife as their destination, but the travel agent misheard them, and sent them to Tel Aviv instead.

When they got there, armed Israeli police strip-searched them twice, then imprisoned them while they validated their suspicious story. The woman, pub landlady Diane Bell, said “It sounds daft but I’d never seen Tel Aviv spelt before. I thought it was what people in Thailand called Tenerife.” Classic

Film Review - Brokeback Mountain

Starting in Wyoming in 1963, two men get summer jobs minding sheep on Brokeback Mountain. In the midst of hard work, austere weather conditions, and little to comfort them, they seek solace in each other. What unfolds is a two hour masterpiece describing a 20 year love affair, while for the eyes of the world, they live a life much like any other. This involves them marrying, having families of their own and having to organise clandestine fishing trips in the mountains to spend any time together. The film, based on a short story by Anne Proulx, describes all the joy/tragedy/guilt/deception contained in such a life.

I have deliberately described very little in the plot – nothing much more really happens anyway, but to describe events would prevent them from unfolding gently, in the way Ang Lee directs them. Even though 20 years is compressed into only 2 hours, it feels very unhurried; this fine judgment is key to the picture’s success. As a simple story, it relies on succeeding on multiple layers to work on film, particularly since both leads say very little during large passages of the screenplay. It relies on the director Ang Lee understanding the power of visuals, the soundtrack and having expertly fine control over pace. As a lesson in “less is more” filmmaking, it is an exceptional example.

The Wyoming scenery (actually Canadian) is beautiful. Lee picks tree-lined mountain scenes with impressive peaks and rock-lined rivers, and as such it is stunning. There are moments where the audience are encouraged to soak up the scenery, accompanied by the beautiful acoustic guitar soundtrack provided by Gustavo Santaolalla (for which he won a Golden Globe). Lee really understands how to make the silent pieces work for the atmosphere, and it only serves to illustrate the simple nature of his characters. Not only do they share a love that dare not speak its name, but a love about which they themselves speak little.

As for the performances, there’s bucketloads of brilliance on display. Jake Gyllenhaal is brilliant as Jack Twist, who has a sense of mischief in his character. Michelle Williams manages to pull off happiness with suppressed despair all through her marriage to Heath Ledger’s Ennis del Mar, who steals the show. As a brooding non-communicative rancher, he has all the qualities of a moody man’s man. He is the one most affected by their relationship; the first to marry, the one most shocked by his feelings for Jack, and the one least prepared to show affection. But there’s tenderness within; he cares deeply for Jack, even if he is often unable to express it emotionally. Lacking Jack’s life-skills, he takes it harder, and never really adjusts. This underpins the tragedy of their love, and added to his guilt and inability to balance his love with the rest of his life, he stands a tragic figure. It is a very touching character study of a man who is ultimately undone by his love for another.

This detail in characterisation, combined with the non-graphic nature of the love scenes, makes it easy not to get distracted by the fact that it’s a single sex relationship. It is a love story foremost, and while the societal aspects of their hidden relationship shape their lives, the human tragedy of enforced separation dominates. As a moving, beautiful movie masterpiece, it will have few (if any) equals this year. 9/10

Monkeys break records

The Arctic Monkeys' debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, looks like becoming the fastest-selling debut album in recorded chart history. It sold more than 120,000 on its first day, more than the debut efforts from Kaiser Chiefs, Coldplay and Franz Ferdinand sold in their first week. This success comes on the back of two number 1 singles, and 2006 could well be a massive year for them.

Wth expected album sales over 350,000 copies by the end of the week, they would break Hear'Say's five-year-old record. How the hell did Hear'Say even get to set such a record? Do people still talk about that album? Can anyone even name it? What kind of society do we live in where television exposure, and no proven track record means massive record sales? Can we therefore expect to see a re-release of Dead or Alive's "You Spin Me Right Round", on the back of Pete Burns Big Brother experience?

Earlier yesterday, the band picked up four nominations at next month's NME Awards, including best British band, new band, live band and best track.

Film Review - Jarhead

Named after the slang term for soldiers in the US Marine Corps, this film centres around the memories of a new recruit into the regiment, Tony Swofford, from his first days to being shipped over to Iraq during the Gulf War.

His early experiences don’t bode well; he gets involved in a branding exercise in the barracks, and this sets the tone. The regiment is clearly full of testosterone charged young men, not all the brightest souls, who will laugh at most things. Aided by a staff sergeant (Jamie Foxx) who not only has a sense of humour, but also has Swofford singled out as a role model, there’s plenty of japes to be had. Similarities can be drawn with the opening act of Full Metal Jacket, with the recruits being taught the basics, and put through the mill by an overbearing senior officer. Only with bags more humour.

This thread of humour continues throughout the film. To the men, when they finally get posted to the Gulf, they view the whole thing a means to kill a few Iraqis, and actually see some service. Their encampment is like a large boys’ summer camp in uniform, for while they wait for front-line action, they carry on their japery. Of course, they don’t get to see any of the action thy thought they would, and this inactivity dominates the middle passage of the film. This is where the director (Sam Mendes, American Beauty) gets a little air to the subject. Here, he can focus more on the characters in the film, and apply a little pressure.

They’re bored; they miss their loves back home, to the point where they’re able to wind each other up about what they may be up to while the soldiers are away. This prays on young Swofford’s mind, and cranks up the tension. Ultimately there’s a faint whiff of combat coming up, and by the time they get to actually shoot their rifles, there is bottle-loads of pent up aggression, angst and mental instability.

Here, the acting talents get put to the test. Peter Sarsgaard is excellent as Troy, the regiment leader, quietly simmering throughout the movie, garnering the respect of the men, and the first to crack in the desert after a year of hydrating, satiating American film crews, and gas attack drills. Jake Gyllenhaal is excellent as Swofford, quietly self-assured, but not always the most exemplary of individuals, who leaves behind a whole bunch of issues with a untrustworthy girlfriend, a dysfunctional family and a host of dead-end jobs. The way he changes in the desert further into unstable, paranoid and irresponsible territory is a lesson in understated delivery. Jamie Foxx, too, gives a confident showing.

Mendes takes all this quality, and layers some beautiful camerawork over it. The colourful cinematography is stunning – the burning Iraqi oil wells provide some of the best scenes, and he manages to present the largely flat landscape with his trademark originality.

What this film isn’t is a commentary on the Gulf war, or war generally. The way the boys are depicted, this will never contain that kind of dialogue: as Troy says “to hell with politics, we’re here now”. However, the meaningless way they spend their days does call the question the futility, even if in passing. There’s a lovely reference to how ordinary their lives will become when they finally do return home that does more to describe how surreal their Gulf experience is. That said, as a sad, poignant and humorous psychological study of one US Marine in the Gulf, where nothing much happens, it remains compelling nevertheless. 7.5/10

Film Review - A History of Violence

I watched the start of Celebrity Big Brother recently, as all the different " personalities" were led into the house, to share the same space for 3 weeks. The phrase that sprung to mind was Car Crash Television; create a disaster in a boiling pot, then film the whole thing. David Cronenburg himself has a history of creating unsettling viewing, so I steeled myself for History of Violence, expecting a bumpy ride.

The opening sequence exposes an underbelly of violence that never leaves, threatening to resurface at any time. In creating some calm water before the storm, we're introduced to Tom Stall (played by Viggo Mortensen), who runs a small-town diner in a quiet Indiana town. He seems to have it all; a loving marriage, the two of them playful like high-school kids, and they have two good children. Even here, the threat of boil-over is present - his son is bullied at school, and you know there's only so many times he'll bite his lip and ignore the unwelcome attention.

Two villains decide to raid the diner one late night, and Tom, to protect his staff grabs one of their guns, and inflicts the most violent end on them. Tom shuns the press attention he receives, becoming a reluctant hero. There follows a visit by Carl Fogerty (Ed Harris), a gangland boss from Philadelphia, who claims to know Tom as Joey Cusack. It seems Tom's life will never be the same again. He has started to live by the sword, and his past comes under scrutiny as he fights to protect his present.

Cronenburg expertly exposes a seam of violence in a sleepy midwest town that threatens to dismantle everything. Amidst all this chaos, there are some decent performances, Ed Harris shows a calm menace and William Hurt has an interesting cameo. But it's Mortenson who shines, he has enough understated presence to be able to dominate or disappear in a scene, and manages to expertly convey a full range of fear, shock and despair before he too is reduced to a single dimension by the violence.

If there's a criticism, it's that the Cronenburg paint-by-numbers lacks any subtlety at all. The violence is always overblown and over-bloody. The comfort zone, when it is portrayed, is always a little too cheesy and cloying. Where his art lies is in threading the two round each other, blurring the lines between them. The impact upon his wife is realistically handled, with a honest performance from Maria Bello, and his son struggles too with the morals he has been taught, and how he now sees his dad affected. In Crash, Cronenburg attempted to make a connection between the trauma of a car crash and the passion of the sexual act - literally Car Crash voyeurism. At one point, he attempts to morph stark violence with Tom's candy-floss marriage, and produces a grotesque and laughable sex scene.

As a brazen, bleak examination of violence, it's classic Cronenburg. For the most part, he manages to blur the lines well between the different passions on show, but as with all Car Crash viewing there is little enough soul, and even less hope. 7/10

Footnote: History of violence is based on the following graphic novel

Nasty!

I didn't believe that Amazon actually sold stuff like this, with a picture too! It's definitely worth a look though, just for the user comments, which are very funny!

Film Review - King Kong

This is the third in a line of films made about the mighty gorilla, who ends up falling in love with the girl, only to have his lfe threatened in the big city, swinging iconically off the Empire State Building. So what could this version offer that the previous attempts couldn't? Well, the obvious thing is the visuals. Director Peter Jackson is no newcomer to CGI, having used it extensively in Lord of the Rings, and he uses it to largely great advantage here.

Kong is a movie of three parts.The first begins in Depression-era New York, where Carl Denham, played by Jack Black is trying to fund a new movie. He manages to deceive and connive to recruit actress Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts) and screenwriter Jack Driscoll (Adrien Brody), and bribe a freight ship to set the movie location on an unexplored island. Thus begins the second section. Here, we meet Kong, and after Ann is captured for sacrificia purposes, there begins an all-action rescue mission, when all the excitement takes place. The third section, as per the previous movies involves bringing Kong back to New York, and watching him haplessly out of place in the so-called 'civilised' world. What gives all three added dimension is the relationship between Ann and Kong. There is a tenderness in the beast that is both endearing, and ultimately the reason for much of its later trouble.

The human input to this is fairly solid. Adrien Brody does a decent job; Jack Black himself plays an untrustworthy selfish schemer, exactly as he has in most of his movies, but with less of the smirky wisecracks that would parody the role. Naomi Watts plays the heroine, and carries off demure and ambitious in a good, if uninspiring performance. People aside, it's the CGI that everyone's talking about. Kong himself is extremely impressive. They took Andy Serkis (Gollum from the LOTR Trilogy), and mapped the graphics to his gorilla-like movements, and an excellent job it is. Some of the scenery is stunning, and the Empire State sequence is a heart-in-mouth thriller of a scene, with a gorgeous skyscape backdrop. The whole section on the island, however is a chance for the Graphics guys to fill their boots. And go crazy they do. As such there's two ridiculous moments; there's a brontosaurus stampede, underneath which 10 or so humans manage to run with them, only one of them sustaining any kind of injury, which is frankly ridiculous. Then, being assaulted by hundreds of giant insects, stowaway Jimmy manages to shoot them all off Jack's back, firing directly at him, with perfect accuracy, which begs a little too much of the audience. Actually the whole storyline around Jimmy seems pointless, and completely unnecessary. Cutting that and those terrible CGI scenes above would have saved about 30 minutes off the 3 hour running time.

Not that the time drags at all, but these inclusions detract from what is otherwise a great movie. Kong's movement and tenderness, the relationship with Ann, the 1940s look and feel, the action on the island, and the CGI of Kong fighting are spellbinding, and the whole thing rips by. Considering that the first hour passes without mention of Kong, there is plenty of space given to setting the scene and developing the characters, making the climax more tragic and believable.

As a revisited love story, an action adventure, and a morality tale of how man subverts and ultimately destroys all the beauty around him, it's a great 3 hours. The updated visuals make this worth remaking, even if the "less is more" maxim isn't always followed. 7/10.

Film Review - Match Point

As Woody Allen's latest offering I expected Match Point to be a whimsical, lighthearted affair, with lots of great comic timing. And while it does not disappoint, Woody has crafted a film surprisingly deeper than the norm, one which tackles class, greed, fidelity and chance with a wickedly clever ending.

Set in London, the story centres on Chris (played by Johnathan Rhys Meyers), who is a former tennis pro, now paying the bills by coaching. One day he gives Tom (Matthew Goode) lessons, and during later conversation, Tom invites Chris to social events with his extremely wealthy family. Through these experiences, Chris is seduced by their sheer decadence, and also by Tom's sister Chloe (Emily Mortimer). The pair eventually marry, but Chris' eye is caught by Tom's new fiancee Nola (Scarlett Johansson), a struggling American actress. The scene is set for an affair, with all the associated awkwardness to boot.

The script bubbles along; Woody has lost none of his magic for creating claustrophobic situations that people cannot escape from, in which people desire those they cannot have, get themselves into situations they feel little control over, and end invariably in a tumultuous heap. the last few Acts do not disappoint; apart from an extremely surprising turn of events, circumstances collude horribly, creating an even more claustrophobic environment. The pace of the film is really satisfying too: if there's a failing in the dialogue, it's that while there is plenty of upper-class twittering (Tom even says "yum yum" loudly in a restaurant), some of the directness of speech is quite un-English in nature. It's easy to forgive him for that, since he keeps his foot on the gas to set the scene for the finale.

Scarlett Johansson crackles with sexual energy, as she is both beautiful and alluring. Matthew Goode does a flighty playboy really well, and Emily Mortimer has a fine supporting role as Chris' loyal, unsuspecting and maternal wife. But there is a problem with Johnathan Rhys Meyers. Make no mistake, after one of the lead roles in Bend it Like Beckham, and a supporting role in Vanity Fair, this is the jackpot for him. And there are times in the film, when life is sweet, when he does content and secure really well. The issue lies with him tackling anything else. He clearly subscribes too much to the Ron Weasley (from Harry Potter) school of acting. Every facial expression looks like some kind of pantomime gurn, and his speech timing is often slightly out, making scenes feel a little awkward (the scene with Cold Feet's James Nesbitt and Trainspotting's Ewen Bremner is a prime example). At least he does show more restraint that previous performances, and that definitely can't be a bad thing.

That observation aside, Woody has contrived another tasty casserole of a drama, where all the ingredients are stirred together, and are set on a steady simmer, always threatening to boil over. In Match Point he has made his best movie for some years, and it will almost certainly prove to be one of the best of this year. 8/10

Film Review - Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe

From the very first scene, thrust into the middle of a bombing raid over London, we get to meet our four young adventurers, rushing for cover in their family shelter. Soon after this, they get transferred as refugees out to the country, to be housed under the protective wing of a professor, and the watchful eye of his strict housekeeper. One day, while playing, the youngest child finds a route from the back of a wardrobe into Narnia, a magical land where they get caught up in a monumental battle.

The time spent at the beginning forming the characters helps the audience to understand how they all relate, and sets the scene nicely. Obviously, the second they wander into Narnia, everything changes, not least the landscape, and the computer generated imagery largely comes into its own. Working with scenery and characters that are generated during post-production can be challenging for any actor, but there are some decent performances nevertheless. The best come from Tilda Swinton, playing the white witch, who manages to carry off a cold steely character without making a pantomime baddie, as Glenn Close did with her Cruella De Vil. Another to shine was, perhaps surprisingly, the youngest of the children, Lucy, played by Georgie Henley. Some of the voiceovers were also spot-on. Laim Neeson plays the resurgent Aslan, and he seems increasingly capable of playing leaders, with a calm dignified air of self-assurance (as he did excellently during Batman Begins).

But humans aside, it's the CGI that dominates this film. Actually the Computer Graphics looked very good, and there were only a couple of occasions when it appeared a little clunky. Aslan looks every bit the hero returned, which is clearly important for the central struggle of good against evil. The White Witch's police force of wolves were realistic and menacing, and the beavers added a light comic touch to the procedings. The scenery is at times stunning, and for the most part believable, if a little Shrek-like at times. And peppering the landscape are some amazing, mythical creatures, dwarves, Lord-Of-The-Ring-style orc-like creatures, prehistoric birds, centaurs, fauns; it's not a film to take too seriously. Despite that, you never have to consciously suspend disbelief, you are at once interwoven into the fantasy fabric unquestioningly, which is a measure of the success of the mood set.

All in all, it's a simple story, simply told, a fable of good and evil struggling for supremacy in a parallel world. As such, it is good natured family fun, and will be appreciated by all age groups. 7/10