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Cinema Voyage - Akito Hirata, Filmhunter

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Cinema Voyage - January 2009

Review - Gomorrah

January 31st 2009 07:30

Think Gomorrah and sinful images and corruption spring to mind in a hell on earth type situation. Gomorrah is based on Roberto Saviano's book of the same name exposing the modern Italian crime network known as the Camorra - wordplay intended. Such was the popularity of the book. Roberto received various death threats on his life for exposing the underbelly of Italian society and is under constant police protection. In my opinion, the director was also very brave to take on the task knowing the history behind the book and its writer.

Despite the fanfare surrounding the novel, the movie itself also heralded attention with its numerous award nominations including a nomination for a BAFTA for Best Film Not In The English Language and for its win at the Cannes Film Festival.

This movie plays like a documentary and whilst I don't mind a good documentary, in truth I found this particular piece dull and drawn out. Five stories are shown in Gomorrah but unlike movies like Babel, there is no wrap up, giving an unfinished sense to the film.

This film is violent and does not hold back on the dirt, corruption or decay and no one is spared. The Camorra infiltrates all facets of Italian society including most heartbreaking of all, the involvement and corruption of young children. The actors can not be faulted for their performances, all truthfully told and interpreted - so much so they don't even seem like they are acting.

The storylines themselves are interesting - a politician involved in dumping toxic waste, a disenchanted mobster, and a tailor moonlighting in a Chinese sweatshop. One story line shows Marco and Ciro as two teens obsessed with Pacino in Scarface and operating as wanna-be gangsters independently from the Camorra. Their naivety and youth is cleverly captured and you know it won't be long before they get themselves either injured or killed. The same could be said for anyone in the movie as there is seemingly no escape for any of them from their crime filled life and violence is ever present.

Despite my interest in the subject matter, I couldn't warm to Gomorrah and I came away feeling that I had somehow missed something.

Voyage Review - 2.5/5

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Posted By: Michelle Sweeney - Category: Drama

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The International

January 29th 2009 05:34

There seems to be a spate of movies opening in the coming months which I am very interested in watching. As a Clive Owen and Naomi Watts fan I am very keen to see The International.

Clive Owen stars as Louis Salinger, an Interpol agent, who alongside with Naomi Watts as Assistant District Attorney Eleanor Whitman, attempt to bring one of the world's largest banks to justice.

My keenness to see the movie in no way relates to the quality of the film so I guess I will just have to wait and see the finished product when the movie is released in February.

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Posted By: Michelle Sweeney - Category: Movie Chatter

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Review - RocknRolla

January 26th 2009 02:09

I don't mind Madonna but I for one am glad that she will no longer be stifling Guy Ritchie's creativity. I loved Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and it is great to see him back on form with yet another witty gangster film 10 years after the release of his original.

The cast in RocknRolla is indeed a mixed bag, which includes Russian mobsters, London gangsters, scheming accountants, dodgy councillors, rockstars, junkies and killer crayfish. I will not even endeavour to go into the full plot as there are many twists and turns but the basic premise is simple - don't trust anyone.

Lenny Cole (Tom Wilkinson) as the head of the underworld makes a shady deal with Uri, a Russian mobster, (Karel Roden) in order that he can build an arena in London. As a gift of faith, Uri lends his favourite painting to Lenny for luck. Uri instructs his accountant to withdraw seven million pounds from the books without it being traced in order to fund the backhanded permits but the information is leaked to One Two (Gerard Butler) by Stella (Thandie Newton), Uri's accountant. Not only does the money go missing (twice) but the lucky painting is also stolen causing chaos throughout the London streets.

The cast is superb and the fast cracking pack of the script means that there are plenty of laughs throughout. My advice - don't take it too seriously and you will enjoy the ride.

Voyage Review: 3/5

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Posted By: Michelle Sweeney - Category: Action

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Review - My Blueberry Nights

January 20th 2009 06:41

My Blueberry Nights has been on my list of movies to see for quite a while and recently I had the opportunity to catch it. Starring Norah Jones in her first and only acting role as Elizabeth and supported by a stellar cast including Jude Law, Rachel Weisz, Natalie Portman and David Strathairn - this movie is as sweet as the title intimates.

Norah Jones is Elizabeth, a woman who discovers that her boyfriend is cheating on her. She seeks solace in a café owned by Jeremy (Jude Law) before heading off on a road trip to personal discovery. The café and the pie from which the title is taken bookends the movie but it is the middle scenes where the movie comes to life albeit in a somewhat dreamlike state.
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Posted By: Michelle Sweeney - Category: Drama

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Review - The Wrestler

January 17th 2009 07:23

Darren Aronofsky, director of Requiem of a Dream, created what is inarguably a captivating film with a stylised documentary like feel. Although I have no trouble admitting that this was one tough movie to watch, I came away with mixed feelings about how much I actually enjoyed it.

There is no doubt that this is Mickey Rourke's movie and I cannot imagine anyone else taking on the role as effectively as he did (especially the rumoured Nicolas Cage). I felt uncomfortable watching both Mickey as an actor and The Ram as a character although part way through the movie, the pity I felt for Mickey drifted way and I was able to focus more on the character. There is something about seeing actors with really bad plastic surgery that makes me cringe and often a great performance is overshadowed by their vanity and subsequently overtakes their role. But somehow in this film the combination worked with The Ram as, complete with long dyed locks, sad granny bun, steroid abuse and tanned body, he is a mess.
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Posted By: Michelle Sweeney - Category: Drama

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Review - Ghost Town

January 14th 2009 13:48

I must admit I was quite looking forward to seeing the movie Ghost Town starring Greg Kinnear, Téa Leoni and Ricky Gervais. While I am admittedly more attracted to drama and thrillers than the comedy genre, the combination of the three leads had me intrigued.

Ricky Gervais stars as dentist Bertram Pincus, a bitter loner, who goes to great lengths to avoid human contact of any kind. When admitted to hospital for a colonoscopy, a complication ensues and he dies for seven minutes. When he comes to, he discovers he has the ability to see the dead and as per Ghost Whisperer and The Sixth Sense, the ghosts are grateful that they have someone to communicate with. This of course does not bode well for the British loner Pincus and he tries to avoid and outwit them at all costs.
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Posted By: Michelle Sweeney - Category: Comedy

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Review - Vicky Cristina Barcelona

January 12th 2009 12:44

Vicky Cristina Barcelona is the third movie (following Scoop and Match Point) in which Scarlett Johansson and Woody Allen reunite together as lead actress and director. Love, relationships and sex are the subjects brought to the table in their latest pairing and along with it the usual neuroses' attributed to many of the characters in Allen's films.

As the title indicates, Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) are two American girls holidaying in Barcelona for two months during the summer with Vicky's distant relatives. Vicky is completing her masters degree in Catalan identity while Cristina has recently completed a 12 minute short film which she subsequently hated. As introduced by the wry narrator (Christopher Evan Welch), even though the two girls had been best friends since college, when it came to the subject of love there couldn't be two more dissimilar viewpoints. Vicky, recently engaged, was realistic looking for seriousness and stability while Cristina, recently single, accepted suffering as a component of love and was a romantic in terms of her approach to love.
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Posted By: Michelle Sweeney - Category: Comedy

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Review - Slumdog Millionaire

January 11th 2009 03:30

Set in Mumbai, India and directed by Danny Boyle (Shallow Grave, Trainspotting), Slumdog Millionaire brings the slums and poverty of India directly to your doorstep. Rich and vibrant in colour, the visual settings are thrown rapidly onto the screen very unapologetically.

The opening scene is set in current day Mumbai (2006) and an interrogation is taking place. We are then presented with a question.
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Posted By: Michelle Sweeney - Category: Drama

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Review - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

January 9th 2009 10:12

This was my most anticipated movie of 2008 and the movie didn't disappoint. Director David Fincher reunited with Brad Pitt on their third film previously having worked together on Fight Club and Se7en. While these earlier films were grainier and grittier in their approach, their foray into Benjamin Button produced a unique fantasy about one man's life, his experiences and his loves.

The movie is set in New Orleans over a span of 87 years from 1918 to 2005. Daisy (Cate Blanchett) nearing the end of her life is in hospital while her daughter (Julia Ormond) sits by her side to make things as comfortable as possible for her. Regrettably for both of them they have not had a close relationship and Daisy opens up to her telling her the story of Benjamin Button and his life. As keeper of his diary, Daisy asks her daughter to read it to her while she contemplates her life prior to her death.
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Posted By: Michelle Sweeney - Category: Drama

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Review - Married Life

January 7th 2009 01:33

Who said marriage was easy? If Ira Sachs' Married Life is anything to go by, then we may still have a lot to learn. Set in 1949, the film centres around the marriage of Harry Allen (Chris Cooper) and Pat Allen (Patricia Clarkson). After many successful years of marriage, Harry confides to his best friend, Richard Langley (Pierce Brosnan), that he has met someone else and would like to end his marriage. Richard suggests that maybe an affair would be more appropriate as being a self confessed 'womaniser', settling down with a woman is something he could not even comprehend. Harry opens up to Richard about his seemingly perfect marriage and explains that he yearns for a marriage built on romantic love rather than a marriage focused on sexual relations like the marriage he has with his wife Pat. The opening of the movie sets the pace throughout and the Hitchcockian premise of Married Life mirrors the era perfectly in terms of the setting and characters we are presented with.

Enter Kay Nesbitt (Rachel McAdams), the beautiful bottle-blonde widow emanating old-fashioned charm, as the woman who has captivated Harry's heart. Kay, despite her youth, clearly cares for Harry but it is doubly clear to the audience that her charms do not escape Richard. From the outset he is very keen to pursue his affection for her behind the back of his best friend.
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Posted By: Michelle Sweeney - Category: Drama

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Review - Seven Pounds

January 4th 2009 07:11

Will Smith's latest venture into the world of filmmaking brings us Seven Pounds directed by Gabriele Muccino, who also directed Will in The Pursuit of Happyness. Despite solid acting performances from Will Smith as Ben Thomas and Rosario Dawson as Emily Posa, I feel that the film slightly missed the mark.

The film opens with Ben Thomas making a 911 emergency call requesting an ambulance. The emergency - a suicide. The victim - he is! Introduced to us as a suicidal (first scene) and unhappy man (second scene) the film plays out in a non-linear fashion.
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Posted By: Michelle Sweeney - Category: No Category

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Review - The Strangers

January 1st 2009 03:45

Watching this movie alone at night, I must admit that I stopped the film as soon as the eeriness appeared and waited until my partner came home. Not just because it was horror film - I am a fan of the genre and am not easily frightened - but because it is something that could so easily happen to anyone.

The film announces that this movie is inspired by true events and images of Helter Skelter came flooding to me in the initial scenes of the movie as well as reminders of Wes Craven's The Last House On The Left and Sam Peckinpah's Straw Dogs.
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Posted By: Michelle Sweeney - Category: Horror

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August 2010

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