EmilyMoulder Reviews

All Tomorrow's Parties (2009)

All Tomorrow's Parties: The Best Weekend You Never Had

[28 June 2011]

If you like partying all weekend, getting off your face on…. fizzy drinks, and listening to some of the coolest indie bands around then chances are this movie was made for you.

All Tomorrow's Parties is a collection of fan filmed footage from the festival of the same name, which takes place in East Sussex and Somerset at out of season holiday camps each year.

If you don't dig festivals or live music then you could be wasting your time on this but whether you love them or loathe them this is more of an experience than a film. It's loud, sweaty, sexy and enthralling.

There's no plot, no characters (unless you count the musicians) and there's no point. It's mostly a matter of sitting back and being sucked into the festival.

But because the whole thing is made up of fan footage, as well as some camera-work by the bands themselves, it's very disjointed and jarring in places but, for the most part, it's plain impressive. It's a lot like watching home movies of people you've never met.

The editor, Nick Fenton, is a genius as is evidenced in the first 5 minutes in which a thumping beat plays to footage of the holiday camps as they used to be in the 50s and 60s: full of family fun, not festival stoners and their guitars.

A lot of funny teenage shenanigans occur as the festival seems to be a gateway through which people grow up and music displays the shaky transition from teenager to adult. It showcases how people who genuinely love music will find a beat anywhere and that it's more than just noise.

Bands that are included in this musical mash-up are The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Mars Volta, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, The Gossip and a bizarre little cameo by comedian David Cross. If you don't like or have never heard of these people, I wouldn't worry because there is an eclectic mix and you'll probably find something you'll like.

While it is an impressive collage of material, it does lack any kind of cohesiveness and could lead to a few dips in your attention. Also, its use of split screen teeters between visually grating and kinetic magnificence.

A good film but probably best enjoyed when you've had some… fizzy drinks.

Rango (2011)

Gore Verbinski's first animation is a rootin' tootin' good time!

[1 March 2011]

Gore Verbinksi, best known for the Pirates of the Caribbean series, takes his first step into the weird and wonderful world of animation and he's taking them with the very weird and the exceedingly wild Johnny Depp. They come together once again to bring life to Rango, an animated Western for kids which for some bizarre reason is also a drama about one chameleon's (Depp) identity crisis. These two elements don't always sit comfortably together but it's definitely an interesting experiment.

The film opens with Rango performing a monologue in which he reveals that he's struggling with feeling lost and alone in what appears to be a dreamlike desert where his only friends are a wind-up fish toy and a headless Barbie. In reality, he's a pet chameleon travelling in the back of a car which, thanks to a pesky armadillo, is thrown from the car and left to his own devices. This is one of the best openings to a film I've ever seen, almost on par with Toy Story 3 and that's going some. The sun hits Rango's terrarium as it flies through the air like a light at the end of the tunnel signals freedom, sweet and terrible freedom.

He wanders through the desert, evading hungry birds and heat exhaustion until he comes across a prim and proper lizard named Beans (Isla Fisher). Lamenting the mysterious lack of water in her Old West town of Dirt, she decides to bring Rango along who quickly realises that he finally has the chance to be somebody. Ironically, blending in doesn't come easy to this chameleon and he stands out in the town like, well, a bright green chameleon and so he decides to embellish certain facts about his life, starting with the fact that he's a talented gunslinger. After making a few outlandish claims to the locals and impressing them in the saloon with some dumb luck, he's named as the new Sheriff.

The mayor Tortoise John (Ned Beatty) now relies on Rango to save the town from a permanent drought by solving the mystery of the dwindling water supply. Taking a posse of locals with him, Rango sets out on a wild adventure to finally become the brave Sheriff he's pretending to be.

The film pays tribute to a wide variety of film (Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas and Man With No Name) without being as referential as a Shrek movie. These moments are more amusing than they are distracting and give the film a postmodern edge that blends neatly with the charm of the Old West. Despite some high points, the story is the films weakest link. For example, around the 1hr 20min mark, Rango wanders back into the desert having been exposed as a fraud to his friends and love interest, Beans. He has an existential crisis and comes across the barely mentioned and not at all important Spirit of the West – a thinly veiled impression of Clint Eastwood. Though it's somewhat amusing for adults to see a CGI Clint dispensing advice to Rango, it's utterly unnecessary and drags out what should have been a more focused story for kids.

Moving from the Con column to the Pro, Depp does some of his best work here and showcases comedic timing we had only glimpsed at before, creating a classic Western character with contemporary eccentricities. Bill Nighy adds real flavour as deranged gunslinger Rattlesnake Jake while Ray Winstone is completely miscast as cockney lizard Bad Bill – this casting makes absolutely no sense.

The real crowning glory however, has to be the superb animation. The colours and shading are very sophisticated and the textures and elements are perfect, provided by Industrial Light and Magic with their first animation. We don't often see this quality outside of Pixar movies and I don't think it'd be going too far to say that Rango will give them a run for their money at next year's Oscars. Yes, it's uneven but there's still a lot to like about Rango and at its best, it's quirky and entertaining, at worst, it's predictable and a too long. I can live with that.

Jonah Hex (2010)

Not even a psychotic Malkovich could save this butchered adaptation

[19 December 2010]

Sometimes reviewers can be quite harsh, but let me assure you, we love movies and are willing to give almost anything a chance (sorry Shank). Having said that, after seeing the posters and trailers for Jonah Hex, I found myself saying, "Megan Fox! She's an actress? She's barely a human". Which is fine because Jonah Hex is barely a movie.

Set in the old West of 1876, the time of America's centennial, Jonah Hex (Josh Brolin) is a gruff bounty hunter whose scarred visage can be seen on wanted posters everywhere he goes. Hex is out for revenge on the man who not only gave him his scar but killed his wife and child; Quentin Turnbull (John Malkovich), his psychotic commanding officer.

After Turnbull's attack on Hex's family, Native Americans find Hex and bring him back from near death, leaving him with the ability to talk to the deceased. Apparently, Hex doesn't think to use this power to talk to his wife or child. Anyhow, when Union army soldiers discover that Turnbull's latest plan is to destroy America with what can only be described as steam-punk weapon of mass destruction, Hex is on his trail with trusty hooker sidekick Lilah (Megan Fox).

Though usually reliable, John Malkovich sleepwalks through his role, relying on Michael Fassbender to bring us a decent villain as his evil Irish sidekick Burke. Will Arnett is wasted as a Union soldier and Wes Bentley struggles as a wealthy Southern gentleman being blackmailed by Turnbull (his accent sounds like a cross between Jamaican and Irish). Megan Fox is clearly too young/untalented to play the only stable person in Hex's life and their pointless relationship never has a satisfying payoff. You would think if anyone could play a hooker, it'd be Megan Fox but she even managed to fail at that.

I will say this, for all its faults, Jonah Hex does have some top notch stunt work and Hex's Gatling-gun wielding horse is a particular highlight, but sadly it's a one-scene wonder. It really does speak volumes when the highlight of a film is a horse.

Although Jimmy Hayward is listed as the director, after the fifth explosion, I was sure this was a Michael Bay production. Every five minutes something goes boom, which is a lot considering that in total this film is just 82 minutes long. At times you almost feel like the film was created purely from the out-takes of Wild Wild West. I half expected a giant mechanical spider to swoop in and crush the life out of a mumbling Josh Brolin.

The premise is interesting enough but for some reason, the whole thing's been edited down to the bare essentials leaving it dead behind the eyes. Its tone is wildly uneven and certain scenes wind up being totally irrelevant. Towards the end of the film we're treated to two fights (one real, one imaginary) between Turnbull and Hex that are inter cut and shown at the same time. Why? One's enough for anyone.

Cyrus (I) (2010)

Duplass brother swing and miss with their mumblecore feature

[19 December 2010]

Jay and Mark Duplass have so far made their way in Hollywood by impressing people with their short films and well-received mumblecore features like The Puffy Chair and Baghead. Unfortunately, their latest project, Cyrus, just fails to hit the high notes of comedy and the depths of emotion that they're clearly aiming for with their hand-held indie style.

John C. Reilly stars as John, a middle-aged editor whose life took a downturn when his wife Jamie (Catherine Keener) left him seven years ago. After Jamie forces him to come to a party with her, John manages to catch the eye of Molly (Marisa Tomei), despite being drunk and emotionally needy.

But Molly's cagey attitude the morning after leaves John wondering and, after some mild stalking, John discovers that she has a 22-year-old son, Cyrus (Jonah Hill). After spending some time with the two of them, John realises that Cyrus is firmly tied to his mother's apron strings and isn't willing to let John just waltz into their lives and steal her affection away from him, so Cyrus begins to quietly attempt to manipulate Molly and push John out of the picture with his own brand of psychological warfare.

Jonah Hill's cold-eyed performance is pitch-perfect and his whispered threats to John are the highlight of the film but though his bizarre attachment to Marisa Tomei is amusing, it's never hilarious. John C. Reilly's a pleasure to watch – he rarely plays the straight man but here he knocks it out of the park and provides the film with an emotional core and a great foil for Hill. Although their scenes are some of the best in the movie, you're left waiting far too long for any kind of real confrontation and when it comes it's way too short.

Like any mother would, Oscar-winner Marisa Tomei's Molly seems to only see the best in her son, but it's wildly unbelievable that no one else has ever pointed out to her Cyrus's strange behaviour or his oedipal attachment to her. The Duplass brothers skim over this detail by claiming that Molly hasn't had a man in her life since Cyrus was born, which in the end, proves to be pretty flimsy screen writing. Their failure to explore the complex relationships further leaves a lot of frustrating questions simply hanging in the air and ultimately the film leaves you feeling slightly unsatisfied.

The hand-held camera moves and the jarring focus-pulling are often annoying but suit the style that the Duplass brothers are famous for. However, their need to drag out short, funny sequences leave the movie feeling like it's a short film that's been stretched into a feature. It robs the movie of most of its humour and, like Cyrus himself, leaves the movie strange, unbalanced and awkward.

Step Up 3D (2010)

Step Up 3D Review: Take A Step Down, Would Ya?

[19 December 2010]

Having been a teenager until not so long ago, I was occupying a front row seat for many of dance movies that have found their way to the big screen over the last decade. In that time I've been considering whether or not I can respect a movie that boasts a rubbish story but really good dancing.

I've come to the conclusion that no – I bloody can't.

It's not acceptable for several of these dance movies to all have exactly the same plot (they need to raise money) as well as crap acting but be saved by their dance-floor acrobatics. The Red Shoes managed to produce enough skills to pay the bills in the acting and story department, as well as amazing dance sequences. Save The Last Dance did it as well, so what the hell happened to the rest of them? Step Up 3D instantly lost my respect because it tries to cram in as many elements of Rent and West Side Story as it possibly can whilst trying to convince us that it's really earnest and genuine. Dancers living in a loft together in New York? Check. Rivalry with another dance troupe? Check. Forbidden romance? Big fat check.

The biggest problem I had with Step Up 3D is that it's main character Luke (Rick Malambri) – the leader of a group who live and dance together – is always trying to afford the roof over their heads. This would be fine if it looked like they were struggling for money even a tiny bit. They live in an amazing loft conversion with a huge dance studio, a wall covered in expensive sneakers and Luke has state of the art filming and editing equipment. Either they're all hookers on the weekend or this is a huge oversight by the writers – I was kind of hoping it would be the former.

Luke is a boring main character who doesn't look like he could lead the proverbial horse to water, let alone try to make it drink. The real centre piece is the young dancer Moose (Adam G. Sevani) from Step Up 2: The Streets, who has been forced into an engineering degree by his parents. Now Moose is struggling to keep his passion alive while juggling his studies and his friendship with childhood pal Camille. Unfortunately, he's needlessly sidelined in favour of following Luke and his boring rivalry with the Samurai dance troupe leader, Julien.

Step Up 3D is shot with 3D cameras so the effect is actually worth the ticket price for once, as are the dance sequences, particularly the spectacular finale. The dancing and the extra dimension are the best things about the movie because the dialogue is flat, there's little humour and the occasional giggle is unintentional. Get your friends together for an Orange Wednesday and give Step Up 3D a good mocking, it's the only way to make the most of this film.

Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue (2010 Video)

Tinkerbell proves popular with family crowds but is it worth a cinema trip?

[19 December 2010]

Usually, a spin-off such as this would only appear as a straight-to-DVD movie, but due to the amazing sales in the UK, Tinkerbell and the Great Fairy Rescue will see Peter Pan's favourite fairy get a cinematic release; the first of the Disney fairies to be granted one.

Tinkerbell, as any Pan fan will know, is a mischievous but resourceful individual who always manages to get herself into trouble. On the first day of Fairy Camp, Tink (Mae Whitman) gets distracted by a passing car and goes to investigate, dragging friend Vidia (Pamela Adlon) along for the ride. The car belongs to Dr. Griffiths (Michael Sheen) and his daughter Lizzie (Lauren Mote) who accidentally captures Tinkerbell.

Vidia sees that Dr. Griffiths has a large butterfly collection and fears that Tink will also end up in a display case so she races back to Fairy Camp to enlist the other fairies, Rosetta (Kristin Chenoweth), Silvermist (Lucy Liu) and Iridessa (Raven-Symoné), to help rescue her. Luckily for Tink, Lizzie loves fairies and the two have a great day together but what will happen when Dr. Griffiths finds her? The animation isn't particularly impressive but it definitely has touches of Disney flair, particularly in the charming pastel colouring and the storyline based around a single parent family – the Disney special. The film's heart revolves around the relationship between Lizzie and a father who has no time for her and dismisses her love of fairies as fantasy. Michael Sheen's voice takes on sweeter tones as a busy father whereas Lauren Mote comes across as almost too English – there's more than a little stage school training here.

Kristin Chenoweth lends her considerable vocal talents to Rosetta, the Southern Belle fairy who doesn't like to get her hands dirty. I would have thought that a trained singer like Chenoweth would be included in the soundtrack but for some reason the director opted for the distracting tones of Disney brat Bridgit Mendler – more than a little oversight.

With a running time of just 75 minutes, it might be a tad too short for the big screen but I'd definitely recommend a DVD purchase as it's short and sweet enough to keep the kids entertained at home, but might not be worth a trip to the cinema. It's fairly simplistic stuff but young children will get a dose of humour, action and heart without the trappings of a boring Summer blockbuster.

Salt (2010)

Jolie proves she can play rough in Kurt Wimmer's Salt

[19 December 2010]

While I can't say that I was awaiting Angelina Jolie's latest outing with bated breath, I was intrigued by the fact that Salt was originally intended to be a Tom Cruise vehicle.

Tom's waning box office pulling-power aside, this sex-swap was a smart move by writer Kurt Wimmer (Equilibrium) as it gives Jolie the chance to prove that she can lay the smack-down on just as many henchmen as the boys can. Having her rather than him as the duplicitous CIA agent Evelyn Salt, Wimmer gives a fresh angle to a plot that could easily have been a boring instalment of the Bourne series. Salt also sees the welcome return of Russian villains to the cinema after a long period in which Middle Eastern terrorists were severely over-worked.

When a Soviet defector strolls into the CIA and announces that Salt is a sleeper agent who will kill the Russian president, she goes on the run. Fearing for the safety of her husband Michael, Salt sets out to find him before agents Winter (Liev Schreiber) and Peabody (Chiwetel Ejiofor) catch up with her. The question of where Salt's loyalties lie is the true source of tension and Jolie plays it cool, gaining and dismissing the audience's trust several times over.

Schreiber and Ejiofor draw the short straws in terms of dialogue and simply run after Jolie for the entire movie without doing anything of significance. Hopefully, if the proposed sequel goes ahead, Wimmer will be able to correct this glaring oversight.

The action scenes are sharply directed and Jolie finally gets her hands dirty, particularly in the opening exchanges where she's being tortured in a Korean prison. If that wasn't enough, she also flies down an elevator shaft by leaping from wall to wall – it was a silly effect but added a cheesy, fanciful element to what would have been an entirely too serious movie.

Consequently the first 40 minutes are fast and furious as Salt evades her fellow agents by any means necessary but not to be outdone, the rest of the film takes a left turn and continues to surprise with some serious fisticuffs, gun-play and high-speed car chases. Admittedly, for all its skill and enthusiasm, Salt's finale is a little over-the-top and it wanders into well-worn ground without knowing when to stop. Aside from this minor gripe, Salt is a well-directed action movie that delivers us a potential new franchise, an intriguing lead character and an exciting close to a lacklustre summer.

The Runaways (2010)

Stewart steps it up in hazy 70s rock biopic

[19 December 2010]

I've never been completely sold on Kristen Stewart as an actress – she impressed everyone in Panic Room back in 2002 but has since been overshadowed by her own franchise, Twilight. But now, with the release of The Runaways, people might see the great actress that's been buried underneath three vampire movies' worth of pap.

Chronicling the rise and inevitable fall of 70s all-girl rock band The Runaways, Kristen Stewart plays Suzie Quatro-a-like Joan Jett, a young guitarist whose rock and roll aspirations see her paired with 15-year-old Bardot bombshell, Cherie Currie (Dakota Fanning). The two are brought together by crazed musical impresario Kim Fowley (Michael Shannon) whose tactics for pushing the girls to their limit include screaming, 'Now, buckle up and get ready for boot camp, babies – you're gonna be trained like the Viet f**king Cong.' But with such success comes the classic trappings of fame including drugs, sex, booze and tension between band mates as Cherie's star rises higher than her cohort's. The more famous she becomes, the more she is tortured by the family she left behind including her put-upon sister Marie (Riley Keough) who cares for their alcoholic father.

Director/photographer Floria Sigismondi has an expert eye which captures the wild 70s haze that surrounds the band as they perform throughout the movie. Fanning's portrayal of Currie is very engaging as she teeters between rock goddess and the little girl lost, struggling to decide where her loyalties lie – with her band or her real family. She almost nails it but she lacks the passion that drives Currie to join the band in the first place.

Stewart on the other hand has Joan Jett down pat and is utterly believable as the dykey guitarist/songwriter whose occasionally Sapphic relationship with Currie is tested by drug use and Fowley's manipulation. Michael Shannon proves himself to be an absolute wonder as the maniacal Fowley whose eyes flash with dollar signs when he realises that he can market the girls as jail-bait. Hey, sex sells.

The film is based on Currie's book Neon Angel: A Memoir of a Runaway so it's more than a little biased towards Currie's personal journey yet still manages to provide Stewart with enough material to shine as Jett. It's wild, sexy and filled with pumped up rock and roll performances that make for an enjoyable dose of 70s nostalgia.