Film Review: THE GREAT GATSBY (2013)

Director: Baz Luhrmann
Writers: Baz Luhrmann, Craig Pearce (screenplay), F. Scott Fitzgerald (novel)
Running time: 142 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 12A

Genre: Drama/Romance
UK Release date: 16^th May 2013

Watched at the cinema on Sunday 2^nd June 2013.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE UNINTENTIONAL SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I first have to say I have never read the book and so I can only judge the film as a on its own merits. I have, however seen the 1974 version of this film starring Robert Redford and Mia Farrow. Fortunately it was a very long time ago and I really can’t remember too much about it other than it didn’t exactly enthral me. I will have been in my early teens when I saw it so that’s not entirely surprising. But I digress; here’s a very brief summary before I give you my thoughts.

We are told the story is told through the eyes of Gatsby’ neighbour, Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire). He had gone into selling bonds having decided he didn’t really want to be a writer. He was still close to his cousin, Daisy Buchanan (Carey Mulligan), who had married old money in the form of Tom Buchanan (Joel Edgerton). Now Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio) was a very enigmatic character and there were wild rumours about him; none of which were true of course. He threw elaborate parties to which everyone who was anyone (and some who weren’t) turned up. One day, out of the blue, Carraway is sent an invitation to one of these soirées. Of course he goes, but never having met Gatsby before; found it hard to track him down so he could thank him. Eventually Gatsby makes himself known, but there’s an ulterior motive behind the invitation; something from the past and Nick Carraway is the key to unlocking it.

A film with some great set pieces; I found the party scenes particularly spectacular. It’s beautifully shot and I’m quite glad I saw it in 2D as I couldn’t see how 3D would have enhanced it much. I found the music interesting with the big set pieces being handed over to rapper Jay-Z (also an Executive Producer), but it was the original music by Craig Armstrong that I found most enthralling. There are several well known themes subtly placed in the soundtrack and I found both refreshing and interesting. All the performances were great with DiCaprio and Mulligan getting top billing; but I thought Tobey Maguire was equally good. I guess I’ll have to read the book to be able to decide just how good an adaptation this is; but for now I found it quite a satisfying watch with plenty of drama to keep me entertained. If I was to be super critical I would have to say I found the character of Gatsby a little one-dimensional, but having said that it’s still well worth a look if you get the chance.

SteelMonster’s verdict: RECOMMENDED

My score: 7.5/10.

IMDb Score: 7.5/10 (based on 49,082 votes when this review was written).
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1343092/

MetaScore: 54/100: (Based on 44 critic reviews provided by Metacritic.com at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 51/100 (based on 255 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 72/100 (based on 90,311 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_great_gatsby_2012/

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LINKS:
(Note: All were working at the time of going to press)
Official Blog: http://gatsbymovie.tumblr.com/
Official Facebook (UK): https://www.facebook.com/TheGreatGatsbyUK
Official Site: http://thegreatgatsby.warnerbros.com/
Trailer:

Film Review: DRIVE (2011)

Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
Writers: Hossein Amini (screenplay), James Sallis (novel)
Running time: 97 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 18

Genre: Crime/Drama/Thriller
UK Release date: 23^rd September 2011

Watched on DVD Tuesday 5^th June 2012.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

Having recently tracked down the DVD at a bit of a bargain price I decided to give this critically acclaimed piece the once over. I must say it wasn’t quite what I was expecting… It was so much better! Films like this are few and far between and this one will certainly be getting a prime spot in my collection. More of the praise later… here’s a brief summary.

We never know his name, so we shall call him Driver. He works as a stunt driver for the movies during the day and at night he is available for hire as a getaway driver. If you hire him though, he has certain rules (See ‘Favourite Quotes’ section below). He keeps himself to himself and doesn’t say much. He works at a garage owned by his friend Shannon one day a week. Shannon has plans to start a racing team with Driver as his star, he just needs some backing. Enter Bernie Rose and his business partner Nino a shady pair of characters to say the least. Driver is befriended by a neighbour, Irene, and her young son, Benicio, and he helps them out when he can. When her husband, Standard, comes out of jail he is determined to go straight, but he owes some people a lot of money. Driver agrees to help him pull off a job they have planned for him and this is where I will leave it… the Spoiler Police will have me in a speed-trap with helicopter support (again) if I’m not careful.

An interesting mix of tunes and the back streets of LA form a rather interesting backdrop to this tale. Nicely made with a few nice stunts thrown in for good measure (well there had to be really, didn’t there). On the performance side, well (for me), Ryan Gosling stole the show with his understated performance as the Driver he always had you guessing. Carey Mulligan did a decent job as Irene, although I couldn’t decide whether she was woefully underused, or totally mis-cast. Others worthy of note were; Bryan Cranston as Shannon, Albert Brooks as Bernie Rose, Oscar Isaac as Standard, Christina Hendricks as Blanche and Ron Perlman as Nino.

A very slow paced film, almost noir in the look and feel to it, the tension slowly builds. There are, at times, some scenes of extreme violence that are by no means out of place here. One scene in an elevator (if you’ve seen it, you’ll know which one I mean) is an almost perfect moment of cinema. No dialogue, just a perfect scene (IMO). I did have just one gripe though, and that was the casting of Carey Mulligan; I couldn’t get my head around how someone like her could end up with the guy she was with. Or maybe I’m just reading it wrong, I don’t know. But other than that it’s quite an eye-opening film and one I have no problem in deeming… HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

My score: 9.1/10

IMDb Score: 8.0/10 (based on 185,406 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0780504/

MetaScore: 79/100: (Based on 40 critic reviews provided by Metacritic.com at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 92/100 (based on 225 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 78/100 ‘Liked it’ (based on 72,813 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/drive_2011/

If you’re crazy enough… You can find me on Facebook at:
http://facebook.com/andy.steel3

FAVOURITE QUOTES:

[first lines]
Driver: [on phone] There's a hundred-thousand streets in this city. You don't need to know the route. You give me a time and a place, I give you a five minute window. Anything happens in that five minutes and I'm yours. No matter what. Anything happens a minute either side of that and you're on your own. Do you understand?
[pause]
Driver: Good. And you won't be able to reach me on this phone again.

Shannon: Kid, I want you to meet Mr. Bernie Rose!
Bernie Rose: Nice to meet you.
[Bernie sticks out his hand to shake; Driver does not take it]
Driver: My hands are a little dirty.
Bernie Rose: So are mine.

Irene: What do you do?
Driver: I drive.
Irene: Like a limo driver?
Driver: No, like, for movies.
Irene: Oh. You mean all the car chases and stuff?
Driver: Yeah.
Irene: Isn't that dangerous?
Driver: It's only part-time. Mostly I work at a garage.

Bearded Redneck: You're Shannon's buddy right? We met last year. You drove me and my brother back from Palm Springs. We hired another wheelman. I spent six months in jail. My brother, he got himself killed. I got this sweet job coming up.
Driver: How 'bout this. You shut your mouth. Or I'll kick your teeth down your throat and I'll shut it for you.
Bearded Redneck: Nice seein' you again.

[last lines]
Bernie Rose: Where's the money now?
Driver: It's in the car.
Bernie Rose: Come on.

LINKS:
(Note: All were working at the time of going to press)
Official Site: http://www.drive-movie.com/
Trailer:

Film Review: NEVER LET ME GO (2010)

Director: Mark Romanek
Writers: Kazuo Ishiguro (Novel), Alex Garland (Screenplay)
Running time: 100 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 12

Genre: Drama/Romance/Sci-Fi
UK Release date: 11^th February 2011

Watched on Sky+ Sunday 15^th January 2012.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I remember hearing about this film when it came out; I was slightly intrigued by it at first, but then I heard it was a bit of a love story and shelved it for a bit. Well, it resurfaced this week and, despite my reservations I decided to give it a look. You’ll be pleased to know I was pleasantly surprised. Some really great performances are the highlight of this heartbreaking tale set in an alternate reality. I will tell you more after this brief summary.

At an idyllic school called Hailsham in the countryside, three children; Kathy, Tommy and Ruth become friends. From the beginning you can tell there is something odd about this school it is not until one of the teachers, Miss Lucy, tells the students of their purpose that the audience, along with the children, begins to understand. [I will not say here what it is as I don’t want to spoil it for anyone who hasn’t seen the film.] The story is told through the eyes of Kathy  and you can tell that she is attracted to Tommy, but Ruth gets to him first. At the age of eighteen they are allowed to leave and go to live in a place called ‘The Cottages’ with teenagers from other schools. By now Tommy and Ruth have become a couple and they begin to explore the world around them. They hear about something called a ‘deferral’ for couples that are in love [don’t worry, that will make sense when you see the film] and Kathy can’t bare it any longer and leaves to become a carer. She later hears that Tommy and Ruth had broken up. Little does she know but their paths are due to cross again and it is this meeting that will decide their fate. I will not say any more or the Spoiler Police (Alternate Reality Division) will be removing my organs (again).

This film is beautifully made with a great musical score by Rachel Portman, it really captures the mood of the piece. Great cinematography combines with the great British countryside to give the plot the room it needs to breathe. The thing that stands out most though is the performances of the three main characters; Carey Mulligan as Kathy, Andrew Garfield as Tommy and Keira Knightley as Ruth all put in really great performances. I must also give a mention to their young counterparts; Izzy Meikle-Small as Young Kathy, Charlie Rowe as Young Tommy and Ella Purnell as Young Ruth were all excellent also. Honourable mentions go to; Charlotte Rampling as Miss Emily and Sally Hawkins as Miss Lucy.

This is a bit of a heartbreaker of a film, filled with a lot of emotion because the audience are allowed to get to know these characters and become invested in their fate. I have to admit to feeling very sad by the end. It’s beautifully made with great care and so hats off to the filmmakers for making it as enjoyable to watch as it was. As I’ve already said, it’s quite heartbreaking at the end but still well worth a look… Recommended.

My score: 8.3/10.

IMDb Score: 7.2/10 (based on 35,146 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1334260/

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 70/100 (based on 162 reviews counted at the time of going to press).
Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 70/100 (based on 29,621 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/never_let_me_go_2010/

If you’re crazy enough… You can find me on Facebook at:
http://facebook.com/andy.steel3

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
[first lines]
Kathy: My name is Kathy H. I'm 28 years old. I've been a carer for nine years. And I'm good at my job. My patients always do better than expected, and are hardly ever classified as agitated, even if they're about to make a donation. I'm not trying to boast, but I feel a great sense of pride in what we do. Carers and donors have achieved so much. That said, we aren't machines. In the end it wears you down. I suppose that's why I now spend most of my time not looking forwards, but looking back, to The Cottages and Hailsham, and what happened to us there.

Kathy: It had never occurred to me that our lives, so closely interwoven, could unravel with such speed. If I'd known, maybe I'd have kept tighter hold of them.

[last lines]
Kathy: I come here and imagine that this is the spot where everything I've lost since my childhood is washed out. I tell myself, if that were true, and I waited long enough then a tiny figure would appear on the horizon across the field and gradually get larger until I'd see it was Tommy. He'd wave. And maybe call. I don't know if the fantasy go beyond that, I can't let it. I remind myself I was lucky to have had any time with him at all. What I'm not sure about, is if our lives have been so different from the lives of the people we save. We all complete. Maybe none of us really understand what we've lived through, or feel we've had enough time.

LINKS:
(Note: All were working at the time of going to press)
Official Site: http://www.foxsearchlight.com/neverletmego/
Trailer:

Film Review: WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS (2010)

Director: Oliver Stone
Running time: 133 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 12A

Genre: Drama
UK Release date: 6^th October 2010

Watched on Sky+ Saturday 3^rd September 2011.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I must admit I did enjoy Oliver Stone’s 1987 film Wall Street, which tells the story of Gordon Gekko and how he manipulated people and events in order to make money. This cost him his liberty in the end, but as they say, that’s another story. This film picks up some time after that one left off with Gordon’s release from prison. It’s an interesting tale with quite a complicated plot, so no nipping out to make tea part way through now… Here’s a very brief summary before I give you my thoughts.

Having witnessed Gordon’s release from prison we are introduced to his daughter, Winnie and her boyfriend, Jake Moore. Jake works for a Wall Street investment bank, KZI, where he deals with investments into green energy. In particular he has one project that is looking into fusion to produce cheap energy and he’s trying find investors when things start to go wrong at KZI. Due to rumours the company crashes on the stock market and the head of the company, and Jacob’s friend, Louis Zabel commits suicide. After this Jacob reaches out to Gekko and, because he wants to re-connect with his daughter, Gekko agrees to help Jacob find who was behind the rumours. The finger points at another investment bank, Churchill Schwartz, and the head of that company, Bretton James. There is much more to this, it’s so much more than a straight forward tale of revenge. There are many more twists and turns in the road to come and questions to be answered, like; “Has Gekko really reformed?”… All this and more is revealed, but, of course, I can’t tell you that here or the Spoiler Police will have me for insider trading… (or some other trumped up charge).

I must first say that this film is beautifully shot, Stone certainly has an eye for the visuals and he uses it to great effect here. The use of graphics and split screen is all done very well and, for the most part, fits the story perfectly. And so we move on to performances; well I can’t fault Michael Douglas as Gordon Gekko, it’s a part he made his own in the first film. Shia LaBeouf as Jacob Moore on the other hand, well I’m still waiting to be convinced by the young man, I don’t want to be disrespectful so I’ll leave it at that. I thought Carey Mulligan did a good job as Winnie Gekko but I felt her character had more depth than she was allowed to show. Frank Langella did a great job as Louis Zabel, as did Josh Brolin as Bretton James. It was nice to see small parts from; Eli Wallach as Julie Steinhardt, Susan Sarandon as Sylvia Moore, Jacob’s mother, and a very brief came from Charlie Sheen as Bud Fox (uncredited).

Although I did enjoy this film to some extent, Oliver Stone does make very long films and this sometimes means they take the story a little too far. I was quite enjoying this one for about an hour and forty minutes and then it started to drag. I don’t quite know if it was down to events happening on the screen or what, but I kind of lost interest. On the plus side, there are some good songs by David Byrne and Brian Eno which pop up every now and again. I found this quite a tough one to judge because we’re supposed to engage with people who control finances and those people, in my book, have been grossly discredited of late. It’s hard to feel sympathy for someone living in a very nice New York apartment bleating on about being poor! Ok, rant over… I guess this one is worth seeing if you’re a fan of the original; Michael Douglas is very good value.

My Score: 6.4/10.

IMDb Score: 6.3/10 (based on 31,178 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1027718/

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 54/100 (based on 211 reviews counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/wall_street_money_never_sleeps/

FAVOURITE QUOTE:
Gordon Gekko: Payback. Except I’m not in that business anymore - because the one thing I learned in jail is that money is not the prime asset in life. Time is.

LINKS:
Trailer:

Film Review: AN EDUCATION (2009)

Director: Lone Scherfig
Running time: 96 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 12A

Genre: Comedy/Drama
UK Release date: 30th October 2009

Watched on Sky+ Sunday 15th May 2011.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I remember this film getting quite a lot of critical praise when it came out and so I was intrigued to see what all the fuss was about. Of course it got nowhere near being shown in my local cinema and so I waited patiently for it to show on TV. A screenplay by Nick Hornby based on a memoir by Lynn Barber and set in London in the early 1960’s it has all the hallmarks of a decent production. You’ll be glad to know that I agree with the critics, yes, it’s pretty good. There were a couple of points where it could have gone off the rails, but fortunately it stayed on the tracks and we have a fine piece of work.

Jenny Mellor is a bright sixteen year old student whose parents have ambitions for her to study at Oxford University. She is slightly disenchanted with her lot though, and yearns to go out and experience the world while she is still young. By chance she meets David, a man more than twice her age, who recognises something in her and takes her to see the sights. Two friends of his, Danny and Helen come along and Jenny goes to concerts, sees art, dines in fine restaurants and even visits Paris. David does all this with Jenny’s parent’s permission, he is very persuasive. Of course all is not what it seems and her world is about to take a massive jolt and the many arguments she has made against conformity are about to be tested.

This is a very well made film which features a stand-out performance from Carey Mulligan as Jenny; she was really outstanding in the part. Peter Sarsgaard was suitably suave as David, as was Dominic Cooper as Danny. Both Alfred Molina and Cara Seymour did a good job as Jenny’s parents, Jack and Marjorie. Rosamund Pike played the part of the, rather dim, Helen very well and Olivia Williams did a very good job as Jenny’s teacher Miss Stubbs. Finally, a mention for Emma Thompson who had a nice cameo as the headmistress.

This film asks a lot of questions about how some parents try to control the lives of their children, although it’s not the main point of the story. I really liked the way it was written but I still felt one or two bits could have done with tidying up (I’m sorry, I can’t be specific – spoilers). Having said that, I did enjoy it very much and I really liked the ending. I would definitely watch it again sometime… Recommended.

My Score: 7.6/10

LINKS:
(RT = Rotten Tomatoes)
IMDb Page: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1174732/
RT Page: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/an_education/
Official Site: http://www.sonyclassics.com/aneducation/
Trailer: