Film Review: A LIFE LESS ORDINARY (1997)

Director: Danny Boyle
Writer: John Hodge
Running time: 103 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15

Genre: Comedy/Romance/Drama
UK Release date: 24^th October 1997

Watched on Sky+ Thursday 5^th January 2012.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I have to admit that for some time now I have been a bit of a fan of the work of Danny Boyle. As such, I’m made it a bit of a mission to take a look at as much of his back catalogue as I can whenever they are shown on TV. So this is how I came to watch this one. I have to say it’s not the best film I’ve seen associated with his name, but it’s passable. More of my thoughts after this very brief summary.

We start in heaven (where else), where two angels, O'Reilly and Jackson, are given their last chance to, let’s say, facilitate a couple falling in love. It’s a tough case; two people from very different backgrounds. First there’s Robert Lewis who’s a cleaner (& a writer in his spare time) who has just lost his job and been dumped by his girlfriend. Then there’s Celine Naville a rich socialite whose father wants her to go to work for him. They are thrown together when Robert goes to see Celine’s father to demand his job back and things go slightly wrong. He ends up kidnapping Celine and taking her to a cabin in the wilderness. He really doesn’t have a clue and Celine ends up taking the lead; deciding she may as well try to get some money out of her father. Meanwhile, O’Reilly and Jackson are hired by Celine’s father to find them. As you can see, it’s getting a bit complicated already and we’re only part-way through! I’ll leave it there though or the Spoiler Police (confusing plots division) will have me kidnapped in amusing circumstances (again).

A well made film that has the beginnings many of the hallmarks of Boyle’s latter works. Some interesting ideas thrown in, some that worked and some that didn’t, but then I see it as a bit of a stepping stone for Boyle. Nice performances all round; Ewan McGregor did a decent job as Robert Lewis, although his haircut is pretty bizarre! Cameron Diaz did a great job as Celine; it’s the kind of role she’s pretty comfortable in. I thought both Holly Hunter as O’Reilly and Delroy Lindo as Jackson were excellent. Honourable mentions must also go to; Ian McNeice as Mayhew, Frank Kanig as Ted, Stanley Tucci as Elliot Zweikel, Tony Shalhoub as Al and Ian Holm as Naville (Celine’s father).

Although I’m a fan of Danny Boyle’s work, I’m afraid this one failed to hit the mark (for me). I found the plot far too over-complicated, almost like they were trying to fit far too many ideas in all at once. To me it would have been much more interesting to see the story from the point of view of O’Reilly and Jackson, but then I guess I’m not a screenwriter (yet). Yes, there were some nice touches, for instance, I loved the song and dance routine in the bar; very funny. Over all though, it’s one I’ll have to sit on the fence as far as recommendation goes; it’s kind of in the middle there somewhere.

My score: 5.7/10

IMDb Score: 6.3/10 (based on 20,915 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0119535/

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 39/100 (based on 36 reviews counted at the time of going to press).
Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 56/100 (based on 52,726 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/life_less_ordinary/

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

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
Celine: Remember what they didn't teach you at Harvard Business School.
Robert: I didn't go to Harvard Business School!
Celine: That's a figure of speech, Robert.

Celine: If word got around that I had been liberated for half a million dollars, I could never show my face in polite society again. Diamonds have no value except that which is placed upon them.

Tod: Do you think that I'd talk to a dog? Do you think I'd ask a dog whether you're good or evil? What do you think I am? Some kind of crazy backwoods lunatic with a barn full of human skulls and a scythe that I sharpen every day in readiness for Armageddon?
Robert: No, no, not at all, I'm sure you're just a regular kind of guy.
Tod: Right, I'm regular, I am a regular man. I want... but that's not the point! The point is, who are YOU? WHO ARE YOU?

LINKS:
(Note: All were working at the time of going to press)
Trailer:

Film Review: 127 HOURS (2010)

Co-Writer/Director: Danny Boyle
Running Time: 94 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15

Genre: Drama
UK Release Date: 7th January 2011

Watched at the Cinema Saturday 2nd April 2010.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I know it’s April already and this film came out in the UK in January, but after a very long wait it has finally landed at my local cinema! Since I’ve waited such a long time to see it there was no way I was going to miss it! I even dragged a friend along who doesn’t often see this sort of thing. I’ll give you my thoughts after this very brief summary (summary haters, and those that don’t wish to know about the plot, please try to shift that rock while I write the next paragraph).

Aron Ralston is an adventurer, mountain climber, he’s most at home with almost all outdoor types of activities. He feels he doesn’t have to rely on anyone else and has cut himself off from his friends and family to concentrate on the things he likes to do. Little does he know, this is going to cost him dear in the very near future. He goes out canyoneering  alone near Moab, Utah but doesn’t take his mobile phone (or cell phone if you prefer) with him and doesn’t tell anyone where he’s going. There he meets two girls, Kristi and Megan and they have a bit of fun jumping into a pool below a crack in the rocks. Eventually they go their separate ways and Aron heads off alone again. Taking a route seldom used he causes a rock fall that leaves him trapped, pinned by the arm with a large boulder. He is there for 127 hours before he resorts to desperate measures to free himself. During this time he reflects on the mistakes he’s made in his life, making a video diary he thinks will be his legacy. I’ll leave it there so as not to upset the squeamish Spoiler Police.

I thought this was a very well made film with several devices used to keep the audience interested. Split screens, flashbacks, dream sequences all keep the thing moving along nicely. I have to say it’s an outstanding performance from James Franco as Aron Ralston, he really nailed it! Honourable mentions also go to Kate Mara as Kristi and Amber Tamblyn as Megan.

I love the visual style used by Danny Boyle in this one. It could have been a tough gritty drama like the 2003 Kevin Macdonald film Touching the Void, (also a very fine film by the way) but I found it was a lot more than that. It will make you cringe, it will make you laugh, and it will even make some of you cry, but I found it very engaging and very enthralling (even though I knew what the final outcome was)… Definitely recommended.

PS My friend thought it was good but a bit padded out with all that hallucinating & stuff (His words, not mine).

My Score: 8.6/10

LINKS:
(RT = Rotten Tomatoes)
IMDb Page: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1542344/
RT Page: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/127_hours/
Official Site: http://www.foxsearchlight.com/127hours/
Trailer: http://uk.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi768149785/

Film Review: TRAINSPOTTING (1996)

Director: Danny Boyle
Running time: 94 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 18

UK release date: 23rd February 1996

Watched on Sky+ Sunday 9th January 2011.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

This is Danny Boyle’s second feature film and I must admit that by the time I’d seen this one I was convinced he was Scottish. Fortunately I know better now. This one’s all about drug addiction and the consequences of it. Sounds a drag, but believe me, it’s one of the most entertaining films you’ll ever see! But more on my thoughts later, here’s a very brief summary first (summary haters please go cold turkey in the back room while I write the next paragraph).

Set, for the main part, in Scotland, this film tells the story of Renton and his friends, Spud, Sick Boy, Tommy and Begbie. It tells of their flirtations with heroin and all that brings. How they rip each other off, ruin each other’s relationships, get high, get low, get sick, get off the drug, get back on it again… it’s all here. Eventually Renton decides to get off it entirely and moves to London, but that is far from the end of it. I’m going to leave it deliberately brief and vague because this is a dish best served without too much prior knowledge my friend.

First of all, it’s a great script by John Hodge based on the novel by Irvine Welsh; add to that the directorial skill of Danny Boyle and you have a bit of a masterpiece on your hands. There are times where things do get a bit surreal, but I think it all adds to the brilliant execution of this tale. Really great performances all round, particularly from; Ewan McGregor as Renton, Ewen Bremner as Spud, Jonny Lee Miller as Sick Boy, Kevin McKidd as Tommy and Robert Carlyle as the psycho, Begbie.

There are scenes in this film that are quite hard to watch but I believe it is all included to show just how real the effects of drug addiction are. There is also a lot of humour in this film which, kind of, plays against the grain in a couple of places, but it didn’t detract from my enjoyment too much. Over all, with an iconic soundtrack, some great performances, a tremendous script and some brilliant filmmaking, this one is very, very highly recommended.

My score: 9.2/10

LINKS:
IMDb Page: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0117951/
Trailer: http://uk.imdb.com/rg/VIDEO_PLAY/LINK/video/screenplay/vi596088857/

Film Review: SHALLOW GRAVE (1994)

Director: Danny Boyle
Running time: 92 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 18

UK release date: 6th January 1995

Watched on Sky+ Saturday 8th January 2011.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

This is the first feature film directed by Danny Boyle and I have seen it a few times now. I find it funny that when an artist becomes famous, people always look back at their early work, as if looking for the beginnings of that spark of genius. Me, well I just enjoy a well made film with some good performances and a decent plot. But more about my thoughts later, here’s a brief summary first (summary haters please hide in the attic and guard the cash).

Three young flatmates, Juliet Miller, a doctor, David Stephens, an accountant and Alex Law, a journalist, have a spare room and are looking for a new tenant. Having interviewed, and callously rejected, several applicants they finally settle on Hugo, a writer. He moves in and locks his door and that’s that last the trio see of him… alive that is. After a couple of days they break into his room to find him lying dead on his bed. Searching the room, Alex comes across a suitcase stuffed full of cash. After much debate it is decided to keep the cash and dispose of the body. At this point I’ll have to stop or I will give too much away, but needless to say, things don’t go exactly to plan.

Unfortunately this film was made in the nineties and the three main characters personify everything I hated about that era. They are greedy, arrogant and just about the most loathsome trio I would wish to meet. However, the story that’s played out on the screen is pretty good, so I stuck with it. Great performances all round, particularly from Christopher Eccleston who is brilliant as David, Ewan McGregor is particularly lithesome as Alex and Kerry Fox put in a good effort as Juliet.

As we’ve come to expect from Danny Boyle, this is a very well made film with great attention to detail. The star performance for me came from Christopher Eccleston; he gave us the full range of emotions here which made him stand out. If the three main characters weren’t quite so loathsome then maybe I would have given a higher score, but it’s definitely worth watching nonetheless… Recommended.

My score: 7.4/10

LINKS:
IMDb Page: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0111149/
Trailer: http://uk.imdb.com/rg/VIDEO_PLAY/LINK/video/screenplay/vi1328349977/

Film Review: SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE (2008)

Directors: Danny Boyle & Loveleen Tandan (co-director: India)
Running time: 120 mins (approx)
Certificate (UK): 15

Watched on DVD Friday 1st January 2010.

PLEASE NOTE: POSSIBLE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I have heard a lot about this film since its release almost a year ago, but it has not been until now that I’ve had a chance to watch it. I must say that most of the good things I’ve been hearing are true! The setting is India, where a young man, Jamal K. Malik, from the slums of Mumbai has the chance of winning 20 million rupees! He is on the show ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire’ and things are getting tense as he gets nearer to the big prize.

We start with Jamal in a police station being questioned as to how he was cheating on the game show. Unfortunately for the police he cannot say because he is not cheating. Eventually they settle down and put on a tape of the show and the film goes into flashback and tells how he knew each answer from the events of his life to date. We begin when he is seven where Jamal and his older brother, Salim, run from the police at the airport where they were playing cricket. They run through the slum that is their home and end up being caught by their mother. Later on, after their mother has died, Jamal befriends Latika, a girl who also has no family and they live together until they are taken in by an orphanage. Here they become street beggars and after one particularly nasty experience at the hands of the guy running the orphanage, Jamal and Salim run away but Latika is unable to escape with them. The rest of the film tells how Jamal tries to re-unite himself with the love of his life and how he came to be on ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire’. I think that’s enough spoilers for now.

A really well made film where the narrative keeps you guessing all the time. I enjoyed the look into the lives of the less fortunate in India which, at times, looked pretty brutal. Also some great visuals in this movie, but then, I’m told, India is a quite visually stunning place. Great performances from all of the leading cast, Dev Patel as Jamal K. Malik, Anil Kapoor as Prem (the host of the TV show), Freida Pinto as Latika, Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail as Youngest Salim, Ayush Mahesh Khedekar as Youngest Jamal, Rubina Ali as Youngest Latika, Tanay Chheda as Middle Jamal, Ashutosh Lobo Gajiwala as Middle Salim, Tanvi Ganesh Lonkar as Middle Latika and Madhur Mittal as Older Salim.

Over all, a great film that takes you on a journey full of unexpected twists and turns. I found it very entertaining and very different to most mainstream films made today. If you haven’t seen it I can heartily recommend it, very compelling and a joy to watch, if a bit harrowing at times.

My score: 8.5/10

LINKS:
IMDb Site: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1010048/
Official Site: http://www.foxsearchlight.com/slumdogmillionaire/
Trailer: http://uk.imdb.com/rg/VIDEO_PLAY/LINK/video/imdb/vi2220163097/