Film Review: THE IRON LADY (2011)

Director: Phyllida Lloyd
Writer: Abi Morgan (screenplay)
Running time: 105 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 12A

Genre: Biography/Drama/History
UK Release date: 6^th January 2012

Watched on Sky+ Sunday 13^th January 2013.

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

Love her or loathe her, Margaret Thatcher had a massive impact on politics both here in the UK and internationally. This film chronicles her rise to power in the late 1970’s and her eventual fall some twelve years later. For a change I will not write a plot summary, instead I will talk about the way the story is presented and how that has been interpreted by various reviewers around the world.

We begin with Margaret Thatcher as an old woman; she is sorting out her late husband Dennis’s effects. This is several years after he had passed away and yet she still sees him walking around the flat and talks to him about events of the past. This device is used to take the audience back to scenes from her history. Firstly, Margaret as a young girl, the daughter of a grocer and then on through her life up to the present day. I actually quite liked the way this was done although it did mean that quite a lot had to be missed out. For instance, some of her most iconic speeches didn’t make the cut which I found a little annoying. All the salient points are there though; everything from the miner’s strike to the Falklands war and the sinking of the Belgrano and the Brighton bombing.

Now, for some, Mrs Thatcher is portrayed far too sympathetically and the film puts her tenure as Prime Minister in a much better light than is might deserve. I didn’t feel this was the case; there was plenty of footage of rioters on the streets and striking miners fighting with the police. I lived through the Thatcher years and I can tell you it was just as violent, at times, as portrayed. I can’t say whether the film is accurate as far as it shows events behind the doors of No. 10 Downing Street, but it all seems plausible.

What strikes me is the performance of Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher; she deservedly won an Oscar for this portrayal. I must also praise the work if the make-up artists who worked on her prosthetics, they captured the look perfectly. Honourable mentions go to Jim Broadbent as Dennis Thatcher and Olivia Colman as Carol Thatcher; both were excellent. This film was always going to be controversial but I think it was well done and actually quite brave, considering the subject of it is still alive.

SteelMonster’s verdict: RECOMMENDED

My score: 8.2/10.

IMDb Score: 6.4/10 (based on 38,320 votes when this review was written).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1007029/

MetaScore: 54/100: (Based on 41 critic reviews provided by Metacritic.com at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 53/100 (based on 199 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 51/100 (based on 83,845 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_iron_lady/

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

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
Alexander Haig: So you are proposing to go to war over these islands. They're thousands of miles away, a handful of citizens, politically and economically insignificant, if you'll excuse me.
Margaret Thatcher: Just like Hawaii... I imagine.

Airey Neave: If you want to change this party, lead it. If you want to change the country, lead it.

Margaret Thatcher: Where did you go?
Denis Thatcher: South Africa.
Margaret Thatcher: Ah, yes.
Denis Thatcher: How many days passed before you realized I'd gone? Probably had to ask the cleaning woman where I was.

Margaret Thatcher: Watch your thoughts, for they become words. Watch your words, for they become actions. Watch your actions, for they become habits. Watch your habits, for they become your character. And watch your character, for it becomes your destiny. What we think, we become. My father always said that. And I think I am fine.

LINKS:
(NOTE: All links were working at the time of going to press)
Official Site (US): http://weinsteinco.com/sites/iron-lady/
Trailer:

Film Review: THE DEER HUNTER (1978)

Co-Writer/Director: Michael Cimino
Running time: 182 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 18

Genre: Drama/War
UK Release date: 27^th February 1979

Watched on Sky+ Saturday 18^th September 2011.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I have tried to watch this film a few in the past, but always failed to understand it. This time I cleared FOUR HOURS, taking into account all the little things that distract the viewer at home, and this time I actually got to the end and had some kind of a grip on what it was all about. Here are a couple of sentences about the film before I give you my thoughts.

This is a film of five acts; I’ve called them Home, Hunting, Nam, Home Again and Nam Again. Others may divide it up differently, but that’s how I see it. The story revolves around three guys; Michael, Steven and Nick, from a Pennsylvania steel town who go off to the Vietnam war full of hope and bravado. It deals with what happens to them there and the effects it has on both them and their loved ones back home. I won’t go into specifics, but the effects of their experiences resonate deeply into the community they came from. I’ll leave it there or the Spoiler Police will force me to play roulette with some Vietnamese gentlemen.

First of all, great music throughout, not least the main theme performed by classical guitarist, John Williams. Also the film was beautifully shot by Director of Photography, Vilmos Zsigmond. Great performances all round, particularly from; Robert De Niro as Michael, Christopher Walken as Nick and John Savage as Steven. These three really carried off quite a performance! They were ably backed up by; John Cazale as Stan, Meryl Streep as Linda, George Dzundza as John and Chuck Aspegren as Axel.

Putting aside the great performances, the cinematography and the music for a moment, I have to take a second to comment on the length of the piece. It is far too long; the first two acts take up nearly half the running time and do nothing to further the story that couldn’t be done in thirty to forty minutes. The sequence in Vietnam could have been expanded, for instance, there is nothing that tells us just how they ended up in the situation they did (no spoilers I’m afraid). The later acts could have been dramatically shortened also. So I reckon about an hour could have been cut from this film and it would have been just as good, if not better. I am going to give it quite a decent score despite these misgivings because it is still a very powerful drama that I actually found quite compelling at times… Recommended (with reservations).

My Score: 7.5/10.

IMDb Score: 8.2/10 (based on 104,871 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0077416/

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 91/100 (based on 45 reviews counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/deer_hunter/

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

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
Michael: What kind of beer would you like?
Linda: What? I don't know. I don't care. Any kind.
Michael: I'll get you a Rolling Rock.
Linda: Okay.
Michael: It's a good beer, it's the best around.

Army Doctor: Chevotarevich, is that a Russian name?
Nick: No, it's an American name.

Stan: How does it feel to be shot?
Michael: Don't hurt. That's what you wanna know. And how it's been, doing OK.
Stan: Yeah, same thing. Nothing's changed. I'm getting more ass than a toilet seat and Axel here; he's getting fatter than ever.

Michael: Here's to Nick.
Steven: [whispering] To Nick.
[All]: To Nick.

LINKS:
Trailer:

Film Review: FANTASTIC MR. FOX (2009)

Co-Writer/Director: Wes Anderson
Running time: 87 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): PG

Genre: Animation/Adventure/Comedy
UK Release date: 23rd October 2009

Watched on DVD Sunday 5th June 2011.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

Over the years many tales by Roald Dahl have been adapted for the screen, both for TV and for the big screen. This is the latest big-screen adaptation of one of his works. For me, while it was quite an engaging tale I felt it wasn’t made for an audience outside the United States. This is not a criticism, it just seemed to me that it had all become a little too ‘Americanised’ (if that’s a word). The stop-motion animation, the sets and everything technical about it was very well done but I felt the characters had lost the mystique they had when I read this as a youngster. I will always now hear George Clooney as Mr. Fox and to me that’s all wrong (I explain why later). Here’s a very brief summary of the plot, and then some more of my thoughts.

Mr. Fox loves to steal chickens, ducks, anything he can eat or drink really. Unfortunately this is a dangerous business and his wife persuades him to find a safer occupation when she falls pregnant. So he takes up writing for a local newspaper. Several years later he decides it’s time they moved and so they go to live in the trunk of a tree. This affords him a great view of three local farms, owned by Franklin Bean, Walter Boggis and Nathan Bunce. Unable to resist the temptation he enlists the help of Kylie Sven Opossum and raids all three farms. The farmers aren’t going to take this lying down and Mr. Fox and his family, and in fact the whole community, find themselves trapped. Can Mr. Fox find a cunning way to save the day? As usual, my contract with the Spoiler Police prevents me telling you here.

I love the animation of this film, I always think stop-motion gives a very unique look and it works really well here. Although I have a slight dislike for the accents, to me Mr. Fox should be a very devious upper class English accent, but hey, you can’t always get what you want as the Rolling Stones once said. Anyhow, a decent effort from the voice talents of; George Clooney as Mr. Fox, Meryl Streep as Mrs. Fox, Bill Murray as Badger, Michael Gambon as Franklin Bean and even Jarvis Cocker who gave us a song as Petey.

So, in conclusion, visually, it’s a treat, I love the look and feel of the film. Plot wise, well it’s based on a Roald Dhal story so you can’t go too far wrong there. I liked the choice of music in the film, a couple of Beach Boys numbers were very welcome. I think if it wasn’t for the voices I would have enjoyed it more, but it’s worth seeing for the animation.

My Score: 6.9/10

LINKS:
(RT = Rotten Tomatoes)
IMDb Page: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0432283/
RT Page: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1197696-fantastic_mr_fox/
Official Site: http://www.fantasticmrfoxmovie.com/
Trailer:

Film Review: ADAPTATION (2002)

Director: Spike Jonze
Running time: 114 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15

Writers:
Susan Orlean (book)
Charlie Kaufman (screenplay)
Donald Kaufman (screenplay)

Genre: Drama/Comedy/Crime
UK Release date: 28th February 2003

Watched on Sky+ Tuesday 24th May 2011.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I went into watching this without really knowing much about it. I knew who was starring in it and I knew it had picked up some awards. Other than that I really didn’t know very much about it at all. Having seen it and having done a little research I can see why it has got the notoriety it has. It’s a very clever plot that’s quite quirky but always keeps the audience engaged and guessing what the next twist will be. Of course Spike Jonze and Charlie Kaufman are the pair behind the excellent (IMO) 1999 film, Being John Malkovich.

Ok, to the plot… You may recognise one or two character names here. Charlie Kaufman is a bit of a timid individual who happens to be quite a successful screenwriter. He has been commissioned to adapt a book by Susan Orlean called "The Orchid Thief". The trouble is, he’s finding it almost impossible to adapt. To add to his pain, his twin brother, Donald, who is much more outgoing, has decided he wants to be a screenwriter too. He has some great ideas and is always pestering Charlie just when he’s struggling with his work. We are told (by flashback) the story of “The Orchid Thief”, an individual known as John Laroche who lives in Florida and makes a living from taking rare plants, particularly orchids, from the various parks and reserves in the area. It may seem that there isn’t much to get your teeth into here, but believe me, that’s just the bare bones of it. I really don’t want to say too much more, I believe it’s best if you watch this one for yourself.

As I said at the beginning, this is quite a quirky film with quite a few plot twists. I found it very enjoyable, if a little too long. It’s topped off by two great performances; firstly from Nicolas Cage who plays both Charlie and Donald Kaufman, he is really excellent. Secondly, we have Chris Cooper as John Laroche who really earned his Oscar for Best Supporting Actor (IMO). Also of note was Meryl Streep as Susan Orlean, I thought she was pretty good without being stretched too much. There was a small part for Maggie Gyllenhaal as Donald’s love interest, Caroline Cunningham, and it was nice to see a brief cameo from Brian Cox as screenwriting guru, Robert McKee.

I quite enjoyed this quirky comedy/drama, it kept be interested all the way through and I found it quite entertaining. I did feel it was a little too long and tended to drag a bit towards the end. Other than that, a fine piece of work with a very clever plot and one I have no problem in recommending to you.

My Score: 7.5/10

LINKS:
(RT = Rotten Tomatoes)
IMDb Page: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0268126/
RT Page: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1118700-adaptation/
Official Site: http://www.sonypictures.com/homevideo/adaptation/index.html
Trailer:

Film Review: JULIE & JULIA (2009)

Director: Nora Ephron
Running time: 119 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 12

UK release date: 11th September 2009

Watched on Sky+ Sunday 14th November 2010.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I wasn’t quite sure I would like this film, for a start I have never heard of Julia Child, but I guess few people outside the USA that are not all that into food have. Don’t get me wrong, I like to cook, it’s one of those survival skills you pick up. I guess what I’m trying to say is I’m not what you might call a foodie. So I’ll begin with a very brief summary (summary haters please look away while I type the next paragraph… you can rejoin the group after).

Two stories are told in parallel. First the story of how famous food writer Julia Child got her love of cooking, and how she came to write the well known book “Mastering the Art of French Cooking”. Julia’s husband, Paul, is a diplomat who is stationed in Paris in the late 40’s early 50’s, and this is where Julia, needing something to do, decides to learn to cook. She meets two French ladies, Louisette Bertholle and Madame Brassart who are writing a French cook book for Americans. After their publishing deal falls through they ask Julia to help out, which she does and, after many years they finally get it published. The second story is that of Julie Powell who needs a focus in her life. At the suggestion of her husband, Eric, she decides to cook every recipe in Julia Child’s book in one year. Not only that, but she will write a blog about her experiences. There are many highs and lows, but she eventually achieves her aim, which brings other, greater rewards.

I found this film a little hard to watch, the constant jumping from one story to another got a little distracting at times. However, the scenes when Julia was in Paris really took me back. At one time I had a French girlfriend and we had some good times in Paris… but I digress (again). I hear that Meryl Streep’s performance as Julia Child is spot on. I’ll have to take that on trust never having seen the original to compare. There were also good performances from; Amy Adams as Julie Powell, Stanley Tucci always good value as Paul Child and Chris Messina as Eric Powell.

At the end of the day, yes, I did enjoy this film. Despite the slightly distracting jumping from story to story, I found it quite engaging. Although it’s not the best film ever made, it is still pretty entertaining, and you can’t ask for more than that. Over all a quite endearing film with some good performances. I find films based on fact are often quite interesting and this one is no exception… recommended.

My score: 7.1/10

LINKS:
IMDb Page: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1135503/
Official Site: http://www.sonypictures.com/homevideo/julieandjulia/
Official Blog: http://blogs.salon.com/0001399/2002/08/25.html
Trailer: http://uk.imdb.com/rg/VIDEO_PLAY/LINK/video/imdb/vi77595161/

Film Review: DOUBT (2008)

Director: John Patrick Shanley
Running time: 104 mins (approx)
Certificate (UK): 15

Watched on Sky+ Sunday 31st January 2010.

PLEASE NOTE: POSSIBLE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

First of all, I am not a Catholic and so I never went to a Catholic school. My only knowledge of such institutions has been gleaned from films, TV and news reports. I mention this so you know that I’m looking at this film with the eyes of an outsider. The film is based on a play written by the director and is set in a Catholic school run by nuns in The Bronx in 1964.

The priest, Father Brendan Flynn is a forward thinking man who wants to update the teaching practices at the school. Sister Aloysius Beauvier is the principal and is somewhat resistant to his proposals. Another teacher, Sister James, likes Father Flynn’s ideas, but is subordinate to Sister Aloysius. Things come to a head when the only black child in the school is singled out for special attention by Father Flynn. One day the boy is called to the Father’s office from Sister James’s class and when he returns the acts a little strangely. Sister Aloysius takes this as a sign that there has been something inappropriate between the two. She accuses Father Flynn and he explains that the boy had been caught drinking communion wine. The Sister is not satisfied with this explanation and goes out of her way to prove otherwise. I’ll leave it there as I’ve given enough away already!

First of all, great performances from all of the leading cast. Special mentions must, without doubt, go to, Meryl Streep as Sister Aloysius Beauvier, Philip Seymour Hoffman as the charismatic Father Brendan Flynn and Amy Adams as Sister James, all put in tremendous performances. A really well made film that kept me engaged all the way through, although I felt it did get a little bit bogged down towards the end.

I’ll admit to having been a bit of a fan of the work of Philip Seymour Hoffman since I first saw him in Magnolia way back in 1999. The combination with Meryl Streep worked perfectly in this context. Over all, a well directed and very enthralling drama with some truly excellent performances, recommended.

My score: 8.1/10

LINKS:
IMDb Site: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0918927/
Official Site: http://www.doubt-themovie.co.uk/
Trailer: http://uk.imdb.com/rg/VIDEO_PLAY/LINK/video/imdb/vi2652373017/