Film Review: THE WAY BACK (2010)

Director: Peter Weir
Writers: Peter Weir (screenplay), Keith R. Clarke (screenplay), Slavomir Rawicz (novel “The Long Walk: The True Story of a Trek to Freedom”)
Running time: 127 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 12

Genre: Adventure/Drama
UK Release date: 21^st January 2011

Watched on DVD Friday 31^st August 2011.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

This is one of those films I have been meaning to watch for a while now. I always like a film based on a true story, as this one is; somehow it makes the action on screen more real to me. Although a little over-long, I must say I did find this quite an inspiring tale. Here’s a very brief summary before I give you my thoughts.

When a Polish man Janusz Wieszczek is thrown into prison in 1940 on charges that are, let’s say, dubious to say the least; he is sent to Siberia. Here he is put to work in a labour camp cutting trees and preparing logs. After an incident with one of the guards, he is sent to work in the mine; effectively a death-sentence. All this time he is talking to several others about getting out. They have a rough idea where they are and have worked out that if they head South they can make it to Mongolia. On the night of a big storm a group that includes Janusz, Valka, Mr. Smith (an American), Voss, Tomasz, Kazik and Zoran make their bid for freedom. Heading south and using to storm to cover their trail they soon lose the prison guards. They lose one of their number to the cold, but press on. They are joined by a girl, Irena, who seems to have a bit of a shady past, but they take her with them anyhow. They eventually make it to Mongolia but realise that Communism has reached there as well. Their only option is to cross the Gobi Desert to Tibet and finally the Himalayas into India. Who will make it? Well, you probably guessed it, I’m not going to tell you here or the Spoiler Police (Soviet Division) will be sending me to Siberia (again).

A really well made film about an epic journey; Peter Weir is good at this kind of thing and this is a good example of his work. A nice musical score by Burkhard von Dallwitz complements the visuals with quite anthemic themes, particularly towards the end. All the performances were very good; particularly Jim Sturgess as Janusz, Colin Farrell as Valka, Ed Harris as Mr. Smith, Saoirse Ronan as Irena and Mark Strong as Khabarov. Honourable mentions must go to; Gustaf Skarsgård as Voss, Alexandru Potocean as Tomasz, Sebastian Urzendowsky as Kazik and Dragos Bucur as Zoran.

There is a bit of a spoiler at the beginning of the film where the audience is told how many make it to India which does take a little of the impact away from the film. You find yourself wondering just when various cast members might either meet their demise or decide to take another path. It’s a distraction I could have done without. The film is a bit too long and there is a lot of time spent in just getting out of Russia which, I felt, could have been better spent in crossing the Himalayas (just my personal preference). Over all though I did find it quite inspiring that such a journey could be made and I felt quite elated at the end. I may not watch it again, but I’m glad I gave it at least one viewing. Worth a look!.

SteelMonster’s verdict: RECOMMENDED.

My score: 7.7/10

IMDb Score: 7.3/10 (based on 42,826 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1023114/

MetaScore: 66/100: (Based on 33 critic reviews provided by Metacritic.com at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 75/100 (based on 122 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 70/100 ‘Liked it’ (based on 29,977 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the-way-back/

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
[first lines]
[in Polish, using English subtitles]
Interrogator: [presents pen to sign confession]
Janusz: No.
Interrogator: Bring in the witness.
Janusz's Wife, 1939: [brought in]
Interrogator: Do you know this man? His name?
Janusz's Wife, 1939: Janusz Wieszczek.
Interrogator: Witness, what's your relationship with this man?
Janusz's Wife, 1939: [crying] I am his wife.
Interrogator: Accused, do you confirm this?
Janusz's Wife, 1939: Yes.
Interrogator: Witness, what do you have to say about the accused?
Janusz's Wife, 1939: [agonizing] From his conversation, I have come to know he is critical of the Party, especially the leader of the Soviet people, Comrade Stalin.
Janusz: What have they done to you?

Mr. Smith: Kindness. That will kill you here.

Valka: Prison is okay. Debt is bad. But there are many prisons, they don't find me.
Zoran: What about America?
Valka: Oh, it's not for me, freedom. I wouldn't know what to do with it, I swear to God.

Janusz: [eating snake] Tastes like chicken.
Zoran: Yeah. A big black poisonous chicken with no legs.

[last lines]
Man: Where have you come from?
Janusz: Siberia.
Man: Siberia?
Religious man: [speaks to crowd in unknown language]
Man: And how did you come, sir?
Janusz: We walked.
Man: Walked?
[crowd noise]

LINKS:
Official Site: http://www.thewaybackthemovie.com/
Trailer:

Film Review: HANNA (2011)

Director: Joe Wright
Writers: Seth Lochhead (Story/Screenplay), David Farr (Screenplay)
Running time: 111 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 12

Genre: Action/Adventure/Thriller
UK Release date: 6^th May 2011

Watched on Sky+ Sunday 4^th March 2012.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

This is one of those films that I have waited a long time to see. I remember when it came out I was slightly more than intrigued by its premise. Of course it didn’t make it to my local cinema and so I waited patiently for it to turn up on TV; a slightly muted response from the critics precluded a DVD purchase. Well, as you can probably guess, my long wait ended today and a viewing was arranged for this morning. I will give you my thoughts after this very brief summary.

Hanna has been brought up by her father, Erik, in northern Finland ever since she was very young. Home schooled with the help of an Encyclopaedia and trained in all forms of combat, he has been preparing her for what will inevitably come; but he will let her decide when the time is right. Eventually the time comes and he must leave her to fend for herself as agents move in. She is taken to a secret base where a certain CIA agent, Marissa, is very interested in her case. Hanna is not one for lying down though and she makes her escape. It’s now a chase and Hanna has to get to her father, who is now making his way to a pre-arranged rendezvous. She also has find out just what is so special about herself. I will leave it there or the Spoiler Police (Thrillers Division) will be tapping my phone (again).

Really well made with some excellent fight scenes and action sequences; hats off to the stunt guys (& gals). I thought all the performances were very good, although I do have to single out Cate Blanchett as Marissa; she played the cold-hearted baddy very well indeed. Also worthy of note were; Saoirse Ronan who did an excellent job as Hanna; Eric Bana who was very good as Erik; Jessica Barden who did a good job as Sophie; Aldo Maland as her little brother Miles; Olivia Williams as Rachel, Jason Flemyng as Sebastian and Tom Hollander as Isaacs.

Although I quite enjoyed this film I felt it suffered, as many do these days, from the target audience it was aimed at and hence it’s certification. To tell this story with any conviction, I believe, a much tougher edge needed to be given to it. However, it did what it said on the tin and I cannot knock it for that. One thing I did like, amongst others, was the fact that the narrative did not fall into the trap of being so predictable that it became a chore to watch. Over all, quite enjoyable without being great… Even so… Recommended.

My score: 6.8/10.

IMDb Score: 6.9/10 (based on 68,330 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0993842/

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 71/100 (based on 203 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 66/100 (based on 60,901 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hanna/

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

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
[first lines]
Hanna: I just missed your heart.

Hanna: Adapt or die.
Erik: Think on your feet.
Hanna: Even when I'm sleeping.

Hanna: Can we still be friends?
Sophie: I don't know. I mean, I don't really know who you are, do I?
Hanna: That's just it. Neither do I.

Marissa: Why now, Erik?
Erik: Kids grow up.

LINKS:
(Note: All were working at the time of going to press)
Official Site: http://www.hannathemovie.com/
Official Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/HannaMovie
Trailer:

Film Review: THE LOVELY BONES (2009) - Revisited

Director: Peter Jackson
Running time: 135 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 12A

UK Release date: 19th February 2010

Watched on DVD Wednesday 24th November 2010.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I have now read the book by Alice Sebold, with the same title, on which this film is based, and so I thought I’d give it a second viewing. In my first review I looked at the film as a stand-alone piece of work, now, having read the book, will I see it differently? Here’s a brief summary first before I give you my thoughts (summary haters please wait in the ‘in-between’ while I write the next paragraph… you can re-join the group afterwards).

NOTE: This is as depicted in the film:
Susie Salmon was fourteen when she was murdered on December 6th 1973; she has never been kissed and will never grow up. Her body is never found, but her consciousness goes to a place known as ‘the in-between’, where she watches as her family try to come to terms with her loss and also try to discover what happened to her. Her father, Jack, becomes so obsessed with finding out what happened to his daughter that he ends up in hospital having stalked a man into a field only to be beaten up for his trouble. Her mother, Abigail, cannot face it all and has to take some time away from the family. Abigail’s alcoholic mother, Grandma Lynn, comes to stay while she’s away. Her sister, Lindsey, frustrated with the whole situation, focuses her attention on a neighbour, George Harvey, who she is convinced has something to do with Susie’s disappearance. Through it all, Susie watches and tries to steer them in the right direction so that they can move on, and so can she. It’s very difficult to summarise the plot without giving too much away, so I’ll leave it there, I think I told you enough to know what the film is about.

It’s a beautiful film to look at, very clear images and some wonderful production. The time period the film was set was, for me, brought across perfectly, I’m only a few years younger than Susie would have been, and I remember the early 1970’s quite well. I thought the performance from Saoirse Ronan as Susie Salmon was quite brilliant, she won several nominations and a few awards for the part. I also thought that Stanley Tucci as the creepy neighbour, George Harvey, was also excellent. Decent performances from Mark Wahlberg as Jack Salmon, Rachel Weisz as Abigail Salmon, Susan Sarandon was woefully underused (IMO) as Grandma Lynn and Rose McIver as Lindsey Salmon.

There has been a lot of discussion about the depiction of ‘the in-between’. Personally, I didn’t have a problem with it; I guess whenever you adapt a book the picture in the reader’s head will seldom match the vision of the director. Now, having read the book I find there are a lot of differences between the book and the film. Some of the changes make the film more coherent, but the book was already out there as a body of work a long time before the film. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a very good effort by Peter Jackson et al, but I think I’m always going to prefer the book.

But going back to the film, I found it a little too long, but for the first hour it was totally engrossing. The visuals are stunning and there are a couple of great performances. I guess if you haven’t read the book that I can recommend it to you, it’s worth seeing. Now the tough one, if you have read, and loved, the book then maybe don’t see this adaptation… but if you’re feeling brave... Oh, and in case you’re interested, last time I scored it 7.1/10.

My score: 6.4/10

LINKS:
IMDb Page: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0380510/
Official Site: http://www.lovelybones.com/#home
Trailer: http://uk.imdb.com/rg/VIDEO_PLAY/LINK/video/imdb/vi2521171225/