Moneyball

In the world of Major League baseball, The Oakland As are the equivalent of Everton. Top talent bought by big teams and underfunding making it difficult to buy in replacements. The general manager (Brad Pitt) decides a new approach is needed if they are to compete and brings in a statistician (Jonah Hill) to find answers.

Aaron Sorkin, one of the writers, seems to be making an art out of writing films that aren't about what they seem to be about. The Social Network wasn't about Facebook. Moneyball isn't about baseball. It's barely glimpsed. Instead, it examines the fine line between visionary and lunacy. Spreadsheets become dramatic. Nearly.  Brad Pitt is the calm centre of the film, rarely moving beyond calm and charming. Jonah Hill, with stats theories and spreadsheets is brilliant in bringing doubt about his theories, never having the confidence in them his manager treats them with. Phillip Seymour Hoffman says virtually nothing as the angry coach left to run a team of misfits and as ever, nearly steals the show.

A great look at what it takes to succeed under fire, how close failure may be and sport off the field. You really don't need to know about baseball to enjoy this.

Midnight In Paris

A hack Hollywood script writer (Owen Wilson) on vacation in Paris reflects on choosing money and easy writing over literature. As he wanders Paris, away from his fiancee he keeps finding himself transported back to the 20s when Paris was alive with the great artists of the century, all of whom he manages to bump into.

For a film meditating on missed opportunity and the elusive better time, always in the past, this is surprisingly playful upbeat fare from Woody Allen. Had he himself been playing this role in the golden age of his great film making days, our author would surely have been a much more mournful and tortured soul. But with Wilson you get instead a slightly dazed character, alive with optimism but wracked with Allen's trademark neurosis, a refreshing variation.

There is light and frivolous romance, moments of farce and dialogue that sparks throughout. Each 20's artist is dashed off as a charicature lending each one a great deal of humour while still revering their art. The films reflections on life and art are made simply without contrivance leaving it much like a good chocolate mousse, insubstantial but light, rich and satisfying.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

The British government recall a forcefully retired expert spy to uncover a mole at the head of the agency.

This is a brilliant film, artfully directed and wonderfully acted by the cream of British male actors and engaging from beginning to end. Yet not all will like it because it takes its time. There is very little action. Instead there are lingering shots of men thinking. Flashbacks recalling behaviour as much as incident. Sitting. Smoking. Drinking. As the film moves forward each detail is laid out plain as day. No trickery to try and cast then recast suspicion. It's all there for you to figure out, if your mind's as Sharp as that of George Smiley. A great who-is-it?

Gary Oldman is sensational as Smiley, his older frame and specs suggesting no danger but a cold stare and razor sharp manor giving away a lethal intelligence. Somehow, despite rarely indicating warmth to hose around him, he pulls the viewer into Smiley's world so you root for him all he same. 

It's sure to garner awards but massive box office takings show that people are more than happy to spend money on films that aren't young, dumb and full of bimbos.

Troll Hunter

A trio of Norwegian film students set out to film a documentary about a rogue bear hunter but in chasing him around Norway, find he hunts something rather larger.

Filmed documentary style a convincing cast beautifully capture an amateur feel to the documentary filming. The troll Hunter is especially convincing as a grizzly old man fed up with his job.

The Norwegian troll myths are used to bring depth and variety to the trolley themselves, often seen and brilliantly realised but not so heavily that plot paradox or keeping up become a problem.

Norway is heavily travelled in the film so it does feel very much troll Hunter, not troll hunted and this is perhaps the surprise of the film. Scenes where you would expect tension typically undermine themselves with a witty remark that has everyone laughing. A really fun entertaining film if you can find it on DVD.

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2

It all ends says the poster's tag line and so it does. With much wand waving and spell casting, and an occasional heart string tugged at. It's spectacular to watch and while the tone is darker in the latter films, they still come over essentially as a merry romp. As 8 films spanning a decade with consistantly high production values they are a significant part of recent film history but I'm surprised by the casts dismay at the lack of non-technical awards nods because for all the box office receipts, there is nothing individually stand out. This is a good thing in a series that heavily relies on ensemble casts sub almost every working British actor found here somewhere but there is no insult in saying the whole works, but not because of one performance.

The Tree Of Life

Terrence Malick muses on life, death, grace, nature and our place in the universe by showing us two children growing up. It's beautiful to look at but the constantly shifting camera and edits make you feel like you're suffering from ADD. I spent the film feeling like something important was about to happen but nothing ever did. It was artful and considered in a way I wish more films were so I despaired that I was so incredibly bored that for the first time in over a decade I strongly considered leaving win the half of the audience that did. This one is only for the insomniacs.

The Way

A father is called to France to collect the body of his son who has died on a walking pilgrimmage along the 800km Camino de Santiago (Way of St James). The film follows him as he decides to complete the walk in what becomes his own personal pilgrimmage.

The film is fantastic on the way it captures the essence of what doing a walk of this kind is like. The familiar faces that become friends. The frustrations when they're there and you want to be alone. The little things that become significant just for being outside daily life. Glorious countryside at times revelled in, at times ignored.

But the walk is really a visual motif representing the spiritual journey the walker is making. This is where the film really lifts itself above the crowd, finding a light touch to bring emotional resonance to points a heavy hand would drag down to cliché.

A minor complaint would be never showing the hard miles, blister lancing or foot bandaging that these walks require. But, perhaps because I enjoy a long break plodding from A to B, this is by far my favourite film of the year so far.

Little White Lies

Guiallme Canet previously directed the excellent Tell No One so I went along to Little White Lies with high hopes of some excellent French cinema. And it certainly is very French.

A group of friends go to the coast to spend the holidays at their rich friends villa. Much wining, dining and philosophising ensues. If anything a bit too much ensues. About an hour too much.

I quite enjoyed the film, at least in part because I enjoy French cinema style but the main characters all need a slap so by the end I felt a bit weary and the trite end undercut the main point of the film leaving it feeling hollow.

Senna

A documentary about the racing life of formula 1 driver Ayrton Senna, his struggle in the corrupt F1 environment and competition with World Champion Alain Prost.

This film is remarkable for being composed only of existing footage be it race coverage, TV interviews or amateur camcorder clips. The result is a documentary that has a strong narrative and the feel of a dramatic production. Where a regular doc would cut to "talking head" shots, removing all tension, here the action is built up with audio clips adding any extra information the picture isn't adding. It's compelling viewing and I'd bet the human drama would occupy people otherwise uninterested in motorsport. So compelling is it a friend of mine has been converted to formula 1.

This is likely to change the way biocumentaries are approached in future and thoroughly entertaining. Knowing in advance how the story played out removes none of it's drama.

The Adjustment Bureau

Matt Damon outruns fate with love and a Trilby. After he meets a dancer, Emily Blunt, he falls in love in that Hollywood way. So does she. But a shady group of men that ensure people follow their destiny intervene because love isn't in their plan.

Frequently compared with Inception by lazy press who want to say "it's a little bit sci-fi" a much better comparison would be the much earlier A Matter Of Life And Death which also examines higher powers messing up and love blossoming.

I was surprised how much more romance and less thriller there was in the film. I also wonder if Philip K Dick kept the original short story short because while the idea was interresting, it was too limited for a full novel. This is a fun little diversion which raises more ideas than it explores but ironically for a film about dodging fate, the end is far too predictable.

True Grit

After No Country For Old Men which was like a Western, the Cohen brothers try their hand at actual western.

Haillee Steinfeld is the precocious centrepoint, setting her fathers affairs in order and seeking justice for his murder. The only sense she's a child in anything but form is conveyed by her treatment from adults.

Jeff Bridges is by turns hilarious and rivetting as the alcoholic deputy Marshall with true grit mumbling away as if missing a drink would harm him more than taking it. Don't be put off by the mumbling. If you pay attention and listen carefully it isn't so hard to follow.

Matt Damon is equally entertaining as Texan Ranger LaBoeuf gradually shifting from braggart to competent as his skills are called upon.

The story is nothing new in the Westwrn canon, indeed, John Wayne won an Oscar in Bridges role, but the wit shot through the script provides a nice counterpoint to the acts of violence and gives a nice rhythm to this surprisingly brief film. I loved it.

As an aside, i have since watched the John Wayne original and was pleasantly surprised how well it held up against the new one. Many of the best lines are here but the characters relationships are not so well developed and the atmosphere more anodyne being aimed at a family audience. Still worth looking up.

Paul

Pegg and Frost recombine without their usual director Wright for writing/starring duties in what is basically Spaced on the American Highway. Their usual buddy buddiness is there with a consitant vein of often puerile humour but it has been interwoven with Hollywood focus group feedback giving an uneven, occasionally heavy handed feel. Definitely better than the trailer suggests I laughed often and enjoyed spotting frequent movie references.

Catching Up 2

I'm doing as bad a job of keeping up to date with my blog as I am at seeing the oscar contenders which is usually my favourite passtime this time of year. Here's a roundup from the end of last year to the beginning of this.

The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets Nest
A fine end to the triology, this time an incredibly tense courtroom drama. Still brilliant central performances. Still uneven thanks to a film edit of a longer TV show. Still can't work out what David Fincher can do to better these.

The Kings Speech
Another standout performance of understatement from Colin Firth as the stuttering King. Another example of why It's great to put British thesps together in ensemble period pieces. If you haven't already seen it you must be running out of excuses.

Biutiful
The latest film from Alejandro Inaritu featuring a moribund medium who spends his life as a go between. Javier Bardem is as captivating as ever as the man who sees dead people. The other roles are well played and there are a number of interesting themes but they never came together leaving a cold, unengaging and pretentious film which is little more than interesting.

Animal Kingdom
An Australian take on the gritty family crime drama. There wasn't much I didn't like about this. Well filmed, well scored. A lean script that drives the story forward. The basic plot is nothing new but the film is brought together with a sense of realism that feels fresh. I really recommend this if you can find it. Much better than last years over-lauded The Town.