Tuesday 20 July 2010

TV: Oliver Twist (2007)

Dir: Goky Giedroyc

Cast: William Miller, Edward Fox, Adam Arnold, Timothy Spall, Tom Hardy, Sophie Okonedo, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Morven Christie, Anna Massey

Surely it's obvious why I decided to rent and watch this TV series in hindsight this last weekend? No? Okay, we'll continue.

First, let me explain that, while I love Dickens, I am not an avid lover of Oliver Twist. I came to this series having read the book, seen the musical and watched half (I'm so ashamed!) of the version directed by Roman Polanski. I don't feel any ownership over the characters, and I am always up for a fresh adaptation of old material.

All this being said, I loved this Oliver Twist remake. It received mixed reviews from die hard Oliver aficionados, claiming that it goes too far in 'modernising' the story. As far as I can see, it is a refreshing, pacy, chilling and expertly cast adaptation.

Miller, an unknown teenager, portrays the protagonist with both a quiet innocence and gutsy character. He is an Oliver who isn't afraid to look Bill Sikes in the eyes and tell him he's not afraid. Go Oliver! Another surprising shock is the Eastern European sounding Fagin that Timothy Spall brings to the table. Gone is the wiry londoner rubbing his hands together, and we have instead the rotund, Jewish entrepeneur who is as charming as he is terrifying.

A real gust of fresh air comes in the form of Bill Sikes (Tom Hardy...*blushes*) and Nancy (Sophie Okonedo). The quintessential dysfunctional couple, the moments they share on screen are bursting with tension. At last, we have a Nancy who makes us understand why she stays with Bill, and a Bill worth sticking around for. As Sikes, Hardy is perfectly menacing and volatile*, balanced beautifully by Nancy's humanity and dependence on him.

Borrowing from the success of their adaptation of Dicken's Bleak House, Oliver Twist makes excellent use of pacey camera work, combined with long, wide shots taking in the grime of London's Dickensian underworld. The attention to detail in the costuming and locations is also very impressive for a 5-part tv series. All in all, I was very impressed. It's sleek, quick and very very watchable. Oliver Twist delivers everything I have come to expect from a BBC adaptation. They are not afraid to take on a well loved story, toss all of the characters, their motivations and the mood of the original story into a mixer, blend them on the highest setting possible, and pour out a spiced-up cocktail.

My rating: **** 4/5 stars
Recommendation: It's not a musical! Enjoy the dark updating of a classic. It comes with a 12 certificate because it doesn't really pull any punches. Quite literally.

* It's worth mentioning that, to me, Hardy would act anything 'perfectly' if you asked him to. Genius.

Monday 19 July 2010

Films: The Soloist (2009)


Dir: Joe Wright

Cast: Robert Downey Jr, Jamie Foxx, Catherine Keener

Apparently I have recently acquired a penchant for true stories of a gritty nature. The Soloist is just one such tale.

Nathaniel Ayers was a very gifted Julliard-trained cellist who wound up on the street after he dropped out of college at the first signs of mental instability. He embraced the acoustic qualities of busy tunnels and urban spaces and learned to play a two stringed violin. He carted around all of his possessions in a rusty shopping trolley. Then one day, Steve Lopez, uninspired columnist for the LA times, happened across the musical prodigy and found that he suddenly had someone to write about.

The two formed an unlikely bond, overcoming all that separated them from each other and the rest of society around them. Lopez's column became a book, which has now become a film. A beautiful, inspiring, moving film.

Foxx is excellent as the mentally ill Ayers. It's hard to 'do crazy' well, but he manages. His gabbling verbal diarrhoea is endearing, and, a classically trained musician himself, he shows a genuine connection to the music he plays. From moments of calm to emotional peaks, Foxx manages the task well. Excellently.

Downey Jr is, as ever, charming and fixating as the unmotivated and disengaged journalist. At first, you feel that his friendship with Ayers in entirely selfishly motivated (and it may well have been in reality) but, by the end, the relationship has brought as much to his life as Ayers'.

Wright brings a raw energy and grit to the film which was shot largely on location on Skid Row. Somehow, Wright has found a way to make even this grimy setting appear wonderfully vibrant. The crazy characters that colour the street scenes are probably still there even now, singing, dancing, chatting, smoking, fighting, yawning and curling up under sheets of card. The supporting cast (those that are actually actors) are well cast, never encroaching too much on the main focus of the two men. It's a great story, because it does not have a happy ending. The American dream fails some people. Often the most gifted and worthy recipients are the ones who fall short.

My rating: **** 4/5 stars
Recommendation: Be wowed by Foxx and Downey Jr. Be inspired by Lopez and Ayers.

Sunday 18 July 2010

Books: The Elephant in the Garden


The Elephant in the Garden - Michael Morpurgo

What I love about Michael Morpurgo is that he writes wonderfully real, moving stories and then something wacky, like an elephant for example, turns up. Morpurgo has long been a firm favourite of mine amongst the children's literature canon. The first time I read Private Peaceful I was absoltely stunned by its simplicity, emotion and boldness. I love his style of writing and the delicacy with which he deals with big subjects, many of which would be entirely alien to many of his young readers.

And so, The Elephant in the Garden (Or Elephant as I will now call it) is set in Dresden, Germany and follows a small family - and their elephant - as they must travel to find shelter after their house is destroyed by RAF bombers. The story is narrated by Lizzie, now an old woman in a home, retelling her story for her carer and her son, Karl. Dismissed as slightly batty, Lizzie's stories about keeping an elephant in her back garden has been dismissed by the carers at the home. When Karl visits, however, he believes instantly. Eventually persuaded to listen, Karl and his mother sit together with Lizzie as she tells the story, from her time before the war, through family arguments about the Hitler uprising, the dreadful and hellish Dresden bombings and into post-war life.

Morpurgo creates the beatufully vivid characters of Karli, Mutti, Papi, Lizzie and Peter, the rescued canadian RAF navigator, and inserts them into the real events of that horrendous allied attack on Dresden. I cared about the characters. I wanted them to survive the bombings. And then there's the elephant. Named after Marlene Dietrich, the family will not go anywhere without their pachyderm companion (adopted by the Mutti who works at Dresden zoo). Remarkably, it is Marlene that diverts attention from the fact they are harbouring an RAF serviceman, as every policeman and refugee they encounter believes their story about rescuing the elephant from certain death at Dresden zoo. The journey is not without its obstacles but Marlene's persistance, solidarity and strength carries the tired travellers to their eventual destination.

It is a lovely book, beautifully written in a way that will interest children. It is bold to write a WW2 story set in Germany and from a German's perspective but Morpurgo is, as ever, sensitive with his subject matter and characters, and therefore with his readers.

My rating **** 4/5 stars
Recommendation: Read the Morpurgo back catalogue. I suggest Private Peaceful, The Butterfly Lion and Warhorse (soon to be a Spielberg smash hit!).

Films: Inception (2010)


Dir: Christopher Nolan
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Ken Watanabe, Cillian Murphy

The tagline simply reads, 'Your Mind is the Scene of the Crime.' That's slightly cheesy, but it will be the only negative point in this review. This is Chris Nolan at his finest. Does he want me to sleep well tonight? No. He wants me to dream about levels and limbo and projections and extractions. Lemme 'splain...

The rundown: Dom Cobb (Di Caprio) is a super specialist in the field of 'subconscious security.' He is able to take a 'mark' into a communal dream, and steal important information from their mind at its most vulnerable. Cobb is a vigilante, battling the demons of a marriage ended in tragedy and his exile from the USA and life with his children. On the verge of breakdown, a voracious Chinese business man, Saito, offers Cobb his most thrilling and complicated job yet; to reverse the art of extraction and instead perform 'Inception' - plant an idea into someone's mind. The mark is Robert Fischer Jr, heir to a multimillion pound energy corporation. The idea is that he should dissolve his father's business. Cobb assembles his team - I love a good ensemble movie! - and they delve 4 levels into Fischer's subconscious. Phew. Still with me?

Can we go back to the ensemble for a minute? Only, I'm mad for a good ensemble, and this is one of the most diverse, exciting and engaging I've seen! Leonardo DiCaprio is brooding, angry and intelligent as the tortured Cobb. Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays Cobb's pointman, Arthur, who is stable, calm and totally kick-ass at anti-gravity fighting. Yes. Ellen Page comes in as the newbie dreamscape architect, Ariadne. She is innocent and inventive, and she makes the viewer, as they sweat in their seat desperately trying to keep up, feel a little less like a lost sheep - she asks all the same questions! My favourite member of the crew (no points for guessing exactly why...) is Eames, the forger, played by the delightfully charming Tom Hardy. He has great screen presence and fantastic chemistry with all of the cast members - a bit of light comic relief but still in an intense sci-fi thriller kind of way! Watanabe is excellent as the ruthless Saito, who you are desperate to dislike but end up feeling incredibly sorry for!

I can't go any further without mentioning how brilliant Cillian Murphy is as Fischer, who wants so desperately to impress his dying father. Also, Marion Cotillard is sensational as Cobb's powerful and vulnerable wife, Mol. Can I stop for breath now?

*breathes*

This film is amazing. It glides so perfectly from deeply intense and emotional scenes to huge action sequences where stuff blows up and the world literally turns upside down. Shot across 6 different countries, we are transported from a blazing Morroccon street riot to the snow covered mountains of Calgary and an elaborate palace in China. And it's not just the location that changes, but the time in which the story plays out. It is never too hard to follow when we are in the dream world or reality, though, (that is, if the film ever really does show us reality...) and we are given helpful hints (or are they?) which indicate when the characters are in the sleeping or waking world.

I could go on for hours about the flawless visual effects and the dramatic landscapes. I could rave about how everything in the notion of dream extraction and inception completely resonates with real life - kick theory, projections, subconscious ideas and more. But now I'm just regurgitating jargon that you will not understand unless you have seen it.

Let me say one more thing. I hate the idea that people are brainwashed by the grandeur of a project, or the reputation of cult director. I am very wary that everything about a film like this is saying, "like me, love me, I'm everything you need in a film, because I am me..." I went without rose-tinted spectacles on. I came out with a slight headache and a stupid grin. This film is everything we need in a film. It is brilliant.

Wonder what I'll dream about tonight?

My rating: ***** 5/5 stars, duh!
Recommendation: Seriously? Please love this film as much as me. Please don't make me look a fool. Enjoy.

Friday 16 July 2010

Film4 - LeoDiCappu,coming right up!


Is anyone else enjoying the Film4 Leonardo DiCaprio-fest at the moment?! He is a brilliant actor, and we all just knew it way back when he arrived with his heart-string-tugging performance in What's Eating Gilbert Grape?

Needless to say, I am more than a little excited about the newly released Chris Nolan mind-bender Inception. Leo looks set to stun again in the 3D masterpiece. Tickets booked. I'm there.

Films watched so far this week:

The Beach
Titanic
Romeo and Juliet
Gangs of New York

I wonder what's on tomorrow...

Inception special (interviews with Leo and Nolan)
Memento - Chris Nolan at his most irritatingly self-indulgent.

Well, it's a damn good job I'm going to see Inception tomorrow then!



Films:TV:Stuart A LIfe Backwards


Stuart: A Life Backwards (2007) BBCTV

Cast: Tom Hardy, Benedict Cumberbatch

I am bowled over by Tom Hardy. Okay, so I have an entirely unparallelled crush on him, but every time I watch him on screen, I am completely convinced that he is one of Britain's greatest living actors.
When Stuart first aired on the BBC, I was a third year English student at Southampton, no TV, no concept of life in the real world. I missed it and I'm sorry. Today, 3 years later, I am soon to be a third year teacher, expensive TV subscription and all too much understanding of events in the real world. This is why Stuart has astounded, shocked, disturbed and moved me. This film has caused me to laugh, look away in horror and weep...and weep. And I can confidently say that it is largely due to the warmth and tenderness with which Hardy portrays Stuart Shorter, an alcoholic, heroin addict and violent offender.

The film - based on real events recorded in the book by Alexander Masters - follows the unlikely friendship of Cambridge boy, Alexander Masters and the homeless and virtually incomprehensible Stuart Shorter. United by Shorter's unique view of 'the system' in the light of the arrest of two homeless shelter workers, the two men go on the campaign trail and much more besides. They drink countless bottles of wine ("It all smells like sick") and cans of beer between them, and Stuart spews out endless, surprisingly philosophical observations about the cruelty and beauty of life.
Hardy is inexplicably attractive as his bumbling, shaky, violent and unpredicatble character. At one moment, he is screaming in anger at 'the man' and the next marvelling in the wonder of nature. He gives all of himself. It is refreshing. Cumberbatch, too, is first rate as the gawky Cambridge boy, suddenly forced to wake up and face head-on the demons that Stuart suffers with. He decides to write a story about his friend. Stuart insists it is not boring. "Why don't you write it backwards like one of those Tom Clancy novels, they're good. Give those nine-to-fives something to think about." And that is exactly what they will get. I cried for Stuart because he was a kind, thoughtful, giving person shut inside a mind driven mad by abuse, alcohol and pain.

I can't review the cinematography or soundtrack for this film (although the Badly Drawn Boy song at the end inuced a second torrent of tears!) because they were both outshone by the acting performances. All I will say is that this film will upset you and shake you through to the core. You know when you are so confused and disturbed that your chest aches and your mind boggles? That is what you will get. No, it is not an easy film to view. No, you will not frown and weep the whole way through. If I could have on loop a recording of the many ways Hardy's Stuart slurs the name 'Alexander' throughout the film, I would play it 24 hours a day. Shorter was fortunate to find a friend in Masters, and a friend who would write his story. There are so many others like him who will live this way, and eventually die and never experience love, friendship or forgiveness. And that's what makes me sad.

My rating ***** 5/5 stars
Recommendation: It is violent and tragic. If you don't like gritty or shocking then don't watch. But you will be missing out on an amazing performance from two fantastic British actors.

Monday 12 July 2010

Music: The Baseballs - Strike

So apparently Rock 'n' Roll is back.

I've never been one to don the bobbie socks and do the twist, but when I heard The Baseball's cover of Beyoncé's Crazy in Love I was pleasantly surprised.

The result of a chance meeting in a German heavy metal club, The Baseballs have come out of the blue to blitz the charts with what the band is calling 'Voc-and-roll'. Complete with sleek rockabilly quiffs and with more than a few pairs of blue suede shoes between them, Sam, Basti and Digger are on a mission to "take good songs and lead them to their true calling."

Strike is the band's first album and takes a rip roaring roll from covers of Beyoncé to Plain White Ts and Usher to Robbie Williams, and all with a completely feel good, golden fifties slant. I can't help dancing. For me, the tracks that work the best are Crazy in Love, Umbrella and Hot n' Cold. Who would have thought that the unmistakeable sound of the 50s close harmony, shoo-wop choruses and walking bass lines could transfer so well to contemporary pop music. One thing I will say is that Robbie Williams' Angels may be a bridge too far, but one out of twelve is a pretty impressive freshman offering.

I'm looking forward to what is still to come - perhaps a rock'n'rollin' version of Dizzee Rascal's Bonkers? And in the meantime, I'm going to practise my forelocks styling and swing my hips at every opportunity!

My rating: **** 4/5 stars
Recommendation: Whack it on, turn it up, dance and smile. I don't need to tell you. It will just happen!

Saturday 3 July 2010

Music: Glee - Showstoppers

I don't think I've ever mentioned my unashamed love of Glee on here before. Well, let me say now, against my better judgement, I am completely in love with Glee. It's fun, silly, upbeat and it is just what the world needs. I have to admit, there are episodes which I could live without, characters who grate and storylines that crash and burn. But the music, oh the music...

The latest of the 5 Glee albums (of which I possess 3) is called Showstoppers and features many of the big belting anthems from the most recent handful of episodes in the run up to the grand finale.

I love how this album journeys smoothly from covers of The Beatles Hello Goodbye, through Christina Aguilera's Beautiful, to Loser by Beck and U2's One finally arriving at a stripped down cover of Lady Gaga's Poker Face. It's pop, rock, jazz, showtune, rap, funk, ballad, swing and dance. A musical education in 20 tracks.

My stand out tracks are A House is not a Home, originally performed by Dionne Warwick. This song has been sailing around my head for two weeks. Chris Colfer (that's Kurt to you and me) and Cory Monteith (Finn) perform it beautifully. You cannot pass on Amber Riley's sensational rendition of Beautiful. She could be the only woman who can kill it like Christina. Another fantastic track is a cover of Safety Dance by Men Without Hats as performed by the wheelchair bound Artie (played by Kevin McHale). I use it to break up the monotany of working all day. The show's bad boy, Puck (played by the unfeasibly handsome Mark Salling) swings out to The Lady is a Tramp, joined again by Mercedes (Riley). It is fun, sexy and a complete surprise from these two performers.

My absolute favourite stand out track is one that has taken me by surprise. Chris Colfer performs an empassioned, powerful and near flawless cover of Rose's Turn from Gypsy. This boy has had no formal vocal training and yet turns out a brilliant performance of this track. I could listen again and again.

My rating: **** 4 stars

Recommendation: Watch the show. Take it with a pinch of salt. Buy the CDs. Dance, sing, smile and forget.

Films: Twilight Saga Eclipse (2010)

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010)
Dir: David Slade
Cast: Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner + a billion other people!

FINALLY! A Twilight film that is worth the hype.
In the third film in this massively popular series, David Slade has managed to blend the intense teen drama and the dark, supernatural conflict of the previous two films to produce an exciting, gripping, heart-breaking story. I could not be happier.

So, having experienced 'First Night Hysteria' for the New Moon release, I felt it was only right that I did the same for this film. Yes, the t-shirts, screaming girls and special edition popcorn-pepsi-keychain combos were all present - a place for which the term 'The Twilight Zone' may actually have been invented. Still, as the lights went down and the screen expanded, a few excited giggles and whoops quickly died down as the film suddenly dived straight in with the merciless creation of newborn vampire, Riley.

The film moves seamlessly from vampire-werewolf battle action to the smouldering love triangle scenes with Bella, Edward and Jacob. All three main characters have grown into their roles so much that you can finally look past the strange contacts, white face paint, awkard stuttering and propensity to go shirtless and actually feel empathy and affection for them. I want to make a particular mention of
Robert Pattinson who I felt really faded in the previous film. It could have been the fact that he was in almost every scene of Eclipse but he was also breathtaking in his beauty and delivered a great performance. And here's something new - he actually smiles and jokes in this film! All this being said, Taylor Lautner's Jacob brings great warmth and humour to the screen - something that was merey glimpsed in the second movie.

The cast does not stop there, however. My dream realised, we get to spend a lot more time with the warm and boisterous wolf pack, and equally are allowed to delve further into the back stories of Jasper and Rosalie Cullen. In fact, this is a film of flashbacks, bringing greater depth to Bella's supernatural world of folklore, treaties and immortality.

The breathtaking mountains and rivers of Washington and Oregon once again provide a stunning backdrop to the action, with sweeping views of Seattle's city lights bringing an urban edge to the film. And, oh, the special effects are simply fantastic. One scene in particular which I longed to be 'done right' in its transition from page to screen is when Jasper trains the Cullens and werewolves to fight the newborn vampires. The CGI effects capture the speed, agility, power and ferocity of these creatures perfectly. I actually smiled for the duration of the short scene. Grinned like an idiot. If I could have punched the air without fear of being battered with empty popcorn tubs, I would have!

In short, this is the best film of the Saga so far. It gets everything right. My favourite book in the series has become my favourite film in the series. Isn't it nice when things just work?

My rating: ***** 5 stars

Recommendation: You will love this film more than the others. In fact, don't even bother to watch the other two first. Your 'Team____' status will be challenged more than ever before so be warned.