Blue Jasmine

Released: 27^th September 2013

Certificate: 12A

Director: Woody Allen

Cast: Cate Blanchett, Alec Baldwin, Sally Hawkins, Andrew Dice Clay, Bobby Cannavale, Louis CK, Peter Sarsgaard

I suppose the title should have been a bit of a tip-off. Woody Allen’s melancholic latest centres on former high-society socialite Jasmine (Cate Blanchett), whose existence went from the sublime to the tragic when her billionaire husband Hal (Alec Baldwin) was arrested for fraud during the financial crash. We meet her as an alcoholic who slips freely into reminisces from her old life, forced to move in with her free-spirited working-class sister, Ginger (Sally Hawkins).

Allen provides a fascinating and in-depth character study of Jasmine’s self-destruction, and Blanchett handles the volatile Jasmine with skill and a laudable lack of vanity: she is not a flattering character to portray. The cast is strong and manage to make the material seem both grippingly emotional and highly absurd, sometimes simultaneously, as Jasmine begins to meddle in Ginger’s life while desperately trying to re-establish her own. There’s also a theme of social commentary running throughout, as Jasmine’s grim outlook and constant scrabbling to regain social status provides a stark contrast to Ginger, who just gets on with playing the hand that life has dealt her. This serves to illuminate the sense of entitlement that comes with effortless wealth, and how difficult it can be to reconcile former expectations with dramatically altered circumstances.

However, within that biting commentary is also perhaps where the film’s greatest weakness lies. Allen seems perhaps a little too preoccupied with heaping the evils of the pre-crash upper classes all onto Jasmine, leaving the audience’s ability to empathise with her all but lost. Following such an unlikeable protagonist through a narrative that appears to give little indication of redemption or improvement proves to be a somewhat thankless task. The result of this is a somewhat bitter aftertaste which the moments of comedy in Allen’s script, although well realised, are not quite sufficient to sweeten.

Verdict: 3/5

A.E.S

Staying in: Silver Linings Playbook (2012)

Released: 2012, out now on DVD and Blu-Ray

Certificate: 15

Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, Robert DeNiro, Jackie Weaver

Director: David O. Russell

David O. Russell’s impressive dark comedy follows Pat (Bradley Cooper) as he attempts to rebuild his life after being released from a custodial sentence in a psychiatric hospital into the care of his family. Pat ricochets through his old neighbourhood, eventually meeting Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), the recently widowed sister of his best friend’s wife. The two instantly form a connection through their shared experience of different psychiatric drugs, and what unfolds thereafter is an enthralling and touching exploration of what ‘insanity’ (or lack thereof) means in the modern world. Lawrence and Cooper deftly handle their characters, allowing the audience to engage with their darker sides without ever being overplayed or fully alienating, and Russell’s inventive direction helps emphasize the feelings of confusion and disconnection that accompany their struggles to get along in a world that suddenly seems hostile and absurd. The film is not afraid to present some harrowing scenes and concepts, but the vein of comedy running through it helps prevent it ever becoming too downbeat.

Verdict: 4.5/5

A.E.S

Captain Phillips Review

Saving Private Phillips

Released : October 18 2013

Certificate : 12A

Director : Paul Greengrass

Cast : Tom Hanks, Catherine Keener, Barkhad Abdi, Barkhad Addirahman, Faysal Ahmed, Mahat M. Ali, Michael Chernus

Plot : The account of the April 2009 hijacking of the Maersk Alabama and the kidnapping that followed of the Captain Richard Phillips by four Somali pirates, overall the crisis played out over 5 days.

“Captain Phillips can you hear me”, oh we heard him alright, as Captain Phillips is seen to be a definite Oscar shout of this year, as both Greengrass and Hanks were to top form for this true edge of your seat thriller, and very intelligent account of a real event. The film doesn’t fail to tell both sides of the story, with adds moral chemistry to the film, throughout you are supplied with the opinions and perceptive’s from all the character and personalities that the film touches. It also really showed you the story and background to the pirates of Somalia, that the way that they are just middle men in a bigger scheme, which added depth to there characters, rather than the pirates just being bad men doing bad thing to get money.

All tide together and presented to you very well indeed by Greengrass’s skill in this genre of film making gained though making films such as The Bourne Ultimatum and United 93. And Greengrass will be adding another name to that list as he back on top form in this film with his up close and personal style of directing. Greengrass never fails to put you in the front seat of all the emotion, violence and drama, it just as well otherwise, what would the be to make up for that haircut.

He was not the only one on real top form for this picture as Hanks delivered an very solid and emotional performance. He even manged to bring a tear to my own eye, a 14 year old boy, hardened by the environment of Kent, in some of the emotional scene’s. This was not so much down to the drama of the moment, but entirely down to the skill of Tom Hanks, and for that Oscars would not be far from the horizon for his truly moving acting in this film.

But don’t let that take away from the real tension and drama of the film as this tale will have you on the edge of your seat even if you are aware of the ending for newspapers gone by. This really is a great film of the year, the true tale and the genre. Also Greengass did well finding very scary Somalia actors, that or they were real pirates.

Verdict : “Were gonna need a bigger” applause as this is a intelligent, astonishing account of real crisis on the sea, all brought together by performances that will be remembered from Greengrass and Hanks.

Verdict : 5/5

Quote : “They’re not here to fish”

movie-ticket-generic-sxc.jpg

(photo: stock.xchng)