The March 2010 film fight includes no fewer than 6 brand new movies. That should make up for the slightly quieter-than-usual February. Onwards…
The Crazies looked like it had decent potential: a Romero remake about an infected township, lots of explosions and action, and a little humour alongside. It blows it. The action overwhelms the story from the very beginning, moving things on to the next set-piece before really establishing any of the characters. Without anyone we actually care about, the film suffers immensely. The plot itself is as expected, but it fails to hit any of the big scares a film like this needs. It never gets better than mediocre. (See my The Crazies Twitter review).
A lot was expected of Tim Burton’s foray into Lewis Carroll’s classic novel, but Alice In Wonderland disappoints. It’s not a filming of either Alice story but a bizarre sequel/retelling. It fails by paying too much fan-service to the world of Wonderland, attempting to squeeze every character into this semi-new narrative, rather than tell a more coherent tale. The characters themselves are the high-point, with some great (if too short) appearances by the Mad Hatter and the Cheshire Cat. Does the spectacle of 3d make up for some of the story failings? No, not this time. Unlike Avatar, the effects on display are average at best. Some of the scenes work better than others, but some are clearly flat layers. There are also some frankly odd choices in the direction: tightly pulled-focus does not work in 3D. All in all, a disappointment. (See my Alice In Wonderland Twitter review).
Crazy Heart earned Jeff Bridges an Oscar for his performance as drunken country singer, Bad Blake; and rightly so. The performances in this film are high quality, without ever getting towards scenery-chewing territory. Both Bridges and Maggie Gyllenhaal put in excellent and subtle performances, saying as much with quiet looks as with their words. The solid getting-your-life-together is marred only by a weak ending, when the central character gets his life together a little too fast to feel satisfying. A little more adversity and struggle here would’ve completed this very worthwhile film a lot better. (See my Crazy Heart Twitter review).
Martin Scorsese manages to show some great form with his latest work, Shutter Island, before ruining it with a cheap ending. The story follows a US Marshall tracking down an escaped mental patient on a small island off the US mainland. The film is spiked with a Lynch-ian vibe throughout, that something sinister is happening without being clear about what is wrong. It’s beautifully shot, if a little over-the-top in places. Leonardo Dicaprio pulls in a solid performance, but he can’t cover up the poor ending. The last thirty minutes devolve into cheap, seen-it-before cliche. A great beginning, that deserved a much better conclusion. (See my Shutter Island Twitter review).
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo fails to live up to the not-inconsiderable hype. While some of the acting is solid, the story is full of cheap genre cliches. If you can imagine taking a high-street bestselling thriller and filming it straight-up, then you can imagine this movie: our heroes get involved in a murder investigation, working through it by uncovering previously indecipherable (but ultimately nonsense) clues. It’s slow to get started, and fails to engage. If you can switch off and not worry too much about how coherent the investigation is, then you can probably get something out of the performances. Otherwise, I’d pass on this film. (See my Girl With The Dragon Tattoo Twitter review).
Finally, I Love You, Phillip Morris is a real wasted opportunity, from what seems like it could be a genuinely brilliant story about a conman who will go to great lengths to get what he wants. Instead we have a movie that sits between flimsy comedy and feel-good movie, but never really reaching either. The central relationship between Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor never feels convincing or genuine, needing more time to develop than the few moments we are given. The film desperately needed a longer run-time in order to show more development. Here’s a hint: if you have more than one montage (I think there were at least 3-4), you need a longer movie. A real shame, as it would be good to see Carrey do another serious film. (See my I Love You, Phillip Morris review).
The winner this month is Crazy Heart, mostly for the fantastic performances by the central cast and despite the short final act.