Rango

The chameleon has been drinking, this film is awesome. It's really arty from the witty script to the mad and very detailed animation. There are countless references to numerous Westerns and of course Hunter S. Thompson. Johnny Depp's performance varies from deranged everyman or everychameleon to delusions of grandure, funny, super crazy chameleon. He's great and this part suits him soo much better than the ridiculous Tourist. He carries this film effortlessly and it sums up his career: Arizona Dream, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and The Pirates of the Caribbean are all mixed in one crazy movie and the result works very well indeed.
Rango, a former pet, ends up in the desert and encounters a few very strange animals in a town called dirt. The animals have run out of water and are desperate to find some. Rango becomes the sheriff of the town and decides to help them.
Isla Fisher does a nice mad Southern accent as Beans who is trying to save her ranch and there are cameos from Bill Nighy, Abigail Breslin, Alfred Molina and many others. The story is action packed and sometimes it's a bit much, but when it slows down it works beautifully and the animation is breathtaking and full of fascinating ideas. The mexican owl band for example is hilarious and they act as narrator. The dialogue is very funny and has all the characteristics of a good and entertaining Verbinsky script. You'll find yourself quoting quirky lines pretty quickly. If you like any kind of animation or Westerns, or any former Johnny Depp films you'll love this one. It's the good stuff and will have you in stitches.

The King's Speech

Movies about the British monarchy are a tricky subject. They are usually quick to convince the audience that monarchs are also human beings, no matter what. Of course nobody ever makes a movie about the fact that they spend heaps of tax money on random goods, parties and useless fox hunting equipment. So yes the Kings speech is one of these movies.But it still managed to move me on a very profound level.

Firth plays King George VI, who, to overcome his stutter, is introduced to Lionel Logue, an unorthodox speech therapist played by Geoffrey Rush. The two men become friends as they work together, and after his brother abdicates, the new king relies on Logue to help him make a radio broadcast at the beginning of World War II.

The acting is truly superb, splendid performances from Firth, Rush and Bonham-Carter and Guy Pearce. They all worked hard and yet they deliver their lines with such ease, Geoffrey Rush is something else all together : he's more a magician than an actor, his performance is funny, witty and sometimes very innocent. Rush has the rare ability to change his face from funny to tragic without doing much in a matter of a minute. He managed to add a touch of Shakespearian magic to Pirates of the Caribbean. Without him the story would have lacked a serious undercurrent of deep emotions. The chemistry between Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush is breathtaking. Rush's character is so upfront and unafraid, he's the teacher so take it or leave it, he makes his own rules and stands firmly by them.

Firth is equally amazing, but after his performance in Single Man I wasn't very surprised that he managed to improve his acting even more so. You can truly see and feel how he struggles, mentally and physically to speak without stammering. Bonham-Carter as the Queen Mum is the ever patient, kind and loving wife, who has a lot of character and knows how to deal with the rather unusual teacher of her husband. So with all these amazing performances you can be forgiven for really liking the film.

Firth's King has a temper which is excused by psychological problems, he can understandably get quite frustrated. But these movies about the monarchy can do a lot if damage to historical accuracy, people can quickly forget that monarchies are of a certain dictatorial evilness. The series "The Tudors" is another tricky subject, the evil king is far too hot. Are the British trying to idealize their monarchy with subtle hints that we are all human beings? Even if we can believe such a worrying conspiracy the King's Speech is still amazing and has deserved all it's four oscars. The cinematography by Danny Cohen too is fantastic and contributes greatly to the claustrophobic intimidating feeling of the new technology towards the King. The scene where the microphone reflects cruely his struggling to address the nation is both tense and electrifying at the same time. So all together an amazing film which perhaps kind of refuses to underline and accept the fact that King Edward VIII was a Nazi sympathizer and King George was not.

No Strings Attached

This is an interesting romantic movie choice. Sassy-check. Sexy-check. Acting: good acting from Kutcher and Portman which surprised me a bit. I wasn't too worried about him, but wasn't too sure about her, but she was good and sold the story and the character well. The story is fun and modern:

Emma (Portman) and Adam (Kutcher) are friends who have sex one morning and worry about their friendship being ruined. They make a pact to have "no strings attached", to have casual sex without falling in love with each other. The best part was that it wasn't cheesy which was very refreshing, because romantic movies can easily swim in the sea of cheese and that is unbearable. But this film didn't make you squirm in your seat and the dialogues were funny, clever and witty.

There was also some nice acting from Kevin Kline, Greta Gerwig, Ludacris, Mindy Kaling and particularly Lake Bell who was funny in the awkward part of Lucy, Adam's colleague who is interested in him, but isn't quite sure how to deal with him. So all in all very enjoyable. And sure Adam has a huge house and everybody's loaded in California, but at least Emma's flat isn't too big and she shares it with a few other doctors. So there's something normal about that. Besides it's just nice and cosy to watch a film shot in a sunnier climate when it's freezing outside. This totally makes you leave the cinema with a dreamy smile on your lips.

Inside America

This is a masterpiece. We really need more films like that. What kind of impression do we have of America? Hollywood is very busy delivering one sugar coated blockbuster after another. Well move over cheesy film factory, because this is a breathtaking, raw, edgy film with great characters who you want to follow much longer than it's 2 hours. Barbara Eder and Constanze Schumann have created a really moving film which understands its characters and sympathizes with them without being preachy in any shape or form. Unlike many other filmmakers who decided to enrich the world with their ideas of a place and attitudes to it (e.g. Slumdog Millionaire) Eder has spent some time as a teenager in Brownsville and can really communicate the emptiness of the architecture and the nowhere feeling of this place.

The acting ( Raul Juarez, Aimee Lizette Saldivar, Patty Barrera, Carlos Benavides, Zuleyma Jaime and Luis de los Santos) is some of the best I have seen in a while and the camera is just right. Not too arty and contrived (yes too arty is actually possible) and no sugar coating whatsoever. Instead I had the feeling that I had actually been there and got to know the people. Even Linklaters "Dazed and Confused" which is a cult movie is glossy compared to Christian Haakes camera. Bright colours make you taste the heat of Texas on the tip of your tongue and the natural light of the summer heat is edgy and fascinating. The story intwines the lives of different teenagers, they are all from the same school and they have different ways of coping with boredom and their daily lives. These nowhere places, there are also many in New Zealand and Australia, these endless suburban spaces where you are stranded if you don't have a car are somewhat arty and disturbing at the same time. Anything can happen, I find them alien like and unpredictable.

In the beginning you could assume that the movie is slightly tempted to play with your typical cliches, which we know soo well from the O.C or Gossip Girl. The cheer-leader, the nerd, the rebel, the woman who seems to want a family. But Eder doesn't waste any time on that, every character is deeply fascinating in itself, the problems of each individual are carefully observed and you can't help but like all of them and sympathize with their lostness and sheer boredom. The ending is left open and that's a good choice, because what could be a happy ending? Moving away perhaps, getting out, starting afresh, but is there any difference from any other place? And does the lost feeling ever subside? One thing is for sure: this film lingers in your head long after the lights have been switched on, because of its sheer perfection, achieved by the small team of five people. So drop everything and go and see it now.

Tron

The clue is in the poster. This is gonna be a weird film. To be honest I never liked the original much. It had only been created for hardcore nerds. This one (apparently a sequel) boasts stunning special effects, but the story has plot holes the size of Italy and the obvious story of Dude creates weird computer world, dude disappears, what could possibly have happened? son decides to find dad, quickly becomes boring.

The orchestra is crazy, there is this constant mad soundscape, which sounds like R. Wagner has come back from the dead, it is always present, even when the character is making a ham sandwich. Brooomm crazy amounts of sound, which are desperately trying to distract the audience from the poor and obvious dialogues are there from the beginning, trying to create tension and drama.

The acting is sort of random. The characters don't seem to have decided who they are. Jeff Bridges character veers between zen and crazy creator and isn't very convincing or moving. Garrett Hedlund as his son is equally strange, he's trying hard and at the beginning of the movie his acting is alright, but as soon as he descends into the computer world his acting abilities quickly dwindle. Olivia Wilde is interesting, but her part is split between savy fast driving, futuristic looking and submissive student to Bridges and that is at times cheesy and irritating. The wonderful Michael Sheen is trying his best and shows a range of possible acting methods to tackle the pointless script, but fails. His character might look like David Bowie in his best years, but doesn't come across as intimidating or scary.

It is very well designed, from the Tron like futuristic Disney logo at the beginning (the house of the mouse has finally arrived in the 21st century) to the perfect square computer city and the slick, dark streets. But Matrix it ain't. It's trying hard though, borrowing even small details from Star Wars and the Matrix, but you can quickly tell that it won't be as fantastic as either of them ( Star Wars had a strong story, a mad script but fab actors and Matrix excelled in every way possible) Tron won't even come close to any of them. Game over.

Morning Glory

No this is not a documentary about the band "Oasis".

This film is good. There is some great acting from Diane Keaton, Harrison Ford and Rachel Mc Adams who keeps it all together. She carries the film in a believable way and I would say it's her best film to date. The story is a bit bland, serious news versus entertainment news and a nervous producer (Mc Adams) who tries to keep people working with each other and make sure that everyone can do a good show. It's a bit cliche, but the script is witty enough and doesn't shy away from taking the piss out of itself.

The scene where Jeff Goldblum asks Rachel Mc Adams at her interview if she's gonna sing had me in stitches. Rachel's character is soo enthusiastic and super positive that really this is the only question you could ask. Goldblum does it in such a dry way it's hilarious. Keaton is good but a bit underused, her part could have been bigger. Harrison Ford is interesting, kinda a Jeremy Paxman (cranky BBC newsreader) character who now has to face the fact that all he can do is lame entertainment news. It's an interesting part for him and he can show off his different kinds of frustrated faces.

The colour palette is "happy Hollywood" and the camera is partly interesting. J.J. Abrams has proven that (after such shows as Lost and Fringe) he can also produce pretty good movies. Roger Mitchell is a renowned director who has directed such hits as Notting Hill and Changing Lanes and judging by the acting he's done a good job.

The ending is a bit frustrating, it's a happy one, but it's message is also "Man we're stupid, but we totally rock" and anybody who likes serious news will be disappointed. Poor devils.

A single Man

Well this film is not new, it's already out on DVD and Blue-Ray, but it excels in absolute brilliance. It's the unbelievably tragic story of a middle aged gay college professor whose partner dies early on in the movie. So it's a very sad story, but it's filmed oh so beautifully. The cinematographer Eduard Grau bathes the audience in the grief and the pain which the fantastic Colin Firth has to endure and Grau uses different effects for different parts of the movie, sometimes the camera seems to be faintly influenced or reminiscent of Wong Kar Wai's "Happy together". The entire film was shot with one camera, a 5279 35mm Kodak and in one scene the colour was completely removed. Ford and Grau made this decision together, deciding which colours would fit each individual mood the best. The result is incredibly arty. The colour palette ranges from cold blues and greys to warm reds and oranges.

There is an incredible stillness. Again this is a movie which can exist without FBI Agents or Space monkeys, it's just a small haunting story, but it will haunt you. It's amazing what colours can do to your mood, like music they can change from happy to melancholy in a second and drown you in your own emotions and deepest fears. The equally fantastic Julianne Moore offers a little comic relief. But it's a tragic one, because she longs to be with her best friend and strange homesickness for rainy London and better times are always reflected in her mood swings. It's one of the most beautiful films I've ever seen, don't miss it but have plenty of tissues on you. You will need them!

Black Swan

So this is another movie you could technically be excited about, Portman has already won the Golden Globe for it, but I couldn't help leaving the cinema with a "Meh" on my lips. It leaves you sort of lukewarm. Portman is a very good dancer, all the ballet training has finally paid of, but she failed to move me and really make me feel sorry or anything else for this woman. Vincent Cassel as the dodgy manipulative French choreographer doesn't have enough of a part to come across as a villain and there are a lot of events which happen throughout the movie that are not explained. At some point I thought that the filmmaker had intended to go the Fight Club way and give the film an interesting twist, but it just didn't deliver. I felt like I was in a restaurant and people kept serving different dishes, but none of them had any kind of flavour.

But the camera is remarkable. Matthew Libatique the cinematographer who already worked with Arnofsky on the much more profound "Requiem for a Dream" is using a very reflective and invasive camera technique. You have the feeling you can see what Nina, the main character, sees and really experience her increasingly freakier psychosis which sometimes is also very gory and horrible. I had the feeling they couldn't make their mind up about the genre. Was it a horror film? It felt like it sometimes. But the characters had no chemistry and weren't given enough dialogue to be able to build up any. Sure Portman just lives for the art of dance so she kinda shuts herself off from everyone else, Kunis is ok, but a rather sketchy and unconvincing character and the mother? She totally has different issues of her own which are never disclosed to the audience. There are films where people obsess about one thing, usually art, and it's still very good. Shine, Pollock, All about Eve, Frida, Basquiat, Amadeus are all films about obsession and they are soo amazing. So no it's not the subject that's the problem. When Cassel tells Nina not to be so tense and loosen up you can't help wonder if that wouldn't be good advice for the whole movie. Just live a little, and get plenty of popcorn to hide behind to avoid all the bloody and creepy scenes. Or maybe that's just me.

MAD MEN

OMG one of the best TV Series ever. I looove Mad Men. Season 4 is just as good as the other 3. And while many of their counterparts ( Lost, Flash Forward, Desperate Housewives) kinda loose it after season 3 Mad Men is still going strong. Fab acting from Jon Hamm, Elizabeth Moss, Christina Hendricks, January Jones etc. and pure perfection from the supercool credits to the end . If Miles Davis Kind of Blue is the perfect album, Mad Men is the perfect TV experience. Such a comparison might sound a bit weird especially since Mad Men still hasn't introduced a main black character, but in my opinion Davis's cool jazz is echoed in the way the camera moves and the colour palette. You don't just watch it, you breathe it and if "Sometimes so little appears to be happening, you have to fight the urge to get up and slap your TV to make the characters start moving again" ( quote Charlie Brooker The Guardian) than I reckon you don't always need crazy space monkeys jumping up and down in your living room threatening to take over the world for a few bananas. Yes you follow the characters from home to the office and back again, but it's fascinating to watch ordinary people doing their thing. Mad Men allows you to travel back in time. Every little detail and every sound has been carefully researched to make it a complete time traveling experience. So fasten your seat belt for season 4.

Heartbreaker

Romain Duris and Vanessa Paradis are an interesting mixture. She currently seems to pick better films than her partner Johnny Depp. And the film is sometimes funny and sweetly quirky in that charming French way. It's no Amelie, but it's not bad. Romain Duris is a very good actor. His character is convincing and charming enough, but Vanessa Paradis is a bit irritating. She's incredibly disturbingly thin and her performance is a bit strange and distracted, but in the end she manages to turn it around and add a bit more depth to the whole thing. It helps that her character likes Dirty Dancing, blue cheese and George Michael. The plot is kinda thin, of course she is rich and he's in debt and the camera is slightly dull and average. Sometimes it looks like a long ad for the obviously beautiful and very tidy Monaco. But it's good enough for a fun night out with lots of popcorn.

Fair Game

Now this film is as intelligent and interesting as they come along once in a blue moon. The title refers to the book written by Valerie Palme Wilson and the film is set shortly after September 11th. America is battling it's emerging paranoia and the crazy weapons of mass distruction ideas. The plot and the dialogue are informative, quick and full of little details, blink and the information is gone. The editing is superb and the message is clear. Where do we get our information from? And what kind of news is propaganda and what isn't? Clearly Fox News is, we know that, but CNN, BBC, Sky News? In the times where Wikileaks was a mere idea in the brain of an Australian dude, I vaguely remember when they all reported roughly the same stuff all along while the sky of Iraq lit up on the small screen in many eerie colours. The story about the discredited CIA agent kinda came out of the blue and at that time I didn't make the connection.

Naomi Watts and Sean Penn are fantastic. She gives a very strong and subtle performance, playing the part of a highly professional, tough CIA Agent and then gradually falls apart bit by bit. Sean Penn is the retired ambassador who also falls apart, but doesn't stop fighting until both their names are cleared. There are the usual dinner parties with clueless friends who attempt a political discussion, but he appears to be the only character who fights them nail and tooth on their political views. Obviously Watts being an agent and all can't really get properly involved in the discussions. The camera is very obtrusive, it makes you feel almost a bit claustrophobic, many scenes are shot in a way that makes you aware of the other person and a possible elephant in the room. The colours are cold with a sharpness of a winters day except the places other than America. It felt very realistic, especially the scenes in Iraq. There was no cheesy, irritating soundtrack and when music was employed it always fitted perfectly with the story. If you want to see a critical film which makes you think and appeals to your intelligence, then don't hesitate to see it. I can only recommend it strongly.

The Tourist

So first we have that Tourist movie. Somehow I feel incredibly sorry whenever I see people cueing for that movie, I want to beg them not to see it, cause I have and it ain't pretty. So let's see no plot, no chemistry between the actors, bizarre dialogue that doesn't make any sense whatsoever and ah yes Venice. Presumably the actors were tempted to be involved in a film that takes place in such a beautiful and charming city. It can't have been the script, even though it was claimed that it has been written by three different guys, I can't believe it took three grown men and rather renowned scriptwriters to come up with this rubbish. But surely Venice alone can't carry a film, that is just too much to ask from a lovely place. So one cliche follows another, the scene where Johnny Depp starts smoking and thereby turns his character into a real man is just pointless. So is the exciting chase scene in the canale, they get chased by some gangsters and the police. The only problem is that Jolie can only drive very slow, why they chose to film the scene in one of the small canals is beyond me, the speed limit is 5 km and trust me no chase scene looks good in that speed, it's almost slow motion. Jolie ducks carefully to avoid the bullets and Depp just looks like a wet dog chained to the back of the boat. But it is unintentionally funny and somewhat helpless. So go see it if you must.

If you feel arty you can compare the two films. The Tourist is based on this movie. Careful it's in French language only.