Review: Zero Dark Thirty

There are movies that show a universe that has nothing to do with reality – usually those movies are called fairy tales or more appropriately fantasy movies. Action movies usually belong into the fairytale category as do most romantic comedies – a fact I unfortunately realized way too late. Then there are war movies – for the longest time those were at least partially glorifying reality. But in recent years it seemed to me that Hollywood got bolder in telling the truth even if it was very inconvenient to tell at times. It even resolved in the first woman to ever win an Academy Award for directing when Kathryn Bigelow won in 2010 for ‘The Hurt Locker’.  This also resulted in huge pressure and a lot of press when her next movie was announced. And Kathryn Bigelow together with her partner Mark Boal didn’t take the easy route out: As their next project they decided to tell the story how Osama Bin Laden was found. And what does this story have to do with reality and fantasy since most people knew he was found and killed, alright? Well there is still this urban legend out there that any information used in International Intelligence Work is attained by regular questioning or asking nicely. I might be out on a limp here but for some reason I simply can’t believe that any political prisoner (or detainee) is treated with the respect and dignity required by the UNO.

‘Zero Dark Thirty’ is not a very comfortable movie. It starts out with audio tapes from 9/11 and while you don’t see anything, the voices are bad enough to remember all those horrible pictures from that fateful day. Then we are introduced to the main character Maya, a CIA agent on the hunt, played ferociously by Jessica Chastain and Dan, a CIA agent that specializing in interviews played by Jason Clarke. They have some questions on a possible new terrorist attack and in order to get answers they resolve on some pretty harsh tactics.

Over the course of the movie there are many more scenes that are very uncomfortable, there are also many scenes that show how much the involved people had to give up in order to find the most hated man in the western civilization. The movie is not a feel good movie in the normal sense because it makes you question the price we have to pay in order to be safe and it also makes you wonder just what governments are doing that they don’t tell us. To be clear, ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ clearly states that with the change in presidents, there was also a change in policy towards detainees so here’s hoping to some truth in these but what about the rest of the countries?

Once again Kathryn Bigelow created a movie that allowed the viewer to learn about a world that seems strangely fantastic but at the same time pretty realistic and that most of us would rather doesn’t exist. But it does and I am very grateful for those brave directors that not only dare to tell the truth but at the same time make a good movie with exceptional acting. It’s not only Jessica Chastain as the hard as nails Maya but also Kyle Chandler as the troubled but supportive boss of Maya while it is always a pleasure to see Jennifer Ehle (the real Elizabeth Bennet) but for me the real standout was Jason Clarke who must have had a horrible time making this movie. I cannot imagine how anybody can sleep after shooting a torture scene let alone many of those. He did a tremendous job and that he doesn’t get any more recognition is a shame but at least a lot of people will see his amazing performance. There was one issue with the performances though – as much as I adore John Barrowman, I simply cannot take him seriously as a high CIA agent….nope just can’t sorry.

So if you are interested in current affairs, want to watch a great action movie and are not afraid of some inconvenient truths then ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ is a movie you might enjoy!

Review: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

In the run-up of this years Oscar race I was very surprised to learn that Gary Oldman has never been nominated before – not for Leon, not for “True Romance” and not for “Sid and Nancy”. I could probably go on and on about all the roles that Oldman made his own and made great but somehow got always overlooked by the academy.

Therefore I was even more intrigued by his latest movie “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” because it finally gave Gary Oldman the recognition he so deserved. But even though it is his movie, the call sheet reads like a who is who of current british film: Ciaran Hindes, Colin Firth, Benedict Cumberbatch, Mark Strong, Tom Hardy, Toby Jones and John Hurt. It is therefore surprising to see that the movie is directed (quite marvelously) by the rather unknown Thomas Alfredson who only recently shot into the spot light with his movie “Let the right one in”.

The story is based on the famous novel by John Le Carre by the same name and tells the search for the mole within the MI6 during the hight of the cold war. Smiley (Oldman) is called back into action, trying to find the mole within his own ranks with 4 people (Hinds, Firth, Jones, Dencik) in the closer range. He is supported by the Guillam (Cumberbatch) in his search. While the plot develops we learn a lot about the different men and by the end of the movie nearly every one of them gets their heart broken.

It is a quiet movie but even though the action is somehow missing you feel drenched in adrenaline and sitting on the edge of the seat by the end of the movie. It is also a movie you want to go back and revisit – I certainly have to because I am sure I didn’t get everything that went on. I also want to go back and cherish the amazing range of acting skills on display. Gary Oldman fully deserves his Oscar nomination but the rest of the cast shouldn’t go unnoticed and everybody up to the smallest role (cue Christian McKay) does an amazing job. The whole cast seems to blend perfectly in with each other creating this great group of people. Interestingly though he seems so much older and wiser than the rest of the cast, Gary Oldman is only 2 years older than Colin Firth and 5 years younger than Ciaran Hinds but he still seems closer to John Hurt than the rest of the group.

As I said before all of those strong men get their hearts broken in the course of this movie and every time it happens, you can feel your own heart breaking with it. You will know what I am talking about, when you see the movie but as a hint: watch out for Guillam making the hardest decision of his life and Prideaux shedding just one tear.

All I can say is go watch this movie, if nothing else this movie portrays some of the finest acting by some of the best actors of our time!

Review: The Guard / In Bruges

Usually I have a problem when movies are marketed as a sequel to another one, even though they have nothing in common apart from the same lead actor or the same executive assistant producer. Then of course there are sequels that usually remind us how great the first installment was and what utter rubbish the new one is.

And then there are gems like “The Guard” which is an amazing movie in itself but is elevated to new heights when watched in combination of “In Bruges” and therefore is rightly marketed as it’s kind-of-sequel.

“In Bruges” was this little Indie-Comedy that came out of the left field and if you read it on paper wouldn’t do well: 2 hitmen trying to hide out in Bruges (Belgium) because they accidentally killed a little boy while on a job. While pretending to be tourists in Bruges they meet all kind of weird characters like the pretty drug dealer or the racist dwarf and the also manage to be as politically incorrect as possible. This doesn’t sound like fun? Go and watch it! It has something extremely freeing to laugh about jokes that normally you really wouldn’t dare to (nor shouldn’t).

Colin Farrell plays Ray, a young bloke more interested in Pubs and pretty girls than being a tourist in Bruges while Ken (played by Brendan Gleeson) is the older mentor who tries to see the good things in their stay in this beautiful medieval town. While Ray is all whiny and annoying and bored (reminded me of the odd family outing), Ken wonders around with a guide-book in his hand visiting museums and churches. At the same time the two very unlikely characters still manage to form a strong bond to the point of actually caring for each other.

Farrell and Gleeson give new meaning to comedic timing. They are hilarious with deadpan jokes while being totally insulting to everyone around them. Also the final shoot-out is the weirdest and funniest you will ever see. And Ralph Fiennes once again proves how awesome he is as The Bad guy!

“The Guard” tells the story of Sergent Gerry Boyle who get’s entangled in the search for an international drug-smuggling ring. He partners (rather involuntarily on both sides) with an uptight FBI agent (played by Don Cheadle). Boyle has a thing for prostitutes and does the odd illegal weapon deal with the local IRA group. He also is outspoken and loves to tell political incorrect jokes which doesn’t bode well with the ever correct Everett.

Meanwhile the drug smugglers contemplate about their life and how they would like to do something else with their life. I think I would watch Mark Strong in any role but here he shines again as a bad guy with some kind of a conscience.

And just like “In Bruges” “The Guard” finishes in a fulminant shoot out.

 

 

So how is “The Guard” comparable to “In Bruges” – apart from an equal amount of politically incorrect jokes within very short amount of time? It is neither the story nor the backdrop and only partially the actors (Brendan Gleeson returns while Colin Farrell doesn’t).  I found it was something more meaningful and deeper than that. For me both stories show, how much respect we lack when being thrown into an unfamiliar plot. We barely take enough time to get to know the opposite but are quick to form an opinion about everything that we encounter. When people of different backgrounds come together they will have some sort of preconception about each other. And just like it is shown in both movies you don’t necessary receive the kind of respect everybody deserves from the one you expect it from.Only if we are forced to spend time with things / people / situations we realize how much we can learn from each other if we only listened once in a while.

And in between you might learn how to pick the right gun or in how to meet nice prostitutes.

Another factor that makes these 2 movies comparable in my opinion is the typical Irish humor. Barely anybody else can say as insulting things as all the Irish characters do in these movies and still sound unbelievably charming (that is if you watch the movie in English!). You simply can’t be mad at someone cracking extremely insensitive jokes finishing with “right luve”. So if you want to get to know the Irish way of life a bit better – watch either of those 2 movies. You will find these fellows an extremely lovable, charming and funny bunch – minus the weapons and the killings which I have never encountered whenever I visited the Emerald isle!

Both movies are a love letter to being Irish and what it means to have great friends. I might be totally wrong, but then again I might just be right 😉

 

Slaínte

Review: Green Lantern

Because of a nasty little Trojan invading my PC I wasn’t able to work properly last week. But I am back 🙂 and so is my PC!

 

Again a comic book hero – this time though DC rather than Marvel and DC did have their problems bringing their characters successfully to the big screen. “Fantastic Four” was some kind of a sleeper hit but in my opinion due to the lack of other super heroes on the big screen at that time. Now we have X-Men (past and present ones), nearly all of the Avengers as well as a pretty cool and dark Batman; and let’s not forget the planned reboot of Superman and Spiderman all of which are well known characters. I have never heard of a Green Lantern before and a super hero that has to “pledge allegiance” to a lantern does sound pretty stupid though when it was announced that Ryan Reynolds would play the lead, I was sold (shallow me I know, I know). Ryan Reynolds plays Hal Jordon, a reckless but great pilot who has daddy issues (which super hero hasn’t) and wants a girl he can’t get (played by Gossip Girl beauty Blake Lively). Along comes a purple alien who tells him that he was chosen (for what we along with Hal will find out during this movie) and hands over a ring and a lantern. The ring eventually turns Hal into this green clad super hero that can fight with pure will power. The best scene comes up when Hal wants to impress his lady being fully dressed up in mask and all – the mask is supposed to hide his personality where it’s needed – and the girl just bursts out laughing because she’s known him all his life so a little stupid mask won’t hide his identity from her. I always thought that Lois Lane et al must have been in need of a better optician since they were clearly too blind to recognize their beloved one with glasses on. So this was a breath of fresh air for me finally giving the girl some credit to be more than just eye candy though here, Blake Lively wasn’t really much else (apart from that great scene). Also Ryan Reynolds – as much as I enjoy seeing him in anything moving – he seemed to just reprise his Role of Hannibal from Blade Trinity or Deadpool with all his wise cracking in all the wrong places. I know he can do better, I’ve seen him in “Fireflies in the garden” and “definitely maybe” where he was allowed to get away from the joke-spilling part but I guess this wasn’t part of the job description here. Biggest applause goes to the make up department for turning the mesmerizing Peter Sarsgaard into Hector Hammond. In the end “Green Lantern” is just another fun comic book without much substance but easy on the eyes. So if you had a tough week at work and just need something to relax to without much thinking involved (maybe apart from why they made his mask so extremely ridiculous) then this is the right movie for you!

Trailerwatch: Tinker Tailer Soldier Spy

Now this is a movie worth looking forward to! With a cast that is probably one of the best, UK, Ireland & USA can offer at the moment Studio Canal released a first proper trailer for their new movie “Tinker Tailer Soldier Spy” based on a John Le Carre’s novel.

The cast includes Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Toby Jones, Benedict Cumberbatch, John Hurt, Ciarán Hinds, Mark Strong and Stephen Graham. Can’t wait!!