maynardcase.co.uk linkfest

Saw Glengarry Glen Ross the other week. An impressive bit of theatre transmuted without much effort to the screen, assisted by possibly one of the best casts ever: Jack Lemmon, Al Pacino, Ed Harris, Alan Arkin, Kevin Spacey, Alec Baldwin and Jonathan Pryce are all principal players. All of them deliver excellent performances, with the most memorable for me being Jack Lemmon’s Shelly Levine, a washed-up old salesman desperately searching for a successful sale in a cut-throat It sounds very much like it was originally a play; the dialogue is rather artifical but strangely that doesn’t at all detract but actually makes it more powerful and effective. It’s a David Mamet script and while I’m not familiar with any of his other writing I would like to be; there’s a lot of power and really unusual use of language. Thoroughly recommended.

Constantine: Rather confusing blather-fest which really struggles to introduce its world before blowing it away. Many side characters barely manage a scene before being killed off in interesting ways. Most plot points are overly silly/complex; you spend time working out what is going on which would be better spent getting emotionally attached to the hero/heroine. Not a terrible film, but a long way from being a good one. (Disclaimer: never read the comic.)

Enigma: Terribly proper visit to Bletchley Park for some decrypting fun! Tries to be a thriller but is a bit too formal; Kate Winslet tries quite hard but I never really cared for the characters. The challenge of breaking Shark (and its solution) was well explained but the tension wasn’t really built up. A rather dull script, considering it was written by Tom Stoppard. Overall: s’alright, I suppose.

Easter Parade: Only watched the first fifteen minutes but was impressed by Fred Astaire’s dance sequence in the toy shop. Overall: unknown…

Another magnificent movie from Pixar that is a more serious affair than previous films (Finding Nemo), blending real ideas and issues with excellent animation.

After Mr Incredible is forced to retire from superhero work due to the litigious nature of those he was trying to help, he ends up stuck in a grindingly depressing job as a clerk in an insurance company. It’s no surprise that when he gets a mysterious request for help, he can’t wait to squeeze back into his outfit, despite having to lie to his wife and family.

The first act of the film may come as a bit of a surprise; it neatly encapsulates the difficulties of normal family life both at work and at home - no talking fish or magical toys here - and this is where young children’s attention may start to drift. However, for older viewers there’s a lot of underlying subtext and the characters really get fleshed-out - this isn’t a kid’s cartoon, despite appearances (and marketing). The rest of the film is spent in action mode, with very clear James Bond/Spy Kids influences, but there’s still time for the underlying conflicts to be resolved and the family to bond together.

Overall, the film is great fun but with some real depth which has eluded most superhero films before it. I thoroughly recommend it to everyone.

[For more ratings and reviews see the reviews page]

Bride and Prejudice is a cheesy Bollywood-esque retelling of Jane Austen’s classic novel Pride and Prejudice by Gurinder Chadha, director of “Bend It Like Beckham”.

For those who haven’t come across this tale previously: girl meets boy, girl hates boy, girl meets cad, cad seduces girl, girl finds out more about boy, dumps cad, falls in love with boy and they get married. The frankly beautiful Aishwarya Rai plays Lalita (girl) to Martin Henderson’s arrogant rich American Mr Darcy (boy), with help from Daniel Gillies as Mr Wickham (cad).

The movie has a lot of life and energy, with bright colours and a fairly fast-moving plot, but unfortunately the Bollywood aspects didn’t appeal - I actually winced when the first musical number unconvincingly cranked into life. The movie suffers from its attempt to be cross-genre as it tries to hit all the targets but never quite manages to get anything in the right place.

So if you’re a fan of Indian/British films, or a lover of musicals with slightly dodgy acting but a lot of heart, you might want to give this a go - otherwise I can’t really recommend it.

(for more reviews and ratings see the reviews page)

Stuck in a boring, meaningless existence where the only venue is the local pub, it’s no wonder that Shaun (Simon Pegg) is miserable, that his girlfriend dumps him or that he almost completely fails to notice the invasion of shuffling reanimated corpses.

Shaun of the Dead is a very funny and sharp British comedy from the writers and director of Spaced (a first-class UK sitcom) based loosely on the George Romero film Dawn of the Dead. After Shaun and his hopeless friend Ed (Nick Frost) eventually discover the zombie threat, Shaun gets his arse in gear and plans to rescue his parents, girlfriend and friends and take them somewhere safe - the pub.

The script shines with nuggets of golden dialogue, and takes the characters and plot much further than Spaced did. It never feels like a TV show - between the jokes the tension is built very effectively and there are some genuinely scary moments, and the special effects work (including some impressive blood and gore) is excellent. The film has a very British feel, so it might be interesting to see if it has similar success when it’s shown in other countries.

Overall a fantastic film, especially if you’re into zombie movies or Spaced.

(for more reviews and ratings see the reviews page)

The latest Harry Potter movie, the Prisoner of Azkaban, is a definate step in the right direction compared to the previous two films. Alfonso Cuar?n directs this edition and is forced to condense the lengthly novel into a mere 2.5 hours, which has some significant benefits; there is much less tedious exposition and explanation - although I felt there were still some sequences which could have been cut. His darker style fits well with the material and some of the effects are really well done (the Dementors are very effective and many of the background bits and pieces are unobtrusive but lend a sparkle, although the CGI werewolf is a bit too Scooby-Doo). There is also a nice bit of Back To The Future-esqe time travelling which is good fun and nicely edited.

Overall: a big improvement over the yawn-fest of the previous Potter films; still nothing more than a popcorn picture but a pleasant surprise.

[for ratings and review of other films see the reviews page]

“Inspired by” Isaac Asimov’s classic collection of short stories, I Robot treads the familiar path of robots taking over the world.

The result is a fun, fast-paced action movie which isn’t quite as dumb as it looks - but which also misses out on the opportunity to really do something different. Will Smith does a decent enough job as the paranoid and racist Detective Spooner, and Bridget Moynahan also does well with Susan Calvin’s character (although the script misses the significance of Calvin’s contribution in Asimov’s original books) - and the CGI robots are also very well done, especially with the translation of Alan Tudyk’s acting for the humanoid robot Sonny.

The downsides: the look of the movie is fairly unimaginative (large video screens on buildings, slightly restyled cars on automated highways - a lighter, cleaner Blade Runner universe) and the product placement is horrific: I reckon they were very close to adding a line for Smith’s character saying “Hey kids, buy your 2004 Converse sneakers now and look as cool as me!”

Overall I enjoyed the film but forgot most of it within five minutes of leaving the cinema; as summer action films go, not too bad.

The second film in the Spider-Man series shows Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) becoming tired of his Spiderman role - but can it replicate the energy, humour and visceral action of the first?

Spider-Man 2 deals out a healthy dose of angst and suffering, as Peter is trying to juggle a pizza delivery job, his studies, finding the rent, saving citizens from lots of criminals and stopping himself from lusting for the clearly desperate Mary-Jane (Kirsten Dunst). Into this mix is added the unusually complex villan of the piece, “Doc Ock” (played with enthusiasm by Alfred Molina) whose metallic appendages are controlling his mind! The action is just as good as in the previous outing, and there’s a lot of character development / drama scenes which show up the usual two-dimensional portraits in most action movies.

A thoroughly enjoyable summer movie which almost surpasses the original - and also bonus points for the opening titles which give an elegant solution to the problem of “as previously seen in Spider-Man…”

[for ratings and review of other films see the reviews page]

Are sequels always a bad idea?

Shrek 2 is hyped as the unicorn of the film world, a mythical entity also known as the sequel-that-is-better-than-the-original. I disagree - but only a little, as Shrek 2 is really good fun and has many laugh out loud moments. The element of surprise at the quality of the animation is gone, as is the satire and some of the sharper wit, but overall it preserves the spirit of the first and extends the plot without having to force anything.

But am I the only person to cheerfully ignore the point of the film by thinking that Princess Fiona is rather nice in her human form?

[for ratings and review of other films see the reviews page]

An interesting documentary from fat, bearded, rich white American Michael Moore which has a distinct emotional hit despite being closer to propaganda than most films of this type.

Farenheit 9/11 is a tour through George Bush’s first term, covering his vacation time, reaction to the events of 9/11, associations with myriad dubious companies, various Saudi families and motives for the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. While all the facts shown are genuine there is a perpetual feel of slippiness to the documentary; Moore continually implies conclusions by asking leading questions that aren’t answered. It also potentially lacks focus; by breezing thorough so many dubious areas of the presidency it lacks a building of the facts into an unassailable case against Mr Bush. However, there is a serious punch from the final scenes, dealing with the grieving parents of a soldier killed in Iraq, which elevates the whole film and gives a sense of how someone’s corruption and naivety can blight hundreds of real people’s lives.

[for ratings and review of other films see the reviews page]