Red Lights

Rodrigo Cortes' last film was the technically impressive, if overly praised, Buried. For Red Lights Cortes has a much wider palette in which to mix his ideas and he gives us a film that will be written off as corny and far fetched by some, but still gives enough thrills and food for thought to make the price of the cinema ticket worthwhile. Paranormal investigator Margaret Matheson (Sigourney Weaver) and her assistant Tom Buckley (Cillian Murphy) spend the majority of their time researching, and then exposing, bizarre occurances. Seemingly finding this too easy the re-appearance out of the blue of world famous psychic Simon Silver (Robert De Niro) gives them a harder target to expose. However, is Silver really a fake? The list is as long of my arm of recent films that deal with a similar subject matter (i.e. sceptics who debunk unexplained phenomena discovers phenomena that they really can't explain), so what makes this one stand out? Well, nothing really, but it makes sure the things it does well out shine the lesser moments. Similar to Chris Sparling's screenplay for Buried, Cortes (doubling as writer here) makes the smart decision to keep his characters in the dark as much as the audience as to whether Silver is a fraud or not, helped in no part by Murphy's smart performance as the increasingly befuddled and unnerved Buckley. Weaver and De Niro fare less well, but that's more to do with their parts, which are more ciphers for Buckley to feed off as opposed to well rounded characters. This isn't really scary (most of the jumps are of the loud music variety, though some are still effective), but what it lacks in thrills in makes up for in mental stimulation. This genre of film always draws an audience due to it's subject matter. Whether it's ghostly goings on, demonic possessions or paranormal activity our interest is drawn to the topic as, whether you're a sceptic or not, no-one can prove 100% that one party is wrong and the other is correct. Cortes' himself has said that the film is for entertainment purposes only and doesn't reflect his actual feelings on the subject matter, but the conclusion (with its nice twist) suggests which way his viewpoint may lean. In addition, you can't knock Cortes' commitment here as he spent 18 months researching this topic. Regardless of that, this film is similar to his previous effect in that fact that (arguably) it's only an average production, but its certainly intriguing enough for you to dip your toe in to check out its temperature.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
Entertains more often than not, aided by Murphy's nice turn and a subject matter that always intrigues. Rating: 7/10.

Salmon Fishing In The Yemen

Salmon Fishing In The Yemen is one of those books where you may have heard of the title, but only a few people will actually be able to name the author (Paul Torday, to give him his due). After watching this film it’s possible you may have a similar experience if a few months down the line someone asked you about it. You’ll probably be able to tell people what it was about (the clue’s in the title or something), but in terms of what actually happens I expect you’ll be floundering like a fish in a desert. What does happen is that Fred Jones (Ewan McGregor), a government expert on the salmon industry, is pressured by the PM into helping a wealthy Yemeni sheikh (Amr Waked) introduce the sport of salmon fishing to his desert country. He’s aided by consultant Harriet Chetwode-Talbot (Emily Blunt), who Fred falls for, but Fred is already married and Harriet is traumatised due to her soldier boyfriend being declared missing in action. Reading all that back, it sounds a bit over the top. The film succeeds though if you don’t take it too seriously. There’s plenty of social and class differences hinted at, but the film doesn’t ram it down the viewer’s throats and is all the better for it. Whether the filmmakers did this by choice or if it’s occurred by chance is harder to work out though. Veteran Swedish director Lasse Hallstrom calls the shots here and he’s a safe pair of hands for such material, though he doesn’t quite put the audience through the emotional wringer like he’s done in the past, but I put that down to the fact that the actual characters aren’t overly sympathetic. McGregor and Blunt are both fine on the acting front (though hardly believable as a couple), but its Kristin Scott Thomas as the foul-mouthed ball busting press secretary to the Prime Minister who steals the film. She’s basically a female version of Malcolm Tucker and the movie goes up a gear whenever she appears. Overall, despite the big issues which propel the story along, this is light stuff and is more suited to a Sunday afternoon viewing at home (or, dare I say it…a book?) as opposed to the big screen treatment.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
Some dry laughs to be had in a film which, at times, is as odd as its title. Rating: 7/10.

The Raid

Hear the one about the Indonesian action film from a year ago that was directed by a Welshman? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. However, following its appearance at a number of film festivals towards the end of 2011, the positive reaction generated has now meant a worldwide release for Gareth Evans’ The Raid. This is one of those films that gets snapped up by studios based on viewing the first 20 minutes only. The reason for that in this case? Well it’s stylishly directed, bone crunchingly violent and completely bonkers. Telling the story of rookie policeman Rama (Iko Uwais) and a SWAT team who raid a criminal ridden derelict high rise in Jakarta in order to take down a crime lord, the first half of the film flies by in a blur of guns, knives, fists and feet. Once the dust settles though things become a bit more mundane with a plot device involving Rama’s bad guy bro (has there even been an Asian martial arts released where this isn’t the case?) and the fighting focusing on the traditional Indonesian martial art of Pencak silat. This is a shame as the first 45 minutes threatens to be one of the films of the year, especially when the fridge’s and axes start flying about as well. This was originally planned to be a prison gang movie (a trailer was even shot) before fiscal problem meant the script was completely re-written which formed the basis for this film. This could partially explain why the mayhem subsides in the latter half of the film, but for fans of broken bones and claret on the walls, don’t worry as that is pretty consistent throughout the running time. Uwais isn’t a great actor, but he can certainly kick the required arse. Ironically it’s the films blistering start and Evans’ no nonsense direction that also proves to be one of the films handicaps. There’s so much mayhem going on that you can’t really invest much emotion in too many of the protagonists (especially the SWAT team with their similar get up from person to person) and things fly by so quickly that even when you have learnt one of the characters names there’s a good chance they’ll be knife or bullet fodder seconds later. The film also suffers from the old choreographed look that many martial arts suffer from, highlighted towards the end of the film where a dust up between three of the main characters just goes on forever and actually elicits boredom rather than sweaty palms. However, with a US remake in the works you better check this out before there’s a version out there staring Statham, Li, Tatum et al…..

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
Enjoyably outrageous mayhem. Shame it runs out of steam towards the end. Rating: 7/10.

The Possession

I’ve managed to miss most of the run of the mill horror films that have appeared over the last few months so I thought I’d make an effort to see The Possession. The film is based on the allegedly haunted real life Dybbuk box, which is an interesting enough tale in its own right. Luckily, whether you believe that story or not is irrelevant when it comes to enjoying the film as, hokum or not, this is a quick (though very silly) enjoyable little thriller. Thriller? OK, this is clearly marketed as a horror, but with very few jumps or scares this will only chill the bones of peeps with the most nervous of dispositions. To that box, then. After it’s picked up at a yard sale by teenager Em (Natasha Calis), she begins to display increasingly erratic behaviour. When the blood-letting begins father Clyde (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) suspects the box must have something to do with what is going on and starts to delve a little deeper. The actual story line is pretty basic, but this isn’t without its moments though, including a nice scene where Em’s face is distorted through numerous glass jars and an MRI scan that shows up a lot more than just a side strain. Newcomer Calis is pretty good as the young girl who the spirit from the box takes a fancy too, with her blank eyed expression a lot more terrifying than the scenes where the makeup makes her resemble a moody teenage goth. Dean Morgan is also good value as the flawed every day Dad of teenage girls. Unknown Danish director Ole Bornedal also moves things along at pace so you don’t really have time to be distracted by the numerous plot holes, but even he can’t hide the most obvious one of all. In a number of scenes the Dybbuk attacks people despite being locked up inside the box. So the whole premise behind the crux of the film (i.e. trying to lock the demon away inside the box) is pretty much redundant anyway! Still, in a film where it’s made clear that a person is possessed by the amount of food they eat, it’s probably best not to worry about these things….

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
Few scares, but enough thrills to pass the time until the next scare of the month rolls off the conveyor belt. Rating: 6/10.

The Sweeney

So, this is a Nick Love film, mainly about East End cops and robbers, starring Ray Winstone and Ben Drew (aka Plan B). The answer to the first obvious question? Not that I was timing it, but I think it was about the 12 minute mark when I first heard someone call someone else a "cant". As you've already probably guessed, apart from a few characters, this film version of The Sweeney bares little resemblance to the much loved TV series from the 1970's. In effect this should be reviewed as a standalone effort, but it's difficult to forget about its roots. In this version with have Jack Regan (Winstone) and George Carter (Drew), members of a Flying Squad in London, who go about their business of nicking criminals by any means necessary and worrying about the consequences later. Unsurprisingly this film is cliches galore. Regan has a shadowy informant that gives him tips (Alan Ford in a small role that somewhat confusingly is never really explained), the bad guys have maps and pictures on the walls of their hideouts and when one character gives another one a piece of jewellery before they attempt to stop a theft occurring you just know that the bookies will have at that instance closed the account on whether that person survives the next 15 minutes or not. As for nods to the TV series there are a few to listen out for, but this bears little resemblance to the glory days of John Thaw and Dennis Waterman. This is particularly obvious when it comes to Winstone's portrayal of Regan. Whereas in the TV series Regan was a lovable rouge, here he's a bit of a, well, "cant". Plus, the side storyline that Winstone is bedding hot married copper Hayley Atwell is pretty unbelievable. Obviously Winstone is the senior partner here in terms of the acting side of things, so it's not a surprise that the film concentrates mainly on him. It's a shame though as there is zero chemistry between him and a sidelined Drew throughout the picture. In effect this could have just as easily have been called Regan as opposed to The Sweeney. Where the film does score highly though is during an extended bank robbery / chase sequence in the middle of the film that has the loudest guns since Heat and an impressive (in terms of the difficulty they must have had in filming in such an iconic location) shoot out / foot race through Trafalgar Square. It's decent stuff and proof that Love can pull out the stops when required. It's a shame then that the film doesn't kick on from there and eventually meekly pitters out, culminating in a short run of the mill car chase. In fact, the whole plot is pretty thin and you'd expect more from co-scripter (and Danny Boyle cohort) John Hodge. Overall it's all quite hokey, but it somehow does just enough to stop it from landing in clunker territory. Love's style of film making (or, perhaps more to the point, the content of his films) isn't to everyone's liking, but The Sweeney is more than passable, doesn't pretend to be more than what it is and perhaps further kudos should go to Love for sticking to his guns and making his version rather than one with an Americanised style (what the studio allegedly pestered him for). Londoners will also enjoy location spotting and there's some breathtaking helicopter shots of the smoke to enjoy. It's just a shame that Lorne Balfe's loud and obtrusive score spoils a lot of them (and a lot of other scenes as well). 

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
Exactly what you would have expected in terms of director, actors and material. Certainly no more though. Rating: 6/10.

Men In Black 3

Right, hands up anyone who can remember anything about Men In Black 2, or even what year it was released in. Well it was ten years ago that Agents J (Will Smith) and K (Tommy Lee Jones) were getting up to, err, stuff, and as Hollywood's original ideas well has been running dry for a while now it's time for more alien based shenanigans involving men in dark glasses and smartly pressed suits. The way audiences are these days director Barry Sonnenfeld and executive producer Steven Spielberg could just have recycled the same plot and gags from the previous two movies and this would still have made gazillions at the box office, so it's hats off to them that they've actually put a bit of thought into the screenplay in respect of the history of the characters and the MIB universe. We start off with a bang as Boris The Animal (Jemaine Clement) escapes from a maximum security prison on the moon (the actual breakout is surprisingly brutal) with the intention of travelling back in time to 1969 in order to kill K, his arresting Agent. When J suddenly finds himself in a world where no-one has heard of K, he suspects that Boris has somehow achieved his mission and therefore decides to travel back in time himself in order to save K's life. Basically from there you have the usual scenes you'd expect from a MIB story, but the ten year break between films has actually been a blessing as though nothing here (the aliens, the wisecracks) really feels all that original, it doesn't feel particularly stale either. The time traveller out of his element is an old film and TV staple, but the script doesn't try to make too many gags on this front and the film is all the better for it. What's most impressive about the film was that shooting began before the script was even half-finished. However main writer Etan Cohen (not a typo, this is a different, unrelated Cohen) with aid from David Koepp and Jeff Nathanson (helping to put the memory of Crystal Skull to bed) have taken their time to unknot the twists of the time travelling skeleton and leave meat on the bone that is as far away from anachronisms and continuity errors as best they can. I suppose it's also fairly impressive that Sonnenfeld himself got the gig after alleged conflicts on the set of MIB 2, lawsuits regarding payments and the fact his last film was the risible RV in 2006. Acting wise Smith does his usual goofy / confused / smarmy combo, but it's Josh Brolin who takes the plaudits with his performance as the young K, complete with spot on tonal impression of Lee Jones. Clement is also good value, though he's lost under a ton of make up (On that front see if you can spot a brief cameo from special effects guru Rick Baker as well). On the negative side this isn't as funny as it thinks it is (a number of one-liners fall flat) and the brief commentary on racial attitudes in the 1960's is shoe horned in and sticks out like a sore thumb. Overall though this is a lot better than what you might expect, especially in it's final scene which is not only thrilling, but which also ends on a surprisingly moving note.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
Unexpected fun, but I'm not sure we need a fourth part. Hang on a sec, this made $624M at the box office. Fourth film green lit and coming your way.....Rating: 7/10.

The Angels' Share

Back in 1966 Ken Loach's calling card, Cathy Come Home, was a portrayal of the working-class and the hardships they live under. Over the ensuing 45 years since that landmark production he's rarely ventured from that template and his new film, The Angels' Share, is no exception. This won the Jury Prize at Cannes 2012 (Loach has always been a darling of that festival), but is it really that great? The story line concerns Robbie (Paul Brannigan), a young father who narrowly avoids a prison sentence, and a number of other peeps who end up doing community service instead of stir. Kind hearted community leader Harry (John Henshaw) decides to take the gang on a trip to a distillery where Robbie and cohorts show some hitherto skill in whisky tasting. Is this the chance for the gang to put past misdemeanours behind them and start afresh in life? Yes and no. As with all Loach films the biggest problem for the audience is how much sympathy you have with the protagonists. Loach doesn't apologise or give an excuse for a shocking act of violence by Robbie at the start of the film and the overall screenplay basically condones any further crime that Robbie and his friends commit. Loach's politics are well documented and here, once again, he's saying "There, but for the grace of God, goes you". Whether you agree or not could make or break this film for you. Though Loach always strives for social realism whenever he can, Robbie and his clan are all a bit too caricatured here (there's the smart one, the dumb one etc). This does lead to many laughs though, virtually all of the black variety, with the opening scene of a train station announcer trying to get a drunk off the tracks pretty much summing it up. The young unknown Scottish cast are all decent enough (though you'll need subtitles at some points to get past the accents), but it's the veteran actors who shine out, especially the excellent Henshaw. This is quite a dark film, but it does have moments of sunlight that shine through and only the stoniest of hearts won't have cracked by the end when Harry receives an unexpected gift from Robbie. This won't convert anyone who finds Loach too preachy or his direction too minimalist, but there aren't many directors around who, as in this film, can make the entire audience gasp in shock at something as simple as the act of saying "Cheers" to someone.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
This is standard Loach, but if he's not making films like this anymore who else will? Rating: 7/10.

 

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

Mel Gibson’s colourful (ahem) personal life means that he’s box office poison to most studios these days so from now on expect him to be popping up in fare such as this, i.e. relatively smallish budget films that only secure a minimal release, before disappearing from sight probably never to be heard of again. However, if you do manage to catch How I Spent My Summer Vacation (or Get the Gringo in North America – more on that later) you’ll be in for a pleasant surprise as, though this isn’t anything world beating, it is a short sharp film with some punchy dialogue and even punchier violence. Written by Gibson and director Adrian Grunberg the film stars Gibson as “The Gringo”, a US citizen who finds himself in a Mexican prison, who befriends a young boy who is being kept in the prison in order to have his kidney “stolen” by a crime boss. Gibson thrives in roles such as this (i.e. a good man with rough edges or vice versa) and turns in the required performance here. Most crucial of all though is that, even though this is full of silly stereotypes it’s still told in such a way that you do actually feel something for the characters so hats off to Gibson and Grunberg for that. Talking of Grunberg, he’s been an AD and the like on many films now going back over the last 15 years or so, including on a couple of previous Gibson pictures, which probably explains how this has come to be his debut feature. He does inject the film though with a touch of visual flare and handles the action scenes well including the opening of the film which is as thrilling as it is funny. The screenplay does go a bit all over the place at times though, including a bizarre scene involving a fake meeting with Clint Eastwood and the overall set up of the prison and why it exists is taken too long to address. As mentioned above Gibson’s reputation now goes so far ahead of him that this didn’t even get a cinema release in the US (though it did appear via the Video On Demand service as Gibson claimed this will be the way future films will eventually be released. You’re not fooling anyone there I’m afraid Gibbo). Oddly enough though the film was first released in Israel, which is the type of real life irony that even the movies can’t match.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
If you can put your personal feelings about the man aside, this is one of Gibson’s best performances for a while and Grunberg could be one to watch in the future. Rating: 7/10.

The Dictator

It seems that Sacha Baron Cohen has been the victim of his own success. As Ali G he was able to trick the great and the good into making fools of themselves on a weekly basis, but when he made the move to doing the same trick on film (with Borat) his options suddenly started to dry up as people starting to recognise him on a much wider scale. The result was Bruno, which cut down on the interactions with the general public and replaced them with plenty of gross out humour, much to the detriment of the finished film. In addition any scenes which involved hanging Americans by their own rope had already started to fell old hat (or maybe felt hat in that instance). So now Baron Cohen has had to leave his mockumentaries behind and shoot a “straight” production instead, that being The Dictator. Admiral General Shabazz Aladeen (Baron Cohen) rules over the (fictional) country of Wadiya with an iron fist, but when he is double crossed by his uncle Tamir (Ben Kingsley) in New York he finds himself lost on the streets of the Big Apple whilst a double takes his place. Soon enough he meets Zoey (Anna Faris), the owner of an alternative lifestyle shop, and attempts to gain his crown back. As you can imagine it’s all outrageously silly and Baron Cohen blends nicely into the main role. There’s two main problems with the film though. The first is that, despite a few decent scenes (Aladeen using signs in a restaurant as fake names being one of the better ones), it isn’t all that funny and many times the same joke is repeated. Numerous scenes appear to be badly improvised as well and drag on for too long looking for one last laugh and the cut should have been made in the editing room a lot sooner. The director here is US TV comedy veteran Larry Charles, but it’s not clear what he can really bring to the show in a production such as this. The other problem is that the storyline is nothing new and anyone who’s seen Duck Soup or The Great Dictator will know the same political points were being made 80 years ago, arguably at a much more dangerous time for the protagonists. Baron Cohen has lost his edge here and mocking modern dictators is hardly cutting edge comedy (TV shows have been doing it for a long long time now). What sums it up best for me is that the UN refused Baron Cohen permission to shoot within the UN building. When the same thing happened to Alfred Hitchcock when he was filming North By Northwest in the 1950’s he just ignored them and used a hidden camera. Would the Baron Cohen of 10 years have given up so easily?

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
The law of diminishing returns appears to have set in for Baron Cohen. Let’s hope for an improvement next time round. Rating: 4/10.

The Lucky One

The Lucky One is a romantic drama starring Zac Efron. Now, for those people still reading…..Based on Nicholas Sparks’ novel of the same name (I may have lost more people here as well) Efron stars as Logan Thibault, (where does Sparks get these monikers from?) a US Marine (suspend disbelief people, this is a film, remember) who narrowly escapes death in Iraq when he is distracted by a picture of a pretty girly (Taylor Schilling) lying on the ground. Returning from his tour Thibault suffers from survivor’s guilt and decides to track down said woman in the picture who “saved” him. Though I’ve never read any of his novels I’ve seen plenty of films based on Sparks’ output and they’re all pretty formulaic. This is certainly no different, though it does have a bit more of an edge to it than previous productions. This is probably helped by having Scott Hicks behind the camera, but he appears to be a bit rusty (this is his first film in three years and only first fifth in the last sixteen) as to what works and what doesn’t and it feels a long time since his Shine calling card. As for Efron, his acting is bizarre here. Though he’s obviously trying to rid himself of his High School Musical background his performance as Thibault is so downplayed that he comes across as a wooden marionette suffering from monologism. Any skills he showed in the (albeit less serious) Me and Orson Welles are no-where to be seen. Blythe Danner is good though as the (kindly) interfering mother and gives a performance that the film doesn’t really deserve. So, plenty of schmaltz, plenty of cliché’s, plenty for Sparks’ lovers to enjoy. Though it’s more likely to be endurance rather than enjoyment for most.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
If you’re a Sparks (wo)man then this is everything you’d expect. Knock a mark off though if you like your screenplays a little broader. Rating: 6/10.

Ted

This is Family Guy guru Seth MacFarlane’s feature length directorial debut and much like that TV show it’s odd, offensive and childish. Crucially, much like MacFarlane’s calling card, it’s also very funny. Beginning in 1985 we come upon John Bennett, a lonely young boy who wishes his large teddy bear will come to life and be his friend. Bennett’s wish comes true and “Ted” becomes a celebrity (of sorts) before hitting a downward spiral. We then move onto the modern day setting of the film where Ted (voiced by MacFarlane himself) and Bennett (Mark Wahlberg) are living together, trying to avoid work where ever possible and only really concerned about where the next beer or bong is coming from. However, John’s girlfriend Lori (Mila Kunis), thinks it could be time for the two “boys” to go their separate ways. So to the obvious first question, yes, there’s plenty of offensive humour here, though not quite as much as you’d expect. Also, though this isn’t really a gross out comedy it’s still been marketed at that young-ish type of crowd. It’s ironic then that most of the pop culture reference jokes (mainly for people in their 30’s) will go over their heads. In effect though this is pretty clever from MacFarlane as it means that, whilst not everyone will get all the gags, there is still humour for all thrown in. For every every smart gag there’s a poo or fart joke just round the corner. The comedy helps to gloss over a very thin script, as it’s basically a quasi-bromance flushed out with the girl coming between two best friends standard. On the acting front Wahlberg gives his usual no more than average performance and I’m not sure why Kunis accepted such a window dressing role. Also the character of Ted himself (which is achieved through some impressive special effects, including a great mash up with the Johnny Carson show) changes too much from scene to scene. For example, he shows himself to be a superb fighter in an hilarious dust up with John but later is as meek as kitten when the plot takes a darker twist. Much better on the acting front are the smaller roles of Giovanni Ribisi (as a Ted stalker) and Joel McHale (as Lori’s slimey boss), plus there are a few amusing cameos to spot. But it’s MacFarlane himself who gives the best comic performance of all. Already a gifted voice actor he’s in his element here and when he gets Ted doing impressions of other people it brings the house down. Recently MacFarlane has hinted that he would be open to a sequel, but I’d say that this is a one-stop shop idea only.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
Certainly not to everyone’s tastes, but very funny if you like this kind of thing. Rating: 7/10.

Prometheus

There’s that old saying that whilst some people enjoy movies others like films. There’s also a third option though and one that most people would say hasn’t been seen since the 1970’s, that of cinema. Personally I’d put Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood as recent evidence of that latter category, but Ridley Scott’s new film Prometheus is also a throwback to the days of grand sweeping camera shots, wide angle framing and minimal dialogue. Or at least it is for the first hour of its running time. We begin with one of the most breathtaking openings in film (sorry cinema) this year, as Scott’s camera zooms over the beautiful scenery of Iceland (doubling as…well you’ll find out) before a humanoid Alien pops up from a spaceship and appears to commit suicide by drinking a dark liquid. Next we come across a group of scientists who discover a star map which they believe if followed correctly will give an answer to the origins of mankind (Oh yeah, it’s the late 21st century by the way). What follows next is too complex to go into, but we have the classic spaceship on a mission scenario with the crew starting off in stasis whilst being looked over by the obligatory android (Michael Fassbender). Let’s talk the good stuff first. Fassbender is superb. Seemingly based on David Bowie’s alien in The Man Who Fell To Earth (heck, Fassbender’s robot is even called David in this), Fassbender gives a brilliantly disconnected performance as a non-humanoid, seemingly innocent as to the ways of his flesh and bone companions, but always giving the impression that there’s a lot more going on underneath. Of the two female leads Noomi Rapace is also good, but Charlize Theron as the ball breaking corporate bitch is unconvincing (which is odd considering her great turn in Snow White and The Huntsman). As for Guy Pearce (unrecognisable under a ton of make-up), well, you’ll have to ask him why he signed on. In terms of the visuals Scott has always had a remarkable eye and, aided by cinematographer Dariusz Wolski, lays on a feast for your peepers. In terms of the sets Scott convinced the big wigs at Fox to invest millions of dollars in getting a load of scientists and artists to develop a vision of the late 21st century. To me it actually looked quite retro, but it certainly looks cool. Thumbs up to Scott as well for sticking to his guns and not compromising his vision in order to get a lower certificate. This is shown in the scene involving Rapace and a surgical procedure which is not only toe curlingly gruesome, but a nice nod to poor old John Hurt and his dodgy tummy. Where the vision does falter is the fact that though this was shot entirely using 3D cameras, I watched the 2D version and it actually highlighted quite a few moments of the film that were thrown in for 3D effect only and it don’t look good bro. The biggest problems in the film though boil down to its script and the odd decisions made by the characters (which niggle at you throughout the film). A few example being Idris Elba's captain finding things a bit of a laugh when a couple of his crew members get stranded with unforeseen nasties possibly on their tail, said crew members turning from nervous cowardly wrecks into amazingly brave and interested explorer’s (literally within 5 minutes screen time) and, in one of the oddest scenes in film this year, a person’s reaction to discovering a missing crew member’s grotesquely broken body is not one of horror but a non-plussed kick like one would administer to a car tyre. All very odd and it sort of sums the whole screenplay up. Too much remains unresolved and unexplained. Finally, if you’re wondering where this fits into the Alien film timeline you’ll know all by the end. However Scott has said that the film only shares the strands of Alien’s DNA, but if you’ve seen the posters, trailers and advertising you might be sceptical on that front. The best way to sum it up is that the studio have said that the film itself isn’t an exact prequel to Alien, but it is connected to it. Confusing, no?

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
Enjoyably grandiose, but hamstrung by a script that veers from odd to confusing scene by scene. Rating: 7/10.

Jackpot

Though it hasn’t aged very well, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels was a bit of a blast when it came out in 1998. However, it also left a bit of an unfortunate legacy in its wake, that of a couple of years of (mainly) British films of a similar ilk that were all awful. So, what’s this got to do with the latest film based on a work from Jo Nesbo? Well, Jackpot feels like one of those barrel scrapers from 1999, imbued as it is with grossly exaggerated characters, poor acting and a silly script. On the surface though it looks like it should pass the time OK, what with a mysterious opening scene of gun based carnage and a story of how one man (Oscar) awoke underneath a dead stripper, shotgun in hand surrounded by numerous bodies. However, this is a below par Tarantino / Coen mash up which tries to be smart, but is just incomprehensibly stupid. It’s disappointing as this had the potential to be a bit of fun. Told using a flashback structure there is a bit of mystery as to what has actually happened, but any intrigue or doubt is lost as the wimpy Oscar is hardly Keyser Soze when it comes to spinning a tale. Plus, even though it’s in Norwegian, Henrik Mestad hamming it up as the wide eyed police detective on Oscar’s case is one of the worst performances of the year. Actually, make that last year, as though this was initially released in Norway in December 2011 it’s only just now surfacing in the rest of Europe. This is to cash in on the recent success of Headhunters ( also Nesbo) and the overall trend for gorging on anything scandi-crime related. Therefore, this will probably still draw a bit of a crowd, but in terms of quality it misses the target by quite a margin.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
Despite the current rage for all things Nordic, this finds itself coming to the party 15 years too late. Rating: 4/10.

Step Up 4: Miami Heat

This is the fourth film in the Step Up franchise (if you can call it that) and it doesn’t stray from the template of the last couple of films, i.e. a flimsy plot, bad acting, but countered with some cracking dance set ups and a feel that everyone’s having a good time and not to take things too seriously. The storyline is a voice over classic: “Emily arrives in Miami with aspirations of becoming a professional dancer. She falls for Sean the leader of a local dance crew. However her father is planning on tearing down the local neighbourhood where Sean & Co live. Can she fulfil her dream? Can Sean’s crew dance themselves out of the situation? Will Emily’s father have a change of heart? Find out next week on Step Up 4: Miami Heat”. Well you already know all the answers to those questions and if you think the bad guy developer isn’t clapping in rhythm to the tunes by the end, well, you’re watching the wrong film. In effect this is basically a musical play, but on the big screen. Obviously a film such as this is all about the dance routines and there are some great ones here with the last two in particular employing some original ideas and giving the film a royal send off. It’s a shame then that the performances are somewhat ruined by the use of 3D. Instead of immersing you in the frenetic steps and jumps the effect of the third dimension (yeah, whatever) makes things look more robotic and quite unnatural, almost as if things are being enhanced by computer effects or messing with the camera speed. In addition the editing of the dance scenes is a bit too hyper with too many cuts spoiling the overall broth and it gives the impression that there was too much going on at once for director Scott Speer and he couldn’t decide what to keep and what to ditch. Not too worry though as I expect they’ll be another opportunity to strap on your pumps in a few years time.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
Kinetic and fun for fans of dance, but unlikely to have any appeal outside the target audience. Rating: 6/10.

Dark Shadows

A film directed by Tim Burton isn’t difficult to spot in terms of its style, who’s scoring it and who’s starring in it. The problem that’s developed over his last few films though is that despite different subject matter they all feel like the same film, just with a different title. Dark Shadows doesn’t buck this trend. Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Danny Elfman et al. The gangs all here. What are they all up to this time then? Starting in the 18th century we pick up on Barnabas Collins (Depp), a port worker in a US fishing town who, following some affairs of the heart, finds himself cursed by a witch (Eva Green), turned into an immortal vampire and buried alive. 200 years later he is accidentally dug up by construction workers, escapes and makes his way back to the old family mansion where he meets his relatives. Then things get a bit messy script wise (duties being performed here by Seth Grahame-Smith, yep he of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter “fame”) as the story doesn’t really know where to go. There’s some fish out of water antics mixed in with a bizarre rivalry concerning the fish canning industry, but with few memorable characters (and even less character development) it never really catches the imagination. It’s not all bad though. The time traveller out of touch with his surroundings is an old staple, but Burton still manages to get some decent laughs out of it (Barnabas on seeing Alice Cooper: “That’s the ugliest woman I’ve ever seen”) and the scene were Depp is unearthed is surprisingly brutal. This also has all the usual visual flair that you’d expect from a Burton flick aided by some impressive special effects. The gothic look of the film complemented by Burton’s decision pre shooting to show cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel 1970’s vampire movies in order to get a feel for the angles of such productions. Depp is good value (this is actually his pet project so no surprise there), but Burton’s never been an actor’s director and that’s reflected here in the mainly lacklustre performances from the rest of the cast. The fact this has made a bit of coin is surely due to Depp’s continued pull (or at least pull when he’s playing “wacky”) as the TV Series is, with the exception of Americans of a certain age, unheard of to most. As mentioned above (and despite appearances) a Burton film is fairly easy to pin down. With Dark Shadows though it’s hard to get a feel for what’s going on as it never really settles on a certain genre and seeing Bonham Carter (but she auditions, remember?) in all of her partners films is fast becoming old hat indeed.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
For Burton completists only. Rating: 6/10.

Safe

If you’re watching a Jason Statham movie in which he’s the lead and the only real star then you’ll already know exactly what to expect. For when the Stath’s involved there’s certain staples that must be met, the main ones being: Stath gets his top off, Stath kicks bad guy arse, there’s some dodgy foreigners and the whole things mindless mayhem. Well, you can sleep easy as all boxes are ticked in director Boaz Yakin’s Safe. Yakin is primarily known as a scripter (and he doubles up here), but with his back catalogue including clunkers such as From Dusk Till Dawn 2 and Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights it’s understandable if you approach this one with caution. In terms of plot we have Luke Wright (Jason Statham, not the England cricketer), an ex-cage fighter who finds himself helping a young girl (Mei) who is being pursued by the Triads, the Russian Mob and bent New York cops. The reason for their pursuit? Mei has memorised an important numerical code which they all want their paws on. Going back to my earlier warning, yes, the script is pretty awful (plus Hitchcock was doing the numbers in the head shtick over 75 years ago) but Yakin saves the day with some whip cracking direction and he moves the story along at pace. It’s all a bunch of gumph of course, but there’s a harder edge here than the usual Statham kill and quip outing. In addition Yakin has enough experience to know that any cheesiness between Luke and Mei would have been skin crawling and thus there is lack of sentimentality between them which is unusually refreshing. Throw in an appearance from the workaholic James Hong as the convincing and mean boss of the Triads and you have a picture that may be by the numbers (I thank you!), but still stands out from the crowd as it goes for hardness over (knowing) hilarity.      

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
Pure formula, but still a kick in the head above the usual Statham dust-up fest. Rating: 6/10.

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

Seeing Night Watch back in the cinema in 2004 was one of those experiences where you felt like you had been let in on a secret that not many others had. Very few people saw it on the big screen, but for those that did Timur Bekmambetov’s film was a puzzling delight. The follow up (Day Watch) wasn’t much cop however and Bekmambetov’s first foray into Hollywood with Wanted was a mixture of good and bad washed out by far too many special effects (more of that in sec). Now we have the head turning title of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, based on Seth Grahame-Smith’s novel of the same name. This is an easy film to review on two fronts. The first being that the title says all you need to know (though for completists it’s the unremarkable Benjamin Walker taking the title role). Second, this is so effects heavy it leads me into a wider discussion. Can this even be classified as a “film” at all and can Bekmambetov be described as a “film director”? There isn’t much here which doesn’t utilise a green screen and so it’s pretty difficult to get a “feel” for the picture in question (regardless of how absurd the content may be). This is reflected in the performances where the actors spend most of the time looking awkward and trying to react to stuff which was to be filled in later. There are huge scenes of mayhem here, but zero, and I mean zero, thrills. It’s all just pixels (and not very convincing ones at that) and any sense of danger or dread is lost amongst the almost cartoon backgrounds (a scene involving a pack of charging horses is abysmally rendered). Frankly, where’s the effort? Where’s the heart? Though Night Watch was also infused with heavy effects, it also has enough live footage for it to have a human touch and empathy with the characters. This should have been a blast of B-movie fun. Well, I suppose it is in a way, but the B in this case is for bollocks.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
Well, it’s an original premise, I’ll give it that. Rating: 3/10.

Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World

What an odd film this is. It’s been ages since we’ve had a decent black comedy and the biggest surprise of Lorene Scafaria’s Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World is that it comes at you out of the blocks with some of the darkest humour seen for quite a while. Starting with a radio announcement that an asteroid is on a collision course with Earth we follow Dodge (Steve Carell), an insurance salesman (natch), who is pretty much just going from day to day despite there being only three weeks left until the old planet goes bye-bye. All around him though people are shooting up heroin, settling scores and getting the taste for rioting. Hell, there’s even a couple of suicides thrown in (one telegraphed, one shocking). Sounds pretty grim, huh? Well it would be if it wasn’t also very funny. There’s plenty of decent wit on show, from radio stations playing end of the world hits to local US news reporters slowly losing their sunny dispositions (“Traffic Report? We’re all fucked”) culminating in a genius gag concerning daylight saving time. Sadly, this is a film of two halves though. For as soon as Dodge meets quirky neighbour Penny (Keira Knightley) and they hit the gas together the film becomes a quasi-romance / road movie that runs out of puff long before the awful third act. Carell is well cast and there aren’t many better actors around when it comes to world weariness. Knightley struggles though, appearing to be unsure about how to play Penny. Not too sure why she accepted the script for this one as the part hardly plays to her strengths and it’s the same type of character that Scarafia writes every time for females, i.e. fiercely independent with a quirk (in this case, loving old LP’s - What madness!). You can argue that the romance between Dodge and Penny isn’t realistic, but the point Scarafia is trying to make is that people will make odd decisions when they know their time is up. There’s no explanation though as to how Scarafia thought the audience wouldn’t question the moment where the characters believe they can fly the Atlantic Ocean in a Cessna……

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
The dark aspect is great, but (possibly due to studio interference) it’s a shame Scafaria didn’t run with it for whole duration. Rating: 6/10.

Snow White And The Huntsman

Snow White and The Huntsman is the latest version of the fairy tale from the Brothers Grimm. This is director Rupert Sanders debut feature length film and boy does it show. Uneven acting, a pace that rarely gets above a crawl and a confused script suggest this might have been too much for him to handle. A two hour plus running time also suggests that he wasn’t getting much help from elsewhere or, if he was, he just chose to ignore it. The storyline is fairly standard stuff with Snow White (Kristen Stewart), Queen Ravenna (Charlize Theron) and Eric (Eric?!) The Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) getting up to the usual stuff in fantasy films of this nature. The fact that many well known actors were offered the role of the Huntsman and turned it down already tells you much you need to know. Let’s start with a few positives though. The special effects are well above average and a scene where  Snow White stumbles through a forest in a drug induced stupor is impressive stuff. On the acting front Theron continues her career MO of either putting in an average performance or one of pure quality. The good news here is that it’s one of the crackers as she’s great as the raging Queen and her performance is one of a convincing evilness. It’s actually a performance that the film doesn’t deserve. Sanders must have thought so as well as she is criminally side lined for far too long of the running time. There isn’t much to write home about after that. Having a load of well known British thesps playing the dwarfs (by having their faces digitally transmuted onto small bodies) isn’t quirky or funny. It’s just plain lazy (as well as being a bit politically incorrect according to some). As for Stewart, isn’t it time we actually asked quite a pertinent question in respect of her screen career: That of, can she actually act? This isn’t being snide, but she really only seems to have one facial expression, which to me looks like someone attempting a particularly complex algebra exam whilst suffering from mild constipation. Hemsworth himself challenges her on this front though and is so unmemorable in the role of the Huntsman that, despite being in the title of the film and one of the main characters, I could barely remember him even being in it a week or so after I had watched the film. Hardly surprisingly really as I saw him interviewed at a premier saying that he was caught by surprise when he read the script. I guess that was surprise he was getting paid so much to do so little.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
You’ll know that Stewart and Sanders had an affair during filming and that Sanders’ wife has forbidden him from working with Stewart again. Praise be to that. Rating: 4/10.

Avengers Assemble

Basically, before the The Avengers / Marvel’s The Avengers / Marvel Avengers Assemble (delete as appropriate) movie could begin to be made, we’ve all had to sit through many films concerning the Marvel characters that make up this ensemble. Good for Marvel as they’ve earnt millions, but perhaps not so good for the discerning cinema goer when it comes to the overwhelming poor quality of those films. For every Iron Man there’s been a Hulk and a Thor. So it’s with some trepidation then that you might approach this shindig, especially as virtually any superhero film of recent years with more than a few main characters has struggled with over exposition. Fear not though as whilst this isn’t a great film (unless you’re 13 years old), it is lots of fun. In part its due to scripter / director Joss Whedon who’s got more than enough experience now to know what makes the audience tick in this genre. The somewhat po-faced seriousness of some of the other films has been dropped and the mood has considerably lightened. There’s also a vast improvement on the acting front with the majority of them all (like I can be bothered to list them here!) getting the right mixture of seriousness and ham. This is best reflected in the performance of Tom Hiddleston’s villain Loki. In Kenneth Branagh’s mediocre Thor he came across as a cry baby seeking attention whereas here he adds a welcome touch of menace to his scenery chewing (and gets the films biggest laugh when he talks down to Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk. Ruffalo himself blowing previous Hulk incarnations Bana and Norton out of the water with his great performance). Too much to go into story line wise here, but the gist is that Nick Fury calls upon the members of SHIELD to form up in order to fight Loki and stop, yes you’ve guessed it, a dastardly scheme. What follows are some sharp gags and plenty of set pieces for the audience to enjoy, including a great three way dust up in a forest between Thor, Iron Man and Captain America. It’s just a shame that the ending lets it all down as it becomes the standard effects heavy destruction of a major city we’ve seen plenty of in recent times and it bares a more than unfortunate resemblance to the finale of the last abysmal outing of Michael Bay’s robots. There’s also perhaps one too many cameos thrown in which proves a bit too distracting at times (and I’ll eat my hat if the average Marvel comic reader knows who Jerzy Skolimowski is). Having said that there’s enough trivia and facts here, both on screen and off, to have fanboys in raptures (or up in arms). Like I said it’s great fun, but at the end of the day it doesn’t really have much new to say. Whedon himself has even mentioned this with what is my favourite director’s quote of the year thus far when he uttered “The whole movie is about finding yourself from your community. Obviously this will be expressed through punching…”. This also loses a mark for yet more completely pointless end credit sequences (What? They join all the films together you say? Get out) and waste of time 3D. Overall though the positives out weight the negatives and this will be a tough act to follow in the Marvel world.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
Enjoyable stuff. Just a shame we had to sit through such a load of dross to get here. Rating: 7/10.