Best and Worst Films of 2012

2012 is already well behind us so I suppose it’s about time I published these lists. Last year I said I would have accused people of madness if they had told me in advance that I would have been picking a Planet Of The Apes film as the best film of that year. Well, this year I would have said you were doolally in the extreme if you told me that a Judge Dredd film would be taking my top spot, but the man with justice on the agenda takes the title. Actually, it was the fact that no one was expecting anything from that film that made it all the more enjoyable, and that’s quite a theme of a lot of the best films of the year. People were unsure about Sam Mendes helming Skyfall, Chronicle, The Imposter and Untouchable were all unheard of and no-one would have bet the farm on a film concerning a cappella singing (Pitch Perfect) being a resounding success. Though this is a top ten, it should really be a top fifteen as The Grey, The Muppets, 21 Jump Street, End Of Watch and Berberian Sound Studio are all equals of anything that made the final cut. As usual I’ve tried for an eclectic mix in the top ten and this year I’d say there’s at least one film in there for everyone to enjoy. Once again you can also mix up that top ten and put it in a different order and I wouldn’t find much to argue about. On the stinker front, there was plenty to hold your nose about this year so the films that made my top ten really were scraping the barrel and a number of them were from directors who really should know better. Anyway, here’s the lists then, best first…

1) Dredd
2) Skyfall
3) Chronicle
4) Pitch Perfect
5) Untouchable
6) The Dark Knight Rises
7) The Woman In Black
8) Man On A Ledge
9) The Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists!
10) The Imposter

…if they still work, don’t spend your HMV vouchers on these…

1) This Means War
2) Haywire
3) Taken 2
4) Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
5) Bel Ami
6) Intruders
7) Snow White And The Huntsman
8) American Reunion
9) Jackpot
10) The Dictator

Looper

Rian Johnson finally resurfaces with Looper, his first film in three years and only his third film since his cracking debut Brick back in 2005. In terms of quality this can’t match Brick, but it is an improvement on 2009’s The Brothers Bloom. Towards the latter half of the 21st Century disposal of bodies without detection has become impossible, so the mob send their targets back 30 years via a time machine where hired guns await to blow them away and dispose of the body. However, when one of these “loopers” proves to be a loose end, his future self (Bruce Willis) is sent back to be put down by his modern incarnation (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). On the surface this looks like it could be a killer but, as entertaining as this is, it still misses out on being a classic. The good stuff first. Willis and Gordon-Levitt are both solid (if not spectacular), the special effects are great (especially in a scene where one protagonists literally falls apart as he tries to escape his fate) and despite the problems with the script (more on that in a sec) it does keep you guessing as to what’s going to happen right up until the last scene. Despite its promotion as an intelligent thinking person’s film, this is actually more suited to a no-brainer approach and in retrospect it’s best not to scrutinise the script too closely as the time travel aspect (as with most films that utilise it) means there’s plot holes galore, which is probably why Johnson doesn’t over explain what’s happening on screen. Though I would like to hear his reasoning behind the casting of Jeff Daniels as one of the least convincing mafia bosses of all time. In addition, despite the smart moments in the script, the pace of the film is too relaxed throughout and slows down to a crawl in a navel gazing middle section where Gordon-Levitt holes up on a farm. It’s also here that the films main twist is completely fumbled by Johnson as his over eager direction and ominous score when two of the protagonists meet spoil what’s to come later. Overall, this is one of those films that despite appearing original is actually just an amalgamation of many other previous productions. I’ll leave it up to you to make your own list on seeing this, but that isn’t to say this doesn’t still work. I can’t go without mentioning Gordon-Levitt’s odd physical appearance in this. In order to looks like a young Willis, he has had some prosthetics attached to his face. There’s a bit of a problem here though for anyone born prior to 1980, I’d say. If you recall how Willis looked in Blind Date or Moonlighting, that’s when he was the same age (give or take a year) that Gordon-Levitt is now. They don’t look a bloody thing like each other, with or without a dodgy fake nose. In fact, the alterations make Gordon-Levitt bare a bit of a resemblance to sometime England wicket keeper Craig Kieswetter. Bet that name wasn’t mentioned once at the studio when the first rushes were seen.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
Entertaining enough, but not the be all and end all it’s been made out to be. Rating: 7/10.

Dredd

Combining the words “Judge”, “Dredd”, “Sylvester” and “Stallone” send a shiver down the spine of most cinemagoers who handed over their hard-earned back in 1995. Not only did that film piss off legions of hardcore Dredd fans for messing around with the visual look and characterisation of its main protagonist, but even for viewers who didn’t care about that kind of thing the film just outright stank anyway. So much so that it virtually killed British director Danny Cannon’s career in Hollywood (though he had subsequent later success on the small screen with the CSI franchise). Therefore, when it was reported in October 2011 that the director of this new vision had been locked out of the editing room and that the writer was claiming a co-directorial credit, it’s fair to say that when posters started appearing in early 2012 saying “Judgement is coming”, enthusiasm was muted to say the least. What a surprise it is then to report that Dredd is one of the best films of the year. How did this happen, then? The storyline first: Set in a future America, Mega City One is a sprawling metropolis where chaos reigns and criminals rule the roost. The only police on patrol are the “Judges”, who dispense justice as judge, jury and, on occasions, executioner. During a standard patrol Judge Dredd (Karl Urban) and rookie Judge Anderson (Olivia Thirlby) find themselves locked in a 200 storey concrete skyscraper and under attack from resident drug lord and unofficial building landlord Ma Ma (Lena Headey) and her cronies. Aforementioned writer of this said blast of fun is Alex Garland, who went through a number of drafts before settling on this one (with assistance on some dialogue from Judge Dredd creator John Wagner). What makes his script work is that there is no hanging around. A voice over sets the scene and there’s little back story to worry about. What we have is 90 minutes of ultra-violent mayhem, but undercut with a script that knows you can’t just have scene after scene of things exploding. Despite the carnage, Garland peppers the story with explanations as to why it's knife, gun or grenade time and drops in pieces of character development every now and then. As mentioned above the film is violent in the extreme in many places, but the irony here is that it’s actually the perfect antidote to the nightmare of virtually all action films of recent years that have been toned down in order to get the dreaded (by audiences) / crucial (by the studio) lower certificate. Such tameness is forgotten about here and it’s refreshing to see. On the acting front there will be plenty of interest in Urban’s portrayal of the titular character. As you’ll probably already be aware Urban does keep Dredd’s helmet on throughout the running time, but this isn’t a problem for Urban (who is actually quite a chameleon when you check out his film career thus far) as even hidden away he still embodies what Dredd is all about, plus, of course, he has a jaw that could crack open a walnut on its own. Thirlby provides decent back up as the new officer on the beat and Headey adds some genuine menace as the unhinged villain of the piece. On the down side some people may have preferred the story to have a bit more satire and humour and there’s definite echoes of The Raid here, though it should be pointed out that Dredd’s script was completed two years prior to Gareth Evans' film. As for the director that was allegedly locked out, that was Pete Travis. Who, you may ask? With only one feature film to his name (that being 2008’s Vantage Point), it does appear to be an odd choice (first refusal to direct was given to Duncan Jones, but he said no despite loving Garlands script). Whatever the goings on behind the scenes, Travis and co have still managed to deliver a film where the cast, action and effects are all at the higher end of the range and much like 2011's Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes, there’s nothing better than when a film from which you were expecting little, deliver loads.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
I enjoyed this so much I can’t recall now if I watched this in 2D or 3D. There can’t be higher praise than that, surely? Rating: 8/10.

Berberian Sound Studio

Despite word of mouth suggesting this was a cracker, Berberian Sound Studio was in and out of cinemas in the blink of an eye and I only just managed to track to down before it was gone. The reasons behind this aren’t especially surprising though. In the lead role we have Toby Jones (credible actor though he is he doesn’t draw in the crowds), director Peter Strickland’s last film was the little seen Katalin Varga, the marketing has been non-existent and whilst the title itself looks intriguing, it’s art house pretensions will put many off. Which is all a great shame as the film itself is a cracker and one of the most original offerings of this (or any other) year. Now, to try and explain what this is all about. Set in the 1970’s, sad sack sound engineer Gilderoy (Jones) ups roots from his dull life living with his mother in England to work on the soundtrack of a giallo horror film being edited in Italy. Clearly out of his depth on a personal level, though not on a professional one, Gilderoy tries his best to lay down the sound effects on the film whilst struggling to cope with a film studio that appears to be short of cash, high on amateurish staff with the whole production only just being held together by manipulative producer Francesco (Cosimo Fusco) and egotistical director Santini (Antonio Mancino). Aside from the opening credits of the film (hilariously called “The Equestrian Vortex”) we never actually see a single frame that Gilderoy is working on, and that, is the crux of the whole (Berberian) film. To quote Strickland himself, “I wanted to make a film where everything that is usually hidden in cinema, the mechanics of film itself, is made visible. Berberian turns this on its head. Here, the film is out of view, and you only see the mechanics behind it". The mechanics in this case being the tools of the trade that Gilderoy and co use to portray the sound of the gruesome antics occurring on screen. The catch being Gilderoy sees it, but we don’t. As the title suggest this is all about the sound of a film, which Strickland utilises not only on the horror front (bodies splattering and torture with a red hot poker being a couple of the audio delights you can “enjoy”), but also in other areas of the (Berbarian) soundtrack from people talking to the rattling of a door handle. It’s an assault on the senses and it’s a triumph. Granted, the premise of a plot driven by sound isn’t a new one (see Blow Out or The Conversation), but this is specifically about film sound. Due to the crispness of the audio I suspect that anyone who now catches up with this on DVD / Blu-Ray will miss out on the full impact of Stricklands “vision”. Moving away from the ear aspect, dark though the film is, it is also surprisingly funny, especially in its depiction of the culture clash between Gilderoy and the inhabitants of the land he has been transported to. It’s British fustiness and attention to detail colliding with Italian machismo and sharp practice. Stereotypes maybe, but it drives the plot, especially as Gilderoy’s reluctance to complain about what is going on around him is clearly a ploy by Strickland to wind up the audience. Acting wise it’s mainly all on Jones’ shoulders, and he has to employ those scapulas on a regular basis as this is a performance that suits him down to the ground as he has to utilise that hangdog face of his on many occasions as his emotions in this film are mainly expressed through actions rather than words. Hats off also to the many unknown stars who appear throughout the film, utilising their larynx’s to compelling, and at times, disturbing effect as they lay down their vocals for the film within a film. As we move towards the climax of the story, a fantastical element is introduced and this may cause grumbling amongst some viewers, but much like many recent films what is actually happening is fully explained and it’s left to the viewer’s discretion to come up with their own conclusions. Strickland’s use of shallow focus throughout the film suggests a dreamlike element to what’s happening almost from the start. Going back to when I first started this site my mission statement mentioned that films are designed to be seen in the cinema and all my reviews are based on seeing productions up on the big screen in all their audio and visual glory. Therefore, if you missed Berberian Sound Studio in the cinema and you fancy watching it, it’s going to cost you a lot of money to build a movie theatre in your home, as, frankly, unless you see this as it was intended to be seen, you’re not going to get the full experience.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
Sit back, look, listen and let Strickland’s film envelope you in all its bonkers glory. Rating: 8/10.

Pitch Perfect

So hands up who would have thought that a film about college a cappella groups would be one of 2012’s most entertaining nights at the cinema? Liars. What fun this is though. Freshman Beca (Anna Kendrick) joins college, but skips classes as she’s more interested in following a career in music production. When her father finds out he offers her a deal that means he’ll allow her to pursue her alternative career path if she can prove to him that’s where her heart is really set. Working at the school radio station doesn’t really do the trick, though she does meet and development a friendship with fellow freshman Jesse Swanson (Skylar Astin – and, no, those names aren’t the wrong way round). Some plot machinations later find Beca reluctantly joining an all-girl a cappella group (The Bellas) and the storyline revolving around love, friendships and, of course, a cappella competitions kicks on from there. As obvious as it sounds, for a film covering the genres of musical and comedy to work you need both the dance numbers to impress and the jokes to find their mark. To cover the first factor, Jason Moore is handed the directorial reins. There may have been a few sweaty palms at Universal as this is his feature film debut, but he has a solid background directing on Broadway (including such gems as Avenue Q) and his experience and knowledge of song and dance mean the musical performances in the film are impressively shot and smartly edited. Crucially, they are also quite short, meaning that the target audience is enjoying a comedy musical as opposed to an outright musical comedy or drama (i.e. Step Up and other similar imitators). On the laughs front, what’s most pleasing of all is, apart from a couple of spectacular puking sequences, the gross out humour is kept to a minimal as most of the jokes stem from Kay Cannon’s witty script. Cannon works on the gem that is 30 Rock (a line involving a rape whistle is straight from the womb of Tina Fey and co) and it shows with a screenplay that is littered with dry asides and scope for the actors to improvise when they want. Though light in execution, the film also has a solid feel of realism when it comes to the competitive scenes and this is because Moore bought on board some members of the real life a cappella scene to assist with the song and dance arrangements (these people themselves featuring in the non-fiction book by Mickey Rapkin on which the film is based). Finally to the cast. In their own separate ways everyone is great. All the plaudits have been going to Rebel Wilson as the groups loudmouth, well, rebel, but this is basically an ensemble film and the plaudits can be spread amongst all the actors for their singing, dancing and comedic ability. Anna Camp is believable as the highly strung group leader of the Bellas, desperate for everyone to follow a hilarious set of rules in order for the girls to triumph, Adam DeVine defines smarm as the egotistical leader of a rival a cappella group and even newcomer Hana Mae Lee gets many laughs from a part which basically involves her speaking as quietly as possible. In addition Elizabeth Banks and John Michael Higgins provide cracking cameos as co-commentators at the a cappella-offs, mainly due to Higgins’ un-PC comments. If you want negatives, the actual story line is pretty standard with no real surprises and the dysfunctional group coming together and beating the odds has been seen plenty of times before. However, these are minor quibbles. Leave your cynicism at the door and enjoy a film in which the laughs come thick and fast and the tone is of gentle mocking rather than snide patronisation.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
This could have been lame, but with the right tools at their disposal the cast and crew deliver one of the highlights of 2012. Rating: 8/10.

Gambit

Very loosely based on the Michael Caine film of the same name from 1966, the first thing you’ll notice about this film (apart from Cameron Diaz in her smalls, of course) is that it’s scripted by Joel and Ethan Coen. Dash those hopes though, as I’m afraid this is “bad” Coen brothers (see The Ladykillers for further reference). The storyline concerns art curator Harry Deane (Colin Firth) and his plan to seek revenge on his eccentric and abusive boss (Alan Rickman) by pulling the wool over his eyes in an art deal. The problem is Deane requires the help of equally eccentric Texan rodeo champion PJ Puznowski (Diaz). How and why you can discover for yourself, but this is as dumb as it sounds. It’s basically larks for larks sake as Deane pratfalls around trying to get his scheme to work. It is played for laughs, but the range is so great (from slapstick to West End farce) there’s no balance and most gags fall as flat as the Coens now boring penchant of giving their characters ridiculous monikers (here Rickman = Lord Lionel Shabandar). At least Deane’s escapades around the Savoy hotel in London do provide a few guffaws and I’d be a liar if I said I didn’t chuckle at the innuendo laden miscommunications between Deane and the hotel staff. Even if you don’t find what’s going on amusing, there’s the double whammy of not actually caring what happens. Deane is far too sad sack to elicit the audience’s sympathy and it takes some serious suspending of disbelief that a man of his profession would lead such a life and take such abuse from his boss. Acting wise it’s all as you were. Firth is the repressed Brit, Diaz as the zany Southern Gal and even Stanley Tucci pops up playing someone flamboyant. Stop me if you’ve heard this before. At least Alan Rickman (in his first non-Harry Potter film for years) hams it up in style. Michael Hoffman is the director here, but it’s an odd choice of man and material as his films are usually low paced drama’s, so I’m not sure why he was picked to lense what is, in effect, a caper. This had been in development hell for over a decade and had some serious names attached to it at various points script, director and actor wise. After all that, this is the best they could come up with?

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
At least it’s short. Rating: 4/10.

End Of Watch

Prior to this outing, the last four films coming from David Ayer’s pen (or, I suppose, keyboard) were Harsh Times, SWAT, Dark Blue and Training Day. Therefore you’ll be unsurprised to hear that End Of Watch doesn’t concern the length of strapping on a particularly fancy Rolex. Having said that though, there is some serious bling on show in this film as its backdrop is the mean gangster ridden street of South Central Los Angeles. What we have is a quasi-documentary following two young police officers (Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña) as they go about their daily routine. Well, I say routine, but in reality what we see is some serious grind as the duo are routinely abused and shot at as they go about their job. Not that they’re angels themselves mind. They step over the line themselves on occasions, though Ayer’s script is at pains to point out it’s all done in order to bring justice to those that the officers feel deserve it. Basically the best way to describe them is to imagine Nic Cage’s Bad Lieutenant as a copper on the beat before he moved up the ladder and took the craziness to a higher stage. Speaking of Werner Herzog’s film, that had some delicious black comedy to counter balance the dark moments, but this is pretty grim all the way through. Murders and violence occur at whim, children are duct taped and put in cupboards, a human trafficking ring is exposed and at one stage the duo discover a house that has so many body parts in it, it resembles something from The Hills Have Eyes. Despite the subject matter this is a very good film. It’s certainly not for everyone, especially on the language front which contains a somewhat silly 326 f-words alone. In addition, Ayer (also directing), fumbles it slightly on the documentary style as it soon segues into a mixture of found footage and normal operating camera’s which, to be a bit pedantic, isn’t actually possible. The acting and chemistry between Gyllenhaal and Peña is great (no doubt the result of Ayer’s insistence of five months following and training with the real LAPD) which is crucial as other characters are either just cut and paste sweary mean gang members or kept mainly on the sidelines (female characters, one a love interest of Gyllenhaal played by Anna Kendrick, barely register). Most impressive of all is that from Ayer typing the first word of the script to the finish of post-production, this was completed in a barely believable 13 months. Usually when films are finished at that pace the negatives of rushing it stick out like a sore thumb. Here though it’s all pretty much solid all the way through aided by Ayer’s pacey direction and Roman Vasyanov’s stunning cinematography.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
Formulaic in plot, but the energy of Ayer’s direction and some sharp editing will keep you enthralled all the way through. Rating: 8/10.

Silver Linings Playbook

Much like the rest of David O Russell’s back catalogue, Silver Linings Playbook is a difficult film to nail down genre wise, mixing as it does elements of drama, comedy and romance. In fact, that’s pretty much the three factors that comprise the majority of Russell’s pictures and it’s always been an uneasy mix. This film continues in the same vain and is arguably the most unbalanced of all his pictures. Returning from a stint in a mental institution (following the beating of the man with which his wife was having an affair), Pat Solitano (Bradley Cooper) moves back in with his parents (Jacki Weaver and Robert De Niro) in order to get his life back in order. However, despite appearances, Solitano is still quite on the edge, not helped by his continued pursuit of his (now ex-) wife and a chance meeting with follow oddball and Bond girl sounding name Tiffany Maxwell (Jennifer Lawrence). My term of oddball might seem a little bizarre in a film concerning mental illness, but O Russell (adapting Matthew Quicks’ novel) seems unsure as to how to play it. It’s hardly a classic study of such afflictions and the script pretty much plays out with Solitano’s illness playing as a side story. Most of the jokes are based on Solitano and Maxwell’s neurosis’ and lack of social decorum. There are some great moments of dark comedy here though (an ex-teacher of Solitano tries to do a runner on seeing a happy grinning version of him approaching her) and it’s interesting to note that O Russell also shot a version of the film that was more extreme in terms of its comedy and content (though I guess that would have been given short shrift by the studio). Acting wise this is pretty good all round, and yes, that is Chris Tucker in a minor role. Of the leads Cooper is the best, but his performances continue to lack something that push him into classic leading man status. Lawrence fares less well, varying from quirky to laid back from scene to scene doesn’t help and she appears far too young to be playing the character (she’s 21, Cooper is a, somewhat hard to believe, 38). Julia Stiles gives a nice turn as Tiffany’s image obsessed sister, but best of all is old stager De Niro. He is excellent here, giving his best performance in a long time, easily stealing the film from under his younger leads noses as a bookmaker whose superstitions regarding the outcomes of his beloved American Football games will be warmly recognisable to all keen sports fans (though people with less than a passing knowledge of that game and betting lingo may get a bit confused). Overall this reminded me somewhat of an old style screwball comedy. Characters come and go, scenes are silly, the narrative goes off on tangents (a skit involving a young documentary filmmaker should have been left on the cutting room floor) and it all works out well in the end.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
Not quite the sum of its parts, but when it works its great and De Niro is on fine fettle. Rating: 7/10.

Argo

So let’s go back to 2003 shall we? After a promising start, Ben Affleck’s career had been gradually sinking film by film until he hit the nadir with that year’s triple whammy of Daredevil, Gigli and Paycheck. Next up was Surviving Christmas and after that the odds of Affleck’s number surviving on most producers speed dial were as slim as that films plot. If you had then told anyone that a few years later he would be looked upon as one of America’s most promising and exciting young film makers on the block you would have been laughed out of your local Cineplex. Yet, here we are, with Affleck’s third film calling the shots following the impressive debut and sophomore efforts of Gone Baby Gone and The Town. This time Affleck has moved into a non-fiction (well, still fiction, see below) production telling the story behind the 1980 secret operation between the CIA and the Canadian Government to extract a number of American diplomatic employees from within the bowels of revolutionary Iran. Affleck sensibly begins the film with a, though not entirely accurate (again, see below), prologue, which is sort of an Iranian history for dummies to help set the scene for the audience. Before long the aforementioned diplomats are holed up in the Canadian Ambassador’s house whilst CIA operative Tony Mendez (Affleck himself) plots their escape via the bizarre method of himself and the diplomats pretending they are a Canadian film crew scouting for locations in Iran for their latest sci-fi film, “Argo” (that name itself leading to a nice running gag throughout the film). Before talk of Affleck the director, Affleck the actor plays his role with a suitably laid back air which permeates a lot of the running time, ably supported by Alan Arkin playing a Hollywood producer “producing” the faux film and Bryan Cranston great as Mendez’s exasperated handler back in Langley. The main criticism of the film appears to have been the embellishment of many facts and scenes for dramatic effect…..well, duh! Welcome to Hollywood! After doing some further reading following the film, I can’t deny the differences between the reality of what happened and what is portrayed in the film, but wasn’t it ever thus? The Brits take a kicking (surprise), the poor New Zealanders (leave em’ alone!) get bad-mouthed and despite being a joint effort between Canada and the Old Glory wavers it still comes across as the US saving the day. To be fair to Affleck he has explained his reasons for this revisionist view of what happened and you can either take it or leave it. Where Affleck does falter is in the tone of the piece. In trying to keep a light touch, the real seriousness of the situation never really hits home. Despite some tense scenes (the ending of the film when the bid for freedom is made is a tour de force of nail biting tension) you just never get a constant feeling of fear or terror (probably not helped by lots of scenes of the staff smoking, getting pissed and dancing to records whilst in “hiding”). On that note the employees of the embassy (the main face amongst them arguably being Scoot McNairy, himself buried under comedy glasses and moustache) just come across as stereotypes of some sort (i.e. the quiet one, the drunk one, et al) rather than becoming more rounded characters. Though this is hardly surprising as the script mainly focuses on the setting up of the background to the fake film with wry political commentary on the chain of bureaucracy that exists in the CIA when it comes to decision making. What can’t be denied though is that this is an enjoyable night at the cinema. In addition, Affleck’s knowledge and application of being the chief of production shines through, an example here being his decision to cut the film frames in half and then blowing up the images in order to give the impression of the late 1970’s. To sum up? Fiction based on fact, but fun.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
Being the baseball nut that Benny is, I’m sure he’ll appreciate being 3 for 3 in respect of being a director. He’s hinting at it, so let’s hope for a full-blown classic next time out. Rating: 7/10.

Frankenweenie

First of all, rejoice. Finally we have a Tim Burton film that doesn’t involve Helena Bonham Carter. Perhaps even more surprising is that virtual muse Johnny Depp is also nowhere to be seen. In fact if it wasn’t for old mucker Danny Elfman on scoring duty you might wonder if this was a Burton film at all. OK, cheeky comments aside, this is still somewhat of a reunion with past Burton alumni Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara in the cast. Plus you will have had to have lived on Mars for the past 25 years to not recognise Burton’s style within one minute of this film starting. Last time out Burton gave us the somewhat bizarre Dark Shadows, but this time he’s back on much more familiar ground, especially as this is a remake of a short film of his from the mid 1980’s. The script is basically the story of Frankenstein infused with elements of Burton’s earlier film, as a young boy Victor Frankenstein (natch) brings his dead dog Sparky back to life via the use of some nifty scientific experiments. Burton’s previous stop motion films have been musicals, but this one is sans tunes. Whether that’s a plus or a minus is down to personal opinion I guess. There’s a lot of (mainly black) humour here and the characters are just as grotesque as you would expect, though some scenes may be a bit much for tiny tots. The only real negative I can find about the film is that there really isn’t anything new going on here from Burton. No doubt this was a personal project for him and fans of this type of genre will lap it up, but at the end of the day this is hardly pushing the envelope. Technically it’s hugely impressive (with over 200 separate puppets on show, with Sparky alone having a mind-boggling 300 parts), but the animation doesn’t appear to have moved on since Corpse Bride and the plot is by the numbers, even if you aren’t au fait with the source material. Plus, why succumb to 3D? Despite the crazy angles and physical features on show here it’s poor and doesn’t add anything to the experience (apart from the usual loss of picture quality, noticeable even in a black and white production like this). Overall, this has charm and will appeal to many, but perhaps it’s time Burton took a few more risks.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict

Enjoyable in the main, but Burton is hardly pushing himself here. Loses a mark for pointless 3D. Rating: 6/10.

Beasts Of The Southern Wild

Hmm, not sure about this one. Brave story telling with a strong political message or trite pontificating that patronises its audience? Benh Zeitlin’s debut film tells the story of a community (known as that “Bathtub”) in the Louisiana Bayou. It concentrates mainly on the combustible relationship between Wink (Dwight Henry) and his young daughter Hushpuppy (Quvenzhane Wallis) and an overall eye on how the inhabitants survive in such a hostile environment (they’re cut off from the rest of the world by a levee). There’s plenty of positives on show here. Henry and Wallis are both superb, Zeitlin’s approach behind the camera is technically impressive and the special effects (particularly during a storm sequence) are as subtle as they are notable. It’s in telling the story where this loses its way. Though ostensibly a fantasy film (there’s more than a few nods towards Maurice Sendak’s Where The Wild Things Are), the majority of what Zeitlin shows you appears to be based in the real world so whatever message he’s trying to get across gets a bit lost. In addition, the blurred line between what’s in Hushpuppy’s imagination and what should be taken at face value is frustrating for the viewer as you’re not sure what you should be investing in. No doubt this was done on purpose by Zeitlin, but it doesn’t really work, no doubt aided by the fact that Zeitlin (as admitted by himself) never bothered to look at dallies until after the end of the day’s shooting. The biggest problem the film has is that despite being only 90 minutes long it drags like a slow death at times and, frankly, long patches of it are just boring. The explanation behind this is that the film is based on a one act play (Juicy and Delicious, co-written by Zeitlin himself) which has been clearly stretched to breaking point. The result being there’s far too much filler here that doesn’t move things along. Political arguments aside, Zeitlin employed a huge number of local people on the cast and crew and the background to the film (see the internet) is actually more interesting than the final feature. I always have a soft spot for first time directors so here’s hoping that Zeitlin goes on to have a successful career, but I not sure there was enough material here in the first place to justify a feature length production.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict

Looks impressive, but it’ll be down to personal opinion as to if there’s any substance here. Rating: 6/10.

Jack Reacher

Before I begin I should point out that I’ve never read any of Lee Child’s Jack Reacher novels, though even if I had I would still review this film on a standalone basis. One medium is a book and the other medium is a film. You can’t compare them. However, if you are getting your knickers in a twist that Tom Cruise is portraying a man who is described in the books as being 6’ 5’’ tall and weighing 250lbs, my response is this. In Stephen King’s novella from which The Shawshank Redemption was adapted, the character of Red is a middle-aged Irishman with greying red hair. In the film he’s Morgan Freeman. Didn’t ruin the movie, did it? Anyway, to the point of the matter; is this a good film? For 45 minutes it’s great. Starting off with a bang (or bangs), a sniper picks off people from atop a multi-storey car park. It’s a short scene but still tense, and it reminded me of Peter Bogdanovich’s cult classic Targets from the 1960’s. The cops soon get their man, but when Reacher (a drifter who was formerly a military police officer) appears and starts to begin to investigate the shootings himself, it soon becomes apparent that not all things add up. It’s nicely paced, with Reacher behaving in a detective like manner and the plot being slowly unveiled to the audience. There’s a bit of action and to be fair to Cruise he does convincingly kick the required arse when required, though it’s in one of the fight scenes that the film goes off the rails and never recovers. It concerns a donnybrook between Cruise and a number of thugs in a house, which begins with Reacher first of all seemingly not being affected by a surprise point blank whack in the back of the head with a baseball bat (I know it’s a film, but come on!), which then descends into a complete farce as the hooligans in question find themselves becoming wedged between a doorframe (a la the overweight detectives in The Fast Show) and arguing as to who’s going to get the chance to finish Reacher off. It’s dumb beyond belief and makes a mockery of the hard edged beginning of the film. From there on in it all becomes middle of the road, with a dull and confusing car chase failing to raise the pulse leading up to the conclusion of the film which comes across as an afterthought, primarily as the main twists have all been revealed about 30 minutes earlier. I can only assume they ran out of dosh after recruiting Cruise as the rest of the cast is odd to say the least, highlighted by Werner Herzog (yes, you read that right) as the main (albeit mainly off screen) bad guy. Worst of all though is Rosamund Pike, who is meant to be a hotshot lawyer but spends the whole film barely speaking above a whisper (her struggles with an American accent seem to be the reason), looking wide eyed and open mouthed, and appearing to be a late entry for the award for the Most Cleavage Seen On a Movie Screen 2012. All this and I haven’t even mentioned the most interesting aspect of the film, that being it’s director, Christopher McQuarrie. I suspect his selection was due to his past association with Cruise on Valkyrie, as he doesn’t really have the experience direction wise to helm something as big as this. McQuarrie obviously knows his way round a script, but that can’t compensate for directing chops and it shows here. Oddly enough he even struggles with the shoot-out at the end which is limp as they come and surprising when you consider the scenes of weapons carnage he gave us in The Way Of The Gun. Paramount Studios were so excited by this that they’ve moved Marc Forster’s World War Z back by six months. Though it has its moments, this is still somewhat of a disappointment capped off by an overriding feeling of what could have been

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict

Cruise isn’t actually all that bad, but a strong start is quickly derailed by an awful supporting cast and McQuarrie’s lost direction. Rating: 6/10.

Hotel Transylvania

Apart from testing the brain when it comes to the spelling of Transylvania, I was also having trouble remembering much about this film. However, this animation cleaned up at the box office and, despite it being only a middle of the road production, the reasons why are fairly simple. It’s colourful, loud and has a short running time that helps disguise a script that is as thin as they come. I expect you won’t remember much about it a few weeks after you’ve seen it. Dracula (voiced by Adam Sandler), runs an exclusion houseboat in Patagonia (or something like that) where the monsters of the world can relax away from the human population. However, things get turned upside down when 21 year old humanoid traveller Jonathon (Andy Samberg) bursts through the front door. Fearing the impact on his business Dracula disguises Jonathan as one of his usual patrons, but further problems ensue when Drac’s daughter Mavis (Selena Gomez) takes a shine to the imposter. This had already been through five directors before it ended up in the lap of experienced TV animation hand Genndy Tartakovsky. Originally the script was more low-key, but Tartakovsky took the wise decision to inject it with some energy and make it less based in “reality”. The result is almost like an old school animation with the madness coming thick and fast. The only problem is that this works for kids, but for the older members of the audience a bit more substance is required. The storyline is as basic as they come and the low value voice cast don’t add much. This does have its charms though and the animation is impressive. From The Blob to zombies you can also have fun spotting as many different monster cameos as you can. All in all this is an honest attempt to provide some entertainment for a target audience and it mainly works. A sequel has already been green lit as well, so you may find yourself being dragged by your kids to the cinema for second holiday in Romania sometime in the next few years…..

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
A few decent laughs, but the whole package is no more than average. You’ll check in for one night only. Rating: 6/10.

Untouchable

2011’s Untouchable (or, to give its title in its native country, the somewhat grammar suspicious, The Intouchables) was one of France’s biggest ever hits at the box office. It’s a surprise then that it has taken so long for it to be finally released in the UK. It’s been worth the wait though as this is a fine film. Joint writer / directors Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano tell the story of Philippe (François Cluzet), a millionaire aristocrat who is a paraplegic, and his working relationship with his carer, Driss (Omar Sy). Effectively told in flashback we discover that Driss, a Senegalese immigrant from the Parisian projects, only turned up at a job interview to be Philippe’s career just so he could have a form signed in order so he could continue to collect welfare benefits. However, Philippe offers him the job and the film follows their bond from professional set up through to a loving and trusting friendship. Some reviewers have taken offence at the somewhat crass stereotypes on show and a storyline that basically says uptight white people can only enjoy life if they’re shown the way by carefree black people. Watching the film I can’t deny that anyone who formulates that opinion is wrong, but to me the film is more about using these social and cultural differences as a skeleton on which the forces that drive the film, the drama and the jokes, are added. Plus, the main point of the film (pointed out by Philippe himself) is that Driss treats his boss not with pity or compassion, but as an equal. It should also be pointed out that the film is actually inspired by a true story (told in the documentary A la vie, à la mort). On that front, superb actor though Cluzet is, could his part not have been played by a real paraplegic actor? One other stumbling block is just how likeable is Driss as a character? Brilliantly played by Sy (Nakache and Toledano have worked with him before) he is one of the most exasperating characters committed to celluloid in recent years. He’s bluff, he’s a sex pest (constantly hassling Philippe’s assistant Magalie, played by Audrey Fleurot who UK viewers will recognise from Spiral), he doesn’t appear to want to help his own family unless he has to and doesn’t think twice about spoiling someone else’s fun as long as he gets his own way. It’s a credit to Sy that he imbues Driss with such charisma that we let him get away with it. However you may feel about this film, it can’t be denied that it is very very funny and the chemistry between Cluzet and Sy sparkles in both the dramatic scenes and when things are more horseplay based. On a warning note, if you’re not used to French films you may find some of the humour a little uncomfortable, summed up by the scene where Magalie sees Driss wearing a suit for the first time and (in dead seriousness) pays him a compliment by telling him “You look like Obama”. But how can they look like each other? One’s a 34 year old French actor, whilst the other is the 51 year old President of the United States, and facially there is no resemblance at all. Oh hang on a sec…they’re both black! Christ.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict

An uplifting and, at times, utterly hilarious film showing how friendships can be formed in the most unusual of circumstances. Catch this now before the inevitable English language remake. Rating: 8/10.

The Campaign

Jay Roach’s new film, The Campaign, has been released to coincide and take advantage of the race for the US presidential election, or, as I’m reviewing this so late down the line, I should say it was released to pick up on the interest surrounding Obama v Romney from a few months ago. Electioneering is pretty dull for most people, but it’s ripe for satirical treatment. This being a Roach film though you’ll be unsurprised to hear that this is hardly Bob Roberts, but though the comedy here is mainly broad, it does have two things going for it that are the complete opposite of a real life election campaign. It’s short (only 85 minutes!) and it understands the cringingly bombastic nature and lack of humility that characterises these goings on. Roach’s film isn’t actually about a Presidential election campaign, but a battle for a place in Congress. This is a wise decision as is means there is more room to manoeuvre with the script. Vying for the seat are Democrat Cam Brady (Will Ferrell) and, following some machinations from corrupt local businessmen (Dan Aykroyd and John Lithgow, both barely breaking a sweat), former tourist shop owner Marty Huggins (Zach Galifianakis) reluctantly running on the Republican ticket. Both Ferrell and Galifianakis are well cast in the leading roles, having decent chemistry and both having fun playing against “political” type (Ferrell as a loudmouth Democrat, full of bluster and Galifianakis camping it up as a soft Republican). Roach hasn’t directed anything decent for a while now, but the man behind the camera for Meet The Parents and Austin Powers still knows that the more gags you have onscreen the more chance there is a laugh for someone, somewhere. The short running time also helps as it does become a bit repetitive at times, though Roach tries to get over this by introducing scenes that get progressively outrageous. In respect of that, and as hinted at above, along with the standard lampooning of peeps from The South (this is partially written by Eastbound & Down writer Shawn Harwell) the humour does trip over into being overly offensive at times. Basically, if you find the silly answer phone message left by Ferrell at the start of the film amusing, you’ll probably going to enjoy most of the rest of what follows. If you want biting satire, you need to look elsewhere. However. this is over the top dumb fun, highlighted in what is the funniest scene of 2012 involving a slow motion shot of Ferrell punching a baby in the face. Yep, you read that right.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict

Give it a vote. Rating: 7/10.

The Imposter

Now here’s a film that’s going to be tricky to review, as the less you know about The Imposter the better. In fact, so determined was I to know so little about it before I watched it I didn’t even know it was a documentary based on a real life event. What a bizarre real life event it is though. To give you the basics, Bart Layton’s film concerns the 1997 case of Frenchman Frédéric Bourdin who impersonated the missing son of a Texan family. The film actually takes a while to get going. However, when the con is revealed you sit up and take notice at the implausibility of it. Things then get even more absurd as the story unravels. Told via the use of talking head interviews with most of the main participants, mixed with real life footage of the events along with reconstructions, Layton’s approach is to slowly drip more and more information into the story and it soon becomes one of the most thrilling films of 2012. It’s no surprise to read that this has picked up award after award across the world, made even more impressive by the fact this this is Layton’s first feature film. He does have a background in TV documentaries though (along with producer here, Dimitri Dogani) and this has clearly stood him in good stead as he knows how to approach this genre. Incidents and facts are put forward, you get both sides of the argument and Layton leaves it up to you to decide who is telling the truth. It’s riveting and, at times, jaw dropping stuff. Best of all though, is the appearance late on in the film of private investigator Charlie Parker. A character almost ripped from the pages of a pulp novel set in the deep south, his mannerisms and speech may cause chuckles, but whereas the police and FBI stumble around, he gets to the crux of the matter in days (in a fairly ingenious way as well). Layton tells the story as even handed as he can, but Bourdin’s charm means the sympathy seems to fall with him rather than the family. On that note, it really is hard to understand how the family not only fell for the scam in the first place, but also how they continued to be duped for so long. This is addressed in the film where Layton hints that darker matters were in play. In mitigation, the film does also suggest that when you’re so desperate to believe something is true you’re blinded to the reality of the situation and I guess when someone is in a vulnerable situation you’ll grasp hold of any glimmer of hope that you can. I read an article recently that was regarding books from the past that weren’t published as their concept seemed too far-fetched, only for the plot of said book to then happen in real life further down the line. It’s a good pointer to this film. You wouldn’t believe that it could happen, but it did.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict

Entertaining, thrilling, frustrating and confusing. Stranger than fiction, indeed. Rating: 8/10.

Total Recall

Roll up, roll up to enjoy (or not) the latest unnecessary remake from Hollywood. Off the rank this week is Total Recall, an update on Paul Verhoeven’s effort from 1990. Say what you want about Verhoeven’s effort, at least it had the guts to set its stall out to say what it was and moaners be damned. This new production from Len Wiseman is powder puff in the extreme and some decent CGI can’t mask the fact that this follows the path of most of the recent reimagining’s or later entries of franchises that first showed their hand in the late 1980’s / early 1990’s. i.e. that of taking something that was dark, brutal and thrilling and compromising on it in order to get a lower certificate at the box office and more takings from unsuspecting punters. Despite a few tweaks this isn’t too dissimilar plot wise from Verhoeven’s film. This time out though we have Colin Farrell in the lead role as Douglas Quaid, a factory worker who visits a company that implants fake memories into people of lives they would preferred to have led. However, something appears to go wrong with Quaid’s treatment and he suddenly finds himself accused of being a spy and he goes on the run from shadowy forces (which include his wife Lori (Kate Beckinsale)), whilst being aided by a mysterious woman played by Jessica Biel. Despite looking good, the film is soulless and devoid of thrills. Wiseman is a mediocre director at best so I can only assume that he got the gig because a) he was cheap and b) his films are the text book definition of style over substance. The biggest irony of all is that Wiseman (and screenplay writers Kurt Wimmer and Mark Bomback) have tried to counter balance the main accusations put to Verhoeven's film (that of its crunching violence and its less than charming portrayal of women), but have completely missed the point that it was a satire. So in this film we have a virtually bloodless world meaning the fight scenes come across as tame and terribly choreographed. On the female front we now have two women pushed into supporting roles, but they’ve both completely non-descript (they even look and dress alike!) and Beckinsale proves once again she can’t do anything apart from stand around and look hot. They’re not the only ones with no character development though as the films chief villain (played by Bryan Cranston) is so underwritten he only appears for what must amount to less than a few minutes screen time. Farrell fares slightly better in the lead role, but this is further proof that he’s great in low budget films, but struggles when it comes to these types of blockbusters. This could have been much improved if Wiseman, Wimmer and Bomback hadn’t taken it all so seriously and had thrown in some tongue in cheek humour, although watching Farrell (mid 30’s) and Cranston (mid 50’s) go at it in a smack down does at least provide some unintentional guffaws.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict

Not the worst remake ever, but still an unnecessary one. A waste of your time and money if you do see it and there’ll be no Rekall Incorporated waiting to help you out afterwards, either. Rating: 5/10.