True Grit gets a trailer

Ah, bless those Coens. Nothing gets me happy that awards season is approaching like the chance to see a new Coen Brothers film. And here we have reigning Best Actor Jeff Bridges in a role that nabbed John Wayne his only Oscar. Add in Matt Damon and Josh Brolin and a reputedly more faithful rendering of Charles Portis' novel and this all looks like true greatness yet again.

Apple.com has the exclusive trailer linked below and in the right-hand trailer bar.

http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/paramount/truegrit/

Latest screening: Winter's Bone

Winter’s Bone is bleak. There’s no denying that fact. It deals with a young woman in a tough situation in a brutal environment surrounded by unlikeable characters. It is therefore all the more impressive that this is such an engaging and stunning piece of cinema.

Eschewing the sorts of back-water clichés (both in character development, or lack thereof, and plot-points) any Hollywood film would embrace to throw against the heroine Ree Dolly (Jennifer Lawrence) Winter’s Bone manages to wring real, believable characters from even its most loathsome of antagonists. Every moment of the film from quiet trekking across a barren landscape to familial pleasures and concerns to moments of disturbing violence, threat and discovery is treated with a sense of absolute truth

Nothing feels false here and there isn’t a performance that lets it down, even the young kids that play Ree’s younger siblings can’t be faulted and Dale Dickey, probably best known as trailer-trash hooker Patty in sitcom My Name Is Earl, pulls off a brilliant job in probably the film’s hardest role – a loathsome bitch matriarchal character who could have, and would have, descended into caricature in most hands.

John Hawkes is equally brilliant as Ree’s uncle Teardrop. His frustrations and fury show in his eyes and despite his slight frame you sense exactly why people in this world might be afraid of and respectful toward him. He is a powder-keg but he has a heart. It is another fine balancing job that could have been overplayed. He could have been a monster yet despite his initially unsympathetic, and at moments appalling, treatment of his niece you understand him and you feel for him. A moment of tension with the local sheriff (Garret Dillahunt) is riveting.

But while surrounded by excellent performances from experienced character actors the film belongs to Jennifer Lawrence. Lawrence was very good in the under-seen (but admittedly only so-so) The Burning Plain but is a revelation here. This is breakout stardom good. Lawrence is virtually never off screen and yet holds you enthralled in her quest and trials that you couldn’t tear your eyes away if you tried. I swear there could have been a seven hour cut of this film and no one would get up to even go to the toilet Lawrence’s performance is so compelling.

It will be interesting to see her as Mystique in the new X-Men movie, playing in a role that makes immersive belief much more difficult, because in Winter’s Bone you never doubt her for a second. If you were told this were a documentary you could believe it. In a just world Lawrence would easily walk away with a slew of Best Actress awards this year but small independent films with no star names have trouble getting attention and so I fear it is a very long shot to the gold. Still noms like that for Melissa Leo in Frozen River mean it’s possible. In fact that film and Wendy & Lucy are good examples of films that if you liked them you are sure to love this. Only, Winter’s Bone is far better a film than either.

Director Debra Granik has delivered on every level. This may well be the best film of the year. It certainly is so far.

***** (5 stars)

Recent screening: The Illusionist

Enjoyment of Sylvain Chomet’s delightfully whimsical The Illusionist will likely depend a great deal on how well you know and appreciate the films of Jacques Tati.

As a big fan of Tati films such as M Hulot’s Holiday and especially Mon Oncle (which gets an in-joke poster gag in The Illusionist) I adored Chomet’s film which superbly captures the look, mannerisms and style of Tati.

This was all the more pleasing as going in I had no idea what the film was about. I had no idea of the connection to Tati or the fact it was adapted from one of Tati’s own un-realised screenplays. All I knew was it was the new film from the guy the made the wonderful Belleville Rendez-Vous. When the lead character appeared pre-credits sequence I thought “that looks just like Jacques Tati” but assumed it was a sort of animated cameo. Then once I saw the screenplay credit it became clear that I was about to essentially get to see a new Jacques Tati film in nearly 40 years.

And it didn’t disappoint. Starting out in a slightly similar manner to the Pixar short Presto! it then goes into a beautifully observed whimsical world of a magician struggling to find work as the variety circuit dies out in favour of rock ‘n’ roll groups, and his relationship to a young Scottish girl who in her naivety misunderstands an act of kindness for genuine magic and makes ever increasing demands on the poor man’s dwindling fortunes.

It is the kind of beautifully observed mix of humour and pathos that made Tati such a genius of universal appeal. Chomet’s palate and style perfectly compliment the tone of the story and it is impossible not to be swept up in it.

Any Tati fan will delight at this film. It is my feeling even those unfamiliar with Tati’s works (and if you are seek out the Hulot comedies now) will still love this film, but you never know.

**** (4 stars)

Trailers: Hereafter & The Fighter

Two new trailers in the right-hand trailer bar (and linked below). Clint Eastwood is always a significant presence come awards season and Hereafter looks like it could follow his usual pattern. I hear great things about Cecile De France in this film, Damon is riding high on last year's Invictus (also for Eastwood) nomination and also appears in a supporting role in the Coens' True Grit this year - doubling his chances again as he did last year with a lead turn in The Informant! alongside Invictus' supporting role.

This looks to be an Eastwood film with a rare large scale and effects work. He has done large scale with effects before (most recently in the brilliant Letters From Iwo Jima and it's less successful companion picture Flags Of Our Fathers).

Unfortunately for all Eastwood's greatness as a director he has in the past shown a fatal flaw, the selection of unknown/child actors. Few people could dispute that the young actors in Gran Torino were terrible, especially the boy. Here even just a snippet of the boy in Hereafter gives the distinct impression of a terrible, wooden performance. Unfair to judge completely on a moment in a trailer but the kid could once again be the fly in the ointment here.

http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi1274415385/

Then we have The Fighter. What to make of this? I am well on record as a supporter of the boxing film. I believe boxing is the most cinematic of sports subjects. Raging Bull may be my favourite film but there are numerous great films that revolve around boxers and boxing, such as: Rocky and its subsequent sequels, Cinderella Man (ignoring Zellweger), The Hurricane, Girlfight, Ali, Million Dollar Baby and Somebody Up There Likes Me.

The Fighter looks good. Generally i don't like Mark Wahlberg but he just got in my good books by being funnier than Will Ferrell in The Other Guys and this looks like one of those roles he can pull off. Add in the always good Amy Adams (although i admit to not having seen the apparently wretched Leap Year) and a typically immersive supporting turn from Christian Bale (is this finally the year he'll get a long overdue nomination?) and i'm there.

Of course it is David O Russell who made the irritatingly smug I Heart Huckabees and comes off as a total ass! But then he also did the great Three Kings, so i'll give him a pass.

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2330986777/

Honorary Oscars for Coppola, Godard, Wallach

The Academy announced the recipients of this year's honorary Governor's Awards today and they include three legends.

Director Francis Ford Coppola, best known for his seminal Godfather trilogy and Apocalypse Now (i also always loved The Conversation) will be honoured.

The great Eli Wallach will be recognised. The actor is now in his 7th decade of making movies and had roles in both The Ghost Writer and Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps this year. He is probably best remembered as the hapless Tuco in The Good, The Bad & The Ugly (left) and as the villainous bandit in The Magnificent Seven.

French filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard, director of such new wave classics as A Bout De Souffle and Masculin Feminin, will also receive the award.

Black Swan trailer

Okay, so after 4 months of astonishing slackness i'm going to try and boot this thing up again (took me three goes to get my password correct!) since awards season is getting going with all the Venice, Toronto, London etc Film Festival line-up announcements coming thick and fast.

One of the most anticipated titles coming up (if you're me) is Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan and the trailer (out today) makes it look as great as i'd have hoped. With a cast including the disturbingly beautiful Natalie Portman, the ridiculous cute Mila Kunis, 80s elfin crush Winona Ryder and some French bloke called Vincent Cassel (coming off the awesome Mesrine films) this looks to be a winner. And Barbara Hershey is in it. First Debra Winger in Rachel Getting Married 2 years ago and now Babs. All we need is Kelly McGillis and the where-are-they-now? of 80s leading ladies will be complete.

I've also updated the trailer bar on the right with the latest trailers for a few other upcoming films, including the brilliant looking (and well buzzed) Get Low, James L Brooks' latest How Do You Know, Paul Haggis' remake of Pour Elle titled The Next Three Days, and another buzz title Love And Other Drugs.


For Black Swan check this out:

http://uk.eonline.com/uberblog/b195828_natalie_portman_ballet_showgirls_black.html?utm_source=eonline&utm_medium=rssfeeds&utm_campaign=imdb_uk_topstories

Hilarious and sad and true! Brilliant breakdown of a Nicholas Sparks' movie

Click on the above image to see it bigger (and more readable)!

This piece from Cracked.com is pure gold. Personally i actually kind of liked The Notebook but that's more to do with a love of Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling than anything else and was the first 'Sparks' movie i'd seen.

The centre piece image from the article (above) is spot on (especially the poster designer bit which cracked me up) but it's worth reading the whole piece as Sparks sounds like a colossal douche!

http://www.cracked.com/funny-4725-nicholas-sparks/