Beautiful Lies ****

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Posted: 09/08/2011

After the hit 2006 comedy Priceless, writer/director Pierre Salvadori joins forces again with internationally acclaimed actress Audrey Tautou for another situational romantic comedy, Beautiful Lies (De vrais mensonges), looking at how misinterpretation and unfrequented love can bring a bittersweet but charming dose of humour.

Tautou plays 30-year-old Emilie, owner of a hairdressing salon who employs Jean (Sami Bouajila), a handyman who is secretly in love with her. Emilie has problems of her own; apart from her own cynical view of love and relationships, she wants to cheer up her mother, Maddy (Nathalie Baye), who still pines for her four-year-absent husband who lives with another younger woman. Emilie receives a passionate love letter one day, signed by an anonymous author (who is actually Jean), and terrified at seeing her mother fall deeper and deeper into despair, decides to concoct a crazy plan: she’ll change the name at the top of the letter and send it to Maddy to boost her confidence. Sadly, her good intentions but ill-thought-out plan backfires dramatically, causing more harm than good.

The concept behind Salvadori’s lively, funny and well-meaning comedy of errors of a letter that acts as a catalyst for drawing out everybody’s real intentions is classic Gallic cinema, full of quirky characters, consuming passion and deceit. Even though classed as a romantic comedy, it goes hand in hand with a much darker, uglier side that explores the consequences of one’s own vanity and pride, including Maddy’s personal triumph that manages to throw up an unexpected surprise.

Unlike Hollywood rom-coms, the reactions, rather than the actions of those caught up in Emilie’s web of lies provide the greatest laughs and deepest meaning to events. Salvadori film-making is not about intentionally producing laughs, but creating a natural humour that occurs from irony and total farce – in effect, nothing feels strained and false, even though a lot of his characters remain larger than life, almost theatrical in nature. In addition, all of his is characters all lack self-confidence, which exposes them to further confusion, misinterpretation and random acts of insanity. This makes them instantly obtainable through their obvious flaws and obsessions, and more redeeming when the truth is revealed.

Tautou who’s bubbly, head-strong character Emilie is nearly identical to her 2001 role of Amelie – played out in a similar shop environment – is the obvious choice for the role. Her angelic, pouting looks hide a scheming personality in all her portrayals, and even though she’s a little trendier and feistier than normal and hits the vodka bottle, she still looks innocent like butter wouldn’t melt, further endearing her to fans of both sexes.

But it’s Tautou’s pairing with Baye that provides the stage for most intriguing dynamics, as each character learns new sides – good and bad – to each other’s personalities. But Baye is the true comedic genius here, never rendering Maddy as totally pathetic, but providing viable credibility to her madness. However, Salvadori still cannot avoid some ‘mature woman’ mockery, even with an unexpected twist in the tail end, and even though he claims that he was exploring the realm of “someone loving and betraying another in the same breath”, based on Maddy’s actions towards her daughter, the ending still seems a little farfetched and daft, almost a letdown for such a strong character who we want to see a happy ending for.

Bouajila as Jean is the perfect, swooningly handsome but reserved romantic lead, biding his time, like a true Shakespearian hero, struggling to come to terms with his unfrequented love for Emilie, while being forced to deal with rejection, humiliation and deception, but with dignity and patience. Salvadori intentionally shows good and bad sides to each character, and even though Jean is initially portrayed as the victim, not all his actions are wholly without fault. It’s the altering goal posts that make continually make this deliciously entertaining and far from stereotypical and predictable in nature.

Beautiful Lies, like its namesake, explores the enticing but paradoxical outcome of telling good and bad fibs, and the poignant consequences on all its players, resulting in bringing the humour to the fore. Coupled with an exotic Mediterranean setting, Salvadori’s small pocket of volatile life, like in any soap opera, is intoxicating to watch and voyeuristic in nature – we watch events as does Emilie’s perplexed salon staff. The fascination is in the expressions, and like all good situational-driven French comedies, fully developed characters are inherent to heightening the pleasure and the absurdity – something that Salvadori is a master at.

4/5 stars

By @FilmGazer

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The Salt Of Life ***

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Posted: 09/08/2011

The protagonist in writer/director and star Gianni Di Gregorio’s poignant new Italian drama, The Salt of Life (Gianni e le donne), may well be in his autumn years and settling down to retirement, but the message is the same for all who catch this touching tale: embrace life and all its opportunities.

Gianni (played Di Gregorio himself) is a middle-aged family man who has recently retired. His wife and grown-up daughter seem too busy with their own lives, his mother (Valeria De Franciscis Bendoni) has him at her beck and call, and his randy old lawyer friend, Alfonso (Alfonso Santagata), is either busy chasing skirt – his younger female clients’ – or setting him up with dates. Gianni struggles not to become old before his time and remain relevant and attractive to those around him, particularly the opposite sex.

This light- and big-hearted tale is almost semi-autobiographical, with Di Gregorio relating to his character’s woes at age 62 himself then writing them down as a witty situational drama. On face value this film appears to target a certain age group (60+), but it speaks to all who fear growing old and losing their looks. It may also affect anyone feeling on the fringes of society, such as the unemployed, or anyone looking for purpose and at a crossroads. The very beginning tricks us into thinking one way about Gianni then surprises us when we get to know him and his growing concerns.

Di Gregorio has all the presence and hounded looks as his troubled namesake character, Gianni, someone who cannot avoid the inevitable but still is in limbo, attracting the healthy respect of women of all ages with his polite and accommodating ways, but not how he sees (or wants to be seen) himself just yet. Di Gregorio’s tender portrayal evokes warming sympathy touched with a twinge of pity at his dilemma. It may seem like a case of ‘the dirty old man’ after the younger woman, but as his company is still very much appealing with women in the story, we are happy to believe his quest is to find happiness and companionship, rather than being wholly sexual in nature, making him even more engaging to watch and empathise with. After all, we hope for a happy ending.

However, the dreamlike ‘mid-life crisis’ finale works contrary to the respect we have built up for Gianni, and feels rather misplaced, like Di Gregorio has run out of a suitable conclusion and doesn’t have any answers from his experience. One part of the plot is never fully explained either: that of his relationship with his wife. Their separate existence needed further development as to why she is not there for him. In fact, a lot of the scenes at Gianni’s home seem disjointed and unclear, whether intentional to heighten the sense of not belonging – as with the random party thrown by his daughter.

The true power of Di Gregorio’s film is in the reactions, rather than the actions of the lead, and these are absorbed as we enjoy going along on Gianni’s adventure. It may seem slightly indulgent from the writer/director, but The Salt of Life acts as a self-assured wake-up call to everyone to take notice of others less involved in our busy lives but equally important.

3/5 stars

By @FilmGazer

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The Devil’s Double****

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Posted: 09/08/2011

Actor Dominic Cooper is best known as the singing and dancing love interest in Mamma Mia, and will be popping up now on people’s radar as Marvel’s scientist Howard Stark in Captain America. But it will be his totally absorbing and alluring dual performance as one of the House of Saddam’s most evil members and his body double (‘fiday’) in Lee Tamahori’s (Die Another Day) The Devil’s Double that will place him firmly on the map. Cooper is a mesmerising chameleon of talent as ‘The Black Prince’ Uday Hussein and his unwilling servant Latif Yahia in this extraordinary real-life story adaptation, based on Yahia’s 2003 book of the same name, that switches between comic lunacy and terror.

In 1987, military man Latif Yahia (Cooper), a former classmate of Saddam’s eldest son Uday (also Cooper) with a strikingly similar appearance, is summoned to the Presidential Palace and told that he must become Uday’s body double, making public appearances in the guise of Uday whenever a dangerous situation calls for it. Yahia is forced to give up his identity, and undergo surgery, dental work and speech therapy to make his appearance identical. But the most chilling part of his new existence is having to witness the decadent and extremely sadistic ways of Uday while surviving 11 assassination attempts and hiding his daily disgust and true feelings for Uday’s mistress, Sarrab (Ludivine Sagnier).

The film hinges solely on Cooper’s performance, which shows him in his finest hour as leading man material and his commendable acting range. The details of Yahia’s experiences play out like a chilling gangster film pumped with testosterone that also has a lot of dark humour to it – Ali G-styled poster aside, simply because of the insanity of Uday’s out-of-control actions. Cooper admitted that both he and Tamahori’s primary concern was distinguishing between Uday and Latif – something neither needed to worry, and technically, even the eye-lines match most of the time.

As Latif, Cooper gives a quietly cautious, thoughtful and emotionally turbulent portrayal, realising the man’s inner frustrations and damaging demons as he tries to put on a proud and composed front in the face of adversity, and act the part of a tyrant he despises. The great forbidden love with Sagnier as Sarrab – herself nicely adding a spark of carefree mischief and joviality to proceedings – diffuses the anxiety and injects a perilously seductive and passionate element into the story.

As Uday, Cooper is like a highly volatile, petulant teenager, both pining for his despot father’s approval and loathing his very being for the treatment of him and his beloved mother. Cooper loosely swings back and forth between over-enthusiastic maniac and wounded animal each second on screen, always with a glint of the devil in his eye. The actor admitted that it was only after registering Uday’s feelings of being Saddam’s mistreated black sheep son and his great love for his mother that allowed him to get under the character’s skin to play him. Cooper’s personal struggle and determination to keep both characters separate is reflected in his meticulous portrayal of both.

Tamahori reels us into the lavish playboy lifestyle of the Husseins, like an 80s yuppie world full of flash cars, exclusive resorts, partying, drugs and beautiful women, while always keeping the tension brewing to allow things to ignite and explode at any moment, and keep us guessing the next step. There is a rich quality to the set design and over-saturation to the cinematography, deliberately reflecting the corruption and opulence of affairs, and a sense of urgency when needed created by the snappy editing process. In the horrifying moments the colour palette changes from a warm gold to a deathly chilling pale blue that works like an icy shot to the veins and poignant reminder of all those who needlessly perished at the hands of the Black Prince. The content of some scenes will sicken viewers, even though events have been played down, but the brutality is kept for full effect.

For those who remember the 80s first time around, there is also a cracking soundtrack, including the title music of Depeche Mode’s Personal Jesus to enjoy. Tamahori has chosen the obvious glamour of the gangster genre over a stark, Cinéma vérité style of a documentary account to remind us that this is an interpretation of a harrowing true story. Nevertheless The Devil’s Double is an all-together powerful and engaging account of solid acting prowess from Cooper, and both entertaining and distressing at any one time.

4/5 stars

By @FilmGazer

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The Smurfs In 3D ***

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Posted: 09/08/2011

Seeing little blue people prancing before your very eyes is usually not a sign of good health. But Raja Gosnell’s The Smurfs In 3D makes you feel far from blue and has a simple if predictable storyline that all ages can get involved with. It’s Smurfin’ good fun.

When the evil wizard Gargamel (Hank Azaria) chases the tiny blue Smurfs out of their village, they tumble from their magical world through a wormhole and into ours in the bright lights of New York City. Now they must find a way back before Gargamel captures them all and drains them of their magical blue essence. They’re going to need some human help first.

If the plotline sounds familiar, then that’s because it is – the idea of mixing live-action and animation was done in the hit 2007 film Enchanted when Giselle pops up and falls in love with a human character in the Big Apple. The Smurfs is much less inventive and charming, and far more slapstick for kids with lots of death-defying accidents and puerile toilet humour, especially when Gargamel is in the frame.

The single most annoying factor for adults here is ‘Smurf-zing’ of all words in the English language. This starts out as quite quaint and a bit of a giggle to share with the kids, but fast wears thin. Still, the little blue people are so cute, cuddly and funny at times that all is very often forgiven as they put a smile back on your pained face – especially when they sing their hypnotic little song that’s actually more fun to sing/hum post-viewing to annoy the hell out of others.

Like all kiddies’ films, the adult heroes are also ‘cute and cuddly’ and funny in a dopey, inoffensive sense. These performances are provided by Neil Patrick Harris as pressurised marketing director Patrick Winslow and Ugly Betty’s Jayma Mays as his hormonally challenged pregnant wife, Grace, two of the nicest New Yorkers any visitor from another world could ever hope to land themselves with. Both Harris and Mays are so kid-friendly and welcoming that it’s hard not to warm to their mounting concern and Smurf loyalty. As always, the lead human character proves his/her worth when the chips are down, and rises to the occasion, proving to the little darlings watching that humanity and kindness to all creeds speaks volumes in any language.

Gurning Azaria who’s the spitting image of the Child Catcher in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang puts on another daft accent and panto performance to become more animated that realistic, but is nevertheless always amusing to watch, if incomprehensible at times. Smaller children looked noticeably frightened of him on screen – especially in 3D with that nose, so there could be repeats of sleepless nights for kids across the land, mirroring the late Sixties/early Seventies, even though this wizard gets his comeuppance.

Naturally, there is a direct commercial angle to the whole film that cannot be ignored, with ‘spot the Sony product placement’ in virtually every shot – but at least it’s not Apple for once. The other aspect that isn’t really necessary is the 3D, although if you fork out for the ticket price, the overall result is better on the eyes than some recent offerings, and the shots use the technology to the best ability.

The Smurfs In 3D is join-the-dots, made-for-kids goofy blue magic that does nothing memorably new, but is guilty of putting a smile on your face, even after the Smurf-zing assault on the ears. If nothing else, it reinvents the franchise, and adds a little cool blue factor to the iconic figures, especially with Katy Perry being the voice behind Smurfette.

3/5 stars

By @FilmGazer

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Super 8 ****

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Posted: 09/08/2011

Since the Spielberg heyday of E.T. and The Goonies, we’ve been waiting for a really smart, contemporary kids sci-fi adventure to match. Although Super 8, a project produced by the film-maker and written and directed by another great, J.J. Abrams (Cloverfield), is a damn fine extraterrestrial Noughties version that will totally capture the hearts and imagination of the younger audience, it doesn’t quite have the striking and lasting emotional connection of E.T. Nevertheless, it’s Abrams indulging in his/our nostalgia, pressing all the right buttons, and wearing a big soppy heart on his sleeve in the process.

Set in the summer of 1979, Joe Lamb (Joel Courtney) and friends are into their Super 8mm film-making, and through the eye of young horror fan, director Charles (Riley Griffiths), set off to the local train station to grabs shots for their next scene, starring the boys’ secret crush, Alice (Elle Fanning). What happens next startles the group when they witness a mysterious train crash that involves one of their teachers. Soon after, they begin to notice strange happenings going on in their small town, and begin to investigate the creepy phenomenon.

Super 8 can be described as an engaging cross between coming-of-age exploration films like The Goonies, with tender, heartfelt moments of Stand by Me, and Abrams’s supernatural, alien fascination. Naturally, the kids are the heroes and mature overnight to solve the riddle, as well as trying to deal with growing up and their hormones kicking into touch. The film-making nod in the film points to a young Abrams’s developing hobby, and is also a blessing seeing imagination being used in a modern-day world dominated by video games. It also serves as a way into the characters’ personalities as we are exposed to their passions, frustrations and fears for the future. In this sense, it’s true retro 80s film-making in itself.

There are some exceptionally accomplished performances from all the young leads, including Courtney, Fanning and Griffiths, that keep you well and truly gripped, especially from newcomer Courtney who makes his highly impressive and touching debut here, and Fanning who demonstrates the same self-assured acting ability as her elder sibling, Dakota. In fact, Courtney’s immerging talent has landed him the role of Tom Sawyer in a 2013 adaptation, speaking volumes for his impact here. The kids’ thirst for intelligent answers matches our own curiosity, as Abrams slow-drips the information as to what’s happening in the bigger picture. As a result of the writer/director understanding where they stand and giving them a more mature outlook on the whole affair, adult viewers won’t get left behind while revelling in memories of their yonder years, and are right behind the intrepid adventurers in their big face-off.

It’s this part of the film that does feel a little ‘alien’ from the rest; the whole extraterrestrial confrontation is a tad uneven and rushed, reaching a resolution without anyone putting up much of a fight. Indeed, with kids in mind (12A rating), not too much gore can be shown. Still, Abrams either had to cut these cavernous scenes right back, or the budget went on the impressive and bone-chilling train crash at the start. That said the aliens in the film are not portrayed as monsters as such, and are in the same mindset as the District 9 visitors – misunderstood, rather than wantonly destructive. And it’s this renewed knowledge that makes the young heroes more accommodating than their jaded parental figures and their knee-jerk reactions in the film.

As for the special effects (and thankfully NO 3D), ‘more is less’ than recent sci-fi action dramas, with a lot of parallels between the limited resources and tools of the kids’ horror flick and the use of more emotive lighting effects than CGI in Abrams’ bigger frame. Indeed, after all the grandeur of the ending that’s reminiscent of E.T., we get to see Courtney and co’s final cut before the credits role, hopefully inspiring a new wave of film-making talent in the school summer holidays.

4/5 stars

By @FilmGazer

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Zookeeper **

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Posted: 09/08/2011

On first glance at the poster, you’d be forgiven in thinking it was Night At The Museum: Part 3, only starring cuddly comedian Kevin James of Paul Blart: Mall Cop fame, instead of Ben Stiller. Well, you’ve got the animal business right – and the cute/irritating monkey (depending on your stance). James acting the monkey, with the monkey (or gorilla in this case) provides the funniest moments of Frank Coraci’s new family animal comedy, Zookeeper (co-penned by James), that peddles the same old tired format of ‘animals overcoming man’s personal and social problems’.

James is Griffin Keyes, a man who loves his job as a zookeeper but who loses a girlfriend (played by Leslie Bibb) over his lack of ambition to move up the corporate ladder. After a pep talk from his successful car salesman brother and another encounter with his ex, Keyes decides to leave the zoo for pastures new. However, the animals at the zoo are very fond of Keyes and decide to break their code of silence in order to help their lovable zookeeper find love – without opting to leave his current job for something more illustrious.

Zookeeper starts out with some promise, albeit tongue-in-cheek slapstick action, with James as Keyes trying to propose on a beach. The funny man has developed his own brand of ‘pity the big fool’ humour and nothing much changes here: It’s endearing and disarming, which is what makes any of his characters instantly good-natured underdogs that you can get behind. Plus we like to see the big dope get the good-looking gal, as he does here. Rosario Dawson as attractive colleague Kate is fun to watch, too, and gets better exposure as the film goes on. However, she merely makes up the human character ranks, rather than getting the chance to provide any memorable comic gems.

At one point at the start, private prayers were muttered along the lines of, “Oh please Lord, don’t make this a real-action/CG version of the original Madagascar, full of street-wise, wise-cracking, tedious animals who escape their confines”. We know the outcome of the story straightaway from Keyes’s first meet-cute, so there needs to be something else to go along for the ride for. Indeed, as the film goes on, and Coraci sensibly keeps the animals in the compound, Zookeeper ramps up the idiocy and the gags, including a eye-wateringly funny classic TGI Fridays eye-popping moment, some cheesy wedding dancing that sees James defy gravity, and a Candid Camera case of bad driving that’s left to unfold to provide one of the most hilarious scenes of the whole film.

The trouble is, it’s made-to-measure holiday fun, without anything unique to it and rather bland animals – apart from Nick Nolte’s Bernie the Gorilla. But if you’re a big James fan, it’s a feast of silliness to indulge on. At times, there are too many gags placed one after the other and adult references that made the adults snigger (or roll eyes upwards), but begin to bore the youngsters – and vice versa with dumb-down or blatantly obvious/crude humour.

If animals and comedians acting up are your bag, Zookeeper is a big, daft, soppy and beasty love tale that’s tame and inoffensive enough to kill time this summer holiday – the trouble is, the adult soul-mate searching part may tire the kids (and some adults), even with James and the film-makers’ good, clean intentions.

2/5 stars

By @FilmGazer

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A Better Life ***

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Posted: 09/08/2011

Tackling the all too common situation of illegal US immigration, About A Boy’s Chris Weitz opts for making a film full of good intentions that focuses on the larger issue from a narrower perspective. The result is an effecting, warm and compelling father-son relationship tale about love triumphing over adversity that manages on the whole to avoid the standard Hispanic movie clichés – heartstrings-twanging ending aside – and give a more positive representation of the community living in contemporary LA.

Demián Bichir plays Carlos Galindo, a hardworking and respectful illegal immigrant from Mexico working as a gardener in LA’s wealthier districts while trying to single-handedly raise his teen son, Luis (José Julián). Struggling to steer his son away from gangs and immigration agents, his break into ‘a better life’ to give his son the opportunities he never had leads to tragedy and a real test of his father-son relationship.

However sincere, if predictable Weitz’s film is that follows a similar plot to Vittorio De Sica’s Bicycle Thieves it’s still prone to melodrama in parts, and relentlessly hammers home the injustices in its characters’ moments of reflection. It’s an interesting affair to get a deep-seated feeling of patriotism from a non-Mexican director, although even his and Eric Eason’s take on Roger L. Simon’s story still feels like ‘outsiders looking in’ in a romantic sense. These moments tend to detract attention away from the more intriguing male relationship core that the story promises, something that the director has proven an expert of portraying in his 2002 film, starring Hugh Grant.

With Bichir’s mesmerising performance, though, the film never fails to be deeply affecting, as Bichir is gracious, proud and determined as Galindo, whatever life throws at him, making him a formidable and moralistic presence of good. It’s his son who, like us, questions why he so gallantly persists in his efforts. Luis represents that fascinating generation of multiculturalism struggling with its own uncertain and ever-evolving identity. Julián is cast well opposite Bichir, and never over dramatises Luis’s reactions. Much like the story, he manages to avoid the pitfalls and inevitable forecast we might come to expect. In this respect, Weitz continually surprises.

Nevertheless, Weitz becomes almost impatient in the latter part, undoing all his hard work in tactfully personalising the situation, by hastily drumming home the key social and political issues, before the poignant final scene appears on screen. It’s left down to his commendable cast to save the day and the film’s finale, which they do, clawing it back from the brink of genre parity. For this reason alone, overall, A Better Life can be remembered as a humble but richly nuanced character study full of compassion.

3/5 stars

By @FilmGazer

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Captain America: The First Avenger ****

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Posted: 09/08/2011

Marvel’s The Avengers better be the film to end all comic book adapted films in May 2012, as we’ve been serviced with more than our fair share of the genre of late in the build up. Fanboys and girls will always have their favourite characters – which naturally makes them biased in terms of the films, Thor, Iron Man etc. Then along comes US golden boy Captain America– or Steve Rogers – to sway opinion. As a standalone film for the uninitiated, this is the best so far, with a real old-fashioned hero verses evil villain, and all set in an historical context. The other good news is even though the 3D is done in post, more thought has gone into camera angles to enhance the technology, so it’s an improved 3D experience – even if it’s still really used to emphasise depth of field.

It’s 1942, and slightly built and sickly Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) wants to serve his country fighting the Nazis and complete his military service. After being deemed unfit and trying numerous ways of getting enrolled, Rogers volunteers for a top secret research project led by Dr. Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci) involving injections of Super-Soldier serum and “Vita-Ray” treatment that turns him into the buff and powerful Captain America, a superhero dedicated to defending America’s ideals – especially against those who set out to destroy them, namely The Third Reich and Red Skull (Hugo Weaving).

Aesthetically, the film has all the Marvel qualities to thrill its loyal fan base; 2D-rendered cartoon animation, subdued, moody palette splattered with intentional or signature colour and symbols when needed, and rousing, slow-mo, gravity/reality-defying action sequences, to name a few. As mentioned, the 3D in some panoramic shots further opens up the depth of the Marvel universe on screen, and beautifully frames the characters and objects – like Captain America’s infamous flying weapon, his shield – in intriguing angles at times. However, style goes hand in hand with good shot planning, with a lot of the action directed towards the audience in a vortex-styled way, again mimicking a full 3D-filmed experience and adding further dimension.

All that sounds a trifle stylised, and the whole affair is in a sense because it simultaneously highlights the showmanship of Captain America after he is first ‘born’, paraded as a nation’s male sweetheart and symbol of hope in a time of war. But as this Marvel story is more rounded and substantial on its own merits, the former adds, rather than subtracts from the whole experience, which is a great adventure. The first and last scenes tie up The Captain’s journey to date with a thrilling conclusion.

As well as a good old-fashioned story that’s often reminiscent of Indiana Jones’s personal struggle with Nazi marauders, it’s Joe Johnston’s cast who ultimately bring all the colourful characters to life, particularly Evans. No stranger to playing superheroes as Johnny Storm, aka the Human Torch in Fantastic Four, this character is more focused, respectful and passionate about his acquired powers and how he uses them. Evans’s dedication to doing full justice to the part is very evident throughout – both physically and mentally. As the all-American boy himself, Evans is perfectly cast, very personable, funny and surprisingly engaging. His costume is in keeping with the original, too, as are his multiple martial arts fighting skills.

However, it’s the stellar support that Evans receives that really fleshes out the adventure. The film is full of wonderfully witty retorts and hilarious observations from the likes of Tucci as cynical Dr Erskine and Tommy Lee Jones as dry Colonel Chester Phillips that are given time to court audience reaction, rather than being merely mumbled throwaways in the script. Evans has his own deadpan banter, especially with members of his Inglourious Basterds-like gang of soldiers, including ‘Bucky’ Barnes (Sebastian Stan), an important sub-plot and relationship in the film that doesn’t feel as poignantly reconstructed as it does in the graphic books.

Hayley Atwell is excellent as the dishy beauty with brains and lushious red-lipped Agent Peggy Carter, a woman holding her own in a man’s world who is endeared by Rogers’s naivety with the ladies, and eventually falls for The Captain. Screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely have kept her as authentic and ladylike as possible, without succumbing to a contemporary ‘girl power’ slant, which is nicely in-keeping with the period the film is set in.

The threat of terrorism is equally rife in the 1940s as it is today, and this very poignant in this story. Weaving dons the red mask as Nazi-turned-Red Skull, a despot set on world domination with the help of the Cosmic Cube who looks like a skeletal version of Darth Maul. Weaving’s theatrical performance is as delightfully clichéd, as you’d expect, complete with comical faux German accent and SS-style leather outfits, but his chilling presence from his days of The Matrix’s Agent Smith is tapped into here to further enjoy. Sadly, the evil mastermind’s final confrontation feels too brief, throwing the spotlight back onto The Captain and his mission. It’s a shame as it would have gone to demonstrate how these opposing minds and enhanced physical beings were equal adversaries in the comic books.

That said, this beautifully rendered, fully developed and action-busting tale to complete The Avengers hype is a credit to all cast and crew involved. Captain America packs a comic, moralistic and patriotic punch that’s well worth watching, regardless of your interest in further following the Marvel adventure.

4/5 stars

By @FilmGazer

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Horrible Bosses ****

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Posted: 09/08/2011

We’ve all had one. They come in all shapes and sizes. Their mission, it seems, is to make our working lives a living nightmare. So it’s understandable that Michael Markowitz’s story, Horrible Bosses, brings a gleeful curiosity as to how other helpless souls deal with their own private workplace horror. Director Seth Gordon’s cast of Jason Bateman, Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikisdemonstrate with effortless panache how to get the boss back in understated but pitch-perfect humour.

The plot is simple: three average, hard-working friends, Nick (Bateman), Dale (Day) and Kurt (Sudeikis) have three different nightmare bosses to contend with each day. Nick’s is a control-freak psycho called Dave Harken (Kevin Spacey). Dale’s is a man-eating sex pest called Dr. Julia Harris (Jennifer Aniston). Finally, Kurt’s top boss dies leaving his tool of a son, Bobby (Colin Farrell), running matters – and he’s only concerned with squeezing every last drop of cash out of the family firm to fund his playboy lifestyle. The trio decide to take drastic measures to rid each other of their awful bosses once and for all.

The comedy has all the initial characteristics of an Apatow/Rogen romp like Pineapple Express, including an endearing central bromance, trouble with some white powder and oddball characters, and is paced in much the same way. However, Gordon has struck gold with his three leads, Bateman, Sudeikis and Day, who are a comic tour de force of understated, observational and more mature humour, and who keep the giggles coming in the more serious moments.

A lot of the gags, however, still cover old ground, but the story-defining buddy bond that seems so completely natural between the trio rekindles the same affections for more of the same humour, especially as the casting is so strong in this. In fact, rather that clashing personalities swamping the same scene, each character is carefully introduced, along with each devil boss, showing their woes and individual coping mechanisms, allowing us to empathise with each. Apart from the odd freak-out moment of Day as drug-induced Dale – reminiscent of screeching Bobcat Goldthwait’s Zed, the insanity comes not from the three trying to be such, but the escalation of each farcical situation.

Actually, it’s the bosses, played by Spacey, Aniston and Farrell that are far larger than life in comparison, making them appear even more neurotic, narcissistic and appalling, and emphasising their evil traits. Markowitz clearly defines his good and the bad guys in this, without showing any mitigating personal circumstances of those in charge and clouding any judgements. We hate all three from start to finish – even though one (Aniston) makes for an attractive distraction in the process.

Horrible Bosses delivers what it promises; a hugely satisfying sacrificial culling of those at the top, goading a panto-style witch hunt of all three bosses with relish and a guilty-free conscience. It’s a great balance of a sharply written script and all those involved, and makes for a seriously refreshing tonic after a hard week’s graft.

4/5 stars

By @FilmGazer

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