REVIEW: Moonrise Kingdom (12A)

There are those who will dismiss Wes Anderson's latest movie, Moonrise Kingdom, as a pointless periphery - quirkiness for the sake of it, rather like the briefly amusing, but ultimately irritating, Stella Artois Cidre adverts ("C'est Cidre not cider").



Moonrise Kingdom is a celebration of young love in the naively innocent America of the mid-1960s. It is both charming and exquisitely filmed giving a sense of period and a picture postcard view of the islands where it is set. There are plenty of Wes Anderson's trademark panning shots - moving from one room to another - and clever use of texts and letters that show an awareness of the possibilities of cinema without having to resort to CGI effects or 3D to achieve visual interest and effects.

Moonrise Kingdom is set in New Penzance, a small New England coastal town, in 1965, in a little coastal town in New England called New Penzance. Sam (Jared Gilman) and Suzy (Kara Hayward) are two bright but unpopular kids who fall in love. Sam, an orphan, is a member of the Khaki Scouts. Suzy reads sci-fi and the music of Françoise Hardy on her brother's portable record player. She spies on people - her parents and their friends - using a pair of binoculars.

Sam and Suzy decide to run away together and the ensuing crisis highlights the problems in the lives of Suzy's lawyer parents (played by Bill Murray and Frances McDormand). Ed Norton is the ridiculous leader of the scout troop, and Bruce Willis is the lonely police chief, but they all pull together in fear and of the social services officer (Tilda Swinton) who is overly keen keen to pack Sam away into an orphanage.

The movie is gently comic throughout, with touches of the absurd and the exaggerated. There are few outright belly laughs, but they wouldn't seem at home amongst the quirkiness and oddity of Anderson's cinematic style - full of small town America and simple lives torn apart by more modern events and sensitivities all of which seem awkward and alien to the world of New Penzance.

The soundtrack is a fascinating mix of, amongst other things, period songs by Hank Williams and a variety of pieces by Benjamin Britten (including his Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, Simple Symphony and Noye's Fludde - which becomes particularly significant towards the end of the movie).

I thoroughly enjoyed Moonrise Kingdom - it is simple storytelling at its best, with some fantastic performances from all involved (but notably the two young stars in their first movie). Sadly, as is so often the case with the slightly off-beat, it has had a limited release and will be forgotten amongst the Special FX of all the blockbusters being released this week and next.

REVIEW: The Hunger Games (12A)

I've never been one to be sucked into cult teen stories. Sure, as a school kid I read Lord of the Rings and the Narnia books but wasn't a big fan of either. Now as an adult I found Harry Potter to be a bit dull (though the movies got better as the series progressed) and Twilight... well I'm male and went through puberty several decades ago so I'm clearly not in the intended demographic!

I'd never heard of The Hunger Games books until publicity for the movie began and, as it's aimed at "young adults" I wasn't totally convinced I should bother but, hey ho, I thought I'd give it a go.

The Hunger Games is set in a dystopian future world where, as an annual television event, the 12 Districts put up one girl and one boy aged between 12 and 18 to compete to the death for the honour of the district. Only one can survive.

Now I'm sure there will be those who wil decry the movie and say it's not as good as the book. I'm not convinced. That, as far as I can see, is adults trying to justify why they're reading books intended for teenagers - the same people for whom Harry Potter was published in an edition with more adult looking covers to spare their blushes on the morning commute.

It's an odd mix of a movie with elements blatantly lifted from The Truman Show, Lost and even Death Race 2000 - and not as good as any of them. It's all very clunky and awkward and, to be honest, would probably have worked better as a mini series.

It's very stylised but all so very, very predictable. Even the twist at the end (Donald Sutherland's intervention) is highly predictable in a way that the twist at the end of The Truman Show was a surprise.

Jennifer Lawrence gives a good performance as Katniss, the female representative for District 12 who volunteers herself in place of her younger sister, but Josh Hutcherson, who plays Peeta, the male representative, has as much life and character as one of those life size cardboard cut outs cinemas often have in their foyer. Most of the time he seems to be reading his lines from the trees where the games are held. (At one point Peeta is experimenting with camouflaging himself as a tree... which says all you need to know about his acting!)

If The Hunger Games are such great books they almost certainly deserve a better movie than this. I suspect fans of the books have over stated their case and it's simply a mediocre story made into a mediocre movie with a big advertising budget.

REVIEW: The Raven (15)

About 20 years ago I spent a few days in Philadelphia and visited Edgar Allen Poe's house there. It may have changed since then but when I visited the house was completely empty, there was no furniture or memorabilia, not even a bookcase with the author's books on it. The whole house was undecorated and the walls were, if I remember rightly, unplastered. Somehow, though, the tour guide made it into a thoroughly enjoyable and memorable visit weaving details of Poe's life with his poems and stories.



In many ways that is what The Raven does.

Edgar Allen Poe, the American master of horror, is found sitting on a park bench in Baltimore. He is dazed and confused and near death.

What follows is a ripping yarn of a serial killer inspired by Poe's writings, and all his most famous works get a mention. It is, on many ways, a bit like the movie Se7en but transferred to mid-19th century America.

It's not art but a great romp with cloaks and candles, graveyards and cellars, horse riding and a masked ball and a body count that would put Midsomer Murders to shame!

John Cusack, not known for period drama, is convincing as Edgar Allen Poe and the supporting cast all play their parts to support the twists and turns of the story. Alice Eve, the daughter of Actors Trevor Eve and Sharon Maughan, is Poe's love interest, the woman he wants to marry but her father objects to the suggestion of marriage.

Towards the end of the movie the possibility that it's all been the narrative of a near death dream - bringing together all the threads of his life's works. Has it all be an hallucination?

I'm not one for blood and guts and gore, and it's worth noting there are a few rather gory moments that, along with some fairly mild swearing, definitely warrant the 15 certificate

Overall - an enjoyable romp!

REVIEW: Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (12A)

9/11, the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington DC, took place less than a month before our first child was born. My wife and I wondered what sort of a world we were bringing a child into or even if there was going to be a world to bring them into as we watched images of the Twin Towers being attacked, on fire and, eventually, tumbling into piles of rubble.



It's unusual for Tom Hanks to be in a controversial movie, but Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close has received a lot of criticism from those who say that it is too soon to explore the emotions of that day in September 2001, and yet it isn't the first movie about the events that shook the world and changed everyone's lives since. Even with critics of the timing and suitability of the subject matter, and some other very negative reviews, the movie has been nominated for Best Movie at the Oscars, which take place on February 26th.

Stephen Daldry's movie is an adaptation of a novel, written in 2005, by Jonathan Safran Foer. The movie begins with a body falling from the sky - one of the "jumpers" who leapt from the WTC.

Oskar Schell (played by Thomas Horn in his first ever movie role, having been spotted as a winner on a kids' special of the quiz show Jeopardy) is the son of Thomas Schell (Tom Hanks), who died in the Twin Towers on 9/11.

Oskar recalls the scavenger hunts his father set up for him to help him deal with the real world as Oskar is, it is implied, borderline Asperger's. The hunts are meant to be a learning experience so that Oskar can learn that "if things were easy to find, they wouldn't be worth finding". The scavenger hunt starts at a playground swing in Central Park, where Thomas says he played as a child. Oskar, though, is afraid of swings.

Oskar school closes early on September 11th and when he gets home he finds six messages on the answer machine from his father. His mother (Sandra Bullock) is at work, so Oskar listens to the messages which say that his father is in the World Trade Center on the 105th floor of the North Tower. Oskar switches on the television and watches the TV news coverage of the events. As the Twin Towers collapse, Oskar realises his father has been killed and goes to hide underneath his bed.

A few weeks later Oskar tells his grandmother what happened and as they become closer Oskar's relationship with his mother worsens as she is unable to explain why the events of 9/11 and the death of Oskar's father happened.

One year on, Oskar decides to look through his father's closet and, in doing so, smashes a blue vase in which there is a key inside an envelope. On the envelope is the word "Black". Oskar decides to track down what the key fits will open. He looks up the name "Black" in the phone book and finds there are 417 people with that surname. And so Oskar sets about meeting all 417 people called Black to ask if they knew his father.

Well into his hunt, Oskar notices that an elderly man had moved into his grandmother's apartment. His grandmother describes him as a "stranger".

Calling on his grandmother, he meets the stranger (Max Von Sydow) and the two strike up a touching friendship. The stranger, known only as "The Renter" doesn't talk, perhaps because of a childhood trauma in the Second World War, so he communicates by writing messages on a notebook.

Eventually, Oskar does find where the key belongs and learns to confront many of his fears of the world.

Now, there are some lovely moments, and, yes, I admit it, there were a couple of times when I blubbed (but then I am known to cry at all sorts of films from Up! and Toy Story 3 to West Side Story and Scott of the Antarctic (yes, really)). The friendship between Oskar and The Renter is genuinely touching, and Max von Sydow's performance is beautifully expressive despite him not speaking (indeed, he is one of three actors nominated for an Oscar who says nothing!), but so much of the movie is overly long and clunky.

The basic premise of the movie, a young boy moving around Manhattan alone while his mother stays at home being depressed, is justified by a tortuous, unbelievable and clunky plot device late on.

Now, I'm normally someone who prefers movies to books, but maybe, just maybe, I can see that this might be better as a book. The web of small stories of all the people Oskar meets on his hunt just seem rambling and pointless in the movie but could each be explored more in a book. (I've not read the book, maybe that rambles and doesn't make complete sense either!).

And there's no real explanation of the title, which, after Martha Marcy May Marlene has to be the trickiest title to get right in many a year.

It's not an awful film, I've seen much worse, and worse films have ended up winning Best Movie at the Oscars, but, for me, this wasn't the movie I was hoping for, it didn't live up to the trailer which, I thought, looked inspiring, emotional and coherent.

REVIEW: The Woman in Black (12A)

I remember, years ago, going to see the play of The Woman in Black in the West End and being told by everyone that it was the most terrifying thing EVER! I left the theatre disappointed, feeling rather short changed that, yes, it had scary moments but it was, to my mind, far from being the scariest thing EVER!



Today I went to see The Woman in Black in its movie version. It has, of course, generated a lot of publicity as you'd expect from the first movie adaptation of a best selling novel that's also been a hugely successful West End play. Oh, and of course, it's Daniel Radcliffe's first movie since the Harry Potter franchise came to an end last year. In recent weeks it's been difficult to avoid Mr. Radcliffe while he does the publicity rounds - in fact, the only people with a higher public profile in recent weeks are disgraced footballers and Muppets (insert your own joke here!).

The movie has been adapted by Jane Goldman from the original Susan Hill novel and is very different from the play, which is a two-hander, though the bulk of the acting is done by Radcliffe and Ciaran Hinds who plays Daily, the wealthy local landowner who takes it upon himself to help Kipps.

The story tells of Arthur Kipps, a young lawyer, who travels to a remote village in the North East of England in order to sort out the estate of a deceased woman. He isn't welcomed by the locals, who make the locals in American Werewolf in london seem friendly but he, nonetheless, begins work at the old house which is situated on a tidal island. Gradually, as he gets to work, strange things start happening and he sees visions of the Woman in Black.

It's a tremendous ghost story, and it's great to see the legendary Hammer brand being relaunched like a phoenix from the flames of oblivion. The scares come, on the whole, from your own imagination. There's lots of suggestion and things are implied without things being particularly graphic or gruesome. I'm really not one of gory slasher movies! There's always something sinister when you combine clockwork toys, shadows, candles and an old, deserted house - this uses these brilliantly and, I have to admit, I got goosebumps and chills on several occasions through the film.

There were some genuine squeals of fright from others in the cinema too. If you don't get to see it at the cinema, and I suggest you do try to see it on the big screen, it'll be a great movie to watch on DVD at Hallowe'en.

REVIEW: Midnight in Paris (12A)

The past few months have seen some tremendous performances by actors being other, historical figures - Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher, and Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe being, perhaps, the most noteworthy. In Midnight in Paris, Owen Wilson plays Woody Allen. He's not billed as that, nor is he actually impersonating Woody Allen, who wrote and directed this movie, but every line that Wilson says you can imagine coming from Woody Allen's mouth. If he'd worn a pair of thick rimmed specs you'd think it was a good impersonation.



I really enjoyed Midnight in Paris, but then I do like Woody Allen movies. If you don't like Woody Allen you're probably best avoiding this. It has all the hallmarks you expect: a jazzy soundtrack; an awkward leading male; several attractive females; a witty script; and some beautifully shots of one of the world's greatest cities (this time Paris and not New York).

Gil Pender (Owen Wilson) is a Hollywood scriptwriter who is in Paris for a holiday with his fiancée and her parents. He is writing a novel and finds inspiration from walking the streets of Paris late at night or in the rain. His fiancée doesn't understand and lets him go off on his own. Gil gets lost and, as a church clock strikes midnight, an old fashioned car pulls up. The car is a portal back to the 1920s, where Pender meets many of his literary heroes.

It may not be Annie Hall or Manhattan but it is great fun, with many big laughs. The period detail is well observed and, although the movie is a lead role for Wilson, the ensemble acting is tremendous, as you'd expect in a Woody Allen movie.

There are tremendous performances from Rachel McAdams, Michael Sheen and, even, Carla Bruni, the wife of French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Definitely worth going to see if you like Woody Allen or if you love Paris. I look forward to seeing it again, which has to be a good sign.

366/18 - dragon

Click here for today's project 366:

Dragon

Crouching Tiger

Persnickety

REVIEW: The Iron Lady (12A)

Everyone over the age of about 30 has an opinion about Margaret Thatcher. One of the most influential, and one of the most controversial, politicians ever to rise through the party ranks to become Prime Minister.



I was never a supporter of hers (the first General Election I could vote in was 1983 when she got re-elected, wiping away the more intelligent, but scruffier, Michael Foot). That was the only election I ever voted Labour, back when that party had principles but wasn't good at presentation. She became PM when I was 14 and stopped when I was 25. She was also the Education Secretary while I was in primary school - "Margaret Thatcher, Milk Snatcher!" - so I guess I can be described as a "Child of Thatcher"!

"The Iron Lady" is an odd biopic as it takes one of the world's most powerful women and portrays her as old and frail and suffering from dementia. Her career is shown via flashbacks but, perhaps because of the constraints of being a commercially viable movie, the story of her political career is highly selective and omits many major and significant moments.

Meryl Streep is phenomenal as Margaret Thatcher as firmer grocer's daughter who wants to lead the Tories, as the strident leader who orders the sinking of the Belgrano, as the out of control, maniacal demon she became, and as the old and frail woman who imagines conversation with Dennis, who has been dead for 8 years. Streep has perfected every intonation and every mannerism. Finally, there is a better Thatcher impersonator than Steve Nallon!

Phyllida Lloyd, who directed Streep in "Mama Mia!" seems to want to skim over most of Thatcher's most divisive decisions. Sure, there's scenes if riots and strikes, and police armed with batons, but so much is left out it feels incomplete. For instance, Richard E. Grant looks good as Michael Heseltine, Thatcher's arch nemesis within the Tory party, but in this movie he's hardly seen - in one scene he's there being supportive, and then he's suddenly announcing he'll stand against her in the 1990 coup that saw Thatcher's fall from powe, and John Major becoming Prime Minister.

Maybe the selectiveness of the episodes from her life are meant to be symbolic of the Alzheimer's that she is suffering... Or maybe it's just a script that's not quite got the balance right.

The young Margaret Roberts is played, rather well, by Alexandra Roach. She gets in to Oxford, gets involved in politics, loses her first by-election, gets married and gets into parliament but, as a rather staid, middle-class woman who wears hats and pearls and, "does screech too much" - there are few hints of what is to come but, at the point Streep takes over, she suddenly becomes more focused and develops the beliefs that will dominate a nation for over a decade and still have an effect today. However, there is no signs of where these beliefs came from, beyond inspiration from her father.

It's also a shame that the soundtrack limits itself to Thatcher's personal likes (Rodgers & Hammerstein and Bellini operas apparently) and rather insipid original music and doesn't make use of, or explore, the music of the various eras through which the movie travels.

The movie has massively divided opinion. Some, including current Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron, believe the movie has been made too soon and should have waited until Thatcher had passed to the great Grocer's shop in the sky. Others, from the other end of the political spectrum, find it objectionable that it shows Thatcher in a sympathetic light. I also know some staunch left wingers who have been impressed by Thatcher's drive and vision, even if they disagree with her politics, and some, who supported her at the time, who now have a different view with hindsight. What is great is that the movie has got people talking about movies and about politics.

It's fair to say that I did enjoy watching "The Iron Lady", as, it seemed, did the rest of the audience when I it. It is cinematically structured and presented, with some pleasing moments, and, well, Streep is fantastic and VERY likely to win the Best Actress OSCAR on February 26th.

REVIEW: The Artist (PG)

Everyone's heard about The Artist surely? It's one if the most discussed movies for many a year and, for a change, there seems to be general agreement that this movie is good very good, in fact. It's a sweet and simple comedy set in the Hollywood of the late 1920s and early 1930s and tells its story through the cinematic language of the time: in black and white and, mostly, silent, with an outstanding musical score.



For those who have a love for, or interest in, early cinema it's been a good couple of months for movies looking back and celebrating early cinema. First there was Martin Scorsese's brilliant Hugo, a movie which, better than any other has ever managed, utilises 3D as a genuine cinematic tool. Now we have The Artist, exploring the end of the silent era and the dawn of the talkies.

George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) is a matinee idol, in the mould of Douglas Fairbanks or Errol Flynn - the romantic action hero who is the biggest name in Hollywood. Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo), a young hopeful actress, bumps into Vslentin at the premiere of one of his movies and, as is the case in such silent movie romances, she’s cast as an extra in his next movie which he begins shooting the next day.

Valentin is unhappily married and Miller is considerably younger, so his relationship with Peppy never becomes more than flirtatious. Their attraction towards each other, however, is clear. With a little help from George, Peppy soon becomes a star in her own right but, as she becomes famous, his stardom begins to lose its shone. Peppy is ideally placed to benefit from the introduction of sound in movies but he is dropped by his studio as a has been of the silent era.

Writer-director Michel Hazanavicius references various screen classics including Citizen Kane, Harold Lloyd, Charlie Chaplin, Billy Wilder and even some music borrowed (stolen?) from Bernard Herrmann’s score for Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo.

It's fair to say that, in many ways, the film is slight - it isn't trying to reinvent anything or do anything new, but it is a tremendous pastiche of a significant era in movie history and manages a few twists that add to the style rather than merely seem gimmicky.

The main two stars are tremendous and carry off their roles with aplomb. The main strength of the movie is the love story between them - gentle, sweet and totaly believable within the context of the genre.

Definitely worth seeing - will it win the Oscar for Best Movie? I'm not sure - my guess is it'll either win everything or nothing depending on whether those voting get behind the pastiche. There are probably better movies that have been made this year, but they don't have the same hype and expectation that The Artist has developed.

MOVIES: Could a silent movie win Oscar?

Could The Artist be the first silent movie to win the Oscar for Best Movie since Wings in 1929?

A lot of people think it might.

MOVEMBER: Top 5 Movie Moustaches

During November each year, Movember encourages me to grow moustaches to help raise funds and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer and other cancers that affect men.

Here are my Top 5 Movie Moustaches - just moustaches, not beards!

5: Charlie Chaplin

4: John Travolta

3: Samuel L Jackson

2: Clark Gable

1: Tom Selleck

Who did I miss? Who hosts your favourite moustache?

REVIEW: Anonymous (12A)

There are probably more theories about who wrote the works of William Shakespeare than there are plays that bear his name. Anonymous adds to the conspiracy theory list by suggesting that Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford (played brilliantly by Rhys Ifans) actually wrote them but, because of his position in society, it was inappropriate for that fact to be known.



The movie is full of political intrigue and has some fantastic scenery and tremendous set-pieces. The conceit is maintained well throughout and the theory/fiction, depending on your point of view, is linked into history to make it enjoyably believable.


Vanessa Redgrave's frail and aging Queen Elizabeth I is tremendous - if Judy Dench can get an Oscar for her 8-minute portrayal of Elizabeth I in Shakespeare In Love then Ms. Redgrave is a show-in for one next Spring.

Shakespeare, himself, is initally portrayed as an illiterate buffoon by Rafe Spall before becoming rather more stute and making the most of the "situation".

For me, the outstanding performance was that of Sebastian Armesto (King Ferdinand VI in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides ) who took on the role of Ben Jonson the poet who the Earl of Oxford originally offers his plays to before Will Shakespeare.


Sadly, Sony, in their wisdom, have limited the release of Anonymous to 250 cinemas believing that the British public won't "get it" and will be put off by a movie about Shakespeare. I don't know whether this is a reflection of an idiotic business decision or an idiotic nation.


Definitely worth going to see.

TOP 10: Utopian Movies

Yesterday I posted my Top 10 Dystopian Movies, as a result of which I was challenged to come up with a Top 10 Utopian Movies by @ppmw.

It's much harder than I expected.

I guess the main problem is that there aren't many - after all, how much drama is there in a world where everything is wonderful?

Consequently, I've come up with a Top 10 that has a Utopia, of sorts, for a sizeable chunk of the movie or people trying to create a Utopia.

I hope that's not stretching the rules of the challenge too much, Paul!

Here are my Top 10 Utopian movies.

1. The Truman Show (one of my all-time favourite movies!)

2. Lost Horizon

3. Logan's Run Some will argue to it being more dystopia than utopia..

4. Things To Come

5. The Wizard Of Oz

6. Fahrenheit 451 - another utopia/dystopia crossover!

7. The Mosquito Coast

8. Pleasantville

9. Camelot

10. The Time Machine

What have I missed?

Which movies would you suggest?

REVIEW: The Adventures of Tin Tin - Secret of the Unicorn (PG)

 This morning I went to watch The Adventures of Tin Tin - Secret of the Unicorn expecting big things - directed by Steven Spielberg, co-written by Steven Moffat, produced by Peter Jackson, score by John Williams and a trailer that showed some of the finest animation ever produced - I wasn't to be disappointed.



 Tin Tin (let's call it that for simplicity) is a tremendous romp - buckles are swashed with abandon, there's tension and action, fantastic chase scenes and a fair bit of humour and levity.

The movie opens in the visual style of the original Tin Tin books (and the old television series) with a pre-story a bit like the pre-title sequence in a Bond movie before shifting into the modern animation.

The movie combines three Herge stories: Red Rackham's Treasure, The Crab with the Golden Claws and The Secret of the Unicorn. Tin Tin (Jamie Bell) meets Captain Haddock (Andy Serkis) and follow clues to find the treasure of the Captain's ancestor, Sir Francis Haddoque. There's Snowy the dog and the Thompson Twins (played by Nick Frost and Simon Pegg) and some great baddies.

The animation is truly magnificent - it's a mixture of Motion Capture and more traditional/CGI techniques. For the vast majority of the movie you forget that it's animated, so good is the animation and characterisation. This does, of course, raise the question.... 

Why not use real actors?

There's truly amazing reflections in multiple mirrors and distortion through a magnifying glass; there's floods and waves and waterfalls and breaking glass.... it's all there. They've moved the bar for animation not an inch or two but several yards.

The use of 3D is good - I mean, the vast majority of the time you don't notice it, it seems totally integrated into the movie and, apart from one moment (you'll spot it) there's no silly 3D gimmicks.

Many of the chases (and much of the finale) feel like they could have been in a new Indiana Jones movie - particularly when he climbs aboard a motorbike:



John Williams' score is, as you would expect, brilliantly cinematic and combines big orchestral sounds with hints of West Side Story-jazz rhythms and even some French (Belgian?) accordion music.  It does, though, lack the big memorable tune that is usually Williams' thumbprint - the 5-note Tin Tin leitmotif isn't, to my mind, catchy enough and feels rather like Danny Elfman's Batman theme.

This is, without doubt, the movie event of the year.

Could an animated movie win best picture at next year's Oscars?

TOP 10: Dystopian Movies

Having been to see Contagion earlier today today, I thought it would be interesting to compile my Top 10 Dystopian Movies.

They're not in order of money grossed or awards won but, quite simply, my order of preference!

1. Planet of the Apes

2. Blade Runner

3. A Clockwork Orange

4. Nineteen Eighty-Four

5. Sleeper

6. Total Recall

7. Brazil

8. Children Of Men

9. Metropolis

10. Gattacca

What did I miss?

What are your favourites?

REVIEW: Contagion (12A)

Such is the power and plausibility of Stephen Soderbergh's latest movie I found, to my cost, that when watching Contagion at a cinema it's best not to cough. People give you funny looks. In fact the quietest throat-clearing or little sniffle from someone sitting near you and your brain instantly wonders whether the events on screen are about to become reality.

Contagion tells of a near-future dystopia in which a virus, similar in nature  to (but worse than) Bird Flu or Swine Flu sweeps from  casino in Hong Kong around the world killing millions and beginning the breakdown of society.



The interweaving narrative threads reminded me, somewhat, of Crash, the surprise winner of the Oscar for Best Film in 2006.  It is a superb ensemble piece lead, if there is a headliner, by a great performance from Matt Damon.

Few movies would hire Gwyneth Paltrow's services and then kill her off in the first 10 minutes, but this is a sign that this is story led and not star led. She's also not the only Academy Award winner or nominee to come a cropper during Contagion's tense 106 minutes. Other performances of note include Laurence Fishburne, Marion Cotillard, Jennifer Ehle and the sensational Kate Winslet, in what I would say is one of her best performances.



There are some squeamish moments including someone being run over and someone else having their skull cut open (yuk!) and there is surprisingly little in the way of swearing - I imagine that in a world where social order was collapsing there could be a few more f-words!

Atmospheric music that never distracts, despite often sounding like Schoenberg's reworking of the score to The Social Network, only adds to the tension.

For me there were two weaknesses that stop this becoming a 10/10 Five Star movie:

Elliot Gould who, despite an illustrious career spanning many decades, fails to shake off being the bumbling and socially inept Jack Geller, father to Ross and Monica in Friends.

Jude Law is just awful in Contagion. He plays Alan Krumwiede, an internet blogger who wears quirky clothes, has an unfortunately timed Tin Tin quiff, dresses up in an amazing home made space suit and hats and has severe accent problems - worse than Russell Crowe in Robin Hood. He begins with a Dick van Dyke faux-cockney accent that has you waiting for him to say, "Cor blimey, Mary Poppins, what you going to do about this bloomin' virus?", turns into the Australian John Torode from Masterchef ("Viruses don't get any tough than this"), and then slipping freely between New South Wales and the Isle of Dogs until the movie ends. His character isn't necessary for the plot (it appears to be a little anti-internet rant from the scriptwriter) and this character should, I suggest, have met his end on the cutting room floor.

It's so nearly a great movie - it kept me, and the rest of the audience, enthralled for its duration and has so much to commend it. It's a shame about it's weaknesses, and it's particularly unfortunate about Jude Law.

If you haven't see it, I'd definitely recommend it - it's worth watching and let me know what you thought.

REVIEW: The Debt (15)

John Madden's new thriller, The Debt, is a remake of an Israeli movie of the same name made in 2007. It begins with three retired Mossad agents in Tel Aviv in 1997. It is long way from some of his earlier films like Shakespeare In Love and Captain Corelli's Mandolin, but has, perhaps, the twists and turns similar to the Inspector Morse episodes he directed back in the early 90s.

The movie is double cast with one trio of actors playing the lead characters in the 1990s and another set back in the 1960s and the action leaps backwards and forwards over the time periods.



Rachel (played by Helen Mirren/Jessica Chastain) and Stefan (Tom Wilkinson/Marton Csokas) hear news of their former colleague David (Ciarán Hinds/Sam Worthington). The three have been celebrated in Israel since they undertook a mission to capture a Nazi war criminal (the so-called "Surgeon of Berkenau") in East Berlin.

The Break-InIldiko Kemeny, Eduardo Rossoff

The Cold War, the Nazi's Final Solution and the Israeli Secret Service come face to face in this engrossing thriller with the trio of agents putting themselves into jeopardy before telling their story. But is everything what it seems?

It is superbly acted, particularly by Chastain and Worthington who, between them, steal the show, as well as being well scripted and filmed. It is a must-see movie for anyone who likes their thrillers thoughtful.