The Descendants

Sideways and About Schmidt's Alexander Payne directs the normally suave and enigmatic George Clooney in this quirky melancholic drama.

The Descendants sees Matt King (Clooney) trying to re-connect with his two rebellious daughters on a road trip to a neighbouring Hawaiian island.
The reason for the trip is twofold, King is pursuing the real estate agent who was having an affair with his wife Elizabeth prior to her tragic boating accident.
Elizabeth is in a coma and the doctor's have given her no hope, therefore King must come to terms with not only the shocking news of his wife's affair but also the impending task of forgiving his wife and ultimately saying goodbye.

King's family life has kind of passed him by due to his work obligations, and his kids resent their father for missing out on their upbringing.
He has a strict moral code regarding money - an ethic that eludes his
family, and although financially set he chooses to live a comfortable yet non-indulgent lifestyle.

His family and extended relations are due to inherit a major amount of money by the sale of land bestowed upon them by ancestors.
King is the appointed executor of the will and is under increased pressure from his money hungry cousins to sell to the highest bidder - regardless of their plans for the historic scenic land.

To add to the feud, King learns the man who has been having an affair with his wife is the real estate broker dealing with the sale of the property, and by closing on such a lucrative deal his foe will earn a huge monetary percentage.
This throws a major spanner into the works and King's actions create a major furore.

Clooney's portrayal has been lauded by critics for this understated but heartfelt performance and yes he is believable whilst beiing adequate.
The problem being, the character doesn't have the depth for Clooney to portray anything but!
He successfully carries it off but it certainly isn't an awarding winning performance by any stretch.

The film has a decent supporting cast with Robert Forster and Jeff Bridges, plus both young actresses playing his daughters are excellent and bring an element of humour.

Unfairly billed as movie of the year by many, 'The Descendants' never lives up to this billing but don't let that put you off as it's charming, funny and a nice way to kill a couple of spare hours.


Score: 7/10

The Iron Lady

This is a confusing one!!!
Many, like myself will go into this movie with a damning opinion of Margaret Thatcher. Hardly surprising, considering her well documented infamous political career.
However, from as early as the opening scene my opinion changed in seconds.
This is not largely, but totally down to the captivating Meryl Streep.

'The Iron Lady' as Thatcher was dubbed by the Russians plays in real time at a stage in Thatcher's life where she is battling dementia and practically living as a prisoner in her own home, with round the clock help her domestic life resembles that of a private care patient.
She refuses to let up the ghost of her deceased husband Denis and reminisces with him on past glories which leads to her ailing memory being unable to decipher the past from the present.

From an early age and with influence from her politically active working class father, Thatcher was head strong and decided she would go to University and change her world.
She met and fell in love with Denis and when he proposed marriage she laid down the law stating that she would marry him but would not be a stay at home mum washing dishes.
Thatcher wanted to shake things up in the political world that was totally male dominated.
She kept to her word!

The film takes us though all the major political decisions and incidents Thatcher was involved in - her harsh 1981 budget which created mass unemployment, the Brixton riots, the minors strike, the Brighton hotel bombing to the economic boom of the late 80's.

Her biggest and possibly most daring decision was at a time of massive recession in 1982, she defied all financial strains and instructed an all out military assault after Argentinian forces invaded the British owned Falkland Islands.
Thatcher's government was bolstered by the successful outcome and her public image went from zero to hero.

It was the introduction of poll tax that really was her downfall both among the public, and to her detriment - her cabinet members. They seen it as the final stray.

Not being a huge political know it all and being Irish, I couldn't feel the dismay and disappointment that most of the UK reviewers and public have expressed about Thatcher's portrayal in this film.
Yes, it skims over areas where her tyrannical hand and prowess destroyed the working class - IE., the miner's strike, but I think the best of filmmakers would have struggled to make a balanced movie to please the masses about such an important, unique and ground breaking figurehead.

As interesting as the movie is (and it is!), it's all about Streep's performance. From the pitiful Thatcher fighting dementia to the feisty confident Thatcher as a world leader.
There are many supporting roles but none worth mentioning as she blows everyone away.
The woman is an acting genius and the other 4 nominees should just stay at home come Oscar night!


Score: 8/10

Haywire

Billed on tv and hailed as the best action thriller since 'Bourne'??? - You're having a laugh!!!

Mallory (Gina Carano) is a former black ops soldier taking revenge on her superiors after being framed on a dangerous kidnap mission in Barcelona.
Her choice of such a perilous occupation sees her taking on tasks that governments could not authorise but turn a blind eye to in order to clear up underhand situations.
Mallory is underestimated once too often and is seen as a dangerous loose cannon. There is a worldwide hunt out for her which takes her to many cities, including our fair city of Dublin.
Her aim is to avoid her assailants and get back to the US to protect her father. That's the general premise of this bland film!

There are so many things wrong with this movie. Gina Marano who plays Mallory is in fact a famous martial arts expert and her skills are evident too see in the various fight scenes.
However, her acting skills don't compliment her martial arts skills. The fight scenes are all very similar and get boring midway through.
Think, Jean Claude Van Damme movies from the 80's!

The impressive cast includes such acting heavyweights as Michael Douglas, Bill Paxton, Ewan McGregor and Antonio Banderas, but none of them can cover up the amount of holes in this script.
Man of the moment Michael Fassbender is the one and only scene stealer who hooks up with Mallory on a mission in Dublin.

The makers of the film never let the viewer explore Mallory's past therefore make it impossible to sympathise with a main character who chooses a life of danger - a life that she ultimately gets betrayed by.
Also, she seems to come from a fairly stable and wealthy background so everything seems to suggest that her life choices were self imposed.

It was nice to see a new Hollywood take on Ireland, with gritty city centre locations instead of scenic green fields.
There is a good chase scene stretching from the interior of the
Shelbourne Hotel in Stephen's Green to the rooftop area of the Wynn's Hotel.
Dublin never looked more characteristic - and refreshingly dull!

Wait for the DVD!!!

Score: 4/10

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

As a fan of the Stieg Larsson 'Millennium' series of books, I was apprehensive of the books being brought to the big screen. Especially as all 3 have already been made into movies in Larsson's native Swedish tongue.
They have proved to be a huge critical and commercial success worldwide in spite of the films being subtitled.

However, when David Fincher was appointed Director I was far less worried. Fincher is one of, if not the most innovative and ground breaking filmmakers of today, responsible for such classics as Seven, Fight Club, Zodiac and The Social Network.

Set in modern day Sweden the action takes place between Stockholm and the northerly remote town of Heldsted.
Daniel Craig plays Mikael Blomkvist, a successful journalist who's career is in turmoil when he fails to win a high profile libel case against suspected fraudster Hans Erik Wennerstrom.
The media are on his case, and his company - local monthly paper sheet 'Millennium' looks doomed due to the big monetary loss suffered by the court case.

Millionaire and major Swedish business tycoon Henry Vagner (Christopher Plummer) sees something in Blomkvist and reckons they could both use each other. Vagner needs Blomkvist's journalistic and investigatory talents to solve the disappearance 40 years ago of his niece Harriet and help him complete his memoirs.
In return Vagner will not only pay him for his services but will also provide him with damning evidence against Wennerstrom that may help Blomkvist expose his dodgy dealings and restore Blomkvist's public and professional reputation.
Blomkvist is initially reluctant to do so but eventually decides to up sticks to Heldsted and begin his investigations.

Meanwhile back in Stockholm Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara) is experiencing her own difficulties. Her life is a mess, no family to speak of, living squalidly and under government orders to report regularly to a guardian due to her former crimes of theft and violence.
What she does have in her favour is that she is highly intelligent and a genius computer hacker. The security company that Lisbeth does illegal hacking work for is the same company that sourced Blomkvist for Vagner and this is where their connection lies.

As Blomkvist delves into the vast archives of The Vagner enterprise, there are several cans of worms opened and he quickly realises that he needs some assistance with his research.
Lisbeth is called in as the ideal candidate due to the research necessary being dark, dangerous and dirty.
All the things Lisbeth thrives on and excels in.
She is relieved to get out of Stockholm as her guardian who she sees as a father figure has had a stroke and she has been assigned a new guardian who is sinister to say the least.
Also, she sees something interesting and enigmatic about Blomkvist and relishes her new adventure.

Like the book the first part of the film is complex whilst being interesting and captivating.
The second part of the movie heats up with plenty of action and ultimately tries to tie up all the outstanding questions posed to the viewer in the initial parts of the film.
At no time are there any lapses and the director ensures that we are treated to stunning winter scenery and clever thought out action sequences.
I have to mention the opening titles sequence as the graphics and music are fantastically original and clever - exactly what you'd expect from a Fincher directed film.

Both Craig and newcomer Mara are excellent as the main characters and have been perfectly cast.
Thankfully there are no American actors trying to speak with a Swedish dialect - with the exception of Robin Wright who gets away with it.
Instead, there are many well known British actors like Joely Richardson, Steven Berkoff and the always brilliant Christopher Plummer who fit the scene suitably.

Guys should not let the title of the film put them off from seeing this movie as it's not a girlie movie by any stretch of the imagination. In fact it's quite the opposite, with some harrowing scenes that are difficult to watch and and a few jumps and scares along the way.

It's rare that a film is as good as the book but this succeeds on all levels.


Score: 9/10

Crazy Stupid Love

The harsh reality of Cal Weaver's (Steve Carrell) marital crisis hits him hard when his wife Emily (Julianne Moore) reveals she has slept with her work colleague David Lindhagen (Kevin Bacon).
Cal is still very much in love with his wife and disagrees that the marriage has gone stale and the spark has gone. In spite of this he agrees to move out of the family home away from his beloved kids and into a flat on his own.

Cal struggles with life on his own and maintaining his relationship with his 2 young children, and due to a lack of loyal friends, finds himself spending his evenings propping up the bar at a local pub.

One of the evenings he gets the attention of Jacob, a local handsome womanizer played by Ryan Gosling. He is the epitome of a Lothario offering all the right pick up lines and never goes home alone.
Jacob sees Cal as a challenge and decides to educate him on how to dress, look and ultimately attract the ladies.

Cal's first attempts are a disaster with great comic results, but gradually he grows in confidence and soon becomes more like Jacob than intended.

At the same time, events take an ironic U turn for Jacob as he meets and falls head over heels for the pretty Hannah (Emma Stone) - who initially rejects his advances.

Cal is not 100% happy with his new life as he his still in love with his wife and after he accidentally learns that she does in fact miss and love him, he tries to win her back with the help of his kids.

There are a couple of very amusing sub-plots. One involving Cal's son Robbie's (Jonah Bobo) obsession with his babysitter, manages to be both cringe worthy and hysterical.
Plus Marisa Tomei playing Robbie's teacher Kate throws a spanner in the works along the way to hilarious effect.

The final scene of the film brings surprises galore for all the characters, and the slapstick scenes are brilliantly funny.
Steve Carrell and Ryan Gosling have great chemistry and comic timing together on screen, and all the female characters are excellent - in particular Moore and Tomei.


Crazy Stupid Love is more than a romantic comedy, it's a witty, cleverly written and well acted drama with just the right amount of warmth and romance to please both the male and the female.

Highly recommended!!!


Score: 8/10

Killer Elite

Another year, another mediocre Robert De Niro film!!!

I can't be overly cynical about a movie that involves Jason Statham, as the script was never going to be the relevant factor. Full of ridiculous OTT action - Yes!
Well, I knew what I was getting myself into so I can't really complain and will try to be constructive.

Based on a true story and set in the early 1980's, Danny (Statham) is a special ops agent forced out of retirement to save his friend and mentor - Hunter (De Niro), who's being held hostage in Oman by a wealthy sheik. Danny must hunt down and kill the people that murdered the sheik's three sons, in return for his friend's release. A six million pound reward is also on the table.

This is a massive feat as he must make all murders look accidental and force the victim to confess on camera. Also, all 3 killers are former British SAS men living in anonymity in Britain.
Danny recruits some former allies to help him in his mission to uncover his targets and ultimately kill them. Standing in their way is a secret society of former SAS agents who will stop at nothing to prevent the SAS's supposed wrongdoings being exposed to the world.

And that's basically it!!!

It's all about the fight scenes, car chases and corny macho one liners. If it was on as a two hour Sunday night drama on UTV after an X Factor fest it would be a great night of tv. However, this movie obviously wants to be more than mere TV fodder, but that's all it merits.

As for the acting, well Jason Statham is Jason Statham. He's not trying to be taken serious! Clive Owen is probably the best thing about the movie as the die hard SAS man fighting the cause. Although he is so much better than this middle of the road action farce. As for De Niro....

I'm baffled by his choices of films these days. Surely he doesn't need the money???
There is no way an actor of his caliber could have read this script and thought, yeah this is a challenge!
He's not on screen for a hell of a lot of time so I guess the producers thought that they'd throw a lot of money his way and hope that De Niro's name as top billing would make the movie a major attraction and a sure fire hit.
Well, this ceased to be the case a long time ago.

He is probably the best actor of our generation and I am a big fan but with his box office stature increasingly declining, his status as an acting legend is dangerously at risk.
There was a time when his mere name connected with a film, would guarantee an immediate buzz and interest. Nowadays it is the total opposite as unfortunately his bad reputation is exceeding him!

Wait for the DVD!


Score: 4/10

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Set in 1970's London, John Le Carre's espionage classic is eventually brought to the big screen. Already a huge award winning success on the small screen in the late 70's this movie had a lot to live up to.

Former British Intelligence agent George Smiley (Gary Oldman) comes out of retirement to investigate and ultimately uncover a soviet double agent working within the Circus (headquarters of British Intelligence MI6).
This is not Smiley's first time to be involved in this investigation. His former chief (Control) played by John Hurt and Smiley himself were forced into retirement due to a botched attempt under their command in Budapest to retrieve information about the spy. It ended in bloodshed and caused embarrassment worldwide to the Government and MI6 heads.

The new chief of MI6 Percy Alleline (Toby Jones), his deputy Bill Haydon (Colin Firth) and several other members of the board are aware of an investigation taking place and are therefore reluctant to help Smiley and his right hand man Peter Guillam (Benedict Cumberbatch) with their efforts.

Instead they mix it up with plenty of red herrings to keep the investigation off their scent. Smiley finds a ally in the shape of Ricki Tarr (Tom Hardy). British Intelligence would seem to have underestimated Tarr's work ethic and whilst giving him the dirty and more menial work within the organisation, he has come up with a source and some vital information to help Smiley expose the mole.

As the title reads, Smiley learns early on in the movie who the Tinker, Tailor and the Solider are. But who is the Spy? And who can he trust?

I didn't actually see the TV version of the show, and as it was a seven part series it kind of explains a lot about the film's main flaw. There seems to be too many characters and subplots put into only 2 hours of film.
You need to have your wares about you to keep up. It's filmed with a lot of flashback and forwards which are not always effective or very relevant.

There are lots of pluses though. When you get to grips with the characters and the MI6 lingo it's really gripping and tense. The acting is amazing from a strong British cast. Gary Oldman is so at ease and convincing in the role that he doesn't need to step out of second gear.
John Hurt is as enigmatic as ever but the big surprise for me was Benedict Cumberbatch (TVs new Sherlock Holmes) as Smiley's aide. He steals every scene and was obviously not intimidated by the stellar more experienced cast.
Plus he has to have to coolest name in the business nowadays!!!

Overall this a brilliantly scripted and acted film that falls short of being called perfect viewing due to an excess of vague subplots and a glut of characters.

Definitely worth the ticket price though!


Score: 8/10