The Trip to Italy

Successor to The Trip, which had been set in Britain, this road movie cum stand up show features Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon two of Britains best comedians as they supposedly visit various top restaurants in Italy for a newspaper review.  Constant changes of accent, rich in reference to British literature and to Italian films of the 50s, it is likely to either mildly entertain you or to irritate you.  I think I fall into the first category for the breadth of their knowledge even though it does sort of go on! Of course the scenery is spectacular!

★★+

Whiplash

The subject of this Oscar nominated film is that of pushing someone to their limits and beyond to get a better performance. In this case it is a top music conservatory professor who humiliates the drummers in his jazz band over and over again.  Andrew (Miles Teller) starts the film out as a naive freshman and then starts fighting back in the face of this treatment.  J K Simmons is commanding as the “monster” Terrance Fletcher and manages to show also the genuine desire to bring out the best in his students regardless of the means.  Damien Chazelle directs intensely – we really feel the blood and sweat and has written a pretty good script albeit with some poetic licence here and there.

Not a great film but a good member of the top group in the Oscar race.

★★★★

Cuatro Lunas

Mexican movie weaving together four stories about love involving gay men.  Two involve young men making their way in this world – one an eleven year old is discovering his sexuality and gets bullied for it.  Another falls in love with a friend who denies his sexuality.  The two other stories feature needs.  An old man is needy for younger male companionship and hires a prostitute.  The fourth is the breaking up of a couple who’ve been together for ten years and realice they need each other more than they think.  The stories are told with love and generally fit in well together.  Cesar Ramos as Fito is the most compelling character while the break up couple of Antonio Velazquez and Alejandro de la Madrid do well.  Alonso Echanove creates a pathetic older man.  Good authentic work by Sergio Tovar Valverde in direction and script.

★★★

Serena

There are films which are watchable enough but somewhere along the line don’t feel quite right and this is one of them.  Often, as here, it happens when there is a book adaptation in the middle, a book that perhaps convinces over the course of 500 pages but proves harder to do so in the two hours of a movie. So, we have a talented director, Susanne Bier, various able actors: Jennifer Lawrence (at least interesting here and with one or two excellent scenes) Bradley Cooper (too 21st century, Rhys Ifans (just needs to shut up and look serious) and Toby Jones. The Czech Republic fills in for 1929 North Carolina’s forests (fine if you don’t know either) and the photography and music are reasonable. 

As a tale of greed, revenge, jealousy, etc it has some interesting elements but a) it seems to lose credibility on the way – Lawrence’s character seems too liberated and capable to be true in that era, some of the plot twists seem to leave the film beyond the control of the director and instead of being what could have been a taut thriller/power game it ends up in a sort of melodramatic romp of evil doings in the dark valleys of the Appalachians.

As I said, watchable but not very credible.

★★

Aire Libre

Would like to be able to say that this Argentine drama by talented director Anahí Bernehi was a worthwhile couple of hours.  But I am going to have to say NOT as in general the film drags and reaches a fairly obvious conclusion after a long series of scenes that don’t add much dramatic tension.  The film is about the distancing of a couple (well played by Leonardo Sbaraglia and Celeste Cid) and the effect that it has on their child. Shot often in the dark shadows of a run-down house they are renovating, many of the metaphors and symbols present are really rather obvious, however much the film in other ways is honest and well-meaning. Rock star Fabiana Cantilo has a supporting role which is probably close to her real persona.

★★

Last Weekend

Largely a what’s the point movie about a rich matriarch of Lake Tahoe, her dysfunctional family relationships and unease about money.  Trying too hard with cliched script twists.  Not even Patricia Clarkson can save it and the supporting cast are unlikely to launch great careers on the back of this.

★+

The Love Punch

Completely unbelievable British romp about a middle-aged divorced couple who get together to teach a nasty hedge-fund executive a lesson or two.  Features Paris, Cap d’Antibes and suburban London.  Emma Thompson makes a great fist of the material, Pierce Brosnan plays the straight guy and Celia Imrie and Timothy Spall do the comic support.  Surprsingly watchable despite its falseness.

★★+

I Origins

This film looks at the uniqueness of our iris pattern and asks if it is possible for us to have the same pattern as someone else or if there is a second example of the same pattern whether this is in fact a reincarnated being.  So, if that interests you, you’ll find plenty to inspire you here.  I quite liked the film and found it easier to follow than say “Her”.  Equally, it is not a classic but Mike Cahill shows a sureness with his material.  Michael Pitt and Brit Marling are competent in the leads while beautiful Astrid Bergés-Frisbey is a beguiling Sofie.

★★★+

Men, Women and Children

Surprisingly perceptive, if somewhat rough around the edges.  Jason Reitman takes a novel about our relationships in the age of the social media and especially how it affects parent-child relations. Some of the characters or scenes are either stereotypical or underwritten but for the most part it captures the pros and cons of our virtual world and the limits between it and the real world.  Jennifer Garner has a horrible part but plays it well, Adam Sandler makes a good world-weary husband and the younger cast members including Ansel Elgort do well.

★★★+

The Imitation Game

This is a different film on a subject left hidden for a long time.  Alan Turing was a brilliant mathematician with a touch of Asperger’s who was recruited to crack the German’s massive codifier, Enigma during WW2.  He and a team worked, not without lots of friction between them and with the Royal Navy and MI6.  Apart from the wacky nerd nature of Turing who didn’t always inspire confidence, there was the issue of his homosexuality and the placing of double agents on the programme.  All this makes for an intelligent movie which keeps you on your toes and gives us a new perspective on that war and the usual cinematographic portrayals of it.

But most of all, this film belongs to Benedict Cumberbatch who is superb in the lead role and richly deserves his Oscar nomination. Keira Knightley does pretty well as Joan, who as a fellow genius helps him on the project and falls in love with him and Matthew Goode and Charles Dance are among those supporting who do well.  Good music from Alexandre Desplat as well

★★★★+