Short Review: Talk to Her (Pedro Almodovar, 2002)

Of the fourteen films Almodovar had directed up until this point, Talk to Her is considered one of his most controlled and sustained films. It is only my third experience with his filmmaking, following All About My Mother (1999) and Bad Education (2004), but it is quite extraordinary. It is actually a difficult film to describe, and I think knowing more about Almodovar's films (I sense that it is quite personal and self-reflexive) will deem this even more rewarding.

It's a stunningly beautiful film, full of luscious colours and crisp cinematography. The score is stellar, and it's pacing is very controlled and purposeful - almost meditative. It is strangely compelling considering a lot of the film is comprised of conversations. Surprisingly, it is also quite a disconcerting experience, especially in its silencing of women. This is especially notable because quite often in Almodovar's films, women adopt the central characters. Almodovar still places women at the centre of this film, but they do not reciprocate communication. Talk to Her won the 2002 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay after picking up the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film. It deals with the difficulty of communication between the sexes, loneliness and intimacy and the persistence of love beyond loss.

New Release Review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (David Yates, 2011)

It has now been fourteen years since J.K Rowling released Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, the debut novel in her now beloved series. I remember receiving the novel for Christmas in 1999, and after becoming immediately hooked, bought the next two novels, which had also been released by then. The film adaptation of The Philosopher’s Stone came in 2001, and few of my cinematic experiences before this time matched the magic of seeing Rowling’s novels adapted for the big screen for the first time. Fans now find themselves ten years, seven films and billions of dollars in merchandising and box office revenue later, having watched these unknown child actors mature into talented young adults over the course of the franchise, facing the grand finale of this record breaking cultural phenomenon.

With Warner Bros. boldly, and some believe unnecessarily, splitting the expansive final adaptation into two parts, fans were forced to wait another six months to watch the finale, following the November 2010 release of Deathly Hallows Part I. Remaining pretty faithful to the novel, which resulted in quite a lengthy idle period in the middle, Part I covered close to two thirds of the novel but felt disappointingly like an incomplete film. Those who have read the novel know that the action packed climax is quite epic in its scope, with key characters and locations from earlier novels returning to support Harry.

Assessing this film as a fan of the novels and the film franchise, and simultaneously with a critical eye, I am happy to declare that David Yates has well and truly succeeded in creating as exciting and powerful finale as fans could have hoped for. Is it without it's flaws? Not quite. Considering the decision to split the film into two in the hope of squeezing in more from the novel, it remains somewhat unfortunate that the depth and presence of a few of the key characters is still surrendered in favour of the spectacle. While some sequences still feel very rushed and it remains as episodic as the earlier films, Deathly Hallows Part 2 is a stunning visual achievement that is technically exceptional, chillingly bleak and relentlessly exciting. It is also guilty of being too faithful, if that is possible. Even some die-hard fans haven’t forgiven J.K Rowling for that overly-sentimental Epilogue, which works no better on the screen I'm afraid.

Trailer: Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (Guy Ritchie, 2011)

Warner Bros has released a trailer for Guy Ritchie's newest addition to the Sherlock Holmes franchise, which is scheduled for release at the end of the year. Following the commercial success of the first film, Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law return in the iconic roles of Holmes and Watson. This time they are joined by Noomi Rapace and Jared Harris, who plays Holmes' nemesis Professor Moriarty. The first film was entertaining enough, but you can expect similar antics here. If you're interested, check out the trailer below:

Review: Battle: Los Angeles (Jonathan Liebesman, 2011)

Overlong, horribly scripted, visually disorienting and burdened with endless clichés from both alien invasion films such as Independence Day and District 9 and war films such as Black Hawk Down, the Jonathan Liebesman directed, Battle: Los Angeles, is an arduous mess of a film.

The film follows a group of US marines in Los Angeles on the morning of a global extraterrestrial assault. Alien invaders have landed off shore in 20 major cities around the world in an attempt to take over and harvest humanity’s most precious resource, water. The film remains exclusively in Los Angeles, centering on Staff Sergeant Nantz (Aaron Eckhart), a soon-to-be-retired solider, who is called on one last time to accompany a unit in their desperate defense of the city. 

We are thrown immediately into the conflict, a serious misstep, considering the length of the film and the frequency of the intense battle sequences to come. But soon enough, we flash back to a period before the invasion, and are introduced (albeit briefly and poorly) to the key characters. We do not remember any of their names (I had to look up Eckhart’s character), nor do we care. They exist merely as the same generic stereotypes we have seen countless times before; Nantz, the skilled veteran drawn into one last battle after requesting retirement, the bitter Marine who’s brother was killed under Nantz’s previous command, the scared rookie, the token African American and Latino soldiers, the strong-willed female solider (played by Michelle Rodriguez) who surprises her male counterparts on several occasions and the incompetent Lieutenant who ultimately surrenders leadership to his more heroic and inspirational Staff Sergeant.

Competition Poll: What is your Favourite Harry Potter Film/Novel?

With Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II opening in Australian cinemas at Event Cinemas George Street at midnight tonight, and continuing with sessions throughout the night, I sure don't regret my decision to leave that job. There will be Potter mayhem. This is not to say that I'm not a Potter fan myself. I will be seeing the film on Thursday morning, and though I would have liked to have had a marathon where I re-watched all of the films, I have left my run a little bit late. I have decided to hold a competition to honour the closure of the franchise that dominated the blockbuster season for the last decade.

Unfortunately, this competition doesn't stretch to readers/bloggers beyond the borders of Australia (but, please, feel free to leave an answer all the same), but if you'd like to enter the competition to win a $30 JB Hi-Fi voucher (which I will personally send to an address you provide), give me your answer to the following question (after the jump) either in the comments below, or on my Facebook page. I will draw the winner on Friday evening at 6pm.

Iconic Aussie Films: Balibo (Robert Connolly, 2009)

Balibo staged its World Premiere at the 2009 Melbourne International Film Festival, and follows the story of the 'Balibo Five', a group of journalists who were captured and killed whilst reporting on activities in East Timor just prior to the December 1975 Indonesian invasion. While simultaneously depicting their tragic story, the film also tracks veteran Australian journalist Roger East (Anthony LaPaglia) who is lured to East Timor to work for Jose Ramos Horta (Oscar Isaac), East Timor's charismatic Secretary of Foreign Affairs. He decides to investigate the mysterious disappearance of the young journalists. With the threat of invasion scarily imminent, East travels to Balibo, a dangerous outpost near the Indonesian border, in search for the answers. Depicting harrowing truths (based loosely on Jill Jolliffe's book, The Cover Up), that until quite recently had remained a mystery, and featuring excellent performances, this is one compelling Australian film. 

New Release Review: Oranges and Sunshine (Jim Loach, 2010)

The tragic true events that Oranges and Sunshine bases its narrative on are quite extraordinary and difficult to accept, and this is rich source material for a feature film. As horrific as the stories of these unfortunate people are, and how damning the account of this unreported social injustice is, the film was surprisingly stripped of the emotional resonance that was intended. Quite unimaginative direction from first-timer Jim Loach (son of Ken Loach), who chooses to remain restrained and subtle in his approach, and an uneven structure, leaves one feeling that this would have better served as a television movie.

Set in the 1986, this is the story of Margaret Humphreys (Emily Watson), a social worker from Nottingham, who uncovered the "home children" scandal, the illegal forced relocation of thousands of children from the UK to Australia. Her strong-willed dedication and perseverance not only results in her success in reuniting some of the now adult deported children with their estranged families and finding them their lost identity, but also manages to bring worldwide attention to the scandal and attracts financial support to back her independent quest.

Monday Links (11/07)

This week, because of the lack of new films hitting cinemas, I passed the time by watching a couple of classics (Les Diaboliques and Network) for the first time. I also re-watched Y Tu Mama Tambien and The Sting. I also grouped together the best performances of the year (here) and booked flights and tickets to MIFF. Today I'm going to check out Sunshine and Orangers.

Check out the top articles of the week (after the jump):