The Greatest Trick

Christian comedian Adrian Plass once remarked “Sometimes I wish dirty jokes weren’t so funny.” As a Christian myself, I have much sympathy with him. Knocked Up – a new comedy from writer/director Judd Apatow who made The 40 Year Old Virgin last year – is an often hysterically funny and all too true exploration of what can happen to a couple when faced with the prospect of an unplanned pregnancy. It is cleverly designed to appeal to both sexes, yet with its f-word ridden script and plethora of filthy gags, its nigh on impossible to recommend with a clear conscience.

When up and coming television presenter Alison (Katherine Heigl) gets pregnant after a one-night stand with amiable pot-smoking slacker Ben (Seth Rogan), the two decide to make a go of the relationship and have a baby together. This simple premise is brilliantly and fearlessly explored over the nine month pregnancy, and superb gags come thick and fast about gynaecologists, morning sickness, maternity leave, baby books, hormones, birth plans, and how the minutiae of having a baby turns one’s life upside down.

Contrasting the turbulent events in the lives of the main characters is an intriguing subplot about Alison’s sister Debbie, whose marriage to music band talent spotter Pete is rapidly deteriorating. Debbie is a paranoid control freak – one hilarious scene has her online trying to track down all the paedophiles in her neighbourhood whilst her husband looks on indifferently and says “What do you want me to do? Form a lynch mob?”. On the other hand, Pete is quietly bitter, thinking the fun has vanished from his life since he had children. Debbie suspects Pete is having an affair, but it turns out he is simply craving the company of male friends and likes going to the movies. Ironically, she is angrier about discovering this than she would have been if he were having an affair, because she wants to go to the movies too. This hugely insightful scene speaks volumes about the different needs both partners in a marriage have that can be neglected after children appear on the scene.

Katherine Heigl and Seth Rogan both give terrific, layered warts-and-all performances that move well beyond the realms of the career-woman-caught-short and internet/movie-nerd stereotypes respectively. They are deeply flawed but immensely likeable characters, and their unlikely relationship will remind audiences who have had babies of what it was like the first time – from how all birth plans go out of the window at the last minute to being paranoid about driving the baby home any faster than 12 miles per hour.

In addition to the main protagonists, Knocked Up has a wealth of smaller characters that are all given moments to shine – from Harold Ramis (Ghostbusters) as Ben’s supportive father to Alison’s amusingly insensitive bosses and Ben’s slacker friends who are starting an internet site that lists celebrity nude scenes. Speaking of which, for all its sensitivity and undeniably touching moments, Knocked Up doesn’t pull any punches with gross-out gags either, especially during the birth scene.

The 40 Year Old Virgin was a film that ironically – once one had persevered through the endless dirty jokes – celebrated remaining a virgin until married. Knocked Up pulls a similar trick in that it highlights the joys of parenthood, implicitly condemns abortion, and explores with painful honesty the process of losing one’s self-centredness, growing up, and how accepting responsibility ultimately brings great blessing.

Once again however, to get to that point, one has to wade through the afore-mentioned deluge of smut (not to mention a decidedly questionable perspective on soft drug use). I could try to argue that the end justifies the means, but such attempts would not wash with most of the Christians among you. Therefore, with much regret and aching ribs from laughing so hard, despite its undoubted cinematic merits, I cannot recommend Knocked Up.

Simon Dillon, August 2007.

Matt Damon is fast becoming one of my favourite actors. He has proved incredibly versatile, equally at home with comedy (Oceans 11), serious drama (The Talented Mr Ripley, Good Will Hunting) and in this case, action. His Jason Bourne is a hugely memorable hero – at once utterly lethal but emotionally vulnerable. Comparisons with James Bond are pointless since Bourne is such a radically different character, but nevertheless, the series is to be praised for forcing the Bond franchise to come to its senses and get back to basics with the superb Casino Royale.

Anyway, to the matter at hand. The Bourne Ultimatum is the third and not necessarily final instalment in the Bourne saga, based on Robert Ludlum’s books. I haven’t read them, so don’t know how they compare to the movies, but I can tell you this is a hugely entertaining thriller which whilst not quite equal to the first film, is definitely as good as the second. Most of the story is set niftily between the penultimate and final scenes of The Bourne Supremacy, with Bourne on the run from the CIA, who still consider him a threat. When a high-ranking US government agent attempts to disclose damaging secrets to a British journalist, Bourne is believed to be the source of the leak. Top CIA officials Noah Vosen (David Strathairn) and Ezra Kramer (Scott Glenn) once again draft in Pamela Landy (the excellent Joan Allen) to track him down. Landy wants Bourne captured alive, but Vosen and Kramer are afraid of what Bourne might have discovered about operation Blackbriar, the successor to the assassin training programme Treadstone of which Bourne was an agent. Against Landy’s wishes, they order him to be eliminated.

Thrillingly tense set pieces are the order of the day here, particularly in a terrific first act where Bourne attempts to protect Guardian journalist Simon Ross (an appropriately in-over-his-head Paddy Constantine) in Waterloo station. Later highlights include a brilliantly sustained roof-top chase in Tangier, culminating in a spectacularly violent punch-up, and a couple of first-rate vehicular chases (a staple of the Bourne pics). Along the way, Bourne’s emerging conscience continues to bother him as he feels regret for the murders he has committed. He gets help from former CIA operative Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles), with whom it is hinted he once had a romantic relationship prior to his amnesia.

Director Paul “What’s-a-tripod?” Greengrass uses his shakycam to good effect, John Powell’s now familiar music score is present and correct, and cinematographer Oliver Wood makes great use of real locations including London, Tangier and New York. Whether or not The Bourne Ultimatum will stand up to multiple viewings remains to be seen, but for now this comes highly recommended. It doesn’t quite reach the same nerve-shredding heights as the first two series of 24, but after a fairly lacklustre summer blockbuster season, it’s great to finally see something that increases the pulse rate.

Some disturbingly prescient questions are raised between action scenes, albeit in an understated manner. For instance, are today’s intelligence agencies really capable of intercepting a keyword in a phone conversation? In today’s post 9/11 world where governments seem insistent on eroding civil liberties apparently for our own protection, can the CIA and its ilk be trusted with such power? Do characters like Vosen and Kramer really exist, and if so who do they answer to if anyone? Given the casual way in which they order deaths of innocent people in order to protect themselves and their dirty secrets, one can be forgiven for feeling a little paranoid by the end, if only subconsciously.

I suppose it’s only a film. But it’s also a film with an interesting spiritual subtext which I can’t discuss without giving away a part of the ending, so don’t read on if you haven’t seen it yet. Bourne is clearly after some kind of absolution or even redemption from the life he has led. He is desperate to regain his memories and find out what the CIA did to him to make him such a brutal killer. But eventually he is faced with the uncompromising truth that he chose to become Jason Bourne (in scenes that feature an underused but effective Albert Finney). It’s an interesting coda that exposes the humanity of a man who perhaps wanted to believe the best about himself, but ultimately has to accept the consequences of his actions. This simple but effective character arc is what makes Bourne emotionally resonant. We all have to live with our choices.

Simon Dillon, August 2007.

After March of the Penguins and Happy Feet, do we really need another penguin film? In the case of Surf’s Up, perhaps we do. It’s no masterpiece, but it certainly satisfies any animation cravings one might feel whilst waiting for Pixar’s reportedly superb Ratatouille.

Making witty use of the “mockumentary” format, Surf’s Up claims that penguins invented surfing. A documentary crew follows Cody Maverick (voiced by Transformers star Shia LeBeouf), a teenage penguin who dreams of winning a surfing tournament in the tropics. Once there, he meets cute penguin lifeguard, Lani Aliikai (Zooey Deschanel, recently seen in Bridge to Terebithia), hilariously insensitive surfing agent Reggie Belafonte (James Woods) and a surfing chicken (voiced by Jon Heder). Cody’s surfing hero, Big Z (Jeff Bridges in chilled dude Big Lebowski mode), is presumed dead but turns up a burned-out recluse. He reluctantly agrees to train Cody so he stands a chance against the mean-spirited champion, Tank Evans (Dietrich Bader). In the process of learning to surf, Cody discovers that having friends and enjoying life is more important than winning.

In fact, the moral of the story is almost exactly the same as Cars. It’s obvious, but not preachy and the documentary style gives the film a cynical edge that ensures the sentiment never gets too sickly or preachy. Although directors Ash Brannon and Chris Buck are not out to raise the animation ante, the renderings are more than up to scratch – especially in the flashback sequences where scratches and faded colours have been deliberately added to make the footage look old, and the exciting “surf tunnel” shots, all scored to some well-used pop songs. The cast contribute fine vocal performances, and although the story is predictable, it’s certainly an enjoyable way to spend 85 minutes. The jokes are sophisticated, and this is more likely to appeal to adults than children. Those expecting another Happy Feet will be disappointed (the film even has an amusing dig at that film, laughing off the prospect of singing dancing penguins), but although this flopped at the US box office, there is enough evidence here to suggest cinema’s love affair with penguins has not yet run its course.

Simon Dillon, August 2007.

Blessed are the geeks, for they shall inherit the earth. Or at least they appear to in Transformers. If they aren’t being recruited by the Pentagon to crack alien codes, they’re successfully chatting up the prettiest girl in school and diverting her from high school jocks. Director Michael Bay and his screenwriters have reinvented the Transformers franchise as a geek wish fulfilment fantasy, and in doing so have pulled off the difficult task of investing the film with a modicum of genuine human interest.

Though it pains me to admit it, I have to confess to rather enjoying Transformers. By saving most of the blistering robot on robot duels for the third act, the off-the-back-of-a-matchbox plot actually gives room for the surprisingly likeable characters to come to the fore. The main character, Sam, is a high school kid about to undertake that teenage rite-of-passage in purchasing his first car. However, his car turns out to be a gigantic robot in disguise – an Autobot, one of a group of good Transformers who are trying to stop a mystical energy cube from falling into the hands of their enemies, the Decepticons. Anyway, good robots fight bad robots and humans get caught in the crossfire.

Amid the carnage, there are several good laughs to be had, particularly a superb gag about Indian call centres and a hilarious sequence where the Autobots hide outside Sam’s window. Shia LaBeouf is an enjoyably unlikely hero, and much of the humour (some of it unnecessarily rude) revolves around his adolescent issues. Megan Fox does well as the winning love interest Mikaela, and reminds one of the young Jennifer Connelly. Elsewhere John Turturro has a fun bit part as an amusingly inept member of a dubious government extra-terrestrial agency, and Jon Voight blusters pointlessly as the secretary of defence. Leader of the Autobots Optimus Prime is voiced with requisite moral gravitas by Peter Cullen, and as his arch nemesis Megatron, Hugo Weaving provides a suitably evil rendering of one-dimensional cackling villainhood.

Most people will go and see this for the special effects, and they won’t be disappointed. Particularly in the final act, the intense robotic clashes are superbly rendered. As the robots jump through tall buildings, duel on the ground, in mid-air, transforming back and forth into cars, trucks, planes and helicopters, metal is crushed, explosions fill the screen, and much of downtown LA is trashed in a deeply satisfactory matter. I confidently predict a win for Best Visual Effects at the next Oscars.

This review is written through gritted teeth, because Michael Bay is responsible for some of the worst films I have ever seen. My usual complaints apply (whiplash editing style, too many close-ups, epileptic camerawork, unintentionally funny slow-mo shots), but given the subject matter, they are less of a complaint than usual. At the risk of being damning with faint praise, this is Bay’s best film, although I suspect it was executive producer Steven Spielberg who insisted on vaguely interesting human characters. If you are inclined to see this nonsense, turn your brain off, and make sure you watch it on the biggest screen possible.

Simon Dillon, August 2007.

High School Musical - (3 stars) this is an absolute phenomenon with the kids, and I was desperate to find out why I was teaching teenagers who knew all the lyrics and dances inside and out. The answer is - Disney knows its market! A light tale about two misfits (pretty ones, of course) coming together through singing and dancing, and bringing everyone along with them through, you know, “being themselves” (what else in a Disney movie?). It’s fun enough, with some very good musical set-pieces (’Get your head in the game’ being my favourite), and if you’re below the age of 15 (and probably more for the girls), perfect, harmless entertainment.

Enron - The Smartest Guys in the Room - (3 stars) Greed, greed, greed. That’s what brought Enron down, and it’s so clear from this film. This documentary goes back over some of the key players in the Enron scandal, what they got up to and why, and is pretty interesting. There are parts that engage a lot more than others, such as listening to the recordings of Enron employees laughing at the misfortunes of the inhabitants of the West Coast of the US - absolutely repulsive, and a very effective piece of documentary film-making. Less manipulative than Michael Moore, and possibly for that reason less consistently engaging.

An Inconvenient Truth - (4 stars) Al Gore shows you his power-point presentation on the environment and climate change and forces you to think and act. As a family we are already quite enthusiastic about living ethically, doing our bit to look after the world that God made and so on, and this film just confirms that everyone needs to be doing this! The bit that kids at school apparently responded to was polar bears drowning in their own local environment due to melting ice caps; there are so many shocking facts, stats and images here that it seems unlikely that one could watch this movie and not try to do more for the environment. It’s not a perfect film - some of the inserts about Gore himself add very little - but it’s the most accessible education on global warming that you could get in under 2 hours. Oh, and the major worry about Gore creating a massive carbon footprint by going round the world showing his presentation is answered in the trivia section here.

The Wolf Man - (3 stars) Universal horror, detailing the werewolf myth, linking it to gypsy curses and including all the well-known moon-related tales. Lon Chaney plays the man under the make-up, which is brilliant, and the lighting and mood of the piece is suitably dark, but the film-making style always detracts from actual scariness in these films.

Right At Your Door - (3 stars) A dirty bomb is released in LA. Man gets home just in time, wife arrives back some time later to find herself locked out by him as the radio has advised everybody to keep doors and windows shut and not let anyone in or out. A tense period follows as both parties try to work out what to do and how they might get help in a terror situation. A good premise for a movie, with a nice thorny moral question at the centre, but the movie slows considerably in the middle and doesn’t quite have the courage of its convictions. A fair amount of swearing.

I am again lagging behind in my reviewing of a load of films that we have watched recently - thank goodness our DVD rental list is online and I can go back and remind myself what we’ve rented! So anyway, here’s a movie made by movie-lovers - anyone familiar with Simon Pegg’s TV output (esp. Spaced) will already be aware of this - which manages to get the mix of horror and comedy just right.

Shaun (Pegg) just about holds down a dead-end job in an electronics shop, a going-nowhere relationship with girlfriend Liz and a room in a house shared with best mate Ed (Nick Frost) and housemate-from-hell Pete (Peter Serafinowicz, voice of Darth Maul and star of brilliant spoof science show Look Around You). On the day he decides to do something to turn his life around, it just so happens that a zombie plague is unleashed upon London and he is also required to deal with the undead marauding the streets and his back garden.

We were a little wary about this one, as horror is not normally our thing, and it’s fair to say that the gore may well be off-putting to viewers of a more squeamish nature. But there is a lot to enjoy in this film, and any unpleasantness is kept largely off-screen until the final act, which does get more gruesome. In fact, one of the pleasures of the movie is watching what happens in the background during the first hour or so of the film - Shaun ambles through life quite oblivious to a lot of what goes on around him, and so on the morning that the zombies attack he barely notices for a long time. What Pegg and Frost have done as writers is take the time in the film to establish really likeable characters before any hint of the undead appears, and this benefits the film greatly.

One of the main comedic strengths of Shaun of the Dead, and I know that this was used again in Hot Fuzz, though I haven’t seen it, is the marrying of Hollywood film-making conventions with a quiet suburban English setting - the jarring nature of this mis-match of styles (which isn’t actually a mis-match at all - quiet English settings are a perfect backdrop for horror films - see Village of the Damned for evidence) draws the audience into the comedy of the situation. Movie-related gags abound, and it’s also fun watching the roll-call of British TV stars from recent years - look closely to spot Matt Lucas, David Walliams, Jessica Stevenson (Pegg’s co-lead from Spaced), Vernon Kay, Martin Freeman, Keith Chegwin (!), Rob Brydon, Mark Gatiss and more; apparently Chris Martin of Coldplay fame is even in it as a zombie, but I confess I didn’t spot him.

I laughed enough to justify this as a comedy, and I was repulsed enough by the horror to make that worthwhile. It’s not a particularly scary film, as I imagine some of the other famous zombie movies are (e.g. George A Romero’s output, Sam Raimi’s “Evil Dead” films - these will remain unwatched by me because I know enough about the films to know that I don’t want those feelings or images cluttering up my head), but it is effective in what it sets out to do.

At the start of this review, let me just say that I am an expert neither on Jane Austen (I’ve never actually read Pride and Prejudice, but I have read Emma and Northanger Abbey, which I very much enjoyed) nor Bollywood, having only seen 3 or 4 films that you could put into this category. This film, which transposes the plot of P&P to an Indian (well, international) setting and adds songs and lots of colour, is fairly successful with the plot but less so, to my mind, with the Bollywood genre.

Lalita (played by Aishwarya Rai, one of Bollywood’s biggest stars) is the 2nd of four daughters in the Bakshi family, and knows what she wants in a husband. Hang on… is there anyone who doesn’t know the plot of this film? The BBC version was so feted, and then there’s been another film recently, I feel it’s a bit pointless explaining what happens. Anyway, the whole arranged-marriage thing works very well in the Indian setting, as it’s still a feature of the culture, and the issue is regularly highlighted in the very few Bollywood movies I’ve seen - with the general consensus being that one aims for love in a marriage, of course. Darcy is an American businessman with no knowledge of any culture outside the States - he is, of course, a cad and a bounder (but then not really!), but according to Heidi not quite as attractive as he should be for this role. The character of Mrs Bakshi is very much seared onto your brain after watching the film - continually trying to maneuver her daughters into marriages that benefit her ambitions - and her husband’s understated, but equally strong, love for his children is lovely to watch too. And the 4 daughters are fun to watch, and look like a family. Oh, and special mention should go to Nitin Ganatra as Mr Kohli - the rich Indian working and living in America who Mrs Bakshi sees as a perfect match for Lalita - who steals every scene he’s in.

While the Indian setting is a good one in which to update the story (because, actually, not much updating work needs doing - e.g. the dances featured in the book, where key plot events occur, can be used here just as effectively, as people dance together regularly in Bollywood films), what we felt didn’t work so well was mixing the Indian setting with the demands of English-speaking audiences. English lyrics in Bollywood songs just sounded wrong to us - they’re fine when you read them as subtitles on the screen, and they don’t need to rhyme. In fact, I’ve said before that I find them rather beautiful on the whole, as to me they read like the Psalms or Song of Songs. But forcing an English rhyme scheme onto an Indian musical structure made the lyrics sound, well, wet and lame. I understand that Gurinda Chadha, the director, wanted to movie to have as wide an appeal as possible, and that after the success of Bend It Like Beckham, she wanted to expose as wide an audience as she could to Bollywood movie-making, and that is to be applauded - there is a moral, visual and aural purity about the Indian films we’ve seen so far that makes them absolutely delightful to watch, and more people should know that! But I think that in this instance, using English actually weakened the Indian-culture elements of the film, and that is a real shame - especially as the movie has a lot to say about opening one’s eyes to other cultures and all they have to offer.

So lots of fun, lots of colour and a well-played central romance, but if you want a really good introduction to Bollywood, try Kuch Kuch Hota Hai or Lagaan - both fantastic examples of the genre.