IMDB Review #33: Leon

When Leon was originally released in cinemas back in 1994, most reviews commented on the fact that it was morally dubious for a film to portray the training of a 12 year old girl as a hitman. It can’t be denied that Leon is amoral by nature - this is a graphically violent film, which also hints at a sexual relationship between a 12 year old girl and a much older hitman – however, what also can’t be denied is that this is a wonderfully entertaining film which breaks many conventions of the modern day thriller.

When 12 year old Mathilda’s family are killed by a drug infused maniac (Gary Oldman) over a drug deal gone wrong, Mathilda (a young Natalie Portman) is adopted by Leon (Jean Reno), the hitman next door. In return for cleaning the apartment and reading lessons, Leon agrees to teach Mathilda some of the secrets of his craft. With an impending sense of dread, the film slowly builds up the tension until a final confrontation between Leon and the man who killed Mathilda’s family.

Everything about this film is over-emphasized, from Gary Oldman’s drug crunching (and completely over the top) manic bad guy to the explosive final confrontation. I must admit that this didn’t really bother me too much as it added to the overall interest and intrigue of the film and resulted in a stylised urban thriller which is clearly devolved from reality (unsurprising given this is a Jean Luc Besson film). Everything in the film is overly stylised, from the character’s clothes and dialogue to the soundtrack and set design. This is an approach which I think works superbly and gives the film a sense of originality and freshness which very few films manage to achieve (although it is doubtful whether any film can claim to be truly original in the modern era).

For me, it was the performance of the two central characters which really drives the film. Many would think that a graphically violent thriller would be strongly driven by story and action, but I think this is one of the few exceptions whereby the strong characterisation is the reason that this film is so highly rated on IMDB. The interaction between Leon and Mathilda is quite frankly captivating and deals with some interesting concepts, most importantly being the appropriateness of the relationship between the two. For me, I think that whilst Mathilda and Leonboth love each other, they are two very different kinds of love. Mathilda clearly logves leon like a lover (even though she is 12), however Leon reciprocates that love as a father figure and clearly demonstrates in the final scene that his only desire is to protect Mathilda from harm.

Overall, I thought Leon was a superb film. It is entertaining, feels fresh and original (or at least I imagine it would have done at the time of release) and has characters which are fundamentally interesting. Sure there may be some plot holes and the whole thing may be entirely over the top and removed from reality but it is that wackiness which captivates. This is one I will watch again.

Rating 9/10

IMDB Review#244: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter… and Spring

After a short hiatus (I really don’t know where  the time has gone the past two weeks!) my IMDB challenge continues with Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter… and Spring (let’s call it Spring for short).

Spring is a South Korean film which follows a young boy who is being taught how to be a monk by a wise old master. The film is split into four main vignettes, each one named after a different season, which represent the different stages in the boy’s life. Each vignette deals with a different theme of humanity, including cruelty, love and redemption, and we are shown how each of these impact on the boy as he progresses through life.

I must admit that Spring was a film which I was not particularly looking forward to. I made the classic error of prejudging a film based on its DVD cover and I had decided straight away that this film was not for me. As I started watching the film, all I wanted to do was to get this one out of the way so that I could continue with my challenge but as the film progressed, I found myself slowly falling for its meditative charm and by the end of the film I was taken in by its scope and by the statement it was trying to make about life in general. However, it was only after the credits had rolled and I was reflecting on the film that I started to realise how good a film this is.

I must also admit that I am not entirely sure I fully understood the film after just the one viewing which creates a little bit of a dilemma for me in trying to review the film. Part of me (the emotive part) thinks this film was great – truly original and fresh. However, another part of me (the rational part) cannot find the reason why I thought that this film was great. Perhaps that is not a bad thing, as Spring is a film which I will definitely watch again (therefore it has the potential for repeat viewings), however, for me, a truly great film is one which has impact the first time you watch it and stays with you long after the credits roll. Therefore Spring is only partly successful in that respect.

Credit must also go to the fantastic cinematography and score which really add to the atmosphere of the film. The location of the film (set on a floating monastery in the middle of a lake) is such a calming location that it really adds to the meditative nature of the film – an important concept in Buddhist life.

Overall, this is a film which I would recommend to those who enjoy slow paced films which grow on you as time passes. However, if you are looking for a film with impact which you can fully appreciate and enjoy as you watch it, then this one might not be for you.

Rating: 7/10

IMDB Review #245: The Philadelphia Story

James Stewart is by far my favourite actor. He gives such an amazing amount of energy to each and every character he portrays and can turn his hand to such a variety of different genres that I can honestly say I have never enjoyed watching an actor as much as I have enjoyed watching James Stewart. This all bodes well for The Philadelphia Story – the only film that James Stewart won an Oscar for – and when you through in the wonderful Katherine Hepburn and the smooth Cary Grant, this really was a film which had me salivating.

Tracy (Katherine Hepburn), is a wealthy Philadelphian socialite who is about to get married for the second time. On the eve of her wedding, her ex-husband (Cary Grant) turns up along with an undercover reporter (James Stewart) and as Tracy gets to know these two men further through the course of the night she begins to learn the truth about who she really is and what she really wants from life.

Adapted from the 1939 stage play of the same, The Philadelphia story is a romantic comedy (almost farcical in nature) which features some outstanding dialogue. In every scene the witty dialogue flows at such a pace that it is worth the price of admission alone just to allow it to grace your ears. Credit for that has to go in part to the Broadway play from which this film was adapted but also to screenwriter Donald Stewart, who deserving walked away with that year’s academy award for best screenplay.

Likewise, the acting in the film is superb. James Stewart gives what is a contender for his career best performance and Katherine Hepburn is also outstanding in a seductive lead female role. Making up the leading trio, Cary Grant is fine as the role of the ex-husband, however in almost every scene he is overshadowed by Stewart and Hepburn. That is more a compliment to the two leads as opposed to a criticism of Cary Grant, who I personally think gives his best performances in his collaborations with Hitchcock.

With all good things comes the bad and in this case the predictable storyline lets the film down a little. However, it is a testament to the great cast that they keep the film enjoyable, witty and entertaining despite the obvious plot points and I really did enjoy this piece of golden cinema. 

Perhaps it is too generous to call this a classic, but a finer romantic comedy I have yet to see.

Rating: 8/10

IMDB Review #246: Beauty and the Beast

It is so much easier to write about a film when it stirs something inside you – when you feel so much passion for the film that all you want to do is shout about it for days after. For the first time in my IMDB Top 250 challenge, I have found such a film in Beauty and the Beast.

I remember watching Beauty and the Beast with my little sister when I was a kid. Day after day we would watch the film (along with many other Disney classics) over and over again and would never tire of the story of Belle and her Beast. However, as I grew older, Disney became less cool and other interests took over my spare time, mainly computer games. As a result, it must have been about 15 years since I last watched Beauty and the Beast.

And boy have I missed it. Beauty and the Beast is a fantastic film, simultaneously magical, moving, engrossing, uplifting and beguiling. From the opening musical number as Belle makes her way through the sleepy village where she stays, right up until the magical conclusion, Beauty and the Beast captivated me. The musical numbers made me feel good, the storyline enchanted me and for 90 minutes all of my troubles evaporated. What more do you want from a film?

The animation in the film is superb and some of the cinematography is quite simply breath-taking. The characters are so well scripted that they are instantly loveable; I even have a fondness for the dastardly Gaston despite his role as the films antagonist. Not since Walt Disney’s death in 1966 has Disney made a better film (excluding the work of Pixar) and it is doubtful that they ever will top this wonderful film.

Overall, I have no hesitation in calling Beauty and the Beast a bone fide classic. It is the first film in the IMDB Top 250 list which I think truly deserves it place on the list – in fact it should be much higher than its lowly 246^th position. Even as I type this review, I have the film playing again in the background and I can guarantee that the film will grace my television within a much shorter period than the 15 years since my last viewing.

I think I may have fallen in love with Disney all over again…

Rating 10/10

IMDB Review #247: Shutter Island

There are some films which are difficult to discuss without giving away a spoiler, and Shutter Island is one such film. It is one of those films that the less you know about it, the better the first experience; therefore if you have not seen the film, please stop reading now.

Set in the 1950’s, US Marshall Teddy Daniels (Leonardo Di Caprio) and his partner Chuck (Mark Ruffalo) are called to investigate the disappearance of a young woman at a mental asylum on the mysterious Shutter Island. Upon investigation, it soon becomes clear that things are not as they should be on the island and Teddy begins to suspect that the mental asylum, headed by Dr Crawley (Sir Ben Kingsley), is actually being used for some mysterious government tests.

Shutter Island is by all means a good film. The story is excellent (as one would expect from a Dennis Lehane adaptation), it contains some excellent performances, most notably by Di Caprio who is outstanding in the title role, and the production design is so lovingly rendered that the film really brings to life its 1950s setting.

Out of all of Scorsese’s films, Shutter Island is perhaps most close in style to Cape Fear. It is a psychological horror which harks back to the classic suspense of films of the great Alfred Hitchcock, whose work clearly has a large influence on the film. The score in particular recalls the work of the great Bernhard Herrman, a long-time collaborator of Hitchcock and one of the highest regarded film composers of all time.

The film does have its flaws; my main issue being that it is over long and suffers from slow pacing in places. However, overall this was a film which I really enjoyed the first time I watched it, and, unusually for a ‘film with a twist’, it retained its appeal on a second viewing (unlike The Sixth Sense for example). 

Not a classic by any means, and certainly not Scorsese’s best, but overall Shutter Island had enough period authenticity and atmosphere to keep me entertained. 

And that much debated final line? – well, let’s just say it stayed with me for days. Definitely worth a watch.

Rating 8/10

IMDB Review #248: Rain Man

It has been a rather busy week for me and unfortunately this has result in the neglect of my blog. However, now that the weekend is near, I am back in business and will be continuing with my Top 250 challenge. On that note, let us move on to number 248 on the list: Rain Man.

In Rain Man, Tom Cruise plays Charlie Babbit, a self-obsessed car dealer who would do anything to make a quick buck. When Charlie’s father dies, Charlie is outraged to find out that an unnamed beneficiary is to inherit his father’s $3m fortune. When Charlie finds out that the unnamed beneficiary is an autistic older brother, Raymond (Dustin Hoffman), who never knew, he sets out to obtain guardianship of Raymond in order to obtain the cash.

The performances in the film are fantastic, with Hoffman in particular standing out, and fully deserving of his Oscar, for his portrayal of the autistic Raymond. Hoffman plays the character with subtlety when it would have been very easy to overstate the impact of autism on the character of Raymond and this results in a completely believable performance which engrossed me from start to finish.

Tom Cruise is also in good form as Raymond’s brother Charlie, albeit the character arc he is given is a very familiar story of redemption – changing from a selfish egotist into a loving brother during the course of the film. Whilst he is overshadowed by Hoffman, Cruise still manages to hold his own and plays the self-centred Charlie superbly.

Aside from the performances, Rain Man is a pretty bog standard road movie which lacks any real originality. In one sequence, we find Charlie exploiting Raymond’s numerical abilities to count cards in a Las Vegas casino, thereby winning a small fortune. This riffs off the common perception that people with autism have savant skills when perhaps a more original take on the issues of autism would have been more rewarding (albeit it is probable that Rain Man helped to create that perception in the first place).

Having said that, Rain Man does have some genuinely funny moments and some moments of real emotion – the scene in which Raymond imitates sex noises made by Charlie and his girlfriend (Valeria Golino) is particularly amusing. However, despite the odd moment of humour and emotion, I cannot say that I loved this film and it is certainly not one which would make it into my Top 250 films of all time. 

Overall, the performances of Cruise and Hoffman lift Rain Man above mediocrity, but there are many other elements of a good film (such a strong storyline) which are missing. Dustin Hoffman’s performance is definitely up there with the best and is a career defining role, but apart from that there really is not much else in this film to suggest that it should be considered a classic.

Rating 7/10

IMDB Review #249: Ip Man

One of my aims when commencing my IMDB top 250 challenge was to broaden my horizons and experience different film genres which I wouldn’t normally chose to watch. One such example is the martial arts genre to which Ip Man belongs. I can honestly say that, apart from the Karate Kid movies, I have never watched a martial arts film, nor have I ever had the desire to watch one. Ip Man has, however, gone someway to destroying my bias against Kung-Fu as it is a highly entertaining film which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Ip Man is a loose biopic of Grandmaster Ip Man, founder of the Wing Chung branch of martial arts and mentor to Bruce Lee. The film is set in the 1930s and focuses on Ip Man’s early life in Foshan, China, where he is a wealthy man and part of upper class society. Upon the Japanese invasion in 1937, Ip Man, like most other inhabitants of Foshan, is driven from his home and forced to live a meagre existence under Japanese rule. The film documents Ip Man’s struggle to provide for his family and his quest to protect Chinese honour in the face of atrocities committed by the occupying Japanese forces.

The film is well paced and I, for one, was gripped throughout. Donnie Yen, in the role of Ip Man, gives a great performance and is a powerful presence on screen. The supporting cast are also very good, particularly the two Japanese antagonists who provide a real sense of danger to the people of Foshan. The film also features some spectacular production design which really brings to life the 1930s Chinese setting. The contrast in living conditions before and after the Japanese invasion is lovingly rendered on screen and adds to the authenticity of the film. 

As this is at heart an action film, the fight scenes are particularly important and it is no surprise that they are beautifully choreographed and demonstrate some outstanding skill from the lead actors. The film manages to display enough violence to give the fight scenes authenticity but manages to avoid descending into a display of gratuitous violence at the expense of plot development.

At the heart of the film is an interesting theme of the modern vs the ancient. The skilful, hand to hand combat, which is at the heart of the martial arts demonstrated in the film is, in several scenes, contrasted to the more mechanical use of modern weaponry. This is an interesting juxtaposition which raises the question of whether the technological advancements which have created modern weapons, has resulted in a loss of honour in our humanity. 

 

Sure, the film is not without its flaws. The dialogue is clunky places (although I suspect that has something to do with the English translation) and there are some glaring plot holes which you could drive a Japanese tank through. In one scene, Ip Man teaches the entire workforce of a local factory how to defend themselves from local bandits and, whilst entertaining, it is a stretch of imagination too far. 

The story also lacks the ring of truth, and after some brief research into the real Ip Man, it becomes clear that this is a highly fictionalised account of the man, with the focus very much on the creation of a good story rather than historical accuracy. The film is also a heavily biased representation of the Sino-Japanese war, presenting the Chinese as honourable people and the Japanese as a savage race, reliant on their weaponry. 

These are, however, relatively minor complaints in a film which is hugely entertaining and a fine example to Hollywood of how to make a traditional blockbuster which is reliant on acting, direction and choreography instead of special effects. It may not be fine art but, as Saturday night entertainment, this is an excellent film.

Rating 8/10

IMDB Review #250: Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind

And so the challenge begins…

 There have been many films released over the past few years which have environmental undertones; Avatar, The Road and Wall-E to name a few. Whilst these films have mainly used the environmental theme to create the setting for a story, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (the second film by Hayao Miyazaki) fully embraces environmentalism, creating a story which has as its central theme the relationship between humanity and the earth. 

The film is set in a post-apocalyptic world where the Earth’s ecosystem has been destroyed in what is referred to as The Seven Day War. The central character is Nausicaa, a Princess of the Valley of the Wind, which is one of the last few habitable places on earth. Large swathes of the earth are now covered by a ‘Toxic Jungle’ which is guarded by a variety of giant insects, the most deadly of which are known as Ohms. 

War breaks out when a rival race, known as the Tolmekians, invade and destroy the rival city of Pejite in order to obtain the embryo of a Great Warrior (the creature who is thought to have destroyed the earth) which recently been discovered. On transporting the embryo back to Tolmekia, the Tolmekian airship crashes in the Valley of the Wind, prompting the Tolmekians to invade the Valley in order to retake the embryo.

The Tolmekians believe that in order for earth to survive, the Toxic Jungle must be destroyed and so plan to use the Giant Warrior to destroy the Toxic Jungle and all other people who stand in their way. However, Princess Nausicaa has discovered that it is not the plants of the toxic forest that are polluted, but rather the soil and water in which they grow. The plants themselves are actually slowly cleansing the planet so that it will be clean once more. When Nausicaa discovers the Tolmekian plan, she, along with Prince Asbel of Pejite, sets off on a mission to stop them in order to save the planet and all of the creatures and people who inhabit it.

 One of the first things that struck me when watching the film was that it was incredibly ahead of its time. Originally released in 1984, the environmental theme of the film is very relevant to the modern day and Nausicaa has to be one of the few films which may be more relevant now than when originally released.

Another thing which I thought interesting, was that Nausicaa contains that rarity in modern day cinema; a strong female lead character. Too often in animation and often in live action films, the lead female character (if indeed there can be said to be one) is the stereotypical damsel in distress. In fact, if you look closely at the Disney Pixar Films, not one of them even has a strong female character (the closest Pixar comes is Mrs Incredible in The Incredibles). It is therefore refreshing that Nausicaa bucks the contemporary trend and not only has a female as its lead character, but a strong female warrior who is not afraid to risk her life to protect all other species on the planet, be it good or evil.

The animation is lovingly rendered and each frame incredibly detailed resulting in a visual experience which doesn’t feel out of place when compared to more recent examples of traditional animation. The world in which the film takes place is exceptionally complex and is comparable to the worlds which exist in Star Wars, Lord of the Rings or Avatar. Some of the different races and transportation which is used in the film clearly reference Star Wars and it is clearly one of the main inspirations behind the film.

Whilst the detail of the setting adds to the richness of the film, it also creates some complexity in the story. The last half hour of the film is chock full of different locations and tribes of people (such as the Tolmekians, the Pejite and the people of the valley). As the story nears its conclusion we constantly jump from one event to another, many of which often happening simultaneously, and this leads to a bit of conclusion in the plot.

Overall, whilst I enjoyed this film, I didn’t love it. I didn’t ever feel that emotional connection with the main characters which I need in order to truly fall in love with a film. Despite that I think there are enough interesting aspects of this film to warrant a repeat viewing, however I do not think its status as one of the top 250 films is really justified.

Rating 7/10

1 down, 249 to go…