Princess Merida (Kelly Macdonald) lives in Medieval Scotland with her royal parents (Emma Thompson and Billy Connolly). From an early age she has prefered a bow and arrow to polite manners and proper princess conduct. Her mother, however, has other ideas, and arranges a competition for the other clans first borns to win her hand. Mother and daughter are now set against each other, but when Merida tries to use magic to change her fate, the two of them end up having to work together before everything changes...
The Pixar canon has more times then not produced stunning films; not only are the visuals impressive, the story and the script is on the same level. Unlike their rivals at Dreamworks and Fox, they are also very careful to not sell a film just on the stars that are playing the characters. A classic example: how many more people went to see Kung Fu Panda because Jack Black was in it? However, there have been occasions where the films just haven't met the high standards set by their greatest works,examples off which include Wall-E, Up, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles and, of course, the Toy Story Trilogy. The lesser films, though occasional blips, stick out like sore thumbs in the otherwise impressive history.
Sadly, Brave is in this category. That's not to say it isn't any good; it's a lot better than a lot of films out at the moment and a lot of animation that has been out over the last year. The concept of having a film set entirely in Medieval Scotland is a risky one for certain, particularly when you consider the international market and the US cinemas.
The visuals are stunning, though - Scotland's wild Highland countryside is perfectly captured by the Pixar geniuses; cloth, water and fur are all wonderfully created to the quality we have come to expect. The almost entirely Scottish cast, ably led by Kelly Macdonald as Princess Merida, are very good, if a little uninspiring, particularly when you have Billy Connolly in the credits.
But the story lets the film down. After an impressive opening, the film becomes a kind of lacklustre cousin to the dire Disney film Brother Bear, one of the films in the early 2000s that put a death knell on the classic Disney giant status. There is also a significant lack of any proper villain in the film. Julie Walters, as a witch, is potentially wasted as an antagonist, which is left to a demon bear who, while scary enough for little people, just doesn't have the same effect as Lotso Bear or Syndrome.
This however is from a grown man's point of view; having watched it in a cinema full of little people who throughly enjoyed it from the gasps and cheers and laughs, one can definitley say that this is the best Pixar kids film the studio has made for some time. But the joy of Pixar's greatest hits is that you can watch them whatever age and find something in them for you. Although the film's visuals are certainly captivating, there is very little else for grown ups here.
7/10
Thursday, 30 August 2012
Tuesday, 21 August 2012
New Classics
Muse and Ellie Goulding have previewed new material recently. Muse, always one note away from extravagance, seem to have steeped over that note and turned it into a symphony. Goulding has embraced electronica more than even in her re-release of her debut album, Bright Lights.
Goulding's new single, "Anything Could Happen" starts with a brace of high vocal noises on loop before launching into a march-type rejoicing that life is always surprising, no doubt influenced by her personal life which she has admitted freely in several interviews is a very definite factor in her new album, due for release in October. Watch this blog for a review of it later in the year.
Muse's new song, "Madness", ironically starts similarly to Goulding's with avocal track on loop. Their last song too hit the public ears,the Olympics-infused "Survival" was brilliant in its epicness and almost absurdly good, suiting the occasion very well indeed. In "Madness", Muse become the band that's the hybrid child of Queen and Radiohead, something they've threatened to do for a while. It is loud, mad in places, with a real sense that the band are going in an entirely new direction.
Goulding's new single, "Anything Could Happen" starts with a brace of high vocal noises on loop before launching into a march-type rejoicing that life is always surprising, no doubt influenced by her personal life which she has admitted freely in several interviews is a very definite factor in her new album, due for release in October. Watch this blog for a review of it later in the year.
Muse's new song, "Madness", ironically starts similarly to Goulding's with avocal track on loop. Their last song too hit the public ears,the Olympics-infused "Survival" was brilliant in its epicness and almost absurdly good, suiting the occasion very well indeed. In "Madness", Muse become the band that's the hybrid child of Queen and Radiohead, something they've threatened to do for a while. It is loud, mad in places, with a real sense that the band are going in an entirely new direction.
Saturday, 18 August 2012
Olympic Legacy - The Victims
Two long lasting events start again today: the first is the kick off of the new Premier League Football season; the second is the start of the new season of The X Factor.
Fascinatingly, the two events are linked not just by their start date but, one feels, the lack of enthusiasm for them. This is not just the seeming minority of us who have always looked upon the turgid display of uncharismatic ego boosting in this most hyper-inflated of talent shows with a sense of weary dread. The same goes for The X Factor, by the way.
No, there is a significant lack of momentum leading up to these two events. The responsible culprit for this is, obviously, the fact that we have spent a whole fortnight celebrating and relishing the sight of sportsmen, athletes, real heroes, real celebrities, who put their time and energy into everything, absolutely everything, to achieve their goals.
This writer does not believe for one second that the contestants of The X Factor have gone through the same journey. On a rare occasion, maybe, but even the most talented of winners - Leona Lewis as an example -- have seemingly faded into the distance. The Premier League footballers, paid far too much for ninety minutes of unremarkable showmanship, may have a stronger legacy in history, but that legacy is now in crisis thanks to London 2012.
If people wish to watch any of these shows -and sadly, hypocritically, this writer will be keeping his eyes on the Premier League and the progress of Arsenal Football Club, despite all his moaning - then by all means let them. But let's watch them with that sense of cynicism, that overall feeling of in the moment and then push it to the farthest reaches of our mind. It's boring. It's boorish. But Bolt, Ennis, the sports that are overlooked by people, the sports like volleyball that have had no funding in this country for the past two years; keep celebrating them. And if not, it's Saturday night. Go to the movies or the theatre. Help your starved mind with some real drama. Not pap.
Fascinatingly, the two events are linked not just by their start date but, one feels, the lack of enthusiasm for them. This is not just the seeming minority of us who have always looked upon the turgid display of uncharismatic ego boosting in this most hyper-inflated of talent shows with a sense of weary dread. The same goes for The X Factor, by the way.
No, there is a significant lack of momentum leading up to these two events. The responsible culprit for this is, obviously, the fact that we have spent a whole fortnight celebrating and relishing the sight of sportsmen, athletes, real heroes, real celebrities, who put their time and energy into everything, absolutely everything, to achieve their goals.
This writer does not believe for one second that the contestants of The X Factor have gone through the same journey. On a rare occasion, maybe, but even the most talented of winners - Leona Lewis as an example -- have seemingly faded into the distance. The Premier League footballers, paid far too much for ninety minutes of unremarkable showmanship, may have a stronger legacy in history, but that legacy is now in crisis thanks to London 2012.
If people wish to watch any of these shows -and sadly, hypocritically, this writer will be keeping his eyes on the Premier League and the progress of Arsenal Football Club, despite all his moaning - then by all means let them. But let's watch them with that sense of cynicism, that overall feeling of in the moment and then push it to the farthest reaches of our mind. It's boring. It's boorish. But Bolt, Ennis, the sports that are overlooked by people, the sports like volleyball that have had no funding in this country for the past two years; keep celebrating them. And if not, it's Saturday night. Go to the movies or the theatre. Help your starved mind with some real drama. Not pap.
Wednesday, 15 August 2012
Olympic Legacy
It's fair to say that the the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the London 2012 Olympic Games were nothing short of a triumph. Although the latter was hampered slightly by occasional miming and bizarre choices of artists (why not have David Gilmour play "Wish You Were Here" instead of the drab Ed Sheeran?), from start to finish this country proved that we can put on a party and a great event too.
Perhaps the biggest legacy was on a cultural level. With events still taking place, the Cultural Festival has been as diverse as culture can be. And now the best news from the festival seems to be that the Culture Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, has issued an investigation over whether it would be feasible to hold this festival on a biennial basis.
This is a rare right step from Mr Hunt, who seems to have become the fall boy for a lot of the coalition's problems. If the Olympics have proved anything about the legacy of Great Britain, it's not just to do with the excellent sports results from the likes of the rowers, the cyclists, Jessica Ennis and Mo Farah. It's our arts and culture too which make us a part of who we are; and we shouldn't have to wait for the opportunity of a generation, the biggest sporting event to be staged, to show the rest of the world what we can do with the pen, the brush and the stage. And although there are plenty of opportunities to do this anyway (Edinburgh at the moment an obvious and classic example) London should be given the chance to shine at every opportunity.
Perhaps the biggest legacy was on a cultural level. With events still taking place, the Cultural Festival has been as diverse as culture can be. And now the best news from the festival seems to be that the Culture Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, has issued an investigation over whether it would be feasible to hold this festival on a biennial basis.
This is a rare right step from Mr Hunt, who seems to have become the fall boy for a lot of the coalition's problems. If the Olympics have proved anything about the legacy of Great Britain, it's not just to do with the excellent sports results from the likes of the rowers, the cyclists, Jessica Ennis and Mo Farah. It's our arts and culture too which make us a part of who we are; and we shouldn't have to wait for the opportunity of a generation, the biggest sporting event to be staged, to show the rest of the world what we can do with the pen, the brush and the stage. And although there are plenty of opportunities to do this anyway (Edinburgh at the moment an obvious and classic example) London should be given the chance to shine at every opportunity.
Tuesday, 7 August 2012
Tell Me It's Not True...The End Of Blood Brothers
After 24 years, the musical Blood Brothers is closing on the West End, heading on that long trail known as tour, the trail that awaits every single successful musical and play. It's not alone in its fate; after 15 years Chicago will also be finishing its West End run, causing countless men to sob as it's one of the few shows they don't mind being dragged to, what with all the scantily clad ladies and all.
This is not unusual, nor is it a negative outcome of the recession. In fact, this is very much the continuing of a long story that started a decade or so ago when one of the most successful musicals ever, Cats, surprised everyone by closing its doors. It does have something to do with money in a sense - no doubt the shows that will take over from these two winners will be either transfers or revivals. It is however a more artistic approach that has been required over the last few years.
Nobody now should try and put on a brand new musical on the West End without any kind of pre-run anywhere else. It's both a wonderful and perhaps unhappy circumstance that the West End really has become the English Broadway.It just costs too much money. Back in the 1980s, when Cameron Mackintosh reigned supreme, his ploy was to start the shows in the West End before transferring them to Broadway. Now even the West End is too expensive.
Smaller theatres benefit hugely from this. We are seeing many more transfers from the likes of the National Theatre or the Chichester Festival Theatre; examples including the brilliant new production of Sweeney Todd; One Man, Two Guvnors (which has won critical acclaim on Broadway and a Tony for its star); War Horse and most recently Singin' In The Rain. These shows have triumphed in smaller theatres and thanks to word of mouth sold brilliantly in the West End after transfer. Now Spamalot, the Monty Python musical, is returning after a few years tour; ironically, this is exactly what happened with Blood Brothers when it returned in 1988, having not being entirely successful in its first run but becoming the power house it has been after a tour of two/three years.
Blood Brothers is a very good show with a storyline that could have been taken from Greek Tragedy; if you haven't seen it yet, go see it. Someone once described it as the musical for people who don't like musicals. I don't think this is necessarily true. It doesn't have the greatest of scores for one thing; there's a little too much repetition, though it's greatest moment is at the end with the showstopper of a number, "Tell Me It's Not True". It is in fact a play with songs. This is different to a musical, something I will elaborate further in a future post. The important thing is it's a GOOD show and you should see it if not already. Good luck to the tour and here's to whoever moves into the Phoenix.
This is not unusual, nor is it a negative outcome of the recession. In fact, this is very much the continuing of a long story that started a decade or so ago when one of the most successful musicals ever, Cats, surprised everyone by closing its doors. It does have something to do with money in a sense - no doubt the shows that will take over from these two winners will be either transfers or revivals. It is however a more artistic approach that has been required over the last few years.
Nobody now should try and put on a brand new musical on the West End without any kind of pre-run anywhere else. It's both a wonderful and perhaps unhappy circumstance that the West End really has become the English Broadway.It just costs too much money. Back in the 1980s, when Cameron Mackintosh reigned supreme, his ploy was to start the shows in the West End before transferring them to Broadway. Now even the West End is too expensive.
Smaller theatres benefit hugely from this. We are seeing many more transfers from the likes of the National Theatre or the Chichester Festival Theatre; examples including the brilliant new production of Sweeney Todd; One Man, Two Guvnors (which has won critical acclaim on Broadway and a Tony for its star); War Horse and most recently Singin' In The Rain. These shows have triumphed in smaller theatres and thanks to word of mouth sold brilliantly in the West End after transfer. Now Spamalot, the Monty Python musical, is returning after a few years tour; ironically, this is exactly what happened with Blood Brothers when it returned in 1988, having not being entirely successful in its first run but becoming the power house it has been after a tour of two/three years.
Blood Brothers is a very good show with a storyline that could have been taken from Greek Tragedy; if you haven't seen it yet, go see it. Someone once described it as the musical for people who don't like musicals. I don't think this is necessarily true. It doesn't have the greatest of scores for one thing; there's a little too much repetition, though it's greatest moment is at the end with the showstopper of a number, "Tell Me It's Not True". It is in fact a play with songs. This is different to a musical, something I will elaborate further in a future post. The important thing is it's a GOOD show and you should see it if not already. Good luck to the tour and here's to whoever moves into the Phoenix.
Friday, 3 August 2012
"The Dark Knight Rises"
To relaunch a well loved story and do it right is an immense task. To carry the story on and make an even better film in the progress is monumental. To finish that story and do it right is akin to climbing Mount Everest by hopping on one leg.
With The Dark Knight Trilogy, Christopher Nolan has done all this and more. He has cemented his place in the history books by creating a franchise of intelligent comic book films, adding them to his rostra of intellectual blockbusters. Most importantly, with The Dark Knight Rises, Nolan has once again made an excellent film to add to an extraordinary canon: Memento, Insomnia, Batman Begins, The Prestige, The Dark Knight, Inception. He is the rightful owner to the title of Greatest Film Maker of the moment; a modern day Scorcese with a traditionally epic view of films such as DeMille would have been proud of.
This is not to say that there aren't problems with the film; the script, though keeping you guessing throughout most of the plot, is let down but not ina traditional sense. More, it is the mythology of the Batman story that hinders it. Such was the problem with the introduction of Harvey Dent in The Dark Knight; knowing the story of this tragic chaaracter automatically overshadowed him with the spectre of Two Face. Yet Nolan used this to his advantage, making sure the audience weren't treated like idiots because of it, and making the excellent choice to give the Joker no back story whatsoever to counter-balance this. In The Dark Knight Rises, if you know the mythology, then a few characters appearance will be more obvious than others.
Despite this, once again the story is treated as realistically as if it was a modern-day thriller. Batman as a character is perhaps (at a stretch) one of the most believable comic book heroes; he has no super powers, he is spurred on by his own tragedy, his own darkness. The characters around him, particularly the villains, are influenced and inspired by this darkness; some for good - an aspiring, perhaps slightly niave police officer played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt is excellent support, and Gary Oldman is once again great as Comissioner Gordon.
The ones whose motives are less than desirable are also treated with great care and attention. Tom Hardy's Bane has come under a lot of scrutiny due to the mask the actor wears, but more of his dialogue can be heard clearly than previously reported. Besides, one COULD be cynical and suggest that this is another ploy by Nolan to get you to come and watch the film again just to try and catch every sentence, but that's probably going too far. Hardy gives an unusally restrained performance as this psychopath, his accent unclear as to where he exactly comes from, but a brutal, brooding force who is determined to reach his goal, whatever the cost.
For myself, however, there are three stand out performances; Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle, who we KNOW is Catwoman yet is never defined as such, gives a sensual, streetwise kick to the character and should play this kind of character more often, not least because she looks stunning in the costume. Michael Caine as Alfred could be forgiven for simply turning up yet manages to bring quite a few tears to the eye as someone watching the closest person he has to a son potentially head to their grave.
But the film belongs to Batman, and that's thanks to Christian Bale. If he was overshadowed by Heath Ledger's excellent performance in The Dark Knight, here he takes the film back for the vigilante and rises victoriously. In fact, sadly one of the things the film really lacks is a performance like Ledger, such was the power there. Still, Bale growls and grimaces, contemplates and sacrifices. It takes a good forty minutes for Batman to actually appear - a brave decision by Nolan - and the film really examines what it means to fight for good in a corrupt world by mirroring Batman's fight with Bane's more villanous revolution.
The set pieces are stunning, in particular a memorable scene in a football stadium, and its refreshing that Nolan refuses to go down the 3D road. Hans Zimmer's score pounds away with rough, tribal chants and violence. When it comes to the ending, some would argue that Nolan perhaps goes too far. But the important thing to realise is that he has ended this franchise, he has ended this trilogy. The question now is, for Nolan, where the hell does he go from here?
9/10
With The Dark Knight Trilogy, Christopher Nolan has done all this and more. He has cemented his place in the history books by creating a franchise of intelligent comic book films, adding them to his rostra of intellectual blockbusters. Most importantly, with The Dark Knight Rises, Nolan has once again made an excellent film to add to an extraordinary canon: Memento, Insomnia, Batman Begins, The Prestige, The Dark Knight, Inception. He is the rightful owner to the title of Greatest Film Maker of the moment; a modern day Scorcese with a traditionally epic view of films such as DeMille would have been proud of.
This is not to say that there aren't problems with the film; the script, though keeping you guessing throughout most of the plot, is let down but not ina traditional sense. More, it is the mythology of the Batman story that hinders it. Such was the problem with the introduction of Harvey Dent in The Dark Knight; knowing the story of this tragic chaaracter automatically overshadowed him with the spectre of Two Face. Yet Nolan used this to his advantage, making sure the audience weren't treated like idiots because of it, and making the excellent choice to give the Joker no back story whatsoever to counter-balance this. In The Dark Knight Rises, if you know the mythology, then a few characters appearance will be more obvious than others.
Despite this, once again the story is treated as realistically as if it was a modern-day thriller. Batman as a character is perhaps (at a stretch) one of the most believable comic book heroes; he has no super powers, he is spurred on by his own tragedy, his own darkness. The characters around him, particularly the villains, are influenced and inspired by this darkness; some for good - an aspiring, perhaps slightly niave police officer played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt is excellent support, and Gary Oldman is once again great as Comissioner Gordon.
The ones whose motives are less than desirable are also treated with great care and attention. Tom Hardy's Bane has come under a lot of scrutiny due to the mask the actor wears, but more of his dialogue can be heard clearly than previously reported. Besides, one COULD be cynical and suggest that this is another ploy by Nolan to get you to come and watch the film again just to try and catch every sentence, but that's probably going too far. Hardy gives an unusally restrained performance as this psychopath, his accent unclear as to where he exactly comes from, but a brutal, brooding force who is determined to reach his goal, whatever the cost.
For myself, however, there are three stand out performances; Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle, who we KNOW is Catwoman yet is never defined as such, gives a sensual, streetwise kick to the character and should play this kind of character more often, not least because she looks stunning in the costume. Michael Caine as Alfred could be forgiven for simply turning up yet manages to bring quite a few tears to the eye as someone watching the closest person he has to a son potentially head to their grave.
But the film belongs to Batman, and that's thanks to Christian Bale. If he was overshadowed by Heath Ledger's excellent performance in The Dark Knight, here he takes the film back for the vigilante and rises victoriously. In fact, sadly one of the things the film really lacks is a performance like Ledger, such was the power there. Still, Bale growls and grimaces, contemplates and sacrifices. It takes a good forty minutes for Batman to actually appear - a brave decision by Nolan - and the film really examines what it means to fight for good in a corrupt world by mirroring Batman's fight with Bane's more villanous revolution.
The set pieces are stunning, in particular a memorable scene in a football stadium, and its refreshing that Nolan refuses to go down the 3D road. Hans Zimmer's score pounds away with rough, tribal chants and violence. When it comes to the ending, some would argue that Nolan perhaps goes too far. But the important thing to realise is that he has ended this franchise, he has ended this trilogy. The question now is, for Nolan, where the hell does he go from here?
9/10
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)