Film

GONE GIRL (2014)

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Ben Affleck (Nick Dunne) continues to prove that he can act and is capable of layering a character. He’s already proven himself adept at directing three very intelligent films to date (Gone Baby Gone, The Town and the Oscar winning Argo). Here, he has the challenge of creating a character that is flawed and three-dimensional and does a great job.

David Fincher directs this intelligent thriller based upon Gillian Flynn’s bestselling novel about a woman who goes missing and the husband who is left behind. To say anymore would be to do the viewer a great injustice. No spoilers here.

Rosamund Pike as Amy Dunne cements her status as legitimate leading lady, although how much depth she has an actor… She delivers a decent enough performance but we are not always allowed in and this may be a problem in future work.

Carrie Coon is great as Nick’s twin sister, Margo, and arrives on the scene after showing her chops in the recent HBO series, The Leftovers. Kim Dickens plays the right side of world-weary as the detective assigned to the missing persons case, Detective Rhonda Boney. She is always brilliant; fantastic in Deadwood and a joy in Treme and Patrick Fugit (Almost Famous) plays her sidekick, Officer Jim Gilpin well.
Tyler Perry announces his intention of being treated as a serious actor playing the celebrity lawyer, Tanner Bolt and is present enough for you to buy his work.

Avoiding all reviews or write-ups about this film before I’d seen it as I wanted to approach it with no knowledge in order to experience it free of any pre-conceptions. Surely, the best way to see any film, right? Apart from the more extreme side of cinema, where a warning sticker would separate the weak of heart from the crazy, bungee-diving audiences.
But, I digress, the pedigree is present, so let’s see.

Trent Reznor and long-time collaborator Atticus Ross create an amazing soundscape that never infringes upon the piece nor allows you to feel settled.

This is the third time they have scored a Fincher film, taking home an Oscar for Best Soundtrack for The Social Network and also, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Their soundtracks have been have been pigeon-holed into such genres as Dark Ambient, Post-industrial experimental and electronica for the ad-men but it is not so easy to categorise. The use of ambient electronic  sounds to create a Lynch-like unsettledness adds to the film perfectly.

Fincher is a master of brilliantly creating a world where the audience is left guessing until he feels it time to reveal and he does just that here.

A brilliant thriller that may just make some waves at the Oscars next year.

4/5

What did you think?
Please feel free to leave a comment if you agree or not with my thoughts.
All discussions welcome. (Excepting trolls, who are not welcome :O)).

THIS IS THE END (2013)

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A brilliant premise, a talented cast all playing themselves, or a twisted version, the opportunity for many belly laughs are there, so why doesn’t it work?

Here’s why.

If you have a great idea but decide to pad it out with three music videos, it states clearly that you don’t have enough material to fill a film.

Having the Apatow set playing themselves during the end of the world is a cool concept but be wary, it could easily turn out cheap and tacky. Fortunately for them the majority of the scenes work, it just needed more polishing to lift it above a home movie that they could show to their mates.

Directed by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg and featuring a some very funny actors, Craig Robinson, Danny McBride, Michael Cera, and a bunch of cool cameos: Paul Rudd, Martin Starr, Kevin Hart, Aziz Ansari and David Krumholtz who gets by far the funniest scene (”you can hold onto my full weight?”).

There are plenty of very funny moments in this film; it just doesn’t gel as a whole; it’s half-baked. Rogen and Goldberg made a lot of money with this film and some would say that is success, in a way, yes, but artistically?

Ever since Freaks and Geeks the Apatow alumni have been making some very funny films and so the bar is high. Pineapple Express, Superbad, hell even Knocked Up, all better films than This is the End. But for every Superbad there are several Observe and Reports/Bad Neighbours.

The rapture ending didn’t work, far too Christian and shoe-horned in an otherwise unrelated world.

Finally, The Backstreet Boys. Oh dear. So unnecessary. It smacks of rich kids getting to live out their fantasies in a public arena and shouldn’t be allowed. If this was some Z-lister film that no-one but the teens would see, then fair play, but more should be expected from talent such as these.

3/5 (For the laughs, when they happened)

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