Couch Critic: Kevin You Contagious Tinker!

Well dear reader, it's already been a month since my last film reviews! Since then we haven't seen too many new films owing to a falling out with Lovefilm (too many new films "unavailable for rental"). My mum, who's 80 in June, has probably seen more because she avails herself of Orange cut price tickets at the cinema on Wednesdays.

But I will give you my verdict on: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Contagion and We Need To Talk about Kevin.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

I'm a big fan of Gary Oldman (left). I've seen all his films, including some we'd rather forget about. He is a sublime actor but in recent years I was exasperated with some of his role choices. Finally the "big one" came along - Tinker Tailor - and he was Oscar nominated. But while I admired his restrained performance in Tinker Tailor, I couldn't help thinking the film is a bit of an Emperor's New Clothes. I suspect that some of those who say how wonderful it is are just trying to stand apart from the rest of us. I knew what to expect - a complex story and none of the usual sledgehammer clues and shooting you get in most modern spy thrillers. Nonetheless, I found it baffling and incomprehensible. I didn't know what was going on for the first hour, and although with spy thrillers like this you have to wait for the story to unfold, the clues were released with agonising slowness. I'm told it's better the second time but I don't think J and I will be rushing to replay it.

 
Contagion
Disaster films like this used to be all the rage --- Jaws, Towering Inferno, Earthquake, etc. Contagion shows what would happen in the case of a killer virus going global.  Of course this did happen back in the 1920s when Spanish flu, or sleeping sickness, killed 1% of the world's population.  Contagion follows the usual formula - a clutch of famous people and how their lives intersect. There are a couple of surprises in terms of who croaks early on. I loved the music, very atmospheric. Overall though the plot  (and music) promised a bit more tension than was actually delivered. It was all quite pedestrian. Next time I fly though I will feel like wearing a Michael Jackson style mask.

We Need to Talk About Kevin
It's probably a bad thing to say that I loved the book by Lionel Shriver because the subject matter is so grim. But it's a book you can never forget because it handles, very skilfully, two taboo subjects: what happens when a mother doesn't love her child? Is her lack of love and empathy the reason for the atrocities committed by Kevin? Or is it simply the action of someone who sociopathic and unlovable?

The film doesn't quite live up to the novel. Tilda Swinton is quite marvellous as Kevin's mother, managing with her facial expressions to say what most actors struggle to say with their voices. But the film tries to be too arts-housey. The three most powerful incidents in the book are completely underplayed, as if to avoid upsetting us, which dilutes the outcome. Disapppointing.  (Wouldn't it be great though to see a taut drama starring Tilda Swinton and Gary Oldman?).

Couch Critic

Welcome to the first of my monthly posts about films. We are keen film buffs and like to get our hands on the newest titles to watch at home. Finding films we can both watch is a challenge. I don't like shoot-em-ups, most costume dramas, anything with swords / round tables / Jedi / Bruce Willis and J doesn't like sub-titles, real-life dramas/ anything upsetting/ zombies or anything by Lars Von Trier.

Here's this month's top picks.

The Iron Lady
Meryl Streep is normally a bit hit and miss as far as I'm concerned but she hits the spot in this film about Margaret Thatcher, and her BAFTA was well deserved. The film however is a little less successful. I loathed Mrs T and everything she stood for, and in my opinion history will not be kind to her. There was a huge emphasis in the film on her frailty and wandering mind. Maybe it was supposed to counterbalance her ambition and aggression when she was PM, but even I felt it was a bit sad and unnecessary. With the exception of Sir Geoffrey Howe (Anthony Head) it was impossible to tell who any of the cabinet were. I kept wanting them to refer to each other by name. Jim Broadbent didn't make a very realistic Dennis either. He was.....Jim Broadbent. Score: Gail's Gherkins - 5 out of 10.

One Day
J and I watched this at the weekend and were left unimpressed. Based on the David Nicholls' book about a doomed "romance," the film-makers made the mistake of casting an American (to garner the big bucks in the US) as Em. Now when I read the book, Em struck me as being feisty, independent and eccentric in her dress. In the film, Ann Hathaway is first shown with big glasses - the usual device to make an actress look "plain" - and then occasionally in clumpy shoes. But she soon morphs as expected into Ann Hathaway, glossy and limpid eyed.  And her accent! Sometimes she had a go at a northern accent but mostly she sounded like a US actress putting on a posh British accent. At the point the film ended, I was astonished the two characters had even had the time of day for each other. I imagine the director thought the same, because we then had a succession of gooey scenes showing them laughing together and so on, as if to convince us they did have chemistry.
Gail's Gherkins: 4 out of 10.

The Big Year
I hadn't heard of this one or seen anything about it, but it's great fun. Three bird watchers (Owen Wilson, Steve Martin and Jack Black) compete with each other to get the highest number of bird sightings on their "big year." There's nothing new or striking about this film - it's just amiable and warm hearted. Gail's Gherkins: 8 out of 10

I Don't Know How She Does It
Sarah Jessica Parker is the successful career woman and hapless mum in this film based on the novel by Allison Pearson. It starts off with one of the best scenes from the book, Helen "distressing" a bought pie so she can pass it off as home-made at her daughter's school's cake sale. Unfortunately it was one of the highlights of the film. Pierce Brosnan seems uncomfortable in his role as would-be seducer, and I'm sure the film tones down the nature of the flirtation between him and Helen. It's all one-sided in the film, although in the novel I'm sure Helen was flirting back. Christina Hendricks is given a strange role in the film as an occasional narrator. Tepid. Gail's Gherkins: 5 out of 10

After the Waterfall
Air New Zealand offered an eclectric selection of films and I watched this film from New Zealand. It told of the break up of a family after a couple's daughter was abducted near a waterfall. Very bleak but beautifully observed. A pity we don't get to see more films from New Zealand. Gail's Gherkins: 8 out of 10

Friends with Benefits

We enjoyed this - a modern, realistic and contemporary portrayal of a young couple's attempt to be "friends with benefits." There was one snag for me, Justin Timberlake - I just don't find him believable as an actor, but the gorgeous Mila Kunis (left) outweighed that. There are a couple of laugh out loud moments. Gail's Gherkins: 7 out of 10