Movie Reviews by Jay Archer

Crazy Heart

Based on the novel by Thomas Cobb
Written and Directed by Scott Cooper

Bad Blake (Jeff Bridges) is a country and western singer with a drinking problem and down on his luck. Early in the film we see Blake reduced to singing in bowling alleys and floozy bars. At the bowling alley he bolts from his performance, throws up in a garbage can and, while throwing up, his glasses fall in the bin. Without any hesitation he reaches in, grabs his glasses and rejoins the band on stage and we see how far he has fallen.

He is asked by an old acquaintance to give an interview for his niece, journalist Jenn (Maggie Gyllenhall) and romance eventuates. This is a tailor made role for Bridges and he shines brightly. Also a surprise is Tommy (Colin Farrell) who Blake had taught the ropes of the business. The soundtrack is enjoyable and both Bridges and Farrell use their own voices. The Oscar nominations are well earnt. The film is a tour de force for Bridges and Gyllenhall and Farrell are extremely good.

Jay Archer

Rating 9/ 10

Shutter Island

Directed by Martin Scorsese
Screenplay by Laeta Kalogridis
From the novel by Dennis Lehane
137 mins

Shutter Island is a thriller-drama directed with finesse by Martin Scorsese

Shutter Island opens with US Marshall Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo) arriving at the island, a stark and barren place, by ferry, the only way to get there. It’s the mid 1950’s and Shutter Island has a mental hospital for the criminally insane, it looks like an enlarged haunted house. The weather is bad as they arrive and it becomes worse.

Teddy and Chuck meet head psychiatrist Dr Cawley (Ben Kingsley) and Dr Naehring (Max von Sydow). They’re called to the hospital after the disappearance of inmate Rachel Solando (Emily Mortimer). She has vanished from her cell after being locked in for the night…the mystery begins.

There are flashbacks to Teddy’s wife (Michelle Williams) who tragically died in a house fire. There’s also flashbacks to his experiences in WW2 at Dachau.

I’d love to reveal more but I can’t as telling more will give the mystery away.

The film is well crafted and atmospheric, it had me intrigued from beginning to end.

Well done Scorsese, Leo, Rufallo, Ben Kingsley and Max von Sydow add their acting prowess to the film. Patricia Clarkson also has a cameo role.

Jay Archer

Rating 8/ 10

Valentine's Day

Directed by Garry Marshall
Screenplay by Katherine Fugate
From a story by Abby Kohn, Marc Silverstein and Katherine Fugate.

There’s a lot of names and actors in this ensemble piece. It progresses something like this…let’s market to as many demographics as we can, Jessica Alba, Jamie Fox, Ashton Kutcher, Shirley MacLaine and Queen Latifah, this has been copied from the Richard Curtis Love Actually.
If you can believe Ashton Kutcher as a florist then you’ll love this.
This is a Hollywood version of Valentine’s Day and Lost Love, Unrequited Love and Disbelievers in Love.
Julia Roberts appears as an army captain grabbing a quick 24 hours.
There’s a love struck 10 year old boy. Jamie Fox plays a sports reporter who is ordered by his boss, Kathy Bates, to do a lovey dovey story on valentine’s day.
Shirley MacLaine is playing a retired actress and there’s a backdrop of one of her earlier films as a young woman.
The best laughs go to Anne Hathaway, Queen Latifah and Jessica Biel.
Patrick Dempsey isduplicitous, Eric Danea football star.
If you want something light this is for you.

Jay Archer

Rating 7/ 10

Precious

Directed by Lee Daniels
Script by Geoffrey Fletcher
Based on the novel by Sapphire

Precious is a confronting yet intelligent film. It captivated me from beginning to end.

Precious’ real name is Claireece Jones (Gabouree Sidibe). It’s the year 1987 and Precious is at home with her mother Mary (Mo’Nique). Precious is the victim of physical and emotional abuse from her mum. She goes to school but is barely literate. In an early scene Mary throws a frying pan at Precious and hits her on the head because Precious didn’t put her lotto in and buy a particular brand of cigarettes she favours.
Mind you, there’s nothing stopping Mary from buying her own cigarettes, she just sits at home all day watching TV and smoking, simmering and waiting to attack Precious .
Precious has a child by Karl, her father. The image of a father having sex with his daughter will stay imprinted on my brain forever. Later on we find out that Precious is pregnant again.
It’s not all doom and gloom, to ease the pain and torment, Precious fantasises about being a famous entertainer with money and boyfriends. She does have some help from a teacher, Blu Rain (Paula Patton), at her school for children with problems. Blu Rain encourages her to receive her school certificate and pushes her in a field where she has shown promise.
I’m not easily moved to tears but I did shed a few for Precious.
There’s a lot to recommend this flick especially Gabby Sidible, who was 24 when she made this movie), also the performances from Mo Nique, Paula Patton and Lenny Kravitz as a nurse who shows true kindness to Precious not forgetting Mariah Carey as the social worker Ms Weiss – don’t worry she doesn’t warble a note.
Stop what you’re doing and charge to the nearest cinema that is showing Precious.
The six Oscar nominations are well deserved.

Jay Archer

Rating 10/ 10

The Road

Directed by John Hillcoat

After the terrific film The Proposition, Cormac McCarthy sought our Hillcoat to film his Pulitzer prize winning novel into celluloid.

If you enjoy a high standard of filmmaking, this drama is for you. A lot was filmed in Pennsylvania and New Orleans, on sites such as St Helens and surroundings areas.

There’s a flash of light, we don’t know whether or not it’s a nuclear bomb or something more sinister (perhaps the earth has given up on us).

We meet a father (Viggo Mortenson) and his son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) who played in the recent Romulus My Father. We see the mother (Charlize Theron) in flashbacks when Mortensen is thinking back to happier times.

The father and son scratch out an existence walking the earth, they head slowly to the coast from middle USA. They encounter gangs trying to stay alive. There are no trees, little water and not much food. Watch for a very touching scene with a beetle.

Robert Duval has a short scene which is pivotal as has Guy Pearce.

The post-apocalyptic world is shockingly real with touchingly honest performances from Viggo Mortensen and our own Kodi Smit-McPhee.

I was captivated from beginning to end with the music from Nick Cave.

One of the best for 2010
Jay Archer

Rating 10/ 10

Invictus

Directed by Clint Eastwood
Based on the John Carlin novel Playing the Enemy
Screenplay by Anthony Peckham
133 mins

This comes close to a vanity project, Client Eastwood and Morgan Freeman are friends… Morgan Freeman is great friends with Nelson Mandela. So this is meant to be a tribute to Mandela although there’s little about his 30 years in jail.

Newly elected Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) comes to power as President of South Africa. Mandela is a thinker and he wants to unite black and white South Africa. Mandela gets his way with charm and persistence. He arrives at the idea of rugby as the force to unite the country. He asks Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon) to afternoon tea and takes a real interest in the Spingbok team, he learns there is only one black rugby player. Matt Damon plays Pienaar with conviction, the accent is good.

The films big dramatic piece is the match with the NZ All Blacks. The Australian rugby team receive no close ups and is mentioned only in passing.

There’s inspirational music (telling us how to feel) which looks like Eastwood watched Chariots of Fire a number of times, although this movie is not in the same league. The script is padded out, the final rugby game is dragged out, there’s a lot of close ups and some slow motion angles.

Clint Eastwood has made some fine movies, just not this one. He seems untouchable in that he is a movie icon but no icon is above criticism. Eastwood’s finest movies are Two Mules for Sister Sarah, Play Misty for Me and In the Line of Fire. This movie is one for diehard fans of rugby, Eastwood and Freeman. All the usual sporting clichés are lavished in the script. As few years ago a friend and I went to see Million Dollar Baby and after 10 minutes we were both restless in our seats. Baby was padded and so is this. This film lacks goals.

Jay Archer

Rating 4/ 10

Up in the Air

Director Jason Reitman has directed two standout movies Thank You for Smoking and Juno and his latest celluloid is another ace.
Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) is a corporate assassin who works for a company that hires his services to other companies to do their dirty work.
Bingham flies all around the states, racking up frequent flyer points, enjoying the gold class that hotels and airlines offer him. In an average year he spends 322 days in the air.

He has the view that his job has to be done and, if not him, someone else would do it. However, Bingham’s life is about to change, his company and his boss Craig Gregory (Jason Bateman) introduces a new colleague, Natalie (Anna Kendrick), a young 23 year old whose brilliant costing idea, being to fire people by webcam, will save the company tones of money a year.

Reitman doesn’t take the obvious tone of building tensions between the seasoned pro and the new young turk. Instead he develops and hones the characters.
Bingham, in his working capacity, meets Alex (Vera Farmiga) a fellow corporate traveler who shares similar ideas to Ryan, a woman content to play around with no strings attached.

More happens but I’m not going to reveal it other than to say Bingham redeems himself.

It works on several levels, it’s a satirical black comedy, attacking corporate culture.

Reitman uses a lot of real people in the scenes to say what said and what they wished they’d said when they were dismissed.
Clooney, Kendrick and Farmiga are wonderful. Up in the Air is a stimulating and profound celluloid masterpiece.

Jay Archer

Rating 10/ 10

Nowhere Boy

Directed by Sam Taylor-Wood
Written by Matt Greenhalgh
95 mins

It’s the mid 1950’s in Liverpool where we meet John Lennon (Aaron Johnson) living with his Aunt Mimi (Kristin Scott-Thomas) and his Uncle George (David Threlfall). Mimi is a stoic aunt, though you can see she has a dry sense of humour just below the surface. John’s a bit of a tearaway, he and his school friend Pete (Josh Bolt) truant regularly from school. When George dies suddenly of a heart attack John and Mimi are distraught. Afterwards he has the chance to re-connect with his Mum, Julia (Anne-Marie Duff). John knocks on Julia’s door one afternoon and she hugs him and asks him in. She likes to have fun and she teaches him the joy of playing the banjo and the new Rhythm and Blues music through Elvis.

He persuades his school friends to form a skiffle group. Their first gig is at a church fete.

We witness his meeting with Paul McCartney (Thomas Sangster) and the impact of music on them. The two women tugging for John provide the dramatic backbone of the film.

The depiction of the early 50’s is spot on. Aaron Johnson is outstanding as are Kristin Scott-Thomas and Anne-Marie Duff.

Jay Archer

Rating 9/ 10

It’s Complicated

Written and Directed by Nancy Meyer
120 mins

There doesn’t seem to be many actresses around 60 working except for Meryl Streep.

Jane Adler (Meryl Street) is a mother of three who’s been divorced from her husband Jake (Alex Baldwin) for 10 years.

Jane’s a successful business woman who owns a gourmet bakery. She meets lots of people, so why would a savvy woman have an affair with her cheating ex-husband.
It tries to emulate comedies of the 30’s and 40’s but doesn’t quite pull it off.

Enter Adam (Steve Martin) an architect who is renovating Jane’s house and he’s recently divorced.

It’s forced and laborious, I found none of the scenes funny, unlike The Devil Wears Prada. There just weren’t many laughs to be had. Streep, Baldwin and Martin are sufficient to pull in an audience but it’s not a film for the discerning. It’s billed as a romantic comedy but really it’s a lifeless sex comedy.

Jay Archer

Rating 4/ 10

Avatar

Written and Directed by James Cameron
Rated M
162 mins

Unless you have been hibernating you know the long anticipated Avatar is well and truly here.

The technology of Avatar is spectacular, the CGI and colours are visual treats.

Sam Worthington plays Jake Sully, an ex-marine. He is posted to the verdant planet Pandora, with a mining team from Earth nearly 150 years in the future. The trees easily reach a kilometre into the sky. The planet is lush with plenty of mountains and rivers, mist, exotic birds and animals.

Beneath Pandora soil is tonnes of unobtainium, a term for a mineral that Earth doesn’t possess. The obstacle that needs overcoming is the forest is inhabited by a stubborn indigenous people, the Na’vi. They’re twice our size, lithe, flexible with beautiful blue skin and a tail and ears that twitch when they converse. The Na’vi don’t like the humans bulldozing their forests. The mining trucks return with arrows in their tyres.

Dr Augustine (Sigourney Weaver) is the scientist running the Avatar program and Sully is her newest driver. Sully is also duplicitous in reporting to Colonel Quaritch (Stephen Lang), the military chief, the Na’vis weaknesses, so he can blast them out like they used to do the Gooks.

Visually and technically the film is brilliant, but where it falls down is the writing. It’s a mish mash of cowboy and Indian, military themes, fantasy and a splash of “Last of the Mohicans” book and movie. The film needs editing from 3 hours to 2.

Sam Worthington is assured of a strong career in Hollywood. Great to see another Aussie going great guns

Jay Archer

Rating 7/ 10

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