Harry Brown

Harry Brown (Michael Caine) is a pensioner living alone in a block of flats in a very rough neighbourhood of London. The area is a honey pot for all the worst of British youth anti-social behaviour: knives, guns, beatings, muggings, drugs, sex and rock’n’roll. In short; the stereotypical image of hoodie-gangs hanging out on street corners. Harry’s wife Kath is in hospital with cancer. When he gets a call in the middle of the night from the hospital he rushes out into the pouring rain, but never-the-less walks the long way round to avoid the gang hanging out in the underpass. The heartbreaking consequence of this is that Harry misses his wife’s final moments, and her hospital bed is already empty by the time he arrives. When his friend Len (David Bradley) is murdered by the gang, Harry has had enough, his old Marine training kicks in, and he becomes a vigilante. And so the revenge begins...

This was another title on our Love Film list; a recommendation from a friend, I hadn’t a clue about the film. I only realised The Caine was in it when I checked IMDb to find out the running time! I’ve talked before about how this is perhaps the best way to see films, as you have no biased opinions, no matter how small, about actors/directors/genre etc. In the case of Harry Brown this lack of information may account for why I couldn’t shake the feeling of the film all day after watching it. The portrayal of inner city London council blocks is really grim. You really wonder why anyone would choose to live in a place like that; then of course it strikes the viewer that when Harry and Len first moved there it was probably a great place to live: a new development, perhaps the future of living in London. Following on from this you empathise with Harry and feel his bitter disappointment at how the neighbourhood has degenerated; and finally understand that for some people, perhaps especially the elderly, there is no way out from these “slums”: no family, no social support system, no finances to speak of plus a dogged determination not to be run out of their own homes by the youth of today (think Gran Torino meets Attack the Block).

So having painted a really bleak picture of inner city life, I will now tell you how cool “The Caine” is! As a world-weary pensioner who has been dealt quite a poor hand in life (daughter died young of pneumonia, wife just died of cancer) he is perfect (Charlie Croker this is not!). When he goes all vigilante, outwardly he is barely different, but as soon as the marine training kicks in he is ruthless (think Get Carter, but he could give Luca Brasi a run for his money!). There is a great scene when he is trying to buy a gun from two guys (notorious drugs and arms dealers); he plays the whole scene as an old man, completely out of his depth; which makes what happens at the end of the scene so completely unexpected. David Bradley plays Argus Filch Len well, but there isn’t quite so much of his character in the film, so we don’t find out too much about him. Emily Mortimer is good as Detective Inspector Alice Frampton, the police officer who asks to be transferred to this area. She figures out that Harry is the vigilante, despite her colleagues thinking otherwise, but by the end finds herself in way over her head.

As Daniel Barber’s first full-length film Harry Brown is very impressive. A top-notch actor such as Michael Caine in the lead role is a real coup. Barber also creates great tension, and I certainly didn’t know what to expect next; particularly in the scene I alluded to earlier. I’ve already talked about the “slum” atmosphere surrounding the block of flats, and at the climax of the film this atmosphere is truly intimidating and terrifying. A very good film, well written, great acting, and very well crafted; not so much a feel-good film though!

Body of Lies

Body of Lies is a good, solid action-thriller. Leonardo diCaprio is Roger Ferris: a CIA field operative initially based in Iraq, but then moved to Jordan. His main contact is through the Langley-based office agent Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe). The main plot involves trying to capture a well-known terrorist leader by any means possible. This involves sacrificing various “assets”, liaising with the Head of Security in Jordan (Hani; played by Mark Strong), manipulating Hani; and then eventually Hani manipulating Ferris to get to the terrorist.

This all sounds really simple but everything is so much better than that. There is plenty of intrigue to keep us wondering what is actually going on; despite knowing the end game. Leo is really good as the main character, putting his life on the line everyday, taking it personally when he has to betray people; whereas Russell Crowe is safe in Langley not giving a shit about the trust that is being betrayed on the ground. I did initially find Russell’s accent a bit weird; I thought it was really going to annoy me, but in the end it was fine. Wow what a pointless comment that was! I really liked the juxtaposition of Leo in Jordan being shot up and knackered, swearing down the phone to Russell as he is picking his kids up from school/giving his kids breakfast etc.

Of course what really makes this film, is Ridley Scott’s direction. He shoots a lot of the action scenes very close in with the characters, giving it a very intense feeling; very similar to Black Hawk Down. He also has a very good eye for detail, as there are many bustling streets and crowded market places involved with the story (action and explosions!). There are also some great sweeping desert shots, adding to the grand feeling of the story before the satellite image zooms in to centre on diCaprio.

This was another of those LoveFilm DVDs that a friend had put on our list; so I had no idea what it was about. I think perhaps this is one of the best ways to see a film, with no preconceptions at all. So I can say perfectly analytically that I enjoyed Body of Lies. Well developed characters; twisty-turney story, and very well put together. I would recommend it to a friend!

300

Having recently written a review of another Zack Snyder film, Watchmen, various people had made comments about 300. I have seen 300 before, and wasn't too enamoured of it, but I wanted to watch it again with an open mind, so I duly added it to our Love Film list. To my surprise I really enjoyed it.

300 is the story of 300 Spartan warriors led my King Leonidas (played by Gerard Butler's teeth), and their brave stand against the hordes of the Persian army fighting under Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro), a self-proclaimed emperor-god. I will make it clear now that I have no idea how historically accurate the film is; I suspect there may be a nugget of truth there, I really don't know. What I do know is that some of my previous niggles with the film were a bit unfounded.

One of my complaints was David Wenham; I just didn't think that he was narrator material. I think perhaps I was being a bit harsh. He doesn't have a striking, imposing voice, but it acts as a good foil for Gerard Butler. Also it is rather the point that he has a storyteller's voice, as he is asked by Leonidas to return to Sparta to tell the story of how the 300 stood against thousands. Indeed, at the climax of the battle when Leonidas' helmet and shield are cramping his style, I thought Wenham's narration was utterly convincing; it vaguely conjured up memories of Maximus' "Husband to a murdered wife..." line, but not quite.

Another of my complaints had been some of the effects, specifically the background effects. Actually, most of the time these are perfect; the crashing sea as the Persian navy comes to grief, and the background of the senate is pretty good. The only thing I didn't think was great was a couple of the scenes that were clearly filmed outside on a sunny day (Leonidas and Queen Gorgo (Lena Headey) saying farewell in a field of wheat - Gladiator influence) as their faces are very well lit. However, in the scene the sky is very overcast so the whole setup looks incongruous. I thought so anyway. I realise the whole film is shot high contrast to give the comic-booky feel, those few scenes stuck out though.

Anyway, enough with the minor niggles, the film is great! Zack Snyder shows he has real verve and style with the way he filmed this, everything about it is dynamic. The whole film has a very stormy feel to it thanks to cinematographer Larry Fong, and all of the battles look brilliant; gladly the slow-mo isn't overused and works really well. Gerard Butler is great as King Leonidas. I think maybe perhaps he could be accused of overacting at points: Tonight we dine in Hell! We will fight in the shade! Prepare for Glory!, but it's all really part of the fun.

                                King Leonidas played by Gerard Butler's teeth!

So despite my earlier misgivings, I really enjoyed 300, perhaps it's one of those films I should own, as I can foresee wanting to see it again, for some pure entertainment. Great main character, great fights, brilliantly filmed. Just one more thing: can someone please explain to me how I managed to recognise Michael Fassbender by his teeth?! A quick check on IMDB and yes, Fassbender is in this! By his teeth? I think I've only seen him in Inglorious Basterds, by no means am I that familiar with him! Strange.

Anyway. One more time everybody:

THIS IS SPARTA!

I am Iron Man!

Iron Man was on telly the other week, and then what should pop through our letterbox from LoveFilm but Iron Man 2! So I thought that I'd review them together; two birds, one stone and all that. I'm guessing that most people are aware of the story so I will quickly blast through the plot.

Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) of Stark Industries (arms suppliers) is the son of the company founder, robotics genius, and all round suave guy. While demonstrating the latest weaponry in Afghanistan he is kidnapped by terrorists, during which he is wounded in the chest. To prevent shrapnel from burying into his heart and killing him a device is planted in his chest. Tony uses this to power a suit of armour to affect his escape. Back home, Tony uses his robotic skills to upgrade the chest piece and the suit of armour, adding fire-power and much computer wizardry. He then uses the suit to fight evil, starting with the corrupt head of Stark Industries: Obadiah (Jeff Bridges).

When I first heard of this film I assumed it was a version of the novel by Ted Hughes I read as a kid. When I found out this wasn't the case I was first disappointed, and then, having seen all the hype about the film, very wary, and stayed away. Hype does that to me, I didn't see Moulin Rouge for years for the same reason. When I finally did see Iron Man, I was very pleasantly surprised. Robert Downey Jr is perfect for this role, smooth and arrogant without being smarmy and annoying. Jeff Bridges is great as usual, and great support from Gwyneth Paltrow as well.

                                                         Was that my White Russian?

While watching the beginning of the second film, actually I might say up to about 45 min or something, I thought it was a bit flat. I thought that this could be because for a lot of these hero-style films, the first film is usually more interesting as the main character discovers their super-powers. Mmmm. I was about to back up that statement with examples, but could only come up with Spider-man really. X-2 better than X-men, Superman 2, Hellboy II!

Anyway, I thought the first 45 min were a bit aimless, until Sam L Jackson showed up and told Tony to stop arse-ing about. At that point the film developed some plot and became a whole lot more enjoyable, though I was confused with why they replaced Terrence Howard with Don Cheadle as Rhodey. Jon Favreau has done a great job with these two films, including a massive cameo for himself (actually I think it goes beyond a cameo).

Best bits:

Mickey Rourke slicing Grand Prix cars up in Monaco with his electric tentacle things.

Tony creating a Small Hadron Collider in his apartment to create a new element!

Any section of film with AC/DC playing in the background.