Sky Movies Reviews - Nowhere Boy & Antichrist

NOWHERE BOY

Stars: Aaron Johnson, Kristin Scott Thomas, David Threlfall | Written by Matt Greenhalgh | Directed by Sam Taylor-Wood

Before donning that now iconic green wet suit and finding fame as the titular wannabe superhero Kick-Ass, Aaron Johnson starred in this biopic of the early life of John Lennon. After the death of his beloved uncle, Lennon, who has been raised by his stoic, strict, but ultimately loving aunt Mimi, encounters his estranged mother, who introduces him to the life-changing power of rock and roll and its king, Elvis Presley. Soon Lennon finds himself forced to choose between the woman who raised him and his mother. There’s also the small matter of the aspiring skiffle outfit Lennon’s been putting together to discuss too…

The film suffers from being somewhat dated before even a frame of it was shot: the broken family may have been controversial and shocking in the 1940s and 50s, but seems a much more trivial central dramatic device today, thus its hard to emphasise with the guilt, shame and anger of the character when familial secrets are revealed. There are also a few instances of very clunky dialogue and the film often runs the risk of trivialising Lennon rather than humanising him in its kitchen sink drama. That said, the film really picks up when Lennon starts his band. Thomas Sangster is really, really good as Paul McCartney and both he and Johnson nail the strange relationship between their characters perfectly. The latter is also decent in his first headlining role and Kirsten Scott Thomas is predictably brilliant as aunt Mimi. Despite being somewhat old hat at times, Nowhere Boy is an intriguing portrait of one of the most iconic musicians that ever lived.

Nowhere Boy is now showing on Sky Box Office.

ANTICHRIST

Stars: Willem Dafoe, Charlotte Gainsbourg | Written and Directed by Lars Von Trier

Misogynist? Controversial? Shocking? Beautiful? Genius? Nonsense? Sickening? Lars von Trier’s now infamous horror flick could be called all of these things and none of them. Indeed, no two people are likely to have the same response to the film, as indicated by its almost exactly even split down the middle of opinion on Rotten Tomatoes.

After their infant child falls to his death whilst they are making love, a couple (Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg, referred to only as ‘She’ and ‘He’) retreat to a cabin in the woods so that the psychiatrist husband can attempt to treat his grief-stricken wife. Things do not go well. What follows is a study in grief and fear, sex and violence, good and evil, men and women. Probably. Either that, or director von Trier simply performs an exercise in which tries to upset as many people as possible and get himself off The Daily Mail’s Christmas card list for good.

From its themes to its reception, conflict is central to Antichrist; perhaps best portrayed in its implementation of beautiful cinematography coupled with some of the most horrendous depictions of violence imaginable, up to and including genital mutilation. It’s a tough ride and far from what I would describe as ‘fun’, but you’re unlikely to catch anything quite as unusual and unique as Antichrist on TV for a while. Just don’t watch it with your gran, eh?

http://www.blogomatic3000.com/2010/08/09/sky-movies-reviews-nowhere-boy-antichrist/