Fast Girls Review

I don’t know if you’ve heard this, but apparently the Olympic Games are coming to London this summer. I know right! You’d think someone would have mentioned this. Apparently the producers of Adulthood and The Iron Lady knew as Fast Girls, a good-natured, feel good sports drama set in the world of athletics couldn’t coincide better with the Olympics if they convinced Danny Boyle to screen it at the opening ceremony.

Co-written by and co-starring Noel Clarke, Fast Girlsfollows the journey of Shania (Being Human’s Lenora Crichlow), a young woman from a poor background who runs a mean hundred metres. Her prowess gets her into the GB squad and she’s soon put onto Coach Clarke’s relay team too. There she comes to meet her rival, the privileged Lisa (Lily James), with whom her competitiveness threatens to disrupt both her and her team’s chances of success. Can the girls put their differences aside to both grow as people and bring home Gold medals for Blighty?

It’s often said that there is only one sports film and it goes something like this: an unlikely athlete or team get the chance to compete on a great stage in pursuit of sporting glory and/or personal redemption. Things will go well initially, often under the tutelage of an inspiring coach until something goes terribly wrong towards the end of the second act, often at the hands of an unpleasant rival. Things look bleak, but in the end, the underdog always wins (or is finally accepted by their peers, as in the case of the ultimate sports movie, Cool Runnings).

Fast Girls follows this formula doggedly. It’s also arguably trite, too clean cut and lacks depth in its handling of the difference in the socio-economic backgrounds of its characters and its happy-clappy ‘teamwork solves all problems’ philosophy wears a little thin. Having said all that, I really loved Fast Girls. Sure, it’s by no means particularly original (Bend it Like Beckham is an obvious reference point) and nor does it contain any great depths. It is however excellently shot and directed, perfectly orchestrates its emotional high and low points and is held together brilliantly by its fantastic cast. Crichlow and James’s characters are fairly archetypical but the young actors give life to their somewhat slightly written roles and are a joy to watch. The support cast (including Rupert Graves, Bradley James, Philip Davis) are also excellent, especially the relative unknowns and/or TV actors, Lorraine Burroughs, Lashana Lynch and Hannah Frankson who play Shania’s teammates.

Most of all though, it’s refreshing to watch a film in which women dominate the narrative (Fast Girls passes the Bechdel Testwith flying colours). In a world where the walls of multiplexes practically drip with testosterone and female presence is reduced to little more than a pair of leather-clad arse cheeks, Fast Girls will hopefully provide young women (and men) in the audience with characters they can relate to, be engaged and even inspired by. The other stand out part of the film was its superbly composed final race. If it doesn’t leave you with a tear in your eye, a stirring in your stomach or goose bumps on your arms, you need to ask your manufacturer to install an empathy and catharsis upgrade to your system, you emotionless man-droid.

In the face of millions of pounds splurged from the public purse, ridiculously ramped up security initiatives and a weight on London’s transport network like nothing ever seen before, Fast Girls could quite easily be the best thing the Olympic Games have brought about this summer.

Lucky Luke Review

First released in 2009, French spoof Western Lucky Luke is being re-released, presumably to capitalise on the newfound fame of Jean Dujardin, the Oscar-winning star of The Artist (the same trick was played with Cash). Lucky Luke is based on the popular Gallic comic strip of the same name (which once shared a writer with Asterix) and features Dujardin as the titular hero, a cowboy with outrageous shooting skills who is tasked by the President with purging his birthplace of Daisy Town of the various outlaws and bad guys that thrive there. Short of Blazing Saddles, the best-forgotten Wild Wild West and that episode ofRed Dwarf, the Western is a genre that seems poorly served by affectionate parody; Lucky Luke is a welcome addition to this slight canon.

Like another famous comic hero, Luke’s parents were shot in front of him as a child and he therefore has vowed never to take a life. This presents his enemies with a weakness to exploit – can Luke save the day without betraying his ideals? That’s a rather too in-depth dissection of the plot. Lucky Luke is bizarre, screwball comedy that wears its comic roots whole-heartedly on its sleeve.

I liked the surrealist humour of the film. Highlights included a scene in which Luke’s horse Jolly Jumper is revealed (apropos of nothing) to be able to talk, a romantic encounter curtailed due to a squashed snail on a forehead and a series of escalating card and gun tricks performed by Luke and antagonist Pat Poker.

The look of Lucky Luke is also very well constructed, with a pleasingly bright colour palette and some excellent costumes. The production design is very good indeed, particularly the giant one-armed bandit in which the climatic scenes take place, which, as far as I could tell, seems to have been constructed for real (though probably in small sections).

The film may prove a little too weird and a little too European in its humour for some tastes. It’s also a shame that some fruitier scenes and mild violence have earned it a restrictive rating (the BBFC has rated the film itself as 12 though the DVD is rated 15, presumably due to content in the extras) as it would make an excellent movie for any kids not put off by subtitles. As such,Lucky Luke is likely to find itself a rather niche audience, if any. Those that do seek it out will be treated to a charmingly wacky horse opera that will surely not fail to raise a smile along with an eyebrow.

How I Spent my Summer Vacation Review

Everybody’s favourite anti-Semite Mel Gibson returns to our screens in How I Spent My Summer Vacation, a back to basics action thriller set in a Mexican prison. The film was formerly known as Get the Gringo – is it too preposterous to presume that after the latest allegations involving Gibson’s intolerance ‘issues’, the film’s distributors decided to opt out of lumbering their film with a title that carries anything approaching baggage pertaining to race? Maybe. Whatever the reason, a pretty full-on actioner has been given the kind of title one would probably assume belongs to a weak Katherine Heigl rom com.

The film begins with Gibson driving a getaway car in a clown mask with a bag full of someone else’s money, hurtling along the US-Mexican border. After being apprehended, the officials decide to impound him south of the border in a prison which in fact operates more like a small, self-governing township (in reality the Ignacio Allende Prison). There he encounters a young boy (Kevin Hernandez) with a deeply personal connection to Carlos (Tenoch Huerta), the prison’s big fish. Gibson (who is credited as ‘Driver’; a decision likely to draw unfavourable comparisons to Drive), takes it upon himself to offer the boy his protection, whilst busting heads, blowing stuff up and generally being a nuisance.

I am of the opinion that a person’s personal life shouldn’t colour an opinion of their ability to do their job. As much as I am of the opinion that Roman Polanski is a child rapist, I equally feel he’s a very good filmmaker. This of course swings both ways; just because a person is famous or creatively brilliant doesn’t mean they should be treated sympathetically in a court of law. I attempted to adhere to this philosophy when watching Summer Vacation. It proved a little difficult; Gibson’s character is (intentionally) almost as distasteful as the man has revealed himself to be in real life. Credit to him, he’s certainly not gunning for a sympathy vote in this film; his performance is barbed, cocksure and nearly approaches charismatic.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation is also written and produced by Gibson (among others). Its director Adrian Grunberg mostly draws his CV from first assistant director roles, frequently on Gibson productions; so it’s not too far a stretch to suggest Gibson had input in the physical shooting of the film too.

Leading man aside, the film itself is fairly unremarkable (it is not receiving a theatrical release in the US). The action and the film’s depictions of violence are mostly unrestrained, which is welcome. Beyond that and Gibson’s surprisingly not awful screen presence, there seems little more to say for the film. The third act goes a somewhat off the rails – an extended sequence in which Gibson dupes bad guys by pretending to be an associate of Clint Eastwood is vaguely amusing but mostly serve to confuse and detracts from the tighter, prison-centric sections that make up the rest of the film. The ending scene is also categorically awful and feels like it’s been spliced in from another film.

Whilst far from a car crash, How I Spent My Summer Vacation is otherwise almost wholly unexceptional. To be honest, if you’re looking for an action-packed slugfest in which an aggrieved white bloke takes an ethnically different child under his wing, you’d probably be better off watching The Stathe in Safe; where the most ‘interesting’ thing about its star is that he used to be a national-level diver.

FDA’s Summer of Cinema Film Quiz Report

Last Thursday saw the UK Film Distributor’s Association reveal the line-up for this summer’s film releases through the medium of a film quiz and what seemed suspiciously like a rather large piss-up. As everyone knows, the film industry historically does inversely well in times of recession; well, we must really be screwed financially if the statistics in the FDA’s press release are to be believed: the UK box office is at the time of writing 4% ahead of its takings from this time last year and has passed the £300m barrier faster than ever.

After finding myself the only representative from B3K at the event and being disinclined to go solo on the quiz, I was readying myself to make my apologies and do one, however, a kindly attendee sought out an equally accommodating team from the excellent Find Any Film website who were willing to take on a Billy-no-mates straggler. Inside scoop: they want to make an app and are looking at their options. We made a good team and made a decent attempt at the quiz (hosted by Russell Brand tribute act, Alex Zane); however we made a stronger show of polishing off canapés and endeavouring to empty seemingly bottomless wine glasses.

The FDA – whose member companies are responsible for the distribution of 97% of the UK’s cinema releases – are promoting their summer line-up with a teaser trailer featuring fifty-one of the new releases, a series of vod and podcasts and this rather nice website.

Highlights of the coming months include superhero shindigs The Dark Knight Rises and The Amazing Spider-Man, sci-fi shenanigans from Prometheus and Total Recall and Jason Segel-‘em ups Jeff Who Lives at Home and The Five Year Engagement. Other notable releases include Pixar’s latest, Brave, which features the wonderful Kelly Macdonald, Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom and Step Up 4: Miami Heat. Classic films such as Jaws, Beauty and the Beast and Chariots of Fireare all being rereleased.

So in short: FDA organise nice big party, cinema singlehandedly saving UK economy (maybe) and lots of exciting sounding films are being released. For me, it’s difficult to get beyond anything other than The Dark Knight Rises in terms of anticipation, but what are you looking forward to this summer? Voice your thoughts in the comments below.

You can check out pictures from the event on the official Facebook page.

Safe Review

In a break with tradition, Jason Statham plays a tough nut who has to fight his way to justice in an enjoyable action film. I jest of course. Statham has well and truly carved out a niche for himself as the go to guy for bald-headed action brutality now that Bruce Willis is just about past it (except for in the ‘too old for this shit’ sub-genre in the action – seeSurrogates, The Expendables, etc).

So long as The Stathe keeps churning out slightly by the numbers beat ‘em ups, I’ll be happy to keep watching them. The biggest draw in any Jason Statham film is the man’s undeniable charisma. It’s difficult to think of any other action hero who is so universally well-liked (around my office, he’s known simply as ‘Sir Jason’) and he does not disappoint in Safe.

In this film, Statham plays a former super NYPD cop, turned cage fighter, now a street bum, who decides, whilst teetering on the edge of a tube platform not to commit suicide, but instead to rescue a cute Chinese girl Mei from warring factions of Russian and Chinese mobsters. Mei has the combination to a safe full of millions of dollars memorised in her computer-like brain, which obviously makes her brain very popular with all manner of bad men with big guns.

The plot is actually somewhat more complex (convoluted?) than that, but it boils down to Statham punching lots of people in the face and then delivering a wry quip. Which works really well. Writer and director Boaz Yakin keeps things nice and simple and the frequent action set pieces crop up with pleasing regularity.

You could argue that Safe is somewhat unsophisticated, but that’s a bit like complaining that the nice big hammer you’ve just bought is only good for bashing nails into surfaces (and occasionally pulling them out again). Safe does what it sets out to do very effectively and for that it must be commended. Admittedly there is something approaching emotional complexity in Statham’s relationship with his young companion as he fulfils a surrogate father-figure role, but the film wisely doesn’t dwell too much on this aspect.

In summation, Safe is another typical Jason Statham film – and that is by no means a derogatory comment. The man knows how to pick his projects and Safe just as fundamentally enjoyable and easy to watch as the best of The Stathe’s respectable oeuvre. A friend of mine has argued that Sir Jason is the UK’s greatest living actor. Whilst that may not quite be the case, he certainly makes a decent case for the UK’s most reliable former diver in consistently entertaining action roles. Frankly, what more could you want?

Casa de mi Padre Review

This latest offering from the perennially amusing Will Ferrell stars the talented comic as Armando Alvarez, the second son of a ranch owner in Mexico. Armando’s life is turned upside down by the return of his beloved but drug-dealing brother Raul (Diego Luna), who brings with him not only his mysterious new fiancé Sonia (Genesis Rodriguez), but the wrath of rival drug lord The Onza (Gael Garcia Bernal). Thus the stage is set for a grand tale of love, rivalry, violence and redemption. Saturday Night Live alumni Matt Piedmont makes his feature film debut as director.

Did I mention it’s all in the Spanish language? Beyond the initial novelty of watching the talented Ferrell speak flawless Spanish, Casa de Mi Padre is a very funny, enjoyably silly spoof of Mexican Westerns and melodramatic telenovelas and mines a similar vein of comedy as Blaxploitation parody Black Dynamite.

Ferrell can be a divisive comedian and some would be largely justified in levelling accusations of self-indulgence at the prospect of a daft tongue in cheek film in another language. As a fan of Ferrell however, I thought the film boasted a lot of the charm of his best work (such as Elf or Megamind) and was more memorable than many of his seemingly endless sports comedies. It doesn’t have the phenomenally high laugh rate of an Anchorman or a Zoolander but it was certainly very entertaining and had the audience of which I was a part of chuckling loudly and frequently. It’s also reassuring to see Adam McKay, frequent Ferrell collaborator credited as a producer.

Those who enjoyed Y tu mamá también or Rudo y Cursi will be as delighted as I was to see Mexican acting duo Bernal and Luna reunite for a third time. They don’t share a great deal of screen time but the obvious enjoyment they are having on set is evident on screen. The inclusion of Genesis Rodriguez is another treat. The charismatic actress was more or less the best thing in the otherwise turgid non-thriller Man on a Ledge so it’s excellent to see her in an actually decent film. I predict she’s going to go on to bigger and brighter things very soon.

Other things to look out for in the film include some several rousingly entertaining musical numbers (Ferrell gives his not at all unimpressive vocal cords a mariachi work out in the film’s songs), some deliberate production goofs and low-tech special effects and the best ever fight scene involving a lion puppet (nod nod, wink wink).

Whilst perhaps not for everyone – it’s doubtful a mainstream audience will take it into their hearts, the genre of film being parodied being perhaps a little obscure on this side of the pond – Casa de Mi Padre will provide some big laughs and high entertainment for those who will take the trouble to seek it out. In short, la película es buena.

The Divide Review

I have an interest in nuclear war. Well, I have an interest in stories about nuclear war, to be more precise. I’m a big fan of films such as When the Wind Blows and television such asThreads. One of the books I’m currently reading is a biography of Robert Oppenheimer. So when I read the synopsis of The Divide, I was immediately interested. In the film, nuclear warheads are dropped on New York City and a handful of people manage to take shelter in the basement of a tower block, a sanctuary that becomes a prison and then a madhouse, as Very Bad Things unfold.

The nuclear war aspect is really just a hook on which to hang the real focus of interest of the film: the effects of enforced proximity and the destruction of social norms on a group of strangers, with a particular focus on gender roles. Does that sound a little dry? Fret not; it’s also a deeply disturbing psychological horror, with some genuinely strange and visually arresting moments as the film goes on. The initial nuclearly-bombed setup is quickly and cheekily relegated to MacGuffin status (the identity of the perpetrators of the nuclear strike is left deliberately ambiguous; the Arabs? The North Koreans? The Americans?) until the end of the film, which leaves the viewer with some genuinely haunting images.

The main crux of the film is the degeneration of the characters without society or an authority to keep them in check and looks specifically at how (some of) the male characters begin to treat the women (in short, abominably). We view the film through the eyes of Eva (Lauren German), who quickly comes to realise that her partner Sam (Iván González) is not going to be a top dog of a Lord of the Flies. The main power struggle is between misanthropic, weirdo building superintendent Mickey (Michael Biehn, who is excellent) and Josh, a genuinely terrifying Milo Ventimiglia (Heroes).

Some may find the film overly bleak and even mean-spirited. Personally, I would say ‘uncompromising’ and ‘challenging’ are more suitable adjectives with which to describe The Divide. In any case, a film that begins with the total destruction of one of the biggest cities on earth is unlikely to have a happy-clappy payoff. I enjoyed that it wasn’t afraid to be complex with its ideas and its characters. Director Xavier Gens, best known for the less than well-remembered Hitman adaptation, has artfully constructed The Divide. It is likely to satisfy horror fans (though its stock in trade is less soundtrack-punctuated scares, more the gradual realisation that somewhere along the line, something has gone deeply, irrecoverably and hideously wrong), sci-fi fans and any errant sociologists that care to view the film. A pessimistic view of humanity? Yes (personally I’d like to believe that the basic humanity of people would remain in situations such as this). One of the more interesting and engaging horror films of recent years? Most definitely.