Great
Expectations: ***/*****, or 6/10
Mike
Newell's take on the classic novel by Charles Dickens. The elaborate
visual look to the film suggests a director who has dabbled in big
Hollywood pictures, correctly so with the likes of Harry Potter
and the Goblet of Fire and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
on Newell's resumé. Despite his experience in big American movies,
Great Expectations is decidedly British in tone, as it should
be considering it's based on a British novel centered on a poor
British boy getting involved in the affairs of wealthy British folk.
Little Pip leads a normal harsh life in the lower class, struggling
to make a living. He soon finds himself entranced by the eerie Ms.
Havisham, a bat shit crazy lady who was betrayed by her bethrothed
and since hates all men. The woman sets him up with her young but
cold ward Estella with the purpose that he falls in love with her and
she gets to break his heart, which kinda happens. Later in life Pip
(now played by Jeremy Irvine) is invited to become a gentleman in
London, learning the do's and don'ts of high society, courtesy of an
unknown benefactor. He soon meets Estella again, now performed by the
ravishing Holliday Grainger (of Borgias fame), but is dismayed
to hear she is set to marry a not so likable other. Can Pip rescue
his love from the clutches of the upperclass? Will he become a
gentleman after all? What's the deal with Ms. Havisham and who is
paying for his upbringing? Thanks to the lovely acting of the cast of
Harry Potter notable veteran English actors, among them Helena
Bonham Carter, Ralph Fiennes and Robbie Coltrane, we are about to
find out. And still, despite this solid cast with its impeccable
performances and a grandiose detailed period look, Newell's Great
Expectations just ends up being somewhat dull. Is it the fact the
story has been done so often in years past (even South Park
has done an episode around it)? Is it the dated story of social
inequality and upperclass intrigue? Who's to say? Truth is, it's
better not to foster too great an expectation beforehand, since you
might end up disappointed, but it won't be the actors' or the
production designer's fault. And don't expect any robot monkeys
either.
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Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters: ***/*****, or 6/10
This is
not the fairy tale you heard as a kid, about two young siblings
killing a witch in an oven. Well, that does happen, but this
movie mostly focuses on the successful career of slaying witches
those children made afterwards as they grew up. Thanks to Norse
director Tommy Wirkola, who in his own country is noted for his 'Nazi
zombie' flick Dead Snow, this new spin to the fairy tale ends
up being a slick, action packed horror flick filled with many an
over-the-top witch kill and creepy monstrous crones to match (good
make-up effects there!). Hansel (Jeremy Renner doing what he always
does, which is not so interesting) and Gretel (Gemma Arterton, always
interesting!) scour the land as bounty hunters, often being hired to
track and eliminate local witch infestations. Now, they must face the
ultimate ordeal of converging black magic as a powerful witch leader
(Famke Janssen) is determined to perform a dark ritual that would
grant her great power to the ruin of all good things. As an added
nuisance, she needs Gretel's blood to do the trick and Gretel doesn't
agree with that decision. Soon the pair must fight off more witches
than they ever did before, at the same time learning a new thing or
two about the place of witches in the world and the fate of their
parents they always thought abandoned them in the woods to die. A
typical simple plot bereft of true narrative surprises, but a decent
stage for nice hardcore action and a plethora of thrilling stunts.
The movie delivers in those regards, and with a running time of just
under 90 minutes doesn't overstay its welcome.
Oz:
The Great and Powerful: ***/*****, or 7/10
Big
budget semi-prequel to The Wizard of Oz (more so to the book
than to the 1939 classic film, also for copyright reasons), directed
by Sam Raimi who gets more family friendly than we've ever seen him
before. Down-on-his-luck country magician Oz (James Franco) gets
swept to the far away fantasy land of the same name via balloon and tornado where
he is hailed as the saviour of the realm. Since it would make him
king, earn him the love of several gorgeous woman (Mila Kunis,
Michelle Williams and Rachel Weisz, lucky bastard!) and
provide him with a fabulous treasure, the greedy swindler all too
eagerly accepts, despite the fact he's expected to kill a wicked
witch (a lot of witches in Hollywood all of a sudden: I guess
vampires are retro by now). Accompanied by several digital
characters, Oz sets out to complete his task, which will cost him
more effort than he initially considered. Even though our protagonist
is basically a truly egomaniacal dick, the obligatory stereotypical
moral lessons soon do their work (this is Disney after all) and all
ends well with Oz being outed as a good man with his heart in the
right place. This is not a movie you see for character development,
but one you watch for visual thrills. Oz has never looked so
ominously breathtaking, the Emerald City has never been greener and
the Yellow Brick Road is just so dastardly yellow. Inhabited by a
multitude of strange creatures (including terrifying flying baboons
to scare the kids... in 3D!) and adorned with all manners of
spectacular vistas, the technical aspect of the film is secure. In
fact, it's underscored by a delightful nod to the classic film –
they just couldn't ignore that one – as the film opens in black &
white, in the original Academy frame ratio, up until the moment Oz
meets Oz and we're colourblinded by contemporary digital
possibilities in three dimensions. It works well enough, despite the
story being largely 'been there, done that'. It's not Raimi's most
original production, but there's great fun to be had for the whole
family for a good two hours, as is Disney's goal in life.
