Review: Animal Kingdom (2010)

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Animal Kingdom is an astounding, brooding and wonderfully measured Australian crime drama marking the directorial debut of writer-director David Michod.

The film centres on 17-year-old Joshua (James Frecheville) as he is thrown into the deep end forced to move in with his grandmother, Smurf (Jacki Weaver), and her three sons, Pope (Ben Mendelsohn), Craig (Sullivan Stapleton) and Darren (Luke Ford).

Joshua, or J as he’s referred to, is inevitably implicated into the Cody families nasty, nihilistic crime syndicate. His initiation itself is one of the most powerful scenes of the film, perfectly shot and illustrated, deepening the grip the film so expertly implants over the viewers.

Michod invites the audience into the Cody household, opening viewers’ eyes to a world of gritty, nasty and terrifyingly nerve-wracking violence. It’s a very powerful depiction, one that’s not been so masterfully achieved since Goodfellas or Scarface.

Natural, low-key lighting and obtrusive, yet restrained camera angles help to build, and maintain, the overall intensity and realistic nature of the film, never letting it slip into the artificial feel of most modern-day Hollywood crime films.

Each actor, Joel Edgerton and Guy Pearce in particular, provides a taut, emotive performance, effectively playing off one another to establish Animal Kingdom as a truly harrowing portrayal of underbelly life, one that deserves to be recognised for many years to come.

UK Box Office: December 31, 2010 – January 2, 2011

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1. Gulliver’s Travels – £7,028,747

2. Little Fockers – £2,614,802

3. Love & Other Drugs – £1,606,253

4. The Way Back, £1,327,650

5. The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader – £1,207,264

6. Tron: Legacy – £1,059,569

7. Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 1 – £1,040,826

8. Megamind – £612,327

9. The Tourist – £396,758

10. Animals United – £243,442

DVD Releases: January 3, 2011

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Soulboy

Director – Shimmy Marcus

Starring – Martin Compston, Alfie Allen, Pat Shortt and Bruce Jones

A Serbian Film

Director – Srdjan Spasojevic

Starring – Sergej Trifunović, Srđan Todorović, Jelena Gavrilović, Katarina Žutić and Slobodan Bestic

Dog Pound

Director – Kim Chapiron

Starring – Adam Butcher, Shane Kippel, Slim Twig and Mateo Morales

Freakonomics

Director – Heidi Ewing, Alex Gibney, Seth Gordon, Rachel Grady, Eugene Jarecki and Morgan Spurlock

Starring – Carl Alleyne, Zoe Sloane, Adesuwa Addy Iyare and Jade Viggiano

US Box Office: December 31, 2010 – January 2, 2011

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1. Little Fockers – $26,300,000

2. True Grit – $24,500,000

3. Tron: Legacy – $18,306,000

4. Yogi Bear – $13,000, 000

5. The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader – $10,500,000

6. Tangled – $10,008,000

7. The Fighter – $10,000,000

8. Gulliver’s Travels – $9,100,000

9. Black Swan – $8,450,000

10. The King’s Speech – $7,649,000

Feature: 30 Most Anticipated Films Of 2011

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2011 is shaping up to be a wonderful year for cinema, with a lot of big name and word-class directors offering up new films across a wide range of genres. Here’s the thirty I’m most looking forward to:

1. Black Swan

Darren Aronofsky’s highly acclaimed psychological ballet drama finally hits UK cinemas. This one stars Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel and Winona Ryder.

2. Blue Valentine

Derek Cianfrance’s juxtaposing relationship drama, starring Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling.

3. Submarine

Richard Ayoyade’s comical coming-of-age directorial debut, starring Craig Roberts, Yasmin Paige, Sally Hawkins and Paddy Considine.

4. Sucker Punch

Zack Snyder’s futuristic action-fantasy film, starring Emily Browning, Abbie Cornish, Jena Malone and Vanessa Hudgens as girl’s willing to do anything to survive.

5. Scream 4

Wes Craven returns to the Scream franchise, along with regular actors Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and David Arquette. New recruits include Emma Roberts, Adam Brody and Hayden Panettiere.

6. Your Highness

David Gordon’s Green hilarious-looking medieval stone comedy, starring James Franco, Danny McBride, Natalie Portman and Zooey Deschanel.

7. The Skin That I Inhabit

Pedro Almodovar re-teams with Antonio Banderas for terror film The Skin That I Inhabit.

8. Attack The Block

Directed by Joe Cornish, this south London comedy-action film pitches a gang of youths against an alien invasion. Nick Frost, Jodie Whittaker and Luke Treadaway star.

9. Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Johnny Depp returns as Jack Sparrow for a fourth installment in the colossal Pirates Of The Caribbean franchise, this time with new faces (Penelope Cruz and a surprise Judi Dench appearance) and a new director (Rob Marshall).

10. Bridesmaids

Judd Apatow produces Paul Weig’s comedy about two women dueling for the perfect wedding, starring Kristen Wigg, Rose Bryne and Jon Hamm.

11. Paul

Nick Frost and Simon Pegg reunite for an ensemble alien road movie. Greg Mottola directs.

12. Melancholia

Lars Von Trier returns with a psychological disaster film, starring Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Keifer Sutherland.

13. Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2

The final installment in the globally successful Harry Potter franchise, featuring Harry, Ron and Hermoine as they race against time to kill Voldemort.

14. X-Men: First Class

Kick-Ass director returns to the superhero genre with an X-Men prequel showing how Professor X (James McAvoy) and Magnet (Michael Fassbender) met and the first time they discovered their powers.

15. Wuthering Heights

Andrea Arnold follows-up the critical darling Fish Tank with an adaptation of Wuthering Heights, starring Kaya Scodelario, Nichola Burley and Oliver Milburn.

16. Contagion

Steven Soderberg’s film centered on the threat posed by a deadly disease, starring Jude Law, Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Gwyneth Paltrow and Marion Cotillard.

17. The Adventures Of Tintin: The Secret Of The Unicorn

Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson collaborate on a 3D motion capture film based on the comic books created by Belgianartist Georges “Hergé” Remi about an adventurer, Tintin (Jamie Bell), and his white dog Snowy.

18. Fright Night

Craig Gillespie directs a remake of Tom Holland’s 1985 original horror, starring Colin Farrell, Anton Yelchin, David Tennant and Toni Collette.

19. A Dangerous Method

David Cronenberg’s historical biopic focusing on the turbulent relationship between Carl Jung, Sigmund Freud and Sabina Spielrein, the woman who comes between theme.

20. Cowboys & Aliens

Jon Favreau teams James Bond (Daniel Craig) with Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) for this genre-blurring science-fiction western film.

21. Wanderlust

Producer Judd Apatow teams with Jennifer Aniston for a sexy comedy that could well reignite her struggling career. David Wain directs, with Paul Rudd, Lauren Ambrose and Malin Akerman also starring.

22. Hanna

After the acclaimed Atonement, Joe Wright switches genres with this action-thriller starring Saoirse Ronan, Cate Blanchett and Eric Bana.

23. Route Irish

Ken Loach’s study into the consequences suffered by private security contractors after fighting in the Iraq War opened to lukewarm reviews at Cannes, but features a vigorous performances from Mark Womack.

24. We Need To Talk About Kevin

Lynne Ramsay’s long-awaited return to directing. We Need To Talk About Kevin is an adaptation of Lionel Shriver’s novel of the same name and stars Tilda Swinton, John C. Reilly and Ezra Miller.

25. Thor

Marvel’s latest superhero incarnation to hit the big screen, directed by Shakespearean thesp Kenneth Branagh and starring Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Hopkins, Natalie Portman and Tom Hiddleston.

26. The Darkest Hour

A new science-fiction film starring Olivia Thirlby and Emile Hirsch as young people caught in an alien invasion. Chris Gorak directs, with Timur Bekmambetov producing.

27. War Horse

Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of Michael Morpurgo’s acclaimed children’s novel War Horse, starring Peter Mullan, David Thewlis, Emily Watson and Stephen Graham.

28. The Invention Of Hugo Cabret

Martin Scorcese’s first foray into 3D, featuring a cast including Sacha Baron Cohen, Chloe Moretz, Jude Law, Christopher Lee and Ben Kingsley.

29. The Tree Of Life

Terrence Malick’s long-delayed film about the quest to regain the meaning of life, starring Brad Pitt, Sean Penn and Jessica Chastain.

30. Sherlock Holmes 2

Guy Ritchie returns to direct a sequel to the 2009 box office success. Sherlock Holmes re-teams Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law, with new additions including Noomi Rapace and Stephen Fry.

Review: Love & Other Drugs (2010)

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Loosely based on Jamie Reidy’s book Hard Sell: The Evolution Of A Viagra Salesman, Love & Other Drugs is a refreshingly grown-up romantic comedy, one with heartfelt emotion and two compelling, likeable performances.

The film centers on a pharmaceutical rep, Jamie (Jake Gyllenhaal), who falls head over heels for radiant free spirit Maggie (Anne Hathaway). Together the two people who never thought they would fall in love discover that their intense chemistry is more powerful than any drug on the market.

Gyllenhaal and Hathaway are a match made in heaven, each providing compelling, yet contained performances, laden with sexual chemistry. Gyllenhaal’s Jamie, an arrogant, passive and self-depreciating salesman, and Hathaway’s Maggie, an independent, earthly woman scared of losing her being to the aggressive Parkinson’s disease.

Zwick handles the intimacy between Jamie and Maggie extremely well, nailing the complexity of their developing relationship. The dramatic, heartfelt exchanges are dignified, played with emotion and depth, while the sex scenes are fun and inject life, vigour back into the film, balance the tone, never letting it slip into the implausible or over-sentimental.

The tone may feel equivocal at times, but the serious, life-altering disease Maggie bears is meant to be shown as empowerment, something that people come to live with and something that shouldn’t stop people from ultimate happiness, highlighted particularly well by a scene that occurs at a meeting of people with Parkinson’s and their loved ones.

The film, however, does stumble in its conclusion, reverting to one of the common clichés of the genre by tying everything up neatly, renouncing in part the unique feel of the film Zwick strived so hard to establish in the first place.

Love & Other Drugs, despite its faults, is a rom-com that works, mainly due to it’s ambidextrous story, convincing performances, witty script and ever appropriate soundtrack.

UK Box Office: December 24 – 26, 2010

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1. Little Fockers – £3,035717

2. The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader – £929,958

3. Tron: Legacy – £486,065

4. Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 1 – £416,556

5. Tees Maar Khan – £319,870

6. Megamind – £303,861

7. The Tourist – £164,836

8. Animals United – £157,858

9. Arthur And The Great Adventure – £83,875

10. Burlesque – £81,574

Feature: Worst Films Of 2010

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1. Gulliver’s Travels

Gulliver’s Travels is, quite simply, an abomination to cinema.

2. Clash Of The Titans

Clash Of The Titans is a long, dull and ludicrously bad film, even with the unnecessary extra dimension.

3. Legion

Legion is an audacious, flat film overloaded with atrocious special effects.

4. A Nightmare On Elm Street

A Nightmare On Elm Street is a truly irrelevant horror remake.

5. The Bounty Hunter

The Bounty Hunter is a misguided, dull, shambolic, unnecessary mess of a film, with dire performances from both Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler.

6. Hot Tub Time Machine

Hot Tub Time Machine is a bland, vulgar and tremendously unnecessary supposed buddy comedy.

7. Burke & Hare

Burke and Hare is a disappointing, idiotic mess. The script was atrocious and failed to utilise it’s impressive cast and director.

8. The Tourist

The Tourist is a flaky and formulaic action comedy, starring two top actors with no chemistry, struggling to ignite a badly written script.

9. Due Date

Due Date, however hard it tries to be funny, is, in truth, abrasive, uncomfortable, witless and generally a huge disappointment considering its potential.

10. Youth In Revolt

Youth In Revolt is a restless and ruly, only generating a hand full of guilty smirks.

Feature: Top Ten Films Of 2010

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In total I’ve seen a lot of films in 2010, but here are the ten I consider my favourite:

1. The King’s Speech

The King’s Speech is an altogether clever, humorous and emotional film, supported by tremendous performances from it’s central cast. A must see, by all accounts.

2. The Kids Are All Right

The Kids Are All Right a fantastic film, exuding charm, wit, love, insecurity and anguish at every appropriate corner. In essence, it’s a film about the struggles of human relationships, and shows a family’s love has the potential to overcome any obstacle.

3. The Social Network

The Social Network is a film that deserves your attention. It’s not only a film about Mark Zuckerberg and the creation of Facebook, but also one of morality. One that requires your full attention and questions your beliefs and values;  but also one that rewards you with its passion, attention-to-detail and humourous nature.

4. Another Year

Mike Leigh’s measured, and scarily realistic human nature drama is impossible to dismiss. Leigh’s laid-back approach let’s the characters and on-screen drama speak for itself. The central leads invite you into their lives and take you on a emotionally and wholly real journey through old-age. Lesley Manville, in particular, is breathtaking.

5. Winter’s Bone

Winter’s Bone is a film of true craftsmanship. Haunting, gritty, yet oddly inspiring, featuring a nuanced and captivating performance from newcomer Jennifer Lawrence.

6. Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World

Edgar Wright stepped up his game with this genre-crossing comedy film. Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World is a zany, mis-construed film that explores deep, poignant ideas, inter-cut with lots of crazy, heart-pounding action scenes, hundred of popular culture nods and hilariously odd performances from its central cast.

7. Toy Story 3

Defying expectations, Toy Story 3 proved sequels can be successful. Directed by the incredibly talented Lee Unkrich, the film manages to be a fitting, touching and honest conclusion to one of the most beloved, and inspiring, franchises of all time.

8. Inception

Christopher Nolan’s mind-bending science fiction, Inception is a singular accomplishment from an extraordinarily talented and game-changing director. It’s a visually stunning, intellectually challenging and emotionally engaging triumph, one that truly exemplifies modern filmmaking.

9. Monsters

Monsters is an incredible achievement in more ways than one, showcasing fine performances, an afflicting narrative, wholly real character interactions and special effects that rival those used on Blockbusters

10. I Am Love

Possibly one of the most overlooked films of the year, I Am Love is an incredibly well shot, acted, portrayed and directed. Tilda Swinton provided a flawless, and incredibly raw performance. One to seek out.

Honourable Mentions:

Easy A, How To Train Your Dragon, Four Lions, Kick-Ass, Piranha, Lebanon, Despicable Me, Bad Lieutenant – Port Of Call: New Orleans, The Runaways, Please Give, Cyrus, Splice, Mary & Max, The Hole, Exit Through The Gift Shop, The Killer Inside Me, The Illusionist, Whip It, Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale, Somewhere, Dogtooth and Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 1.

Cinema Releases: December 29, 2010

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Love & Other Drugs

Director – Edward Zwick

Starring – Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway, Judy Greer, Josh Gad, Hank Azaria and Oliver Platt.