The Descendants was an interesting movie, the kind of bittersweet indie-style comedy that I like. Which shouldn't be suprising as it is directed by Alexander Payne, who made Election & Sideways. The story centres around two main threads, Matt King's wife is in a coma after a boating accident and he must prepare his family to say goodbye when he makes a shocking discovery, the second involves his family's ancestral land and the decision of who should buy it - which is timely as this week billionaire Larry Ellison bought 98% of the island of Lanai. George Clooney occupies the principal role which is ideally suited to his comic talent, Clooney has long been one of my favourite comic actors in movies like O Brother Where Art Thou, Burn After Reading, Up In The Air, but in this film there is more emotional depth.The theme of the development of Hawaii is one that reminded me of Hunter S. Thompson's Rum Diary where businessmen want to build hotels & developments in a beautiful setting, oblivious to the fact that they'll be destroying what they're trying to take advantage of.
We also watched
The Artist, which obviously comes fairly well laden with expectations after it's haul of awards. I knew the basic plotline before I started watching, how a silent movie star career struggles as 'the talkies' take over, but it wasn't quite what I was expecting. All the hype did make it disappointing, films like this will always struggle to live up to their billing. I did also however enjoy it in ways I wasn't expecting, writing it down it seems obvious, but the use of sound, in a film about the transition from silent films to speech, is very clever, and there are a number of surreal moments too. Those two elements combine particulalry well in a dream sequence that illustrates his fear of being left behind in the new era of movies. It made me think about parallels with modern cinema and the coming of 3D, arguably the biggest revolution since talking, there seemed to me in the film to be suggestion that in using speech they were somehow dumbing down, or losing something which echoes how many feel about 3D.
Finally this week I watched my new copy of
Seven Samurai, the 1954 film by japanese director Akira Kurosawa. I've seen it before several times but haven't owned a copy despite it being one of my favourite films. The plot is pretty simple, a poor village attacked by bandits hire seven samurai to protect them - if that sounds familiar it's because the western The Magnificent Seven is based on this film. To me it is the embodiment of what a good action film should be, it takes its time and doesn't force fast paced action on you, it builds to a climax and provides laughs and intrigue along the way. I had forgotten how funny it could be, with pretty much all the laughs provided by the character Kikuchiyo played by Toshiro Mifune one of the most famous japanese actors of his time, who provides very physical comedy as well as funny lines. This a pretty short & simple review of a much more complicated film that rewards repeated viewing.
The Descendants was an interesting movie, the kind of bittersweet indie-style comedy that I like. Which shouldn't be suprising as it is directed by Alexander Payne, who made Election & Sideways. The story centres around two main threads, Matt King's wife is in a coma after a boating accident and he must prepare his family to say goodbye when he makes a shocking discovery, the second involves his family's ancestral land and the decision of who should buy it - which is timely as this week billionaire Larry Ellison bought 98% of the island of Lanai. George Clooney occupies the principal role which is ideally suited to his comic talent, Clooney has long been one of my favourite comic actors in movies like O Brother Where Art Thou, Burn After Reading, Up In The Air, but in this film there is more emotional depth.The theme of the development of Hawaii is one that reminded me of Hunter S. Thompson's Rum Diary where businessmen want to build hotels & developments in a beautiful setting, oblivious to the fact that they'll be destroying what they're trying to take advantage of. 
We also watched The Artist, which obviously comes fairly well laden with expectations after it's haul of awards. I knew the basic plotline before I started watching, how a silent movie star career struggles as 'the talkies' take over, but it wasn't quite what I was expecting. All the hype did make it disappointing, films like this will always struggle to live up to their billing. I did also however enjoy it in ways I wasn't expecting, writing it down it seems obvious, but the use of sound, in a film about the transition from silent films to speech, is very clever, and there are a number of surreal moments too. Those two elements combine particulalry well in a dream sequence that illustrates his fear of being left behind in the new era of movies. It made me think about parallels with modern cinema and the coming of 3D, arguably the biggest revolution since talking, there seemed to me in the film to be suggestion that in using speech they were somehow dumbing down, or losing something which echoes how many feel about 3D.
Finally this week I watched my new copy of Seven Samurai, the 1954 film by japanese director Akira Kurosawa. I've seen it before several times but haven't owned a copy despite it being one of my favourite films. The plot is pretty simple, a poor village attacked by bandits hire seven samurai to protect them - if that sounds familiar it's because the western The Magnificent Seven is based on this film. To me it is the embodiment of what a good action film should be, it takes its time and doesn't force fast paced action on you, it builds to a climax and provides laughs and intrigue along the way. I had forgotten how funny it could be, with pretty much all the laughs provided by the character Kikuchiyo played by Toshiro Mifune one of the most famous japanese actors of his time, who provides very physical comedy as well as funny lines. This a pretty short & simple review of a much more complicated film that rewards repeated viewing.
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