Oblivion - DM Review

Terrible.

I'm not sure what purpose this film served other than to further bulk out Tom Cruise's CV and further extend his ego.

He plays someone called Jack Harper (a name I'm sure Tom has used in about 5 other of his films) who saves the world (obvs). The plot being so boring was the least of my issues.
What really offended me was how many other films this ripped off...2001, Moon, Alien/Prometheus, The Matrix. I'm not even a sci-fi fan and so I am sure there are many others to add to this list that I missed.

Nice soundtrack thanks to M83 and somewhat pleasing on the eye.

3/10

The Place Beyond the Pines - DM Review

A film in 3 acts...2 of which were so-so and the last very disappointing.

A tale of how fathers pass on behaviour to children, except the children had no character explanation and looked/acted nothing like the parents.

This was advertised as the latest and greatest Gosling vehicle despite Bradley Cooper having more screentime.

All a bit too meandering and careless.

5/10

MD - In The House

By overlapping the reality, the writing of a 16 year old outsider (Claude) and, most importantly, the wish-fulfillment of his patron an ageing unhappy literature teacher (M. Germain), In The House sets out to demonstrate the adage that those who can, do, and those that can't, teach. 

Played with the right mix of arch knowingness and humour the cast does a good job with characters who display a myriad of faults and foibles. Amongst the unfulfilled women and unaware men, a lonely boy who yearns Pinocchio-like for real family wealds his vivacious imagination to shape his own (and Germain’s) familial and burgeoning sexual desires. They are essentially the same person - the boy at the back of the class - as is demonstrated from the adult perspective in the first scene. The manipulation grows, as Germain demands more from his protégé, naive to the understanding of teenage interpretation in contrast to his own. 

Throughout the movie the trustworthiness of story and writer - and as a consequence of 'literature' itself - is held to scrutiny; but the filmmakers clearly believe literature still triumphs over 'maths' and, particularly, 'art' which is wonderfully parodied through the various exhibits in Kirsten Scott Thomas' modernist gallery and scorched distain of Klee watercolours in a suburban hallway. 

Ultimately in trying to jolt everyone into reality it ends on a couple of unrealistic codas. As the Germain character says a good story gives the reader the ending they didn't expect but was the only one that there could have been. Despite a glorious closing shot, that’s not quite the case here.

7/10

MD - Maniac

Maniac joins the pantheon of 80's slasher remakes and interpretations of the Ed Gein story. On paper a nasty and uneasy stalk-and-slice movie it's raised from the cabin/house in the woods/site of ancient burial grounds by the first person perspective and complexity within Elijah Wood's portrayal of Frank which attempts to help us understand his creepy and homicidal obsessions by grounding them within their location and a familial legacy. It looks stylish; employing clever use of shiny surfaces that reflect the vacuous sheen of the city and with it a different perspective of our protagonist and a potential window for our empathy. When Frank does enter into what passes in his realm as a functioning friendship and potential relationship we see the best and worse of his fragility. 

It would be easy to accuse Maniac of being misogynous - it is full of unnecessarily gratuitous tits, slits and bits - however even in death Frank's victims retain power over his actions. The filmmakers might argue that Maniac is a study in the complexity of the male psyche and its ultimate failure to move past the maternal. Or it might just be an excuse for some cheap thrills and gruesome schlock. 

In the face of the ambiguity I'll give it the benefit of the doubt. I know many people won’t.

8/10

MD - Compliance

Compliance's real life roots add an extra level of intrigue in its story of how far individuals will go if ‘authority’ permits them to. 

The characterisation was just right as we saw the manipulation gradually work its way through to everyone involved.  The acting from the little-known cast was superb and the claustrophobic setting a clever way to ratchet up the tension. The uncomfortableness of the voyeurism highlighted the skill of the filmmakers to make us feel somehow complicit. 

It’s a shame about the jarring ten-minute wrap up. Some ambiguity would have added to the unease. 

Thoughtful and challenging

8/10

MD - Jack the Giant Slayer

A wet afternoon watch that wanted to be The Princess Bride but ended up a bit more Shrek The Third. From this creative team the expectation was for sharper dialogue and more creative filmmaking. 

Not a gigantic error but hardly full of beans either. 

4/10

MD - Robot and Frank

In which the creeping onset of Alzheimers requires distant cut-out children 'important business person' and 'hippy' to placate their absence from fading-faster father Frank with a robot.

The central relationship is touching and reveals how pride and loneliness are as much contributors to decline as any illness. Its the car crash of caricatures around it that causes the problems - in particular an odious neighbour who we are supposed to believe can dictate the nature of police investigations. Yes this is the near future but personal police forces are unlikely any day soon.

While still keeping the light touch this movie could have had much more to say about dispersed families and onset illness but the fanciful posturing around the edges dilutes the potential. So when it tries to pull off the poignant reveal at the end it just feels like a contrivance too far. Shame

5/10