FILM REVIEW: GET HIM TO THE GREEK

Universal Pictures
Now Showing

Audiences were first introduced to rock star Aldous Snow in the 2008 comedy, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, where he appeared as the new boyfriend of the titular Sarah, holidaying in Hawaii where her ex-boyfriend (played by Jason Segel, who also wrote that film) also happened to be. Snow, played by a scene-stealing Russell Brand, was on the wagon, abstaining from drugs and alcohol and pursuing spirituality through meditation, yoga and sex (hey, he's a rock star!).

Get Him To The Greek sees Brand reprising the role of Snow, although this time we find the rocker well and truly off the wagon. After a critical drubbing for his most recent album, African Child, and the separation from his partner, pop starlet Jackie Q (a comic turn by Rose Byrne), Snow has been indulging in every vice imaginable.

Record company employee, Aaron Green (Jonah Hill, who was also in Forgetting Sarah Marshall but plays a different character here), is charged with bringing Snow from London to LA for a 10th anniversary gig at the Greek Amphetheatre. He has 72 hours to get the rock star sober and presentable, for media appearances along the way as well as the concert. Aaron's boss Sergio (a crazy-eyed and surprisingly funny Sean 'P. Diddy' Combs) will accept no excuses.

That's basically it as far as plot is concerned with the film's running time taken up with Snow corrupting and abusing the innocent Aaron (there's a lot of drunken behaviour, usually climaxing with Aaron vomiting) as they make their way to the Greek. And Brand and Hill make for an enjoyable odd couple; Brand has a certain charm but as for his alleged sexual appeal, what's up with that, ladies?

Like a lot of comedies, Get Him To The Greek is perhaps a tad too long, running out of steam before the final credits roll. But for the most part it's a fun walk on the wild side which won't disappoint those fans of the Judd Apatow stable of comedies.

FILM REVIEW: ROCKET SCIENCE

Hopscotch Films
Exclusive to Palace Verona Sydney, Kino Cinemas Melbourne, Palace Barracks Brisbane

Jeffrey Blitz's feature directorial debut opens with such a flurry of indie tics, it threatens to implode under an abundance of quirkiness, but this odd little film soon settles into a rhythm and plot, of sorts. Our “hero”, Hal Hefner, despite the surname, is no playboy. He's an awkward junior high student rendered even more so by his stutter; Hal's resigned himself to eating the cafeteria fish at lunch instead of the preferred pizza simply because it's easier to say fish.

But then he's approached by Ginny Ryerson (Anna Kendrick), captain of the school debate team, who sees the potential in the speech-impaired Hal. Hal, not convinced of Ginny's belief, is smitten and, despite all evidence to the contrary, joins the debate team.

The relationship between Hal and Ginny escalates but Blitz has more in mind than teen romance, the first sign being Ginny's shock defection to a rival school. Other plot lines involve Hal's tracking down of a former champion debater to aid in his revenge, surviving his bullying older brother, and a passive-aggressive proxy step brother, the son of a judge who is also a neighbour and begins dating Hal's mother.

The film's oddness and refusal to conform to genre may explain why it has taken so long to reach Australian cinemas (however limited a release it is receiving). Rocket Science screened at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, while the production notes, which the distributors hand out to media at screenings, make no mention in Kendrick's bio of her recurring role in the Twilight films or her Oscar-nominated performance in Up in the Air.

Still, whether on or not a film receives a cinema release has less to do with quality than it does with other factors, and Rocket Science has a more going for it than a lot of other big title releases which flood our cinemas this time of year.

I wouldn't recommend you go out of your way to see it (of course, that's the only way you can), but if you have to choose between this and The A-Team, well, you don't need to be a rocket scientist to know which one I'd opt for.

FILM REVIEW: SHREK FOREVER AFTER

Paramount Pictures
Now Showing (in 2D and 3D)

It's not easy being green sang Kermit the frog, and Shrek would concur. This fourth (and promised to be last ) installment in DreamWorks' successful animated franchise sees the ogre (voiced again by Mike Myers) married to true love, Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz), and the father of three green bundles of joy. Except Shrek isn't feeling so joyful. He's having a midlife crisis, longing for his bachelor days when he had a swamp to himself and people feared him: now, he's a celebrity and tourist attraction.

Following a meltdown at his kids' birthday party, Shrek happens upon Rumplestiltskin, an embittered litle man with a knack for evil legalese: he can make your dreams come true if you simply sign a contract giving him one day out of your life in return.

Shrek, wishing for his pre-marital existance, foolishly signs on the dotted line (without reading the fine print) and before you can say 'It's A Wonderful Life', the ogre is transported into a parallel Far Far Away where he never existed. Oh, yes, and Rumplestiltskin is king.

And the little guy likes to surround himself with witches; their flying sequences one of the justifications for filming this fourth installment in 3D. It also adds a darker tone to the colour palette which is in keeping with the story's darker themes, but I'm guessing that's more coincidental than intentional (you won't miss anything by catching Shrek Forever After in 2D).

The 'what if I never existed' storyline is also a hoary old chestnut, perfected in Frank Capra's classic, It's A Wonderful Life, and imitated, for better or worse, ever since. In a children's film it serves as morality tale: be careful what you wish for, or more pertinently, be happy for what you've got, especially if it's a loving family.

But animation is no longer just for kids and adults don't go to the movies for moral lessons (even if some should). Having Shrek never exist in this parallel world provides the joy of having us re-introduced to the series' best characters: Donkey (Eddie Murphy), who's as endearingly annoying as ever, and Puss-In-Boots (Antonio Banderas), the Latin assassin who's let himself go. Both actors are in fine form once again, reminding us why we fell for them in the first place.

Of course everything works itself out in the end; the Shrek series of films may have begun by fracturing fairy tales but they never skimped on the happy ending. And if this is to be the last of the Shrek films, than Forever After ends the series well; not so much on a high but with a fond farewell.

DVD REVIEW: THE WOLFMAN

Universal
Available now on DVD and Blu-ray

I enjoyed Joe Johnston's update of The Wolfman earlier this year, a lot more than I expected to and more than most of my fellow reviewers. While not quite a guilty pleasure, The Wolfman has a castle load of gothic gore that's surprisingly entertaining: I'm usually a wimp when it comes to bloodletting but I found the murderous rampage of Lawrence Talbot (Benicio Del Toro) across the misty moors of the English countryside to be rather fun.

When Lawrence's brother goes M.I.A. on the moors, he returns to his manor home to investigate and it's not too long before family secrets, revealed by a scene chewing Anthony Hopkins as Lord Talbot, are jumping out of the closet – and out from behind trees and, eventually, across London rooftops.

After being attacked while in the woods, it's a case of once bitten, never shy for Lawrence as he in turn becomes a wolfman, by the light of the full moon, of course. But can the love of a good woman (talented Emily Blunt given little to do but looking good doing it) save Lawrence before Scotland Yard's Inspector Aberline (Hugo Weaving) pounds this puppy? Curl up on your couch and find out.
Link to orignal review:
http://thelennoxfiles.blogspot.com/2010/02/film-review-wolfman.html

ALSO OUT NOW:

EVERYBODY'S FINE (Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment) While I welcome Robert De Niro's return to drama (I'm not a fan of the Meet The/Analyze series of films), this tale of a recently retired widower attempting to reconnect with his adult children during a whirlwind cross-country trip over Thanksgiving weekend doesn't exactly stretch the veteran. Writer Kirk Jones has assembled an impressive cast – Kate Beckinsale, Drew Barrymore and the always watchable Sam Rockwell – for his first directorial outing, but they come across as somewhat selfish offspring while De Niro's Frank is also hard to sympathise with. Still, the ending has an emotional impact when we learn the fate of the fourth sibling who has been M.I.A. throughout.

NINE (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment) Rob Marshall's return to the musical wasn't as warmly received as his Oscar-winning Chicago, but Nine, based on the stage musical which in turn was inspired by the Fellini film 8 ½, has much to recommend it and not just starlets in under garments. A singing Daniel Day Lewis, as the Fellini-like director, Guido Contini, suffering writer's block, is one point of interest; so, too, is the cavalcade of actresses who strut their stuff. And although Penelope Cruz scored an Oscar nod, it is Judi Dench, effortlessly stealing every scene she's in, and Marion Cotillard, playing Guido's long-suffering wife, who make the biggest impressions. Dion Beebe's cinematography is, of course, perfect.
http://thelennoxfiles.blogspot.com/2010/01/film-review-nine.html

BRIGHT STAR (Roadshow Entertainment) Jane Campion's first film in six years is an ode to love, detailing the chaste yet doomed relationship between poet, John Keats (Ben Whishaw), and neighbour-cum-muse, Fanny Brawne (Abbie Cornish). And only a woman, and perhaps only Campion, could make a chaste love affair so involving, helped greatly by her two leads, especially Cornish, who, at the very least, should have received a Best Actress Oscar nomination. I mean, if Sandra Bullock can win . . .
http://thelennoxfiles.blogspot.com/2009/12/film-review-bright-star.html

And speaking of Oscar winners, PRECIOUS (Icon Home Entertainment) was this past year's 'little film that could', scoring Best Picture and Director nods, and winning for Adapted Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress for Mo'Nique who, as the mother from Hell, was never in doubt to take home a gold statuette. Her daughter, Precious (nominee and first time actress, Gabourey Sidibe), overcomes her many obstacles, including rape, pregnancy and parental abuse, thanks to the loving support of a teacher – but Dead Poets Society it's not. Precious is heavy going but rewards those who see it through. http://thelennoxfiles.blogspot.com/2010/02/film-review-precious.html