Episode 108 : Catjump Happysack
We present to you the latest episode of theOneliner movie review podcast in which, at the risk of becoming predictable, we review some movies for you. Targets for our truth cannon this time around are Nameless Gangster, The Master, The Place Beyond the Pines and Iron Man 3.
Latest reviews
Side Effects
Talent and flair elevate this competent but unremarkable script to become a very solid, well-built drama.
In Steven Soderbergh's Side Effects, Rooney Mara plays Emily, a young woman struggling to cope with life after the return from prison of her crooked-trader husband. One ill-advised coping mechanism sees her drive her car at speed into the wall of her garage. This results in her hospitalisation and subsequent treatment with an experimental drug, which causes her to sleepwalk, sleep-cook and sleep-stab-her-husband-to-death. The film explores the culpability of Emily and the physician who prescribed the medication, played by Jude Law, and how they cope with the stress these events have brought about, until a third act twist. A tale that could be fit for a TV movie is elevated by Soderbergh's directorial flair and strong performances from the cast, and is certainly worth checking out.
Trance
Far-fetched but very enjoyable thriller.
What starts off as a relatively conventional heist drama soon takes a turn for the weird when hypnotherapy gets involved, although it's a form of hypnotherapy so advanced it's indistinguishable from magic. It perhaps overtaxes credulity, but it's an interesting and pleasingly messy story backed with some good performances from James McAvoy, Vincent Cassel and Rosario Dawson that's consistently "good", without tipping over into "great" despite always threatening to. I can't help but feel that a little more polish could have made this something special rather than "merely" something enjoyable and well above average, but I'll take what I can get these days.
The Dark Knight Rises
Weakest of the trilogy, but still one of the best comic book adaptations ever.
An old and busted Batman goes up against Bane and a League of Shadows intent on revenge, and tearing Bruce Wayne apart mentally and physically. Which, naturally, provides a great excuse for the dissections of character and motivations that this makes the series so special, over and above the big budget spectacle of the piece. It certainly stands the least well apart from the other films in Nolan's series, and to get the most out of this I really think you must have Batman Begins and The Dark Knight fresh in your mind, but this provides a great bookend to the series and ties the trilogy together nicely.
Welcome to the Punch
Stylish but generic, mildly miscast thriller with a ludicrous conspiracy angle.
I had expected much more from this well-regarded script, with it's well-regarded cast and for a while it looks like it might deliver, as James McAvoy's cop goes up against Mark Strong's robber before being forced to team up against a grander conspiracy that effects them both. Problem is, well, aside from a reliance on clichéd characters and plot developments, that the conspiracy is so ridiculous as to make the film laughable. Ah well.
Parker
An ordinary decent criminal flick.
After being screwed out of his heist payday and left for dead by Melander (Michael Chiklis)'s gang of thuggish thieves, rather more honourable thief Parker (Jason Statham) vows revenge. This takes him to Florida, where he sets about foiling their plans for an audacious diamond heist aided by local estate agent Leslie (Jennifer Lopez). Everything about Parker essentially exudes an air of reasonably enjoyable competence, from Statham's low-key, quite charismatic performance, Lopez's quite likable turn, and the quite interesting heist plots. Quite. The only really annoying thing is that it does rather seem like everyone involved has settled for producing a decent film, when there's the odd flash here and there (particularly in some of Statham's staple fight scenes) of the really good film that this could have been had everyone brought their "A" game.
From the blog
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