Friday, April 1, 2011

At the Movies – April 2011 – Part 3: Best of the Month

Must See of the Month:

Hanna (Joe Wright) – Action – Apr 8
The film is about a 16-year-old girl Hanna who is raised by her father to be a ruthless and flawless assassin, primed to kill his rival – an intelligence agent. When Hanna is ready, she is unleashed on a mission across Europe to hunt down her target, but finds the real world and true relationships difficult to adjust to, amidst the CIA trying to find and stop her. Director Joe Wright is an excellent filmmaker; his camera effortlessly flows through the scenes giving his films a wonderful kinetic aesthetic. His last film was a disappointment, but with Hanna he looks to have another great film. He has a brilliant crew on the film with an original score from Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons (The Chemical Brothers), cinematography from Alwin H. Kuchler (who shot the beautifully cinematic Sunshine), production designer Sara Greenwood and editor Paul Tothill (who both worked on all three of Wright’s previous feature films), and fight choreography by Jeff Imada (who did The Book of Eli, The Bourne Ultimatum and Serenity, to name a few). The film stars Saoirse Ronan, who also starred in Wright’s Atonement. She is a wonderful young actress. Eric Bana and Cate Blanchett co-star, while Olivia Williams, Jason Flemyng and Tom Hollander feature as supporting players. The film looks to be amazing – filled with action, great fights, lots of locations, a cool score, and good performances. It is probably not for everyone, but for those it does appeal to, it is the film to see this month. Check out the trailer. Review.

Worth Checking Out (if not in theatres then at home):

Source Code (Duncan Jones) – Thriller – Apr 1
The film is about a soldier Colter Stevens who wakes up in the body of an unknown man only to discover that he is part of a mission to find the bomber of a Chicago commuter train, which seems to then turn into a more personal quest to save a woman on the train. Director Duncan Jones returns with his second film after his much praised sci-fi endeavor Moon. He has the right crew for the project with composer Chris Bacon (looking to have a breakthrough score with this film), genre cinematographer and production designer Don Burgess and Barry Chusid, respectively, and very good editor Paul Hirsch (which is very important for a thriller like this). The film stars Jake Gyllenhaal who is seemingly still looking for a great leading performance to finally catapult him into the true A-list (and this very well may be the film, depending on its Box Office totals). Michelle Monaghan co-stars (which is awesome, as she is underrated) and Vera Farmiga and Jeffrey Wright feature in supporting roles, rounding out a good cast. The film mixes action and sci-fi components to create what is a highly touted thriller, based on advanced screenings (like the one at SXSW). Duncan Jones is establishing himself as an auteur director to watch and this film may be even better than his first (and it appeals to a much bigger audience). Check out the trailer. Review.

Your Highness (David Gordon Green) – Comedy/Adventure – Apr 8
The film is about Prince Fabious and his lazy useless brother Thadeous. When Fabious’s bride is kidnapped, the brothers go on a quest to rescue her from an evil wizard. Director David Gordon Green has found a good notch for himself in comedy, having directed stars James Franco and Danny McBride in Pineapple Express and directing six episodes of McBride’s Eastbound & Down. He has a great crew on the film with composer Steve Jablonsky (assumedly he is looking for a big sound from the score in bringing on Jablonsky, who has worked on all three live-action Transformers films), frequent collaborator D.P. Tim Orr and excellent production designer Mark Tildesley. The cast is also really great. Co-starring with Franco and McBride are Natalie Portman and Zooey Deschanel. Rasmus Hardiker, Toby Jones, Justin Theroux, Charles Dance, and Damian Lewis (Band of Brothers) are featured in supporting roles. The story is by McBride and Ben Best, but the dialog was completely improvised (the script being merely an outline of scenes). The film has a lot of fantastic potential – to be really hilarious or an epic dud (but I think the former will likely be true). The great group of actors and director certainly make this something worth seeing, especially if you like really silly comedies. Check out the trailer. Review.

No comments:

Post a Comment