Finally Airborne

Up in the Air (Jason Reitman, 2010)

So last week, the gods of Cineworld finally bestowed upon us a screening of Up in the Air, after a previous failed attempt, and the demons of Londonovercrowding must have been having a day off, which I can't say they haven't earned.

Of course, I loved this film. Reitman is the current crowned king of the smart, bittersweet comedy, (which is my favourite kind), his previous work as we know includes Juno (2007) and Thank You for Smoking (2005). On the subject of kings, Clooney is the monarch of choice for any role requiring a silvering male lead to be effortlessly likeable whilst pretending to be a heartless bastard. And didn't he do well?! It's an interesting dichotomy that surfaces frequently in film, specifically in Reitman's films, that characters who actively propound a philosophy of heartlessness, of absenting oneself from the game of caring, of 'emptying ones backpack', are always the most caring, empathetic, selfless, 'good' characters in the whole film. And of course, they always reach their big "everyone-needs-someone, a-life-alone-is-a-life-wasted etc..." epiphany by the end of the film whilst everyone else is buggering off to be considerably-more-selfish bastards than our lead was character ever was to begin with! Anyway...

I laughed, I cried, I sang along... I shamelessly enjoyed this film. All the main actors performed with aplomb, making their characters' surprisingly-real faults endearing rather than grating. I recognised a little too much of myself in the young Natalie; in her desperation to prove herself, in her youthful inconsideration and selfishness, in her academic competence twinned with real-life hopelessness. And always a joy to be hold, the 10-minute snippet (or not even) of J.K. Simmons was the out-and-out highlight for me. Brilliant!

My one criticism though, is a biggie, that for the first time at the end of a Reitman film, or anything else of this ilk (think Little Miss Sunshine (Jonathan Dayton, 2006) or anything directed by Wes Anderson...) my bittersweet feeling was a little too bitter, not enough sweet. Now don't get me wrong, I do NOT like feel good films, I do not watch RomComs that are more Rom than Com, and I like my happy Com-roms with a heavy dose of irony and plenty of black humour, but Up in the Air, on this particular Wednesday, left me feeling genuinely sad as we stepped out into the rain. Again, I stress, I did NOT want anyone to live happily ever after, I did NOT want the whole film to 360 and schmaltz to a close, no sir, but I just felt like Reitman closed the piece on the wrong chord, a little minor-key that should not have been there and for me, it jarred.

I don't want this to feel like a negative review. Up until the credits rolled, I was having a delightful time; an enjoyable and well-rounded cinematic experience, getting thoroughly engaged and forgetting all about the minutiae of my day (and after all, isn't that the point?). I will be buying the DVD, I may well buy the soundtrack. I do recommend this film. But there is a 'but...', a little listless 'but...' of disappointment at the end of this otherwise glowing piece of cinema.

Hunting for Hunter

Gonzo: The Life and Times of Hunter S. Thompson (Alex Gibney, 2008)

Watched this on DVD last night and really enjoyed it. A little meandering, a little long, but excellent fun overall. Narrated by Johnny Depp (who is just brilliant in everything is he not?!), this documentary does a wonderful job of immersing you in the word of Thompson, the revolutionary 60s, the cynical 70s, and the sparky, druggy, visceral word of Gonzo journalism. Gibley manages to balance an interesting mix of talking heads and buckets of insightful library footage, intercut with loopy hallucinogenic scenes that evoke a real sense of mood.

The soundtrack was fabulous and again, very evocative. The most interesting contributors were the editor of Rolling Stone and the artist and long-term Thompson collaborator, Ralph Steadman. I had previously only know Steadman from Withnail and I promotional material, and he proved a rather fascinating chap. Seeing the editor of Rolling Stone breakdown in tears whilst trying to talk about the contribution Hunter could make (to the dreaded politics of now) had he not taken himself out in 2005, was particularly moving. A disturbing yet delightful closing sequence montages a piece to camera where Hunter describes exactly how he wants his funeral to go off, with the actual event itself (spot on to his wishes of course). Haunting, but uplifting at the same time.

My only experience of Hunter S. Thompson prior to watching this documentary was having read the book/seen the film (not got a t-shirt) of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, both of which I loved. Post-Gonzo, I find Hunter infinitely more fascinating, and rather less likeable, as is often the case with the getting to know the personna behind a fiction (though it's barely fiction in Thompson's case). Seeing Thompson for the first time as a polemic political journalist was a real eye-opener and taught me a lot I didn't know about recent US history (albeit a left-leaning presentation of the facts - so of course I sympathised!)

The film tries a little too hard to psychoanalyse a man whom I think deserves to remain an enigma, but otherwise a very fitting obituary to one of the great voices of the 20th century. So, I want to be a gonzo journalist. Apart from the drugs, and being born 30-40 years too late, of course... oh well.

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I Heart HP

A brief aside here, and my first non-film related post. I have just finished reading all of J.K. Rowling's 7 Harry Potter books back to back (of course, as a former children's bookseller, not the first time I have read them) and it strikes me again, I just absolutely bloody LOVE them. I can't get enough of it! I mean yes, Harry himself can be a bit of a twit sometimes, always yelling at everybody in capital letters and yes, some of her ideas are derivative, and yes, to all the other criticisms you can throw at them, but reading these books is the most genuine escapism I have ever found. They make me happy. And that is no mean feat. So, thanks Rowling - nice one.

The Last... Thing I'd Ever Want to Watch Again

The Last Castle (Rod Lurie, 2002)

Is there anything more excruciating than being lent a film by a friend, which they expound as a great love of theirs, and finding it to be complete and utter bilge? Well, yes there is, and that is watching The Last Castle, though this is guilty of the aforementioned crime as well. Not just crap. Recommended crap.
It was so lame, I can't really be bothered to go into it. It is something of a poor-man's Shawshank crossed with the Dead Poet's Society, but with utterly no heart. To my mind, an unacceptable film in a world where such classics of their respective sub-genres (1. the prison drama in which the real criminals are not those condemed, and 2. the inspirational leader-cum-hero 'brings out the best' in those from whom society expects least) which this film woefully attempts to combine, already exist.
I will say this for it, it wasn't so mind-numbingly awful that I didn't see it through to the end, though I think forcing myself through this hardship was mainly out of loyalty to my friend, and the hope that he did not rate such tripe, that it simply had to get better! I hoped in vain.
I think it is possible, that part of my dislike for it was because I am a girl, and specifically a girl who is unimpressed by macho behaviour, pointless hero worship, anything to do with the military, one-liners scripted to be quotable that simply aren't, and gloating acts of violence juxtaposed with try-hard rousing speeches that seem to miss the mark every time. So, this film was simply full of my pet hates. Another of which includes people being miraculously pulled from the flaming wreckage of a helicopter with narry a scratch on them, save a few artfully attractive grazes to the cheekbones. I was in more pain than they were just watching it!
I'm meandering into gibberish through frustration, so will stop. Don't watch this film. Unless you've been bad and need to be punished.

A Stab at a Top Ten

I have always been a bit of a compulsive list maker, but my Top 10 films has always been something I've struggled to pin down. What was it Meg Ryan said? It's like trying to choose your favourite child?! Ok, I'm not quite that mental, but it is always harder than I expect. Now, as a disclaimer, there is of course a huge difference between the "best" films of all time, and one's "favourite" films of all time. This list is very much of the latter persuasion, so you'll find no Godfathers, Shawshanks or Citizen Kanes here - not to do them any disservice, but if I was only allowed to watch 10 films again on rotation for the rest of my life (god forbid!), in no specific order, these would be they...

• Amelie (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 2001)
• Donnie Darko (Richard Kelly, 2001)
• An Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry, 2004)
• Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (Brad Silberling, 2004)
• The Emperor’s New Groove (Mark Dindal, 2000)
• Withnail and I (Bruce Robinson, 1987)
• The Lord of the Rings (Peter Jackson, 2001–2003; I reserve the right to treat the trilogy as one entry!)
• Finding Neverland (Marc Forster, 2004)
• The Mummy (Stephen Sommers, 1999)
• The Fountain (Darren Aronofsky, 2006)

Still Up in the Air

Up in the Air (Jason Reitman, 2010)...

Tried and failed to see this film tonight. Arrived at Cineworld Haymarket (with trusty Cineworld card in hand) to find a monstrous sight - a queue of approx. 7,000 people, there for no obvious reason other than to ruin my evening. So - mission aborted, went to Pizza Express instead.
Thoughts on the film to follow soon if Cineworld can get their act together, and some people move out of this city. Pesky Golden Globes...