Leigh Paatsch's guide to movies

FILM guru Leigh Paatsch reviews a selection of films showing in cinemas around the nation.

1170481 - This Is The End

FILM guru Leigh Paatsch reviews a selection of films showing in cinemas around the nation.

THE AUDIENCE (PG) Mirren rules again, and reigns supreme, UK, 170 min
The latest stage play to be beamed into cinemas by Britain's National Theatre Live project is a must-see for anyone who appreciates acting at its very best. Helen Mirren returns to her most famous screen role of Queen Elizabeth II for an all-new production scripted by the great Peter Morgan (The Queen, Frost/Nixon). An episodic tale pings back and forth across QEII's lengthy reign to re-create her regular weekly conversations with the Prime Minister of the day. These extended chats with the likes of Sir Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher and even current British PM David Cameron are in no way the stiff, formal exchanges one would expect. Each individual session bristles with earthy humour, surprising pathos, and most incisive lines of questioning on the part of Her Majesty. The scenes that Mirren shares with Richard McCabe (as Harold Wilson) are a true delight to witness, and a magnificent example of how electrifying the age-old format of two people simply talking on a stage can still be. ****1/2

THE AUDIENCE

BEFORE MIDNIGHT (MA15+) Everything all right on the night, US, 108 min
If you love movies about love, made with intelligence, insight and a refreshing candour, here is the place to go. This sublime follow-up to Before Sunrise (1995) and Before Sunset (2004) sees former fleeting lovers Celine (Julie Delpy) and Jesse (Ethan Hawke) now finally living as a couple. Yeah, so true romance happened. But now real life is happening. Time is no longer a precious commodity. The intensity of emotion has changed, as has the depth. There are children to raise. Expectations to lower. Careers to follow. Grudges to leave behind. Promises to break. Compromises to make. Unfolding across 12 hours on the final day of a holiday in Greece, this is an incredibly telling snapshot of a modern relationship. ****

BEHIND THE CANDELABRA (M) What happened in Vegas didn't stay the distance, US, 116 min
Oh, how those eyes twinkled. Oh, how those ivories tinkled. And oh my, how that closet rattled. In a compelling drama from director Steven Soderbergh, the lid is belatedly lifted on the secret gay life of Liberace. Throughout a long reign as the Las Vegas king of keyboard kitsch, Liberace (Michael Douglas) went to extraordinary lengths to deny all accusations of homosexuality. The film spans the final decade of Liberace's life, wherein he finally met Mr Right, only for it all to go so horribly wrong. Matt Damon co-stars as Scott Thorson, a sheltered young fellow too wide-eyed to resist the razzle-dazzle of all things Liberace. Nor can he cope with the demands of a dysfunctionally undercover relationship. The grotesquely gripping performances of Douglas and Damon are wonders to behold here. Both actors step inside difficult roles with ease, revealing not only the unlovable, spiteful monsters that Liberace and Thorson were fated to become, but also the loving, giving men they might have been. ***1/2

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THE CONJURING (MA15+) Maintaining an effective exorcise regime, US, 111 min
A haunted house. A petrified family. A possessed doll. Self-slamming doors. Random hand-claps in the dead of night. As viewers first come to grips with this old-fashioned new horror film, it looks as if just another batch of cookie-cutter creepiness is about to served. By all means, feel free to initially under-rate this finely-crafted and genuinely scary production. Making such a mistake will only serve to leave you more impressed (and slightly rattled) than you might have been. Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson are superb as a married team of paranormal investigators battling to rid a family's home of a demonic presence in the early 1970s. The direction of Australian filmmaker James Wan (Insidious) is skilfully controlled. While he does allow you to occasionally laugh at the gruesome goings-on, you will never experience the urge to look down upon them. You will be too involved, too intrigued and too softened-up to ask too many hard questions. Recommended, even if you don't usually like horror movies. ***1/2

DESPICABLE ME 2 (PG) No longer bad. Still very good, US, 96 min
The same, playful, naughty-but-nice humour winningly evident in the 2010 animated hit Despicable Me lifts its sequel clear of the also-rans in the animated sector. Steve Carell returns as the voice of the formerly notorious Gru. Once the world's most fiendish supervillain, Gru is now the world's softest-hearted single dad. However, that devious mind of his is still the eccentric engine room of the franchise, and Gru is soon putting that bad brain of his to good use after being recruited by the crime-fighting Anti-Villain League. The pacing and vocal performances are sharp, the 3D visuals are as eye-popping as before, and those mischievous Minions remain the best bunch of second-bananas in movies. ***

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THE HEAT (MA15+) A faint chill in the air, US, 117 min
You won't be needing a thermometer to take the comedic temperature of The Heat. While it might be an easy enough film to warm to - thanks mainly to the opposites-repel casting of Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy - don't go sweating on too many big laughs happening here. A lazy plot rips some well-thumbed pages from the good-cop-mad-cop playbook. Naturally, Bullock is the organised, stuck-up, by-the-rules one. Which means McCarthy - echoing her previous star turns in Bridesmaids and Identity Thief - is the messy, street-smart, renegade one. Their assignment is to bring down a Boston drug baron. But that's of secondary importance when there are so many so-so set-pieces to get to. Most trade in a bitchy brand of bickering where Bullock will get uppity about something, and McCarthy will gun her down with a profane punchline. Average. **1/2

THE LONE RANGER (M) Dopey Depp brings down the Hammer, US, 147 min
Even the most ardent admirers of The Lone Ranger - that masked-avenging good guy of the wild west - will concede his appeal to the masses expired 50 years ago. A 21st century revival of this pop-culture dinosaur was always going to be a tough ask for filmmakers. Not to mention a tough sell to audiences. On the evidence presented here, only two words come to mind. Why bother? 147 minutes of some old-timey hooey about corruption on the railways, a psychotic killer cowboy, and Johnny Depp acting all nutty as the title character's "faithful Indian companion" Tonto. Poor old Armie Hammer (who?) as The Lone Ranger is little more than a whiny, wimpy passenger in this wonky-wheeled vehicle. With a $200 million-plus budget to burn, the film keeps grinding away for a spectacle that will have jaws touching floors. Jaws will indeed be extended during The Lone Ranger, but only as part of a yawn. *1/2

lone ranger

MAN OF STEEL (M) Polished start, then the rust sets in, US, 143 min
What should have been the Superman we had to have is now a Superman we will have to grudgingly settle for : a long, and sometimes laboured mash-up of the compelling and the compromised. First, the good stuff. A story schemed up by key Dark Knight Trilogy creatives Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer shrewdly strips Supes' famous origin story down to the bare essentials. The relatively unknown British actor Henry Cavill stars as Clark Kent, a tough, buff loner from another planet still learning to harness his super-powers here on Earth. He'd better hurry up some, because some bitter enemies of his late father (Russell Crowe) are on their way. Just as this yarn seems to promising one hell of a finale, the film itself loses both shape and momentum. An overblown, overlong closing act is the culprit. The iconic superhero becomes merely the most recognisable figure in the eye of a digital FX hurricane. The core acting triumvirate of Cavill (very straight), Crowe (very ironic) and co-star Michael Shannon (very mad) remain on the right page throughout. It's just a shame director Zack Snyder (300) threw away the playbook at such a crucial stage of the game. Co-stars Amy Adams. **1/2

MONSTERS UNIVERSITY (PG) A lesson for those who couldn't scare less, US, 108 min
Pixar Animation have dusted off their beloved 2001 hit Monsters, Inc. and polished up a nifty little prequel. Let's call it Mike & Sulley : The Early Years. The story spirits us back to a time when pint-sized cyclops Mike (Billy Crystal) and hulking shaggy-bear Sulley (John Goodman) were yet to earn their scaring stripes. To gain the necessary spooking skills, Mike and Sulley find themselves enrolled in Monsters University, a Hogwarts for creatures that go "grrrrr" in the night. What follows is a perfectly pleasant pile of shenanigans that never once outstays its welcome. The pacing of the tale is zippy, the energy levels of a clearly enthused voice cast never dips, and the humour in play effortlessly connects with kids and adults alike. ***

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MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING (M) As you like it, but don't quite know it, US, 107 min
A very refreshing, very modern take on the famous stage play by William Shakespeare. The classic text hasn't been messed with much at all, but the setting is something else again. A lively tale of love and deception no longer takes place in a Sicilian port town of the 1400s. Instead, the Bard's business transpires in the Californian beach of Santa Monica, right here in the present day. An entertaining effort, even if it won't exactly change of the minds of lifelong Shakespeare-phobes. Certainly a radical change of pace for writer-director Joss Whedon compared to his last work, the action blockbuster hit The Avengers! Stars Amy Acker, Clark Gregg. ***1/2

MUD (M) Look past the murk, and everything becomes so clear, US, 130 min
It starts with someone's boat lodged high in the trees. It ends with someone's body floating down a river. And in between? Simply the best movie released in Australia so far in 2013. Who those aforementioned someones turn out to be are of little consequence to the perfect outcome achieved by Mud. At the centre of a busy, yet easy-to-follow yarn is 14-year-old Ellis (a knockout performance by Tye Sheridan), an impressionable lad who lives amidst a close-knit fishing community on the Mississippi River. When Ellis discovers a fugitive drifter (Matthew McConaughey) hiding out nearby, he gives the shifty character the benefit of the doubt. And continues to do so, even after this strange man is unmasked as a wanted killer. All that matters in Mud is the captivating brand of classic grass-roots American storytelling being deployed so eloquently and so powerfully. What we have here is a classic tale of innocence lost and wisdom gained, one that comfortably holds its own against the likes of To Kill a Mockingbird and the best works of Mark Twain. Highly recommended. *****

ONLY GOD FORGIVES (MA15+) God may make an exception this time, US, 89min
The last time actor Ryan Gosling and director Nicolas Winding Refn got together, the end result was Drive : a moody, brooding and brilliant deconstruction of the modern crime film. The pair are up to the same old tricks with Only God Forgives. End result? A dull, dim-witted and lifeless dismantling of the modern crime film. The story is a bare-bones (and severed-limb) revenge yarn set in Bangkok. Gosling plays an American drug smuggler caught up in a complicated blood feud. Every once in a while, a violent atrocity is committed on-screen. Then it's straight back to Gosling being very cool, and very still. The dude might have a general reputation as one of the hottest actors on the planet. But here, he's just an ice sculpture with dialogue. *1/2

PACIFIC RIM (M) Tomorrow, when the awe began, US, 131 min
Pssst! You like monsters, right? We're talking mega-monsters that don't mess about none. Godzilla-ish beasts from an alternate dimension that can crunch entire continents for fun, and will munch on all mankind for short-term sustenance. What about robots? You dig on them, too? Wait until you get a load of the 'bots of Pacific Rim. They are all-terrain automatons the size of skyscrapers, and are weaponised with all the latest death-rays and stuff. One last question. Are you into monsters fighting with robots? Well, Pacific Rim isn't shy about laying on an all-you-eat buffet of creature-versus-machine smack-downs. Get set to gorge yourself. Or go get a ticket to something else. Unwieldy, uniformly bamboozling and utterly unique, this epic futuristic action blockbuster is the work of visionary filmmaker Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth). An acquired taste, perhaps destined to be held in very high regard in years to come. Story and cast isn't much, but doesn't have to be in this particular case. ***

THIS IS THE END (MA15+) The last weed and the last word, US, 107 min
Approximately the 30th film to be released in 2013 where the world as we know it is just about over. Your hosts for this latest apocalypse-now are a bunch of Hollywood celebrities playing alt-versions of themselves. If you haven't guessed already, This is the End is a comedy. A stoner comedy, and a moderately clever one at that. Witnessing the obliteration of mankind while partying down at the LA mansion of James Franco does deliver a truckload of novelty value. However, with most of the guests dead by the 30-minute mark, you'll be spending a lot of time in Franco's post-modern man-cave with a handful of surly survivors. Among these last-men-standing are Seth Rogen (also co-writer and director here), his real-life best buddy Jay Baruchel (She's Out of My League, Jonah Hill (Moneyball), Danny McBride (Your Highness) and Craig Robinson (the US version of TV's The Office). ***

WE STEAL SECRETS : THE STORY OF WIKILEAKS (M) A kick in the Assange, US, 130 min
The latest, powerfully contentious documentary from acclaimed filmmaker Alex Gibney (Silence in the House of God) is very much the story of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. However, all findings do not begin and end with the exiled Australian info-warrior. No, We Steal Secrets is also the strange, sad tale of US Army Private Bradley Manning. At just 22 years of age, this low-level analyst leaked the 750,000 restricted documents that propelled Wikileaks to worldwide notoriety. With Manning's controversial trial in the US still not over, the doco is sure to elevate Manning to hero status in some circles. Perceptions of Assange are sure to change as well. By simply following the chronology of the Wikileaks saga well past the movement's brief, yet astonishing peak as a global influence, a curiously fractured portrait of Assange takes shape. Look at the man from one angle, and he is undoubtedly a digital prophet for a new frontier in informational transparency. Try another angle, and Assange comes across as an analog charlatan of the old school. ****

julian assange

WHAT'S IN A NAME? (M) Making a meal of each other, France, 110 min
Finally, a French comedy with a little edge. At a dinner party convened to premiere the name of their unborn baby, a Parisian couple gradually find themselves at the eye of a conversational cyclone. As the evening progresses, family and friends alike do not hold back on the contrary opinions or shock revelations. Based on the hit stage play Le Prénom, this deceptively dark farce can slide from feelgood to feelbad in the blink of a one-liner. Does go on a touch long, but electric dialogue holds is charge to the very end. Stars Patrick Bruel, Valerie Benguigui. ***

THE WOLVERINE (M) Hell hath no furry than a Wolverine returned, US, 125 min
Another solo outing for that metal-clawed, mutton-chopped X-Men mutant Wolverine (aka Logan) turns out to be something of a return to form. Never absolutely essential, but never a waste of your precious time. The story unfolds largely in Japan, where Logan (a ripped and sombre Hugh Jackman) has emerged from years of exile to do battle with the Yakuza, some ninja archers and every freelance hitman in the land. Yep, it is mostly a fight movie, occasionally a chase movie, and that it is all. Set-piece combat sequences range from quite good to truly great. A heart-stopping five-minute scrap on the roof of a bullet train is one of the great stand-alone action scenes of 2013. ***

WORLD WAR Z (M) Fighting the biting with the greatest of disease, US, 114 min
It will stress you out. It will mess you up. But you're still going to love living through every last dismembered bit of World War Z. This globe-trotting, nerve-jolting affair is as (un)dead on the money as a zombie film can get. With most of the planet over-run by a virulent invasion of fleet-footed mouth-breathers, it is left to the UN to determine where it started. If their globe-trotting man on the ground (Brad Pitt) can't find the answer, the world as we know it is over. Each new destination visited triggers a devastating new set-piece. Each is different in structure and feel. All are truly frightening. With the film sprinting at the same bite-neck speed as its zombies, there is little time for character development. This is where the sheer presence and under-rated acting smarts of Brad Pitt justifies all those zeroes on the end of his pay cheque. Who better to maintain a climate-controlled cool in an atmosphere always one degree shy of total meltdown? ***1/2