Gone Girl - Film Review - October 2014

Ben Affleck really does have a bum for a chin. Now this may not be the first thing you notice about the film Gone Girl, but as his jaw line does play a part in the story, it will certainly not be the last. In fact, your last thoughts will be the most difficult to predict.

As the bulk of the tale is a riddle wrapped in a mystery, cloaked in a conundrum, it’s hard to mention any details for fear of revealing the more important plot points. You have no doubt seen the trailer: Nick Dunne’s on-the-rocks marriage is put on hold as his wife, Amy, goes missing with signs pointing to foul play. It’s not long before the neighbourhood, spurred on by a spiteful media, begin to suspect the husband of committing the act himself. But like I said, to dig deeper would deprive you of discovering the twists and their counterparts, yourself.

What I can talk freely about is the cast. Whatever you think of our new Batman, he does put in an experienced and worn-thin turn as the suburban husband. If fact, his solid calm and unclear ends, mirror the very pace and sculpture for the film. The bit players, Tyler Perry and Neil Patrick Harris, normally seen as comedians, fill out a committed and melodramatic cast. But it is Rosamond Pike, the preverbal Girl ‘Gone,’ who is the stand out. And, once more, for your own good, I will not brandish any details but to say if she does not receive an Academy nod come February, the system is seriously corrupt.

The real star here is Director, David Fincher. Clearly and wholly the most talented lens man working in Hollywood today. Gone Girlshares DNA with Fincher’s 2006 film Zodiac. There is a stillness and an emptiness that, with the help of Trent Reznor’s haunting score, is punctuated with sharp unease and the sure threat of violence. As a film maker, I have studied his technique avidly, but have neither the capacity nor the patience to recreate it. As this is his sixth book to screen adaptation, authors are no doubt writing tomes with his deft hand in mind.

So, without spoilers or much else really, Gone Girl is worth every cent of your ticket price. It is classically made; no CGI, no explosions, no 3D. This alone is reason enough to spend the 160 minutes soaking in it’s painful and razor edge grip. Go in without expectation. Whatever twists you do predict, and there will be a few, nothing will prepare you for the poisonous hollow of an ending that will stay with you well into the week.

GRAVITY Review - March 2014

‘Gravity’ Review

     Good old gravity, hey? It never lets you down. That is unless the space station you’re working on gets hit by high speed, galactic debris. And with that, Hit 66 Sound and Screen welcomes you back, for our review of the 2013 box office smash, ‘Gravity.’

     Now, if you haven’t seen the film, you have no doubt heard the press: This movie blew people away. Including the Academy Award folks, where the picture picked up a slew of technical awards and ‘Best Director’ for Alfonso Cuarón. There in lies the rub. But we’ll get to that.

     In brief: After the satellite they are repairing is hit by debris from a destroyed Russian sister satellite, Sandra Bullock and George Clooney (Ryan Stone and Matt Kowalski) are left adrift in space. They then face a number of life and death challenges trying to reach safety on ANOTHER abandoned Chinese station. This is the plot. But then again, who really cares about that right now.

     Without a doubt, this is one of the most visually stunning films ever created. A technical wonder, easily on par with ‘Avatar’ in terms of its CG achievements and its cultural impact. You have never seen anything like this before. From the opening 7 minute single take shot of the astronauts outside the satellite, to the stunning push-in close up of Bullocks face, that goes inside her helmet and becomes a POV (point of view) shot. Every frame is carefully crafted and perfectly executed. Equally impressive is the sound design and editing. As in space, there is nothing to carry sound, so every explosion or impact is met with a dull hum and thud. Making the claustrophobic nature of the whole film feel even more ‘hand around your throat.’

     To this end, Cuaron is well deserving of his awards. But as a writer...he’s a very good director. The film suffers in the same way that ‘Avatar’ did: The story, is nothing special. Yes, the set pieces are stunning and the tension palpable but the characters and dialog lay on the screen like many dead fish. Clooney and Bullock (the only features to be ACTUALLY photographed, was their heads) do the best they can with a weak and common script but both have trouble with their paper thin characters. Clooney’s ‘good old boy’ swagger and playing of cowboy music is irritating and Bullock’s fearful rookie is hampered with the death of her daughter. A sub plot that is almost manipulative.

     With it’s not so subtle metaphor of death and rebirth (we even get to see Bullock in the ‘womb’) ‘Gravity’ is trying to say something important about humanity. The problem is, it’s shouting it in our faces.

     The film is still a must watch, for no other reason than the visual feast. If you are watching it on DVD you will lament not catching it in IMAX 3D. For all intents and purposes, I’m not a huge fan of 3D. It is over used and a fad; however, this is a picture that deserves and relishes such treatment. With a better script, it could have been a classic.

Reviewed By Regan Wood 

RoboCop Review 7th Feb 2014-02-07

RoboCop Review 7th Feb 2014-02-07 

     It has been said that culture and fashion lap us every 30 years. So, it can hardly be argued at this point that the 80’s are indeed BACK. For better or (often) worse, Transformers, Ninja Turtles and bad hair dos are here to stay. With that, Hit 66 Presents our FIRST online film review in the form of the 80’s remake, RoboCop. 

     Set just 14 years in the future (2028), the U.S. has deployed unmanned drones and robot solders to keep ‘the peace’ overseas. Yet the American public are unconvinced that such extremes would be welcome on home soil. With this and dollar signs ringing in his head, Omnicorp boss Raymond Sellars (Michael Keaton) decides that the people need a Robo hero to rally behind and sets out to turn a man into a machine. Enter Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman) a recently injured cop (due to a failed mob hit). With the help of Robo Doctor Dennett Norton (Gary Oldman), Murphy becomes the MAN/DRONE Omnicorp needs to get the American public behind Sellars Robot army. 

     Far from the 80’s satire and cartoonish hyper violence of Paul Verhoeven’s original, the 2014 version is much more an essay on the military status of America in a post 9/11, Patriot Act world. Or at least it tries to be. It also touches on the corporate perspective of what a product IS and how to SELL it, even if that product is a killing machine. Case and point, when Omnicorp marketing whiz kid Tom Pope (Jay Baruchel) shows Sellars the MACH 1 Sliver RoboCop, saying it scored high in focus groups, he retorts, ‘People don’t know what they want till you show it to them. Make it more tactical....Black’ RoboCop is, in this moment, Coke Zero. 

The cast do well enough, with a strong and thoughtful script obviously drawing in a couple of all-stars (Samuel L. Jackson’s ULTRA RIGHT WING news man Pat Novak is a joy). Gary Oldman is always watchable and plays his good-guy-forced-to-do-bad-things Doctor with just the right amount of regret and pathos. Keaton manages to twist and contort his face and body, delivering lines proudly, with a mouth full of ham. And Jackie Earle Haley (Rick Mattox) is confidant as the Pro Drone, Marine nut bag. However, in the thankless role of grieving wife, Abbie Cornish (Clara Murphy) is left out in the dark in what is basically a ‘boys club.’ The young (somewhat unknown)Joel Kinnaman as Robo himself, is tall, strong and looks the part in all his Robo badness. He does seem altogether wooden in the more emotional ‘family’ moments, but pulls out a stunning performance when faced with the TRUTH of what has REALLY been done to his body. 

     Director Jose Padilha has some fresh ideas and touches of genius (a fire fight lit only by muzzle flashes is a stand out) but he does resort to a shaky, handheld style in majority of the battle scenes. The CGI is minimal but when it is used (mostly during the RoboCop verses multiple ED 209 climax) it sadly doesn’t measure up to a decent episode of Smallville. Saying that, the message is clear and the editing sharp, making the 2 hour long run time crack along at a solid pace. Give Padilha a shot at the sequel and we’ll see. 

     With its modern vibe and tongue miles away from its cheek, the Robo Reboot is if nothing else, a good bit of action/sci-fi. And giving Murphy a family to play off this time gives the character a new feel for a new century. It does raise some interesting questions about underhanded corporate tactics and the running of the military BUSINESS in the United States but offers little in the way of answers. 

But then again, it’s got lots of stuff blowing up.