Andrew Ferrier’s Blog

Sonic Youth sucks, they’re just noise — Juno

Juno is the kind of movie that reminds you why being alive (oh yeah, and watching films) is a good thing. From the Sunny D-guzzling opening to the bittersweet ending, it definitely delivers the laughs as the reviews promised. They’ve pinched a few of the cast from Arrested Development, a quality American sit-com, and it shows in the delivery. Ellen Page is also strong in the title role as Juno herself. None of the cast speak like real human beings, but that doesn’t seem to matter too much - as long as you’re at or around the level of political correctness of Jeremy Clarkson, you’ll love it.

Go watch it, it’s funny.

With Ratatouille, Brad Bird and Pixar have finally transcended animation. Bird recently said that they wanted animation to be seen as an art form rather than a genre, and one can see why.

Ratatouille has a subtle plot, well-designed characters, humour, tears, and much of the other excellent content one has come to expect from Pixar. At times it drags a little, but in showing how animation can serve to tell a story (rather than simply entertain), as well as any live-action film, they deserve total credit.

It is nothing short of marvellous.

Rush Hour 3, however, is just xenophobic, predictable drivel.

The Rescuers is perfect for Christmas - it’s a lovely family movie without the irritating Christmas tat. From its basic yet beautiful introduction with static paintings. through the robust characterisation, rough animation and moving song, it’s a classic from start to finish, especially compared to some of the more recent Disney fare. It’s well plotted, with no parts that drag or bore. The voice talent, particularly Oscar-winning Geraldine Page as Madame Medusa is hilarious and well-timed. The well-named Evinrude (a real brand of motorboat engine) is very funny. It has the typical Disney blend of humour, drama, and sentiment that makes them such a good watch. Walt Disney would be proud.

Merry Christmas, everyone.

Little Miss Sunshine is a film well-described by its title. Its playful and Amelie-esque opening accurately reflects the film to come: well-structured, and full of crazy characters. Steve Carell (The Office - US), in particular, plays a difficult role, that of a depressed man who learns to enjoy life. The stand-out acting, however, has to be from Abigail Breslin, who plays Olive, the little girl around whom the film is centred. It has always seemed unfair to me that child actors automatically get a lower billing, and this is a good example of that disparity. It is amazing to think that someone so young could get such a strong grip on acting.

The family that forms the meat of the plot of Little Miss Sunshine is just as dysfunctional as The Simpsons, and just as funny. The film is a road trip, and as such is plotted as you might imagine: various different events occur that provide the ups and downs of the emotional journey. I got drawn in - I found it hard not to get angry when they did at ‘the system’ that holds them back. Despite knowing that it’d have a happy ending of a sort (films like this always do), I got nervous when they had a setback.

Little Miss Sunshine is an instant classic, just purely on acting ability alone. But it’s a fully-rounded film, and one that deserves to be enjoyed. I recommend it highly.

‘I don’t want to be a product of my environment - I want my environment to be a product of me’ - Frank Costello.

This noble sentiment from the mouth of a gangster - reminiscent of Milton Friedman’s reproof of JFK’s famous speech - kicks off The Departed.

Acting in it are a ‘who’s who’ of junior and senior male American film stars, including Leonardio DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg, Alec Baldwin, Jack Nicholson, and Martin Sheen. Sure, the first two look a bit alike (yes, they do!), but once you’ve overcome that, it’s pretty easy to follow. And boy, are they all good.

It certainly isn’t as complex as the action/thriller/mystery trailer, and the first 20 minutes, would have you believe. In fact, it’s a pretty straightforward film, almost so much so that you begin to wonder about the Oscars it won. Not because they weren’t deserved - anything without Ben Stiller should surely be a candidate - but simply because it all seems a bit too easy. There’s plenty of violence, some good old-faishoned double-crossing, and a naïve psychiatrist who falls for her patients. There are some sly modern ‘liberal’ digs at the Patriot Act, but otherwise it’s by the numbers.

Nevertheless, The Departed is solid, and a robust chunk of acting and plot. Well worth an evening in.

Black Snake Moan is rich, thick, and satisfying, like a good film should be.

Samuel L. Jackson plays a strong role as the Good Samaritan with an unusual method. Christina Ricci is unashamedly raunchy as the object of his ‘caring’ (which makes for slightly uncomfortable watching when you remember her first major role in The Addams Family aged eleven). Surprisingly, even Justin Timberlake does a passable job as the third wheel in the film.

Back in the 70s, this film might have been labelled sexploitation, and there’s certainly an undercurrent of something weird going on, with Ricci’s character so obviously consumed with lust and yet chained up. A lot of this is explained away by the plot, which justifies much of her behaviour by drawing on the abuse she suffered as a child, but it’s still an interesting choice of presentation by the film-makers in today’s politically correct climate.

It’s definitely a fun watch, a funky film with a blues soundtrack that perfectly matches the dry Tennessee setting, some good jokes thrown in, a decent helping of emotion and humanity, and a well-honed plot with direction that fools you into believing the whole ridiculous thing could actually happen. A good way to spend two hours.

School of Rock is fun, fun, fun. Jack Black, annoying in so many roles, was born to play this never-quite-made-it rock-obsessed loafer who forms a rock band with some school kids. Joan Cusack, whilst not remotely believeable as an actual high-school principal, provides some fun scenes and a sexy will-they, won’t-they aside for Black’s character throughout the film. The kids, clearly crucial to the success of the film, are well-cast and act with skill and talent.

School of Rock doesn’t offer anything in the way of a realistic story. But nevertheless you get dragged into it, and the ‘final gig’ - the target of the film - is superb rocking fun, primarily because up till that point the movie only hints at the music, never quite drawing you into it entirely.

It’s fun, and like it’s title character, small in stature, but big in presence.

Things are still ticking along nicely here in San Jose. Am currently trying to plan what to do in my last week here, which will be a holiday. Probably some time in San Francisco, possibly some time in Vegas (flying there, I’ve given up on the idea of driving through Death Valley without a companion), then back to San Jose for a few days before flying home.

On a mostly unrelated note, went to a cinema the other day which was obviously using digital projectors for the adverts. This is the first time I’ve seen them used in a cinema, and they are without doubt the way forward - no flickers and no crackles. Of course, cinemas still suffer from the sticky-popcorn-noisy-teenager syndrome, but that’s a different problem.

Lisa: Promise me you’ll never die.
Gary: You know I can’t promise that.
Lisa: If you did that, I would make love to you right now.
Gary: I promise I’ll never die!

Team America is just wicked fun. Sure, it’s political, and that appeals. The satire is well aimed, and the targets well-deserving. But like Parker and Stone’s previous film, South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, it also works well as a film in its own right. The South Park film performed a strong parody of a Disney movie, with the music being the standout attribute that made it work. Team America serves as a parody of an action film, with exactly the same strength. Fourth wall-breaking satire such as the song Montage only add to the fun.

The film pokes fun at plenty of folks, on both the American left and right (it’s no coincidence the film’s creators are basically libertarians). At times, it almost feels like it’s closer to hitting the truth than its far more complex and serious rivals like the more recent Syriana, which alludes to some of the same topics. It’s not surprising also, what with the film being from the creators of South Park, that it’s both offensive and politically insensitive (Derkaderkastan is apparently a Central Asian country now). Put simply: if you don’t like swearing for the hell of it and (comically well-constructed) childish behaviour, you won’t like this film.

Some touches of South Park do slip through. Although the film is produced entirely using puppets (kinda like an X-rated Thunderbirds), the characters act in a similarly unpredictable manner. The voice of Cartman (Trey Parker) also slips through into Kim Jong-il, possibly the most well-defined character in the film (played somewhat like an south-east Asian Goldfinger).

Team America is a glossy and high-budget production that deserves to be seen, if only so you can decide whether you hate it or not. It’s an easy watch, and you’ll make your decision within the first ten minutes. Enjoy.

I’ve written many times before about the poor quality customer service I’ve received from LOVEFiLM, the UK’s largest DVD rental service, and those posts have solicited a lot of complaints from other people too. I’ve finally bitten the bullet and cancelled my account: a combination of frustration with poor delivery times, them never sending me the titles high on my list, and that they won’t allow me to freely suspend my account for a reasonable amount of time. It’s sad, as they used to provide excellent customer service when I first used them a few years ago (when they were small), but acquisitions and growth seem to have made them fat and lazy, and they no longer treat customers with respect - written examples are all over their website, including the veiled threats of continued charges in the cancellation process itself.

At some point, probably once I return from San Jose, I plan to sign-up with Amazon instead, who now seem to be their largest competitor, and stock 2/3 of the titles that LOVEFiLM do, so might still stand a chance of fulfilling my sometimes unusual taste. Amazon have generally provided excellent service in the past, and it’ll be interesting to see if their foray into DVD rental hurts or helps their brand.