CINEMA: Four Christmases

This year’s Christmas comedy is a rather poor cousin to Meet The Parents – a film it very obviously strives to emulate, yet fails to do so. For whereas Meet The Parents had characters you actually rather liked, those in Four Christmases lack charm and warmth.

Brad (Vince Vaughn) and Kate (Reese Witherspoon) have been living together for years and have managed to dodge spending time with their families at Christmas by flying abroad – ostensibly to do charity work, but actually to have a vacation in the sun. But this year they arrive at San Francisco airport to discover thick fog has grounded every single flight and with both their sets of parents divorced, they are forced to go and visit all four of their families on Christmas day. They start with Brad’s dad (Robert Duvall) and atrocious brothers (Jon Favreau and Tim McGraw), and then work their way through Kate’s mother (Mary Steenburgen), his mother (Sissy Spacek), finally ending the day at Kate’s dad’s (Jon Voight) house. In between they are ritually humiliated, physically pummelled, and have to relive childhood nightmares.

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The slapstick rolls on throughout, however the sight gags were faster, wittier and just plain funnier in Meet The Parents. Here the humour seems strained and jokes are sustained beyond the point where they are still funny. It does have its moments; you just have to sit through long, boring unfunny patches to get to them.      Dee Pilgrim

CINEMA: Changeling

In which Angelina Jolie once again (after A Mighty Heart) demonstrates just what a fine actress she is, while director Clint Eastwood delivers yet another finely made (if somewhat plodding and depressing) movie.

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In 1928 single mother Christine Collins (Jolie) arrived home from work in LA to find her nine-year-old son Walter had gone missing. With no reported sightings and no leads the police were at a loss as to what had happened to him. Then, five months later, they informed her that Walter had been found and arranged what was to be an emotional reunion in front of the press. However, things did not go according to plan because the boy produced was not Walter – Christine knew that the moment she set eyes on him. What followed became a bitter battle between Christine insisting he was not her son and the police repeatedly saying he was and that she must be mentally unstable if she did not recognise him. Luckily, Christine had one staunch ally, Reverend Gustav Briegleb (John Malkovich), who was determined to see justice done and Christine reunited with her real son.

This long, worthy film unfolds at a snail’s pace, which give Jolie time to impress as Christine and Malkovich to overact as Briegleb. It also rather outstays its welcome seemingly not knowing where to end in the story.  You will be appalled at the way Christine was treated by those who were meant to protect and help her and yet the film remains cold and somewhat distant, lacking the immediacy needed for you to feel a real bond with its central characters.      Dee Pilgrim

CINEMA: What Just Happened?

This in-joke about the film industry, and Hollywood in particular, has so many cameos by so many famous faces, that if you blink you’ll probably miss one.

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It’s a tale of egos, bitchiness, in-fighting and point-scoring and Robert De Niro relishes every moment he is onscreen as producer Art Linson who finds himself right royally shafted by Brit rock ‘n’ roll director Jeremy (a fabulous Keith Richards caricature by Michael Wincott). Having seen Jeremy’s ‘arty’ version of his film, the head of the studio (a seriously fierce Catherine Keener) wants changes to be made – especially the ending – before it is to be shown at Cannes. However, Jeremy has other ideas and no matter how much pressure, cajoling and bribes Linson offers, getting him to budge is going to be a problem. And it’s not the only headache Linson has; another film he is producing is threatening to run late because star Bruce Willis (playing Bruce Willis) is refusing to shave off his bushy beard and his own agent (John Turturro) is scared to death of him. So Linson’s career goes from rocky to downright disastrous in the space of two weeks.

Everyone involved in this, Berry Levinson’s latest slice of ensemble film-making, looks like they are having a whale of a time and the jokes come thick and fast. Curiously though, the film never really becomes laugh-out-loud funny, it is simply mildly amusing. This may be because the humour lacks vitriol, or that Hollywood is a sitting duck as far as poking fun at it is concerned. Its excesses are ridiculous, and the audience and Hollywood itself both know it.      Dee Pilgrim

CINEMA: Body of Lies

There have been a series of films dealing with America’s war on terror, espionage, counter-espionage and special rendition, and none of them have actually played well at the box office. Unlike the war in Vietnam, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq just don’t seem to have captured the public’s imagination in the same way.  This is why Ridley Scott’s latest outing, although beautifully shot and very well acted, just never engages the audience’s interest (or emotions for that matter) enough to be truly successful.

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The story is set up as an older teacher/young pupil scenario with Russell Crowe playing the vastly experienced CIA veteran Ed Hoffman, who is firmly stuck behind a laptop in America’s suburbs, conducting the movements of young operative Roger Ferris (Leo DiCaprio) who is on the ground in the Middle East.  While Ferris puts his life on the line time and time again, Hoffman masterminds his every move. Until, that is, the day Ferris decides enough is enough and takes things into his own hands by entering a pact with head of Jordanian intelligence Hani Salaam (an absolutely riveting performance by Mark Strong) who has his very own unique way of dealing with terrorists.

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As Ferris goes undercover ever deeper he risks not only his own life but those of the people around him including Aisha (Golshifteh Farahani) who acts as his social conscience.

Ridley Scott builds the tension slowly but surely as the cat and mouse game of espionage unfolds against gun battles, explosions, street fights and one rather nasty torture scene. It’s all grittily realistic with some extraordinary location work (actually shot in Morocco) but the narrative is never strong enough to make you really care for the characters.

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Having put on 50 pounds to play heavyweight Hoffman, Crowe certainly seems credible as the world-weary director of spooks, but DiCaprio still has the fresh-faced charm of a teenager and never really convinces as an agent on the ground. It is in fact Mark Strong as the charming and charismatic Hani who really impresses and comes out as the most memorable character, which is probably not what Scott had in mind.      Dee Pilgrim

DVD: Wild Child

Poppy (Emma Roberts) is a self-absorbed LA wild child, but since the tragic death of her mother she has become out of control and her latest prank has pushed her father (Aiden Quinn) one step too far. He packs her up and sends her off to Abbey Mount boarding school in England where he hopes the stern headmistress (Natasha Richardson) will transform his teen brat into a well-mannered and disciplined young lady.

Much to Poppy’s dismay, Abbey Mount is an all-girls boarding school with a dodgy uniform, a lacrosse team and shared dorm rooms. Poppy acts out in the hope that her behaviour will lead to expulsion and as she warms to her dorm mates Kate (Kimberly Nixon) Drippy (Juno Temple) and the others, they all vow to help her in her mission to get expelled which involves the headmistress’ out-of-bounds son, Freddie (Alex Pettyfer).

Wild Child isn’t exactly an original idea but it does have a few quirky moments and a reasonably good cast that mark it out from other films of this type. Emma Roberts (Julia Roberts’ niece) is annoying but not so much that you’ll dislike her, and she also has the whole LA be-yatch thing down to a T. However, it’s Juno Temple of Atonement fame who steals the film. She’s funny, ditzy and super cute to boot. Watch out for both of these actresses – they’re going to get better with age.

Wild Child does fall down in one or two places though, and particularly where Freddie is concerned. Is he a pupil at the school? Does he work? We never find out what he does or what he’s for other than simply being a conveniently-placed love interest. He’s the piece of the jigsaw that you find underneath the coffee table when you think you’ve already finished it.

Wild Child is sweet and light-hearted fun, but has a few moments that will make you cringe – especially a pre-lacrosse match war dance. Seeing a bunch of teenage girls re-enact the Haka makes you feel like someone has violated your eyeballs, but thankfully this takes place at the end of the film. It’s not a huge deal, but you needed to be warned.

Look, if you loved Mean Girls, 13 Going on 30 and What a Girl Wants then you will love this film. It will pass the time away in a jiffer and is mostly sugarcoated goodness with a drizzle of LA attitude.       R Shaw

You can buy Wild Child here.

CINEMA: Max Payne, Part 2

Although it is based on a videogame, Max Payne works very well as a movie, mainly because director John Moore started out in life as a cameraman and his extraordinary vision permeates every shot of this visually arresting film.

Conceived as a high tech film noir, the action centres on tormented cop Max Payne (Mark Wahlberg), shattered by the brutal murder of his wife and child and now obsessively investigating the slightest lead in order to find the killers. His journey takes him through the underbelly of the city and meetings with lowlifes, drug dealers and scammers including goodtime girl Natasha (Olga Kurylenko of Bond fame) and her sister Mona (Mila Kunis). But as Max learns more about this other world that exists side by side with his own, he finds the two have a common link that is closer to home than he could ever have imagined.

Shot in cold blues and greys, with Max wandering through a winter city where snow falls silently, this is a beautifully framed and imagined other world. It has a dreamlike/nightmarish quality highlighted by some stunning hallucinatory scenes that could have come straight from a William Blake painting. Yet Wahlberg’s acting makes everything feel extremely real; you can sense his despair, his hunger for revenge and the emptiness in his life. Liberally scattered throughout the film are action sequences that explode this naturalistic quality and take it onto a supernatural level.

Moore has managed to capture the cold, dark atmosphere of the original game and give it that certain extra something, although the sombre mood of the movie may be too depressing for some.      Dee Pilgrim

CINEMA: Let’s Talk About the Rain

Whereas some films have very specific beginnings, middles and ends, others are simply random windows into the lives of other people. Such is Let’s Talk About The Rain, a slice of French whimsy in which family and friends meet up, talk, do nothing much of anything, and yet leave their encounters just that little bit wiser about love and life.

Feminist writer turned politician Agathe (Agnes Jaoui) travels from Paris to her childhood home in the south of France to help sister Florence (Pascale Arbillot) sort through their recently departed mother’s belongings. Once there, she is persuaded by would-be documentary makers Karim (Jamel Debbouze) and Michel (Jean-Pierre Bacri) to take part in the film they are producing. What follows is a series of discussions, squabbles and insights into human nature that point to everyday disappointments and sorrows. Jaoui has a lovely light touch which makes this warmly funny film strike at the truth of human nature. It’s not profound or startling in its revelations, but by showing people with all their foibles, it makes them both vulnerable and endearing.      Dee Pilgrim

CINEMA: The Warlords

Fans of epic Chinese movies about the clash of dynasties, family honour and forbidden love, liberally sprinkled with massive battle scenes, will appreciate much of this film inspired by true events. Set in the late 19th century it stars three of Asia’s top actors – Jet Li, Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro – as three opposing bandits who become blood brothers and then ‘warlords’ intent on bringing peace to their troubled land. In order to do so they must spend years away from home, waging war against a series of different enemies and eventually falling out with each other over ideals and one woman.

Not only does Warlords look stunning but it is also beautifully directed by Peter Ho-Sun Chan, who tackles the love-triangle and battle scenes with equal aplomb. Here, the armies are massive, the battles are massive, and yet the love scenes subtle and low key. The one-time action pin-up, Jet Li, is slowly maturing into an actor of great presence, his looks fading but his stature growing with every movie he makes. If you want two hours of glorious location work, cavalry horses with their eyes bound by their riders’ cloaks as they prepare to enter battle and choreographed swordplay that seems superhuman, then The Warlords offers two hours of seamless entertainment.      Dee Pilgrim

CINEMA: Easy Virtue

Despite a sterling cast, wonderful location work and a script based on the play by Noel Coward, Easy Virtue never quite hits the right note as a film. It’s as if it has a sore throat and can’t decide whether to sing a little flat or a little sharp. It doesn’t help that the storyline is now exceedingly dated – a ‘racy’ American woman (she’s actually a racing car driver) marries the son of English landed gentry and comes a cropper at the hands of his somewhat bigoted family.

.She is Larita (Jessica Biel), a free spirit with a shady past, while he is naïve, fanciful John (Ben Barnes), son of the over-bearing Mrs Whittaker (Kristin Scott Thomas) and the rather more laidback Mr Whittaker (Colin Firth). When John brings Larita to the family’s countryseat she encounters hostility and also a little hero worship from his sisters (Katherine Parkinson and Kimberley Nixon), and suspicion and scorn from his mother. The all-knowing butler (Kris Marshall) and the rest of the domestic staff are soon firmly on her side, but there’s no way Larita is ever going to win the battle with his family as the odds are definitely stacked against her.

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Firth and Scott Thomas are excellent in their roles, while Biel is less assured as feisty Larita, but sections of the dialogue fair whizz and bang with witticisms. However, someone along the way has made a terrible error of judgement about the music – modern songs such as Car Wash and Sex Bomb are given the Noel Coward treatment but still stand out as sore anachronisms in this period piece.      Dee Pilgrim

COMPETITION: Texas Chainsaw Massacre

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Ultimate Limited Edition

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This latest edition of everyone’s favourite horror flick really is the best out there. With three discs and presented in a sexy steelbook format, you’re not going to find a more attractive way to watch teenagers get mashed up by a family of freaks.

We have two copies of this bad boy to give away, and the question couldn’t be simpler:

What is the name of the famous killer in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre?

a. Tom Canning

b. Leatherface

c. Josef Fritzl

Send your answers to competitions@the-void.co.uk by December 7.