When you read the other reviewers of AOTC saying that George Lucas has redeemed himself after the much slated Phantom Menace, they are absolutely right. I was never one to negatovely criticise Episode 1 but I have to admit that it had lacked the essential Star Wars feel of the later episodes. This, I thought was down to the fact that I have aged 25 years since the original Star Wars and even though I attempted to view it with some of that childhood wonder, I felt perhaps that something was lacking. Any preconcpetions I may have had prior to seeing AOTC quickly disppeared though and I add my vote to the many who say that George Lucas has definitely returned to form. Attack of the Clones is, quite simply, stunning. Mainly due to the incredible effects but also due to the fact that Lucas seems to have returned to his grass roots. Perhaps, he tried too hard with Phantom, attempting to create something that would satisfy the fans' 25 year old hunger. An impossible task but here, he has settled back down into what he does best: simple storytelling. For a start, AOTC "feels" like proper Star Wars. In episodes 4,5 and 6, there were a number of story threads throughout each film which met to a conclusion at the end. Phantom Menace didn't seem to pull this off and followed the same characters from the film's start to its finish. In AOTC, there a number of different stories going on: Obi Wan's quest for the truth behind Senator Amidala's attempted assassination, the conspiracies happening behind the scenes in the Galactic Republic, the love story between Anakin and Padme, and Anakin's struggle with his own feelings and his role as a Jedi. This made it a much easier film to digest as each story was broken down into small pieces and alternated throughout before meeting for the conclusion. Hayden Christensen did a surprisingly good job of the maturing Anakin and although it took him a good while to achieve empathy to his character, once comfortable with his his role one could really get into the head of soon-to-be Darth Vadar. His feelings for his mother, he's uncontrollable love for Padme and his rebelliousness in the Jedi Order. One of the most frightening scenes had him slaughtering Sandpeople, his rage uncontrolled and vicious. If Lucas maintains the passion of this character then we are in for one hell of an Episode 3 as we find out his fate. Ewen McGregor seems completely comfortable with his role as Obi Wan and looks and acts more like Alec Guinness with each passing scene. I also loved the many references to the later films, especially meeting a young Owen Lars and his girlfriend Beru. What a joy to see Luke Skywalker's future home, with Anakin sat in the refectory where we met a disillusioned Luke many years ago! And what about the young Boba Fett? Now we finally find out why he hates the Jedi so much. The young lad who plays him carries off the look of revenge so well as he realises his life-long vendetta. Watch out too towards the end of the film, a hologram of the Separatists' new weapon off-camera ... the Death Star. And did you ever want to see what Yoda really could do? Oh my god! His fight scene with Count Dooku (Christopher Lee) was a genius piece of work. The audience roared with laughter too when after putting his light sabre away, he hobbled away as normal on his walking stick! The effects are quite simply stunning. Lucas, comfortable with his art has created a universe of unparalelled beauty. We get to see more of Coruscant (watch out for the deliberate reference to Blade Runner), Naboo, Tattooine and new worlds such as Kamino and Geonosis. One of the most stunning scenes is the quite simply amazing chase sequence through the asteroids of Geonosis. Remember how impressed you were with Han Solo guiding the Millennium Falcon through asteroids after its flight from Hoth? You ain't seen nothing yet! And I was overjoyed to see one of my favourite Star Wars vehicles, The Slave I, doing its stuff. The final battle sequence too, with a million Clone Troopers fighting battle droids is perhaps one of the greatest sequences ever filmed. Attack of the Clones from my perspective as a Star Wars fan, more than excceeded my expectations and I know that I need to see it at least twice more. This is REAL Star Wars, overdosed on steriods and the best two and half hours I have spent this year. If you're a fellow fan, you'll love it and I would even say that to those who claim Empire is the best of the lot ... there's a new guy in town. Keep up the good work George and bring us an Episode 3 that you have set up so well with this installment. 10/10
Reviews
5 Reviews
The Fifth Element
(1997)
Don't write it off
27 January 2002
After looking for the name of an obscure character in The Fifth Element, I came across a lot of negative user comment about this film and opted to add my own "two cents". First of all, many comparisons have been made to Besson's earlier work (esp. La Femme Nikita and Leon [aka "The Professional]) which is unfair. Previous Besson movies have been concerned primarily with the analysis of one or two character's motives. The Fifth Element attempts to address the shortcomings and flaws of mankind as a whole. The fact that this is wrapped up in some fairly bog-standard sci-fi-come-love-story packaging is largely irrelevant and not necessarily to the detriment of the film as a whole.
Besson's movies are essentially about character and how their relationship with other characters affect them throughout the story. A little like John Hughes' work I guess. This is the case with The Fifth Element. The two central characters played by Willis and Jovowich are at opposite ends of the emotional spectrum. By the end of the film both characters have met somewhere in the middle: Leeloo (Jovowich) has come to learn "humanness" whilst Korben Dallas (Willis) has found beauty, purity and perfection in an otherwise drab existence. Visually, The Fifth Element is stunning, mixing Metropolis/Bladerunner-esque environments with European chic to create something that is loud, noisy but genuinely beautiful. Jean Paul Gautier's outlandish costume design, whilst bizarre at times (like Ruby Rhod's leopardskin jump-suits!) gives a very unique modern-ness not usually seen in tales of the future. As mentioned earlier, The Fifth Element is just a very simple save the universe love story but done with such style and humour that the movie is a great watch from start to finish. Milla Jovowich is gorgeous as the flame-haired Leeloo and takes a lot of the movie's greatest moments: her pouting expression and wide-eyed innocence is superbly acted. Willis is, as usual, adequate, as the action hero (his best film is still Sixth Sense) and Ian Holm as the bumbling priest lights up every scene he's in. Gary Oldman is okay as the obligatory baddie but I think completely underused after his excellent performance in Leon.
Overall, The Fifth Element is a great little film. Fun to watch, pretty to look at and every frame is a work of art (the one thing I love about Besson's film-making). Sure, not his best film to date but certainly not one which deserves the surprising amount of criticism.
4/5
Besson's movies are essentially about character and how their relationship with other characters affect them throughout the story. A little like John Hughes' work I guess. This is the case with The Fifth Element. The two central characters played by Willis and Jovowich are at opposite ends of the emotional spectrum. By the end of the film both characters have met somewhere in the middle: Leeloo (Jovowich) has come to learn "humanness" whilst Korben Dallas (Willis) has found beauty, purity and perfection in an otherwise drab existence. Visually, The Fifth Element is stunning, mixing Metropolis/Bladerunner-esque environments with European chic to create something that is loud, noisy but genuinely beautiful. Jean Paul Gautier's outlandish costume design, whilst bizarre at times (like Ruby Rhod's leopardskin jump-suits!) gives a very unique modern-ness not usually seen in tales of the future. As mentioned earlier, The Fifth Element is just a very simple save the universe love story but done with such style and humour that the movie is a great watch from start to finish. Milla Jovowich is gorgeous as the flame-haired Leeloo and takes a lot of the movie's greatest moments: her pouting expression and wide-eyed innocence is superbly acted. Willis is, as usual, adequate, as the action hero (his best film is still Sixth Sense) and Ian Holm as the bumbling priest lights up every scene he's in. Gary Oldman is okay as the obligatory baddie but I think completely underused after his excellent performance in Leon.
Overall, The Fifth Element is a great little film. Fun to watch, pretty to look at and every frame is a work of art (the one thing I love about Besson's film-making). Sure, not his best film to date but certainly not one which deserves the surprising amount of criticism.
4/5
Local Hero
(1983)
A Wonderful Wonderful Movie
27 January 2002
I really cannot praise Local Hero enough; it is simply one of the best films ever made and certainly, without any shadow of doubt, my number one favourite movie of all time. Fans of Ealing Comedy will relate to this film instantly. The humour is extremely subtle, going for the quirkiness of human behaviour rather than prefabricated belly-laughs. For example, the two farmers arguing which is the better vehicle for transporting winter lambs, Massarati or Rolls Royce. And the African preacher who has to explain that he's "not Scottish either" but still has the surname McPhearson. At first glance, the story of Local Hero is hardly one which would engage fevered interest. A big Texan oil company wants to buy a huge chunk of Scottish coastline and a representative is flown over to close the deal. Chosen because it's thought he is of Scottish origin, McIntyre (Peter Riegert) complains to a colleague that he could do the deal over the wires in an afternoon and that his parents chose the surname when they got off the boat from Hungary because they thought it sounded American. But what grabs the attention and is the fundamental beauty to the film is "Mac's" journey from a materialistic Texan yuppie to one who falls in love with the simple things of life and by the film's end, when Mac returns home, has been changed forever by his trip.
Mac plays his part very well from a character who depends on his expensive suits, his Porsche, quad hi-fi and personal health insurance to one who collects shells on a Scottish beach and drinks 40 year-old malt whisky in the bosom of the small community that he suddenly finds himself a part of. Burt Lancaster plays the wonderfully eccentric oil company CEO who is more concerned with dicovering a comet of his own than making millions of dollars. Then of course there is Denis Lawson as the estate agent / taxi driver / hotelier, Peter Capaldi as the bungling company trainee and Jenny Seagrove who prefers being underwater to life on land, along with all the various yokels and locals that give this film its very unique charm. And the plot twist? A fabulously subtle one-liner that gives the whole thing away. But of course, one cannot talk about this movie without mentioning the soundtrack. Many years ago I felt compelled to watch this movie because (being a big Dire Straits fan at the time) i had the soundtrack and was instantly hooked. Mark Knopfler does sterling work in adding musical flavour to the film. Lazy acoustic guitars match perfectly the breath-taking scenary that the director, Bill Forsyth, has captured of the Scottish Highlands. Overall, I would have no hesitation in recommending this film to people. Every recommendation I've made has been met with the same response: a gem of a movie that simply cannot be ignored. Local Hero will be my own personal number one for ever!
10/10
Mac plays his part very well from a character who depends on his expensive suits, his Porsche, quad hi-fi and personal health insurance to one who collects shells on a Scottish beach and drinks 40 year-old malt whisky in the bosom of the small community that he suddenly finds himself a part of. Burt Lancaster plays the wonderfully eccentric oil company CEO who is more concerned with dicovering a comet of his own than making millions of dollars. Then of course there is Denis Lawson as the estate agent / taxi driver / hotelier, Peter Capaldi as the bungling company trainee and Jenny Seagrove who prefers being underwater to life on land, along with all the various yokels and locals that give this film its very unique charm. And the plot twist? A fabulously subtle one-liner that gives the whole thing away. But of course, one cannot talk about this movie without mentioning the soundtrack. Many years ago I felt compelled to watch this movie because (being a big Dire Straits fan at the time) i had the soundtrack and was instantly hooked. Mark Knopfler does sterling work in adding musical flavour to the film. Lazy acoustic guitars match perfectly the breath-taking scenary that the director, Bill Forsyth, has captured of the Scottish Highlands. Overall, I would have no hesitation in recommending this film to people. Every recommendation I've made has been met with the same response: a gem of a movie that simply cannot be ignored. Local Hero will be my own personal number one for ever!
10/10
Simply Stunning
24 December 2001
WOW!! What else is there to say? FOTR was pure magic from start to finish that had my breathing deep and my heart pounding. After reading all the hype ever since last year I went into the theatre wondering whether or not it would live up to my expectations. Ever since LOTR was written, it has been the consensus of many that it could not be filmed. Well, Peter Jackson has delivered something that so rightly deserves its title of "Masterpiece"; a film that will no doubt be the milestone of films of its genre, not unlike fantasy books have been compared to the original work.
What I find most incredible is just how every location in the film matched almost exactly the pictures I had in my head when I read it. Hobbiton, Rivendell, Lothlorien, Isengard and especially Mordor, were just as I had imagined them. I don't think that there has been a film that has matched my imagination as much. The grandeur of the landscapes, using CGI and the New Zealand vistas were moulded into something so far removed from our everyday experiences whilst at the same time being wonderfully familiar.
The casting was second to none, with full marks going to Ian McKellen as Gandalf (again, exactly as I'd imagined!). He so eloquently captured his character's nature, espcially in the scenes involving him and the Ring. And his performance in the Mines of Moria had me almost in tears.
If I had to venture one minor criticism, the character development was lacking slightly. Whilst Elijah Woods did a great job of playing Frodo, I felt that his plight, his fear of the unknown and his temptation by the Ring (written about so well in the books) wasn't concentrated on as much as it could be. It was only during his meeting with Galadriel (Blanchett) that we began to see something of his burden. I hope that as soon as Frodo gets closer to Mordor, we begin to see something deeper to his character.
Sean Bean (a fine actor) did sterling work and his confrontation with Frodo, subsequent battle scenes with the Orcs and final dialogue with Aragorn were extremely profound.
The effects were mind-blowing and the vastness of the Tolkien universe was truly captured using wide camera angles and vertigo-inducing, birds eye-view camera flight. The Moria scenes were just as fantastic as previous reviewers raved about; the fight scenes with the cave troll and the Balrog were truly awesome. One of the moments I remember so well from the book was Gandalf's confrontation with the Balrog and the tension of Tolkien's words were translated superbly in film. The fight between Gandalf and Saruman was also excellent.
I honestly cannot find any major faults with this movie. Although three hours is short for such an epic work of literature, Jackson captured exactly the flavour of LOTR and he rightly deserves his title of gifted moviemaker (I haven't caught anything else he's done). And I can breathe a huge sigh of relief that his massive gamble paid off. Here is a film that will stand the test of time and represent the pinnacle of movie making greatness, an important piece of work that cannot, and should not be ignored.
10 out of 10.
And Harry Potter? Let's not even go there!
What I find most incredible is just how every location in the film matched almost exactly the pictures I had in my head when I read it. Hobbiton, Rivendell, Lothlorien, Isengard and especially Mordor, were just as I had imagined them. I don't think that there has been a film that has matched my imagination as much. The grandeur of the landscapes, using CGI and the New Zealand vistas were moulded into something so far removed from our everyday experiences whilst at the same time being wonderfully familiar.
The casting was second to none, with full marks going to Ian McKellen as Gandalf (again, exactly as I'd imagined!). He so eloquently captured his character's nature, espcially in the scenes involving him and the Ring. And his performance in the Mines of Moria had me almost in tears.
If I had to venture one minor criticism, the character development was lacking slightly. Whilst Elijah Woods did a great job of playing Frodo, I felt that his plight, his fear of the unknown and his temptation by the Ring (written about so well in the books) wasn't concentrated on as much as it could be. It was only during his meeting with Galadriel (Blanchett) that we began to see something of his burden. I hope that as soon as Frodo gets closer to Mordor, we begin to see something deeper to his character.
Sean Bean (a fine actor) did sterling work and his confrontation with Frodo, subsequent battle scenes with the Orcs and final dialogue with Aragorn were extremely profound.
The effects were mind-blowing and the vastness of the Tolkien universe was truly captured using wide camera angles and vertigo-inducing, birds eye-view camera flight. The Moria scenes were just as fantastic as previous reviewers raved about; the fight scenes with the cave troll and the Balrog were truly awesome. One of the moments I remember so well from the book was Gandalf's confrontation with the Balrog and the tension of Tolkien's words were translated superbly in film. The fight between Gandalf and Saruman was also excellent.
I honestly cannot find any major faults with this movie. Although three hours is short for such an epic work of literature, Jackson captured exactly the flavour of LOTR and he rightly deserves his title of gifted moviemaker (I haven't caught anything else he's done). And I can breathe a huge sigh of relief that his massive gamble paid off. Here is a film that will stand the test of time and represent the pinnacle of movie making greatness, an important piece of work that cannot, and should not be ignored.
10 out of 10.
And Harry Potter? Let's not even go there!
The Straight Story
(1999)
WOW!
4 November 2001
I have just finished watching The Straight Story finally after trying to catch it for some months. There are only a few movies that touch something deep inside, a raw emotion that changes the way you think about all that is dear to you. Forgiveness, redemption, compassion, the simple things in life such as family and friends, the place where you grew up, a clear night sky.
But the Straight Story is so much more. It is a simple tale of a man who, in his own words "has seen just about all there is to see" and yet realises that before he dies, he has one wrong left to undo.
So Alvin Straight drives his lawnmower 300 miles to see a brother that he hasn't spoken to in over ten years. He refuses help along the way, telling those on the road that he has to do this in his own way; this is his rite of passage. Amends perhaps for estranging his own brother...
Along the way, he meets many people and he tells them a little of his story which helps to show us a little more of Alvin's motives.
One of the most poignant is his conversation with a fellow old timer about their deeds during the War. Another favourite scene is when he's talking to a runaway about the strength to be found in family.
Visually, I have always liked David Lynch's work and the Straight Story, despite being a massive departure from his usual surrealist approach is trademark Lynch. The cinematography is simply stunning. The wide camera angles and slow movement conveys and enhances the American midwest and seems to compliment somehow the peaceful yet dilligent frame of mind of the central character.
Richard Farnsworth is brilliant as Alvin Straight. Deep rheumy eyes and a heavily wrinkled face show a man who has lived and yet burdened with with his own regrets.
The supporting characters that Alvin meets along the way are good and honest people. Such a nice change from all the badness in the world. And his final meeting with Lyle, his brother, is pure magic. Hats off to Harry Dean Stanton who, when he asks Alvin if he drove all the way on a lawnmower just to see him and Alvin says yes, the look in his eyes he gives back closes the film beautifully.
Put simply, The Straight Story is an honest and gentle tale of human goodness and only those without a soul could find this film less than enjoyable. Definitely one for the DVD collection and a movie that deserves to become a classic. Highly recommended.
But the Straight Story is so much more. It is a simple tale of a man who, in his own words "has seen just about all there is to see" and yet realises that before he dies, he has one wrong left to undo.
So Alvin Straight drives his lawnmower 300 miles to see a brother that he hasn't spoken to in over ten years. He refuses help along the way, telling those on the road that he has to do this in his own way; this is his rite of passage. Amends perhaps for estranging his own brother...
Along the way, he meets many people and he tells them a little of his story which helps to show us a little more of Alvin's motives.
One of the most poignant is his conversation with a fellow old timer about their deeds during the War. Another favourite scene is when he's talking to a runaway about the strength to be found in family.
Visually, I have always liked David Lynch's work and the Straight Story, despite being a massive departure from his usual surrealist approach is trademark Lynch. The cinematography is simply stunning. The wide camera angles and slow movement conveys and enhances the American midwest and seems to compliment somehow the peaceful yet dilligent frame of mind of the central character.
Richard Farnsworth is brilliant as Alvin Straight. Deep rheumy eyes and a heavily wrinkled face show a man who has lived and yet burdened with with his own regrets.
The supporting characters that Alvin meets along the way are good and honest people. Such a nice change from all the badness in the world. And his final meeting with Lyle, his brother, is pure magic. Hats off to Harry Dean Stanton who, when he asks Alvin if he drove all the way on a lawnmower just to see him and Alvin says yes, the look in his eyes he gives back closes the film beautifully.
Put simply, The Straight Story is an honest and gentle tale of human goodness and only those without a soul could find this film less than enjoyable. Definitely one for the DVD collection and a movie that deserves to become a classic. Highly recommended.
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