FILM: The Proposal (5/10)

Why did I watch it?

Mrs Northerner suggested we watch this as it was on TV while we were away. I think this may be at least strike #2 for her being allowed to suggest films to watch.

What's it all about?

Ok, Sandra Bullock is the bitchy editor-in-chief and Ryan Reynolds is her personal assistant. Bullock's visa (she's Canadian) expires and in order to protect her job she reveals to her employers that her and Reynolds are engaged and soon to be married. Obviously they aren't but Reynolds reluctantly agrees providing he is made editor and his book is published. Cue fun and games as Bullock meets Reynolds family and the couple try to avoid prison by tricking an inquisitive immigration agent.

Should you watch it?

The happy couple

It was sadly predictable how predictable the plot turned out to be. I don't think I'm giving anything away by saying that spoiler alert they don't get on, then get on, then fall out at the last minute before making up. The only unknown is knowing how close to the end the last minute falling out occurs. I've had more unpredictable trips to the bathroom.

Despite the plot, Reynolds and Bullock do have a genuine chemistry, are capable comedic performers and turn in decent performances within the constrains of the plot. The script's immense sarcasm and the pair's forced affection for each other, despite their contempt, can actually be pretty funny to watch.

FILM: The Wrestler (9/10)

Why did I watch it?

Recorded this one a while ago as well, following its high praise on release. Oh and I used to like wrestling.

What's it all about?

Mickey Rourke is Randy 'The Ram' Robinson, an American wrestler popular in the late 80's, desperately clinging to his days of glory in the present day and scraping a living in doing so. Robinson puts his tired and worn body through the ringer against younger athletes in local independent matches  fought in front of small crowds. As he struggles to pay his rent, he manages to save funds for dances from his favourite dancer Marisa Tomei at his local strip joint and makes efforts to reconcile with his estranged daughter.

Should you watch it?

The Wrestler is a brilliant character piece from director Darren Aronofsky. Rourke is fantastic as the battered and troubled veteran unable to call time on his career. His Oscar nomination was fully deserved and on the back of that performance I feel sorry he didn't come out as winner (note - I haven't seen Sean Penn in Milk). Marisa Tomei is also brilliant as the similarly troubled stripper Robinson finds solace with.

Randy 'The Ram 'Robinson

The film is similar to Aronofsky's follow-up Black Swan, both being deep character studies of troubled leads. The film is heavy in shots from behind Rourke as he walks down corridors towards the ring or towards the deli counter at work and as well resembling the coverage of a boxer or rock band approaching the arena it gives the film the feeling of a documentary. You can almost imagine Louis Theroux providing some narration. Robinson's longing for the good times is complimented by the 80's guitar heavy score (Slash played the guitar for the score).

The Wrestler  is the emotional ride of veteran who doesn't know how live for anything else and ultimately the ending doesn't matter as he climbs the turn-buckle for his 'finisher' as he has found peace back in the ring again.

FILM: American History X (9/10)

Why did I watch it?

Recorded this one a while ago while it was on as it's always been one of those films I've wanted to watch, purely based on its controversy, but somehow never got around to.

What's it all about?

Norton beefed up for the role 

A story of two LA neo-nazi brothers, American History X stars Edward Norton and Edward Furlong as Derek and Danny Vinyard. Angry with perceived injustices against the white population of Venice Beach and the nation as a whole on top of the murder of their father by a black drug dealer, the pair embrace the teachings of a local supremist. The film alternates between the present day and flashbacks chronicling the relationship of the pair as the older brother, Derek (Norton), gets drawn into trouble with the gang and later tries to prevent his younger brother from making the same mistakes as him.

Should you watch it?

Violent, powerful and controversial, American History X is a hard-hitting drama dealing with a difficult but realistic subject and at times can be hard to watch. Obviously bearing in mind the subject matter, the script is unpleasant at times but the decision to give both characters a high degree of intelligence was a smart one as it at least allows them to put forward their argument in a reasonably articulate manner.
Edward Norton is absolutely excellent as the older brother before and after his run in with the law and totally deserved his Oscar nomination. Furlong also deserves credit for his performance and it's disappointing that he didn't go on to better things from this. The black and white older footage, when Norton is at his angriest, adds to the powerful nature of the film and was a masterstroke. Norton's angry, shaven-headed, white and Nazi-tattoo clad torso in black and white is, from a cinematic perspective, a pretty powerful and controversial image.

FILM: Moonrise Kingdom (9/10)

Why did I watch it?

I've never seen a Wes Anderson film before. There, I said it. The trailers for Moonrise Kingdom made it look like a quirky, fun film with a great cast and worth a look.

What's it all about?

Set on a peacefully quiet island off the coast of New England, two children, having only met once, set their pen-mail devised plan to runaway together into action. This leads to the islands eccentric inhabitants launching their own search and rescue mission to track down the wayward pair before a storm closes in.   

Should you watch it?

Quite simply, yes. Moonrise Kingdom is beautifully shot, Anderson uses rich warm colours throughout and the film has such a retro feel to go with the 60s setting. The opening credits sequence was spellbinding and the film rarely lets go from there onwards. The cast is fantastic,  the two young leads give performances that belies their youth and are supported by a brilliantly deadpan Bruce Willis character, Edward Norton, Billy Murray, Tilda Swinton and cameos from Jason Schwartzmann and Harvey Keitel.

The budding runaways

The screenplay is charming yet not without some serious undertones, in particular each child's motives for leaving but the film's offbeat humour (Swinton plays a character literally called 'Social Services') never lets the mood fall away from any other than pure adventure. Make no doubt that the children's naivety and innocence are the highlight of the film. The moment they meet up, Sam orders an inventory their equipment which includes an air rifle, a cat and six books before handing over some flowers to his young love. He later warns Suzy that he may wet the bed inside their tent. I'm reluctant to say anything further so as not to spoil the film for others.

Kingdom is supported by a score of classical music that fits perfectly with the eccentric nature of most characters and the old feel of the film.

A must see, and not just for Wes Anderson fans (as I mentioned I hadn't seen any of his films beforehand).

FILM: Rendition (6/10)

Why did I watch it?

I remember thinking that this film looked worth watching when it came out at the cinema. I was interested in the concept of extraordinary rendition and how it could happen. Anyway, five years later I finally got around to watching it.

What's it all about?

As the title suggests, its all about the controversial CIA practice of moving terror suspects to countries other than the US for interrogation purposes. Jake Gyllenhaal plays a CIA analyst caught up in the rendition of an Egyptian American chemical engineer (same profession as me!) Anwar to a North African country and the hands of the local police chief. At the same time Reese Witherspoon plays the suspects wife, desperately trying to track down her husbands whereabouts after he seemingly disappears during a flight home. Meryl Streep turns up as Gyllenhaal's boss.

Should you watch it?
Inevitably Rendition poses some questions about the justification of rendition and its breaching of human rights. The film doesn't really answer them either way, especially considering the ambiguous ending. If the screenplay was intending to make a specific point I think I missed it, although if it was being delivered by Gyllenhaal that is hardly surprising. His character is tepid, and that's being kind and seems pretty nonplussed with everything from the off so it was difficult to notice any change in his character after witnessing rendition first hand.
At the other end, Witherspoon fares slightly better with her performance as the desperate wife. Screeching aside, it was beneficial to see the impact of rendition and difficulties in finding information from the point of view of the family.
To give the screenplay some credit, the intertwining stories of the rendition and the local terrorist cell does create some tension which moves the film along.

A fairly run of the mill political thriller with some intriguing plotlines.

FILM: Prometheus (8/10)

Why did I watch it?

Being a big fan of the Alien franchise I was excited about seeing this film as soon as I heard it was being developed.

What's it all about?

Prometheus sees director Ridley Scott return to the universe of his sci-if phenomenon Alien in the form of a loose prequel. A team of scientists searching for the beginning of human life follow directions they believe are from their creators and funded by the Weyland Corp. head to a far away unknown planet. Here they find clues not only to the origins of human life but the origins of a familiar foe.

Should you watch it?

Prometheus is full of familiar characteristics from the Alien franchise, androids, stasis, mysterious eggs and corrosive blood. Although unoriginal, these facets are not unwelcome and made me feel right back at home within the Alien world.
The script deals with questions of creationism and occasions is a little pretentious and self-serving but this sets it apart from being a straight-up sci-fi horror. Speaking of questions, the script also leaves plenty unanswered at the end, either intentionally (and hopefully) for a sequel or through failings in the writing. I expected no less with one of the brains behind Lost involved in the writing. The acting is great, Michael Fassbender gives a dead pan cold peformance as he android David and others including Idris Elba, Noomi Rapace and Charlize Theron deliver as well.

Didn't they learn anything from Alien?

I have seen plenty of negative reviews for Prometheus and I disagree with the majority, although admitedly the unanswered questions are a bug I seem to bare more than others. I really enjoyed the film, lets just be happy we are seeing more of Ridley Scott's Alien mythology.

FILM: The Fifth Element (8/10)

Why did I watch it?

A friend gave me this to watch after I had watched Blade Runner and mentioned that having previously seen neither, I had always mixed the two up. Problem solved.

What's it all about?

Set in the future, Bruce Willis stars as a taxi driver (of the flying variety, naturally) accidentally caught up in an almost farcical battle to save the Earth from evil. Faced with a thousand year old prophecy coming true, Korben Dallas (Willis) helps scared and almost-nude alien Milla Jovovich defend Earth by racing evil magnate Gary Oldman in the search for four prophetical elements.

Should you watch it?
Don't let the premise put you off. Yes it's surreal and almost ridiculous but Luc Besson's near fantastical sci-fi adventure is an enjoyable ride with bags of style to spare. Production design was handled by a pair of French comic book creators and costumes were designed by Jean Paul Gaultier.

Willis and Jovovich are instantly likeable as the leads, Oldman plays the wonderfully over the top enemy and Chris Tucker injects another dose of craziness every time he appears as the extravagant motor-mouth radio host Ruby Rhod. Besson creates some great scenes, visually, Leeloo (Jovovich) going out onto a window ledge and giving the audience their first view of the futuristic city and musically, the Diva's opera edited together with an action sequence.

Enjoyable and amusing sci-fi romp with a great cast.

BOOK: Check the Technique: Liner Notes for Hip-Hop Junkies, Brian Coleman (7/10)

Why did I read it?

As more than a casual fan of hip-hop, especially of hip-hop from days gone by, this book was essential reading once I stumbled across it.

What's it all about?
Brian Coleman interviewed the artists responsible for some of the most influential hip-hop albums of all time. He presents the interviews as each artist discusses the creation of their work from the birth of the act through to the recording of the particular album. The list includes the likes of Big Daddy Kane, Ice-T, De La Soul, The Beastie Boys and Too $hort. Coleman then presents a track by track breakdown of each particular album giving the artists the opportunity to explain the inspiration behind each track.  

Should you read it?

This book is not for casual readers, only interested music fans will enjoy the detailed descriptions of the recording processes and instruments used in producing these 'immortal rap albums'. I highlight this quote as every reader will have an opinion on the albums selected and I have to admit my interest waned during the chapters for artists I had very limited or no knowledge of. I understand that Coleman completed fifty interviews yet only thirty-six were included and I think the book would have been benefited from being a more definitive collection with these included. The albums selected predominantly range from the late 80s to the early 90s with a few exceptions. Again some would argue that this is the 'golden era' of hip-hop but there are many great albums from outside of that period, in particular from the West Coast.

Grumbles over the selection aside, the book gives a fascinating first hand insight into the creative side of these artists and their recording processes. What is interesting is how diverse the production of each album was at the time. The development of each album was unique from the recording of demos and earning of record deals through to the production and sampling processes used by the various artists and producers.

BOOK: Homicide: A Year On The Killing Streets, David Simon (10/10)

Why did I read it?

In my eyes author David Simon is nothing short of a genius. Creator and head writer of The Wire, co-creator of Treme and producer and writer of Generation Kill, the man is responsible for some fantastic TV. I know of his pre-The Wire shows but have not seen any episodes of Homicide or The Corner so decided this would be a good opportunity to look at some of his work from his previous career as a police reporter. 

What's it all about?

Simon took a year out of his career as a police reporter for The Baltimore Sun to spend 1988 chronicling the day to day activities of the Baltimore Police Department's Homicide Unit. A Year On The Killing Streets is the result of that year and Simon gives a fly on the wall perspective of a year in the life of  a typical Baltimore homicide detective, and it ain't pretty.

Should you read it?

This book is to crime literature what The Wire is to police dramas. A massive dose of honest reality. 1988 was a particularly tough year for the Baltimore homicide unit and as Simon recounts the details of the more prominent cases of the year alongside the working mantra of a homicide detective, its obvious that the CSI portrayal of homicide detectives is completely false. In 1988, DNA samples do not exist, the majority of cases are drug related killings unlikely to have a single willing witness and at one point in the year the clearance rate falls below 40%.

Simon says in the epilogue that very little amendments were made to his final manuscript at the request of the BPD and this shows as murder details, procedures, department politics, names and conversations are recounted honestly. The detectives have largely become immune to the death around them and make jokes of fresh corpses as well as the luck of other detectives in catching a stone cold 'whodunit' over a 'dunker'. The broad range of personalities in the department also help Simon to give a fascinating insight into the workings of an overworked homicide department. The birth of characters used by Simon years later in The Wire is evident, literally in the case of Jay Landsman, as are several conversations and references to special details and wire taps.

A really eye-opening insight into the unglamourous life of a Baltimore homicide detective and the staggering crime levels of late eighties Baltimore. A must for any fan of police TV dramas, in particular The Wire.

BOOK: The Fifth Witness, Michael Connolly (5/10)

Why did I read it?

A friend gave me this to read after I enjoyed reading (and watching the film version of) Michael Connolly's earlier Michael Haller story The Lincoln Lawyer.

What's it all about?

Michael Haller, a regular character in Connolly's novels is an LA criminal defence attorney working on the defence for victims of foreclosure at the offset of the story due to the abundance of work and low amount of work required on his part for early payment. His legal work reverts to type when one of his foreclosure clients is charged with murdering one of her banks employees.

Should you read it?

Haller appears in two novels in between The Lincoln Lawyer and The Fifth Witness which I have not read but it is clear that Haller did not learn the lessons of Lincoln Lawyer, in fact its as if that the events of that book never happened although they are occasionally referenced in Witness. At the end of Lincoln Lawyer Haller seems to regret not ever caring if a client is actually innocent or guilty and regrets cashing in in the misfortune of others. However, in Witness he is milking the foreclosure market by doing the bare minimal to prolong foreclosures knowing full well he is only delaying the inevitable. He also states on several occasions that he does not care if his client is innocent or not it's just his job to get them off. While I agree with this principle, it shows an inconsistency in the character that is difficult to get past. Another example is Haller's music preference, in Lawyer he is interested in hip-hop and this is referenced several times while in Witness several songs are referred to but not one is of the hip-hop variety.

Rant not quite over yet, Haller's case attracts the attention of Hollywood and he meets with a producer to discuss rights. Connolly makes a cardinal sin by having the producer suggest that Matthew McConaughey play Haller should he land the rights. As we all know, McConaughey actually did play Haller in Lawyer, which came out just before Witness. This line was almost too cheesy to digest, I already picture McConaughey as Haller when reading the picture without needing this misguided attempt to be clever or even worse funny.

Onto the story which is actually half decent. The court scenes take up the majority of the book as Haller struggles to defend his client against a clever opponent armed with damning evidence all the time while having his case undermined by his client and outside sources. The court scenes are exciting and made the book a real page turner. Unfortunately they run out of steam at the end as Haller delivers his coup de grace court tactics. Also, following the court verdict the true ending of the book feels contrived and tagged on for closure.

A reasonable read let down in places and not as enjoyable as The Lincoln Lawyer.