Romeo And Juliet (2013, Dir. Carlo Carlei, UK/Italy/Switzerland) (Cert: PG/PG-13) ***

Starring: Douglas Booth, Hailee Steinfeld, Paul Giamatti

In the city of Verona, two wealthy families known as the Montagues and the Capulets are engaged in a bitter blood feud. Romeo (Booth) a Montague, yearns for the love of Rosaline (Nathali Rapti Gomez) and in hopes to win her heart, he attends a ball held by the Capulets, in disguise. It is there where he meets Juliet (Steinfeld) and the two fall in love but with her being a Capulet, their love is forbidden by their warring families.

Probably William Shakespeare's most famous play, Romeo & Juliet has been a frequent recipient of film adaptations, the most notable to modern audiences being the 1968 adaptation by Franco Zeffirelli and the 1996 modern re-telling by Baz Luhrmann. This latest take on Shakespeare's tale of love plays mostly towards tradition with the addition of Julian Fellowes of Downton Abbey fame putting in his own little pieces amidst the work of the Bard. Of course, to put your own work in amongst that of one of the most beloved writers in history is no small task and much of the more modern forms of speech do become uncomfortably conspicuous and some of the minor alterations detract from the story (such as Mercutio being referred to as a Montague, whereas he's traditionally related to the peace-keeping Prince of Verona). The performances vary but are mostly satisfactory. The film's seeming to try and cash in on the modern teen idol craze is especially egregious when Douglas Booth first appears as Romeo, sculpting a bust and chest almost fully revealed through a largely open shirt. Paul Giamatti seems a little miscast as Friar Lawrence but makes the most of his role all the same.

Occasionally, the cinematography will shine (the iconic balcony scene is particularly well shot) but the film is also cast against a very down-scale and TV drama look that holds the film back from being beautiful but whilst the teen-romance angle may lead some to sneer at the film, Romeo & Juliet even in its original incarnation was teen-romance. The film certainly isn't terrible but isn't remarkable either. It's just okay.

Next time, Ryan Reynolds plays a snail who becomes a super-charged racer in the latest film from Dreamworks, Turbo.

Metallica Through The Never (IMAX 3D) (2013, Dir. Nimród Antal, USA) (Cert: 15/R) ***

Starring: Kirk Hammett, James Hetfield, Robert Trujillo

A young roadie (Dane DeHaan) works for legendary metal band, Metallica (Hamett, Hetfield, Trujillo, Lars Ulrich) and is given the task of carrying a can of gasoline to another location. On the way, he ends up in an accident caused by a large riot that he soon discovers he's right in the middle of. Meanwhile the band plays a blistering set including the likes of "One", "Enter Sandman" and "Master Of Puppets".

Anyone who has followed the lengthy and turbulent career of Metallica knows that this is not the band's first trip onto the silver screen. In 2004, the documentary Metallica Some Kind Of Monster looked at the long and difficult process behind their album, St Anger and proved how scarily true to life the classic mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap (1984) truly was. This time around, Metallica are the subject of a concert film...of sorts.

Throughout the film we're given a subplot of a skater caught in the middle of this slightly fantastical riot. This isn't the first time a rock band has made a concert movie that makes a note of deviating away from the main performance. Led Zeppelin's 1973 film, The Song Remains The Same trod a similar path but in the case of both films the sequences detract from the focus on the music; the reason why most people pay to see these kind of films. The sequences are well shot and, in their own way, interesting enough that it would've been intriguing to see the plot as a standalone film. However, Metallica are also animated enough in their performances (especially bassist Robert Trujillo and drummer Lars Ulrich) to maintain focus in their own right. Even when the band themselves get involved in a little bit of drama towards the end of the set, it just doesn't work.

Through The Never is getting a wide release in 3D and playing on IMAX screens and whilst the 3D is completely unnecessary the thunderous music makes full use of an immersive sound quality that IMAX provides. Make no mistake, your ear-drums will be in for a beating. The film won't win anyone over to being a Metallica fan and its clearly built with just the fans in mind. Fans themselves will probably enjoy the audio and the band capering onstage, but it's probably no worse if you skipped the film and bought the accompanying live album instead.

Next time, Hailee Steinfeld and Douglas Booth play star-crossed lovers in Julian Fellowes' adaptation of Romeo And Juliet.

Thanks For Sharing (2012, Dir. Stuart Blumberg, USA) (Cert: 15/R) ***

Starring: Mark Ruffalo, Tim Robbins, Gwyneth Paltrow

 

Adam (Ruffalo) is a sex addict and has been abstinent for five years and regularly attending group sessions, where he helps others with their addictions. Then he meets Phoebe (Paltrow) and the two develop a relationship. However, Phoebe doesn't know of Adam's addiction and when he truth comes out, trust starts to be tested.

 

For all intents and purposes, Thanks For Sharing presents itself in its promotion and its concept as a rom-com. This is only a half-truth. Thanks For Sharing subverts this by turning a genuine problem that is often played for laughs in fiction (sex addiction) and playing it for drama. The subject is handled compassionately but falls into the easy trap of being a little heavy-handed at times. On the rom-com aspect we have Mark Ruffalo and Gwyneth Paltrow (leading some to wonder if Hulk is stealing Iron Man's girl...the producer being Edward Norton only strengthens the Hulk connection) and the two have genuine chemistry; so much so that when they're in the same scene but not actually playing against each other, like when the two are holding a video chat, some of that spark fizzles out. 

 

There are two other plot lines present in the film. One focusing on Tim Robbins re-establishing a relationship with his for formerly drug-addicted son (played by Patrick Fugit) and the other being a friendship shared by two new additions to the sex addiction help group played by Josh Gand and Alecia "Pink" Moore, giving a confident performance in her official debut as an actress. The latter plot line works better , even of there really isn't enough there to support the film. Robbins and Fugit both give good performances but the story is cliche and predictable.

 

Whilst the film tries to go with both being an amiable romantic-comedy and a serious drama it's faintly humorous and the drama sometimes is played too strong and dark, with a revelation about a minor supporting character really pushing the film into water it's too deep for the film to swim in. In general, Thanks For Sharing is a film of two slightly satisfying halves making for a slightly satisfying whole.

 

Next time, metal gods Metallica take to the stage in an IMAX 3D exclusive, Metallica: Into The Never.

 

Filth (2013, Dir. John S. Baird, UK) (Cert: 18/TBC) ***

Starring: James McAvoy, Shauna MacDonald, Eddie Madsen

Policeman Bruce Robertson (McAvoy) works for he police force in Edinburgh and is looking to grab a hotly-contested promotion. A murder case seems to be the means by which Bruce can get his big break but his life of drugs and booze may just prove his undoing.

An adaptation of the 1998 novel by Irvine Welsh (the man who wrote Trainspotting), Filth promises to be a surrealistic and hedonistic journey through one man's life of substance abuse. Whilst much of the promotion surrounding this film has played up to a largely comedic affair, the film is in fact a lot more sombre for all that it is often very strange. The film flits between fantasy and reality which, whilst at times intriguing, makes for a film that as a whole is fairly difficult to connect with. As soon as one sequence is done with, another very different sequence is thrown in with little flow, losing some of the needed connection with the characters and plot. Although the film often goes down very strange avenues, the script and direction make the story in of itself followable despite the detachment. 

James McAvoy (who earlier this year starred in the also off-kilter thriller Trance, directed by Danny Boyle who shot to fame with his 1996 adaptation of Trainspotting) unsurprisingly dominates as Bruce; our homophobic, misogynist and racist protagonist whilst Eddie Marsan provides sympathetic support as his geeky friend. Jim Broadbent is the only cast member to match, and even surpass, the energy of McAvoy in the role as the Australian-accented Dr. Rossi; a figment of Bruce's own abused psyche. 

As intriguing a film that Filth is, it's largely uneven, lumbering between trying to look like a film by Stanley Kubrick (some of the designs seem particularly akin to A Clockwork Orange (1971)) and grainy scenes of rough-hewn Super-8 style grit. Obviously intending to strike a contrast between this film of two personas, but generally just coming off as unnecessarily inconsistent. Likewise, the drama pays off, especially towards the end but the lack of a clear vision hurts an otherwise perfectly enjoyable film.

Next time, Mark Ruffalo plays a recovering sex addict who finds companionship and temptation with Gwyneth Paltrow in Thanks For Sharing.

How I Live Now (2013, Dir. Kevin MacDonald, UK) (Cert: 15/TBC) ***

How I Live Now (2013, Dir. Kevin MacDonald, UK) (Cert: 15/TBC) ***

Starring: Saoirse Ronan, George MacKay, Harley Bird

Daisy (Ronan) arrives in England to spend time with her cousins amidst rising problems with terror attacks. Sour about the countryside and her family, Daisy also nurses a crush on her cousin, Edmond (MacKay)  but has to find away to band her family together when they're evacuated and separated after a nuclear attack.

Meg Rosoff's 2004 novel is given the film treatment here and whilst there are certainly enjoyable aspects to the film, How I Live Now also has some major stumbling points. A British film about the effects of a nuclear weapons attack, How I Live Now lends certain comparisons to When The Wind Blows (1986) and Threads (1984), in particular the latter. However while those two antecedents are remarkably grim and all the better for it (personally, I've seen few films as brilliantly bleak and terrifying as Threads), How I Live Now takes a slightly softer approach. There are moments that are still grim and gripping, but not quite as sobering or depressing; which is a merit or a flaw depending on the individual viewer. Saoirse Ronan provides an expectantly watchable lead, even if she does grapple a bit with the American accent overcoming her natural Irish brogue, particularly noticeable with words like "here".

Also, with an adolescent lead the film's values seem rather adolescent in themselves. The romantic subplot is brought together with all the melodrama of a first major relationship, with very little buildup making it seem (perhaps intentionally) irrational but also irritating at times, whilst the occasional dream sequences with a shirtless George MacKay make it clear we're definitely within the headspace of a teenage girl. However, her flashes of neuroses, her mind babbling a myriad of near-indecipherable mantras is an interesting touch, even if it never fully explains itself. The supporting cast are likeable, if a little under-explored and the film has a great grip on the tension and pacing. How I Live Now seems a little unsure of itself ad what it wants to say and do, but there's enough there to show that if it had picked a direction it would've worked well. As it is, it's unmemorable but, on occasion, impressive. 

Next time, James McAvoy plays a Scottish cop living his own world of drugs and debauchery in Filth.

Sunshine On Leith (2013, Dir. Dexter Fletcher, UK) (Cert: PG/TBC) ***

Starring: George MacKay, Kevin Guthrie, Jane Horrocks

Having served a tour of duty in the army, friends Davy (MacKay) and Ally (Guthrie) return home to Edinburgh where Ally plans to propose to Davy's sister, Liz (Freya Mavor) and Davy romances Liz's English friend, Yvonne (Antonia Thomas). Meanwhile, Davy's father, Rab (Peter Mullan) gets in touch with his daughter  (Emma-Hartley Miller) from an affair and puts his marriage with wife, Jean (Horrocks) in jeopardy.

Given the massive success of Mama Mia! (2007), the film adaptation if a musical based on the work of ABBA, it seemed inevitable that other adaptations of "jukebox musicals" would come along. Frankly, however, few would've expected a film based around the songs of the very Scottish musical duo, The Proclaimers. It's this oddity in both premise and execution however, that makes it entertaining. The film definitely owes a debt to Mama Mia! but has a little bit of a tighter focus on drama, with death being a surprisingly recurring theme, and the many Proclaimers songs ((I'm Gonna Be) 500 Miles, Letter From America, Let's Get Married etc.) are given more of a show-tune feel, pushing out the quirky folk-inflected nature of the original material. However, counter-acting this most of the cast deliver the songs in noticeable Scottish accents and, like Mama Mia!, there's a sense of a pub singalong rather than a West End production (save for Antonia Thomas).

The narrative allows the strong lyrical skills if The Proclaimers to shine through, although the plot is messy, unclear and contrived even by the standards of a musical, it often feels like the plot is just a loose means to tie the different musical numbers together, with some numbers being almost tangential in nature. Actor turned director Dexter Fletcher (who made his screen debut in 1976 in the minor role of Baby Face in another eccentric British musical, Bugsy Malone) pulls in some interesting stylistic twists (crowd scenes and dance routines that seem like a large number of he extras were just members of the general public joining in) but does't quite take the film beyond a generic and slightly bland cuddliness. For all that it's completely inoffensive and safe, and is about as Scottish as a deep-fried Loch Ness Monster eating haggis whilst wearing tartan to the sound of bagpipes, when it's over and done with, Sunshine On Leith is enjoyable in its self-aware goofiness much like the music it represents.

Next time, Saosire Ronan stars as a girl fighting for survival following a nuclear attack in How I Live Now.

Mister John (2013, Dirs. Joe Lawlor, Christine Molloy, Ireland/UK/Singapore) (Cert: 15/TBC) ***

Starring: Aidan Gillen, Zoe Tay, Michael Thomas.

John Devine (Andrew Bennett/Michael Walsh), an Irishman who owns a bar in Singapore, is found dead having drowned in a lake. His brother, Gerry (Gillen) flys out to identify the body, attend the funeral and spend time with Kim (Tay) his Singaporean sister-in-law and niece, Isadora (Ashleigh Judith White). Gerry's marriage back home is in trouble and as he bonds with Kim, helping her to deal with recalling a debt, Gerry begins to wonder if his life should be in Singapore.

Straddling the line between drama and arthouse, Mister John is a fairly unique film in its concept and ideas (given that the film hybridises the cultures of Ireland and Singapore) but also has its moments of predictability and mildly tedious pretension. Directors Joe Lawlor and Christine Molloy bring a strong level of competence to the film with a great eye for the surroundings and their own distinct flourishes, particularly a rather novel form of camera panning which is showcased on a couple of occasions. Aidan Gillen gives an understated performance that suits the whispy and light tone and the film also manages to pull of some surprising moments of comedy amidst a rather serious film. The film-makers' fascination with the more bizarre elements of the film lead sometimes to the film's undoing; there are shots that drag on listlessly and there's a really over-long dream sequence and both bring the film down. It's also not a film that's going to last in the memory despite its originality, but it's worth seeking out if you're looking for something original.