2000 Views: A Big Thank You!!!

Today Closer to the Edge officially rolled over to 2000 views!!! Not bad seeing as this has been going little over a year! I just wanted to say a big thank you to the hundreds of you in over 64 countries who made this possible and I cannot believe how far away some of hits are coming from (big shout out to my fans in lovely Nepal!)

I throughly enjoy cinema and I would like to extend my immense gratitude to you all for reading my ramblings about film and taking the time out of your day to give me such nice feedback!

Here’s to the next 1000 views and many more great films to come and more great movie quotes to find a way into our conversations!

I will leave you with the words of the late Audrey Hepburn, who gives a phrase to which we can all relate,

“Everything I learned I learned from the
movies.”

 

An Inconvenient Truth: Review of West of Memphis

West of Memphis

Director: Amy Berg

By Alex Watson

Making a great documentary is no easy thing because you have to pick your subject carefully, but sometimes the hardest hitting documentaries are the ones that make us sit up and pay attention. Werner Herzog’s film Grizzly Man gave us a heartbreaking eye view at man who loved animals whereas Michael Moore’s Bowling for Columbine homed in on a nation’s obsession with gun violence and Kevin MacDonald’s Touching the Void gave us a harrowing story of survival for two mountaineers! But at the end of last year, director Amy Berg along with Peter Jackson (yes that Peter Jackson) showed people a tale of the West Memphis Three and one the most shocking cases on injustice in US legal history in West of Memphis.

After the gruesome murder of three young boys, the authorities quickly arrested teenagers Jason Baldwin, Jessie Misskelley and Damien Echols and on questionable evidence, the trio were each sentenced to life imprisonment. But in the years that followed, a re-examination of the case was opened and what followed not only proved their innocence but also exposed one of the worst cases of police incompetence! But many people never gave up hope on their innocence, but their freedom came at a price!

West of Memphis is simply one of the most spellbinding and scandalous films you will ever witness, and its subject is one that continues to shock through. From the very beginning when the story of their arrest is recounted, the three boys are presented as highly unlikeable to the jury due to their apparent lack of emotion for committing the crime and were convicted due to their obsession with dark arts and heavy metal music. But when it is presented to us that one of them had the mental age of an 8 year boy yet apparently ‘confessed’ to this crime- our presumptions swing completely!

From here there is a wave of shocking revelations such as false testimonies, incorrect evidence and a medical practitioner who wasn’t qualified to testify, yet whose statement ultimately helped seal the boy’s fate! The police and public procescutors are put in the spotlight as their desire for a quick conviction becomes apparent and their lack of moral compass in achieving this is painfully exposed!

But yet despite all the evidence clearly absolving them of blame as well as three excellent HBO documentaries on the subject, the three remained behind bars! Their case however gained many supporters such as Eddie Vedder (who appears as a talking head), Johnny Depp and of course Peter Jackson, who played an integral part in helping finance this appeal.

However, against all the odds there is a bittersweet resolution as the trio were finally released after 18 years behind bars, but it wasn’t all straightforward because although there were no longer prisoner, they still remained guilty of the crimes committed and the law to this day still refuses to acknowledge their innocence. Because of this it leaves a hallow feeling after such a long and hard journey and the thought that the killers of the three boys is still free as a bird will leave you seething.

But the most stunning aspect of West of Memphis comes in the later stages as the guilt is shifted across to Terry Hobbs who was the stepfather of murder victim Steven Branch, who in the beginning stages was persistently campaigning for justice- but when his dark past is revealed along with an apparent ‘confession’ to one of his distant nephews, another suspect rolls into view and Berg here seems determined to give him the trial that he never had! But is the man really guilty? This answer is left up to yourselves!

West of Memphis is a film that passed many people when it was released in the UK over Christmas, but now I would urge you to seek this doc out because it is an experience that will rarely be equalled and although it wowed Sundance, it was shamefully ignored at this year’s Oscars! So please watch and let your eyes bulge with disbelief because this is a Peter Jackson film you will never forget!

Married to the Mob: Review of Goodfellas

Classic from the Vault

Goodfellas (1990)

Director: Martin Scorsese

By Alex Watson

To say that Martin Scorsese is one of the true legends of cinema is truly stating the obvious. Ever since his eye opening debut Mean Streets in 1973, the New York director has created some true classics of cinema such as Taxi Driver and Raging Bull, thought provoking films such as The Last Temptation of Christ (which caused mass outrage upon release) and entertaining films such as The King of Comedy and Cape Fear. But disgracefully he wasn’t awarded the Best Director until 2009 for The Departed– when in fact it should have gone to him for his masterful movie Goodfellas.

This film tells the story of Irish/Italian mobster Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) and his experiences of life in mob, from becoming acquainted with mob legend Jimmy Conway (Robert De Niro) and psycho Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci). Life is sweet initially in the mob and the crew take whatever they want and Henry’s marriage to Karen (Lorraine Bracco) only adds to his good fortune. But when Tommy and Jimmy murder Billy Batts (Frank Vincent) who is a made mafia man, life begins to take a downward turn!

GoodFellas is a movie that is not only one of the 1990’s greatest, but is worthy of a place in every top 100 list. As we witness the first act it is hard not to be seduced by the glamour of the dark side and through Liotta’s infamous first line “As far back as I could remember I had always wanted to be a gangster!” even the most straight man would be tempted to thrown in his everyday life and become a mobster as we see them hijacking trucks and extorting business by simply putting the fear of the mob into people’s hearts. For this there is a gleeful shine to the early stages and to live the ordinary seems utterly ludicrous!

During the films second act, the action intensifies and slowly the gleam starts to fade as the characters that Henry holds dear start to reveal their true colours. To demonstrate this there are many iconic moments such as Jimmy’s menacing look when Cream’s ‘Sunshine of Your Love’ begins playing as he decides to murder fellow associate Morey and Tommy’s hilarious yet utterly terrifying “You think I’m funny” tirade! But it’s the moment where they murder Gambino associate, Billy where the film turns on its head and their once secure lifestyle becomes a real danger and soon Henry will be forced to make a tough decision!

But in some ways, it’s the greed of the central trio that forms their eventual downfall as Henry unwisely gets involved in the drug trafficking business against the wishes of others and his descent into addiction slowly decays his mind, Tommy’s short fuse repeatedly gets him into trouble as he kills people for the most minor of infringements, such as barman Spider, who tells him to “Go Fuck Yourself Tommy” cue a bullet ridden death! Jimmy is willing to go along with whatever scheme is put in front of him as he gets his joy from flashing his cash about but beneath his happy facade, there lurks a dangerous killer and in the films later stages we worry for the safety of Henry’s family as Jimmy continually asks about what he is telling the cops?

The main performances of Goodfellas bring it to legendary status and are led by the impressive Ray Liotta as Henry Hill who gives an understated performance, Henry’s initial delight at escape the humdrum life are excellently conveyed, but as time goes on Liotta gives more emotional weight to his role as the problems increase.

He is also joined by regular Scorsese Robert De Niro who gives another memorable performance to add to his impressive list as devious Jimmy. But its Joe Pesci’s Oscar winning turn as madman Tommy that will hold the most attention as every scene provides a un-predictability when he is involved! Pesci may have had a limited range as an actor, but this role certainly demonstrated the strengths he brought to a mafia based story.

If you’re looking for a place to start on your Martin Scorsese journey then Goodfellas is the perfect place to begin as it is one of the most enthralling and exhilarating tales that you will ever see and gives a great insight into one man’s unbelievable life of crime. So please watch this, or spend the rest of your life like a schnook!

Million Dollar Man: Review of The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby

Director: Baz Luhrmann

By Alex Watson

Since its publication in 1925, Hollywood has been seeking a definitive adaptation of F Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby. Some have tried to capture the spirit of the ‘Roaring 20’s’ including British director Jack Clayton who directed a version starring Robert Redford and Mia Farrow in 1974 which was met with mixed feelings. This year Moulin Rouge director Baz Luhrmann aims to bring this era to life and with his preference for the spectacular, this could be interesting! But will this be the version we’ve all been searching for?

Depressed Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire) recounts his tale of his summer spent in New York in 1922 where he lived on the rich area, West Egg and how he became acquainted with mystery millionaire Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio) whose wild parties are the toast of society. But the man holds a long held desire for Nick’s distant cousin Daisy Buchanan (Carey Mulligan) and as old feelings are discovered, things will end in tragedy!

The big question on everyone’s lips surely is; have we found a version that truly captures Fizgerald’s novel? Sadly the answer to this question is… not yet! Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby is a visually spectacular affair and there is a sparkle throughout and the wild parties held at Gatsby’s beautiful gothic mansion are brought impressively to life. But after a while this excess becomes too much and unfortunately no amount of gloss can hide the mess beneath it because Luhrmann’s direction just doesn’t ring true and his decision to focus purely on set design and pretty visual effects disrupts the story and as a result, fails to sum up the tragic nature of the tale.

Perhaps the biggest crime of all is the alterations to the story line such as Nick telling his story to a psychiatrist which doesn’t even appear in the novel, will no doubt anger devoted readers of the novel and the poor script by Luhrmann and Craig Pearce hacks the linear narrative to pieces and we learn the events of Gatsby sad past far too early when his mystery should be carried to the end. In this sense, Jack Clayton’s version of Gatsby was a far more faithful adaptation because it stuck to the main story. Also the inclusion of a Jay Z hip hop soundtrack in a film set in a jazz era doesn’t help matters either!

But one area where Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby does excel is in its characterisation of Gatsby himself, Robert Redford failed in his task to bring this great character to life. But where he fails, Leonardo DiCaprio succeeds and he able to bring across a man giving the performance of a lifetime, behind his wealth and excessive parties there lays a ghostly shell of a man who is the subject of continuous gossip while he wanders the corridors of luxurious home. Through DiCaprio slick and magnetic performance he is able to encapsulate Gatsby’s heartbreaking optimism.

It is a shame that the other performances aren’t the same quality, and the film is let down by several one note performances. Carey Mulligan in particular feels miscast as Daisy, she looks the part and is able to bring across Daisy beauty and desire like figure, but she is unable to bring across her victim status in this story and we remain unconvinced that Gatsby would risk it all for her. In the hands of Michelle Williams or maybe Jessica Chastain this could have been memorable!

Tobey Maguire is given little to work with as Nick Carraway and although he is able to convey Carraway’s haunted nature from the events, his continual wide mouthed amazement of Gatsby makes him look like a boy enjoying a day at Disneyland rather than a character in the midst of tragedy! The talented Joel Edgerton is equally stranded as Daisy’s bullish husband Tom Buchanan and isn’t given an ounce of sympathy to work with!

So it appears we are still waiting for the right version of The Great Gatsby to come along, in many way the end result has been a real let down as the trailers for this film promised so much and with its talented cast this could well have been one of the films of 2013 if Luhrmann’s direction had been a little less over the top! Hold on F. Scott, some day your great tale will find the right man to bring it to fruition!

The Voyage Home: Review of A Hijacking

A Hijacking

Director: Tobias Lindholm

By Alex Watson

People’s ships being attacked by pirates has been a staple of films going back to the classical Hollywood era of film, but this week we are shown a new breed of pirate and there will be no parrots or swashbuckling in this one. The problem with ship hijacking in Somalia has been well documented and there have been some harrowing stories as a result. This week Danish director Tobias Lindholm gives us a firsthand look at a ship’s crew under threat and the long term effects that follow after in his intense thriller, A Hijacking.

The crew of the Danish cargo ship, The Rozen are on their voyage home and are looking forward to being reunited with their families. But when their ship is taken over by a group of Somalia pirates, they are launched into tough negotiation with company CEO Peter (Soren Malling), who struggles to hold himself as well as the concerned families together. The ships cook Mikkel (Johan Philip Asbæk) is crew member who is most vital to his captors who will use him as a pawn in their game against the company!

A Hijacking is one of the most powerful and tense thrillers that we will see this year and through Lindholm, he succeeds in slowly cranking up the tension! Shot mainly within the confines of the ships quarters and the company office, there is a bleak and cold tone hanging over proceedings and it becomes increasingly clearer that a happy ending may not be guaranteed. As every negotiation with the tough bargaining pirates stumbles, our fists clench with nerves!

Unlike many thrillers before it, there are no heroic characters on display here, just ordinary hard working men trying to do the right thing. Mikkel is simply looking forward to being reunited with his wife and child and when the pirates attack, he deemed useful for his culinary skills and does his best to do as they ask and keep out of trouble. But as events get more difficult, the chief negotiator Omar demands his involvement and for this they begin to manipulate him into cooperating!

Peter is a businessman trying to keep his ship from being taken and decides to bravely forgo advice to leave negotiations to professionals and takes on the role himself without quite realizing the emotional cost involved. Soon he finds himself over his head as his hardnosed approach to negotiations leads to some hair raising moments.

Perhaps the most nail-biting element of A Hijacking is the events that we do not witness, for instance Lindholm forgoes showing us the pirates taking the ship and we are thrown right into the mix of the events! By keeping these scenes from view, this brilliantly adds to the psychological trauma that the Mikkel and the others face because their other crew members are missing and their fates are not made clear, as we hear gun fire echo in the background- we automatically assume the worst! By the end of this long and harrowing journey, we know that what these people have all experienced will leave permanent scars for the rest of time.

Johan Philip Asbæk and Soren Malling are the centre piece of the action and through their dominant emotional performances they add to the human nature of the story! But even with an equally excellent turn by Dar Salim as engineer Lars, these two are the ones of hold our attention throughout.

This year you will be hard pressed to find a more engaging nerve-racking thriller and with A HiJacking, Tobias Lindholm stands out and we could well have a new hot thing from Scandinavia on our hands? With the upcoming release of Paul Greengrass’ similarly themed Captain Phillips starring Tom Hanks, this could well be the year of shipping thrillers.

The Great Unknown: Review of Star Trek: Into Darkness

Star Trek: Into Darkness

Director: JJ Abrams

By Alex Watson

JJ Abrams’ reboot of the Star Trek series has truly been phenomenal and a franchise which was once considered for die hard fans only has reached an all new audience worldwide. But with Abrams’ now overseeing the rival Star Wars franchise it appears that this might be the end of the road. But with all that aside, the promos for his new effort Star Trek: Into Darkness has promised a great deal- but are James T Kirk and company up for the task?

After his heroic defeat of the Romulans in the first movie, Captain James T Kirk (Chris Pine) is now skating on thin ice with Star Fleet due to his constant dismissal of the rules which has now put him at odds with his first officer Spock (Zachary Quinto), who is experiencing problems of his own in his relationship with Uhura (Zoe Saldana). But big trouble arrives in the shape of former Fleet man John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch) who begins to wage his own personal war against the Federation. Kirk and other members of the USS Enterprise will soon lead a manhunt to hunt him down, whatever the cost!

Star Trek: Into Darkness will rank as the one of the best blockbusters of the year and all the way through this is an entertaining and spectacular ride! The high octane feel is present from the very beginning as we open on the end result of an Enterprise mission where Kirk and Bones McCoy (Karl Urban) run for lives from pasty white warriors in a red vine jungle only to find a cliff top dead ahead! Abrams is currently proving he is the master of set pieces and his direction of the action sequences is second to none, particularly during the numerous epic showdowns against Harrison!

The first Star Trek movie dealt with the beginning years where Kirk was learning how to make something of himself and Spock was trying to discover his real identity. Here the two are still very much in school, Kirk is learning what it means to be a leader rather than a hotshot who hates the rules and Spock is well… learning how to be a good friend. Their petty squabbles give us much of the movie’s comic relief and Spock’s Vulcan honesty causes much friction, particularly as he fails to appreciate his friends life saving act during the film’s opening because was “against the prime directive!”

But their relationship grows ever stronger and the movie benefits here from an excellent script by Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman and Damon Lindelof which unlike many before it, has an emotionally charged feel and this makes way for some tear jerking moments as Spock finally begins to reveal his true colours and begins to learn that being a good friend sometimes mean breaking the rules. This is shown to us through a gutsy and deceptive trick that puts Harrison in his place!

The truly great element of Star Trek: Into Darkness comes from its magnificent villain, John Harrison who holds the screen with such sheer force that it is impossible not to fear him! Harrison is literally a one man wrecking crew- who throughout causes havoc wherever he goes and his cold and calculating persona is not one to cross. Like all great adversaries, his reasons for starting his war remain ambiguous and when he reveals intentions, it is hard not to be shocked. But Harrison also carries with him a great physical threat and as he takes a severe beating from Kirk and barely bats an eyelid, it is clear this is no ordinary man! Through the icy menace of Benedict Cumberbatch, this makes him one of the best baddies of the year!

The other Enterprise cast members are equally excellent and Chris Pine is fast becoming an impression addition to the Star Trek series and rings in another charming and sensitive performance as Captain Kirk and Zachary Quinto matches him blow for blow in the emotional stakes as his Spock evolves from being a Vulcan man-droid to being something far more humane and it will interesting to watch this space for these two! Also it is great to see Peter Weller appearing in this as Admiral Marshall and no doubt fans of Robocop shall rejoice as we remember how could he can be in the right kind of role.

With Abrams’ taking over the George Lucas Empire for the foreseeable future, this appears to be his last voyage on the USS Enterprise. But should this be his final effort, Abrams has left the series on a high note and has given us one of the summer’s finest blockbusters! You’ll be hard pressed to find a better villain in 2013 though!

Here I Come to Save the Day: Review of Olympus Has Fallen

Olympus Has Fallen

Director: Antoine Fuqua

By Alex Watson

The USA being threatened by enemy invaders is a sight we’ve grown to accustom to seeing on the big screen through the years. We’ve seen the Aliens blow up the Empire State Building and The White House in Independence Day, had General Zod bring the land to its knees in Superman II and seen President Harrison Ford fighting Russian villains on Air Force One. But this week Training Day director Antoine Fuqua shows an eerily plausible invasion as the a group of dastardly terrorists invade Washington, DC in Olympus Has Fallen, but with some many films like it before, will this one be able to keep us hooked like before? Or will this be one for the bargain bin?

Secret Service agent Mike Banning (Gerard Butler)used to be assign to US President Asher’s (Aaron Eckhart) security detail, but is haunted by a decision he made 18 months ago when he chose to save the President over his First Lady (Ashley Judd) during a freak car accident. But soon his life is thrown into chaos as a group of Korean terrorists led by villainous Kang (Rick Yune) storm the white house and take the President hostage! Mike will soon become the only hope the government has to save their country for being wiped out!

Olympus Has Fallen starts big and the first act is one that is truly thrilling as the Koreans make a grand a bullet flying entrance through a massive US Air force plane and in a matter of minutes send the seemingly amazing White House security fall like dominoes! Director Fuqua succeeds in holding our attention here and as Mike ducks for cover in the midst of bodies falling to the ground our thrill levels are very much set to maximum.

Shame it’s not a similar story for the remainder of the film and the story is turned onto auto pilot and we are left with an endless sequence of Gerard Butler skulking around corridors and doing his various chop socky moves on the baddies with big guns. The fun element of this story is very much absent and rather than sitting back and allowing this be an entertaining  ride- Fuqua seems to want to keep the tension running throughout and the film as result seems to take itself way more seriously than it needs to.

There are moments of shocking brutality which does keep us awake for periods such as Melissa Leo’s secretary of state being kicked repeated into the stomach by Kang to give away a defence code while the Prez sits powerless- but these moments and a boringly predictable finale let down what could have been a solid action thriller. It is also saddled with a typically cookie cutter action hero in Mike Banning whose tortured soul is desperate to be redeemed and for this he is given little to do other than look mean- though he is given a couple of decent one liner such as “How about a game of fuck off’s? Why don’t you go first?” but other than that, this is a hero low on quality.

Perhaps the greatest crime of all is Olympus has Fallen wasting its very talented cast and lead man Gerard Butler does the best with the material he’s given and is able to use his movie muscle to slightly elevate his performance above the normality of the character he’s given. The solid Aaron Eckhart spends most of his movie tied to a railing threatening to destroy his rivals- surely a man of his talents deserves better than this? But he is given far more to do than Morgan Freeman as Speaker Trumbull who is completely wasted in his limited screen time and seems to order coffee and sit in a chair arguing with the other big wigs as danger looms! What movie doesn’t know how to make the most of Freeman these days? Truly we have seen everything now!

With the upcoming White House Down by Roland Emmerich which has a similar plot, Olympus Has Fallen’s rushed production has affected it badly and in its mission to be on screen first shows in the quality of the editing and direction and although it will be easy viewing, this doesn’t always translate into pleasant viewing! Although one day these two films will make for a fine action DVD box set of White House disaster thrillers.

Dark Shadows: Review of Black Swan

New Cult Classic

Black Swan (2010)

Director: Darren Aronofsky

By Alex Watson

Darren Aronofsky is one of the most visual stunning directors of the modern day and his film always feature a variety of stunning techniques that dazzle on screen. Take for example his rapid cutting in Requiem for a Dream which gave us an astonishing but ultimately frightening look at heroin addiction or his interweaving of stories in The Fountain which gave us an intriguing tale of love and mortality. But perhaps his best effort to date has to be his 2010 Oscar winning effort, Black Swan which gave a fascinating example of a woman on the edge but willing to achieve greatness at any cost!

Nina (Natalie Portman) is a ballet dancer who lives a very shelter life under her controlling mother Erica (Barbara Hershey). But she lands a major break when she is selected as the Swan Queen in a new version of Swan Lake. Initially sceptical of her ‘frigid’ dancing, her director Thomas (Vincent Kassel) urges Nina to explore her dark side to be able to dance the white and the dark swan as required. But as she strives to be perfect, Nina’s state of mind grows increasingly paranoid at the entrance of talented ballerina Lily (Mila Kunis) who is fast becoming Thomas’ favourite which will lead to a fierce rivalry.

Black Swan is a magnificent dark tale by Aronofsky and it benefits from a tension that is slow burning and all throughout the claustrophobia is continually building to unbearable levels. From the very outset it is apparent that Nina is a very fragile girl, who is not helped by her overbearing mother who seems to be the one pulling the strings and there a hints to events in the past that are never explained but we assume the worse about! Initially she is wall flower who is pushed forward into the big lights and when her big chance comes she becomes obsessed with ‘being perfect’ and things aren’t helped by Lily’s arrival and her increasing suspicion that she is there to usurp her!

As Aronofsky’s film delves into dark territory it encounters a magnificent psychological edge as Nina begins experiencing some disturbing hallucinations and these moments become more dubious as time goes on and we wonder how much of this is really in Nina’s head and gradually ‘The Black Swan’ starts to take over and the virginal and pure side of her is replaced by something far more dangerous! The  hand held camera direction by Aronofsky capture this uneasy feeling perfectly which leads to a beautiful yet devastating climax.

The rivalry of Nina and Lily might be viewed by many as garden variety but the pairing of them on screen together mirrors the plot of Tchaikovsky’s ballet as Nina worries that Lily is the evil sister out to seduce the prince and steal her chance of glory. But as her paranoia grows so does the ambiguous nature of the story and as Nina witness what she believes to be increasing betrayal by her opponent, it leads us to ponder if this truly what we see or is Nina’s mind pushing towards breaking point?

But Black Swan belongs to the Oscar winning performance of Natalie Portman who proves a revelation as a leading lady! As Nina she is able to combine the ability of portraying a meek little girl with another darker side altogether. When the other side is revealed to the audience we see another difference performance which sailing into scarier and more chilling waters. This is the role we had been waiting for Natalie to play- and she doesn’t disappoint!

We are also given top support by Mila Kunis who after her many comedic roles proves her strength at playing it straight and she is able to give a wonderful mischievous performance as the under suspicion Lily. Barbara Hershey is icily convincing as Nina’s meddling mother Erica and veteran Hershey gives her character a frightening controlling edge which makes us think about what influence she has had on Nina’s delicate state?

Black Swan is a movie that you will rarely experience and will prove to be one psychological film that will keep your mind ticking for days after. It is also a showcase for the directing talents of Aronofsky who thanks to this continually twisting story he along with Portman prove to be real stars! But be sure that if you ever spark a rivalry with someone- make sure what you see and hear isn’t all in your head!