On Parallel Storytelling with The Bourne Legacy

Tony Gilroy, who wrote the previous Bourne trilogy, has expanded his role from writer into writer/director as he attempts to expand the Bourne franchise beyond Paul Greengrass and Matt Damon. Gilroy has approached this by creating a narrative that runs parallel to The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) and this is the most fascinating feature about The Bourne Legacy. We see scenes from the latter of the previous trilogy extended and given more depth. The events from Ultimatum and the chaos that Matt Damon’s Jason Bourne causes in that film are referred to throughout. This technique, while not necessarily unique, is a different approach in today’s cinema as many filmmakers look to create their own stamp on a franchise with reimagining’s, prequels or even worse, remakes. Gilroy displays his respect for the previous work by creating this parallel storyline.

Unfortunately, beyond the expanded narrative The Bourne Legacy fails to live up to the quality of the previous films. While Jeremy Renner makes a good rouge agent and Edward Norton is fantastic in his role, the film strays too far into science fiction. This is a shame as it was the realism and the practicality of the characters that made the previous films so engrossing. The focus on the science behind the agents hints at some element of super human ability, which detracts from the tension in the fight scenes. Additionally, Gilroy also seems too focused on what it next to create a complete film here. There is talk of bringing Renner and Damon together for the next film, when the best option maybe to leave the franchise alone. 

On Expressionism and Rom-Com with Take This Waltz

Written and directed by Sarah Polley, Take This Waltz follows a traditional romantic comedy narrative, but is vividly offbeat due to Polley’s creative, non-naturalistic devices, which makes this an expressionist rom-com.

The quirky character traits (a fear of fear) can at first be confusing, as the characters seem too exaggerated to be believable. However, once you realise the effect that Polley is aiming to create, one where distortion and exaggeration express the emotion, the film really takes hold. The film is set and shot in Toronto and Polley has found locations of fantastic colour, both interior and exterior and in the use of costumes to bring the film off the screen and reflect the mood.  

The film rejects expected conventions of rom-com while keeping the narrative very typical. A beautiful underwater dance where the characters don’t touch says so much about the relationship we are experiencing without the use of dialogue. And this form of expression is what to expect from Take This Waltz and also what makes it a unique rom-com, more memorable than other films sharing the genre.   

On Technology and Comedy with Ted

Gollum, King Kong, the Avatar aliens and now Ted. All created using the same state of the art motion capture technology. Only one of them allows prostitutes to defecate on the apartment floor. Using this technology for an X rated comedy is a nice touch as it allows writer, director Seth MacFarlane to bring Ted to life and make him a character in the way Gollum was. So far the technology has only been used to generate dramatic or alien characters, with comedy maybe seeming undeserving or unlikely to need the technology. But, even when the character is almost 100% comedy, as Ted is, rendering them with more realistic human emotions and movement that motion capture brings, makes the film, in this case, much funnier. And Ted is funny, pretty much in the same way Family Guy is; it hits and misses, but mostly hits. The comedy is generated through MacFarlane’s writing mostly, but the combination of Wahlberg, who is more and more versatile, MacFarlane’s voice and the cleverly animated Ted, makes this essentially a live action version of Family Guy.   

On Breaking the Trilogy Trend with The Dark Knight Rises

It has almost been an unwritten rule in film history that trilogies always have a weak chapter and that chapter is usually the third. Yet, recent filmmakers have sought to break this trend. Toy Story (1995 – 2010) and the Matt Damon Jason Bourne (2002 – 2007) films being the most notable to date.

Christopher Nolan sought to add his name to this list and was in an excellent position to do so with Batman Begins (2005) and The Dark Knight (2008), which set a new standard for not only superhero films, but also summer action films. With The Dark Knight Rises, Nolan has created a successful trilogy, but this latter film does not meet the high standards Nolan has set. Where Batman Begins was more a character study than an action film and The Dark Knight was a crime/action epic, The Dark Knight Rises combines elements of both, without being as successful as either.

As we have come to expect, the acting is fantastic and the technical features are exemplary; sound design, lighting and cinematography create a beautiful film and Nolan once again illustrates that IMAX is a more immersive technology than 3D. Yet, surprisingly the narrative lacks the consistency in its complexity that made The Dark Knight (and Nolan’s Inception (2010)) so fantastic. Also missing is the bite and the risk taking that has become expected in Nolan’s films. The Dark Knight Rises favours a safe, conventional ending and with its many story threads feels busy rather than smooth. This is even more frustrating as Nolan has the opportunity to end his trilogy with the edge that his reimagining of Batman suggests and deserves.

However, it would be unfair to say The Dark Knight Rises is a weak film. Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Marion Cotillard are all excellent additions and Anne Hathaway’s master thief fits into the Nolan world very well. Hardy’s Bane is terrifying and his face off with Batman is a brutal and memorable scene within the whole trilogy. Yet, Bane’s end is equivalent to the lack of risk and narrative bite discussed above. Nolan also creates a very satisfying cyclical story that picks up on aspects of the two previous films and continues to embed his Batman films with an ideology that is very critical of the risk-taking, economy-ruining capitalists of today. Unfortunately, The Dark Knight Rises only occasionally shocks and thrills in the way the previous films have, but when it does, it does it better than any other superhero/action film out there. 

On Matthew McConaughey with Killer Joe & Magic Mike

Rightly or wrongly Matthew McConaughey has been typecast as the male rom-com go to guy, despite doing some interesting work early in his career. It seems that as McConaughey reaches the middle stages of his career, he is seeking out a more varied role and this month has starred in films directed by American legend William Friedkin and current American wonder-director Steven Soderbergh. These are Killer Joe and Magic Mike respectively. Both these roles show darker and more developed sides to McConaughey as an actor.  

Killer Joe is a Deep South thriller that despite occasionally feeling too dramatic and unrealistic is still hugely entertaining. McConaughey channels his inner Texan to bring the titular Joe to life with menace and fans of his rom-coms will be shocked beyond belief at the antics of Joe. It may be farcical at times, but Friedkin likes to shock and shock it does. It also contains the funniest scene in cinema containing a loose thread.

Magic Mike just once again shows that Soderbergh is the master of genre cinema. Science-fiction, biographical drama, crime caper, action, medical outbreak: these are just some of the genres that Soderbergh has worked in. Now with Magic Mike he has turned his hand to male stripping and created an unconventional rom-com. Very unconventional. McConaughey plays the owner of a Tampa strip club where Mike is his star performer struggling with credit (another reason this rom-com is unconventional is that it deals with the working mans’ struggle in recession threatened America). The final third does fall down as it is unable to maintain the same level of engagement while damning the stripping profession, but it is a fantastically fun film, that is well written, well acted and more than it seems. Once again proving that Soderbergh can turn his hand to any story and do it better than 90% of everyone else. Magic Mike also proves again that Soderbergh is a master with his camera, using it beautifully at all times and always finding the angle or the framing that makes the shot that much better. 

On The Hunter

There are not many films set in Tasmania. There may be some that use its stunning landscape, but not many that acknowledge it. The Hunter does both. Here you have two stories running side by side that are equally powerful and complimentary to each other. One is that of the hunter hunting what is thought of the last (if at all) of the Tasmanian tiger. The other follows the hunter’s appropriation as father to a family still suffering the loss of their patriarch. For the most part these two modest stories are compelling and they are most compelling when dialogue free. It is the dialogue aspect of the script that brings the film crashing into reality, rather than keeping us locked in this small, isolated world. The dialogue feels very clichéd and unnatural in the mouths of such great actors. Nevertheless this is a fascinating film that genuinely feels original.

On Unnecessary remakes with The Amazing Spider-Man

In 2002 Sam Raimi directed the first in his Spider-Man trilogy. This year, Marc Webb has directed the first in his The Amazing Spider-Man trilogy. That small difference in the name change can be continued throughout both films. Small changes. Small, unnecessary changes. The Amazing Spider-Man is so similar to the 2002 film that it is unclear why Webb felt it necessary to make his film. From identical scenes to the same themes, the differences Webb has brought to the origin story of Spider-Man are not significant enough to warrant this film being made only ten years after Spider-Man. The one hugely positive thing to note about The Amazing Spider-Man is the 3D, which is crystal clear and well accommodated for. The only negative about the 3D is a negative that exists for all 3D films – it dims the screen and if this can’t be fixed, the technology is not worth having, as the difference when you raise the glasses is huge.