Omnipresence is one thing everywhere. Like God obviously, one person everywhere all the time.
Ubiquitous is many things, all the same, everywhere. Like Ipods and trees. You see them everywhere but never the same Ipod…
Omnipresence is one thing everywhere. Like God obviously, one person everywhere all the time.
Ubiquitous is many things, all the same, everywhere. Like Ipods and trees. You see them everywhere but never the same Ipod…
Leon is great example of how all the right ingredients can be combined to create a great tense, action, thriller. First take one Jean Reno, cast him as the withdrawn uncompromising assassin. Now reach to the top shelf take Gary Oldman, as a the off the rails psychotic, reckless two-faced cop. Throw in Natalie Portman, aged 12 as an abused, unloved child whose family has been slaughtered by Oldman and has now sought refuge with the hitman next door.
But rather than just being a film about revenge, Leon allows each of it’s start actors the freedom to develop their character beyond the norm. Gary Oldman’s insane speach regarding Beethoven just moments a gun-fight is a gem. Jean Reno as Leon is more than just a loner but also shown to be quite emotionally immature and this is absolutely vital for the film to work.
Having recommended watching the film to some friends I’d forgotten about the *possible* hint of sexual tension between the very young Portman and Reno. The scenes with these two however are portrayed brilliantly and very carefully. Leon is a simple and kind man who relies on his mob connection ‘Uncle Tony’ to hold his money, get him jobs do most of the thinking. Portman teaches Leon how to read and although the two clear form a great friendship the film never eludes to a sinister child abuse story.
Leon still holds up well despite it’s age and although it’s rated as an 18 would probably weigh in much lower today. It’s not about guns, guts or the gore and it’s not really about the girl. It’s about Leon an assassin with one rule ‘No women, no children’.
Pixar’s Wall-E is a joy to watch, set 800 years in the future our lonely Wall-E robot continues to clear the trash-ridden waste land of a long ago abandoned Earth. Imaginative and charming Wall-E is a solar panel for your heart, unfortunately that glow slowly dims leaving you smiling but not enthralled with a tale of robot romance and misadventure.
Wall-E is the sole surviving mute yet adorable robot on a bleak planet Earth. Followed by his seemingly indestructible cockroach sidekick, Wall-E’s life is a mundane repetition of refuse collection. Somewhere in between ET and Johnny 5; Wall-E is curious little fellow that often strays from his directive of creating giant blocks of garbage and collects interesting objects like the odd Rubik cube and the occasional Ipod. Until Eve arrives, a more advanced robot probe searching for signs of life. Infatuated by Eve, Wall-E stumbles into a inter-stellar romantic voyage to find the surviving human race and return home.
Pixar are masters at breathing life into their creation, but the film isn’t as enjoyable as it’s main character. Somewhere along the way Wall-E the robot steals the show and Wall-E the film is just a distraction. Wall-E the film lacks the childhood nostalgia that Toy Story and Monsters Inc delivered in abundance. It’s hard to relate to almost apocalyptic Earth but fortunately Wall-E is there to save us.
One thumb up.
Batman Begins saw Christian Bale successfully pick up the pointy eared mask and lose the circus act of the previous overly comic films. The freak show is an essential part of the Batman franchise but frankly rubber nipples have no place in modern cinema.
The Dark Knight returns to grim squalor of Gotham city and immediately introduces the late Heath Ledger as the psychopathic Joker. Ledger’s Joker kills with an unhinged whimsy but isn’t quite the serial killer come clown he could be. Ultimately, the film is labelled as 12a and a truly sinister Joker isn’t going to appear without barring the target audience from the doors and unleashing a deranged killer.
Ledger is good, but he’s doesn’t take the Joker far beyond the same character Jack Nicholson played in Tim Burton’s Batman way back in 1989. Really the Dark Knight’s take on the Joker is the same but with better set-pieces and without the Prince boombox. Ledger’s tragic death means his performance is understandably over-hyped but I’d be surprised if he wins a posthumous Oscar for best supporting actor.
The Dark Knight just about gets away with the jaunty yet sinister Joker but it suffers with a little confusion. Firstly, the Joker is able to recruit a band-wagon of villains not with promises of money but presumably with his magnetic persona. Occasionally the Joker shows a glimpse of this drawing motivational prowess but for the most part he’s blowing stuff up. Which is cool, but a little more character development next time please.
Secondly, Batman himself also suffers from this tendency to withdraw from violence. Always playing by the rules makes our hero noble, but not quite the Dark Knight the title suggests. While the suave, womanising and hideously rich Bruce Wayne character is a great decoy somehow Batman isn’t himself either. With Bourne and even Bond now taking the gritty route, Batman lacks a sense of ruthless realism.
Thirdly, the lovely Maggie Gyllenhaal assumes the role of Batman’s love interest Rachel Dawes. Previously Katie Holmes played this character yet the sudden change confuses the continuity. Whilst it’s always going to be difficult I was left baffled by who Maggie Gyllenhaal was supposed to be for about 15mins (okay maybe 30mins…). With Dawes courting the new district attourney Harvey Dent (see what I did there?); the love triangle between Batman, Dawes and Harvey Dent has one slightly fuzzy edge.
On the whole the Dark Knight is enjoyable and although it lags slightly in the middle the set pieces are enough to take you through the two hours and thirty minute firework display. The characters lack a certain depth but are all played well. The Dark Knight stands head and shoulders above most action films and does so under the shackles of it’s 12A age classification, although a 15 would be a more fitting at times.
One thumb up.
