Stop press: M Night Shymalan involved in not rubbish film

Devil (John Dowdle)

And so to the the first in M Night Shymalans 'Night Chronicles' project a high concept horror about a group of people trapped in a lift and interestingly a step away from behind the camera for the man once hailed as the natural heir to Spielberg. Since then of course Shymalans star has not so much fallen as crashed through to the earths core and the more cynical may imagine the horror in this set up would be most effectively achieved if one of the characters happened to be Shymalan himself explaining in intimate detail the hidden symbolic intricacies of 'Lady in the water' for the full 90 minutes. Thankfully this is not the case. The premise here is that the Devil himself is in fact one of the occupants of the lift and is patiently waiting to claim the souls of these sinners one by one. Its not an especially original scenario and  is redolent of, most obviously John Carpenters classic 'The Thing' but also any number of 'Twilight Zone' style narratives where the tension is achieved by the knowledge that an unknown killer is in the midst of a crowd of innocents. Of course the advantage of this particular version is that the diabolical nature of the antagonist allows Dowdle to effectively break the rules of the siege conventions and introduce a malevolent, indestructible force that can play with the law of physics and reality, an idea which allows the gore to be ratcheted up in progressively inventive ways.

So does it work? Well after getting over the initial shock of handing money over to anything with Shymalans name on it (I stopped believing after 'Signs' some lasted a little longer) Devil struck me as an incredibly smart move both by Universal and also the one time wonder boy of suspense cinema Shymalan himself. He lost his mojo long ago and finally exhausted any goodwill with 'The Last Airbender' (a cinematic admission of defeat as much as any serious intent to restore his tattered reputation) so like a fighter pilot with the shakes he handed the controls to someone else. And its fine. Its not great, it wont last long in the memory but it didnt make me want to surgically remove my own eyes at the sheer absurdity of the plotting and the clumsiness of it all, which lets face it makes it a vast improvement on anything else he's been involved in for the last ten years. Its nicely paced just silly enough to be enjoyable and nasty enough to keep you in suspense. There is a thematic nod at its writers previous films in the last reel but apart from that its a standard horror that is comfortably the sum of its parts.While I can imagine it is a bittersweet experience to see the execution of your own ideas handled in a significantly superior manner to your own this could be the beginning of an astute professional side step for an artist who appeared to have lost all credibility.
Night, its time to give up the Day job. I think its best for everyone.

Graphic, foul-mouthed and fun; Kick Ass sends comic book adaptations back to the drawing board.

Kick Ass (Matthew Vaughn)

Matthew Vaughns Kick Ass is an utterly cinematic creation which essentially blends the 80's teen wish fulfillment movies (Karate Kid, Flight of the Navigator) with the darker, edgier, infinitely more bloodthirsty noughties offerings of Quentin Tarantino and John Woo. In fact Tarantino looms large over the entire production from the expletive filled dialogue to the balletic gunplay,and its to Vaughans credit that he uses these influences to create something fresh and relevant rather than merely produce a pastiche of better movies. Vaughn has proved that he can direct a genre film and infuse it with enough individuality to raise it high above the usual superhero story and does so with such breathless enthusiasm for the subject matter that suspension of disbelief is deftly achieved right up until an incredulity stretching final reel. By then youre having so much fun that the essential ludicrousness of the plot becomes merely part of the ride.

While the graphic novel adaptation has become standard in recent years the transition from page to screen has often proved a problematic journey. 'Watchmen' failed because it was so busy weaving a bleak nihilstic portrait of an altermative post Nixon dystopia it forgot to include any meaningful characterisation and this is where Kick Ass ultimately succeeds. Imbetween the eye popping action sequences Dave's typically adolescent troubles of both the heart and the ego are genuinely entertaining and Aaron Johnson plays it with such winsome, wide eyed candour that you cant help but root for him. The film also isnt afraid of mocking the essential silliness at the heart of most super hero narratives instead seemingly revelling in the comic potential of using a brightly coloured costume and a neat line in good guy rhetoric to fight crime.  The supporting cast is great as well, (how long before Mark Strong gets a leading man role?) and Nic Cage finally gets the chance to have fun with a character rather than adopt that insufferable, world weary, thousand yard 'if only you had seen what i had seen' stare that permeates through so many of his performances. His 'Big Daddy' (conplete with scenery chewing, Adam West style delivery) along with Chloe Moretzs 'Hit Girl' make for a memorable double act. In fact Hit Girl may well be the star of the picture, a diminutive foul mouthed child ninja schooled in the dark arts, truly a hero for a new generation. Bring on the sequel. Or possibly a spin off....

Fincher turns the mundane into the must see

The Social Network (Dir David Fincher)

I'm a Fincher fan. I love the dark beauty of 'Seven', the high concept narrative playground that is 'Fight Club' and the often criminally overlooked contemporary noir 'The Game'. He makes films that both reflect and dissect modern culture and its myriad anxieties whilst also composing masterly crafted stories with a film making eloquence that reminds me of Polanski at his best.
Thats why despite the almost crushing dissapointment of 'Benjamin Button' (A film that reminds me of Steven Kings reflection on Kubricks 'The Shining' 'A beautiful car with no engine'.) I was eagerly anticipating his take on Mark Zuckerberg and the Facebook revolution.

The first thing to say about the Social Network is it's beautifully paced. As you would expect from Fincher the immediacy and accessibility which has helped speed the Facebook phenomenon itself is reflected in the film. The slickness of the dialogue, the rapid, machine gun style staccato which characterises many of the performances combined with a palpable sense of the sheer insanity of the Facebook project itself means a film whose subject matter could be soporific (computer programming, intellectual theft) is instead intense, exciting and utterly involving. The sheer chutzpah and singlemindedness of Zuckerberg (a note perfect performance from Jesse Eisenberg in what must surely be a breakthrough role) and a plot which touches on pride, greed, duplicity, and of course money combine to create a potent, suprisingly seductive mixture. Fincher also draws a nice contrast between the archaic, outdated world of Harvard (beautifully shot with a 'Button' style golden hue by Jeff Croneweth) and the pin sharp, dynamism of the digital age and this is never better demonstrated than in the Facebook headquarters themselves, a gleaming church of glass and chrome, a model of cyber minimalism and corporate branding.

Thats not to say its a perfect film. Women exist as insane girlfriends or subservient interns denied access to the inner sanctum inhabited by Zuckerberg and his fellow cyber explorers, the central character himself is also so socially unaware and emotionally dense that you wonder just why best friend Eduardo (Andrew Garfield warming the big screen up for his Spider Man)  would want to hang around with him in the first place. It also lacks the sheer magic of something like Fight Club or Seven, no cinematic conventions are broken here and overall it is probably the most formulaic of all Finchers films but it is nonetheless utterly effective as a parable of Modern life and the way we choose to live.

Above all the most interesting aspect of The Social Network may well be how it's remembered. Such is the dizzying pace of the evolution of the internet and how we choose to interact through it, the pertinent question is what will an audience ten years from now make of this film? There is surely a possibility that the whole concept of Facebook will feel like ancient history, primitive, outdated and irrelevant.However in 2010 this film feels like a bright beam of light illuminating the nuances and intricacies of the way we live

Labyrinth man arrives

So Labyrinth man arrives like a wide eyed child into the blogosphere.
I'm here to discuss films and chew bubblegum. And im all out of bubblegum.