White Wedding

An enjoyable though simple tale...

The soon-to-be-wed Elvis (Kenneth Nkosi) and his best friend and best man Tumi (Rapulana Seiphemo) are on route from Durban to Cape Town to attend rehearsals for Elvis's wedding. However their journey does not go according to plan as both Elvis and Tumi struggle to find their way across the country, and they meet up with Rose (Jodie Whittaker), a doctor from England, who is trying to return to home.

The narrative for White Wedding is not exactly something unheard of but it makes for a refreshing tale in traditional South African cinema, usually concerned with Apartheid, crime or other negative aspects of modern society. Instead, White Wedding is far more casual and relaxed though this is not to say that its issues are not serious. The central three characters all suffer from some form of anxiety in regards to relationships. Elvis is devoted to his wife Ayanda (Zandile Msutwana) but as the story progresses he becomes jealous that his wife might be spending too much of her time with her ex-boyfriend. Tumi has no interest in marriage and his flirtatious habits make his prospects at a long term relationship difficult. Rose, on the other hand, learned that her fiancée was being unfaithful. Evidently it is relationships which become the film's prime concern. Another issue at the heart of White Wedding is racism and the ideal of an equal society.This issue is played upon by much of the comedic nature of the film. Strangely, while the film has comedy throughout and is marketed as such, the comedy never overrides the dramatic elements of the text. In many respects, the comedy becomes situational, playing upon South African societal norms, such as Elvis and Tumi vising a bar in an Afrikaans town. It all makes for good, clean fun even if the film proves too idealistic for its own good. The acting is, in general, quite good. Nkosi feels comfortable with his role though he tends to overact on the odd occasion, and Seiphemo is as solid as always. Whittaker is a surprise casting, giving the film somewhat of an international appeal, and while she is not acting at her best she does her job well enough. Msutwana is the only of the cast who appears somewhat off-putting. Throughout she is workable but she goes through the odd scene once and while as monotonic.

The cinematography feels too simple and expected, though strangely this is not a bad move on part of the director Jann Turner with her directorial debut. Turner goes about refreshing African cinema, and proves to rather make a sound film instead of allowing it to be plagued by a poor script, story or acting. She will undoubtedly free her style once she gets more used to creating movies instead of her usual television shows.

Apart from the occasional mild swearing, there is no content which sensitive viewers would disapprove of.

White Wedding is not an excellent comedy but as the sum of it's parts, its worth a watch. The story is simple though lacks subtly in explaining its messages and the acting is commendable though it does wane at times. While strictly a comedy to be enjoyed by South Africans it does have some international appeal. However the film should be viewed as a drama with a good does of comedy rather then a strict comedy, and perhaps by not being so conservative with style and form, White Wedding could be enjoyed by all.

6/10

Screen date: 03 May 2009
Release date: 29 April 2009

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

A slice of fun, a dice of technicalities ...

Origins: Wolverine gives a glimpse into the history of one the most iconic characters in the comic book industry showing events before the first X-Men film. Brothers James Logan (Hugh Jackman) and Victor Creed (Liev Schreiber) have, with their unique gift to rapidly heal their bodies, served together in countless wars throughout the 20th century until being recruited into a special ops programme by William Stryker (Danny Huston). Logan begins to tire of this group as he opposes the overly violent tendencies of the operations, and eventually he leaves the group. Years later, Logan is approached by Strkyer to help with a task of national security all while Logan's girlfriend Kayla Silverfox (Lynn Collins) is murdered by Victor, which results in Logan seeking revenge.

The origin of Wolverine is a rather intriguing story, especially since Wolverine in modern times suffers from amnesia. Of course the adaptation is not entirely faithful. The introduction begins to quickly settling the arrival of Logan's abilities in a few minutes and then flashing to well conceived opening credits. The story continues this fast pace but once Logan leaves the special ops programme the films pacing begins to slow. This becomes symbolic in the change of lifestyle for Logan but after the first half the film begins to become somewhat fragmented, resulting in a story whereby Logan is forced to fighting another character just to move the story on for a few minutes: the dramatic elements begin to lose their importance as the film develops but thankfully the story's finale synthesizes the action and story in a similar manner to the film's beginning.

Many facets to Wolverines life are kept while others, especially in regards to characters are given certain changes. One such change revolves around Deadpool: it is a change which ardent fans may disapprove of but since this is an adaptation, the film works like a retelling of the overall Marvel universe, a concept synonymous with the comic book industry. In fact, Origins: Wolverine becomes indicative of how adaptations should be perceived as a imagining and not always as a as carbon copy of the original text.

The actors and their respective characters are, for the most part, well received. Jackman continues his excellent form as Wolverine, but is able to portray him as a character filled with an internal struggle to do what is right while having a capacity for evil. Schreiber, Jackman's counterpart, proves a useful adversary and an excellent binary opposite to Jackman; where Logan is conflicted, Creed is bloodthirsty. Huston performs a good job as a subtly menacing and smug official who wishes to wipe out mutants while Collins is delicate, if not underplayed in the film. The remainder of the cast all perform adequately and their respective characters are suitably added to the films plot. However, this does not stop a couple cameos being more fan service then actually being truly relevant to the overall plot.

Another person to be complimented is director Gavin Hood (Rendition) who does a delightful job with his cinematography. Granted, he tends to stay on the conservative side of film making, but this never stops him completing some beautifully shot scenes. Though some of the fight sequences are more muted then they should be and it becomes saddening to think that the film's action, while entertaining, could have been more ferocious. An uncut release could remedy that but hopefully the sequel, if there is one, will allow for the actions scenes to all be equally as enjoyable.

However, if Wolverine is to be faulted in area it would be its mixed bag of special effects and CGI. CGI tends to be worse off with the odd action scene looking either too blurry or unrealistic, and even Wolverine's trademark claws appearing far too cartoon-like. The special effects are not too bad with a characters energy beam being very impressive, but another characters defense mechanism being poorly textured. The end result is a mixed bag, and while none of the problems areas truly distract from the overall experience, it is evident that the film required a longer post-production phase.

There is no sex or nudity, with language at a low. Violence is abundant throughout the film but it is never bloody, even with one character being decapitated, though this is never graphic by any means.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a highly pleasurable film: the story is engaging; if lacking in depth; the acting is commendable; the directing is workable and the action scenes are fun to watch. It is a pity that the film is not as violent as it could have been and even more so that the technical aspects, something so well polished in other superhero films, appears incomplete. This plus a few slight niggles to the overall film still allows Wolverine to be among the better half of the superhero genre.

7/10

Screen date: 30 April 2009
Release date: 29 April 2009

Dragonball Evolution

Fun, but weak and short...

As an apprentice, Goku (Justin Chatwin) is under the guidance of his grandfather, Gohan (Randall Duk Kim), in martial arts but finds it difficult to adjust to a normative social life. While trying to balance his training with his inept attempts at flattering Chi-Chi (Jamie Chung), Goku becomes caught up in a search with Master Roshi (Chow Yun-Fat) and Bulma (Emmy Rossum) for seven Dragonballs which are to help him save the world from Piccolo (James Marsters), a creature bent on destroying the world.

Based upon a manga and anime, Dragonabll Evolution is not going to win praise for faithful adaptation. Much has been altered, mainly due to the medium being used, but ardent fans will be disappointed. That said, the story is not anything wholly original: Goku is an apprentice who is given the almighty task of saving the world from an evil tyrant, nevertheless the adaptation is intriguing. This film has been given a more close-to-home feel with Goku attending a normal high school and everyday cars are driven, but many elements are amiss. Characters become caricatures of themselves: Bulma is too Lara Croft and Yamcha comes across as too much of a beach bum, and as such characters become less like their original versions. The adaptations work as far as giving an alternative universe to the Dragonball universe, though Goku's most powerful energy attack is given a rather strange twist.

Nevertheless the core problem with Dragonball Evolution is time: the film is simply too short to tell the tale it wishes to tell and a consequence of this is that story arcs develop way too quickly. For instance, the love story between Goku and Chi-Chi, as cute as it may be because two individuals were able to fall deeply in love in such a short time, in not conducive to the overall story as their quick fall into love serves no purpose whatsoever. Even the mystery around the Oozaru lacks any buildup and gets answered under two lines of prose. These are just two of countless elements which occur far too quickly and are never given time to mature, like character development and motivation, making the film far too aimless. Paradoxically enough, the editing department is far too loose and never strict enough to keep scene integration fluid and quick. This all adds up to a film which clearly did not have enough time in its post-production phase: Dragonball Evolution was released earlier than it ought to have.

The acting department is commendable with the actors seeming as if they enjoyed their roles somewhat, but this does not stop some noticeable bland acting. Chatwin begins off on a slow note and, like a few of his peers, appears to act in a rather scripted way. The acting becomes more natural as the film develops but it's disheartening that Fat and Kim overshadow the entire cast. Of course some strange dialogue choices and overemphasis on characters quirks makes it difficult for the actors to truly make their respective character work.

In many respects, director James Wong tries t to make the film feel like a cartoon when he should be focusing on making it a straight live-action. He is not a bad director by any means but his cinematography does not make the action scenes, in which little there are, feel explosive. They feel weak in order to seem non-violent and in here is another gave mistake in the film: it aimed at a younger market then it ought to be.

There is no sex or nudity, except from Roshi's appeal into swimsuit magazines, and language is rare with violence being far too tame to warrant the term 'violent'.

Dragonball Evolution is not a very good film, but it is neither a poor film. There is a clear desire to make the film as successful and enjoyable as possible but the planning and execution is heavily flawed. The story feels ripped from countless other martial arts film, albeit the grandeur of powers the main characters can wield, and the acting or direction never impresses on a high level. The adaptation is not faithful but it needn't be, for Dragonball Evolution ultimately fails because there is not enough time to tell the story it wishes too. With some clear direction and better planning the sequel can be a better received film, but for what it is worth Dragonball Evolution is enjoyable enough on its own terms.

6/10

Screen date: 17 April 2009
Release date: 09 April 2009

Fast and Furious

Original parts need reworking...

When an oil truck hijacking goes wrong, Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) is forced to leave his girlfriend, Letty (Michelle Rodirguez) and his current crew. However it is not long until he is brought to Los Angeles in order to infiltrate a high speed delivery service under the control of Ramon Campos. At the same time, Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker), an FBI agent, has been following a trail of drug deliveries and his investigation leads him to Campos.

A sequel to 2 Fast 2 Furious and a prequel to Tokyo Drift, Fast and Furious brings back the cast of the original to give the series a reboot of such, as if Tokyo Drift did not attempt the same feat already. As such, Fast and Furious is very much on par with the first two films: it goes back to home territory in America, and ditches the drifting for pure speed racing. Though there is only a single race in the entire film with various chase sequences, so the main appeal of the film, street racing, is not entirely utilized to full effect. Nevertheless, Fast and Furious does attempt to tell a reasonably interesting story. Reasonably because it never really works by the film's end. The story does not take long to give an emotional pull for the audience, but it pans out rather uninterestedly. Toretto and O'Conner have their own agendas' in the main story arc but it becomes far too neatly wrapped. Any calamities brought about by the first two films, such as O'Connor's betrayal of Mia, are brushed aside and given far too conventional, and easy explanations. Make no mistake, Fast and Furious is all about style over substance.

The acting department is not entirely better, but credit must be given to a cast that does indeed try to get the film's feel right with their respective characters. But neither Rodrigruez, Brewster, or the main two, Walker and Diesel, feel anything more then caricatures. And this is a great pity as the script wants to give them more depth but it becomes overshadowed but moderate acting and a weak attempt at story telling; an average script with some weak dialogue doesn't help matters for the actors either.

Though while the film lacks depth it does make up for in its method. The entire film oozes sex appeal from the main cast, the many scantily clad women engaging in rather intimate situations, and the lineup of vehicles. The latter does not play as much of a visual importance as seen in Tokyo Drift which is an indication of the film's more character driven narrative. Car sequences mainly revolve around chases with only a single race event taking place. While races would have made for more exciting set pieces the chases do their job at entertaining. Credit must be given to director Justin lin, who provides some stunning cinematography. He is also quite knowledgeable to invoke symbolism into his filming style for a few scenes. One such has O'Connor, on foot, chasing after a man: the scene is shot in quite a jumpy and jagged manner. However the car sequences are far more smooth, as if the main characters are more in their element while riding a car, then they are as themselves.

There is no sex or nudity, beyond two focuses on two different sets of lesbians kissing and fondling and many provocative outfits and dancing. Violence is never intense but the car sequences show enough wrecked damage. Language is kept down to mostly scatological terms with no hard swearing.

It might be cliched, but Fast and Furious is both fast and furious though it becomes painstakingly obvious as the film develops that it lacks self-control. It is great to see the old cast return but it all feels like a rather forced effort to relive the glory days of the original. The story tries too much to make all characters comfortable with one another; the acting is never up to standard; and there is sadly only one race scene. The director is really the only person who kick starts the films engine: it is a decent film, but it requires a good load of tuning if it wants to score big.

6/10

Screen date: 11 April 2009
Release date: 09 April 2009

Changeling

Interesting, if not a simple, example of a mother's desperation...

In 1928, Christine Collins (Angelina Jolie), a single parent and working class woman in Los Angeles,  leaves her son, Walter (Gattlin Grifith), at home to attend a last-minute work schedule. By the time she returns she discovers that Walter is missing and files a missing child's report. Over the next few months Christine attempts to search for her son by any means possible, yet the LAPD discover a stranded boy who they believe to be Walter. Upon being reunited with her son, Christine's joy turns to dismay as she discovers that the boy is not her son, even though he claims to be.

Based upon true events the film automatically gains a shocking realism in conjunction to it's subject matter, which develops into a frightening case as the film progresses. What starts off as a simple case of a child going missing, turns into a complex matter of police incompetence and the desperate struggle of a mother. But this is not to say that the film flows from point to point without any hitches. While the first three quarters are intriguing to watch, especially with the addition of a hint of horror elements adding spice to the drama, the first half the film's final quarter drags the film to a standstill. The main reason for this is that by the time the last quarter starts, you'll already know how the film is going to end, even if you have no idea about the events on which the film is based. It's predictable what will happen to Walter, what becomes of Christine, and what becomes of the LAPD, but the film attempts to drag its run time by making these issues seem suspenseful. This falls directly within the film's major problem, the lack of ambiguity. From the  very outset we know what Walter looks like ,and the boy claiming to be him later in the story only partially resembles him. Clint Eastwood never allows for the audience to question the integrity of Christine,  such as many people at the time would have most likely done as well. The very chance to make the film more believable is never played upon.

But beyond that there is very little to criticize the film except for the fact that Christine never really places any blame on herself for leaving her child alone in the house at a time when many children were going missing. It's a small thing, and her self-blame could be read into her actions, but it appears that she is too willing to blame outside factors and never really accept that she should have done more then just have the neighbours go over to check on Walter, which itself is never played upon because it is never stated whether the neighbours did or did not.

Nevertheless, the acting which is top notch. Every major character does a great job of showcasing their respective character with realism. Angelina Jolie steals the show: her bodily expressions in conjunction with the pure veracity of her emotions and speech is breathtaking. When she is happy, Jolie has a glow to her; when she is desperate and angered at the loss of her child, Jolie is every inch the mother you would expect her to be. Jeffrey Donovan, as Captain Jones, is smug as he should be and annoyed at the constant plea from Christine. Michale Kelly comes across as interested and sympathetic as his character, Detective Ybarra, should have been when investigating the cases of missing children. If there is a little disappointment it would be John Malcovich as Reverend Briegleb, but not because he underachieves but because there is not enough screen time to allow Malcovich to really play with the role. He comes across as a little stifled, but this doesn't stop some good acting on his part.

There is no sex, nudity and minimum language. Violence is kept for the latter half of the film but is performed in flashbacks, occur very quickly and the victim is off-screen, though that doesn't stop them being quite haunting.

The Changeling is a good film, though not quite one of Eastwood's best. Yes the acting ensemble is really good, especially from Jolie, and there is an interesting plot. However this does not stop the film being predictable and not as suspenseful as it ought to be, and the main case of this is the lack of ambiguity. Everything in the Changeling is far too stated which, for the real life events themselves, was not the case.

7/10

Screen date: 20 February 2009

Release date: 20 February 2009

Valkyrie

An interesting idea backed by a top cast...

Colonel Stuaffenberg (Tom Cruise) is one of the few men in the Nazi party who feel that their leader, Adolf Hitler (David Bamber), is more a threat to German instead of her saviour. He regrets the oath he took for Hitler and feels a desire to help Germany in any way possible. When a surprise attack on a German camp in Tunisia leaves Stuaffenberg seriously wounded, he becomes recruited into a group bent on killing Hitler at any cost.

While based upon real-life events, Valkyrie's soul is that of an action thriller and not a biopic. This is not to say that director Bryan Singer skews history but he merely doesn't try to authenticate the film in its entirety. The most obvious claim to this would be the lack of German accents from the main cast. Besides the German introduction from Cruise, all major characters keep their American or British accents intact. This is by no means problematic for the film, and many other greats have been in the same boat. A recent example is The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas: a stellar film where the cast was easily identifiably for their strong English accents even though they were German. The fact of the manner is, is that authentic accents would not enhance either films' core message, with Valkyrie's being about bravery in an unforgiving situation.

The story itself follows a fairly consistent flow with the odd moment being stretched out far longer then it ought to be or a story segment which is not developed enough, such as the lack of screen time to develop the relationship between Stauffenberg and his wife Nina (Carice van Houten) and their children. That said, it should be noted that there is an obvious lack of true twists in the story, unless you have no idea about Operation Valkyrie, but this forms a truly impressive feat from Singer, the story and the actors: there is a genuine feel in the film that there is a chance that Stuaffenberg could actually succeed and this only heightens the suspense.

The acting front is laden with experience and it shows. Cruise proves commendable as his role as Stuaffenberg and expresses the same level of vigour he has shown many films before. He is not the most ideal candidate but that does not stop him. However Cruise does have the rare weak moment where his delivery of a certain line comes across as stiff and out of character. The British cast is simply fantastic and virtually faultless. The likes of Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighly and Tom Wilkinson bring a level of believability to the film that could have otherwise been lost and their presence is easily felt. Smaller, though not unimportant, roles go to von Houten, who shows a real sense of love for Stuaffenberg, and Bamber, who is just as every inch as creepy and menacing as the infamous Hitler himself. As noted, the entire cast is impressive and lift the film as a whole.

The music ensemble, while not overly memorable, supports the film at all times. The direction is no different. Bryan Singer brings a neat fluidity to the scenes which help the film's pacing but it is evident that he is not confident to allow the story or characters speak for themselves in many situations, and instead of being subtle, prefers to make sure the audience understands everything as it happens. In this respect the film loses much of its intrigue and naturalness.

Sex and nudity play no part in the film's proceedings with language being brief, if not strong on the odd occasion. Action sequences show off the violent content but there are far and few, never graphic and is comprises mainly of firearms with a suicide scene.

Valkyrie can be considered Tom Cruise's return to cinema, and thankfully the end result is a positive one. He is backed up by a decent storyline and a superb selection of actors. Sure the film could have used with some better pacing, more depth and subtlety; and the lack of German accents do possibly ruin the experience if you allow it to do so, but these problems do not hurt the film in any serious manner. Valkyrie might lack the literary impact to allow it to be phenomenal, but that does not stop it being watchable and exciting.

8/10

Screen date: 30 January 2009

Release date: 30 January 2009

Chandni Chowk to China

Too Much Hustling in this Kung Fu...

When a Chinese village becomes fed up with the dictatorship of tyrant Hojo (Gordon Liu) they decide to free themselves by finding the reincarnation of a legendary Chinese warrior. Their search takes them to India where they stumble upon Sidhu (Akshay Kumar) who bears a similar resemblance to the warrior of old. Sidhu is looking for a way to turn around his poor luck but is tricked into going to China when Chopstick (Ranvir Shorey) purposely mistranslates what the Chinese have to say.

You wouldn't be wrong if you think Chandni Chowk to China is akin to Kung Fu Hustle. Both are about martial arts, and both are parody films that parody subject matter even outside that of martial arts. In fact Chandni Chowk mimics the story and various situations found in Kung Fu Hustle, but it is not quite as masterfully conceived. The story is a fairly standard affair of martial arts films where the protagonist needs to rise to the occasion, learn some killer moves and defeat the enemy. Luckily the scriptwriters did attempt to add some additional subplots to give the film some depth and, in this regard, it works but perhaps a little too well. Besides the journey which is undertaken by Sidhu there is a smaller plot regarding the character Chiang Kohung (Roger Yuan) who has been trying to bring down Hojo but met a sad fate in the process. Kohung's story is used to help Sidhu's along but by the film's end this subplot abundantly more interesting than the main plot. Sadly the characters lack the story's depth and are far more one dimensional except for, would you believe it, Kohung.

In fact Kohung would not be such an amazing character if it were not for the equally amazing acting by Roger Yuan. Not only does he act confidently but his martial arts talent is fluid and precise. It's difficult to imagine that he has landed so few roles in his career and hopefully Chandni Chowk gets him more exposed. Yuan's opposite, Gordon Liu shows off his abundant knowledge of the film industry with a performance that emphasizes his characters subdued evil. It becomes a strange occurrence indeed when these two Chinese actors have better performances in a Bollywood film than the two titles stars: Akshay Kumar and Deepika Padukone. Padukone has a double role as both Sakhi and Meow Meow but her screen time is surprisingly limited and it's obvious that she is eager to explode her roles into something more then she is allowed. And then there is Kumar, who does not perform badly for he is suited to his role, but he overacts far too much. Presumably to heighten the comedy, the problem Kumar faces by the films close is that he never has control of it. He is so busy trying to find ways to make people laugh that he forgets that he is playing what is possibly one of the most annoying characters ever to grace cinema.

That said, the humour is abundant, regardless of whether Kumar exaggerates his role or not. But this is not to say that the humour is of a high level throughout, for most of the time the humour is based on sheer stupidity. This is not exactly problematic but anyone expecting something akin to Kung Fu Hustle, which itself also had its share of stupidity for laughs, might be a little peeved at the little genuinely original comedy.

Though what doesn't help matters is the poor implementation of CG. From the introduction showcasing the Great Wall of China to the water effects used for a special move Sidhu learns, the CG is always out of place. The special effects tend to work better but are used sparingly.

On top of that the music selection for the film is very poor and the dance sequences themselves are not any better. Sure Deepkia Padukone can look incredibly sexy during these sequences but the music is only goes to make the worse then what it actually is. Coupled with the fact that music is used inappropriately in some scenes, such as in the final fight, the end result is a Bollywood film which should have gone against the norm.

Chandni Chowk is an all round family film with no sex, nudity or language. Violence is mostly in the form of martial arts and one character does have a weapon that he uses to slice the neck of some victims but this is quite tame.

Simply put, Chandni Chowk to China is a disappointing film especially when its taken into consideration that it was delayed from its original release in October/ November last year. It is difficult to tell if any additions were made because nothing really gels well for the film as a whole. The acting is passable, with the Chinese actors being the highlight; the story is decent but is overshadowed by a mere subplot; and the music selection is shocking. That said the film has some of the best action sequences in a Bollywood film with the martial arts being fun to watch and the film is comedic throughout. However it should be advised that one's enjoyment of the film depends merely on their temperament for stupidity.

5/10

Screen date: 18 January 2009

Release date: 16 January 2009