The Great Gatsby (2013)

Year: 2013
Director: Baz Luhrmann
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Isla Fisher
Now showing in cinemas everywhere


There is one simple way to determine if you are a fan of The Great Gatsby. It's by whether you are a Baz Luhrmann fan or if you are not.

The Great Gatsby is Baz Luhrmann's most ambitious and extravagant film yet. Luhrmann has an unmistakable style to his films and if you are not a fan of his past films, in particular Moulin Rouge!, there is little chance that you will enjoy The Great Gatsby. On the other hand, if you are a Baz fan, then you will think that this film is one of the events of the year. That being said, for it to really have been one of the events of the year, The Great Gatsby would have to have broken down the barrier between the two and that's something it failed to do.

Based on F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel, The Great Gatsby is told from the viewpoint of young bond worker, Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire) who moves to New York and into a cottage on Long Island. He quickly becomes enchanted by the extravagant lifestyle of his cousin, Daisy (Carey Mulligan) and her husband, Tom Buchanan (Joel Edgerton). When Nick finally meets his enigmatic neighbour, Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio), he finds that below the surface nothing is as it seems.

Luhrmann's version of The Great Gatsby is extremely over the top. That has always been his style, but this film seeks to overemphasise parts of the story which don't need to be as they already create an impact naturally. The moment when Gatsby is introduced into the film is so over the top. DiCaprio doesn't need fireworks placed around him for his entrance into the film. That's enough to provoke a sea of eye rolls.

Even though it is extremely over the top and there is a lot of the film that visually seems unnecessary, you can't deny it is also visually stunning. The party scenes are incredible as are the recreations of 1920's New York City. All of the costumes for the players are also incredible, Carey Mulligan never looks less than a million dollars.

Luhrmann also is very good at employing the best choreography for the party and club scenes. It almost makes you want to learn the Charleston. It can be a little too neat at times when it is employed for butlers opening and closing doors in time with each other at the Buchanan's house, again unnecessary. The musical score is also very good. It is a risk to mix modern music with a historical picture, but it does The Great Gatsby justice.

One thing that everyone will agree on is that through the exaggeration and the extravagance, Luhrmann does make sure that the film stays true to Fitzgerald's novel the whole way. He may let the cinematography run away with itself, but the story stays on it's path.

There could not have been a better person to play Gatsby than Leonardo DiCaprio. He is everything Gatsby should be and is consistently good. His most wonderful scene is when his Gatsby catches sight of Daisy for the first time in years and you can see all his love and pain in his expression in such a pure way. Carey Mulligan is also a very good Daisy Buchanan. It is wonderful to finally see her smile in a movie again.

Tobey Maguire is good as Nick Carraway, but is overshadowed by his fellow players in many of his scenes. His best comes at the end of the film. Joel Edgerton is also brilliant as Tom Buchanan, and also quite intimidating.

The Great Gatsby is not going to be for everyone. It will be for those who crave visual extravagance and love experiencing how the other half live.

7/10


You may have also seen Leonardo DiCaprio in.....
Inception as Cobb
Django Unchained as Calvin Candie

You may have also seen Carey Mulligan in.....
An Education as Jenny
Drive as Irene

You may have also seen Joel Edgerton in.....
The Waiting City as Ben Simmons

Drive (2011)

Drive

Year: 2011

Director: Nicholas Winding Refn

Cast: Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Christina Hendricks, Oscar Isaac

Before I begin my review…

                I have a brilliant idea.

                We all know how this year is the year of the Rabbit in Chinese astrology and next year is the year of the Dragon. I’m not necessarily into astrology for reasons which are my own and I’m not going to start a debate about it here, but I propose each year to be a year of a particular movie star. This “movie star” year is selected according the achievements of a particular movie star of that year. Not like the Oscars, as the Oscars are based on one performance. This is based on a year of work.

Only problem is that it is usually in the second half of the year that you notice that you have pretty much seen this actor in almost everything that year. You know what I mean. 2004 was the Year of Jude Law. His film roster that year included I Heart Huckabees, Sky Captain and The World Of Tomorrow, Closer, Alfie and The Aviator. That’s an impressive year. Unfortunately Movie Critical wasn’t in existence then, so seven years later we will declare 2004 the Year of Jude Law! Well done Jude!

Back to the present, I proclaim 2011 to be the Year of Ryan Gosling. He has had a big year. He has starred in Crazy Stupid Love, Drive and The Ides Of March, as well as short Quiet Ryan. It seems as if we have seen Gosling everywhere the past few months. He was also nominated for a Golden Globe at the beginning of 2011 for Blue Valentine.

What do we love best about Gosling? Not the so called “photo-shopped” chest which Emma Stone refers to in Crazy Stupid Love, but that he never gives anything less than 100% in every single one of his performances. He’s a good looking boy, but don’t let the looks fool you into thinking that that’s all he relies on in his movies. Just watch Drive.

Review

Drive is an absolute sackful of surprises.

For the first half of the film, you think it is one type of the film. However at the halfway point it completely switches pace, rhythm and becomes a totally different film entirely. It may not be the change some are happily expecting, but it does allow intrigue and keeps up interest in the film.

Ryan Gosling’s Driver is a Hollywood stuntman by day and is a hired getaway driver for criminals at night. He lives a solitary life and avoids emotion of any kind. That is, until he meets his neighbour, Irene (Carey Mulligan) and her son, Benicio (Kaden Leos). He finds himself becoming drawn to both of them, even when Irene’s husband, Standard (Oscar Isaacs) is released from prison which leads to inevitable complications with his emotions and profession.

Drive is very well directed by Nicholas Winding Refn. The cinematography is truly brilliant and he makes the most of every scene no matter how non-aesthetically pleasing the contents of that scene may be. Refn is a fan of the mirror reflection shot and this is used a great deal throughout the film.

There are aspects of Drive which seem extremely 1980’s, such as the pink handwriting at the beginning of the film and the somewhat retro music played throughout.

The first half of the film is quite slow, but is so in order to create character for the Driver and also for Irene and her family. However, once Standard and Driver team up the film does a complete 360 degree turn and changes entirely. It becomes fast paced and action packed and really quite violent. There are fragments of the infamous Bonnie and Clyde scene with the addition of a great deal more blood.

The car chases in the film are particularly memorable and prompt you to reach for your seatbelt like you are on a ride and afraid of falling out.

Ryan Gosling does a good job in his role, but you really wish you knew more about his character. However, it is interesting that for the lack of character development, you feel an instant relationship with the character from the first few scenes. His acting is really quite good for a character who doesn’t say much or show much emotion. You are able to see the subtle flicker of emotion in his eyes during the relevant scenes. Yet, you do wish at times that he might say a bit more.

Carey Mulligan never puts in a bad performance, but it doesn’t seem like the best role for her. She is sweet, but not a strong role really. Oscar Isaacs is believable and actually quite likable, which is a surprise for a criminal. Christina Hendricks doesn’t have a big role, but she doesn’t do badly. It is a big change from her Mad Men persona.

Not a typical “rev-head” movie so does draw in a wider audience. Not for those who cannot stand blood.

7/10

Never Let Me Go

Never Let Me Go
Year: 2010
Director: Mark Romanek
Cast: Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley, Andrew Garfield, Sally Hawkins

In My Own Words
"Never Let Me Go" was one film I was really looking forward to seeing. It is one of those films which I first hear about while it is in production and know nothing about it, yet I know who is in it and just that makes me want to see it. "Never Let Me Go" is the second pairing up in a feature film of Keira Knightley and Carey Muligan. I believe that these two are two of the finest British young actors going around at the moment. Firstly you have Knightley, who has proved that she can do it all. She can do the young roles, the damsel in distress, the tough girl, the object of affection and the historic roles. All of these she can do well, and has earned herself an Oscar nomination for "Pride & Prejudice" in doing so. At the present time she is also appearing in "The Children's Hour" in London's West End. There is nothing she can't do. Then you have Carey Mulligan. Mulligan has completed the majority of her work in British television, but 2009 and 2010 were big years for her in regards to film. Her break through role was as Jenny in "An Education" in which she recieved wide acclaim and her first Oscar nomination. As much as I admire and love Mulligan's performances, I would love to see her in a role which would require her to smile a bit more! Maybe a romantic comedy should be on the cards for her to break up her intense dramatic roles and show that beautiful smile of hers. Don't get me wrong, I don't want her to turn into an actor who only does the cutesy rom-com roles, but she has such a beautiful smile, it would be great for her to show it off on screen once or twice and lower the intensity. However, she does intense extremely well.With these two involved, "Never Let Me Go" looked like a winner to me, even when I didn't know what it was about. We are all guilty of this, but what is a better marketing tool than your favourite actor or actors?

These are my own words and here is my review.

Review
"Never Let Me Go" is the new film from Mark Romanek based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Kazuo Ishiguro. It is an interesting and unsettling film, but also very tender and emotional. It has been described as a film about love and betrayal, which it indeed true, but it is also about growing up and the emotions which make us human. "Never Let Me Go" centres around three school friends, Kathy (Carey Mulligan), Tommy (Andrew Garfield) and Ruth (Keira Knightley). The film opens in Hailsham, a strict, but pleasant boarding school when the friends are young. Their friendship and dynamics with one another change as they get older and they come to experience emotions and feelings between one another that one would not suspect at such a young age. All this because Hailsham was not as it seemed and they were not normal children.

"Never Let Me Go" is not what it is made out to be. Perhaps this is a good thing as it makes the film more intriguing and interesting, but it is not a good thing if you are expecting a movie truly about love. There is a great deal of emotion in this film, the large majority of it being hard emotion. You feel so much sorrow for these three characters and what they have to go through day by day. It actually puts your life into greater perspective by making you realise the freedom you have to do what you want to do and be who you want to be. "Never Let Me Go" is largely a character based drama, focusing primarily on who these three main characters are and how they feel as a result of the walls which are put up around them. Although the audience does not see anything which would make them cringe in pain, they do feel pain just from the thought of what these three friends have to go through. It is a credit to the film makers that they can create stir up so many feelings and make so much of an impact by something which they cannot see. The film is beautifully directed and the cinematography is quite superb. Romanek captures the tranquility and serenity of the English boarding house extremely well. The scene at the beach is also a standout in his direction.

"Never Let Me Go" has a great story and is brilliantly written and cast. Carey Mulligan gives another superb performance as Kathy H. She is able to tell the audience so much just from the look in her eyes. Her performance reaches its peak towards the end of the film. Honourable mention should also be given to Isobel Meikle-Small, who plays the younger Kathy H and looks uncannily like a younger version of Mulligan. Throughout the film, it can seem as though Andrew Garfield has drawn the shortest straw, as he has perhaps the easiest role throughout, but then in one particular scene towards the end of the film he completely blows everyone else in the film out of the water. His performance brings tears to your eyes in this particular scene, and it shouldn't be a question of which scene this is after you see it. It is so good to see Garfield complete a role which is completely different from his role in "The Social Network" as it proves that he has a long and bright future ahead of him, and not just as the next Spiderman. However, on screen Mulligan and Garfield do not have a great amount of chemistry. They do not seem quite as in love as the story makes them out to be. Keira Knightley also gives a great performance in which she goes through all the emtions one would in such a situation with complete believability. The interaction between Knightley and Mulligan on screen works superbly as they both know who their characters are and the tension is felt between these two, but also the love is felt between them too.

"Never Let Me Go" is an emotional film. There is nothing presented on screen which would make this visually a hard film to watch, but the thought processes it sets you on and the way it makes you feel are not easy things to face. This does make for a splendid work of art as it makes you feel and think things that you wouldn't have unless you had seen this film.
7.5/10

Wall Street:Money Never Sleeps

Year: 2010
Director: Oliver Stone
Cast: Michael Douglas, Shia LaBeouf, Carey Mulligan, Josh Brolin

In My Own Words
Well, it’s been a long time in between drinks for Gordon Gekko. I watched “Wall Street” for Business Studies while I was in school (stop trying to guess how old I am, it was way after the film actually came out so you can’t win this one). I’m thinking that the real reason the teachers got us to watch it was to take a break from teaching for the day, but I’m assuming that their reason for us to watch it was to learn about business ethics. That if we are unethical we will end up in jail like Gordon Gekko. It must’ve worked because as far as I know, none of the girls I went to school with are in jail. It was hardly the most exciting film for 15 year old girls to watch. “Wall Street” is definitely an adult film. Not because it has adult content in it, but school children aren’t able to relate to it in any way, shape or form. It’s long awaited sequel isn’t a younger person’s film either, however the admission of Shia LaBeouf may bring a younger audience into the cinemas. If so, they may not have the same movie experience as they did when going to see their heart throb in “Transformers, but at least they won’t end up in jail for fraud.

These are my own words and here is my review.

Review
“Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” is the long awaited sequel to “Wall Street”, which means that, like it or not, it does have a level of expectation attached to it. Those who were waiting for a huge Gordon Gekko extravaganza, then it’s not that. However, if you haven’t seen “Wall Street” or think that less Gekko is better, you may not be disappointed. The much updated version of the 1980’s corporate drama is one of those films which you will sit on the fence about. Neither a failure, but far from a classic. Jake Moore (Shia LaBeouf), a young, up and comer on Wall Street who is going out with the infamous Gordon Gekko’s (Michael Douglas) estranged daughter, Winnie (Carey Mulligan). It has never been an issue, but when Jake’s mentor and father figure, Lewis Zabel (Frank Langella) commits suicide and he then proposes to Winnie, he becomes completely intrigued by his future father in law. Although he tries to tell himself that he has got in contact with Gekko for Winnie’s , it is clear that there are more selfish motives involved on Jake’s behalf.

What fans of the original “Wall Street” will find is that this film isn’t as centred around Gordon Gekko as many would have hoped. However, for people who are not fans of the original or those who haven’t seen the first, you don’t need to have seen it to understand it or enjoy it The film is more about Jake and Winnie rather than Gekko and his daughter or Gekko and his future son in law. By the focus not being purely on Gekko himself, the film can be judged as a stand alone film rather than have the stigma of a sequel be in the way.

There are some truly good things about “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps”. For one, the directing is quite superb, as one would expect from Oliver Stone. He makes some interesting choices in camera shots, but they work. There are some scenes were the choices he makes on the way things are shot are quite beautiful and spectacular. The only thing that can be criticised about the cinematography is that at times, it seems like Stone tries to do too much and is trying too hard to impress with what he can do and what can be done. The script is well written and has just the right jargon for the subject matter. The only criticism is that it is really quite predictable. There are no surprises hidden in the film at all, which can make it quite tedious. It is also very slow at times and is very slow getting to the point.

Michael Douglas is back to his best as Gordon Gekko. His performance this time around isn’t quite as effective as it was in the first film (sequel stigma rears its ugly head). It’s his actions in the script which make him the scheming Gekko, rather than his acting. Shia LaBeouf unfortunately seems miscast in this film. He is made out to be a young Wall Street yuppie, but it is hard to tell from his performance that he is as ambitious and money hungry as the film tries to make him out to be. He can actually seem a bit pathetic at times. His acting isn’t all bad, but his performance should have been done with more arrogance or the role should have been given to another young Hollywood male. Carey Mulligan once again gives a heartfelt performance and takes her role as far as it can go. Her only fault as far as her character is more a criticism of Stone’s direction than her acting is that she spends so much time crying and being depressed that her character of Winnie can be extremely morbid and almost painful. Mulligan still manages to give an extremely realistic performance and lacks nothing in her acting. Frank Langella also must be commended for his performance. Langella is never one to not give 100% in his roles and this is another one of his successes.

“Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” will have its fans and its cynics. It’s ironic that there is more chance of non-fans of the original “Wall Street” enjoying this than fans of the original enjoying it. Don’t be afraid to go and see this film if you don’t enjoy the first or even if you haven’t seen it, because you may be pleasantly surprised. If you are a fan of the original, still do see it, but don’t expect it to be a direct follow on from the original, which would be impossible anyway as the original was released 23 years ago. Clear you mind and go to see the film purely as a stand alone.
6/10

I want to know more about......
Michael Douglas
http://www.moviecritical.com/2010/10/michael-douglas.html

Shia LaBeouf
http://www.moviecritical.com/2010/10/shia-labeouf.html

Carey Mulligan
http://www.moviecritical.com/2010/10/carey-mulligan.html

Carey Mulligan

DOB: 28th May 1985
Place of Birth: Westminster, London, UK
Film Debut: “Pride And Prejudice” (2005) as Elizabeth’s younger sister, Kitty

You may remember Carey from....
• The Greatest (2009) as Rose, the girlfriend of a boy who is killed in a car accident. Carey co-starred with Pierce Brosnan and Susan Surandon in her first US production
• An Education (2009) was the film that made Carey into a star. She played Jenny, the schoolgirl who cannot wait to grow up, but learns some very hard lessons when she does. Her role in “An Education” earned her a Best Performance By An Actress In A Leading Role nomination at the 2010 Academy Awards.

Rising Star: Carey Mulligan

I was going back and forth in my mind as to whether Carey Mulligan would qualify as being a Rising Star. Miss Mulligan is already a star in her own right with an Oscar nomination under her belt and a huge fan following, but one cannot deny the way her star status is on a continuous rise. She is definitely deserving of her own Rising Post, because there is much more to this talented British actress than her role of Jenny in “An Education” and being Shia LaBeouf’s current squeeze.

Carey Hannah Mulligan was born on the 25th of May 1985 in Greater London. She spent the first eight years of her life living in Germany before she returned with her parents to her home land. Carey first developed her love of acting at school at six years old when she appeared in “The King And I” in the chorus. It wasn’t until she was 20 that her dreams really started to take flight, when she got the role of Kitty Bennett the 2005 film, “Pride And Prejudice” alongside Keira Knightly and Judi Dench. This breakthrough role was the start of her film and television career.

She appeared in various British television shows and specials such as “Bleak House”, “Doctor Who” and “Northanger Abbey”. However during these times, she always kept her love of the stage and performed in productions such as “The Seagull”, in which she received a great deal of critical acclaim. From here, her film career took off and she appeared in “When Did You Last See Your Father?” with Jim Broadbent and Colin Firth and “The Greatest” with Pierce Brosnan, Susan Surandon and Aaron Johnson. However, it is by “An Education” that skyrocketed Mulligan into the stardom. For playing the role of eager sixteen year old schoolgirl Jenny, she received a BAFTA win and Golden Globe and Oscar nominations. The way in which she portrayed Jenny was done with complete believability and grace and she won many hearts in her performance.


Carey Mulligan entered Hollywood in 2009 with her roles in “Public Enemies” and “Brothers” and is continuing this new relationship in her current role as Winnie in “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps”. Her next role is in “Never Let Me Go”, in which she once again co-stars with Keira Knightly. Mulligan is also rumoured to be involved in the remake of “My Fair Lady” and the American remake of “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo”.

Carey Mulligan already has an amazing career and no doubt that are greater things to come for her. Her purity and grace make it almost impossible to dislike her and we wish her all the best of luck in the future.

An Education

Year: 2009
Director: Lone Scherfig
Cast: Carey Milligan, Peter Sarsgaard, Domonic Cooper, Rosamund Pike, Alfred Molina, Cara Seymour

In My Own Words
Tonight I finally got to see the performance of Carey Mulligan in “An Education”, a role that has had many people suggesting that an Oscar nomination is well on its way. Miss Mulligan is one of those stars who has had a solid acting career, yet has not found actual stardom outside the UK until now. It has been a big year for her with the release of “Public Enemies” and “An Education”, and the release of “Brothers” not too far away. The hype is true, she really is brilliant in this film and steals the show.

I really enjoyed this film. It may be a movie more for girls than boys, as it is a coming-of-age drama about a young girl, and addresses issues that young girls faced pre-feminism. The movie also makes you realize how important education is of any kind, whether it be through school books or through enriched life experience. The movie is based on Lynn Barber’s memoir, but there are quite a few things changed in order for it to work on the big screen, and these changes worked well. The film is moving, entertaining and, dare I say it, educational. It seems like a while since I saw a film at the cinemas which really made me happy to watch and observe all the wonderful things about it. I would be absolutely delighted to see this film and Mulligan considered for Academy Awards come 2010.

These are my own words and here is my review.

Review
“An Education” is based on the memoirs written by Lynn Barber and written for the screen by Nick Hornby, writer of “About A Boy” and “High Fidelity”. Jenny (Carey Mulligan) is a bright sixteen year old whose parents (Alfred Molina and Cara Seymour) have high hopes for her to attend Oxford. Although Jenny does see Oxford in her future, her mind is also consumed with her cello and everything French. Her life is turned upside down when she accepts a lift home from the charming David (Peter Sarsgaard). David, although 15 years her senior, takes her to fancy restaurants, away for weekends in the country and concerts, all the while completely charming and winning over her parents and making Jenny fall in love with him and her world. Before long, Jenny starts to notice that there are many questions that have gone unanswered about David’s world and that she may well need to choose between David or her dream of Oxford. Like many other teenagers on the verge of adulthood, she also realizes that her parents may not always know best.

Although this movie may sound like much like a typical teenage drama, it is presented far from it. It shows the transformation from a young schoolgirl into a woman of the world in a very grown up way, thanks to both fantastic direction from Lone Scherfig and amazing performances by the cast. Scherfig captures the 1960’s in a perfect manner and chooses a perfect soundtrack to back up what is happening on screen. The cinematography is amazing, such as the camera angles and shots. The choice of camera angles on Jenny help support her personal journey by showing her changing persona. However, the ending of the film may not be suited to everyone’s taste. Some people may feel satisfied with it while others may be left feeling as though the movie ends flat.

The best part of the film is defiantly the performances by the cast. Mulligan is the star of the film. As Jenny, she is charming, likeable and a joy to watch. She perfectly transforms from a young schoolgirl to a woman, whilst still regaining an air of youth and also naivety. Although in real life Mulligan is actually 24, you would find this very hard to believe when watching her on screen. Alfred Molini is also a stand out as Jenny’s father, who is protective of her and concerned about her future. Rosamund Pike, who plays David’s friend and Jenny’s some-what mentor in David’s world Helen, is also praise worthy. She supplies lots of humorous moments to the film and is an audience favourite. “An Education” also features Emma Thompson as the disliked headmistress of Jenny’s school and Sally Hawkins, star of “Happy-Go-Lucky”, also makes a cameo.

“An Education” is a beautiful film which contains both humorous and dramatic moments. The film and its cast are definitely of the Oscar caliber and it is worth seeing on the big screen to grasp the full emotion and strength it generates.

8.5/10