The Sapphires (2012)

The Sapphires

Year: 2012

Director: Wayne Blair

Cast: Chris O’Dowd, Deborah Mailman, Jessica Mauboy, Miranda Tapsell, Shari Sebbens

Before I begin my review…

                It hasn’t been a huge year for Australian film in 2012 so far, but The Sapphires has more than a little potential to change that.

                The Sapphires is now showing in Australian cinemas and is already proving to be a huge success in the local market. It has had the best opening weekend of an Australian film in the past two years and the third strongest of the past three years. It is going from strength to strength at the home box office and is about to make an impact on the international market.

The film made its debut at the Cannes Film Festival in May and has since received international praise. The infamous Harvey Weinstein has scooped up the rights for its distribution in the states after its successful showings at the festival…which is a sign that you are onto a good thing if there ever was one. The Sapphires is set to make its North American debut at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.

Personally I can see why this film is such a runaway success. It is one of those films that I love that cross genre’s so that it grabs a wider audience than a strictly genre film. There is something for everyone and as well as addressing the serious social issues, provides some light and fluffy humorous moments.

Just a side note, how well has little Jessica Mauboy done for herself? Back in 2006, Australian Idol took their auditions to the Northern Territory for the first time and their major find was 16 year old Mauboy who stood outside in the heat of the Australian desert and sang “I Have Nothing” by Whitney Houston while swatting flies away from her face. Now she has enjoyed the LA lifestyle and working with such artists as Snoop Dogg and Ludacris and The Sapphires is her second feature film.  That’s called knowing you’ve arrived.

Review

The Sapphires may be one of the best Australian films of the year (if not the best), but it is a great film regardless of which country it was made in.

Director Wayne Blair has brought the true story of an all-girl Aboriginal singing group to the big screen in a film that crosses all genre defining lines and makes this a film everyone will enjoy. The Sapphires is sweet, funny and feel good, but doesn’t eliminate the seriousness and emotion of the important issues it addresses.

Gail (Deborah Mailman) and her two sisters, Cynthia (Miranda Tapsell) and Julie (Jessica Mauboy) are living in 1968 Australia where racism against Indigenous Australians is still at large, especially in an outback pub where they take part in a talent quest. However, they do catch the eye of Dave (Chris O’Dowd) who gets the sisters and their cousin, Kay (Shari Sebbens) an audition to sing in war torn Vietnam. It is a journey which allows them to face their concerns and fears and realise their hopes and dreams a long way from home and everything they have ever known.

The Sapphires has a bit of everything for everyone. It is not often a film about Indigenous Australians comes along with addresses the seriousness of the trials and tribulations they have faced in regards to racism and the Stolen Generation (when Aboriginal children were taken from their families and placed with white families and brought up away from their culture), but also makes you smile and laugh. The characters and the location of the mission are extremely realistic and give you an appreciation of how hard these women fought for what they wanted despite the rocky road.

The film is obviously also a musical, but not the type where they burst out in song in everyday conversation for no reason. The musical sequences are well placed and the vocal talents of each of the girls used perfectly. And The Sapphires also is made complete by being a war film set in the Vietnam war. It captures the raw emotion and the horrors of the war, but also shows some of the beauty of the Vietnamese landscape and Saigon.

The script by Tony Briggs and Keith Thompson is very well written and adapted from the stage musical of the same name. It is clever and the jokes witty.

Deborah Mailman gives a career best performance as “mumma bear” Gail. She is a strong and determines female, yet her emotional vulnerability shown in the film is tear jerking. Although she is a woman you wouldn’t want to get on the bad side of, she is extremely likable.

Chris O’Dowd is also so likable as the group’s manager, Dave. He is hilarious, but also gives a solid performance. Miranda Tapsell gives a sweet and funny performance, and Shari  Sebbens also gives a good performance as the cousin who is racially confused as to whether she is white or black. Jessica Mauboy is extremely realistic as the youngest, but most stubborn sister.

The Sapphires is a film that is about Australians, but not one that is only to be enjoyed and understood by Australians. There may be one jokes non-Australians may not get, but just as long as you know that Melbourne is in Australia and not Ireland, you should be fine. There are many reasons to like this film and to remember it.

8.5/10

References
News.com.au
Herald Sun
if.com.au
The Internet Movie DataBase

Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)

Snow White and the Huntsman

Year: 2012

Director: Rupert Sanders

Cast: Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron, Chris Hemsworth

Before I begin my review…

                Well, I guess right now in this world Snow White and the Huntsman is known to a lot of people as the movie where Kristen Stewart cheated on her boyfriend, Twilight co-star Robert Pattinson with her married director, Rupert Sanders. This is all pretty new news and a major subject of discussion in all the celebrity gossip magazines and websites at this present point in time.

                Let’s face it, Movie Critical is not a celebrity gossip site and I am not going to take this opportunity to make it into one. Personally, I don’t really care to write a huge article on who said what and who did who in this instance. I’ve pretty much summed up in the above paragraph the gist of what has happened so I am not really going to go into the whole debacle much more than that.

                The only thing that I am really pondering in this whole circus is, what will this do to Kristen Stewart’s career?

                Will it make her more popular (if that is at all possible as she is the highest paid female actress around at the moment) and turn her image into that of a sex symbol? Or will her image be tarnished by her bad girl ways?

                It’s hard to tell, scandals work in mysterious ways for stars. They can make your star rise or fall. I guess only time will tell. When Breaking Dawn : Part 2 is released in November, will we look at Edward and Bella differently knowing what happened in real life? Chances are probably not, but I believe there are some not very happy Twilight fans out there as a result.

Review

                Snow White is a story that has been told many times over, but never the same as Snow White and the Huntsman.

                Snow White and the Huntsman is the second Snow White film to be released in 2012 as Mirror Mirror starring Julia Roberts and Lily Collins was released earlier this year, but is completely different from its processor.  It is much darker and more of an action/adventure fantasy film than a fairy tale. The film itself is interesting to watch with some spectacular images, but lacks in the area of script and story.

                Like all Snow White stories, young princess Snow White (Kristen Stewart) has been banished to the tower by her evil stepmother, Ravenna (Charlize Theron) who has taken the post of Queen upon the death of her father. When Ravenna finds out that Snow White is now the fairest of them all, she sets out to kill her. Instead, Snow White escapes to the forest and the Queen sends in The Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) to bring her back to her. However, the Huntsman and Snow White join forces to destroy the evil Queen and win Snow White back her rightful throne.

                Snow White and the Huntsman is visually a very good film. The cinematography combined with visual effects make what you see on the screen extremely impressive. The battle scenes are well choreographed and intense. The visual effects are quite extraordinary, especially that of Ravenna’s mirror. The castle, town and forest also serve as spectacular backdrops to the story.

                However, the script lacks and the story suffers. This is a different version of Snow White than we are used to so the story needs to be entrancing and well defined. However, the script does not support the story and isn’t intense enough to keep the film interesting for its entirety.  Although the action sequences are great, they sometimes do slow the movie down and there are scenes where it feels like nothing happens which are just downright boring.

                Kristen Stewart is not the most convincing Snow White you will see. She plays awkward and unsure well, but is not as endearing and “the fairest one of all” as Snow White is supposed to be. However, she does have two scenes, one in a white dress and her first battle scene, in which she shows that she may well have it in her to be more versatile than she has been in her films recently.

                Charlize Theron is indeed the star of the film. She plays interesting evil so well and is actually very scary. She makes the film not really suitable for the typical children audience of a Snow White film. Chris Hemsworth is not at all bad. He is now part of the league of action stars at the moment so he is a good fit for the role of the Huntsman. However, he does have some great emotional scenes as well which add to his successful performance. On the other hand though, he and Stewart really have no on screen chemistry, romantic or platonic.

                It’s hard not to judge Snow White and the Huntsman as a “Snow White” film and not compare it to other films of its kind that have been and gone. Yet even if you don’t, its pro’s and con’s measure evenly with each other.

6/10

References
Fox News
The Internet Movie Datebase
Celeb Dirty Laundry

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

The Dark Knight Rises

Year: 2012

Director: Christopher Nolan

Cast:  Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Michael Caine, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman

Before I begin my review….

                Every so often I see a movie that reminds me and completely sums up why I love movies and writing about them so much. I am so happy to say that The Dark Knight Rises is one of those rare movies.

                I was completely speechless coming out of the cinema after this film. I just didn’t know where to start as to why this was such a brilliant film. Not only is it a brilliant film, but I loved it. That may sound ridiculous, but I believe you can acknowledge a film as being brilliant without actually liking it that much if it isn’t the type of film you actually enjoy. I really loved this movie.

                So I got to thinking. Yes, Heath Ledger was nominated for and won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal as The Joker in The Dark Knight, but could a ‘superhero’ film actually be Oscar nominated?

                I was absolutely LOVE to see Christopher Nolan nominated come awards season for his The Dark Knight Rises direction. His direction in this film is better than his direction in Inception, which he was nominated for.  Yet, ‘superhero’ movies(in commas because it isn’t your typical superhero film we are talking about here, yet Batman is classified as a superhero) and often blockbuster films are snubbed by the academy. Not all blockbusters are exempted from nominations (for example, Avatar), but it is a rarity to see one right up there.

 I believe Nolan is completely deserving of a nomination here. What I love about what he has done with the last three Batman movies is that he took the films and put his personal directing stamp on each one of them. They weren’t like the previous Batman films which were typical of the superhero genre. He took the films and while providing the big action sequences and special effects that are typical of the genre, he bought great a great story and script, some amazing performances and that Nolan atmosphere of drama and thriller that is prominent in his films.

I’ve always been a Nolan fan, but after The Dark Knight Rises, I have no problem in saying that he is one of the greatest film directors alive at the moment. It would be like a welcome Christmas present come the end of this year to see his name up there amongst those names muttered during awards season…superhero film or not.

Review

There is no doubt, the last of Christopher Nolan’s Batman films is the greatest. He has saved the best for last.

Not only is The Dark Knight Rises the best of Nolan’s Batman films, it is a spectacular film in itself. You don’t have to be a massive Batman fan to enjoy it, but you do have to have some knowledge of the previous two films in order to completely understand what is happening. The direction, acting and screenplay are all impeccable and there is no denying that The Dark Knight Rises will be remembered and treasured for years to come…and there are not many films that will do that these days.

Eight years on from Harvey Dent’s death, Gotham City is in a state of peace and the one who was blamed for Dent’s death, Batman and his alter ego, Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) have not been seen since. The peace is unsettled with whispers that underground terrorist leader, Bane (Tom Hardy) is on the rise and gathering forces. Batman once again shows his face, but soon finds that Bane is perhaps the most evil and deadly enemy he has faced.

Nolan is a genius. His direction and screenplay written with his brother, Jonathan Nolan in this film are superb. Scenes such as when Wayne and Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway) are doing their doe-see-doe at the fundraiser, the police car and motorcycle chase, Bane’s airplane adventure and when Bane is approaching the football field are just brilliant. The cinematography, character placement and accompanying sounds completely enhance the feelings that are to be evoked in these scenes. Nolan takes advantage of every little feature of every scene to get the most out of every moment of the scene.  His use of flashbacks to help tell the story is also very good.

Although a little on the long side, every scene is worthwhile and contributes to the story. There is no stone left unturned and no questions left unanswered. Everything means something. The story also pulls on information from the past films to contribute to the film as a whole. This is perhaps the only downfall of the film. You do need to see the two previous Batman films to understand what is going on. There is quite a bit of assumed knowledge, but Nolan still tries to help by using flashbacks and providing beneficial scenes such as the opening scene with Commissioner James Gordon (Gary Oldman).

The story is very well composed. There are the twists and turns you would expect to find in a thriller film and when you think you have it all figured out, you really don’t.

The acting in The Dark Knight Rises is simply perfect. There is not one bad performance in the film and nothing left to be desired. Christian Bale gives his best performance of the three films by far. There are no longer any comparisons to Michael Keaton to be made, Bale is Bruce Wayne. Everything about his performance is the man behind the mask. You see him change from the reclusive millionaire at the beginning to the high flying business man once again to the man with the tough exterior who is on a mission. And then of course, there his better than ever Batman.

It was reported that Anne Hathaway was worried about playing Catwoman and bring compared to Michelle Pfeiffer’s role in Batman Returns. She clearly had nothing to worry about. She fits the role perfecting acting wise and physically. Like the traditional Catwoman, you never know where her true loyalties lie.

Both Gary Oldman and Michael Caine also bring their best Batman film performances to the table. Oldman is always likable and you want to cheer for him as much as the masked hero. Caine just shines as Alfred. You have no problem believing that he truly loves Bruce Wayne like a son and he has some completely heartbreaking moments.

Tom Hardy. Terrifying. The man had massive shoes to fill as he is the main Batman villain to follow on from Heath Ledger’s Joker in The Dark Knight. Hardy’s Bane is what nightmares are made off. The man behind the mask with the booming and intimidating voice is the villain who the audience believes could really beat Batman. It is always a great thing to give a performance where you can’t see their whole face, but tell just from his eyes exactly what is going on in that head of theirs.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt also has to be paid credit to. He is no longer the little boy who we saw in 3^rd Rock From The Sun all those years ago and can swing it with some of the biggest names in acting on the planet. He is completely believable in every way as John Blake, the policeman turned detective that James Gordon takes under his wing.

The Dark Knight Rises is the perfect end to Nolan’s Batman films. The trilogy is rounded up in the best possible way and we have in fact witnessed a classic.

9.5/10

References
The Internet Movie Database
Sky News
Photo Credit- Wikipedia