July: The Dark Knight | Meet Dave | Mamma Mia!

The Dark Knight

With The Dark Knight Christopher Nolan has crafted an extremely complex endeavour offering an analysis of Batman's internal conflicts and existential crises which make him a lot more interesting than any recent others. Here we have a fantastic ensemble cast, a director on top of his game, and an aesthetic presence that's so far removed from other comic book films it is now an entirely different genre. The Dark Knight is a diametric opposite to what is usually perceived from this type of source material. It's a sombre and heavy affair with a surprising amount of philosophical weight. It doesn't skimp on the action but surrounds the fights, crashes and explosions with an air of melancholic seriousness. As a result, comparisons between The Dark Knight and other superhero films are now difficult. This film stands in stark contrast to the typical comic book flick and has more in common with the noir crime films of the 1940s than it does with caped crusaders. I'm sure there are people who will find the tone of The Dark Knight at odds with their expectations. Some will accept and appreciate the film for what it is, while others will walk away sorely disappointed and bemused.

Christian Bale returns as Bruce Wayne/Batman. He's cleaning up Gotham City, and along with Jim Gordon (a supremely controlled performance from Gary Oldman) and new DA Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) they're making substantial progress. This time Batman's success has led to a spate of copycat vigilantes working the streets, toughening up the problems for the real Dark Knight. In fact, the public isn't even entirely sure what to make of Batman anymore. The Joker (Heath Ledger, of whom more later) shows up and things get really interesting. Nolan's direction continues to inspire. When Tim Burton was at the helm, the films featured a decidedly gothic looking Gotham City. Nolan has dropped this in favour of a more industrialised look that seems to work even better than the gothic aesthetics of the older films. Gotham City in Nolan's film has a very oppressive feel to it, you can almost taste the danger that potentially lurks around every corner. In this regard, Gotham City is almost a character in its own right. It's a living, breathing metropolis with a deadly personality.

The only real negative in the direction of this film is found in the editing of the action scenes. The frantic, quick-cut editing style worked well in Batman Begins because Batman often attacked out of the shadows with ninja-like precision. It doesn't work as well in The Dark Knight because the action scenes feel more traditional and less like guerilla warfare. Additionally and in an ironic contrast to the title, many scenes are brightly lit around the main man - and as a result the vital enigma of the Batman character is diminished and this, together with the hyper-edits mostly serve to make the action confusing at times. It's not a major flaw, but it is something worth mentioning as is the unexplained methodology and logistics employed at extremely short notice by The Joker in setting up (seemingly unaided) his monstrously destructive scenarios. These are the downsides in an otherwise fantastically shot film.

The cast is uniformly excellent. Bale again is superb and measured in the lead role/s, the perfect mix of playboy playfulness as Bruce Wayne and tortured crime fighter as Batman. You can sense that the time between the two films has allowed Bale to refine his take on the dual characters, and the end result is an even more nuanced performance than his first time out in the cowl. He remains the only actor to make this character his own, although I do have slight concerns at the apparent demise of his own previously apparent inner psychosis. The rest of the cast is equally impressive. Aaron Eckhart continues to demonstrate just how diverse an actor he is. Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine bring depth and respectability to their roles as indeed does Gary Oldman. Maggie Gyllenhall makes a fine replacement for Katie Holmes.

And now, Heath Ledger's portrayal of The Joker. Since Ledger's unfortunate passing, there's been a great deal of debate about whether or not he deserves a posthumous Oscar, whether he or Jack Nicholson was the better Joker, and if this is a performance of the age. I wasn't a fan of Ledger and felt dubious regarding his casting when it was initially announced. Despite the fact that I couldn't envisage a viable alternative, equally I just couldn't see this actor as The Joker. As comic fans know, the Joker is not just a crazy clown, he is a full blown psychopath. The Joker kills with impunity and complete disregard for human life - innocent or not. Additionally, the restrictions applied by the 12a and international equivalent rating I also felt would possibly somewhat neutralise the character. I needn't have been in any way concerned. Ledger presents himself as The Joker in a role that defines a career. Ledger's descent into what is, and has become, The Joker makes Jack Nicholson's earlier interpretation look like nothing more than a tedious and mildly humorous caricature. The Dark Knight here presents a character so destructive and without a care for those landing in his path of decimation that you are left to your own devices. Love him. Hate him. Hate to love him or love to hate him, director Christopher Nolan has guided an actor into a dark realm not often realised. A nameless, unrecognisable entity you won't be willing to or able to admit is Ledger until the credits roll. His performance is mesmerising and masterly.

The Dark Knight is an emotional rollercoaster extending from the characters portrayed on screen to the audience sitting comfortably as they watch an inexplicable series of events unfold. The Dark Knight is a political machine in duplicity and an exercise in gaining an edge no matter the means.

Meet Dave

Cast: Eddie Murphy, Elizabeth Banks, Gabrielle Union,
Scott Caan, Marc Blucas, Ed Helms, Austin Lynd Myers,
Judah Friedlander, Kevin Hart, Mike O'Malley
Written by Rob Greenberg & Bill Corbett
Directed by Brian Robbins

Long long ago, there was quite a funny comedian named Eddie Murphy. He stood up on stage in American comedy clubs and told extremely amusing, original, rude jokes. Along came tv and Saturday Night Live, where he appeared in some quite brilliant sketches and again he made lots of people laugh. Then he moved into cinema - appearing in some excellent films such as 48 Hours, Trading Places and Beverly Hills Cop (1). Then something happened - the funny stuff left him and he began idulging in utter dross such as Harlem Nights, Boomerang, Vampire in Brooklyn, The Nutty Professor, Metro, Life - and each time, less and less people laughed. Then in 2007 came Norbit, the absolute nadir of Murphy's career ... this time nobody laughed. Sadly, the only time Eddie Murphy has been even remotely funny in the past few years has been when he has been talking out of his ass in the Shrek films.

Now along comes this - Meet Dave. And once again, I have to report that Eddie Murphy is simply just not funny. Ever since Coming to America, Eddie has somehow got it into his his head that he more roles he plays in a film, the funnier he is. He played four parts in Coming to America, while in The (hellish) Nutty Professor he played all five members of the chunky Klump clan (and six in the sequel). In Norbit, a film that had exactly bugger all laughs, he played three parts, and now in Meet Dave he has just two. Which is more than enough. Murphy plays the captain of a spaceship that is shaped like Eddie Murphy. The ship is normal human-being size, which means the people inside are of Lilliputian proportions. Murphy and his fellow miniscule aliens have come to Earth to drain the planet of its oceans, because their planet has run out of water (for reasons never explained). Dave (the spaceship) crashlands on Earth at the Statue of Liberty, face first. Dave wears a white suit because the occupants intercepted our television transmissions and thought the suit worn by Ricardo Montalban in Fantasy Island was the height of fashion. Dave walks and talks in a funny way and has absolutely no concept of proper social interaction. But as this is in New York, hilariously (?) he gets away with it.

While Meet Dave is not as offensively grim as Norbit even although it's by the same director (has no one in the USA ever heard of the concept of sacking someone if they're patently pish-poor at their job? Mind you they kept George Bush in his, so it's little wonder), it's nothing more than a very mild outing with a scarcity of laughs and some reasonable ideas that really aren't exploited. They could have had more enjoyment with the size differential between the aliens and the humans, but these moments are few and far between. The set design of the inside of Dave (the spaceship) is almost a carbon copy of Star Trek: The Next Generation. With the two funniest gags in the whole movie involving bowel movements, the sooner Eddie Murphy gives up making films and goes back to stand-up comedy, the better for him and for all of us.

Mamma Mia!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKx_14vJNZg&feature=related

Cast: Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgard, Julie Walters, Dominic Cooper, Amanda Seyfried, Christine Baranski

Director: Phyllida Lloyd

Screenwriter: Catherine Johnson
Producers: Benny Andersson, Judy Craymer, Gary Goetzman, Tom Hanks, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Rita Wilson
Director of photography: Haris Zambarloukos
Production designer: Maria Djurkovic
Music: Stig Anderson, Benny Andersson, Bjorn Ulvaeus

Back in the days of the famous Glasgow Apollo on the sole occasion Abba played there live - during their eagerly-awaited rendition of 'Supertrouper' when everyone in the audience screamed their adulation as the immortal lyric line was trilled out from the p.a. "when I called you last night from Glasgow" - I was the solitary non-screamer as I zoomed my binoculars in on the glorious bahookie of the blonde Scandinavian siren Agnetha, while still harbouring a monumental crush on the dark-haired one Anni Frid (big Frida - yum!). Now seemingly the copyright preserve of the gay community, I hereby demand heterosexual rights to still love them too. So here we have it - the screen version of the global hit stage musical "Mamma Mia!" (the stage version of which I'd always avoided as an Abba purist) but despite my initial cynical hesitance as the opening sequences glittered across the cinema wide-screen - it's an absolute cracker of a film.

Like myself you really have to dispense with any preconceived pretentions of resistant coolness and give yourself over for 98 minutes of cheerfulness and dancing in the aisles to what are quite simply superb songs. This is such a terrific movie, with an equally brilliant cast topped by the astonishing Meryl Streep in a breathtakingly outstanding performance. For Mamma Mia! novices like myself, this unravels the story of a woman whose daughter's dad could possibly be one of three guys. The girl finds mum's old diary and sends out invitations to all of the trio to attend her forthcoming wedding at a fading resort on a remote Greek island, but omits to tell her mum about their impending arrival.

Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Stellan Skarsgard play the soon to be doting dads, and when they hit the beach Donna (Streep) is preparing for the event, assisted and distracted by her two best pals (Julie Walters and Christine Baranski). Cue the scene for masterfully arranged and beautifully staged and shot versions of all the classic Abba songs, with added dancing and romance.

Special mention must be made of the three leading male players who perform exceptionally well on vocal duties and really do not embarrass themselves at all! Julie Walters and Christine Baranski are also great fun and each belts out her own big solo number - Baranski giving it some welly on "Does Your Mother Know?" to a young guy with notions on her as an 'older woman' while Walters seduces a reluctant Skarsgard with "Take a Chance on Me." Look out too for a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo of Benny Andersson on piano!

Streep though is sensational throughout and on her interpretation of moving songs such as "Slipping Through My Fingers," sung to her daughter, and "The Winner Takes It All" to a clearly emotional Brosnan, it's a mesmerising performance from her as she holds the entire film together beautifully.

For me though, the staggering version by the cast of "Dancing Queen" is quite simply majestic and I guarantee you'll leave the cinema with the broadest grin on your face after enjoying this immensely entertaining film.