Nov 2009: Paranormal Activity | Harry Brown | This Is It

Paranormal Activity

This film was apparently compiled from the recovered home movies of San Diego couple Katie (Katie Featherston) and Micah (Micah Sloat), video-recording their experiences with a ghostly demon who terrorised them in their sleep. Katie had been plagued by the demon for most of her life, whilst her lover/partner Micah thought he could put an end to it, initially by setting a camera to film what happened when they were asleep and then by taunting the demon to show itself.

Harry Brown

In his feature directing debut Daniel Barber moulds a graphic piece of contemporary vendetta wherein a seriously disgruntled senior citizen embarks on a wild vigilante-inspired killing spree following the violent demise of his equally elderly friend. His chum, who had reached the end of his rope - had embarked upon revenge against a nauseating bunch of hooded scum in his home area - a tough, impoverished London council estate - following a series of vicious intimidations against him in his own home.

Michael Caine is the eponymous "Dirty" Harry Brown as he sets out on a calculated, scintillatingly elaborate and highly vicious plan to turn the tables on this bunch of sneering, drug-snorting lowlife thugs. Following the recent death of his wife (by natural causes) and latterly his best mate (at the hands of these plebs), old Harry despatches any sense of concern for his own well-being, or indeed his potential capture by the comparatively incompetent police (with the exception of one caring detective, played by the excellent Emily Mortimer). The film, written by Gary Young is a salutary, authentic and highly relevant commentary on the rising violence in the U.K. from and amongst what is now emanating from several hundred thousand third-generation cretins - a breed apart, utterly devoid of morality, ethics, scruples, compassion, intelligence or remorse.

Harry Brown is an ex-Marine who had previously buried memories of war and killing when he married his beloved wife. But with her gone and the simmering rage of frustration and anguish at society's abject failure and neglect towards tackling this immense social ill, he switches to full-on chilling psycho mode. The carnage is profound with evidence everywhere that old Harry has his hands in it. Perhaps the film is implying the Met simply don't mind old men cleaning out these subterranean scum for them.

The film looks authentically scruffy and Martin Ruhe's dynamic camerawork, especially in hand-held scenes, superbly conveys this urban wasteland. The whole piece's design structure emphasises and enhances the mind-numbing drabness whether in the sublimely accurate detailed portrayal of the pensioners' domiciles, or the graffiti-marred hangouts, drug dens, weed factories and hideouts of these morons. It's little wonder Harry feels compelled by nemesis to set fire to everything in sight, including the habitants. It's a sensational performance by Caine, who despite his advancing years and the comparative dearth of good roles for men and women of his vintage, continues to produce work of consistent excellence.

This Is It

Directed by Kenny Ortega.

With: Michael Jackson, Kenny Ortega, Michael Bearden, Travis Payne, Judith Hill, Orianthi Panagaris, Tommy Organ, Mo Pleasure, Stacy Walker, Tony Testa.

Running time: 111 mins.

Though it has been cobbled together from hundreds of hours of footage shot during the rehearsals for his planned mammoth farewell concert tour, This Is It manages, despite the advance scepticism and cynicism, to create a quite powerful impression of just how mind-blowing Michael Jackson intended those shows to be. More importantly, the film quickly overcomes the rough edges and unavoidable technical limitations of a work-in-progress to provide Jackson's global fan base with a rich, moving and occasionally mesmeric final glimpse of a performer reaching for the peak of his career.

Lovingly assembled by the concert's co-creator and sometime film director Kenny Ortega (High School Musical etc.) the coverage of the big production numbers is elaborate and includes filmed material and some astonishing completed sets, yet there is the frustration of having to imagine (often with the aid of digital animation) what the final pieces would have been like. It was actually quite hard to watch and then immediately thereafter write a review of this film, which chronicles the last few months of Michael Jackson's life without feeling an immense tinge of sadness. Jackson was always a fan of media attention and probably would be proud to have this shown as a last look at his talent and genius. The film is directed by Ken Ortega who was both Jackson's creative partner and director of the stage show. That connection helped Ortega to use over 120 hours of behind the scenes footage to bring together what has turned out - against the odds - to be an exceptional homage to the legend of Jackson and the concert that sadly was never to be.

Covering the preparation, rehearsals and musical numbers the footage includes events from March through June of 2009. Nothing is left out. They could have easily given us small glimpses of the song numbers and filled the rest with long winded interviews full of manipulative emotion. Instead they let the footage speak for the man. You see Michael in every aspect of concert creation. From choosing the dancers to conducting the band rehearsals to producing all of the special effects and prerecorded elements that was to be the backdrop of the show. Jackson had a hand in it all. This is not the creepy Jackson that has plagued the news clips over the years. This is the creative Jackson that looms larger than life and brims with confidence and leadership. There is no doubt who is in charge, but he does it with such humility, patience and compassion that you get the feeling that he wanted nothing more than to love and be loved even in the pursuit of perfection. He was a star willing to share the stage and the glory. Here he is a persona apart - and he comes across as creatively masterful, and especially on the post-song sequence to Billie Jean - his dancing is spellbinding, and I genuinely had tears in my eyes - it was so superb.

Fans of Jackson's dancing get a front row seat to every spin, pop, and slide. I watched in awe as this 50 year old man moved with the agility and sharpness of someone half his age. I had forgotten how talented he actually was when it came to visually captivating an audience. He never misses a beat. He can be involved in the most intricate dance move and still be able to concentrate on solid vocals and hearing every note the band is playing. Critiquing and polishing every element as he goes. Few performers have the talent and the ability to do one of those things much less all three to the level of Jackson. I could always appreciate the man's gift to the music world but after seeing this candid, unscripted piece that respect has gone to new heights.

Over the last several years Jackson's personal life and off stage antics have overshadowed the brilliant artist that Michael was on stage. There needed to be something else. Something that showed the indisputable fact that he truly was the king of pop. Something that gave the world one last look at the true heartbeat of the performer, and that would allow fans to glimpse the greatest concert that would never be. Jackson's concepts are often jaw-droppingly impressive, even in their half-finished glory. Thriller was to involve a 3-D sequence, effects footage for Smooth Criminal blends Jackson into film noir classics opposite Humphrey Bogart and Rita Hayworth and his slow version of The Way You Make Me Feel looks like a super-sized tribute to Old Hollywood musicals.

A major surprise comes with Jackson's extended performance of Black or White. Stripped of pyrotechnics, huge sets or squads of dancers, Jackson simply performs with a female guitarist. It's the musical highlight of the film and a sobering reminder that, along with everything else, Jackson knew his way around a riff. The film also achieves moments of intimacy, as when Jackson complains about his earpiece malfunctioning or when he flashes a spontaneous smile to an imagined audience. Ultimately and thankfully, the film is not, as many feared, a cynical money-grabbing exercise designed to cash in on a global fan base still in mourning and hungry to see their pop idol's final work. Respectful without being mawkish or sentimental, the film is fashioned with the heart Jackson always demanded of himself. It's not a great film, but This Is It is a hugely entertaining account of somebody striving to be so one last time.