Afrikaans romcom sets the bar higher

 

I am not a fan of Afrikaans comedy, despite Afrikaans being my home language. The Schuster slapstick, musical wish-wash I have come to expect fromt his genre has left a bitter taste in my mouth. Not so with the new film Semi-Soet (Semi-Sweet) though. This film – which is being touted as the first romantic comedy that follows the Hollywood formula in Afrikaans – has a surprising amount of wit and romance.

Following their critically acclaimed, very serious independent feature film, Discreet (2008), husband and wife producers/actors Anel and James Alexander decided they wanted to do something a little more fun and do it in a vernacular language.

Workaholic, ambitious Jaci (Anel)  will do anything to prevent the advertising agency she works for from being taken over by a ruthless businessman dubbed “The Jackal” (Nico Panagio of Survivor-fame).  Her only hope is to land a big advertising deal with an acclaimed wine farm. But, the snag is the client wants someone who represents family values and who is in a long-term relationship. So, what’s a single girl to do? Jaci hires a gorgeous model to pretend to be her fiancée for a few hours, not knowing he is actually “The Jackal”.

To further complicate matters, Jaci has to pitch her campaign against that of her ex-fiancé, Marcus (Paul du Toit), who is now engaged to a ditzy blonde, Madri, who is well played by Diaan Lawrenson (the equally ditzy blonde, Paula, in 7de Laan).

The plot is a familiar, predictable one – exactly what a moviegoer would expect from a regular Hollywood romcom. It has all the right ingredients:  girl meets boy, obstacles stand in the way, the relationship hits a snag but love prevails in the end. It works for the Americans and it works here as well.

What makes Semi-Soet refreshing is that the humour is endemic to South Africa and it is encouraging to see this kind of movie being made in Afrikaans. The script is witty and tight, and the filming, slick and professional (no sense of it being filmed in someone’s backyard with their mother’s handy-cam). The comic timing of the scene in which the couple is chased across a farm by a pig had me in stitches.

Semi-Soet is easy-going, fun entertainment that hopefully sets the tone for a more intelligent kind of Afrikaans comedy.

To listen to my interview with Anel Alexander and her husband James (who produced the film), click here

 

Director: Joshua Rous

Cast: Anel Alexander, Nico Panagio, Corinne du Toit, Paul du Toit, Diaan Lawrenson

Rating: 3½ out of 5

Superhero diaries

What would you do if you had a superpower? Would you honestly go the comic-book hero route and embark on a selfless and lonely journey in which you try to rid the world of all evil?

These are the questions posed by the science fiction film, Chronicle, the directorial debut of Josh Tank who co-wrote the story with Max Landis.

In the story, three teenagers, Andrew Detmer (Dane DeHaan), Matt Garetty (Alex Russell) and Steve Montgomery (Michael B  Jordan)  stumbled across an unidentified “thing” in an underground cave. Their interaction with it, gives them powerful telekinetic powers. The trio do what any normal adolescents would do: they experiment and get up to as much fun (but harmless) mischief as they can. In a phone interview, Tank told me he did not want to make a cliché. “I wanted to make a movie that explored superpowers in a more stripped down way, a human way where the main characters, instead of being led by some kind of a moral conviction, are led by their curiosity.”

Most of the movie is filmed in a slightly shaky, handy-cam style by Andrew from whose point of view the story is told. This isn’t the grainy-looking footage of The Blair Witch Project or Paranormal though. The camera is high-quality and Andrew has natural talent.  “I wanted to make a movie that felt like a personal documentary but to approach the challenges of not just making it into any kind of POV gimmick that we’ve seen rise in popularity over the past 10 years. [I wanted] to create a film that realizes the first person aesthetic but at a certain point transcends this and becomes more cinematic.”

To listen to my full interview with Tank click on this clip

http://bit.ly/zBV7af

Or to listen to Alex Russell talk about how it was filming in South Africa click on this link

http://bit.ly/zoEgNs

But, things cannot and never stay the same when power is involved. Andrew, who was the odd one out in the group to begin with, develops his powers faster than the other two. While Matt and Steve have always popular at school, Andrew is bullied and ridiculed. While he chronicles their escapes, he tells the others that the camera is a barrier between him and the outside world.

But, now he is able to fight back when his drunkard father beats him or when a driver hoots at him. He uses his power to channel years of pent-up rage and begins to lose control. Matt’s attempts to lay ground rules so that they do not use their powers to harm others have no effect on Andrew, who seems to become drunk on his new-found abilities.

The film digs much deeper than most Marvel-style comic-to-film adaptations and explores the psychological effects of gaining a superpower.

The cinematography and special effects are slick. When the teens take to the sky it’s as vivid and clear as any sky-diving footage you have seen. Chronicle was filmed in Cape Town but the film is set in Seattle, Washington and it is hard to recognise anything about the Mother City.

The film has receive wide critical acclaim and is a very worthy first effort by Tank.

Director: Josh Tank

Cast:  Dane DeHaan, Alex Russell, Michael B  Jordan

Rating: 4 out of 5

Magical Marilyn

It’s 1956 and the world cannot seem to get enough of a certain voluptuous, platinum blonde singer-actress. With one smile, one wink, one laugh, Marilyn Monroe (Michelle Williams) can charm virtually anyone.

Desperately wanting to be seen as more than a bombshell, Monroe travels to England to star alongside the great British thespian, Sir Laurence Olivier (Kenneth Branagh,) in the film, The Prince and the Showgirl. She arrives with her newly-wed third husband, the playwright Arthur Miller (Dougray Scott), amid much fanfare, with crowds jostling to get a glimpse of the most famous woman in the world.

But, the cracks quickly begin to show. The Hollywood star struggles to perform, constantly showing up late for filming, unable to remember her lines and, between Olivier’s ridicule of her “method acting” approach and Miller’s decision to return to New York, she has several emotional meltdowns.

The observer to all this is the naive Colin Clark (Eddie Redmayne), a 23-year old Oxford graduate who uses his family connections to get a job as an assistant on the set, and the film, My Week with Marilyn, is based on his memoirs from this period. Clark, whose puppy-eyes follow Monroe everywhere, pays no heed to advice that the actress tends to reel in wide-eyed lovers on every film set, just to spit them out again. He becomes the Hollywood superstar’s “go-to-guy”. He seems to be one of few who can calm the actress during emotional outbursts, coax her out of her room onto the set and convince her of her self-worth long enough for a line to be filmed.

What follows can hardly be called an intense love affair, but rather a romantic entanglement which is mostly wild fantasy on the part of Clark and a sideline flirtation for Monroe. Nevertheless, Clark is allowed a brief glance at the woman behind the mask, at the childlike, confused Norma Jean, who has never quite been able to shake off her insecurities. Director Simon Curtis depicts Monroe as being very aware of her two personas. “Shall I be her?” she asks Clark during an outing, before she starts strutting and blowing kisses to a group of adoring fans.

The film is not intended to be an in-depth analysis of Monroe’s character or life. In fact, it offers only glimpses of these but this does not mean the movie is a trifle. It simply means it’s charming rather than intensely emotional.

The film explores Monroe’s vulnerabilities as witnessed by Clark. She desperately wants to be taken seriously when everyone sees her simply as a sex goddess. Referring to the tension between Olivier and Monroe, Clark says “He is a great actor who wants to be a film star. She is a film star who wants to be a great actor.” But, a great price must be paid for fame. Monroe, for all her beauty and success, is portrayed as a little girl in a woman’s body, who uses alcohol and prescription drugs to drown out her inability to cope with a life-long rejection by men.

Williams finds herself in the role of her lifetime (thus far, at least). She isn’t exactly a dead ringer for Monroe, but this is irrelevant. She manages to produce an affably husky, breathy voice reminiscent of Monroe’s, but, it is in William’s body language that she manages to captivate. The doe-eyed glance from beneath long lashes, the pouty red mouth, and the child-like giggles: Williams captures these flawlessly and it is this which makes her a strong contender for the Best Actress Oscar. She does a fine job at showing Monroe’s struggle with self-esteem, her desire to matter and to be loved.

In one of her most famous songs, Monroe sings, “I want to be loved by you, just you, nobody else but you.” But, the love of one was never enough; what Marilyn really wanted was for everyone to love her. She craved acceptance and needed constant affirmation, making her an all-consuming individual. But, she was awe-inspiring at the same time. As Olivier watches the rushes of “The Prince and the Showgirl” he cannot tear his eyes away from the screen and later, in real-life, he calls her performance “wonderful.”

Director: Simon Curtis

Cast: Michelle Williams, Kenneth Branagh, Eddie Redmayne, Judi Dench

Rating: 4 out of 5

Nowhere is safe

 

 South Africans see Cape Town as a lazy, laid-back place where the biggest news of the day is which direction the wind is coming from. As the location of Denzel Washington’s latest action-thriller however, it becomes a city of suspense and kick-ass action. No dassies to be seen. This is the Mother City has awakened.

In Safe House (directed by Daniel Espinosa) Washington plays the role of a legendary CIA spy, Tobin Frost, who had gone rogue nearly a decade ago and the CIA wants him stopped, yesterday. Tobin randomly surfaces in Cape Town and is picked up by agents attached to the US consulate. But, why would a world-class renegade who has managed to evade the best of the best, let himself be taken in that easily, wonder the bigwigs in Washinton.

Tobin is taken to a safe house in town, where a rookie agent, Matt Weston (Ryan Reynolds), has to make sure he stays put until he can be flown back to the United States. But, then a group of mercenaries attack the safe house and only Frost and Weston manage to escape. Now, Weston not only has to make sure Frost stays in custody but has to keep them both alive.

It is a standard CIA thriller with all the right ingredients (car-chases across the city, hand-to-hand combat, guns blazing, a mysterious dark force that hunts down the good guys) but South Africans will love it for the location and for Reynolds’ half-decent attempt at Afrikaans. Also watch out for a tiny cameo by South African model, Jena Dover. 

Washington is the key ingredient which adds slick and savvy to any action film and he does the same for Safe House. His sardonic grin as he plays mind games with Reynold’s character and the ease with which he snaps a mercenary’s neck makes this movie punchy. The cinematography is also edgy with quick cuts that build up the tension.

Reynolds goes a long way in making up for the joke that was Green Lantern although I still find it difficult not to see him as Van Wilder.

A large box of popcorn and Coke will go down well with this one.

Director: Daniel Espinosa

Cast: Denzel Washington, Ryan Reynolds, Robert Patrick

Rating: 31/2 out of 5

Portrait of an iron lady

This film is a whirlwind tour of one of the most controversial and formidable figures politics has ever seen: Baroness Margaret Thatcher (Meryl Streep), who was not only the first female Prime Minister in the Western world but Britain’s longest-serving elected leader.

The plot begins with Thatcher as a frail woman in her 80s. She confuses past and present so that her dead husband, Denis (Jim Broadbent), becomes a passenger on her journey into the past . The audience is taken back to 1940s post-War Britain, when a young Margaret decides to join the Conservative Party and then traces her political ascension until she becomes the head of government.

Director Phyllida Lloyd treats her steely, icy subject rather sensitively, something that has elicited widespread criticism. Power requires sacrifice and one of the main themes in this film is the personal cost of the fight for power. While Thatcher hones her political career, her family resents her apparent lack of interest in them. In her old age, though, Thatcher is shown as longing for her dead husband and her son Mark, who had moved to South Africa. The only family member she has regular contact with is her daughter Carol, of whom she is dismissive.

The plot, unfortunately, is not as iron-clad as its real-life subject. The flashbacks to Thatcher as a young, determined woman about to enter the nasty world of male-dominated politics, serve to make her more audience-friendly. The scenes of Thatcher as an elderly woman in the clutches of dementia are also designed to draw sympathy from the viewer. Perhaps Lloyd felt she had to be neutral but she takes the Thatcher out of Thatcherism, turning the plot into the weak, watery tea favoured by elderly Brits somewhere in the Cotswolds.

The film does not have a real angle: does it want the audience to condemn or celebrate Thatcher? Is this woman, who fought to quash the unions, a villain? Or, is she the heroine, the one who was courageous enough who did what had to be done? Regardless of your opinion of her, Thatcher was and remains a formidable, seemingly impregnable political icon but it is as if Lloyd is afraid of stepping on any toes, which she inevitably does anyway. Taking a glance at reviews from the UK (where the film has obviously been held up to close scrutiny) it becomes clear that many feel Lloyd was too ‘soft’ on Thatcher.

The Telegraph’s Max Pemberton writes “the movie has played to packed audiences… yet it has also attracted protests and pickets, as well as accusations from those who remain hostile to her premiership that it portrays Lady Thatcher in a forgiving light.” In The Guardian, Peter Bradshaw calls it “too benign and celebratory… Meryl Streep has done more for her than any spin-doctor.”

What saves the film in spectacular fashion is the inimitable Streep herself. She won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama for this role last month and has also been nominated for an Academy Award. Streep convincingly and flawlessly captures Thatcher’s mannerisms, facial expressions and, with the help of some excellent voice coaching, her shrill voice.

The audience should not expect insight into any of the big events during Thatcher’s political career. The film skims over these as it tries to pack an entire life into a mere two hours instead of picking out certain events to highlight and tease out. Watch it just for Streep.

Director: Phyllida Lloyd

Cast: Meryl Streep, Jim Broadbent, Richard E. Grant

Rating: 31/2 out of 5

Scott Pilgrim is the Bob-omb!

Director Edgar Wright has created a fantastic(al) tale of the angst of love with his pop-culture fest Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. Scott is a geeky (but lovable) 22-year old bass guitarist (Michael Cera) from Toronto, whose life seems pretty bleak to him. Romance is a bit on the scanty side. His ex-girlfriend’s band has just made it into the big league, while Scott’s band, Sex Bob-omb, is still looking for the ever-elusive recording contract (*Note – the band name may suck but their music really is not half-bad). So, he enters into a ‘mourning period’ by dating a giggling, blushing highschooler, somewhat denting his ‘rock star’ image.

Enter the dark and mysterious Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and Scott immediately falls head over heels for the cyberpunk beauty. As in all relationships, both parties are dragging some baggage along with them. But, Scott could hardly have guessed that he would have to defend his right to love Ramona in the “League of Seven Evil Exes”. He has to duel with all her previous boyfriends, in a series of martial arts fights.

Scott Pilgrim: a hero inside his own head

 Wright based the film on a popular comic book series by Bryan Lee O’Malley, and has managed to translate the iconography of comic books onto the big screen with great skill. From the Pop Art title sequence to the Manga-style split frames, video game speech bubbles and throwback references to the golden days of Atari and Nintendo, gaming geeks and postmodernists alike will appreciate the visual pastiche.

Cera has becoming quite the front man on the indie movie scene following his performance in the Oscar-winning indie-hit, Juno (2007), and Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist (2008). His latest role cements his credibility as a lead, that is, until he decides to ‘expand’ his career by starring in an action-comedy blockbuster with Jackie Chan.

 There are plenty of laughs in the film for those who like their humour slightly offbeat. Ramona’s third ex, Todd - the guy who stole Scott’s ex-girlfriend from him – is a vegan which gives him superpowers. “Being vegan just makes you better than most people”, he tells Scott, taking a dig at those holier-than-thou cellulose-munchers. However, just as Todd is about to kick Scott’s ass, he is arrested by the vegan police for cheating on his diet. Scott’s gay roommate, Wallace Wells (Kieran Culkin), is also a delight of dry one-liners. He’s a bit of slut, which is problematic since he and Scott share a bed (their flat really little small). When Scott complains about Wallace’s string of lovers sleeping over, he’s drily told, “I didn’t make up the gay rule book. Take it up with Liberace’s ghost”.

 The soundtrack is a great mix of indie and garage rock. Sex Bob-omb reminded me of a mix between Oasis and Radiohead while I was watching the film. I was right, Radiohead collaborator Nigel Godrich is a contributor while there are also five new tracks by Beck, whose collage of musical styles is the perfect backdrop to the film.

Scott and Ramona, the girl worth fighting for.

 Scott Pilgrim vs. the World really is everything and anything: it is probably what pop artist, Roy Lichtenstein, would have created had he managed to get his hands on Mortal Kombat. There’s a touch of sitcom, a little Bollywood, a dash of Taratino and plenty of satire. The film simply doesn’t do much wrong. My only gripe is with the amount of exes involved in the plot – after number five it becomes tedious and having a lesbian ex is just slightly obvious (apologies for the spoiler).

 The film has been a box-office blowout in the U.S. but I’m strangely alright with that, because it means Scott will likely make it to ‘cult classic’ status. Box-office groupies do not deserve films like these anyway.

Director/producer: Edgar Wright (Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead)

Cast: Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Ellen Wong, Kieran Culkin, Jason Schwarztman

Rating: 4 out of 5

It’s a crazy, crazy mixed up town

It boggles the mind how small town America always seems to get the worst of everything. Not only are there the drawling accents, the lack of residents’ vocabulary and local hillbillies to deal with, but those little sleepy villages in the Midwest always seem to be the target of disease and misery. No amount of churchgoing and praying seems to be able to save these folk from unspeakable horrors.

The Crazies (directed by Breck Eisner) is a remake of the 1973 horror of the same name , and it is what you have come to expect from this genre. Setting: happy-clappy small town event. Plot: Local resident goes inexplicably crazy at the local baseball match and threatens to shoot the players (they might have deserved it for their bad play). Then, more people go a little “one flew over the cuckoo’s nest”. The two only non-hillbilly residents of Ogden Marsh: Sheriff David Dutton (Timothy Olyphant) and his pregnant wife, Judy (Radha Mitchell), figure out that, wait for it … the town’s water has been contaminated with something that makes the residents insane and murderously bloodthirsty. Think The Hills Have Eyes meets 28 Days Later except I let out a loud shriek or two during the latter.

Small town America always gets a raw deal

It isn’t fair really. All the good folks from the  town of Ogden Marsh, Iowa want is to watch their sport and sing their hymns in peace on Sundays. But no, we cannot have that. The evil government has to test its biological weapons on small town people (hey, everyone knows the hillbillies are a little nuts already). Bloody agents.

Before you know it, the U.S. army has overrun the town, exterminating the infected (they use fire-blowing hoses to torch the poor souls), putting people in cages and separating families. Now, it is of course up to Sheriff Dutton, Judy, and two expendable sidekicks to escape the crazies, who seem to have permeated every farm, truck stop and car wash outside town.

It is all just a little too familiar. There is nothing particularly frightening about the film. The storyline is tired. The actors are B-list. The dialogue might as well have been written by a child:

Sheriff: “You know what?”
His deputy: “What?”
Sheriff: “We’re in trouble.”

Enough said.

Director: Breck Eisner
Cast: Timothy Olyphant, Radha Mitchell, Joe Anderson, Danielle Panabaker
Rating: ½ out of 5