MESRINE: KILLER INSTINCT

True story
Original title: L'instinct de mort
In French with English subtitles.

F.Y.I.
Jacques Rene Mesrine (pronounced may-rean) was born in Clichy, a suburb of Paris on 28 December 1936. He attended the prestigious Catholic school Collège de Juilly but was expelled for his aggressive behavior. After serving with the French Army during the Algerian War of Independence he returned to France in 1959.

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Vincent Cassel: Jacques Mesrine, former soldier
Gilles Lellouche: his long time friend Paul
Gérard Depardieu: low-level crime boss Guido
Elena Anaya: Sofia, a dark haired Spanish girl
Cécile de France Jeanne Schneider, a raven haired beauty
Roy Dupuis: small time crook Jean-Paul Mercier

REVIEW
A fast-paced biographical crime thriller with whole chunks of time simply bypassed which is a bit unsettling with the outcome of the scene left to your own imagination.

Although the run time approaches two hours it does not seem overly long, in part because of the crisp editing but more so because it is a riveting portrayal of a fascinating man.

The acting is first class and the action virtually non-stop.

CLASSIFICATION
for strong brutal violence, some sexual content and language.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
With great attention to detail on the part of the producers (correct coloured Quebec license plates for the year, stubbies during the 1960’s etc) it has not been easy to come up with too many nitpicks. Nevertheless I got a couple:
• Jacques and Jeanne were travelling through Arkansas when they got stopped rather than in Utah. But I have to admit, Arches National Park is much more scenic.
• The product placement rotating bottle nitpick: from one shot to the next the bottle rotates so that the label is clearly seen. In this instance all this takes place while Jacques and Jean-Paul are doing some work on a metal platform while drinking Molson Export beer.
• At the end of their telephone conversation Jeanne hangs up and Jacques is left listening to a busy signal. In reality the line goes dead and you hear nothing.

P.S.
This is the first in a series currently in theatres. Stay tuned for part two.

JOAN RIVERS: A PIECE OF WORK

Documentary

F.Y.I.
Born Joan Molinsky (June 8, 1933) in Brooklyn, New York to Russian Jewish immigrants she graduated from Barnard College in 1954 with a B.A. in English literature. Before entering show business she worked at various jobs such as a tour guide at Rockefeller Center, a writer/proof-reader at an advertising agency and a “fashion consultant” at several Bond Clothing stores.

She wanted to become an actress and her first agent, Tony Rivers, suggested she change her name: Joan Rivers first appeared in a short-lived play called Seawood. She performed in numerous comedy clubs during the early 1960’s before making her first appearance in February 1965 as a guest on The Tonight Show hosted by Jack Parr. She worked as a gag writer and participant on Candid Camera and was frequently on television including The Ed Sullivan Show.

Known for her brash manner, River’s comic style relies heavily on poking fun at herself and other celebrities.

REVIEW
It is not a complete biography in the sense it skips over the first 35 years of her life and gets right into the woman she is today. Although there are brief snippets of her early career beginning in 1965 the film covers the events in about one year of her life, the year she turned seventy-five.

Warts and all. Well not really warts but bloodshot eyes and Botox blotches. How these unflattering scenes made the final editing cut is beyond me as most “stars” would have them eradicated in a nano-second.

And not just that: there is one other scene when she is doing a stand-up show in Wisconsin that I think most “stars” would have insisted it be removed but it is there for all of us to see and judge.

For those who have only seen Joan on television seeing her night club act shows an entirely different persona, one who will do practically anything to get a laugh. It is a revelation and may change your perception of the lady.

CLASSIFICATION
for pervasive language and crude sexual humor.

NANNY MCPHEE RETURNS

Live-action family fare

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Maggie Gyllenhaal: Isabel Green
Asa Butterfield: her first born Norman
Lil Woods: his younger sister Megsie
Oscar Steer: Vincent, the youngest Green
Eros Vlahos: the kids cousins Cyril
Rosie Taylor-Ritson: and Celia Gray
Emma Thompson: Nanny McPhee
Maggie Smith: the town dry grocer Mrs. Docherty
Rhys Ifans: Isabel’s brother-in-law Phil
Sam Kelly: the local air raid warden Mr. Docherty
Sinead Matthews: two female enforcers Miss Topsey
Katy Brand: and Miss Turvey
Ralph Fiennes: Cyril and Celia’s father Lord Gray
Ewan McGregor: Isabel’s husband Rory

REVIEW
Wonderfully entertaining with five not-too-subtle lessons of life to be learned as the underlying premise for this get together. There are the requisite rude body noises and lots of poo jokes. Parents no doubt will think there is too much of this sort of thing but the kids love it.

Well crafted both in terms of the writing and the very look of it with just a smattering of CGI that adds to the fun. The acting is fine throughout and the English countryside has never looked better.

CLASSIFICATION
for rude humor, some language and mild thematic elements.

ANIMAL KINGDOM

Crime thriller

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
James Frecheville: 17-year-old Joshua “J” Cody
Jacki Weaver: J’s maternal grandmother Janine aka “Smurf”
Ben Mendelsohn: her eldest son Andrew aka “Pope”
Joel Edgerton: his partner Barry “Baz” Brown
Sullivan Stapleton: Pope’s younger brother Craig, a drug pusher
Luke Ford: Darren, the youngest of the Cody brothers
Laura Wheelwright: J's girlfriend Nicky
Guy Pearce: Melbourne Police Detective Nathan Leckie

REVIEW
This is not your typical gangster film: there are no shootouts, no car chases, no lingering scenes of blood and gore. Instead this is one terrific film that comes across as real. That is due in large part because the acting is so good you tend to forget it is a film. Couple that with a well written script providing time for character development and excellent pacing which allows the action to unfold in an unhurried manner.

Because of the strong Australian accent I could not understand all of the dialogue but that was of little consequence. This is one of the best films of this sort I’ve seen in years.

CLASSIFICATION
for violence, drug content and pervasive language.

SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD

Comic book action/adventure

F.Y.I.
Scott Pilgrim is a graphic novel series by Byran Lee O’Malley consisting of 6 volumes released between August 2004 and July 2010.

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Michael Cera: 22-year-old bass player Scott Pilgrim
Alison Pill: the band's drummer Kim Pine, Scott’s ex-girlfriend
Mark Webber: the band's lead singer Stephen Stills
Johnny Simmons: wanna-be-bass player Young Neil
Kieran Culkin: Scott’s roommate Wallace Wells
Ellen Wong: 17-year-old high school student Knives Chau
Anna Kendrick: Scott's younger sister Stacey
Mary Elizabeth Winstead: Ramona Victoria Flowers
Satya Bhabha: one of Ramona’s evil exes, Matthew Patel
Chris Evans: another evil ex, Lucas Lee, movie star and skateboarder
Brandon Routh: evil ex Todd Ingram, a vegan with telekinetic powers
Mae Whitman: evil ex Roxanne "Roxy" Richter, a half-ninja

REVIEW
Fans of the series will love it; others less so.

It starts off with great promise but once Scott meets Ramona things change: to win her affection he has to battle all her seven ex-boy or girlfriends and these encounters play out like a video game.

To many all this might be written off as silly, bizarre humour for younger people whose main source of literature is comic books. I would agree with that assessment.

CLASSIFICATION
for stylized violence, sexual content, language and drug references.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
• This is one of my classic nitpicks: when Stacey hangs up, Scott hears a dial tone. In reality the dial tone is only heard after picking up the phone before dialling. That’s why it’s called a dial tone.
• Scott and Ramona sit down on swings in the park, he on the left hand side, she on the right. In the next scene they have magically switched places.

EAT, PRAY, LOVE

Drama

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Julia Roberts: playwright Elizabeth “Liz” Gilbert
Billy Crudup: her husband Stephen
James Franco: actor David Piccolo
Richard Jenkins: Richard from Texas
I. Gusti Ayu Puspawati: Nyomo
Hadi Subiyanto: Nyomo's husband Ketut, an old fortune teller
Javier Bardem: Brazilian importer/exporter Felipe

REVIEW
Following this woman’s journey means sitting through more than two hours of philosophical discussions about things like “the path to enlightenment” and “finding God within”.

It would be fine as a travelogue about Italy (eat), India (pray), and Indonesia (love) as it is beautifully shot but that comes at the expense of putting up with a lot of words pertaining to self-gratification, self-fulfillment, and self-discovery. Not everyone’s cup of tea.

CLASSIFICATION
for brief strong language, some sexual references and male rear nudity.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
While talking on the phone a big mosquito bite is much in evidence on Liz’s left hand but no sooner does she hang up do we see it has completely disappeared.

MAO’S LAST DANCER

Some dialogue in Mandarin Chinese with English subtitles

F.Y.I.
Mao Zedong (b. 1893) led the People’s Republic of China from it establishment in 1949 until his death in 1976. In China he is officially held in high regard as a great revolutionary, political strategist, military mastermind, and savior of the nation. In 1966 he was instrumental in creating the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution that resulted in social, political, and economic upheaval transforming the country from an agrarian society into a major world power. Only after the Chairman’s death did relations with the West begin to thaw.

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Wen Bin Huang: 11-year-old Li Cunxi
Joan Chen: Li’s mother
Bruce Greenwood: Ben Stevenson, Artistic Director of the Huston Ballet Company
Chi Cao: the 18-year-old Li
Amanda Schull: a fellow ballet student, Elizabeth Mackey
Camilla Vergotis: Mary McKendry, an Australian ballerina
Kyle MacLachlan: Texan lawyer Charles Foster

REVIEW
This true story of a young boy, one of seven children of a Chinese peasant family, who goes on to become a famous ballet dancer is told in chronological order with a few flashbacks.

Definitely a “must-see” for ballet fans but for those who are not, the ballet scenes are kept to a minimum so no one should become bored with the dance sequences and maybe even get to appreciate the fact that are all beautifully choreographed.

The stunning cinematography coupled with a delightful score serve as a wonderful backdrop to this enchanting tale.

CLASSIFICATION
for a brief violent image, some sensuality, language and incidental smoking.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
Ben gets some money out of an ATM but the American $20 bills he receives are the modern day ones only introduced some twenty years after this event took place.