Review No.187: You've Been Trumped

Plot: Anthony Baxter's film shows the battle between American tycoon Donald Trump and a small number of Aberdeenshire residents who want to protect their home from being turned into a golf course. Baxter follows this fight as Trump bad mouths one farmer's abode by calling it an eyesore and he also tries to get the Scottish people on his side by promising jobs at his hotel and golf resort. After the Scottish government give him the go ahead the residents refuse to move from their area of natural beauty even though it seems the police are now working for Trump also. As time goes on the people from Trump's end try dirty tactics by cutting of the power and water of several residents while at one point even Baxter is arrested.

Positives: This is a great David versus Goliath story that draws obvious comparisons to Bill Forsyth's Local Hero as we really get to know these unfortunate local residents who are at the mercy of a tyrannical businessman. Baxter makes the most of these characters by giving them all their own cameras so he can use their personal footage into the film and capture the demolishing of their homes first hand. There is also an element of guerrilla film-making here as Baxter attempts to get to Trump by ambushing at a press conference and also gets arrested for his poking his nose in where some don't feel it belongs. The cinematography throughout the film captures perfectly why this area should be preserved and why Trump and his cronies shouldn't be allowed to build on it.

Negatives: The film feels a little one-sided as Baxter fails to get any interviews with Trump's supporters or the police who arrested him. There is also an ambiguous ending which tells us that Trump's plans may now not go ahead anyway due to the installation of wind turbines on the land.

Verdict: A story that needed to be told and one that is told in a spectacular way, Baxter's film perfectly defines the phrase stranger than fiction as some of Trump's methods are truly unbelievable though the film isn't completely perfect it still deserves a strong score so I will award it 8/10

Review No.186: The Campaign

Plot: Will Ferrel stars as Cam Brady a Democratic congressman who is standing in his district unopposed for the fifth time however his whiter than white image is damaged after a dirty message to a mistress is accidentally left on a different family's telephone. Eager to have an upstanding congressman, political fixers the Motch Brothers approach Zach Galifianakis's Marty Huggins to run however his innocent nature isn't a match for Cam's underhanded approach. The Motches than hire Tim Wattley as Marty's campaign manager who helps him look great in the eyes of the voters while smearing Cam's name at the same time. Marty's time on the campaign trail has an adverse effect on his relationship with his family so Cam decides to capitalise on the loneliness of Marty's wife. Marty eventually finds out the true reason why the Motches wanted him to run in the first place so he has an ethical decision to make as regards his political future.

Positives: At 85 minutes the film flows along quite nicely and the plot is easy enough to follow. Dylan McDermott's campaign has every hallmark of a sleazy Washington type that knows how to get stupid Americans to vote for whoever he wants them to. Dan Aykroyd and John Lithgow are a great double act as the Motch brothers to the extent where I wish they were in the film a little bit more.

Negatives: Though the narrative of the film is easy enough to follow for a comedy there aren't nearly enough laughs and as a political satire its nowhere near as biting as it should be. One of the problems for me is that both Ferrell and Galifianakis are playing broad comic characters which means that they cancel the other out. I think a film like this needs a straight man to balance out the broader character however that isn't the case here and therefore I think it is harder to care about either of these men who both come across like caricatures.

Verdict: An inoffensive if unfunny Ferrell/Galifianakis double-header this doesn't have nearly enough biting satirical moments though there are a couple of great supporting performances so for those reasons I will award The Campaign 5/10

Review No.185: That's My Boy

Plot: In 1984, 13 year old Donny Burger has an affair with his teacher which results in her getting arrested and also later having a child. The affair makes Donny a minor celebrity however his relationship with his son, who he names Han Solo, deteriorates over the years and the pair loose contact. In the present day Donny owes loads of money in back taxes and he is advised that the only way to get a large amount of money is to reunite his son with the mother he hasn't seen for years. Donny's son is now calling himself Todd Peterson and is doing well as an accountant while he is about to be married to the beautiful Jamie even though she treats him badly. Donny turns up on the weekend of Todd's wedding, posing as his oldest friend, and soon becomes his Best Man even though Todd realises that with his father around things will get out of control. Inevitably the pair bond over the weekend however with the reunion special looming will Donny tell Todd why he's really there or will he forgo getting the money in order to repair the relationship with his son.

Positives: There are two great cameos in the film with James Caan playing an incredibly violent Irish priest and Susan Sarandon as the older version of Todd's mother. I have to say I also found Vanilla Ice, who is now Donny's best friend, particularly amusing despite the fact he really can't act.

Negatives: This film is just distasteful from beginning to end starting as it does with statutory rape and ending with a couple of incest 'gags' David Caspe's script is truly terrible. Talking of truly terrible Adam Sandler once again portrays an over-the-top comic character by 'doing a voice' and hoping that will be enough to make him funny which it really isn't. I feel that Sandler, certainly when he plays these comedy roles, has now lost the humour he once had in Happy Gilmore and The Wedding Singer so should probably stick to more straight roles such as the one he played in Funny People. Sandler seemingly drags everyone down to his level namely Andy Samberg who as Todd has to play the straight man who is a complete wimp and another character that I failed to care for. Considering this is a comedy film there are very few actual laughs and this was probably the main problem with the film.

Verdict: Unfunny, distasteful with some really bad central performance I would recommend everyone steer clear of That's My Boy however I will at least award Caan and Sarandon for trying to raise the bar and give this 2/10

Review No.184: Paranorman

Plot: A young lad named Norman Babcock has an uncanny ability to converse with dead people but those around him don't believe he can with his parents thinking he's going through a phase while his classmates see it as an opportunity to bury him. When Norman starts having visions about a famous witch trial his uncle, who also has a similar ability, tells him that he will soon need his powers to save the town. So follows the most important night of Norman's life which sees an unlikely group of his friends, enemies and family members join together to help Norman in his quest.

Positives: An animated children's film that doesn't treat its main audience as idiots this cartoon horror does include some genuinely scary moments however it's abiding message is that we are afraid of a lot of things that we simply just don't understand. The script, written by co-director Chris Butler, has plenty of humour but also some genuinely real characters a quality that is very rare in an animated film. The animation lends itself well to the story as it is fairly gloomy at times but this very much the mood of the film while all of the members of the undead are drawn beautifully. Of the voice cast The Road's Kodi Smit-McPhee perfectly captures this awkward adolescent while Elaine Stritch is great as his long dead grandmother and Casey Affleck is the biggest surprise as Mitch the jock.

Negatives: The directors gave themselves quite a lot of content to cram into 90 minutes and I felt either the film should've been longer or one of the subplots removed. I also believe that the content isn't suitable for some younger children but I suppose at the same time if it were removed it would lose the edge that makes it so great.

Verdict: A great animation for kids and adults alike that genuinely has something for everyone though I do wish it could've been a little longer overall I really enjoyed it so for that reason it receives an 8/10

Review No.183: Ruby Sparks

Plot: Paul Dano stars as Calvin a depressed novelist who is trying to live up to the success he achieved with his first book that he wrote when he was still at school. Calvin's therapist suggests he write something terrible about a girl who likes his do and he creates Ruby Sparks eventually falling in love with her. Calvin freaks out when Ruby appears in his kitchen one day however he discovers that he has made her real and can actually write her to do whatever he wants. Instead of making use of this power he believes that Ruby is the perfect woman so vows not to change him however soon his depressive nature starts to stifle her and she begins to spend less time with him. After a painful visit to his mother's house Ruby starts to change her opinion of Calvin which in turn makes him consider whether or not he should change her personality as he has that power.

Positives: Writer and star Zoe Kazan's script is an inventive piece that has lots of fun jokes and gets very dark towards the end. The use of light and shade in the cinematography is fairly well used while the film's score is also quite pleasant. Paul Dano is excellent in this leading role as he really encapsulates the misanthropic Calvin and by the end we learn why he can't maintain a relationship as well as why he has writer's block. The film also boasts a great supporting cast including Steve Coogan as a sleazy author and Annette Bening and Antonio Banderas as Calvin's mother and her partner with the pair both playing kooky to the max. Kazan herself is also great as the upbeat Zoe who is eventually dragged down by Calvin's moods and she also plays it excellently during the aforementioned darker scenes.

Negatives: Ultimately the film doesn't have the courage of its convictions as Calvin comes good and I thought the ending absolutely sucked as I personally thought it could've been left more open-ended. The film also takes a while to get going and I found it incredibly difficult to connect with Calvin before Ruby came along.

Verdict: An inventive film that has a fairly mainstream ending and while I enjoyed it I expected more from the team behind Little Miss Sunshine so for that reason Ruby Sparks receives a 7.5/10

Review No.182: Premium Rush

Plot: Premium Rush stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Wilee a bicycle messenger who is tasked with delivering a package from a university to an address in Chinatown however soon finds himself pursued by a number of interested parties. The plot rewinds to various points to explain why Michael Shannon's corrupt copper Bobby Monday is after the package while in addition also reveals the link between Wilee and the package's owner who is desperate for it to get to its destination on time.

Positives: This definitely seemed like a film that was based around the speed-cycling scenes rather than any sort of plot but Mitchell Amundsen's cinematography captures them perfectly. Michael Shannon is absolutely terrifying as Bobby Monday and raises the quality of the film quite a bit channelling the spirit of Christopher Walken in his portrayal of the gambling-addicted cop. There is one fantastic scene where an injured Wilee is being interrogated by Monday and let's just say his methods are far from savoury Joseph Gordon-Levitt is also good as the unsuspecting everyman who is just trying to get a bit of extra money by taking this job on not knowing that he's been selected for a reason.

Negatives: I get the impression that Premium Rush think it's more clever than it actually though I found its non-linear structure to be a distraction rather than an improvement. I feel all the stuff with Chinese gangsters and sinister loan-sharks was all a bit far-fetched as was the fact that Monday was allowed to get away with all of his wrong-doings. I also didn't much care for Wilee's relationship with fellow messenger Vanessa though I suppose it was necessary in terms of a couple of the plot points.

Verdict: Incredible shots of the bike messengers whizzing around the city coupled with another excellent Michael Shannon performance means that Premium Rush has a lot to offer however due to the fact that it seems to have ideas above its station I will award it a fitting 6.5/10

Review No.181: Lola Versus

Plot: Daryl Wein's film stars indie darling Greta Gerwig as the titular Lola a 29 year old who is about to get married only to be dumped by her fiancée three weeks before the wedding. After that Lola embarks on a voyage of self-discovery attempting to complete her doctoral thesis while at the same time sort out her relationship woes by sleeping around. Lola eventually embarks on an ill-fated relationship with her best friend Henry before discovering why her fiancée split up with her in the first place. She is also given various bits of advice from her hippy parents and her actress friend who herself is having trouble finding a man.

Positives: Gerwig tries her best with the lead role of Lola which fits perfectly in her resume of quirky vulnerable young women who are trying to navigate their way through life. The best performances of the film come from Bill Pullman and Debra Winger who are incredibly entertaining as Lola's chilled-out parents. There are a couple of decent gags at the beginning of the film and at just under ninety minutes it doesn't really outstay its welcome.

Negatives: There were long periods of the film which I found completely self-indulgent and really started to loathe the character of Lola at some points. The whole film is centred around the fact that women all want to be settled down by the time they're all thirty and I find that in itself fairly insulting. After her break-up Lola's romance with best friend Henry is fairly excruciating as is her encounter with a handsome man who likes talking about fish a lot. The male characters generally are woefully underwritten and are either presented as needy intellectuals or self-obsessed morons while even Lola herself doesn't feel real. Co-writer Zoe Lister Jones has seemingly given herself all the best lines as Lola's mate Alice but even her character feels somewhat over-the-top as all her lines relating to her sex life don't ring true.

Verdict: Despite some game performances and a few decent gags Lola Versus is just too quirky for its own good to the extent where it just doesn't feel real and for those reasons I can only award it 5.5/10

Review No.180: Magic Mike

Plot: Steven Soderbergh's film concentrates on Channing Tatum's Mike Lane who works on building sites by day but at night is a regular turn at the XQuisite nightclub under the name Magic Mike. Mike has built up a relationship with the club's owner Dallas, played by Matthew McConaughey, and gets an extra cut of the profits by helping his boss do the books. Mike is saving his money so he can one day run his own furniture-making business but due to his bad credit the banks won't give him a loan so he has to work harder to achieve his goals. At the construction site Mike meets 19 year old Adam and later introduces him to the stripping world as Adam is thrust onto the stage after veteran stripper Tarzan is too inebriated to perform. Through his relationship with Adam, Mike also meets his sister Brooke who is worried about her brother and asks for Mike's help however it seems she doesn't want a relationship with him because of what he does. As the film goes on we see Dallas attempt to expand the act, Adam getting into his new life and Mike trying to escape the stripping world however one incident has an impact on all three.

Positives: After Contagion and Haywire, Soderbergh continues his exploitation films with this look at the male stripping industry pitching it halfway between sleazy and glamorous. Soderbergh's visuals making the stripping scenes come alive, which I know won't appeal to most people, which really explains why the women can't get enough of these guys. Channing Tatum is actually pretty decent here excelling at playing the everyman and really making us empathise with Mike who has a dream but is constantly put down by the man. He has a believable chemistry with Cody Horn, who plays Brooke, and by the end of the film you are really willing them to get together. The real stand-out in Magic Mike is Matthew McConaughey who presents Dallas both as a showman and a businessman getting quite ruthless when he realises how much Adam and Mike may have jeopardised his business. McConaughey's performance is so good that I could honestly see him being nominated as Best Supporting Actor at next year's Oscars as Dallas is the sort of character that could well appeal to the academy.

Negatives: I have to say I don't think English actor Alex Pettyfer really had the wide-eyed innocence needed to play the part of Adam successfully and by the end he'd just come off as brattish. I also felt Olivia Munn wasn't given much to do as Mike's occasional sex buddy Joanna.

Verdict: Soderbergh suceeds in directing another well-shot and engaging exploitation film with two great performances from McConaughey and Tatum so for those reasons I will give Magic Mike 8/10

Review No. 179: Fast Girls

Plot: Fast Girls is set around the world of female athletics and stars Being Human's Lenora Crichlow as Shania an aspiring sprinter who was raised on a council estate receiving training from local shop-owner Brian played by the brilliant Phil Davis. Shania's trials are successful though she finds out that she has to compete against rich girl Lisa Temple whose father David, played by Rupert Graves, is a former gold medallist himself. After initially turning down the offer to be a part of the relay team she accepts when a spot opens up after a veteran athlete is injured however she then finds out she has to team with Lisa. The two form a begrudging respect however this is torn apart when Shania finds Lisa in a clinch with team physio Carl whom she has a thing with. As the trials approach Lisa and Shania clash on the track however they eventually learn that if they can work together then they'll be unstoppable.

Positives: This is a well-crafted debut feature by Regan Hall which predictably focuses on the exciting and well-shot running scenes. Though the story is rather corny the cast is strong led by the formidable Crichlow who adds an edge to Shania never making her feel like too much of a stereotype. Crichlow is ably supported by the rest of the relay girls and even Lily James as Lisa grows into her role by the end of the film essentially creating a believable chemistry between the teammates. Co-writer Noel Clarke has an undeniable likeable energy in his performance as team coach Tommy while both Phil Davis and Rupert Graves lend an able to proceedings. Fast Girls is incredibly formulaic but I have to say I was really involved with the characters' fates and was emotionally invested enough to really care about the final relay.

Negatives: The whole love interest angle involving Shania and Carl the physio really feels out of place with Crichlow and Bradley 'King Arthur' James having no chemistry whatsoever. I didn't really buy the fact that Shania's feelings for Carl were what made her argue with Lisa and jeopardise her place on the team mainly as I didn't think he was her type. I also felt that Shania's 'council estate' friends and family members were a little clichéd with their constant partying and lazy behaviour.

Verdict: Fast Girls may be cheesy and predictable but it is well-paced, well-shot, fun and has some brilliant performances plus the fact I was rooting for the characters at the end of the film must be a sign of my enjoyment so for that reason it gets 7/10

Review No.178: The Angel's Share

Next up for the new style review treatment is Ken Loach's The Angel's Share

Plot: The Glasgow-set film sees repeat offender Robbie given community service for his latest crime which sees him winding up in the care of Harry played by the wonderful John Henshaw. On Robbie's first day of Community Service his girlfriend Leonie goes into labour and when Harry drives him to the hospital he witnesses being beaten up by two of Leonie's uncles who warn him off their niece. Harry takes Robbie under his wing and is amazed by his nose for whisky when he takes his community service charges on a day out to a distillery. As Robbie agrees to meet up with one of his former victims he realises that he must leave Glasgow with his young father and spots a way to do this when a priceless cask of whisky comes on the market. Accompanied by his community service pals Robbie comes up with a plan to steal out of the cask but it remains to be seen whether his plan will be successful or not.

Positives: This is possibly one of Ken Loach's most comic pieces to date as he mixes in broadly comic characters, such as the idiotic Albert, with the more humanistic drama that he's known for. Screenwriter Paul Laverty creates some incredibly well-rounded characters with Robbie especially coming across as incredibly believable as he's someone who has become a victim of his circumstances. Despite Robbie inflicting both physical and emotional pain in his past you can't help but feel for him in the scenes in which Leonie's family tries to separate him from his girlfriend and child. The believability of the character is heightened by the performance of relative newcomer Paul Brannigan who is incredibly sympathetic but also commands authority when he takes charge of the bunch of community service misfits. John Henshaw is also used well as Harry an incredibly warm man who actually takes his job as a way to find a better life for some of these repeat offenders. The latter part of the film in which the gang attempt to steal the whisky has an Ealing comedy vibe about it and as a fan of that particular brand of film I really enjoyed it.

Negatives: You could say that the robbery scenes do stretch credibility while I personally would've liked to have known more about Robbie's community service cohorts.

Verdict: A warm, funny and heart-warming tale with a sympathetic central character and a great screwball plot that never loses all of the edge that we've come to know from Loach so for all those reasons the film gets an 8.5/10

Review No.177: Take this Waltz

OK from now on these reviews are going to be a tad different instead of long rambling paragraphs I'm going to have headings for plot, positives and negatives before giving my overall score and we'll start with Take This Waltz



Plot: Michelle Williams plays Margot a disenfranchised writer who currently makes end's meat writing articles for a travel website however life turns around for her when she meets Luke Kirby's charming artist Daniel. The only problem is that Margot is married to the dependable Lou, played by Seth Rogen, whose latest project is to write a book of ways that people can cook chicken. Margot tries to keep her feelings for Daniel underwraps however this easier said than done when he lives on the same street as her and becomes near impossible when Lou starts inviting him around. As well as losing her husband, if Margot does end up with Daniel she'll lose her best friend in Lou's recovering alcoholic sister Geraldine played by Sarah Silverman. In the end Margot makes her choice but in the final few scenes it seems that her decision may not have been the best one.

Positives: Anybody who saw her debut feature Away from Her knows that Sarah Polley has a great visual flair and this film demonstrates it with its stark colour. Though Michelle Williams is usually glum here she at least gets to crack a smile and demonstrate a little more humour than she got to in say Blue Valentine or Meek's Cutoff. Seth Rogen is no stranger to drama but here he plays it completely straight and is every inch the good guy as he cooks chicken for his family and generally puts in an amiable yet believable performance. The revelation here though is Sarah Silverman who is absolutely fantastic in her role as the sarcastic yet damaged Geraldine who often acts as Margot's confident but also has her own issues to deal with. I also think that the situations that Polley has created are believable with the couple who were married young no longer having that spark so the wife looks elsewhere. Rogen and Williams' chemistry is great and I really bought into their relationship to the extent that I didn't want it to end.

Negatives: It seems that Polley didn't think that her story had enough going for it so had to add plenty of kooky elements from the fact Daniel drives a rickshaw round the neighbourhood to the sight of Margot and Geraldine working out with the old women in the pool. There is also an incredibly odd sex scene towards the end of the film which is incredibly arty and for me feels mildly pretentious. I also wasn't a fan of Daniel nor the performance of Luke Kirby as he tried to steal Margot away from her perfectly nice husband I really wondered what she saw in this slightly creepy guy other than he was artistic.

Verdict: Despite being overly kooky at times it's the performances from Rogen, Williams and especially Silerman that make Take this Waltz what it is coupled with a mostly believable script as well as the director's likeable style I will give this one 7.5/10