FILMFEST '08

"They said my fucking name"

"The rights of the uncommon man, must be adhered "

"Ben. No!"

"No! You can take the kids, but you leave me my monkey. "
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Everything i've reviewed in the last few weeks seem to be Biopics or spoofs, and how much they DON'T work for me. So how was this gonna work? WELL is how.

It's not so much the stuff in the trailer which sold this to me, though that's ALL good. It's more what follows. Once you get over the Walking tall and Ray gags and realise just how well they are playing this stuff into comedy you get to what i think really makes this movie great. How Walk Hard goes into Dylan, Beach boys, Late Cash and more is a blast. Not only does it (fingers cross) destroy the possiblilty of the paint by numbers Biopics of these artists ever rearing their ugly heads but it just celebrates some of the craziest moments in rock history while sending them all up as well. This shit is brilliant.

Outside of that. This actually lived up to the greatness of that awesome trailer. Reilly is born for comedy and i'm glad he's embraced it so whole hearterdly. He really sells the god awful set up's in a biopic and along with the rest of the cast (that is stacked floor to ceiling with greatness) you can't help but giggle at the cliches just blown apart minute by minute. Even telling you the year we're in is hysterical.

Oh as an added bonus, the music is class too. Not always really funny, but genuine to making this feel more than a scary movie affair when it comes to piss takes. I need this soundtrack.

Walk Hard kicks off the comedy new year with a blast and i can see me watching this alot when it hits DVD. And with all of the extra trimming that were in some of the trailers as well. There was so much NOT in the movie that can't wait to see again and will do nothing by boost how good a comedy this actualy is already. I mean where else are go gonna get someone tellnig a monkey to FUCK OFF!?
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"...and remember it doesn't say Cox, unless I say it tastes like Cox. "

"i want to try something diffrent"
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For however straight to the point (and great) the title is, this movie has a lot of heart.

Now i usually come away luke warm at best from short story movies, and even cooler when it comes to movies primarly about sex (that's not porn) but i gotta say this one won me over.

i pretty much only saw this one for Diora Baird (who didn't disapoint) and i'm glad i took the chance. It's well written, superbly paced, honest and enjoyable. There's no douche bags for douche bags sake or people coming off as idiots due to bad dialogue, this is a solidly constructed piece of work that for once feelis legitimatly like a movie and not just a reason to have outlandish sex on screen.

It focusses more on the relationships and it does a great job at capturing the little elements of all these set up's. The couples, the first date, the room mate etc. They all come with more baggage than just the sex and it's all captured pretty damn well here.

Lots of hot girls, lots of funny guy's, some smart writing choices, some good dialgoue and some genuine moments of delight. This well worth checking out and way more than it first appears to be.
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"Okay, that's a lie. I can cum"

"Blade was at the beginning and Blade was at the end. We are alljust along for the ride"

"I think you should have a talk with Steve"

"All you have in one red hair"

"I'm gonna do some fire eating"

"Morning!"

"...and i would never have got my balls whipped"

"It's not as easy as it used to be"
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Genuinly. More than any movie in recent memory, I don't know I how i feet about this one.

I certainly enjoyed watching it. I know i had moments that filled me with total glee, I know for sure there are whole elements that were incredible. But for the love of Berg and Lucas, I can't work out if this was was want i expected, what i wanted or if it was that bit too far.

Okay backtrack. What i did like. The opening put a smile on my face, wider than it's been in a movie for quite some time. The old paramount symbol. The amazing shot of the car. It was so much fun. It was steeped in Lucas history, had a sense of enjoyment about it and it just looks beautiful and felt better than i could ever have imagined. Then Indy turns up and you just get giddy. And then you start to notice little things to show this ain't a movie make with 80's tech.

One of the biggest issues i have here is the sheer amounts of CG. Some of it is fantastic. The Nuke, the meta, the waterfalls, the ants, There's loads to love, It's broadens the canvas. it opens the world right up. But then there's the shots that sort of undermine what we expect from Indy. The face replacments to cover the stunts. The mechanics of things, the sunsets and the touch up's. Some are subtle others are just garish. None more so than the aqua truck sword fight. Please stand in line with the Matrix reloaded lorry fight and the Dino stampede in King Kong And lower your head in shane. I mean dear god! What ever happened to practical stunt work? Especially in Indy.

The dialogue is sort of 50/50. Some of it has that natural Indy charm, the other 50% iis more what' not there. The fast Indy stuff is nearly all gone. The jibes, the too and fro of clever arguments. It's sort of there, but when it is it sort of feels like it's been put there to remember how it could be done. Tho i still love some of his pearls of wisdom.

Back to good parts. Most of the stunt work is brilliant (except the aqua trucks) The usual indy fights, jumps, smashes, crashes, are all on show in a big way. The entire middle act is pretty much 45 minutes of none stop balls to the wall action. 'berg don't miss a damn trick. Every cool element squeesed to it's breaking point, every element celebrated and there ain't a director alive that sets up scenes like 'berg does. The magnetic properties of that box at the beginning. Perfectly realised. Perfectly classic 'Berg. But to counter that. Sometimes even all of this feels too much. It sort of takes the natural away. Sometimes. Maybe.

Characters wise, it's all good. A new breed of Indy friends are here. broadbent does a god job of selling the emotion, Hurt has the thankless task of delivering incredibly precise rambling dialogue (he's essentially playing "Map" from Dora the explorer) karen Allen is okay, but she just smiles and sort of comes off as crazy, nothing is explored with her, Winstone is okay. i'm not 100% sure how to feel about him, Blanchett was very good, but sort of a darth maul when compared to other villians in the franchise. She's never quite the threat you think she should be, but multi layered enough to remember.

The there's shia. Come on the guy is as likable as they come. He does well at sitting back and watching Indy rock. He's fine here. He's gonna get a lot of shit, and mainly for the tarzan bit, which is hokey, but i thought it paid off with the kick in the face. And he took to the rest of the action with ease. he's a nice addition.

And there's Indy. What can i say. he's Indy. This could be a terrible movie, but if you have Indy at the front there. Doing what he does best. That's all you can ask for. And whilst i'll admit it felt a little shakey at the start, goddamn you soon fell back in love with that hat and whip. I would'nt jump on the "Harrisons back!!!" boat just yet. But he's Indy all over again.

And now the nitty gritty. The end. The bit that is too much for me to process, the bit that i cant work out if it's what the franchise needed or if it was trying to stay above the wannabe adventure movie by playing there own game. I won't go into detail. But f**k me it's out there. I know i know. The knight in the last crusade was out there. the grail was out there. But i mean the scale of this is way, way, WAY out there.

I sort of love that it's totally embracing the 50's sci fi elements of the era. Bringing Indy into that era and using the cold war metaphors to full effect in the myth story telling. But holy christ. So much happens that's ballsy, even for an Indy movie. I can't work out if i loved it had this uber balls to push it or if i already miss the small, personal Indy movies that came before. I am genuinly torn here. I loved the elements, I love the use of this "history" and myth. But having it as an Indy backdrop?? i really don't know.

I know i enjoyed watching this, but this is absolutly one movie i need to see again before casting a judgement on it. I need to watch it knowing the outcome and see if this rolls like an Indy movie. I know it's a movie i could adore, but at the same time i'm not sure i do. So until around the annual Lucasfilm release date of Septemember 20 something for the Blu ray release (or if i get round to going to the cinema again) i shall refrain from a star rating

oh and the best bit. By far the best bit. becoming the best star wars homage of all time is Indy saying in true Han solo fashion...

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"I have a bad feeling about this"

UPDATE: OKAY. LETS GO WITH A 4/5 FOR NOW Second viewing and it was a blast. it plays like an indy movie, it's fun like an indy movie. It's a great Indy movie. it has issues, it's still a little too big for it's own good, but it's freakin fun. 4/5

"That's the first time you've said my name"

"Not yet Max"