The Tree Of Life, Terrence Malick (Dir.)

In the build-up to Terrence Malick’s fourth film in forty years I was becoming readily convinced that The Tree Of Life had the makings of one of the best films of our lifetime. With shots immediately comparable with Kubrick’s ground-breaking 2001: A Space Odyssey, a cast including a weathered-looking Sean Penn and a mature Brad Pitt, not to mention the dinosaurs; The Tree Of Life looked truly seminal.

            Having seen it, I still believe that The Tree Of Life had the potential to be such a film – but sadly it is not. There’s no denying that the visuals are impressive. The cosmic scenes do in fact bring back memories of the final half an hour of Space Odyssey, but the visuals in themselves are not where the problem lies. The missing element lies in tying these scenes of grandeur depicting the creation of the universe to both the adult Sean Penn-character and the family of his childhood. Although the possibility of some truly fascinating ideas lies in such a connection (Is this film a message to God? Is it a comparison between the universe itself and the tiny-in-comparison lives of one very human family? Is it semi-biography of Malick’s own childhood?), what is needed is a little more clarity. This may seem a trivial point, after all this is Terrence Malick and what he does best is films with subtle meanings and hidden agendas. However, in this instance I believe the film would benefit from making it a little more obvious what it is that it is trying to say. After this film’s release, Penn himself made it clear he wasn’t entirely sure how it all added up and even expressed a little doubt as to whether Malick himself knew for sure what his message was. When the cast themselves aren’t sure what’s going on, what hope do we have?

            Yet, having said all of this I cannot deny my own joy at indulging in such a cinematic exhibition. This is a film that is, regardless of its unclear agenda, a stunning display of visual effects - like watching the iTunes visualizer while someone recites poetry in your ear. It is an appropriate display of what contemporary cinema can do. My own interpretation of the film is that it is quite simply a biography of life itself. We are shown how life began, how it progresses and finally what it all leads to; whilst rejoicing in what happens along the way. If nothing else, The Tree Of Life does show how much beauty can be found in not just the far reaches of space but in your own backyard. In every blade of grass, every drop of water and on every individual’s face, Malick finds the spectacular. For that, at least, he deserves to be praised. 

Return to 'The Planet of the Apes'?

I'm a massive fan of Planet of the Apes. Since the very first time I heard The Simpson's musical rendition of it as a child ("I hate every ape I see/From chimpan-A to chimpan-Z!") I have been fascinated with its ideas about accidental time-travel; the role reversal of homo sapiens and the simian species; and, of course, the future of our planet. Naturally then, I'm excited by the prospect of another film set in the dystopian world of The Planet of the Apes and with Fox's reboot/origins story in cinemas it seems an appropriate time to pay homage to one of the greats of science-fiction cinema. 


The film is driven by another of cinema's greats; the unforgettable Charlton Heston. Heston was an actor who could consistently deliver on an epic scale and in Planet of the Apes he was no different. Although his portrayal of Taylor (the man who crash-landed on a distant planet almost 2000 years into the future) can appear slightly nonchalant at times, he is believable as a man who has just about given up on humankind. What makes Taylor so interesting though is that as soon as his stature as a human being, and therefore his human rights, is threatened he is up in arms. What follows is Taylor's fight to prove to his ape counterparts that humans are intelligent and deserve to be treated as such. As a result the famous reveal at the end of the film (it was earth all along!) leaves Taylor a broken man:
"You Maniacs! You blew it up! Ah, damn you! God damn you all to hell!"

It is more than just Charlton Heston's performance though that makes The Planet of the Apes such a classic, it is the myriad of reflections on humanity that are fascinating to encounter. The ancient scrolls of ape lore, as recited by the infamous Dr. Zaius, label humanity the "harbinger of death" and they are correct. Exclusively as a species, we destroy our habitat and the environment around us on a great scale. Therefore, despite the best efforts of Taylor and Zira (an ape protester for human rights) the film leaves us wondering whether the world was any better off before the dominion of the apes. 


Etep

Project Nim, James Marsh (dir.)

It strikes me as particularly interesting that Project Nim and Rise of the Planet of the Apes have been released in such close proximity as they are a perfect example of of two films tackling a very similar issue in the most contrasting of ways. Whilst Rise of the Planet of the Apes is, of course, the re-emergence of a classic and widely-known blockbuster franchise, Project Nim is a more subtle but no less powerful affair. Project Nim is the documentary that tells the story of a chimp (Nim) who is taken from his mother at an early age and raised, as far as possible, as a human infant. 

The film is a fascinating insight into a bold experiment that aimed to answer the question of nature versus nurture and test whether a chimp (with its genetic build-up so similar to our own) could learn to communicate in the same way as we do when brought up in the same way as a homo sapiens child. The results of this test do not prove that chimps have the same linguistic capacities as us (and that we are doomed to a fate similar to that predicted in the aforementioned Rise of...) Yet, if Nim is anything to go by what it does prove is that they have an equal capacity for love, affection and an individual personality as any of us. Furthermore, what we learn about one chimp's love and lust for life (as epitomised by Nim's favourite hand sign meaning "play") is reflected in the faltering loyalties of the humans around him. It is fair to say that there is as much about ourselves as a race depicted in this film as there is about the chimpanzee.
         I have no wish to discourage viewers from going to see the latest visit to The Planet of the Apes, in fact I am an avid fan of the franchise, but if you like it or you just like monkeys try and see both of the simian releases out there at the moment, Project Nim is certainly worth it.


Etep
A review of Rise of the Planet of the Apes will soon follow. 

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, David Slade (dir.)

I went to the cinema to see a special viewing of the third Twilight film, Eclipse, and if I were to describe it in five words; Bella sad, Jacob shirtless, Vampires. The past two films were made bearable by a good soundtrack, and an interesting way of shooting; I could lie back and relax to the sounds of Grizzly Bear and Ok Go and watch all the pretty people. But in this film it all changed; gone was the nice music and the indie shots of America's landscape, I had to actually get involved with the plot and I won't lie, it wasn't great. The parts that didn't involve the main storyline were actually quite good, I enjoyed watching Riley and his gang run about, and all the past lives of the Cullens. However, the main storyline just couldn't keep me interested; as a good friend said, 'you would've thought a love story involving a vampire and a werewolf would be more exciting'. There's not much more in it than that Edward loves Bella (in a slightly psychotic manner), Jacob loves Bella, and Bella loves Edward, and tells Jacob that she loves Edward, and then stays with Edward.
For all the Twilight lovers, I'm sure you won't be disappointed - there are plenty of shots of topless Jacob, and Edward's sparkling face, but as a film it doesn't quite hold its own. Good muscles though.

                                  
                                  An actual eclipse; more fast-paced than the film itself?



Evans

A Week in December, Sebastian Faulks (auth)

As an increasingly popular and revered author, with his latest release Sebastian Faulks has a lot to live up to. With his previous novels, from his First World War bound 'Birdsong' to 'Engleby', a novel set mainly in rural Cambridgeshire, Faulks has shown versatility and diligence. One really senses that before even sitting down to pen the title of his books, Faulks has made sure to know every detail about the context in which he is writing.

'A Week In December' is no different. In this book the reader sees Faulk's writing range from what he knows (i.e the literary world as presented by the character of Ralph Tranter, a reviewer) to what he presumably knew very little about beforehand. I refer particularly to the character of John Veals, a hedge fund manager, who is arguably the chief protaganist albeit the most dislikable character in the book. From the offset, every paragraph concerning Veals is filled with language that to many readers (myself included) will make very little sense to begin with. Perhaps using language that the common reader has difficulty relating to could be seen as a weakness, but in fact throughout the novel Faulks shows this to be his major strength. So long as you stick with it, I can assure any reader that you will finish the book not only knowing a little more about hedge funds but finding yourself caring about what effect they have in our society - and it is our society that Faulks deals with in this novel.


We read about a young man who gets involved in terrorism, a woman who escapes her own reality to a virtual one, and a teenage boy who finds himself slipping away from reality altogether thanks to the effects of a seemingly harmless drug. What is perhaps most interesting and gripping about this book is that all the characters are people we see around us, and are likely to encounter, every day. In fact, many readers will be able to draw direct comparisons with a character or two.


Faulks' understanding of modern, british society is masterful, and although he parodies it at times (most significantly with a reality show where the contestants are all mad) he shows that even though, for many, escaping reality can seem much easier than tackling it, in the end we all have to face up to the real world. Faulks shows that life isn't fair but it is certainly worth living.


As far as I am concerned this is Faulks' best book to date.


Etep

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, MIchel Gondry (dir.)

Released in 2004, 'Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind' received a string of four and five star reviews, and rose to become a classic cult movie. I've chosen to recommend this film as it really makes you think and I guarantee that no viewer will fail to see the tragic nature of this story, and yet sympathise wholly with the protagonist, Joel (Carrey).


The film sees Jim Carrey play a role that does not always come naturally to him, and certainly isn't his type cast. It is not a particularly humorous, and Carrey clearly was not cast to give us his trademark wacky faces and over-the-top emotions. In fact, with a relatively quiet role and a brilliantly tragic character, Carrey excels.


The film's main plot-line consists of  us finding out that Joel's ex-girlfriend Clementine (Kate Winslet) has opted for a medical procedure where all her memories of him are erased from her mind. Naturally, Joel is heartbroken and can see no way of recovering from this other than having the procedure performed upon himself. The bulk of the film, therefore, plays out in Joel's mind where he has realised the folly of erasing the thing he loves most from his memory. Director Michael Gondry and writer Charlie Kaufman use the platform of Joel's mind to create a tale that is tragic throughout. As Joel works his way backwards through his relationship with Clementine he leaves behind the more recent and sour memories and we see what their relationship was previously like. A moving performance in many of these scenes by both Carrey and Winslet leave the audience feeling more and more bereaved that it is all being erased.


With a strong supporting cast (including Elijah Wood, Kirsten Dunst and Mark Ruffalo) and excellent performances from the two leads, 'Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind' is an incredibly interesting and moving film, and one that thoroughly deserves being re-reviewed. If you haven't seen this film already, I strongly recommend it for a rainy day.

Etep

Inception, Chris Nolan (dir.)

Christopher Nolan must have been sweating a little prior to the release of his latest film, Inception, perhaps most crucially because its not Batman 3 - the film that everyone (from die-hard comic book fans to just about anybody who saw The Dark Knight) is waiting in anticipation for. So, when we heard that Nolan's latest was an epic, action-packed and mind-boggling thriller that wasn't a Batman movie we couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. However, that was before we had seen Inception's trailers.
Stunning shots of crumbling cliffs and a whole city folding in on itself promised the public an experience of epic proportions that only Nolan can bring to a film. On the other hand, there was always the risk that Inception would fall into the trap of promising more in its trailers than it could really offer. Thankfully for Nolan (and the rest of us) Inception delivered. Nolan's creation can only be described as masterful - he manages to produce a film that is deceitfully clever, moving and incredibly gripping. Not only that but he sets all this in not one but four different 'dream realities'.

The story, though it takes for granted that the procedure of trespassing on peoples dreams is possible, takes the viewer through baffling moments of collapsing dreams, scenes of anti-gravity (possibly the best scene in the film with Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and introduces us to an interesting cast of characters. Leonardo DiCaprio is strong once again (in his second notable lead role this year after Shutter Island) as Cobb; the man who has been employed to perform the procedure of Inception, but who also carries a dark past alongside him throughout. The supporting cast, though they lack depth at times (we learn very little about Gordon-Levitt and Tom Hardy's characters) bring solidity, humour and a degree of warmth to the movie - Michael Caine more so than anyone with his relatively minor but nonetheless important role as Cobb's father-in-law.

From the moment the first dream sequence of the film collapses to the tantalising final shot, Inception does not fail to keep its viewers' eyes, ears and brains honed solely on the screen. It is a film that will linger in one's mind for days afterwards, as you attempt to work out whether in fact anything you just saw was actually set in reality. Therefore, when you tell your friends you saw a great film the other day, you might be left wondering 'or was that just a dream?'

Etep