July Film Releases

Reviews of this month’s latest film releases include Hancock, Kung Fu Panda, Mamma Mia!, Journey to the Centre of the Earth, WALL-E, City of God, The Dark Knight, Baby Mama

Hancock
Releases 2 July

It’s summer and in recent years that’s meant one major certainty – a glut of superhero movies featuring characters ever more obscure to the non-comic-reading public. You don’t have to be a nerd to have heard of Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent or Peter Parker and so you don’t need to feel geeky going the cinema to see them don their spandex suits.

The likes of Daredevil, the Hulk, Iron Man and the X-Men were arguably borderline household names before they hit the big screen, but nonetheless, we’ve now got to the stage where pretty much all the big name comic book superheroes have been done. There are a few left, a Wonder Woman movie is in the works, as are various projects relating to other fan favourites like Green Lantern, The Flash, Namor the Sub-Mariner and The Mighty Thor, but dibs have been called on pretty much all the names that could be considered bankable in their own right.

And so, having already rummaged through the last seven decades of comic books looking for superheroes for the big screen, Hollywood’s finally decided that it’s time to create one of its own. Though, being Hollywood, what they’ve actually done is head to the archives to dust off a script that’s been languishing untouched since that last period of superhero movie dominance, the late 1980s, and roped in a star with enough charisma and name value to ensure a success.

One thing’s for sure, Will Smith is one of Hollywood’s most bankable stars. Chuck him in a superhero movie, and box office sales are a certainty. The only trouble is, there simply aren’t that many black superheroes, and there would be uproar if the likes of Batman or Superman were to suddenly change race.

The colour of this new Hollywood superhero’s skin is, however, entirely irrelevant. What’s important is that he be played by someone instantly recognisable and likeable, and played well. Because the character Hancock – Earth’s only super-powered being in this new movie – is by no means your conventional superhero. An alcoholic with a bad temper, he’ll gladly use his Superman-like powers simply to have a good time and to hell with anyone who gets in his way. Yep, he may well fight crime occasionally, but not without causing far more injury and destruction than the criminals he’s out to capture. After all, who’s going to stop him?

This is, of course, where Will Smith comes in. Without his charm and charisma – fully evident even when playing against type as the wilfully nasty Hancock – this potential villain is able to become the antihero he is intended to be. He is a loveable rogue rather than the borderline sociopath he could appear. And, in the process, Hollywood seems to have created its first superhero, not to mention set up the possibility of a whole new superhero movie franchise. As if we didn’t have enough already. Still, with Smith in the lead and some fun, well-executed ideas knocking around, this is a definite must see for blockbuster fans – of that there can be no doubt.

Kung Fu Panda
Releases 4 July

It’s summer, so it must be time for a big budget, all-star cast, computer-animated movie involving talking animals. One that’s been designed to appeal as much to parents as to kids. Kung Fu Panda is Dreamworks’ Summer 2008 offering – they’re the chaps behind the Shrek movies, among others.

Of course, we’ve had plenty of sub-par attempts to “do a Shrek”, as it’s become known. Have the people behind Kung Fu Panda – a writing/directing team with surprisingly little in the way of high-profile credits to their names – managed to do the near-impossible and create the new Shrek? A bit much to ask, even with a voice cast that includes the likes of Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan and Lucy Liu.

As it turns out, Kung Fu Panda is pretty much the closest we’ve had to repeating the success of Shrek since, well, Shrek 2. Its premiere at the notoriously critical (not to mention grown-up) Cannes Film Festival earlier this year was greeted by a riotous and sustained standing ovation. It has already become Dreamworks’ third highest grossing film at the US box-office. When it opened in the States last month, critics were wild in their praise for what is, lest we forget, a film about a Jack Black-voiced giant panda who dreams of martial arts superstardom. Hardly The Godfather or Citizen Kane, yet the critics couldn’t get enough – even high-brow Time magazine praised it as: “a master course in visual art and ultra-satisfying entertainment”.

Kung Fu Panda is certainly not likely to be remembered as an all-time classic, though it should nicely stand the test of time as a DVD favourite. It is, however, most certainly both funny and engaging enough to warrant a family outing to the cinema. Even people without children will enjoy it whether they’ve ever seen a martial arts movie or not. As a bit of family summer fun, you can’t do much better. This is certainly a very strong addition to Dreamworks’ already impressive catalogue. It even makes up for the disappointment of Shrek the Third.

Mamma Mia!
Releases 11 July

If, a few years ago during the height of his James Bond-inspired superstardom, you’d told Pierce Brosnan that his next genuine global smash hit was going to be a musical, he’d probably have called security. If, while being dragged away by burley bodyguards, you’d screamed out to him that it was not just going to be a musical, but a musical based on the music of kitsch Scandinavian favourites ABBA, he’d most likely have run over to help the muscle escort you out of the building. Because it is, let’s face it, not that plausible that any former James Bond – well, bar possibly Roger Moore – would carry off such a role.

But this is Pierce Brosnan we’re talking about. So eclectic have been his post-Bond film choices that only one thing ties them together – the characters must be as utterly unlike James Bond as physically possible. So what better than a big screen version of a camp West End musical?

But it’s not just Brosnan who’s been drawn in to this musical tale of a woman who, on the eve of her wedding, attempts to discover which of three possible men from her mother’s past is her father. The other two possible dads are equally surprising additions to an Abba-based musical. Stellan Skarsgard? He may well have played Orlando Bloom’s dad in the Pirates of the Caribbean films, but he’s still best known for playing slightly psychotic villains or cropping up in intelligent European Art House flicks – not prancing around to 1970s pop. And then there’s Colin Firth. He’s not one to shirk from self-mockery, as his turns in the Bridget Jones films show, but rarely before known for volunteering for public humiliation through song and dance numbers. And what about the most surprising cast member of all? She may well be one of Hollywood’s most versatile actresses, but Meryl Streep? In a musical? Yes, she has been in a stage musical before, but that was back at the start of her career and was written by the decidedly highbrow duo of Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weil, rather than Eurovision’s favourite foursome Benny, Björn, Frida and Agnetha.

With a cast as strong as this, little wonder that – at least in terms of the quality of the end product – they have more than succeeded. Fans of the stage version will be ecstatic and with the draw of big name stars Mamma Mia! is bound to suck in a whole new range of fans. Whether the Academy will respond with Oscar nods it is still far too early to tell, but if Chicago deserved such accolades, then Mamma Mia! certainly does.

It’s only one to avoid if you can’t stand ABBA, but let’s face it, who doesn’t like ABBA? Therein lies the genius of the thing.

Journey to the Centre of the Earth
Releases 11 July

Brendan Fraser’s career is an odd one. The watchword of his career is eclectic and as such it’s very easy to underestimate his abilities. He may even be one of the most underrated actors of his generation, for the ability to combine action, comedy and serious thesping is a rare one.

Here we have a return to the action side of the spectrum, albeit in that family-friendly sort of way that Fraser seems to do so well. It’s an adaptation of Jules Verne’s 19th century science fiction classic novel, Journey to the Centre of the Earth. The storyline is familiar stuff; it involves the discovery of a cave that leads to a bizarre hidden world under the earth’s surface.

Naturally enough, the exploration of strange new worlds is precisely the sort of thing that Hollywood studios with fancy special effects teams are always keen to pursue as they provide the perfect excuse to show off their imaginations. Here they’ve decided to go one better and do the entire movie in 3D. Yes, it’s a gimmick, but it’s still novel enough to have a certain appeal. Not least, because this is the first film to be exclusively released in the new RealD 3D format, a kind of 3D moviemaking that doesn’t require the audience to wear those silly glasses with the blue and red lenses. Instead, you get to wear silly glasses of a different type – ones that don’t distort the colour of the film at the same time as making the images leap from the screen. It’s an impressive effect.

Gimmicks are all well and good for the kids this film is primarily targeting, but does the storyline have any merit? Yes, it’s based on one of the all-time science fiction classics, but it has been modernised with children very firmly in mind. Fraser is the action-hero father figure, with two children (one male, one female to try and get both sexes interested) tagging along for the ride. None of the tedious excuse of a Victorian scientific expedition to Iceland, as in the original, this is 90 minutes of solid three-dimensional action.

The 90 minute run time should tell you all you need to know. The filmmakers are fully aware that this is a throwaway popcorn flick. There are no pretentions to high art, just an attempt to make the sort of film that we all would have loved when we were kids. It blatantly rips off scores of earlier action movies (a mine cart ride straight out of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and a shark attack on a boat right out of Jaws only the most obvious), but does them all in 3D. In its presentation and approach this is as much cartoon as live action movie and it keeps up the raucous pace to match. Adults may well find the whole thing a bit too much. The relentless action and 3D effects are a tad disorienting at times, but the kids will love it. Movies are often dubbed rollercoaster rides by lazy critics, but this one actually feels like a ride at a theme park. Let’s face it, if you’re a kid, that’s likely to make it the most fun film of the summer.

WALL-E
Releases 18 July

You have to pity the producers of WALL-E, the latest computer-animated offering from the enviable partnership of Disney and Pixar. Despite the relative flop of their 2006 outing Cars, this pairing has a great track record of churning out the likes of The Incredibles, Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc, A Bug’s Life, and the Toy Story films.

The trouble for the team behind WALL-E is that this string of successes culminated last year in Ratatouille. It was an Oscar-winning film of such trans-generational appeal and that received such universal critical praise, that it has already been lauded as an all-time classic, worthy of a place amongst the true Hollywood greats. Ratatouille is, in other words, an insanely tough act to follow. And Disney/Pixar hasn’t made it easy on itself with this offering.

While Ratatouille had an obviously lovable furry critter for a star, with plenty of cute and funny dialogue to suck in the audience, this is an all or nothing affair. It has a small voice cast; the only two recognisable names are Sigourney Weaver and John Ratzenberger (Cliff from TV classic, Cheers) and a lead character that has no dialogue at all. Can the Disney/Pixar magic produce one of those rare characters that can generate universal appeal without any lines? Can they really pull off the cross between Star Wars’ R2D2 and the ultimate loveable alien E.T. that they’ve evidently been pushing for in this movie?

As with all Pixar movies, it’s deceptively simple – a robot has been left on its own and forgotten for 700 years, tasked with tidying up a vast pile of space junk. Over the centuries, this rusty little machine has gradually grown his own personality and begun to crave love and friendship. And then, one day, a space ship arrives.

The plot development barely matters; it is all in the execution. And this is, as with all Pixar movies, done with such style that they make it seem almost easy. What they’ve ended up with is the kind of simple, accessible and instantly loveable character and film that children will adore and adults will find entertaining. To equal their past achievements, as this does with ease, is a feat in itself. If you have kids, this is a summer movie must.

City of Men
Releases 18 July

Don’t be fooled by the fact that City of Men is being released by Disney’s grown-up arm Buena Vista – this is about as far from a Disney flick as you could hope to get. Set in the slums of Rio de Janeiro, we’ve yet to see cute animated talking animals frolicking around to a backdrop of extreme poverty, drug-fuelled gang wars and the ever-present threat of violence. (It’s hard not to want to see them try it though, eh?)

To get a better idea of what to expect, note that this is a semi-sequel (though entirely unofficially) to 2002’s multi-award-winning City of God.  In 2003, that movie was deservedly nominated for four Oscars including best editing, director and screenplay, despite being a foreign film.

The basic plot could, in fact, make it seem almost a remake. As with that first movie, this too revolves around two childhood friends coming of age in Rio. One chooses a life of crime; the other tries to save his friend from a choice that will most likely see him die an early and bloody death.

But don’t think sentimentalism here – again, forget the fact that Disney is acting as distributor. This is far more in the vein of Tarantino and early Scorsese than a simple, predictable study of the relationship of two characters. City of Men has been adapted from the hit Brazilian TV series of the same name that ran, in the wake of City of God, for twenty episodes from 2002-5. Think a grittier, more flashily-shot version of The Wire (assuming you’ve had the luck to see that masterpiece of modern television) and you’ll have some idea. With twenty episodes’ worth of character development to play with, the filmmakers and actors had more than enough material to create something genuinely engaging.

Of course, the slight problem with this being adapted from television is that in comparison to City of God it, well, sort of feels like it. Where that earlier film was a wilfully over the top riff on gangster movies coming from what was then an entirely unexpected source, thanks to the half decade gap and the recent glut of similar films coming out of Latin America, City of Men feels both less fresh and somehow smaller.

Which is not, of course, to say that it’s not well worth a look or that it doesn’t have its own contributions to make. Think of it instead as a starter, an entrée to the TV series. If you like this – which if you like gangster movies you’re bound to – then be safe in the knowledge that there’s another ten hours or more of the same just waiting to be discovered on DVD.

The Dark Knight
Releases 25 July

When news emerged of Heath Ledger’s untimely accidental death back in January this year, many film fans were shocked by the loss of such a promising, rising star. But few were more upset than fans of 2005’s superb superhero franchise revival Batman Begins. Ledger died just as Batman fans had come to accept him in the role of the Joker. It was a time when they had really started to look forward to seeing what he was going to do with the part, thanks to the release of early trailers and publicity photos from the set. The thought that Ledger may have died before finishing what was always going to be one of the most anticipated films of the year was too much to contemplate, even if such fears proved groundless.

Ledger’s casting had not initially been popular. Jack Nicholson’s turn as the Joker in Tim Burton’s iconic 1989 Batman is still counted as one of the best on-screen villains of all time. Could an actor famous primarily for his jocular good humour really pull off the kind of loveable darkness necessary for such a complex villain? As it stands, Ledger’s performance in The Dark Knight makes his untimely death just that much more tragic, because it turns out to be the best of his career.

The Dark Knight is everything that could be hoped for from a sequel to Batman Begins. The old cast – Christian Bale as Batman, Michael Caine as his butler Alfred, Gary Oldman as the future Commissioner Gordon and a supporting cast including Morgan Freeman, Maggie Gyllenhaal and more – all lend sufficient gravitas to a superhero flick that is very much not for the kids. And despite the loss of Ledger, there is much promise for the franchise to come.

Throughout, it is Ledger who dominates the film, just as Nicholson dominated the 1989 Batman. Where on his death Ledger was already being mourned for his unfulfilled promise, The Dark Knight serves to heighten that sense of a great actor lost, while also acting as a perfect epitaph for a career cut tragically short. On the basis of this film, Heath Ledger truly could have been one of the greats. Not to be missed.

Baby Mama
Releases 25 July

You might well think: “This is another one of those chick flicks about a thirty-something woman trying to juggle a career and independence with the tick-tock of her biological clock. Isn’t it a bit soon to have another of these after the recently released Sex and the City movie? And who’s the woman in the lead? Never heard of her…”

Such thoughts would be entirely understandable, given the circumstances. The plot, revolving around a career woman who desperately wants a baby and so hires a surrogate mother, does at first glance look entirely predictable and as such, not worth bothering with. But where the assumption would normally be that maternal feelings win out over career-mindedness, following a brief moment of uncertainty as the surrogate mother wants to keep the child for herself, this is thankfully not filmmaking by numbers. Indeed, though the talent involved may not be A-list names, they are certainly far too canny to produce anything so predictable.

The first cause for hope is the writer/director, Michael McCullers, co-writer of three of the most successful comedies of the last decade, the Austin Powers movies. Backing McCullers up by taking centre stage in the lead is another former Saturday Night Live writer. Yet, the difference is that Tina Fey also appeared on the show over a ten year period, so in the US she’s about as recognisable as you can get.

Between them McCullers and Fey have more than enough experience to know what’s likely to work. So as Fey’s character ends up having the woman who is bearing her child move in with her, this may well be seen as a 21st century version of The Odd Couple with women instead of men, but it’s one with its fair share of laughs. And thankfully Fey – backed up by fellow Saturday Night Live alumnus Amy Poehler as the feisty surrogate mother – is charming enough to pull it off. Not one that many men will be keen to see, but for women of a certain age there’s more than enough to entertain.

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