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Berberian Sound Studio (2012)

  • Reviewer: Aaron Yap
  • Date Added: 20 May 2013
  • Aaron's Rating:4.0

With nary a drop of blood in sight, Peter Strickland’s elegantly shot ‘70s-set psychological horror Berberian Sound Studio celebrates the powerful, often under-noticed role that sound plays in movies and the people who create those unique sounds. Toby Jones, in a quietly perturbed performance, is Gilderoy, a meek English sound engineer who’s called into an Italian studio to work on a movie called The Equestrian Vortex, unaware that it has more to do with unspeakable Satanic rituals and horny goblins than horse-riding in the countryside. Things get Kafka-esque pretty soon as Gilderoy senses all is not quite right: the pushy producer is constantly lecturing him on his manners, the accountant won’t reimburse his planet ticket, the director is rarely around, and the movie he’s mixing sounds for is, well.. more than a little disturbing. Not for all tastes, the film’s shambling, glacial pace and lack of resolution will infuriate viewers weaned on conventional storytelling (if you hated Beyond the Black Rainbow, chances are you’ll hate this too...). But Strickland skillfully sustains a claustrophobic, dream-like, off-kilter mood throughout, his camera lovingly capturing the old analog processes of producing cinematic sound while edging the narrative further into a brain-teasing Lynchian rabbit hole. The eerie, dissonant soundtrack by Broadcast adds to the unsettling atmosphere.

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  • 2.5

Seven Psychopaths (2012)

  • Reviewer: Aaron Yap
  • Date Added: 17 May 2013
  • Aaron's Rating:3.5

Writer/director Martin McDonagh’s follow-up to his 2008 hitman comedy In Bruges shares a similar mid-’90s post-Tarantino vibe, but one that’s taken to over-the-top meta-levels. At once teeth-grindingly arch and intermittently clever in its shaggy-dog deconstruction of the writing process, Seven Psychopaths doesn’t always hang together - it’s not nearly as tightly constructed as Charlie Kaufman’s Adaptation, which it resembles in spades. But there’s something to be said for a film that casts Sam Rockwell and Christopher Walken as dog-nappers, Tom Waits as a rabbit-petting serial killer and Woody Harrelson as a shih-tzu-lovin’ crime boss. The buddy dynamic between Colin Farrell (playing straight quite well), Rockwell and Walken provides terrific fun, carrying the film whenever it’s on the verge of falling apart from its own self-awareness. Fans of dark, offbeat comedies will eat it up.

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  • 3.2

Jack Reacher (2012)

  • Reviewer: Aaron Yap
  • Date Added: 16 May 2013
  • Aaron's Rating:3.0

Much has been made about Tom Cruise’s lack of physical resemblance to the Jack Reacher of Lee Child’s novels; as someone who hasn’t read the books, it’s not too much of a concern for me. This film, written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie (“the guy who wrote The Usual Suspects”) based on Child’s ninth Reacher novel One Shot, is ultimately another ego-stroking vehicle for Cruise, albeit one that plays like a big-screen, old-school gumshoe TV show, complete with zingy repartee and an unstoppable loose cannon hero. As Reacher, a former military police officer who’s now gone off the grid (for reasons that remain unclear), he flaunts himself shamelessly in front of defense lawyer Rosamund Pike, effortlessly takes on multiple attackers, crashes a Camaro -- all the while cracking a mystery involving an ex-army sniper framed for the shooting of five civilians. Werner Herzog’s role as a baddie is disappointingly limited, though it’s amusing to hear him tell stories of chewing his fingers off in a Siberian prison. Jack Reacher chugs along unremarkably, with deflating third-act revelations, but it’s decent, throwback airport-paperback entertainment, ideal for home viewing but too middle-of-the-road to be memorable cinema.

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  • 3.6

I, Anna (2012)

  • Reviewer: Aaron Yap
  • Date Added: 10 May 2013
  • Aaron's Rating:3.0

TV director Barnaby Southcombe’s feature film debut is an interesting twist on the film noir trope of the femme fatale; rather than driven by greed or power, the character of Anna (Charlotte Rampling: Southcombe’s real life mother), a middle-aged speed-date-frequenting woman, exudes a palpable air of loneliness and sadness, the source of which isn’t revealed until the very end. I, Anna functions better as a psychological thriller, playing off Anna’s somewhat unstable mindset, rather than its procedural aspects, which find world-weary DCI Gabriel Byrne trailing a few steps behind in a homicide case which she’s clearly involved in but he can’t see because he’s too busy stalking and falling for her. The film is artfully shot, atmospheric slow-burn viewing, and Byrne and Rampling do fine work that compensate for narrative shortcomings, but also somewhat unsatisfying, failing to land an emotional punch during its finale. Eddie Marsan provides some lively support as a detective investigating alongside Byrne.

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  • 2.6

Life of Pi (2012)

  • Reviewer: Aaron Yap
  • Date Added: 8 May 2013
  • Aaron's Rating:3.0

There’s equally a lot to admire and cringe at in Ang Lee’s adaptation of Yann Martel’s fantasy-tinged, theologically themed best-seller Life of Pi. On the whole, the visual effects work, which was awarded an Oscar, is undeniably impressive. The bengal tiger, Richard Parker, is one of the most stunningly life-like CGI animals created to date, done without any cutesy Disney-fication (I don’t want to say that there’s no other way to bring a character like that to screen, but can certainly understand the flexibility it allows - with regards to logistics and safety - considering the scenario in which the tiger, and his human co-star are placed in). At best, the visuals provide a radiant, densely colourful eye-feast of otherworldly magic-realism; at worst, the overly processed look irks (as does its dips into “uncanny valley”), and the spectacle of watching it in 3D in a theatre is noticeably absent at home. But more problematic is David Magee’s screenplay: by choosing to emphasise the clunkily earnest modern-day framing story - where a writer listens to an adult Pi recount his adventures in the Pacific - much of the elemental power of its enthralling central story is reduced, letting the flabby, talky stuff grind everything to a halt. Last act “twist” is intriguingly open-ended, aligning the film’s intentions with its philosophical trappings, yet it feels like too much has already been explained and the result is less transcendent than it probably desires to be.

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  • -1

Iron Man 3 (2013)

  • Reviewer: Aaron Yap
  • Date Added: 2 May 2013
  • Aaron's Rating:3.5

The third installment of this hugely lucrative Marvel franchise sees Jon Favreau handing over the directorial reigns to Shane Black, the obscenely, astronomically paid screenwriter best known for action comedies like Lethal Weapon and The Last Boy Scout. The effusive praise for this entry in some quarters has been a bit baffling: yes it’s enjoyable enough, and a definite step-up from the forgettable, muddled Iron Man 2, but it’s also just another Iron Man movie, and the novelty is noticeably wearing thin. Black does, however, attempt to mark his signature on the material: the plot unravels like a good ol’ fashioned twisty detective story, there’s some buddy-buddy chemistry between Tony Stark and a resourceful kid, and the dialogue is snappy, if not consistently funny. The three large, special effects-laden set-pieces - the highlight of which is a mid-air free-fall rescue - are handled with enough competence that you wouldn’t have guessed that this is Black’s only second outing as a director after 2005’s tongue-in-cheek noir Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Robert Downey Jr. is clearly phoning it in, but invests Stark with a more pronounced vulnerability (he’s suffering from anxiety attacks after his experience in The Avengers) that reminds us that he’s a human being with emotions and feelings like the rest of us! The climactic showdown at the docks is sadly generic - even if there are 10 different Iron Man suits flying about - and fans may bemoan the lack of Stark’s utilisation of his own suit throughout the film.

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  • -1

Wuthering Heights (2011)

  • Reviewer: Aaron Yap
  • Date Added: 29 Apr 2013
  • Aaron's Rating:4.0

There have been many film adaptations of Emily Bronte’s classic 19th century novel Wuthering Heights, but none have been quite as stylized and challenging as Andrea Arnold’s. If you’re after a faithful version of the story, or a traditionally swooning, crowd-pleasing bodice-ripper, you definitely won’t find it here, as Arnold - continuing her impressive hot streak following Red Road and Fish Tank - has excised much of Bronte’s prose, leaving this Wuthering Heights very much a living, breathing cinematic entity of its own. The biggest change is the character of Heathcliff, now played by a black actor (James Howson), adding a tense, overt racial element to the plot; the guts of his stormy relationship with Catherine and her family remain intact, but is told with much, much less dialogue. The film is strongest in the first half with the younger versions of the characters - their performances are less self-conscious - but overall it’s a stunningly atmospheric work, embracing the tragic undercurrent with a focus on grimy, earthy textures and a bloody, primal physicality that’s absent from other adaptations.

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  • 2.1

End of Watch (2012)

  • Reviewer: Aaron Yap
  • Date Added: 23 Apr 2013
  • Aaron's Rating:3.5

If there’s a guy who knows a thing or two about cop movies it’s David Ayer, having made a career out of either writing (Training Day, Dark Blue, SWAT), or writing and directing them (Harsh Times, Street Kings). End of Watch covers familiar terrain, but does so with a rough, in-your-face verite aesthetic that’s both effective and occasionally distracting (put away your video cameras guys!). At the core of the film is Michael Pena and Jake Gyllenhaal’s terrific work, building a funny, believable, intimate buddy relationship between their characters, a pair of police officers patrolling the crime-ridden streets of South Los Angeles. Ayer does a fine job of alternating between their on- and off-duty lives, where they try to maintain healthy relationships with their better halves amidst the ugly, brutal realities of the day. It’s an often tense, harrowing film, but maybe too routinely exciting, at times recalling the vicarious thrills of first person shooter games more than the gritty realism it aspires to.

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  • 3.4

Celeste and Jesse Forever (2012)

  • Reviewer: Aaron Yap
  • Date Added: 23 Apr 2013
  • Aaron's Rating:3.0

Like her Parks and Recreation co-star Aubrey Plaza in Safety Not Guaranteed, Rashida Jones’ first lead feature role is a likable enough effort to step out from the tube, but also one that doesn’t deviate too much from her small screen persona. Perhaps it’s her limitations as an actress, or just the Parks and Rec writers’ knack for creating such well-rounded, uniquely tailored characters, but Celeste could easily be Anne Perkins reinvented as a trend forecaster with a little bit more dramatic breadth. Which is not to slight her performance - Jones is endearingly klutzy, and she bounces off well with Andy Samberg, who’s - believe or not - watchable attempting something straighter than we’re used to from him (Hot Rod). Written by Jones and her real-life ex Will McCormack, the screenplay is dotted with intimately humorous details that feel like private jokes from a long-term relationship, lending the film a truer-to-life veneer than your average Hollywood romantic comedy. But the film doesn’t quite transcend formula either (see: Elijah Wood’s gay, advice-offering colleague, McCormack’s stoner buddy), with director Lee Toland Krieger struggling to seamlessly balance the the heart-tugging demands of a separation with its comic complications. As a vehicle for Jones, it’s fine - it’s just not the complete revision of the rules it initially presents itself to be.

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  • 2.6

The Tall Man (2012)

  • Reviewer: Aaron Yap
  • Date Added: 19 Apr 2013
  • Aaron's Rating:4.0

Pascal Laugier’s follow-up to his controversial 2008 shocker Martyrs is altogether a different beast, although just as effective and powerful. Anyone wanting a similarly gored-out tortured fest from The Tall Man won’t find it here, but it’s another great effort from a filmmaker who definitely displays a deftness in overturning - perhaps warping - genre conventions in thrillingly unexpected ways. Somewhat mismarketed as a generic-looking horror film, it most resembles a lost Twilight Zone episode, with a stunning, ingeniously structured - not unlike Martyrs - bait-and-switch plot where the viewer walks into one “type” of movie, and walks out experiencing another. As such, I won’t go into the details of the plot too much; all you need to know is that children are going missing in a small seedy mining town and an urban legend, dubbed “The Tall Man”, is said to be responsible. Jessica Biel, in her best performance to date, plays a nurse who becomes enmeshed in the mystery. Laugier overreaches for sure - that final shot is a bit too on-the-nose - and when you add up everything that occurs in the film, it won’t make much logical sense. But what it does terrifically is employing well-worn horror tropes as a vessel for more morally grey, philosophical ideas about constitutes “good” or “bad”. Recommended - not your average genre fare.

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  • 3.0