Tag: Bradley Cooper

Review: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Was this supposed to happen? Back in 2014, I recall my heart being in my chest as I stepped into an early media screening of the first Guardians of the Galaxy. Having adored the Abnett and Lanning run of the comics, this was one I was looking forward to — but feared the worst. Yet from the moment the Redbone-backed titles dropped, one of the best needle drops in modern cinema history, director James Gunn’s movie owned me hook, line, and sinker.

Cut to almost a decade later and the Guardians are part of the dominant cultural landscape. Following a sequel, several animated spin-offs, cameos galore, a holiday special, and practically carrying Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, this plucky group of misfits are the beating heart of a multi-billion dollar empire. So, even as we rejoin them at the start of this third headliner outing, we know from the start that we are reaching the end of the road for some of the gang.

For all of the grand cosmic majesty of the series so far, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3 has one of the more focused plots to date. Peter (Chris Pratt) has drunk himself into a stupor, unable to accept that ‘his’ Gamora (Zoe Saldana) is gone. Yet when Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper) is left for dead by the mysterious and powerful Adam (Will Poulter), the Guardians must unlock the key to Rocket’s past in order to save him. This ultimately means seeking out the megalomaniacal High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji), a kind of intergalactic Dr. Moreau.

By now, there’s a little bit of a formula to Marvel films, even with a series as irreverent as this. Yet Gunn takes his time to really get into the backstory of Rocket. He’s on-screen for most of the film, albeit it’s a tiny baby animal version living in a hybrid nightmare that was possibly concocted by Sid from Toy Story. (Start tallying up the merchandising income now). It’s a noticeable grounding of the narrative, even if it is a blockbuster set inside a brightly coloured organic space lab.

After all, it’s been a weird couple of years for the MCU. Where once they could do no wrong with critics and audiences, somewhere between the many Disney+ series and the critical and commercial disappointment of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania the franchise lost some sheen. Gunn’s script here shares some of those issues, primarily the perpetual problem of a cookie-cutter villain. New characters, especially Adam, simply appear for perfunctory plot-driven purposes.

Gunn isn’t above pushing some emotionally manipulative (or emotionalistic, as Rocket might say) buttons. After all, if you fill a movie with baby animals and children in peril, half of the dramatic heavy lifting is done by kindchenschema. Gunn’s trademark of a memorable soundtrack feels more like an obligation here too, with a series of whiplash inducing tonal changes that ping from Radiohead to Rainbow, with the unlikely (but welcome) inclusions of Spacehog, The Flaming Lips, Faith No More, X, The The, and The Replacements in between.

Nevertheless, it’s such a joy so see a film so consciously exploring its own past and characters. Bolted together by some impressive action set-pieces, ones that loudly crash into frame and disappear just as quickly, blink and you’ll miss countless Easter eggs and details that are designed for the home market. There’s a series of scenes between Kraglin (Sean Gunn) and Cosmo the Space (voiced by Maria Bakalova) that warmed this cynical geek’s heart.

So, with as much fanfare as possible, it feels as though an MCU Phase has come to an end. Not officially, of course, as Phase Five is only just getting started. Yet if the Avengers are Earth’s mightiest heroes, then the Guardians have been the galaxy’s kindest. Whether we see them all together again in this form is to be seen, but at least we all got to share one last dance with them in the cinema. We are Groot.

2023 | USA | DIRECTOR: James Gunn | WRITERS: James Gunn | CAST: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Sean Gunn, Chukwudi Iwuji, Will Poulter, Elizabeth Debicki, Maria Bakalova, Sylvester Stallone | DISTRIBUTOR: Disney | RUNNING TIME: 150 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 3 May 2023 (AUS), 5 May 2023 (USA)

May 4, 2023
Review: The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special

It’s hard to believe now, but there was a time before Guardians of the Galaxy. Prior to the release of the 2014 film, prognosticators of doom had already written off the gamble as Marvel’s folly. A sequel and several crossovers later, writer/director James Gunn’s sense of humour is in the very DNA of the MCU.

Following the Werewolf By Night Halloween special, THE GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY HOLIDAY SPECIAL continues to have fun with the form. The premise is bonkers: after learning of Peter’s (Chris Pratt) disappointing first Christmas in space, Drax (Dave Bautista) and Mantis (Pom Klementieff) head to Earth to get him the one thing they know will make him happy. That is, of course, the legendary hero Kevin Bacon (who plays himself).

The special is something of an anomaly in the MCU to date. Playing like an extended version of the One-Shots that peppered the first few phases, it speaks to the existing canon while setting its own holiday tone in the process. Although clearly inspired by the weird-ass Star Wars Holiday Special, it stays true to the characters while putting them in decidedly non-MCU scenarios. It’s a comedy, it’s a musical, it’s an action adventure. In other words, it’s a Guardians of the Galaxy film.

All of the Guardians are involved to some extent, but it’s primarily a Drax and Mantis joint. This hapless duo works incredibly well, especially during a drunken night in a club that gives off some serious Venom: Let There Be Carnage vibes. A chase sequence involving Kevin Bacon, a plastic elf, and a candy cane (that may or may not look like a man) is just golden. Speaking of Bacon, he’s an incredible sport in a flick that variously (and lovingly) refers to actors as “repugnant” and “pieces of shit.”

Set between Avengers: Endgame and next year’s Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3, Gunn also uses this special as a way of casually establishing the status quo. As a long-time fan, I was excited to see the Celestial head called Knowhere housing the gang, not to mention Cosmo the sentient dog (voiced by Maria Bakalova) mixing it up with Rocket (Bradley Cooper). It’s like the Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning books coming to life.

On a technical level, there’s very little separating this from the big screen adventures (especially when watching it in glorious 4K Dolby Vision). Gunn judiciously chooses the locales to maximise the effects, while playing up on the fish-out-of-water gags of Drax and Mantis on Earth. Even Yondu (Michael Rooker) gets to appear via an animated flashback, in the best Christmas tradition. It does, however, mean that Rocket and Groot are kept to a minimum.

The soundtrack is characteristically lively, including an alt.Christmas selection featuring the likes of The Pogues, Julian Casablancas, Fountains of Wayne, and The Smashing Pumpkins. Old 97s not only provide a theme song but cameo as an alien band. This might be a minor spoiler, but the final sing-a-long is as wacky as it is heartwarming.

Phase Four has been a bit of a mixed bag, but THE GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY HOLIDAY SPECIAL ends it on a joyous and silly note. It’s a reminder that this whole thing started with a fanbase who were just happy to see their favourite characters up on screen. So, kick back with your favourite nog, slice of pie, or other beverage and unwrap the holiday gift we didn’t know we needed.

2022 | USA | DIRECTOR: James Gunn | WRITERS: James Gunn | CAST: Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Sean Gunn, Old 97’s, Michael Rooker, Kevin Bacon | DISTRIBUTOR: Disney/Disney+ | RUNNING TIME: 44 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 25 November 2022 (Disney+)

November 26, 2022
Review: A Star is Born

Remakes can be a tricky thing. For every Around the World in 80 Days (1956) there’s an Around the World in 80 Days (2004). While falling short of most horror franchises, A STAR IS BORN is the fourth major Hollywood film to bear the name and the same basic plot. Even so, Bradley Cooper’s directorial debut manages to not only remain fresh, but is also filled with some raw emotions.

The basic plot of the film – scripted here by Eric Roth, Bradley Cooper, and Will Fetters – remains mostly unchanged. Seasoned country singer Jackson Maine (Cooper) battles substance addiction, not least of which is to deal with his rapid hearing loss. He discovers singer Ally (Lady Gaga) in a drag club, and as he fosters her singing career, they begin to fall in love. However, as Ally’s star begins to rise so does Jackson’s insecurity, sending him into a depressive cycle that may destroy them both.

What is perhaps most surprising about this latest version of a familiar story is how completely enveloping it is. It’s a comparatively slender outing next to the 181 minutes of George Cukor’s version, but Cooper ensures that we feel every minute. From the boozy opening number (“Black Eyes”) through to the emotional finale, Matthew Libatique’s camera is allowed to linger on the small details. It’s so intimate that we aren’t so much following the story of Jackson and Ally as being allowed to sit in the backstage area of their lives and just observe.

Of course, Cooper’s intimate involvement in the production means that the film is heavily weighted towards his character. The film is just as much about his attempts to cope with/medicate his own failings as it is about Ally’s stardom being born. For some viewers, this will be a chance to see Cooper at his most raw and unguarded. From all reports, he poured a large amount of himself into the process, and every inch is seen on screen. Others will wish that more time was spent with Gaga, whose character’s arc of self-critical singer turned superstar could have gone in some darker directions.

Yet this approach would have ignored the positive aspects of Ally’s rise, and made the central love story a simple tragedy. Instead we get a heartfelt spin on the notion of love acting as a kind of cage, and the liberation of self-actualisation. This is expressed powerfully by the actual stars of the film: the songs. Centrepiece “Shallows” is a recurring motif throughout A STAR IS BORN, acting not only as ‘their song’ but as a handy bit of foreboding. “I’ll Never Love Again” is a weepy showstopper.

Rounding out the cast are a collection of familiar faces. RuPaul’s Drag Race fans will immediately recognise Shangela and Willam in early cameos, while theatre goers will nod to Hamilton’s Anthony Ramos as Ally’s friend Ramon. Andrew Dice Clayton is priceless as Ally’s dad, complete with his blue-collar entourage, and a cameo from Dave Chapelle is an unexpectedly grounded turn for the comedian. Yet it’s the human moustache Sam Elliot who is the heart of the film, conveying more tear-inducing realness in a single look than some actors do in their entire career.

It would be incredibly easy to dismiss Cooper’s film as yet another rehash of a Hollywood staple, yet stories like these were made to be retold for every couple of generations. As touching a confluence of music and vision as any you’ll find at the cinema this year, expect to be seeing this at many awards ceremonies next year.

[stextbox id=”grey” bgcolor=”F2F2F2″ mleft=”5″ mright=”5″ image=”null”]2018 | US | DIR: Bradley Cooper | WRITERS: Eric Roth, Bradley Cooper, Will Fetters | CAST: Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga, Andrew Dice Clay, Dave Chappelle, Sam Elliott | RUNNING TIME: 135 minutes | DISTRIBUTOR: Roadshow Films (AUS) | RELEASE DATE: 18 October 2018[/stextbox]

October 19, 2018
Review: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

There’s a moment early in the film when an all-out melee happens just off-camera, and our attention remains on the adorable Baby Groot. It’s what Drax might mistake for a metaphor, one representing the narrative structure of GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2. He wouldn’t be entirely wrong either, in a film that cranks the dial up on all of the franchise’s greatest hits but can’t quite settle on a single playlist.

Peter Quill/Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) and his eponymous group of heroes for hire are polishing off their latest gig when Rocket’s (Bradley Cooper) sticky fingers earn them the wrath of a powerful foe. Hitting the ground running, all hope seems lost until they encounter the mysterious stranger Ego (Kurt Russell), who claims to be Peter’s father. Quill must come to terms with his relationship to his estranged dad, and decide what is more important: blood or his de facto family.

The first Guardians of the Galaxy film had the element of surprise about it, using a lack of audience recognition to get away with audaciously good storytelling. Writer/director James Gunn is acutely aware of this in approaching the second volume, turning many of the gags from the original up to 11. However, it becomes apparently about halfway through that literally nothing is giving the film any momentum or tension, replacing the high-stakes MacGuffin of the first film with a series of set-pieces and cameos that aim for short-term laughs. When that climax does come, in spectacular blockbuster fashion, it is almost throwaway and familiar.

There are, of course, some outrageously original moments. The entire sequence on Contraxia, a neon-hued pleasure planet, is a delight for the eyes and filled with Easter eggs. Likewise, a psychedelic series of light-space jumps results in physical character distortions that hilariously look like Tex Avery cartoons by way of John Kricfalusi. Yet GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 works best when it is focused on character. The odd couplings of Gamora (Zoe Saldana)/Nebula (Karen Gillan) and new character Mantis (Pom Klementieff)/Drax (Dave Bautista) are surprisingly touching. The film is at its most effective when Yondu (Michael Rooker) and Rocket team-up for shenanigans. The uneasy romance between Quill and Gamora is less successful.

There are no less than five mid or post-credit sequences in the film, a final bit of trolling by Gunn that knowingly winks at audience expectations. However, the entire movie is virtually one giant post-credit ghost monkey, with the immediate action severely outweighing any sense of overall coherency. Visually stunning and filled with some mind-blowing effects, there’s a lot of great story elements here. It’s just a shame Gunn couldn’t narrow them down and drill through to a singular core.

[stextbox id=”grey” bgcolor=”F2F2F2″ mleft=”5″ mright=”5″ image=”null”]2017 | US | DIR: James Gunn | WRITER: James Gunn | CAST: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Elizabeth Debicki, Chris Sullivan, Sean Gunn, Sylvester Stallone, Kurt Russell | DISTRIBUTOR: Disney | RUNNING TIME: 136 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 24 April 2017 (AUS), 5 May 2017 (US) [/stextbox]

April 24, 2017
Review: Guardians of the Galaxy

The boldest move in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is also the most joyous, neatly showing the rest of the galaxy how it’s done.

Guardians of the Galaxy was always going to be the trickiest film in the canon to sell to a mass audience. Just like Korath the Pursuer’s (Djimon Hounsou) reaction when he first encounters Peter “Star Lord” Quill (Chris Pratt), most non-comics fans will be forced to ask “Who?” Yet it turns out that this lack of recognition was co-writer/director James Gunn’s greatest asset, providing him with the sandbox to create not only the most faithful adaptation to date, but the most wilfully and wonderfully insane one as well.

Wasting very little time on overly complicated exposition, we witness Quill confronted with his mother’s death from illness before promptly being whisked away from his Terran home to somewhere beyond the stars. Almost three decades later, and Quill is an intergalactic rogue, a modern-day Han Solo who is equal parts cunning and a charming buffoon. After coming into possession of a mysterious orb, he is soon on the run from fellow scavenger Yondu (Michael Rooker) and the terrifying Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace), a radical element who wishes to wipe out all life from the planet Xandar. Running afoul of space cops called the Nova Corps, he reluctantly teams up with Gamora (Zoe Saldana), the deadliest woman in the galaxy, the raccoon-like weapons genius Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper), taciturn tree Groot (Vin Diesel) and vengeance seeking warrior Drax (Dave Bautista). Thus, the greatest band of misfit to ever wander the stars is formed.

Fans of the existing comics will immediately be presented with something that is wholly unique, but entirely and comfortingly familiar as well. Guardians of the Galaxy is one of those rare beasts that confidently lifts material from the comic book source, principally the works of Keith Giffen, Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, and never feels the need to dumb it down or explain it to a mainstream audience. This is not to say it is catered only to fans, and indeed it’s quite the opposite case. Gunn and his colleagues recognise the strength of the source material, and trust in audiences to simply “get it” if it’s presented in just the right way.

Coming off the back of the thrilling but serious Captain America: The Winter Soldier, it’s both a shock and refreshing to find a comic book film that is frequently and consistently hilarious. The one-liners and sight gags rarely let up, and they are such an organic part of the storytelling that the laughs are never cheap or disposable. The film isn’t afraid of getting a little risqué either: a joke referencing a blacklight and a Jackson Pollock painting will fly over the smaller one’s heads, but will elicit a guffaw or three from the older audience members. Most viewers will be starting from zero with these characters, yet within minutes, the lighter tone gives us reasons to care about every single one of them. Pratt and Saldana have a clear chemistry that shows just the right amount of restraint, and Bautista proves to be a natural comic, being more than adept at delivering deadpan dialogue. The real coup, however, is Cooper for the voice of Rocket. What could have been a one-note character is given real heart, even if he is gunning down enemies with psychotic glee.

Yet this is also a Marvel blockbuster, and the effects and action sequences are just as integral to the narrative as the dialogue and characters. Visual cues are taken directly from Raiders of the Lost Ark or Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (during a terrific ‘chase the MacGuffin’ sequence), and Gunn effortlessly handles multiple simultaneous action sequences and effects shots with confidence. Edited meticulously to sync with a thumping 80s-inspired soundtrack, Tyler Bates’ score and sublime visually-led action, it’s one of the most seamless examples of a type of hyperkinetic filmmaking that we thought had become extinct with Peter Quill’s Awesome Mix Tapes. Move over Avengers, the Guardians have got it all under control.

Bottom Line: There are some comics that are just made for the big screen, and Guardians of the Galaxy pops straight out of the panels. A crazy concept pays off in spades as the latest superhero team to join the big leagues shows the rest how it’s done. It is hard to imagine a more perfect comic adaptation, or a straight-up more enjoyable film, than this.

Director: James Gunn
Writers: James Gunn, Nicole Perlman
Runtime: 121 minutes
Starring: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Lee Pace, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan
Distributor: Disney
Country: US
Rating: ★★★★★ (10/10)

July 24, 2014
New ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ trailer showcases fresh footage

Disney has sent over the latest trailer for Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, the hotly anticipated adaptation of the strangest team you’ll ever have the pleasure of encountering. Do you need any more reasons to see this film? This trailer give you another two-and-a-half minutes worth of reasons to start lining up now.

From Marvel, the studio that brought you the global blockbuster franchises of Iron Man, Thor, Captain America andThe Avengers, comes a new team—the Guardians of the Galaxy. An action-packed, epic space adventure, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy expands the Marvel Cinematic Universe into the cosmos, where brash adventurer Peter Quill finds himself the object of an unrelenting bounty hunt after stealing a mysterious orb coveted by Ronan, a powerful villain with ambitions that threaten the entire universe. To evade the ever-persistent Ronan, Quill is forced into an uneasy truce with a quartet of disparate misfits—Rocket, a gun-toting raccoon, Groot, a tree-like humanoid, the deadly and enigmatic Gamora and the revenge-driven Drax the Destroyer. But when Quill discovers the true power of the orb and the menace it poses to the cosmos, he must do his best to rally his ragtag rivals for a last, desperate stand—with the galaxy’s fate in the balance.

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, which first appeared in comic books in Marvel Super-Heroes, Issue #18 (Jan. 1969), stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, featuring Vin Diesel as Groot, Bradley Cooper as Rocket, Lee Pace, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, with John C. Reilly, Glenn Close as Nova Prime Rael and Benicio Del Toro as The Collector.

James Gunn is the director of the film with Kevin Feige producing. Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Jeremy Latcham, Alan Fine and Stan Lee serve as executive producers. Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy is written by James Gunn and Nicole Perlman.

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy hits Australian cinemas on 7 August 2014 from Disney.

June 17, 2014
Review: The Hangover Part III

The most unlikely trilogy comes to a close where it all began, but it’s still a million miles from home.

A funny thing happened to Todd Phillips on the way to The Hangover Part III. Although he began his successes with the irreverent Road Trip (2000) and the retro fun of Starsky & Hutch (2006), the unlikely hit The Hangover (2009) changed his destiny somewhat. His follow-up film, Due Date (2010), was significantly darker, trading laughs for shadenfreude, a trait that has begun to characterise all of his works since then. As such, The Hangover Part II became an unwieldy retread of the first film, an unabashed piece of fan-service that made a literal monkey out of everyone involved. Yet for all of its faults, the third film can’t be accused of washing, rinsing and repeating. It is an entirely different beast altogether.

Following an unfortunate incident with a giraffe on the freeway, Wolfpack members Phil (Bradley Cooper) and Stu (Ed Helms) agree to stage an intervention on the increasingly erratic Alan (Zach Galifianakis). Driving him to a mental health facility, they are run off the road and confronted by Marshall (John Goodman), who has some unfinished business with the croooked Mr. Chow (Ken Jeong). With Doug (Justin Bartha) held captive, the Wolfpack must hit the road and find Chow before it’s too late.

The Hangover Part III may be the first film in the series to not actually feature a hangover of any kind. At the very least, the third outing deserves props for trying something different with the series. So much so that it is also the first film in the saga that has dispensed with the need to be ‘outrageously’ funny. Indeed, for much of the film, audiences may be wondering if they’ve mistakenly wandered into a parallel Hangover universe. All the faces are the same, and some well placed cameos and locations from the first film (an ageless Heather Graham, for example) create a semblance of nostalgia that was sorely missing in the second entry. Yet it also seems to be consciously avoiding comedy territory, making a decent enough action caper along the way, albeit one that has little in common with the previous entries.

While the Wolfpack has worked well as an ensemble in the past, the shifting dynamics of the cast signal some occasionally clashing egos. Galifianakis’s Alan has gone from being endearingly ineffective to flat-out toxic. This may be the catalyst for the film, but his presence is now one of perverse frustration rather than comical annoyance. Perhaps the one saving grace is his interplay with Melissa McCarthy, in a small but memorable role. Similarly, Ken Jeong’s Chow was a punchline performer in the first film, literally leaping out of a car boot and into our hearts. His expanded role wears his concept thin, and any love for the character tends to get washed away in a series of increasingly ridiculous stunts. Meanwhile, Bradley Cooper is just cashing the cheques at this point, and Ed Helms (a highlight of the second film) is relegated to a purely perfunctory performance.

The Hangover Part III is a solid conclusion to the series, making up for much of the repetition of the second outing. It just can’t rightly be called a comedy, but that doesn’t mean that a parachute sequence over the Las Vegas strip, a few heists and a sequence with an incredibly creepy child can’t still entertain. By the time the end credits roll, there is something more familiar happening, and this one end-credits scene provides more laughs than most of the film. It’s more caper than comedy, but at least you won’t entirely regret it in the morning.

The Hangover Part III was released in Australia on 23 May 2013 from Roadshow Films.

2011 | USA | Director: Todd Phillips | Writers: Todd Phillips, Craig Mazin | Cast: Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Ken Jeong, John Goodman | Distributor: Roadshow Films | Runtime: 100 minutes| Rating: ★★★

May 30, 2013
Review: The Words

This story-within-a-story needs more words to flesh it out beyond its contrived self-satisfied narrative.

[stextbox id=”grey” caption=”The Words (2012)” float=”true” align=”right” width=”200″]

Director: Brian Klugman, Lee Sternthal

Writer: Brian Klugman, Lee Sternthal

Runtime: 96 minutes

Starring: Bradley Cooper, Olivia Wilde, Zoe Saldana, Jeremy Irons, Ben Barnes, Dennis Quaid

Distributor: Becker Film Group

Country: US

Rating (?): Rental for Sure (★★)

More info

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For anybody that has ever put pen to paper, or fingers to their keyboard, there follows a perpetual cloud of angst as to whether it is any good. Some struggle with this forever, crippled by self doubt, while the rare acolytes amongst achieve greatness. It is a shame then that writer/directors Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal didn’t sweat a little longer over their script for The Words, or perhaps even read it, following the same contrived conventions that their central figure strives to overcome. The narrative equivalent of a Russian nesting doll, except at least one of them has a wobbly bottom and doesn’t quite sit right.

Famous novelist Clayton Hammond (Dennis Quaid) gives a public reading of his latest book, The Words. It focuses on Rory (Bradley Cooper), a struggling writer who lives with his girlfriend (Zoe Saldana). Thanks to his father (J.K. Simmons), Rory gets a job in the mailroom of a publisher, but fails to get his first script sold. However, after a honeymoon trip to Paris, Rory finds an unpublished manuscript in a briefcase. After retyping it, he sparks an irreversible chain of events that leads to the successful publishing and acclaim of the novel. Rory soon forgets his deception, until he encounters an elderly gentleman (Jeremy Irons), who has his own story to tell. Meanwhile, at the reading of The Words, Clayton meets beautiful student Daniella (Olivia Wilde), a pseudo-stalker who has a few questions of her own.

On the surface, The Words seems like an intriguingly clever concept. The three stories within one that it presents might be a tried and true literary device, but formulas tend to keep getting used for a reason. The issue here is that Klugman and Sternthal never get beyond the conceit, filling each of its three stories with only the barest of character detail and never allowing any of them to penetrate any deeper than that surface sheen. Cooper and Saldana certainly imbue their characters with the enthusiasm of young love, albeit with Cooper only a few shades away from his similar turn in Limitless, but their struggle is undermined not only by their lack of development, but by the lingering possibility that they may not actually exist outside of fiction. When a creaking Jeremy Irons turns up to spin his own tale, we are transported away to another time with a younger self (Ben Barnes), to a story which may have also been engaging if we have more than a few precious moments of screen time with his younger self.

The framing technique uses Dennis Quaid narrating the story in two parts: to an audience, and then less reliably to the gorgeous Olivia Wilde, whose motives remain ambiguously irrelevant to the end. She seems to be after something from Clayton, but neither she nor the audience can be bothered articulating it further. Like The Words itself, she is frustratingly close to something important and intriguing, but never manages to get any closer to her subject that its architects will allow.

The Words was released in Australia on 11 October 2012 from Becker Film Group.

October 17, 2012
Review: Hit and Run

A frenetic retro road movie that makes the most of its unlikely ensemble cast as Dax Shepard lives out his own fantasies on screen.

[stextbox id=”grey” caption=”Hit and Run (2012)” float=”true” align=”right” width=”200″]

Director: David Palmer, Dax Shepard

Writer: Dax Shepard

Runtime: 100 minutes

Starring: Dax Shepard, Kristen Bell, Kristin Chenoweth, Tom Arnold, Bradley Cooper

Distributor: Pinnacle Films

Country: US

Rating (?): Better Than Average Bear (★★★½)

More info

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Dax Shepard’s self-styled action vehicle is something that we’ve not seen since the heyday of the action road-trips of the 1970s, and while the lead may not be a household name, you wouldn’t know it from watching this throwback to a previously bygone era of action comedies. The star of TV’s Parenthood re-teams with his Brother’s Justice (2010) co-director David Palmer for an interesting hybrid of everything from Burt Reynolds to Quentin Tarantino, literally pouring half of its low-budget into the soundtrack.

Charlie Bronson (Dax Shepard) is a former getaway driver who has gone into the witness protection program under the watch of the inept Randy Anderson (Tom Arnold). When his girlfriend Annie Bean (Kristen Bell) is offered a job across the country, he decides to throw caution to the wind to be with the woman he loves. However, her ex Gil Rathbinn (Michael Rosenbaum) is determined to expose whatever secrets ‘Charlie’ is hiding. Enter Bronson’s former partner-in-crime Alex Dimitri (Bradley Cooper), who is just as likely to care for your dog as break your nose.

There is an unmistakable energy to Hit and Run that never loses momentum for a second. For a film that runs on its own fumes, Shepard and company overcome the generic nature of their title to deliver a vehicle-swapping caper that literally runs through the contents of Shepard’s garage. Not content to have his name on the credits as star, writer and co-director, Shepard’s collection of cars – from his classic hot rod Lincoln Continental to the insane off-road racer – are also legitimate stars in this goofy and infectiously fun road flick.

Keeping things light is a genuine ensemble cast, ostensibly led by Shepard, who is in reality under the shadow of his star girlfriend Bell. The duo have an easy chemistry on-screen, giving star performances in a film that only had a budget of $2 million. The real surprise here is Bradley Cooper, a leading man in his own right, happily relegated to the dreadlocked thug with a heart of gold, imbued with a surprising amount of depth but an even better sense of comic timing. Even Tom Arnold, mostly seen in direct-to-video dreck these days, restrains his typically one-note stylings for a caricature that knows just how much of the spotlight he can soak up before handing it back over to the lead.

Essentially one long chase, Shepard and Palmer cleverly keep track of all the loose ends so that the ar chases, kidnapping and gunplay all make sense within this often witty and motor-mouthed script. The bastard redheaded stepchild of Doug Liman’s Go (1999) and Cannonball Run (1981), perhaps put into the foster care of a Death Proof (2007) during its formative years, Hit and Run is a loving tribute to itself – but also a slew of movies that inspired it. Shift yourself into neutral and let the film do the driving, it will be more fun that way.

Hit and Run is released on 6 September 2012 from Pinnacle Films.

September 6, 2012
Trailer for David O. Russell’s The Silver Linings Playbook Arrives

Yahoo! Movies has released the first trailer for The Silver Linings Playbook, David O. Russell’s adaptation of Matthew Quick’s novel.

We last saw Russell with the Oscar-winning The Fighter in 2010. This latest film stars Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Jacki Weaver, Chris Tucker, Julia Stiles and Robert De Niro.

Synopsis: Pat Peoples (Bradley Cooper) is a man always trying to look on the bright side of life – the title of the story takes it’s name from the expression that “every cloud has a silver lining.” Released from the hospital after losing his wife to another man, Pat believes this age-old adage is just the ticket to trying to win her back and get his life on track. Trying to remain resolutely undiscouraged, Pat moves back in with his parents and devotes himself entirely to becoming the man his wife always wanted him to be. But it’s an uphill battle. Until Pat meets Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), a beautiful young woman whose life also has not turned out the way she wanted. Together, the couple will try and navigate through their lives and stay true to who they are, always just one adventure away from a unique friendship, and possibly even love.

The Silver Linings Playbook is released on 29 November 2012 from Roadshow.

June 29, 2012