'High Fidelity' review by Captain Raptor

'High Fidelity' review by Captain Raptor

Reviewing a film based on a book can be a tricky matter, because the things you like/dislike about it may simply be an intrinsic part of the original text. Having not read Nick Hornby's novel, I cannot know what dialogue and characterisation should be credited to him, and which should be credited to the cast and crew of the movie, so if it seems like I'm doing Hornby a disservice by only praising the film and not the novel, then I'm very sorry.

High Fidelity really grabs you from the beginning, which is remarkable for such a low-key film. Rather than have information conveyed via narration and voice-over, John Cusack's protagonist Rob Gordon looks and speaks directly into the camera to express his thoughts, most of which are about music and women. A funny and quotable opening monologue ("Do I listen to pop music because I'm miserable or am I miserable because I listen to pop music?") gives a great character introduction and introduces you to to the film's only quirk by having Cusack talk about life and love to the audience, pausing occasionally to continue his break-up with his girlfriend. Rob really ticks every box on the Indie Comedy Protagonist checklist; he works in a record store, he's self-centred but in a very likeable way (although no force on Earth could ever prevent Cusack from being likeable), he's unlucky in love and at one point he screams angrily in the rain. Jack Black co-stars and does his Jack Black thing, being energetic and overbearing whilst cracking jokes about rock music. It's the same thing you've seen him do in half a dozen dumb stoner flicks, but when relegated to a side role he comes as an amusing burst of energy rather than as the idiotic irritant he often becomes when he's forced to carry a film. Despite starting in the midst of a break-up, the plot is a fairly typical romantic comedy, albeit with far more pop culture references.

What it lacks in originality, High Fidelity makes up for in, well, everything else. A charismatic cast play a series of well-developed characters who can be entertaining, hilarious and realistic simultaneously and they're supported by a script packed with dry wit and clever observations. John Cusack's constant direct interaction with the audience is the highlight for me; something that should be jarring and break the flow actually makes the movie run more fluidly and engages the audience, and gives a lot of comedic opportunities, which Cusack takes full advantage of, his dialogue a mix of sarcastic humour and total honesty with perfect delivery. The main characters all share an obsession with alternative culture and particularly music, so The Clash, Evil Dead II and Massive Attack all being name dropped, and even a brief appearance from Bruce Springsteen himself, acting as one half of Rob's internal dialogue. If, like me, you're a fan of these things, it adds a whole other layer of coolness and charm to the proceedings, as well as making Rob even more relatable.

High Fidelity is funny, clever, cool and honest. It's an excellent study in characterisation, and one of the few films I've ever seen that manages to make every character seem both relatable and interesting. It's a film that celebrates being ordinary, and being a misfit, and being a fan. Every ingredient works, it's poignant without being serious and it's hysterically funny. In short, it's the best film that I've seen in a long, long time.

'Pain & Gain' review by Captain Raptor

'Pain & Gain' review by Captain Raptor

Okay, so I think it's fair to say that nobody reading this is expecting Pain & Gain to be the new Casablanca. It's simply not that kind of film. So to give this a more fitting review, the level of quality it should be roughly aiming to equal is that of Michael Bay's gold standard (and arguably his only half-good film) Bad Boys, a perfectly capable and enjoyable action-comedy.

The problem is, even when you've lowered the bar, Pain & Gain still doesn't really succeed. Michael Bay does two things really well - outrageous action scenes and quips - and everything else just really isn't his forte. It's possible to make a good film out of these two ingredients and little else (which is why Bad Boys was such a good film), but Pain & Gain contains a lot else. Yeah, some of the jokes stick, and there are some cool action scenes, but Bay's attempts to build characterisation or to make some quasi-satirical point about the American dream are poor at best. One of the major flaws of the film is that there's nobody to really root for; the three main characters are either too obnoxious to like or too foolish to feel sorry for, their victim (Tony Shalhoub) is an asshole, and the private detective brought in to wrap up the story (Ed Harris, who should really be embarrassed to be here) has about as much personality and charisma as Crawley. There's Michael Bay's usual disregard for women; all the primary female characters are either naive wives (although Rebel Wilson does bring some charm to the role) or strippers. The audience is reminded at several points during the film that 'This Is A True Story', as if that somehow makes it funnier or smarter.

Pain & Gain does have one feature that works without a hitch, however. Something that dominates the screen, both due to its entertainment value and its sheer size. I'm talking about Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson of course, putting in the best performance of his acting career. He delivers every line he's given like a champ (which he was, WWE King of the Ring in the year 2000), manages to evoke a lot of genuine emotion and, in his own words "knocks people the FUCK out" to the best of his ability. Whether he's barbecuing human hands or being cajoled into committing vehicular homicide, he gives a funny and surprisingly nuanced performance. Other talented performers who have been roped into the film (the aforementioned Wilson and Harris, Ken Jeong and Rob Corddry) are all given very little screen time, so the film is mostly spent watching Mark Wahlberg sweat for two hours (which is way, way longer than the film needed to be). The action, Michael Bay's speciality, isn't really up to par and the film repeatedly tries and fails to create some tension. It's too dry for its target audience and too dumb for anybody else.

So, yeah, Pain & Gain isn't exactly fantastic, but did anybody really expect it to be? Large parts of it are fun when it stops taking itself so seriously, and Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson is genuinely fantastic in his role. Ultimately, this film would have been good had it been dumber (more explosions, stupid quotes and just generally more fun) or smarter (there's an interesting plot and character dynamics buried beneath the multiple layers of machismo and ignorance) than it was. As it stands, it's caught awkwardly between The Rock and a hard place. Bad Boys it ain't.

'Elysium' review by Captain Raptor

'Elysium' review by Captain Raptor

A part of me thought that Elysium might have turned out to be my favourite film of the year. First and foremost, it's written and directed by Neill Blomkamp, the man responsible for the 2009 work of genius District 9, and it's another left-wing science-fiction parable set in a dystopian future, an idea which is (to use the technical terminology) the motherfucking bomb.  

Unfortunately, Elysium just isn't as well put together as it's predecessor. It's got all the same ingredients - realistic and unflinching looks at social issues via an awesome sci-fi metaphor, ostentatious action scenes, intelligent and subtle exposition - but it really doesn't blend together this time. Whether through poorer scripting, or a lack of focus, nothing Elysium says or does has any great impact. The actions scenes are intense, but it's nothing you haven't seen before (it's even got the Lara Croft belief in 'if one thing looks good in slow motion, then so will everything'). It's trying to make a point about the class divide and social injustice in modern society, but never says anything more advanced than 'rich people don't really care about poor people'. The one aspect where Elysium undoubtedly succeeds, however, is in the creation of its own world. The locations and design of the upper class' shiny, clean spaceship and the regular Earthlings' horrible, cramped, dusty surroundings are perfect, creating an excellent atmosphere, and the sci-fi technology that Blomkamp puts into the film (machines that can cure any disease, USB sticks that you can plug into your brain) adds a lot of intrigue. I found myself at times becoming enveloped and fascinated with the futuristic Earth, so I really think it's a shame that nothing better or more inventive was done with such an interesting backdrop.

When the plot of a movie, or the ideas behind it, amount to little more than zero, this is where characterisation and dialogue are supposed to swoop in and save the day. This doesn't even slightly happen. Matt Damon's Max is supposed to represent the common working man, and we all know that 'everyman' pretty much translates to 'boring and uncharismatic' in cinema. The film's other big star, Jodie Foster, is given a fairly good character who looks like she's going to be the main villain, but when the film starts to reach its apex she's just dropped out of the plot for no discernible reason. The only character that was entertaining in and of themselves was Sharlto Copley's temperamental assassin Kruger, but that's mostly just because he gets to do all the badass murdering - his dialogue is the most bland villain talk you'll ever hear ("If you want to save the girl, you'll have to go through me"), and had it been spoken by anybody else than Copley (who, having starred in District 9, probably has complete faith in Blomkamp's writing) he would be a thoroughly forgettable character.

Elysium crafts a fantastic world that contains brilliant visuals and some wonderfully original thoughts. Aside from that, the film's nothing like I hoped it would be. There are plot holes aplenty, and I strongly suspect that there's been a lot of studio tampering and interference to dull down any criticisms of the wealthy that Blomkamp included in his script. There's none of the nuances of District 9, nor any of its wry humour and excellent deconstruction of society. Despite some gripping action scenes and bright ideas, Elysium is ultimately as dull and uninspiring as the wasteland they filmed it in.