DVD Movie Reviews: Jan 08

Courtesy of Fatso.

THE PLAYER

****

Robert Altman’s always stayed in the fringes of the mainstream, and his dissatisfaction with Hollywood is never more outspoken than in The Player, an incisively witty and scathing evisceration of the industry that showed the auteur had quite a bit to get off his chest. Tim Robbins is excellent as Griffin Mill, a top movie exec who’s receiving death threats from a disgruntled screenwriter he probably once fobbed off. Featuring a galaxy of celebrity cameos, who are surprisingly fearless in appearing in a movie that tears apart the very essence of their job, The Player is marvellously scripted by Michael Tolkin, based on his novel, with lots of smart in-jokes and wired barbs on Hollywood’s shallow reliance on star power to sell their films. The opening 8-minute tracking shot is one of the greatest achievements in Altman’s career, a nice nod to Orson Welles’ similar shot in Touch of Evil. Recommended.

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VACANCY

****

Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale star in this brisk, efficiently nasty thriller as an estranged couple who are forced to spend the night at a seedy motel out in the middle of nowhere when they lose their way on the highway. It’s probably best not to reveal too much, but let’s just say the creepy motel owner (Frank Whaley) isn’t letting them leave anytime soon. In his first English language film, Hungarian director Nimrod Antal proves to be highly proficient at building the edge-of-your-seat suspense and making great use of limited surroundings, while Wilson is pretty good in one of his straighter roles as the everyman hubbie pushed into action and doing his best to keep him and his soon-to-be-ex-wife alive. As far as screaming/bawling roles go, Beckinsale ain’t too bad. Logic wavers at times, but if you’re looking for a white-knuckle thrill-ride with a pace that doesn’t let up, Vacancy delivers.

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THE TATTOOIST

**

This New Zealand/Singaporean co-production is a supernatural would-be thriller that employs the exoticism of South Pacific mythology in service of an otherwise standard plot, where American tattooist Jake Sawyer (Jason Behr) pockets a Samoan tattoo chisel in an expo in Singapore and becomes the unwitting recipient of a demonic curse which in turn fatally infects his clients. With as much as screen presence as a dry sponge, the painfully limited Behr (Roswell’s lead brooder) doesn’t give us much reason to stay awake through this scare-free-fest, which packs a lot of snores in the first hour before a rushed and messy climax. Sorry, but the Bald Soot-Skinned Golem Thing and all that swirling black ink CGI won’t be keeping me awake at night. To give credit where it’s due, The Tattooist does boast one laugh-out-loud Exorcist-style possession scene which must be seen to be believed.

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RATATOUILLE

*****

Brad Bird’s third feature, about a rat with a sharp sense of smell and a knack for cooking, is too much a work of pure joy to simply qualify as a film. It’s a gift. Even considering the high bar of Bird’s work (The Iron Giant, The Incredibles), Ratatouille is still a revelation, a delightfully imagined, wittily scripted tale of culinary nirvana and rodent charm that recalls Disney’s Golden Age classics. Scene to scene, the film is flawlessly paced and visually dazzling, and intricately choreographed sequences like Rémy’s initial entry into Gusteau’s kitchen glide across the screen with the fluid, graceful precision of a ballet. Others, such as the climactic kitchen take-over by the rats, approach symphonic rapture. Even the tiniest moments - Rémy cleaning his paws with a drop of tapwater before preparing a meal - are enchanting for their airy whimsicality. Arguably the best Pixar offering yet, Ratatouille is a triumphant feast for the senses and the soul.

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NOISE

****

Matthew Saville’s rigorously unconventional police drama Noise is likely to confound anyone expecting a traditional serial killer thriller or cop procedural. It’s like an anti-cop-film film. Brendan Cowell is likeably offbeat as Graham McGann, a police officer suffering from tinnitus who’s working on a homicide case involving a random shooting in a commuter train. Refreshingly, he’s not your heroic super-cop; there’s no glory in his role, he approaches the work with a certain indifference and a nearly laidback, shambling attitude. Boasting atmospheric cinematography and some brilliantly complex sound design, Noise observes the paranoia-inducing effect that the shooting has on the community, while exploring the numbing ennui of McGann’s job as he’s relegated to sitting in a caravan all night to talk to people who might be able to aid in the case. The abrupt ending leaves more questions than answers, but the film doesn’t feel a moment too long or short. Top-notch performances all-round.

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