Review: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy ****

Director: Tomas Alfredson

Writers: John le Carré (novel), Peter Straughan (screenplay), and Bridgit O’Connor

Stars: Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, John Hurt, Toby Jones, Mark Strong

Beige, drab, muggy, uneasy, prickly....brilliant. Essentially a masterpiece, but with such dense plotting, there's little time to fully sketch anyone, and the 'whodunnit' revelation fails to inject enough excitement. Oldman's portrayal of the cooly calculating Smiley, one would suspect, will garner an Oscar nomination, but the collective cast are all solemnly on-song.

It's the 1970s, the war is Cold and rain-drenched London is decaying. George Smiley (Gary Oldman) is re-hired by British intelligence to flush out a suspected duplicitous character from the circus (the top echelon of MI6).

A broody atmosphere envelops the film's mood and never relents (a replication in form then, of Alfredson's masterful Let the Right One In). For all its slow-burning moments, there's a nice stock of palm-sweaters (Mark Strong's agent suspecting something is not right in Budapest; Benedict Cumberbatch's Peter Guillam in a classic espionage scene-staple in the records' room). The cream of Britain (males only!) too is on show, from the old masters (Hurt, Oldman and Firth) to cinema's fastest rising star (Hardy).

Verdict: Imperious filmmaking. Oscars 2012: are the British coming again?

Putting the Rector in Director (Pedantic but Clarifying Note: Latin version of 'rector' meaning 'ruler') Part Une

New-ish kids worth crossing the street for

If you like gender balance, then look away, it's PromisingMenDirectors* time.

Who is in the saddle? (There is no explanation for some of these worrying- would you call it homoerotic?- undertones)

First up is Duncan Jones, director of Moon and Source Code (and kudos goes to his FCUK advertisement that had a brief kiss between, get this, two female ladies!). The son of David Bowie, he lived in various locations (from Scotland to Switzerland) and dropped out of a PhD course to attend the London Film School. *Role-Model Alert*

Future Projects: Lost out on the re-booted Superman and the follow-up to Wolverine. The success of Moon (picking up rave reviews and independent film statuettes), however, has inspired Jones to convert the tale into a trilogy. The next installment will be an epilogue to the events of the first film, with Sam Rockwell signed on for a cameo appearance. Aside from the Moon trilogy, there is a planned film which is set in a future Berlin dystopia (Jones describes the film, Mute, as a 'love letter to Blade Runner').

Overall: Expected to be a strong voice in Science Fiction-dom. The genre needs a new Prince.

* Criteria for picking promising directors doesn't stand up to objective scrutiny. Rather, it's all a whim; a fancy!

Review Jane Eyre ****

Mr Rochester and Jane cosyin' up

Director: Cary Fukunaga

Stars: Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender, Judi Dench, Jamie Bell, Sally Hawkins

Fukunaga's Jane Eyre is delivered with impressive economy. Dovetailing from flashback to flashforward, certain elements of the tale (for instance, Jane Eyre's childhood and education) are given short shrift. Its most famous element- and here, the film's climax- is delivered with little fuss or reflexion. For 'Eyreians' (a collective name for Eyre fans that I know will not catch on), this may be a problem; this reviewer however, having not read the book or dipped a toe into any of the previous film canon, approached Fukanaga's installment unencumbered (and sparsely equipped with a childlike sense of wonder)....

We first meet Jane in full flight from Mr Rochester. She's midst the beautiful heather of some alien landscape, curled up in the fetal position and howling (Boy is she unhappy!). She eventually pulls herself up and finds shelter in the cottage of St John Rivers (Jamie Bell); a clergyman who lives with his two sisters. From there, we revisit Jane's unhappy childhood and meet her unedifying aunt (Sally Hawkins). Boo Hiss, says I! At a Victorian comprehensive, Jane undergoes character-building via the cane and later we catch up with her as governess of a thumping big mansion (maison á la Michael Fassbender's Mr Rochester).

The connection between Eyre and Rochester crackles and froths; their two-hander scenes are the film's finest. Both actors, too, are not strictly bound to their characters' accents (Fassbender in particular lets his Celtic intones loose) which is a virtue (think of the effect a bad accent can have!). Wasikowska's performance has pain (but resolve); a character desperate to assert herself. She quietly commands the whole film.

Verdict: Hasty climax aside, overall a comfortable and beautifully mounted/acted edition.

Review: Troll Hunter ****

The crew avec Mr Troll Hunter

Director: Andre Ovredal

Stars: Glenn Erland Tosterud, Johanna Morck, Knut Naerum, Otto Jespersen, Robert Stoltenberg, Tomas Alf Larsen

Troll Hunter makes a fantastic addition to the ciné-vérité (jittery camera hokery pokery) sub-genre of Blair Witch Project, Cloverfield and Paranormal Activity. The film's strength is its rich, localised mythology which hoodwinks you into (nearly) believing that trolls move silently through the rain-soaked fjords and mountainsides of Norway (actually, not really).

Three young filmmakers trail a local bear poacher (Jesperson) for a college documentary. The poacher, an elusive character, promises to be an interesting interview if pinned down. The tale of his profession, as it transpires, is more remarkable still.

*Spoiler Alert* He hunts trolls! Trolls that can distinguish the blood of Christians. But don't worry: the Government fences them in with electric pylons. Oh? Yes, it's rigid when applying the wonderfully absurd Nordic fictions of Asbjørnsen and Moe. How can the film pass it off with a straight face? The sober and stoic-like conviction of the character of the Hunter (a fantastic Jesperson) helps. It's the knowing wink throughout though; the semi-satirical wink ('we realise our own absurdity') that reinforces the film's likeability.

Verdict: Troll Hunter deserves to be seen for its creative personality, enchanting scenery and beguiling final act.

A Thinly-Veiled Lazy Post

A less productive day than Max Fischer's

Things I Learnt Whilst Idly Whittling Away The Day

1) Duncan Jones, director of the brilliant Moon (2009) and the worthy Source Code (2011), is the son of David Bowie.

2) Eddie Izzard posts mundane tweets of the weather.

3) Following Chloe Moretz on twitter is Legal.

4) Natalie Portman's real surname is Hershlag.

5) Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy's director (Thomas Alfredson) directed the brilliant Let the Right One In

Review: The Skin I live in

Antonio Banderas and Elena Anaya

Director: Pedro Almodóvar

Writers: Pedro Almodóvar (screenplay), Thierry Jonquet (novel)

Stars: Antonio Banderas, Elena Anaya and Jan Cornet

'The Skin I live in' is perverse medical B-movie horror noir; provocative and shockingly sincere. The film's non-linear structure and pacing constantly elude the viewer, slowly drawing back the tapestry on a queasy and horrifying denouement.

Dr Robert Lesgard (Antonio Banderas) is a renowned surgeon whose research attempts at a breakthrough in the field of synthetic skin creation. His human guinea pig is a beautiful woman named Vera (Elena Anaya); a subject contained within his home, and cared for by his head servant Marilia (Marisa Paredes). The narrative (shifting from present to past and back again) extrapolates the nature of the relationship between Vera and Lesgard and the motivating factors behind the Doctor's actions.

Towering over much of the film, Banderas' Lesgard is a frightening figure; one exercising tight manipulation over his subjects (his sinister-ness is fully revealed when you stop linking 'Puss in Boots' to his voice). Anaya's Vera is imperceptible but engaging (thanks to a beguiling performance) from the outset. The 'sadness behind her eyes' slowly becomes the main point of exploration for the film's narrative.

Delightfully, Almodóvar masterfully controls our perception of plot direction. This is achieved through the film's pacing. Early on, we experience what feels like the main plot's climax- something which later reveals itself to be subplotting. There does come the point where the direction of the film's 'twist' becomes apparent to the viewer. The scale of its horror, however, might still very well leave you in denial.


Rating: 3/5