Power Review - Blue Ruin

Blue Ruin. Such an abstract title, such a direct and uncompromising film.

You hear stories of independent filmmakers struggling to get their lifelong dream financed, fighting to get it seen and produced and distributed. Fighting to get someone to see it. Generally these films are passion projects, ideas that have been stewing in a creative mind for years and years, becoming more rounded and polished in the process. Which is why, when they finally get made, these films can be some of the purest examples of cinema. Blue Ruin is one of those projects.

It's such a simple setup - a man lives homeless after his parents murder, then plans revenge on the fresh-out-of-prison man who did it - but it's so engrossing, the characters so engaging that even the simplest of moment just holds you. There is a sequence towards the end of the film where our protagonist - expertly, perfectly, heartbreakingly played by Macon Blair - sits, in a house, waiting. He scouts, he waits, he plans, he falls asleep. The next morning he wakes, cowering behind a sofa, and waits some more. Obviously that's nowhere near the whole story, or resolution, but it gives a glimpse into how unconventional the narrative is delivered, and how deftly and expertly such simple sequences are put together to hold your interest despite, actually, nothing happening.

Not to say things don't happen. They most definitely, definitely do. But even in it's quieter moments it never loses it's focus, or yours. And when something does happen, it really happens, visceral and surprising. In many ways it does have that very typical indie ideals of few well rounded characters, tight narrative and strong visuals; It stands out for it's quality and tone. 

It's best to be seen to be believed. Though it's probably better to describe it as being experienced. By far one of the best films of 2014, and hopefully director Jeremy Saulnier can be given the opportunities fellow recent indie to hollywood graduates like Rupert Wyatt, Colin Trevorrow, Ryan Coogler and Rian Johnson have been given and put his indisputable style into bigger things. 

But it will be a hard task to be better.

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Director: Jeremy Saulnier

Featuring: Macon Blair, Devin Ratray, Amy Hargreaves

Power Review - Need For Speed

Need For Speed is a ridiculous movie. Whether or not that's a black mark against it depends on your taste. And My taste says its ridiculously enjoyable.

By now we've all seen or at least heard of one of the ever growing library of Fast & Furious movies and while comparisons between the F&F franchise and NfS (as I shall now call it) are inevitable, apart from being 'A Movie About Cars' there's little else the two movies share. Well, maybe ludicrous plot points. And minimal characterisation. And an over reliance on dumb action. 

But to break it down so simply is to do it a disservice, and distracts from the whole point of the film - fast cars equals Fun. NfS understands something that certainly the early F&F movies failed to grasp, and that's an ironic sense of its own ridiculousness, and that hey, maybe fast car chases down windy country roads and canyons could actually be a Fun way to spend two hours. And it is Fun, it rips along at a royal pace, the dialogue, while pure cheese-on-toast, at least attempts to cross the line at witty banter, like a drunk dad with a Christmas cracker, and the action is certainly impressive. During publicity for the film both cast and crew consistently extolled the virtues of their non-CGI, in-camera, pure for-reals honest-to-goodness car chases and it certainly shows, and during the two thirds of the movie set in vehicular motion you really do feel the need: the need for speed. 

Despite this it would be remiss to not say it is a stupid film. Dialogue and story seem an afterthought, the actors doing the best with what they have. (Aaron Paul is a standout, if less engaging than when playing Jesse in BreakingBad, and his car-crew are fun. Only Dominic Cooper seems to have been left out of the joke, his underwhelmed snarling coming across as annoyed that he even has to be there.) As for the female characters,  they seem to be playing the worlds most boring game of charades. "Now do sad...now confused...now step away from the cars..." This is by far and away the films biggest flaw, and it leaves the two female lead characters cardboard thin and maddeningly passive. Imogen Poots is likeable and gives good gusto but is largely ignored, and Dakota Johnson could've been replaced by a maniquin she's so uninvolved. The single plus point in this is the ommittance of the traditional Michael Bay Camera Lear (TM) which instead soaks up the gasoline glory of the main stars - the cars. 

Which is surely why these types of films are so popular. As someone who was weaned on the original NfS games, and cheered as NfS2 introduced AI police cars and gawped in wonder as NfS 3 pioneered smash and burn engines, this film perfectly captures the thrill of the mountain chase, the dusk drives through woodland tracks and the disaster of driving too fast too close to the edge. Stupid? Yes. Ridiculous? Definitely. A great film? Not even close. Worth watching? Without doubt. 

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Director: Scott Waugh

Featuring: Aaron Paul, Dominic Cooper, Imogen Poots, Michael Keaton

The Equalizer

You always know going in the type of Denzel movie you're about to watch. And then, despite the films plot, genre or even quality, his performance always manages to give you a little something extra, a little something you didn't expect. Going into The Equalizer maybe you're expecting Training-Day Denzel. Possibly a slice of classic Tony-Scott Denzel. Or maybe a trend-riding Taken Denzel. In reality, Equalizer Denzel is greater than the sum of these would-be individual parts. And as for that something extra, as a man who no one can pin down, delivering so much by doing so little, and revealing a lot by saying not much, we get into his head but are left out of his mind. We're both drawn in and kept out. 

Equalizer Denzel could be described as the tortured child of Dirty Harry and The Driver. Quieter than Eastwoods anti hero and kinder than Goslings brooder, he slowly and meticulously sits on the edge of everyday life, content with making friends and keeping his secrets close to his chest, until witnessing things he can't ignore. Far from the anger of Batman, the arrogance of Bond or the amnesia of Bourne, Equalizer Denzel is simply anonymous and aware of the needs of those he befriends, utilising his particular set of skills (wink wink) to protect and serve the common man. All this is conveyed in the simplest of gestures, ticks and an infamous collection of stares.

The setup is fairly standard, and the comparisons to certain kidnap thrillers are inevitable, but as a whole the film is not what you'd expect. While not far off the generic 'gotta save (insert Important Person's name) bang-bang find Big Bad Guy more-bang everyone's dead' plot, the delivery sets it apart. Not afraid to involve An Actual Story featuring some Actual Characters and a henchmen roster that barely hits a dozen, there's more tension building set up than actual out and out action. Which isn't to say it's either too talky or too slow, the build ups are so expertly crafted than when the violence hits it really smacks you round the head. And in slo-mos and close ups and the eking out of every drop of tension - and blood - the money shots are well worth the wait. There is a classic design mantra - show or tell, don't show and tell - and many times The Equalizer completely eschews the telling in order to not just show but dangle bloodily right in front of your face.

The director, Antoine Fuqua, must get a large amount of credit for this, and for having the courage to make a film that mirrors his protagonists personality - unafraid to be quiet when needed and unwilling to be pressured into delivering unnecessary exposition. It's a tactic that works and imbues Equalizer Denzel with even more mystique to go along with his stoic silences. The direction is as smooth and gorgeous as you'd expect from a Hollywood product yet grounded in the tight and unremarkable spaces it's set in (which is another cipher for Equalizer Denzel - highly controlled and hidden in amongst everyday scenarios and places). 

The film is too long, and slightly baggy in places. The pace gets lost on occasion, ironic considering the focus on control. But Fuqua knows action, and when it hits it really hits, and he's obviously been allowed to trust his creative instincts, including the decision to leave the films bright young thing out for two thirds of the movie - Chloe Grace Moretz' Russian call girl Alina more a catalyst for reaction than a macguffin to be rescued - and it's a brave and refreshing decision to drop her part way through to leave a more internally personal (and more interesting) objective than the usual rote revenge or save the damsel mission. 

Overall it is a visceral and engaging film, surprising and original, classily made with a central character expertly realised in a top class performance. Welcome to the world, Equalizer Denzel. 

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Director: Antoine Fuqua

Featuring: Denzel Washington, Chloe Grace-Moretz, Marton Csokas, Bill Pullman, Melissa Leo