The Guard – Review

During our screening on Monday night there was a power cut and the screening was almost abandoned by venue staff with just twenty minutes left of the film. Despite the need to get home and hide from the riots our fellow critics protested and we got to see how the film ended. In a city with shops burning to the ground it takes a film of a certain quality to keep critics trapped in a Soho basement while the apocalypse is brewing outside.

The Guard in question is Gerry Boyle (Brendan Gleeson), an unorthodox Irish Policeman who has little respect for the rules of policing, a penchant for prostitutes and yet is the least corrupt officer in the force. When FBI agent Wendell Everett (Don Cheadle) comes to Ireland to intercept a drug smuggling ring, Boyle and Everett team up and Boyle proves himself to be more useful than expected.

Don’t be mistaken though, this is not a buddy cop comedy. Yes, there is a hint of buddy cops but this truly is Gleeson’s film. Boyle is in 95% of scenes and is the character we get to know in intimate detail. Gleeson easily leads the film, setting the dark tone of deadpan humour early on and earning our sympathy through even his most questionable actions.

Don Cheadle’s is definitely a supporting role but manages to turn his character from the typical hard-nosed fish-out-of-water FBI agent, if such a thing exists, and brings a warmth and humanity to Everett. Not that he isn’t a little lacking in a sense of humour at first, but his character has layers, like an onion… or Shrek. I’ve never been a huge fan of Don Cheadle’s work, (no, not even Hotel for Dogs) but he’s finally won me over.

The Guard is hilarious without being obvious and touching without being schmaltzy. Debut writer/director John Michael McDonagh has crafted a real treat here, 96 minutes of quality cinema to rival his brother’s In Bruges. Back in February we speculated that, “it’s either a crime thriller or a farcical comedy” but in reality it is neither of these and all the better for it. Witty and unique, it’s hard to imagine anyone not enjoying The Guard.
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The Guard is on limited release 19th August and is awesome.

Sundance Sales

We didn’t spend the whole ten days of Sundance jealously scrounging for news while stuck in an airless office in grey London. Not at all. But now that the only thing Park City has to look forward to is sub-zero temperatures and a whole lot of snow (ha! Take that, Utah!), Mild Concern sorts through the film sales and picks out the ones to watch out for when some studio exec decides they can see the light of day. (We’re still waiting for Hesher from last year’s Sundance.)

Sundance was a strong festival for Mild Concern favourites. First up (and previously teased): Like Crazy – the long distance relationship drama starring Anton Yelchin and, more importantly, Felicity Jones. We do like to see all this buzz around our fellow East London resident. Don’t forget us when you’re a Hollywood starlet, Felicity.

Having already peeked at the next tip due to this blog’s stalking casual interest in the roles of Ms. Deschanel, My Idiot Brother stars Paul Rudd as a pot-dealing idealist who disrupts the lives of his three sisters in what is hopefully a non-bromance film. At last!

Tired of seeing Paul Bettany wasted in bad films? Or period dramas? Or as English villains? Or as a disembodied voice at the beck and call of Robert Downey Jr? Well how about seeing how he does as a banker? Or at least, Margin Call is set in an investment bank during 24 hours in the financial crisis so we might be extrapolating a bit. It’s a thriller, really! Also looking to enthrall you with numbers and graphs is writer-director newcomer, J.C. Chandor and the combined acting force of Kevin Spacey, Jeremy Irons, Stanley Tucci and President of the Earth, Mary McDonnell.

From an established cast of big names to Homework. Billed as a ‘coming-of-age romantic comedy’, it can only be filled with actors that make me show my age when I ask, “Wait – aren’t they 10 years old?” Case in point: little Charlie of Chocolate Factory fame (Freddie Highmore) and blonde starlet, Emma Roberts, who I haven’t seen in anything since she was 10. It’s got a lot of buzz and has an indie poster. It even has music from The Shins.

Does having celebrity older siblings who have demonstrated how to have a car crash of a youth acting career make you more likely to go about having a similar career in a more sensible manner? That’s probably a question that requires more research (and better editing) but if we take a sample size of one and make that one person Elizabeth Olsen, then the answer is yes. I am weirdly excited about Martha Marcy May Marlene, which stars Olsen as an escapee from a cult and tracks between her time there and her failing attempts to re-assimilate back into her life. Sounds like the girl has made some good choices; just make sure you finish that Psychology degree, Elizabeth – hey, it worked for Portman.

Every time we hear about good stuff that the UK Film Council has done, we get a little sinking feeling because we worry for its future. The Guard, starring Don Cheadle and Brendan Gleeson, inspires that sinking feeling. Drug smuggling, FBI agents and reluctant Irish village police. It’s either a crime thriller or a farcical comedy! (It’s a thriller.)

I’m rounding this section off with The Details – Elizabeth Banks, Tobey Maguire and Laura Linney. Apparently it’s about the ridiculousness of the every day, involves a raccoon-ruined lawn and is a comedy that isn’t going to provide obvious jokes for a trailer. Got to be worth a look, just for that.

Films about real stuff!

We like a good documentary, we do.

• Project Nim opened Sundance and looked at the chimp who was brought up as a human in the 70s. A BBC production, hopefully it’ll go on wider distribution somehow over here. Insert some sort of rambling about the license fee.
• The advertising world pays the collective rent of Mild Concern, so we’ve got a bit of a vested interest in how marketing works. Morgan Spurlock, creator of Super Size Me, made a film entirely financed by product placement and advertising: Pom Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold.
• Seeing as penguins have already been covered, Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey will probably be the second cutest thing you can get in a feature-length documentary. As far as I can tell (my sketchy research could easily be wrong), it’s not been sold yet but it’s all about the fuzzy red one and pretty much guarantees a cinema full of “awwww”s. How could it not be picked up soon?
• The New York Times has a movie – Page One: A Year Inside the New York Times, which presumably does what it says on the tin. I am geekily intrigued.
• Life in a Day was put together after YouTube users were encouraged to record their day on 24th July 2010, which the film-makers mixed together. Sounds like a marvel of editing.

Iron Man 2 – Review

As it’s a bank holiday all you’re getting is a long overdue review of Iron Man 2. For the short version: It’s not as bad as I had expected after reading other reviews. For the longer version:

Don Cheadle is the New Terrance Howard
Neither Cheadle nor Howard gave particularly stand out performance as Rhodey and the transition of actors was covered in Cheadle’s first bit of dialogue; “Look, it’s me, I’m here. Deal with it. Let’s move on.” The recasting was neither a big improvement or a major failure, just slightly pointless.

Scarlett Johansson is Very Pretty
Another big name that doesn’t make too much of an impact beyond making Gwyneth Paltrow look positively dowdy in comparison.

Sam Rockwell is Awesome
Rockwell continues to show just how versatile he is. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him give two similar performances and doubt I ever will… unless he plays the same character twice.

Robert Downey Jr. is Awesome, In a Different Way
Downey Jr. often seems to just be playing himself but in this way makes whatever character he’s playing seem incredibly real. There is something wonderfully naturalistic in the way he delivers dialogue.

It Was More Than a Set-Up for The Avengers
A lot of criticism portrays this film as building up for the big team up rather than being a film in it’s own right. While the Avengers are mentioned it is a minor point and I felt the film had a plot, of arguable quality, of its own.

The Film is Alright
No it isn’t as good as the first but this is the best cast of any super hero film so far and they didn’t cram in too many bad guys. The film was enjoyable and gave me what I expected, even if that was something a little unsatisfying.