Review #1,337: 'The Other Guys' (2010)

The comedy pairing of writer and director Adam McKay and actor Will Ferrell turned their attention towards the buddy action movie for their fourth feature, The Other Guys. Their familiar see-what-sticks attitude and encouragement of improvisation often produces mixed to plain bad results (see Talladega Nights: The Story of Ricky Bobby), but every now and then gold can be struck, with the huge following that was generated in the wake of cult favourite Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy being the most obvious example. The Other Guys falls easily into the second category, with the sheer volume of belly laughs inspired by a fast-paced first hour going some way to gloss over the disappointment of the stretched-out, action-heavy final 50 minutes.

The NYPD prides itself on its two superstar cops, Highsmith (Samuel L. Jackson) and Danson (Dwayne Johnson), who regularly cause millions of dollars worth of damages on the city streets while chasing down low-level criminals, but doing so in style. When their own arrogance and plain stupidity puts them out of action, partners Gamble (Ferrell) and Hoitz (Mark Wahlberg), one a goofy desk jockey and the other a neurotic short-fuse (I'm sure you can guess which is which) must step up to keep the city safe. While investigating a scaffolding permit violation by billionaire businessman Sir David Ershon (Steve Coogan), the pair stumble upon a conspiracy involving mass fraud that goes all the way to the very top. They are met with resistance by a group of heavies led by Australian Roger Wesley (Ray Stevenson), and from their very own bosses and co-workers, but must get past their own personality clashes to bring the culprit to justice.

It's a shame that The Other Guys runs out of steam long before the closing credits, as there is real chemistry between the two leads. The film eventually falls back on a montage of shoot-outs and car chases to become the very thing it started out satirising, but Ferrell and Wahlberg have fun while it lasts. Wahlberg makes for a hilarious straight-man and the perfect foil for Ferrell to bounce his goofball ad-libs off, before the latter turns up the weirdness and decibel levels up to intolerable levels. The big joke is that Gamble is incredibly plain, but inexplicably attracts gorgeous women, including his 'bland' wife played by Eva Mendes. Hoitz's reaction to meeting the woman his partner describes as a 'big old gal' provides the film's funniest moment. There's great support from Michael Keaton, who gets to flex his comedy muscles after a long stint out of the game, but the meathead rival partners played by Damon Wayans Jr. and Rob Riggle are irritating from the get-go. A mixed bag for sure, but one of the better efforts from Ferrell and his posse.


Directed by: Adam McKay
Starring: Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Eva Mendes, Michael Keaton, Steve Coogan, Ray Stevenson, Samuel L. Jackson, Dwayne Johnson
Country: USA

Rating: ***

Tom Gillespie

Review #148: 'The Book of Eli' (2010)

It's 31 years since the sky opened up, sending apocalyptic sun-rays to the earth. A familiar landscape of burnt out cars, empty homes and dilapidated plant-life. Eli (Denzel Washington), is a wanderer with an obscure "mission". He carries with him a book of great power and importance; he heads west on a journey that has been told to him by a voice in his heart. The road is a dangerous place; filled with violence, in a world that has lost it's rules and devoid of meaning. Eli wanders into a town ruled by Carnegie (Gary Oldman), who dictates from a desk in an abandoned cinema. Henchmen work for him, his myopic focus on claiming a book; the book (whilst the subject of which is skirted around for the first hour) is quite obviously the Holy Bible.

A collection of genre tropes inform this film. Firstly, the most obvious post-apocalypse setting gives is it's sci-fi credentials; this theme is ever-present at this moment in cinema, and has provided varying quality (The Road (2009), 2012 (2009)), the latter being an awful example). Eli wonders into the town controlled by Carnegie, with the same western iconography of Clint Eastwood's Man With No Name in Sergio Leone's Dollars trilogy. Carnegie controls a blind woman, Claudia (Jennifer Beals - her character name quite possibly a reference to Claudia Cardinale), and her daughter Solara (Mila Kunis). After discovering that Eli carries the book that he has been searching for, he begins a hunt for him.

I will admit that I came to this film very sceptical. A work colleague (Alice Mills), after hearing that I write reviews for this blog, suggested that I see this. The film is beautifully shot (well, it certainly has some wonderful back projections anyway). It's an interesting idea also, although not greatly realised, the concept of religiosity is carried through rather well. The film flirts with the concept that the bible has always been interpreted for use of both good and bad. Washington's character (obviously) carries and protects the book so that he may preserve its goodness, and pass it on so that it can continue to do it's supposed duty. Oldman's character however represents that darker element of representation. He sees the book as a weapon; a means to control the masses. A view that is very prevalent in attackers of the bible proper.

Whilst the film is admittedly enjoyable, it is simply a throw away piece of cinema. It possibly has some interesting ideas within it, but falters many times. In other words, it has many flaws. Whilst it represents the readings of the book, that throughout history has created such awful conflict, it also fully presents it's blind 'faith'. A line Eli states (when he is joined on his 'quest' by Solara) after being asked how he knows which way he is going - after all I'm pretty sure it does not take 30 years to walk from the east to west coast of America - he simply says 'I'm guided by faith, not by sight'. This statement does become more relevant in the closing moments of the film.

Whilst much gets in his way, Eli does make it to his destination. Alcatraz to be exact. There he finds a utopia of popular culture (literature etc) being cultivated. The head of this cultural museum is Malcom McDowell. Whilst perhaps I shouldn't say too much about the ending, it does remind me of Fahrenheit 451 (1968), in it's concept of the preservation of books in a world where they have become obsolete - and in the case of the bible, burnt after a war, presumably as it may have been the cause/blame for that war? The Book of Eli, is a flawed yet interesting film. It has the almost tired iconography of a modern CGI post-Apocalypse, yet it does attempt to manufacture something a little different from some of the other crop of the same story structure. It's not just a story of survival from vicious hoards of wanderers, scavengers etc. It does weave into this the preservation of ideas; the concept that the written word has something more powerful in it's presence in human consciousness.

I've not looked into it, but it would be interesting to hear the reaction of the Christian church (in all of its many manifestations). Whilst not explicitly, the film highlights the fact that the written form (and particularly the bible through history) has been mis-interpreted - or even purposefully re-read - to fit whichever form of control and repression that particular society feels it needs to provide.


Directed by: Albert Hughes, Allen Hughes
Starring: Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis, Ray Stevenson, Jennifer Beals, Michael Gambon, Tom Waits
Country: USA

Rating: ***

Marc Ivamy

Review #60: 'Thor' (2011)

As Marvel's mega-budget Avengers (due 2012) film draws ever closer, the stand-alone origin films are slowly coming to an end. Only Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), starring Chris Evans, remains to be released. So Thor arrives, amidst a worry that a portrait of the God of Thunder arriving on Earth after being banished from his kingdom in the sky may look a bit silly, especially when played by actors rather than drawings in a comic-book. But Marvel's track record has been good so far, and even very good, in the case of the first Iron Man (2008) film. Their left-wing choices for both actors and directors, and bold decisions have made for interesting viewing, and it's no different here.

King of Asgard, Odin (Anthony Hopkins), sits proud on his throne after defeating the Frost Giants of Jotumheim and bringing peace to the Nine Realms. He has two strong warrior sons, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Loki (Tom Hiddleston), one of which will eventually succeed him. But when Asgard is breached by Frost Giants trying to take back their precious Casket of Ancient Winters, seized by Odin, Thor invades Jotumheim with a small band of warriors including Loki, and starts a new war. Odin, livid with Thor's defiance, banishes him to Earth and takes away his all-powerful hammer Mjolnir, deeming him unworthy. When he arrives on Earth, confused and powerless, he is taken in by a scientist Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), while Mjolnir sits in the desert, moulded to a rock, awaiting the touch of someone worthy of it. Meanwhile, back on Asgard, war is afoot and Odin lies near-death, while Loki starts to act suspiciously.

This may all seem ridiculous and silly, and it is. The opening ten minutes, which condenses the history of Asgard and its war with the Frost Giants, is a confusing and silly blur of CGI and narration. My hopes of another Marvel triumph were somewhat dashed, but thankfully, with the arrival of Chris Hemsworth as Thor, and a bit of character development, the film started to become the enjoyable romp that it is.

Marvel's choice for Thor, Chris Hemsworth, whose CV consisted of a main character in Australian soap Home And Away, and a cameo as Captain Kirk's dad in the Star Trek (2009) reboot, is a stroke of genius. He has the charm, acting chops, comic timing, the physical presence to actually convince as a God. He was born to play this role, it seems. He juggles between irresponsible, immature and arrogant in the first half, to show off his skills as an action hero you can truly root for in the second. And when the film calls for him to play the fool, he pulls that off too.

The choice for Kenneth Branagh to take the directing reigns was a strange one. A director who is most at home directing literature, namely Shakespeare, would not have been my first choice to direct a blockbuster that could easily go tits-up if mishandled. Yet Branagh handles the duties with a natural flair and confidence. The film goes back and forth from Thor's growing humanity on Earth and his relationship with Portman, to Loki's evil plotting on Asgard without ever losing focus of the story at hand or the large collection of characters.

Overall, this is just a fun film, never taking itself too seriously, yet always maintaining a respect for the source material. The undoubted star to emerge from the film is Hemsworth, who I'm sure will go on to have a successful career. I'll be looking forward to see his character again in the Avengers film, which arrives sometime in 2012. Special mention should also go to Tom Hiddleston, who arrives from the London stage after winning several awards to play a menacing and pleasingly complex villain.


Directed by: Kenneth Branagh
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Stellan Skarsgård, Idris Elba, Ray Stevenson, Rene Russo
Country: USA

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie