August: Osage County

http://augustosagecountyfilm.com/

Don't you just love Oscar Season? Where all the films have such wonderful acting, but really have very little in the way of a meaningful plot. I am of course referring to films like The Wolf Of Wall Street, but also to this movie. Never before have I seen so many fantastic actors gathered together to tell such a pointless story.

I recall when I saw the trailer with one of my friends and they said 'but what is it about'? And all I could say in response was 'well it seems to be a family drama'. And yes, family drama it is. But my friend was also right, it isn't actually 'about' anything in particular.

The focus of the movie is definitely Meryl Streep's matriarch, Vi, who loses her husband, literally, at the start of the movie, when he ups and disappears and no-one knows where he's gone. From this starting point, unfolds a family drama like no other, and before the end of the movie we have dealt with some very grim topics indeed, such as suicide, incest and paedophilia.

In a nutshell I would describe this movie as a lot of very good actors basically having an argument for the whole film. Which definitely won't be everyone's cup of tea. Certainly there were a couple of people who walked out of the showing I was in.

One thing I will say in the movie's favour is that Julia Roberts shines in this film. I'd be hard pushed to say when she's been better (possibly only in Erin Brockovich). When you see her character for the first time I was thinking 'here we go again, Julia Roberts playing another unrealistic character, with dark hair even though she is probably supposed to be in her 40s, would it kill her to have a few greys in there?' But then you see her in the light. She has grey roots, a middle aged mum tum, and bags under her eyes. It's the most normal, most real person she has ever played. And she's brilliant. And in my humble opinion, all the more beautiful for her appearance. I felt like her character was someone I could go for a drink with. Which I actually said to my cinema buddy. His response was, yes but would you want to? My answer is a resounding yes. I identified with her character a lot, the child that moved away, but is somehow the most relied upon because she is the 'strong' one. But in reality, she is probably the one most in need of someone to be strong for her for a change.

Streep will no doubt get all the praise for this film, and rightly so as she is brilliant. But then she is always brilliant. I think Roberts is definitely the one who deserves the praise.

Due to an ensemble of fantastic actors all fighting to show how good they are, I am glad I saw August, but due to the lack of purpose, and some unsavoury subject matters, I'm not sure I'd want to see it again. 7 out of 10.

Viewing Date - 29th January 2014

UK Release Date - 24th January 2014

Cast Overview:

Violet Weston ~ Meryl Streep

Barbara Weston ~ Julia Roberts

Charlie Aiken ~ Chris Cooper

Bill Fordham ~ Ewan McGregor

Mattie Fae Aiken ~ Margo Martindale

Beverly Weston ~ Sam Shepard

Steve Huberbrecht ~ Dermot Mulroney

Ivy Weston ~ Julianne Nicholson

Karen Weston ~ Juliette Lewis

Jean Fordham ~ Abigail Breslin

Little Charles Aiken ~ Benedict Cumberbatch

Johnna Monevata ~ Misty Upham

Director ~ John Wells

Writer ~ Tracy Letts (Screenplay - based on her play)

Mirror Mirror

Mini Blog

http://mirrormirrorfilm.com/

When I discovered that there was not one but two Snow White films coming out in 2012 I was intrigued. I knew I wanted to see Snow White and The Huntsman owing to the cast and the dark nature of the story they are going to tell. But I wasn't sure about Mirror Mirror. It just looked a bit too colourful and cheesy for my liking. But I felt I should see it if for no other reason than I would be able to compare and contrast the two versions.

While I was right about it being colourful and cheesy, it is enjoyable. For the most part. The story has been kept pretty close the one you'll be familiar with - the wicked Queen asks her mirror who is fairest, 'Snow White' it replies and so Snow is taken to the woods to be killed. But the Queen's servant cannot kill her so he leaves her in the woods where a band of dwarves take her in. All very familiar. But some elements have been changed. And it's the reasoning I'm not sure of. 

1. In this version, Snow White is the Queen's step daughter. The Queen having been widowed by the death of Snow's father The King.

2. The band of dwarves have new names. No more Sneezy, Dopey, Happy, Sleepy, Doc, Grumpy and Bashful (I didn't even need to look that up - are you impressed?). Instead we have Napoleon, Half Pint, Grub, Grimm, Wolf, Butcher and Chuckles. Mmm.

3. The Queen is trying to get her greedy mitts on the Prince and his money and even tries to use a love potion to woo him.

4. There is no poisoned apple (well not where there should be a poisoned apple) and thus no sleepy Snow who gets awakened by the Prince.

5. There is a scene involving some giant marionettes, controlled by the Queen, who are sent after the dwarves.

Now I'm not oblivious to the fact that this version credits the Brothers Grimm with the use of their original Snow White story. But I am also aware that some of the above additions go against the fundamentals of that tale too. No huntsman, no three attempts to kill Snow White by the Queen herself, no glass coffin, etc etc. So my question is why? Why take bits of the Grimm tale, bits of the Disney version, add very modern comedy and references, make it live action and then give the whole thing a Bollywood song and dance routine in the end credits? It just doesn't really work. 

But as I said, for the most part it is enjoyable. Even if it doesn't really work overall. This is largely thanks to the actors in the lead roles. While I've never really thought much of Julia Roberts either way, she is impressively mean and imposing as The Queen and looks fabulous in the sumptuous costumes on show. Armie Hammer is pretty and heroic as the Prince and Lily Collins is both fair and fearless as Snow (you just need to get over the need to pluck her caterpillars, err I mean eyebrows!). 

As I mentioned above, the costumes are gorgeous and fit the scenes perfectly. Even the accents (and yes, even Roberts' accent) are fairly faultless. It's just the mixture of so many different genres and modern day references that don't work. And it's a shame as I think this would have been a much better contender against Snow White and The Huntsman if it had worked. I guess we'll find out which was the better of the two on June 1st.

A fun frolic but not as Grimm as I like my fairy tales. 6 out of 10.

Viewing Date - 8th April 2012

UK Release Date - 2nd April 2012

Cast Overview:

Julia Roberts ~ The Queen

Lily Collins ~ Snow White

Armie Hammer ~ Prince Alcott

Nathan Lane ~ Brighton

Jordan Prentice ~ Napoleon

Mark Povinelli ~ Half Pint

Joe Gnoffo ~ Grub

Danny Woodburn ~ Grimm

Sebastian Saraceno ~ Wolf

Martin Klebba ~ Butcher

Ronald Lee Clark ~ Chuckles

Director ~ Tarsem Singh Dhandwar

Writer ~ Jason Keller and Marc Klein (Screenplay), Melisa Wallack (Screen Story) and Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm (Original Story)