Film Review: Titanic 3D

Cinema: Titanic 3D    8/10
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane
Plot: a fictional love story set on the Titanic.

Titanic’s original theatrical release back in 1997 was expected to be a box office disaster; the budget was the largest a film company had ever seen ($200 million), numerous water sequences had gone wrong and the film continued to waste its money due to many mistakes.  The film, labelled one of the “worst filming experiences” by cast and crew, ended up being the highest grossing film of all time – taking almost $2 billion at the box office (it has since exceeded this since its 3D re-release).  The film as a whole is a true cinematic experience. The monumental scale of the production still wows 15 years on and has benefited hugely from being remastered to a 4K resolution (the becoming-traditional digital shooting rate).

The film’s stars, DiCaprio and Winslet fit their roles perfectly; Winslet playing Rose Bukater and DiCaprio playing Jack Dawson were and still are iconic roles. The films running time of 194 minutes zooms by and considering I had seen it once already many years ago, it seemed bigger, better and far more emotionally heavy the second time around. The way the film focuses on the love triangle consisting of Jack, Rose, and Rose’s fiancé Caledon Hockley, successfully makes the sinking of the Titanic far more dramatic. The films focus on the love triangle is perhaps why it’s the most famous of all the Titanic adaptations, as others have had too many sub-stories which have significantly reduced the emotional climax. The effects, thankfully, haven’t been touched by James Cameron since its original release (only one scene was altered of the night sky after an astrophysicist disagreed with the positions of the planets). The effects didn’t need to be touched either; otherwise it would’ve made the experience feel like it’d been rehashed, whilst it’s timeless in its own right.

The film’s finale, the final third of the film, is a non-stop rollercoaster ride of sad, happy, funny and brave moments (a particular scene stands out in which Rose stands up to her over bearing mother and spits in her fiancé’s face). The costumes are fabulous as well; the hats, shoes, dresses and suits make the film that little bit more special whilst the sets, specifically the eating hall, has wonderfully large Nordic tables, occupied by rich, bigoted first class members, surrounded by the shiniest cutlery and dinner plates that you later see crashing to the ground as the ship begins to sink. The time spent viewing the beauty of all the main parts of the ship makes the sinking increasingly memorable, as the audience’s favourite sets begin to flood and flatten around them.

The 3D begins well; the first few underwater sequences have benefited hugely from the post-conversion process and reels the audience into the film rather than having things fly in their faces. The first shot of Rose exiting her car with a gigantic hat was the first moment where the 3D was in-your-face, and apart from that, it didn’t do it again, it instead gave the story an additional dimension instead of the film itself. As the film progressed however, it seemed as if the 3D was slowly disappearing, which was crucially needed in particular parts (such as the cascading water down the hallways). It seemed as if Cameron had lost the energy to add 3D towards the end, with some shots consisting of no additional layers at all, (after taking off my glasses, some shots were purely 2D), which made the film change from 3D to 2D between conversations and action sequences, which became slightly tedious towards the end.

In conclusion: Titanic is a must-see on the big screen, it doesn’t matter whether you see it in 2D or 3D, the story has, if anything, become bolder the second time round, and is far more of an experience than just a film. The costumes, sets, action sequences and general drama add up to Titanic being one of the best and biggest blockbusters of all time – you just can’t miss it.

Film Review: The Hunger Games

Cinema: The Hunger Games  8/10
Director: Gary Ross
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth
Plot: in a futuristic land called Panem, one boy and one girl from each of the twelve districts must fight to the death in a televised reality show.

Suzanne Collins’ novel "The Hunger Games" has taken the world by storm since its release in 2008; it opened to critical acclaim, sold over three million copies and has now been turned into a film adaptation. Gary Ross is one of the last directors you’d imagine to take on a task such as this. His previous works include the script for the film Big, starring Tom Hanks back in 1988. Also, he’s only directed three other projects before helming, “The Hunger Games”, none of which had any relation to Collins’ novel and none of them sat in the action, adventure genre. Ross however does a brilliant job in bringing the world of Panem to life.

District 12 has a gritty, grey and tired look which Ross spends just enough time exploring effectively, using hand-held cameras to make the world seem that little bit more real. Jennifer Lawrence, despite being a little older than her character, plays Katniss brilliantly. Her facial expressions throughout the film rarely change, but somehow she’s so easily readable during times of danger, happiness and loss. The Capitol is another spectacle that the film does so brilliantly. The costumes, makeup, tall skyscrapers and futuristic, tribute-carrying train are all seen for only seconds; a real reason why this film succeeds, because the film consistently focuses on the characters and sidetracks the action and set pieces to fill in the gaps.

Josh Hutcherson fills his role as Peeta Mellark well also. He wouldn’t be my personal choice for the role as he doesn’t come across as entirely convincing during the more emotional scenes, but he does do the action and play-up to the Capitol scenes well. Another highlight of the film for me was Stanley Tucci (who’s known for his roles in The Devil Wears Prada, Captain America and Burlesque), playing the interviewer and game narrator, Caesar Flickerman. He plays the role chillingly as he gains pleasure from children killing each other year after year yet still keeps a smile for the camera.

The action in the film is mostly very good. A particular scene with Katniss running from large waves of fire, darting through the arena like a real onscreen heroine is one of the most iconic scenes in the film as well as one of the scenes during the training process, where Katniss shoots arrows wherever she damn wishes. The action is cut just at the right moments to maintain its “12” certificate, it doesn’t dwell on gore or suffering but just shows the first blow of attack which keeps these particular scenes extremely fast paced.

In conclusion: The Hunger Games is a hauntingly fantastic debut for a series which will become more and more of a phenomenon as time goes on. Ross captures the strictly-controlled world of Panem perfectly, and adds in extra scenes such as the Game’s Control Room and Presidents’ rose garden adding to the climax of the film. The Hunger Games is a blockbuster that’s gritty and widely open for a sequel.

Film Review: Battleship

Cinema: Battleship  4/10
Director: Peter Berg
Starring: Taylor Kitsch, Brooklyn Decker, Rihanna, Liam Neeson
Plot: a number of ships unite to take on an army of large, alien robots in a fight-to-the-death.

Battleship is definitely a typical, big-budget, popcorn-eating blockbuster. It begins extremely slowly, with a love story that doesn’t really move at all until the very end, by which time, there’s been enough bomb throwing and bullet dodging that you really couldn’t care less. The action sequences however are extraordinary; large set-pieces of cities exploding, ships sinking and aliens invading are all painfully entertaining - with next to no thought needed on the audience’s part. Despite the build-up becoming more and more substantial, the actual aliens are dull and generic, and not at all scary or thrilling. The film’s director, Peter Berg, hasn’t done anything of great recognition in the past with titles such as Hancock and The Kingdom (the second being perhaps better of the two, Hancock was forgettable) – Battleship will perhaps be the biggest of his career and you cannot fault the action sequences, even if they do become a little repetitive after 50 minutes or so.

The films real letdown was definitely on the writing side, you easily forgot what the main character’s mission was and by the time the film concludes, you couldn’t care less about the outcome. If the story were put right, even if it were an end-of-the-world type scenario (such as 2012) it would’ve at least made more sense instead of making a failed, Titanic-like love story. One of Battleship’s main cash-ins is pop star Rihanna, who plays Raikes in her first acting debut; her role in the film is purely to shoot guns, drag men out of the water and run through the boat as water cascades towards her, which, she does very well, but she wouldn’t hold a film with anymore weight (such as a drama or thriller).

In conclusion: Battleship as a whole is poorly written; its beginning and end aren’t done particularly well and it doesn’t quote or relate itself to the board game to any expanse. The film does however offer non-stop action, phenomenal special effects and a number of “how are they going to get out of that one” scenarios which is what most young people (for whom this is aimed at) want from an early, summer blockbuster.

Film Review: Hide and Seek

DVD: Hide and Seek   6/10
Director: John Polson
Starring: Robert De Niro, Dakota Fanning, Famke Janssen
Plot: a widower moves to an isolated lakehouse in order to recover from his wife’s suicide accompanied by his young daughter who begins to confide in her imaginary friend, Charlie.

Hide and Seek is an almost perfect thriller. Directed by television director John Polson, who has written episodes of Flash Forward, Body of Proof, Fringe and Without A Trace; certainly presents a mixed bag of horror and thriller here. Polson always focuses on his characters in his directing and puts the action second. The most captivating part of “Hide and Seek” is that its characters become so familiar so quickly that I found myself having a care for them whilst knowing something was going to happen sooner or later. Robert De Niro is fantastic in his role and without giving too much away, he is perfect at playing the depressed, lost father at the beginning who slowly becomes aware of his daughter’s obsession with her friend, Charlie, by the end. What I also love about the film is the music, it’s never too cliché and plays just at the right moments. Polson is perfect in knowing when his audience understands what’s about to unfold, letting the music flow with what’s on screen just at the right time. Dakota (who plays the daughter) has never been better  – her take on other films has been very lacklustre and average, however, here she really comes out of her shell and shows how well her acting abilities are, even at the age she is.

The only part of the film I wasn’t too keen on was the ending. It was too similar to a favourite of mine, “Secret Window” which was released a year before this film and it seems that it’s a little samey and doesn’t suit the film very well as a rounded-off conclusion. The rest of the film however I enjoyed thoroughly and would definitely recommend it, especially if you’re into ghost stories (such as The Others).

In conclusion: “Hide and Seek” is a real good thriller. The film’s a first person account of David (De Niro), allowing his emotional and physical battle to be detailed throughout and Dakota Fanning’s acting is simply brilliant, she holds up her scenes perfectly and despite the ending, it’s still hugely enjoyable - though not for the faint hearted (you won’t be taking a bath in a hurry!)