'Inside Job' Reviewed by Alex Lennon and Donal McKeown

If you want to see a movie to gain an insight into the recession and how it was caused you should watch this movie. If you want answers to how we are changing in response to the recession this movie isn’t for you.

Thoroughly in-depth information presented in a well constructed documentary movie. It is narrated by Matt Damon, while genuinely enthralling it does not give any comfort to those who lost their money but it does offer some figure heads at whom you can point your finger at. It may be interesting to people who want to know more about the recession like business or economics students. It is quite heavy going, so make sure that you have put your thinking caps on before entering the cinema, it’s not ideal for a lazy Sunday afternoon hangover movie.

The documentary directed by Charles Ferguson who also draws notoriety from his portrayal of the Iraq war in ‘No End In Sight’ gains unrivaled access to key figures within the financial industry as well as the academic world, to offer competing perspectives and therefore a fairer representation of what actually happened.

It is a fantastic documentary that will make you either hate the financial industry or fuel your desire to be part of it. We give this a 4/5 only because as on walking out of the cinema you will feel a sense of helplessness against the banks as you will realise that you are at the mercy of the narcissitic plutocrats.

True Grit Reviewed by Jessica Cree

Directors: Joel and Ethan Coen

Duration: 110mins

Rating: *****

“The wicked flee when none pursueth” Proverbs 28:1

‘True Grit is’ a remake of the 1969 film directed by Henry Hathaway, which stars one of the greatest actors of all time, John Wayne. So, a huge act to live up to, then, but this film is brilliant – it has taken a large dollop of the Coen Brothers, added some well-known Hollywood stars and topped it off with a sprinkling of new talent; all in all, a recipe for success.

The plot follows 14-year-old Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld), whose father has been murdered by employee Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin). Whilst arranging his affairs, Mattie swears to avenge her father’s death and hires Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) to take her after the criminal. However, Chaney is also a wanted man in Texas, and so Ranger LeBoeuf (Matt Damon), who has been pursuing the serial killer for months, proposes to team up with the pair to increase their chances of bringing him to justice.

Now, I’m not the world’s greatest fan of this genre of film, and Westerns tend to remind me of long, rainy Sunday afternoons with my Grandad. But I couldn’t ignore the hype this film had been creating and I was really surprised that the Tyneside Cinema was full, despite the film having been released over a week earlier.

‘True Grit’ has been nominated for 10 Oscars in total, but I think that Steinfeld‘s nomination is the most deserved; she played an amazing part and she’s a talent to look out for in the future. However, I disagree that she is a supporting actress; I think she should be up for the Best Actress Gong.

My one criticism of the film is that I didn’t really understand the majority of what Bridges was saying; his accent was really thick and difficult to comprehend.

This is honestly one of the best films I’ve seen in a long time. But don’t take my word for it, make sure you go out and see it.

Never Let Me Go reviewed by Simon Howard

Never Let Me Go (12A) 103 mins
Director: Mark Romanek
Cast: Keira Knightley, Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield
2 stars
By Simon Howard
Following the huge success of Kazuo Ishiguro’s 2005 dystopian novel (which was this year sent to every first year student at Newcastle University), Mark Romanek has brought this moving story onto the big screen with an all-star cast.
As children, Ruth, Kathy and Tommy spend their childhood at a seemingly idyllic English boarding school. As they grow into young adults, they find that they have to come to terms with the strength of the love they feel for each other, while preparing themselves for the haunting reality that awaits them. Without wanting to spoil the film, it is made clear from very early on the twist which means that for the three main characters there will be no happy ending- they have been produced to provide donor organs for transplants, and will die before they can fulfil their potential. It is essentially a sci-fi movie dressed up around a romance.
The film is by all accounts a very graceful and faithful adaptation, which is dealt with in a poignant way. The spirit of the novel is captured well, but in a sense this is part of the problem for many viewers, who will not have read Ishiguro’s work beforehand. One aspect which does stand out is the excellent contrast between the stunning landscapes and panoramas compared with the bleak and monochrome colours- visually it is a thing of beauty.
Garfield, having produced a great performance in ‘The Social Network’ again demonstrates his considerable acting talent and outshines his two more experienced co-stars. Keira Knightley is perhaps the weakest of the three main leads, and this is far from her best performance. The three child actors who take up the story for the first thirty minutes all excel and look to have big futures in the industry, and set the tone well for the final two thirds when Mulligan and co. take the lead.
This is a film which does require a lot of thinking about, as the secrets and details are revealed slowly but surely. What’s missing is a spark of life or a jolt of the unexpected — something beyond tears — to puncture the falseness of a film world, which obscures the tragedy that the three characters, by their nature, cannot express.
Verdict: An altogether unsatisfying experience, which raises more questions than it answers.

Die Hard by James Turnbull

Die Hard (1988)
Rating: 5/5.
Celebrated as one of the greatest action films of all time, most people are familiar with the phenomenal success of the cult Christmas blockbuster, Die Hard. John McClane is a New York City cop who just wants to spend Christmas with his family in Los Angeles. Upon arrival he gets pulled into a terrorist takeover at his wife’s office Christmas party, and must fight for everyone’s survival, aided by the outside help of L.A. cop Sgt. Powell.
The film serves not only as possible career defining performances for Willis (John McClane), and Rickman, who made his feature film debut as the brilliant Hans Gruber, but also for director John McTiernan, who has several notable titles to his name. Bonnie Bedelia, Reginald Veljohnson, and Paul Gleeson star amongst others, in a finely chosen cast.
Despite the 80s hair and clothes, and a few minor hiccoughs, Die Hard remains as exciting, eccentric, and entertaining as it did 20 years ago.
McTiernan does a fantastic job in achieving a perfect balance between thrilling action, hilarious dialogue, and developing some fantastic relationships, which make the audience really care about the characters. It is set aside from the usual high budget low quality action films by the cleverly but subtly layered plot, which will keep you gripped to the screen for the whole 2 hours. We want to see how the events that take place will affect the character’s relationships, and despite McClane and Sgt. Powell having never met, it feels as if they’re lifelong friends.
Visually and technically the film is still as hard hitting as it was upon its release. The sound and special effects and stunning, and coupled with masterful camera work, there are no complaints at all. Whilst the storyline isn’t a masterpiece in realism, it is plausible and doesn’t take away from the experience.
Die Hard is a landmark in movie making, and if you haven’t already seen it, you’re missing out. Packed full of amazing characters, hilarious dialogue, explosive action, and some kind of festive cheer, Die Hard is the ultimate action film.

An Ordinary Excecution by Jessica Cree

Director: Marc Dugain
Duration: 105mins
Rating: ***

On one of the snowiest nights of the winter so far, I was looking forward to a night out at the Tyneside Cinema. I wasn’t expecting a heart-warming story with a title like An Ordinary Execution, but what I did get was a thought-provoking, if somewhat farfetched, imaginative fairytale.
An Ordinary Execution is French author-turned-director Marc Dugain’s debut film, based on the final weeks of Joseph Stalin’s paranoid life and dictatorship. An incredibly gifted young doctor, Anna (Marina Hands), is rumoured by her patients and colleagues to have healing powers and is summoned by the ever weakening Stalin (André Dussollier) to ease his pain. He forbids her to tell anyone about her new post, which puts strain on her relationship with her husband. The film follows the kind and caring Anna’s struggle to obey a notoriously unforgiving dictator’s wishes, whilst protecting her family at the same time.
Dugain’s direction of the film reflects the sinister atmosphere of the era; the film is shot in grey and brown undertones and the whispered discussions heighten the tension. Hands plays the part of Anna well, showing her passion, strength and intelligence, whilst also giving the viewer an insight into her vulnerability; she personifies a ray of hope and good within a corrupt regime.
An Ordinary Execution is a different, more imaginative look at the end of Stalin’s life and however fictional and fantastic the storyline may be, it is well worth viewing simply for the cast’s great performances.

Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale by Jessica Cree

Director: Jalmari Helander
Duration: 77mins
Rating: ***

“The real Santa is something different. The Coca-Cola Santa is just a hoax”
Rare Exports is a rather different, darker take on the sickly sweet Christmas stories we are all used to seeing at this time of year. For some, this film could be regarded as a welcomed breath of fresh air, whilst for others, simply as an oddity.
Set in Finland, the film follows Pietari (Onni Tommila) and his teddy bear, Vuppe’s quest to discover the truth about Father Christmas. American excavation company, Subzero Inc., has been brought in to dig into a mountain close to Pietari’s house, where he and his father herd reindeer. Little do they know, however, that the real Santa is buried deep within the mountain, and he may not be exactly what is said on the tin.
This film is actually quite terrifying in parts; the elves have a remarkable resemblance to the Child Catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and the dolls that replace the stolen children are straight out of a horror film. Yet Rare Exports keeps a little bit of Christmas magic and there are even laugh-out-loud scenes.
So, have you been naughty or nice this year? Because Santa, whoever he may be, is on his way.

Black Swan by Jessica Cree

Director: Darren Aronofsky

Duration: 108mins

Rating: ****

I think I’m still in shock after watching this film. I’ve seen ‘Swan Lake’ plenty of times, but nothing compares to Aronofsky’s adaptation of one of the world’s most famous ballets.

Nina (Natalie Portman) is a ballerina with a troupe in New York looking to revamp ‘Swan Lake’ and cause a stir within the ballet world with its unorthodox version of the classic. Nina has strived for years to be noticed by French ballet master Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel) and gets her opportunity when former prima, Beth (Winona Ryder), becomes too old to cope with the role and a fresh new face is needed. Nina is perfect for the part of the White Swan, with her innocent, accurate style of dancing. However, the Black Swan is a much more sensual, seductive and passionate character; a role her rival, Lily (Mila Kunis), is much more suited to. Nina sees Lily as a threat and starts to hallucinate. She becomes paranoid that she is trying to take the part from her and begins to have psychotic episodes. Attempting to turn herself into the Black Swan, Nina tries some of the outrageous antics that she had never previously had the confidence to do. Warning! There are some scenes here that you definitely would not want to watch with your grandma!

There are a few particularly noteworthy sequences, which will stick with me for a while. Nina has a tendency to scratch herself and on discovering that her daughter has reverted to her old nervous habit, her mother furiously cuts her nails – I won’t be using nail scissors for some time to come! The scene, where Nina starts to pull feathers out of her back, has also been engrained into my memory.

On the whole, I really enjoyed this film. It’s nice to see a dance movie that actually has a great storyline– it’s no ‘Step Up’ or ‘Center Stage’! I also appreciated the training that Portman and Kunis have put in, having worked their technique for over six months, and couldn’t tell that they were amateur ballerinas. I’m not sure about the age 15 rating, but the artistic approach of the more risqué scenes perhaps validates this. As a massive ballet fan, I was worried that ‘Black Swan’ may not live up to the masterpiece that is ‘Swan Lake’. But I was proven wrong – it’s different and quite daring, but I’m so pleased that ballet is being seen as a more modern, main-stream art.