THE TREE OF LIFE

Cosmic hocus pocus + Suburban Focus + Diplodocus =

Review by: James

2 points before we start.

1) I think Terrence Malick is just fantastic. His Pocahontas epic The New World is great, and The Thin Red Line is my favourite war movie ever. Apart from Stripes.

2) I'm terrified of the retail clothing store "Tree of life". Even being near it makes me uncomfortable. Crystals, feathers, kaftans. It just makes no sense to me at all. But I guess Angus and Julia Stone need to get their outfits from somewhere. 

I disclose the first point however because it means this review is probably biased. Whatever. The second point however was probably unnecessary. (Seriously though, what the fuck is that store? Anyone??) 

Set in a small town in Texas, The Tree of Life follows the story of three young boys, growing up in American suburbia in the 1950's. It centers on the oldest boy, Jack, (Hunter McCracken) who is struggling to come to terms with what is becoming an increasingly complicated world. Split between a wondrous, loving mother (Jessica Chastain), and a stern, driven father (Brad Pitt), Jacks confusion, and discovery, become part of something else much bigger, as we dip in and out of time, and space. Yes space. Did I mention there are dinosaurs? Not in the 1950's. But heaps earlier. So yeah. Sprawling middle-American family drama with dinosaurs.  For a kid, the acting of Hunter McCracken is totally brilliant. As good as you'll see from a young actor. In fact the performances from everyone are excellent, except for maybe Sean Penn, who spends most of his screen time looking like a man who can't remember where he's parked his car. 

 At times, The Tree of Life jumps around without explanation, and it can feel a bit bewildering, but if you can disregard your uncertainty about what’s happening, and trust that you're in good hands, then everything becomes much more enjoyable (much like an unsolicited back massage). On the other hand, there’s a genuine sense of beauty and wonder throughout the whole thing. Every single shot seems to be designed to evoke an emotion. And I love that. I also love just how polarising the response to the film has been. Some people talk about it like they've had some sort of highbrow cinematic orgasm, whilst others seem to hate it more than The Last Airbender. About 5% of audience goers in the States are even walking out mid movie, which I really don't get. Anyone whose heard a little bit about it, or about the director, understands that like his previous movies, it’s a slow, very deliberately paced film. Surely you know what you're getting into before you buy your ticket? Its like that time Jade and I went to that fried chicken place in Nashville (Prince’s) and ordered the extra-hot chicken wings:

Chicken Guy: "Are you sure about that? They are super hot." 

Me: "I'm pretty good with Spicy food"

Chicken Man: " Yeah, It's just that sometimes people find them a little too much...”

Me: "Dude, I think I can handle your chicken wings ok?"

So I ordered the chicken wings, and I you know what? They were waaaaay too spicy. My lips felt like they were being tasered and my eyes were all watering and I was sweating and I couldn't even finish eating the whole thing.  You know what I mean?

The Tree of Life might not be the easiest thing to watch, but it’s unlike anything I've ever seen. Which I guess is a pretty big wrap. I saw it three days ago, and I'm still thinking about it. I'm thinking about my own childhood and the feeling that came with it. I'm thinking about how everyone and everything shapes what we become. I'm thinking about dinosaurs. And I'm also thinking about the fact that the popcorn at EVENT cinemas could only be more expensive if it was coated in cocaine instead of sea salt. (11 bucks? Are you fucking kidding me?)

Will you like it? I don't know. What do I look like? The Mentalist? (I don't even own a waistcoat.) What I do know is that The Tree of Life is challenging, full of emotion, stunningly beautiful but also at times confusing and even a touch boring. Probably a bit like dating Jessica Biel.

4 stars

SUMMARY: Discovery channel meets revolutionary road meets Koyaanisqatsi meets Stand by me

WHO SHOULD SEE IT: Jessica Biel fans, spicy chicken lovers. 
RELEASE DATE: In cinemas now

SOURCE CODE

STATE RAIL AND PEAK HANDSOME

Review by: James

I reckon you can watch the trailer for any movie and within 30 seconds decide two things:

1) This movie is going to be unreal/terrible and 

2) I am going to love/hate this movie.

And normally if a film is terrible you are going to hate it, and vice versa. Strangely though, this is not always the case.

Recent Example: Battle: Los Angeles.

Upon seeing the trailer, I knew immediately that is was going to be a terrible film. I also knew immediately that I would love it. And yep, nailed it. Correct on  both fronts. (Yumi would argue that I’m being ridiculous and there is no way you could like this film. She would be wrong.)

But just when you think you have honed your YouTube trailer watching snap judgement skills to a ninja-like precision, a film comes along and fucks it all up. Before seeing Source Code, I watched the trailer and had the immediately certain reaction “that looks woeful and I will not enjoy it”. I’d decided it was like a sci-fi version of last years  very average Unstoppable. I was wrong on all counts.  Nice one brain.

Source Code begins when Jake Gyllenhaal, wakes up on a train. He knows not where he is, who he is or what is happening. There is an attractive woman in front of him.  This has never happened to me. The last time I woke up on a train not knowing who I was or what was happening, I was trying to get home drunk from Homebush Bay. There was someone else’s blood on my shirt and stale Doritos in my hair. There was no attractive woman. It was a horrible night. If only I could have woken up as Jake Gyllenhaal.

For the first part of Source Code, this scenario plays itself out over and over again.  Jake and I are both thinking “What the fuck is going on here?” but together we start to make sense of it all. Sort of.  Turns out Jake is a soldier being used in a revolutionary physics distorting experiment where he can go right inside someone else’s body (not like that.) There’s a bomb on the train you see, he’s got to find who planted it, and save the girl. Or does he? By the way, you’ve  only got 8 minutes.

Michelle Monaghan, who is like a hot version of Katie Holmes is the bewildered but patient girl on the train. Vera Farmiga , my second favourite Ukranian-American actress (behind Mila Kunis) is Jake’s military contact to the outside world.  I like the cut of her jib.

Have you noticed that Jake Gyllenhaal gets more handsome every year? He is currently 30, and at this rate I imagine at about 38, he will enter an illustrious zone called “Peak Handsomeness”. This is the small but fantastic 18 month period where you are as hot as you are ever going to look. The tricky part is that you only know you were there after it ends. After that point it is a very slow but deliberate slide in the other direction. It is truly a glorious, golden time for any actor/model/hornbag. And although many movie stars stay attractive well into their late 40’s and beyond, that high watermark of hotness, the summit of your aesthetic Mt Everest is a wondrous, fleeting time. Some examples of Peak Handsomeness in film are:

- Although outrageously ripped in Fight Club, Brad Pitt’s peak handsomeness actually occurred during Oceans Eleven. He was 37.

- You want to say Out of Sight for Clooney, but it actually didn’t happen till he was 44 in Goodnight and Goodluck.

- Depp is a tricky one, as there seems no end to his exquisiteness trajectory. But he was never more arse-clenchingly (not really a word) gorgeous than at 36 in Chocolat

- Steve Buscemi has either not yet reached peak handsomeness or it happened very, very young.

As for Source Code… Director Duncan Jones (who was behind 2009’s truly excellent Moon) makes sure its tense, never dull and that it falls into one of my all time favourite film categories: Movies under 100 minutes long (more on that in coming weeks).

Probably the best time travel body displacement action adventure film of the year. So far.

STARS: Not quite 4 but more than 3 stars sounds like too many. 3.75 stars.

SUMMARY: I didn’t know what was happening either.

WHO SHOULD SEE IT: Fans of Groundhog Day. People who like trains.

RELEASE DATE: In cinemas now