White Noise (Novel, 1985) - Review

A powerful novel executed with astounding control, White Noise is that rare kind of work whose message will never age (contextual pun somewhat intended).

I'm ashamed to admit that prior to picking up White Noise on an impulse, I hadn't heard of Don DeLillo. I was aware of the names of some of his other works, namely Cosmopolis, but if asked I wouldn't have been able to match an author to the novel.

White Noise takes place in and around a surrealist North American College, named 'The College On The Hill' and is told from the point of view of Hitler Studies expert and tutor Jack Gladney. Jack lives with his fifth wife, Babette, and their four children, some of which are his, some of which are from Babette's previous relationships. Jack has various minor conflicts to overcome in his life, such as his relationships with his family and friends and his frustration over not knowing how to speak German despite being the foremost figure in the his field of study. But the primary conflict is an internal one; Jack is terrified of dying. He frequently obsesses over the nature of his life and how he is effectively waiting to die, as well as dwelling on the topic with Babette in the form of blackly comic pillow talk. And all this becomes magnified when a big problem arises; a train car containing the chemical 'Nyodine D' explodes a little way from Jack's hometown, releasing a toxic cloud that's headed his way. In the wake of this, Jack is finally forced to come head-on with his obsessive fear of death.

The first part of the novel could be perceived as being absent of any forthright plot, as it's really an extensive introduction in itself to Jack's life, as well as introducing some of the other topics that novel examines, such as token intellectualism in the academic community and the consumer culture that Gladney finds himself becoming embroiled in. Considering that White Noise was first published in 1985, it isn't difficult to see why it brought DeLillo to international prominence amongst the Postmodern movement; a lot of the ideas involved are way ahead of their time. DeLillo seems to have a gift of ironic observation, undoubtedly being able to see things that, at the time, most people would have been completely unaware of. In describing various occurrences in his daily life, there's also a wryness and a genunity to DeLillo's writing that is to be envied; it's that well-written, to the point that Jack Gladney becomes very much convincingly real as a person.

From the synopsis alone it could be assumed that the plot concerns Jack's fear of death before focusing entirely on 'The Airborne Toxic Event' (from which Part Two derives it's name) for the remainder of the novel's duration. Against expectations, the event lasts for perhaps a fifth of the novel. With admirable ingenuity, DeLillo shifts the narrative to depicting what happens in the shadow of the event, as post-calamity life kicks in and Jack has to deal with being exposed to said-radiation, and the knock-on possibility of his own demise. I won't give any more away with regards to the plot, because the finale is a real treat in terms of shear story-telling brilliance. I will, however, mention that it later touches upon the themes of religion, infidelity, pharmaceuticals and even the prospect of murder.

At it's heart, this is a wonderful novel. While it does have black comedy in heavy abundance, behind it all is an honest message about seeing death as an inevitability, and accepting it rather than dwelling on the idea alone. Plainly put, White Noise is one of the most well-written works I've had the pleasure of reading in quite some time, and I would unquestionably recommend it.

Under The Dome - Episode Two: The Fire - Review

Simply put, Under The Dome has quickly revealed itself to be a soap.

I have this idea that there's just one thing that it takes for a viewer to make an investment in a TV show. Just one, and I'm going to share that with you right now. That one thing is character realism. And by that I mean making your characters, at least the primary ones, actually seem like real people, rather than two-dimensional plot devices. It worked for The Wire, and it certainly worked for Breaking Bad, but the creators of Under The Dome just don't seem to have a grasp on that. I mentioned last week that I enjoy shows that indulge themselves in their own silliness, but there's a difference between being knowingly silly and being downright annoying.

Not one of the characters in Under The Dome seems to have any essence of realism. Big Jim Rennie (Dean Norris) is the staple town councillor, seemingly nice at first but soon-to-be turned power hungry as we previously witnessed small-town beard-clad chief of police Duke die after his pacemaker malfunctioned. Then there's the poor-man's archetypal American Hero Dale Barbara, who's in possession of about as much personality as secondary antagonist/control freak Junior Rennie, who's convinced he can keep his ex-girlfriend locked in an underground bunker in order to convince her to get back together with him. Brilliant.

During this weeks episode, the majority of the main cast also managed to establish that they are, in fact, living inside of a dome. Which is a strange coincidence, because the name of the show is... Wait a minute... Also brilliant.

What also angered me was the fact that the military seemed to be presented as a group of half-wits who don't have the capacity to acknowledge what's right in front of them. There's a scene in which two teenagers, Joe McAlister and Benny Drake are stood on the inside of the dome while 'top-secret' members of the military spray water against the dome, likely to be a pretty covert experiment. And yet the military just stand there and carry on. In almost exactly the same situation, Barbie and Julia throw tennis balls against the dome and wave their arms about while soldiers on the other side stand there like buffoons. But then I guess it is America, where 'they' don't tell the public anything. Ever.

Another problem I had was when Barbie and Joe meet each other while Joe is measuring the dome; this logic comes shortly after it's mentioned that the dome has a diameter of ten miles, so I found it pretty unlikely that they would just so happen to 'run into each other.'

On top of all this, the episode really did save the best till last. After the town grouped together to put out a house fire that could have potentially suffocated them all, we saw one of the token cop characters go a little off the rails and shoot the wall of the dome, only to have the bullet bounce off and hit one of his co-workers straight in the chest. This is where I return to my previous point about character realism; the moment just didn't get to me. The character, Freddy, was Deputy Esquivel's brother-in-law, who had a grand total of around four lines in the whole episode. It didn't get to me that he had been shot, it was just a thing that happened. I've always admired shows like The Walking Dead and Spooks, where it's true that just about any character can die at any time, and all bets as to who will get picked off next are a shot in the dark. But those shows succeeded in actually making you care about the characters in said situations. Under The Dome has a serious lack of that.

Here's hoping episode three will be an improvement, or I'll seriously consider having to abandon it.

Breaking Bad - Season 5, Episode 11, 'Confessions' - Review

'We've got a big problem.'

I'll start by saying one thing; based on the main conflicts of this episode alone, we're in for a season finale that will have to try very, very hard to disappoint. 'Confessions' was just about as close to perfection as TV drama can possibly get. All of this praise is focused on two arcs in particular.

The first was Hank and Marie's conflict with Walt (and, admittedly Skyler). Before the four meet up we see a brief clip of Walt sitting before a video camera, apparently confessing his crimes, but before we can see the rest of the clip the two factions that are the White's and the Schrader's meet up for dinner, in one of the most sublimely executed scenes in the season so far. In a scene of this contextual magnitude there's obviously a lot of pressure on the director and the writer to pull it off, but it was done with spectacular control. The tension between the two sides was almost unbearable, made all the more hilarious by the frequently returning appearance of an innocent waiter who's just trying to be a genuinely nice guy. On a minor side note, that's three for three on the inclusion of a blackly comic moment in every episode of this season so far, the other two being 1) Badger's Star Trek script, and 2) Huell and Kuby's bed of money. But the scene quickly returned to it's deeply gritty nature with Walt pushing the disc across the table towards Hank and Marie. Of course, I was convinced; I genuinely thought Walt would be confessing, but no such luck.

No, Hank and Marie stand like tall in front of the television screen before effectively transforming into unwilling puppets. Walt's 'confession' consists of 'revealing' that it is, indeed, Hank who is actually the infamous drug lord that the DEA have been unsuccessfully chasing down for the better part of the last year. Not only this, but Walt makes this concocted story actually seem believable to someone out of the know - he cites supposed 'connections' Hank has made in the business, his own cancer diagnosis as a means of supporting his innocence, stating that the hit that was made on Hank was actually executed as an attack from one drug lord (Gus Fring) to another, as well as Hank's medical bills and even the bruise on Walt's eye as being caused by Hank. This is a moment of realisation on two levels; 1) We now know that Walt has Hank bang to rights without question, and 2) This is how television should be done. This is how plotting should be done. It comes across like Gilligan has had this planned from the beginning, rather than just having made it up while going along. The only question that remains here is this; what will Hank do next?

The second was Jesse's internal conflict. We see him in the interrogation room, with the episode picking up right where the last ended, although we get an interesting depiction of the passage of time from Jesse's perspective, as it speeds up during his conversation with the two detectives. Hank then enters the room and what follows is an understandably awkward conversation, although Jesse's comic delivery of 'Eat me' lightened up the good cop bad cop routine that Hank was attempting to pull off. A large part of Confessions concerned Jesse's loyalty to Walt as well as his moral standpoint when it comes to the actions that they have made singularly and in partnership. It's important to note the juxtaposition that was interestingly presented at the beginning of the episode, as Todd relayed the story of the train robbery to his Uncle Jack while omitting the part about shooting the boy on the motorbike, something he did without hesitation and which Jesse attempted to protest against in the split second before it occurred. Conversely, Jesse obviously has a set of morals when it comes to such acts, and as we see him suddenly realise what Walt has done, he doesn't hesitate in exacting revenge upon him. Just as we think Walt has saved himself by convincingly pinning the blame on Hank, another huge problem has reared it's head.

With regards to the intense cliffhanger involving Jesse's petrol-pouring antics, I will make some predictions. I don't know if he'll set the house on fire, even in light of the way it's depicted in 'Blood Money.' It just doesn't seem right, because that explanation is too easy, although I might just be over-complicating thing. However, I will predict that Jesse spray paints 'Heisenberg' across the living room wall. What better way to leave an insulting message, especially in a fit of rage?

Roll on Episode 12.

Under The Dome - Episode One: Pilot - Review

An entertaining opener to a relatively promising new series.

Stephen King's original 2009 novel, Under The Dome, followed a small holiday town in America who become completely cut off from the outside world when an invisible and seemingly impenetrable dome comes down upon them. The novel itself was one of his best in years; even though it was just shy of 900 pages, it ended up being, to use old ancient cliche, a real page turner. Now the novel has been adapted to the small screen, following the lives of the inhabitants of Chester's Mill as they come to terms with life inside the dome.

Episode One took a full hold of the shows intriguing concept, although it has to be mentioned early on for those that read the book; there are quite a few differences in the story between the two. Needless to say, SPOILERS AHEAD.

The episode began spectacularly, mainly because (and I'll admit I'm being a little self indulgent here, but I have to emphasise) the scene depicting the moment at which the dome comes down was just about exactly how I envisioned it occurring in my head when I was reading the novel. Furthermore, we're introduced to Dale 'Barbie' Barbara (Mike Vogel), something of a variation on the all-American hero, who could even be considered something of an anti-hero based on the fact that the pilot opened on him burying a corpse, which varies a tad from the source material. But, then again, King himself has stated that the show incorporates variations due to the fact that prose and television are two entirely different mediums, which is fair enough.

One of the programmes most positive aspects is the character of Julia Shumway, who has been cast in  a pretty much spot-on fashion to be played by Rachelle Lefevre. Her relationship with Barbie is going to likely going to be one of the best sections of the programme, considering that we're made aware of the fact that Dale has, in fact, killed Julia's husband, albeit in self-defence (see the previously mentioned body-disposal).

All good things aside, there were several aspects of the shows general production that made me shake my head in the most pretentious way. The CGI was one of the primary problems; it has an overwhelmingly painful similarity to Mega Python vs. Gateroid at times, I'm thinking specifically of when the dome first comes down, as we see a destroyed plane come plummeting towards one of the main cast only to have Barbie push him out of the way just in time, as well as the almost blackly comic moment when an unlucky cow is cut in half and we have the pleasure of witnessing a perfectly symmetrically severed bovine cross-section. Some degree of exemption has to be given to the cheap effects though, because, after all, Under The Dome is still a TV show, and therefore doesn't have the kind of hefty budget to egotistically swing around like so many of the summer blockbusters. Kudos can at least be given to the production team and the writers for having the guile to include such bloody images.

I have a soft spot for TV shows that have a kind of self-awareness in their stupidity, in that they know they're just mindless entertainment and they don't try to be anything else, and that's what Under The Dome is all about. While watching it I was, to a pretty large extent, reminded of the cult series Jericho. Fans of it will likely find Under The Dome to be something of an unintentional spiritual successor. There's no question about it being a silly programme, but it executes it's silliness for all the right reasons.

Breaking Bad - Season 5, Episode 10, 'Buried' - Review

'México. S'all I'm saying.'

Despite this weeks episode, 'Buried', being a little bit of a step down compared to the season premiere, it was still a great episode, and here's why.

In traditional Breaking Bad style, the show opened by teasing a vital aspect of the continued storyline; the slow-burning introductory scene saw the aftermath of Jesse's faux-Robin Hood escapade through the sprawl of Alberqueque, having thrown stacks of money from his car. The image of him, very much hollowed out, gave a great sense for the disillusionment that Jesse has experienced, and his character gave a heck of a lot to the episode's continuity, despite hardly being in it, which I'll come to towards the end. Structurally, the episode picks up after this right where the last one left off, in a scene brinking on comic-awkwardness, perhaps even pushing into it. Both Walt and Hank make an attempt to call Skylar - before Walt realises what Hank is doing and shoots him a spectacularly chosen look from Bryan Cranston. That moment alone further solidifed the fact that Cranston really has embraced the character(s) of Walt/Heisenberg.

Of course, undoubtedly the most solidly acted performance in the episode was from Anna Gunn, who portrayed Skylar with all depth of a woman whose idyllic view of family life and a future is beginning to collapse in on itself, especially when considering her confrontation with Hank at the diner. This scene was a prime example of the quality of Breaking Bad's writing, as its always held a strong grasp on back and forth dialogue between two characters, especially in a situation as awkward as the one beheld by Hank and Skylar. It allowed for something of a breather in between the shows more tense moments, and really helped to make clear how much of a psychological toll the truth has taken on Walt's friends and family.

I have this idea that all of the very best dramas need to include some element of comedy, however small they may be. To go off on a slight tangent, the first thing that comes to mind is Paul Thomas Anderson's films - see There Will Be Blood for 'I. Drink. Your. Milkshake!' As well as The Master for Joaquin Phoenix's depiction of Freddie Quell as he slams his back into the underside of a prison bunk while handcuffed. But with regards to Breaking bad in particular, I am, of course, referring to the downright brilliant conversation between Hule and Kuby, Saul Goodman's half-assed comic goons as they are sent to move Walt and Skylar's (literal) mountain of money, and instead end up lying on it, face up, in one of the most brilliant displayed depictions of the odd-couple in TV history.

After Walt has buried the money - staying true to the act of having the title relate to some aspect the respective episode's content - we saw Marie confront Skylar about her situation, establishing that Hank has inevitably told her about Walt. This scene further saw the disentiegration of the relationships between these four characters, as well as showcasing an emotionally-wrenching depiction of the breakdown between Skylar and Marie, as Betsy Brandt pulled off a brilliantly restrained performance consiodering she slaps Skylar in a knuckle-bitingly awkward moment. But the fact is, as Skylar faught to keep baby Holly from being taken away by Marie, as well as her conversation with Walt shortly after this in which they make arrangements to stay quiet, it could be that we're finally about to see the emergence of Mrs Heisenberg. During her dialogue with Walt on the bathroom floor, there's a sense that she is confronting the prospect of having to stay quiet, while Walt seems to confirm his original intentions, that being to ensure his family's safety.

Towards the end we were also offered an insight into Lydia's varied 'interests' as she has likely the most underrated character in the show, Todd, as well as several faceless henchmn, kill off her ex-business partners. The execution of the this scene was also rather brilliant, as it gave an increased sense of depth with regards to the kind of character that Lydia is. She's perfectly comfortable having people killed off without hesitation, just as long as someone else does it and she doesn't have to see the aftermath. While I've previously voiced my dislike for Lydia as a character, a lot of credit must admittedly be given for Laura Fraser's acting abilities in pulling off a controlled performance of such an awkard character.

Before the final scene, Hank faces the possibility that he will very likely be fired if he reports the truth about Walt to his employers, seeing as the person he's been looking for has been 'right under [his] nose this whole time,' which can assumedly mean that things won't hit the fan for at least a little while. That was my initial thought before the episode came to an end as Hank shuts the door into the interrogation room, which just so happens to contain... A post-cathartic Jesse. As I previously mentioned, Jesse seems to have lost interest in life now that this 'blood money' has found its way to his doorstep, and the final scene reinforced this point, as he sits before the two interrogators, staring into space, unblinking. Judging by his apparent state of mind, he could very easily bring Walt's world screaming and on fire to the ground.

Despite taking a minor step down from the premiere, the episode still stands above the quality of just about every other show on TV, and the gravitas of the final moments leaves plenty of speculation in the shadow of the next episode.

The only other question I have is;

Where the hell has Walter Jr disappeared to?

Pacific Rim (2013) - Review

While it boasts spectacular visuals and a great thrill ride, Pacific Rim is a relatively forgettable affair.

Guillermo Del Toro's career amazes me. He's swept effortlessly through a fantastic filmography, ranging from Spanish fairytale horror to obscurist superheroes. With Pacific Rim, he's surprised his audience yet again with something completely different, and with enough guile to be admirable all on it's own.

The primary plot of Pacific Rim takes place in 2025, where humanity is in the last days of the war with the 'Kaijus'; gargantuan Godzilla-esque monsters that have emerged from a portal in the Pacific ocean. Since their appearance in 2013, the humans have been fighting back against the Kaijus with Jaegers; equally massive combat robots designed to engage in battle with the Kaijus. But twelve years later, with the Jaeger project on the verge of discontinuation, Stacker Pentecost (Idris Elba) pulls together a rag-tag team of ex-Jaeger fighters, for the purpose of launching a final effort against the Kaiju's, with the intention of staving off the increasing number of monsters and using a nuclear bomb to close the portal once and for all. Of course, there are a few more details crucial to the plot, especially when it comes to incomprehensibly huge robots. The fact that they are so big means that they require two pilots in order to undertake the weighty mental toll that they inflict. And so our protagonists, the emotionally damaged Raleigh Beckett (Charlie Hunman) and the equally traumatised Mako Mori (Rinko Kikuchi), step up to the plate to lead the pack.

With a plot like this, it's no surprise that Pacific Rim's most stand-out trait is it's CGI-laden visuals. The sequences depicting the fights between the Jaeger's and the Kaiju's are as enjoyably indulgent, in terms of sheer spectacle, as CGI can possibly get. This is also probably the first instance of a film where I've stopped during an action scene to think for a moment about the quality of the sound. I find it difficult to even imagine how overwhelmingly complex it must have been to compose and edit the audio for this film, so due kudos has to be issued to the editors on that front. But in terms of viewing the film from a birds-eye perspective, Del Toro has stated that he intended to create something that was 'madly in love' with it's obvious influences, and Pacific Rim does just that; the simple presence of the monsters identifies it as a tribute to the giant Japanese monster movies of previous generations. However, while keeping all this in mind, the script still makes a reasonable effort of giving considerable attention to the human side of the conflict.

While credit has to be given to Del Toro for his, quite simply put, ballsiness in going ahead with a film of this size and calibre, it also has to be given in equal measure for making a go of including actual, real characters. Often with films of this scale it's easy to lose track of the characters operating the literal giant robots, but Del Toro hasn't made that mistake here. It was likely a deliberate move to make the pilots of the Jaegers connected psychologically; as previously touched upon,this means that both pilots see into each others memories, meaning that there has to also be an emotional connection between the two. Solid efforts are given by Hunman and Kikuchi, especially considering the occasionally weak material that they are given, as well as an unsurprisingly strong performance from Idris Elba, who portrays the straight-talking war veteran Stacker. There's also a well-casted appearance from Ron Perlman as a black market-esque dealer (having previously worked with Del Toro on the Hellboy films), and a well-balanced sub-plot involving Charlie Day and Burn Gorman as conflicting Kaiju-obsessors.

But on a more negative note, Pacific Rim does have several downsides. Despite the inclusion of weight given to the actual characters, it does, for the most part, feel largely disconnected from the action that we see involving the Jaegers. At times it also feels as if Del Toro is just getting the character-related aspects of the story out of the way for good measure so that he can move straight into said-'good stuff.' And while the film does stay true to itself as an original piece of cinema rather than singularly acting as a tribute, at times there really feels as if there's a deep absence of reason for the whole thing.

While Pacific Rim dives headfirst into the definition of what it means to be a summer blockbuster, it also embodies the vices of this definition. True, it's a great afternoon thrill ride that I'd definitely recommend taking, but I'm confident that most viewers will have forgotten about it by the time they're digging into their post-cinema meal.

3/5

Breaking Bad - Season 5, Episode 9, 'Blood Money' - Review

'Tread Lightly.'

And so, Breaking Bad has returned with an unsurprisingly brilliant episode to begin the second half of it's fifth and final season. 'Blood Money' was a fantastic episode to kick off the shows return, with some of the most tense and gritty moments in the shows history. So far, that is.

The traditional use of in media res was, quite literally, jaw-dropping. The image of the abandoned and derelict White Household, assumed to be an image from a year or so after the present tense judging by Walt's equally derelict appearance, was overwhelmingly haunting, especially that of the skaters using the emptied pool in the White's back garden. Initially the idea came to mind that it may have been for some other reason, as we've seen foolingly similar flashforwards in the past that tend to involve planes, but then it appears; 'HEISENBERG', spray-painted in block capitals on the living room wall. Sure, it could have been from a post-world-collapse admirer, but the possibilities are endless - for all we know, Walt could have sprayed it on the wall in a fit of egotistical indulgence and the house could be abandoned for some other reason. As for his reason for returning, we see Walt retrieving the capsule of ricin from behind the plug socket in his bedroom, the reason for which is unknown and totally down to speculation, although you can bet it has something to do with killing someone. With a final reference to this scene, the reaction of Walt's neighbour, Carol, has to be noted. She is so shocked to see him that she literally drops what she's holding. But it's still down to speculation - as I've said, for all we know, Walt could have faked his death and Carol was simply responding under the impression of seeing a ghost, so to speak.

In the present tense, we see Hank's response to the notion that Walt is, indeed, Heisenberg, the notorious drug manufacturer that he has been chasing over the last 55 episodes. Credit has to be given to Dean Norris for his portrayal of Hank - his break down in the wake of this upcoming theory was nothing short of sublime, as well as his performance when he comes face to face with Walt in his garage, which I'll come to in a little while.

We saw Walt and Skylar contemplating opening a second car wash for the purpose of laundering their money, a plan which is likely to fall apart in future. This scene also saw the return of Lydia, likely one of the most annoying characters in the shows excellent cast, as she attempts to coerce Walt into returning to the meth business. Skylar's confrontation of Lydia supplied some tension before the advent of the episodes chilling ending.

Meanwhile, Aaron Paul's perfect portrayal of Jesse Pinkman remained consistent as ever, as we see him becoming disillusioned in the face dealing with the ten million dollars that he received from Walt in the previous episode. There's also an hilarious monologue from his friend Badger (Matt Jones), who pitches an idea for a Star Trek script to Skinny Pete (Charles Baker), which, while not really relevant to the main story in the episode, is one of the most memorable aspects of it.

After Jesse has paid a visit to Saul Goodman (Bob Odendirk), who is undoubtedly a cult character in the making, another painfully poetic scene is delivered as Jesse drives his car through the economically down-trodden neighbourhoods of Alberqueque, throwing stacks of $10,000 bills into the gardens of homes, as well as, in a preceding scene, giving the same amount to a homeless man.

Of course, 'Blood Money' saved the best for last. Hank's confrontation of Walt was incredibly unexpected, and it was apparent even before he delivered a right cross to Walt's cheek; hats off to the writers for coming up with the idea of Hank closing the automatic garage door. When he presses the button and the darkness slowly fills up the room, the tension escalated to heights that the show has somehow rarely reached in the past. The performances of both Norris and Cranston were executed with such grit that the scene was almost overwhelming, particularly the final words of the episode from Walt, in response to Hank's 'I don't even know who I'm talking to'; 'If you don't who I am, then maybe your best course... Would be to tread lightly.' Walt spoke the first part of the sentence, but it was Heisenberg who spoke the second. The shot holds on Cranston and you can genuinely see the transformation happen right in front of your eyes, as he changes from Jekyll to Hyde.

The episode effortlessly sets up for the remaining seven episodes and the much-anticipated finale of the series. It provided a fantastic plataeu for the inevitable and impending conflict between Walt and Hank, and somehow managed to give viewers even more than they were expecting, by giving real focus to the confrontation between Hank and Walt. There's no doubt things are about to get a whole lot more tense.

The Tree Of Life (2011) - Review

A work of staggering beauty and wonder, The Tree Of Life is one of the most overwhelmingly powerful films in decades.

Firstly, I think it's a fair comment to say that in ten, twenty, or even fifty years time, The Tree Of Life will be recognised as Terrence Malick's magnum opus. It's that good. The reason for this is that the film identifies Malick as a real person, rather than some existential, ethereal force of whom we have fewer legitimate pictures that we do of bigfoot. Because the film is based on something likely very personal and important to Malick himself, that being his own childhood

The Tree Of Life follows a midwestern American family in the 1950s, which includes the father, Mr O'Brien (Brad Pitt), Mrs O'Brien (Jessica Chastain), and their two sons, Jack (Hunter McCracken) and R.L. (Laramie Eppler). Their lives in a seemingly idyllic American suburb are parallelled with a narrative following the present day, in which the family, including a much older Jack (portrayed by Sean Penn) come to terms with the news that R.L. has been tragically killed. Of course, a film by Malick wouldn't be complete with some radical aspect; we're also running alongside the origins of the universe and the first forms of life.

Much of the primary conflict comes from the two boys and their relationships with their parents. Mr O'Brien is failed musician who now works as a relatively unsuccessful patent clerk, and he takes a largely hypocritical stance in taking his anger out on his family through various means, while he is perfectly contrasted by Mrs O'Brien, a figure of ease and love in the boys eyes.

In terms of a purely visceral perspective, The Tree Of Life is, without question, a masterpiece. Malick's instantly distinguishable and confident style is washed over every single frame of the film; minute details of the lives of the O'Briens are examined, not in a day-to-day sense but in a more emotional fashion. Malick's signature technique of using the brief stream of consciousness-esque snippets of the characters thoughts throughout the film make it all the more emotionally brilliant - there's a genuity to the film that's present from beginning to end.

But likely the most impressive aspect of The Tree Of Life's visual and audatic qualities is what takes place outside of the lives of the family. As previously mentioned, we're thrown through the entire universe - the two and a half hour running time sends us across the far reaches of space, allowing us to witness the birth of, well, everything. Stars explode and planets are born, all through the use of extended sequences of astounding CGI work that are admittedly impressive. And, while not giving too much away... There are indeed dinosaurs, which has polarised a lot of peoples opinions about this film.

On a less dinosaur-related note and one that's more human-focused, the actors performances are all impressively evocative. Most notable are Jessica Chastain's portrayal of Mrs O'Brien, and Hunter McCracken as Jack. Chastain gives a performance of fantastic restraint, as if she might break at any moment of the film, while McCracken is equally impressive, especially at such a young age.

The Tree Of Life is life-affirming to the point that everyone owes it to themselves to see it. Works that have the capacity to define what it is to be human are few and far between, and that's assuming that they exist at all. But if they do, The Tree Of Life is one of them.

Gangster Squad (2013) - Review

The epitome of classically structured films, Gangster Squad is a perfect example of a film that's just plain, stupid fun.

Gangster Squad takes place among the hedonistic heavy drinking/smoking citizens of post-world war II Los Angeles. The city is in the vice-like grip of ruthless mob boss Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn), and Chief Bill Parker (Nick Nolte) is under constant fire from the press and the public for doing very little about it. But then he does; Parker orders Seargant John O'Mara (Josh Brolin), a hard-hitting, honest, veteran cop to bring down Cohen by any means necessary - off the books, of course. O'Mara puts together the Gangster Squad, a rogue group of cops who use often violent and illegal means to put an end to Cohen's rule. Cue seemingly unrelated action sequences.

The bill is topped off by Jerry Wooters (Ryan Gosling), a smooth talking war veteran, Grace Faraday (Emma Stone), the femme fatale who Wooters develops a relationship with, as well as Anthony Mackie and the rest of the gangster squad. Despite lackluster character development, the actors give largely strong performances with the material that they've been given.

Despite this, the characters are a largely shiftless bunch; a group of people who exist in a certain time who do things that doesn't really click with any sort of reason for doing so. However, the actors performances are all of a reasonable quality. Gosling and Stone, having already worked together on Crazy, Stupid Love are a formidable screen couple that have great chemistry, but with them in mind there is an unfortunate sense of stardom factor, in that we are seeing them as actors rather than the characters that they are portraying. And, albeit some slick dialogue, the script is painfully weak at times. Most aspects of the film serve dramatic tropes rather than it being the other way around. With it's near two-hour running time, it feels like a lot more could have been done with the time that the film was given.

It's many vices aside, Gangster Squad does have a few positive aspects going for it. Despite Ruben Fleischer having only directed one major project before (2009s Zombieland) his directorial skills are reasonably impressive and suit the action in a strange way; he executes the whole thing with a kind of reckless but controlled abandon. His style also contributes positively to the films more comedic tone at times, as this seems to be Fleischer's natural way of going about things.

Having read Paul Leiberman's excellent Gangster Squad: The True Story of the Battle for Los Angeles on which the film was very, very, very loosely based, I can safely say that this is not a film to be taken seriously in the slightest. It's a fun, stupid (in a good way) action-romp that looks great and is a hell of a lot of fun to watch.

And why should that be a bad thing?

3/5

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (Novel, 2005) - Review

A heartbreakingly poignant novel about love, loss and moving on, all told from the perspective of a nine year-old polymath.

To say the least, I was very surprised by this novel. I should clear it up beforehand that I pretty much loathed the 2011 film adaptation of the book, even more so considering the fact that it was nominated for best picture at the Oscars that year. But, all prejudice about the film aside, this is, when viewed singularly, a very interesting piece of writing.

We are narrated to by the stream-of-consciousness first-person narrative of Oskar Schell, a nine-year old who lives in New York with his mother. Early on we are made aware that they are still living in the wake of the attacks that occurred several years previous, in which Oskar's father tragically died. For such a young person Oskar is very intelligent, almost tragically so at times, and it seems apparent that there is also some psychological imbalance in his personality.

Then, one day, Oskar knocks a blue vase from a high shelf and smashes it to pieces. At first, Oskar is terrified about what he's done - but then he notices the envelope scattered among the pieces, with the word 'Black' written across the front. Inside there is just one thing; a key. And so, Oskar does what anyone else would do in such a situation; he sets off to find out which of New York's 162 million locks the key belongs to. Thus, the story follows what happens when Oskar begins knocking on the doors of New York residents with the name 'Black', which queues heartwarming encounters with a range of New York's variety of citizens.

Foer has essentially mastered his own form of prose, the kind narrated from the perspective of a nine year old boy. Obviously, stylistic tendencies and aspects of form are shaped around this experimental concept. Passages of dialogue between Oskar and the people he meets are confined to single paragraphs, perfectly complimenting the back and forth dialogue and adding a welcome sense of humour and lightheartedness to the story. Many passages in particular show real talent on Foer's behalf, as the writing is almost painfully honest at times, especially a certain scene in which Oskar attempts word association with a psychiatrist, which is so well written it was an utter joy to read.

Alongside Oskar's story is a parallel narrative in which we are told the stories of Oskar's grandparents when they were younger and in the midst of the Dresden firebombings. Their story is as emotionally crunching as Oskar's is, if not more, as it gives an insight into the kind of heartbreaking lifestyles people can live in the wake of terrible tragedies.

With further regards to form, the novel does adopt a heavily impressionistic style at times. Black and white pictures are frequently used with relation to the events of the story, as well as short sentences that are placed in the centre of blank pages. The appearances of these aspects of the novel gave it an air of being pretensious; they seem like the kinds of things placed into the book specifically for the purpose of being analysed by academics, rather than because they evoke some true relevance and meaning to the work.

But aside from the indecipherably impressionistic and somewhat unncessasry aspects of the work, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is a novel that is both wonderful and heartbreaking. It's a unique piece of writing and a genuine joy to read.

Only God Forgives (2013) - Review

Nicolas Winding-Refn presents a visceral nightmare of a film that really does need to be seen to be experienced.

It's no secret that Ryan Gosling and Nicolas Winding-Refn developed what has been described as a 'famous friendship', one that even led to an utterly fearless man-kiss at the Cannes film festival before an army of photographers. With regards to the lead role, Luke Evans was originally intended to play it, but was replaced by Gosling due to scheduling conflicts, and that's a fact that I'm oh so happy about.

Past the an outline of the plot, Only God Forgives is a film that is overwhelmingly difficult to describe. We follow Julian (Gosling), a drug lord in Bangkok who runs the family business with his brother, Billy. When Billy is killed in questionable and violent circumstances, Julian's mother, Crystal (Kristin Scott Stewart), a vehement mafia crime lord from the US, sends him on a mission to seek revenge against those involved in Billy's murder.

Likely the most admirable aspect of the film is it's fearlessness; Refn is known for a style that doesn't really care what the close-minded and easily distracted think. His trademark features of form are noticeably stamped on every single frame and in the audio of every shot, which are in abundance. The shots take their time in establishing  the films unsettling tone, dwelling on single frames that are unmoving for seconds at a time. Gosling's character, Julian, has only seventeen lines of dialogue in the ninety minute running time, requiring him to rely on facial expressions and movements alone in these long-held shots, which he pulls off spectacularly.

The films most unlikely talent comes from the relatively unknown Vithaya Pansringarm, who portrays psychotic veteran cop Chang, although his name goes unsaid over the course of the film. Outside of the film's world he is described as 'The Angel of Vengeance', an almost ethereal force who acts as a kind of Anton Chigurh with a set of morals; he distributes revenge in what he sees to be equal measure throughout the criminal underworld of Bangkok.

In terms of style and form, Only God Forgives is a work that will no doubt, in a couple of decades at the most, be examined and evaluated again and again in search of meaning and reason. Refn's last film, 2011s Drive, was referred to as an Art-House film, and this one will probably suffer under the same misunderstood header. Neither of them should be given this condemnation of genre though; just because effort has gone into a film doesn't mean it needs to be thrown into a different style altogether. All film can be considered art - Only God Forgives is an example of genuine talent and positively indulgent spectacle.

This is a film that will probably struggle to find it's intended audience, which is really a shame because it's a prolonged exercise in how form should be executed in a film; every shot measured for meaning and implication, with the kind of brutal fearlessness that you'll struggle to find in a lot of contemporary cinema. Despite his films repeatedly taking violent paths, Refn has reiterated that he is not a fan of violence, and 'hates anything that hurts.' But experiencing Only God Forgives is like staring into the abyss of the man's mind, to see the kind of real and potential beauty that cinema can achieve. Just make sure to open yourself up to it in equal measure.

4/5

Seven days till the arrival of Breaking Bad

The anticipating is pretty much killing me. When I originally signed up for a Netflix account around a year ago I noticed this programme in the 'most popular' section and remembered a friend having mentioned it to me long before. So I took the leap to watch it, and lost about a week of sunlight plowing through every single episode.

For those who still need convincing to start watching Breaking Bad, know this - everything you've heard in terms of hype is true. It really is one of the greatest television dramas of all time and exceeds ain just about every aspect of it's production. There is nothing, figuratively nothing, that can be used to criticise it.

On Monday, and each subsequent Monday after that, the new episodes from season five, part two, will go live on Netflix UK. If you need a little reminder about the events of the past five seasons, you can find a great recap video here from Screen Junkies. I'll likely be publishing reviews of every single one of the final eight episodes, just as a means of coping with the wait for the next one, and with the inevitable trauma that arrives when the show finally comes to an end.