Review: I Give It A Year

I Give It A Year is a funny, original, British comedy.  The film focuses on a failing marriage, and we get to see how things break down through the course of the film. It's sometimes funny, sometimes sad, and is  a really great movie to take your partner to see tomorrow. One of the reasons for this is that it mixes up the rom-com set-up.

Romantic comedies might be accused of being a bit formulaic - boy meets girl, they form a bond, something goes wrong, everything gets resolved and they all live happily ever after. IGIAY comes at it from a different angle: boy has already met girl, they’ve got married, and we get to see it all fall apart. This keeps things  nice and fresh. You end up excited to see where the plot is going to go, not predicting how everything will pan out in the first 5 minutes. This is a pretty big achievement in a genre that is more stuck in it’s ways than a metronome.   

Another aspect that really makes the film is it’s intelligence. Without giving too much away, the way a particular piece of underwear is used multiple times (you’ll see what i mean) is particularly good. The comedy is also pretty clever, there are several scenes where the joke is played out, going for big laughs rather than quick ones. It’s nice that people are taking the time to write films that go a little deeper than normal, especially  in a genre like this.  

The comedy is generally of a really high standard. It plays a lot on awkwardness and embarrassing situations, think Peep Show and you’re not far off, and has a fantastic cast. Olivia Colman and Stephen Merchant are particularly memorable in support roles, and the rest of the cast are all bloody funny as well. You certainly won’t leave the cinema having not had a good laugh.

All in all this is a funny, interesting, clever take on a genre that has occasionally felt quite tired. Well worth a watch.

Watch if you like: Good Richard Curtis films or recent British TV comedy

If you like this try: Tyrannosaur (just to be blown away by Olivia Colman's acting range)

Review: Django Unchained

Django Unchained is a really good film. It’s probably the best Tarantino film in years, and is, in many ways, absolutely fantastic. There are a few reasons for this.

Firstly, the dialogue is amazing. This is pretty much a given in a Tarantino film - intelligent, tight, funny dialogue has always featured heavily in his scripts – and it’s nice to see it here as well. QT has always favoured long, drawn out, scenes with the aforementioned talky bits as the centrepiece, and Django is, marvellously, packed with them.

It’s not just well written, the film is also bloody gorgeous. The sets are unbelievably good looking, particularly the plantation houses and grounds, you really get a sense of the grandeur and decadence of the slavers. The contrast between the loveliness of the setting and the nastiness of the slaving is also really unnerving, and effective.

The other big aspect of the film’s look is the violence. Tarantino is known for his B-Movie inspired ultra-violence, and this film features it in bucket loads. But, unlike some of his other movies, it feels entirely appropriate here. The slave trade was really violent, and people did do deeply unpleasant things to other people, the film just reflects that, in a stylised way.

Finally, the acting is really good. Christopher Waltz gives, what I think, is a standout performance, but all the actors are fantastic. In fact, the only bit of dodgy comes from the director’s obligatory cameo. That man cannot do a convincing Australian accent, just saying…

So yeah, this is a pretty freaking awesome film .Unlike some of his other films, it feels together (Kill Bill in particular can be accused of being a bit bloated), looks good, is well written, and is amazingly acted. You should go and watch it, then watch it again for that matter, it’s that good.

Watch if you liked: Pulp Fiction

If you liked this watch: The Dirty Dozen