Paddington (5/10): I'm not jumping on the Paddington bandwagon.

"Long ago, people in England sent their children by train with labels around their necks, so they could be taken care of by complete strangers in the country side where it was safe.”

This quote is taken from a scene in which Aunt Lucy (voiced by Imelda Staunton), a CGI animated Bear living in a Peruvian rainforest, prepares her nephew Paddington (voiced by Ben Whishaw), a charming but mischievous marmalade-loving bear, to travel to London after a terrible earthquake has destroyed their home. Apparently the real life images of the children leaving the train station during the war along with a teddy bear in a store at Paddington Station is what inspired Michael Bond nearly sixty years ago to create this beloved children character which has now been brought to the big screen by director Paul King (Bunny and the Bull). To be honest, I wasn’t familiar with the character and this was the first time I was introduced to his world which sort of feels like it comes from the same universe as Stuart Little where you simply have to accept the fact that it is apparently normal for a talking bear to walk around the city and be adopted by a loving family. I’m not going to jump on the Paddington bandwagon here because despite the sweet and charming story I did find it rather tedious, boring, and extremely predictable. With a 98% of critics on Rottentomatoes liking this film, I’m definitely in the minority here, but I simply didn’t find it appealing. 

Once Paddington arrives in London he is temporary welcomed by the Brown family until he finds the explorer who had befriended his uncles forty years ago in Peru. Henry (Hugh Bonneville) and Mary (Sally Hawkins) Brown are the parents of Judy (Madeleine Harris) and Jonathan (Samuel Joslin), but other than Mary no one seems too pleased about the intrusion of Paddington in their house. Eventually they all warm up to him despite his mischievous behavior, but not everyone is as welcoming as they are. There is a museum taxidermist, Millicent (Nicole Kidman), who hears rumors that this Peruvian bear is living with the Brown family and she wants him for her personal collection. Peter Capaldi plays the role of Mr. Curry, the Brown’s next door neighbor who is willing to help Millicent take the bear away from his neighborhood, while Jim Broadbent is Mr. Gruber, an antique shop owner who tries to help Paddington locate the mysterious explorer.  

It is evident that the film has an underlying message about the poor way in which immigrants are treated. Paddington is a beloved and charming character that will easily win the hearts of children. The story follows pretty much the same basic formula as most classic children films did. Visually the movie is very stylish and there are several set designs that reminded me of Wes Anderson’s work. Especially those scenes where he uses rostrum camera insert shots to animate several objects. I’ll give King credit for those visually beautiful scenes, but I simply didn’t feel engaged with the characters as most people did. Perhaps it has to do with the fact that I had never heard of Paddington before, but as a film on its own it definitely didn’t stand out for me.

My Review: Cloud Atlas (8/10)

¨I´m just trying to understand why we keep making the same mistakes over and over again.¨

Many critics have called Lana and Andy Wachowski´s new film, Cloud Atlas, ambitious and pretentious, but in my opinion it is a well made sci-fi film that is ahead of its time. Probably on a much lesser scale than 2001 or Blade Runner, but this film seems to have all the elements needed to become a cult film over time. Cloud Atlas is one of those movies you have to pay close attention to in order to understand where the plot is heading; it is definitely not for the casual viewer. It requires your time and patience, but if you stick with this film you will be rewarded by the end. This is by no means as good as Wachowski´s The Matrix (although it tries to remain philosophical), but it is much better than their recent work. Tom Tykwer (The Perfume) co-directed the film with the Wachowski siblings and it is without a doubt his best work yet. The film is unlike any other movie you´ve seen before as it connects six different stories over several centuries and connects them in some way or another. You could say it is kind of like Magnolia, but those stories take place during a similar time period, here the connections take place during the past, present, and future. Two parallel filming units were required for this monstrous production as the siblings directed three stories and Tykwer the other three. Cloud Atlas is based on David Mitchell´s award winning novel, and it was no easy task adapting it for the big screen. I think that their effort will be rewarded over time as it has the potential to become a sci-fi cult film.

The plot is a little difficult to explain as there are six separate stories happening over different time periods and in a way every story connects and overlaps with each other. The movie switches between one scene that can be taking place in 1849 to another in the post apocalyptic future. The first story takes place in the Pacific Ocean in 1849 as Adam Ewing (Jim Sturgess) is keeping a journal of his voyage while battling some sort of illness and being attended by Dr. Henry Goose (Tom Hanks), and at the same time helping a former slave, Autua (David Gyasi), escape from his oppressors. The next story takes place in 1936 as the composer Robert Frobisher (Ben Whishaw) is corresponding with his former lover, Rufus Sixsmith (James D´Arcy) about his experience working for the world famous composer Vyvyan Ayrs (Jim Broadbent). In 1973 the story centers around a journalist named Luisa Rey (Halle Berry) who is investigating a murder that took place in a nuclear power plant. In 2012 a publisher named Timothy Cavendish (Jim Broadbent) gets hoaxed by his brother and is forced to live in a nursing home while he makes plans to escape. In 2144 a clone known as Sonmi-451 (Doona Bae) participates in a revolutionary underground movement in New Seoul under the guidance of Hae-Joo Chang (Jim Sturgess). And finally in 2321 Zachry (Tom Hanks) is living somewhere in post apocalyptic Hawaii in a tribe that is being threatened by the blood thirsty Kona Chief (Hugh Grant). Every story is interconnected with each other as the actions of each individual impact one another in different time periods kind of like in a ripple effect.

The complexity of each story is the reason why the film is almost three hours long, but if you pay close attention and don’t get lost with all the flashbacks and flash forwards you might just enjoy this film. Cloud Atlas is pretentious for many because it is a little philosophical as it explains how we seem to cross our paths over and over again. Every actor in this film plays several different roles (as many as six) and we can see how each one shapes his or her future depending on the actions they take. The way the film was shot allows for the audience to experience a little sci-fi action (2144 segment), some comedy (2012 nursery home escape), some retro mystery (1973), and even romantic tragedy (1936). That is why this film is one of its kind. The sci-fi scenes were spectacular and the designs quite visionary in style. The film, although very exhausting, is exiting; and I had a great time. I understand why this is such a divisive film considering it is so complex and epic at the same time. The film does feel a bit disjointed and disconnected at times, but when it seemed to lose me it got right back in track again. I think this film was quite original and is worth your time if you are willing to put your mind to it. The performances weren’t as strong as I would have liked, but it is a difficult task to play six different characters at once. By all means check Cloud Atlas out; you will either love it or hate it.

    

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My review: The Damned United (9/10)

¨I wouldn't say I was the best manager in the country. But I'm in the top one. ¨

The Damned United is one of the best sports movies that I have seen recently, and it`s very different from other films in its genre because it focuses more on defeat and humiliation than it does on overcoming obstacles and victories. It`s based on the life of Brian Clough, a very successful football coach in England during the 70`s who really was ahead of his time because he probably was the first celebrity-coach and became famous for his cockiness and big mouth. If I would have to compare him to any coach from the present it would probably be Jose Mourinho. However, The Damned United doesn`t focus on all of Clough`s triumphs and his glory days in Nottingham Forrest; it focuses on the disastrous campaign he had with Leeds United that only lasted for 44 days, and his personal rivalry and obsession with Don Revie, the coach he replaced at Leeds. The film is directed by Emmy Award winner Tom Hooper who is mostly known for his TV miniseries Elizabeth I and John Adams; and it is based on David Peace`s novel The Damned Utd. The screenplay was written by Peter Morgan who has worked with Michael Sheen in the past in The Queen and Frost/Nixon. This is the third historic figure that Sheen has played in a movie and in each one he is truly outstanding and difficult to recognize because he changes so much, but he truly does justice to each character.

The movie opens in 1974, the year when the English national team wasn`t able to qualify for the World Cup, so highly successful Leeds United coach, Don Revie (played by Colm Meaney), seemed to be the right man for the job. Revie turned Leeds United into a powerhouse in the 70`s and dominated the league over the past few years. With Revie in the national team, Brian Clough (Michael Sheen) is offered the position as the Leeds boss, although he was known for being a critic of Leeds style of play which he called dirty and constantly criticized coach Revie for cheating. It makes perfect sense now why Clough wasn`t the right man for the job and that he was doomed to fail from the get go, even more so considering he wasn`t joined by his assistant Peter Taylor (Timothy Spall). The movie takes place in 1974, but we have constant flashbacks informing us how the rivalry between Clough and Revie began. The first flashback takes place during 1968 when Clough and Taylor were training a bottom placed second division team, Derby County. Clough was excited that his team was going to face first placed division one Leeds United for the FA Cup. He admired coach Revie because they grew up in the same neighborhood, but when the team arrived at the stadium, Revie completely ignored Clough (probably because he didn`t even see him) and thus the bitterness and rivalry began. The movie continues in the present (1974) with the tense relationship Clough had with the Leeds players, while returning through flashbacks from 68 to 73 focusing on the rivalry with Revie, the arguments with Derby chairman Sam Longson (Jim Broadbent) and Clough`s relationship with Taylor that help explain the present situation.

The strongest thing about this movie is that it takes a different spin in the sports genre that usually focuses on overcoming adversity and turning a bunch of losers into winners. This time Clough has the difficult task of filling in for a successful team and a group of winners and somehow his ego gets in the way and ends up having one of the worst opening campaigns for the team. The team was destined to fail from the beginning after so much criticism and rivalry built over the years. Clough was a very successful coach and even went on to win back to back European titles with another club, but the film decides to focus on his failures instead. The movie really works outside of the conventions of the sports genre and Michael Sheen is excellent in his portrayal of Brian Clough. There are some very strong performances from the supporting cast as well: Jim Broadbent, Colm Meaney, and Timothy Spall all give strong performances that helped build this movie. I really enjoyed this film and recommend it even though you are not sports fans because Clough had such a unique personality and was loved by some and hated by others. It is said that he was the greatest English manager to have never coached the national team.

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