This weekend I finally got the chance to go to see the illusive "The Grey", seemingly not showing anywhere in Bristol, despite its fantastic reviews and its general appeal as a survival, action film. I didn't really know what to expect or if I would like it, because I was warned by Jim - film buddy - not to watch the trailer, as he'd read that it showed parts of the film best seen for the first time when watching the entire thing. So all I knew was Liam Neeson was some sort of wolf expert, whose plane crashed in a snowy, forest covered, mountainous region, and he and his fellow survivors had to battle against the elements and a pack of ravenous wolves to make it through to some sort of survival destination. Having watched the film, I can now tell you that Neeson plays "Ottoway", a man working with an oil drilling team in Alaska, hired to keep guard with a rifle for wolves that threaten the safety of his team. From Ottoway's voice over, which involves him reading out a letter he is writing to his wife who we learn has left him, we can see that he is incredibly unhappy. Ottoway and many of the oil drillers embark on a flight back home but the plane, of course, never reaches its destination.
This film is so many brilliant things. It was far better, far more complex, far more emotive and terrifying and 3-dimensional than anything I was expecting. I was basically expecting "Taken" 3 ("Taken" 2 of course being Neeson's "Unknown"). But this is no mere action film. What this film achieves, that which makes it such a brilliant piece of art, is to draw you in to what the men are experiencing. You are scared when they are, you are sad when they are, when they are exhausted, you feel it. You become part of their survivors' circle. At times, it is terrifying. There are so many fantastically suspense-filled and genuinely frightening scenes, the plane crash, the encounters with the wolves, I can't name too many because I would not wish to spoil the surprise, but many scenes in the wilderness which don't involve the wolves will have you on the edge of your seat (for the final scene I was literally sat on the edge of my seat and for much of it I had at least one tear in my eye).
At times it is heat-breaking, as the men tell their stories, talk of the ones they love at home, as you see the many who have died in the crash and realise that not all of them will make it to the end. But what really made my heart wrench were the scenes in which, remembering or dreaming, Ottoway looks back to his wife, and we see that the only reason he is holding it together and acting brave, is for the sake of the other men who have no chance without his expertise. I will not tell you when or why, but at one point I was silently sobbing (thank goodness for the darkness of a cinema in which you can totally pretend you're not even bothered).
There are some fantastic stunts in this film and the scenery and the cinematography are at times stunning. Of course, the film-makers have chosen a fantastically imposing setting - the snow capped mountains of North America, which can't hurt the job of the cinematographers. At one point, one of the survivor's points to the river and the mountains in the background and says "look at this, now all of this is mine," considering its great beauty, laid out before him. The music is clever because there is very little of it and the sound team have relied on the elements, the heavy snows, the blizzards, the winds, and the sounds of the forests and the wolves, the howls and the screams, as a backing track to the plot and it perfectly first the atmosphere. External music can often detach you from what is going on within the film, it reminds you that it isn't real.
This is by no means a perfect film. I will try to add some criticism. Certain aspects of the plot are slightly loose. I'm not sure I believe just how much knowledge and expertise Ottoway has on wolves. At one point the men hear howling and a fight and he explains that there's been a fight with the alpha male and he has won. I find it hard to believe he can know that by listening to howls. He seems to know exactly how to react to all emergency situations, who needs what care, where to best hide, etc. Though he does often say that it is merely a best guess, not a certainty, and I believe he is responding how he knows best, acknowledging that someone needs to take charge and act like they know what they're doing. There are other parts of the plot which also slightly bothered me on reflection, but nothing which will really nag at you throughout. I would definitely recommend this to people who like adventure, horror, action, suspense, but also to people who enjoy watching films about people. It is not, however, for everyone. A large group of chatty girls, who I only just believe were 15+, came in and sat at the back and then left about half way through, not to my surprise. I highly doubted when they arrived that this was the sort of film they would enjoy. That said, I give this film 4/5 at least! A very pleasant surprise!
I also watched the third and final of the "American Pie" trilogy this weekend (I don't include "Band Camp" or any of the other spin offs and loosely based ons...). I watched the 1st this summer and it wasn't as awful as I expected, but I have geuinely enjoyed 2 and 3. No, they're not particularly amazing film, but they have their moments, mainly Stiffler moments. Sean William Scott can usually brighten up a crappy film with a good comic performance. There's a good amount of heart and sweet characters too, to keep you going until the end, though I would say that most of Jason Bigg's friends are pretty pointless. If you enjoy films like "Road Trip", "Euro Trip", "Dude Where's My Car", etc., then I don't see any reason why you should hate these three. I am actually really looking forward to "American Pie: The Reunion", the sequel set 10 years on with all of the original cast. As the trailer says "It's seem like everyone's actually going". The trailer is pretty funny really:
I have also been watching a lot of Arrested Development this week and wanted to note down some of the best quotes and best running gags from series 1 to get us all excited about the new series and film. There is actually a film called "That's What She Said" with Alia Shawkat, aka Maeby FΓΌnke, so this title is particularly appropriate.
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| The Bluth family |
Georg Sr.
"Daddy horny, Michael."
Lucille
Michael: "I Haven't met anyone in a while who wasn't completely self-absorbed and impossible to have a conversation with."
Lucille: "If that was a veiled criticism about me I won't hear it and I won't respond to it."
Lucille: "Oh please, they didn't sneak into this country to be your friends."
Lucille (about Tobias): "A never nude? I thought he just liked cut-offs."
G.O.B.
"I've made a huge mistake." - A recurring classic.
"Hey, if I can't find a horny immigrant in three days, I don't deserve to stay here."
Kitty: "GOB, I wish I'd known you were coming. I look a mess." GOB: "I don't know if a call from me would have changed that."
Lindsay: "It'd give dad one more excuse to think I have nothing to offer but my looks."
GOB: "Yeah, I've got some of that. Except he also didn't like my looks."
G.O.B.: "These are just strippers. Look how hot they are!"
Georg Michael
Michael: "GOB reckons he saw you down at the docks today. Was that you?"
GM: "No. Maybe it was the other Georg Michael, you know, the singer song-writer."
Wayne Jarvis (in his typical, very serious tone): "Why should I be billing you for small talk when I'm enjoying it as much as you are?"
J. WalterWeatherman: "And that's why you don't teach your son a lesson."
Seriously, I can't begin to list all of the genius things they come up with, let alone the physical comedy and the intonations of what they say. If you haven't seen it yet, I envy you, because you still get to experience it for the first time, but seriously, get on it!!!
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| G.O.B. and Franklyn, my favourite pairing |
