The Impossible

Based on the story of one family's battle to survive following the devastating Boxing Day tsunami of 2004, The Impossible is not an easy watch but definitely a worthwhile one.
Naomi Watts and Ewen McGregor are English couple Maria and Henry Bennett who head to Thailand for their Christmas holiday with their three sons Lucas (Tom Hollan), Simon and Thomas.
It all seems like a normal fun holiday until that fateful morning when the ocean swallowed up the resort and most of the inland area for miles and miles.
Maria and Lucas emerge from the wave and eventually manage to find each other and make it to safer ground. Maria suffers a badly cut leg in the process. They rescue a young boy, Daniel, and are saved by a group of locals who take them to the nearest hospital, believing the rest of the family had died.
I don't really need to go into the finer points of the story, they unfold in time.
I know Naomi Watts is nominated for an Oscar for her role and she is very good but it surprises me that Tom Holland, who plays young Lucas, didn't get some recognition. He's stunning and really is the heart of the story. The lessons he learns from the ordeal are so poignant and the main lesson is something we should all pay more attention to. I'll let you figure that one out for yourself but is should stand out.
It really is amazing how detailed the re-enactment of the tsunami is. I know technology continues to forge ahead but it almost looks like they really staged one.
As I have said, this isn't an easy film to watch. It is heartbreaking at times, shocking to watch given we know it really happened just over eight years ago, though you will find it strangely uplifting in hindsight.
Definitely a well made, well told film with a delicate topic given its reality.
An 8 out of 10.

Jack Reacher

Being a massive fan of the books I was always going to be very critical of the Jack Reacher movie.
The ninth book in the series, One Shot, is the book that has been adapted and while it may seem strange to start at book nine it's one of the books that always seemed like it would make a good film.
And it does.
First to the casting of Tom Cruise. I was against him as Reacher and I still am. I would have thought someone like Adam Baldwin would have made an ideal Reacher but we're stuck with Cruise.
To give him some credit, Cruise plays Reacher very well but he just simply isn't Reacher. He's not imposing enough and he doesn't have the presence that Reacher commands.
One Shot, or Jack Reacher as the movie is called, opens with five people being randomly slain by a sniper.
Very quickly James Barr (Joseph Sikora) is arrested in a seemingly open and shut case. Except that he won't admit to the crime and has one simple request - 'get Jack Reacher'.
As it happens, Reacher sees his arrest on television and sets straight off to find him. When he arrives, much to the relief of Barr's lawyer, he says he's not there to save him he's there to bury him.
If you've read One Shot you'll know they have left out two major characters from the movie and at least one of them, Rosemary Barr, I think was necessary to have in the film. She's the one that appeals to Helen Rodin (Rosamund Pike) to take on her brother's case when nobody else will and she is also crucial to uncovering the link between her brother and other major characters in the movie.
Without her it seems all a bit too disjointed as far as narrative goes.
I know movies and books are different and while Lee Child, who has a cameo in the movie, has said he writes the books and others can write the movies I think he should have insisted on Rosemary's inclusion.Having said all of this I do think this is an excellent adaptation of the book, it unfolded as I imagined when I was reading it and while the ending is a fair bit different it still didn't leave me unsatisfied.
Australian actor Jai Courtney is pretty good in his role as Charlie, the right hand man as it were to The Zec (Werner Herzog), the book/film's villain who is poorly explained in the movie.
If you're a fan of the Jack Reacher book series then you've probably already seen the movie and have an opinion on Tom Cruise - probably similar to mine. If you haven't read them, I'd recommend the books as they are easy reads and are never dull. Start with Killing Floor, the first book.
A comment on something I read in a newspaper review regarding the timing of the release of this film not long after the school shooting in America. Shame on the reviewer for connecting the tragic events there with the release of Jack Reacher.
As for the film, an 8 out of 10, and I hope they do more but Cruise will NEVER be Reacher.

Mariah Carey concert

It's been a long wait, almost 15 years, but Mariah Carey finally performed shows in Australia this week and I was fortunate enough to get in early to get a ticket.
I was never going to miss the opportunity to see my favourite singer in concert again.
I can't fault the performance, she absolutely nailed every one of the songs in the show, but it has to be said that a lot has changed in 15 years.
It seems that the shows are more about her than about those who paid to see her. There's a fair bit of fussing and vanity going on on-stage - there was quite a long segment with her meeting a six year old girl called Mariah plus three dress changes and an embarrassing bit where she was going to eat Vegemite on stage as well - and all that vanity certainly wasn't apparent last time she played in Australia.
I don't care what her demands or requirements are backstage, but when she's on the stage it's all about the people who have shelled out (and tickets weren't cheap) to see her and, if I wasn't such a huge fan, I'd almost say it wasn't value for money.
Having said that her performance of Hero was absolutely stunning and almost worth the price for that alone. (I'm aware of the contradiction there by the way).
When I went to the Roxette show last year they played for two solid hours with one small break before the encore where they belted out another three or four songs.
Mariah's show went for about 90 minutes and she would have been off stage for at least 15 of those, her encore consisted of one song. (In 1998 her encore was three songs).
The set list, from memory, went something like this - Can't Take That Away, Touch My Body, Shake It Off, My All, Emotions, Always Be My Baby, Can't Let Go/Love Takes Time (medley), I'll Be There, Obsessed, Don't Forget About Us, It's Like That, Close My Eyes, Hero, We Belong Together.
I would have thought she could have included songs like Anytime You Need A Friend, Vision Of Love, Through The Rain and even her version of I Want To Know What Love Is. But that's me being picky.
So what I'd say to Mariah Carey would be - have a little more humility.
Other than that, it was great to see her live again. There are few around with a voice like hers (she even hit the high notes in Emotions) and she should use it more instead of wasting time judging singers whose careers, if they have any, will peter out after a year when they aren't flavour of the month any more.

The 2012 Raymo Awards

It's that time again when we look back at the films of the previous year and 2012 was an interesting one with highlights scattered throughout the year.
All up I saw 40 movies at the cinema, on par with 2011, although only 11 managed a score of 8/10 or more but a total of 23 scored 7/10 or above. So it's been a reasonably good quality year.

Here's the top 5:

1. The Perks Of Being A Wallflower (10/10).
Setting a new standard is my first ever 10 and as it was pointed out to me 'if you can't fault it you have to give it a 10'. Charlie is a 'wallflower', a quiet, unassuming and somewhat closed off teen who begins freshman year in high school having recovered from the suicide of his best friend. He eventually strikes up a friendship with Patrick and Sam, two seniors who open Charlie's eyes to the world. It doesn't sound a 10 on the surface but it's a much deeper story than that, delicately told and is led by a stunning performance from Logan Lerman as Charlie. Couldn't fault it one bit and is easily the movie of the year.
2. The Iron Lady (9/10)
While overall not the most accessible movie given the flashback method, it is the absolute performance of the year by Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher that not only saves the film but makes it memorable. You have to pinch yourself at times to remember that it is actually Streep in the title role, she's that good. The movie tells the story of the rise of Thatcher in a male dominated political world and while it could have done a better job of making it engaging it was still outstanding and a worthy runner-up.
3. The Avengers (9/10)
Say what you like about Batman but Joss Whedon set a new standard for superhero movies when he, finally, joined Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, the Hulk, Hawkeye and Black Widow to form The Avengers. Proving a superhero movie can have action and intelligence, this was a great ride giving each character a significant role and not pushing one into the background. We knew Joss Whedon would do a great job - you just have to look at Buffy - and all I can say is bring on the sequel.
4. Shame (8.5/10)
Being about addiction, this is far from everyone's cup of tea but it is definitely a highlight from 2012. Brandon is a successful New York businessman whose life outside of work is dedicated to servicing his addiction for sex. He goes to great lengths, even shutting out his family, to satisfy himself. His world is turned upside down when his sister arrives unannounced (though we do hear her call him a number of times, he ignores it). Michael Fassbender is amazing in his role and while it is disturbing, with a shattering end scene, Shame is in many ways an important film.
5. The Hunger Games (8.5/10)
Somewhat of a surprise inclusion in the top five, the first of the trilogy by Suzanne Collins was thoroughly enjoyable and had me eager to read the books (sadly the second one isn't so great but let's hope the movie is better). Katniss and Peter are chosen to represent District 12 in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death of 24 teens with only one winner staged by the Capital as a way of keeping the peace following the downfall of America. Not knowing much about it helped, I guess, but it is a very well put together action, of sorts, film and certainly a better introduction to its series than Twilight was.

Honourable mentions: Argo (outstanding), Looper (intelligent sci-fi), The Intouchables, The Dark Knight Rises (good series finish, bad villain choice), Margin Call, Arbitrage and Ted.
Surprise of the year: Pitch Perfect. Wow, who would have thought a Glee-like musical could have been so much fun and so well written and performed. One of the more fun experiences at the movies in years. Runner-up Rock Of Ages - ditto.
Flop of the year: Killing Them Sotfly. Overhyped, disjointed, somewhat dull.

Other thoughts: James Bond is going downhill with Skyfall definitely not up to scratch and unnecessary remakes/adaptations were far too common (Spiderman, Total Recall and Snow White).