Never pay never
Monday, April 11, 2011
``I want to marry Justin Bieber. One day, we will be husband and wife.'' Not my words, obviously, but the words of a teenage Justin Bieber fan. There are many others just like it in Never Say Never, the concert-documentary that follows the then 16-year-old in the lead-up to his biggest performance at Madison Square Garden in New York. It charts the teen sensation's journey from a child obsessed with music, to a YouTube sensation being mentored by one of pop music biggest success stories; Usher. Musical numbers from his sold-out concert break up the background story, fan testimonials and show preparation.
This is material perfectly suited to director Jon M. Chu, who has made a name for himself with teen dance musicals Step Up 2 and 3. Chu is as on-trend as ever, cleverly opening the film by making the audience click through emails to watch famous You Tube clips, such as the sneezing panda, before they click on what started it all; footage of a 12-year-old Bieber singing Chris Brown's With You. It's the video, along with several others, that caught the eye of millions of internet voyeurs; including an ambitious, young music producer and promoter Scooter Braun who recognised Bieber as his ticket to the big leagues. With superstar backers, a major record label, bucket loads of talent and that haircut, The Bieb is crafted into what he is now; a phenomenon that turns normally sane girls into fiends-for-fans. Perhaps pop music legend Antonio `L.A' Reid describes it best in the film when he calls Bieber ``the Macaulay Culkin of music.''
This is material perfectly suited to director Jon M. Chu, who has made a name for himself with teen dance musicals Step Up 2 and 3. Chu is as on-trend as ever, cleverly opening the film by making the audience click through emails to watch famous You Tube clips, such as the sneezing panda, before they click on what started it all; footage of a 12-year-old Bieber singing Chris Brown's With You. It's the video, along with several others, that caught the eye of millions of internet voyeurs; including an ambitious, young music producer and promoter Scooter Braun who recognised Bieber as his ticket to the big leagues. With superstar backers, a major record label, bucket loads of talent and that haircut, The Bieb is crafted into what he is now; a phenomenon that turns normally sane girls into fiends-for-fans. Perhaps pop music legend Antonio `L.A' Reid describes it best in the film when he calls Bieber ``the Macaulay Culkin of music.''
Never Say Never is full of hilarious interviews and clips with Bieber die-hards, ranging in age from 8 to thirty eight. They will be ecstatic with the use of 3D technology here, with Bieber's hand reaching out of the screen to them in concert footage and a surprisingly amusing scene where Etta James' At Last plays over footage of him flicking his famous hair in slow-motion. Yet unlike the greatest music documentaries, Martin Scorsese's Shine A Light or Ramones: End of The Century, Never Say Never fails to be interesting to those who aren't already Justin Bieber fans. A lot of the footage of a now-famous Bieber returning to his hometown feels staged and forced. Like when his grandma comes in and tells him he can't go out with his friends until he's cleaned his room or when the 16-year-old's say grace over a meal of pizza. Seriously.
There's a plethora of unnecessary interviews, with everyone from stage hands to Snoop Dogg, who's sole purpose in the film seems to be to talk about the merits of having piggy tales with ``some accessories on the end for fans to play with.'' Word. You will also be hard pressed to keep your lunch down as you watch Bieber sing about his ``angel'' while playing an acoustic guitar in a giant steel love-heart that is suspended above an audience of screaming girls. Despite all this, there's no mistaking his talent. We're shown home videos where a ridiculously young Bieber naturally takes to everything from the piano to guitar, even playing the drums in a local jazz band at the age of eight.
But what Never Say Never unintentionally gives us is the opportunity to see how talent, combined with opportunity, can craft something almost completely out of the artist's control. For the duration of the film he's almost always surrounded by adults, his friends talk about how they barely get to see him and the only contact he has with people his own age is when he's sprinting away from a mob of Eenie, Meenie Mo Lover's or rapping with Will Smith's son Jaden. At one point, a physically run down Bieber asks his vocal coach Mama Jan Smith for McDonald's chicken nuggets for dinner, to which she responds angrily; ``Do you want to stay in the game? Or do you want to pack up and go back home to Canada?''
Never Say Never wants to make a Bieleber out of you, but unless Justin Bieber is already your one love, one heart, one life (for sure) then this film is going to be a test of endurance.
Never Say Never is out now.
Starring Laura Linney and Phillip Seymour Hoffman as siblings Wendy and Jon Savage (note the Peter Pan reference) The Savages examines the universal fear of growing old. Wendy and Jon are forced to deal with this issue when their aging father Lenny’s health deteriorates and he’s diagnosed with dementia. Despite neither of them being to fond of dad due to an unhappy childhood situation, the pair take it upon themselves to attend to him daily at a nearby retirement home. Yes, I know what you’re thinking; “Oh no, not another dysfunctional family comedy, please lord noooooo.” Essentially I guess that’s what this is but The Savages surpasses that genre on many levels. The humour is black. Nay, blacker than black and just the way I like it. The themes are confronting and bound to hit home given the sheer number addressed in the film (i.e. love, death, grief, commitment, success, companionship, family, loyalty, abandonment, faith etc). A small but superb cast only further compliment Tamara Jenkins’ stellar direction. It’s easy to see why Linney was nominated for an Oscar for this role earlier in the year. The Savages is showing in limited release but if you get the opportunity this is definitely a must see for 2008. I think it also has one of the best movie posters for 2008, kudos to the designer.
The next thing I hit up at the cinemas was director Peter Berg’s latest venture, Hancock. This was a disappointment because there was potential for a great, genre shifting film. Somehow it fell flat on its face despite Will Smith, Charlize Theron and Jason Bateman all delivering strong performances. I think the problems here come from a shiteous script with a ridiculous storyline and terrible TERRIBLE use of camera angles. Peter Berg what were you thinking?! You filmed the movie like you were some oily haired schmuck straight out of film school. WTF? The special effects were also craptacular and almost as bad as the pathetic CGI creatures in I Am Legend. Almost. Writers Vincent Ngo and Vince Gilligan underestimate their audience and the intelligence of comic book geeks when they threw together this dodgy script, despite a few funny one liners. Regardless Hancock went on to be another box office smash for Smith grossing upwards of $200 million. See Hancock at your own peril.
Moving on now to Liam Neeson’s I-wanna-be-Jason-Bourne-but-a-bit-crustier action thriller Taken. On the movie poster there’s a quote from someone (surely not a critic) who said Taken is the “best action flick since Bourne.” Who said this and where do they live? Because I need to come round to their place and drown their household pets. This movie is bad, bad, bad and that’s coming from someone who likes Liam Neeson. Firstly the script is unbelievable. Taken follows a former spy’s (Neeson) journey to save his daughter (Grace) after she’s abducted and sold in to the Algerian sex trade. Secondly the characters are all ridiculous archetypes, which you would think are meant to be a joke until you realise the makers want you to believe dickheads like this actually exist in the world. Third problem is the acting is over the top. Liam Neeson is barely okay, Famke Janssen is awful and Maggie Grace is SO bad as the kidnapped daughter that even Holly Valance out-acts her. Fourth dilemma is the action sequences are unbelievable. Neeson is too old and senile to pull half the stuff off realistically and even if they got a younger male lead, it’s unlikely even the invincible John McClane would have been able to make the scenes believable. Don’t waste your money on this one, not even on $1.50 DVD day at your local hire store.
Baby Mama, the latest brainchild from the Saturday Night Live team, provided plenty of laughs despite character relationships progressing a little too quickly for my liking. To be honest I’m just nit picking so if you’re looking for something light to see with the girls than Baby Mama is the best option available for you. If you can leave any sense of reality relating to human interactions at the door, chances are you’ll enjoy this. Amy Poehler is absolutely brilliant as the trailer trash gal being paid to be Tina Fey’s surrogate mother. In my eyes it was Steve Martin as the hippy, organic business owner who stole the show and there wasn’t a line he didn’t deliver without hilarity.
The latest flick I’ve seen was the highly anticipated war comedy Tropic Thunder. Yes, that’s right, I said war and comedy in the same sentence. Twice. This is the most recent film to be written, directed, produced and featuring Ben Stiller since Zoolander, one of my personal favourites. At the start of this year critics said 2008 was shaping up to be the war of the comics with the contenders being Don’t Mess With the Zohan, Love Guru, Pineapple Express and Tropic Thunder. Since the first two bombed the match seems to be between Pineapple and Thunder. Audience reception hails Ben Stiller and co as the winners by an inch but it’s a win nether the less. Tropic Thunder is hilarious from start to finish and there are so many puns being thrown at you throughout the 107 minute duration it’s hard to keep up. The script is tight and the scope is epic but somehow Stiller has managed to keep his mind on the prize and pull this move off. If there’s one comedy you have to see this year it’s Tropic Thunder. It’s not as subtle as Pineapple Express but it wasn’t trying to be either. Just when you think it’s about to hit the right note, it goes one octave higher and blows your mind. Also, this has got to be one of the best ensemble casts of the year with Tom Cruise making the GREATEST cameo ever beyatches! Stiller obviously has a lot of friends in Hollywood given the number of famous faces that show up in the films he directs but that only adds to the awesomeness. Matthew McConaughey gives one of his best performances to date (as does Cruise) backed up strongly by Downey Jnr who is really really ridiculously good. I would go as far to say Downey Jnr is unforgettable. Stiller is also tops and even Black’s mild annoyingness doesn’t detract from the film. Film critics and Hollywood insiders will probably enjoy this film more than your average ticket buyer given the amount of `in-jokes’. To be perfectly frank I didn’t enjoy it as much as I knew I should but regardless, it’s still the best comedy of the year so far. Actually it can be an equal first place with Pineapple Express.