For our weekend post, we decided on Tony Gilroy's 2007 crime drama,
Michael Clayton and the 2002 cult horror film directed by Neil Marshall,
Dog Soldiers. Michael Clayton
Michael Clayton (played by George Clooney) is a clean-up man for a large law firm. He is sent to clean up the dirtier cases presented to his employers, such as hit and run cases that involve prominent politicians. An old friend has been working a very large case and has had some sort of mental breakdown, and Clayton is sent in to clean up the mess. His friend, Arthur Edens (played by Tom Wilkinson), has become obsessed with the primary plaintiff in the case he's working, and as Clayton tries to fix the problem he becomes embroiled in the case. Murder, madness, and mayhem ensues.
Scott's Review
With Michael Clayton and all the fanfare surrounding it, I went in expecting a well-acted, well-directed, and well-written film. Does it live up to the hype? Well, the answer is mosly "yes."
The film opens with a thought-provoking - if not almost insane - tirade from Tom Wilkinson in voice over. This narration leads into one of the best scenes in the film which I will not spoil, but I will say it was a major surprise and set the tone for the rest of the film.
Michael Clayton is rather deliberately paced, but the acting was so engrossing that the pacing wasn't off-putting at all. Tony Gilroy's script pops with intelligent dialogue and is quite reminiscent of a Jason Reitman script with Steven Soderbergh direction. I also mention Reitman because Clooney's performance reminded me a lot of his work in Up In the Air (2009), which was a more subdued role for George Clooney.
By the time Tom Wilkinson hits the screen, the Michael Clayton character has been fairly well-established, so this allows Wilkinson to steal the show without overshadowing Clooney's character. This film was nominated for three acting Oscars for Clooney, Wilkinson, and Tilda Swinton. In my opinion, Wilkinson was more deserving of an Oscar win than Swinton. His rantings throughout the movie were engaging and believable, and while he was on-screen, I had thoughts of Jack Nicholson in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975).
Swinton's character, Karen Crowder, is the main antagonist in this film, and frankly, at first, I was quite underwhelmed by her performance. Though I am still skeptical of the Oscar win, the more I ponder this performance, the more I warm up to it. I now see flashes of brilliance in this performance through her facial expressions and the total transformation versus any other performance she has done.
I realize I am takling more about the performances than the story and plot of Michael Clayton, but this film is all about the performances. Even a scene of violence about two thirds of the way through the movie is very well-shot and disturbing. It is all due to the performance of the antagonist.
On the down-side, some of the acting is a bit over the top by a few of the bit players. But, it never took me out of the film.
My final grade for Michael Clayton: A-
My final recommendation: Anyone who is not put off by a slower moving story should watch this film.
Becky's Review
I'm not a fan of crime drama. Never really have been. That being said, I expected Michael Clayton to be somewhat boring to my tastes, but well-acted, well-directed, and well-shot. Everyone I know who has seen it has sung its praises and it got great reviews, so, at the very least, I was hoping for some entertainment. I was somewhat satisfied.
The opening Voice Over delivered by Tom Wilkinson was very promising. It drew me into the movie, and I was fully expecting the rest of the movie to be just as explosive as Wilkinson's lines. No, this was not to be. Michael Clayton is a study in understatement. Though the subject matter is inflammatory, the story seemed almost sedate in several places. Even as Clayton is being yelled at by a panicked client, I could almost sense the Ambien in his pocket. He didn't seem to show very much emotion. The same can be said of Karen Crowder. Her character is very understated, though this is actually a good thing for her character.
Swinton plays the antagonist in Michael Clayton, and the unassuming nature of her character makes her actions seem all the more attrocious. The only problem is, given the sedate nature of Swinton's and Clooney's characters, Wilkinson's character - a manic depressive lawyer who has gone over the deep end - seems all the more outrageous, and somewhat out of place. On the bright side, however, Wilkinson provides the comedy relief that keeps the movie moving.
Michael Clayton has been described as deliberately paced on several occasions. I have to agree, though I'd be more inclined to call it slow. The story is very convoluted for the first half, but if one can persevere through the first 45 minutes of the story, one will be rewarded by a very interesting second half of the story, and a stand-up-and-cheer ending.
So far, I've only discussed the negative aspects of this film. However, there are gems aplenty in Michael Clayton. Often I found myself dazzled by the cinematography. Clayton's surroundings seem to be affected by his moods. At the start of the movie, when Clayton has sort of hit rock bottom, the world around him is dark, almost dirty. It becomes brighter and cleaner when the plot shifts to four days in the past. Later, in keeping with the understated theme of the movie, we are treated - if you will pardon the use of this word - to a very well-executed murder scene. It is short, spartan, and absolutely the most cold-blooded murder scene I've ever watched. An amazingly well-done part. Although the movie does have its hang-ups, it also has enough movie magic to make it a pretty good watch.
My final grade: B
My final recommendation: IF you are a fan of crime dramas and if you can persever past the first 40 minutes, you'll enjoy this movie.
Dog Soldiers
A routine military training exercise goes horribly awry when a group of British soldiers discover the remains of the special forces troupe they were supposed to be training with. Suddenly, the soldiers find themselves being chased through the woods by an unknown creature. They are rescued by a young woman who drives them out of the woods to a secluded and seemingly-empty old house where they try to make a stand against what they are gradually coming to realize are werewolves. As the night moves on, internal strife and betrayal threatens to destroy them all before the creatures have a chance to do so.
Scott's Review
I was very excited about finally watching Dog Soldiers because of the great reviews and all the hype surrounding it by genre fans (which I am one of), but it always for one reason or another slipped by me. So, the question was, "would I be as enthusiastic when the film was over?" The anwer is, "No."
This film started with a scene that was as campy as anything I have seen in the last five years. This disappointed me because it wasn't the fun kind of campy, but within 15 minutes, the film redeemed itself with some very good acting by the British cast. It is not a spoiler to tell you that a scene with soldiers around a campfire listening to old war stories was very well-done. The story was engrossing and brought me right back into the film.
Only to let me down 5 minutes later.
Some of the violent scenes close to the beginning of the movie are poorly shot and though the film realizes it is a B film, it doesn't alway make the right choices for special effects. Dog Soldiers definitely gains a few points with me by using practical special effects and very little CGI, but the obvious use of sausages as human entrails made me laugh instead of cringe. Maybe this was the plan all along, but it didn't quite work for me.
The scene about 40 to 45 minutes in of vehicle mutilation is almost as campy as the opening scene. This is no fault of the actors, as most of the acting in this film is very well-done, and the director seems to be very proficient at directing actors.
The first reveal which includes the revelation that the soldiers are being chased by werewolves is pretty clunky and it is almost laughable that they didn't already know, and despite the proficient acting, this scene made me dislike the characters and it never brought me back in. The cliches started with this scene and just kept coming. For example, a gun does you no good if you're going to stand with you back to an open window...idiot. Even worse than these cliches, the werewolves are total wusses and are only strong when it is convenient to the scene, but I kept trying to tell myself, "At least the make-up is practical."
Even though I have discussed mostly the negative aspects of this film, it has three major things going for it: The acting, the writing, and the last 15 minutes. Although the final reveal did not surprise me, everything after that was a blast. This film realized it was low budget and made some good choices, so I can't consider a movie with practical special effects, pretty good writing, really good acting, and a better than average ending a total loss.
My final grade for Dog Soldiers: C
My final recommendation: Fans of genre films should see this one.
Becky's Review
I have to admit, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. There were bits that were campy, there were bits that were down-right silly. However, there were also moments that were well-done and well-acted. There were cringe worthy moments, and there were laugh-out-loud moments, and I have to tell you, I learned a whole LOT about British vernacular. The opening scene of the movie, though a bit campy, was imperative to the plot, so I was able to just shrug it off. And I was quite surprised by the werewolves. They were actually a lot of fun (until later on in the movie, but we'll get to that later).
The first twenty minutes of the movie are devoted to allowing us as the audience get to know the British soldiers. The camaraderie between the men is very believable and allows us to become attached to them. Later, after the soldiers have discovered the decimated camp of their training mates and are running through the woods away from the "creatures," the first chink in the movie's armor appears. The music in the movie is great and very engaging. However, it is somewhat overly ambitious and not exactly earned. They are terrified, running through the woods, and the music in the background sounds like music that should be play during the climax of the movie, which doesn't occur until later. Normally, I'm not so picky that I would pick on the music so early in the story, but it made the whole scene seem off kilter.
Dog Soldiers is very well-paced and the story is great. The acting is better than average and the direction is just as good. However, somewhere in all that talent, something went amok. These men have been rescued and are holed up in an isolated farm house. The family that usually lives there is absent, and the men have boarded up the windows. The creatures, what they are gradually beginning to learn are werewolves, are trying to beat in the doors and are breaking through the windows. The soldiers have worked out for themselves that all they need to do is survive until morning when the full moon is gone. So, out of this information, three problems arise. Number 1. The moon they show is most definitely not even close to full. The quest is, did they do this on purpose? If not, they certainly never addressed it. Number 2. What kind of dimwit is going to stand with his back three inches in front of the window while he loads his gun. This was a very unbelievable part, and it happens not once, but twice! and Number 3. If you had discovered that all you needed to do to get out of the mess you were in was wait until the sun came up, would you still try to escape? Hell, no! At least I wouldn't. I'd be finding the deepest, darkest hole I could find and hiding there until the dawn! NOT trying to hotwire the nearest car and trying to get out with a very shaky escape plan.
I suppose every horror flick has its problems. The problems in Dog Soldiers were not enough to ruin the story however. Afterall, the world is just a better place when someone breaks out the Claymore! I thought it was a truly enjoyable Werewolf flick!
My final grade: B-
My final recommendation: If you're a fan of horror, action, or the werewolf genre, watch it.
I want to thank everyone who have become followers of Georgia Videophiles and welcome all of you. To thank you, we are opening up the comment section of the blog to suggestions for reviews. One weekend out of each month, we will take at random two of the films suggested in this manner and have a reader appreciation post by reviewing these films for you and we will welcome your review of these films, as well. However, you do not need to wait until this time to send us your reviews, lists, or comments. We're always happy to hear from you and we will answer every comment either in the comment section or if you comment to us by e-mail, we promise to return your e-mail. We will have another post either Tuesday or Wednesday which will be a more obscure genre film. Thank you for reading!
