"Elysium"

We are half way through the 22nd Century, and the Earth has become diseased and over populated. Generally not a nice place to live. However, should you be someone of influence and wealth then there is an alternative. You can leave the wasted desolate lands of Earth and go live on Elysium, a huge structure which orbits the Earth. A place where there is law and order, where life is good, where any illness can be cured.
Everyone on Earth longs to go there, and they try any means possible to do so, but these efforts usually prove futile. Keeping order on Elysium is Delacourt, a hard nosed Defence Secretary. Her methods have been known to get her into hot water, especially with the President. So she aims to replace him with someone more reciprocal.

Back on Earth we meet Max, a drifter, who has never really amounted to much throughout his life. He has dealings in petty crime, but is now doing his best to survive, working in a factory. It is a struggle for him, but things do get worse when he is exposed to a massive dose of radiation at work, unfortunately it will prove to be fatal, having at best five days to live.
Knowing that he has nothing to lose, and that if he is to survive, then there is only one course of action. He must somehow get to Elysium, no matter what the cost.
So he meets up with 'Julio', a shady character from his past, seeking a job that will then mean he can be given pasage to Elysium, and use their state of the art equipment to remove the deadly radiation from his body. The job he is given is tough, to say rhe least. He is to be fitted with a device which when connected to a third party allows for brain transference, including sensitive data, passwords, etc and with this data, Julio aims to use it to gain access to Elysium and turn it over to the people, all the people. The added bonus for Max is that their target is 'Carlyle', owner of the plant where he worked, and who he sees as the creator of his health predicament. However, 'Carlyle' is also to be instrumental in the coup being orchestrated by 'Delacourt' so the race is on.

Given his age, he becomes 42 in October, Mr. Damon has certainly proved that he can still do the intense action roles, and show an impressive physique, whether it be here or in another recent film - "Behind The Candelabra". At the end of the day, this is one of those films where story and what is on screen supercede screen performance. Damon is good as 'Max' and does what needs to be done. Sharlto Copley is quite unpleasant, intentionally, as 'Kruger', a sleeper agent working on Earth on behalf of 'Delacourt', doing her dirty work when required. But he does seek retribution when his employment is ended.
Jodie Foster is always worth watching, no matter what the film. I know that some have likened her performance here to that of a pantomime villain, but I found it to be entertaining. Nice to see her playing a non goodie goodie type role.

One of the highlights of the film are the visual effects, which are quite stunning, and are just a real pleasure to sit and watch. They alone are almost worth the price of admission. Things have certainly moved on a lot of the last few years.
As good as the effects are, for a sequence to be truly memorable, there also has to be a great score to accompany it, and the film does boast some good music from first time Composer Ryan Amon. Going on the strength of his first score, he will most certainly be a talent to watch out for.
South African Director Neill Blomkamp brings to the screen this Utopian vision in space, and the slums of Earth. It is entertaining, and as already stated worth watching for the visuals alone.

Enjoyabke movie, and Blomkamp can be forgiven for the dire "District 9"......7 out of 10

"Behind the Candelabra"

I have been looking forward to this film for some time. Ever since it was first announced that Academy Award winner Michael Douglas was going to play Liberace, I knew that this was a film that I had to watch. I could see that with some make-up that there would be a resemblence between the actor and the music cabaret star.

With a leading Oscar winner in the main role, and an equally talented Oscar winning Matt Damon playing the love interest, through into that Director Steven Soderbergh, and you get the makings of a highly anticipated film.
The film stars with the music star at the height of career. Living the life that the rest of us can only dream about. It is whilst he is performing on stage that he first meets Scott, the man who is to become his partner for the next few years. Liberace was always so secretive about his sexuality and he brought down the wrath of God upon anyone who would refer to him as being gay. That being said, it never stopped him from enjoying relationships with young men, whether it be a one night stand or something more permanent, as was the case with Scott Thorson.
It is a fascinating insight into the life of a true music legend, both the public life and the very private one. He had no problem flaunting his sexuality when in the privacy of his own home, even in front of his staff, but it was never done in front of the public. And this led to tension between the two. As Lee was happy to stay at home, and Scott wanted to go out, have fun, party. They had a highly sexual relationship for several years, but things started to break down. In the end they seperated.

A lot of what is told on screen is very accurate. There was a bitter legal dispute over ownership of properties when Scott tried to sue Liberace. Seeing the relationship on screen  makes for great viewing. The two lead actors give amazing performances, but for me it is Michael Douglas who gives a career best performance as the man himself. Someone recently commented that both lead actors were too old to play their roles by a good ten years. Certainly that can be said of Matt Damon who is 20 years the senior of when Thorson met Liberace.
But this remains an example of good old fashioned story telling, with a great love story at the centre of it, and two of Hollywood's finest at the top of their game. Rob Lowe is also wonderful funny as a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon, who has clearly been under the knife too many times.

So with such a great cinematic experience, it will be nice to sit back and look forward to seeing Michael Douglas get another much deserved Best Actor nomination next January.....oh hang on. Wait a minute. I forgot. All the American studios were total wimps and would not finance a film featuring gay leading characters, and so the film failed to get a cinematic release.
All I can say is thank goodness for Entertainment One, who managed to secure a release in the UK and it has found similar success with other distribution companies for most of the rest of the civilized world.

If this is Soderburgh's final film, then he goes out in style......9 out of 10

"Contagion"

The stars certainly came out for this one.
Normally any of the main stars of this film can carry a picture by themselves, but here they are together for Director Steven Soderbergh, with enough Oscars between them to almost fill the Shrine Auditorium.

The film is concerned with the latest virus epidemic which is sweeping across the US, and indeed the rest of the World. The film concerns itself with the plight of certain individuals, the Father who has lost his wife and son, and struggles to survive along with his daughter. There are two Physicians battling to find a cure for the disease. The Blogger who believes in telling the truth about the disease and the alledged billions being made by Companies, and the cover-up over the spread of the virus. It is these stories that give the film its humanity, and those stories are well told.

Soderbergh is adequate in the Director's chair, but has done far better work. Of the actors, Matt Damon is the star that shines brightest, as he usually does.

Well I first heard about this virus thriller from Warner Bros. I immediately thought back to their last effort, the thriller "Outbreak", and if one is to do a comparison, then for me "Outbreak" is far in front. What was most chilling was the simplicity of what caused the virus, and how quickly it took effect.

The shape of things to come?????............6 out of 10