Live Performance Review: Carlos Acosta: On Before, Friday 26.04.2013, 19:30, The Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

Carlos is a classically trained ballet dancer from Cuba I have wanted to see for some years. This is a programme put together by him. The programme is contemporary dance though allows his skills as a classically trained dancer to shine through. There are only two dancers, Carlos and Zenaida Yanowsky, both of whom were graceful and hypnotic in their fluid synchronicity.

There was very bold and quite striking use of lighting, and the musical accompanyment was eclectic though never jarring ranging from samples, Stockhausenesque sounds and ending with what sounded like plain chant. The whole programme (9 Pieces & Approx 90 Minutes - excluding the break), appeared very well thought out and composed.

I am glad I have had the chance to see Carlos perform. This was an absolute delight.

Rating: 10/10.

Film Review: I'm So Excited (15), (Spain 2013) (Director: Pedro Almodovar) (Spanish with English Subtitles), Tuesday 23.04.2013 18:30, The Cameo Cinema, Screen One, Edinburgh

This was a premiere screening with a satellite Q&A with Pedro after the film. The film is not released until 03.05.2013. I had no hesitation in booking for this as Pedro is my favorite director by some margin. The film is a screwball comedy; the sort of film he first became known for in the 80's, though has not done since 'Woman On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown' (1988).

The film centres around a doomed flight from Spain to Mexico and the individual situations of those on the flight. The film is flamboyant, controlled camp and quite outrageous. As with all of Almodovar's films the dialogue and plotting are such that there is no mistaking this as the work of anyone else. This is Pedro's 19th film, and although I do not feel it to be quite up there with his best work (What Have I Done To Deserve This? (1984), Matador (1986), All About My Mother (1999), Talk To Her (2002), Volver (2006) & The Skin I Live In (2011)), it is still a highly entertaining romp.

There is also underlying similarities to the passenger's situations which is not immediately apparent, and I understand the film to be an allegory of the current situation Spain finds itself in. As with all of Almodovar's work there are developments in the story that are not just at the surface level. Having said this, I would not say the film is particularly deep, though it certainly offers a lot for a comedy (a genre oft guilty of remaining at surface level). A greatly enjoyable watch.

Rating: 08/10.   

Film Review: The Place Beyond The Pines (15), (U.S.A. 2012) (Director: Derek Cianfrance), Sunday 14.04.2013 14:30, The Cameo Cinema, Screen One, Edinburgh

This film was of interest as it re-teams Ryan Gosling & the director of 'Blue Valentine' (2011), which I was very impressed with.

At nearly two and a 1/2 hours, the film tried to compress too much into the running time resulting in all that was covered appearing slight and without any depth worth discussing. There appears to be a natural ending. This is then followed by an overlong '15 Years Later' section. The whole last part was completely unnecessary and overstretching. What the final section points out could have easily been alluded to in a more subtle manner before that point in the film, then the central adult characters could then have been given more focus and depth and the final (unnecessary) section dropped.

The point that the final unnecessary section makes is that, if you have children, your actions can easily live beyond you lifetime and go on to affect the lives of your children. - Woopiedoo. For a director to think this is a novel or significant point to make (as if most don't already realise this), suggest sadly that they are becoming pretentious. I have a sense that those involved in making the film saw it as an epic, which concerns. The film felt overly contrived & complex, very predictable the whole way through and ultimately dull. I was aware of feeling bored.

I now have more concern regarding this director and should be more cautious when it comes to their next release, and Ryan Gosling is running out of chances as well.

In comparison to Gangster Squad (1st film of the year to get 0/10 & also to star Ryan Gosling), this film thinks it is something more than it is, where as at least Gangster Squad, although bad enough to warrant a zero score, was dumb fun. I am having to give consideration to this score, as I feel as though I should grade higher, though I also know that it really does not deserve any praise at all.

Rating: 0/10.

Film Review: Neighbouring Sounds (15) (Brazil 2012) (Director: Kleber Mendonca Filho) (Portuguese, English & Mandarin with English Subtitles) Saturday 13.04.2013 20:30 The Filmhouse Cinema Screen Two, Edinburgh 

This is a film set in the northern Brazilian city of Recife. The film consists of a triptych of very loosely connected stories which are set within a small middle-class community within said city.

The film had an intriguing use of sound, which assisted with conveying that within urban environments people do have to exist more and more in cramped conditions where you cannot help but have the sound of others lives bleed into your own.

The film also appeared to be well acted and nicely shot. Sadly beyond that I don't see there being anything to recommend this film. There appeared to be a distinct lack of focus, narrative direction or plot of any description.

Perhaps it is an abstract mood piece, Sadly I don't think this was the intention either. If it were it did not arouse anything on me beyond annoyance, frustration and bemusement.

I would not recommend this to anyone.

Rating: 3/10.

Film Review: Spring Breakers (18), (U.S.A. 2012) (Director: Harmony Korine), Friday 05.04.2013 18:30, The Cameo Cinema, Screen One, Edinburgh

I was curious to see this due to who it is directed by, otherwise I would have had no interest. I first knew of Harmony Korine as he wrote the screenplay for 'Kids' (1995), he then amongst other works directed 'Gummo' (1997) & 'Julien Donkey Boy' (1999). Kids is an amazingly frank exploration of the dire circumstances adolescents can land themselves in due to a mixture of boredom and naivety. Gummo is an intriguing textural non-narrative tale of a semi-rural community's life in the aftermath of a tornado. Julien Donkey Boy's lead character has paranoid schizophrenia and the story has the suggestion of insect, I regard it as the finest film regarding mental health I have seen.  

The film concerns four female college girls who are desperate to leave their boring lives to go to that shiny and shallow nihilistic U.S. of A. institution of 'Spring Break'. They don't have enough cash to get there so three (one of which acting as the getaway driver) of the four resort to violent means. Once getting to Florida they enter into non-stop debortuary until they get arrested and the fun ends. The film then takes a turn, as they are bailed out by a 'wigger' gangster. They are invited to join him to have some fun, and shortly after this, one the member of the group, who was not involved in the hold-up decides to leave as was not comfortable. Harmony Korine has said that this was deliberate to the plot at this point, he saw all four girls as elements of the same being and morality leaves, leaving the others to more unrestrained excess. A while later and a further incident occurs and another of the group (the one who was the getaway driver) leaves; they had looked disinterested in a lot of the silliness for some time. Leaving the two who had been excessively violent in the hold-up to have their fun with the gangster. I was expecting some kind of redemptive realisation to occur to the two girls who were left before the end of the film, this did not arrive. The ending was pleasingly ambiguous and left no easy answers.

The film has very styalised look and it feels saturated with light. Visually it is very intriguing. It uses jumps, repetition of key dialogue and snatches of images to appear almost trance like in places. The film felt to be a very well made and good film. Having said this I don't feel as though I actually liked it as all of the characters are people I would commonly have no interest in, therefore could not care what happened to them and could not invest in the film. I don't feel this to be as good as Harmony's earlier work though it is still without a moments hesitation a credible piece.

Rating: 9/10.          

Film Review: Compliance (15), (U.S.A. 2012) (Director: Craig Zobel), Monday 01.04.2013 13:00, The Cameo Cinema, Screen Three, Edinburgh

This is quite an odd though appropriately at times both uncomfortable and unsettling film. The film states at it's end and on advertising for it that the film is based upon over 70 similar events that have been reported in the United States across a period of just over the past decade.

Essentially it details how fast food establishments have been targeted by hoax calls from people claiming to be authority figures/police, and how by people's non-questioning of what is being said to them at times of considerable stress they have wound up being involved in circumstances where employees have comes to feel themselves to have been assaulted and at times sexually violated. The plot begins with an employee being accused over the phone of having stolen money from a customer, and the nature of how the employee is treated escalates.

The film, for the duration of the hoax occurring feels to have an incredulity as to what is being depicted, as it is hard to believe what characters allow themselves to do in such circumstances. The film feels hard to fault, all of the acting appears fine, particularly the lead Dreama Walker, who ably conveys moving from anger, defensiveness and dismay to resignation. A question could be asked as to why obscure camera shots of the fast food establishment are shown, although this does add to the overall sense of grubbiness.

The only real criticism I have is that the film starts with a page of text. It is not this that annoys, though that within the text you are informed that the detail of the film is shocking. I don't like films telling me how I should view them and this stuck as a blatant instruction.

I have heard critics speak dammingly about the film. The fact that the story appears to be a compost of these over 70 reported cases has been raised up as basis for questioning the director's motivation in making the film. I think this is harsh, as the story pool, due to the number and similar nature of the crimes could be seen as heightening how alarmingly it is that people have commonly become such passive and non-questioningly compliant with those who we understand to be authority.

I have also heard the film term as being exploitative. This again I feel is harsh as I think there is a big difference between depicting exploitation and being exploitative. There were incidents and developments either obscured or out-of-focus. What could be seen as the greatest violation was only implied and was never overtly displayed or referred to. The same critic who termed the 'Compliance' exploitative was also rather too fond of that stinker of a film 'Side Effects'; now that is an example of exploitation.

On the whole I would say that I was impressed by the film, though would be careful as to who I recommended the film to as it is not a comfortable watch.

Rating: 9/10.