If Uncle Boonmee had been no more than an Asian animated film, then it may have passed most audiences and critics by unnoticed, with a lot of its outlandish imagery and playful dialogue certainly not out of place sitting next to a Hayao Miyazaki film for Studio Ghibli. However, because it was live action it resulted in one of the most imaginative and visually captivating films of recent memory – which includes peculiar primate creatures, with glowing red eyes and seductive, talking catfish (seriously…).

Having swooned everyone at the Cannes Film Festival last year, picking up the coveted Palm d’Or, Uncle Boonmee tells the beautiful tale of a man’s final few days as he’s visited by the ghosts of his past and encounters some genuinely strange out of body experiences. With warm and vivid camera work the film is a life enriching fantasy which is, at times, disorientating but ultimately very rewarding. Its opening scene involving the camera following the movements of a lost bull with a mysterious stranger watching in the background is certainly one of the most striking and abstract scenes I’ve witnessed in a film for quite sometime.

I won’t even pretend to know anything about the actors featured in the films – says more about my Western ignorance than it does about the actors’ profiles, let me assure you – but the performance of Thanapat Saisaymar as the title character was simply glorious. Not a twisted bitter old man cursing his illness and fearing the unknown but an admirable and reflective soul who accepts his aliment and soughs to gain more understanding, with the help of his deceased son and wife, into why perhaps this had came to be.

This isn’t to say the film will be for everyone, as more casual cinema goers may be turned off by the long, slow burning scenes with very minimal dialogue, and may get lost in some of the more mystifying and spiritual aspects of the narrative. Similar in approach to last month’s excellent Of Gods and Men, the film relies on the natural sounds of the characters’ surroundings rather than a specific score carried throughout the film, which gives the story a far more serene and peaceful atmosphere.

Still being a relative novice to the remarkable array of world cinema on offer, I ashamed to say this is my first experience of director, Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s work but would certainly hope it is not my last.

Final Thoughts
Bewildering, humorous, fantastical, heart-warming and truly imaginative. Uncle Boonmee is all this and more. Apichatpong Weerasethakul does a beautiful job creating a magical piece of cinema which utilises many classical techniques arguably lost in the modern era, and over time the world will be all the more grateful for it. Though not the most accessible film ever likely to be released, like an ancient folk fairy tale, the story will undoubtedly become a more enriching experience upon more viewings and greater understanding.

4/5

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives is currently showing in Belfast’s Queen’s Film Theatre now.

Any 20-something sci-fi or comic book geek over the years will undoubtedly have a special place in their heart reserved for, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. Be it the classic comedy series, Spaced or the delightfully clever Edgar Wright directed features, Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead you’d quite rightly believe these guys could do no wrong. So after the duo went off and did their own thing, with mixed to brilliant results, fans have been yearning for them to double up once again for another buddy comedy littered with countless pop culture references. This is where Paul comes in, and for the large part it’s a typical Pegg and Frost collaboration, just not quite as we know it…

Paul follows the story of two British sci-fi geeks doing a road-trip of America’s South Western states often regarded as the most common place to find UFO sightings, where of course they stumble across a little alien who goes by the name of, yes that’s right, Paul. Long story short, Paul is essentially E.T for stoner audiences. Instead of finding a cute little alien who is quite misunderstood, Pegg and Frost stumble across Seth Rogen as an alien, doing, yet again, the same things Seth Rogen does in every other film – but I shan’t go down that road again, check out my Green Hornet review for that old chestnut.

What Pegg and Frost do really well here, is litter the film in dozen of cleverly poised references and homages to sci-fi films past which included an opening scene which is lifted straight from Close Encounters of the Third Kind and a final scene which is literally the climax to E.T (with a slight blend of Blues Brothers bonding thrown into the mix). What they regrettably and surprisingly don’t do, is actually manage to make it genuinely funny.

I know that’s blasphemous, and I feel dirty saying it, but for most of the feature I was struggling to honestly enjoy it. Whereas Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz felt so natural and subtle with its uniquely clever brand of honest British comedy, Paul felt so sluggish and forced, and so…American, with its tasteless smut and stoner jokes that became old four Kevin Smith films ago. And all this is a true shame because the film has some terrific, likeable, performances from the likes of Kristen Wiig, Jason Bateman, Gregg Turkington, Bill Hader, Jane Lynch and the ever classy, Sigourney Weaver (unfortunately the film was a missed opportunity for the actress to utter any of her famous lines from Aliens).

After reviewing Scott Pilgrim Vs The World last year, I questioned that perhaps Edgar Wright was slightly lost or out of control without the constraint of Pegg and Frost to guide him towards the finishing line. Seemingly the other two thirds of this holy trinity suffered similar misgivings without the stylish vision and clever quick editing of Wright to make their sub-standard script come across more potently on screen. Maybe it’s finally time to get the old band back together for the final part of their much celebrated, Blood and Ice Cream Trilogy.

There were brief moments and even the odd quick joke which made me smile or even giggle, but for the most part Paul was too bogged down in paying homage to Steven Spielberg to ever let itself be its own film. Lacking the brilliantly crafted humour of their past projects, I sincerely hope this is more a blip on the CV rather than the start of a tragic decline for Britain’s favourite geeks. And, in regards to the rating, I wouldn’t be that harsh if I didn’t care…

2.5/5

While Zack Snyder’s upcoming reboot starts to gain some steam, it’s that time of the year again to see what the animated Superman still has to offer audiences. I’ve often spoken of my love for DC’s highly impressive animated films over the past couple of years, even if they mainly rely on The Man of Steel and The Dark Knight to boost their sales figures. As the flashy title suggests, All-Star Superman is of course no different. Based on the critically acclaimed graphic novel of the same name, by the brilliant Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely, the film tells the tale of Superman’s final days on earth, in a collection of self contained cataclysmal events within an overriding story arc.

The film features most of the major characters from the Superman universe, including the Man of Steel himself, his nemesis Lex Luthor, soul-mate Lois Lane, the staff at The Daily Planet, Ma Kent etc. No Batman though. Shame. The story itself is quite gripping and even if, like past DC animated projects, you’d need to be a devoted comic book geek to really understand the more subtle references to past events, and the cameos from more obscure characters, which even had an avid fan such as I scampering towards Wikipedia to read their bios.

What the production team do extremely well however, is transfer the maturity of Morrison’s source material over to an animated setting. Almost like the last animated film, Batman/Superman: Apocalypse it seems to borrow more elements from Japanese anime rather than the more kiddy friendly – but still fantastic nonetheless – Bruce Timm era, Justice League cartoons from the past 20 years. The animation itself was excellent mixing elements of CGI with traditional 2D seamlessly.

The story also deals with some pretty heavy concepts, none more so heavy than the concept of death, the after-life and what you would do with what little time you have left. It also explores the true extent of Superman’s powers outside of the usual super strength, heat vision and impenetrable skin he’s mostly known for – also his characteristics as essentially a god among men and the complexities such circumstances bring, even coming across more alien and arrogant than in past portrayals. Some of it comes off beautifully, especially the chemistry between Superman and Lex Luthor. One of the best scenes actually was an interview conducted by Kent with Luthor, and Luthor admitting he always kind of admired the man despite how cumbersome he is at times. Had a real Christopher Reeve era Clark Kent vibe about it.

The voice acting, as with past DC Animated projects, was of the highest standard. James Denton was a terrific Superman/Clark Kent, managing to balance the heroism of The Man of Steel’s commanding awe-inspiring presence with the comical, clumsy buffoonery of Kent. Christina Hendricks lent her sassy, no nonsense nature, seen countless times on TV’s excellent Mad Men, extremely well to the role of Lois Lane. While Anthony LaPaglia seems like an unusual choice for the role of Luthor, he’s actually quite brilliant. Like Denton who seemingly borrowed a lot from Reeve’s classic take on The Man of Steel, LaPaglia seems to channel a lot of Gene Hackman’s portrayal of the villain from the original live action films, to great effect.

There is also some notable mentions in the supporting cast, none more so than the near institutional Michael Gough (famous for his role of Alfred Pennyworth in the Tim Burton/Joel Schumacher Batman films) as the sentient being Parasite, the brilliant Edward Asner returning as Perry White, editor of The Daily Planet and ER’s Linda Cardellini as Luthor’s estranged niece, Nasthalthia “Nasty” Luthor.

As always with these films I do stress a lot of the finer details might be lost on casual fans, or the heavier more philosophical themes might be lost on the younger audiences. However for the first time, possibly ever, All-Star Superman achieves something remarkable, an intelligent, totally engrossing Superman film. It cleverly delves into his god-like powers, his responsibly to the earth, his relationship with Lex Luthor and Lois Lane as well as boy scout like flaws and the acceptance of his impending doom. Should satisfy fans until Christmas 2012.

4/5