Trance (2013) dir, Danny Boyle

Rating: 3.5/5

With Danny Boyle fresh off the Olympic ceremony gig, he proves he’s still got it, as people flock to see his latest picture ‘Trance,’ which is so very Boyle-esque, fans will not be disappointed. It’s a high-pace crime drama, with flashing colours, thumping action music and of course, blurring boundaries between reality and imagination/insanity.

Beginning with the awesome heist of a priceless painting from an art auction, ‘Trance’ hits the ground running when a hitch in the plans leaves the gang’s insider Simon (James McAvoy) a concussed amnesiac, and unable to remember where he stashed the loot. After a good dose of torture by his boss Franck (the suave badman Vincent Cassel) fails to jog his memory, the gang takes Simon to a hypnotherapist in a last ditch attempt to recover the painting.

At first, they sell some story about lost car keys to try and deal with the matter discreetly, but when it turns out hypnotherapist Elizabeth (Rosario Dawson) knows more than they had hoped, she is initiated to work with the gang in regaining Simon’s memory of the painting’s location. On the way to making this discovery, a downward spiral of secrets, deceit and other ‘forgotten’ incidents unwinds as we piece together what really happened during the heist, and the precedents behind it.

In a series of cuts back and forth in time to explain each step of the plot, ‘Trance’ is somewhat reminiscent of ‘Fight Club’ (1999), and every bit as Boyley as ‘Trainspotting’ and ‘The Beach.’ The crime action is actually exciting, contrary to many pictures of the genre that often plunge me into severe tedium. The pace is fast, electric, and highly intriguing.

The subject of hypnotherapy, it must be pointed out, is only portrayed semi-accurately though. A close family member of mine has been a hypnotherapist for years, and in this time I not only learned a lot about the practice, but also utilized it on several occasions, so I am fully aware of the procedure. As a nice aide to the plot, it is said that hypnotherapy (disagreeably frequently referred to as ‘hypnotism’) can make a suggestible person do almost anything. This is not true: successful hypnotherapy requires absolute willpower of its subject, meaning even if a smoker has hypnotherapy willingly but does not really wish to quit, the results will be negligible. Hypnotherapy is still a very misunderstood practice, and plotlines like this don’t help this image, so I feel it is important for the truth to be emphasized.

Mise-en-Scène – that is, all the elements that go into the scene – is used so perfectly in this movie. Bass lines shake the very floors during the action sequences. Set design is stunning and contemporary, and there is some very beautiful lighting work. Performances are strong and intense, with McAvoy and Cassel standing out particularly. McAvoy’s native Glaswegian accent, seldom heard in his bigger movies, brings a nice edge to his character, and reminds us of another of Boyle’s leading lads- Ewan McGregor’s Renton in ‘Trainspotting.’ Here is a Danny Boyle film, that seems almost a tribute to other Danny Boyle films.

Disney's Classic #1: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

Rating: 5/5

Children of current and previous generations have enjoyed and cherished the now classic animated works of Walt Disney for their charm, visual appeal and catchy songs. It is perhaps not until maturity that these same children go on to realize the achievements of each progressing Disney picture for what they are in terms of pioneering animation and Award-winning music. It is with an adult head on my shoulders that I now look back at Disney's Classics, and observe as they laid the path for the futures of animation and cinema.

Starting out with animated shorts like the joyous Silly Symphonies and various Mickey Mouse pictures, Walt Disney Productions ventured into entirely new turf when they announced a feature-length animation: the first in history. As you often hear with those who went on to achieve monumental success, Disney's efforts were shunned by the industry, and his own partners tried to discourage him. But with a lengthily-developed movie taking shape under the brushes of hugely talented artists, old Walt saw it as a risk worth mortgaging his house over, and went on not only to develop the most famous and beloved animated movie ever, but lay the foundations for a historical career and one of the biggest companies in the world.

Disney's beautiful Classic #1 is a moderately toned-down approach to the Brothers Grimm tale, working in appropriately placed gags and visual humour whilst producing enveloping story line, characters and emotions.  Beautiful young princess Snow White is the victim of her evil stepmother Queen Grimhilde's jealousy, and fearing for her life banishes herself to the woodland cottage of seven entertaining little dwarfs, all of whom have very individual personalities. Little Dopey, the toothless mute dwarf, is probably the main source of comic relief, but the Dwarfs as a whole deliver several amusing sequences; my particular favourites are their effort to wash before dinner, and their night of dancing and frolics in which they utilize the old 'dwarfs in an overcoat' schtick.

Visuals are stunning. Proving Disney Productions have been constructing terrifying castles since the year dot, captivating settings are used, from the Queen's abode - eerily similar to that in the later Beauty and the Beast (1990)- to the charming little European-style wooden cottage and its fabulous, quirky interiors. An outstanding sequence in Snow White comes as the young girl runs for her life through dark forests, which creep to life as haunting creatures and ghastly faces. This sequence does not lose its touch as it ages; children are still horrified by its presence, and the techniques look unaged. 

The other scene worth mention here is one that frequently makes it into 'Scariest Moments' lists everywhere: the evil Queen's disturbing transformation from a cruel beauty to a hideous old hag, with bulging eyes and particularly expressive brows. Their effect is noted at the end of her first appearance, glowing for an extra moment in the dark when all else in the frame has faded to black. Disney's ability to scare children and adults alike with such engaging visuals is present throughout many of the company's works, from the terrifying mountain demon in Fantasia (1940) to the chilling West Wing scene of Beauty and the Beast (1990).

Snow White set the bar for many of the company's later pictures, and several parallels are noticeable: the aforementioned opening sequence hovering over a domineering castle, with no apparent evil but an aura of unease, is almost identical to that of Beauty and the Beast. Snow White's dancing figure during the party scene can be observed as the very same movements as Maid Marian in 'The Phony King Of England' sequence in Robin Hood (1973). 

Another very fond characteristic of this picture, and mostly of Disney's earlier works, is the incorporation of music into telling the story. Where later works have little in the way of score in-between musical numbers in favour of straight dialogue, the earlies like Snow White and Cinderella (1950) have a beautiful method of describing the on-screen action through music, demonstrating the company's ability to perfectly match images to sounds, most successfully pulled off in the breath-taking Fantasia (1940). Here we have the wild, minor-key fluttering of woodwind as the Queen's crow sidekick flusters at her new appearance. Seven chirpy little string-plucks as seven rosy button noses pop over the ends of their beds. These little touches I admire profusely in Disney works; they add character in a dimension so often forgotten about nowadays.

The songs of Snow White have gone on to be widely known, prompting such terrible covers as 'Some Day My Prince Will Come' by Barbra Streisand, but in their original context, the pieces are enchanting, wonderfully performed, and ingeniously choreographed. It is hard, when watching something like Snow White, to believe that it didn't start out as perfect as it is. Every little detail works so well in sync with everything else, the makers make it look like second nature. To think that many script rewrites, character revisions and musical experimentation went on and on before the company came to the finished product as we know it is astonishing. For a particularly reminiscent and insightful look into the making of Snow White, a whole second DVD in some editions is dedicated to this documentation.

Hitchcock (2012) dir, Sacha Gervasi

Rating: 4/5

"Don't worry yourself dear; it's only a bloody movie." Alma Reville stands strong in defense of her husband's controversial new work, while a film now considered a classic masterpiece is slaughtered by colleagues, friends and associates alike. In the late 1950s during its production, Alfred Hitchcock's 'Psycho' raised many an eyebrow, and many a concern over its supposedly disgusting content. From showing a toilet being flushed, to a showering woman not being shot through frosted glass in silhouette, studio executives reviled Hitchcock's audacity. It is this struggle to get from perverted plan to macabre masterpiece that Sacha Gervasi's recent biopic focuses on, in parallel with a profile of the auteur's relationship with his headstrong wife and associate Alma.

The legendary Anthony Hopkins drew my main anticipation for this picture, being an unquestionable master of character, and engagement through it. His chilling Hannibal Lecter brought psychological terror to a new level, and now he brings us a narration of such art forms, in his uncanny portrayal of the Master of Suspense. The incredible make-up transformation by Howard Berger, Peter Montagna and Martin Samuel narrowly missed out on an Oscar this year, but their effects together with Hopkins' performance create an admirable likeness that fuels the movie's essence.

"You know that poor, tortured soul Jimmy Stewart played in Vertigo? That's Hitch. Except younger, slimmer and better looking." This film serves as a nice portrait of the mysterious Master, who proves even horror-makers have nightmares, as Ed Gein haunts his sleep and inspires his waking. Tributary styles of score and cinematography lurk, with several nice uses of the protagonist's famous silhouette haunting the backdrops and dominating the foregrounds.

Hitch ("hold the 'cock'") is himself a tortured soul. He feels hated by the people he makes rich, feels betrayed by leading ladies who 'choose the life of a housewife,' and is driven to hard-nosed madness by a suspected affair between Alma and her friend Whitfield. Journalists begin to ask him if he's too old to make movies, and in his complex way, the torrents of rejection only push his determination. It seems more out of spite than of ambition that he strives, and various obsessions power his creative motor, sometimes in the most frightening ways.  

As an insight into Hitchcock's method and madness, this film is veritably informative on a personal level. Examining his relationships with his many associates, we have appearances from Helen Mirren, whose sagely wisdom shapes Alma; Scarlett Johansson, performing well but not really resembling Janet Leigh; and Jessica Biel as the already discarded Vera Miles. The cast is strong, but of course hinging on yet another prize performance from Anthony Hopkins, whose ambition to play the Master of Suspense manifests in this captivating role.

Addressing a question many IMDb-ers have been raising: it is essential to have watched 'Psycho' before taking in 'Hitchcock,' to avoid, as the Master so carefully does with his crew, any harrowing plot-lines and secrets from being revealed undeservedly. The executive's snotty synopsis of "some queer killing people in his mother's dress" would certainly give misconceptions to anyone new to this particular classic.

'Hitchcock' is an enjoyable, well-acted and informedly produced biopic, and with this covering such a small fraction of Hitchcock's career, it's safe to assume a full birth-to-death tribute would be so extensive, it'd amount to remaking each of his movies all over again from behind the camera. It is particularly nice for younger viewers unfamiliar with the era's values, to comprehend the challenges Hitchcock was faced with, and how it reflected on his personality, and for anyone who's ever wondered, "What's it like to be married to a man obsessed with murder?"