The Trip to Italy is the sequel to The Trip but it is probably not essential to have seen the first film. There is so little storyline and so much beautiful scenery and comedic dialogue that you won't really be feeling left out, except for one little sub-plot that carries over from the first film.
The Trip to Italy is a faux-documentary comedy. It follows British actors Steve Coogan (well known here for his character Alan Partridge as well as his acting in films such as Tropic Thunder and Night at the Museum) and Rob Brydon (not well known here at all) as they travel around picturesque Italian locations trying fancy restaurants and reviewing them for a magazine. Which they actually weren't doing for real, just for this 'movie' where they are playing exaggerated versions of themselves. That's pretty much the whole story. The movie focuses on Steve and Rob's conversations, mostly unscripted I suspect, while travelling by car (a Mini of course for these Michael Caine fans!) to their restaurants or while eating. These are punctuated with pop culture analysis and spot-on impressions of famous actors as the two try to out-do each other. Michael Caine gets another series of impressions (already done very well in The Trip) but they add a few more this time around. The scene with them doing Michael Caine, Tom Hardy and Christian Bale and how hard they were to understand in Batman is quite hilarious.
The movie is bigger and better than the Trip thanks to the gorgeous cinematography of the Italian seaside and rolling hills and food (don't go on an empty stomach) but ultimately it is still just a very light and easy way to waste an hour and a half with a handful of belly laughs. A little bit of middle aged angst, this time it's Rob's temptation to cheat on a partner instead of Steve's, pulls it into dramatic territory but not for long.
I'd give this a 3.5 out of 5 - 3 for the movie overall and an extra 0.5 for the Alanis Morrissette bashing and the Tom Hardy impressions.
Friday 13 June 2014
Thursday 5 June 2014
Movie #16 - The Double
What can I say about this movie? Not much without giving anything away. The Double is a bit of a sci-fi film based on a novella by famed Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky. It's sci fi in theme more than setting though as the setting is a fantastic blend of futuristic time period but retro industrial setting. It's like the future turns into the 1950s somehow. The basic storyline follows a young man, Simon James, who is struggling to make an impression - at work, on the co-worker he admires, on the waitress at his local café, at life in general really. Simon's life is extremely drab. Then a new employee arrives at his work, named James Simon. James is everything Simon is not - popular, climbing the corporate ladder, good with the ladies. So why does nobody but Simon realise that James looks exactly like Simon? Mystery!
This film is really quite unusual and I found myself thinking "what the hell is going on here"? But if you just go with it and let yourself be swept up in the mystery you will find a very satisfying conclusion to work through. But it is pretty unusual. And that I lay at the feet of second-time director Richard Aoyade, still best known here for playing Moss on The I.T. Crowd (tv show). The plot, setting and theme could not be more different than his first film, Submarine. And yet both films have a strong quirk factor and a very light directorial touch which lets the characters find their own way almost.
Jesse Eisenberg is a huge favourite of mine and here he gets to show a new side of himself playing both Simon and James. Simon is Jesse's usual sympathetic shy awkward guy but he excels at playing James, Mr Confident. On double duty exploring the concept of what you sometimes have to do to be the person you want to be, he never lets the performance slip. Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland) is luminous as Hannah, the co-worker Simon admires from both afar and up close at work. There are very few other roles in the movie to comment on.
Hopefully this review has made you curious enough to give this little film flying under the radar some attention. In Brisbane it's only showing at one cinema - Schonell Theatre at the Uni of Queensland, St Lucia. A pain I know, but we had a fun date night eating delicious authentic Italian style pizza at the Schonell Pizza Caffe and then the movie. Two movie tickets and a pizza big enough to share for dinner for $25 total. Value!
This film is really quite unusual and I found myself thinking "what the hell is going on here"? But if you just go with it and let yourself be swept up in the mystery you will find a very satisfying conclusion to work through. But it is pretty unusual. And that I lay at the feet of second-time director Richard Aoyade, still best known here for playing Moss on The I.T. Crowd (tv show). The plot, setting and theme could not be more different than his first film, Submarine. And yet both films have a strong quirk factor and a very light directorial touch which lets the characters find their own way almost.
Jesse Eisenberg is a huge favourite of mine and here he gets to show a new side of himself playing both Simon and James. Simon is Jesse's usual sympathetic shy awkward guy but he excels at playing James, Mr Confident. On double duty exploring the concept of what you sometimes have to do to be the person you want to be, he never lets the performance slip. Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland) is luminous as Hannah, the co-worker Simon admires from both afar and up close at work. There are very few other roles in the movie to comment on.
Hopefully this review has made you curious enough to give this little film flying under the radar some attention. In Brisbane it's only showing at one cinema - Schonell Theatre at the Uni of Queensland, St Lucia. A pain I know, but we had a fun date night eating delicious authentic Italian style pizza at the Schonell Pizza Caffe and then the movie. Two movie tickets and a pizza big enough to share for dinner for $25 total. Value!
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