royvictoresq

21 May 2012

Unforgettable dross

Watched this "entertainment" 9 days ago on a long flight & I'm stillappalled by it.Had the choice of about 20 features. Chose "Hanna" because it wasdirected by Joe Wright, Whose "Pride & Prejudice" I love, & the usuallywonderful Cate Blanchett. I wonder what kind of bull was fed to thesetwo to get them to sign up. Surely they can't have needed the moneythat badly? You get to play a hateful bitch, without nuance orreason,from start to finish. OK Cate?Amazing how electric light doesn't freak Hanna out in the bunker, butit does later in Moroccan house. Course her father wouldn't have shownher modern facilities as part of her training as an elite assassin.Wouldn't a eugenically created being have a more powerful lookingphysique than a small slip of a girl? The only enjoyable moments were those provided by the comic turns ofOlivia Williams & Jason Flemyng.They had a certain sparkle. They arecaptured by the evil baddies, but of course we're not allowed to knowif they survived.A career low for Joe Wright & Cate Blanchett.

21 May 2012

Terrible

One of the worst movies I have endured for quite some time. Don't fall for the 'perfect assassin' routine. It's not about that....at all. It's really a very, very, lousy coming of age movie. This girl was sheltered from the real world until the movie starts. After that, it's her confusion and lousy writing that make the movie. Please, do yourself a favor, don't waste your dime.

21 May 2012

Lame with a capital L

A well photographed, well acted, quirky, esoteric film that goes no where, with characters that meant nothing to me. Cate Blanchet was obviously contractually obligated to be in the nonsense. All the cool music, great sets, fantastic locations, and odd audio in the world will not supply a story for a film that has none. Sorry. This film was a zero and it implied zero all throughout. Episodes of Adventure Time with Finn and Jake have more to tell and say than this canned ham of a film did.

20 May 2012

Heart-pumping, exhilarating emotional journey

What a terrific movie. A really likeable central character, whose coming-of-age journey is paralleled by a manhunt across Europe (where she is being hunted), during which she starts to learn more about the world and comes to reject violence. But that's not to say that the action scenes aren't thrilling stuff, and really enhanced by the wonderful score from the Chemical Brothers, which fits every scene in the movie where it's used (a lot of the time there's no background music, but when there is, it really adds to it) like a glove. Superb cinematography and beautiful directorial touches add what it takes to make the movie more than a clever thriller and elevate it to the status of art.Be warned that not all of the plot is spelled out for you like in a typical Hollywood flick, so if you're not used to paying attention to subtlety, you might feel lost in the plot. If that happens, forget the plot and you'll still enjoy the movie for all of the above reasons.No movie, however brilliant, will be treasured unless we feel we can make an emotional connection to the characters. Fortunately, Hanna won't disappoint there. We identify with Hanna and root for her, sympathise with Eric; we feel at home with the English tourist family, we hate Marissa with childlike passion, and Isaacs is all of our dark repulsions and fears covered by the thinnest social veneer. Even the old clown reminds us of some old uncle, even for those of us who never had uncles...Wish I could give it 7 stars out of 5, but I'll just have to settle for actually watching it again.

19 May 2012

This is what modern day matinee, popcorn movies are like

Wanna waste couple of hours, don't think, enjoy the popcorn and drinks? Just pop this movie into the DVD player (rent it, don't buy because you're probably never watch it again), sit back and enjoy. Hey, I said enjoy - it really isn't a bad movie, just don't expect any credibility, plausability, or any other words that denotes need for thinking or analysing. This is what Hollywood is good at these days, nice looking but signifying nothing.

dumbass-738-639380

19 May 2012

Not what I expected

Seeing how very much this movie is advertised, I was really surprisedwhen I saw it. When I went to see this movie, I expected something of amission impossible type of deal, you know, where the plot is veryserious and every detail is taken care of (to appease a wideraudience). And yet the movie turned out to be something completelydifferent. It was more of a humorous, awkward, Die Hard kind of, onlywith a little girl (Saoirse Ronan) instead of Bruce. The plot was veryillogical, full of dark humour, really weird settings and lots of looseends (in my opinion).Now, I can't say that I was disappointed, because, the music was reallygood and the acting was interesting, but I think there could be manyimprovements made to this movie.Overall, it's a solid 7/7 and I would say it is very similar in styleto In Bruges and Leon, so I you enjoyed those movies, you willdefinitely enjoy Hanna, but I don't think it's the right movie for thePirates of the Caribbean fans.

Hellmant

18 May 2012

Joe Wright proves himself a directing force to be reckoned with!

'HANNA': Four Stars (Out of Five) Stylized revenge thriller, this one focusing on a 16 year old girl(with amazing strength and deadly skills) trained to be an assassinsince birth. It's directed by Joe Wright, who's directed suchcritically acclaimed (and oddly different) films as 'ATONEMENT', 'PRIDE& PREJUDICE' and 'THE SOLOIST'. The film was written by first timefeature film writers Seth Lochhead and David Farr and the script madeboth the 2006 and 2009 Black List (a list of what Hollywood insidersrate the best unproduced screenplays of the year). It stars SaoirseRonan, of 'THE LOVELY BONES' and 'ATONEMENT' fame (in which Wrightdirected her to a supporting actress Oscar nomination), as the 16 yearold super assassin and title role. It also stars Cate Blanchett andEric Bana. Although the film lacks any true originality or a strongamount of character depth it's still uniquely memorable and highlyentertaining.Bana plays ex-CIA operative Erik who's been raising his 16 year olddaughter (with enhanced abilities and strength) Hanna since birth inthe Finland wilderness, far away from society, technology and the restof the world. He's kept her hidden due to the fact that her terminationis highly desired by an old CIA colleague of his named Marissa(Blanchett). Marissa will stop at nothing to see young Hanna dead andhas incredible resources to help her do it, including the CIA. Erik hastrained Hanna to be the perfect killing machine in order to give herthe skills to stop Marissa and free herself once and for all. Aftermuch begging and pleading from Hanna to finally complete this mission,and fulfill her desires of seeing the outside world, Erik gives her atransmitter which will allow her location to be picked up by Marissa.After some consideration Hanna activates the transmitter and waits forMarissa to come get her. Chaos ensues.The movie does follow a pretty standard revenge thriller format withnot a lot much more to it but there are some small twists and the wayit's directed is superb. Wright proves himself a directing force to bereckoned with here and I look forward to seeing future projects by him.I wasn't a fan of all the film's slow-mo fight scenes (which are alittle overdone) but for the most part the movie has a very unique andlikable feel and mood to it. Enhanced greatly by the score, composed bythe band 'The Chemical Brothers'. The characters aren't extremely welldeveloped but there's definitely enough there to get to know themsomewhat and feel for them on some level, or at least some of them.Especially Hanna's character and her coping with the common theme offeeling like an outcast and freak. The character rings very true thanksin large part to Wright's directing and Ronan's performance. Her andBlanchett really make this film rock and give two of the best femaleperformances of the year. It's one film I'd definitely recommendseeing.Watch our review show 'MOVIE TALK' at:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j95Zjdlcbe0

17 May 2012

See Hanna discover her belly button

This review is from: Hanna (Amazon Instant Video) This movie opens with a lovely, artfully done scene with Hana stalking and killing a large elk in a isolated snowy forest. Remember that scene because that is about the most you are going to get out of this movie. After that it disintergrates into a "babe-in-the-woods" hodgepodge. After emerging from said woods, she is basically a cave-girl overwhelmed and distracted by a modern world (yep - she discovers electric lights, TV and radio, goes on a first date, makes a first friend and has her first kiss). Yawn. The bad guys are silly caricatures. The fight scenes between the bad guys and her dad are dry, clumsy, unrealistic, amateurish and just the worst I've ever seen. For a honed assassin Hanna spends most the time depending upon the kindness of strangers, running and running (a lot of running), and hiding.If you want to see a silly movie about a budding teenager discovering life outside of a log cabin this is the one to see. If you are expecting anything (you name it) else from this movie - run.

winearia

15 May 2012

A 16-year-old who was raised by her father to be the perfect assassin is dispatched on a mission across Europe, tracked by a ruthless intelligence agent and her operatives.

With the acting line up it had it should have been more detailed. Ithought there was no story and was lame. The entire movie was chasingand there was no "oh I like that guy" or "I like the girl." None of thecharacters were relatable. Just a poorly done film in all. I alsothought its script was poor as well as more violent then it needed tobe. Script being bad because every character prob. only said like twolines. Kidding of course. The fact is that it is just another Americanfilm maker who doesn't know the value of a good story. Bad movieanother words: Do not go see this movie!Pretty simple... bad bad movie.Disappoiting. waste of time.

Andy Thompson

14 May 2012

Worst film of 2011....so far

Four of us sat down to watch this disaster movie, we all knew it wasgoing to be a struggle after the first 5mins, we decided to stick withit because of the reviews here. Worst 1hr45mins of our lives. DO NOTWATCH THIS PILE OF MUCK!I will never be able to get that time back, Bana was embarrassing andhis German accent was a joke.The main character had a thick Dublin accent in parts which also mademe cringe.30million budget was ridiculous, I hope salaries were included in this.The fight scenes must have been choreographed 5mins before they wereshot.Honestly the worst film I have seen in a long time, so much so, itprompted me to submit this review. The guys that have submitted 8-10out of 10th must be easily impressed.Stay away folks

aimless-46

14 May 2012

Unique

"Hanna" is basically a strange blend of "The Golden Compass" (2007) and"The Passenger" (1975); with a little "THX 1138" (1971) thrown in forproduction design and atmospheric purposes.Had "Hanna" (2011) been promoted for what it was, a relativelylow-budget, live-action, PG-13 allegorical fairy tale; with a uniquelyquirky performance by Saoirse Ronan, it would be better regarded by themovie going public. Rather than the minimalist promotion anddistribution this type of film normally receives, for some reason thedistributors decided that it had the potential to make big money.So they threw almost as much money into marketing as had gone intoproduction, sold the film as an action adventure suspenseful spy story,with another Chloe Moritz type hit girl. They utilized a saturationbooking technique normally reserved for their weaker blockbusters. Thistechnique involves a lot of pre-release publicity and then opening itsimultaneously in many theaters, with the goal of generating quickprofits before bad reviews and word of mouth kill attendance.The result was a lot of viewers who rightly felt that the film did notlive up to its blockbuster billing, and a failure to appreciate thegood points of the film. And there are some very good points. Ronan'searnest portrayal of the title character, a juvenile assassin and gooddaughter, rings true despite being unlike any character in cinemahistory. Ronan manages to blend a bubbly enthusiasm for the newness ofeverything she missed growing up away from the world (think of ayounger version of the Anne Francis "Alta" character in "ForbiddenPlanet") with the deadly but "fish-out-of-water" qualities of ArnoldSchwarzenegger's "new-to-the-20th-century" robot in "Terminator 2"(1991). Ronan has effectively played the bubbly stuff before, mostnotably in "City Of Ember" (2008). In "Hanna" she effortlessly slipsback and forth between bubbly wonderment and analytic processing. Thesecontrasting persona's are delivered so effectively (and in so manylanguages) that the overall performance ranks among the best in cinemahistory.And credit director Joe Wright with the vision to stage sequences andPOV shots that make Hanna small and vulnerable, enough so to evoke afeeling of protectiveness toward her from viewers. Altman's "KansasCity" (1996) comes to mind, in which Jennifer Jason Leigh's toughtalking gun moll created a powerful bond of identification with theviewing audience.The film is a fairy tale and the good vs evil dynamic is moreallegorical than precise. Cate Blanchett plays a high level CIAoperative who functions as the wicked witch. Basically Snow White'sevil queen step-mother masquerading as a cross between the Rosa Klebbscharacter in "From Russia With Love" (1963) and Kidman's character in"Golden Compass" (in fact Nicole Kidman's "Goldren Compass" characterwas also named Marisa). She is assisted by the versatile Tom Hollander,a Wright regular (Mr. Collins from "Pride & Prejudice"). Blanchett'sMarissa is evil and menacing without the redemption dimensionality ofKidman's "Golden Compass" Marisa. Wright could have had much more funwith Hollander's character, but even so the minion is far moreeffective than his distaff master.Wright is not trying to be plausible, if anything the story is moreexpressionism than realism. This becomes especially obvious late in thefilm when the action switches to the huge abandoned Spreeparkentertainment center in Berlin. The park was closed in 1999 and thedecaying fairy tale related rides and attractions are a productiondesigner's dream. These become a key motif of the film, much like theabandoned Salt Air Pavilion in "Carnival of Souls". Also watch for theexistential connection between Hanna and Laika, the Sovietdog-in-space; torn from their world to be passengers through a world inwhich they do not belong. Bottom line, I am going to recommend the film. But with the advice towatch it for Ronan's performance and for its uniqueness; and to not tryto place it into any neat classification.Then again, what do I know", I'm only a child.

eugeneconniff-1

13 May 2012

Makes me want to tear my hair out!

Back in 2009, a screenplay titled "Hanna" made the exclusive blacklistroster - a list of the best unproduced screenplays created that year(that same year also saw screenplays titled "The King's Speech" and"The Social Network" FYI). They are typically viewable to the public upuntil they're picked up to be made (if they're so lucky), and I had thepleasure of reading this script at that time. And it was brilliant.More exciting than a damn novel, which is a rare thing in the scriptworld, since they're not really written to entertain(counter-intuitively).Sure, there were things I'd change: in that version, the experimentinvolved cross-breeding canine DNA as an explanation for how she wasbetter-faster-stronger, which was unnecessary and kind of dumb (therewas actually a plot element near the end that piggybacked off thisconcept, but it felt tacked on enough that you could remove it withoutlosing anything). Also, Hanna had markings on her which only glowed inUV light, which I thought was counterproductive if you're trying tomake a super soldier. Aside from that, I wouldn't have changed a thing.When I found out it was not only being produced, but that Saoirse Ronanwould star, I thought that was fantastic. I don't think you could finda better young actress performing today.Well, I finally got a chance to see it this evening and my god am Idisappointed. I'll start with the first two acts, because they wereactually pretty good.The opening was just as intense and stark as I'd imagined it. Marissa'sscene in the CIA offices and Hanna's complimentary scenes in themilitary base were also exactly how I imagined them - crisp and cold,almost inhuman in their tidiness and sharp-edged perfectionism. Theactors were definitely not to blame in the end, that's for sure. Infact, I really give props to the director for getting thoseperformances just right. All the way through till just before theyreach Berlin, everyone's character comes through as clear as a bell,and all without stealing the show from Ronan (and how could they?).There were some pacing decisions I didn't like, because in streamlining(and in some cases expanding) certain scenes, they introduced plotholes into the story that weren't in the screenplay. That bothered me,but they were minor enough that I didn't really get bent out of shapeabout it. Ultimately, these two acts were done well. Nothing felt awkward or outof place. You could really care about these people and believe thisyoung girl could be a rogue assassin outsmarting CIA operatives(although I take issue with their failure to clarify those operatives'roles, especially since the script *did*) You know why those two actswere pretty good? Because they followed the DAMN SCRIPT. Now, Iunderstand that scripts change constantly. There are lots of reasonsand many of them are valid. Some are even valid AND make the scriptworse, because maybe the scene is calling for something that just plainisn't possible and you have to make do. I understand that.But it was VERY CLEAR that this was not the case here. The third act isa mess, and it is a mess because *someone* on the production reallyreally wanted a whole bunch of hackneyed symbolism in place of what hadbeen a bad-ass, smart, and emotionally intense action scene. Instead ofa brutal confrontation between Hanna and Marissa+Issacs Team in theabandoned farmhouse that had stood as a front for the experiments thatcreated Hanna, we got a really weak chase scene through that damn Grimmfairy tales park, all so the director can do some lame line to bringthe opening full circle with the ending. No resolution with hersurrogate family (we don't even get to see their FATE! WTF!), noresolution PERIOD actually! Hanna did not deserve that! We watch herstruggle with her identity the whole movie, and never get to see herfinally become part of Sophie's family! In trying to streamline andcore out weak stuff and replace it with what I can only call 'moreartistic' stuff, they pretty much depleted this potentially great filminto something merely mediocre. Something passable...if you don't thinkabout it too hard. That's mind-boggling, when you consider howintelligent the script was.Makes me sad to think about it.

imdb_expert

11 May 2012

horrific mix of road movie/feelgood/Jason Bourne intended for 10yr old girls

The first 10 minutes i thought this was going to be a good movie.Little girl being trained to be the ultimate killer. Could it possiblebe better than the Bourne movies? Then suddenly the girl starts talkingabout music and emotions, American actors dressed up as Moroccan andSpanish gypsies start dancing, singing and playing guitars. During thewhole movie there are techno children songs playing. The little girl(she's supposed to be 15 but she looks like 10) is walking through theAmerican desert when suddenly she's inside an Arab village. Huh? Ittook me a while to realize that it was supposed to be Morocco, becausethe desert scenes have the iconic rocks from America. Its like puttingthe Egyptian pyramids in a movie and then pretending its an Americandesert. The Americans-dressed-as-arabs had such poor disneylandishcostumes that i thought it was part of the movie that she walked onto amovie set. So there is a little girl walking into an arab town. Since when isnormal in Arab villages for blonde girls to walk around half-naked?None of the arab men, boys and women acknowledge her existence, evenwhen she stares at them and just randomly sits at peoples lunch tables.Could this movie get any more realistic? Yes, the girl meets touristchildren, starts driving around on motorcycles with the local boys, allthe while having deep conversations about god and buddha with thenew-age tourist mother, and she almost starts a lesbian relation withthe tourist daughter.As this all is taking place, the CIA decides to send the best of thespecial forces after her: 3 Neonazi British men from a strip-club.During the whole movie the girl and her father kill navy seals in amatter of seconds without problem and they avoid bullets and do othersuperhero things(though you never get to see any of these scenes, thecamera just switches off whenever something is about to happen) yetwhen confronted with 3 drunk neonazis from a strip-club(one of whichuses a cane to walk), they fight and fight and have major problems toavoid a punch in the stomach. And another punch. And another one. Howgood would the jason bourne movies have been if he got his ass kickedby a a drunk homeless guy?Meanwhile the girls father is supposed to be the good guy of the movie.He saved the girl from the CIA when she was a baby, is now in Europerandomly killing local cops that enter his line of sight, but havenothing to do with the CIA and are just out to do parking tickets. Oneof the best scenes of the movie is when he tells the girl he isn'treally her father, that she comes from a test-tube experiment, that hekilled 19 other women just like her mother and 19 other girls just likeher. He finishes it by saying he loves her. A serial killer,child-killer and cop-killer, how is that supposed to be a good guy?This movie really was a roller-coaster ride for me, it went frompromising the first 10 minutes, to extremely childish and absurdliterally in the space of 1 minute. It happened so fast that i couldactually feel my emotions die. I wanted to look up the directors nameso that i would never have to watch anything from him again. I do thinkhowever that perhaps the little girl is behind much of the plot of themovie. Just imagine what a 10yr old girl would like to see in a movie,and it suddenly starts making sense: "A colorful arab town with onlynice people, everyone is happy, it is such a mysterious and fundisneyland place like all arab towns no? Camels are fun! What peopleare bad? Neonazis are! So lets put some neonazis in the movie! How tomake it scary? Make one of the neonazis whistle children's songs!Oooooh scary." Etc.To sum it all up: fun for little girls only. I gave it 2 stars becausethe first 10 minutes were OK.

11 May 2012

Suspension of disbelief required for this one.

(SPOILERS CONTAINED IN REVIEW)Drone teenager is trained to grow up to become an assassin and kill her mother's killer. While dodging bullets on her first mission and never missing a shot she discovers the outside world, having been locked in a cabin in the woods all her life. The mission to kill her mother's killer does not begin until she throws a homeing becan device which will alert her mother's killer to her location. Duh... yeah that's always a good move for an assassin right? Im believing all this :P The movie opens with some good action scenes but what follows is an action movie that stalls in both story and believable action. Check out the 1991 movie Lafemme Nikita if you want to see this genre done better.

Christian_Dimartino

07 May 2012

One of the year's strangest, and one of the year's best.

I haven't loved many movies in 2011. I have really liked a lot, butthere have only been about five that I found excellent. And directorJoe Wright's(Atonement) latest film, Hanna, is one of those films.Saoirse Ronan, one of the best young actresses there is,reunites withWright once again. As if their first film(Atonement, which got her anOscar nomination), wasn't good enough, they have come back with anotherperfect movie.Ronan plays Hanna, a girl who has never been into the outside world.Her and her father(Eric Bana)live out in seclusion. Until the C.I.A.track him down. He goes on the run, and Hanna is captured.But that doesn't last long. Because Hanna is a trained killing machine.In the meantime, an agent(played by Cate Blanchett, giving a strangeredneck accent), is trying to track her down, for reasons I can'tspoil.Wright has never done an action movie, or a movie that isn't based on anovel. But he has a gift for it. The action and chase sequences areextremely well shot, and thrilling too. The score by The ChemicalBrothers is awesome, and definitely fits the film.There are a lot of strange moments here, and the plot itself isstrange. But I like a little strange activity in a film. Ronan reallypulls the film together though. She is part of what made Atonement sucha marvelous film, even though she wasn't in it the whole time. I hope that for Wright's next film he goes for something along theselines... and not The Soloist. Overall, Hanna is Salt's niece, but a lotsmarter. But I like that movie too. But this is one of the years best.A-

Bale-Pearce-Oldman

07 May 2012

Hanna - Just meh

This action-packed mystery helmed by Joe Wright is a story of a teenagegirl groomed and trained to assassinate the people who destroyed herfamily. Her father (Eric Bana) had taught her all the things she needsto know in terms of survival and badassery. Once she "is ready" for hermission is when the movie kicked the gear into a feast of mayhem.But wait, isn't this another Hit Girl in Kick Ass? Well, yes actually.A more mature and artsy execution but the premise is quite the same.This film is another example of girl power movies where girls kick ass(for lack of a better term) and outsmarts men who are older, strongerand tougher.On the title role is the beautiful Saoirse Ronan who is justmesmerizing to watch. She has the most amazing eyes, like a steel ofglassy-blue.Ronan definitely carried this film and is on her way to being alegitimate threat in the film industry. (Some may argue that shealready IS a threat.) Her degree of acting is a joy to watch. This girlcan hold on to the likes of her co-leads, which is no easy feat becausebehind the CIA operative that is after her is none other than CateBlanchett. Blanchett was a caricature in this film though. I do notknow about the accents she is trying to pull. Eric Bana was Eric Bana,cool and slick and handsome.The movie is a visual feast thanks to Joe Wright and hiscinematographer. He shoots films amazingly, with a subtle hint ofromantic skill. I find this common in his films. Each scene is like aphotograph captured – clean, glossy and perfect – as if everything iscalculated. A particular scene that is great to behold is when EricBana's character was being followed by the CIA operatives. Here asteadicam was used in a one-shot winding through the streets andcurves, up and down, following Bana until the point that he met hiscaptors in an underground remote area. A battle transpired, which, ofcourse, Bana came out unscathed. Another artistic shot is when Hannalured her stalkers to a cargo warehouse and a cat-and-mouse huntoccurred (with a very great background music I might add).The score is another aspect of worth. Behind the tracks are theChemical Brothers and it truly added a very cool effect to the movie.Unfortunately, while the style of how the movie is shot is great, Ican't say the same for the plot. There's nothing remotely good aboutthe story. The background on who Hanna really is was resolved in a veryanti-climactic fashion. There are many "what the???!" moments wherelogic didn't come to play. You keep on waiting and waiting forsomething to happen but nothing substantial followed. The movie is justpretty to look at but dull. I didn't care for the characters.You're going to watch this because of Saoirse Ronan and the coolnessfactor. In overall though, it is quite disappointing. Shame because Ireally thought it will be one of the better films this 2011.

06 May 2012

Not your usual feel-good plot or soundtrack...

This review is from: Hanna [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) I really enjoyed watching "Hanna". It's not the usual feel-good movie that we all come to expect. Everything about this movie is different (plot, actors emotions, scenes) and for me very interesting. Even the "sound track" is unusual and exciting. Also, If you want to test your sound system's bass tone or sub woofer--the DTS HD Master audio sound track on this movie produces BIG bass. I actually had to decrease both my bass tone and sub woofer so I didn't get bounced out of the room LOL.If you are looking for edgy, out-of-the-ordinary entertainment then I highly recommend this movie.

deborahjwood

06 May 2012

Sad waste of 30 million bucks!!!!

I am still struggling with the reviews of this film compared to theactual film: "action thriller"; "top notch performances"; "beautifulcinematography"; "outstanding score"; "amazing movie" -- were theywatching the same film I watched or had they just toked up a big fatdoobie? And to give it a high 7 in a forum where the average GREAT filmis an 8.5 and The Godfather only ranked a 9 is bewildering to me. The acting is mediocre at best and Blanchett would not get a billing inHollywood if this were the only film on her resume, really, how muchacting skill does it take to have a blank starched scowl, speak inmonotones and let off with an occasional wicked witch laugh for twoedited hours? - The Morrocan crowd scenes are better acted than many ofthe star scenes – Ronan is not bad for a young actress but when youhave the scorching talent of children like Abigail Breslin and DakotaFanning to compare the teen with – even she is mediocre – again bycomparison – all wide eyed and expressionless – maybe she's afraid ofneeded a face lift if she moves her face too much? Even the much talkedabout scene where she is introduced to the modern world with fans,television, lights, etc. it's contrived and not her acting – it's theflashing from image to image, more the camera loving her than herloving the camera. That same scene brings me to the sheer extraordinary unbelievability ofthis flick. An ex CIA operative is going to raise a girl to her teensin the frozen tundra then abruptly drop her on a techno world? A) withthat kind of stupidity he would never have made the CIA and B)expecting us to believe it is equally far fetched. Lots of littlethings from her dragging an 400 pound reindeer with her 85 pounds andclothed in 50 lbs of dead animal skins -- to her escaping a highlyguarded CIA facility (deep underground in Morroco of all places) withnothing but her golden locks and a hideous orange jumpsuit – no foreknowledge of the building plans, no weapons, no backup and any assassinin training would know to lose the long hair – too much to grab onto ina fight, to that amazing homing device that works without power and ona 14 year old Energizer battery??? Oh my the list is just too longsuffice it to say you will have to do a LOT of "overlooking" to getthrough this film.The score is obnoxiously booming screeching and repetitive and barelypasses for techno just awful in the in the context of the moviealthough it MIGHT be okay if not attached to a wreck of film.The editing looks like it was done by a 5 year old clips, bits andpieces throughout the film and I know it was designed this way to giveit an artsy feel, to endow its action sequences, to give the audience afeel of anxiety and excitement but it fails so miserably that youalmost have to feel sorry for even the behind the scenes artists. Now Iam not going to spoil this for you just in case you have absolutelynothing better to do one day and your best friend just dumps this DVDin your lap for you to watch but the movies only salvation is the plottwist involving Hannah's mother and her being raised by Bana but yougotta endure 2 hours of this grueling film - a cliché script, a Godawful score, mediocre acting, atrocious almost psychotic filming to getthere but the last 15 minutes IS perhaps the one piece of solid actingby Ronan in the entire film. I just find it impossible to believe thiswas TWICE on the list of the best unproduced screenplays in theindustry in 2006 and 2009? – I'd love to read the original screenplaybecause those responsible for putting it to film were on some seriousdrugs.I am being over generous with a 4 but I have definitely seen worse – sopainful to watch

EyeDunno

06 May 2012

Hanna Didn't Miss the Heart - She Acted Spot-On

The opening scene of Hanna - set in a cold-bitter wilderness in whichHanna hunts for food - truly set the pace for what comes next: 111minutes of well-paced action in which the story still takes its time tounfold why everything is happening, and what the motivation is for thechoices made by the primary characters.Saoirse Ronan embraces the character of the 16-year-old Hanna. Whileshe was trained well enough to leave her remote home life, she has morethan enough eye-opening adjustments in the 21st century to deal withbecause of her father's failure to teach her more about the nuances ofthe outside world. Hanna chooses to enter the world of Cate Blanchett's character,Marissa, which is even colder than the environment that Hanna leaves.Marissa is unapologetic as she seeks her own resolutions and the twoleads weave their paths to an inevitable conflict. Isaacs, played byTom Hollander, seems more playful than deliberate in providingbackground support, which adds some welcome levity to an otherwisedisturbing tale of operatives tracking down a teenager. Marissa'sfather Erik, played by Eric Bana, is the one character I feel didn'thave enough back story to understand. Perhaps that was the choice ofthe filmmakers. Maybe that might have detracted from the film's intent,which was to provide a solid plot in which they give you just enoughtime to pause to see where you are, before following another fast-pacedchase scene. Added props go to Jessica Barden, who plays the young teen Britishtourist. I feel that she does quite well sharing the spotlight withHanna. Her accent is a bit heavy, but she and Hanna make choices that,I think, any teen might do under the circumstances they are dealt with. The musical score by the Chemical Brothers is a great accompanimentwith the editing and production. I enjoyed the cinematography by AlwinH. Kuchler. It doesn't seem top-notch, but his style is decent. I felta bit of drawback on how the camera was tumbled on a couple scenes. Itdetracted from the story because suddenly, I forgot the chasing and hadto deal with being taken for a spin. There was no need to do that,except perhaps, for wanting to do something different.

Danny Curley

05 May 2012

Hanna is great!

CONTAINS SPOILERS!This movie was by far better than a cheesy spy thriller where there isa spy just running from someone.Saoirse Ronan is incredible in this movie. Her character is veryintelligent and likable (except for the opening where she kills a deerand seems cruel).The character Hanna has a very good line that is her first and last inthe movie. She says "I just missed your heart." *Shoots deer/Marissa inthe head*.Also, Cate Blanchett was fantastic as Marissa. But, she does go on andoff with a southern accent.Eric Bana's performance was phenomenal. You are drawn in by his solidperformance which makes you think you are in the movie.Saoirse Ronan is by far the best actress in the movie. She isfascinating throughout the whole movie.The character development makes you think that you know these peoplepersonally and this is an award winner for sure.Hanna was a great movie. I give it a 10/10.