The Elephant Man Review

The Plot

Based on the real life of Joseph Merrick, the Elephant Man is the story of a 19th Century man who scrapes a tragic living on the sordid Victorian freak show circuit. When a renowned doctor takes Merrick under his care he is astonished by the man’s brilliant intelligence, unshakable faith and his resounding desire for love and understanding.  He introduces Merrick to a beautiful actress and a complex friendship blossoms among the trio, as they struggle to protect Merrick form a world of questionable intentions.

The Good

Hollywood star Bradley Cooper has already won significant acclaim for his Broadway portrayal of Joseph Merrick. Bringing his unique performance to the West End, Cooper continues to enshrine himself as one of the best leading mean of his generation.

Forgoing the obvious options for elaborate make up and prosthetics, Cooper instead uses only a series of self-inflicted physical contortions to transform his handsome appearance into the pained disfigurement of The Elephant Man. It’s a consistently impressive and skilled piece of acting, which only serves to make his emotional and vocal performance more credible and arresting.

Through a mask of facial grimaces and slurred speech, Cooper portrays Merrick as a man who is left both vulnerably naïve and bravely insightful by the terrible physical afflictions he lives with and the reactions of others to them. His soft spoken voice conveys a gentle charisma beneath a supposedly monstrous exterior. Though perhaps the highest compliment possible is that Cooper manages to make audience utterly forget his Hollywood star status as he entirely become Merrick .

Patricia Clarkson is an intelligently cast choice as Mrs Kendall, the famous actress won over by Merrick’s sincere sweet nature. Having a well-recognised face in the role certainly helps to give credence to her as bone fide diva. But Clarkson’s genuine talents for portraying fragility and empathy are even greater assets. It’s the combination of Cooper and Clarkson that gives the play its true heart.

Alessandro Nivola  also does a fine job as Dr Treves, the well-meaning surgeon who rescues Merrick, only to increasingly struggle with his ultimate inability to save him. It’s a functional but important role, representing the obvious desire of audiences to save Merrick.

Overall a strong supporting cast is consistently improved by sharing the stage with Cooper’s captivating and accomplished star turn. The play blends moments of humour and optimism into the otherwise tragic tale of Merrick’s troubled existence. It’s  poignant and memorable experience for audiences.

The Bad

The life and tragic demise of Joseph Merrick has been very well documented, particularly through the classic 1980s Oscar nominated David Lynch film. Merrick is such an iconic figure and so symbolic of the dark human fascination with disfigurement that some may feel overly familiar with his plight. Those familiar with the high profile film version may also find it hard to avoid comparisons.

In particular while Bradley Cooper uses an impressive array of body contortions to portray Merrick’s physical afflictions, it’s tough not to compare this to the memorably dramatic make up that transformed John Hurt on screen. It’s a brave choice not to use any make up to transform Cooper’s otherwise gorgeous appearance for the role. It does work surprisingly well thanks to his flawless skill and physical commitment, though some people may find their curiosity for physical strangeness less satisfied.

The Ugly Truth

The Elephant Man is by turns, tragic and surprisingly amusing. A sensational star turn from Hollywood superstar Bradley Cooper is worth the admission price alone and makes this production essential viewing during its limited West End run.

San Andreas Review

The Plot

It’s The Rock vs Earthquakes (yes, plural!). When a massive earthquake hits California, Ray, a rescue-chopper pilot (Dwayne Johnson) must make his way through the city to save his estranged wife and daughter.

The Good

The first thing that needs to be said about this latest addition to the disaster movie genre is that it will only truly work if you have a good audience along for the ride. Opening with a rescue scene featuring a car trapped on the side of a mountain, San Andreas doesn’t really slow down from there. Dwayne Johnson barely has to prove he has the right physique for this role. One look at him and you can instantly believe he can pilot a helicopter, drive a boat and generally overshadow every other father before him in an attempt to save his family.

There’s no need to pay extra for a motion seat in the cinema either. Every time a quake hits (and there are a good few) you’ll hear it, see it, and feel it throughout your entire body. In fact the people in the screen next door will probably feel it too. San Andreas is unashamedly big and is certainly not the worst way to spend 2 hours.

The Bad

Considering that one of the problems with Mad Max, the other big action blockbuster still making the rounds at the moment, is the storyline or rather lack thereof, ironically one of the problems with San Andreas is the use of it. Or rather the overuse. While Paul Giamatti runs around providing constant exposition for us, Johnson is stuck struggling with a soap opera in amongst the rubble. His ex wife (Carla Gugino)  is dating a not so fantastic architect (Ioan Gruffudd) who promptly ditches his daughter to fend for herself along with a cute british lad and his brother (Hugo Johnstone-Burt and Art Parkinson) in a sub plot that you can see coming a mile away.

Compared to the credible blockbuster action, the human drama is full of laugh out loud moments. Don’t go into it looking for anything else.

The Ugly Truth

Johnson does a good job as action hero, but that’s to be expected. At its heart, San Andreas is really just a big rumbling ball of fun and any attempt to look deeper for something more serious is blocked out by biceps, collapsing buildings and a huge star spangled patriotic American flag.

Review by Johnny Ellis

Point Break Remake Trailer

The first trailer for the upcoming remake of 90s action classic Point Break has been revealed online today after the poster was unveiled yesterday. The film, which stars Luke Bracey (GI Joe: Retaliation) as Johnny Utah and Édgar Ramírez (Wrath of the Titans) as Bodhi, taking over the roles made famous by Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves with director Ericson Core directing .

Fox Plan League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen Reboot

Alan Moore’s League of Extraordinary Gentlemen graphic novel is getting another shot at a big screen adaptation it seems, with 20th Century Fox looking to rekindle the franchise after 2003’s lacklustre attempt.

Though no cast, writers or directors have been announced yet, Fox are currently searching for help to bring back the Victorian era supergroup which include Dr Jekyl and Mr Hyde, the Invisible Man and Captain Nemo.

It’s extremely unlikely that any of the original cast will return, particularly as Sean Connery retired from acting due to his infamous unhappiness with the experience of making the first film. Indeed to this day LXG remains an embarrassing footnote on Connery’s impressive career as his disappointing final screen credit.

More news as we hear it but in the meantime, who would you like to see direct, write and star in the upcoming reboot?

Man Up Review

The Plot

When unlucky in love Nancy (Lake Bell) is mistaken as Jack’s (Simon Pegg) blind date, she decides to take fate into her own hands and steal the date for herself.

The Good

Man Up is a brilliantly written comedy which perfectly encapsulates the awkwardness of a blind date. From Jack’s awkward bumbling greeting to bumping into the ex and the old school friend. It’s silly at times but the dialogue stays fresh throughout and Bell and Pegg are a perfect pairing.

Thankfully, the story focuses on just one day, following Nancy and Jack as they wander around the sights of London while Nancy tries to blag her way through the day as the 24 year old triathlete that Jack’s expecting. One of the biggest highlights comes from Rory Kinnear in a scene stealing role which is undoubtedly the craziest he’s had yet. It’s Lake Bells performance which is the most striking though, Nancy is a wonderfully fleshed out character and Bell nails the british accent perfectly.

The Bad

Though the storyline is fresh and fun for the entirety, Man Up does succumb to the inevitable big gushy romcom ending that we’re all used to and perhaps secretly hoping for. Still it’s perhaps a shame really as up until that point, the film has willfully avoided becoming overly sentimental. Recently divorced Jack and pessimist Nancy had their fair share of big romantic gestures it seems and are finally just accepting the reality in romance.

Perhaps had the plot gone past just  one day, the grandstand finale could feel a bit more warranted. Thats not to say that the 24 hour timeline for the film isn’t still a good point. Just that the plot should have really chosen one of these instead of both…

The Ugly Truth

Man Up brings a brilliantly realistic pairing with Bell and Pegg playing off each other well as mismatched romantic underachievers. Though it falters a bit with the cliched finale, the film remains a consistently funny and adorably awkward way to spend 90 minutes.

Review by Johnny Ellis

Check out red carpet London premiere interviews below: