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Men In Black 3

It’s not a sequel that needed to be made, but thanks to the charm of its leads and a tone that harks back to the wit and humour of the original, it’s a pretty enjoyable trip.

Bel Ami

The excellent female support cast saves this patchy effort, which is let down by its leading man and a flat screenplay.

The Dictator

A disappointing, often repulsive and mean-spirited mess of a film with seemingly only one real criterion on its agenda: to shock and offend.

The Woman In Black

Packed with atmosphere, this old-fashioned but deftly told ghost story delivers ample chills and thrills.

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Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World (Film)

by Cara Nash | August 10, 2010 12:01 | Edited November 29, 2010 16:35

Bursting with original ideas and innovative visuals, this stylised graphic novel adaptation also has sensitivity and heart.

Edgar Wright has forged a career mashing genres and bending conventions such as in the zombie rom-com Shaun of the Dead and the action comedy Hot Fuzz, and his latest, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World may be the finest example of his hybrid-infused work to date.

 

Adapted from Bryan Lee O'Malley's graphic novel series, the film charts the adventures of Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera), an unemployed 23-year-old with little ambition who plays bass guitar in garage band Sex Bob-omb and is dating a high school girl (Ellen Wong). Everything changes when he falls for Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), a girl who impulsively changes her hair colour with the days of the week. Alas, his budding romance with Ramona is complicated by the fact that, in order for the two to date, Scott must first defeat her Seven Evil Exes, all of whom show up at random to do battle with him.

 

Wright's aesthetics provide a joyful shock to the audience's senses, displaying a dizzying barrage of sounds and visuals that prove as jolting as the wonderfully shambolic garage rock that Scott's band plays. The series of hilarious conflicts - which see Scott take on a power-vegan bassist (Brandon Routh) and a smarmy music producer (Jason Schwartzman) - are staged like arcade games complete with high-flying mega movements, split screens and flashing scores. However,  these artistic flourishes are not only utilised during the duels but rather, they're integrated throughout the film, paying homage to the material's video-game and comic-book roots, and also revealing the way in which modern life is largely filtered through shared consumer obsessions and technology. Scott Pilgrim is very much an ode to a tech-savvy generation honed on pop culture.

 

Michael Cera is a good fit for the role of the self-involved slacker, with the actor slowly beginning to reveal different shades to his endearing but slightly two-dimensional innocence. His ability to play non-cloying naivety works well here. Even when Scott jilts his smitten high school girlfriend by saying, "We should break up... or whatever," the audience still roots for the gawky, but called-to-be-capable, teen. Also the supporting characters - Anna Kendrick as Scott's nagging sister, Kieran Culkin as his all-knowing gay roommate and Alison Pill as the angsty drummer - are excellent, if perhaps underused.

 

One gripe with the film is that there is never any explanation as to why Scott must battle Ramona's former lovers, which extend back to the seventh grade. Regardless, Scott Pilgrim is an impressive and ambitious achievement, one that manages to feel both meticulous in all its hilarious detail and at the same time, rambunctious and heartfelt.