The Rover Review

The Rover sees a revolutionary performance from Robert Pattinson but as good as the young heart throb is, he still remains in the looming shadow of Guy Pearce in this gripping Australian drama from Animal Kingdom director David Michod.

Set 10 years after what is simply revealed as 'the collapse', The Rover follows drifter Eric (Guy Pearce) who simply wants to get his car back after it is stolen by a gang of desperate criminals. After giving chase, confronting the men and losing them again, Eric comes across Rey (Robert Pattinson), the mentally challenged brother of the leader of the group. With Rey wanting to return to the brother who left him for dead, and Eric still out to retrieve his car, the two men form an unlikely alliance as they take a road trip through the barren landscape.

Along the way, they meet an assortment of freakish characters who Eric either finds a use for, or (if they get in his way) brutally dispatches. Eric is a man on the edge, seemingly cold and psychotic but his dogged determination to get his car back and his evolving relationship with the naive and wounded Rey reveal something more to the man with a simple mission.

Guy Pearce is sensational as the tormented, cold killer in The Rover. Whether being utterly still and just watching his prey or stepping swiftly and assuredly into action, Pearce is magnetic. Grizzled and unafraid of cold brutality or harsh words, you don't need to know his exact motivations (only revealed in the final frames) to find him impossible to take your eyes off. Pattinson impresses as the nice but dim Rey, all innocence before some of Eric's cruelty starts to rub off on him. He is lanky, endearing and with disgusting looking teeth, it is a highly welcome departure from Pattinson's previous roles.

Michod, who dealt with the Melbourne criminal underbelly so memorably in Animal Kingdom creates a sweaty, grim, dusty and bleak world for his characters to travel through. Though 'the collapse' is never explained the world appears fully realised. Australia has attracted others from around the world, though resources are scarce, the land is barren and the locals are a selection of mean oddballs. As Eric questions the folks he meets, there aren't many that don't seem worth one of his bullets.

There are plenty of quick and shocking bursts of violence in The Rover and though the pace slows almost to a halt on occasion, it builds to an unexpectedly emotional resolution. The distorted, dirty score from Anthony Partos perfectly complements the gritty visuals and moral mystery of Pearce's anti-hero. Even with some lulls in the mid-section, The Rover opens and closes so strongly that it is a ride well worth taking.

More reviews from I Love That Film:

Mr Turner  

The Captive (Captives)  

Wild Tales (Relatos Salvajes)

The Salvation 

Red Army

The Homesman

Life Itself 

What can fans expect from Marvel’s The Mandarin in Iron Man 3? (NO SPOILERS!)

The Mandarin appears in Iron Man 3 as the main villain opposite Robert Downey Jr’s Tony Stark. A familiar face from the comics, The Mandarin has often been called the archenemy of Iron Man but what will Oscar winner Ben Kingsley bring to the character?

Read my Iron Man 3 review here.

The Mandarin has traditionally been of Chinese descent and primarily uses ten power rings on his fingers to blast and beam his foes into oblivion. These magic rings were forged from alien technology of a crashed spaceship. However new Iron Man 3 director Shane Black has confirmed that though Ben Kingsley’s incarnation of the villain does indeed have fingers full of jewellery; they will not be magic, from space or capable of shooting flames or ice and any other substances. For that matter he is no longer Chinese either so fan boys expecting a very literal interpretation of the character of the comic should think again.

Martial arts skills

Despite this, The Mandarin should be a force to be reckoned with. In the comics he is a genius scientist and has martial arts skills of superhuman levels. Whether the approaching 70 year old Kingsley will be able to handle complex and incredible fight scenes without the need for a great deal of computer generated trickery is open to debate. However Marvel superhero films are full of spectacular effects and a showdown between The Mandarin and Iron Man could be created through immense amounts of digital rendering. Expect at least one fight

Genius scientist

The Mandarin is also known for being an intellectual genius in the field of science. With the addition of Guy Pearce as Aldrich Killian, there could be the potential for a team up to take down Iron Man. Killian is the man behind Extremis, a super soldier serum that could unleash of an army of superhuman villains against Stark and his alter ego. The Mandarin is likely to be involved with such a nefarious plan and two scientists would make a perfect fit for each other and a credible threat to our hero.

Anti-American Iconography

Both Kingsley and writer/director Shane Black have hastened to appease those expecting magic fire shooting rings by promising an altogether more sinister and crucially more real version of The Mandarin. An assortment of anti-American iconography, The Mandarin in Iron Man 3 uses media manipulation to cause terror. He hacks phones, broadcasting networks, has an Bin Laden style beard and sends anti American videos out with jihad style logos on them. He has the appearance of an American nightmare come to reality and works hard to promote this image to the world.

With the crew of Iron Man 3 reportedly applauding Kingsley on his last day on the set of shooting the film, what we can certainly look forward to is an outstanding performance from Sir Kingsley.  Just because The Mandarin is not everything you had expected from the comics, does not mean he cannot be iconic and memorable villain for the Iron Man franchise.

What do you think about Ben Kingsley’s appearance as Iron Man’s latest nemesis?

I love That Debut: Nolan's Doodlebug

As The Dark Knight Rises draws nearer, I'm having a bit of a mini-Nolan-fest at home this week.  Lovefilm sent me Nolan's feature debut Following this week.  It's an interesting, twisty, non-linear, black and white low budget gem but not a bona-fide masterpiece.  However you can see many of Nolan's signatures germinating in his tale of a morally questionable anti-hero getting lured and manipulated into a criminal underworld beyond his control.

It's interesting to note there is a character named Cobb as in Inception. Like Memento the narrative is a bit of a puzzle that needs piecing together by the viewer.  And both Following and Inception have morally dubious protagonists and characters that delve into the minds of others.

The Dark Knight Rises will only be Nolan's eighth feature but his filmography is packed with brilliant films from Memento and Insomnia right up to his Batman trilogy.  I urge you to check out any you may have missed!

Watching Following this week and then um... following that with Inception today has reminded me of Nolan's early short film Doodlebug.  So the real reason I write today is to share it with you.  If you haven't seen it before or you just can't wait for The Dark Knight Rises to be released, then give Christopher Nolan's short film a go to tide you over.  It's got a killer ending!



What do you think of Mr Nolan?  Legendary or over-rated?  Be careful what you say, Bane's watching.

Fascinating Faces: Looper, Lawless and Gangster Squad

I've seen some fascinating faces in trailers over the last few weeks.  Three stars many of us know and love, still recognizable but undeniably transformed.  I am stunned by these faces and already itching to see more of the performances.  But how much of my excitement is just down to the make up and how much is due to the men behind the masks?

I offer you exhibits A, B and C as evidence.

Exhibit A: Joseph Gordon-Levitt in Looper

The Holly wood Reporter um... reported that 'Thanks to three hours in the makeup chair each morning, the actor transformed into a younger version of Bruce Willis for the role – in which the duo plays the same character at different ages.'

If you're not convinced about the transformation or just sad to see the handsome JGL mutilated, check out this little video I found on YouTube for a close comparison of the two actors.



Exhibit B: Guy Pearce in Lawless

Now I'm not sure what they've done to Pearce's face here but watching the trailer suggests this is going to be another fantastic performance to look out for.  In fact I don't even think this is down to make up.  Instead I think it's a combination of Pearce's slicked back hair, accent and tone of voice and most of all the faces he pulls in the trailer below.  Some might say this is bordering on OTT but I can't wait to see this performance.



Exhibit C: Sean Penn in The Gangster Squad

MTV says: 'A centerpiece of the trailer, it's hard to miss Sean Penn even under all of that makeup... The trailer gives lots of screen time to Penn, and when you also consider the prosthetics on his face, it's not hard to imagine that Warner Bros. would make a Best Supporting Actor push for him come Oscar season'.

He looks almost like something grotesque out of Dick Tracy.  But it's not just the make up and prosthetics, Penn seems totally transformed here.  It's another performance that looks incredible and will no doubt be a lot of fun to watch.



So are we in for a treat with these three or what?  And how much of these performances will come down to the physically transformed faces of the actors and how much is down to their acting skills.  It's a question that has bugged me ever since seeing one of my favourite performances ever on screen.  No doubt aided by magnificent make-up, but also a testament to the incredible talent of Charlize Theron, if you haven't seen Monster, I highly recommend it.  Never has a star been so unrecognizable and so brilliantly lost within a real-life character.

New Prometheus Video: Gods and Guy Pearce

More Prometheus goodness.  Guy Pearce is Weyland.  Sounds a hell of a lot like John Hurt.  Excitement builds.  Watch video.