Green Book - Review

Green Book, the Surprise Film of the London Film Festival and Cineworld's Secret Screening, is a genuine surprise... in just how charming it is.
On paper, the story of an Italian heavy who drives a rich, educated black pianist through the Deep South on a concert tour sounds like Driving Miss Daisy in reverse. A film that could be incredibly cloying, schmaltzy and patronising.
However the end result is an incredibly funny and charming film. Just as the story sees two people with preconceived views of the world and people slowly broaden their minds, this film will change audiences' minds who go in expecting one thing but come out pleasantly surprised.
Based on a true story, the film may not break any new ground in terms of plot and structure. You can see exactly how the film will play out as if reading a road map of New York to Alabama. But that doesn't matter at all when the film delivers on heart, wit and charm.
All of that charm and good will is down to the excellent pairing of Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali as Tony "Lip" Vallelonga and Dr. Don Shirley. The two spark of each other brilliantly and have some of the best on-screen chemistry of 2018 and make for one of the best odd couples of recent years.
Mortensen is certainly an actor more known for his intensity that comedic sparring ability but his brash, loudmouth bounces perfectly off Ali's uptight, reserved Shirley.
In the end, as the two attempt to make their way back to New York in time for Christmas, you realise that you have almost been watching a remake of Planes, Trains and Automobiles set during the civil rights movement.
Just as Shirley's performances impress audiences all over the States and Tony slowly works his charm on Shirley, audiences will find themselves utterly beguiled by Green Book which is destined to become one of 2019's breakout sleeper hits.

4 stars

Hans Zimmer Revealed - review

If I was asked to name my top three favourite film composers, very easily and quickly I would rattle off the name John Williams (mostly for sentimental reasons of the scores that meant so much to my childhood), Hans Zimmer and Clint Mansell.

This week I am lucky enough to get to see two of them live in concert. Clint Mansell at the Old Fruitmarket in Glasgow on Tuesday 14th but first it was the turn of Hans Zimmer at the Hammersmith Apollo in his first ever public performance of some of his most iconic pieces of work in Hans Zimmer Revealed... And Friends!.

We'll get onto who some of the friends were in a minute but suffice to say that the main reason 5000 people had packed the Apollo was to see the man in question and he did not disappoint as he took us through an epic two and a half hour journey through his incredible back catalogue.

Best known these days for his work with Christopher Nolan, Zimmer started the concert almost trolling the audience by beginning with a piece from Driving Miss Daisy it introduced Hans on the piano accompanied by his small band (consisting of a string quartet, guitar, clarinet and percussion).

It proved the perfect opener as they seamlessly moved onto Discombobulate from Sherlock with Hans picking up the bango followed by , all the while with curtain upon curtain rising up to reveal layer upon layer of orchestra to bring these pieces of music to life.

Between the music, Hans would tell amusing and self-deprecating anecdotes about his time in the business and the inspiration behind certain pieces were a fascinating look behind the process. Like for example how Barry Levinson's wife buying the soundtrack to A World Apart led to his first Hollywood score with Rain Man or trying to convince Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer to let him use a choir on Crimson Tide.

Cue the Crouch End Festival Chorus choir to appear and perform that and an incredible number which gave me a whole new appreciation for the Angels And Demons score which simply astonishing heard live (complete with some crazy drum solos).

One of the biggest cheers of the first half came when Hans dropped the G word and played a suite from Gladiator. Sadly Lisa Gerrard couldn't be there but singer Miriam Blennerhassett did an admirable job in her place.

The best thing about The Da Vinci Code, Chevaliers de Sangreal, quickly followed along with The Lion King, amazingly the only Oscar win that Zimmer has had despite nine nominations but one he did specifically for his daughter Zoe.

The first half concluded with a barnstorming medley from Pirates Of The Caribbean that finished with a violin-off between Ann Marie Simpson and Aleksey Igudesman (who nearly stole the show by wearing a selection of silly hats and masks to compliment the film).

The second act began like the first, softly and slowly with the Badlands-inspired score for True Romance but was soon followed by Zimmer bringing out the big guns for a "Super" and heroic end to the show.

Man Of Steel must have been an incredibly daunting job to take on. To create something that would encapsulate Superman but also able to stand tall outside the shadow of John Williams' original theme.

Not only did Zimmer accomplish that but his score is the best thing about the film and further proved by the live performance.

I wonder if Zimmer has the balls to try and create a new sound for Batman in. Batman vs Superman: Dawn Of Justice given that he has spent the last ten years defining The Dark Knight?

The Dark Knight was still to rise but not before myself (and probably a few others I imagine) were reduced to tears when they played Journey To The Line from The Thin Red Line.

Oh yes, earlier I mentioned that the evening was called Hans Zimmer Revealed... And Friends and the second half brought out a special guest in the form of The Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr who played on several tracks to the delight of the crowd, including a different and punk rock Electro-fying track from The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

Zimmer then finished the show with a suite from The Dark Knight Trilogy which concluded with a moving tribute to Heath Ledger and the people of Aurora, Colorado with a piece called Aurora which is an alternate take on Rise from The Dark Knight Rises.

The curtain came down on Hans and his team receiving their second standing ovation (they got one at the interval as well) but eagle-eyed fans would have spotted that one film was rather conspicuous in its absence from the playlist.

Thankfully Zimmer returned for an encore of Inception that would bring the show full circle with Zimmer alone under the spotlight playing the final note of Time.

And alas our time with Hans was over but it was a night to remember as he brought so many of his memorable movie music moments to life on stage.

It is one thing to listen to a film score at home on CD or on the move on an iPod and enjoy it but this was like being transported back to the first time you heard it while watching the film and experiencing it all over again.

Hans down one of the best live performances I have ever seen.

5 stars