GO SEE DARK KNIGHT

I don't have time wax poetic, if you haven't already seen it, go see 'Dark Knight.' It's one of those movies where at the end you just go 'Wow.' It's that good. You'll get a full review from me after I've seen it a second and/or third time, but let's just say that everything you've heard, especially about Heath Ledger's performance, is all true. Now why are still reading this!?! Get to the theatre now! And if you happen to live in PG, invite me to come with you! GO!

Wimbledon

I know I promised 'Stardust,' but since I spent almost seven, that's right SEVEN, hours watching the Championship match at this year's Wimbledon I felt inspired to review the movie of the same name. Wimbledon - the sporting event - is a unique event. Sure, there are tons of tennis tournaments through out the year, but there isn't anything quite like the fortnight of tennis at the All England Lawn Tennis Club. (PS I love tennis...tennis and hockey, my two favourite, and completely disparate, sports) Much like it's namesake 'Wimbledon' (that's the movie this time) is also quite unique, I mean have you ever heard of a tennis movie before, let alone a tennis-romantic comedy?! 

The thing that first drew me to this film was not that it was a romantic comedy from the same people who brought us 'Notting Hill', (although the trailer tries to entice you with this information, I find Hugh Grant a little insufferable...but I digress) it was the sports movie aspect, and Paul Bettany, I'd watch anything with him in it. 

I've always been drawn to sports movies, although not for the sport, but the story. The stories these films bring us are ones of an indomitable human spirit: they've got that hunger that leads them to conquer not only an opponent but also any personal misgivings of failure. 

Interestingly, in this film, Peter Colt (our hero) has never really hungered for anything. He comes from an upper-middle class (albeit quirky) family and at 31 is an aging tennis pro who's looking at getting a cushy job at a country club for his retirement. He's going to Wimbledon one final time for his last hurrah and isn't expecting to get past the second round. This is a man who tries to announce his retirement at a press conference only to be overshadowed by the latest American phenom. Paul Bettany is perfect as Colt. He plays the almost-past-his-prime tennis player to a tee. He's still in good shape and still has his looks, but he's lost all ambition and every stroke tires him out. Even as the movie progresses and he gets further on in the tournament every time he makes a ridiculous shot the look on his face is priceless, completely shocked and exhausted. He's also perfectly English, this may sound odd, but it's true. An Englishman hasn't won Wimbledon since 1936 and Peter Colt becomes their last great hope. With every round he advances he gets more and more support; this makes him uncomfortable as hell and he demonstrates a great amount of humility only the English can pull off and still come off as sincere. 

Where Peter Colt is a character that would've never worked as an American, Lizzie Bradbury is the perfect brash Yankee player. She plays hard, fearless and and has John McEnroe's manners. Despite their places at the opposite ends of the tennis spectrum they become a great pair. Lizzie makes Peter take chances he wouldn't usually dream of and he makes her realise there's more to life than winning. The filmmaker's take great care with this love story. It could've been incredibly corny and melodramatic but they manage to perfectly undermine almost every romantic moment to give it a laugh. However, there are those rare moments when you can see that these two, that make an unlikely couple, are falling head over heels for each other.

Yet another great touch in this movie is Peter's internal monologue. The audience not only gets to see the agony that almost every shot brings him, but also getting to hear his voice tell us how exhausted he is. While this may seem superfluous you have to remember that, where in other sports movies there are teammates and coaches reminding us how difficult a shot is, or how insurmountable the situation may be, this is tennis. This is a sport where two people play solo against each other for hours. There are no periods, no quarters, no halfs, no time limits. The match just keeps going until someone has won. (Remember when I mentioned this year's match? Yeah 4hrs48min!) So it's nice to get an idea of what might be going on inside one of these player's heads.

While the film focuses on Bettany there are some fantastic supporting performances in this film. Sam Neill is the perfect overbearing tennis father and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is wonderful as Peter's charming German tennis practice partner, Deiter. However, the supporting roles that really stood out for me were James McAvoy and Jon Favreau. McAvoy plays Peter's younger brother Carl. He constantly bets against his brother and is a general annoyance, but in a sweet brotherly way. Then you have the always funny Jon Favreau. Favreau plays Peter's weaselly agent; an agent who's magically reappeared now that Peter's doing well again. While he doesn't have a lot of screen time he steals almost every scene he's in.

On top of the great story and performances that are going on this movie also has great camerawork and effects. In a time where opening sequences are often minimalised, these are fantastic. They put the audience right into the feel of the game. Along with the great opening sequence, there are wonderful special effects in this movie, so good in fact, they are practically invisible. While you can teach an actor to play tennis you can't make him an expert. The actors served the ball, but every match was perfectly choreographed so that that fuzzy yellow ball could be digitally inserted into the rally.

Needless to say this is one of those rare movies that manages to accomplish everything it sets out to do. You believe in the love story, but more than that you end up believing in Peter and want him desperately to win. Leading me put out that from this point on all other tennis-romantic-comedies I see will have to be judged against 'Wimbledon.' Although, I may have to wait a while...oh well, I'll always have next year's Championships. And if you think you're not a tennis fan see if you can find a match or two to watch this summer (Roger's Cup, US Open, I recommend watching Federer, Nadal or Djokovich), and you might just get sucked in. 

Next up 'Stardust,' until then keep it reel!