Getting Sourcey

Movie double the other night, consisting of the wholly brilliant Source Code and the wholly not great Gulliver’s Travels.

Source Code is high concept science fiction (which I’m a fan of, in case I haven’t mentioned it before) and is a thoroughly entertaining watch. Jake Gyllenhaal gives his best performance since Donnie Darko and Vera Farmiga is excellent providing the moral heart of the film. 

The intriguing story sets up two separate but equally compelling mysteries at the same time: who’s responsible for the attack on the train, and what’s really going on with Jake Gyllenhaal’s character back in the present. The whole thing plays out like a incredibly dark episode of Quantum Leap (yet somehow it still works). I won’t spoil the plot any more than I already have, but needless to say it’s definitely worth a watch.

It’s Duncan Jones’ second film, following on from the outstanding Moon (it’s a crime that more people haven’t seen that film). If he continues on in this vein then you can expect big things from Bowie Jnr in the future, as long as he avoids remaking Labyrinth with his dad.

Then there was Gulliver’s Travels which wasn’t very good, except for the always entertaining Jason Segal (with an unfortunate British accent) and a stand-out performance from Chris O’Dowd, of IT Crowd fame. Considering he’s mostly sharing the screen with Billy Connolly and Jack Black, it’s a testament to his comic timing that he steals every scene he’s in. No wonder he’s making waves in Hollywood now.

She taught a bad, bad thing

After the startling mediocrity of Green Lantern, I dragged myself to see Bad Teacher, thinking a comedy might lift my spirits. Instead it completed a double bill of so-so movies.

Maybe I’m being too harsh. It was an OK comedy that had a few laughs. It’s nice to see Cameron Diaz doing full-on comedy again – she’s good at it and I think she’s a great example to give stupid sexist idiots who say that women can’t be funny.

She had a great supporting cast around her. Jason Segal is solid as always, and I think may be the person doing the best off the back of How I Met Your Mother (although Cobie Smulders is going to be in The Avengers so let’s wait and see). Phyllis Smith and Eric Stonestreet (from The US Office and Modern Family, respectively) have small but entertaining parts and Justin Timberlake (who has never wowed me in serious roles) is good as the dorky object of Diaz’s affection. It’s weird that the international sex-symbol seems his most comfortably playing a loser, but perhaps hanging around with Andy Samberg has honed his comedy skills.

The real breakout star in this is Lucy Punch, a British actress who I’ve only really seen before in Hot Fuzz (briefly) and ill-fated American sitcom The Class. She is hilarious and has a real future in comedy. Her character (although technically the antagonist to Diaz’s antihero) is the one I ended up routing for, and I felt quite sorry for her by the end – perhaps the uncomfortable feeling of her being unnecessarily punished is one of the reasons I didn’t enjoy the film more.

Ultimately it’s just Bad Santa, but not quite as good.