Steve Jobs

STEVE JOBS 

Director : Danny Boyle
Cast : Michael Fassbender, Kate Winslet, Seth Rogen, Jeff Daniels, Michael Stuhlbarg, Katherine Waterston, Perla Haney-Jardine, Ripley Sobo, Makenzie Moss
Genre : Drama
Run time: 122 minutes
Singapore theatrical release currently unscheduled

Director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin take us on a journey to the core of the Apple in this biopic. The film dives into the frantic lead-up to three key product launches during the career of tech entrepreneur Steve Jobs (Fassbender). In 1984, Jobs and marketing executive Joanna Hoffman (Winslet) labour over the demonstration of the Apple Macintosh. In the meantime, Jobs brushes off his ex-girlfriend Chrisann Brennan (Waterston), denying that he fathered Chrisann’s daughter Lisa (Moss, Sobo and Haney-Jardine at different ages). In 1988, Jobs attempts to get the NeXT computer off the ground after being ousted from Apple by CEO John Sculley (Daniels). The final act of the film skips ahead ten years to the unveiling of the iMac in 1998. Across the three segments, we also see Jobs’ interactions with his close collaborator Steve Wozniak (Rogen), member of the original Mac team Andy Hertzfeld (Stuhlbarg) and GQ journalist Joel Pforzheimer (John Ortiz).

            When Aaron Sorkin writes a movie, it’s immediately known as an “Aaron Sorkin movie”, regardless of however prolific the director is. Steve Jobs sees Danny Boyle take on Sorkin’s screenplay, imbuing what could very well be a stage play with considerable vim and verve. Boyle has never shied away from experimenting with style and Steve Jobs’ visual dynamism complements the wit of the script. Boyle and cinematographer Alwin Küchler shot each act in different film formats: 16mm for 1984, 35mm for 1988, and digital for 1998, with the look of each segment reflecting the gradual evolution of Jobs’ own style. Likewise, Daniel Pemberton’s score employs analog synthesisers for the 1984 segment, an orchestra for the 1988 segment and digitally-produced tracks made on an iMac for the 1998 act. There are conscious stylistic choices running through the film which enhance and reinforce the firecracker dialogue to string the three distinct acts into a holistic piece.

Sorkin’s hook is that instead of giving an overview of Jobs’ whole life, the film offers snapshots of it. The clear-cut three act structure (or a symphony in three movements, if one prefers) is a gambit that pays off. While it might be frustrating that only these specific events are given focus and that the film concludes a fair bit before the iPod or iPhone happened, the interpersonal drama is constructed with admirable intricacy. Naturally, Boyle and Sorkin take a considerable amount of artistic license and many of the incidents depicted in the film have been invented out of whole cloth. Sorkin said of the lines he wrote, “If any of them are real, it’s a remarkable coincidence.” However, because of how trippingly on the tongue all that Sorkinese is delivered, there is nary a moment for the audience to sit back and pick apart the inaccuracies.

Fassbender has been garnering deserved Oscar buzz for his portrayal of Jobs. While many leading men that Hollywood has attempted to foist on us in recent years are blandly handsome and lacking in screen presence, Fassbender is the master of magnetism. His lack of physical resemblance to Jobs is compensated by a bravura intensity and confidence which draws the audience in no matter how utterly unlikeable the character gets and how many tantrums he throws. This is a markedly different character from Jesse Eisenberg’s take on Mark Zuckerberg in the earlier Sorkin-penned tech icon biopic The Social Network. Both screenplays are Sorkin pieces through and through, and it is fun to parse the similarities and differences. Despite the sheer strength of Fassbender’s portrayal, this reviewer couldn’t help but imagine what Christian Bale, who was attached to the project in its earliest stages, could have done with the part.

The film quickly establishes that it takes someone with an iron constitution to not only tolerate being around Jobs but to regularly stand up to him, and Winslet conveys exactly this with her portrayal of Joanna Hoffman. Winslet spent time with the real Hoffman to capture her mannerisms and she nails the slight Polish accent – her work with the dialect is better than Fassbender’s.  When she or any other character goes toe-to-toe with Jobs, it’s like watching a sparring match. Rogen has memorably stated that he “won’t ruin your fancy drama” and while the role of Steve Wozniak is not exactly the acting challenge playing Jobs is, Rogen is personable and the ideal counterpoint to Fassbender’s performance. Daniels’ performance as the mentor figure who eventually has a falling out with Jobs has considerable emotional impact in spite of the relatively small size of the role.

Steve Jobs is not a hagiography because its subject is not a saint. It’s not blind hero worship because its subject is not exactly a hero. If anything, several of the real-life figures portrayed in the film have come forward to say Jobs was nicer than written and portrayed in the film. The film does get it across that Jobs was driven and immensely passionate. The opening archival footage of science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke standing in a room occupied by one massive computer from the late 60s as he predicts that personal computers will one day be as ubiquitous as telephones does put Jobs’ vision of a “computer for the rest of us” and Apple’s eventual realisation of said vision in perspective.

            Biographical dramas, particularly those calibrated for awards season consideration, can often be stodgy affairs. Steve Jobs practically cartwheels across the screen – it’s an exhilarating experience and it’s fun to soak in all those quotable, razor-sharp lines and momentarily feel smarter by osmosis. There are certain conflicts that feel a mite overblown and the ending is somewhat schmaltzy in spite of Sorkin’s and Boyle’s best efforts, but Steve Jobs succeeds as an insightful, unconventional character study that is enthralling throughout.

Summary: Factual inaccuracies are smoothed over with mesmerizing performances, electrifying direction and whip-smart storytelling in this unconventional and beautifully crafted biopic.

RATING: 4.5 out of 5 Stars

Jedd Jong 

Bad Neighbours

For F*** Magazine

BAD NEIGHBOURS

2014

Genre: Comedy

Run Time: 96 minutes 

Starring: Seth Rogen, Rose Byrne, Zac Efron, Dave Franco, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Craig Roberts, Ike Barinholtz, Lisa Kudrow

Directed by: Nicholas Stoller

            You can’t choose your family, and it turns out you can’t choose your neighbours either – except perhaps if you can buy out the whole row of houses. In this comedy, new parents Mac (Rogen) and Kelly (Byrne) don’t have that luxury. With an infant on their hands, they’re horrified when the Delta Psi Beta fraternity moves into the house next door, since it means endless loud parties and no peace for them or their baby girl. Mac and Kelly initially try to keep things civil between them and the fraternity president Teddy (Efron), but things soon get out of hand as the couple and the frat boys repeatedly clash, deciding the street isn’t big enough for both their groups.

            The film is titled Neighbors but is being released as Bad Neighbours in the UK, Australia and other territories presumably to avoid confusion with the long-running soap opera Neighbours. Director Nicholas Stoller is an oft-collaborator of Judd Apatow, having directed R-rated comedies Forgetting Sarah Marshall, its spin-off Get Him to the Greek and The Five Year Engagement. As can be expected, there is no shortage of wanton ribaldry on display in Bad Neighbours, every scene featuring large quantities of profanity, drugs, sex and nudity in any number of combinations. If lowbrow, American Pie-esque humour isn’t your cup of tea (or bong of weed, rather), it’s best to give this a wide berth. But if you’ve got no problem with lactation gags and 3D-printed dildos, this is the flick for you.

            The problem with many films of this genre is that the characters can be pretty detestable and it’s hard to enjoy their antics when you just can’t relate to them or root for them. By any standards, the characters in Bad Neighbours are not good people: Mac and Kelly are irresponsible, hard-partying parents and Teddy and his frat brothers are inconsiderate, lunk-headed jerks. Teddy even has his frat symbol tattooed on his bicep. However, they end up pretty likeable and somehow, it’s hard to stay mad at these guys and it becomes surprisingly easy to go along with the over the top gags and the sophomoric silliness thanks to the performances the cast turn in.

            Seth Rogen essentially plays himself once again – a schlubby, pot-smoking “hurr hurr” type – but he’s entertaining and funny while he’s at it and he and Zac Efron throw themselves into their crazy feud. This is far more Zac Efron’s wheelhouse than dramas like At Any Price and Charlie St. Cloud. He gets to goof off and show off that MTV Movie Awared-winning physique, charming but never repulsively smug. Once again Rose Byrne more than proves her versatility, holding her own opposite (and often stealing the show from) Efron and Rogen, gamely partaking in the juvenile hijinks without looking like she’d rather not be there. Dave Franco makes for an excellent foil to Efron as Teddy’s wingman Pete, their friendship/rivalry given surprising depth.

            Bad Neighbours unfolds in an episodic, somewhat predictable fashion and is far from a sophisticated affair but it manages to be amusing and engaging and some moviegoers will probably end up enjoying this one in spite of themselves. There’s a scene early in the movie in which Mac and Teddy discuss their favourite cinematic versions of Batman, Mac favouring Michael Keaton with Teddy preferring Christian Bale. It’s a moderately clever way of demonstrating a generational gap and the film tackles the worries of moving on from college to a job and a family without becoming sentimental goop. And hey, when “warring neighbours” comedies like Deck the Halls exist, you could certainly do worse than hanging out with Rogen, Efron, Byrne and co.

Summary: These bad neighbours make for a pretty good time!

RATING: 3.5 out of 5 Stars

Jedd Jong

Paul

For F*** Magazine, Singapore

PAUL

2011 Release

Starring: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kristen Wiig, Seth Rogen (voice)

Director: Greg Mottola

            Ever since 1982’s E.T.: The Extraterrestrial, everyone has wanted to have an alien as a best friend – sometimes a friendly alien is more fun than a vicious invasion. 19 years later, British comedy duo Simon Pegg and Nick Frost give us “E.T.” for grown-ups. They star as two British nerds on a pilgrimage to the San Diego Comic Con, and who go on a road trip to fabled UFO hotspots. On the way, they pick up escapee alien Paul (voiced by Rogen), meet trailer park-owner Ruth (Wiig) and evade Man-in-black agent Zoil (Jason Bateman).

            This movie is first and foremost a celebration for nerds everyone, a joyous ode to geekdom. Nerds need not be ashamed of themselves, and this film shows that they have the capacity to be awesome. Loving references to science-fiction favourites are scattered throughout the movie, Star Wars, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Star Trek, The X-Files and more get nice nods. The best part is that there’s a real story, and good characters that go on a journey and finish the film changed people (and aliens).

            Pegg and Frost share an easy bromance that is carried over from their cult hits Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. Their comic timing seems almost synchronised, but they wisely do not hog the limelight, allowing the supporting characters to shine as much as they do. They also prove themselves capable of serious acting during some dramatic moments. However, there are moments when there’s a rift between their style of humour and the more accessible, crasser material that Superbad director Mottola brings to the table.

Kristen Wiig makes for an interesting love interest as the one-eyed Ruth, but the film attempts to deal with the theme of science vs. religion and gets a little wobbly there. Jason Bateman is an interesting casting choice as the steely and no-nonsense Agent Zoil and Sigourney Weaver is actually quite scary as his boss, “The Big Man”. Watch out for the obligatory Aliens reference.

Seth Rogen’s laid back voice is a good fit for the foul-mouthed, pot-smoking Paul. The thing that’s interesting is that not only has Paul been influenced by our pop culture, he’s made his mark on it too, hence a scene where he advises Steven Spielberg via telephone about the special abilities he should give to E.T. The visual effects work is commendable, Paul seeming like a real character and possessing very expressive, liquid eyes.  

Even for those who aren’t sci-fi aficionados, Paul is a genuinely funny joyride packed with a good amount of belly-laughs. Of course, it helps a little if you know your pop culture references, but the enjoyment isn’t contingent on that.

SUMMARY: An ode to the joys of being a nerd, Paul is carried by Simon Pegg and Nick Frost’s chemistry. It’s a whooping good time and is one of the better comedies this year so far.

RATING: 3.5/5 STARS

I was interviewed by the guys from CTV Movie Mania (Ngee Ann Polytechnic) after watching the film.