From recent rentals to recent cinema viewings, this entry will go from one extreme to the other. You'll see what I mean in a second.
Burning Man
Showing in only one cinema (from what I can see anyway) in the whole of Queensland means that Burning Man will probably be seen by about 12 people, which is a real shame as I think it's currently one of the best films of the year.
Staring Matthew Goode, who has achieved some fame for appearing in the likes of Watchmen and A Single Man, this Australian film begins with a series of unrelated sequences which, for about half an hour, leaves you feeling completely lost. Once everything comes together though it's clear that the the impact intended was for the viewers sense of confusion and disorientation to mimic the same frame of mind the central character was going through after suffering personal tragedy.
Once the nature of his situation is revealed, which I wont get into as I think the movie will work best if you don't know, it then begins on his emotionally draining yet very moving story, moving back and forward in the time line to before, during and after the incident. The performances are all brilliant, and the heartbreaking story has some good dark humour mixed in as well to lift the otherwise sombre mood. Beautifully shot with incredible attention to detail, this is an amazing achievement. I'm leaving my prejudice against Australian movies behind for good.
***** out of *****
Immortals
A Greek mythology themed action movie filmed in a style inspired by 300? Yeah, I didn't have much interest in seeing this, however I got invited by my mate Dayle so I thought I'd go and check it out, as I stand by the notion that every movie deserves a chance. The story is pretty basic Greek mythology stuff, which will hold your interest just enough between the many over the top and bloody action scenes. I still maintain that if you're not going to bother too much with character, plot or dialogue in an action film then you need to make the action scenes as over the top as possible to compensate, and that is indeed what is on display here. If a thought provoking drama is what you're after look elsewhere, but if you have a desire to see blood spilt in numerous different ways over and over and over again then, Immortals will suit you down to the bone.
*** out of *****
Jack and Jill
Ok, to explain how I ended up seeing this film. Me and my buddy Ben were trying to figure out what move to see. He wanted to see Moneyball, however as I'd already seen it I was less than enthusiastic, however would have been willing to see it again. Whilst going through the session times of possible movies we could see Jack and Jill came up. I said there was no Chance we were going to see that, however Ben then planted the idea in my mind that seeing it could provide for an amusing experience if we could enjoy lauging at how bad it was. I mulled the idea over in my head, and when we got to the cinema he let me decide; Moneyball or Jack and Jill. I think he was pretty angry with my decision....
If you're unfamiliar with Jack and Jill, it is Adam Sandler's new movie where he plays the normal Adam Sander character PLUS his own annoying twin sister. Yep, it's as bad as it sounds and much worse. Not only is there not one funny line in the entire film, but we have to sit through endless amounts of blatant product placement, celebrities embarrassing themselves by appearing in cameos, cheap last minute attempts at sentimentality, and, perhaps worst of all, the sad realisation that Al Pacino's career is now reduced to appearing as an insane version of himself in this bullocks.
I'm half convinced that Adam Sandler is just playing a big practical joke on everyone and doing a kind of parody of himself, because there mere notion that any human would find this film even mildly appealing is a massive insult to all mankind. I'm not even one of Adam Sander's many haters, and usually enjoy his movies, but this, UGH, what more can I say. It's puerile and certainly not worth wasting anymore time talking about.
No Stars
Thursday, 22 December 2011
Wednesday, 21 December 2011
Recent Rentals
As promised, just took me a while.
Fast & Furious 5
The fifth installment in the Fast and Furious franchise is the first one I've seen. I haven't bothered with any of the others as I'm not even close to being what you would call a car enthusiast, plus Vin Diesel is a bit of a tool. I had no plans to see this one either, however after reading good reviews and hearing that they had shifted the foucs of the film from car racing to instead being a heist film I decided to check it out.
The story seems to sort of follow from the previous films, not that I would know, with Vin Diesel and Paul Walker's characters on the run from the law for some reason. They end up in Brazil and decide to do "one last job" or someother such cliced nonsense and rip off this rich business guy. The business due is completely evil and corrupt though, so it's ok. This then leads to them recruiting a team, and at this point you pretty much know what kind of movie you've got. You know, one of those "We're putting a team togeather to achieve such and such a goal, you in?" If these shennanigans weren't enough, they also have The Rock AKA Dwayne Johnso relentless cop character on their tail.
Despite this movie being nothing new it was actually pretty enjoyable. The characters were all adequetly fleshed out, the action set pieces were suitablly over the top and exciting and The Rock's performance as a bad arse never say die cop was great. Looks like they'll probably be a sequel, so as long as they keep going in the same vain as this film we could be looking at a successful re-boot of sorts taking the franchise in a new direction.
***1/2 out of *****
Green Lantern
I skipped this one when it was at the cinemas as I thought it was going to be a bit of a disaster. Not being familar with the comics I only had the trailer to guide my expectations, and that made it look like a kids movie set in a bizarre world of green and purple aliens, and the special effects didn't do much to win me over either. Upon viewing the film these inital concerns were confirmed, and the film also sufferes from sub par script and a romantic subplot involving Blake Lively that had about as much life to it as a crematorium. Despite this, Ryan Reynolds brings his usual charasima to the titular superhero character which helps keep the film from sinking, and there are enough action scenes to keep us entertained. I also enjoyed the story of a regular everyday guy suddenly finding himself completely out of his depth and in a position of immense importance, but I think I'm a bit of a sucker for those kind of storylines. In summary, it was better than I thought it would be.
*** out of *****
Sleeping Beauty
No, not the Disney animated classic, but rather an Australian arthouse film that screened in competition at the Cannes Film Festival this year. In fact, I'd be horrified if the former movie's target audidence saw even a moment of this film, which focuses on a young lady in need of money and the lengths she will go to get it.
Sleeping Beauty takes the "less is more" approach to storytelling, which if done correctly can make for a very natural and satisfying expierence, however here it makes for a dull and completely pointless one. It appears the director doesn't understand the difference between subtle character development and revealing absolutely nothing so we can't connect to and care about the events unfoding at all. The two main elements that the film appears to be trying to explore are the aforementioned lengths a person will go to for money and the hidden sexual desires that men keep buried well beneath the surface, yet it does it in such a cold and detached manner that they left no impact whatsoever.
While I admired the cinematorgragy and apprecited the fact that the film was offering something original, it was ultimately a boring, pretentious and soulless mess. Don't bother with this epic waste of time.
* out of *****
Battle: Los Angeles
Aliens are invading and the army has to stop them. That's all you need to about Battle: Los Angeles as that's all there is to it. Doesn't sound very satisfying? That's probably because it's not. So how could this festering turd pile actually have worked?
Well perhaps give the lead character some sort of story arc. Perhaps he has a son that he's trying to get home to. Maybe this could be his last mission before going home to his son for good. Maybe then he finds out that the government had known about the possibility of aliens attacking for ages but kept it so top secret that nothing was done about it, which makes him super angry Our hero could even have a strained relationship with his son, and he ends up sacrificing himself to save the day, which earns his son's eternal love and respect after a tearful good bye. You could even throw some social commentary about the aliens being no worse than humans when they've invaded or colonised countires etc. If it sounds familar that's because it's the same storyline always used for these sort of films, and usually it works. It wouldn't have been a great movie but lets face it, this wasn never going to be. It would have at least been passable. What did we get instead?
Introduce a few stock standard characters who all seem to be a carbon copy of each other for about 20 minutes, followed by "We've got some meteores coming." "What, they're aliens?" BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG "Generic war speech" BANG BANG BANG BANG "I don't know if this guy has what it takes" BANG BANG BANG BANG - THE END. Ugh. Even if they had delivered the action in carefully choreographed set pieces rather than just endless chaos the lack of any soild storytelling could be excused. Some of the special effects and action scenes are OKAY but that's it. A simply awful example of flim making.
1/2* out of *****
Fast & Furious 5
The fifth installment in the Fast and Furious franchise is the first one I've seen. I haven't bothered with any of the others as I'm not even close to being what you would call a car enthusiast, plus Vin Diesel is a bit of a tool. I had no plans to see this one either, however after reading good reviews and hearing that they had shifted the foucs of the film from car racing to instead being a heist film I decided to check it out.
The story seems to sort of follow from the previous films, not that I would know, with Vin Diesel and Paul Walker's characters on the run from the law for some reason. They end up in Brazil and decide to do "one last job" or someother such cliced nonsense and rip off this rich business guy. The business due is completely evil and corrupt though, so it's ok. This then leads to them recruiting a team, and at this point you pretty much know what kind of movie you've got. You know, one of those "We're putting a team togeather to achieve such and such a goal, you in?" If these shennanigans weren't enough, they also have The Rock AKA Dwayne Johnso relentless cop character on their tail.
Despite this movie being nothing new it was actually pretty enjoyable. The characters were all adequetly fleshed out, the action set pieces were suitablly over the top and exciting and The Rock's performance as a bad arse never say die cop was great. Looks like they'll probably be a sequel, so as long as they keep going in the same vain as this film we could be looking at a successful re-boot of sorts taking the franchise in a new direction.
***1/2 out of *****
Green Lantern
I skipped this one when it was at the cinemas as I thought it was going to be a bit of a disaster. Not being familar with the comics I only had the trailer to guide my expectations, and that made it look like a kids movie set in a bizarre world of green and purple aliens, and the special effects didn't do much to win me over either. Upon viewing the film these inital concerns were confirmed, and the film also sufferes from sub par script and a romantic subplot involving Blake Lively that had about as much life to it as a crematorium. Despite this, Ryan Reynolds brings his usual charasima to the titular superhero character which helps keep the film from sinking, and there are enough action scenes to keep us entertained. I also enjoyed the story of a regular everyday guy suddenly finding himself completely out of his depth and in a position of immense importance, but I think I'm a bit of a sucker for those kind of storylines. In summary, it was better than I thought it would be.
*** out of *****
Sleeping Beauty
No, not the Disney animated classic, but rather an Australian arthouse film that screened in competition at the Cannes Film Festival this year. In fact, I'd be horrified if the former movie's target audidence saw even a moment of this film, which focuses on a young lady in need of money and the lengths she will go to get it.
Sleeping Beauty takes the "less is more" approach to storytelling, which if done correctly can make for a very natural and satisfying expierence, however here it makes for a dull and completely pointless one. It appears the director doesn't understand the difference between subtle character development and revealing absolutely nothing so we can't connect to and care about the events unfoding at all. The two main elements that the film appears to be trying to explore are the aforementioned lengths a person will go to for money and the hidden sexual desires that men keep buried well beneath the surface, yet it does it in such a cold and detached manner that they left no impact whatsoever.
While I admired the cinematorgragy and apprecited the fact that the film was offering something original, it was ultimately a boring, pretentious and soulless mess. Don't bother with this epic waste of time.
* out of *****
Battle: Los Angeles
Aliens are invading and the army has to stop them. That's all you need to about Battle: Los Angeles as that's all there is to it. Doesn't sound very satisfying? That's probably because it's not. So how could this festering turd pile actually have worked?
Well perhaps give the lead character some sort of story arc. Perhaps he has a son that he's trying to get home to. Maybe this could be his last mission before going home to his son for good. Maybe then he finds out that the government had known about the possibility of aliens attacking for ages but kept it so top secret that nothing was done about it, which makes him super angry Our hero could even have a strained relationship with his son, and he ends up sacrificing himself to save the day, which earns his son's eternal love and respect after a tearful good bye. You could even throw some social commentary about the aliens being no worse than humans when they've invaded or colonised countires etc. If it sounds familar that's because it's the same storyline always used for these sort of films, and usually it works. It wouldn't have been a great movie but lets face it, this wasn never going to be. It would have at least been passable. What did we get instead?
Introduce a few stock standard characters who all seem to be a carbon copy of each other for about 20 minutes, followed by "We've got some meteores coming." "What, they're aliens?" BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG "Generic war speech" BANG BANG BANG BANG "I don't know if this guy has what it takes" BANG BANG BANG BANG - THE END. Ugh. Even if they had delivered the action in carefully choreographed set pieces rather than just endless chaos the lack of any soild storytelling could be excused. Some of the special effects and action scenes are OKAY but that's it. A simply awful example of flim making.
1/2* out of *****
Tuesday, 6 December 2011
New stuff
Yep, here we go again. I've got too many to get to so these reviews are going to be short and lazily written, but really what's new there (BURN.... myself?) Anyway...
Moneyball
I'll just come right and out and say that this film kicked all kinds of arse, but with Aaron Sorkin as the scriptwriter (who of course wrote The Social Network) what more what one expect. Based on a true story, Brad Pitt's character (I really can't be stuffed with character's names) is the manager of the Oakland Athletics baseball and employs a fellow working with another team, who is played by Jonah Hill, who has a theory about recruiting players based purely on their stats, thus saving money going after the marquee players and being able to compete with the much richer clubs such as a the New York Yankees.
And that is the basic plot in a nutshell. Where the movie works so well is of course in the script, which is Aaron Sorkin's usual mix of intelligent dialogue and humour, the performances (I think this is probably the best performance I've seen Jonah Hill give) and the character study of Billy Beane (fine I looked the name up.) While it's a sports movie the movie is more concerned with what goes on behind the scenes, and you could say it's a sports movie for people who don't like sport.
I'd almost go as far as to say this is the Social Network of 2011, not because they have the same scriptwriter, but because both films focus on a man obsessed with an idea. While Mark Zuckerburg was obsessed with the technology and the changes in the way people related to and communicated with each other, Billy Beane was obsessed with changing the way the game of baseball was played. It doesn't have quite the same depth of storytelling as The Social Network, but the added touch of Billy's relationship with his daughter and her final message to him; stop obsessing, "Just enjoy the show" put the icing on one very enjoyable ride.
****1/2 out of *****
The Ides of March
The new directorial effort directed by and staring George Clooney is about two politicians competing to become the Democrats Candidate for an upcoming election. George Clooney falls on the more on the left side of politics while his opponent is more conservatively minded. Ryan Gosling is working on Clooney's campaign, and is wide eyed, optimistic and believes in what he's doing, and you'd be guessing correctly if you thought that didn't attitude didn't last for the whole film.
The film starts at a steady pace but somewhere along the line plats the pedal to the floor and never really lets up to the end. We follow a series of twists, allegiances and betrayals which, along with the loss of innocence of the main character makes this feel less like your average political drama and more like The Godfather, minus the people being whacked of course. I've read a few negative things about this film, mainly over at the cess pit of humanity known as the IMDB message board, and I can't really understand why. This is an intelligently written, edge of your seat style drama, with another brilliant performance from Ryan Gosling and a protagonist that takes us on a journey that may spew forth cynicism regarding politics, but at the same time may be a little closer to reality than we would like to believe.
****1/2 out of *****
Midnight in Paris
I keep hearing that Woody Allen's new films are no good and that he's lost the plot recently, however I must keep seeing the right movies almost all the newer Woody Allen films I've seen have been gold, including this one. It has all the usual Woody Allen charming dialogue, interesting characters and unpredictable plot turns, and plenty of beautiful shots and scenery of central Paris. Midnight in Paris has Owen Wilson playing the typical Woody Allen character, as he continually goes back in time at Midnight (whilst being in Paris - GET IT!) and meets several famous artists from the past such as Pablo Picasso and F Scott Fitzgerald, and gets tips on his writing from Ernest Hemingway. At the same time his fiance, played by Rachel McAdams, seems more taken with a wannabe intellectual friend of hers with a ten foot poll up his arse.
Even though Owen Wilson is just playing Owen Wilson, like he usually does, for some reason he just fits the Woody Allen character so well. The Woody Allen movie that this probably resembles the most would be the Purple Rose of Cairo, due to the fantasy elements of both movies, and considering the quality of that movie I think that comparison is a good thing. In Roger Ebert's review he said he considers Allen to be a treasure of the cinema and I couldn't agree more. There's so much whimsical fun to be had here and I hope he never stops making movies, until he, you know, dies.
**** out of *****
Attack the Block
An unusual choice to open the Brisbane International Film Festival this year, this British film sci-fi action film centres around a street gang attempting to stop an alien invasion. Errr... yeah. Don't expect an Independence Dayesque film that's for sure. The aliens look pretty cool and it's a pretty fun action film with the usual British wit mixed in, however the film seems to be trying to elevate itself further by looking at the social problems surrounding street gangs, although I'm not sure this is fully explored enough and kinda doesn't work for me. However, that aside, I enjoyed this alot. And that's all I have to say on this one.
***1/2 out of *****
Inside Man
A Spike Lee film, or "Joint", from a few years ago that's been sitting in my DVD collection for ages and I finally got around to watching, Inside Man is about bank robbers who've taken a group of people hostage. The main bank robber is Clive Owen. Denzel Washington is the cop assigned to negotiate with the robbers. Jodie Foster is a woman hired to protect the interests of the bank manager, who is hiding a dark secret. Willem Dafoe is in there somewhere too. So it's got a good cast, and it moves at a frenetic pace with enough twists to keep the viewer entertained and intrigued. At the same time it attempts to offer social commentary and explore questions of morality, although like the above film these feel a bit tacked on and not like an natural extension of the storyline. Well worth checking out though.
***1/2 out of *****
Limitless
Alright, almost there. The central character is Limitless is played by Bradley Cooper, who has found himself in a bit of a funk until he comes across a drug that allows people to unleash their full potential and his life completely turns around. A cool concept however the full extent to which someone could utilise such a drug is never fully realised, and it descends into a bit of a standard action fare at the end. You could say the film is LIMITED (HAHAHAHAHA!) in it's execution. On the plus side it has Robert De Niro in it.
*** out of *****
Sanctum
Based on a true story about a bunch of adventurers stuck in a cave, who end up yelling at each other with every cliched line in the book. I guess the moral of the story is not to go into caves? Had it's moments, but ultimately was a waste of time.
** out of *****
And that's that. I currently have Green Lantern, Fast & Furious Five, Battle: Los Angleas and Sleeping Beauty on rental, so those reviews will be up..... sometime.
Moneyball
I'll just come right and out and say that this film kicked all kinds of arse, but with Aaron Sorkin as the scriptwriter (who of course wrote The Social Network) what more what one expect. Based on a true story, Brad Pitt's character (I really can't be stuffed with character's names) is the manager of the Oakland Athletics baseball and employs a fellow working with another team, who is played by Jonah Hill, who has a theory about recruiting players based purely on their stats, thus saving money going after the marquee players and being able to compete with the much richer clubs such as a the New York Yankees.
And that is the basic plot in a nutshell. Where the movie works so well is of course in the script, which is Aaron Sorkin's usual mix of intelligent dialogue and humour, the performances (I think this is probably the best performance I've seen Jonah Hill give) and the character study of Billy Beane (fine I looked the name up.) While it's a sports movie the movie is more concerned with what goes on behind the scenes, and you could say it's a sports movie for people who don't like sport.
I'd almost go as far as to say this is the Social Network of 2011, not because they have the same scriptwriter, but because both films focus on a man obsessed with an idea. While Mark Zuckerburg was obsessed with the technology and the changes in the way people related to and communicated with each other, Billy Beane was obsessed with changing the way the game of baseball was played. It doesn't have quite the same depth of storytelling as The Social Network, but the added touch of Billy's relationship with his daughter and her final message to him; stop obsessing, "Just enjoy the show" put the icing on one very enjoyable ride.
****1/2 out of *****
The Ides of March
The new directorial effort directed by and staring George Clooney is about two politicians competing to become the Democrats Candidate for an upcoming election. George Clooney falls on the more on the left side of politics while his opponent is more conservatively minded. Ryan Gosling is working on Clooney's campaign, and is wide eyed, optimistic and believes in what he's doing, and you'd be guessing correctly if you thought that didn't attitude didn't last for the whole film.
The film starts at a steady pace but somewhere along the line plats the pedal to the floor and never really lets up to the end. We follow a series of twists, allegiances and betrayals which, along with the loss of innocence of the main character makes this feel less like your average political drama and more like The Godfather, minus the people being whacked of course. I've read a few negative things about this film, mainly over at the cess pit of humanity known as the IMDB message board, and I can't really understand why. This is an intelligently written, edge of your seat style drama, with another brilliant performance from Ryan Gosling and a protagonist that takes us on a journey that may spew forth cynicism regarding politics, but at the same time may be a little closer to reality than we would like to believe.
****1/2 out of *****
Midnight in Paris
I keep hearing that Woody Allen's new films are no good and that he's lost the plot recently, however I must keep seeing the right movies almost all the newer Woody Allen films I've seen have been gold, including this one. It has all the usual Woody Allen charming dialogue, interesting characters and unpredictable plot turns, and plenty of beautiful shots and scenery of central Paris. Midnight in Paris has Owen Wilson playing the typical Woody Allen character, as he continually goes back in time at Midnight (whilst being in Paris - GET IT!) and meets several famous artists from the past such as Pablo Picasso and F Scott Fitzgerald, and gets tips on his writing from Ernest Hemingway. At the same time his fiance, played by Rachel McAdams, seems more taken with a wannabe intellectual friend of hers with a ten foot poll up his arse.
Even though Owen Wilson is just playing Owen Wilson, like he usually does, for some reason he just fits the Woody Allen character so well. The Woody Allen movie that this probably resembles the most would be the Purple Rose of Cairo, due to the fantasy elements of both movies, and considering the quality of that movie I think that comparison is a good thing. In Roger Ebert's review he said he considers Allen to be a treasure of the cinema and I couldn't agree more. There's so much whimsical fun to be had here and I hope he never stops making movies, until he, you know, dies.
**** out of *****
Attack the Block
An unusual choice to open the Brisbane International Film Festival this year, this British film sci-fi action film centres around a street gang attempting to stop an alien invasion. Errr... yeah. Don't expect an Independence Dayesque film that's for sure. The aliens look pretty cool and it's a pretty fun action film with the usual British wit mixed in, however the film seems to be trying to elevate itself further by looking at the social problems surrounding street gangs, although I'm not sure this is fully explored enough and kinda doesn't work for me. However, that aside, I enjoyed this alot. And that's all I have to say on this one.
***1/2 out of *****
Inside Man
A Spike Lee film, or "Joint", from a few years ago that's been sitting in my DVD collection for ages and I finally got around to watching, Inside Man is about bank robbers who've taken a group of people hostage. The main bank robber is Clive Owen. Denzel Washington is the cop assigned to negotiate with the robbers. Jodie Foster is a woman hired to protect the interests of the bank manager, who is hiding a dark secret. Willem Dafoe is in there somewhere too. So it's got a good cast, and it moves at a frenetic pace with enough twists to keep the viewer entertained and intrigued. At the same time it attempts to offer social commentary and explore questions of morality, although like the above film these feel a bit tacked on and not like an natural extension of the storyline. Well worth checking out though.
***1/2 out of *****
Limitless
Alright, almost there. The central character is Limitless is played by Bradley Cooper, who has found himself in a bit of a funk until he comes across a drug that allows people to unleash their full potential and his life completely turns around. A cool concept however the full extent to which someone could utilise such a drug is never fully realised, and it descends into a bit of a standard action fare at the end. You could say the film is LIMITED (HAHAHAHAHA!) in it's execution. On the plus side it has Robert De Niro in it.
*** out of *****
Sanctum
Based on a true story about a bunch of adventurers stuck in a cave, who end up yelling at each other with every cliched line in the book. I guess the moral of the story is not to go into caves? Had it's moments, but ultimately was a waste of time.
** out of *****
And that's that. I currently have Green Lantern, Fast & Furious Five, Battle: Los Angleas and Sleeping Beauty on rental, so those reviews will be up..... sometime.
Thursday, 10 November 2011
I win
Two posts in two days. I'm impressed with myself.
Contagion
How's this for ensemble cast; Matt Damon, Jude Law, Laurence Fishburne, Marion Cotillard, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Elloit Gould and Bryan Cranston? Yep, it's pretty darn good. Contagion is the new film from director Steven Soderbergh (who seems to be only rivaled by Gus Van Sant for his mix of arthouse and mainstream films) about an outbreak of an extremely deadly disease killing crap loads of people. With the ensemble cast it's pretty much a given that the plot is executed using the multiple storyline approach seen in Soderbergh's other film Traffic, and also in Magnolia, Love Actually, Crash, Babel etc.
The movie begins on day 2 of the outbreak of the virus, which creates a sense of being thrown right in the thick of things from the get go, and the tension never lets up, with the narrative moving at a rapid pace and a chaotic and distressing atmosphere being prevalent for much of the movie.
While the multi narrative approach means that the character development suffers (some characters aren't given much screen time at all) it allows multiple different attitudes toward the situation to be explored, from Jude Law's conspiracy theories, Matt Damon's ultra paranoia, Marion Cotillard's mercy and selflessness, Laurence Fishburne's self serving antics, and also the various political responses. At under 2 hours it's a very efficient movie and there's hardly a boring moment. An early winner to emerge from the post Summer blockbuster season.
**** out of *****
Drive
I heard two responses from people in my cinema after this movie finished. One was from a guy in his early 20's, who remarked to his girlfriend/wife/defacto/arm candy "Well it was certainly different." The other was from a gal, possibly in her late teens, who said something to her friend along the lines of "I only came because you said it was meant to be good." Also, about half way through the movie someone in front of me said "Finally something happened." I mention these statements as they all say something about the film, it certainly is different, it requires a patient viewer, and teenage girls wont like it, despite the presence of Ryan Gosling.
Drive is about Ryan Gosling's unnamed character (apparently a nod to Clint Eastwood's man with no name character in the dollar trilogy) is mechanic and Hollywood stunt driver by day and a get away for hire driver by night. The film opens with the driver going on one of his late night getaway drives, a brilliant sequence which is undoubtedly one of the best pieces of filmaking I've seen this year. The next hour or so is then dedicated to his developing relationship and possible romantic interest in his female neighbour, played by Carey Mulligan. The remainder of the film then turns into one of the most violent action films you're likely to see. Yes, it was "certainly different."
On the one hand this is a bold, original and well crafted piece of filmaking that doesn't let up on the thrills and tension toward the end, and Ryan Gosling's performance is brilliant as usual. On the other hand the approach to character development leaves a little to be desired and the odd mix of genres leaves a little too much of a WTF taste in my mouth for my liking. Still, Driver comes with a strong recommendation from me.
**** out of *****
Real Steel
Yep, a movie about robot boxing. Where to next for the creative geniuses known as mankind? The writers obviously went through a checklist of every action and sports movie cliche, as they're all on display here. The film even has the same ending as another famous fighting movie (name of movie withheld to avoid spoilers). Perhaps by having robots fighting instead of people they hoped no one would notice (or care)? The movie follows a basic and well worn formula, so it's blatantly obvious where the story is going at every single turn. However, the robot fight scenes are kinda cool, Hugh Jackman's performance is solid, and the characters make you care. So err, sit back and enjoy robots pummel each other, if that's your cup of tea?
*** out of *****
Contagion
How's this for ensemble cast; Matt Damon, Jude Law, Laurence Fishburne, Marion Cotillard, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Elloit Gould and Bryan Cranston? Yep, it's pretty darn good. Contagion is the new film from director Steven Soderbergh (who seems to be only rivaled by Gus Van Sant for his mix of arthouse and mainstream films) about an outbreak of an extremely deadly disease killing crap loads of people. With the ensemble cast it's pretty much a given that the plot is executed using the multiple storyline approach seen in Soderbergh's other film Traffic, and also in Magnolia, Love Actually, Crash, Babel etc.
The movie begins on day 2 of the outbreak of the virus, which creates a sense of being thrown right in the thick of things from the get go, and the tension never lets up, with the narrative moving at a rapid pace and a chaotic and distressing atmosphere being prevalent for much of the movie.
While the multi narrative approach means that the character development suffers (some characters aren't given much screen time at all) it allows multiple different attitudes toward the situation to be explored, from Jude Law's conspiracy theories, Matt Damon's ultra paranoia, Marion Cotillard's mercy and selflessness, Laurence Fishburne's self serving antics, and also the various political responses. At under 2 hours it's a very efficient movie and there's hardly a boring moment. An early winner to emerge from the post Summer blockbuster season.
**** out of *****
Drive
I heard two responses from people in my cinema after this movie finished. One was from a guy in his early 20's, who remarked to his girlfriend/wife/defacto/arm candy "Well it was certainly different." The other was from a gal, possibly in her late teens, who said something to her friend along the lines of "I only came because you said it was meant to be good." Also, about half way through the movie someone in front of me said "Finally something happened." I mention these statements as they all say something about the film, it certainly is different, it requires a patient viewer, and teenage girls wont like it, despite the presence of Ryan Gosling.
Drive is about Ryan Gosling's unnamed character (apparently a nod to Clint Eastwood's man with no name character in the dollar trilogy) is mechanic and Hollywood stunt driver by day and a get away for hire driver by night. The film opens with the driver going on one of his late night getaway drives, a brilliant sequence which is undoubtedly one of the best pieces of filmaking I've seen this year. The next hour or so is then dedicated to his developing relationship and possible romantic interest in his female neighbour, played by Carey Mulligan. The remainder of the film then turns into one of the most violent action films you're likely to see. Yes, it was "certainly different."
On the one hand this is a bold, original and well crafted piece of filmaking that doesn't let up on the thrills and tension toward the end, and Ryan Gosling's performance is brilliant as usual. On the other hand the approach to character development leaves a little to be desired and the odd mix of genres leaves a little too much of a WTF taste in my mouth for my liking. Still, Driver comes with a strong recommendation from me.
**** out of *****
Real Steel
Yep, a movie about robot boxing. Where to next for the creative geniuses known as mankind? The writers obviously went through a checklist of every action and sports movie cliche, as they're all on display here. The film even has the same ending as another famous fighting movie (name of movie withheld to avoid spoilers). Perhaps by having robots fighting instead of people they hoped no one would notice (or care)? The movie follows a basic and well worn formula, so it's blatantly obvious where the story is going at every single turn. However, the robot fight scenes are kinda cool, Hugh Jackman's performance is solid, and the characters make you care. So err, sit back and enjoy robots pummel each other, if that's your cup of tea?
*** out of *****
Wednesday, 9 November 2011
First update in forever
Yep, haven't updated this in ages. So just to get the ball rolling I will post some very quick reviews of some (but not all) of the movies I've seen since the last update.
Red Dog
Australian family film about an outback mining town seen through the eyes of the communities dog. Yep, sounds like a dull premises, however the right mix of comedy, drama and character made this a feel good movie almost anyone could enjoy, even if the sentimental clap trap is laid on a bit thick. Apparently based on a true story, although I'm not sure how much of it is factual. Well worth checking out
**** out of *****
Snowtown
Another 2011 Australia movie based on a true story, this time about a series of serial killings that took place in South Australia in the 90s. A lack of character development and some pacing problems (lengthy periods of not much happening) prevent this from being the Animal Kingdom of 2011. However what the movie does well is creating the creepy, disturbing atmosphere appropriate for the subject matter and exploring lower class suburban life, and, to an extent, the attitudes that would lead someone to commit such horrendous acts.
***1/2 out of *****
The Change-Up
I had no intention of seeing this movie whatsoever, however on evening I found myself in the mood to go the movies and completely shut my brain off, and not really caring for the quality of the film at all, so subsequently found myself in The Change-Up. After the film finished I was reminded it sometimes pays to keep your expectations extremely low, as I was pleasantly surprised with this one. I mean, it wasn't great, the concept of two people swapping bodies has been done to death and the film's message of being happy with who you are and what you have was obvious and simple. But there were some good laughs to be had, and Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman are always good, so, yeah, I could imagine many worse ways to spend an evening.
*** out of *****
The Losers
Run of the mill action film based on some obscure comic book (obscure meaning I've never heard of it.) I watched this with a group of people who all enjoyed and I'm at a loss as to why, the characters weren't interesting, the storyline - very pedestrian, the action scenes - mediocre at best and the dialogue - painful. Despite all that there was still some fun to be had with The Losers, just not enough to make up for it's many flaws.
** out of *****
Kull The Conqueror
Late 90's action/fantasy starring Kevin Sorbo, presumably an attempt to cash in on the popularity of Kevin Sorbo's action/fantasy show Hercules (at least I think that show was popular.) The storyline is basically irrelevant, Kevin Sorbo swings an axe around a lot and kills stuff. Terrible.
1/2* out of *****
So that's that, and as part of my goal to overcome procrastination I will aim to make another post tomorrow with new movies. I'll see how I go.
Red Dog
Australian family film about an outback mining town seen through the eyes of the communities dog. Yep, sounds like a dull premises, however the right mix of comedy, drama and character made this a feel good movie almost anyone could enjoy, even if the sentimental clap trap is laid on a bit thick. Apparently based on a true story, although I'm not sure how much of it is factual. Well worth checking out
**** out of *****
Snowtown
Another 2011 Australia movie based on a true story, this time about a series of serial killings that took place in South Australia in the 90s. A lack of character development and some pacing problems (lengthy periods of not much happening) prevent this from being the Animal Kingdom of 2011. However what the movie does well is creating the creepy, disturbing atmosphere appropriate for the subject matter and exploring lower class suburban life, and, to an extent, the attitudes that would lead someone to commit such horrendous acts.
***1/2 out of *****
The Change-Up
I had no intention of seeing this movie whatsoever, however on evening I found myself in the mood to go the movies and completely shut my brain off, and not really caring for the quality of the film at all, so subsequently found myself in The Change-Up. After the film finished I was reminded it sometimes pays to keep your expectations extremely low, as I was pleasantly surprised with this one. I mean, it wasn't great, the concept of two people swapping bodies has been done to death and the film's message of being happy with who you are and what you have was obvious and simple. But there were some good laughs to be had, and Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman are always good, so, yeah, I could imagine many worse ways to spend an evening.
*** out of *****
The Losers
Run of the mill action film based on some obscure comic book (obscure meaning I've never heard of it.) I watched this with a group of people who all enjoyed and I'm at a loss as to why, the characters weren't interesting, the storyline - very pedestrian, the action scenes - mediocre at best and the dialogue - painful. Despite all that there was still some fun to be had with The Losers, just not enough to make up for it's many flaws.
** out of *****
Kull The Conqueror
Late 90's action/fantasy starring Kevin Sorbo, presumably an attempt to cash in on the popularity of Kevin Sorbo's action/fantasy show Hercules (at least I think that show was popular.) The storyline is basically irrelevant, Kevin Sorbo swings an axe around a lot and kills stuff. Terrible.
1/2* out of *****
So that's that, and as part of my goal to overcome procrastination I will aim to make another post tomorrow with new movies. I'll see how I go.
Monday, 26 September 2011
Some Bad Films I've Seen Lately
For some reason I've seen a number of really cruddy movies lately. I don't really want to devote too much time to discussing such putrid artistic endeavours, however it IS my civic duty to warn anyone reading of the visual torture they will endure if viewing said mo.nstrosities, so here we go.
The Good
Due Date
I refer to Due Date as "The Good" not because it is good, but because it's the best of a bad lot. It actually wasn't terrible, but it was bad enough to be included in this entry. Here we have an actor who has just recently gotten back in the public's good graces (Robert Downey Jr) teaming up with an actor who has recently been brought to the public's attention (Zach Galifianakis). Downey Jr plays the "straight guy", stuck in some part of America (who really cares), after an incident at the airport involving Galifianakis's "funny guy" character. They both end up road tripping together, as Downey Jr is desperate to make it home for the birth of his child. From there the movie becomes your typical road trip movie, and the "straight guy vs funny guy" routine makes up most of the laughs, which there are a few of, but less than you would expect from the two leads and the director of The Hangover. Basically, the movie has it's moments, and watching it wasn't a complete waste of time, however at the end of the day it was a very "meh" experience. The characters aren't very interesting, and there's nothing particularly memorable about the movie, but nothing really awful about it either.
**1/2 out of *****
The Bad
Red Riding Hood
I'm sure that the "From the director of Twilight" tagline put alot of people off this film, but it shouldn't off. The fact that it's a soulless, thrilless piece of nonsense that has almost nothing to do with the Red Riding Hood story, however, should. On the plus side it has Amanda Seyfried and Gary Oldman in it, who both give good performances. I also liked the setting of a fantasy/gothic snow covered world, where the people are frightened of attacks by werewolves. The storyline, however, is uninteresting and completely insane, and the attempts to inject romance into it fall flat. It was one of those movies where I couldn't even determine what the director was trying to do with it or who the target audience was supposed to be, except for perhaps the post Twilight audience who lap up anything remotely "supernatural romance" themed. Anyway, this movie was pretty pointless.
*1/2 out of *****
I Am Number Four
I remember seeing the trailer for this at the cinemas thinking it looked kinda cool. The concept of one alien race hunting down the remaining few of another alien race on earth is also not bad. However, pretty much the moment the movie started it was obvious this one was a dud. Cheesy special effects, lame dialogue, poor performances, not to mention plot devices that make no sense (why would an alien engaged in an intergalactic battle care so much about living a "normal life" to put himself at risk by being out in the open attending school, not to mention looking and acting exactly like a human) all add up to one unmistakable piece of garbage. I somewhat got sucked into the characters and some of the action scenes were ok, but this felt more like a pilot for after school teen sci fi show than film that was theatrically released. You can safely skip this clap trap.
*1/2 out of *****
Killers
Ashton Kutcher and Katherine Heigl aren't actually known for their excellent choice of movie roles, and their appearance in this fecal matter isn't going to improve that reputation one bit. Killers attempts a merge of the romantic comedy and spy thriller genre, and needless to say Alfred Hitchcock probably could have pulled that off, but whoever directed this crap (runs to Wikipedia....), but Robert Luketic certainly couldn't. The movie gets off to a really bad start, with the romance between the two leads being introduced in a completely hap hazard fashion, and Kutcher's monologue where he tell's Heigl he's a killer are some of the most awkwardly delivered lines I've ever seen on film. Things pick up a bit once the action/spy segment of the movie starts, but the plot delves off into absurdist terriitory far to quickly for the movie to ever be redeemed. Full of cliche and contrived plot twists, you'd find more creative genius in a kindergarten finger painting class than you would here. Only recommended for hardcore rom com enthusiasts, and even then I'd say proceed with caution.
* out of *****
The Ugly
Your Highness
Your Highness has the dishonour being the worst film in my "bad films" entry, so err, congratulations? The only reason I rented this abomination was because the movie I went to store to borrow was all rented out, and I guess in my frustration I turned to the first film that looked slightly appealing. With cast including Danny McBride, James Franco, Natalie Portman and Zooey Deschanel, you'd expect something at least half decent. An hour and a half later and I was proven wrong. I guess you'd describe this movie as a fantasy comedy, and it's not a movie that expects you to care about the characters or the storyline, but instead proposes to entertain by taking you along for the ride and making you laugh. Which would be fine, if the ride it was taking you on was an even remotely fun one or if the jokes were funny. Instead we're bombarded with lame special effects, unexciting action scenes which come out of nowhere and serve no purpose, and a sense of humor that thinks dropping the F bomb after every sentence makes it automatically funny, and numerous jokes about oral sex never get tired. I'm especially embarrassed for Franco and Portman - Franco follows his Oscar nominated performance for 127 Hours with a role that requires him to act like a buffoon, and Portman follows her Oscar winning role for Black Swan with a performance so obviously phoned in I can't help but wonder if she was contractually obliged to appear in this debacle. Every element on display here feels so amateurish that if it wasn't for the cast you'd be forgiven for thinking this was some straight to DVD B-grade tosh. A movie with no redeeming qualities that completes none of the goals it set out to achieve can only receive one rating. Avoid this stinker like the plague.
No Stars
I've also recently seen some obsure Phillipino B grade movie called the One Armed Exicutioner. It's not a movie you would assign a rating to, however needless to say it was rubbish. It didn't even have the usual elements that make B grade movies entertaining, aside the usual campiness and poorly delivered lines. Just flat out boredoom. Nuff said. Now I've gotten all that out of my system I'll be back soon with some decent films.
The Good
Due Date
I refer to Due Date as "The Good" not because it is good, but because it's the best of a bad lot. It actually wasn't terrible, but it was bad enough to be included in this entry. Here we have an actor who has just recently gotten back in the public's good graces (Robert Downey Jr) teaming up with an actor who has recently been brought to the public's attention (Zach Galifianakis). Downey Jr plays the "straight guy", stuck in some part of America (who really cares), after an incident at the airport involving Galifianakis's "funny guy" character. They both end up road tripping together, as Downey Jr is desperate to make it home for the birth of his child. From there the movie becomes your typical road trip movie, and the "straight guy vs funny guy" routine makes up most of the laughs, which there are a few of, but less than you would expect from the two leads and the director of The Hangover. Basically, the movie has it's moments, and watching it wasn't a complete waste of time, however at the end of the day it was a very "meh" experience. The characters aren't very interesting, and there's nothing particularly memorable about the movie, but nothing really awful about it either.
**1/2 out of *****
The Bad
Red Riding Hood
I'm sure that the "From the director of Twilight" tagline put alot of people off this film, but it shouldn't off. The fact that it's a soulless, thrilless piece of nonsense that has almost nothing to do with the Red Riding Hood story, however, should. On the plus side it has Amanda Seyfried and Gary Oldman in it, who both give good performances. I also liked the setting of a fantasy/gothic snow covered world, where the people are frightened of attacks by werewolves. The storyline, however, is uninteresting and completely insane, and the attempts to inject romance into it fall flat. It was one of those movies where I couldn't even determine what the director was trying to do with it or who the target audience was supposed to be, except for perhaps the post Twilight audience who lap up anything remotely "supernatural romance" themed. Anyway, this movie was pretty pointless.
*1/2 out of *****
I Am Number Four
I remember seeing the trailer for this at the cinemas thinking it looked kinda cool. The concept of one alien race hunting down the remaining few of another alien race on earth is also not bad. However, pretty much the moment the movie started it was obvious this one was a dud. Cheesy special effects, lame dialogue, poor performances, not to mention plot devices that make no sense (why would an alien engaged in an intergalactic battle care so much about living a "normal life" to put himself at risk by being out in the open attending school, not to mention looking and acting exactly like a human) all add up to one unmistakable piece of garbage. I somewhat got sucked into the characters and some of the action scenes were ok, but this felt more like a pilot for after school teen sci fi show than film that was theatrically released. You can safely skip this clap trap.
*1/2 out of *****
Killers
Ashton Kutcher and Katherine Heigl aren't actually known for their excellent choice of movie roles, and their appearance in this fecal matter isn't going to improve that reputation one bit. Killers attempts a merge of the romantic comedy and spy thriller genre, and needless to say Alfred Hitchcock probably could have pulled that off, but whoever directed this crap (runs to Wikipedia....), but Robert Luketic certainly couldn't. The movie gets off to a really bad start, with the romance between the two leads being introduced in a completely hap hazard fashion, and Kutcher's monologue where he tell's Heigl he's a killer are some of the most awkwardly delivered lines I've ever seen on film. Things pick up a bit once the action/spy segment of the movie starts, but the plot delves off into absurdist terriitory far to quickly for the movie to ever be redeemed. Full of cliche and contrived plot twists, you'd find more creative genius in a kindergarten finger painting class than you would here. Only recommended for hardcore rom com enthusiasts, and even then I'd say proceed with caution.
* out of *****
The Ugly
Your Highness
Your Highness has the dishonour being the worst film in my "bad films" entry, so err, congratulations? The only reason I rented this abomination was because the movie I went to store to borrow was all rented out, and I guess in my frustration I turned to the first film that looked slightly appealing. With cast including Danny McBride, James Franco, Natalie Portman and Zooey Deschanel, you'd expect something at least half decent. An hour and a half later and I was proven wrong. I guess you'd describe this movie as a fantasy comedy, and it's not a movie that expects you to care about the characters or the storyline, but instead proposes to entertain by taking you along for the ride and making you laugh. Which would be fine, if the ride it was taking you on was an even remotely fun one or if the jokes were funny. Instead we're bombarded with lame special effects, unexciting action scenes which come out of nowhere and serve no purpose, and a sense of humor that thinks dropping the F bomb after every sentence makes it automatically funny, and numerous jokes about oral sex never get tired. I'm especially embarrassed for Franco and Portman - Franco follows his Oscar nominated performance for 127 Hours with a role that requires him to act like a buffoon, and Portman follows her Oscar winning role for Black Swan with a performance so obviously phoned in I can't help but wonder if she was contractually obliged to appear in this debacle. Every element on display here feels so amateurish that if it wasn't for the cast you'd be forgiven for thinking this was some straight to DVD B-grade tosh. A movie with no redeeming qualities that completes none of the goals it set out to achieve can only receive one rating. Avoid this stinker like the plague.
No Stars
I've also recently seen some obsure Phillipino B grade movie called the One Armed Exicutioner. It's not a movie you would assign a rating to, however needless to say it was rubbish. It didn't even have the usual elements that make B grade movies entertaining, aside the usual campiness and poorly delivered lines. Just flat out boredoom. Nuff said. Now I've gotten all that out of my system I'll be back soon with some decent films.
Wednesday, 7 September 2011
Meh
I've become so slack with updating this that it may seem like I've given up. But I haven't, I'm just that stubborn. Lets have a look see at what I've viewed at the cinema as of late.
The Guard
Terms like "It works on so many levels" and "It's got something for everyone" get thrown around alot when promoting films, however this is one of the few times I'd be inclined to agree with those claims (although I haven't heard anyone claim that about this film.) It works as a laugh out loud (or LOL) black comedy, it works as police action/thriller, and it also works as a serious character study/drama revolving around Brendan Gleeson's cop Irish cop character Boyle. The only thing it's really missing is a love story, but that's only going to disappoint the rom com die hards.
Gleeson's character is introduced to us as an apathetic, lazy, foul mouthed racist cop who could care less about his job, or anything for that matter. When some drug traffickers come to his neck of the woods he gets wound up in the operation to track them down, spearheaded by an FBI over from the States played by Don Cheadle. As the investigation progresses and we see all sides of Boyle's character we slowly begin to like and sympathise with him. And I don't mean in the Hollywood "He's a bad boy with a heard of gold" vein of stupidity, I mean actual character development, and I think Brendan Gleeson does a brilliant job here.
With a great script including a plethora (thesaurus?) of genuinely funny jokes, a crime based storyline that moves along at just the right pace, enough action to keep fans of the genre happy, and a beautifully developed, sympathetic protagonist, I can't fault this film too much. I have feeling it will make my top 10 of 2011.
****1/2 out of *****
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Seriously what were they thinking with that title? Too many "ofs" and "thes" make it sound like a joke. If that wasn't enough to turn people off, the ridiculous looking trailer probably was. Yet it's turned out to be probably the biggest surprise of the year so far. Embarrassingly I've never seen the original Planet of the Apes. Less embarrassingly I've also never seen the Tim Burton remake. Never mind that though, as this movie follows that new trend commonly referred to as rebooting, with sequels planned, and is meant to be a new series all of it's own.
I can't think of any other movie that gives away the ending in the title of the film, but considering that most people are familiar with the concept of Planet of the Apes, and given this is set chronologically before the events of that movie, spoiler warnings aren't really needed. During the setup stage of the movie (the setup being of course to the apes running amok and taking over the world, in case I hadn't made that clear) James Franco's character is working on a cure for Alzheimer's, which his father, played by John Lithgow, has. The cure is tested on apes, which of course our morally upstanding protagonist is uneasy about (goodness me, what WOULD out viewers think of a protagonist that abides animal cruelty.) Our protagonist ends up having to care for the baby of one of the test subjects, and becomes super smart due to his mum having passed on the benefits of the drug to him. The heartwarming bonding between the two (I actually mean that to come across almost 100% sarcasm free) then sufficiently makes up the non apes-destroying-everything-in-sight portion of the film.
But apes destroying things is what the audience wants, and after our ape friend ends up in an ape sanctuary, is mistreated, becomes smarter still and forms an ape army, apes smashing stuff is what the audience gets. Action plus storyline minus Michael Bay is an equation that equals one of the best offerings of the summer blockbuster season. Plus the CGI apes look really cool. This film was definitely a big surprise and I'm looking forward to the sequels.
**** out of *****
Horrible Bosses
Bah, I can hardly be bothered writing about this movie. Not that it wasn't good. It wasn't GREAT, but it was decent. I think I enjoy writing about really good films and really bad films, but ones that are somewhere in the middle are tricky. Let's try and wrap it all up in the proceeding paragraph.
The movie is about three friends, none of whom are particularly interesting characters, who hate their bosses. Due to this, they decide to do what any reasonable person would, and have their bosses killed. Never mind looking for another job, that would make extremely dull cinema. This is one of those comedies about a group of guy friends who get themselves into a ridiculous situation and keep digging themselves deeper and deeper, in the same vein as The Hangover. It sufficiently brought the funny, although I think alot of the best jokes were given away in the trailer. The performances were all really good, and Kevin Spacey and Colin Farrell play jerk off bosses well. However, the absurdity of the plot plus the fact that the main three characters weren't as interesting as their bosses let the film down.
*** out of *****
The Guard
Terms like "It works on so many levels" and "It's got something for everyone" get thrown around alot when promoting films, however this is one of the few times I'd be inclined to agree with those claims (although I haven't heard anyone claim that about this film.) It works as a laugh out loud (or LOL) black comedy, it works as police action/thriller, and it also works as a serious character study/drama revolving around Brendan Gleeson's cop Irish cop character Boyle. The only thing it's really missing is a love story, but that's only going to disappoint the rom com die hards.
Gleeson's character is introduced to us as an apathetic, lazy, foul mouthed racist cop who could care less about his job, or anything for that matter. When some drug traffickers come to his neck of the woods he gets wound up in the operation to track them down, spearheaded by an FBI over from the States played by Don Cheadle. As the investigation progresses and we see all sides of Boyle's character we slowly begin to like and sympathise with him. And I don't mean in the Hollywood "He's a bad boy with a heard of gold" vein of stupidity, I mean actual character development, and I think Brendan Gleeson does a brilliant job here.
With a great script including a plethora (thesaurus?) of genuinely funny jokes, a crime based storyline that moves along at just the right pace, enough action to keep fans of the genre happy, and a beautifully developed, sympathetic protagonist, I can't fault this film too much. I have feeling it will make my top 10 of 2011.
****1/2 out of *****
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Seriously what were they thinking with that title? Too many "ofs" and "thes" make it sound like a joke. If that wasn't enough to turn people off, the ridiculous looking trailer probably was. Yet it's turned out to be probably the biggest surprise of the year so far. Embarrassingly I've never seen the original Planet of the Apes. Less embarrassingly I've also never seen the Tim Burton remake. Never mind that though, as this movie follows that new trend commonly referred to as rebooting, with sequels planned, and is meant to be a new series all of it's own.
I can't think of any other movie that gives away the ending in the title of the film, but considering that most people are familiar with the concept of Planet of the Apes, and given this is set chronologically before the events of that movie, spoiler warnings aren't really needed. During the setup stage of the movie (the setup being of course to the apes running amok and taking over the world, in case I hadn't made that clear) James Franco's character is working on a cure for Alzheimer's, which his father, played by John Lithgow, has. The cure is tested on apes, which of course our morally upstanding protagonist is uneasy about (goodness me, what WOULD out viewers think of a protagonist that abides animal cruelty.) Our protagonist ends up having to care for the baby of one of the test subjects, and becomes super smart due to his mum having passed on the benefits of the drug to him. The heartwarming bonding between the two (I actually mean that to come across almost 100% sarcasm free) then sufficiently makes up the non apes-destroying-everything-in-sight portion of the film.
But apes destroying things is what the audience wants, and after our ape friend ends up in an ape sanctuary, is mistreated, becomes smarter still and forms an ape army, apes smashing stuff is what the audience gets. Action plus storyline minus Michael Bay is an equation that equals one of the best offerings of the summer blockbuster season. Plus the CGI apes look really cool. This film was definitely a big surprise and I'm looking forward to the sequels.
**** out of *****
Horrible Bosses
Bah, I can hardly be bothered writing about this movie. Not that it wasn't good. It wasn't GREAT, but it was decent. I think I enjoy writing about really good films and really bad films, but ones that are somewhere in the middle are tricky. Let's try and wrap it all up in the proceeding paragraph.
The movie is about three friends, none of whom are particularly interesting characters, who hate their bosses. Due to this, they decide to do what any reasonable person would, and have their bosses killed. Never mind looking for another job, that would make extremely dull cinema. This is one of those comedies about a group of guy friends who get themselves into a ridiculous situation and keep digging themselves deeper and deeper, in the same vein as The Hangover. It sufficiently brought the funny, although I think alot of the best jokes were given away in the trailer. The performances were all really good, and Kevin Spacey and Colin Farrell play jerk off bosses well. However, the absurdity of the plot plus the fact that the main three characters weren't as interesting as their bosses let the film down.
*** out of *****
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