At the end of last week I saw Shutter Island. A film I was looking forward to seeing, but one I thought I already new the twist for! And I DID!
Although the film is very good, well acted and directed, it left me disappointed! I knew the end, I didn't get all the pieces in the correct place, but it was pretty close. But even the fuzzy pieces weren't that interesting and in the end the experience was pretty hollow.
I like Dicaprio and Ruffalo as actors and both did a good job overall, everyone else played their parts well. While Scorsese's direction was good it wasn't great. The music a little strange in places! (Well listening to the CD it is!) The overall look of the film was very good though and I liked the look of the mental hospital.
However a friend of mine pointed out certain historic inaccuracies with the War scenes and again it lowers the overall quality of the film.
In the end it was good, but could have been so much better. (6/10)
Tuesday 30 March 2010
Wednesday 17 March 2010
Män som hatar kvinnor (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)
This is the 2nd time I've seen this film, the first at Frightfest last year. We do tend to go and see some of the films a 2nd time, but only the good ones!
And I thought this was a great film. A top thriller well acted and well scripted and a good solid story. It is quite obvious in places where it will all end up. But it's a good trip and the 152 minutes do fly by!
This is the start of a trilogy concerning the main two characters Blomkvist and Lisbeth and I'm hoping we do get to see them.
American is on the remake path with these films, listed as 2012 on IMDB for the first one.
Overall I enjoyed it as much the 2nd time round (10/10)
And I thought this was a great film. A top thriller well acted and well scripted and a good solid story. It is quite obvious in places where it will all end up. But it's a good trip and the 152 minutes do fly by!
This is the start of a trilogy concerning the main two characters Blomkvist and Lisbeth and I'm hoping we do get to see them.
American is on the remake path with these films, listed as 2012 on IMDB for the first one.
Overall I enjoyed it as much the 2nd time round (10/10)
Green Zone
From Alice to Green Zone in 24 hours!
Off the bat this isn't Bourne in Iraq! Well for me it wasn't!
Paul Greengrass (Bourne), has directed a top-notch thriller set in the early days of the Iraq takeover. Matt Damon (Bourne), Greg Kinnear (Ghost Town), Brendan Gleeson (In Bruges) and Jason Isaacs (Peter Pan) all star and all deliver.
The script is good, the action good. Intense in places, but not as edge of the seat as Hurt Locker, the story is interesting though and quite thought provoking. The OST was good as well. Not sure if the documentary style worked as well as it should have, this shaky-cam is starting to get on my nerves!
Overall I enjoyed it, it was well directed and well acted (8/10)
Off the bat this isn't Bourne in Iraq! Well for me it wasn't!
Paul Greengrass (Bourne), has directed a top-notch thriller set in the early days of the Iraq takeover. Matt Damon (Bourne), Greg Kinnear (Ghost Town), Brendan Gleeson (In Bruges) and Jason Isaacs (Peter Pan) all star and all deliver.
The script is good, the action good. Intense in places, but not as edge of the seat as Hurt Locker, the story is interesting though and quite thought provoking. The OST was good as well. Not sure if the documentary style worked as well as it should have, this shaky-cam is starting to get on my nerves!
Overall I enjoyed it, it was well directed and well acted (8/10)
Alice in Wonderland - 3D
Tim Burton, Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter team up again, to bring us a sequel of sorts to Alice in Wonderland.
First this film on the whole is visually stunning, as wonderful as Avatar to look at. But then it suffers Avatars problem for me and the story just doesn't match the visuals! Which is a shame, a big shame because I hoped in the hands of Burton this would have come across with a little more darkness and a little more twisted than the prequels. But it doesn't, I'm not sure if Disney held the reigns a little too tight or maybe Burton didn't let himself go, what ever the reason, for me this was the films biggest downfall.
But it's not all bad! Aside the visuals, the Cheshire Cat voiced by Stephen Fry is just wonderful, so is Alan Rickman as the Blue Caterpillar. But alas both didn't have that much screen time.
Depp as the Mad Hatter is ok, but I'm getting to the point where I'd prefer him to do some normal acting! Cater is ok as the Red Queen. Crispin Glover isn't bad as Stayne - but the animation when he's on his horse is dreadful. Hathaway is ok as the White Queen.
Alice isn't that great, but just does enough. And I would never had got Michael Sheen as the white rabbit!
The story isn't great really, the script ok, Elfman's score is good, not sure about the Credits Song though.
Overall - A big chance missed for a dark and twisted Alice in Wonderland! (6/10)
First this film on the whole is visually stunning, as wonderful as Avatar to look at. But then it suffers Avatars problem for me and the story just doesn't match the visuals! Which is a shame, a big shame because I hoped in the hands of Burton this would have come across with a little more darkness and a little more twisted than the prequels. But it doesn't, I'm not sure if Disney held the reigns a little too tight or maybe Burton didn't let himself go, what ever the reason, for me this was the films biggest downfall.
But it's not all bad! Aside the visuals, the Cheshire Cat voiced by Stephen Fry is just wonderful, so is Alan Rickman as the Blue Caterpillar. But alas both didn't have that much screen time.
Depp as the Mad Hatter is ok, but I'm getting to the point where I'd prefer him to do some normal acting! Cater is ok as the Red Queen. Crispin Glover isn't bad as Stayne - but the animation when he's on his horse is dreadful. Hathaway is ok as the White Queen.
Alice isn't that great, but just does enough. And I would never had got Michael Sheen as the white rabbit!
The story isn't great really, the script ok, Elfman's score is good, not sure about the Credits Song though.
Overall - A big chance missed for a dark and twisted Alice in Wonderland! (6/10)
Friday 12 March 2010
Legion
I didn't hope for much from this film. It had negative press, it didn't sound too good. In the end it was just ok!
Directed by Scott Stewart (soon to be released Priest (also Starring Paul Bettany)), and starring Paul Bettany (Creation), Lucas Black (Fast and Furious 3), Tyrese Gibson (Transformers) and Dennis Quaid (Pandorum).
The film centers around the end of the world, another one you cry. This time God is bring the apocalypse with his army of angels and demons. But we have a 2nd coming story and Angel Michael thinks the Human Race deserves a 2nd chance!
This was just better than average, from the script, and the acting to the story and music. It started ok, but then the middle part of the film felt like we were going no where fast and nearly stopped in it's tracks. The final act picked up, but it was all too obvious and really didn't do enough with the action scenes to drag it up to a good film.
Considering the cast, nobody did anything really. Bettany did the best, and Black was ok. But the story and the script were very middle of the road so that could be the reason.
Overall just better than average, but not by much (5/10)
Directed by Scott Stewart (soon to be released Priest (also Starring Paul Bettany)), and starring Paul Bettany (Creation), Lucas Black (Fast and Furious 3), Tyrese Gibson (Transformers) and Dennis Quaid (Pandorum).
The film centers around the end of the world, another one you cry. This time God is bring the apocalypse with his army of angels and demons. But we have a 2nd coming story and Angel Michael thinks the Human Race deserves a 2nd chance!
This was just better than average, from the script, and the acting to the story and music. It started ok, but then the middle part of the film felt like we were going no where fast and nearly stopped in it's tracks. The final act picked up, but it was all too obvious and really didn't do enough with the action scenes to drag it up to a good film.
Considering the cast, nobody did anything really. Bettany did the best, and Black was ok. But the story and the script were very middle of the road so that could be the reason.
Overall just better than average, but not by much (5/10)
From Paris with Love
Luc Besson continues to produce high octane action/thrillers set in paris. His latest one From Paris with love directed by Pierre Morel is a lot of fun, considering how silly and senseless it all is.
Starring John Travolta (Pulp Fiction) and Jonathan Rhys Meyers (MI3) go about it with great gusto.
Travolta usually chewing up the scenery as a villian now does it as an over-the-top agent. In fact everything in the whole film is over-the-top. But it's all good fun and for that I enjoyed it.
The cast are ok, the script is ok, and the story seen a hundred times before! And I can't remember the music!
Overall entertaining action flick (7/10)
Starring John Travolta (Pulp Fiction) and Jonathan Rhys Meyers (MI3) go about it with great gusto.
Travolta usually chewing up the scenery as a villian now does it as an over-the-top agent. In fact everything in the whole film is over-the-top. But it's all good fun and for that I enjoyed it.
The cast are ok, the script is ok, and the story seen a hundred times before! And I can't remember the music!
Overall entertaining action flick (7/10)
The Crazies
A remake of the 1973 film of the same name, which was directed by George A. Romero. The new version directed by Breck Eisner and starring Timothy Olyphant (Die Hard 4), Radha Mitchell (Silent Hill), Joe Anderson (Becoming Jane) and Danielle Panabaker (Mr Brooks) was really good.
Strange for a remake, I know, but I did enjoy it, maybe because I've never seen the original. But I like to take my remakes on their own merits and try not to compare them to the original too much.
The cast is really good, the story is straight forward and you can see the ending from the start, but it's not a bad trip. Anderson, Olyphant and Mitchell are great, and the they do share most of the screen time. The script is ok, the story has one direction and sticks with it. I think the music was ok but not too sure.
Overall I liked this quite a bit, enough horror and tension to keep it all going (8/10)
Strange for a remake, I know, but I did enjoy it, maybe because I've never seen the original. But I like to take my remakes on their own merits and try not to compare them to the original too much.
The cast is really good, the story is straight forward and you can see the ending from the start, but it's not a bad trip. Anderson, Olyphant and Mitchell are great, and the they do share most of the screen time. The script is ok, the story has one direction and sticks with it. I think the music was ok but not too sure.
Overall I liked this quite a bit, enough horror and tension to keep it all going (8/10)
Tuesday 2 March 2010
Solomon Kane
The last film I saw before I went on decorating duty was Solomon Kane.
Directed by Michael J Bassett (Wilderness), starring James Purefoy as Solomon Kane and Rachel Hurd-Wood, with the rest of the cast made up of small parts.
First off I really liked the music! 2nd I also learned that they used real swords and injuries did occur to Purefoy and some of the stunt guys while making the film. Bravo for going the whole hog to make it look real!
Anyway the film, I did like this, quite a bit actually. The script wasn't great, in fact it was terrible at times, but the action did make up for it. The swordplay was really good and I liked the dirty look to the film. Purefoy was great as Kane, Hurd-Wood was ok.
Overall this was a good dark fantasy film (8/10)
Directed by Michael J Bassett (Wilderness), starring James Purefoy as Solomon Kane and Rachel Hurd-Wood, with the rest of the cast made up of small parts.
First off I really liked the music! 2nd I also learned that they used real swords and injuries did occur to Purefoy and some of the stunt guys while making the film. Bravo for going the whole hog to make it look real!
Anyway the film, I did like this, quite a bit actually. The script wasn't great, in fact it was terrible at times, but the action did make up for it. The swordplay was really good and I liked the dirty look to the film. Purefoy was great as Kane, Hurd-Wood was ok.
Overall this was a good dark fantasy film (8/10)
The Wolfman
I do have the original Universal Wolfman films, but as yet like a lot of my collection it's waiting to be watched!
So was the 2010 version, starring Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Hugo Weaving and Emily Blunt and directed by Joe Johnston (Jurassic Park 3) any good?
Yes it was, as long as you are expecting a WOLF MAN and not a werewolf like an American werewolf in London. Now I have seen clips of the original and Universal kept the look the WOLFMAN for this version and I liked that concept.
This was a gory film, decapitations, intestines ripped out, just what a WOLFMAN might do to a human, and I liked this a lot, it added a bit of "reality" to the film. In the end the actually Wolfman make up was very good and the transformation was also pretty good.
The worst part was the CGI wolf running around London's rooftops!
The acting was good, Weaving was an English Mr Smith (will I ever see him as anyone new?), Del Toro was good, Emily Blunt didn't really have much to do, and Hopkins mumbled his way through the film! Johnston direction was ok, the soundtrack good and the script ok.
In the end, a good addition to Universals monster films, but nothing brilliant! (7/10)
So was the 2010 version, starring Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Hugo Weaving and Emily Blunt and directed by Joe Johnston (Jurassic Park 3) any good?
Yes it was, as long as you are expecting a WOLF MAN and not a werewolf like an American werewolf in London. Now I have seen clips of the original and Universal kept the look the WOLFMAN for this version and I liked that concept.
This was a gory film, decapitations, intestines ripped out, just what a WOLFMAN might do to a human, and I liked this a lot, it added a bit of "reality" to the film. In the end the actually Wolfman make up was very good and the transformation was also pretty good.
The worst part was the CGI wolf running around London's rooftops!
The acting was good, Weaving was an English Mr Smith (will I ever see him as anyone new?), Del Toro was good, Emily Blunt didn't really have much to do, and Hopkins mumbled his way through the film! Johnston direction was ok, the soundtrack good and the script ok.
In the end, a good addition to Universals monster films, but nothing brilliant! (7/10)
Edge of Darkness
Edge of darkness, starring Mel Gibson, in his first role for over 10 years. Directed by Martin Campbell (Casino Royale). A remake of the BBC thriller of the same name which starred the late Bob Peck.
I never really watched the TV version so I can't compare it. I did like the film to a degree, it did remind me of Casino Royale in it's sparse use of action and it's heavy dialogue scenes. Gibson was superb as the Cop out for revenge/justice for his daughters murder. The supporting cast was ok, the action when it happened was good. The script did get a little bogged down at times, but Gibson's performance kept it all going.
Overall it was a good thriller, with a strong performance from the leading man and directed well.
(7/10)
I never really watched the TV version so I can't compare it. I did like the film to a degree, it did remind me of Casino Royale in it's sparse use of action and it's heavy dialogue scenes. Gibson was superb as the Cop out for revenge/justice for his daughters murder. The supporting cast was ok, the action when it happened was good. The script did get a little bogged down at times, but Gibson's performance kept it all going.
Overall it was a good thriller, with a strong performance from the leading man and directed well.
(7/10)
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