The Way Back (28/12/2010)

This was my daughter’s choice she saw the trailers and was onto it like a shot! It wouldn’t be the sort of thing I would have expected to take her too, Polish prisoners escaping from the Gulag and walking into China! But it took her fancy and mine too!

Quite an uplifting film considering the content, Peter Weir has done a remarkable job with this film, as well has breaking his ankle in the process! The cinematography is stunning through out showing the beauty and the harshness of the countryside they travelled through. Weir doesn’t bog the film down with long scenes of walking, except where it mattered, which in a way saves the film. He shows us just enough to feel the plight of these people, the harsh conditions they endured and the friendships they made.

We both really enjoyed this film, the acting was very good, the script was good and the soundtrack stunning.

Overall (9/10) epic film for an epic story!

Monsters (21/12/2010)

One of my favourite films at Frightfest 2010, I really wanted my daughter to see this. In the end we had to go twice, the first time she was ill and was sick in the cinema! (And it wasn’t the film!)

Again, I really enjoyed it. I know nothing really happens, it’s not ID4, it’s not District 9, it’s something different and I think that’s what I really like about it. The two cast members are very good, the direction is clever, and the fact it’s mostly ad libbed gives it something special.

Overall (9/10) still a monster treat!

The Tourist (20/12/2010)

So Ricky Gervais doesn’t like this film, I don’t see his problem, it’s not that bad! In fact I’ve seen a lot worse than this! Some are that bad I can’t even remember them!

Jolie and Depp are fine in this, they have chemistry, and it works! The big twist is way to obvious from about half way in, but so what, actually the little twist was better!

Jolie looked stunning, and Director, Florain Henckel von Donnersmarck showed off her beauty against the stunning back drop of Venice! Depp however seems a little lost in these straight parts, he needs quirky! However he did a good job, and along with the rest of the cast they made a typical European thriller. See the French would make a film like this and everybody who could read subtitles would rave over it!!!

I wonder how many people liked both The American and The Tourist! Well I did!

Overall (8/10), a nice little thriller!

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (17/12/2010)

I like the Narnia films, so I was looking forward to this. Possible lacking the production backing the first two had, this is still a solid addition to the previous films. I’m just glad that the original cast members all signed up for it!

Lucy (Georgie Henley) and Edmond (Skander Keynes) have matured as actors, through the 3 films I could see a vast improvement, and they carried this film well. Ben Barnes (Caspian) also turned in a much better performance than he did in the 2^nd one, maybe dropping that silly accent helped!

But the standout performance goes to Will Poulter (Eustace) I thought he was superb.

The special effects are very good, especially the dragon! The direction was good, while the story was a little weak, it did enough. The music I can’t remember, maybe it wasn’t that good!

Overall (8/10), keeping the faith!

The Warriors Way

The Warriors Way (06/12/2010)

Green screen galore! I didn’t see this coming till the first trailer hit the cinema, and have to say I was a little bemused by it. Ninja’s and Cowboys! OK I’ll go for it!

It’s ok! Well it has it’s moments, well a couple, or I think it did! This film has completely gone from my mind! I can remember the odd scene, but nothing else. Sod this I’m going to have to buy it on DVD and watch it again!

One thing I have to say is how does Geoffrey Rush make something like this and then proceed to make a stunning film like the King’s speech! Somebody needs to explain to me how that works!

I’d marked it as (6/10) so better than average but not that good!

Secretariat

Secretariat (05/12/2010)

Having a strong interest in Horse Racing, this film appealed to me, plus my daughter really wanted to see it.

We had the cinema to ourselves, obviously another film slipping under the average film goer’s radar! Or maybe they didn’t like films about Race Horses!

Well I had never heard of this horse – Secretariat, but I was blown away by him, not the film, though it was not a bad film, but by the horse and the story of the horse. This was a remarkable story, like Phar Lap from Australia, this horse did not stand a chance, well actually her owner did not stand a chance, or that’s what people thought! The film does it’s best to stay away from the cliched “We have nothing and ,must prevail at all costs”, but fails with a couple of inspiring speech’s along the way. But these are truly forgotten in the final part of the film, as Secretariat bids for the Triple Crown! These 3 races (well 4) are brilliant to watch, and lifted this film just a little higher than it was aiming for. The final race was jaw-dropping, because I’ve never seen a horse do what this horse did. You may think it’s all done for the film! Well that’s what I thought! Except it’s not, I checked, the film depicts the real result, distance, everything that happened was true!

Aside from the horse, the cast did a good job, the direction was superb in the race’s, the script as I’ve said lost it’s way a couple of times, but overall it’s a good film, but the actually story of the horse gives it that edge!

Overall (8/10), a story of a remarkable horse and her remarkable owner!

London Boulevard

The night after Machete I saw London Boulevard, wow did this take a pounding by the critics!

Well I actually quite liked it, typical London gangster movie, Ray Winstone plays the top dog, with even bite to throw down every gangster going. Farrell is the convict who wants to go straight and gets involved with Knightley's reclusive movie star! Another film in which Farrell impresses me as an actor. Knightly is also good along with good support from Anna Friel, David Thewlis and Ben Chaplin.

The film is violent, full of bad language but it's all been seen before, yet I really liked it! Not 100% sure why, I just did!

(7/10)

Machete

Caught the Grindhouse wanna-be film Machete last night.......... adapted into a film from the fake trailer as seen in the Grindhouse double bill by Robert Rodreiguz.

I was looking forward to this a lot, great cast, a typical QT move by Robert Rodreiquz to employ some "has" been a-actors and give them some new fire! Don Johnson, Seagal and De Niro (even if I think De Niro was still not that great) add in some uber cool b-movie actors, like Danny Trejo, Alba, Fahey (who I thought was great!) Cheech Marin and Michelle Rodriguez and you have a top grindhouse cast list!
Trouble is as good as some of it was, it didn't play out like the two grindhouse movies, Deathproof and Planet Terror, they are superb, this was just about good! It had it's fair share of moments, but it was too polished, too clean, it felt like a studio film just a little too much. Giving it that poor quality look the bad cuts and the awful music would have helped it so much. But I can see why the studio didn't want that look after the flop which was Grindhouse!

But it's not all bad - lots of T&A, lots of violence and some funny moments (even thought I expected more than there was!) It worked enough for me to enjoy it.

(7/10)

Unstoppable

I do like Tony Scott's recent films, and I was looking forward to this one. A runaway train travelling into a highly populated area needs to be stopped.

What I did like was the look of the film, the train, the actors.
What I didn't like was the stereotypical characters and the cliched ending.

This was a pretty intense ride, Scott skipped the character lead ins, and got straight down to the action. He gave us glimpses of the day in the life of a train driver and conductor, but his star of the film was his train. It looked and sounded impressive as it thundered through the film, and Scott really drove home the destructive force that a train this size is.
Chris Pine and Washington worked fine for me, even if Washington never got out of 1st gear, then again the story and the script didn't play on the characters too much, this wasn't about acting, this was about the train!
I really like the look of Scott's films, this one not as flashy as Man on Fire, but the editing was sharp, a little too sharp in some places, leaving the action a little disjointed and it lost some of it's impact. I'm talking about the train full of children, it's never really made clear just how close it was. But this is a minor quibble, the rest of the film is a blast. Real edge of the seat stuff.

Solid entertainment (9/10)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

First of the final installement of the Harry Potter franchise!

The end is near!

Harry Potter, 9 years it has taken to get to this point, some of the films have been great some average, but for the readers some just too much has been missed out. Not that I care, I haven't read the books and don't intend to now. I get the gist of the story! Even if it's all very Lord of the rings! I can live with just seeing the films!

Anyway the film, it's not bad, better than the last one, not by a lot, but enough. It kept my attention and my eldest liked it as well, again more than the previous one!

It's more of a setup for the final battle, with a lot of running around and not really doing much, a bit of humour to lighten a very dark mood, but not enough to spoil the atmosphere, which is becoming very heavy and dark.
However even in this day and age, they still managed to use some rather shabby special effects, the chase at the start is littered with poor effects shots, the bit in the tunnel, the worst of them all!
The story does feel disjointed at times, and never really flows, things just seem to happen, maybe it's down to bad editing, or just a bad writing! But still there is enough to like in this film.
Radcliffe is still very wooden, Watson is superb even if she's competing with Stewart (Twilight) for the most angst teen girl in cinema at the moment! She is really running Stewart a fine race, though I've not seen the 3rd Twilight yet! Grint gets better again, along with Watson he has matured as an actor! The rest of the cast are bit parts, and there are so many of them as well. But this film belongs to the 3 main stars, I would say they have 70% of the screen time, the rest fight for scraps! Which is a shame because it's a very strong supporting cast!

Is it going to go out with a bang - Yes I would say so!
Am I glad it's nearly all over - Yes I am!

(7/10)

Jackass 3D

Last night caught the 3D Jackass film!

What's it about? A bunch of crazy men doing some stupid, crazy, sick stunts for laughs.

Summary: Jackass started life on MTV, and has become a massive show for MTV, and spawned 3 films, the latest being shot in glorious 3D. It's an acquired taste for the most part, but some of it is just so funny, this is every grown man's dream. To act 13 all your life. Yet some of these stunts are plain dangerous, getting in front of a charging bull, wouldn't be on my list of things to do, in fact nothing I saw in this film as funny as it was would I even attempt by myself or against someone else. Maybe due to the fact I couldn't afford to rig half the stunts up anyway!

Back to the film, it's not a film to really like, it's just funny in a major slapstick way! Some of it is vile, but caught up in the film you can't help but laugh (even if the guy over my shoulder kept retching!!) Seriously thought we were going to have our own live vomit scene in the cinema! Lucky for me he kept control of himself!

But to say I didn't like it is wrong - I did like, because I laughed till my sides hurt, my throat became sore and tears rolled down my face. And so the film succeeded in doing what it intended to do, and I loved nearly all of it!

FUNNY FUNNY FUNNY (9/10)

Skyline

Alien Invasion along the lins of ID4, looked good from the trailers, but the reviews were rubbish!

What's it about? An alien invasion!

Cast: Eric Balfour, Scottie Thompson, Brittany Daniel, Crystal Reed and Donald Fasion

Written by Joshua Cordes and Liam O'Donnell

Soundtrack by Matthew Margeson

Directed by The Strause Brothers

What I liked? Most of the special effects.

What I didn't like? The script, the acting, the story, the lack of interest and the what the hell was that ending!

Summary: The trailer was cut to perfection, it looked good, didn't give that much away and I was looking forward to this. Then the reviews started, it didn't sound promising at all, in fact it sounded like a disaster!
All I have to say is thank God I have a Cineworld Card, I would have been gutted to pay full price for this! Not even the really good SFX was enough to for the price of a ticket!
I don't think I've seen so many ideas pumped into one film, but they are not just ideas I am talking about things taken from other films. Skyline borrows heavily from a number of SCI-FI classics, the Matrix, ID4 and Cloverfield, but ends up in a complete mess. As they say too many cooks!!

What didn't help this film as well, is the complete lack of any intelligent writing or plot, ok plot can be quite simple - Survive the alien attack! But if that's the story then you need characters you care for, or like a little bit. Here we have a group of 20 year olds who are dumb, never mind can't act out of a paper bag. They make silly decisions, they have no emotional depth, and you can't wait to see them get sucked up by one of the many aliens roaming the streets or flying through the air!

And to top it all it's not even exciting, the biggest jump is an old man and his dog!!!! Their is no tension at all in this film, no panic, no sense of the end of the world. Just these idiots in their pent house!

And then we come to the ending, which I can't really go into except its, "Really you have to be joking me, that's the silliest thing I've ever seen!" And it is! I just hope they don't do a 2nd one!

Summary Bar some very good looking SFX this film was a complete and utter mess (2/10)

Due Date

The other night caught the road-trip comedy, Due Date.

What's it about? High-strung father to be Peter Highman is forced to hitch a ride with aspiring actor Ethan Tremblay on a road trip in order to make it to his child's birth on time.

Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Zach Galifiankis and Michelle Monaghan.

Written by Alan R Cohen and Alan Freedland

Soundtrack by Christophe Beck

Directed by Todd Phillips

What I liked about it? Most of the comedy, the acting and the script

What I didn't like? Not much.

Summary: The reviews for this film were a mixed bunch, one week they were very good, the next week, it was 1 star reviews everywhere. I still liked the look of it, and surprise surprise it was not that bad, well not a 1 star film anyway. It's not perfect, it's not ROFL, it's not anything new, in fact it's Planes,Trains and Automobiles, minus the trains and two funny men, this one only has one. I'm not saying Downey isn't funny in this film, he is, in a dry, serious kind of way. While Galifianakis's character is the total opposite, and that's what the film plays on. And it works.
It has the usual sentimental touch at the end, as everything works out for all parties concerned.

Overall like I said it was nothing new but it was entertaining. (7/10)

Let Me In

The American version of the Swedish film, Let the right one in. With strong critical reviews on the most part this looked like they could have made a decent US version for once.

What's it about? A young girl moves into a small town and befriends a lonely, bullied boy, but she hides a terrible secret.

Cast: Kodi Smit-McPhee, Chloe Moretz, Richard Jenkins and Elias Koteas.

Written by Matt Reeves

Soundtrack by Michael Giacchino

Directed by Matt Reeves

What I liked? The look of the film, the lead cast, the kids are superb. Abby's vampire face, her eyes are amazing.

What I didn't like? The CGI Abby! The swimming pool scene.

Summary: So close, but one thing and one thing only ruined this film for me. The CGI Abby, in the attacks, climbing the tree and jumping the fence, all looked terrible and just broke the spell of the film. The worst thing is the other parts of the film are terrific, the two kids Smit-McPhee and Moretz are brilliant, the small supporting cast all perform with the little they have. Yet the story is about the two kids friendship and Reeves really brings that to the fore, he does a great job with the direction. Some of the scenes are beautifully shot, just like the original, and Reeve's demonstrates a good visual awareness and I'm looking forward to his next project.
The only place he drops the ball is with the CGI Abby, the attacks become cartoon like in away, I can see what they wanted to try to emphasize that Abby was a ferocious monster, but it just looked wrong!

Overall, brilliant performances and some great direction are spoilt by some poor CGI! (7/10)

Burke and Hare

This was one film I wasn't looking forward to seeing, from the word on the street and the trailers! Plus I wondered why David Tennant left the project! Now I know!

What's it about? The infamous killers Burke and Hare, who supplied a number of bodies to a local surgeon.

Cast: Tim Curry, Simon Pegg, Isla Fisher, Andy Serkis and Tom Wilkinsion.

Written by Piers Ashworth and Nick Morrcroft

Soundtrack by Joby Talbot

Directed by John Landis

What I liked? Nothing!

What I didn't like? Well where to start!

Summary: Oh dear, a comedy without any funny moments, at all, not even a snicker or a smirk. The other problem is, why make it an all out comedy, make it dark with some humour, but they ended up with a comedy farce which is a complete mess. Burke and Hare now come across as bumbling idiots throughout the film, but then we are given glimpses that they were fairly intelligent men. Maybe if it had a more serious tone, with some funny moments, it could have worked so much better!
Pegg is ok, the rest of the cast, including all the "I've worked with Landis before" or "I want to be in a Landis film" cameos are wasted and pointless! The script is poor, the story is ok, but the buck ends at Landis and I think his style of humour is outdated, stuck in the 80's and in then end ruins the film.

Overall didn't like anything about this film, (1/10)

Saw 3D

Last night was the final (hopefully) Saw film, this time in glorious 3D! The final chapter of the franchise bows out with the added bonus of flesh and bones flying out of the screen!

What's it about? The same it's been for the last 6 films, traps, redemption and plot twists galore!

Cast: Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor, Betsy Russell and Cary Elwes

Written by Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan

Directed by Kevin Greutert

What I liked? The 3D, at least things came out of the screen! The fact it's the last one.

What I didn't like? The teeth pulling scene - Ouch! Oh and the acting!

Summary: Thank god it's over, I didn't like the first, 2nd and 3rd were good, then they all became the same, the good thing was they kept the plot twists interesting and didn't sign post them! Even to the end of this film, they threw in a nice little twist! Trouble is 6 films in and I couldn't give up on it. The final chapter is pretty cringe worthy in places, the worst being the teeth pulling scene. The traps were pretty inventive really, again 7 films in and they kept that part of it fresh. But I'm glad it's over!

Overall a fitting end to 7 years of torture! (7/10)

Easy A

John Hughes lives, well his memory does in this film, it felt like a Hughes movie, it certainly bowed down in homage to the great director, even allowing us some glimpses of his great films and playing every Hughes card we've ever been dealt throughout his films! This film wants to take it's place alongside those films, and for me it gets there with plenty to spare.

What's it about? A clean-cut high school student relies on the school's rumor mill to advance her social and financial standing.

Cast: Emma Stone, Penn Badgley, Amanda Bynes, Thomas Haden Church, Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson

Written by Bert V. Royal

Directed by Will Gluck

What I liked? Emma Stone, the script, the soundtrack.

What I didn't like? Not enough ROFL moments.

Summary: Emma Stone is an up an coming actress, I liked her in Zombieland and in this she is perfect. In fact everybody is great, Tucci and Clarkson are fantastic as her parents, while Bynes shines in her roll as Clean Teen! The only person who struggles is Kudrow, she just can't shake that Phoebe from Friends tag. But Stone is brilliant here and her sense of comedy is really delivered well, from her lines to her actions, I can't think of any actress which could have done a better job.
Gluck also shines, in his homage to John Hughes, well I thought it was, it does have enough clues in it, with references and video clips from a lot of his films, or maybe it's just a tribute to the 80's high school films, like Say Anything, another film referenced. But whatever it is, I liked it, I really like it, and so did my wife!

Overall I thought it was smart, brilliantly acted, a fine tribute to Hughe's style of film making and wholly entertaining (9/10)

Despicable Me (3D)

More animated fun in 3D, well just about in 3D.

What's it about? When criminal mastermind uses a trio of orphan girls as pawns for a grand scheme, he finds himself profoundly changed by the growing love between them.

Voice cast: Steve Carrell, Jason Segel, Russell Brand, Julie Andrews and Miranda Cosgrove

Written by Ken Daurio and Sergio Pablos

Soundtrack by Heitor Pereira and Pharrell Williams

Directed by Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud

What I liked? The yellow henchmen (things), Gru

What I didn't like? The lack of real 3D (come on make things jump out at me!).

Summary: Another 3D animated film, another film which only just uses the 3D to any effect, ok it adds depth get past it and make things fly out of the screen!!!! I was trying to avoid the 3D film and the extra cost (yep even I have to pay a small amount for these!) and see the 2D version, but they shifted the times and I couldn't make it!
Getting over the 3D issue, the film itself is very good, not in the league of Pixar, or Disney or even Dreamworks, but it's pretty good. The animation is very nice, and I have to say the yellow helpers are brilliant. The artwork for Gru is good and I thought Carrell did a really good voice for him. The girls are good, along with Segel as Vector, the script was fine, with a good mix of adult jokes to keep me entertained. None of it was hilarious, crying laughing funny, just mildly amusing.
You have to expect a sequel and maybe a cheap spin off using the yellow dudes, but that's the nature of the game!

Overall I enjoyed this and think it will look great on Blu Ray! (8/10)

Red - Again

A second viewing of Red.

Still enjoyable fun, still lacking in story, still great to see Mirren with a big gun!

Legend of the Guardians (3D)

3D animation to die for!

What's it about? Based on the Katryn Lansky novel - Guardians of Ga'Hoole, it tells of a battle between good and evil set in the world of Owls.

Voice Cast: Sam Neill, Hellen Mirren and Jim Sturgess

Written by John Orloff and Emil Stern

Soundtrack by David Hirschfelder

Directed by Zack Synder

What I liked? The animation, the cast. The music

What I didn't like? The story (but it was enough - just!)

Summary: Synder's animation team have worked wonders on this film, the Owls are beautifully rendered, along with the overall look of the film, this is really quite stunning to watch. I always think birds always look stunning when done in computer graphics, like the hawk in Stuart Little 2 which was brilliant too. It's this which really saves the film, the animation is stunning and some of the action sequences are breathtaking, because the story is pretty average overall.
It's ok, and it serves the film, I just wonder if it could have had a little more in it, a little more adventure along the way. However that's a minor fault of this film, because it's quite easy to forget where the film is taking you as you watch the owls in flight, the fight scenes and the listen to the soaring music, not sure how well the song sits in the middle of it, but I can live with it.
The voice talent is good, through out and the script was ok. The 3D had it's moments, but again mainly used for depth, but it did look good!

Overall I was certainly impressed with the animation, that was stunning, the music and the cast (8/10)