Archive for the ‘movies’ Category
Wednesday, July 29th, 2009
Over the past few years I have become more and more fond of foreign language films, there’s something unique about the way the story is told, and how each scene is shot and coloured. ‘Le Vie en Rose’ is a biographical drama that tells the harrowing tale of Edit Piaf’s life and relatively short career. As a young girl she is left with her mother’s irresponsible mum as her dad is away serving with the forces in the first world war. You really get a feel of her desperate state all the way through this film, living in such impoverished conditions and spending time as a young girl living in a filthy brothel. For those of you unaware, Edith Piaf was the famous French singer, who sang ‘No Regrets’, the song recently and rather cheaply used in a Specsavers commercial.
Marion Cotillard gives an utterly perfect performance as Edith, completely deserving her oscar for best actress 2007. Her portrayal was so realistic and well researched it was like having the real Edith Piaf on screen in front of me. It was impossible to watch without being sucked in to her life, crying when she was hurt, laughing when she was joyful and connecting with her character as you would a friend. There was absolutely nothing in this film that seemed out of place and wasn’t well thought through. I presume this is mainly because of the french’s utter awe for Edith Piaf as a national legend and treasure that they didn’t allow anything in to the final cut that wouldn’t add to the film.
The editing has to be given a special mention in this review as it perfectly cuts in and out of different times in her life. Going from her heyday to her childhood and right to her last years, and doing it in such a way that it creates the story and helps the viewer connect and really get to grips with her character. You get a real taste of her struggles, throughout her life there seemed to always be in some kind of tribulation or struggle. From being ill in her youth, to being desperately poor, to be suffering the effects of over working and abuse from alcohol and drugs. The best film I have watched this year so far by a long shot.
Popularity: 5% [?]
Tags: Best Actress, Biographical Drama, Brothel, Desperate State, Different Times, Edith Piaf, Final Cut, First World War, Foreign Language, French Singer, Heyday, La Vie En Rose, Language Films, Le Vie En Rose, Marion Cotillard, National Legend, Portrayal, Spending Time, Tribulation, Young Girl
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Monday, July 27th, 2009
I don’t know about you, but for me a British gangster film has to be British, unlike ‘Green Street’ which was what I call ‘Hollywoodised’. Throw in Elijah Wood and Claire Forlani to appeal to an American audience and make some cash, enough to follow it with an inadequate and fruitless sequel. Last week ‘Cass’ arrived through my front door from LoveFilm.com, and to be completely honest I had no idea what the film was going to be about. I assumed it would be a film about Mohammed Ali, (Cassius Clay), but was pleasantly surprised to find an authentic British gangster film, based on a true story.
The film follows the life of Cass Pennant, who grows up as a lonely black boy, adopted by a white couple in London. He suffers a huge amount of racial abuse growing up until he gains the respect of the I.C.F’s head hooligan at 14. His stature grows within the Inter City Firm and he soon becomes the big cheese. Cass is played by the relatively unknown but hugely talented Nonso Anozie, one of the fantastic things about his acting in this film was that throughout it even portraying adulthood whenever any racial slander was shouted at him, you could see clearly how it affected him emotionally. I think for me it was that which made it such a good film, it was the emotional attachment and empathy I felt with the main character.
The real Cass Pennant, plays a cameo alongside Frank Bruno
Apart from the brilliant acting, the story content was good, although I did feel it was quite weakly directed and put together. At times it felt as though it cut to a different part of Cass’s life without a hint of subtlety, it didn’t flow that well and was a little disjointed. Saying this, it didn’t negatively affect the overall quality of the film, the violence wasn’t overdone and it was much more focussed on Cass’s struggles and triumphs than football hooliganism. It was a refreshing change to the usual, violent British gangster movie, and certainly was humerous to see Frank Bruno playing a cameo!
Popularity: 4% [?]
Tags: Ali Cassius Clay, American Audience, Big Cheese, Cameo, Cass Pennant, Cassius Clay, Claire Forlani, Elijah Wood, Emotional Attachment, Fantastic Things, Football Hooliganism, Frank Bruno, Gangster Film, Inter City Firm, London, Men Of Honour, Mohammed Ali, Pennant, Racial Abuse, Refreshing Change, Respect, Sequel, Slander, Stature, Story Content, Subtlety, True Story
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Wednesday, July 8th, 2009
It was bound to happen at some point, I couldn’t keep from watching the latest ‘Mummy’ money-spinning sequel, really hoping more than anything I’d be able to slate it afterwards, and it didn’t disappoint, it was a shocker! I remember watching the first installment, and enjoying it somewhat as an adolescent, it’s compelling story line, content and the beautiful Rachel Weisz distracted you from the terrible Brendan Frasier. Alas with the credit-crunch busting appointment of an unknown piece of eye candy to replace Rachel Weisz.. and I applaud Rachel for steering clear of this one!
‘The Mummy, Tomb of the Dragon Emperor’ insulted my intelligence all the way through, with it’s patronising dialogue, ridiculously predictable narrative and it’s disjointedness. It seemed that throughout the entire film each new scene was only to explain the obvious with no thought cast as to how they should move in between the scenes. I find it to be lazily written and not well edited. I remember the first mummy filming really made me sit up and bite my nails at the slightest hint of tension. This film used music to attempt at creating some tension, but failed miserably creating tension similar to that of a Cheese String.
The basic story is unusually set in China, where O’Connell once again manages to revive a mummy (Jet Li), and the ensuing adventure plays itself out rather tediously toward an obvious ending of him defeating the mummy with a rather sickening moment of team work with his son. Brendan Frasier’s acting is once again ridiculously over the top, and stupid. He now has a son, who is unusually already in university and is quite obviously based on a young Indiana Jones, except a rubbish version.
I generally try to find something good and bad in each film, but I really struggled with this one, they forced in Jet Li to boost sales presumably, and add some martial arts so the chavs have something to think is cool. It’s another example of Hollywood producing a film for commercial purposes without a single ounce of respect for the art form. I’m not one of those ‘arty-farty’ snobs of film who only watches independent films in French and black’n'white, but I do hate pointless sequels, with no story, no substance and terrible acting… like this one.
Watch it only if your incredibly bored, had a few drinks or need something on while doing the ironing. Don’t make the same mistake I did by giving it your full attention, you’ll waste time you could have been watching paint dry, or building things out of cream crackers. I did find it fairly useful in that it gave me a reason to write a slating review, but it had no other purpose, I’ll be sending it back to LoveFilm.com with a smile that it’ll no longer be in my house. Shocker!!
Popularity: 4% [?]
Tags: Adolescent, Brendan Frasier, Chavs, Connell, Credit Crunch, Emperor, Eye Candy, First Installment, Jet Li, Martial Arts, Mommy, Mummy, Nails, Narrative, Patronising, Rachel Weisz, Sequel, Shocker, Slate, Young Indiana Jones
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Friday, June 26th, 2009
Until last week I’d never seen ‘Apocalypse Now’, shocking I know, but I finally got round to it. I don’t know about you, but when I heard it was a war movie about Vietnam I was expecting lots of men shooting and pointing guns, a little like ‘Saving Private Ryan’ and in that sense I was a little disappointed. The problem, I guess, with watching a well respected film, especially this one, is that it’s had 30 years to build up it’s own hype before I managed to watch it.
Anyhow, the envelope arrived from Lovefilm.com and with not even a brief synopsis of the film written on the sleeve I placed it on my DVD tray with only my self-conjoured expectations, only to have them trashed, and rather pleasantly, I must add. I expected the all action war film, but instead found a film following an alcoholic captain’s battles with himself, his job and with the war against Vietcong. Captain Willard is brilliantly and coolly played by Martin Sheen, and takes a journey of self-discovery as well being on a mission to assassinate a Colonel who’d gone a little bit of his rocker. In that sense it’s more of a hit-man film than a war film. The Captain’s mission takes him up the river to Cambodia, stopping off at various outposts where he glimpses for the first time the huge mess that was the Vietnam war. Many outposts completely lacking in any order and authority, one even pimping time with former playboy calendar girls.
The greatest thing this film accomplishes though is the way the film diverts your attention from the war, and more towards the captains times of vulnerability, weaknesses and emotions. The battle that rages in his mind mirroring the fierceness of the battles going on outside in the jungle. I found his journey compelling enough that I almost missed the famous “I love the smell of Napalm in the morning!” (Which I personally didn’t think was that great a line, what’s the big deal?) It also almost distracted me from the fact Laurence (or Larry) Fishburne was playing a character called ‘Clean’!!
I know at the start of the review I was beginning to sound a little cynical, I really did enjoy this classic. It just turned out to be something completely different to what I thought it would be. It was a real commitment at over three hours in length, but it was certainly worth it, great film!
Popularity: 6% [?]
Tags: Apocalypse Now, Calendar Girls, Captain Willard, Glimpses, Hit Man, Larry Fish, Martin Sheen, Napalm In The Morning, Outposts, Personal Adventure, Pimping, Playboy Calendar, Rages, Saving Private Ryan, Self Discovery, Smell Of Napalm In The Morning, Vietcong, Vietnam War, War Film, War Movie
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Thursday, June 25th, 2009
For those of you unaware of how we found things in the olden days I’d like to turn your attention to the John Ford directed, classic western, ‘The Searchers’ featuring the legend, John Wayne. I can assume that most modern moviegoers won’t have seen many films made in the 1950s, ‘The Searchers’ is probably as far from modern as you can get. John Wayne plays his usual hard-nosed, short tempered, heroic self in the usual setting of Monument Valley.
The basic story line is that a tribe of Native Americans/Indians ransack Ethan’s (John Wayne) sister’s home and kidnaps one of her daughters and so he goes on a mission to find her. As with most early Westerns it’s about as political correct as Prince Philip. The women in the family are polite and do all the cleaning and cooking, with Ethan speaking to them exactly how he pleases. Ethan himself refuses to speak to one adopted member of the family purely because of his lineage. I have to be honest I think I’m a little bit too much of a modern film lover to appreciate this film fully and enjoy twists and turns too much to really get in to a straight forward, simple film about looking for a lost girl.
Classic John Wayne
So to make this more interesting I should create a comparison between the old-fashioned western way of finding things, and the modern western and global way of finding things.
Chief 'Scar' Played by white American: Henry Brandon
‘The Searchers’ v Google:
1. Google finds things in less than a second v Ethan took years to find one girl, and failed to get her the first time. (Google gets 1pt)
2. Google uses binary code and servers to find all the information v Ethan and his ’sidekick’ got to ride horses through the stunning Monument Valley. (‘The Searchers’ gets 1pt)
3. Google is exact in it’s portrayal of facts and information v Ethan’s adversary, an Indian chief named Scar was played by a white American actor named Henry Brandon (1pt to Google)
4. Google has no emotional attachment whatsoever to it’s results v Ethan was desperate to find his niece, and showed great courage and emotion to get there. (1pt to ‘The Searchers’)
5. Google has no sense of adventure when you click ‘Search’ v Ethan would get in to endless scrapes and get shot at and all sorts on his quest. (1pt to ‘The Searchers’)
So with that short comparison it looks like ‘The Searchers’ wins by a point!! So if you are looking for something you’re better off saddling a horse and galloping across America’s west than clicking ‘I’m feeling lucky’. A little more seriously though, I was slightly bored by the film, but that is purely because of the way films were produced in those days, with certain rules having to be followed like: American hero must always win. However, I did appreciate the scale of the film, some of the cinematography was fantastic, and the acting at the time was realistic. Worth a watch for educational purposes, looking how films were shot in those days and what kind of morals and values were portrayed. Dialogue and story were a little weak however, but give it a go, it’s on it’s way back to Lovefilm.com as we speak, so put it on your list.
(One game you can play to make John Wayne movies more fun, count how many times other people say John Wayne’s character’s name…. it’s hundreds!)
Popularity: 4% [?]
Tags: 1950s, American Actor, Americans Indians, Emotional Attachment, Film Lover, Global Way, Google, Henry Brandon, John Ford, John Wayne, Legend John, Lineage, Member Of The Family, Monument Valley, Moviegoers, Niece, Olden Days, Portrayal, Prince Albert, Prince Philip, Scar, Sidekick, Twists, Westerns
Posted in movies | 2 Comments »
Sunday, June 7th, 2009
Disney had a habit during the late 90s and into the early 00’s of making okay, family animated films that children of age 1 to 12 fell in love with. Anyone beyond that sat in the there with their eyes glazed over. Well as of late, Disney/Pixar (Pixar was bought by Disney last year) has continually put out incredible family films that are just what their name suggests family films. UP! is the newest in the line of films created by the geniuses at Pixar and I must say, they’ve gone above and beyond the standard of an animated family film.
The film, unlike what many of the trailers have suggested, is focused more on the older gentlemen, Carl Fredricksen, and how he ends up with a boy scout in a floating house. Carl is like any other old man, he just wants to enjoy his time to himself, in his house, without the bothersome annoyance of outside influences. Well, this isn’t exactly how things pan out and Carl constantly finds himself at odds with the rest of the world.
Carl grew up a curious and very quiet young man, interested in exploring from a young age. It’s during this time that he meets the woman he eventually marries, and end up in the childhood clubhouse, living their days together. He’s happy, she’s happy and you really have to do a double take when you think about where this film is going. Like Carl, his wife has been interested in exploring as well, and they plan a trip to South America in order to satisfy their childhood fantasies. Now, I don’t want to give away the film, but I will say this. It’s the first film since Wall-E where I’ve been brought to tears for a cartoon.
Now fast forward to today. We have old Carl in his house, surrounded by the loud craziness that it the world and up comes some boy scout named Russel, to “help assist an elderly person”. Through a strange set of circumstances, the pair end up together inside the house that is Carl’s home, heading toward South America.
Throughout the film the two encounter many obstacles in the fight to get the house to it’s destination. With talking dogs, colorful and funny birds, and evil explorers, bent on clearing their smeared name, the movie will have many moments of pure laughter, enjoyment, and raw emotion.
If I do have one complaint about this movie, it’s that there are points when you feel as if the creators were pushing a bit too hard to get that tear out of your eye. Sometimes you just want to say “Okay, really? It’s a kid film, let’s not rip their hearts out.” Namely the curious relationship between the boy scout and his father. Also, in regards to being for children, there are lot of times when Russel’s life is put in grave danger and while this can be an effective tool to get your audience’s attention, it’s a bit annoying when it happens over and over again and even more so when you have kids screaming, scared that a little boy is about to fall to his death.
All in all, the film is a great movie that will have you leaving with tear stains on your face and a smile spead wide from ear to ear. I give it 2 thumbs up and worth the extra cash to see it in 3D
Popularity: 2% [?]
Tags: Animated Films, Annoyance, Boy Scout, Childhood Fantasies, Clubhouse, Craziness, Disney Pixar, Elderly Person, Encounter, Family Film, Family Films, Fredricksen, Geniuses, Gentlemen, Habit, movies, Obstacles, Pixar, Rest Of The World, review, South America, Young Man
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Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009
I promised a review of this movie and I managed to see it tonight. Having recently read the book of this movie I have to say my fears were fulfilled, a good book has ruined a good movie. Too much of what I loved about the book was missed out in the movie, but this didnt make it a bad movie, I just wanted to see somethings on screen and didn’t. My review of the book will explain the themes and give you an idea about the storyline, but my advice to if you are yet to read the book is watch the movie first! It is really worth watching!
Popularity: 2% [?]
Tags: Angels, angels and demons, book, dan brown, Demons, Fears, Good Book, movie, reviews, Themes, Vol 2, Watch Movie
Posted in books, movies | No Comments »
Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009
Taxi Driver was written in what was arguably the most creative time in Hollywood history, the usual set formulas of classic Hollywood and set character archetypes were thrown out the window. Writers and film makers were free to go against America’s values and morals, and in doing so created some of the greatest films ever made.
The film follows Travis (played by Robert De Niro), an insomniac and sexually frustrated Taxi driver in New York City. In what I believe to be one of his best performances, he portrays a man fed up of the city and the low-life that live there. He sees the drug pushers, prostitutes and criminals as scum that need to be “flushed away”. As his insomnia and rage gets the best of him his mind starts to unravel and he plans to fight crime head on. He has delusions of working in the secret service, and being a crime fighter, almost like Batman, without the suit and considerably more deranged.
Like most older films it takes a lot of time to get to know the character, but what you get from this is a more detailed view at the subtleties lying beneath the surface of this man. His seeming inability to have an intimate relationship, his lack of understanding of current affairs, continuously going to see x rated films at adult only cinemas. The use of the camera is utterly stunning, it’s shots from unusual angles, many fantastic frames in and around the taxi. One of my favourite shots was when the hotel owner steps out of the blackness in the corridor, collects his money from Travis, and slinks back again in to the shadows. There are some brilliant point of view shots, beautiful lighting to make all the more gritty and murky.
All in all I thoroughly enjoyed it, the camera work, the acting by De Niro and the superb writing make it a brilliant watch. Loved it!
Popularity: 100% [?]
Tags: hollywood, insomnia, movie, Robert De Niro, taxi driver
Posted in movies | 1 Comment »
Friday, May 29th, 2009
Back in 1984 James Cameron had a vision for a movie about a war between a whole litany of “self-aware” machines and the human resistance fighters. This movie, naturally, was the Terminator, and it was the movie that arguably made Ahh-nold Schwarzenegger the household name that he is today. Terminator Salvation is the first movie in the series that doesn’t have Schwarzenegger as a primary character. Nonetheless, it delivers a solid punch that should satisfy many moviegoers and fans of the Terminator series. Also, while this review tries to be as spoiler free as possible, there are some themes in the movie that are discussed below, so if you really don’t want any foreknowledge of Salvation, come back and check out this review after you see it.
Graphically, Terminator Salvation delivers the goods as the post-apocalyptic world is both believable and beautifully designed. Each and every class of robots is incredibly detailed, with it being quite believable at times that a Skynet actually does exist (well, OK, maybe not that easy, but you get the point hopefully – the machines are incredibly realistic and the world just appears post-apocalyptic). The CGI effects on the machines are done impeccably, and certainly not in a cheesy manner like some sci-fi movies. Perhaps the thing that impressed me the most was how well each character interacted with the machines. Never once did one get the impression that the robots were not actually attacking the humans, or that there was really no functional robot in front of John Connor. Right down to the eye movements and expressions, everything was perfectly in-sync.
Of course, all of this graphical prowess would be lost if the story-line wasn’t engaging. I must admit that I was surprised when I read some of the negative reviews after watching the movie. Many of them would lead you to believe that the story is, as Claudia Puig of the USA Today put it, “predictable” and “flat-lin[ing]”. While there is a certain amount of predictability inherent in Terminator Salvation, the story-line itself is interesting in an artistic sort of way. The central theme of the movie seems to be questioning what it truly means to be human. A little existentialist, I suppose, but this should be expected given a movie with a name of “Salvation” and an obvious Christ-reference within the first five minutes. As for the actual plot of the movie, I don’t see how it’s all that much different than the previous Terminators, which is why I was surprised to see all the negative reviews. Much of it borrows from the original series, so if you haven’t seen the first three movies, I strongly suggest you do so before attending Salvation.
As for the acting, Christian Bale, who has the role of John Connor in Salvation, has been widely panned for giving a poor performance, and to this end I tend to agree. He is very one-dimensional in Salvation with the only side one ever sees being the battle-hardened tough-guy whose basically lost most emotional capacity. Now, I’m not all together convinced that this wasn’t intentional, but it does mean that one never really gets attached to Connor. Without going into too many details, the main “hero” of the movie ends up being Marcus Wright played brilliantly by Sam Worthington. Anyone who’s seen the first Terminators will recognize that this is a strong departure (intended or not) from the premise of the original trilogy.
All in all, I encourage you not to be swayed by the negative reviews on this movie. It is definitely worth seeing, especially if you’re a fan of the Terminator series. I’ll admit, it’s very difficult to get adjusted to seeing a Terminator movie without Arnold in it, but I think this one does a pretty good job. The ending leaves the door wide open for a sequel, and I do hope that the directors and higher-ups in Hollywood try their hand at producing another Terminator.
Popularity: 3% [?]
Tags: movie, Schwarzenegger, star trek, terminator, wolverine, xmen
Posted in movies | 6 Comments »
