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A Serial Killer's Guide to Life (2019)
Straps you in and takes you on a bloody journey with Lou and Val
Had the pleasure of viewing A Serial Killers Guide to Life and Grimmfest this year followed by a Q&A with its director and it's certainly been a film to make a lasting impression.
At first it was near impossible not to see A Serial Killers Guide as the cousin to Sightseers, although the director Staten Cousins-Roe states that Sightseers is not a direct influence. But there's no denying that the films share many similarities with Ben Wheatley's black comedy among them the over bearing mother who pushes our anti-hero to the extreme, the jet black humour even the locations are familiar (although the film was shot around Sussex as opposed to Yorkshire).
But the question is despite the similarities does A Serial Killers Guide stand on it's? And the answer is yes, this is largely down to an excellent cast, leads Katie Brayben as the ditsy and emotionally fragile Lou and Poppy Roe as the cold and unpredictable Val both have such a strong on screen chemistry that I never found the absurdity of the film a distraction but instead a benefit. Val Roe in particular stands out as she is given so much room to be a performer acting with her eyes, mouth, body language and she really seized her chance to show what she can do. The supporting cast are also spot on with reliable character actors such as Sian Clifford, Ben Lloyd Hughes, Tomiwa Edun and the always excellent Sinead Matthews all giving the assured performances we know they are more than capable of doing, even the extras in the laughing therapy scene all did great. This is in no doubt helped by writer and director Staten Cousins Roe being an actor himself.
A Serial Killers Guide to Life may not be anything new but it's a film which stands on it's own two feet and takes you on a bloody journey accompanied by the dysfunctional but always engrossing Lou and Val.
Jurassic World (2015)
can be easily dissected by nit-pickers but it knows its place and that is what makes it a fun action packed experience with some bite.
After spending over a decade stuck in development hell the long awaited Jurassic Park IV has finally made it to cinemas under the guidance of up and coming director Colin Trevorrow and re-boot specialists Legendary Pictures (The Dark Knight Trilogy, Godzilla) with the more suitable title Jurassic World. But is it worth the wait?
Well it was for Universal the film stomped into theatres and looks set to break into the prestigious billion-dollar club in box office gross. Benefiting the relentless marketing campaign which included a mock and very impressive Jurassic World website highlighting the impressive attention to detail put into the park. As for the quality of the film it may not be able to match the original, but it is certainly the superior of the three sequels. The main distinction between Jurassic World and its lesser counterparts The Lost World and Jurassic Park III is that Jurassic World poses the same the same theme which was the main driving force of both the first instalment and Michael Crichton's 1990 novel, a theme best explained by Dr. Ian Malcolm's memorable quote "You were too busy asking if you could, you never stopped to ask if you should". The park is run by Simon Masrani (Irrfan Khan), an eccentric Richard Branson like billionaire and the only returning character Dr. Henry Wu (BD Wong) who serves as a modern day Victor Frankenstein. Both could have served as exciting representatives of the dangers of capitalism and science but instead they are pushed aside for the typical all American action hero. This could had been a problem if it wasn't taken over by the always lovable Chris Pratt who has further cemented himself as the hottest star in Hollywood.
As for the other characters they are rather one dimensional and undeveloped. Bryce Dallas Howard plays the conventional stubborn businesswoman, Claire, who predictably evolves into being humane, while her sister Karen (Judy Greer) spends the majority of her limited screen time back in the United States crying and worrying over her sons (this is even before the Dinosaurs start rampaging across the island) while her two children serve as the Tim and Lex stand in's. They are in the form of Zach (Nick Robinson) who is your typical hormonal teenager constantly using conveniently labelled electronic products and his dinosaur obsessed nerdy little brother Grey (Ty Simpkins). The biggest disappointment however is the clichéd human antagonist Vic Hoskins played by the wasted Vincent D'Onofrio who plays a bad guy whose bad for the sake of being bad. Hoskins is Ingen's head of security whose plan is to weaponise the raptors trained by Pratt's character Owen, at no point is his plan a secret as it's the first subject he talks about. The character of Hoskins is paper-thin and is a character more suited to a 90's family film, a certain Brian Blessed voiced hunter springs to mind.
The plot involving Hoskins is part of too many undeveloped subplots that only add to the run time as opposed to the story. The main culprit is when while on Jurassic World's monorail Grey begins to randomly cry over the likelihood of his and Zach's parents getting a divorce, this subject is never bought up again failing to capitalise on adding any depth to the brothers. These uneventful subplots are likely the consequence of too many scriptwriters working on the screenplay. Four screenwriters are credited, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes writers Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, served as the original screenwriters while Trevorrow and his Safety Not Guaranteed partner Derek Connolly later stepped in for the final draft, four very talented screenwriters, but all likely to have clashed during pre-production.
But as any fan of the Jurassic Park franchise should know the real stars are the dinosaurs and boy they don't disappoint. The Indominus Rex is a breath of fresh air, which was lacking in the other sequels. She serves as not just a good threat to the park and its inhabitants but also a solid representation of the dangers of science. While the other "assets" in Jurassic World consist of the monstrous Jaws eating Mosasaurus and the previously underused Pterodactyl's, both of whom are most welcome and give the film a sense of individuality. While the 'old school' Raptors and T-Rex make more than just fan service cameos and even become integral to the main plot, even the biggest cynics will struggle to smile when the T-Rex and raptors are on screen. Trevorrow shows that he is capable of taking on such a high profile production, Jurassic World may be lacking the personality which made his indie-sci-fi-comedy debut Safety Not Guaranteed such a delight but this is a film which despite its flaws is made by people who are clearly passionate about this franchise and it will certainly appeal to fans of the original and introduce it to younger generations.
Penny Dreadful: The Nightcomers (2015)
Proves that you don't need over the top cliff hangers to make good TV
After the two entertaining but still rather slow opening episodes to its second season John Logan has managed to surpass himself and has treated us to the finest episode of Penny Dreadful yet. This feat is even more impressive taking into account that The Nightcomers is built entirely around Vanessa Ives and excludes many of the other popular characters among them Sir Malcolm Murray, Victor Frankenstein, Dorian Grey and Sambene, while Ethan Chandler is limited to only the first scene. Single plot episodes are risky if it is not executed well it will lose viewers, but on this occasion the execution is spot on, the missing characters aren't missed as we are too transfixed by the complexity's surrounding Vanessa, it is not only her past which is explored but also the possibilities and dangers the future has in store for her unpredictable powers.
The Nightcomers opens the following morning from last weeks ending, Vanessa enters her bedroom to find Ethan examining the blood painted scorpion on her floor. After asking about its meaning Vanessa proceeds in telling Ethan and us the origin of the scorpion, thus starting the story arc. Vanessa's story follows on from the previous flashback episode from season one, Closer Than Sisters, as Vanessa seeks out answers over her vision of Mina, she looks to understand who she is by seeking out "The Cut-Wife of Ballentree Moor", the "first witch" she ever met. Played by American Theatre Hall of Fame Inductee Patti LuPone and she is outstanding giving us one of the best guest television performances you will see all year. The Cut-Wife is superbly written, a truly tragic individual she was banished from her coven after refusing to pledge her allegiance to the Devil. The Cut-Wife now lives in a secluded bit of English countryside land earning a living as a cunning woman (witch) for the locals, her main source of income is conducting abortions to local girls, hence her nickname Cut-Wife. In a later scene Vanessa and the Cut-Wife are out gathering food and remedies in the woods when a local farmer passes by spitting at the Cut-Wife, she remarks "they send their girls to me, but yet they despise me". Though the supernatural elements are present in The Nightcomers, it also reflects on real life events, as the Cut-Wife isn't subjected by the locals for her abilities, she is hated for being different, a victim of scare mongering and misogyny. Just like the real life women who fell victim to the witch trials in England and other parts of Europe.
Through the Cut-Wife's exposition we also learn much more about the past of the seasons antagonist the frightening but yet alluring Evelyn Poole/Madame Kali. We learn that the two witches were both "sisters" in the same coven before Evelyn decided to worship the Devil. We also get to witness the first encounter between Vanessa and Evelyn, though it does raise a plot hole over the encounter between the two in the second episode of season one. This is the first episode where we see the extent of Evelyn's power, establishing her as a worthy season antagonist, something which the first season lacked. Not only do we see more of Evelyn's power as a witch but we also see her slyness and intelligence. Unable to enter the Cut-Wife's grounds, due to a spell preventing anybody not mortal to cross the surrounding enchanted stones Evelyn resorts to sexually manipulating the local magister into doing her dirty work, serving as a possible foreshadowing for her upcoming plans with Malcolm Murray.
It may only be early days but after the slow pace of the first two episodes it looked as if the minor problems of the first season were going to continue, these problems consisting of a difficult to engage main story, which was filled by uneventful sub-plots. But it appears that Penny Dreadful has learnt from its flaws. The Nightcomers is likely to be the backbone of the new season, an arc with enough development to keep up throughout the entirety of the season to make this show fulfil the high expectations it arrived with.
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014)
Lacks individuality and reeks of pomposity
Despite the likes of Twilight and The Vampire Diaries twisting the vampire genre for a more mainstream and child friendly audience, we still got witnessed some of the most innovative and challenging works of fiction about the creatures of the night, these works stuck to its horror roots while adding more depth to the mythology. Releases like Let the Right One In, and its surprisingly good English language adaptation Let Me In along with Park Chan Wook's Thirst and Dennis Gansel's We Are the Night all gave new life to the undying. But A Girl Walks Home at Night arrives too late to the party.
Set in the fictional town "Bad City" in Iran, though the film is set in Iran and all the characters speak Persian, it is actually American, it was shot in California, by an American crew and funded by an American production company, Elijah Wood's SpectreVision. The film opens on Arash, played by unknown Arash Marandi, teenage boy who shares a resemblance to James Dean, whose greatest love is his car, which he proudly boasts to have earned. The car is later taken away by a local gangster, who Arash's heroin addicted father owes money too. The unfortunate gangster later encounters a mysterious black veiled woman known only as "The Girl" (Shelia Vand) leading to the prime moment of female empowerment that has lead to it being widely regarded as a "feminist film" by many of its admirers, though the director has dismissed this trademark. This link between the two eventually transpires into a relationship between Arash and The Girl. Despite the promising setting the narrative becomes very stale, the characters though not one dimensional are hardly original, Arash is a character who we have seen before, the teenage boy who risks becoming involved in crime, in this case drug dealing, while The Girl, though given a very distinct and creative appearance, lacks much of a personality, the film fails to capitalise on her tortured soul and feeling of timelessness, her only expression of personality is when we see her home with a large collection of records and posters of musicians and singers, though this feels more of the directors personality than the characters. The extensive music collection does lead to one of the strongest scenes as the two leads share a "will they won't they moment" over the song Death by The White Lies, this moment is captured in a single shot giving their relationship a sense of honesty. But while the static and uninterrupted camera-work add to this scene, the technique fails in others, after possibly the finest scene in the film they cut to the most pompous, we watch in a uninterrupted shot a local prostitute playing with a balloon, though this scene has reason, to show a more innocent side to the prostitute, it feels as if you are watching a parody, like on of the hilarious fictional film clips Jay Sherman will praise in The Critic or a film Lisa Simpson will drag her family too.
The camera-work shows an influence from other directors like Bela Tarr and Gus Van Sant, while the films heavy aesthetics nod to directors such as Jim Jarmusch and Michael Haneke, but like many other first time directors Ana Lily Amirpour falls into the same trap, while her film may be technically impressive it is still lacks its own sense of identity as its strongest elements are borrowed from its peers. The main counterpart of A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night is Tomas Alfredson's 2008 masterpiece Let the Right One In, the film that essentially gave new life to the vampire genre, which Twilight sucked away (excuse the pun). At the time of its release Let the Right One In was ground-breaking, it served as a modern Romeo & Juliet only with vampires, portraying two tortured souls who find solace in each other, while A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, only recycles this premise, lacking the sense of realism which made Let the Right One In so moving and engaging, while A Girl Walks Home at Night only lingers on from one form of visual aesthetics to another, giving nods to the filmmakers favourite films and music. This isn't a proper horror film, the souls aren't tortured enough, the narrative isn't climatic enough and not once is there a sense of danger to the leads. Instead of a horror movie it is an art film, but an art film which ticks all the boxes to fit into it's genre, therefore playing by the rules, which is not what a art film should be.
I mentioned earlier that A Girl Walks Home at Night resembles Gus Van Sant, but regrettably what it resembles the most is his marmite film Last Days, which makes me ask the question if A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night was in its natural colour and the dialogue was spoken in English, would it had garnered the same critical acclaim? I highly doubt so, some may disagree but this isn't a work worthy of such acclaim and devotion.
The Punisher (2004)
Such a bland film
I have never been a fan of The Punisher comics but still found him to be an interesting character and deserves a better film than this snoozefest. The plot is just a recycled revenge action movie, with under written characters, forgettable dialogue and being in dire need of much required good comic relief, not John Travolta making puns.
The films entire shot list is static and thats what this film feels like, static, the entire film appears to lack any direction, the film is far too long, its action set pieces look staged and add no pace to the film, the score is like something compiled from copyright free material and it is far too long lasting two hours. The acting is wooden, Thomas Jane, bless him, isn't given much to work with and stumbles along looking moody while John Travolta, who could had worked as an over the top bad-guy ala Jaoquin Phoenix in 'Gladiator' is just another actor waiting for his pay-cheque while enjoying a trip to Florida.
If you still want to defend this film after reading my review, then remember this, this is a film which uses a Nickleback song, that's how lame it is.
Lucy (2014)
This film is so Good...until the ending
'Lucy' begins as an absolute thrill ride of a movie, it was Luc Besson back to his best which is non stop action brilliant tied together with relatable characters, it introduced us to a great plot, an exciting action sequence and a bad ass antagonist played by the always brilliant Choi-Min- sik, it immediately got me hooked. As it continued it had a few questions of logic (like all films) but it didn't matter because it was entertaining and was looking like Besson's best since Leon.
But then came the ending, it was unanswered, confusing and most of all pretentious, Besson apparently worked on 'Lucy' for about 12 years, which leads me to believe that the ending was over thought, it strikes that during the writing process Besson became more interested in making an ending for himself not rather than his audience.
I don't support a lot of the hate 'Lucy' seems to have got, as despite my frustration towards the ending it was still an entertaining and a step in the right direction for Besson, a big improvement from 'The Lady'.
The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
I can't remember the last time I left the cinema feeling so fulfilled
I believe that TDKR is the best out of the trilogy, though the BB and TDK are both excellent, TDKR manages to perfectly capture the essence of Bruce Wayne and Batman in a way we would probably never see again, Bale gives a performance which shows just how brilliant an actor he is, even when most of his face is hidden by the mask, he manages to not only express the determination and anger of Batman, but also Batman's anxiety, I felt his performance in TDK became overshadowed by praise that was heaped upon the late Heath Ledger, but now I hope everyone can praise him for the brilliant actor he is. I believe the supporting cast are also great and that no actor was below par, even though it took a bit of time to adjust to Bane's voice.
Christopher Nolan has given us one of the greatest trilogy's of all time and has finished with a tour de force of a film, which is both challenging and entertaining, the reliance on stunts and little use of CGI made the film feel grittier and more intense, while Wally Pfister has given us in what could be his last film as a DP some of his finest work and that chant which is heard when Bane approaches will forever send a chill down my spine no matter how many times I see it. TDKR managed to surpass my expectations, every minute of it was worth watching.
Lastly I just want to send my condolences to the victims, as well as their family and friends, of the tragic event in Colorado, may they rest in peace.
Prometheus (2012)
Not the masterpiece I hoped for but give credit where credit is due
To me the problem with Prometheus was that the expectation was too high, I entered the cinema expecting to see a masterpiece a film which would be on par with Alien, one of the greatest films of all time in my opinion, and though I was satisfied after it had finished I instantly knew it wasn't the masterpiece I had expected. Ridley Scott does do a great job directing Prometheus, there are many outstanding visuals, and Scott gives the film a dark and mysterious atmosphere. Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender and Logan Marshall Green each give a great performance and make the characters their own, and the art direction is absolutely fantastic and deserves the highest acclaim. I believe the problems for the film are because of the script, there are plot holes which are noticeable and the characters are not as relatable as they could had been. Another problem I had with Prometheus is that I compared it too much to Alien, I know Ridley Scott refuses to refer to it as a prequel, but I felt throughout watching that it was a prequel and constantly connected the story with the story of Alien. But despite my disappointment I still believe Prometheus is a well crafted film that is both engaging and enjoyable and managed to give me a few jumps and as a stand alone film Prometheus wouldn't disappoint.
C.R.A.Z.Y. (2005)
The best coming of age film of all time?
I watched C.R.A.Z.Y. knowing absolutely nothing about it and from the first few minutes I was completely engaged, it is the perfect periodic coming of age film, it has a good mix of drama and comedy, it brilliantly captures the setting while also making appealing to a modern day audience and the characters and the situations they find themselves in are both entertaining and realistic. The director Jean-Marc Vallee and the writers Vallee and Francois Boulay deserve full credit, the dialogue alone manages to capture the true essence of the family. The actors are also brilliant I would go as far as to rate Michel Cote's portrayal of Gervais, the father, as one of the finest performances I have ever seen.
I re-watched C.R.A.Z.Y. yesterday and thought it was even better than the first time, it's a film with so much depth that it won't get boring no matter how many times I watch it, it can be difficult for a film to deal with so many characters and themes and not go over board with them but C.R.A.Z.Y. manages to pull it off. It's perfect it captured what it set out to achieve and deserves the highest praise.
Smokin' Aces (2006)
I Expected a Mindless Fun Action Film Instead I Got a Mindless Pretentious Action Film
From what I heard about Smokin' Aces it was a hate it or love it film, some say it was a fun and smart film while others said it was shallow and pretentious, even though I understand the appeal of Smokin' Aces I will agree with the latter and I agree with this for three main reasons plus others.
Firstly the script is poor, and if there is anything worse than a poor script it is a poor script that thinks it's clever. The dialogue especially, the dialogue at the beginning is ridiculously over exaggerated, it took me a good while too understand what the hell was going on, what was being described was that someone had a bounty on him and the FBI happened to know exactly who these 'top' assassins who were after him, but the film took about ten minutes to explain that. Also I wonder if anyone else noticed that when Andy Garcia is describing the assassin who chewed off his fingers, he is referred to being found in 'Northern Ireland' but when the line is repeated to remind the Ray Liotta character instead he say's 'Belfast', I believe this was either a flaw which never got noticed because everybody working on the film just didn't care or that the writer thought he was being realistic and clever because in real life when somebody remembers a sentence they are not always 100% accurate, if it was the latter then I would like to say this to Joe Carnahan 'It's not intelligent or realistic it's just being pretentious'
My second problem can be related to the problem with the dialogue and it's that everybody talks so fast, i swear when Andy Garcia is giving the briefing at the start if you hold a speedometer towards him it will probably explode. But it's not just Garcia everybody speaks too fast, obviously Carnahan thinks he's adding a faster pace to the film but they speak so fast that at times it sounds as if they are speaking gibberish. And by the way the performances were poor, Alica Keyes playing a hit woman did not work and never will!
My third and last problem is in a film that has so many characters revolving around the one story all the characters need enough screen time to make them and their story engrossing, think about a film such as Reservoir Dogs, all the main characters are each given their own screen time which makes them more engaging, or the work of the Coen Brothers who are masters at this. But Joe Carnahan is not, so many different characters were thrown into the story that it began to annoy me, it wasn't confusing at all but annoying.
I do though have three good things to say about this film as well, firstly I enjoyed the cinematography especially some of the continuous shots, secondly it had far less Ben Affleck than I feared and thirdly it reminded how great characters the Coen Brothers can make as 'The Tremors' are just a take off from the three Nihilists from 'The Big Lebowski' and I would rather watch the Nihilists over Tremors anytime.
C'est arrivé près de chez vous (1992)
A film that would make you frightened and then you will laugh
Man Bites Dog is to me a cross between This is Spinal Tap and A Clockwork Orange, it is both a comedy that we can take seriously no matter how comical it gets and gives us a character who no matter how inhumane he is we are still engrossed with him, the character Ben is one of the most evil characters in cinema history but we still see what is like a 'sub-plot' of the story which is of Ben living a life we can relate to, at parts, such as him interacting with his friends and family and of him watching film reels of him as a child and that is why we are still intrigued by his many theories no matter his inhumane actions. Though we do laugh many times Man Bites Dog is still one of the most disturbing films ever as it portrays a world of injustice with little regard for human life and has a character who is a ruthless serial killer who isn't the mentally ill loner that is usually portrayed in films such as The Silence of the Lambs but is instead a character who we witness going about his everyday life which involves brutal murder and still manages to fit in his normal routines which include developing his relationship with the determined film crew following his actions.
Monsters (2010)
a road trip movie with an alien invasion as a sub-plot
When the closing titles appear a friend of mine said out loud 'What the hell' and i was able to feel the rest of the audience share in his disappointment. It appeared to me more like a road trip movie with an alien invasion as a sub-plot, not what people expect are want to see out of something called Monsters, the monsters themselves were also a bore they looked like big glowing octopuses that sounded like a whale. Monsters was more like The Motorcycle Diaries or Sideways instead of a War of the Worlds type of film, Motorcycle Diaries and Sideways are two films which i adore and are two of my favourites films ever, i probably wouldn't be saying that if aliens were thrown into the story.
The problem with Monsters is how throughout the film we are given a build up of suspense we are aware from the start that the two characters are going to meet peril with the aliens and we see the build up to the start and that build up is just a complete let down as the first two minutes are the most exciting or only exciting parts of the entire film.
Monsters does though have some positives though mostly the cinematography by the director Gareth Edwards (who did show potential to me) but considering the lack excitement he should have given us more emotion towards the characters. But Monsters isn't a drama its a sci-fi and should be treated as a sci-fi and this film lacks in whats most important to a sci-fi film and that is the excitement.
Avatar (2009)
Just big special effects nothing else
it wasn't even close to matching my expectations and it wasn't able to match how much i hoped i would have enjoyed it. My problems with Avatar are that i find it hard to believe that James Cameron spent 12 years making and planning this, it lacked passion, also it had a poor script, and very weak and amateur dialogue, cinematography should had been better and had an opening sequence which was just Bad! But by the end it got better, it begun to look pretty amazing and even the story concept began to improve, the effects were just Brilliant and Cameron begun to show sightly more skills but i still left Avatar disappointed. I feel i could had preferred it but the story structure was too poor and it was too reliant on special effects and that isn't what movies should be about
Jarhead (2005)
the modern day Apocalypse Now
What makes Jarhead great is that it is a smart story with a great screenplay good acting and has one brilliant soundtrack. Another reason i love Jarhead is that it's not like many of the other American war films to come out recently as this you don't even see a single enemy die and the lead character dosen't kill anyone that is what made this movie stand out to the Black Hawk Downs of this world. I think this film is the Apocalypse Now of the 21st century because they are both powerful movies showing horrors of war and even though apocalypse now is better (just) Jarhead deserves every right to be compared to it. I hope many war films will follow Jarhead and also more movies about the Persian gulf will follow as it reminded me of how horrible it was in that war.
So overall Jarhead is one of the best war films to come out in many years and was just excellent with a fantastic script and a first-rate job by Sam Mendes and once again a incredible soundtrack.
Public Enemies (2009)
not an epic but a good summer movie
Public Enemies is like an irresistible to hate as even if you didn't like the story or the acting or anything like that Public Enemies looks absolutely stunning with it's brilliant costume and set design.
This could had been a perfect 10 out of 10 movie but what was the let down was the fact that the story was a real let down as it didn't give enough of an insight into the actual life of John Dillinger, which makes Public Enemies not a biopic but more of a cops and robbers movie right? Not really as it is more played as a drama not a thriller. But despite some minor setbacks Public Enemies is an exciting and well made film and if your looking for a good summer film you'll be better off watching this over two and a half hours of robots fighting (you'll be much better)
Sid and Nancy (1986)
Great leading performances but a missed opportunity
I think i should start off by saying that i am big Sex Pistols fan, But i'm an even bigger fan of Johnny Rotten, Which proved a disappointment as the film didn't give the audience an insight or enough time to eider Rotten (Lydon), Cook or Jones. But despite that Sid and Nancy is an entertaining biopic with great leading performances by both a young (and hard to recognise) Gary Oldman and Chloe Webb. But what this film captures the most is a great viewing of 1970's England and delivers a fantastic view of 1970's London
So overall Sid and Nancy has a great costume, make-up and interior design which gives the viewers a spectacular insight in the era of punk. So with the great insight and two very well done performances, but it could have been better so i hope it won't be the last film about the sex pistols and that the next film will be more focused on the band itself. But Sid and Nancy is still a pleasure to watch
The Damned United (2009)
a witty biopic and a joy to watch
Peter Morgan (Writer of The Queen and Frost/Nixon) reunites for the third time with Michael Sheen (Leading actor of The Queen and Frost/Nixon) as the two men look to complete a hat-trick. Michael Sheen can tick off another box on his list of his portrayals of iconic Englishmen as his witty performance is a key reason for what makes The Damned United a joy to watch. The performances stand out with many well done performances by the leading cast, in particular Sheen and Spall who show a very impressive on screen relationship.
The film can get confusing at times as it follows two different stories, switching frequently from Brian Clough's miraculous time at Derby County and his disappointing and shambolic time at Derby's then rivals Leeds United. The film doesn't get involved in Clough's personal life but focuses on his career with both clubs, starting off with Clough viewed firstly as a small-time 2nd Division manager to a arrogant manager on top of the Division 1, another key issue is his close friendship with his assistant Peter Taylor (Timothy Spall) and hatred of the man who preceded him as Leeds boss, Don Revie (Colm Meaney). While at Leeds the key points of focus is Clough's determination to replace Don Revie as a hero in Leeds and 'father figure' as well his poor relationship with the players and the end to his arrogance. Many people may feel that The Damned United is just for football fans, and even though it may appeal more to football fans it's an entertaining film and a joy to watch.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)
Very entertaining a well done piece of work
I saw about the first 20 minutes of this at school and even though i had no knowledge of the radio shows are the books but i found it very entertaining and was very keen to see the end. I eventually witnessed the end and it was worth it. The producers made a very wise choice of having Douglas Adams adapt his own story and it worked perfectly. What also highly impressed me was the cast the idea of using a young leading cast who mostly up to this time had mostly supporting roles but Martin Freeman, Zooey Deschanel, Mos Def and of course Sam Rockwell, The supporting and more experienced cast also did a fantastic job especially Alan Rickman who made an absolute hilarious performance and also was able to prove to the people who judge him that he can play other roles thats not a villain. So overall it was a joy to watch and may get many people to get interested in the story's by Douglas Adams.
Chaplin (1992)
Not living up to other biographies
Don't get me wrong this is a well done movie Robert Downey Jr. made an excellent portrayal of Charlie Chaplin but i was let down by many faults one was that i believe this is one of Lord Attenborough weakest directions one problem he had was that he didn't get me interested in the Charlie Chaplin and the other characters which then bores the viewer. But the movie has more pro's than con's as i said earlier Robert Downey Jr. does a great portrayal as Chaplin and the supporting cast also does an excellent job with Dan Aykroyd and Paul Rhys in particular. Anthony Hopkins also makes a great portrayal but his character is a bit to short lived. Another positive of this film was another great score by John Barry who of course is one of the best at his job. Another positive on this film is the smart and very odd editing The idea to use old fashioned editing just as how it was done back in Chaplin's time is very smart and deserves a positive response. So in a Overall It is a enjoyable movie but as it get reaches the middle it becomes a boring and uninteresting picture but what is not boring is the performances in particular by Robert Downey Jr. But compared to some other films at this genre and with such a impressive director and crew it's a real let down.
The Italian Job (2003)
Enjoyable but pointless
I really enjoyed the Italian Job with Michael Caine i thought it was a exciting,funny and a perfect Brit action/comedy. This one though i had mixed emotions, Maybe if i never saw the original i could give it 9 or maybe even a 10 but after only recently seeing the original i just couldn't like it as much. But i do admit that it was better than expected i will give the producers and writers a pat on the back because mainly when Hollywood remake a classic British film it is awful but this beats the average remake, I liked the cast even though i'm usually not to fond of most of them though like Mark Whalberg even though he seems like a nice guy i just think he makes to many poor choices and he same for Charlize Theron i think she's talented and very pretty i think a she has quite a long list of bad choices but i liked them both in this.
Overall-I found it better the than expected i taught the acting and writing were very good and the way they make the truck "Disappear" gives two thumps up from me. But it lacks the humour and action of the original.
I am relieved they didn't ruin "You're only supposed to blow the bloody doors off" none of the cast could have pulled it off better than Sir Michael Caine
The Incredible Hulk (2008)
Not great but better than Ang Lee's version
I enjoyed this film i thought it was exciting and a good summer film When i compare it to Ang Lee's version overall this is better i did however think Eric Bana was a better Bruce Banner but what the first Hulk lacked was a poor story and was instead of an exciting summer action film it was a weak drama The new version however lived up to it's promise and had a much more exciting and had a lot more action. It wasn't as good as other recent comic book movies e.g. Iron-man and Batman Begins The special effects were quite disappointing they were fine when with the hulk and the other monster but when it threw a jeep or whatever it looked much more poor. So overall the first Hulk may had better acting by Eric Bana and Jennifer Connelly but the weak and long story which began to drive your patience and lack of the hulk was too much of a let down while The Incredible Hulk had most of what the first one lacked and was much more enjoyable and focused much more on Bruce Banner trying to get rid of the disease instead of understand it which was more enjoyable so The Incredible Hulk was better and a good summer movie.
Predator (1987)
Keeps you on the edge of your seat
Before i saw this film i was expecting a typical good 80's action film enjoyable relaxing and my reply to it would be a shrug. But John Mctiernan gave an exciting and very enjoyable film. The film is about a group of Green Berets or Commandos (I'm not sure yet) who go on a rescue mission into a hostile guerrilla area but after they eliminate the guerrilla camp they soon figure out they are being hunted by something not human. My favourite part must be the way the Predator hunts down each man one by one the film begins to lack when the rest of the platoon was killed off in around ten minutes (except Arnie and Anna(The Girl)) Overall the film was just off perfect very well directed good screenplay and one of the best parts was the way the environment was used by not just the Predator but by the soldiers as well and of course the way you didn't know who was going to go next.
The Poseidon Adventure (2005)
If the remake wasn't bad enough
I've never seen the original Poseidon movie but after seeing that and the Wolfgang Petersen version i think i should avoid it no matter how good its supposed to be. When you look at this poor attempt of a remake why did the producers think they would succeed with this. It was poorly attempted very weak directing,cinematography and screenplay it was like a bunch of four year olds made a movie with a camera phone. Almost a dozen stupid stories are thrown in when the writers should have stuck to one story instead of all the ones thrown in. Another mistake was the idea of having a terrorist attack the original story was good enough about the tidalwave or whatever it was turning the ship upside down not a bloody bomb. But to look at the good sides of he film......Oh yeah their were non. Take my advice and don't watch this it should be hard to find and once you see it you find out why.
Omagh (2004)
Heartbreaking and wonderful drama
I am to young to remember the Omagh bombing but the film made you feel you were really their at the bombing and after.
The movie is based on a real event when 29 innocent people died by a car bomb planted by the real I.R.A (Irish Republican Army) The film focuses on Michael Gallagher and his family who lost there 19 year old son Aiden in the bombing. This results in the rest of the family trying to fit in without Aiden but fail. They then join a support group hoping to bring the I.R.A to justice.
Paul Greengrass(United 93,The Bourne Ultimatum) gives a fantastic script and Pete Travis does fantastic work in the direction and turns it into a movie that has you reaching for your handkerchiefs.
It is very rare to see a cheap film with a small and unknown cast and even an unknown director and turn it into a fascinating and wonderful drama that couldn't be topped no matter how much Hollywood stars or money would be put in it was a rare but special treat with almost no mistakes. Omagh will be very hard to find in a DVD shop but once you see it all that work will be worth it.
Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)
Disappointing
The movie wasn't bad and i am not saying you should avoid it. But after a thrilling and great first movie i was expecting this to be just as good but even though Tarantino did a good job and some impressive acting by Uma Thurman. What the film lacks is the poor storyline. If you've seen the first film you will realise the lack of fights which was shocking enough.
Like i said earlier the film has a weak storyline and the only way to make it better is a good screenplay and even though it starts off quite good it turns poor near the end.
One thing the movie did do very well was the acting Uma Thurman and David Carradine give good strong performances. One problem with the movie is a big twist happens near the end and it is poorly done for such an important scene. This film isn't bad just that if you enjoyed the first film don't get so excited but i am sure most big Tarantino fans will enjoy it.