Wednesday, 21 July 2010

Inception

This is blockbusting movie making on a grand scale, in every sense of the word. and i loved it.

i won't go to much into the plot as that would involve a lot of writing, lets just say that it is indeed complicated and takes a fair bit of concentration, but it is made accessible by the directing so that you never get completely lost. it is a fine line to create a film that challenges, but doesn't lose an audience and this film just about get's it right.

the supporting cast are all fine but don't realy have that much to do. the film hinges on Dicaprio's character and once again he pulls off a brilliant performance - he is getting better and better. the music plays a huge part in this film - it is all large brass band noises, but although powerful and exaggerated it never overpowers what you're seeing on film, instead adding to the grandness of the film - a feat not easily achieved, so special pat on the head and congratulations to uber composer Hans Zimmer. As for Christopher Nolan he is exceptional on every level, and can't wait to see what else he comes up with next.

5 stars

Monday, 19 July 2010

Toy Story 3

wow. this is a masterclass in film-making. and an absolute classic.

it draws you in subtlely and takes you on a rollercoaster adventure ride. it creates moments of pure excitement, sadness, adventure and joy. the characters well rounded, the 3D is sublime, and when i left the cinema i felt privilaged to have gone through such an experience as this film.

but that's enough gushing. i could write reams about this film and why i enjoyed it so much, but to do so would take away from the experience when you watch it. so go and watch, experience and enjoy.

5 stars

Sunday, 18 July 2010

Knight and Day

this film has divided me pretty substantially. the good points - great fun action sequences, completely unbelievable but at the same time very ingenious and very entertaining. Tome Cruise fits into the role of comedy actioner amazingly easy, and his charm in these sequences develops through the film. i found the first fight scene a little strange with Tom Cruise killing loads of bad guys on a plane whilst making quips and comedy music on in the background and i thought this would be the case through out the whole film - luckily it wasn't and it all became a lot more charming and fun as the film went on.

the problems i had with the film are that the bits in between the action scenes seemed long. although the chemistry was great bewteen Cruise and Diaz during the action scenes, there just didn't seem to be a reason why they were sticking together when they didn't really need to be. due to this the film felt long when it really isn't (110 minutes) and that is never a good thing.

overall though so good clean simple fun with Cruise on top form.

3 stars

Predators

first up this is not as good as the original 80's Schawzenegger classic. this is still very enjoyable though. the casting of Adrien Brody in the lead role of this action film is inspired, before this film i would have never thought of him in this kind of role but he carries it off with aplomb - and he is ripped and in the standard action slo-mo shot at the end of his sweaty glistening torso it is obvious he has been putting the hours in at the gym.

the story is pretty standard bunch of hard ass guys in a jungle fighting predators, and it wastes no time in getting to the story. from the start we are plunged into the jungle with the characters - no messing around - and then the fun starts with all the fighting of the predators.

part of me wanted to see more of the cool weapons, the human with their huge guns and especially the energy powered weapons would have been more enjoyable. i was also disappointed that we saw a clear image of the predators so early on - part of the excitement and adventure of the first film was the catching of glimpses of the enemy every now and then - it added to the fear and terror.

all in all a good watch and has made me wanna dig out the original for another watch.

3 stars

Thursday, 15 July 2010

Twilight Saga: Eclipse

right. now i know that i am not the perfect audience for this film, i'm not a pre-pubescent girl and i haven't read the books, but i gave the first two films a bit of leeway because of this. now it comes to this and the third of the series - and what a load of old shit it is.

i mean seriously, first of all, absolutely nothing happens its pretty much exactly the same as the second film. the one plot strand that they use to try and drive some kind of story is that there is some kind of new vampire army being created to try and kill the Cullen family - big deal.

this plot strand plays second fiddle though to the whole love story between the three teenagers, and his is where exactly the same thing happens as in the previous films. they both love bella and she doesnt know wo to choose. except now bella's turned into a bit of a slag and is gagging for it and kissing both of them - what a hussy! my main issue with this whole thing is that why the hell would anyone be attracted to this Edward Cullen (Robert Pattison character) he is skinny, lanky, pastey white and one of the most boring characters i have ever seen on film, he's not even charming in any way - i mean how is anyone attracted to this thing let alone in love with it. unbelievable.

so basically the whole film is them three going round in circles about they love each so on and so forth. boring and the story really needs to move on.

1 star

Monday, 12 July 2010

Get Him to the Greek

Starts off as a hugely brilliant and fun take on the rock and roll lifestyle, Russell Brand is clearly relishing in playing a drugged up rocker as the film has mock news coverage of him being a bad man rocker. in fact all the actors - Jonah Hill, Sean Combs and Rose Byrne have great fun, adn as an audience it is great fun to watch them... to begin with.the first third of the film has great pace and the story is driven forward by the need to get Russell Brands rocker character to LA for a gig. but once Jonah Hills character gets to him, the film then becomes a tedious ride of the same thing happening again and again - Aaron Green (Hill) trying to get Aldous Snow (Brand) to play ball and do as he's told and snow rebelling against it. jokes that were laugh out loud at the beginning seem lame and lacklustre by the end. the character Jackie Q is seriously fit though.

3 stars

Thursday, 8 July 2010

A-Team

The A-Team as a film is almost episodic, or has 3 beginnings... the first where they all meet each other, the second where they do the mission, the third breaking out of prison for crimes they never committed. The film is gloriously great fun, with absurd crazyness like flying a tank parachuting out of a plane, gunning down planes as they fall... with all sorts of explosions and mayhem. It never takes its self too serious or went down the dark and gritty reboot root, embracing the craziness and quirks of the original.
Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper(The Hangover), Sharlto Copley (District 9) put in good jobs as Hannibal, Faceman and Murdock. UFC star, acting wise unknown Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson puts in a decent enough performance, awkward at times and could have been more badass (but personally I think it was genius casting although he could have done with afew more acting classes before hand), I know in the sequel... (so long as it does well in the boxoffice) he'll hopefully be less self aware. Patrick Wilson was also abit too like a cartoon villain, so when it turns out he isn't the nice guy he's pretending to be... it really isn't a complete surprise. Also the sound mix seemed really bad, I don't know if it was the cinema or actually just done badly, alot of the dialogue got lost because of this.
Despite all this, it is a fun filled film which I hope the see the franchise continue... 3 1/2 stars.


Other films I've recently watched...

Date Night Glad I didn't go on any dates to this one. 2 stars.

Cop Out
Kevin Smith cops out. He really needs to go back to the View askew universe... not having made a great film since Clerks 2. Trying to make the ultimate 80s cop film... trouble is... it isn't the 80s anymore. 2 stars.

Ip Man Reminds me of Fearless, great fight sequences, made me fall in love with kunfu films again. Can't wait for the sequel that's been made. 4 stars.