Due Date

So i'm a little late with this review, and i'd heard quite a few negative hings about this film. but i enjoyed it with some genuinely laugh out loud moments.

its no classic like Planes, Trains and Automobiles. it doesnt feel as slapstick as that. it is a more conservative film and moment you have heard about or seen in the trailer, like hitting children and running into car doors, i dont think sum up the movie.

it is a buddy buddy road movie, but they are real characters with all their vicious floors laid bare on the journey. Ok, Zach Galifianakis character is a slight comic creation, but i don't agree its a slapstick one, a sad lonely character who we laugh at yes.

Downey Jr puts in another great performance as a tight business man with a cruel streak but with glimpses of humanity and by the end you feel there is a genuine bond between the two of them.

two great cameos from Juliette Lewis & Jamie Foxx.

3 stars

Peter S's Top Films of 2009

These are my top films of the year, in no particular order...

District 9 a very cool satire of the South African apartheid, an amazing acting debut from Sharlto Copley who will next be seen in the A-Team film. I can not wait for the sequel, assuming there will be. The first film this year that had me cheering for the aliens when they were killing the evil humans. 4.5 Stars.

500 Days of Summer is the first proper "romantic comedy" I've ever seen that was made specifically for men. Only film that I watch 3 times in 2009. Not a love story by any means and not a film made for women. Joseph Gordon-Levitt acts in the lead role in one of the best films of the years (he also acted in one of the worst films of the year, G.I.Joe). The film tells a very faithful account on how men cope with love and women breaking our hearts for the first time. If you have any old wounds this film will easily open them them. 5 stars.

Avatar - One of the longest films in the making and one of the longest films I've seen in the cinema in 2009. Also the second time this year I was cheering for the aliens to kill the humans. Hopefully James Cameron won't wait another 10 years before making another movie. 5 stars (See my Avatar review for more details.)

Coraline really showing what 3D can do for films. Abit too scary to be a kids film in my opinion but a very good cautionary tale. 4.5 stars.

Watchmen - the telling of the only graphic novel to ever win a Hugo award and make Time top 100 novels. The film is as faithful an adaption as was probably possible without making it a 12 hour long HBO adaption. Best to get it in import on Bluray as the Watchmen ultimate cut (Warner Brothers don't region code their Blurays yet). 4 Stars.

UP - Pixar does it again. Wasn't a fan of Ratatouille but Up really moved me. I'd heard rumour before that it was making people cry and it did make me tear up a couple of times. 5 Stars.

Inglorious basterds - Quentin Tarantino makes his best film since Pulp Fiction. Re-writes history in a very cool fashion. 5 Stars.

Moon - Amazing directing debut from the son of David Bowie. 5 Stars.

The Hangover - Probably the funniest film of the year. I want to go to vegas. Zach Galifianakis made this film. 4.5 Stars

Anti-Crist - The most twisted thought provoking film I saw this year. It was really uncomforatble to watch... the whole time... (if things are getting chopped off or not) Either 1 star or 5 Stars.

Other Notable Films - Star Trek (4 Stars) had a very good reboot this year, previously I hated this franchise with a vengeance. Changling (4 Stars) was the best film I've seen with Angelina Jolie. Curious Case of Benjamin Button (4 Stars) is the best Forest Gump film of the year (Please checkout Curious case of Forest Gump on Youtube.) Wolverine & GI Joe were probably the biggest disappointments of the year (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkPEHM38_DA G.I.Joe should have been more like this video from funny or die). Mesrine: Killer Instinct (5 Stars) & Mesrine: Public Enemy No. 1 (4 Stars) best gangster films of the year... and best French films I've seen in along time.