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Oscar night!

admin — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 22:33:03 +0000

The start of a new year means only one thing for film buffs like myself; awards season! Whether you love watching the ceremonies for the red carpet fashion, the presenter’s corny jokes or even to find out which movies will take away the prize, there is nothing better than sitting up half the night watching the live broadcast of the Golden Globes or, of course, the Oscars direct from Hollywood.

When I was a student, our local arthouse cinema used to throw their own Oscar party every year, which was great fun. Film lovers from all over the city would gather together, watch a couple of the hotly-tipped movies from that year, before settling down in the bar to watch the ceremony on one of the big screens. They had a special licence to keep the bar open all night, which inevitably lead to some very bad hangovers the next day, but it was all worth it to be part of such a brilliant event. Even knowing I had a fuel management tutorial at 9am, just as the broadcast was finishing, couldn’t ruin my enjoyment!

My favourite year was when Titanic swept the board, Cameron and Co. may have been the toast of the town in Hollywood but there was quite a backlash in that little cinema, with every new Oscar being greeted with a chorus of boos. I don’t think I can remember a more unpopular film that won quite so many of those prestigious golden statuettes! I still throw my own Oscars party in my house every year, but it’s usually a much smaller event, often only attended by two people; me and my dog! We still have a great time and as long as we stay off the booze we both make our 9am walk on the beach, though with less than our usual energy levels…

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Christmas Movies 2011

admin — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 21:33:03 +0000

It is that time of year again, it comes round so fast, but year after year, you can always count of the Christmas romantic comedy movie. Just like Valentines day an all star cast movie is released to audiences, normally at family friendly ratings and brimming with storylines to leave you feeling all warm inside and in spirit of the relevant holiday.

This year is of course no different and this year the film New Years Eve, chock-full of a list actors and actresses is the tipped to be the movie of the season.

New Years Eve stars amongst many, the new Two and a Half Men star and recent divorcee, Ashton Kutcher who is joined by Glee cast member Lea Michelle. Lea plays one of the female lead roles who lives in the same building as Kutcher and their friendship starts whilst being stuck in a lift together on New Years Eve. In this vain the film essentially details the lives of a number of couples and singles that intertwine during this special last night of the year.

New Years Eve boasts an impressive number of Hollywood stars, from the legendary Robert De Niro to teen favourite Zac Efron, former Sex and the City star Sarah Jessica Parker, Jessica Biel, Katherine Heigl, Hilary Swank and Michelle Pfeiffer to name but a few. So this holiday season teer yourself away from your executive office furniture, and take a trip with your loved one or friends to see this must see Christmas movie that is set to far from disappoint.

If romantic comedies are not your thing, fear not, there are also a number of other notable movies being released during the run up to the holiday season. Arthur Christmas, a family friendly animated film, Sherlock Holmes: A game of shadows starring Robert Downey Jr, and We bought a Zoo are all worth checking out too.

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Hobo With A Shotgun

admin — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 13:04:20 +0000

The grime-house era of cinema was wild; there was nothing contained or decent about it. Much like when pornography exploded, grime-house cinema was all about exploitation. Anything went, the more violent and subversive the better. During this time, no subject was safe, from domestic abuse to rape and murder.

One film born during that time was Hobo With A Shotgun – a disaster-fest of a movie which featured a hobo – or street person – taking revenge on a small town over-run by corruption. On paper it sounds like a half-decent movie idea, but sadly that is where it ends. Because once the film gets going – and this remake is just as vile as the original in terms of blood and guts and pointless mayhem – it really doesn’t stop until the end credits. That might be considered a good thing by some, but it certainly won’t be getting any extra points from this movie reviewer.

In fact, it’ll be very lucky if it gets any points at all.

here, really, is a film which should never have been made…

As with all grime-house films and video nasties, one thing this movie does do and do well is shock. Every aspect of it shocks – from the obscene murderous nature of the first few minutes to the terrible dialogue which doesn’t even deserve mention here – and if that’s what you’re after then this is the film for you. What Hobo is is a near-perfect remake of a terrible film. Sort of a back-handed compliment, really, but once you see it you’ll know what I mean.

If there are any points to be awarded at all – and I can’t believe I just said that – then they are to be awarded to this film for its sheer audacity. After all here, really, is a film which should never have been made in the first place. In that respect, I suppose you could say it’s a ballsy number (and Gavin from hr software from octopus certainly seems to think so…he really won’t stop going on about it…).

Here are a few other things which Hobo just about pulls off.

1) Putting Rutger Hauer in a lead role despite his age and looks. They’re hardly as bold as they once were. Quite an achievement.

2) Some fairly unique blood and guts based comic moments, the likes of which you will struggle to find in any other film, video nasty or otherwise.

3) Non-stop action. And I do mean NON-STOP!

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Green Lantern

admin — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 14:11:20 +0000

Green Lantern has to be one of the silliest films released this year. Yet another entry added to the Juggernaut of comic book adaptations, the ‘Lantern'is perhaps one of the most heavily CGI enhanced films yet released.

The opening of the film is introduced by Geoffrey Rush’s instantly recognisable tones as he does a bit of exposition on what on earth (or should that be space?) the Green Lantern core is. Basically the film revolves around our hero Hal Jordan (played very earnestly by Ryan Reynolds) inheriting a magic ring from a dying alien. This ring gives Jordan the power to control his will into anything he imagines – I would definitely have fun with that. Battles with an evil alien entity ensue and there is a disturbing moment when it looks like Jordan is beating up Stephen Hawking in the latter part of the film.

There is the now familiar glare of product placement encroaching on some of the audience’s senses as adverts for best worldwide sim card and cell phones pop up every now and then. It’s not as bad as in Bond films, but it is enough to make you sit up and drift away from the plot every now and then.

Green Lantern is designed for the under twelve crowd. It makes no apologies for that and for that reason it shouldn’t be completely derided by the critics. Reviews posted on IMDB seem to seesaw from one end of the scale to the other which is fairly accurate. This is a story written by big kids for kids (and other big kids). Go in knowing that, and you’ll have a blast. Go in expecting a modern masterpiece and you will be sadly disappointed.

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Fast Five Review

admin — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 18:33:07 +0000

Are you fond of cars? What about really fast cars? What about chase scenes? Explosives? Drama? If you are, then you will love the movie Fast Five, the fifth movie in the Fast and Furious series.

The movie goes from one action scene to another action scene. The plot of the movie this time is about our heroes taking down the largest crime lord in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Also there is an US special agent played by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson hot on their trail.

Fast five also has moments where you really can connect with the characters. Paul Walker and Vin Diesel both have characters that provide action and drama. Almost everyone that had been in the previous films are brought in. Diesel and Walker are central to the entire film and their chemistry as actors is what makes the franchise work. Jordina Brewster also makes a solid appearance in this film adding to the drama, she plays as Diesel’s sister and Walker’s girlfriend.

The real stars of the movie are of course the cars. From the beginning of the film until the end cars are involved in races and chases. The Fast and Furious movies have never pretended to be anything else but movies about fast cars and action. There is plenty of action involving Diesel and Johnson though I think they both could use a fue hair transplant.

This may be the last of the Fast and Furious movies, although after the credits it appears that there might be another movie in the works. That would be an excellent idea; who wouldn’t want to go for another ride with these guys?

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The Lure of ‘Final Destination’.

admin — Tue, 17 May 2011 10:20:08 +0000

I’m not normally a fan of mainstream Horror movies. If I do feel the need to scare myself silly, then I will instinctively go for something like ‘REC’, ‘The Ring’(the original one of course) or ‘Let the Right One in’. However, I do have a bit of a soft spot for the ‘Final Destination’movies!

I think there are two qualities about these films which appeal to me –

1 – They are genuinely clever and a huge amount of thought has gone into the story.

2 – You get to see some of the world’s most annoying teenagers ‘buying it’in all manner of gruesome ways!

Most of the time, ‘sequelling’a film to death is really not a good idea. This has been proven time and timeagain (literally); ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’, ‘Friday the 13^th’, ‘Jaws’… so many good movies have been smothered to death by inferior follow-ups. However, in this way, the ‘Final Destination’movies are different. Okay, so it may essentially be the same storyline each time (being stalked by Death/trying to cheat Death), yet each instalment is still a great deal of fun!

Characters in a ‘Final Destination’story are never safe because Death can be lurking anywhere… this malevolent force has a habit of hiding in the strangest of places; microwaves, sunbeds, barbeques or spaghetti. There is no such thing as ‘a safe place to go’whilst any inanimate object could prove to be deadly… even wedding cakes or plant pots could be a part of Death’s plan!

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Insidious

admin — Mon, 16 May 2011 03:33:06 +0000

After watching Insidious at my local Cineworld in London this week, I felt rather intrigued about the concept of ‘out-of-body’experiences. While it is described as a horror film, there are occasional scenes of comedy (in an attempt to lighten up the mood, perhaps). Apparently, it is estimated that as many as 1 in 10 people have experienced the phenomena at some point in their lives. For a rare few it has even led to near-death experiences, as people become completely psychologically detached from their physical bodies and are oblivious to any danger. The film’s ending was particularly moving, when the therapist lady takes the photo of the father, only to realise that the evil spirits have already invaded him, before she is murdered. At times, however, some of the spirits, which resembled corny zombie characters from child comics, made the film a little bit corny and rather dated. Despite this, the quality of the acting was quite literally superb, particularly when the mother began seeing images of the evil spirits in self storage cupboards in her house.

The fact that out-of-body experience are true to life help evade any reason to label the film as mere ‘fantasy’, but rather a wholly exaggerated version of a real psychological state. The dramatic scenes where ugly vampire-like characters and penetrating screams suddenly appear out of nowhere are sue to make many people jump. However, it is fascinating to explore the journey of Dalton’s parents in their quest to bring him out of his unexplained coma, a journey that becomes more and more intense as the film progresses.

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Is There Anything Left To Be Original About?

admin — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 16:34:30 +0000

It was only very recently that I heard anything about this film spectacle Battle: Los Angeles. I should point out that this is not a review of that film. The only thing I have seen from it is a trailer, and that was enough. Once I saw the review on Film 2011 that was quite enough for me. I knew this wasn’t going to be one I would intentionally go and see.

We’ve exhausted the alien concept, haven’t we? You have to ask yourself: if you can’t make an incredible science fiction film with all that money and all those special effects, something is very seriously going wrong.

If you ask me, it’s because all the alien space-crafts look the same. Take Independence Day for example, and District 9, and any other alien film. In them the space ships are the same each and every time. It was original when Alien came out, but now the whole concept has grown so familiar that really, I couldn’t care less about seeing another alien film ever again.

The question, of course, is how to make alien films original again. Not an easy thing to do when we all have such specific ideas of what they should be like. But, just like I saw on the web last week while accidentally coming across a clinic that my Dad must have been looking at (my Dad is balding massively), we all have to revolutionise our approach. It doesn’t matter whether you’re running laser hair removal berkshire or a butcher’s shop in Cornwall. If you don’t change with the times, things become stale and they just don’t progress. It’d be a shame if we’d already exhausted alien films, so come on producers, think up something new. The truth is out there.

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Movie Review: 25th Hour

admin — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 13:03:32 +0000

In the hands of anyone but legendary prolific director Spike Lee, 25^th hour – based on the novel of the same name, which the film is truthfully based on – could well have been as interesting as watching someone fill storage space up while singing “I love to watch paint dry” in the monotone fashion of someone who has recently banged their head really quite hard. But alas, as anyone who has ever seen a Spike Lee film will attest to, that was never going to happen, and the result is a stunning film; both violently emotional and absolutely full of passion, commitment to its cause and stunning cinematography.

Telling the story of new yorker Monty, who, in just 24 short hours will go away to do a seven year stretch in prison and leave his beloved city behind him, the film follows Monty (Edward Norton) and his two best friends who he’s known forever (worthy performances by Barry Pepper and Philip Seymour Hoffman).While they wonder how he’ll survive in prison, Monty takes one last walk with the ghosts of his past, wondering all the time if it was his girlfriend who told the police about the drugs in their sofa.

Is it a thriller? Not really. And classifying it as a drama seems almost insulting, considering the depth that the characters complex characteristics plunges to. So, in a way – and Lee admits this, as does the author of the novel on the DVD commentary – the film is without classification, and without a box to fit into. And that’s certainly one of the things that is appealing, as rather than being a simple film conveying one direct message, you get the feeling by the end that you have been subjected to many opinions and many truths, all valid, all utterly crucial for the story to survive and inhabit the intriguing space it so often does.

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When Enough Is Enough

admin — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 20:03:08 +0000

Haven’t seen the Katherine Heigl film 27 Dresses yet? Don’t worry, you will. Film 4 have it playing every other day, taking up a valuable 2 hours of screen time that could be handed to a film that hasn’t been seen once, say, like the classic Netherlands thriller The Vanishing (Spoorloos is its original name). I have nothing against the film – quite the contrary, I’m a big Heigl fan, despite the fact she probably is a Botox addict – it’s just that enough is enough, you know? I realise that films are very expensive to acquire, and Film 4 must have shelled out a LOT for this one, but does that mean that we all have to endure watching it now for as long as we live? I suppose it does, but let’s hope not, because I’m immune to the good that can come out of watching a film a hundred times at the moment, and pretty soon I’m going to start thinking that I love rom-com’s much more than I do and is healthy…Considering I’m a man who has repeatedly told friends how much he hates all rom-coms, that would be tragic. In fact, I’d look a right fool if anyone connected this post here to the real-life me!

My problem, you see, is that I sort of rely on Film 4 for movies. And why shouldn’t I? It’s a FILM ONLY channel, and so since I already have access to this – as well as ones I download – I don’t feel I should have to go out and become a member of a DVD club. Nothing against them, and I know we should be keeping businesses alive, but there is really something to be said for just flicking a channel over and being able to watch a good film every night.

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