Dubya!

A lot of people ignore politics, most of the time I don’t blame them! Everyone on the other hand has an opinion of George W. Bush, how could you not? As the leader of the most powerful country in the world, it was worrying who they picked to take charge, or the dubious way he got power. Of course this does mean that most people ignore the fact that Bush was a person. W. is a film that tries to explore this, it does it well with some great performances, and Josh Brolin captures the man perfectly. You don’t have to worry thought it wont you make you feel sorry for the man responsible for the “war on terror”. You spend most of the film reminding yourself what he did as president because he’s played quite sympathetically.

New Pics

Narnia.... New look Fredy Kruger and Jonah Hex

Cheesy or queasy?

It is almost true of every romantic comedy I see and I’ll say the same thing every time I watch one, they are shamefully predictable and samey. Then again you have to view them from other people’s viewpoint, of course the majority of the “other people’s” is of course women. It’s no secret that these films are aimed squarely at their purses but they don’t care, for half an hour they are transported to a world where the man round the next corner looks like Colin Firth, we are all arseholes but turn out to be proper gentleman and of course love. I’m not cynical I mean I’m in love but the way these films portray love is not real, that’s the secret though, most women won’t admit it but they long to swept off their feet like in these films. The sad truth is the best they’ll get is being swept off their feet by the man on their shoulder that’s had a bit too many.

Of course I’m being a bit unfair, we’re not all like that I know I’m not and also I’m going a bit off the point, 27 dresses is a Romantic comedy that takes the saying “always a bridesmaid never a bride” and runs with it. Katherine Heigl is our heroine and what a loveable heroine she is, I thought she was brilliant in knocked up and the same can be said for this film, most of the time. When you’re not busy wincing over how cheesy this film is at times it’s incredibly easy to feel sorry for her, she has such an emotive face. That’s basically it, I would write more but the rest of the film is so factory shop rom com that I fail to see the point.

I did go to the press screening of the road the other night.... but you’ll have to wait for the review to go live. Thank you for reading.

Making it look like child’s play

We are constantly shown a side of Les Vegas in Hollywood movies that portrays all the light and glitz as just a front. Behind it lurks con artists working the system and hard nosed “officials” giving them a good beating behind closed doors. In 21 a film about a group of students lead by one of their teachers “Kevin Spacey”, this is treated a bit like, well child’s play.

Ben Campbell just wants to go to medical school, he’s gifted enough and certainly dedicated he just lacks the cash. One of his teacher’s offers him a place on a team; this team are card counters, the non legal way of beating the game of black jack. Of course there is a catch and a downfall, but when it happens it doesn’t really seem as bad as it had been painted, making the film a little bit anti climactic! All in all though not bad film till the underwhelmed ending, full of interesting facts, who knew black jack could be that interesting?

Flogging a dying horse

To complete the viewing and see our characters progress further, I watched American Pie the wedding. A somewhat large jump, from their college years to a wedding but then I had kids at 23 how can I talk. Jim has fallen in love with his band geek and proposes with his trousers down rather than down on one knee, typical American pie formula follows but despite some stand out moments and sentimentality an ultimately disappointing film.

Sean William Scott as Stilfer continued to gross out and amuse the audience in equal measure; in one scene in particular he follows his own advice and literary “eat shit”! It would appear these American gross out comedies know no bounds, its not that they shouldn’t do it and that it’s wrong it’s just not that funny. It’s a real shame also that the four main characters couldn’t be reunited I don’t know why Chris Klein didn’t return for his instalment but it felt like betraying an old friend watching these guys celebrate together without their long time buddy Oz.

Another Slice of Pie?

Teen comedies don’t so sequels very well, this is probably to do with the age of the average person seeing them. Could you imagine a Breakfast club sequel? Of course not, it would be murder! Most people who see teen comedies and like them are the people of that age group, they become a film for that age, and of course now the core group of fans of that film start growing up, what happens then a sequel comes out. It doesn’t have the same effect; it doesn’t activate the nostalgic gene of so many adults. American Pie 2 is not a bad sequel the characters are growing up if not in some rather unrealistic ways!

Pure and simple it’s just not as funny; most of it is too damn sentimental! The story odes continue and the result is somewhat realistic, our heroes have realised that’s things change and that growing up must be done. That is of course till the third American Pie!

How was your first slice?

I think when I first saw American Pie I loved it but there was a problem, I had always seen it as a shameful film just about boys wanting to get laid! It is of course like this but I think I wasn’t taking in the bigger picture, I watched it the other night and realised something. Only when our four heroes give up and realise that sex doesn’t matter do they finally get laid, a good message?

You could argue its not but then the film is funny, maybe because it makes me so damn nostalgic but the laugh out loud moments still make me laugh out loud! It’s one quality about teen comedies that will live forever, there will always be an age group that will get it and see it at the right time in their lives and forever be programmed into their heads because that film “really understood where they were coming from”, American Pie just so happens to be mine and I would imagine a few of my friends to.

Yippie Ki.... no wait...

The opening sequence looks like sin city and as it move into real you can hear the dulcet tones of one Bruce Willis, but wait what’s this he’s covered in hair! It’s like a statement from the creators that this is no Die Hard movie and they’re right, you would be forgiven for thinking it was if you have seen the cover of the DVD. Hostage is a thriller that has great pacing but lacks tension, leaving you ultimately unsatisfied, with a juvenile bad guy that seems to want to channel the Crow.

Some very good shots and a lot of blood do make up for the lack of tension at times, this making the film grittier. It doesn’t save it from being a predictable movie that you will want to follow up by watching Die Hard, YIPPIE KI YAY MOTHER FUCKER!

Cox a Hobbit?

Apparently Actor Brian Cox is a favourite to be a dwarf in the up and coming adaptations of the Hobbit. Brian is well known as bad guys in the Bourne films and Colonel William Stryker in Xmen 2.

One you’ve seen before.

There have been several great moments in cinema, films that mark these occasions are usually epic but not in the way you would think. These films are epic in their appeal not their size or budget, American Beauty is one great example. This film is quiet in its approach to some fairly bug issues, the main one of course being modern Family living, albeit in an American setting. The rat race has made the father catatonic distancing him from a mother who has all but disowned him and a daughter crying for some sane conversation at the dinner table.

American Beauty is just as the title describes; a Beautiful film about taking every moment and not regretting a thing. It’s and incredibly thought provoking film that develops ideas about prejudice, youth and sex very few films can claim that.

It’s not as funny as you expect...

There have been a fare few films this year that i have been excited about, on a whole they have been disappointing, With the exception of Star Trek and District 9 not a very good year. Well I have high hopes for Christmas and it started with “The Men Who Stare at Goats”, a comedy that I didn’t realise was going to be a silly as it was. I thought I was going to watch some intelligent comedy about the US military’s research into Psi-ops. It did cover that but it was a very haphazard film, you can tell the A list actors involved had fun making it as they goofball across the scene and stumble their way through what is a very silly subject for a movie.

Generally though despite a few laugh out loud moments it’s vastly disappointing, Ewan McGregor’s American accent continues to bemuse me! I think it s one of those movies that may need repeat viewings but the script is largely devoid of anything funny its more the situation, which they bleed dry. The films is saved by some of the performances with George Clooney leading the way as an utterly convincing American Soldier with “paranormal abilities”, Jeff Bridges follows suit and channels “the Dude” for a very funny performance.

ID4 ever?

This is the rather wierd news of an independence day trilogy.

"What we want to do in the next - it's actually two movies - we want to do a bigger arc. Independence Day was always like the king who leads his troops into battle against an evil force, and that stays like that" said Emmerich.
No script is yet in place, but "the idea is just to continue the story and actually I don't know how many years ago this was—twelve, thirteen, fourteen years ago—and just continue where it ended."
What about a title? He suggests "ID4-ever".

New Job: no time

As the title suggest, the reason this week has been a bit slack on update is because I have just started a new job. I have to things to write about and the first is The Reaping, it’s a biblical horror movie starring Hilary Swank. Surprisingly till the slightly OTT ending its quite effective, the plagues are represented very well and most of the scares come on thick and fast. Considering how much this film needs to fit in the pacing is very good to keep you hooked.

It’s rare of me to speak well about a horror movie as I believe it’s not good enough making your audience jump and most recent horror movies only seem bothered in making you jump. The Reaping isn’t much different it’s a very jumpy move but the jumps are very well done and had me jumping from the sofa on at least 2 occasions. Hilary Swank does ok as do the rest of the cast but with such quick pacing it’s hard to really take any notice of the acting.

All in all not a bad film really.

A new Clash...

Check it out...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_Q7NlAlZEA&feature=player_embedded

though im really not sure about the tagline!!!

RRRRaaaaaaaGGGHHHHHHHH!

talk on Jurassic Park 4

"There is a great story for the fourth one that I would be interested in getting involved with and it's nothing like the first three. It sort of takes the franchise off in a completely different direction, which is the only way I would want to get involved" says Johnston.
He adds that it won't be a storyline of people surviving a dinosaur attack on an island as "We've done that and it's been done three times."
The new idea however "would take it off in a whole other trilogy basically, but when it gets to that level it's sort of about studios and Steven [Spielberg's] thing and who knows" he says

Hard hitting or missing

Syriana is a thriller through and through; it has a lot of winding plots and character arcs and it eventually a satisfying viewing experience. All of that said it is a little convoluted and i wouldn’t blame anyone with less than tabloid knowledge of the Middle East and the oil problems to fell a bit, well patronised by this film. The dialogue is so full of political tosh that most regular movie goers will hate this.

Some of the characters are well picked and played though; Matt Damon is brilliant as the suffering father. George Clooney is fantastic, his dedication to this role is clear at plays it with utter conviction; just wait till you hear his Arabic. I’d write more but pizza’s on its way...

Teken movie...

If film posters told the truth...

Out with fizzle…

Perhaps it is a statement to how bad the fourth Alien instalment is that Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet has never returned to big budget filmmaking. No doubt Amelie is a beautiful film (more about that later) but Alien Resurection is about as far from a resurrection as you could have made.

Joss Whedons wise cracking script is too comic for the Alien series, you just get the felling that no one was taking it serious enough. That’s a big flaw, yes we are aware that this is science fiction but the fear is very real. In all three films before it this was taken very seriously. It created some very effective films and is a statement to all three directors that they all went through such a bad time trying to get it onto the screen.

To busy listening to football commentary to continue so maybe more tomorrow.

Though just one more thing, how rubbish was the newborn! Maybe in a film of its own it could have been quite a scary creature but it was just so stupid looking!

If film posters told the truth...

Scream again

Talk on fourth scream...

"The fourth one is an ensemble. It'll take place right now, 10 years later, and it's going to take place in [Sidney Prescott's hometown of] Woodsboro. We'll have our three main characters, and we'll be introducing several more" says Williamson.

If film posters told the truth...

Michael Bay’s ego is an island!

Michael Bay is a complete nightmare, a script and storyline that is basically an excuse to have an explosion every five minutes. That was a summary of every Michael Bay film I have ever seen! Let’s take the Island as an example, it brings up some interesting issues and questions about cloning, playing god and the cost of life. Of course this is a Michael Bay movie so who cares about that we have the main characters hanging of a big R on the side of a very tall building, f*ck yeah explosions and bad effects follow.

The Island isn’t without its good points, like most of Bay’s films it is shamefully self indulgent, most apparent when Ewan McGreggor mocks his accent and love for bikes. These scenes are entertaining but dumb down what could be a very thought provoking film. The action is of course an all out frenzy of explosions, jittery cameras and unbelievable situations, which do make for a fun ride at the expense of a headache of course. It’s just the unwritten law of cinema in the summer for every Dark Knight there must be a Transformers and Michael Bay will always be on hand.

As for what he’s doing now, well apart from murdering classic horror movie with Platinum dunes awful remakes, Transformers 3 release date is July 1st 2011. No doubt more Brawn than brain and of course Megan Fox bending every which way!

Three men and a bride

Exciting news for fans of three men and a baby / little lady...
Steve Guttenberg tells WENN "Disney's developing Three Men and a Bride. That's going to be a smash. A smash hit. They're bringing everybody back for that. Nobody knows about it. I'm the first to talk about it."

If film posters told the truth...

Underrated...

Continuing my viewing of the Alien films I watched Alien 3 very recently, although I did watch the Directors cut which is much superior to the theatrical cut. I think it every time I see it but it is extremely underrated, Alien 3 had to live up to two incredibly good an influential movies. Perhaps that’s the reason most people bring it down, well not today! Today I shall be singing its praises David Fincher was a perfect Director for this, his directing took Alien back to the one stalking Alien format of the first one. As a director who’s not afraid to spill a bit of blood and shock an audience he made it more visceral than its predecessors, showing a side of the Alien we hadn’t seen.

For me the only downfall is that the two characters who survived with Ripley for so long were taken from her, but then again having Newt dead is vital to one of the best scenes in the film; The Autopsy. As Ripley desperately try’s to find how she died, Sigourney Weaver does a top notch job of showing the fear of the thing and the fear of the truth not being believed. It’s scenes like that where the director also shines; his use of sound effects and shots of bloody utensils is dark and very effective.

The Better Half

No not my better half, the better half of Clint Eastwoods WW2 epics. Flags of our fathers wasn’t a bad movie but did seem to drag on a bit, the flashbacks seem convoluted and I think the message got lost. Sure try and deliver a message with these films but no one will be listening if you present them a film that is not entertaining, just look at titanic as much as I loathe it the romance caught everyone up in the story and by the end you could really understand everyone’s situation.

Letters from Iwo Jima on the other hand is a whole different affair; the flashbacks only show enough for you to understand the characters blight and position in the war. Also it’s very rare to see WW2 fought by someone other than Americans and this is a brilliant example. Though subtitled the dialogue is easy to follow and the actors show up their American counterparts something rotten. It was a tough job for Clint but he handles both halves with ease, it’s just that Iwo Jima is the much more effective of the two.

Clint Eastwoods next film is supernatural thriller Hereafter and after that he has Nelson Mandela Biopic lined up, busy man!

If film posters told the truth...

“It’s over man, game over!”

After a busy four days, full of quick little snippets of news to no entry at all on Sunday it’s time to bombard you with what I got up. Well I realised I few things, the first being that I should stop being so negative about Avatar and anticipate like everyone else. The reason for this change of heart is because I watched Aliens and realised the talent of Jim Cameron. My brother once said that you can’t pick any holes in Aliens, whiles I’m sure you could if you wanted to but then why would you want to!? Aliens is up there with one of the best examples of a perfectly executed sequel, it completely respected the original whilst changing the genre of the film making it Horror Action “this time its war”.

Aliens really sparks into life when the colonial marines enter the film and I defy any man who has watched this and didn’t want to be a colonial marine, though if you knew you were going to fight the “Xenomorphs” you may have had second thoughts. It’s that downfall that is most effective; the marines are built up to and though you know it must all go wrong you still route for them. Then they are set upon in what is the stand out Alien Attack of the quadrilogy, for me anyway. When you add to these great performances from everyone involved and the effects of which a vast majority still stand up to today’s standards you have one hell of a movie, not to mention one of the most quotable!

For some news on the prequel check out my blog from Friday.