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