#17 Movie - Bad Teacher

Completely designed as a vehicle for Cameron Diaz, Bad Teacher is a bad taste romp that's quite fun while you're there but pretty forgettable.  The plot is wafer thin - Cameron stars as... uh oh, I've forgotten her character's name already and it's been less than a week. Ummm, thanks IMDB, she stars as Elizabeth Halsey, a total bitch who will do anything for money and to get a rich husband.  After being dumped when her latest rich boy twigs to her true ways, she is begrudgingly forced to return to teaching early high schoolers, putting her in competition with the popular overachieving but slightly odd reacher Ms Squirrel (Lucy Punch, who totally steals this movie from the gorgeous but barely trying Cam).  When new substitute teacher Scott Delacorte (Justin Timberlake) arrives, Elizabeth sees a new rich boy she can set her sights on as he's the heir to a watch making family fortune, while fending off the advances of gym teacher Russell (Jason Siegel).  Elizabeth's antics to snare Scott is the core of the movie.

The pluses for this movie is that it is intermittently quite funny and continues the recent run of foul-mouthed almost gross-out comedies.  It's also pretty short so it doesn't wear out its welcome.  Jason Siegel is funny as the gym teacher who totally gets his situation and pursues the "out of his league" Elizabeth quite persistently.  Lucy Punch is hilarious as the good girl teacher who becomes increasingly more jittery as Elizabeth steps up the fight after Scott takes more of a liking to Ms Squirrel.

On the negatives, let's start with Justin Timberlake.  I just don't think he can act - what does everyone see in him.  He is good on SNL but he always seems like he's doing a skit on SNL during the movies.  His character in this is also pretty wet so that doesn't help (related note - JT's upcoming Friends with Benefits looks like a shocker from the trailer, even Mila Kunis' biggest fan Ben doesn't want to go see it even for her stripping off).  The humour is also quite bizarre in places - I can imagine some people will see this and just think it a bit weird, it's just slightly left of centre and I'm not talking about the crudeness.  You probably have to see it to know what I mean though.

Cameron Diaz does a good job, she's so pretty but sill down to earth enough to make Elizabeth's constant trashed-ness believable.  She definitely does well with comedy and pulls off the dirtiness the role requires.  And the best part of the movie is probably the fact that there is no 360 degree personality change for a happy ending like it could have been and so many others have been.  Her priorities may change a little but she remains pretty much the same naughty party girl as she is at the beginning.  This is pretty admirable for what could be perceived as an R rated rom-com.  It's been billed a little bit as the companion piece to Bad Santa, but this bad teacher still has nothing on Billy Bob Thornton as the biggest asshole ever (possible exception his own character in School for Scoundrels, another wrong-rom-com) and it's certainly not looking like it will be as memorable.  We still watch Bad Santa every Christmas eve but this movie isn't going to make our summer break viewing on an annual basis.  Fun, but too fluffy and just slightly wrong.

What's new 28 July

The new releases are pouring out again, the blockbuster summer in America always causes our winters to be very exciting.  This week the big new movie is Captain America: The First Avenger, the last of the key Marvel superheroes to be introduced to audiences before the super mash-up "The Avengers" hits our screens next year.  The full trailer to this that I saw last weekend looks so much better than the early ones.  Something about the period '40s setting in an action film really appeals to me - there is so much style to it.  The other big movie is Hanna (reviewed in a separate post a few days ago) which may get more attention than I thought - the early reviews are good, I thought this was really cool so go see it.  In a big week for assassins, The Conspirator is new at selected cinemas, this time a a courtroom drama set around the assassination of Abrahalm Lincoln in the 1860s.  Directed by Robert Redford, it may be worth a look.  Palace Centro has an exclusive on "Of Gods and Men", a drama about a group of Trappist monks in a remote Algerian community who must decide whether to stay or go when they come under threat from fundamental terrorists.  I haven't heard much on this.

DVDs out this week are Limitless (check my review from a few months ago) and The Way Back.  The big news for Blu-ray owners is that Apocalypse Now has been released on deluxe BD.  You get the cinematic release and the Redux version plus a tonne of extras.

#16 Movie - Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part 2

The time has come for a large chapter in pop culture to come to a close. I watched The Deathly Hallows Part 1 again the night before I went to this (luckily, I'd forgotten a few key points) but it was only about 2 minutes before Part 2 started that I realised that this was it, the Harry Potter thing is going to end in about 2.5 hours.  As a person who read the books during the height of their popularity and enjoyed them - although not enough for a second reading yet - and has seen and bought all the films, it was a big moment.  If JK Rowling is sensible she won't try to revisit Harry Potter, as the books and movie series have ended things in a very satisfying way and she has probably made more money than she ever dreamed of or could possibly need.  Ride that wave girl!

I'm not going to summarise the plot as everyone should know it.  OK, brief summary: Harry, Hermione and Ron have three more horcruxes to find and destroy if they are to destroy He Who Should Not Be Named.  And even if they can do that, there is still a big showdown with Voldemort and his many followers to get through.  And Hogwarts had to be partially destroyed in the meantime.
If you found Part 1 boring, then Part 2 certainly will not disappoint.  All of the action is crammed into this one, interspersed with a few touching moments.  The action is pretty full on and as has been the case with each successive movie, less suitable for younger kids as it goes on.  As the final instalment, this one had some seriously grown up action and consequences.  At this late stage there are not many new characters, mainly drawing together all the favourites from the previous ones.  It really struck me in this one how much acting talent has been involved in this franchise and how amazing it is that they have been able to get the same actors (with the exception of Richard Harris who passed away after playing Dumbledore in the first 2 films) to reprise their roles so many times.  Really good quality stuff across the board.

I thought this was a brilliant ending to the series.  Yes, the finale has been changed from how it happens in the book.  If you are fanatical about the books this may annoy you, but to casual fans it is fine.  I found the ending to be really satisfying with my only small criticism being that they coud have outlined a bit more clearly how Harry is able to overcome Voldemort (the love he has had that Tom Riddle never did).  If you haven't read the books then this might not come across that obviously from the film.    I must admit I don't think the 3D added much to the experience, it was barely noticeable to my mind but on the other hand the sound was incredible.

Despite these minor issues, it's great fun, sad in the right ways, but ultimately just exactly what you wanted to see.  The big set pieces were so similar to what I'd imagined in my mind while reading the books.  I loved it, but it is sad to see the end as well...

#14 Movie - Hanna (like Kick-Ass but opposite)

Hanna is a thriller crossed with a fairytale and a coming of age drama. This movie has flown well beneath the radar, hence I had no real expectations of it when I was gifted with 2 preview tickets.  You probably haven't heard of it either, since it has had no trailers before any other movies that I've seen and very little marketing or interviews.  However, it is well worth paying attention to even if the studio isn't throwing much money at promoting it.  The easiest description is to say that it is similar to Kick Ass but played deadly serious, with a fairytale twist.

The main character of Hanna is played by Saoirse Ronan, the young Irish actress who featured in The Lovely Bones and Atonement (which was directed by Joe Wright who also directs this with great flair).  Hanna is about 16 years old and is being raised by her Dad (Eric Bana) in a remote cabin in the wilderness of Finland.  Raised to be a deadly assassin, that is.  Days are spent on fight training and survival tactics, nights are spent revising textbooks and going over their cover story.  Not long after the opening, Hanna advises her dad that she is "ready".  Ready for her mission, which is to go out in the world and kill CIA agent Marissa Weigler (Cate Blanchett with a mostly correct but soft Texan accent).  But at the same time Marissa becomes aware of Hanna and her Dad's existence and her mission is to wipe out both.

From this beginning, the film becomes a suspenseful, globe-trotting thriller.  Who will find who first? Is Hanna just highly trained or are her fighting skills and reflexes something more?  [Side note - this is not a comic book movie - she isn't the hulk or a superhero or anything].  The film also manages to fit in a bit of a coming of age story, as despite her independence and survival skills, Hanna has had little exposure to the modern world and has trouble with some ordinary things.  This is where a bit of comedy occurs.  She also meets an English family on a driving holiday and falls in with the daughter who is about her own age but completely opposite to her in knowledge and independence which creates a few gentle laughs. As Marissa hunts her prey with the help of some weird goons, Hanna concentrates on getting to Germany to reunite with her father at a fairytale house he has told her about it.  This creates a fascinating location for the ending of the film.

The thing I liked most about the movie was the fact that I truly didn't know what was going to happen next.  I was quite transfixed in what was happening and didn't have time to think ahead or jump out of the film to figure it out.  The fight scenes were really well choreographed and shot in a kind of strobe lighting effect, which matched well with the swirling electronic score by the Chemical Brothers.  However, the fight and action scenes are actually spaced fairly far apart, with the rest being filled in with beautiful scenery and scenes of Hanna discovering the world and more about herself.  It's actually quite artsy in the visuals and sound.  One particular shot is really memorable - a long unedited scene of Eric Bana walking into a train station followed by four goons and the resulting fight.  The performances of the 3 main players are excellent: Cate Blanchett is quite scarily ruthless, Bana is his usual rock solid guy and Ronan is amazing as Hanna with her frail, pale beauty crossed with tough detachment and at times a real fierceness.  Our only criticism was very small - the accents did slip occasionally and pull you out of the movie.

I've probably told you too much already - it's probably best to go in unprepared and enjoy the ride as me and my friend L did.   I do hope some people will go to see this movie - it's a fine alternative to the comedies, kids fare and superheroes that are filling our screens at present.  It's quite hypnotic. 4 out of 5.

New out 21 July

Happy Thursday everyone.  There is a reprieve this week for those (seemingly few) who are uninterested in Harry Potter.  Most cinemas will have Bad Teacher (stay tuned for my review) and Larry Crowne (new Tom Hanks directed, Tom Hanks starring drama).  A few have The Eagle, a sword & horses historical actioner.  Selected cinemas have Beautiful Lies (French whimsy and misunderstandings with Amelie star Audrey Tatou) and 5 Days of War (military drama exploring the real-life war between Russia and Georgia in 2008).  The Harry Potter juggernaut will definitely continue - the box office has passed $557 million across the world after one week - but this week you have other options if desired.
New on DVD this week are The Mechanic, The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest and The Warrior's Way.  The Millennium trilogy films are well worth watching so if you haven't seen the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and the Girl who Played with Fire, you have a great movie marathon ahead of you now that the third movie has been released. Dark and suspenseful.

#15 Movie Seen - The Beaver

Hmmmmm.....Mel Gibson. What can you say that hasn't already been said in the many column inches over the past five years?  Let's summarise: trainwreck. Will The Beaver be able to revive his career?  It's really hard to say - he is quite brilliant in this movie, but I don't think that many people will see it and he has said/done some pretty horrendous things.  What is also undeniable is the fact that the character of Walter Black is hardly a stretch for him at the moment - a definite case of art imitating life it would seem.  So is it any good? It's pretty good. Should you go see it? Yes if you like touching family dramas, no if you're just going for the weirdness.
I must admit I went to a free preview screening of this because I thought I probably wouldn't pay to go see it given the plethora of other movies coming out around the same time that I could easily convince others to see.  I also thought it was going to be quite weird and a bit "showy" but it wasn't really.  The humour is very dark indeed but much more uplifting and positive than I initially thought.
There is quite a lot of plot.  Walter Black is a depressed man who has inherited the management of the family's toy company which has declined in sales in recent years.  His depression has worsened and he is sleepwalking through his life, essentially ignoring his wife (Jodie Foster who also directed) and two sons - Porter and Henry.  Both Porter and Henry have retreated through lack of attention.  Henry is only a small child but Porter is a teen in his final year at high school and his methods of coping are quite interesting (post it notes to remind him of his Dad's habits that he does not want to follow).  When Meredith kicks Walter out, he hits rock bottom and attempts to commit suicide.  It's not giving anything away to say that he fails, thanks to a hand puppet he found in a dumpster who saves his life.  The Beaver.  The Beaver gives Walter some very good advice, all delivered in a delightful British Cockney accent.  As Walter starts taking The Beaver's advice, he starts to get his life and relationships back on track thanks to a ruse that the puppet is a radical therapy program by his counsellor.  But how long can it last and how will it end?  There is only so long you can talk through a hand puppet and nothing else and not be chucked in a mental institution.  Porter is also not buying it at all, preoccupied with his exit strategy from his family life (making money to go on a trip to places that have changed the world) and trying to impress a girl he likes.
Quite a bit of time is spent following Porter and his interaction with classmate Norah, a seemingly perfect girl with a family secret of her own, and his lack of interaction with his Dad.  At first I thought it strange to spend so much time away from the main character, particularly one as unusual as The Beaver, but looking back I think the movie is definitely making a comment on boy's relationships with their Dads and how it shapes their relationships with their sons, forward through time.  So it makes sense to see things from both their points of view.  Too much of The Beaver might also be too much, as funny as he is (not intentionally).
Mel Gibson obviously has the life experience to imbue Walter with a real sadness, a weariness with the world and the standard methods of helping people with depression or mental illness.  His heart throb status is definitely waning, he looks quite worn and weary in the movie's many facial close ups.  Perfect for the character.  Anton Yelchin (who excellently played the young John Connor in Terminator 4) is a great contrast as Porter - young and fresh in a very non-typical teen male role for a Hollywood film.  Jodie Foster is good in support but I thought she didn't really give herself much to do.  Although the father-son focus does sideline the husband-wife possibilities anyway.  Her reactions to Walter's behaviour are very authentic.  And The Beaver?  He gives a great performance, however it's really Mel.  Apparently he really did all of his own puppeteering and I have to say there is a lot of it and apparently his hand cramped up a lot. But the miming of the puppet's mouth with his own words (and other things) is spot on and was a source of enjoyment for me and others in the audience.
This is not a movie that you you really "enjoy" (one of my fave words) but it was thoughtful, warm and touching.  My lovely mother-in-law E was wiping away a little tear at the end and I could definitely see why.  The ending is not probably what you would expect either upfront or halfway through, but it is tear worthy.  It's a high quality film and something different from the norm if you're sick of blockbusters and raunchy comedies.  Will it change the way you feel about Mel?  Probably not.

* I know I've skipped movie # 14 (Hanna) but I am waiting until closer to the release date to put that one up.

#13 Movie - Kung Fu Panda 2

What a shame this movie lost its subtitle somewhere along the release path - "the Kaboom of Doom".  Because it's a bit of a 'cracker'. For adults anyway.  And probably older kids.  I went with my brother and sister-in-law and my 3.5 year old nephew P and his 4 year old cousin C.  P found it a bit scary and sat on his dad's lap for most of the film and didn't laugh much.  C wasn't really scared but by half way he was a bit over it and asking when we were going home.  I think it was a little too slow and dark for really young kids.  But for adults, I think it was better than the first movie.
The first movie was bright, funny and all about finding your destiny.  The second movie is darker thanks to the introduction of the new villain Shen (possibly the ominous voicing by none other than Gary Oldman - villain extraordinaire), a peacock who was cast out of ancient China when he wanted to turn the wonderful invention of fireworks into a weapon (cannons).  Shen is a pretty scary character with his knives and metal claws.  His return to take Gongmen City and indeed the rest of China with his unstoppable weapon is a major problem for Po and the Furious Five who have been happily maintaining the peace.  The threat that this weapon could kill kung fu makes the team determined to stop Shen and his dastardly plan.
The storyline is well executed, the animation is sensational (particularly the hand-drawn scenes in flashbacks to ancient china) and there is a good mix of action and laughs.  The fight scenes are truly amazing and very imaginative.  And you finally find out how Po the panda's dad is a goose - something that was strangely not mentioned or covered off in the first outing.  The voice work is also really good from everyone (the supporting characters reveal some fun new cameos) and the friendship between Po and Tigress (Angeline Jolie) deepens and gives the Furious Five more personality.
I really enjoyed this movie, more than I thought I would.  Jack Black's promotional tour for the movie had me thinking this was going to be way over the top but it's actually really sweet and funny.  I give it a 3.5 out of 5.

New out 13 July

This could be the shortest blog post ever!  In the What's New at the cinema category as of today is really just one movie, one to overshadow them all.  It's a little movie, you might've heard of it - Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows Part 2.  It'd already made $7 million on the first day, which is more than many movies make in their entire cinematic run.  So you've probably all already seen it?  I'll let the activity die down a bit, my review will be up next weekend.  If you don't want Harry Potter, your only new option is "I Love you Philip Morris" which seems to have snuck into Palace cinemas today.  This is the Jim Carrey/Ewan McGregor romantic comedy which has been delayed quite a lot (I'll have to look into why) as it was shown at the Film Festival in Brisbane last year.  Six month release delays are never a good sign....
At the video store there isn't much new action either.  Hall Pass is out today, sorry if I led you astray last week.  Horror movie "The Rite" and GFC drama "Company Men" are also out, both had reasonable write-ups.  If you're up for something crazy and your store has it, rent out "Rubber".  I was able to rent this out a few weeks ago for my second viewing.  It's a movie about a tyre (yes a car tyre) that comes to life and has telekinetic powers which it puts to good use killing anyone or anything that gets in its way.  This crazy movie made me laugh so much, you should get it out just to say you've seen this - it will definitely be a cult classic in future times.  Enjoy!

#12 Movie - A wedding you'll want to go to (Bridesmaids)

On Friday night I went to see Bridesmaids with my friend B.  It was a girls' night out and there were lots of other groups of girls there - the cinema was packed. This could have been attributed to the fact that most other movies on are either kids movies or male-centric blockbusters, but the fact is this movie is really, really funny and I think the word of mouth is what is getting bums on seats.  It's been out for a few weeks now and is definitely holding its own judging from the session I attended.
Bridesmaids centres on the character Annie, played by Kristen Wiig  who also co-wrote the script (the sweary girl from Paul, also had bit parts in Whip It and Adventureland and previously on Saturday Night Live).  Annie has been friends with Lil (played well by Maya Rudolph, another fave from SNL) since childhood but the friendship is going to be strained by Lil's engagement and request that Annie be her maid of honour.  Annie doesn't really seem to be in the right frame of mind to take on the chief bridesmaid's duties, but she agrees to do so, with hilarious results.  You see Annie's life is in a bit of a mess - her small business failed, her boyfriend left her, she has a crap car and job she doesn't really like (and she is extremely unsuited to), her flatmates suck and her love life is pathetic.  Her "friend with benefits" is a total dick but Annie hasn't noticed.  Taking on the maid of honour duties and the endless round of parties/showers/outings it entails for the bride and the group of friends/relatives is the catalyst for some changes in Annie's life, not all good. Her competition with Helen (Lil's fiancee's boss' wife) spurs on some crazy situations - Helen is beautiful, rich, well connected and great at organising perfect parties and the tension between the two is instantaneous.
From start to finish, this movie is really funny, really engaging and mostly believable.  I put a lot of emphasis on believability in movies I like and the way the various relationships unfold here are very believable and not as cliched as you might think. The relationship that grows between Annie and a cop who pulls her over for broken taillights is particularly warm and sweet and a refreshing take on guy/girl dynamics.  Aussie Rose Byrne doesn't get much room to move as the "perfect" Helen but she does well.  The girl who plays Megan, the fiancee's sister (the only real resemblance to the Hangover - the socially awkward sibling of the bride/groom) is also really funny, stealing the movie with most of the best lines.  For me though Kristen Wiig really makes this film - she is so game, willing to make herself look bad/silly/pathetic/crazy and you really want her to get it together.  Plus she has great hair, I couldn't stop staring at it and thinking "would my hair do that?".
There was a high level of audience participation in this movie too.  We sighed when Annie was making bad decisions, hissed at the nasty man, pointed at the screen in amazement and shook our heads frequently.  It was a noisy and supportive crowd.  I think the test of a great movie is also in the post-movie analysis.  If someone asks you how it was and you say "it was really good" or something, then it was merely okay.  When B and I got home to the boys and they asked how the movie was, we didn't just say it was funny.  We started quoting lines out of the movie and cracking up all over again, laughing really hard.  Ben commented that we were acting like we were drunk or something.  We weren't.  We'd just seen a great comedy.  Make sure you do.

Dry July

Hey y'all it is July already.  Unbelievable!  I thought I'd be much more progressed on my target for this year by now than I am.  Of watching more movies than last year.  Somehow time and life have gotten in the way and I've only gotten along to see 10 or 11 movies not much more than my average.  I've even spent less time at the video store than usual so I don't have much to review there either.  (Incidentally what is the 20-teens term for a video store as they don't contain any videos - has that been settled yet?)  Nothing I've seen this year has totally blown me away, Super 8 was probably the best one I've seen so far.  Actually it's been a good year for films with a sci-fi slant as I've rated Never Let me Go, Source Code, Paul and Super 8 pretty high.  One of the reasons for this could be the unusually high quality of TV these days, particularly HBO's output.  Can't stop watching Sons of Anarchy, True Blood, Breaking Bad and Hawaii 5-0.  Keeping up or catching up with great TV is eating into movie watching time pretty badly!
But July is the month I'm hoping to catch up.  Being so cold and windy it's the perfect time for hanging indoors and snuggling up with a movie, or heading to the cinema. With it being "Dry July" many people are abstaining from alcohol for a month and finding other things to do than going out to get blotto.  Whether it is to improve their health, improve their bank balance, both or just taking a break from the usual.  If this is you, my tip is to go out and enjoy the school holiday flicks.  Hopefully I'll be able to get along to a few things to help you decide what to go and see.  This weekend I have Bridesmaids and Kung Fu Panda 2 on my list.  I also have some free tickets for Blame (Aussie movie) so that needs to be squeezed in as well.  And the final exciting instalment of Harry Potter is out next Wednesday too!
My recent poll said you wanted to see updates on what movies are out this week (it's so easy to miss movies with the rate of new releases all the time) and also more reviews on older movies and new stuff out on DVD.  So I went to give you the first weekly update and unfortunately there was almost no new films this week.  The schoold holiday movies from last week are so dominating that nobody was game to release anything else!  The arthouse leaning cinemas do have "Mozart's Sister" and "Special Treatment" (Frenchy stuff about a prostitute) and Palace Centro has an exclusive on "The Trip".  This is on my list as well, a bit of Brit weirdness.  It's a movie cut down from a UK TV show where Steve Coogan (brilliant comic known for "Alan Partridge" and "Saxondale") and Rob Brydon play versions of themselves going on a foodie trip to review restaurants for a newspaper.  Early reviews say it's quirky and full of witty banter and impressions of famous actors (they compete over their Michael Caine impersonations) but perhaps missing something due to being and edit down to 2 hours of a much longer series.  That's about it other than kid flicks and holiday blockbusters.  I can't help much with movies out on DVD this week either as I haven't seen many of them.  I caught Hall Pass earlier this year and it had some pretty funny moments.
So I'm on a mission in the next few weeks to up the movie quotient.  Hopefully I will make some progress, and good luck to all those on a mission for Dry July.