DVD: Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
Category: Indie/Rom-Com
Rating: 7 out of 10
The much lighter side of the 'asteroid colliding with Earth and wiping us all out' scenario, this movie has a guy in his late 40s whose wife leaves him with 2 weeks to the end of the world, meeting his young, kooky upstairs neighbour for the first time. Splitting up with her useless boyfriend and longing to see her parents and siblings in England for the last time, Penny is forced into a roadtrip with Dodge when the city erupts in anarchy but the countryside is still quite pleasant really. The two oddballs take a gently amusing and touching journey with a week until the end of everything.... I had a goofy smile on my face after watching this.
Pros: Steve Carell's ordinary schmuck act; quirky storyline; the "Friendsy's tavern" scene; more laughs than I expected.
Cons: Keira Knightley's 'mouth acting' which I get really annoyed by, the big age gap (although arguably that's the point); some sub-plots are given a little too much airtime.
Thursday 21 March 2013
Short DVD Review - Premium Rush
Welcome to the first in a planned series of SHORT dvd reviews, for those who don't like to read a lot!
DVD: Premium Rush
Category: Action/Thriller
Rating: 8 out of 10
Think a movie about bicycle couriers sounds boring? Nup! Premium Rush is a thrilling adrenaline ride of a film. Adrenaline junkie New York bike courier Wilee and his fellow courier girlfriend become embroiled in an intriguing chase scenario when Wilee picks up a mysterious envelope from the girlfriend's quiet roommate with 'premium rush' importance. A nutcase cop seems to be willing to do anything to take it from him. What could be inside? Even when you find out, it's still a butt-clenchingly tense scenario!
Pros: Tense, original storyline; excellent stunts; Joseph Gordon-Levitt sparkles; fun CGI bits that show Wilee's possible passages through tight New York traffic and their nasty outcomes.
Cons: Michael Shannon is a tad over the top as the lacking 'impulse control' copper.
More info: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1547234/?ref_=sr_1
DVD: Premium Rush
Category: Action/Thriller
Rating: 8 out of 10
Think a movie about bicycle couriers sounds boring? Nup! Premium Rush is a thrilling adrenaline ride of a film. Adrenaline junkie New York bike courier Wilee and his fellow courier girlfriend become embroiled in an intriguing chase scenario when Wilee picks up a mysterious envelope from the girlfriend's quiet roommate with 'premium rush' importance. A nutcase cop seems to be willing to do anything to take it from him. What could be inside? Even when you find out, it's still a butt-clenchingly tense scenario!
Pros: Tense, original storyline; excellent stunts; Joseph Gordon-Levitt sparkles; fun CGI bits that show Wilee's possible passages through tight New York traffic and their nasty outcomes.
Cons: Michael Shannon is a tad over the top as the lacking 'impulse control' copper.
More info: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1547234/?ref_=sr_1
Sunday 3 March 2013
Movie #7 - Lincoln
Nominated for about 12 Oscars, this film only managed to win one. Which was the right outcome really, because it was not the Best Picture of 2012 and not the Best Directing either. Those honours rightfully belonged elsewhere because this film managed to be quite boring in parts and the direction could have done with some pizazz. The Best Actor statuette though rightfully went to Daniel Day-Lewis as the titular president, a performance which I can only imagine is a wonderful tribute since I haven't seen or heard video of the original Abraham Lincoln.
While Abraham Lincoln's life and achievements could probably fill many movies, the film concentrates on a short period of his life, right towards the end of his presidency. It was an intense time where the American civil war was continuing to drag on and where he ushered in the amendment to the US Constitution which abolished slavery. The narrow focus takes the onus off needing to like Abe Lincoln since there are so many other players involved and means that it won't get lumped into the biopic category. However, the focus may also be unwise because the level of detail given about the political process of American Congress is actually a little impenetrable and in places is a little boring.
I must admit that I was quite tired when I went to see this film, which may have caused me to doze off a couple of times towards the beginning and middle, or it may have been due to the overlong sections where Lincoln's steward's hired guns try to recruit Democrat votes for the Republican backed amendment. It's strange to me that the writers have chosen to use such wordy language and long speeches in the movie - although true to the times I feel that it would have drawn more people in if the language was modernised and a bit more easily understood. The politicking just gets a bit much. And it doesn't help that the men all look so similar - the hair and mustache team wasn't very creative and I found it difficult to remember who was who after a while. It was only much later that I realised how many very talented actors were in the movie, hidden beneath a thick bushy mustache and period clothing, but at the time I felt a little confused.
Lincoln's family life is also looked at, with his wife (played by Sally Field) a nervous wreck who doesn't make his life easy, and his son wanting to join up for the war against his parents' wishes. These struggles give depth and humanity to the storyline, as well as several framing scenes which help you to understand why Lincoln becomes so passionate about ending slavery through constitutional means rather than just ending the war.
Daniel Day Lewis absolutely justifies the Oscar, using a very different voice than we've heard before and adapting his walk and mannerisms. Apparently Lincoln had a very high voice which made him very good at orating in a time before amplification was common, an aspect of why he made president. It's a commanding performance without his usual over-acting style (as seen in 'There Will be Blood' and 'Gangs of War'). My fave Joseph Gordon-Levitt is good as the eldest son but Sally Field is a bit overwrought as the overwrought wife.
The movie comes home strong with the ending, building a solid amount of tension as the vote progresses, with the outcome uncertain for those of us not overly familiar with American political history. Obviously slavery was outlawed but the how and the why was not clear to me before now. So I definitely learned something from this. However it's not the most cheerful movie and yes, definitely a little boring at times. One for historical epic fans.
While Abraham Lincoln's life and achievements could probably fill many movies, the film concentrates on a short period of his life, right towards the end of his presidency. It was an intense time where the American civil war was continuing to drag on and where he ushered in the amendment to the US Constitution which abolished slavery. The narrow focus takes the onus off needing to like Abe Lincoln since there are so many other players involved and means that it won't get lumped into the biopic category. However, the focus may also be unwise because the level of detail given about the political process of American Congress is actually a little impenetrable and in places is a little boring.
I must admit that I was quite tired when I went to see this film, which may have caused me to doze off a couple of times towards the beginning and middle, or it may have been due to the overlong sections where Lincoln's steward's hired guns try to recruit Democrat votes for the Republican backed amendment. It's strange to me that the writers have chosen to use such wordy language and long speeches in the movie - although true to the times I feel that it would have drawn more people in if the language was modernised and a bit more easily understood. The politicking just gets a bit much. And it doesn't help that the men all look so similar - the hair and mustache team wasn't very creative and I found it difficult to remember who was who after a while. It was only much later that I realised how many very talented actors were in the movie, hidden beneath a thick bushy mustache and period clothing, but at the time I felt a little confused.
Lincoln's family life is also looked at, with his wife (played by Sally Field) a nervous wreck who doesn't make his life easy, and his son wanting to join up for the war against his parents' wishes. These struggles give depth and humanity to the storyline, as well as several framing scenes which help you to understand why Lincoln becomes so passionate about ending slavery through constitutional means rather than just ending the war.
Daniel Day Lewis absolutely justifies the Oscar, using a very different voice than we've heard before and adapting his walk and mannerisms. Apparently Lincoln had a very high voice which made him very good at orating in a time before amplification was common, an aspect of why he made president. It's a commanding performance without his usual over-acting style (as seen in 'There Will be Blood' and 'Gangs of War'). My fave Joseph Gordon-Levitt is good as the eldest son but Sally Field is a bit overwrought as the overwrought wife.
The movie comes home strong with the ending, building a solid amount of tension as the vote progresses, with the outcome uncertain for those of us not overly familiar with American political history. Obviously slavery was outlawed but the how and the why was not clear to me before now. So I definitely learned something from this. However it's not the most cheerful movie and yes, definitely a little boring at times. One for historical epic fans.
Movie #6 - Flight
So difficult to review this movie without giving anything away. I'm going to assume therefore that most people going to see this movie are aware of a fair chunk of the plot, but I won't give away the ending.
Flight is a simply told story of a hard partying man who happens to also be a pilot at the controls of an aircraft that is falling apart in the sky on this particular day. However, despite being a relatively straight forward story with few sub-plots, the movie doesn't leave you with any easy answers about whether this guy is a hero or not.
Whip Whitaker appears to be 'the man'. The opening scene of the aftermath of a hard night's partying at a hotel pulls no punches. Until we realise that Whip is a pilot and that he has a flight today and yikes, he's just snorted a bunch of cocaine. And that lithe young woman sharing the marijuana cigarette a few minutes ago is the air hostess on the same flight. A little bit of turbulence on takeoff is negotiated aggressively by Whip Whitaker and you can see his co-pilot is nervous. Things settle down and he's gotten away with it again. Except towards the end of the flight, when the plane starts to fall apart and Whip Whitaker has to try every trick in the book to save the plane and the passengers.
The first 30 odd minutes of the movie deals with the aforementioned partying and flight, ending with a spectacular plane crash in which only 6 lives are lost. The rest of the movie deals with the aftermath and whether Whip Whitaker is indeed a hero who saved many lives with his invention, or a villain who should not have been drunk and high on drugs. Whip has survived with few injuries and initially tries to conceal his intoxicated state, but that secret is blown out early after his blood was taken in hospital without his knowledge as part of the standard safety board investigation. The pilot's union for some reason decides to back Whip Whitaker (sorry but it's such a cool name) and a lawyer is hired to throw out the blood test and prove anything other than Whip being at fault. In this process it is interesting to find out that testing indicates that no other pilot could have landed that plane without killing everyone on board. This seems to tally up with the earlier scenes where it's almost like the drugs in his system increased his alertness, skills and gave him the confidence to try something crazy enough to work, while all the other crew were going to pieces.
This is pretty much a one man show, with Denzel Washington giving a performance that in any other year may have won an Oscar. So is he a hero or a villain? In my personal opinion given this is not a documentary or 'based on true events', I think the guy is a villain. Clearly a long-term alcoholic with no relationship skills, the guy is selfish and has risked many lives for his addiction. Who is to know whether he would have done the exact same thing even if he wasn't high on drugs? Maybe he would have. Late attempts at redemption don't seem to fit with the character and we would've preferred a different ending. However it's still a strong and challenging film which I'd give 3.5 stars out of 5.
Flight is a simply told story of a hard partying man who happens to also be a pilot at the controls of an aircraft that is falling apart in the sky on this particular day. However, despite being a relatively straight forward story with few sub-plots, the movie doesn't leave you with any easy answers about whether this guy is a hero or not.
Whip Whitaker appears to be 'the man'. The opening scene of the aftermath of a hard night's partying at a hotel pulls no punches. Until we realise that Whip is a pilot and that he has a flight today and yikes, he's just snorted a bunch of cocaine. And that lithe young woman sharing the marijuana cigarette a few minutes ago is the air hostess on the same flight. A little bit of turbulence on takeoff is negotiated aggressively by Whip Whitaker and you can see his co-pilot is nervous. Things settle down and he's gotten away with it again. Except towards the end of the flight, when the plane starts to fall apart and Whip Whitaker has to try every trick in the book to save the plane and the passengers.
The first 30 odd minutes of the movie deals with the aforementioned partying and flight, ending with a spectacular plane crash in which only 6 lives are lost. The rest of the movie deals with the aftermath and whether Whip Whitaker is indeed a hero who saved many lives with his invention, or a villain who should not have been drunk and high on drugs. Whip has survived with few injuries and initially tries to conceal his intoxicated state, but that secret is blown out early after his blood was taken in hospital without his knowledge as part of the standard safety board investigation. The pilot's union for some reason decides to back Whip Whitaker (sorry but it's such a cool name) and a lawyer is hired to throw out the blood test and prove anything other than Whip being at fault. In this process it is interesting to find out that testing indicates that no other pilot could have landed that plane without killing everyone on board. This seems to tally up with the earlier scenes where it's almost like the drugs in his system increased his alertness, skills and gave him the confidence to try something crazy enough to work, while all the other crew were going to pieces.
This is pretty much a one man show, with Denzel Washington giving a performance that in any other year may have won an Oscar. So is he a hero or a villain? In my personal opinion given this is not a documentary or 'based on true events', I think the guy is a villain. Clearly a long-term alcoholic with no relationship skills, the guy is selfish and has risked many lives for his addiction. Who is to know whether he would have done the exact same thing even if he wasn't high on drugs? Maybe he would have. Late attempts at redemption don't seem to fit with the character and we would've preferred a different ending. However it's still a strong and challenging film which I'd give 3.5 stars out of 5.
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