Showing posts with label Short DVD Review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Short DVD Review. Show all posts
Saturday, 15 February 2014
DVD Gem: You're Next
Watched "You're Next" the other day, what a ripper little thriller/splatter film! A guy takes his girlfriend Erin (Aussie Sharni Vinson getting to play an Aussie character in a US movie) away for a family reunion at a remote country mansion where the arguing has only just got going when a strange turn of events happens. Some psychos in animal masks have surrounded the house and started attacking, discovered when the daughter's boyfriend cops an arrow through the forehead as he checks out something he saw through the window. The family panics and it seems like a slaughter is in store. So far, so typical. But then the film turns your preconceptions on their head, as Erin keeps a cool head and organises the family to fight back against the seemingly random attack, and the killers' motives start to become apparent. The film is brutal and director Adam Wingard doesn't shy away from spraying the claret,. But there are some funny moments and the sheer kick-ass-ness of Erin makes the movie totally fun. Not too scary but definitely super violent. See it!
Saturday, 6 July 2013
This is 40 - Short DVD Review
This is 40 is a Judd Apatow (director of 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up etc etc) production starring Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann (Apatow's wife) as a married couple struggling to admit that they are hitting the big 4-0 and having a few financial issues, with Apatow and Mann's real life daughters as the two squabbling daughters.
This movie is awful. It's 2 hours of people shouting at each other or saying really awful things to each other or interacting really awkwardly. If this is what marriage is like, I'm so glad I haven't done it. If this is what having kids is like, I'm glad I haven't done that either. I admit there were a few moments in this movie where I laughed (mainly Melissa McCarthy's scenes) but you can see most of them in the trailer. This is 2 hours of my life I'll never get back and I was wishing it was over while we were watching it. A rare fail by Mr Apatow and his troupe of usually good comedians.
I'd give this a 3 out of 10.
This movie is awful. It's 2 hours of people shouting at each other or saying really awful things to each other or interacting really awkwardly. If this is what marriage is like, I'm so glad I haven't done it. If this is what having kids is like, I'm glad I haven't done that either. I admit there were a few moments in this movie where I laughed (mainly Melissa McCarthy's scenes) but you can see most of them in the trailer. This is 2 hours of my life I'll never get back and I was wishing it was over while we were watching it. A rare fail by Mr Apatow and his troupe of usually good comedians.
I'd give this a 3 out of 10.
Saturday, 1 June 2013
Dredd 3D - Short DVD Review
Dredd 3D is a much better version of the well-loved comic book character than a certain Sylvester Stallone movie some time ago. The film recreates the post-apocalyptic Mega City One in startlingly gritty and realistic fashion for a comic book movie. In fact the only stylised part of the whole movie is the blood and gore as bad guys and innocent bystanders alike are taken out in spectacular fashion. Our hero, Judge Dredd (well acted by Karl Urban who is never seen without his helmet but still shows emotion), has agreed to take a rookie potential Judge named Anderson, actually a psychic, on her first day on the job. Judges are the only law remaining in Mega City One, they have the best weapons and are empowered to dispense judgements and execute sentences on baddies on the spot.
Anderson decides to take a triple murder at mega building Peach Trees, which sells her and Dredd into huge trouble as the building is controlled by evil mega bitch Ma-Ma (played oh so cool and evil by Lena Headey in a role not so different from Queen Cersei in Game of Thrones) who walls the place off and gets the buildings gangs and her own lackeys to try and take the Judges out to protect her empire of drug production and distribution. Violent cat and mouse then ensues in the hallways.
If I hadn't seen a similarly themed movie last year called "The Raid", I would have given this an 8 out of 10 for the clever script, inventiveness of the weapons and the drug "Slo-Mo", the realism and the super cool visual style and restrained 3D. However, The Raid built the tension better and gave us more heart so that this movie suffers by comparison and I'd give it a 7 out of 10. Super violent!
Anderson decides to take a triple murder at mega building Peach Trees, which sells her and Dredd into huge trouble as the building is controlled by evil mega bitch Ma-Ma (played oh so cool and evil by Lena Headey in a role not so different from Queen Cersei in Game of Thrones) who walls the place off and gets the buildings gangs and her own lackeys to try and take the Judges out to protect her empire of drug production and distribution. Violent cat and mouse then ensues in the hallways.
If I hadn't seen a similarly themed movie last year called "The Raid", I would have given this an 8 out of 10 for the clever script, inventiveness of the weapons and the drug "Slo-Mo", the realism and the super cool visual style and restrained 3D. However, The Raid built the tension better and gave us more heart so that this movie suffers by comparison and I'd give it a 7 out of 10. Super violent!
Monday, 20 May 2013
Gangster Squad - Short DVD Review
Directed by Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland) and starring hot young things Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone and Josh Brolin (ok not so young but definitely hot in my books), this movie is gorgeous to look at. Dapper suits, proper hats, suspenders and tommy guns for the boys and Jessica Rabbit gowns for the girls, this pays homage to 1940s Hollywood noir but with a violent edge.
Irish immigrant and former boxer Mickey Cohen is the king of gangsters with big dreams to own not just Los Angeles but the whole west coast of America. The cops and judges in his pocket aren't doing anything about it, so the police chief sets up the Gangster Squad as a secret no-holds-barred . Josh Brolin and his disapproving but very helpful wife put together a crew of the last few cops with honour and the guts to take on the king. They can't just kill him or another head will grow in its place, so they set about smashing up his operations and taking his money with gleeful abandon and no solid plans. The ending ramps up the action even further, it was a super fun ending.
The film has something good to say about morals and fighting for what you believe in regardless of the personal cost, but ultimately the style wins over the substance. The violence is fairly brutal (including in the shocking opening scene) but incredibly well shot and not gratuitous. It looks pretty and the acting is solid all round. Goddamn what a cast actually now that I think of it - on the good side you had Brolin, Gosling, Robert Patrick (Terminator 2), Michael Pena (End of Watch), Giovanni Ribisi (Ted), Anthony Mackie (Notorious), Nick Nolte and on the other side Sean Penn as Mickey Cohen (slightly overacted in parts but I enjoyed it), Emma Stone as the gangster's moll, Aussie Sullivan Stapleton as a loan shark, Jon Polito and a host of familiar faces as the gangsters and crooked judges.
Verdict: It doesn't beat LA Confidential for smart Hollywood cops vs gangster noir, but it sure gives it a bloody nose in the process of trying.
Irish immigrant and former boxer Mickey Cohen is the king of gangsters with big dreams to own not just Los Angeles but the whole west coast of America. The cops and judges in his pocket aren't doing anything about it, so the police chief sets up the Gangster Squad as a secret no-holds-barred . Josh Brolin and his disapproving but very helpful wife put together a crew of the last few cops with honour and the guts to take on the king. They can't just kill him or another head will grow in its place, so they set about smashing up his operations and taking his money with gleeful abandon and no solid plans. The ending ramps up the action even further, it was a super fun ending.
The film has something good to say about morals and fighting for what you believe in regardless of the personal cost, but ultimately the style wins over the substance. The violence is fairly brutal (including in the shocking opening scene) but incredibly well shot and not gratuitous. It looks pretty and the acting is solid all round. Goddamn what a cast actually now that I think of it - on the good side you had Brolin, Gosling, Robert Patrick (Terminator 2), Michael Pena (End of Watch), Giovanni Ribisi (Ted), Anthony Mackie (Notorious), Nick Nolte and on the other side Sean Penn as Mickey Cohen (slightly overacted in parts but I enjoyed it), Emma Stone as the gangster's moll, Aussie Sullivan Stapleton as a loan shark, Jon Polito and a host of familiar faces as the gangsters and crooked judges.
Verdict: It doesn't beat LA Confidential for smart Hollywood cops vs gangster noir, but it sure gives it a bloody nose in the process of trying.
Thursday, 21 March 2013
Short DVD Review - Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
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.
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.
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
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