Ahhhh Oscar buzz. It's a strange thing sometimes. Early sure things get left out of the nominations, icons are snubbed for years, some people are nominated every time even if undeserved occasionally, and sometimes unlikely films become the big picture of the year out of the blue. Last year it was Argo that snagged some well deserved nominations and the directing statuette after being very low key but succeeding on word of mouth. And American Hustle looks like being this year's Argo. Apart from some leaked photos of Bradley Cooper's tightly permed 70s locks, the latest film from David O. Russell (Silver Linings Playbook) was flying pretty well under the radar until it hit cinemas a few weeks ago. Now it's the next big thing, with Golden Globe nominations for Best Film, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Director and Best Screenplay. Interestingly the acting and best film awards are sitting under the "Musical or Comedy" category though. While there are definitely humourous moments in the film, I would still classify this as a drama but I guess if you put it up against the films in the drama category, it probably wouldn't have made the cut so maybe they stuck it in the comedy section to give it a go?
Anyhow, let's talk about the movie which is loosely based on true events. Small time con-man Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale again suffering for his art by gaining quite a few kilos and shaving his head to provide a spectacular comb-over) meets Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams) and it's love at first sight. She has come to the big smoke to make it big and he finds a willing partner in his loan shark scheme which becomes so successful that they soon come to the attention of FBI Agent Richie DiMasso (Bradley Cooper). Richie catches Sydney in her British accented conwoman mode taking a cheque and uses her incarceration to force Irving and Sydney into a sting to capture the corrupt New Jersey mayor (Jeremy Renner far from his Avengers Hawkeye action man role). From here, things get complicated and you will need to really keep your eyes and ears open to follow all the plot strands, especially when the movie is being told by cutting between flashbacks and current times.
Richie needs Irving and Sydney to teach him the art of conning if he is to capture his target, but he proves to be a poor student. Sydney is conning Richie into thinking she is falling for him (or is she really falling for him - neither she nor Irving seem sure), Irving has to deal with his highly strung wife Rosalyn (Jennifer Lawrence) who he doesn't love but can't leave, Richie is having trouble with his boss, Mayor Polito is the most likeable corrupt mayor ever making Irving regret his actions, and then the sting escalates as the mob start to get involved in the transaction and then some high level politicians may or may not become involved. Richie starts to get greedy, while Irving gets more and more nervous and Sydney starts to unravel as she is caught in the middle of the emotional rollercoaster between all the main characters.
The 70s setting provides an opportunity for the production team to create some absolutely stunning period detail and the costumes and hair are all great. The film looks fantastic and the soundtrack is superb. And the acting is wonderful from all, especially Jennifer Lawrence who definitely deserves all the accolades she has been receiving recently. Her house cleaning scene has to be one of the best I saw all year. And Amy Adams' boobs (or their Hollywood tape) should probably get a 'supporting' nomination of their own, being featured via plunging V-necks in almost every scene she's in. The thing about this movie though is that it is a fairly involving and enjoyable story but ultimately falls short of greatness by not making you care about any of the characters and not quite hitting the mark with the deeper issue it tries to explore. There is something being said about how we all con ourselves but about what and how to stop I'm not sure it actually answers. Maybe you're just too distracted by the twists and turns of the sting to notice. In the end the character I felt most sorry for in all of it was 'baddie' Mayor Carmine Polito.
This was the last movie I saw in 2013 and while I enjoyed it while it was on, I didn't love it and I personally don't think it deserves to win any Best Film or Best Director awards. It definitely suffers in comparison to Silver Linings Playbook which had the same director and some of the same actors, but landed all the emotional punches.
Showing posts with label 2013 Film Review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2013 Film Review. Show all posts
Saturday, 4 January 2014
Friday, 27 December 2013
Movie #32 - The Railway Man
A very warm Boxing Day always pulls the crowds into the cinema, the day that the biggest summer releases usually come out. I heard that the second Hobbit movie had sold out screenings in many cinemas. But it seems there are plenty of people wanting to see the other serious movies that are out too. Our screening of The Railway Man was very full, almost sold out although it was a small cinema at Balmoral that we chose (love those prices!). I think this is a great achievement for a movie that would appear to be so "un-Christmas-y".
The Railway Man is a story of an English man who survived being imprisoned by the Japanese and working on the Thai-Burma railway during World War 2, but has never really overcome the suffering even 20 years on. Compressing all the pain and shame inside has not really worked, as memories and dreams invade everyday life regularly. Meeting a woman on a train who he falls in love with and marries seems to be a catalyst for him to slide even deeper rather than coming out of it. Patti though is determined not to be shut out and sets out to find out what happened to Eric so she can help him overcome it. Flashbacks to the war are used through Eric's own dreams and memories and those of his friend Finbery (Stellan Skaarsgard) as he recounts what he knows to Patti. This leads to an extraordinary series of events as Eric travels back to Thailand to confront the Japanese interpreter who treated him so cruelly.
The thing about this story is that you would never believe it was true if it wasn't for the fact that it is indeed a true story. Based on the memoirs of Lieutenant Eric Lomax, the things that the Japanese do in this movie all really happened and Eric really did travel to Thailand and confront Nagase armed with a nasty looking knife. For those who are not intimately familiar with the atrocities committed by the Japanese in World War 2, this movie will open your eyes with some very confronting scenes, although the director has mostly spared us the real grit and grime by having the impact of many blows off-screen and you feel them through the winces and sorrow on the faces of the witnesses. You're also spared the worst by the fact that Lomax and his crew were engineers with skills the Japanese needed, so they were treated a lot better than the common soldiers and the absolute misery they suffered is more of a backdrop to this story than front and centre.
For those like me who know the stories (my grandfather was taken prisoner by the Japanese after the fall of Singapore and survived being on the Thai-Burma railway as well) and who have travelled to Kanchanaburi and Hellfire Pass, it is no less confronting for being familiar in both story and locations. It does give you a better understanding of why these men never talked about their experiences afterwards, even with each other.
Colin Firth is superb in the role of the current day Eric Lomax, battling his demons while trying to be a loving husband. There is so much depth in this performance without ever being histrionic as it could have been. Jeremy Irvine is excellent as the young Lomax trying to keep morale up and maintain his honour in the face of extreme horror, though he gets few happy scenes. Japanese actor Hiroyuki Sanada is also excellent as the tormentor who has tried to repent for his deeds by becoming a Buddhist and guiding tour groups and promoting reconciliation.
As directed by Aussie Jonathan Teplitzky, The Railway Man is an emotional and tense ride, only slightly lightened by the few tender scenes with Patti. It's a great shame that Eric passed away last year age 93 and didn't get to see his story made into a tough but wonderful movie that audiences seem to be loving.
The Railway Man is a story of an English man who survived being imprisoned by the Japanese and working on the Thai-Burma railway during World War 2, but has never really overcome the suffering even 20 years on. Compressing all the pain and shame inside has not really worked, as memories and dreams invade everyday life regularly. Meeting a woman on a train who he falls in love with and marries seems to be a catalyst for him to slide even deeper rather than coming out of it. Patti though is determined not to be shut out and sets out to find out what happened to Eric so she can help him overcome it. Flashbacks to the war are used through Eric's own dreams and memories and those of his friend Finbery (Stellan Skaarsgard) as he recounts what he knows to Patti. This leads to an extraordinary series of events as Eric travels back to Thailand to confront the Japanese interpreter who treated him so cruelly.
The thing about this story is that you would never believe it was true if it wasn't for the fact that it is indeed a true story. Based on the memoirs of Lieutenant Eric Lomax, the things that the Japanese do in this movie all really happened and Eric really did travel to Thailand and confront Nagase armed with a nasty looking knife. For those who are not intimately familiar with the atrocities committed by the Japanese in World War 2, this movie will open your eyes with some very confronting scenes, although the director has mostly spared us the real grit and grime by having the impact of many blows off-screen and you feel them through the winces and sorrow on the faces of the witnesses. You're also spared the worst by the fact that Lomax and his crew were engineers with skills the Japanese needed, so they were treated a lot better than the common soldiers and the absolute misery they suffered is more of a backdrop to this story than front and centre.
For those like me who know the stories (my grandfather was taken prisoner by the Japanese after the fall of Singapore and survived being on the Thai-Burma railway as well) and who have travelled to Kanchanaburi and Hellfire Pass, it is no less confronting for being familiar in both story and locations. It does give you a better understanding of why these men never talked about their experiences afterwards, even with each other.
Colin Firth is superb in the role of the current day Eric Lomax, battling his demons while trying to be a loving husband. There is so much depth in this performance without ever being histrionic as it could have been. Jeremy Irvine is excellent as the young Lomax trying to keep morale up and maintain his honour in the face of extreme horror, though he gets few happy scenes. Japanese actor Hiroyuki Sanada is also excellent as the tormentor who has tried to repent for his deeds by becoming a Buddhist and guiding tour groups and promoting reconciliation.
As directed by Aussie Jonathan Teplitzky, The Railway Man is an emotional and tense ride, only slightly lightened by the few tender scenes with Patti. It's a great shame that Eric passed away last year age 93 and didn't get to see his story made into a tough but wonderful movie that audiences seem to be loving.
Monday, 18 November 2013
Movie # 30 - Thor: The Dark World
As with Iron Man 3, it definitely helps to have seen "The Avengers" before you see Thor: The Dark World, and you must have seen the original Thor. This movie is part of Marvel's "Phase 2" which furthers the universe and existing characters and is beginning to setup for Phase 3 which will kick off with the Avengers sequel in 2015. This review will therefore unavoidably contain spoilers for "The Avengers" and "Thor 1" so stop reading now if you haven't seen those.
The Dark World opens up immediately after the events of The Avengers, with Thor back on his home planet of Asgard celebrating his newfound maturity and victory over the Chitauri to save Earth. Loki is to be dealt with by the Allfather Odin after his transgressions. While Thor's mind should be turning to his future as ruler of the Asgardians, instead he cannot stop thinking of his paramour Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) whom he left on Earth at the end of the first movie and didn't even have the decency to stop by and say "hi" to during the (admittedly more important) events occurring in The Avengers. So with Odin's okay if not his blessing, Thor heads down to Earth to reacquaint himself with Jane. But Jane has been having an interesting adventure of her own...
Jane and her super cool assistant Darcy (2 Broke Girls' Kat Dennings) have discovered a glitch in the universe in their new base of London, where things dropped in to the vacuum mysteriously disappear. Thanks to an Anthony Hopkins voiceover in the prologue, we know this will be the location of an object called the "Aether" which was hidden by the Asgardians a long time ago after getting it off the Dark Elves who were going to use it to return the entire universe to darkness and rule us all. Instead of destroying the Dark Elves and their evil leader Malekith (former Dr Who Christopher Eccleston), Odin only banished them and now with Jane's discovery and interaction with the Aether awakens them all to try and obtain it once more. Thor takes Jane back to Asgard but this brings the Dark Elves attention so Thor turns to Loki for help to find the Dark Elves and stop their universe destroying plan.
This film has a very different feel to the first one, definitely following the typical 'darker' path of many superhero sequels and losing some of the humour (with the exception of comedy sidekick Darcy who cracks me up near the end with her name for Mjolnir {Thor's hammer} from the first movie). The stakes are a lot higher in this movie and there is a deeper exploration of the conflicted relationship between Thor and Loki. There is plenty of drama for all the actors to get their teeth into, but Tom Hiddlestone again proves to be the best thing about the franchise with his portrayal of Loki.
The action is well choreographed and particularly the climactic battle between good and evil is exciting and well executed. The movie is pure entertainment and manages to keep the pace perfect without overstaying the welcome. Don't forget to stay for the now-standard post-credits scenes, although they key one for future Marvel properties is only a few seconds after the credits roll, whereas the one right at the end of 10 minutes of technical credits is less essential.
I'm giving this four hammers out of five, and maybe I'll add an extra half for the girls for the scene of Chris Hemsworth shirtless as he washes his face after the victory celebration!
The Dark World opens up immediately after the events of The Avengers, with Thor back on his home planet of Asgard celebrating his newfound maturity and victory over the Chitauri to save Earth. Loki is to be dealt with by the Allfather Odin after his transgressions. While Thor's mind should be turning to his future as ruler of the Asgardians, instead he cannot stop thinking of his paramour Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) whom he left on Earth at the end of the first movie and didn't even have the decency to stop by and say "hi" to during the (admittedly more important) events occurring in The Avengers. So with Odin's okay if not his blessing, Thor heads down to Earth to reacquaint himself with Jane. But Jane has been having an interesting adventure of her own...
Jane and her super cool assistant Darcy (2 Broke Girls' Kat Dennings) have discovered a glitch in the universe in their new base of London, where things dropped in to the vacuum mysteriously disappear. Thanks to an Anthony Hopkins voiceover in the prologue, we know this will be the location of an object called the "Aether" which was hidden by the Asgardians a long time ago after getting it off the Dark Elves who were going to use it to return the entire universe to darkness and rule us all. Instead of destroying the Dark Elves and their evil leader Malekith (former Dr Who Christopher Eccleston), Odin only banished them and now with Jane's discovery and interaction with the Aether awakens them all to try and obtain it once more. Thor takes Jane back to Asgard but this brings the Dark Elves attention so Thor turns to Loki for help to find the Dark Elves and stop their universe destroying plan.
This film has a very different feel to the first one, definitely following the typical 'darker' path of many superhero sequels and losing some of the humour (with the exception of comedy sidekick Darcy who cracks me up near the end with her name for Mjolnir {Thor's hammer} from the first movie). The stakes are a lot higher in this movie and there is a deeper exploration of the conflicted relationship between Thor and Loki. There is plenty of drama for all the actors to get their teeth into, but Tom Hiddlestone again proves to be the best thing about the franchise with his portrayal of Loki.
The action is well choreographed and particularly the climactic battle between good and evil is exciting and well executed. The movie is pure entertainment and manages to keep the pace perfect without overstaying the welcome. Don't forget to stay for the now-standard post-credits scenes, although they key one for future Marvel properties is only a few seconds after the credits roll, whereas the one right at the end of 10 minutes of technical credits is less essential.
I'm giving this four hammers out of five, and maybe I'll add an extra half for the girls for the scene of Chris Hemsworth shirtless as he washes his face after the victory celebration!
Friday, 18 October 2013
Movie # 28 - Mystery Road
Last week I had the privilege to attend the Brisbane premiere of new Aussie flick 'Mystery Road' with the director, Ivan Sen, and lead actor, Aaron Pederson, in attendance. While the boys didn't seem to have prepared their speeches, the off the cuff introductions gave us the indication that this was a 'campfire' story. And so it was. And it's a film that should be seen.
Mystery Road is very well named, as it follows Jay Swan (Pederson), an Aboriginal man from an unnamed outback town who has just returned home a qualified detective, as he tries to unravel the mystery of the murder of a young Aboriginal girl. The girl is a teenager, and one that Jay actually knows as she is a friend of his daughter. Despite Jay's desire to launch a major investigation, the sergeant advises that there are not enough resources available and Jay will have to look into it himself. There's too many drug busts and other crimes to deal with (the film is set in the present day). This leads to a great amount of good old fashioned detective work, building up slowly to a white knuckle suspenseful ending.
The film has attracted an absolute top shelf Aussie cast which is a lot of fun as you play "hey that's X". Aaron Pederson gives a very powerful performance as the dogged detective, as he runs up against a lot of people accusing him of betraying his Aboriginal heritage as a cop (from white and black people alike) and has a few run-ins with his ex-wife (Tasma Walton) and tries to connect with his estranged daughter and protect her. His previous appearances on police procedurals such as Wildside, Water Rats and City Homicide) have given him the necessary experience to pull off the lone wolf detective. I didn't realise it at the time, but he is in virtually every scene of the film which keeps the focus nice and tight as we work through the 'who' and 'how' of the murder. Unlike other films which show the action from different points of view, by staying with the detective we only know as much as he knows at any point in time and are trying to figure it out along with him. It's an understated but undeniably strong performance.
Pederson is ably backed by the rest of the cast including Tony Barry as the police sergeant who is suspiciously relaxed about the murder, Hugo Weaving as "Johnno" who leads the drug squad and is acting suspiciously, David Field as the owner of a farm near where the girl is found who acts suspiciously when questioned, Damian Walshe-Howling as the local drug dealer who acts suspiciously, Ryan Kwanten as a suspicious kangaroo hunter living on the aforementioned farm, small cameos from Bruce Spence, Jack Thompson and Ray Billing etc etc. You get my drift here I think: everyone is acting suspiciously. Red herrings galore! The mystery will have you thinking, but the next day I had pieced it all together and found it very satisfactory.
Ivan Sen, the Aussie director still best known for "Beneath Clouds", has done an amazing job with the film. It looks absolutely beautiful, filmed on location in Winton (outback town in Queensland) where you can get rundown homes in suburbia, grassy farms and red desert and some of the most beautiful lighting in the morning and evening. As well as directing, he was also the writer, composer of the music, cinematographer and editor. Wow! The film is a triumph of well paced storytelling, strong acting and stunning visuals. I really recommend you give this your time.
Mystery Road is very well named, as it follows Jay Swan (Pederson), an Aboriginal man from an unnamed outback town who has just returned home a qualified detective, as he tries to unravel the mystery of the murder of a young Aboriginal girl. The girl is a teenager, and one that Jay actually knows as she is a friend of his daughter. Despite Jay's desire to launch a major investigation, the sergeant advises that there are not enough resources available and Jay will have to look into it himself. There's too many drug busts and other crimes to deal with (the film is set in the present day). This leads to a great amount of good old fashioned detective work, building up slowly to a white knuckle suspenseful ending.
The film has attracted an absolute top shelf Aussie cast which is a lot of fun as you play "hey that's X". Aaron Pederson gives a very powerful performance as the dogged detective, as he runs up against a lot of people accusing him of betraying his Aboriginal heritage as a cop (from white and black people alike) and has a few run-ins with his ex-wife (Tasma Walton) and tries to connect with his estranged daughter and protect her. His previous appearances on police procedurals such as Wildside, Water Rats and City Homicide) have given him the necessary experience to pull off the lone wolf detective. I didn't realise it at the time, but he is in virtually every scene of the film which keeps the focus nice and tight as we work through the 'who' and 'how' of the murder. Unlike other films which show the action from different points of view, by staying with the detective we only know as much as he knows at any point in time and are trying to figure it out along with him. It's an understated but undeniably strong performance.
Pederson is ably backed by the rest of the cast including Tony Barry as the police sergeant who is suspiciously relaxed about the murder, Hugo Weaving as "Johnno" who leads the drug squad and is acting suspiciously, David Field as the owner of a farm near where the girl is found who acts suspiciously when questioned, Damian Walshe-Howling as the local drug dealer who acts suspiciously, Ryan Kwanten as a suspicious kangaroo hunter living on the aforementioned farm, small cameos from Bruce Spence, Jack Thompson and Ray Billing etc etc. You get my drift here I think: everyone is acting suspiciously. Red herrings galore! The mystery will have you thinking, but the next day I had pieced it all together and found it very satisfactory.
Ivan Sen, the Aussie director still best known for "Beneath Clouds", has done an amazing job with the film. It looks absolutely beautiful, filmed on location in Winton (outback town in Queensland) where you can get rundown homes in suburbia, grassy farms and red desert and some of the most beautiful lighting in the morning and evening. As well as directing, he was also the writer, composer of the music, cinematographer and editor. Wow! The film is a triumph of well paced storytelling, strong acting and stunning visuals. I really recommend you give this your time.
Saturday, 12 October 2013
Movie #29 - 3D Metallica: Through the Never
Attention rock fans: you have 1 week to get yourself to the cinema to witness Metallica's new concept. A live concert mixed with a short film. I have never seen anything quite like this before and I give massive kudos to the guys (who wrote the film together with director Nimrod Antal) for coming up with what could have been a complete disaster but is a unique and very cool experience.
The film is basically a Metallica concert filmed in Canada using their stunning "in the round" stage show which in my honest opinion would have to be the most ambitious and amazing stage show since, well, pretty much ever. Props, lights, projected images, fire, lasers are all part of this mind-blowing show. After a short introduction where we meet low level roadie Trip (played by actor Dane de Haan) as he delivers some burgers to the crew, we follow him into the arena as Metallica take the stage and kick off their show with "Creeping Death" - woo hoo! Trip's enjoyment of the concert is interrupted as he is sent off on a mission to take some gas to a stranded truck that contains something Very Important. The rest of the movie is then the concert spliced with a short film that becomes increasingly surrealistic as Trip's adventure takes some very strange turns, with events outside seeming to affect events inside the stadium.
If you see this at the movies, you will experience the most beautiful sound you have probably ever heard - I take my hat off to the sound guys on this. My current short-term hearing problem just got a lot worse, but gee I'm happy about it! The camera work has been carefully crafted and designed so that every image is exactly what you want to be seeing at that particular moment, whether it is Lars' feet on the double kick in "One", Kirk's classic guitar solos, Robert's crab walk or James' vocals when he is pulling the best faces. You absolutely will not have better access to the band than in this film. And the visual effects on the fiction side of things are pretty good. The music is well matched to the action outside as well.
The film is not without flaws though. One is frustration at the ending (do not leave until the credits have finished rolling although that still doesn't stop the frustration) which was pretty widespread in the cinema we were in. Another is that the 3D is a bit wobbly in parts, especially at the beginning. It's not in your face but it does provide a super immersive experience as though you are at the concert at times. There are some pretty full-on images and concepts as well, so it's not for young kids if any old metalheads out there have brought up your kids to love Metallica as well.
Any Metallica fans should see this at the cinema. Non Metallica fans who still like rock music and fantasy films would really like it too. Non metal fans are probably not even reading this review!
For those who have seen the movie and want to discuss it (including some of the flaws I've mentioned briefly) , please go to my new page I have set up separately which is where you can write whatever you want about it because only people who have seen the movie should click on it! I've labelled it "Spoilers" so that people don't click on it by mistake: http://melocracy.blogspot.com.au/p/discussions-and-spoilers.html
The film is basically a Metallica concert filmed in Canada using their stunning "in the round" stage show which in my honest opinion would have to be the most ambitious and amazing stage show since, well, pretty much ever. Props, lights, projected images, fire, lasers are all part of this mind-blowing show. After a short introduction where we meet low level roadie Trip (played by actor Dane de Haan) as he delivers some burgers to the crew, we follow him into the arena as Metallica take the stage and kick off their show with "Creeping Death" - woo hoo! Trip's enjoyment of the concert is interrupted as he is sent off on a mission to take some gas to a stranded truck that contains something Very Important. The rest of the movie is then the concert spliced with a short film that becomes increasingly surrealistic as Trip's adventure takes some very strange turns, with events outside seeming to affect events inside the stadium.
If you see this at the movies, you will experience the most beautiful sound you have probably ever heard - I take my hat off to the sound guys on this. My current short-term hearing problem just got a lot worse, but gee I'm happy about it! The camera work has been carefully crafted and designed so that every image is exactly what you want to be seeing at that particular moment, whether it is Lars' feet on the double kick in "One", Kirk's classic guitar solos, Robert's crab walk or James' vocals when he is pulling the best faces. You absolutely will not have better access to the band than in this film. And the visual effects on the fiction side of things are pretty good. The music is well matched to the action outside as well.
The film is not without flaws though. One is frustration at the ending (do not leave until the credits have finished rolling although that still doesn't stop the frustration) which was pretty widespread in the cinema we were in. Another is that the 3D is a bit wobbly in parts, especially at the beginning. It's not in your face but it does provide a super immersive experience as though you are at the concert at times. There are some pretty full-on images and concepts as well, so it's not for young kids if any old metalheads out there have brought up your kids to love Metallica as well.
Any Metallica fans should see this at the cinema. Non Metallica fans who still like rock music and fantasy films would really like it too. Non metal fans are probably not even reading this review!
For those who have seen the movie and want to discuss it (including some of the flaws I've mentioned briefly) , please go to my new page I have set up separately which is where you can write whatever you want about it because only people who have seen the movie should click on it! I've labelled it "Spoilers" so that people don't click on it by mistake: http://melocracy.blogspot.com.au/p/discussions-and-spoilers.html
Monday, 7 October 2013
Movie # 27 - Gravity 3D
I know I have skipped Movie #26 but it is no longer on at the movies so I thought I'd go straight to movie #27 and I'll get back to Kick-Ass 2 later.
Gravity is a new movie which has hit our screens with very little build up or fanfare. It's a small movie that I suspect is going to be a 'big' movie that features on many people's "Movie of the Year" lists come December/January. The less you know about it going in, I think the better off you will be so I won't give you any spoilers.
The movie kicks off with a group of 3 astronauts working on the Hubble telescope being monitored by NASA on the ground and their crew in the space shuttle. One of the astronauts is a veteran on his last mission to space, while one is on her first mission since she is actually a doctor and not an astronaut. They are installing a system she has developed to monitor astronaut's health and has had only 6 months of training. All 3 are actually out in space, tethered to the telescope or using a jetpack. All is going swimmingly until NASA advises that a Russian rocket launch has accidentally hit a satellite and created a fast moving swarm of space debris. The mission has to be aborted so the astronauts can return to safety inside their ship. But things don't quite go to plan, and Dr Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) and Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) are soon floating free in space and trying to find a way to get back to Earth despite being cut off from communication with Earth. Will they make it?
All of the above happens in the first 20 minutes of the movie, with the remainder being a tremendously tense adventure as we follow Ryan and Matt in their desperate battle for survival. The power of this movie comes from two main sources: the immersiveness and the performances.
The movie is so immersive because the scripter and director, Alfonso Cuaron (best known for either Children of Men or Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) has taken an excellent decision to limit the film to the characters in space and not, as so many others do, cut to NASA control or the families on the ground or potential rescuers or some other perspective. By staying with the two characters the whole time, you really feel like you are there with them and on the journey, there is no distraction and no let up in the tension. The other immersive aspect comes with the impressively rendered space shots and 3D. This would have to be the best use of 3D since Avatar for making you feel like you are really there. The shots of earth from space are stunning, and there are some of the most technically amazing shots I've seen included in here, especially as they were dealing with the depiction of zero gravity. A shot of tears falling in zero gravity is one of the most beautiful I've seen and will definitely stay with me.
The performances here are flawless, which is lucky when the success of the movie was always going to rely on the actors given the number of characters is so limited. Sandra Bullock is the key and she gives a performance which makes you totally forget about Sandy the comedic goofy chick and there is already talk of Oscar nomination here. She really gives her all and lends an emotional resonance to what could have been cheesy. George Clooney equals his best performances as the elder statesmen calming the rookie, and he adds the movie's very few moments of lightness. Totally charming.
Gravity is not a film to miss at the movies. The big screen and 3D is an absolute necessity to really facilitate the edge of your seat storyline. A must-see movie for 2013!
Gravity is a new movie which has hit our screens with very little build up or fanfare. It's a small movie that I suspect is going to be a 'big' movie that features on many people's "Movie of the Year" lists come December/January. The less you know about it going in, I think the better off you will be so I won't give you any spoilers.
The movie kicks off with a group of 3 astronauts working on the Hubble telescope being monitored by NASA on the ground and their crew in the space shuttle. One of the astronauts is a veteran on his last mission to space, while one is on her first mission since she is actually a doctor and not an astronaut. They are installing a system she has developed to monitor astronaut's health and has had only 6 months of training. All 3 are actually out in space, tethered to the telescope or using a jetpack. All is going swimmingly until NASA advises that a Russian rocket launch has accidentally hit a satellite and created a fast moving swarm of space debris. The mission has to be aborted so the astronauts can return to safety inside their ship. But things don't quite go to plan, and Dr Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) and Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) are soon floating free in space and trying to find a way to get back to Earth despite being cut off from communication with Earth. Will they make it?
All of the above happens in the first 20 minutes of the movie, with the remainder being a tremendously tense adventure as we follow Ryan and Matt in their desperate battle for survival. The power of this movie comes from two main sources: the immersiveness and the performances.
The movie is so immersive because the scripter and director, Alfonso Cuaron (best known for either Children of Men or Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) has taken an excellent decision to limit the film to the characters in space and not, as so many others do, cut to NASA control or the families on the ground or potential rescuers or some other perspective. By staying with the two characters the whole time, you really feel like you are there with them and on the journey, there is no distraction and no let up in the tension. The other immersive aspect comes with the impressively rendered space shots and 3D. This would have to be the best use of 3D since Avatar for making you feel like you are really there. The shots of earth from space are stunning, and there are some of the most technically amazing shots I've seen included in here, especially as they were dealing with the depiction of zero gravity. A shot of tears falling in zero gravity is one of the most beautiful I've seen and will definitely stay with me.
The performances here are flawless, which is lucky when the success of the movie was always going to rely on the actors given the number of characters is so limited. Sandra Bullock is the key and she gives a performance which makes you totally forget about Sandy the comedic goofy chick and there is already talk of Oscar nomination here. She really gives her all and lends an emotional resonance to what could have been cheesy. George Clooney equals his best performances as the elder statesmen calming the rookie, and he adds the movie's very few moments of lightness. Totally charming.
Gravity is not a film to miss at the movies. The big screen and 3D is an absolute necessity to really facilitate the edge of your seat storyline. A must-see movie for 2013!
Tuesday, 1 October 2013
Movie # 25 - Now You See Me
Egads, a whole month has gone by with no posts from me! Whoops. I'm back though!
Now You See Me is actually still showing in 1 or 2 cinemas, but be quick if you do decide to see it.
The latest offering from director Louis Leterrier (who directed Transporter 2, Clash of the Titans and what is often referred to as the good version of The Incredible Hulk) is an extremely slick tale of a group of four magicians brought together to pull off an audacious series of heists. The movie starts out by introducing us to this group of magicians who all have very different talents: sleight of hand, escapology, illusion, mind reading. They are brought together by a mysterious benefactor, with an invitation to an exclusive group if they can pull off his or her instructions. The first big setpiece is the robbing of a French bank by an audience member from a magic show in the US. This attracts the attention of Interpol, who send an agent (Melanie Laurent, best known for Inglourious Basterds) to work with an FBI Agent (Mark Ruffalo, who ironically now plays the Hulk in The Avengers series) to pin the crime on the magicians.
With no evidence to make the charges stick, the '4 Horsemen' are soon free and promoting their next big stunt. Their major financial backer is on board (a small role for Michael Caine) and the FBI and Interpol agents are soon consulting a guy who used to be a magician but now debunks magic for his own highly profitable TV series (played by Morgan Freeman). Will thinking about how the tricks are done help them catch the crooks in the act? Well that is the great mystery that you have to solve in this movie before the big reveal at the end.
Now You See Me is one big magic trick of a movie. You think it's going to be one thing (good) but then it turns out to be something else (average). The problem I think is that you just get so focused on solving the puzzle that you don't really enjoy the ride. At least that is what happened to me. But looking back, I think the major problem is that there are too many main characters in the film and you never really get to know any of them very well at all. So you just don't really end up caring very much once the master magician shows his hand (boom boom!). And thinking back over it, you're not really sure if all the tricks actually do work and whether the pieces of this particular puzzle do fit together.
One of my key reasons for looking forward to this movie was Jesse Eisenberg as one of the 4 magicians, along with Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher and Dave Franco. All strong actors, they actually get very little time to reveal any personality or motivation, as they are merely in service to the script and the twist. So yes, I was more than a tad disappointed. Ruffalo and Laurent are great as the increasingly confused and frustrated detectives, but in the end it's all style but no substance.
I'd give this 2.5 out of 5.
Now You See Me is actually still showing in 1 or 2 cinemas, but be quick if you do decide to see it.
The latest offering from director Louis Leterrier (who directed Transporter 2, Clash of the Titans and what is often referred to as the good version of The Incredible Hulk) is an extremely slick tale of a group of four magicians brought together to pull off an audacious series of heists. The movie starts out by introducing us to this group of magicians who all have very different talents: sleight of hand, escapology, illusion, mind reading. They are brought together by a mysterious benefactor, with an invitation to an exclusive group if they can pull off his or her instructions. The first big setpiece is the robbing of a French bank by an audience member from a magic show in the US. This attracts the attention of Interpol, who send an agent (Melanie Laurent, best known for Inglourious Basterds) to work with an FBI Agent (Mark Ruffalo, who ironically now plays the Hulk in The Avengers series) to pin the crime on the magicians.
With no evidence to make the charges stick, the '4 Horsemen' are soon free and promoting their next big stunt. Their major financial backer is on board (a small role for Michael Caine) and the FBI and Interpol agents are soon consulting a guy who used to be a magician but now debunks magic for his own highly profitable TV series (played by Morgan Freeman). Will thinking about how the tricks are done help them catch the crooks in the act? Well that is the great mystery that you have to solve in this movie before the big reveal at the end.
Now You See Me is one big magic trick of a movie. You think it's going to be one thing (good) but then it turns out to be something else (average). The problem I think is that you just get so focused on solving the puzzle that you don't really enjoy the ride. At least that is what happened to me. But looking back, I think the major problem is that there are too many main characters in the film and you never really get to know any of them very well at all. So you just don't really end up caring very much once the master magician shows his hand (boom boom!). And thinking back over it, you're not really sure if all the tricks actually do work and whether the pieces of this particular puzzle do fit together.
One of my key reasons for looking forward to this movie was Jesse Eisenberg as one of the 4 magicians, along with Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher and Dave Franco. All strong actors, they actually get very little time to reveal any personality or motivation, as they are merely in service to the script and the twist. So yes, I was more than a tad disappointed. Ruffalo and Laurent are great as the increasingly confused and frustrated detectives, but in the end it's all style but no substance.
I'd give this 2.5 out of 5.
Thursday, 29 August 2013
Movie # 24 - Elysium
Warning - this review contains spoilers that may ruin your enjoyment of the film, as I've found it impossible to review honestly without including this information. Suggest you don't read this one unless you've seen the movie. If you're not sure whether to see the movie, I'd rate this a 2.5 out of 5 and say that it passes the time but isn't anything new or particularly compelling.
I read a review of this movie recently which suggested it was the best blockbuster of the year so far. This really surprised me, because when I saw it, I thought it was okay but not that spectacular and I feel that it asked more questions than it had answers for, so it was a little bit of a let-down compared to the director Neill Blomkamp's previous intelligent sci-fi "District 9".
Elysium is a strangely topical release in Australia right now. The story is set on a 'near future' Earth where all the poor and sick people remain living in relative poverty, working in the dreary factories creating the robots that keep them all in line, and medical care is stretched to the limit; while the wealthy have left Earth and moved to a floating nirvana in space called Elysium, where they have endless leisure and advanced healthcare in the form of medi-pods which can heal anything instantly. To be in Elysium and use a medi-pod, you must be a registered citizen with a barcode. Occasionally, citizens of Elysium deign to travel to Earth to keep the robot production ticking along but they make sure their heavily armed robot guards are on hand at all times. Occasionally, citizens of Earth try to get to Elysium to beg for help, but they are either returned immediately to Earth or in some cases brutally shot down in outer space before they can even arrive. Does this sound familiar to anyone? The 'boat people' issue of people arriving on Australian soil by boat and claiming asylum has some very close parallels to the film's plot.
The film follows our 'hero' Max (played by a buffed up again Matt Damon) who has a bit of a dodgy past but is trying to stick to the straight and narrow. One day Max is involved in a workplace accident brought on by his dodgy foreman, ending up with extreme radiation poisoning and only five days to live. The company manager, John Carlyle (played with his usual slimy aplomb by William Fichtner) shows little sympathy to Max as he's essentially let go and left to die. So he goes back to the local 'people smuggler' Spyder and asks for help to get to Elysium so he can be healed. Spyder agrees to help Max with an illegal barcode and trip to Elysium on the condition he helps him with a mission he's had for a while - hijack a legal citizen and steal some important information that might help Spyder's ultimate objective to get all the illegals on Earth made legal members of Elysium.
Once Max embarks on his mission, the action really heats up as his hijack is picked up the 'Government' of Elysium that is constantly monitoring Earth, and a dangerous undercover operative kept on Earth (ham factor set to overdrive and outrageously bad South African accent by Sharlto Copley who was so good in District 9 - stick to playing good guys Sharlto and just use your normal South African accent please) sets out to stop him and an old flame he accidentally drags into it along with her sick daughter. Jodie Foster is the 'Secretary of State' on Elysium whose plans for world domination are disrupted, but her character is pretty wasted as we never really get to understand her motivations in full detail.
This is not a film for those with a weak stomach as there are a series of gruesome scenes included along with the more high-brown concepts. These gave me the giggles as we all cringed as bits of people went flying. But the action and gore are not enough to put you on the edge of your seat and I really felt that the biggest issues that could have been addressed are just pushed aside and not answered. If all the people on Earth are let into Elysium and healthcare is so advanced that nobody ever dies, how will the resources cope with this? Unless we've all evolved to not need food anymore by 2154, the mission is noble but the outcome could be a disaster. Overpopulation is a very real issue in real life, but it's brushed aside like an ant as the film looks for a happy ending for our heroes.
I'd be really interested to know, but probably never will, whether anyone who sees this movie and cheers Max on his mission, which is undoubtedly the right thing to do, then walks out and says that Australia's asylum seekers should be 'sent back to where they came from'. Because ultimately the asylum seekers are Max and the people on Earth, and Australia and its citizens are the Elysiums, just without the technology. I wonder how many will even realise the comparison. Food for thought, but just as there are no easy answers to the issue in real life, there are no answers provided by this movie either.
I read a review of this movie recently which suggested it was the best blockbuster of the year so far. This really surprised me, because when I saw it, I thought it was okay but not that spectacular and I feel that it asked more questions than it had answers for, so it was a little bit of a let-down compared to the director Neill Blomkamp's previous intelligent sci-fi "District 9".
Elysium is a strangely topical release in Australia right now. The story is set on a 'near future' Earth where all the poor and sick people remain living in relative poverty, working in the dreary factories creating the robots that keep them all in line, and medical care is stretched to the limit; while the wealthy have left Earth and moved to a floating nirvana in space called Elysium, where they have endless leisure and advanced healthcare in the form of medi-pods which can heal anything instantly. To be in Elysium and use a medi-pod, you must be a registered citizen with a barcode. Occasionally, citizens of Elysium deign to travel to Earth to keep the robot production ticking along but they make sure their heavily armed robot guards are on hand at all times. Occasionally, citizens of Earth try to get to Elysium to beg for help, but they are either returned immediately to Earth or in some cases brutally shot down in outer space before they can even arrive. Does this sound familiar to anyone? The 'boat people' issue of people arriving on Australian soil by boat and claiming asylum has some very close parallels to the film's plot.
The film follows our 'hero' Max (played by a buffed up again Matt Damon) who has a bit of a dodgy past but is trying to stick to the straight and narrow. One day Max is involved in a workplace accident brought on by his dodgy foreman, ending up with extreme radiation poisoning and only five days to live. The company manager, John Carlyle (played with his usual slimy aplomb by William Fichtner) shows little sympathy to Max as he's essentially let go and left to die. So he goes back to the local 'people smuggler' Spyder and asks for help to get to Elysium so he can be healed. Spyder agrees to help Max with an illegal barcode and trip to Elysium on the condition he helps him with a mission he's had for a while - hijack a legal citizen and steal some important information that might help Spyder's ultimate objective to get all the illegals on Earth made legal members of Elysium.
Once Max embarks on his mission, the action really heats up as his hijack is picked up the 'Government' of Elysium that is constantly monitoring Earth, and a dangerous undercover operative kept on Earth (ham factor set to overdrive and outrageously bad South African accent by Sharlto Copley who was so good in District 9 - stick to playing good guys Sharlto and just use your normal South African accent please) sets out to stop him and an old flame he accidentally drags into it along with her sick daughter. Jodie Foster is the 'Secretary of State' on Elysium whose plans for world domination are disrupted, but her character is pretty wasted as we never really get to understand her motivations in full detail.
This is not a film for those with a weak stomach as there are a series of gruesome scenes included along with the more high-brown concepts. These gave me the giggles as we all cringed as bits of people went flying. But the action and gore are not enough to put you on the edge of your seat and I really felt that the biggest issues that could have been addressed are just pushed aside and not answered. If all the people on Earth are let into Elysium and healthcare is so advanced that nobody ever dies, how will the resources cope with this? Unless we've all evolved to not need food anymore by 2154, the mission is noble but the outcome could be a disaster. Overpopulation is a very real issue in real life, but it's brushed aside like an ant as the film looks for a happy ending for our heroes.
I'd be really interested to know, but probably never will, whether anyone who sees this movie and cheers Max on his mission, which is undoubtedly the right thing to do, then walks out and says that Australia's asylum seekers should be 'sent back to where they came from'. Because ultimately the asylum seekers are Max and the people on Earth, and Australia and its citizens are the Elysiums, just without the technology. I wonder how many will even realise the comparison. Food for thought, but just as there are no easy answers to the issue in real life, there are no answers provided by this movie either.
Saturday, 17 August 2013
Movie #23 - This is the End
OK, this is the first comedy I've LOVED this year. As soon as I walked out of this movie, I wanted to see it again. But it's not gonna be for everyone - it's rude, crude and lewd. But hilarious!
This is the End is a film starring Seth Rogen as Hollywood comedy actor and writer Seth Rogen. His best friend Jay Baruchel (played by Jay Baruchel) still lives back in Canada but as a film writing partner for Seth he often visits Los Angeles where Rogen now lives. He's in town for the weekend to hang out with Seth, but Seth has agreed to go to a party at James Franco's house (they co-starred in Pineapple Express) and drags Jay along, much to his distaste as he really doesn't like Hollywood or Seth's new friends. James Franco (played by James Franco) and Craig Robinson (played by, yep, you guessed it, Craig Robinson who is probably best known for Hot Tub Time Machine) aren't too friendly to Jay, but Jonah Hill (played by Jonah Hill) is super nice to Jay, but only to please Seth. So yep, this is a movie where everyone is playing themselves, but allegedly these are "exaggerated" versions of what everyone thinks these famous people would be like. Which leads to much hilarity.
The first 20 minutes of the movie are outright hilarious, as Franco's party heats up and plenty of celebrities are happy to send themselves up. Michael Cera (Juno, Scott Pilgrim vs the World) is in top form and steals the whole movie as a complete asshole version of himself. Jay is struggling to break into the Hollywood crew and decides to take a walk to the nearest convenience store for smokes and snacks, convincing Seth to accompany him. There, a bizarre event occurs which feels like an earthquake to Seth but Jay thinks it is the apocalypse. With blue lights sucking people up into the sky, mass destruction and car accidents and the earth itself splitting, Seth and Jay decide to get back to Franco's recently built fortress for safety. Inside, nobody has a clue what's going on in the outside world. After hearing Jay's story, everyone runs outside which sets the scene for some very funny celebrity deaths as a sinkhole to hell opens up on the lawn. Our core crew (Jay, Seth, James, Jonah and Craig) become the sole survivors left barricaded in Franco's house as they try to figure out whether it is in fact the apocalypse or just some random act of nature.
Act Two is the survival period as the boys (augmented with Danny McBride who takes his annoying persona from Pineapple Express, 30 Minutes or Less and Eastbound and Down and dials it up to 11) try to figure out what the hell is going on, how they can ration the only food and water remaining and how they can find more supplies when they don't know what's out there. When they do eventually have to venture outside, we get a glimpse of some pretty nasty monsters that are roaming around. At this point, we still don't really know what's really going on. But the bickering is damn funny and so is the way they pass the time (I loved the 'sequel' to Pineapple Express that they make). This is where the jokes turn towards the gutter, but if you're fairly liberal minded and in the right mood, it's consistently funny and highly quotable.
Act Three I won't give away too much, but Franco's mansion is no longer safe and so forced to split up and venture out, we get a bit more action and a lot more explanation. There are actually a few scary moments as the boys deal with some demonic beasties (I jumped out of my seat at one point). But it stays funny and there is a late cameo that is absolutely hilarious.
The most interesting thing for me about this movie was wondering how close to real life the story and acting really are. This film was written and directed by Seth Rogen and his frequent writing partner Evan Goldberg, who just happens to be Seth's best friend since high school, still live in Canada and has confirmed in interviews that he does not enjoy coming to Hollywood to write with Seth and doesn't exactly love Seth's new friends in Hollywood. But since Evan is not an actor, they have subbed in Jay Baruchel to play the "Evan" character. But other than that, all these guys do know and work together regularly, and James Franco would have to be a pretty pretentious and yet laidback guy I'm sure. But very handsome, so I'll forgive him!
This is a 5 star comedy in my opinion. Our whole group all enjoyed it a lot and spent the drive home regurgitating the quotes and what we thought were the best scenes. A must-see if you're not easily offended.
This is the End is a film starring Seth Rogen as Hollywood comedy actor and writer Seth Rogen. His best friend Jay Baruchel (played by Jay Baruchel) still lives back in Canada but as a film writing partner for Seth he often visits Los Angeles where Rogen now lives. He's in town for the weekend to hang out with Seth, but Seth has agreed to go to a party at James Franco's house (they co-starred in Pineapple Express) and drags Jay along, much to his distaste as he really doesn't like Hollywood or Seth's new friends. James Franco (played by James Franco) and Craig Robinson (played by, yep, you guessed it, Craig Robinson who is probably best known for Hot Tub Time Machine) aren't too friendly to Jay, but Jonah Hill (played by Jonah Hill) is super nice to Jay, but only to please Seth. So yep, this is a movie where everyone is playing themselves, but allegedly these are "exaggerated" versions of what everyone thinks these famous people would be like. Which leads to much hilarity.
The first 20 minutes of the movie are outright hilarious, as Franco's party heats up and plenty of celebrities are happy to send themselves up. Michael Cera (Juno, Scott Pilgrim vs the World) is in top form and steals the whole movie as a complete asshole version of himself. Jay is struggling to break into the Hollywood crew and decides to take a walk to the nearest convenience store for smokes and snacks, convincing Seth to accompany him. There, a bizarre event occurs which feels like an earthquake to Seth but Jay thinks it is the apocalypse. With blue lights sucking people up into the sky, mass destruction and car accidents and the earth itself splitting, Seth and Jay decide to get back to Franco's recently built fortress for safety. Inside, nobody has a clue what's going on in the outside world. After hearing Jay's story, everyone runs outside which sets the scene for some very funny celebrity deaths as a sinkhole to hell opens up on the lawn. Our core crew (Jay, Seth, James, Jonah and Craig) become the sole survivors left barricaded in Franco's house as they try to figure out whether it is in fact the apocalypse or just some random act of nature.
Act Two is the survival period as the boys (augmented with Danny McBride who takes his annoying persona from Pineapple Express, 30 Minutes or Less and Eastbound and Down and dials it up to 11) try to figure out what the hell is going on, how they can ration the only food and water remaining and how they can find more supplies when they don't know what's out there. When they do eventually have to venture outside, we get a glimpse of some pretty nasty monsters that are roaming around. At this point, we still don't really know what's really going on. But the bickering is damn funny and so is the way they pass the time (I loved the 'sequel' to Pineapple Express that they make). This is where the jokes turn towards the gutter, but if you're fairly liberal minded and in the right mood, it's consistently funny and highly quotable.
Act Three I won't give away too much, but Franco's mansion is no longer safe and so forced to split up and venture out, we get a bit more action and a lot more explanation. There are actually a few scary moments as the boys deal with some demonic beasties (I jumped out of my seat at one point). But it stays funny and there is a late cameo that is absolutely hilarious.
The most interesting thing for me about this movie was wondering how close to real life the story and acting really are. This film was written and directed by Seth Rogen and his frequent writing partner Evan Goldberg, who just happens to be Seth's best friend since high school, still live in Canada and has confirmed in interviews that he does not enjoy coming to Hollywood to write with Seth and doesn't exactly love Seth's new friends in Hollywood. But since Evan is not an actor, they have subbed in Jay Baruchel to play the "Evan" character. But other than that, all these guys do know and work together regularly, and James Franco would have to be a pretty pretentious and yet laidback guy I'm sure. But very handsome, so I'll forgive him!
This is a 5 star comedy in my opinion. Our whole group all enjoyed it a lot and spent the drive home regurgitating the quotes and what we thought were the best scenes. A must-see if you're not easily offended.
Movie #22 - The World's End
This was the first movie I saw of two similarly named and
kinda similarly themed movies which just happen to have come out at the same
time. This is not the Seth Rogen/James
Franco/comedian filled version set in Hollywood. That one will be reviewed next.
I already had a soft spot in my heart for this film before I even went to see it, due to the makers of it and what it represents as the final movie in what has come to be known as the “Three Flavours Cornetto” trilogy started off with ‘Shaun of the Dead’ and followed by ‘Hot Fuzz’. All three are directed by Edgar Wright (also known for ‘Scott Pilgrim vs the World’) and co-written by Wright and star of all three movies Simon Pegg (Scotty in the Star Trek reboots) and ably assisted by Pegg’s real life best friend Nick Frost (‘Paul’). These guys are geeky and funny and they do a great job of mining comedy gold from the bromance between Pegg and Frost. So I was prepared to love it and I have to say I really, really, liked it but I didn't totally love it. Not sure if it was too much expectation by me, or they wrote it too fast and didn't have time to polish it (it was written when they discovered a producer they'd worked with had cancer and they wanted to make this before he passed away).
The World's End is the name of the film, and the name of the pub at the end of a series of 12 pubs that a group of friends did not get to on a pub crawl after finishing high school. Bad boy Gary (Pegg) and best mate Andy (Frost) almost made it, but Gary's rival/bandmate Steven (Paddy Considine), uptight Oliver (Martin Freeman) and passed out early Peter (Eddie Marsan) pulled out early. All have lost touch over time. All but Gary have built successful careers and/or good family lives. All but Gary have forgotten about the unfinished pub crawl. Gary is a pretty pathetic character who has never moved beyond his high school glory days and is generally just a really unlikeable guy. So what better idea than for Gary to visit the old gang and convince them through bribes or trickery to head home to Newton Haven and finish that pub crawl?
The early part of the film is enjoyable for the 'getting the gang back together' humour, mostly at the expense of Gary. It is particularly fun to see Frost as an uptight non-drinker on a pub crawl and Pegg and Frost not being best friends (Andy has the least love for Gary after he OD'd, causing Andy to drive him to hospital, have a serious car accident on the way only for Gary to come to and run off). As the afternoon wears on, the guys are seriously considering pulling the plug on Gary when a weird turn of events spins it into becoming essential to finish the mission. And that weird turn of events is a fantastic scene in a men's toilet where Gary is first to discover that some of the residents of Newton Haven seem to have been replaced with some kind of alien robots, soon confirmed by the other 4 in a fantastic humans vs robots fight scene. From there we are more in sci-fi mystery territory rather than straight comedy.
Most of the 'twists' are pretty easy to pick and ultimately the sci-fi elements are just a plot device to get back to what the "Cornetto" trilogy is really about - friendships between men. The bond between these 5 guys and particularly Gary and Andy is revived as they soon become the potential saviours of Earth. The jokes continue right through almost to the end, but they're of a fairly gentle variety. A running joke through all 3 movies about jumping over fences really hits the spot for fans. But it's just not hilarious, and this one is a bit of a case of falling a bit short of what 'might have been'.
Saturday, 10 August 2013
Movie # 21 - The Way Way Back
So we are over half way through the year (already?) and it looks like I'm on track to beat last year's number of movies seen. For helping with this goal, I have to thank my Brisbane International Film Festival Film Club. As a member, you're entitled to at least 8 free movie screenings per year. And for 2013, they have been even more active with some months having 2 screenings. And now they have given me free tickets to what would have to be the feelgood movie of the year to date.
The Way Way Back is a silly title as it tells you nothing about the movie. It's actually a sweet movie about an awkward 14 year old boy who gets dragged on a summer vacation to his mother's boyfriend's beach house. Duncan is really not happy about the idea as he'd rather be with his dad, gets a hard time from the two-faced boyfriend, is ignored by the boyfriend's cool daughter and is unsure how to react to the boyfriend's summer group of friends who act as though they are on Spring Break. What is a shy, geeky young boy to do? Befriend the local king slacker man-child who runs the local water park of course! And keep his daily activities a secret from his mum too.
The movie succeeds for a couple of reasons. Firstly, there is no gimmick, no flashbacks and no big revelations. It's a simple tale, told in straight-forward linear fashion, of a young guy trying to find somewhere where being himself doesn't feel bad. But it doesn't hit you over the head with big life lessons to get there. The script is really restrained and well-written. The movie isn't distracted by being set in the 80s or 90s as so many 'coming of age' films tend to be, keeping itself pretty much time neutral - it could be any time in recent history really.
Secondly, the performances are really strong across the board. Liam James isn't a newcomer but you won't know his face I reckon, but he does a great job of conveying the misery of holidaying with parents and their friends. So many awkward moments are handled well. Toni Collette as the mum is excellent as usual, as the outwardly nice veneer of her boyfriend Trent is gradually peeled back as the summer progresses. Steve Carell as Trent gives the first really 'asshole' performance of his career and pulls it off convincingly. Alison Janney, Rob Corddry, Amanda Peet, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash provide good support as the often childish grownups. But Sam Rockwell (Moon, Charlie's Angels) steals the whole thing as slacker king Owen. A guy whose life is about running the local water park and being the king of the kids, while trying to hold onto a functional relationship with co-worker Caitlin (my favourite SNL comedian, Maya Rudolph). He does a great line in snappy banter and impressions but the core is a sweet heart which takes Duncan under his wing and helps him to be okay with himself.
I really can't find fault with anything in this movie. The great shame is that it has virtually no profile despite the big-name cast and no marketing push, so most people probably won't see this movie. What a crime. It's just a really nice movie that makes you feel good afterwards. Highly recommended.
The Way Way Back is a silly title as it tells you nothing about the movie. It's actually a sweet movie about an awkward 14 year old boy who gets dragged on a summer vacation to his mother's boyfriend's beach house. Duncan is really not happy about the idea as he'd rather be with his dad, gets a hard time from the two-faced boyfriend, is ignored by the boyfriend's cool daughter and is unsure how to react to the boyfriend's summer group of friends who act as though they are on Spring Break. What is a shy, geeky young boy to do? Befriend the local king slacker man-child who runs the local water park of course! And keep his daily activities a secret from his mum too.
The movie succeeds for a couple of reasons. Firstly, there is no gimmick, no flashbacks and no big revelations. It's a simple tale, told in straight-forward linear fashion, of a young guy trying to find somewhere where being himself doesn't feel bad. But it doesn't hit you over the head with big life lessons to get there. The script is really restrained and well-written. The movie isn't distracted by being set in the 80s or 90s as so many 'coming of age' films tend to be, keeping itself pretty much time neutral - it could be any time in recent history really.
Secondly, the performances are really strong across the board. Liam James isn't a newcomer but you won't know his face I reckon, but he does a great job of conveying the misery of holidaying with parents and their friends. So many awkward moments are handled well. Toni Collette as the mum is excellent as usual, as the outwardly nice veneer of her boyfriend Trent is gradually peeled back as the summer progresses. Steve Carell as Trent gives the first really 'asshole' performance of his career and pulls it off convincingly. Alison Janney, Rob Corddry, Amanda Peet, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash provide good support as the often childish grownups. But Sam Rockwell (Moon, Charlie's Angels) steals the whole thing as slacker king Owen. A guy whose life is about running the local water park and being the king of the kids, while trying to hold onto a functional relationship with co-worker Caitlin (my favourite SNL comedian, Maya Rudolph). He does a great line in snappy banter and impressions but the core is a sweet heart which takes Duncan under his wing and helps him to be okay with himself.
I really can't find fault with anything in this movie. The great shame is that it has virtually no profile despite the big-name cast and no marketing push, so most people probably won't see this movie. What a crime. It's just a really nice movie that makes you feel good afterwards. Highly recommended.
Sunday, 4 August 2013
Movie # 20 - Pacific Rim
Sometimes life can be a bit rough and tough to you, and you think "I just want to get away from reality and problems and have a bit of mindless fun". So this is how I and my friend L came to be sitting at the movies on a Monday night, marvelling at the fact that us two girls were about to watch a dumb giant robots vs giant monsters movie, which the men in our lives didn't really want to see. And it was EXACTLY what we wanted and needed. Giant robots smacking the fluorescent guts out of the giant monsters invading Earth! Hell yeah! End of review. Oh, you want a bit more information?
Pacific Rim might come across from the ads as a Transformers rip off. But I can assure you it is a lot better than Transformers. This is the latest film from Guillermo del Toro, the man whose wonderful imagination has given us the brilliant Pan's Labyrinth, Hellboy 1 and 2, Cronos, Blade 2 and Mimic. If there is one thing del Toro excels at, it is inventing amazing monsters and creatures, and he has done a fantastic job with this movie. And that's because it's a subject close to his heart. Empire Magazine has a great feature article this month written by del Toro himself, outlining how as a child growing up in Mexico he saw many Japanese 'kaiju' (giant monster) movies, loved robots and sci-fi and also enjoyed Mexican wrestling. These three major influences are combined with a lot of love into this blockbuster action film.
A portal has opened deep in the ocean, and a giant monster comes through and destroys San Francisco. Another follows some time later to destroy Milan. The various countries stop fighting each other and come up with a way to defeat the bigger enemy: build a giant robot which is operated from within by a brave pilot to kick, punch, saw, shoot, burn and generally slice and dice the monsters. These are known as "jaegers". Sadly the movie has missed the opportunity to use the term "jaegermeisters" for the operators and has gone with the much less fun title of "jaeger pilots". The jaeger pilots operate the machine through something known as "the drift" and there must be 2 pilots who are extremely compatible with each other and the drift which is a mental link that allows them to know each other's thoughts and operate the giant robot in unison. Because the portal is in the ocean, a lot of the fights take place, or at least start, in the ocean.
The jaegers initially win the war, but the problem is that the portal seems to be sending through more and bigger kaijus all the time, who seem to be intent on destroying the entire planet and can defeat the jaegers. The jaeger program is in danger as the world searches for a better solution.
So after getting all that out of the way in the first 5 minutes, we open with a cool jaeger vs kaiju fight, with pilot Raleigh Beckett (played by Charlie Hunnam who is Jax Teller in TV's Sons of Anarchy) and his brother seemingly kicking the crap out of the kaiju, who uses the old wrestling trick of playing dead but it's not! Raleigh's brother is fatally injured but he manages to finish the kaiju and get to land. He then disappears from the jaeger program, which is being shut down anyway. But one man, Major Stacker Pentecost (played by Idris Elba) is given one last chance to save the world by using the remaining jaegers to try to plug the portal and stop the kaijus for good.
The movie then follows Pentecost as he recruits the best remaining jaeger pilots and combines them with a couple of mad scientists to come up with the best plan to save the world - use the jaegers to throw a nuclear bomb down the portal while fending off any kaijus that come through. The mad scientists are really overdone but at least they provide some much needed comedic moments as the rest of the film is deadly serious and full of weighty speeches.
The best part of this movie are the fight scenes. They are filmed really well and anyone familiar with wrestling will recognise certain moves or plays being used. You can actually understand what is going on most of the time, so you cheer along with the good guys. At some times I was either clapping my hands or throwing my fists up in victory! And the special effects and use of 3D are pretty spectacular, with del Toro's typical skill with industrial design showing in the jaeger bunker.
The worst part of this movie is the "Australian" jaeger pilots. As played by two non-Australian actors who have obviously never been to Australia, they sound like a mangled cross between English, South African and New Zealand, and have some terrible clichéd dialogue. Every time they spoke, which was frequently in the middle section of the movie, I laughed. Surely there are enough Aussie actors in Hollywood these days that we could have had something authentic? It really ruined my immersion in the film. The acting by Charlie Hunnam, Rinko Kikuchi (best know for Babel) and Idris Elba is convincing but ultimately the characters are just hero clichés. But it didn't stop me from wanting them to succeed!
I give this a very enthusiastic four out of 5 for anyone who likes a good robot vs monster rumble or just a big, dumb action flick that has more style than most Hollywood blockbusters.
Pacific Rim might come across from the ads as a Transformers rip off. But I can assure you it is a lot better than Transformers. This is the latest film from Guillermo del Toro, the man whose wonderful imagination has given us the brilliant Pan's Labyrinth, Hellboy 1 and 2, Cronos, Blade 2 and Mimic. If there is one thing del Toro excels at, it is inventing amazing monsters and creatures, and he has done a fantastic job with this movie. And that's because it's a subject close to his heart. Empire Magazine has a great feature article this month written by del Toro himself, outlining how as a child growing up in Mexico he saw many Japanese 'kaiju' (giant monster) movies, loved robots and sci-fi and also enjoyed Mexican wrestling. These three major influences are combined with a lot of love into this blockbuster action film.
A portal has opened deep in the ocean, and a giant monster comes through and destroys San Francisco. Another follows some time later to destroy Milan. The various countries stop fighting each other and come up with a way to defeat the bigger enemy: build a giant robot which is operated from within by a brave pilot to kick, punch, saw, shoot, burn and generally slice and dice the monsters. These are known as "jaegers". Sadly the movie has missed the opportunity to use the term "jaegermeisters" for the operators and has gone with the much less fun title of "jaeger pilots". The jaeger pilots operate the machine through something known as "the drift" and there must be 2 pilots who are extremely compatible with each other and the drift which is a mental link that allows them to know each other's thoughts and operate the giant robot in unison. Because the portal is in the ocean, a lot of the fights take place, or at least start, in the ocean.
The jaegers initially win the war, but the problem is that the portal seems to be sending through more and bigger kaijus all the time, who seem to be intent on destroying the entire planet and can defeat the jaegers. The jaeger program is in danger as the world searches for a better solution.
So after getting all that out of the way in the first 5 minutes, we open with a cool jaeger vs kaiju fight, with pilot Raleigh Beckett (played by Charlie Hunnam who is Jax Teller in TV's Sons of Anarchy) and his brother seemingly kicking the crap out of the kaiju, who uses the old wrestling trick of playing dead but it's not! Raleigh's brother is fatally injured but he manages to finish the kaiju and get to land. He then disappears from the jaeger program, which is being shut down anyway. But one man, Major Stacker Pentecost (played by Idris Elba) is given one last chance to save the world by using the remaining jaegers to try to plug the portal and stop the kaijus for good.
The movie then follows Pentecost as he recruits the best remaining jaeger pilots and combines them with a couple of mad scientists to come up with the best plan to save the world - use the jaegers to throw a nuclear bomb down the portal while fending off any kaijus that come through. The mad scientists are really overdone but at least they provide some much needed comedic moments as the rest of the film is deadly serious and full of weighty speeches.
The best part of this movie are the fight scenes. They are filmed really well and anyone familiar with wrestling will recognise certain moves or plays being used. You can actually understand what is going on most of the time, so you cheer along with the good guys. At some times I was either clapping my hands or throwing my fists up in victory! And the special effects and use of 3D are pretty spectacular, with del Toro's typical skill with industrial design showing in the jaeger bunker.
The worst part of this movie is the "Australian" jaeger pilots. As played by two non-Australian actors who have obviously never been to Australia, they sound like a mangled cross between English, South African and New Zealand, and have some terrible clichéd dialogue. Every time they spoke, which was frequently in the middle section of the movie, I laughed. Surely there are enough Aussie actors in Hollywood these days that we could have had something authentic? It really ruined my immersion in the film. The acting by Charlie Hunnam, Rinko Kikuchi (best know for Babel) and Idris Elba is convincing but ultimately the characters are just hero clichés. But it didn't stop me from wanting them to succeed!
I give this a very enthusiastic four out of 5 for anyone who likes a good robot vs monster rumble or just a big, dumb action flick that has more style than most Hollywood blockbusters.
Friday, 26 July 2013
Movie # 19 - The Conjuring
Oooooh spooky. An old Rhode Island farmhouse in the 1970s. A loving family of husband, wife, five young daughters move in. Creaky doors, stopped clocks and a lot of much, much worse nastiness breaks out. Husband and wife university lecturers with a young daughter and a sideline in 'supernatural investigations' try to help.
From such a simple story, a gripping and at times terrifying movie has been made. The mystery of who or what is terrorising this normal family is kept under wraps for approximately the first half of the movie, and I did not guess exactly who was the host until it was revealed. Maybe because I was concentrating on "what the hell is that?" as each new episode unfolded.
The movie has a good mixture of genuinely spooky, hair-raising moments, and noisy, jump out of your seat slaps in the face. It moves along at a cracking pace. Director James Wan has good experience for this as the director of the original Saw and other scary/horror movies such as Insidious.
The acting is solid all round if not outstanding. Ron Livingston and Lili Taylor are sympathetic as the parents just trying to rid their family of these scary events, while all the young actresses endure the horrific events very bravely and convincingly. Patrick Wilson (Watchmen) is extremely handsome in his early 70s gear but a little too perfect as man of the cloth and demon fighter Ed Warren. Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air, Source Code) is probably the best as Lorraine Warren, who uses her gift of 'the sight' rather than religious conviction to help her husband fight off supernatural beings. She is an extremely empathetic character and her natural warmth is much needed in what would otherwise be a fairly chilly movie.
The only downside I can think of looking back at it now is that there is a complete lack of scepticism on behalf of any character in the film. Every person that becomes involved in the tale immediately believes and accepts what is going on and that the Warrens can fix it. Which slightly reduces the effectiveness of the fact that the Warrens are indeed real people and the Rhode Island family was real and were helped by the Warrens. You may know them from the more famous "Amityville" case which has been made into movies a few times now (you can look up their adventures on Wikipedia or the New England Centre for Psychic Research) . However I'm sure that in real life, there would have been someone who initially thought this was "all in the mind" or that there was some rational explanation for the events that were occurring. But despite all that, there seems to be a belief by the Warrens and many others that they have in fact captured enough evidence of demonic possessions to be convinced. So be warned, this could be a real story!
So is it the scariest movie ever? Close! But not quite for me, I was more nervous and scared in last year's Sinister. But a good scary movie should have you a bit nervous as you unlock the front door or settle in to go to sleep, and it certainly did that. Thinking of some scenes days later still evokes a shiver. Mission accomplished I'd say.
From such a simple story, a gripping and at times terrifying movie has been made. The mystery of who or what is terrorising this normal family is kept under wraps for approximately the first half of the movie, and I did not guess exactly who was the host until it was revealed. Maybe because I was concentrating on "what the hell is that?" as each new episode unfolded.
The movie has a good mixture of genuinely spooky, hair-raising moments, and noisy, jump out of your seat slaps in the face. It moves along at a cracking pace. Director James Wan has good experience for this as the director of the original Saw and other scary/horror movies such as Insidious.
The acting is solid all round if not outstanding. Ron Livingston and Lili Taylor are sympathetic as the parents just trying to rid their family of these scary events, while all the young actresses endure the horrific events very bravely and convincingly. Patrick Wilson (Watchmen) is extremely handsome in his early 70s gear but a little too perfect as man of the cloth and demon fighter Ed Warren. Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air, Source Code) is probably the best as Lorraine Warren, who uses her gift of 'the sight' rather than religious conviction to help her husband fight off supernatural beings. She is an extremely empathetic character and her natural warmth is much needed in what would otherwise be a fairly chilly movie.
The only downside I can think of looking back at it now is that there is a complete lack of scepticism on behalf of any character in the film. Every person that becomes involved in the tale immediately believes and accepts what is going on and that the Warrens can fix it. Which slightly reduces the effectiveness of the fact that the Warrens are indeed real people and the Rhode Island family was real and were helped by the Warrens. You may know them from the more famous "Amityville" case which has been made into movies a few times now (you can look up their adventures on Wikipedia or the New England Centre for Psychic Research) . However I'm sure that in real life, there would have been someone who initially thought this was "all in the mind" or that there was some rational explanation for the events that were occurring. But despite all that, there seems to be a belief by the Warrens and many others that they have in fact captured enough evidence of demonic possessions to be convinced. So be warned, this could be a real story!
So is it the scariest movie ever? Close! But not quite for me, I was more nervous and scared in last year's Sinister. But a good scary movie should have you a bit nervous as you unlock the front door or settle in to go to sleep, and it certainly did that. Thinking of some scenes days later still evokes a shiver. Mission accomplished I'd say.
Movie #18 - World War Z
As my very intelligent man said "If you don't think of this as a zombie movie, you can really find it to be a good movie".
Very loosely based on the popular novel by Max Brooks, World War Z takes a global apocalypse and looks at it through the eyes of a single man. How is this possible? By creating a character not in the book, which is Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt) who used to work for the United Nations in a never-quite-explained job involving going into high risk zones. Now out of the UN and a contented family man in Philadelphia, Gerry and his wife are stuck in a traffic jam which turns out to be no ordinary day. The movie has barely begun when we are thrown into a tense, chaotic scenario along with Gerry and his family as emergency services vehicles fly by with sirens blazing and people start attacking others. Narrowly escaping, Gerry is contacted by his UN boss and told to get to a safe extraction point so they can get them out - Gerry is needed by the UN to investigate the origin and cause of the outbreak. Cue Gerry flying in and out of different countries, having a series of exciting adventures.
While this has been referred to as a zombie movie, you should not go expecting the usual slow moving undead searching for brains and guts to munch on. This movie is much more akin to the excellent "28 Days Later" from a few years back which had an outbreak of a virus which caused intense rage. This movie has fast moving people attacking others but there is very little goriness. Some may be disappointed with this, but if you give it a chance it is actually a very good mystery thriller.
I found it to be extremely tense for long stretches of time, and the guy sitting beside me was literally on the edge of his seat regularly. This is largely due to the director (Marc Forster) deciding to use a lot of handheld style shots with narrow focus so that it felt quite chaotic and close and you don't really know what's going on. It really gave you a sense of 'being there' which I know I felt would be really scary. There are a few large scale shots, particularly in Israel, but the majority of the action takes place in close confines.
There are few other characters who make an impact since the movie is full of whirlwind visits to each country in Gerry's quest for clues and answers. A female Israeli soldier is probably the best support as she bravely helps a man she doesn't know, against seeming incredibly odds. Gerry's wife is well drawn as a reason for him to take on this crazy task but doesn't get much else to do. Brad Pitt really has to carry this movie and he does a sensational job of doing just that.
This is not a zombie movie and I really liked it.
Very loosely based on the popular novel by Max Brooks, World War Z takes a global apocalypse and looks at it through the eyes of a single man. How is this possible? By creating a character not in the book, which is Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt) who used to work for the United Nations in a never-quite-explained job involving going into high risk zones. Now out of the UN and a contented family man in Philadelphia, Gerry and his wife are stuck in a traffic jam which turns out to be no ordinary day. The movie has barely begun when we are thrown into a tense, chaotic scenario along with Gerry and his family as emergency services vehicles fly by with sirens blazing and people start attacking others. Narrowly escaping, Gerry is contacted by his UN boss and told to get to a safe extraction point so they can get them out - Gerry is needed by the UN to investigate the origin and cause of the outbreak. Cue Gerry flying in and out of different countries, having a series of exciting adventures.
While this has been referred to as a zombie movie, you should not go expecting the usual slow moving undead searching for brains and guts to munch on. This movie is much more akin to the excellent "28 Days Later" from a few years back which had an outbreak of a virus which caused intense rage. This movie has fast moving people attacking others but there is very little goriness. Some may be disappointed with this, but if you give it a chance it is actually a very good mystery thriller.
I found it to be extremely tense for long stretches of time, and the guy sitting beside me was literally on the edge of his seat regularly. This is largely due to the director (Marc Forster) deciding to use a lot of handheld style shots with narrow focus so that it felt quite chaotic and close and you don't really know what's going on. It really gave you a sense of 'being there' which I know I felt would be really scary. There are a few large scale shots, particularly in Israel, but the majority of the action takes place in close confines.
There are few other characters who make an impact since the movie is full of whirlwind visits to each country in Gerry's quest for clues and answers. A female Israeli soldier is probably the best support as she bravely helps a man she doesn't know, against seeming incredibly odds. Gerry's wife is well drawn as a reason for him to take on this crazy task but doesn't get much else to do. Brad Pitt really has to carry this movie and he does a sensational job of doing just that.
This is not a zombie movie and I really liked it.
Sunday, 14 July 2013
Movie #17 - The Lone Ranger
Surprise #1 - this is a Disney movie? Surprise #2 - it's not as bad as the critics have made out.
The Lone Ranger is an entertaining piece of fluff with the occasional bursts of violence (it's not for young kids at all). We have three main groups in the movie - the Texas Rangers (lawmen of the Wild West), a gang of hardened criminals led by Butch Cavendish (played by familiar face William Fichtner) and a group putting a railway across the country (led by another familiar face, Brit Tom Wilkinson). How these three groups interrelate will slowly be revealed with a surprisingly dense plot for a fun action flick.
The film opens with a great setpiece where main character John Reid (Armie Hammer who played both Winklevoss twins in The Social Network) is travelling by train to hometown Colby where he is taking up a position as District Attorney. On board is Butch Cavendish who is due to face justice for his brutal crimes, chained up with Tonto (Johnny Depp) whose only crime is being an Indian. Waiting in Colby is Dan Reid (John's brother) and his fellow Texas Rangers who will supervise Cavendish's trial. As Cavendish's associates attempt to free him from the train, Tonto and John cross paths with Cavendish and each other and a train crash.
The Rangers then go in search of Cavendish and his gang, leaving behind Dan's wife, who just happens to be John's ex-flame from many years ago, and his son, to keep the homestead safe despite the Indians who seem to be moving across the river against the white man. It's no spoiler to say that a tragedy occurs which leaves Dan as the lone surviving Ranger. And that he will cross paths with Tonto again and again as the film becomes about two men's search for justice, even though they have different definitions of justice. John's struggle with using the law to mete out justice in a savage world is well portrayed.
If you do go and see this movie, be prepared that it is quite long. This is the fault of the framing device which they have used, which could have been completely dropped out and the movie would have kept up a rollicking pace while losing nothing. The framing device is a young kid, dressed in Lone Ranger costume, who ventures into a sideshow display of the Wild West in the 1930s and begins a conversation with an elderly Indian who claims to be the legendary "Tonto". This adds nothing other than jolting you out of the action which is being told in flashback.
Enough about the negatives though. The positives are that it knows it's pretty dumb and just has fun with it, and the CGI action is well executed and mixed with real stunts (check out the YouTube video of Depp's horse fall). Johnny Depp is definitely still in 'Jack Sparrow' mode with his 'dumb but cunning' schtick as Tonto, and he does get all the funny lines. Everyone else is pretty serious. Armie Hammer has the perfect square jaw, tall build, deep voice and furrowed brow to play the conflicted hero. The crooks are all pretty evil and boo-worthy. Ruth Wilson is passable as the feisty damsel in distress. Helena Bonham Carter steals yet another film with a funny cameo.
If you have a spare two hours (plus trailers etc) and want to turn your brain off and be entertained, you could do a lot worse. Also the thundering William Tell overture (the Lone Ranger TV show theme song) over the top of the final scenes will leave any music lovers with a happy grin and humming it for ages.
The Lone Ranger is an entertaining piece of fluff with the occasional bursts of violence (it's not for young kids at all). We have three main groups in the movie - the Texas Rangers (lawmen of the Wild West), a gang of hardened criminals led by Butch Cavendish (played by familiar face William Fichtner) and a group putting a railway across the country (led by another familiar face, Brit Tom Wilkinson). How these three groups interrelate will slowly be revealed with a surprisingly dense plot for a fun action flick.
The film opens with a great setpiece where main character John Reid (Armie Hammer who played both Winklevoss twins in The Social Network) is travelling by train to hometown Colby where he is taking up a position as District Attorney. On board is Butch Cavendish who is due to face justice for his brutal crimes, chained up with Tonto (Johnny Depp) whose only crime is being an Indian. Waiting in Colby is Dan Reid (John's brother) and his fellow Texas Rangers who will supervise Cavendish's trial. As Cavendish's associates attempt to free him from the train, Tonto and John cross paths with Cavendish and each other and a train crash.
The Rangers then go in search of Cavendish and his gang, leaving behind Dan's wife, who just happens to be John's ex-flame from many years ago, and his son, to keep the homestead safe despite the Indians who seem to be moving across the river against the white man. It's no spoiler to say that a tragedy occurs which leaves Dan as the lone surviving Ranger. And that he will cross paths with Tonto again and again as the film becomes about two men's search for justice, even though they have different definitions of justice. John's struggle with using the law to mete out justice in a savage world is well portrayed.
If you do go and see this movie, be prepared that it is quite long. This is the fault of the framing device which they have used, which could have been completely dropped out and the movie would have kept up a rollicking pace while losing nothing. The framing device is a young kid, dressed in Lone Ranger costume, who ventures into a sideshow display of the Wild West in the 1930s and begins a conversation with an elderly Indian who claims to be the legendary "Tonto". This adds nothing other than jolting you out of the action which is being told in flashback.
Enough about the negatives though. The positives are that it knows it's pretty dumb and just has fun with it, and the CGI action is well executed and mixed with real stunts (check out the YouTube video of Depp's horse fall). Johnny Depp is definitely still in 'Jack Sparrow' mode with his 'dumb but cunning' schtick as Tonto, and he does get all the funny lines. Everyone else is pretty serious. Armie Hammer has the perfect square jaw, tall build, deep voice and furrowed brow to play the conflicted hero. The crooks are all pretty evil and boo-worthy. Ruth Wilson is passable as the feisty damsel in distress. Helena Bonham Carter steals yet another film with a funny cameo.
If you have a spare two hours (plus trailers etc) and want to turn your brain off and be entertained, you could do a lot worse. Also the thundering William Tell overture (the Lone Ranger TV show theme song) over the top of the final scenes will leave any music lovers with a happy grin and humming it for ages.
Saturday, 6 July 2013
Movie #16 - The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby tells the story from the point of view of Nick Carraway (well played by long time Leo associate Toby Maguire of Spiderman fame), an innocent young man from the Midwest who moves to New York to make a fortune working at the Stock Exchange. Living in a small worker's cottage in the outer suburbs, he spies on his neighbour, the mysterious Jay Gatsby (Leonardo diCapria) who throws massive lavish parties but nobody knows who he really is. Nick is soon befriended by Gatsby, much to his delight and confusion at the same time as to why he has been chosen. Nick also regularly visits his cousin Daisy (Carey Mulligan, best known for Drive) who has moved from the Midwest to marry Tom Buchanan (Aussie Joel Edgerton relishing a juicy role), a rich former polo player who provides everything and allows her to enjoy a 'society' life.
Poor naïve Nick soon becomes enamoured with the lifestyle of Daisy, Tom (who has a very dark side) and Gatsby, but things turn sour once he is made aware that Daisy and Gatsby have a past connection. From there, events become very dramatic and the big parties featured strongly in the fizzy trailer for the film disappear. There seem to be some who think the movie was too much of a love story compared to the novel, but I didn't think it was much of a love story at all. For a start, it is told from the viewpoint of Nick so you never really get a sense of the reason for the love between the characters. Also it seems to be more about obsession than love.
I've not read the classic novel by F Scott Fitzgerald on which it was based so I can't comment on how faithful it is. But I did think it was a very good commentary on the social issues of the time, you just have to dig a little deeper to find it than you might with other movies that shove the moral down your throat. The Great American dream (fame and fortune, celebrity obsession) is as alive and well today as it was back in the 1920s when Fitzgerald was writing, and it is touched on in a fairly subtle way for most of the running time.
The Great Gatsby may be on a few peoples' Avoid lists, since it is the latest film directed by Baz Luhrman who people seem to either love or hate. With Strictly Ballroom, Romeo & Juliet, Moulin Rouge and Australia in his back catalogue, you could certainly expect Gatsby to be a flamboyant, extravagant, pretty film which entertains but doesn't really make you think too much. I like most of Baz's stuff and if you look hard there are some big issues in his films, they're just not really obvious. If you don't like Baz and were thinking about not seeing Gatsby, I'd suggest you think again, as it is not the typical Baz Luhrman picture. Yes, there are magnificent sets, props and costumes (for which he is well known). Yes, there is a deliberate clash of period setting with modern day pop and rap music, but it's not as jarring as it was in Moulin Rouge and I think the selections suited the scenes. However, the storyline and acting are a cut above the usual. The drama is a lot more serious and there are not many laughs to be had at all.
I enjoyed this movie a lot, even though it was quite different than I thought it would be. A final note on the 3D version is that you should not waste any money on the 3D version. It did not add much at all.
Poor naïve Nick soon becomes enamoured with the lifestyle of Daisy, Tom (who has a very dark side) and Gatsby, but things turn sour once he is made aware that Daisy and Gatsby have a past connection. From there, events become very dramatic and the big parties featured strongly in the fizzy trailer for the film disappear. There seem to be some who think the movie was too much of a love story compared to the novel, but I didn't think it was much of a love story at all. For a start, it is told from the viewpoint of Nick so you never really get a sense of the reason for the love between the characters. Also it seems to be more about obsession than love.
I've not read the classic novel by F Scott Fitzgerald on which it was based so I can't comment on how faithful it is. But I did think it was a very good commentary on the social issues of the time, you just have to dig a little deeper to find it than you might with other movies that shove the moral down your throat. The Great American dream (fame and fortune, celebrity obsession) is as alive and well today as it was back in the 1920s when Fitzgerald was writing, and it is touched on in a fairly subtle way for most of the running time.
The Great Gatsby may be on a few peoples' Avoid lists, since it is the latest film directed by Baz Luhrman who people seem to either love or hate. With Strictly Ballroom, Romeo & Juliet, Moulin Rouge and Australia in his back catalogue, you could certainly expect Gatsby to be a flamboyant, extravagant, pretty film which entertains but doesn't really make you think too much. I like most of Baz's stuff and if you look hard there are some big issues in his films, they're just not really obvious. If you don't like Baz and were thinking about not seeing Gatsby, I'd suggest you think again, as it is not the typical Baz Luhrman picture. Yes, there are magnificent sets, props and costumes (for which he is well known). Yes, there is a deliberate clash of period setting with modern day pop and rap music, but it's not as jarring as it was in Moulin Rouge and I think the selections suited the scenes. However, the storyline and acting are a cut above the usual. The drama is a lot more serious and there are not many laughs to be had at all.
I enjoyed this movie a lot, even though it was quite different than I thought it would be. A final note on the 3D version is that you should not waste any money on the 3D version. It did not add much at all.
Saturday, 1 June 2013
Movie #15 - The Hangover III
Looking for something to do on this rainy Saturday? My #1 suggestion would actually be to travel to Dendy cinemas and see "Sinister" which is finally showing in cinemas after scaring the pants off me at the Film Festival last year. But if you can't/don't do that, The Hangover part 3 is a pretty good second choice. Better than the Hangover Part 2 that's for sure!
The Hangover Part 3 kicks off spectacularly with Mr Chow breaking out of prison in Bangkok and Alan creating some highway chaos. Alan has been off his meds in the aftermath of Part 2 and in the wake of his father's death (not a spoiler, you've all seen the ads) the Wolf Pack, assembled by Alan's sister Tracey, stage an intervention. Alan agrees to go for rehab if the Wolf Pack take him on the road trip. But they really don't get far before Wolf Pack history intervenes and throws them back into another crazy adventure.
A gangster ripped off by Mr Chow in the past (played deliciously evil by John Goodman in a small role) stops the Wolf Pack, kidnaps Doug (yes, Doug again, poor Justin Bartha) and says he will be executed unless Phil, Stu and Alan find Mr Chow and bring him to the gangster. Why? Because Alan's been communicating with Mr Chow in jail and might know where he is.
There have been some pretty bad reviews of this movie but I'm not really sure why. Thankfully, they have realised the mistake of Part 2 being a complete re-tread of the great first movie and Part 3 brings a fresh plotline which is more of a road trip action/adventure than the first two's "re-trace our steps to solve the mystery" plotline. They have kept the stuff that works (writer/director Todd Phillips, Alan's man-child antics and inappropriate comments, Phil's coolness, Stu's maniacal reactions) but given it a different angle. The situations and comments are still funny in this one, I found myself laughing pretty consistently throughout.
The breakout stars of this trilogy are still the ones that pull the biggest laughs in part 3 - Zach Galifianakis amps up the inappropriateness while simultaneously having Alan grow up a little bit, and Mr Chow is just as outrageous as ever. And if you miss the "waking up the morning after to chaos" scenes from the first two movies, do not leave the cinema as soon as the credits start rolling! This is one of the funniest scenes.
Better than Part 2, not as good as Part 1 but still a fun way to spend a Saturday night.
The Hangover Part 3 kicks off spectacularly with Mr Chow breaking out of prison in Bangkok and Alan creating some highway chaos. Alan has been off his meds in the aftermath of Part 2 and in the wake of his father's death (not a spoiler, you've all seen the ads) the Wolf Pack, assembled by Alan's sister Tracey, stage an intervention. Alan agrees to go for rehab if the Wolf Pack take him on the road trip. But they really don't get far before Wolf Pack history intervenes and throws them back into another crazy adventure.
A gangster ripped off by Mr Chow in the past (played deliciously evil by John Goodman in a small role) stops the Wolf Pack, kidnaps Doug (yes, Doug again, poor Justin Bartha) and says he will be executed unless Phil, Stu and Alan find Mr Chow and bring him to the gangster. Why? Because Alan's been communicating with Mr Chow in jail and might know where he is.
There have been some pretty bad reviews of this movie but I'm not really sure why. Thankfully, they have realised the mistake of Part 2 being a complete re-tread of the great first movie and Part 3 brings a fresh plotline which is more of a road trip action/adventure than the first two's "re-trace our steps to solve the mystery" plotline. They have kept the stuff that works (writer/director Todd Phillips, Alan's man-child antics and inappropriate comments, Phil's coolness, Stu's maniacal reactions) but given it a different angle. The situations and comments are still funny in this one, I found myself laughing pretty consistently throughout.
The breakout stars of this trilogy are still the ones that pull the biggest laughs in part 3 - Zach Galifianakis amps up the inappropriateness while simultaneously having Alan grow up a little bit, and Mr Chow is just as outrageous as ever. And if you miss the "waking up the morning after to chaos" scenes from the first two movies, do not leave the cinema as soon as the credits start rolling! This is one of the funniest scenes.
Better than Part 2, not as good as Part 1 but still a fun way to spend a Saturday night.
Sunday, 19 May 2013
Movie #14 Evil Dead (yep a remake)
Let's get the business side of things out of the way now. This is technically a remake of the cult 1981 horror-comedy The Evil Dead. But it has a different set of characters, different angle for why they are at the cabin, and different outcome. For this reason, I suggest you give it a chance even if you don't like remakes, as it's really not the same movie, although there are some nods to scenes from the original scattered throughout. It was also produced by Sam Raimi (the original's writer and director), Bruce Campbell (the original lead actor) and Rob Tapert (original producer) and they handpicked the new director, so obviously this is not just a rip-off money making scheme. Fans of the original could still enjoy this, and people who've never seen it could also enjoy it. As long as you like full-blown gory horror movies!
A group of five friends gathers at a remote cabin in the woods to help one overcome her addiction to hard drugs once and for all. A week of withdrawal somewhere she can't get her hands on more drugs and where she can chill out should do the trick. Until one of the gang uncovers a strange book in the cellar, dusts it off and reads out the inscription despite all warnings in the book not to - which unleashes a demon who needs to possess 5 souls to unleash hell on earth and raise the dead.
The crew we have on board for this adventure is:
Mia - the drug addict and still sad about her mother's recent death. Played by the luminous Jane Levy who I love as Tessa on the TV show Suburgatory.
David - Mia's brother who has moved away and isn't really up on the latest family issues but has come back to help Mia recover.
Natalie - David's girlfriend. Yep, that's as much as we know about her!
Olivia - Mia's best mate and a nurse, so she's highly qualified for the medical side of the withdrawal symptoms.
Eric - friend of Mia and Olivia and a tad angry at David for not being around lately. Yep, that's as much as we know about him too!
Like any good horror movie, the film spends very little time on developing the characters' backstories before plunging into the action, and it has them undertake some very illogical behaviour which puts themselves or the others into danger. Example A - reading from a very scary looking book against all reason. Example B - walking down stairs/into dark scary places. Without these actions there are no horror movies and we can't yell at the screen "don't go down there/turn around/grab a weapon for God's sake"! We get to do all of these in Evil Dead.
So after Eric stupidly utters the magic words and tells nobody, Mia is quickly possessed by our demon friend who has quickly worked out the weakest link. And this is where the 'intervention' framing device becomes very clever, as Mia's initial descent and desire to leave is written off as withdrawal symptoms or quitting rather than coming across as the frightening issues they really are. This lends some much needed believability and tension as events quickly spiral out of control before anyone knows what is really happening. Demonic possession seems to be more catching than avian bird flu!
The main thing to know about this movie is that there will be buckets of blood dispersed before it is over, so don't go if you don't like the colour red. It is rated 'R' for extreme violence and gore - there were at least 5 scenes that had us all squirming and giggling at ourselves squirming. That is where the laughs end though, as the 'comedy' has been left right out of this version of the tale despite Diablo Cody (Juno) doing a script polish which ended up being largely unused.
The poster says "the most terrifying movie you will ever experience" but I didn't really think it was that terrifying. More suspenseful. There is very good use of sound though which will probably help you with some nightmares. I lied when I said good horror movies don't spend time on character development - the scariest movies I've seen have always spent time on character and made you really care for them or put yourselves in their shoes (Pan's Labyrinth, The Descent, Paranormal Activity 1).
Despite the lack of terror, I feel that this movie stands on its own merits and should be seen if you enjoy gory horror movies. It has enough differences to warrant a viewing, and it has some very clever framing and references to elevate it beyond the usual 'dumb teens bumped off one by one' type of film. The tension that is wrung out of a lot of the scenes also had me gripping the arms of the chair or my boyfriend's hand for lengthy periods of time. I give this 3.5 buckets of blood out of 5!
A group of five friends gathers at a remote cabin in the woods to help one overcome her addiction to hard drugs once and for all. A week of withdrawal somewhere she can't get her hands on more drugs and where she can chill out should do the trick. Until one of the gang uncovers a strange book in the cellar, dusts it off and reads out the inscription despite all warnings in the book not to - which unleashes a demon who needs to possess 5 souls to unleash hell on earth and raise the dead.
The crew we have on board for this adventure is:
Mia - the drug addict and still sad about her mother's recent death. Played by the luminous Jane Levy who I love as Tessa on the TV show Suburgatory.
David - Mia's brother who has moved away and isn't really up on the latest family issues but has come back to help Mia recover.
Natalie - David's girlfriend. Yep, that's as much as we know about her!
Olivia - Mia's best mate and a nurse, so she's highly qualified for the medical side of the withdrawal symptoms.
Eric - friend of Mia and Olivia and a tad angry at David for not being around lately. Yep, that's as much as we know about him too!
Like any good horror movie, the film spends very little time on developing the characters' backstories before plunging into the action, and it has them undertake some very illogical behaviour which puts themselves or the others into danger. Example A - reading from a very scary looking book against all reason. Example B - walking down stairs/into dark scary places. Without these actions there are no horror movies and we can't yell at the screen "don't go down there/turn around/grab a weapon for God's sake"! We get to do all of these in Evil Dead.
So after Eric stupidly utters the magic words and tells nobody, Mia is quickly possessed by our demon friend who has quickly worked out the weakest link. And this is where the 'intervention' framing device becomes very clever, as Mia's initial descent and desire to leave is written off as withdrawal symptoms or quitting rather than coming across as the frightening issues they really are. This lends some much needed believability and tension as events quickly spiral out of control before anyone knows what is really happening. Demonic possession seems to be more catching than avian bird flu!
The main thing to know about this movie is that there will be buckets of blood dispersed before it is over, so don't go if you don't like the colour red. It is rated 'R' for extreme violence and gore - there were at least 5 scenes that had us all squirming and giggling at ourselves squirming. That is where the laughs end though, as the 'comedy' has been left right out of this version of the tale despite Diablo Cody (Juno) doing a script polish which ended up being largely unused.
The poster says "the most terrifying movie you will ever experience" but I didn't really think it was that terrifying. More suspenseful. There is very good use of sound though which will probably help you with some nightmares. I lied when I said good horror movies don't spend time on character development - the scariest movies I've seen have always spent time on character and made you really care for them or put yourselves in their shoes (Pan's Labyrinth, The Descent, Paranormal Activity 1).
Despite the lack of terror, I feel that this movie stands on its own merits and should be seen if you enjoy gory horror movies. It has enough differences to warrant a viewing, and it has some very clever framing and references to elevate it beyond the usual 'dumb teens bumped off one by one' type of film. The tension that is wrung out of a lot of the scenes also had me gripping the arms of the chair or my boyfriend's hand for lengthy periods of time. I give this 3.5 buckets of blood out of 5!
Monday, 6 May 2013
Movie # 13 - Warm Bodies
Date movie! Warm Bodies is a zom-rom-com (zombie romantic comedy - a more populous genre than you might expect!) but the emphasis is firmly on the "rom". This movie is just really sweet and I really liked it.
There's no long introduction to the apocalyptic events that have turned a large part of the world's population into zombies, it just is the state of current affairs in this movie so you just get stuck into it. Most people are zombies, but there are two distinct kinds - the ones that are dead and hungry for brains but can still kinda remember what life was like 'before', and the ones who've given up and let go and become true walking corpses. These second ones are called "Bonies" and they are fast, mean and move a little bit like terminators. A small group of humans is still alive and living behind a large wall hoping to keep the corpses out.
Our narrator and guide through this apocalyptic future is R (played beautifully by Nicholas Hoult who was the boy in 'About a Boy' and was young Beast in X-Men: First Class) who can't remember his name but can still function a little beyond groaning, stumbling and eating brains. At first I was very annoyed with this non-zombie like behaviour but I was soon saying 'a-ha' when I realised that is exactly the point. Not all zombies are created equal in this scenario, and it seems that change is possible when R kills a young guy called Perry and eats his brain which results in him getting Perry's memories and thoughts, in particular about his beautiful girlfriend Julie (played by Aussie Teresa Palmer who is slowly building up a portfolio of Hollywood movies).
When R doesn't kill Julie, instead rescuing her from his zombie pals by taking her deep into the heart of zombie and bonies territory, it sets the scene for our rom-com as he tries to communicate his feelings to her and she gradually lets down her tough-girl barrier. But there's only so long that human flesh can be disguised from a discerning bonies nose, so Julie and R have to go on the run. A very slow run! This takes the action up a couple of levels as we switch from cute romance tropes to a survival story with a twist - could R and Julie's 'relationship' be inspiring the zombies to become more human? And if so, can they survive long enough to triumph against the bonies and the humans, including Julie's hard-hearted father who is the General of the surviving human population?
I was slightly disappointed at the low level of gore on display for a zombie movie, but the sweetness won me over so that it really just felt like a smart rom-com. Director Jonathan Levine has previously won me over with the movie 50/50 and this is similarly smart and sweet. Nicholas Hoult does a great job at portraying the oh so subtle physical changes taking place in R and gets all the warmly funny bits where he expresses the frustration at being locked inside a zombie body. Teresa Palmer gets to play tough but sweet as Julie and the couple definitely makes sense. John Malkovich is completely wasted in the tiny role of Julie's Dad (check out 'Red' if you want more of this Malkovich) and Rob Corddry (Lou from 'Hot Tub Time Machine') also doesn't get to do much of his usual messed up funny stuff. Dave Franco as Perry gets more time in flashbacks/memories than he does in actually being alive in the film, and is getting more like his brother James all the time.
This is a movie you should definitely ask that guy or girl that you like to go and see. It's got a bit of everything that's cool, it's actually pretty smart and puts a different enough spin on the apocalypse that you should have a fun time. And it's not too scary or gory if your date isn't into that.
There's no long introduction to the apocalyptic events that have turned a large part of the world's population into zombies, it just is the state of current affairs in this movie so you just get stuck into it. Most people are zombies, but there are two distinct kinds - the ones that are dead and hungry for brains but can still kinda remember what life was like 'before', and the ones who've given up and let go and become true walking corpses. These second ones are called "Bonies" and they are fast, mean and move a little bit like terminators. A small group of humans is still alive and living behind a large wall hoping to keep the corpses out.
Our narrator and guide through this apocalyptic future is R (played beautifully by Nicholas Hoult who was the boy in 'About a Boy' and was young Beast in X-Men: First Class) who can't remember his name but can still function a little beyond groaning, stumbling and eating brains. At first I was very annoyed with this non-zombie like behaviour but I was soon saying 'a-ha' when I realised that is exactly the point. Not all zombies are created equal in this scenario, and it seems that change is possible when R kills a young guy called Perry and eats his brain which results in him getting Perry's memories and thoughts, in particular about his beautiful girlfriend Julie (played by Aussie Teresa Palmer who is slowly building up a portfolio of Hollywood movies).
When R doesn't kill Julie, instead rescuing her from his zombie pals by taking her deep into the heart of zombie and bonies territory, it sets the scene for our rom-com as he tries to communicate his feelings to her and she gradually lets down her tough-girl barrier. But there's only so long that human flesh can be disguised from a discerning bonies nose, so Julie and R have to go on the run. A very slow run! This takes the action up a couple of levels as we switch from cute romance tropes to a survival story with a twist - could R and Julie's 'relationship' be inspiring the zombies to become more human? And if so, can they survive long enough to triumph against the bonies and the humans, including Julie's hard-hearted father who is the General of the surviving human population?
I was slightly disappointed at the low level of gore on display for a zombie movie, but the sweetness won me over so that it really just felt like a smart rom-com. Director Jonathan Levine has previously won me over with the movie 50/50 and this is similarly smart and sweet. Nicholas Hoult does a great job at portraying the oh so subtle physical changes taking place in R and gets all the warmly funny bits where he expresses the frustration at being locked inside a zombie body. Teresa Palmer gets to play tough but sweet as Julie and the couple definitely makes sense. John Malkovich is completely wasted in the tiny role of Julie's Dad (check out 'Red' if you want more of this Malkovich) and Rob Corddry (Lou from 'Hot Tub Time Machine') also doesn't get to do much of his usual messed up funny stuff. Dave Franco as Perry gets more time in flashbacks/memories than he does in actually being alive in the film, and is getting more like his brother James all the time.
This is a movie you should definitely ask that guy or girl that you like to go and see. It's got a bit of everything that's cool, it's actually pretty smart and puts a different enough spin on the apocalypse that you should have a fun time. And it's not too scary or gory if your date isn't into that.
Thursday, 2 May 2013
Movie # 12 - Iron Man 3
Massive! Epic! Explosive! Spectacular! All good words for this highly anticipated sequel which I admit I had built up some pretty huge anticipation for. Not one bit of disappointment though!
I'm just going to assume that everyone has seen Iron Man, Iron Man 2 and The Avengers, which are pretty much pre-requisites to see Iron Man 3, so I'm not going to catch you up. Iron Man 3 begins where The Avengers left off - Tony Stark is back home and trying to deal with the rather overwhelming to anyone events that befell him in New York at the end of The Avengers. Yes folks, for once Tony Stark is not brash, bold, arrogant, egotistical and confident 100% of the time anymore. Only about 70% of the time with a few issues that could be categorised as Post Traumatic Stress. On the plus side, Pepper Potts has moved in with Tony full time as well as being head of Stark Industries.
The film opens with a flashback to happier times where Tony has some interaction with a promising botanist Maya Hansen (new to the IM series Rebecca Hall from "The Town") who is experimenting with modifying the DNA of plants but can't quite get it to work 100% of the time. Flash forward to today, when Pepper takes a meeting with an old friend, Aldrich Killian (new to the IM series Guy Pearce) who wants Stark Industries to invest in his program of modifying the human brain's DNA to enhance our potential. Pepper gives a firm "No" and sends him on his way, but newly promoted to head of security Happy (Tony's former bodyguard played in all 3 by Jon Favreau) is suspicious of what Killian and his cocky offsider are up to. Following them lands Happy in a very unhappy place though, as an explosion rocks Mann's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood and leaves Happy in a coma.
The explosion is one of a very large number of explosions in this movie (the most I've ever seen in one movie by a long shot) and they are linked to international terrorist The Mandarin (new to the IM series Ben Kingsley from "Ghandi") who has a very public agenda to wage war on the United States and particularly the President. Definitely a comment on the Osama bin Laden style of modern terrorism. Enraged, Tony makes a very public invitation to The Mandarin to "come and get me" which, wouldn't you know, is taken up! Tony ends up on the run, bereft of all of his systems and toys and very much alone as Iron Patriot (the former War Machine character with a new coat of paint and name) is off doing chores for the President.
Tony has to work on tracking down The Mandarin and does so by checking out a previous bomb site in a small town where the puzzle pieces start to come together with the help of a young local boy with some cool tricks. From here on in, the action just ramps up and ramps up even more as Tony's fleet of Iron Man suits eventually start to come back online and get in on the fight with the baddies.
The film works really well because it sticks to classic plot elements such as purely personal revenge. The stakes are really high for all involved, with the baddies trying to strike fear into the US with the aim of increasing their army of enhanced super-soldiers who make for fearsome, near invulnerable henchmen. Tony's stake is revenge for Happy and to rescue Pepper who sadly falls into the baddies hands. There are also a number of excellent twists which I won't reveal at all. The commentary on our perceptions of terrorism is also thought provoking.
Performances here are all really strong, with the returning players getting really comfortable in their skin. Robert Downey Jr can do vulnerable as well as brash. The newbies are great, with Ben Kingsley and James Badge Dale intimidating as The Mandarin and super soldier Savin respectively, and Guy Pearce in beautiful contrast between golden and glowing appearance and slimy inside. Rebecca Hall's role is fairly small but interesting, and Ty Simpkins is very endearing as cool kid Harley.
There is an absolute tonne of action and special effects this time around, but it's balanced out by the same blend of humour and heart that have made the previous ones so popular. I would say that it is a total waste of money seeing this movie in 3D, as it was not filmed in 3D but added later in post-production and adds very little other than a bit of depth here and there. Not worth the money or headaches for those of you who suffer. However, in 2D this movie is sensational value for money. Heaps of fun, still way cool and a great comic book movie. See it soon! And yes there is an end of credits scene as with all Marvel movies. Debateable whether it's worth sitting through the 10 minutes of credits though since it surprisingly doesn't lay any clues for future Avengers starring films.
I'm just going to assume that everyone has seen Iron Man, Iron Man 2 and The Avengers, which are pretty much pre-requisites to see Iron Man 3, so I'm not going to catch you up. Iron Man 3 begins where The Avengers left off - Tony Stark is back home and trying to deal with the rather overwhelming to anyone events that befell him in New York at the end of The Avengers. Yes folks, for once Tony Stark is not brash, bold, arrogant, egotistical and confident 100% of the time anymore. Only about 70% of the time with a few issues that could be categorised as Post Traumatic Stress. On the plus side, Pepper Potts has moved in with Tony full time as well as being head of Stark Industries.
The film opens with a flashback to happier times where Tony has some interaction with a promising botanist Maya Hansen (new to the IM series Rebecca Hall from "The Town") who is experimenting with modifying the DNA of plants but can't quite get it to work 100% of the time. Flash forward to today, when Pepper takes a meeting with an old friend, Aldrich Killian (new to the IM series Guy Pearce) who wants Stark Industries to invest in his program of modifying the human brain's DNA to enhance our potential. Pepper gives a firm "No" and sends him on his way, but newly promoted to head of security Happy (Tony's former bodyguard played in all 3 by Jon Favreau) is suspicious of what Killian and his cocky offsider are up to. Following them lands Happy in a very unhappy place though, as an explosion rocks Mann's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood and leaves Happy in a coma.
The explosion is one of a very large number of explosions in this movie (the most I've ever seen in one movie by a long shot) and they are linked to international terrorist The Mandarin (new to the IM series Ben Kingsley from "Ghandi") who has a very public agenda to wage war on the United States and particularly the President. Definitely a comment on the Osama bin Laden style of modern terrorism. Enraged, Tony makes a very public invitation to The Mandarin to "come and get me" which, wouldn't you know, is taken up! Tony ends up on the run, bereft of all of his systems and toys and very much alone as Iron Patriot (the former War Machine character with a new coat of paint and name) is off doing chores for the President.
Tony has to work on tracking down The Mandarin and does so by checking out a previous bomb site in a small town where the puzzle pieces start to come together with the help of a young local boy with some cool tricks. From here on in, the action just ramps up and ramps up even more as Tony's fleet of Iron Man suits eventually start to come back online and get in on the fight with the baddies.
The film works really well because it sticks to classic plot elements such as purely personal revenge. The stakes are really high for all involved, with the baddies trying to strike fear into the US with the aim of increasing their army of enhanced super-soldiers who make for fearsome, near invulnerable henchmen. Tony's stake is revenge for Happy and to rescue Pepper who sadly falls into the baddies hands. There are also a number of excellent twists which I won't reveal at all. The commentary on our perceptions of terrorism is also thought provoking.
Performances here are all really strong, with the returning players getting really comfortable in their skin. Robert Downey Jr can do vulnerable as well as brash. The newbies are great, with Ben Kingsley and James Badge Dale intimidating as The Mandarin and super soldier Savin respectively, and Guy Pearce in beautiful contrast between golden and glowing appearance and slimy inside. Rebecca Hall's role is fairly small but interesting, and Ty Simpkins is very endearing as cool kid Harley.
There is an absolute tonne of action and special effects this time around, but it's balanced out by the same blend of humour and heart that have made the previous ones so popular. I would say that it is a total waste of money seeing this movie in 3D, as it was not filmed in 3D but added later in post-production and adds very little other than a bit of depth here and there. Not worth the money or headaches for those of you who suffer. However, in 2D this movie is sensational value for money. Heaps of fun, still way cool and a great comic book movie. See it soon! And yes there is an end of credits scene as with all Marvel movies. Debateable whether it's worth sitting through the 10 minutes of credits though since it surprisingly doesn't lay any clues for future Avengers starring films.
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